{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_46984/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_46984","id":"gutenberg_46984","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46984","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Gautama Buddha -- Pre-existence"],"text":"Transcriber's Notes:\n\n  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by\n  =equal signs=.\n\n  Small uppercase have been replaced with regular uppercase.\n\n  Characters after a carat are superscripts.\n\n  Blank pages have been eliminated.\n\n  Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been left as in the\n  original.\n\n\n\n\n\n  THE\n\n  SACRED BOOKS OF THE BUDDHISTS\n\n\n\n\n  Oxford\n\n  HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY\n\n\n\n\n  SACRED BOOKS OF THE BUDDHISTS\n\n\n  TRANSLATED\n\n  BY VARIOUS ORIENTAL SCHOLARS\n\n\n  AND EDITED BY\n\n\n  F. MAX M\u00dcLLER\n\n\n  _PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF_\n\n  HIS MAJESTY CHUL\u00c2LANKARANA, KING OF SIAM\n\n\n  VOL. I\n\n\n  London\n  HENRY FROWDE\n  OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE\n  AMEN CORNER, E.C.\n  1895\n\n\n\n\n  THE _G_\u00c2TAKAM\u00c2L\u00c2\n\n  OR\n\n  GARLAND OF BIRTH-STORIES\n\n\n  BY\n\n  \u00c2RYA _S_\u00dbRA\n\n\n  _TRANSLATED FROM THE SANSKRIT_\n\n  BY\n\n  J. S. SPEYER\n\n\n  London\n  HENRY FROWDE\n  OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE\n  AMEN CORNER, E.C.\n  1895\n\n\n\n\nEDITOR'S PREFACE.\n\n\nAfter all the necessary preparations for the first and second series of\nthe _Sacred Books of the East_, consisting in all of forty-nine volumes,\nwith two volumes of _General Index_, had been completed, I still\nreceived several offers of translations of important texts which I felt\nreluctant to leave unpublished. As they were chiefly translations of\nBuddhist texts, I mentioned the fact to several of my Buddhist friends,\nand I was highly gratified when I was informed that H. M. the King of\nSiam, being desirous that the true teaching of the Buddha should become\nmore widely known in Europe, had been graciously pleased to promise that\nmaterial support without which the publication of these translations\nwould have been impossible.\n\nI therefore resolved to do what I could for helping to spread a more\ncorrect knowledge of the religion of Buddha: but after the first three\nvolumes of this new Series of the Sacred Books of the Buddhists is\npublished, it will mainly depend on the interest which the public may\ntake in this work, whether it can be continued or not.\n\nAs long as my health allows me to do so I shall be quite willing to\ncontinue what has been a labour of love to me during many years of my\nlife. It was not always an easy task. The constant correspondence with\nmy fellow-workers has taxed my time and my strength far more than I\nexpected. The difficulty was not only to select from the very large mass\nof Sacred Books those that seemed most important and most likely to be\nuseful for enabling us to gain a correct view of the great religions of\nthe East, but to find scholars competent and willing to undertake the\nlabour of translation. I can perfectly understand the unwillingness of\nmost scholars to devote their time to mere translations. With every year\nthe translation of such works as the Veda or the Avesta, instead of\nbecoming easier, becomes really more perplexing and more difficult.\nDifficulties of which we formerly had no suspicion have been brought to\nlight by the ever-increasing number of fresh students, and precautions\nhave now to be taken against dangers the very existence of which was\nnever dreamt of in former years. I do not exaggerate when I say that the\ntranslation of some of the hymns of the Veda, often clearly corrupt in\nthe original, has become as difficult as the deciphering of hieroglyphic\nor cuneiform inscriptions, where at all events the text may be depended\non. What critical scholars like is to translate a verse here and a verse\nthere, possibly a hymn or a whole chapter with various readings,\ncritical notes and brilliant conjectures; but to translate a whole book\nwithout shirking a single line is a task from which most of them recoil.\nNor have the labours of those who have hitherto ventured on a more\ncomplete translation of the Rig-veda, such as Wilson, Grassmann, Ludwig\nand Griffith, been received as they ought to have been, with gratitude\nfor what they have achieved, and with allowances for what they failed to\nachieve. I therefore remarked in the Preface to the first volume of this\ncollection, p. xlii:\n\n     'Oriental scholars have been blamed for not having as yet supplied\n     a want so generally felt, and so frequently expressed, as a\n     complete, trustworthy, and readable translation of the principal\n     Sacred Books of the Eastern Religions. The reasons, however, why\n     hitherto they have shrunk from such an undertaking are clear\n     enough. The difficulties in many cases of giving complete\n     translations, and not selections only, are very great. There is\n     still much work to be done for a critical restoration of the\n     original texts, for an examination of their grammar and metres, and\n     for determining the exact meaning of many words and passages. That\n     kind of work is naturally far more attractive to scholars than a\n     mere translation, particularly when they cannot but feel that, with\n     the progress of our knowledge, many a passage which now seems clear\n     and easy, may, on being re-examined, assume a new import. Thus\n     while scholars who would be most competent to undertake a\n     translation prefer to devote their time to more special researches,\n     the work of a complete translation is deferred to the future, and\n     historians are left under the impression that Oriental scholarship\n     is still in so unsatisfactory a state as to make any reliance on\n     translations of the Veda, the Avesta, or the T\u00e2o-te king extremely\n     hazardous.\n\n     'It is clear, therefore, that a translation of the principal Sacred\n     Books of the East can be carried out only at a certain sacrifice.\n     Scholars must leave for a time their own special researches in\n     order to render the general results already obtained accessible to\n     the public at large. And even then, useful results can be achieved\n     _viribus unitis_ only.'\n\nMy expectations, however, have not been deceived. My appeal was most\ngenerously responded to by the best Oriental scholars in England,\nFrance, Germany, Holland and America. Nor have these scholars, who were\nnot afraid to come forward with translations which they knew to be far\nfrom final, had to regret their courage and their public spirit. The\nmost competent judges have accepted what we had to offer in a grateful\nand indulgent spirit. There has only been one painful exception in the\ncase of a scholar who has himself never ventured on the translation of a\nsacred text, and who seems to have imagined that he could render more\nuseful service by finding fault with the translation of certain words\nand passages, or by suggesting an entirely different and, in his eyes, a\nfar more excellent method of translation. All scholars know how easy it\nis to glean a few straws, and how laborious to mow a whole field. There\nare passages in every one of the Sacred Books, even in such carefully\nedited texts as the Old and New Testaments, on which interpreters will\nalways differ; and we know how, after centuries of constant labour\nbestowed on those texts, the most learned and careful scholars have not\nbeen able to agree, or to avoid oversights in their Revised Version of\nthe Bible. Could we expect anything different in the first attempts at\ntranslating the Sacred Books of other religions? Valuable emendations,\noffered in a scholarlike spirit, would have been most gratefully\naccepted by myself and by my fellow-workers. But seldom, nay hardly\never, have emendations been proposed that would essentially alter the\n_textus receptus_ or throw new light on really obscure passages, while\nthe offensive tone adopted by our critic made it impossible to answer\nhim. As he is no longer among the living, I shall say no more. I feel\nbound, however, for the sake of those who do not know me, to correct one\nremark, as invidious as it was groundless, made by the same departed\nscholar, namely that I had received an excessive _honorarium_ as Editor\nof the Sacred Books of the East, nay, as he expressed it, that I had\nlevied tribute of my fellow-workers. The fact is that during all the\nyears which I devoted to the superintending of the publication of the\nfifty volumes of the Sacred Books of the East, I have not had the\nsmallest addition to my income. I was relieved by the University of\nOxford from the duty of delivering my public lectures, so that I might\ndevote my time to this large literary undertaking brought out by our\nUniversity Press. My labour, even the mere official correspondence with\nmy many contributors, was certainly not less than that of delivering\nlectures which I had been in the habit of delivering for twenty-five\nyears. My private lectures were continued all the same, and the\npublications of my pupils are there to show how ungrudgingly I gave them\nmy time and my assistance in their literary labours. It is difficult to\nsee of what interest such matters can be to other people, or with what\nobject they are dragged before the public. I should have felt ashamed to\nnotice such an accusation, if the accuser had not been a man whose\nscholarship deserved respect. I have never claimed any credit for the\nsacrifices which I have made both in time and in money, for objects\nwhich were near and dear to my heart. It has been, as I said, a labour\nof love, and I shall always feel most grateful to the University of\nOxford, and to my fellow-translators, for having enabled me to realise\nthis long cherished plan of making the world better acquainted with the\nSacred Books of the principal religions of mankind, a work which has\nborne fruit already, and will, I hope, bear still richer fruit in the\nfuture.\n\nIf the members of the principal religions of the world wish to\nunderstand one another, to bear with one another, and possibly to\nrecognise certain great truths which, without being aware of it, they\nshare in common with one another, the only solid and sound foundation\nfor such a religious peace-movement will be supplied by a study of the\nSacred Books of each religion.\n\nOne such religious Peace-Congress has been held already in America.\nPreparations for another are now being made; and it is certainly a sign\nof the times when we see Cardinal Gibbons, after conferring with Pope\nLeo XIII at Rome, assuring those who are organising this new Congress:\n'The Pope will be with you, I know it. Write, agitate, and do not be\ntimid[1].'\n\n     [1] _Le Pape sera avec vous, je le sais. \u00c9crivez, agissez, ne soyez\n     pas timides._ Revue de Paris, Sept. 1, 1895, p. 136.\n\nThe _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, of which Prof. Speyer has given us an English\ntranslation in this volume, is a work well known to students of\nBuddhism. The edition of the Sanskrit text by Prof. Kern is not only an\n_editio princeps_, but the text as restored by him will probably remain\nthe final text, and Prof. Speyer in translating has had but seldom to\ndepart from it.\n\n_G_\u00e2taka has generally been translated by Birth-story or Tale of\nAnterior Births, and it would be difficult to find a better rendering.\nThis class of stories is peculiar to Buddhism; for although the idea\nthat every man had passed through many existences before his birth on\nearth and will pass through many more after his death was, like most\nBuddhist theories, borrowed from the Br\u00e2hmans, yet its employment for\nteaching the great lessons of morality seems to have been the work of\nBuddha and his pupils. In addition to this there was another theory,\nlikewise Brahmanic in its origin, but again more fully developed for\npractical purposes by the Buddhists, that of <g>Karma, a firm belief that\nan unbroken chain of cause and effect binds all existences together.\nThe great problems of the justice of the government of the world, of the\nearthly sufferings of the innocent, and the apparent happiness of the\nwicked, were to the Indian mind solved once for all by the firm\nconviction that what we experience here is the result of something that\nhas happened before, that there is an unbroken heredity in the world,\nand that we not only benefit by, but also suffer from our ancestors. In\norder fully to understand the drift of the _G_\u00e2takas we must, however,\nbear in mind one more article of the Buddhist faith, namely that, though\nordinary mortals remember nothing of their former existences beyond the\nfact that they did exist, which is involved in the very fact of their\nself-consciousness, highly enlightened beings have the gift of recalling\ntheir former vicissitudes. It is well known that Pythagoras claimed the\nsame gift of remembering his former lives, or at all events is reported\nto have claimed it. A Buddha is supposed to know whatever has happened\nto him in every existence through which he has passed: and it seems to\nhave been the constant habit of the historical Buddha, Buddha\n_S_\u00e2kya-muni, to explain to his disciples things that were happening by\nthings that had happened countless ages before. Those lessons seem\ncertainly to have impressed his hearers, after they once believed that\nwhat they had to suffer here on earth was not the result of mere chance,\nbut the result of their own former deeds or of the deeds of their\nfellow-creatures, that they were in fact paying off a debt which they\nhad contracted long ago. It was an equally impressive lesson that\nwhatever good they might do on earth would be placed to their account in\na future life, because the whole world was one large system in which\nnothing could ever be lost, though many of the links of the chain of\ncause and effect might escape human observation or recollection.\n\nThe Buddha, in telling these stories of his former births or existences,\nspeaks of himself, not exactly as the same individual, but rather as the\nenlightened one, the Buddha as he existed at any and at every time; and\nfrom a moral point of view, the enlightened meant the good, the perfect\nman. We must not suppose that his hearers were expected to believe, in\nour sense of the word, all the circumstances of his former existences as\ntold by Buddha _S_\u00e2kya-muni. Even for an Indian imagination it would\nhave been hard to accept them as matters of fact. A _G_\u00e2taka was not\nmuch more than what a parable is with us, and as little as Christians\nare expected to accept the story of Lazarus resting in Abraham's bosom\nas a matter of fact (though, I believe, the house of _Dives_ is shown at\nJerusalem) were the Buddhists bound to believe that Buddha as an\nindividual or as an historical person, had formerly been a crow or a\nhare. The views of the Buddhists on the world and its temporary tenants,\nwhether men, animals, or trees, are totally different from our own,\nthough we know how even among ourselves the theories of heredity have\nled some philosophers to hold that we, or our ancestors, existed at one\ntime in an animal, and why not in a vegetable or mineral state. It is\ndifficult for us to enter fully into the Buddhist views of the world; I\nwould only warn my readers that they must not imagine that highly\neducated men among the Buddhists were so silly as to accept the\n_G_\u00e2takas as ancient history.\n\nIt would be more correct, I believe, to look upon these Birth-stories as\nhomilies used for educational purposes and for inculcating the moral\nlessons of Buddhism. This is clearly implied in the remarks at the end\nof certain _G_\u00e2takas, such as 'This story is also to be used when\ndiscoursing on the Buddha' (p. 148), or 'This story may be used with the\nobject of showing the difficulty of finding companions for a religious\nlife' (p. 172). We know that Christian divines also made use of popular\nstories for similar purposes. In India many of these stories must have\nexisted long before the rise of Buddhism, as they exist even now, in the\nmemory of the people. It is known how some of them reached Greece and\nRome and the Western world through various well-ascertained\nchannels[2], and how they still supply our nurseries with the earliest\nlessons of morality, good sense, and good manners.\n\n     [2] Migration of Fables, in Chips from a German Workshop, vol. iv,\n     =p. 412=.\n\nIt may be said that the lessons of morality inculcated in these homilies\nare too exaggerated to be of any practical usefulness. Still this _modus\ndocendi_ is very common in Sacred Books, where we often find an extreme\nstandard held up in the hope of producing an impression that may be\nuseful in less extreme cases. To offer the other cheek to whosoever\nshall strike our right cheek, to give up our cloak to him who takes away\nour coat, to declare that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye\nof a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God, are\nall lessons which we also take _cum grano salis_. They ask for much in\nthe hope that something may be given. That there is danger too in this\nmode of teaching cannot be denied. We are told that \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra, in\norder to follow the example of Buddha in a former birth, threw himself\nin this life before a starving tigress to be devoured. Let us hope that\nthis too was only a _G_\u00e2taka.\n\nWhen once a taste for these moralising stories had arisen, probably\nowing to Buddha's daily intercourse with the common people, their number\ngrew most rapidly. The supply was unlimited, all that was required was\nthe moral application, the _Haec fabula docet_. The Buddhists give their\nnumber as 550. The earliest are probably those which are found in\ndifferent parts of the Buddhist Canon. In the _K_ariy\u00e2-pi_t_aka there is\na collection of thirty-five stories of the former lives of Buddha, in\neach of which he acquired one of the ten P\u00e2ramit\u00e2s or Great Perfections\nwhich fit a human being for Buddhahood[3]. A similar collection is found\nin the Buddhava_m_sa[4], which contains an account of the life of the\ncoming Buddha, the Bodhisat, in the various characters which he filled\nduring the periods of the twenty-four previous Buddhas.\n\n     [3] See Buddhist Birth-stories, translated by Rhys Davids, p. lv.\n\n     [4] Some doubt attaches to the canonicity of the _K_ariy\u00e2-pi_t_aka\n     and the Buddhava_m_sa (see Childers, s. v. Nik\u00e2ya).\n\nThe _G_\u00e2taka stories are therefore at least as old as the compilation of\nthe Buddhist Canon at the Council of Ves\u00e2li, about 377 B.C.[5] It was at\nthat Council that the great schism took place, and that the ancient\nCanon was rearranged or disarranged. Among the books thus tampered with\nis mentioned the _G_\u00e2taka, which therefore must be considered as having\nexisted, and formed part of the old Canon before the Council of Ves\u00e2li.\nThis is what the D\u00eepava_m_sa (V, 32) says on the subject:\n\n     'The Bhikkhus of the Great Council settled a doctrine contrary (to\n     the true Faith). Altering the original text they made another text.\n     They transposed Suttas which belonged to one place (of the\n     collection) to another place; they destroyed the true meaning of\n     the Faith, in the Vinaya and in the five collections (of the\n     Suttas).... Rejecting single passages of the Suttas and of the\n     proposed Vinaya, they composed other Suttas and another Vinaya\n     which had (only) the appearance (of the genuine ones). Rejecting\n     the following texts, viz. the Pariv\u00e2ra, which is the abstract of\n     the contents (of the Vinaya), the six sections of the Abhidhamma,\n     the Pa_t_isambhid\u00e2, the Niddesa, and _some portions of the_\n     G_\u00e2taka_, they composed new ones.'\n\n     [5] Dhammapada, p. xxx, S. B. E., vol. x.\n\nWhatever else this may prove with regard to the way in which the ancient\nCanon was preserved, it shows at all events that _G_\u00e2takas existed\nbefore the Ves\u00e2li Council as an integral portion of the sacred Canon,\nand we learn at the same time that it was possible even then to compose\nnew chapters of that canon, and probably also to add new _G_\u00e2taka\nstories.\n\nWhether we possess the text of the _G_\u00e2taka in exactly that form in\nwhich it existed previous to the Council of Ves\u00e2li in 377 B.C. is\nanother question. Strictly speaking we must be satisfied with the time\nof Vattag\u00e2mani in whose reign, 88-76 B.C., writing for literary purposes\nseems to have become more general in India, and the Buddhist Canon was\nfor the first time reduced to writing.\n\nWhat we possess is the P\u00e2li text of the _G_\u00e2taka as it has been\npreserved in Ceylon. The tradition is that these 550 _G_\u00e2taka stories,\ncomposed in P\u00e2li, were taken to Ceylon by Mahinda, about 250 B.C., that\nthe commentary was there translated into Singhalese, and that the\ncommentary was retranslated into P\u00e2li by Buddhaghosha, in the fifth\ncentury A.D. It is in this commentary alone that the text of the\n_G_\u00e2takas has come down to us. This text has been edited by Dr.\nFausb\u00f6ll. He has distinguished in his edition between three component\nelements, the tale, the frame, and the verbal interpretation. This text,\nof which the beginning was translated in 1880 by Prof. Rhys Davids, is\nnow being translated by Mr. R. Chalmers, Mr. W. R. D. Rouse, Mr. H. T.\nFrancis and Mr. R. A. Neil, and the first volume of their translation\nhas appeared in 1895 under the able editorship of Professor Cowell.\n\nAs Professor Speyer has explained, the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, the Garland of\nBirth-stories, which he has translated, is a totally different work. It\nis a Sanskrit rendering of only thirty-four _G_\u00e2takas ascribed to \u00c2rya\n_S_\u00fbra. While the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka is written in the plainest prose style,\nthe work of \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra has higher pretensions, and is in fact a kind of\nk\u00e2vya, a work of art. It was used by the Northern Buddhists, while the\nP\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka belongs to the Canon of the Southern Buddhists. The date\nof \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra is difficult to fix. T\u00e2ran\u00e2tha (p. 90) states that _S_\u00fbra\nwas known by many names, such as A_s_vaghosha, M\u00e2t_rik_e_t_a,\nPit_rik_e_t_a, Durdarsha (_sic_), Dharmika-subh\u00fbti, Mati_k_itra. He also\nstates that towards the end of his life _S_\u00fbra, was in correspondence\nwith king Kanika (Kanishka?), and that he began to write the hundred\n_G_\u00e2takas illustrating Buddha's acquirement of the ten P\u00e2ramit\u00e2s (see p.\nxiv), but died when he had finished only thirty-four. It is certainly\ncurious that our _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 contains thirty-four _G_\u00e2takas[6]. If\ntherefore we could rely on T\u00e2ran\u00e2tha, \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra, being identical with\nA_s_vaghosha, the author of the Buddha_k_arita, would have lived in the\nfirst century of our era. He is mentioned as a great authority on metres\n(T\u00e2ran\u00e2tha, p. 181), and he certainly handles his metres with great\nskill. But dates are always the weak point in the history of Indian\nLiterature. Possibly the study of Tibetan Literature, and a knowledge of\nthe authorities on which T\u00e2ran\u00e2tha relied, may throw more light\nhereafter on the date of _S_\u00fbra and A_s_vaghosha.\n\n     [6] The same is also the number of Avad\u00e2nas in the\n     Bodhisattva-Avad\u00e2na, and the stories seem to be the same as those\n     of our _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2.--Rajendralal Mitra, Sanskrit Buddhist\n     Literature, p. 49.\n\n                                               F. MAX M\u00dcLLER.\n\n  OXFORD, _October, 1895_.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                              PAGE\n\n  INTRODUCTION                                                 xxi\n\n  Introductory Stanzas                                           1\n\n       I. The Story of the Tigress                               2\n\n      II. The Story of the King of the _S_ibis                   8\n\n     III. The Story of the Small Portion of Gruel               20\n\n      IV. The Story of the Head of a Guild                      25\n\n       V. The Story of Avishahya, the Head of a Guild           30\n\n      VI. The Story of the Hare                                 37\n\n     VII. The Story of Agastya                                  46\n\n    VIII. The Story of Maitr\u00eebala                               55\n\n      IX. The Story of Vi_s_vantara                             71\n\n       X. The Story of the Sacrifice                            93\n\n      XI. The Story of _S_akra                                 104\n\n     XII. The Story of the Br\u00e2hman                             109\n\n    XIII. The Story of Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee                             114\n\n     XIV. The Story of Sup\u00e2raga                                124\n\n      XV. The Story of the Fish                                134\n\n     XVI. The Story of the Quail's Young                       138\n\n    XVII. The Story of the Jar                                 141\n\n   XVIII. The Story of the Childless One                       148\n\n     XIX. The Story of the Lotus-Stalks                        154\n\n      XX. The Story of the Treasurer                           164\n\n     XXI. The Story of _K_u_dd_abodhi                          172\n\n    XXII. The Story of the Holy Swans                          181\n\n   XXIII. The Story of Mah\u00e2bodhi                               200\n\n    XXIV. The Story of the Great Ape                           218\n\n     XXV. The Story of the _S_arabha                           227\n\n    XXVI. The Story of the Ruru-Deer                           234\n\n   XXVII. The Story of the Great Monkey                        244\n\n  XXVIII. The Story of Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din                            253\n\n    XXIX. The Story of the Inhabitant of the Brahmaloka        268\n\n     XXX. The Story of the Elephant                            281\n\n    XXXI. The Story of Sutasoma                                291\n\n   XXXII. The Story of Ayog_ri_ha                              314\n\n  XXXIII. The Story of the Buffalo                             324\n\n   XXXIV. The Story of the Woodpecker                          329\n\n  Synoptical Table of the Correspondence between the\n  Stanzas of the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 and the Scripture\n  Verses of the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka                                  337\n\n  Index                                                        341\n\n\n  Transliteration of Oriental Alphabets adopted for\n  the Translations of the Sacred Books of the\n  Buddhists                                                    347\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\nThe 'Garland of Birth-stories' belongs to the Canon of the Northern\nBuddhists. For the discovery of this work we are indebted to Mr. Brian\nH. Hodgson, who as early as 1828 mentioned it among the interesting\nspecimens of Bauddha scriptures communicated to him by his old Patan\nmonk, and also procured copies of it. One of these was deposited in the\nlibrary of the college of Fort William, now belonging to the Bengal\nAsiatic Society, and was described, in 1882, by R\u00e2_g_endral\u00e2la Mitra.\nAnother was forwarded to the Paris library. Burnouf, who thoroughly\nstudied other works belonging to the S\u00fbtra and Avad\u00e2na classes, which\nform part of the Hodgson MSS. in Paris, seems to have had a merely\nsuperficial acquaintance with the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, if we may judge from the\nterms with which he deals with it in his 'Introduction \u00e0 l'histoire du\nBouddhisme indien.' p. 54 of the second edition: 'Je dis les livres,\nquoiqu'il n'en existe qu'un seul dans la liste n\u00e9palaise et dans la\ncollection de M. Hodgson, qui porte et qui m\u00e9rite le titre de _Dj\u00e2taka_\n(naissance); c'est le volume intitul\u00e9 _Dj\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2_ ou la Guirlande des\nnaissances, qui passe pour[7] un r\u00e9cit des diverses actions m\u00e9ritoires\nde \u00c7\u00e2kya ant\u00e9rieurement \u00e0 l'\u00e9poque o\u00f9 il devint Buddha.' In fact, he has\nnever given a summary, still less a detailed account of its contents. It\nwas not until 1875 that M. F\u00e9er gave such an account in the Journal\nAsiatique, VII^e S\u00e9r., t. 5, p. 413.\n\n     [7] I have spaced the words that prove my statement.\n\nMoreover, Burnouf's statement is not quite correct with respect to the\nNepal list. Not one, but three _G_\u00e2taka works are named there[8], the\n_G_\u00e2tak\u00e2vad\u00e2na (No. 32), the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 (No. 33), and the\nMah\u00e2_g_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 (No. 34). Of these only one, indeed, is extant, viz.\nNo. 33, our 'Garland of Birth-stories.' No. 34 may be the work,\ncontaining 550 or 565 _G_\u00e2takas, spoken of by the Bauddha monk who\nimparted so much valuable information to Hodgson[9], or, perhaps, the\noriginal of the Tibetan collection of 101 tales, including also our\n_G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, to which two Russian scholars, Serge d'Oldenburg and\nIvanovski, have of late drawn the attention of the public[10]. As to No.\n32, its title, _G_\u00e2tak\u00e2vad\u00e2na, allows the supposition that it is either\na collection of _G_\u00e2takas and avad\u00e2nas, or that it contains 'great\nreligious exploits' (avad\u00e2na) performed by the Bodhisattva, who\nafterwards became Buddha, the Lord. Nothing is more common than the use\nof both terms in a nearly synonymous manner. Our _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 bears also\nthe appellation of Bodhisattv\u00e2vad\u00e2nam\u00e2l\u00e2[11]. In translating _G_\u00e2taka by\n'birth-story,' I comply with the general use and official interpretation\nof that term by the Buddhist Church. The original meaning must have been\nsimply 'tale, story,' as Prof. Kern has demonstrated in his 'History of\nBuddhism in India[12].' Additional evidence of this statement may be\ndrawn from the fact, that in several of the old and traditional headings\nof these stories the former part of the compound denotes not the\nBodhisattva, but some other person of the tale, as Vy\u00e2ghr\u00ee_g_\u00e2taka, 'the\nStory of the Tigress,' or a thing, as Kumbha_g_\u00e2taka, 'the Story of the\nJar;' Bisa_g_\u00e2taka, 'the Story of the Lotus-stalks,' which are\nrespectively Nos. I, XVII, and XIX of this collection; or an action, as\nS\u00eelav\u00eema_m_sa(ka)_g_\u00e2taka, the common heading of Nos. 86, 290, 305, and\n330 in Fausb\u00f6ll's P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, Na_kk_a_g_\u00e2taka, ibid., No. 32, or a\nquality, as S\u00eel\u00e2nisa_m_sa_g_\u00e2taka, ibid., No. 190.\n\n     [8] See Hodgson, Essays on the Languages &c. of Nepal and Tibet,\n     1874, p. 37.\n\n     [9] See Hodgson, Essays, pp. 17 and 37.\n\n     [10] See the paper of d'Oldenburg, translated by Dr. Wenzel in the\n     Journ. Roy. As. Soc. of 1893, p. 304.\n\n     [11] Also cp. the passage of the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2, quoted infra, p.\n     xxiii.\n\n     [12] See I, p. 257 of the original (Dutch) edition.\n\nSome time after M. F\u00e9er's compte-rendu of the Paris MS. was published\ntwo new MSS. of the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 came to Europe. They belong to the\nvaluable set of Sanskrit Buddhist works which Dr. Wright acquired for\nthe Cambridge University Library, and are described by Prof. Cecil\nBendall in his excellent Catalogue (1883). Prof. Kern was the first to\nappreciate the great literary merits of the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, and soon\nplanned an edition, availing himself of the two Cambridge MSS. (Add.\n1328 and 1415) and the Paris one[13]. This editio princeps was published\nat the end of 1891 as the first volume of the Harvard Oriental Series of\nProf. Lanman. It has every right to bear the name of 'princeps,' not\nonly because \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra's work has never been edited before, but on\naccount of the critical acumen and the untiring care of the editor,\nwhose exertions have almost purged the text from the clerical errors and\nblunders which greatly encumber the Nepal manuscripts[14]. Thus, thanks\nto Prof. Kern, this masterpiece of Sanskrit Buddhist literature is now\naccessible to Sanskritists in an excellent edition. I have undertaken to\ntranslate it, as I consider it a most valuable document for the\nknowledge of Buddhism.\n\n     [13] Dr. d'Oldenburg mentions two more copies; they are at St.\n     Petersburg. See his paper in the Journ. Roy. As. Soc., p. 306.\n\n     [14] Compare the complaint of Prof. Cowell, p. xii of the\n     Introduction to his translation of the Buddha_k_arita (Sacred\n     Books, vol. xlix).\n\nProperly speaking, _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 is a class-name. It has been pointed out\nabove that in the Northern Buddhist Canon several writings of that name\nhave been made known, and though, so far as I know, this appellation\ndoes not occur in the book-titles of the P\u00e2li Tripi_t_aka, such texts as\nthe P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka and the _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka may have some right to be\nthus designated. That it is a generic appellation is made plain from\nSomendra's Introduction to the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 of his father\nKshemendra. It is said there, verses 7 and 8:--\n\n  '\u00e2_k_\u00e2ryaGopadatt\u00e2dyair avad\u00e2nakramo_ggh_it\u00e2_h_\n  u_kk_ityo_kk_itya vihit\u00e2 gadyapadyavi_sri_\u1e45khal\u00e2_h_,\n  ekam\u00e2rg\u00e2nus\u00e2ri_n_ya_h_ para_m_ g\u00e2mbh\u00eeryakarka_s_\u00e2_h_\n  vist\u00eer_n_avar_n_an\u00e2_h_ santi _G_ina_g_\u00e2takam\u00e2lik\u00e2_h_.'\n\n'There exist many \"Garlands of Birth-stories of the _G_ina\" by Gopadatta\nand other teachers, who, discarding the usual order of the Avad\u00e2nas,\ngathered tales _carptim_, and told them at length in elaborate prose\n(gadya) interspersed with verse, holding themselves free as to the\nproportions of the two styles, which they made interchange. They all\ntreat of the praise of the Right Path, but, owing to their profoundness,\nare hard to understand.'\n\nThis definition of that class exactly suits the work, the translation of\nwhich is here published. This composition consists, indeed, of verse\nintermingled with flowery prose built up according to the rules and\nmethods of Sanskrit rhetoric; it claims to be a florilegium, a selection\nof _G_\u00e2takas, with the avowed object of rousing or invigorating the true\nfaith in the minds of the reader; and the stories are told at length. It\nhas perhaps been the most perfect writing of its kind. It is\ndistinguished no less by the superiority of its style than by the\nloftiness of its thoughts. Its verses and artful prose are written in\nthe purest Sanskrit[15], and charm the reader by the elegance of their\nform and the skill displayed in the handling of a great variety of\nmetres, some of which are rarely to be met with elsewhere[16], and are\nsometimes adorned with the additional qualities of difficult and refined\nrhymes, and the like. Apparently _S_\u00fbra, to whom the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 is\nascribed, was a poet richly gifted by Nature, whose talent must have\nbeen developed by thorough and extensive literary studies. Above all, I\nadmire his moderation. Unlike so many other Indian masters in the art of\nliterary composition, he does not allow himself the use of embellishing\napparel and the whole luxuriant _mise en sc\u00e8ne_ of Sanskrit ala_m_k\u00e2ra\nbeyond what is necessary for his subject. His flowery descriptions, his\nlong and elaborate sermons, his elegant manner of narration, are always\nin harmony with the scheme of the whole or the nature of the contents.\nSimilarly, in the choice of his metres he was guided by stylistic\nmotives in accordance with the tone and sentiment required at a given\npoint of the narrative. It is a pity that most of these excellencies are\nlost in the translation.\n\n     [15] The peculiarities of our author are not many, and bear chiefly\n     on lexicology, not on grammar or style, which show the most\n     intimate acquaintance with the classic language. His subject-matter\n     and his faith, of course, necessitate the use of a number of terms,\n     found in Buddhist writings only; yet he avoids several of them,\n     which are not good Sanskrit, as vi_g_ita and most of those\n     signalized by Cowell and Neil in p. ix of their edition of the\n     Divy\u00e2vad\u00e2na. He often employs uddhava=P\u00e2li utthava [which itself\n     is=Skt. utsava], sumukha='propense,' s\u00e2tm\u00eebhavati, \u00bakaroti, \u00babh\u00e2va,\n     a term to express the imbibing of qualities into one's nature,\n     adhy\u00e2_s_aya=\u00e2_s_aya, vit\u00e2na and vait\u00e2nya='dejected' and\n     'dejection,' vimana_h_=durmana_h_ 'sad,' pratipat and\n     pratipatti='(good) conduct' and so on. Likewise he uses such words\n     as van\u00eepaka, pratisa_m_-modana, (ahor\u00e2tram) atin\u00e2may\u00e2m \u00e2sa, XXVI,\n     27 \u00e2rabhya [=P\u00e2li \u00e2rabbha] in the meaning of\n     'concerning'=adhik_ri_tya, \u00e2_s_ritya and VIII, 20\n     praty\u00e2ham=pratyaham. On the other hand, instances of old words and\n     expressions, and of such as were hitherto only known from the\n     Dictionaries, are found in his work. So e.g. addh\u00e2 IX, 60 and\n     elsewhere, \u00e2kumbha XVII, 5, XXVIII, 31, d\u00e2_nd_\u00e2_g_inika in XXVIII,\n     37.\n\n     [16] Among the less common metres I notice the Mattamay\u00fbra V,\n     22-24, XXIX, 4 and 32; the Pramit\u00e2kshara XVII, 17, XVIII, 20,\n     XXIII, 25; the Bhu_g_a\u1e45gapray\u00e2ta XXIX, 26; the Prahara_n_akalit\u00e2\n     or Kalik\u00e2 XVII, 20; some metre akin to the Sum\u00e2nik\u00e2--cp.\n     Colebrooke, Misc. Ess. II, 141--XXIII, 34-39, for it does not suit\n     the scheme taught by Colebrooke, in verses 35-39 each p\u00e2da\n     consisting of two trochees and a bacchius, whereas verse 34 is made\n     up of two trochees and a molossus.\n\nThus much for the philologist and the lover of Oriental literature. To\nthe student of Buddhism it is the peculiar character of the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2\nwhich constitutes its great importance. Although it is styled 'a garland\nof stories,' it is really a collection of homilies. Each _G_\u00e2taka is\nintroduced by a simple prose sentence of ethical and religious purport,\nwhich is to be illustrated by the story. The whole treatment of the tale\nbears the character of a religious discourse. Prof. Cowell, in his\npreface to the translation of the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, observes that the\n_G_\u00e2taka-legends are 'continually introduced into the religious\ndiscourses ... whether to magnify the glory of the Buddha or to\nillustrate Buddhist doctrines and precepts by appropriate\nexamples[17].' Our _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 has a right to be called a choice\ncollection of such sermons, distinguished by their lofty conception and\ntheir artistic elaboration. It is a document of the first rank for the\nstudy of ancient Buddhist homiletics, and is for this reason entitled to\na place among the Sacred Books of the East.\n\n     [17] See The J\u0101taka, translated from the P\u00e2li by various hands\n     under the editorship of Prof. E. B. Cowell, Cambridge, 1895, I, p.\n     vi.\n\n_S_\u00fbra took his thirty-four holy legends from the old and traditional\nstore of _G_\u00e2taka-tales. Almost all of them have been identified with\ncorresponding ones in other collections, both of Northern and Southern\nBuddhism. So far as I could control those parallels or add to them, I\nhave taken care to notice them at the beginning or at the end of each\nstory. The author himself in his introductory stanzas declares his\nstrict conformity with scripture and tradition; and, however much he has\ndone for the adornment and embellishment of the outer form of his tales,\nwe may trust him, when he implies that he has nowhere changed their\noutlines or their essential features, but has narrated them as they were\nhanded down to him by writing or by oral tradition. Wherever his account\ndiffers from that preserved in other sources, we may infer that he\nfollowed some different version. Sometimes he passes over details of\nminor importance. For instance, in the second story he avoids the\nhideous particulars of the eye-operation, dwelt upon in the P\u00e2li\n_G_\u00e2taka. The same good taste will be appreciated in Story XXVIII, when\nthe cruel act of the wicked king against the monk Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din has to be\ntold, and in Story VIII. Stories XVII, XXII, XXXI are much simpler than\ntheir parallels in the holy P\u00e2li book, which are unwieldy, encumbered as\nthey are by exuberance of details. I cannot help thinking that _S_\u00fbra\nomitted such particulars purposely. For the rest, he does not pretend to\ntell stories new or unknown to his readers. He acknowledges their\npopularity; he puts the story of the tigress at the beginning, in order\nto honour his teacher, who had celebrated that _G_\u00e2taka. He often\nneglects to give proper names to the actors in his tales. For instance,\nof Agastya, Ayog_ri_ha, _K_u_dd_abodhi, the heroes of the _G_\u00e2takas thus\nnamed, it is nowhere said that they were so called. _G_\u00fb_g_aka, the\nBr\u00e2hman who begged the children from Vi_s_vantara, consequently a\nwell-known figure in the legend, is only named 'a Br\u00e2hman.' In the same\nstory (IX) Madr\u00ee, the wife of the hero, is introduced as a well-known\nperson, although her name had not been mentioned before.\n\nThat he closely adheres to the traditional stock of legends is also\nshown by a good number of his verses. Generally speaking, the metrical\npart of the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 admits of a fourfold division. There are\nlaudatory verses, praising and pointing out the virtues of the hero;\nthese are commonly found in the first part or preamble of the tale.\nThere are descriptive verses, containing pictures of fine scenery or of\nphenomena. Further, there are religious discourses, sometimes of\nconsiderable length, put in the mouth of the Bodhisattva; they have\ntheir place mostly at the end[18]. The rest consists in verses treating\nof facts in the story, and it is chiefly there that we find again the\ng\u00e2th\u00e2s of the corresponding P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2takas. It is incontestable that in\na great many cases _S_\u00fbra worked on the same or a very similar stock of\ng\u00e2th\u00e2s as are contained in the Sacred Canon of the Southern Buddhists.\nFor the sake of reference I have registered those parallel verses in a\nSynoptical Table, which is placed at the end of this book (pp. 337-340).\nSometimes the affinity is so striking that one text will assist the\ninterpretation and critical restitution of the other. _S_\u00fbra's stanza,\nV, 11, for example, has not been invented by the author himself; it is a\nrefined paraphrase in Sanskrit of some Pr\u00e2krit g\u00e2th\u00e2 of exactly the same\npurport as that which in Fausb\u00f6ll's _G_\u00e2taka III, p. 131, bears the\nnumber 158. By comparing p\u00e2da c in both, it is plain that in the P\u00e2li\ntext no ought to be read instead of vo[19]. It must have been sacred\ntexts in some popular dialect, not in Sanskrit, that underly the\nelaborate and high-flown verses of _S_\u00fbra. This is proved, among other\nthings, by the mistake in XIX, 17, pointed out by Prof. Kern in the\nVarious Readings he has appended to his edition.\n\n     [18] It is but seldom that the verses contain a mere repetition or\n     development of what has just been told in the prose immediately\n     preceding. Of this kind are XIII, 16; XIX, 5; XXV, 1; XXX, 5.\n\n     [19] Here are some other instances. In the Bhisa_g_\u00e2taka, Fausb.\n     IV, 309, 11, read putt\u00ee ... sabbak\u00e2m\u00ee, cp. _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 XIX, 13,\n     ibid. 1. 22 sabbasamattaveda_m_ and 1. 24 p\u00fb_g_entu, cp.\n     _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 XIX, 16; ibid. p. 310, 3 lattha, not alattha, cp. XIX,\n     18.--In the _K_ullaha_m_sa_g_\u00e2taka, F. V, 340, 12 kha_nd_a_m_ the\n     reading of _B^{ds}_ and _S^{dr}_ is confirmed by _S_\u00fbra, XXII, 37\n     \u00fbna_m_. Ibid. 343, 16 I read t\u00e2vad eva _k_a te l\u00e2bho kat' assa\n     y\u00e2_k_an\u00e2 _k_a me, comparing _S_\u00fbra XXII, 50, and from XXII, 80 I\n     infer that F. V, 350, 16 mama is to be read for dhamma_m_, vasu for\n     vaso, sabbatth' instead of sabb' atth'.--In F. I, 213, 13 a prose\n     passage may be corrected from the parallel prose of _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2.\n     (p. 98, 8 of the edition); divide the words thus, ku_kkh_ito _g_\u00e2to\n     a_nd_akosam pad\u00e2letv\u00e2.\n\n     On the other hand the P\u00e2li text is of use to correct a passage of\n     _S_\u00fbra. XXII, 33 c we should read dharmo hy apa_k_ita_h_ samyag\n     &c., cp. Fausb. V, 339, 22.\n\nAs I have already remarked, each story is introduced by a leading\nsentence, expressing some religious maxim, which, according to Indian\nusage, is repeated again at the end as a conclusion to the story, being\npreceded by evam or tath\u00e2, 'in this manner.' But, as a rule[20], the\nepilogues are not limited to that simple repetition. They often contain\nmore, the practical usefulness of the story thus told being enhanced by\nthe addition of other moral lessons, which may be illustrated by it, or\nby pointing out different subjects of religious discourses, in\nconnection with which our tale may be of use. Most of these epilogues,\nin my opinion, are posterior to _S_\u00fbra. Apart from the argument offered\nby some remarkable discrepancies in style and language and the monkish\nspirit pervading them, I think it highly improbable that, after the\nauthor had put at the head and at the end of each _G_\u00e2taka the moral\nmaxim he desires to inculcate upon the minds of his readers by means of\nthe account of a certain marvellous deed of the Bodhisattva, he should\nhimself add different indications for other employments to serve\nhomiletical purposes. It is more likely that these accessories are of\nlater origin, and were added when the discourses of _S_\u00fbra had gained so\ngreat a reputation as to be admitted to the Canon of Sacred Writings,\nand had come to be employed by the monks as a store of holy and edifying\nsermons for the purposes of religious instruction.\n\n     [20] With the exception of V and XV. In the conclusion of III and\n     XIII the leading text is repeated, and then more fully developed;\n     in that of the ninth _G_\u00e2taka it is repeated in an abridged form.\n\nOn account of these considerations, I have bracketed in my translation\nsuch part of the epilogues as seemed to me later interpolations. Yet I\ndid not think it advisable to omit them. They are not without importance\nin themselves. They allow us an insight into the interior of the\nmonasteries and to witness the monks preparing for preaching. Moreover,\nsome of them contain precious information about holy texts of the\nNorthern Buddhists, which are either lost or have not yet been\ndiscovered. In the epilogue of VIII there is even a textual quotation;\nlikewise in that of XXX, where we find the words spoken by the Lord at\nthe time of his Complete Extinction. As to XI, see my note on that\nepilogue. In XII and XXI similar sayings of holy books are hinted at.\n\nConcerning the person of the author and his time, nothing certain is\nknown. That he was called \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra is told in the manuscripts, and is\ncorroborated by Chinese tradition; the Chinese translation of the\n_G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, made between 960 and 1127 A.D., bears \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra on its\ntitle as the author's name (see Bunyiu Nanjio's Catalogue, No. 1312).\nTibetan tradition, too, knows _S_\u00fbra as a famous teacher, and as the\nauthor of our collection of stories. T\u00e2ran\u00e2tha identifies him with\nA_s_vaghosha, and adds many more names by which the same great man\nshould be known. It is, however, impossible that two works so entirely\ndifferent in style and spirit as the Buddha_k_arita and the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2\nshould be ascribed to one and the same author.\n\nAs to his time, Dr. d'Oldenburg observes that the terminus ante quem is\nthe end of the 7th century A.D., since it seems that the Chinese\ntraveller I-tsing speaks of our 'Garland of Birth-stories.' If No. 1349\nof Bunyiu Nanjio's Catalogue of the Chinese Tripi_t_aka, being a S\u00fbtra\non the fruits of Karma briefly explained by \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra, is written by\nour author--and there seems to be no reasonable objection to\nthis--_S_\u00fbra must have lived before 434 A.D., when the latter work is\nsaid to have been translated into Chinese. This conclusion is supported\nby the purity and elegance of the language, which necessarily point to a\nperiod of a high standard of literary taste and a flourishing state of\nletters. Prof. Kern was induced by this reason to place _S_\u00fbra\napproximately in the century of K\u00e2lid\u00e2sa and Var\u00e2hamihira, but equally\nfavourable circumstances may be supposed to have existed a couple of\ncenturies earlier. I think, however, he is posterior to the author of\nthe Buddha_k_arita. For other questions concerning the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2,\nwhich it would be too long to dwell upon here, I refer to Prof. Kern's\npreface and d'Oldenburg in Journ. Roy. As. Soc. 1893, pp. 306-309.\n\nT\u00e2ran\u00e2tha, the historian of Tibetan Buddhism, has preserved a legend\nwhich shows the high esteem in which the _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 stands with the\nfollowers of the Buddha's Law. 'Pondering on the Bodhisattva's gift of\nhis own body to the tigress, he [viz. _S_\u00fbra] thought he could do the\nsame, as it was not so very difficult. Once he, as in the tale, saw a\ntigress followed by her young, near starvation; at first he could not\nresolve on the self-sacrifice, but, calling forth a stronger faith in\nthe Buddha, and writing with his own blood a prayer of seventy _S_lokas,\nhe first gave the tigers his blood to drink, and, when their bodies had\ntaken a little force, offered himself[21].' In this legend I recognise\nthe sediment, so to speak, of the stream of emotion caused by the\nstimulating eloquence of that gifted Mah\u00e2y\u00e2nist preacher on the minds of\nhis co-religionists. Any one who could compose discourses such as these\nmust have been capable of himself performing the extraordinary exploits\nof a Bodhisattva. In fact, something of the religious enthusiasm of\nthose ancient apostles of the Mah\u00e2y\u00e2na who brought the Saddharma to\nChina and Tibet pervades the work of _S_\u00fbra, and it is not difficult to\nunderstand that in the memory of posterity he should have been\nrepresented as a saint who professed the ethics of his religion, _non\ndisputandi causa_, as Cicero says of Cato, _ut magna pars, sed ita\nvivendi_.\n\n     [21] I quote the very words, with which Dr. Wenzel translates\n     d'Oldenburg's quotation from the Russian. See Journ. Roy. As. Soc.,\n     1. 1. p. 307.\n\nIt was no easy task to translate a work of so refined a composition,\nstill less because there is no help to be had from any commentary. The\nSanskrit text has none, and the Chinese commentary mentioned by Bunyiu\nNanjio is not translated. Repeated and careful study of the original has\nled me to change a few passages of the translation I formerly published\nin the Bijdragen voor Taal-Land-en Volkenkunde van Ned. Indi\u00eb, vols.\nviii and x of the fifth 'Volgreeks.' Moreover, I have adapted this,\nwhich may almost be styled a second edition, to the wants and the\narrangements of the 'Sacred Books of the East.'\n\n                                                J. S. SPEYER.\n\n  GRONINGEN, _April 16, 1895_.\n\n\n\n\n_G_\u00c2TAKAM\u00c2L\u00c2\n\nOR\n\nGARLAND OF BIRTH-STORIES\n\nBY\n\n\u00c2RYA _S_\u00dbRA.\n\n\n\n\n_Om! Adoration to all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas!_\n\nINTRODUCTORY STANZAS.\n\n\n1[22]. Grand and glorious, of inexhaustible praise and charm, comprising\nexcellent virtues and thereby auspicious, are the wonderful exploits\nwhich the Muni performed in previous births. Them will I devoutly\nworship with the handful of flowers of my poem.\n\n     [22] The cipher on the left denotes the number of the stanza. The\n     prose parts of the original are indicated by the absence of the\n     cipher.\n\n2, 3. 'By those praiseworthy deeds the way is taught that is leading to\nBuddhahood; they are the landmarks on that way. Further even the\nhard-hearted may be softened by them. The holy stories may also obtain a\ngreater attractiveness.' So I considered, and for the benefit of men the\nattempt will be made to find a favourable audience for my own genius, by\ntreating of the extraordinary facts of the Highest One in the world in a\nmanner which is in accordance with the course of facts as recorded by\nScripture and Tradition.\n\n4. Him, whose beautiful practice of virtues, while acting for the sake\nof others, no one could imitate, though bent on self-interest; Him, the\nblaze of whose glory is involved in his true name of the All-Knowing\nOne; Him, the Incomparable One together with the Law and the\nCongregation I venerate with bowed head.\n\n\n\n\nI. THE STORY OF THE TIGRESS.\n\n\nEven in former births the Lord showed His innate, disinterested, and\nimmense love towards all creatures, and identified himself with all\nbeings. For this reason we ought to have the utmost faith in Buddha, the\nLord. This will be instanced by the following great performance of the\nLord in a previous birth, which has been celebrated by my guru, a\nvenerator of the Three Jewels, an authority because of his thorough\nstudy of virtues, and beloved by his own guru by virtue of his religious\npractices.\n\nIn the time that the Bodhisattva, who afterwards became our Lord,\nbenefited the world by manifold outpourings of his compassion: gifts,\nkind words, succour, and similar blameless deeds of a wisdom-cultivating\nmind, quite in accordance with the excessive engagements to which he had\nbound himself, he took his birth in a most eminent and mighty family of\nBr\u00e2hmans, distinguished by the purity of their conduct owing to their\nattachment to their (religious) duties. Being purified by the\n_g_\u00e2takarma and the other sacraments in due order, he grew up and in a\nshort time, owing to the innate quickness of his understanding, the\nexcellent aid in his studies, his eagerness for learning and his zeal,\nhe obtained the mastership in the eighteen branches of science and in\nall the arts (kal\u00e2s) which were not incompatible with the custom of his\nfamily.\n\n5. To the Br\u00e2hmans he was (an authority) like the Holy Writ; to the\nKshatriyas as venerable as a king; to the masses he appeared like the\nembodied Thousand-eyed One[23]; to those who longed for knowledge he was\na helpful father.\n\n     [23] Viz. _S_akra, the Indra or Lord of the Devas.\n\nIn consequence of his prosperous destiny (the result of merits formerly\nearned), a large store of wealth, distinction, and fame fell to his\nshare. But the Bodhisattva took no delight in such things. His thoughts\nhad been purified by his constant study of the Law, and he had become\nfamiliar with world-renunciation.\n\n6. His former behaviour had wholly cleared his mind, he saw the many\nkinds of sin which beset (worldly) pleasures. So he shook off the\nhouseholder's state, as if it were an illness, and retired to some\nplateau, which he adorned by his presence.\n\n7. There, both by his detachment from the world and by his\nwisdom-brightened tranquillity, he confounded, as it were, the people in\nthe world, who by attachment to bad occupations are disinclined for the\ncalmness of the wise.\n\n8. His calmness full of friendliness spread about, it seems, and\npenetrated into the hearts of the ferocious animals so as to make them\ncease injuring one another and live like ascetics.\n\n9. By dint of the pureness of his conduct, his self-control, his\ncontentment, and his compassion, he was no less a friend even to the\npeople in the world, who were unknown to him, than all creatures were\nfriends to him.\n\n10. As he wanted little, he did not know the art of hypocrisy, and he\nhad abandoned the desire for gain, glory, and pleasures. So he caused\neven the deities to be propitious and worshipful towards him.\n\n11. On the other hand, those whose affection he had gained (in his\nformer state) by his virtues, hearing of his ascetic life, left their\nfamilies and their relations and went up to him as to the embodied\nSalvation, in order to become his disciples.\n\n12. He taught his disciples, as best he could, good conduct (_s_\u00eela),\nchastity, purification of the organs of sense, constant attentiveness,\ndetachment from the world, and the concentration of the mind to the\nmeditation on friendliness (maitr\u00ee) and the rest[24].\n\n     [24] The four, or five, bh\u00e2van\u00e2s or 'meditative rites' are meant.\n\nMost of his numerous disciples attained perfection in consequence of his\nteaching, by which this holy road (to salvation) was established and\npeople were put on the excellent path of world-renunciation. Now, the\ndoors of evils being shut, as it were, but the ways of happiness widely\nopened like high roads, it once happened that the Great-minded One\n(mah\u00e2tman) was rambling along the shrubby caverns of the mountain well\nadapted to the practices of meditation (yoga), in order to enjoy at his\nease this existing order of things. A_g_ita, his disciple at that time,\naccompanied him.\n\n13-15. Now, below in a cavern of the mountain, he beheld a young tigress\nthat could scarcely move from the place, her strength being exhausted by\nthe labour of whelping. Her sunken eyes and her emaciated belly\nbetokened her hunger, and she was regarding her own offspring as food,\nwho thirsting for the milk of her udders, had come near her, trusting\ntheir mother and fearless; but she brawled at them, as if they were\nstrange to her, with prolonged harsh roarings.\n\n16, 17. On seeing her, the Bodhisattva, though composed in mind, was\nshaken with compassion by the suffering of his fellow-creature, as the\nlord of the mountains (Meru) is by an earthquake. It is a wonder, how\nthe compassionate, be their constancy ever so evident in the greatest\nsufferings of their own, are touched by the grief, however small, of\nanother!\n\nAnd his powerful pity made him utter, agitation made him repeat to his\npupil, the following words manifesting his excellent nature: 'My dear,\nmy dear,' he exclaimed,\n\n18. 'Behold the worthlessness of Sa_m_s\u00e2ra! This animal seeks to feed on\nher very own young ones. Hunger causes her to transgress love's law.\n\n19. 'Alas! Fie upon the ferocity of self-love, that makes a mother wish\nto make her meal with the bodies of her own offspring!\n\n20. 'Who ought to foster the foe, whose name is self-love, by whom one\nmay be compelled to actions like this?\n\n'Go, then, quickly and look about for some means of appeasing her\nhunger, that she may not injure her young ones and herself. I too shall\nendeavour to avert her from that rash act.' The disciple promised to do\nso, and went off in search of food. Yet the Bodhisattva had but used a\npretext to turn him off. He considered thus:\n\n21. 'Why should I search after meat from the body of another, whilst the\nwhole of my own body is available? Not only is the getting of the meat\nin itself a matter of chance, but I should also lose the opportunity of\ndoing my duty.\n\n'Further,\n\n22-24. 'This body being brute, frail, pithless, ungrateful, always\nimpure, and a source of suffering, he is not wise who should not rejoice\nat its being spent for the benefit of another. There are but two things\nthat make one disregard the grief of another: attachment to one's own\npleasure and the absence of the power of helping. But I cannot have\npleasure, whilst another grieves, and I have the power to help; why\nshould I be indifferent? And if, while being able to succour, I were to\nshow indifference even to an evildoer immersed in grief, my mind, I\nsuppose, would feel the remorse for an evil deed, burning like shrubs\ncaught by a great fire.\n\n25. 'Therefore, I will kill my miserable body by casting it down into\nthe precipice, and with my corpse I shall preserve the tigress from\nkilling her young ones and the young ones from dying by the teeth of\ntheir mother.\n\n'Even more, by so doing\n\n26-29. 'I set an example to those who long for the good of the world; I\nencourage the feeble; I rejoice those who understand the meaning of\ncharity; I stimulate the virtuous; I cause disappointment to the great\nhosts of M\u00e2ra, but gladness to those who love the Buddha-virtues; I\nconfound the people who are absorbed in selfishness and subdued by\negotism and lusts; I give a token of faith to the adherents of the most\nexcellent of vehicles[25], but I fill with astonishment those who sneer\nat deeds of charity; I clear the highway to Heaven in a manner pleasing\nto the charitable among men; and finally that wish I yearned for, \"When\nmay I have the opportunity of benefiting others with the offering of my\nown limbs?\"--I shall accomplish it now, and so acquire erelong Complete\nWisdom.\n\n     [25] This best of vehicles (y\u00e2navara) is the Buddhay\u00e2na, the\n     vehicle by which Buddhahood may be reached, or mah\u00e2y\u00e2na, for both\n     appellations cover nearly the same ground. The other two are the\n     _S_r\u00e2vakay\u00e2na and the Pratyekabuddhay\u00e2na. See Dharmasa_m_graha II,\n     with the annotation of Kenjiu Kasawara.\n\n30, 31. 'Verily, as surely as this determination does not proceed from\nambition, nor from thirst of glory, nor is a means of gaining Heaven or\nroyal dignity, as surely as I do not care even for supreme and\neverlasting bliss for myself, but for securing the benefit of\nothers[26]: as surely may I gain by it the power of taking away and\nimparting for ever at the same time the world's sorrow and the world's\nhappiness, just as the sun takes away darkness and imparts light!\n\n     [26] Par\u00e2rthasiddhi here and in st. 33 is a rather ambiguous term,\n     as it may also convey this meaning: 'the attainment of the highest\n     object.' Apparently this ambiguity is intentional. Cp. Story XXX,\n     verse 17.\n\n32. 'Whether I shall be remembered, when virtue is seen to be practised,\nor made conspicuous, when the tale of my exploit is told; in every way\nmay I constantly benefit the world and promote its happiness!'\n\n33. After so making up his mind, delighted at the thought that he was to\ndestroy even his life for securing the benefit of others, to the\namazement even of the calm minds of the deities--he gave up his body.\n\nThe sound of the Bodhisattva's body falling down stirred the curiosity\nand the anger of the tigress. She desisted from her disposition of\nmaking a slaughter of her whelps, and cast her eyes all around. As soon\nas she perceived the lifeless body of the Bodhisattva, she rushed\nhastily upon it and commenced to devour it.\n\nBut his disciple, coming back without meat, as he had got none, not\nseeing his teacher, looked about for him. Then he beheld that young\ntigress feeding on the lifeless body of the Bodhisattva. And the\nadmiration of the extraordinary greatness of his performance driving\nback his emotions of sorrow and pain, he probably gave a fair\nutterance[27] to his veneration for his teacher's attachment to virtues\nby this monologue:\n\n     [27] The text has _s_obheta, not a_s_obhata, as might have been\n     expected.\n\n34-37. 'Oh, how merciful the Great-minded One was to people afflicted by\ndistress! How indifferent He was to His own welfare! How He has brought\nto perfection the virtuous conduct of the pious, and dashed to pieces\nthe splendid glory of their adversaries! How He has displayed, clinging\nto virtues, His heroic, fearless, and immense love! How His body, which\nwas already precious for its virtues, has now forcibly been turned into\na vessel of the highest veneration! And although by His innate kindness\nHe was as patient as Earth, how intolerant He was of the suffering of\nothers! And how my own roughness of mind is evidenced by the contrast of\nthis splendid act of heroism of His! Verily, the creatures are not to be\ncommiserated now, having got Him as their Protector, and Manmatha[28],\nforsooth, is now sighing away, being disturbed and in dread of defeat.\n\n     [28] Manmatha, K\u00e2ma, Kandarpa and the other names of the god of\n     sensual love and pleasure are common equivalents of M\u00e2ra. Cp.\n     Buddha_k_arita XIII, 2.\n\n'In every way, veneration be to that illustrious Great Being\n(mah\u00e2sattva), of exuberant compassion, of boundless goodness, the refuge\nof all creatures, yea, that Bodhisattva for the sake of the creatures.'\nAnd he told the matter over to his fellow-disciples.\n\n38. Then his disciples and also the Gandharvas, the Yakshas, the snakes,\nand the chiefs of the Devas, expressing by their countenance their\nadmiration for his deed, covered the ground that held the treasure of\nhis bones, with a profusion of wreaths, clothes, jewel ornaments, and\nsandal powder.\n\nSo, then, even in former births the Lord showed His innate,\ndisinterested, and immense love towards all creatures, and identified\nHimself with all creatures. For this reason we ought to have the utmost\nfaith in Buddha, the Lord. [And also this is to be propounded: 'And\nhaving obtained this faith in Buddha the Lord, we ought to strive for\nfeeling the highest gladness; in this manner our faith will have its\nsanctuary.'--Likewise we must listen with attention to the preaching of\nthe Law, since it has been brought to us by means of hundreds of\ndifficult hardships[29].--And in sermons on the subject of compassion,\nthus is to be said: 'in this manner compassion, moving us to act for the\nbenefit of others, is productive of an exceedingly excellent\nnature[30].']\n\n     [29] Dushkara_s_atasamud\u00e2n\u00eetatv\u00e2t, cp. Divy\u00e2vad\u00e2na, ed. Cowell, p.\n     490.\n\n     [30] Viz. as far as gathering merit, the consequence of good\n     actions, improves our nature.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     The story of the tigress, which does not appear either in the P\u00e2li\n     _G_\u00e2taka or in the _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka, is alluded to in the\n     Bodhisattv\u00e2vadan\u00e2kalpalat\u00e2 of Kshemendra II, 108. There the\n     Bodhisattva, on the occasion of a similar fact of self-denial and\n     heroism in a later birth, says: 'Formerly, on seeing a hungry\n     tigress preparing to eat her whelps, I gave her my body, in order\n     to avert this, without hesitation.' And in the fifty-first pallava\n     the story is narrated at length, verses 28-50. It differs in some\n     points from ours. So does also the redaction of the Southern\n     Buddhists, told by Spence Hardy, Manual, p. 94 of the 2nd ed.\n\n\n\n\nII. THE STORY OF THE KING OF THE _S_IBIS.\n\n(Comp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 499, Fausb. IV, 401-412; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nI, 8.)\n\n\nThe preaching of the excellent Law must be listened to with attention.\nFor it is by means of hundreds of difficult hardships that the Lord\nobtained this excellent Law for our sake. This is shown by the\nfollowing.\n\nIn the time, when this our Lord was still a Bodhisattva, in consequence\nof his possessing a store of meritorious actions collected by a\npractice from time immemorial, he once was a king of the _S_ibis. By his\ndeference to the elders whom he was wont to honour from his very\nchildhood, and by his attachment to a modest behaviour, he gained the\naffection of his subjects; owing to his natural quickness of intellect,\nhe enlarged his mind by learning many sciences; he was distinguished by\nenergy, discretion, majesty and power, and favoured by fortune. He ruled\nhis subjects as if they were his own children.\n\n1. The different sets of virtues, that accompany each member of the\ntriad (of dharma, artha, and k\u00e2ma) all together gladly took their\nresidence, it seems, with him; and yet they did not lose any of their\nsplendour in spite of the disturbance which might occur from their\ncontrasts.\n\n2. And felicity, that is like a mockery to those who have attained a\nhigh rank by wrong means, like a grievous calamity to the fool, like an\nintoxicating liquor to the feeble-minded--to him it was, as is indicated\nby its name, real happiness.\n\n3. Noble-hearted, full of compassion, and wealthy, this best of kings\nrejoiced at seeing the faces of the mendicants beaming with satisfaction\nand joy at the attainment of the wished-for objects.\n\nNow this king, in accordance with his propensity for charity, had caused\nalms-halls, provided with every kind of utensils, goods, and grains, to\nbe constructed in all parts of the town. In this way he poured out the\nrain of his gifts, not unlike a cloud of the K_ri_ta Yuga. And he\ndistributed them in such a manner, as well became the loftiness of his\nmind, supplying the wants of each according to his desire, with lovely\ndeference and kind speed, whereby he enhanced the benefit of his gifts.\nHe bestowed food and drink on those who were in need of food and drink;\nlikewise he dispensed couches, seats, dwellings, meals, perfumes,\nwreaths, silver, gold, &c., to those who wanted them. Then, the fame of\nthe king's sublime munificence spreading abroad, people who lived in\ndifferent regions and parts of the world went to that country, with\nsurprise and joy in their hearts.\n\n4. The mendicants, when letting the whole world of men pass before their\nmind's eye, did not find in others an opportunity of putting forth their\nrequests; to him it was that they went up in crowds with glad faces,\njust as wild elephants go up to a great lake.\n\nThe king, on the other hand, when beholding them, whose minds were\nrejoiced with the hope of gain, flocking together from all directions,\nthough the outward appearance of that mendicant people in travelling\ndress was anything but handsome,--\n\n5. Nevertheless he received them, as if they were friends come back from\nabroad, his eyes wide-opened with joy; he listened to their requests, as\nif good news were reported to him, and after giving, his contentment\nsurpassed that of the recipients.\n\n6. The voices of the beggars spread about the perfume of the fame of his\nmunificence, and so abated the pride of the other kings. In a similar\nway, the scent of the juice that runs out of the temples of the\nscent-elephant in rut, being scattered by the wind, causes the bees to\nneglect the like fluid of the other elephants[31].\n\n     [31] In the original this simile is expressed by the rhetorical\n     figure, called _s_lesha.\n\nOne day the king, making the tour of his alms-halls, noticed the very\nsmall number of supplicants staying there, in consequence of the wants\nof the mendicant people being supplied. When he considered this, he was\nuneasy, because his habit of almsgiving could not well proceed.\n\n7. The indigent, when coming to him, quenched their thirst (for the\ndesired boons), not he his (thirst for giving), when meeting with them.\nHis passion for charity was so great, that no requester by the extent of\nhis request could outdo his determination of giving.\n\nThen this thought arose within him: 'Oh, very blessed are those most\nexcellent among the pious, to whom the mendicants utter their desires\nwith confidence and without restraint, so as to ask even their limbs!\nBut to me, as if they were terrified by harsh words of refusal, they\nshow only boldness in requesting my wealth.'\n\n8. Now Earth, becoming aware of that exceedingly lofty thought, how her\nlord holding on to charity, had stopped the very attachment to his own\nflesh, trembled as a wife would, who loves her husband.\n\nThe surface of the earth being shaken, Sumeru, the lord of mountains,\nradiant with the shine of its manifold gems, began to waver. _S_akra,\nthe Lord of the Devas (Devendra), inquiring into the cause of this\nwavering, understood that it was the sublime thought of that king which\nproduced the shivering of Earth's surface; and as he was taken up with\namazement, he entered into this reflection:\n\n9. 'How is this? Does this king bear his mind so high and feel so great\na rejoicing at giving away in charity as to conceive the thought of\ngirding his resolution to give with the strong determination of parting\nwith his own limbs?\n\n'Well, I will try him.'\n\nNow the king, surrounded by his officials, was sitting (on his throne,\nin his hall) in the midst of the assembly. The usual summons by\nproclamation had been given, inviting anybody who was in need of\nanything; stores of wealth, silver, gold, jewels, were being disclosed\nby the care of the treasurer; boxes filled to the top with various kinds\nof clothes, were being uncovered; various excellent carriages, the yokes\nof which enclosed the necks of different well-trained beasts of draught,\nwere being made to advance; and the mendicants were crowding in. Among\nthem _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, having assumed the shape of an old\nand blind Br\u00e2hman, drew the attention of the king. On him the king fixed\nhis firm, placid, and mild looks expressive of compassion and\nfriendliness, and he seemed with them to go to his encounter and to\nembrace him. The royal attendants requested him to say what he was\nwanting, but he drew near the king, and after uttering his hail and\nblessing, addressed him with these words:\n\n10. 'A blind, old man I have come hither from afar begging thy eye, O\nhighest of kings. For the purpose of ruling the world's regular course\none eye may be sufficient, O lotus-eyed monarch.'\n\nThough the Bodhisattva experienced an extreme delight at his heart's\ndesire being realised, a doubt arose within him as to whether the\nBr\u00e2hman had really said so or, this thought being always present to his\nmind, himself had fancied so, and since he longed to hear the very sweet\nwords of the eye being asked, he thus spoke to the eye-asker:\n\n11. 'Who has instructed thee, illustrious Br\u00e2hman, to come here and to\nask from me one eye? No one, it is said, will easily part with his eye.\nWho is he that thinks the contrary of me?'\n\n_S_akra, the Lord of the Devas in the disguise of a Br\u00e2hman, knowing the\nintention of the king, answered:\n\n12. 'It is _S_akra. His statue, instructing me to ask thee for thy eye,\nhas caused me to come here. Now make real his opinion and my hope by\ngiving me thy eye.'\n\nHearing the name of _S_akra, the king thought: 'Surely, through divine\npower this Br\u00e2hman shall regain his eyesight in this way,' and he spoke\nin a voice, the clear sound of which manifested his joy:\n\n13. 'Br\u00e2hman, I will fulfil thy wish, which has prompted thee to come\nhere. Thou desirest one eye from me, I shall give thee both.\n\n14. 'After I have adorned thy face with a pair of bright lotus-like\neyes, go thy way, putting the bystanders first into doubt's swing as to\nthy identity, but soon amazing them by the certainty of it.'\n\nThe king's counsellors, understanding that he had decided to part with\nhis eyes, were perplexed and agitated, and sadness afflicted their\nminds. They said to the king:\n\n15, 16. 'Majesty, Your too great fondness for charity makes you overlook\nthat this is mismanagement leading to evil. Be propitious, then, desist\nfrom your purpose; do not give up your eyesight! For the sake of one\ntwice-born man you must not disregard all of us. Do not burn with the\nfire of sorrow your subjects, to whom you have hitherto ensured comfort\nand prosperity.\n\n17, 18. 'Money, the source of opulence; brilliant gems; milch cows;\ncarriages and trained beasts of draught; vigorous elephants of graceful\nbeauty; dwellings fit for all seasons, resounding with the noise of the\nanklets[32], and by their brightness surpassing the autumn-clouds: such\nare boons fit to be bestowed. Give those, and not your eyesight, O you\nwho are the only eye of the world.\n\n     [32] Not only the houses, therefore, are meant, but also the\n     (female) attendance; in other words, the epithet is indicative of\n     the richness and magnificence of the habitations.\n\n'Moreover, great king, you must but consider this:\n\n19. 'How can the eye of one person be put in the face of another? If,\nhowever, divine power may effect this, why should your eye be wanted for\nit?\n\n'Further, Your Majesty,\n\n20. 'Of what use is eyesight to a poor man? That he might witness the\nabundance of others? Well then, give him money; do not commit an act of\nrashness!'\n\nThen the king addressed his ministers in soft and conciliating terms:\n\n21. 'He who after promising to give, makes up his mind to withhold his\ngift, such a one puts on again the bond of cupidity which he had cast\noff before.\n\n22. 'He who after promising to give, does not keep his promise, being\ndriven from his resolution by avarice, should he not be held for the\nworst of men?\n\n23. 'He who, having strengthened the hope of the mendicants by engaging\nhimself to give, pays them with the harsh disappointment of a refusal,\nfor him there is no expiation.\n\n'And with respect to your asserting \"is divine power of itself not\nsufficient to restore the eyesight to that man?\" you should be taught\nthis.\n\n24. 'That different means are wanted to carry out purposes, is well\nknown, indeed. For this reason even Destiny (Vidhi), though a deity,\nneeds some means or other.\n\n'Therefore, you must not exert yourselves to obstruct my determination\nto accomplish an extraordinary deed of charity.'\n\nThe ministers answered: 'We have only ventured to observe to Your\nMajesty that you ought to give away goods and grains and jewels, not\nyour eye; when saying this, we do not entice Your Majesty to\nwickedness.'\n\nThe king said:\n\n25. 'The very thing asked for must be given. A gift not wished for does\nnot afford pleasure. Of what use is water to one carried off by the\nstream? For this reason, I shall give to this man the object he\nrequests.'\n\nAfter this, the first minister who more than the others had got into the\nintimate confidence of the king, overlooking, owing to his solicitude,\nthe respect due to the king, spoke thus: 'Pray, do it not.\n\n26. 'You are holding an empire, which is vying with the riches of\n_S_akra, to the attainment of which no one can aspire without a large\namount of penance and meditation, and the possession of which may pave\nwith numerous sacrifices the way to glory and Heaven; and you care not\nfor it! and you are willing to give away both your eyes! With what aim\ndo you wish so? Where on earth has there been seen such a way of\nproceeding?\n\n27. 'By your sacrifices you have gained a place among the celestial\ngods, your fame is shining far and wide, your feet reflect the splendour\nof the head-ornaments of the kings (your vassals)--what then is it that\nyou long for to give up your eyesight?'\n\nBut the king answered that minister in a gentle tone:\n\n28. 'It is not the realm of the whole earth for which I am striving in\nthis manner, nor is it Heaven, nor final extinction, nor glory, but with\nthe intention of becoming a Saviour of the World I now provide that this\nman's labour of asking be not fruitless.'\n\nThen the king ordered one eye of his, the lovely brightness of which\nappeared like a petal of a blue lotus, to be extirpated after the\nprecepts of the physicians gradually and intact, and with the greatest\ngladness he had it handed over to the beggar, who asked it. Now _S_akra,\nthe Lord of the Devas, by the power of magic produced an illusion of\nsuch a kind that the king and his bystanders saw that eye filling up the\neye-hole of the old Br\u00e2hman. When the king beheld the eye-asker in the\npossession of one unclosed eye, his heart expanded with the utmost\ndelight, and he presented him with the other eye too.\n\n29. The eyes being given away, the king's visage looked like a\nlotus-pond without lotuses, yet it bore the expression of satisfaction,\nnot shared however by the citizens. On the other hand, the Br\u00e2hman was\nseen with sound eyes.\n\n30. In the inner apartments of the palace as well as in the town,\neverywhere tears of sorrow moistened the ground. But _S_akra was\ntransported with admiration and satisfaction, seeing the king's unshaken\nintention of attaining Supreme Wisdom (Sambodhi).\n\nAnd in this state of mind he entered into this reflection:\n\n31. 'What a constancy! What a goodness and a longing for the food of the\ncreatures! Though I witnessed the fact, I can scarcely believe it.\n\n'It is not right, then, that this person of marvellous goodness should\nendure this great hardship for a long time. I will try to render him his\neyesight by showing him the way for it.'\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAfterwards, when time had healed the wounds caused by the operation, and\nlessened and almost lulled the sorrow of the inhabitants of the palace,\nthe town, and the country, it happened one day that the king, desirous\nof solitary retirement, was sitting with crossed legs in his garden on\nthe border of a pond of lotuses. That spot was beset by fair and fine\ntrees bent down by the weight of their flowers; swarms of bees were\nhumming; a gentle, fresh, and odoriferous wind was blowing agreeably.\nSuddenly _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, presented himself before the\nking. Being asked who he was, he answered:\n\n32 _a_. 'I am _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, I have come to you.'\n\nThereupon the king welcomed him and said that he waited for his orders.\nAfter being thus complimented, he again addressed the king:\n\n32 _b_. 'Choose some boon, holy prince (r\u00e2_g_arshi); say on what thou\ndesirest.'\n\nNow the king being ever wont to give, and having never trodden the way\nof miserable begging, in conformity with his astonishment and his lofty\nmind spoke to him:\n\n33, 34. 'Great is my wealth, _S_akra, my army is large and strong; my\nblindness, however, makes death welcome to me. It is impossible for me,\nafter supplying the wants of the mendicants, to see their faces\nbrightened by gladness and joy; for this reason, O Indra, I love death\nnow.'\n\n_S_akra said: 'No more of that resolution! Only virtuous persons come in\nsuch a state as thine. But this thou must tell me:\n\n35. 'It is the mendicants who have caused thee to come in this state;\nhow is it that thy mind is occupied with them even now? Say on! do not\nhide the truth from me and thou mayst take the way to immediate\ncure[33].'\n\n     [33] This way is the Act of Truth, as Hardy, Manual of Buddhism,\n     197, calls it. In the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, Sakka invites the king to it\n     in plain terms. Other instances of the sa_kk_akiriy\u00e2, as it is\n     styled in P\u00e2li, will occur in Stories XIV, XV, XVI.\n\nThe king replied: 'Why dost thou insist upon my boasting myself? Hear,\nhowever, Lord of the Devas.\n\n36. 'As surely as the supplicatory language of begging people both now\nand before is as pleasing to my ears as the sound of benedictions, so\nsurely may one eye appear to me!'\n\nNo sooner had the king pronounced these words than by the power of his\nfirm veracity and his excellent store of meritorious actions one eye\nappeared to him, resembling a piece of a lotus-petal, encompassing a\npupil like sapphire. Rejoiced at this miraculous appearance of his eye,\nthe king again spoke to _S_akra:\n\n37. 'And as surely as, after giving away both eyes to him who asked but\none, my mind knew no other feeling but the utmost delight, so surely may\nI obtain also the other eye!'\n\nThe king had hardly finished, when there appeared to him another eye,\nthe rival, as it were, of the first one.\n\n38-40. Upon this the earth was shaken with its mountains; the ocean\nflowed over its borders; the drums of the celestials spontaneously\nuttered deep-toned and pleasing sounds; the sky in all directions looked\nplacid and lovely; the sun shone with pure brightness as it does in\nautumn[34]; a great number of various flowers, tinged by the sandal\npowder which was whirling around, fell down from heaven; the celestials,\nincluding Apsarasas and Ga_n_as, came to the spot, their eyes wide\nopened with amazement; there blew an agreeable wind of extreme\nloveliness; gladness expanded in the minds of the creatures.\n\n     [34] It was spring when the miracle happened, as is to be inferred\n     from the flowers being mentioned above.\n\n41-43. From all parts were heard voices of praise, uttered by crowds of\nbeings endowed with great magic power. Filled with joy and admiration,\nthey glorified the great exploit of the king in such exclamations: 'Oh,\nwhat loftiness! what compassion! see the purity of his heart, how great\nit is! oh, how little he cares for his own pleasures! Hail to thee,\nrenowned one, for thy constancy and valour! The world of creatures has\nrecovered their protector in thee, of a truth, as the lustre of thy\neye-lotuses has again expanded! Surely, the stores of merit are solid\ntreasures! After a long time Righteousness has, indeed, obtained an\nimmense victory!'\n\nThen _S_akra applauded him, 'Very well, very well!' and spoke again:\n\n44, 45. 'Thy true feeling was not hidden from me, pure-hearted king; so\nI have but rendered thee these eyes of thine. And by means of them thou\nwilt have the unencumbered power of seeing in all directions over one\nhundred of yo_g_anas, even beyond mountains.'\n\nHaving said these words, _S_akra disappeared on the spot.\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, followed by his officials[35], whose wide-opened\nand scarcely winking eyes indicated the astonishment that filled their\nminds, went up in procession to his capital. That town exhibited a\nfestival attire, being adorned with hoisted flags and manifold banners,\nthe citizens looking on and the Br\u00e2hmans praising the monarch with hails\nand benedictions. When he had seated himself in his audience-hall, in\nthe midst of a great crowd, made up of the ministers in the first place,\nof Br\u00e2hmans and elders, townsmen and countrymen, all of whom had come to\nexpress their respectful congratulations; he preached the Law to them,\ntaking for his text the account of his own experience.\n\n     [35] The sudden appearance of these officials and ministers is\n     somewhat strange here. The P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka may account for it. 'At\n     the same time, it is said there (IV, p. 411) that [the eyes]\n     reappeared, the whole attendance of the king (sabb\u00e2 r\u00e2_g_aparis\u00e2)\n     was present by the power of Sakka.'\n\n46-48. 'Who in the world, then, should be slow in satisfying the wants\nof the mendicants with his wealth, who has beheld how I have obtained\nthese eyes of mine, endowed with divine power, in consequence of\ncharity-gathered merit? In the circumference of one hundred of yo_g_anas\nI see everything, though hidden by many mountains, as distinctly as if\nit were near. What means of attaining bliss is superior to charity,\ndistinguished by commiseration with others and modesty? since I, by\ngiving away my human eyesight, have got already in this world a\nsuperhuman and divine vision.\n\n49. 'Understanding this, _S_ibis, make your riches fruitful by gifts and\nby spending[36]. This is the path leading to glory and future happiness\nboth in this world and in the next.\n\n     [36] The purport of this royal precept may be illustrated by the\n     corresponding parts of the narrative in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka. The\n     precept is there given twice, in prose and in verse, see Fausb\u00f6ll's\n     _G_\u00e2taka IV, p. 411, 22, and p. 412, 7.\n\n50. 'Wealth is a contemptible thing, because it is pithless; yet it has\none virtue, that it can be given away by him who aims at the welfare of\nthe creatures; for if given away, it becomes a treasure (nidh\u00e2na),\notherwise its ultimate object is only death (nidhana).'\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSo, then, it is by means of hundreds of difficult hardships that the\nLord obtained this excellent Law for our sake; for this reason its\npreaching is to be heard with attention. This story is also to be told\non account of the high-mindedness of the Tath\u00e2gata, just as the\nforegoing[37]. Likewise when discoursing of compassion, and when\ndemonstrating the result of meritorious actions appearing already in\nthis world: 'in this manner the merit, gathered by good actions, shows\nalready here (in this world) something like the blossom of its power,\nthe charming flowers of increasing glory.'\n\n     [37] Viz. the story of the tigress.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     In the list of the contents of the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 which Somendra\n     added to that poem of his father Kshemendra, I do not find our\n     avad\u00e2na, unless it should happen to be included in No. 91, which\n     deals with a king of the _S_ibis. But the edition which is being\n     published in the Bibl. Indica is not yet so far advanced. For the\n     rest, like the story of the tigress, it is alluded to in the second\n     pallava, verse 108: 'And in my _S_ibi-birth I gave away both my\n     eyes to a blind man, and with (the gift of) my body preserved a\n     pigeon from the danger caused by a falcon.'\n\n\n\n\nIII. THE STORY OF THE SMALL PORTION OF GRUEL.\n\n(Comp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 415, Fausb. III, 406-414; Divy\u00e2vad\u00e2na VII,\np. 88, Cowell's ed.; Kath\u00e2sarits. XXVII, 79-105.)\n\n\nAny gift that proceeds from faith of the heart and is bestowed on a\nworthy recipient produces a great result; there does not exist at all\nanything like a trifling gift of that nature, as will be taught by the\nfollowing.\n\nIn the time, when our Lord was still a Bodhisattva, he was a king of\nKo_s_ala. Though he displayed his royal virtues, such as energy,\ndiscretion, majesty, power, and the rest in an exceedingly high degree,\nthe brilliancy of one virtue, his great felicity, surpassed the others.\n\n1. His virtues, being embellished by his felicity, shone the more; as\nthe moonbeams do, when autumn makes their splendour expand.\n\n2. Fortune, who dwelt with him, distributed her wrath and favour to the\nother kings in such a manner, that she abandoned his enemies, however\nproud, but like an amorous woman cherished his vassals.\n\n3. His righteousness, however, prevented his mind from doing ill; so he\ndid not oppress at all his adversaries. But his dependents displayed\ntheir affection for him in such a degree, that Fortune would not stay\nwith his foes.\n\nNow one day this king recollected his last previous existence. In\nconsequence of remembering this he felt greatly moved. He bestowed still\ngreater gifts in charity--the motive and essential cause of\nhappiness--on _S_rama_n_as and Br\u00e2hmans, the wretched and the beggars;\nhe fostered unceasingly his observance of good conduct (_s_\u00eela); and he\nkept strictly the poshadha[38] restrictions on sabbath-days. Moreover,\nas he was desirous of bringing his people into the way of salvation by\nmagnifying the power of meritorious actions, he was in the habit of\nuttering with a believing heart in his audience-hall as well as in the\ninner apartments of his palace these two stanzas, full of import:\n\n     [38] Poshadha in Buddhistic Sanskrit = P\u00e2li uposatha, which is of\n     course the same word as Sanskrit upavasatha. A fuller form\n     uposhadha occurs in the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 VI, 76.\n\n4. 'Attending on Buddhas[39] by paying them honour, howsoever little,\ncannot produce a trifling fruit. This has been taught before only by\nwords, now it may be seen. Look at the rich affluence of the fruit,\nproduced by a small portion of saltless, dry, coarse, reddish-brown\ngruel.\n\n     [39] The text has na Sugatapari_k_ary\u00e2 vidyate svalpik\u00e2pi, the\n     parallel passage in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka may serve as its commentary:\n\n                  Na kir' atthi anomadassisu\n                  P\u00e2ri_k_ariy\u00e2 Buddhesu appik\u00e2.\n\n     In stanza 18 of this _G_\u00e2taka the purport of these words of the\n     king is thus expressed: ksh\u00ee_n_\u00e2sraveshu na k_r_ita_m_ tanu n\u00e2ma\n     ki_mk_it; therefore, ksh\u00ee_n_\u00e2srava = P\u00e2li kh\u00ee_n_\u00e2savo, 'who has\n     extinguished his passions,' is here synonymous with buddha.