The Jātaka, vol. VI (nos. 538-547)

242 The Jataka. Book XXII. occurred to her : " I must not be like a spy, but I must find an opportunity to ask the question, and discover whether the king has goodwill to the wise man." So she went. And after her meal, she sat still, and the king saluting her sat down on one side. Then she thought, " If the king bears illwill to the sage, and when he is asked the question if he declares his illwill in the presence of a number of people, that will not do; I will ask him apart." She said, "Sire, I wish to speak to you in private." The king sent his attendants away. She said, " I want to ask your majesty a question." " Ask, madam, and if I know it I will reply." Then she recited the first stanza in the Question of Dakarakkhasa' : " If there were seven of you voyaging on the ocean, and a demon seeking for a human sacrifice should seize the ship, in what order would you give them up cand save yourself from the water-demon 1 " [470] The king answered by another stanza, in all sincerity :

" First I would give my mother, next my wife, next my brother, fourth my friend, fifth my brahmin, sixth myself, but I would not give up Mahosadha." Thus the ascetic discovered the goodwill of the king towards the Great Being ; but his merit was not published thereby, so she thought of something else : " In a large company I will praise the merits of these others, and the king will praise the wise man's merit instead ; thus the wise man's merit will be made as clear as the moon shining in the sky." So she collected all the denizens of the inner palace, and in their presence asked the same question and received the same answer; then she said, "Sire, you say that you would give first your mother: but a mother is of great merit, and your mother is not as other mothers, she is very useful." And she recited her merits in a couple of stanzas : "She reared you and she brought you forth, and for a long time was kind to you, when Chambhi offended against you she was wise and saw what was for your good, and by putting a counterfeit in yoiu- place she saved you from harm. Such a mother, who gave you life, your own mother who bore you in her womb, for what fault could you give her to the water-demon^ ?"

1 Mentioned in v. 75 (p. 12 of translation). - Culani's father was named Mahaculani ; and when the child was young, the mother committed adultery with the chaplain Chambhi, then poisoned her husband and made the brahmin king in his place, and became his queen. One day [471] the boy said he was hungry, and she gave him molasses to eat ; but flies swarmed about it, so the boy, to get rid of the flies, dropt some upon the ground and drove away those that were near him. The flies flew away and settled on the molasses that was on the ground. So he ate his sweetmeat, washed his hands, rinsed his mouth, and went away. But the brahmin, seeing this, thought: " If he has found out this way of getting rid of the flies, when he grows up he will take the kingdom from me; so I will kill him now." He told Queen Talata, and she said, "Very good, my lord; I killed my husband for love of you, and what is the boy to me ? But let us kill him secretly." So she deceived the brahmin. But being clever and skilful she hit on a plan. Sending

[472] To this the king replied, " Many are my mother's virtues, and I acknowledge her claims upon me, but mine are still more numerous^" and then he described her faults in a couple of stanzas : "Like a young girl she wears ornaments which she ought not to use, she mocks unseasonably at doorkeepers and guards, unbidden she sends messages to rival kings ; and for these faults I would give her to the water-demon." for the cook, she said to him, "Friend, my son prince Cfilani and your son young Dhanusekha were born on one day, they have grown up together in friendship. The brahmin Chambhi wants to kill my son; prithee save his life ! " He was willing, and asked how. "Let my son," she said, "be often in your house; you and he must both sleep in the great kitchen for several days to avoid suspicion. When all is safe, put a heap of sheep's bones in the place where you lie, and at the time when men go to sleep, set fire to the kitchen, and without a word to anyone take my son and yours, go out by the house door, and go to another country, and protect my son's life without letting anyone know that he is a prince." He promised, and she gave him a quantity of treasure. He did as she bade, and went with the boy to the city of Sagala in the Madda kingdom, where he served the king :

he dismissed his former cook and took this in his place. The two boys used to go to the palace with him. The king asked whose sons they were; the cook said they were his. "Surely they are not alike!" said the king. " They had different mothers," he said. As time went on they played about in the palace with the king's daughter. Then Ciilani and the princess, from seeing each other constantly, fell in love. In the playroom, the prince used to make the princess fetch his ball or dice ; if she would not, he hit her on the head and made her cry; the king hearing her cry asked who had done it, and the nurses would come to enquire; but the princess thought, "If I say he did it, my father will play the king over him," and for love of him she would not tell, but said no one had struck her. But one day the king saw him do it ; and he thought, " This lad is not like the cook, he is handsome and attractive and very fearless ; he cannot be his son." So after that he shewed favour to the lad. The nurses used to bring food for the princess in the playroom, and she gave some to the other children; they used to go down on their knees to take it, but prince Culani without stopping his play put out his hand for it as he stood.

The king saw this. One day, Culani's ball ran under the king's little couch. The lad went to get it, but in pride of his own majesty [472] pulled it out with a stick, that he might not bend under the bed of a foreign king. When the king saw this, he felt sure that the lad was no cook's son; so he sent for the cook, and asked him whose son he was. "Mine, my lord," he said. " I know who is your son and who is not ; tell me the truth— if you do not, you are a dead man," and he drew his sword. The cook, terrified out of his wits, said, " My lord, I will tell you, but I ask you for secrecy." The king granted his request, and promised immunity. Then he told the truth. Then the king adorned his daughter, and gave her to the lad for his handmaiden. — Now on the day when these ran away, there was a great outcry throughout the city, " The cook and his son and prince Culani are burnt up in the kitchen ! " Queen Talata, hearing it, told the brahmin that his wish had been fulfilled, and they were all three burnt up in the kitchen. He was highly pleased, and Queen Talata, shewing him the goat's bones as prince Ciilani's, had them burnt.

^ The text can hardly be right, agunu is wanted, as the context shews, and mam' is not wanted. The Burmese version has "her faults are more than the virtues." Eead jpan' eu' aguna ? 244 The JcUaka. Book XXII. [473] " So be it, sire ; yet your wife has much merit," and she declared her merit thus : "She is chief amongst womankind, she is exceeding gracious of speech, devoted, virtuous, who cleaves to you like your shadow, not given to anger, prudent, wise, who sees your good : for what fault would you give your wife to the water-demon ? " He described her faults : " By her sensual attractions she has made me subject to evil influence, and asks what she should not for her sous. In my passion I give her many and many a gift; I relinquish what is very hai'd to give, and afterwards I bitterly repent : for that faidt I would give my wife to the water-demon." The ascetic said, " Be it so : but your younger brother Prince Tikhinaraanti is useful to you ; for what fault would you give him 1 [474] " He who gave prosperity to the people, and when you were living in foreign parts brought you back home, he whom great wealth could not influence, peerless bowman and hero, Tikhinamanti : for what fault would you give your brother to the water-demon ^ I "

The king described his fault : " He thinks, ' I gave prosperity to the people, I brought him back home when he was living in foreign parts, great wealth could not influence me, I am a peerless bowman and hero, and sharp in counsel, by me he was made king.' He does not come to wait on me, madam, as he used to do ; that is the fault for which I would give my brother to the water-demon." [475] The ascetic said, " So much for your brother's fault : but Prince Dhanusekha is devoted in his love for you, and very useful " ; and she described his merit : " In one night both you and Dhanusekhava were born here, both called Pancala, friends and companions : through all your life he has followed you, your joy and pain were his, zealous and careful by night and day in all service : for what fault would you give your friend to the water-demon ? " ^ He was born while his mother lived with the brahmin. Wlien he grew up, the brahmin put a sword in his hand, told him to take it and stand by him. He, thinking that the brahmin was his father, did so. But one of the courtiers told him that he was not that man's son. " When you were in your mother's womb," said he, " Queen Talata murdered the king and made this man king instead;

you are the son of King Mahaciilaui. " He was angrj-, and determined to find a way to kill the brahmin. He entered the palace, and gave the sword to one servant, and then said to another, " Make a brawl at the palace gate, and declare that this sword is yours." Then he went in, and they began brawling. The prince sent a messenger to enquire what the noise was. He returned and said it was a quarrel about the sword. The brahmin hearing it asked, what sword? The prince said, "Is the sword which you gave me another's property? " " What have you said, my son ! " " Well, shall I send for it? will you recognize it ? " He sent for it, and, drawing it from the scabbard, said, " Look at it"; on pretence of shewing it to the brahmin he went up to him, and with one blow cut off his head, which dropt at his feet. Then he cleansed the palace, and decorated the city, and was proclaimed king. Then his mother told him how prince Culani was living in Madda ; whereupon the prince went thither with an army and brought back his brother and made him king.

Then the king described his fault : " Madam, through all my life he used to make merry with me, and to-day also he makes free excessively for the same reason. If I talk in secret with my wife, in he comes unbidden and unannounced. Give him a chance and an opening, he acts shamelessly and disrespectfully. That is the fault for which I would give my friend to the water-demon." The ascetic said, " So much for his fault ; but the chaplain is very useful to you," and she described his merit : " He is clever, knows all omens and sounds, skilled in signs and dreams, goings out and comings in, [476] understands all the tokens in earth and air and stars : for what fault would you give the brahmin to the water-demon ? " The king exjjlained his fault : " Even in company he stares at me with open eyes ; therefore I would give this rascal with his puckered brows to the water-demon." Then the ascetic said : " Sire, you say you would give to the waterdemon all these five, beginning with your mother, and that you would give your own life for the wise Mahosadha, not taking into account your great glory : what merit do you see in him % " and she recited these stanzas :

" Sire, you dwell amidst your courtiers in a great continent surrounded by the sea, with the ocean in place of an encircling wall : lord of the earth, with a mighty empire, victorious, sole emperor, your glory has become great. You have sixteen thousand women drest in jewels and ornameuts, women of all nations, resplendent like maidens divine. Thus provided for every need, every desire fulfilled, you have lived long in happiness and bliss. Then by what reason or what cause do you sacrifice your precious life to protect the sage ? " [477] On hearing this, he recited the following stanzas in praise of the wise man's merit : " Since Mahosadha, madam, came to me, I have not seen the stedfast man do the most trifling wrong. If I should die before him at any time, he would bring hapj^iness to my sons and grandsons. He knows all things, past or future. This man without sin I would not give to the water-demon." Thus this Birth came to its appropriate end. Then the ascetic thought : " This is not enough to shew forth the wise man's merits ; I will make them known to all people in tlie city, like one that spreads scented oil over the surface of the sea." So taking the king with her, she came down from the palace, and prepared a seat in the palace courtyard, and made him sit there ; then gathering the people together, she asked the king that Question of the Water-Demon over again from the beginning ; and when he had answered it as described above, she addressed the people thus :

"Hear this, men of Paiicala, which Culani has said. To protect the wise man he sacrifices his own precious life. [478] His mothei-'s life, his wife's and his brother's, his friend's life and his own, Paiicala is ready to .sacrifice. So marvellous is the power of wisdom, so clever and so intelligent, for good in this world and for happiness in the next." 246 The Jataka. Booh XXII. So like one that places the topmost pinuacle upon a heap of treasure, she put the pinnacle on her demonstration of the Great Being's merit. Here endeth the Question of the Water- Demon^ , and here endeth also the whole tale of the Great Tunnel. This is the identification of the Birth : " UppalavannI was Bheri, Suddhodana was the wise man's father, Mahamaya his mother, the beautiful Bimba was Amara, Auanda was the parrot, Sariputta was Ciilani, Mahosadha was the lord of the world : thus understand the Birth. Devadutta was Kevatta, CuUanandika was Talata, Sundari was Paucalacandi, Yasassika was the queen, Ambattha was Kavinda, Potthapada was Pukkusa, Pilotika was Devinda, Saccaka was Senaka, Ditthamangalika was Queen Udumbara, Kundall was the maynah bird, and Laludayl was Vedeha."

