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TRtJBNER'S 
 
 ORIENTAL SERIES. 
 
THE 
 
 ENGLISH AND FOREIGN 
 
 PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY. 
 
 VOLUME XVI 11. 
 
BUDDHIST BIRTH STORIES; 
 
 OR, 
 
 JATAKA TALES. 
 
 THE OLDEST COLLECTION OF FOLK-LORE EXTANT : 
 
 BEING 
 
 THE JATAKA.TTHAVANNANA, 
 
 For the first time Edited in the Original Pali 
 
 By V. FAUSBOLL, 
 
 AND TRANSLATED 
 
 By T. W. RHYS DAVIDS. 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 VOLUME I. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN, & CO. 
 
HKRTFORn ; 
 PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It is well kno-mi that amongst tke Buddhist Scriptures 
 there is one book in which a large number of old stories, 
 fables, and fairy tales, Ke enshrined in an edifying 
 commentary ; and have thus been preserved for the study 
 and amusement of later times. How this came about 
 is not at present quite certain. The belief of orthodox 
 Buddhists on the subject is this. The Buddha, as occa- 
 sion arose, was accustomed throughout his long career 
 to explain and comment on the events happening around 
 him, by telling of similar events that had occurred in 
 his own previous births. The experience, not of one 
 lifetime only, but of many lives, was always present to 
 his mind ; and it was this experience he so often used 
 to point a moral, or adorn a tale. The stories so told 
 are said to have been reverently learnt and repeated by 
 his disciples ; and immediately after his death 550 of 
 them were gathered together in one collection, called 
 the Book of the 550 Jatakas or Births; the comjnentary 
 to which gives for each Jataka, or Birth Story, an 
 account of the event in Gotama's life which led to his 
 
ii BUDDHIST BIRTH STORIES 
 
 first telling that particular sto^}^ Both text and com- 
 mentary were then handed down intact, and in the Pali 
 language in which they were composed, to the time of 
 the Council of Patna (held in or about the year 250 B.C.) ; 
 and they were carried in the following year to Ceylon 
 by the great missionary Mahinda. There the commentary 
 was translated into Sinhalese, the Aryan dialect spoken 
 in Ceylon ; and was re-translated into its present form 
 in the PaK language in the fiith century of our era. 
 But the text of the Jataka stories themselves has been 
 throughout preserved in its original Pali form. 
 
 Unfortunately this orthodox Buddhist belief as to the 
 history of the Book of Birth Stories rests on a foundation 
 of quicksand. The Buddhist belief, that most of their 
 sacred books were in existence immediately after the 
 Buddha's death, is not only not supported, but is con- 
 tradicted by the evidence of those books themselves. 
 It may be necessary to state what that belief is, in order 
 to show the importance which the Buddhists attach to 
 the book ; but in order to estimate the value we ourselves 
 should give it, it will be necessary by critical, and more 
 roundabout methods, to endeavour to arrive at some 
 more reliable conclusion. Such an investigation cannot 
 it is true, be completed until the whole series of the 
 Buddhist Birth Stories shall have become accessible in 
 the original Pali text, and the history of those stories 
 
KNOWN IN EUROPE. iii 
 
 shall have heen traced in other sources. With the present 
 inadequate information at our command, it is only pos- 
 sible to arrive at probabilities. But it is therefore the 
 more fortunate that the course of the inquiry will lead 
 to some highly interesting and instructive results. 
 
 In the first place, the fairy tales, parables, fables, 
 riddles, and comic and moral stories, of which the 
 Buddhist Collection — known as the Jataka Book — 
 consists, have been found, in many instances, to bear 
 a striking resemblance to similar ones current in the 
 West. ISTow in many instances this resemblance is 
 simply due to the fact that the Western stories were 
 borrowed from the Buddhist ones. 
 
 To this resemblance much of the interest excited 
 by the Buddhist Birth Stories is, very naturally, due. 
 As, therefore, the stories translated in the body of this 
 volume do not happen to contain among them any of 
 those most generally known in England, I insert here 
 one or two specimens which may at the same time 
 afford some amusement, and also enable the reader to 
 judge how far the alleged resemblances do actually 
 exist. 
 
 It is absolutely essential for the correctness of such 
 judgment that the stories should be presented exactly 
 as they stand in the original. I am aware that a close 
 and literal translation involves the disadvantage of pre- 
 
iv FOLK-LORE. 
 
 senting the stories in a style which will prohably seem 
 strange, and even wooden, to the modern reader. But 
 it cannot be admitted that, for even purposes of com- 
 parison, it would be sufficient to reproduce the stories 
 in a modern form which should aim at combining 
 substantial accuracj^ with a pleasing dress. 
 
 And the Book of Birth Stories has a value quite 
 independent of the fact that many of its tales have been 
 transplanted to the West. It contains a record of the 
 every-day life, and every-day thought, of the people 
 among whom the tales were told : it is the oldest, most 
 com2}kte, and most important Collection of Folk-lore extant. 
 
 The whole value of its evidence in this respect would 
 be lost, if a translator, by slight additions in some places, 
 slight omissions in others, and slight modifications here 
 and there, should run the risk of conveying erroneous 
 impressions of early Buddhist beliefs, and habits, and 
 modes of thought. It is important, therefore, that the 
 reader should understand, before reading the stories I 
 intend to give, that while translating sentence by 
 sentence, rather than word by word, I have never lost 
 sight of the importance of retaining in the English 
 version, as far as possible, not only the phraseology, 
 but the style and spirit of the Buddhist story-teller. 
 
 The first specimen I propose to give is a half-moral 
 half- comic story, which nms as follows. 
 
The Ass in tie Lion's Skin. 
 SIHA-CAMMA JATAKA. 
 
 (FausboU, No. 189.) 
 
 Once upon a time, while Brahma-datta was reigning 
 in Benares, the future Buddha was born one of a 
 peasant family ; and when he grew up, he gained his 
 living by tilh'ng the groimd. 
 
 At that time a hawker used to go from place to place, 
 trafficking in goods carried by an ass. Now at each 
 place he came to, when he took the pack down from the 
 ass's back, he used to clothe him in a lion's skin, and 
 turn him loose in the rice and barley-fields. And when 
 the watchmen in the fields saw the ass, they dared not 
 go near him, taking him for a lion. 
 
 So one day the hawker stopped in a village ; and whilst 
 he was getting his own breakfast cooked, he dressed the 
 ass in a lion's skin, and turned him loose ia a barley- 
 field. The watchmen in the field dared not go up to 
 him; but goiag home, they published the news. Then 
 all the villagers came out with weapons in their hands ; 
 and blowing chanks, and beating drimis, they went near 
 the field and shouted. Terrified with the fear of death, 
 the ass uttered a cry — the cry of an ass ! 
 
 And when he knew him then to be an ass, the future 
 Buddha pronounced the First Stanza : 
 
 " This is not a lion's roaring, 
 Nor a tiger's, nor a panther's ; 
 Dressed in a lion's skin, 
 'Tis a wretched ass that roars ! " 
 
vi THE ASS IN' THE LIOITS SKIN. 
 
 But when the villagers knew the creature to be an ass, 
 they beat him till his bones broke ; and, carrying off the 
 lion's skin, went away. Then the hawker came ; and 
 seeing the ass fallen into so bad a plight, pronounced the 
 Second Stanza : 
 
 " Long might the ass. 
 Clad in a lion's skin. 
 Have fed on the barley green. 
 
 But he brayed ! 
 And that moment he came to ruin." 
 
 And even whilst he was yet speaking the ass died on 
 the spot ! 
 
 This story will doubtless sound familiar enough to 
 English ears ; for a similar tale is found in our modern 
 collections of so-called '^sop's Fables.' ^ Professor 
 Benfey has further traced it in mediaeval French, 
 German, Turkish, and Indian literature.^ But it may 
 have been much older than any of these books ; for 
 the fable possibly gave rise to a proverb of which we 
 find traces among the Greeks as early as the time 
 of Plato.^ Lucian gives the fable in full, localizing it 
 
 1 James's '^sop's Fables' (London, Murray, 1852), p. Ill ; La Fontaine, 
 Book T. No. 21 ; JEsop (in Greek text, cd. Furia, 141, 262 ; ed. Coriaj, 113); 
 Babrius (Lewis, vol. ii. p. 43). 
 
 2 Benfey' s Pancha Tantra, Book iv., No. 7, in the note on which, at vol. i. 
 p. 462, he refers to Balm, p. 333 ; Robert, in the ' Fables inedites du Moyen 
 Age, vol. i. p. 360; and the Tnrkish Tuti-namah (Eosen, vol. ii. p. 149). 
 In India it is fonnd also in the Northern Buddhist Collection called Kathi 
 Sarit Sagara, by Somadeva ; and in Hitopadesa (iii. 2, Max Miiller, p 110) 
 
 = Kra^'los, 4U (ed. Tauchnitz, ii. 275), 
 
THE ASS IN THE LION'S SICIN. vii 
 
 at Kume, in South Italj^,^ and Julien has given us a 
 Chinese version in his ' Avadanas.'^ Erasmus, in his 
 work on proverbs,' alludes to the fable ; and so also does 
 our own Shakespeare in 'King John.'* It is worthy 
 of mention that in one of the later story-books — in a 
 Persian translation, that is, of the Hitopadesa — there is 
 a version of our fable in which it is the vanity of the 
 ass in trying to sing which leads to his disguise being 
 discovered, and thus brings him to grief.^ But Pro- 
 fessor Benfey has shown ^ that this version is simply 
 the rolling into one of the present tale and of another, 
 also widely prevalent, where an ass by trying to sing 
 earns for himself, not thanks, but blowsJ I shall 
 hereafter attempt to draw some conclusions from the 
 history of the story. But I would here point out that 
 the fable could scarcely have originated in any country 
 in which lions were not common ; and that the Jataka 
 story gives a reasonable explanation of the ass being 
 dressed in the skin, instead of saying that he dressed 
 himself in it, as is said in our '^sop's Fables.' 
 
 The reader will notice that the 'moral' of the tale 
 
 ^ LucioM, Kscator, 32. ' Vol. ii. No. 91. 
 
 ^ ' Adagia,' under ' Asinus apud Cumanos.' 
 
 * Act ii. scene 1 ; and again, Act iii. scene 1. 
 
 s De Sacy, ' Notes et Extraits,' x. 1, 247. 
 
 ^ Loc. cit. p. 463. 
 
 ' Pancha Tantra, T. 7. Prof. Weber (Indische Studien, iii. 352) compares 
 Phcedrus (Dressier, App. vi. 2) and Erasmus's ' Adagia ' under ' Asinus ad 
 Lyrnm.' See also Tuti-namah (Eosen ii. 218) ; and I would add Varro, in 
 Aulus GeUius, iii. 16 ; and Jerome, Ep. 27, ' Ad MarceUam.' 
 
viii THE ASS IN THE LION'S SKIN. 
 
 is contained in two stanzas, one of wliich is put into 
 the mouth of the Bodisat or future Buddha. This will 
 be found to be the case in all the Birth Stories, save 
 that the number of the stanzas differs, and that they 
 are usually all spoken by the Bodisat. It should also 
 be noticed that the identification of the peasant's son 
 with the Bodisat, which is of so little importance to 
 the story, is the only part of it which is essentially 
 Buddhistic. Both these points will be of importance 
 further on. 
 
 The iatroduction of the human element takes this 
 story, perhaps, out of the class of fables in the most 
 exact sense of that word. I therefore add a story con- 
 taining a fable proper, where animals speak and act 
 like men. 
 
 The Talkative Tortoise. 
 
 KACCHAPA JATAKA. 
 
 (Fausboll, No. 215.) 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning 
 in Benares, the future Buddha was bom in a minister's 
 family ; and when he grew up, he became the king's 
 adviser in things temporal and spiritual. 
 
 Now this king was very talkative : while he was 
 speaking, others had no opportunity for a wori And 
 the future Buddha, wanting to cure this talkativeness of 
 his, was constantly seeking for some means of doing so. 
 
THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE. ix 
 
 At that time there was living, in a pond in the Hima- 
 laya mountains, a tortoise. Two young ha^jsas {i.e. wild 
 ducks') who came to feed there, made friends with him. 
 And one day, when they had become very intimate with 
 him, they said to the tortoise — 
 
 " Friend tortoise ! the place where we live, at the 
 Golden Cave on Moimt Beautiful in the Himalaya 
 country, is a delightful spot. Will you come there with 
 us .? " 
 
 "But how can I get there ? " 
 
 " We can take you, if you can only hold your tongue, 
 and wiU say nothing to anybody." ^ 
 
 " ! that I can do. Take me vsdth you." 
 
 " That's right," said they. And making the tortoise 
 bite hold of a stick, they themselves took the two ends in 
 their teeth, and flew up into the air.' 
 
 Seeing him thus carried by the hagsas, some villagers 
 called out, " Two wild ducks are carrying a tortoise along 
 on a stick ! " Whereupon the tortoise wanted to sajr, 
 " If my friends choose to carry me, what is that to you, 
 you wretched slaves ! " So just as the swift flight of the 
 wild ducks had brought him over the king's palace in the 
 city of Benares, he let go of the stick he was biting, and 
 falling in the open courtyard, split in two ! And there 
 arose a universal cry, " A tortoise has fallen in the open 
 courtyard, and has split in two ! " 
 
 ' Pronounced haugsa, often rendered swan, a favourite bird in Indian tales, 
 and constantly represented in Buddhist carvings. It is the original Golden 
 Goose. See below, p. 294, and Jataka No. 136. 
 
 ' There is an old story of a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, who 
 inherited a family living. He went in great trouble to Dr. Routh, the Head 
 of his College, saying that he doubted whether he could hold, at the same 
 time, the Living and the Fellowship. "You can hold anything," was the 
 reply, " it you can only hold your tongue." And he held all three. 
 
 ^ In the Vinlla Jataka (No. 160) they similarly carry a crow to the 
 Himalaya mountains. 
 
X KACCHAPA JATAKA. 
 
 The king, taking the future Buddha, went to the place, 
 surrounded by his courtiers ; and looking at the tortoise, 
 he asked the Bodisat, " Teacher ! how comes he to be 
 fallen here ? " 
 
 The future Buddha thought to himself, " Long expect- 
 ing, wishing to admonish the king, have I sought for 
 some means of doing so. This tortoise must have made 
 friends with the wild ducks ; and they must have made 
 him bite hold of the stick, and have flown up into the 
 air to take him to the hiUs. But he, being unable to 
 hold his tongue when he hears any one else talk, must 
 have wanted to say something, and let go the stick ; and 
 so must have fallen down from the sky, and thus lost his 
 life." And saying, " Truly, king ! those who are 
 called chatter-boxes — ^people whose words have no end — 
 come to grief like this," he uttered these Verses : 
 
 " Yerily the tortoise killed himself 
 Whilst uttering his voice ; 
 Though he was holding tight the stick. 
 By a word himself he slew. 
 
 " Behold him then, excellent by strength ! 
 And speak wise words, not out of season. 
 You see how, by his talking overmuch, 
 The tortoise fell into this wretched pKght ! " 
 
 The king saw that he was himself referred to, and said, 
 " Teacher ! are you spealdng of us ? " 
 
 And the Bodisat spake openly, and said, "0 great 
 king! be it thou, or be it any other, whoever talks 
 beyond measure meets with some mishap like this." 
 
 And the king henceforth refrained himself, and became 
 a man of few words. 
 
THE TALKATIVE TORTOISE. xi 
 
 This story too is found also in Greek, Latin, Arabic, 
 Persian, and in most European languages,^ though, 
 strangely enough, it does not occur in our books of 
 -ZEsop's Fables. But in the '.^sop's Fables' is usually 
 included a story of a tortoise who asked an eagle to teach 
 him to fly ; and being dropped, split into two ! ^ It is 
 worthy of notice that in the Southern recension of the 
 Pafica Tantra it is eagles, and not wild ducks or swans, 
 who carry the tortoise ; ' and there can, I think, be little 
 doubt that the two fables are historically connected. 
 
 Another fable, Tery familiar to modern readers, is 
 stated in the commentary to have been first related in 
 ridicule of a kind of Mutual Admiration Society existing 
 among the opponents of the Buddha. Hearing the 
 monks talking about the foolish way in which Devadatta 
 and Kokalika went about among the people ascribing 
 each to the other virtues which neither possessed, he is 
 said to have told this tale. 
 
 ^ Faiica Tantra, vol. i. p. 13, where Professor Benfey (i. 239-241) traces 
 also the later versions in different languages. He mentions Wolff's German 
 translation of the Kalilah and Dimnah, vol. i. p. 91 ; Knatchiuir s English 
 version, p. 146 ; Simeon Seth's Greek version, )). 28 ; John of Capua's Direc- 
 torimn Humanse Vitse, D. 5 b.; the German translation of this last (Ulm, 
 1483), F. viii. 6 ; the Spanish translation, lix a.; Firenzuola, 65; Soni, 93; 
 A.nvar i Suhaili, p. 159 ; Le Livre des Lumiires (1664, 8vo.), 124 ; Le Cabinet 
 des Fees, xvii. 309. See also Contes et Fables Indiennes de Bidpai et de 
 Lokman, ii. 112 ; La Fontaine, i. 3, where the ducks fly to America (!) ; and 
 BickeU's ' Kalilag und Dimnag,' p. 24. In India it is found in Somadeva, 
 and in the Sitopadesa, iv. 2 (Mas Miiller, p. 125). See also Julien, i. 71. 
 
 2 This version is found in Babrizis (Lewis, i. 122) ; Phmdrus, ii. 7 and 
 vii. 14 (OreUi, 55, 128) ; and in the ^sopaean collections (Fur. 193 ; Corise, 
 61) and in Abstemiua, 108. 
 
 s Dubois, p. 109. 
 
The Jackal and the Crow. 
 JAMBU-KHADAKA JATAKA. 
 
 (FausboU, No. 294.) 
 
 Long, long ago, wlien Brahma-datta was reigning in 
 Benares, the Bodisat had come to life as a tree-god, 
 dwelling in a certain grove of Jambu-trees. 
 
 Now a crow was sitting there one day on the branch 
 of a Jambu-tree, eating the Jambu-fruits, when a jackal 
 coming by, looked up and saw him. 
 
 "Ha ! " thought he. "I'll flatter that fellow, and get 
 some of those Jambus to eat." And thereupon he uttered 
 this verse in his praise : 
 
 " Wto may this be, whose rich and pleasant notes 
 Proclaim him best of all the singing-birds ? 
 Warbling so sweetly on the Jambu-branch, 
 "Where like a peacock he sits firm and grand ! " 
 
 Then the crow, to pay him back his compliments, re- 
 plied in this second verse : 
 
 " 'Tis a well-bred young gentleman, who understands 
 To speak of gentlemen in terms polite ! 
 Good Sir ! — whose shape and glossy coat reveal 
 The tiger's ofispring — eat of these, I pray ! " 
 
 And so saying, he shook the branch of the Jambu-tree 
 till he made the fruit to fall. 
 
 But when the god who dwelt in that tree saw the two 
 of them, now they had done flattering one another, eating 
 the Jambus together, he uttered a third verse : 
 
THE FOX AND THE CROW. xiii 
 
 " Too long, forsootli, I've borne the sight 
 Of these poor chatterers of lies — 
 The refuse-eater and the ofFal-eater 
 Belauding each other ! " 
 
 And making himself visible in awful shape, he frightened 
 them away from the place ! 
 
 It is easy to understand, that when this story had been 
 carried out of those countries where the crow and the 
 jackal are the common scavengers, it would lose its 
 point ; and it may very well, therefore, have been 
 shortened into the fable of the Fox and the Crow and 
 the piece of cheese. On the other hand, the latter is 
 so complete and excellent a story, that it would scarcely 
 have been expanded, if it had been the original, into 
 the tale of the Jackal and the Crow.^ 
 
 The next tale to be quoted is one showing how a wise 
 man solves a difficulty. I am sorry that Mr. Fausboll 
 has not yet reached this Jataka in his edition of the 
 Pali text ; but I give it from a Sinhalese version of 
 the fourteenth century, which is nearer to the PaK than 
 any other as yet known.^ It is an episode in 
 
 1 See La Fontaine, Book i. No. 2, and the current collections of ^sop's 
 Fables {e.g. James's edition, p. 136). It should be added that the Jambu- 
 khadaka-sagyutta in the Sajyutta Nikaya has nothing to do with our fable. 
 The Jambu-eater of that story is an ascetic, who lives on Jambus, and is con- 
 verted by a discussion on Nirvana. 
 
 ^ The Sinhalese test will be found in the ' Sidal Sai^garawa,' p. clxxvii. 
 
The Birth as 'Great Physician.' > 
 MAHOSADHA JATAKA. 
 
 A woman, carrj'ing her child, went to the future 
 Buddha's tanlc to wash. And having first bathed the 
 child, she put on her upper garment and descended 
 into the water to bathe herself. 
 
 Then a Yakshinl,^ seeing the child, had a craving to 
 eat it. And taking the form of a woman, she drew near, 
 and asked the mother — 
 
 "Friend, this is a very pretty child, is it one of 
 yours ? " 
 
 Axid when she was told it was, she asked if she might 
 nurse it. And this being allowed, she nursed it a little, 
 and then carried it off. 
 
 But when the mother saw this, she ran after her, and 
 cried out, " Where are you taking my child to ? " and 
 caught hold of her. 
 
 The Yakshini boldly said, "Where did you get the 
 child from ? It is mine ! " And so quarrelling, they 
 passed the door of the future Buddha's Judgment Hall. 
 
 He heard the noise, sent for them, inquired into the 
 matter, and asked them whether they would abide by his 
 
 * Literally ' the great medicine.' The Bodisat of that time received this 
 name because he was born mth a powerful drug in his hand, — an omen of 
 the cleverness in device by which, when he grew up, he delivered people from 
 their misfortunes. Compare my ' Buddhism,' p. 187. 
 
 ^ The Yakshas, products of witchcraft and cannibalism, are beings of 
 magical power, who feed on human flesh. The male Taksha occupies in 
 Buddhist stories a position similar to that of the wicked genius in the 
 Arabian Nights ; the female Takshini, who occurs more frequently, usually 
 plays the part of siren. 
 
THE WISE JUDGE. xv 
 
 / 
 
 decision. And they agreed. Then he had a line drawn 
 
 on the ground ; and told the Yakshini to take hold of the 
 
 child's arms, and the mother to take hold of its legs ; and 
 
 said, "The child shall be hers who drags him over the Kne." 
 But as soon as they pulled at him, the mother, seeing 
 
 how he suffered, grieved as if her heart would break. 
 
 And letting him go, she stood there weeping. 
 
 Then the future Buddha asked the bystanders, " Whose 
 
 hearts are tender to babes ? those who have borne chil- 
 dren, or those who have not ? " 
 
 And they answered, " Sire ! the hearts of mothers 
 
 are tender." 
 
 Then he said, " Whom think you is the mother ? she 
 
 who has the child in her arms, or she who has let go ? " 
 And they answered, " She who has let go is the 
 
 mother." 
 
 Ajid he said, "Then do you all think that the other 
 
 was the thief ? " 
 
 And they answered, " Sire ! we cannot tell." 
 
 And he said, " Verily this is a TakshinI, who took the 
 
 child to eat it." 
 
 And they asked, " Sire ! how did you know it ? " 
 And he replied, " Because her eyes winked not, and 
 
 were red, and she knew no fear, and had no pity, I knew 
 
 it." 
 
 And so saying, he demanded of the thief, " Who are 
 
 you?" 
 
 And she said, " Lord ! I am a TakshinI." 
 And he asked, " Why did you take away this child ? " 
 And she said, " I thought to eat him, my Lord ! " 
 And he rebuked her, saying, " foolish woman ! For 
 
 your former sins you have been born a Yakshini, and now 
 
xvi THE WISE JUDGE. 
 
 do you still sin ! " And he laid a vow upon her to keep 
 the Five Commandments, and let her go. 
 
 But the mother of the child exalted the future Buddha, 
 and said, " my Lord ! Great Physician ! may thy 
 life be long ! " And she went away, with her babe 
 clasped to her bosom. 
 
 The Hebrew story, in which a similar judgment is 
 ascribed to Solomon, occurs in the Book of Kings, which 
 is more than a century older than the time of Gotama. 
 We shall consider below what may be the connexion 
 between the two. 
 
 The next specimen is a tale about lifeless things en- 
 dowed with miraculous powers ; perhaps the oldest tale 
 in the world of that kind which has been yet published. 
 It is an episode in 
 
 Sakka's Presents. 
 DADHI-VAHANA JATAKA. 
 
 (FausboU, ]Sro. 186.) 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning 
 in Benares, four brothers, Brahmans, of that kingdom, 
 devoted themselves to an ascetic life; and having built 
 themselves huts at equal distances in the region of the 
 Himalaya mountains, took up their residence there. 
 
SAKKA'S PRESENTS. xvii 
 
 The eldest of them died, and was re-born as the god 
 Sakka.i When he became aware of this, he used to go 
 and render help at intervals every seven or eight days to 
 the others. And one day, having greeted the eldest hermit, 
 and sat down beside him, he asked him, "Reverend Sir, 
 what are you in need of ? " 
 
 The hermit, who suffered from jaundice, answered, " I 
 want fire ! " So he gave him a double-edged hatchet. 
 
 But the hermit said, " "Who is to take this, and bring 
 me firewood ? " 
 
 Then Sakka spake thus to him, " Whenever, reverend 
 Sir, you want firewood, j^ou should let go the hatchet 
 from jrour hand, and say, ' Please fetch me firewood : 
 make me fire ! ' And it will do so." 
 
 So he gave him the hatchet ; and went to the second 
 hermit, and asked, ■" Reverend Sir, what are you in need 
 of?" 
 
 Wow the elephants had made a track for. themselves close 
 to his hut. And he was annoyed by those elephants, and said, 
 " I am much troubled by elephants ; drive them away." 
 
 Sakka, handing him a drum, said, "Reverend Sir, 
 if you strike on this side of it, your enemies will take 
 to flight ; but if you strike on this side, they will become 
 friendly, and surround you on all sides with an army in 
 fourfold array." ^ 
 
 ' Not quite the same as Jupiter. Sakka is a very harmless and gentle 
 kind of a god, not a jealous god, nor given to lasciviousness or spite. Neither 
 is he immortal : he dies from time to time ; and, if he has behaved well, is 
 reborn under happy conditions. Meanwhile somebody else, usually one of 
 the sons of men who has deserved it, succeeds, for a hundred thousand years 
 or so, to his name and place and glory. Sakka can call to mind his expe- 
 riences in his former birth, a gift in which he surpasses most other beings. 
 He was also given to a kind of practical joking, by which he tempted people, 
 and has become a mere beneficent fairy. 
 
 2 That is, infantry, cavalry, chariots of war, and elephants of war. Truly 
 a useful kind of present to give to a pious hermit ! 
 
xviii DADHI-VAHAMI JATAKA. 
 
 So he gave him the drum ; and went to the third 
 hermit, and asked, " Reverend Sir, what are you in need 
 of?" 
 
 He was also affected with jaundice, and said, therefore, 
 " I want sour milk." 
 
 Sakka gave him a milk-bowl, and said, " If you wish 
 for anything, and turn this bowl over, it will become a 
 great river, and pour out such a torrent, that it will be 
 able to take a kingdom, and give it to )'ou." 
 
 And Sakka went away. But thenceforward the hatchet 
 made fire for the eldest hermit ; when the second struck 
 one side of his drum, the elephants ran away ; and the 
 third enjoyed his curds. 
 
 ]^ow at that time a wild boar, straying in a forsaken 
 village, saw a gem of magical power. When he seized 
 this in his mouth, he rose by its magic into the air, and 
 went to an island in the midst of the ocean. And think- 
 ing, " Here now I ought to live," he descended, and took 
 up his abode in a convenient spot under an Udumbara-tree. 
 And one day, placing the gem before him, he fell asleep 
 at the foot of the tree. 
 
 Now a certain man of the land of Kasi had been ex- 
 pelled from home by his parents, who said, " This fellow 
 is of no use to us." So he went to a seaport, and em- 
 barked in a ship as a servant to the sailors. And the 
 ship was wrecked ; but by the help of a plank he reached 
 that very island. And while he was looking about for 
 fruits, he saw the boar asleep ; and going softly up, he 
 took hold of the gem. 
 
 Then by its magical power he straightway rose right 
 up into the air ! So, taking a seat on the Udumbara-tree, 
 he said to himself, "Methinks this boar must have become 
 
SAKKA'S PRESENTS. xix 
 
 a sky-walker througli the magic power of this gem. 
 That's how he got to be living here ! It's plain enough 
 ■what I ought to do ; I'U first of all kill and eat him, and 
 then I can get away ! " 
 
 So he broke a twig ofi' the tree, and dropped it on his 
 head. The boar woke up, and not seeing the gem, ran 
 about, trembling, this way and that way. The man 
 seated on the tree laughed. The boar, looking up, saw 
 him, and dashing his head against the tree, died on the 
 spot. 
 
 But the man descended, cooked his flesh, ate it, and 
 rose into the air. And as he was passing along the 
 summit of the Himalaya range, he saw a hermitage ; and 
 descending at the hut of the eldest hermit, he stayed 
 there two or three days, and waited on the hermit ; and 
 thus became aware of the magic power of the hatchet. 
 
 " I must get that," thought he. And he showed the 
 hermit the magic power of his gem, and said, "Sir, do 
 you take this, and give me your hatchet." The ascetic, 
 full of longing to be able to fly through the air,' did so. 
 But the man, taking the hatchet, went a little way off', 
 and letting it go, said, " hatchet ! cut off' that hermit's 
 head, and bring the gem to me ! " And it went, and cut 
 off the hermit's head, and brought him the gem. 
 
 Then he put the hatchet in a secret place, and went to 
 the second hermit, and stayed there a few days. And 
 having thus become aware of the magic power of the 
 drum, he exchanged the gem for the drimi ; and cut off 
 his. head too in the same way as before. 
 
 1 The power of going through the air is usually considered in Indian 
 legends to be the result, and -■<. proof, of great holiness and long-continued 
 penance. So the hermit thought he would get a fine reputation cheaply. 
 
XX DADHI-VAHANI JATAKA. 
 
 Then he ■went to the third hermit, and saw the magic 
 power of the milk-bowl ; and exchanging the gem for it, 
 caused his head to be cut off in the same manner. And 
 taking the Gem, and the Hatchet, and the Drum, and 
 the Milk-bowl, he flew away up into the air. 
 
 Not far from the city of Benares he stopped, and sent 
 by the hand of a man a letter to the king of Benares 
 to this effect, "Either do battle, or give me up your 
 kingdom ! " 
 
 No sooner had he heard that message, than the king 
 sallied forth, saying, " Let us catch the scoundrel ! " 
 
 But the man beat one side of his drum, and a fourfold 
 army stood around him ! And directly he saw that the 
 king's army was drawn out in battle array, he poured out 
 his milk-bowl ; and a mighty river arose, and the multi- 
 tude, sinking down in it, were not able to escape ! Then 
 letting go the hatchet, he said, "Bring me the king's 
 head ! " And the hatchet went, and brought the king's 
 head, and threw it at his feet ; and no one had time even 
 to raise a weapon ! 
 
 Then he entered the city in the midst of his great 
 army, and caused himself to be anointed king, under the 
 name of Dadhi-vahana (The Lord of Milk), and governed 
 the kingdom with righteousness.' 
 
 The story goes on to relate how the king planted a 
 wonderful mango, how the sweetness of its fruit turned 
 to sourness through the too-close proximity of bitter 
 
 > Compare Maha-biarata, xii. 1796. 
 
SURVIVAL OF OLD BELIEFS. xxi 
 
 herbs, (!) and how the Bodisat, then the king's minister, 
 pointed out that evil communications corrupt good 
 things. But it is the portion above translated which 
 deserves notice as the most ancient example known of 
 those tales in which' inanimate objects are endowed with 
 magical powers ; and in which the Seven League Boots, 
 or the Wishing Cup, or the Vanishing Hat, or the Won- 
 derful Lamp, render their fortunate possessors happy and 
 glorious. There is a very tragical story of a Wishing 
 Cup in the Buddhist Collection,^ where the Wishing 
 Cup, however, is turned into ridicule. It is not un- 
 pleasant to find that beliefs akin to, and perhaps the 
 result of, fetish- worship, had faded away, among Buddhist 
 story-tellers, into sources of innocent amusement. 
 
 In this curious tale the Hatchet, the Drum, and the 
 Milk-bowl are endowed with qualities much more fit 
 for the use they were put to in the latter part of the 
 story, than to satisfy the wants of the hermits. It is 
 common ground, with satirists how little, save sorrow, 
 men would gain if they could have anything they chose 
 to ask for. But, unlike the others we have quoted, the 
 tale in its present shape has a flavour distinctively Budd- 
 hist in the irreverent way in which it treats the great 
 god Sakka, the Jupiter of the pre-Buddhistic Hindus. It 
 takes for granted, too, that the hero ruled in righteous- 
 
 1 FausboU, K"o. 291. 
 
xxii RAJOVADA JATAKA. 
 
 ness ; and this is as coinmoa in the Jatakas, as the 
 ' lived happily ever after ' of modern love stories. 
 
 This last idea recurs more strongly in the Birth Story 
 called 
 
 A Lesson for Kings. 
 RAJOVADA JATAKA. 
 
 (Fausboll, No. 151.) 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in 
 Benares, the future Buddha returned to life in the womb 
 of his chief queen; and after the conception ceremony 
 had been performed, he was safely bom. And when the 
 day came for choosing a name, they called him Prince 
 Brahma-datta. He grew up in due course ; and when he 
 was sixteen years old, went to Takkasila,^ and became 
 accomplished in all arts. And after his father died he 
 ascended the throne, and ruled the kingdom with 
 righteousness and equity. He gave judgments without 
 partiality, hatred, ignorance, or fear.^ Since he thus 
 reigned with justice, with justice also his ministers ad- 
 ministered the law. ' Lawsuits being thus decided with 
 justice, there were none who brought false cases.' And 
 as these ceased, the noise and tumult of litigation ceased 
 in the king's court. Though the judges sat all day in 
 
 1 This is the well-known town in the Panjab caUed by the Greeks Taxila, 
 and famed in Buddhist legend as the great university of ancient India, as 
 Nalanda was in later times. 
 
 ■' Literally " without ])artiality and the rest," that is, the rest of the agatis, 
 the actions forbidden to judges (and to kings as judges). 
 
A LESSON FOR KINGS. xxiii 
 
 the court, they liad to leave without any one coming for 
 justice. It came to this, that the Hall of Justice would 
 have to be closed ! 
 
 Then the future Buddha thought, " From my reigning 
 with righteousness there are none who come for judg- 
 ment ; the bustle has ceased, and the Hall of Justice will 
 have to be closed. It behoves me, therefore, now to 
 examine into my own faults ; and if I find that anything 
 is wrong in me, to put that away, and practise only 
 virtue." 
 
 Thenceforth he sought for some one to teU him his 
 faults ; but among those around him he found no one 
 who woidd tell him of any fault, but heard only his own 
 praise. 
 
 Then he thought, "It is from fear of me that these 
 men speak only good things, and not evil things," and 
 he sought among those people who lived outside the 
 palace. And finding no fault-finder there, he sought 
 among those who lived outside the city, in the suburbs, 
 at the four gates. ^ And there too finding no one to find 
 fault, and hearing only his own praise, he determined 
 to search the country places. 
 
 So he made over the kingdom to his ministers, and 
 mounted his chariot ; and taking only his charioteer, 
 left the city in disguise. And searching the country 
 through, up to the very boundary, he found no fault- 
 finder, and heard only of his own virtue; and so he 
 turned back from the outermost boundary, and returned 
 by the high road towards the city. 
 
 ISTow at that time the king of Kosala, Mallika by name, 
 
 ' The gates opening towards the four "directions," that is, the four 
 cardinal points ot the compass. , 
 
xxiv RAJOVADA JATAKA. 
 
 was also ruling Ms kingdom with righteousness; and 
 when seeking for some fault in himself, he also found no 
 fault-finder in the palace, but only heard of his own 
 virtue ! So seeking in country places, he too came to 
 that very spot. And these two came face to face in a low 
 cart-track with precipitous sides, where there was no 
 space for a chariot to get out of the way ! 
 
 Then the charioteer of Mallika the king said to the 
 charioteer of the king of Benares, " Take thy chariot out 
 of the way ! " 
 
 But he said, "Take thy chariot out of the way, O 
 charioteer ! In this chariot sitteth the lord over the 
 kingdom of Benares, the great king Brahma-datta." 
 
 Yet the other replied, " In this chariot, O charioteer, 
 sitteth the lord over the kingdom of Kosala, the great 
 king Mallika. Take thy carriage out of the way, and 
 make room for the chariot of our king ! " 
 
 Then the charioteer of the king of Benares thought, 
 " They say then that he too is a king ! What is now to 
 be done ? " After some consideration, he said to himself, 
 " I know a way. I'll find out how old he is, and then 
 I'll let the chariot of the younger be got out of the way, 
 and so make room for the elder." 
 
 And when he had arrived at that conclusion, he asked 
 that charioteer what the age of the king of Kosala was. 
 But on inquiry he found that the ages of both were equal. 
 Then he inquired about the extent of his kingdom, and 
 about his army, and his wealth, and his renown, and 
 about the coimtry he lived in, and his caste and tribe and 
 family. And he found that both were lords of a kingdom 
 three hundred leagues in extent ; and that in respect of 
 army and wealth and renown, and the countries in which 
 
A LESSON FOU KINGS. xxv 
 
 they lived, and their caste and their tribe and their 
 family, they were just on a par ! 
 
 Then he thought, "I will make way for the most 
 righteous." And he asked, "What kind of righteousness 
 has this king of yours ? " 
 
 And the other saying, " Such and such is our king's 
 righteousness," and so proclaiming his kiag's wickedness 
 as goodness, uttered the First Stanza : 
 
 The strong he overthrows by strength. 
 The mild by mildness, does MaUika ; 
 The good he conquers by goodness, 
 And the wicked by wickedness too. 
 
 Such is the nature of this king ! 
 
 Move out of the way, charioteer ! 
 
 But the charioteer of the king of Benares asked him, 
 " WeU, have you told all the virtues of your king ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the other. 
 
 " If these are his virtues, where are then his faults ? " 
 replied he. 
 
 The other said, "Well, for the nonce, they shall be 
 faults, if you like ! But pray, then, what is the kind of 
 goodness your king has ? " 
 
 An d then the charioteer of the king of Benares called 
 unto him to hearken, and uttered the Second Stanza: 
 
 Anger he conquers by calmness, 
 And by goodness the wicked ; 
 The stingy he conquers by gifts. 
 And by truth the speaker of lies. 
 
 Such is the nature of this king ! 
 
 Move out of the way, charioteer ! " 
 
 And when he had thus spoken, both Mallika the king 
 
xxvi KAJOVADA JATAKA. 
 
 and his charioteer alighted from their chariot. And they 
 took out the horses, and removed their chariot, and made 
 way for the king of Benares ! 
 
 But the king of Benares exhorted Mallika the king, 
 saying, " Thus and thus is it right to do." And returning 
 to Benares, he practised charity, and did other good 
 deeds, and so when his life was ended he passed away 
 to heaven. 
 
 And Mallika the king took his exhortation to heart; 
 and having in vain searched the country through for a 
 fault-finder, he too returned to his own city, and prac- 
 tised charity and other good deeds; and so at the end 
 of his life he went to heaven. 
 
 The mixture in this Jataka of earnestness with dry 
 humour is very instructive. The exaggeration in the 
 earlier part of the story ; ^the hint that law depends in 
 reality on false cases /the suggestion that to decide cases 
 justly would by itself put an end, not only to ' the 
 block in the law courts,' but even to all lawsuits; the 
 way in which it is brought about that two mighty kings 
 should meet, unattended, in a narrow lane ; the clever- 
 ness of the first charioteer in getting out of his diffi- 
 culties ; the brand-new method of settling the delicate 
 question of precedence — a method which, logically carried 
 out, would destroy the necessity of such questions being 
 raised at all; — all this is the amusing side of the 
 
A LESSON FOR KINGS. xxvii 
 
 Jataka. It throws, and is meant to throw, an air of 
 unreality over the story; and it is none the less humour 
 because it is left to be inferred, because it is only an 
 aroma which might easily escape unnoticed, only the 
 humour of naive absurdity and of clever repartee. 
 
 But none the less also is the story-teller thoroughly 
 in earnest ; he really means that justice is noble, that 
 to conquer evil by good is the right thing, and that 
 goodness is the true measure of greatness. The object 
 is edification also, and not amusement only. The lesson 
 itself is quite Buddhistic. The first four lines of the 
 Second Moral are indeed included, as verse 223, in the 
 Dhammapada or 'Scripture Verses,' perhaps the most 
 sacred and most widely-read book of the Buddhist Bible ; 
 and the distinction between the two ideals of virtue is in 
 harmony with all Buddhist ethics. It is by no means, 
 however, exclusively Buddhistic. It gives expression to 
 an idea that would be consistent with most of the later 
 religions ; and is found also in the great Hindu Epic, the 
 Maha Bharata, which has been called the Bible of the 
 Hindus.^ It is true that further on in the same poem is 
 found the opposite sentiment, attributed in our story to 
 the king of Mallika ; ^ and that the higher teaching is 
 in one of the latest portions of the Maha Bharata, and 
 
 ' Maha Bharata, v. 1618. Another passage at iii. 13253 is very similar. 
 * Maha Bharata, xii. 40^2. See Dr. Muir's "Metrical Translations from 
 Sanskrit Writers" (1879), pp. xxii, 88, 275, 356. 
 
xxviii OVERCOMING EVIL BY GOOD. 
 
 probably of Buddhist origin. But when we find that 
 the Buddhist principle of overcoming evil by good was 
 received, as well as its opposite, into the Hindu poem, 
 it is clear that this lofty doctrine was by no means re- 
 pugnant to the best among the Brahmans.' 
 
 It is to be regretted that some writers on Buddhism 
 have been led away by their just admiration for the 
 noble teaching of Gotama into an unjust depreciation 
 of the religious system of which his own was, after all, 
 but the highest product and result. There were doubt- 
 less among the Brahmans uncompromising advocates 
 of the worst privileges of caste, of the most debasing 
 belief in the efficacy of rites and ceremonies ; but this 
 verse is only one among many others which are in- 
 contestable evidence of the wide prevalence also of a 
 spirit of justice, and of an earnest seeking after truth. 
 It is, in fact, inaccurate to draw any hard-and-fast line 
 between the Indian Buddhists and their countrymen 
 of other faiths. After the first glow of the Buddhist 
 reformation had passed away, there was probably as 
 little difierence between Buddhist and Hindu as there 
 was between the two kings in the story which has just 
 been told. 
 
 1 SimUar passages will also be foimd in Lao Tse, Douglas's Confucian- 
 ism, etc., p. 197; Pancha Tantra, i. 247 (277) =iv. 72; in Stobajus, quoted 
 by Mmr, p. 3o6 ; and in St. Matthew, v. 44-46 ; wbereas the Mallika 
 doctrine is inculcated by Confucius (Legge, Chinese Classics, i. 162). 
 
THE KALILAG AND DAMNAG LITERATURE. 
 
 Among tlie otlier points of similarity between Buddhists 
 and Hindus, tliere is one which, deserves more especial 
 mention here, — that of their liking for the kind of 
 moral-comic tales which form the bulk of the Buddhist 
 Birth Stories. That this partialit}' was by no means 
 confined to the Buddhists is apparent from the fact 
 that books of such tales have been amongst the most 
 favourite literature of the Hindus. And this is the 
 more interesting to us, as it is these Hindu collections 
 that have most nearly preserved the form in which 
 many of the Indian stories have been carried to the 
 West. 
 
 The oldest of the collections now extant is the one 
 already referred to, the Pancha Tantra, that is, the 
 'Five Books,' a kind of Hindu 'Pentateuch' or 'Pen- 
 tamerone.' In its earliest form this work is unfor- 
 tunately no longer extant ; but in the sixth century 
 of our era a book very much like it formed part of a 
 work translated into Pahlavi, or Ancient Persian; and 
 thence, about 750 a.d., into Syriac, under the title 
 of 'Kalilag and Damn AG,' and into Arabic under the 
 title 'Kalilah and Dimnah.'' 
 
 ' The names are corruptions of the Indian names of the two jackals, 
 Karatak and Damanak, who take a principal part in the first of the fables. 
 
XXX THE KALILAG A AW 
 
 These tales, though originally Buddhist, became great 
 favourites among the Arabs ; and as the Arabs were 
 gradually brought into contact with Europeans, and 
 penetrated into the South of Europe, they brought the 
 stories with them ; and we soon afterwards find them 
 translated into "Western tongues. It would be impos- 
 sible within the limits of this preface to set out in fuU 
 detail the intricate literary history involved in this 
 statement; and while I must refer the student to the 
 Tables appended to this Introduction for fuller infor- 
 mation, I can only give here a short summary of the 
 principal facts. 
 
 It is curious to notice that it was the Jews to whom 
 we owe the earliest versi ons. Whilst their mercantile 
 pursuits took them much amongst the followers of the 
 Prophet, and the comparative nearness of their religious 
 beliefs led to a freer intercourse than was usually pos- 
 sible between Christians and Moslems, they were natu- 
 rally attracted by a kind of literature such as this — 
 (Oriental in morality, amusing in style, and perfectly 
 free from Christian legend and from Christian dogma) 
 It was also the kind of literature which travellers would 
 most easily become acquainted with, and we need not 
 therefore be surprised to hear that a Jew, named Symeon 
 Seth, about 1080 a.d., made the first translation into a 
 European language, viz. into modern Greek. Another 
 
DAMNAG LITERATURE. xxxi 
 
 Jew, about 1250, made a translation of a sliglitly 
 different recension of the ' Kalilali and Dimnah ' into 
 Hebrew ; and a third, John of Capua, turned this 
 Hebrew version into Latin between 1263 and 1278. 
 At about the same time as the Hebrew version, another 
 was made direct from the Arabic into Spanish, and 
 a fifth into Latin ; and from these five versions trans- 
 lations were afterwards made into German, Italian, 
 French, and English. 
 
 The title of the second Latin version just mentioned 
 is very striking — it is "^sop the Old." To the trans- 
 lator, Baldo, it evidently seemed quite in order to ascribe 
 these new stories to the traditional teller of similar stories 
 in ancient times ; just as witty sayings of more modern 
 times have been collected into books ascribed to the once 
 venerable Joe Miller. Baldo was neither sufiiciently 
 enlightened to consider a good story the worse for being 
 an old one, nor sufficiently scrupulous to hesitate at 
 giving his new book the advantage.it would gain from 
 its connexion with a well-known name. 
 
 Is it true, then, that the so-called ^sop's Fables — 
 so popular stiU, in spite of many rivals, among our 
 Western children — are merely adaptations from tales 
 invented long ago to please and to instruct the child- 
 like people of the East ? I think I can give an answer, 
 though not a complete answer, to the question. 
 
xxxii ORIGLV OF ^SOP'S FABLES. 
 
 ^sop himself is several times mentioned in classical 
 literature, and always as the teller of stories or fables. 
 Thus Plato says that Socrates in his imprisonment occu- 
 pied himself by turning the stories (literally myths) of 
 ^sop into verse : ^ Aristophanes four times refers to 
 his tales :^ and Aristotle quotes in one form a fable of 
 his, which Lucian quotes in another.' In accordance 
 with these references, classical historians fix the date 
 of ^sop in the sixth century B.C.;* but some modern 
 critics, reljdng on the vagueness and inconsistency of 
 the traditions, have denied his existence altogether. 
 This is, perhaps, pushing scepticism too far ; but it maj^ 
 be admitted that he left no written works, and it is quite 
 certain that if he did, they have been irretrievably lost. 
 
 Notwithstanding this, a learned monk of Constan- 
 tinople, named Planudes, and the author also of 
 numerous other works, did not hesitate, in the first half 
 of the fourteenth century, to write a work which he 
 called a collection of -3ilsop's Fables. This was first 
 printed at Milan at the end of the fifteenth century ; 
 
 ■ Phsedo, p. 61. Comp. Bentlej, Dissertation on the Fables of J2sop, 
 p. 136. 
 
 ' Vespse, 566, 1259, 1401, and foil. ; and Aves, 651 and foil. 
 
 ' Arist. de part, anim., ui. 2 ; Lucian Nigr., 32. 
 
 ' Herodotus (ii. 134) makes lum contemporary with King Amasis of Egypt, 
 the beginning of whose reign is placed in 569 B.C. ; Plutarch (Sept. Sap. 
 Conv., 152) makes him contemporary with Solon, who is reputed to have 
 been bom in 638 B.C. ; and Diogenes Lacrtius (i. 72) says that he flourished 
 about the fifty-second Olympiad, i.e. 672-569 u.c. Compare Clinton, Fast. 
 Hell. L 237 (under the year B.C. 572) and i. 239 (under u.c. 634). 
 
ORIGIN OF ^SOP'S FABLES. xxxiii 
 
 and two otter supplementary collections have subse- 
 quently appeared. 1 Prom ttese, and especially from 
 the work of Planudes, aU our so-called iEsop's Fables 
 are derived. 
 
 "S^Hience then did Planudes and his fellow-labourers 
 draw their tales? This cannot be completely answered 
 till the source of each one of them shall have been clearly 
 found, and this has not yet been completely done. But 
 Oriental and classical scholars have already traced a 
 goodly number of them ; and the general results of their 
 investigations may be shortly stated. 
 
 Babeius, a Greek poet, who probably lived in the 
 first century before Christ, wrote in verse a number of 
 fables, of which a few fragments were known in the 
 Middle Ages.^ The complete work was fortimately 
 discovered by Mjmas, in the year 1824, at Mount Athos ; 
 and both Bentley and Tyrwhitt from the fragments, and 
 Sir George Cornewall Lewis in his weU-known edition 
 of the whole work, have shown that several of Planudes' 
 Fables are also to be found in Babrius.' 
 
 ' One at Heidelberg in 1610, and the other at Paris- in 1810. There is a 
 complete edition of all these fables, 231 in number, by T. Gl. Schneider, 
 Breslan, 1812. 
 
 2 See the editions by De Furia, Florence, 1809 ; Schneider, in an ap- 
 pendix to his edition of JEsop's Fables, Breslan, 1812; Berger, Miinchen, 
 1816; Xnoch, Halle, 1835; and Lewis, Philolog. Museum^ 1832, i. 280- 
 304. 
 
 3 Bentley, loc. cit. ; Tyrwhitt, De Babrio, etc., Lond., 1776. The editions 
 of the newly-found MS. are by Lachinann, 1845 ; Orelli and Baiter, 1845 ; 
 6-'. C. Lewis, 1846 ; and Schneidewin, 1853. 
 
 VOL. 1. d 
 
xxxiv ORIGIN OF ^SOP'S FABLES. 
 
 It is possible, also, that the ^sopean fables of the 
 Latin poet PhjEDrus, who in the title of his work calls 
 himself a f reedman of Augustus, were known to Planudes. 
 But the work of Pha3drus, which is based on that of 
 Babrius, existed only in very rare MSS. tiU the end 
 of the sixteenth century,' and may therefore have easily 
 escaped the notice of Planudes. 
 
 On the other hand, we have seen that versions of 
 Buddhist Birth Stories, and other Indian tales, had 
 appeared in Europe before the time of Planudes in Greek, 
 Latin, Hebrew, and Spanish ; and many of his stories 
 have been clearly traced back to this source.^ Further, as 
 I shall presently show, some of the fables of Babrius 
 and Phsedrus, found in Planudes, were possibly de- 
 rived by those authors from Buddhist sources. And 
 lastly, other versions of the Jatakas, besides those which 
 have been mentioned as coming through the Arabs, had 
 reached Europe long before the time of Planudes ; and 
 some more of his stories have been traced back to 
 Buddhist sources through these channels also. 
 
 ' It was first edited by Pithou, in 1596; also by Orelli, Ziiricb, 1831. 
 Comp. Oesterley, ' Phiedrus iind die ^sop. Fabel im Mittelalter.' 
 
 * By Silvestre de Sacy, in his edition of Kalilali and Dinmah, Paris, 1816 ; 
 Zoiseleur Beshngchamps, in his ' Essai sur les Fables Indiennes, et sur leur 
 Introd. en Europe,' Paris, 1838 ; Professor Benfey, in his edition of the 
 Pafica Tantra, Leipzig, 1859 ; Professor Max Miller, ' On the Migration of 
 Fables,' Contemporary Review, July, 1870; Professor Weber, 'Ueber den 
 Zusammenha.ng indischer Fabeln mit Griechischeu,' Indische Studien, iii. 
 337 and foil. ; Acblf Wagener, 'Essai sur les rapports entre les apologues 
 de rinde et de la Grfece,' 1853; OUo Keller, ' IJeber die Geschichte der 
 Griechischeu Fabeln,' 1862. 
 
ORIGIN OF ^SOP'S FABLES. xxxv 
 
 What is at present known, then, with respect to the 
 so-called ^sop's fables, amounts to this — that none of 
 them are really ^Esopean at all ; that the collection was 
 first formed in the Middle Ages; that a large number 
 of them have been already traced back, in various waj's, 
 to our Buddhist Jataka book ; and that almost the whole 
 of them are probably derived, in one way or another, 
 from Indian sources. 
 
 It is perhaps worthy of mention, as a fitting close to 
 the history of the so-called ^sop's Fables, that those 
 of his stories which Planudes borrowed indirectly from 
 India have at length been restored to their original 
 home, and bid fair to be popular even in this much- 
 altered form. Tor not only has an Englishman transr 
 lated a few of them into several of the many languages 
 spoken in the great continent of India,^ but Narayan 
 Balkrishna Godpole, B.A., one of the Masters of the 
 Government High School at Ahmadnagar, has lately 
 published a second edition of his translation into Sanskrit 
 of the common English version of the successful spurious 
 compilation of the old monk of Constantinople ! 
 
 ' J. Gilchrist, ' The Oriental Fabulist, or Polyglot Translations of ^sop's 
 and other Ancient Fables from the English Language into Hindustani, 
 Persian, Arabic, Bhakka, Bongla, Sanscrit, etc., in the Roman Character,' 
 Calcutta, 1803. 
 
THE BAELAAM AND JOSAPHAT LITERATURE. 
 
 A complete answer to the question with which the last 
 digression started can only be given when each one of 
 the two hundred and thirty-one fables of Planudes and 
 his successors shall have been traced back to its original 
 author. But — whatever that complete answer may be — 
 the discoveries just pointed out are at least most strange 
 and most instructive. And yet, if I mistake not, the 
 history of the Jataka Book contains hidden amongst its 
 details a fact more unexpected and more striking still. 
 
 In the eighth century the Khalif of Bagdad was that 
 Almansur at whose court was written the Arabic book 
 KaHlali and Dimnah, afterwards translated by the learned 
 Jews I have mentioned into Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. 
 A Christian, high in office at his court, afterwards became 
 a monk, and is well known, under the name of St. John 
 of Damascus, as the author in Greek of many theological 
 works in defence of the orthodox faith. Among these 
 is a religious romance called 'Barlaam and Joasaph,' 
 giving the history of an Indian prince who was converted 
 by Barlaam and became a hermit. This history, the 
 reader wiU be surprised to learn, is taken from the Kfe 
 of the Buddha; and Joasaph is merely the Buddha 
 under another name, the word Joasaph, or Josapbat, being 
 
BARLAAM AND JOS A PH AT. xxxvii 
 
 simply a corruption of the word Bodisat, that title of the 
 future Buddha so constantly repeated in the Buddhist 
 Birth Stories.^ Now a life of the Buddha forms the intro- 
 duction to our Jataka Book, and St. John's romance also 
 contains a number of fables and stories, most of which 
 have been traced back to the same source.^ 
 
 This book, the first religious romance published in 
 a Western language, became very popular indeed, and, 
 like the Arabic Kalilah and Dimnah, was translated into 
 many other European languages. It exists in Latin, 
 French, Italian, Spanish, German, English, Swedish, 
 and Dutch. This wlU show how widely it was read, 
 and how much its moral tone pleased the taste of the 
 Middle Ages. It was also translated as early as 1204 
 into Icelandic, and has even been pubKshed in the 
 Spanish dialect used in the Philippine Islands ! 
 
 Now it was a very ancient custom among Christians 
 to recite at the most sacred part of their most sacred 
 service (in the so-called Canon of the Mass, immediately 
 
 ' Joasaph is in Arabic 'written also TSdasatf ; and this, tlirougii a confu- 
 sion between the Arabic letters Y and B, is for Bodisat. See, for the history 
 of these changes, Eeiaaud, ' Memoire snr I'lnde,' 1849, p. 91 ; quoted with 
 approbation by Weber, ' Indische Streifen,' iii. 57. 
 
 ■^ The Buddhist origin was first pointed out by Laboulaye in the Bebais, 
 July, 1859 ; and more fully by Liebrecht, in the ' Jahrbuch fiir romanische 
 und englische Literatur,' 1860. See also Littre, JourTial des Sava?is, 1865, 
 who fiJly discusses, and decides in favour of the romance being really the 
 work of St. John of Damascus. I hope, in a future volume, to publish a 
 complete analysis of St. John's work ; pointano; out the resemblances between 
 it and the Buddhist Kves of Gotama, and givmg parallel passages wherever 
 the Greek adopts, not only the Buddhist ideas, but also Buddhist expressions. 
 
xxxviii MEANING OF CANONIZATION. 
 
 before the consecration of the Host) the names of deceased 
 saints and martyrs. Religious men of local celebrity- 
 were inserted for this purpose in local lists, called 
 Diptychs, and names universally honoured throughout 
 Christendom appeared in all such catalogues. The con- 
 fessors and martyrs so honoured are now said to be 
 canonized, that is, they have become enrolled among the 
 number of Christian saiats mentioned in the ' Canon,' 
 whom it is the duty of every Catholic to revere, whose 
 intercession may be invoked, who may be chosen as 
 patron saints, and in whose honour images and altars 
 and chapels may be set up."- 
 
 For a long time it was permitted to the local eccle- 
 siastics to continue the custom of inserting such names 
 in their 'Diptychs,' but about 1170 a decretal of Pope 
 Alexander III. confined the power of canonization, as 
 far as the Roman Catholics were concerned,^ to the 
 Pope himself. From the different Diptychs various 
 martyrologies, or lists of persons so to be commemorated 
 in the 'Canon,' were composed to supply the place of 
 the merely local lists or Diptychs. For as time went 
 on, it began to be considered more and more improper 
 
 ' Pope Senedict XIV. in 'De Bervonun Dei beatificatione et Ijeatorum 
 canonisatione,' lib. i. cap. 45; Segnier, 'De ecclesia Christi,' in Migne's 
 Theol. Curs. Compl. iv. 710. 
 
 ' Decret. Greg., Lib. iii. Tit. xlvi., confirmed and explained by decrees of 
 Urban VIII. (13th March, 1625, and 5th July, 1634) and of Alexander VII. 
 (1659). 
 
AUTHORIZED MARTYROLOGY. xxxix 
 
 to insert new names in so sacred a part of the Churcli 
 prayers ; and the old names being well known, the 
 Diptychs fell into disuse. The names in the Martyr- 
 ologies were at last no longer inserted in the Canon, 
 but are repeated in the service called the ' Prime ' ; 
 though the term ' canonized ' Was still used of the 
 holy men mentioned in them. And when the increasing 
 number of such Martyrologies threatened to lead to 
 confusion, and to throw doubt on the exclusive power 
 of the Popes to canonize. Pope Sixtus the Fifth 
 (1585-1590) authorized a particular Martyrologium, 
 drawn up by Cardinal Baronius, to be used throughout 
 the Western Church. In that work are included not 
 only the saints first canonized at Rome, but all those 
 who, having been already canonized elsewhere, were 
 then acknowledged by the Pope and the College of 
 Rites to be saints of the Catholic Church of Christ. 
 Among such, under the date of the 27th of November, 
 are included " The holy Saints Barlaam and Josaphat, 
 of India, on the borders of Persia, whose wonderful 
 acts Saint John of Damascus has described."' 
 
 Where and when they were first canonized, I have 
 been unable, in spite of much investigation, to ascer- 
 tain. Petrus de Natalibus, who was Bishop of Equilium, 
 
 ' p. 177 of the edition of 1873, bearing the official approval of Pope 
 Pius IX., or p. 803 of the Cologne edition of 1610. 
 
xl THE BUDDHA AS ST. JOSAPHAT 
 
 the modern Jesolo, near Venice, from 1370 to 1400, -wrote 
 a Martyrology called ' Catalogus Sanctorum ' ; and in 
 it, among the ' saints,' lie inserts both Barlaam and 
 Josaphat, giving also a short account of them derived 
 from the old Latin translation of St. John of Damascus.' 
 It is from this work that Baronius, the compiler of the 
 authorized Martyrology now in use, took over the names 
 of these two saints, Barlaam and Josaphat. But, so far 
 as I have been able to ascertain, they do not occur in 
 any martyrologies or lists of saints of the Western 
 Church older than that of Petrus de NataHbus. 
 
 In the correspondiag m.anual of worship still used in 
 the Greek Church, however, we find, under August 26, 
 the name ' of the holy losaph, son of Abener, king 
 of India.' ^ Barlaam is not mentioned, and is not there- 
 fore recognized as a saint in the Greek Church. No 
 history is added to the simple statement I have quoted ; 
 and I do not know on what authority it rests. But 
 there is no doubt that it is in the East, and probably 
 among the records of the ancient church of Syria, that 
 a final solution of this question should be sought.^ 
 
 Some of the more learned of the numerous writers 
 
 ' Cat. Sauct., Leyden ed. 1542, p. cliii. 
 
 ' p. IGO of the part for the month of August of the authorized Miji/oTov of 
 the Greek Church, published at ConsfantLnople, 1843: "ToS balov 'laaa-a^, 
 vlov *Afief}ip rod ^a<rt\€a)S Trjs 'IcS/as." 
 
 ^ For the information in the last three pages I am chiefly indebted to my 
 father, the Rev. T. W. Davids, without whose generous aid I should not have 
 attempted to touch this obscure and difficult question. 
 
IS A CATHOUC SAIMT. xli 
 
 who translated or composed new works on the basis of 
 the story of Josaphat, have pointed out in their notes 
 that he had been canonized ;■■ and the hero of the 
 romance is usually called St. Josaphat in the titles of 
 these works, as wiU be seen from the Table of the 
 Josaphat Kterature below. But Professor Liebrecht, 
 when identifying Josaphat with the Buddha, took no 
 notice of this; and it was Professor Max Miiller, who 
 has done so much to infuse the glow of life into the 
 dry bones of Oriental scholarship, who first pointed out 
 the strange fact — almost incredible, were it not for the 
 completeness of the proof — that Gotama the Buddha, 
 under the name of St. Josaphat, is now ofilcially recog- 
 nized and honoured and worshipped throughout the 
 whole of Catholic Christendom as a Christian saint! 
 
 I have now followed the Western history of the 
 Buddhist Book of Birth Stories along two channels 
 only. Space would fail me, and the reader's patience 
 perhaps too, if I attempted to do more. But I m.ay 
 mention that the inquiry is not by any means ex- 
 hausted. A learned Italian has proved that a good 
 many of the stories of the hero known throughout 
 Europe as Sinbad the Sailor are derived from the same 
 inexhaustible treasury of stories witty and wise ; ^ and a 
 
 1 Sec, for instance, BiUius, and the Italian Editor of 1734. 
 ' Comparetti, ' Eicerche intome al Libro di Sindibad,' Milano, 1869. 
 Compare Landsberger, ' Die Fabeln des Sophos,' Posen, 1859. 
 
xlii MIGRATION OF BUDDHIST TALES. 
 
 similar remark applies also to other well-known Tales 
 included in the Arabian JSTights.^ La Fontaine, whose 
 charming versions of the Fables are so deservedly ad- 
 mired, openly acknowledges his indebtedness to the 
 French versions of KaHlah and Dimnah ; and Professor 
 Benfey and others have traced the same stories, or 
 ideas drawn from them, to Poggio, Boccaccio, Gower, 
 Chaucer, Spenser, and many other later writers. ■ Thus, 
 for instance, the three caskets and the pound of flesh 
 in 'The Merchant of Yenice,' and the precious jewel 
 which in 'As You Like It' the venomous toad wears 
 in his head,^ are derived from the Buddhist tales. In 
 a similar way it has been shown that tales current 
 among the Hungarians and the nxunerous , peoples of 
 Slavonic race have been derived from Buddhist sources, 
 through translations made by or for the Huns, who 
 penetrated in the time of Genghis Khan into the East 
 of Europe.^ And finally yet other Indian tales, not 
 included in the Kalilag and Damnag literature, have 
 been brought ruto the opposite comer of Europe, by 
 the Arabs of Spain.* 
 
 ' See Benfey, Pantscha Tantra, vol. i., Introduction, passim. 
 
 ^ Actii. scene 1. Professor Benfey, in his Pantscha Tantra, i. 213-220, 
 has traced this idea far and wide. Dr. Dennys, in his 'Folklore of China,' 
 gives the Chinese Buddhist version of it. 
 
 3 See Benfey's Introduction to Pafica Tantra, §§ 36, 39, 71, 92, 166, 186. 
 Mr. EaMon's forthcoming translation of Tibetan stories mil throw further 
 light on this, at present, rather obscure subject. 
 
 * See, for example, the Fable translated below, pp. 275-278. 
 
CREEK AND BUDDHIST FABLES. xliii 
 
 There is onljr one other point on which a few words 
 should be said. I have purposelj^ chosen as specimens 
 one Buddhist Birth Story similar to the Judgment of 
 Solomon ; two which are found also in Babrius ; and 
 one which is found also in Phsedrus. How are these 
 similarities, on which the later history of Indian Fables 
 throws no light, to be explained ? 
 
 As regards the cases of Babrius and Phsedrus, it can 
 only be said that the Greeks who travelled with Alex- 
 ander to India may have taken the tales there, but 
 they may equally well have brought them back. We 
 only know that at the end of the fourth, and stUl more 
 in the third century before Christ, there was constant 
 travelling to and fro between the Greek dominions in 
 the East and the adjoining parts of India, which were 
 then Buddhist, and that the Birth Stories were already 
 popular among the Buddhists in Afghanistan,' where 
 the Greeks remained for a long time. Indeed, the very 
 region which became the seat of the Graeco-Bactrian 
 kings takes, in all the Northern versions of the Birth 
 Stories, the place occupied by the country of Kasi in 
 the Pali text, — so that the scene of the tales is laid 
 in that district. And among the innxmierable Buddhist 
 remains still existing there, a large number are con- 
 nected with the Birth Stories.^ It is also in this very 
 
 ' The legend of Sumedlia's self-atnegation (see below, pp. 11-13) is laid 
 near Jelalabad ; and Mr. William Simpson has discovered on the spot two 
 has-reHefs representing the principal incident in the legend. 
 
xliv CREEK AND BUDDHIST FABLES. 
 
 district, and under the immediate successor of Alexander, 
 that the original of the ' Kalilah and Dimnah ' was said 
 by its Arabian translators to have been written by Bidpai. 
 It is possible that a smaller number of similar stories 
 were also current among the Greeks ; and that they not 
 only heard the Buddhist ones, but told their own. But so 
 far as the Greek and the Buddhist stories can at present 
 be compared, it seems to me that the internal evidence 
 is in favour of the Buddhist versions being the originals 
 from which the Greek versions were adapted. Whether 
 more than this can be at present said is very doubtful : 
 when the Jatakas are all published, and the similarities 
 between them and classical stories shall have been fully 
 investigated, the contents of the stories may enable 
 criticism to reach a more definite conclusion. 
 
 The case of Solomon's judgment is somewhat different. 
 If there were only one fable in Babrius or Phsedrus 
 identical with a Buddhist Birth Story, we should suppose 
 merely that the same idea had occurred to two different 
 minds ; and there would thus be no necessity to postulate 
 any historical connexion. Now the similarity of the 
 two judgments stands, as far as I know, in complete 
 isolation ; and the story is not so curious but that two 
 writers may have hit upon the same idea. At the same 
 time, it is just possible that when the Jews were in 
 Babylon they may have told, or heard, the story. 
 
STO/!y OF THE WISE JUDGE. xlv 
 
 Had we met with ttis story in a book unquestionably 
 later than tbe Exile, we migbt suppose that they heard 
 the story there ; that some one repeating it had ascribed 
 the judgment to King Solomon, whose great wisdom was 
 a common tradition among them ; and that it had thus 
 been included in their history of that king. But we 
 find it in the Book of Kings, which is usually assigned 
 to the time of Jeremiah, who died during the Exile ; 
 and it should be remembered that the chronicle in ques- 
 tion was based for the most part on traditions current 
 much earlier among the Jewish people, and probably 
 on earlier documents. 
 
 If, on the other hand, they told it there, we may 
 expect to find some evidence of the fact in the details 
 of the story as preserved in the Buddhist story-books 
 current in the North of India, and more especially in 
 the Buddhist countries bordering on Persia. Now Dr. 
 Dennys, in his ' Folklore of China' has given us a 
 Chinese Buddhist version of a similar judgment, which 
 is most probably derived from a Northern Buddhist 
 Sanskrit original ; and though this version is very late, 
 and diflers so much in its details from those of both 
 the Pali and Hebrew tales that it afibrds no basis itself 
 for arg;ument, it yet holds out the hope that we may 
 discover further evidence of a decisive character. This 
 hope is confirmed by the occurrence of a similar tale in 
 
xlvi STORY OF THE WISE JUDGE. 
 
 the Gcsta JRomaiiorum, a mediaeval work wMcli quotes 
 Barlaam and Josaptat, and is otherwise largely indebted 
 in an indirect way to Buddhist sources.' It is true 
 that the hasis of the judgment in that story is not the 
 love of a mother to her son, but the love of a son to 
 his father. But that very difference is encouraging. 
 The orthodox compilers of the ' Grests of the Romans ' - 
 dared not have so twisted the sacred record. They 
 could not therefore have taken it from our Bible. Like 
 all their other tales, however, this one was borrowed 
 from somewhere; and its history, when discovered, may 
 be expected to throw some light on this inquiry. 
 
 I should perhaps point out another way in which 
 this tale may possibly be supposed to have wandered 
 from the Jews to the Buddhists, or from India to the 
 Jews. The land of Ophir was probably in India. The 
 Hebrew names of the apes and peacocks said to have 
 been brought thence by Solomon's coasting-vessels are 
 merely corruptions of Indian names ; and Ophir must 
 therefore have been either an Indian port (and if so, 
 almost certainly at the mouth of the Indus, afterwards 
 a Buddhist country), or an entrepot, further west, 
 
 ' No. xlv. p. 80 of Swan and Hooper's popular edition, 1877 ; No. xlii. 
 p. 167 of the critical edition published for the Early English Text Society in 
 1879 by S. J. H. Herrtage, who has added a valuable historical note at 
 p. 477. 
 
 2 This adaptation of the Latin title is worthy of notice. It of course 
 means ' Deeds ' ; but as most of the stories are more or less humorous, the 
 word Gest, now spelt Jest, acquired its present meaning. 
 
sroji:y of the wise judge. xlvii 
 
 for Indian trade. But the Tery gist of the account 
 of Solomon's expedition by sea is its unprecedented 
 and hazardous character; it would have been impossible 
 even for him without the aid of Pha3nician sailors ; 
 and it was not renewed by the Hebrews till after 
 the time when the account of the judgment was 
 recorded in the Book of Kings. Any intercourse 
 between his servants and the people of Ophir must, 
 from the diSerence of language, have been of the most 
 meagre extent ; and we may safely conclude that it 
 was not the means of the migration of our tale. It 
 is much more likely, if the Jews heard or told the Indian 
 story at all, and before the time of the captivity, 
 that the way of communication was overland. There 
 is every reason to believe that there was a great and 
 continual commercial intercourse between East and 
 West from very early times by way of Palmyra 
 and Mesopotamia. Though the intercourse by sea was 
 not continued after Solomon's time, gold of Ophir,' 
 ivory, jade, and Eastern gems still found their way 
 to the West; and it would be an interesting task 
 for an Assyrian or Hebrew scholar to trace the evidence 
 of this ancient overland route in other ways. 
 
 1 Psalm iiT. 9 ; Isaiah xiii. 12 ; Job ixii. 24, xxviii. 16. 
 
xlviii 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 To sum up what can at present be said on the con- 
 nexion between the Indian tales, preserved to us in the 
 Book of Buddhist Birth Stories, and their counterparts 
 in the West: — 
 
 1. In a few isolated passages of Grreek and other 
 writers, earlier than the invasion of India by Alexander 
 the Great, there are references to a legendary -S)sop, 
 and perhaps also allusions to stories like some of the 
 Buddhist ones. 
 
 2. After Alexander's time a number of tales also found 
 in the Buddhist collection became current in Greece, 
 and are preserved in the poetical versions of Babrius 
 and Phaedrus. They are probably of Buddhist origin. 
 
 3. From the time of Babrius to the time of the first 
 Crusade no migration of Indian tales to Europe can be 
 proved to have taken place. About the latter time a 
 translation into Arabic of a Persian work containing 
 tales found in the Buddhist book was translated by 
 Jews into Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. Translations of 
 these versions afterwards appeared in aU the principal 
 languages of Europe. 
 
 4. In the eleventh or twelfth century a translation 
 was made into Latin of the legend of Barlaam and 
 
SUMMARY OF PART I. xlix 
 
 Josaphat, a Greek romance vrritten in tte eighth century 
 by St. John of Damascus on the basis of the Buddhist 
 Jataka book. Translations, poems, and plays founded 
 on this work were rapidly produced throughout Western 
 Europe. 
 
 5. Other Buddhist stories not included in either of 
 the works mentioned in the two last paragraphs were 
 introduced into Europe both during the Crusades and 
 also during the dominion of the Arabs in Spain. 
 
 6. Versions of other Buddhist stories were introduced 
 into Eastern Europe by the Huns under Genghis Khan. 
 
 7. The fables and stories introduced through these 
 various channels became very popular during the Middle 
 Ages, and were used as the subjects of numerous sermons, 
 story-books, romances, poems, and edifying dramas. Thus 
 extensively adopted and circulated, they had a consider- 
 able influence on the revival of literature, which, hand 
 in hand with the revival of learning, did so much to 
 render possible and to bring about the Great Reforma- 
 tion. The character of the hero of them — the Buddha, 
 in his last or in one or other of his supposed previous 
 births — appealed so strongly to the sympathies, and 
 was so attractive to the minds of mediaeval Christians, 
 that he became, and has ever since remained, an object 
 of Christian worship. And a collection of these and 
 similar stories — wrongly, but very naturally, ascribed to 
 
1 SUMMARY OF PART I. 
 
 a famous story-teller of the ancient Greeks — lias become 
 the common property, the household literature, of all 
 the nations of Europe; and, under the name of -3llsop's 
 Fables, has handed down, as a first m.oral lesson-book 
 and as a continual feast for our children in the West, 
 tales first invented to please and to instruct our far-off 
 cousins in the distant East. 
 
PAET 11. 
 
 ON THE HISTORY OF THE BIRTH STORIES IN 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 In the previous part of tHs Introduction I have 
 attempted to point out the resemblances hetween certain 
 Western tales and the Buddhist Birth Stories, to explain 
 the reason of those resemblances, and to trace the 
 history of the Birth Story literature in Europe. Much 
 remains yet to be done to complete this interesting and 
 instructive history; but the general results can already 
 be stated with a considerable degree of certainty, and 
 the literature in which further research will have to be 
 made is accessible in print in the public libraries of 
 Europe. 
 
 For the history in India of the Jataka Book itself, 
 and of the stories it contains, so little has been done, 
 that one may say it has still to be written; and the 
 authorities for further research are only to be foimd in 
 
Hi BIRTH STORIES IN OTHER PARTS 
 
 manuscripts very rare in Europe, and written in lan- 
 guages for the most part but little known. Much of 
 what follows is necessarily therefore very incomplete 
 and provisional. 
 
 In some portions of the Brahmanical literature, later 
 than the Vedas, and probably older than Euddhism, 
 there are found myths and legends of a character some- 
 what similar to a few of the Buddhist ones. But, so far 
 as I know, no one of these has been traced either in 
 Europe or in the Buddhist Collection. 
 
 On the other hand, there is every reason to hope that 
 in the older portions of the Buddhist Scriptures a 
 considerable number of the tales also included in the 
 Jataka Book will be found in identical or similar forms ; 
 for even in the few fragments of the Pitakas as yet 
 studied, several Birth Stories have already been dis- 
 covered.^ These occur in isolated passages, and, except 
 the story of King Maha Sudassana, have not as yet 
 become Jatakas, — that is, no character in the story is 
 
 ' Thus, for instance, the Mani Kantha Jataka (Fausbbll, No. 253) is 
 taken from a story which is in both the Pali and the Chinese versions of the 
 Vinaya Pitaka (Oldenberg, p. xlvi) ; the Tittira Jataxa (Fausboll, No. 37, 
 translated below) occurs almost word for word in the CuUa Vagga (vi. 6, 3-5) ; 
 the Khandhatatta Jataka (FausboU, No. 203) is a slightly enlarged 
 version of CuUa Vagga, v. 6 ; the Sukhavihari Jataka (Fausboll, No. 10, 
 translated below) is founded on a story in the Culla Vagga (vii. 1, 4-6) ; (the 
 M,4Ha-sv]1^^s^a_Jataka (Fausboll, No- 95) is derived from the Sutta of 
 the iame namemtiieTJigha Nikaya (translated by me in ' Sacred Books of 
 the East,' vol. is.) ; the Makha Bbva Jataka (FausboU, No. 9, translated 
 below) from the Sutta of the same name in the Majihima Nikaya (No. 83) ; 
 and the Sakunagohi Jataka (Fausboll, No. 168), from a parable in the 
 Satipatthana Vagga of the Sagyutta Nikaya. 
 