\n     Speaking properly, then, all wandering monks, who are earnestly\n     performing their duties as such, may be styled 'buddhas,' cp. for\n     instance, Suttanip\u00e2ta, Samm\u00e2paribb\u00e2_g_an\u00eeyasutta, verse 12; in\n     other terms, buddha may sometimes be an equivalent of muni. So it\n     is used in chapter xiv of the Dhammapada; see the note of Prof. Max\n     M\u00fcller on verses 179 and 180 in Sacred Books, vol. x, p. 50, and\n     the verses pointed out by Weber, Ind. Streifen, I, p. 147. It is\n     also plain that the Pratyekabuddhas are considered to belong to the\n     general class of the Buddhas. Though they are different from the\n     Supreme Buddhas (Samyaksambuddha), they are nevertheless also\n     sugatas or buddhas. Cp. Spence Hardy, Manual, pp. 37-39; Kern, Het\n     Buddhisme, I, pp. 294-296.\n\n5. 'This mighty army of mine with its beautiful chariots and horses and\nits dark-blue masses of fierce elephants; the sovereignty of the whole\nearth; great wealth; Fortune's favour; my noble wife: behold the beauty\nof this store of fruit, produced by a small portion of coarse gruel.'\n\nNeither his ministers nor the worthiest among the Br\u00e2hmans nor the\nforemost among the townsmen, though tormented with curiosity, ventured\nto question the king as to what he meant by these two stanzas which he\nwas in the habit of reciting every moment. Now by the king's incessant\nrepeating of them the queen also grew curious; and as she felt less\nembarrassment in putting forth her request, one day, the opportunity of\nentering into conversation upon this subject presenting itself, she put\nthis question in full audience to him:\n\n6, 7. 'Verily, at all times, my lord, you are reciting, as if you were\ngiving vent to the gladness which is within your heart. But my heart is\ntroubled by curiosity at your speaking so. If my person is allowed to\nhear it, say on, then, what you mean by this utterance, sir. A secret is\nnowhere proclaimed in this manner; therefore, it must be a matter of\npublic knowledge, and I may ask you about it.'\n\nThen the king cast a mild look of gladness on his queen, and with a\nsmile-blooming face he spoke:\n\n8, 9. 'When hearing this utterance of mine without perceiving its cause,\nit is not only you, that are excited by curiosity, but also the whole of\nmy officials, my town, and my zenana are troubled and disturbed by the\ndesire of knowing the meaning of it. Listen, then, to what I am going to\nsay.\n\n10. 'Just as one who awakes from sleep, I remember my existence, when I\nlived a servant in this very town. Although I was keeping good conduct,\nI earned a sorry livelihood by performing hired labour for people\nelevated only because of their wealth.\n\n11. 'So one day I was about to begin my service for hire, that abode of\ntoil, contempt, and sorrow, striving to support (my family) and fearing,\nlest I should lack the means of sustenance myself; when I saw four\n_S_rama_n_as with subdued senses, accompanied as it were by the bliss of\nmonkhood, going about for alms.\n\n12. 'After bowing to them with a mind softened by faith, I reverentially\nentertained them in my house with a small dish of gruel. Out of that\nsprout has sprung this tree of greatness, that the glitterings of the\ncrest-jewels of other kings are now reflected in the dust on my feet.\n\n13. 'Thinking of this, I recite these stanzas, my queen, and for this\nreason I find satisfaction in doing meritorious actions and receiving\nArhats.'\n\nThen the queen's face expanded with gladness and surprise. She raised\nher eyes respectfully to the king, saying: 'Highly probable, indeed, is\nit that such very great prosperity is the fruit produced by meritorious\nactions, since you, great king, being yourself a witness of the result\nof meritorious actions, are so anxious for (gathering) merit. For this\nvery reason you are disinclined to evil actions, disposed to protect\nyour subjects duly like a father, and intent on earning plenty of merit.\n\n14. 'Shining with illustrious glory enhanced by charity, vanquisher of\nyour rival kings waiting with bent heads for your orders, may you for a\nlong time with a righteous management rule the earth up to its\nwind-wrinkled ocean-border!'\n\nThe king said: 'Why should this not be? my queen!\n\n15. 'In fact, I will endeavour to keep once more the path leading to\nsalvation, of which I have noted the lovely marks. People will love\ngiving, having heard the fruit of charity; how should not I be liberal,\nhaving experienced it in myself?'\n\nNow the king, tenderly looking on his queen, beheld her shining with\nalmost divine splendour, and desiring to know the reason of that\nbrightness, said again:\n\n16. 'Like the crescent amidst the stars you shine in the midst of the\nwomen. Say, what deed have you done, my dear, having this very sweet\nresult?'\n\nThe queen replied: 'O yes, my lord, I too have some remembrance of my\nlife in my former birth.' Now, as the king gently entreated her to tell\nit, she spoke:\n\n17, 18. 'Like something experienced in my childhood I recollect that\nbeing a slave, after giving with devotion to a Muni with extinguished\npassions the remnants of one dish, I fell asleep there, as it were, and\narose from sleep here. By this wholesome action, my prince, I remember,\nI have obtained you for my lord, sharing you with the earth. What you\nsaid: \"surely, no benefit given to holy persons who have extinguished\ntheir passions, can be a small one\"--these very words were then spoken\nby that Muni.'\n\nThen the king, perceiving that the assembly was overcome by feelings of\npiety and amazement, and that the manifestation of the result of merit\nhad roused in their minds a high esteem for meritorious actions,\nearnestly pressed on the audience something like this:\n\n19. 'How is it possible, then, that anybody should not devote himself to\nperforming meritorious actions by practising charity and good conduct,\nafter seeing this large and splendid result of a good action however\nsmall? No, that man is not even worth looking at, who inwrapt in the\ndarkness of avarice, should decline to make himself renowned for his\ngifts, though being wealthy enough to do so.\n\n20. 'If by abandoning in the right manner wealth, once necessarily to be\nleft and so of no use at all, any good quality may be acquired: who,\nthen, knowing the charm of virtues, would follow in this matter the path\nof selfishness? And different virtues, in truth, gladness, &c., being\nfollowed by good renown, are founded on charity.\n\n21. 'Almsgiving is a great treasure, indeed, a treasure which is always\nwith us and is inaccessible to thieves and the rest[40]. Almsgiving\ncleanses the mind from the dirt of the sins of selfishness and cupidity;\nit is an easy vehicle by which to relieve the fatigue of the travel\nthrough Sa_m_s\u00e2ra; it is our best and constant friend, that seeks to\nprocure manifold pleasure and comfort for us.\n\n     [40] That is: to fire, water, seizure from the part of the king.\n     Cp. Story V, stanza 8.\n\n22. 'All is obtained by almsgiving, whatever may be wished for, whether\nit be abundance of riches or brilliant domination, or a residence in the\ncity of the Devas, or beauty of the body. Who, considering this matter\nso, should not practise almsgiving?\n\n23. 'Almsgiving, it is said, constitutes the worth of riches; it is also\ncalled the essential cause of dominations, the grand performance of\npiety. Even rags for dress, given away by the simple-minded, are a\nwell-bestowed gift.'\n\nThe audience respectfully approved this persuasive discourse of the\nking, and felt inclined to the exercise of charity and the like.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSo any gift that proceeds from faith of the heart, and is bestowed on a\nworthy recipient, produces a great result; there does not exist at all\nanything like a trifling gift of that nature. [For this reason, by\ngiving with a faithful heart to the Congregation of the Holy[41]--that\nmost excellent ground fit for (sowing) meritorious actions--one may\nobtain the utmost gladness, considering thus: 'such blessings, and even\ngreater than these, may erelong occur to me too.']\n\n     [41] \u00c2ryasa_m_ghe.\n\n\n\n\nIV. THE STORY OF THE HEAD OF A GUILD.\n\n(Comp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 40, Fausb. I, 231-234.)\n\n\nThe pious wish to exercise almsgiving even in spite of imminent peril;\nwho, then, should not be charitable when safe? This will be taught as\nfollows.\n\nIn the time, when our Lord was still a Bodhisattva, he was a head of a\nguild. In consequence of the excessive favour of his destiny, and owing\nto his own great activity, he had acquired a large estate. His fairness\nand integrity in commercial transactions procured him the highest esteem\namong the people; he was born of an illustrious family; he had\nacquainted himself with various branches of learning and art, and by\nthem purified his mind. These qualities and his noble virtues caused him\nto be honoured by the king. As he was always keeping the precept of\nalmsgiving, he shared his opulence with the people.\n\n1. The mendicants loving him, praised his name far and wide, so as to\nfill all parts of the horizon with the high reputation of his prowess as\nan almsgiver.\n\n2. With him, no one indigent was floating on the swing of doubt as to\nwhether he would give or not. Trusting in this benefactor of renowned\nexploits, the mendicants were bold enough to put forth their wants\nfreely.\n\n3. And he, for his part, did not keep his wealth from them, neither for\nhis own pleasures, nor striving to emulate others, nor overcome by\navarice. It was impossible for him to see the suffering of the\nmendicants, and for this reason he avoided saying 'no' to them.\n\nOne day, at meal-time, when the Great Being had just bathed and anointed\nhimself, and a complete dinner made up of various dishes of hard and\nsoft food and the rest, dressed by skilled and excellent cooks, and so\nprepared as to please by their colour, smell, taste, touch, &c., was\nserved up, a mendicant came near his house. It was a Pratyekabuddha, who\nby the fire of his knowledge had burned away all the fuel of innate evil\npassions, and now desired to increase the merit of the Bodhisattva. He\nplaced himself in the gateway.\n\n4. There he stood without apprehension, without agitation, looking\nfirmly and quietly[42] to no greater distance before him than the length\nof a yoke[43], in a quiet attitude, holding his lotus-white fingers\nclasped on his almsbowl.\n\n     [42] Read pra_s_ama\u00ba instead of pra_n_ama\u00ba, an error of print of\n     course.\n\n     [43] Cp. Lalitavistara (Bibl. Ind.), p. 230 infra, Buddha_k_arita\n     X, 13.\n\nNow M\u00e2ra, the Wicked One, could not bear the Bodhisattva to enjoy that\nbliss of almsgiving. In order to put an obstacle in his way, he created\nby magic between the Reverend and the threshold of the entrance-door a\nvery deep hell measuring several fathoms in width. It offered a dreadful\nsight, accompanied with terrible sounds; tremulous flames were burning\nawfully within; it contained many hundreds of men in great agony.\n\nIn the meanwhile the Bodhisattva, seeing the Pratyekabuddha come in\nsearch of alms, said to his wife: 'My dear, go yourself and give an\nabundant portion of food to the holy man.' She said she would do so, and\nwent off with excellent hard and soft food; but beholding the hell near\nthe gateway, she suddenly turned on her heels, terror-stricken and with\nbewildered looks. When her husband asked her what was the matter, she\ncould hardly tell; the sudden fright had almost barred her throat. As\nthe Bodhisattva, however, was uneasy at the thought that this holy man\nmight turn back from his house without receiving his beeped meal, he did\nnot heed what she told him, but taking the excellent hard and soft food,\ncame himself, desiring to fill with it the almsbowl of the Great-Minded\nOne. When he arrived near the gateway, he saw that most dreadful hell\nbetween. And whilst he considered what could be the meaning of this,\nM\u00e2ra, the Wicked One, went out of the house-wall, and showing his divine\nand marvellous shape, stood in the air, and, as if he wished to do good\nto the Bodhisattva, spoke: 'Householder, this is the great hell, named\nMah\u00e2raurava.\n\n5. 'Here is the abode--an abode, out of which it is difficult to\nescape--of those who, greedy of the praising voices of the beggars,\ndesire to give away wealth, indulging in the vicious passion for\ncharity. In this hell they must stay for many thousands of autumns.\n\n6. 'Material prosperity (artha) is the principal cause of the world's\nregular striving after the triad of objects. Whoso injures artha,\ninjures righteousness (dharma) too[44]. How is it possible, then, that\nthe injurer of righteousness by destroying material prosperity, should\nnot stay in hell?\n\n     [44] The idea which underlies this assertion is often met with in\n     Br\u00e2hmanical literature. If practising dharma is the same thing as\n     performing the sacrifices to the deities, material prosperity may\n     be justly styled the foundation-ground or substratum of dharma; for\n     the right performance of sacrifices requires the possession of\n     goods.\n\n7. 'Thou hast sinned, being attached to charity and destroying thy\nwealth, which is the root of dharma. For this reason this flame-tongued\nhell, that looks like the face of Narak\u00e2ntaka[45], has come to thy\nencounter in order to devour thee.\n\n     [45] See Vish_n_upur\u00e2_n_a IV, chapter xxix (Wilson, p. 581).\n\n8. 'Well then, desist from giving, lest thou immediately fall down and\nshare the fate of those almsgivers, who shrink away from pain and are\nweeping piteously.\n\n9. 'The recipients, on the other hand, who have ceased from the bad\ncustom of giving, obtain the rank of Devas. Therefore, desist from thy\neffort for charity, which obstructs the way to Heaven, and rather apply\nthyself to restraint[46].'\n\n     [46] The Evil One uses ambiguous expressions purposely. The worthy\n     recipients of the gifts are indeed on the way that leads to\n     salvation; and the 'restraint' sa_m_yama he recommends, may imply\n     the meaning of the self-restraint of the monks. The Bodhisattva in\n     his well-turned answer takes care to keep the same ambiguous word\n     (see stanza 15, sa_m_yamayishyat\u00e2pi).\n\nThe Bodhisattva, however, knew him: 'Surely, this is an attempt of the\nEvil One to thwart my almsgiving.' And understanding so, he made, in\ntruth, a vigorous reply, yet in accordance with his firm attachment to\nvirtue, without breaking modesty and kindness of words. He spoke thus to\nhim:\n\n10-12. 'It is with respect to my welfare, that thou hast had the\nkindness to show me the path of the pious. Indeed, it is most proper for\ndivine beings to show by their actions their skill in feeling compassion\nfor others. Nevertheless, it would have been wise to use that way of\nstopping the illness before its appearance, or immediately after its\nfirst symptoms. For if a sickness have already made progress[47] by the\nfault of bad treatment, the desire for cure will but tend to calamity.\nSo this passion of mine for charity has already spread, I fear, beyond\nthe compass of medical cure, inasmuch as my mind will never shrink from\nalmsgiving, notwithstanding thy well-wishing counsel.\n\n     [47] The reading pray\u00e2mam, proposed by Prof. Kern in the various\n     readings of his edition, is undoubtedly right. Cp. pp. 78, 2; 96,\n     23; 111, 16; 171, 15; 182, 3; 238, 11 of his edition.\n\n13, 14. 'As for what thou saidst about unrighteousness arising from\ncharity and wealth being the principal cause of righteousness, my weak\nhuman understanding cannot grasp how wealth without charity can be\ncalled the path of virtue. Why, tell me, please, at what time is it that\nwealth produces virtue? whether when laid up as a treasure, or when\nrobbed violently by thieves, or when sunk away to the bottom of the sea,\nor when having become fuel for fire?\n\n15, 16. 'Further, thou saidst, \"the giver goes to hell and the receiver\nto the celestial abodes.\" Speaking so, however, thou hast increased my\nlonging for works of charity, though endeavouring to restrain me. Yea,\nmay that word of thine be fulfilled, and those who beg from me rise to\nheaven! For it is not as a means of procuring my own happiness that I\ngive in charity, but I love charity that I may do good to the world.'\n\nThen M\u00e2ra, the Wicked One, once more addressed the Bodhisattva, speaking\nearnestly as though he were a well-meaning friend.\n\n17. 'Decide thyself, whether I have spoken for thy good or idle talk,\nand afterwards go as thou desirest. Thou shalt remember me with high\nregard--either happy or remorseful.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'Sir, thou must excuse me.\n\n18. 'I will fall of my own accord into this fiercely blazing hell\nheadlong, a prey to the flames, that will lick at me, rather than at the\ndue time of honouring the mendicants, who show me their affection by\nrequesting from me, incur the guilt of neglecting them.'\n\nAfter so speaking, the Bodhisattva--relying on the power of his destiny\nand knowing that almsgiving cannot at any rate entail evil--stepped\nforth across the hell without heeding his family and his attendants, who\nwere eager to withhold him; his mind was not overcome by terror, and his\ndesire of giving was still increased.\n\n19. Then, owing to the power of his merit, in the midst of the hell a\nlotus sprang up, not rooted in mud like other lotuses[48]. With its row\nof stamen-teeth[49] it seemed to laugh contemptuously at M\u00e2ra.\n\n     [48] In the original there is a pun, pa_m_ka_g_a, 'originating in\n     mud, born from mud,' being a common word for 'lotus.'\n\n     [49] Instead of danti\u00ba I read danta\u00ba.\n\nAnd with the aid of the lotus, produced out of the large amount of his\nmerit, the Bodhisattva having reached the Pratyekabuddha, filled his\nbowl with food, while his heart was expanding with gladness and joy.\n\n20. The monk, in order to show his satisfaction, rose into the air.\nThere he displayed his splendour, raining and flaming with as great a\nmajesty as a cloud from which appear flashes of lightning.\n\n21. M\u00e2ra, on the other hand, seeing his design overturned, was in low\nspirits and lost accordingly his splendour. He dared no longer look in\nthe face of the Bodhisattva, and soon he disappeared with his hell.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWhy has this been taught? (For this purpose): in this manner the pious\nwish to exercise almsgiving even in spite of imminent peril; who, then,\nshould not be charitable when safe? [Further this too is to be\npropounded: 'the virtuous cannot be induced even by fear to take the\nwrong way.']\n\n\n\n\nV. THE STORY OF AVISHAHYA, THE HEAD OF A GUILD.\n\n(Comp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 340, Fausb. III, 128-132.)[50]\n\n     [50] In the P\u00e2li redaction the story is told of the se_tth_i\n     Visayha, not Avisayha, in consequence, it seems, of the\n     misinterpretation of the first p\u00e2da of the first g\u00e2th\u00e2 in this\n     story; that line should be read ad\u00e2si d\u00e2n\u00e2ni pure 'visayha.\n     Likewise in the Nid\u00e2nakath\u00e2 (Fausb. I, p. 45, l. 14) we must read\n     _K_andakum\u00e2rak\u00e2le 'vishahyase_tth_ik\u00e2le.\n\n\nThe virtuous do not allow themselves to be deficient in the virtue of\ncharity either from respect to the loss of their fortune, or from the\nprospect of riches, as will be taught in the following.\n\nIn the time, when our Lord was yet a Bodhisattva, he was the head of a\nguild, born of an illustrious family. He possessed many virtues:\nliberality, modesty, morals, sacred learning, spiritual knowledge[51],\nhumility, &c. His affluent riches made him appear another Kubera. He\nspent them by admitting everybody as his guest and practising charity\nlike an everlasting sacrifice (sattra). In short, he was the best of\nalmsgivers and lived for the good of mankind. On account of his being\ninvincible by vices, selfishness, and the rest, he was known under the\nname of Avishahya (that is, 'the Invincible One').\n\n     [51] The 'sacred learning' is _s_ruta, knowledge of Vaidik texts.\n     &c., the 'spiritual knowledge,' _g\u00f1_\u00e2na, to be learnt from the\n     Upanishads, the philosophical Dar_s_anas and the like.\n\n1. The sight of the mendicants had the same effect on him, as he had on\nthe mendicants. On both sides it was a principal cause of gladness,\nsince it destroyed the uncertainty as to the attainment of the object\nwished for.\n\n2. When requested to give, he was not capable of saying 'no.' His great\ncompassion had left no room in his heart for attachment to wealth.\n\n3. His joy rose to the highest pitch, when mendicants carried away the\nbest things out of his house. For he knew those so-called goods to be\nthe source of violent and heavy calamities, and therefore to cause\ndissatisfaction in a short time and without any apparent reason.\n\n4. As a rule, indeed, riches, being joined with covetousness, may be\ncalled caravans on the road towards wretchedness. With him, on the\ncontrary, they conduced to the bliss of both himself and others; his\ngoods appeared to be what is signified by their name.\n\nSo then, that Great Being bestowed large gifts on the mendicant people\nall around, and satisfied them wholly, giving to each according to his\ndesire and generously, and adorning his bounty by paying a pious\nrespect to the requesters. When _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, heard of\nhis lofty munificence, he was transported with amazement; and wishing to\ntry the firmness of his resolution, he caused the every-day provisions\nof money, grains, jewels, clothes to disappear day after day; 'perhaps,\nso he thought, his apprehension at least of the loss of his goods may\nentice him to self-interest.' Nevertheless, the Great Being remained\nintent on the virtue of charity.\n\n5. As often as his goods disappeared, like water-drops hit by the\nsun-darts, so often did he order them to be fetched again from his\nhouse, as if it were on fire, and continued his large gifts.\n\n_S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, understanding the Great Being to be bent\nas intently as ever on deeds of charity, although his riches always went\non decreasing, his amazement grew. Now he concealed the whole of his\nwealth in one night, except a coil of rope and a sickle. When the\nBodhisattva, as usual, awoke at day-break, he nowhere saw his household\ngoods, neither furniture, nor money, nor grains, nor clothes, nor even\nhis attendants. His house looked quite empty, desolate, and sad, as if\nit were plundered by R\u00e2kshasas; in short, it offered an afflicting\naspect. Then he began to reflect upon the matter; and searching about,\nhe found nothing left but that coil of rope and that sickle. And he\nconsidered thus: 'Perhaps somebody, not accustomed to begging, but wont\nto get his livelihood by his own energy, has in this manner shown a\nfavour to my house. In that case, my goods are well spent. If, however,\nby the fault of my destiny, some person whom my high rank has made\nenvious, has caused them to run away without being of use to any one, it\nis a great pity.\n\n6. 'The fickleness of Fortune's friendship was known to me long before;\nbut that the indigent have come to grief by it, on this account my heart\naches.\n\n7. 'When coming to my empty house, how will they feel, my mendicants,\nwho for a long time were accustomed to the enjoyment of my gifts and my\nhospitality? Will they not be like thirsty people coming to a dried-up\npond?'\n\nNevertheless, the Bodhisattva did not yield to the feeling of affliction\nand sadness, but kept the constancy of his mind, and though, being in\nthis condition, he was not capable of asking others, not even his\nintimates, as he never had followed the course of getting his livelihood\nby begging. Moreover, since he experienced himself that it is hard to\nbeg, his compassion for the begging people became still greater. Then\nthat High-minded One, still with the disposition to earn, from those who\nlived by begging their food, kind words of welcome and the like, took\nthat coil of rope and that sickle, and went out to weed grass day after\nday. With the little money he earned by selling the grass, he attended\nto the wants of the mendicants.\n\nBut _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, seeing his imperturbable calmness\nand his devotion to almsgiving even in a state of extreme poverty, was\nfilled not only with astonishment, but also with admiration. Showing his\nwonderful celestial body, he stood in the air and spoke to the Great\nBeing to dissuade him from giving: 'Householder,\n\n8-10. 'Neither thieves have robbed thee of thy wealth, nor water, nor\nfire, nor princes. It is thy own largesses, that have brought thee into\nthis condition, which alarms thy friends. For this reason I tell thee\nfor thy own good: restrain thy passionate love of charity. Though being\nas poor as thou art now, if thou dost not give, thou mayst recover thy\nformer beautiful riches. By constant consuming of however little at a\ntime, possessions fade; by gathering ant-hills become high. For him who\nsees this, the only way of increasing his property is self-restraint.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva, however, displayed his high-mindedness and his constant\npractice of charity, when he answered _S_akra in this manner:\n\n11. 'A gentleman (\u00e2rya), however distressed, will scarcely do anything\nignoble (an\u00e2rya), O thou Thousand-eyed One! Never let such wealth be\nmine, O _S_akra, to obtain which I should have to live as a miser.\n\n12, 13. 'Who, thinking himself to belong to an honest family, would\nstrike with the clear-sky thunderbolt of his refusal the wretched men\nwho desire to find a remedy for their misery by death-like begging? Is\nit possible, then, that such a one as I am, should accept any jewel, or\nwealth, or even the realm among the Celestials, and not use it for the\npurpose of gladdening the faces of the beggars, grown pale by the pain\nof asking?\n\n14. 'Such receiving as would only tend to increase the vice of\nselfishness, not to strengthen the propensity to give away, must be\nentirely abandoned by such as me; for it is a calamity in disguise.\n\n15. 'Wealth is as fickle as a flash of lightning; it may come to every\none, and it is the cause of many calamities; but almsgiving is a source\nof happiness. This being so, how may a nobleman cling to selfishness?\n\n16. 'Therefore, _S_akra, thou hast shown me thy good nature, I thank\nthee also for thy commiseration and well-wishing words; yet my heart is\ntoo much accustomed to the gladness caused by deeds of charity. How,\nthen, can it take delight in the wrong way?\n\n17. 'Do not, however, bend thy mind to anger on this account, I pray\nthee! Indeed, it is impossible to assault the hostile fortress of my\nnative character with small forces.'\n\n_S_akra spoke: 'Householder, what thou describest is the line of conduct\nfor a wealthy man, whose treasury and granary are full to the top, for\nwhom manifold and abundant work is well-performed (by his servants), who\nhas assured his future, and has gained domination among men, but that\nconduct does not suit thy condition. See,\n\n18-20. 'Thou must, before all, through honest business either carried on\nby exerting thy own sagacity, or by following the traditional line of\ntrade of thy family, in so far as it be compatible with thy fame,\ngather riches surpassing, like the sun, the splendour of thy rivals;\nthen on proper occasions, display thy opulence to the people, and\nrejoice by it thy relations and friends. Afterwards, having obtained due\nhonour even from the part of the king and enjoying Fortune's favour,\nlike the embrace of a loving sweetheart, if then there may arise in thee\nthe inclination for charity or worldly pleasures, nobody will blame\nthee. But the sole love of charity without means makes a man come to\ncalamity and resemble a bird desiring to rise in the air with wings not\nyet full-grown.\n\n21. 'Therefore, thou must acquire wealth by practising restraint and\npursuing humble aims, and meanwhile give up the longing for almsgiving.\nAnd what meanness can there be in this after all, if thou dost not give,\npossessing nothing?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied: 'Pray, thy Highness must not urge me.\n\n22, 23. 'Even he who cares more for his own interest than for the\nbenefit of others, ought to give in charity, not caring for riches. For\ngreat opulence affords him no such gladness, as is caused by the\nsatisfaction he enjoys by subduing covetousness with charitable deeds.\nAdd to this, that mere riches do not lead to Heaven, but charity alone\nis sufficient to obtain a holy reputation; further, that riches are an\nimpediment to the subduing of selfishness and the other vices. Who,\nthen, should not observe charity?\n\n24. 'He, however, who in order to protect the creatures surrounded by\nold age and death, desires to give away his very self in alms, moved by\ncompassion; he whom the sufferings of others forbid to enjoy the relish\nof pleasures; say, of what use will be to him the very great bliss,\npossessed by thee?\n\n'Hear also this, Lord of the Devas.\n\n25. 'The duration of our life is as uncertain as the prosperity of our\nwealth. Thus reflecting, we must not care for riches, when getting a\nmendicant.\n\n26. 'If one carriage has beaten a track on the ground, a second goes by\nthat track with some confidence, and so on. For this reason I will not\nspurn this first good road, nor prefer conducting my carriage on the\nwrong path.\n\n27. 'And should I once more come to great wealth, it shall to a\ncertainty enrapture the minds of the mendicants; and for the present,\neven in this condition, I will give alms according to my means. And may\nI never be careless in keeping my vow of charity, _S_akra!'\n\nOn these words _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, being wholly propitiated,\nexclaimed with praise: 'Excellent, excellent,' and looking at him with\nadmiration and kindness, spoke:\n\n28, 29. '(Other) people run after riches by every trade, be it low and\nrough and prejudicial to their reputation, not minding danger, since\nthey are attached to their own pleasures and misguided by their\ninconsiderateness. Thou, on the contrary, dost not mind the loss of thy\nwealth, nor the deficiency of thy pleasures, nor my temptation; keeping\nthy mind firmly intent on promoting the welfare of others, thou hast\nmanifested the greatness of thy excellent nature!\n\n30. 'Ah! how thy heart shines with the lustre of exceeding loftiness,\nand how it has wiped off entirely the darkness of selfish feelings, that\neven after the loss of thy riches the hope for recovering them cannot\nspoil it by bringing about reduction of its charitableness!\n\n31. 'Yet, since thou sufferest at the suffering of others, and moved by\ncompassion strivest for the good of the world, it is no wonder after\nall, that I have not been able to deter thee from almsgiving. As little\nis the Snow-bright Mountain shaken by the wind.\n\n32. 'But it is in order to enhance thy fame by trial, that I have hidden\nthat wealth of thine. Not otherwise than by trial can a gem, though\nbeautiful, reach the great value of a renowned jewel.\n\n33. 'Well then, pour thy gifts down on the mendicants, satisfy them as a\ngreat rain-cloud fills the pools. By my favour thou shalt never\nexperience the loss of thy wealth, and thou must forgive me my\nbehaviour towards thee.'\n\nAfter praising him so, _S_akra restored his large estate to him, and\nobtained his pardon, then he disappeared on the spot.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, the virtuous do not allow themselves to be\ndeficient in the virtue of charity either through regard to the loss of\ntheir fortune, or through the prospect of riches.\n\n\n\n\nVI. THE STORY OF THE HARE.\n\n(Comp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 316, Fausb. III, 51-56; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nI, 10; Avad\u00e2na_s_ataka in F\u00e9er's transl. Ann. du Mus\u00e9e Guimet, XVIII,\n142[52].)\n\n     [52] In the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 the hare that gave up his body is No.\n     104. It is much akin to the version of the Avad\u00e2na_s_ataka, as I\n     ascertained from the two Cambridge MSS. of the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2.\n\n\nThe practice of charity according to their power by the Great-minded,\neven when in the state of beasts, is a demonstrated fact; who then,\nbeing a man, should not be charitable? This is taught by the following.\n\nIn some inhabited region of a forest there was a spot frequented by\nascetics. It was beset with thickets made up of lovely creepers,\ngrasses, and trees; abounding in flowers and fruits; adorned on its\nboundary with a river, the stream of which was as blue and as pure as\nlapis lazuli; its ground, covered with a carpet of tender grass, was\nsoft to the touch and handsome to look at. There the Bodhisattva lived a\nhare.\n\n1. In consequence of his goodness, his splendid figure, his superior\nstrength, and his great vigour, not suspected by the small animals nor\nfearing others, he behaved like the king of animals in that part of the\nforest.\n\n2. Satisfying his wants with blades of grass, he bore the handsome\nappearance of a Muni. For the ascetic's skin he wore his own, his\nbark-garment was the hairs of his body.\n\n3. As everything he did in thought, speech, and action was purified by\nhis friendliness, most of the animals given to wickedness were like his\npupils and friends[53].\n\n     [53] The text is slightly corrupt here. The MSS. have \u00basukh\u00e2_h_,\n     the printed text \u00bamukh\u00e2_h_, but in the various readings the editor\n     again adopts the reading of the MSS. But now Prof. Kern tells me he\n     should rather suppose that the original reading was \u00basakh\u00e2_h_,\n     which suits the sense better.\n\nBut more especially he had caught the hearts of an otter, a jackal, and\nan ape. They became his companions, attracted by the love and respect\nwhich his eminent virtues inspired in them. Like relations whose\naffection is founded on mutual relationship, like friends whose\nfriendship has grown by the compliance to each other's wishes, they\npassed their time rejoicing together. Opposed to the nature of the\nbrutes, they showed compassion to living beings, and their cupidity\nbeing extinguished, they forgot to practise theft. By this behaviour and\nby their having regard to good renown conformably to (the precepts of)\nrighteousness (dharma), by their keen understanding and, owing to this,\nby their close observance of religious obligations in the manner\napproved by the pious, they roused even the surprise of the deities.\n\n4, 5. If out of the two lines of conduct--that which complies with\npleasures and checks virtue, and that which is in accordance with virtue\nand obstructs pleasures--a man applies himself to the virtuous side, he\nis already illustrious, how much more a being that has the shape of a\nbeast! But among them, he who bore the figure of a hare and was their\nteacher, was so pious, he esteemed the practice of compassion for others\nso highly, and his excellent native character was accompanied by such a\nset of virtues, that their renown reached even the world of the Devas.\n\nOne day at evening-time, the Great-minded One was in the company of his\nfriends, who had come to him to hear him preach the Law and\nreverentially sat down at his feet. The moon, then being at a great\ndistance from the sun, showed its orb almost full and resembling by its\nbright beauty a silver mirror without handle. When the Bodhisattva\nbeheld it showing its disc not fully rounded on one side[54], and\nconsidered that it was the moon of the fourteenth of the bright half,\nthat had risen, he said to his comrades:\n\n     [54] Instead of \u00eeshatp\u00e2r_s_v\u00e2pav_ri_ttabimba_m_, the reading of the\n     MSS., I think we should read \u00ba\u00e2pak_ri_ttabimba_m_. In the evening\n     before full-moon's day the disc of the moon is not completely\n     round, presenting one side so as to seem a little flattened.\n\n6. 'See! The moon by the beauty of its almost complete orb is announcing\nwith a laughing face as it were the holyday of sabbath (poshadha) to the\npious.\n\n'Surely, to-morrow is the fifteenth. Ye must perform accordingly the\nreligious duties which are prescribed for the sabbath, and not satisfy\nthe want of sustaining your body before honouring some guest at the time\nappearing with excellent food obtained in a right manner. Ye must\nconsider thus:\n\n7, 8. 'Every union has separation at its end, of high rank the\nconclusion is dreary downfall; life is as frail and fickle as a flash of\nlightning. It is for this very reason, that ye must be upon your guard\nagainst carelessness (in the fulfilment of your duties), and also\nendeavour to increase your merit by charity, which has good conduct\n(_s_\u00eela) for its ornament. Meritorious actions, indeed, are the\nstrongest support for the creatures moving round in the troublesome\nsuccession of births.\n\n9, 10. 'That the moon by its lovely brightness outdoes the lustre of the\nhost of stars, that the sun's splendour overpowers the (other)\nluminaries, is due to the sublimity of the qualities produced by merit.\nIt is also by the power of their merit that mighty kings cause\npresumptuous high officials and princes to bear, like excellent horses,\nwillingly and with abated pride the yoke of their command.\n\n11. 'But if they are devoid of merit, misfortune goes after them, be\nthey ever moving about on the road of political wisdom (n\u00eeti)[55]. For\nthat unhappiness, being rebuffed by the excess of merit, hovers, as if\nmoved by wrath, round the possessors of demerit.\n\n     [55] The political wisdom, which aims at attaining worldly ends by\n     worldly means, and makes morals subordinate to self-interest, is\n     taught in such books as K\u00e2mandaki's N\u00eeti_s_\u00e2stra, _S_ukra's\n     N\u00eetis\u00e2ra, in the Pa_\u00f1_katantra and the Hitopade_s_a. It is\n     considered sinful by Buddhistic lore. The _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2 often\n     reproves it, see for instance, IX, 10; XXIII, 51.\n\n12. 'Leave then that path of demerit; suffering is underlying it, and it\nis connected with dishonour. But merit being the illustrious source and\ninstrument of happiness, ye must keep your mind intent on all\nopportunities of gathering it.'\n\nThe others, after listening to his teaching, said amen, and saluting him\nwith respect circumambulated him from left to right, then they went off\neach to his dwelling. When his comrades were not far off, the\nGreat-minded One entered upon this reflection:\n\n13-15. 'They are able to honour with some food or other the guest that\nmay happen to arrive, but I am here in a pitiful condition. It is in no\nway possible to present a guest with the very bitter blades of grass I\ncut off with my teeth. Alas! how helpless I am! My powerlessness\nafflicts me. Of what use, then, is life to me, since a guest that ought\nto be a matter of joy to me, must in this manner become a matter of\nsorrow!\n\n'On what occasion, then, may this worthless body, which is not even able\nto attend on a guest, be given up so as to conduce to the profit of\nanybody?' When his reflection had come to that point, the Great-minded\nOne recovered his keenness of thought. 'Well!\n\n16. 'The property which will suit the purpose of honouring any guest is\neasy to be got; for it is in my power; it is unobjectionable; it belongs\nto none but me; indeed, it is the property of my body.\n\n'Why, then, should I be in trouble?\n\n17. 'Yes, I have found proper food for my guest; now, my heart, abandon\nthy grief and thy sadness! With this vile body of mine I will practise\nhospitality and satisfy the want of my guest.'\n\nHaving thus resolved, the Great Being felt an extreme delight as though\nhe had obtained a very great gain, and remained there (in his dwelling,\nwaiting for some guest).\n\n18. Now, when that sublime reflection had presented itself to the Great\nBeing's mind, the Celestials manifested their propitiousness and their\npower.\n\n19-21. Earth shook with her mountains, as if from joy, nor was her\ngarment, the Ocean, quiet[56]; divine drums resounded in the sky; the\nregions of the horizon were ornamented with a placid sheen; all around\nclouds of a pleasant aspect, which were girded with lightnings and gave\nforth prolonged soft rattlings of thunder, strewed on him a shower of\nflowers falling close together, so as to spread the pollen through the\nair by their contact. The god of wind, too, showed him his esteem;\nblowing steadily he bore to him the fragrant flower-dust from various\ntrees, as if out of gladness he presented him with gauzy veils, bearing\nthem up and so disarranging the figures interwoven in them.\n\n     [56] Read babh\u00fbv\u00e2nibh_ri_t\u00e2\u00ba. Cp. supra, II, 38, and\n     Bodhisattv\u00e2vad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 II, 52.\n\nAs the deities, rejoiced and astonished, were praising everywhere the\nmarvellous resolution of the Great Being, _S_akra, the Lord of the\nDevas, became aware of it; and curiosity and surprise overtaking his\nmind, he was desirous of knowing the truth about his disposition. On the\nnext day at noon-tide, when the sun, ascending in the midst of the sky,\ndarts his sharpest beams; when the horizon, clothed in a net of\ntrembling rays of light and veiled with the outburst of radiant heat,\ndoes not suffer itself to be looked upon; when shadows are contracting;\nwhen the interior of the woods resounds with the loud shrieks of the\ncicadae; when birds cease to show themselves and the vigour of\ntravelling people is exhausted by heat and fatigue: in that time of the\nday, then, _S_akra, the chief (adhipati) of the Devas having assumed the\nfigure of a Br\u00e2hman, cried out not far from the spot where the four\nanimals were living. He wept and wailed aloud, like one who has lost his\nway, and as one worn out with hunger and thirst, weariness and sorrow.\n\n22. 'Alone and astray, having lost my caravan, I am roaming through the\ndeep forest, exhausted by hunger and lassitude. Help me, ye pious!\n\n23. 'Not knowing the right way nor the wrong, having lost my faculty of\norientation, wandering at random, alone in this wilderness, I suffer\nfrom heat, from thirst, from fatigue. Who will rejoice me by friendly\nwords of hospitality?'\n\nThe Great Beings, touched in their heart and alarmed by the sound of his\npiteous outcries for help, quickly went to that spot, and beholding him\nwho offered the miserable appearance of a traveller gone astray,\napproached him and in a respectful manner spoke to him these words of\ncomfort:\n\n24, 25. 'Be no more disturbed, thinking thou art astray in the\nwilderness; with us thou art altogether as if thou wert with thine own\ndisciples. Therefore, grant us the favour of accepting to-day our\nattendance, gentle sir; to-morrow thou mayst go thy way according to thy\nwish.'\n\nThen the otter, understanding from his silence that he accepted the\ninvitation, went off hastily; joy and agitation quickened his pace. He\ncame back with seven rohita-fishes, which he offered him, saying:\n\n26. 'These seven fishes I found on the dry ground, where they were lying\nmotionless, as if asleep through lassitude; either they have been left\nthere by fishermen who forgot them, or they have jumped upon the shore\nthrough fear. Feed on them, and stay here.'\n\nThen the jackal also brought to him such food as he happened to have at\nthat time, and after bowing reverentially, he spoke with deference\nthus:\n\n27. 'Here, traveller, is one lizard and a vessel of sour milk, left by\nsomebody; grant me the benefit of thy enjoying them, and take thy abode\nin this forest this night, O thou who art an abode of virtues!'\n\nSo speaking he handed them over to him with an extreme gladness of mind.\n\nThen the monkey drew near. He brought mango-fruits, ripe and\nconsequently distinguished by their softness, their strong orange\ncolour, as if they were dyed with red orpiment, their very red\nstalk-ends, and their roundness; and performing the reverence of the\na_\u00f1g_ali, he spoke:\n\n28. 'Ripe mangos, delicious water, shadow refreshing like the pleasure\nof good society, these things, O best of those who know the brahma, I\nhave for thee. Enjoy them, and stay this night here.'\n\nThen the hare approached, and as soon as he had made his reverence, he\nbade him accept the offer of his own body. Thus he spoke, looking up to\nhim with great regard:\n\n29. 'A hare, who has grown up in the forest, has no beans nor sesamum\nseeds nor grains of rice to offer, but prepare this body of mine with\nfire, and having fed upon it stay over this night in this hermitage.\n\n30. 'On the holiday of a mendicant's arrival every one provides him with\nwhatever of his goods may be a means of supplying his wants. But my\nwealth is limited to my body; take it, then, this whole of my\npossessions.'\n\n_S_akra answered:\n\n31. 'How is it possible that anybody like me should kill another living\nbeing? And how much less a being like thee, who hast shown friendship to\nme?'\n\nThe hare said: 'Verily, this becomes well a Br\u00e2hman, inclined to\ncompassion. Well then, thou must grant me at least the favour of resting\nhere in this place; in the mean while I think I shall find in some way\nor other the means of showing my favour to thee.' Now _S_akra, the Lord\nof the Devas, understanding his intention, created by magic a heap of\ncharcoal burning without smoke; this mass had the colour of purified\ngold, very thin flames shot forth out of it, and a multitude of sparks\nwere scattered about. The hare, who was looking around on all sides,\nperceived that fire. On seeing it, he said, rejoiced, to _S_akra: 'I\nhave found that means of showing thee my favour. Thou, then, must fulfil\nthe hope with which I give thee this boon, and enjoy my body. See, great\nBr\u00e2hman,\n\n32. 'It is my duty to give in charity, and my heart is inclined to do\nso, and in a person like thee I have met with a worthy guest; such an\nopportunity for giving cannot be easily obtained. Let then my charity\nnot be useless, inasmuch as it depends on thee.'\n\nSo saying the Great-minded One persuaded him, and after showing him by\nhis salutation his esteem, his respect, and his hospitable mind--\n\n33. Then, with the utmost gladness, like one desirous of wealth on\nsuddenly beholding a treasure, he threw himself in that blazing fire, as\nthe supreme ha_m_sa plunges into a pond with laughing lotuses.\n\nWhen the chief of the Devas saw this deed, he was affected with the\nhighest admiration. Reassuming his own shape, he praised the Great Being\nwith words both agreeable to the mind and the ears and preceded by a\nshower of celestial flowers. Then with his delicate hands of a rich\nlustre, like that of the petal of the white lotus, and embellished with\ntheir fingers resplendent like jewel ornaments, he took him up himself\nand showed him to the Celestials. 'Behold, ye Devas, inhabitants of the\ncelestial residence, behold and rejoice at this astonishing deed, this\nheroic exploit of this Great Being.\n\n34. 'Oh, how he has given away his body without hesitation to-day, to be\ncharitable to his guest! But the fickle-minded[57] are not even able to\ngive up, without trembling, faded flowers, the remainder of a\nsacrifice.\n\n     [57] Strength of mind, constancy, earnestness, wisdom and virtue\n     are all implied by the Buddhistic term dh\u00eera; its opposite, adh\u00eera,\n     denotes therefore those who possess the opposed qualities, the\n     'fickle-minded.'\n\n35. 'What a contrast between the animal species, which he belongs to,\nand the loftiness of his self-sacrifice, the sharpness of his mind!\nIndeed, he confounds all such as are slow in striving for meritorious\nactions, deities as well as men.\n\n36. 'Oh, how his mind is impregnated with the fragrance of a constant\npractice of virtues! How he loves good conduct, as he manifested by his\nsublime deed!'\n\nThen, in order to glorify that extraordinary fact, and having in view\nthe good of the world, _S_akra adorned with the image of the hare as a\ndistinctive mark both peaks on the top of the belvederes--one on his\nmost excellent palace Vai_g_ayanta and the other on Sudharm\u00e2, the hall\nof the Devas--and likewise the disc of the moon.\n\n37, 38. At full-moon even now that image of the hare (_s_a_s_a) appears\nin the moon's disc in the sky, as a reflected image shines in a silver\nmirror. From that time onward _K_andra (the Moon), named also the\nOrnament of the Night and the Cause of the Brilliancy of the\nNight-waterlilies, is famous in the world as the Hare-marked\n(_S_a_s_\u00e2\u1e45ka).\n\nAnd the others, the otter, the jackal, and the ape, disappeared\nthereafter (from the earth) and arrived in the world of the Devas,\nthanks to their possessing such a holy friend.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSo then the practice of charity according to their power by Great\nBeings, even when in the state of beasts, is a demonstrated fact; who,\nthen, being a man, should not be charitable? [Moreover, this too is to\nbe propounded: 'Even beasts are honoured by the pious for their\nattachment to virtues; for this reason one must be intent on virtues.']\n\n\n\n\nVII. THE STORY OF AGASTYA.\n\n(Comp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 480, Fausb. IV, 236-242; and\n_K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka I, 1.)\n\n\nA heroic practice of liberality is an ornament even to ascetics, how\nmuch more to householders; as is taught by the following.\n\nIn the time, when our Lord, still being a Bodhisattva, was moving on his\nroad through Sa_m_s\u00e2ra for the good of the world, he was born of an\nillustrious family of Br\u00e2hmans, which being distinguished by great\npurity of conduct might pass for an ornament of the earth. His birth\nenhanced the lustre of this family in the same way as the moon rising in\nautumn with full and spotless orb, beautifies the firmament. He had in\ndue order obtained the different sacraments ordained by the sacred texts\nand the tradition: _g_\u00e2takarma and the rest; he had studied the Vedas\nwith their A\u1e45gas and the whole ritual, and the fame of his learning\nfilled the world of men. By the large gifts which he received, begging\nfrom charitable people who were lovers of virtues, he amassed\nconsiderable wealth.\n\n1. Like a big cloud showering over the fields, he gladdened with his\nwealth his relations, his friends, his clients, his guests, his\nteachers, in short the distressed as well as those who are to be\nhonoured.\n\n2. Owing to his grand munificence, the bright glory which he had\nobtained by his learning shone the more. So the complete beauty of the\nmoon's full disc is still augmented with loveliness, when autumn makes\nit shine brightly.\n\nYet the Great-minded One soon understood that the state of a householder\nis a source of sorrow, and affords but meagre comfort; for by its close\nconnection with wrong business, it is thronged with noxious qualities,\nit is the abode of carelessness (about religious duties), it is a\ntroublesome state, being connected with occupations for gathering wealth\nand guarding it, it affords a scope for hundreds of arrows made up of\ncalamities and evil habits obstructive of tranquillity, and is\naccompanied with toil, inasmuch as it implies the necessity of\naccomplishing numberless tasks. On the other hand, he became convinced\nthat renunciation of the world brings about comfort by its freedom from\nthose evils, that it is a state favourable to the performance of\nreligious duties, and that it may be called the proper basis for\nundertaking the religious practices required for salvation. So casting\naway, as if it were a straw, that great abundance of wealth which he had\nobtained without trouble, and which must have possessed charms for him\nbecause of the high regard which he enjoyed among the people, he gave\nhimself up to the observance of the discipline and the self-restraint of\nworld-renouncing ascetics. But also, after his leaving the world--owing\nto his celebrated fame, the remembrance of former intercourse, the\nrespect for his virtues, and the tranquillity by which he was\ndistinguished--the Great Being was frequented as before by people\nlonging for salvation, whose affection he had gained by the multitude of\nhis virtues. Yet, disliking that contact with householders, as\nprejudicial to the happiness that arises from entire detachment from the\nworld, and an obstacle to throwing away the bonds by which he had held\nto it, he repaired to the island of K\u00e2r\u00e2, aspiring to solitude. That\nisland is situated in the Southern Ocean. Its outskirts are moistened by\nthe play of the wanton waves, which moved by the wind have the blue\ncolour of pieces of sapphire; white sand covers its ground; various\ntrees, the branches of which are adorned with twigs, flowers and fruits,\nenhance its beauty; near its shore there is a lake of pure water. This\nlovely country he embellished with the splendour of his hermitage.\n\n3. There he lived, manifesting the lustre of his heavy penance by the\nemaciation of his body, as the crescent appears in the sky, joining\ngreat loveliness to a small size.\n\n4. That this man living in the forest, absorbed in vows and penances,\nand whose modest actions and sensations attested his tranquillity of\nmind, was a Muni, even the wild quadrupeds and birds of the forest did\nunderstand, even their small intellect became aware of it, and they\nimitated his behaviour.\n\nWhile staying in the grove of penance, the Great-minded One, being in\nthe habit of giving, continued also honouring the guests that happened\nto arrive, with such roots and fruits as he had just gathered, with\nfresh water and such hearty and kind words of welcome and blessings as\nare appropriate to ascetics, and himself lived on as much of his\nforest-produced food as his guests had left, strictly limiting his meals\nto the sustenance of his body.\n\nNow, the glory of his excessive penance having spread about, _S_akra,\nthe Lord of the Devas, touched by it, desired to prove his constancy. In\nthat part of the forest where the Great Being dwelt, he caused to\ndisappear successively all roots and fruits fit for the food of\nascetics. But the Bodhisattva, absorbed in meditation and being\naccustomed to the feeling of contentment, insensible to the perplexing\ninfluence of stupefaction, and indifferent concerning his food and\nhis body, did not direct his thoughts to the cause of that\ndisappearance[58]. And having dressed young leaves on the fire, he\naccomplished with these the action of taking his meal, without any\nfeeling of discontent, nor longing for a better meal, but calm as ever\nhe went on living in the same way.\n\n     [58] For, if he had, he would have discovered it, owing to the\n     transcendent power he had obtained by his penance.\n\n5. The livelihood of those who in earnest practise continence is nowhere\ndifficult to be obtained. Say, where are not found grass and leaves and\nponds?\n\nYet _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, though his astonishment increased,\nin consequence of the Bodhisattva's behaviour in that situation, and his\nhigh opinion of his virtues grew stronger, resorted to another trial.\nLike the wind at summer-time he stripped of their leaves the whole\nnumber of trees, shrubs and grasses, that were in that grove. Then the\nBodhisattva, taking such fallen leaves as were still fresh, and boiling\nthem in water, lived on them without feeling any uneasiness; rejoiced by\nthe happiness of meditation, he stayed there as if he had feasted upon\nambrosia.\n\n6. Modesty in the learned, disinterestedness in the wealthy, and\ncontentment in the ascetics: each of these splendid virtues is the\nhighest treasure of each of them[59].\n\n     [59] Instead of gu_n_a_s_obh\u00e2vidhi_h_ para_h_ I read \u00banidhi_h_\n     para_h_, comp. 51, l. 11 of the edited text gu_n_\u00e2bhy\u00e2sanidher\n     ud\u00e2rat\u00e2.\n\nNow that very marvellous constancy of his contentment increased the\nsurprise of _S_akra, and as if he were angry on account of it, having\nassumed the shape of a Br\u00e2hman, that he might be a guest, of course, he\nappeared before the eyes of the Great Being, when at the time prescribed\nby his vow, after performing the Agnihotra-sacrifice and repeating his\nprayers, he was just looking about for some guest. And the Bodhisattva\nrejoiced went to meet him, and welcoming him and addressing kind words\nto him, invited him to take his meal by announcing to him that it was\nmeal-time. Understanding by his silence that he accepted, the\nGreat-minded One,\n\n7. Manifesting by his expanding eyes and his blooming face the gladness\nhe experienced in practising charity, and rejoicing his guest with\ngentle words both pleasant to the mind and to the ears, entertained him\nwith the whole of his boiled leaves, which he had had so much trouble to\nprocure, and himself was satisfied with joy alone.\n\nAnd even so he entered his home of meditation[60], and passed that day\nand night in the very ecstacy of gladness.\n\n     [60] In other words, his hut. Both P\u00e2li redactions mention here his\n     pa_nn_as\u00e2l\u00e2, 'hut of leaves.'\n\nNow _S_akra reappeared to him in the same manner the next day at the\ntime destined for (the accomplishment of) his vow (of hospitality). So\nhe did also on the third, fourth, and fifth day. And the other received\nhim as his guest in the same way, and with still more joy.\n\n8. No suffering, indeed, not even peril of life, is able to compel the\nvirtuous to a miserable infringement of their love for giving, a love\nfostered by their practice of commiseration.\n\nThen _S_akra, whose mind was overcome by the utmost amazement, knowing\nhim to be enabled by his excess of penance to get into the possession of\n(his own) brilliant realm of the gods[61], if he did but ask for it,\nbegan to feel uneasy, and fear arose within him. Having assumed the\nwonderful beauty of his own celestial shape, he questioned him as to the\npurpose for which he performed his penance.\n\n     [61] This fear of the Lord of the Devas rests on the belief in the\n     transcendent power of penance, which enables great ascetics to\n     aspire even to that dignity. _S_akra, afraid of human tapas and\n     trying to prevent its earning by every means, is a well-known\n     figure in Indian mythology.\n\n9, 10. 'Say, on what hast thou set thy hopes, that they could impel thee\nto leave thy beloved relations, who shed tears at thy departure, thy\nhousehold and possessions that had been a source of happiness to thee,\nand to resort to this toilsome life of penance? For it is not for a\ntrifling motive that the wise despise enjoyments easily obtained, and\nafflict their relations with grief, leaving them to go to the\npenance-forest destructive of pleasures.\n\n11. 'If thou thinkest it may be told me, please, satisfy my curiosity.\nWhat may be the object of thy wishes, the penetration into the excellent\nqualities of which fascinated to this point a mind like thine?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied: 'Hearken, sir, what I am exerting myself for.\n\n12. 'Repeated births tend to great sorrow; so do calamitous old age and\nillnesses, those dismal plagues; and the necessity of death is a\ndisturbance to the mind. From those evils I am resolved to save the\ncreatures.'\n\nThen _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, understanding that it was not his\nown celestial splendour that was claimed by the Bodhisattva, was set at\nrest, and as he was very pleased with that well-said sentence, he\nhonoured it by exclaiming 'Very well!' and requested him to accept some\nboon.\n\n13. 'Ascetic, K\u00e2_s_yapa[62], for this right and well-said sentence I\ngive thee some boon; choose then what thou desirest.'\n\n     [62] In the metrical part of the P\u00e2li redaction of this story in\n     the _G_\u00e2taka, Akitti (=Agastya) is likewise called Kassapa and\n     addressed by that name.\n\nThe Bodhisattva, being not at all desirous of pleasures and rejoicings\nconnected with existence, and thinking it painful even to ask for\nanything, since he had attained the state of contentment, said to\n_S_akra:\n\n14. 'If thou wishest to give me some boon, that may please me, I ask the\nforemost of the Devas this boon,\n\n15. 'May that fire of covetousness, which after obtaining a beloved\nwife, children, power, riches more abundant than had been longed for,\nstill goes on heating the mind of men never to be satisfied--may that\nfire never enter my heart!'\n\nThe propensity to contentment declared by this well-turned saying\ndelighted _S_akra in a still higher degree. He praised the Bodhisattva\nagain, saying: 'Excellent, excellent!' and once more he urged him to\nchoose some boon.\n\n16. 'Muni, also for this right and well-said sentence I offer thee\ngladly as a present in return a second boon.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, in order to show him the difficulty of getting rid\nentirely of the innate evil passions[63], preached him the Law once more\nunder the guise of asking a boon.\n\n     [63] Viz. the kle_s_\u00e2s, cp. Dharmasa_m_graha LXVII with Kenjiu\n     Kasawara's explanatory note on p. 49 and the literature quoted\n     there.\n\n17. 'If thou givest me some boon, thou V\u00e2sava, abode of excellent\nqualities, then I ask thee another boon, and no mean one, Lord of the\nDevas.\n\n18. 'May that fire of hatred, subdued by which the creatures come to[64]\nloss of wealth, loss of caste and of good reputation, as if they were\nvanquished by a hostile attack--may that fire be far from me!'\n\n     [64] In order to correct the fault against the metre in the first\n     p\u00e2da of this stanza, I think we should read arth\u00e2d api bhra_ms_am\n     av\u00e2pnuvanti.\n\nOn hearing this, _S_akra, the chief of the Devas, highly admiring him,\npraised him: 'Excellent, excellent!' and again he said:\n\n19. 'Justly Fame, like a loving woman, attends upon those who have\nrenounced the world. Well, accept some other boon from me for this\nwell-said sentence.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, induced by his hostility to innate evil passions\nto blame the intercourse with such creatures as are not free from those\npassions, under the guise of accepting the boon[65], said this:\n\n     [65] Instead of vrati, which is here almost meaningless, Prof. Kern\n     suggests v_ri_ti = vara.\n\n20. 'May I never hear a fool, nor get the sight of such a one, nor speak\nto such a one, nor endure the annoyance and the pain of staying with\nsuch a one! This is the boon I ask thee for.'\n\n_S_akra spoke:\n\n21, 22. 'What dost thou say? Anybody being in distress is most deserving\nof the commiseration of the pious. Now, foolishness being the root of\ncalamities, is held to be the vilest condition. How is this that thou,\nthough compassionate, abhorrest the sight of a fool, a person especially\nfit for commiseration?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva answered: 'Because there is no help for him, sir. Do but\nconsider this:\n\n23. 'If a fool were at any rate curable by treatment, how would anybody\nlike me be wanting in effort to bring about his good?\n\n'But such a one, thou must understand, can derive no profit at all from\nmedical treatment.\n\n24, 25. 'He follows the wrong course of conduct, as if it were the right\none, and desires to put also his neighbour in that way, and not having\nbeen accustomed to a decent and upright behaviour, becomes even angry\nwhen admonished for his good. Now, then, to such a person, who burns\nwith the infatuation of self-conceit, thinking himself wise, whose harsh\nanger is provoked by those who speak for his good, and whose\nimpetuousness has not been softened because of the deficiency of his\nmoral education--say, what means does there exist to bring profit to\nhim?\n\n26. 'For this reason, then, O most excellent of the Devas, because there\nis no help for him, not even in the power of the compassionate, I do not\nwant to see a fool, since he is the most unfit object.'\n\nOn hearing this, _S_akra praised him, exclaiming 'Very well! very well!'\nand charmed by his right sayings, spoke again:\n\n27. 'The invaluable jewels of well-said sentences cannot be rewarded by\nany equivalent. But as a handful of flowers to worship thee, I gladly\noffer thee some boon for these too.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, in order to show that the virtuous are welcome in\nevery circumstance, spoke:\n\n28. 'May I see a wise man, and hear a wise man, dwell with such a one,\n_S_akra, and converse with such a one! This boon, best of the Devas, do\ngrant me.'\n\n_S_akra said: 'Thou seemest, indeed, to be a warm partisan of the wise.\nWhy, tell me then,\n\n29. 'What have the wise done for thee? Say, K\u00e2_s_yapa, what is the\nreason that thou showest this rather foolish greediness for the sight of\na wise man?'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, in order to show him the magnanimity of the\nvirtuous, spoke: 'Hearken, sir, for what reason my mind longs for the\nsight of a wise man.\n\n30. 31. 'He walks in the path of virtue himself, and brings also others\ninto that way, and words said for his good, even if they be harsh, do\nnot rouse his impatience. Being adorned by uprightness and decency, it\nis always possible to make him accept what is said for his good. For\nthis reason my mind, adhering to virtue, is inclined to the partisan of\nvirtue.'\n\nThen _S_akra praised him, exclaiming: 'Well said! very excellent!' and\nwith still increased satisfaction again summoned him to ask some boon.\n\n32, 33. 'Surely, thou hast already obtained everything, since thou art\nwholly satisfied, yet thou shouldst take some boon from me, considering\nit as a means of gratifying me. For a favour offered out of reverence,\nfrom abundance of power, and with the hope of affording a benefit,\nbecomes a cause of great pain, if not accepted.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, seeing his utmost desire for doing good, and\nwishing to please him and to benefit him, answered so as to declare to\nhim the superiority of the strong desire of almsgiving.\n\n34. 'May thy food, which is free from destruction and corruption, thy\nmind, which is lovely because of its practice of charity, and mendicants\nadorned by the pureness of their good conduct, be mine! This most\nblessed boon I ask.'\n\n_S_akra said: 'Thy Reverence is a mine of jewels of well-said sentences.\nFurther,\n\n35. 'Not only will everything thou hast requested be accomplished, but\non account of this well-said sentence I give thee some other boon.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said:\n\n36. 'If thou wilt give me a boon which incloses the highest favour for\nme, O most excellent of all Celestials, do not come to me again in this\nthy blazing splendour. For this boon I ask the destroyer of the\nDaityas.'\n\nUpon this _S_akra was somewhat irritated, and highly astonished he thus\nspoke to him: 'Do not speak so, sir.\n\n37. 'By every kind of ritual: prayers, vows, sacrifices, with penances\nand toilsome exertions, people on earth seek to obtain the sight of me.\nBut thou dost not desire so. For what reason then? I came up to thee,\nwishing to bestow my boons on thee.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'Do not yield to thy anger. I will pacify Thy\nHighness, king of the Devas. It is not for want of courtesy, that I ask\nso, nor is it a deed of irreverence, nor do I aim at showing lack of\ndevotion towards Thy Majesty. Not at all, but,\n\n38. 'Contemplating thy superhuman wonderful shape, which though shining\ngently, is still blazing with brilliancy, I fear the sight of thee,\nhowever mildly shining, lest it should cause any want of strictness in\nthe fulfilment of my penance.'\n\nThen _S_akra bowed to him, circumambulated him from left to right, and\ndisappeared on the spot. And lo, at day-break the Bodhisattva perceived\nplenty of divine food and drink, brought thither by the power of\n_S_akra, and many hundreds of Pratyekabuddhas called by the invitation\nof _S_akra, also many angels (devaputras) high girded, ready to wait on\nthem.\n\n39. Supplying in this way with food and drink the wants of those most\nholy sages, the Muni obtained a sublime joy; and he delighted in living\nafter the manner suitable for ascetics, in performing his boundless vow\nof meditation (dhy\u00e2na), and in tranquillity.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, a heroic practice of liberality is an ornament\neven in ascetics, how much more in householders.\n\n[So considering, a virtuous man must adorn himself with heroic constancy\nof giving. This (story) must also be adduced, when treating of the\ngladness caused to a liberal and charitable man; when blaming\ncovetousness, hatred, infatuation, and foolishness; when preaching on\nthe virtue of the intercourse with a pious friend, or on contentment.\nLikewise in discourses on the magnanimity of the Tath\u00e2gata: 'So our Lord\nwas an inexhaustible mine of jewels of excellent sayings, when still in\nhis former existences, how much more so was he after attaining Complete\nWisdom.']\n\n\n\n\nVIII. THE STORY OF MAITR\u00ceBALA.\n\n\nBeing afflicted by the sufferings of others, the intensely compassionate\ndo not mind their own pleasure. This will be taught as follows.\n\nAt the time when the Bodhisattva, always having in view his purpose of\nsaving the creatures, had fixed upon (the exercise of the p\u00e2ramit\u00e2 of)\ncompassion, as became his high-mindedness, and was always increasing in\nmatchless virtues--charity, humility, self-restraint, tenderness, and\nthe like, suitable for the benefit of the world, he was, it is said, a\nking kind-hearted towards all creatures, named Maitr\u00eebala[66].\n\n     [66] This name signifies, 'he whose strength is kindness,' cp.\n     stanza 14. The edition has here Maitrabalo, by a misprint, it\n     seems.\n\n1, 2. This king felt the weal and the woe of his subjects as his own,\nand being skilled in the art of protecting them, he handled both his\nsword and his law in accordance with this feeling. Yet his sword was\nonly an ornament to him, since the (other) kings waited for his orders,\nrespectfully bowing their head-crests; his law, on the contrary, showed\nitself most openly in the measures he took for promoting the welfare of\nhis people.\n\n3. He dealt out punishments and rewards without infringing\nrighteousness. In consequence of his goodness of heart and his political\nwisdom, he inquired into his subjects like a father.\n\nSo he ruled with righteousness, and while directing his veracity, his\nliberality, his tranquillity, his wisdom, and his other virtues to\nconduce to the welfare of others, he increased his store of exceedingly\nlofty actions, which are the due requisites for the attainment of\nBuddhahood. Now one day, five Yakshas, whom for some offence or other\n(Kubera) the Lord of the Yakshas had exiled from his dominions, came to\nhis realm. These goblins were O_g_oh\u00e2ras [that is, vigour-bereaving\nspirits], skilled in the art of killing others[67]. When they saw the\nkingdom exhibiting the aspect of the utmost prosperity, and became aware\nthat the absence of every kind of calamity made the people rejoiced,\nsatisfied, thriving, and in the habit of having merriment and manifold\nfestivals, the desire of taking away the vigour from the inhabitants of\nthat region arose within them.\n\n     [67] It is likely, those Yakshas were thought to possess the power\n     of causing consumptive diseases; consumption is called in Sanskrit\n     yakshma or r\u00e2_g_ayakshma. In the Divy\u00e2vad\u00e2na (295, 6) a r\u00e2kshasa\n     o_g_oh\u00e2ra_h_ is mentioned.\n\n4. But, though they did their usual work with the greatest effort, they\nwere still not able to take away the vigour of the inhabitants of that\ncountry.\n\n5. The power of that king was so excessive that his very intention of\nshielding proved the highest protection. For this reason those Yakshas\nwere powerless to take away the vigour of his subjects.\n\nAnd as they were not able to debilitate any one, living in that kingdom,\nhowever much they exerted themselves, they deliberated among themselves\nand said: 'How may this be, sirs?\n\n6. 'They do not possess such superiorities of learning, penance, or\nmagic as to enable them to obstruct our power, and yet all of us are\nreduced to impotency, so as to bear our appellation (of O_g_oh\u00e2ras) in\nvain.'\n\nAnd they assumed the shape of men of the Br\u00e2hman class, and going about,\nthey saw a certain cowherd of those who live in the forest-region, who\nwas sitting upon a grass-plot at the foot of a shady tree. He had shoes\non his feet, and on his head he wore a garland, made of flowers and\nopening buds of forest-trees. His stick and his hatchet he had laid on\nthe earth on his right. He was alone and occupied with twisting a rope,\ndiverting himself meanwhile with singing and humming. Him they\napproached and imitating human voice[68], they said to him: 'Well,\nfriend, thou who art charged with guarding the cows, how is it that\nstaying thus alone in this lonely forest where no man is to be seen,\nthou are not afraid?' And he, looking at them, spoke: 'Of what should I\nbe afraid?' The Yakshas said: 'Hast thou never before heard that such\ngoblins as Yakshas, R\u00e2kshasas, or Pi_s_\u00e2_k_as are cruel by nature?\n\n     [68] In the original the Yakshas utter some inarticulate sounds\n     before succeeding in speaking Sanskrit.\n\n7, 8. 'If men are in company and endowed with learning, penance, and\nsvastyayana-charms,[69] even then, be they never so brave and\ncontemptuous of fear, they will but narrowly escape those R\u00e2kshasas who\nfeed on the flesh and fat of men. How, then, is it that thou art not\nafraid of them, thou who stayest without any comrade amidst these\nsolitary, remote, and frightful forests?'\n\n     [69] Viz. spells and charms, effective of bliss and happiness and\n     obstructive of the contrary.\n\nOn hearing this, the cowherd laughed heartily, and said to them:\n\n9, 10. 'Well, the people of this country are protected by a mighty\nsvastyayana, so that even the Lord of the Devas himself has no power\nover them, how much less the flesh-eating goblins. So it happens that I\nwander fearless through the wilderness as if I stayed at home, at night\nas if it were day, and alone as if I were in a crowd.'\n\nUpon this the Yakshas became very curious, and said to him respectfully,\nas if to encourage him: 'Why, you must tell us, gentle sir, you must\ntell us, of what kind this extraordinary svastyayana of yours is.' He\nanswered them, laughing once more: 'Hear, then, of what kind this very\nwonderful excellent svastyayana of ours is.\n\n11. 'It is he whose broad breast is equal to a plate of the Golden\nMountain (Meru), he whose face displays the lovely beauty of the\nspotless moon in autumn, he whose long and full arms are like golden\nclubs, he who has the eyes of a bull and the gait of a bull. In short,\nit is our king.\n\n'Of this kind our excellent svastyayana is.' And after saying these\nwords, looking with resentment and astonishment in the face of the\nYakshas, he continued: 'Ah! this is rather a wonder, is not it?\n\n12. 'So renowned is the power of our king, and it has not come to your\nhearing! How has this happened? Or have you perhaps heard of it, but\ndistrusting the excessive marvel of that fame, not minded it?\n\n13. 'I suppose, the people of the country, from whence you have come\nhither, are either disinclined to search after virtue or indifferent\nabout it; it may also be that, the store of their good fortune[70] being\nexhausted, the great renown of our king has shunned them.\n\n     [70] Every one's good fortune is the result of his merit, and lasts\n     until that store of good actions is exhausted.\n\n'At all events, for you there is still some remnant of good fortune,\nsince you are come here from such a savage country.'\n\nThe Yakshas said: 'Gentle sir, tell us, of what nature is this power of\nthat king, that spirits are by no means able to hurt the inhabitants of\nhis realm?' The cowherd replied: 'Our monarch has obtained this power\nthrough his high-mindedness. See, noble Br\u00e2hmans.\n\n14. 'On friendliness does his strength rest, not on his motley-bannered\narmy, which he keeps only to comply with custom. He knows no anger, nor\ndoes he speak harsh words. He protects his land in the proper manner.\nRighteousness is the rule of his actions, not political wisdom, that\nbase science. His wealth serves to honour the virtuous. And endowed with\nthose marvellous qualities, still he does not take unto himself either\nthe wealth of the wicked, or pride.\n\n'Such and many, many more virtues are to be found in our master. For\nthis reason no calamities have the power to hurt the inhabitants of his\nrealm. But how little is the information you may get from me! If you are\ncurious to learn the excellent qualities of our king, it would rather be\nsuitable for you to enter the capital. There you will behold the people\nin their every-day life; you will see how firm they stand in the (moral)\nbounds of the \u00e2ryas, loving each the peculiar duties proper to him; how\nmerry and thriving they are, in consequence of a constant abundance of\nfood and uninterrupted welfare; how splendidly they are dressed, yet not\npresumptuously; how kind they are to worthy strangers who come to them\nas guests; how enraptured they are with the virtues of their king, the\npraises of whose glory they never cease to proclaim with gladness, as if\nthey were uttering some auspicious and evil-averting charm. When\nbeholding all this, you will obtain the standard for measuring the\nmultitude of virtues possessed by our lord. And if you once begin to\nfeel something like reverence for his virtues, you will witness them,\nfor you will not fail to feel the desire for getting the sight of him.'\n\nThe Yakshas, being already moved with anger against the king on account\nof his obstructing the manifestation of their power, were in no way\nsoftened by this affectionate and well-deserved eulogy of his virtues.\n\n15. Verily, as a rule the mind of fools[71] becomes inflamed the more by\nthe praise of the object which has excited their fervent wrath.\n\n     [71] In the original they are not called b\u00e2la, as above, Story VII,\n     stanza 22, but by the nearly synonymous term of manda. Still there\n     may be a slight difference between both appellations. B\u00e2la meant at\n     the outset 'child, childish, ignorant;' manda, 'slow, feeble, sick,\n     dull, lazy.' Cp. Suttanip\u00e2ta, verses 666, 728, 820, and 1051.\n\nNow considering that king's love of charity and wishing to do harm to\nhim, they approached him at the time of his audience, and asked him for\na meal. The king rejoiced, ordered his officers who stood in charge of\nsuch matters: 'Go and quickly present the Br\u00e2hmans with a delicious\nmeal.' The Yakshas, however, were not ready to accept the meal served to\nthem, though it might have suited the royal table, but spurning it, as\ntigers would green grass, said they did not feed on such dishes. On\nhearing which, the king went to them saying: 'But what sort of repast\nwill agree with your digestion, that something of the kind may be\nfetched?'\n\nThe Yakshas answered:\n\n16. 'Raw human flesh, freshly cut off and still warm, and human blood, O\nlotus-eyed monarch, is the food and drink of Yakshas, O you who are\nstrict in keeping your engagements.'\n\nAfter which, they reassumed their own disfigured and frightful features,\nexhibiting their mouths rendered ferocious by large teeth, their eyes\nfierce and red, flaming and squinting, their flat noses, wide-opened and\nmisshapen. Their hair and beard had the tawny colour of flames, and\ntheir complexion was as dark as clouds big with rain. Looking at them,\nthe king knew them to be goblins[72], not men, and understood that for\nthat reason they did not like the food and drink served by his orders.\n\n     [72] Lit. 'to be Pi_s_\u00e2_k_as,' apparently a general term. The\n     different classes of goblins, Yakshas, R\u00e2kshasas, Pi_s_\u00e2_k_as, are\n     often confounded; in stanza 27 the general appellation is\n     R\u00e2kshasas. In Story IX, verse 66, yaksha and pi_s_\u00e2_k_a are used\n     promiscuously in the sense of 'ogre.' In the sixth story of the\n     P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka (translated by Rhys Davids in his Birth Stories, p.\n     180) the water-sprite is sometimes called rakkhaso, sometimes\n     yakkho.\n\n17. And according to his compassionate nature and his pure-heartedness,\nthe pity of the monarch towards them increased by this reflection.\n\nAbsorbed with commiseration and pitying those Yakshas, he entered surely\nupon this thought:\n\n18, 19. 'For a merciful man such food and drink is not only hard to be\nfound, but it were also to be searched for day after day. Oh, the\nimmense grief it would cause him! A cruel man may be either able to get\nit for them, or not. If not able, his effort would have no other effect\nthan that of mere destruction; if able, what can be more miserable than\nsuch a one constantly exercising that evil practice?\n\n20. 'These Yakshas, on the other hand, who live on food of that kind,\nwith hearts wicked and pitiless, are destroying their own happiness\nevery day. When will their sufferings ever end?\n\n'This being so, how is it possible for me to procure such food for\nthem? Not even for one single day could I injure others and destroy\nlife.\n\n21. 'Indeed, I do not remember having ever saddened the faces of those\nwho came to me as supplicants, and bereaved them of splendour by the\ndisappointment of their hopes, so as to make them appear like lotuses\nwithered by the winter-wind.\n\n'But, why muse any longer? I have found what I will do.\n\n22, 23. 'I will give them lumps of solid and fat flesh and draughts of\nblood taken from my own body. What way, if not this, can be more\nsuitable for me to supply the wants of those beggars seeking their\nrelief from my side? For the flesh of animals who have died a natural\ndeath is cold and bloodless, and of course does not please them; and\ntheir hunger is great and attested by their afflicted figures.\n\n'On the one hand, how may I take flesh out of the body of any other\nliving being? On the other, how may I suffer them who have resorted to\nme, to draw off in this manner, with countenances languishing and eyes\nsunken in consequence of their hunger and thirst, and still more sick\nwith grief because of the fruitlessness of their request on which they\nhad founded their hopes? It is, therefore, the right time to act in this\nway.\n\n24. 'Like a malignant ulcer, this body is always sick and an abode of\npain. Now I will return it that grief by availing myself of it for the\naccomplishment of an extraordinary performance of surpassing\nloveliness.'\n\nHaving so resolved, the Great-minded One, whose eyes and face received\nincrease of splendour by the outburst of his gladness, spoke thus to the\nYakshas, pointing out his body to them:\n\n25. 'If this flesh and blood, which I bear only for the good of the\ncreatures, were now to be disposed of with the object of entertaining\nguests, I would deem this a good fortune for myself and of great\nconsequence.'\n\nThe Yakshas, though knowing the determination of the king, could not\nbelieve it; so marvellous did it appear to them. And they said to him:\n\n26. 'After the mendicant has unveiled his suffering by wretched asking,\nfrom that very moment it is the giver alone who ought to know what\nshould be done in the case.'\n\nThe king, understanding that they assented, was much rejoiced, and\nordered his physicians to be sent for, to have his veins opened. Now the\nroyal ministers, understanding his determination to offer his own flesh\nand blood, became agitated, irritated, and perplexed by it, and prompted\nby their affection, spoke emphatically to this purport: 'We pray Your\nMajesty not to give way to your excessive love of charity in such a\ndegree as to disregard the consequences of your actions, whether they\nare to be good or evil to your loyal and devoted subjects. Your Majesty\ncannot be ignorant of the nature of the evil spirits.\n\n27. 'Goblins, you know, rejoice in whatsoever may tend to the mishap of\nyour subjects, most illustrious lord. They get satisfied by a livelihood\nnecessitating injury to others. Such is the nature of that class of\nbeings, benevolent master.\n\n28. 'You, Your Majesty, not minding your own pleasures, sustain the\ntoilsome burden of royalty exclusively for the happiness of your people.\nCease, therefore, from this determination of offering your flesh and\nblood; it is a wrong action.\n\n29. 'These goblins have no power over your people, Your Majesty, no\ndoubt, as long as your strength protects your subjects. So being\nobstructed in their cleverness in bringing about mischief, they seek the\ncalamity of the inhabitants of this country by means of an adroit\nscheme.\n\n30. 'In fact, the Celestials are pleased with fat, suet, and the like,\noffered to them in the fire at sacrifices, and these goblins should not\nlike Your Majesty's food, that is excellent and pure, being carefully\nprepared!\n\n'Surely, Your Royal Majesty is not obliged to communicate your designs\nto such as we. Notwithstanding this, the attachment to our duty forbids\nus to show in this matter our usual obedience. Can it be called a\nrighteous action of Your Majesty to throw your whole people into\ncalamity for the sake of those five? Moreover, for what reason do you\nmake us feel to this degree your want of affection? How else could it\nhappen that our flesh and blood, which we are employing in the service\nof our master, have remained unnoticed by you, but you form the desire\nof offering your own, while our bodies are entire and available?'\n\nThen the king spoke to those ministers:\n\n31. 'Being requested in distinct terms, how may anybody like me say \"I\nhave not,\" when having, or \"I will not give,\" speaking falsely?\n\n32. 'Since I pass for your leader in matters of righteousness, if I\nmyself should walk in the wrong path, what would be the condition of my\nsubjects, who are ready to follow the example of my behaviour?\n\n33. 'Therefore, it is with regard to my very subjects that I will have\nthe strength of my body taken out of it. Besides, if I were to be\nfaint-hearted, subdued by self-love, what power should I have to promote\nthe welfare of my people?\n\n'As to the words of love and respect which you have spoken, words full\nof affection and cordial sympathy, when you asked why I showed such want\nof affection, wishing to offer my own limbs even now, while your flesh\nand blood are intact and available, I will convince you by argument.\nSurely, do not think that by want of trust I mean to close up the path\nin which you could show your affection towards me, or that suspicion has\ncreated an impenetrable thicket across it. Yet,\n\n34. 'The proper time for friends to conceive the desire of succouring\ntheir friend is this, when his wealth has either diminished gradually,\nor has been destroyed by the disfavour of his destiny; but it would not\nbefit the poor acting thus towards a wealthy man.\n\n35. 'Now, my limbs are available. They are big, solid, fleshy. Them I\ndo sustain for the sake of supplicants. This being so, it would be unfit\neven for you to conceive such a desire.\n\n36. 'I am not capable of bearing the pain of strangers, how then can you\nsuppose I should bear your suffering? Therefore, I wish to offer my own\nflesh. It is I, whom they ask, not you.\n\n'Well, then, though attachment to my person gave you the courage to put\nobstacles in the way of my righteous behaviour, do not oppose my\ndetermination any longer. Verily, Your Lordships are not in the habit of\ndealing in the proper manner with my mendicants. Besides, you should\nalso consider this.\n\n37. 'He who prohibits any one wishing for his own sake to give in\ncharity food or the like, say, by what appellation is he to be called, a\npious man or an impious one? How much less can there be any doubt about\nthis in the case of a gift of this character?\n\n'Why then insist any longer? Do but examine the matter duly, and you\nwill keep your thoughts from the wrong path, as befits those who occupy\na ministership in my service. In fact, sympathetic words of approval\nwould now become Your Lordships more than these anxious looks. Why do I\nsay so?\n\n38, 39. 'Beggars, wanting money and goods, objects of various\nemployment, are to be found every day, are they not? but mendicants like\nthese cannot be obtained even by propitiating deities. Now considering\nthe frailness of my body and that it is an abode of woe, it would be\nmeanness of mind, I think, even to hesitate at the time of the\nappearance of such uncommon mendicants; but miserable self-love would be\nhere the deepest darkness.\n\n'Pray, do not withhold me, then, My Lords.'\n\nHaving so persuaded his council, he sent for the physicians, and after\nhaving five veins in his body opened by them, he spoke to the Yakshas:\n\n40. 'Deign to assist me in this pious performance and to procure for me\nthe highest gladness by accepting this bounty.'\n\nThey assented and began to drink, intercepting with the hollow of their\njoint hands the king's blood, the dark colour of which resembled\nfragrant red sandal.\n\n41. While allowing the nocturnal monsters to drink the blood from his\nwounds, the monarch shone as if his body were of gold, and he had the\nappearance of Mount Meru covered with rain-clouds hanging down by their\nweight, and tinged with the hue of the twilight.\n\n42. In consequence of the high degree of his gladness, of his\nmagnanimous forbearance, and also of his corporeal strength, his body\ndid not fade, nor did his mind faint, and the flowing blood did not\nlessen.\n\nThe Yakshas, having quenched their intense thirst, said to the king that\nit was enough.\n\n43. Considering that he had now disposed of his body, that always\nungrateful object and abode of many pains, so as to turn it into a means\nof honouring mendicants, his satisfaction grew no less when they ceased.\n\nThen the king, the serenity of whose countenance was enhanced by his\nexpanding joy, took a sharp sword. It had a spotless bluish blade, not\nunlike a petal of the blue lotus, and a beautiful hilt shining with\nbrilliancy by the lustre of the jewels which adorned it. With it he cut\npieces of flesh out of his body and presented the Yakshas with them.\n\n44. And the joy he experienced by giving did not leave room for the\nsense of pain caused by cutting, and prevented his mind again and again\nfrom being immersed in sorrow.\n\n45. So the pain, pushing on at each stroke of the sharp sword, but\ndriven far back again by his gladness, was slow in penetrating his mind,\nas if it were tired by the trouble of being urged to and fro.\n\n46. And he was feeling a sense of gladness alone, whilst he satisfied\nthe nocturnal goblins with pieces of his flesh, to such an extent that\nthe cruel hearts of those very beings unclosed themselves to softness.\n\n47. He who, moved by love of the Law or by compassion, abandons his own\ndear body for the benefit of others, such a man may be able to\nregenerate the hearts of men burnt by the fire of hatred, changing it\ninto the gold of tenderness and faith[73].\n\n     [73] 'Tender-heartedness' or 'softness of mind' and 'faith in the\n     Buddha' are expressed by the one word pras\u00e2da. I have as a rule\n     translated it according to the conception prevailing, but there is\n     equivalence here.\n\nThe Yakshas, beholding the monarch, who, though intent on cutting out\nhis own flesh, was yet as calm as ever, and exhibited an unshaken\nserenity of countenance and dauntless intrepidity against the pain\ncaused by the work of his sword, became affected with the utmost\ntenderness and admiration.\n\n48. 'Oh, it is a wonder! oh, it is a miracle! Can it be true, or is it\nperhaps a phantasm?' Such thoughts arose in their ecstatic minds; and\nthe wrath they had fostered against the king was crushed, and they began\nto proclaim their faith by veneration and praise of his deed.\n\n'No more, no more, Your Majesty,' they exclaimed; 'cease injuring your\nown body! This marvellous performance of yours, by which you win the\nhearts of all mendicants, has satisfied us.' So with great agitation,\nand respectfully bowing their heads, they bade the king stop; after\nwhich, they looked up to him with great regard, uplifting their faces\nmoistened with tears of faithful contrition, and continued:\n\n49. 'Justly people are prompted by devoutness to proclaim everywhere\nyour glory. Justly _S_r\u00ee, disdaining the lotus-pond, loves to reside\nwith you. Verily, if Heaven, though protected by _S_akra's sovereignty,\ndoes not feel something like jealousy, when it looks down on this earth,\nguarded by your heroism--Heaven, forsooth, is deceived.\n\n'Why use many words? Mankind is happy, indeed, being under the\nprotection of such a person as you; but we, we are utterly distressed at\nhaving approved of your suffering. Yet, we hope that applying to such a\nbeing as you are, may prove a means of salvation for us, be we ever so\nwicked as we are. Thus hoping, we put this question to you.