[479] " Ten boons," etc. This story the Master told while dwelling near Kapilavatthu in the Banyan Grove, about a shower of rain. When the Master turning the precious Wheel of the Law came in due course to Rajagaha, where he spent the winter, with Elder Udayi leading the way, and attended by twenty thousand saints, he entered Kapilavatthu : whereupon the Sakya princes gathered together to see the chief of their clan. They inspected the Blessed One's abode, saying, " A delightful jjlace this Banyan Grove, worthy of Sakka." Then they made all due provision for guarding it ; and making ready to meet him with fragrant posies in their hands, they sent first all the youngest boys and girls of the township drest in their best, next the princes and j^rincesses, and amongst these themselves did honour to the Master with fragrant flowers and powders, escorting the Blessed One as far as the Banyan Park ; where the Blessed One took his seat, surrounded by twenty thousand saints upon the Buddha's goodly seat, which was appointed for him. Now the Sakiyas are a proud and stiflF-necked race ; and they, thinking within themselves, '' Siddhattha's boy is younger than we ; he is our younger brother, our nephew, our grandson," said to the younger princes : "You do him obeisance ; we will sit behind you." As thej' sat there without doing obeisance to him, the Blessed One, perceiving their intent, thought to himself:

"My kinsfolk do me no obeisance ; well, I will make them do so." So he caused to arise in him that ecstasy which is based on transcendent faculty, rose up into the air, and as though shaking off the dust of his feet upon their heads, performed a miracle like the twofold miracle at the foot of the knot-mango tree^. The king, seeing this wonder, said, " Sir, on the day of your birth, when I saw your feet placed upon the head of Brahmin Kaladevala who had come to do you obeisance, I did obei.sance to you, and that was the first time. On the day of the Plowing Festival 3, when you sate on the royal seat under the shade of a rose-apple tree,

^ Dakarakkhasa-jmuho nitthito. 2 See No. 483 (trans, iv. 167). ^ See Hardy, Manual, p. 1.50; and Vol. iv. p. 104 of this translation. when I saw that the shadow of the tree moved not, I did obeisance to your feet ; and that was the second time. And now again, I see a miracle which never I saw before, and do obeisance to your feet : this is the third time." But when the king had thus done obeisance, not one Sakiya could sit still and refrain, they did obeisance one and all. The Blessed One, having thus made his kinsfolk do him obeisance, came down from the air and sat upon the appointed seat ; when the Blessed One was there seated, his kinsfolk were made wise, and sat with peace in their hearts. Then a great cloud arose, and burst in a shower of rain ; down came the rain red and with a loud noise, and those who desired to be wet were wetted, [480] but he who did not, had not even a drop fallen upon his body. All who saw it were astonished at the miracle, and ci'ied one to another — " Lo a marvel I lo a miracle ! lo the power of the Buddhas, on whose kinsfolk such a shower of rain is falling ! " On hearing this, the Buddha said : " This is not the first time, Brethren, that a gi'eat shower of rain has fallen upon my kinsfolk " ; and then, at their request, he told a story of the past.

Once upon a time, a king named Sivi, reigning in the city of Jetuttara in the kingdom of Sivi, had a son named Sailjaya. When the lad came of age, the king broiight him a princess named Phusati, daughter of king Madda, and handed over the kingdom to hira, making Phusati his queen consort. Her former connexion with the world was as follows. In the ninety-first age from this, a Teacher arose in the world named Vipassl. Whilst he was dwelling in the deer-park of Khema, near the city of Bandhumatl, a certain king sent to King Bandhuma a golden wreath worth a hundred thousand pieces of money, with precious sandal wood. Now the king had two daughters ; and being desirous to give this present to them, he gave the sandal wood to the elder and the golden wreath to the younger. But both declined to use these gifts for themselves; and with the intent to offer them in respect to the Master, they said to the king : " Father, we will offer to the Dasabala this sandal wood and this golden wreath." To this the king gave his consent. So the elder princess powdered the sandal wood, and filled with the powder a golden box ; and the younger sister caused the golden wreath to be made into a golden necklet, and laid it in a golden box. Then they both proceeded to the hermitage in the deer-park ; and the elder sister, reverently sprinkling the Dasabala's golden body with the sandal wood powder, scattered the rest in his cell, and said this prayer : " Sir, in time to come, may I be the mother of a Buddha like you." The younger reverently placed upon the Dasabala's golden body the gold-lace necklet which had been made out of the golden wreath, and prayed, " Sir, until I attain sainthood, may this ornament never part from my body." And the Master granted their prayers.

[481] Both these, after their life was past, came into being in the world of gods. The elder sister, passing from the world of gods to the 248 The Jdtaha. Book XXII. world of men and back again, at the end of the ninety -first age became Queen Maya mother of the Buddha. The younger sister passing to and fro in like manner, in the time of the Dasabala Kassapa became the daughter of King Kiki ; and being born with the semblance of a necklet upon her neck and shoulders, beautiful as though drawn by a painter, she was named Uracchada. When she was a girl of sixteen yeai-s, she heard a pious utterance of the Master, and attained to the fruit of the First Path, and so the very same day she attained sainthood, and then entered the Order, and entered Nirvana, Now King Kiki had seven other daughters, whose names were : "Samani, Samana, the holy Sister Gutta, Bhikkhudasika, and Dhamma and Sudhamma, And of the sisters the seventh Samghadasi." In this manifestation of the Buddha, these sisters were — "Khema, Uppalavanna, the third was Patacara, Gotama, Dhammadinna, and sixthly Mahamaya, And of this band of sisters the seventh was Visakha."

Now of these PhusatI became Sudhamma ; who did good deeds and gave alms, and by fruit of the offering of sandal wood done to Buddha Vipassi, had her body as it were sprinkled with choice sandal wood. Then passing to and fi'o between the worlds of men and of gods, eventually she became chief queen of Sakka king of the gods. After her days there were done', and the five customaiy signs were to be seen, Sakka king of the gods, realizing that her time was exhausted, escorted her with great glory to the pleasaunce in Nandana grove ; then as she reclined on a richly adorned seat, he, sitting beside it, said to her : " Dear PhiisatI, ten boons I grant you : choose." With these words, he uttered the first stanza in this Gi'eat Vessantara Birth with its thousand stanzas : " Ten boons I give thee, Phusati, O beauteous lady bright : Choose thou whatever on the earth is precious in thy sight." [482] Thus came she to be established in the world of gods by the preaching in the Great Vessantara. But she, not knowing the circumstances of her re-birth, felt faint, and said the second stanza :

" Glory to thee, 0 king of gods ! what sin is done by me. To send me from this lovely place as winds blow down a tree?" And Sakka perceiving her despondency uttered two stanzas : " Dear art thou still as thou hast been, and sin thou hast not done : I speak because thy merit now is all used up and gone. Now thy departure is at hand, the hour of death draws nigh : Ten boons I offer thee to choose ; then choose, before thou die." ' I.e. before she became the mother of Buddha. Hearing these woi-ds of Sakka, and convinced that she must die, she said, choosing the boons ^ : " King Sakka, lord of beings all, a boon hath granted me : I bless him : craving that my life in Sivi's realm may be. Black eyes, black pupils like a fawn, black eyebrows may I have, And PhusatI my name : this boon, O bounteous one, I crave. A son be mine, revered by kings, famed, glorious, debonair, Bounteous, ungrudging, one to lend a ready ear to prayer. And while the babe is in my womb let not my figure go. Let it be slim and graceful like a finely fashioned bow. [483] Still, Sakka, may my breasts be firm, nor white-haired may I be 2; My body all unblemished, may I set the death-doomed free^. Mid herons' cries, and peacocks' calls, with waiting women fair. Poets and bards to sing our praise, shawls waving in the air*.

When rattling on the painted door the menial calls aloud, ' God bless King Sivi ! come to meat ! ' be I his queen avowed." " Know that these boons, my lady bright, which I have granted thee, In Sivi kingdom, beauteous one, all ten fulfilled shall be." [484] "So spake the monarch of the gods, the great Sujampati, Called Vasava, well pleased to grant a boon to Phusati." When she had thus chosen her boons, she left that world, and was conceived in the womb of King Madda's queen' ; and when she was born, because her body was as it were sprinkled with the perfume of sandal wood, on her name-day they called her by the name Phusati. She grew up amidst a great company of attendants until in her sixteenth year she surpassed all other in beauty. At that time Prince Sailjaya, son of the King of Sivi, was to be invested with the White Umbrella ; the princess was sent for to be his bride, and she was made Queen Consort at the head of sixteen thousand women; wherefore it is said — "Next born a princess, Phusati was to the city led Jetuttara, and there anon to Sanjaya was wed."

^ The Ten Boons, according to the scholiast, are : (1) to be chief queen, (2) to have dark eyes, (3) to have dark eyebrows, (4) to be named Phusati, (.5) to have a son, (6) to keep her figure slim, (7) that her breasts be firm, (8) not to become grey-haired, (9) to have soft skin, (10) to save the condemned. This section is called Dasa-varu -guthd. - Reading n'assan tu for nassantu. Cf. the Burmese version, p. 7 : " grant that my hair may not whiten." ^ I.e. may I be fair enough to keep mj' influence over the king. * The compound khujjatecalukkhakdkinne I cannot understand. It may contain khujja ' humpback ' and cetaka ' slave ' ; but the second part may possibly represent some such word as celarh 'cloth,' or even celukkhepa 'waving of cloths in token of joy.' The next compound I translate as though it were sutamdgadha°, as FausboU suggests in his note. Citraggalerughusite seems to contain aggala 'a peg' and ugghosita 'sounded,' in some form; the scholiast uses the word 'door.' ^ Here the story proper begins ; we have returned to the time referred to in the introduction, p. 247.

250 The Jcltaka. Book XXII. SaQjaya loved her lief and dearly. Now Sakka pondering remembered how that nine of his ten boons given to Phusati were fulfilled. " But one is left unfulfilled," he thought, " a goodly son ; this I will fulfil for her." At that time the Great Being was in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and his time was done; perceiving which Sakka approached him, and said, " Venerable Sir, you must enter the woi-ld of men ; without delay you must be conceived in the womb of Phusati, Queen Consort of the King of Sivi." With these words, asking the consent of the Great Being and the sixty thousand sons of the gods who were destined to re-birth, he went to his own place. The Great Being came down and was re-born there, and the sixty thousand gods were born in the families of sixty thousand courtiers. Phusati, when the Great Being was conceived in her womb, finding herself with child, desired six alms-halls to be built, one at each of the four gates, one in the middle of the city, and one at her own door ; that each day she might distribute six hundred thousand pieces. The king, learning how it was with her, consulted the fortune-tellers, who said, " Great King, in thy wife's womb is conceived a being devoted to almsgiving, who will never be .satisfied with giving." Hearing this he was pleased, and made a practice of giving as before said.

[485] From the time of the Bodhisat's conception, there was no end one might say to the king's revenue ; by the influence of the king's goodness, the kings of all India sent him i)resents. Now the queen while with child remained with her large company of attendants, until ten months were fulfilled, and then she wished to visit the city. She informed the king, who caused the city to be decorated like to a city of the gods : he set his queen in a noble chariot, and made procession about the city rightwise. When they had reached the midst of the Vessa^ quartei-, the pains of travail' seized upon her. They told the king, and then and there he caused a lying-in chamber to be made and made her go there ; and then she brought forth a son ; wherefore it is said — " Ten months she bore me in her womb ; procession then they made ; And Phusati in Vessa Street of me was brought to bed." The Great Being came from his mother's womb free from impurity, open-eyed, and on the instant holding out his hand to his mother, he said, " Mother, I wish to make some gift ; is there anything 1 " She replied, " Yes, my son, give as you will," and dropped a purse of a thousand pieces into the outstretched hand. Three times the Great Being spoke as soon as born : in the Ummagga Birth, in this Birth, and in his last Birth. On

his name-day, because he was born in the Vessa Street, they gave him the name Vessantara ; whei'efore it is said : " My name not from the mother's side nor from the fathei-'s came ; As I was bom in Vessa Street, Vessantara's my name." On his very birthday, a female flying elephant brought a young one, esteemed to be of lucky omen, white all over, and left it in the royal stables. Because this creature came to supply a need of the Great Being, they named it Paccaya. The king appointed four times sixty ' nurses for the Great Being, neither too tall nor too short, and free from all other fault, with sweet milk ; he appointed also nurses for the sixty thousand children born with him, and so he grew up surrounded by this great company of sixty thousand children. The king caused to be made a prince's necklace with a hundred thousand pieces of money, and gave it to his son ; but he, being of four or five years of age, [486] gave it away to his nux'ses, nor would he take it back when they wished to give it. They told this to the king, who said, " What my son has given is well given ; be it a Brahmin's gift," and had another necklace made. But the prince still in his childhood gave this also to his nurses, and so nine times over.