OF THE PALI PITAKAS. liii 
 
 identified with the Buddha in one or other of his sup- 
 posed previous births. But one book included in the 
 Pali Pitakas consists entirely of real Jataka stories, all 
 of which are found in our Collection. 
 
 The title of this work is Cariya-pitaka ; and 
 it is constructed to show when, and in what births, 
 Gotama had acquired the Ten Great Perfections (Gene- 
 rosity, Goodness, Renunciation, Wisdom, Firmness, 
 Patience, Truth, Resolution, Kindness, and Equanimity), 
 without which he could not have become a Buddha. 
 In striking analogy with the modern view, that true 
 growth in moral and intellectual power is the result of 
 the labours, not of one only, but of many successive 
 generations ; so the qualifications necessary for the 
 making of a Buddha, like the characters of all the 
 lesser mortals, cannot be acquired during, and do not 
 depend upon the actions of, one life only, but are the 
 last result of miany deeds performed through a long 
 series of consecutive lives.^ 
 
 To each of the first two of these Ten Perfections a 
 whole chapter of this work is devoted, giving in verse 
 ten examples of the previous births in which the Bodisat 
 or future Buddha had practised Generosity and Good- 
 ness respectively. The third chapter gives only fifteen 
 
 ' See on this belief below, pp. 54-58, where the verses 259-269 are 
 quotations from the Cariya Pitaki. 
 
liv BIRTH STORIES IN OTHER PARTS 
 
 examples of the lives in wMch. lie acquired the other 
 eight of the Perfections. It looks very much as if 
 the original plan of the unknown author had been to 
 give ten Birth Stories for each of the Ten Perfections. 
 And, curiously enough, the Northern Buddhists have 
 a tradition that the celebrated teacher Asvagosha began 
 to write a work giviag ten Births for each of the Ten 
 Perfections, but died when he had versified only thirty- 
 four.^ Now there is a Sanskrit work called Jataka 
 Mala, as yet unpublished, but of which there are 
 several MSS. in Paris and in London, consisting of 
 thirty-five Birth Stories in mixed prose and verse, in 
 illustration of the Ten Perfections.^ It would be pre- 
 mature to attempt to draw any conclusions from these 
 coincidences, but the curious reader will find in a Table 
 below a comparative view of the titles of the Jatakas 
 comprised in the Cariya Pitaka and in the Jataka 
 Mala.s 
 
 There is yet another work in the Pali Pitakas which 
 constantly refers to the Jataka theory. The Btjddha- 
 VAgsA, which is a history of all the Buddhas, gives an 
 account also of the life of the Bodisat ia the character he 
 
 1 taranatha^ s ' Geschichte des Buddhismus ' (a Tibetan work of the 
 eighteenth century, translated into German by Schiefner), p. 92. 
 
 2 FamKU's 'Five Jatakas,' pp. 58-68, where the full text of one Jataka is 
 given, and Leoti Feer, ' Etude sur les Jatakas,' p. 57. 
 
 s See Table, below. 
 
OF THE PALI PITAKAS. Iv 
 
 filled during tlie lifetime of each of twenty-four of the 
 previous Buddhas. It is on that work that a great part 
 of the Pali Introduction to our Jataka Book is based, 
 and most of the verses in the first fifty pages of the 
 present translation are quotations from the Buddha-vagsa. 
 From this source we thus have authority for twenty- 
 four Birth Stories, corresponding to the first twenty-four 
 of the twenty-seven previous Buddhas,' besides the 
 thirty-four in illustration of the Perfections, and the 
 other isolated ones I have mentioned. 
 
 Beyond this it is impossible yet to state what pro- 
 portion of the stories in the Jataka Book can thus be 
 traced back to the earlier Pali Buddhist literature ; and 
 it would be out of place to enter here upon any lengthy 
 discussion of the difficult question as to the date of those 
 earlier records. The provisional conclusions as to the 
 age of the Sutta and Yinaya reached by Dr. Oldenberg 
 in the very able introduction prefixed to his edition 
 of the text of the Maha Vagga, and simimarized at 
 p. xxxviii of that work, will be sufiicient for our present 
 purposes. It may be taken as so highly probable as to 
 be almost certain, that all those Birth Stories, which 
 are not only found in the so-called Jataka Book itself, 
 but are also referred to in these other parts of the 
 
 ' See the list of these Buddhas below, p. 52, where it will be seen that for 
 the last three Buddhas we have no Birth Story. 
 
Ivi THE COUNCIL OF VESALT. 
 
 Pali Pitakas, are at least older than the Council of 
 VesSli.i 
 
 The Council of Vesiili was held about a hundred j^ears 
 after Grotama's death, to settle certain disputes as to 
 points of discipline and practice which had arisen among 
 the members of the Order. The exact date of Gotama's 
 death is uncertain ; '^ and in the tradition regarding the 
 length of the interval between that event and the Council, 
 the ' hundred years ' is of course a round number. But 
 we can allow for all possibilities, and still keep within 
 the bounds of certainty, if we fix the date of the Council 
 of Vesiili at within thirty years of 350 B.C. 
 
 The members of the Buddhist Order of Mendicants 
 ■were divided at that Council — as important for the 
 history of Buddhism as the Council of Nice is for the 
 history of Christianity — into two parties. One side 
 advocated the relaxation of the rules of the Order in 
 ten particular matters, the others adopted the stricter 
 view. In the accounts of the matter, which we at present 
 only possess from the successors of the stricter party (or, 
 
 ' This triU hold good though, the Buddharagsa and the Cariya Pitaka 
 should turn out to he later than most of the other books contained in the 
 Three Pali Pitakas. That the stories they contain have already become 
 Jatakas, whereas in most of the other cases above quoted the stories are still 
 only parables, would seem to lead to this conclusion ; and the fact that they 
 have preserved some very ancient forms (such as locatives in %) may merely 
 be due to the fact that they are older, not in matter and ideas, but only in 
 form. Compare what is said below as to the verses in the Birth Stories. 
 
 * The question is discussed at length in my 'Ancient Coin» and Measures 
 of Ceylon' in 'Numismata Orientalm,' vol. i. 
 
THE GREAT COUNCIL. Ivii 
 
 as they call themselves, the orthodox party), it is ac- 
 knowledged that the other, the laxer side, were in the 
 majority ; and that when the older and more influential 
 memhers of the Order decided in favour of the orthodox 
 view, the others held a council of their own, called, from 
 the numbers of those who attended it, the Great Council. 
 
 ISTow the oldest Ceylon Chronicle, the Dipavagsa, which 
 contains the only account as yet published of what oc- 
 curred at the Great Council, says as follows : ^ — 
 
 " The monks of the Great Council turned the religion 
 
 upside down ; 
 They broke up the original Scriptures, and made a 
 
 new recension; 
 A discourse put in one place they put in another ; 
 ,. They distorted the sense and the teaching of the Five 
 
 Nikayas. 
 Those monks — knowing not what had been spoken at 
 
 length, and what concisely. 
 What was the obvious, and what was the higher 
 
 meaning — 
 Attached new meaning to new words, as if spoken by 
 
 the Buddha, 
 And destroyed much of the spirit by holding to the 
 
 shadow of the letter. 
 In part they cast aside the Sutta and the Yinaya so 
 
 deep. 
 And made an imitation Sutta and Vinaya, changing 
 
 this to that. 
 
 ' Dipavagsa, Y. 32 and foil. 
 
Iviii ILLUSTRATIONS IN SCULPTURE 
 
 The Parlwara abstract, and the Six Books of Abhi- 
 
 dbamma ; 
 The Patisambhida, the Mddesa, artd a portion of the 
 
 Jataka — 
 So much they put aside, and made others in their 
 
 place!" .... 
 
 The animus of this description is sufficiently evident ; 
 and the Dipavagsa, which cannot have been written 
 earlier than the fourth century after the commencement 
 of our era, is but poor evidence of the events of seven 
 centuries before. But it is the best we have ; it is ac- 
 knowledged to have been based on earlier sources, and 
 it is at least reliable evidence that, according to Ceylon 
 tradition, a book called the Jataka existed at the time 
 of the Councils of Yesali. 
 
 As the Northern Buddhists are the successors of those 
 who held the Great Council, we may hope before long 
 to have the accoimt of it from the other side, either 
 from the Sanskrit or from the Chinese.^ Meanwhile 
 it is important to notice that the fact of a Book of Birth 
 Stories having existed at a very early date is confirmed, 
 not only by such stories being found in other parts of 
 the Pali Pitakas, but also by ancient monuments. 
 
 Among the most interesting and important discoveries 
 
 * There are several works enumerated by Mr. Eeal in his Catalogue of 
 Chinese Buddhistic Works in the India Office Library (see especially pp. 93-97, 
 and pp. 107-109), from which we might expect to derive this information. 
 
OF THE BIRTH STORIES. lix 
 
 whicli we owe to recent archaeological researches in 
 India must undoubtedly be reckoned those of the Bud- 
 dhist carvings on the railings round the dome-shaped 
 relic shrines of Sanchi, AmaravatI, and Bharhut. There 
 have been there found, very boldly and clearly sculp- 
 tured in deep bas-relief, figures which were at first 
 thought to represent merely scenes in Indian life. Even 
 so their value as records of ancient civilization would 
 have been of incalculable value ; but they have acquired 
 further importance since it has been proved that most 
 of them are illustrations of the sacred Birth Stories in 
 the Buddhist Jataka book, — are scenes, that is, from the 
 life of Gotama in his last or previous births. This 
 wovdd be incontestable in many cases from the carvings 
 themselves, but it is rendered doubly sure by the titles 
 of Jatakas having been found inscribed over a number 
 of those of the bas-reliefs which have been last dis- 
 covered — the carvings, namely, on the raHing at 
 Bharhut. 
 
 It is not necessary to turn aside here to examine into 
 the details of these discoveries. It is sufficient for our 
 present inquiry into the age of the Jataka stories that 
 these ancient bas-reliefs afibrd indisputable evidence 
 that the Birth Stories were already, at the end of the 
 third century B.C., considered so sacred that they were 
 chosen as the subjects to be represented round the most 
 
Ix ON THE PALI NAMES 
 
 sacred Buddkist buildings, and that they were already 
 popularly known under the technical name of ' Jatakas.' 
 A detailed statement of all the Jatakas hitherto dis- 
 covered on these Buddhist railings, and other places, 
 will be found in one of the Tables appended to this 
 Introduction ; and it will be noticed that several of 
 those tales translated below in this volume had thus 
 been chosen, more than two thousand years ago, to fill 
 places of honour round the relic shrines of the Grreat 
 Teacher. 
 
 One remarkable fact apparent from that Table will 
 be that the Birth Stories are sometimes called in the 
 inscriptions over the bas-reliefs by names different from 
 those given to them in the Jataka Book in the Pali 
 Pitakas. This would seem, at first sight, to show that, 
 although the very stories as we have them must have 
 been known at the time when the bas-reliefs were carved, 
 yet that the present collection, in which different names 
 are clearly given at the end of each story, did not then 
 exist. But, on the other hand, we not only find in the 
 Jataka Book itself very great uncertainty as to the 
 names, — the same stories being called in different parts 
 of the Book by different titles,^ — ^but one of these very 
 
 * Thus, No. 41 is called both Losaka Jataka and Mitta-vindaka 
 Jataka (Feer, 'Etude snr les Jatakas,' p. 121); No. 439 is called Catud- 
 VARA Jataka and also Mitta-tindaka Jataka (Ibid,, p. 120) ; No. 57 is 
 called Vanakixda Jataka and also KcmbhIla Jataka (Fausboll, vol. i. 
 
OF THE BIRTH STORIES. Ixi 
 
 bas-reKefs lias actually inscribed over it two distinct 
 names in full ! ^ 
 
 The reason for this is very plain. When a fable 
 about a lion and a jackal was told (as in No. 157) to 
 show the advantage of a good character, and it was 
 necessary to choose a short title for it, it was called 
 'The Lion Jataka,' or 'The Jackal Jataka,' or even 
 ' The Good Character Jataka ' ; and when a fable was 
 told about a tortoise, to show the evil results which 
 follow on talkativeness (as in No. 215), the fable might 
 as well be called ' The Chatterbox Jataka ' as ' The 
 Tortoise Jataka,' and the fable is referred to accordingly 
 under both those names. \It must always have been 
 difficult, if not impossible, to fix upon a short title which 
 should at once characterize the lesson to be taught, and 
 the personages through whose acts it was taught ; and 
 different names would thus arise, and become inter- 
 changeable. It would be wrong therefore to attach 
 too much importance to the difierence of the names on 
 the bas-reliefs and in the Jataka Book. And in trans- 
 
 p. 278, and vol. ii. p. 206) ; No. 96 is called Telapatta Jataka and also 
 Takkasila Jataka {Ibid. vol. i. p. 393, and vol. i. pp. 469, 470) ; No. 102, 
 there called Pannika Jataka, is the same story as No. 217, there called 
 Seggu Jataka ; No. 30, there called Munika Jataka, is the same story as 
 No. 286, there called Salijka Jataka ; No. 215, the Kacchapa Jataka, 
 is called Bahu-bhani Jataka in the Dhammapada (p. 419) ; and No. 157 
 is called Guna Jataka, Siha Jataka, and Sigala Jataka. 
 
 1 Cunnaiglutm, ' The Stupa of Eharhut,' pi. xlvii. The carving Ulnstrates 
 a fable of a cat and a cock, and is labelled both Bidala Jataka and Kukkuta 
 Jataka (Cat Jataka and Cock Jataka). 
 
Ixii THE JATAKA ONE OF THE ANGANL 
 
 lating tlie titles we need not be afraid to allo.w ourselves 
 a latitude similar to that which was indulged in by the 
 early Buddhists themselves. 
 
 There is yet further eAridence confirmatory of the 
 Dipavagsa tradition. The Buddhist Scriptures are some- 
 times spoken of as consisting of nine different divisions, 
 or sorts of tests (Aijgani), of which the seventh is 
 'Jatakas,' or 'The Jataka Collection' (Jiitakag). This 
 division of the Sacred Books is mentioned, not only in 
 the Dlpavagsa itself, and in the Sumaggala Yilasinl, but 
 also in the Agguttara Nikaya (one of the later works 
 included in the Pali Pitakas), and in the Saddharma 
 Pundarlka (a late, but standard Sanskrit work of the 
 Northern Buddhists).^ It is common, therefore, to both 
 of the two sections of the Buddhist Church ; and it 
 follows that it was probably in use before the great 
 schism took place between them, possibly before the 
 Council of VesaK itself. In any case it is conclusive 
 as to the existence of a collection of Jatakas at a very 
 «arly date. 
 
 The text of the Jataka Book, as now received among 
 the Southern Buddhists, consists, as will be seen from the 
 
 ^ See tlie authorities quoted in my manual, ' Buddhism,' pp. 214, 215 ; 
 and Dr. Morris, in the Academy for May, 1880. 
 
JATAKA BOOK AND BUDDHAGHOSA. Ixiii 
 
 translation, not only of the stories, but of an elaborate 
 commentary, containing a detailed Explanation of the 
 verse or verses which occur in each of the stories ; an 
 Introduction to each of them, giving the occasion on 
 which it is said to have been told ; a Conclusion, explain- 
 ing the connexion between the personages in the Intro- 
 ductory Story and the characters in the Birth Story; 
 and finally, a long general Introduction to the whole 
 work. It is, in fact, an edition by a later hand of the 
 earlier stories ; and though I have called it concisely 
 the Jataka Book, its full title is 'The Commentary on 
 the Jatakas.' 
 
 We do not know either the name of the author of 
 this work, or the date when it was composed. The 
 meagre account given at the commencement of the work 
 itself (below, pp. 1, 2) contains all our present informa- 
 tion on these points. Mr. Childers, who is the translator 
 of this passage, has elsewhere ascribed the work to 
 Buddhaghosa ;' but I venture to think that this is, 
 to say the least, very uncertain. 
 
 We have, in the thirty- seventh chapter of the Maha- 
 vagsa,^ a perhaps almost contemporaneous account of 
 Buddhaghosa's literary work; and it is there distinctly 
 stated, that after writing in India the AtthasalinI (a com- 
 m.entary on the Dhammasagginl, the first of the Six 
 
 1 In his Dictionary, Preface, p. ix, note. ' Tumour, pp. 250-253. 
 
Ixiv WHO COMPILED THE JATAKA BOOK. 
 
 Books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka), he went to Ceylon 
 (ahout 430 a.d.) with the express intention of translating 
 the Siijhalese commentaries into Pali. There he studied 
 under the Thera Sagghapali, and having proved his 
 efficiency by his great work ' The Path of Purity ' 
 (Visuddhi-Magga, a compendium of all Buddhism), he 
 was allowed by the monks in Ceylon to carry out his 
 wish, and translate the commentaries. The Chronicle 
 then goes on to say that he did render ' the whole 
 Sinhalese Commentary' into Pali. But it by no means 
 follows, as has been too generally supposed, that he 
 was the author of all the Pali Commentaries we now 
 possess. He translated, it may be granted, the Commen- 
 taries on the Vinaya Pitaka and on the four great divisions 
 (Nikayas) of the Sutta Pitaka ; but these works, together 
 with those mentioned above, would amply justify the 
 very general expression of the chronicler. The ' Sigha- 
 lese Commentary ' being now lost, it is impossible to 
 say what books were and what were not included under 
 that expression as used in the Mahavaijsa ; and to assign 
 any Pali commentary, other than those just mentioned, 
 to Buddhaghosa, some further evidence more clear than 
 the ambiguous words of the Ceylon Chronicle should 
 be required. 
 
 What little evidence we have as regards the particular 
 work now in question seems to me to tend very strongly 
 
PROBABLY NOT BUDDHAGHOSA. Ixv 
 
 in the other direction. Buddhaghosa could scarcely have 
 commenced his labours on the Jataka Commentary, 
 leaving the works I have mentioned — so much more 
 important from his point of view — undone. Now I 
 would ask the reader to imagine himself in Buddhaghosa's 
 position, and then to read carefully the opening words 
 of our Jataka Commentary as translated below, and to 
 judge for himself whether they could possibly be such 
 words as Buddhaghosa would probably, imder the cir- 
 cumstances, have written. It is a matter of feeling ; but 
 I confess I cannot think it possible that he was the 
 author of them. Three Elders of the Buddhist Order 
 are there mentioned with respect, but neither the name 
 of E.evata, Buddhaghosa's teacher in India, nor the name 
 of SaijghapaH, his teacher in Ceylon, is even referred 
 to ; and there is not the slightest allusion either to 
 Buddhaghosa's conversion, his journey from India, the 
 high hopes he had entertained, or the work he had 
 already accomplished ! This silence seems to me almost 
 as convincing as such negative evidence can possibly be. 
 
 If not however by Buddhaghosa, the work must have 
 been composed after his time; but probably not long 
 after. It is quite clear from the account in the Maha- 
 vagsa, that before he came to Ceylon the Sinhalese com- 
 mentaries had not been turned into Pali ; and on the 
 other hand, the example he had set so Well will almost 
 
 VOL. 1. / 
 
Ixvi JATAKA TALES OUTSIDE 
 
 certainly have been qnicklj'' followed. "We know one 
 instance at least, that of the Mahavaijsa itself, which 
 would confirm this supposition ; and had the present 
 work been much later than his time, it would not have 
 been ascribed to Buddhaghosa at all. 
 
 It is worthy of notice, perhaps, in this connexion, 
 that the Pali -work is not a translation of the Sighalese 
 Commentary. The author three times refers to a previous 
 Jataka Commentary, which possibly formed part of the 
 Sighalese work, as a separate book ; "^ and in one case 
 mentions what it says only to overrule it.^ Our Pali 
 work may have been based upon it, but cannot be said to 
 be a mere version of it. And the present Commentary 
 agrees almost word for word, from p. 68 to p. 124 of 
 my translation, with the Madhura-attha-vilasinT, the 
 Commentary on the ' Buddhavagsa ' mentioned above, 
 which is not usually ascribed to Buddhaghosa.^ 
 
 The Jataka Book is not the only Pali Commentary 
 which has made use of the ancient Birth Stories. They 
 occur in numerous passages of the different exegetical 
 works composed in Ceylon, and the only commentary 
 of which anything is known in print, that on the 
 
 1 Fausbbll, vol. i. p. 62 and p. 488 ; toI. ii. p. 224. 
 
 ' See the translation below, p. 82. 
 
 ^ I judge from Tumour's analysis of that work in the Journal of the 
 Bengal Ajsiatic Society, 1839, where some long extracts have been translated, 
 and the contents of other passages given in abstract. 
 
OUR JATAKA BOOK. Ixvii 
 
 Dhamma-padaij or ' Collectioa of Scripture Verses,' con- 
 tains a considerable number of them. Mr. FausboU 
 bas publisbed copious extracts from tbis Commentary, 
 wbicb may be by Buddbaghosa, as an appendix to bis 
 edition of tbe text; and tbe w-ork by Captain Rogers, 
 entitled 'Buddbagbosa's Parables' — a translation from 
 a Burmese book called ' Dbammapada-vattbu ' (tbat is 
 ' Stories connected witb tbe Dbamma-padag ') — consists 
 almost entirely of Jataka tales. 
 
 In Siam tbere is even a rival collection of Birtb 
 Stories, wbicb is called Panxasa- Jataicai) (' Tbe Fifty 
 Jatakas'), and of wbicb an account bas been given us 
 by M. Ldon Feer ; ^ and tbe same scbolar bas pointed 
 out tbat isolated stories, not contained in our collection, 
 are also to be found in tbe Pali literature of tbat 
 country.^ Tbe first hundred and fifty tales in our col- 
 lection are divided into three Pannam&, or fifties ; ^ 
 but tbe Siamese collection cannot be either of these, as 
 M. Feer has ascertained that it contains no tales begin- 
 ning in the same way as any of those in either of these 
 three 'Fifties.' 
 
 1 ' Etude sur les Jatakas,' pp. 62-65. ' Ibid. pp. 66-71. 
 
 3 This is clear from vol. i. p. 410 of Mr. FausboU's text, where, at the 
 end of the 100th tale, ive find the words MajjMma-panriasako nitthito, that 
 is, ' End of the Middle Fifty.' At the end of the 50th 'tale (p. 261) there is 
 a corresponding entry, PatMmo pannoso, ' First Fifty ' ; and though there 
 is no such entry at the end of the 150th tale, the expression ' Middle Fifty' 
 shows that there must have been, at one time, such a division as is above 
 stated. 
 
Ixviii PROFESSOR BENFEY ON 
 
 111 India itself the Birth Stories survived the fall, 
 as some of them had probably preceded the rise, of 
 Buddhism. Not a few of them were preserved by being 
 included in the Mahil Bharata, the great Hindu epic 
 which became the storehouse of Indian mythology, phi- 
 losophy, and folk-lore.^ Unfortunately, the date of the 
 final arrangement of the Mahii Bhiirata is extremely 
 uncertain, and there is no further evidence of the con- 
 tinued existence of the Jataka tales till we come to the 
 time of the work already frequently referred to — the 
 Pancha Tantra. 
 
 It is to the history of this book that Professor Benfey 
 has devoted that elaborate and learned Introduction 
 which is the most important contribution to the study 
 of this class of literature as yet published ; and I cannot 
 do better than give in his own words his final con- 
 clusions as to the origin of this popular story-book : ^ — 
 
 "Although we are unable at present to give any 
 certain information either as to the author or as to the 
 date of the work, we receive, as it seems to me, no 
 imimportant compensation in the fact, that it turned 
 out,^ with a certainty beyond doubt, to have been ori- 
 ginally a Buddhist book. This followed especially from 
 the chapter discussed in § 225. But it was already 
 indicated by the considerable number of the fables and 
 
 ' See, for instance, above, p. xxvii ; and below, p. 185. 
 
 * ' Pantscha Tantra,' Ton Theodor Benfey, Leipzig, 1859, p. xi. 
 
 ' That is, in the course of Prof. Benfey's researches. 
 
THE PANCHA TANTRA. Ixix 
 
 tales contained in the work, which could also be traced 
 in Buddhist writings. Their number, and also the 
 relation between the form in which they are told in our 
 work, and that in which they appear in the Buddhist 
 writings, incline us — nay, drive us — to the conclusion 
 that the latter were the source from which our work, 
 
 within the circle of Buddhist literature, proceeded 
 
 " The proof that our work is of Buddhist origin is 
 of importance in two ways : firstly — on which we will 
 not here further insist — for the history of the work 
 itself ; and secondly, for the determination of what 
 Buddhism is. We can find in it one more proof of that 
 literary activity of Buddhism, to which, in my articles 
 on ' India,' which appeared in 1840,i I had already felt 
 myself compelled to assign the most important place 
 in the enlightenment and general intellectual develop- 
 ment of India. This view has since received, from year 
 to year, fresh confirmations, which I hope to bring 
 together in another place ; and whereby I hope to prove 
 that the very bloom of the intellectual life of India 
 (whether it found expression in Brahmanical or Buddhist 
 works) proceeded substantially from Buddhism, and is 
 contemporaneous with the epoch in which Buddhism 
 flourished ; — that is to say, from the third century before 
 Christ to the sixth or seventh century after Christ. 
 With that principle, said to have been proclaimed by 
 Buddhism in its earliest years, 'that only that teaching 
 of the Buddha's is true which contraveneth not sound 
 reason,'^ the autonomy of man's Intellect was, we may 
 fairly say, effectively acknowledged; the whole relation 
 between the realms of the knowable and of the unknow- 
 able was subjected to its control; and notwithstanding 
 that the actual reasoning powers, to which the ultimate 
 appeal was thus given, were in fact then not altogether 
 
 ' In ' Ersch und Griiber's EncyUopsedie,' especially at pp. 255 and 277. 
 ' Wassilkw, ' Der Buddhismus,' etc., p. 68. 
 
Ixx THE PANCHA TANTRA IS BUDDHIST. 
 
 sound, yet the way was pointed out by which Reason 
 could, under more favourable circumstances, begin to 
 liberate itself from its failings. We are already learning 
 to value, in the philosophical endeavours of Buddhism, 
 the labours, sometimes indeed quaint, but aiming at 
 thoroughness and worthy of the highest respect, of its 
 severe earnestness in inquiry. And that, side by side 
 with this, the merry jests of light, and even frivolous 
 poetry and conversation, preserved the cheerfulness of 
 life, is clear from the prevailing tone of our work, and 
 still more so from the probable Buddhist origin of those 
 other Indian story-books which have hitherto become 
 known to us." 
 
 Professor Benfey then proceeds to show that the 
 Pancha Tantra consisted originally, not of five, but 
 of certainly eleven, perhaps of twelve, and just possibly 
 of thirteen books ; and that its original design was to 
 teach princes right government and conduct.^ The whole 
 collection had then a different title descriptive of this 
 design ; and it was only after a part became detached 
 from the rest that that part was called, for distinction's 
 sake, the Pancha Tantra, or Five Books. When this 
 occurred it is impossible to say. But it was certainly 
 the older and larger collection, not the present Pancha 
 Tantra, which travelled into Persia, and became the 
 source of the whole of the extensive 'Kalilag and 
 Damnag' literature.^ 
 
 ' Compare the title of the Birth Story above, p. xxii, ' A Lesson for Kings.' 
 ' See above, p. ixix. 
 
THE WORK OF BIDPAI. Ixxi 
 
 The Arabian authors of the work translated (through 
 the ancient Persian) from this older collection assign it to 
 a certain Bidpai ; who is said to have composed it in order 
 to instruct Dabschelim, the successor of Alexander in his 
 Indian possessions, in worldly wisdom.^ There may well 
 be some truth in this tradition. And when we consider 
 that the ' Barlaam and Josaphat ' literature took its 
 origin at the same time, and in the same place, as the 
 ' Kalilag and Damnag ' literature ; that both of them 
 are based upon Buddhist originals taken to Bagdad in 
 the sixth century of our era ; and that it is precisely 
 such a book as the Book of Birth Stories from which 
 they could have derived all that they borrowed; it is 
 difficult to avoid connecting these facts together by the 
 supposition that the work ascribed to Bidpai may, in fact, 
 have been a selection of those Jataka stories bearing 
 more especially on the conduct of life, and preceded, 
 like our own collection, by a sketch of the life of the 
 Buddha in his last birth. Such a supposition would 
 affijrd a reasonable explanation of some curious facts 
 which have been quite inexplicable on the existing 
 theory. If the Arabic ' Kalilah and Dimnah ' was an 
 exact translation, in our modern sense of the word trans- 
 lation, of an exact translation of a Buddhist work, how 
 
 ' Knatchbull, p. 29. 
 
Ixxii OTHER AND LATER 
 
 comes it that tlie various copies of the 'Kalilah and 
 Dimnah' diflfer so greatly, not only among themselves, 
 hut from the lately discovered Syriac ' Kalilag and 
 Damnag,' which was also, according to the current 
 hypothesis, a translation of the same original? — how 
 comes it that in these translations from a Buddhist 
 book there are no references to the Buddha, and no 
 expressions on the face of them Buddhistic? If, on 
 the other hand, the later writers had merely derived 
 their subject-matter from a Buddhist work or works, 
 and had composed what were in efifect fresh works on 
 the basis of such an original as has been suggested, we 
 can understand how the different writers might have 
 used different portions of the material before them, and 
 might have discarded any expressions too directly in 
 contradiction with their own religious beliefs. 
 
 The first three of those five chapters of the work as- 
 cribed to Bidpai which make up the Pancha Tantra, are 
 also found in a form slightly different, but, on the whole, 
 essentially the same. La two other Indian Story-books, — 
 the Katha-Saeit-Sagara (Ocean of the Hivers of 
 Stories), composed in Sanskrit by a Northern Buddhist 
 named Bomadeva in the twelfth century, and in the 
 well-known Hitopadesa, which is a much later work. 
 If Somadeva had had the Pancha Tantra in its present 
 form before him, he would probably have included the 
 
INDIAN STORY BOOKS. Ixxiii 
 
 wliole five books in his encyclopsedic collection ; and the 
 absence from the Katha-Sarit-Siigara of the last two 
 books would tend to show that when he wrote his great 
 work the Pancha Tantra had not been composed, or at 
 least had not reached the North of India. 
 
 Somadeva derived his knowledge of the three books 
 he does give from the Veihat-Katha, a work ascribed 
 to Gmiadhya, written in the PaisachI dialect, and pro- 
 bably at least as early as the sixth century.^ This work, 
 on which Somadeva' s whole poem is based, is lost. But 
 Dr. Biihler has lately discovered another Sanskrit poem, 
 based on that earlier work, written in Kashmir by 
 Kshemendra at the end of the eleventh century, and 
 called, like its original, Vrihat-Katha ; and as Somadeva 
 wrote quite independently of this earlier poem, we may 
 hope that a comparison of the two Sanskrit works will 
 afford reliable evidence of the contents of the Old 
 Vrihat-Kath5.2 
 
 I should also mention here that another well-known 
 work, the Vetala - Panca - VinsatI (the Twenty- five 
 Tales of a Demon), is contained in both the Sanskrit 
 poems, and was therefore probably also in Gunadhya's 
 collection; but as no Jataka stories have been as yet 
 traced in it,^I have simply included it for pxirposes of 
 
 ' Dr. Fitz-Edward KalVs Vasavadatta, pp. 22-24. 
 
 ' Br. Buhkr in the Indian Antiquary, i. 302, v. 29, vi. 269. 
 
Ixxiv THE I.VTRODUCTORY STORIES. 
 
 reference in Table I., together with, the most important 
 of those of the later Indian storj'-books of which any- 
 thing certain is at present kno^vn. 
 
 There remains only to add a few words on the mode 
 in which the stories, whose history in Europe and in 
 India I have above attempted to trace, are presented 
 to us in the Jataka Book. 
 
 Each story is introduced by another explaining where 
 and why it was told by the Buddha; the Birth Story 
 itself being called the AtUa-vafthu or Story of the Past, 
 and the Introductory Story the Paccuppanna-vaUliu or 
 Story of the Present. There is another book in the 
 Pali Pitakas called Apadanai), which consists of tales 
 about the lives of the early Buddhists ; and many of 
 the Introductory Stories in the Jataka Book (such, for 
 instance, as the tale about Little PoadEng, No. 4, or 
 the tale about Kumara Kassapa, No. 12) differ very little 
 from these Apadanas. Other of the Introductory Stories 
 (such, for instance, as No. 17 below) seem to be mere 
 repetitions of the principal idea of the story they intro- 
 duce, and are probably derived from it. That the 
 Introductory Stories are entirely devoid of credit is 
 ,clear from the fact that different Birth Stories are in- 
 troduced as having been told at the same time and place, 
 
TRANSMIGRATION OF CHARACTER. Ixxv 
 
 and in answer to the same question. Thus no less than 
 ten stories are each said to have been told to a certain 
 love-sick monk as a warning to him against his folly ; ^ 
 the closely-allied story given below as the Introduction 
 to Birth Story ISTo. 30 appears also as the Introduction 
 to at least four others;^ and there are many other in- 
 stances of a similar kind^ 
 
 After the two stories have been told, there comes a 
 ConclusioiL, in which the Buddha identifies the person- 
 ages in the Birth Story with those in the Introductory 
 Story ; but it should be noticed that in one or two cases 
 characters mentioned in the Atlta-vatthu are supposed 
 not to have been reborn on earth at the time of the 
 Paccuppanna-vatthu.* And the reader must of course 
 avoid the mistake of importing Christian ideas into this 
 Conclusion by supposing that the identity of the persons 
 in the two stories is owing to the passage of a ' soul ' 
 from the one to the other. Buddhism does not teach 
 the Transmigration of Souls. Its doctrine (which is 
 somewhat intricate, and for a fuller statement of which 
 I must refer to my Manual of Buddhism^) would be 
 better sununarized as the Transmigration of Character ; 
 
 1 Nos. 61, 62, 63, 147, 159, 193, 196, 198, 199, 263. 
 
 2 Nos. 106, 145, 191, 286. 
 
 3 Nos. 58, 73, 142, 194, 220, and 277, have the same Introductory Story. 
 And so Nos. 60, 104, 116, 161. 
 
 And Nos. 127, 128, 138, 173, 175. 
 * See the Pali note at the end of Jataka No. 91. 
 = pp. 99-106. 
 
Ixxvi THE ABHISAMBUDDHA-GATHA, 
 
 for it is entirely independent of the early and widely- 
 prevalent notion of the existence within each human 
 body of a distinct soul, or ghost, or spirit. The Bodisat, 
 for instance, is not supposed to have a Soul, which, 
 on the death of one body, is transferred to another ; 
 but to be the inheritor of the Character acquired by the 
 previous Bodisats. The insight and goodness, the moral 
 and intellectual perfection which constitute Buddhahood, 
 could not, according to the Buddhist theory, be acquired 
 in one lifetime: they were the accumulated result of 
 the continual effort of many generations of successive 
 Bodisats. The only thing which continues to exist 
 when a man dies is his Karma, the result of his words 
 and thoughts and deeds (KteraUy his ' doing ') ; and 
 the curious theory that this result is concentrated in 
 some new individual is due to the older theory of 
 soul. 
 
 In the case of one Jataka (Fausboll, No. 276), the 
 Conclusion is wholly in verse ; and ia several cases the 
 Conclusion contains a verse or verses added by way 
 of moral. Such verses, when they occur, are called 
 Ahhisamhuddha-gathd, or Verses spoken by the Buddha, 
 not when he was still only a Bodisat, but when he 
 had become a Buddha. They are so called to distinguish 
 them from the similar verses inserted in the Birth Story, 
 and spoken there by the Bodisat. Each story has its 
 
OR VERSES SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA. ixxvii 
 
 verse or verses, either in the Atita-vaWiu or in the 
 Conclusion, and sometimes in both. The number of 
 cases in which all the verses are Abhisamhuddha-gdthd is 
 relatively small (being only one in ten of the Jatakas 
 published') ; and the number of cases in which they 
 occur together with verses in the Atlta-vatthu is very 
 small indeed (being only five out of the three hundred 
 Jatakas published'') ; in the remaining two hundred and 
 sixty- five the verse or verses occur in the course of the 
 Birth Story, and are most generally spoken by the 
 Bodisat himself. 
 
 There are several reasons for supposing that these 
 verses are older than the prose which now forms their 
 setting. The Ceylon tradition goes so far as to say that 
 the original Jataka Book, now no longer extant, con- 
 sisted of the verses alone ; that the Birth Stories are 
 Commentary upon them ; and the Introductory Stories, 
 the Conclusions and the ' Pada-gata-sannaya,' or word- 
 for-word explanation of the verses, are Commentary 
 on this Commentary.* And archaic forms and forced 
 
 1 Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 28, 29, 37, 55, 56, 68, 85, 87, 88, 97, 100, lU, 136 
 (total, eighteen in the Eka-Nipata) ; 156 ( = 55, 56), 196, 202, 237 ( = 68), 
 241 (total, five in the Duka-Nipata) ; 255, 266, 258, 264, 284, 291, 300 
 (total, seven in the Tika-Nipata, and thirty altogether). 
 
 2 Nos. 152, 168, 179, 233, 286. 
 
 ' This belief underlies the curious note forming the last words of the Maha- 
 Bupina Jataka, i. 345 : " Those who held the Council after the death of the 
 Blessed One placed the lines beginning usabha rukkha in the Commentary, 
 and then, making the other lines beginning labuni into one verse, they put 
 (the Jataka) into the Eka-Nipata (the chapter including aU those Jatakas 
 which have only one verse)." 
 
Ixxviii STORIES OLDER THAN THE VERSES. 
 
 constructions in the verses (in striking contrast with 
 the regularity and simplicity of the prose parts of the 
 book), and the cornipt state in which some of the verses 
 are found, seem to point to the conclusion that the verses 
 are older. 
 
 But I venture to think that, though the present form 
 of the verses may be older than the present form of the 
 Birth Stories, the latter, or most of the latter, were in 
 existence first ; that the verses, at least in many cases, 
 were added to the stories after they had become current ; 
 and that the Birth Stories without verses in them at all 
 — those enumerated in the list in note 1 on the last 
 page, where the verses are found only in the Conclusion 
 — are, in fact, among the oldest, if not the oldest, in the 
 whole collection. For any one who takes the trouble to 
 go through that list seriatim will find that it contains a 
 considerable number of those stories which, from their 
 being found also in the PaK Pitakas or in the oldest 
 European collections, can already be proved to belong 
 to a very early date. The only hypothesis which will 
 reconcile these facts seems to me to be that the Birth 
 Stories, though probably originally older than the verses 
 they contain, were handed down in Ceylon till the time 
 of the compilation of our present Jataka Book, in the 
 Sighalese language ; whilst the verses on the other hand 
 were not translated, but were preserved as they were 
 received, in Pali. 
 
ARRANGEMENT OF THE JATAKA BOOK. Ixxix 
 
 There is another group of stories which seems to he 
 older than most of the others ; those, namely, in which 
 the Bodisat appears as a sort of chorus, a moralizer only, 
 and not an actor in the play, whose part may have been 
 an addition made when the story in which it occurs was 
 adopted by the Buddhists. Such is the fable above 
 translated of the Ass in the Lion's Skin, and most of 
 the stories where the Bodisat is a rukhha-devatd — the 
 fairy or genius of a tree.^ But the materials are insuffi- 
 cient at present to put this forward as otherwise than 
 a mere conjecture. 
 
 The arrangement of the stories in our present collec- 
 tion is a most unpractical one. They are classified, not 
 according to their contents, but according to the number 
 of verses they contain. Thus, the First division (Nipata) 
 includes those one hundred and fifty of the stories which 
 have only one verse ; the Second, one hundred stories, 
 each having two verses ; the Third and Fourth, each of 
 them fifty stories, containing respectively three and four 
 verses each ; and so on, the number of stories in each 
 division decreasing rapidly after the number of verses 
 exceeds four ; and the whole of the five hundred and 
 fifty Jatakas being contained in twenty-two Nipatas. 
 Even this division, depending on so unimportant a factor 
 
 1 See, for instance, below, pp. 212, 228, 230, 317; atoTe, p. xii; and 
 Jataka, No. 113. 
 
Ixxx REPETITION OF STORIES. 
 
 as the number of the verses, is not logicallj'' carried out ; 
 and the round numbers of the stories in the first four 
 divisions are made up by including in them stories -which, 
 according to the principle adopted, should not properly 
 be placed within them. Thus several Jiitakas are only 
 mentioned in the first two Nipatas to say that they 
 will be found in the later ones ; ^ and several Jiitakas 
 given with one verse only in the First Nipiita, are given 
 again with more verses in those that follow ; ^ and occa- 
 sionally a story is even repeated, with but little variation, 
 in the same Nipiita.^ 
 
 On the other hand, several Jiitakas, which count only 
 as one story in the present enumeration, really contain 
 several different tales or fables. Thus, for instance, 
 the Euliivaka Jiitaka (On Mercy to Animals)* consists 
 of seven stories woven, not very closely, into one. The 
 most striking instance of this is perhaps the Ummagga 
 Jataka, not yet published in the Pali, but of which the 
 Sighalese translation by the learned Batuwan Tudawa 
 
 1 Nos. 110, 111, 112, 170, 192 in the Ummagga Jataka, and No. 264 in 
 the Suruci Jataka. 
 
 ' JS^o. 30=No. 286. No. 68 = N"o.'237. 
 
 ,, 34= „ 216. „ 86= „ 290. 
 
 „ 46= ,, 268. „ 102= „ 217. 
 
 „ 57= ,, 224. „ 145= „ 198. 
 
 3 So No. 82 = No. 104. 
 „ 99= „ 101. 
 ,, 134= „ 135. 
 „ 195= ,, 225. 
 „ 294= „ 295. 
 Compare the two stories Nos. 23 and 24 translated below. 
 « Translated below, pp. 278-290. 
 
REAL NUMBER OF THE STORIES. Ixxxi 
 
 occupies two hundred and fifty pages octavo, and consists 
 of a very large number (I have not counted them, and 
 there is no index, but I should think they amount to 
 more than one hundred and fifty) of most entertaining 
 anecdotes. Although therefore the Birth Stories are 
 spoken of as ' The five hundred and fifty Jatakas,' this 
 is merely a round number reached by an entirely arti- 
 ficial arrangement, and gives no clue to the actual number 
 of stories. It is probable that our present collection 
 contains altogether (including the Introductory Stories 
 where they are not mere repetitions) between two and 
 three thousand independent tales, fables, anecdotes, and 
 riddles. 
 
 Nor is the number 550 any more exact (though the 
 discrepancy in this case is not so great) if it be supposed 
 to record, not the number of stories, but the number of 
 distinct births of the Bodisat. In the Kulavaka Jataka, 
 just referred to (the tale On Mercy to Animals), there 
 are two consecutive births of the future Buddha ; and on 
 the other hand, none of the six Jatakas mentioned in 
 note 1, p. Ixxx, represents a distinct birth at all — ^the 
 Bodisat is in them the same person as he is in the later 
 Jatakas in which those six are contained. 
 
 From the facts as they stand it seems at present to 
 
]xxxii SUMMARY OF THE 
 
 be the most probable explanation of the rise of our 
 Jataka Book to suppose that it was due to the religious 
 faith of the Indian Buddhists of the third or fourth 
 century B.C., who not only repeated a number of fables, 
 parables, and stories ascribed to the Buddha, but gave 
 them a peculiar sacredness and a special religious signi- 
 ficance by identifying the best character in each with 
 the Buddha himself in some previous birth. From the 
 time when this step was taken, what had been merely 
 parables or fables became ' Jatakas,' a word invented to 
 distinguish, and used only of, those stories which have 
 been thus sanctified. The earliest use of that word at 
 present known is in. the inscriptions on the Buddhist 
 Tope at Bharhut ; and from the way in which it is 
 there used it is clear that the word must have then been 
 already in use for some considerable time. But when 
 stories thus made sacred were popularly accepted among 
 people so accustomed to literary activity as the early 
 Buddhists, the natural consequence would be that the 
 Jatakas should have been brought together into a col- 
 lection of some kind ; and the probability of this having 
 been done at a very early date is confirmed, firstly, by 
 the tradition of the difierence of opinion concerning a 
 Jataka Book at the Councils of Vesali ; and secondly 
 by the mention of a Jataka Book in the ninefold divi- 
 sion of the Scriptures found in the Agguttara Nikaya 
 
HISTORY OF THE JATAKA BOOK. Ixxxiii 
 
 and ia the Saddharma Pundarlka. To the compiler of 
 this, or of some early collection, are probably to be as- 
 cribed the Verses, which in some cases at least are later 
 than the Stories. 
 
 With regard to some of the Jatakas, among which 
 may certainly be included those found in the P.lli Pitakas, 
 there may well have been a tradition, more or less re- 
 liable, as to the time and the occasion at which they were 
 supposed to have been uttered by the Buddha. These 
 traditions will have given rise to the earliest Introductory 
 Stories, in imitation of which the rest were afterwards 
 invented ; and these will then have been handed down 
 as commentary on the Birth Stories, till they were finally 
 made part of our present collection by its compiler 
 in Ceylon. That (either through their later origin, 
 or their having been much m.ore modified in transmis- 
 sion) they represent a more modern point of view than 
 the Birth Stories themselves, will be patent to every 
 reader. There is a freshness and simplicity about the 
 ' Stories of the Past ' that is sadly wanting in the ' Stories 
 of the Present ' ; so m.uch so, that the latter (and this 
 is also true of the whole long Introduction containing 
 the life of the Buddha) may be compared more accurately 
 with mediaeval Legends of the Saints than with such 
 simple stories as ^Esop's Fables, which stiU bear a like- 
 ness to their forefathers, the 'Stories of the Past.' 
 
Ixxxiv HISTORY OF THE JATAKA BOOK. 
 
 The Jatakas so constituted were carried to Ceylon in 
 the Pali language, when Buddhism was first introduced 
 into that island (a date that is not quite certain, but 
 may be taken provisionally as about 200 b.c.) ; and the 
 whole was there translated into and preserved in the 
 Siijhalese language (except the verses, which were left 
 vmtranslated) until the compilation in the fifth century 
 A.D., and by an unknown author, of the Pali Jataka 
 Book, the translation of which into English is commenced 
 in this volume. 
 
 When we consider the number of elaborate similes 
 by which the arguments in the Pali Suttas are 
 enforced, there can be no reasonable doubt that the 
 Buddha was really accustomed to teach much by the 
 aid of parables, and it is not improbable that the 
 compiler was quite correct in attributing to him that 
 subtle sense of good-natured humour which led to his 
 inventing, as occasion arose, some fable or some tale 
 of a previous birth, to explain away existing failures in 
 conduct among the monks, or to draw a moral from 
 contemporaneous events. It is even already possible 
 to point to some of the Jatakas as being probably the 
 oldest in the collection; but it must be left to future 
 research to carry out in ampler detail the investigation 
 into the comparative date of each of the stories, both 
 those which are called 'Stories of the Past' and those 
 which are called 'Stories of the Present.' 
 
SPECIAL TEACHING OF THE JATAKAS. Ixxxv 
 
 Besides the points which the teaching of the Jatakas 
 has in common with that of European moralists and 
 satirists, it inculcates two lessons peculiar to itself — 
 firstly, the powerful influence of inherited character; 
 and secondly, the essential likeness between man and 
 other animals. The former of these two ideas underlies 
 both the central Buddhist doctrine of Karma and the 
 theory of the Buddhas, views certainly common among 
 all the early Buddhists, and therefore probably held by 
 Gotama himself. And the latter of the two underlies 
 and explains the sympathy with animals so conspicuous 
 in these tales, and the frequency with which they lay 
 stress upon the duty of kindness, and even of courtesy, 
 to the brute creation. It is curious to find in these 
 records of a strange and ancient faith such blind feeling 
 after, such vague foreshadowing of beliefs only now 
 beginning to be put forward here in the West ; but it 
 is scarcely necessary to point out that the paramount 
 value to us now of the Jataka stories is historicaL 
 
 In this respect their value does not consist only in 
 the evidence they aflbrd of the intercommunion between 
 East and West, but also, and perhaps chiefly, in the 
 assistance which they will render to the study of folk- 
 lore ; — that is, of the beliefs and habits of men in the 
 earlier stages of their development. The researches of 
 Tyler and Waitz and Peschel and Lubbock and Spencer 
 
Ixxxvi VALUE OF THE JATAKAS FOR 
 
 have shown us that it is by this means that it is most 
 easily possible rightly to understand and estimate many 
 of the habits and beliefs still current among ourselves. 
 But the chief obstacle to a consensus of opinion in such 
 studies is the insufficiency and inaccuracy of the autho- 
 rities on which the facts depend. While the ancient 
 literature of peoples more advanced usually ignores or 
 passes lightly over the very details most important from 
 this point of view, the accounts of modern travellers 
 among the so-called savage tribes are often at best very 
 secondary evidence. It constantly happens that such 
 a traveller can only teU us the impression conveyed to 
 his mind of that which his informant holds to be the 
 belief or custom of the tribe. Such native information 
 may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading ; and it 
 reaches us only after filtration through a European 
 mind more or less able to comprehend it rightly. 
 
 But in the Jatakas we have a nearly complete picture, 
 and quite uncorrupted and unadulterated by European 
 intercourse, of the social life and customs and popular 
 beliefs of the common people of Aryan tribes closely 
 related to ourselves, just as they were passing through 
 the first stages of civilization. 
 
 The popularity of the Jatakas as amusing stories may 
 pass away. How can it stand against the rival claims 
 of the fairy tales of science, and the entranciag, many- 
 
THE HISTORY OF EARLY TIMES. Ixxxvii 
 
 sided story of man's gradual rise and progress ? But 
 though these less fabulous and more attractive stories 
 shall increasingly engage the attention of ourselves and 
 of our children, we may stiU turn with appreciation 
 to the ancient Book of the Buddhist Jataka Tales as 
 a priceless record of the childhood of our race. 
 
 I avail myself of this opportunity of acknowledgiug 
 my indebtedness to several friends whose assistance has 
 been too continuous to be specified on any particular 
 page. Professor Childers, whose premature death was 
 so great a blow to PaK studies, and whose name I 
 never think of without a feeling of reverent and grateful 
 regret, had undertaken the translation of the Jatakas, 
 and the first thirty-three pages are from his pen. They 
 are the last memento of his earnest work: they stand 
 exactly as he left them. Professor Estlin Carpenter, 
 who takes a deep interest in this and cognate subjects, 
 has been kind enough to read through all the proofs, 
 and I owe to his varied scholarship many useful hints. 
 And my especial thanks, and the thanks of any readers 
 this work may meet with, are above all due to Professor 
 Fausboll, without whose editio princeps of the Piili text^ 
 the result of self-denying labours spread over many years, 
 this translation would not have been undertaken. 
 
 T. W. EHTS DAVIDS. 
 
TABLES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE HISTORY 
 AJSTD MIGRATIONS OF THB BUDDHIST 
 BIRTH STORIES. 
 
 TABLE I. 
 INDIAN WORKS. 
 
 1. The Jataka Atthavannajta. A collection, probably first made in 
 the third or fourth century b. c. , of stories previously existing, and ascribed 
 to the Buddha, and put into its present form in Ceylon, in the fifth centmy 
 A.D. The PSli text is being edited by Professor FausboU, of Copenhagen ; 
 Tol. i. 1877, vol. ii. 1878, vol. iii. in the press. English translation in the 
 present work. 
 
 la. Sinhalese translation of No. 1, called Pan sita panas Jataka pota. 
 Written in Ceylon in or about 1320 a.d. 
 
 lb. Gdttela Eatvyata. A poetical version in Elu, or old Siijhalese, of 
 one of the stories in la, by Badawcettawa TJnnanse, about 1415. Edited in 
 Colombo, 1870, "with introduction and commentary, by Batuwan TuMwa. 
 
 Ic. KusA Jatakata. a poetical version in Elu, or old Sinhalese, of one 
 of the stories in lo, by .Alagiawanna MohottaUj 1610. Edited in Colombo, 
 with commentary, 1868. 
 
 Id. An Eastern Love Story. Translation in verse of Ic, by ThoTnas Steele, 
 C.C.S., London, 1871. 
 
 le. AsADiSA Jatakata. An Elu poem, by Eajadhirdja Sinha, king of 
 Ceylon in 1780. 
 
 2. The C ARTY A PiTAKA. A book of the Buddhist Scriptures of the fourth 
 century B.C., containing thirty-five of the oldest above stories. See Table IV. 
 
 3. The Jataka Mala. A Sanskrit work of unknown date, also contain- 
 ing thirty-five of the oldest stories in No. 1. See Table lY. 
 
 4. The Pannasa-Jatakai], or ' 50 Jatakas.' A Pali work written in 
 Siam, of unknown date and contents, but apparently distinct from No. 1. 
 See above, p. livii. 
 
xc INDIAN WORKS. 
 
 5. Pan'cha Tantra. ? MedioDval. See above, pp. Ixviii-lxxii. 
 Text edited by Kosegarten, Beau, IS-tS. 
 
 ICwlhorn and BiihUr, Bombay, 1SG8. 
 C. Translations: — German, hy Bcnfcy, Leipzig, 1859. 
 
 7. French ,, Dubois, Paris, 1826. 
 
 8. ,, ,, Laiicerau, Paris, 1871. 
 
 9. Greek ,, Galanos ani Ti/paldos, Atliens, ISbl. 
 
 10. HiTorADESA. Mediaeval. Compiled principally from No. 2, with 
 additions from another unknowTi work. 
 
 Text edited by Carey and Coklrookc, Serampur, 1804. 
 Samilton, Loudon, 1810. 
 Bernstein, Breslau, 1823. 
 SchUgel a.-a.d. Lassen, Bonn, 1829-1831. 
 Nyalankar, Calcutta, 1830 and 1844. 
 Johnson, Hertford, 1847 and 18G4, with English 
 
 version. 
 Yates, Calcutta, 1841. 
 
 B. Arnold, Bombay, 1859 ,, 
 
 Max Millkr, London, 1864-1868 ,, 
 
 11. Translations: — English, by Wllkins, Bath, 1787; reprinted by 
 
 Kyalankar in his edition of the text. 
 
 12. ,, ,, Sir W. Jones, Calcutta, 1816. 
 12a. ,, ,, E. Arnold, London, 1861. 
 
 13. German „ Max Miiller, Leipzig, 1844. 
 13a. ,, ,, jDursch, Tiibingen, 1S53. 
 
 14. „ „ L. Fritze, Breslau, 1874. 
 
 15. French ,, Langles, Paris, 1790. 
 
 16. ,, ,, Lanccrau, Paris, 1855. 
 
 17. Greek ,, Galanos and Typaldos, Athens, 1851. 
 
 18. Vetala Panca VigSATi. Twenty-five stories told by a Vetula, or 
 demon. Sanskrit text in No. 32, vol. ii. pp. 288-293. 
 
 iBa. Greek version of No. 18 added to No. 17. 
 
 19. Vethala Kathei. Tamil version of No. 18. Edited by liobertson in 
 'A Compilation of Papers in the Tamil Language,' Madras, 1839. 
 
 20. No. 19, translated into English by Babitigton, in ' Miscellaneous 
 Translations from Oriental Languages,' London, 1831. 
 
 21. No. 18, translated into Brajbakha, by Sural, 1740. 
 
 22. Bytal Pachisi. Translated from No. 21 into English by Maja Kuli 
 Krishna Bahadur, Calcutta, 1834. See No. 41a. 
 
 22a. Baital Pachisi. Hindustani version of No. 21, Calcutta, 1805. 
 Edited by Barker, Hertford, 1855. 
 
INDIAN WORKS. xci 
 
 111. English versions of 226!, by /. T. Platts, Soilings, and Barker. 
 
 12c. ViKRAM AND THE Yampire, 01 Tales of Hindu Devilry. Adopted 
 from 224 by Ilichard F. Burton, London, 1870. 
 
 21(1. German version of 22a, by S. Oesterley, in the ' Bibliotbek Orien- 
 talischer Mircheu und Erzahlungen, ' 1873, witb valuable introduction and 
 notes. 
 
 23. SsiDDi KiJR. Mongolian version of N"o. 18. 
 
 24. German versions of No. 23, by Benjamin Bergmann in Xomadiseli e 
 Streifereien im Lande der Kalmiichen, i. 247 and foU., 1804 ; and by Jiiclg, 
 1866 and 1868. 
 
 25. German version of No. 18, by Br. Luber, Gorz, 1873. 
 
 26. SuKA Saptati. The seventy stories of a parrot. 
 
 27. Greek version of No. 26, by Dcmetrios Galmios and G. K. Tijpaldos, 
 Psittakou Mythologiai JVu/cterinai, included in their version of Nos. 10 and 18. 
 
 28. Persian version of No. 26, now lost; but reproduced by Nachshehi 
 under the title Tuti Nameh. 
 
 28a. ToTA Kahani. Hindustani version of 26. Edited by Forbes. 
 16b. English version of 28a, by the Sev. G. Small. 
 
 29. SiNH.iSANA DvATRissATi. The thirty-two stories of the throne of 
 Vikramaditya ; called also VUcram-a Caritra. Edited in Madras, 1861. 
 
 29a. SiNGHASAN Battisi. Hindi version of 29. Tiiitei hy Si/edAidoolah. 
 
 30. Vatris Singhasax. Bengali version of No. 29, Serampur, 1818. 
 
 31. Aeji Borji Chan. Mongolian version of No. 29. 
 
 32. Vbihat-katha. By Gunadhya, probably about the sixth century; 
 in the PaisacI Prakrit. See above, p. lixiii. 
 
 33. KathI Sarit S.igara. The Ocean of the Eivers of Tales. It is 
 founded on No. 32. Includes No. 18, and a part of No. 5. The Sanskrit 
 text edited by Brockhaus, Leipzig, vol. i. with German translation, 1839 ; 
 vol. ii. text only, 1862 and 1866. Original by S'rIjSoma<fe»a.B/ia«a, of Kashmir, 
 at the beginning of the twelfth century a.d. See above, pp. Ixxii, Isxiii. 
 
 34. Vrihat-katha. a Sanskrit version of No. 34, by Kilwmendra, of 
 Kashmir. "Written independently of Somadeva's work, No. 32. See 
 above, p. Ixxiii. 
 
 35. Panca Danda Chattra Prabandha. Stories about King Yitra- 
 maditya's magic umbrella. Jain Sanskrit. Text and German version by 
 Weber, Berlin, 1877. 
 
 36. Yasatadatta. By Subandhu. Possibly as old as the sixth century. 
 Edited by Fitz-Edward Sail, in the Bibliotheca Indica, Calcutta, 1859. This 
 and the next are romances, not story-books. 
 
 37. KadamrarT. By Baiia Bhalta, ? seventh century. Edited in Cal- 
 cutta, 1850 ; and again, 1872, by Tarkavacaspati. 
 
xcii INDIAN WORKS. 
 
 38. Bengali version of Xo. 37, by TZira Shankar Tarlcaratna. Tenth 
 edition, Calcutta, 1868. 
 
 39. Dasa-kumaua-camta. By Drarfm, P sistli century. Edited by Oiri/, 
 1804 ; Wilson, 1846 ; and by Buhler, 1873. 
 
 39a. Hindoo Tales, founded on No. 39. By P. W. Jacob, London, 1873. 
 39J. TJne Tethade. By J^f^jso^yte -Fhto/zc, Paris, 1861-1863. Contains 
 a translation into French of No. 39. 
 
 40. Kath-irnava, the Stream of Tales. In four Books ; the first being 
 No. 18, the second No. 29, the third and fourth miscellaneous. 
 
 41. PuRUSHA-PARiKSH.i, the Adveuturcs of King HammTra. Probably of 
 the foiurteenth century. Ey Vidyapati. 
 
 41a. EngUsh translation of No. 41, by Saja Kali Xrishna, Serampiur, 
 1830. See No. 22. 
 
 42. ViRA-CAKiTAi), the Adventures of King Salivahana. 
 
XCIU 
 
 TABLE II. 
 THE KALILAG AND DAMNAG LITEEATUEE. 
 
 1. A lost Buddhist Tvort in a language of Northern India, ascribed to 
 Bidpai. See above, pp. Ixi-lxsii. 
 
 2. PelTi version, 531-579 a.d. By Baj-zTtye, the Court physician of 
 Khosru Nushirvan. See above, p. xxix. 
 
 3. EIalilag und Dam:s-ag. Syrian version of No. 2. PubUshed with 
 German translation by Gustav Biekell, and Introduction by Professor Benfmj, 
 Leipzig, IS 76. This and No. 15 preserve the best evidence of the contents 
 of No. 2, and of its Buddhist original or originals. 
 
 4. Kalilah wa Dimxah (Fables of Bidpai). Arabic version of No. 3, 
 by Ahd-allah, son of Almokaffa. Date about 760 a.d. Text of one recen- 
 sion edited by Silvestre de Sacy, Paris, 1816. Other recensions noticed at 
 length in Ignazio Guidi's ' Stndii sul testo Arabo del libro di CalUa e Dimna ' 
 (Home, 1873). 
 
 5. Kalila and Dijesa. English version of No. 4, by KnatckbuU, 
 Oxford, 1819. 
 
 6. Das Buck des Weisen. German version of No. 4, by Wolff, 
 Stuttgart, 1839. 
 
 7. SiEPHANiTiis KAi IcHTELATES. Greek version of No. 4, by Sitneoti 
 Seth, about 1080 a.d. Edited by Seb. Gottfried Starke, Berlin, 1697 (re- 
 printed in Athens, 1851), and hj Aiirivilliiis, Upsala, 1786. 
 
 8. Latin version of No. 7, by Father JPossin, at the end of his edition of 
 Pachymeres, Home, 1866. 
 
 9. Persian translation of No. 4, by Abdul Maali Nasr Allah, 1118-1153. 
 Exists, in MS. only, in Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. 
 
 10. Anvab. I SuHAiLi. Persian translation, through the last, of No. 4, 
 by Husain ben All el Vaiz U^l-Kashift; end of the fifteenth century. 
 
 11. Anvar I SuHAiEi, OR THE LiGHTS OP Casopus. English version of 
 No. 10, by Edward Eastwick, Hertford, 1854. 
 
 11a. Another English version of No. 10, hy Arthur If . Wollaston (London, 
 AUen). 
 
 12. Litre des Lumieres. French version of No. 10, by David Sahid, 
 d' Ispahan, Paris, 1644, 8vo. 
 
 13. Del Governo de' Eegni. Italian version of No. 7, Ferrara, 1583 ; 
 by Giulio Nuti. Edited by Teza, Bologna, 1872. 
 
xciv KALILAG AND DAMXAG. 
 
 14. Hebrew version of "So. 4, by Joel (?), before 1230. Exists ouly in a 
 siugle MS. in Paris, of wbicli the first part is missing. 
 
 15. DiRECTOMUM Hu.vAN.Ti ViT.E. Latiu version of No. 14, by John of 
 Capua. "Written 1263-127S. Printed about 1480, without date or name of 
 place. Next to No. 3 it is the best evidence of the contents of the lost books 
 Nos. 1 and 2. 
 
 16. German version of No. 15, also about 1480, but without date or name 
 of place. 
 
 17. Version in Ulm dialect of No. 16. XJlm, 1483. 
 
 18. Baldo's ' Alter iEsovus.' A translation dii'ect from Arabic into 
 Latin (? thirteenth centm-y.) Edited in du McriVs ' Poesies iuedites du 
 moyen age,' Paris, 1854. 
 
 19. Calila b Dymjta. Spanish version of No. 4 (? through an unknown 
 Latin version). About 1251. Published in 'Biblioteca de Autores Es- 
 pauoles,' Madrid, 1860, vol. 51. 
 
 20. Calila et Dimna. Latiu version of the last, by Saimond de Bczicrs, 
 1313. 
 
 21. CoxDE LuoANOR. By Don Juan Manuel (died 1347), grandson of 
 St. Ferdinand of Spain. Spanish source not certain, 
 
 22. SixBAD THE Sailor, or Book of the Seven Wise Masters. See 
 Comparetti, ' Eicerche intomo al Libro di Sindibad,' Milano, 1869. 
 
 23. CoNTES ET NouvELLES. By Bonaventure des Bericrs, Lyons, 1587. 
 
 24. ExE.MPLARio coxTRA LOS ExGAiios. 1493. Spanish version of the 
 Directorium. 
 
 25. DiscoBSE DEGLi AuiMALi. ItaKan of last, by An^e Firenzuola, 
 1548. 
 
 26. La Filosofia Morale. By Boni, 1552. Italian of last but one. 
 
 27. North's English version of last, 1570. 
 
 28. Fables by La Fontaine. 
 
 First edition in vi. books, the subjects of which are mostly taken 
 from classical authors and from Planudes's Jisop, Paris, 1668. 
 
 Second edition in xi. books, the five later taken from Nos. 12 and 
 23, Paris, 1678. 
 
 Third edition in xii. books, Paris, 1094. 
 
TABLE III. 
 THE BAELAAM AXD JOSAPHAT SEMES. 
 
 1. St. John of Damascus^ s Greelc Text, Seventh century a.d. First 
 edited by BoissoNADE, in Ms ' Anecdota Grfcca,' Paris, 1832, vol. iv. Ee- 
 printed in Migne's ' Patrologia Cursus Completus, Series Gra^ca,' torn, xcvi, 
 pp. 836-12-50, with the Latin translation by Billy' in parallel columns. 
 BoLSSonade's text is reviewed, and its imperfections pointed out, by Schlb.^rt 
 (who makes use of six Vienna MSS.) in the 'Wiener Jahrbiicher,' vol. Ixiii. 
 
 2. Syriac version of Xo. 1 exists only in MS. 
 
 3. Arabic version of Xo. 2 exists only in JIS., one MS. being at least as 
 old as the eleventh century. 
 
 4. Zatin version of Xo. 1, of untnown date and author, of vrhich MSS. 
 of the twelfth century are still extant. There is a black-letter edition 
 (? Spiers, 1-170) in the British Museum. It was adopted, ^vith abbreviations 
 in several places, by Yixcentius Bellovicensis, in his ' Speculum His- 
 toriale' (Ub. xv. cap. 1-63); by Jacobus a Voraglxe, in his 'Legenda 
 Aurea' (ed. Grdsse, 1S46) ; and was reprinted in full in the editions of the 
 works of St. John of Damascus, published at Basel in the sixteenth century.^ 
 From this Latin version all the later mediaeval works on this subject are 
 either directly or indirectly derived. 
 
 4ffl. -An abbreviated version in Latin of the fourteenth century in the 
 British Museum. .Arundel MS. 330, fol. 51-57. See Koch, Ko. 9, p. xiv. 
 German : — 
 
 5. Barlaam und Josaphat. A poem of the thirteenth century, pub- 
 lished from a MS. in the Solms-Laubach Lihrarj' by L. Diefenbach, under 
 the title ' Mittheilungen iiber eine noch ungedruckte m-h.d. bearbeitung des 
 B. and J.' Giessen, 1836. 
 
 6. Another poem, partly published from an imperfect MS. at Ziirich, by 
 Feanz Pfeipfer, in Haupt's 'Zeitsch. f. d. Alterthum,' i. 127-135. 
 
 7. Sarlaam und JosaphMt. By Rudolf ton Ems. "Written about 1230. 
 Latest and best edition by Fbanz Pfeiffeb., in ' Dichtungen des deutscheu 
 
 1 Billy (1535-1577) was Abbot of St. Michael's, in Brittany. Another edition of his 
 Latin version, by Rosweyd, is also reprinted in iMigne, 'Series Latina,' torn. Ixxiii; and 
 several separate editions have appeared besides (Antwerp, 1602; Cologne, 1624, etc.). 
 
 2 The British Museum copy of the first, undated, edition has the date 1539 written, in 
 ink, on the title-page. Rosweyd, in Note 4 to his edition of Pillius (Migne, vol. Ixxiii. 
 p. 606), mentions an edition bearing the date 1548. In the British Museum there is a 
 third, dated 15/5 (on the last page). 
 
xcvi BARLAAM AND JOSAPHA T. 
 
 JEittelalters,' vol. iii., Leipzig, 1S43. Tliis popular treatment of the subject 
 exists in numerous MSS. 
 
 7. Die Sj/stori Josaphat mid Barlaam. Date and author not named. 
 Black-letter. Woodcuts. Title on last page. Fifty-six short chapters. 
 Quaint and forcible old German. A small folio in the British Museum. 
 
 8. Kistoria von dem Leben der zwcicii H. Heichtiger Barlaam Eremiten, 
 nnd Josaphat di;s Kdnig''s in Indicn Sohn^ etc. Translated from the Latin 
 by the Counts of Helpfexsteix and Hohexzollern, Miinchen, 1684. In 
 40 long chapters, pp. 602, 12nio. 
 
 Dutch:— 
 
 9. Set Levcn en Bcdryf van Barlaam dfn Heremit, en JosapJtat Koniug 
 van Indien. Xoo in Nederduits vertaalt door F. v. H., Antwerp, 1593, 12mo. 
 
 A new edition of this version appeared in 1672. This is a long and tedious 
 prose version of the holy legend. 
 French : — 
 
 8. Poem by Gui de Camehat (1200-1250). Edited by Hermann Zoten- 
 EERG and P.^UL Meyer in the ' Bibliothek des Literarischen Vereins,' iu 
 Stuttgart, vol. Ixiv., 1864. They mention also (pp. 318-325) : — 
 
 9. La Vie de Seint Josapltaz. Poem by Ghardbt. Edited by John Koch, 
 Heilbronn, 1879, who confirms the editors of No. 8 as to the following old 
 French versions, 10-15 ; and further adduces No. 11«. 
 
 10. A third poem by an unknown author. 
 
 11. A prose work by an unknown author — all three being of the 13th cent. 
 11a. Another in MS. Egerton, 745, British Museum. 
 
 12. A poem in French of the fifteenth century, based on the abstract in 
 Latin of No. 4, by Jacob de Yoragine. 
 
 13. A Proven<;al tale in prose, containing only the story of Josafat and 
 the tales told by Barlaam, without the moralizations. 
 
 14. A miracle play of about 1400. 
 
 15. Another miracle play of about 1460. 
 Italian : — 
 
 16. Vita di san Giosafat convertito da Barlaam. By Geo. Antonio 
 Eemondini. Published about 1600, at Venezia and Bassano, 16mo. There 
 is a second edition of this, also without date; and a third, published in 
 Modena in 1768, with illustrations. 
 
 17. iStoria de' SS. Barlmim e Giosafatte. By Bottari, Home, 1734, 
 8vo., of which a second edition appeared in 1816. 
 
 18. La santissima vita di Santo Josafat, Jlgluolo del Re Avenero, Re dell' 
 India, da che ei naeque per infmo ch'ei mori. A prose romance, edited by 
 Telesforo Bini from a MS. belonging to the Commendatore Francesco de 
 Eossi, in pp. 124-152 of a collection ' Rime e Prose,' Lucca, 1852, 8vo. 
 
BARLAAM AND JOSAPHA T. xcvii 
 
 19. A proso Vita da Santo Josafat. In MS. Add. 10902 of the Britisli 
 Jfuseum, wliich Paul Mayer (sec No. 8) says begins exactly as No. 18, but 
 ends differently. (See Koch, No. 9 above, p. xiii.) 
 
 20. A Mapprcse7itailoiie di Barlaam c Josafat is mentioned by Frederigo 
 Palenno in his ' I maunscritti Palatini de Firenze,' 1860, vol. ii. p. 401. 
 
 Skandinavian : — 
 
 A full account of all the Skandinavian versions is given in Barlaam'' s ok 
 Josaplmfs Saga, by C. R. TJngek, Christiania, 1851, 8vo. 
 
 Spanish : — 
 
 Sonesta, etc., historia de la rara vida de los famosos y singularcs sanctos 
 Barlaam, etc. By Baltasat de Santa Cruz. Published in the Spanish 
 dialect used in the Philippine Islands at Manila, 1092. A literal translation 
 of Bilius (No. 1). 
 
 English : — 
 
 In Houstmann's ■ Altenglische Legenden,' Paderborn, 1875, an Old 
 English version of the legend is published from the Bodleian MS. No. 779. 
 There is another recension of the same poem in the Harleian MS. No. 4196. 
 Both are of the fourteenth century ; and of the second there is another copy 
 in the Vernon MS. See further, Warton's 'History of English Poetry,' 
 i. 271-279, and ii. 30, 58, 308. 
 
 Horstmann has also published a Middle English version in the ' Program 
 of the Sagan Gymnasium,' 1877. 
 
 The History of tlie Five Wise Fhilosophfrs ; or, the Wonderful Relation of 
 the Life of Jehoshaphat the Hermit, San of Avenerian, King of Barma in 
 India, etc. By N. H. (that is, Nicholas Herick), Gent., London, 1711, 
 pp. 128, 12mo. This is a prose romance, and an abridged translation of the 
 Italian version of 1600 (No. 16), and contains only one fable (at p. 46) of 
 the Nightingale and the Fowler. 
 
 The work referred to on p. xlvi, under the title Gcsta Eomanorum, a 
 collection of tales with lengthy moralizations (probably sermons), was made 
 in England about 1300. It soon passed to the Continent, and was repeatedly 
 re-written in numerous MSS., with additions and alterations. Three printed 
 editions appeared between 1472 and 1475 ; and one of these, containing 181 
 stories, is the source of the work now known under this title. Tale No. 168 
 quotes Barlaam. The best edition of the Latin version is by H. Oesterley, 
 Berlin, 1872. The last English translation is Hooper's, Bohn's Anti- 
 quarian Library, London, 1877. The Early English versions have been 
 edited by Sir F. Madden ; and again, in vol. xxxiii. of the Extra Series of 
 the Early English Text Society, by S. J. H. Herrtage. 
 
 The Seven Sages (edited by Thomas Wright for the Percy Society, 1845) 
 also contains some Buddhist tales. 
 
 VOL. I. h 
 
xcvm 
 
 TABLE IV. 
 
 COMPARISON OF THE CARIYA PITAKA. AXD THE JATAKA 
 
 MALA. 
 
 1. Akitte-cariyag. 
 
 VyaghT-iatakari. 
 
 2. Saijkha-c". 
 
 Sivi-.i° (8). 
 
 3. Danafijaya-c°. 
 
 Kulmasapiridi-i°. 
 
 4. Maha-sudassana-c°. 
 
 Sreshthi-j^ (21)_. 
 
 5. Jlaha-govinda-c". 
 
 Avisaj yasreshtlii-3°. 
 
 6. Xirai-raja-c". 
 
 Sasa-j" (10). 
 
 7. Canda-kumara-c°. 
 
 Agastya-j°. 
 
 8. Siri-raja-c° (2). 
 
 Maitiibala-j". 
 
 9. Vessanfara-c° (9). 
 
 Visvantara-j" (9). 
 
 10. Sasa-pandita-c° (6). 
 
 Yajfia-i°. 
 
 11. Snava-naga-c" (J. 72). 
 
 Sakra-j°. 
 
 12. Bliuridatta-c". 
 
 Brahmana-]'". 
 
 13. Campeyya-naga-c". 
 
 Ummadayanti-j". 
 
 li. Cula-bodhi-c°. 
 
 Suparaga-j". 
 
 15. Maliir|sa-raja-c° (27). 
 
 Matsya-j° (30). 
 
 16. Enni-ra]"a-c°. 
 
 Vartaka-potaka-j° (29). 
 
 17. Matai)ga-c°. 
 
 Kaccliapa-i". 
 
 18. Dliammadhamma-deTaputta-c°. 
 
 Kumbha-j°. 
 
 19. Jayadisa-c°. 
 
 Putra-3°. 
 
 20. Sagkhap5la-c°. 
 
 Visa-j°. 
 
 21. Tudanjaya-c°. 
 
 Sreshthi-j"'(4i. 
 
 22. Somanassa-c". 
 
 Buddhabodlii-]". 
 
 23. ATOghara-c° (33). 
 
 Hagsa-j". 
 
 2i. Biusa-c°. 
 
 Mahabodhi-j°. 
 Mahakapi-j* (27, 28). 
 
 25. Soma-pandita-c° (32). 
 
 26. Temiya-c°. 
 
 Sarabha-i°. 
 Euru-j" (16). 
 
 27. Eapi-raja-c" (25, 28). 
 
 28. Saccalivaya-pandita-c°. 
 
 Mahakapi-j° (25, 27)- 
 
 29. Vattaka-potaka-c° (16). 
 
 Ksbanti-i'°. 
 
 30. Maccha-raja-c° (15). 
 
 Brahma-]". 
 
 31. Kanha-dipayana-c". 
 
 Hasti-i°. 
 
 32. Sutesoma-c" (25, 32). 
 
 Sutasoma-j° (25, 32). 
 
 33. Suvanna-sama-c". 
 
 Ayogriha-i° (23). 
 Mahisha-j°. 
 
 34. Ekaraja-c°. 
 
 35. Maha-lomaliajsa-c" (J. 94). 
 
 Satapatra-j°. 
 
 For the above lists see Fecr, ' Etude sur les Jatakas,' p. 68 ; Gogerlt/, 
 Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, 1853 ; and 
 Fauslioll, ' Five Jatakas,' p. 59 ; and also above, pp. liii, liv. It wiH be 
 seen that there are seven tales \vith identical, and one or t\vo more with 
 similar titles, in the two collections. Editions of these two works are very 
 much required. The Cambridge University Library possesses a MS. of the 
 former, with the various readings of several other MSS. noted, for me, by 
 Dewa Aranolis. 
 