\n\n50. 'What is that exceedingly marvellous rank for which you long, acting\nin this way without regard to your royal happiness, that beloved state\nwhich you possess at your ease?\n\n51. 'Is it the sovereignty of the whole earth you covet by means of this\npenance, or is it the rank of Kubera or that of Indra, or entire\ndeliverance and absorption into the Brahma?\n\n52. 'Be it what it may, the goal you are striving after cannot be very\nfar from this strong determination. If we are allowed to hear it, you\nwould please us by telling it, sir.'\n\nThe king spoke: 'Hear then, for what I am exerting myself.\n\n53-55. 'An illustrious high rank depends on existence, it is to be\nobtained by effort, and may be easily lost. It cannot give the pleasure\nof satisfaction, much less tend to serenity of mind. For this reason, I\ndo not desire even the brilliancy of the Lord of the Devas, how much\nless, that of a king of the earth. Nor would my heart become content, if\nI were to succeed in destroying the suffering of myself alone[74]. I\nrather regard those helpless creatures, distressed by toil and\nsufferings because of the violent calamities and vices to which they are\nliable. For their sakes, may I by means of this my meritorious action\nattain All-knowingness, and vanquishing the evil passions, my enemies,\nmay I save the creatures from the Ocean of Existence, that rough sea\nwith its billows of old age, sickness and death!'\n\n     [74] This is said in answer to the question whether he aimed at\n     absorption into Brahma [or 'into the Brahma,' the Sanskrit word\n     being brahmabh\u00fbya].\n\nOn hearing this, the Yakshas, the hairs on whose bodies bristled in\nconsequence of the intense joy of faith, bowed to the king, and said:\n'This performance of yours is consistent with your extraordinary\ndetermination. Accordingly we venture to express our conviction\nconcerning it: the designs of such persons as you will be accomplished\nafter a short time.\n\n56, 57. 'No doubt, all your exertions tend to the salvation of all\ncreatures; yet deign to take a special care of us, pray do not forget us\nat that time[75]. And now forgive us what we have done from ignorance,\ncausing you to be thus tortured: we did not understand even our own\ninterest.\n\n     [75] Viz. 'at the time of your All-knowingness, when you will have\n     reached Buddhahood.'\n\n58. 'Further, we beg you to show us your favour by giving us some\ninjunction which we may follow. Do it with the same confidence, as you\nwould to your own officials.'\n\nUpon which the king, knowing them to be converted and to have lost their\nhard-heartedness, spoke in this manner: 'Do not be in trouble without\nreason. It is no torment, in fact it is a benefit you have conferred on\nme. Moreover,\n\n59. 'The path of righteousness (dharma) being thus (difficult), how\nshould I ever forget my companions on that road, when once I shall have\nattained Supreme Wisdom (bodhi)? My first teaching of the Lore of\nLiberation shall be to you; to you I shall impart of that ambrosia\nfirst.\n\n60. 'And if you now intend to do what may be agreeable to me, you must\navoid like poison these sins: doing harm to others, coveting the goods\nor wives of others, speaking evil, and drinking intoxicating liquors.'\n\nThe Yakshas promised to do so, and having bowed to him and\ncircumambulated him from left to right, disappeared on the spot.\n\nBut when the Great Being had made up his mind to give away his own flesh\nand blood, at that very time\n\n61, 62. Earth trembled in many places and caused the Golden Mountain to\nwaver, in consequence of which concussion the drums on that mountain\nbegan to sound and the trees to cast off their flowers. These spread\nabout in the sky, and moved by the wind appeared like a cloud; at one\nplace, like a flight of birds, they resembled a canopy; at another they\nbore the appearance of a well-arranged garland. They fell down together\non all sides of the place where the king was.\n\n63. The great Ocean, as if he intended to prevent the monarch, showed\nhis excitement and agitation by the increased commotion and noise of his\nwaves, and his figure expressed great vigour as if he were ready to\nmarch[76].\n\n     [76] Viz. to relieve the king. In this simile the Ocean is\n     represented as an auxiliary prince who raises his army to the\n     succour of his ally.\n\n64, 65. Then the Chief of the Devas became agitated by those phenomena;\nand discovering by reflection the cause of them, and being filled with\napprehension at the sufferings to which the king exposed himself,\nhastily came to the royal residence, where he found every one perplexed\nwith sorrow and fear, except the king. On beholding the calmness of his\ncountenance, though he was in so miserable a condition, _S_akra was\naffected with the utmost amazement. He approached the monarch, and\nimpelled by gladness and joy, he eulogised his performance in his lovely\nvoice.\n\n66. 'Oh, thou hast reached the summit of pious behaviour! oh, the\nloftiness of thy treasure which is the practice of virtue! oh, how\ncharmingly clever is thy mind in showing thy favour to others! Verily,\nbeing given to thee, Earth has obtained a protector!'\n\nAfter so praising him, _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, applied excellent\nherbs, fit to heal wounds immediately, which herbs were partly divine,\npartly such as are used by men. So he put a stop to his pains, and made\nhis body as it was before. In return for which the king honoured him by\nkind attendance in a courteous and reverent manner. Then _S_akra went\nback to his own abode.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this way, then, the intensely compassionate do not mind their own\npleasure, being afflicted by the sufferings of others; [who, then,\nought not to set aside the attachment to anything so mean as wealth?\nThus ought to be said when stimulating the zeal of charitable people.\nLikewise, when explaining the virtue of compassion; when glorifying the\nTath\u00e2gata; also on the subject of listening with attention to the\npreaching of the Law. Moreover, the words said by the Lord: 'Monks,\nthese Five have done much, indeed,' will be explained by their being\nconnected with this story. For they were the five Yakshas of that time.\nTo them the Lord imparted the first of the ambrosia of the Law, just as\nhe had promised.]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     The story of Maitr\u00eebala is not met with in the _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka nor\n     in the five volumes of the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, which have appeared up to\n     date; it will probably be found in the part not yet published.\n     Something like it is told in the ninety-first pallava of\n     Kshemendra's Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2. There a king of the _S_ibis gives up\n     his flesh and blood in order to obtain a s\u00fbkta or well-said\n     sentence[77]. This tale, however, is not yet printed, nor may we\n     expect it soon to be so. But in another part of that poem, already\n     published, I have met with the story of king Ma_n_i_k_\u00fb_d_a, which\n     bears in many respects a striking resemblance to ours. See 3, 56\n     foll.\n\n     [77] Somendra in his introductory _s_lokas describes the\n     ninety-first story thus: svam\u00e2_m_s\u00e2s_ri_kprad\u00e2nena ya_h_ _S_ibi_h_\n     s\u00fbktam agrah\u00eet (_s_l. 36).\n\n\n\n\nIX. THE STORY OF VI_S_VANTARA.\n\n\nThe mean-spirited are not even capable of approving the behaviour of the\nBodhisattva, how much less can they act after it. This will be taught by\nthe following.\n\nOnce the _S_ibis were ruled by a king named Sa_mg_aya, who performed his\nroyal duties in the right manner. Having entirely subdued his organs of\nsense, and possessing in a high degree the virtues of valour,\ndiscretion, and modesty, he was victorious and mighty. Thanks to the\nconstant and strict observance he paid to the elders, he had mastered\nthe essential contents of the three Vedas (tray\u00ee) and of metaphysics.\nHis good administration of justice was praised by his affectionate\nsubjects, who loved the exercise of their different trades and duties,\nand enjoyed the benefits of security and peace.\n\n1. By the progress of his virtues he had gained the affection of Royal\nFelicity, who, like an honest woman, was faithful to him, not to be\nthought of by the other monarchs; just as a den kept by a lion is\ninaccessible to other animals.\n\n2. All such men as spent their labours in any kind of penance, science\nor art, used to come up to him, and if they proved their merit, they\nobtained distinguished honour from him.\n\nNext to him in dignity, but not his inferior by a famous set of virtues,\nhis son Vi_s_vantara held the rank of heir-apparent.\n\n3. Though a youth, he possessed the lovely placidity of mind proper to\nold age; though he was full of ardour, his natural disposition was\ninclined to forbearance; though learned, he was free from the conceit of\nknowledge; though mighty and illustrious, he was void of pride.\n\n4. As the extent[78] of his virtue was conspicuous in all regions and\nhis fame penetrated the three worlds, there was no room for the feeble\nand trifling reputations of others; it seemed as if they did not venture\nto show themselves.\n\n     [78] I suppose the reading of the MSS. d_ri_sh_t_apray\u00e2m\u00e2su to be\n     right.\n\n5. He could not endure the proud prevalence of calamities and other\ncauses of sufferings among mankind. It was against these foes that he\nwaged war and fought in battle, shooting from his large bow of\ncompassion numberless arrows which had the form of gifts of charity.\n\nSo he was wont to fill day after day the mendicants who happened to come\nto him with the utmost gladness by his bounties, given without\ndifficulty, surpassing the objects asked for, and the more lovely, as\nthey were bestowed with deference and kind words. But on the\nknotdays[79], as he was distinguished by his strict observance of the\nrestrictions and the quiet of the sabbath, after bathing his head and\nputting on a white linen dress, he mounted his excellent, well-trained,\nswift, and vigorous elephant, who (by his colour and size) might be\ncompared to a peak of the Snow-mountain, whose face was adorned with the\ntracks of the juice flowing in rutting-time, and on whose body\nauspicious marks were found. Sitting, then, on the back of that\nfar-famed scent-elephant[80] and royal vehicle, he was in the habit of\nmaking the round of his alms-halls, which he had established in all\nparts of the town to be like refreshing wells for the mendicants. So\ngoing about, he experienced an excessive gladness.\n\n     [79] Viz. the sabbath-days.\n\n     [80] Cp. stanza 6 of Story II.\n\n6. No opulence, in truth, within doors procures to a charitable man such\nrejoicing, as it produces when transferred to the mendicants.\n\nNow his very great practice of charity being proclaimed everywhere by\nthe rejoiced mendicants, some neighbouring king who had heard of it,\nconsidering that it would be possible to deceive the young prince by\nmeans of his passion for almsgiving, directed some Br\u00e2hmans, his\nemissaries, to rob him of that excellent elephant. Accordingly one day,\nwhen Vi_s_vantara was inspecting his alms-halls, manifesting his\ngladness of mind by the enhanced beauty of his countenance, the said\nBr\u00e2hmans placed themselves in his way, uttering benedictions with their\nuplifted and outstretched right hands. He stopped his excellent\nelephant, and asked them respectfully the reason of their coming; they\nhad but to express their want, he said. The Br\u00e2hmans spoke:\n\n7, 8. 'Both the excellent qualities of this elephant of thine, who has\nso graceful a gait, and thy heroic love of charity make us like beggars.\nPresent us with this (white) elephant, who is like a peak of the\nKail\u00e2sa mountain, and thou wilt fill the world with astonishment.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva being thus addressed, was filled with sincere joy and\nentered upon this reflection: 'Truly, after a long time I now see\nmendicants requesting a grand boon. But, after all, what may be the want\nof such a lord of elephants to these Br\u00e2hmans? No doubt, this must be a\nmiserable trick of some king, whose mind is troubled with covetousness,\njealousy, and hatred.\n\n9. 'Yet that prince, who, not minding either his reputation or the\nprecepts of righteousness, is eager, as it were, to promote my good[81],\nmust not be saddened by disappointment.'\n\n     [81] Inasmuch as his covetousness affords to the Bodhisattva an\n     occasion of performing an extraordinary deed of charity. Compare a\n     similar argument in Story XXXIII, stanza 15.\n\nHaving thus considered, the Great-minded One alighted from the back of\nthat excellent elephant and stood before them with uplifted golden\npitcher; then he pronounced (the solemn formula) 'Accept.'\n\n10. After which, though knowing that the science of politics follows the\npath of Righteousness (dharma) only as far as it may agree with material\ninterest (artha), he gave away his foremost elephant. His attachment to\nRighteousness did not allow him to be frightened by the lie of political\nwisdom.\n\n11. Having given away that lord of elephants, who, adorned with the\nlovely golden lattice-seat on his back, resembled a massy cloud of\nautumn, radiant with a flash of lightning[82], the royal prince obtained\nthe utmost delight--but the citizens were stricken with consternation,\nfor they were adherents of political wisdom.\n\n     [82] In the P\u00e2li redaction which is the source of Spence Hardy's\n     narration of our tale, it is said that this white elephant had the\n     power of causing rain.\n\nIn fact, when the _S_ibis heard of the gift of that lord of elephants,\nanger and wrath penetrated them, and the eldest of the Br\u00e2hmans, the\nministers, the warriors, and the chiefs of the townsmen, making hubbub\nwent into the presence of king Sa_mg_aya. Owing to their agitation,\nresentment, and anger, they neglected the restraint imposed on them by\nthe respect due to their monarch, and spoke: 'Why do you overlook in\nthis manner, Your Majesty, the fortune of your kingdom being carried\noff? Your Majesty ought not to overlook that in this way you are\nfostering the misfortune of your realm.' When the king, alarmed, asked\nthem what they meant by this, they replied: 'Why, are you not aware of\nwhat has happened, Your Majesty?\n\n12, 13. 'That splendid animal, whose face, being fragrant with the scent\nof the flowing juice, intoxicates crowds of humming bees hovering about,\nand likewise impregnates the cherishing wind with its perfume, so as to\ninduce him to wipe off gladly and easily the smell caught from the fluid\nof other haughty elephants; that war-elephant, whose brilliant vigour\nsubdued the strength and the power of your enemies, and abated their\npride even unto the motionlessness of sleep--see, that embodied victory\nhas been given away by Vi_s_vantara and is now being carried off abroad.\n\n14. 'Kine, gold, clothes, eatables, such are the goods fit to give to\nBr\u00e2hmans, but parting with our foremost elephant, the pledge of glorious\nvictory, is an excess of charity, and goes too far.\n\n15. 'How should success and might ever join this prince who acts up to\nthis point contrary to the maxims of policy? In this matter forbearance\nfrom your side is out of place, Your Majesty, lest he should before long\nafford matter of rejoicing to your enemies.'\n\nOn hearing this, the king, who loved his son, was not very kindly\ndisposed towards them; but submitting to necessity, he told them\nhastily, they were right; after which he tried to appease the _S_ibis.\n'I know,' he said, 'that Vi_s_vantara indulges in his disproportionate\npassion for charity so as to neglect for it the rules of political\nwisdom, which behaviour is not suitable for a person appointed to the\nroyal charge. But as he has resigned his own elephant, as if it were\nphlegm, who will bring back that animal? Nevertheless, I shall take such\nmeasures that Vi_s_vantara will know a limit in his almsgiving. This may\nsuffice to appease your anger.'\n\nThe _S_ibis answered: 'No, Your Majesty, this will not do. Vi_s_vantara\nis no person to be brought to reason in this matter by a simple\ncensure.'\n\nSa_mg_aya spoke: 'But what else can I do?\n\n16. 'He is averse to sinful actions, only his attachment to virtuous\npractices is turning into a kind of passion. Why, should you then deem\nimprisonment or death inflicted on my own son to be the due requital for\nthat elephant?\n\n'Therefore, desist from your wrath! Henceforward I will prevent\nVi_s_vantara from such actions.'\n\nNotwithstanding this, the _S_ibis persisted in their anger and said:\n\n17, 18. 'Who would be pleased, O king, with the pain of death, or\nprison, or flogging pronounced upon your son? But being devoted to his\nreligious duties, Vi_s_vantara is not fit to be a bearer of the\ntroublesome burden of royalty, because of his tenderness of heart and\nhis compassion. Let the throne be occupied by such princes, as have\nobtained renown for their martial qualities and are skilled in the art\nof giving its due to each of the three members of the trivarga; but your\nson, who in consequence of his love of Righteousness (dharma), does not\nheed Policy (naya), is a proper person to dwell in a penance-grove.\n\n19. 'Surely, if princes commit faults of bad policy, the results of\nthose faults fall on their subjects[83]. They are however bearable for\nthem, after all, as is taught by experience; not so for the kings\nthemselves, the very roots of whose power they undermine.\n\n     [83] This Indian parallel to the Horatian verse quidquid delirant\n     reges, plectuntur Achivi, runs thus in the original: phalanti\n     k\u00e2ma_m_ vasudh\u00e2dip\u00e2n\u00e2_m_ durn\u00eetidosh\u00e2s tadup\u00e2_s_riteshu.\n\n20. 'Why, then, here say much? Not capable of conniving at a state of\nthings which must lead to your ruin, the _S_ibis have taken this\nresolution. The royal prince must withdraw to Mount Va\u1e45ka, the residence\nof the Siddhas; there he may exert his penance.'\n\nBeing so addressed for his good in very harsh terms by those\ndignitaries, who moved by affection and love spoke frankly, foreseeing\nthe calamities to be expected from bad policy, the king was ashamed of\nthe wrath of the chiefs of his people, and with downcast eyes,\noverwhelmed by the sorrowful thought of a separation from his son, he\nheaved a deep, woeful sigh, and said to the _S_ibis: 'If this is your\nperemptory decision, allow him, at least, the delay of one day and\nnight. Tomorrow at day-break Vi_s_vantara shall accomplish your desire.'\nThis answer satisfied the _S_ibis. Then the king said to his\nchamberlain: 'Go and tell Vi_s_vantara what has happened.' The\nchamberlain said he would do so, and, his face bathed in tears, went to\nVi_s_vantara, who was at that moment in his own palace. Overwhelmed by\nhis sorrow, he threw himself at the feet of the prince, weeping aloud.\nThen Vi_s_vantara anxiously inquired after the health of the royal\nfamily; the other said in a voice rather indistinct by affliction: 'O,\nthe royal family is well.' 'But why are you thus excited, then?'\nVi_s_vantara replied. Being so asked once more, the chamberlain whose\nthroat was choked with tears, uttered slowly and in a faltering tone\nthese words, interrupting and disturbing them by his sobs:\n\n21. 'Brusquely disregarding the royal command, though it was declared to\nthem in gentle terms, the _S_ibis, moved by anger, order you to be\nbanished from the kingdom, my prince.'\n\nVi_s_vantara said: 'Me ... the _S_ibis ... order to be banished, moved\nby anger! What you say is out of all reason.\n\n22. 'Never did I take delight in leaving the path of discipline, and I\ndetest carelessness about my duties. What evil action of mine, unknown\nto me, makes the _S_ibis angry with me?'\n\nThe chamberlain said: 'They are offended at your exceeding loftiness of\nmind.\n\n23, 24. 'Your satisfaction was pure by the disinterested feeling you\nexperienced, but that of those mendicants was troubled by cupidity. When\nyou gave away that foremost of elephants, O most noble prince, wrath put\nthe _S_ibis out of patience and caused them to transgress the limits of\ntheir duty. They are furious against you. You must go, indeed, the way\nof those who live as ascetics.'\n\nAt this moment the Bodhisattva displayed both his deeply-rooted\naffection for the mendicants which his continuous practice of compassion\nhad firmly established, and his grand, immense patience. He said: 'The\nnature of the _S_ibis is fickle, and they cannot understand mine, it\nseems.\n\n25. 'The objects of sense being outside of ourselves, it is superfluous\nto say that I would give away my eyes or my head[84]. For the benefit of\nthe creatures I support this body, how much more the possession of\nclothes and vehicles.\n\n     [84] The Bodhisattva is said to have given away his eyes in one of\n     his existences (Story II). The gift of his head is related in some\n     _g_\u00e2taka, not found in this selection of \u00c2rya _S_\u00fbra. It occurs in\n     Kshemendra's Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2, pallava the fifth.\n\n26. 'Me, wanting to honour the requests of the mendicants, if need be,\nwith my own limbs, the _S_ibis believe to restrain from charity by fear!\nSo considering, they do but unfold their foolish fickleness of mind.\n\n27. 'Let all _S_ibis kill me or banish me, I shall not desist from\ncharity for that reason. With this mind I am ready to set out for the\npenance-grove.'\n\nAfter this, the Bodhisattva said to his wife, who had turned pale while\nhearing the sad news: 'Your Highness has heard the resolution of the\n_S_ibis.' Madr\u00ee[85] replied: 'I have.' Vi_s_vantara said:\n\n     [85] It is plain that _S_\u00fbra supposes the story of Vi_s_vantara to\n     be known to his readers. Neither the name of Vi_s_vantara's wife\n     nor even the fact of his being married has been told before.\n\n28. 'Now make a deposit, fair-eyed one, of all your property, taking\nwhat you have got from my part as well as from your father's side[86].'\n\n     [86] On this str\u00eedhana, or 'wife's property,' see the paper of\n     Jolly in the Sitzungsber. der bair. Akad. der Wiss., 1876.\n\nMadr\u00ee answered: 'Where shall I lay the deposit, my prince?' Vi_s_vantara\nspoke:\n\n29, 30. 'You must always give in charity to people of good conduct,\nembellishing your bounty by kind observance. Goods deposited in this\nmanner are imperishable and follow us after death. Be a loving daughter\nto your parents-in-law, a careful mother to our children. Continue in\npious conduct, beware of inadvertence; but do not mourn for my absence,\nwill you?'\n\nUpon this, Madr\u00ee, avoiding what might impair the firmness of mind of her\nhusband, suppressed the deep sorrow that put her heart to anguish, and\nsaid with feigned calmness:\n\n31, 32. 'It is not right, Your Majesty, that you should go to the forest\nalone. I too will go with you where you must go, my lord. When attending\non you, even death will be a festival to me; but living without you I\ndeem worse than death.\n\n'Nor do I think the forest-life to be unpleasant at all. Do but consider\nit well.\n\n33. 'Removed from wicked people, haunted by deer, resounding with the\nwarbling of manifold birds, the penance-groves with their rivulets and\ntrees, both intact, with their grass-plots which have the loveliness of\ninlaid lapis lazuli floors, are by far more pleasing than our artificial\ngardens.\n\n'Indeed, my prince,\n\n34. 'When beholding these children neatly dressed and adorned with\ngarlands, playing in the wild shrubs, you will not think of your\nroyalty.\n\n35. 'The water-carrying brooks, overhung by natural bowers of\nperpetually renewed beauty, varying according to the succession of the\nseasons, will delight you in the forest.\n\n36, 37. 'The melodious music of the songs of birds longing for the\npleasure of love, the dances of the peacocks whom Lasciviousness has\ntaught that art, the sweet and praised buzzing of the honey-seeking\nbees: they make together a forest-concert that will rejoice your mind.\n\n38. 39. 'Further, the rocks overspread at night with the silk garment of\nmoonlight; the soft-stroking forest wind impregnated with the scent of\nflowering trees; the murmuring noise of the rivulets, pushing their\nwaters over moving gravel so as to imitate the sound of a number of\nrattling female ornaments--all this will gladden your mind in the\nforest.'\n\nThis entreaty of his well-beloved wife filled him with a great desire to\nset out for the forest. Therefore he prepared to bestow great largesses\non the mendicant people.\n\nBut in the king's palace the news of the banishment pronounced upon\nVi_s_vantara caused great alarm and violent lamentations. Likewise the\nmendicants, agitated by sorrow and grief, became almost beside\nthemselves, or behaved as if they were intoxicated or mad, and uttered\nmany and various lamentations of this kind:\n\n40. 'How is it that Earth does not feel ashamed, permitting the hatchets\nto hew down that shady tree, her foster-child, the giver of such sweet\nfruits? It is now plain she has been deprived of consciousness.'\n\n41. 'If no one will prevent those who are about to destroy that well of\ncold, pure, and sweet water, then in truth the guardians of the\nworld-quarters are falsely named so, or they are absent, or they are\nnothing but a mere sound.'\n\n42. 'Oh! Indeed Injustice is awake and Righteousness either asleep or\ndead, since prince Vi_s_vantara is banished from his reign.'\n\n43. 'Who possesses such a refined skill in occasioning distress, as to\nhave the cruelty to aim at starving us, the guiltless, who obtain a\nscanty livelihood by begging?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva then gave away his wealth. He bestowed on the mendicants\nthe contents of his treasury, filled to the very top with precious\nstones, gold, and silver, of the value of many hundred thousands; his\nmagazines and granaries, containing stores of manifold goods and grains;\nall his other property, consisting of slaves of both sexes, beasts of\ndraught, carriages, garments and the like. The whole of this he\ndistributed according to the merit of the recipients. This being done,\nhe paid his respectful homage to his father and mother, taking leave of\nthem, who were overwhelmed with sadness and grief. Then he mounted his\nroyal chariot with his wife and children. He left the capital, while a\ngreat body of people uttered lamentations, the streets being as noisy as\non a holiday; nor did he succeed without difficulty in making the crowd\nturn back, who followed him out of affection, shedding tears of sorrow.\nThen himself taking the reins, he drove in the direction of Mount Va\u1e45ka.\nAnd without the least agitation of mind he passed along the environs of\nthe capital, crowned with charming gardens and groves, and approached\nthe forest, betokened by the gradually increasing rareness of shady\ntrees and of human beings, the sight of flocks of antelopes running at a\nfar distance, and the chirping of crickets. Now by chance some Br\u00e2hmans\ncame to meet him, who begged from him the horses that were drawing his\nchariot.\n\n44. And he, though on a journey of many yo_g_anas without attendants,\nand burdened with his wife, gave away to these Br\u00e2hmans his four horses,\nbeing rejoiced at this opportunity of giving, and not caring for the\nfuture.\n\nNow, when the Bodhisattva was about to put himself under the yoke, and\nwas fastening the girth tightly round his waist, there appeared four\nyoung Yakshas, under the form of red deer. Like well-trained excellent\nhorses they put their shoulders under the yoke themselves. On seeing\nthem, the Bodhisattva said to Madr\u00ee, who stared at them with joy and\nsurprise:\n\n45. 'Behold the extraordinary might of the penance-groves honoured by\nthe residence of ascetics. Their kindness towards guests has in this\ndegree taken root in the breast of the foremost of deer.'\n\nMadr\u00ee replied:\n\n46. 'This is rather your superhuman power, I suppose. The practice of\nvirtue by the pious, however deeply rooted, is not the same with respect\nto everybody.\n\n47. 'When the beautiful reflection of the stars in the water is\nsurpassed by the laughing lustre of the night-waterlilies, the cause\nthereof is to be found in the beams which the Moon-god sends down as if\nout of curiosity[87].'\n\n     [87] The white waterlilies (kumuda) are said to open at moonrise.\n     The connection between these flowers and the moon is a commonplace\n     in Indian poetry.\n\nWhile they were going on, so speaking to each other kind words of\naffection, see, another Br\u00e2hman came near, and asked the Bodhisattva for\nhis royal chariot.\n\n48. And the Bodhisattva, as he was indifferent to his own comfort, but\nto the beggars a loving kinsman, fulfilled the wish of that Br\u00e2hman.\n\nHe gladly caused his family to alight from the chariot, presented the\nBr\u00e2hman with it, and taking _G_\u00e2lin, his boy, in his arms, he continued\nhis way on foot. Madr\u00ee, she too free from sadness, took the girl,\nK_ri_sh_n_\u00e2_g_in\u00e2, in her arms and marched after him.\n\n49. The trees, stretching out to him their branches adorned at their\nends with charming fruits, invited him, as it were, to enjoy their\nhospitality, and paying homage to his merit-obtained dignity, bowed to\nhim like obedient disciples, when they got sight of him.\n\n50. And, where he longed for water, in those very places lotus-ponds\nappeared to his eyes, covered on their surface with the white and\nreddish-brown pollen fallen down from the anthers of the lotuses shaken\nby the wing-movements of the swans.\n\n51. The clouds overspread him with a beautiful canopy; there blew an\nagreeable and odoriferous wind; and his path was shortened by Yakshas\nnot enduring his labour and fatigue.\n\nIn this manner the Bodhisattva with his wife and children experienced\nthe pleasure and the delight of a walk, without feeling the sensation of\nweariness, just as if he were in some park, and at last he perceived\nMount Va\u1e45ka. Being showed the way by some foresters, he went up to the\npenance-forest which was on that mountain. This forest was beset with\nmanifold charming and smooth-barked, excellent trees, with their\nornaments of twigs, flowers, and fruits; birds exulting with lust made\nit resound with their various notes; groups of dancing peacocks enhanced\nits beauty; many kinds of deer lived in it. It was encircled as with a\ngirdle by a river of pure, blue water, and the wind was agreeable there,\ncarrying red flower-dust. In this grove stood a desert hut of leaves,\nlovely to behold, and pleasing in every season. Vi_s_vakarman himself\nhad built it by the orders of _S_akra. There the Bodhisattva took up his\nresidence.\n\n52. Attended by his beloved wife, enjoying the artless and sweet talk of\nhis children, not thinking of the cares of royalty, like one who is\nstaying in his gardens, he practised in that grove strong penance for\nhalf a year.\n\nOne day, when the princess had gone to seek roots and fruits, and the\nprince watching the children kept himself within the borders of the\nhermitage, there arrived a Br\u00e2hman, whose feet and ankles were stiff\nwith the dust of the journey, and whose eyes and cheeks were sunken by\ntoil; he was bearing over his shoulder a wooden club, from which his\nwaterpot hung down. His wife had despatched him with the pressing\nerrand, to go and search after some attendance. When the Bodhisattva saw\na mendicant coming up to him after a long time, his heart rejoiced, and\nhis countenance began to beam. He went to meet him, and welcomed him\nwith kind words. After the usual complimentary conversation he told him\nto enter the hermitage, where he entertained him with the honour due to\na guest. Then he asked him the object of his coming. And the Br\u00e2hman,\nwho through fondness for his wife had banished virtue and shame and was\nbut eager to receive his boon, said in truth something like this:\n\n53. 'Where a light is and an even road, there it is easy for men to go.\nBut in this world the darkness of selfishness prevails to such a degree\nthat no other men would support my words of request.\n\n54. 'Thy brilliant renown of heroic almsgiving has penetrated\neverywhere. For this reason I have undertaken this labour of begging\nfrom thee. Give me both thy children to be my attendants.'\n\nBeing so addressed, the Bodhisattva, that Great Being,\n\n55. As he was in the habit of cheerfully giving to mendicants and had\nnever learnt to say no, bravely said that he would give even both his\ndarlings.\n\n'Bless thee! But what art thou still waiting for?' Thus speaking the\nBr\u00e2hman urged the Great Being. Now the children, having heard their\nfather saying he would give them away, became afflicted, and their eyes\nfilled with tears. His affection for them agitated him, and made his\nheart sink. So the Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n56, 57. 'They are thine, being given by me to thee. But their mother is\nnot at home. She went out to the forest in search of roots and fruits;\nshe will come back at evening-time. Let their mother see them, neatly\ndressed as they are now and bearing wreaths, and kiss[88] them\n(farewell). Rest this night here; to-morrow thou shalt carry them away.'\n\n     [88] The literal translation is 'to smell at.' This old and\n     traditional manner of caressing is prescribed in the ritual-books,\n     see for instance, \u00c2_s_val\u00e2yanag_ri_hyas\u00fbtra I, 15, 9; P\u00e2raskara I,\n     18; Gobhila II, 8, 22 and 25.\n\nThe Br\u00e2hman said: 'Thy Reverence ought not to urge me.\n\n58. 'A metaphorical name of womankind is \"beautiful charmers[89],\" thou\nknowest. She might prove a hindrance to the fulfilment of thy promise.\nTherefore I do not like staying here.'\n\n     [89] I have tried to render approximately the ambiguousness of the\n     original. Women are designated, says the Br\u00e2hman, by the\n     appellation of v\u00e2m\u00e2_h_. Now v\u00e2m\u00e1 means 'beautiful,' but pronounced\n     with a different accent v\u00e2ma, it is a word signifying 'left,\n     contrary, opposite.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'Do not think of that. My wife will not obstruct\nthe fulfilment of my promise. She is in fact the companion of my pious\npractice[90]. But do as pleases Thy Reverence. Yet, great Br\u00e2hman, thou\nshouldst consider this:\n\n     [90] Vi_s_vantara uses here the solemn appellation of\n     sahadharma_k_\u00e2ri_n_\u00ee (= 'housewife') with its full meaning. The\n     formula sahobhau _k_arata_m_ dharmam is uttered in the fourth or\n     Pr\u00e2_g_\u00e2patya form of marriage. Manu III, 30.\n\n59-61. 'How should these children satisfy thy wants by slavework? They\nare very young and weak and have never been accustomed to such kind of\noccupation. But the king of _S_ibi, their grandfather, seeing them\nfallen into this state of bondage, will doubtlessly give thee as much\nmoney as thou desirest to redeem them. Well, for this reason I pray\nthee, take them to his realm. When acting thus, thou wilt get the\npossession of great wealth and at the same time of righteousness.'\n\n'No' (said the Br\u00e2hman), 'I do not venture to come to this king with an\noffer which would excite his anger; he would be unapproachable like a\nsnake.\n\n62. 'He would have the children torn from me by force, perhaps he would\nalso inflict punishment on me. I shall bring them rather to my\nBr\u00e2hma_n_\u00ee that they may attend on her.'\n\nUpon this the Bodhisattva said nothing but: 'Then as thou likest,'\nwithout finishing the sentence. He instructed the little ones with\npersuasive words how they had to act in accordance with their new\ncondition of servants; after which he took the waterpot, bending it\nover the outstretched hand of the Br\u00e2hman, greedy to accept the\nratification of the gift.\n\n63. Yielding to his effort, the water poured down from the pot, and at\nthe same time tears fell without effort from his eyes resembling dark\nred lotus-petals.\n\nOverjoyed with his success, agitated by his excitement, and hastening to\ncarry off the children of the Bodhisattva, the Br\u00e2hman uttered a short\nphrase of benediction, and telling the children with a harsh voice of\ncommand to go out, he prepared to make them leave the hermitage. They,\nhowever, could not bear the too intense grief of separation, their\nhearts shrunk together and they embraced the feet of their father.\nBathed in tears, they exclaimed:\n\n64. 'Mother is out of doors, while you are about to give us away. Do not\ngive us away before we have bidden adieu to mother too.'\n\nNow the Br\u00e2hman reflected: 'The mother will return erelong, or it is\nlikely that his paternal love will make him repent.' Thus considering,\nhe tied their hands like a bundle of lotuses with a creeper, and as they\nwere reluctant and looked back at their father, he began to drag those\nyoung and delicate children along with him, threatening them. At this\nmoment K_ri_sh_n_\u00e2_g_in\u00e2 the girl, having never before experienced a\nsudden calamity, cried out with tears to her father:\n\n65. 66. 'This cruel Br\u00e2hman, father, hurts me with a creeper. No, it is\nno Br\u00e2hman, to be sure. Brahmans are righteous, they say. It is an ogre\nunder the guise of a Br\u00e2hman. Certainly he carries us off to eat us. Why\ndo you suffer us, father, to be led away by this ogre?'\n\nAnd _G_\u00e2lin the boy lamented on account of his mother, saying:\n\n67. 'I do not suffer so much by the violence of this Br\u00e2hman, as by the\nabsence of mother. It is as if my heart is pierced by grief that I did\nnot see her.\n\n68. 'Oh! certainly, mother will weep for us for a long time in the\nempty hermitage, like the bird _k_\u00e2taka[91] whose little ones have been\nkilled.\n\n     [91] This bird, the cuculus melanoleucus, is a favourite with\n     Indian poets and rhetoricians. It is said to feed on raindrops.\n\n69. 'How will mother behave, when coming back with the many roots and\nfruits she has gathered in the forest for us, she will find the\nhermitage empty?\n\n70. 'Here, father, are our toy horses, elephants, and chariots. Half of\nthem you must give to mother, that she may assuage her grief therewith.\n\n71. 'You must also present to her our respectful salutations and\nwithhold her at any rate from afflicting herself; for it will be\ndifficult for us, father, to see you and her again.\n\n72. 'Come, K_ri_sh_n_\u00e2, let us die. Of what use is life to us? We have\nbeen delivered by the prince to a Br\u00e2hman who is in want of money.'\n\nAfter so speaking they parted. But the Bodhisattva, though his mind was\nshaken by these most piteous laments of his children, did not move from\nthe place where he was sitting. While representing to himself that it is\nnot right to repent having given, his heart was burnt by the fire of\nirremediable grief, and his mind became troubled, as though it were\nparalysed by torpor occasioned by poison. The fanning of the cool wind\nmade him soon recover his senses, and seeing the hermitage noiseless and\nsilent, as it were, being devoid of his children, he said to himself in\na voice choked with tears:\n\n73. 'How is it possible that this man did not scruple to strike my very\nheart before my very eyes in my children?[92] O, fie on that shameless\nBr\u00e2hman!\n\n     [92] Lit.: 'On my very heart, whose name is offspring.' This\n     identification of the heart of the father with his children depends\n     on an old formula, forming part of the prayers and sacred mantras\n     of the g_ri_hya-books. Cp. also Kaush\u00eetakibr\u00e2hma_n_opanishad II,\n     11.\n\n74. 'How may they be capable of making the journey, going bare-footed,\nunable to bear fatigue by reason of their tender age, and become\nservants to that man?\n\n75. 'Who will afford rest to them, when they are way-worn and exhausted?\nWhom may they go and ask, if vexed by the suffering of hunger and\nthirst?\n\n76. 'If this sorrow strikes even me, the earnest striver after firmness\nof mind, what then will be the condition of those little ones, brought\nup in ease?\n\n77. 'Oh! the separation from my children is to my mind like a burning\nfire.... Nevertheless, who, holding on to the righteous conduct of the\nvirtuous, would give way to repentance?'\n\nIn the meanwhile Madr\u00ee was disquieted by ill omens and prognostics, the\nforetokens of some accident. Desiring therefore to get back with her\nroots and fruits as soon as possible, she was obstructed on the way by\nferocious animals, and was obliged to return to the hermitage by a long\ncircuitous way. And when she did not see her children neither on the\nway, where they were used to come to meet her, nor in the playground,\nher uneasiness greatly increased.\n\n78. Apprehending evil because of these dreadful sensations of danger,\nshe was agitated and anxious, and looked round about if she might get\nsight of the children; then she called them. Receiving no answer, she\nbegan to lament, being sore with grief.\n\n79. 'Formerly the hermitage, resounding with the shouts of my children,\nappeared to me a much-frequented region; now not perceiving them, I feel\nmyself helpless in the very same place as in a wilderness.\n\n80. 'But perhaps they have fallen asleep and are slumbering, tired with\nplaying. Or should they have gone astray in the thicket? Or should they\nhave hidden themselves out of childishness, being displeased that I was\nso long in coming home?\n\n81. 'But why do not yonder birds warble? Are they perhaps bewildered,\nhaving witnessed mischief done to the children? Can it be that my\ndarlings have been carried away by that very rapid stream, which is\neagerly pushing forth its dashing waves?\n\n'Oh! that my suspicions may prove to be groundless and false even now,\nand the prince and the children be well! Oh! may the evil-boding\nprognostics find their fulfilment on my body! But why then is my heart\nbig with sadness because of them? Why is it enwrapt in the night of\nsorrow and as if it would sink away? Why is it that my limbs seem to\nslacken, that I am no more able to discern the objects around me, that\nthis grove, deprived of its lustre, seems to turn round?'\n\nHaving entered the hermitage-ground and put aside her roots and fruits,\nshe went to her husband. After performing the usual salutation, she\nasked him for the children. Now the Bodhisattva, knowing the tenderness\nof a mother's love and also considering that bad news is hard to be\ntold, was not able to make any answer.\n\n82. It is a very difficult matter for a pitiful man, indeed, to torment\nwith evil tidings the mind of one who has come to him and deserves to\nhear pleasant words.\n\nThen Madr\u00ee thought: 'Surely, some ill has befallen the children; his\nsilence must be the effect of his being overwhelmed by grief and\nsadness,' and almost stricken with stupor she stared about the\nhermitage, but saw no children. And again she said in a voice rather\nindistinct by smothered tears:\n\n83. 'I do not see the children, and you do not speak anything to me!\nAlas! I am wretched, I am forlorn. This silence speaks of some great\nevil.'\n\nNo sooner had she said these words, than overpowered by the sorrow that\ntortured her heart, she sank down like a creeper violently cut off. The\nBodhisattva prevented her from falling to the ground, clasping his arms\nround her, and brought her to a grass couch, on which lying and being\nsprinkled with cold water she recovered her senses. Then he endeavoured\nto comfort her, saying:\n\n84. 'I have not told the sad news straightway to you, Madr\u00ee, for\nfirmness is not to be expected of a mind rendered weak by affection.\n\n85. 'See, a Br\u00e2hman suffering from old age and poverty has come to me.\nTo him I have given both children. Be appeased and do not mourn.\n\n86. 'Look at me, Madr\u00ee, do not look for the children, nor indulge in\nlamentations. Do not strike anew my heart, still pierced by the dart of\nsorrow on account of the children.\n\n87. 'When asked for my life, should I be able to withhold it? Take this\nin account, my love, and approve the gift I have made of the children.'\n\nMadr\u00ee, whom the suspicion of the death of her children had put to\nanguish, now hearing by these words that they were alive, began to\nrecover from her fright and affliction. She wiped away her tears with\nthe object of comforting and strengthening her husband; then looking up,\nshe beheld (something) that made her speak with amazement to her\nhusband: 'A wonder! A wonder! To say it in a few words,\n\n88. 'Surely, even the Celestials are wrapt in admiration at your heart\nbeing up to this point inaccessible to selfish feelings.\n\n89. 'This is evident from the sounds of the divine drums, echoing in all\ndirections. It is in order to celebrate your glory, that Heaven has\ncomposed the hymn which it thus pronounces in distinct language from\nafar.\n\n90. 'Earth shakes, trembling, I suppose, from exultation, as is\nindicated by the heaving of her breasts, the huge mountains. Golden\nflowers, falling down from heaven, make the sky appear as if it were\nilluminated by lightnings.\n\n91. 'Leave, then, grief and sadness. That you have given away in charity\nmust rather tend to brighten up your mind. Become again the well that\naffords benefit to the creatures, and a giver as before!'\n\nNow the surface of Earth being shaken, Sumeru, the lord of mountains,\nradiant with the lustre of its manifold gems, began to waver. _S_akra,\nthe Lord of the Devas, inquiring into the cause of the earthquake, was\ninformed of it by the regents of the world-quarters, who, with eyes\nexpanding with amazement, told him that it had been caused by\nVi_s_vantara giving away his children. Excited with joy and surprise,\nnext day at day-break he went into the presence of Vi_s_vantara,\nfeigning to be a Br\u00e2hman come to him as a mendicant. The Bodhisattva\nshowed him the hospitality due to a guest, after which he asked him to\nbring forth his request. Then _S_akra begged him for his wife.\n\n92. 'The practice of almsgiving in virtuous persons,' he said, 'comes as\nlittle to its end as the water in great lakes dries up. For this reason\nI ask thee for that woman there who is looking like a deity. Her, thy\nwife, give to me, I pray thee.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva did not lose his firmness of mind, however, and made the\npromise of giving her.\n\n93. Then taking Madr\u00ee with his left hand and the waterpot with his\nright, he poured down water on the hand of the Br\u00e2hman, but fire of\ngrief on the mind of the Love-god[93].\n\n     [93] This means not so much that the Indian Amor was afflicted on\n     account of the offence against conjugal love, as the defeat of\n     M\u00e2ra, the Indian Satan. To conquer the senses and sensuality is to\n     vanquish M\u00e2ra, who is the same as K\u00e2ma.\n\n94. No anger arose in Madr\u00ee's breast, nor did she weep, for she knew her\nhusband's nature. Only keeping her eyes fixed on him, she stood like an\nimage, stupefied by the excessive heaviness of that fresh burden of\nsuffering.\n\nOn beholding this, _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, affected with the\nutmost admiration, magnified the Great Being.\n\n95. 'Oh! the wide distance which is between the conduct of the righteous\nand that of the impious! How will those who have not purified their\nhearts be even capable of believing this great performance?\n\n96. 'To cherish an affectionate wife and much-beloved children, and yet\nto give them up, obeying the self-imposed vow of detachment--is it\npossible to conceive any loftiness like this?\n\n97. 'When thy glory will be spread throughout the world by the tales of\nthose who are enthusiastic about thy virtues, the brilliant reputations\nof others will disappear in thine, beyond doubt, just as the other\nluminaries dissolve in the splendour of the sunlight.\n\n98. 'Even now this superhuman fact of thine is praisingly approved by\nthe Yakshas, the Gandharvas, the snakes, and by the Devas, V\u00e2sava[94]\nincluded.'\n\n     [94] V\u00e2sava is another name of _S_akra.\n\nAfter so speaking, _S_akra reassumed his own brilliant figure and made\nhimself known to the Bodhisattva. Which being done, he said:\n\n  99. 'To thee I now give back Madr\u00ee, thy wife.\n       Where else should moonshine stay but with the moon?\n\n100. 'Nor shouldst thou be anxious about the separation from thy son and\ndaughter, nor grieve for the loss of thy royal dignity. Before long thy\nfather will come to thee, accompanied by both thy children, and provide\nhis kingdom with a protector, re-establishing thee in thy high rank.'\n\nHaving said these words, _S_akra disappeared on the spot.\n\nAnd that Br\u00e2hman, in consequence of _S_akra's power, brought the\nchildren of the Bodhisattva to the very land of _S_ibi. And when the\n_S_ibis and Sa_m_gaya, their king, heard of the Bodhisattva's\nperformance of the greatest compassion, hard to be done by others, their\nhearts became soft with tenderness. They redeemed the children from the\nhand of the Br\u00e2hman, and having obtained the pardon of Vi_s_vantara, led\nhim back and reinstated him in his royal dignity.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n[In this way, then, the behaviour of a Bodhisattva is exceedingly\nmarvellous. For this reason such distinguished beings as strive for that\nstate, must not be despised or hindered. This story is also to be\nadduced, when discoursing on the Tath\u00e2gata and when treating of\nlistening with attention to the preaching of the Law.]\n\n     Vi_s_vantara's birth being the last but one of the Lord, the person\n     of that charitable king is held very high among Buddhists. His\n     largesses are also considered to constitute the highest degree of\n     practising the p\u00e2ramit\u00e2 of charity. In the memorable night which\n     preceded his attainment of the Buddhahood, the _S_\u00e2kya prince had\n     but to refer to his actions in the Vi_s_vantara-existence to\n     demonstrate his having fulfilled that p\u00e2ramit\u00e2. In the P\u00e2li\n     _G_\u00e2taka that existence forms the subject-matter of the longest and\n     last tale of the collection, but since it is the last, it is still\n     unpublished; its contents, however, have been communicated by\n     Spence Hardy in his 'Manual of Budhism' (pp. 118-127 of the second\n     edition). From hence Prof. Kern borrowed his exposition of the tale\n     in his Geschiedenis van het Buddhisme, I, pp. 303-317, to which he\n     added copious notes with the object of exploring and expounding the\n     mythological substratum which underlies it. It is curious to\n     compare the redaction of the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka with that of _S_\u00fbra. The\n     latter omitted purposely, it seems, some particulars, for instance,\n     the name of the old Br\u00e2hman, that of the mother of Vi_s_vantara,\n     and the etymology of his name; his narration is different in some\n     slight details. But the main features are the same, likewise in the\n     redaction of the _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka, where Vi_s_vantara's story is\n     No. 9 of the d\u00e2naparamit\u00e2 and is told in 58 _s_lokas. From this\n     version it appears that the earthquake, caused by the great\n     liberality of the prince, is something most essential; or rather\n     the earthquakes, for this miracle occurred seven times, once, when\n     he took the determination [not mentioned by _S_\u00fbra] of giving his\n     heart, eyes, flesh or blood, if requested; secondly, after the gift\n     of the white elephant; thirdly, when he had made his great\n     largesses preceding his withdrawal to Mount Va\u1e45ka; fourthly and\n     fifthly, after giving his children and his wife; the sixth time was\n     when he met again with his father and mother in the forest; the\n     seventh at his entrance in his capital. The sevenfold earthquake is\n     also discussed in the Milinda Pa_\u00f1_ha, 119 foll. Cp. also the\n     parallel performance told of the Bodhisattva, who afterwards was\n     Ma\u1e45gala Buddha (Fausb. _G_\u00e2t. I, p. 31, translated by Rhys Davids,\n     Birth-Stories, I, p. 33).\n\n     In Kshemendra's Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 the story of Vi_s_vantara is No.\n     23, not yet published.\n\n\n\n\nX. THE STORY OF THE SACRIFICE.\n\n\nThose whose hearts are pure do not act up to the enticement of the\nwicked. Knowing this, pure-heartedness is to be striven after. This will\nbe taught by the following.\n\nLong ago the Bodhisattva, it is said, was a king who had obtained his\nkingdom in the order of hereditary succession. He had reached this state\nas the effect of his merit, and ruled his realm in peace, not disturbed\nby any rival, his sovereignty being universally acknowledged. His\ncountry was free from any kind of annoyance, vexation or disaster, both\nhis home relations and those with foreign countries being quiet in every\nrespect; and all his vassals obeyed his commands.\n\n1. This monarch having subdued the passions, his enemies, felt no\ninclination for such profits as are to be blamed when enjoyed, but was\nwith his whole heart intent on promoting the happiness of his subjects.\nHolding virtuous practice (dharma) the only purpose of his actions, he\nbehaved like a Muni.\n\n2. For he knew the nature of mankind, that people set a high value on\nimitating the behaviour of the highest. For this reason, being desirous\nof bringing about salvation for his subjects, he was particularly\nattached to the due performance of his religious duties.\n\n3. He practised almsgiving, kept strictly the precepts of moral conduct\n(_s_\u00eela), cultivated forbearance, strove for the benefit of the\ncreatures. His mild countenance being in accordance with his thoughts\ndevoted to the happiness of his subjects, he appeared like the embodied\nDharma.\n\nNow it once happened that, though protected by his arm, his realm, both\nin consequence of the faulty actions of its inhabitants and inadvertence\non the part of the angels charged with the care of rain, was afflicted\nin several districts by drought and the troublesome effects of such a\ndisaster. Upon this the king, fully convinced that this plague had been\nbrought about by the violation of righteousness by himself or his\nsubjects, and taking much to heart the distress of his people, whose\nwelfare was the constant object of his thoughts and cares, took the\nadvice of men of acknowledged competence, who were reputed for their\nknowledge in matters of religion. So keeping counsel with the elders\namong the Br\u00e2hmans, headed by his family priest (purohita) and his\nministers, he asked them for some means of putting an end to that\ncalamity. Now they, believing a solemn sacrifice as is enjoined by the\nVeda to be a cause of abundant rain, explained to him that he must\nperform such a sacrifice of a frightful character, inasmuch as it\nrequires the massacre of many hundreds of living beings. But after being\ninformed of everything concerning such a slaughter as is prescribed for\nthe sacrifice, his innate compassionateness forbade him to approve of\ntheir advice in his heart; yet out of civility, unwilling to offend them\nby harsh words of refusal, he slipped over this point, turning the\nconversation upon other topics. They, on the other hand, no sooner\ncaught the opportunity of conversing with the king on matters of\nreligion, than they once more admonished him to accomplish the\nsacrifice, for they did not understand his deeply hidden mind.\n\n4. 'You constantly take care not to neglect the proper time of\nperforming your different royal duties, established for the sake of\nobtaining the possession of land and ruling it. The due order of these\nactions of yours is in agreement with the precepts of Righteousness\n(dharma).\n\n5. 'How then is this that you who (in all other respects) are so clever\nin the observance of the triad (of dharma, artha, and k\u00e2ma), bearing\nyour bow to defend the good of your people, are so careless and almost\nsluggish as to that bridge to the world of the Devas, the name of which\nis 'sacrifice'?\n\n6. 'Like servants, the kings (your vassals) revere your commands,\nthinking them to be the surest gage of success. Now the time is come, O\ndestroyer of your foes, to gather by means of sacrifice superior\nblessings, which are to procure for you a shining glory.\n\n7, 8. 'Certainly, that holiness which is the requisite for a\nd\u00eekshita[95] is already yours, by reason of your habitual practice of\ncharity and your strictness in observing the restraint (of good\nconduct). Nevertheless, it would be fit for you to discharge your debt\nto the Devas[96] by such sacrifices as are the subject-matter of the\nVeda. The deities being satisfied by duly and faultlessly performed\nsacrifice, honour the creatures in return by (sending) rain. Thus\nconsidering, take to mind the welfare of your subjects and your own, and\nconsent to the performance of a regular sacrifice, which will enhance\nyour glory.'\n\n     [95] Before undertaking the performance of a great sacrifice, its\n     performer has to be purified by the initiatory ceremony of diksh\u00e2.\n     From that time till the final bath or avabh_ri_tha at the close of\n     the sacrifice he is called a d\u00eekshita, and bound to the observance\n     of many detailed prescriptions about his food, dress, residence,\n     and his whole mode of living.\n\n     [96] By sacrifice, is the saying of the Hindus, man pays his debts\n     to the Devas, by the _S_r\u00e2ddha and by offspring to his ancestors,\n     by study and penance to the _ri_shis or old sages, by benevolence\n     and kindness to men. See, for instance, Mhbh. I, 120, 17 foll.;\n     Buddha_k_arita IX, 55.\n\nThereupon he entered upon this thought: 'Very badly guarded is my poor\nperson indeed, being given in trust to such leaders. While faithfully\nbelieving and loving the Law, I should uproot my virtue of\ntender-heartedness by reliance upon the words of others. For, truly,\n\n9. 'Those who are reputed among men to be the best refuge, are the very\npersons who intend to do harm, borrowing their arguments from the Law.\nAlas! such a man who follows the wrong path shown by them, will soon\nfind himself driven to straits, for he will be surrounded by evils.\n\n10. 'What connection may there be, forsooth, between righteousness and\ninjuring animals? How may residence in the world of the Devas or\npropitiation of the deities have anything to do with the murder of\nvictims?\n\n11, 12. 'The animal slaughtered according to the rites with the\nprescribed prayers, as if those sacred formulae were so many darts to\nwound it, goes to heaven, they say, and with this object it is killed.\nIn this way that action is interpreted to be done according to the Law.\nYet it is a lie. For how is it possible that in the next world one\nshould reap the fruits of what has been done by others? And by what\nreason will the sacrificial animal mount to heaven? though he has not\nabstained from wicked actions, though he has not devoted himself to the\npractice of good ones, simply because he has been killed in sacrifice,\nand not on the ground of his own actions?\n\n13. 'And should the victim killed in sacrifice really go to heaven,\nshould we not expect the Br\u00e2hmans to offer themselves to be immolated in\nsacrifice? A similar practice, however, is nowhere seen among them. Who,\nthen, may take to heart the advice proffered by these counsellors?\n\n14. 'As to the Celestials, should we believe that they who are wont to\nenjoy the fair ambrosia of incomparable scent, flavour, magnificence,\nand effective power, served to them by the beautiful Apsarasas, would\nabandon it to delight in the slaughter of a pitiable victim, that they\nmight feast on the omentum and such other parts of his body as are\noffered to them in sacrifice?\n\n'Therefore, it is the proper time to act so and so.' Having thus made up\nhis mind, the king feigned to be eager to undertake the sacrifice; and\nin approval of their words he spoke to them in this manner: 'Verily,\nwell protected am I, well gratified, having such counsellors as Your\nLordships are, thus bent on securing my happiness! Therefore I will have\na human sacrifice (purushamedha) of a thousand victims performed. Let my\nofficials, each in his sphere of business, be ordered to bring together\nthe requisites necessary for that purpose. Let also an inquiry be made\nof the most fitting ground whereon to raise the tents and other\nbuildings for the sattra[97]. Further, the proper time for the sacrifice\nmust be fixed (by the astrologers) examining the auspicious lunar days,\nkara_n_as, muh\u00fbrtas, and constellations.' The purohita answered: 'In\norder to succeed in your enterprise, Your Majesty ought to take the\navabh_ri_tha (final bath) at the end of one sacrifice; after which you\nmay successively undertake the others. For if the thousand human victims\nwere to be seized at once, your subjects, to be sure, would blame you\nand be stirred up to great agitation on their account.' These words of\nthe purohita having been approved by the (other) Br\u00e2hmans, the king\nreplied: 'Do not apprehend the wrath of the people, Reverends. I shall\ntake such measures as to prevent any agitation among my subjects.'\n\n     [97] This is the appellation of great Soma-sacrifices lasting for\n     many days, sometimes even for years.\n\nAfter this the king convoked an assembly of the townsmen and the\nlandsmen, and said: 'I intend to perform a human sacrifice of a thousand\nvictims. But nobody behaving honestly is fit to be designated for\nimmolation on my part. With this in mind, I give you this advice:\nWhomsoever of you I shall henceforward perceive transgressing the\nboundaries of moral conduct, despising my royal will, him will I order\nto be caught to be a victim at my sacrifice, thinking such a one the\nstain of his family and a danger to my country. With the object of\ncarrying this resolution into effect, I shall cause you to be observed\nby faultless and sharp-sighted emissaries, who have shaken off sleepy\ncarelessness and will report to me concerning your conduct.'\n\nThen the foremost of the assembly, folding their hands and bringing them\nto their foreheads, spoke:\n\n15, 16. 'Your Majesty, all your actions tend to the happiness of your\nsubjects, what reason can there be to despise you on that account? Even\n(god) Brahm\u00e2 cannot but sanction your behaviour. Your Majesty, who is\nthe authority of the virtuous, be our highest authority. For this reason\nanything which pleases Your Majesty must please us, too. Indeed, you are\npleased with nothing else but our enjoyment and our good.'\n\nAfter the notables both of the town and the country had accepted his\ncommand in this manner, the king dispersed about his towns and all over\nhis country officers, notified as such by their outward appearance to\nthe people, with the charge of laying hold of the evildoers, and\neverywhere he ordered proclamations to be made by beat of drum day after\nday, of this kind:\n\n17. 'The king, a granter of security as he is, warrants safety to every\none who constantly cultivates honesty and good conduct, in short, to the\nvirtuous. Yet, intending to perform a human sacrifice for the benefit of\nhis subjects, he wants human victims by thousands to be taken out of\nthose who delight in misconduct.\n\n18. 'Therefore, whosoever henceforward, licentiously indulging in\nmisbehaviour, shall disregard the command of our monarch, which is even\nobserved by the kings, his vassals, shall be brought to the state of a\nsacrificial victim by the very force of his own actions; and people\nshall witness his miserable suffering, when he shall pine with pain, his\nbody being fastened to the sacrificial post.'\n\nWhen the inhabitants of that realm became aware of their king's careful\nsearch after evildoers with the aim of destining them to be victims at\nhis sacrifice--for they heard the most frightful royal proclamation day\nafter day and saw the king's servants, who were appointed to look out\nfor wicked people and to seize them, appearing every now and then\neverywhere--they abandoned their attachment to bad conduct, and grew\nintent on strictly observing the moral precepts and self-control. They\navoided every occasion of hatred and enmity, and settling their quarrels\nand differences, cherished mutual love and mutual esteem. Obedience to\nthe words of parents and teachers, a general spirit of liberality and\nsharing with others, hospitality, good manners, modesty, prevailed among\nthem. In short, they lived as it were in the K_ri_ta Yuga.\n\n19. The fear of death had awakened in them thoughts of the next world;\nthe risk of tarnishing the honour of their families had stirred their\ncare of guarding their reputation; the great purity of their hearts had\nstrengthened their sense of shame. These factors being at work, people\nwere soon distinguished by their spotless behaviour.\n\n20. Even though every one became more than ever intent on keeping a\nrighteous conduct, still the king's servants did not diminish their\nwatchfulness in the pursuit of the evildoers. This also contributed to\nprevent people from falling short of righteousness.\n\n21. The king, learning from his emissaries this state of things in his\nrealm, felt extremely rejoiced. He bestowed rich presents on those\nmessengers as a reward for the good news they told him, and enjoined his\nministers, speaking something like this:\n\n22-24. 'The protection of my subjects is my highest desire, you know.\nNow, they have become worthy to be recipients of sacrificial gifts[98],\nand it is for the purpose of my sacrifice that I have provided this\nwealth. Well, I intend to accomplish my sacrifice in the manner which I\nhave considered to be the proper one. Let every one who wishes for\nmoney, that it may be fuel for his happiness, come and accept it from my\nhand to his heart's content. In this way the distress and poverty, which\nis vexing our country, may be soon driven out. Indeed, whenever I\nconsider my own strong determination to protect my subjects and the\ngreat assistance I derive from you, my excellent companions in that\ntask, it often seems to me as though those sufferings of my people, by\nexciting my anger, were burning in my mind like a blazing fire.'\n\n     [98] Viz. by the purity of their life and the holiness of their\n     conduct.\n\nThe ministers accepted the royal command and anon went to execute it.\nThey ordered alms-halls to be established in all villages, towns, and\nmarkets, likewise at all stations on the roads. This being done, they\ncaused all who begged in order to satisfy their wants, to be provided\nday after day with a gift of those objects, just as had been ordered by\nthe king.\n\n25. So poverty disappeared, and the people, having received wealth from\nthe part of the king, dressed and adorned with manifold and fine\ngarments and ornaments, exhibited the splendour of festival days.\n\n26. The glory of the king, magnified by the eulogies of the rejoiced\nrecipients of his gifts, spread about in all directions in the same way,\nas the flower-dust of the lotuses carried forth by the small waves of a\nlake, extends itself over a larger and larger surface.\n\n27[99]. And after the whole people, in consequence of the wise measures\ntaken by their ruler, had become intent on virtuous behaviour, the\nplagues and calamities, overpowered by the growth of all such qualities\nas conduce to prosperity, faded away, having lost their hold.\n\n     [99] In the printed text the first line of this stanza is\n     deficient, two syllables at the end being wanting. I think this\n     second p\u00e2da should be restored by the insertion of _g_ane after\n     nikhile.\n\n28. The seasons succeeded each other in due course, rejoicing everybody\nby their regularity, and like kings newly established, complying with\nthe lawful order of things. Consequently the earth produced the various\nkinds of corn in abundance, and there was fulness of pure and blue water\nand lotuses in all water-basins.\n\n29. No epidemics afflicted mankind; the medicinal herbs possessed their\nefficacious virtues more than ever; the monsoons blew in due time and\nregularly; the planets moved along in auspicious paths.\n\n30. Nowhere there existed any danger to be feared, either from abroad,\nor from within, or such as might be caused by derangements of the\nelements. Continuing in righteousness and self-control, cultivating good\nbehaviour and modesty, the people of that country enjoyed as it were the\nprerogatives of the K_ri_ta Yuga.\n\nBy the power, then, of the king performing his sacrifice in this manner\nin accordance with (the precepts of) the Law, the sufferings of the\nindigent were put to an end together with the plagues and calamities,\nand the country abounded in a prosperous and thriving population\noffering the pleasing aspect of felicity. Accordingly people never\nwearied of repeating benedictions on their king and extending his renown\nin all directions.\n\nOne day one of the highest royal officials, whose heart had been\ninclined to the (True) Belief, spoke thus to the king: 'This is a true\nsaying, in truth.\n\n31. 'Monarchs, because they always deal with all kinds of business, the\nhighest, the lowest, and the intermediate, by far surpass in their\nwisdom any wise men.\n\n'For, Your Majesty, you have obtained the happiness of your subjects\nboth in this world and in the next, as the effect of your sacrifice\nbeing performed in righteousness, free from the blameable sin of\nanimal-slaughter. The hard times are all over and the sufferings of\npoverty have ceased, since men have been established in the precepts of\ngood conduct. Why use many words? Your subjects are happy.\n\n32[100]. 'The black antelope's skin which covers your limbs has the\nresemblance of the spot on the bright moon's surface, nor can the\nnatural loveliness of your demeanour be hindered by the restraint\nimposed on you by your being a d\u00eekshita[101]. Your head, adorned with\nsuch hair-dress as is in compliance with the rites of the d\u00eeksh\u00e2,\npossesses no less lustre than when it was embellished with the splendour\nof the royal umbrella[102]. And, last not least, by your largesses you\nhave surpassed the renown and abated the pride of the famous performer\nof a hundred sacrifices[103].\n\n     [100] The corruptions of this stanza in the MSS. have been\n     corrected in the edition. In some points, however, I venture to\n     propose some alterations.\n\n     To g\u00e2tre_n_a of the MSS., g\u00e2tre na of the ed., I should prefer\n     g\u00e2treshu.\n\n     For mandodyam\u00e2_h_ of the MSS., mandodyama_h_ of the ed., I\n     substitute mandodyam\u00e2, and in p\u00e2da 3, I think ke_s_ara_k_ana_s_obh\u00e2\n     is one word.\n\n     [101] See note on p. 95 supra. The sattra and the d\u00eeksh\u00e2 continue\n     as long as the sacrifice is being performed. The king, therefore,\n     is still wearing the skin of the black antelope, which he put on at\n     the time of his consecration for the sake of performing the\n     sacrifice, since he is obliged to observe this and many other\n     restrictions of the d\u00eeksh\u00e2. The minister says that to the pious\n     monarch these obligations are no restraint with respect to his\n     behaviour, which already before has been in accordance with the\n     strictest precepts of the Law.\n\n     [102] The white umbrella has been put aside for the time of the\n     d\u00eeksh\u00e2.\n\n     [103] Viz. _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas. Here he is called\n     _s_ataya_g_van, which is well-nigh synonymous with his common\n     epithet of _s_atakratu.\n\n33. 'As a rule, O you wise ruler, the sacrifice of those who long for\nthe attainment of some good, is a vile act, accompanied as it is by\ninjury done to living beings. Your sacrifice, on the contrary, this\nmonument of your glory, is in complete accordance with your lovely\nbehaviour and your aversion to vices.\n\n34. 'Oh! Happy are the subjects who have their protector in you! It is\ncertain that no father could be a better guardian to his children.'\n\nAnother said:\n\n35. 'If the wealthy practise charity, they are commonly impelled to do\nso by the hopes they put in the cultivation of that virtue; good\nconduct, too, may be accounted for by the wish to obtain high regard\namong men or the desire of reaching heaven after death. But such a\npractice of both, as is seen in your skill in securing the benefit of\nothers, cannot be found but in those who are accomplished both in\nlearning and in virtuous exertions.'\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn such a way, then, those whose hearts are pure do not act up to the\nenticement of the wicked. Knowing this, pure-heartedness is to be\nstriven after.\n\n[In the spiritual lessons for princes, also, this is to be said:\n\n  'Who to his subjects wishing good, himself exerts,\n   Thus brings about salvation, glory, happiness.\n   No other should be of a king the business.'\n\nAnd it may be added as follows: '(The prince) who strives after material\nprosperity, ought to act in accordance with the precepts of religion,\nthinking a religious conduct of his subjects to be the source of\nprosperity.'\n\nFurther this is here to be said: 'Injuring animals never tends to bliss,\nbut charity, self-restraint, continence and the like have this power;\nfor this reason he who longs for bliss must devote himself to these\nvirtues.' And also when discoursing on the Tath\u00e2gata: 'In this manner\nthe Lord showed his inclination to care for the interests of the world,\nwhen he was still in his previous existences.']\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     This story is not met with elsewhere, it seems, at least in this\n     shape. No. 50 of the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka is told with the same intention\n     but in a different manner. The resolve of the Bodhisattva and his\n     stopping bloody sacrifices is better accounted for in our text.\n\n\n\n\nXI. THE STORY OF _S_AKRA.\n\n(Comp. Fausb., _G_\u00e2t. I, p. 202, translated by Rhys Davids, Buddhist\nBirth Stories, pp. 284-287.)\n\n\nNeither adversity nor the brilliancy of sovereign power can relax in the\nhigh-minded the virtue of compassion towards living beings. This will be\ntaught now.\n\nIn the time when the Bodhisattva, having well practised meritorious\nactions for a long time, and having come into possession of the virtues\nof charity, self-restraint, continence and compassion, was directing his\nextraordinary performances for the benefit of others, once, it is said,\nhe became _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas.\n\n1. The magnificence of the Chief of the Celestials shone in a higher\ndegree and displayed a greater majesty, since that rank had fallen to\nhis share. Something analogous may be seen, when a palace adorned by a\ncovering of fresh stucco is made resplendent by the moonbeams.\n\n2. The rich lustre of that mighty state, to conquer which the sons of\nDiti dared push forward against the impetuous advance of the\nworld-elephants and expose their breasts to their pestle-like tusks,\nthat brilliancy was his. But though he easily enjoyed that happiness at\nhis command, nevertheless, that bliss did not stain his heart with\npride.\n\nRuling heaven and earth in the proper manner, he acquired splendid\nglory, which pervaded the whole universe. Now the Demons[104] could not\nbear the renown nor the very wonderful bliss which he enjoyed, and waged\nwar against him. They marched to his encounter to fight him with an\nenormous army of elephants, chariots, horsemen and footmen, being the\nmore terrible, as they were drawn up in the proud array of battle and\nmade a noise as awful as that of the wild Ocean. Through the glittering\nblaze of their various kinds of offensive and defensive weapons they\nhardly suffered themselves to be looked at.\n\n     [104] The spirits of darkness, called Daityas (sons of Diti) or\n     D\u00e2navas (sons of Danu) or Asuras.\n\n3. He for his part, though attached to the precepts of righteousness,\nfelt however within his heart the disposition to indulge in the frenzy\nof fighting. He was prompted to do so by the pride of his enemies, by\nthe danger of his own men, unpleasantly interrupted in their peaceful\nsport, also by the regard of his majesty and of the traditional line of\nconduct along the path of political wisdom.\n\nSo he mounted his excellent golden chariot, to which a thousand\nexcellent horses were put. This chariot was decorated in front with a\nbeautiful, high-floating banner which bore a figure in the attire of an\nArhat[105] for its emblem. Its outer appearance was exceedingly\nbrilliant, owing to the lustre reflected by the manifold precious stones\nand jewels that adorned it, and to the brightness which irradiated its\nflanks and which proceeded from the different flaming weapons,\nsharp-pointed and well-disposed to be ready for use, on both sides of\nthe chariot. On the inside it was covered with a fine white blanket.\nStanding on it and surrounded by his great divine host of different\narms, elephants, chariots, horse and foot, the Great Being met the\nforces of the Demons just on the border-line of the Ocean.\n\n     [105] It is curious to see this _S_akra of the Buddhists making\n     profession in this manner of his Buddhistical faith. If this trait\n     is an old one, _S_akra is here represented as a digambara, as he in\n     fact is. The _S_abdaratn\u00e2val\u00ee gives Arha as a name of Indra; (see\n     Petr. Dict. s. v. arha 2).\n\n4. Then a great battle took place, destructive of the firmness of the\ntimid as well as of the shields and mail-coats pierced by the strokes of\nthe weapons with which they fought each other.\n\n5, 6. Various cries were heard in the tumult of that struggle. Stay! Not\nin this manner! Here! Look out! Where are you now? You will not escape\nme! Strike! You are a dead man! So challenging one another they fought.\nAnd this noise mixing with the clashing and crashing of the arms all\nover the battle-field and the sound of the drums, made Heaven shake and\nalmost burst.\n\n7. The elephants on both sides, rushing on each other with great fury\nincreased by the smell of the flowing juice, offered the frightful\nspectacle of mountains swept along by the wind of a world-destroying\nperiod.\n\n8. Like portentous clouds, the chariots swept over the field, their\nfloating standards resembling the lightning, and the rattling noise they\nmade being as the roaring of the thunder.\n\n9. Sharp arrows were flying over both armies, and fell down amidst the\nwarriors of both the Devas and the Demons, hitting banners and royal\numbrellas, bows and spears, shields and cuirasses, and the heads of men.\n\n10. At the end the army of _S_akra took to flight, frightened by the\nfiery swords and arrows of the Demons. The Lord of the Celestials alone\nheld still the field, barring with his chariot the host of his enemies.\n\nWhen M\u00e2tali, the charioteer of the Lord of the Devas, perceived that the\narmy of the Demons, high-spirited and overjoyed, was coming over them\nwith a tremendous noise of loud warcries and shouts of victory, whereas\nthe army of the Devas was almost intent on flight, he thought it was\nnow the proper time to retreat, and so he turned the chariot of the\nRuler of the Devas. While they were making the ascent[106], _S_akra, the\nLord of the Devas, caught sight of some eagle-nests which were placed on\na silk-cotton tree just in the line of direction of the chariot-pole, so\nthat they must needs be crushed by it. No sooner had he seen them, than\nseized with compassion he said to M\u00e2tali, his charioteer:\n\n     [106] Returning from the battle-field on the border of the Ocean to\n     his residence in Heaven, _S_akra must needs drive upward.\n\n11. 'The birds' nests on this silk-cotton tree are filled with not yet\nwinged young ones. Drive my chariot in such a manner that these nests\nwill not fall down crushed by the chariot-pole.'\n\nM\u00e2tali answered: 'In the meanwhile the crowds of the Demons will\novertake us, sir.'\n\n_S_akra said: 'Never mind. Do you but take the proper care in avoiding\nthese eagle-nests.' Upon which M\u00e2tali answered:\n\n12. 'Nothing short of turning the chariot can save the birds, O\nLotus-eyed One. But we have at our heels yon host of foes who after a\nlong time are at last getting the better of the Devas.'\n\nAt this moment _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, moved by the utmost\ncompassion, showed his extraordinary goodness of heart and firmness of\nintention.\n\n13. 'Well then,' said he, 'turn the chariot. Better is it for me to die\nby the terrible club-strokes of the chiefs of the Demons than to live\nblameful and dishonoured, if I should have murdered those poor\nterror-stricken creatures.'\n\nM\u00e2tali promised to do so, and turned his car, drawn by a thousand\nhorses.\n\n14. Now the foes who had witnessed his heroism in battle, seeing that\nthe chariot turned, were overtaken with fear, and got into confusion.\nTheir ranks gave way like dark rain-clouds driven away by the wind.\n\n15. In the case of a defeat one single man turning his face to the enemy\nand barring the way of the enemy's forces, will sometimes abate the\npride and haughtiness of the victors by the unexpectedness of his heroic\nvalour.\n\n16. The sight of the broken ranks of the hostile army encouraging the\nhost of the Devas, made them return. For the Demons, terror-stricken and\nfleeing, thought no more of rallying and resisting.\n\n17. Then the Devas, whose joy was mingled with shame, paid homage to\ntheir Lord; after which, brilliant and beautiful by the radiance of\nvictory, he quietly returned from the battle-field to his city, where\nhis zenana impatiently longed for him.\n\nIn this way was the victory gained in that battle. It is for this reason\nthat the saying goes:\n\n18. The low-minded do wicked actions in consequence of their cruelty.\nAverage men, though pitiful, will do so, when come into distress. But\nthe virtuous, even when in danger of life, are as little capable of\ntransgressing their proper line of conduct as the Ocean its boundary.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n[In this way the Lord did long ago protect animal life even at the risk\nof his own and of the loss of the Celestial sway. Keeping then in mind\nthat it does not at all befit a wise man to offend living beings, much\nless to sin against them, a pious man must be intent on practising\ncompassion towards the creatures. And the saying that Dharma in truth\nwatches him who walks in righteousness (dharma)[107], is to be\npropounded here too. Likewise this (story) may be adduced when\ndiscoursing on the Tath\u00e2gata, and when treating of listening with\nattention to the preaching of the Law.]\n\n     [107] We have here a remarkable quotation from the Holy Writ of\n     Northern Buddhism. The wording of this sentence in the original:\n     dharmo ha vai rakshati dharma_k_\u00e2ri_n_am, is the exact Sanskrit\n     counterpart of the first p\u00e2da of a well-known P\u00e2li stanza uttered\n     by the Lord (see Fausb\u00f6ll, _G_\u00e2taka I, p. 31; IV, p. 54, and the\n     other passages quoted there):\n\n        Dhammo have rakkhati dhamma_k_\u00e2ri_m_\n        Dhammo su_k_i_nn_o sukham \u00e2vah\u00e2ti\n        Es\u00e2nisa_m_so dhamme su_k_i_nn_e\n        Na duggati_m_ ga_kkh_ati dhamma_k_\u00e2ri.\n\n\n\n\nXII. THE STORY OF THE BR\u00c2HMAN.\n\n\nWhat forbids the virtuous to transgress the boundary of good behaviour\nis the very shame of the Self within their hearts. This will be taught\nby the following.\n\nOnce the Bodhisattva, it is told, came to life in an illustrious family\nof Br\u00e2hmans, well-reputed both on account of their ancestry and their\nconduct. They were highly esteemed and renowned, observing their\ntraditional customs and setting a high value on good education and good\nmanners. Having received in due order the different sacraments:\ngarbh\u00e2dh\u00e2na, pu_m_savana, s\u00eemantonnayana, _g_\u00e2takarma, and the rest, he\ndwelt at his teacher's, who was a Br\u00e2hman distinguished by the\nsuperiority of his learning, by his birth, and by his practice of the\ncustomary conduct, with the object of studying the Veda.\n\n1. His quickness in mastering and retaining the texts he was taught, his\ndevoted obedience for which his family had always been reputed--a virtue\nhis correctness of conduct embellished by tranquillity, a rare ornament\nin a youth, made him obtain the love and affection of his teacher.\n\n2. For virtues practised without interruption are magic charms to win\nthe affection even of such as are burnt by the fire of hatred, how much\nmore of the sound-hearted.\n\nNow his teacher, in the intervals of rest from sacred study, with the\nobject of trying the morals of all his disciples, was used to tell them\nfrequently of his own sufferings, the effect of his poverty.\n\n  3. 'To him no help his family affords,\n      No joy is his, not e'en on holidays,\n      And wretched alms-requesting makes him sick.\n      A pauper's wish, how may it be fulfill'd?\n\n4. 'The state of a moneyless man is the home of disregard, the abode of\ntoil. And a very hard condition it is, devoid of pleasure, abounding in\nscantiness, and incessantly afflicting like a calamity.'\n\nLike excellent horses, pricked with spurs, his disciples, very much\nmoved by their attachment to their spiritual teacher, did their utmost\nto deliver to him ever more and better prepared food from their daily\nbegging round. But he said to them: 'Good sirs, do not exert yourselves\nin this way. No offerings of food obtained by daily begging will\ndiminish the distress of poverty to anybody. If you cannot bear my\nhardship, you ought rather to apply these your efforts to gaining\nwealth. Doing thus, you would act in the proper manner. Why do I say so?\n\n5. 'Hunger is driven away by food, and thirst by water. The\nspell-uttering voice together with medicine expels illnesses. But\npoverty's pain is destroyed by wealth, that cause of being honoured by\none's kinsmen.'\n\nThe pupils answered: 'What can we do for you? Unhappy we, that the\nextent of our power is so small. Moreover,\n\n6, 7. 'If wealth, like food, were obtained by begging, we would not\nallow you to suffer by poverty in this degree, master. But the case is\nthis. The proper, though weak, means for Br\u00e2hmans of gaining wealth is\nreceiving gifts: and people here are not charitable. So we are\npowerless, and by this impotency we are smitten with grief.'\n\nThe teacher replied: 'But there are still other expedients for earning\nmoney, and they are explained in the law-books. Yet, my strength being\nexhausted by old age, I am not fit to put them into effect.'\n\nThe disciples said: 'But our strength is not impaired by old age,\nmaster. If, then, you think us capable of acting upon those precepts of\nthe law-books, inform us of them, that we may requite you for your\nlabour of teaching us.'\n\nThe teacher said: 'No, such means of earning money are hardly available,\nindeed, for young men, whose mind is too loose to carry out a strong\nresolution. Nevertheless, if Your Honours urge me, well[108], you may\nlearn from me what one of the said expedients is.\n\n     [108] Instead of s\u00e2dhu_h_ we must read s\u00e2dhu.\n\n8. 'In the law-precepts for the time of distress[109] theft is an\napproved livelihood for Br\u00e2hmans; and poverty, I suppose, is the extreme\ndistress in this world. Consequently, it is no sin for us to enjoy the\nwealth of others, and the whole of these goods belongs, of a truth, to\nthe Br\u00e2hmans.\n\n     [109] Read \u00e2paddharme steyam, &c. The \u00e2paddharma substitutes for\n     the precepts of right conduct and right livelihood some others to\n     be followed in times of distress, if the primary ones cannot be\n     observed. The permission to Br\u00e2hmans to make money by theft is of\n     course not lawful; it is inferred from the well-known pretension of\n     the Br\u00e2hmanical caste to be owners of the whole earth. Even\n     _S_arvilaka, the thief in the M_rikkh_aka_t_ik\u00e2, does not venture\n     to defend his deeds by arguments borrowed from the law-books; he\n     avows that theft is blameable, 'I blame it,' says he, 'and yet I do\n     it.'\n\n9. 'Men such as you, would doubtlessly be able to seize on wealth even\nby violence. You should, however, not practise that mode of taking,\nminding your reputation. Therefore, you must show your energy in lonely\nplaces and times.'\n\nBy such language he loosened the bridle from his disciples. Accordingly\nthey exclaimed 'Very well,' approving his bad words, as if they were\ngood, and all of them engaged themselves to do so, all--save the\nBodhisattva.\n\n10. Him his innate goodness forbade to comply with the teacher's advice,\nand compelled him on the contrary to oppose it without delay, though it\nhad been accepted as a duty by the other pupils.\n\nAshamed and with downcast looks he heaved a soft sigh and remained\nsilent. The teacher perceived that the Bodhisattva did not approve of\nthat fashion of making money, without, however, crying it down; and as\nhe had a high regard for the virtue of that Great Being, he entered upon\nthis reflection: 'For what reason does he disapprove of theft? Is it\nwant of courage or disaffection towards me? Or does he really know it\nto be a wicked action?' Then in order to prompt him to open his true\ndisposition of mind, he spoke in this way to the Bodhisattva: 'Say,\nnoble Br\u00e2hman,\n\n11. 'Those twice-born men, incapable of bearing my misfortune, are\nwilling to resort to the course of life followed by the energetic and\nthe heroes; but in you I find nothing but indolence and dullness.\nSurely, it is not you who are affected by our distress.\n\n12. 'My suffering is evident. Its whole extent lies open to your eyes. I\nhave made it plain by speech. Notwithstanding this, you are keeping\nquiet! How is it that your mind is undisturbed and untouched by sorrow?'\n\nUpon this the Bodhisattva, after making his respectful salute to the\nteacher, said quite alarmed: 'Heaven forbid such feelings! Verily, it is\nnot want of affection or hard-heartedness which causes me to keep apart,\nnor am I unmoved by the sufferings of my teacher, but I think the mode\nof acting which my master has shown us, cannot be put into practice. It\nis impossible, indeed, to commit a wicked action without being seen.\nWhy? Because there does not exist anything like loneliness.\n\n13, 14. 'No, loneliness is not to be found anywhere in the world for the\nevildoer. Are not the invisible Beings and the purified Munis, whose eye\nis endowed with divine power, lookers-on of men's actions? Not seeing\nthem, the fool thinks himself alone and commits sin[110].\n\n     [110] Cp. Manu VIII, 85; Mah\u00e2bh\u00e2rata (ed. Bombay) I, 74, 39.\n\n15. 'But I know no lonely place at all. Wheresoever I do not see anybody\nelse, is such a place for that reason empty of my own Self?\n\n16, 17. 'And of a bad action my Self is a witness far more sharp-sighted\nthan any other person. Another may perchance perceive me, or he may not,\nhis mind being occupied with his own business, but my Self, eagerly\nsurrendering my whole mind to passion, knows with certainty that I am\ndoing evil.\n\n'For this reason, then, I keep aloof from the others.' And understanding\nthat his teacher was fully appeased, the Bodhisattva continued:\n\n18. 'Nor can I persuade myself into the belief that you would deceive us\nin this way for the sake of obtaining wealth. Who, indeed, knowing the\ndifference between virtue and vice, would allow himself to be seduced by\nthe pursuit of wealth to oppression of virtue?\n\n'As to my own determination, I will inform you of it.\n\n19. 'Better is it to take the almsbowl and vile garments, beholding the\nopulence of the mansions of one's enemies, than to bend one's mind\nshamelessly to the murder of Righteousness, be it even with the goal of\nattaining the Sovereignty of the Devas!'\n\nAt these words his teacher rapt with joy and admiration, rising from his\nseat, embraced him, and said to him: 'Very well, very well, my son!\nwell-said, well-said, noble Br\u00e2hman! This is becoming to your keen\nintellect adorned by tranquillity.\n\n20. 'Fools leave the path of duty, stirred by any motive whatever, but\nthe virtuous do not allow themselves to be led astray even in the\ngreatest distress; penance, learning, and wisdom being their wealth.\n\n21. 'As the moon rising in autumn adorns the firmament, so you are the\nornament of your entirely spotless family. For you the sacred texts you\nhave been taught have their full import; that you have well understood\nthem is made plain by your good behaviour; and my labour is crowned with\nsuccess, it has not been fruitless.'\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSo, then, it is the very shame of the Self within their hearts that\nprevents the virtuous from transgressing the boundary of good behaviour.\n[For this reason the pious man (\u00e2rya) ought to have a powerful shelter\nin shame. (This story) is to be adduced on account of such texts[111]\nas this: 'In this way the faithful votary of our creed (\u00e2rya_s_r\u00e2vaka),\nbeing well-guarded by the trench of his shame, avoids what is noxious\nand fosters what is wholesome.' Likewise in texts dealing with the\nfeeling of shame and the regard of public opinion.]