When he was eight years old, as he reclined on his couch, the boy thought to himself: "All that I give comes from without, and this does not satisfy me ; I wish to give something of my very own. If one should ask my heart, I would cut open my breast, and tear it out, and give it ; if one ask my eyes, I would pluck out my eyes and give them ; if one should ask my flesh, I would cut otf all the flesh of my body and give it." And thus he pondered with all his being and the depths of his heart; this earth, forty thousand quadrillions of leagues'- in extent, and two hundred thousands of leagues in depth, quaked thundering like a great mad elephant ; Sineru chief of mountains bowed like a sapling in hot steam, and seemed to dance, and stood leaning towards the city of Jetuttara ; at the earth's rumbling the sky thundered with lightning and rain ; forked lightning flashed ; the ocean was stirred up : Sakka king of the gods clapt his arms, Mahabrahraa gave a sign of approval, high as Brahma's World all was in uproar ; wherefore it is said also :

" When 1 was yet a little boy, but of the age of eight, Upon my terrace, chai'ity and gifts I meditate. If any man should ask of me blood, body, heart, or eye. Or blood or body, eye or heart I'd give him, was my cry. And as with all my being I pondered with thoughts like these The unshaken earth did shake and quake with mountains, woods and trees." ' So the Burmese, p. 9: but catusatthi usually means 64. The idea was however that four should attend ou him in each of the sixty divisions of the day and night. 2 Four nahutas (the nahuta is one followed by 28 ciphers). 252 The Jataka. Booh XXII. By the age of sixteen, the Bodhisatta had attained a mastery of all sciences. Then his father, desiring to make him king, consulted with his mother ; from the family of King Madda they brought his first cousin, named INIaddi, with sixteen thousand attendant women, and made her his Queen Consort, and sprinkled him with the water of coronation. From the time of his receiving the kingdom he distributed much alms, giving each day six hundred thousand pieces of money. By and by Queen Maddi [487] brought forth a son, and they laid him in a golden hammock, for which reason they gave him the name of Prince Jali. By the time he could go on foot the queen bore a daughter, and they laid her in a black skin, for which reason they gave her the name of Kanhajina. Each month the Great Being would visit his six alms-halls six times, mounted upon his magnificent elephant.

Now at that time there was drought in the kingdom of Kalinga : the corn grew not, there was a great famine, and men being unable to live used robbery. Tormented by want, the people gathered in the king's courtyard and upbraided him. Hearing this the king said, " What is it, my children?" They told him. He replied, "Good, my children, I will bring the rain," and dismissed them. He pledged himself to virtue, and kept the holy-day vow, but he could not make the rain come ; so he summoned the citizens together, and said to them, "I pledged myself to virtue, and seven days I kept the holy-day vow, yet I could not make the rain come : what is to be done now 1 " They replied, " If you cannot bring the rain, my lord, Vessantara in the city of Jetuttara, King Sahjaya's son, is devoted to charity ; he has a glorious elephant all white, and wherever he goes the rain falls ; send brahmins, and ask for that elephant, and bring him hither." The king agreed ; and assembling the brahmins he chose out eight of them, gave them provisions for their journey, and said to them, "Go and fetch Vessantara's elephant." On this mission, the brahmins pi'oceeded in due course to Jetuttara city ; in the alms-hall they received entertainment ; sprinkled their bodies with dust and smeared them with mud ;

and on the day of the full moon, to. ask for the king's elephant, they went to the eastern gate at the time the king came to the alms-hall. Early in the moi-ning, the king, intending a visit to the alms-hall, washed himself with sixteen pitchers of jjerfumed water, and broke his fast, and mounted upon the back of his noble elephant richly adorned proceeded to the eastern gate. The brahmins found no opportunity there, and went to the southern gate, standing upon a mound and watched the king giving alms at the eastern gate. "When he came to the southern gate, stretching out their hands they cried, " Victory to the noble Vessantara ! " The Great Being, as he saw the brahmins, drove the elejihant to the place whereon they stood, and seated upon its back uttered the first stanza : [488]

" With hairy armpits, hairy heads, stained teeth, and dust on poll, 0 brahmins, sti-etching forth your hands, what is it that you crave?" To this the brahmins replied : " We crave a jjrecious thing, 0 prince that dost thy people save : That choice and saving* elephant with tusks like any pole." When the Great Being heard this, he thought, "I am walling to give anything that is my own, from my head onwards, and what they ask is something without me ; I will fulfil their wish " ; and from the elephant's back, he replied : " I give, and never shrink from it, that which the brahmins want, This noble beast, for riding fit, fierce tuskfed elephant " ; and thus consenting : "The king, the saviour of his folk, dismounted from its back, And glad in sacrificing, gave the brahmins what they lack." The ornaments on the elephant's four feet were worth four hundred thousand, those on his two sides were worth two hundred thousand, the blanket under his belly a hundred thousand, on his back were nets of pearls, of gold, and of jewels, three nets worth three hundred thousand, in the two ears two hundred thousand, on his back a rug worth a hundred thousand, the ornament on the frontal globes worth a hundred thousand, three wrappings- three hundred thousand, the small ear-ornaments two hundred thousand, those on the two tusks two hundred thousand, the ornament for luck on his trunk a hundi-ed thousand, that on his tail a hundred thousand, not to mention the priceless ornaments on his body two and twenty hundred thousand, a ladder to mount by one hundred thousand, the food-vessel a hundred thousand, [489] which comes to as much as four and twenty hundred thousand:

moi'eover the jewels great and small upon the canopy, the jewels in his necklace of pearls, the jewels in the goad, the jewels in the pearl necklace about his neck, the jewels on his frontal globes, all these without price, the elephant also withovit price, making with the elephant seven priceless things — all these he gave to the brahmins ; besides five hundred attendants with the grooms and stablemen : and with that gift the earthquake came to pass, and the other portents as related above.

To explain this, the Master spoke : " Then was a mighty terror felt, then bristling of the hair ; When the great elephant was given the earth did quake for fear. Then was a mighty terror felt, then bristling of the hair ; When the great elephant was given, trembled the town for fear. With a resounding mighty roar the city all did ring When the great elephant was given by Sivi's foster-king." 254 Tlie Jdtaha. Book XX 11. The city of Jetuttava all did tremble. The brahmins, we are told, at the southern gate received the elephant, mounted upon his back, and amidst a thronging multitude passed through the midst of the city. The crowd, beholding them, cried out, " 0 brahmins, mounted upon our elephant, why are ye taking our elephant?" The brahmins replied, "The great king Vessantara has given the elephant to us : who are you ? " and so with contumelious gestures to the crowd, through the city they passed and out by the northern gate by aid of the deities \ The people of the city, angry with the Bodhisat, uttered loud reproaches. To explain this, the Master said : " Upon that loud and mighty sound, so terrible to hear, When the great elephant was given the earth did quake for fear. Upon that loud and mighty sound, so terrible to hear, When the great elephant was given trembled the town to hear. So loud and mighty was the soimd all terrible did ring, When the great elephant was given by Sivi's foster-king."

[490] The citizens, trembling at heart for this gift, addressed themselves to the king. Therefore it is said : "Then prince and brahmin, Vesiya and Ugga^, great and small. Mahouts and footmen, charioteers and soldiers, one and all. The country landowners, and all the Sivi folk come by. Seeing the elephant depart, thus to the king did cry : ' Thy realm is ruined, sire : whj' should Vessantara thy son Thus give away our elephant revered by every one ? Why give our saviour elephant, pole-tusked, goodly, white ^, Which ever knew the vantage-ground to choose in every fight ? With jewels and his yak-tail fan ; which trampled down all foes ; Long-tusked, furious, white as Mount Kelasa with his snows ; With trappings and white parasol, fit riding for a king, With leech and driver, be has given away this precious thing.' " After saying this, they said again : '"Whoso bestoweth food and drink, with raiment, fire and fleet. That is a right and proper gift, for brahmins that is meet. O Sanjaya, thy people's friend, say why this thing was done By him,"^ a prince of oiu- own line, Vessantara, thy son ? The bidding of the Sivi folk if ye refuse to do. The people then will act, methinks, against your son and you.'"

[491] Hearing this, the king suspected that they wished to slay Vessantara ; and he said : "Yea, let my country be no more, my kingdom no more l^e. Banish I will not from his realm a prince from fault quite free, Nor will obey the people's voice : my true-born son is he. 1 devatdvattanena seems to be out of place; it should go with nikkhamimu according to the Burmese, and common sense. 2 Ugga: a mixed caste, by a Kshatriya father from a ^udra mother. The scholiast, however, explains the word by ungatd paiiMtd, as though from uggacchati. 3 See below, p. 267 (text, p. 515). Yea, let my country be no more, my kingdom no more be. Banish I will not from his realm a prince from fault quite free, Nor will obey the people's voice : my very son is he. No, I will work no harm on him ; all noble is he still ; And it would be a shame for me, and it would cause much ill. Vessantara, my very son, with sword how could I kill?" The people of Sivi replied : " Not chastisement doth he deserve, nor sword, nor prison cell, But from the kingdom banish him, on Varhka's mount to dwell."

The king said : " Behold the people's will ! and I that will do not gainsay. But let him bide one happy night before he go away. After the space of this one night, when dawns the coming day, Together let the people come and banish him away." They agreed to the king's proposal for just the one night. Then he let them go away, and thinking to send a message to his son, he commissioned an agent, who accordingly went to Vessantara's house and told him what had befallen. [492] To make this clear, the following stanzas were said : " Rise, fellow, hie away post-haste, and tell the prince my word. ' The people all, and citizens, in wrath, with one accord, Uggas and princes, Vesiyas and brahmins too, my son. Mahouts and lifeguards, charioteers, and footmen, eveiy one, All citizens, all country folk, together hei-e have run, — After the space of this one night, when dawns the coming day. They will assemble one and all and banish thee away.' This fellow sent by Sivi's king swift on his errand pressed. Upon an armed elephant, perfumed, and finely drest. Head bathed in water, jewelled rings in ears, — and on he rode Till to that lovely town he came, Vessantara's abode.

Then he beheld the happy prince abiding in his land. Like Vasava the king of gods ; round him the courtiers stand. Thither in haste the fellow went, and to the prince said he — ' I bear ill tidings, royal sir : O be not wroth with me ! ' With due obeisance, weeping sore, he said unto the king : ' Thou art my master, sire, and thou dost give me every thing : Bad news I have to tell thee now : do thou some comfort bring. The people all and citizens, in wrath, with one consent, Uggas and princes, Vesiyas and brahmins, all are bent. Mahouts and lifeguards, charioteers, the footmen every one, All citizens and country folk together now have run, After the space of this one night, when dawns the coming day, Determined all to come in crowds and banish thee away.' " The Great Being said : " Why are the people wroth with me ? for no ofteuce I see. Tell me, good fellow, wherefore pray they wish to banish me t " 256 The Jcitaka. Book XXII. [493] The agent said : " Uggas and Vesiyas, charioteers, and brahmins every one, Mahouts and lifeguards, charioteers and footmen, thither run. All angry at thy giving gifts, and therefore banish thee."

Hearing this, the Great Being, in all content, said : " My very eye and heart I'd give : why not what is not mine, Or gold or treasure, precious stones, or pearls, or jewels fine I Comes any one to ask of me, I'd give my hand, my right *, Nor for a moment hesitate : in gifts is my delight. Now let the people banish me, now let the people kill. Or cut me sevenfold, for cease from gifts I never will." On hearing this, the agent again spoke, no message of the king's or of the people's, but another command out of his own mind : " This is the Sivi people's will ; they bade me tell you so : Where Kontimara by the hill Araiijara doth flow. Thither depart, where banished men, good sir, are wont to go." This he said, we are told, by inspiration of a deity. Hearing this, the Bodhisatta replied : " Very well, I shall go by the road that those go who have otfended ; but me the citizens do not banish for any offence, they banish me for the gift of the elephant. In this case I wdsh to give the great gift of the seven hundreds, and I pray the citizens to grant me one day's delay for that. To-morrow I will make my gift, the next day I will go " :

[494] " So I by that same road shall go as they who do oftend : But first to make a gift, one night and day I pray them lend." " Very good," said the agent, " I will report this to the citizens," and away he went. The man gone, the Great Being summoning one of his captains said to him, "To-morrow I am to make the gift called the gift of the seven hundreds. You must get ready seven hundred elephants, with the same number of horses, chariots, gii'ls, cows, men slaves and women slaves, and provide every kind of food and drink, even the strong liquor, everything which is fit to give." So having arranged for the great gift of the seven hundreds, he dismissed his courtiers, and alone departed to the dwelling of Maddi ; where seating himself on the royal couch, he began to address her. The Master thus described it : " Thus did the king to ]\Iaddi speak, that lady passing fair : 'All that I ever gave to thee, or goods or grain, beware. Or gold or treasure, precious stones, and plenty more beside. Thy father's dower, find a place this treasure all to hide.'