TABLE V. 
 
 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF JATAKA STORIES IN THE 
 MAHAVASTU. 
 
 Arranged from Cowell and Eggeling's ' Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit MSS. 
 in the Possession of the Royal Asiatic Society (Hodgson Collection).' 
 
 Amarilye karmarakadhitaye jatakar|. 
 
 Arindama-j" 
 
 Asthisenasya-]'"- 
 
 BhadraTargikanag-j". 
 
 Campaka-nagaraja-i". 
 
 Godha-j° 
 
 Hastini-j°. 
 
 Kaka-f. 
 
 UruTilTa-kajyapadi-kasyapanari-i''. 
 
 Ajnata-Kaundinya-j". 
 
 Kinnari-j °.' 
 
 E>icchapa-j°. 
 
 Knsa-j°. 
 
 Manjeii-j". 
 
 Markata-]"". 
 
 Mrigarajfio surupasya-j°. 
 
 Naliniye rajakumarTye-j". 
 
 PunyaTanta-j°. 
 
 Purnasya Maitrayani-putrasya j". 
 
 Rakshito-nama-rishi-j". 
 
 Rishabasya-j". 
 
 Sakuntaka-]". (Two with this title.) 
 
 Sarakshepanag-]'". 
 
 Saratag-j". 
 
 SarthaTahasya-j°. 
 
 Siri-j»- 
 
 SirT-prabhasya mriga-rajasya j°. 
 
 Syama-j°.' (Car. Pit. 33.) 
 
 Syamaka-j". 
 
 Trinakuniyag Bama j°. 
 
 Upali ganga palanag-j°. 
 
 Vanaradhipa-j°. 
 
 Vaxa-j". 
 
 Vijitavasya Vaideha-rajfio-j°. 
 
 Tasoda-j°. 
 
 Yosodharaye harapradana-j°. 
 
 )> Tyaghrlbhutaya-j°. 
 
 1 These two Jataka.s also form the contents of a separate MS. in the Royal Asiatic 
 Society's Library (Catalogue, p 14). 
 
TABLE VI. 
 
 PLACES AT ^^HICH THE TALES WERE TOLD. 
 M. Leon Feer has taken the trouble to count the number of times each of 
 the following places is mentioned at the commencement of the Commentary, 
 
 Jetavana monastery . . . ^■'"liic 
 
 Savatthi ... . . 6J 
 
 Vejmana . ... 49] 
 
 Eajagaha . 5 ^ 55 
 
 Latthivanuyyana 1 j 
 
 Vesuli . . . . .4 
 
 Kosamhi . . 5 
 
 Alayi . . . 3 
 
 Eundaladaha . . . 3 
 
 Kusa . ., . .2 
 
 Magadha . . .2 
 
 Dakkhinagiri . . 1 
 
 Migadiya ... . .1 
 
 Mithik ... 1 
 
 By the Ganges ... . .1 
 
 To -which we may add from pp. 124-128 helow- 
 KapUavatthu ... 
 
 494 
 
 498 
 
TABLE VII. 
 
 THE BODISxVTS. 
 
 At his request the Eev. Spence Handy's ' pandit ' made an analysis of the 
 numher of times in which the Bodisat appears in the Buddhist Birth Stories 
 in each of the following characters : — 
 
 An ascetic . 
 
 83 
 
 An iguana 
 
 A king 
 
 85 
 
 A fish 
 
 A tree god . 
 
 43 
 
 An elephant driver 
 
 A teacher . 
 
 26 
 
 A rat . 
 
 A courtier . 
 
 24 
 
 A jackal 
 
 A brahman 
 
 24 
 
 A crow 
 
 A king's son 
 
 24 
 
 A woodpecker 
 
 A nobleman 
 
 23 
 
 A thief 
 
 A learned man . 
 
 22 
 
 A pig . . 
 
 Sakka 
 
 20 
 
 A dog . . 
 
 A monkey . 
 
 18 
 
 A curer of snake bites . 
 
 A merchant 
 
 13 
 
 A gambler 
 
 A man of property 
 
 12 
 
 A mason . 
 
 A deer 
 
 11 
 
 A smith 
 
 A lion 
 
 10 
 
 A devil dancer . 
 
 A wild duck 
 
 8 
 
 A student . 
 
 A snipe 
 
 6 
 
 A silversmith 
 
 An elephant 
 
 6 
 
 A carpenter 
 
 A cock 
 
 5 
 
 A water-fowl 
 
 A slave 
 
 6 
 
 A frog 
 
 An eagle . 
 
 5 
 
 A hare 
 
 A horse 
 
 4 
 
 A kite 
 
 AbuU 
 
 4 
 
 A jungle cock 
 
 Brahma 
 
 4 
 
 A fairy 
 
 A peacock . 
 
 4 
 
 
 A serpent . 
 
 4 
 
 
 A potter . 
 
 3 
 
 
 An outcast 
 
 3 
 
 
 530 
 
TABLE VIII. 
 
 JATAKAS ILLUSTRATED IX BAS-RELIEF ON THE ANCIENT 
 MONUMENTS. 
 
 Arraun-ed from General CunninghanC s ' Stupa of Bharhut.' 
 
 No. 
 
 Plate Title inscribed on tlie stone. 
 
 Title in the Jitaka Book. 
 
 1. 
 
 siv. Miga Jataka. 
 
 
 Nigrodha-miga 
 
 Jataka. 
 
 2. 
 
 „ Naga"- „ 
 
 
 Kakkataka 
 
 
 3. 
 
 ,, Yava-majliakiya Jataka. 
 
 P3' 
 
 
 4. 
 
 , , Muga-pakhaya 
 
 n 
 
 Muga-pakkha 
 
 
 5. 
 
 xsyi. Latuwa 
 
 )) 
 
 Latukika 
 
 
 6. 
 
 ,, Cha-dantiya 
 
 J) 
 
 Chad-danta 
 
 
 7. 
 
 „ Isi-siggiya 
 
 5J 
 
 Isa-sigga 
 
 
 8. 
 
 „ (?)Tamiuma)W-ayavesi 
 
 >> 
 
 Andha-bhuta 
 
 
 9. 
 
 xim. ?» 
 
 
 Kurui|ga-imga 
 
 
 10. 
 
 ,, Hagsa 
 
 ,j 
 
 Nacca 
 
 „ ^ 
 
 11. 
 
 Kinara 
 
 „ 
 
 Canda-kinnara 
 
 s 
 
 12. 
 
 ?* 
 
 
 Asadisa 
 
 
 13. 
 
 " ?4 
 
 „ 
 
 Dasaratha 
 
 
 14. 
 
 xliii. Isi-migo 
 
 ,, 
 
 ?' 
 
 
 15. 
 
 ilvi. Uda 
 
 J, 
 
 ?' 
 
 
 16. 
 
 ,, Secha 
 
 J, 
 
 Dubliiya-makkata. 
 
 17. 
 
 xlrii Sujato galiuto 
 
 ( Bidala 
 " \ Kukuta 
 
 J) 
 
 Sujata 
 
 )? 
 
 18. 
 
 
 Kukkuta 
 
 71 
 
 19. 
 
 xlviii. Magha-deriya 
 
 >» 
 
 Makha-deva 
 
 6 
 
 20. 
 
 „ Bhisa-haraniya 
 
 ,, 
 
 ?' 
 
 
 21. 
 
 xviii. Vitara-panakaya 
 ... f Janako Ran a 
 
 9 
 
 Vidhura 
 Janaka 
 
 J) 
 
 22. 
 
 ^™^- i Sivala DoTi 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 
 > Translated below, pp. 205, and foil. This is one of those which General Cunning- 
 ham was unable to identify. 
 
 2 General Cunningham says (p. 52): **The former [Naga Jataka, i.e. Elephajit 
 Jataka] is the correct name, as in the legend here represented Buddha is the King of 
 the Elephants, and therefore the Jataka, or Birth, must of necessity have been named 
 after him." As I have above pointed out (p. xli), the title of each Jataka, or Birth 
 Story, is chosen, not by any means from the character which the Bodisat fills in it, 
 but mdifferently from a variety of other reasons. General Cunningham himself gives 
 the story called IsT-singga Jataka (No. 7 in the above list), in which the ascetic after 
 whom the Jataka is named is not the Bodisat. 
 
 8 Not as yet found in the Jataka Book ; but Dr. Biihler has shown in the * Indian 
 Antiquary,' vol. i. p. 305, that it is the first tale in the * Vrihat Katha ' of Kshemendra 
 (Table I, No. 34), and in the * Katha Sarit Sagara' of Somadeva (Table I. No. 33), 
 and was therefore probably included in the * Vrihat Katha.' of Gunadhya (Tabic I. 
 No. 32). 
 
 * The part of the stone supposed to have contained the inscription is lost. 
 
 6 Translated below, pp. 292, 293. 
 
 6 It is mentioned below, p. 128, and is included in the Mabavastu (Table V.), and 
 forms the subject of tbe carving on one of the rails at Buddha Gayu (Rajendra Liil 
 Mitra, pi. xxxiv. fig. 2). 
 
 ' Not as yet foimd in the Jataka Book. 
 
 8 Translated below, pp. 186-188. See also above, p. Ixiv, 
 
 9 There arc four distinct bas-rclicfs illustrative of this Jataka. 
 
There are numerous other scenes without titles, and not yet identified in 
 the Jstalca Book, but whicli are almost certainly illustrative of Jataka Stories ; 
 and several scenes with titles illustrative of passages in the Nidana Katha of 
 the Jataka Book. So, for instance, PI. xvi. fig. 1 is the worship in heaven of 
 the Buddha's Head-dress, whose reception into heaven is descrihed below, 
 p. 86 ; and the heavenly mansion, the Palace of Glory, is inscribed Vejayanto 
 Fdsado, the origin of which name is explained below, p. 287. Plate xxviii. 
 has a scene entitled ' Bhagavato Okkanti ' (The Descent of the Blessed 
 One),' in illustration of Maya Devi's Dream (below, pp. 62, 63) ; and 
 Plate Ivii. is a representation of the Presentation of the Jetavana Monastery 
 (below, pp. 130-133). The identifications of Nos. 12 and 13 in the above 
 list are very doubtful. 
 
 Besides the above, Mr. Fergusson, in his ' Tree and Serpent "Worship,' has 
 identified bas-reliefs on the Sauchi Tope in illustration of the Sama and 
 Asadisa Jatakas (PI. xxxvi. p. 181) and of the Vessantara Jataka (PL xxiv. 
 p. 125) ; and there are other Jataka scenes on the Sanchi Tope not yet 
 identified. 
 
 Mr. Simpson also has been kind enough to show me drawings of bas-reliefs 
 he discovered in Afghanistan, two of which I have been able to identify as 
 illustrations of the Sumedha Jataka (below, p. 11-13), and another as illus- 
 trative of the scene described below on pp. 125, 126. 
 
 1 General Cunningham's reading of this inscription as Bhagavato ruhdania seems to 
 me to be incorrect, and his translation of it {' Buddha as the sounding elephant ') to be 
 grammatically impossible. 
 
THE NIDANAKATHA 
 
 OB 
 
 THE THEEE EPOCHS. 
 
 [vv. 1-11. J The Apan«aka and other Births, which in 
 times gone by were recounted on various occasions by the 
 great illustrious Sage, and in which during a long period 
 our Teacher and Leader, desirous of the salvation of 
 mankind, fulfilled the vast conditions of Buddhahood,^ 
 were all collected together and added to the canon of 
 Scripture by those who made the recension of the Scrip- 
 tures, and rehearsed by them under the name of THE 
 JATAKA. Having bowed at the feet of the Great Sage, 
 the lord of the world, by whom in innumerable existences^ 
 boundless benefits were conferred upon mankind, and 
 having paid reverence to the Law, and ascribed honour 
 to the Clergy, the receptacle of aU honour ; and having 
 removed all dangers by the efficacy of that meritorious act 
 of veneration and honour referring to the Three Gems, 
 I proceed to recite a Commentary upon this Jataka, 
 illustrating as it does the infinite efficacy of the actions 
 of great men — a commentary based upon the method 
 of exposition current among the inmates of the Great 
 Monastery. And I do so at the personal request of the 
 elder Atthadassin, who lives apart from the world and 
 
 ' Lit. perfected the vast constituents of Buddhahood, the Paramitas are 
 meant. 
 2 Lit. in thousands of kotis of births ; a koti is ten millions. 
 
2 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 ever dwells i ith his fraternity, and who desires the 
 perpetuation of this chronicle of Buddha ; and likewise of 
 Buddhaniitta the tranquil and wise, sprung from the race 
 of Mahi^Hsasaka, skilled in the canons of interpretation ; 
 and moreover of the monk Buddhadeva of clear intellect. 
 May all good men lend me their favourable attention 
 while I speak ! ^ 
 
 Inasmuch as this comment on the Jiitaka, if it be ex- 
 pounded after setting forth the three Epochs, the distant, 
 the middle, and proximate, will be clearly understood by 
 those who hear it by being understood from the beginning, 
 therefore I will expound it after setting forth the three 
 Epochs. Accordingly from the very outset it will be well 
 to determine the limits of these Epochs. Now the narra- 
 tive of the Bodhisatta's existence, from the time that at 
 the feet of Dipankara he formed a resolution to become 
 a Buddha to his rebirth in the Tusita heaven after 
 leaving the Yessantara existence, is called the Distant 
 Epoch. From his leaving the Tusita heaven to his at- 
 tainment of omniscience on the throne of Knowledge, 
 the narrative is called the Intermediate Epoch. And the 
 Proximate Epoch is to be found in the various places in 
 which he sojourned (during his ministry on earth). The 
 following is 
 
 THE DISTANT EPOCH. 
 
 Tradition teUs us that fovir asankheyyas^ and a hundred 
 thousand cycles ago there was a city called Amaravatl. 
 In this city there dwelt a brahmin named Sumedha, of 
 good family on both sides, on the father's and the 
 
 • The above lines in the original are in verse. I have found it impossible 
 to follow the arrangement of the stanzas, owing to the extreme involution of 
 the style. 
 
 2 All asantheyya is a period of vast duration, lit. an incalculable. 
 
THE STORY OF SUMEDHA. 3 
 
 mother's side, of pure conception for seven generations 
 back, by birth unreproached and respected, a man comely, 
 well-favoured and amiable, and endowed with remarkable 
 beauty. He followed his brahminical studies -without 
 engaging in any other pursuit. His parents died while 
 he was still young, k. minister of state, who acted as 
 steward of his property, bringing forth the roll-book of 
 his estate, threw open the stores filled -nith gold and silver, 
 gems and pearls, and other valuables, and said, " So much, 
 young man, belonged to your mother, so much to j^our 
 father, so much to your grandparents and great-grand- 
 parents," and pointing out to him the propertj^ inherited 
 through seven generations, he bade him guard it carefully. 
 The wise Sumedha thought to himself, " After amassing 
 all this wealth my parents and ancestors when they went 
 to another world took not a farthing with them, can it 
 be right that I should make it an object to take my 
 wealth with me when I go ? " And informing the king 
 of his intention, he caused proclamation to be made' 
 in the city, gave largess to the people, and embraced 
 the ascetic life of a hermit. 
 
 To make this matter clear the Story of Sxjmedha must 
 here be related. This story, though given in full in the 
 Buddhavamsa, from its being in a metrical form, is not 
 very easy to understand. I will therefore relate it with 
 sentences at intervals explaining the metrical construction. 
 
 Four asankheyyas and a hundred thousand cycles ago 
 there was a city called Amaravatl or Amara, resounding 
 with the ten city cries, concerning which it is said in 
 Buddhavamsa, 
 
 12. Four asankheyyas and a hundred thousand cycles ago 
 A city there was called Amara, beautiful and pleasant, 
 Eesounding with the ten cries, ahoimding in food and drink.^ 
 
 1 Lit. " caused the drums to be beat." 
 
 ' Here a gloss in the text enumerates the whole ten cries. 
 
4 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 Then follows a stanza of Buddhavawisa enumerating 
 some of these cries, 
 
 13. The trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, (the sound of) 
 
 drums, trumpets, and chariots. 
 And riands and drinks were cried, with the iuTitation, " Eat and 
 drink." 
 
 It goes on to say, 
 
 14. A city supplied with every requisite, engaged in every sort of industry. 
 Possessing the seven precious things, thronged with dwellers of many 
 
 races ; 
 The abode of devout men, like the prosperous city of the angels. 
 
 15. In the city of AmaravatI dwelt a brahmin named Sumedha, 
 AVhose hoard was many tens of millions, blest with much wealth and 
 
 store ; 
 
 16. Studious, knowing the Mantras, versed in the three Vedas, 
 
 Master of the science of divination and of the traditions and observances 
 of his caste. 
 
 Now one day the wise Sumedha, having retired to the 
 splendid upper apartment of his house, seated himself 
 cross-legged, and fell a thinking. " Oh ! wise man,i 
 grievous is rebirth in a new existence, and the dissolution 
 of the body in each successive place where we are reborn. 
 I am subject to birth, to decay, to disease, to death, — it 
 is right, being such, that I should strive to attain the 
 great deathless Nirva«a, which is tranquil, and free from 
 birth, and decay, and sickness, and grief and joy ; surely 
 there must be a road that leads to Nirvana and releases 
 man from existence." Accordingly it is said, 
 
 1 7. Seated in seclusion, I then thought as follows : 
 Grievous is rebirth and the breaking up of the body. 
 
 18. I am subject to birth, to decay, to disease. 
 
 Therefore will I seek Nirvawa, free from decay and death, and secure. 
 
 19. Let me leave this perishable body, this pestilent congregation of 
 
 vapours, 
 And depart without desires and without wants. 
 
 20. There is, there must be a road, it cannot but be : 
 
 I will seek this road, that I may obtain release from existence. 
 
 • The Bodhisatta is frequently called pandita, e.g. sasapandito (Five Jut. 
 52), Ramapandito (Dasaratha Jat. 1). 
 
THE STORY OF SUMEDHA. 5 
 
 Further lie reasoned tTius, " For as in this world there 
 is pleasure as the correlative of pain, so where there is 
 existence there must be its opposite the cessation of 
 existence ; and as where there is heat there is also cold 
 which neutralizes it, so there must be a Nirvii»a' that 
 extinguishes (the fires of) lust and the other passions ; 
 and as in opposition to a bad and evil condition there 
 is a good and blameless one, so where there is evil Birth 
 there must also be Nirvana, called the Birthless, because 
 it puts an end to all rebirth." Therefore it is said, 
 
 21. As Tvliere there is suffering there is also bliss, 
 
 So Tvhere there is existence we must look for non-existence. 
 
 22. And as where there is heat there is also cold, 
 
 So where there is the threefold fire of passion extinction must be 
 sought. 
 
 23. And as coexistent with evil there is also good, 
 
 Even so where there is birth^ the cessation of birth should be sought. 
 
 Again he reasoned thus, " Just as a man who has fallen 
 into a heap of filth, if he beholds afar ofi' a great pond 
 covered with lotuses of five colours, ought to seek that 
 pond, saying, ' By what way shall I arrive there ? ' but 
 if he does not seek it the fault is not that of the pond ; 
 even so where there is the lake of the great deathless 
 Nirvana for the washing of the defilement of sin, if it 
 is not sought it is not the fault of the lake. And just 
 as a man who is surrounded by robbers, if when there 
 is a way of escape he does not fly it is not the fault 
 of the way but of the man; even so when there is a 
 blessed road leading to Nirvarea for the man who is 
 encompassed and held fast by sin, its not being sought 
 is not the fault of the road but of the person. And as 
 a man who is oppressed with sickness, there being a 
 physician who can heal his disease, if he does not get 
 
 ' Lit. " Extinction." 
 
 ^ Mr. Fausboll points out to me that in iividhaggi and jati we haye 
 Vedic abbreviations. 
 
6 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 cured by going to the physician that is no fault of the 
 physician ; even so if a man who is oppressed by the 
 disease of sin seeks not a spiritual guide who is at hand 
 and knows the road which puts an end to sin, the fault 
 lies with him and not with the sin-destroying teacher." 
 Therefore it is said, 
 
 24. As a man fallen among filth, beholding a brimming lake, 
 If he seek not that lake, the fault is not in the lake ; 
 
 25. So when there exists a lake of Nirvana that washes the stains of sin, 
 If a man seek not that lake, the fault is not in the lake of NirvuHa. 
 
 26. As a man beset with foes, there being a way of escape, 
 If he ■flee not away, the fault is not with the road ; 
 
 27. So when there is a way of bliss, if a man beset with sin 
 Seek not that road, the fault is not in the way of bliss. 
 
 28. And as one who is diseased, there being a physician at hand, 
 
 If he bid him not heal the disease, the fault is not in the healer : 
 
 29. So if a man who is sick and oppressed with the disease of sin 
 Seek not the spiritual teacher, the fault is not in the teacher. 
 
 And again he argued, " As a man fond of gay clothing, 
 throwing off a corpse bound to his shoulders, goes away 
 rejoicing, so must I, throwing off this perishable body, 
 and freed from all desires, enter the city of Nirvana. 
 And as men and women depositing filth on a dung- 
 heap do not gather it in the fold or skirt of their 
 garments, but loathing it, throw it away, feeling no 
 desire for it ; • so shall I also cast off this perishable body 
 without regret, and enter the deathless city of Nirva«a. 
 And as seamen abandon without regret an unseaworthy 
 ship and escape, so will I also, leaving this body, which 
 distils corruption from its nine festering apertures, enter 
 without regret the city of Nirvana. And as a man 
 carrying various sorts of jewels, and going on the same 
 road with a band of robbers, out of fear of losing his 
 jewels withdraws from them and gains a safe road ; even 
 so this impure body is like a jewel -plundering robber, 
 if I set my affections thereon the precious spiritual jewel 
 of the sublime path of holiness will be lost to me, there- 
 
THE STORY OF SUMEDHA. -j 
 
 fore ought I to enter the city of NirviiHa, forsaking 
 this robber-like body." Therefore it is said, 
 
 30. As a man migtt with loathing shake off a corpse bound upon his 
 
 shoulders, 
 And depart secure, independent, master of himself ; 
 
 31. Even so let me depart, regretting nothing, ivauting nothing, 
 Leaving this perishable body, this collection of many foul vapours. 
 
 32. And as men and women deposit filth upon a dungheap. 
 And depart regretting nothing, wanting nothing, 
 
 33. So will I depart, leading this body fiUed with foul vapours, 
 As one leaves a cesspool after depositing ordure there. 
 
 34. And as the owners forsake the rotten bark that is shattered and 
 
 leaking. 
 And depart without regret or longing, 
 
 35. So shall I go, leaving this body with its nine apertures ever running, 
 As its owners desert the broken ship. 
 
 36. And as a man carrying wares, walking with robbers, 
 
 Seeing danger of losing his wares, parts company with the robbers 
 and gets him gone, 
 
 37. Even so is this body like a mighty robber, — 
 Leaving it I will depart through fear of losing good. 
 
 Having thus in nine similes pondered upon the ad- 
 vantages connected with retirement from the world, the 
 wise Sumedha gave away at his own house, as aforesaid, 
 an immense hoard of treasure to the indigent and way- 
 farers and sufferers, and kept open house. And renouncing 
 all pleasures, both material and sensual, departing from 
 the city of Amara, away from the world in Himavanta 
 he made himself a hermitage near the mountain called 
 Dhammaka, and built a hut and a perambulation hall free 
 from the five defects which are hindrances (to meditation). 
 And with a view to obtain the power residing in the 
 supernatural faculties, which are characterized by the 
 eight causal qualities described in the words beginning 
 "With a mind thus tranquillised," ^ he embraced in that 
 
 ' Evam samahite citte parisuddhe pariyodate anangane vigatupafchilese 
 mudubkute kammaniye thite anejjappafte najuidassanaya eittain abhinihafati 
 (Samaaaaphala Sutta, see Lotus, p. 476, line 14). 
 
8 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 hermitage tlie ascetic life of a iiishi, casting off the cloak 
 with its nine disadvantages, and wearing the garment of 
 hark with its twelve advantages. And when he had 
 thus given up the world, forsaking this hut, crowded 
 with eight drawbacks, he repaired to the foot of a tree 
 with its ten advantages, and rejecting all sorts of grain 
 lived constantly upon wild fruits. And strenuously 
 exerting himself both in sitting and in standing and in 
 walking, within a week he became the possessor of the 
 eight Attainments, and of the five Supernatural Faculties ; 
 and so, in accordance with his prayer, he attained the 
 might of supernatural knowledge. Therefore it is said, 
 
 38. HaTiDg pondered thus I gave many thousand millions of wealth 
 To rich and poor, and made my way to Himavanta. 
 
 39. Not far from Himavanta is the mountain called Dhammaka, 
 
 Here I made an excellent hermitage, and built with care a leafy hut. 
 
 40. There I built me a cloister, free from five defects. 
 
 Possessed of the eight good qualities, and attained the strength of 
 the supernatural Faculties. 
 
 41. Then I threw off the cloak possessed of the nine faults. 
 
 And put on the raiment of bark possessed of the twelve advantages. 
 
 42. I left the hut, crowded with the eight drawbacks. 
 And went to the tree-foot possessed of ten advantages.' 
 
 43. Wholly did I reject the grain that is sown and planted, 
 And partook of the constant fruits of the earth, possessed of many 
 
 44. Then I strenuously strove, in sitting, in standing, and in walkino- 
 And within seven days attained the might of the Faculties.^ 
 
 Now while the hermit Sumedha, having thus attained 
 the strength of supernatural knowledge, was living in 
 the bliss of the (eight) Attainments, the Teacher Dlpan- 
 kara appeared in the world. At the moment of his 
 conception, of his birth, of his attainment of Buddhahood, 
 of his preaching his first discourse, the whole universe 
 
 'Mr. FausboU writes to me that gune for gunehi must be viewed as an old 
 Pali form originating in the Sanskrit gunaih. 
 
 ' Here follow four pages of later commentaiy or gloss, which I leave 
 untranslated. 
 
 IS 
 
SUMEDHA AND DIPANKARA. g 
 
 of ten ttousand worlds trembled, shook and quaked, and 
 gave forth a mighty sound, and the thirty-two prognostics 
 showed themselves. But the hermit Sumedha, living in 
 the bliss of the Attainments, neither heard that sound 
 nor beheld those signs. Therefore it is said, 
 
 45. Thus when I had attained the consummation, while I was suhjectcd 
 
 to the Law, 
 The Conqueror named Dipankara, chief of the universe, appeared. 
 
 46. At his conception, at his birth, at his Buddhahood, at his preaching, 
 
 I saw not the four signs, plunged in the blissful trance of meditation. 
 
 At that time Dipankara Buddha, accompanied by a 
 hundred thousand saints, wandering his way from place 
 to place, reached the city of Ramma, and took up his 
 residence in the great monastery of Sudassana. And the 
 dwellers of the city of Ramma heard it said, " Dipankara, 
 lord of ascetics, having attained supreme Buddhaship, 
 and set on foot the supremacy of the Law, wandering his 
 way from place to place, has come to the ix>wn of Ramma, 
 and dwells at the great monastery of Sudassana." And 
 taking with them ghee and butter and other medicinal 
 requisites and clothes and raiment, and bearing perfumes 
 and garlands and other offerings in their hands, their 
 minds bent towards the Buddha, the Law, and the Clergy, 
 inclining towards them, hanging upon them, they ap- 
 proached the Teacher and worshipped him, and presenting 
 the perfumes and other offerings, sat down on one side. 
 And having heard his preaching of the Law, and invited 
 him for the next day, they rose from their seats and 
 departed. And on the next day, having prepared alms- 
 giving for the poor, and having decked out the town, 
 they repaired the road by which the Buddha was to 
 come, throwing earth in the places that were worn away 
 by water and thereby levelling the surface, and scattering 
 sand that looked like strips of silver. And they sprinkled 
 fragrant roots and flowers, and raised aloft flags and 
 banners of many-coloured cloths, and set up banana 
 
10 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 arches and rows of brimming jars. Then the hermit 
 Sumedha, ascending from his hermitage, and proceeding 
 through the air till he was above those men, and 
 beholding the joyous multitude, exclaimed, "What can 
 be the reason?" and alighting stood on one side and 
 questioned the people, "Tell me, why are you adorning 
 this road ? " Therefore it is said, 
 
 47. In the region of the border districts, having invited the Buddha, 
 '\^'ith joyful hearts they are clearing the road by which he should 
 
 come. 
 
 48. And I at that time leaving my hermitage, 
 Rustling my barken tunic, departed through the air. 
 
 49. And seeing an excited multitude joyous and delighted, 
 Descending from the air I straightway asked the men, 
 
 50. The people is excited, joyous and happy, 
 
 For whom is the road being cleared, the path, the way of his coming ? 
 
 And the men replied, " Lord Sumedha, dost thou not 
 know? Dlpankara Buddha, having attained supreme 
 Knowledge, and set on foot the reign of the glorious 
 Law, travelling from place to place, has reached our 
 town, and dwells at the great monastery Sudassana ; 
 we have invited the Blessed One, and are making ready 
 for the blessed Buddha the road by which he is to 
 come." And the hermit Sumedha thought, "The very 
 sound of the word Buddha is rarely met with in the 
 world, much more the actual appearance of a Buddha ; 
 it behoves me to join these men in clearing the road." 
 He said therefore to the men, " If you are clearing this 
 road for the Buddha, assign to me a piece of ground, 
 I will clear the ground in company with you." They 
 consented, saying, "It is well ; " and perceiving the 
 hermit Sumedha to be possessed of supernatural power, 
 they fixed upon a swampy piece of ground, and assigned 
 it to him, saying, " Do thou prepare this spot." Sumedha, 
 his heart filled with joy of which the Buddha was the 
 cause, thought within himself, "I am able to prepare 
 
SUMEDHA AND DIPANKARA. n 
 
 this piece of ground by supernatural power, but if so 
 prepared it will give me no satisfaction; tbis day it 
 behoves me to perform menial duties ; " and fetching 
 earth he threw it upon the spot. 
 
 But ere the ground could be cleared by him, — with 
 a train of a hundred thousand miracle-working saints 
 endowed with the six supernatural faculties, while angels 
 offered celestial wreaths and perfumes, while celestial 
 hymns rang forth, and men paid their homage with 
 earthly perfumes and with flowers and other offerings, 
 Dipankara endowed with the ten Forces, with all a Buddha's 
 transcendant majesty, like a lion rousing himself to seek 
 his prey on the Vermilion plain, came down into the road 
 all decked and made ready for him. Then the hermit 
 Sumedha — as the Buddha with unblenching eyes ap- 
 proached along the road prepared for him, beholding that 
 form endowed with the perfection of beauty, adorned with 
 the thirty-two characteristics of a great man, and marked 
 with the eighty minor beauties, attended by a halo of 
 a fathom's depth, and sending forth in streams the six- 
 hued Buddha-rays, linked in pairs of different colours, 
 and wreathed like the varied lightnings that flash in 
 the gem-studded vault of heaven — exclaimed, " This day 
 it behoves me to make sacrifice of my life for the 
 Buddha : let not the Blessed one walk in the mire — nay, 
 let him advance with his four hundred thousand saints 
 trampling on my body as if walking upon a bridge of 
 jewelled planks, this deed will long be for my good 
 and my happiness." So saying, he loosed his hair, and 
 spreading in the inky mire his hermit's skin mantle, roU 
 of matted hair and garment of bark, he lay down in the 
 mire like a bridge of jewelled planks. Therefore it is said, 
 
 51. Questioned by me they replied, An incomparable Buddha is bom into 
 the world, 
 The Conqueror named Dipankara, lord of the universe, 
 For him the road is cleared, the way, the path of his coming. 
 
12 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 52. Wlien I heard the name of Buddha joy sprang up forthwith Avithin me, 
 Repeating, a Buddha, a Buddha ! I gave utterance to my joy. 
 
 53. Standing there I pondered, joyful and excited. 
 
 Here I will sow the seed, may the happy moment not pass away. 
 
 54. If you clear a path for the Buddha, assign to me a place, 
 I also will clear the road, the way, the path of his coming. 
 
 55. Then they gare me a piece of ground to clear the pathway ; 
 
 Then repeating within me, a Buddha, a Buddha ! I cleared the road. 
 66. But ere my portion was cleared, Dlpankara the great sage. 
 
 The Conqueror, entered the road with four hundred thousand saints 
 
 like himself. 
 Possessed of the six supernatural attributes, pure frora all taint of sin. 
 
 57. On every side men rise to receive him, many drums send forth their music. 
 Men and angels overjoyed, shout forth their applause. 
 
 58. Angels look upon men, men upon angels. 
 
 And hoth with clasped hands upraised approach the great Being. 
 
 59. Angels with celestial music, men with earthly music, 
 Both sending forth their strains approach the great Being. 
 
 60. Angels floating in the air sprinkle down in all directions 
 Celestial Erythrina flowers, lotuses and coral flowers. 
 
 61. Men standing on the ground throw upwards in all directions 
 Champac and Salala flowers, Cadamba and fragrant Mesua, Punnaga, 
 
 and Ketaka. 
 
 62. Then I loosed my hair, and spreading in the mire 
 Bark robe and mantle of skin, lay prone upon my face. 
 
 63. Let the Buddha advance with his disciples, treading upon me ; 
 Let him not tread in the mire, it will be for my blessing. 
 
 And as lie lay in the mire, agaia beholding the Buddha- 
 majesty of Dlpankara Buddha with his unblenching gaze, 
 he thought as follows: "Were I willing, I could enter 
 the city of Ramma as a novice in the priesthood, after 
 haviag destroyed all human passions ; but why should I 
 disguise myself^ to attain Nirvana after the destruction 
 
 ' The following is what I take to be the meaning of this passage : " If I 
 chose I could at once enter the Buddhist priesthood, and by the practice of 
 ecstatic meditation (Jhana) free myself from human passion, and become an 
 Arhat or saint. I should then at death at once attain Nirva»a and cease to 
 exist. But this would be a selfish course to pursue, for thus I should benefit 
 myself only. Why should I thus slip unobserved and in the humble garb of 
 a monk into Kirvanaf Nay, let me rather qualify myself to become a Buddha, 
 and 60 save others as well as myself." This is the great Act op Hencnciation 
 by which the Bodhisattva, when Nirvana was within his grasp, preferred to 
 endure ages of heroic trials in the exercise of the Paramitas, that he mio-ht be 
 enabled to become a Buddha, and so redeem mankind. See D'Alwis'slntro- 
 duction to Kachchayana's Grammar, p. vi. 
 
SUMEDHA AND DIPAXKARA. ,3 
 
 of human passion? Let me rather, like Dipankara, having 
 risen to the supreme knowledge of the Truth, enable 
 mankind to enter the Shij) of the Truth and so carry them 
 across the Ocean of Existence, and when this is done 
 afterwards attain Nirva;(a ; this indeed it is right that 
 I should do." Then having enumerated the eight con- 
 ditions (necessary to the attainment of Buddhahood), and 
 having made the resolution to become Buddha, he laid 
 himself down. Therefore it is said, 
 
 64. As I lay upon the ground this was the thought of ray heart. 
 
 If I "wished it I might this day destroy within me all human passions. 
 
 65. But why should I in disguise arrive at the knowledge of the Truth ? 
 
 I will attain omniscience and become a Buddha, and (save) men and 
 angels. 
 
 66. Why should I cross the ocean resolute but alone ? 
 
 I will attain omniscience, and enable men and angels to cross. 
 
 67. By this resolution of mine, I a man of resolution 
 Will attain omniscience, and save men and angels, 
 
 68. Cutting off the stream of transmigration, annihilating the three forms 
 
 of existence. 
 Embarking in the ship of the Truth, I wiU carry across with me men 
 and angels.' 
 
 And the blessed Dipankara having reached the spot 
 stood close by the hermit Sumedha's head. And opening 
 his eyes possessed of the five kinds of grace as one opens 
 a jewelled window, and beholding the hermit Sumedha 
 lying in the mire, thought to himself, " This hermit who 
 lies here has formed the resolution to be a Buddha ; will 
 his prayer be fulfilled or not?" And casting forward 
 his prescient gaze into the future, and considering, he 
 perceived that four asankheyyas and a hundred thousand 
 cycles from that time he would become a Buddha named 
 Gotama. And standing there in the midst of the assembly 
 he delivered this prophecy, "Behold ye this austere 
 hermit lying in the mire ?" " Yes, Lord," they answered. 
 
 • What follows from yasma to nipajji belongs to a later commentary. I 
 resume the translation with p. 15, line 11. 
 
1+ 
 
 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 " This man lies here having made the resolution to become 
 a Buddha, his prayer will be answered; at the end of 
 four asankheyyas and a hundred thousand cycles hence 
 he will become a Buddha named Gotama, and in that 
 birth the city Kapilavatthu mil be his residence. Queen 
 Maya will be his mother. King Suddhodana his father, 
 his chief disciple will be the thera Upatissa, his second 
 disciple the thera Kolita, the Buddha's servitor will be 
 Ananda, his chief female disciple the nun Khema, the 
 second the nun Uppalavawj?a. When he attains to years 
 of ripe knowledge, having retired from the world and 
 made the great exertion, having received at the foot of 
 a banyan-tree a meal of rice milk, and partaken of it 
 by the banks of the Neranjara, having ascended the 
 throne of Knowledge, he will, at the foot of an Indian 
 fig-tree, attain Supreme Buddhahood. Therefore it is 
 said, 
 
 70. DTpankara, knower of all worlds, receiver of offerings. 
 Standing by that which pillowed my head, spoke these words : 
 
 71. See ye this austere hermit with his matted hair, 
 Countless ages hence he will be a Buddha in this world. 
 
 72. Lo, the great Being departing from pleasant KapUa, 
 
 Having fought the great fight, performed all manner of austerities, 
 
 73. Having sat at the foot of the Ajapala tree, and there received rice 
 
 pottage, 
 Shall approach the Neranjara river. 
 
 74. Having received the rice pottage on the banks of the Neranjara, the 
 
 Conqueror 
 Shall come by a fair road prepared for him to the foot of the 
 Bodhi-tree. 
 
 75. Then, unrivalled and glorious, reverentially saluting the throne of 
 
 Bodhi, 
 At the foot of an. Indian fig-tree he shall attain Buddhahood. 
 
 76. The mother that bears him shall be called Maya, 
 
 His father will be Suddhodana, he himself will be Gotama. 
 
 77. His chief disciples will be TJpatissa and Kolita, 
 
 Void of human passion, freed from desire, calm-minded and tranquil. 
 
 78. The servitor Ananda will attend upon the Conqueror, 
 Khema and TJppalavanna will be his chief female disciples, 
 
 79. Void of human passion, freed from desire, calm-minded and tranquil. 
 The sacred tree of this Buddha is called Assattha. 
 
SUMEDHA AND DIPANKARA. 15 
 
 The hermit Sumedha, exclaiming, " My prayer, it seems, 
 will be accomplished," was filled with happiness. The 
 m.ultitudes, hearing the words of Dipankara Buddha, 
 were joyous and delighted, exclaiming, " The hermit 
 Sumedha, it seems, is an embryo Buddha, the tender 
 shoot that will grow up into a Buddha." For thus 
 they thought, "As a man fording a river, if he is 
 unable to cross to the ford opposite him, crosses to a 
 ford lower down the stream, even so we, if under the 
 dispensation of Dipankara Buddha we fail to attain the 
 Paths and their fruition, yet when thou shalt become 
 Buddha we shall be enabled in thy presence to make the 
 paths and their fruition our own," — and so they recorded 
 their prayer (for future sanctification). And Dipankara 
 Buddha also having praised the Bodhisatta, and made 
 an offering to him of eight handfuls of flowers, reveren- 
 tially saluted him and departed. And the Arhats also, 
 four hundred thousand in number, having made offerings 
 to the Bodhisatta of perfumes and garlands, reverentially 
 saluted him and departed. And the angels and men 
 having made the same offerings, and bowed down to him, 
 went their way. 
 
 And the Bodhisatta, when all had retired, rising from 
 his seat and exclaiming, " I will investigate the Perfec- 
 tions," sat himself down cross-legged on a heap of flowers. 
 And as the Bodhisatta sat thus, the angels in all the ten 
 thousand ^worlds assembliag shouted applause. " Venerable 
 hermit Sumedha," they said, " all the auguries which 
 have manifested themselves when former Bodhisattas 
 seated themselves cross-legged, sajdng, 'We will inves- 
 tigate the Perfections,' — all these this day have appeared : 
 assuredly thou shalt become Buddha. This we know, to 
 whom these omens appear, he surely will become Buddha ; 
 do thou make a strenuous effort and exert thyself." With 
 these words they lauded the Bodhisatta with varied 
 praises. Therefore it is said. 
 
[6 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 SO. Hearing these words of the incomparable Sage, 
 
 Angels and men delighted, exclaimed. This is an emhryo Buddha. 
 
 81. A great clamour arises, men and angels in ten thousand worlds 
 Clai) their hands, and laugh, and mate obeisance with clasped hands. 
 
 82. " Should we fail," they say, " of this Buddha's dispensation, 
 Tet in time to come we shall stand before him. 
 
 83. As men crossing a river, if they fail to reach the opposite ford. 
 Gaining the lower ford cross the great river, 
 
 84. Even so we all, if we lose this Euddha, 
 In time to come shall stand before him." 
 
 So. The world-knowing Dlpankara, the receiver of offerings. 
 Having celebrated my meritorious act, went his way.' 
 
 86. All the disciples of the Buddha that were present saluted me mth 
 
 reverence, 
 Men, Kagas, and Gandhabbas bowed down to me and departed. 
 
 87. When the Lord of the world with his following had passed beyond 
 
 my sight. 
 Then glad, with gladsome heart, I rose up from my seat. 
 
 88. Joyful I am with a great joy, glad with a great gladness ; 
 Flooded with rapture then I seated myself cross-legged. 
 
 89. And even as thus I sat I thought within myself, 
 
 I am subject to ecstatic meditation, I have mastered the supernatural 
 Faculties. 
 
 90. In a thousand worlds there are no sages that rival me, 
 Unrivalled in miraculous powers I have reached this bliss. 
 
 91. "When thus they beheld me sitting,' the dwellers of ten thousand 
 
 worlds 
 Raised a mighty shout. Surely thou shalt be a Buddha ! 
 
 92. The omens' beheld in former ages when Bodhisatta sat cross-legged, 
 The same are beheld this day. 
 
 93. Cold is dispelled and heat ceases. 
 
 This day these things are seen,— verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 94. A thousand worlds are stilled and silent, 
 
 So are they seen to-day, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 '95. The mighty winds blow not, the rivers cease to flow, 
 
 These things are seen to-day, — verily thou shalt he Buddha. 
 
 96. All flowers blossom on land and sea. 
 
 This day they all have bloomed, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 97. All creepers and trees are laden with fruit, 
 
 This day they all bear fruit, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 98. Gems sparkle in earth and sky. 
 
 This day all gems do glitter, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 Lit. " raised his right foot (to depart)." 
 
 Lit. " at my sitting cross-legged." 
 
 Mr. Fausboll writes that yarn is a mistake of the copyist for yd.=ydni. 
 
THE PROGNOSTICS. 
 
 '7 
 
 99. JIusic earthly and celestial sounds, 
 
 Both these to-day send forth their strains, — verily thou shall be 
 Buddha. 
 
 100. Flowers of every hue rain down from the sky, 
 
 This day they are seen, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 101. The mighty ocean bends itself, ten thousand worlds are shaken, 
 This day they both send up their roar, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 102. In hell the fires of ten thousand worlds die out, 
 
 This day these fires are quenched, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 103. Unclouded is the sun and all the stars are seen. 
 
 These things are seen to-day, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 104. Though no water fell in rain, vegetation burst forth from the earth. 
 This day vegetation springs from the earth,— verily thou shalt be 
 
 Buddha. 
 lOo. The constellations are all aglow, and the lunar mansions in the vault 
 of heaven, 
 Visakha is in conjunction with the moon, — verily thou shalt be 
 Buddha. 
 
 106. Those creatures that dwell in holes and caves depart each from 
 
 his lair, 
 Tliis day these lairs are forsaken, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 107. There is no discontent among mortals, but they are fiUed with 
 
 contentment, 
 This day all are content, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 108. Then diseases are dispelled and hunger ceases. 
 
 This day these things are seen, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 109. Then Desire wastes away. Hate and Folly perish. 
 
 This day all these are dispelled, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 110. No danger then comes near ; this day this thing is seen. 
 By this sign we know it, — verily thou shalt become Buddha. 
 
 111. No dust flies abroad ; this day this thing is seen. 
 
 By this sign we know it, verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 112. All noisome odours flee away, celestial fragrance breathes around. 
 Such fragrance breathes this day, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 113. All the angels are manifested, the Formless only excepted, 
 This day they all are seen, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 114. All the hells become visible, 
 
 These all are seen this day, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 1 15. Then walls, and doors, and rocks are no impediment. 
 
 This day they have melted into air,' — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 116. At that moment death and birth do not take place, 
 
 This day these things are seen, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 117. Do thou make a strenuous effort, hold not back, go forward. 
 This thing we know, — verily thou shalt be Buddha. 
 
 1 Or " have risen into the air " ? 
 
1 8 THE NWAHAKATHA. 
 
 And the Bodliisatta, having heard the words of Dlpan- 
 kara Buddha, and of the angels in ten thousand worlds, 
 filled with immeasurable resolution, thought thus ^vithin 
 himself, " The Buddhas are beings whose word cannot 
 fail; there is no deviation from truth in their speech. 
 For as the fall of a clod thrown into the air, as the 
 death of a mortal, as the sunrise at dawn, as a lion's 
 roaring when he leaves his lair, as the delivery of a 
 woman with child, as all these things are sure and 
 certain, — even so the word of the Buddhas is sure and 
 cannot fail, verily I shall become a Buddha." Therefore 
 it is said, 
 
 lis. Having heard the 'words of Buddha and of the angels of ten thousand 
 Tvorlds, 
 Glad, joj'ous, delighted, I then thought thus within myself : 
 
 119. The Buddhas speak not doubtful words, the Conquerors speak not 
 
 vain words, 
 There is no falsehood in the Buddhas, — verily I shall become a 
 Buddha. 
 
 120. As a clod cast into the air doth surely fall to the ground. 
 
 So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting. 
 
 121. As the death of all mortals is sure and constant, 
 
 So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting. 
 
 122. As the rising of the sun is certain when night has faded, 
 
 So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting. 
 
 123. As the roaring of a lion who has left his den is certain, 
 
 So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting. 
 
 124. As the delivery of women with child is certain, 
 
 So the word of the glorious Buddhas is sure and everlasting. 
 
 And having thus made the resolution, " I shall surely 
 become Buddha," with a view to investigating the condi- 
 tions that constitute a Buddha, exclaiming, " Where are 
 the conditions that make the Buddha, are they found 
 above or below, in the principal or the minor directions?" 
 investigating successively the principles of all things, and 
 beholding the first Perfection of Almsgiving, practised 
 and followed by former Bodhisattas, he thus admonished 
 his own soul : " Wise Sumedha, from this time forth 
 
THE TEN PARAMITAS. ig 
 
 tliou must fulfil the perfection of Almsgiving ; for as a 
 water- jar overturned discharges the water so that none 
 remains, and cannot recover it, even so if thou, indifferent 
 to wealth and fame, and wife and child, and goods great 
 and small, give away to all who come and ask everything 
 that they require till nought remains, thou shalt seat 
 thyself at the foot of the tree of Bodhi and become a 
 Buddha." With these words he strenuously resolved to 
 attain the first perfection of Almsgiving. Therefore 
 it is said, 
 
 12.5. Come, I Tnll search the Buddha-making conditions, this way and 
 that, 
 Above and helow, in all the ten directions, as far as the principles of 
 things extend. 
 
 126. Then, as I made my search, I beheld the first Gift-perfection, 
 The high road followed by former sages. 
 
 127. Do thou strenuously taking it upon thyself advance 
 
 To this first perfection of almsgiving, it thou wilt attain Buddhaship. 
 
 128. As a brimming water -jar, overturned by any one, 
 Discharges entirely all the water, and retains none within, 
 
 129. Even so, when thou seest any that ask, great, small, and middling, 
 Do thou give away all in alms, as the water-jar overthrown. 
 
 But considering further, "There must be beside this 
 other conditions that make a Buddha," and beholding the 
 second Perfection of Moral Practice, he thought thus, 
 " wise Sumedha, from this day forth mayest thou fulfil 
 the perfection of Morality ; for as the Yak ox, regardless 
 of his life, guards his bushy tail, even so thou shalt 
 become Buddha, if from this day forward regardless 
 of thy life thou keepest the moral precepts." And he 
 strenuously resolved to attain the second perfection of 
 Moral Practice. Therefore it is said, 
 
 130. For the conditions of a Buddha cannot be so few, 
 
 Let me investigate the other conditions that bring Buddhaship to 
 maturity. 
 
 131. Then investigating I beheld the second Perfection of Morality 
 Practised and followed by former sages. 
 
20 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 132. This second one do thou strenuously undertake. 
 
 And reach the perfection of Moral Practice if thou wilt attain 
 Buddhahood. 
 
 133. And as the Yak cow, ■when her tail has got entangled in anything, 
 Then and there awaits death, and will not injure her tail,' 
 
 134. So also do thou, having fulfilled the moral precepts in the four stages. 
 Ever guard the Sila as the Yak guards her tail. 
 
 But considering further, " These cannot be the only 
 Buddha-making conditions," and beholding the third 
 Perfection of Self-abnegation, he thought thus, " O wise 
 Sumedha, mayest thou henceforth fulfil the perfection 
 of Abnegation ; for as a man long the denizen of a prison 
 feels no love for it, but is discontented, and wishes to 
 live there no more, even so do thou, likening all births 
 to a prison-house, discontented with all births, and anxious 
 to get rid of them, set thy face toward abnegation, 
 thus shalt thou become Buddha." And he strenuously 
 made the resolution to attain the third perfection of 
 Self-abnegation. Therefore it is said, 
 
 135. For the conditions that make a Buddha cannot he so few, 
 
 I will investigate others, the conditions that bring Buddhaship to 
 maturity. 
 
 136. Investigating then I beheld the third Perfection of Abnegation 
 Practised and followed by former sages. 
 
 137. This third one do thou strenuously undertake, 
 
 And reach the perfection of abnegation, if thou wUt attain Buddhahood. 
 
 138. As a man long a denizen of the house of bonds, oppressed with 
 
 suffering, 
 Feels no pleasure therein, but rather longs for release, 
 
 139. Even so do thou look upon all births as prison-houses, 
 
 Set thy face toward self-abnegation, to obtain release from Existence. 
 
 But considering further, "These cannot be the only 
 Buddha-making conditions," and beholding the fourth 
 Perfection of Wisdom, he thought thus, " wise Sumedha, 
 
 1 Viz., I suppose, by dragging it forcibly away. This metaphor, which to 
 us appears wanting in dignity, is a favourite one with the Hindus. The tail 
 of the Yak or Tibetan ox [Bos Grunniens) is a beautiful object, and one of 
 the insignia of Hindu royalty. 
 
THE TEN PARAMITAS. 21 
 
 do thou from this daj^ forth fulfil the perfection of 
 Wisdom, avoiding no subject of knowledge, great, small, 
 or middling,^ do thou approach all wise men and ask 
 them questions ; for as the mendicant friar on his begging 
 rounds, avoiding none of the families, great and small, 
 that he frequents,^ and wandering for alms from place 
 to place, speedily gets food to support him, even so 
 shalt thou, approaching all wise men, and asking them 
 questions, become a Buddha." And he strenuously re- 
 solved to attain the fourth perfection of Wisdom. There- 
 fore it is said, 
 
 140. For the conditions that make a Buddha cannot be so few, 
 
 I will investigate the other conditions that bring Buddhaship to 
 maturity. 
 
 141. Investigating then I beheld the fourth Perfection of 'Wisdom 
 Practised and followed by former sages. 
 
 142. This fourth do thou strenuously undertake. 
 
 And reach the perfection of wisdom, if thou mlt attain Buddhahood. 
 
 143. And as a monk on his begging roands avoids no families, 
 Either small, or great, or middling, and so obtains subsistence, 
 
 144. Even so thou, constantly questioning wise men. 
 
 And reaching the perfection of wisdom, shalt attain supreme 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 But considering further, "These cannot be the only 
 Buddha-making conditions," and seeing the fifth Perfec- 
 tion of Exertion, he thought thus, " wise Sumedha, do 
 thou from this day forth fulfil the perfection of Exertion. 
 As the lion, the king of beasts, in every action^ strenuously 
 exerts himself, so if thou in all existences and in all thy 
 acts art strenuous in exertion, and not a laggard, thou 
 shalt become a Buddha." And he made a firm resolve 
 to attain the fifth perfection of Exertion. Therefore it 
 is said. 
 
 ' Lit. " not avoiding anything among things great, small, and middling." 
 
 2 After iinct understand kulam, as \vill be seen from v. 143. 
 
 3 Lit. in all postures, walking, standing, etc. 
 
2 2 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 145. For tlie conditions of a Buddha cannot be so few, 
 
 I will investigate the other conditions which bring Buddhaship to 
 maturity. 
 
 146. Investigating then I beheld the fifth Perfection of Exertion 
 Practised and followed by former sages. 
 
 147. This fifth do thou strenuously undertake, 
 
 And reach the perfection of exertion, if thou wilt attain Buddhahood. 
 
 148. As the lion, king of beasts, in lying, standing and walking, 
 Is no laggard, but ever of resolute heart, 
 
 149. Even so do thou also in every existence strenuously exert thyself, 
 And reaching the perfection of exertion, thou shalt attain the supreme 
 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 But considering further, "These cannot be the only- 
 Buddha- making conditions," and beholding the sixth 
 Perfection of Patience, he thought to himself, " wise 
 Sumedha, do thou from this time forth fulfil the perfec- 
 tion of Longsuffering ; be thou patient in praise and in 
 reproach. And as when men throw things pure or foul 
 upon the earth, the earth does not feel either desire or 
 repulsion towards them, but suffers them, endures them 
 and acquiesces in them, even so thou also, if thou art 
 patient in praise and reproach, shalt become Buddha." 
 And he strenuouslj' resolved to attain the sixth perfection 
 of Longsuffering. Therefore it is said, 
 
 150. For the conditions of a Buddha cannot be so few, 
 
 I will seek other conditions also which bring about Buddhaship. 
 
 151. And seeking then I beheld the sixth Perfection of Longsufi'eriug 
 Practised and followed by former Buddbas. 
 
 152. Having strenuously taken upon thee this sixth perfection, 
 
 Then with unwavering mind thou shalt attain supreme Buddhaship. 
 
 153. And as the earth endures all that is thrown upon it. 
 
 Whether things pure or impure, and feels neither anger nor pity, 
 
 154. Even so enduring the praises and reproaches of all men. 
 
 Going on to perfect longsuffering, thou shalt attain supreme Buddha- 
 ship. 
 
 But further considering, " These cannot be the only 
 conditions that make a Buddha," and beholding the 
 seventh Perfection of Truth, he thought thus within 
 
THE TEN PARAMITAS. 
 
 23 
 
 himself, " wise Sumedha, from this time forth do thou 
 fulfil the perfection of Truth; though the thunderbolt 
 descend upon thy head, do thou never under the influence 
 of desire and other passions utter a conscious lie, for the 
 sake of wealth or any other advantage. And as the 
 planet Venus at all seasons pursues her own course, nor 
 ever goes on another course forsaking her own, even so, 
 if thou forsake not truth and utter no lie, thou shalt 
 become Buddha." And he strenuously turned his mind 
 to the seventh perfection of Truth. Therefore it is said, 
 
 155. For these are not all the conditions of a Buddha, 
 
 I will seek other conditions which hring about Buddhaship. 
 
 156. Seeking then I beheld the seventh Perfection of Truth 
 Practised and followed by former Buddhas. 
 
 157. Having strenuously taken upon thyself this seventh perfection, 
 Then free from duplicity of speech thou shalt attain supreme 
 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 158. And as the planet Venus, balanced in all her times and seasons, 
 In the world of men and devas, departs not from her path, 
 
 159. Even so do thou not depart from the course of truth/ 
 
 Advancing to the perfection of truth, thou shalt attain supreme 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 But further considering, " These cannot be the only 
 conditions that make a Buddha," and beholding the eighth 
 Perfection of Resolution, he thought thus within himself, 
 " wise Sumedha, do thou from this time forth fulfil the 
 perfection of Resolution ; whatsoever thou resolvest be 
 thou unshaken in that resolution. For as a mountain, 
 the wind beating upon it in all directions, trembles not, 
 moves not, but stands in its place, even so thou, if 
 unswerving in thy resolution, shalt become Buddha." 
 And he strenuously resolved to attain the eighth per- 
 fection of Resolution. Therefore it is said, 
 
 160. For these are not all the conditions of a Buddha, 
 
 I will seek out other conditions that bring about Buddhaship. 
 
 ' Lit. depart from thy course in the matter of truthful things. 
 
2 + 
 
 THE NIDAXAKATIIA. 
 
 IGl. Seeking then I beheld the eighth Perfection of Resolution 
 
 Practised and followed by former Buddhas. 
 162. Do thou resolutely take upon thyself this eighth perfection. 
 
 Then thou being immovable shalt attain supreme Buddhaship. 
 1C3. And as the rocky mountain, immovable, firmly based, 
 
 Is unshaken by many mnds, and stands in its own place, 
 164. Even so do thou also remain ever immovable in resolution, 
 
 Advancing to the perfection of resolution, thou shalt attain supreme 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 But further considering, "These cannot be the only 
 conditions that make a Buddha," and beholding the ninth 
 Perfection of Good- will, he thought thus within himself, 
 " wise Sumedha, do thou from this time forth fulfil the 
 perfection of Good-will, mayest thou be of one mind 
 towards friends and foes. And as water fills with its 
 refreshing coolness good men and bad alike,' even so, 
 if thou art of one mind in friendly feeling towards all 
 mortals, thou shalt become Buddha." And he strenuously 
 resolved to attain the ninth perfection of Good- will. 
 Therefore it is said, 
 
 165. For these are not all the conditions of a Buddha, 
 
 I will seek out other conditions that bring about Buddhaship. 
 
 166. Seeking I beheld the ninth Perfection of Good-wiU 
 Practised and followed by former Buddhas. 
 
 167. Do thou, taking resolutely upon thyself this ninth perfection, 
 Become unrivalled in kindness, if thou wilt become Buddha. 
 
 168. And as water fills with its coolness 
 
 Good men and bad alike, and carries off all impurity, 
 
 169. Even so do thou look with friendship alike on the evil and the good. 
 Advancing to the perfection of kindness, thou shalt attain supreme 
 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 But further considering, "These cannot be the only 
 conditions that make a Buddha," and beholding the tenth 
 Perfection of Equanimity, he thought thus within himself, 
 " wise Sumedha, from this time do thou fulfil the 
 
 ' Lit. having made its coldness exactly alike for bad people and good 
 people, pervades them. 
 
THE TEN PARAMITAS. 25 
 
 perfection of Equanimity, be tliou of equal mind in 
 prosperity and adversity. And as the eartli is indifferent 
 when things pure or impure are cast upon it, even so, 
 if thou art indifferent in prosperity and adversity, thou 
 shalt become Buddha." And he strenuously resolved to 
 attain the tenth perfection of Equanimitjr. Therefore 
 it is said, 
 
 170. For these cannot be all the conditions of a Buddha, 
 
 I will seek other conditions that bring about Buddhaship. 
 
 171. Seeking then I beheld the tenth Perfection of Equanimity 
 Practised and followed by former Buddhas. 
 
 172. If thou take resolutely upon thyself this tenth perfection, 
 Becoming well-balanced and firm, thou shalt attain supreme Buddha- 
 ship. 
 
 173. And as the earth is indiiferent to pure and impure things cast 
 
 upon her, 
 To both alike, and is free from anger and favour, 
 
 174. Even so do thou ever be eveidy-balanced in joy and grief, 
 Advancing to the perfection of equanimity, thou shalt attain supreme 
 
 Buddhaship. 
 
 Then he thought, "These are the only conditions in 
 this world that, bringing Buddhaship to perfection and 
 constituting a Buddha, have to be fulfilled bjr Bodhisattas ; 
 beside the ten Perfections there are no others. And 
 these ten Perfections are neither in the heaven above 
 nor in the earth below, nor are they to be found in the 
 east or the other quarters, but reside in my heart of 
 flesh." Having thus realized that the Perfections were 
 established in his heart, having strenuously resolved to 
 keep them all, grasping them again and again, he 
 mastered them forwards and backwards ; ^ taking them 
 at the end he went backward to the beginning, taking 
 them at the beginning he placed them at the end,^ taking 
 them at the middle he carried them to the two ends, 
 taking them at both ends he carried them to the middle. 
 
 1 i.e. alternately from the first to the tenth and from the tenth to the first. 
 ' i.e. put the first last. 
 
26 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 Repeating, "The Perfections are the sacrifice of limbs, 
 the Lesser Perfections are the sacrifice of property, the 
 Unlimited Perfections are the sacrifice of life," he mastered 
 them as the Perfections, the Lesser Perfections and the 
 Unlimited Perfections, — like one who converts two 
 kindred oils into one,' or like one who, using Mount Meru 
 for his churning-rod, churns the great Cakkavala ocean. 
 And as he grasped again and again the ten Perfections, 
 by the power of his piety this earth, four nahutas and 
 eight hundred thousand leagues in breadth, like a bundle 
 of reeds trodden by an elephant, or a sugar-mill in 
 motion, uttering a mighty roar, trembled, shook and 
 quaked, and spun round like a potter's wheel or the 
 wheel of an oil-mill. Therefore it is said, 
 
 175. These are all the conditions in the world that bring Buddhaship to 
 
 perfection : 
 Beyond these are no others, therein do thou stand fast. 
 
 176. While he grasped these conditions natural and intrinsic,^ 
 
 By the power of his piety the earth of ten thousand worlds quaked. 
 
 177. The earth sways and thunders like a sugar-mill at work, 
 Like the wheel of an oil-mill so shakes the earth. 
 
 And while the earth was trembling the people of 
 Ramma, unable to endure it, like great Sal-trees over- 
 thrown by the wind that blows at the end of a cycle, 
 fell swooning here and there, while waterpots and other 
 vessels, revolving like a jar on a potter's wheel, struck 
 against each other and were dashed and ground to pieces. 
 The multitudes in fear and trembling approaching the 
 Teacher said, " Tell us. Blessed one, is this turmoil caused 
 by dragons, or is it caused by either demons, or ogres, or 
 by celestial beings ? — for this we know not, but truly 
 this whole multitude is grievously afflicted. Pray does 
 
 ' Vijesinha. 
 
 ' Vijesinha writes to me, " Natural and intrinsic virtues. The Sinhalese 
 gloss says: parainarthavu rasasahitavu lakshana-ceti nohol svabhavalakshana 
 ha sarvadharmasadharanalakshana-tBti. In the latter case it would mean, 
 having the quality of conformity with all laws." 
 
THE GREAT RESOLVE. 
 
 27 
 
 this portend evil to the world or good ? — tell us the cause 
 of it." The Teacher hearing their words said, " Fear not 
 nor be troubled, there is no danger to you from this. 
 The wise Sumedha, concerning whom I predicted this 
 dajr, ' Hereafter he will be a Buddha named Gotama,' 
 is now mastering the Perfections, and while he masters 
 them and turns them about, by the power of his piety 
 the whole ten thousand worlds with one accord quake 
 and thunder." Therefore it is said, 
 
 178. AH the multitude that was there in attendance on the Buddha, 
 Tremhling, fell swooning there upon the ground. 
 
 179. Many thousands of waterpots and many hundred jars 
 
 Were crushed and pounded there and dashed against each other. 
 
 180. Excited, tremhling, terrified, confused, their sense disordered. 
 The multitudes assembling, approached the Buddha. 
 
 181. Say, wiU it be good or evil to the world ? 
 
 The whole world is afflicted, ward off this (danger), thou Omriscient 
 One. 
 
 182. Then the Great Sage Dipankara enjoined upon them, 
 Be confident, be not afraid at this earthquaking : 
 
 183. He concerning whom I predicted this day. He will be a Bnddha 
 
 in this world. 
 The same is investigating the time-honoured Conditions followed by 
 the Buddhas. 
 
 184. Therefore whQe he is investigating fully these Conditions, the 
 
 groundwork of a Buddha, 
 The earth of ten thousand worlds is shaken in the world of men and 
 of angels. 
 
 And the people hearing the Buddha's words, joyful and 
 delighted, taking with them garlands, perfumes and 
 unguents, left the city of Ramma, and went to the 
 Bodhisatta. And having offered their flowers and other 
 presents, and bowed to him and respectfully saluted him, 
 they returned to the city of E-amma. And the Bodhisatta, 
 having made a strenuous exertion and resolve, rose from 
 the seat on which he sat. Therefore it is said, 
 
 183. Having heard the Buddha's word, their minds were straightway 
 calmed. 
 All of them approaching me again paid me their homage. 
 
2 8 THE NIDAiVAKATHA. 
 
 186. Having taken upon me the Perfections of a Buddha, having made 
 
 firm my resolve, 
 Having bowed to Dipankara, I rose from my seat. 
 
 And as the Bodhisatta rose from his seat, the angels in 
 all the ten thousand worlds having assembled and offered 
 him garlands and perfumes, uttered these and other 
 words of praise and blessing, "Venerable hermit Sumedha, 
 this day thou hast made a mighty resolve at the feet of 
 Dipankara Buddha, mayest thou fulfil it without let 
 or hindrance : fear not nor be dismaj^ed, may not 
 the slightest sickness visit thy frame, quickly exercise 
 the Perfections and attain supreme Buddhaship. As the 
 flowering and fruit-bearing trees bring forth flowers and 
 fruit in their season, so do thou also, not letting the right 
 season pass by, quickly reach the supreme knowledge 
 of a Buddha." And thus having spoken, they returned 
 each one to his celestial home. Then the Bodhisatta, 
 having received the homage of the angels, made a 
 strenuous exertion and resolve, saying, " Having fulfilled 
 the ten Perfections, at the end of four asankheyyas and 
 a hundred thousand cycles I shall become a Buddha." 
 And rising into the air he returned to Himavanta. There- 
 fore it is said, 
 
 187. As he rose from his seat both angels and men 
 Sprinkle him with celestial and earthly flowers. 
 
 188. Both angels and men pronounce their blessing, 
 
 A great prayer thou hast made, mayest thou obtain it according to 
 thy wish. 
 
 189. May all dangers be averted, may every sickness vanish, 
 
 Mayest thou have no hindrance, — quickly reach the supreme knowledge 
 of a Buddha. 
 
 190. As when the season is come the flowering trees do blossom, 
 
 Even so do thou, mighty One, blossom with the wisdom of a 
 Buddha. 
 
 191. As all the Buddhas have fulfilled the ten Perfections, 
 Even so do thou, mighty One, fulfil the ten Perfections. 
 
 192. As all the Buddhas are enlightened on the throne of knowledge, 
 Even so do thou, mighty One, receive enlightenment in the wisdom 
 
 of a Buddha. 
 
DEATH OF DIPAiYKARA BUDDHA. 29 
 
 193. As all the Buddhas have established the supremacy of the Law, 
 
 Even so do thou, mighty One, establish the supremacy of the Law. 
 
 19i. As the moon on the mid-day of the month shines in her purit\-, 
 
 Even so do thou, with thy mind at the full, shine in ten thousand 
 worlds. 
 
 195. As the sun released by Rahu glows fervently in his heat, 
 
 Even so, having redeemed mankind, do thou shine in all thy majesty. 
 
 196. As all the rivers find their way to the great ocean. 
 
 Even so may the worlds of men and angels take refuge in thee. 
 
 197. The Bodhisatta extolled with these praises, taking on himself the ten 
 
 Conditions, 
 Commencing to fulfil these Conditions, entered the forest. 
 
 End of the Story of Snmedha. 
 
 And the people of the city of Ramrna, having returned 
 to the city, kept open house to the priesthood with the 
 Buddha at their head. The Teacher having preached 
 the Law to them, and established them in the three 
 Refuges and the other branches of the Faith, departing 
 from the city of Ramma, living thereafter his allotted 
 span of life, having fulfilled all the duties of a Buddha, 
 in due course attained Nirvana in that element of an- 
 nihilation in which no trace of existence remains. On 
 this subject all that need be said can be learnt from the 
 narrative in the Buddhava?wsa, for it is said in that work, 
 
 198. Then they, having entertained the Chief of the world with his clergy, 
 Took refuge in the Teacher DTpankara. 
 
 199. Some the Buddha established in the Refuges, 
 Some in the five Precepts, others in the ten. 
 
 200. To some he gives the privilege of priesthood, the four glorious 
 
 Fruitions, 
 On some he bestows those peerless qualities the analytical Knowledges. 
 
 201. To some the Lord of men grants the eight sublime Acquisitions, 
 
 On some he bestows the three "Wisdoms and the six supernatural 
 Faculties. 
 
 202. In this order ' the Great Sage exhorts the multitude. 
 
 Therewith the commandment of the world's Protector was spread 
 wide abroad. 
 
 ' Vij. says, " In that order, viz. in the Saranagamaiia first, then in the 
 Pancaslla, then in the Sasasila, and so on." 
 
3° 
 
 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 203. He of the miglity ja^Y, of the broad shoulder, Dipankara by name, 
 Procured the salvation of many men, warded off from them future 
 
 punishment. 
 
 204. Beholding persons ripe for salvation, reaching them in an instant. 
 Even at a distance of four hundred thousand leagues, the Great Sage 
 
 awakened them (to the knowledge of the truth). 
 
 205. At the first conversion the Buddha converted a thousand millions. 
 At the second the Protector converted a hundred thousand. 
 
 206. When the Buddha preached the truth in the angel world. 
 There took place a third conversion of nine hundred millions. 
 
 207. The Teacher Dipankara had three assemblies. 
 The first was a meeting of a million millions. 
 
 208. Again when the Conqueror went into seclusion at Nurada Ku<a, 
 A thousand million spotless Arhats met together. 
 
 209. When the Mighty One dwelt on the lofty rock Sudassana, 
 
 Then the Sage surrounded himself with nine hundred thousand 
 millions. 
 
 210. At that time I was an ascetic wearing matted hair, a man of austere 
 
 penances. 
 Moving through the air, accomplished in the five supernatural 
 Faculties. 
 2U. The (simultaneous) conversion of tens of thousands, of twenties of 
 thousands, took place, 
 Of ones and twos the conversions were beyond computation.' 
 212. Then did the pure religion of Dipankara Buddha become widely 
 
 Known to many men prosperous and flourishing. 
 
 213. Foiu: hundred thousand saints, possessed of the six Faculties, endowed 
 
 with miracxilous powers. 
 Ever attend upon Dipankara, knower of the three worlds. 
 
 214. Blameworthy are all they who at that time leave the human existence, 
 Not having obtained final sanctity, still imperfect in knowledge. 
 
 215. The word of Buddha shines in the world of men and angels, made to 
 
 blossom by saints such as these. 
 Freed from human passion, void of all taint (of sin). 
 
 216. The city of Dipankara Buddha was called EammavatT, 
 The khattiya Sumedha was his father, Sumedha his mother. 
 
 217. Sumaugala and Tissa were his chief disciples, 
 And Sagata was the servitor of Dipankara Buddha. 
 
 218. Nanda and Sunanda were his chief female disciples. 
 The Bodhi-tree of this Buddha is called the Pipphali.' 
 
 219. Eighty cubits in height the Great Sage Dipankara 
 
 Shone conspicuous as a Deodar pine, or as a noble Sul-tree in full 
 bloom. 
 
 ' Lit. " arithmetically innumerable." 
 ^ The Banyan-tree. 
 
A'D^TiANNA BUDDHA. 31 
 
 220. A hundred thousand years was the age of this Great Sage, 
 
 And so long as he was living on earth he brought many men to 
 salvation. 
 
 221. Having made the Truth to flourish, having saved great multitudes 
 
 of men, 
 Having flamed like a mass of fire, he died together with his disciples. 
 
 222. And all this power, this glory, these jewel-wheels on his feet, 
 All is wholly gone, — are not all existing things vanity ! 
 
 223. After Dipankara was the Leader named Kowrfailfia, 
 
 Of infinite power, of boundless renown, immeasurable, unrivalled. 
 
 JSText to the Dipankara Buddha, after the lapse of one 
 asankheyya, the Teacher Ko)?rfanna appeared. He also 
 had three assemblies of saints, at the first assembly there 
 were a million millions, at the second ten thousand 
 millions, at the third nine hundred millions. At that 
 time the Bodhisatta, having been born as a universal 
 nionarch named Vijitavin, kept open house to the priest- 
 hood with the Buddha at their head, in number a million 
 of millions. The Teacher having predicted of the Bodhi- 
 satta, " He will become a Buddha," preached the Law. 
 He having heard the Teacher's preaching gave up his 
 kingdom and became a Buddhist monk. Having mastered 
 the three Treasuries,^ having obtained the six supernatural 
 Faculties, and having practised without failure the ecstatic 
 meditation, he was reborn in the Brahma heavens. The 
 city of Kowc?aiiila Buddha was RammavatI, the khattiya 
 Sunanda was his father, his mother was queen Sujatii, 
 Bhadda and Subhadda were his two chief discij)les, Anu- 
 ruddha was his servitor, Tissa and TJpatissa his chief 
 female disciples, his Bodhi-tree was the Salakalya^i, his 
 body was eighty- eight cubits high, and the duration of 
 his life was a hundred thousand years. 
 
 After him, at the end of one asankhey^'a, in one 
 and the same cycle four Buddhas were born, Mangala, 
 Sumana, Eevata and Sobhita. Mangala Buddha had 
 three assemblies of saints, of these at the first there were 
 
 ' The three divisions of the Buddhist Scriptures. 
 
32 
 
 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 a million million priests, at the second ten thousand 
 millions, at the third nine hundred millions. It is related 
 that a step-brother of his, prince Ananda, accompanied 
 by an assembly of nine hundred millions, went to the 
 Teacher to hear him preach the Law. The Teacher gave 
 a discourse dealing successively with his various doctrines, 
 and Ananda and his whole retinue attained Arhatship 
 together with the analytical Knowledges. The Teacher 
 looking back upon the meritorious works done by these 
 men of family in former existences, and perceiving that 
 they had merit to acquire the robe and bowl by miraculous 
 means, stretching forth his right hand exclaimed, " Come, 
 priests."^ Then straightway all of them having become 
 equipped with miraculously obtained robes and bowls, 
 and perfect in decorum,^ as if they were elders of sixty 
 years standing, paid homage to the Teacher and attended 
 upon him. This was his third assembly of saints. And 
 whereas with other Buddhas a light shone from their 
 bodies to the distance of eighty cubits on every side, it 
 was not so with this Buddha, but the light from his body 
 permanentlj'^ filled ten thousand worlds, and trees, earth, 
 mountains, seas and all other things, not excepting even 
 pots and pans and such-Kke articles, became as it were 
 overspread with a film of gold. The duration of his life 
 was ninety thousand years, and during the whole of this 
 period the sim, moon and other heavenly bodies could not 
 shine by their own light, and there was no distinction 
 between night and day. By day all living beings went 
 about in the light of the Buddha as if in the light of 
 the sun, and men ascertained the limits of night and 
 day only by the flowers that blossomed in the evening 
 and by the birds and other animals that uttered their 
 cries in the morning. If I am asked, " What, do not 
 other Buddhas also possess this power ? " I replj'', Cer- 
 
 1 The formula by -wliich a Buddha admits a layman to the priesthood. 
 ^ Vijesinha. 
 
JIfAXGALA BUDDHA. 33 
 
 tainly tliey do, for tliey might at will fill with their 
 lustre ten thousand worlds or more. But in accordance 
 with a praj'er made by him in a foriner existence, the 
 lustre of Mangala Buddha permanently filled ten thousand 
 worlds, just as the lustre of the others permanently 
 extended to the distance of a fathom. ^ The story is that 
 when he was performing the duties of a Bodhisatta,- 
 being in an existence corresponding to the Vessantara 
 existence,^ he dwelt with his wife and children on a 
 mountain like the Vanka mountain (of the Vessantara 
 Jataka). One day a demon named Kharada^S/aka,* hearing 
 of the Bodhisatta's inclination to giving, approached him 
 in the guise of a brahmin, and asked the Bodhisatta for 
 his two children. The Bodhisatta, exclaiming, "I give 
 my children to the brahmin," cheerfully and joyfully 
 gave up both the children, thereby causing the ocean-girt 
 earth to quake.^ The demon, standing by the bench at 
 the end of the cloistered walk, while the Bodhisatta 
 looked on, devoured the children like a bunch of roots. 
 Not a particle of sorrow^ arose in the Bodhisatta as he 
 looked on the demon, and saw his mouth as soon as he 
 opened it disgorging streams of blood like flames of fire, 
 nay, a great joy and satisfaction welled within him as he 
 thought, "My gift was well given." And he put up the 
 prayer, " By the merit of this deed may rays of light 
 one day issue from me in this very way." In consequence 
 of this prayer of his it was that the rays emitted from 
 his body when he became Buddha filled so vast a space. 
 There was also another deed done by him in a former 
 existence. It is related that, when a Bodhisatta, having 
 visited the relic shrine of a Buddha, he exclaimed, "I 
 
 1 Lit. " like the fathom-liglit of the others, so the personal lustre of 
 Mangala Buddha remained constantly pervading ten thousand worlds." 
 
 2 i.e. the PSramitas. 
 