\n\n     [111] s\u00fbtreshu. The same term is used at the conclusion of Story\n     XXI.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n     The story of the Br\u00e2hman has the appearance of being the clumsy\n     invention of some monk engaged in giving lessons of morality and in\n     want of some story to illustrate the sinfulness of theft. I can\n     scarcely believe it forms part of the old stock of traditional\n     tales and folklore, as little as the story of the sacrifice (X). In\n     its parallel in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 305, s\u00eelav\u00eema_m_sana_g_\u00e2taka\n     (Fausb. III, pp. 18, 19), the old teacher's trial of his disciples\n     is better accounted for.\n\n\n\n\nXIII. THE STORY OF UNM\u00c2DAYANT\u00ce.\n\n(Cp. P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 529; Fausb. V, 210-227.)\n\n\nEven when sick with heavy sorrow, the virtuous are disinclined to follow\nthe road of the low-minded, being prevented from such actions by the\nfirmness of their constancy[112]. This will be taught as follows.\n\n     [112] Compare the note on p. 44.\n\nIn the time when the Bodhisattva by the practice of his surpassing\nvirtues, veracity, liberality, tranquillity of mind, wisdom &c., was\nexerting himself for the benefit of the creatures, he was, it is said, a\nking of the _S_ibis, behaving like the embodied Righteousness and\nDiscipline, and being intent on promoting the welfare of his subjects\nlike a father.\n\n1. Being withheld from sinful actions and put in the possession of\nvirtues by their king, (who was solicitous of their true happiness) as a\nfather is of his son's, his people rejoiced both in this world and in\nthe next.\n\n2. For his administration of justice followed the path of righteousness,\nand made no difference between kinsmen and the rest of his subjects. It\nobstructed for his people the road of wickedness, and accordingly\nbecame, so to speak, a flowery ladder to Heaven.\n\n3. Perceiving the welfare of the creatures to be the effect of\nrighteousness, this ruler of men knew no other purpose than this. With\nall his heart he delighted in the path of righteousness, and did not\nallow others to violate its precepts.\n\nNow in the capital of that king one of the principal townsmen had a\ndaughter of surpassing beauty, the acknowledged pearl of womanhood. The\nravishing loveliness of her figure and charms made her appear like the\nembodied goddess _S_r\u00ee or Rati or one of the Apsarasas.\n\n4. No one--except only the passionless--having got the sight of her, was\nable to withdraw his looks from her figure, as she fascinated by her\nbeauty the eyes of all who beheld her.\n\nAnd for this reason her relations called her Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee ('she who makes\nmad').\n\nNow her father apprised the king of the fact of his having such a\ndaughter: 'Your Majesty, the very pearl of womanhood has appeared in\nyour realm. May Your Majesty therefore deign to decide whether you will\naccept her as a wife or renounce her.' Then the king ordered some\nBr\u00e2hmans knowing the auspicious marks of women, to go and see the\nmaiden, whether she would be a suitable wife for him or not. The father\nof Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee led them to his house, and ordered his daughter to attend\nupon his guests herself. She said she would do so, and commenced to\nattend upon them at table in the proper manner. But no sooner did those\nBr\u00e2hmans...\n\n5. Behold her, than their eyes were compelled to remain closely fixed on\nher face. The god of Love had subdued their firmness. They had no power\nover their looks and minds, and they got rid of their consciousness as\nif drunkenness had befallen them.\n\nNow, as they were not able to keep their grave and modest countenance\nnor their imperturbability, still less to take their meal, the\nhouseholder removed his daughter out of the reach of their looks and\nattended himself on the Br\u00e2hmans. Afterwards they took their leave and\nwent off. And they considered thus: 'The lovely beauty of that maiden\nis, in truth, of an exceedingly enchanting nature, it acts like a very\nmagic spell. For this reason it is not suitable for the king to see her,\nmuch less to make her his queen. Having grown mad by her splendid\nbeauty, as he doubtless would, he would abate his zeal for performing\nhis religious and political duties, and his neglect of duly observing\nhis royal occupations would prove of evil consequence to his subjects,\ninasmuch as it would obstruct the sources of their profit and welfare.\n\n6. 'The sight of her would be sufficient to put an obstacle in the way\neven of Munis striving after perfect wisdom, how much more may it\nobstruct the success of a young prince, who lives in pleasure, and is in\nthe habit of directing his looks to the objects of sense.\n\n'Therefore it is now suitable to act so and so.' Having thus made up\ntheir mind, they went to the king's presence at a convenient time and\nreported this to him: 'We have seen that maiden, great king. She is a\nbeauty and possesses lovely charms, but no more; she has inauspicious\nmarks, the foretokens of ruin and ill luck. For this reason Your Majesty\nought not even to see her, how can there be question about wedding her?\n\n7. 'A reprehensible wife veils both the glory and the opulence of two\nfamilies; just as a cloudy, moon-concealing night hides the beauty and\nthe arrangement of all things upon earth and in heaven.'\n\nThus informed, the monarch imagining her to have inauspicious marks and\nnot to suit his family, no more desired to possess her; and the\nhouseholder, her father, knowing the king's disaffection, married his\ndaughter to one Abhip\u00e2raga, officer of that very king.\n\nNow once, on the occasion of the Kaumud\u00ee-festival, it happened that the\nking desired to contemplate the splendour of that festivity in his\ncapital. He mounted his royal chariot and took a drive through the\ntown, which exhibited a pleasant aspect. Its streets and squares had\nbeen sprinkled and cleansed; their white ground was strewed with\nmany-coloured flowers; gay flags and banners were floating aloft;\neverywhere there was dancing and singing, representations of burlesques,\nballets and music; the mingled scents of flowers, incense, odoriferous\npowders, perfumes, garlands, strong liquors, also of the perfumed water\nand the ointments used in ablutions, filled the air with fragrance;\nlovely articles were being exposed for sale; the principal streets were\nthronged by a merry crowd of townsmen and landsmen in their best dress.\nWhile making this tour, the king came near the house of Abhip\u00e2raga. Now\nUnm\u00e2dayant\u00ee, who was angry with the king because he had spurned her--had\nshe not inauspicious marks?--feigning curiosity to see him, placed\nherself in his way, illuminating by her brilliant figure the flat roof\nof her house, as a flash of lightning does the top of a cloud; he at\nleast, she thought within her heart, must be able to keep the firmness\nof his mind and the power over his senses unshaken by the sight of an\ninauspicious person such as I am. Accordingly, while the king, curious\nto behold the splendour of his capital, was looking around, his eye\nsuddenly fell upon her, when she was facing him. On beholding her, the\nmonarch,\n\n8, 9. Though his eyes were accustomed to the attraction of the wanton\ngraces of the beauties in his zenana; though, owing to his attachment to\nthe path of virtue, his disposition was a modest one, and he had\nexercised himself in subduing his organs of sense; though he possessed\nin a high degree the virtue of constancy; though he had a strong feeling\nof shame and his looks were afraid of the looks of young women belonging\nto others--notwithstanding this, he could not prevent the Love-god's\ntriumph, and gazed a long gaze at that woman, powerless to turn his eyes\nfrom her face.\n\n10. 'Is she perhaps the embodied Kaumud\u00ee or the Deity of that house? is\nshe an Apsaras or a Demoness? For it is no human figure she has.'\n\nThus the king considered and could not look enough at her; and the\nchariot passing away did not comply with his heart's desire. He went\nback to his palace, like one absent-minded, thinking of nothing but her;\nhis firmness of mind had been confounded by Manmatha. So he asked his\ncharioteer Sunanda secretly:\n\n11. 'Do you know, whose is the house that was surrounded by a white\nwall, and who is she whose beauty did shine there like lightning in a\nwhite cloud?'\n\nThe charioteer answered: 'Your Majesty has a high official named\nAbhip\u00e2raga. His is that house, and she is his wife, a daughter to\nKir\u00ee_t_avatsa, of herself she is called Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee.' After hearing\nthis, the thought that she was the wife of another caused his heart to\nfaint, and sorrowful meditation made his eyes rigid. Often he heaved\nlong and deep sighs, and thinking of nothing but her, said in a low\nvoice to himself:\n\n12. 'Alas! She bears her soft and lovely-sounding name rightly, indeed.\nThis sweet-smiling Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee has made me almost mad.\n\n13. 'I would forget her, yet I see her always in my mind. For my\nthoughts are with her, or rather it is she who is the ruler of my mind.\n\n14. 'And this weakness of mind is mine concerning the wife of another!\nNo doubt, I am mad; shame, it seems, has left me, just as sleep has.\n\n15. 'While absorbed in representing to myself with rapture the grace of\nher features, her smiles, her looks, O that sudden sound of the metal\nplate[113], reminding me by its bold tone of the regular order of my\nroyal business, rouses my wrath.'\n\n     [113] Strokes on a metal plate, sounding every half-hour, are to\n     announce the time to the king.\n\nIn such a way the king's firmness was shaken by the power of passionate\nlove. And although he endeavoured to compose his mind, his languishing\nappearance and emaciating body, his frequent absorption in thoughts\ntogether with his sighs indicated very clearly his state of being in\nlove.\n\n16. However great his firmness was in disguising his heart's disease, it\nmanifested itself in his countenance, his eyes rigid from\nthoughtfulness, and his emaciated limbs.\n\nNow Abhip\u00e2raga, the king's officer, was skilled in the interpretation of\nthe expression of the face and of such gestures as betray internal\nfeelings. When he had observed the behaviour of his master and\ndiscovered its cause, he apprehended evil consequences from it, for he\nloved the king and knew the excessive power of the God of Love. So he\nasked the king for a secret audience; which having been granted to him,\nhe went up to his master, and having obtained permission, thus addressed\nhim:\n\n17, 18. 'While engaged in worshipping the Devas to-day, O lotus-eyed\nruler of men, see, a Yaksha, presenting himself before my eyes, said to\nme: \"How is it that you ignore the king having fallen in love with\nUnm\u00e2dayant\u00ee?\" After speaking so, he disappeared immediately, and I,\nsolicitous on this account, approached you. If this is true, why, Your\nMajesty, do you show in this manner your disaffection to me by your\nsilence?\n\n'Therefore, may Your Majesty do me the favour of accepting her from my\nhand.'\n\nThe king was confounded, and dared not lift up his eyes for shame.\nNevertheless, even though he was in the power of Love, he did not suffer\nhis firmness to falter, thanks to his being conversant with the Law by\nlong and good practice, and refused that offer in plain terms. 'No, that\nmay not be. For what reason? Hear.\n\n19. 'I would lose my merit and I know myself not to be immortal.\nFurther, my wicked deed would be known also to the public. Moreover, if\nthe fire of sorrow should burn your heart because of that separation, it\nwould erelong consume you, as fire consumes dry grass.\n\n20. 'And such a deed, which would cause that distress in both this world\nand the next and would be committed for this reason by the unwise, the\nwise never will do, for this very reason.'\n\nAbhip\u00e2raga answered: 'Do not fear, Your Majesty, that you will\ntransgress the Law herein.\n\n21. 'By assisting in the performance of a gift you will act in\naccordance with the Law, whereas by not receiving her from my hand you\nwould do wrong, since you obstruct the practice of giving.\n\n'Nor do I see in this matter any occasion of damage to the reputation of\nYour Majesty. Why?\n\n22. 'This is an arrangement between us; nobody else need know of it? Do\nnot, therefore, put in your mind the fear of blame by public opinion.\n\n'Further, to me this will be a favour, not a source of grief. Why so?\n\n23. 'What harm can be procured to a faithful heart by the satisfaction\nobtained by serving the interest of his master? For this reason you may\nquietly indulge in your love; do not apprehend any grief on my side.'\n\nThe king replied: 'Stop, stop! no more of that wicked reasoning.\n\n24. 'Surely, your very great attachment to my person prevents you from\nunderstanding that the righteous action which consists in the assistance\nto a deed of giving does not exist in the case of every gift.\n\n25. 'Who by exceeding attachment to my person does not heed even his own\nlife, is my friend, dearer to me than my kinsmen. His wife I am bound to\nrespect as a friend's.\n\n'You do not well, therefore, enticing me to a sinful action. And what\nyou assert, \"nobody else will know of it,\" will it be less sinful for\nthis reason?\n\n26. 'How can happiness be expected for him who commits a wicked action,\nthough unwitnessed? As little as for him who has taken poison unseen.\nBoth the pure-sighted Celestials and the holy ascetics among men cannot\nfail to witness him.\n\n'Moreover, I tell you this:\n\n27. 'Who may in earnest believe that you do not love her, or that you\nwill not get into harm, as soon as you have abandoned her?'\n\nAbhip\u00e2raga said:\n\n28. 'I am your slave, I with my wife and children. You are my master and\nmy deity. What infringement of Law, Your Majesty, can there be, then, if\nyou act as pleases you with respect to this your female slave?\n\n'As to your asserting that I love her, what matters it?\n\n29. 'Yea, my liege, she is my beloved wife, and it is for this very\nreason that I desire her to be given to you. He who has given in this\nworld something dear to him, receives in the next dear objects of\nexceeding loveliness.\n\n'Therefore, Your Majesty may take her.'\n\nThe king spoke: 'Oh, do not say so! It is impossible for me to do so.\nWhy?\n\n30. 'I should dare throw myself on a sharp sword or into a fire with\nblazing flames, but I shall not be able to offend against Righteousness,\nwhich I have always observed, and to which I owe my royal bliss.'\n\nAbhip\u00e2raga said: 'If Your Majesty will not take her, because she is my\nwife, then myself will command her to lead the life of a harlot, whom no\none is forbidden to woo. Then Your Majesty may take her.'\n\nThe king answered: 'Are you mad?\n\n31. 'If you were to abandon your guiltless wife, you would not only\nincur punishment from my part, but having become an object of reproach,\nlikewise unavoidable grief in this world and hereafter.\n\n'Desist then; do not enforce a bad action. Rather direct your mind to\njustice and honesty.'\n\nAbhip\u00e2raga said:\n\n32. 'And if by persisting, I really were to do an action which might be\nin any respect a violation of Righteousness and the source of censure\namong men and of the loss of my happiness--be these consequences\nwhatever they may--I fain shall front them with my breast, owing to the\ngladness of mind I shall feel for having promoted your happiness.\n\n33. 'No one I know in the world is more worthy than you to be worshipped\nby a sacrificial offering, O most mighty ruler of the earth. Well then,\nwith the object of increasing my merit, deign to accept, like an\nofficiating priest, Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee as your sacrificial fee[114].'\n\n     [114] Properly speaking, giving the woman into marriage to the\n     officiating priest at the end of a _s_rauta-sacrifice as his fee\n     (dakshi_n_\u00e2) is the second of the eight classical forms of wedding,\n     the so-called daivo viv\u00e2ha_h_.\n\nThe king said: 'No doubt it is your great affection for me that prompts\nyou to the effort to promote my interest without considering what is\nright and wrong on your side. But this very consideration induces me the\nmore to prevent you. Verily, indifference as to the censure of men\ncannot at any rate be approved. Look here!\n\n34. 'Who, neglecting Righteousness, does not mind either the censure of\nmen or the evil consequences in the next world, will attain but this: in\nthis world people will distrust him; and surely, after death he will be\ndestitute of bliss.\n\n'And therefore I press this upon your mind.\n\n35. 'Never delight in injuring Righteousness for the sake of life[115].\nThe sin you would incur would be great and unquestionable, the advantage\ntrifling and doubtful.\n\n     [115] The meaning of this seems to be something like this: 'Do not\n     seek after temporal pleasure here at the risk of long-lasting\n     suffering after death.'\n\n'Moreover, you should consider also this.\n\n36. 'The virtuous do not like for themselves a pleasure, procured at the\nexpense of others, whom they have distressed by bringing them into\ndisrepute and the like. For this reason, standing on the ground of\nRighteousness, I shall bear the charge of my private interests alone\nwithout causing pain to others.'\n\nAbhip\u00e2raga replied: 'But how could there be any room for injustice here,\nafter all, either on my side, if moved by attachment I should take care\nof the interest of my master, or on the side of Your Majesty receiving\nher as a present from my hand? All _S_ibis, townsmen and landsmen, would\nask: what is the injustice of this deed? Therefore, be pleased to take\nher, Your Majesty.'\n\nThe king replied: 'Verily, you have the intense desire of assisting me.\nBut reflect well upon this: Which of us knows the Law best, the whole of\nthe _S_ibis, you, or I?'\n\nThen Abhip\u00e2raga hastily answered:\n\n37. 'Owing to your assiduous and respectful watching of the wise, and\nyour great regard for sacred lore, and the sagacity of your mind, Your\nMajesty ranks with B_ri_haspati as the most competent judge in all\nmatters taught in the sciences concerning the Triad of objects\n(trivarga).'\n\nThe king said: 'This being so, you ought not to mislead me in this\nmatter. Why do I say so?\n\n38. 'The evil and the good of the people depend on the behaviour of\ntheir rulers. For this reason, and taking into account the attachment of\nmy subjects, I shall continue to love the Path of the Pious above all,\nin conformity with my reputation.\n\n39. 'As cows go after the bull in any direction, whether the right or\nthe wrong one, following his steps, in the very same manner the subjects\nimitate the behaviour of their ruler without any scruple and\nundauntedly.\n\n'You must take also this into consideration.\n\n40. 'If I should lack the power of ruling my own self, say, into what\ncondition would I bring this people who long for protection from my\nside?\n\n41. 'Thus considering and regardful of the good of my subjects, my own\nrighteousness, and my spotless fame, I do not allow myself to submit to\nmy passion. I am the leader of my subjects, the bull of my herd.'\n\nThen Abhip\u00e2raga, the king's official, appeased by this constancy of the\nking, bowed his head and reverentially folding his hands, spoke:\n\n42. 'Oh! excessively favoured by Destiny are these subjects, having such\na ruler as you are, Illustrious King. Love of Righteousness utterly\ndisregardful of pleasures is to be searched for even among those who\ndwell in penance-groves.\n\n43. 'In you the appellation of \"great,\" O Mah\u00e2r\u00e2_g_a, is a brilliant\nornament. For the name of a virtue, conferred upon persons devoid of\nvirtue, has a rather harsh sound, as if used in contempt.\n\n44. 'Nor is there any reason for me to be astonished or agitated by this\ngrand deed of yours, who are a mine of virtues, as the sea is of\njewels[116].'\n\n     [116] This epithet of the sea is very common in Indian rhetorical\n     style.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, the virtuous, even when sick with heavy sorrow,\nare disinclined to follow the road of the low-minded, being prevented\nfrom such actions by the firmness of their constancy [and their being\nconversant with the Law by long and good practice. Thus considering, one\nought to exert one's self in practising constancy and the precepts of\nthe Law].\n\n     The tale of the maiden making mad all who see her, and the\n     love-smitten monarch who prefers walking on the right path and even\n     death to indulging in passion, is found also outside Buddhism. In\n     the preface of his edition, Prof. Kern points out its being told\n     thrice in the Kath\u00e2sarits\u00e2gara; in the fifteenth, the thirty-third,\n     and the ninety-first tara\u1e45ga. The last version, being a\n     Vet\u00e2la-tale, is found also in the prose-work Vet\u00e2lapa_\u00f1k_avi_ms_ati\n     (Kath\u00e2 14). Of the non-Buddhistic redactions all agree in this\n     point, that the king at last dies from love, and that the faithful\n     officer then kills himself. No doubt, this must be the original\n     conclusion.\n\n\n\n\nXIV. THE STORY OF SUP\u00c2RAGA.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 463; Fausb. IV, 137-143.)\n\n\nEven speaking the truth on the ground of Righteousness is sufficient to\ndispel calamity, what can be said more to assert the good results of\nobserving the Law? Considering thus, one must observe the Law. This will\nbe taught now.\n\nIn one of his Bodhisattva-existences, the Great Being was, it is said,\nan extremely clever steersman. For this is the invariable nature of the\nBodhisattvas, that owing to the innate acuteness of their mind, whatever\nbranch of science or species of art they desire to know, they will in it\nsurpass the wisest in the world. Accordingly the High-minded One\npossessed every quality required in such a one. Knowing the course of\nthe celestial luminaries, he was never at a loss with respect to the\nregions of the sky; being perfectly acquainted with the different\nprognostics, the permanent, the occasional, and the miraculous ones, he\nwas skilled in the establishment of a given time as proper or improper;\nby means of manifold marks, observing the fishes, the colour of the\nwater, the species of the ground, birds, rocks, &c., he knew how to\nascertain rightly the part of the sea; further he was vigilant, not\nsubject to drowsiness and sleep, capable of enduring the fatigue of\ncold, heat, rain, and the like, careful and patient. So being skilled in\nthe art of taking a ship out and bringing her home[117], he exercised\nthe profession of one who conducts the merchants by sea to their\ndestination. And as his navigation was very successful, he was named\nSup\u00e2raga[118]. The seaport where he lived bore the same name of\nSup\u00e2raga, which place is now known as S\u00fbp\u00e2raga. Even in his old age, the\nsea-traders, longing for a prosperous voyage, applied to him, who was\nwell-known to be an auspicious person, and entreating him in the most\nrespectful terms, put him on their ships.\n\n     [117] The exact meaning of the Sanskrit terms \u00e2hara_n_a and\n     apahara_n_a is doubtful, but must be something like this.\n\n     [118] In the P\u00e2li redaction he is called Supp\u00e2raka, and the seaport\n     where he lives and from whence he undertakes his last voyage is\n     Bharuka_kkh_a. The form Sup\u00e2raga is Sanskritised wrongly, in order\n     to fit the author's etymological fancy. See Prof. Kern's note on\n     this passage in the various readings of his edition.\n\nSo it once happened that merchants who trafficked with Goldland, coming\nfrom Bharuka_kkh_a, longing for a prosperous voyage, touched at the town\nof Sup\u00e2raga and requested that Great Being to embark with them. He\nanswered them:\n\n1. 'What kind of assistance do you think to find in me? Old age, having\ngot power over me, makes my eyesight diminish[119]; in consequence of\nthe many toils I have endured, my attentiveness has grown weak, and even\nin my bodily occupations I feel my strength almost gone.'\n\n     [119] In the P\u00e2li redaction Supp\u00e2raka is wholly blind. This must be\n     the better tradition on account of his never perceiving himself,\n     but always hearing from the traders the miraculous objects which\n     will present themselves in this voyage.\n\nThe merchants said: 'We are well acquainted with the bodily state of\nYour Honour. But this being so, and taking into account your inability\nfor labour, we will not cause hardship to you nor give any task into\nyour charge, but we want you for some other reason.\n\n2. 'The dust touched and hallowed by your lotus-like feet will be\nauspicious to our ship and procure her a happy course over yonder sea,\neven if assailed by great danger. With this in mind we have applied to\nyou.'\n\nThe Great Being, though subject to the infirmity of old age, went on\nboard their vessel out of compassion. His embarkment was a cause of\nrejoicing for all those merchants, for they thought: 'Now we are assured\nof a very successful voyage.' And so they (set off, and) in course of\ntheir voyage reached that Abode of the Snakes who constitute the host of\nthe Demons, that P\u00e2t\u00e2la into which it is difficult to penetrate, that\nimmense receptacle of water, the Great Ocean, which is haunted by\ndifferent kinds of fishes and resounds with the murmuring of its\nnever-quiet waves, whereas, when impelled by the power of the wind, it\nhurries on its billows after the whims of that element; on its bottom\ndifferent sorts of ground extend, concealing manifold precious stones,\nand its surface is embellished by the various flower-garlands of its\nfoam.\n\n3. A dark-blue hue, like that of a heap of sapphires, was lying over the\nsurface of the water, as if it were sky melted by the glowing heat of\nthe sunbeams, when they lost sight of the coast-line and were running\nover the profound ocean which surrounded them on all sides.\n\nAfter they were in the open sea, it happened in the afternoon, at the\ntime when the sun-rays begin to lose their strength, that a great and\nvery fearful, portentous event appeared to them.\n\n4. On a sudden the sea took a terrible aspect. A violent gale arose,\ncausing a fearful noise of the waters, lashing their surface so that\nthey were covered with foam scattered by the breaking billows. The whole\nsea was brought in commotion up from its very bottom.\n\n5. Shaken by the hurricane, the immense masses of water were stirred up\nand rolled with formidable rapidity. The Ocean assumed a dreadful\nappearance, like that of Earth quivering with her mountains at the time\nof a world-destruction.\n\n6. Like many-headed hissing serpents, clouds of a bluish-black colour\nwith their flame-tongues of lightnings obstructed the path of the sun,\nand without interruption produced the terrible noise of their thunder.\n\n7. The sun, whose net-work of rays was hidden by thick clouds, gradually\nreached the point where it set. Then darkness availing itself of the\nopportunity of evening-time and growing, as it were, more concrete,\nenveloped all around.\n\n8, 9. Smitten on its wave-surface by the rain-darts of the showers, the\nsea rose up, as if in rage, and the poor ship trembled very much, as if\nafraid, saddening the hearts of the occupants, who manifested their\ndifferent natures according to their inherent qualities. Some were\novercome by affliction and stood speechless with terror, some behaved\ncourageously and were busily working to avert the danger, and some were\nabsorbed in prayers to their tutelar deities.\n\nNow, the strong wind making the sea run high, the vessel drove along\nwith the current. The merchants did not discover land for many days, nor\ndid they observe favourable signs of the sea. The signs they saw, being\nnew to them, made their sadness increase, and they grew perplexed by\nfear and dejection. But Sup\u00e2raga, the Bodhisattva, comforted them, thus\nspeaking: 'You must not wonder at the sea tossing about in a portentous\nstate of commotion; are we not crossing the Great Ocean? There is no\nreasonable ground for Your Honours to indulge in affliction. Why so?\n\n10, 11. 'It is not by dejection that mischief is warded off; therefore\ndo not remain in low spirits. But it is by courage that those who are\nclever to do what is to be done surmount difficulties without\ndifficulty. Well then, shake off that sadness and dejection, set rather\nto work, availing yourselves of the opportunity of working. The energy\nof a wise man, kindled by firmness of mind, is the hand by which success\nis grasped in any matter.\n\n'Let each of you then be intent on performing his special duty.' And the\nmerchants, in this way invigorated by the Great Being, longing for the\nsight of land and looking down into the sea, beheld beings who had the\nfigure of men and looked as if they wore silver armour; they saw them\ndiving up and down the water-surface. When they had well considered\ntheir figures and marks, they informed Sup\u00e2raga of that phenomenon,\nexpressing their amazement. 'Verily, here we meet in the great ocean\nwith a phenomenon unheard of before. These, in truth, are\n\n12. 'Some beings not unlike warriors of the Demons, wearing silver\narmour, with fierce looks and ugly noses that resemble a quadruped's\nhoof; it seems as if they are sporting in the ocean-water, incessantly\nshooting and diving up and down its surface.'\n\nSup\u00e2raga said: 'These are no men nor demons, but fishes, to be sure. Do\nnot be afraid of them. Still,\n\n13. 'We are driven far off both seaports. This is the sea called\nKhuram\u00e2lin [ = wearing hoof-garlands]. Therefore, you must try to turn\nback.'\n\nBut they could not veer on account of the vehemence of the high-running\nsea and of the strong wind, which continued to blow after them and\ndrive the ship in the same direction. And as they advanced farther into\nthe ocean, they perceived another sea shining with the lustre of silver\nand looking bright with the mass of white foam on its waves. On\nbeholding this astonishing spectacle, they said to Sup\u00e2raga:\n\n14. 'What great sea is this, which is clothed, as it were, in fine white\nlinen and veils its waters with its foam? It seems to bear on its\nsurface fluid moonbeams, as it were, and to show all around a laughing\nface.'\n\nSup\u00e2raga said: 'Alas! we are penetrating too far.\n\n15. 'That is the sea Dadhim\u00e2lin [ = wearing garlands of coagulated\nmilk], called the \"milk-ocean.\" It is not wise to go farther on, at\nleast if it is possible to turn back.'\n\nThe merchants said: 'It is impossible, indeed, to reduce the speed of\nthe ship, much less to change her course. She is being driven too\nswiftly by the current, and the wind blows contrary.'\n\nNow, having crossed also that sea, the merchants perceived another sea,\nwhose rolling waves were tinged with the splendour of gold resembling\nthe red-brown colour of flames, and filled with amazement and curiosity\nthey spoke about it to Sup\u00e2raga.\n\n16. 'It looks now as if the high, bright waves had been tinged with the\nbrilliant hue of the rising sun. They appear to us like a great, blazing\nfire. Say, what sea is this and how is it named for this reason?'\n\nSup\u00e2raga answered:\n\n17. 'Agnim\u00e2lin [ = wearing fire-garlands] is the celebrated name of this\nsea. It would be very prudent, indeed, if we were to turn back now.'\n\nThus saying the Great Being, far-seeing as he was, told them only the\nname of that sea, but concealed the cause of the change of colour of the\nwater. After crossing also that sea, the merchants saw that the colour\nof the sea changed again; now its hue bore a resemblance to a grove of\nripe ku_s_a-grass, and its waters were illuminated with the lustre of\ntopazes and sapphires; and prompted by curiosity they asked Sup\u00e2raga:\n\n18. 'Which of the seas now appears to us? Its waters have the colour of\nthe blades of ripe ku_s_a-grass. The breaking of its wind-stirred\nbillows crowns it with a many-coloured foam-ornament, and makes it look\nas if it were overspread with flowers.'\n\nSup\u00e2raga said: 'Say, merchants, you should now make efforts to turn\nback. Surely it is not advisable to go farther.\n\n19. 'This is the sea named Ku_s_am\u00e2lin [= wearing kusa-garlands]. Like\nan elephant not heeding the goad, it drags forcibly along with its\nirresistible waves, and will take away our enjoyment.'\n\nAnd the merchants, not being able to turn the ship, however bravely they\nexerted themselves, crossed also that sea. Then perceiving another sea,\nthe water of which had a greenish colour like that proceeding from the\nunited brilliancy of emeralds and beryls, they asked Sup\u00e2raga:\n\n20. 'The sea we now behold has yet another appearance. Its waters have\nthe green shine of emeralds and resemble a splendid meadow; they are\nadorned with foam as lovely as waterlilies. Which sea is this again?'\n\nUpon this the Great Being, whose heart ached as he foresaw the calamity\nwhich was about to befall the merchants, heaved a long and deep sigh,\nand said in a low tone:\n\n21. 'You have gone too far. It will be hard to return from hence. This\nsea, the Nalam\u00e2lin [= wearing reed-garlands[120]], is well-nigh at the\nend of the world.'\n\n     [120] In the P\u00e2li redaction this sea has the appearance of an\n     immense reed-bed or bamboo-grove (nalavana_m_ viya _k_a\n     ve_l_uvana_m_ viya _k_a), and the commentator argues that those\n     names of grasses convey also the acceptation of some precious\n     stones. But the stones there are of a red colour.\n\nWhen they heard that answer, the poor merchants were utterly afflicted.\nTheir minds lost their energy, their limbs became powerless, and sitting\ndown in dull sadness, they did nothing but sigh. And after crossing\nthat sea too, in the afternoon, when the Sun with his slackening circle\nof rays seemed to be about to enter the Ocean, a confused and tremendous\nnoise, piercing both the ears and the hearts of the merchants, became\naudible. This noise rising from the sea may be compared to that of a sea\nswelling in rage, or of many thunderclaps together, or of bamboo-groves\nhaving caught fire and crackling. On hearing it, they suddenly jumped\nfrom their seats, trembling with fear and highly agitated, and examining\nthe ocean all around, perceived that immense mass of water falling down\nas if over some precipice or chasm. That alarming sight filled them with\nthe utmost fear, sadness, and dejection. They went to Sup\u00e2raga, saying:\n\n22. 'We hear a tremendous noise from afar, almost piercing our ears and\ncrushing our minds, as if the Lord of the Rivers were angry, and this\nwhole mass of ocean-water falls down, it seems, into an awful abyss.\nSay, then, what sea is that, and what do you think is best to be done\nnow?'\n\nThen the Great Being, agitated, said: 'Alas! alas!' and looking down\nover the sea, he spoke:\n\n23. 'You have come to that dreadful place, from which no one returns,\nthat mouth-like entrance of Death, the famous Mare-mouth[121].'\n\n     [121] This va_d_av\u00e2mukha is the place where, according to Hindu\n     mythology, the submarine fire resides.\n\nOn hearing this the poor merchants, understanding that having reached\nthe Mare-mouth, they must give up all hope of life, were distressed by\nthe fear of death.\n\n24-26. Some of them wept aloud or lamented and cried out. Others did\nnothing at all, being torpid from anxiety. Some with sorrow-stricken\nminds worshipped the deities, especially the Lord of the Devas, others\nresorted to the \u00c2dityas, the Rudras, the Maruts, the Vasus, and to\nS\u00e2gara himself [the Ocean]. Others again muttered various prayers, and\nthere were those who paid in due form homage to Devi. Some again went\nto Sup\u00e2raga, and in various modes and ways lamented piteously.\n\n27-29. 'Practised in the virtue of compassionateness for others, you are\nin the habit of relieving from fear those who are in distress. Now the\ntime has arrived for employing that excessive power of yours. Resolve,\nthen, O wise man, upon rescuing us, the distressed, the helpless, who\nhave taken our refuge in you. The Ocean in his wrath is now about to\nswallow us with his Mare-mouth, like a mouthful of food. It does not\nbecome you to neglect this poor crew perishing in the rolling waves. The\ngreat Ocean obeys your orders. Therefore, put a stop to his rage.'\n\nBut the Great Being felt his heart oppressed with great compassion and\nspoke thus, comforting the poor merchants: 'There is still an expedient\nto rescue us even now. It occurs to my mind. Why, I will make use of it.\nBut you must show courage for a moment.' Now, when the merchants heard\nthis, the hope that there was still some remedy, after all, revived\ntheir courage, and fixing their whole attention upon him, they became\nsilent. But Sup\u00e2raga, the Bodhisattva, after throwing his upper-garment\non one shoulder and bending his right knee on the ship's deck[122], made\nhis veneration to the Tath\u00e2gatas, having his whole heart absorbed by\nthat deed of devotion; after which he thus addressed the company: 'Be\nyou, honourable sea-traders, and you, different gods, who have your\ndwelling in the sky, my witnesses.\n\n     [122] In the P\u00e2li redaction the Bodhisatta orders the merchants to\n     bathe his body with fragrant water and to clothe him with unwashed,\n     i.e. new, garments, and to prepare a vessel filled with water, to\n     pour out while performing his sa_kk_akiriy\u00e2.\n\n30. 'Since I have remembrance of my Self, since the time when I have\nbecome conscious of my deeds, I do not recollect, however much I ponder,\nhaving injured in any respect any living being.\n\n31. 'By the power of this Act of Truth and by the strength of my store\nof meritorious actions may the ship turn safely without reaching the\nMare-mouth!'\n\nAnd so great was the power of the veracity of the Great Being, so great\nalso the splendour of his merit[123], that the current and the wind\nchanged to the opposite direction and made the vessel go back. The\nmerchants beholding the ship go back, exulted with the highest\nadmiration and joy, and expressing their veneration to Sup\u00e2raga by\nreverential bows, told him that the ship went back. Then the Great Being\ninstructed them to be calm and to hoist the sails quickly. And being\nthus ordered, they who had the charge of that work, having regained by\ntheir gladness their ability and energy, did as he had said.\n\n     [123] In the P\u00e2li version it is the power of the Great Being's\n     veracity alone that causes the winds to change.\n\n32. Then, resplendent with the lovely outspread wings of her white\nsails, and filled with the sound of her merry and laughing crew, the\nship flew over the sea, like a flamingo in the pure and cloudless sky.\n\nNow while the ship, favoured by both current and wind, returned with as\nmuch ease as the heavenly cars move through the air, and was flying, so\nto speak, at her will, at that time of the day, when the gathering\ndarkness extends far and wide, and the sky, no more adorned by the\ndimming glow of the twilight, begins to make the ornaments of its\nconstellations appear on the firmament, where still a faint remnant of\nlight is left, in that moment, then, of the commencement of the rule of\nNight, Sup\u00e2raga addressed the merchants in these terms: 'Well, traders,\nwhile crossing the Nalam\u00e2lin sea and the others, you must draw up sand\nand stones from the bottom of the seas and charge your ship with as much\nas she can contain. By this practice she will keep her sides firm, if\nassailed by a violent hurricane; besides, that sand and gravel being\npronounced to be auspicious, will doubtless tend to your profit and\ngain.' And the merchants, being shown the fit places all along by the\ndeities, who did so out of affection and veneration for Sup\u00e2raga, drew\nup from thence what they meant to be sand and stones, and loaded their\nship with that burden. But, in fact, that sand and those stones were\nberyls and other jewels. And in that one night's course they reached\nBharuka_kkh_a[124].\n\n     [124] According to the P\u00e2li story, they had spent a four months'\n     voyage before they reached the Mare-mouth.\n\n33. At day-break they beheld with gladness their ship filled with\ntreasures: silver, gold, sapphires, beryls, and at the same time they\nsaw that they had arrived in their country; and exulting with joy they\npraised their saviour.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner even speaking the truth on the ground of Righteousness is\nsufficient to dispel calamity, what can be said more to assert the good\nresults of observing the Law? Thus considering, one must observe the\nLaw. [Likewise, when discoursing on the assistance of a virtuous friend,\nit is to be said: 'In this way those who rest on a virtuous friend\nattain happiness.']\n\n\n\n\nXV. THE STORY OF THE FISH.\n\n(Cp. P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 75, Fausb. I, 331-32; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka III, 10.)\n\n\nThe designs of those who practise good conduct will be successful and\nthrive even in this world, how much more in the next. For this reason\nperfect pureness of conduct ought to be striven after, as will be taught\nby the following.\n\nThe Bodhisattva, it is said, was once a chief of fishes, living in a\ncertain small lake, the lovely water of which was embellished with\nvarious lotuses and waterlilies, white, red, and blue, adorned with\ncouples of swans, ducks, and geese, and covered with the blossoms of the\ntrees growing on its borders. Yet, owing to his constant practice of\n(the virtue of) helping others in many previous births, he was wholly\ngiven up to the business of procuring for others what would be good and\nagreeable to them, even in this fish-existence.\n\n1. By the power of a long practice, actions good or wicked become\ninherent in mankind to such an extent that they will perform them in a\nnew existence without any effort and, as it were, while sleeping[125].\n\n     [125] The technical name for that imbibing of good qualities is\n     s\u00e2tm\u00eebh\u00e2va.\n\nThe Great Being, then, had set his heart on those fishes, as if they\nwere his own dear offspring, and showed them his favour in various ways:\nby gifts, kind words, attending to their interests, and the like.\n\n2. He restrained them from desiring to injure each other and made their\nmutual affection grow. Owing to this, and his efforts, and his knowledge\nof every expedient, he made them forget their habit of feeding in the\n(cruel) manner of fishes.\n\n3. Duly protected by him, that shoal of fishes came to great prosperity,\njust as a town, when ruled by a king that acts in the proper manner,\nenjoys freedom from every kind of mishap.\n\nOne time, because of the deficiency of good fortune in the creatures and\nthe neglect of the angels who have the charge of rain, the (rain)god did\nnot rain his due amount. In consequence of this scantiness of rain, the\nlake was not filled up as before with new water yellow-coloured by the\nexpanding flowers of the kadamba-trees. Afterwards, when the hot season\narrived, the rays of the sun, burning more ardently and being, as it\nwere, exhausted with fatigue, drank from that lake day after day; so did\nEarth heated by those rays; likewise Wind, who being, as it were,\naccompanied by flames, would long for refreshment. All three assuaging\ntheir thirst in the lake, so to speak, made it at last turn into a pool.\n\n4. In the hot season the flaming Sun, the pungent Wind who seems to send\nforth flames, and heat-wearied Earth sick with fever, dry up the waters,\nas if they would allay their wrath.\n\nThat shoal of fishes, then, had come into a miserable condition. Not\nonly the crowds of birds haunting the borders of the lake, but even\ntroops of crows commenced to look upon them as their prey, for they\ncould do nothing but lie and gasp. The Bodhisattva perceived the\naffliction and grief of his tribe, and moved with compassion entered\nupon this reflection: 'Oh! these wretched fishes, what a calamity has\nbefallen them!\n\n5. 'The water is decreasing every day, as if it vied with the life of\nmortals, and as yet clouds are not to be expected to come at all for a\nlong time.\n\n6, 7. 'There is no opportunity of withdrawing; and if there were, who\nshould lead us elsewhere? Besides, our enemies, invited by our calamity,\nthrong together against us. No doubt, they do but wait for the remainder\nof the water to dry up to devour these prostrate fishes under my very\neyes.\n\n'Now, what may be the proper act to be done here?' Thus considering, the\nGreat Being saw but one means for relief, if he should avail himself of\nhis veracity. Accordingly, while grieved by compassion in his mind and\nheaving a long and deep sigh, he looked upwards to the sky and spoke:\n\n8. 'As truly as I do not recollect, however pondering, that I ever did\nharm to any living being, not even in the highest distress, by the power\nof this truth may the King of the Devas fill the water-basins with the\nwater of his rains.'\n\nWhen the Great Being had pronounced these words, there happened a\nmiracle, occasioned by the power of his veracity joined to the store of\nhis merit and to the favour shown to him by Devas, Snakes and Yakshas,\nwho put into effect their might. In all parts of the sky there appeared\nrain-clouds, though out of season yet in the proper time[126]. They were\nhanging low, being loaded with rain; the deep and soft sound of\napproaching thunder was heard out of them; while flashes of lightning\nadorned their big and dark-blue tops, they were spreading over the sky,\nas if they embraced each other with their heads and arms gradually\napproaching.\n\n     [126] Or 'rain-clouds, out of season and black.' The pun is in the\n     word k\u00e2lamegha.\n\n9. Like the shadows of mountains projected in the mirror of the sky, the\nblack clouds appeared, diminishing like those the circumference of the\nhorizon and occasioning darkness with their tops.\n\n10. The rumbling noise of the thunderclaps now resounded around,\ninducing the peacocks to utter cries of gladness and to perform various\ndancing movements, as if they praised the clouds. These accessories\ntogether with the incessant illumination by lightning gave the effect of\ngreat merriness and laughter irradiating those cloud-masses.\n\n11. Then the clouds let loose streams of rain, which fell down like\npearls loosened from their shells. The dust subsided, and a strong smell\nextended itself, carried about by means of the wind which accompanied\nthe thunder-shower.\n\n12. The sun-rays, though their power had reached its highest degree\nbecause of the hot season, were now hidden, and currents of water ran\ndown from the mountains, troubling their banks with the rows of foam\nwhich they deposited.\n\n13. And it was as if the slender figure of Lightning, illuminating the\nfirmament again and again with her gold-yellow light-appearances,\nperformed her dances, rejoiced at the music of the cloud-instruments.\n\nNow, while the currents of palish water flowing to the lake from all\nsides were filling it, the crows and other birds had flown away at the\nvery outset of the thunderstorm. The crowds of fishes recovering the\nhope of life, were much rejoiced. Yet the Bodhisattva, though his heart\nwas pervaded with gladness, fearing lest the rain should cease, thus\nspoke to Par_g_anya again and again:\n\n14. 'Roar, Par_g_anya, roar a roaring, loud and deep; dispel the joy of\nthe crows, pouring out thy waters like jewels endowed with the flaming\nbrilliancy of lightning, their companion[127].'\n\n     [127] The corresponding g\u00e2th\u00e2 in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka (Fausb. I, p.\n     332) is also found in the _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka (III, 10, 7) with some\n     preferable various readings. In both redactions the birds have\n     already begun to kill and devour the fishes, when the Bodhisatta\n     performs his sa_kk_akiriy\u00e2 and addresses Pa_gg_unna, commanding\n     him, says the _G_\u00e2taka prose-writer, 'as a man would do his\n     attendant slave.' This exhortation is uttered before the appearance\n     of the clouds, which I suppose to be the older version of our\n     story.\n\nWhen _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, heard this, he became highly\nastonished and went in person to him. And eulogizing him, he spoke:\n\n15. 'Surely, it is thy power, the effect of thy transcendent veracity, O\nmighty lord of fishes, that makes these rain-clouds pour out their\nwaters with the lovely noise of thunder, as if they were waterpots bent\ndown.\n\n16. 'But I should incur the blame of great inattention if I neglected to\napprove of the exertions of such beings as thou, intent on performing\nsuch deeds for the benefit of the world.\n\n17. 'Therefore, thou must be henceforth no more anxious. I am bound to\nassist the virtuous in carrying out their designs. Never shall this\nregion, since it is the abode of thy virtues, be visited another time by\na similar plague.'\n\nAfter thus praising him in kind terms, he disappeared on the spot. And\nthat lake obtained a very large increase of water.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner the designs of those who practise good conduct will be\nsuccessful and thrive even in this world, how much more in the next. For\nthis reason entire pureness of conduct ought to be striven after.\n\n\n\n\nXVI. THE STORY OF THE QUAIL'S YOUNG.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 35, Fausb. I, 213-14; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka III,\n9.)\n\n\nNot even fire is able to surpass speech purified by truth. Having this\nin mind, one must addict one's self to speaking the truth. This will be\ntaught as follows.\n\nOnce the Bodhisattva, it is said, lived in some part of the forest as a\nyoung quail. He had come out of the egg some nights before, and could\nnot fly, his tender wings having still to grow both in height and in\nwidth; in his very small and weak body the different limbs, principal\nand minor, were hardly discernible. So he dwelt with his numerous\nbrothers in the nest which his parents had built with great care and\nmade impervious by a strong covering of grass. This nest was placed on a\ncreeper within a thicket. Yet, still in this existence, he had not lost\nhis consciousness of the Law, and would not feed on such living beings\nas his father and mother offered to them, but exclusively sustained\nhimself by (the vegetable food) which was brought by his parents:\ngrass-seeds, figs of the banian tree, &c. In consequence of this coarse\nand insufficient nourishment, his body did not thrive nor would his\nwings develop. The other young quails, on the contrary, who fed on\neverything offered to them, became strong and got full-grown wings. For\nthis, indeed, is an invariable rule:\n\n1. He who, not anxious about the precepts of the Law, eats everything,\nwill thrive at his ease, but such a one as seeks for his livelihood in\naccordance with the precepts, and is careful about the choice of his\nfood, will endure pain in this world[128].\n\n     [128] Here follows an interpolation, which the editor of the\n     original has placed within brackets. It is a quotation, which was\n     originally no doubt a marginal note. Here is its translation:\n\n     'This is also declared by our Lord in the two g\u00e2th\u00e2s: \"Easy is the\n     livelihood &c.\"\n\n     2. 'Easy is the livelihood of the shameless crow, that bold and\n     impetuous animal, who practises impure actions, but it is a very\n     sinful life.\n\n     3. 'But the modest one who always strives after purity has a hard\n     livelihood, the bashful one who is scrupulous and sustains himself\n     only by pure modes of living.\n\n     'This couple of g\u00e2th\u00e2s is found in the \u00c2ryasth\u00e2vir\u00eeyanik\u00e2ya.'\n\n     The g\u00e2th\u00e2s quoted are substantially and partly verbally the same as\n     two stanzas of the Dhammapada (244 and 245) that are their P\u00e2li\n     counterpart.\n\nNow, while they were living in this manner, a great forest-conflagration\ntook place not far from them. It was characterised by an incessant\ntremendous noise, by the appearance of clouds of rising smoke, then by\nflying sparks of fire scattered about from the line of flames. This fire\ncaused much terror to such animals as haunted the forest, and was a ruin\nto its groves and thickets.\n\n4. The fire excited by the whirling of the wind, that seemed to induce\nit to perform manifold and different figures of dance, agitated its\nwide-outstretched flame-arms, leaped shaking its dishevelled smoke-hair,\nand crackled, taking away the courage and strength of those (animals and\nplants).\n\n5. It jumped, as if in wrath, on the grasses, which trembling under the\nviolent touch of the fierce wind, seemed to take to flight; and covering\nthem with its glittering sparks, burnt them.\n\n6. Yea, it seemed as if the forest itself, with its crowds of birds\nflying about terror-stricken and alarmed, with its terrified quadrupeds\nroaming on all sides, with the thick smoke which enveloped it, and with\nthe sharp noise of the fire's crackling, uttered strong roars of pain.\n\nSo that conflagration, pushed forward as if pressed on by the violent\nwind, and following the grasses and shrubs, reached at last the vicinity\nof that nest. In this moment the young quails, uttering confused and\ndiscordant shrieks of fear, each caring for himself, none for the rest,\nsuddenly flew up all together. Only the Bodhisattva, because of the\ngreat weakness of his body and because he had as yet no wings, made no\nsuch effort. Yet the Great Being knew his power and was not at all\ndisturbed. When the fire with impetuosity approached, and was about to\nseize upon the nest, he addressed it with these persuasive words:\n\n7. 'My feet are not strong enough to deserve that name, nor are my wings\nable to fly, and the disturbance caused by thee put to flight also my\nparents. Nothing worth offering to a guest like thee, is to be found\nhere. For this reason it becomes thee to turn back from hence, Agni.'\n\nWhen the Great Being had spoken these words, hallowed by the power of\nTruth,\n\n8. That fire, though stirred by the wind, though raging in dry underwood\nmixed with very arid grasses, abated suddenly, as if it had reached a\nswollen river, having come near to his utterance of speech.\n\n9. Still up to this day any forest-conflagration, reaching that famous\nplace in the Him\u00e2laya, however high its flames may rise by the power of\nthe wind, will lessen its fire and slacken its rage, in the same way as\na many-headed serpent is charmed by a spell.\n\nFor what reason, then, has this (tale) been adduced? It will be said.\n\n10. As little as the sea with its rolling billows will transgress the\nshore, or he who loves Truth the discipline ordained by the Lord of\nMunis, so little even fire is able to transgress the command of the\nveracious. For this reason one must never leave Truth.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, not even fire is able to surpass speech purified\nby truth. Having this in view, one must addict one's self to speaking\nthe truth. [This story is also to be told, when discoursing on the\nTath\u00e2gata.]\n\n\n\n\nXVII. THE STORY OF THE JAR.\n\n(Cp. P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 512, Fausb. V, pp. 11-20.)\n\n\nDrinking intoxicating liquors is an exceedingly bad action, attended by\nmany evils. Having this in mind, the virtuous will keep back their\nneighbour from that sin, how much more their own selves. This will be\ntaught as follows.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva, having by his excessive compassion purified\nhis mind, always intent on bringing about the good and the happiness of\nothers, manifesting his holy practice of good conduct by his deeds of\ncharity, modesty, self-restraint, and the like, held the dignity of\n_S_akra, the Lord of the Devas. In this existence, though he enjoyed to\nhis heart's content such paramount sensual pleasures as are proper to\nthe Celestials, yet Compassionateness ruled his mind so as not to allow\nhim to relax his exertions for the benefit of the world.\n\n1. As a rule the creatures, drinking from the wine[129] of prosperity,\nare not watchful, not even with respect to their own interests. He, on\nthe contrary, was not only free from the drunkenness originating from\nthe transcendent enjoyments which attend the sovereign rank among the\nDevas, but his watchfulness for the interests of others was as great as\never.\n\n     [129] The juice of grapes not being among the national intoxicating\n     liquors of India, Sanskrit has no proper word for 'wine.' For\n     rhetorical purposes, however, it will meet no objection to use this\n     term in a translation. Moreover, nowadays 'wine' is signified in\n     Sanskrit by words meaning 'strong liquor.'\n\n2. Being full of affection towards the creatures, as if they were his\nkinsmen, those poor creatures harassed by many violent calamities, he\nnever forgot to take care of the interests of others, persisting in his\nstrong determination and being well aware of his own (extraordinary)\nnature.\n\nNow, one day the Great Being was casting His eyes over the world of men.\nHis eye, great as His nature and mildly looking according to His\nfriendliness, while bending down to mankind with compassion, perceived a\ncertain king, whose name was Sarvamitra [= every one's friend], who by\nthe sin of his intercourse with wicked friends was inclined to the habit\nof drinking strong liquors, himself with his people, townsmen and\nlandsmen. Now, having understood that the king saw no sin in this habit,\nand knowing that drinking constitutes a great sin, the Great Being,\naffected with great compassion, entered upon this reflection: 'It is a\npity, indeed, how great a misery has befallen this people!\n\n3. 'Drinking, like a lovely but wrong path--for it is a sweet thing at\nthe outset--leads away from salvation such people as fail to recognise\nthe evils which it causes.\n\n'What, then, may be the proper way to act here?... Why, I have found it.\n\n4. 'People like to imitate the behaviour of him who is the foremost\namong them; this is their constant nature. Accordingly, here the king\nalone is the person to be cured, for it is from him that originates the\ngood as well as the evil of his people.'\n\nHaving thus made up his mind, the Great Being took on himself the\nmajestic figure of a Br\u00e2hman. His colour shone like pure gold; he wore\nhis hair matted and twisted up, which gave him a rather stern\nappearance; he had his body covered with the bark-garment and the\ndeer-skin[130]. A jar of moderate size, filled with sur\u00e2, was hanging\ndown from his left side. In this shape, standing in the air he showed\nhimself to king Sarvamitra, while he was sitting with his company in his\naudience-hall, and their conversation had turned to be such as attends\ndrinking sur\u00e2, \u00e2sava, maireya[131], rum, and honeyed liquor. On seeing\nhim, the assembly, moved by surprise and veneration, rose from their\nseats, and reverentially folded their hands to him. After which, he\nbegan to speak in a loud voice, resembling the deep noise of a cloud big\nwith rain:\n\n     [130] The matted hair, the bark-garment, and the deer-skin are the\n     attributes of an anchorite or muni. Cp. Dhammapada, verses 393,\n     394.\n\n     [131] All of them names of different kinds of spirituous liquor.\n\n  5. 'See, 'tis fill'd up to its neck,\n         Flowers laugh around its neck;\n      Well 'tis dress'd, a splendid jar;\n         Who will buy from me this jar?\n\n6. 'I have here a jar adorned with this bracelet-like wide wreath of\nflowers, fluttering in the wind. See how proud it looks, decorated as it\nis by tender foliage. Which of you desires to possess it by purchase?'\n\nUpon which, that king, whose curiosity was excited by astonishment,\nreverentially fixing his eyes on him and raising his folded hands, spoke\nthese words:\n\n7. 'Like the morning-sun thou appearest to us by thy lustre, like the\nmoon by thy gracefulness, and by thy figure like some Muni. Deign to\ntell us, then, by what name thou art known in the world. Thy different\nillustrious qualities make us uncertain about thee.'\n\n_S_akra said:\n\n8. 'Afterwards you will know me, who I am, but now be intent on\npurchasing this jar from me--at least if you are not afraid of the\nsufferings in the next world or heavy calamities to be expected still in\nthis.'\n\nThe king replied: 'Verily, such an introduction to a bargain as is made\nby Thy Reverence, I never saw before.\n\n9, 10. 'The ordinary mode of offering objects for sale among men is to\nextol their good qualities and conceal their faults. Surely, that manner\npractised by thee is becoming such men as thou, who abhor falsehood. For\nthe virtuous will never forsake veracity, even when in distress!\n\n11. 'Tell us then, Eminent One, with what this jar is filled. And what\nis it, that such a mighty being as thou may desire from our side by the\nbarter?'\n\n_S_akra said: 'Hear, mighty sovereign.\n\n12. 'It is not filled with water, either the largess of the clouds or\ndrawn from a holy stream; nor with fragrant honey gathered out of the\nfilaments of flowers; nor with excellent butter; nor with milk, whose\nhue equals that of the moonbeams awaking the waterlilies in a cloudless\nnight. No, this jar is filled up with mischievous liquor. Now, learn the\nvirtue of this liquor.\n\n13. 'He who drinks it will lose the control of himself, in consequence\nof mind-perplexing intoxication; as his mindfulness will slacken, he\nwill stumble even on plain ground; he will not make a difference between\nfood allowed and forbidden, and will make his meals of whatever he may\nget. Of such a nature is the fluid within this jar. Buy it, it is for\nsale, that worst of jars!\n\n14. 'This liquor has the power of taking away your consciousness, so as\nto make you lose the control of your thoughts and behave like a brute\nbeast, giving your enemies the trouble of laughing at you. Thanks to it,\nyou may also dance in the midst of an assembly, accompanying yourself\nwith the music of your mouth. Being of such a nature, it is worth\npurchasing by you, that liquor within the jar, devoid as it is of any\ngood!\n\n15. 'Even the bashful lose shame by drinking it, and will have done with\nthe trouble and restraint of dress; unclothed like Nirgranthas[132] they\nwill walk boldly on the highways crowded with people. Of such a nature\nis the liquor contained in this jar and now offered for sale[133].\n\n     [132] The Nirgranthas are a class of monks, especially _G_ain\n     monks, who wander about naked.\n\n     [133] Instead of the reading of the printed text, the fourth p\u00e2da,\n     I suppose, should be read thus: s\u00e2 pa_n_yat\u00e2m upagat\u00e2 nihit\u00e2tra\n     kumbhe.\n\n16. 'Drinking it may cause men even to lie senseless asleep on the\nking's roads, having their figures soiled with food ejected by their\nvomitings and licked from their face by bold dogs. Such is the beverage,\nlovely to purchase, which has been poured into this jar!\n\n17. 'Even a woman enjoying it may be brought by the power of\nintoxication into such a state, that she would be able to fasten her\nparents to a tree and to disregard her husband, may he be as wealthy as\nKubera[134]. Of this kind is the merchandise which is contained within\nthis jar!\n\n     [134] The strange examples for illustration are occasioned by the\n     exigencies of a metrical tour de force, very skilfully executed.\n\n18. 'That liquor, by drinking which the V_ri_sh_n_ayas and the Andhak\u00e2s\nwere put out of their senses to this degree, that without minding[135]\ntheir relationship they crushed down each other with their clubs, that\nvery beverage of maddening effect is enclosed within this jar!\n\n     [135] It is evident that vismitabandhubh\u00e2v\u00e2_h_ is a misprint for\n     vism_ri_tabandhubh\u00e2v\u00e2_h_.\n\n19. 'Addicted to which whole families of the highest rank and dignity,\nthe abodes of splendour, perished, that liquor which has caused\nlikewise the ruin of wealthy families, here in this jar it is exposed\nfor sale.\n\n20. 'Here in this jar is that which makes the tongue and the feet\nunrestrained, and puts off every check in weeping and laughing; that by\nwhich the eyes look heavy and dull as of one possessed of a demon; that\nwhich impairing a man's mind, of necessity reduces him to an object of\ncontempt.\n\n21. 'In this jar is ready for sale that which, disturbing the senses of\neven aged people and making them timid to continue the road which leads\nto their good, induces them to talk much without purpose and rashly.\n\n22. 'It is the fault of this beverage, that the old gods, having become\ncareless, were bereaved of their splendour by the King of the Devas, and\nseeking for relief were drowned in the Ocean. With that drink this jar\nis filled. Well, take it!\n\n23. 'Like an Incarnation of Curse she[136] lies within this jar, she by\nwhose power falsehood is spoken with confidence, as if it were truth,\nand forbidden actions are committed with joy, as if they were\nprescribed. It is she who causes men to hold for good what is bad and\nfor bad what is good.\n\n     [136] The word sur\u00e2 is feminine.\n\n24. 'Well, purchase then this madness-producing philtre, this abode of\ncalamities, this embodied Disaster, this mother of sins, this sole and\nunparalleled road of sin[137], this dreadful darkness of mind.\n\n     [137] Kali is here used as an appellative with the general meaning\n     it has in P\u00e2li (see Childers' Dict. s. v.).\n\n25. 'Purchase from me, O king, that beverage which is able to take away\na man's senses entirely, so that, without caring for his happiness or\nfuture state, he may strike his own innocent father or mother or a holy\nascetic.\n\n26. 'Such is this liquor, known among men by the name of sur\u00e2, O you\nlord of men, who by your splendour equal the celestials (sur\u00e2s). Let him\nendeavour to buy it, who is no partisan of virtues.\n\n27. 'People, being addicted to this liquor, grow accustomed to\nill-behaviour, and will consequently fall into the precipices of\ndreadful hells or come to the state of beasts or to the attenuated\ncondition of pret\u00e2s. Who then, forsooth, should make up his mind even to\nlook at this liquor?\n\n28. 'And, be the result of drinking intoxicating liquors ever so\ntrifling, still that vice destroys the good conduct and the good\nunderstanding of those who pass through human existence. Moreover it\nleads afterwards to the residence in the tremendous hell Av\u00ee_k_i,\nburning with flaming fire, or in the world of spectres[138], or in the\nbodies of vile beasts.\n\n     [138] 'The world of spectres' = pit_ri_loke. In Buddhist\n     terminology the pitara_h_ are a synonym of pret\u00e2_h_, considered to\n     be a class of spectres and ghosts. 'In appearance they are\n     extremely attenuated, like a dry leaf.' Spence Hardy, Manual, p.\n     48.\n\n29. 'In short, drinking this destroys every virtue. It deadens good\nconduct (_s_\u00eela), forcibly kills good reputation, banishes shame, and\ndefiles the mind. How should you allow yourself to drink intoxicating\nliquors henceforward, O king?'\n\nBy these persuasive words of _S_akra and his strong arguments the king\nbecame aware of the sinfulness of drinking intoxicating liquors. He cast\noff the desire of taking them, and addressing his interlocutor said:\n\n30. 'As an affectionate father would deign to speak to his son, or a\nteacher to his pupil in reward for his discipline and attachment, or a\nMuni who knows the difference between the good and the evil modes of\nlife, such an import is conveyed in the well-said words thou hast spoken\nto me out of benevolence. For this reason I will endeavour to honour\nthee, as is due, by a deed.\n\n'In return for thy well-said sentences Thy Reverence will at least deign\nto accept from us this honour.\n\n31. 'I give thee five excellent villages, a hundred female slaves, five\nhundred cows, and these ten chariots with the best horses harnessed to\nthem. As a speaker of wholesome words thou art a Guru to me.\n\n'Or, wert thou to desire anything else to be done from my side, Thy\nReverence would favour me once more by ordering so.'\n\n_S_akra replied:\n\n32, 33. 'I do not want villages or other boons. Know me to be the Lord\nof the Celestials, O King. But the speaker of wholesome words is to be\nhonoured by accepting his words and acting up to them. For this is the\nway which leads to glory and bliss, and after death to the many\ndifferent forms of happiness. Therefore, throw off the habit of taking\nintoxicating drinks. Holding fast to Righteousness you shall partake of\nmy heaven.'\n\nAfter thus speaking, _S_akra disappeared on the spot, and the king, with\nhis townsmen and landsmen, desisted from the vice of drinking strong\nliquors.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, the virtuous, considering the use of intoxicating\nliquors an exceedingly bad action, attended by many evils, will keep\nback their neighbour from this sin, how much more their own selves. [And\nwhen discoursing about the Tath\u00e2gata, this is also to be propounded: 'In\nthis manner the Lord was careful of the good of the world already in his\nprevious existences.']\n\n\n\n\nXVIII. THE STORY OF THE CHILDLESS ONE.\n\n\nThe state of a householder is beset with occupations inimical to\nreligious conduct and tranquillity. For this reason it does not please\nthose who long only for the Self[139]. This will be taught by the\nfollowing.\n\n     [139] Though the Buddhist lore denies the existence of the\n     individual soul, the Self (\u00e2tman), Buddhist Sanskrit, as well as\n     P\u00e2li, often employs that name, as it is used in pagan and profane\n     writings, in such cases as where it may suit to signify that part\n     of the individual being, to whose profit or damage the good or evil\n     karma will tend.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva was born in a wealthy family, noted for their\nvirtuous mode of life and good behaviour, so as to be much sought in\nalliance and highly esteemed by the people. That family was like a\nrefreshing well to persons of good birth; they shared the stores of\ntheir treasuries and magazines with _S_rama_n_as and Br\u00e2hmans; their\nhouses were open to friends and kinsmen; the poor and the mendicants\nlived by their gifts; the artisans found business and protection with\nthem; and by their splendid riches they were permitted to bestow their\nfavour and hospitality on the king. Being born in this family, he grew\nup in course of time, and studied such branches of science as are\nreputed of much value in the world, while he turned his mind with no\nless zeal to various arts, the knowledge of which is optional. Owing to\nhis accomplished education, his beautiful figure pleasing the eyes of\nmen, and the knowledge of the world he displayed without infringing the\nprecepts of the Law, he won the hearts of his fellow-citizens, who\nconsidered him like their kinsman.\n\n1, 2. For it is not on account of their relationship that we honour our\nrelations, nor do we consider the rest of men as strangers because they\nare not related to us. No, men are considered relations or strangers,\naccording as their virtues or vices make them meet with esteem or\ndisregard.\n\nBut that Great Being had familiarised himself with world-renunciation.\n\n3. He had had experience of the householder's life, and knew it to be a\nstate not consistent with the practice of religious duties, since the\npain of seeking after profit is necessarily implied by it. On the other\nhand, he understood the happiness of the penance-groves. So his mind\nbecame detached from the pleasures of the home-life.\n\nSo, when his father and mother had died, he was utterly alarmed in his\nheart, and forsaking his splendid house and estate, an amount of many\nhundred thousands, duly bestowed it upon his friends and kinsmen, the\npoor, the _S_rama_n_as, and the Br\u00e2hmans; after which he abandoned his\nhome. He passed successively through villages and towns and boroughs,\nthrough kingdoms and capitals of kingdoms, and took up his abode on a\ncertain woody plateau in the vicinity of a town. There he soon became\nconspicuous by his tranquillity, his conversation, and his behaviour.\nThe calmness of his senses, the result of a long practice of meditation,\nwas natural and sincere. His language delighted both minds and ears, and\nwhile betraying his wisdom, still was full of modesty; and his\ndiscourses being entirely free from miserable and troublesome hope for\ngain, were distinguished by his solid learning, by his softness in\naddressing the audience to whom he paid due honour, and by the skill he\ndisplayed in tracing the boundary between actions allowed and forbidden\nby the Law. His behaviour, adorned with such practices as are proper to\na homeless ascetic, was quite in accordance with that approved by the\nvirtuous. And when the people who were curious about his person, became\naware of how he had renounced a high rank in the world, they loved him\nthe more for it.\n\n4. Virtues obtain a more favourable reception, if found in persons\ndistinguished by a high birth; in the same way as the beams shooting\nfrom the moon have more loveliness, when coming in contact with any\nobject of excellent qualities.\n\nNow some friend and companion of his father, having heard he had taken\nup his abode in that place, went up to him, moved by a great esteem for\nhis virtues. After the usual friendly inquiries concerning his health,\nthe visitor made himself known to the ascetic, and told him of the\npaternal relation. Then there ensued a conversation between them, in the\ncourse of which the said friend spoke these affectionate words: 'Your\nReverence is likely to have acted inconsiderately, after all, renouncing\nthe world in this age without further regard to your family and (the\nmaintenance of) your lineage.\n\n5. 'For what have you left your rich dwelling, setting your mind on the\nforest-life? Those who practise a virtuous life may observe this Law in\ntheir homes as well as in the wilderness.\n\n6, 7. 'How, then, is it that you give yourself up to a life of pain,\nembracing this state of incarnate Poverty, as it were? You are\nsustaining yourself by alms obtained from the charity of strangers, and\nyou are not a bit more regarded than a vagabond. Covered with rags and\ndevoid of relations and friends, you are hiding yourself in this abode\nin the midst of the forest. Even the eyes of your enemies would be\nfilled with tears, if they were to see you in this condition.\n\n8. 'Therefore, return to your paternal house. Certainly, the abundance\nof its estate must be known also to you. Living there, you might fulfil\nat the same time both your religious duties and your desire of\npossessing a virtuous son.\n\n'For such is the saying, indeed, you know:\n\n9. 'Even to a hired labourer his home is comforting, like a well of\nfresh water, how much more an easily obtained luxurious residence,\nresplendent with wealth!'\n\nBut the Bodhisattva's mind was purified by that delicious and comforting\nambrosia, the name of which is detachment. His heart clung to it, for he\nknew well the difference between the life of a householder and the\nforest-life; and the invitation to enjoy worldly pleasures had the same\neffect of discomfort upon him, as talking of a meal would have upon one\nwho is satiated. So he spoke:\n\n10. 'What you said was spoken out of affection, of a truth, and on this\naccount your words did not grieve me so much. Nevertheless, do not\nemploy the term \"comfort,\" when speaking of one who lives in the world.\n\n11. 'The householder's state is a state of great uneasiness, whether he\nhave money or not. The rich man is vexed by the toil of guarding his\nwealth, and the poor one by the labour of earning it.\n\n12. 'Now, since there is no comfort to be found in that state either for\nthe rich or for the poor, it is mere folly to delight in it. It must\nhave such consequences as are the result of wickedness.\n\n'As to your statement that a householder, too, may be able to observe\nthe precepts of the Law, certainly, this is true. But it is a very, very\ndifficult thing, methinks. The life in the world is crowded with\nbusiness quite adverse to the precepts of the Law, and implies a great\namount of toil. Do but consider it well, sir.\n\n13. 'The life of a householder is not suitable for one who desires\nnothing, nor for such a one as never speaks a falsehood, nor for him who\nnever uses violence, nor for such a one as never injures others.\n\n'And he whose heart is attached to the \"comfort of home-life,\" cannot\nbut strive to put into effect the means by which this is secured.\n\n14. 'If you devote yourself to the Law, you must leave your house, and\ninversely, how can the Law exist for him who is attached to his house?\nIt is tranquillity from which the road of the Law derives its flavour,\nbut the success of a householder requires him to follow the way of\ncourageous enterprise.\n\n15, 16. 'Now, as the life of a householder is reprehensible for this\nreason, that it is in opposition to the Law, who, then, having got the\ntrue insight of his Self, will keep to it? He, indeed, whom the prospect\nof pleasure has once induced to neglect the Law, will feel himself not\nat all restrained as to the means of procuring those pleasures. Besides,\nthey will certainly be followed by the loss of good reputation, by\nremorse and misfortune. For this reason the wise do not embrace that\nstate, which procures pleasures to the detriment of the Law; they rather\nlook on it as a calamity.\n\n'Further I should think, the statement that living in the world procures\nhappiness is only supported by belief (not by evidence).\n\n17, 18. 'The pain caused by earning wealth or by guarding it never\nceases for the householder. He is more than anybody else exposed to\nmurder, captivity, and other calamities. Even if a king, he would not\nbe satisfied with his riches, no more than the sea may be with showers\nof rain. Why can there be happiness in that state, or how, or when, if\nman does not attain by it the longing for self-perfection, but on the\ncontrary in his infatuation fancies happiness is to be obtained by\nattachment to sensual objects? Such a person may be compared to one who\ntries to heal his wounds by rubbing.\n\n'As a rule, in truth, I dare say,\n\n19. 'As a rule, material prosperity makes the householder arrogant,\nnobility of extraction makes him proud, strength makes him insolent. His\nanger is roused by grief, and adversity puts him to dejection. At what\ntime may that state offer an opportunity for tranquillity?\n\n'And for this reason it is that I would persuade Your Honour not to\noppose my determination.\n\n20. 'The house is the home of many and heavy sufferings. It is haunted\nby the serpents named arrogance, pride, and infatuation. In it the\nlovely happiness of tranquillity comes to ruin. Who then should choose\nthat abode that tends to dissolution?\n\n21. 'In the forest, on the other hand, that home of the\nnothing-desirers, the mind is calm, enjoying the happiness of\ndetachment. Can there exist so great a contentment in _S_akra's heaven?\n\n22. 'Thus considering I delight in the midst of the forests, although\ncovered with rags and getting my livelihood through the kindheartedness\nof strangers. I do not long for such happiness as is tainted with\nunrighteousness. I abhor it like food besmeared with poison; I have got\nthe insight of my Self.'\n\nThese persuasive words did not fail to make an impression on his\npaternal friend, who showed his high respect to the Great Being by\nentertaining him with a meal in the most distinguished manner.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, those who long only for the Self abandon the state\nof a householder, understanding that it is beset with occupations\ninimical to religious conduct and to tranquillity. [When treating of the\nvirtue of detachment, this is to be propounded: 'Those who have once got\nthe taste for detachment will not go back to worldly pleasures.']\n\n     The P\u00e2li version of this story is not found in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka\n     nor in the _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka. The whole tale is nothing but a plea\n     for the virtue of world-renunciation, the naishkrama, roughly\n     dressed in the shape of a story, and may serve as a kind of\n     introduction to the subsequent tales, where the state of an ascetic\n     is glorified.\n\n\n\n\nXIX. THE STORY OF THE LOTUS-STALKS.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka. No, 488, Fausb. IV, 305-314; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nIII, 4.)\n\n\nThose who have learnt to appreciate the happiness of detachment are\nhostile to worldly pleasures; they will oppose them, like one opposes a\ndeception, an injury. This will be taught as follows.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva was born in an illustrious family of Br\u00e2hmans,\nfar-famed for their virtues and their freedom from reprehensible vices.\nIn this existence he had six younger brothers endowed with virtues\nsimilar to his, and who out of affection and esteem for him always\nimitated him; he had also a sister, who was the seventh. Having studied\nthe Vedas with their auxiliary sciences, likewise the Upavedas[140], he\nobtained great renown on account of his learning, and high respect from\nthe side of the people. Attending on his father and mother with the\nutmost piety, yea, worshipping them like deities, and instructing his\nbrothers in different branches of science like a spiritual teacher or a\nfather, he dwelt in the world, being skilled in the art of dealing with\nworldly affairs, and distinguished by his good manners. In course of\ntime his parents died, which loss deeply moved his soul. Having\nperformed the funeral ceremonies for them, after some days spent in\nmourning, he assembled his brothers and thus spoke to them:\n\n     [140] The Upavedas are the four sciences of medicine (\u00e2yurveda),\n     military sciences (dhanurveda), music (g\u00e2ndharvaveda), and\n     mechanics (_s_ilpa_s_\u00e2stra), which theory attaches to the _Ri_g-,\n     Ya_g_ur-, S\u00e2ma-, and Atharva-veda respectively.\n\n1, 2. 'This is the necessary order of things in the world and a source\nof grief and excessive pain, that Death separates us at last from those\nwith whom we have lived together for a time, however long. For this\nreason I desire to walk homeless on that laudable road to salvation,\nbefore Death, our foe, seizes me while attached to the householder's\nlife.\n\n'Having thus resolved, I have to advise you this, one and all. Our\nBr\u00e2hmanical family is in the lawful possession of some wealth obtained\nin an honest way. With it you are able to sustain yourselves. Well,\nthen, you must dwell here as householders in a becoming manner. Let all\nof you be intent on loving and respecting each other, take care not to\nslacken your regard of the moral precepts and the practice of a\nrighteous behaviour, keep up the assiduous study of the Veda, be\nprepared to meet the wishes of your friends, your guests, and your\nkinsmen. In short, above all things observe Righteousness.\n\n3. 'Always continuing in good behaviour, observing your daily\nVeda-study, and delighting in almsgiving, you must keep the\nhouseholder's state (so) as it ought to be kept.\n\n4. 'In this way not only will your reputation increase, not only will\nyou extend your virtue and your wealth, the substance of welfare, but\nyou may expect your entrance in the other life to be happy. Do not\ncommit, therefore, any inadvertence while living the householder's\nlife.'\n\nBut his brothers, hearing him speak of the homeless life, felt their\nhearts grieved with the apprehension of separation. Their faces grew wet\nwith tears of sorrow, and respectfully bowing they spoke to him: 'The\nwound caused by the sorrow-arrow of our father's decease is not yet\nhealed. Pray do not rub it open afresh with the salt of this new assault\nof grief.\n\n5. 'Even now the wound is still open which was inflicted on our minds by\nthe death of our father. Oh! you must retract your resolution, wise\nbrother, you must not strew salt on our wound.\n\n6. 'Or, if indeed you are convinced that attachment to the house is\nunfit, or that the happiness of the forest-life is the road to\nsalvation, why is it that you desire to depart for the forest alone,\nleaving us in this house destitute of our protector?\n\n'For this reason, the state of life which is yours, that will be ours,\ntoo. We too will renounce the world.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva answered:\n\n7. 'People who have not familiarised themselves with Detachment cannot\nbut follow after worldly desires. As a rule they look upon it as the\nsame thing to give up the world or to fall over a precipice.\n\n'Thus considering, I restrained myself and did not exhort you to adopt\nthe homeless life, though knowing the difference between both states.\nBut if my choice please you too, why, let us abandon our home!' And so\nall seven brothers, with their sister as the eighth, gave up their\nwealthy estate and precious goods, took leave of their weeping friends,\nkinsmen and relations, and resorted to the state of homeless ascetics.\nAnd with them, out of affection also one comrade, one male, and one\nfemale servant set out for the forest.\n\nIn a certain place in the forest there was a large lake of pure, blue\nwater. It exhibited a resplendent fiery beauty, when its lotus-beds were\nexpanded, and offered a gay aspect, when its groups of waterlilies\ndisclosed their calyxes[141]; swarms of bees were always humming there.\nOn the shore of that lake they built as many huts of leaves as they\nnumbered, one for each, placing them at some distance from one another,\nhidden in the shadow of the trees in the midst of a lovely solitude.\nThere they lived, devoted to their self-imposed vows and observances,\nand having their minds bound to meditation. On each fifth day they were\nin the habit of going to the Bodhisattva in order to listen to his\npreaching of the Law. Then he delivered some or other edifying discourse\nto show them the way of tranquillity and placidity of mind. In those\ndiscourses he exhorted to meditation, asserted the sinfulness of worldly\npleasures, expatiated on the sense of satisfaction which is the result\nof detachment, blamed hypocrisy, loquacity, idleness and other vices,\nand made a deep impression on his audience.\n\n     [141] The former happened at daytime, the latter in the nights\n     bright with moonshine.\n\nNow, their maid-servant, prompted by respect and affection, did not\ncease to attend upon them still in the forest. She was wont to draw\neatable lotus-stalks out of the lake and to put equal shares of them\nupon large lotus-leaves in a clean place on the lake-shore; when she had\nthus prepared the meal, she would announce the time by taking two pieces\nof wood and clashing them against each other, after which she withdrew.\nThen those holy men, after performing the proper and usual prayers and\nlibations, would come to the lake-side one after another according to\ntheir age, and each having taken successively his share of the stalks,\nreturn to his hut. There they would enjoy the meal in the prescribed\nmanner and pass the rest of the time absorbed in meditation. By this\npractice they avoided seeing each other, except at preaching-time.\n\nSuch irreproachable morals, way of living, and behaviour, such love of\ndetachment, and such proneness to meditation made them renowned\neverywhere. _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, having heard of their\nreputation, came to their abode for the purpose of trying them. Now,\nwhen he perceived their disposition to meditation, their purity from bad\nactions, their freedom from lusts and the constancy of their serene\ncalmness, his high opinion of their virtues grew stronger, and he\nbecame the more anxious to try them.\n\n8. He who lives in the depth of the forest without any desire, only\nintent on calmness of mind, such a man causes reverence for his virtues\nto arise in the hearts of the pious.\n\n_S_akra, then, the Lord of the Devas, watched the time when the\nmaid-servant, after gathering her provision of eatable lotus-stalks, as\nwhite and tender as the teeth of a young elephant, washed them and\narranged them in equal portions on lotus-leaves with the green hue of\nemeralds, taking care to adorn each share by adding to it some petals\nand filaments of the lotuses. After announcing the mealtime to the holy\nascetics, as usual, by the noise of the clashing pieces of wood, she\nwithdrew. At this moment _S_akra, with the object of trying the\nBodhisattva, made the very first share disappear (from the lotus-leaf).\n\n9. When mishap arises and happiness disappears, then there is\nopportunity for measuring the constancy of the virtuous, as it cannot\nfail to start into view.\n\nWhen the Bodhisattva, coming to the place of the first share of stalks,\nperceived that the eatable stalks were missing on his lotus-leaf, while\nthe adornment of petals and filaments was disarranged, he thought:\n'Somebody has taken my share of food.' Then, without feeling agitation\nor anger in his heart, he went back to his hut, where he entered upon\nhis practices of meditation, as he was wont to do. Nor did he inform the\nother holy ascetics of the matter, to avoid grieving them. And those\nagain, thinking it to be a matter of course that he had taken his share\nof the stalks, took their portions too, as usual, successively and in\ndue order, and ate them severally, each in his hut; after which they\nbecame absorbed in meditation. In the same manner _S_akra concealed the\nBodhisattva's portion of the lotus-stalks on the second, the third, the\nfourth and the fifth day. But the effect was the same. The Great Being\nremained as calm in mind as ever, and was entirely free from trouble.\n\n10. The virtuous consider the agitation of the mind, not the extinction\nof life, to be death. It is for this reason that the wise never become\nalarmed, not even when in danger of life.\n\nIn the afternoon of that (fifth) day those _Ri_shis went up to the\nleaf-hut of the Bodhisattva, as they were in the habit of doing, in\norder to listen to his preaching of the Law. On seeing him, they\nperceived the leanness of his body. His cheeks looked hollow, his eyes\nwere sunken, the splendour of his face had faded, his sonorous voice had\nlost its full sound. Yet, however emaciated, he was lovely to behold\nlike the crescent; for his virtues, wisdom, constancy, tranquillity had\nnot diminished. Accordingly, after coming into his presence and paying\nhim the usual homage, they asked him with anxious excitement the cause\nof that emaciation. And the Bodhisattva told them the matter as he had\nexperienced it. The ascetics, who could not suppose any one among\nthemselves to have done an action so unbecoming as this, and who felt\nquite alarmed at his pain, expressed their sorrow by exclamations, and\nkept their eyes fixed on the ground for shame. But _S_akra having by his\npower obstructed their free movement on the ways in which they could\nobtain knowledge, they were unable to come to a conclusion as to the\ncause of the disappearance. Then the brother of the Bodhisattva, who was\nborn next to him, showing both his alarmed mind and his guiltlessness,\nmade this extraordinary protestation[142]:\n\n     [142] The following set of remarkable protestations are also found\n     in the same order and in a substantially identical form in the P\u00e2li\n     redaction. They are very old, and not wholly free from corruptions\n     and misunderstandings.\n\n11. 'May he who took thy lotus-stalks, O Br\u00e2hman, obtain a house\nbetokening by its rich decoration the wealth of its owner, a wife to his\nheart's desire, and may he be blessed with many children and\ngrand-children![143]'\n\n     [143] The P\u00e2li redaction adds, that the audience on hearing this\n     protestation shut their ears, saying: 'Do not speak in this manner,\n     friend! thy curse is too tremendous.'\n\nThe second brother said:\n\n12. 'May he who took thy lotus-stalks, O foremost Br\u00e2hman, be tainted\nwith a strong attachment to worldliness, may he wear wreaths and\ngarlands and sandal-powder and fine garments and ornaments, touched by\nhis (playing) children!'\n\nThe third brother said:\n\n13. 'May he who took thy lotus-stalks even once, be a husbandman who,\nhaving obtained wealth in consequence of his husbandry and delighting in\nthe prattle of his children, enjoys the home-life without thinking of\nthe time when he must retire from the world![144]'\n\n     [144] The Sanskrit text has vayo 'py apa_s_yan=P\u00e2li vaya_m_\n     appassan. I follow the explication of the P\u00e2li commentary.\n\nThe fourth brother spoke:\n\n14. 'May he who prompted by cupidity took thy lotus-stalks, rule the\nwhole earth as a monarch, and be worshipped by kings attending on him in\nthe humble attitude of slaves, lowering their trembling heads!'\n\nThe fifth brother spoke:\n\n15. 