Then out spake Maddi to the king, that princess passing fair: ' Where shall I find a place, my lord, to hide it ? tell me where ? ' " * Keading dakkhinam with B<^; adakkhinam violates the metre. "In due proportion on the good thy wealth in gifts bestow, No other place than this is safe to keep it, well I know.' [495] She consented, and withal he exhorted her in this wise : " Be kind, 0 Maddl, to thy sons, thy husband's parents both. To him who will thy husband be do service, nothing loth. And if no man should wish to be thy husband, when I'm gone, Go seek a husband for thyself, but do not pine alone." Then Maddi thought, "Why I wonder does Vessantara say such a thing to meV And she asked him, "My lord, why do you say to me what you ought not to say?" The Great Being replied, "Lady, the people of Sivi, angry with me for the gift of the elephant, are banishing me from the realm : to-morrow I am to make the gift of the seven hundreds, and next day I depart from the city." And he said :

" ' To-morrow to a forest drear, beset with beasts of prey, I go : and whether I can live within it, who can say 1 ' Then spake the princess Maddl, spake the lady passing fair : ' It is not so ! a wicked word ! to say it do not dare ! It is not meet and right, my king, that thou alone shouldst fare : Whatever journey thou shalt go, I also will be there. Give me the choice to die with thee, or live from thee apart. Death is my choice, unless I can live with thee where thou art. Kindle a blazing fiery flame the fiercest that can be,— There I would rather die the death than live apart from thee. [496] As close behind an elephant his mate is often found Moving through mountain pass or wood, o'er rough or level groiuid. So with my boys I'll follow thee, wherever thou mayst lead, Nor shalt thou find me burdensome or difficult to feed ^.' " With these words she began to praise the region of Himalaya as if she had seen it : " When you shall see your pretty boys, and hear their prattle ring Under the greenwood, you'll forget that ever you were king.

To see your pretty boys at play, and hear their prattle ring Under the greenwood, you'll forget that ever you were king. When you shall see your pretty boys, and hear their prattle ring In our fair home, you will forget that ever you were king. To see your pretty boys at play, and hear their prattle ring In our fair home, you will forget that ever you were king. To see your boys all gay-bedeckt, the flowers to watch them bring In our fair home, you will forget that ever you were king. To see your boys at play all gay, the flowers to watch them bring In our fair home, you will forget that ever you were king. When you behold your dancing boys their wreaths of flowers bring In our fair home, you will forget that ever you were king. 1 The last two stanzas are repeated, with a difference, from v. 259'^^"^, trans, v. p. 133. 258 The Jataka. Book XXII. When you behold them dance and play, and wreaths of flowers bring In our fair home, you will forget that ever you were king. The elephant of sixty years, all lonely wandering The woodland, will make you forget that ever you were king.

The elephant of sixty years, at even wandering And early, will make you forget that ever you were king. [497] When you behold the elephant his herd of subjects bring, The elephant of sixty years, and hear his trumpeting, To hear the sound you will forget that ever you were king. The woodland glades, the roaring boasts, and every wished-for thing When you behold, you will forget that ever you were king. The deer that come at eventide, the varied flowers that spring, The dancing frogs — you will forget that ever you were king. When you shall hear the rivers roar, the fairy creatures sing. Believe me, you will clean forget that ever you were king. "When you shall hear the screech-owl's note in mountain cave dwelling. Believe me, you will clean forget that ever you were king. Rhinoceros and bufialo, that make the woodland ring. Lion and tiger — you'll forget that ever you were king. When on the mountain top you see the peacock dance and spring Before the peahens, you'll forget that ever j'ou were king. To see the egg-born peacock dance and spread his gorgeous wing Before the peahens, you'll forget that ever you were king.

The peacock with his purple neck, to see him dance and spring Before the peahens — you'll forget that ever you were king. When in the winter you behold the trees all flowering Waft their sweet odours, you'll forget that ever you were king. When in the winter you behold the i^lants all flowering, The bimbajala, kutaja, and lotus ^, scattering Abroad their odours, you'll forget that ever you were king. When in the winter you behold the forest flowering And blooming lotus, you'll forget that ever you were king." [498] Thus did Maddi sing the praises of Himavat in these stanzas, as though she were dwelling therein. Here endeth the Praise of Himavat". Now Queen Phusati thought : " A harsh command has been laid upon my son : what will he do? I will go and find out." In a covered carriage she went, and taking up her position at the door of their chamber, she overheard their converse and uttered a bitter lamentation. Describing this, the Master said : " She heard the princess and her son, the talk that passed between. Then bitterly she did lament, that great and glorious queen. ' Better drink poison, better leap from ofi" a cliff, say I, Or better bind a strangling noose about my neck and die : Why banish they Vessantara my unoffending son ?

1 The plants named are: kutaja (Wrightia Antidysenterica), 6im6a/«/a (Momordica Monadelplia), lemapadmaka (hairy lotus). ^ Himavanta-vamiand. So studious and free from greed, giving to all who came, Eespected by his rival kings, of great and glorious fame, Why banish they Vessantara, my unoffending son ? His parents' prop, who did respect his elders every one. Why banish they Vessantara, my unoffending son ? Beloved by the king and queen, by all his kith and kin, Beloved by his friends, the realm and all that are therein, Why banish they Vessantara, my unoffending son ? ' " [499] After this bitter lament, she cousoleil her son and his wife, and went before the king and said : "Like mangoes fallen to the ground, like money waste and spent. So falls thy kingdom, if they will banish the innocent. Like a wild goose with cripjDled wing, when all the water's gone, Deserted by thy courtiers, thou wilt live in pain alone. I tell thee true, O mighty king : let not thy good go by, Nor banish him, the innocent, because the people cry." Hearing which, the king answered : "Thy son, the people's banner, if I send to exile drear, My royal duty I obey, than life itself more dear."

On hearing this, the queen said, lamenting : " Once hosts of men escorted him, with goodly banners fiown. Like foi-ests full of flowering trees : to-day he goes alone i. [500] Bright yellow robes, Gandhara make, once round about him shone. Or glowing scarlet, as he went : to-day he goes alone. With chariot, litter, elephant he went in former days : To-day the King Vessantara afoot must tramp the ways. He once by sandal-scent perfumed, awaked by dance and song, How wear rough skins, how axe and pot and piugo bear along? Why will they not bring yellow robes, why not the garb of skin, And dress of bark, the mighty woods that he may enter in 1 How can a banisht king put on the robe of bark to wear. To dress in bark and grass how will the princess Maddi bear? Maddl, who once Benares cloth and linen used to wear. And fine kodumbara, how bark and grasses will she bear? She who in litter or in car was carried to and fro. The lovely princess, now to-day on foot how can she go ? With tender hands and tender feet in happiness she stood : How can the lovely princess go trembling into the wood?

With tender hands and tender feet she lived in hajjpy state : The finest slippers she could wear would hurt her feet of late ; To-day how can the lovely one afoot now go her gait ? Once she would go begarlanded amidst a thousand maids : How can the beauteous one alone now walk the forest glades ? Once if she heard the jackal howl she would be all dismayed : How can the timid beauteous one now walk the foi-est glade? 1 Four stanzas, almost the same, are here condensed into one. The tree is kanikdra (Pterospermum Acerifolium). 260 The Jdtaka. Booh XXII. She who of Indra's royal race would ever shrink afraid, Trembling like one possest, to hear the hoot some owl had made, How can the timid beauteous one now walk the forest glade ? Like as a bird beholds the nest empty, the brood all slain, So when I see the empty place long shall I burn in pain. [501] Like to a bird that sees the nest empty, the brood all slain. Thin, yellow T shall grow to see my dear son ne'er again. Like to a bird that sees the nest empty, the brood all slain, I'll run distracted, if I see my dear son ne'er again.

As when an eagle sees its nest empty, its young brood slain. So when I see the empty place long shall I live in pain. As when an eagle sees its nest empty, its young brood slain. Thin, yellow I shall grow to see my dear son ne'er again. As when an eagle sees its nest empty, its young brood slain, I'll run distracted, if I see my dear son ne'er again. Like ruddy geese beside a pond from which the water's gone, Long shall I live in pain, to see no more my dearest son. Like ruddy geese beside a pond from which the water's gone. Thin, yellow I shall gi-ow to see no more my dearest son. Like ruddy geese beside a pond from which the water's gone, I'll fly distracted, if I see no more my dearest son. And if you banish from the realm my unoffending son, In spite of this my sore complaint, methinks my life is done." [502] Explaining this matter, the Master said : " Hearing the queen bewailing sore, straight all together went The palace dames, their arms outstretcht, to join in her lament. And in the palace of the prince, prone lying all around

Women and children lay like trees blown down ui>on the ground. And when the night was at an end, and the sun rose next day. Then King Vessantara began his gifts to give away. 'Food to the hungi-y give, strong drink to those who drink require', Give clothes to those who wish for clothes, each after his desire. 'Let not one suitor hither come go disappointed back. Shew all respect, and food or drink to taste let no man lack.' And so they gathered thick and fast with joy and merry play, As Sivi's great and fostering king prepared to go away. They did cut down a mighty tree that full of fruit did stand. When the innocent Vessantara they banished from the laud. They did cut down a wishing-tree, with every boon at hand. When the innocent Vessantara they banished from the land. They did cut down a wishing-tree, with choicest boons at hand, "Wlien the innocent Vessantara they banished from the land. Both old and young, and all between, did weep and wail that day, Stretching their arms out, when the king prepared to go away, Who fostered Sivi's realm. ' The scholiast says: "He knew that the gift of spirits brings no fruit with it, but gave it nevertheless, that tipplers might have the 'noble gift ' and might not be able to say that they could not get what they wanted." This shews a tolerance not always seen in the pious.

Wise women ^, eunuchs, the king's wiv^es, did weep and wail that day, Stretching their arms out, when the king prepared to go away, Who fostered Sivi's realm. And all the women in the town did weep and wail that day, When Sivi's great and fostering king prepared to go away. The brahmans and ascetics too, and all who begged for need, Stretching their arms out, cried aloud, ' It is a wicked deed ! ' To all the city while the king his bounty did pi'esent. And by the people's sentence, fared forth into banishment. [503] Seven hundred elephants he gave, with splendour all bedight^, With girths of gold, caparisoned with trappings golden bright, Each ridden by his own mahout, with spikM hook in hand : Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! Seven hundred horses too he gave, bedeckt in bright array, Horses of Sindh, and thorobreds, all fleet of foot are they, Each ridden by a henchman bold, with sword and bow in hand : Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! Seven hundred chariots all yoked, with banners flying free. With tiger skin and panther hide, a gorgeous sight to see,

Each driven by mailed charioteers, all armed with bow in hand : Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! Seven hundred women too he gave, each standing in a car, — With golden chains and ornaments bedeckt these women are, With lovely dress and ornaments, with slender waist and small. Curved brows, a merry smile and bright, and shapely hips withal : Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! Seven hundred kine he also gave, with silver milkpails all : Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! Seven hundred female slaves he gave, as many men at call : Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! Cars, horses, women, elephants he gave, yet after all, Lo now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ! That was a thing most terrible, that made the hair to stand. When now the King Vessantara goes banished from the land ^ ! " [505] Now a deity told the news to the kings of all India: how Vessantara was giving great gifts of high-born maidens and the like. Therefore the Khattiyas by the divine power came in a chariot, and returned with the high-born maidens and so forth that they had received. Thus did Khattiyas, brahmans, Vessas, and Suddas, all receive gifts at his hands before they departed. He was still distributing his gifts wlien evening fell ; so lie returned to his dwelling, to greet his parents and that

1 atiyakkhd: 'bhutavijja ikkhanika,' 'women possest who have seen demons.' 2 Compare above, p. 47^"^ (trans., p. 30), v. 258'^ (trans., p. 132), antl the following lines. ^ The scholiast, in his comment paraphrasing the above, adds another stanza (p. 504) : "Then sounded forth a mighty sound, a terrible great roar; 'For giving gifts they banish thee — now hast thou given more!'" 262 The Jdtaka. Booh XXII. night to depart. In gorgeous chariot he proceeded to the place where his j)arents dwelt, and with him Maddl went, in order to take leave of his parents with him. The Great Being greeted his father and announced their coming. To explain this, the Master said : " Give greeting to King Saiijaya the righteous : bid him know That since he now doth banish me, to Vamka hill I go. Whatever beings, mighty king, the future time shall know. With their desires unsatisfied to Yaraa's house shall go. For wrong 1 I did my people, giving bounty from my hand, By all the people's sentence I go banished ft'om the land. That sin I now would expiate i' the panther-haunted wood : If you will wallow in the slough 2, yet I will still do good."

These four stanzas the Great Being addressed to his father : and then he turned to his mother, asking her permission to leave the world with these words : " Mother, I take my leave of you : a lianished man I stand. For wrong I did my people, giving bounty from my hand, By all the people's sentence I go banished from the land. [506] That sin I now would expiate i' tlie panther-haunted wood : If you will wallow in the slough, yet I will still do good." In reply, PhusatT said : " I give you leave to go, my son, and take my blessing too : Leave Maddi and the boys behind, for she will never do ; •Fair rounded limbs and .slender waist, why need she go with you?" " Even a slave against her will I would not take away : But if .she wishes, let her come ; if not, then let her stay." On hearing what his son said, the king proceeded to entreat her. Explaining this, the Master said : " And then unto his daughter-in-law the king began to say : ' Let not your sandal-scented limbs bear dust and dirt, I pray.