 3 i.e. his last birth before attaining Buddhahood. 
 
 * This name means " sharp-fanged." 
 
 * In approval of his act of faith. 
 
 * Lit. ■' no grief as big as the tip of a hair." 
 
 VOL. I. 3 
 
34 
 
 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 ought to sacrifice my life for tliis Buddha," and having 
 wrapped round the whole of his body in the same way 
 that torches are wrapped, and having filled with clarified 
 butter a golden vessel with jewelled wick-holders, worth 
 a hundred thousand pieces, he lit therein a thousand 
 wicks, and having set fire to the whole of his body begin- 
 ning with his head, he spent the whole night in cir- 
 cumambulating the shrine. And as he thus strove till 
 dawn not the root of a hair of his head was even heated, 
 'twas as one enters the calyx of a lotus, for the Truth 
 guards him who guards himself. Therefore has the 
 Blessed One said, 
 
 224. Religion verily protects him who walks according 
 thereto, 
 Religion rightly followed brings happiness. 
 This blessing is then in rightly following the Law, 
 The righteous man goes not to a state of punish- 
 ment. 
 
 And through the merit of this work also the bodily lustre 
 of this Buddha constantly extended through ten thousand 
 worlds. At this time our Bodhisatta,^ having been born 
 as the brahmin Suruci, approached the Teacher with 
 the view of inviting him to his house, and having heard 
 his sweet discourse, said, " Lord, take your meal with me 
 to-morrow." "Brahmin, how many monks do you wish 
 for ? " " Nay but how many monks have you in your 
 escort?" At that time was the Teacher's first assembly, 
 and accordingly he replied, "A million millions." "Lord, 
 bring them all with you and come and take your meal 
 at my house." The Teacher consented. The Brahmin 
 having invited them for the next day, on his way home 
 thought to himself, " I am perfectly well able to supply 
 
 ' Viz. Gotama Bodhisatta. 
 
MANGALA BUDDHA. 35 
 
 all these monks with broth and rice and clothes and such- 
 like necessaries, but how can there be room for them to 
 sit down?" This thought of his caused the marble 
 throne of the archangel Indi-a, three hundred and thirty- 
 six thousand leagues away, to become warm.' Indra ex- 
 claiming, " Who wishes to bring me down from my 
 abode ? " and looking down with the divine eye beheld 
 the Bodhisatta, and said, "The brahmin Suruci having 
 invited the clergy with the Buddha at their head is 
 perplexed for room to seat them, it behoves me also to 
 go thither and obtain a share of his merit." And having 
 miraculously assumed the form of a carpenter, axe in 
 hand he appeared before the Bodhisatta and said, " Has 
 any one got a job to be done for hire ? " The Bodhisatta 
 seeing him said, "'Wha.t sort of work can you do?" 
 " There's no art that I do not know ; any house or hall 
 ttat anybody orders me to build, I'll build it for him." 
 " Very well, I've got a job to be done." " What is it, 
 sir ? " " I've invited a million million priests for to- 
 morrow, wiU you build a hall to seat them all ? " " I'll 
 build one with pleasure if you've the means of paying 
 me." " I have, my good man." " Very well, I'll build 
 it." And he went and began looking out for a site. 
 There was a spot some fifty leagues in extent^ as level as 
 a kasiwa circle.^ Indra fixed his eyes upon it, while he 
 thought to himself, " Let a hall made of the seven 
 precious stones rise up over such and such an extent of 
 ground." Immediately the edifice bursting through the 
 ground rose up. The golden pillars of this hall had silver 
 capitals,* the silver pillars had golden capitals, the gem 
 pillars had coral capitals, the coral pillars had gem 
 capitals, while those pillars which were made of all the 
 
 ' When a good man is in difficulty, Indra is apprised of it by his marble 
 throne becoming warm. 
 
 ^ Lit. twelve or thh-teen yojanas ; a yojana is four leagues. 
 
 ' Used in the ecstatic meditation. 
 
 * The PaU word for the capital of a column is gha<aka, " little pot." 
 
36 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 seven precious stones had capitals of the same. Next he 
 said, " Let the hall have hanging wreaths of little bells 
 at intervals," and looked again. The instant he looked a 
 fringe of bells hung down, whose musical tinkling, as 
 the}' were stirred by a gentle breeze, was like a sjaiiphony 
 of the five sorts of instruments, or as when the heavenly 
 choirs are going on. He thought, " Let there be hanging 
 garlands of perfumes and flowers," and there the garlands 
 liung. He thought, " Let seats and benches for a million 
 million monks rise up through the earth," and straight- 
 way the}' appeared. He thought, " Let water vessels 
 rise up at each corner of the building," and the water 
 vessels arose. Having by his miraculous power effected 
 all this, he went to the brahmin and said, " Come, sir, 
 look at your hall, and pay me my wages." The Bodhisatta 
 went and looked at the hall, and as he looked his whole 
 frame was thrilled in every part with fivefold joy. An8. 
 as he gazed on the hall he thought thus within himself, 
 "This hall was not wrought by mortal hands, but surely 
 through my good intention, my good action, the palace of 
 Indra became hot, and hence this hall must have been 
 built by the archangel Indra ; it is not right that in such 
 a hall as this I should give alms for a single day, I will 
 give alms for a whole week." For the gift of external 
 goods, however great, cannot give satisfaction to the 
 Bodhisattas, but the Bodhisattas feel joy at their self- 
 renunciation when they sever the crowned head, put out the 
 henna- anointed eyes, cut out the heart and give it away. 
 For when our Bodhisatta in the Sivijataka gave alms in 
 the middle of his capital, at the four gates of the city, at 
 a daily expenditure of five bushels of gold coins, this 
 liberality failed to arouse within him a feeling of satis- 
 faction at his renunciation. But on the other hand, when 
 the archangel Indra came to him in the disguise of a 
 brahmin, and asked for his eyes, then indeed, as he took 
 them out and gave them away, laughter rose within him, 
 
MANGALA BUDDHA. 
 
 11 
 
 nor did his heart swerve a hair's breadth from its purpose. 
 And hence we see that as regards ahnsgiviug the Bodhi- 
 sattas can have no satiety. Therefore this Bodhisatta 
 also thinking, " I ought to give alms for seven days to a 
 million million priests," seated them in that hall, and 
 for a week gave them the alms called gavapana.^ Men 
 alone were not able to wait upon them, but the angels 
 themselves, taking turns with men, waited upon them. 
 A space of fifty leagues or more sufiiced not to contain 
 the monks, yet they seated themselves each by his own 
 supernatural power. On the last day, having caused the 
 bowls of all the monks to be washed, and filled them with 
 butter clarified and unclarified, honey and molasses, for 
 medicinal use, he gave them back to them, together with 
 the three robes. The robes and cloaks received by novices 
 and ordained priests were worth a hundred thousand. 
 The Teacher, when he returned thanks, considering, 
 " This man has given such great alms, who can he be ? " 
 and perceiving that at the end of two asankheyyas and 
 fbur thousand cycles he would become a Buddha named 
 Gotama, addressing the Bodhisatta, made this prediction : 
 "After the lapse of such and such a period thou shalt 
 become a Buddha named Gotama." The Bodhisatta, 
 hearing the prediction, thought, " It seems that I am to 
 become a Buddha, what good can a householder's life do 
 me ? I will give up the world," and, treating all this 
 prosperity like so much drivel, he received ordination at 
 the hands of the Teacher. And having embraced the 
 ascetic life and learnt the word of Buddha, and having 
 attained the stipernatural Faculties and the Attainments, 
 at the end of his life he was reborn in the Brahma 
 heavens. The city of Mangala Buddha was called Uttara, 
 his father was the khattiya Uttara; his mother was 
 Uttara, Sudeva and Dhammaseua were his two chief 
 
 ^ According to the gloss printed in the text it is a compound of milk, rice, 
 honey, sugar and clar2ied butter. 
 
38 THE NIDANAICATIIA. 
 
 disciples, Piilita was Lis servitoi", Slvall and Asoka liis 
 two chief female disciples. The Naga was his Bodhi-trce, 
 his body was eighty-eight cubits high. When his death 
 took place, after he had lived ninety thousand years, at 
 the same instant ten thousand worlds were involved in 
 darkness, and in all worlds there was a great cry and 
 lamentation of men. 
 
 225. After Ko^f/aniia the Leader named Mangala, 
 Dispelling darkness in the world, held aloft the 
 
 torch of truth. 
 
 And after the Buddha had died, shrouding in darkness 
 ten thousand worlds, the Teacher named Sumana appeared. 
 He also had three great assemblies of saints, at the first 
 assembly the priests were a million millions, at the second, 
 on the Golden Mountain, ninety million of millions, at 
 the third eighty million of millions. At this time the 
 Bodhisatta was the Naga king Atula, mighty and powerful. 
 And he, hearing that a Buddha had appeared, left the 
 Naga world, accompanied by his assembled kinsmen, and, 
 making oiferings with celestial music to the Buddha, 
 whose retinue was a million million of monks, and having 
 given great gifts, bestowing upon each two garments of 
 fine cloth, he was established in the Three Refuges. And 
 this Teacher also foretold of him, " One day he will be a 
 Buddha." The city of this Buddha was named Ehema, 
 Sudatta was his father, Sirima his mother, Sarawa and 
 Bhavitatta his chief disciples, Udena his servitor, Sowa 
 and TJpasowa his chief female disciples. The Naga was 
 his Bodhi-tree, his body was ninety cubits high, and his 
 age ninety thousand years. 
 
 226. After Mangala came the Leader named Sumana, 
 In all things unequalled, the best of all beings. 
 
 After bim the Teacher Eevata appeared. He also had 
 
REVATA BUDDHA. 39 
 
 three assemblies of saints. At the first assembly the priests 
 were innumerable, at the second there were a million 
 millions, so also at the third. At that time the Bodhi- 
 satta having been born as the brahmin Atideva, having 
 heard the Teacher's preaching, was established in the 
 Three Refuges. And raising his clasped hands to his 
 head, having praised the Teacher's abandonment of human 
 passion, presented him with a monk's upper robe. And he 
 also made the prediction, " Thou wilt become a Buddha." 
 Now the city of this Buddha was called Sudhafinavatl, 
 his father was the khattiya Vipula, his mother Vipulii, 
 Varuna and Brahmadeva his chief disciples, Sambhava 
 his servitor, Bhadda and Subhadda his chief female 
 disciples, and the Naga-tree his Bo-tree. His body was 
 eighty cubits high, and his age sixty thousand years. 
 
 227. After Sumana came the Leader named Eevata, 
 
 The Conqueror unequalled, incomparable, un- 
 matched, supreme. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher Sohliita. He also had 
 three assemblies of saints ; at the first assembly a thou- 
 sand million monks were present, at the second nine 
 hundred millions, at the third eight hundred millions. 
 At that time the Bodisat having been born as tlie brahman 
 Ajita, and having heard the Teacher's preaching, was 
 established in the Three Refuges, and gave a great 
 donation to the Order of monks, with the Buddha at their 
 head. To this man also he prophesied, saying, " Thou 
 shalt become a Buddha." Sudhamma was the name of 
 the city of this Blessed One, Sudhamma the king was 
 his father, Sudhamma his mother, Asama and Sunetta 
 his chief disciples, Anoma his servitor, Nakula and 
 Suiata his chief female disciples, and the Naga-tree his 
 Bo-tree ; his body was fifty-eight cubits high, and his 
 age ninety thousand years. 
 
40 
 
 THE NIDANAKATIIA. 
 
 228. After Revata came the Leader named Sobliita, 
 Subdued aud mild, unequalled and unrivalled. 
 
 After him, ivhen an asaijkheyya had elapsed, three 
 Buddhas were born in one kalpa — Anoraadassin, Paduma, 
 and Narada. Anomadassin had three assemblies of saints; 
 at the first eight hundred thousand monks were present, 
 at the second seven, at the third six. At that time the 
 Bodisat was a Yal;kha chief, mighty and powerful, the 
 lord of many millions of millions of yakkhas. He, hearing 
 that a Buddha had appeared, came and gave a great 
 donation to the Order of monks, with the Buddha at their 
 head. And the Teacher prophesied to him too, sajang, 
 " Hereafter thou shalt be a Buddha." The city of Ano- 
 madassin the Blessed One was called CandavatT, Yasava 
 the king was his father, Yasodhara his mother, Nisabha 
 and Anoma his chief disciples, Varuna his servitor, 
 Sundarl and Sumana his chief female disciples, the Arjuna- 
 tree his Bo-tree ; his body was fifty-eight cubits high, 
 his age a hundred thousand years. 
 
 229. After Sobhita came the perfect Buddha— the best 
 
 of men — 
 Anomadassin, of infinite fame, glorious, difficult 
 to surpass. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher named Paduma. He 
 too had three assemblies of saints ; at the first assembly 
 a million million monks were present, at the second three 
 hundred thousand, at the third two hundred thousand of 
 the monks who dwelt at a great grove in the uninhabited 
 forest. At that time, whilst the Tathagata was living in 
 that grove, the Bodisat having been born as a lion, saw 
 the Teacher plunged in ecstatic trance, and with trustful 
 heart made obesiance to him, and wallcing round him with 
 reverence, experienced great joy, and thrice uttered a 
 
PADUA/A BUDDHA. 41 
 
 miglit}^ roar. For seven days lie laid not aside the bliss 
 arising from the thought of the Buddha, but through joy 
 and gladness, seeking not after prey, he kept in attendance 
 there, offering up his life. When the Teacher, after 
 seven days, aroused himself from his trance, he looked 
 upon the lion and thought, "He will put trust in the 
 Order of monks and make obeisance to them ; let them 
 draw near." At that very moment the monks drew 
 near, and the lion put faith in the Order. The Teacher, 
 knowing his thoughts, prophesied, saying, " Hereafter he 
 shall be a Buddha." Now the city of Paduma the 
 Blessed One was called Champaka, his father was Paduma 
 the king, his mother Asama, Sala and Upasiila were his 
 chief disciples, Yaruua his servitor, Piima and Uparama 
 his chief female disciples, "dn^ Crimson- tree his Bo-tree; 
 his body was fifty-eight cubits high, and his age was a 
 hundred thousand years. 
 
 230. After Anomadassin came the perfect Buddha, the 
 best of men, 
 Paduma by name, unequalled, and without a rival. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher named Ndrada. He 
 also had three assemblies of saints ; at the first assembly 
 a million million monks were present, at the second 
 ninety million million, at the third eighty million million. 
 At that time the Bodisat, having taken the vows as a sage, 
 acquired the five kinds of Wisdom and the eight sublime 
 Acquisitions, and gave a great donation to the Order, 
 with the Buddha at their head, making an offering of red 
 sandal wood. And to him also he prophesied, "Hereafter 
 thou shalt be a Buddha." The citj^ of this Blessed One 
 was called Dhaiinavati, his father was Sumedha the 
 warrior, his mother Anoma, Bhaddasala and Jetamitta 
 his chief disciples, Vasettha his servitor, TJttara and 
 Paggunl Ms chief female disciples, the great Crimson- 
 
4.2 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 tree was his Bo-tree; his hodj'^ was eighty-eight cubits 
 high, and his age was ninety thousand years. 
 
 231. After Padmna came the perfect Buddha, the best 
 
 of men, 
 Narada bj- name, unequalled, and without a rival. 
 
 After Narada the Buddha a hundred thousand world- 
 cycles ago there appeared in one kalpa only one Buddha 
 called Padumuttam. He also had three assemblies of saints ; 
 at the first a million million monks were present, at the 
 second, on the Yebhara Mountain, nine hundred thousand 
 million, at the third eight hundred thousand million. At 
 that time the Bodisat, born as the Mahratta of the name 
 of Jatila, gave an offering of robes to the Order, with 
 the Buddha at their head. And to him also he announced, 
 " Hereafter thou shalt be a Buddha." And at the time 
 of Padumuttara the Blessed One there were no infidels, 
 but all, men and angels, took refuge in the Buddha. 
 His city was called Hagsavatl, his father was Ananda the 
 warrior, his mother Sujata, Devala and Sujata his chief 
 disciples, Sumana his servitor, Amita and Asama his chief 
 female disciples, the Sala-tree his Bo-tree ; his bodji- was 
 eighty-eight cubits high, the light from his body extended 
 twelve leagues, and his age was a hundred thousand years. 
 
 232. After Narada came the perfect Buddha, the best 
 
 of men, 
 Padumuttara by name, the Conqueror unshaken, 
 like the sea. 
 
 After him, when thirty thousand world-cycles had 
 elapsed, two Buddhas, Sumedha and Sujata, were born in 
 one kalpa. Sumedha also had three assemblies of his 
 saints ; at the first assembly, in the city Sudassana, a 
 thousand million sinless ones were present, at the second 
 
NARADA BUDDHA. 
 
 43 
 
 nine hundred, at the third eight hundred. At that time 
 the Bodisat, born as the hrahman youth named JJttara, 
 lavished eight hundred millions of money he had saved 
 in giving a great donation to the Order, with the Buddha 
 at their head. And he then listened to the Law, and 
 accepted the Refuges, and abandoned his home, and took 
 the vows. And to him also the Buddha prophesied, 
 sajdng, "Hereafter thou shalt be a Buddha." The city 
 of Sumedha the Blessed One was called Sudassana, 
 Sudatta the king was his father, Sudatta his mother, 
 Sarana and Sabbakama his two chief disciples, Sagara his 
 servitor, Rama and Surama his two chief female disciples, 
 the great Champaka-tree his Bo-tree ; his bod}^ was 
 eighty-eight cubits high, and his age was ninety thousand 
 3'ears. 
 
 233. After Padumuttara came the Leader named Su- 
 medha, 
 The Sage hard to equal, brilliant in glory, supreme 
 in all the world. 
 
 Aiter him appeared the Teacher Sujdta. He also had 
 three assemblies of his saints ; at the first assembly sixty 
 thousand monks were present, at the second fifty, at the 
 third forty. At that time the Bodisat was a universal 
 monarch; and hearing that a Buddha was born he went to 
 him and heard the Law, and gave to the Order, with the 
 Buddha at their head, his kingdom of the four continents 
 with its seven treasures, and took the vows under the 
 Teacher. All the dwellers in the land, taking advan- 
 tage of the birth of a Buddha in their midst, did duty as 
 servants in the monasteries, and continually gave great 
 donations to the Order, with the Buddha at their head. 
 And to him also the Teacher prophesied. The city of 
 this Blessed One was called Sumangala, Uggata the king 
 was his father, PabhavatI his mother, Sudassana and 
 
44- 
 
 THE NIDANAKATIIA. 
 
 Deva liis chief disciples, Narada his servitor, Nagil and 
 Niigasamala his chief female disciples, and the great 
 Bambu-tree his Bo-tree; this tree, they say, had smaller 
 hollows and thicker wood than ordinary hambus have,^ 
 and in its mighty upper branches it was as brilliant as a 
 bunch of peacocks' tails. The body of this Blessed One 
 was MX\ cubits high, and his age was ninety thousand 
 years. 
 
 234. In that age, the Mandakalpa, appeared the Leader 
 Sujata, 
 Mighty jawed and grandlj' framed, whose measure 
 none can take, and hard to equal. 
 
 After him, when eighteen hundred world-cycles had 
 elapsed, three Buddhas, Piyadassin, Atthadassin, and 
 Dhammadassin, were born in one kalpa. Piyadassin also 
 had three assemblies of his saints ; at the first a million 
 million monks were present, at the second nine hundred 
 million, at the third eight hundred million. At that 
 time the Bodisat, as a young hrahman called Kassapa, who 
 had thoroughly learnt the three Vedas, listened to the 
 Teacher's preaching of the Law, and built a monastery 
 at a cost of a million million, and stood firm in the 
 Refuges and the Precepts. And to him the Teacher 
 prophesied, saying, " After the lapse of eighteen hundred 
 kalpas thou shalt become a Buddha." The city of this 
 Blessed One was called Anoma, his father was Sudinna 
 the king, his mother Cauda, Palita and Sabbadassin his 
 chief disciples, Sobhita his servitor, Sujata and Dhamma- 
 dinna his chief female disciples, and the Priyaggu-tree 
 his Bo-tree. His body was eighty cubits high, and his 
 age ninety thousand years. 
 
 ' Compare Jiitaka No. 20 below. 
 
ATTHADASSIN THE BUDDHA. 45 
 
 23-J. After Sujilta came Piyadassin, Leader of the world, 
 Self-taught, hard to match, unequalled, of great 
 glory. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher called Atthadassin. 
 He too had three assemblies of his saints ; at the first 
 nine million eight hundred thousand monks were present, 
 at the second eight million eight hundred thousand, and 
 the same number at the third. At that time the Bodisat, 
 as the mighty ascetic Smima, brought from heaven 
 the sunshade of ^landarava flowers, and offered it to the 
 Teacher, who prophesied also to him. The city of this 
 Elessed One was called Sobhita, Sagara the king was his 
 father, Sudassana his mother, Santa and Apasanta his 
 chief disciples, Abhaya his servitor, Dhammii and Su- 
 dhamma his chief female disciples, and the Champaka his 
 Bo-tree. His bodj' was eighty cubits high, the glory 
 from his body always extended over a league, and his age 
 was a hundred thousand years. 
 
 236. In the same Mandakalpa Atthadassin, best of men. 
 Dispelled the thick darkness, and attained supreme 
 Enlightenment. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher named Dhammadassin. 
 He too had three assemblies of his saints ; at the first 
 a thousand milKon monks were present, at the second 
 seven himdred millions, at the third eight himdred 
 millions. At that time the Bodisat, as Salzka the king 
 of the gods, made an ofiering of sweet-smeUing flowers 
 from heaven, and heavenly music. And to him too the 
 Teacher prophesied. The city of this Blessed One was 
 called Sarana, his father was Sarana the king, his mother 
 Sunanda, Paduma and Phussadeva his chief disciples, 
 Sunetta his servitor, Khema and Sabbanama his chief 
 female disciples, and the red Kuravaka-tree (called also 
 
46 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 Bimbijala) his Bo-tree. His body was eighty cubits high, 
 and his age a hundred thousand years. 
 
 237. In the same Mandalcalpa the far-famed Dhamma- 
 
 dassin 
 Dispelled the thick darkness, illumined earth and 
 heaven. 
 
 After him, ninetj^-four ■ft'orld-cycles ago, only one 
 Buddha, by name Siddhattha, appeared in one kalpa. Of 
 his disciples too there were three assemblies ; at the first 
 assembly a million million monks were present, at the 
 second nine hundred millions, at the third eight hundred 
 millions. At that time the Bodisat, as the ascetic Man- 
 gala of great glory and gifted with the powers derived 
 from the Higher Wisdom, brought a great jambu fruit 
 and presented it to the Tathiigata. The Teacher, having 
 eaten the fruit, prophesied to the Bodisat, saying, 
 " Ninety-four kalpas hence thou shalt become a Buddha." 
 The city of this Blessed One was called Vebhara, Jayasena 
 the king was his father, Suphassa his mother, Sambala 
 and Sumitta his chief disciples, Revata his servitor, STvall 
 and Surama his chief female disciples, and the Kanikara- 
 tree his Bo-tree. His body was sixty cubits high, and 
 his age a hundred thousand years. 
 
 238. After Dhammadassin, the Leader named Siddhattha 
 Rose like the sun, bringing all darkness to an end. 
 
 After him, ninety-two world-cycles ago, two Buddhas, 
 Tissa and Phussa by name, were born in one kalpa. 
 Tissa the Blessed One had three assemblies of his saints ; 
 at the first a thousand millions of monks were present, 
 at the second nine hundred millions, at the third eight 
 hundred millions. At that time the Bodisat was born as 
 the wealthy and famous warrior-chief Sujdta. When he 
 
T/SSA BUDDHA. 47 
 
 had taken tlie vows and acquired tlie wonderful powers 
 of a rishi, he heard that a Buddha had been born ; and 
 taking a heaven-grown ilandarava lotus, and flowers of 
 the Piiriechattaka-tree (which grows in Indra's heaven), 
 he offered them to the Tathiigata as he walked in the 
 midst of his disciples, and he spread an awning of flowers 
 in the sky. To him, too, the Teacher prophesied, saying, 
 "Ninety-two kalpas hence thou shalt become a Buddha." 
 The city of this Blessed One was called Khema, Jana- 
 sandha the warrior- chief was his father, Paduma his 
 mother, the god Brahmii and Udaj'a his chief disciples, 
 Sambhava his servitor, Phussa and Sudattii his chief 
 female disciples, and the Asana-tree his Bo-tree. His 
 body was sixty cubits high, and his age a hundred 
 thousand years. 
 
 239. After Siddhattha, Tissa, the unequalled and un- 
 rivalled, 
 Of infinite virtue and glory, was the chief Guide 
 of the world. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher named Phussa. He 
 too had three assemblies of his saints; at the first 
 assembly six million monks were present, at the second 
 five, at the third three million two hundred thousand. At 
 that time the Bodisat, born as the warrior-chief Vijitavi, 
 laid aside his kingdom, and, taking the vows under the 
 Teacher, learnt the three Pitakas, and preached the Law 
 to the people, and fulfilled the Perfection of Morality.^ 
 And the Buddha prophesied to him in the same manner. 
 The city of this Blessed One was called Kasi (Benares), 
 Jayasena the king was his father, Sirima his mother, 
 Surakkhita and Dhammasena his chief disciples, Sabhiya 
 his servitor, Gala and TJpacala his chief female disciples, 
 
 ' Comp. pp. 19-20, verses 130-134. 
 
48 THE NIDA-VAKATHA. 
 
 and the Amalaka-tree his Bo-tree. His body was fifty- 
 eight cubits high, and his age ninety thousand years. 
 
 240. In the same Mandakalpa Phussa was the Teacher 
 
 supreme, 
 I'nequalled, unrivalled, the chief Guide of the 
 world. 
 
 After him, ninet3' world-cycles ago, appeared the 
 Blessed One named Vijuissin. He too had three assem- 
 blies of his saints ; at the first assembly six million eight 
 hundred thousand monks were present, in the second 
 one hundred thousand, in the third eighty thousand. At 
 that time the Bodisat, born as the mighty and powerful 
 snake king Atula, gave to the Blessed One a golden chair, 
 inlaid with the seven kinds of gems. To him also he 
 prophesied, saying, " Ninety-one world-cycles hence thou 
 shalt become a Buddha." The city of this Blessed One 
 was called BandhumatT, Bandhuma the king was his 
 father, BandhumatI his mother, Khandha and Tissa his 
 chief disciples, Asoka his servitor, Cauda and Candamitta 
 his chief female disciples, and the Bignonia (or Patali- 
 tree) his Bo-tree. His body was eighty cubits high, the 
 effulgence from his body always reached a hundred 
 leagues, and his age was a hundred thousand years. 
 
 241. After Phussa, the Supreme Buddha, the best of 
 
 men, 
 Yipassin hj name, the far-seeing, appeared in the 
 world. 
 
 After him, thirty-one world-cycles ago, there were two 
 Buddhas, called Sikhin and Vessabhii. Sikhin too had 
 three assemblies of his saints ; at the first assembly a 
 hundred thousand monks were present, at the second 
 eighty thousand, at the third seventy. At that time the 
 
VESSABHU BUDDHA. 49 
 
 Bodisat, born as Idng Arindama, gave a great donation of 
 robes and other things to the Order with the Buddha 
 at their head, and offered also a superb elephant, decked 
 with the seven gems and provided with all things suitable. 
 To him too he prophesied, saying, "Thirty-one world- 
 cycles hence thou shalt become a Buddha." The city of 
 that Blessed One was called ArunavatT, Aruna the warrior- 
 chief was his father, PabhavatI his mother, Abhibhu and 
 Sambhava his chief disciples, Khemaijkura his servitor, 
 Makhela and Paduma his chief female disciples, and the 
 Pundarika-tree his Bo-tree. His body was thirty-seven 
 cubits high, the effulgence from his body reached three 
 leagues, and his age was thirty- seven thousand years. 
 
 242. After Vipassin came the Supreme Buddha, the 
 best of men, 
 Sikhui by name, the Conqueror, unequalled and 
 iin rivalled. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher named Vessahhu. He 
 also had three assemblies of his saints ; at the first 
 eight million priests were present, at the second seven, 
 at the third six. At that time the Bodisat, born as the 
 king Sudassana, gave a great donation of robes and other 
 things to the Order, with the Buddha at their head. 
 And taking the vows at his hands, he became righteous 
 in conduct, and found great joy in meditating on the 
 Buddha. To him too the Blessed One prophesied, saying, 
 " Thirty-one world-cycles hence thou shalt be a Buddha." 
 The city of this Blessed One was called Anopama, Sup- 
 patlta the king was his father, YasavatI his mother, Sona 
 and Uttara his chief disciples, Upasanta his servitor, 
 Dama and Sumala his chief female disciples, and the 
 Sal-tree his Bo-tree. His body was sixty cubits high, 
 and his age sixty thousand years. 
 
50 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 243. In the same Mandakalpa, the Conqueror named 
 
 Vessabhii, 
 Unequalled and unrivalled, appeared in the -svorld. 
 
 After him, in this world-cycle, four Buddhas have 
 appeared — Kakusandha, Konagamana, Kassapa, and our 
 Buddha. Kakusandha the Blessed One had one assembly, 
 at which forty thousand monks were present. At that 
 time the Bodisat, as Kshema the king, gave a great dona- 
 tion, including robes and bowls, to the Order, with the 
 Buddha at their head, and having given also coUyriums 
 and drugs, he listened to the Law preached by the 
 Teacher, and took the vows. And to him also the 
 Buddha prophesied. The city of Kakusandha the Blessed 
 One was called Khema, Aggidatta the Brahman was his 
 father, Visakha the Brahman woman his mother, Vidhura 
 and Sanjiva his chief disciples, Buddhija his servitor, 
 Sama and Campaka his chief female disciples, and the 
 great Sirlsa-tree his Bo-tree. His body was forty cubits 
 high, and his age forty thousand years. 
 
 244. After Vessabhii came the perfect Buddha, the 
 
 best of men, 
 Kakusandha by name, infinite and hard to equal. 
 
 After him appeared the Teacher Kon agamana. Of his 
 disciples too there was one assembly, at which thirty 
 thousand monks were present. At that time the Bodisat, 
 as Pabhata the king, went, surrounded by his ministers, 
 to the Teacher, and listened to the preaching of the Law. 
 And having given an invitation to the Order, with the 
 Buddha at their head, he kept up a great donation, giving 
 cloths of sUk, and of fine texture, and woven with gold. 
 And he took the vows from the Teacher's hands. And to 
 him too the Buddha prophesied. The city of this Blessed 
 One was called SobhavatI, Yanfiadatta the Brahman was 
 
A'ASSAPA BUDDHA. 
 
 5' 
 
 his father, Uttara the Brahman woman his mother, 
 Bhiyyosa and Uttara his chief disciples, Sotthija his 
 servitor, Samudda and Uttara his chief female disciples, 
 and the Udumbara-tree his Bo-tree. His body was 
 twenty cubits high, and his age was thirty thousand 
 years. 
 
 245. Aiter Kakusandha came the Perfect Buddha, the 
 
 best of men, 
 Konagamana by name. Conqueror, chief of the 
 world, supreme among men. 
 
 After him the Teacher named Kassapa appeared in the 
 world. Of his disciples too there was one assembly, at 
 which twenty thousand monks were present. At that 
 time the Bodisat, as the Brahman youth Jotipdla, accom.- 
 plished in the three Vedas, was well known on earth 
 and in heaven as the friend of the potter Grhatikara. 
 Going with him to the Teacher and hearing the Law, he 
 took the vows ; and zealously learning the three Pitakas, 
 he gloriiied, by faithfulness in duty and in works of 
 supererogation, the religion of the Buddhas. And to 
 him too the Buddha prophesied. The birthplace of the 
 Blessed One was called Benares, Brahmadatta the brah- 
 man was his father, Dhanavatl of the brahman caste his 
 mother, Tissa and Bharadvaja his chief disciples, Sab- 
 bamitta his servitor, Anula and Uruvela his chief female 
 disciples, and the Nigrodha-tree his Bo-tree. His body 
 was twenty cubits high, and his age was twenty thousand 
 years. 
 
 246. After Konagamana came the Perfect Buddha, 
 
 best of men, 
 Kassapa by name, that Conqueror, king of 
 Righteousness, and giver of Light. 
 
 Again, in the kalpa in which Dipagkara the Buddha 
 
52 
 
 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 appeared, three other Buddhas appeared also. On their 
 part no prophecy was made to the Bodisat, they are 
 therefore not mentioned here ; but in the commentary, 
 in order to mention all the Buddhas from this kalpa, it 
 is said, 
 
 247. Tanhaijkara and Medhagkara, and Saranagkara, 
 And the perfect Buddha Dlpagkara, and Kondafina 
 
 best of men, 
 
 248. And Maggala, and Sumana, and E,evata, and 
 
 Sobhita the sage, 
 Anomadassin, Paduma, Narada, Padumuttara, 
 
 249. And Sumedha, and Sujata, Piyadassin the famous 
 
 one, 
 Atthadassin, Dhammadassin, Siddhattha guide of 
 the world, 
 
 250. Tissa, and Phussa the perfect Buddha, Vipassin, 
 
 Sikhin, Yessabhu, 
 Kakusandha, Konagamana, and Kassapa too the 
 Guide, — 
 
 251. These were the perfect Buddhas, the sinless ones, 
 
 the well- controlled ; 
 Appearing like suns, dispelling the thick darkness ; 
 They, and their disciples too, blazed up like 
 
 flames of fire and went out. 
 
 Thus our Bodisat has come down to us through four 
 a&avJtheyyaB plus one hundred thousand kalpas, making 
 resolve in the presence of the twenty- four Buddhas, beo-in- 
 ning with Dipagkara. Now after Kassapa there is no 
 other Buddha beside the present supreme Buddha. So 
 the Bodisat received a prophecy from each of the twenty- 
 four Buddhas, beginning at Dlpai)kara. 
 
 And furthermore in accordance with the sayiag, 
 
 " The resolve (to become a Buddha) only succeeds 
 
QUALIFICATIONS OF BOOrSATS. 53 
 
 by the combination of eight qualifications : 
 
 being a man, and of the male sex, and capable 
 
 of attaining arahatship, association with the 
 
 Teachers, renunciation of the world, perfection 
 
 in virtue, acts of self-sacrifice, and earnest 
 
 detennination, " 
 
 he combined in himself these eight qualifications. And 
 
 exerting himself according to the resolve he had made 
 
 at the feet of Dlpagkara, in the words, 
 
 "Come, I will search for the Buddha-making 
 conditions, this way and that ; " ^ 
 and beholding the Perfections of Almsgiving and the 
 rest to be the qualities necessary for the making of a 
 Buddha, according to the words, 
 
 "Then, as I made my search, L beheld the first 
 Perfection of Almsgiving ; "^ 
 he came down through many births, fulfilling these 
 Perfections, even up to his last appearance as Vessantara. 
 And the rewards which fell to him on his way, as they 
 fall to all the Bodisats who have resolved to become 
 Buddhas, are lauded thus : 
 
 252. So the men, perfect in every part, and destined to 
 
 Buddhahood, 
 Traverse the long road through thousands of 
 millions of ages. 
 
 253. They are not born in hell, nor in the space between 
 
 the worlds ; 
 They do not become ghosts consumed by hunger, 
 
 thirst, and want. 
 And they do not become small animals, even 
 
 though bom to sorrow. 
 
 254. When bom among men they are not blind by 
 
 birth, 
 
 ' See verse 125, above p. 19. ^ See verse 126, above p. 19. 
 
54 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 They are not hard of hearing, they are not classed 
 among the dumb. 
 
 255. They do not become women ; among hermaphro- 
 
 dites and eunuchs 
 They are not found, — these men destined to 
 Buddhahood. 
 
 256. Free from the deadlj^ sins, eYerywhere pure-living, 
 They follow not after vain philosophy, they per- 
 ceive the working of Karma. 
 
 257. Though they dwell in heaven, they are not born 
 
 into the Unconscious state, 
 Nor are they destined to rebirth among the angels 
 in the^ Pure Abodes.^ 
 
 258. Bent upon renunciation, holy in the world and 
 
 not of it. 
 They walk as acting for the world's welfare, 
 fulfilling all perfection. 
 
 While he was thus fulfilling the Perfections, there was 
 no limit to the existences in which he fulfilled the Per- 
 fection of Almsgiving. As, for instance, in the times 
 when he was the brahman Akitti, and the brahmin Sagkha, 
 and the king Dhanaiijaya, andMaha-sudassana, and Maha- 
 govinda, and the king Nimi, and the prince Canda, and 
 the merchant Visayha, and the king Sivi, and Vessantara. 
 So, certainly, in the Birth as the Wise Hare, according 
 to the words,^ 
 
 259. When I saw one coming for food, I offered my 
 
 own self, 
 There is no one like me in giving, such is my 
 Perfection of Almsgiving, 
 
 1 In the four highest of the thirty-one spheres of existence the angels are 
 nnconscious, and the five worlds below these are called the Pure Abodes. 
 
 ^ AU the following verses down to verse 269 are (Quotations from the 
 Cariyapitaka. 
 
PERFECTIONS OF THE BODISAT. 
 
 SS 
 
 he, offering up his own life, acquired the Supreme Per- 
 fection called the Perfection of Almsgiving. 
 
 In like manner there is no limit to the existences — as, 
 for instance, in the times when he was the snake king 
 Sllava, and the snake king Campeyya, the snake king 
 Bhuridatta, the snake king Chaddanta, and the prince 
 Allnasattu, son of king Jayaddisa — in which he fulfilled 
 the Perfection of Goodness. So, certainly, in the 
 Sagkhapala Birth, according to the words, 
 
 260. Even when piercing me with stakes, and striking 
 
 me with javelins, 
 I was not angry with the sons of Bhoja, such is 
 my Perfection of Goodness, 
 
 he, offering up himself, acquired the Supreme Perfection, 
 called the Perfection of Goodness. 
 
 In like manner there is no limit to existences — ^as, for 
 instance, in the times when he was the prince Somanassa, 
 and the prince Hatthipala, and the wise man Ayoghara — 
 in which, forsaking his kingdom, he fulfilled the Perfec- 
 tion of Renunciation. So, certainly, in the CQla-Sutasoma 
 Birth, according to the words, 
 
 261. The kingdom, which was in my power, like 
 
 spittle I rejected it. 
 And, rejecting, cared not for it, such is my 
 Perfection of Penunciation, 
 
 he, renouncing the kingdom for freedom from the ties of 
 sin,' acquired the Supreme Perfection, called the Perfec- 
 tion of Renunciation. 
 
 In like manner, there is no limit to the existences — as, 
 
 1 The Saggas, of -which there are five — lust, hate, ignorance, pride, and 
 fake doctrine. 
 
56 THE NIDAXAKATHA. 
 
 for instance, in the times wlien he was the wise man 
 Vidhura, and the wise man Maha-govinda, and the wise 
 man Kuddiila, and the wise man Araka, and the ascetic 
 Bodhi, and the wise man Mahosadha — in which he 
 fulfilled the Perfection of Wisdom. So, certainly, in 
 the time when he was the wise man Senaka in the 
 Sattubhatta Birth, according to the words, 
 
 262. Searching the matter out by wisdom, I set the 
 
 brahman free from pain. 
 There is no one like me in wisdom ; such is my 
 Perfection of Wisdom, 
 
 he, pointing out the snake which had got into the 
 bellows, acquired the Supreme Perfection called the 
 Perfection of Wisdom. 
 
 So, certainly, in the Maha-Janaka Birth, according 
 to the words, 
 
 263. Out of sight of the shore, in the midst of the 
 
 waters, all men are as if dead. 
 There is no other way of thinking ; such is my 
 Perfection of Resolution, 
 
 he, crossing the Great Ocean, acquired the Supreme 
 Perfection called the Perfection of Resolution. 
 
 And so in the Khantivada Birth, according to the 
 words, 
 
 264. Even when he struck me with a sharp axe, as if 
 
 I were a senseless thing, 
 I was not angry with the king of Kasi ; such is 
 my Perfection of Patience, 
 
 he, enduring great sorrow as if he were a senseless thing, 
 acquired the Perfection of Patience. 
 
PERFECTIONS OF THE BODISAT. 57 
 
 And SO in the Maha-Sutasoma Birth, according to the 
 words, 
 
 265. Guarding the word of Truth, and offering up 
 
 my life, 
 I delivered the hundred warriors ; such is my 
 Perfection of Truth, 
 
 he, offering up his life, and observing truth, obtained 
 the Perfection of Truth. 
 
 And in the Mugapakkha Birth, according to the words, 
 
 266. Father and mother I hated not, reputation I 
 
 hated not, 
 But Omniscience was dear to me, therefore was I 
 firm in duty, 
 
 offering up even his life, and being resolute in duty, he 
 acquired the Perfection of Resolution. 
 
 And so in the Ekaraja Birth, according to the words, 
 
 267. No man terrifies me, nor am I in fear of any 
 
 man ; 
 Firm in the power of kindness, in purity I take 
 delight, 
 
 regarding not even his life while attaining to kindness, 
 he acquired the Perfection of Good- will. 
 
 So in the Somahagsa Birth, according to the words, 
 
 268. I lay me down in the cemetery, making a piUow 
 
 of dead bones : 
 The village children mocked and praised : to all I 
 was indifferent, 
 
 he was unshaken in equanimity, even when the villagers 
 tried to vex or please him by spitting or by offering 
 
58 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 garlands and perfumes, and thus lie acquired the 
 Perfection of Equanimitj^. 
 
 This is a summary onlj'^, the account will be found 
 at length in the Cariya Pitaka. 
 
 Having thus fulfilled the Perfections, in his birth as 
 Vessantara, accoi'ding to the words, 
 
 269. This earth, unconscious though she be and 
 ignorant of \Qij or grief. 
 E'en she by my free-giving's mighty power was 
 shaken seven times, 
 
 he performed such mighty acts of virtue as made the 
 earth to shake. And when, in the fullness of time, he 
 had passed away, he reassumed existence in the Tusita 
 heaven. 
 
 Thus should be understood the period, called Dure- 
 nidana, from the Resolution at the feet of Dipagkara 
 down to this birth in the City of Delight. 
 
 II.— AVIDUEE NIDANA. 
 
 It was when the Bodisat was thus dwelling in the City 
 of Delight, that the so-called "Buddha proclamation" 
 took place. For three such " Proclamations " take place 
 on earth. These are the three. When they realize that 
 at the end of a hundred thousand j'ears a new dispensa- 
 tion will begin, the angels called Loka-byuha, with their 
 hair fij'^ing and dishevelled, with weeping faces, wiping 
 away their tears with their hands, clad in red garments, 
 and with their clothes all in disorder, wander among 
 men, and make proclamation, saying, 
 
 " Friends, one hundred thousand j^ears from now there 
 will be a new dispensation ; this S3rstem of worlds will 
 be destroyed ; even the mighty ocean will dry up ; this 
 
THE GREAT PROCLAMATIONS. 59 
 
 great eartli, with Sineru the monarch of mountaias, will 
 be burned up and destroyed ; and the whole world, up 
 to the realms of the immaterial angels, will pass away. 
 Therefore, friends, do mercy, live in kindness, and 
 sympathy, and peace, cherish your mothers, support your 
 fathers, honour the elders in your tribes." This is called 
 the proclamation of a new Age [Kappahalahalaij]. 
 
 Again, when they realize that at the end of a thousand 
 years an omniscient Buddha wiR appear on earth, the 
 angel- guardians of the world go from place to place 
 and make proclamation, saying, " Friends, at the end 
 of a thousand years from this time a Buddha will appear 
 on earth." This is called the proclamation of a Buddha 
 [B uddha-halahalar) ] . 
 
 Again, when the angels realize that at the end of a 
 hundred years a universal monarch will appear, they go 
 from place to place and make proclamation, saying, 
 " Friends, at the end of a hundred years from this time 
 a universal monarch will appear on earth." This is 
 called the proclamation of a Universal monarch [Cakka- 
 vatti-halahalaij]. These are the three great proclamations. 
 
 ^Vhen of these three they hear the Buddha-proclama- 
 tion, the deities of the ten thousand world- systems 
 assemble together ; and having ascertained which of 
 the then living beings will become the Buddha, they go 
 to him and beseech him to do so, — -so beseeching him 
 when the first signs appear that his present life is 
 drawing to its close. Accordingly on this occasion they 
 all, with the archangels in each world-system,^ assembled 
 in one world, and going to the future Buddha in the 
 Heaven of Delight, they besought him, saying, 
 
 " Blessed One, when thou wast fulfiUing the Ten 
 Perfections, thou didst not do so from a desire for the 
 
 • The names are given in the text ; the four Maharajas, Sakka, Suyama, 
 Santusita, Paranimitta-vasavatti, and Maha- Brahma. They are the arch- 
 angels in the different heavenly seats in each ivorld-system (Cakkavala) 
 of the Buddhist cosmogony. 
 
6o THE NIDAiVAKATHA. 
 
 glorious state of an archangel — Sakka, or Milra, or 
 Brahma — or of a mighty king upon earth ; thou wast 
 fulfilling them with the hope of reaching Omniscience 
 for the sake of the Salvation of mankind ! Now has the 
 moment come, Blessed One, for thy Buddhahood ; 
 now has the time, Blessed One, arrived ! " 
 
 But the Grreat Being, as if he had not granted the 
 prayer of the deities, reflected in succession on the 
 following five important points, viz. the time of his 
 advent; the continent and country where he should 
 appear; the tribe in which he should be born; the mother 
 who should bear him, and the time when her life should 
 be complete. 
 
 Of these he first reflected on the Time, thinking, " Is 
 this the time or not?" And on this point he thought, 
 " When the duration of human existence is more than 
 a hundred thousand years, the time has not arrived. 
 Why not ? Because in such a period men perceive 
 not that living beings are subject to birth, decay, and 
 death ; the threefold pearl of the preaching of the Gospel 
 of the Buddhas is unknown ; and when the Buddhas 
 speak of the impermaneuce of all things, of the univer- 
 sality of sorrow, and of the delusion of individuality, 
 people will neither listen nor believe, saying, ' What is 
 this they talk of ? ' At such a time there can be no 
 perception of the truth, and without that the gospel will 
 not lead to salvation. That therefore is not the time. 
 Neither is it the right time when the term of human 
 existence is under one hundred years. Why not ? 
 Because then sin is rife among men; and admonition 
 addressed to the sinners finds no place for edification, 
 but like a streak drawn on the water vanishes quickly 
 away. That therefore is not the time. When, however, 
 the term of human existence is under a hundred thousand 
 and over a hundred years, that is the proper time." Now 
 at that time the age of man was one hundred years. 
 
BIRTH OF THE BODISAT. 6 1 
 
 The Great Being therefore saw that the time of his 
 advent had arrived. 
 
 Then reflecting upon the Contixext, and considering 
 the four great continents ■n-ith their surrounding islands,' 
 he thought, " In three of the continents the Buddhas do 
 not — but in Jambudvlpa they do — appear," and thus he 
 decided on the continent. 
 
 Then reflecting upon the District, and thinking, 
 " Jambudvlpa indeed is large, ten thousand leagues in 
 extent ; now in which district of it do the Buddhas 
 appear ? " he fixed upon the Middle Country.^ And 
 calling to mind that the town named Kapilavastu was 
 in that country, he concluded that he ought to be 
 born in it. 
 
 Then reflecting on the Tribe, he thought, "The 
 Buddhas are not born in the Vaisya caste, nor the Sudra 
 caste ; but either in the Brahmana or in the Kshatriya 
 caste, whichever is then held in the highest repute. 
 The Kshatriya caste is now predominant, I must be born 
 in it, and Suddhodana the chief shall be my father." 
 Thus he decided on the tribe. 
 
 Then reflecting on the Mother, he thought, " The 
 mother of a Buddha is not eager for love, or cimning after 
 drink, but has fulfilled the Perfections for a himdred 
 thousand ages, and from her birth upwards has kept the 
 five Precepts unbroken. Now this lady Maha Maya is 
 
 1 In the seas snrronnding each continent (MahadTpa) there are five hun- 
 dred islands. See Hardy's Manual of Buddhism, p. 13. 
 
 * Majjhima-desa, of which the commentator adds, " This is the country thus 
 spoken of in the Vinaya," quoting the passage at Mahavagga, v. 13, 12, which 
 gives the boundaries as follows : " To the E. the town Kajaggala, and beyond 
 itMahasala; to the S.E. the river SalalavatI; to the S. the town Setakannika; 
 to the W. the brahman town and district Thuna; and to the N. the Usiraddhaja 
 Mountain." These are different from the boundaries of the Madhya Desa of 
 later Brahminical literature, on which see Lassen's 'Indische Alterthumskunde,' 
 vol. i. p. 119 (2nd edition). This sacred land was regarded as the centre of 
 Jambudvlpa ; that is, of the then known world — just as the Chinese talk of 
 China as the Middle Country, and as other people have looked on their own 
 capital as the navel or centre of the world, and on their world as the centre of 
 the universe. 
 
62 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 such a one, she shall be my mother." And further 
 considering how long her life should last, he foresaw that 
 it would still last ten months and seven days. 
 
 HaTing thus reflected on these five important points, 
 he favoured the deities by granting their prayer, saying, 
 " The time has arrived, Blessed Ones, for me to become 
 a Buddha." He then dismissed them with the words, 
 "You may depart;" and attended by the angels of the 
 heaven of Joy, he entered the grove of Gladness in the 
 City of Delight. 
 
 Ifow in each of the angel-heavens (Devalotas) there 
 is such a grove of Gladness; and there the angels are 
 wont to remind any one of them who is about to depart 
 of the opportunities he has gained by good deeds done in 
 a former birth, saying to him, "When fallen hence, 
 mayest thou be reborn in bliss." And thus He also, 
 ■when walking about there, surrounded by angels re- 
 minding him of his acquired merit, departed thence ; 
 and was conceived in the womb of the Lady Maha Maya. 
 
 In order to explain this better, the following is the 
 account in fuller detail. At that time, it is said, the 
 Midsummer festival was proclaimed in the City of 
 Kapilavastu, and the people were enjoying the feast. 
 During the seven days before the full moon the Lady 
 Maha Maya had taken part in the festivity, as free from 
 intoxication as it was brilliant with garlands and per- 
 fumes. On the seventh day she rose early and bathed 
 in perfumed water : and she distributed four hundred 
 thousand pieces in giving great largesse. Decked in her 
 richest attire she partook of the purest food : and vowing 
 to observe the Eight Commandments, she entered her 
 beautiful chamber, and lying on her royal couch she fell 
 asleep and dreamt this dream. 
 
 The four archangels, the Guardians of the world, lifting 
 her up in her couch, carried her to the Himalaya moun- 
 tains, and placing her under the Great Sala-tree, seven 
 
MAHA MA YA'S DREAM. 63 
 
 leagues tigh, on the Crimson Plain, sixty yojanas broad, 
 they stood respectfully aside. Their queens then came 
 toward her, and taking her to the lake of Anotatta, 
 bathed her to free her from human stains ; and dressed 
 her in heavenly gannents ; and anointed her with per- 
 fumes ; and decked her with heavenly flowers. Not far 
 from there is the SUver Hill, within which is a golden 
 mansion ; in it they spread a heavenly couch, with its 
 head towards the East, and on it they laid her down. 
 Then the future Buddha, who had become a superb white 
 elephant, and was wandering on the Golden Hill, not far 
 from there, descended thence, and ascending the Silver 
 Hill, approached her from the North. Holding in his 
 silvery trunk a white lotus flower, and uttering a far- 
 reaching cry, he entered the golden mansion, and thrice 
 doing obeisance to his mother's couch, he gently struck 
 her right side, and seemed to enter her womb.^ 
 
 Thus was he conceived at the end of the Midsummer 
 festival. And the next day, having awoke from her sleep, 
 she related her dream to the raja. The raja had sixty- 
 four eminent Brahmans summoned, and had costly seats 
 spread on a spot made ready for the state occasion with 
 green leaves and dalbergia flowers, and he had vessels 
 of gold and silver filled with delicate milk-rice com- 
 pounded with ghee and sweet honey, and covered with 
 gold and silver bowls. This food he gave them, and he 
 satisfied them with gifts of new garments and of tawny 
 cows. And when he had thus satisfied their every desire, 
 he had the dream told to them, and then he asked them, 
 " What will come of it ? " 
 
 The Brahmans said, "Be not anxious, king ! your 
 queen has conceived : and the fruit of her womb will be 
 a man-child ; it will not be a woman-child. You will 
 
 • It is instructive to notice that in later accounts it is soterly related as 
 actual fact that the Bodisat entered his mother's womh as a white elephant : 
 and the Incarnation scene is occasionally so represented in Buddhist sculptures. 
 
64 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 have a son. And he, if lie adopts a householder's life, 
 will become a king, a Universal Monarch ; but if, leaving 
 his home, he adopt the religious life, he will become a 
 Buddha, who will remove from the world the veils of 
 ignorance and sin." 
 
 Now at the moment when the future Buddha made 
 himself incarnate in his mother's womb, the constituent 
 elements of the ten thousand world-systems quaked, and 
 trembled, and were shaken violently. The Thirtj'-two 
 Good Omens also were made manifest. In the ten thou- 
 sand world-systems an immeasurable light appeared. The 
 blind received their sight (as if from very longing to 
 behold this his glory). The deaf heard the noise. The 
 dumb spake one with another. The crooked became 
 straight. The lame walked. All prisoners were freed 
 from their bonds and chains. In each hell the fire was 
 extinguished. The hungry ghosts received food and 
 drink. The wild animals ceased to be afraid. The 
 illness of all who were sick was allayed. All men began 
 to speak kindly. Horses neighed, and elephants trum- 
 peted gently. All musical instruments gave forth each 
 its note, though none played upon them. Bracelets and 
 other ornaments jingled of themselves. AU the heavens 
 became clear. A cool soft breeze wafted . pleasantly for 
 all. Rain fell out of due season. Water, welling up 
 from the very earth, overflowed.'^ The birds forsook 
 their flight on high. The rivers stayed their waters' 
 flow. The waters of the mighty ocean became fresh. 
 Everywhere the earth was covered with lotuses of every 
 colour. All flowers blossomed on land and in water. 
 The trunks, and branches, and twigs of trees were covered 
 with the bloom appropriate to each. On earth tree-lotuses 
 sprang up by sevens together, breaking even through 
 
 ' I think this is the meaning of the passage, though Prof. Childers has 
 a different rendering of the similar phrase at verse 104, where I would 
 read " it" instead of " vegetation." Compare Dathavar|sa, i. 45. 
 
THE THIRTY-TWO S/C.VS. 65 
 
 the rocks ; and hanging-lotuses descended from the skies. 
 The ten-thousand world-systems revolved, and rushed as 
 close together as a hunch of gathered flowers ; and became 
 as it were a woven wreath of worlds, as sweet-smelling 
 and resplendent as a mass of garlands, or as a sacred altar 
 decked with flowers. 
 
 From the moment of the incarnation, thus brought 
 ahout, of the future Buddha, four angels, with swords 
 in their hands, stood guard over the Bodisat and his 
 mother, to shield them from all harm. Pure in thought, 
 having reached the highest aim and the highest honour, 
 the mother was happy and unwearied ; and she saw the 
 child within her as plainly as one could see a thread passed 
 through a transparent gem.^ But as a womb in which a 
 future Buddha has dwelt, like a sacred relic shrine, can 
 never be occupied by another ; the mother of the Bodisat, 
 seven days after his birth, died, and was reborn in the 
 City of Delight. 
 
 Now other women give birth, some before, some 
 after, the completion of the tenth month, some sitting, 
 and some lying down. Not so the mother of a Bodisat. 
 She gives birth to the Bodisat, standing, after she has 
 cherished him in her womb for exactly ten months. This 
 is a distinctive quality of the mother of a Buddha elect. 
 
 And queen Maha Maya, when she too had thus cherished 
 the Bodisat in her womb, like oil in a vessel, for ten 
 months, felt herself far gone with child: and wishing 
 to go to her family home she spake to King Suddhodana, 
 and said, 
 
 " king ! I wish to go to Devadaha, to the city of my 
 people." 
 
 The king, saying, " It is good," consented, and had the 
 road from Kapilavastu to Devadaha made plain, and decked 
 
 1 I once saw a notice of some mediaeTal frescoes in wliicli the Holy Child 
 was similarly represented as visible within the Virgin's womb, but have 
 unfortunately mislaid the reference. 
 
66 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 with arches of plaintain-trees, and well-filled water-pots, 
 and flags, and banners. And seating the queen in a 
 golden palanquin carried by a thousand attendants, he 
 sent her away with a great retinue. 
 
 Isfow between the two towns there is a pleasure- grove 
 of sala-trees belonging to the people of both cities, and 
 called the Lumbini grove. At that time, from the roots 
 to the topjmost branches, it was one mass of fruits and 
 flowers ; and amidst the blossoms and branches swarms 
 of various-coloured bees, and flocks of birds of difierent 
 kinds, roamed, warbling sweetly. The whole of the 
 Lumbini grove was like a wood of variegated creepers, 
 or the well-decorated banqueting hall of some mighty 
 king. The queen beholding it was filled with the desire 
 of besporting herself in the sal-tree grove ; and the 
 attendants, carrying the queen, entered the wood. "When 
 she came to the monarch sal-tree of the glade, she 
 wanted to take hold of a branch of it, and the branch 
 bending down, like a reed heated by steam, approached 
 within reach of her hand. Stretching out her hand she 
 took hold of the branch, and then her pains came upon 
 her. The people drawing a curtain round hei', retired. 
 Standing, and holding the branch of the sal-tree, she 
 was delivered. 
 
 That very moment the four pure-minded Maha Brahma 
 angels came there bringing a golden net ; and receiving 
 the future Buddha on that net, they placed him before 
 his mother, saying, "Be joyful, O Lady! a mighty son 
 is born to thee ! " 
 
 Now other living things, when they leave their mother's 
 womb, leave it smeared with ofiensive and impure matter. 
 Not so a Bodisat. The future Buddha left his mother's 
 womb like a preacher descending from a pulpit or a man 
 from a ladder, erect, stretching out his hands and feet, 
 unsoiled by any impurities from contact with his mother's 
 womb, pure and fair, and shining like a gem placed on 
 
THE BIRTH OF THE BUDDHA. 67 
 
 fine muslin of Benares. But though this was so, two 
 showers of water came down from heaven in honour of 
 them and refreshed the Bodisat and his mother. 
 
 From the hands of the angels who had received him in 
 the golden net, four kings received him on cloth of ante- 
 lope skins, soft to the touch, such as are used on occasions 
 of roj^al state. From their hands men received him on a 
 roll of fine cloth ; and on leaving their hands he stood up 
 upon the ground and looked towards the East. Thousands 
 of world-systems became visible to him like a single 
 open space. Men and angels offering him sweet-smelling 
 garlands, said, " great Being, there is no other like 
 thee, how then a greater ? " Searching the ten directions 
 (the four points of the compass, the four intermediate 
 points, the zenith and the nadir), and finding no one like 
 himself, he took seven strides, saying, " This is the best 
 direction." And as he walked the archangel Brahma 
 held over him the white umbrella, and the archangel 
 Suyama followed him with the fan, and other deities 
 with the other symbols of royalty in their hands. Then 
 stopping at the seventh step, he sent forth his noble voice 
 and shouted the shout of victory, beginning with, " I am 
 the chief of the world." ^ 
 
 Now the future Buddha in three births thus uttered 
 his voice imm.ediately on leaving his mother's womb ; in 
 his birth as Mahosadha, in his birth as Vessantara, and 
 in this birth. In the Mahosadha birth the archangel 
 Sakka came to him as he was being bom, and placing 
 some fine sandal- wood in his hand, went away. He came 
 out from the womb holding this in his fist. His mother 
 asked him, " What is it you hold, dear, as you come ? " 
 He answered, " Medicine, mother ! " So because he came 
 holding medicine, they gave him the name of Medicine- 
 child (Osadhadaraka). Taking the medicine they kept 
 
 1 The Madurattha Yilasim adds the rest, "I am supreme in the world; 
 this is my last birth ; henceforth there will be no rebirth for me." 
 
68 Tim XIDANAKATHA. 
 
 it in a cliatty (an earthenware water-pot) ; and it became 
 a drug by which all the sickness of the blind and deaf 
 and others, as many as came, was healed. So the saying 
 sprang up, " This is a powerful drug, this is a powerful 
 drug ; " and hence he was called Mahosadha (The Great 
 Medicine Man). 
 
 Again, in the Vessantara birth, as he left his mother's 
 womb, he stretched out his right hand, saying, "But is 
 there anj'thing in the house, mother? I would give a 
 gift." Then his mother, saying, " You are born, dear, in 
 a wealthy family," took his hand in hers, and placed on it 
 a bag containing a thousand. 
 
 Lastly, in this birth he sang the song of victory. Thus 
 the future Buddha in three births uttered his voice as he 
 came out of his mother's womb. And as at the moment 
 of his conception, so at the moment of his birth, the 
 thirty-two Grood Omens were seen. 
 
 Now at the very time when our Bodisat was bom in 
 the Lumbini grove, the lady, the mother of Rahula, 
 Channa the attendant, Kaludayi the minister, Kanthaka 
 the royal horse, the great Bo-tree, and the four vases full 
 of treasure, also came into being. Of these last, one was 
 two miles, one four, one six, and one eight miles in size. 
 These seven are called the Sahajata, the Connatal Ones.^ 
 
 The people of both towns took the Bodisat and went 
 to Kapilavastu. On that day too, the choirs of angels in 
 the Tavatigsa heaven were astonished and joyful; and 
 waved their cloaks and rejoiced, saying, " In Kapilavastu, 
 
 ' There is some mistake here, as the list contains nine — or if the four 
 treasures count as one, onlv six- Connatal Ones. I think before Kaludayi 
 we should insert Anaiida, the loving disciple. So Alabaster and Hardy 
 CWlieel of the Law, p. 106 ; Manual of Buddhism, p. 146). Bigandet also 
 adds Ananda, but calls him the son of Amittodana, which is against the 
 common tradition (Life or Legend of Guadama, p. 36, comp. my Buddhism, 
 p. 62). The legend is certainly, as to its main features, an early one, for 
 it is also found, in ^eatly exaggerated and contradictory terms, in the books 
 of Northern Buddhists (Lalita Vistava, Foucaux, p. 97, Beal, p. 63, comp. 
 Senart, p. 294). 
 
THE BUDDHIST SIMEON. 69 
 
 to Suddhodana the king, a son is born, who, seated under 
 the Bo-tree, will become a Buddha." 
 
 At that time an ascetic named Kala Devala (a con- 
 fidential adviser of Suddhodana the king, who had passed 
 through the eight stages of religious attainment)' had 
 eaten his mid-day meal, and had gone to the Tavatii^sa 
 heaven, to rest through the heat of the day. Whilst 
 there sitting resting, he saw these angels, and asked 
 them, " Why are you thus glad at heart and rejoicing? 
 Tell me the reason of it." 
 
 The angels replied, "Sir, to Suddhodana the king is 
 born a son, who seated under the Bo-tree will become a 
 Buddha, and will found a Kingdom of Righteousness.^ 
 To us it will be given to see his infinite grace and to 
 hear his word. Therefore it is that we are glad ! " 
 
 The ascetic, hearing what they said, quickly came 
 down from the angel-world, and entering the king's 
 house, sat down on the seat set apart for him, and said, 
 "A son they say is born to you, king ! let me see him." 
 
 The king ordered his son to be clad in splendour 
 and brought in to salute the ascetic. But the future 
 Buddha turned his feet roimd, and planted them on 
 the matted hair of the ascetic.^ For in that birth there 
 was no one worthy to be saluted by the Bodisat, and 
 if those ignorant ones had placed the head of the 
 future Buddha at the feet of the ascetic, assuredly the 
 ascetic's head would have split in two. The ascetic rose 
 from his seat, and saying, "It is not right for me to 
 work my own destruction," he did homage to the Bodisat. 
 And the king also seeing this wonder did homage to 
 his own son. 
 
 * Sainupatti. 
 
 2 Dhammacakkai^ pavattessati. See my ** Buddhism,*' p. 45. 
 
 3 It wa£ considered among the Brahmans a siga of holiness to wear matted 
 or platted hair. This is referred to in the striking Buddhist verse (Dhamma- 
 pada, V. 394), " What is the use of platted hair, fool ! What of a garment 
 of skins ! Your low yearnings are within you, and the outside thou makest 
 clean ! " 
 
7° 
 
 THE mOANAKATHA. 
 
 Now the ascetic had the power of calling to mind the 
 events of forty ages (kalpas) in the past, and of forty 
 ages in the future. Looking at the marks of future 
 prosperity on the Bodisat's body, he considered with 
 himself, "Will he become a Buddha or not?" And 
 perceiving that he would most certainly become a Buddha, 
 he smiled, saying, " This is a Avonderful child." Then 
 reflecting, " Will it be given to me to behold him when 
 he has become a Buddha ? " he perceived that it would 
 not. " Dying before that time I shall be reborn in the 
 Formless World ; so that while a hundred or perhaps a 
 thousand Buddhas appear among men, I shall not be able 
 to go and be taught by them. And it will not be my good 
 fortune to behold this so wonderful child when he has 
 become a Buddha. Great, indeed, is my loss ! " And he 
 wept. 
 
 The people seeing this, asked, saying, " Our master 
 just now smiled, and has now begun to weep ! Will, sir, 
 any misfortune befall our master's little one ? " ^ 
 
 "There is no misfortune in him; assuredly he will 
 become a Buddha," was the reply. 
 
 " Why then do you weep ? " 
 
 " It -nail not be granted to me," he said, " to behold so 
 great a man when he has become a Buddha. Great, 
 indeed, is my loss ! bewailing myself, I weep." 
 
 Then reflecting, " Will it be granted or not to any one 
 of my relatives to see him as a Buddha ? " he saw it 
 would be granted to his nephew Nalaka. So he went to 
 his sister's house, and said to her, " Where is your son 
 NSlaka ? " 
 
 " In the house, brother." 
 
 " Call him," said he. When he came he said to him, 
 " In the family of Suddhodana the king, dear, a son is 
 
 ' " Our master '■ is here, of course, the sage. It is a pretty piece of 
 politeness, not unfrequent in the Jatakas, to address a stranger as a relation. 
 See below, Jataka No. 3. 
 
THE NAME-GIVING. 
 
 ?■ 
 
 born, a young Buddha. In thirty-five years he will 
 become a Buddha, and it will be granted you to see him. 
 This very day give up the world ! " 
 
 Bearing in mind that his uncle was not a man to 
 urge him without a cause, the }'Oung man, though born 
 in a family of incalculable wealth,^ straightway took 
 out of the inner store a yellow suit of clothes and an 
 earthenware pot, and shaved his head and put on the 
 robes. And saying, " I take the vows for the sake of the 
 greatest Being upon earth," he prostrated himself on the 
 ground and raised his joined hands in adoration towards 
 the Bodisat. Then putting the begging bowl in a bag, 
 and carrying it on his shoulder, he went to the Himalaya 
 mountains, and lived the life of a monk. 
 
 When the Tathagata had attained to complete En- 
 lightenment, Nalaka went to him and heard the way of 
 salvation.^ He then returned to the Himalayas, and 
 reached Arahatship. And when he had lived seven months 
 longer as a pilgrim along the most excellent Path, he past 
 away when standing near a Golden Hill, by that final ex- 
 tinction in which no part or power of man remains.^ 
 
 Now on the fifth day they bathed the Bodisat's head, 
 saying, " Let us perform the rite of choosing a name for 
 him." So they perfumed the king's house with four 
 kinds of odours, and decked it with Dalbergia flowers, 
 and made ready rice well cooked in milk. Then they 
 sent for one hundred and eight Brahmans who had 
 mastered the three Vedas, and seated them in the king's 
 house, and gave them the pleasant food to eat, and did 
 
 1 Literally " worth eighty and seven times a kod," both eighty and seven 
 being lucky numbers. 
 
 2 Literally, '• and caused him to declare, ' The way of salvation for 
 Nalaka.' " Perhaps some Sutta is so called. Tathagata, "gone, or come, in 
 like manner ; subject to the fate of all men," is an adjective applied 
 orio'iually to all mortals, but afterwards used as a favourite epithet of 
 Gotama. Childers compares the use of ' Son of Man.' 
 
 3 A.nupadisesaya, Isibbana-dhatuya pariuibbayi. In the translator's 
 " Buddhism," p. 113, an analysis of this phrase will be found. 
 
7^ 
 
 THE NIDAiVAKATHA. 
 
 tliem great honour, and asked them to recognize the signs 
 of what the child should be. 
 Among them — 
 
 270. Eama, and Dhaja, and Lakkhana, and Mantin, 
 Kondanya and Bhoja, Suyama and Sudatta, 
 These eisht Brahmans then were there. 
 Their senses all subdued ; and they declared the 
 charm. 
 
 Now these eight Brahmans were recognizers of signs ; 
 it was by them that the dream on the night of conception 
 had been interpreted. Seven of them holding up two 
 fingers prophesied in the alternative, saying, "If a man 
 having such marks should remain a householder, he 
 becomes a Universal Monarch ; but if he takes the vows, 
 he becomes a Buddha." And, so saying, they declared 
 all the glory and power of a Cakkavatti king. 
 
 But the youngest of all of them, a young Brahman 
 whose family name was Kondanya, beholding the per- 
 fection of the auspicious marks on the Bodisat, raised 
 up one finger only, and prophesied without ambiguity, 
 and said, " There is no sign of his remaining amidst the 
 cares of household life. Verily, he will become a Buddha, 
 and remove the veils of sin and ignorance from the 
 world." 
 
 This man already, under former Buddhas, had made 
 a deep resolve of holiness, and had now reached his last 
 birth. Therefore it was that he surpassed the other 
 seven in wisdom ; that he perceived how the Bodisat 
 would only be subject to this one life ; and that, raising 
 only one finger, he so prophesied, saying, " The lot of 
 one possessed of these marks will not be cast amidst 
 the cares of household life. Verily he wiU become a 
 Buddha ! " 
 
 Now those Brahmans went home, and addressed their 
 
THE FOUR OMENS. 73 
 
 sons, saying, " We are old, beloved ones ; whether or not 
 we shall live to see the son of Suddhodana the king 
 after he has gained omniscience, do you, when he has 
 gained omniscience, take the vows according to his 
 religion." And after they all seven had lived out their 
 span of life, they passed away and were reborn according 
 to their deeds. 
 
 But the young Brahman Kondanya was free from 
 disease ; and for the sake of the wisdom of the Great 
 Being he left all that he had and made the great re- 
 nunciation. And coming in due course to TJruvela, he 
 thought, "Behold how pleasant is this place ! how suit- 
 able for the exertions of a young man desirous of wrest- 
 ling with sin." So he took up his residence there. 
 
 And when he heard that the Great Being had taken 
 the vows, he went to the sons of those Brahmans, and 
 said to them, " Siddhattha the prince has taken the vows. 
 Assuredly he will become a Buddha. If your fathers 
 were in health they would to-day leave their homes, and 
 take the vows : and now, if j^ou should so desire, come, 
 I will take the vows in imitation of him." But all of 
 them were not able to agree with one accord ; three did 
 not give up the world; the other four made Kondanya 
 the Brahman their leader, and took the vows. It was 
 those five who came to be called " the Company of the 
 Five Elders." 
 
 Then the king asked, "Aiter seeing what, will my 
 son forsake the world ? " 
 
 " The four Omens," was the reply. 
 
 "Which four?" 
 
 " A man worn out by age, a sick man, a dead body, 
 and a monk." • 
 
 The king thought, "From this time let no such things 
 come near my son. There is no good of my son's 
 becoming a Buddha. I should Kke to see my son 
 exercising rule and sovereignty over the four great 
 
7^ THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 continents and the two thousand islands that surround 
 them ; and walking, as it were, in the vault of heaven, 
 surrounded by an innumerable retinue." ' Then, so say- 
 ing, he placed guards two miles apart in the four direc- 
 tions to prevent men of those four kinds coming to the 
 sio-ht of his son. 
 
 That day also, of eighty thousand clansmen assembled 
 in the festival hall, each one dedicated a son, saying, 
 ""Whether this child becomes a Buddha or a king, we 
 o'ive each a son; so that if he shall become a Buddha, he 
 shall live attended and honoured by Eshatriya monks, 
 and if he shall become a king, he shall live attended and 
 honoured by Kshatriya nobles."^ And the raja appointed 
 nurses of great beauty, and free from every fault, for 
 the Bodisat. So the Bodisat grew up in great splendour 
 and surrounded by an innumerable retinue. 
 
 Now one day the king held the so-called Ploughing 
 Festival. On that day they ornament the town like a 
 palace of the gods. All the slaves and servants, in new 
 garments and crowned with sweet- smelling garlands, 
 assemble in the king's house. For the king's work a 
 thousand ploughs are yoked. On this occasion one hun- 
 dred and eight minus one were, with their oxen-reins 
 and cross-bars, ornamented with silver. But the plough 
 for the king to use was ornamented with red gold ; and 
 so also the horns and reins and goads of the oxen. 
 
 The king, leaving his house with a great retinue, took 
 his son and went to the spot. There there was a Jambu- 
 tree thick with leaves arid giving a dense shade. Under 
 it the raja had the child's couch laid out ; and over the 
 couch a canopy spread inlaid with stars of gold, and 
 round it a curtain hung. Then leaving a guard there, 
 the raja, clad in splendour and attended by his minis- 
 ters, went away to plough. 
 
 1 Literally ' a retinue thirty-six leagues in circumference,' where ' thirty- 
 six ' is a mere sacred number. 
 
 2 Efihatriya was the ■wanior caste. 
 
THE PLOUGHING FESTIVAL. 75 
 
 At such a time the king takes hold of a golden plough, 
 the attendant ministers one hundred and eight minus 
 one silver ploughs, and the peasants the rest of the 
 ploughs. Holding them they plough this way and that 
 way. The raja goes from one side to the other, and 
 comes from the other back ag-ain. 
 
 On this occasion the king had great success ; and the 
 nurses seated round the Bodisat, thinking, " Let us go 
 to see the king's glory," came out from within the 
 curtain, and went away. The future Buddha, looking all 
 round, and seeing no one, got up quickly, seated himseK 
 cross-legged, and holding his breath, sank into the first 
 Jhilna.^ 
 
 The nurses, engaged in preparing various kiads of food, 
 delaj^ed a little. The shadows of the other trees turned 
 round, but that of the Jambu-tree remained steady and 
 circular in form. The nurses, remembering their young 
 master was alone, hurriedly raised the curtain and re- 
 turned inside it. Seeing the Bodisat sitting cross-legged, 
 and that miracle of the shadow, they went and told the 
 raja, saying, " king ! the prince is seated in such and 
 such a manner ; and while the shadows of the other trees 
 have turned, that of the Jambu-tree is fixed in a circle ! " 
 
 And the raja went hurriedly and saw that miracle, 
 and did homage to his son, saying, "This, Beloved One, 
 is the second homage paid to thee ! " 
 
 But the Bodisat in due course grew to manhood. And 
 the king had three mansions made, suitable for the three 
 seasons, one nine stories high, one seven stories high, 
 and one five stories high ; and he provided him with 
 forty thousand dancing girls. So the Bodisat, surrounded 
 by well-dressed dancing girls, like a god surrounded by 
 troops of houris, and attended by musical instruments 
 which played of themselves, lived, as the seasons changed, 
 
 ' A state of religious meditation. A full esplanation is given in the 
 translator's "BuddHsm," pp. 174-176. 
 
^6 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 in each of these mansions in enjoyment of great majesty. 
 And the mother of Rahula was his principal queen. 
 
 Whilst he was thus in the enjoyment of great pro- 
 sperity the following talk sprang up in the public assembly 
 of his clansmen : " Siddhattha Kves devoted to pleasure ; 
 not one thing does he learn ; if war should break out, 
 what would he do ? " 
 
 The king sent for the future Buddha, and said to him, 
 " Your relations, Beloved One, say that you learn nothing, 
 and are given up to pleasure : now what do you think 
 you should do about this ? " 
 
 " king ! there is no art it is necessary for me to 
 learn. Send the crier round the city, that I may show 
 my skill. Seven days from now I will show my kindred 
 what I can do." 
 
 The king did so. The Bodisat assembled those so 
 skilled in archery that they could split even a hair, and 
 shoot as quick as lightning ; and then, in the midst of 
 the people, he showed his relatives his twelve-fold skill, 
 and how unsurpassed he was by other masters of the 
 bow.i So the assembly of his clansmen doubted no 
 longer. 
 
 Now one day the future Buddha, wanting to go to his 
 pleasure ground, told his charioteer to harness his chariot. 
 The latter accordingly decked the gloriously beautiful 
 chariot with all its trappings, and harnessed to it four 
 state horses of the Sindhi breed, and white as the leaves 
 of the white lotus flower. And he informed the Bodisat. 
 So the Bodisat ascended the chariot, resplendent like a 
 mansion in the skies, and went towards the garden. 
 
 The angels thought, " The time for young Siddhattha 
 to attain Enlightenment is near, let us show biTn the 
 Omens." And they did so by making a son of the 
 gods represent a man wasted by age, vdth decayed teeth 
 
 ' A gloss adds, " This should be understood as is related at full iu the 
 Sarabhagga Jataka." 
 
THE FOUR OMENS. 
 
 11 
 
 and grey hair, bent and broken down in bodj^, and with a 
 stick in his hand. But he was only visible to the future 
 Buddha and his charioteer. 
 