'May he be a king's family-priest in the possession of evil-charming\nmantras and the like, may he also be treated with distinction by his\nking, whosoever he be who took thy lotus-stalks!'\n\nThe sixth brother said:\n\n16. 'May he who has been eager to possess thy lotus-stalks rather than\nthy virtues, be a famous teacher well-versed in the Veda and largely\nenjoy the worship of an ascetic from the people crowding together to see\nhim!'\n\nThe friend spoke:\n\n17. 'May he who could not subdue his greediness for thy lotus-stalks\nobtain from the part of the king an excellent village endowed with the\nfour plenties (abounding in population, corn, wood and water)[145], and\nmay he die without having subdued his passions!'\n\n     [145] The said four plenties are thus explained in the commentary\n     on the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, which proves here of essential help, since\n     _k_atu_hs_atam of the Sanskrit text is a wrong Sanskritisation of\n     P\u00e2li _k_atussada_m_, and does not suit the context.\n\nThe male-servant said:\n\n18. 'May he be the head of a village, cheerfully living with his\ncomrades, exhilarated by the dances and chants of women, and never meet\nwith harm from the king's side, he who destroyed his own interest for\nthe sake of those lotus-stalks!'\n\nThe sister said:\n\n19. 'May that person[146] who ventured to take the lotus-stalks of such\na being as you, be a woman of resplendent beauty and figure, may a king\nmake her his wife and put her at the head of his zenana of a thousand\nfemales!'\n\n     [146] Both the Sanskrit and the P\u00e2li redaction have here the\n     masculine pron. demonstr. The fault must be a very ancient one. In\n     the imprecation of the female servant the grammatical gender is\n     respected by _S_\u00fbra, not so in the _G_\u00e2taka.\n\nThe maid-servant said:\n\n20. 'May she much delight in eating sweetmeats alone stealthily,\ndisregarding the pious, and be greatly rejoiced when she gets a dainty\ndish, she who set her heart on thy lotus-stalks, not on thy\nrighteousness!'\n\nNow three inhabitants of the forest had also come to that place to hear\nthe preaching of the Law, namely a Yaksha, an elephant, and a monkey.\nThey had heard the conversation and were overcome with the utmost shame\nand confusion. Among them, the Yaksha attested his innocence, uttering\nin their presence this solemn protestation:\n\n21. 'May he who failed against thee for the sake of the lotus-stalks,\nhave his residence in the Great Monastery, entrusted with the charge of\nthe reparations in (the town of) Ka_k_a\u1e45gal\u00e2, and make one window every\nday![147]'\n\n     [147] This imprecation alludes to the story of a certain devaputra,\n     who in the time of the Buddha K\u00e2_s_yapa dwelt in the said monastery\n     and was obliged to do the labour imposed on him, whereby he\n     suffered much. A brief account of that tale is given in the\n     commentary on the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, where the speaker of this stanza\n     is called a Devat\u00e2, not a Yaksha.\n\nThe elephant spoke:\n\n22. 'May he come into captivity from the lovely forest into the company\nof men, fettered with six hundred solid chains[148], and suffer pain\nfrom the sharp goads of his driver, he who took thy lotus-stalks, O most\nexcellent of Munis!'\n\n     [148] I suppose the author of the Sanskrit original did not\n     understand the meaning of the text he Sanskritised. The\n     corresponding stanza of the P\u00e2li redaction has so ba_gg_hat\u00fb\n     p\u00e2sasateh\u00ee _kh_ambh\u00ee, where _kh_ambh\u00ee is explained in the\n     commentary as signifying the six parts of the elephant's body\n     fastened by many chains (p\u00e2sasateh\u00eeti bah\u00fbhi p\u00e2sehi), viz. the four\n     feet, the neck, and the loins.\n\nThe monkey said:\n\n23. 'May he who moved by greediness took thy lotus-stalks wear a\nflower-garland and a tin collar rubbing his neck, and beaten with a\nstick pass before the face of a serpent[149], and with a long wreath\nhanging from his shoulder, live in the houses (of men)!'\n\n     [149] In other words, may he be the monkey of a serpent-charmer.\n\nIn reply, the Bodhisattva addressed all of them with words both\npersuasive and kind, indicating how deep-rooted was his\ndispassionateness.\n\n24. 'May he who falsely said \"they have disappeared,\" though he had\nthem, obtain to his heart's desire worldly pleasures and die a\nhouseholder. May the same be the fate of him who suspects you of a\nsimilar action!'\n\nThose extraordinary protestations of them, indicative of their\nabhorrence of the enjoyment of worldly pleasures, roused the\nastonishment and respect of _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas. He made\nhimself visible in his own brilliant shape, and drawing near to those\n_Ri_shis, said as if with resentment: 'You ought not to speak so.\n\n25. 'Those enjoyments--to obtain which everybody who longs for happiness\nstrives after to such a degree as to banish sleep from his eyes and to\nundertake any form of penance and toil--you censure, calling them\n\"worldly pleasures!\" Why do you judge so?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke: 'Sensual enjoyments are accompanied by endless\nsins, sir. Why, hear then, I will tell thee concisely, what the Munis\nhave in view that makes them blame sensual enjoyments.\n\n26. 'On account of them, men incur captivity and death, grief, fatigue,\ndanger, in short manifold sufferings. For the sake of them, kings are\neager to oppress righteousness, and consequently fall into hell after\ndeath.\n\n27. 'When the ties of friendship are suddenly loosened, when men enter\nthe road of political wisdom, that unclean path of falseness, when they\nlose their good reputation and hereafter come to meet with\nsufferings--is it not sensual enjoyments that are the cause thereof?\n\n28. 'Now, since worldly pleasures in this manner tend to the destruction\nof all conditions of men, the highest, the middle and the lowest, both\nin this world and in the next, the Munis, O _S_akra, who long only for\nthe Self, keep aloof from them, as they would from angry serpents.'\n\nThen _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, approved his words, saying, 'Well\nspoken,' and as he was propitiated by the greatness of mind of those\n_Ri_shis, he confessed that he himself had committed the theft.\n\n29, 30. 'A high opinion of virtue may be tested by trial. Thus\nconsidering, I hid the lotus-stalks in order to try you. And now, how\nfortunate is the world in that it possesses such Munis as you, whose\nglory is tested by fact. And thou, here, take these lotus-stalks, as a\nproof of a constant holy behaviour.'\n\nWith these words he handed the stalks over to the Bodhisattva. But the\nBodhisattva reproved his unbecoming and audacious way of proceeding in\nterms though modest, yet expressive of noble self-esteem.\n\n31. 'We are no kinsfolk of thine, nor thy comrades, nor are we thy\nactors or buffoons. What, then, is the reason for thy coming here, Lord\nof the Devas, to play with _Ri_shis in this manner?'\n\nAt these words _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, hastily divested himself\nof his divine appearance, brilliant with his ear-rings, his\nhead-ornament, and his lightning, and respectfully bowing to the\nBodhisattva, spoke thus in order to appease him:\n\n32. 'O thou who art free from all selfishness, deign to forgive me the\nthoughtless deed I did with the aforesaid purpose; pardon it like a\nfather, like a teacher!\n\n33. 'It is proper, indeed, to those whose eyes are not yet opened to\nwisdom, to offend against others, be they even their equals. Likewise it\nis proper to (the wise) who know the Self, to pardon such offences. Also\nfor this reason, pray do not feel anger in thy heart concerning that\ndeed!'\n\nHaving thus appeased him, _S_akra disappeared on the spot.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, those who have learnt to appreciate the happiness\nof detachment are hostile to worldly pleasures; they will oppose them\nlike one opposes a deception, an injury[150].\n\n     [150] In the original some lines follow here, bracketed by the\n     editor. No doubt, we have here an interpolation, as is also\n     indicated by its very collocation after the ethical maxim which\n     must be the final part of our tale. This is its translation:\n\n     'And this _g_\u00e2taka has thus been explained by the Lord:\n\n     34-36. \"I, the son of _S_\u00e2radvat\u00ee [viz. _S_\u00e2riputra],\n     Maudgaly\u00e2yana, K\u00e2_s_yapa, P\u00fbr_n_a, Aniruddha, and \u00c2nanda, we were\n     the brothers of that time. Utpal\u00e2var_n_\u00e2 was the sister and\n     Kub_g_ottar\u00e2 was the maid-servant. _K_itra the householder was then\n     the male slave, S\u00e2t\u00e2giri the Yaksha, P\u00e2rileya the elephant,\n     Madhud\u00e2tar the monkey, K\u00e2lod\u00e2yin the _S_akra of that time. Retain\n     well this _g_\u00e2taka thus explained.\"'\n\n     Almost the same verses and names are found in the conclusion of\n     this story in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka.\n\n\n\n\nXX. THE STORY OF THE TREASURER.\n\n(Cp. P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 171, Fausb. II, 64, 65.)\n\n\nAn unfounded opinion of their possession of some virtue acts upon the\nvirtuous like a stirring spur. Considering thus, one ought to strive\nafter the realisation of virtues; as will be taught in the following.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva is said to have been a king's treasurer,\nillustrious for his learning, his noble family and his modest behaviour.\nHe had lofty aspirations and a clever intellect, loved honest practices\nin business, and owing to his thorough study of many branches of\nscience, attracted notice by his elegance of speech. Compassionate as he\nwas and in the possession of a large estate, he made the bliss of his\nwealth flow in all directions by his great gifts of charity. So he was\nconsidered the jewel of householders.\n\n1. As he was by his nature fond of righteousness, and was adorned by\n(acquired) qualities, sacred learning and the like, people were wont to\nlook upon him as worthy of veneration above all others.\n\nOne day, when that Great Being had gone out for some business to the\nking's palace, his mother-in-law came to his house to see her daughter.\nAfter the usual welcome and inquiries as to health, there ensued a\nconversation, in the course of which, being alone with her daughter, the\nwife of the Bodhisattva, she turned to put questions to her such as\nthese: 'Your husband does not disregard you, my dear, I hope? And does\nhe know how to show you attention? He does not grieve you by misconduct,\nI hope?' And she answered with downcast looks bashfully in a soft tone:\n'Virtuous conduct and behaviour such as his are hardly to be met with\neven in a mendicant who has renounced the world.' But her mother, whose\nhearing and understanding were impaired by old age, did not well catch\nthe meaning of these words of her daughter, as they were spoken with\nshame in a rather low voice, and having heard the mention of a mendicant\nwho had renounced the world, drew the inference that her son-in-law had\nbecome a religious mendicant. She burst into tears, and overpowered by\nthe violence of her grief, indulged in lamenting and bewailing her\ndaughter. 'What virtuous behaviour and conduct is shown by him who\nleaves the world in this manner, abandoning his affectionate family?\nAnd what has he to do with world-renunciation, after all?\n\n2. 'What is the reason that such a person as he is, young, handsome,\ndelicate, accustomed to a life of comfort, a favourite with the king,\nshould feel a vocation for the forest-life?\n\n3. 'How did it come to pass that without experiencing any wrong from the\nside of his family and before the deformity of old age had come, he left\nsuddenly and without pain his home abounding in wealth?\n\n4. 'He, adorned by a decent behaviour, by wisdom and love of\nrighteousness, he, full of compassion for others--how is it that he\ncould come to such a reckless deed without mercy for his own family?\n\n5. 'As he was in the habit of honouring _S_rama_n_as and Br\u00e2hmans,\nfriends and clients, his own family and (that larger family of) the\ndistressed, and as he considered a spotless conduct his (highest)\nwealth, say, could he not attain in the world that which he seeks in the\nforest?\n\n6. 'Abandoning his chaste and devoted wife, the companion of his\nreligious duties, how is it that he does not perceive that by excessive\nlove of the Law he is here transgressing the path of the Law?\n\n7. 'Alas! It is a pity! Fie upon the bad management of Destiny, that men\ncan leave their beloved relations without being withheld by Compassion,\nor that they can be successful even in the slightest part of the\nholiness they pursue!'\n\nWhen the Bodhisattva's wife heard those piteous and sincere lamentations\nof her mother on account of her husband having renounced the world, she\ngrew alarmed (being impressionable) after the nature of women. Her\ndisturbed countenance expressed the dejection of her mind shaken by the\nsudden assault of sorrow and pain. She wholly forgot the subject and the\nconnection of the conversation, and reflected: 'My husband has forsaken\nthe world, and my mother on hearing the sad news has come here in order\nto comfort me.' Having thus made up her mind, the young, girlish woman\nbegan to lament and to weep, and with a loud cry swooned away. The other\nmembers of the family and the attendants, hearing the matter, became\nutterly distressed, and burst into lamentations. On hearing that noise,\nneighbours, friends, kinsmen, and other relations, clients, chiefs of\nBr\u00e2hmanical families, in short, the bulk of the citizens, as they were\nmuch attached to the treasurer, gathered round his house.\n\n8. As a rule, he had always shared the good and the ill fortune of the\npeople. In consequence thereof the people, as if they had learnt this\nbehaviour from him, showed him the like sympathy in both fortunes.\n\nNow, when the Bodhisattva on his return from the king's residence\napproached his dwelling-place, he heard the lamentations resounding from\nhis house, and saw the large multitude there assembled. He ordered his\nattendant to go and learn what was the matter, who having got that\ninformation came back and reported it to him.\n\n9. 'It has been rumoured, I do not know in what way, that Your Honour\nhas given up her wealthy home to become a mendicant. This news has\ninduced this large body of people to crowd here out of affection.'\n\nUpon hearing these words, the Great Being felt something like shame. His\nheart of innate pureness was alarmed by what appeared to him like a\nreproof. And he entered upon this reflection: 'Oh! how much am I\nhonoured by this opinion of the people!\n\n10. 'If after obtaining this high opinion of my virtues from the part of\nthe citizens, I should cling to the home-life henceforward, should I not\nbe a coward?\n\n11. 'I should make myself reputed as one attached to vice, ill-behaving\nand a despiser of virtues; and would consequently lose the esteem I now\nenjoy from the virtuous. So living, life would be insupportable to me.\n\n12. 'For this reason, in return for the honour conferred upon me by\npublic opinion, I will honour them again by realising it, and affected\nwith a pious love of the forest-groves, detach myself from my home with\nits vice-producing evil passions.'\n\nHaving thus considered, the Great Being forthwith turned back, and\ncaused himself to be announced to the king: 'The treasurer wants to see\nYour Majesty once more.' After being admitted to the king's presence,\nand after the usual salutations, being asked by the king the reason of\nhis return, he said: 'I desire to renounce the world, and beg you to\ngrant me your permission, Your Majesty.'\n\nOn hearing this, the king was troubled and alarmed, and said these\naffectionate words:\n\n13. 'What ails you that, while I am living who love you more than your\nfriends and kinsmen, you should want to withdraw to the forest, as if I\nwere unable to relieve you from that pain either by my wealth or my\npolicy or my great power?\n\n14. 'Are you in want of money: take it from my side. Is it some grief\nthat makes you suffer: I will cure it. Or is it for any other purpose\nthat you desire to withdraw to the forest, leaving your relations and\nme, who entreat you in this manner?'\n\nTo these affectionate and honorific words of the monarch he answered in\na tone of friendly persuasiveness:\n\n15. 'From whence can there arise grief to those whom your arm protects,\nor sadness caused by want of wealth? It is, therefore, not sorrow that\ninduces me to withdraw to the forest, but another reason. Hear what it\nis.\n\n16. 'The report is current, Your Majesty, that I have taken the vows of\na religious mendicant. A crowd of people mourn for it, and weep for\nsorrow. It is for this reason that I want to live in the solitude of the\nforests, since I have been judged a person capable of conceiving this\nvirtuous purpose.'\n\nThe king replied: 'Your Honour ought not to leave us on account of a\nmere rumour. The worth of persons like you does not depend on public\nopinion, nor do they acquire their illustrious virtues nor lose them\nconformably to idle gossip.\n\n17. 'Rumour is the result of unrestrained imagination. Once abroad, it\nruns about free and unchecked. Ridiculous is he who in earnest minds\nsuch gossip, more ridiculous is he who acts up to it!'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'No, no, Your Majesty; do not speak so! A high\nopinion of men must be acted up to. Will Your Majesty deign to consider\nthis.\n\n18. 'When a man becomes famous for holiness, Your Majesty, that person\nought not to remain behind his reputation, if in fact he is pious, but,\nto say nothing more, his very shame must induce him to take upon himself\nthe burden of that virtue.\n\n19. 'For, if he is seen in any way acting in accordance with that high\nopinion of his virtue, the renown of his glory will shine the more,\nwhereas he will be like a dried-up well in the opposite case.\n\n20. 'By a false reputation of virtue, which will spread up to the time\nwhen subdued by further knowledge it will disappear, the good renown of\nmen is utterly destroyed. Once destroyed, it is hardly able to shoot\nforth anew.\n\n21. 'Thus considering, I am about to abandon my family and property,\nsince those goods are the root of strife and trouble, and worth avoiding\nlike black-hooded snakes with wrath-raised heads. It does not become\nyou, Your Majesty, to oppose my determination.\n\n22. '(Do not supply me with money.) You are accustomed to show your\nattachment and gratitude to your loyal servants, as becomes you, I know;\nyet what to a homeless mendicant would be the use of money, which of\nnecessity involves worldly goods and passions?'\n\nSo speaking the Great Being persuaded the king to give him his\npermission. After which he immediately set out for the forest.\n\nBut his friends, relations, and clients met him, and shedding tears and\nembracing his feet, tried to prevent him. Some obstructed his way,\nplacing themselves before him with respectfully folded hands. Some\nagain endeavoured to lead him in the direction of his house (with soft\nviolence), by embraces and similar persuasive practices. Others again\nwere prompted by their affection to address him in somewhat harsh terms,\nexpressing their blame in some way or other. Some also tried to persuade\nhim that he ought to have regard to his friends and family, for whom he\nshould feel compassion. Others, too, directed their efforts to convince\nhim by argument, combining sacred texts with deductions of reasoning, to\nthe effect that the state of a householder must be the holiest one.\nThere were others again who exerted themselves in different ways to make\nhim give up his design; partly dwelling on the hardships of the life in\na penance-grove, partly urging him to fulfil his obligations and duties\nin the world to the end, partly expressing their doubt as to the\nexistence of anything like reward in the other world. Now when he looked\non his friends thus opposing his world-renunciation and earnestly\nendeavouring to hinder his departure for the forest with faces wet with\ntears, surely, this thought arose in his mind:\n\n23. 'If a person acts inconsiderately, it is the duty of those who claim\nto be his friends to care for the good of their friend, be it even in a\nrough manner. Such, indeed, is acknowledged to be the righteous way of\nproceeding among the pious. How much the more, if the good they advise\nbe at the same time something pleasant.\n\n24. 'But as to them, how is it possible that preferring the home-life\nand boldly deterring me from the forest-life as from the contact of some\nevil, they should express the judgment of a sound mind?\n\n25. 'A dead man or one in danger of death is a person to be wept for,\nlikewise one fallen from righteousness. But what may be the meaning of\nthis weeping for me who am alive but desirous of living in the forest?\n\n26. 'Suppose the separation from me should be the cause of their sorrow,\nwhy will they not dwell in the forest with me? If however they prefer\ntheir homes to me, why are they prodigal of their tears?\n\n27. 'But granted that attachment to their family prevents them from\nadopting the state of an ascetic, how is it that the like consideration\ndid not formerly present itself to them on so many battle-fields?\n\n28. 'I have often experienced the heroism of their sincere friendship in\nadversity, and now behold that deep-rooted friendship, as it were,\nembodied in their tears. Yet, notwithstanding this, it will seem mere\nguile to me, since they do not follow my example.\n\n29, 30. 'As surely as it is great regard for their friend deserving\nregard, that makes their eyes full of tears, their heads reverentially\nbent, their words interrupted with sobs, while they are exerting\nthemselves to hinder my departure, so surely ought their love to have\nthe effect of bringing them to the praiseworthy resolution to go and\nwander about with me, lest they should appear like actors in a\ntheatrical performance, to the shame of the pious!\n\n31. 'If anybody be in distress, be he ever so wicked a person, some two\nor three friends will keep with him, at least; but for a man, however\nexcellent by virtue, it will be oh! so hard, to get one single comrade,\nwhen setting out for the forest!\n\n32. 'Those who in battles, when danger was imminent from furious\nelephants, used to set an example (of fearlessness) to me, even they do\nnot follow me now, when I lead them to the forest. Verily am I, are\nthey, the same as we were before?\n\n33. 'I do not recollect having done them any wrong that could cause the\nruin of their attachment... So this behaviour of my friends may,\nperhaps, issue from the care for what they consider my happiness.\n\n34. 'Or is it rather my lack of virtues that hinders them from being my\ncompanions in the forest? For who may possess the power of loosening\nhearts that have been won by virtue?\n\n35. 'But why indulge in idle reflections about these persons? Of a\ntruth, since they are unable to perceive the evils, however obvious,\ninherent in the home-life, nor the virtues to be found in the\npenance-groves, the eye of knowledge is shut to them!\n\n36. 'They are not capable of parting with worldly pleasures, the cause\nof suffering both in this world and in the next, but forsake both the\npenance-grove which frees from those sufferings, and me! Fie upon their\ninfatuation!\n\n37. 'O, those very sins by the delusions of which these friends of mine\nand the whole of the creatures are prevented from tranquillity, I will\ncrush down forcibly whenever I shall have obtained by residence in the\npenance-forest the excellent power of doing so!'\n\nOf such a kind were his reflections. And after thus making up his mind,\nhe put aside the manifold affectionate entreaties of his friends, made\nplain to them his firm resolution in kind and gentle terms, and set out\nfor the penance-forest.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, an unfounded opinion of their possession of some\nvirtue acts upon the virtuous in the same way as a stirring spur. Thus\nconsidering, one ought to strive after the realisation of virtues. [For\nthis reason a pious man, being esteemed for his virtues as a monk or as\na lay-devotee, must strive to be in fact adorned with the virtues fit\nfor that state. Further, this story may be adduced with the object of\nshowing the difficulty of finding companions for a religious life.]\n\n\n\n\nXXI. THE STORY OF _K_U_DD_ABODHI.[151]\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 443, Fausb. IV, 22-27; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka II,\n4.)\n\n     [151] Though _S_\u00fbra does not mention the Bodhisattva's name which\n     he bore in this existence, yet it appears from the P\u00e2li redactions,\n     that _K_u_dd_abodhi, literally = 'Little Bodhi,' is intended as his\n     proper name.\n\n\nBy keeping down his anger a man appeases his enemies, but doing\notherwise he will inflame them. This will be taught as follows.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva, that Great Being, was born in this world in a\ncertain noble Br\u00e2hmanical family, it is said, who enjoyed great renown\nfor their practise of virtues in a grand style, owned a large and\nwell-secured estate, were honoured by the king and favoured by the gods.\nIn course of time he grew up, and having duly received the sacraments,\nas he exerted himself to excel in the virtue of learning, within a short\ntime he became renowned in the assemblies of the learned.\n\n1. The fame of the learned unfolds itself in the assemblies of the\nlearned, in the same way as jewels get their reputation with jewellers,\nas heroes are known on the battle-field.\n\nNow when the Great-minded One, according to his constant observance of\nthe Law in previous existences and to the enlightenment of his mind by\nwisdom, had familiarised himself with world-renunciation, his house no\nlonger pleased him. He understood that worldly pleasures are the abode\nof many evils and sins, since they are attended by a great deal of\ndiscomfort in consequence of strife, quarrel, infatuation, and subject\nto (losses of wealth either from the side of) the king, or (because of)\nwater, or fire, or thieves, or unfriendly kinsmen; so he was convinced\nthat they can never yield satisfaction. Accordingly, shunning them like\npoisonous food and longing for the Self, he parted with his fair hair\nand beard, resigned the delusive brilliancy of a householder's dress,\nand putting on the vile orange-coloured robes, embraced that glorious\nstate of the ascetic life disciplined by rules and restrained by vows.\nHis wife, who loved him much, likewise cut off her hair, and forsook the\ncare of apparelling her body and beautifying it with ornaments. Then,\nonly adorned by the natural beauty of her form and virtues, she covered\nher limbs with the orange-coloured robes, and followed her husband.\n\nNow, when the Bodhisattva understood her determination of going with him\nto the penance-forest, knowing that the delicate constitution of a\nwoman is unfit for the ascetic life, he spoke to her: 'My dear, truly,\nyou have now shown me your sincere affection. Yet this be sufficient. Do\nnot persist in your determination of being my companion in the forest.\nIt would rather be suitable for you to take up your abode in such a\nplace, where other women dwell who have forsaken the world; with them\nyou should live. It is a hard thing to pass the night in\nforest-dwellings. Look here.\n\n2. 'Cemeteries, desert houses, mountains, forests infested by ferocious\nanimals, are the resting-places of the homeless ascetics; they take\ntheir rest in whatsoever place they are when the sun sets.\n\n3. 'Being intent on meditation, they always like to walk alone, and are\naverse even to the sight of a woman. Therefore, make up your mind to\ndesist from your purpose. What profit may you have from that wandering\nlife?'\n\nBut she who had firmly resolved upon accompanying him, answered him\nsomething like this, while her eyes grew dim with tears:\n\n4, 5. 'If I should suppose my going with you a matter of weariness\nrather than of joy, do you think I should desire a thing which causes\nsuffering to myself and displeasure to you? But it is because I cannot\nbear to live without you, that you must pardon this lack of obedience to\nyour orders.'\n\nAnd though he repeated his entreaties, she never would turn back. Then\nthe Bodhisattva gave up his opposition, and silently suffered her\ncompanionship. As the female _k_akrav\u00e2ka goes after her mate, so she\nwent along with him in his wanderings through villages and towns and\nmarkets.\n\nOne day after meal-time he performed the usual rite of profound\nmeditation (dhy\u00e2na) in a lonely part of some forest. It was a splendid\nlandscape, adorned with many groves of trees affording much shade, and\nwaited on, as it were, by the sunbeams peeping here and there through\nthe thick foliage with the softness of the moonlight; the dust of\nvarious flowers overspread the ground; in short, it was a fair spot. In\nthe afternoon he rose from his profound meditation, and sewed rags\ntogether to make clothes[152]. And at no great distance from him, she,\nthe companion of his homeless life, embellishing by the splendour of her\nbeauty the trunk of a tree in whose shade she was seated like a deity,\nwas meditating on such subject and in such manner as he had enjoined\nher. It was the season of spring, when gardens and groves are at their\nloveliest. On all sides young and tender shoots abounded; the soft\nhumming of crowds of bees roaming about was heard, as well as the cries\nof joy uttered by the lascivious cuckoos; the lakes and ponds, adorned\nwith laughing lotuses and waterlilies, were an attraction for the eyes;\nthere blew soft winds scented with the odours and perfumes of manifold\nblossoms. To enjoy that magnificence of spring, the king of that country\nmade a tour in the groves, and came to that very spot.\n\n     [152] P\u00e2_m_suk\u00fbl\u00e2ni s\u00eevyati sma.\n\n6, 7. It does, indeed, afford gladness to the mind to behold\nforest-regions at spring-time, when their various blossoms and\nflower-clusters make them bright, as if that season enveloped them with\nits pomp, when the he-cuckoo and the peacock sing, the drunken bees make\ntheir buzzing sound, when soft and fresh grass-plots cover the earth and\nlotuses fill up the water-basins. Then the groves are the play-grounds\nof the Love-god.\n\nOn seeing the Bodhisattva, the king respectfully drew near to him, and\nafter the usual ceremonial greetings and complimentary words, sat down\napart. Then, on perceiving the female ascetic, that very lovely\napparition, the beauty of her figure perturbed his heart, and though\nunderstanding that she must certainly be the companion of his religious\nduties, owing to the lasciviousness of his nature, he reflected on some\ncontrivance to carry her away.\n\n8. But having heard of the transcendent power of the ascetics, that the\nfire of their wrath can shoot a curse as its flame, he refrained from a\nrash deed of contempt against him, even though the Love-god had\ndestroyed the moral checks (that might have restrained him).\n\nThen this thought entered his mind: 'Let me examine the extent of his\npenance-obtained power. Then I shall be able to act in a proper manner,\nnot otherwise. If his mind is ruled by passionate affection for her,\nsurely, he has no power gained by penance. But if he were to prove\ndispassionate or to show little interest in her, then he may be supposed\nto possess that sublime power.' Having thus considered, the king,\ndesirous of proving that penance-power, spoke to the Bodhisattva, as if\nhe wished his good. 'Say, ascetic, this world abounds in rogues and bold\nadventurers. Why, it is not fit for Your Reverence to have with you such\na handsome person as this companion of your religious duties in remote\nforests, where you are destitute of protection. If she were to be\ninjured by somebody, certainly people would censure me, too. Look here.\n\n9, 10. 'Suppose, while living in these lonely regions, some man\ndisregarding both you, a penance-exhausted ascetic, and Righteousness,\nwere to carry her off by force, what else could you do in that case but\nwail on her account? Indulging in anger, forsooth, agitates the mind and\ndestroys the glory of a religious life, since it tends to the detriment\nof it. It is, therefore, best to let her live in an inhabited place. Of\nwhat use, after all, is female company to ascetics?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'Your Majesty has spoken truth. Yet hear to what I\nwould resort in such circumstances.\n\n  11. 'Who were to act in such a case against me,\n       Should pride incite or thoughtless rashness move him,\n       In truth, I would, while living, not release him,\n       A rain-cloud like that never will endure dust.'\n\nThen the king thought: 'He takes a great interest in her, he does not\npossess penance-power,' and despising the Great Being, was no longer\nafraid of injuring him. Obeying his passion, he ordered his attendants\nwho were in charge of his zenana: 'Go and fetch this female ascetic into\nmy zenana.'On hearing this order, she, like a deer assailed by a\nferocious animal, showed her fear, alarm, and dismay by her (changed)\ncountenance, her eyes filled with tears, and overpowered by her grief,\nshe lamented in a faltering voice somewhat in this manner:\n\n12. 'To mankind, overcome by sufferings, the king is the best refuge, it\nis said, like a father. But whose help can be implored by him, to whom\nthe king himself acts as an evildoer?\n\n13. 'Alas! The guardians of the world-quarters (lokap\u00e2l\u00e2s) have been\ndismissed from their office, or they do not exist at all, or they are\ndead, since they make no effort to protect the oppressed. Dharma himself\nis but a mere sound, I suppose.\n\n14. 'But why do I reproach the Celestials, while my lord himself is thus\nkeeping silence, undisturbed by my fate? Are you not bound to protect\neven a stranger who is ill-treated by wicked people?\n\n15. 'By the thunderbolt of his curse he might change a mountain into\ndust, if he were to pronounce the word \"perish,\" and still, he does not\nbreak silence, whilst his wife is thus injured! And I must live to see\nthis, wretched woman that I am!\n\n16. 'Or am I a bad person, scarcely deserving pity after coming into\nthis distress? But ascetics ought to behave with compassion towards any\none in distress. Is not this their proper line of conduct?\n\n17. 'I am afraid you bear in mind even now my refusal to leave you, when\nyou ordered me to turn back. Alas! Is then this catastrophe the\nhappiness I longed for through the fulfilment of my own wish though\ncontrary to yours?'\n\nWhile she thus lamented--and what else could she do, that female\nascetic, but cry and wail and weep in piteous accents?--the royal\nattendants, obeying the orders of the king, placed her on a chariot,\nand before the very eyes of the Great Being carried her off to the\nzenana. The Bodhisattva, however, had repressed his powerful anger by\nthe power of his tranquillity, and was sewing his rags just as before\nwithout the slightest perturbation, as calm and serene as ever. To him\nthe king spoke:\n\n18. 'Threatening words of indignation and anger you uttered in a loud\nand strength-betraying voice, but now, on seeing that beauty ravished\nbefore your eyes, you keep quiet and are cast down because you have no\npower.\n\n19. 'Why, show your wrath, either by the strength of your arm or by the\nsplendid power you have accumulated as the result of your penance. He\nwho, not knowing the compass of his own faculties, takes an engagement\nhe cannot keep, such a one loses his splendour, you know.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied: 'Know that I did keep my engagement, Your\nMajesty.\n\n  20. 'He who was ready in that case against me\n       To act and struggled--I did not release him,\n       But kept him down, made him by force be quiet,\n       So you must own that I made true my promise.'\n\nThat excessive firmness of mind of the Bodhisattva, proved by his\ntranquillity, did not fail to inspire the king with respect for the\nvirtues of the ascetic. And he began to reflect: 'This Br\u00e2hman must have\nhinted at something else, speaking thus, and I, not understanding his\nmind, committed a rash action.' This reflection arising within him,\ninduced him to ask the Bodhisattva:\n\n21. 'Who was that other who acted against you and was not released by\nyou, however much he struggled, no more than rising dust is by a\nrain-cloud? Whom did you quiet then?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva answered: 'Hearken, great prince.\n\n22. 'He, whose forthcoming robs the insight and without whose appearance\na man sees clearly, rose within me, but I repressed him; Anger is the\nname of that being, disastrous to his fosterer.\n\n23. 'He, at whose appearance the foes of mankind rejoice, rose within\nme, but I repressed him, that Anger who would have caused gladness to my\nenemies.\n\n24. 'Him who, when bursting forth, induces man to nothing good and\nblinds the eye of the mind, him I did subdue, O king; Anger is his name.\n\n25. 'Yea, I have destroyed that hideous-looking ferocious monster rising\nup within me, that anger, which becomes to him whom it has subdued the\ncause of leaving his good and losing even the profit obtained before.\n\n26. 'As fire, by the process of attrition, arises from a piece of wood\nto the destruction of that very log, in the same way wrath, breaking out\nby the false conceptions it produces in the mind of a man, tends to his\nruin.\n\n27. 'He who is not able to appease the heart-burning fever of anger,\nwhen fire-like it bursts forth with fierceness, such a man is little\nesteemed; his reputation fades away, just as moonshine, that friend of\nthe waterlilies, fades in the blush of dawn.\n\n28. 'But he who, not heeding insults from the side of other people,\nconsiders anger as his real enemy, the reputation of such a man shines\nwith brightness, like the auspicious lustre which streams down the disc\nof the crescent.\n\n'Further, anger is also attended by other noxious qualities of\nimportance.\n\n29. 'An angry man, though resplendent with ornaments, looks ugly; the\nfire of wrath has taken away the splendour of his beauty. And lying on a\nprecious couch, he does not rest at his ease, his heart being wounded by\nthe arrow of anger.\n\n30. 'Bewildered by wrath, a man forgets to keep the side by which to\nreach the happiness suitable for himself, and runs off on the wrong\nroad, so that he forfeits the happiness consisting in a good\nreputation, as the moon is deprived of its lustre in the dark part of\nits menstrual course.\n\n31. 'By wrath he throws himself headlong into his ruin, in spite of the\nefforts of his friends to restrain him. As a rule he gets into a stupid\nrage of hatred, and the power of his mind being impaired, he is unable\nto distinguish between what is good for him and what is bad.\n\n32. 'Carried away by his anger, he will commit sinful actions to be\nrepented of with many misfortunes for centuries. Can enemies, whose\nwrath has been provoked by severe injuries, do anything worse?\n\n33. 'Anger is our adversary within us, this I know. Who may bear the\nfree course of its insolence?\n\n34. 'For this reason I did not release that anger, although it was\nstruggling within me. Who, indeed, may suffer himself to overlook an\nenemy able to do such mischief?'\n\nThese heart-moving words and the marvellous forbearance he had proved by\nthem to possess, softened and converted the mind of that king who spoke:\n\n35. 'Worthy, indeed, of your tranquillity of mind are these words you\nhave spoken!... But, why use many words? I was deceived because I did\nnot understand you.'\n\nAfter thus praising the Bodhisattva, he went near to him and throwing\nhimself at his feet, confessed his sin. And he dismissed also that\nfemale ascetic, after obtaining her pardon, and offered himself to the\ndisposal of the Bodhisattva as his attendant.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner a man by keeping down his anger appeases his enemies, but\ndoing otherwise he will inflame them. Thus considering, one ought to\nstrive after the suppression of anger. [This story is also to be told in\nconnection with such sayings as praise the precept of forbearance, viz.\n'in this manner unfriendly feelings are set at rest by friendliness, and\nby self-restraint hatred is not allowed to grow,' and 'in this manner he\nwho banishes anger acts to the benefit of both.' Likewise when\nexpounding the sinfulness of anger, and treating of the high-mindedness\nof the Tath\u00e2gata.]\n\n\n\n\nXXII. THE STORY OF THE HOLY SWANS.\n\n(Comp. P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 533, Fausb. V, 337-354.)\n\n\nThe virtuous, even when in distress, behave in such a manner as cannot\nbe imitated by the impious; how much less are the latter able to follow\nup the conduct of the virtuous, when favoured by fortune! This will be\ntaught as follows.\n\nOne time, it is told, the Bodhisattva was a king of swans. He was the\nchief of a large tribe of swans, numbering many hundred thousands, who\nlived in Lake M\u00e2nasa. His name was Dh_ri_tar\u00e2sh_t_ra. The commander of\nhis army, who was called Sumukha[153], was skilled in the management of\naffairs, knowing the right and the wrong policy very well; his keen\nintellect encompassed the objects and events over a large extent of\nspace and time; born of an illustrious family, he embellished the\nnobility of his extraction by his talent, his courtesy, his modesty; he\nwas endowed with the virtues of constancy, honesty, courage, and\ndistinguished by the purity of his conduct, mode of life, and behaviour;\nmoreover he was capable of enduring fatigue, vigilant and clever in\nmilitary marches as well as in battles, and bore a great affection to\nhis master. In consequence of their mutual love the grandeur of their\nqualities shone the more; and as they were in the habit of instructing\nthat flock of swans, as a teacher and his foremost disciple would\ninstruct all his other pupils, or a father with his eldest son his other\nsons, inculcating upon their mind a peaceable behaviour towards others,\nand such other matters as lead to the benefit of the creatures, they\noffered a spectacle for the great admiration of the Devas, Snakes,\nYakshas, Vidy\u00e2dharas, and holy ascetics who witnessed them.\n\n     [153] The original text has here this interpolation, 'who was the\n     presbyter \u00c2nanda at that time,' of course bracketed by the editor.\n     Cp. the note on p. 164.\n\n1. As of a bird in the sky both wings are incessantly occupied in\nholding up his body, so these two knew no other business than that of\nsupporting the body of Salvation for their flock of swans.\n\nNow that tribe of swans, being thus favoured by them, attained a state\nof great plenty, in the same way as mankind by the extension of\nrighteousness and material prosperity. Consequently that lake bore the\nutmost beauty.\n\n2, 3. Adorned by that tribe of swans, who by their sound would call to\nmind the soft and lovely noise of the anklets of women, that lake was\nsplendid. When in a mass, the swans resembled a moving grove of lotuses.\nWhen dispersed or divided into separate groups of unequal size, they\nmade the lake surpass even the beauty of a sky embellished with\nscattered banks of clouds.\n\nEnchanted with that exceeding splendour, which was the effect of the\nvirtue of that lord of swans intent on the good of all creatures, and of\nSumukha, his commander-in-chief, crowds of Siddhas, _Ri_shis,\nVidy\u00e2dharas, and deities often and in many places delighted in\nconversing on the glory of those two.\n\n4. 'Their magnificent figures resemble pure gold, their voices utter\narticulate speech, righteousness is the rule of their modest behaviour\nand their policy. Whosoever they may be, they bear but the shape of\nswans.'\n\n5. The fame of those two, spreading through the world by the report of\nthose superhuman beings who, free from jealousy, celebrated their\nvirtues, found a general belief to such an extent, that it became a\ntopic of conversation in the councils of kings, where the account of\ntheir glory circulated like a present.\n\nNow in that time one Brahmadatta[154] was king in Benares. Having often\nheard in his council his trustworthy officials and the foremost among\nthe Br\u00e2hmans highly extol the extraordinary qualities of that lord of\nswans and of his commander-in-chief, he became more and more affected\nwith curiosity to see them. So he said to his ministers, who were very\nclever, having studied many branches of science: 'Well, sirs, set to\nwork the cleverness of your minds, and try to devise some means by which\nI might obtain at least the sight of those two excellent swans.' Then\nthose wise ministers let their thoughts range over the road of political\nwisdom, and (having discovered by thinking the means wanted) said to the\nking:\n\n     [154] Brahmadatta, the king of Benares, is the fabulous prince,\n     during whose reign a great number of the stories of the P\u00e2li\n     _G_\u00e2taka-book take place.\n\n6. 'The prospect of happiness allures the creatures to withdraw from any\nplace, Your Majesty. For this reason the rumour of the existence of some\nextremely good qualities conducive to their happiness may bring them\nhither.\n\n'Therefore, let Your Majesty deign to order a beautiful lake, of the\nsame kind as that where those lovely-shaped swans are reported to live,\nbut still surpassing it in brilliancy, to be constructed here in one of\nyour forests; which being done, you must make known by proclamation, to\nbe repeated every day, that you grant safety to all birds. Perhaps the\nrumour of the surpassing excellence of this lake, conducive to their\nhappiness, may excite their curiosity and draw them hither. Do but\nconsider, Your Majesty.\n\n7. 'As a rule happiness once obtained loses its charm, and ceases to be\ntaken into account; but such happiness as rests upon hearsay seems\nlovely, and fascinates the mind, because it is remote from the eyes.'\n\nThe king accepted their proposal, and had a great lake, which by the\nsplendour of its magnificence rivalled with Lake M\u00e2nasa, constructed in\na short time in a place not too near the park which skirted his capital.\nIt was a most charming basin of pure water, and very rich in\nwater-plants, embracing various kinds of lotuses and waterlilies: padma,\nutpala, kumuda, pu_nd_ar\u00eeka, saugandhika, t\u00e2marasa, kahl\u00e2ra.\n\n8. Flowery trees, bright with their quivering twigs, surrounded its\nshore, as if they had taken possession of that place in order to\ncontemplate that lake.\n\n9. Swarms of bees, as if attracted by its laughing lotuses, which were\nrocking on its gently trembling waves, roamed hovering over its surface.\n\n10, 11. Here its beauty was enhanced by its various waterlilies,\nsleepless through the gentle touch of the moonbeams, which made them\nresemble patches of moonshine piercing through the foliage. There the\npollen of lotuses and waterlilies, conveyed by the finger-like waves,\nwould ornament its shore as if with gold wires.\n\n12. In many other places, where it was covered with the lovely petals\nand filaments of lotuses and waterlilies, it showed a wide-spread\nsplendour, as if it bore a gift of homage.\n\n13. Another beauty was due to the limpidity and calmness of its water,\nwhich was so transparent as to show the sharp contours and the fair hues\nof its crowds of fishes, no less conspicuous while swimming beneath its\nsurface than they would have been, if moving in the sky.\n\n14. Near such places, where the elephants, dipping their trunks in it,\nblew forth cascades of spray glittering like a string of loosened\npearls, it seemed as if the lake carried waves ground to dust after\nbeing driven upon rocks and scattered in the air.\n\n15. Here and there it was perfumed, so to speak, with the fragrances\nemanating from the ointments used by bathing Vidy\u00e2dhara women, from the\nstreams of juice of elephants in rut and from the dust of its (own)\nflowers.\n\n16. Being so brilliant, that lake was like a general mirror for the\nstars, the wives of the Moon-god. Gay birds abounded, and their warbling\nresounded in it.\n\nSuch, then, was the lake he had ordered to be constructed, and which he\ngave to the whole nation of birds to have the unobstructed use and\nenjoyment of it. Accordingly, in order to inspire all birds with\nconfidence, he ordered a proclamation, by which he granted them\nsecurity, to be repeated day after day. It ran in these terms:\n\n17. 'The king is glad to give this lake, inclusive of the groups of\nlotuses and waterlilies covering its waters, to the birds, and grants\nsafety to them.'\n\nOne time, when autumn having drawn away the dark curtain of clouds,\ndispensed its beautiful gifts, enlarging the horizon clear and pure, the\nlakes were lovely to behold, with their limpid water and with the full\nbrilliancy of their clusters of lotuses disclosed. It was the season\nwhen the Moon, with increased power of rays, as it were, reaches the\nhighest pitch of loveliness and youthfulness, when Earth, adorned with\nthe harvest-bliss of manifold crops, offers a fair aspect, and when the\nyounger among the swans begin to show themselves. Now, a couple of\nswans, who belonged to that very tribe of the Bodhisattva, flew up from\nLake M\u00e2nasa, and passing over different regions overspread with autumn's\nmildness, at last came to the realm of that king. And there they saw\nthat lake and the wonderful beauty caused by its flowers; for its\nlotuses, when expanded, made it glow as with flames, and its\nwaterlilies, when unclosed, gave it a laughing aspect. They heard the\nechoes of the confused sounds of crowds of birds and the humming of the\nbees who were busily roaming over its flowers. They smelt the scent of\nthe dust of its lotuses and waterlilies scattered about by the gentle,\ncool, and soft breezes, which seemed to have the task of gliding over\nthe wreaths of its waves. Though accustomed to Lake M\u00e2nasa, those two\nswans were touched by the surpassing loveliness and splendour of that\nother lake; and this thought entered their mind: 'Oh! our whole tribe\nmust come here!'\n\n18. Generally people, obtaining some pleasure within the reach of\neverybody, will in the first place remember their friends, owing to the\nsuggestion of their love.\n\nThat couple remained there, diverting themselves as they best liked,\ntill the next rainy season. At the commencement of that period, when\nmasses of clouds like hosts of the Daityas advance causing darkness, yet\nnot too thick and interrupted by flashes of lightning glittering like\nbrandished weapons; when the gay troops of peacocks perform their dances\nand display the beauty of their wide-opened feather-tails, while\nuttering their loud and continual cries, as if they exulted at the\ntriumph of the clouds, and also the smaller birds have become\nloquacious; when brisk winds blow, fragrant with the flower-dust of\nforest trees: the s\u00e2l, the kadamba, the ar_g_una, and the ketaka, and\nproduce a welcome coolness, as if they were the breath of the forest;\nwhen flocks of young cranes, showing themselves in the sky, contrast\nwith the dark background of the clouds, so as to resemble their rows of\nteeth, so to speak; when the tribes of swans are anxious to leave, and\ngive vent to their longing by soft and gentle cries--on that opportunity\nour couple of swans returned to their Lake M\u00e2nasa. And paying their\nrespects to their lord, they told him, first of the regions they had\nvisited, then gave him an account of the surpassing advantages of that\nlake (whence they had just returned). 'Your Majesty, south of Mount\nHimavat,' they said, 'there lives at Benares a king of men, named\nBrahmadatta, who has delivered to the birds a large lake of marvellous\nbeauty, possessing delights of indescribable loveliness. All birds may\nenjoy it at their free will and wish, and safety is warranted to them by\na royal decree which is made known every day by proclamation. The birds\ndivert themselves there as unrestrained and fearless as if they stayed\nin their homes. When the rains are over, Your Majesty ought to go\nthere.' On hearing this, the whole tribe of swans were affected with a\nstrong desire to see that lake. The Bodhisattva, then, fixing his eyes\nwith an inquisitive expression upon the face of Sumukha, his\ncommander-in-chief, said: 'What do you think about this?' Sumukha, after\nbowing his head, answered: 'I deem it unfit for Your Majesty to go\nthere. Why? Those delights of charming loveliness are, after all, but a\nkind of allurement, and here we are in want of nothing. Generally\nspeaking, the hearts of men are false, their tender compassion is\ndeceitful, and under the guise of delusive sweet words and kind\nattentions they conceal a cruel and wicked nature. Will Your Highness\ndeign to consider this.\n\n19. 'Quadrupeds and birds are wont to express their true feelings by the\nimport of their cries. But men are the only animals skilled in producing\nsound meaning the contrary of their intentions.\n\n20. 'Their language, of course, is sweet, well-intentioned, and\nwholesome. Merchants also make expenses in the hope of obtaining gain.\n\n21. 'Therefore, Your Majesty, it is unfit at any time to put confidence\n(in them) because of something as trifling (as their words). A line of\nconduct which is dangerous and wrong, cannot be but unsuccessful, even\nif followed in pursuit of some object.\n\n'Should, however, the excursion to that lake be indispensable, it is not\nsuitable for us to stay there for a long time, or to make up our minds\nto resolve to take up our residence there; we have only to go and, after\nenjoying its magnificent beauties, return shortly. Such is my advice.'\n\nNow, as the tribe of swans, whose curiosity to see the Benares lake was\never increasing, did not cease to request the Bodhisattva again and\nagain to set out for that place, once on a bright autumn night, adorned\nwith the pure lustre of the moon, the asterisms, and the stars, he\ncomplied with their wishes. And, accompanied by Sumukha and a numerous\ncrowd of swans, he set out in that direction, resembling the Moon-god\nwith his attendant band of (white) autumn clouds.\n\n22. As soon as they beheld the charming splendour of that lake, surprise\nmingled with gladness overwhelmed their minds. When they entered it,\nthey added to it no less brilliancy by their gay shapes and the lovely\ngroups they formed, taking possession of it.\n\n23. Owing to the manifold varieties of its sites, by which it surpassed\nLake M\u00e2nasa, they were delighted, and in time their attachment to the\nnew place of abode effaced M\u00e2nasa from their hearts.\n\nThey heard the proclamation of safety, perceived the freedom of movement\nof the birds residing there, and were gladdened by the display of the\nbeauty of the lake. Their delight rose to the highest degree when they\nwandered over its waters, enjoying the pleasure of one who makes an\nexcursion in a park.\n\nNow the guardians of that lake reported the arrival of those swans to\nthe king, saying: 'Your Majesty, two excellent swans, who bear the very\nsame shape and are distinguished by the very same qualities as those\nfamous ones are said to possess, have arrived at Your Majesty's lake, as\nif to enhance its beauty. Their beautiful wings shine like gold, their\nbeaks and feet have a lustre which even surpasses that of gold, their\nsize exceeds the average, and they have well-shaped bodies. A retinue of\nmany hundred thousands of swans have come with them.' Having been thus\ninformed, the king selected among his fowlers one who was renowned and\nrecognised for his skill in the art of bird-catching, and committed to\nhim the honourable charge of catching them. The fowler promised to do\nso, and having carefully watched the places which those two swans were\nin the habit of frequenting and haunting, laid down on different spots\nstrong snares well concealed. Now, while the swans were wandering far\nand wide over the lake, with minds cheerful and rejoiced and without\nsuspecting any mischief, trusting the grant of safety, their lord got\none foot entangled in a snare.\n\n24. Trustfulness, indeed, is pernicious. Aroused by the subtle\ncontrivances of those who inspire confidence, it first obliterates the\nsuspicion of danger, then displays carelessness and want of policy.\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, lest a similar misfortune should befall also\nanybody else of his tribe, announced by a special cry the dangerousness\nof the lake. Upon which, the swans, alarmed at the capture of their\nlord, flew up to the sky, uttering confused and dissonant cries of\nfear, without regarding each other, like soldiers whose chief warrior\nhas been killed. Yet Sumukha, the commander-in-chief, did not withdraw\nfrom the side of the lord of swans.\n\n25. A heart bound by affection does not mind imminent peril. Worse than\ndeath to such a one is the sorrow which the miserable distress of a\nfriend inflicts on it.\n\nTo him the Bodhisattva said:\n\n26. 'Go, Sumukha, go; it is not wise to linger here. What opportunity\ncouldst thou have of helping me who am in this state?'\n\nSumukha spoke:\n\n27. 'No final death can I incur, if I stay here, nor shall I, if I go,\nbe freed from old age and death. I always attended on thee in thy\nprosperity. How, master, should I be capable of leaving thee in thy\ncalamity?\n\n28. 'If I were to leave thee, prince of birds, on account of such a\ntrifle as the thread of my own life, where could I find a shield against\nthe rain-shower of blame?\n\n29. 'It is not right, my liege, that I should leave thee in thy\ndistress. Whatever fate may be thine, I am pleased with it, O lord of\nbirds.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n30. 'What other may be the fate of an insnared bird than the kitchen?\nHow can that prospect please thee who art in the free possession of thy\nmind and thy limbs?\n\n31, 32. 'Or what profit dost thou see for me or thyself or the whole of\nour kindred in the death of both of us? And what profit mayst thou\nexplain to be in giving up thy life on an occurrence, when that profit\nis as little to be seen as level and unlevel in the dark?'\n\nSumukha spoke:\n\n33, 34. 'How, most excellent of birds, dost thou not perceive the profit\nin following the path of Righteousness? Honouring the Law of\nRighteousness in the right manner[155] produces the highest profit. For\nthis reason I, knowing the precepts of Righteousness and the profit\narising therefrom, also moved by attachment to thee, my liege, do not\ncling to life.'\n\n     [155] Instead of upa_k_ita_h_ in the Sanskrit text, the P\u00e2li\n     redaction has apa_k_ito, which no doubt is the true reading. I have\n     translated accordingly, comparing also stanza 36 tadar_k_itas tvay\u00e2\n     dharma_h_.\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n35, 36. 'Verily, this is the law for the virtuous, that a friend,\nminding his duty, shall not abandon his friend in distress, even at the\ncost of his life. Now, thou didst observe the Law of Righteousness, thou\ndidst show me thy devoted affection. Grant me then, I pray thee, this\nlast request. Fly away, I give thee leave.\n\n37. 'Moreover, the affair having taken this turn, it is thy task,\nwise-minded one, to fill up the gap caused to our friends by the loss of\nme.'\n\n38. While they were thus conversing, vying with each other in mutual\naffection, lo, the Nish\u00e2da[156] appeared, rushing upon them like the God\nof Death.\n\n     [156] The fowler belonged to that low class of people.\n\nAs soon as they became aware of his approach, the two excellent birds\nbecame silent. Now, the Nish\u00e2da seeing that the tribe of swans had flown\naway, was persuaded 'certainly, some one of them has been caught;' and\ngoing round the different places, where he had laid down his snares,\ndiscovered those two foremost swans. He was surprised at their beauty,\nand thinking both of them to be insnared, shook the snares placed in\ntheir neighbourhood. But when he perceived that one was caught and the\nother, loose and free, was keeping him company, his astonishment\nincreased, and drawing near to Sumukha, he spoke to him:\n\n39, 40. 'This bird, being caught in a strong snare, loses his freedom of\nmovement. For this reason he cannot mount to the sky, although I\napproach. But thou who art not fastened, who art free and strong and\nhast thy winged carriage at thy disposal, why dost thou not hastily fly\nup to the sky at my arrival?'\n\nOn hearing this, Sumukha addressed him with human language in a voice\nwhich distinctly articulated syllables and words, and by its\nsonorousness manifested the firmness of mind of the speaker, being\nemployed to show his (virtuous) nature.\n\n41, 42. 'How is it, thou askest me, that I, being able to go, do not go.\nWhy, the cause thereof is this. This bird here suffers the misfortune of\nbeing insnared. Thou hast power over him, whose foot is entangled in\nthis strong snare, but he has power over me by still stronger fetters,\nhis virtues, by which he has fastened my heart.'\n\nUpon this the Nish\u00e2da, affected with high admiration and almost in\necstasy[157], once more asked Sumukha.\n\n     [157] Literally: on whose body the hairs stood up.\n\n43. 'Being afraid of me, the other swans left him and flew up to the\nsky. But thou dost not leave him. Say, what is this bird to thee?'\n\nSumukha spoke:\n\n44. 'My king he is, my friend he is, whom I love no less than life, my\nbenefactor he is, and he is in distress. On this account I may never\ndesert him, not even in order to save my own life.'\n\nAnd observing the feelings of growing tenderness and admiration which\nappeared in the Nish\u00e2da, he continued:\n\n45. 'Oh! If this our conversation might lead to a happy end, my friend!\nIf thou wert to obtain the glory of a virtuous action by setting us free\nnow!'\n\nThe Nish\u00e2da spoke:\n\n46. 'I do not wish thee harm, and it is not thee I have caught. Why\nthen, go free and join thy relations who will be glad at the sight of\nthee!'\n\nSumukha spoke:\n\n47, 48. 'If thou dost not wish my sorrow, then thou must grant my\nrequest. If thou art content with one, well, leave him and take me. Our\nbodies have an equal size and compass, and our age is the same, I tell\nthee. So, taking me as a ransom for him, thou wilt not lose thy profit.\n\n49, 50. 'Why, sir, do consider it well. O that thou mayst be greedy to\npossess me! Thou mayst tie me first, and afterwards release the king of\nbirds. Thus doing, thou wouldst enjoy the same amount of gain, thou\nwouldst have granted my request, thou wouldst also cause gladness to the\ntribe of swans and obtain their friendship, too.\n\n51. 'Now then, gladden the host of swans by setting their lord at\nliberty, that they may see him again in his resplendent beauty in the\nclear sky, resembling the Moon released from the Lord of Daityas\n(R\u00e2hu).'\n\nThe Nish\u00e2da, though accustomed to a cruel trade and hard-hearted by\npractice, was much touched by these words of the bird uttered in a firm\nyet soft tone and imposing by their import. For they magnified the\nattachment to one's master without minding one's own life, and were a\nstrong manifestation of the virtue of gratitude. Overpowered by\nadmiration and respect, he folded his hands, and lifting them up to\nSumukha, said: 'Well said, well said, noble being.\n\n52, 53. 'If met with among men or deities, such self-denial would pass\nfor a miracle, as is practised by thee claiming it thy duty to give up\nthy life for the sake of thy master. I will pay thee my homage,\ntherefore, and set free thy king. Who, indeed, may be capable of doing\nevil to him who is dearer to thee than life?'\n\nWith these words the Nish\u00e2da, without caring for the mandate of his\nking, listening to the voice of his compassion, paid honour to the king\nof swans, and released him from the snare. And Sumukha, the\ncommander-in-chief, greatly rejoiced at the rescue of his king, fixed a\nglad and kind look on the Nish\u00e2da and spoke:\n\n54. 'As thou hast rejoiced me now by the release of the king of swans, O\nthou source of gladness to thy friends, mayst thou in the same way be\nrejoiced with thy friends and kinsmen for many thousands of years!\n\n55. 'Then, that thy labour may not be fruitless, well, take me and also\nthis king of swans, and carrying us on thy shoulder-pole, free and\nunbound, show us to thy king in his zenana.\n\n56. 'Beholding the king of swans with his minister, this ruler, no\ndoubt, will show thee his gladness by a gift of riches larger than that\nthou didst dream of, a source to thee of great rejoicing.'\n\nThe Nish\u00e2da acceded to his request, thinking, the king must see at all\nevents this marvellous couple of swans, and placing them (in baskets) on\nhis pole unhurt and unbound, showed those excellent swans to the king.\n\n57. 'Deign to see,' quoth he, 'the wonderful present I offer you, my\nlord. Here is that famous king of swans, together with his\ncommander-in-chief!'\n\nOn beholding those two foremost of swans, who by the glittering\nsplendour of their lovely figures resembled two solid pieces of gold,\nthe king filled with amazement and exulting with gladness said to the\nNish\u00e2da:\n\n58. 'How didst thou obtain possession of those two who remain in thy\nhands, unhurt and unbound, though able to fly away from thee who art on\nfoot? Tell it me at length.'\n\nBeing thus addressed, the Nish\u00e2da bowing to the king, answered:\n\n59-62. 'I had laid down many snares, O so cruel causes of pain, in pools\nand ponds, the places of recreation of the birds. Then this foremost of\nswans, moving unsuspectingly, owing to his trustfulness, got his foot\nentangled in a hidden snare. The other, though free, was keeping him\ncompany, and entreated me to take him in redemption for the life of his\nking, uttering in a human voice articulate and sweet-sounding language.\nHis ardent request derived its power from his readiness to sacrifice his\nown life.\n\n63. 'So great was the effect of his soft words and his strong deeds in\nbehalf of his master, that I was converted to tenderness, and dismissed\nhis lord together with my own cruel temper.\n\n64. 'After which, rejoiced at the release of the king of birds, he\nreturned many thanks and blessings to me, and instructed me to go up in\nthis manner to you, that my labour, so he said, should not have been a\nburden by lack of reward.\n\n65. 'And so it is out of gratitude for the deliverance of his king and\nin my behalf, that this most righteous being, whosoever he may be, who\nunder the outward appearance of a bird roused in one moment tenderness\nof mind in the heart of a person like me, has arrived of his own accord\ntogether with his master at your zenana.'\n\nThe king was filled by these words with great joy and amazement. He\nassigned to the king of swans a golden throne with a footstool, a seat\nwell becoming a king; for it had brilliant feet glittering with the\nlustre of various jewels, was spread with a most costly and lovely\ncover, and provided with a soft cushion on its back. To Sumukha he\noffered a bamboo seat fit for a chief minister to sit upon. Then the\nBodhisattva, considering that it was now the proper time to make a\ncomplimentary address, spoke to the king in a voice as soft as the sound\nof anklets.\n\n66. 'Thy body, adorned with lustre and loveliness, is in good health, I\nhope, O health-deserving prince. And so, I hope, is also that other body\nof thine which is made up of thy righteousness. Does it frequently emit,\nso to speak, its breath of pious discourses and gifts?\n\n67. 'Thou hast dedicated thyself, hast thou not? to the task of\nprotecting thy subjects, distributing reward or punishment in due time,\nso as to make both thy illustrious glory and the people's affection,\ntogether with their welfare, always increase?\n\n68. 'Hast thou not the assistance of affectionate and honest ministers,\naverse to fraud and skilled in the management of affairs, with whom to\nconsider the interest of thy subjects? Thy mind is not indifferent to\nthis important matter, I hope?\n\n69. 'When the kings, thy vassals, after incurring abatement of their\nsplendour by thy policy and vigour, entreat thee to show them mercy,\nthou wilt generously follow the impulse of pity, I hope, without,\nhowever, indulging in trustfulness, which is nothing but the sleep of\ncarelessness?\n\n70. 'Are thy actions, tending to secure the unobstructed pursuit of\ndharma, artha, and k\u00e2ma, not applauded by the virtuous, O hero among\nmen, and wide-spread in the world, so to say, by the effect of thy\nrenown? And thy enemies have but sighs to hurt them, I hope?'\n\nIn reply to these questions the king, manifesting by his gladness the\nplacidity of his senses[158], spoke to him:\n\n     [158] The placidity of his senses is indicative of his having\n     subdued his evil passions, so that he could give a satisfactory\n     account of his royal occupations. In the P\u00e2li redactions of our\n     story, each question is immediately followed by its answer, which\n     is affirmative, of course, and the wording of which exactly\n     corresponds to the question.\n\n71. 'Now my welfare is assured in every respect, O swan, for I have\nobtained the long wished-for happiness of meeting with your holy\npersons.\n\n72, 73. 'This man, having captured thee in the snare, did not hurt thee,\nI hope, in the exuberance of his joy with his pain-inflicting stick? So\nit happens, in fact, when there arises calamity to birds, that the mind\nof those knaves, soiled by exulting joy, impels them to sinful actions.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n74-77. 'I did not suffer, great king, while in that most distressing\ncondition, nor did this man behave towards me at all like an enemy. When\nhe perceived Sumukha staying there, though uncaught, out of love for me,\nas if he, too, had been caught, he addressed him with great kindness,\nprompted by curiosity and astonishment. Afterwards, having been\npropitiated by the gentle words of Sumukha, he released me from the\nsnare, and setting me free, showed respect and honour to me. It is for\nthis reason that Sumukha, wishing this man's good, told him to bring us\nhither. May then our arrival cause happiness also to him!'\n\nThe king said:\n\n78, 79. 'Having eagerly longed for your arrival, I bid welcome here to\nboth of you. The sight of you is a feast to my eyes and causes me\nextreme gladness. As to that Nish\u00e2da, I will bestow a rich gift upon him\npresently. Having shown kindness to both of you, he deserves a high\nreward.'\n\nThen the king honoured the Nish\u00e2da by a munificent gift of great wealth.\nAfter which, he again addressed the king of swans:\n\n80. 'Ye have come here to this residence, which is yours, indeed. Pray,\nset aside, then, cramping reserve with respect to me, and make known in\nwhat way and how I may serve your wants. For my riches are at your\nservice.\n\n81. 'A friend expressing his wants in frank speech, causes a greater\nsatisfaction to a wealthy man, than he could obtain from his riches. For\nthis reason, unreservedness among friends is a great benefit.'\n\nThen, being also very curious to converse with Sumukha, the king casting\nhis admiring looks on him, addressed him thus:\n\n82. 'Surely, new acquaintances are not bold enough to speak frankly to\nthe newly acquired friend, in whose mind they have not yet got footing.\nStill, they will use at least kind language, adorned by courteous terms.\n\n83. 'It is for this reason that I beg also Thy Honour to favour me with\nthy conversation. So thou wouldst realise my desire of acquiring thy\nfriendship and increase the gladness of my heart.'\n\nOn these words, Sumukha, the commander-in-chief of swans, bowing\nrespectfully to the king, spoke:\n\n84. 'A conversation with thee who art great Indra's equal, is a kind of\nfestival. Who, therefore, would not feel that this token of thy\nfriendly disposition surpassed his wishes?\n\n85, 86. 'But would it not have been an unbecoming act of insolence for\nan attendant to join in the conversation of the two monarchs, of men and\nof birds, while they were exchanging lovely words of friendship? No, a\nwell-educated person does not act in that way. How, then, could I,\nknowing this, follow that way? On this account, great prince, I was\nsilent, and if I need thy pardon, I deserve it.'\n\nIn reply to these words the king, expressing by his countenance his\ngladness and admiration, eulogised Sumukha.\n\n87. 'Justly the world takes delight in hearing the fame of thy virtues.\nJustly the king of swans made thee his friend. Such modesty and\naccomplished demeanour is displayed by none but those who have subdued\ntheir inner self.\n\n88. 'Therefore I sincerely trust that these friendly relations, now\ncommenced between us, will never be broken off. The meeting of pious\npersons, indeed, produces friendship.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, understanding that the king was eagerly desirous\nof their friendship and inclined to show them his affection, addressed\nhim in terms of praise:\n\n89. 'Following the impulse of thy generous nature, thou hast acted\ntowards us as one should act to one's best friend, although our\nacquaintance has only been made just now.\n\n90. 'Whose heart, then, would not be won, illustrious prince, by such\nhonourable treatment as thou hast shown us?\n\n91. 'Whatever profit thou expectest from relations with me, O lord, or\nhowever important thou mayst deem them, it is a matter of fact that thou\nhast displayed thy hospitable disposition by practising hospitality, O\nthou lover of virtues!\n\n92. 'But this is no wonder in a self-subdued prince such as thou, who\nbearest thy royal duties for the interest of thy subjects, intent on\npenance and profound contemplation, like a Muni. Thou, in truth, hadst\nbut to follow the inclination of thy excellent nature to become a\nstorehouse of virtues.\n\n93. 'It is virtues that procure to their possessor the satisfaction of\nsuch praise, as I did celebrate of thee. They afford happiness, but in\nthe strongholds of vice there dwells no bliss. What conscious being,\nthen, knowing this to be the constant law as to virtue and vice, would\nresort to the wrong way which diverges from his good?\n\n94. 'Not by military prowess nor by the strength of his treasury nor by\na successful policy will a prince reach that high rank, which he may\nobtain even without exertion and expense, if he but follow the right\npath which consists in the cultivation of virtues.\n\n95. 'Virtues are visited even by such bliss, as attends the Lord of the\nDevas; the virtuous alone attain humility; virtues alone are the sources\nof glory; it is on them that the magnificence of sovereignty rests.\n\n96. 'Virtues alone, possessing greater loveliness than moonshine, are\nable to appease enemies, be their mind never so ferocious by indulgence\nin jealous anger and pride, be their selfishness never so deep-rooted by\na long continuance of hatred.\n\n97. 'For this reason, O sovereign, whose rule earth obeys with its proud\nkings who bow to thy lustre, foster the love of virtues in thy people,\nsetting them an example by the undiminished splendour of thy modesty and\nthe rest of thy virtues.\n\n98. 'The good of his subjects is the first care of a king, and the way\nleading to it tends to his bliss both (in this world and in the\nnext)[159]. And this end will be attained, if the king loves\nrighteousness; for people like to follow the conduct of their\nruler[160].\n\n     [159] Or perhaps: tends to the happiness of both (his subjects and\n     himself).\n\n     [160] Cp. Story XIII, stanzas 38, 39.\n\n99. 'Mayst thou, then, rule thy land with righteousness, and may the\nLord of the Celestials have thee in his guard! But though thy presence\npurifies those who rest on thee, yet must I leave thee now. The sorrow\nof my fellow-swans draws me to them, so to speak.'\n\nThe king and all those present approved of the words spoken by the\nBodhisattva. Then he dismissed both excellent swans in the most\nhonourable and kind terms.\n\nThe Bodhisattva mounted upward to the sky, which, adorned by the serene\nbeauty of autumn, was as dark-blue as a spotless sword-blade, and\nfollowed by Sumukha, his commander-in-chief, as by his reflected image,\njoined his tribe of swans. And those, by the very sight of him, were\nfilled with the utmost gladness.\n\n100. And after some time that swan, a passionate lover as he was of\ncompassion for his neighbour, came back to the king with his swans, and\ndiscoursed to him on the Law of Righteousness. And the king with\nrespectfully bowed head in return honoured him.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this way, then, the virtuous, even when in distress, behave in such\nmanner as cannot be imitated by the impious; how much less are the\nlatter able to follow up the conduct of the virtuous, when favoured by\nfortune! [This story is also to be adduced, when praising pious\nlanguage: 'In this manner a pious language conduces to the good of\nboth[161].' Likewise, when treating of pious friends: 'In this manner\nthey who possess a pious friend will be successful even in dangerous\ncircumstances.' Also to exemplify the fact of the presbyter \u00c2nanda\nhaving been a companion (to the Lord) still in previous births: 'So this\npresbyter sharing the vicissitudes of the Bodhisattva, cherished\naffection and veneration (for the Lord) for a long, long time.']\n\n     [161] Viz. the speaker and the listener.\n\n     This much-renowned tale of the two fabulous swans is thrice told in\n     the collection of P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2takas, edited by Fausb\u00f6ll: No. 502\n     Ha_m_sa_g_\u00e2takam, No. 533 _K_ullaha_m_sa_g_\u00e2t., and No. 534\n     Mah\u00e2ha_m_sa_g_\u00e2t. Of them No. 502 is almost an abridgement of No.\n     534. These two show another redaction of the tale than that which\n     is contained in No. 533. Our author used some recension closely\n     related to the redaction of No. 533; some of his stanzas are almost\n     identical with the P\u00e2li g\u00e2th\u00e2s.\n\n     From a note in Tawney's translation of the Kath\u00e2sarits\u00e2gara (II, p.\n     506) I learn that R\u00e2_g_endral\u00e2la Mitra found the story of the\n     golden swans in the Bodhisattva Avad\u00e2na, one of the Hodgson MSS. It\n     is probable that the work quoted is the Bodhisattv\u00e2vad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2,\n     which is being edited by Sara_k_ _K_andra D\u00e2s, in the Bibliotheca\n     Indica. But as the story in question has not yet been published and\n     the list of contents in the preface of that work is here of no\n     help, I could not find out in which pallava it is told.\n\n     Moreover compare Kath\u00e2sarits\u00e2gara 3, 26-35 and 114, 17 foll. The\n     self-denial of the commander-in-chief has its counterpart in the\n     behaviour of the s\u00e2rasa bird in the main story of the third book of\n     the Hitopadesa.\n\n\n\n\nXXIII. THE STORY OF MAH\u00c2BODHI.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 528, Fausb. V, 227-246.)\n\n\nThe compassion of the virtuous for those who once were their\nbenefactors, does not diminish even by injuries done to them. Such is\ntheir gratitude, and to this extent have they imbibed the virtue of\nforbearance. This will be taught as follows.\n\nIn the time when the Lord was a Bodhisattva, he was a wandering ascetic,\nit is said, named Mah\u00e2bodhi[162]. When still a householder, he had made\na regular and thorough study of such branches of learning as are\nesteemed in the world, and being curious of fine arts, had also\nacquainted himself with them. Afterwards, having renounced the world, as\nhe was exerting himself for the benefit of the world, he directed his\nmind more earnestly to the study of the law-books, and obtained the\nmastership in that science. Thanks to his possession of a store of\nmerit, the loftiness of his wisdom, his knowledge of the world, and his\nsuperior skill in the art of conversing with men, it happened that to\nwhatever country he went, his company was sought for, and his person\ncherished by the learned as well as by such princes as patronized the\nlearned, by Br\u00e2hmans living in the world as well as by other ascetics.\n\n     [162] This name means '(possessing) great wisdom.'\n\n1. Virtues acquire splendour by their appearing on the ground of\nmeritorious actions[163], but it is by the gracefulness of their\npractice, that they will gain the affection of men and partake of the\nmost distinguished worship even from the side of one's enemies, obliged\nto do so by regard for their own reputation.\n\n     [163] Our author never forgets to point out the importance of the\n     possession of much pu_n_ya, cp. Story XIV, p. 133, and Story XV, p.\n     136.\n\nNow that Great-minded One, wandering about with the object of doing good\nto men, in villages, towns, markets, countries, kingdoms, royal\nresidences, reached the realm of a king who, having heard of the\nsplendour of his many virtues, was rejoiced at the report of his\narrival. Having been informed of it long before, he had a dwelling-place\nbuilt for him in a lovely spot in his own pleasure-gardens. At his\narrival, he made him enter his kingdom in the most honourable manner,\ngoing to meet him and showing him other tokens of esteem. He attended on\nhim and listened to his teaching, as a pupil observes his spiritual\nteacher.\n\n2. To a lover of virtues, the arrival of a virtuous guest, coming\nconfidingly to his wealth-abounding home, is a kind of feast[164].\n\n     [164] Cp. Story VI, stanza 30.\n\nAnd the Bodhisattva for his part favoured him with daily discourses on\nreligious subjects, delightful to both the ears and the heart, by which\nhe gradually prepared him to walk on the road to salvation.\n\n3. Those who love the Law desire to give religious instruction even to\nsuch people as have not shown them their attachment, they will do so out\nof compassion for their neighbour. How should they not teach him who,\nlike a pure vessel, is eager to accept their instruction and to manifest\nhis love?\n\nBut the ministers of that king, though receiving the honour due to their\nlearning, and his counsellors, though also treated with respect, could\nnot bear the constantly increasing honour paid to the magnificence of\nthe Bodhisattva's virtues. Jealousy had tainted their minds.\n\n4. The glory and renown of a man who shows his ability to fascinate\nmankind by the superiority of his virtues, suffices to kindle the fire\nof envious feeling in those who are honoured only on account of their\nprofessional skill.\n\nThey were unable to vanquish him in open contest in disputes on topics\nof the law-books, and at the same time were sorry to see the king's\nconstant attachment to the Law of Righteousness. Then, in order to rouse\nhis disaffection towards the Bodhisattva, they proceeded almost in this\nmanner. 'Your Majesty,' so would they say, 'should not put his\nconfidence in that wandering monk Bodhi. It is evident that he must be a\nkind of spy of some rival king, who having learnt Your Majesty's love of\nvirtues and inclination towards Righteousness, avails himself of this\nclever fellow with his soft, smooth, and deceitful tongue, to entice you\ninto baleful habits and to be informed of your actions. For this devotee\nof Righteousness, as he pretends to be, instructing Your Majesty\nexclusively to practise compassionateness and to foster the miserable\nfeeling of shame, induces you to take upon yourself such vows of a\nreligious life as are incompatible with your royal and military duties,\nprejudicial to the promotion of material interests (artha) and pleasures\n(k\u00e2ma), and subject to the dangers attending a bad policy. Indeed, it is\nout of pure charity that, in the way of exhorting you, he suggests the\nline of conduct you should follow; nevertheless, he likes to converse\nwith the messengers of other kings, and is far from being a stranger to\nthe contents of the manuals of political wisdom which treat of the\nduties of kings. Accordingly this matter fills our hearts with\napprehension.' Such language spoken with the intention of causing\nestrangement, being often repeated and by many who feigned to have in\nview the good of the king, could not fail to have its effect. His\nattachment and veneration for the Bodhisattva shrunk under the influence\nof his distrust, and his disposition towards him became changed.\n\n5. Whether a succession of loud-roaring tremendous thunderbolts or of\nthose other thunderbolts, whose name is calumny, pierce the ears of men,\ndoes there exist anybody who can remain unshaken by them, trustful and\nfirm in the confidence of his own power?\n\nNow, as the absence of trust lessened the king's affection and\nveneration for the Great Being, the king was no more, as before, careful\nto pay him due honour. But the Bodhisattva, owing to his\npure-heartedness, did not mind it; 'kings are distracted by many\noccupations,' so he thought. Still, when he perceived the coolness and\nlack of attention from the side of the courtiers, he understood that he\nhad incurred the king's displeasure, and taking his triple staff, his\nwaterpot and the other utensils of a wandering ascetic, made\npreparations for his departure. The king, hearing his resolution, as he\nwas partly moved by a remnant of his old affection, partly would not\nneglect an act of politeness and civility, went up to him, and in order\nto show his trouble and pretended desire to retain him, said:\n\n6. 'For what reason are you determined to go away, leaving us all of a\nsudden? Have you perhaps to complain of some lack of attention on our\npart, which has roused your fears? If this is the case, you suspect us\nwithout reason, it must have been an omission.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied:\n\n7. 'My departure has a good reason. Not that so trifling a matter as\nill-treatment has irritated me, but because you have ceased to be a\nvessel of righteousness in consequence of your deceitful behaviour, for\nthis reason I set out from hence.'\n\nAt this moment the king's favourite dog came running to the Bodhisattva\nin a hostile manner and barked at him with wide-opened mouth. Pointing\nat this dog, he said again: 'Why, let this animal bear witness to the\ncase, Your Majesty.\n\n8, 9. 'Formerly this dog was accustomed to fondle me; then he was\nimitating your example. But now he betrays your feelings by his barks,\nfor he does not know how to feign. Surely, he must have heard from you\nharsh words on my account, as will happen when former affection has been\ndestroyed; and now, forsooth, he is acting up to them, that he may\nplease you; for such is the behaviour of servants who eat the bread of\ntheir lord.'\n\nThis reproof filled the king with shame, and made him cast down his\neyes. The acuteness of mind of the Bodhisattva touched him and moved his\nheart. He thought it was not proper to continue his false protestations\nof love, and bowing reverentially to him, spoke:\n\n10. 'You were indeed the subject of such conversation as you said.\nAudacious people used that language in my council, and I, absorbed in\nbusiness, overlooked the matter. You must forgive me, then, and stay\nhere. Pray, do not go.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'Surely, it is not on account of ill-treatment\nthat I want to go, Your Majesty, nor am I driven out by resentment. But\nconsidering, it is now no proper time to stay here, Your Majesty, for\nthis reason I go. Do but take this in view.\n\n11. 'If, either by attachment or from apathy, I should not go of my own\naccord now, as I needs must, after the honourable hospitality shown to\nme has lost its beauty, having become an ordinary one, verily, would it\nnot hereafter come to the point that I should be seized by the neck and\nturned out?\n\n12. 'Not with a heart sore with hatred am I about to leave you, but\nconsidering this the proper course to follow now. Former benefits are\nnot effaced from the heart of the pious by the stroke of one affront.\n\n13. 'But an ill-disposed man is not fit to be had for a patron, no more\nthan a dried-up pond will serve him who is in want of water. If profit\nmay be gained from the side of such a one, it requires much care to\nacquire it, and the result will be meagre and not unmixed.\n\n14. 'He, however, who desires ease and dislikes trouble, must attend\nonly on such a patron who has composed his mind and by his placidity\nresembles a great lake of pure water in autumn. So is the well-known\nline of conduct approved of men.\n\n15. 'Further, he who is averse to one intent on showing his attachment;\nlikewise he who, attending on somebody who dislikes him, afflicts\nhimself; thirdly, he who is slow in remembering former benefits--such\npersons bear only the shape of a man and raise doubts as to their real\nnature.\n\n16. 'Friendship is destroyed both by lack of intercourse and profusion\nof attentions, also by frequent requests. Therefore, desiring to protect\nthis remnant of our affection from the dangers of my residing here, I\nnow take my leave.'\n\nThe king said: 'If Your Reverence has a strong determination to go,\nthinking your departure to be indispensable, pray, deign to favour us by\ncoming back here again, will you? Friendship ought to be kept safe also\nfrom the fault of lack of intercourse, did you not say so?' The\nBodhisattva replied: 'Your Majesty, sojourning in the world is something\nsubject to many hindrances, for a great many adversaries in the shape of\nvarious calamities attend it. Thus considering, I cannot make the\npositive promise, that I shall come again. I can only express my wish to\nsee you another time, when there may be some indispensable reason for\ncoming.' Having in this way appeased the king, who dismissed him in the\nmost honourable manner, he set off from his realm, and feeling his mind\ntroubled by intercourse with people living in the world, took up his\nabode in some forest-place. Staying there, he directed his mind to the\nexercise of meditation and before long came to the possession of the\nfour ecstatic trances (dhy\u00e2na) and the five kinds of transcendent\nknowledge (abhi_g\u00f1_\u00e2).\n\nNow, while he was enjoying the exquisite happiness of tranquillity, the\nremembrance of the king, accompanied by a feeling of compassion,\nappeared to his mind. And, as he was concerned about the present state\nof that prince, he directed his thoughts towards him, and saw[165] that\nhis ministers were each enticing him to the tenets of the (false)\ndoctrine which he professed. One among them endeavoured to win him for\nthe doctrine according to which there should be no causality, taking for\nexamples such instances, where it is difficult to demonstrate causality.\n\n     [165] Viz. as the effect of his divine eye (divya_m_ _k_akshu_h_),\n     one of the five abhi_g\u00f1_\u00e2s.\n\n17. 'What,' said he, 'is the cause of the shape, the colour, the\narrangement, the softness and so on of the stalks, the petals, the\nfilaments and the pericarps of the lotuses? Who diversifies the feathers\nof the birds in this world? In just the same manner this whole universe\nis the product of the work of essential and inherent properties, to be\nsure.'\n\nAnother, who held a Supreme Being (\u00ce_s_vara) for the first cause,\nexpounded him the tenets of his lore.\n\n18. 'It is not probable that this universe should exist without a cause.\nThere is some being who rules it, Eternal and One. It is He who in\nconsequence of the fixation of His mind on His transcendental volition,\ncreates the world and again dissolves it.'\n\nAnother, on the contrary, deceived him by this doctrine: This universe\nis the result of former actions, which are the cause of fortune, good\nand ill; personal energy has no effect at all to modify it.\n\n19. 'How, indeed, may one being create at the same time the manifold and\nboundless variety of the different substances and properties? No, this\nuniverse is the product of former actions. For even he who is skilled\nin striving for his happiness comes into mishap.'\n\nAnother again enticed him to be solely attached to the enjoyment of\nsensual pleasures, by means of such reasoning as is heard from the\nadherents of the doctrine of annihilation.\n\n20. 'Pieces of wood, differing in colour, properties, and shape, cannot\nbe said to exist as the result of actions, and yet they exist, and once\nperished they do not grow up again. Something similar is to be said of\nthis world. For this reason one must consider pleasures the main object\nof life.'\n\nAnother, pretending to instruct him in his royal duties, recommended to\nhim such practices as are taught in the science of the Kshatriyas, and\nwhich, following the winding paths of political wisdom (n\u00eeti), are\nsoiled by cruelty and contrary to righteousness (dharma).\n\n21. 'You must avail yourself of men, as of shady trees, considering them\nfit objects to resort to. Accordingly, endeavour to extend your glory by\nshowing them gratitude, only as long, until your policy ceases to want\ntheir use. They are to be appointed to their task in the manner of\nvictims destined for the sacrifice.'\n\nSo those ministers desired to lead the king astray, each on the path of\nhis own false doctrines.