Wear not bark-fibre wraps instead of fine Benares stuS'; Blest princess, go not ! forest life indeed is hard enough.' Then princess Maddl, bright and fair, her father-in-law addrest : ' To be without Vessantara I care not to be blest.' Then Sivi's mighty fostering king thus spake to her again : ' Come, Maddl, li.sten while the woes of forests I explain. The swarms of in.sects and of gnats, of beetles and of bees Would sting you in that forest life, unto your great disease. [507] For dwellers on the river banks hear other plagues that wait : The boa-constrictor (poi.sonless 'tis true, but strong and great), If any man or any beast come near, will take firm hold. And drag them to his lurking-place enwrapt in many a fold. 1 abhisasim: ' jj'ilesiih,' sebol. '•^ pamkamlii : ' kclmapcu'ttkamhi,' schol. Then there are other daugerous beasts with black and matted hair ; They can cUmb trees to catch a man : this beast is called a Ijcar. Along the stream Sotumbara there dwells the buffalo ; Which with his great sharp-pointed horns can give a mighty blow. Seeing these herds of mighty kine wander the forest through, Like some poor cow that seeks her calf say what will Maddl do ?

When crowds of monkeys in the trees gather, they will affright You, Maddl, in your ignorance with their uncomely sight. Once on a time the jackal's howl would bring great fear to you : Now dwelling on the Varhka hill, Maddl, what will you do? Why would you go to such a place ? Even at high midday, When all the birds are stilled to rest, the forest roars away.' Then beauteous Maddl to the king spake up and answered so : ' As for these things so terrible, which you have tried to shew, I willingly accept them all ; I am resolved to go. [508] Through all the hill and forest grass, through clumps of bulrush reed, With my own breast I'll push my way, nor will complain indeed. She that would keep a husband well must all her duties do ; Ready to roll up balls of dung ^, ready for fasting too, She carefully must tend the fire, must mop up water still, — But terrible is widowhood : great monarch, go I will. The meanest harries her about ; she eats of leavings still : For terrible is widowhood — great monarch, go I will.

Knocked down and smothered in the dust, haled roughly by the hair — - A man may do them any hurt, all simply stand and stare. O terrible is widowhood ! great monarch, go I will. Men pull about the widow's sons with cruel blows and foul. Though fair and proud of winning charm, as crows would peck an owl. 0 terrible is widowhood ! great monarch, go I will. Even in a prosperous household, bright with silver without end. Unkindly speeches never cease from brother or from friend. 0 terrible is widowhood ! great monarch, go I will. Naked are rivers waterless, a kingdom without king, A widow may have brothers ten, yet is a naked thing. O terrible is widowhood ! great monarch, go I will. A banner is the chariot's mark, a fire by smoke is known, Kingdoms by kings, a wedded wife by husband of her own. 0 terrible is widowhood ! great monarch, go I will. The wife who shares her husband's lot, be it rich or be it poor, Her fame the very gods do praise, in trouble she is sure. My husband I will follow still, the yellow robe to wear. To be the queen ^ of all the earth without, I would not care.

0 terrible is widowhood ! great monarch, go I will. Those women have no heart at all, they're hard and cannot feel, Who when their husbands are in woe, desire to be in weal. When the great lord of Sivi land goes forth to banishment, "I will go with him; for he gives all joy and all content.' ^ gohanubbethanena : golianam is cowdung (see v. 246). I take this to refer to the patties of cowduBs used as fuel. ^ icche occurs for the first time here; it comes from "?^"3r^, 'to rule' (schol. ' issara hoti '). 264 Tlie Jdtaka. Book XXII. [509] Then up and .spake the mighty king to Maddl bright and fair : ' But leave your two young sons behind : for what can they do there, Auspicious lady ? we will keep and give theiu every care.' " Then Maddl answered to the king, that princess bright and fair : 'My Jali and Kanhajina are dearest to my heart: They'll in the forest dwell with me, and they will ease my smart.' [510] Thus answer made the monarch great, thus Sivi's foster-king: ' Fine rice has been their food and well-cooked viands hitherto : If they must feed on wild-tree fruit, what will the children do ?

From silver dishes well adorned or golden hitherto. They ate : but with bare leaves instead what will the children do ? Benares cloth has been their dress, or linen hitherto : If they must dress in grass or bark, what will the children do ? In carriages or palanquins they've ridden hitherto : When they must run about on foot, what will the children do ? In gabled chambers they would sleep safe-bolted hitherto : Beneath the roots of trees to lie, what will the children do ? On cushions, rugs or broidered beds they rested hitherto : Reclining on a bed of grass, what will the children do ? They have been sprinkled with sweet scents and perfumes hitherto : When covered all with dust and dirt, what will the children do ? When peacock's feathers, yak's tail fans have fanned them hitherto, Bitten by insects and by flies, what will the children do?'" As they conversed tiius together, the dawn came, and after the dawn up rose the sun. They brought round for the Great Being a gorgeous carriage with a team of four Sindh hoi'ses, and stayed it at the door. Maddl did obeisance to her husband's parents, and, bidding farewell to the other women, took leave, and with her two sons went before Vessantara and took her place in the carriage.

Explaining this matter, the Master said : " Then Maddi answered to the king, that lady bright and fair : ' Do not lament for us, my lord, nor be perplexed so : The children both will go with us wherever we shall go.' With these words Maddl went away, that lady bright and fair : Along the highroad, and the two children her path did share. [511] Then King Vessantara himself, his vow performed as bound. Does reverence to his parents both, and passes rightwise round. Then, mounting in the chariot swift, drawn by its team of four. With wife and children off he sped where Vaihka's peak did soar. Then drove the King Vessantara where most the crowd did swell. And cried — 'We go ! a blessing on my kinsfolk — fare ye well!'" Addressing these words to tlie crowd, the Great Being admonished them to be careful, to give alms and do good deeds. As he went, the Bodhisat's mother, saying, " If my son desires to give, let him give," sent to him two carts, one on each side, filled with ornaments, laden with the seven precious things. In eighteen gifts he distributed to beggars he met on the road all he had, including even the mass of ornaments which he wore on his own body. When he had got away from the city, he turned

round and desired to look upon it ; then according to his wish the earth cleft asunder to the measure of the chariot, and turning round, brought the chariot to face the city, and he beheld the place where his parents dwelt. So then followed earthquakes and other wonders ; whei-efore it is said : " When from the city he came forth, he turned again to look : And, therefore, like a banyan tree great Mount Siueru shook." And as he looked, he uttered a stanza to induce Maddi to look also : "See, Maddl, see the lovely place from which we now have come — The king of Sivi's dwelling-house and our ancestral home ! " [512] Then the Great Being looking towards the sixty thousand courtiers, who were born when he was, and the rest of the people, made them turn back ; and as he drove on with the carriage, he said to Maddi : " Lady, look out and see if any suitors are walking behind." She sat watching. Now four brahmins, who had been unable to be present at the gift of the Seven Hundreds, had come to the city ; and finding that the distribution was over, ascei'tained that the prince had gone. " Did he take anything with him 1 " they asked. " Yes : a chariot." So they resolved to ask foi' the horses. These men Maddi saw approaching. " Beggars, my lord ! " said she ; the Great Being stayed the chariot. Up they came and asked for the horses : the Great Being gave them.

Explaining this, the Master said : " Then did four brahmins catch him up, and for the horses plead : He gave the horses on the spot — each beggar had one steed." The horses disposed of, the yoke of the chariot remained suspended in the air ; but no sooner were the brahmins gone than four gods in the guise of red deer came and caught it. The Great Being who knew them to be gods, uttered this stanza : " See, Maddi, what a wondrous thing — a marvel, Maddi, see ! These clever horses, in the shape of red deer, drawing me ! " But then as he went up came another brahmin and asked for the chariot. The Great Being dismounted his wife and children, and gave him the chariot ; and when he gave the chariot, the gods disappeared. To explain the gift of the chariot, the Master said : "A fifth came thereupon, and asked the chariot of the king : He gave this also, and his heart to keep it did not cling. Then made the King Vessantai'a his people to dismount. And gave the chariot to the man who came on that account."

[513] After this, they all went on afoot. Then the Great Being said to Maddi: " Maddi, you take Kanhajina, for she is light and young. But Jali is a heavy boy, so I'll bring him along." 266 Tlie Jataka. Book XXII. Then they took up the two children, and carried them on their hips. Explaining this, the Master said : " He carrying his boy, and .she her daughter, on they went, Talking together on the I'oad in joy and all content ^" When they met anyone coming to meet them along the road, they asked the way to Vaiiika hill, and leaint that it was afar off. Thus it is said : "Whenever they met travellers coming along the way, They asked directions for their road, and where Mount Variika lay. The travellers all wept full sore to see them on the way, And told them of their heavy task : ' The road is long,' they say." The children cried to see fruit of all kinds on the trees which grew on both sides of the road. Then by the Great Being's power, the trees bowed down their fruit so that their hands could reach it, and they j)icked out the ripest and gave it to the little ones. Then Maddi cried out, " A marvel ! " Thus it is .said :

"Whene'er the children did behold trees gi'owing on the .steep Laden with fruit, the children for the fruit began to weep. But when they saw the children weep, the tall trees sorrowful Bowed down their branches to their hands, that they the fruit might pull. Then Maddl cried aloud in joy, that lady fair and bright. To see the marvel, fit to make one's hair to stand upright. One's hair might .stand upright to see the marvel here is .shewn : By power of King Vessautara the trees themselves bend down ! " [.514] Fi'om the city of Jetuttara, the mountain named Suvannagiritala is five leagues distant ; from thence the river Kontimara is five leagues away, and five leagues more to Mount Arailjaragiri, five leagues again to the brahman village of Dunnivittha, thence ten leagues to his uncle's city : thus from Jetuttara the journey was thirty leagues. The gods shortened the journey, so that in one day they came to his imcle's city. Thus it is said : "The Yakkhas made the joumiey short, pitying the children's plight. And so to Ceta kingdom they arrived before the night." Now they left Jetuttara at breakfast time, and in the evening they came to the kingdom of Ceta and to his uncle's city. Explaining thi.s, the Master said :

"Away to Ceta they proceed, a journey great and long, A kingdom rich in food and drink, and prosperous, and strong." Now in his uncle's city dwelt .sixty thousand Khattiyas. The Great Being entered not into the city, but sat in a hall at the city gate. Maddi brushed off the dust on the Great Being's feet, and rubbed them ; then with a view to announce the coming of Vessantai'a, she went forth from ' " Here endeth the Gift Section (Dana-khandam)." the hall, and stood within sight. So the wonien who came in and out of the city saw her and came round. Explaining this, the Master said : "Seeing the auspicious lady there the women round her throng. ' The tender lady ! now afoot she needs must walk along. In palanquin or chariot once the noble lady rode : Now Maddl needs must go afoot ; the woods are her abode.' " [515] All the people then, seeing Maddi and Vessantai'a and the children arrived in this unbecoming fashion, went and informed the king; and sixty thousand princes came to him weeping and lamenting. To explain this, the Master said ; " Seeing him, the Ceta princes came, with wailing and lament. ' Greet thee, my lord : we trust that you are prosperous and well ' , That of your father and his realm you have good news to tell.

Where is your army, mighty king? and where your royal car? With not a chariot, not a horse, you now have journeyed far : Were you defeated by your foes that here alone you are '? ' " Then the Great Being told the princes the cause of his coming : " I thank you, sirs ; be sure that I am prospei'ous and well ; And of my father and his realm I have good news to tell. I gave the saviour elephant, pole-tuskfed, goodly white 2, Which ever knew the vantage-ground to choose in every fight ; His jewels, and his yak's tail fan ; which trampled down the foes, Long-tuskfed, furious, white as Mount Kelasa with his snows ; With trappings and white parasol, fit riding for a king, With leech and driver : yes, I gave away this precious thing. Therefore the people were in wrath, my father took it ill : Therefore he banished me, and I now go to Vamka hill. I pray you, tell me of a place to be my dwelling still." The princes answered : [516] "Now welcome, welcome, mighty king, and with no doubtful voice : Be lord of all that here is found, and use it at your choice.