 Then the Bodisat asked his charioteer, as is told in the 
 Mahapadana, "What kind of man is this, whose very 
 hair is not as that of other men ? " When he heard his 
 servant's answer, he said, " Shame then be to life ! since 
 the decay of everj^ living being is notorious ! " and with 
 agitated heart he turned back at that very spot and re- 
 entered his palace. 
 
 The king asked, " Why does my son turn back so 
 hurriedly ? " 
 
 " He has seen an old man," they said ; " and having 
 seen an old man, he will forsake the world." 
 
 "By this you ruin me," exclaimed the raja; "quickly 
 get ready concerts and plaj^s to be performed before 
 my son. So long as he continues in the enjoyment 
 of pleasure, he will not turn his thoughts to forsaking 
 the world!" Then increasing the guards, he placed 
 them at each point of the compass, at intervals of half 
 a league. 
 
 Again, one day, when the future Buddha, as he was 
 going to his pleasure ground, saw a sick man represented by 
 the gods, he made the same inquiry as before ; and then, 
 with agitated heart, turned back and re-entered his palace. 
 The king also made the same inquiry, and gave the 
 same orders as before; and again increasing the guard, 
 placed them all roumd at a distance of three-quarters of 
 a league. 
 
 Once more, when the future Buddha, as he was going 
 to his pleasure ground, saw a dead man represented by 
 the gods, he made the same inquiry as before ; and then, 
 with agitated heart, turned back and re-entered his palace. 
 The king also made the same inquiry, and gave the same 
 orders as before ; and again increasing the guard, placed 
 them all round at a distance of a league. 
 
78 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 Once again, wHen the future Buddha, as he was going 
 to his pleasure ground, saw one who had abandoned the 
 world, carefully and decently clad, he asked his charioteer, 
 " Friend, what kind of man is that ? " As at that time 
 there was no Buddha at all in the world, the charioteer 
 understood neither what a mendicant was nor what were 
 his distinguishing characteristics ; but nevertheless, in- 
 spired by the gods, he said, " That is a mendicant friar ; " 
 and described the advantages of renouncing the world. 
 And that day the future Buddha, cherishing the thought 
 of renouncing the world, went on to his pleasure ground. 
 
 The repeaters of the Digha Nikaya,' however, say that 
 he saw all the four Omens on the same day, and then 
 went to his pleasure ground. There he enjoyed himself 
 during the day and bathed in the beautiful lake ; and at 
 sunset seated himself on the royal resting stone to be 
 robed, l^ow his attendants brought robes of different 
 colours, and various kinds of ornaments, and garlands, 
 and perfumes, and ointments, and stood around him. 
 
 At that moment the throne on which Sakka was seated 
 became warm.^ And thinking to himself, "Who is it 
 now who wants me to descend from hence?" he perceived 
 that the time for the adornment of the future Buddha 
 had come. And he said to Vissakamma, " Friend Vissa- 
 kamma, the young noble Siddhattha, to-day, at midnight, 
 will carry out the Great Renunciation. This is the last 
 time he will be clad in splendour. Go to the pleasure 
 ground and adorn him with heavenly array." 
 
 By the miraculous power which angels have, he ac- 
 
 1 The members of the Buddhist Order of mendicant friars were in the 
 habit of selecting some book or books of the Buddhist Scriptures, which it 
 was their especial duty to learn by heart, repeat to their pupils, study, 
 expound, and preach from. Thus the Digha Nikaya, or collection of long 
 treatises, had a special school of " repeaters " (bhanaka) to itself. 
 
 ' At critical moments in the lives of persons of importance in the religious 
 legends of Buddhist India, the seat of the Archangel Sakka becomes warm. 
 Fearful of losing his temporary bliss, he then descends himself, or sends 
 Vissakamma, the Buddhist Vulcan, to act as a dem ex machind, and put thino-s 
 straight. 
 
GOTAM.rs SOiV. 79 
 
 cordingly, that very moment, drew near in the likeness 
 of the roj'al barber ; and taking from the barber's hand 
 the material for the turban, he arranged it round the 
 Bodisat's head. At the touch of his hand the Bodisat 
 knew, " This is no man, it is a son of the gods." When 
 the first round of the turban was put on, there arose, by 
 the appearance of the jewelrjr on the diadem, a thousand 
 folds ; when the turban was wrapt the second time round, 
 a thousand folds arose again ; when ten times, ten thou- 
 sand folds appeared. How so many folds could seem to 
 rise on so small a head is beyond imagination ; for in 
 size the largest of them were as the flower of the Black 
 Priyaggu creeper, and the rest even as Kutumbaka 
 blossoms. And the head of the future Buddha became 
 like a Kuyyaka flower in full bloom. 
 
 And when he was arrayed in all his splendour, — the 
 musicians the while exhibiting each one his pecuHar skill, 
 the Brahmans honouring him with words of joy and 
 victory, and the men of lower castes with festive cries and 
 shouts of praise ; — he ascended his superbly decorated car. 
 
 At that time Suddhodana the king, who had heard 
 that the mother of Eahula had brought forth a son, sent 
 a m.essage, saying, " Make kno^\Ti my joy to my son ! " 
 The future Buddha, hearing this, said, " An impediment 
 has come into being, a bond has come into being." When 
 the king asked, " What did my son say ? " and heard 
 that saying ; he gave command, " From henceforth let 
 Eahula (impediment) be my grandson's name." But the 
 Bodisat, riding in his splendid chariot, entered the town 
 with great magnificence and exceeding glory. 
 
 At that time a noble virgin, Kisa Gotami by name, had 
 gone to the flat roof of the upper story of her palace, 
 and she beheld the beauty and majesty of the Bodisat 
 as he was proceeding through the city. Pleased and 
 delighted at the sight, she burst forth into this song of 
 
 joy:— 
 
8o THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 'iTiX. Blessed indeed is that mother, — 
 Blessed indeed is that father, — 
 Blessed indeed is that wife, — 
 \Vho owns this Lord so glorious ! 
 
 Hearing this, the Bodisat thought to himself, " On 
 catching sight of such a one the heart of his mother is 
 made happy, the heart of his father is made happy, the 
 heart of his wife is made happy ! This is all she says. 
 But by what can every heart attain to lasting happiness 
 and peace ? " And to him whose mind was estranged 
 from sin the answer came, " When the fire of lust is gone 
 out, then peace is gained; when the fires of hatred and 
 delusion are gone out, then peace is gained ; when the 
 troubles of mind, arising from pride, credulity, and all 
 other sins, have ceased, then peace is gained ! Sweet is 
 the lesson this singer makes me hear, for the Nirvana of 
 Peace is that which I have been trying to find out. 
 This very day I will break away from household cares ! 
 I will renounce the world ! I will follow only after the 
 Nirvana itself ! ^ 
 
 Then loosing from his neck a string of pearls worth a 
 himdred thousand, he sent it to Kisa Gotami as a teacher's 
 fee. Delighted at this, she thought, "Prince Siddhattha 
 has fallen in love with me, and has sent me a present." 
 But the Bodisat, on entering his palace in great splen- 
 dour, reclined on a couch of state. 
 
 Thereupon women clad in beautiful array, skilful in 
 
 ' The force of this passage is due to the fullness of meaning which, to the 
 Buddhist, the words niubuta and NiBBANAg convey. No words in Western 
 languages cover exactly the same ground, or connote the same ideas. To 
 explain them fully to any one unfamiliar with Indian modes of thought 
 would be difficult anywhere, and impossible in a note ; but their meaning is 
 pretty clear from the above sentences. 'Where in them, in the song, the 
 words blessed, happy, peace, and the words gone out, ceased, occur, nibbuta 
 " stands in the original in one or other of its two meanings ; where in them the 
 words Nin-aiia, Nirvnna of Peace occur, NIEBANA5 stands in the original. 
 Nirvana is a lasting state of happiness and peace, to be reached here on earth 
 by the extinction of the ' fires ' and ' troubles ' mentioned in this passao-e. 
 
THE NAUTCH GIRLS. gi 
 
 the dance and song, and lovely as heavenly virgins, 
 brought their musical instruments, and ranging them- 
 selves in order, danced, and sang, and played delight- 
 fully. But the Bodisat, his heart being estranged 
 from sin, took no pleasure in the spectacle, and fell 
 asleep. 
 
 And the women, saying, " He, for whose sake we 
 were performing, is gone to sleep ? "^Vhy should we play 
 any longer?" laid aside the instruments they held, and 
 laj' down to sleep. The lamps fed with sweet-smelling 
 oil were just burning out. The Bodisat, waking up, sat 
 cross-legged on the couch, and saw them with their stage 
 properties laid aside and sleeping — some foaming at the 
 mouth, some grinding their teeth, some yawning, some 
 muttering in their sleep, some gaping, and some with 
 their dress in disorder — plainly revealed as mere horrible 
 sources of mental distress. 
 
 Seeing this woful change in their appearance, he became 
 more and more disgusted with lusts. To him that magni- 
 ficent apartment, as splendid as Sakka's residence in 
 heaven, began to seem like a charnel-house full of loath- 
 some corpses. Life, whether in the worlds subject to 
 passion, or in the worlds of form, or in the formless 
 worlds, seemed to him like staying in a house that had 
 become the prey of devouring flames.^ An utterance of 
 intense feeling broke from him — " It all oppresses me ! 
 It is intolerable ! " and his mind turned ardently to the 
 state of those who have renounced the world. Resolving 
 that very day to accomplish the Great Henunciation, he 
 rose from his couch, went to the door and called out, 
 " Who is there ? " 
 
 Channa, who had been sleeping with his head on the 
 threshold, answered, " It is I, sir, Channa." 
 
 1 Literally. " The three Bhavas seemed like houses on fire." The three 
 Bhavas are Existence in the Kama-loka, the Rupa-loka, and the Arupa-loka 
 respectively: that is, existence in the worlds whose inhabitants are subject 
 to passion, have material forms, and have immaterial forms respectively. 
 
 VOL. I. 6 
 
82 THE NWANAHATHA. 
 
 Then said lie, " I am resolved to-day to accomplish the 
 Great Renunciation — saddle me a horse." 
 
 So Channa went to the stahle-yard, and entering the 
 stahles saw by the light of the lamps the mighty steed 
 Kanthaka, standing at a pleasant spot under a canopy of 
 cloth, beautified with a pattern of jasmine flowers. " This 
 is the very one I ought to saddle to-day," thought he ; 
 and he saddled Kanthaka. 
 
 Even whilst he was being saddled the horse knew, " He 
 is saddling me so tightly, and not as on other days for such 
 rides as those to the pleasure grounds, because my master 
 is about to-day to carry out the Great Renunciation." 
 Then, glad at heart, he neighed a mighty neigh ; and the 
 sound thereof would have penetrated over all the town, 
 had not the gods stopped the sound, and let no one hear it. 
 
 Now after the Bodisat had sent Channa on this errand, 
 he thought, "I will just look at my son." And rising 
 from his couch he went to the apartments of Rahula's 
 mother, and opened her chamber door. At that moment 
 a lamp, fed with sweet-smelling oil, was burning dimly in 
 the inner chamber. The mother of Rahula was asleep on 
 a bed strewn with many jasmine flowers,' and resting her 
 hand on the head of her son. Stopping with his foot on 
 the threshold, the Bodisat thought, "If I lift her hand 
 to take my son, she wiU awake ; and that will prevent my 
 going away. I will come back and see him when I have 
 become a Buddha." And he left the palace. 
 
 Now what is said in the Jataka commentary, " At that 
 time Rahula was seven days old," is not found in the 
 other commentaries. Therefore the view given above 
 should be accepted.^ 
 
 And when the Bodisat had left the palace, he went to his 
 horse, and said, "My good Kanthaka, do thou save me this 
 
 ' Literally, " about an ammana (t e. five or six bushels) of the large j asmine 
 and the Arabian jasmine." 
 
 ' The Jataka Commentary here referred to is, no doubt, the older com- 
 mentary in Elu, or old Sinhalese, on which the present work is based. 
 
THE MYTHIC HORSE. 83 
 
 once to-niglit; sotliat I, having become a Buddha by your 
 help, shall save the world of men, and that of angels too." 
 Then leaping up, he seated himself on Kanthaka's back. 
 
 Kanthaka was eighteen cubits in length from the nape 
 of his neck, and of proportionate height ; he was strong 
 and fleet, and white all over like a clean chank shell. If 
 he should neigh or paw the ground, the sound would 
 penetrate through all the town. Therefore the angels so 
 muffled the sound of his neighing that none could hear 
 it ; and placed, at each step, the palms of their hands 
 under his feet. 
 
 The Bodisat rode on the mighty back of the mighty 
 steed ; told Channa to catch hold of its tail, and arrived 
 at midnight at the great gate of the city. 
 
 Now the king thinking, " In that way the Bodisat 
 will not be able at any time to open the city gate and 
 get away," had placed a thousand men at each of the two 
 gates to stop him. The Bodisat was mighty and strong 
 according to the measure of elephants as ten thousand 
 million elephants, and according to the measure of men 
 as a million million men. He thought, " If the door 
 does not open, sitting on Kanthaka's back with Channa 
 holding his tail, I will press Kanthaka with my thighs, 
 and jumping over the city rampart, eighteen cubits high, 
 I will get away ! " Channa thought, " If the door is not 
 opened, I will take my master on my neck, and putting 
 my right hand round Kanthaka's girth, I will hold him 
 close to my waist, and so leap over the rampart and get 
 away ! " Kanthaka thought, "If the door is not opened, 
 I will spring up with my master seated as he is on my 
 back, and Channa holding by my tail, and will leap over 
 the rampart and get away ! " And if the door had not 
 been opened, verily one or other of those three would 
 have accomplished that whereof he had thought. But 
 the angel residing at the gate opened it. 
 
 At that moment Mara came there with the intention 
 
8+ THE NIDANARATHA. 
 
 of stopping the Bodisat ; and standing in the air, he ex- ■ 
 claimed, " Depart not, mj' lord ! in seven days from 
 now the wheel of empire will appear, and will make j'^ou 
 sovereign over the four continents and the two thousand 
 adjacent isles. Stop, my lord ! " 
 
 " Who are you ? " said he. 
 
 " I am Vasavatti," was the reply. 
 
 " Mara ! Well do I know that the wheel of empire 
 would appear to me ; but it is not sovereignty that I 
 desire. I wiU become a Buddha, and make the ten 
 thousand world-systems shout for joy." 
 
 Then thought the Tempter to himself : " Now, from 
 this time forth, whenever a thought of lust or anger or 
 malice shall arise within you, I will get to know of it." 
 And he followed him, ever watching for some slip, as 
 closely as a shadow which never leaves its object. 
 
 But the future Buddha, making light of the kingdom 
 of the world, thus within his reach, — casting it away as one 
 would saliva, — left the city with great honour on the full- 
 moon day of AsaUii, when the moon was in the Uttara- 
 salha lunar mansion («.e. on the 1st July). And when he 
 had left the city a desire sprang up within him to gaze 
 upon it ; and the instant he did so the broad earth re- 
 volved like a potter's wheel, and was stayed: saying as 
 it were to him, " Great Being, there is no need for you 
 to stop in order to fulfil your wish." So the Bodisat, 
 with his face towards the city, gazed at it ; and he fixed 
 at that place a spot for the Kanthaka-Nivattana Cetiya 
 (that is, The Shrine of Kanthaka's Staying — a Dagaba 
 afterwards built where this miracle was believed to have 
 happened). And keeping Kanthaka in the direction in 
 which he was going, he went on with great honour and 
 exceeding glory. 
 
 For tlien, they say, angels in front of him carried sixty 
 thousand torches, and behind him too, and on his right 
 hand, and on his left. And while some deities, undefined 
 
THE GREAT RENUNCIATION. 85 
 
 oa tlie edge of the horizon, held torches aloft ; other 
 deities, and the Niigas, and Winged Creatures, and other 
 superhuman beings, bore him company — <ioing homage 
 with heavenly perfumes, and garlands, and sandal-wood 
 powder, and incense. And the whole skj' was full of 
 Paricchataka flowers from Indra's heaven, as with the 
 pouring rain when thick clouds gather. Heavenly songs 
 floated around ; and on every side thousands of musical 
 instruments sounded, as when the thunder roars in the 
 m.idst of the sea, or the great ocean heaves against the 
 boundaries of the world ! 
 
 Advancing in this pomp and glory, the Bodisat, in that 
 one night, passed beyond three kingdoms, and arrived, 
 at the end of thirty leagues, at the bank of the river 
 called Anoma. But why could not the horse go still 
 further ? It was not through want of power : for he 
 could go from one edge of the round world to the other, 
 as easily as one could step across the circumference of a 
 wheel lying on its side ; — and doing this in the forenoon, 
 he could return and eat the food prepared for him. But 
 on this occasion he was constantly delayed by having to 
 drag himself along, and break his way through the mass 
 of garlands and flowers, cast down from heaven in such 
 profusion by the angels, and the Snakes, and the Winged 
 Creatures, that his very flanks were hid. Hence it was 
 that he only got over thirty leagues. 
 
 Now the Bodisat, stopping at the river side, asked 
 Channa, " What is this river called ? " 
 
 " Its name, my lord, is Anoma." 
 
 " And so also our renunciation of the world shall be 
 called Anoma (illustrious)," said he ; and signalling to 
 his horse, by pressing it with his heel, the horse sprang 
 over the river, five or six hundred yards in breadth, and 
 stood on the opposite bank. 
 
 The Bodisat, getting down from the horse's back, stood 
 on the sandy beach, extending there like a sheet of silver, 
 
86 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 and said to Channa, " Good Channa, do thou now go back, 
 taking my ornaments and Kanthaka. I am going to 
 become a hermit." 
 
 "But I also, my lord, will become a hermit." 
 
 " Tou cannot be allowed to renounce the world, you 
 must go back," he said. Three times he refused this 
 request of Channa's ; and he delivered over to him both 
 the ornaments and Kanthaka. 
 
 Then he thought, " These locks of mine are not suited 
 for a mendicant. Now it is not right for any one else to 
 cut the hair of a future Buddha, so I wiU cut them off 
 myself with my sword." Then, taking his sword in his 
 right hand, and holding the plaited tresses, together with 
 the diadem on them, with his left, he cut them off. So his 
 hair was thus reduced to two inches in length, and curling 
 from the right, it lay close to his head. It remained that 
 length as long as he lived, and the beard the same. There 
 was no need at all to shave either hair or beard any more. 
 
 The Bodisat, saying to himself, "If I am to become a 
 Buddha, let it stand in the air ; if not, let it fall to the 
 ground; " threw the hair and diadem together as he held 
 them towards the sky. The plaited hair and the jewelled 
 turban went a league off and stopped in the air. The arch- 
 angel Sakka caught sight of it with his divine eye, and 
 receiving it into a jewel casket, a league high, he placed 
 it in the Tavatigsa heaven, in the Dagaba of the Diadem. 
 
 272. Cutting off his hair, with pleasant perfumes sweet. 
 The Lordly Being cast it to the sky. 
 The thousand-eyed one, Sakka, the sky God, 
 Received it humbly in a golden casket. 
 
 Again the Bodisat thought, "This my raiment of 
 Benares muslin is not suitable for a mendicant." Now 
 the archangel Ghatikara, who had formerly been his 
 friend in the time of Kassapa Buddha, was led by his 
 
DEATH OF KANTHAKA. 87 
 
 friendship, whicli had not groAvn old in tTiat long interval, 
 to think, " To-day my friend is accomplishing the Great 
 Renunciation, I will go and provide him with the requi- 
 sites of a mendicant." 
 
 273. The three robes, and the alms howl, 
 Razor, needle, and girdle, 
 And a water strainer — these eight 
 Are the wealth of the monk devout. 
 
 Taking these eight requisites of a mendicant, he gave 
 them to him. The Bodisat dressed himself in the outward 
 signs of an Arahat, and adopted the sacred garb of Renun- 
 ciation; and he enjoined upon Channa to go and, in his 
 name, assure his parents of his safety. And Channa did 
 homage to the Bodisat reverently, and departed. 
 
 Now Kanthaka stood listening to the Bodisat as he 
 talked with Channa. And thinking, " From this time 
 forth I shall never see my master more ! " he was unable 
 to bear his grief. And going out of their sight, he died 
 of a broken heart ; and was reborn in the Tavatigsa 
 heaven as an angel, with the name of Kanthaka. So 
 far the sorrow of Channa had been but single ; now torn 
 with the second sorrow of Kanthaka's death, he returned, 
 weeping and bewailing, to the city. 
 
 But the Bodisat, having renounced the world, spent 
 seven days in a mango grove called Anupiya, hard by 
 that spot, in the joy of salvation. Then he went on foot 
 in one day to Rajagaha, a distance of thirty leagues, "^ 
 
 ' The word rendered league is yojana, said by CHlders (Dictionary, s. t.) 
 to be twelye miles, but really only between seven and eigbt miles. See my 
 Ancient Coins and Measures, pp. 16, 17. The thirty yojanas here mentioned, 
 together with the thirty from iCapilavastu to the river Anoma, make together 
 sixty, or four hundred and fifty miles from Kapilavastu to Eajagaha, which 
 is far too much for the direct distance. There is here, I think, an undesigned 
 coincidence between Northern and Southern accounts; for the Lalita Vistara 
 (Chap. xvi. at the commencement) makes the Bodisat go to Eajagaha pid 
 VesaU, and this would make the total distance exactly sixty yojanas. 
 
88 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 and entering the city, begged his food from door to door. 
 The whole city at the sight of his beauty was thrown 
 into commotion, like that other Eiijagaha by the entrance 
 of Dhana-palaka, or like heaven itself by the entrance of 
 the Ruler of the Gods. 
 
 The guards went to the king and said, describing him, 
 " king ! such and such a being is begging through the 
 town. We cannot tell whether he is a god, or a man, or 
 a Naga, or a Supanna,^ or what he is." 
 
 The king, watching the Great Being from his palace, 
 became full of wonder, and gave orders to his guards, 
 saying, " Go, my men, and see. If it is a superhuman 
 being, it will disappear as soon as it leaves the city ; if a 
 god, it will depart through the air ; if a snake, it will dive 
 into the earth ; if a man, it will eat the food just as it is." 
 
 But the Great Being collected scraps of food. And 
 when he perceived there was enough to support him, he 
 left the city by the gate at which he had entered. And 
 seating himself, facing towards the East, under the 
 shadow of the Pandava rock, he began to eat his meal. 
 His stomach, however, turned, and made as if it would 
 come out of his mouth. Then, though distressed by that 
 revolting food, for in that birth he had never even beheld 
 such food with his eyes, he himself admonished himself, 
 saying, " Siddhattha, it is true you were bom in a family 
 where food and drink were easilj"^ obtainable, into a state 
 of life where your food was perfumed third-season's rice, 
 with various curries of the finest kinds. But ever since 
 you saw one clad in a mendicant's garb, you have been 
 thinking, 'When shall I become like him, and live by 
 begging my food ? would that that time were come ! ' 
 And now that you have left all for that very purpose, 
 what is this that you are doing ? " And overcoming his 
 feeUngs, he ate the food. 
 
 ' These are the superhuman Snakes and Winged Creatures, who were sup- 
 posed, like the gods or angels, to be able to assume the appearance of men. 
 
THE GREAT STRUGGLE. 89 
 
 The king's men saw this, and went and told him what 
 had happened. Hearing what his messengers said, the 
 king quickly left the city, and approaching the Bodisat, 
 was so pleased at the mere sight of his dignitj^ and grace, 
 that he offered him all his kingdom. 
 
 The Bodisat said, " In me, king ! there is no desire 
 after wealth or sinful pleasures. It is in the hope of 
 attaining to complete enlightenment that I have left all." 
 And when the king gained not his consent, though he 
 asked it in many ways, he said, "Assuredly thou wilt 
 become a Buddha ! Deign at least after thy Buddhahood 
 to come to my kingdom first." 
 
 This is here concisely stated ; but the full account, 
 beginning, " I sing the Henunciation, how the TVise One 
 renounced the world," will be found on referring to the 
 Pabbajja Sutta and its commentary. 
 
 And the Bodisat, granting the king's request, went 
 forward on his way. And joining himself to Alara 
 Kalama, and to Uddaka, son of Rama, he acquired their 
 systems of ecstatic trance. But when he saw that that 
 was not the way to wisdom, he left off applying himself 
 to the realization of that system of Attainment.' And 
 with the intention of carrying out the Great Struggle 
 against sin, and showing his might and resolution to 
 gods and men, he went to Uruvela. And saying, "Plea- 
 sant, indeed, is this spot ! " he took up his residence there, 
 and devoted himself to the Great Struggle.^ 
 
 ^ Samapatti. 
 
 ^ The Great Struggle played a great part in the Buddhist system of moral 
 training; it was the wrestling with the flesh by which a true Buddhist 
 overcame delusion and sin, and attained to Nirvana. It is best explained by 
 its four-fold division into 1. Mastery over the passions. 2. Suppression of 
 sinful thoughts. 3. Meditation on the seven kinds of Wisdom (Bodhi-anga, 
 see ' Buddhism,' p. 173); and 4. Fixed attention, the power t)f preventing 
 the mind from wandering. It is also called Sammappadhana, Right Effort, 
 and forms the subject of the Maha-Padhana Sutta, in the Digha Nikaya. 
 The system was, of course, not worked out at the time here referred to ; but 
 throughout the chronicle the biographer ascribes to Gotama, from the 
 beginning, a knowledge of the whole Buddhist theory as afterwards elaborated. 
 For to our author that theory had no development, it was Eternal and Im- 
 mutable Truth already revealed by innumerable previous Buddhas. 
 
90 The nidanakatha. 
 
 And those five mendicants, Kondanya and the rest, 
 begging their way through villages, market towns, and 
 royal cities, met with the Bodisat there. And for six 
 years they stayed by him and served him, while he was 
 carrying out the Great Struggle, with different kinds of 
 service, such as sweeping out the hermitage, and so on ; 
 thinking the while, " Now he will become a Buddha ! 
 now he will become a Buddha ! " 
 
 Now the Bodisat thought, " I will perform the utter- 
 most penance." And he brought himself to live on one 
 seed of the oil plant, or one grain of rice, and even to fast 
 entirely ; but the angels gathered the sap of life and in- 
 fused it into him through the pores of his skin. By this 
 fasting, however, he became as thin as a skeleton ; the 
 colour of his body, once fair as gold, became dark ; and 
 the Thirty-two signs of a Great Being disappeared. And 
 one day, when walking up and down, plunged in intense 
 meditation, he was overcome by severe pain ; and he 
 fainted, and fell. 
 
 Then certain of the angels began to say, " The men- 
 dicant Gotama is dead." But others said, " Such is the 
 condition of Arahats (saints)." And those who thought 
 he was dead went and told Suddhodana the king, saying, 
 " Your son is dead." 
 
 " Did he die after becoming a Buddha, or before ? " 
 
 "He was unable to attain to Buddhahood, and fell 
 down and died in the midst of the Great Struggle." 
 
 When the king heard this, he refused to credit it, 
 saying, " I do not believe it. My son could never die 
 vnthout attaining to Wisdom ! " 
 
 If you ask, " Why did not the king believe it ? " it 
 was because he had seen the miracles at the foot of the 
 Jambu-tree, and on the day when Kala Devala had been 
 compelled to do homage to the Bodisat. 
 
 And the Bodisat recovered consciousness again, and 
 stood up. And the angels went and told the king, " Your 
 
SUJATA'S OFFERING. 91 
 
 son, ting, is welL" And the king said, " I knew my 
 son was not dead." 
 
 And the Great Being's six years' penance hecame noised 
 abroad, as when the sound of a great bell is heard in the 
 sky. But he perceived that penance was not the way to 
 Wisdom ; and begging through the villages and towns, 
 he collected ordinary material food, and lived upon it. 
 And the Thirty-two signs of a Great Being appeared 
 again upon him, and his body became fair in colour, Kke 
 unto gold. 
 
 Then the five attendant mendicants thought, " This 
 man has not been able, even by six years' penance, to 
 attain Omniscience ; how can he do so now, when he goes 
 begging through the villages, and takes material food? 
 He is altogether lost in the Struggle. To think of getting 
 spiritual advantage from him is like a man, who wants to 
 bathe his head, thinking of using a dewdrop. What is 
 to be got from him ? " And leaving the Great Being, 
 they took each his robes and begging bowl, and went 
 eighteen leagues away, and entered Isipatana (a suburb 
 of Benares, famous for its schools of learning). 
 
 Now at that time, at Uruvela, in the village Senani, 
 there was a girl named Sujata, born in the house of 
 Senani the landowner, who, when she had grown up, 
 prayed to a Nigrodha-tree, saying, " If I am married into 
 a family of equal rank, and have a son for my first-born 
 child, then I will spend every year a hundred thousand 
 on an offering to thee." And this her prayer took effect. 
 
 And in order to make her offering, on the full-moon day 
 of the month of May, in the sixth year of the Great 
 Being's penance, she had driven in front of her a thou- 
 sand cows into a meadow of rich grass. With their mUk 
 she had fed five hundred cows, with theirs two hundred 
 and fifty, and so on down to eight. Thus aspiring after 
 quantity, and sweetness, and strength, she did what is 
 called, " Working the milk in and in." 
 
92 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 And earlj' on the full-moon day in the month of May, 
 thinking, " Now I will make the offering," she rose up 
 in the morning early and milked those eight cows. Of 
 their own accord the calves kept away from the cows' 
 udders, and as soon as the new vessels were placed ready, 
 streams of milk poured into them. Seeing this miracle, 
 Sujata, with her own hands, took the milli and poured it 
 into new pans ; and with her own hands made the fire 
 and began to cook it. When that rice-milk was boiling, 
 huge bubbles rising, turned to the right and ran round 
 together ; not a drop fell or was lost ; not the least smoke 
 rose from the fireplace. 
 
 At that time the four guardian angels of the world 
 came from the four points of the compass, and kept watch 
 by the fireplace. The archangel Brahma held over it a 
 canopy of state. The archangel Sakka put the sticks 
 together and lighted the fire. By their divine power the 
 gods, gathering so much of the Sap of life as would sufiice 
 for the support of all the men and angels of the four 
 continents, and their circumjacent two thousand isles — 
 as easily as a man crushing the honey-comb formed round 
 a stick would take the honey — they infused it into the 
 milk-rice. At other times the gods infused the Sap of 
 life into each mouthful of rice as he took it ; but on the 
 day of his Buddhahood, and on the day of his Death, 
 they infused it into the very Tessel-full of rice itself. 
 
 Sujata, seeing that so many wonders appeared to her 
 on this one day, said to her slave-girl Punna, "Friend 
 Punna ! Very gracious is our god to-day ! Never before 
 have I seen such a wonder. Go at once and keep watch 
 by the holy place." " Very good, my lady," replied she ; 
 and ran and hastened to the foot of the tree. 
 
 Now the Bodisat had seen that night five dreams, and 
 on considering their purport he had drawn the conclusion, 
 " Verily this day I shall become a Buddha." And at the 
 end of the night he washed and dressed himself, and 
 
GOTAMA AND THE TREE GOD. 
 
 93 
 
 waiting till tlie time should come to go round begging 
 his food, he went early, and sat at the foot of that tree, 
 lighting it all up with his glory. 
 
 And Punnii coming there saw the Bodisat sitting at the 
 foot of the tree and lighting up all the region of the East; 
 and she saw the whole tree in colour like gold from the 
 raj's issuing from his body. And she thought, " To-day 
 our god, descending from the tree, is seated to receive our 
 offering in his own hand." And excited with joj^, she 
 returned quickly, and announced this to Sujata. Sujatii, 
 delighted at the news, gave her all the ornaments be- 
 fitting a daughter, saying, " To-day, from this time forth, 
 be thou to me in the place of an elder daughter ! " 
 
 And since, on the day of attaining Buddhahood, it is 
 proper to receive a golden vessel worth a hundred thou- 
 sand, she conceived the idea, " We will put the milk-rice 
 into a vessel of gold." And sending for a vessel of gold 
 worth a hundred thousand, she poured out the well-cooked 
 food to put it therein. All the rice-milk flowed into the 
 vessel, like water from a lotus leaf, and filled the vessel 
 full. Taking it she covered it with a golden dish, and 
 wrapped it in a cloth. And adorning herself in all her 
 splendour, she put the vessel on her head, and went with 
 great dignity to the Nigrodha-tree. Seeing the Bodisat, 
 she was filled with exceeding joy, taking him for the 
 tree-god ; and advanced, bowing, from the spot whence 
 she saw him. Taking the vessel from her head, she un- 
 covered it ; and fetching sweet-scented water in a golden 
 vase, she approached the Bodisat, and stood by. 
 
 The earthenware pot given him by the archangel 
 Ghatikara, which had never till then left him, disap- 
 peared at that moment. Not seeing his pot, the Bodisat 
 stretched out his right hand, and took the water. Sujata 
 placed the vessel, with the milk-rice in it, in the hand 
 , of the Great Being. The Great Being looked at her. 
 Pointing to the food, she said, "0, my lord! accept 
 
g^. THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 what I have offered thee, and depart withersoever seemeth 
 to thee good." And adding, " May there arise to thee as 
 much joy as has come to me ! " she went away, valuing 
 her golden vessel, worth a hundred thousand, at no more 
 than a dried leaf. 
 
 But the Bodisat rising from his seat, and leaving the 
 tree on the right hand, took the vessel and went to the 
 bank of the Neranjara river, down into which on the 
 day of their complete Enlightenment so many thousand 
 Bodisats had gone. The name of that bathing place is 
 the Supatitthita ferry. Putting the vessel on the bank, 
 he descended into the river and bathed. 
 
 And having dressed himself again in the garb of the 
 Arahats worn by so many thousand Buddhas, he sat 
 down with his face to the East ; and dividing the rice 
 into fortj'-nine balls of the size of so many single-seeded 
 Palmyra fruits, he ate all that sweet milk-rice without 
 any water.^ Now that was the only food he had for forty- 
 nine days, during the seven times seven days he spent, 
 after he became a Buddha, at the foot of the Tree of 
 Wisdom. During all that time he had no other food ; 
 he did not bathe ; nor wash his teeth ; nor feel the 
 cravings of nature. He lived on the joy arising from 
 intense Meditation, on the joy arising from the Noble 
 Path, on the joy arising from the Fruit thereof. 
 
 But when he had finished eating that milk-rice, he took 
 the golden vessel, and said, " If I shall be able to-day to 
 become a Buddha, let this pot go up the stream ; if not, 
 let it go down the stream ! " and he threw it into the water. 
 And it went, in spite of the stream, eighty cubits up the 
 river in the middle of the stream, all the way as quickly as 
 a fleet horse. And diving into a whirlpool it went to the 
 palace of Kala Nagaraja (the Black Snake King) ; and 
 striking against the bowls from which the three previous 
 
 ' The fruit of the Palmyra (Borassus Flabelliformis) has always three 
 seeds. I do not understand the allusion to a one-seeded Palmyra. 
 
THE THRONE OF WISDOM. 95 
 
 Buddlias liad eaten, it made tliem sound " click! click ! " 
 and remained stationary as tlie lowest of them. Kala, 
 the snake-king, hearing the noise, exclaimed, " Yesterday 
 a Buddha arose, now to-day another has arisen ; " and he 
 continued to praise him in many hundred stanzas. 
 
 But the Bodisat spent the heat of the day in a grove of 
 sala-trees in full bloom on the bank of the river. And in 
 the evening, when the flowers droop on the stalks, he 
 proceeded, Kke a lion when it is roused, towards the Tree 
 of Wisdom, along a path five or six hundred yards wide, 
 decked by the gods. The Snakes, and Genii, and Winged 
 Creatures,^ and other superhuman beings, offered him 
 sweet-smelling flowers from heaven, and sang heavenly 
 songs. The ten thousand world-systems became filled 
 with perfumes and garlands and shouts of approval. 
 
 At that time there came from the opposite direction a 
 grass-cutter named Sotthiya, carrying grass ; and recog- 
 nizing the Great Being, he gave him eight bundles of 
 grass. The Bodisat took the grass; and ascending the 
 rising ground round the Bo-tree, he stood at the South 
 of it, looking towards the North. At that moment the 
 Southern horizon seemed to descend below the level of 
 the lowest hell, and the ISTorthern horizon mounting up 
 seemed to reach above the highest heaven. 
 
 The Bodisat, saying, "This cannot, I think, be the 
 right place for attaining Buddhahood," turned round it, 
 keeping it on the right hand ; and went to the Western 
 side, and stood facing the East. Then the Western hori- 
 zon seemed to descend beneath the lowest hell, and the 
 Eastern horizon to ascend above the highest heaven ; 
 and to him, where he was standing, the earth seemed 
 
 ■ Jfagas, Yakkhas and Supannas. The Takkhas are characterized through- 
 out the Jataka stories by their cannihalism ; the female Takkhas as sirens 
 luring men on to destruction. They are iuyisible till they assume human 
 shape ; but even then can be recognized by their red eyes. That the Ceylon 
 aborigines are called Yakkhas in the Mahivagsa probably results from a tra- 
 dition of their cannibalism. On the others, see aboye, p. 88. 
 
g6 THE NIDAiVAKATIIA. 
 
 to bend up and down like a great cart wlieel lying 
 on its axis when its circumference is trodden on. 
 
 The Bodisat, saj^ing, " This cannot, I think, be the 
 right place for attaining Buddhahood," turned round it, 
 keeping it on the right hand ; and went to the Northern 
 side, and stood facing the South. Then the Northern 
 horizon seemed to descend beneath the lowest hell, and 
 the Southern horizon to ascend above the highest heaven. 
 
 The Bodisat, saj'ing, "This cannot, I think, be the 
 right place for attaining Buddhahood," turned round it, 
 keeping it on the right hand ; and went to the Western 
 side, and stood facing towards the East. Now in the 
 East is the place where all the Buddhas have sat cross- 
 legged ; and that place neither trembles nor shakes. 
 
 The Great Being, perceiving, "This is the steadfast 
 spot chosen by all the Buddhas, the spot for the throwing 
 down of the temple of sin," took hold of the grass by 
 one end, and scattered it there. And immediately there 
 was a seat fourteen cubits long. For those blades of 
 grass arranged themselves in such a form as would be 
 beyond the power of even the ablest painter or carver to 
 design. 
 
 The Bodisat turning his back upon the trunk of the 
 Bo-tree, and with his face towards the East, made the 
 firm resolve, "My skin, indeed, and nerves, and bones, 
 may become arid, and the very blood in my body may 
 dry up ; but till I attain to complete insight, this seat I 
 will not leave ! " And he sat himself down in a cross- 
 legged position, firm and immovable, as if welded with a 
 hundred thunderbolts. 
 
 At that time the angel Mara, thinking, "Siddhattha 
 the prince wants to free himself from my dominion. I 
 will not let him get free yet ! " went to the hosts of his 
 angels, and told the news. And sounding the drum, 
 called " Satan's War-cry," he led forth the army of Satan. 
 
 That army of Mara stretches twelve leagues before him, 
 
THE CONTEST OF GOOD AND EVIL. 97 
 
 twelve leagues to right and left of him, behind him it 
 reaches to the rocky limits of the world, above him it is 
 nine leagues in height ; and the sound of its war-cry is 
 heard, twelve leagues away, even as the sound of an 
 earthquake. 
 
 Then Mara, the angel, mounted his elephant, two hun- 
 dred and fifty leagues high, named, "Grirded with moun- 
 tains." And he created for himself a thousand arms, and 
 seized all kinds of weapons. And of the remainder, too, 
 of the army of Mara, no two took the same weapon ; but 
 assuming various colours and various forms, they went on 
 to overwhelm the Great Being. 
 
 But the angels of the ten thousand world-systems con- 
 tinued speaking the praises of the Great Being. Sakka, 
 the king of the angels, stood there blowing his trumpet 
 Vijayuttara. Now that trumpet is a hundred and twenty 
 cubits long, and can itself cause the wind to enter, and 
 thus itself give forth a sound which will resound for four 
 months, when it becomes still. The Great Black One, the 
 king of the Nagas, stood there uttering his praises in 
 many hundred stanzas. The archangel Maha Brahma 
 stood there, holding over him the white canopy of state. 
 But as the army approached and surrounded the seat 
 under the Bo-tree, not one of the angels was able to stay, 
 and they fled each one from the spot where the army met 
 them. The Black One, the king of the Nagas, dived into 
 the earth, and went to Manjerika, the palace of the Nagas, 
 fi.ve hundred leagues iu length, and lay down, covering 
 his face with his hands. Sakka, taking the Vijayuttara 
 trumpet on his back, stopped on the rocky verge of the 
 world. Maha Brahma, putting the white canopy of state 
 on to the summit of the rocks at the end of the earth, 
 went to the world of Brahma. Not a single deity was 
 able to keep his place. The Great Being sat there alone. 
 
 But Mara said to his host, " Friends ! there is no other 
 man like Siddhattha, the son of Suddhodana. We cannot 
 
98 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 give him battle face to face. Let us attack him from be- 
 hind ! " The Great Being looked round on three sides, 
 and saw that all the gods had fled, and their place was 
 empty. Then beholding the hosts of Miira coming thick 
 upon him from the North, he thought, "Against me 
 alone this mightjr host is putting forth all its energy 
 and strength. No father is here, nor mother, nor brother, 
 nor any other relative to help me. But those ten cardi- 
 nal virtues have long been to me as retainers fed from 
 my store. So, making the virtues my shield, I must 
 strike this host with the sword of virtue, and thus over- 
 whelm it ! " And so he sat meditating on the Ten Per- 
 fections.^ 
 
 Then Mara the angel, saying, " Thus will I drive away 
 Siddhattha," caused a whirlwind to blow. And imme- 
 diately such winds rushed together from the four corners 
 of the earth as could have torn down the peaks of moun- 
 tains half a league, two leagues, three leagues high — 
 could have rooted up the shrubs and trees of the forest — 
 and could have made of the towns and villages around 
 one heap of ruins. But through the majesty of the 
 goodness of the Great Being, they reached him with their 
 power gone, and even the hem of his robe they were un- 
 able to shake. 
 
 Then saying, " I will overwhelm him with water and 
 so slay him," he caused a mighty rain to fall. And 
 the clouds gathered, overspreading one another by hun- 
 dreds and by thousands, and poured forth rain ; and by 
 the violence of the torrents the earth was saturated ; 
 and a great flood, overtopping the trees of the forest, 
 approached the Great Being. But it was not able to wet 
 on his robe even the space where a dew-drop might fall. 
 
 Then he caused a storm of rocks to fall. And mighty, 
 mighty, m.ountain peaks came through the air, spitting 
 
 ' His acquisition of the Ten Perfections, or Cardinal Virtues, is described 
 atove, pp. 64-58. 
 
THE ATTACK OF THE EVIL ONE. 
 
 99 
 
 forth fire and smoke. But as they reached the Great 
 Being, they changed into bouquets of heavenly flowers. 
 
 Then he raised a storm of deadly weapons. And they 
 came — one-edged, and two-edged swords, and spears, and 
 arrows — smoking and flaming through the sky. But as 
 they reached the Great Being, they became flowers from 
 heaven. 
 
 Then he raised a storm of charcoal. But the embers, 
 though they came through the sky as red as red Kigsuka 
 flowers, were scattered at the feet of the future Buddha as 
 heavenly flowers. 
 
 Then he raised a storm of ashes ; and the ashes came 
 through the air exceeding hot, and in colour like fire ; but 
 they fell at the feet of the future Buddha as the dust of 
 sandal-wood. 
 
 Then he raised a storm of sand ; and the sand, exceeding 
 fine, came smoking and flaming through the air ; but it 
 fell at the feet of the future Buddha as heavenly flowers. 
 
 Then he raised a storm of mud. And the mud came 
 smoking and flaming through the air ; but it fell at the 
 feet of the future Buddha as heavenly perfume. 
 
 Then saying, " By this I wiU terrify Siddhattha, and 
 drive him away ! " he brought on a thick darkness. And 
 the darkness became fourfold : but when it reached the 
 future Buddha, it disappeared as darkness does before the 
 brightness of the sun. 
 
 Thus was Mara unable by these nine — the wind, and 
 the rain, and the rocks, and the weapons, and the char- 
 coal, and the ashes, and the sand, and the mud, and the 
 darkness — -to drive away the future Buddha. So he 
 called on his host, and said, " Why stand you stiU ? 
 Seize, or slay, or drive away this prince ! " And himself 
 mounted the Mountain-girded, and seated on his back, he 
 approached the future Buddha, and cried out, " Get up, 
 Siddhattha, from that seat ! It does not belong to thee ! 
 It is meant for me ! " 
 
100 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 The Great Being listened to his words, and said, 
 " Mara ! it is not by you that the Ten Cardinal Virtues 
 have been perfected, nor the lesser Virtues, nor the 
 higher Virtues. It is not you who have sacrificed your- 
 self in the five great Acts of Self-renunciation, who have 
 diligently- sought after Knowledge, and the Salvation of 
 the world, and the attainment of Wisdom. This seat does 
 not belong to thee, it is to me that it belongs." 
 
 Then the enraged Mara, unable to endure the vehe- 
 mence of his anger, cast at the Great Being that 
 Sceptre- javelin of his, the. barb of which was in shape 
 as a wheel. But it became a garland of flowers, and 
 remained as a canopy over him, whose mind was bent 
 upon good. 
 
 Now at other times, when that Wicked One throws his 
 Sceptre-javelin, it cleaves asunder a pillar of solid rock as 
 if it were the tender shoot of a bambu. When, however, 
 it thus turned into a garland-canopy, all the host of Mara 
 shouted, " Now he shall rise from his seat and flee ! " 
 and they hurled at him huge masses of rock. But these 
 too fell on the ground as bouquets at the feet of Him 
 whose mind was bent upon good ! 
 
 And the angels stood on the edge of the rocks that 
 encircle the world ; and stretching forwards in amaze- 
 merit, they looked on, saying, " Lost ! lost is Siddhattha 
 the Prince, the glorious and beautiful ! What can he 
 do to save himself ! " 
 
 Then the Great Being exclaimed, " I have reached the 
 throne on which sit the Buddhas-to-be when they are 
 perfect in all goodness, on that day when they shall reach 
 Enlightenment. ' ' 
 
 And he said to Mara, standing there before him, " Mara, 
 who is witness that thou hast given alms ? " 
 
 And Mara stretched forth his hand to the hosts of his 
 followers, and said, " So many are my witnesses." 
 
 And that moment there arose a shout as the sound of 
 
THE POWER OF CHARITY. loi 
 
 an earthquake from the hosts of the Evil One, saying, " I 
 am his witness ! I am his witness ! " 
 
 Then the Tempter addressed the Great Being, and said, 
 "Siddhattha! who is witness that thou hast given alms?" 
 
 And the Great Being answered, "Thou hast living 
 witnesses that thou hast given alms : and I have in this 
 place no living witness at all. But not counting the 
 alms I have given in other births, let this great and 
 solid earth, unconscious though it be, be witness of the 
 seven hundredfold great alms I save when I was born as 
 "Wessantara ! " 
 
 And withdrawing his right hand from beneath his robe, 
 he stretched it forth towards the earth, and said, " Are 
 you, or are you not witness of the seven himdredfold 
 great gift I gave in my birth as Wessantara ? " 
 
 And the great Earth uttered a voice, sajdng, " I am 
 witness to thee of that ! " overwhelming as it were the 
 hosts of the Evil One as with the shout of hundreds of 
 thousands of foes. 
 
 Then the mighty elephant " Girded with mountains," 
 as he realized what the generosity of Wessantara had been, 
 fell down on his knees before the Great Being. And the 
 army of Mara fled this way and that way, so that not even 
 two were left together : throwing off their clothes and 
 their turbans, they fled, each one straight on before him. 
 
 But the heavenly hosts, when they saw that the army 
 of Mara had fled, cried out, " The Tempter is overcome ! 
 Siddhattha the Prince has prevailed ! Come, let us 
 honour the Victor ! " And the ISTagas, and the Winged 
 Creatures, and the Angels, and the Archangels, each 
 urging his comrades on, went up to the Great Being at 
 the Bo-tree's foot, and as they came, 
 
 274. At the Bo-tree's foot the Naga bands 
 
 Shouted, for joy that the Sage had won ; 
 " The Blessed Buddha — he hath prevailed ! 
 And the Tempter is overthrown ! " 
 
I02 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 275. At the Bo-tree's foot the Winged Ones 
 Shouted, for joy that the Sage had won ; 
 
 " The Blessed Buddha — ^he hath prevailed ! 
 And the Tempter is overthrown ! " 
 
 276. At the Bo-tree's foot the Angel hosts 
 Shouted, for joy that the Sage had won ; 
 
 " The Blessed Buddha — he hath prevailed ! 
 And the Tempter is overthrown ! " 
 
 277. At the Bo-tree's foot the Brahma Gods 
 Shouted, for joy that the Sage had won ; 
 
 " The Blessed Buddha — he hath prevailed ! 
 And the Tempter is overthrown ! " 
 
 The other gods, too, in the ten thousand world-systems, 
 offered garlands and perfumes and uttered his praises 
 aloud. 
 
 It was while the sun was stiU above the horizon, that 
 the Great Being thus put to flight the army of the Evil 
 One. Then, whilst the Bo-tree paid him homage, as it were, 
 by its shoots like sprigs of red coral falling over his robe, 
 he acquired in the first watch of the night the Knowledge 
 of the Past, in the middle watch the Knowledge of the 
 Present, and in the third watch the Knowledge of the 
 Chain of Causation which leads to the Origin of Evil.^ 
 
 Now on his thus revolving this way and that way, and 
 tracing backwards and forwards, and thoroughly realizing 
 the twelvefold Chain of Causation, the ten thousand 
 world-systems quaked twelve times even to their ocean 
 boundaries. And again, when the Great Being, making 
 the ten thousand world-systems to shout for joy, attained 
 at break of day to complete Enlightenment, the whole 
 ten thousand world- systems became glorious as on a festive 
 day. The streamers of the flags and banners raised 
 on the edge of the rocky boimdary to the East of the world 
 
 ' PuTjbe-iiiTasa-fiana, Dibba-cakkliu, and Paticca-samuppada. 
 
HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE GLAD. 103 
 
 reached to the very West ; and so those on the West 
 and North, and South, reached to the East, and South, and 
 North; while in like manner those of flags and banners 
 on the surface of the earth reached to the highest heaven, 
 and those of flags and banners in heaven swept down upon 
 the earth. Throughout the universe flowering trees put 
 forth their blossoms, and fruit-bearing trees were loaded 
 with clusters of fruit ; the trunks and branches of trees, and 
 even the creepers, were covered with bloom ; lotus wreaths 
 hung from the sky ; and lilies by sevens sprang, one 
 above another, even from the very rocks. The ten thou- 
 sand world-systems as they revolved seemed like a mass 
 of loosened wreaths, or like a nosegay tastefully arranged : 
 and the great Voids between them, the hells whose dark- 
 ness the rays of seven suns had never been able to dis- 
 perse, became filled with light. The waters of the Great 
 Ocean became sweet, down to its profoundest depths ; and 
 the rivers were stayed in their course. The blind from 
 birth received their sight ; the deaf from birth heard 
 sound ; the lame from birth could use their feet ; and 
 chains and bonds were loosed, and fell away.' 
 
 It was thus in surpassing glory and honour, and with 
 many wonders happening around, that he attained Om- 
 niscience, and gave vent to his emotion in the Hymn of 
 Triumph, sung by all the Buddhas. 
 
 278. Long have I wandered ! long ! 
 Bound by the Chain of Life, 
 
 Through many births : 
 Seeking thus long, in vain, 
 " Whence comes this Life in man, his Consciousness, 
 his Pain!" 
 And hard to bear is Birth, 
 When pain and death but lead to Birth again. 
 
 ' Compare the Thirty-two Good Omens at the Buddha's Birth, above, p. 64. 
 
104- THE NIDAXAKATHA. 
 
 Found ! It is found ! 
 Cause of Individuality ! 
 No longer shalt thou make a house for me : 
 
 Broken are all thy beams. 
 Thy ridge-pole shattered ! 
 Into Nirvana now my mind has past : 
 
 The end of cravings has been reached at last ! ^ 
 
 1 The train of thought is explained at length in my "Buddhism," pp. 
 100-112. Shortly, it amounts to this. The Unconscious has no pain: with- 
 out Consciousness, Individuality, there would be no pain. What gives men 
 Consciousness ? It is due to a grasping, craving, sinful condition of heart. 
 The absence of these cravings is Nirvana. Having reached Nirvana, Con- 
 sciousness endures but for a time (until the body dies), and it will then no 
 longer be renewed. The beams of sin, the ridge-pole of care, give to the 
 house of individuality its seeming strength: but in the peace of Nirvana 
 they have passed away. The Bodisat is now Buddha: he has reached 
 Nirvana: he has solved the great mystery; the jewel of salvation sought 
 through so many ages has been found at last ; and the long, long struggle 
 is over. 
 
 The following is Spence Hardy's literal translation given in his " Manual 
 of Buddhism," p. 180, where similar versions by Gogerly and Tumour will 
 be found : but they scarcely seem to me to express the inner meaning of 
 these difficult and beautiful verses : — 
 
 Through many different births 
 
 I have run (to me not having found), 
 
 Seeking the architect of the desire resembling house, 
 
 Painful are repeated births ! 
 
 house-builder ! I have seen (thee). 
 Again a house thou canst not build for me. 
 
 1 have broken thy rafters. 
 
 Thy central support is destroyed. 
 
 To Nirvana my mind has gone. 
 
 I have arrived at the extinction of evil-desire. 
 
 The figure of the house is found also in Manu (vi. 79-81) ; in the " Lalita 
 Yistara " (p. 107 of Foucaux's Gya Tcher Eol Pa) ; and in the Adi Granth 
 (Trumpp, pp. 216, 216, 471). The last passage is as follows : — 
 
 A storm of divine knowledge has come ! 
 
 The shutters of Delusion all are blown away — are there no longer ; 
 
 The posts of Double-mindedness are broken down; the ridge-pole of spiritual 
 
 Blindness is shattered ; 
 The roof of Craving has fallen on the ground ; the vessel of FoUy has burst ! 
 
GO TAMA AS BUDDHA. 
 
 THE PROXIMATE OR LAST EPOCH.i 
 
 Now whilst lie was still seated there, after he had sung 
 the Hymn of Triumph, the Blessed One thought, " It is 
 in order to attain to this throne of triumph that I have 
 undergone successive births for so long a time,^ that I 
 severed my crowned head from my neck and gave it 
 away, that I tore out my darkened eyes and my heart's 
 flesh and gave them away, that I gave away to serve 
 others such sons as Jali the Prince, and such daughters 
 as Kanha Jina the Princess, and such wives as Maddl the 
 Queen. This seat is a throne of triumph to me, and a 
 throne of glory ; while seated on it my aims have been 
 fulfilled: I will not leave it yet." And he sat there 
 absorbed in many thoughts ' for those seven days referred 
 to in the text, beginning, "And then the Blessed One 
 sat motionless for seven days, realizing the bliss of 
 !Nirvana." 
 
 Now certain of the angels began to doubt, thinking, 
 " There must be something more Siddhattha has to do 
 this day, for he still lingers seated there." The Master, 
 knowing their thoughts, and to appease their doubts, 
 rose into the air, and performed the miracle of making 
 another appearance like unto himself.* 
 
 And the Master having thus by this miracle dispelled 
 the angels' doubts, stood a little to the North-east of the 
 
 ' See above, p. 2. A similar explanation is here repeated in a gloss. 
 
 ^ Literally for four asa^kkeyyas and a hundred thousand kalpas. 
 
 ' Anekakoti-sata-sahassa samSpattiyo samapajjanto. 
 
 * Tamaka-patihariyag ; literally ■ twin-miracle.' Comp. pp. 88, 193, of the 
 text, and Mah. p. 107. I am not sure of the meaning of the expression. 
 Bigandet, p. 93, has 'performed a thousand wonders.' Hardy, p. 181, omits 
 the clause ; and Beal omifs the whole episode. A gloss here adds that the 
 Buddha performed a similar miracle on three other occasions. 
 
lo6 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 throne, tliinking, " It was on that throne that I attained 
 omniscience." And he thus spent seven days gazing 
 steadfastly at the spot where he had gained the result of 
 the deeds of virtue fulfilled through such countless years. 
 And that spot became known as the Diigaba of the Stead- 
 fast Graze. 
 
 Then he created between the throne and the spot where 
 he had stood a cloistered walk, and he spent seven days 
 walking up and down in that jewelled cloister which 
 stretched from East to West. And that spot became 
 known as the Dagaba of the Jewelled Cloister. 
 
 But for the fourth week the angels created to the 
 North-west of the Bo-tree a house of gems ; and he spent 
 the week seated there cross-legged, and thinking out the 
 Abhidhamma Pitaka both book by book and generally 
 in respect of the origin of all things as therein explained. 
 (But the Abhidhammikas * say that House of Gems here 
 means either a mansion built of the seven kinds of jewels, 
 or the place where the seven books were thought out : 
 and as they give these two explanations of the passage, 
 both should be accepted as correct.) 
 
 Having thus spent four weeks close to the Bo-tree, he 
 went, in the filth week, to the Shepherd's Nigrodha-tree : 
 and sat there meditating on the Truth, and enjoying the 
 sweetness of Nirvana.^ 
 
 Now at that time the angel Mara thought to himself, 
 " So long a time have I followed this man seeking some 
 fault in him, and find no sin in him ; and now, indeed, he 
 is beyond m^y power." And overcome with sorrow he sat 
 down on the highway, and as he thought of the following 
 sixteen things he drew sixteen lines on the ground. 
 Thinking, " I did not attain, as he did, to the perfection of 
 
 * The monks whose duty it is to learn by heart, repeat, and commentate 
 upon the seven hooks in the Abhidhamma Pitaka. See above, p. 78. 
 
 ^ Vimutli. Perhaps the clause should be rendered : Eealizing the sweet 
 sense of salvation gained, and the Truth (Dhamma) may be used in contra- 
 distinction to Abhidharma of the rest of the Scriptures. 
 
THE DAUGHTERS OF EVIL. 107 
 
 Cliarity ; therefore I have not become like him," he drew 
 one line. Then thinking, " I did not attain, as he did, 
 to the Perfections of Goodness, and Self-sacrifice, and 
 Wisdom, and Exertion, and LongsuiFering, and Truth, 
 and Resolution, and Kindness, and Equanimit}' ; ' therefore 
 I have not become like him," he drew nine more lines. 
 Then thinking, " I did not attain the Ten Perfections, 
 the conditions precedent to the acquisition of the extra- 
 ordinary knowledge of the objects of sense, and therefore 
 I have not become like him," he drew the eleventh line. 
 Then thinking, " I did not attain to the Ten Perfections, 
 the conditions precedent to the acquisition of the extra- 
 ordinary knowledge of inclinations and dispositions, of 
 the attainment of compassion, of the double miracle, of 
 the removal of hindrances, and of omniscience ; therefore 
 I have not become like him," he drew the five other lines. 
 And so he sat on the highway, drawing sixteen lines for 
 these sixteen thoughts. 
 
 At that time Craving, Discontent, and Lust,^ the three 
 daughters of Mara, could not find their father, and were 
 looking for him, wondering where he could be. And 
 when they saw him, sad at heart, writing on the ground, 
 they went up to him, and asked, " Why, dear, are you sad 
 and sorrowful ? " 
 
 And he answered, "Beloved, this illustrious mendicant 
 is escaping from my power. Long have I watched, but 
 in vain, to find some fault in him. Therefore it is that I 
 am sad and sorrowful." 
 
 " Be that as it may," replied they, " think not so. We 
 will subject him to our influence, and come back briuging 
 him captive with ns." , 
 
 " Beloved," said he, " you cannot by any means bring 
 him under your influence ; he stands firm, in faith, un- 
 wavering." 
 
 • On these Ten Perfections, see above, pp. 15-18, and pp. 64-58. 
 2 Tanha, Aratl, and Eaga. 
 
I08 THE NIDAyAKATHA. 
 
 " But we are ■women,'" was the reply ; " this moment 
 we will bring him bound by the allurements of passion. 
 Do not you be so grieved." 
 
 So they approached the Blessed One, and said, "0, 
 holy man, upon thee we humbly wait ! " 
 
 But the Blessed One neither paid any attention to their 
 words, nor raised his eyes to look at them. He sat 
 plunged in the joy of Nirvana, with a mind made free 
 by the complete extinction of sin. 
 
 Then the daughters of Miira considered with them- 
 selves : " Various are men's tastes. Some fall in love 
 with virgins, some with young women, some with mature 
 women, some with older women. We will tempt him 
 in various forms." So each of them assumed the appear- 
 ance of a hundred women, — virgins, women who had 
 never had a child, or only once, or only twice, middle- 
 aged women, older women, — and six times they went up 
 to the Blessed One, and professed themselves his hujnble 
 handmaidens ; and to that even the Blessed One paid no 
 attention, since he was made free by the complete extinc- 
 tion of sin. 
 
 Now, some teachers say that when the Blessed One saw 
 them approaching in the form of elderly women, he com- 
 m.anded, saying, " Let these women remain just as they 
 are, with broken teeth and bald heads." This should not 
 be believed, for the Master issues not such commands. 
 
 But the Blessed One said, " Depart ye ! Why strive 
 ye thus ? Such things might be done in the presence of 
 men who linger in the paths of sin ; but I have put away 
 lust, have put away ill-will, have put away foUy." And 
 he admonished them in those two verses from the Chapter 
 on the Buddha in the Scripture Verses : 
 
 280. No one can e'er disturb his self-control 
 
 Whose inward victories, once gained, are never 
 lost. 
 
THE BLISS OF HOLINESS. log 
 
 That Sinless One, the Wise, whose mind embraces 
 
 aU— 
 How — by what guile — what sin — can you allure 
 him to his fall ? 
 2S1. He who has no ensnaring, venomous desire ; 
 No craving wants to lead him aught astray : 
 The Sinless One, the Wise, whose mind embraces 
 
 all- 
 How — by what guile — what sin — can you allure 
 
 him to his fall ? ' 
 
 And thus these women returned to their father, con- 
 fessing that he had spoken truth when he had said that 
 the Blessed One was not by any means to be led away 
 by any unholy desire. 
 
 But the Blessed One, when he had spent a week at that 
 spot, went on to the MucaHnda-tree. There he spent a 
 week, Mucaliada, the snake-king, when a storm arose, 
 shielding him with seven folds of his hood, so that the 
 Blessed One enjoyed the bliss of salvation as if he had 
 been resting in a pleasant chamber, remote from all dis- 
 turbance. Thence he went away to a Raj ayatana- tree, 
 and there also sat down enjoying the bliss of salvation. 
 And so seven weeks passed away, during which he expe- 
 rienced no bodily wants, but fed on the joy of Meditation, 
 the joy of the Paths, and the joy of the Fruit thereof 
 (that is, of Nirvana).^ 
 
 Now, as he sat there on the last day of the seven weeks 
 — the forty-ninth day — he felt a desire to bathe his face. 
 And Sakka, the king of the gods, brought a fruit of the 
 Myrobolan-tree, and gave him to eat. And Sakka, too, 
 provided a tooth-cleanser of the thorns of the snake- 
 creeper, and water to bathe his face. And the Master 
 
 > Dhammapada, Terses 179, 180. ^ See "Buddliism," pp. 108-110. 
 
no THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 used the tooth-cleanser, and bathed his face, and sat him 
 down there at the foot of the tree. 
 
 At that time two merchants, Tapassu and Bhalluka bj'' 
 name, were travelling from Orissa to Central India ^ with 
 five hundred carts. And an angel, a blood relation of 
 theirs, stopped their carts, and moved their hearts to offer 
 food to the Master. And they took a rice cake, and a 
 honey cake, and went up to the Master, and said, " 0, 
 Blessed One ! have mercy upon us, and accept this 
 food." 
 
 Now, on the day when he had received the sweet rice- 
 milk, his bowl had disappeared;^ so the Blessed One 
 thought, " The Buddhas never receive food in their hands. 
 How shall I take it ? " Then the four Guardian Angels 
 knew his thought, and, coming from the four corners of 
 heaven, they brought bowls made of sapphire. And the 
 Blessed One accepted them. Then they brought four 
 other bowls, made of jet ; and the Blessed One, out of 
 kindness to the four angels, received the four, and, placing 
 them one above another, commanded, saying, " Let them 
 become one." And the four closed up into one of medium 
 size, becoming visible only as lines round the mouth of it. 
 The Blessed One received the food into that new-created 
 bowl, and ate it, and gave thanks. 
 
 The two brothers took refuge in the Buddha, the Truth, 
 and the Order, and became professed disciples. Then, 
 when they asked him, saying, " Lord, bestow upon us 
 something to which we may pay reverence," with his own 
 right hand he tore from his head, and gave to them, the 
 Hair-relics. And they built a Dagaba in their own city, 
 and placed the relics within it.^ 
 
 ' Ukkala to Majihima-dcsa. The latter included all tte Buddhist Holy- 
 Land, from the modem Patna to Allahabad. See above, p. 61, note. 
 
 ^ See above, p. 93. 
 
 ' "We have here an interesting instance of the growth of legend to authen- 
 ticate and add glory to local relics, of which other instances will be found in 
 " Buddhism," p. 195. The ancient form of this legend, as found here, must 
 
THE BUDDHA HESITA TES. i i i 
 
 But the Perfectly Euliglitened One rose up thence, and 
 returned to the Shepherd's Nigrodha-tree, and sat down 
 at its foot. And no sooner was" he seated there, consider- 
 ing the depth of the Truth which he had gained, than 
 there arose in his mind a doubt (felt by each of the 
 Buddhas as he became aware of his ha%'ing arrived at 
 Truth) that he had not that kind of ability necessary to 
 explain that Truth to others. 
 
 Then the great Ruler of the Brahma heavens, exclaim- 
 ing, " Alas ! the world is lost ! Alas ! the world will be 
 altogether lost ! " brought with him the rulers and arch- 
 angels of the heavens in tens of thousands of world- 
 systems, and went up to the Master, and said, " 
 Blessed Lord, mayst thou proclaim the Truth ! Proclaim 
 the Truth, Blessed Lord ! " and in other words of 
 like purport begged from him the preaching of the 
 Truth. 
 
 Then the Master granted his request. And considering 
 to whom he should first reveal the Truth, thought at first 
 of Alara, his former teacher, as one who would quickly 
 comprehend it. But, on further reflection, he perceived 
 that Alara had been dead seven days. So he fixed on 
 Uddaka, but perceived that he too had died that very 
 evening. Then he thought of the five mendicants, how 
 faithfully they had served him for a time ; and casting 
 about in his mind where they then might be, he perceived 
 they were at the Deer-forest in Benares. And he deter- 
 mined, saying, " There I will go to inaugurate the King- 
 have arisen when the relics were still in Orissa. Both the Burmese and 
 Ceylonese now claim to possess them. The former say that the two mer- 
 chants were Burmese, and that the Dagaba above referred to is the celebrated 
 sanctuary of Shooay Dagob (Bigandet, p. 101, '2nd ed.). The latter say that 
 the Dagaba was in Orissa, and that the hair-relics were brought thence to 
 Ceylon in 490 A.D., in the manner related in the Kesa Dhatu Vagsa, and 
 referred to in the Maha Vagsa. (See verses 43-56 of my edition of the 39th 
 chap, of the M. V. in the J. E. A. S. 1875.) The legend in the text is 
 found in an ancient inscription on the great beU at Rangoon (Hough's 
 version in the Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. ; comp. Hardy, M. B. p. 183 ; 
 Beai, Eom. Leg.) p. 240. 
 
112 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 dom of Rigliteousness." But he delayed a few daji's, 
 begging his daily food in the neighbourhood of the Bo- 
 tree, with the intention of going to Benares on the full- 
 moon day of the month of May. 
 
 And at dawn of the fourteenth day of the month, when 
 the night had passed away, he took his robe and his 
 bowl; and had gone eighteen leagues, just half way, 
 when he met the Hindu mendicant Upaka. And he 
 announced to him how he had become a Buddha ; and on 
 the evening of that day he arrived at the hermitage near 
 Benares.' 
 
 The five mendicants, seeing already from afar the 
 Buddha coming, said one to another, " Friend, here comes 
 the mendicant Gotama. He has turned back to a free 
 use of the necessaries of life, and has recovered roundness 
 of form, acuteness of sense, and beauty of complexion. 
 We ought to pay him no reverence ; but as he is, after 
 all, of a good family, he deserves the honour of a seat. So 
 we will simply prepare a seat for him." 
 
 The Blessed One, casting about in his mind (by the power 
 that he had of knowing what was going on in the thoughts 
 of all beings) as to what they were thinking, knew their 
 thoughts. Then, concentrating that feeling of his love which 
 was able to pervade generally all beings in earth and 
 heaven, he directed it specially towards them. And the 
 sense of his love diffused itself through their hearts ; and 
 as he came nearer and nearer, unable any longer to adhere to 
 their resolve, they rose from their seats, and bowed down 
 before him, and welcomed him with every mark of rever- 
 ence and respect. But, not knowing that he had become 
 a Buddha, they addressed him, in everything they said, 
 either by name, or as " Brother." Then the Blessed One 
 announced to them his Buddhahood, saying, "0 mendi- 
 cants, address not a Buddha by his name, or as 'brother.' 
 
 ' Isipatana, tlie hermitage in tlie Deer-forest close to Benares. See above, 
 p. 91. 
 
THE FIRST DISCIPLES. 1 1 3 
 
 And I, mendicants, am a Buddha, clear in insight, as 
 those who have gone before." '^ 
 
 Then, seated on the place prepared for him, and 
 surrounded by myriads of angels, he addressed the five 
 attendant elders, just as the moon was passing out of 
 conjunction with the lunar mansion in June, and taught 
 them in that discourse which was The Foundation of the 
 Kingdom of Righteousness. 
 
 Of the five Elders, Kondanya the Believer^ gained in 
 knowledge as the discourse went on ; and as it concluded, 
 he, with myriads of angels, had arrived at the Fruit of the 
 First Path.' And the Master, who remained there for the 
 rainy season, sat in the wihdra the next day, when the 
 other four had gone a-begging, talking to Vappa : and 
 Vappa that morning attained to the Fruit of the First 
 Path. And, in a similar manner, Bhaddiya on the next 
 day, and Maha Nama on the next, and Assaji on the next, 
 attained to the Fruit of the First Path. And, on the 
 fifth day, he called all five to his side, and preached to 
 them the discourse On the N^on- existence of the Soul; and at 
 the end of that discourse all the five elders attained to 
 Nirvana. 
 
 Then the Master perceived that Tasa, a young man of 
 good family, was capable of entering the Paths. And at 
 night-time, as he was going away, having left his home in 
 weariness of the world, the Master called him., saying, 
 " Follow me, Tasa ! " and on that very night he attained to 
 the Fruit of the First Path, and on the next day to Arahat- 
 ship. And He received also the other fifty-four, his com- 
 panions, into the order, with the formula, " Follow me ! " 
 and caused them to attain to Arahatship. 
 
 Now when there were thus in the world sixty-one persons 
 who had become Arahats, the Master, after the rainy season 
 
 ' Tathagato Sammasambuddlio. 
 
 2 So called from his action on this occasion. See above, pp. 72, 73. 
 
 3 That is, became free from the delusion of soul, from doubt, and from 
 belief in the efficacy of rites and ceremonies. "Buddhism," pp. 95, 108. 
 
114 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 and the Feast with which it closes were over, sent out the 
 sixty in different directions, with the words, " Go forth, 
 mendicants, preaching and teaching." And himself 
 going towards Uruvela, overcame at the Kappasiya forest, 
 half way thither, the thirty young Bhadda-vaggiyan 
 nobles. Of these the least advanced entered the First, 
 and the most advanced the Third Path : and he received 
 them all into the Order with the formula, " Follow me ! " 
 And sending them also forth into the regions round about, 
 he himself went on to Uruvela. 
 
 There he overcame, by performing three thousand five 
 hundred miracles, the three Hindu ascetics, brothers, — 
 Uruvela Kassapa and the rest, — ^who had one thousand 
 disciples. And he received them into the Order with 
 the formula, " Follow me ! " and established them in 
 Arahatship by his discourse, when they were seated on 
 the Gaya-slsa hiU, "On the Lessons to be drawn from Fire." 
 And attended by these thousand Arahats, he went to the 
 grove called the Palm- grove, hard by Rajagaha, with the 
 object of redeeming the promise he had made to Bimbl- 
 sara the king.^ 
 
 When the king heard from the keeper of the grove the 
 saying, " The Master is come," he went to the Master, 
 attended by innumerable priests and nobles, and f eU down 
 at the feet of the Buddha, — those sacred feet, which bore 
 on their surface the mystic figure of the sacred wheel, 
 and gave forth a halo of light like a canopy of cloth of 
 gold. Then he and his retinue respectfully took their 
 seats on one side. 
 
 Now the question occurred to those priests and nobles, 
 " How is it, then ? has the Great Mendicant entered as a 
 student in religion imder Uruvela Kassapa, or Uruvela 
 Kassapa under the Great Mendicant ? " And the Blessed 
 One, becoming aware of their thus doubting within them- 
 selves, addressed the Elder in the verse — 
 
 ' See above p. 89. 
 
THE TRIAL OF KASSAPA. 115 
 
 282. What hast thou seen, dweller in TJruvela, 
 That thou hast abandoned the Fire God, counting 
 
 thyself poor ? 
 I ask thee, Kassapa, the meaning of this thing : 
 How is it thou hast given up the sacrifice of fire ? 
 
 And the Elder, perceiving what the Blessed One intended, 
 replied in the verse — 
 
 283. Some men rely on sights, and sounds, and taste. 
 Others on sensual love, and some on sacrifice ; 
 But this, I see, is dross so long as sin remains. 
 Therefore I find no charm, in ofierings great or 
 
 small. 
 
 And (in order to make known his discipleship) he bowed 
 his head to the Buddha's feet, saying, " The Blessed 
 Lord is my master, and I am the disciple!" And 
 seven times he rose into the air up to the height of 
 one, two, three, and so on, up to the height of seven 
 palm-trees ; and descending again, he saluted the Buddha, 
 and respectfully took a seat aside. Seeing that wonder, 
 the multitude praised the Master, saying, " Ah ! how 
 great is the power of the Buddhas ! Even so mighty 
 an infidel as this has thought him worthy ! Even TJruvela 
 Kassapa has broken through the net of delusion, and has 
 yielded to the successor of the Buddhas ! " 
 
 But the Blessed One said, " JSTot now only have I 
 overcome TJruvela Kassapa ; in former ages, too, he was 
 conquered by me." And he uttered in that connexion 
 the Maha Ndrada Kassapa Jdtaka, and proclaimed the 
 Four Truths. And the iHng of Magadha, with nearly 
 all his retinue, attained to the Fruit of the First Path, 
 and the rest became lay disciples (without entering the 
 -Paths).! 
 
 • TJpasakas ; that is, those who have taken the Three Eefuges and the vow 
 to keep the Five Commandments (" Buddhism," pp. 139, 160). 
 
1 1 5 THE NIDANAKA THA. 
 
 And the king still sitting near the Master told him of 
 the five wishes he had had; and then, confessing his faith, 
 he invited the Blessed One for the next daj"^, and rising 
 from his side, departed with respectful salutation. 
 
 The next day all the men who dwelt in Rajagaha, 
 eighteen koth in number, both those who had already seen 
 the Blessed One, and those who had not, came out early 
 from Rajagaha to the Grove of Reeds to see the successor 
 of the Buddhas. The road, six miles long, could not contain 
 them. The whole of the Grove of Reeds became like a 
 basket packed quite full. The multitude, beholding the 
 exceeding beauty of Him whose power is Wisdom, could 
 not contain their delight. Yannabhii was it called (that is, 
 the Place of Praise), for at such spots all the greater and 
 lesser characteristics of a Buddha, and the glorious beauty 
 of his person, are fated to be sung. There was not room 
 for even a single mendicant to get out on the road, or in 
 the grove, so crowded was it with the multitude gazing 
 at the beautiful form of the Being endowed with the ten- 
 fold power of Wisdom. 
 
 So that day they say the throne of Sakka felt hot, to 
 warn him that the Blessed One might be deprived of 
 nourishment, which should not be. And, on considera- 
 tion, he im.derstood the reason ; and he took the form of 
 a young Brahman, and descended in front of the Buddha, 
 and made way for him, singing the praises of the Buddha, 
 the Truth, and the Order. And he walked in front, mag- 
 nifying the Master in these verses : 
 
 284. He whose passions are subdued has come to Raja- 
 gaha 
 Glorious as Sing! gold, — the Blessed One ; 
 And with him those who once were mere as- 
 cetics, 
 Now all subdued in heart and freed from sin. 
 
SAKKA SINGS PRAISES. r 1 7 
 
 285. He who is free from sin has come to Rajagaha 
 
 Glorious as SingI gold, — the Blessed One ; 
 And Avith him those who once were mere as- 
 cetics, 
 Now freed from sin and saved. 
 
 286. He who has crossed the flood^ has come to Eiija- 
 
 gaha 
 Glorious as Singi gold, — the Blessed One ; 
 And with him those who once were mere as- 
 cetics. 
 But now crossed o'er the flood and freed from sin. 
 
 287. He whose dwelling and whose wisdom are ten- 
 
 fold ; 
 He who has seen and gained ten precious 
 
 things ; ^ 
 Attended by ten hundred as a retinue, — 
 The Blessed One, — has come to Rajagaha. 
 