\n\nThe Bodhisattva, then, perceiving that the king, owing to his\nintercourse with wicked people and his readiness to allow himself to be\nguided by others whom he trusted, was about to fall into the precipice\nof false doctrines, was affected with compassion and pondered on some\nmeans of rescuing him.\n\n22. The pious, in consequence of their constant practice of virtues,\nretain in their mind the good done to them, whereas the evil they\nexperienced drops from their mind, like water from a lotus-petal.\n\nHaving taken his resolution as to the proper thing to be done in the\ncase, he created in his own hermitage, by dint of magic, a large monkey,\nwhose skin he stripped off, making the rest of his body disappear.\nWearing that skin, created by himself, he presented himself at the\nentrance-gate of the king's palace. After being ushered in by the\ndoorkeepers, he was admitted to the royal presence. He passed\nsuccessively the guards who were posted outside, and the different\ncourts filled with officers, Br\u00e2hmans, military men, messengers, and\nnotable townsmen, and entered the audience-hall, the doors of which were\nkept outside by doorkeepers with swords and staves; the king was sitting\non his throne surrounded by his assembly of learned and wise men,\nmagnificently dressed and orderly arranged. The monarch went to meet\nhim, and showed him every honour and respect due to a guest. After the\nusual exchange of compliments and kind reception, when the Bodhisattva\nhad taken the seat offered to him, the king, who was curious about that\nmonkey-skin, asked him how he got it, saying: 'Who bestowed this\nmonkey-skin on the Reverend, procuring by that deed a great favour to\nhimself?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva answered: 'I got to it by myself, Your Majesty, I did\nnot receive it from anybody else. While sitting or sleeping on the hard\nground strewed only with thin straw, the body suffers, and the religious\nduties cannot be performed at ease. Now, I saw a large monkey in the\nhermitage and thought so within myself: \"Oh! here is the right\ninstrument I want to perform my religion, if I had but the skin of this\nmonkey! sitting or sleeping on it, I shall be able to accomplish the\nrules of my religion, without caring even for royal couches spread with\nthe most precious clothes.\" In consequence of this reflection, after\nsubduing the animal I took his skin.' On hearing that account, the king\nwho was polite and well-educated replied nothing to the Bodhisattva, but\nfeeling something like shame, cast down his eyes. His ministers,\nhowever, who before that already bore a grudge to the Great Being,\nseized this opportunity of declaring their opinion, and looking with\nbeaming faces at the king and pointing at the Bodhisattva, exclaimed:\n'How entirely the Reverend is devoted to the love of his religion which\nis his only delight! What a constancy is his! What ability to put into\neffect the best means for the realisation of his aims! It is a wonder\nthat being alone and emaciated by penance, he was able to subdue so\nlarge a monkey, who had just entered his hermitage! At all events, may\nhis penance be successful[166]!' In reply to them, the Bodhisattva,\nwithout losing his placidity of mind, said: 'Your honours, blaming me,\nshould not disregard the fair tenets of your doctrines. This is not the\nway by which to make the glory of learning shine. Your honours must\nconsider this.\n\n     [166] The last words are the usual complimentary blessing said to\n     ascetics. When asking after their health, it is similarly said: 'is\n     your penance successful?'\n\n23. 'He who despises his adversaries with such words as are destructive\nto his own doctrine, such a one, so to speak, wishes the dishonour of\nhis enemy at the cost of his own life.'\n\nAfter thus reproaching those ministers collectively, the Great Being,\nwishing to revile them once more individually, addressed that minister\nwho denied causality in these terms:\n\n24. 'You profess that this universe is the product of essential and\ninherent properties. Now, if this be true, why do you blame me? What\nfault is mine, if this ape died in consequence of his nature? Therefore,\nI have rightly killed him.\n\n25. 'If, however, I committed a sin by killing him, it is evident that\nhis death is produced by an (external) cause. This being so, you must\neither renounce your doctrine of non-causality or use here such\nreasoning as does not befit you.\n\n26. 'Further, if the arrangement, colour &c. of the stalks, petals &c.\nof lotuses were not the effect of some cause, would they not be found\nalways and everywhere? But this is not so, they are produced from seeds\nbeing in water &c.; where this condition is found, they appear, not\nwhere it is not found.\n\n'This, too, I would propound to Your Worship, to consider it well.\n\n27. 'He who denies the agency of cause by means of reasoning with\narguments, does not such a one desert his own tenets[167]? On the other\nhand, if he is averse to the use of argument, say, what will he do with\nhis sole tenet (not supported by argument)?\n\n     [167] As far as using argument by means of reasoning implies\n     adherence to causality. Moreover, the word hetu the Bodhisattva\n     employs here means both 'cause' and 'reason.'\n\n28. 'And he who, not perceiving the cause in some particular case,\nproclaims for this very reason, that there does not exist causality at\nall, will not such a one, when he learns the manifest power of causality\nin that case, grow angry at it and oppose it with invectives?\n\n29. 'And if somewhere the cause is latent, why do you say with\nassurance, it does not exist? Though it is, it is not perceived for some\nother cause, as for instance the white colour of the sun's disc is not\nseen at sunset.\n\n'Moreover, sir,\n\n30. 'For the sake of happiness you pursue the objects you desire, and\nwill not follow such things as are opposed to it. And it is for the same\npurpose that you attend on the king. And notwithstanding this, you dare\ndeny causality!\n\n31. 'And, if nevertheless you should persist in your doctrine of\nnon-causality, then it follows that the death of the monkey is not to be\nascribed to any cause. Why do you blame me?'\n\nSo with clear arguments the High-minded One confounded that advocate of\nthe doctrine of non-causality. Then addressing himself to the believer\nin a Supreme Being, he said: 'You, too, never ought to blame me, noble\nsir. According to your doctrine, the Lord is the cause of everything.\nLook here.\n\n32, 33. 'If the Lord does everything, He alone is the killer of that\nape, is He not? How can you bear such unfriendliness in your heart as to\nthrow blame on me on account of the fault of another? If, however, you\ndo not ascribe the murder of that valiant monkey to Him because of His\ncompassionateness, how is it that you loudly proclaim, the Lord is the\ncause of this Universe?\n\n'Moreover, friend, believing, as you do, that everything is done by the\nLord[168],\n\n     [168] The Bodhisattva is much helped here by the double sense\n     implied by the words sarvam \u00ee_s_varak_ri_tam, meaning 'all is\n     created by the Lord' as well as 'everything is done by the Lord.'\n\n34. 'What hope have you of propitiating the Lord by praise,\nsupplication, and the like? For the Self-born Being works those actions\nof yours himself.\n\n35. 'If, however, you say, the sacrifice is performed by yourself, still\nyou cannot disavow that He is the author of it. He who is self-acting\nout of the fulness of His power, is the author of a deed, no other.\n\n36, 37. 'Again, if the Lord is the performer of all sins, however many\nthere are committed, what virtue of His have you in view that you should\nfoster devotion to Him? On the other hand, if it is not He who commits\nthem, since He abhors wickedness, it is not right to say that everything\nis created by the Lord.\n\n38, 39. 'Further, the sovereignty of the Lord must rest either on the\nlawful order of things (Dharma) or on something else. If on the former,\nthen the Lord cannot have existed before the Dharma. If effected by some\nexternal cause, it should rather be called \"bondage;\" for if a state of\ndependency should not bear that name, what state may not be called\n\"sovereignty?\"\n\n'Nevertheless, if in spite of this reasoning, attached to the doctrine\nof Devotion[169] and without having well reflected on its probability or\nimprobability,\n\n     [169] The belief in a Supreme Being, Lord (\u00ce_s_vara), is in itself\n     of course also a belief in the strong effectiveness of devotion\n     (bhakti).\n\n40. 'You persist in holding the Supreme Being and Lord for the sole\ncause of the whole universe, does it, then, become you to impute to me\nthe murder of that chief of monkeys, which has been decided by the\nSupreme Being?'\n\nSo reasoning with a well-connected series of conclusive arguments, the\nHigh-minded One struck dumb, so to speak, the minister who was an\nadherent of the Lord (\u00ce_s_vara)-supreme cause. And turning to that\nminister who was a partisan of the doctrine of former actions, he\naddressed him in a very skilful manner, saying: 'No more does it become\nyou, too, to censure me. According to your opinion, everything is the\nconsequence of former actions. For this reason, I tell you,\n\n41. 'If everything ought to be imputed exclusively to the power of\nformer actions, then this monkey has been rightly killed by me. He has\nbeen burnt by the wild fire of his former actions. What fault of mine is\nto be found here that you should blame me?\n\n42. 'On the other hand, suppose I did a bad action in killing the ape, I\nmust be the cause of his death, not his former actions. Further, if you\nstate, that karma (always) produces (fresh) karma, nobody will reach\nfinal emancipation[170] in your system.\n\n     [170] Final emancipation necessarily implies cessation of actions,\n     for it is the same thing as total extinction.\n\n43. 'Verily, if something like this should be seen: happiness enjoyed by\nhim who lives in circumstances productive of suffering, or sufferings\nvisiting such a one whose circumstances are instruments of happiness,\nthen we should have the right to infer, it is beyond question, that good\nand evil fortune depend exclusively on former actions.\n\n44. 'But, in fact, this rule as to the appearance of happiness and\nsufferings is nowhere seen. Consequently, former actions are not the\nsole and entire cause of them. Further, it is possible that there ceases\nto be new karma. And this lacking, whence should you get the \"old karma\"\n(indispensable for the maintenance of the Universe)?\n\n45. 'If, nevertheless, you persist in your doctrine of the former\nactions, for what reason do you judge me to have caused the death of\nthat ape?'\n\nIn this manner the High-minded One, expounding irrefutable arguments,\nput him to silence so that it seemed as if he had made him take the vow\nof silence. Next he said smilingly to that minister who was an adherent\nof the doctrine of annihilation: 'How extremely eager your honour is to\nblame me, if at least you really are a partisan of the doctrine of\nannihilation.\n\n46. 'If there does not exist anything like a future existence after\ndeath, why should we avoid evil actions, and what have we to do with the\nfolly of holding good actions in esteem? He alone would be wise who\nbehaves according to impulse, as he likes best. If this doctrine be\ntrue, it is right indeed, that I killed that ape.\n\n47, 48. 'If, however, it is fear of public opinion which causes such a\none to eschew bad actions by following the path of virtue, he will,\nnevertheless, not escape the criticism of public opinion, because of the\ncontradiction between his words and his deeds: nor will he obtain the\nhappiness presenting itself on the road of his destiny, owing to the\nsame awe of public opinion. Is, then, such a one, allowing himself to be\nmisled by a fruitless and delusive doctrine, not the meanest of\nsimpletons?\n\n'As to your statement, when you said:\n\n49. '\"Pieces of wood, differing in colour, properties and shape, cannot\nbe said to exist as the result of actions, and yet they exist, and once\nperished they do not grow up again. Something similar is to be said of\nthis world,\" pray, tell me, what reason have you for believing so, after\nall?\n\n50. 'If, notwithstanding this, you persist in your attachment to the\ndoctrine of annihilation, what reason is it that you should censure the\nmurderer of a monkey or a man?'\n\nSo the Great Being silenced that adherent of annihilation by means of a\nrefutation of conspicuous elegance. Then he addressed that minister who\nwas so skilled in the science of princes. 'For what reason,' he said,\n'do you also censure me, if you really consider the line of conduct as\ntaught in the love of political science to be the right one?\n\n51. 'According to that doctrine, in truth, deeds good or evil are to be\nperformed for the sake of material profit; having once risen, a man\nshall bestow his wealth, indeed, for his benefit on actions of\nrighteousness (dharma[171]).\n\n     [171] Cp. Story V, stanzas 18-22.\n\n'On this account I tell you.\n\n52. 'If for the sake of personal interest honest proceedings may be\nneglected even with respect to affectionate relations[172], what reason\nhave you to censure me about that ape whom I killed for the sake of his\nskin, putting into effect the policy taught also in your books?\n\n     [172] The P\u00e2li recension expresses this by the drastic utterance:\n     'the would-be wise advocates of the khattavi_gg_\u00e2 say: you may kill\n     your father or mother or eldest brother, yea your children and\n     wife, if such be your interest.'\n\n53[173]. 'On the other hand, if such a deed is to be blamed for its\ncruelty, and is certain to have evil consequences, by what means do you\nresort to a lore which does not acknowledge this?\n\n     [173] I follow the emendation of the editor mukhena, not the\n     senseless reading of the MSS. sukhena.\n\n54. 'Now, if such is the manifestation of what is called \"policy\" in\nyour system, say, of what kind may be the error, called \"want of\npolicy\"? Oh! the audacious who, despising mankind, propound injustice by\nthe way of authoritative law-books!\n\n55. 'Nevertheless, if you maintain that false doctrine--is it not\nprescribed in the books of your sect in plain terms?--well, it is not I\nwho should be blamed on account of the death of that ape, since I\nfollowed the path of that policy which is taught in your books.'\n\nIn this manner, then, the High-minded One vanquished by a strong assault\nthose ministers in spite of their influence on the bystanders, in spite\nalso of their habitual boldness. And when he understood he had won over\nthe assembly with the king, wishing to expel from their hearts the grief\nhe had caused them by killing the monkey, he addressed the king, saying:\n'In fact, Your Majesty, I never killed any living creature[174]. I did\nbut put into effect my power of creation. This skin I stripped off a\nmonkey whom I had created, with the object of using it as the topic of\nthis very conversation. Do not therefore judge me falsely.' So speaking,\nhe dissolved the illusion (of the ape-skin) he had produced by magic.\nThen, seeing that the king and his assembly were now in apt state of\nmind to be converted, he said:\n\n     [174] V\u00e2nara_m_ is a gloss, I suppose.\n\n56. 'What person, who perceives that all things produced emanate from\ncauses; who feels himself acting by his free will; who believes in\nanother world after this; who maintains right tenets; who cherishes\ncompassionateness--may kill any living being?\n\n'Do but consider this, great prince.\n\n57. 'How should the believer in the true and rational doctrine commit a\ndeed which, to be sure, neither the denier of causality, nor the\nbeliever in absolute dependence, nor the materialist, nor the follower\nof the lore of political wisdom would perform for the sake of a little\nglory?\n\n58. 'A man's creed, O best of men, be it the true or a false one, is the\nmotive which induces him to actions corresponding with it. For people\nshow the tenets of their belief by their words and actions, since their\npurposes comply with the line of conduct, prescribed by their creed.\n\n59. 'And for this reason the excellent lore is to be cherished, but a\nbad lore must be abandoned, for it is a source of calamity. One must\ntake this course in this way: keeping with the virtuous, but keeping\nafar from wicked people.\n\n60. 'Indeed, there are such monks--goblins they should rather be\ncalled--who wander about in the dress of the self-restrained, but have\nnot subdued their senses. It is they who ruin simple people by their\nfalse views, not unlike such serpents as cause harm by the venom of\ntheir looks.\n\n61. 'The discordant voices of the adherents of the doctrine of\nnon-causality and the rest, disclose their special natures, in the same\nmanner as jackals are betrayed by their howling. For this reason a wise\nman ought not to cherish such persons but should (rather) care for their\ngood, if he have the power to do so.\n\n62. 'But no one, however illustrious his glory may be in the world,\nshould make friends with an unfit person, not even for interest's sake.\nEven the moon suffers loss of loveliness, when soiled by its conjunction\nwith a gloomy winter-day.\n\n63. 'Therefore, avoiding the company of those who are avoiders of\nvirtues and frequenting those who know how to foster virtues, make your\nglory shine by rousing in your subjects the love of virtue and\ndissolving their attachment to vice.\n\n64. 'Observing the Law of Righteousness, you might cause your subjects,\nfor the greater part indeed, to be intent on good behaviour and to keep\nto the path which leads to Heaven. Now you have to protect your people\nand you are willing to exert yourself with this object. Well, then,\nbetake yourself to the Dharma; its rules of discipline (vinaya) make its\nroad a lovely one.\n\n65. 'Purify your moral conduct (_s_ila), earn the glory of a charitable\ngiver, direct your mind to friendliness towards strangers, just as if\nthey were your relations, and may you rule your land for a long time\nwith righteousness and an uninterrupted observance of your duties! In\nthis way you will gain happiness, glory, and Heaven.\n\n66. 'If he fail to protect the peasants, his tax-payers, both the\nhusbandmen and the cattle-breeders, who are like trees abounding in\nflowers and fruits, a king gets into difficulties concerning such wealth\nas consists in fruits of the earth.\n\n67. 'If he fail to protect those who live by buying and selling\ndifferent merchandises, traders, and townsmen, who gratify him by paying\nthe customs, he raises difficulties for himself with respect to his\ntreasury.\n\n68. 'Likewise a prince who, having no reason to complain of his army,\nfails to honour it, and disregards his military men who have shown their\nvalour on the battle-field and are renowned for their skill in the\nscience of arms, surely such a king will be deserted by victory in\nbattle.\n\n69. 'In the very same way a king who stains his behaviour by disregard\nof the religious men, excellent by morals or learning or supernatural\npower (yoga) and illustrious by such virtues as attend on\nhigh-mindedness, will be destitute of the rejoicings of Heaven.\n\n70. 'As one who plucks an unripe fruit kills the seed without finding\njuice, so a king raising unlawful tributes, ruins his country without\nobtaining profit from them.\n\n71. 'On the other hand, as a tree abounding in excellent properties,\ngrants the enjoyment of its fruits at the time of their ripeness, in the\nvery same manner a country, well protected by its ruler, provides him\nwith the triad of religious and material prosperity and enjoyment.\n\n72. 'Keep attached to yourself faithful ministers, clever and wise in\npromoting your interests, likewise honest friends, and your family,\nattaching their hearts by words agreeable to them, and by gifts offered\nto them in a flattering manner.\n\n73. 'For this reason, then, let Righteousness be always the guide of\nyour actions, having your mind bent on securing the salvation of your\nsubjects. May you, while saving your people by administering justice\nfree from partiality and hatred, secure the worlds for yourself[175]!'\n\n     [175] This term 'worlds' lok\u00e2_h_ is a common appellation of the\n     happy state or states after death.\n\nThus the High-minded One led that king away from the wrong road of false\ndoctrines and put him and his attendants on the Excellent Path. After\nwhich he directly mounted to the sky, worshipped by the assembly with\nheads reverentially bowed and hands folded, and returned to his\nresidence in the forest.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, the compassion of the virtuous for those who were\nonce their benefactors does not diminish even by injuries done to them;\nsuch is their gratitude, and to this extent have they imbibed the virtue\nof forbearance. [Considering thus, one must not forget a former benefit\nbecause of such a trifle as an injury. Also, when discoursing on the\nBuddha, it may be said: 'In this manner the Lord, even before he reached\nSupreme Wisdom, defeated the doctrines of other teachers and taught the\nTruth.' Further, when censuring erroneous doctrines or inversely when\npraising the true faith, this story is to be adduced, saying: 'In this\nmanner a false doctrine cannot bear strong arguments, because it has no\nsupport, and is to be avoided.']\n\n\n\n\nXXIV. THE STORY OF THE GREAT APE.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 516, Fausb. V, 68-74.)\n\n\nThe virtuous grieve not so much for their own pain as for the loss of\nhappiness incurred by their injurers. This will be taught now.\n\nThere is a blessed region on one side of the Himavat. Its soil, pervaded\nwith different metallic ores, might be called its body perfumed with\nlovely and various ointments; and its magnificent woods and forests\nconstituted its upper garment, as it were, consisting in a mantle of\ndark silk. The slopes and declivities of that landscape were adorned by\ntheir picturesque scenery, which harmonized the inequality of colours\nand shapes and combinations, so that they seemed to have been arranged\npurposely and with care. In this recreation-ground of the Vidy\u00e2dharas,\nmoistened by the waters of many mountain-streams passing through it,\nabounding in deep holes, chasms, and precipices, resounding with the\ndull and shrill noise of humming bees and caressed by lovely winds\nfanning its various trees with their beautiful flowers, fruits, and\nstems, the Bodhisattva was once, it is said, an ape of great size who\nlived alone. But even in that state he had not lost his consciousness of\nthe Dharma, he was grateful, noble-natured, and endowed with great\npatience; and Compassion, as if retained by attachment, would never\nleave him.\n\n1. The earth with its forests, its great mountains and its oceans\nperished many hundred times at the end of the yuga, either by water or\nfire or wind, but the great compassion of the Bodhisattva never\nperishes.\n\nSubsisting, then, like an ascetic, exclusively on the simple fare of\nleaves and fruits of the forest-trees, and showing pity in various\ncircumstances and ways to such creatures as he met within the sphere of\nhis power, the High-minded One lived in the said forest-region.\n\nNow, one time a certain man wandering about in all directions in search\nof a stray cow, lost his way, and being utterly unable to find out the\nregions of the sky, roamed at random, and reached that place. There,\nbeing exhausted by hunger, thirst, heat, and toil, and suffering from\nthe fire of sorrow which blazed within his heart, he sat down at the\nfoot of a tree, as if pressed down by the exceeding weight of\nhis sadness. Looking around, he saw a number of very tawny\ntinduka-fruits[176], which being ripe had fallen off. After enjoying\nthem, as the hunger which tortured him much made them seem very sweet to\nhim, he felt a very strong desire to find out their origin; and looking\nsharply around on all sides, he discovered the tree from whence they\ncame. This tree had its roots on the border of the sloping bank of a\nwaterfall, and hung down its branches, loaded with very ripe fruits\nwhich gave them a tawny hue at their ends. Craving for those fruits, the\nman mounted to that slope, and climbing up the tinduka-tree, reached a\nbranch with fruit overhanging the precipice. And his eagerness to get\nthe fruit induced him to go along it to its very end.\n\n     [176] The tinduka or tinduk\u00ee is the diosperos embryopteris, a\n     common tree, not tall, evergreen with long, glimmering leaves. See\n     Watt, Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, III, pp.\n     141-145. 'The fruit is eatable, but excessively sour;' it is a food\n     of the poor.\n\n2. Then on a sudden, that branch, hanging down, unable to bear its too\nheavy burden, broke off with a noise and fell down, as if hewn with a\nhatchet.\n\nAnd with that branch he fell headlong in a large precipice surrounded on\nall sides by steep rock-walls, like a pit; but as he was protected by\nthe leaves and plunged into deep water, he came off without breaking any\nof his bones. After getting out of the water, he went about on all\nsides, looking out for some way by which he might escape, but saw none.\nAs he found no outlet and realised that he must starve there very soon,\nhe despaired of his life, and tortured by the heart-piercing dart of\nheavy sorrow burst into tears, that moistened his sad face. Overwhelmed\nby discouragement and painful thoughts, he lamented somewhat in this\nmanner.\n\n3. 'Down I fell into this precipice in the midst of this forest remote\nfrom human approach. Who, however carefully seeking, may discover me,\nexcept Death?\n\n4. 'Who will rescue me out of this place, into which I was precipitated,\nlike a wild beast caught in a pit-fall? No relations, no friends have I\nnear, only swarms of mosquitoes drinking my blood.\n\n5. 'Alas, the night within this pit conceals from me the aspect of the\nuniverse. I shall no more see the manifold loveliness of gardens,\ngroves, arbours, and streams. No more the sky resplendent with its jewel\nornament of wide-scattered stars. Thick darkness, like a night in the\ndark half of the month, surrounds me.'\n\nThus lamenting, that man passed there some days, feeding on the water\nand the tinduka-fruits which had come down together with himself.\n\nNow, that great ape wandering through that part of the forest with the\npurpose of taking his food, came to that place, beckoned as it were by\nthe wind-agitated branches of that tinduka-tree. Climbing on it and\nlooking over the waterfall, he perceived that man lying there and in\nwant of relief, and saw also his eyes and cheeks sunken, and his limbs\nemaciated, pale, and suffering from hunger. The wretched situation of\nthe man roused the compassion of the great monkey, who setting aside the\ncare for his meal, fixed his eyes intently on the man and in a human\nvoice uttered this:\n\n6. 'Thou art in this precipice inaccessible to men. Well, tell me then,\nplease, who thou art and by what cause thou hast come there.'\n\nThen the man, casting up his eyes to the great ape, bowing his head and\nfolding his hands as a supplicant, spoke:\n\n7, 8. 'I am a man, illustrious being. Having lost my way and roaming in\nthe forest, I came into this distress, while seeking to get fruits from\nthis tree. Befallen by this heavy calamity, while away from my friends\nand kindred, I beseech thee, protector of troops of monkeys, be also my\nprotector.'\n\nThese words succeeded in stirring the boundless pity of the Great Being.\n\n9. A person in distress, without friends or family to help him,\nimploring help with anxious looks and folded hands, would rouse\ncompassion in the heart even of his enemies; to the compassionate he is\na great attraction.\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, pitying him, comforted him with kind words, such\nas he could hardly expect in that time.\n\n10. 'Be not afflicted, thinking thou hast lost thy strength by the fall\ninto this precipice or that thou hast no relations to help thee. What\nthose would do for thee, I will do it all. Do not fear.'\n\nAnd after these comforting words the Great Being provided the man with\ntindukas and other fruits. Then with the object of rescuing him, he went\naway to some other place, and exercised himself in climbing having on\nhis back a stone of a man's weight. Having learnt the measure of his\nstrength and convinced himself that he was able to bring up the man out\nof the waterfall, he descended to the bottom of it, and moved by\ncompassion, said these words to the man:\n\n11. 'Come, climb upon my back and cling fast to me, while I shall bring\nout both thee and the usefulness of my body.\n\n12. 'For the pious pronounce this to be the usefulness of the body,\notherwise a worthless thing, that it may be employed by the wise as an\ninstrument for benefiting our neighbour.'\n\nThe other agreed, and after reverentially bowing to the ape, mounted on\nhis back.\n\n13. So with that man on his back, stooping under the pain of the\nexceeding heaviness of his burden, yet, owing to the intensity of his\ngoodness, with unshaken firmness of mind, he succeeded in rescuing him,\nthough with great difficulty.\n\n14. And having delivered him, he enjoyed the highest gladness, but was\nso exhausted, that he walked with an unstable and tottering step, and\nchose some cloud-black slab of stone to lie upon, that he might take his\nrest.\n\nPure-hearted as he was and being his benefactor, the Bodhisattva did not\nsuspect danger from the part of that man, and trustingly said to him:\n\n15, 16. 'This part of the forest being easily accessible, is exposed to\nthe free course of ferocious animals. Therefore, that nobody may kill me\nand his own future happiness by a sudden attack, while I am taking my\nrest from fatigue, thou must carefully look out in all directions and\nkeep guard over me and thyself. My body is utterly tired, and I want to\nsleep a little while.'\n\nThe man promised to do so. Assuming the frank language of honesty, he\nsaid: 'Sleep, sir, as long as you like, and may your awaking be glad! I\nstay here, keeping guard over you.' But when the Great Being, in\nconsequence of his fatigue, had fallen asleep, he conceived wicked\nthoughts within his mind.\n\n17. 'Roots to be obtained with hard effort or forest-fruits offered by\nchance are my livelihood here. How can my emaciated body sustain life by\nthem? how much less, recover its strength?\n\n18. 'And how shall I succeed in traversing this wilderness hard to pass,\nif I am infirm? Yet, in the body of this ape I should have food amply\nsufficient to get out of this troublesome wilderness.\n\n19. 'Although he has done good to me, I may feed on him, I may, for he\nhas been created such a being. I may, for here the rules given for times\nof distress[177] are applicable, to be sure. For this reason I have to\nget my provisions from his body.\n\n     [177] The so-called \u00e2paddharma, cp. stanza 8 of Story XII.\n\n20. 'But I am only able to kill him while he is sleeping the profound\nand quiet sleep of trustfulness. For if he were to be attacked in open\nfight, even a lion would not be assured of victory.\n\n'Therefore, there is no time to lose now.' Having thus made up his mind,\nthat scoundrel, troubled in his thoughts by sinful lust which had\ndestroyed within him his gratitude, his consciousness of the moral\nprecepts, and even his tender innate feeling of compassion, not minding\nhis great weakness of body, and listening only to his extreme desire to\nperform that vile action, took a stone, and made it fall straight down\non the head of the great ape.\n\n21, 22. But, being sent by a hand trembling with weakness and hastily,\nbecause of his great cupidity, that stone, flung with the desire of\nsending the monkey to the complete sleep (of death), destroyed his\nsleep. It did not strike him with its whole weight, so that it did not\ndash his head to pieces; it only bruised it with one of its edges, and\nfell down on the earth with a thundering noise.\n\n23, 24. The Bodhisattva, whose head had been injured by the stone,\njumped up hastily; and looking around him that he might discover his\ninjurer, saw nobody else but that very man who stood before him in the\nattitude of shame, confounded, timid, perplexed, and dejected, betraying\nhis confusion by the ashy-pale colour of his face, which had lost its\nbrightness; sudden fright had dried up his throat, drops of sweat\ncovered his body, and he did not venture to lift up his eyes.\n\nAs soon as the great ape realised that the man himself was the evildoer,\nwithout minding the pain of his wound any longer, he felt himself\nutterly moved. He did not become angry, nor was he subdued by the sinful\nfeeling of wrath. He was rather affected with compassion for him who,\ndisregarding his own happiness, had committed that exceedingly vile\ndeed. Looking at him with eyes wet with tears, he lamented over the man,\nsaying:\n\n25, 26. 'Friend, how hast thou, a man, been capable of doing an action\nlike this? How couldst thou conceive it? how undertake it? Thou, who\nwast bound to oppose with heroic valour any foe whosoever eager to hurt\nme would have assailed me!\n\n27. 'If I felt something like pride, thinking I performed a deed hard to\nbe done, thou hast cast away from me that idea of haughtiness, having\ndone something still more difficult to do.\n\n28. 'After being brought back from the other world, from the mouth of\nDeath, as it were, thou, scarcely saved from one precipice, hast fallen\ninto another, in truth!\n\n29. 'Fie upon ignorance, that vile and most cruel thing! for it is\nignorance that throws the miserable creatures into distress, (deceiving\nthem) with (false) hope of prosperity.\n\n30, 31. 'Thou hast ruined thyself, kindled the fire of sorrow in me,\nobscured the splendour of thy reputation, obstructed thy former love of\nvirtues, and destroyed thy trustworthiness, having become a mark for\n(the arrows of) reproach. What great profit, then, didst thou expect by\nacting in that manner?\n\n32. 'The pain of this wound does not grieve me so much as this thought\nwhich makes my mind suffer, that it is on account of me that thou hast\nplunged into evil, but that I have not the power of wiping off that sin.\n\n33, 34. 'Well then, go with me, keeping by my side, but mind to be\nalways in my sight, for thou art much to be distrusted. I will conduct\nthee out of this forest, the abode of manifold dangers, again into the\npath which leads to the dwellings of men, lest roaming alone in this\nforest, emaciated and ignorant of the way, thou shouldst be assailed by\nsomebody who, hurting thee, would make fruitless my labour spent in thy\nbehalf.'\n\nSo commiserating that man, the High-minded One conducted him to the\nborder of the inhabited region, and having put him on his way, said\nagain:\n\n35. 'Thou hast reached the habitations of men, friend; now thou mayst\nleave this forest-region with its fearful thickets and wildernesses. I\nbid thee a happy journey and wish that thou mayst endeavour to avoid\nevil actions. For the harvest of their evil results is an extremely\npainful time.'\n\nSo the great ape pitying the man, instructed him as if he were his\ndisciple; after which he went back to his abode in the forest. But the\nman who had attempted that exceedingly vile and sinful deed, tortured by\nthe blazing fire of remorse, was on a sudden struck with a dreadful\nattack of leprosy. His figure became changed, his skin was spotted with\nvesicles which, becoming ulcers and bursting, wetted his body with their\nmatter, and made it putrid in a high degree. To whatever country he\ncame, he was an object of horror to men; so hideous was his distorted\nform; neither by his appearance did he resemble a human being nor by his\nchanged voice, indicative of his pain. And people, thinking him to be\nthe embodied Devil, drove him away, threatening him with uplifted clods\nand clubs and harsh words of menace. One time, roaming about in some\nforest, he was seen by a certain king who was hunting there. On\nperceiving his most horrible appearance--for he looked like a\nPreta[178], the dirty remains of his garments having at last dropped\noff, so that he had hardly enough to cover his shame--that king,\naffected with curiosity mingled with fear, asked him thus:\n\n     [178] See supra, note on p. 147.--As to the punishment of this\n     treacherous man (mitradhruk), cp. a similar punishment of the\n     slanderer Kok\u00e2liya in Suttanip\u00e2ta III, 10.\n\n36, 37. 'Thy body is disfigured by leprosy, thy skin spotted with\nulcers; thou art pale, emaciated, miserable; thy hair is dirty with\ndust. Who art thou? Art thou a Preta, or a goblin, or the embodied\nDevil, or a P\u00fbtana[179]? Or if one out of the number of sicknesses,\nwhich art thou who displayest the assemblage of many diseases?'\n\n     [179] A P\u00fbtana is a kind of ghost looking terrible. They live in\n     cemeteries, and like to feed on human flesh.\n\nUpon which the other, bowing to the prince, answered in a faltering\ntone: 'I am a man, great king, not a spirit.' And being asked again by\nthe king, how he had come into that state, he confessed to him his\nwicked deed, and added these words:\n\n38. 'This suffering here is only the blossom of the tree sown by that\ntreacherous deed against my friend. O, surely, its fruit will be still\nmore miserable than this.\n\n39. 'Therefore, you ought to consider a treacherous deed against a\nfriend as your foe. With kindheartedness you must look upon friends, who\nare kind-hearted towards you.\n\n40. 'Those who adopt a hostile behaviour against their friends, come\ninto such a wretched state already in this world. From hence you may\ninfer what will be in the other world the fate of those who, sullied in\ntheir mind by covetousness and other vices, attempted the life of their\nfriends.\n\n41. 'He, on the other hand, whose mind is pervaded with kindness and\naffection for his friends, obtains a good reputation, is trusted by his\nfriends and enjoys their benefits. He will possess gladness of mind and\nthe virtue of humility, his enemies will consider him a man hard to\noffend, and finally he will gain residence in Heaven.\n\n42. 'Thus knowing the power and the consequences of good and evil\nbehaviour with respect to friends, O king, hold fast to the road\nfollowed by the virtuous. He who goes along on this will attain\nhappiness.'\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, the virtuous grieve not so much for their own pain\nas for the loss of happiness incurred by their injurers. [So is to be\nsaid, when discoursing on the great-mindedness of the Tath\u00e2gata, and\nwhen treating of listening with attention to the preaching of the Law;\nlikewise when dealing with the subjects of forbearance and faithfulness\ntowards friends; also when demonstrating the sinfulness of evil deeds.]\n\n\n\n\nXXV. THE STORY OF THE _S_ARABHA.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 483, Fausb. IV, 267-275.)\n\n\nEven to him who attempts their life the intensely compassionate show\npity in his distress; they will not disregard such a one. This will be\ntaught in the following.\n\nOne time, it is said, the Bodhisattva was a _s_arabha[180], living in a\nremote part of a certain forest. That region, lying beyond the path and\nthe noise of men, was a dwelling-place of manifold tribes of\nforest-animals. Its many roots, trees, and shrubs were immersed in the\nthick and high grass which covered its soil, untrodden by travellers and\nshowing nowhere any trace of vehicles and carriages, the tracks of\nwhose feet or wheels might have beaten something like a road or\nborder-line; yet, it was intersected with channels and full of ant-hills\nand holes. That _s_arabha had a solid body, endowed with strength,\nvigour, and swiftness; he was distinguished by the beautiful colour of\nhis skin. As he was addicted to practising compassion, he cherished\nfriendly feelings towards all animals. Possessing the virtue of\ncontentment, he subsisted only on grasses, leaves and water, and was\npleased with his residence in the forest. So he adorned that part of the\nforest, longing, like a Yogin, for complete detachment.\n\n     [180] Not the common deer of that name seems to be meant, but the\n     fabulous animal _s_arabha, said to be eight-legged, very strong,\n     and a match for lions and elephants.\n\n1. Bearing the shape of a forest-animal, but possessing the intellectual\nfaculties of a man, he lived in that solitary wilderness, showing, like\nan ascetic, mercy to all living beings, and contenting himself, like a\nYogin, with blades of grass.\n\nNow once upon a time it happened that the king who was the ruler of that\ncountry came near that place. Mounted on his excellent horse, holding\nhis bent bow and arrow in his hand, and being eager to try his skill of\narms on the game, he was pursuing the deer with speed, indulging in the\nexcitement (of the chase). So he was carried away by his horse, an\nanimal of extraordinary swiftness, and separated by no small distance\nfrom his retinue, a body of elephants, horse, chariots, and footmen. As\nsoon as he saw the Great Being from afar, he was resolved on killing\nhim, and keeping ready his bow strung with a sharp arrow, spurred his\nhorse to chase the High-minded One. But the Bodhisattva had no sooner\nperceived the king on horseback assailing him, than he took to flight\nwith the utmost swiftness; not because he would have been powerless to\nstand and fight his aggressor, but because he had desisted from acts of\nviolence and anger. While being pursued by the king, meeting with a\nlarge hole on his way, he quickly jumped over it, as if it were a small\npuddle, and continued his flight. When the excellent horse, running\nafter the _s_arabha in the same direction as swiftly as ever he could,\narrived at that hole, he hesitated to risk the leap, and of a sudden\nstood still.\n\n2. Then the king, as he was, his bow in his hands, tumbled down from\nhorseback and fell headlong into the large hole, as a warrior of the\nDaityas sinks into the Ocean.\n\n3. Keeping his eyes fixed on the _s_arabha, he had not noticed that\nchasm. So he fell by the fault of his want of circumspection, as he lost\nhis balance by the sudden stopping of his horse from his great\nswiftness.\n\nNow, the sound of the trampling of hoofs ceasing, the Bodhisattva began\nto think: 'has that king, perhaps, really turned back?' Then, turning\nhis head and looking behind, he saw the horse without his rider standing\non the brink of that chasm. On perceiving this, his thoughts turned to\nthis reasoning: 'No doubt, the king must have fallen into this chasm. No\ntree is here spreading its thick foliage, the sheltering shade of which\nmight invite to sit down and rest, nor is here any lake to be found fit\nfor bathing in its water as blue and as pure as a petal of a blue lotus.\nNor, since he entered this wild forest-region haunted by ferocious\nanimals, is he likely to have dismounted and left his excellent horse in\nsome place, that he might either take his rest or continue hunting\nalone. No more is there here any jungle in which he might be hidden.\nSurely, that king must have fallen into this hole.' After he had\nconvinced himself of this, the High-minded One felt the utmost\ncommiseration for him who sought his life.\n\n4, 5. 'But lately this monarch possessed the enjoyments of royalty,\nbeing worshipped like the Lord of the Devas by crowds of people revering\nhim with clasped hands. His army attended him, a mixed host of chariots,\nhorsemen, footmen, and elephants, adorned with gay banners, glittering\nin their armour and weapons, and marching to the brisk tones of music.\nHis head was sheltered by the lovely umbrella, and the chowries fanning\nhim made a beautiful effect with the shine of their (jewelled) handles.\n\n6. 'And now at this moment he is lying below in this large chasm. By the\nshock of his fall he must have broken his bones, he has swooned or pines\nwith sorrow. Alas! To what a distress has he come!\n\n7. 'Common people, whose mind has grown callous with suffering, so to\nspeak, are not so much afflicted by their sorrows, as men of high rank,\nwhen calamities visiting them plunge them into grief, something new to\nsuch as are accustomed to great delicacy.\n\n'He will never be able to escape from thence by himself. If there is\nstill some remnant of life in him, then it is not right to abandon him\nto his fate.' So considering, the High-minded One, impelled by his\ncompassion, went to the brink of the precipice and perceived him\nstruggling there. His armour, covered with dust, had lost its splendour,\nhis diadem and his garments were utterly disarranged, and the pain\ncaused by the blows he had got in falling down afflicted his mind, and\nbrought him to despondency.\n\n8. Having seen the king in that wretched situation, he forgot that it\nwas his enemy, and affected with pity felt an equal pain to his; tears\nwelled up in his eyes.\n\n9. And he addressed him with modest and kind language, manifesting his\ninnate pious disposition and comforting him by the proper and respectful\nwords he used in a distinct and lovely-sounding voice.\n\n10. 'Thou hast received no hurt, Your Majesty, I hope, coming into this\nhell-resembling chasm? Thou hast broken no limb, I hope? Do thy pains\ngrow less already?\n\n11. 'I am no goblin, O most distinguished of men, I am a forest-animal\nliving within thy realm, reared upon thy grass and water. So thou mayst\nput confidence in me.\n\n12. 'Do not despond, then, because of thy fall into the precipice. I\nhave the power to rescue thee from thence. If thou thinkest me\ntrustworthy, then quickly command me and I come.'\n\nThis marvellous speech of the animal roused the admiration of the king.\nShame arose within his mind and he began, in truth, to reflect in this\nmanner:\n\n13. 'How is it possible that he shows pity towards me, his enemy, of\nwhose prowess he perceived himself to be the goal? And how could I act\nso unbecomingly to this innocent one?\n\n14. 'Oh! How he confounds me by the sharp reproach of his softness! It\nis I who am the animal, the brute, he is some being bearing only the\nshape of a _s_arabha.\n\n'He deserves, therefore, to be honoured by my acceptance of his friendly\noffer.' Having thus made up his mind, he spoke:\n\n15-17. 'My body being covered by my armour has not been too heavily\ninjured, and the pain I feel from being crushed in this chasm is at\nleast bearable. Yet, that grievance caused by my fall does not torment\nme so much as my offence against a being so pure-hearted and holy as\nthou. Do not mind it, I pray thee, that relying on thy outward shape I\ntook thee for a forest-animal, not being aware of thy real nature.'\n\nThen the _s_arabha, inferring from these friendly words of the king,\nthat he agreed to his proposal, exercised himself with the object of\nrescuing him, bearing on his back a stone of a man's weight. Having\nlearnt the extent of his strength, determined upon rescuing the king, he\nwent down into the hole and drawing near to him, spoke in a respectful\ntone:\n\n18. 'Pray, put up for a while with the necessity of touching this body\nof mine, that, with the object of obtaining my own happiness, I may make\nthy face resplendent with contentment and joy.\n\n'Your Majesty, deign therefore to mount upon my back and cling fast to\nme.' And he, after declaring his approval, mounted his back, as if it\nwere a horse's.\n\n19. Then, with the king on his back, he climbed aloft with surpassing\nvigour and swiftness, and holding high the forepart of his body,\nresembled some (stone-)elephant rising in the air, as is represented on\narches.\n\n20. After carrying the king out of that inaccessible place and making\nhim rejoin his horse, he was much rejoiced and told him the way to his\ncapital, and himself prepared to retire to his forest.\n\nBut the king, moved with gratitude for his kind service, so modestly\nrendered, embraced the _s_arabha affectionately, saying:\n\n21. 'This life of mine is at thy disposal, O sarabha. It is, therefore,\nunnecessary to add that thou must consider as thy property all that is\nwithin my power. Give me, then, the pleasure of visiting my capital, and\nif thou likest it, take up thy residence there.\n\n22. 'Is it not unbecoming to me that I should set out for home alone,\nleaving thee in this dreadful forest haunted by hunters, where thou art\nexposed to suffering because of cold, heat, rain, and other calamities?\n\n'Well then, let us go together.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva eulogized him in modest, soft and respectful terms,\nanswering thus:\n\n23. 'In lovers of virtues, like thee, O most excellent of men, a\nbehaviour like thine is the proper one. For virtues, constantly\npractised by pious persons, turn out to be an essential part of their\nvery nature.\n\n24. 'But since thou thinkest, that I who am accustomed to the forest\nmight be favoured by taking up my residence at thy home, pray, no more\nof this. Of one kind is the pleasure of men, of another that of the\nforest-animals conformable to the habits of their kind.\n\n25. 'If, however, thou wantest to do something pleasant to me, then\ndesist from hunting, O hero, for ever! The poor beasts of the forest,\nbeing brute and dull of intellect, are worth pitying for this very\nreason.\n\n26. 'With respect to the pursuit of happiness and the removal of\nmischief, the animals, thou shouldst know, are subject to the same\nfeelings as men. Keeping this in mind, deem it improper to do to others\nwhat would be a cause of displeasure, if done to thyself.\n\n27. 'Understanding that evil deeds entail loss of reputation, censure\nby the virtuous, and moreover suffering, thou must extirpate the evil\nwithin thee, considering it thy adversary. It never becomes thee to\noverlook it, no more than illness.\n\n28. 'It is by pursuing meritorious actions that thou obtainedst the\nroyal dignity, a thing highly esteemed by men and the abode of bliss.\nThat very store of merit thou must enlarge, thou shouldst not enfeeble\nthe ranks of the benefactors.\n\n29. 'Gather meritorious actions, the instruments of glory and happiness,\nby munificent gifts, (taking care) to enhance their charm by\n(distributing them at the right) time and in a respectful manner; by a\nmoral conduct, the right laws of which thou mayst learn by intercourse\nwith virtuous persons[181]; and by succeeding in making thy dispositions\ntowards all creatures as well-wishing as to thyself.'\n\n     [181] In the original two short syllables are wanting in the second\n     p\u00e2da of this stanza. I imagine it should be read thus, _s_\u00eelena\n     s\u00e2dhu(_g_ana)-sa_m_gatani_sk_ayena.\n\nIn this manner the High-minded One favoured the king, firmly\nestablishing him in the matters relating to the future life. And the\nking accepted his words. After which he entered his dwelling-place in\nthe forest, followed with respectful looks by the king.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner the intensely compassionate show pity even to him who\nattempts their life, when he is in distress; they will not disregard\nsuch a one. [This story is to be told also when treating of\ncommiseration, when discoursing on the high-mindedness of the Tath\u00e2gata\nand on the subject of listening with attention to the preaching of the\nLaw. Likewise it is to be propounded when demonstrating that enmities\nare appeased by means of friendliness, also when treating of the virtue\nof forbearance. 'In this way it is seen that the High-minded, even when\nin the state of beasts, behave mercifully towards those who attempt\ntheir life. How, indeed, should it become a human being or one who has\ntaken the vow of a homeless life to be wanting in mercy towards the\nanimals? For this reason a pious man (\u00e2rya) must show mercy to living\nbeings.']\n\n\n\n\nXXVI. THE STORY OF THE RURU-DEER.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 482, Fausb. IV, 255-263; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nII, 6.)\n\n\nTo the virtuous no suffering exists but that of others. It is this they\ncannot bear, not their own suffering, as will be taught by the\nfollowing.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva, it is said, lived in the forest as a\nruru-deer. He had his residence in a remote part of a large wilderness,\nfar from the paths of men and overgrown with a rich, manifold\nvegetation. There were a great number of s\u00e2ls, bakulas, piy\u00e2las,\nhint\u00e2las, tam\u00e2las, naktam\u00e2las, of vidula and ni_k_ula reeds and of\nshrubs; thickets of _s_im_s_ap\u00e2s, tini_s_as, _s_am\u00ees, pal\u00e2_s_as,\n_s_\u00e2kas, of ku_s_a-grass, bamboo and reeds encumbered it; kadambas,\nsar_g_as, ar_g_unas, dhavas, khadiras, and ku_t_a_g_as abounded in it;\nand the outstretched branches of many trees were covered as if by a veil\nwith the tendrils of manifold creeping plants. It was the abode of a\ngreat many forest-animals: deer of the ruru, p_ri_shata and s_ri_mara\nvarieties, yaks, elephants, gavaya-oxen, buffaloes, antelopes of the\nhari_n_a and the nya\u1e45ku kind, boars, panthers, hyenas, tigers, wolves,\nlions, bears, and others. Among them that ruru-deer was conspicuous by\nits hue brilliant like pure gold and the very soft hair of his body,\nwhich was moreover adorned and resplendent with spots of different\nlovely colours, shining like rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and beryls.\nWith his large blue eyes of incomparable mildness and brightness, with\nhis horns and hoofs endowed with a soft splendour, as if they were made\nof precious stones, that ruru-deer of surpassing beauty had the\nappearance of a moving treasury of jewels. Then, knowing his body to be\na much desirable object and being aware of the pitiless nature of man,\nhe liked to frequent such forest-tracks as were free from human\nintercourse, and in consequence of his keen intellect, was careful to\navoid such places as were unsafe by the artifices of huntsmen, their\ntraps, nets, snares, holes, lime-twigs, and the seeds and other food\nthey strew down. Moreover, he warned also the animals who followed after\nhim to avoid them. He exercised his rule over them like a teacher, like\na father.\n\n1. Where on earth will not people, longing for their happiness, honour\nthe combination of paramount beauty and paramount intelligence, hallowed\nby accomplished good actions?\n\nNow once upon a time it happened that the High-minded One, residing in\nthat wild part of the forest, heard cries for help uttered by some man\nwho was being carried away by the current of a rapid stream flowing near\nand lately swollen by the rains.\n\n2. 'The rapid and swollen stream carries me away, and there is nobody to\nhelp, no vessel to take me. Come to me, pitiful people; come quickly to\nrescue a wretch.\n\n3. 'My arms, exhausted from fatigue, are not able to keep my body on the\nwater, and nowhere can I find a ford. Help me then and soon, there is no\ntime to lose.'\n\nThese piteous cries of distress struck the Bodhisattva, and as if he\nwere wounded by them in his heart, he rushed out of the thicket,\nexclaiming those comforting words he had been wont to use in hundreds of\nprevious existences and by which he had banished fear, grief, sadness,\nand fatigue. So even now he succeeded in bringing forth the words 'do\nnot fear! do not fear!' in plain human voice repeatedly and loudly. And\ncoming out of the forest he saw from afar that man, like a precious\npresent brought to him by the stream.\n\n4. Then, resolved upon rescuing him and without minding the risk of his\nown life, he entered the river that was running with tremendous\nrapidity, like a brave warrior disturbing a hostile army.\n\n5. He placed himself across his way, then told him to cling fast to him.\nAnd the man, who was in the paroxysm of fear and had almost lost the\npower of his limbs, his strength being exhausted, climbed on his back.\n\n6. Nevertheless, though he was mounted by the man and forced out of his\nway by the violence of the current, the paramount excellence of his\nnature enabled him to keep his great vigour intact, and he reached the\nriverbank according to the wish of that man.\n\n7. Having brought the man to the riverside and dispelled his weariness\nand pain, obtaining by this a very great rejoicing himself, he warmed\nhis cold limbs with the warmth of his own body, then dismissed him.\n'Go,' he said, showing him the way.\n\nThis marvellous propensity for affording succour, such as is\nunparalleled in affectionate relations and friends, touched the man to\nthe quick, and the beautiful shape of the ruru-deer roused his\nadmiration and respect. Bowing his head to him, he addressed him with\nkind words like these:\n\n8-10. 'No friend from childhood nor kinsman is capable of performing\nsuch a deed as thou hast done for me. This life of mine, therefore, is\nthine. If it were to be spent for some matter of thy interest, however\nsmall, I would esteem myself highly favoured. Why, procure me that\nfavour by ordering me to do something for thee, in whatever respect Thy\nHonour thinks me fit for employment.'\n\nIn reply to this the Bodhisattva said approvingly:\n\n11. 'Gratitude is not at all to be wondered at in a gentleman. For this\nquality proceeds from his very nature. But seeing the corruptness of the\nworld, even gratitude is nowadays reckoned among the virtues.\n\n'For this reason, I tell thee this. Let thy grateful disposition not\ninduce thee to relate to anybody, that thou wast rescued by such an\nextraordinary animal. My beautiful figure makes me too desirable a prey.\nLo, as a rule, the hearts of men, owing to their great covetousness,\npossess little mercy or self-restraint.\n\n12. 'Therefore, take care to guard both thy own good properties and me.\nA treacherous behaviour towards a friend never tends to bliss.\n\n'Do not either trouble thy mind by anger because I speak so to thee. I\nam but a deer, unskilled in the deceitful politeness of men. Moreover,\n\n13. 'It is the fault of such people as are clever in fallacy and possess\nthe talent of assuming a show of feigned honesty that even those whose\nhonesty is sincere are looked at with suspicion.\n\n'So then, thou wilt please me by doing as I said.' And the man promised\nto do so, and after bowing to the Great Being and circumambulating him,\nset out for his home.\n\nNow at that time there lived in that country a queen of some king who\nsaw true dreams. Whatever extraordinary dream she dreamt was realised.\nOne time, being asleep she had this dream about day-break. She saw a\nruru-deer of resplendent brilliancy, shining like a heap of jewels of\nevery kind, standing on a throne and surrounded by the king and his\nassembly, preaching the Law in a human voice of an articulate and\ndistinct sound. Affected with astonishment she awoke with the beating of\ndrums which were to arouse her husband from sleep[182]. And she took the\nfirst opportunity to go and see the king, who kindly received her not\nonly with the honour she deserved but also with solicitous affection.\n\n     [182] It was the custom to awake the king by the sound of music and\n     songs. See, for instance, R\u00e2m\u00e2ya_n_a II, sarga 65.\n\n14. Then she, whose bright eyes enlarged with astonishment and whose\nlovely cheeks were trembling from gladness, presented her lord with the\naccount of that marvellous dream as with a gift of homage.\n\nWhen she had told her wonderful dream to the king, she added this\nearnest request:\n\n15. 'Therefore, my lord, pray endeavour to obtain that deer. Adorned\nwith this jewel-deer, your zenana would be as resplendent as the sky\nwith the Deer-asterism[183].'\n\n     [183] Viz. M_ri_ga_s_iras, corresponding with the head of Orion.\n\nThe king, who trusted by experience the visions of her dreams, readily\ncomplied with her desire, partly that he might do something agreeable to\nher, partly because he himself was covetous of obtaining that\njewel-deer. Accordingly he ordered all his huntsmen to search for that\ndeer, and had this proclamation made public in his capital day after\nday:\n\n16. 'There exists a deer gold-skinned and spotted with various colours\nshining like hundreds of jewels. It is celebrated in the holy texts, and\nsome have got the sight of it. Whosoever will show that deer, to him the\nking gives a very rich village and full ten lovely women.'\n\nNow the man (who had been rescued by the Bodhisattva) heard that\nproclamation again and again.\n\n17. As he was poor, the reflection on the sufferings of poverty\nafflicted his heart, but on the other hand he kept in mind the great\nbenefit he had received from the ruru-deer. Distracted by cupidity and\ngratitude, he was moved in both directions as in a swing by different\nconsiderations like these:\n\n'What, then, have I to do now? Shall I have regard to Virtue or Wealth?\nShall I keep the promise to my benefactor rather than the duty of\nsustaining my family? Which must I esteem most highly, the other world\nor this? Which must I follow, the conduct of the pious or rather that of\nthe world? Shall I strive after riches or rather after such good as is\ncherished by the virtuous? Whether to mind the present time or the time\nhereafter?' At last his mind disturbed by covetousness came to this\nconclusion. 'If I have once obtained great wealth,' so he thought, 'I\nshall be able by means of these riches to gain, while enjoying the\npleasures of this world, also happiness in the other world, being intent\non honouring my kinsmen and friends, guests and mendicants[184].' Having\nso resolved, putting out of his mind the benefit of the ruru-deer, he\nwent up to the king and said: 'I, Your Majesty, know that excellent deer\nand his dwelling-place. Pray, tell me to whom I shall show him.' On\nhearing this, the king much rejoiced answered him, 'Well, friend, show\nhim to myself,' and putting on his hunting-dress left his capital,\naccompanied by a large body of his army. Conducted by the man, he went\nto the aforesaid riverside. Then he encircled the forest adjoining it\nwith the whole of his forces, but himself bearing his bow, wearing his\nfinger-guard[185] and surrounded by a select number of resolute and\nfaithful men, entered the thicket, being shown the way by that man. As\nthey went onward, the man discovering the ruru-deer who quietly and\nunsuspectingly was staying in his forest, showed him to the king,\nexclaiming: 'Here, here is that precious deer, Your Majesty. May Your\nMajesty deign to look at him and be careful.'\n\n     [184] A similar reasoning is made by _S_akra, when he tries the\n     Bodhisattva in his Avishahya-existence, see Story V, stanzas 18-21.\n\n     [185] The finger-guard (a\u1e45gulitr\u00e2_n_a) is a contrivance used by\n     archers to protect the thumb and fingers from being injured by the\n     bowstring.\n\n18. So saying he raised his arm, eager as he was to point at the deer,\nand lo, his hand fell down off his arm, as if it had been cut off with a\nsword.\n\n19. Indeed, when directed at such objects hallowed by their\nextraordinary performances, one's actions come immediately to ripeness,\nprovided that they are of consequence and there is but little to\ncounterbalance them[186].\n\n     [186] In other words, in such cases the evil karma has so great a\n     strength that a considerable amount of good works would be required\n     in order to check the rapidity of the development of its fruit.\n\nThen the king, curious to get the sight of the ruru-deer, let his eyes\npass along the way shown by the man.\n\n20. And in the midst of that wood, dark as clouds newly formed, he\nperceived a body shining with the lustre of a treasury of jewels, and\nsaw that deer, dear by his illustrious properties. So does the fire of\nlightning appear out of the womb of the cloud.\n\n21. Charmed by the beauty of his figure, the king, eagerly desirous of\ncatching him, immediately curved his bow, made the arrow bite its string\nand went up to him that he might hit him.\n\nBut the Bodhisattva, on hearing the noise of people on every side, had\nthereby concluded that he must have been surrounded, to be sure.\nAfterwards perceiving the king coming up ready to shoot off his arrow at\nhim, he understood there was no opportunity for running away. Then he\nuttered distinct articulate language, addressing the king in a human\nvoice.\n\n22, 23. 'Stop a moment, mighty prince, do not hit me, hero among men!\nPray, first satisfy my curiosity, and tell me this. Who may have\ndiscovered my abode to thee, far as it is from the paths of men, saying\nthat I, such a deer, dwell in this thicket?'\n\nThe king, touched by this wonderful address in a human voice and taking\nstill more interest in him, showed him that man with the point of his\narrow. 'This man,' he said, 'has disclosed thy extremely marvellous\nperson to us.' But the Bodhisattva knowing again that man, spoke\ndisapprovingly: 'Fie upon him!\n\n24, 25. 'It is a true saying, in truth \"better is it to take a log out\nof the water than to save an ungrateful person from it.\" In this manner\nhe returns that exertion made in his behalf! How is it that he did not\nsee that he destroyed his own happiness, too, at the same time?'\n\nNow the king, being curious to know what he might thus reproach, vividly\nsaid to the ruru-deer:\n\n26, 27. 'On hearing thee censure somebody without catching the meaning\nof thy obscure words or knowing with respect of whom thou spokest them,\nmy mind is somewhat alarmed. Therefore, tell me, wonderful deer, who is\nhe on whose account thou speakest so? Is it a man or a spirit, a bird or\nperhaps a forest-animal?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n28. 'No desire of blaming prompted me, O king, to this utterance, but\nbecoming aware of this blame-deserving action, I spoke sharp words in\norder to prevent him from attempting to do such a thing again.\n\n29. 'For who would like to use harsh language to those who have\ncommitted a sin, strewing, so to speak, salt upon the wound of their\nfault? But even to his beloved son a physician is obliged to apply such\nmedical treatment as is made necessary by his illness.\n\n30. 'He whom I, moved by pity, rescued, when he was carried off by the\ncurrent, is the man who made this danger arise for me, O best of men.\nIndeed, intercourse with wicked people does not tend to bliss.'\n\nThen the king, casting on that man a stern look expressive of harsh\nreproach, asked him: 'Oh, in truth, wast thou rescued before from such a\ndistress by this deer?' And the man, who was pale and perspired with\nfear, sorrow, and dejection, answered in a low tone of shame: 'Yes, I\nwas.' Upon which the king revilingly exclaimed: 'Fie upon thee!' and\nplacing the arrow on the bowstring he continued: 'Do not think it a\ntrifle!\n\n31. 'He whose heart was not even softened by an exertion like that\nemployed in thy behalf, is a vile representative of his fellow-creatures\nand brings them into dishonour. Why should this lowest of men live any\nlonger?'\n\nWith these words he grasped his bow in the middle and bent it in order\nto kill him. But the Bodhisattva, overpowered by his great compassion,\nplaced himself between, saying to the king: 'Stop, Your Majesty, stop,\ndo not strike one already stricken!\n\n32. 'At the very moment that he listened to the culpable enticement of\nCupidity, his enemy, at that moment surely, he was ruined both in this\nworld, because of the loss of his good name, and in the next too, his\nrighteousness being destroyed.\n\n33. 'Yea, in this way, when their soundness of mind has faded away in\nconsequence of unbearable sufferings, men fall into calamities, being\nallured by the prospect of rich profit, like foolish moths attracted by\nthe shining of a light.\n\n34. 'Thou must, therefore, rather pity him and restrain thy wrath. And\nif he wanted to obtain something by so acting, let not his rash deed\nlack that reward. For lo, I am standing here with bent head awaiting thy\norders.'\n\nThis merciful and sincere desire to reward even the man who had\nill-treated him excited the highest surprise of the king. His heart\nbecame converted, and looking up with veneration to the ruru-deer, he\nexclaimed: 'Well said, well said, holy being.\n\n35. 'Verily, showing such mercy to him whose cruel offence against thee\nis evident, thou art a human being by thy properties, we do bear but the\nshape of men.\n\n36. 'Further, since thou deemest this knave worth commiseration, and\nsince he has been the cause of my seeing a virtuous person, I give him\nthe wealth he coveted and to thee the permission to go freely in this\nkingdom wherever it pleases thee.'\n\nThe ruru-deer said: 'I accept this royal boon, illustrious king, which\nis not given in vain. Therefore, deign to give me thy orders, that our\nmeeting here may afford thee profit and that I may be of some use to\nthee.' Then the king made the ruru-deer mount his royal chariot,\nworshipping him like his teacher, and led him with great pomp to his\ncapital. And having given him the reception due to a guest and invited\nhim to place himself on the royal throne, he with his wives and the\nwhole retinue of his officers exhorted him to preach the Law, and\nraising his eyes to him with a kind expression of gladness mixed with\nreverence, entreated him in this manner:\n\n37. 'There is a great diversity of opinions among men concerning the\nLaw, but thou possessest the certainty about the Law. Deign, therefore,\nto preach it to us.'\n\nUpon which the Bodhisattva raised his voice and preached the Law to the\nking and his royal assembly in words distinctly spoken in a soft tone\nand elegantly composed.\n\n38. 'Of the Law with the manifold performances depending on it and with\nits subdivisions: abstaining from injuring others, from theft, &c.,\nthis, I believe, is the brief summary \"Mercy to the creatures.\"\n\n'Look here, illustrious prince.\n\n39. 'If mercy to all creatures should make men hold them like themselves\nor their own family, whose heart would ever cherish the baleful desire\nfor wickedness?\n\n40. 'But the lack of mercy is to men the cause of the greatest\ndisturbance, as it corrupts the action of their minds and words and\nbodies no less with respect to their family than to strangers.\n\n41. 'For this reason he who strives for Righteousness ought to keep to\nmercy, which will yield rich profit. Mercy[187], indeed, engenders\nvirtues, as a fructifying rain makes the crops grow.\n\n     [187] In the fourth p\u00e2da of this stanza sa is a misprint for s\u00e2.\n\n42. 'Mercy, possessing a man's mind, destroys in it the passion for\ninjuring one's neighbour; and his mind being pure, neither his speech\nnor his body will be perverted. So the love of one's neighbour's good\nalways increases and becomes the source of many other virtues: charity,\nforbearance, and so on, which are followed by gladness of mind and are\nconducive to reputation.\n\n43. 'The merciful one does not arouse apprehension in the mind of others\nbecause of his tranquillity. Owing to his mercy, everybody will hold him\na person to be trusted, as if he were their kinsman. No agitation of\npassion will seize him whose heart has been made firm by mercy, nor does\nthe fire of anger blaze within his mind which enjoys the coolness of\nwater, thanks to mercy.\n\n44. 'Why use many words? For this reason the wise firmly believe that in\nMercy the whole of Righteousness is contained. What virtue, indeed,\ncherished by the pious does there exist which is not the consequence of\nMercy? Having this in mind, be intent on ever fortifying thy mercy to\nall people, holding them like thy son, like thyself; and winning by thy\npious conduct the hearts of thy people, mayst thou glorify thy royalty!'\n\nThen the king praised these words of the ruru-deer, and with his\ntownsmen and landsmen became intent on acting up to the Law of\nRighteousness. And he granted security to all quadrupeds and birds.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, for the virtuous no suffering exists but that of\nothers. It is this they cannot bear, not their own suffering. [This\nstory is also to be told when discoursing on compassion, and may be\nadduced when treating of the high-mindedness of the virtuous, also when\ncensuring the mischievous.]\n\n\n\n\nXXVII. THE STORY OF THE GREAT MONKEY.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 407, Fausb. III, 370-375.)\n\n\nThose who follow the behaviour of the virtuous win over even the hearts\nof their enemies. This will be taught as follows.\n\nIn the heart of the Himavat there is a blessed region, whose soil is\ncovered with many kinds of herbs of different efficacious properties,\nand abounds in hundreds of forest-trees with their great variety and\nmanifold arrangement of boughs, twigs, flowers, and fruits. It is\nirrigated by mountain-currents whose water possesses the limpidity of\ncrystals, and resounds with the music of manifold crowds of birds. In\nthat forest the Bodhisattva lived, it is said, a chief of a troop of\nmonkeys. But even in that state--in consequence of his constant practice\nof charity and compassion--jealousy, selfishness, and cruelty, as if\nthey were at war with him because he attended on their enemies (the\nvirtues), would not enter his mind. There he had his residence on a\nlarge banian tree, which by its height, standing out superior against\nthe sky like the top of a mountain, might pass for the lord of that\nforest, and by the thickness of its branches beset with dark foliage,\nresembled a mass of clouds. Those branches were somewhat curved, being\nloaded with excellent fruits of a size surpassing that of palmyra-nuts,\nand distinguished by an exceedingly sweet flavour and a lovely colour\nand smell.\n\n1. The virtuous, even when they are in the state of animals, have still\nsome remainder of good fortune[188] which tends to the happiness of\ntheir friends, for whose sake they employ it, in the same manner as the\nremainder of the wealth of people abroad may serve the wants of their\nfriends.\n\n     [188] In other words it is said, that though their store of merit,\n     producing good fortune, must have been exhausted according to their\n     being born beasts, yet there is left some remainder, the effect of\n     which may assuage them in that low state. Cp. Story XXXIII, stanza\n     2.\n\nNow one branch of that tree hung over a river which passed by that\nplace[189]. Now the Bodhisattva, far-sighted as he was, had instructed\nhis flock of monkeys in this manner: 'Unless ye prevent this\nbanian-branch from having fruit, none of you will ever be able to eat\nany fruit from the other branches[190].' Now it once happened that the\nmonkeys overlooked one young and for this reason not very big fruit,\nhidden as it was in the cavity of some leaf crooked by ants. So that\nfruit grew on, and in time developed its fine colour, smell, flavour,\nand softness; when it had ripened and its stalk became loose, it dropped\ninto the river. Being carried down the stream, it stuck at last in the\nnet-work of a fence (let down in the river by the orders) of a certain\nking, who, with his harem, was sporting at that time in the water of\nthat river.\n\n     [189] In the P\u00e2li redaction that river is the Ganges and the king\n     Brahmadatta of Benares.\n\n     [190] Considering the abruptness of the narration, it seems there\n     is something wanting in the text. In the P\u00e2li redaction it is told\n     that the Bodhisattva, having warned the monkeys that a fruit of\n     that tree would fall in the water and bring them mischief, causes\n     them to destroy all germs of fruit on that branch in blossom-time.\n\n2. Spreading about its delicious smell of great excellency and\ndelightful to the nose, that fruit made the different other odours\ndisappear, that exhaled there from the garlands, the rum, and the\nperfumes of the bathing women, however those scents were intensified by\nthe union of the women interlacing each other.\n\n3. This smell soon enchanted the women; they enjoyed it with prolonged\ninhalations and half-shut eyes. And being curious to know its origin,\nthey cast their eyes in all directions.\n\nAnd while casting their eyes, stirred by curiosity, all around, the\nwomen perceived that banian fig, surpassing by its size a ripe\npalmyra-nut, as it stuck to the net-work of the fence, and having once\ndiscovered it, they could not keep their eyes from it. Nor was the king\nless curious to know the nature of that fruit. He had it brought to him,\nand after examination by reliable physicians tasted it himself.\n\n4. Its marvellous flavour (rasa) raised the king's amazement, as (in a\ndramatic composition) the marvellous sentiment (rasa), ravishing (the\nmind of the spectators) by a good representation, rouses their\nadmiration.\n\n5. Had its extraordinary colour and smell stirred his surprise before,\nnow its flavour filled him with the highest admiration, and agitated him\nwith lust.\n\nThough accustomed to dainties, the king became so eager to enjoy that\nrelish that this thought came to him:\n\n6. 'If one does not eat those fruits, in truth, what fruit does one\nenjoy from his royalty? But he who gets them is really a king, and this\nwithout the toil of exercising royal power.'\n\nAccordingly, having made up his mind to find out its origin, he reasoned\nin this way to himself. 'Surely, the excellent tree, whence came this\nfruit, cannot be far from here and it must stand on the riverside. For\nit cannot have been in contact with the water for a long time, since it\nhas kept its colour, smell, and flavour intact, and is moreover\nundamaged and shows no trace of decomposition. For this reason, it is\npossible to pursue its origin.' Having so resolved, as he was possessed\nby a strong desire for that delicious flavour, he ceased that\nwater-sport, and, after taking such measures as were suitable for the\nmaintenance of order in his capital (during his absence), set out,\naccompanied by a great body of armed people equipped for expedition.\nWith them he marched up the river and enjoyed the different and various\nsensations proper to journeying in a forest-region, clearing his way\nthrough thickets haunted by ferocious animals, beholding woodlands of\ngreat natural beauty, and frightening elephants and deer by the noise of\nhis drums. At last he reached the neighbourhood of that tree, a place\ndifficult for men to approach.\n\n7. Like a mass of clouds hanging down by the burden of their water, this\nlord of trees appeared from afar to the eyes of the king, dominating the\nother trees which seemed to look up to it as to their sovereign, and,\nthough it stood near a steep mountain, resembling a mountain itself.\n\nThe exceedingly lovely smell, more fragrant than that of ripe mango\nfruits, which was spreading from it and met the army as if it went to\nreceive it, made the king sure that this was the tree he sought for.\nComing near, he saw many hundreds of apes filling its boughs and\nbranches and occupied in eating its fruits. The king became angry with\nthose monkeys who robbed him of the objects so ardently longed for, and\nwith harsh words as 'Hit them! hit them! drive them away, destroy them\nall, these scoundrels of monkeys!' he ordered his men to assail them.\nAnd those warriors made themselves ready to shoot off the arrows from\ntheir bows (strung), and uttered cries to frighten away the monkeys;\nothers lifted up clods and sticks and spears to throw at them. They\ninvaded the tree, as if they were to attack a hostile fortress.\n\nBut the Bodhisattva had perceived the approach of that noisy royal army\nmoving with loud tumult and uproar, like the billows of a sea roused by\nthe violence of the wind; he had seen the assault made on all sides of\nhis excellent tree with a shower of arrows, spears, clods, sticks, which\nresembled a shower of thunderbolts; and he beheld his monkeys unable to\ndo anything but utter discordant cries of fear, while they looked up to\nhim with faces pale with dejection. His mind was affected with the\nutmost compassion. Being himself free from affliction, sadness, and\nanxiety, he comforted his tribe of monkeys, and having resolved upon\ntheir rescue, climbed to the top of the tree, desirous to jump over to\nthe mountain-peak near it. And although that place could be reached only\nby many successive leaps, the Great Being, by dint of his surpassing\nheroism, passed across like a bird and held the spot.\n\n8. Other monkeys would not be able to traverse that space even in two\nsuccessive leaps, but he, the courageous one, swiftly crossed it with\none single bound, as if it were a small distance.\n\n9. His compassion had fostered his strong determination, but it was his\nheroism which brought it to its perfection. So he made his utmost effort\nto carry it out, and by the earnestness of his exertion he found the way\nto it in his mind.\n\nHaving mounted, then, on some elevated place of the mountain-slope, he\nfound a cane, tall and strong, deep-rooted and strong-rooted, the size\nof which surpassed the distance (between the mountain and the tree).\nThis he fastened to his feet, after which he jumped back to the tree.\nBut as the distance was great and he was embarrassed by his feet being\ntied, the Great Being hardly succeeded in seizing with his hands the\nnearest branch of the tree.\n\n10. Then holding fast that branch and keeping the cane stretched by his\neffort, he ordered his tribe, making them the signal proper to his race,\nto come quickly off the tree.\n\nAnd the monkeys, as they were bewildered by fear, having found that way\nof retreat, hastened to make use of it, wildly rushing over his body\nwithout regard to him, and safely escaped along that cane.\n\n11. While being incessantly trodden by the feet of those fear-bewildered\nmonkeys, his body lost the solidity of its flesh, but his mind did not\nlose its extraordinary firmness.\n\nOn beholding this, the king and his men were overcome with the utmost\nastonishment.\n\n12. Such a splendid display of strength and wisdom, combined with such\ngreat self-denial and mercy to others, must rouse wonder in the minds of\nthose who hear of it; how much more did it affect the bystanders who\nwitnessed it?\n\nThen the king commanded his men in this manner: 'This chief of apes,' he\nsaid, 'having his limbs shaken and bruised by the feet of the multitude\nof monkeys who, agitated by fear, ran over his body, and remaining in\nthat same position for a long time, must be excessively tired. Surely,\nhe will be unable to retire from this difficult posture by himself.\nTherefore, quickly dress a canopy underneath the place where he is,\nwhich being done, the cane and the banian branch must be shot off\nsimultaneously, with one arrow each.' And they did so. Then the king\nordered the monkey to be gently lifted off the canopy and placed on a\nsoft couch. There he lay without consciousness, for in consequence of\nthe pain of his wounds and his exhaustion he had swooned. After his\nwounds had been salved with clarified butter and other ointments\nsuitable for the relief of fresh bruises, his faintness grew less. When\nhe had recovered his senses, he was visited by the king, who, affected\nwith curiosity, admiration, and respect, after asking him about his\nhealth, continued thus:\n\n13. 'Thou madest thy body a bridge for those monkeys, and feeling no\nmercy for thy own life, rescuedst them. What art thou to them or what\nare they to thee?\n\n14. 'If thou deemest me a person worth hearing this matter, pray, tell\nit me, foremost of monkeys. No small fetters of friendship, methinks,\nshould fasten one's mind to enable it to do the like performances.'\n\nIn reply to these words the Bodhisattva, in return for the king's wish\nto relieve him, made himself known in a proper manner. He said:\n\n15. 'Those, always prompt to act up to my orders, charged me with the\nburden of being their ruler. And I, for my part, bound to them with the\naffection of a father for his children, engaged myself to bear it; so I\ndid.\n\n16. 'This, mighty sovereign, is the kind of relation existing between\nthem and me. It is rooted by time and has increased the friendly\nfeelings existing between animals of the same species. Our dwelling\ntogether has strengthened it to the mutual affection of kinsmen.'\n\nOn hearing this, the king affected with great admiration replied:\n\n17. 'The ministers and the rest of his officials are to serve the\ninterest of their lord, not the king to serve theirs. For what, then,\ndid Your Honour sacrifice yourself in behalf of your attendants?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke: 'Verily, such is the lore of Political Wisdom\n(r\u00e2_g_an\u00eeti), Your Majesty, but to me it seems something difficult to\nfollow.\n\n18. 'It is excessively painful to overlook heavy and unbearable pain,\neven if the sufferer be somebody unacquainted with us. How much more, if\nthose suffer who, having their minds intent on worshipping us, are like\ndear relations to us!\n\n19. 'So, on seeing distress and despair overwhelming the monkeys in\nconsequence of their sudden danger, a great sorrow overcame me, which\ndid not leave me room to think of my personal interest.\n\n20. 'Perceiving the bows bent and the glittering arrows fly upward on\nall sides, and hearing the dreadful noise of the strings, hastily and\nwithout further consideration I jumped over from the tree to the\nmountain.\n\n21. 'Then--for the distress of my poor comrades, overcome with the\nhighest degree of terror, drew me back to them--I tied a cane fast to my\nfeet, a well-rooted reed, suitable for the effort at which I aimed.\n\n22. 'So I jumped once more, leaping from the mountain-side to the tree,\nin order to rescue my comrades, and with my hands I attained its nearest\nbranch stretched out like a hand to meet me.\n\n23. 'And while I was hanging there with extended body between that cane\nand that outstretched branch of the tree, those comrades of mine happily\nmade their escape, running without hesitation over my body.'\n\nThe king, perceiving the ecstasy of gladness, which even in that\nmiserable condition pervaded the Great Being, and much wondering at it,\nagain spoke to him:\n\n24. 'What good has Your Honour obtained, thus despising your own welfare\nand taking upon yourself the disaster which threatened others?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n25. 'Verily, my body is broken, O king, but my mind is come to a state\nof the greatest soundness, since I removed the distress of those, over\nwhom I exercised royal power for a long time.\n\n26. 'As heroes who have vanquished their proud enemies in battle wear on\ntheir limbs the beautiful marks of their prowess like ornaments, so I\ngladly bear these pains.\n\n27. 'Now I have requited them that long succession of prosperity which I\ngot by the chieftaincy over my tribe, that showed me not only their\nreverence and other marks of worship, but also their affectionate\nattachment.\n\n28. 'For this reason, this bodily pain does not grieve me, nor the\nseparation from my friends, nor the destruction of my pleasure, nor my\napproaching death which I have incurred by thus acting. It seems to me\nrather the approach of a high festival.\n\n29, 30. 'Self-satisfaction gained by requital of former benefits,\nappeasement of the solicitude (caused thereby), a spotless fame, honour\non the part of a king, fearlessness of death, and the approbation which\nmy grateful behaviour will meet with from the virtuous: these good\nqualities, O thou who, like a tree[191], art the residence of excellent\nvirtues!--have I obtained by falling in with this wretched state. But\nthe vices opposite to these virtues will be met by such a king as is\nwithout mercy for his dependents.\n\n     [191] This simile is not improper, the speaker being a monkey.\n\n31. 'For, if a king be devoid of virtues, if he have destroyed his good\nrenown and vices have taken up their abode in him, say, what else may he\nexpect than to go to the fierce-flaming fires of hell?\n\n32. 'For this reason I have explained to thee, powerful prince, the\npower of virtues and vices. Rule, therefore, thy realm with\nrighteousness. For Fortune shows in her affections the fickle nature of\na woman.\n\n33. 'His army, not only the military men but also the animals of war;\nhis officials; his people, both townsmen and landsmen; those who have no\nprotector; and both (classes of religious people) _S_rama_n_as and\nBr\u00e2hmans; all of them must a king endeavour to endow with such happiness\nas is conducive to their good, as if he were their father.\n\n34. 'In this manner increasing in merit, wealth, and glory, thou mayst\nenjoy prosperity both in this world and in the next. With this kind of\nfelicity proper to the holy kings of old (r\u00e2_g_arshis) and attainable by\npractising commiseration towards thy subjects, mayst thou be\nillustrious, O king of men!'\n\n35. After thus instructing the king who, like a pupil, listened to him\nwith devout attention and set a high value on his words, he left his\nbody paralysed in its functions by the excess of his pains, and mounted\nto Heaven.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, those who imitate the behaviour of the virtuous\nwin over even the hearts of their enemies. Thus considering, he who is\ndesirous of gaining the affection of men ought to imitate the behaviour\nof the virtuous. [This story is also to be propounded, when discoursing\non the Tath\u00e2gata. 'The creatures are not as able to bring about their\nown profit, as the Lord was to bring about the profit of others.'\nLikewise, when treating of listening with attention to the preaching of\nthe Law, when discoursing on compassion, and also when instructing\nprinces, in which case this is to be said: 'In this manner a king must\nbe merciful towards his subjects.' It may be adduced also, when treating\nof gratitude. 'In this manner the virtuous show their gratitude.']\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII. THE STORY OF KSH\u00c2NTIV\u00c2DIN.[192]\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 313, Fausb. III, 39-43.)\n\n     [192] In the original Ksh\u00e2nti_g_\u00e2takam. Ksh\u00e2nti must here be an\n     abbreviation of the name Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din; in the P\u00e2li redaction the\n     corresponding story bears the title of Khantiv\u00e2di_g_\u00e2taka.\n\n\nTruly, to those who have wholly imbibed the virtue of forbearance and\nare great in keeping their tranquillity there is nothing unbearable.\nThis will be taught as follows.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva, it is said, was an ascetic who had forsaken\nthe world. He had become convinced that the life in a home, since it is\nbeset with bad occupations, leaves but little room for righteousness;\nfor it is visited by many sins and evils and unfit for quiet, inasmuch\nas it implies the prevalence of material interest (artha) and sensual\npleasures (k\u00e2ma); it is exposed to the inroad of defiling passions:\nlove, hatred, infatuation, jealousy, anger, lasciviousness, pride,\nselfishness, and the rest; it involves the loss of the possession of\nshame and religion, and is the abode of covetousness and wicked lust. On\nthe other hand he understood the homeless state, as it avoids material\nproperty and sensual objects, to be an agreeable one, being wholly free\nfrom those evils. Thus knowing, he became an ascetic, eminent by his\nconduct, his learning, his placidity of mind, his modesty, and his\nself-restraint. As he was in the habit of always preaching forbearance\nand teaching the Law from that point of view, in strict conformity with\nthe vow he had taken to do so, people neglecting his proper name and\nthat of his family, made him a name of their own invention, calling him\nKsh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din (forbearance-preacher).\n\n1. Illustrious domination or knowledge or penance, also an extreme\npassion for arts, likewise anomaly of body, language or behaviour are\nthe causes of giving new names to men.\n\n2. So was the case with him. His true name vanished for the appellation\nof Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din, because knowing the power of forbearance and desiring\nto adorn mankind, like himself, with that virtue he constantly used to\ndiscourse on that topic.\n\n3. The great endurance, which was a part of his very nature and the\nfirmness of which he showed by his unaltered calm, when injured by\nothers, as well as his excellent sermons on that subject, gave him the\nrenown of a Muni.\n\nThe residence of the High-minded One was a place in the forest, lovely\nby its utter solitude and exhibiting the charming beauty of a garden; it\nbore flowers and fruits at all seasons, and encompassed a pond of pure\nwater embellished by white and blue lotuses. By his dwelling there he\nprocured for that place the holiness of a hermitage.\n\n4. For where pious persons adorned with excellent virtues, have their\nresidence, such a place is a very auspicious and lovely one, a sacred\nplace of pilgrimage (t\u00eertha), a hermitage.\n\nThere he was venerated by the different deities, who were living there,\nand often visited by such people as were lovers of virtues and desirous\nof their salvation. To that multitude of visitors he showed the high\nfavour of entertaining them with his sermons on the subject of\nforbearance, rejoicing both their ears and hearts.\n\nNow one time in the season of summer it happened that the king of that\ncountry, in consequence of the hot weather, was seized with a great\nlonging to play in the water, a very desirable thing at that time. So he\nwent with his harem to that place in the forest, as it was distinguished\nby the different delights proper to gardens.