Take herbs, roots, honey, meat, and rice, the whitest and the best : Enjoy it at your will, 0 king, and you shall be our guest." " Your proffered gifts I here accept, with thanks for your goodwill. But now the king has banished me ; I go to Vamka hill. I pray you, tell me of a place to be my dwelling still." The princes said : " ' Stay here in Ceta, mighty king, until a message go To tell the king of Sivi land what we have come to know.' Then they behind him in a throng escorting him did go, All full of joy and confidence : this I would have thee know." 1 Compare 584" below, 532 ^^ and Mahdhhdrata (Calcutta) xii. 13,727. 2 Above, p. 254 (text, p. 490). 268 The Jdtaka. Booh XXII. The Great Being said : " I would not have you send and tell the king that I am here : He is not king in this affair : he has no power, I fear. The palace folk and townsfolk all in wrath came gathering, All eager that because of me they might destroy the king." [517] The princes said :

" If in that kingdom came to pass so terrible a thing. Surrounded by the Ceta folk stay here, and be our king. The realm is prosperous and rich, the people strong and great : Be minded, sir, to stay with us and govern this our state." " Hear me, O sons of Ceta land ! I have no mind to stay. As I go forth a bani.shed man, nor here hold royal sway. The Sivi people one and all would be ill pleased to know That you had sprinkled me for king, as banished forth I go. If you should do it, that would be a most unpleasant thing, To quarrel with the Sivi folk : I like not quarrelling. Your proffered gifts I here accept, with thanks for your goodwill. But now the king has banished me : I go to Vamka hill. I pray you, tell me of a place to be my dwelling still." Thus the Great Being, in spite of so many requests, declined the kingdom. And the princes paid him great honour; but he would not enter within the city ; so they adorned that hall where he was, and surrounded it with a screen, and preparing a great bed, they kept cai-eful watch round about. One day and one night he abode in the hall wellguarded ; and next day, early in the morning, after a meal of all manner of fine-flavoured food, attended l)y the princes, he left tlie hall, and sixty thousand Khattiyas went with him for fifteen leagues, [518] then standing at the entering in of the wood, they told of the fifteen leagues which yet remained of his journey.

"Yes, we will tell you how a king who leaves the world may be Good, peaceful by his sacred fire, and all tranquillity. That rocky mountain, mighty king, is Gandhamadana, Where with your children and your wife together you may stay. The Ceta folk, with faces all bewept and streaming eyes. Advise you to go northward straight where high its peaks uprise. There you shall see Mount Yipula (and blessing with thee go). Pleasant with many a growing tree that casts cool shade below. When you shall reach it. you shall see (a blessing with thee still) Ketumati, a river deep and springing from the hill. Full of all fish, a safe resort, its deep flood flows away : There you shall drink, and there shall bathe, and with your children play. And there, upon a pleasant hill, cool-shaded, you will see. Laden with fruit as honey sweet, a noble banyan tree. Then you will see Mount Nalika, and that is haunted ground : For there the birds in concert sing and woodland sprites abound. There further still towards the north is IMixcalinda Lake, On which the lilies blue and white a covering do make. Then a thick forest, like a cloud, with grassy sward to tread, Trees full of flowers and of fruit, all shady overhead, Enter : a lion seeking prey wherewith he may be fed.

There when the forest is in flower, a shower of song is heard, The twitter here and twitter there of many a bright- winged bird. And if those mountain cataracts you follow to their spring, You'll find a lily-covered lake with blossoms' flowering, Full of all fish, a safe resort, deep water without end. Foursquare and peaceful, scented sweet, no odour to offend : There build yourself a leafy cell, a little to the north, And from the cell which you shall make in search of food go forth." [519] Thus did the princes tell him of his fifteen-league journey, and let him go. But to prevent any fear of danger in Vessantara, and with a view to leave no hold for any adversary, they gave directions to a certain man of their country, wise and skilful, to keep an eye upon his goings and comings ; whom they left at the entering in of the forest, and returned to their own city. And Vessantara with his wife and children proceeded to Gandhamadana ; that day he abode there, then setting his face northwards he passed by the foot of Mount Vipula, and rested on the bank of the river Ketumati, to eat a goodly repast provided by the forester, and there they bathed and drank, presenting their guide with a golden hairpin. With mind full of calmness he crossed the stream, and resting awhile under the banyan which stood on a Mat space on the mountain, after eating its fruit, he rose up and went on to the hill called Nalika. Still moving onwards, he passed along the banks of Lake Mucalinda to its northeastern corner : whence by a narrow footpath he penetrated^ into the thick forest, and passing through, he followed the course of the stream which rose out of the mountain until he came to the foursquare lake.

At this moment, Sakka king of the gods looked down and beheld that which had happened. "The Great Being," he thought, "has entei-ed Himavat, and he must have a place to dwell in." [520] So he gave orders to Vissakamma : "Go, pray, and in the dells of Mount Vamka, build a hermitage on a pleasant spot." Vissakamma went and made two hermitages with two covered walks, rooms for the night and rooms for the day ; alongside of the walks he plants rows of flowering trees and clumps of banana, and makes ready all things necessary for hermits. Then he writes an inscription, " Whoso wishes to be a hermit, these are for him," and driving away all unhuman creatures and all har.sh-voiced beasts and birds, he went to his own place. 1 karahja (Pongamia Glabra), kakudha (Terminalia Arjima). ^ Read pavisitvd taih. 270 The Jcltaka. Book XXII. The Great Being, when he beheld a path, felt sure that it must lead to some hermits' settlement. He left Maddi and the two children at the entrance of the hermitage, and went in ; when seeing the inscription, he recognized that Sakka's eye was upon him. He opened the door and entered, and putting off his bow and sword, with the garments which he wore, he donned the garb of a hermit, took up the staff, and coming forth entered the covered walk and paced up and down, and with the quietude of a Pacceka Buddha approached his wife and children. Maddi fell at his feet in tears ; then with him entering the hermitage, she went to her own cell and donned the ascetic dress. After this they made their children to do the like. Thus the four nolde hermits dwelt in the recesses of Mount Variika.

Then Maddi asked a boon of the Great Being. " My lord, do you stay here with the children, instead of going out in search of wild fruits ; and let me go instead.'' Thenceforward she used to fetch the wild fruits from the forest and feed them all three. The Bodhisatta also asked her for a boon. "Maddi, we are now hermits; and woman is the canker of chastity. Henceforward then, do not approach me unseasonably." She consented. By the power of the Great Being's compassion, even the wild animals, all that were within three leagues of their borders, had comi)assion one of another. Daily at dawn, Maddi arises, provides water for their drinking and food to eat, brings water and tooth-brush for cleansing the mouth, sweeps out the hermitage, leaves the two children with their father, basket, spade, and hook in hand [521] hies to the forest for wild roots and fruits, with which she fills her basket : at evening she returns, lays the wild fruits in the cell, washes the children ; then the four of them sit at the door of the cell and eat their fruits. Then Maddi takes her two' children, and retires to her own cell. Thus they lived in the recesses of the mountain for seven months".

At that time, in the kingdom of Kaliiiga, and in a brahmin village named Dunnivittha, lived a brahmin Jujaka. He by quest of alms having obtained a hundred rupees deposited them with a certaiu brahmin family, and went out to get more wealth. As he was long away, the family spent that money ; the other came back and upbraided them, but they could not return the money, and so they gave him their daughter named Amittatapana. He took the maiden with him to Dunnivittha, in Kalinga, and thei"e dwelt. Amittatapana tended the brahmin well. Some other brahmins, young men, seeing her dutifulness, reproached their own wives with it : " See how carefully she tends an old man, whilst you are careless of your young husbands ! " This made the wives resolve to drive her out 1 Read dva for deva. '^ "Here endeth the Entering into the Forest (Vanappavesana-khandam)." of the village. So they would gather in crowds at the river side and everywhere else, reviling her. Explaining this, the Master said : "Once in Kalinga, Jujaka a brahmin spent his life, Who had Amittatapana, quite a young girl, to wife. The women who with waterpots down to the river came

Cried shame upon her, crowding up, and roundly cursed her name. 'A "foe" indeed your mother was, a "foe" your father too^. To let an old decrepit man wed a young wife like you. Your people brewed a secret plot, a bad, mean, cruel plan. To let a fine young girl be wed to an old decrepit man. [522] A hateful thing your life must be, as youthful as you are. With an old husband to be wed ; nay, death were better far. It surely seems, my pretty one, your parents were unkind If for a fine yomig girl they could no other husband find. Your fire-oblation, and your ninth ^ were ofl:ered all for naught If by an old decrepit man so young a wife was caught. Some brahmin or ascetic once no doubt you have reviled, Some virtuous or learned man, some hermit luidefiled, If by an old decrepit man so young a wife was caught. Painful a spear-thrust, full of pain the serpent's fiery bite : But a decrepit husband is more painful to the sight. With an old husband there can be no joy and no delight. No pleasant talk : his very laugh is ugly to the sight.

When men and maidens, youth with youth, hold intercourse apart They make an end of all the woes that harbour in the heart. You are a girl whom men desire, you're young and you are fair : How can an old man give you joy ? Go home and tarry there ! ' " When she heard their mockery, she went home with her waterpot, weeping. "Why are you weeping?" the husband asked ; and she replied in this stanza : [523] " I cannot fetch the water home, the women mock me so : Because my husband is so old they mock me when I go." " You need not fetch the water home, you need not serve me so : Do not be angry, lady mine : for I myself will go." The woman said : " You fetch the water ? no, indeed ! that's not our usual way. I tell you plainly, if you do, with you I will not stay. Unless you buy a slave or maid this kind of work to do, I tell you plainly I will go and will not live with you." " How can I buy a slave ? I have no craft, no corn, no pelf : Come, be not angry, lady mine : I'll do your work myself."

^ A pun on amitto, 'foe.' 2 A sacrifice nine days after birth ? 272 The Jdtaka. Book XXII. The woman said : "Come now, and let me tell to you what I have heard them say. Out yonder in the Variika hill lives King Vessantara : Go, husband, to Vessantara and ask him for a slave ; The prince will certainly consent to give you what you crave." " I am an old decrepit man ; the road is rough and long ; But do not worry, do not weep — and I am far from strong : But be not angry, lady mine : I'll do the work myself." [524] The woman said : " You're like a soldier who gives in before the fight : but why I And do you own that you are beat before you go^ and try I Unless you buy a slave or maid this kind of work to do, I tell you plainly, I will go, I will not live with you. That will be a most unpleasant thing, a painful thing for you. When happy in another's arms you shall behold me soon, Drest gaily at the season's change, or changes of the moon.

And as in your declining years my absence you deplore, Your wrinkles and yom* hoary hairs will double more and more." Explaining this, the Master said : " And now the brahmin full of fears to his wife's will gives way ; So then tormented by his love, you might have heard him say : ' Get me provision for the road : make me some honey-cake, Prepare some bannocks too, and set the barley-bread to bake. And then an equal ^ pair of slaves wath me I'll bring away, Who without wearying shall wait upon you night and day.'" Quickly she prepared the provision, and informed him that it was done. Meanwhile he repairs the weak places about his cottage, secures the door, brings in wood from the forest, draws water in the pitcher, fills all the pots and pans, and donning the garb of the ascetic he leaves her with the words, "Be sure not to go out at improper times, and be careful until I return." Then putting on his shoes, he puts his bag of provisions over his shoulder, walks round his wife rightwise, and departs with streaming eyes. [525] Explaining this, the Master said :

" This done, the brahmin dons his shoes ; then rising presently, And walking round her towards the right he bids his wife good-bye. So went he, dressed in holiness, tears standing in his eyes : To the rich Sivi capital to find a slave he hies." When he came to that city, he asked the assembled people where Vessantara was. - "Equal in caste, quality, and position," scbol. No. 547. . 273 Explaining this, the Master said : "When further he had come, he asked the people gathered round — ' Say, where is King Vessantara ? where can the prince be found 1 ' To him repUed the multitude who were assembled round : ' By such as you he's ruined ; for by giving, giving still, He's banisht out of all the realm and dwells in Variika hill. By such as you he's ruined ; for by giving, giving still, He took his wife and children and now dwells in Vamka hill.' " " So you have destroyed our king, and now come here again ! Stand still, will you," and with sticks and clods, kicks and fisticuffs, they chased him away. But he was guided by the gods into the right road for Varhka hill.