 The multitude, seeing the beauty of the young Brahman, 
 thought, "This young Brahman is exceeding fair, and yet 
 we have never yet beheld him." And they said, "Whence 
 comes the young Brahman, or whose son is he ? " And 
 the young Brahman, hearing what they said, answered in 
 the verse, 
 
 288. He who is wise, and all subdued in heart. 
 The Buddha, the unequalled among men. 
 The Arahat, the most happy upon earth ! — 
 
 His servant am I. 
 
 Then the Master entered upon the path thus made free 
 by the Archangel, and entered Eajagaha attended by a 
 
 ' Tinno, crossed the ocean of transmigration. 
 
 2 That is, the Four Paths, the Four Fruits thereof. Nirvana, and the 
 Scriptures (or the Truth, Dhamma). 
 
iiS THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 thousand mendicants. The king gave a great donation to 
 the Order with the Buddha at their head ; and had water 
 brought, bright as gems, and scented with flowers, in a 
 golden goblet. And he poured the water over the hand 
 of the Buddha, in token of the presentation of the Bambu 
 Grove, sa3dng, "I, my lord, cannot live without the 
 Three Gems (the Buddha, the Order, and the Faith). 
 In season and out of season I would visit the Blessed One. 
 Kow the Grove of Reeds is far away ; but this Grove of 
 mine, called the Bambu Grove, is close by, is easy of 
 resort, and is a fit dwelling-place for a Buddha. Let the 
 Blessed One accept it of me ! " 
 
 At the acceptance of this monastery the broad earth 
 shook, as if it said, "Now the Religion of Buddha has 
 taken root ! " For in all India there is no dwelling- 
 place, save the Bambu Grove, whose acceptance caused 
 the earth to shake : and in Ceylon there is no dwelling- 
 place, save the Great Wihara, whose acceptance caused 
 the earth to shake. 
 
 And when the Master had accepted the Bambu Grove 
 Monastery, and had given thanks for it, he rose from his 
 seat and went, surrounded by the members of the Order, 
 to the Bambu Grove. 
 
 Now at that time two ascetics, named Sariputta and 
 Moggallana, were living near Rajagaha, seeking after 
 salvation. Of these, Sariputta, seeing the Elder Assaji 
 on his begging round, was pleasurably impressed by 
 him, and waited on him, and heard from him the verse 
 beginning, — 
 
 "What things soever are produced from causes."^ 
 
 And he attained to the blessings which result from con- 
 
 • The celebrated verse here referred to has been found inscribed several 
 times in the ruins of the great Dagaba at Isipatana, and facsimiles are given 
 ia Cunningham's Archseological Eeports, plate xixiv. vol. i. p. 123. The 
 text is given by Bumouf in the Lotus de la Bonne Loi, p. 523 ; and in the 
 Maha Vagga, pp. 40, 41. See also Uardy's Manual, p. 196. 
 
THE FIRST COUNCIL. ug 
 
 version ; and repeated that verse to his companion 
 Moggallana the ascetic. And he, too, attained to the 
 blessings which first result from conversion. And each 
 of them left Sanjaya,^ and with his attendants took orders 
 under the Master. Of these two, Moggallana attained 
 Arahatship in seven days, and Sariputta the Elder in 
 half a month. And the Master appointed these two to 
 the office of his Chief Disciples; and on the day on 
 which Sariputta the Elder attained Arahatship, he held 
 the so-called Council of the Disciples.^ 
 
 Now whilst the Successor of the Buddhas was dwelling 
 there in the Bambu Grove, Suddhodana the king heard 
 that his son, who for six years had devoted himself to 
 works of self-mortification, had attained to Complete En- 
 lightenment, had founded the Kingdom of Righteousness, 
 and was then dwelling at the Bambu Grove near Raja- 
 gaha. So he said to a certain courtier, " Look you. Sir ; 
 take a thousand men as a retinue, and go to Rajagaha, 
 and say in my name, ' Your father, Suddhodana the king, 
 desires to see you ; ' and bring my son here." 
 
 And he respectfully accepted the king's command with 
 the reply, " So be it, king ! " and went quickly with a 
 thousand followers the sixty leagues distance, and sat 
 do'wn amongst the disciples of the Sage, and at the hour 
 of instruction entered the Wihara. And thinking, " Let 
 the king's message stay awhile," he stood just beyond 
 the disciples and listened to the discourse. And as he so 
 stood he attained to Arahatship, with his whole retinue, 
 and asked to be admitted to the Order. And the Blessed 
 One stretched forth his hand and said, " Come among us, 
 mendicants." And all of them that moment appeared 
 there, with robes and bowls created by miracle, like 
 Elders of a hundred years' standing. 
 
 1 Their then teacher. 
 
 * Or perhaps. " He formed the Corporation of the Disciples," that is, the 
 Order of Mendicants. 
 
120 THE NIDANAKAIHA. 
 
 jSTow from the time when they attain Arahatship the 
 Arahats become indifferent to worldly things : so he did 
 not deliver the king's message to the Sage. The king, 
 seeing that neither did his messenger return, nor was any 
 message received from him, called another courtier in the 
 same manner as before, and sent him. And he went, and 
 in the same manner attained Arahatship with his fol- 
 lowers, and remained silent. Then the king in the same 
 manner sent nine courtiers each with a retinue of a 
 thousand men. And they all, neglecting what they had 
 to do, stayed awaj^ there in silence. 
 
 And when the king found no one who would come and 
 bring even a message, he thought, "Not one of these 
 brings back, for my sake, even a message : who will then 
 carry out what I say?" And searching among all his 
 people he thought of Kala Udayin. For he was in every- 
 thing serviceable to the king, — intimate with him, and 
 trustworthy. He was bom on the same day as the future 
 Buddha, and had been his playfellow and companion. 
 
 So the king said to him, " Friend Kala Udayin, as I 
 wanted to see my son, I sent nine times a thousand men ; 
 but there is not one of them who has either come back 
 or sent a message. Now the end of my life is not far off, 
 and I desire to see my son before I die. Can you help 
 me to see my son ? " 
 
 " I can, king ! " was the reply, " if I am allowed to 
 become a recluse." 
 
 " My friend," said the . king, " become a recluse or not 
 as you will, but help me to see my son ! " 
 
 " And he respectfully received the king's message, with 
 the words, "So be it, king!" and went to Rajagaha; 
 and stood at the edge of the disciples at the time of the 
 Master's instruction, and heard the gospel, and attained 
 Arahatship with his followers, and was received into the 
 Order. 
 
 The Master spent the first Lent after he had become 
 
A MESSAGE FROM HOME. 121 
 
 Buddha at Isipatana ; and when it was over went to 
 Uruvela and stayed there three months and overcame the 
 three brothers, ascetics. And on the full-moon day of 
 the mouth of January, he went to Rajagaha with a 
 retinue of a thousand mendicants, and there he dwelt 
 two months. Thus five mouths had elapsed since he left 
 Benares, the cold season was past, and seven or eight days 
 since the arrival of Udayin, the Elder. 
 
 And on the full-moon Aa.y of March Udayin thought, 
 " The cold season is past ; the sjjring has come ; men raise 
 their crops and set out on their journeys ; the earth is 
 covered with fresh grass ; the woods are full of flowers ; 
 the roads are fit to walk on ; now is the time for the Sage 
 to show favour to his family." And going to the Blessed 
 One, he praised travelling in about sixty stanzas, that the 
 Sage might revisit his native town. 
 
 289. Red are the trees with blossoms bright. 
 
 They give no shade to him who seeks for fruit ; 
 
 Brilliant they seem as glowing fires. 
 
 The very season's full, Great One, of delights. 
 
 290. 'Tis not too hot ; 'tis not too cold ; 
 There's plenty now of all good things ; 
 The earth is clad with verdure green, 
 Fit is the time, mighty Sage ! 
 
 Then the Master said to him, "But why, Udayin, do 
 you sing the pleasures of travelling with so sweet a voice ? " 
 
 " My lord ! " was the reply, " your father is anxious 
 to see you once more ; will you not show favour to your 
 relations ? " 
 
 " 'Tis well said, Udayin ! I wiU do so. Tell the Order 
 that they shall fulfil the duty laid on all its members of 
 journeying from place to place." 
 
 Kala Udayin accordingly told the brethren. And the 
 Blessed One, attended by twenty thousand mendicants free 
 
122 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 from sin — ten thousand from the upper classes in Magadha 
 and Anga, and ten thousand from the upper classes in 
 Kapila-vatthu — started from Rajagaha, and travelled a 
 ■ league a day ; going slowly with the intention of reach- 
 ing Kapila-vatthu, sixty leagues from Hajagaha, in two 
 months. 
 
 And the Elder, thinking, " I will let the king know 
 that the Blessed One has started," rose into the air and 
 appeared in the king's house. The king was glad to see 
 the Elder, made him sit down on a splendid couch, filled 
 a bowl with the delicious food made ready for himself, 
 and gave to him. Then the Elder rose up, and made as 
 if he would go away. 
 
 " Sit down and eat," said the king. 
 
 " I will rejoin the Master, and eat then," said he. 
 
 " Where is the Master now ? " asked the king. 
 
 " He has set out on his journey, attended by twenty 
 thousand mendicants, to see you, king ! " said he. 
 
 The king, glad at heart, said, " Do you eat this ; and 
 until my son has arrived at this town, provide him with 
 food from here." 
 
 The Elder agreed ; and the king waited on him, and 
 then had the bowl cleansed with perfumed chunam, and 
 filled with the best of food, and placed it in the Elder's 
 hand, saying, " Give it to the Buddha." 
 
 And the Elder, in the sight of all, threw the bowl into 
 the air, and himself rising up into the skj^, took the food 
 again, and placed it in the hand of the Master. 
 
 The Master ate it. Every day the Elder brought him 
 food in the same manner. So the Master himself was fed, 
 even on the journey, from the king's table. The Elder, 
 day by day, when he had finished his meal, told the king, 
 " To-day the Blessed One has come so far, to-day so far." 
 And by talking of the high character of the Buddha, he 
 made all the king's family delighted with the Master, 
 even before they saw him. On that account the Blessed 
 
THE SAKYAS ARE PROUD. 123 
 
 One gave Mm pre-eminence, saying, "Pre-eminent, 
 mendicants, am^ong all those of my disciples who gained 
 over my family, was Kala Udayin." 
 
 The Sakyas, as they sat talking of the prospect of 
 seeing their distinguished relative, considered what place 
 he could stay in ; and deciding that the Nigrodha Grove 
 would be a pleasant residence, they made everything 
 ready there. And with flowers in their hands they went 
 out to meet him ; and sending in front the little children, 
 and the hoys and girls of the village, and then the young 
 men and maidens of the royal family ; they themselves, 
 decked of their own accord with sweet- smelling flowers 
 and chunam, came close behind, conducting the Blessed 
 One to the JSTigrodha Grove. There the Blessed One sat 
 down on the Buddha's throne prepared for him, sur- 
 rounded by twenty thousand Arahats. 
 
 The Sakyas are proud by nature, and stubborn in their 
 pride. Thinking, "Siddattha is younger than we are, 
 standing to us in the relation of younger brother, or 
 nephew, or son, or grandson," they said to the little chil- 
 dren and the young people, " Do you bow down before 
 him, we will seat ourselves behind you." The Blessed 
 One, when they had thus taken their seats, perceived 
 what they meant ; and thinking, " My relations pay me 
 no reverence ; come now, I must force them to do so," he 
 fell into the ecstasy depending on wisdom, and rising into 
 the air as if shaking off the dust of his feet upon them, he 
 performed a miracle like unto that double miracle at the 
 .foot of the Gandamba-tree.' 
 
 The king, seeing that miracle, said, " Blessed One ! 
 When you were presented to Kala Devala to do obeisance 
 to him on the day on which you were born, and I saw 
 your feet turn round and place themselves on the 
 
 1 See above, p. 105. The Dhammapada Commentary, p. 334, has a 
 different account of the miracle performed on this occasion. It says he 
 made a jewelled terrace (ratana-cajkamai)) in the sky, and Valking up and 
 down in it, preached the Faith (Dhammag). 
 
124 "^^^ NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 Brahman's head, I did obeisance to you. That was my 
 first obeisance. When j'^ou were seated on your couch 
 in the shade of the Jambu-tree on the day of the plough- 
 ing festival, I saw how the shadow over you did not turn, 
 and I bowed down at your feet. That was my second 
 obeisance. JSTow, seeing this unprecedented miracle, I 
 bow down at your feet. This is my third obeisance." 
 
 Then, when the king did obeisance to him, there was 
 not a single Sakya who was able to refrain from bowing 
 do^vn before the Blessed One ; and all of them did 
 obeisance. 
 
 So the Blessed One, having compelled his relatives to 
 bow down before him, descended from the sky, and sat 
 down on the seat prepared for him. And when the 
 Blessed One was seated, the assembly of his relatives 
 yielded him pre-eminence ; and all sat there at peace in 
 their hearts. 
 
 Then a thunder-cloud poured forth a shower of rain, 
 and the copper-coloured water went away rumbling be- 
 neath the earth. He who wished to get wet, did get 
 wet ; but not even a drop fell on the body of him who 
 did not wish to get wet. And all seeing it became filled 
 with astonishment, and said one to another, " Lo ! what 
 miracle ! Lo ! what wonder ! " 
 
 But the Teacher said, "Not now only did a shower 
 of rain fall upon me in the assembly of my relations, 
 formerly also this happened." And in this connexion 
 he pronounced the story of his Birth as Wessantara. 
 
 When they had heard his discourse they rose up, and 
 paid reverence to him, and went away. Not one of them, 
 either the king or any of his ministers, asked him on 
 leaving, " To-morrow accept your meal of us." 
 
 So on the next day the Master, attended by twenty 
 thousand mendicants, entered Kapilavatthu to beg. Then 
 also no one came to him or invited him to his house, or 
 took his bowl. The Blessed One, standing at the gate. 
 
THE BUDDHA BEGS FOR FOOD. 125 
 
 considered, "How then did tlie former Buddhas go on 
 their begging rounds in their native town ? Did they go 
 direct to the houses of the kings, or did they beg straight 
 on from house to house ? " Then, not finding that any of 
 the Buddhas had gone direct, he thought, " I, too, must 
 accept this descent and tradition as my own ; so shall my 
 disciples in future, learning of me, fulfil the duty of 
 begging for their daily food." And beginning at the 
 first house, he begged straight on. 
 
 At the rumour that the young chief Siddhattha was 
 begging from door to door, the windows in the two-storied 
 and three- storied houses were thrown open, and the mul- 
 titude was transfixed at the sight. And the lady, the 
 mother of E,ahula, thought, " My lord, who used to go to 
 and fro in this very town with gilded palanquin and 
 every sign of royal pomp, now with a potsherd in his 
 hand begs his food from door to door, with shaven hair 
 and beard, and clad in yellow robes. Is this becoming ? " 
 And she opened the window, and looked at the Blessed 
 One ; and she beheld him glorious with the unequalled 
 majesty of a Buddha, distinguished with the Thirty- two 
 characteristic signs and the eighty lesser marks of a Great 
 Being, and lighting up the street of the city with a halo 
 resplendent with many colours, proceeding to a fathom's 
 length all round his person. 
 
 And she announced it to the king, saying, " Tour son 
 is begging his bread from door to door ; " and she mag- 
 nified him with the eight stanzas on " The Lion among 
 Men," beginning— 
 
 291. Glossy and dark and soft and curly is his hair ; 
 Spotless and fair as the sun is his forehead ; 
 Well-proportioned and prominent and delicate is 
 
 his nose ; 
 Around him is difiused a network of rays; — 
 The Lion among Men ! 
 
126 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 The king was deeply agitated; and he departed in- 
 stantlj', gathering up his robe in his hand, and went 
 quickly and stood before the Blessed One, and said, 
 "Why, Master, do you put us to shame ? Why do you 
 go begging for your food ? Do you think it impossible 
 to provide a meal for so many monks ? " 
 
 " This is our custom, king ! " was the reply. 
 
 " Not so, Master ! our descent is from the royal race of 
 the Great Elected ; * and amongst them all not one chief 
 has ever begged his daily food." 
 
 " This succession of kings is your descent, king ! but 
 mine is the succession of the prophets (Buddhas), from 
 Dipaijkara and Eondanya and the rest down to Kassapa. 
 These, and thousands of other Buddhas, have begged their 
 daily food, and hved on alms." And standing in the 
 middle of the street he uttered the verse — 
 
 292. E.ise up, and loiter not ! 
 PoUow after a holy life ! 
 
 Who follows virtue rests in bliss. 
 Both in this world and in the next." 
 
 And when the verse was finished the king attained to the 
 Fruit of the First, and then, on hearing the following 
 verse, to the Fruit of the Second Path — 
 
 293. Follow after a holy life ! 
 Follow not after sin ! 
 
 Who follows virtue rests in bliss. 
 Both in this world and in the next. 
 
 And when he heard the story of the Birth as the Keeper 
 of Righteousness,* he attained to the Fruit of the Third 
 Path. And just as he was dying, seated on the royal 
 couch under the white canopy of state, he attained to 
 
 1 Maha Sammata, the first king among men. ' Dhammapala Jataka. 
 
GO TAMA'S RETURN HOME. 1 27 
 
 Arabatship. The king never practised in solitude the 
 Great Struggle.^ 
 
 Now as soon as he had realized the Fruit of Conversion, 
 he took the Buddha's bowl, and conducted the Blessed 
 One and his retinue to the palace, and served them with 
 savoury food, both hard and soft. And when the meal 
 was over, all the women of the household came and did 
 obeisance to the Blessed One, except only the mother of 
 Eahula. 
 
 But she, though she told her attendants to go and 
 salute their lord, stayed behind, saying, " If I am of any 
 value ia his eyes, my lord will himself come to me ; and 
 when he has come I wiU pay him reverence." 
 
 And the Blessed One, giving his bowl to the king to 
 carry, went with his two chief disciples to the apartments 
 of the daughter of the kiag, saying, "The king's daughter 
 shall in no wise be rebuked, howsoever she may be pleased 
 to welcome me." And he sat down on the seat prepared 
 for him. 
 
 And she came quickly and held him by his ankles, and 
 laid her head on his feet, and so did obeisance to him, 
 even as she had intended. And the king told of the 
 fullness of her love for the Blessed One, and of her good- 
 ness of heart, saying, " When my daughter heard, 
 Master, that you had put on the yellow robes, from that 
 time forth she dressed only in yellow. When she heard 
 of your taking but one meal a day, she adopted the same 
 custom. When she heard that you renounced the use of 
 elevated couches, she slept on a mat spread on the floor. 
 When she heard you had given up the use of garlands 
 and unguents, she also used them no more. And when 
 her relatives sent a message, saying, ' Let us take care 
 of you,' she paid them no attention at all. Such is my 
 daughter's goodness of heart, Blessed One ! " 
 
 1 See aboTe, p. 89. 
 
128 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 " 'Tis no Tvonder, king ! " was the reply, " that she 
 should watch over herself now that she has you for a 
 protector, and that her wisdom is mature ; formerly, even 
 when wandering among the mountains without a pro- 
 tector, and when her wisdom was not mature, she watched 
 over herself." And he told the story of his Birth as the 
 Moonsprite ; ^ and rose from his seat, and went away. 
 
 On the next day the festivals of the coronation, and of 
 the housewarraing, and of the marriage of Nanda, the 
 king's son, were being celebrated all together. But the 
 Buddha went to his house, and gave him his bowl to 
 carry ; and with the object of making him abandon the 
 world, he wished him true happiness ; and then, rising 
 from his seat, departed. And (the bride) Janapada Kalj^a nl, 
 seeing the young man go away, gazed wonderingly at him, 
 and cried out, " My Lord, whither go you so quickly ? " 
 But he, not venturing to say to the Blessed One, " Take 
 your bowl," followed him even unto the Wihara. And the 
 Blessed One received him, imwilling though he was, into 
 the Order. 
 
 It was on the third day after he reached Kapilapura 
 that the Blessed One ordained Nanda. On the second 
 day the mother of Eahula arrayed the boy in his best, 
 and sent him to the Blessed One, saying, " Look, dear, at 
 that monk, attended by twenty thousand monks, and 
 glorious in appearance as the Archangel Brahma ! That 
 is your father. He had certain great treasures, which 
 we have not seen since he abandoned his home. Go now, 
 and ask for your inheritance, saying, ' Father, I am your 
 son. When I am crowned, I shall become a king over all 
 the earth. I have need of the treasure. Give me the 
 treasure ; for a son is heir to his father's property.' " 
 
 The boy went up to the Blessed One, and gained the 
 love of his father, and stood there glad and joyful, saying, 
 
 • Candakinnara Jataka. 
 
THE SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE. 129 
 
 " Happy, O monk, is thy shadow ! " and adding many 
 other words befitting his position. "When the Blessed 
 One had ended his meal, and had given thanks, he rose 
 from his seat, and went away. And the child followed 
 the Blessed One, saying, " monk ! give me my in- 
 heritance ! give me my inheritance ! " 
 
 And the Blessed One prevented him not. And the 
 disciples, being M-ith the Blessed One, ventured not to 
 stop him. And so he went with the Blessed One even np 
 to the grove. Then the Blessed One thought, " This 
 ■wealth, this property of his father's, which he is asking 
 for, perishes in the using, and brings vexation with it ! 
 I will give him the sevenfold wealth of the Arahats which 
 I obtained under the Bo-tree, and make him the heir of a 
 spiritual inheritance ! " And he said to Sariputta, "Well, 
 then, Sariputta, receive Bahula into the Order." 
 
 But when the child had been taken into the Order the 
 king grieved exceedingly. And he was unable to bear 
 his grief, and made it Icnown to the Blessed One, and 
 asked of him a boon, saying, " If you so please, Master, 
 let not the Holy One receive a son into the Order without 
 the leave of his father and mother." And the Blessed 
 One granted the boon. 
 
 And the next day, as he sat in the king's house after 
 his meal was over, the king, sitting respectfully by him, 
 said, " Master ! when you were practising austerities, an 
 angel came to me, and said, ' Your son is dead ! ' And I 
 believed him not, and rejected what he said, answering, 
 ' My son will not die without attaining Buddhahood ! ' " 
 
 And he replied, saying, " Why should you now have 
 believed ? when formerly, though they showed you my 
 bones and said your son was dead, you did not believe 
 them." And in that connexion he told the story of his 
 Birth as the Great Keeper of Righteousness. '^ And when 
 the story was ended, the king attained to the Fruit of the 
 
 • Matadliammapala Jataka. See atove, p. 126. 
 
I 30 THE NWANAKATHA. 
 
 Third Path. And so the Blessed One established his 
 father in the Three Fruits ; and he returned to Rajagaha 
 attended by the company of the brethren, and resided at 
 the Grrove of Sita. 
 
 At that time the householder Anatha Pindika, bringing 
 merchandise in five hundred carts, went to the house of a 
 trader in Rajagaha, his intimate friend, and there heard 
 that a Blessed Buddha had arisen. And very early in 
 the morning he went to the Teacher, the door being 
 opened by the power of an angel, and heard the Truth 
 and became converted. And on the next day he gave a 
 great donation to the Order, with the Buddha at their 
 head, and received a promise from the Teacher that he 
 would come to Savatthi. 
 
 Then along the road, forty-five leagues in length, he 
 built resting-places at every league, at an expenditure of 
 a hundred thousand for each. And he bought the Grove 
 called Jetavana for eighteen kotis of gold pieces, laying 
 them side by side over the ground, and erected there a 
 new building. In the midst thereof he made a pleasant 
 room for the Sage, and around it separately constructed 
 dwellings for the eighty Elders, and other residences with 
 single and double walls, and long halls and open roofs, 
 ornamented with ducks and quails ; and ponds also he 
 made, and terraces to walk on by day and by night. 
 
 And so having constructed a delightful residence on a 
 pleasant spot, at an expense of eighteen kotis, he sent a 
 message to the Sage that he should come. 
 
 The Master, hearing the messenger's words, left Paja- 
 gaha attended by a great multitude of monks, and in due 
 course arrived at the city of Savatthi. Then the wealthy 
 merchant decorated the monastery; and on the day on 
 which the Buddha should arrive at Jetavana he arrayed 
 his son in splendour, and sent him on with five hundred 
 youths in festival attire. And he and his retinue, holding 
 five hundred flags resplendent with cloth of five difierent 
 
THE FIRST MONASTERY. 
 
 13' 
 
 colours, appeared before the Sage. And behind him 
 Maha-Subhadda and Cula-Subhadda, the two daughters 
 of the merchant, went forth with five hundred damsels 
 carrying water-pots full of water. And behind them, 
 decked with all her ornaments, the merchant's wife went 
 forth, with five hundred matrons carrying vessels full of 
 food. And behind them all the great merchant himself, 
 clad in new robes, with five hundred traders also dressed 
 in new robes, went out to meet the Blessed One. 
 
 The Blessed One, sending this retinue of lay disciples 
 in front, and attended by the great multitude of monks, 
 entered the Jetavana monastery with the infinite grace 
 and unequalled majesty of a Buddha, making the spaces 
 of the grove bright with the halo from his person, as if 
 they were sprinkled with gold-dust. 
 
 Then Anatha Pindika asked him, " How, my Lord, 
 shall I deal with this Wihara ? " 
 
 "0 householder," was the reply, "give it then to the 
 Order of Mendicants, whether now present or hereafter to 
 arrive." 
 
 And the great merchant, saying, " So be it, my Lord," 
 brought a golden vessel, and poured water over the hand 
 of the Sage, and dedicated the Wihara, saying, " I give 
 this Jetavana Wihara to the Order of Mendicants with 
 the Buddha at their head, and to all from every direction 
 now present or hereafter to come."' 
 
 And the Master accepted the Wihara, and giving thanks, 
 pointed out the advantages of monasteries, saying, — 
 
 294. Cold they ward ofi', and heat ; 
 So also beasts of prey. 
 And creeping things, and gnats, 
 And rains in the cold season. 
 And when the dreaded heat and winds 
 Arise, they ward them off. 
 
 ' This formula has heen constantly fonnd in rock inscriptions in India and 
 Ceylon over the ancient cave-dwellings of Buddhist hermits. 
 
,32 THE NIDANAKATHA. 
 
 295. To give to monks a dwelling-place, 
 Wterein in safety and in peace 
 To think till mysteries grow clear, 
 The Buddha calls a worthy deed. 
 
 296. Let therefore a wise man, 
 Regarding his own weal, 
 Have pleasant monasteries built. 
 And lodge there learned men. 
 
 297. Let him with cheerful mien 
 Give food to them, and drink. 
 And clothes, and dwelling-places 
 To the upright in mind. 
 
 298. Then they shall preach to him the Truth, — 
 The Truth, dispelling every grief, — 
 Which Truth, when here a man receives. 
 He sins no more, and dies away ! 
 
 Anatha Pindika began the dedication festival from the 
 second day. The festival held at the dedication of 
 Yisakha's building ended in four months, but Anatha 
 Pindika's dedication festival lasted nine months. At the 
 festival, too, eighteen kotis were spent; so on that one 
 monastery he spent wealth amounting to fifty-four kotis. 
 
 Long ago, too, in the time of the Blessed Buddha 
 Yipassin, a merchant named Punabbasu Mitta bought that 
 very spot by laying golden bricks over it, and built a 
 monastery there a league in length. And in the time of 
 the Blessed Buddha Sikhin, a merchant named Sirivaddha 
 bought that very spot by standing golden ploughshares 
 over it, and built there a monastery three-quarters of a 
 league in length. And in the time of the Blessed Buddha 
 Yessabhn, a merchant named Sotthiya bought that very 
 spot by laying golden elephant feet along it, and built a 
 monastery there half a league in length. And in the 
 
THE JETAVANA WIHARA. 133 
 
 time of the Blessed Buddlia Kakusandha, a merchant 
 named Accuta also bought that very spot by laying 
 golden bricks over it, and built there a monastery a 
 quarter of a league in length. And in the time of the 
 Blessed Buddha Konagamana, a merchant named Ugga 
 bought that very spot by laying golden tortoises over it, 
 and biult there a monastery half a league in length. And 
 in the time of the Blessed Buddha Kassapa, a merchant 
 named Sumaggala bought that very spot by laying golden 
 bricks over it, and built there a monastery sixty acres in 
 extent. And in the time of our Blessed One, Anatha 
 Pindika the merchant bought that very spot by laying 
 kahapanas over it, and built there a monastery thirty 
 acres in extent. For that spot is a place which not one 
 of all the Buddhas has deserted. And so the Blessed 
 One lived in that spot from the attainment of omniscience 
 under the Bo-tree till his death. This is the Proximate 
 Epoch. And now we will tell the stories of all his 
 Births. 
 
 END OF THE ACCOtTNT OF THE CAUSES THAT LEAD TO THE 
 ATTAINMENT OF BUDDHAHOOD. 
 
GLORY BE TO THE BLESSED, THE HOLY, THE 
 ALL- WISE ONE. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 Wo. 1.— Holding to the Tnith.^ 
 
 This discourse on the True (Apannaka), tlie Blessed 
 One delivered while at the Jetavana Wihara, near 
 Savatthi. 
 
 What was the circumstance concerning which this tale 
 arose ? About the five hundred heretics, friends of the 
 Merchant. 
 
 For one day, we are told, Anatha Pindika the merchant 
 took five hundred heretics, friends of his, and had many- 
 garlands and perfumes and ointments and oil and honey 
 and molasses and clothes and vestments brought, and 
 went to Jetavana. And saluting the Blessed One, he 
 ofiered him garlands and other things, and bestowed 
 medicines and clothes on the Order of Mendicants, and sat 
 down in a respectful and becoming manner on one side of 
 the Teacher.^ And those followers of wrong belief also 
 saluted the Blessed One, and sat down close to Anatha 
 Pindika. And they beheld the countenance of the 
 Teacher like the fuU moon in glory; and his person 
 
 • Apannaka Jataka. 
 
 * Literally, sat down on one side, avoiding the six improper ways of doing so. 
 
HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. 135 
 
 endowed with all the greater and lesser marks of honour, 
 and surrounded to a fathom's length with brightness; 
 and also the clustering rays (the peculiar attribute of a 
 Buddha), which issued from him like halos, and in pairs. 
 Then, though mighty in voice like a young lion roaring 
 in his pride in the Red Rock Valley,^ or like a monsoon 
 thunder-cloud, he preached to them in a voice like an 
 archangel's voice, perfect and sweet and pleasant to hear, a 
 discourse varied with many counsels,— as if he were weaving 
 a garland of pearls out of the stars in the Milky Way ! 
 
 When they had heard the Teacher's discourse, they 
 were pleased at heart ; and rising up, they bowed down 
 to the One Mighty by Wisdom, and giving up the wrong 
 belief as their refuge, they took refuge in the Buddha. 
 And from that time they were in the habit of going with 
 Anatha Pindika to the Wihara, taking garlands and 
 perfumes with them, and of hearing the Truth, and of 
 giving gifts, and of keeping the Precepts, and of making 
 confession. 
 
 Now the Blessed One went back again from Savatthi to 
 Rajagaha. And they, as soon as the Successor of the 
 Prophets was gone, gave up that faith ; and again put their 
 trust in heresy, and returned to their former condition. 
 
 And the Blessed One, after seven or eight months, 
 returned to Jetavana. And Anatha Pindika again brought 
 those men with him, and going to the Teacher honoured 
 him with gifts as before, and bowing down to him, seated 
 himself respectfully by his side. Then he told the 
 Blessed One that when the Successor of the Prophets had 
 left, those men had broken the faith they had taken, had 
 returned to their trust in heresy, and had resumed their 
 former condition. 
 
 And the Blessed One, by the power of the sweet words 
 he had contiaually spoken through countless ages, opened 
 
 ' A famous haunt of lions in the Himalaya Mountains. 
 
136 APANNAKA JATAKA. 
 
 liis lotus mouth as if he were opening a jewel-casket 
 scented with heavenly perfume, and full of sweet-smelling 
 odours ; and sending forth his pleasant tones, he asked 
 them, saying, " Is it true, then, that you, my disciples, 
 giving up the Three Refuges,^ have gone for refuge to 
 another faith ? " 
 
 And they could not conceal it, and said, " It is true, 
 Blessed One ! " 
 
 And when they had thus spoken, the Teacher said, 
 " Not in hell beneath, nor in heaven above, nor beyond in 
 the countless world-systems of the universe, is there any 
 one Kke to a Buddha in goodness and wisdom — much less, 
 then, a greater." And he described to them the qualities 
 of the Three Gems as they are laid down in the Scripture 
 passages beginning, " Whatever creatures there may be, 
 etc., the Successor of the Prophets is announced to be 
 the Chief of all." And again, " Whatsoever treasure there 
 be here or in other worlds," etc. And again, " From the 
 chief of all pleasant things," etc. 
 
 And he said, " Whatever disciples, men or women, 
 have taken as their refuge the Three Gems endowed with 
 these glorious qualities, they will never be bom in hell ; 
 but freed from birth in any place of punishment, they 
 will be reborn in heaven, and enter into exceeding bliss. 
 You, therefore, by leaving so safe a refuge, and placing 
 your reliance on other teaching, have done wrong." 
 
 And here the following passages should be quoted to 
 show that those who, for the sake of Perfection and Sal- 
 vation, have taken refuge in the Three Gems, will not be 
 reborn in places of punishment : — 
 
 Those who have put their trust in Buddha, 
 They will not go to a world of pain : 
 Having put off this mortal coil, 
 They will enter some heavenly body ! 
 
 1 Trust in the Buddha, in the Order, and in the Truth, which are the 
 ' Three Gems." 
 
HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. ,37 
 
 Those who have put their trust ia the Truth, 
 They will not go to a world of pain : 
 Having put off this mortal coil, 
 They will enter some heavenly body ! 
 
 Those who have put their faith in the Order, 
 They will not go to a world of pain : 
 Having put off this mortal coil, 
 They will enter some heavenly body ! 
 
 They go to many a refuge — 
 To the mountains and the forest .... 
 (and so on down to) 
 
 Having gone to this as their refuge, 
 They are freed from every pain.^ 
 
 The above was not all the discourse which the Teacher 
 uttered to them. He also said, " Disciples ! the medita- 
 tion on the Buddha, the Truth, and the Order, gives the 
 Entrance and the Fruit of the First Path, and of the 
 Second, and of the Third, and of the Fourth." And 
 having in this way laid down the Truth to them, he 
 added, " You have done wrong to reject so great 
 salvation ! " 
 
 And here the fact of the gift of the Paths to those who 
 meditate on the Buddha, the Order, and the Truth, might 
 be shown from the following and other similar passages : 
 " There is one thing, mendicants, which, if practised 
 with increasing intensity, leads to complete weariness of 
 the vanities of the world, to the end of longings, to the 
 destruction of excitement, to peace of mind, to higher 
 knowledge, to complete enlightenment, to ^Nirvana. What 
 is that one thing ? The meditation on the Buddhas." 
 
 Having thus exhorted the disciples in many ways, the 
 Blessed One said, " Disciples ! formerly, too, men trusting 
 
 ' This last quotation is from Dhammapada, verses 188-192. 
 
138 APANNAKA JATAKA. 
 
 to their own reason foolishly mistook for a refuge that 
 which was no refuge, and becoming the prey of demons 
 in a wilderness haunted by evil spirits, came to a dis- 
 astrous end. Whilst those who adhered to the absolute, 
 the certain, the right belief, found good fortune in that 
 very desert." And when he had thus spoken, he remained 
 silent. 
 
 Then Anatha Pindika, the house-lord, arose from his 
 seat, and did obeisance to the Blessed One, and exalted 
 him, and bowed down before him with clasped hands, and 
 said, " ISfow, at least, Lord ! the foolishness of these 
 disciples ia breaking with the best refuge is made plain 
 to us. But how those self-sufficient reasoners were 
 destroyed in the demon-haunted desert, while those who 
 held to the truth were saved, is hid from us, though it 
 is known to you. May it please the Blessed One to make 
 this matter known to us, as one causing the full moon to 
 rise in the sky ! " 
 
 Then the Blessed One said, " householder ! it was 
 precisely with the object of resolving the doubts of the 
 world that for countless ages I have practised the Ten 
 Cardinal Virtues, "^ and have so attained to perfect know- 
 ledge. Listen, then, and give ear attentively, as if you 
 were fiUiag up a golden measure with the most costly 
 essence ! " Having thus excited the merchant's attention, 
 he made manifest that which had been concealed by 
 change of birth, — setting free, as it were, the full moon 
 from the bosom of a dark snow-cloud. 
 
 Once upon a time in the country of Kasi and the citj' 
 of Benares, there was a king called Brahma-datta. The 
 Bodisat was at that time born in a merchant's family ; 
 
 ' See above, pp. 54-58, for an explanation of this. 
 
HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. 
 
 139 
 
 and in due course he grew up, and went about trafficking 
 with five hundred bullock-carts. Sometimes he travelled 
 from east to west, and sometimes from west to east. At 
 Benares too there was another young merchant, stupid, 
 dull, and unskilful in resource. 
 
 Now the Bodisat collected in Benares merchandise of 
 great value, and loaded it in five hundred buUock-carts, 
 and made them ready for a journey. And that foolish 
 merchant likewise loaded five hundred carts, and got 
 them ready to start. 
 
 Then the Bodisat thought, "If this foolish young 
 merchant should come with me, the road will not suffice 
 for the thousand carts, all travelling together ; the men 
 will find it hard to get wood and water, and the bullocks 
 to get grass. Either he or I ought to go on first." 
 
 And sending for him he told him as much ; saying, 
 " We >two can't go together. Will you go «n in front, 
 or come on after me ? " 
 
 And that other thought, " It will be much better for 
 me to go first. I shall travel on a road that is not cut 
 up, the oxen will eat grass that has not been touched, 
 and for the men there will be curry- stufis, of which the 
 best have not been picked ; the water will be imdisturbed ; 
 and I shall sell my goods at what price I like." So he 
 said, "I, friend, wiU go on first." 
 
 But the Bodisat saw that it would be better to go 
 second : for thus it occurred to him, " Those who go in 
 front will make the rough places plain, whilst I shall 
 go over the ground they have traversed : — the old rank 
 grass wiU have been eaten by the oxen that have gone 
 first, whilst my oxen will eat the freshly grown and 
 tender shoots : — for the men there will be the sweet 
 
140 APAKNAKA JATAKA. 
 
 curry-stufFs that have grow-n where the old was picked : — 
 where there is no water these others will dig and get 
 supplies, whilst we shall drink from the wells that they 
 have dug : — and haggling about prices too is killing 
 work ; whereas by going afterwards, I shall sell my goods 
 at the prices they have established." So seeing all these 
 advantages, he said, " Well, friend, you may go on first." 
 
 The fooKsh merchant said, " Very well, then ! " yoked 
 his waggons and started ; and in due course passed 
 beyond the inhabited country, and came to the border 
 of the wilderness. 
 
 Now there are five kinds of wildernesses, those that 
 have become so by reason of thieves, of wild beasts, of 
 the want of water, of the presence of demons, and of 
 insufficiency of food ; and of these this wilderness was 
 demon-haunted and waterless.^ So the merchant placed 
 great water-pots on his carts, and filled them with water, 
 and then entered the desert, which was sixty leagues 
 across. 
 
 But, when he had reached the middle of the desert, 
 the demon who dwelt there thought, " I wiU make these 
 fellows throw away the water they have brought; and 
 having thus destroyed their power of resistance, I will 
 eat them every one ! " 
 
 So he created a beautiful carriage drawn by milk-white 
 bulls ; and attended by ten or twelve demons with bows 
 and arrows, and swords and shields, in their hands, he 
 went to meet the merchant, seated like a lord in his 
 carriage, — -but adorned with a garland of water-lilies, 
 with his hair and clothes all wet, and his carriage wheels 
 begrimed with mud. His attendants too went before 
 ' A gloss repeats these descriptions at somewhat greater length. 
 
HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. 141 
 
 and after him, witli their hair and clothes all wet, decked 
 with garlands of white lotuses, carrying bunches of red 
 lotuses, eating the edible stalks of water-plants, and with 
 drops of water and mud trickling from them. 
 
 Now the chiefs of trading caravans, whenever a head- 
 wind blows, ride in their carriage in front, surrounded by 
 their attendants, and thus escape the dust ; and when it 
 blows from behind, they, in the same manner, ride behind. 
 At that time there was a headwind, so the merchant went 
 in front. 
 
 As the demon saw him coming, he turned his carriage 
 out of the way, and greeted him kindly, saying, "Where 
 are you going to ? " 
 
 And the merchant hurrying his carriage out of the way, 
 made room for the carts to pass, and waiting beside him, 
 said to the demon, "We have come thus far from Benares. 
 And you I see with lotus wreaths, and water-lilies in 
 your hands, eating lotus stalks, soiled with dirt, and 
 dripping with water and mud. Pray, does it rain on the 
 road you have come by, and are there tanks there covered 
 with water-plants ? " 
 
 JSTo sooner had the demon heard that, than he answered ; 
 " What is this that you say ? Yonder streak is green 
 forest ; from thence onwards the whole country abounds 
 with water, it is always raining, the pools are full, and 
 here and there are ponds covered with lotuses." And as 
 the carts passed by one after another, he asked, " Where 
 are you going with these carts ? " 
 
 " To such and such a country," was the reply. 
 
 "And in this cart, and in this, what have you got?" 
 said he. 
 
 " Such and such things." 
 
142 APANNAKA JATAKA. 
 
 " This cart coming last comes along very heavily, what 
 is there in this one ? " 
 
 "There's water in that." 
 
 " You have done right to bring water as far as this ; 
 but further on there's no need of it. In front of j^ou 
 there's plenty of water. Break the pots and pour away 
 the water, and go on at your ease." Then he added, 
 " Do you go on, we have already delayed too long ! " and 
 himself went on a little, and as soon as he was out of 
 sight, went back to the demons' home. 
 
 And that foolish merchant, in his folly, accepted the 
 demon's word, and had his pots broken, and the water 
 poured away (without saving even a cupful), and sent on 
 the carts. And before them there was not the least water. 
 And the men, having nothing to drink, became weary. 
 And journeying on till sunset, they unyoked the waggons, 
 and ranged them in a circle, and tied the oxen to the 
 wheels. And there was neither water for the oxen, nor 
 could the men cook their rice. And the worn-out men 
 fell down here and there and slept. 
 
 And at the end of the night the demons came up from 
 their demon city, and slew them all, both men and oxen, 
 and ate their flesh, and went away leaving their bones 
 behind. So on account of one foolish young merchant 
 these all came to destruction, and their bones were scat- 
 tered to all the points of the compass ! And the five 
 hundred carts stood there just as they had been loaded ! 
 
 Now for a month and a half after the foolish merchant 
 had started, the Bodisat waited ; and then left the city, 
 and went straight on till he came to the mouth of the 
 desert. There he filled the vessels, and laid up a plentiful 
 store of water, and had the drum beaten in the encamp- 
 
HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. 143 
 
 ment to call the men togetlier, and addressed them thus : 
 " Without asking me, let not even a cupful of water be 
 used ! There are poisonous trees in the wilderness : 
 without asking me, let not a leaf nor a flower nor a fruit 
 you have not eaten before, be eaten ! " And when he had 
 thus exhorted his followers, he entered the desert with his 
 five hundred waggons. 
 
 When he had reached the middle of the desert, that 
 demon, in the same way as before, showed himself to the 
 Bodisat as if he were coming from the opposite direction. 
 The Bodisat knew him as soon as he saw him, thinking 
 thus : " There is no water in this wilderness ; its very 
 name is the arid desert. This fellow is red-eyed and bold, 
 and throws no shadow. The foolish merchant who went 
 on before me will doubtless have been persuaded by this 
 fellow to throw away all his water ; will have been 
 wearied out ; and, with all his people, have fallen a prey. 
 But he doesn't know, methinks, how clever I am, and how 
 fertile in resource." 
 
 Then he said to him, " Begone ! We are travelling 
 merchants, and don't throw away the water we've got till 
 we see some more ; and as soon as we do see it, we under- 
 stand qmte well how to lighten carts by throwing ours 
 away ! " 
 
 The demon went on a little way, and when he got out 
 of sight, returned to his demon city. When the demons 
 were gone, his men said to the Bodisat, " Sir ! those men 
 told us that yonder was the beginning of the green forest, 
 and from there onwards it was always raining. They had 
 all kinds of lotuses with them in garlands and branches, 
 and were chewing the edible lotus-stalks ; their clothes 
 and hair were all wet, and they came dripping with water. 
 
144 APANNAKA JATAKA. 
 
 Let us throw away the water, and go on quickly with 
 light carts ! " 
 
 And when he heard what they said, the Bodisat made 
 the waggons halt, and collecting all his men, put the 
 question to them, " Have you ever heard anybody say 
 that there was any lake or pond in this desert ? " 
 
 " We never heard so." 
 
 " And now some men are saying that it rains on the 
 other side of that stretch of green forest. How far can a 
 rain- wind be felt ? " 
 
 "About a league. Sir." 
 
 " Now does the rain- wind reach the body of any one of 
 you?" 
 
 " JSTo, Sir." 
 
 " And how far off is the top of a rain-cloud visible ? " 
 
 "About a league, Sir." 
 
 "I^ow does any one of you see the top of a single 
 cloud?" 
 
 "No one, Sir." 
 
 " How far off can a flash of lightning be seen ? " 
 
 " Four or five leagues. Sir." 
 
 " Now has the least flash of lightning been seen by any 
 one of you ? " 
 
 "No, Sir." 
 
 " How far off can thunder be heard ? " 
 
 " A league or two. Sir." 
 
 " Now has any of you heard the thunder ? " 
 
 "No, Sir." 
 
 " These fellows are not men, they are demons ! They 
 must have come to make us throw away our water with 
 the hope of destroying us in our weakness. The foolish 
 young merchant who went on before us had no power of 
 
I.— HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. 145 
 
 resource. No doubt he has let himself be persuaded to 
 throw away his supply of water, and has fallen a prey to 
 these fellows. His waggons will be standing there just 
 as they were loaded. We shall find them to-day. Go on 
 as quickly as you can, and don't throw away a single 
 half -pint of water ! " 
 
 With these words he sent them forward ; and going on 
 he found the five hundred carts as they had been loaded, 
 and the bones of men and oxen scattered about. And he 
 had his waggons unyoked, and ranged in a circle so as to 
 form a strong encampment; and he had the men and 
 oxen fed betimes, and the oxen made to lie down in the 
 midst of the men. And he himself took the overseers of 
 the company, and stood on guard with a drawn sword 
 through the three watches of the night, and waited for 
 the dawn. And quite early the nest day he saw that 
 everything that should be done was done, and the oxen 
 fed ; and leaving such carts as were weak he took strong 
 ones, and throwing away goods of little value he loaded 
 goods of greater value. And arriving at the proposed 
 mart, he sold his merchandise for two or three times the 
 cost price, and with all his company returned to his own 
 city. 
 
 And when he had told this story, the Teacher added, 
 " Thus, householder, long ago those who relied on their 
 own reason came to destruction, while those who held to 
 the truth escaped the hands of the demons, went whither 
 they had wished to go, and got back again to their own 
 place." And it was when he had become a Buddha that 
 TOL. 1. 10 
 
146 \.—APANMAKA JATAKA. 
 
 he uttered the following verse belonging to this lesson on 
 Holding to the Truth ; and thus uniting the two stories, 
 he said — 
 
 1. Some speak that which none can question ; 
 Mere logicians speak not so. 
 The wise man knows that this is so, 
 And takes for true what is the truth ! 
 
 Thus the Blessed One taught those disciples the lesson 
 regarding truth. " Life according to the Truth confers 
 the three happy conditions of existence here below, and 
 the sis joys of the Brahmalokas in the heaven of delight, 
 and finally leads to the attainment of Arahatship ; but 
 life according to the Untrue leads to rebirth in the four 
 hells and among the five lowest grades of man." He also 
 proclaimed the Four Truths in sixteen ways. And at the 
 end of the discourse on the Truths all those five hundred 
 disciples were established in the Fruit of Conversion. 
 
 The Teacher having finished the discourse, and told the 
 double narrative, established the connexion,' and summed 
 up the Jataka by concluding, " The foolish young mer- 
 chant of that time was Devadatta, his men were Deva- 
 datta's followers. The wise young merchant's men were 
 the attendants of the Buddha, and the wise young mer- 
 chant was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STOET ON HOLDING TO THE TEUTH. 
 
 ' That is, I think, between the persons in the story on the one hand, and 
 the Buddha and his contemporaries on the other : not, as Childers says (under 
 anusandhi), between the story and the maxim. 
 
No. 2. 
 
 YANNUPATHA JATAKA. 
 
 The Sandy Eoad. 
 
 " The Determined Ones," etc. — This discourse was uttered 
 by the Blessed One while at SavatthL About what? 
 About a mendicant who had no perseverance. 
 
 For whilst the Successor of the Prophets, we are told, 
 was staying at Savatthi, a young man of good family 
 dwelling there went to Jetayana, and heard a discourse 
 from the Teacher. And with converted heart he saw the 
 evil result of lusts, and entered the Order. "When he had 
 passed the five years of noviciate, he learnt two sum- 
 maries of doctrine, and applied himself to the practice of 
 meditation. And receiving from the Teacher a suitable 
 subject as a starting-point for thought, he retired to a 
 forest. There he proceeded to pass the rainy season ; but 
 after three months of constant endeavour, he was unable 
 to obtain even the least hint or presentiment of the at- 
 tainment of insight.' Then it occurred to him, "The 
 
 ^ The Buddhists had no prayer ; their salvation consisting in a self- 
 produced inward change. This could he brought ahout in various ways, one 
 of which was the kind of meditation here referred to {Xammatthana) , leading 
 to a firm conviction of the impermanence of all finite things. As every road 
 leads to Eome, so any finite object may be taken as the starting-point from 
 which thought may be taken, by gradually increasing steps, near to the in- 
 finite ; and so acquire a sense of the propiirtion of things, and realize the 
 insignificance of the individual. The unassisted mind of the ignorant would 
 naturally find difficulty in doing this ; and certain examples of the way in 
 which it might be done were accordingly worked out ; and a disciple would 
 go to his teacher, and ask him to recommend which way he should adopt. 
 But the disciple must work out his own enlighteimient. 
 
148 1.— VANNUPATHA JATAKA. 
 
 Teacher said there were four kinds of men ; I must 
 belong to the lowest class. In this birth there will be, I 
 think, neither Path nor Fruit for me. "What is the good 
 of my dwelling in the forest ? Returning to the Teacher, 
 I will live in the sight of the glorious person of the 
 Buddha, and within hearing of the sweet sound of the 
 Law." And he returned to Jetavana. 
 
 His friends and intimates said to him, " Brother, you 
 received from the Teacher a subject of meditation, and 
 left us to devote yourself to religious solitude ; and 
 now you have come back, and have given yourself up 
 again to the pleasures of social intercourse. Have you 
 then really attained the utmost aim of those who have 
 given up the world ? Have you escaped transmigra- 
 tion?"! 
 
 " Brethren ! I have gained neither the Path nor the 
 Fruit thereof. I have come to the conclusion that I am 
 fated to be a useless creature ; and so have come back 
 and given up the attempt." 
 
 " You have done wrong. Brother ! after taking vows 
 according to the religion of the Teacher whose firmness 
 is so immovable, to have given up the attempt. Come, 
 let us show this matter to the Buddha." And they took 
 him to the Teacher. 
 
 When the Teacher saw them, he said, " I see, 
 mendicants ! that you have brought this brother here 
 against his will. What has he done ? " 
 
 " Lord ! this brother having taken the vows in so 
 sanctifying a faith, has abandoned the endeavour to ac- 
 complish the aim of a member of the Order, and has come 
 back to us." 
 
 Then the Teacher said to him, "Is it true you have 
 given up trying ? " 
 
 ' A successful KammaWiZna, a complete realization of the relation of the 
 individual to the great Sum of all things, will lead to that sense of brother- 
 hood, of humility, of holy calm, which is the " utmost aim," viz. Nirvana, and 
 involves, as its result, escape from transmigration. 
 
2.— THE SANDY ROAD. 
 
 149 
 
 " It is true, Blessed One ! " was the reply. 
 
 " How is it, brother, that j'ou, who have now taken the 
 vows according to such a system, have proved yourself 
 to be — not a man of few desires, contented, separate from 
 the world, persevering in effort — but so irresolute ! Why, 
 formerly you were full of determination. By your energy 
 alone the men and buUocks of five hundred waggons 
 obtained water in the sandy desert, and were saved. 
 How is it that you give up trjdng, now ?" 
 
 Then by those few words that brother was established 
 in resolution ! 
 
 But the others, hearing that story, besought of the 
 Blessed One, saying, " Lord ! We know that this brother 
 has given up trying now ; and yet you tell how formerly 
 bj' his energy alone the men and bullocks of five hundred 
 waggons obtained water in the sandy desert, and were 
 saved. Tell us how this was." 
 
 " Listen, then, mendicants !" said the Blessed One : 
 and having thus excited their attention, he made manifest 
 a thing concealed through change of birth. 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in 
 Benares, in the country of Kasi, the future Buddha was 
 born in a merchant's family ; and when he grew up, he 
 went about trafficking with five hundred carts. 
 
 One day he arrived at a sandy desert twenty leagues 
 across. The sand in that desert was so fine, that when 
 taken in the closed fist, it could not be kept in the hand. 
 After the sun had risen it became as hot as a mass of 
 charcoal, so that no man could walk on it. Those, there- 
 fore, who had to travel over it took wood, and water, and 
 
150 %—VANNUPATHA JATAKA. 
 
 oil, and rice in their carts; and travelled during tlie 
 night. And at daybreak they formed an encampment, 
 and spread an awning over it, and taking their meals 
 early, they passed the day sitting in the shade. At sunset 
 they supped ; and when the ground had become cool, 
 they yoked their oxen and went on. The travelling was 
 like a voyage over the sea : a so-called land-pilot had to 
 be chosen, and he brought the caravan safe to the other 
 side by his knowledge of the stars. 
 
 On this occasion the merchant of our story traversed 
 the desert in that way. And when he had passed over 
 fifty-nine leagues he thought, "ISTow in one more night 
 we shall get out of the sand," and after supper he directed 
 the wood and water to be thrown away, and the waggons 
 to be yoked ; and so set out. The pilot had cushions 
 arranged on the foremost cart, and lay down looking at 
 the stars, and directing them where to drive. But worn 
 out by want of rest during the long march, he fell asleep, 
 and did not perceive that the oxen had turned round and 
 taken the same road by which they had come. 
 
 The oxen went on the whole night through. Towards 
 dawn the pUot woke up, and, observing the stars, called 
 out, "Stop the waggons, stop the waggons ! " The day 
 broke just as they had stopped, and were drawing up the 
 carts in a line. Then the men cried out, " Why, this is 
 the very encampment we left yesterday ! Our wood and 
 water is all gone ! We are lost ! " And unyoking the 
 oxen, and spreading the canopy over their heads, they lay 
 down, in despondency, each one under his waggon.. 
 
 But the Bodisat, saying to himself, " If I lose heart, all 
 these will perish," walked about while the morning was 
 yet cool. And on seeing a tuft of Kusa-grass, he thought^ 
 
2. — THE SANDY ROAD. 151 
 
 " This must tave grown by attracting some water wMch 
 there must be beneath it." 
 
 And he m.ade them bring a hoe and dig in that spot. 
 And they dug sixty cubits deep. And when they had got 
 thus far, the spade of the diggers struck ou a rock : and 
 as soon as it struck, they all gave up in despair. 
 
 But the Bodisat thought, "There mu&t be water imder 
 that rock," and descending into the well, he got upon the 
 stone, and, stooping down, applied his ear to it, and 
 tested the sound of it. And he heard the sound of water 
 gurgling beneath. And he got out, and called his page. 
 " My lad, if you give up now, we shall all be lost. Don't 
 you lose heart. Take this iron hammer, and go down 
 into the pit, and give the rock a good blow." 
 
 The lad obeyed, and though they all stood by in 
 despair, he went down full of determination, and struck 
 at the stone. And the rock split in two, and fell below, 
 and no longer blocked up the stream. And water rose till 
 its brim was the height of a palm-tree in the well. And 
 they all drank of the water, and bathed in it. Then they 
 split up their extra yokes and axles, and cooked rice, and 
 ate it, and fed their oxen with it. And when the sun 
 set, they put up a flag by the well, and went to the place 
 appointed. There they sold their merchandise at double 
 and treble profit, and returned to their own home, and 
 lived to a good old age, and then passed away according 
 to their deeds. And the Bodisat gave gifts, and did other 
 virtuous acts, and passed away according to his deeds. 
 
152 Z.— VANNUPATHA JATAKA. 
 
 When tlie Buddha had told the story, he, as Buddha, 
 uttered the verse — 
 
 2. The men of firm resolve dug on into the sand, 
 Till in the very road they found whereof to drink. 
 And so the wise, strong by continuing effort, 
 Pinds — if he weary not — Rest for his heart ! 
 
 When he had thus discoursed, he declared the Four 
 Truths. And when he had concluded, the desjjairing 
 priest was established in the highest Fruit, in Arahatship 
 (which is Nirvana). 
 
 After the Teacher had told the two stories, he formed 
 the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, by saying, 
 in conclusion, " The page who at that time despaired not, 
 but broke the stone, and gave water to the multitude, was 
 this brother without perseverance : the other men were 
 the attendants on the Buddha; and the caravan leader was 
 I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE SANDY EGAD. 
 
No. 3. 
 
 SEEI-VANIJA JATAKA. 
 
 The Merchant of Seri. 
 
 " If you fail Jiere," etc. — This discourse, too, the Blessed 
 One uttered, while staj^ing at Savatthi, about a monk 
 who was discouraged in his efforts to obtain spiritual 
 enlightenment. 
 
 For we are told that when he too was brought up by 
 the brethren in the same manner as before, the Teacher 
 said, " Brother ! you who have given up trying, after 
 taking the vows according to a system so well fitted to 
 lead you to tlie Paths and Fruit thereof, will sorrow long, 
 like the Seriva trader when he had lost the golden vessel 
 worth a hundred thousand." 
 
 The monks asked the Blessed One to explain to them 
 the matter. The Blessed One made manifest that wMch 
 had been hidden by change of birth. 
 
 Long ago, in the fifth dispensation before the present 
 one, the Bodisat was a dealer in tin and brass ware, 
 named Seriva, in the country of that name. This Seriva, 
 together with another dealer in tin and brass ware, who 
 was an avaricious man, crossed the river Tela-vaha, and 
 entered the town called Andha-pura. And dividing the 
 
154 Z.—SERI-VANIJA JATAKA. 
 
 streets of the city between them, the Bodisat went round 
 selling his goods in the street allotted to him, while the 
 other took the street that fell to him. 
 
 Now in that citj'' there was a wealthy family reduced 
 to abject poverty. All the sons and brothers in the 
 family had died, and all its property had been lost. Only 
 one girl and her grandmother were left ; and those two 
 gained their living by serving others for hire. There 
 was indeed in the house the vessel of gold out of which 
 the head of the house used to eat in the days of its 
 prosperity ; but it was covered with dirt, and had long 
 lain neglected and unused among the pots and pans. And 
 they did not even know that it was of gold. 
 
 At that time the avaricious hawker, as he was going 
 along, calling out, " Buy my water-pots ! Buy my water- 
 pots ! " came to the door of their house. When the girl 
 saw him, she said to her grandmother, " Mother ! do buy 
 me an ornament." 
 
 " But we are poor, dear. What shall we give in ex- 
 change for it ? " 
 
 " This dish of ours is no use to us ; you can give that 
 away and get one." 
 
 The old woman called the hawker, and after asking 
 him to take a seat, gave him the dish, and said, " Will 
 you take this. Sir, and give something to your little sister' 
 for it?" 
 
 The hawker took the dish, and thought, " This must be 
 gold ! " And turning it round, he scratched a line on its 
 back with a needle, and found that it was so. Then 
 hoping to get the dish without giving them anything, he 
 said, " What is this worth ? It is not even worth a half- 
 ' On this mode of politeness see above, p. 70. 
 
Z.~THE MERCHANT OF SESI. 155 
 
 penny." And throwing it on the ground, he got up from 
 his seat, and went away. 
 
 Now, it was allowed to either hawker to enter the street 
 which the other had left. And the Bodisat came into that 
 street, and calling out, " Buy my water-pots," came up to 
 the door of that very house. And the girl spoke to her 
 grandmother as before. But the grandmother said, " My 
 child, the dealer who came just now threw the dish on 
 the floor, and went away ; what have I now got to give 
 him in exchange ? " 
 
 " That merchant, mother dear, was a surly man ; but 
 this one looks pleasant, and has a kind voice : perchance 
 he may take it." 
 
 " Call him, then," said she. 
 
 So she called him. And when he had come in and sat 
 down, they gave him the dish. He saw that it was 
 gold, and said, " Mother ! this dish is worth a hundred 
 thousand. All the goods in my possession are not equal 
 to it in value ! " 
 
 " But, Sir, a hawker who came just now threw it on the 
 ground, and went away, saying it was not worth a half- 
 penny. It must have been changed into gold by the 
 power of your virtue, so we make you a present of it. 
 Give us some trifle for it, and take it." 
 
 The Bodisat gave them all the cash he had in hand 
 (five hundred pieces), and all his stock-in-trade, worth 
 five hundred more. He asked of them only to let him 
 keep eight pennies, and the bag and the yoke that 
 he used to carry his things with. And these he took 
 and departed. 
 
 And going quickly to the river- side, he gave those eight 
 pennies to a boatman, and got into the boat. 
 
156 i.—SERI-VANIJA JATAKA. 
 
 But that covetous hawker came back to the house, and 
 said : " Bring out that dish, I'll give you something for 
 it!" 
 
 Then she scolded him, and said, "You said our gold 
 dish, worth a hundred thousand, was not worth a half- 
 penny. But a just dealer, who seems to be your master,^ 
 gave us a thousand for it, and has taken it away." 
 
 When he heard this he called out, "Through this 
 fellow I have lost a golden pot worth — 0, worth a 
 hundred thousand ! He has ruined me altogether ! " And 
 bitter sorrow overcame him, and he was unable to retain 
 his presence of mind ; and he lost all self-command. And 
 scattering the money he had, and all the goods, at the 
 door of the house, he seized as a club the yoke by which 
 he had carried them, and tore off his clothes, and pursued 
 after the Bodisat. 
 
 When he reached the river-side, he saw the Bodisat 
 going away, and he cried out, " Hallo, Boatman ! stop 
 the boat ! " 
 
 But the Bodisat said, " Don't stop ! " and so prevented 
 that. And as the other gazed and gazed at the departing 
 Bodisat, he was torn with violent grief ; his heart grew 
 hot, and blood flowed from his mouth until his heart 
 broke — like tank-mud in the heat of the sun ! 
 
 Thus harbouring hatred against the Bodisat, he brought 
 about on that very spot his own destruction. This was 
 the first time that Devadatta harboured hatred against the 
 Bodisat. 
 
 But the Bodisat gave gifts, and did other good acts, 
 and passed away according to his deeds. 
 
 ' The reader will not take this too seriously. The old lady's scorn turns 
 as easily here to irony as her gratitude above finds expression in flattery. 
 
Z.-THE MERCHANT OF SERI. 
 
 157 
 
 It was when the Buddha had finished this discourse, 
 that he, as Buddha, uttered the following verse — ■ 
 
 3. If in this present time of Grace, 
 You fail to reach the Happy State ; ^ 
 Long will 5'ou suffer deep Remorse 
 Like this trading man of Seriva. 
 
 So the Teacher, discoursing in such a manner as to 
 lead up to the subject of Arahatship, dwelt on the Four 
 Truths. And at the end of the discourse the monk who 
 had given up in despondency was established in the 
 highest Fruit — that is, in Js^irvana. 
 
 And when the Teacher had told the double story, he 
 made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka by con- 
 cluding, " The then foolish dealer was Devadatta, but the 
 wise dealer was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE MERCHANT OF SERI. 
 
 1 "Wliat the Happy State is "will perhaps best be understood from the 
 ennmeration of its six divisions: 1. Faith. 2. Modesty. 3. Fear of 
 sinning. 4. I/earning. 5. Energy. 6. Presence of Mind. This Happy 
 State can only he reached in a hirth as a man. If being bom as a man, one 
 neglects the salvation then within one's reach, one may pass many ages in 
 other births before a "time of grace" comes round again. It is folly to 
 expect salvation in some other and future world ; it can only be gained here, 
 and now. 
 
No. 4. 
 
 CULLAKA-SETTHI JATAKA. 
 
 The Story of Chullaka the Treasurer. 
 
 " The icise, far-seeing man," etc. — This discourse the 
 Blessed One uttered, while at Jivaka's Mango-grove near 
 Rajagaha, concerning the Elder whose name was Eoadling 
 the Younger. 
 
 Now here it ought to be explained how Roadling the 
 Younger came to be born. The daughter of a wealthy 
 house in Rajagaha, they say, had contracted an intimacy 
 with a slave, and being afraid that people would find out 
 what she had done, she said to him, " We can't stay here. 
 If my parents discover this wrongdoing, they will tear us 
 in pieces. Let us go to some far-off country, and dwell 
 there." So, taking the few things they had, they went 
 out privately together to go and dwell in some place, it 
 did not matter where, where they would not be known. 
 
 And settling in a certain place, they lived together 
 there, and she conceived. And when she was far gone 
 with child, she consulted with her husband, saying, " I 
 am far gone with child ; and it will be hard for both of 
 us if the confinement were to take place where I have no 
 friends and relations. Let us go home again ! " 
 
 But he let the days slip by, saying all the while, " Let 
 us go to-day ; let us go to-morrow." 
 
 ' The introductory story to this Jatata is used in Rogers's Buddhagosha' s 
 Farables, pp. 61-68, as the introduction to a different Birth Story. Verse 25 
 of the Dhrimmapada is said by the Commentator on that book (FausboU, 
 p. 181) to have been spoken of Little Eoadling, and it would tit very aptly 
 to the present story about him. 
 
^.—CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. 159 
 
 Then she thought, "This silly fellow dares not go 
 home because his offence has been so great. But parents 
 are, after all, true friends. Whether he goes or not, it 
 will be better for me to go." 
 
 So, as soon as he had gone out, she set her house in 
 order, and tellins her nearest neighbours that she was 
 going to her own home, she started on her way. The 
 man returned to the house ; and when he could not find 
 her, and learned on inquiry from the neighbours that she 
 had gone home, he followed her quickly, and came up to 
 her halfway on the road. There the pains of labour had 
 just seized her. And he accosted her, saying, " Wife, 
 what is this ? " 
 
 " Husband, I have given birth to a son," replied she. 
 
 " What shall we do now ? " said he. 
 
 " The very thing we were going home for has happened 
 on the road. "Wliat's the use of going there ? Let us 
 stop ! " 
 
 So saying, they both agreed to stop. And as the child 
 was born on the road, they called him Roadling. ISTow 
 not long after she conceived again, and all took place as 
 before ; and as that child too was born on the road, they 
 called the firstborn Great Hoadling, and the second Little 
 Roadling. And taking the two babies with them, they 
 went back to the place where they were living. 
 
 And whilst they were living there this child of the 
 road heard other children talking about uncles, and 
 grandfathers, and grandmothers ; and he asked his 
 mother, saying, " Mother, the other boys talk of their 
 uncles, and grandfathers, and grandmothers. Have we 
 no relations ? " 
 
 " Certainly, my dear ! You have no relations here, 
 but you have a grandfather, a rich gentleman, at Raja- 
 gaha ; and there you have plenty of relations." 
 " Then why don't we go there, mother ? " said he. 
 Then she told him the reason of their not going. But 
 
1 60 '^.—CULLAKA-SETTHI J A TAKA. 
 
 when the children spoke to her again and again about 
 it, she said to her husband, " These children are con- 
 tinuallj' troubling me. Can our parents kill us and eat 
 us when they see us ? Come, let us make the boys ac- 
 quainted with their relatives on the grandfather's side." 
 
 " Well, I mji'self daren't meet them face to face, but I 
 will take you there." 
 
 " Very well, then ; any way you like : the children 
 ought to be made acquainted with their grandfather's 
 family." 
 
 So they two took the children, and in due course 
 arrived at Eajagaha, and put up at a chowltrie (a public 
 resting-place) at the gate of the town. And the mother, 
 taking the two boys, let her parents know of her arrival. 
 When they heard the message, they sent her back word 
 to the following effect : "To be without sons and daughters 
 is an unheard-of thing among ordinary people ; ' but these 
 two have sinned so deeply against us, that they cannot 
 stand in our sight. Let them take such and such a sum, 
 and go and dwell wherever they two may like. But the 
 children they may send here." And their daughter took 
 the money her parents sent, and handing over her 
 children to the messengers, let them go. 
 
 And the children grew up in their grandfather's house. 
 Little Roadling was much the younger of the two, but 
 Great Roadling used to go with his grandfather to hear 
 the Buddha preach ; and by constantly hearing the Truth 
 from the mouth of the Teacher himself, his mind turned 
 towards renunciation of the world. And he said to his 
 grandfather, " If you would allow it, I should enter the 
 Order." 
 
 " What are you saying, my child ? " answered the old 
 man. " Of aU persons in the world I would rather have 
 you enter the Order. Become a monk by all means, if 
 
 ' Literally, " tbose subject to transmigration," that is, those ■who are 
 not Arahats, whose natural desires have not given way before intense reli- 
 gious conviction. 
 
^.—CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. i6i 
 
 you feel yourself able to do so." So, granting his request, 
 he took him to the Teacher. 
 
 The Teacher said, " "What, Sir, have you then a son? " 
 
 " Yes, my Lord, this lad is my grandson, and he wants 
 to take the vows under you." 
 
 The Teacher called a monk, and told him to ordain the 
 lad : and the monk, repeating to him the formula of 
 meditation on the perishable nature of the human body,^ 
 received him as a novice into the Order. After he had 
 learnt by heart much scripture, and had reached the full 
 age required, he was received into full membership ; and 
 applying himself to earnest thought, he attained the state 
 of an Arahat. And whilst he was thus himself enjoying 
 the delight which arises from wise and holy thoughts, and 
 
 wise and holy life, he considered whether he could not 
 procure the same bliss for Little Roadling. 
 
 So he went to his grandfather, and said : " If, noble 
 Sir, you will grant me your consent, I will receive Little 
 Roadling into the Order ! " 
 
 " Ordain him, reverend Sir," was the reply. The Elder 
 accordingly initiated Little Roadling, and taught him to 
 live in accordance with the Ten Commandments. But 
 though he had reached the noviciate. Little Roadling was 
 dull, and in four months he could not get by heart even 
 this one verse — 
 
 As a sweet- smelling Kokanada lily 
 Blooming all fragrant in the early dawn. 
 Behold the Sage, bright with exceeding glory 
 E'en as the burning sun in the vault of heaven ! 
 
 For long ago, we are told, in the time of Kassapa the 
 Buddha, he had been a monk, who, having acquired 
 learning himself, had laughed to scorn a dull brother as 
 
 ^ Taca-pancaTca-hammatthanm^, a fommla always repeated at the ordina- 
 tion of a novice. The words of it will be found in Dictson's Upmampada- 
 Kammavaca, p. 7. Compare also the note above, p. 147. 
 
 VOL. I. 11 
 
1 62 i..—CULLAKA-SETTHl JATAKA. 
 
 lie was learning a recitation. That brother was so over- 
 whelmed with confusion by his contempt, that he could 
 neither commit to memory, nor recite the passage. In 
 consequence of this conduct he now, though initiated, 
 became dull ; he forgot each line he learnt as soon as he 
 learnt the next ; and whilst he was trying to learn this 
 one verse four months had passed away. 
 
 Then his elder brother said to him: "E.oadling, you 
 are not fit for this discipline. In four months you have 
 not been able to learn a single stanza, how can you hope 
 to reach the utmost aim of those who have given up the 
 world ? Go away, out of the monastery ! " And he 
 expelled him. But Little RoadKng, out of love for the 
 religion of the Buddhas, did not care for a layman's life. 
 
 Now at that time it was the elder Roadling's duty to 
 regulate the distribution of food to the monks. And the 
 nobleman Jivaka brought many sweet-scented flowers, 
 and going to his Mango-grove presented them to the 
 Teacher, and listened to the discourse. Then, risin? 
 from his seat, he saluted the Buddha, and going up to 
 Great Roadling, asked him, "How many brethren are 
 there with the Teacher ? " 
 
 " About five hundred," was the reply. 
 
 " Will the Buddha and the five hundred brethren come 
 and take their morning meal to-morrow at our house ? " 
 
 " One called Little Roadling, disciple, is dull, and 
 makes no progress in the faith ; but I accept the invita- 
 tion for all excepting him." 
 
 Little Roadling overheard this, and thought, " Though 
 accepting for so many monks, the Elder accepts in such 
 a manner as to leave me out. Surely my brother's love 
 for me has been broken. "WTiat's the good of this dis- 
 pline to me now? I must become a layman, and give 
 alms, and do such good deeds as laymen can." And early 
 the next day he went away, saying he would re-enter 
 the world. 
 
i-.—CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. 163 
 
 Now the Teacher, very early in the morning, when he 
 surveyed the world, became aware of this matter.' And 
 going out before him, he remained walking up and down 
 by the gateway on the road along which Little Roadling 
 would have to pass. And Little Roadling, as he left the 
 house, saw the Teacher, and going up to him, paid him 
 reverence. Then the Teacher said to him, "How now, 
 Little Roadling ! whither are you going at this time in 
 the mornina: ? " 
 
 " Lord ! my brother has expelled me, so I am going 
 away to wander again in the ways of the world ! " 
 
 " Little Roadling ! It was under me that your pro- 
 fession of religion took place. When your brother ex- 
 pelled you, why did you not come to me .^ What will a 
 layman's life advantage you ? You may stay with me ! " 
 
 And he took Little Roadling, and seated him in front 
 of his own apartment, and gave him a piece of very white 
 cloth, created for the purpose, and said, "Now, Little 
 Roadling, stay here, sitting with your face to the East, 
 and rub this cloth up and down, repeating to yourself 
 the words, " The removal of impurity ! The removal of 
 impurity ! " And so saying he went, when tim.e was 
 called, to Jivaka's house, and sat down on the seat pre- 
 pared for him.^ 
 
 But Little Roadling did as he was desired : and as he 
 did so, the cloth became soiled, and he thought, " This 
 piece of cloth was just now exceeding white ; and now, 
 through me, it has lost its former condition, and is become 
 soiled. Changeable indeed are all component things ! " 
 And he felt the reality of decay and death, and the eyes 
 of his mind were opened ! 
 
 ' The Buddha is frequently represented in the later hooks as hringing the 
 world before his mind's eye in the morning, and thus perceiving whom he 
 could benefit during the day. 
 
 2 When the, daily meal was to be served in the house of some layman, all 
 the monks invited went there as soon as the time was announced by the " call 
 of refection " being set up, and sat themselves down in the order of their 
 seniority. 
 
164 'k.—CULLAKA-SETTHI JATAKA. 
 
 Then the Teacher, knowing that the eyes of his mind 
 were opened, sent forth a glorious vision of himself, which 
 appeared as if sitting before him in visible form, and 
 saying, " Little Eoadling ! be not troubled at the thought 
 that this cloth has become so soiled and stained. Within 
 thee, too, are the stains of lust and care and sin ; but 
 these thou must remove ! " And the vision uttered these 
 stanzas : 
 
 It is not dust, but lust, that really is the stain : 
 This — ' stain ' — is the right word for lust. 
 'Tis the monks who have put away this stain. 
 Who live up to the Word of the Stainless One ! 
 
 It is not dust, but anger, that really is the stain : 
 This — ' stain ' — is the right word for anger. 
 'Tis the monks who have put away this stain. 
 Who live up to the Word of the Stainless One ! 
 
 It is not dust, but delusion, that really is the stain: 
 This — ' stain ' — is the right word for delusion. 
 'Tis the monks who have put away this stain, 
 Who live up to the Word of the Stainless One ! 
 
 And as the stanzas were finished, Little Hoadling attained 
 to Arahatship, and with it to the intellectual gifts of an 
 Arahat ; and by them he understood all the Scriptures. 
 
 Long ago, we are told, he had been a king, who, as he 
 was once going round the city, and the sweat trickled 
 down from his forehead, wiped the top of his forehead 
 with his pure white robe. When the robe became dirty, 
 he thought, " By this body the pure white robe has lost 
 its former condition, and has become soiled. Changeable 
 indeed are all component things ! " And so he realized 
 the doctrine of impermanency. It was on this account 
 that the incident of the transfer of impurity brought 
 about his conversion. 
 
i.—CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. 165 
 
 But to return to our story. Jivaka, the nobleman, 
 brought to the Buddha the so-called water of presentation. 
 The Teacher covered the vessel with his hand, and said, 
 " Are there no monks in the monastery, Jivaka ? " 
 
 " jVay, my Lord, there are no monks there," said 
 Great Roadling. 
 
 " But there are, Jivaka," said the Master. 
 
 Jivaka then sent a man, saying, " Do you go, then, and 
 find out whether there are any monks or not at the 
 monastery." 
 
 At that moment Little Roadling thought, " My brother 
 says there are no monks here ; I will show him there 
 are." And he filled the Mango- grove with priests — a 
 thousand monks, each unlike the other — some making 
 robes, some repairing them, and some repeating the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 The man, seeing all these monks at the monastery, 
 went back, and told Jivaka, " Sir, the whole Mango-grove 
 is alive with monks." 
 
 It was with reference to this that it is said of him, 
 that 
 
 " Roadling, multiplying himself a thousand fold. 
 Sate in the pleasant Mango-grove till he was bidden 
 to the feast." 
 