\n\n5. While he was rambling in the wood with the beauties of his zenana\nspreading about on all sides, he embellished its Nandana-like splendour,\nso to speak, by the rich display of the graceful sport of himself and\nhis wanton retinue.\n\n6. In the arbours and bowers, under the forest-trees with their laughing\ndress of flowers, and in the water with its expanding lotuses the king\ndelighted in the unrestrained expansion of the natural dalliance of the\nfemales.\n\n7. Smilingly he beheld the graceful movements of fear and its beautiful\nexpression on the faces of some molested by bees, that were allured by\nthe perfumes of the implements for bathing and anointing mixed with the\nfragrance of garlands and the odour of the rum.\n\n8. Though they had adorned their ears with the most beautiful flowers,\nand their hair wore plenty of garlands, the women could not have enough\nof flowers. In the same way the king could not look enough at their\nwanton playing.\n\n9. He beheld those chaplet-like clusters of females, now clinging to the\narbours, now tarrying at the lotus-groups, sometimes hovering like bees\nabout the flowery trees.\n\n10. Even the bold lascivious cries of the cuckoos, the dances of the\npeacocks, and the humming of the bees were outdone by the tattle, the\ndances, and the songs of those women.\n\n11. The sound of the royal drums, as strong as the rattling of thunder,\ninduced the peacocks to utter their peculiar cries and make a\nwide-spread circle of their tails, as if they were actors worshipping\nthe monarch by the virtue of their art.\n\nThen, having enjoyed, with his harem, to his heart's content the\npleasure of walking about in that garden-like wood, as he was tired with\nincessant playing and drunkenness overcame his mind, the king laid\nhimself down on his very precious royal couch in a beautiful arbour, and\nfell asleep.\n\nNow, when the women perceived that their lord was no longer occupied\nwith them, as they were not satiated with the manifold loveliness of the\nforest which kept them enchanted, they moved from that place, and\nrambled about in groups formed according to their liking, mixing the\nconfused sounds of their rattling ornaments with the tinkling noise of\ntheir chatter.\n\n12. Followed by the badges of sovereign power, the royal umbrella, the\nroyal tail-fan, the royal seat &c., which were decorated with golden\nornaments and borne by female slaves, the women walked about, indulging\nunrestrainedly in their natural wantonness.\n\n13. Disregarding the entreaties of the female servants, they greedily\nlaid hands upon the lovely flowers and twigs of the trees within their\nreach, prompted by their petulance.\n\n14. Though they had plenty of flowers, both as ornaments and arranged as\nwreaths, they left on their way no shrub lovely by its flowers, nor tree\nwith its waving twigs without stripping them, out of cupidity.\n\nNow in the course of their rambling through the forest, the loveliness\nof which had captured their minds, the king's harem approached the\nhermitage of Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din. But those who were in charge of the royal\nwives, although they knew the penance-power and high-mindedness of that\nMuni, did not venture to prevent them from entering, on account of the\nking's attachment to his darlings, lest he might resent their\nintervention. So the royal wives, as if they were attracted by the\nsplendour of that hermitage, the loveliness of which was enhanced by\n(the) supernatural power (of its occupant), entered the hermitage and\nsaw the eminent Muni sitting there with crossed legs under a tree, a\nview auspicious and purifying to behold. His tranquillity gave a soft\nexpression to his countenance; the exceeding profundity of his mind\ninspired awe; his face radiated, as it were, from the splendour of his\npenance and, owing to his diligent exercise of dhy\u00e2na, bore the\nbeautiful expression of calm, as is proper to undisturbed senses, even\nthough the loftiest subjects of meditation were present to his thoughts.\nIn short, he was like the embodied Dharma. The lustre of his penance\nsubdued the minds of those royal wives, and the very sight of him was\nsufficient to make them abandon their dalliance, frivolity, and\nhaughtiness. Accordingly they went to him in a humble attitude, and sat\ndown respectfully in a circle around him. He, for his part, performed to\nthem the usual salutation, welcoming them and saying to them kind and\ncourteous things which are agreeable to guests; then availing himself of\nthe opportunity which their questions procured him, he showed them his\nhospitality by a religious discourse, preaching in such terms as were\neasily understood by women, and illustrating his exposition of the Law\nwith examples.\n\n15. 'He who, having obtained the blameless human state, and being born\nin the full possession of organs and senses sound and vigorous, without\nany defect[193], neglects to do good actions every day from lack of\nattention--such a one is much deceived; is he not subject to the\nnecessity of death?\n\n     [193] Bodily infirmities are the effect of former actions. They are\n     with the Buddhists an impediment to proceeding on the way to\n     salvation for the same reason, as they entail impurity and\n     incompetence to assist at sacrificial performances in Br\u00e2hmanism.\n\n16. 'A man may be ever so excellent by his birth, his figure, his age,\nhis superior power, or the wealth of his estate, never will he enjoy\nhappiness in the other world, unless he be purified by charity, good\nconduct (_s_\u00eela), and the rest of the virtues.\n\n17. 'For surely, he who though devoid of a noble birth and the rest,\nabhorring wickedness, resorts to the virtues of charity, good conduct\n&c., such a one is hereafter visited by every kind of bliss, as the sea\nin the rainy season by the water of the rivers.\n\n18. 'To him who excels by his extraction, his figure, his age, his\nsuperior power, or the wealth of his estate, attachment to virtues is\nthe most proper ornament already in this world; his golden garlands are\nonly indicative of his riches.\n\n19. 'Blossoms are the ornaments of trees, it is flashes of lightning\nthat adorn the big rain-clouds, the lakes are adorned by lotuses and\nwaterlilies with their drunken bees; but virtues brought to perfection\nare the proper ornament of living beings.\n\n20. 'The various differences of men with respect to their health,\nduration of life, beauty of figure, wealth, birth may be classed under\nthe heads of low, middle and high. This triad is not the effect of\nnatural properties nor caused by external influences, indeed. No, it is\nthe result of a man's actions (karma).\n\n21. 'Knowing this to be the fixed law of human existence, and keeping in\nmind the fickleness and frailness of life, a man must avoid wickedness,\ndirecting his heart to pious behaviour. For this is the way leading to\ngood reputation and to happiness.\n\n22. 'But a defiled mind acts like a fire, it burns away the good of\none's self and one's neighbour. He who is afraid of wickedness,\ntherefore, ought carefully to keep off such defilement by cultivating\nwhat tends to the contrary.\n\n23. 'As a fire, however fiercely burning, if it meet a great river,\nfilled up to its borders with water, becomes extinguished, so does the\nfire which blazes within the mind of a man, if he relies on forbearance\nthat will serve him both in this world and in the next.\n\n24. 'So forbearance is of great benefit. He who practises this virtue\navoids wickedness, for he has vanquished the causes of it. In\nconsequence thereof he will not rouse enmity, owing to his cherishing\nfriendliness. For this reason, he will be a person beloved and honoured,\nand accordingly enjoy a happy life. At the end he comes to Heaven (as\neasily) as if he entered his home, thanks to his attachment to a\nmeritorious behaviour.\n\n'Moreover, ladies, this virtue of forbearance, I say,\n\n25. 'Is celebrated as the superior degree of a pious nature; as the\nhighest development obtainable by merit and good repute; as that\npurification which is attained without touching water; as the highest\nwealth afforded by many affluents of virtuous properties.\n\n26. 'It is praised also as the lovely firmness of mind of the virtuous\nwhich is always indifferent to injuries done to them by others; as\nhaving obtained by its properties its lovely name of ksham\u00e2[194]; as\nbenefiting mankind; as well acquainted with pity.\n\n     [194] Ksham\u00e2 is a synonym of ksh\u00e2nti.\n\n27. 'Forbearance is the ornament of the powerful; it is the highest\npitch of the strength of ascetics; and since it has the effect of a\nshower of rain on the conflagration of evils, it may be called the\nextinguisher of misfortune both in this world and after death.\n\n28. 'To the virtuous forbearance is a coat of mail, blunting the arrows\nwhich the tongue of the wicked shoots off against them. Mostly it\nchanges those weapons into flowers of praise, which may be inserted in\nthe garland of their glory.\n\n29. 'It is stated to be the killer of Delusion, that adversary of the\nDharma, and an easy contrivance by which to reach salvation. Who, then,\nought not to do his utmost to obtain forbearance, that virtue invariably\nconducive to happiness?'\n\nIn this manner the High-minded One entertained those female guests with\nan edifying sermon.\n\nMeanwhile the king, having satisfied his want of sleep, awoke; his\nlassitude was gone, but his eyes were still heavy with the dimness of\ninebriation, which had not entirely passed away. Desirous of continuing\nhis amorous sport, he frowningly asked the female servants who were\nguarding his couch, where his wives were. 'Your Majesty,' they answered,\n'Their Highnesses are now embellishing other parts of the forest, to\nadmire the splendour of which they walked on.' Having been thus informed\nby them, the king, as he eagerly desired to witness the sportive\nsayings and doings of the royal wives, how they were laughing and\njesting free and unrestrained, rose from his couch, and accompanied by\nhis female warriors bearing his umbrella, his chowrie, his upper\ngarment, and his sword, and followed by the eunuchs of his zenana,\nwearing their armour and having reed-staves in their hands, he marched\nthrough the forest after them. It was easy to follow the way they had\ntaken; for they had traced it out with juvenile wantonness by means of a\nmultitude of various blossoms, flower-clusters, and twigs, which they\nhad strewed about, moreover by the red sap of the areca-nut and betel\nchewed by them. So then, going after them he went to the hermitage. But\nno sooner had the king seen that most excellent _Ri_shi Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din\nsurrounded by the circle of the royal wives, than he was seized with a\nfit of wrath. This frenzy overtook him, partly because he was long since\nhis enemy and bore him a grudge[195], partly in consequence of his\nintellect being still troubled by drunkenness and his mind overcome with\njealousy. And as his power of composing himself was small, he lost his\ncountenance, disregarding the laws of decency and politeness, and\nsubmitted to sinful wrath. So his colour altered, drops of sweat\nappeared on his face, his limbs trembled, his brows frowned, and his\neyes tinged reddish, squinted, rolled, stared. The loveliness, grace,\nand beauty of his figure had waned. He pressed his hands together, and\nrubbing them, squeezing thereby his finger-rings and shaking his golden\narmlets, scolded that excellent _Ri_shi, uttering many invectives: 'Ha,\nhe exclaimed,\n\n     [195] This can be no wonder, for in the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, that wicked\n     king is identified with Devadatta.\n\n30. 'Who is that knave who injures our majesty, casting his eyes on our\nwives? Under the disguise of a Muni this hypocrite acts like a fowler.'\n\nThese words alarmed and disturbed the eunuchs, who said to the king:\n'Your Majesty ought not to speak so. This is a Muni who has purified\nhis Self by a long life of vows and restraints and penance; Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din\nis his name.' Nevertheless the king, in the pervertedness of his mind,\ndid not take to heart their words, and continued: 'Alas! Ah!\n\n31. 'So it is then a long time already since this hypocrite, setting\nhimself up as the foremost of holy ascetics, has deceived people by his\nforgery!\n\n'Well, then, I will lay open the true nature of that hypocrite, though\nhe keeps it veiled with his ascetic's dress and well conceals it by\npractising the art of delusion and false godliness.' After thus\nspeaking, he took his sword from the hand of the female guard (who was\nbearing it) and rushed on the holy _Ri_shi with the determination of\nstriking him, as if he were his rival. The royal wives, who had been\ninformed by their attendants of the king's approach, on seeing his fine\nfeatures changed by anger, became much afflicted, and with anxious looks\nexpressive of their trouble and consternation rose from the earth, and\ntook leave of the holy _Ri_shi. Then they went to meet the king, and as\nthey stood near him with their folded hands lifted up to their face,\nthey had the appearance of an assemblage of lotuses in autumn, when the\nbrightness of the flowers begins to peep out of the enclosure of the\nbuds.\n\n32. Yet their graceful demeanour, their modesty and comeliness did not\nappease his mind incensed with the fire of wrath.\n\nBut the queens who commenced already to recover from their first terror,\nperceiving that the king in the fierce manner of one whose behaviour is\naltered by anger was marching with a weapon in the direction of the holy\n_Ri_shi, on whom he kept fixed his adverse looks, placed themselves in\nhis way, and surrounding him entreated him: 'Your Majesty, pray, do not\ncommit a reckless act, do not, pray. This man is the Reverend\nKsh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din.' The king, however, owing to his heart's wickedness,\nbecame the more angry, thinking: 'Surely, he has already gained their\naffection.' He reproved their temerity in requesting by clear signs (of\nhis discontent), frowning and casting on them angry looks, fierce as the\njealousy which had taken possession of his mind. After which, turning to\nhis eunuchs and shaking his head so that his royal diadem and ear-rings\ntrembled, he said with a glance at his wives:\n\n33. 'This man speaks only of forbearance, but he does not practise it.\nFor example, he was not impassible to the covetousness of the contact\nwith females.\n\n34. 'His tongue does not at all agree with his actions, still less with\nhis ill-intentioned heart. What has this man with unrestrained senses to\ndo in the penance-forest, that he should simulate religious vows and\ndress and sit down in the hypocritical posture of a saint?'\n\nNow, the king in his fit of wrath having thus rebuked his queens and\nshown his hard-heartedness, they were affected with sorrow and sadness,\nfor they knew his ferocious nature and his contumacy which made him\ninaccessible to persuasion. The eunuchs, who were likewise alarmed,\naffected with anxiety, and afflicted, made signs to them with their\nhands that they should withdraw. So they went away, lowering their faces\nwith shame and lamenting over that best of _Ri_shis.\n\n35. 'We are the cause of the king's wrath against that sinless and\nself-subdued holy ascetic, wide-famed for his virtues. Who knows what\nwill be the end of it? In one way or other will the king perform some\nunbecoming deed, when he will make his wrath fall down on him, however\nvirtuous.\n\n36. Yea, this king would be able to destroy his own royal behaviour and\nhis glory obtained by it, hurting the body of that Muni, as well as the\nbody of his penance, and grieving our guiltless minds at the same time!'\n\nAfter the queens thus lamenting and sighing on his account--for what\ncould they else do for him?--were gone, the king in wrath came up to\nthe holy _Ri_shi, threatening him with drawn sword, in order to strike\nhim himself. On seeing that the Great Being, though thus assailed, kept\nhis calmness unchanged with imperturbable constancy, he became the more\nexcited, and said to him:\n\n37. 'How skilled he is in playing the holy one, that he looks even at me\nas if he were a Muni, persisting in his guileful arrogance!'\n\nThe Bodhisattva, however, owing to his constant practice of forbearance,\nwas not at all disturbed, and as he at once understood from that hostile\nproceeding, though not without astonishment, that it was the eagerness\nof wrath which caused the king to act in such an unbecoming way that he\nhad thrown off all restraint of politeness and good manners and lost the\nfaculty of distinguishing between his good and evil, he pitied that\nmonarch and, with the object of appeasing him, said, in truth, something\nlike this:\n\n38. 'Meeting with disrespect is nothing strange in this world; for this\nreason, since it may also happen to be the effect of destiny and guilt,\nI do not mind it. But this grieves me that I cannot perform towards you,\nnot even with my voice, the usual kind reception, due to those who come\nto me.\n\n'Moreover hear this, O sovereign.\n\n39. 'To such as you, who are bound to put evildoers on the right way and\nto act for the interest of the creatures, it never behoves to do any\nrash action. You should rather follow, therefore, the way of reflection.\n\n40. 'Something good may be considered evil; inversely, something evil\nmay appear in a false light. The truth about anything to be done cannot\nbe discerned at once before inquiring by reasoning into the differences\nin the several modes of action.\n\n41. 'But such a king as gets a true insight of his proper line of\nconduct by reflection and, after that, carries out his design with\nrighteousness by the way of his policy, will always effect the thrift of\ndharma, artha and k\u00e2ma in his people, nor will he be devoid of that\nthreefold prosperity himself.\n\n42. 'For this reason, you ought to purify your mind of rashness, and to\nbe only intent on such actions as tend to good repute. In fact,\ntransgressions of a decent behaviour are highly notorious, if they are\ncommitted by persons of a high rank in whom they were not seen before.\n\n43. 'In a penance-forest protected by your mighty arm, you would not\nsuffer anybody else, in truth, to do what is blamed by the pious and\ndestructive to good behaviour. How is it that you should be decided to\nact in this way yourself, O king?\n\n44. 'If your harem came perchance to my hermitage together with their\nmale attendants, what fault of mine may be found there that you should\nallow yourself to be thus altered by wrath?\n\n45. 'Suppose, however, there is here some fault of mine, forbearance\nwould become you even then, my lord. Forbearance, indeed, is the chief\nornament of a powerful one; for it betrays his cleverness in keeping\n(the treasury of) his virtues.\n\n46. 'Kings cannot so much be adorned either by their dark-blue ear-rings\nwith their reverberation of dancing shine on the cheeks, or by the\nseveral brilliant jewels of their head-ornament, as they are adorned by\nforbearance. Thus considering, pray, do not disregard that virtue.\n\n47. 'Set aside irascibility which is never fit to be relied upon, but\nmaintain forbearance (as carefully) as your dominions[196]. In truth,\nthe lovely behaviour of princes showing their esteem to ascetics, is\nfull of bliss.'\n\n     [196] Literally: as if it were the earth. The comparison\n     constitutes a pun in the original, for ksham\u00e2 may convey the\n     meaning of 'earth' while it also signifies 'forbearance.'\n\nNotwithstanding this admonition by that excellent Muni, the king,\ntroubled by the crookedness of his mind, persisted in his false\nsuspicion. So he addressed him again:\n\n48. 'If you are not a mock-ascetic, but really engaged in keeping your\nvow of restraint, for what reason then do you, under the pretext of\nexhorting me to forbearance, beg safety from my side[197]?'\n\n     [197] Instead of asm\u00e2d I read asm\u00e2n.\n\nThe Bodhisattva answered: 'Hear then, great prince, for what reason I\nurged you.\n\n49. 'I spoke so that your good renown might not break down under the\nblame you would incur because of me, if it were to be said of you \"the\nking has killed a guiltless ascetic, a Br\u00e2hman.\"\n\n50. 'Death is an invariable necessity for all creatures. For this reason\nI am not afraid of it, nor have I anything to fear, when I recollect my\nown behaviour.\n\n51. 'But it was for your sake, that you should not suffer by injuring\nRighteousness, the source of happiness, that I praised forbearance to\nyou as the fit instrument for attaining salvation.\n\n52. 'Since it is a mine of virtues and an armour against vices, I gladly\npraise Forbearance, for it is an excellent boon, I offer you.'\n\nBut the king disdained these gentle flowers of speech which the Muni\noffered him. Scornfully he said to that foremost of _Ri_shis: 'Let us\nnow see your attachment to forbearance,' and so speaking, he directed\nhis sharp sword to the right hand of the Muni, which was a little\nextended towards him, with a prohibitive gesture, having its very fine\nand long fingers upward, and severed it from his arm like a lotus from\nits stalk.\n\n53. Yet the Bodhisattva did not feel so much pain, even after his hand\nhad been cut off--so steadfast was he in keeping his vow of\nforbearance--as sorrow concerning the cutter, whose future misfortune he\nsaw, which was to fall terrible and irremediable upon that person\nhitherto accustomed to pleasures.\n\nAnd thinking within himself: 'Alas! he has transgressed the boundary of\nhis good, he has ceased to be a person worth admonishing[198],' and\ncommiserating him, as he would do a sick man given up by the doctors,\nhe kept silent. But the king continued to speak threatening words to\nhim.\n\n     [198] Cp. Story VII, stanzas 20-26.\n\n54. 'And in this manner your body shall be cut to pieces until death.\nDesist from your hypocritical penance, and leave that villainous\nforgery.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva made no answer. He understood him to be deaf to\nadmonition and had learnt his obstinacy. Then the king successively and\nin the same way cut off the other hand of the High-minded One, both his\narms, his ears and nose, and his feet.\n\n55. Yet that foremost of Munis did not feel sorrow or anger, when the\nsharp sword fell down on his body. His knowledge that the machinery of\nhis body must eventually come to an end, and his habitual practice of\nforbearance against everybody made him so strong.\n\n56. In consequence of its habitual friendliness, the mind of that\nvirtuous one was inaccessible to the sense of sorrow on account of\nhimself. Even while he saw his limbs being cut off, his forbearance\nremained unshaken, but that he saw the king fallen from Righteousness,\nmade him sore with grief.\n\n57. Verily, the compassionate who are great in retaining their\ntranquillity throughout are not so much afflicted by pain arising in\nthemselves, as they grieve on account of the suffering of others.\n\n58. But the king, after performing that cruel deed, was anon caught by a\nfire-like fever, and when he went out of the gardens, earth on a sudden\nopened and swallowed him.\n\nAfter swallowing the king, the earth continued to make a fearful noise,\nand fiery flames appeared in the opening. This caused great\nconsternation all around, and perplexed and alarmed the royal\nattendants. The king's ministers, knowing the grandeur of the\npenance-power of that Muni and imputing to it the catastrophe of the\nking, were affected with anxiety, lest that holy _Ri_shi should burn\ndown the whole country on account of the king. Thus apprehending, they\nwent up to the holy _Ri_shi, and bowing to him entreated him with folded\nhands to be propitious.\n\n59. 'May that king, who impelled by his infatuated mind has put thee\ninto this state by an exceedingly rash action, be alone the fuel for the\nfire of thy curse. Pray, do not burn his town!\n\n60. 'Pray, do not destroy for his fault innocent people, women and\nchildren, the old and the sick, the Br\u00e2hmans and the poor! Rather\nshouldst thou, being a lover of virtues, preserve both the realm of that\nking and thy own righteousness.'\n\nIn reply to this, the Bodhisattva comforted them: 'Do not fear,' he\nsaid, 'sirs.\n\n61, 62. 'As to that king who just cut off with his sword my hands and\nfeet, my ears and nose, maiming an innocent ascetic living in the\nforest, how should a person like me aim at his hurt or conceive even\nsuch a thought? May that king live long and no evil befall him!\n\n63. 'A being subject to sorrow, death and sickness, subdued by cupidity\nand hatred, consumed by his evil actions is a person to be pitied. Who\nought to get angry with such a one?\n\n64. 'And should that line of conduct[199] be ever so preferable, O that\nhis sin might ripen (its unavoidable result) in detriment of no other\nbut me! For to people accustomed to pleasure meeting with suffering,\neven for a short time, is keen and unbearable.\n\n     [199] Viz. indulging in anger and cursing that king. The curse of a\n     _Ri_shi, who has obtained supernatural power by his penance, is a\n     dreadful weapon.\n\n65. 'But now, as I am unable to protect that king who annihilated in\nthis manner his own happiness, for what reason should I give up that\nstate of powerlessness of myself and indulge in hatred against him?\n\n66. 'Even without a king's intervention, everybody born has to deal with\nsufferings, arising from death, &c. Therefore in this (series of evils),\nit is birth alone which one has to oppose[200]. For this not being, what\nsuffering may there arise and from whence?\n\n     [200] In other words, one has to strive for final extinction.\n\n67. 'For many kalpas I have lost my worthless body in manifold ways in\nnumbers of existences. How is it that I should give up forbearance on\naccount of the destruction of that frame? Would it not be as if I were\nto give up a jewel of the first water for a straw?\n\n68. 'Dwelling in the forest, bound to my vow of world-renunciation, a\npreacher of forbearance and soon a prey to death, how should I feel the\ndesire of revenge? Do not fear me any longer, then, peace be to you,\ngo!'\n\n69. After thus instructing and at the same time admitting them as\ndisciples in the Lore of the pious, that foremost of Munis, who kept his\nconstancy unshaken owing to his relying on forbearance, left his earthly\nresidence and mounted to Heaven.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nSo then, indeed, to those who have wholly imbibed the virtue of\nforbearance and are great in keeping their tranquillity there is nothing\nunbearable. [Thus is to be said when discoursing on the virtue of\nforbearance, taking the Muni for example. On account of the vices of\nrashness and wrath, taking the king for example, this story is also to\nbe told, and when expounding the miserable consequences of sensual\npleasures, saying: 'In this manner sensual pleasures lead a man to\nbecome addicted to wicked behaviour which brings him into ruin.' It may\nalso be told with the object of showing the inconstancy of material\nprosperity.]\n\n     This story is also extant in the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2, in pallava 38,\n     as appears from the Anukrama_n_\u00ee, verse 15 (ya_h_ ksh\u00e2nti_s_\u00eela_h_\n     _s_\u00e2nty\u00e2bh\u00fb_k_ _kh_inn\u00e2ngo 'py avik\u00e2rav\u00e2n), but this part of the\n     work has as yet not been published nor is it found in the Cambridge\n     MSS.\n\n\n\n\nXXIX. THE STORY OF THE INHABITANT OF THE BRAHMALOKA.\n\n\nSince the tenets of unbelief are blameable, those who are possessed by\nthe vice of clinging to a false belief are especially worth\ncommiserating by the virtuous. This will be taught as follows.\n\nOne time the Bodhisattva, our Lord, having gathered by a constant\npractice of dhy\u00e2na a store of good karma, obtained, it is said, a birth\nin the Brahmaloka, in consequence of the ripening of that merit.\nNevertheless, owing to his having always been conversant with\ncommiseration in his former existences, that high happiness of the\nBrahmaloka, which he had obtained as the effect of the excellence of his\ndhy\u00e2na, did not destroy in him his longing for the task of benefiting\nothers.\n\n1. By indulging in sensual pleasures, however material, worldly people\nbecome utterly careless. But a frequent absorption in the delight of\nmeditation, however ideal, does not hide the desire for benefiting\nothers from (the mind of) the pious.\n\nNow one time it happened that the High-minded One was passing his looks\nover the Region of Sensuality[201] below (his Brahma-world), where\nCompassion finds its proper sphere of action, since this is the region\nvisited by hundreds of different forms of sufferings and calamities, and\ncontaining the elements for moral illnesses, disasters, injuries against\nliving beings, and sensual pleasures. And he perceived the king of\nVideha, named A\u1e45gadinna, erring in the wilderness of a wrong belief,\npartly by the fault of his intercourse with bad friends, partly also in\nconsequence of his being ardently attached to false thoughts. That king\nhad got this persuasion: 'there is no other world after this; how could\nthere be anything like result ripening out of good or evil actions?' and\nin conformity with this belief his longing for religious practices was\nextinguished, he was averse to performing the pious works of charity,\ngood conduct (_s_\u00eela), &c., felt a deep-rooted contempt for such as led\na religious life, and owing to his want of faith, bore ill-will to the\nreligious law-books. Being inclined to laugh at tales concerning the\nother world, and showing but little respect and honour to _S_rama_n_as\nand Br\u00e2hmans, whom he held in little esteem, he was exclusively given up\nto sensual pleasures.\n\n     [201] The Brahmaloka or Brahma-world is in Buddhist cosmology the\n     world superior to the region of sensuality, the k\u00e2madh\u00e2tu (see\n     Burnouf, Introduction, &c., p. 604) or k\u00e2m\u00e2va_k_ara (see Hardy,\n     Manual, pp. 3, 261). Cp. Kern, Geschiedenis van het Buddhisme, I,\n     pp. 290, 291. Cp. Story XXX, stanza 21, where we have this series\n     of happiness: 1. royalty on earth, 2. heavenly bliss, 3. Brahma's\n     world, 4. final extinction (Nirv\u00e1_n_a).\n\n2. He who is firm in the belief 'surely, there is a world hereafter\nwhere good and evil karma produce their fruit of happiness and mishap,'\nsuch a one will avoid evil actions and exert himself to cultivate pious\nones. But by absence of faith a man follows his desires.\n\nNow that king, whose disastrous attachment to a false lore must have\nmischievous consequences and become a source of calamities to his\npeople, roused the compassion of that High-minded Devarshi. One time,\nwhen that king, always directed by his indulgence in sensual pleasures,\nwas staying in a beautiful and lonely arbour, he descended in his\nflaming brilliancy from the Brahma-world before his eyes. On beholding\nthat luminous being who blazed like a mass of fire, shone like an\nagglomeration of lightnings, and spread about a great brilliancy of\nintense light like a collection of sun-rays, the king, overwhelmed by\nthat lustre, was alarmed and rose from his seat to meet him reverently\nwith folded hands. Respectfully he looked up to him (who stood in the\nair) and said:\n\n3. 'The sky makes thee a resting-place for thy feet, as if it were the\nearth, O thou being with lotus-like feet; thou shinest far and wide,\nbearing the lustre of the sun, so to speak. Who art thou, whose form is\na delight to the eyes?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied:\n\n4. 'Know me, O king, one of those Devarshis who attained Brahma's world,\nhaving by the power of their mind's strong and assiduous attachment to\nreligion vanquished love and hatred[202], those two proud foes, like two\nhaughty chiefs of a hostile army in battle.'\n\n     [202] Love, viz. sensual love and covetousness, and hatred (with\n     anger) are the two great divisions of vyasan\u00e2ni (vices, evil\n     habits), not only with Buddhists. See, for instance, Manu VII, 45\n     foll.\n\nAfter these words the king offered him the hospitable reception due to a\nworthy guest, water to wash his feet and the arghya-water[203],\naccompanying this act (of homage) with kind words of welcome and the\nlike. Then, casting admiring looks at his face, he said: 'Very\nwonderful, O Great _Ri_shi, is thy figure. Indeed, thy power is\nsupernatural.\n\n     [203] The arghya is the name of a worshipful offering of water to a\n     worthy guest, given with the other ceremonial marks of hospitality:\n     vish_t_ara, padya, madhuparka.\n\n5. 'Without clinging to the walls of a building, thou walkest in the sky\nas easily as on earth. Tell me, O thou whose brightness has the lustre\nof a flash of lightning, how didst thou obtain this supernatural power?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n6. 'Such superhuman power is the result, O king, of meditation (dhy\u00e2na),\nspotless good conduct (_s_\u00eela), and an excellent restraint of the\nsenses, which I have so practised in other existences that they became\nessential elements of my nature.'\n\nThe king said: 'Does there exist in earnest anything like a world\nhereafter?' The Brahman[204] said: 'Verily, Your Majesty, there is a\nworld hereafter.' The king said: 'But, my dear sir, how should I too be\nable to believe so?' The Bodhisattva said: 'This is a tangible truth,\nYour Majesty, which may be proved by reasoning with the ordinary modes\nof proof (pram\u00e2_n_a): perception by the senses and the rest[205]. It is\nexemplified by the declarations of reliable persons, and may be tested\nby the method of accurate examination. Do but consider this:\n\n     [204] The inhabitants of Brahma's world are called Brahmans.\n\n     [205] The others are inference and analogy; for it is unlikely that\n     the Brahman would think of persuading a disbeliever by means of the\n     fourth mode of proof, revelation.\n\n7. 'The heaven, with its ornament of sun, moon and stars, and the\nmany-shaped variety of animals, are the world hereafter in a concrete\nand visible form. Let not thy mind be benumbed by scepticism so as not\nto perceive this truth.\n\n8. 'Further there are now and then persons who, owing to their practice\nof dhy\u00e2na and the vividness of their memory, remember their former\nexistences. From this it must likewise be inferred, there exists a world\nafter this. And myself, do I not give thee the evidence of a witness?\n\n9. 'Moreover, thou must infer its existence also from this. The\nperfection of the intellect presupposes a previous existence of that\nintellect. The rudimentary intellect of the fetus is the uninterrupted\ncontinuation of the intellect in the preceding existence.\n\n10. 'Further, it is the faculty for catching matter of knowledge that is\ncalled intellect (buddhi). Therefore there must be a sphere of\nemployment for the intellect at the beginning of existence[206]. But it\nis not possible to find it in this world, because of the absence of the\neyes and the other (organs of sense). By inference, the place where it\nis to be found, is the other world.\n\n     [206] In other words, in the state of the fetus.\n\n11. 'It is known by experience that children diverge from the nature of\ntheir fathers and show discrepancies of conduct and the like. Now, since\nthis fact cannot arise without a cause, it follows that we have to do\nhere with habits acquired in other existences.\n\n12, 13. 'That the new-born child, though his mental powers are wholly\nrude and his organs of sense in a torpid state, makes an effort to take\nthe breast without being instructed so and almost in a state of deep\nsleep, this proves his having in former existences exercised himself as\nto the fit ways of taking his food. For practice, perfecting the mind,\nsharpens its faculty for acquiring knowledge for different special\nperformances.\n\n'Perhaps, since thou art not accustomed to the idea of the existence of\nanother world, thou mayst still be doubtful about the last statement.\n(Should this be the case and shouldst thou reason in this way:)\n\n14. '\"Then the lotuses shutting and opening themselves are also a proof,\nindeed, of their having already practised those movements in other\nexistences. Otherwise, this not being admitted, why dost thou affirm\nthat the suckling's effort of taking the breast is the effect of\nexertion made in previous births?\"\n\n'then thou art obliged to put aside that doubt by the consideration that\nin one case there is compulsion, in the other freedom, and exertion is\nnot made there, but that it is made here.\n\n15. 'In the case of the lotuses, their opening and shutting depend on\ntime, but the effort to take the breast not so. Moreover, there is no\nexertion in the lotus, but in the case of the suckling it is evident\nthere is. It is the power of the sun that is the cause of the lotuses\nexpanding.\n\n'In this manner, then, Your Majesty, by a close and careful examination\nit is possible to have faith in the world hereafter.'\n\nBut the king, as he was deeply attached to the false lore he professed,\nalso because the extent of his sin was large, felt uneasy on hearing\nthat account of the other world, and spoke: 'Why, great _Ri_shi,\n\n16. 'If the next world is not that (well-known) bugbear for children, or\nif thou judgest it fit for me to believe in it, well, lend me five\nhundred nishkas[207] here, and I shall give thee back one thousand in\nthe next existence.'\n\n     [207] A nishka is a gold coin, whose value varied at different\n     times.\n\nNow when the king, according to his habitual boldness, had uttered\nwithout scruple this unbecoming language, which was as it were the\nvomiting of the poison of his wrong belief, the Bodhisattva answered him\nin a very proper way.\n\n17. 'Still in this world those who wish to employ their money, in order\nto augment it, do not make any loan at all to a wicked person or a\nglutton or a blockhead or a sluggard. For wealth going to such persons,\ntends to their ruin.\n\n18. 'But if they see one bashful, with thoroughly subdued senses, and\nskilled in business, to such a one they offer a loan, even unwitnessed.\nSuch a bestowal of money produces bliss.\n\n19. 'The very same line of conduct must be followed, O king, with\nrespect to a debt payable in the world hereafter. But it is not suitable\nto contract such a loan with thee who art a person of a wicked behaviour\nbecause of the evil doctrine thou professest.\n\n20. 'For, at the time when, being precipitated into hell by thy own\ncruel actions originating in the sin of a wicked lore, thou wilt lie\nthere, sore with pains and paralysed in thy mental powers, who would\nthen call upon thee for a debt of one thousand nishkas?\n\n21. 'There the regions of the sky do not shine in their full feminine\nbeauty[208] by the beams of sun and moon, the destroyers of their veil\nof darkness. Nor is the firmament there seen with its ornament of crowds\nof stars, like a lake embellished by unclosed waterlilies.\n\n     [208] The di_s_a_h_ belong grammatically, and for this reason also\n     mythologically, to the females. Hence they are spoken of as women\n     (diga\u1e45gan\u00e2_h_).\n\n22. 'The place where the unbelievers dwell in the next world, is\nencompassed with thick darkness, and an icy wind prevails there,\npenetrating to the very bones and extremely painful. Who, being wise,\nwould enter that hell in order to obtain money?\n\n23. 'Some wander for a long time on the bottom of the hell, which is\nwrapt in dense obscurity and dull with pungent smoke; they are afflicted\nthere, drawing along their rags fastened with leather thongs, and crying\nwith pain as often as they tumble over each other.\n\n24. 'Likewise others are running with wounded feet again and again in\nall directions in the Hell _G_valatkuk\u00fbla [ = Flaming Chaff], longing\nfor deliverance from thence, but they do not attain the end of their\nsin nor of their life.\n\n25. 'Terrible servants of Yama carve like carpenters the limbs of\nothers, having them fastened in different manners, and delight in\nshaping them by cutting with sharp knives, as if they wrought in fresh\ntimber.\n\n26. 'Others again are entirely stripped off their skin, groaning with\npain, or are even bereaved of their flesh, living skeletons, but they\ncannot die, kept alive by their own evil actions. Likewise others who\nare cut to pieces.\n\n27. 'Others draw flaming chariots for a long time. They wear broad\nflaming bits in their mouth and submit to harnesses and goads of a tawny\nhue, being fiery. The grounds on which they draw are of iron, heated by\nan unceasing fire.\n\n28. 'Some have their bodies crushed, when they meet mount\nSa_m_gh\u00e2ta[209], and ground to dust by its incursion; nevertheless, even\nin that great suffering of the most intense degree, they cannot die\nbefore their evil karma is annihilated.\n\n     [209] Sa_m_gh\u00e2ta is the name of a kind of infernal Symplegades. Cp.\n     Journal Asiatique, 8^e S., tome XX, p. 184 foll.\n\n29. 'Some others are being ground to dust with big and flaming brazen\npestles in troughs incandescent by fire during a succession of full five\nhundred years, and yet they do not lose life.\n\n30. 'Others again are hanging with their heads or even feet to trees\nmade red-hot like corals and of a rough surface, being beset with\nflaming thorns of sharp iron. They are beaten by demons, attendants of\nYama, who chide them with harsh cries.\n\n31. 'Others enjoy the fruit of their conduct, lying on large heaps of\nburning coals, flaming and resembling molten gold. (Helpless) they are\nexposed to their fate, they can do nothing but lie and moan.\n\n32. 'Some howl with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, while\ntheir bodies are overcome by heavy pains caused by hundreds of sharp\nspears on a ground illuminated by garlands of flames rising out of it.\nIn that time they are made to believe that there exists something like a\nworld beyond this.\n\n33. 'There are others whose heads are encircled with flaming diadems of\nbrass; others are boiled out in pots of brass. Of others the bodies are\nwounded by sharp stings of showers of weapons, and devoured by crowds of\nferocious animals, who gnaw them off to the bones.\n\n34. 'Others again, exhausted by toil, enter the salt water of the\nVaitara_n_\u00ee, but that water is painful to touch like fire, and their\nflesh wastes away from their limbs, when in it, but not their life, kept\nup by their evil actions.\n\n35. 'And those who afflicted because of the intense torment caused by\nburning, have resorted to (the hell named) A_s_u_k_iku_n_apa [the hell\nof unclean corpses] as to a pond of fresh water, meet there with\nunparalleled pain. Their bones are brought to decomposition by hundreds\nof worms.\n\n36. 'Elsewhere others undergo the pain of being burnt for a long time.\nSurrounded by fire, their bodies flame like iron staves surrounded by\nflames. Yet they do not burn to ashes, being kept alive by their\nactions.\n\n37. 'There is sawing of others with fiery saws, cutting of others with\nsharp razors. Of others the heads are crushed with hammers quickly\nswung, so as to make them yell with anguish. There is roasting on a\nsmokeless fire of others, fixed on broad iron-spits which pierce through\ntheir bodies. Others again are compelled to drink liquid brass looking\nlike blazing fire, which makes them utter raw cries.\n\n38. 'Some are assailed by spotted dogs of great strength who with their\nsharp-biting teeth tear off the flesh from their limbs; they fall on the\nground with lacerated bodies, crying loudly with pain.\n\n39. 'Of such a nature are the tremendous torments in the different\nhells. If thou, impelled by thy karma, shalt once have reached that\nstate[210], who then would think of calling upon thee for that debt at\nthat time, while thou art sore with sorrow and thy mind is afflicted\nwith exhaustion and sadness?\n\n     [210] The second p\u00e2da of this stanza is wanting an iambus in its\n     middle part. I think it is thus to be supplied: pr\u00e2pto bhavishyasi\n     (yad\u00e2) svak_ri_tapranunna_h_.\n\n40. 'It may happen that thou art staying in the hell of brazen jars\nfilled with the corpses of wicked people and hard to approach because of\nthe fire-flames, which heat them and make thee move helplessly exposed\nto the suffering of being boiled. Who then would think of calling upon\nthee for that debt at that time?\n\n41. 'Or thou mayst lie with tied limbs on flaming iron pins or on the\nearth made red-hot by a blazing fire. While thou wilt be weeping\npiteously, thy body burning away, who then would think of calling upon\nthee for that debt at that time?\n\n42. 'Who would require that debt from thee, when thou wilt have reached\nthat wretched state of humiliation, undergoing terrible sufferings and\nnot even able to make any answer?\n\n43. 'Or suppose thy bones to be pierced by the icy wind which destroys\neven the power of groaning, or thy voice uttering roaring cries of pain,\nwhen thou wilt be torn asunder, who would dare ask thee for that money\nin the other world?\n\n44. 'Or, if rather thou wert to be exposed to the injuries of Yama's\nattendants, or to lie in the midst of fiery flames, or if dogs and crows\nwere to feast on thy flesh and blood, who would urge thee with a call\nfor money in the other world?\n\n45. 'Besides, when thou wert to undergo an uninterrupted torture by\nstriking or cutting or beating or cleaving, by burning or carving or\ngrinding or splitting, in short, by the most different modes of tearing\nup (thy body), how shouldst thou be able to give back that debt to me at\nthat time?'\n\nThis extremely fearful account of the hells missed not its effect upon\nthe king. Hearing it, he became alarmed and left his attachment to the\nfalse lore. And having obtained faith in the world hereafter, he bowed\nto that illustrious _Ri_shi and spoke:\n\n46. 'After being apprised of the tortures in the different hells, my\nmind almost dissolves from fear, on the other hand I feel a burning\nsense of anxiety, considering how I may take shelter from that terrible\npain.\n\n47. 'For, short-sighted as I was, I walked on the wrong road, my mind\nbeing perverted by a wicked doctrine. Now then, let Thy Reverence be my\nguide here. Thou knowest the right way. Thou art my authority and my\nrefuge, O Muni.\n\n48. 'As the rising sun dispels darkness, so thou hast dispelled the\ndarkness of my false opinions. In the very same manner, O _Ri_shi, thou\nmust teach me the road, going on which I may not attain misery after\ndeath.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, perceiving his emotion and understanding that he\nhad changed his opinion for the better and had now become a vessel fit\nfor accepting the Law, instructed him--for he pitied him, like a father\nhis son or a teacher his pupil--in this way.\n\n49. 'The glorious way leading to Heaven, is that by which the old kings\nwent, who displayed their love of virtues, behaving like good pupils\ntowards _S_rama_n_as and Br\u00e2hmans, and manifested their compassion for\ntheir subjects by their own behaviour[211].\n\n     [211] The following stanzas are of a very ingenious composition. In\n     stanzas 50-54 each p\u00e2da ends in two homonymous syllables put twice\n     in different functions, and from 55 the simile of the chariot is\n     elaborated with great skill.\n\n50. 'Therefore, subdue injustice which is very difficult to subdue, and\novercome vile covetousness which is very difficult to overcome! So thou\nmayst mount a luminous being to the city of the Lord of Heaven, that\ncity with golden gates resplendent with the most excellent jewels.\n\n51. 'May thy approval of the lore cherished by the virtuous, and which\nthou acceptedst in a mind accustomed to a wicked lore, be steadfast.\nRenounce the latter, which is a system of injustice proclaimed by people\nintent on gratifying the fools.\n\n52. 'For thou hast taken the (right) road, O king, now, in that very\nmoment, when desiring to walk on it with the pious behaviour prescribed\nby the True Lore, thou destroyedst within thy heart the harsh feeling\nagainst virtues.\n\n53. 'Let, therefore, thy wealth be an instrument for obtaining virtues,\nand to thy people exercise mercy, which is an auspicious thing and will\nincrease thine own happiness. Be also constant in keeping the excellent\nrestraint of senses and good conduct. In this way thou mayst incur no\ncalamity in the next world.\n\n54. 'Let thy rule, O king, derive its entire brilliancy from the lustre\nof thy meritorious actions; let it be relied upon by those who practise\ngood actions, and be lovely by its purity. So ruling thou wilt strive\nfor thy true happiness together with thy material interest, and\nexterminate the anguish of the creatures, increasing thereby thy glory\nin a lovely manner.\n\n55. 'Thou art here (on earth) standing on thy royal war-chariot. Let\nworship of the pious be thy charioteer. Let thy own body, engendering\nvirtues, be thy chariot. Let friendliness be its axle, self-restraint\nand charity its wheels, and the earnest desire for gathering merit its\naxletree.\n\n56. 'Control thy horses, the organs of sense, with that splendid bridle\nnamed attentiveness. Make prudence thy goad and take thy weapons from\nthe store of sacred learning. Let shame be the furniture of thy chariot,\nhumility its lovely pole, forbearance its yoke. (Standing on that\nchariot,) thou wilt drive it skilfully, if thou art firm in courageous\nself-command.\n\n57. 'By keeping down bad words thou wilt make it go without rattling of\nthe wheels; if thou usest lovely language, the sound of them will be\ngrave and deep. Never breaking thy self-restraint will preserve thy\nchariot from looseness of its constituent parts. Thou wilt keep the\nright direction, if thou avoidest going astray on the winding paths of\nwicked actions.\n\n58. 'Using this vehicle (y\u00e2na), brilliant with the lustre of wisdom,\nadorned by the flag of good renown and the high-floating banner of\ntranquillity, and followed by mercy as its attendance, thou wilt move in\nthe direction of the Highest \u00c2tman (param\u00e2tm\u00e2) and never shalt thou\ndescend to the infernal regions, O king.'\n\nHaving thus dispelled by the brilliant beams of his words that darkness\nof false lore that lay upon the mind of the king, and shown him clearly\nthe road to happiness, the High-minded One disappeared on the spot. But\nthe king, having got a thorough knowledge concerning the matters of the\nnext world, embraced the True Lore with his whole heart, and himself as\nwell as his officials, his townsmen, and landsmen became intent on\nexercising charity, self-command, and self-restraint.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, those who are possessed by the vice of clinging to\na false belief are especially worth commiserating by the virtuous; for\nthe tenets of unbelief are blameable. [This story may also be adduced\nwith this conclusion: 'In this manner listening to the preaching of the\nExcellent Law (saddharma), fills up with overflowing faith.' Or with\nthis: 'In this manner hearing the Law preached by another, rouses faith\nproductive of right belief.' And when adducing it in a discourse on\npraise of the virtuous, likewise on the subject of forbearance, this is\nto be said: 'In this manner the virtuous will parry even a hostile\nattack by counselling their enemy for his good, and they will do so\nwithout harshness in consequence of their being accustomed to\nforbearance.' Also when treating of sa_m_vega[212], it is to be said:\n'In this manner emotion of the mind makes a man inclined to care for\nhis salvation.']\n\n     [212] Sa_m_vega is the emotional state which prepares the mind to\n     accept spiritual instruction or to take the vow of a religious\n     life.\n\n\n     Of this _G_\u00e2taka no P\u00e2li recension has been edited as yet, nor am I\n     aware of its occurring in other texts of the Northern Buddhists.\n     Yet, at least stanza 16, which contains the pointe of the tale,\n     must be founded on some old traditional verse, one of those sacred\n     sayings, of which the _G_\u00e2taka-class of the Holy Writ is made up.\n\n\n\n\nXXX. THE STORY OF THE ELEPHANT.\n\n\nIf they may cause by it the happiness of others, even pain is highly\nesteemed by the righteous, as if it were gain. This will be taught by\nthe following.\n\nOnce the Bodhisattva, it is said, was a huge elephant. He had his\nresidence in some forest suitable for elephants, which had for its\nornament, so to speak, the young offshoots of its excellent trees, whose\ntops were conspicuous by their twigs, flowers, and fruits. Its bottom\nwas hidden under manifold kinds of shrubs and trees and grasses. It was\nbeset with mountain-ridges and plateaus that made the effect, as if they\nwere detained there by the charming beauty of the forest and would not\nlong for another place. That wood was the abode of forest-animals, and\ncontained a lake of abundant and deep water. It was far remote from the\nhabitations of men, being surrounded on all sides by a large desert,\nwhere there was no tree, no shrub, no water. There he lived a solitary\nelephant.\n\n1. Like an ascetic he stayed there, pleased with leaves of the trees,\nlotus-stalks and water, and with the virtues of contentment and\ntranquillity.\n\nNow one time, when the Great Being was wandering near the border of that\nforest, it happened that he heard a noise of people from the side of the\nwilderness. Then this thought entered his mind: 'What may this be? First\nof all, there is in this direction no road leading to any country; nor\nis it likely, a hunting-party should have crossed a wilderness so large\nas this. Still less can there be question of an attempt to catch my\nfellow-elephants, on account of the heavy toil with which it would be\nattended.\n\n2, 3. 'Surely, this people are either astray, their guides having lost\ntheir way, or have been banished in consequence of a king's anger or of\ntheir own misconduct. Such is the nature of the noise I hear, which is\nnot made up of the strong tones of joy, cheerfulness, and merriment, but\nrather low-spirited sounds, as of people weeping under the overwhelming\npower of a great grief.\n\n'At all events, I will know what it really is.' Thus reflecting, the\nGreat Being impelled by his compassion, hastened forward in the\ndirection from whence the noise of that multitude came. When he heard\nmore distinctly those sad and piteous accents of lamentation, unpleasant\nto the ears, the High-minded One, understanding that they were cries for\nhelp uttered by people in distress, ran with still greater swiftness,\nhis mind being filled with the yearning of compassion. After leaving the\nthicket, owing to the naked desert destitute of vegetation, he saw\nalready from afar that body of persons who cried for assistance, keeping\ntheir eyes in the direction of the forest. They numbered seven hundred\nmen, and were exhausted with hunger, thirst, and fatigue. And those men,\non the other hand, saw the Great Being coming up to them, resembling a\nmoving peak of a snow-covered mountain, or a condensed mass of white\nfog, or an autumn-cloud driven towards them by a strong wind; and as\nthey were overcome with sorrow and utterly dejected, this sight\nfrightened them much. In their fear they thought: 'Alas! now we are\ncertainly lost!' but they could make no effort to run away; hunger,\nthirst, and fatigue had destroyed their energy.\n\n4. Powerless by hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and being in low spirits,\nthey made no preparations for flight, though the peril seemed imminent.\n\nThe Bodhisattva perceiving their anxiety, exclaimed: 'Be not afraid! Be\nnot afraid! You have nothing to fear from my part,' and so comforting\nthem, drew nigh, uplifting his trunk and showing its tip broad, soft,\nand dark-red as copper. Moved by compassion he asked them: 'Who are you,\nsirs, and how are you come to this state?\n\n5. 'Your pale faces betray the effect of dust and sun, meagre you are\nand suffering from sorrow and dejection of mind. Who are you and by what\ncause have you come here?'\n\nOn hearing him utter in a human voice these words not only indicative of\na peaceful disposition, but of the desire to succour, the men recovered\ntheir confidence, and the whole assembly bowed to him. Then they spoke:\n\n6. 'An outburst of the king's anger blew us away to this region from the\nvery eyes of our kinsmen, who sorrowful must behold that banishment, O\nlord of elephants.\n\n7. 'Yet, forsooth, there must be still some remnant of our good fortune\nand some favour of Fortune towards us that we have drawn the attention\nof Thee, who art better than friends and kinsmen.\n\n8. 'By the auspicious sight of Thee we know we have crossed our\ncalamity. Who, in truth, having seen even in his dreams such a being as\nThee, would not be saved from distress?'\n\nThen that eminent elephant spoke: 'Well, how many are you, sirs?' The\nmen said:\n\n9, 10. 'We numbered one thousand men, O fair-figured being, when the\nking left us here, but many of us, being unacquainted with adversity,\nhave perished overcome by hunger, thirst, and sorrow. And now, O lord of\nelephants, we estimate the number of those still alive to be seven\nhundred, who being about to sink down in the mouth of Death, look up to\nThee as the embodied Comfort come to us to help.'\n\nBy these words the Great Being, as he was in the habit of compassion,\nwas moved to tears, and commiserating them said, to be sure, something\nlike this: 'Alas! alas!\n\n11. 'Oh! How averse to tenderness, how devoid of shame, how little\nanxious about the next world the mind of that king is! Oh! How his\nsenses, caught by his royal splendour, something as fickle as lightning,\nare blind to his good!\n\n12. 'Oh! He does not understand that Death is near, I suppose, nor has\nhe been taught the unhappy end of wickedness! Alas! Oh! Those poor and\nhelpless kings who, owing to the weakness of their judgment, are\nimpatient of listening to words (of counsel).\n\n13. 'And, verily, this cruelty towards living beings is performed on\naccount of one single body, a perishable substratum of illnesses[213]!\nAlas! Fie upon ignorance!'\n\n     [213] I surmise that p\u00e2da 2 of this line is to be read rogibh\u00fbtasya\n     n\u00e2_s_ina_h_.\n\nNow, while letting his eyes full of pity and tenderness go over that\npeople, this thought appeared to the chief of elephants: 'Being so\ntortured by hunger, thirst and fatigue, and their bodies having become\nso weak, how may they overcome that wilderness of an extent of many\nyo_g_anas, where they find neither water nor shade, unless they have\nwholesome food? Nor does the forest of elephants contain proper food for\nthem, not even for one day, without much trouble. Nevertheless, if they\nwere to take their provisions from the flesh of my limbs and to use my\nbowels instead of bags, putting water in them, they would be able to\ncross this desert; not otherwise.\n\n14. 'Let me, therefore, in their behalf employ my body, the abode of\nmany hundreds of illnesses, that it may be for this multitude of men\noverwhelmed by suffering, like a raft to get across their misery.\n\n15. 'Being born a man is the proper state for reaching happiness, either\nheavenly bliss or final extinction, and it is difficult to attain that\nstate. May then this advantage not be dissolved to them!\n\n16. 'Further, since they are come within the compass of my dominion, I\nrightly may call them my guests. And they are in distress and destitute\nof relations; hence I have to show the more pity to them.\n\n17. 'And this vessel of many infirmities, this substratum of manifold\ntoil caused by everlasting illness, this assemblage of evils, whose name\nis \"body,\" will now, after a long time, have at last its proper\nemployment, serving to relieve others.'\n\nThen some of them, who suffered intensely from the pain of hunger,\nthirst, fatigue, and heat, after bowing to him with folded hands and\neyes wet with tears, in the manner of supplicants, asked him for water\nby means of signs with their hands. Others spoke to him piteous words:\n\n18. 'To us who are destitute of kindred, Thou art a kinsman, Thou art\nour recourse and refuge. Deign to shelter us in such a way as Thou\ndeemest best, Illustrious One!'\n\nOthers again who had more energy of mind, asked him to show them some\nplace where to find water and the way to get out of that dreadful\ndesert.\n\n19, 20. 'If there is here some pond or river with cold water, or perhaps\nsome waterfall, if a shady tree may be found here on a grass-plot, tell\nit us, O chief of elephants. And since thou thinkest it possible to get\nout of this desert, show us mercy and point out the direction to us.\n\n'It is a good many days that we have been staying in this wilderness.\nFor this reason, pray make us, O lord, get across it.'\n\nThen the High-minded One who felt his heart growing still more wet with\npity by their piteous requests, uplifting his trunk as big as the coils\nof a mighty serpent, showed them the mountain, beyond which they could\nmake their escape from the wilderness, and spoke: 'Underneath this\nmountain there is a large lake adorned with lotuses, white and red, and\ncontaining pure water. Go, therefore, by this way. With the water of\nthat lake ye may quench your thirst, and dispel your fatigue and (the\nvexation of) heat. Then, continuing your way, not far from that place\nye will meet with the corpse of an elephant, fallen down the\nmountain-plateau. The flesh of its limbs ye must take to serve for\nprovisions on the journey, and provide yourselves with water, putting it\nin its bowels instead of bags; after which ye have to go farther in the\nvery same direction. So ye will overcome this wilderness without much\nhardship.' With such comforting language the High-minded One induced\nthem to set out, but himself, running quickly by another way, ascended\nto the top of that mountain. Standing there, about to give up his own\nbody for the purpose of rescuing that body of people, he strengthened\nhis determination[214], truly, by representing to his mind something\nlike this.\n\n     [214] This 'strong determination' is the pra_n_idhi, also called\n     pra_n_idh\u00e2na. By it he who performs some extraordinary meritorious\n     action with the object of attaining some definite result in a\n     future existence proclaims his design before carrying out his\n     performance. Its counterpart in the ritual of Hinduism is the\n     so-called sa_m_kalpa preceding the ceremony and contributory to its\n     success. For other instances of it, though the name of pra_n_idhi\n     is not used there, see Story I, stanzas 30-32; VIII, stanzas 53-55.\n\n21. 'This performance does not tend to the attainment of a high state\nfor myself, neither the magnificence of a king of men, the possessor of\nthe royal umbrella, nor Heaven with the singular flavour of its\nsurpassing enjoyments, nor the bliss of Brahma's world, nor even the\nhappiness of release[215];\n\n     [215] Viz. 'final extinction' or nirv\u00e2_n_a.\n\n22. 'But if there be any merit of mine in thus striving to help those\nmen lost in the wilderness, may I become by it the Saviour of the World,\nof those creatures erring in the wilderness of _S_a_m_s\u00e2ra!'\n\nHaving thus resolved, and not minding because of his gladness, the\npainful death he would suffer by being crushed down that deep descent,\nthe High-minded One gave up his body according to his design by\nprecipitating himself down that steep mountain.\n\n23. While falling, he shone like an autumn-cloud or like the moon\nsinking with reversed disc behind the mountain of setting, or like the\nsnow-cover of the peak of that mountain, cast down by the violent\nswiftness of the wind moved by the wings of Garu_d_a.\n\n24. With the heavy noise of a whirlwind he precipitated himself, shaking\nnot only the earth and the mountains, but the mind of M\u00e2ra possessed by\nthe infatuation of sovereignty[216]. And in his fall, he bent both the\nforest-creepers and the forest-deities.\n\n     [216] In the original _k_a put twice in the second p\u00e2da of this\n     stanza is hardly right. In the latter place, I suppose that it\n     should be changed to sa.\n\n25. No doubt, on that occasion the Celestials, residing about that\nforest, were affected with the utmost astonishment. From the ecstasy of\ntheir gladness the hairs on their body bristled, and they swung their\narms in the sky, their fine fingers turned upwards.\n\n26. Some overspread him with a thick shower of flowers sweet-scented and\ntinged with sandal-powder. Others covered him with their upper garments,\nwrought of (celestial) unwoven stuff and resplendent with golden\ndecorations; others with their ornaments.\n\n27. Others again worshipped him with hymns they had devoutly composed,\nand with the reverence of the a_\u00f1g_ali, their folded hands resembling\nopening lotus-buds. Or they honoured him with bent heads, lowering their\nbeautiful head-diadems, and with prayers of veneration.\n\n28. Some fanned him with an agreeable wind, such as arranges garlands\n(of foam) on the waves and is perfumed with the scents borrowed from the\ndust of flowers. Others held a canopy of dense clouds in the sky over\nhis head.\n\n29. Some were prompted by devotion to make Heaven echo his praise with\nthe sounds of the celestial drums. And more, others enamelled the trees\nwith an untimely outburst of new twigs, flowers, and fruits.\n\n30. The sky assumed the lovely splendour of autumn, the sun's rays\nseemed to become longer, and the Ocean trembled and shook its\nwave-surface as from impatience to go and visit him out of gladness.\n\nMeanwhile those men, following the way pointed out to them, had reached\nthe lake; and after refreshing themselves and recovering from heat,\nthirst, and fatigue, going on as the High-minded One had instructed\nthem, they saw at no great distance from that place the body of an\nelephant that had died not long before. And they reflected: 'What a\nstrong likeness this elephant has to that chief of elephants!\n\n31. 'Is he perhaps a brother to that mighty being, or some kinsman of\nhis, or one of his sons? In fact, it is the self-same beautiful figure\nequalling a snow-peak that we behold in this body, even though it be\ncrushed.\n\n32. 'It looks like a condensation of the lustre of many groups of\nwaterlilies, like the concrete form of moonshine, or rather like His\nimage, reflected in a mirror.'\n\nBut some among them who had a keener judgment of the matter began to\nreflect thus: 'As far as we see, this animal, whose surpassing beauty\nrivals the elephants of the world-quarters, is that very elephant,\nindeed, who has thrown himself from this plateau, in order that He might\nsave us from distress who are without relations and friends.' (And\nhaving understood so, they said:)\n\n33. 'That noise we heard, as of a whirlwind, as of an earthquake, was\ncaused by His fall, to be sure.\n\n34. 'This body, in truth, is His. It has the same yellowish-white hue of\na lotus-root, and is covered with similar hairs as white as moonbeams\nand adorned with fine spots. These are the same tortoise-like feet with\nwhite nails. And this is the same backbone gracefully curved in the\nguise of a bow.\n\n35. 'Also this is the same face long and full, embellished by the\nfurrows of his wind-perfuming juice. And this is the same head, tall,\nauspicious, never touched by a driver's goad, standing on a strong neck.\n\n36. 'This is the same couple of tusks of a honey-colour; they boastingly\nbear the token (of his glory), being covered with the red dust of the\nmountain-slope. And this is that trunk with long, finger-like tip,\nwherewith He showed us this way.\n\n'Oh! This is, in truth, a wonder of surpassing strangeness!\n\n37. 'Ah! So great a friendship has He shown to us, without first\ninquiring into our family, our conduct and faith, to us broken by\nmisfortunes and never heard of by Him before! How great must His\ngoodness be for His friends and relations!\n\n'In every way veneration be to Him, that Illustrious One!\n\n38. 'Assisting the likes of us, distressed people, overcome with fear\nand sorrow and desponding, He, bearing the shape of an elephant, holds\nup, as it were, the sinking behaviour of the pious[217].\n\n     [217] I have not adopted the ingenious conjecture of Professor\n     Kern, sishatsat\u00e2m, as I now think the text of the MSS. gives a good\n     sense, if but the complex of aksharas s\u00eedatsat\u00e2m is divided into\n     two words. Accordingly I read s\u00eedat sat\u00e2m udvahat\u00eeva v_ri_ttam.\n\n39. 'Where has He been taught this extraordinary propitiousness? At the\nfeet of what teacher may He have sat in the forest? The popular saying:\n'no beauty of figure pleases without virtues' is exemplified in Him.\n\n40. 'Oh! How He has manifested by the splendid loftiness of His nature\nthe auspiciousness to be expected of (his auspicious figure)! Verily,\neven in His dead body, His self-satisfaction appears in His complexion\nshining like the Snow-mountain, as though it laughed with joy!\n\n'Who, therefore, will allow himself to feed on the body of this\nexceedingly virtuous being, who, surpassing by his goodness affectionate\nrelations and friends, was thus inclined to help us, thus ready to\nsacrifice even his own life for our benefit? No, it becomes us rather to\npay him our debt of gratitude by the cremation of his body with the\nproper rites and worship.' Thus considering, they were inclined to\nindulge in mourning, as if a family-disaster had befallen them; their\neyes grew dim with tears and they lamented in a faltering voice. But\nsome of them who had a stronger frame of mind, perceiving their attitude\nand understanding the difference of the cases, spoke to them: 'Verily,\nby doing so this excellent elephant would be neither worshipped nor\ngratified. For aught we know, it is by the accomplishment of his design\nthat we ought to honour him.\n\n41. 'For it was with the object of rescuing us, that he, a stranger to\nus, yea, not even knowing us, abandoned in this manner his body dear to\nhim, to his guests, still dearer to him.\n\n42. 'For this reason it is proper to fulfil his design. Otherwise, would\nnot the exertion of that being be made fruitless?\n\n43. 'He has offered affectionately his whole property, indeed, to\nentertain his guests. Who, then, would render his hospitality fruitless\nby not accepting it?\n\n44. 'We are therefore bound to honour him by accepting it like the word\nof a teacher, whereby we will secure also our own welfare.\n\n45. 'After surmounting our adversity, it will be the fit time to worship\nhim either conjointly or severally, and to perform for this excellent\nelephant the whole of the funeral rites due to a deceased kinsman.'\n\nAccordingly those men, keeping in mind that that chief of elephants had\ntaken his determination with the object of rescuing them from the\nwilderness, obeyed his words. They took their provisions from the body\nof the Great Being, and filled his bowels with water, using them as\nwater-bags. Then following the direction he had pointed out to them,\nthey safely crossed that wilderness.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner the righteous highly esteem even pain, as if it were\ngain, if they may cause by it the happiness of others. [So is to be said\nwhen praising the righteous. Likewise, when discoursing on the Tath\u00e2gata\nor on the subject of listening with attention to the preaching of the\nLaw. When treating of how to acquire an auspicious nature, this is to be\nsaid: 'In this manner an auspicious nature obtained by exercise (of\nvirtues) comes back in new existences.' This story may also be told,\nwhen demonstrating the virtue consisting in habitual charity. 'So the\nhabit of abandoning material objects makes it easy to give up even\nself-love.' And on the words spoken by the Lord at the time of His\nComplete Nirv\u00e2_n_a, when He was attended with celestial flowers and\ncelestial music: 'Something like this, in truth, is not the right\nmanner, \u00c2nanda, to gratify the Tath\u00e2gata,' this story may serve as the\ncomment, by taking it for example: 'In this manner worship consists in\nfulfilling the design (of the person honoured), not in offerings of\nperfumes, garlands, and the like.']\n\n     In the Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2 this tale occurs in pallava 96, 9-15, where\n     the Lord tells it succinctly. The elephant is called Bhadra\n     (friendly; 'auspicious') there. Cp. supra, stanzas 39, 40, where\n     his atibhadrat\u00e2, respecting bhadrat\u00e2, is praised. Concerning the\n     Bhadra-elephants cp. Kielhorn, Indian Antiquary, 1890, p. 60.\n\n\n\n\nXXXI. THE STORY OF SUTASOMA.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 537, Fausb. V, 456-511, and _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nIII, 12[218].)\n\n     [218] Compare Professor Kern's interesting paper on the\n     Old-Javanese poem Sutasoma in the Verslagen en Mededeelingen der\n     Kon. Akademie van Wetenschappen afd. Letterkunde, 3^{de} Reeks, dl.\n     V. pp. 8-43, especially note on p. 21. This Javanese poem, composed\n     by Tantular, a manuscript of which belongs to the Leiden University\n     Library, is based on some unknown work named Bauddhak\u00e2vya, not\n     mentioned in Bunyiu Nanjio's Catalogue.\n\n\nMeeting with a virtuous person, in whatever way it may have been\noccasioned, promotes salvation. Thus considering, he who longs for\nsalvation must strive after intercourse with virtuous persons. This will\nbe taught as follows.\n\nIn the time when our Lord was a Bodhisattva, he happened to be born, it\nis said, in the illustrious royal family of the Kauravas, that dynasty\nwide-famed for its glory, who owing to their intentness on possessing\nvirtues, possessed the deep-rooted affection of their subjects, and the\nsplendour of whose power had put their proud neighbours to vassalage.\nHis father gave him the name of Sutasoma, for he looked as lovely as\nSoma (the Moon-god), his face being irradiated by the nimbus of his\nhundreds of virtues. Like the moon in the bright half of the month, his\nloveliness and grace increased every day. Having in course of time\nattained skill in the Vedas with their A\u1e45gas and in the Upavedas, and\nhaving been also initiated in the worldly arts and sciences (kal\u00e2s),\nincluding the additional ones (uttarakal\u00e2s), he became an object of\nesteem and love to his people and might be called a kinsman of virtues,\nso to speak. For he was inclined to be a decided helper of virtues[219],\nhis regard for them was ever increasing, and he kept himself under\nrestraint to preserve them carefully.\n\n     [219] So elsewhere the pious are called 'partisans of virtue'\n     (gu_n_apakshap\u00e2tina_h_). See, for instance, Story VII, stanza 31.\n\n1, 2. Good conduct (_s_\u00eela), learning, charity, mercy, self-control,\nsplendour, forbearance, wisdom, patience, humility, modesty, shame,\njudgment, loveliness, renown, civility, retentiveness, strength,\npureness of mind, these and such were the excellent properties which\ndwelt with him. Embellished by his youth, as it were, and deriving an\nadditional charm from the holiness and loftiness of his person, they\nwere like his constituent parts, as the (sixteen) kal\u00e2s of the\nmoon[220].\n\n     [220] The exactness of the comparison would appear more, if the\n     number of virtues of young Sutasoma were also sixteen. But I count\n     nineteen.\n\nAnd for this reason the king, his father, raised him to the illustrious\nrank of heir-apparent, judging him the proper person for ruling his\nsubjects, for he knew his high aspirations and the holiness of his\nnature.\n\n3. But as he was fond of learning, he was a great lover of religious\nsentences well-turned, and paid the most distinguished reward to those\nwho attended him with well-said sentences.\n\nOnce it was the season of spring, and the power of the month of flowers\nhad decorated the suburban parks. The young offshoots of shrubs and\ntrees overspread them with a soft brilliancy; the opening flowers gave\nthem a charming and laughing aspect; fresh grass-plots, like smooth\nwoollen carpets, extended all around over their grounds; their\nwater-basins with unstained and blue water were covered with the petals\nof lotuses white and blue; the humming noise of numbers of roaming bees\nwas heard in them; crowds of bold cuckoos and peacocks showed\nthemselves; and breezes, agreeable by their mildness, fragrancy, and\ncoolness, blew over them. The splendour of those gardens roused gladness\nin the minds of men. So the High-minded One, walking about escorted by a\nsmall body of guards, went out to one of those pleasure-grounds in order\nto divert himself.\n\n4. Its groves resounded with the chants of the he-cuckoo; its various\ntrees were bending under the weight of their flowers; and the grace of\nthe gardens was enhanced by their charming arbours, artfully arranged.\nRambling through his groves in the company of his wives, he resembled\none enjoying the fruit of his merit in Nandana.\n\n5. There he delighted in the songs of the females blending with the soft\ntones of musical instruments, in their dances charmingly executed with\nexciting coquetry and graceful[221] gesticulation, in their brilliant\namorous play in consequence of their excitement by liquors, but no less\nin the loveliness of the forest.\n\n     [221] Professor Kern writes to me, that lulita\u00ba in the printed text\n     ought to be changed into lalita\u00ba, the reading of the MSS.\n\nNow, while he was staying there, a certain Br\u00e2hman who professed to be a\nspeaker of well-said sentences, called on him. After being received with\ndue respect, he sat down in that place, absorbed in the contemplation of\nthe prince's beautiful figure. So the Great Being, though he was\nenjoying at that time the sport allowed to his age and fallen to his\nshare as the effect of the power of his rich store of merit, was\nnevertheless filled with great regard for that Br\u00e2hman. Before the\nBr\u00e2hman could reap the profit of his coming by reciting some well-turned\nsentences, there suddenly arose a confused noise, checking the sounds of\nsong and music, destroying the merriment of the company engaged in\nplayful occupation, and rousing fear and anxiety in the females. On\nhearing this uproar, he kindly bade the guardians of his harem inquire\nabout the matter. Then his doorkeepers hastily went to him, alarmed and\nwith saddened faces expressive of their fear and anxiety. They reported\nto him: 'Your Majesty, this is the man-eater Kalm\u00e2shap\u00e2da, the son of\nSud\u00e2sa, the cruel disposition of whose mind exceeds even that of the\nR\u00e2kshasas. It is he, who, as if he were an incarnation of the God of\nDeath, is in the habit of destroying hundreds of men. Looking terrible\nand dreadful like a Rakshas, that embodied Terror of the World, so to\nspeak, of superhuman strength, vigour, and insolence is coming up to\nthis very place. Our guards are dispersed. Terror has devoured the\ncourage of the warriors, consternation has dissolved their ranks, and\nput also the chariots, horse, and elephants into disorder. Therefore\nYour Majesty must be on your guard for your defence, or reflect on the\nproper measures to be taken.' Then Sutasoma, though knowing it well,\nasked them: 'Who is that man whom you call the son of Sud\u00e2sa?' And they\nsaid to him: 'Is it then unknown to Your Majesty that there was a king\nof the name, who having gone out a hunting, carried away by his horse\npenetrated into the very heart of the forest? There he cohabited with a\nlioness, who having become pregnant, after some time was delivered of a\nmale human child. Some foresters took up that boy, and brought him to\nSud\u00e2sa, who being childless, brought him up as his son, and when he\npassed away to the city of the Celestials[222], left him as his\nsuccessor. So he came to the possession of his legitimate royal dignity,\nbut by the fault of his maternal origin he was fond of raw flesh. Once\nhaving tasted human flesh and liking its relish surpassing any other\nflesh, he commenced to kill and eat the very inhabitants of his capital.\nThen the townsmen prepared to put him to death. The son of Sud\u00e2sa, being\nafraid of them, made this promise to the goblins who are wont to enjoy\nofferings of human flesh and blood: \"If I am saved from this peril, I\nwill perform a sacrifice of one hundred royal princes to the goblins.\"\nSo he was saved from that peril of his life. And now he carried off by\nforce many, many royal princes, and he is also come here in order to\ncarry away[223] Your Majesty, too. You have heard the matter; we await\nyour orders, Your Majesty.'\n\n     [222] In other words, 'when he died.'\n\n     [223] Upahartum is of course a misprint for apahartum.\n\nNow the Bodhisattva, who was formerly aware of the aberration of mind of\nthe son of Sud\u00e2sa and his wicked behaviour, felt compassion for him. So\nhe set his mind on the design of curing him; and since he trusted\nhimself to possess the qualities adapted to the extinction of the\nmonstrous abnormity of his conduct, the information about Sud\u00e2sa's son\ndrawing near, like welcome news, made him feel the sense of gladness.\nAnd, indeed, he spoke in this manner:\n\n6. 'This man who, dispossessed from his royalty because of his fondness\nfor human flesh, acts like a madman utterly unable to govern himself,\nhaving left his royal duties and destroyed his (former) good repute and\nmerit, such a person, I suppose, is in a state deserving commiseration.\n\n7. 'This being so, what opportunity is there for me to use force now, or\nwhat room for alarm and fear from the side of such a one? Rather will I\nutterly destroy his wickedness without employing effort, violence, and\nforce.\n\n8. 'And now this man who would deserve commiseration from my side, if\neven he went away from me, comes himself to the place, where I am\nstaying. For this reason it befits me to show him hospitality. For it\nis in this way that the virtuous act towards guests.\n\n'Therefore, it suffices that each of you mind his ordinary duty.' So he\ninstructed the guard of his harem. And turning to his female\nlife-guards, who with eyes great and bewildered with anxiety and with\nthroats almost choked by agitation, prepared to bar the way of the\nmonster, he made them desist from that purpose, addressing them with\ncomforting words, and went forward in the direction of that alarming\nnoise. And he saw his royal army dispersed and in flight, pursued by the\nson of Sud\u00e2sa, whose appearance was dreadful. His soiled garments,\nloosely kept together with a girdle, hung around his body; his hair\ndressed with a diadem of bark and coarse with dust, was dishevelled and\nhanging down his face wholly covered with a thick, rugged beard which\nlay upon it like darkness; his eyes rolling with wrath and anger looked\ntremendous; he brandished his sword and shield. The prince fearless and\nfree from anxiety, called out to him: 'Hallo, here I am, I, Sutasoma.\nTurn to me. Why are you troubling yourself to assail those poor people?'\nThese words of challenge stirred the pride of the son of Sud\u00e2sa, and\nturning from thence like a lion, he perceived the Bodhisattva (waiting\nfor him) alone, unarmed, and placidly looking according to his nature.\nOn seeing him he exclaimed, 'You are the very man I am seeking,' and at\nonce without delay went hastily and with impetuosity to him, and placing\nhim on his shoulder ran off. And the Bodhisattva, considering with\nsolicitude that his mind was still troubled with agitation, and his\nheart infatuated by wrath and arrogance kindled by the insolence of his\nrejoicing at the royal forces put to flight, thought it was no proper\ntime now for admonition, and persisted in his attitude of unconcern. On\nthe other hand, the son of Sud\u00e2sa having obtained his wish and thinking\nto have made a capture of importance, entered much rejoiced the\nstronghold where he had his residence.\n\n9, 10. That unholy dwelling, when appearing from afar to the eyes of the\ntravellers, caused them to be frozen with horror; for it offered an\naspect as dreadful as the dancing-place of giants and spectres[224]. It\nwas encumbered with corpses of slain men, and wet with blood horribly\nmoistening its ground; it seemed to threaten every one (approaching)\nwith the cries of jackals roaring there most inauspiciously; and the\ntrees standing on its area, exposed to the discolouring smoke of many\nfuneral piles, bore dark-red leaves, the ferocious abode of vultures and\ncrows.\n\n     [224] In other words, 'as dreadful as a cemetery.'\n\nHaving set down the Bodhisattva in that place, he took his rest for a\nwhile, his eyes intently fixed on the face of his victim, charmed as he\nwas by his exceeding beauty. Meanwhile the Bodhisattva remembered that\npoor Br\u00e2hman who had come to him in order to get some present for his\nsentences, whom he had not yet paid the due honour, and who must still\nbe waiting for his return to the gardens with hope in his heart. And\nthis thought entered in his mind: 'Alas! ho!\n\n11. 'That Br\u00e2hman came to me from afar, bringing to me the present of\nhis sentences and filled with hope. What will he do now on hearing of my\ncapture?\n\n12. 'Afflicted with a burning sorrow on account of the destruction of\nhis hope, and vexed with fatigue felt the keener because of his despair,\nhe will either sigh, commiserating my fate, or chide his own destiny.'\n\nWhile the Great Being was reflecting in this manner, and his mind\naccustomed to commiserate (the sufferings of others) was sore with grief\non account of that Br\u00e2hman, tears welled up in his eyes. The son of\nSud\u00e2sa, seeing those tears, began to laugh aloud, and said: 'Do leave\noff.\n\n13. 'You are renowned for your wisdom proved by many different virtues.\nBut having come into my power, you too shed tears!\n\n'Verily, this is a true saying:\n\n14. 'In calamities constancy has no effect, and in sorrow learning is of\nno use. No being is to be found, indeed, who does not shake, when\nstricken.\n\n'Therefore, tell me the truth.\n\n15. 'Do you bewail your life dear to yourself, or your wealth, the\ninstrument of pleasures, or your relations, or perhaps your royal rank?\nOr is it the recollection of your father who loves his son so much, or\nthat of your own children who now weep for you, which makes these tears\nburst from your eyes?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said:\n\n16. 'It is not the thought either of my life or my parents, children,\nrelatives, and wives, or the recollection of the pleasures of royalty,\nthat moves me to tears; but some Br\u00e2hman who came to me hopeful, relying\non the well-said sentences he brings with him. Forsooth, hearing that I\nhave been carried off, he must grieve with despair. This I remembered,\nand hence my eyes are wet with tears.\n\n17. 'For this reason you ought to let me go in order that I may refresh\nthe heart of that Br\u00e2hman, now distressed with the grief of\ndisappointment, pouring on it the water of honourable reward, and on the\nother hand, that I may take from him the honey of sentences he offers\nme.\n\n18. 'After thus paying my debt to that Br\u00e2hman, I will come back to you\nagain, that I may be also free from debt with respect to you, and afford\ngladness to your eyes beholding me returning here.\n\n19. 'Do not, however, suspect me, troubling your mind with the thought\nthis may be some contrivance of mine to go off. Men like me, O king,\nfollow a way different from that on which other people are wont to\nwalk.'\n\nThe son of Sud\u00e2sa spoke:\n\n20. 'What you say, as if it were something worth regard, is a thing\nwhich utterly exceeds belief. Who, indeed, being released from the mouth\nof Death and having recovered his freedom of movement, would go to meet\nit once more?\n\n21. 'If, having passed the danger of death hard to overcome, you are in\nsafety in your brilliant palace, say, what reason does there exist that\nshould induce you to come back here to me?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke: 'How? Does Your Honour not understand the motive\nof my returning here, though it is a strong one, to be sure? Have I not\npromised to come back? For this reason, do not suspect me any longer,\ntaking me for an equal of the villain. Am I not Sutasoma?\n\n22. 'It is true that some, out of cupidity and fear of death, leave\nveracity, as if it were a straw. But to the virtuous veracity is their\nproperty and life; therefore they do not give it up even in distress.\n\n23. 'Neither life nor the pleasures of this world will preserve from\nmishap him who has fallen from veracity. Who, then, would leave veracity\nfor the sake of these objects? that virtue which is a rich mine of\npraise, glory, and happiness?\n\n24. 'Nevertheless, in a person who is seen walking on the road of sin or\nin whom there does not appear any effort to lead a holy life, a pious\nbehaviour becomes a matter of disbelief. Now, what of the kind did you\nperceive in my person that you should suspect even me?\n\n25. 'If I had really been afraid of you, or if my mind had been attached\nto pleasures, or my heart were devoid of compassion, do you not think I\nshould have met an adversary so famous for his ferocity as you, in full\narmour and prepared to fight, as becomes one proud of his valour?\n\n26. 'But it may be that I did even desire that conversation with you.\nWhy, after satisfying the labour of that Br\u00e2hman, I will come back to\nyou of my own accord. Persons like me, in truth, do not utter an\nuntruth.'\n\nNow these words of the Bodhisattva irritated the son of Sud\u00e2sa, as if\nthey spoke of something fanciful, and he entered upon this reflection:\n'Verily, he does greatly boast of his veracity and righteous behaviour.\nWell then, I will see them, both his attachment to truth and his love of\nrighteousness. What matters his loss to me, after all? I have already my\nfull number of one hundred royal princes whom I subdued by the\noverwhelming strength of my arm; with them I may perform my sacrifice to\nthe goblins according to my desire.' After thus considering, he said to\nthe Bodhisattva: 'Well then, go. We wish to see your faithfulness in\nkeeping your promise and your righteousness.\n\n27. 'Go, and having done for that Br\u00e2hman what he longs for, return\nsoon; meanwhile I will dress your funeral pile.'\n\nAnd the Bodhisattva promised him he would do so. Then he set out for his\npalace, where he was welcomed by his household. Having sent for that\nBr\u00e2hman, he learnt from him a tetrad of g\u00e2th\u00e2s. The Great Being, to whom\nthe hearing of those well-said sentences procured an intense gladness,\npraised the Br\u00e2hman with kind words and marks of honour, and valuing\neach g\u00e2th\u00e2 at the rate of one thousand (pieces of gold), rewarded him\nwith the wealth so much desired for.\n\nNow his father, intending to avert him from expenses out of place and\nextravagant, availed himself of this opportunity, and admonished his son\nin friendly terms. 'My dear,' he said, 'when you reward well-said\nsentences, you should know the limit, should you not? You have to\nmaintain a large retinue; besides, the splendour of kings depends on the\naffluence of their treasury. For this reason I tell you this.\n\n28. 'Rewarding a well-said sentence with one hundred is a very high\nestimation. It is not fit to exceed this limit. If a man, however\nwealthy, be too liberal, he will never retain the splendour of his\nriches for long.\n\n29. 'Wealth is the chief instrument of success and an effective one; for\nno pleasure is attainable in defiance of Wealth. Fortune, indeed, like a\nharlot, disregards a king who lacks an abundant treasury.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n30. 'If it were at all possible to settle a limit to the value of\nwell-said sentences, Your Majesty, I would not incur your reprehension,\nto be sure, if I were to give up even my royal rank to purchase them.\n\n31. 'Verily, such sayings by hearing which a man gains placidity of\nmind, his love for salvation is strengthened, and the darkness (of\nignorance) disappears (from his intellect) by the increase of his\nwisdom--ought they not to be bought even at the price of one's own\nflesh?\n\n32, 33. 'Holy texts are a light which destroys the darkness of delusion\n(moha); they are the highest wealth, a wealth beyond the reach of\nthieves and the rest[225]; the weapon to hurt that enemy whose name is\ninfatuation; the best counsellor and adviser as to a man's course of\nconduct; an unalterable friend even in time of distress; the painless\nmedicine of the disease called sorrow; a mighty army strong enough to\ncrush the army of vices; the highest treasure of glory and bliss.\n\n     [225] Compare note to Story III, stanza 21.\n\n34-37. 'Moreover, the splendid possession of holy texts (_S_ruti) is\nalso the principal cause of eloquent speech. When meeting with virtuous\npersons, this possession affords the opportunity of making a present of\ngreat value; in the assemblies it conciliates the favour of the learned;\nin disputes and controversies it casts its light like the sun, and\ndestroys the arrogance and fame of envious adversaries. Its superiority\nis exhibited by the expression of delight and the high colour in the\neyes and on the faces of even common people, when they are enraptured\nwith ecstasy and applaud by clapping of hands. Further it enables its\npossessor to demonstrate a matter with plain argument and in a graceful\nway, owing to his quotations from manifold treatises and sacred books.