Explaining this, the Master said : "So he, upbraided by his wife, in greedy passion's sway. Paid for his error in the wood where beasts and panthers prey. Taking his staff and begging-bowl and sacrificial spoon. He sought the forest where abode the giver of every boon. Once in the forest, came the wolves thronging around his way : He leapt aside, and went confused far from the path astray i. This brahmin of unbridled greed, finding himself astray. The way to Vamka now quite lost, began these lines to say. [526] ' Who'll tell me of Vessantara, the prince all conquering, Giver of peace in time of fear, the great and mighty king ? Kefuge of suitors, as the earth to all that living be, Who'll tell me of Vessantara, the great and mighty king ? All who seek favours go to him as rivers to the sea : Who'll tell me of Vessantara, the great and mighty king? Like to a safe and pleasant lake, with water fresh and cool. With lilies spread, whose filaments cover the quiet pool : Who'll tell me of Vessantara, the great and mighty king ? Like a great fig-tree on the road, which growing there has made A rest for weary wayfarers who hasten to its shade : Who'll tell me of Vessantara, the great and mighty king?

Like banyan, sal, or mango-tree, which on the road has made A rest for weary wayfarers that hasten to its shade : Who'll tell me of Vessantara, the great and mighty king ? Who will give ear to my complaint, the forest all around ? Glad I should be, could anyone tell where he may be found ! Who will give ear to my complaint, the forest all aroiuid ? Great blessing it would be, if one could tell where he may be found.'" [527] Now the man who had been set to watch, who was ranging the woods as a forester, heard this lamentable ovitcry; and thought he — ^ The scholiast says : " When he entered the wood, not knowing the road to Variika hill he became perplext and went astray: as he sat there, the dogs of a countryman of Ceta surrounded him to keep watch ; then he climbed up a tree and cried with a loud voice" (kandi). I take it rather from ^^•~^, as in iv. 471', i.e. he leapt aside, went astray. The scholiast anticipates what is soon to come. 274 The Jataka. Book XXII. " Here is a brahmin crying out about Vessantara's dwelling-place ; he cannot be here for any good purpose. He will ask for Maddi or the children, no doubt. Well, I will kill hiui." So he approached the man, and as he drew his bow, threatened him with the words — "Brahmin, I will not sjmre your life ! "

Explaining this, the Master said : " The hunter ranging in the wood heard this lament, and said : ' By such as you he's ruined ; for by giving, giving still. He's banisht out of all the realm and dwells in Vaiiika hill. By such as you he's ruined ; for by giving, giving still, He took his wife and children and now dwells in Vaiiika hill. A good-for-nothing fool you are, if leaving home you wish To seek the prince in forests, like a crane that seeks a fish. • Therefore, my worthj^ man, I will not spare your life ; and so My arrow now shall drink your blood when shot from out my bow. I'll split your head, tear out your heart and liver in a trice. Like birds to spirits of the road I'll make you sacrifice. I'll take your flesh, I'll take your fat, I'U take your heart and head, And you shall be a sacrifice^ as soon as you are dead. You'll be a welcome sacrifice, a goodly offering ; And then you'll not destroy the wife and children of the king.'" [528] The man, on hearing these words, was frightened to death, and made a false reply.

"The ambassador's inviolate, and no man may him kill: This is a very ancient rule ; so listen, if you will. The peoj^le have repented them, his father misses him. His mother pines away for grief — her eyes are waxing dim. I come as their ambassador, Vessantara to bring : Hear me, and tell me if you know where I may find the king." Then the man was pleased to hear that he was come to fetch Vessantai'a ; he fastened up his dogs, and called the brahmin down, and seating him upon a pile of twigs he recited this stanza : " I love the envoy and the prince : and here I give to you A gift of welcome — leg of deer and pot of honey too ; Our benefactor how to find I'll tell you what to do." So saying, the man gave the brahmin food, with a gourd of honey and a roast leg of deer, and set him on his way, raising his right hand to point out the place where the Great Being lived : and he said — "Sir brahmin, yonder rocky mount is Gandhamadan hill Where lives the King Vessantara with wife and children still.

With brahmin's dress, with hook"-^ and spoon, the ascetic's matted hair, Skinclad he lies upon the ground and tends the fire with care. 1 Beading dhutiih = "^T^Trf. 2 dsadaricamasnnjataih. The division of the words is doubtful. Scbol. dkaddhitvd phaldiuim (janhanatthain amkiiscui ca aggidahanah ca jatah ca dhdrento. I see nothiug See yonder, trees with many fruits, green on the mountain side, While the dark mountain-peaks upHft till in the clouds they hide. There shrubs, and creepers, horsear, sal, and many another tree^ Sway in the wind like drunken men for anyone to see. High up above the rows of trees the birds in concert sing, Najjuha^, cuckoo, flocks of them, from tree to tree flitting. [529] Thronging among the leafy twigs they bid the stranger come, Welcome the guest, delighting all who make the woods their home, Where with his children now abides Vessantara the king. With brahmin's dress, with hook and spoon, the ascetic's matted hair, Skinclad he lies upon the ground, and tends the fire with care." Moreover he said, in praise of the hermitage : "Mango, rose-apple, jackfruit, sal, all kinds of myrobolan, Bo, golden tindook, many more, including the banyan^; Plenty of figs, all growing low, all ripe, as sweet as sweet. Dates, luscious grapes, and honeycomb, as much as you can eat.

The mango-trees are some in flower, some with the fruit just set, Some ripe and green as any frog, while some are unripe yet. A man may stand beneath the trees and pluck them as they grow : The choicest flavour, colour, taste, both ripe and unripe shew. It makes me cry aloud to see that great and wondrous sight, Like heaven where the gods abide, the garden of delight. Palmyra, date-palm, coconut grow in that forest high, Festoons of flowers garlanded as when the banners fly. Blossoms of every hue and tint like stars that dot the sky. [530] Ebony, aloe, trumpet- flower, and many another tree*. Acacias, berries, nuts, and all as thick as thick can be. Hard by there is a lake bespread with lilies blue and white. As in the garden of the gods, the Garden of Delight. And there the cuckoos make the hills re-echo as they sing, Intoxicated with the flowers which in their season spring. See on the lilies drop by drop the honey-nectar fall. And feel the breezes blowing free from out the south and west, Until the pollen of the flowers is waften over all. to suggest a ' hook,' unless perhaps dsada, ' food-giver ' (^1*1) : but the rest of the couplet describes the religious traj^pings of the ascetic, camasa should be ' bowl ' or ' spoon,' and usada perhaps ' fire,' as suggested by schol. B**, acigijuhana-katacchusankhdtimasan ca. This couplet might have described the ascetic who comes in later.

1 dhara (Grislea Tomentosa), assakanua (Vatica Eobusta), khadira (Acacia Catechu), ^^/wMfdana (Butea Frondosa). ^ najjuha : I cannot identify this bird. =* Other trees mentioned are: kapittha (Feronia Elephantum), kaintthana = kapltaiia '? (Thespesia Populueoides). * The names of the trees are given in full, and may be found in Childers. We may add the following: kutaji = kiitajo?, kuttha (Costus Speciosus ^"5), uddlidlaka (unknown), somarukkha — somavakka'^, puttajiva (Putranjiva Roxburghii). 276 The Jcitaka. Book XXI I. Plenty of rice and berries ^ ripe about the lake do fall, AVhich fish and crabs ^ and tortoises dart seeking with a zest, And honey drips like milk or ghee from the flowers one and all. A frequent breeze blows through the trees where every scent is found, And seems to intoxicate with flowers the forest all around. The bees about the scented flowers fly thronging with their hum, There fly the many-coloured birds together, all and some, Cooing and chiri)ing in delight, each with his mate they come. ' 0 pretty chicky, happy chap ! ' they twitter and they tweet — 0 lovey dovey, deary dear, my pretty little sweet^ ! ' Festoons of flowers garlanded as when the banners fly,

Blossoms of everj^ hue and tint, sweet odours wafted by, Where with his children now abides Vessantara the king. With brahmin's dress, with hook and spoon, the ascetic's matted hair, Skinclad he lies upon the ground and tends the fire with care." [531] Thus did the countryman describe the place where Vessantara lived ; and Jvijaka delighted saluted him in this stanza : " Accept this piece of barley -bread all soaked with honey sweet, And lumps of well-cookt honey-cake : I give it you to eat." To this the countryman answered : " I thank you, but I have no need : keep your provision still ; And take of my provision ; then go, brahmin, where you will. [532] Straight onward to a hermitage the pathway there will lead, Where Accata a hermit dwells, black-tooth'd, with dirty head, With brahmin dress, with hook and spoon, the ascetic's matted hair, Skinclad he lies upon the gi-ound and tends the fire with care : Go thither, ask the way of him, and he will give you speed." When this he heard, the brahmin walked round Ceta towards the right, And went in search of Accata, his heart in high delight.

Then Bharadvaja* went along until he came anigh Unto the hermit's place, to whom he spake thus courteously : " 0 holy man, I trust that you are prosperous and well ^, With grain to glean and roots and fruit abundant where you dwell. Have you been much by flies and gnats and creeping things annoyed, Or from wild beasts of prey have you immunity enjoyed?" The ascetic said : " I thank you, brahmin — yes, I am both prosperous and well. With grain to eat and roots and fruit abundant where I dwell. ^ The words simghataku, samsadiija, pasudiyii need explanation. They appear to be plants ; the two latter are explained as a kind of rice, hhiiiisa is a flower = HV'^^, Mahavastu in. 92 1-, etc. 2 npayanakd : ' kakkataliu.' ^ This couplet is made up of words which express joy and affection, and seems to contaiu names for the birds playfully made ; j'lvaputto means one who has living children. Perhaps it is not too fanciful to hear an echo of their melodious chirping. The scholiast says : tesam etdn' era ndmilni ahesum. 5 The following lines occur: v. 323 (trans., v. p. 170; see also iv. p. 270).

From flies and gnats and creeping things I suffer not annoy, And from wild beasts of prey 1 here iniiu unity enjoy. In all the innumerable years I've lived upon this ground, No harmful sickness that I know has ever here been found. Welcome, O brahmin ! bless the chance directed you this way. Come enter with a blessing, come, and wash your feet I pray. The tindook and the piyal leaves, and kasumari sweet. And fruits like honey, brahmin, take the best I have, and eat. And this cool water from a cave high hidden on a hill, 0 noble brahmin, take of it, drink if it be your will." [533] "Accepted is your offering, and your oblation, sir. 1 seek the son of Sanjaya, once banisht far away By Sivi's people : if you know where he abides, please say." The ascetic said : " You seek the King of Sivi, sir, not with a good intent : Methinks your honour's real desire upon his wife is bent: Kanhajina for handmaiden, Jali for serving-man, Or you would fetch the mother with her children, if you can, The prince has no enjoyments hei'c, no wealth or food, my man."

On hearing this, Jujaka said : " I wish no ill to any man, no boon I come to pray : But sweet it is to see the good, [)leasant with them to staj'. I never saw this monarch, whom his people sent away : I came to see him : if you know where he abides, please say." The other believed him. " Good, I will tell yon ; only stay with me here to-day." So he entertained him with wild fruits and I'oots ; and next day, stretching out his hand, he shewed him the road. [He then recites the verses given above, p. 274, " Sir brahmin with care," ancl adds :] [534] "The foliage of the pepper-tree in that fair spot is .seen. No dust is ever blown aloft, the grass is ever green. The grasses like a peacock's neck, soft-cotton to the touch, Grow never more than inches four, but always just so much. Kapittha, mango, rose-apple, and ripe figs dangling low, All trees whose fruit is good to eat in that fine forest gnnv. There sweet and clean and fragrant streams as blue as beryl flow, Through which disporting up and down the shoals of fishes go.