 Then the Teacher told the messenger to go again, and 
 say, " The Teacher sends for him who is called Little 
 Roadling." 
 
 So he went and said so. But from a thousand monks 
 the answer came, " I am Little Roadling ! I am Little 
 Roadling ! " 
 
 The man returned, and said, " Why, Sir, they all say 
 they are called Little Roadling ! " 
 
 " Then go and take by the hand the first who says ' I 
 am Little Roadling,' and the rest will disappear." 
 
1 66 ik—CULLAKA-SETTHI JATAKA. 
 
 And lie did so. And the others disappeared, and the 
 Elder returned with the messenger.* 
 
 And the Teacher, when the meal was over, addressed 
 Jivaka, and said, " Jivaka, take Little Roadling's bowl ; 
 he will pronounce the benediction." And he did so. And 
 the Elder, as fearlessly as a young lion utters his chal- 
 lenge, compressed into a short benedictive discourse the 
 spirit of all the Scriptures. 
 
 Then the Teacher rose from his seat and returned 
 to the Wihara (monastery), accompanied by the body 
 of mendicants. And when the monks had completed 
 their daily duties, the Blessed One arose, and standing 
 at the door of his apartment, discoursed to them, pro- 
 pounding a subject of meditation. He then dismissed 
 the assembly, entered his fragrant chamber, and lay down 
 to rest. 
 
 In the evening the monks collected from different 
 places in the hall of instruction, and began uttering the 
 Teacher's praises, — thus surrounding themselves as it were 
 with a curtain of sweet kamala flowers ! " Brethren, his 
 elder brother knew not the capacity of Little Roadling, and 
 expelled him as a dullard because in four months he could 
 not learn that one stanza; but the Buddha, by his un- 
 rivalled mastery over the Truth, gave him Arahatship, 
 with the intellectual powers thereof, in the space of a 
 single meal, and by those powers he understood all the 
 Scriptures ! Ah ! how great is the power of the 
 Buddhas ! " 
 
 And the Blessed One, knowing that this conversation 
 had arisen in the hall, determined to go there ; and rising 
 from his couch, he put on his orange-coloured under 
 garment, girded himself with his belt as it were with 
 lightning, gathered roimd him his wide flowing robe red 
 as kamala flowers, issued from his fragrant chamber, and 
 
 ' Little Eoadling has hott become an Elder, a monk of the higher of the 
 two grades. 
 
i-.—CHULLAKA THE. TREASURER. 167 
 
 proceeded to the hall with that surpassing grace of motion 
 peculiar to the Buddhas, like the majestic tread of a 
 mighty elephant in the time of his pride. And ascending 
 the magnificent throne made readj^ for the Buddha in 
 the midst of the splendid hall, he seated himself in the 
 midst of the throne emitting those six-coloured rays 
 peculiar to the Buddhas, like the young sun when it 
 rises over the mountains on the horizon, and illumines 
 the ocean depths ! 
 
 As soon as the Buddha came in, the assembly of the 
 mendicants stopped their talking and were silent. The 
 Teacher looked mildly and kindly round him, and thought, 
 " This assembly is most seemly ; not a hand nor foot stirs, 
 no sound of coughing or sneezing can be heard ! If I 
 were to sit here my life long without speaking, not one 
 of all these men — awed by the majesty and blinded by 
 the glory of a Buddha — would venture to speak first. It 
 behoves me to begin the conversation, and I myself will 
 be the first to speak ! " And with sweet angelic voice he 
 addressed the brethren : " What is the subject for which 
 you have seated yourselves together here, and what is the 
 talk among you that has been interrupted ? " 
 
 " Lord ! we are not sitting in this place to talk of any 
 worldly thing : it is thy praises we are telling ! " And 
 they told him the subject of their talk. When he heard 
 it the Teacher said, " Mendicants ! Little Roadling has 
 now through me become great in religion ; now forruerly 
 through me he became great in riches." 
 
 The monks asked the Buddha to explain how this was. 
 Then the Blessed One made manifest that which had 
 been hidden by change of birth. 
 
1 68 /k—CULLAKA-SETTm JATAKA. 
 
 Long ago/ ■when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, 
 in the land of Kasi, the Bodisat was bom in a treasurer's 
 famil}' ; and when he grew up he received the post of 
 treasurer, and was called Chullaka.^ And he was wise 
 and skilful, and understood all omens. One day as he 
 was going to attend upon the king he saw a dead mouse 
 lying on the road ; and considering the state of the 
 stars at the time, he said, "A young fellow with eyes 
 in his head might, by picking this thing up, start a trade 
 and support a wife." 
 
 Now a certain young man of good birth, then fallen 
 into poverty, heard what the official said, and thinking, 
 "This is a man who wouldn't say such a thing without 
 good reason," took the mouse, and gave it away in a certain 
 shop for the use of the eat, and got a farthing for it. 
 
 With the farthing he bought molasses, and took water 
 in a pot. And seeing garland-makers returning from the 
 forest, he gave them bits of molasses, with water by the 
 ladle-full.^ They gave him each a bunch of flowers ; and 
 the next day, with the price of the flowers, he bought 
 m.ore molasses ; and taking a potf ul of water, went to the 
 flower garden. That day the garland-makers gave him, 
 as they went away, flowering shrubs from which half the 
 blossoms had been picked. In this way in a little time 
 he gained eight pennies. 
 
 Some time after, on a rainy windy day, a quantity of 
 dry sticks and branches and leaves were blown down by 
 the wind in the king's garden, and the gardener saw no 
 way of getting rid of them. The young man went and 
 
 1 "With this story compare Katha Sarit Sagara, Book VI. vv. 29 and foil. 
 ''■ Pronounce ChooUacker irith the accent on the first syllahle. 
 ' ' Ulurika,' half a cocoa-nut shell, the common form of cup or ladle among 
 the Indian poor. 
 
ik—CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. 169 
 
 said to tlie gardener, " If you will give me these sticks 
 and leaves, I will get them out of the way." The gar- 
 dener agreed to this, and told him to take them. 
 
 Chullaka's pupiP went to the children's playground, 
 and by giving them molasses had all the leaves and 
 sticks collected in a twinkling, and placed in a heap at 
 the garden gate. Just then the king's potter was looking 
 out for firewood to burn pots for the royal household, 
 and seeing this heap he bought it from him. That day 
 Chullaka's pupil got by selling his firewood sixteen pennies 
 and five vessels — water-pots, and such-Uke. 
 
 Having thus obtained possession of twenty-four pennies, 
 he thought, " This will be a good scheme for me," and 
 went to a place not far from the city gate, and placing 
 there a pot of water, supplied five hundred grass-cutters 
 with drink. 
 
 " Friend ! you have been of great service to us," said 
 they. " What shall we do for you ? " 
 
 " You shall do me a good turn when need arises," said 
 he. And then, going about this way and that, he struck 
 up a friendship with a trader by land and a trader by 
 sea. 
 
 And the trader by land told him, " To-morrow a horse- 
 dealer is coming to the town with five hundred horses." 
 
 On hearing this, he said to the grass-cutters, " Give 
 me to-day, each of you, a bundle of grass, and don't sell 
 your own grass till I have disposed of mine." 
 
 "All right!" cried they in assent, and brought five 
 hundred bundles, and placed them in his house. The 
 horse-dealer, not being able to get grass for his horses 
 
 1 So called ironically, from the apt way in which he had learnt the lesson 
 taught him by Chullaka. 
 
1 70 iL—CULLAKA-SETTHI JATAKA. 
 
 through all the citj', bought the young man's grass for a 
 thousand pence. 
 
 A few days afterwards his friend the trader hy sea 
 told him that a large vessel had come to the port. He 
 thinking, "This will be a good plan," got for eight 
 pennies a carriage that was for hire, with all its proper 
 attendants ; and driving to the port with a great show 
 of respectabihty, gave his seal-ring as a deposit for the 
 ship's cargo. Then he had a tent pitched not far o£F, 
 and taking his seat gave orders to his men that when 
 merchants came from outside he should be informed of 
 it with triple ceremony. '^ 
 
 On hearing that a ship had arrived, about a hundred 
 merchants came from Benares to buy the goods. 
 
 They were told, " You can't have the goods : a great 
 merchant of such and such a place has already paid 
 deposit for them." 
 
 On hearing this, they went to him ; and his footmen 
 announced their arrival, as had been agreed upon — 
 three deep. Each of the merchants then gave him a 
 thousand to become shareholders in the ship, and then 
 another thousand for him to relinquish his remaining 
 share : and thus they made themselves owners of the 
 cargo. 
 
 So Chullaka's pupil returned to Benares, taking with 
 him two htindred thousand.^ And from a feeling of 
 
 ' Literally, " Tfith a threefold knock," which I take to mean that the 
 outside attendant announced them to another attendant, he to a third, and 
 the third attendant to their master. The latter thus appeared to he a man of 
 great consequence, as access to him was so difficult, and attended with bo 
 much ceremony. 
 
 ' That is, twice a thousand pieces from each of the hundred merchants. 
 But of course he should have paid out of this sum the price of the cargo. It 
 can scarcely be intended to suggest that his acuteness led him to go off with- 
 out paying'for the cargo. The omission must be a slip of the story-teller's. 
 
'L—CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. 171 
 
 gratitude, he took a hundred thousand and went to 
 ChuUaka the treasurer. Then the treasurer asked him, 
 " What have you been doing, my good man, to get all 
 this wealth ? " 
 
 " It was by adhering to what you said that I have 
 acquired it within four months," said he : and told him 
 the whole story, beginning with the dead mouse. 
 
 And when Chullaka the high treasurer heard his tale, 
 he thought, " It will never do to let such a lad as this 
 get into any one else's hands." So he gave him his 
 grown-up daughter in marriage, and made him heir to 
 all the family estates. And when the treasurer died, he 
 received the post of city treasurer. But the Bodisat 
 passed away according to his deeds. 
 
 It was when the Buddha had finished his discourse that 
 he, as Buddha, uttered the following verse : 
 
 As one might nurse a tiny flame. 
 The able and far-seeing man, 
 E'en with the smallest capital. 
 Can raise himself to wealth ! 
 
 It was thus the Blessed One made plain what he had 
 said, " Mendicants ! Little Roadling has now through me 
 become great in religion; but formerly through me he 
 became great in riches." 
 
 When he had thus given this lesson, and told the 
 double story, he made the connexion, and summed up 
 the Jataka by concluding, " He who was then ChuUaka's 
 pupil was Little Roadling, but Chullaka the high trea- 
 surer was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF CHULLAKA THE TREASURER. 
 
No. 5. 
 
 TANDULA-NALI JATAKA. 
 
 The Measure of Eice.' 
 
 " Wliat is the value of a measure of rice" etc. — This the 
 Teacher told while sojourning at Jetavana, about a monk 
 called Udayin the Simpleton. 
 
 At that time the Elder named Dabba, a Mallian by birth, 
 held the ojBElce of steward in the Order.^ When he issued 
 the food-tickets in the morning, Udayin sometimes received 
 a better kind of rice, and sometimes an inferior kind. One 
 day when he received the inferior kind, he threw the 
 distribution-hall into confusion, crying out, " Why should 
 Dabba know better than any other of us how to give out 
 the tickets ? " 
 
 When he thus threw the office into disorder, they gave 
 him the basket of tickets, saying, " Well, then, do you 
 give out the tickets to-day ! " 
 
 From that day he began to distribute tickets to the 
 Order ; but when giving them out he did not know which 
 meant the better rice and which the worse, nor in which 
 
 ' Compare L^on Feer in the Journal Asiatique, 1876, vol. Tiii. pt. ii. 
 pp. 510-52.5. 
 
 2 The Bhatt' tJddesika, or steward, was a senior monk who had the duty 
 of seeing that all the brethren were provided with their daily food. Some- 
 times a layman offered to provide it {e.g. above, p. 162) ; sometimes grain, or 
 other food belonging to the monastery, was distributed to the monks by the 
 steward giving them tickets to exchange at the storehouse. The necessary 
 qualifications for the stewardship are said to be : 1 . Knowledge of the 
 customs regulating the distribution. 2. A sense of justice. 3. Freedom 
 from ignorance. 4. Absence of fear. 5. Good temper. 
 
6. — THE MEASURE OF RICE. 
 
 173 
 
 storehouse the better was kept and in which the worse. 
 When fixing the turns, too, he did not distinguish to 
 what storehouse each monk's turn had come ; but when 
 the monks had taken their places, he would make a 
 scratch on the wall or on the floor, to show that the turn 
 for such and such a kind of rice had come thus far, and 
 for such and such a kind of rice thus far. But the next 
 day there were either more or fewer monks in hall. When 
 they were fewer, the mark was too low down ; when they 
 were more, the mark was too high up ; but ignoring the 
 right turns, he gave out the tickets according to the signs 
 he had made. 
 
 So the monks said to him, " Brother Udayin ! the mark 
 is too high, or too low." And again, " The good rice is 
 in such a storehouse, the inferior rice in such a store- 
 house." ^ 
 
 But he repelled them, saying, " If it be so, why is the 
 mark different ? Why should I trust you ? I will trust 
 the mark rather ! " 
 
 Then the boys and novices cast him out from the hall of 
 distribution, exclaiming, " When you give tickets. Brother 
 Udayin, the brethren are deprived of their due. You 
 are incapable of the office. Leave the place ! " 
 
 Thereupon a great tumult arose in the haU of distribu- 
 tion. The Teacher heard it, and asked of Ananda the 
 Elder, "There is a great tumult, Ananda, in the hall. 
 What is the noise about ? " 
 
 The Elder told the Successor of the Prophets how it 
 was. 
 
 Then he said, " Not now only, Ananda, does Udiiyin by 
 his stupidity bring loss upon others, formerly also he did 
 the same." 
 
 ' I am not sure that I haTe understood rightly the meaning of vassagga, — a 
 word of doubtful derivation, which has only been found in this passage. 
 Possibly we should translate : " The turn for the better rice has come to the 
 monk whose seniority dates from such and such a year, and the turn for the 
 inferior kind to the monk whose seniority dates from such and such a year." 
 
174 i.—TANDULA-NALI JATAKA. 
 
 The Elder asked the Blessed One to explain that 
 matter. Then the Blessed One made manifest an occur- 
 rence hidden by change of birth. 
 
 Long ago, Brahma-datta was king in Benares, in the 
 land of Kasi. At that time our Bodisat was his Valuer. 
 He valued both horses, elephants, or things of that kind ; 
 and jewelry, gold, or things of that kind; and having 
 done so, he used to have the proper price for the goods 
 given to the owners thereof. 
 
 Now the king was covetous. And in his avarice he 
 thought, " If this valuer estimates in this way, it wiU 
 not be long before all the wealth in my house will come 
 to an end. I will appoint another valuer." 
 
 And opening his window, and looking out into the 
 palace yard, he saw a stupid miserly peasant crossing the 
 yard. Him he determined to make his valuer ; and 
 sending for him, asked if he wovild undertake the office. 
 The man said he could ; and the king, with the object of 
 keeping his treasure safer, established that fool in the 
 post of valuer. 
 
 Thenceforward the dullard used to value the horses 
 and elephants, paying no regard to their real value, but 
 deciding just as he chose: and since he had been ap- 
 pointed to the office, as he decided, so the price was. 
 
 Now at that time a horse-dealer brought five hundred 
 horses from the northern prairies. The king sent for that 
 fellow, and had the horses valued. And he valued the five 
 hundred horses at a mere measure of rice, and straightway 
 
6.— THE MEASURE OF RICE. 175 
 
 ordered the horse-dealer to be given the measure of rice, 
 and the horses to be lodg-ed in the stable. Then the 
 horse-dealer went to the former Taluer, and told him 
 what had happened, and asked him what he should do. 
 
 " Give a bribe to that fellow," said he, " and ask him 
 thus : ' We know now that so many horses of ours are 
 worth a measure of rice, but we want to know from you 
 what a measure of rice is worth. Can you value it for 
 lis, standing in your place by the king ? ' If he says he 
 can, go with him into the royal presence, and I will be 
 there too." 
 
 The horse-dealer accepted the Bodisat's advice, went 
 to the valuer, and bribed him, and gave him. the hint 
 suggested. And he took the bribe, and said, " AU right ! 
 I can value your measure of rice for you." 
 
 "Well, then, let us go to the audience-hall," said he; 
 and taking him with him, went into the king's presence. 
 And the Bodisat and many other ministers went there 
 also. 
 
 The horse-dealer bowed down before the king, and said, 
 " I acknowledge, king, that a measure of rice is the 
 value of the five hundred horses ; but will the king be 
 pleased to ask the valuer what the value of the measure of 
 rice may be ? " 
 
 The king, not knowing what had happened, asked, 
 " How now, valuer, what are five hundred horses worth ?" 
 
 " A measure of rice, king ! " said he. 
 
 " Very good, then ! If five hundred horses are worth 
 only a measure of rice, what is that measure of rice 
 worth?" 
 
 " The measure of rice is worth all Benares, both within 
 and without the walls," replied that foolish fellow. 
 
jy6 h.—TANDULA-NALI JATAKA. 
 
 For tlie story goes tliat he first valued the horses at a 
 measure of rice just to please the king ; and then, when 
 he had taken the dealer's bribe, valued that measure of 
 rice at the whole of Benares. jNTow at that time the 
 circumference of the rampart of Benares was twelve 
 leagues, and the land in its suburbs was three hundred 
 leagues in extent. Yet the foolish fellow estimated that 
 so-great city of Benares, together with all its suburbs, at 
 a measure of rice ! 
 
 Hearing this the ministers clapped their hands, laugh- 
 ing, and saying, " TVe used to think the broad earth, and 
 the king's realm, were alike bej'ond price ; but this great 
 and famous royal city is worth, by his account, just a 
 measure of rice ! the depth of the wisdom of the 
 valuer ! How can he have stayed so long in office ? 
 Truly he is just suited to our king ! " Thus they laughed 
 him to scorn. 
 
 Then the Bodisat uttered this stanza : 
 
 What is a measure of rice worth ? 
 
 All Benares and its environs ! 
 
 And what are five himdred horses worth ? 
 
 That same measure of rice ! ^ 
 
 Then the king was ashamed, and drove out that fool, 
 and appointed the Bodisat to the office of Valuer. And 
 in cotirse of time the Bodisat passed away accordiag to 
 his deeds. 
 
 1 These lines are not in tte printed text. But see the Corrigenda ; and 
 Ij^on Feer;*iu the Journal Asiatique for 1876, p. 620. 
 
5.— THE MEASURE OF RICE. 177 
 
 When the Teacher had finished preaching this discourse, 
 and had told the double storj', he made the connexion, 
 and summed up the Jataka by concluding, " He who was 
 then the foolish peasant valuer was Udaj'in the Simpleton, 
 but the wise valuer was I mj'self." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE MEASURE OF RICE. 
 
 12 
 
No. 6. 
 
 DEVA-DHAMMA JATAKA. 
 
 On True Divinity.' 
 
 " TJtose who fear to sin," etc. — This tte Blessed One 
 told while at Jetavana, concerning a monk of much 
 property. 
 
 For a landed proprietor who dwelt at Savatthi became 
 a monk, we are told, after the death of his wife. And 
 when he was going to be ordained, he had a hermitage 
 and a kitchen and a storehouse erected for his own use, 
 and the store filled with ghee and rice, and so was re- 
 ceived into the Order. And even after he was ordained 
 he used to call his slaves and have what he liked cooked, 
 and ate it. And he was well furnished with all things 
 allowed to the fraternity ; he had one upper garment to 
 wear at night and one to wear by day, and his rooms 
 were detached from the rest of the monastery. 
 
 One day, when he had taken out his robes and coverlets, 
 and spread them in the cell to dry, a number of brethren 
 from the country, who were seeking for a lodging, came to 
 his cell, and seeing the robes and other things, asked 
 him, " Whose are these ? " 
 
 " Mine, brother," said he. 
 
 " But, brother, this robe, and this robe, and this under 
 
 ' It was on the occasion related in the Introductory Story of this Jataka, 
 and after he had told the Birth Story, that the Buddha, according to the 
 commentator on that work (FausboU, pp. 302-305), uttered the 141st Terse 
 of the Dhamma-padag. The Introductory Story to No. 32, translated below 
 in this volume, is really only another version of this tale of the luxurious 
 monk. 
 
6.-0M TRUE DIVINITY. 
 
 179 
 
 garment, and this under garment, and this coverlet — are 
 they all yours ? " 
 
 " Yes ; mine indeed," said he. 
 
 " Brother, the Buddha has allowed only three sets of 
 robes ; yet, though you have entered the Order of the 
 self-denying Buddha, you have furnished yourself thus 
 grandly." And saying, "Come, let us bring him before 
 the Sage," they took him, and went to the Teacher. 
 
 When the Teacher saw them, he said, "How is it, men- 
 dicants, that you bring this brother here against his will?" 
 " Lord ! this mendicant has much property and a large 
 wardrobe." 
 
 " Is this true then, brother, that you have so many 
 things ? " 
 
 " It is true, Blessed One ! " 
 
 " How is it, brother, that you have become thus luxu- 
 rious ? Have not I inculcated being content with little, 
 simplicity, seclusion, and self-control?" 
 
 On hearing what the Teacher said, he called out 
 angrily, " Then I will go about in this way ! " and 
 throwing off his robe, he stood in the midst of the people 
 there with only a cloth round his loins ! 
 
 Then the Teacher, giving him support in temptation, 
 said, "But, brother, you had formerly a sense of shame, 
 and lived for twelve years a conscientious life when you 
 were a watersprite. How then, now, having entered the 
 so honourable Order of the Buddhas, can you stand there 
 throwing off your robes in the presence of all the brethren, 
 and lost to all sense of shame ? " 
 
 And when he heard the Teacher's saying, he recovered 
 his sense of propriety, and robed himself again, and 
 bowing to the Teacher stood respectfully aside. 
 
 But the monks asked the Teacher to explain how that 
 was. Then the Teacher made manifest the matter which 
 had been hidden by change of birth. 
 
l8o 6.—DEVA-DBAMMA JATAKA. 
 
 Long ago Brahma-datta was king in Benares, in the 
 countn- of Kasi. And the Bodisat of that time assumed 
 re-existeuce in the womb of his chief queen ; and on the 
 day on which they chose a name for him, they gave him 
 the name of Prince Mahigsiisa. And when he could run 
 to and fro, and get about by himself, another son was 
 born, whom they called the Moon Prince. 
 
 When he could run to and fro, and get about by him- 
 self, the mother of the Bodisat died. The king appointed 
 another lady to the dignity of chief queen. She became 
 very near and dear to the king, and in due course she 
 brought forth a son, and they called his name the Sun 
 Prince. 
 
 When the king saw his son, he said in his joy, " My 
 love ! I promise to give you, for the boy, whatever you 
 ask ! " 
 
 But the queen kept the promise in reserve, to be used 
 at some time when she should want it. And when her 
 son was grown up, she said to the king, "Tour majesty, 
 when my son was bom, granted me a boon. Now give 
 me the kingdom for my son ! " 
 
 The king said, " My two sons are glorious as flames of 
 fire ! I can't give the kingdom to your child alone ! " 
 And he refused her. 
 
 But when she besought him again and again, he 
 thought to himself, " This woman will surely be plotting 
 some evil against the lads ! " And he sent for them, and 
 said, " My boys ! when the Sun Prince was born, I 
 granted a boon. And now his mother demands the 
 kingdom for him ! I have no intention of giving it to 
 him. But the very name of womankind is cruelty! 
 She will be plotting some evU against you. Do you get 
 
B.—ON TRUE DIVimTY. jgi 
 
 away into tlie forest; and wlien I am dead, come back 
 and reign in the city that is j'ours by right ! " So, 
 weeping and lamenting, he kissed them on their fore- 
 heads, and sent them forth. 
 
 As they were going down out of the palace, after 
 taking leaye of their father, the Sun Prince himself, 
 who was playing there in the courtj^ard, caught sight of 
 them. And when he learnt how the matter stood, he 
 thought to himself, "I, too, wiU go away with my 
 brothers ! " And he departed with them accordingly. 
 
 They went on till they entered the mountain region 
 of Himalaya. There the Bodisat, leaving the path, sat 
 down at the foot of a tree, and said to the Sun 
 Prince : 
 
 " Sun Priace, dear ! do you go to yonder pond ; and 
 after bathing and drinking yourself, bring us, too, some 
 water in the leaves of the lotus plants." 
 
 Now that pond had been delivered over to a water-sprite 
 by Vessavana (the King of the Fairies), who had said to 
 him : 
 
 " Thou art hereby granted as thy prey all those who go 
 down into the water, save only those who know what is 
 true divinity. But over such as go not down thou hast no 
 power." 
 
 So from that time forth, the water-sprite used to ask 
 all those who went down, iato the water, what were the 
 characteristic signs of divine beings, and if they did not 
 know, he used to eat them up ahve. 
 
 JSTow Sun Priace went to the pond, and stepped down 
 into it without any hesitation. Then the demon seized 
 him, and demanded of him : 
 
 " Do you know what is of divine nature ? " 
 
i82 G.—DEVA-DHAMMA JATAKA. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! They call the Sun, and the Moon, Gods," 
 was the reply. 
 
 " You don't know what is of divine nature," said he, 
 and carrj'ing him off down into the water, he put him fast 
 in his cave. 
 
 But the Eodisat, when he found that he was so long in 
 coming, sent the Moon Prince. Him, too, the demon 
 seized and asked him as before : 
 
 " Do j'ou know what is of divine nature ? " 
 
 " Yes, I do. The far-spreading sky is called divine." ^ 
 • " You then don't know what is divine," said he ; and 
 he took him, too, and put him in the same place. 
 
 When he too delayed, the Bodisat thought to himself, 
 " Some accident must have happened." He himself, 
 therefore, went to the place, and saw the marks of the foot- 
 steps where both the boys had gone down into the water. 
 Then he knew that the pond must be haunted by a water- 
 sprite ; and he stood fast, with his sword girded on, and 
 his bow in his hand. 
 
 But when the demon saw that the Bodisat was not 
 going down into the water, he took to himself the form of 
 a woodman, and said to the Bodisat : 
 
 " Hallo, my friend ! you seem tired with your journey. 
 Why don't you get down into the lake there ; and have 
 a bath, and drink, and eat the edible stalks of the lotus 
 plants, and pick the flowers, and so go on your way at 
 your ease ? " 
 
 And as soon as the Bodisat saw him, he knew that he 
 was the demon, and he said, 
 
 " It is you who have seized my brothers ! " 
 
 " Yes, it is I," said he. 
 
 ' The elder trother is more advanced in his theology. 
 
B.-ON TRUE DIVINITY. 183 
 
 "Wiat for, then?" 
 
 " I have been granted all those who go down into this 
 pond." 
 
 "AVhat? All!" 
 
 " Well ; all save those who know what beings are 
 divine. The rest are my prey." 
 
 " But have you then any need of divine beings ? " 
 
 "Yes, certainly." 
 
 " If it be so, I wiU. tell you who are divine." 
 
 " Speak on then; and I shall get to know who have the 
 attributes which are divine." 
 
 Then the Bodisat said, " I would teach you regarding 
 this matter; but I am all unclean with my journey." 
 And the water- sprite bathed the Bodisat, and provided 
 him with food, and brought him water, and decked him 
 with flowers, and anointed him with perfumes, and spread 
 out for him a couch in a beautiful arbour. 
 
 And the Bodisat seated himself there, and made the 
 water- sprite sit at his feet, and said, "Give ear then 
 attentively, and listen what divine nature is." And he 
 uttered the verse — 
 
 The pure in heart who fear to sin. 
 The good, kindly in word and deed^ — 
 These are the beings in the world, 
 Whose nature should be called divine. 
 
 And when the water-sprite heard that, his heart was 
 touched, and he said to the Bodisat — 
 
 " 0, Wise Teacher, in you I place my trust. I will give 
 you up one of your brothers. Which shall I bring ? " 
 
 "Bring me the younger of the two." 
 
184 e.—VEVA-DffAMMA JATAKA. 
 
 "But, Teacher; you who know so well all about the 
 divine nature, do you not act in accordance with it ? " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 "That neglecting the elder, and telling me to bring 
 the younger of the two, you pay not the honour that is 
 due to seniority." 
 
 " I both know, Demon, what divinity is, and I walk 
 according to it. It is on that boy's account that we came 
 to this forest : for it was for him that his mother begged 
 the kiagdom from our father, and our father being un- 
 willing to grant that, sent us away to live in the forest, 
 that we might be safe from danger. The lad himself 
 came all the way along with us. Were I to say, 'An 
 ogre has eaten him in the wilderness,' no one would believe 
 it. Therefore it is that I, to a;void all blame, have told 
 you to bring him." 
 
 " Verily thou hast spoken well, Teacher. Thou not 
 only knowest what diviaity is, but hast acted as a divinity 
 would." 
 
 And when he had thus magnified the Bodisat with 
 believing heart, he brought forth both the brothers and 
 gave them back to him. 
 
 Then said the Bodisat to him, " Friend, it is by reason 
 of evil deeds committed by you in some former birth, 
 that you have been born as an ogre, living on the flesh 
 of other beings. And now you stOl go on sinning. This 
 thine iniquity will prevent thine ever escaping from re- 
 birth in evil states. Prom henceforth, therefore, put 
 away evil, and do good ! " 
 
 With these words he succeeded in converting him. And 
 the ogre being converted, the Bodisat continued to live 
 there under his protection. And one day he saw by the 
 
G.— ON TRUE DIVINITY. 185 
 
 conjunction of tlie stars ttat his father was dead. So he 
 took the water-sprite with him and returned to Benares, 
 and took upon himself the kingdom. And he made Moon 
 Prince his heir-apparent, and Sun Prince his commander- 
 in-chief. And for the water-sprite he made a dwelling- 
 place in a pleasant spot, and took care that he should he 
 constantly provided with the best of garlands and flowers 
 and food. And he himself ruled his kingdom in righteous- 
 ness, until he passed away according to his deeds. 
 
 The Teacher having finished this discourse spoke on 
 the Pour Truths. And when he had done, that monk 
 entered the First Stage of the Path leading to Nirvana. 
 And the Buddha having told the double story, made the 
 connexion and summed up the Jataka by concluding, 
 " The then water- sprite was the luxurious monk ; the 
 Sun Prince was Ananda ; the Moon Prince was Siiriputta ; 
 but the elder brother, the Prince Mahigsasa, was I 
 myself." ' 
 
 ' The whole of this story, including the introduction, is found also, word 
 for word, in the commentary on the ' Scripture Verses ' (Fausholl, pp. 302- 
 305) ; and the commentator adds that the Buddha then further uttered the 
 141st verse of that collection: 
 
 Not nakedness, not plaited hair, not dirt, 
 Not fasting oft, nor lying on the ground ; 
 Not dust and ashes, nor vigils hard and stern. 
 Can purify that man who still is tossed 
 Upon the waves of douht ! 
 
 The same verse occurs in the Chinese work translated by Mr. Beal (The 
 ' Dhammapada, etc.,' p. 96). Another verse of similar purport has been 
 quoted above (p. 69), and a third will be found in Amagandha Suita (Sutta 
 Nipata, p. 168, verse 11). The same sentiment occurs in the Ma/ia-Bharaia, 
 iii. 13445, translated in Muir's ' Metrical Translations from Sanskrit "Writers,' 
 p. 75, and in the Northern Buddhist work Dwyavadana (Burnouf, Introduc- 
 tion i rHistoire du Bouddhisme Indien, p. 313). 
 
 END OF THE STOEY ABOUT TRUE DIVINITY. 
 
No. 9.' 
 
 MAKHA-DEVA JATAKA.^ 
 
 The Story of Makha Deva. 
 
 " These grey hairs," etc. — This the Teacher told when 
 at Jetavana, in reference to the Great Renunciation. The 
 latter has been related above in the Nidana Katha.^ 
 
 ]I»fow at that time the priests as they sat were magnify- 
 ing the E-enimciation of the One Mighty by Wisdom. 
 Then the Teacher entered the assembly, and sat down in 
 his place, and addressed the brethren, saying, " What is 
 the subject on which you are talking as you sit here ? " 
 
 " On no other subject. Lord ! but on your Renuncia- 
 tion," said they. 
 
 " Mendicants, not then only did the Successor of the 
 Prophets renounce the world; formerly also he did the 
 same." 
 
 The monks asked him to explain how that was. Then 
 the Blessed One made manifest an occurrence hidden hj 
 change of birth. 
 
 Long ago, ia Mithila, in the land of Videha, there was 
 a king named Makha Deva, a righteous man, and ruling 
 
 1 For Nos. 7 and 8, see respectively Bhaddasala Jatata, Book xii., and 
 Satjvara Jatata, Book xi. 
 ^ Comp. the Makha-deva Sutta, No. 83 in the Maiihima Nikaya. 
 3 See above, pp. 81-83. 
 
9.— THE STORY OF MAKHA DEVA. 187 
 
 in righteousness.^ Eigtty-four thousand years he was a 
 prince, as many he shared in the government, and as 
 many he was soTereign. As such he had lived a long, 
 long time, when one day he said to his barber, " My 
 good barber, whenever you find grey hairs on my head, 
 let me know." 
 
 And after a long, long time had passed away, the 
 barber one day found among the jet-black locks one grey 
 hair ; and he told the king of it, saying, " There is a grey 
 hair to be seen on your head, king ! " 
 
 " Pull it out, then, friend, and put it in my hand ! " 
 said he. 
 
 So he tore it out with golden pincers, and placed it in 
 the hand of the king. There were then eighty-four 
 thousand years of the lifetime allotted to the king stiH 
 to elapse. But, nevertheless, as he looked upon the grey 
 hair he was deeply agitated, as if the Kiug of Death had 
 come nigh unto him, or as if he found himself inside a 
 house on fire.^ And he thought, " foolish Makha 
 Deva ! though grey hairs have come upon you, you yet 
 have not been able to get rid of the frailties and passions 
 which deprave men's hearts ! "^ 
 
 As he thus meditated and meditated on the appearance 
 of the grey hair, his heart burned within him, drops of 
 perspiration rolled down from his body, and his very 
 robes oppressed him and became unbearable. And he 
 thought, "This very day I must leave the world and 
 devote myself to a religious life ! " 
 
 ' He is mentioned in the Maliava^sa, p. 8, in a list of the legendary kings 
 of old. 
 
 2 At p. 81, above, the same idea is put into the mouth of Gotama himself. 
 
 ' Ime kilese. The use of the determinative pronoun implies that the king 
 is meant to refer to the particular imperfections known as kilesa. They are 
 acquisitiveness, iU-temper, dullness of perception, vanity, wrong views, doubt, 
 sloth, arrogance, want of self-respect, and want of respect for public opinion. 
 
l88 9.—MAK-HA-DEVA JATAKA. 
 
 Then he gave to the barber a grant of a village whose 
 revenue amounted to a hundred thousand. And he sent 
 for his eldest son, and said to him, " My son ! grey hairs 
 have appeared on my head. I am become an old man. 
 I have done with all human hopes ; now I will seek 
 heavenly things. It is time for me to abandon the world. 
 Do you assimie the sovereignty. I will embrace the 
 religious life, and, dwelling in the garden called Makha 
 Deva's Mango-park, I will train myself in the character- 
 istics of those who are subdued in heart." 
 
 His ministers, when he formed this intention, came to 
 him and said, " What is the reason, king ! of your 
 giving up the world ? " 
 
 Then the king, taking the grey hair in his hand, 
 uttered this verse — 
 
 These grey hairs that have come upon my head 
 Are angel messengers appearing to me. 
 Laying stem hands upon the evening of my life ! 
 'Tis time I should devote myself to holy thought ! 
 
 Having thus spoken, he laid down his sovran ty that 
 very day, and became a hermit ; and living in the 
 Mango-grove of Makha Deva, of which he had spoken, he 
 spent eighty-four thousand years in practising perfect 
 goodwill towards all beings, and in constant devotion to 
 meditation. And after he died he was born again in the 
 Brahma heaven ; and when his allotted time there was 
 exhausted, he became ia Mithila a king called Nimi, and 
 reunited his scattered family.^ And after that he became a 
 
 • The whole story is given below, in the Nimi Jataka, Book sii. 
 
9>.~THE STORY OF MAKHA DEVA. 189 
 
 hermit in that same Mango-grove, and practised perfect 
 goodwill towards all beings, and again returned to the 
 Brahma heaven. 
 
 The Teacher, having thus discoursed on the subject 
 that not then only, but formerly too, the Successor of the 
 Buddhas had abandoned the world, proclaimed the Four 
 Truths. Some entered the First Stage of the Path to 
 Nirvana, some the Second, some the Third. And when 
 the Blessed One had thus told the double story, he estab- 
 lished the connexion, and summed up the Jataka as 
 follows : " The barber of that time was Ananda, the 
 prince was Rahula, but Makha Deva the king was I 
 m.yself." 
 
 END OF THE STOKT OF MAKHA DEVA. 
 
No. 10. 
 
 SUKHAVIHARI JATAKA. 
 
 The Happy Life 
 
 "He icliom others guard not" etc. — This the Teacher 
 told while at the Anupiya Mango-grove, near the town of 
 that name, about the Elder named Bhaddiya the Happy- 
 minded. Bhaddij'a the Happy-minded took the vows when 
 the six j'oung noblemen did so together with XJpali.'^ Of 
 these, Bhaddiya and Kimbila and Bhagu and Upali became 
 Arahats, Ananda entered the First Stage of the Road to 
 Nirvana, Anuruddha attained to the Knowledge of the 
 Past and the Present and the Future, and Devadatta 
 acquired the power of Deep Meditation. The story of 
 the six j^oung noblemen, up to the events at AnGpiya, 
 will be related in the Khandahala Jataka. 
 
 Now one day the venerable Bhaddiya called to mind 
 how full of anxiety he had been when, as a king, caring 
 for himself like a guardian angel, and surrounding him- 
 self with every protection, he had lolled in his upper 
 chamber on his royal couch : and now how free from 
 anxiety he was, when, as an Arahat, he was wandering, 
 here and there, in forests and waste places. And realizing 
 this change, he uttered an exclamation of joy, " Oh, 
 Happiness ! Happiness ! " 
 
 1 See tte Translator's ' Buddhism,' p. 65, and the authorities there quoted, 
 to which add Culla Vagga, VII. i. 1-4. The name Bhaddiya means the Happy 
 One, and the story has very prohahly arisen in explanation of the name. 
 
Vi.— THE HAPPY LIFE. jgi 
 
 This the monks told the Blessed One, saying, " Bhad- 
 diya is prophesying about Arahatship ! "^ 
 
 The Blessed One replied, " Mendicants ! not now only 
 is Bhaddiya full of joy; he was so also in a former 
 birth." 
 
 The monks requested the Blessed One to explain how 
 that was. Then the Blessed One made manifest an 
 event hidden through change of birth. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat became a wealthy Brahman of the north-west 
 country. And perceiving the evils of worldly lusts, and 
 the advantages of the religious life, he abandoned the 
 world, and went to the Himalaya region, and adopted the 
 life of a hermit, and practised the Eight Attainments. 
 And the number of his disciples increased greatly, until 
 he was attended by five hundred ascetics. 
 
 In the rainy season he left the Himalayas, and attended 
 by the body of ascetics, journeyed through the towns and 
 villages till he came to Benares, and there took up his 
 dwelling-place imder the patronage of the king in the 
 royal park. When he had there passed the four rainy 
 months, he took leave of the king. But the king asked 
 him to stop, saying, " You are old, Sir. "WTiy go to the 
 Himalayas ? Send your disciples there, bnt dwell here 
 yourself ! " 
 
 So the Bodisat gave the five hundred ascetics in charge 
 
 ' The word translated " Happiness " is also a name of Arahatship or 
 l^'irvana (that is, perfect peace, goodness, and wisdom). 
 
192 W.—SUKI/AVIHARI JATAKA. 
 
 to his senior pupil, and sent him away, saying, " You 
 shall go and live with these men in the Himalayas. I 
 will stay here." 
 
 Now the senior pupil was a royal devotee who had 
 ahandoned a might}'' kingdom for the religious life ; and 
 having gone through the course of meditation preparatory 
 thereto, had acquired the eight kinds of spiritual insight. 
 
 As he was living in the Himalaya region with the 
 ascetics, he one day conceived a desire to see his teacher, 
 and said to the ascetics, " Do you live on quietly here ; I 
 am just going to pay my respects to our teacher, and shall 
 be back' soon." 
 
 Then he went to the place where his teacher was, 
 saluted him, and offered him friendly greeting ; and 
 spreading a mat on the floor, lay down by his side. 
 
 Just then the king also went to the park to see the 
 teacher, and saluting him, took his seat respectfully on 
 one side. Though the disciple saw the king, he did not 
 get up, but lying there just as he was broke forth into a 
 chant of joy, " Oh, Happiness ! Oh, Happiness ! " 
 
 The king, displeased that the ascetic, on seeing him, had 
 not arisen, said to the Bodisat, " Sir, this ascetic must 
 have enjoyed himself to his heart's content. He lies 
 there, quite at his ease, singing a song ! " 
 
 " Great king ! This ascetic was once a king like you. 
 He is thinking, ' Formerly, as a layman, even when en- 
 joying royal splendour, and guarded by many men with 
 arms in their hands, I had no such joy as this,' and he 
 utters this exclamation of joy in reference to the joys of 
 meditation, and to the happiness of the religious Kfe." 
 
 And having thus spoken, the Bodisat further uttered 
 this verse in order to instruct the king in righteousness — 
 
W.— THE HAPPY LIFE. 193 
 
 He who needs no others to defend him, 
 He who has not others to defend, — 
 He it is who lives at ease, king ! 
 Untroubled he with yearnings or with lusts. 
 
 When the king had listened to this discourse, he was 
 satisfied again; and taking leave, he returned to the 
 palace. And the disciple, too, took his leave, and re- 
 turned to the Himalaya region. But the Bodisat dwelt 
 there in continued meditation till he died, and he was 
 then reborn in the Brahma heaven. 
 
 When the Teacher had preached this discourse, and told 
 the two stories, he established the connexion, and summed 
 up the Jataka as follows : " The pupil of that time was 
 Bhaddiya the Elder, but the Master of the company of 
 disciples was I myself."^ 
 
 END OF THE STORY ON A HAPPY LIFE. 
 
 ' This story is fotmded on the similar story told of Bhaddhiya (the same 
 Bhaddiya as the one mentioned in the Introductory Story) in the Culla Vagga, 
 VII. i. 5, 6. The next story but one (the Banyan Deer) is one of those 
 illustrated in the Bharhut scxilptures. Both must therefore belong to the 
 Tery earliest period in Buddhist history. 
 
 13 
 
CHAPTER II. SILAYAGGA. 
 
 No. 11. 
 
 LAKKHANA JATAKA. 
 
 The Story of ' Beauty.' 
 
 "The advantage is to the good." — This the Master told 
 while at the Bamhu-grove near Rajagaha, about Deva- 
 datta.' For on one occasion, when Deva-datta asked for 
 the Five Rules,^ and could not get what he wanted, he 
 made a schism in the Order, and taking four hundred of 
 the mendicants with him, went and dwelt at the rock 
 called Gaya^slsa. 
 
 Afterwards the minds of these mendicants became open 
 to conviction. And the Master, knowing it, said to his 
 two chief disciples, " Sariputta ! those five hundred pupUs 
 of yours adopted the heresy of Deva-datta, and went away 
 with him, but now their minds have become open to con- 
 viction. Do you go there with a number of the brethren, 
 and preach to them, and instruct them in the Fruits of 
 the Path of Holiness, and bring them back with you ! " 
 
 1 " The story of Deva-datta," adds a gloss, " as far as his appointment as 
 Abhimara, will be related in the Khandahula Jataka, as far as his rejection as 
 Treasurer, in the Culla-hagsa Jataka, and as far as his sinking into the earth, 
 in the Samudda-viinija Jataka in the 12th Book." 
 
 2 See the translator's ' Buddhism,' p. 76. 
 
\\.—THE STORY OF 'BEAUTY.' 
 
 '95 
 
 They went, and preached to them, and instructed thein 
 in the Fruits, and the next day at dawn returned to the 
 Bambu Grove, bringing those mendicants with them. 
 And as Sariputta on his return was standing by, after 
 paying his respects to the Blessed One, the mendicants 
 exalted him, saying to the Blessed One, " Lord ! how 
 excellent appears our elder brother, the Minister of 
 Righteousness, returning with five hundred disciples as his 
 retinue, whereas Deva-datta is now without any followers 
 at aU ! " 
 
 " Not only now, mendicants ! has Sariputta come in 
 glory, surrounded by the assembly of his brethren ; 
 in a former birth, also, he did the same. And not now 
 only has Deva-datta been deprived of his following ; in 
 a former birth also he was the same." 
 
 The monks requested the Blessed One to explain how 
 that was. Then the Blessed One made manifest a thing 
 hidden by the interval of existence. 
 
 Long ago, in the city Eajagaha, in the land of Magadha, 
 there ruled a certaui king of Magadha. At that time the 
 Bodisat came to life as a deer, and when he grew up he 
 lived in the forest at the head of a herd of a thousand 
 deer. He had two young ones, named Lakkhana (the 
 Beautifully-marked One, 'Beauty') and Kala (the Dark 
 One, 'Brownie'). 
 
 When he had become old, he called them, and said, 
 "My beloved! I am old. Do you now lead the herd 
 about." And he placed five hundred of the deer under 
 the charge of each of his sons. 
 
 Now in the land of Magadha at crop time, when the 
 
196 \\.~LAKKHANA JATAKA. 
 
 corn is ripening in the fields, there is danger brewing for 
 the deer in the adjoining forest. Some in one place, and 
 some in another, the sons of men dig pit-falls, fix stakes, 
 set traps with stones in them, and lay snares to kill the 
 creatures that would eat the crops. And many are the 
 deer that come to destruction. 
 
 So when the Bodisat saw that crop time was at hand, 
 he sent for his sons, and said, " My children ! the time 
 of growing crops has come ; many deer will come to 
 destruction. We are old, and will get along by some 
 means or another without stirring much abroad. But do 
 you lead your herds away to the mountainous part of the 
 forest, and return when the crops are cut ! " 
 
 "Very well," said they; and departed with their 
 attendant herds. 
 
 Now the men who live on the route they have to follow 
 know quite well, " At such and such a time the deer are 
 wont to come up into the mountains ; at such and such 
 a time they will come down again." And lurking here 
 and there in ambush, they wound and kill many deer. 
 
 But Brownie, in his dullness, knew not that there were 
 times when he ought to travel and times when he ought 
 not ; and he led his herd of deer early and late alike — 
 at dawn, or in evening twilight — past the village gates. 
 The men in different places — some in the open, some in 
 ambush — destroyed, as usual, a number of the deer. So 
 he, by his stupidity, brought many of his herd to destruc- 
 tion, and re-entered the f9rest with diminished nimibers. 
 
 Beauty, on the other hand, was learned and clever, 
 and fertile in resource ; and he knew when to go on, and 
 when to stay. He approached no village gates ; he 
 travelled not by day, nor even at dawn or by evening 
 
n.~THE STORY OF 'BEAUTY.' 197 
 
 twilight ; but he travelled at midnight, and so he reached 
 the forest without losing a single animal. 
 
 There they stayed four months ; and when the crops 
 were cut they came down from the mountain-side. 
 Brownie, going back as he had come, brought the rest of 
 the herd to destruction, and arrived alone. But Beauty, 
 without losing even one of his herd, came up to his parent 
 attended by all the five hundred of his deer. 
 
 And when the Bodisat saw his sons approaching, he 
 held a consultation with the herd of deer, and put together 
 this stanza, — 
 
 The righteous man hath profit, and the courteous in 
 
 speech. 
 Look there at Beauty coming back with all his troop 
 
 of kindred. 
 Then look at this poor Brownie, deprived of all he had ! ^ 
 
 When he had thus welcomed his son, the Bodisat lived 
 to a good old age, and passed away according to his 
 deeds. 
 
 Thus the Master gave them this lesson in virtue in illus- 
 tration of what he had said, "Not only now, mendicants! 
 has Sariputta come in glory, surrounded by the assembly 
 of his brethren ; in a former birth, also, he did the same. 
 And not now only has Deva-datta been deprived of his 
 
 1 This verse is quoted by the Dhammapada Commentator, p. 146, where the 
 Introductory Story is suhstantially the same, though differiog in some details. 
 The first line of the Terse is curious, as there is nothing in the fable about 
 righteousness or courtesy. It either belonged originally to some other tale, 
 or is made purposely in discord "with the facts to hint still more strongly at 
 .the absurdity of the worthy deer attempting to make human poetry. 
 
ig8 \\—LAKKHANA JATAKA. 
 
 following ; in a former birth, also he was the same." And 
 he united the two stories, and made the connexion, and 
 summed up the Jataka as follows: "Then 'Brownie' 
 was Deva-datta, and his attendants Deva-datta's attend- 
 ants. ' Beauty ' was Sariputta, and his attendants the 
 followers of the Buddha. The mother was the mother of 
 Eahula, but the father was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STOEY ABOUT ' BEAUTY.' 
 
No. 12. 
 
 NIGEODHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 The Banyan Deer. 
 
 "Follow the Banyan deer," etc. — This the Master told 
 while at Jetavana, about the mother of the Elder named 
 Kumara Kassapa.^ She, we are told, was the daughter 
 of a rich m.erchant of the city of Rajagaha ; she was 
 deeply rooted in virtue, and despised all transient things ; 
 she had reached her last birth, and in her heart the 
 destiny of future Arahatship shone like a lamp within a 
 translucent pitcher. From the time when she knew her 
 own mind she had no pleasure in a lay Hfe, but was 
 desirous to take the vows. And she said to her parents, — 
 
 " Mother, dear ! my heart finds no pleasure in house- 
 hold life. I want to take the vows accordiag to that 
 teaching of the Buddha which leads to Nirvana. Let 
 me be ordained ! " 
 
 " What is it you are saying, dear ? This family is of 
 great wealth, and you are our only daughter. You 
 cannot be allowed to take the vows." 
 
 When, after repeated asking, she was unable to obtain 
 her parents' permission, she thought, "Let it be so. 
 When I get to another family, I will make favour with 
 my husband, and take the vows." 
 
 An d when she grew up, she entered another family as 
 
 1 This Introdnctory Story is given also as the occasion on which T. 160 of 
 the Dhammapada was spoken (Fausboll, pp. 327 and foil.) 
 
2 00 \2.—NIGR0DHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 wife, and lived a household life as a virtuous and attrac- 
 tive ■woman. And in due time she conceived, hut she 
 knew it not. 
 
 Now in that city they proclaimed a feast. All the 
 dwellers in the city kept the feast, and the city was 
 decked like a city of the gods. But she, up to the time 
 when the feast was at its height, neither anointed her- 
 self nor dressed, but went about in her every-day clothes. 
 Then her husband said to her, — 
 
 " My dear ! aU the city is devoted to the feast ; yet you 
 adorn yourself not." 
 
 " The body. Sir, is but filled with its thirty-two con- 
 stituent parts. What profit can there be in adorning it ? 
 For this body has no divine, no angelic attributes : it is 
 not made of gold, or gems, or yellow sandal- wood ; it 
 springs not from the womb of lotus-flowers, white or red ; 
 it is not filled with the nectar-balm of holiness. But 
 verily it is born in corruption : it springs from father 
 and mother: its attributes are the decomposition, the 
 wearing away, the dissolution, the destruction, of that 
 which is impermanent ! It is produced by excitement ; 
 it is the cause of pains, the subject of mournings, a 
 lodging-place for all diseases. It is the receptacle for 
 the action of Karma; foul within, without it is ever 
 discharging : its end is death : and its goal is the charnel- 
 house, — there, in the sight of all the world, to be the 
 dwelling-place of worms and creeping things ! " ' 
 
 ^ The thirty-two constituent parts will he f onnd enumerated in the Chuddalta 
 Patha, p. 3, and most of them are mentioned in the following verses, which 
 are not attributed to the ' attractive ' young wife, and which sound wooden 
 enough after her spirited outhurst. Possibly they are a quotation by this 
 commentator of some monMsh rhymes he thinks appropriate to the occasion. 
 The whole of the conversation is omitted in the Dhammapada commentary. 
 
 Bound together by bones and sinews, 
 O'erspread with flesh and integument, 
 The body is hidden 'neath its stin, — 
 It seems not as it really is ! 
 
12.— THE BANYAN DEER. 201 
 
 " Dear Lord ! what should I gain by adorning this 
 body ? Would not putting ornaments on it be like 
 painting the outside of a sepulchre?" 
 
 "My dear!" replied the young nobleman, "if you 
 think this body so sinful, Avhj^ don't you become a nun ? " 
 
 " If you grant me leave, dear husband, I will take the 
 vows this day ! " 
 
 "Very well, then; I will get you ordained," said he. 
 And giving a donation at a great cost, he took her, with 
 
 It is filled inside — the trunk is filled — 
 
 "With liver, and with abdomen ; 
 
 With heart and lungs, kidney and spleen ; 
 
 "With mucus, matter, sweat, and fat ; 
 
 With blood, and grease, and bile, and marrow. 
 
 And from each of its nine orifices 
 Impurity flows ever down : 
 Eheum from the eye, wax from the ear, 
 From the nose mucus, vomit from the mouth ; 
 And bile and phlegm do both come out 
 From the perspiring, dirty frame. 
 
 Its hoUow head, too, is but filled 
 With the nerve-substance of the brain. 
 Tet the fool, whom dullness never leaves, 
 He thinks it beautiful and bright. 
 
 The body causes endless iUs ; — 
 Eesembles just a upas-tree ; 
 The dwelling-place of all disease. 
 Is but a mass of misery. 
 
 Were the inside of this body 
 
 Only visible without. 
 
 One would have to take a stick in hand 
 
 To save oneself from crows and dogs ! 
 
 Fvil-smeUing and impure. 
 The body's like a filthy corpse ; 
 Despised by those who've eyes to see, 
 It 'e only praised by those who're fools ! 
 
202 12.—NIGR0DHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 a numerous retinue, to the nunnery, and had her ad- 
 mitted into the Order of Nuns — ^but among those who 
 sided with Deva-datta. And she was overjoyed that 
 her wish had been fulfilled, and that she had become a 
 nun. 
 
 Now, as she became far gone with child, the nuns 
 noticed the alteration in her person, — the swelling of her 
 hands and feet and back, and the increase in her girth ; 
 and they asked her, " Lady, you seem to be with child. 
 How is this ? " 
 
 " I don't know how it is, ladies ; but I have kept the 
 vows." 
 
 Then the nuns led her to Deva-datta, and asked him, 
 " Sir ! this young lady, after with difficulty gaining her 
 husband's consent, was received into the Order. But now 
 it is evident that she is with child; and we know not 
 whether she became so when she was a laywoman or 
 when she was a nun. What shall we do now ? " 
 
 Deva-datta, not being a Buddha, and having no for- 
 bearance, kindness, or compassion, thought thus : "If 
 people can say, * A nun of Deva-datta's side is carrying 
 about a child in her womb, and Deva-datta condones it,' I 
 shall be disgraced. I must unfrock this woman ! " And 
 without any inquiry, he answered with eagerness, " Go 
 and expel this woman from the Order ! " — ^just as if he 
 were rushing forwards to roll away a mere piece of stone ! 
 
 When they heard his decision, they arose, and bowed 
 to him, and returned to the nunnery. But the young 
 girl said to the nuns, " Ladies ! the Elder, Deva-datta, is 
 not the Buddha. Not under him did I enter the religious 
 life, but under the Buddha himself, who is supreme 
 among men. WTiat I obtained with such difficulty, O, 
 deprive me not of that ! Take me, I pray you, and go 
 to the Master himself at Jetavana ! " 
 
 And they took her; and passing over the forty-five 
 leagues of road which stretched from Eajagaha to that 
 
\2.—THE BANYAN DEER. 203 
 
 place, they arrived in due course at Jetavana, and saluting 
 the Master, told him the whole matter. 
 
 The Teacher thought, "Although the child was con- 
 ceived when she was still in the world, yet the heretics 
 will have an opportunity of sajong, 'The mendicant 
 Gautama has accepted a nun expelled by Deva-datta ! ' 
 Therefore, to prevent such talk, this case ought to be 
 heard in the presence of the king and his ministers." 
 
 So the next day he sent for Pasenadi the king of 
 Kosala, Anatha Pindika the Elder, Anatha Pindika the 
 Younger, the Lady Visakha the influential disciple, and 
 other well-known persons of distinction. And in the 
 evening, when all classes of disciples had assembled, he 
 said to Upali the Elder, " Go and examine into this aSair 
 of the young nun in the presence of the church ! " 
 
 The Elder accordingly went to the assembly ; and 
 when he had seated himself in his place, called the Lady 
 Visakha before the king, and gave in charge to her the 
 following investigation : " Do you go, Yisakha, and find 
 out exactly on what day of what month this poor child 
 was received into the Order, and then conclude whether 
 she conceived before or after that day." 
 
 The Lady agreed; and having had a curtain hung, 
 made a private examination behind it of the young nun ; 
 and comparing the days and months, found out that in 
 truth she had conceived while she was yet living in the 
 world. And she went to the Elder, and told him so ; and 
 the Elder, in the midst of the assembly, declared the nun 
 to be innocent. 
 
 Thus was her innocence established. And she bowed 
 down in grateful adoration to the assembly, and to the 
 Master; and she returned with the other nuns to the 
 nunnery. 
 
 Now, when her time was come, she brought forth a son 
 strong in spirit — the result of a wish she had uttered at 
 the feet of Padumuttara the Buddha. And one day, as 
 
204 \i.—NIGRODHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 the king was passing near the nunnery, he heard the cry 
 of a child, and asked his ministers the reason. They 
 knew of the matter, and said, " king ! that young nun 
 has had a son, and the cry comes from it." 
 
 " To take care of a child. Sirs, is said to be a hindrance 
 to nuns in their religious life. Let us undertake the care 
 of it," said he. 
 
 And he had the child given to the women of his harem, 
 and brought it up as a prince. And on the naming-day 
 they called him Kassapa ; but as he was brought up in 
 royal state, he became known as Kassapa the Prince. 
 
 When he was seven years old, he was entered in the 
 noviciate under the Buddha ; and when he attained the 
 necessary age, received full orders ; and, as time went on, 
 he became the most eloquent among the preachers. And 
 the Master gave him the pre-eminence, saying, " Mendi- 
 cants ! the chief of my disciples in eloquence is Kassapa 
 the Prince." Afterwards, through the Vammlka Sutta, he 
 attained to Arahatship. His mother, the nun, too, ob- 
 tained spiritual insight, and reached Nirvana.^ And 
 Kassapa the Prince became as distinguished in the reli- 
 gion of the Buddhas as the full moon in the midst of the 
 vault of heaven. 
 
 Now one day the Successor of the Buddhas, when 
 he had returned from his rounds and taken his meal, 
 exhorted the brethren, and entered his apartment. The 
 brethren, after hearing the exhortation, spent the day 
 either in their day- rooms or night-rooms, and then met 
 together at eventide for religious conversation. And, as 
 they sat there, they exalted the character of the Buddha, 
 saying, "Brethren, the Elder Prince Kassapa, and the 
 
 • Literally reached tlie cliief Fruit; the benefit resulting from the com- 
 pletion of the last stage of the path leading to Nirvana ; that is, Nirvana 
 itself. It is a striking proof of the estimation in which women were held 
 among the early Buddhists, that they are several times declared to have 
 reached this highest result of intellectual activity and earnest ,zeal. Compare 
 the Introductory Story to Jataka No. 234. 
 
Vi.—THE BANYAN DEER. 205 
 
 Lady his mother, xvere nearly ruined by Deva-datta, 
 through his not being a Buddha, and having no forbear- 
 ance or kindness; but the Supreme Buddha, being the 
 King of ^Righteousness, and being perfect in kiudness 
 and forbearance and compassion, became the means of 
 salvation to them both ! " 
 
 Then the Master entered the hall with the dignity pecu- 
 liar to a Buddha, and seating himself, asked them, " What 
 are you sitting here talking about, mendicants ? " 
 
 "Lord," said they, "concerning your excellences!" 
 And they told him the whole matter. 
 
 " ISTot now only, mendicants ! " said he, " has the 
 Successor of the Buddhas been a source of salvation and 
 a refuge to these two ; formerly also he was the same." 
 
 Then the monks asked the Blessed One to explain how 
 that was ; and the Blessed One made manifest that which 
 had been hidden by change of birth. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat came to life as a deer. When he was born 
 he was of a golden colour ; his eyes were like round 
 jewels, his horns were white as silver, his mouth was red 
 as a cluster of kamala flowers, his hoofs were bright 
 and hard as lacquer-work, his tail as fine as the tail 
 of a Tibetan ox,' and his body as large in size as a 
 foal's. 
 
 He lived in the forest with an attendant herd of five 
 hundred deer, under the name of the King of the Banyan 
 Deer; and not far from him there dwelt another deer, 
 
 • Bos Grunniem. 
 
206 \Z.—NIGRODHA-MIGA JATAICA. 
 
 goldea as he, under the name of the Monkey Deer, with 
 a like attendant herd. 
 
 The kine of Benares at that time was devoted to 
 hunting, never ate without meat, and used to summon 
 all the townspeople to go hunting every day, to the de- 
 struction of their ordinary work. 
 
 The people thought, " This king puts an end to all our 
 work. Suppose now in the park we were to sow food and 
 provide water for the deer, and drive a number of deer 
 into it, and close the entrance, and deliver them over to 
 the king." 
 
 So they planted in the park grass for the deer to eat, 
 and provided water, and tied up the gate ; and calling 
 the citizens, they entered the forest, with clubs and aU 
 kinds of weapons in their hands, to look for the deer. 
 And thinking, "We shall best catch the deer by sur- 
 rounding them," they encircled a part of the forest about 
 a league across. And in so doing they surrounded the 
 very place where the Banyan Deer and the Monkey Deer 
 were living. 
 
 Then striking the trees and bushes, and beating on the 
 ground, with their clubs, they drove the herd of deer out 
 of the place where they were ; and making a great noise 
 by rattling their swords and javelins and bows, they made 
 the herd enter the park, and shut the gate. And then 
 they went to the king, and said to him : 
 
 "0 king! by your constant going to the chase, you 
 put a stop to our work. "We have now brought deer 
 from the forest, and filled your park with them. Hence- 
 forth feed on them!" And so saying, they took their 
 leave, and departed. 
 
 When the king heard that, he went to the park ; and 
 
12.— THE BANYAN DEER. 207 
 
 seeing there two golden-coloured deer, he granted them 
 their Kves. But thenceforth he would sometimes go him- 
 self to shoot a deer, and bring it home ; sometimes his 
 cook would go and shoot one. The deer, as soon as they 
 saw the bow, would quake with the fear of death, and 
 take to their heels ; but when they had been hit once or 
 twice, they became weary or wounded, and were killed. 
 
 And the herd of deer told all this to the Bodisat. He 
 sent for the Monkey Deer, and said : 
 
 " Friend, almost all the deer are being destroyed. 
 Now, though they certainly must die, yet henceforth let 
 them not be wounded with the arrows. Let the deer 
 take it by turns to go to the place of execution. One day 
 let the lot fall upon my herd, and the next day on yours. 
 Let the deer whose turn it is go to the place of execution, 
 put his head on the block, and lie down. If this be done, 
 the deer will at least escape laceration." 
 
 He agreed : and thenceforth the deer whose turn it was 
 used to go and lie down, after placing his neck on the 
 block of execution. And the cook used to come and 
 carry off the one he found lying there. 
 
 But one day the lot fell upon a roe in the herd of the 
 Monkey Deer who was with young. She went to the 
 Monkey Deer, and said, " Lord ! I am with young. 
 "Wh.en I have brought forth my son, we will both take 
 our turn. Order the turn to pass me by." 
 
 "I cannot make your lot," said he, "fall upon the 
 others. You know well enough it has fallen upon you. 
 Go away ! " 
 
 Receiving no help from him, she went to the Bodisat, 
 and told him the matter. He listened to her, and said, 
 " Be it so ! Do you go back. I will relieve you of your 
 
2o8 n.—NlGRODHA-MlGA JATAKA. 
 
 turn." And he went himself, and put Lis neck upon the 
 block of execution, and lay down. 
 
 The cook, seeing him, exclaimed, "The King of the 
 Deer, whose life was promised to him, is lying in the 
 place of execution. What does this mean?" And he 
 went hastily, and told the king. 
 
 The king no sooner heard it than he mounted his 
 chariot, and proceeded with a great retinue to the place, 
 and beholding the Bodisat, said, " My friend the King of 
 the Deer ! did I not grant you your Kfe ? Why are you 
 lying here ? " 
 
 " great king ! a roe with young came and told me 
 that the lot had fallen upon her. Now it was impossible 
 for me to transfer her miserable fate to any one else. 
 So I, giving my life to her, and accepting death in her 
 place, have lain down. Harbour no further suspicion, 
 great king ! " 
 
 " My Lord the golden-coloured King of the Deer ! I 
 never yet saw, even among men, one so full of forbear- 
 ance, kindness, and compassion. I am pleased with thee 
 in this matter. Eise up ! I grant your lives, both to 
 you and to her ! ", 
 
 "But though two be safe, what shall the rest do, 
 king of men ? " 
 
 " Then I grant their lives to the rest, my Lord." 
 
 " Thus, then, great king, the deer in the park will have 
 gained security, but what wiU the others do ? " 
 
 " They also shall not be molested." 
 
 " Great king ! even though the deer dwell secure, what 
 shall the rest of the four-footed creatures do ? " 
 
 " They also shall be free from fear." 
 
 "Great king! even though the quadrupeds are in 
 safety, what shall the flocks of birds do ?" 
 
12.~THE BAXYA.V DEER. %QrC) 
 
 " Well, I grant the same boon to them." 
 
 " Great king ! the birds then wlII obtain peace, but 
 what of the fish who dwell in the water ? " 
 
 " They shall have peace as well." 
 
 And so the Great Being, having interceded with the king 
 for all creatures, rose up and established the king iu the 
 Five Precepts, '^ and said, " Walk in righteousness, great 
 king ! Doing justice and mercy to fathers and m.others, 
 to sons and daughters, to townsmen and landsmen, ji^ou 
 shall enter, when your body is dissolved, the happy world 
 of heaven ! " 
 
 Thus, with the grace of a Buddha, he preached the 
 Truth to the king ; and when he had dwelt a few days 
 in the park to exhort the king, he went away to the forest 
 with his attendant herd. 
 
 And the roe gave birth to a son as beautiful as buds of 
 flowers ; and he went playing about with the Monkey 
 Deer's herd. But when its mother saw that, she said, " My 
 son, henceforth go not in his company ; you may keep to 
 the Banyan Deer's herd ! " And thus exhorting him, she 
 uttered the verse — 
 
 Follow the Banyan Deer : 
 Dwell not with the Monkey Deer. 
 Better death with the Banyan Deer, 
 Than life with the Monkey Deer.^ 
 
 Now after that the deer, secure of their lives, began to 
 eat men's crops. And the men dared not strike them or 
 drive them away, recollecting how it had been granted to 
 them that they should dwell secure. So they met together 
 in front of the king's palace, and told the matter to the king. 
 
 1 See ' Buddhism,' pp. 139, 140. 
 
 ' Quoted by the Dhamraapada commentator, p. 329. 
 
 VOL. 1. H 
 
2 10 \%—NIGRODHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 " Wten I was ^rell pleased, I granted to the leader of 
 the Banyan Deer a boon," said he. "I may give up my 
 kingdom, but not my oath ! Begone with j-ou ! Not a 
 man in my kingdom shall be allowed to hurt the deer." 
 
 When the Banyan Deer heard that, he assembled the 
 herds, and said, " Henceforth you are not allowed to eat 
 other people's crops." And so forbidding them, he sent a 
 message to the men : " Henceforth let the husbandmen 
 put up no fence to guard their crops ; but let them tie 
 leaves round the edge of the field as a sign." 
 
 From that time, they say, the sign of the tying of leaves 
 was seen in the fields, and from that time not a single 
 deer trespassed beyond it ; for such was the instruction 
 they received from the Bodisat. 
 
 And the Bodisat continued thus his life long to instruct 
 the deer, and passed away with his herd according to his 
 deeds. 
 
 The king, too, hearkened to the exhortations of the 
 Bodisat, and then, in due time, passed away, according to 
 his deeds. 
 
 The Master, having finished the discourse in illustra- 
 tion of his saying, " Not only now was I the protector of 
 the nun and of Kassapa the Prince ; in a former birth I 
 was the same," he fully expounded the Four Truths. 
 And when he had told the double story, he made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka by saying, "He 
 who was then the Monkey Deer was Deva-datta, his herd 
 was Deva-datta' s following, the roe was the nun, her son 
 was Kassapa the Prince, the king was Ananda, but the 
 royal Banyan Deer was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE BANYAN DEER. 
 
No. 13. 
 
 KANDINA JATAKA. 
 
 Tlie Dart of Love. 
 
 [The Introductory Story is the same as that of the 
 Indriya Jataka in Book VIII.] 
 
 Long ago a king of Magadha was reigning in Rajagaha, 
 in the country of Magadha. At the season of harvest the 
 deer suffered much at the hands of the people of Magadha. 
 So they were wont to go away to the forest at the foot of 
 the mountains. 
 
 Now a certain mountain stag, who lived in that jungle, 
 made friends with a roe from the inhabited country. 
 And when those deer came down from the mouatain-side 
 to return home, he, being caught in the snares of love, 
 went down with them. 
 
 Then she said to him, " You, Sir, are but a simple 
 deer of the mountains, and the inhabited country is 
 beset Avith danger and difficulty. Pray don't go down 
 with us ! " 
 
 But he, being fallen deep into love for her, would not 
 turn back, and went along with her. 
 
 Now when the people of Magadha saw that the time 
 was come for the deer to return from the hiUs, they used 
 to lie waiting in ambush all along the road. And just 
 
2 12 XZ.—A'ANDINA JATAKA. 
 
 where those two were coming on, there stood a certain 
 hunter behind a thicket. 
 
 The young roe smelt the smell of a man, and imme- 
 diately thought, " There'U be some hunter behind there." 
 And she let the foolish stag go on first, and kept back 
 herself. The hunter with one shot from his bow felled the 
 stag there on the spot ; but the roe, as soon as she saw 
 he was hit, fled awaj^ like the wind. 
 
 Then the hunter came out of his ambush, skinned that 
 deer, made a fire, cooked the sweet flesh in the glowing 
 charcoal, ate and drank, and carried off the rest all drop- 
 ping with blood and gore, and went home to gire his 
 children a treat. 
 
 Now the Bodisat of that time was a tree fairy, dwelling 
 in that wood. When he saw what had happened, he said 
 to himself, 
 
 " 2Tot through father, not through mother, but through 
 lust, has this poor fool of a deer come to his death. In 
 the dawn of passion creatures think themselves in bliss, 
 but they end in losing their limbs in misery, or tasting 
 the grief of all kinds of bonds and blows. What more 
 shameful in this world than that which brings sorrow and 
 death to others ? What more despicable than the country 
 where women administer and teach, a land under harem 
 rule ? What more wretched than the men who give 
 themselves up to women's control ?" And then, whilst all 
 the fairies of the wood cast bouquets before him and cheered 
 him on, he brought the three rebiikes into one verse, and 
 made the whole wood ring as he uttered the stanza — 
 
 dreadful barbed dart of love, that tears men's hearts ! 
 
 foolish land, where woman bears the rule ! 
 
 stupid men, who fall 'neath woman's power ! 
 
\%.—THE DART OF LOVE. 213 
 
 ^ When the Master had taught them this story, he pro- 
 claimed the Four Truths. And at the conclusion thereof 
 that love-sick monk was converted. And the Master made 
 the connexion, and summed up the Jataka by saying, 
 " The mountain-deer of that time was the love-sick 
 brother, the roe was his former wife, and the tree fairy, 
 who preached the sermon showing the evil of passion, was 
 I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE DART OF LOVE. 
 
 1 The two previous lines should belong, I think, to the explanatory 
 comment. 
 
No. 14. 
 
 YATA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 The Greedy Antelope. 
 
 " There is nothing worse than greed, they say." — ^This the 
 Master told when lie was living at Jetavana about the 
 Elder named Tissa the younger, the keeper of the law 
 concerning food. 
 
 For when the Master, we are told, was residing at the 
 Bambu-grove, near Rajagaha, a young man of a very 
 wealthy family of distinction, by name Prince Tissa, 
 went one day to the Bambu-grove, and when he liad 
 heard the Teacher's discourse, he became desirous to devote 
 himself to a religious Hfe. And when, on his asking 
 leave to enter the Order, his parents refused their consent, 
 he compelled them to grant it, in the same manner as 
 E,attha-pala had done, by refusing to eat for seven days.^ 
 And he then took the vows under the Master. 
 
 The Master remained at the Bambu-grove about half a 
 month after receiving him into the Order, and then went 
 to Jetavana. There this young man of family passed his 
 life, begging his daily food in Savatthi, and observing all 
 the Thirteen Practices by which the passions are quelled. 
 So under the name of " The Young Tissa who keeps the 
 
 1 The story of Eatthapala is given in the Sutta of that name, translated 
 hy Gogerly, J. C. A.S., 1847-1848, p. 95. The same plan was followed by 
 Sudinna as related in the Parajikag, and translated by Coles, J. C. A. S., 
 1876-1877, p. 187. 
 
li.— THE GREEDY ANTELOPE. 215 
 
 law concerning food," "^ he became as distinguislied and 
 famous in Buddhadom as the moon in the vault of 
 heaven. 
 
 At that time they were holding festival in Eiijagaha, 
 and the parents of the monk put awaj'' all the jewelry 
 which had belonged to him in the Ak^i, of his laymanship 
 into a silver casket ; and took the matter to heart, weeping, 
 and saying, " At other festivals our boy used to keep the 
 feast wearing this ornament or this. And now Gotama 
 the Mendicant has taken him, him our only son, away to 
 Savatthi ! And we know not what fate is falling to him 
 there." 
 
 Now a slave-girl coming to the house, and seeing the 
 wife of the lord w^epLng, asked her, " Why, Lady ! do you 
 weep ?" And she told her what had happened. 
 
 " Well, Lady, what dish was your son most fond of ? " 
 said she. 
 
 " Such and such a one," was the reply. 
 
 " Lf you grant m.e full authority in this house, I will 
 bring your son back ! " said she. 
 
 The Lady agreed, gave her wherewith to pay all her 
 expenses, and sent her forth with a great retinue, saying, 
 " Go now, and by your power bring back my son." 
 
 So the girl then went to Savatthi in a palankeen, and 
 took up her abode in the street in which the monk was wont 
 to beg. And without letting him see the people who had 
 come from the lord's house, but surrounding herself with 
 servants of her own, she from the very first provided the 
 Elder when he came there with food and drink. Having 
 thus bound him with the lust of taste, she in due course 
 got him to sit down in her house ; and when she saw that 
 by giving him to eat she had brought him into her 
 power, she shammed sickness, and lay down in her inner 
 chamber. 
 
 Then the monk, when his begging time had come, 
 
 ' This is the third of the Thirteen just alluded to. 
 
2i6 li.— VATA-AfIGA JATAICA. 
 
 arrived on his rounds at the door of the house. An 
 attendant took his bowl, and made him. sit down in the 
 house. No sooner had he done so, than he asked, " How 
 is the lady devotee ? " 
 
 " She is sick, reverend Sir, and wishes to see you," was 
 the reply. And he, bound by the lust of taste, broke his 
 observance and his vow, and went to the place where she 
 was lying. Then she told him why she had come, and 
 alluring him, so bound him by the lust of taste, that she 
 persuaded him td leave the Order. And having brought 
 him into her power, she seated him in her palankeen, and 
 returned to E-ajagaha with aU her retinue. 
 
 And this news became the common talk. And the 
 monks, assembled in the hall of instruction, began to say 
 one to another, "A slave-girl has brought back Young 
 Tissa, the keeper of the law concerning food, having 
 bound him with the lust of taste." 
 
 Then the Master, entering the chapel, sat down on his 
 throne, and said, " On what subject are you seated here 
 talking?" 
 
 And they told him the news. 
 
 " Not now only, mendicants ! " said he, " has this 
 monk, caught by the lust of taste, fallen into her power ; 
 formerly also he did the same." And he told a story. 
 
 Once upon a time Brahma-datta, the king of Benares, 
 had a gardener named Sanjaya. Now a swift antelope 
 who had come to the garden took to flight as soon as it 
 saw Sanjaya. But Sanjaya did not frighten it away ; and 
 when it had come again and again it began to walk about 
 in the garden. And day by day the gardener used to 
 pluck the various fruits and flowers in the garden, and 
 take them away to the king. 
 
\i.—THE GREEDY ANTELOPE. 
 
 217 
 
 Now one day the king asked him, " I say, friend 
 gardener, is there anj'thing strange in the garden so far 
 as j'ou've noticed ? " 
 
 " I've noticed nothing, king ! save that an antelope 
 is in the habit of coming and wandering about there. 
 That I often see." 
 
 " But could you catch it ? " 
 
 " If I had a little honey, I could bring it right inside 
 the palace here ! " 
 
 The king gave him the honey ; and he took it, went to 
 the garden, smeared it on the grass at the spot the ante- 
 lope frequented, and hid himself. When the deer came, 
 and had eaten the honey-smeared grass, it was bound 
 with the lust of taste ; and from that time went nowhere 
 else, but came exclusively to the garden. And as 
 the gardener saw that it was allured by the honey-smeared 
 grass, he in due course showed himself. For a few days 
 the antelope took to flight on seeing him. But after 
 seeing him again and again, it acquired confidence, and 
 gradually came to eat grass from the gardener's hand. 
 And when the gardener saw that its confidence was 
 gained, he strewed the path right up to the palace as 
 thick with branches as if he were covering it with mats, 
 hung a gourdful of honey over his shoulder, carried a 
 bundle of grass at his waist, and then kept sprinkling 
 honey-smeared grass in front of the antelope till he led 
 him within the palace. 
 