\nBy its softness, its culture, and its loveliness, eloquence may be\ncompared to a string of unfaded garlands or to the blazing lustre of a\ntempered lamp[226], and (finally) it forcibly gains glory for its owner.\nSo making use of sacred texts is a pleasant way to success.\n\n     [226] I read vin\u00eetad\u00eepapratibho_gg_valasya.\n\n38. 'And those who have heard them will betake themselves to the road\nleading to the threefold prosperity, and free of obstructing vices; and\nconforming their behaviour to the precepts imported by those texts, and\nmaking it excellent, they will easily cross the dangerous passage\nthrough existences.\n\n39. 'For so many excellent properties holy texts are famous. Now then,\nhaving got them like a present, how should I, being able to reward the\ngiver of them, not honour him in return? Or, (on the other hand,) how\nshould I transgress your order?\n\n40. 'I will go, therefore, to the son of Sud\u00e2sa. I do not want either\nthe toil of royalty or that other anxiety I should incur by following\nthe way of wickedness, if I were to transgress my duty of keeping my\nengagement to come back.'\n\nThese words alarmed his father, who moved by his affection replied with\nearnest entreaty: 'Verily, it is but for your good, my dear, that I\nspoke so. You must not take offence at it, will you? May your enemies\ncome into the power of the son of Sud\u00e2sa! In fact, you made him the\npromise to return to him, and for this reason you, being wont to keep\nyour faith, wish to accomplish your promise. Nevertheless, I will not\nallow it. No sin is incurred, truly, by following the way of untruth, if\none may thereby save one's own life and also for the sake of one's\nparents and other venerable persons. Why should you exert yourself to\navoid this precept, which is prescribed by the Veda? Besides, those who\nare skilled in the science of politics proclaim the attachment to\nrighteousness (dharma) in such cases as where it evidently causes damage\nto material interests (artha) and pleasures (k\u00e2ma), to be mismanagement\nand an evil habit in kings. No more, then, of that determination,\nwherewith you grieve my heart and disregard your own interest.--But you\nwill object, my dear, that acting thus is dishonourable and in\ncontradiction to righteousness, and that it is for this reason you\ncannot decide to break your promise, having never been accustomed to do\nanything like this. Yet, why should you break your promise? Here I have\nan army of footmen, chariots, horse, and elephants, prepared for war,\nand ready to march to your rescue. They make up an excellent body of\nwarriors attached to your person, yea, a legion of heroes skilled in\narms and having distinguished themselves in many battles. In short,\nthese forces are dreadful, like a violent stream of water. Well, come to\nhim, surrounded by that army, and bring him either to submission or to\ndeath. In this manner you will have fulfilled your promise and at the\nsame time saved your life.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied: 'I am not able to promise one thing, Your\nMajesty, and perform another; nor can I strike at such people as deserve\npity, who being immersed in the mud of wicked habits and moving in the\ndirection of Hell, and whom I reckon my friends after their relations\nhave abandoned them and there is nobody to protect them. Moreover,\n\n41. 'That man-eater performed for me something generous and difficult to\nbe done (by others), since he dismissed me out of his power, relying on\nmy faith.\n\n42. 'So it is thanks to him that I got those holy stanzas, father. For\nthis reason he is my benefactor, and is especially entitled to be an\nobject of my commiseration.\n\n'Cease also to be afraid of any misfortune threatening me, Your Majesty.\nHow should he be capable of injuring me when I come back to him, as I\nwent?' So speaking the High-minded One persuaded his father to give him\nleave. Then declining the entreaties of his friends and his faithful\narmy, who were eager to prevent his going away, he set out for the\ndwelling of the son of Sud\u00e2sa, alone and free from fear and sadness, for\nhe was keeping his faith, and marched with the aim of softening his\nheart, to the happiness of men.\n\nAs soon as the son of Sud\u00e2sa saw the Great Being approaching from afar,\nhe became exceedingly astonished, and his esteem and liking for him\nincreased. Not even his cruelty, however long practised and deep-rooted\nin his defiled mind, could prevent him from entering, indeed, upon a\nthought like this: 'Ah! Ah!!!\n\n43. 'This is the wonder of wonders, to be sure, the marvel of marvels!\nThat prince's lofty veracity exceeds all that may be expected of men and\ndeities!\n\n44. 'To me, a person as cruel-natured as Death, he comes back of\nhimself, subduing fear and anxiety! Ah! What a constancy! Bravo for his\nveracity!\n\n45. 'Justly, indeed, the renown of his truth-speaking is wide-spread, as\nhe now gave up his life and royal state to keep his faith!'\n\nWhile he was thus affected with amazement and admiration, the\nBodhisattva drew near, saying:\n\n46. 'I have obtained that treasure of well-said sentences, I have\nrewarded the indigent man who presented me with it, and gladness has\nbeen procured to my mind, thanks to you. Now I am back here. Eat me, if\nsuch is your desire, or use me as a victim at your sacrifice.'\n\nThe son of Sud\u00e2sa spoke:\n\n47. 'I am not in a hurry to eat you; moreover, this funeral pile is\nstill smoky, and flesh gets its proper relish only when roasted on a\nsmokeless fire. Let us hear meanwhile these well-said sentences.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied: 'Of what use is it to you, in such a state, to\nlisten to holy sentences?\n\n48. 'You adopted this mode of living merciless to your subjects for the\nsake of your belly. Now these stanzas praise righteousness.\nRighteousness does not go together with injustice.\n\n49. 'Following the wicked manner of life of R\u00e2kshasas and having left\nthe way of the pious[227], you do not possess faith, still less\nrighteousness. What will you do with holy texts?'\n\n     [227] In other words, 'having transgressed the precepts of\n     morality.' Instead of sa_m_tyakt\u00e2rthapathasya, I read\n     sa_m_tyakt\u00e2ryapathasya.\n\nThis contempt roused the impatience of the son of Sud\u00e2sa. He answered:\n'Do not speak so, sir.\n\n50. 'Where is that king, say, who does not kill with his bent bow in his\npark the mates of the hinds of the forest? If I in a similar way kill\nmen for my livelihood, I am the unjust one, so it is said, not those\nkillers of deer!'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n51. 'Neither do those stand on the ground of righteousness, whose bent\nbows are directed against the frightened and fleeing deer. But by far\nmore reprehensible than those is a man-eater. Human beings, indeed,\noccupy by their birth the highest place (in the scale of creatures), and\nare not allowed to serve as food.'\n\nNow, though the Bodhisattva had spoken very harsh words to the son of\nSud\u00e2sa, the friendliness of his nature exercised such a power that it\noutweighed the ferocious nature of the man-eater. So he quietly heard\nthis reproof, only he laughed aloud at it, then he spoke: 'Say,\nSutasoma.\n\n52. 'After being released by me and having reached your home and lovely\nresidence resplendent with the lustre of royalty, you came back to me.\nFor this reason you are not skilled in political wisdom, I suppose.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva said: 'You are wrong. On the contrary, I am skilled in\npolitical wisdom, and therefore I do not put it into effect.\n\n53. 'What, in truth, is the worth of skill in an art, resorting to which\nbrings about the certain fall from righteousness without bringing about\nhappiness?\n\n'Moreover, I tell you,\n\n54. 'Those who are wise in directing their actions along the way of\npolitical wisdom, commonly get into calamities after death. Therefore I\nput aside the winding paths of artful politics and keeping my faith,\ncame back.\n\n55. 'Also by this I show it is I who am skilled in politics, that,\nleaving untruth, I delight in veracity. For no action is declared by\ncompetent judges in the science of politics to be well-managed which is\nnot attended by good reputation, satisfaction, and interest.'\n\nThe son of Sud\u00e2sa spoke:\n\n56. 'What is that interest you perceive to be attained by holding on\nveracity, that giving up your own dear life, your relations who shed\ntears at your departure, and the charming pleasures attendant on\nroyalty, you returned to me, in order to keep your faith before all?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke: 'Many kinds of virtues rest on veracity. Hear but\nthe succinct account of them.\n\n57. 'Veracity surpasses splendid garlands by its lovely grace and every\nsweet flavour by its sweetness; and inasmuch as it produces merit, that\nexcellent good, without toil, it is superior to every kind of penance\nand the troublesome pilgrimages to t\u00eerthas.\n\n58. 'Affording to glory the opportunity of spreading among men, veracity\nis the way to its penetrating the three worlds. It is the entrance-door\nof the abode of the Celestials, the bridge to cross the swamps of\nSa_m_s\u00e2ra.'\n\nThen the son of Sud\u00e2sa exclaimed: 'Excellent! right!' and bowing to him\nand casting an admiring look on him, said again:\n\n59. 'The other men come into my power, are paralysed by affliction, and\nfear robs them of their courage. In you, on the contrary, I see a\nsplendid imperturbation. I suppose, you are not afraid of death, my\nprince.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n60. 'Of what use is cowardous fear, the most unfit means of prevention,\nagainst a thing which cannot be avoided even with great effort?\n\n'Nevertheless, and though knowing the natural course of things in the\nworld, people are poltroons against death.\n\n61. 'It is the vexation of their mind in consequence of their\nwickedness; it is because they were wanting in exerting themselves to\nperform good actions; it is their apprehension of sufferings in the\nother world. That conscience makes them torpid from anxiety that they\nmust die.\n\n62. 'But I do not remember having done anything that should torture my\nconscience, and consequently I have imbibed pure actions into my very\nnature. Who, clinging to Righteousness, should be in fear of death?\n\n63. 'Nor do I remember having made gifts to the indigent, which did not\ntend to the gladness of both the mendicants and myself. Who, having in\nthis manner obtained contentment by his gifts, clinging to\nRighteousness, should be in fear of death?\n\n64. 'Even when reflecting for a long time, I never recollect having\ntaken any step towards evil, not even in my thoughts. So the path to\nHeaven is cleared for me. Why should I conceive fear of death?\n\n65. 'On Br\u00e2hmans, on my relations and friends, on my dependents, on the\npoor, on ascetics who are the ornaments of their hermitages, I bestowed\nmuch wealth, giving according to the worthiness of the recipients; what\neach of them was in want of, that was done for him.\n\n66. 'I built hundreds of magnificent temples, hospitals, court-yards,\nhermitages, halls, and tanks, and by this I obtained satisfaction.\nTherefore I do not fear death. Why, dress me for your sacrifice or eat\nme.'\n\nOn hearing this language, the son of Sud\u00e2sa was moved to tears of\ntenderness, the hairs on his body bristled, the darkness of his wicked\nnature vanished, and looking with reverence up to the Bodhisattva, he\nexclaimed: 'Beware! May the evil be averted!\n\n67. 'Verily, may he who should wish evil to such a being as you, O\nforemost of princes, take the poison H\u00e2lahala knowingly, or eat a\nfurious serpent or flaming iron, or may his head, also his heart, burst\nasunder into a hundred pieces!\n\n'Therefore you may tell me also those holy sentences. Touched to\ntenderness as I am by the flower-shower of your words, my curiosity to\nhear them grows stronger. Attend also to this.\n\n68. 'Having beholden the ugliness of my conduct in the mirror of\nRighteousness, and being touched by emotion may I not, perhaps, be a\nperson whose mind craves for the Law?'\n\nNow the Bodhisattva, considering the eagerness of his desire to hear the\nLaw, knew him to have become a fit vessel. He spoke: 'Being then\ndesirous of hearing the Law, it is right that you listen to its\npreaching in the proper attitude suitable for that act. Look here.\n\n69, 70. 'Sitting on a lower seat, which betokens illustrious modesty;\nenjoying the honey of the (sacred) words with eyes expanding from\ngladness, so to speak; bending one's mind calm and pure to the most\nintense reverential attention--in this way one must listen devoutly to\nthe preaching of the Law, as a sick man to the words of a doctor.'\n\nThen the son of Sud\u00e2sa covered a slab of stone with his upper garment,\nand having offered this higher seat to the Bodhisattva, himself sat down\non the naked earth before the visage of the Bodhisattva. After which,\nkeeping his eyes fixed with attention on his face, he invited the Great\nBeing: 'Speak now, sir[228].' Then the Bodhisattva opened his mouth and\nfilling as it were the forest with his voice deep and sonorous, like the\nlovely sound of a new-formed rain-cloud, spoke:\n\n     [228] This formula (br\u00fbh\u00eed\u00e2n\u00ee_m_ m\u00e2rsha) and the whole of this\n     ceremonial shows a striking likeness to the observances prescribed\n     for the instruction in the Veda of a pupil by his spiritual\n     teacher.\n\n  71. 'Meeting a virtuous person but once and by chance will suffice for\n       Friendship strong and for ever, not wanting repeated assurance.'\n\nOn hearing this g\u00e2th\u00e2, the son of Sud\u00e2sa exclaimed, 'Well said! well\nsaid!' and nodding his head and waving his fingers said to the\nBodhisattva: 'Go on, go on.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva uttered the second g\u00e2th\u00e2.\n\n  72. 'From virtuous persons thou shouldst never keep remote,\n       But follow those; to worship them thyself devote.\n       Their fragrance-spreading virtues uncompelled must\n       Attain him who stands near them, as does flower-dust.'\n\nThe son of Sud\u00e2sa spoke:\n\n73. 'You employed your wealth in the right manner, indeed; rightly you\ndid not mind trouble, that you did your utmost, O virtuous one, to\nreward well-said sentences!\n\n'Go on, go on.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n  74. 'The cars of kings, with jewels shining and with gold,\n       With their possessors lose their beauty, growing old.\n       But not to pious conduct has old age access.\n       So strong a love of virtues pious men possess[229].'\n\n     [229] Cp. Dhammapada, verse 151.\n\n(The other replied): 'This is as a shower of ambrosia, to be sure. O how\ngreat a satisfaction you give me! Go on, go on.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n  75. 'How distant Earth from Heaven is, the East\n       How far from Sunset, and both Ocean's shores\n       From one another. Greater distance keeps\n       Of virtue sever'd and of wrong the lores.'\n\nThen the son of Sud\u00e2sa, who in consequence of his gladness and surprise\nwas filled with affection and reverence for the Bodhisattva, said to\nhim:\n\n76. 'Lovely are the g\u00e2th\u00e2s I heard from you. The elegance of their words\nis still surpassed by the brilliancy of their contents. By reciting\nthem you have procured me gladness. Let me honour you in return by\noffering you four boons.\n\n'Therefore, choose whatever you desire from my side.'\n\nThen the Bodhisattva, astonished at this offering, and esteeming him for\nit, spoke: 'Who are you that you should bestow boons?\n\n77. 'You have no power over yourself, being dominated by a passion for\nsinful actions. Say, what boon, then, will you give to another, you,\nwhose heart is averse to pious conduct?\n\n78. 'It might be that I were to declare the boon I would ask, but\nthat your mind would be disinclined to give it. Who, being\ncompassionate[230], would like to provoke such a calamity? Enough,\nenough have you done for me.'\n\n     [230] Inasmuch as by his naming the four boons he would bring about\n     for the man-eater an opportunity of breaking his faith, he might\n     become the involuntary cause of infernal punishment to his\n     neighbour. Cp. Story XXIV, stanza 32.\n\nOn these words the son of Sud\u00e2sa was somewhat ashamed, and lowering his\nface, said to the Bodhisattva: 'I beg Your Honour not to have so mean an\nopinion of me.\n\n79. 'I will give you your boons, even if it were to cost my life.\nTherefore, choose freely, prince, be it what it may be that you desire.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke: 'Well then,\n\n80. 'Give me these four precious boons. Take the vow of veracity; give\nup injuring living beings; release all your prisoners, nobody excepted;\nand never more eat human flesh, O you hero among men!'\n\nThe son of Sud\u00e2sa said:\n\n81. 'I grant you the first three, but choose another fourth boon. Are\nyou not aware that I am unable to desist from eating human flesh?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke: 'Ah! Indeed! There you are! Did not I say \"who\nare you that you should bestow boons?\" Moreover,\n\n82. 'How can you keep the vow of veracity and refrain from injuring\nothers, O king, if you do not give up the habit of being an eater of\nhuman flesh?\n\n'Fie upon you!\n\n83. 'Did not you say before, you were willing to give these boons even\nat the risk of your life? But now you act quite otherwise.\n\n84. 'And how should you abstain from injury, killing men in order to get\ntheir flesh? And this being so, what may be the value of the three boons\nyou did grant me?'\n\nThe son of Sud\u00e2sa spoke:\n\n85. 'How shall I be able to give up that very habit, because of which I\nrenounced my kingdom, bore hardship in the wilderness, and suffered\nmyself to kill my righteousness and destroy my good renown?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva replied: 'For this very reason you ought to give it up.\n\n86. 'How should you not leave that state because of which you have lost\nyour righteousness, your royal power, your pleasures, and your good\nrenown? Why cling to such an abode of misfortune?\n\n87. 'Besides, it is but the vilest among men who repent having given.\nHow, then, should this meanness of mind subdue a person like you?\n\n'Cease then, cease following after mere wickedness. You ought to stir up\nyourself now. Is not Your Honour the son of Sud\u00e2sa?\n\n88. 'Meat examined by physicians and dressed by skilful (cooks) is at\nyour disposal. You may take the flesh of domestic animals, of fishes\nliving in water-basins, and also venison. With such meat satisfy your\nheart, but pray, desist from the reprehensible habit of eating human\nflesh.\n\n89. 'How do you like to stay in this solitary forest and prefer it to\nyour relations and children and your attendants (once) beloved? how\nprefer it to enjoying the melodious songs at night, the grave sounds of\ndrums reminding you of water-clouds, and the other various pleasures of\nroyalty?\n\n90. 'It is not right, O monarch, that you allow yourself to be dominated\nby your passion. Take rather that line of conduct which is compatible\nwith righteousness (dharma) and interest (artha). Having, all alone,\nvanquished in battle kings with their whole armies, do not become a\ngreat coward now, when you have to wage war with your passion.\n\n91. 'And have you not to mind also the next world, O lord of men? For\nthis reason you must not cherish what is bad, because it pleases you.\nBut rather pursue that which is favourable to your renown and the way to\nwhich is a lovely one, and accept what is for your good, even though you\ndislike it, taking it as medicine.'\n\nThen the son of Sud\u00e2sa was moved to tenderness and tears, which barred\nhis throat with emotion. He threw himself before the Bodhisattva, and\nembracing his feet exclaimed:\n\n92. 'Justly your fame pervades the world in all directions, spreading\nabout the flower-dust of your virtues and the scent of your merit. For\nexample, who else but you alone, in truth, could have felt compassion\nfor such an evildoer as I was, accustomed to a cruel livelihood, which\nmade me resemble a messenger of Death?\n\n93. 'You are my master, my teacher, yea, my deity. I honour your words,\naccepting them with (bowed) head. Never more will I feed on human flesh,\nSutasoma. Everything you told me I will accomplish according to your\nwords.\n\n94. 'Well then, those princes whom I brought here to be victims at my\nsacrifice, and who vexed by the sufferings of imprisonment have lost\ntheir splendour and are overwhelmed by grief, let us release them\ntogether, none excepted.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva, having promised him his assistance, set out with him to\nthe very place where those royal princes were kept in confinement. And\nno sooner had they seen Sutasoma, than understanding that they were set\nat liberty, they became filled with extreme gladness.\n\n95. At the sight of Sutasoma the royal princes became radiant with joy,\nand the loveliness of laughter burst out on their faces, in the same way\nas in the beginning of autumn the groups of waterlilies burst open,\ninvigorated by the moonbeams.\n\nAnd the Bodhisattva, having come to them, spoke to them comforting and\nkind words, and after making them take an oath not to do harm to the son\nof Sud\u00e2sa, released them. Then together with the son of Sud\u00e2sa and\nfollowed by those royal princes, he set out for his kingdom, and having\nthere made to the princes and the son of Sud\u00e2sa an honourable reception\naccording to their rank, he re-established them each on his royal\nthrone.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner meeting with a virtuous person, in whatever way it may\nhave been occasioned, promotes salvation. Thus considering he who longs\nfor salvation must strive after intercourse with virtuous persons. [This\nstory may also be told when praising the Tath\u00e2gata: 'So Buddha the Lord\nalways intent on doing good was a friend even to strangers still in his\nprevious existences.' Likewise it is to be told, when discoursing on\nlistening with attention to the preaching of the excellent Law: 'In this\nmanner hearing the excellent Law tends to diminish wickedness and to\nacquire virtues.' Also it is to be told when extolling sacred learning:\n'In this manner sacred learning has many advantages.' Likewise when\ndiscoursing on veracity: 'In this manner speaking the truth is approved\nby the virtuous and procures a large extent of merit.' And also when\nglorifying veracity, this may be propounded: 'In this manner the\nvirtuous keep their faith without regard for their life, pleasures, or\ndomination.' Likewise, when praising commiseration.]\n\n     Dr. S. d'Oldenburg has pointed out in his paper, quoted in my\n     Introduction, p. xxii, another redaction of the story of Sutasoma\n     in chap. 34 of the Bhadrakalp\u00e2vad\u00e2na, the contents of which are\n     given in the translation of that paper, Journ. Roy. As. Soc, pp.\n     331-334. In some parts the account in that text is fuller, but for\n     the most part, according to Dr. S. d'Oldenburg, it closely follows\n     our _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2, the verses of which it 'mostly copies word for\n     word[231].' Nevertheless the extract shows one difference, I think,\n     in a capital point. In the tale, as it is told by _S_\u00fbra,\n     Kalm\u00e2shap\u00e2da has already got his hundred princes, when he comes to\n     carry away Sutasoma, but in the said extract of the\n     Bhadrakalp\u00e2vad\u00e2na Sutasoma is the very hundredth one.\n\n        [231] In 1894 Dr. S. d'Oldenburg more fully dealt with the\n        Bhadrakalp\u00e2vad\u00e2na in a Russian book on Buddhistic Legends in\n        Bhadrakalp\u00e2vad\u00e2na and _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2. As to Sutasoma, cp. pp.\n        83-85 of that book.\n\n     In the Mah\u00e2bh\u00e2rata the legend of Kalm\u00e2shap\u00e2da Saud\u00e2sa, the\n     man-eater, is told, I, adhy. 176 and 177. It is very different from\n     the Buddhistic fashion, yet both versions must be derived from one\n     source.\n\n\n\n\nXXXII. THE STORY OF AYOG_RI_HA[232].\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 510, Fausb. IV, 491-499; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nIII, 3.)\n\n     [232] That ayog_ri_ha is the name of the prince, not an\n     appellative, appears from the P\u00e2li recensions. He was named so,\n     since he was brought up in the 'iron house' (ayog_ri_ha).\n\n\nTo those, whose mind has been seized by emotion[233], even the\nbrilliancy of royalty does not obstruct the way to salvation. Thus\nconsidering, one must make one's self familiar with the emotional state\n(sa_m_vega), as will be taught in the following.\n\n     [233] Sa_m_vignam\u00e2nas\u00e2m; compare note on p. 280.\n\nAt that time, when our Lord was still a Bodhisattva, seeing the world\nexposed to the assaults of hundreds of calamities: diseases, old age,\ndeath, separation from beloved persons, and so on, and understanding\nthat it was woe-begone, without protector, without help, without\nguidance, He was impelled by His compassion to take the determination of\nsaving the creatures according to His exceedingly good nature, bringing\nabout again and again the good and the highest happiness even to people\naverse to him and unknown to him. At that time, then, he once took his\nbirth, it is said, in a certain royal family distinguished for their\nmodest behaviour and their surpassing lustre, which, in consequence of\ntheir intentness on possessing the affection of their subjects, was\nmanifested by their increasing prosperity and riches without hindrance,\nas well as by the submissiveness of their proud vassals. His very birth\nadorned both that court and that capital, always sympathising with their\nprinces in weal and woe, with the brilliant show of a festival day.\n\n1, 2. (At the court) a large distribution of gifts filled the hands and\nsatisfied the minds of Br\u00e2hmans, and the attendants were proud of their\nvery brilliant festival garments[234]. (Outside the palace) the streets\nresounded with the tones of many instruments and with the blending noise\nof singing, jesting, laughing, as the gladness of the hearts manifested\nitself by various merriment, dancing, and wantonness. Everywhere people\nmeeting told each other with exultation and embraces the happy news,\nwhich gave them the same contentment as a present, and they magnified\nthe felicity of their king.\n\n     [234] Apparently the attendants had received that new attire as a\n     present.\n\n3. The doors of the prisons were opened, and the prisoners set at\nliberty. Flags floating at the tops of the houses decorated the places,\nand the ground was covered with fragrant powders and flowers, and\nmoistened with spirituous liquors. So adorned, the town bore the lovely\nand bright appearance of a festival.\n\n4. From the splendid dwellings of the wealthy abundant showers of\ndifferent goods: clothes, gold, jewels &c. poured down, so that it\nseemed as if Felicity, doing her best to pervade the world, with lovely\nsport imitated Ga\u1e45g\u00e2 in madness[235].\n\n     [235] The presents strewed about are compared either with the\n     cascade of the Ganges at Ga\u1e45g\u00e2dv\u00e2ra, where the river rushes into\n     the valley, or with the mythological account of Ga\u1e45g\u00e2 hurling down\n     from heaven to earth at the instance of Bhag\u00eeratha.\n\nNow at that time it happened as a rule that every prince born to the\nking soon died. Supposing that rule to be the effect of\ngoblin-power[236], he ordered, with the object of saving the life of\nthat son, the building which was to serve for lying-in chamber to be\nwholly constructed of iron, (though) ornamented with magnificent figures\nwrought of jewels, gold, and silver. The preservative rites destructive\nof goblins were performed there according to the precepts expounded in\nthe Science of Spirits and ordained by the Veda; and likewise the\ndifferent customary auspicious ceremonies which have the effect of\nsecuring prosperity. As to his son, he had the _g_\u00e2takarma[237] and the\nother sacraments performed to him in that iron-house, and let him grow\nup there. Owing to that most careful guard, but no less to the excellent\ngoodness of his nature and to the power of his store of merit, no\ngoblins overpowered the Great Being. In course of time, after the\nsacraments and initiatory rites had been performed, he was instructed by\nteachers illustrious for their knowledge of the sacred texts, their\nextraction, and behaviour, who were renowned and honoured as scholars,\nand attached to the virtues of tranquillity, modesty, and discretion.\nHaving learnt from them many branches of science, and being favoured by\nthe loveliness of youth, which made his figure grow fuller day by\nday[238], further displaying that attachment to modesty which was innate\nin him, he became an object of the greatest love both to his relations\nand the people at large.\n\n     [236] In the P\u00e2li redaction the new-born children are in fact\n     carried away by a goblin, a Yakkhin\u00ee.\n\n     [237] The king had those sacraments performed by his purohita, the\n     king's constant and customary representative in sacrificial and\n     ceremonial matters.\n\n     [238] It is plain that the image of the crescent moon is present to\n     the author's mind.\n\n5. People go after a virtuous person, though no relation nor\nacquaintance of theirs, with the like joy as if they honoured a friend.\nIt is the brilliancy of his virtues which is the cause thereof.\n\n6. In the season of autumn, when the moon freely shooting his beams all\naround is the laugh of Heaven, say what kind of relation does there\nexist for the people to Him?\n\nSo then the Great Being was enjoying the bliss that had fallen to his\nshare as the effect of the power of his merit. He was petted with plenty\nof objects of celestial brilliancy standing at his disposal, and his\nfather, who loved him much and bore him high esteem, was no more anxious\nabout him, trusting he would be safe. Now once on the occasion of the\nKaumud\u00ee-festival recurring in course of time, it happened that the\nBodhisattva was desirous of contemplating the lovely beauty and the\ndisplay of brilliancy in his capital. Having obtained the permission of\nhis father, he mounted the royal chariot to take a drive. This chariot\nwas embellished with fair ornaments of gold, jewels, and silver; gay\nflags and banners of various colours were floating aloft on it; its\nhorses well-trained and swift, were adorned with golden trappings; it\nwas driven by a charioteer distinguished for his dexterity, skill,\ncomeliness, honesty, modesty, and firmness, and followed by a retinue\nadorned with a picturesque and brilliant attire and armour. Preceded by\nthe delightful tones of musical instruments, the prince with his train\npassed through the capital in many directions, and let his eyes roam\nover the spectacle of the streets crowded with townsmen and landsmen in\ntheir lovely festival array, who with looks agitated by curiosity, were\nwholly intent on seeing him, and all along his way received him with\npraise and worship, folded hands and bent heads, and pronounced\nblessings over him. Nevertheless, though the contemplation of this\nbeautiful spectacle was a proper occasion for conceiving a great\nrejoicing within his mind, he regained by it the remembrance of his\nformer births. So familiar to his nature was the feeling of sa_m_vega.\n\n7. 'Alas' (he thought), 'piteous is the state of the world and\ndispleasing because of its unsteadiness. The brilliant splendour of this\nKaumud\u00ee-day, how soon will it exist but in the memory!\n\n8. 'And yet, such being the condition of all creatures, how heedless of\ndanger men are, that they hurry after rejoicings with untroubled minds,\nthough every way around them is obstructed by death!\n\n9. 'Disease, old age and death, three enemies of irresistible strength,\nstand near ready to strike, and there is no escape from the dreadful\nworld hereafter. How then may there be opportunity for merriment to an\nintelligent being?\n\n10. 'The clouds, that poured out streams of water with tremendous noise,\nalmost in anger, imitating, as it were, the uproar of great seas, the\nclouds with their golden garlands of flashing lightnings, being born of\nagglomeration come again to dissolution.\n\n11. 'The rivers, that flowing with increased rapidity carried away trees\ntogether with the river-banks, upon which they had their roots,\nafterwards and in course of time assume again a mean appearance, as if\nthey were burnt away by sorrow.\n\n12. 'The violence of the wind, too, blowing down peaks of mountains,\ndispersing masses of clouds, rolling and stirring up the waves of the\nocean, becomes extinguished.\n\n13. 'With high and blazing flame sparkling about, the fire destroys the\ngrass, then it abates and ceases. By turns the different beauties of the\ngroves and forests appear and disappear, as time goes on.\n\n14. 'What union does there exist which has not its end in separation?\nwhat felicity which is not liable to mishap[239]? Since inconstancy,\nthen, is proper to the course of worldly things, that mirth of the\nmultitude is a very thoughtless one.'\n\n     [239] This sentence is expressed in a similar way in a _s_loka,\n     recurring several times in Divy\u00e2vad\u00e2na (ed. Cowell, p. 27; 100;\n     486):\n\n        sarve kshay\u00e2nt\u00e2 ni_k_ay\u00e2_h_ patan\u00e2nt\u00e2_h_ samu_kkh_ray\u00e2_h_\n        sa_m_yog\u00e2 viprayog\u00e2nt\u00e2 mara_n_\u00e2nta_m_ _k_a _g_\u00eevitam.\n\n     Cp. also supra, Story VI, stanza 7.\n\nIn this manner the High-minded One reasoned within himself. Utterly\ntouched with emotion, his heart became averse to that rejoicing and\nfestival mirth; he paid no longer attention to the groups of people,\nhowever picturesque, flocking to embellish the capital. In this\ndisposition of mind he perceived that he had already returned to his\npalace. His emotion increased still by this, and considering that there\nis no other refuge but Righteousness, since it is unconcerned with\nsensual pleasures, he made up his mind to embrace the state of a\nvirtuous life. At the first opportunity he visited the king, his father,\nand with folded hands asked leave to set out for the penance-forest.\n\n15. 'By taking the vow of world-renunciation I wish to bring about the\ngood of my Self, and I want your leave which I shall hold for a favour\nand a guidance to this (goal).'\n\n16. On hearing this request of his well-beloved son, the king, as if he\nwere an elephant wounded by an empoisoned arrow or a deep sea shaken by\nthe wind, was seized with shivering, for his heart was sore through\ngrief.\n\n17. And desiring to withhold him, he embraced him affectionately, and in\na faltering voice obstructed by his tears spoke: 'My son, why have you\nmade up your mind to leave us so suddenly?\n\n18. 'Who is that man who, being a cause of displeasure to you, causes\nhis own ruin, rousing in this manner Death (against himself)? Say, whose\nrelations have to wet their faces with tears of sorrow?\n\n19. 'Or do you perhaps apprehend, or have you heard of, any improper act\nof mine? Then, tell it, that I may put an end to it. But I myself do not\nperceive anything of the kind.'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n20. 'What improper act may be found in you, being thus intent to show me\nyour affection? And who would be capable of assailing me with grief?'\n\n'But why then do you want to leave us?' replied the king with tears.\nThen the Great Being answered: 'Because of the peril of death. Do but\nconsider, Your Majesty.\n\n21. 'From the very night when a man obtains his residence in the\nmaternal womb, he moves towards death, O hero among men, marching\nwithout interruption in that direction day after day.\n\n22. 'May a man be ever so skilled in the management of his affairs, ever\nso strong, nobody escapes Death or Old Age, both of whom infest every\nplace in this world. For this reason I will resort to the forest to lead\na virtuous life.\n\n23. 'Haughty princes vanquish by bold attack whole armies in splendid\nbattle-array of footmen, horse, chariots, and elephants; but they are\npowerless to defeat that enemy named Death, though he is alone.\nTherefore I am resolved on taking my refuge in Righteousness.\n\n24. 'Guarded by their forces made up of brisk horses and elephants and\nfootmen and chariots, princes succeed in making their escape from their\nenemies; but all princes since Manu, together with their armies,\nsuccumbed helplessly to the superior power of that enemy whose name is\nDeath.\n\n25. 'Furious elephants crush in battle with their pestle-like tusks the\ngates of towns, the bodies of men, chariots, and other elephants. Yet\nthe same tusks that were victorious even over town-walls will not push\nback Death, when that foe rushes on them.\n\n26. 'Skilled archers pierce their enemies with their arrows in battle,\nthough distant and sheltered by shield and armour strong and artfully\nwrought; but they never hit that enemy of old, named Death.\n\n27. 'Lions may abate the martial lustre of elephants, plunging their\ncutting claws in their frontal globes, and with their roarings they may\npierce the ears and frighten the hearts of their adversaries; but when\nthey encounter Death, their insolence and strength are broken, and they\nfall asleep.\n\n28. 'Kings inflict punishment on their enemies having sinned against\nthem according to the measure of their guilt; but if that enemy whose\nname is Death has greatly sinned against them, they do not think of\nenforcing their law-sentences upon him.\n\n29. 'Likewise kings may conquer a foe who has offended them by means of\nthe (well-known) expedients: conciliation and the rest; but Death, that\nferocious enemy, whose insolence is strengthened by the long duration of\nhis hatred, is not to be subdued with such craft.\n\n30. 'Serpents in wrath bite men, and the poison of their pointed teeth\nhas the burning effect of a fire blazing awfully, kindled as it is by\ntheir anger; but against Death, though always clever in doing harm and\ntherefore deserving of punishment, their effort of biting is deficient.\n\n31. 'If a man has been bitten by serpents, however furious, medical men\nwill appease the poison by means of charms and medicines; but Death is a\nserpent with imperishable teeth and irresistible poison, his power\ncannot be put down by charms, medicines and the like.\n\n32. 'Garu_d_as will stir up the abode of crowds of playing fishes,\nshaking with the flapping of their wings the water out of the seas with\na thunderlike dreadful noise, then seize the serpents with their\noutstretched fangs; yet they are unable to destroy Death in that\nboisterous manner.\n\n33. 'Tigers by their surpassing swiftness overtake the deer of the\nforest running away with fear, and easily crushing them upon the earth,\nas if playing, with the thunderbolt of their unequalled claws, drink\ntheir blood; but they have no skill to proceed in the same way with\nDeath.\n\n34. 'It may happen perchance that a deer having come within the reach of\na tiger's mouth with its tremendous teeth, makes his escape even then.\nBut who, having; reached the mouth of Death with the big teeth named\ndisease or old age or grief, can become sound again?\n\n35. 'Demons (grahas), deformed and ferocious-looking, drink up the vital\nstrength and absorb the lives of the men they hold with a strong\ngrasp[240]; but when time has come for them likewise to wage war with\nDeath, they will lose their insolence and ferocity.\n\n     [240] In the P\u00e2li redaction these demons are specified by the names\n     of yakkh\u00e2, pis\u00e2_k_\u00e2, and pet\u00e2 (= Sans, pret\u00e2_h_), different classes\n     of goblins.\n\n36. 'Such as are masters in magic arts may subdue those demons, if they\ncome up to do harm to godly persons, by the use of penance-power,\nevil-averting spells, and medicinal herbs; but against that demon, whose\nname is Death, there is no remedy at all.\n\n37. 'Such as are skilled in the art of bringing about magical illusions,\nperplex the eyes of a great assembly[241]. Yet Death, too, must have\nstill some power, that his eye is not bewildered even by those.\n\n     [241] Jugglers may effect illusions of the kind. The fourth act of\n     the Ratn\u00e2val\u00ee affords an instance of that indra_g_\u00e2la.\n\n38. 'Both those who by their penance-powerful charms checked the\nvirulence of poison, and the excellent physicians who extinguished the\ndiseases of men, even Dhanvantari and such as he, have disappeared.\nTherefore my mind is bent on practising righteousness in the forest.\n\n39. 'The Vidy\u00e2dharas, owing to their might made up of manifold spells\nand powers, make themselves visible and again invisible, go through the\nair or descend to the earth. Nevertheless, when they meet Death, they\ntoo have lost their might.\n\n40. 'The lords of the Celestials (the Devas) drive back the Asuras in\nspite of their haughtiness, and themselves in turn in spite of their\nhaughtiness are driven back by the Asuras. Yet, even both armies\ncombined, a host that would march with just pride against any adversary,\nare not able to vanquish Death.\n\n41. 'Understanding this ferocity of the nature of Death, our enemy, and\nhis irresistibleness, I am no longer pleased with the life at home. It\nis not from anger that I leave nor in consequence of diminished\naffection, but I have resolved upon a life of righteousness in the\nforest.'\n\nThe king said: 'But what hope do you set upon the forest-life, the\ndanger of death being thus irremediable? what hope on taking the vow of\na holy life?\n\n42. 'Shall not Death, our enemy, attain you also in the forest? Did not\nthe _Ri_shis die who kept their vows of righteousness in the forest? In\nevery place the course of life you wish to adopt is practicable, indeed.\nWhat profit, then, do you see in leaving your home and resorting to the\nforest?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n43. 'No doubt, Death equally visits those at home and those in the\nforest, the righteous as well as the vicious. Yet the righteous have no\nreason for remorse, and righteousness is nowhere easier to be attained\nthan in the forest, to be sure.\n\n'Will Your Majesty deign to consider this?\n\n44. 'The house is an abode of carelessness (about one's moral and\nreligious duties), of infatuation, sensual love, concupiscence, hatred,\nof everything contrary to righteousness. What opportunity of applying\none's self to it may be found at home?\n\n45. 'A householder is distracted by many bad occupations; the care of\nearning and guarding his goods agitates his mind, which is also troubled\nby calamities arising or approaching. At what time may a householder\ntake the way of tranquillity?\n\n46. 'In the forest, on the other hand, after leaving that multitude of\nbad occupations and being freed from the troublesome care of worldly\ngoods, a man is at his ease and may strive for tranquillity exclusively\nand with a satisfied mind. So he will come to happiness and\nrighteousness and glory.\n\n47. 'Not his wealth nor his power preserves a man, nothing but his\nrighteousness. It is righteousness that procures him great happiness,\nnot the possession of a large estate. And to a righteous man death\ncannot but procure gladness. For no fear of mishap exists for him who is\ndevoted to a holy life.\n\n48. 'And as good and evil are distinguished by their different\ncharacteristic marks and separated from each other by the discrepancy of\nthe actions belonging to each, in the same way the result, too, of\nwickedness is mishap, but that of beautiful righteousness a happy\nstate.'\n\nIn this manner the Great-minded One persuaded his father. He obtained\nhis father's permission and renouncing his brilliant royal bliss, as if\nit were a straw, took up his abode in the penance-grove. Having acquired\nthere dhy\u00e2nas of immense extent and established mankind in them, he\nmounted to Brahma's world.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner even the brilliancy of royalty does not obstruct the way\nof salvation to those, whose mind has been seized by emotion. Thus\nconsidering, one must make one's self familiar with the emotional state\n(sa_m_vega). [This is also to be told, when expounding the right\nconception of death: 'So the thought that one may die soon causes the\nsense of sa_m_vega.' Likewise, when expounding that death should always\nbe present to our mind, and when teaching the temporariness of\neverything: 'So all phenomena[242] are perishable.' Also, when\ninculcating the tenet of taking no delight in the whole Universe: 'So\nnothing which has form (sa_m_sk_ri_ta)[243] is reliable.' And also with\nthis conclusion: 'So this world is helpless and succourless.' Also this\nmay be propounded: 'In this manner it is easy to obtain righteousness in\nthe forest, but not so for a householder.']\n\n     [242] Anity\u00e2_h_ sarvasa_m_sk\u00e2r\u00e2_h_, one of the most popular sayings\n     of the Lord.\n\n     [243] Properly speaking, the sa_m_sk_ri_ta is the phenomenon, and\n     the sa_m_sk\u00e2r\u00e2_h_ are the 'fashions' or 'forms' of the perceptible\n     objects as well as of the perceiving mind. But the latter term is\n     not rarely likewise indicative of the things or objects (see\n     Childers, Dictionary, s. v. sa_m_kh\u00e2ro), and the former is here\n     nearly a synonym of n\u00e2mar\u00fbpa.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIII. THE STORY OF THE BUFFALO.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 278, Fausb. II, 385-388; _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\nII, 5.)\n\n\nForbearance deserves this name only if there exists some opportunity for\nshowing it, not otherwise. Thus considering, the virtuous appreciate\neven their injurer, deeming him a profit. This will be shown by the\nfollowing.\n\nThe Bodhisattva, it is said, one time lived in some forest-region as a\nwild buffalo-bull of grim appearance, owing to his being dirty with mud,\nand so dark of complexion that he resembled a moving piece of a\ndark-blue cloud. Nevertheless, though in that animal-state, in which\nthere prevails complete ignorance and it is difficult to come to the\nconception of righteousness, he in consequence of his keen\nunderstanding, was exerting himself to practise righteousness.\n\n1. Compassion, as if it had a deep-rooted affection for him in return\nfor his long service, never left him. But some power too, either of his\nkarma or his nature, must be taken into account to explain the fact that\nhe was so.\n\n2. And it is for this reason, in truth, that the Lord[244] declared the\nmystery of the result of karma to be inscrutable, since He, though\ncompassion was at the bottom of his nature, obtained the state of a\nbeast, yet even in this condition retained his knowledge of\nrighteousness.\n\n     [244] In his Buddha-existence, of course.\n\n3. Without karma the series of existences cannot be; it is also an\nimpossibility that good actions should have evil as their result. But it\nmust be the influence of small portions of (evil) karma that caused him\nnow and then, notwithstanding his knowledge of righteousness, to be in\nsuch (low) states[245].\n\n     [245] This apology is not superfluous, indeed. Though fables of\n     animals have been adapted of old so as to form part of the stock of\n     sacred lore of the Buddhists, the contradiction between the low\n     existences of the most virtuous ones and the doctrines about the\n     karma is as great as possible.\n\nNow some wicked monkey, knowing his natural goodness which had\nmanifested itself in course of time, and understanding from his habitual\nmercy that anger and wrath had no power over him, was in the habit of\nvexing the Great Being very much by different injuries. 'From him I have\nnothing to fear,' so he thought.\n\n4. A rascal is never more eager to insult and never displays greater\ninsolence than towards people meek and merciful. Against those he\nperforms his worst tricks, for he sees no danger from their side. But\nwith respect to those from whence a suspicion of danger, however slight,\nstrikes him, he will behave, oh! so modestly, like an honest man; his\npetulance is quieted there.\n\nSometimes, then, while the Great Being was calmly asleep or nodding from\ndrowsiness, that monkey would of a sudden leap upon his back. Another\ntime, having climbed on (his head), as if he were a tree, he swung\nrepeatedly (between his horns). Sometimes again, when he was hungry, he\nwould stand before his feet, obstructing his grazing. It happened also\nnow and then that he rubbed his ears with a log. When he was longing to\nbathe, he would sometimes climb on his head and cover his eyes with his\nhands. Or having mounted on his back, he would ride him perforce, and\nholding a stick in his hand counterfeit Yama[246]. And the Bodhisattva,\nthat Great Being, bore all that unbecoming behaviour of the monkey\nwithout irritation and anger, quite untroubled, for he considered it a\nbenefit, as it were.\n\n     [246] The common representation of Yama is sitting on the back of a\n     buffalo with a staff in his hand. See, for instance, Var\u00e2hamihira\n     B_ri_hatsa_m_hit\u00e2 58, 57 da_nd_\u00ee Yamo mahishaga_h_.\n\n5. It is the very nature of the wicked, indeed, to walk aside from the\nway of decent behaviour, whereas forbearance is something like a benefit\nto the virtuous, owing to their habitual practice of going that way.\n\nNow of a truth, some Yaksha who was scandalised at those insults of the\nGreat Being, or perhaps wished to try his nature, one time when the\nwicked monkey was riding the buffalo-bull, placed himself in his way,\nsaying: 'Be not so patient. Art thou the slave of that wicked monkey by\npurchase or by loss at play, or dost thou suspect any danger from his\npart, or dost thou not know thine own strength, that thou sufferest\nthyself to be so abused by him as to become his riding animal? Verily,\nmy friend,\n\n6. 'The thunderbolt of thy pointed horns swung with swiftness could\npierce a diamond, or like the thunderbolt, cleave huge trees. And these\nthy feet treading with furious anger, would sink in the mountain-rock as\nin mud.\n\n7. 'And this body of thine is, like a rock, solid and compact, the\nsplendid strength of its muscles makes its beauty perfect. So thy power\nis well-known to the vigorous by nature, and thou wouldst be hard to\napproach even for a lion.\n\n8. 'Therefore, either crush him with thy hoof by an energetic effort, or\ndestroy his insolence with the sharp edges of thy horns. Why dost thou\nsuffer this rogue of a monkey to torment thee and to cause pain to thee,\nas if thou wert powerless?\n\n9. 'Where is it ever seen that an evildoer is brought to reason by a\ncure consisting in a virtuous behaviour towards him, modesty, and\nkindness? This treatment being applied to such a one who is to be cured\nby pungent and burning and harsh remedies, his insolence will wax like a\ndisease arising from the phlegm[247].'\n\n     [247] Indian medicine divides the diseases into three classes,\n     according to their origin from one of the three humours: phlegm\n     (kapha), wind (v\u00e2ta), and bile (pitta).\n\nThen the Bodhisattva looking at the Yaksha spoke to him mild words\nexpressive of his adherence to the virtue of forbearance.\n\n10. 'Surely, I know him a fickle-minded one and always fond of iniquity,\nbut for this very reason it is right, in truth, that I put up with him.\n\n11. 'What forbearance is that, practised towards somebody of greater\nstrength, against whom it is impossible to retaliate? And with respect\nto virtuous people standing firm in honesty and decent behaviour, what\nis there to be endured at all?\n\n12. 'Therefore we ought to endure injuries by a feeble one, though\nhaving the power of revenge. Better to bear insults from such a one than\nto get rid of virtues.\n\n13. 'Ill-treatment by a powerless one is the best opportunity, in truth,\nfor showing virtues. With what purpose, then, should the lover of\nvirtues make use of his strength in such cases so as to lose his\nfirmness of mind?\n\n14. 'Besides, the opportunity for forbearance, that virtue always of\nuse, being difficult to obtain inasmuch as it depends on others, what\nreason could there be to resort to anger just then, when that\nopportunity has been afforded by another?\n\n15. 'And if I did not use forbearance against him who disregarding the\ndamage of his own righteousness (dharma), acts as if to cleanse my sins,\nsay who else should be ungrateful, if not I?'\n\nThe Yaksha spoke: 'Then wilt thou never be delivered from his\npersecutions.\n\n16. 'Who may be able to chastise the ill-behaviour of a rascal having no\nrespect for virtues, unless he sets aside humble forbearance?'\n\nThe Bodhisattva spoke:\n\n17. 'It is not suitable for him who longs for happiness to pursue\ncomfort or prevention of discomfort by inflicting grief on another. The\nresult of such actions will not tend to the production of happiness.\n\n18. 'My persistence in patient endurance is, in fact, an admonition to\nawake his conscience. If he does not understand it, he will afterwards\nassail others of a hasty temper who will stop him in his pursuit of the\nwrong way.\n\n19. 'And having been ill-treated by such a one, he will no more do these\nthings to such as me. For having received punishment, he will not act in\nthis (unbecoming) manner again. And so I will get rid of him.'\n\nOn these words the Yaksha, affected with faithful contentment,\namazement, and respect, exclaimed: 'Well said! well said!' and moving\nhis head and shaking his (extended) fingers, magnified the Great Being\nwith kind words such as these:\n\n20. 'How is it possible that beasts should possess a conduct like this?\nHow didst thou come to this degree of regard for virtues? Having assumed\nwith some purpose or other this animal-shape, thou must be somebody\npractising penance in the penance-forest!'\n\nAfter thus eulogising him, he threw the wicked monkey off his back, and\ntaught him a preservative charm; after which he disappeared on the spot.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, forbearance deserves this name only, if there\nexists some opportunity for showing it, not otherwise: thus considering\nthe virtuous appreciate even their injurer, deeming him a profit. [So is\nto be said, when discoursing on forbearance. And this may also be said:\n'In this manner is shown the imperturbable tranquillity of the\nBodhisattvas, even when in the state of a beast; how, indeed, should it\nbecome a human being or one who has taken the vow of a homeless life to\nbe deficient in it[248]?' This story is also to be told, when praising\nthe Tath\u00e2gata and when discoursing on listening with attention to the\npreaching of the Law.]\n\n     [248] Cp. the conclusion of Story XXV.\n\n\n\n\nXXXIV. THE STORY OF THE WOODPECKER.\n\n(Cp. the P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka, No. 308, Fausb. III, 25-27.)\n\n\nEven though provoked, a virtuous person is incapable of betaking himself\nto wickedness, having never learnt to do so. This will be taught as\nfollows.\n\nThe Bodhisattva, it is said, lived in some place of a forest as a\nwoodpecker distinguished by his beautiful and lovely feathers of\nmanifold colours. But though in that state, owing to his habitual\ncompassion, he did not follow the way of living of his kind, a sinful\none since it involves injuries to living beings.\n\n1. With the young shoots of the trees, with the sweet and delicious\nflavours of their flowers, and with their fruits of different hue,\nscent, and relish he kept such diet as was dictated by his contentment.\n\n2. He manifested his care for the interests of others by preaching to\nothers the precepts of righteousness on proper opportunities, by helping\nthe distressed according to his power, and by preventing the base-minded\nfrom immodest actions.\n\nThe whole multitude of animals in that part of the forest, being thus\nprotected by the Great Being, thrived and were happy; for in him they\npossessed a teacher, as it were, a kinsman, a physician, a king.\n\n3. In the same degree as they, being well protected by the greatness of\nhis mercy, increased in virtues, in the very same degree his protection\nendowed them, though making up a collection of substances, with increase\nof their qualities[249].\n\n     [249] The point of this stanza is lost in translation. The term\n     sattvak\u00e2ya admits of two acceptations, according to its being\n     applied to the philosophical and to the ordinary use of the word\n     sattva. So the same compound may signify 'a body of animals' and 'a\n     collection of substances.' Similarly the term gu_n_a means 'virtue'\n     as well as 'quality.'\n\nNow one time, when the Great Being, according to his pity for the\ncreatures, was rambling through parts of the forest, it happened that he\nsaw in some part of the wood a lion who overcome by an exceedingly heavy\npain was lying on the earth, as if he were hit with a poisonous arrow,\nhaving his mane disarranged and dirty with dust. And drawing near to\nhim, moved by compassion, he asked him: 'What is the matter, king of the\nquadrupeds? Thou art seriously ill, indeed, I see.\n\n4. 'Is this illness caused by exhaustion after indulging too much in\nboldness against elephants? or in excessive running after deer? or art\nthou hit with an arrow by a hunter? or has some disease seized thee?\n\n5. 'Say then, what ails thee, if at least it may be told to me. Likewise\ntell me what may be done for thee in this case. And if perhaps I possess\nsome power for the benefit of my friends, thou must enjoy the profit I\nmay bring about by it and recover thy health[250].'\n\n     [250] The last p\u00e2da of this _s_loka looks corrupt in the original,\n     yet without encumbrance of the main sense which is evident.\n\nThe lion spoke: 'Thou, virtuous and best of birds, this illness is not\nthe effect of exhaustion nor is it caused by disease nor occasioned by a\nhunter's arrow. But it is the fragment of a bone that sticks here in my\nthroat and, like the point of an arrow, causes grievous pain to me. I\ncan neither swallow it down nor throw it up. Therefore, it is now the\ntime of assistance by friends. Now, if you know the way to make me\nsound, well, do it.' Then the Bodhisattva, owing to the keenness of his\nintellect, thought out some means of extracting the object which was the\ncause of his pain. Taking a piece of wood large enough to bar his mouth,\nhe spoke to the lion: 'Open thy mouth as wide as ever thou canst.' After\nhe had done so, the Bodhisattva having placed the log tightly between\nthe two rows of his teeth, entered the bottom of his throat. With the\ntop of his beak he seized that fragment of bone sticking athwart in it\nby one edge, and having loosened it, took it by another edge, and at\nlast drew it out. And while retiring, he dropped the log which barred\nthe lion's mouth.\n\n6. No wound-healer, however skilled in his art and clever, would have\nsucceeded even with great effort in extracting that extraneous\nsubstance, yet he pulled it out, thanks to his keen intellect, though\nnot exercised by professional training[251], but proper to him through\nhundreds of existences.\n\n     [251] Cp. the beginning of Story XIV, p. 125.\n\n7. After taking away together with the bone the pain and anguish caused\nby it, he felt no less gladness at having relieved his suffering\nfellow-creature, than the lion at being released from the pain-causing\nobject.\n\nThis, indeed, is the essential property of a virtuous person.\n\n8. A virtuous person having effected the happiness of another or stopped\nhis mischief even with difficulty, will enjoy a greater amount of\nexcessive gladness, than he would on account even of prosperity\nhappening to himself and easily obtained.\n\nSo the Great Being having relieved his pain, was rejoiced in his heart.\nHe took leave of the lion, and having received his thanks went his way.\n\nNow some time after, it happened that the woodpecker flying about with\nhis outspread wings of exquisite beauty, could nowhere get any suitable\nfood, so that he was caught by hunger which burnt his limbs. Then he saw\nthat same lion feasting on the flesh of a young antelope fresh killed.\nHis mouth and claws and the lower end of his mane being tinged with the\nblood of that animal, he resembled a fragment of a cloud in autumn,\nimmersed in the glow of twilight.\n\n9. Yet, though he was his benefactor, he did not venture to address him\nwith words of request, disagreeable to the ear; for however skilled in\nspeech, shame imposed upon him a temporary obligation of silence.\n\n10. Nevertheless, as his wants required satisfaction, he walked up and\ndown before his eyes in a bashful attitude. But that scoundrel, though\nwell aware of him, did not at all invite him to join in the repast.\n\n11. Like seed sown on a rock, like an oblation poured out on ashes that\nhave lost their heat, of that very nature is, at the time of fruit, a\nbenefit bestowed on an ungrateful person, and the flower of the\nvidula-reed.\n\nThen the Bodhisattva thought: 'Surely, he does not know me again,' and\napproaching him with a little more confidence, asked him for a share,\nsupporting his demand with a proper benediction after the manner of\nmendicants.\n\n12. 'Much good may it do thee, lord of the quadrupeds, who procurest thy\nlivelihood by thy prowess! I beg thee to honour a mendicant, which is an\ninstrument for thee to gather good repute and merit.'\n\nBut the lion disregarding this kind blessing, unacquainted as he was\nwith the behaviour of the pious (\u00e2rya), owing to his habitual cruelty\nand selfishness, fixed a sidelong look on the Bodhisattva, as if he were\nwilling to burn him down with the flame of the anger blazing out of his\nfiery eyes, and said: 'No more of this.\n\n13. 'Is it not enough that thou art alive, after entering the mouth of a\ncreature like me, a devourer of fresh killed deer who does not know of\nunmanly mercy?\n\n14. 'Is it to insult me that thou darest molest me thus another time\nwith a demand. Art thou weary of thy life? Thou wishest to see the world\nhereafter, I suppose.'\n\nThis refusal and the harsh words expressing it, filled the Bodhisattva\nwith shame. He flew directly upward to the sky, telling him in the\nlanguage of his extended wings he was a bird, and went his way.\n\nNow some forest-deity who was indignant at this injury, or who wanted to\nknow the extent of his virtuous constancy, mounted also to the sky, and\nsaid to the Great Being: 'Excellent one among birds, for what reason\ndost thou suffer this injury inflicted by that scoundrel on thee, his\nbenefactor, though thou dost possess the power of revenge? What is the\nprofit of overlooking that ungrateful one in this manner?\n\n15. 'He may be ever so strong, thou art still able to blind him by a\nsudden assault on his face. Thou mayst also rob the flesh of his repast\nfrom between his very teeth. Why then dost thou suffer his insolence?'\n\nAt that moment the Bodhisattva, though having been ill-treated and\ninsulted, and notwithstanding the provocation of the forest-deity,\nmanifested the extreme goodness of his nature, saying: 'Enough, enough\nof this manner of proceeding. This way is not followed by such as me.\n\n16. 'It is out of mercy, not with the desire of gain, that the virtuous\ntake care of a person in distress, nor do they mind whether the other\nunderstands this or not. What opportunity for anger is there in such a\ncase?\n\n17. 'Ingratitude cannot but tend to the deception of the ungrateful one\nhimself. Who, indeed, wishing a service in return, will do good to him a\nsecond time?\n\n18. 'As to the benefactor, he obtains merit and the result of it in the\nworld hereafter in consequence of his self-restraint, and an illustrious\nrenown still in this world.\n\n19. 'Moreover, if the benefit has been performed in order to practise a\nrighteous action, why should it be regretted afterwards? If done with\nthe purpose of receiving something in return, it is a loan, not a\nbenefit.\n\n20. 'He who because of the ingratitude of his neighbour prepares to do\nhim harm, such a one, in truth, after first earning a spotless\nreputation by his virtues, will subsequently act after the manner of\nelephants.\n\n21. 'If my neighbour by the infirmity of his mind does not know how to\nreturn the benefit, he will also never obtain the lovely lustre inherent\nin virtues; but, say, what reason should there exist for a sentient\nbeing to destroy, on account of that, his own lofty renown?\n\n'But this seems to me most becoming in this case.\n\n22. 'He in whose heart a service done by a virtuous person did not rouse\na friendly disposition, such a one is to be left, but gently, without\nharshness and anger.'\n\nThen the deity, rejoiced at his well-said sentences, praised him,\nexclaiming repeatedly: 'Well said! well said!' and adding many kind\nwords.\n\n23. 'Though exempt from the toil caused by matted hair and a bark\ngarment, thou art a _Ri_shi, thou art a holy ascetic knowing the future!\nIt is not the dress, truly, that makes the Muni, but he who is adorned\nby virtues is the real Muni here.'\n\nAfter thus distinguishing him and honouring him, he disappeared on the\nspot.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn this manner, then, a virtuous person is incapable of betaking himself\nto wickedness, even though provoked, having never learnt to do so. [So\nis to be said when eulogising the virtuous. And when discoursing on\nforbearance, this is to be propounded: 'In this manner a man practising\nforbearance will rarely meet with enmity, rarely with reproach, and will\nbe beloved and welcome to many people.' When praising adherence to\ntranquillity, this is to be said: 'In this manner the wise being great\nin preserving their tranquillity preserve their own lustre of virtues.'\nLikewise, when glorifying the Tath\u00e2gata and praising the cultivation of\nan excellent nature: 'In this manner a good nature being always striven\nafter does not pass away, even when in the state of a beast.']\n\n\n\n\nSYNOPTICAL TABLE\n\nOF THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE STANZAS OF THE _G_\u00c2TAKAM\u00c2L\u00c2 AND THE\nSCRIPTURE VERSES OF THE P\u00c2LI _G_\u00c2TAKA.\n\n_* Indicates a very close and partly verbal agreement._\n\n\nII. _S_ibi_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 499.\n\n    _G_\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2.                     P\u00e2li _G_\u00e2taka.\n\n  Stanza 10-12                           Stanza 1-3\n    \"    13, 14                            \"    5, 6\n    \"    15-18                             \"    7-9\n    \"    21-23                             \"    10, 11\n    \"    25                                \"    12\n    \"    26, 27                            \"    13\n    \"    28                                \"    14\n    \"    *32, *33                          \"    *20, *21\n    \"    35, 36                            \"    23\n    \"    37                                \"    24, 25\n    \"    44-49                             \"    26-31\n\n\nIII. Kulm\u00e2shapi_nd_\u00ee_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 415.\n\n  Stanza 4, 5                            Stanza 1, 2\n    \"    6, 7                              \"    3\n    \"    10-13                             \"    4-7\n    \"    14-16                             \"    8-10\n    \"    17                                \"    11, 12\n\n\nIV. _S_resh_th_i_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 40.\n\n  Stanza 18                              Stanza 1\n\n\nV. Avishahya_s_resh_th_i_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 340.\n\n  Stanza 9                               Stanza 1\n    \"    *11                               \"    *2\n    \"    26, 27                            \"    3, 4\n\n\nVI. _S_a_s_a_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 316\n\n  Stanza 26-29                            Stanza 1-4\n\n\nVII. Agastya_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 480.\n\n  Stanza 12                              Stanza 2\n    \"    14, 15                            \"    4\n    \"    17, 18                            \"    6\n    \"     20-22                          Stanza 8, 9\n    \"     24-26                            \"    10\n    \"     28, *29                          \"    12, *13\n    \"     30, 31                           \"    14\n    \"     34                               \"    16, 17\n    \"     36-38                            \"    19-21\n  Stanzas 13, 16, 19, 27, 32 and\n  33, 35 are different embellishments\n  of one stereotyped verse                 \"    3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 18\n\n\nXII. Br\u00e2hma_n_a_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 305.\n\n  Stanza  *13, 14, *15                   Stanza *1, *2.\n\n\nXIII. Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 527.\n\n  Stanza  12                             Stanza 5\n    \"     *17, 18                          \"    15\n    \"     *19                              \"    16\n    \"     22                               \"    17\n    \"     26, 27                           \"    18, 19\n    \"     29                               \"    29, and cp. 24 and 26\n    \"     30, 31                           \"    30, 32\n    \"     32                               \"    35 and cp. 33\n    \"     33                               \"    41\n    \"     34                               \"    34\n    \"     36                               \"    36\n    \"     39                               \"    48-51\n\n\nXIV. Sup\u00e2raga_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 463.\n\n  Stanza  12, 13                         Stanza 1, 2\n    \"     14, 15                           \"    5, 6\n    \"     16, 17                           \"    3, 4\n    \"     18, 19                           \"    7, 8\n    \"     20, 21                           \"    9, 10\n    \"     22, 23                           \"    11, 12\n    \"     *30, 31                          \"    13\n\n\nXV. Matsya_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 75.\n\n  Stanza  14                             Stanza 1, cp. _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka\n                                                   III, 10, 6\n\n\nXVI. Vartak\u00e2potaka_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 35.\n\n  Stanza  7                              Stanza 3 = 34 of Ekanip\u00e2ta\n\n\nXVII. Kumbha_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 512.\n\n  Stanza  7, 11                          Stanza 1-3\n    \"     12, 13                           \"    4, 5\n    \"     14                               \"    6 and 8\n    \"     15                               \"    7\n    \"     16                               \"    9 and 22\n    \"     18                               \"    25\n    \"     19                               \"    13 and *14\n    \"     22                               \"    26\n    \"     25                               \"    15-17\n    \"     27                               \"    18\n    \"     30, *31                          \"    28, *29\n    \"     32, 33                           \"    30, 31\n\n\nXIX. Bisa_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 488.\n\n  Stanza *11, *12, 13                    Stanza *1, *2, 3\n    \"    14, 15, *16                       \"    4, 5, *6\n    \"    *17, *18                          \"    *7, *8\n    \"    19, 20                            \"    9, 10\n    \"    *21, *22, *23                     \"    *11, *12, *13\n    \"    *24, 25, 26-28                    \"    *14, 15, 16 and 17\n    \"    29, 30                            \"    18\n    \"    *31                               \"    *19\n    \"    *32, 33                           \"    20\n\n\nXX. _S_resh_th_i_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 171.\n\n  Stanza *18                             Stanza *1\n\n\nXXI. _K_u_dd_abodhi_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 443.\n\n  Stanza 9, 11                           Stanza 1, 2\n    \"    18, 20, 21                        \"    3, 4, 5\n    \"    *22, *23, *24, *25_a_        \"    *6, *7, *8, *9_a_\n    \"    25_b_-_d_, 26           \"    9_b_-_d_, 10, 11\n    \"    27, 28                            \"    12, 13\n\n\nXXII. Ha_m_sa_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 533.\n\n  Stanza 26                              Stanza 1, cp. No. 534, 1-3\n    \"    27, 29                            \"    2, 4\n    \"    *30, *31, *32                     \"    *5, *6, *7\n    \"    *33, *34                          \"    *8, *9\n    \"    *35                               \"    *10 identical.\n    \"    *36, *37, *38                     \"    *11, *12, *13\n    \"    39, 40                            \"    19 (read disa_m_)\n    \"    43, 44                            \"    20, 21, cp. No. 534, 15\n                                                and 16\n    \"    45-48                             \"    25-28\n    \"    *49, 50, 51                       \"    *29, 30, 31 (stands in\n                                                a wrong place, as 31,\n                                                being spoken by Sumukha,\n                                                must immediately\n                                                follow 30)\n    \"    54                                \"    35 = 49\n    \"    55, 56                            \"    37, 39\n    \"    57, 58                            \"    41, 42\n    \"    59-62                             \"    43, 44, 46\n    \"    63, 64                            \"    47-53\n    \"    65                                \"    54, 55\n    \"    66, 67                            \"    58\n    \"    68                                \"    60\n    \"    72, 73                            \"    65\n    \"    *74, 75-77                        \"    *66, 67-69\n    \"    78, 79                            \"    70\n    \"    80                                \"    72, 73\n    \"    83                                \"    74\n    \"    85, 86                            \"    75-77\n    \"    *89                               \"    81\n\n\nXXIII. Mah\u00e2bodhi_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 528.\n\n  Stanza 13, 14                          Stanza 7, 8\n    \"    15                                \"    10\n    \"    16                                \"    11, 13\n    \"    66-69                             \"    53-56\n    \"    70                                \"    49, 50\n    \"    71                                \"    51, 52\n\n\nXXIV. Mah\u00e2kapi_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 516.\n\n  Stanza 11                              Stanza 21\n\n\nXXVI. Ruru_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 482.\n\n  Stanza 22, 23                          Stanza 5\n    \"    24                                \"    7\n    \"    26, 27                            \"    8\n    \"    30                                \"    9\n\n\nXXVII. Mah\u00e2kapi_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 407.\n\n  Stanza 13                              Stanza 1\n    \"    15                                \"    2\n    \"    20 _d_, 21-23                \"    3-5\n\n\nXXVIII. Ksh\u00e2nti_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 313.\n\n  Stanza 59                              Stanza 1\n    \"    61, 62                            \"    2\n\n\nXXXI. Sutasoma_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 537.\n\n  Stanza 47, *48, *49                    Stanza 54, *55, *56\n    \"    52                                \"    59\n    \"    *54                               \"    *60\n    \"    61-66                             \"    64-71\n    \"    67                                \"    72\n    \"    71, 72                            \"    40, 41 = 74, 75\n    \"    74, 75                            \"    42, 43 = 76, 77\n    \"    76, 77                            \"    78, 79\n    \"    *78                               \"    *80\n    \"    93, 94                            \"    102\n\n\nXXXII. Ayog_ri_ha_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 510.\n\n  Stanza 21, 22                          Stanza 1, 2\n    \"    23, 24                            \"    3, 4\n    \"    25, 26                            \"    6, 7\n    \"    27 and 33                         \"    17\n    \"    28, 29                            \"    14, 15\n    \"    30, 31                            \"    19, 20\n    \"    35, 36                            \"    12, 13\n    \"    37                                \"    18\n    \"    38, 39                            \"    21, 22\n    \"    47, 48                            \"    23, 24\n\n\nXXXIII. Mahisha_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 278.\n\n  Stanza 19                              Stanza 3 = _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka II,\n                                                5, 10\n\n\nXXXIV. _S_atapattra_g_\u00e2taka = Fausb. No. 308.\n\n  Stanza *13                             Stanza 2\n    \"    *22                               \"    4\n\n\n\n\nINDEX.\n\n\n  abhig_\u00f1_\u00e2, page 206.\n\n  Abhip\u00e2raga, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123.\n\n  Act of Truth, 16, 132, 136, 137, 141.\n\n  Agastya, the story of, VII. 46-55.\n\n  Agni, 140.\n\n  Agnihotra, 49.\n\n  Agnim\u00e2lin, 129.\n\n  A_g_ita, 4.\n\n  Almsgiving, eulogy of, 24.\n\n  Andhakas, 145.\n\n  Angels, charged with the care of rain, 94, 135.\n\n  Anger, sermon on, 178-180.\n\n  Aniruddha, 164.\n\n  Annihilation, doctrine of, 207, 213.\n\n  A\u1e45gadinna, 269.\n\n  A\u1e45gas, see Ved\u00e2\u1e45gas.\n\n  Ape, 38, 45; for the rest cp. Monkey.\n    Story of the great, XXIV. 218-227.\n\n  Apsaras(as), 17, 97, 115, 117.\n\n  arghya, 271.\n\n  Arhat, 22, 105.\n\n  artha, a means for attaining dharma, 27-29.\n\n    --9, 95, 195, 202, 253, 264, 302, 312.\n\n  Asuras, 105, 322.\n\n  A_s_u_k_iku_n_apa, 276.\n\n  avabh_ri_tha, 95, 97.\n\n  Avad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2, see Bodhisattv\u00e2vad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2.\n\n  Avad\u00e2na_s_ataka, 37.\n\n  Avishahya, 30, 31.\n\n    Story of, V. 30-37.\n\n  Av\u00ee_k_i, 147.\n\n  Ayog_ri_ha, story of, XXXII. 314-324.\n\n\n  \u00c2dityas, 131.\n\n  \u00c2nanda, 164, 181, 199, 291.\n\n  \u00e2paddharma, 111, 223.\n\n  \u00c2ryasthavir\u00eeyanik\u00e2ya, 139.\n\n\n  Bauddhak\u00e2vya, 291.\n\n  Benares, 183, 186, 187, 245.\n\n  Bodhi (proper name), 202.\n\n  Bodhi, see Buddhahood.\n\n  Bodhisattva, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 18, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30,\n    31, 32, 33, 35, 39, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 71, 74,\n    78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, 104, 109, 111, 112,\n    113, 114, 124, 125, 128, 132, 134, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 148,\n    151, 154, 156, 157, 158, 159, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167, 169, 173,\n    174, 175, 176, 178, 180, 181, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 195,\n    197, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 207, 208, 209, 210, 219,\n    221, 222, 224, 227, 228, 229, 232, 234, 235, 236, 239, 240, 241,\n    243, 244, 245, 248, 250, 251, 253, 263, 265, 266, 267, 269, 270,\n    271, 273, 278, 281, 282, 291, 295, 296, 297, 299, 300, 301, 303,\n    304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 319, 325,\n    327, 328, 329, 331, 332, 333.\n\n  Bodhisattvas, 125, 329.\n\n  Bodhisattv\u00e2vad\u00e2nakalpalat\u00e2, 8, 19, 20, 37, 41, 71, 78, 93, 200, 268,\n    291.\n\n  Brahma (n.), 43, 68.\n\n  Brahm\u00e2 (m.), 98.\n\n  Brahmadatta, 182, 186, 245.\n\n  Brahmaloka, 269, 270, 271, 286, 324.\n\n    Story of the inhabitant of the, XXIX. 268-281.\n\n  Br\u00e2hman, majestic figure of a, 143; Br\u00e2hmans abhor falsehood, 144; the\n    Br\u00e2hman with the four well-said sentences, 293, 294, 297, 298, 299,\n    300; the Br\u00e2hman who asked the Bodh.'s eye, 11, 12, 13, 15; the\n    Br\u00e2hman in the shape of whom _S_akra tried the hare, 42, 43,\n    44.\n\n  Br\u00e2hman, story of the, XII. 109-114.\n\n  Br\u00e2hma_n_\u00ee, A, 85.\n\n  B_ri_haspati, 123.\n\n  Brothers, the six, of the Bodhisattva, 154, 155, 156, 157, 159, 160.\n\n  Buddha, 1, 8, 67, 218, 313, 325.\n\n  Buddhas, 21.\n\n  Buddhahood, 1, 56, 69.\n\n  Buddha-virtues, 5.\n\n  Buddhay\u00e2na, 5.\n\n  buddhi, 272.\n\n  Buffalo, story of the, XXXIII. 324-329.\n\n\n  Bhadra, 291.\n\n  Bhadrakalp\u00e2vad\u00e2na, 313, 314.\n\n  bhakti, doctrine of, 211.\n\n  Bharuka_kkh_a, 125, 134.\n\n  bh\u00e2van\u00e2s, 3.\n\n\n  Celestials, celestial gods, see Devas.\n\n  Charity praised, 19, 24, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 45, 54, 60, 72,\n    73; excess of, 75.\n\n  Childless one, story of the, XVIII. 148-154.\n\n  Comrade, the, of the Bodhisattva, 156, 160.\n\n  Curse, the effect of penance-power, 176, 267;\n    strong liquor, an embodied Curse, 146.\n\n\n  Dadhim\u00e2lin, 129.\n\n  Daityas, 54, 105, 186, 192, 229.\n\n  D\u00e2navas, 105.\n\n  Delusion (= m\u00e2y\u00e2) 259;\n\n    (= moha) 301.\n\n  Demoness, 117.\n\n  Demons, 105, 106, 107, 108, 126, 128;\n\n    (= graha) 320, 321.\n\n  Destiny, 14, 123, 166.\n\n  Detachment praised, 151, 156, 253.\n\n  Devadatta, 260.\n\n  Devaputras, 55, 161, and see Angels.\n\n  Devarshi, 270.\n\n  Devas, 7, 14, 44, 63, 90, 92, 96, 97, 106, 107, 108, 119, 136, 182,\n    287, 322.\n\n    City of the, 24; hall of the, 45; Lord of the, see _S_akra;\n      rank of the, 28; world of the, 38, 45, 96; sovereignty of the,\n      113; old, 146.\n\n  Devil, the embodied, 226.\n\n  Dev\u00ee, 131.\n\n  Diti, 104.\n\n  Divy\u00e2vad\u00e2na, 8, 20, 56, 318.\n\n  d\u00eeksh\u00e2, 95, 102.\n\n  d\u00eekshita, 95, 102.\n\n  Dog, a, 204.\n\n\n  Dhammapada, 21, 139, 143.\n\n  Dhanvantari, 322.\n\n  dharma, 9, 27, 69, 95, 195, 207, 211, 214, 216, 259, 263, 302, 312,\n    328.\n\n  Dharma (personified), 94, 177, 257.\n\n  Dh_ri_tar\u00e2sh_t_ra, 181.\n\n  dhy\u00e2na, 55, 174, 206, 257, 269, 271, 272, 324.\n\n\n  Elephant, 161, 162; a white, 73, 74, 75, 78.\n\n    Story of the, XXX. 281-291.\n\n  Elephants of the world-quarters, 288.\n\n\n  False doctrines, 206, 207, 209-214, 216, 218.\n\n  Fear of Death, 306, 307; discourse on the, 319-323.\n\n  Fish, story of the, XV. 134-138.\n\n  Five, the (first followers of the Lord), 71.\n\n  Forbearance, praise of, 258, 259, 264, 265, 328.\n\n  Forest-deity, 333-335.\n\n\n  Gandharvas, 7, 92.\n\n  Ganges, 245, 315.\n\n  Ga_n_as, 17.\n\n  garbh\u00e2dh\u00e2na, 109.\n\n  Garu_d_a(s), 287, 321.\n\n  g\u00e2th\u00e2s, tetrad of, 300, 308, 309.\n\n  Goblins, 57, 58, 63, 295, 300, 315, 316.\n\n  Goldland, 125.\n\n  grahas, 321.\n\n  Gruel, story of the small portion of, III. 20-25.\n\n  Guild, story of the head of a, IV. 25-30.\n\n  guru, the, of \u00c2rya_s_\u00fbra, 2.\n\n\n  _G_\u00e2lin, 82, 86.\n\n  _G_\u00e2taka, the P\u00e2li, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 30, 37, 46, 71, 93,\n    104, 109, 114, 124, 125, 126, 130, 132, 133, 134, 137, 138, 141,\n    154, 159, 160, 164, 172, 181, 182, 190, 195, 200, 214, 218, 227,\n    234, 244, 245, 253, 260, 268, 291, 314, 324, 329.\n\n    Commentary on the, 160, 161, 162. _g_\u00e2takarma, 2, 46, 109, 316.\n\n  _G_valatkuk\u00fbla, 274.\n\n\n  Ha_m_sa, the supreme, 44. For the rest, cp. Swan.\n\n  Hare, story of the, VI. 37-45.\n\n  H\u00e2lahala, the poison, 307.\n\n  Hells, description of, 274-277.\n\n  Himalaya or Himavat, 36, 141, 186, 218, 244, 289.\n\n  Hitopade_s_a, 200.\n\n  Hospitality praised, 39-44, 49.\n\n\n  Indra, 16, 68, 196.\n\n\n  \u00ce_s_vara, 206, 211, 212.\n\n\n  Jackal, the friend of the hare, 38, 42, 45.\n\n  Jar, story of the, XVII. 141-154.\n\n  Jewels (the three), or Triratna, 2.\n\n\n  Kail\u00e2sa, 73.\n\n  Ka_k_a\u1e45gal\u00e2, 161.\n\n  kal\u00e2s, 2, 292.\n\n  Kalm\u00e2shap\u00e2da, see the son of Sud\u00e2sa.\n\n  karma, 269, 275, 276; doctrine of, 206, 212, 325; result of, 148, 258,\n    270, 325; harvest of, 225, 239; evil, 239.\n\n  Kath\u00e2sarits\u00e2gara, 20, 124, 200.\n\n  Kaumud\u00ee, 1 17.\n\n  Kaumudi-festival, 116, 317.\n\n  Kauravas, 291.\n\n  K\u00e2lod\u00e2yin, 164.\n\n  k\u00e2ma, 9, 95, 195, 202, 253, 264, 302.\n\n  k\u00e2madh\u00e2tu, 269.\n\n  k\u00e2m\u00e2va_k_ara, 269.\n\n  K\u00e2r\u00e2, 47.\n\n  K\u00e2_s_yapa, 51, 53;(another) 164.\n\n  K\u00e2_s_yapa, the Buddha, 161.\n\n  King's duties, a, 216, 217, 250, 252, 278-280.\n\n  Kir\u00ee_t_avatsa, 118.\n\n  Ko_s_ala, 20.\n\n  K_ri_sh_n_\u00e2_g_in\u00e2, 82, 86, 87.\n\n  K_ri_ta Yuga, 9, 99, 101.\n\n  ksham\u00e2, 259, 264.\n\n  ksh\u00e2nti, 253, 259.\n\n  Ksh\u00e2ntiv\u00e2din, 253,254, 256, 260, 261.\n    Story of, XXVIII. 253-268.\n\n  Kshemendra, 8, 93.\n\n  Kubera, 31, 56, 68, 145.\n\n  Kub_g_ottar\u00e2, 164.\n\n  Ku_s_am\u00e2lin, 130.\n\n\n  Khuram\u00e2lin, 128.\n\n\n  _K_andra, 45.\n\n  _K_ariy\u00e2pi_t_aka, 8, 37, 46, 71, 93, 134, 137, 138, 154,\n    172, 234, 291, 314, 324.\n\n  _K_itra, 164.\n\n  _K_u_dd_abodhi, story of, XXI. 172-181.\n\n\n  Leprosy a punishment for treachery, 225, 226.\n\n  Lion, 330-333.\n\n  Lioness, 294.\n\n  Liquors, sin of drinking strong, 142, 148; discourse on the sin of\n    drinking, 144-147.\n\n  Lokap\u00e2las, 80, 177.\n\n  Lotus stalks, story of the, XIX. 154-164.\n\n  Love-god, 91, 117, 119, 175, 176.\n\n\n  Madr\u00ee, 78, 79, 81, 82, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92.\n\n  Madhud\u00e2tar, 164.\n\n  Magic, the power of, 15, 44, 207, 215.\n\n  Mah\u00e2bodhi, story of, XXIII. 200-218.\n\n  Mah\u00e2raurava, 27.\n\n  Maitr\u00eebala, story of, VIII. 55-71.\n\n  Ma\u1e45gala Buddha, 93.\n\n  Man-eater, the, see Kalm\u00e2shap\u00e2da.\n\n  Manmatha, 7, 118.\n\n  Manu, 320.\n\n  Mare-mouth, the, 131, 132.\n\n  Maruts, 131.\n\n  Maudgaly\u00e2yana, 164.\n\n  M\u00e2nasa, Lake, 181, 183, 185, 186, 187.\n\n  M\u00e2ra, 26, 27, 29, 30, 91, 287; hosts of, 5.\n\n  M\u00e2tali, 106, 107.\n\n  Mercy, discourse on, 243, 244.\n\n  Merit and Meritorious actions, 8, 23, 24, 25, 26, 39, 40, 45, 68, 233,\n    245, 279; power of, 9, 20, 30, 39, 133, 136, 200, 201, 316, 317;\n    result of, 19, 22, 23, 94.\n\n  Meru, 4, 58, 66, 69.\n\n  Milinda Pa_\u00f1_ha, 93.\n\n  Monastery, the Great, 161.\n\n  Monkey, 43, 161, 162, 207, 208, 215, 244, 245, 247, 248, 249; the\n    wicked, 325, 326, 327.\n\n    Story of the great, XXVII. 244-253.\n\n  Monks, false, 215.\n\n  Mountain, the golden, see Meru; the snow-bright, see Him\u00e2laya.\n\n  Muni, epitheton of the Buddha, and the Bodhisattva, 1, 55, 262, 265,\n    278; foremost of Munis, 266, 268; Lord of Munis, 141.\n\n  Muni, a, 23, 48, 94, 112, 116, 144, 163, 198, 254, 263, 335.\n\n\n  naishkrama, 47, 154.\n\n  Nalam\u00e2lin, 130, 133.\n\n  Nandana, the park of the Devas, 255, 293.\n\n  Narak\u00e2ntaka, 28.\n\n  naya = n\u00eeti, 76.\n\n  Nirgranthas, 145.\n\n  Nirv\u00e2_n_a, 269, 286.\n\n  Nish\u00e2da, 190, 191, 192, 193, 196.\n\n  n\u00eeti, see Political wisdom.\n\n\n  O_g_oh\u00e2ras, 56, 57.\n\n  Otter, 38, 42, 45.\n\n\n  paraloka, see World hereafter.\n\n  param\u00e2tman, 280.\n\n  Par_g_anya, 137.\n\n  p\u00e2ramit\u00e2, 93.\n\n  P\u00e2rileya, 164.\n\n  P\u00e2tal\u00e2, 126.\n\n  Pi_s_\u00e2_k_as, 57, 61.\n\n  Pitaras, 147.\n\n  Political wisdom, the science of princes, 40, 59, 74, 75, 105, 163,\n    203, 207, 213, 214, 215, 250, 302, 305, 306.\n\n  poshadha, 20, 39.\n\n  pram\u00e2_n_a, 271.\n\n  pra_n_idh\u00e2na, pra_n_idhi, 286.\n\n  pras\u00e2da, 67.\n\n  Pratyekabuddha, 26, 27, 30, 55.\n\n  Preaching of the Law, 39, 157, 159, 161, 237, 243, 330; listening with\n    attention to the--of the Law, 8, 71, 108, 227, 253, 280, 290, 313,\n    329.\n\n  Pretas, 147, 226.\n\n  pu_m_savana, 109.\n\n  pu_n_ya, see Merit.\n\n  purohita, 94, 97, 98, 160, 316.\n\n  purushamedha, 97.\n\n  P\u00fbr_n_a, 164.\n\n  P\u00fbtana, 226.\n\n\n  Quail's young, story of the, XVI. 138-141.\n\n\n  Rakshas = R\u00e2kshasa, 294.\n\n  Rati, 115.\n\n  r\u00e2_g_arshi, 16, 252.\n\n  R\u00e2hu, 192.\n\n  R\u00e2kshasas, 32, 57, 58, 61, 294.\n\n  Recollection of former existences, 20, 22, 23, 272, 317.\n\n  Rudras, 131.\n\n  Ruru-deer, story of the, XXVI. 234-244.\n\n\n  _Ri_shi, 162, 163, 182, 260, 261, 262, 263, 265, 278, 323, 335.\n\n\n  Sabbath-days, 20, 39, 73.\n\n  Sacraments, 2, 109, 173, 316.\n\n  Sacrifice, story of the, X. 93-104.\n\n  Sacrificial fee, 122.\n\n  sa_kk_akiriy\u00e2, see Act of Truth.\n\n  sambodhi = Supreme Wisdom, 6, 15.\n\n  Sa_m_gh\u00e2ta, 275.\n\n  Sa_mg_aya, 71, 75, 76,92.\n\n  Sa_m_s\u00e2ra, 4, 24, 46, 286, 306.\n\n  sa_m_sk\u00e2ra and sa_m_sk_ri_ta, 324.\n\n  Sa_m_vega, 280, 314, 317.\n\n  Sa\u1e45gha, 25.\n\n  Sarvamitra, 142, 143.\n\n  sattra, 31, 97, 102.\n\n  Saviour of the World, 15, 286.\n\n  S\u00e2gara, the Ocean, as a god, 131.\n\n  S\u00e2t\u00e2giri, 164.\n\n  s\u00e2tm\u00eebh\u00e2va, 135, 232.\n\n  Servant, the male, and the female, of the Bodhisattva, 156, 161.\n\n  Siddhas, 77, 182.\n\n  Sister, the, of the Bodhisattva, 156, 161.\n\n  s\u00eemantonnayana, 109.\n\n  Snakes, 7, 126, 136, 182.\n\n  Snow-mountain, see Him\u00e2laya.\n\n  Soma, 292.\n\n  Soma-sacrifices, 97.\n\n  Southern Ocean, 47.\n\n  Stars, the, the wives of the Moon-god, 184.\n\n  str\u00eedhana, 79.\n\n  Sud\u00e2sa, 294; the son of, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 302, 303, 304,\n    305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313.\n\n  Sudharm\u00e2, 45.\n\n  Sumeru, 11, 90.\n\n  Sumukha, 181, 182, 186, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197,\n    199.\n\n  Sunanda, 118.\n\n  Sup\u00e2raga (the man), 125, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133.\n\n    The story of, XIV. 124-134.\n\n    (the town), 125.\n\n  Supp\u00e2raka, 125.\n\n  Sutasoma, 292, 294, 296, 299, 305, 312, 314.\n\n    The story of, XXXI. 291-314.\n\n  S\u00fbp\u00e2raga, 125.\n\n  svastyayana, 58.\n\n  Swans, the story of the holy, XXII. 181-200.\n\n\n  _S_akra, the Lord of the Devas, 2, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,\n    32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53,\n    54, 55, 58, 67, 68, 70, 83, 90, 91, 92, 103, 104, 106, 107, 131,\n    136, 138, 142, 144, 146, 147, 148, 153, 157, 158, 159, 162, 163,\n    164; the riches, (brilliancy, realm) of, 14, 68, 198; city of, 278.\n\n    Story of, XI. 104-108.\n\n  _S_arabha, story of the, XXV. 227-234.\n\n  _S_a_s_\u00e2\u1e45ka, 45.\n\n  _S_atakratu, 103.\n\n  _S_ataya_g_van, 103.\n\n  _S_\u00e2kya prince, 93.\n\n  _S_\u00e2radvat\u00ee, 164.\n\n  _S_\u00e2riputra, 164.\n\n  _S_ibis, the, 8, 9, 19, 71, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 85, 92, 114, 123.\n\n    Story of the king of the, II. 8-19.\n\n  _S_r\u00e2ddha, 96.\n\n  _S_r\u00ee, 67, 115.\n\n  _S_ruti, praise of, 301, 302.\n\n  _S_\u00fbra, 1, 93.\n\n\n  Tantular, 291.\n\n  Tath\u00e2gata, 19, 55, 71, 92, 104, 108, 141, 148, 181, 227, 233, 252,\n    290, 291, 313, 329.\n\n  Tath\u00e2gatas, 132.\n\n  Tigress, story of the, I. 1-8.\n\n  t\u00eertha, 254, 306.\n\n  tray\u00ee, 71.\n\n  Treasurer, story of the, XX. 164-172.\n\n  Triad of dharma, artha, k\u00e2ma (trivarga), 9, 27, 76, 95, 123, 195, 217,\n    263, 302.\n\n  Triad of low, middle, high, 163, 258.\n\n  Trivarga, see Triad of dharma, &c.\n\n\n  Unm\u00e2dayant\u00ee, 115, 117, 118, 122; story of, XIII. 114-124.\n\n  Upavedas, 154, 292.\n\n  Utpal\u00e2var_n_\u00e2, 164.\n\n\n  Va_d_av\u00e2mukha, see Mare-mouth.\n\n  Vai_g_ayanta, 45.\n\n  Vaitara_n_\u00ee, 276.\n\n  Va\u1e45ka, Mount, 77, 81, 83, 93.\n\n  Vasus, 131.\n\n  V\u00e2sava = _S_akra, 52, 92.\n\n  Vedas, 46, 71, 95, 96, 109, 154, 155, 160, 292, 302, 308, 316.\n\n  Ved\u00e2\u1e45gas, 46, 292.\n\n  Veracity, praise of, 306; power of, 17, 133, 138.\n\n  Vet\u00e2lapa_\u00f1k_avi_ms_ati, 124.\n\n  Videha, 269.\n\n  Vidhi, 14.\n\n  Vidy\u00e2dharas, 182, 184, 219.\n\n  vinaya, 216.\n\n  Virtues, praise of, 198, 292; lover of virtues, partisan of virtues,\n    54, 292, 328; property of a virtuous person, 332, 334.\n\n  Vi_s_vakarman, 83.\n\n  Vi_s_vantara, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 93; story of, IX.\n    71-93.\n\n  V_ri_sh_n_ayas, 145.\n\n\n  Wisdom, supreme, see Buddhahood.\n\n  Woodpecker, story of the, XXXIV. 329-335.\n\n  World hereafter, proof for its existence, 271-277.\n\n  World-renunciation, 3, 4, 47, 149-153, 156, 166-172, 253, 268, 319.\n\n  Worldly pleasures censured, 159-163, 173.\n\n\n  Yakshas, 7, 57, 61, 81, 83, 119, 136, 161, 164, 182, 327, 328, 329;\n    the five, in story VIII. 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67,\n    68, 69, 71.\n\n  Yakshi_n_\u00ee, 315.\n\n  Yama, 275, 277, 326.\n\n  y\u00e2na, the three, 5, 6, cp. 280.\n\n  yoga, 4, 217.\n\n  Yogin, 228.\n\n  yuga, 219.\n\n[Illustration: TRANSLITERATION OF ORIENTAL ALPHABETS ADOPTED FOR THE\nTRANSLATIONS OF THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE BUDDHISTS.]\n\n\nOxford\n\nHORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY","title":"The G\u00e2takam\u00e2l\u00e2; Or, Garland of Birth-Stories","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":123720}