A lake lies in a lovely spot, with lilies blue and white, Hard by, like that which is in heaven i' the Garden of Delight. Three kinds of lilies in that lake present them to the sight. With varied colours : some are blue, some blood-red, others white." Thus he praised the foursquare lake of lilies, and went on to praise Lake Mucalinda : " As soft as linen are the flowers, those lilies blue and white. And other herbs grow there : the lake is Mucalinda liight. And there in number infinite the full-blown flowers you see, In summer and in winter both as high as to tlie knee. 278 The Jautka. Book XXII. Always the many-coloured flowers blow fragrant on the breeze, And you may hear drawn by the scent the V)uzzing of the bees. [535] All round about the water's edge are standing in a row The ebony, the trumpet-flower, and tall kadamba-trees. Six-petals and many another tree^ with flowers all a-blow. And leafy bowers all standing round about the lake one sees. There trees of every shape and size, there flowers of every hue, All slirulis and bushes, high and low are spread before the view :

The breezes sweetly waft the scent from flowers white, blue, and red. That grow about the hermitage wherein the fire is fed. [536] Close round about the water's edge grow many plants and trees. Which tremble as they echo to the murmurs of the bees. The scent of all the lovely blooms that grow about that shore Will last you if you keep them for a week, or two, or more. Three kinds of gourds, all distinct, grow in this lake, and some Have fruit as big as waterpots, others big as a drum. Mustard, green garlic, lilies blue to pick, and flowers full-blown. Jasmine, sweet sandal, creepers huge about the trees are grown. [537] Sweet jasmine, cotton, indigo, and plants of many a name, Cress, trumpet-flower, grow all around like tongues of golden flame. Yea, every kind of flower that grows in water or on land. In and about this lovely lake lo and behold they stand. There crocodiles and water-beasts abide of every sort, Red deer and other animals for water do resort. Turmeric, camphor, panick-seed, the liquorice-plant, and all Most fragrant seeds and grasses grow with stalks exceeding tall. There lions, tigers, elephants a seeking for a mate,

Deer red and dappled, jackals, dogs, and fawns so swift of gait, [538] Yaks, antelopes, and flying fox, and monkeys great and small, Bears, bulls, and other mighty beasts come flocking one and all : Rhinoceros, mungoose, squirrel, boar, dog, jackal, buftalo, Loris, hare, speckled panther, wolf and lizard, there they go : Spiders and snakes and hairy things, and every kind of bird, Which as they chirp and twitter round all make their voices heard : Hawk, woodcock, heron, piper, owl, the cuckoo with his flute. Partridge, geese, ospreys, pheasants, cranes, and redbacks, follow suit. [539] There sweetly singing to their mates the gorgeous-coloured things, White-tufted, blue-neckt, peacock-hued flutter their pretty wings. Why should I try their thousand names in detail to rehearse ? Imagine every kind of bird, and add them to my verse. There a melodious company their thousand songs they make And fill the air with pleasant noise round Mucalinda Lake. The wood is full of elephants, of antelopes and deer. Where hanging down from all the trees great creepers do appear. There mustard grows, and sugar-cane, and many kinds of rice, And heans and other plants and herbs, all comers to sufiice. Yonder the footpath leads you sti'aight unto his settling-ground Where never hunger, never thirst, and no distaste is found, Where with his children now abides Vessantara the king :

1 Again I omit manj' names in this description, for which I know uo English equivalents. With brahmin's dress, with hook and spoon, the ascetic's matted hair, Skinclad he lies upon the ground, and tends the fire with care." [540] When this he heard, the brahmin walked around him towards the right, And went to seek Vessantara, his heart in high delight. Jujaka went on by the road pointed out to him by Accata the Hermit, and arrived at the foursquare lake. " It is now late evening," he thought : " Maddi will by now be returned from the forest, and women are always in the way. To-morrow, when she has gone into the forest, I will go to Vessantara, and ask him for the children, and before she comes back I will be away." So he climbed a flat-topt hill not far ofi", and lay down in a pleasant spot. Now at dawn of the next morning, Maddi had a dream, and her dream was after this fashion : A black man clothed in two yellow robes, w'ith red flowers in his two ear.s, came and entei'ed the hut of leaves, clutched Maddi by the hair of her head and dragged her out, threw her down on the ground backwards, and amidst her shrieks tore out her two eyes, cut off two arms, cut open her breast, and tearing out the heart dripping with blood carried it away.

She awoke in afi'right, thinking — " An evil dream have I seen ; I have no one liere but Vessantara to interpret my dream, so I will ask him about it." [•^>41] Then going to the hut of the Great Being, she knocked at the door. " Who's there ? " "I, my lord, Maddi." "Lady, why have you come here unseasimably, and broken our compact ? " " My lord, it is not from desire that I come; but I have had an evil dream." "Tell it to me then, MaddT." She told it as it had appeared : the Great Being understood what the dream meant. "The perfection of my giving," he thought, "is to be fulfilled : this day comes a suitor to ask for my children. I will console Maddi and let her go." So he said, " Your mind must have been disturbed by uneasy sleep or by indigestion ; fear nothing." With this deceit he consoled her, and let her go. And when the night grew light, she did all that had to be done, embraced and kissed the children, and said, "Last night I had a bad dream ; be careful, my dears ! " Then she gave them in charge of the Great Being, begging him to take care of them, took her basket and tools, wiped her tears, and away to the woods for fruits and roots.

But Jujaka, thinking that she would now be gone, came down from the liill anil went up the footpath towards the hermitage. And the Great Being came out of his hut, and seated himself upon a slab of stone like a golden image. " Now the suitor will come ! " he thought, like a drunkard, thirsting for a draught, and sat watching the road by wliich he would come, liis children playing about his feet. And as he looked down the road, he saw the brahmin coming ; taking up as it were the burden of liis giving, for seven months laid down, he cried in joy — "Brahmin, pray draw near ! " and to the boy Jali he addressed this stanza : "Jali, arise and stand: behold a bralunin in my sight ! ^^ 'Tis the old time come back again, and fills me with delight ! 280 The Jataka. Booh XXII. Heai'ing this, the boy says : [542] " Yes, yes, my father, I behold the brahmin whom you see ; He comes as though a boon to ask ; our guest he needs must be." And with these words, to shew him honour, the boy rose up from his seat, and went to meet the brahmin, offering to relieve him of his baggage. The brahmin looked at him, and thought, " This must be Jali, the son of Vessautara : from the very first I will speak har.shly to him." So he snapt his fingers at him, crying — "Go away, go away ! " The boy thought, " A harsh man this, to be sure ! " and looking at his body, he perceived in him the eighteen blemishes of a man. But the brahmin came up to the Bodhisatta, and politely greeting him, said :

" 0 holy man, we trust that you are prosperous and well, With grain to glean and roots and fruit abundant where you dwell. Have you been much by flies and gnats and creeping things annoyed. Or from wild beasts of prey have you immunity enjoyed ? " The Bodhisatta answered politely : " I thank you, brahmin, and reply : we prosper and are well With grain to glean and roots and fruit abundant where we dwell. From flies and gnats and creeping things we suffer no annoy. And from wild beasts of prey we here immunity enjoy i. Seven months we have lived happy in this forest, and have not Once seen a brahmin, as we now see you, godlike, I wot. With vilva-stafl' and tinder-box, and with the waterpot. Welcome, O brahmin ! blest the chance directed you this way ; Come, enter with a blessing, come and wash your feet, I pray. The tindook and the piyal leaves, the kasumari sweet. And fruits like honey, brahmin, take the best I have, and eat. And this cool water from a cave high hidden on a hill, O noble brahmin, take of it, drink if it be your will^.''

After these words, the Great Being thought : " Not without cause is this brahmin come to this great forest ; I will ask him the reason without delay " ; and he recited this stanza : [543] " Now tell me what may be the cause, what can the reason be, That brings you to this mighty wood 1 I pray you tell it me." "As a great water-flood is full, and fails not any day, So you, from whom I come to beg — give me your children, pray ! " On hearing this, the Great Being was delighted in heart ; and said, like one who sets in the outstretched hand a purse of a thousand pieces of money ^: " I give, and shrink not : you shall be their master. But my queen Went out this morning for our food ; at evening she'll be seen. 1 See VI. 532" (above, p. 276); v. 323 '«, 377 -i (trans., pp. 171, 200); cp. iv. 427 26 (trans., p. 207). - See 1). 277 above. ■* Perhaps with an allusion to his mother's gift, p. 250 above. So the Burmese. Stay here this night : the morning hght .shall see you on your way. She'll wash them and perfume them both i, and garland them witii flowers.

Stay here this night : the morning light shall see you on your way. Deckt out with flowers they both shall be, with scents and perfumes sweet ; Take them away, and plenty take of fruits and roots to eat." [544] " No, mighty monarch, I would go ; I do not wish to stay : I'll go, lest some impediment should thwart me in the way. Women no generous givers are, to thwart they always try. They know all sorts of cunning spells, and always go awry. Let him who gives a gift in faith not see his mother's face, Or she will find impediments : 0 king, I'd go apace. Give me yom* children ; let them not behold their mother's face : For he that gives a gift in faith, his merit grows apace. Give me your children ; let them not behold their mother's face : He who gives wealth to such as I, to heaven he goes apace." " If you wish not to see my wife, — a faithful wife is she ! Let Jali and Kanhajina their grandsire go and see. When these fair children, sweet of speech, shall come within his sight, He'll give you wealth in plenty, full of joy and high delight."

" I fear the spoiling of my goods : 0 prince, I prithee hear ! The king may deal me punishment, may slay, or sell, I fear ; Sans wealth and servants, Ikjw my wife would mock at me, and jeer ! " [545] Vessantara said : "When these fair children, sweet of speech, shall come within his sight. The foster-king of Sivi folk, who always does the right. Will give you wealth in plenty, filled with pleasure and delight." " No, no, I will not do this thing which you would recommend : I'll take the children, on my wife as servants to attend." The children, lie;iring these harsh words, slunk behind the hut, and away they ran from behind the hut, and hid close to a clump of bushes. Even there they seemed to see themselve.s caught by Jujaka : trembling, they could not keep still anywliere, but ran liither and thitlier, until thoy came to the bank of tiie square lake; where, wrapping the bark garments tightly about them, they plunged into tlie water and stood there concealed, their heads hidden under the lily leaves. Explaining this, the Master said : "So Jali and Kanhajina hither and thither ran. In deep distress to hear the voice of the pursuing man."

And Jujaka, when he .saw nothing of the children, upbraided the Bodhisatta : "Ho Vessantara! when you gave me the children just now, ^ upaghute: 'stsaihhi upasimghite.' 282 The Jataha. Book XXII. as soon as I told you that I would not go to the city of Jetuttara, but would make the children my wife's attendants, you made them some sign, and caused them to run away, sitting thei'e like innocence itself ! Such a liar there is not in the world, I'm thinking." The Great Being was moved. '' They have run away, no doubt," he thought, and said aloud, " Do not trouble about it, sir, I'll fetch them." So he arose and went behind the hut ; perceiving that they must have fled to the woods, [546] he followed their footprints to the lakeside, and then seeing a footprint where they went down into the water, he j^erceived that they must have gone into the water : so he called, " Jali, my boy ! " reciting these two stanzas : " Come hither, my beloved sou, my perfect state fulfil ; Come now and consecrate my heart, and follow out my will. Be thou my ship to ferry me safe o'er existence' sea,

Beyond the worlds of birth and gods I'll cx'oss and I'll be free." " Come, Jali, my boy ! " cried he ; and the lad heai'ing his voice thought thus: — "Let the brahmin do with me what he will, I will not quarrel with my father ! " He raised his head, parted the lily-leaves, and came out of the water, throwing him.self upon the Great Being's right foot ; embracing the ankle he wept. Then the Great Being said : " My boy, where is your sister ? " He answered, " Father, all creatures take care of themselves in time of danger." The Great Being recognized that the children must have made a bargain together, and he cried out, " Here, Kanha ' " reciting two stanzas : "Come hither, my beloved girl, my perfect state fulfil. Come now and consecrate my heart, and follow out my will. Be thou my ship to ferry me safe o'er existence' sea, Beyond the worlds of men and gods I'll cross and lift^ me free ! " She also thought, " I will not quarrel with my father " ; and in a moment out she came, and falling on her father's left foot clasped his ankle and wept. Their tears fell upon the Great Being's feet, coloured like a lily-leaf; and his tears fell on their backs, which had the colour of golden slabs. Then the Great Being raised up his children and comforted them, saying, "My sou Jali, don't you know that I have gladly given you away '] So do that my desire may attain fulfilment." And then and there he put a price on the children, as one puts a price on cattle.

To his son he said : " Son Jfdi, if you wish to become free, you must pay the brahmin [547] a thousand pieces of gold-. But your sister is very beautiful ; if any person of low birth should give the brahmin so and so much to make her free, he would Vireak her birthright. None but a king

1 uddliarissam: of coming out of the river on the other side. So Mahavastu ii. 244*, nad'tto kacchapo uddharitvd. ^ nikkha : equal to five suvaniias. can give all things by tlie hundred ; therefore if your sister would be free let her ]:)ay the brahmin a hundred male and a hundred female slaves, with elephants, horses, bulls, and gold pieces, all a hundred each." Thus did he price the children, and comforted them, and took them back to the hermitage. Then he took water in his waterpot, and calling the brahmin to come near, he poured out the water, praying that he might attain omniscience. " Dearer than my son a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a hundred thousandfold is omniscience ! " he cried, making the earth resound, and to the brahmin he gave this precious gift of his cliildren. Explaining this, the Master said : "The foster-king of Sivi land then took his children both. And gave this gift most precious to the brahmin, nothing loth. Then was there terror and affright, and the great earth did quake, What time the king with folded hands bestowed the children both ; Then was there terror and affright, and the great earth did shake, When Sivi's king his children gave the brahmin, nothing loth."