 As soon as the deer had got inside, they shut the door. 
 The antelope, seeing men, began to tremble and quake 
 with the fear of death, and ran hither and thither about 
 the hall. The king came down from his upper chamber, 
 and seeing that trembling creature, said, "Such is the 
 
2i8 \i.— VATA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 nature of an antelope, that it will not go for a week after- 
 wards to a place where it has seen men, nor its life long 
 to a place where it has been frightened. Yet this one, 
 with just such a disposition, and accustomed only to the 
 jungle, has now, bound by the lust of taste, come to just 
 such a place. Verily there is nothing worse in the world 
 than this lust of taste ! " And he summed up the lesson 
 in this stanza : 
 
 " There's nothing worse than greed, they say. 
 
 Whether at home, or with one's friends. 
 
 Through taste the deer, the wild one of the woods, 
 
 Fell under Sanjaya's control." 
 
 And when in other words he had shown the danger of 
 greed, he let the antelope go back to the forest. 
 
 When the Master had finished this discourse in illustra- 
 tion of what he had said (" Not now only mendicants ! 
 has this monk, caught by the lust of taste, fallen into her 
 power; formerly also he did the same"), he made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka as follows : " He 
 who was then Sanjaya was this slave-girl, the antelope 
 was the monk, but the king of Benares was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE SWIFT ANTELOPE. 
 
No. 15. 
 
 KHAEADITA JATAKA. 
 
 The Deer wio woTild not learn. 
 
 "Though a deer he most swift, Kharddiyd." — This the 
 Master told when at Jetavana, concerning a certain foul- 
 mouthed monk. For that monk, we are told, was abusive, 
 and would take no admonition. 
 
 Now the Master asked him, " Is it true what they say, 
 mendicant ! that you are abusive, and will take no 
 admonition ? " 
 
 " It is true, Blessed One ! " said he. 
 
 The Master said, "Formerly also, by your surliness 
 and your refusing to accept the admonition of the wise, 
 you were caught in a snare and came to destruction." 
 And he told a story. 
 
 Once upon a time, when Erahma-datta was reigning in 
 Benares, the Bodisat became a stag, and lived in the 
 forest, with a herd for his retinue. 
 
 Now his sister- roe (Kharadiya) pointed out to him her 
 son, and gave him in charge to him, saying, " Brother ! 
 this is your nephew. Teach him the devices of the deer." 
 
 And he said to his nephew, " Come at such and such a 
 time to learn." 
 
220 15.— KHARADIYA JATAKA. 
 
 At the appointed time he did not go. And one day as 
 he was wandering aboatj disregarding seven admonitions 
 given on as many days, and not learning the devices of 
 the deer, he was caught in a snare. 
 
 Then his mother went to her brother, and asked, " How 
 now, brother ! was your nephew instructed in the devices 
 of the deer ? " 
 
 " Think no more of that incorrigible feUow ! " said the 
 Bodisat. " Your son did not learn the devices of the 
 deer." 
 
 And then, to explain his own unwillingness to have 
 anything further to do with him, he uttered this stanza : 
 
 " Though a deer be most s"svift,i Kharadiya ! 
 And have antlers rising point o'er point. 
 If he transgress the seventh time, 
 I would not try to teach him more ! " 
 
 But the hunter killed that wilful deer caught in the 
 snare, and, taking his flesh, departed. 
 
 The Master having finished this discourse, in illustra- 
 tion of what he had said ("Formerly also, by your 
 surliness and your refusing to accept the admonition of 
 the wise, you were caught in a snare, and came to destruc- 
 tion "), made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka : 
 "The nephew deer of that time was the abusive monk, 
 the sister was TJppala-vanna, but the admonishing deer 
 was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE DEER AVHO WOULD NOT LEARN. 
 
 ' "'Eight-hoofed,' two hoofs on each foot," explains the commentator. 
 See note on p. 223. 
 
No. 16. 
 
 TIPALLATTHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 The Cunning Deer. 
 
 "I've taught the deer in posture skilled." — This the 
 Master told when at the Badarika nionastery in Kosambi, 
 about his son Rahula, who was over-anxious to observe 
 the Rules of the Order.^ 
 
 Once upon a time there was a king of Magadha reign- 
 ing in Rajagaha. At that time the Bodisat came to life 
 as a stag, and lived in the forest, attended by a herd of 
 deer. 
 
 Now his sister brought her son to him, saying, 
 " Brother ! instruct this thy nephew in the devices of 
 the deer." 
 
 " Very well," said the Bodisat, in assent, and directed 
 his nephew, " Go away now, dear, and on your return at 
 such and such a time you may receive instruction." 
 
 And he failed not at the time appointed by his uncle, 
 but went to him and received instruction. 
 
 One day as he was wandering about in the wood, he 
 was caught in a snare. And he uttered a cry — the cry 
 
 1 This amusing Introductory Story will scarcely bear translating. 
 
222 \%.— TIPALLATTHA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 of a captive. Then the herd took to flight, and let the 
 mother know that her son had been caught in a snare. 
 She went to her brother, and asked him, — 
 
 " Brother ! was j^our nephew instructed in the devices 
 of the deer ? " 
 
 " Suspect not j'our son of any faidt," said the Bodisat. 
 " He has well learnt the devices of the deer. Even now 
 he will come back to us and make you laugh for joy." 
 And he uttered this stanza : 
 
 I've trained the deer to be most swift. 
 
 To drink at midnight only, and, abounding in disguise. 
 
 To keep in any posture that he likes. 
 
 Breathing through one nostril hid upon the ground. 
 
 My nephew, by sis tricks at his command 
 
 Will yet outdo the foe ! 
 
 Thus the Bodisat, pointing out how thoroughly his 
 nephew had learnt the devices of the deer, comforted his 
 sister. 
 
 But the young stag, when he was caught in the trap, 
 struggled not at all. He lay down on the ground as 
 best he could ; stretched out his legs ; struck the ground 
 near his feet with his hoofs, so as to throw up earth 
 and grass ; let fall his head ; put out his tongue ; made 
 his body wet with spittle ; swelled out his belly by 
 drawing in his breath ; breathed through the lower nostril 
 only, holding his breath with the upper ; made his whole 
 frame stiff and stark, and presented the appearance of 
 a corpse. Even the bluebottles flew round him, and here 
 and there crows settled ! 
 
 When the hunter came up, he gave him a blow on the 
 stomach ; and saying to himself, " He must have been 
 
W.— THE CUNNING DEER. 
 
 223 
 
 caught early in the morning, he is already putrid," he 
 loosed the bands which tied him. And apprehending 
 nothing, he began to collect leaves and branches, saying 
 to himself, " I will dress him at once, here on the spot, 
 and carry off the flesh." 
 
 But the young stag arose, stood on his feet, shook 
 himself, stretched out his neck, and, swiftly as a cloud 
 driven bj^ a mighty wind, returned to his mother ! 
 
 The Teacher having finished this discourse, in illustra- 
 tion of his words (" Not now only, mendicants, was 
 Rahula devoted to instruction ; formerly also he was so," 
 etc.), made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka : 
 " At that time the nephew, the young stag, was Rahula, 
 the mother was TJppala-vanna, but the uncle was I 
 myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE CUNNING DEER.' 
 
 ' The verse is very obscure, tmd the long commentary does not make it 
 clearer. " To keep in any posture that he likes" is literally "having three 
 postures — master of three postures." " Most swift " is in the original "eight- 
 hoofed." If "eight-hoofed" means "with two hoofs on each foot," as the 
 commentator thinks, where would be the peculiarity eo creditable to the 
 obedient learner f The last line in the text is so corrupt that the commen- 
 tator can only suggest three contradictory and improbable explanations. If one 
 could venture to read chavaj^ kalahati bhoti, one might render, " My nephew, 
 lady, can counterfeit a corpse." Mr. Trenckner has been good enough to 
 send me the following suggested translation, "The deer, the threefold 
 cunning (?) fertUe in expedients, the cloven-footed, who goes to drink at 
 midnight (! f) {don't fear for him), lying on one ear, panting on the ground, 
 my nephew, by the six tricks he knows will dodge (the hunter)." 
 
No. 17. 
 
 MALUTA JATAKA. 
 
 The Wind. 
 
 "TFhenei-er the wind blows," etc. — This the Master told 
 ■when at Jetavana, about two Buddhist monks. They, we 
 are told, were living a forest life in the country of 
 Eosala ; and one was called Dark and the other called 
 Light. Now one day Light asked Dark, " Brother ! at 
 what time does the cold, as some people call it, come on? " 
 
 " Li the dark half of the month ! " said he. 
 
 But one day Dark asked Light, " Brother Light ! at 
 what time does the so-called cold come on ? " 
 
 " In the light lialf of the month ! " said he. 
 
 And neither of the two being able to solve the knotty 
 point, they went to the Master, and after paying him. 
 reverence, asked him, " At what time. Sir, is the cold ? " 
 
 When the Master had heard their story, he said, 
 " Formerly also, mendicants ! I solved this question for 
 you ; but the confusion arising from change of birth has 
 driven it out of your minds." And he told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time two friends, a Hon and a tiger, were 
 living in a certain cave at the foot of a hill. At that 
 time the Bodisat, who had devoted himself to the reli- 
 
Vt. — THE WIND. 2 25 
 
 gious life of a hermit, was living at the foot of that same 
 m^ountain. 
 
 Now one day a dispute arose between the friends about 
 the cold. The tiger said it was cold in the dark half of 
 the month, the lion said it was cold in the light haH. 
 And as neither of them could solve the difficulty, they 
 asked the Bodisat, and he uttered this stanza : 
 
 "It is whenever the wind blows, 
 In the dark half or in the light. 
 For cold is caused by wind : and so 
 You both are right." 
 
 Thus the Bodisat pacified the two friends. 
 
 When the Master had finished this discourse (" Formerly 
 also," etc.), he proclaimed the Truths. And at the close 
 thereof the two brethren were established in the Fruit 
 of Conversion. The Master made the connexion, and 
 summed up the Jataka : " He who was then the tiger was 
 Dark, the lion Light, but the ascetic who answered the 
 question was I myseK. 
 
 END OF THE STORY ABOUT THE TS^IND.^ 
 1 Compare the Fable of the Two sides of the Shield. 
 
 15 
 
No. 18. 
 
 MATAKA-BHATTA JATAKA. 
 
 On OflEering Food to the Dead. 
 
 "If people would hut understand." — This the Teacher 
 told when at Jetavana, about food offered to the dead. 
 
 For at that time people used to kill sheep and goats in 
 large numbers in order to offer what is called " The Feast 
 of the Dead " in honour of their deceased relatives. When 
 the monks saw men doing so, they asked the Teacher, 
 saying, "Lord! the people here bring destruction on 
 many living creatures in order to provide the so-called 
 'Feast of the Dead.' Can there possibly. Sir, be any 
 advantage in that ? " 
 
 The Teacher said, " Let not us, mendicants ! provide 
 the Feast of the Dead : for what advantage is there in 
 destroying life ? Formerly sages seated in the sky 
 preached a discourse showing the evils of it, and made all 
 the dwellers in Jambu-dlpa give up this practice. But 
 now since change of birth has set in, it has arisen again." 
 And he told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahma-datta was reigning in 
 Benares, a Brahman, a world-famous teacher, accom- 
 plished in the Three Vedas, had a goat brought, with the 
 
18.— 07^ OFFERING FOOD TO THE DEAD. %i-j 
 
 intention of giving tlie Feast of the Dead, and said to his 
 pupils : 
 
 " My lads! take this goat to the river, and bathe it, and 
 hang a garland round its neck, and give it a measure of 
 corn, and deck it out, and then bring it back." 
 
 "Very well," said they, and accordingly took it to the 
 river ; and when they had bathed it and decorated it, let 
 it stand on the bank. 
 
 The goat, seeing in this the effect of his former bad 
 conduct, thought to himself, " To-day I shall be free from 
 that great misery ; " and, glad at heart, he laughed a 
 mighty laugh, in sound like the crashing of a jar. Then, 
 thinking to himself, " This Brahman, by killing me, will 
 take upon himself like misery to that which I had earned," 
 he felt compassion for the Brahman, and wept with a 
 loud voice. 
 
 Then the young Brahman asked him, " Friend goat ! 
 you have both laughed heartily and heartily cried. Pray, 
 what is it makes you laugh, and what is it makes you 
 cry?" 
 
 " Ask me about it in your teacher's presence," said 
 he. 
 
 They took him back, and told their teacher of this 
 matter. And when he had heard their story, he asked 
 the goat, " Why did you laugh, goat, and why did you 
 cry?" 
 
 Then the goat, by his power of remembering former 
 births, called to mind the deeds he had done, and said to 
 the Brahman, " Formerly, Brahman, I had become 
 just such another Brahman, — a student of the mystic 
 verses of the Yedas ; and determining to provide a Feast 
 of the Dead, I killed a goat, and gave the Feast. By 
 
2z8 U.—MATAA'A-BHATTA JATAKA. 
 
 having killed that one goat, I have 'had my head cut off 
 in five hundred births, less one. This is my five hun- 
 dredth birth, the last of the series ; and it was at the 
 thought, ' To-day I shall be free from that great miserj^,' 
 that I became glad at heart, and laughed in the manner 
 A'ou have heard. Then, again, I wept, thinking, ' I who 
 just by having killed a goat incurred the misery of having 
 five hundred times my head cut off, shall be released to- 
 daj^ from the misery ; but this Brahman, by killing me, 
 will, like me, incur the misery of having his head cut off 
 five hundred times ; ' and so I wept." 
 
 " Fear not, goat ! I will not kill you," said he. 
 
 " Brahman ! what are you saying ? Whether you kill 
 me or not, I cannot to-day escape from death." 
 
 " But don't be afraid ! I wiU take you under my pro- 
 tection, and walk about close to you." 
 
 " Brahman ! of little worth is your protection ; while 
 the evil I have done is great and powerful ! " 
 
 The Brahman released the goat ; and saying, " Let us 
 allow no one to kill this goat," he took his disciples, and 
 walked about with it. No sooner was the goat at liberty, 
 than, stretching out its neck, it began to eat the leaves of 
 a bush growing near the ridge of a rock. That very 
 moment a thunderbolt fell on the top of the rock, and a 
 piece of the rock split off, and hit the goat on his out- 
 stretched neck, and tore off his head. And people crowded 
 round. 
 
 At that time the Bodisat had been born as the Genius 
 of a tree growing on that spot. By his supernatural 
 power he now seated himself cross-legged in the sky in 
 the sight of the multitude ; and thinking, " Would that 
 these people, seeing thus ' the fruit of sin, would abstain 
 
18.— OyV OFFERING FOOD TO THE DEAD. 229 
 
 from such destruction of life," he in a sweet voice taught 
 them, uttering this stanza : 
 
 " If people would but understand 
 That this would cause a birth in woe, 
 The living would not slay the living ; 
 For he who taketh life shall surely grieve ! " 
 
 Thus the Great Being preached to them the Truth, 
 terrifying them with the fear of hell. And when the 
 people had heard his discourse, they trembled with the 
 fear of death, and left oif taking Kfe. And the Bodisat, 
 preaching to the people, and establishing them in the 
 Precepts, passed away according to his deeds. The people, 
 too, attending upon the exhortations of the Bodisat, gave 
 gifts, and did other good deeds, and so filled the city of 
 the gods.^ 
 
 The Teacher having finished this discourse, made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka : " I at that time 
 was the Grenius of the tree." 
 
 END OF THE STORY ON FOOD OFFERED TO THE DEAD. 
 
 ' That is, by the production at their death of angels as the result of their 
 Karma. 
 
No. 19. 
 
 AYACITA-BHATTA JATAKA. 
 
 On Offerings given under a Vow. 
 
 " Would you he saved" etc. — This the Teacher told while 
 at Jetavana, about making offerings under a vow to the 
 gods. 
 
 At that time, we are told, men about to go on a trading 
 journey used to kill animals, and lay an offering before 
 the gods, and make a vow, saying, " When we have re- 
 turned in safety and success, we wiU. make an offering to 
 you," and so depart. Then when they returned safe and 
 successful, thinking, " This has happened by the power of 
 the God, they killed animals, and made the offering to 
 release themselves from the vow. 
 
 On seeing this, the mendicants asked the Blessed One, 
 " Lord ! is there now any advantage in this ? " And he 
 told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time, in the land of Kasi, a landed pro- 
 prietor in a certain village promised an offering to the 
 Genius of a Banyan-tree, standing by the gate of the 
 village. And when he had returned safely, he slew a 
 number of animals ; and sajang to himself, " I wUl make 
 myself free from my vow," he went to the foot of the 
 tree. 
 
19.— OTV^ OFFER! A^GS GIVEN UNDER A VOW. 
 
 23' 
 
 But the tree-god, standing in a fork of the tree, uttered 
 this stanza : 
 
 Would you be free, you first must die ! 
 Seeking for freedom thus, is being bound ! 
 Kot by such deeds as these are the wise made free : 
 Salvation is the bond of fools ! "' 
 
 Thenceforward men refrained from such life-destroying 
 deeds, and living a life of righteousness filled the city of 
 the gods. 
 
 The Teacher, having finished this discourse, made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka : " I at that time 
 was the Genius of the Tree." 
 
 5ND OF THE STORY ON OFFERINGS GIVEN UNDER 
 A VOW. 
 
 ' That is, in seeting after what they think is salvation (safety from the 
 ■wrath of a god), fools practise rites and harbour delusions which become 
 spiritual bonds. Death to oneself, and spiritual rebirth, is the only true 
 salvation. The whole parable is a play on the word " Mutti" which means 
 both salvation, and the performance of, the being delivered from, a vow. 
 
No. 20. 
 
 jSTALAPAJSTA JATAKA. 
 
 The Monkeys and the Demon. 
 
 "He saw the marks of feet," etc. — This the Teacher told 
 about the Nala-canes, when he was living at the Ketaka 
 wood, hard by the Lake of Nalaka-pana, after he had 
 come to the village of that name on his tour through 
 Kosala. 
 
 At that time the monks, after they had bathed in the 
 Nalaka-pana lake, had the canes of the Nala-plant brought 
 to them by the novices, for needle-cases. And finding 
 them hollow throughout, they went to the Teacher, and 
 asked him, " Lord ! we had Nala-canes brought for 
 needle-cases. They are hollow throughout, from root to 
 point. How is this ? " 
 
 " This, mendicants," said he, " is a former command, of 
 mine." And he told a tale. 
 
 This was formerly, they say, a densely-wooded forest. 
 And in its lake there was a water-demon, who used to eat 
 whomsoever went down into the water. At that time the 
 JBodisat was a monkey-king, in size like the fawn of a red 
 deer ; and attended by a troop of monkeys about eighty 
 thousand in number, he lived in tbat forest, preserving 
 them from harm. 
 
W.—THE MONKEYS AND THE DEMON. 233 
 
 Now he exhorted, the troop of monkeys, saying, " My 
 children ! in this forest there are poisonous trees, and 
 pools haunted hy demons. When you are going to eat 
 fruits of any kind you have not eaten before, or to drink 
 water you have not drunk before, ask me about it." 
 
 " Very well," said they. And one day they went to a 
 place they had not been to before. There they wandered 
 about the greater part of the day ; and when, in searching 
 about for water, they found a pond, they sat down with- 
 out even drinking, and looked forward to the arrival of 
 their king.^ 
 
 When the Bodisat had come, he asked them, "Why, 
 my children, do you take no water ? " 
 
 " We awaited your arrival," said they. 
 
 "It is well, my children!" said the Bodisat; and 
 fixing his attention on the foot-marks close round the edge 
 of the pond, he saw that they went down, but never came 
 up. Then he knew that it was assuredly haunted by 
 demons, and said, " You have done well, my children, not 
 to have drunk the water. This pond is haunted ! " 
 
 But when the demon of the water saw that they were 
 not going down into it, he assumed the horrible shape of 
 a blue-bellied, pale-faced, red-handed, red-footed creature, 
 and came splashing out through the water, and cried out, 
 "Why do you sit stiU here? Go down and drink the 
 water ! " 
 
 But the Bodisat asked him, "Are you the water-demon 
 who haunts this spot ?" 
 
 " Yes ! I am he ! " was the reply. 
 
 ' Any one who has seen the restlessness of monVeys in the safe precincts of 
 a Bnddhist monastery (or even in the monkey-house at the Zoological 
 Gardens) wiU appreciate the hnmour of this description. The Bharhut 
 sculptor, too, has some capital monkeys sitting, like good little boys, and. 
 listening to the Bodisat. 
 
234 W.—NALAPANA JATAKA. 
 
 " Have you received power over all who go down into 
 the pool ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed ! I carry off even a hird when it comes 
 down, and I let no one off. You too I will devour, one 
 and all ! " 
 
 " We shall not allow you to eat us." 
 
 " Well, then ! drink away ! " 
 
 " Yes ! we shall drink the water too, but we shall not 
 fall into your hands." 
 
 " How, then, will you get at the water ? " 
 
 "You imagine, I suppose, that we must go down to 
 drink. But you are wrong ! Each one of us eighty 
 thousand shall take a Nala-cane and drink the water of 
 your pond without ever entering it, as easily as one would 
 drink from the hoUow stem of a water-plant. And so you 
 will have no power to eat us ! " 
 
 It was when the Teacher as Buddha had recalled this 
 .circumstance that he uttered the first half of the following 
 stanza : 
 
 " I saw the marks of feet that had gone down, 
 I saw no marks of feet that had returned." 
 
 (But then he said to the monkeys) — 
 
 " We'U drink the water through a reed," 
 
 (And turning to the demon, he added) — 
 
 " And yet I'll not become your prey ! " 
 
 So saying, the Bodisat had a Nala-cane brought to him, 
 and appealing in great solemnity to the Ten Great 
 Perfections (generosity, morality, self-denial, wisdom, 
 perseverance, patience, truth, resolution, kindness, and 
 resignation) exercised by him in this and previous births, 
 
W.-TBE MONKEYS AND THE DEMON. 235 
 
 he blew into the cane.^ And the cane became hollow 
 throughout, not a single knot being left in it. In this 
 manner he had another, and then another, brought, and 
 blew into it.^ Then the Bodisat walked round the pond, 
 and commanded, saying, " Let all the canes growing here 
 be perforated throughout." And thenceforward, since 
 through the greatness of the goodness of the Bodisats 
 their commands are fulfilled, all the canes which grew 
 in that pond became perforated throughout. 
 
 There are four miracles in this Kalpa (the period which 
 elapses between the commencement of the formation of 
 the world and its final destruction) which endure through- 
 out a Kalpa — the sign of the hare in the moon will last 
 the whole Kalpa : ^ the place where the fire was extin- 
 guished in the Quail-birth will not take fire again 
 through all the Kalpa : * the place where the potter lived 
 wlR remain arid through all the Kalpa : the canes grow- 
 ing round this pond will be hollow through all the Kalpa. 
 These four are called the Kalpa-lasting Wonders. 
 
 After giving this command, the Bodisat took a cane 
 and seated himself. So, too, those eighty thousand mon- 
 keys took, each of them, a cane, and seated themselves 
 round the pond. And at the same moment as he drew 
 
 1 This solemn appeal to a former good action, if it te trae, is often 
 represented as working a miracle, and is called saccakirii/S, i.e. " truth-act." 
 Childers properly compares 2 Kings i. 10 : " If I he a man of God, then 
 let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there 
 came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty." But the 
 miracle, said ia the Buddhist scriptures to foUow on an appeal of this kind, is 
 usually, as ia this case, an assistance to some one in distress. On the Perfec- 
 tions, see above, pp. 54 to 58. 
 
 2 This seems to be a gloss, as the writer adds, " He could not have stopped 
 at that point ; so it should not thus be understood." 
 
 3 On this story, see the translator's " Buddhism," pp. 196-198. 
 ♦ On tliis stor)-, see below, Jataka No. 35. 
 
236 20.— JVA LA PA NA JAJAKA. 
 
 the water up into his cane and drank, so, too, they all sat 
 safe on the hank, and drank. 
 
 Thus the water-demon got not one of them into his 
 power on their drinking the water, and he returned in 
 sorrow to his own place. But the Bodisat and his troop 
 went back again to the forest. 
 
 When the Teacher, having finished this discourse in 
 illustration of his words (" The hoUowness of these canes, 
 mendicants, is a former command of mine "), he made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka, saying : " He who 
 was then the water-demon was Devadatta ; the eighty 
 thousand monkeys were the Buddha's retinue ; but the 
 monkey king, clever in resource, was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF NALA-PANA. 
 
No. 21. 
 
 KTTRUJSTGA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 The Wily Antelope. 
 
 " The Kurunga knows full well," etc. — This the teacher 
 told while at Jetavana about Devadatta. 
 
 For once when the monks had assembled in the lecture 
 hall, they sat talking of Devadatta's wickedness, saying, 
 "Brother Devadatta has suborned archers, and hurled 
 down a rock, and sent forth Dhanapalaka the elephant ; 
 in every possible way he goes about to slay the Sage." 
 
 The Teacher came, and sat down on the seat reserved 
 for him, and asked, " What is it, then. Mendicants, you 
 are sitting here talking about ? " 
 
 " Lord ! we were talking about the wickedness of 
 Devadatta in going about to slay you." 
 
 The Teacher answered, " !Not now only, mendicants, 
 has Devadatta gone about to slay me ; formerly, too, he 
 did the same, and was unsuccessful in his endeavour." 
 And he told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in 
 Benares, the Bodisat became a kurunga aktelope and 
 lived in his forest home, feeding on fruits. And at one 
 
238 Z\.—KURUNGA-MIGA JATAKA. 
 
 time lie was eating the Sepanni fruit on a heavily-laden 
 Sepamii-tree. 
 
 Now, a deerstalker of that village used to note the 
 tracks of the deer at the foot of the fruit-trees, build him- 
 self a platform on the tree above, and seating himself there, 
 wound with a javelin the deer who came to eat the fruit, 
 and make a living by selling their flesh. 
 
 On seeing, one day, the foot-marks of the Bodisat at the 
 foot of the Sepanni-tree, he made himself a platform 
 upon it, and having breakfasted early, he took his javeKn 
 with him, went to the wood, climbed up the tree, and took 
 his seat on the platform. 
 
 The Bodisat, too, left his lair early in the morning, and 
 came up to eat the Sepanni-fruits ; but vsathout going too 
 hastUy to the foot of the tree, he thought to himself 
 " Those platform-hunters sometimes make their platforms 
 on the trees. I wonder can there be any danger of that 
 kind." And he stopped at a distance to reconnoitre. 
 
 But the hunter, when he saw that the Bodisat was not 
 coming on, kept himself quiet, and threw down fruit so 
 that it fell in front of him. 
 
 The Bodisat said to himself, " Why, these fruits are 
 coming this way, and falling before me. There must be 
 a hunter up there ! " And looking up again and agara, he 
 discerned the hunter. Then pretending not to have seen 
 him, he called out, " Hallo, tree ! You have been wont 
 to let your fruit fall straight down, as if you were putting 
 forth a hanging root : but to-day you have given up 
 your tree-nature. So as you have surrendered the cha- 
 racteristics of tree-nature, I shall go and seek my food at 
 the foot of some other tree." So saying, he uttered this 
 stanza : 
 
21.-THE WILY ANTELOPE. 239 
 
 " The Kurunga knows full well, Sepanni, 
 Wliat kind of fruit you thus throw down. 
 Elsewhere I shall betake myself : 
 Your fruit, my friend, belikes me not." ^ 
 
 Then the hunter, seated as he was on the platform, hurled 
 his javelin at him, calling out, "Away with you! I've lost 
 you this time ! " 
 
 The Bodisat turned round, and stopped to crj^ out, " I 
 tell you, man, however much you may have lost me this 
 time, the eight Great Hells and the sixteen Ussada Hells, 
 and fivefold bondage and torment — the result of your 
 conduct — these you have not lost ! " And so saying, he 
 escaped whither he desired. And the hunter, too, got 
 down, and went whithersoever he pleased. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse in illus- 
 tration of what he had. said (" Not now only, mendi- 
 cants, does Devadatta go about to slay me ; formerly, also, 
 he did the same "), he made the connexion, and summed 
 up the Jataka as follows : " He who was then the hunter 
 was Devadatta, but the Kurunga Antelope was I mj^self."^ 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE KUEUNGA ANTTELOPE. 
 
 1 This verse is quoted by the Dliammapada Commentator, FaushoU, p. 147. 
 
 ' The Commentator on the " Scripture Verses" (p. 331), says that it was 
 at the end of this story that the Buddha littered the 162nd verse of that 
 Collection — " He who exceeds in -wickedness makes himself such as his 
 enemy might desire, (dragging himself down) as the creeper the tree which it 
 has covered." 
 
No. 22 
 
 KTJKKUEA JATAKA. 
 
 The Dog who turned Preacher. 
 
 " The clogs brought up in the king's home" etc. — TTiis the 
 Teacher told, while at Jetavana, about benefiting one's 
 relations. This will be explained in the Bhadda-sala 
 Jataka in the Twelfth Book. In confirmation of what is 
 there related, he told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in 
 Benares, the Bodisat, ia consequence of an act which 
 would have that efiect, came to life as a dog, and lived in 
 a great cemetery attended by a troop of several hundred 
 dogs. 
 
 Now, one day the king mounted his state-chariot, drawn 
 by milk-white steeds, went to his park, amused himself 
 there the rest of the day, and after sunset returned to the 
 city. And they put the carriage harness, just as it had 
 been used, in the courtyard. 
 
 There was raia in the night, and the harness got wet. 
 The royal dogs, too, came down from the flat roof of the 
 palace, and gnawed at the leather work and straps. The 
 
22.— THE DOG WHO TURNED PREACHER. 241 
 
 nest day the servants told the king, "Dogs have got 
 in, king, through the sliding door, and have eaten the 
 leather work and the straps." 
 
 The king, enraged at the dogs, gave orders that dogs 
 should be killed wherever they were seen. So there en- 
 sued a wholesale destruction of dogs : and finding there 
 was no safety for them anywhere else, they escaped to 
 the cemetery, and joined themselves to the Bodisat. 
 
 The Bodisat asked them the reason of their coming in 
 such numbers together. " People say," was the answer, 
 " that the leather work and the straps of a carriage in the 
 harem have been gnawed by dogs. The king in his anger 
 has commanded all dogs to be destroyed. Extreme is the 
 danger we are iu ! " 
 
 The Bodisat said to himself, " There's no opportunity 
 for dogs from outside to get rato a place so guarded. It 
 must be the royal dogs from within the palace that have 
 done this thing. And now nothing happens to the 
 thieves, and the innocent are punished with death. What 
 if I were to make the king see who the real culprits are, 
 and so save the Kves of my kinsfolk ? " 
 
 And he comforted his relations with the words, " Don't 
 you be afraid ! I will restore you to safety. Wait here 
 whilst I go and see the king." 
 
 Then guiding himself by thoughts of love, he called to 
 mind his Perfections, and uttered a command; saying, 
 " Let none dare to throw a club or a clod at me ! " and 
 so unattended he entered the city. And when they saw 
 him, not a creature grew angry at the sight of him. 
 
 Now the king, after issuing the order for the destruc- 
 tion of the dogs, sat himself down in the seat of judgment. 
 The Bodisat went straight up to the place, and rushing 
 
 VOL. I. 16 
 
2:). 2 22.—KUKKURA JATAKA. 
 
 forwards, ran underneath, tlie king's throne. Thereupon 
 the king's attendants were about to drive him away, but 
 the king stopped them. 
 
 After he had rested awhile, he came out from under 
 the throne, and made obeisance to the king, and asked 
 him, " Is it you who are having the dogs slain? " 
 
 "Yes; it is I," was the reply. 
 
 " What is their fault, king of men ? " 
 
 " They have eaten the leathern coverings and straps of 
 my chariot." 
 
 " Do you know which ones did it ? " 
 
 " That we don't know." 
 
 " To have all killed wherever they may be found, with- 
 out knowing for certain who are the culprits that gnawed 
 the leather, is not just, king ! " 
 
 " I gave orders for the destruction of the dogs, saying, 
 ' Kill them all wherever they may be found/ because dogs 
 had eaten the carriage leather." 
 
 " Wliat then ! Do your men kill all dogs, or are there 
 some not punished with death ? " 
 
 "There are some. The royal dogs in our house are 
 exempt." 
 
 " Great king ! only just now you were saying you had 
 given orders to kill all dogs, wherever found, because 
 dogs had eaten the carriage-leather ; and now you say 
 that the weU-bred dogs in your own house have been 
 exempted. Now this being so, you become guilty of 
 partiality and the other shortcomings of a judge.' Now, 
 to be guilty of such thing is neither right, nor kingly. 
 
 ■• Literally, of the Agatis (things of which a judge, and especially a 'king, 
 sitting as judge, ought not to he guilty) ; they are four in numher, partiality^ 
 ill-will, ignorance, and fear. 
 
"m. — THE DOG WHO TURNED PREACHER. 
 
 243 
 
 It behoves him -who bears the name of king to try motives 
 as with a balance. Since the royal dogs are not punished 
 with death, whilst the poor dogs are, this is no sentence 
 of death on all dogs, but slaughter of the weak." 
 
 Then the Great Being further lifted up his pleasant 
 voice, and said, " Great king ! That which you are doing 
 is not justice ; " and he taught the kiag the Truth in this 
 stanza : 
 
 " The dogs brought up in the king's house, 
 The thoroughbreds in birth and strength — 
 Not these, but we, are to be killed. 
 This is no righteous vengeance ; this is slaughter 
 of the weak ! " 
 
 When the king heard what the Bodisat said, he asked, 
 " Wise One, do you then know who it is has eaten the 
 carriage leather ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I know it," said he. 
 
 "^Vho are they then?" 
 
 " It is the thoroughbreds living in your own house." 
 
 " But how can we know they are the guilty ones ? " 
 
 " I will prove it to you." 
 
 " Prove it then, sage ! " 
 
 " Send for the thoroughbreds, and have a little butter- 
 milk and Dabba grass brought in." 
 
 The king did so ; and the Great Being said, " Have the 
 grass crushed in the buttermilk, and give the dogs to 
 drink." 
 
 The king did so ; and each of the dogs, as they drank it, 
 vomited it up, — and bits of leather with it. 
 
 Then the king was delighted as with a decision by the 
 all-wise Buddha himself ; and gave up his sceptre to the 
 
2 44 22.—KUKKURA JATAKA. 
 
 Bodisat. But the Bodisat preaclied the law to the king 
 in the ten verses on righteousness, from the story of the 
 Three Birds, heginning— 
 
 Walk righteously, great king ! . . . . 
 
 And confirming the king in the Five Commandments, 
 and exhorting him thenceforward to be unweary (in well 
 doing), he returned to the king his sceptre. 
 
 And the king listened to his exhortation, and granted 
 security to all living creatures ; and commanded a con- 
 stant supply of food, like the royal food, for all the dogs 
 from the Bodisat downwards. And he remained firm in 
 the teaching of the Bodisat, and did works of charity and 
 other good deeds his life long, and after death was reborn 
 in the world of the gods. 
 
 JSTow the Exhortation of the Dog flourished for tens of 
 thousands of years. But the Bodisat lived to a good old 
 age and passed away according to his deeds. 
 
 When the Teacher had concluded this discourse, in 
 illustration of his saying (" Not now only, mendicants, 
 did the Tathagata act for the benefit of his relatives, 
 formerly also he did so "), he made the connexion, and 
 summed up the Jataka by saying, "He who was then the 
 king was Ananda, the others were the Buddha's attend- 
 ants, but the Dog was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE DOG. 
 
No. 23. 
 
 BHOJAJANIYA JATAKA. 
 
 Tlie Bhoja Thoroughbred. 
 
 " Though fallen on his side," etc. — This the Teacher told 
 when at Jetavana, concerning a monk who had lost heart 
 in the struggle after holiness. For the Master then 
 addressed the monk, and said, " Formerl)^ mendicants, 
 the wise were wont to exert themselves unremittingly, 
 and did not give up when they received a check." And 
 he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat was bom into the family of a thoroughbred 
 Bhoja horse, and became the state charger of the king of 
 Benares. He fed out of a priceless golden dish on the 
 most delicious fine old rice ; and he stood in a fragrant 
 perfumed stall, hung round with curtains embroidered 
 with flowers, covered with a canopy painted with golden 
 stars, decked with garlands of sweet-smelling flowers, and 
 furnished with a lamp of fragrant oil that was never 
 extinguished. 
 
 Now there was no king who did not covet the kingdom 
 of Benares. On one occasion seven kings surrounded the 
 
246 ZZ.—BHOJAJANIYA JATAKA. 
 
 city, and sent a letter to tlie king of Benares, saying, 
 " Either give us up the kingdom, or give us battle ! " 
 
 The king called a council of his ministers, and told 
 them this, and asked them what was to be done. 
 
 " You ought not yourself, king, to go out to battle at 
 once," was the replj'. " Send such and such a knight to 
 give battle ; and if he fails, we shall know what to do 
 afterwards." 
 
 The king sent for him, and said, " Can you give battle, 
 well beloved, to these seven kings ? " 
 
 " king," said he, "if I may have the thoroughbred 
 Bhoja charger, I shall be able to fight, not only the seven 
 kings, but the kings of all the continent of India." 
 
 " Take the Bhoja or any other charger you like, my 
 trusty friend, and give them battle," said the king. 
 
 " Very good, my lord," said he, and took his leave, 
 and went down from the palace, and had the Bhoja 
 brought, and carefully clad in mail. And himself put on 
 all his armour, girt on his sword, mounted the horse, 
 issued from the city, charged like lightning against the 
 first entrenchment, broke through it, took one king alive, 
 galloped back, and delivered him over to the city guard. 
 
 Then he started again, broke through the second, then 
 the third, and so took five kings aUve ; and had broken 
 through the sixth, and had just taken the sixth king 
 prisoner, when the Bhoja thoroughbred received a wound, 
 and blood gushed forth, and he began to be in severe 
 pain. 
 
 When the horseman saw the Bhoja was woimded, he 
 made him lie down at the king's gate, loosened his mail, 
 and began to harness another horse. 
 
 Whilst the Bodisat lay there as best he could, he 
 
Zi. — TRE BHOJA THOROUGHBRED. 247 
 
 opened his eyes, and saw the knight, and said to himself, 
 " He is harnessing another horse. That horse won't be 
 able to break through the seventh line, or take the 
 seventh king. What I have already done will be lost. 
 The knight, too, who has no equal, will be kiUed; and 
 the king, too, will fall into the enemy's power. No other 
 horse, save I alone, can break through that remaining 
 line and take the seventh king." And lying there as he 
 was, he sent for the knight, and said — 
 
 " friend ! knight ! no other horse, save I alone, 
 will be able to break through the remaining line and take 
 that last king. And I will not myself destroy the deeds 
 I have already done. Have me helped up, and put the 
 armour on to me." And so saying, he uttered this 
 stanza : 
 
 " Though fallen on his side. 
 And wounded sore with darts, 
 The Bhoja's better than a hack ! 
 So harness me, charioteer ! " 
 
 Then the knight helped the Bodisat up, bound up his 
 wound, put on all his harness, seated himself on his back, 
 broke through the seventh line, took the seventh king 
 alive, and delivered him over to the king's guard. 
 
 They led the Bodisat, too, to the king's gate, and the 
 king went out to see him. Then the Great Being said to 
 the king — 
 
 " Great King ! slay not those seven kings. Take an 
 oath from them, and let them go. Let the honour due to 
 me and to the knight be all given to him alone. It is not 
 right to let a warrior come to ruin when he has taken 
 seven kings prisoners and delivered them over to you. 
 
248 2Z.—BH0yAjANIVA JATAKA. 
 
 And do you give gifts, and keep the commandments, and 
 rule your kingdom in righteousness and equity ! " 
 
 And 'svhen the Bodisat had thus exhorted the king, they 
 took off his harness. And as they were taking it off, 
 piece by piece, he breathed his last. 
 
 Then the king had a funeral performed for him, and 
 gave the knight great honour, and took an oath from the 
 seven kings that they would not rebel against him, and 
 sent them away each to his own place. And he ruled his 
 kingdom in righteousness and equity, and so at the end of 
 his life passed away according to his deeds. 
 
 The Teacher added, "Thus, mendicants, the wise, 
 even in former times, exerted themselves unremittingly, 
 and did not give in when they received a check. How 
 then can you lose heart, after being ordained according to 
 a system of religion so adapted to lead you to salvation ! 
 And he then explained the Truths. 
 
 When his exhortation was concluded, the monk who 
 had lost heart was established in the Fruit of Arahatship. 
 Then the Teacher made the connexion, and summed up 
 the Jataka by saying, "The king of that time was Ananda, 
 the knight was Sariputta, but the Bhoja thoroughbred 
 was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE BHOJA THOROUGHBRED. 
 
No. 24. 
 
 AJAKNA JATAKA. 
 Tlie Thoroughbred War Horse. 
 
 "At every time, in every place." — This also the Master 
 told, while at Jetavana, about that monk who lost heart.' 
 But when he had addressed the monk with the words, 
 "The wise in former times, monk, continued their 
 exertion, even though in the struggle they received a 
 blow," he told this tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, 
 seven kings, as before, surrounded the city. Then a 
 warrior who fought from a chariot harnessed two Sindh 
 horses, who were brothers, to his chariot, issued from 
 the city, broke through six lines and took six kings 
 prisoners. 
 
 At that moment the eldest of the horses received a 
 wound. The charioteer drove on tiU. he came to the 
 king's gate, took the elder horse out, loosened his harness, 
 made him lie down on his side, and began to harness 
 another horse. 
 
 ^ See the last Introductory Story. 
 
250 2\.— A J ANNA JATAKA. 
 
 Wten tlie Bodisat saw this, lie thougtt as before, sent 
 for tte charioteer, and lying as he was, uttered this 
 stanza : 
 
 " At every time, in every place, 
 Whate'er may chance, whate'er mischance, 
 The thoroughbred's still full of fire ! 
 'Tis a hack horse who then gives in ! " 
 
 The charioteer helped the Bodisat up, harnessed him, 
 broke through the seventh line, and bringing the seventh 
 king with him, drove up to the king's gate and took out 
 the horse. 
 
 The Bodisat, lying there on his side, exhorted the king 
 as before, and then breathed his last. The king performed 
 funeral rites over his body, did honour to the charioteer, 
 ruled his kingdom with righteousness, and passed away 
 according to his deeds. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished the discourse, he pro- 
 claimed the Truths, and summed up the Jataka (that 
 monk having obtained Arahatship after the Truths) by 
 saying, "The king of that time was Ananda, the horse 
 the Supreme Buddha." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE THOROUGHBRED. 
 
No. 25. 
 
 TITTHA JATAKA. 
 
 The Horse at the Ford. 
 
 "Feed the horse, then, charioteer," etc. — This the Master 
 told while at Jetavana about a monk who at that time was 
 a co-resident junior under the Minister of E,ighteousness, 
 but who had formerly been a goldsmith. 
 
 For the knowledge of hearts and motives belongs to the 
 Buddhas Only, and to no one else ; and hence it was that 
 even the Minister of Righteousness ^ prescribed corruption 
 as a subject of meditation for the monk under his rule, 
 through ignorance of his true character. 
 
 JN^ow the monk derived no benefit from tbat religious 
 exercise — for the following reason. He had come to life 
 in five hundred successive birtbs in a goldsmith's house. 
 Prom the continual sight through so long a period of the 
 purest gold, the idea of impurity was difficult for him to 
 grasp. Four months he spent without being able to get 
 the faintest notion of it. 
 
 As the Minister of Righteousness was unable to bestow 
 salvation (Arahatship) on his co-resident junior, he said 
 to himself, " He must be one of those whom only a 
 Buddha can lead to the Truth ! We will take him to the 
 Tathagata." And he led him to the Master. 
 
 The Master inquired of Sariputta why he brought the 
 
 ' A title of honour given to Sariputta. 
 
252 25.—TITTHA JATAKA. 
 
 monk before him. " Lord ! I prescribed a subject of 
 meditation for this brother, but in four months he has 
 failed to get the most elementary notion of it ; so I pre- 
 sumed he was one of those men whom only a Buddha can 
 lead to the Truth, and I have brought him to you." 
 
 " What was the particular exercise you prescribed for 
 him, Sariputta ? " 
 
 " The Meditation on Impurity, Blessed One ! " 
 
 " Sariputta ! you don't understand the hearts and 
 motives of men. Do you go now; but return in the 
 evening, and you shall take your co-resident with you." 
 
 Thus dismissing Sariputta, the Teacher had the monk 
 provided with a better suit of robes, kept him near him- 
 self on the begging-round, and had pleasant food given to 
 him. On his return with the monks he spent the rest of 
 the day in his apartment, and in the evening took that 
 brother with him on his walk round the monastery. 
 There, in a mango-grove, he created a pond, and in it a 
 large cluster of lotuses, and among them one flower of 
 surpassing size and beauty. And telling the monk to sit 
 down there and watch that flower, he returned to his 
 apartment. 
 
 The monk gazed at the flower again and again. The 
 Blessed One made that very flower decay; and even as 
 the monk was watching it, it faded away and lost its 
 colour. Then the petals began to fall off, beginning with 
 the outermost, and in a minute they had all dropped on 
 the groimd. At last the heart fell to pieces, and the 
 centre knob only remained. 
 
 As the monk saw this, he thought, "But now this 
 lotus-flower was exquisitely beautiful! Now its colour 
 has gone ; its petals and filaments have fallen away, 
 and only the centre knob is left ! If such a flower can so 
 decay, what may not happen to this body of mine ! 
 VerUy nothing that is composite is enduring ! " And the 
 eyes of his mind were opened. 
 
25.— THE HORSE AT THE FORD. 
 
 253 
 
 Then the Master knew that he had attained to spiritual 
 insight ; and without leaving his apartment, sent out an 
 appearance as of himself, saying : 
 
 " Root out the love of self, 
 As you might the autumn lotus with your hand. 
 Devote yourself to the "Way of Peace alone — 
 To the Nirvana which the Blessed One has preached ! " ' 
 
 As the stanza was over the monk reached to Arahat- 
 ship ; and at the thought of now being delivered from 
 every kind of future life, he gave utterance to his joy in 
 the hymn of praise beginning — 
 
 He who has lived his life, whose heart is fixed. 
 
 Whose evil inclinations are destroyed ; 
 
 He who is wearing his last body now. 
 
 Whose life is pure, whose senses well controlled — 
 
 He has gained freedom !- — as the moon set free. 
 
 When an eclipse has passed, from Rahu's jaws. 
 
 The utter darkness of delusion, 
 Which reached to every cranny of his mind. 
 He has dispelled ; and with it every sin — 
 Just as the thousand-ray'd and mighty sun 
 Sheds glorious lustre over all the earth. 
 And dissipates the clouds ! 
 
 And he returned to the Blessed One, and paid him 
 reverence. The Elder also came ; and when he took leave 
 of the Teacher, he took his co-resident junior back with 
 him. 
 
 And the news of this was noised abroad among the 
 brethren. And they sat together in the evening in the 
 Lecture Hall, extolling the virtues of the Sage, and 
 
 1 This is verse No. 285 of the ' Scripture Verses,' dpropos of which the 
 commentator tells the same story as is told here. 
 
254 25.—TITTIIA JATAKA. 
 
 saying, "Brethren, Sariputta the Venerahle, not pos- 
 sessing the knowledge of hearts and motives, ignored 
 the disposition of the monk under his charge ; but the 
 Master, having that knowledge, procured in one day for 
 that very man the blessing of Arahatship, with all its 
 powers ! Ah ! how great is the might of the Buddhas ! " 
 
 When the Teacher had come there and had taken his 
 seat, he asked them what they were talking about. And 
 they told him. 
 
 " It is not so very wonderfid, monks," said he, " that 
 I now, as the Buddha, should know this man's disposi- 
 tion ; formerly also I knew it." 
 
 And he told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time Brahmadatta was reigniag in Benares, 
 and the Bodisat was his adviser in thiags spiritual and 
 temporal. 
 
 Now somebody took a common hack to be rubbed down 
 at the ford where the king's state charger used to be 
 bathed. The charger was oflfended at being led down 
 into the water where a hack had been rubbed down, and 
 refused to step into it. 
 
 The horsekeeper went and said to the king, "Your 
 majesty ! the state charger won't enter the water." 
 
 The long sent for the Bodisat, and said, " Do you go. 
 Pandit, and find out why the horse won't go into the 
 water when he is led down to the ford." 
 
 " Yery well, my Lord ! " said he ; and went to the 
 ford, and examined the horse, and found there was 
 nothing the matter with it. Then, reflecting what might 
 be the reason, he thought, " Some other horse must have 
 
^.—THE HORSE AT THE FORD. 
 
 255 
 
 been watered tare just before him ; and offended at that, 
 he must have refused to enter the water." 
 
 So he asked the horsekeepers whether anything had 
 been watered at the ford just before. 
 
 " A certain hack, my Lord ! " said they. 
 
 Then the Bodisat saw it was his vanity that made him 
 wish not to be bathed there, and that he ought to be 
 taken to some other pond. So he said, " Look you, 
 horsekeeper, even if a man gets the finest milky rice with 
 the most delicious curry to eat, he will tire of it sooner or 
 later. This horse has been bathed often enough at the 
 ford here, take him to some other ford to rub him down 
 and feed him." And so saying, he uttered the verse — 
 
 " Feed the horse, then, charioteer, 
 Now at one ford, now at another. 
 If one but eat it oft enough. 
 The finest rice surfeits a man ! " 
 
 When they heard what he said, they took the horse to 
 another ford, and there bathed and fed him. And as 
 they were rubbing down the horse after watering him, 
 the Bodisat went back to the king. 
 
 The king said, " Well, friend ! has the horse had his 
 bath and his drink ? " 
 
 " It has, my Lord ! " 
 
 " Why, then, did it refuse at first ? " 
 
 " Just in this way," said he ; and told him all. 
 
 The king gave the Bodisat much honour, saying, " He 
 imderstands the motives even of such an animal as this. 
 How wise he is ! " And at the end of this life he passed 
 away according to his deeds. And the Bodisat too passed 
 away according to his deeds. 
 
256 25.— TITTHA JATAKA. 
 
 When the Master had finished this discourse in illus- 
 tration of his saying ("Not now only, mendicants, 
 have I known this man's motive ; formerly also I did so "), 
 he made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, by 
 saying, " The state charger of that time was this monk, 
 the King was Ananda, but the wise minister was I 
 myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE FOKD. 
 
No. 26. 
 
 MAHILA-MUKHA JATAKA. 
 
 Evil conmninications corrupt good maimers. 
 
 "By listening first to robbers' talk," etc} — This the 
 Master told when at Jetavana, about Devadatta. Deva- 
 datta became well-pleasing to Prince Ajata-sattu, and 
 had great gain and honour. The Prince had a monastery 
 built for him at Gaya-sisa, and five hundred vessels-full 
 of food made of the finest old fragment- rice provided for 
 him daily. Through this patronage Devadatta's following 
 increased greatly, and he lived with his disciples in that 
 monastery. 
 
 At that time there were two friends living at Rajagaha; 
 and one of them took the vows under the Teacher, the 
 other under Devadatta. And they used to meet in 
 different places, or go to the monasteries to see one 
 another. 
 
 Now one day Devadatta's adherent said to the other, 
 " Brother ! why do you go daily with toil and trouble to 
 beg your food ? Ever since Devadatta was settled at the 
 Gaya-slsa Monastery he is provided with the best of 
 things to eat. That's the best way to manage. Why do 
 you make labour for yourself? "Wouldn't it be much 
 
 • This Introductory Story is also told as the introduction to Jatakas 
 Nos. 141 and 184. 
 
 YOL. i. 17 
 
258 iR.—MAHILA-MUKHA JATAKA. 
 
 better for you to come in the morning to Gaya-sTsa and 
 enjoy really good food — drinking our excellent gruel, and 
 eating from tlie eighteen kinds of dishes we get ? " 
 
 When he had been pressed again and again, he became 
 ■willing to go ; and thenceforward he used to go to Gaya- 
 elsa and take his meal, and return early to the Bambu 
 Grove. But it was impossible to keep it secret for ever ; 
 and before long it was noised abroad that he went to 
 Gaya-slsa and partook of the food provided for Devadatta. 
 
 So his friends asked him if that were true. 
 
 " Wh.0 has said such a thing ? " said he. 
 
 " Such and such a one," was the reply. 
 
 "Well, it is true, brethren, that I go and take my 
 meals at Gaya-slsa ; but it is not Devadatta, it is the 
 others who give me to eat." 
 
 " Brother ! Devadatta is a bitter enemy of the Buddhas. 
 The wicked fellow has curried favour with Ajata-sattu, 
 and won over his patronage by his wickedness. Yet you, 
 who took the vows under a system so well able to lead 
 you to Nirvana, now partake of food procured for Deva- 
 datta by his wickedness. Come ! we must take you 
 before the Master ! " So saying, they brought him to 
 the Lecture Hall. 
 
 The Master saw them, and asked, " What, then ! are 
 you come here, O mendicants ! bringing this brother with 
 you against his will ? " 
 
 "Tes, Lord," said they. "This brother took the vows 
 under you, and yet he partakes of the food which Deva- 
 datta's wickedness has earned for him." 
 
 The Teacher asked him whether this was true what 
 they said, 
 
 " Lord ! " replied he, " it is not Devadatta, but the 
 others who give me food : that I do eat." 
 
 Then said the Teacher, " monk, make no excuse for 
 it. Devadatta is a sinful, wicked man. How then can 
 you, who took the vows here, eat Devadatta's bread, even 
 
2e.—EV/Z COMMUNICATIOh^S. 259 
 
 while devoting yourself to my religion ? Yet you always, 
 even when right in those whom you honoured, used to 
 follow also any one you met." And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat became his minister. At that time the king 
 had a state elephant, named ' Grirly-face,' who was good 
 and gentle, and would hurt nobody. 
 
 Now one day, robbers came at night-time to a place 
 near his stall, and sat down not far from him, and con- 
 sulted about their plans, saying, " Thus should a tunnel 
 be broken through ; thus should housebreaking be carried 
 out ; goods should be carried off only after the tunnel or 
 the breach has been made clear and open as a road or 
 a ford ; the taker should carry off the things, even with 
 murder, thus no one will be able to stand up against him ; 
 robbery must never be united with scruples of conduct, 
 but with harshness, violence, and cruelty." Thus advising 
 and instructing one another, they separated. 
 
 And the next day likewise, and so for many days they 
 assembled there, and consulted together. When the 
 elephant heard what they said, he thought, "It is me 
 they are teaching. I am in future to be harsh, violent, 
 and cruel." And he really became so. 
 
 Early in the morning an elephant keeper came there. 
 TTim he seized with his trimk, dashed to the ground, and 
 slew. So, likewise, he treated a second and a third, 
 slaying every one who came near him. 
 
 So they told the king that ' Girly-f ace ' had gone mad, 
 and killed every one he caught sight of. The King sent 
 
26o V&.—MAHILA-MUKHA JATAKA. 
 
 tlie Bodisat, sajdng, " Do you go, Pandit, and find out 
 what's the reason of his having become a Rogue ! " ^ 
 
 The Bodisat went there, and finding he had no bodily 
 aihnent, thought over what the reason could be ; and 
 came to the conclusion that he must have become a Rogue 
 after overhearing some conversation or other, and thinking 
 it was meant as a lesson for Mm. So he asked the elephant 
 keepers, " Has there been any talking going on at night 
 time, near the stable ? " 
 
 " yes, sir ! Some thieves used to come and talk 
 together," was the reply. 
 
 The Bodisat went away, and told the king, " There 
 is nothing bodily the matter with the elephant, your 
 Majesty ; it is simply from hearing robbers talk that he 
 has become a Rogue." 
 
 "Well ; what ought we to do now ? " 
 
 " Let holy devotees, venerable by the saintliness of 
 their lives,^ be seated in the elephant stable and talk of 
 righteousness." 
 
 ' A " Rogue elephant " is a ■well-kno'wii technical term for a male wlio 
 has been driven ont of the herd, and away from the females, by a stronger 
 than himself ; or for a male, who, in the rutting season, has lost his self- 
 command. Such elephants, however gentle before, become exceedingly 
 vicious and wanton. 
 
 * Literally Samana-Brahmans, the Samanas, or Self-conquering Ones, being 
 those who have given up the world, and devoted themselves to lives of self- 
 renunciation and of peace. Eeal superiority of caste — true Brabmanship — is 
 the result, not of birth, but of self-culture and self-control. The Samanas 
 are therefore the true Brahmans, ' Brahmans by saintliness of life.' The 
 Samanas were not necessarily Buddhists, though they disregarded the rites 
 and ceremonies inculcated by the Brahmans. It would not have answered 
 the king's purpose to send Brahmans : who are distinguished throughout the 
 Jatakas, not by holiness of life, but by birth ; and who would be represented 
 as likely to talk, not of righteousness, but of ritual. I cannot render the 
 compound, therefore, by ' Samanas and Brahmans,' and I very much doubt 
 whether it ever has that meaning (but see ChUders contra, under Samaim). 
 It certainly never has the sense of ' Samanas or Brahmans.' It was an early 
 Buddhist idea that the only true Samanas were those members of the Order 
 who had entered the Noble Path, and the only true Brahmans those who had 
 reached to the goal of the Noble Path, that is, to Nirvana. See Maha 
 Parinibbana Sutta, p. 68. 
 
26.— EVIL COMMUNICATIONS. 261 
 
 "Then do so, my friend," said the king. And the 
 Bodisat got holy men to sit near the elephant's stall, 
 telling them to talk of holy things. 
 
 So, seated not far from the elephant, they began : " No 
 one should he struck, no one killed. The man of upright 
 conduct ought to be patient, loving, and merciful." 
 
 On hearing this, he thought, " It is me these men are 
 teaching ; from this time forth I am to be good ! " And 
 so he became tame and quiet. 
 
 The king asked the Bodisat, "B!ow is it, my friend? 
 Is he quieted?" 
 
 " Yes, my Lord ! The elephant, bad as he -^as, has, 
 because of the wise men, been re-established in his former 
 character." And so saying, he uttered the stanza : 
 
 By Kstening first to robbers' talk, 
 
 ' Grirly-face ' went about to kill. 
 
 By listening to men with hearts well trained. 
 
 The stately elephant stood firm once more 
 
 In all the goodness he had lost. 
 
 Then the king gave great honour to the Bodisat for 
 understanding the motives even of one born as an animal. 
 And he lived to a good old age, and, with the Bodisat, 
 passed away according to his deeds. 
 
 The Teacher having finished this discourse, in illustra- 
 tion of what he had said (" Formerly also, monk, you 
 used to follow any one you met. When you heard what 
 thieves said, you followed thieves ; when you heard what 
 
262 Zi.—MAHILA-MUKHA JATAKA. 
 
 the righteous said, you followed them"), he made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka by saying, "He 
 who at that time was ' Girly-face ' was the traitor-monk, 
 the king was Ananda, and the minister was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY ABOUT ' GIRLY-FACE.' ' 
 
 1 Perhaps ' Woman-face ' would be a more literal rendering of the word 
 
 Mahila-mukha. But as the allusion is evidently to the elephant's naturally 
 
 gentle character, I have rendered the expression by ' Girly-face.' The ex- 
 aggeration in this story is somewhat too absurd for Western tastes. 
 
No. 27. 
 
 ABHINHA JATAEA. 
 
 The Elephant and the Dog. 
 
 "No longer can he take a morsel even," etc. — This the 
 Master told when at Jetavana about an old monk and a 
 lay convert. 
 
 At Savatthi, the story goes, there were two friends. 
 One of them entered the Order, and went every day to 
 get his meal at the house of the other. The other gave 
 him to eat, and ate himself ; and went back with him 
 to the monastery, sat there chatting and talking with him 
 tiU sunset, and then returned to the city. The other, 
 again, used to accompany him to the city gate, and then 
 turn back. And the close friendship between them be- 
 came common talk among the brethren. 
 
 Now one day the monks sat talking in the Lecture Hall 
 about their intimacy. When the Teacher came, he asked 
 them what they were talking about, and they told him. 
 Then he said, " Not now only, mendicants, have these 
 been close allies ; they were so also in a former birth." 
 And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat became his minister. 
 
 At that time a dog used to go to the state elephant's 
 
2 54 Vl.—ABHINHA JATAKA. 
 
 stable, and feed on the lumps of rice which fell where the 
 elephant fed. Being attracted there by the food, he soon 
 became great friends with the elephant, and used to eat 
 close by him. At last neither of them was happy without 
 the other ; and the dog used to amuse himself by catching 
 hold of the elephant's trunk, and swinging to and fro. 
 
 But one day there came a peasant who gave the 
 elephant-keeper money for the dog, and took it back with 
 him to his Tillage. Prom that time the elephant, missing 
 the dog, would neither eat nor drink nor bathe. And they 
 let the king know about it. 
 
 He sent the Bodisat, saying, " Do you go. Pandit, and 
 find out what's the cause of the elephant's behaviour."^ 
 
 So he went to the stable, and seeing how sad the ele- 
 phant looked, said to himself, " There seems to be nothiag 
 bodily the matter with him. He must be so overwhelmed 
 with grief by missing some one, I should think, who had 
 become near and dear to him." And he asked the ele- 
 phant-keepers, "Is there any one with whom he is 
 particularly intimate ? " 
 
 " Certainly, Sir ! There was a dog of whom he was 
 very fond indeed ! " 
 
 "Wtereisitnow?" 
 
 " Some man or other took it away." 
 
 " Do you know where the man Hves ? " 
 
 "No, Sir!" 
 
 Then the Bodisat went and told the king, "There's 
 nothing the matter with the elephant, your majesty ; but 
 
 ' So at p. 121 of tlie Mahavagsa the king sends Mahinda to find out wliy 
 the state elephant refused his food. Mahinda finds the motive to be that 
 the elephant "wants a iJagaba to he built ; and the king, •* "who always grati- 
 fied the desires of his subjects," had the temple built at once ! The author 
 of the MahaTagsa must often have heard the Jataka stories told, and this 
 among the number. 
 
VI.— THE ELEPHANT AND THE DOG. 265 
 
 he was great friends with a dog, and I fancy it's through 
 missing it that he refuses his food." 
 And so sajdng, he uttered the stanza : 
 
 No longer can he take a morsel even 
 Of rice or grass ; the bath delights him not ! 
 Because, methinks, through constant intercourse, 
 The elephant had come to love the dog. 
 
 When the kiag heard what he said, he asked what was 
 now to he done. 
 
 " Have a proclamation made, king, to this effect : 
 ' A man is said to have taken away a dog of whom our 
 state elephant was fond. In whose house soever that dog 
 shall be found, he shall be fined so much ! ' " 
 
 The king did so ; and as soon as he heard of it, the 
 man turned the dog loose. The dog hastened back, and 
 went close up to the elephant. The elephant took him up 
 in his trunk, and placed him on his forehead, and wept 
 and cried, and took him down agaiu, and watched him 
 as he fed. And then he took his own food. 
 
 Then the king paid great honour to the Bodisat for 
 knowing the motives even of animals. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse, and had 
 enlarged upon the Four Truths,' he made the connexion 
 and summed up the Jataka, " He who at that time was 
 the dog was the lay convert, the elephant was the old 
 monk, but the minister pandit was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY ON CONSTANCY. 
 
 • Note hy the Commentator. " This so-called enforcing (or illnstrating) the 
 story by a discourse on the Four Truths is to be understood at the end of 
 every Jataka ; but we only mention it when it appears that it was blessed (to 
 the conversion of some character in the Introductory Story)." 
 
No. 28. 
 
 NANDI-VISALA JATAKA. 
 
 The Bull who Won the Bet. 
 
 "Speak kindly." — This the Master told when at Jeta- 
 vana concerning the abusive language of the Six.^ 
 
 For on one occasion the Six made a disturbance by 
 scorning, snubbing, and annoying peaceable monks, and 
 overwhelming them with the ten kinds of abuse. The 
 monks told the Blessed One about it. He sent for the 
 Six, and asked them whether it was true. And on their 
 acknowledging it, he reproved them, saying, " Harsh 
 speaking, mendicants, is unpleasant, even to animals. 
 An animal once made a man who addressed him. harshly 
 lose a thousand." And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago a king of Gandhara was reigning in Takka- 
 sila, in the land of Gandhara. The Bodisat came to life 
 then as a bull. 
 
 Now, when he was yet a young calf, a certain Brahman, 
 after attending upon some devotees who were wont to 
 
 ' These " Six" are noted characters in Buddhist legend. They are sir 
 bad monks, whose evil deeds and -words are said to have giren occasion to 
 many a " bye-law," if one may so say, enacted in the Vinaya Pitaka for the 
 guidance of the members of the Buddhist Order of Mendicants. 
 
2d.— THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. 267 
 
 give oxen to priests, received the bull. And he called it 
 Nandi Visala, and grew very fond of it ; treating it like a 
 son, and feeding it on gruel and rice. 
 
 When the Bodisat grew up, he said to himself, " This 
 Brahman has brought me up with great care ; and there's 
 no other ox in all the continent of India can drag the 
 weight I can. "What if I were to let the Brahman know 
 about my strength, and so in my turn provide sustenance 
 for him ! " 
 
 And he said one day to the Brahman, " Do you go now, 
 Brahman, to some squire rich ia cattle, and offer to bet 
 him a thousand that your ox will move a hxmdred laden 
 carts." 
 
 The Brahman went to a rich farmer, and started a con- 
 versation thus : 
 
 "Whose bullocks hereabout do you think the strongest?" 
 
 " Such and such a man's," said the farmer ; and then 
 added, " but of course there are none in the whole country- 
 side to touch my own ! " 
 
 " I have one ox," said the Brahman, " who is good to 
 move a hundred carts, loads and all ! " 
 
 " Tush ! " said the squire. " Where in the world is 
 such an ox ? " 
 
 " Just in my house ! " said the Brahman. 
 
 " Then make a bet about it ! " 
 
 " All right ! I bet you a thousand he can." 
 
 So the bet was made. And he filled a hundred carts 
 (small waggons made for two bullocks) with sand and 
 gravel and stones, ranged them all in. a row, and tied 
 them all firmly together, cross-bar to axle-tree. 
 
 Then he bathed Wandi Visala, gave him a measure of 
 scented rice, hung a garland round his neck, and yoked 
 
2 68 Z'&.—NANDI-VISALA JATAKA. 
 
 him by himself to the front cart. Then he took his seat 
 on the pole, raised his goad aloft, and called out, " Gee 
 up ! you brute ! ! Drag 'em along ! you wretch ! ! " 
 
 The Eodisat said to himself, "He addresses me as a 
 wretch. I am no ivretch ! " And keeping his four legs as 
 firm as so many posts, he stood perfectly stiU. 
 
 Then the squire that moment claimed his bet, and 
 made the Brahman hand over the thousand pieces. And 
 the Brahman, minus his thousand, took out his ox, went 
 home to his house, and lay down overwhelmed with 
 grief. 
 
 Presently JSTanda Visala, who was roaming about the 
 place, came up and saw the Brahman grieving there, and 
 said to him, 
 
 " What, Brahman ! are you asleep ? " 
 
 " Sleep ! How can I sleep after losing the thousand 
 pieces ? " 
 
 " Brahman ! I've lived so long in your house, and 
 have I ever broken any pots, or rubbed up against the 
 walls, or made messes about ? " 
 
 " Never, my dear ! " 
 
 " Then why did you call me a wretch ? It's your fault. 
 It's not my fault. Go now, and bet him two thousand, 
 and never call me a wretch again — I, who am no wretch 
 at all!" 
 
 When the Brahman heard what he said, he made the 
 bet two thousand, tied the carts together as before, decked 
 out Wandi Visala, and yoked him to the foremost cart. 
 
 He managed this ia the following way: he tied the 
 pole and the cross-piece fast together ; yoked Nandi 
 Visala on one side ; on the other he fixed a smooth piece 
 of timber from the point of the yoke to the axle-end, and 
 
V&. — THE BULL WHO WON THE BET. 269 
 
 wrapping it round with the fastenings of the cross-piece, 
 tied it fast ; so that when this was done, the yoke could 
 not move this way and that way, and it was possible for 
 one ox to drag forwards the double bullock-cart. 
 
 Then the Brahman seated himself on the pole, stroked 
 Nandi Visala on the back, and called out, " Gee up ! my 
 beauty ! ! Drag it along, my beauty ! ! " 
 
 And the Bodisat, with one mighty effort, dragged for- 
 wards the hundred heavily-laden carts, and brought the 
 hindmost one up to the place where the foremost one had 
 stood! 
 
 Then the cattle-owner acknowledged himself beaten, 
 and handed over to the Brahman the two thousand ; the 
 bystanders, too, presented the Bodisat with a large sum ; 
 and the whole became the property of the Brahman. 
 Thus, by means of the Bodisat, great was the wealth he 
 acquired. 
 
 So the Teacher reproved the Six, saying, "Harsh 
 words, mendicants, are pleasant to no one ; " and 
 uttered, as Buddha, the following stanza, laying down 
 a rule of moral conduct : 
 
 Speak kindly ; never speak in words unkind ! 
 
 He moved a heavy weight for him who kiudly spake. 
 
 He gained him wealth ; he was delighted with him ! 
 
 When the Teacher had given them this lesson in virtue 
 (" Speak kindly," etc.), he summed up the Jataka, " The 
 Brahman of that time was Ananda, but Nandi Visala was 
 I myself." 
 
 END or THE STORY OF THE BULL VS^HO WON THE BET. 
 
No. 29. 
 
 KANHA JATAKA. 
 
 The Old Woman's Black Bull. 
 
 " Wliene'er the had he heavy." — This the Master told 
 while at Jetavana, about the Double Miracle. That and 
 the Descent from Heaven will be explained in the Birth 
 Story of the Sarabha Antelope, in the Thirteenth Book. 
 
 The Supreme Buddha performed on that occasion the 
 Double Miracle, remained some time in heaven, and on 
 the Great Day of the Pavarana FestivaP descended at the 
 city of Sagkassa, and entered Jetavana with a great 
 retinue. 
 
 When the monks were seated in the Lecture Hall, they 
 began to extol the virtue of the Teacher, saying, " Truly, 
 Brethren ! unequalled is the power of the Tathagata. The 
 yoke the Tathagata bears none else is able to bear. 
 Though the Six Teachers kept on saying, ' We will work 
 wonders ! We will work wonders ! ' they could not do 
 even one. Ah! how unequalled is the power of the 
 Tathagata ! " 
 
 1 This was a December festiTal, held to celebrate the close of the season 
 of "WAS, the four (or, according to some authorities, three) months of rainy 
 weather, during which the members of the Order had to stay in one place. 
 The Buddha had spent "WAS among the angels — not, of course, that he cared 
 to go to heaven for his own sake, but to give the ignorantly happy and 
 deluded angels an opportunity of learning how to forsake the error of their 
 ways. In a subsequent form of this curious legend, whose origin is at present 
 unknown, he is said to have descended into hell with a similar object. See 
 Professor Cowell in the Indian AnliqtMry for 1879. 
 
29.—T//E OLD WOMAN'S BLACK BULL. zyi 
 
 When the Teacher came there, he asked them what 
 they were discussing, and they told him. Then he said, 
 " mendicants ! who should now bear the yoke that I 
 can bear ? For even when an animal in a former birth I 
 could find no one to drag the weight I dragged." And 
 he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat returned to life as a buE. 
 
 Now, when it was still a young calf, its owners stopped 
 a while in an old woman's house, and gave him to her 
 when they settled their account for their lodging. And 
 she brought him up, treating him like a son, and feeding 
 him on gruel and rice. 
 
 He soon became known as " The old woman's Blackie." 
 When he grew up, he roamed about, as black as collyriura, 
 with the village cattle, and was very good-tempered and 
 quiet. The village children used to catch hold of his 
 horns, or ears, or dewlaps, and hang on to him ; or amuse 
 themselves by pu llin g his tail, or riding about on his 
 back. 
 
 One day he said to himself, " My mother is wretchedly 
 poor. She's taken so much pains, too, in bringing me up, 
 and has treated me like a son. What if I were to work 
 for hire, and so reKeve her distress ! " And from that 
 day he was always on the look out for a job. 
 
 JSTow one day a young caravan owner arrived at a 
 neighbouring ford with five hundred bullock-waggons. 
 And his bullocks were not only imable to drag the carts 
 across, but even when he yoked the five hundred pair in 
 a row they could not move one cart by itself. 
 
2^2 Wi.—KANHA JATAKA. 
 
 The Bodisat was grazing with the village cattle close 
 to the ford. The young caravan owner was a famous 
 judge of cattle, and began looking about to see whether 
 there were among them any thoroughbred bull able to 
 drag over the carts. Seeing the Bodisat, he thought he 
 would do ; and asked the herdsmen — 
 
 " Who may be the owners, my men, of this fellow ? I 
 should like to yoke him to the cart, and am willing to 
 give a reward for having the carts dragged over." 
 
 "Catch him and yoke him then!" said they. "He 
 has no owner hereabouts." 
 
 But when he began to put a string through his nose 
 and drag him along, he could not get him to come. For 
 the Bodisat, it is said, wouldn't go till he was promised a 
 reward. 
 
 The young caravan owner, seeing what his object was, 
 said to him, " Sir ! if you'll drag over these five hundred 
 carts for me, I'll pay you wages at the rate of two pence 
 for each cart — a thousand pieces in all." 
 
 Then the Bodisat went along of his own accord. And the 
 men yoked him to the cart. And with a mighty effort he 
 dragged it up and landed it safe on the high ground. 
 And in the same manner he dragged up all the carts. 
 
 So the caravan owner then put five hundred pennies in 
 a bundle, one for each cart, and tied it round his neck. 
 The bull said to himself, " This fellow is not giving me 
 wages according to the rate agreed upon. I shan't let 
 him go on now ! " And so he went and stood in the way 
 of the front cart, and they tried in vain to get him away. 
 
 The caravan owner thought, "He knows, I suppose, 
 that the pay is too little ; " and wrapping a thousand 
 pieces in a cloth, tied them up in a bimdle, and hung that 
 
%^.— THE OLD WOMAN'S BLACK BULL. 
 
 273 
 
 round his neck. And as soon as he had got the bundle 
 with a thousand inside he went oflF to his ' mother.' 
 
 Then the village children called out, " See ! what's 
 that round the neck of the old woman's Blackie ? " and 
 began to run up to him. But he chased after them, so 
 that they took to their heels before they got near him ; 
 and he went straight to his mother. And he appeared 
 with eyes all bloodshot, utterly exhausted from dragging 
 over so many carts. 
 
 " How did you get this, dear ? " said the good old 
 woman, when she saw the bag round his neck. And 
 when she heard, on inquiry from the herdsmen, what had 
 happened, she exclaimed, " Am. I so anxious, then, to live 
 on the fruit of your toil, my darling ! Why do you put 
 yourself to all this pain ? " 
 
 And she bathed him in warm water, and rubbed him all 
 over with oil, and gave him to drink, and fed him up 
 with good food. And at the end of her life she passed 
 away according to her deeds, and the Bodisat with her. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this lesson in virtue, 
 in illustration of that saying of his (" Not now only, 
 mendicants, has the Bodisat been excellent in power ; he 
 was so also in a former birth "), he made the connexion, 
 and, as Buddha, uttered the following stanza : 
 
 Whene'er the load be heavy. 
 Where'er the ruts be deep, 
 Let them yoke ' Blackie ' then, 
 And he will drag the load ! 
 
 f OL. JC 18 
 
274 29.— JiTANffA JATAKA. 
 
 Then the Blessed One told them, "At that time, 
 mendicants, only the Black Bull could drag the load." 
 And he then made the connexion and summed up the 
 Jiitaka : " The old woman of that time was TJppala-vannii, 
 but 'the old woman's Blackie' was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE OLD WOMAn's BLACK BULL.' 
 
 ' It will be obserred that the old woman's 'Blackie' could understand 
 what was said to him, and make his own meaning understood; hut he could 
 not speak. 
 
No. 30. 
 
 MUNIKA JATAKA. 
 
 The Ox who Envied the Pig. 
 
 "Envy not Munika." — This the Master told while at 
 Jetavana, about being attracted by a fat girl. That will 
 be explained in the Birth Story of Narada-Kassapa the 
 Younger, in the Thirteenth Book. 
 
 On that occasion the Teacher asked the monk, " Is it 
 true what they say, that you are love-sick ? " 
 
 " It is true. Lord ! " said he. 
 
 "What about?" 
 
 " My Lord ! 'tis the allurement of that fat girl ! " 
 
 Then the Master said, " monk ! she will bring evil 
 upon you. In a former birth already you lost your life 
 on the day of her marriage, and were turned into food for 
 the multitude." And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat came to life in the house of a landed pro- 
 prietor in a certain village as an ox, with the name of 
 ' Big-red.' And he had a younger brother called 'Little- 
 red.' And all the carting work in the household was 
 carried on by means of the two brothers. 
 
 Now there was an only daughter in that family, and 
 she was asked in marriage for the son of a man of rank in 
 
276 Za.—MUNIHrA JATAKA. 
 
 a neighbouring city. Then her parents thinking, "It 
 •svill do for a feast of delicacies for the guests who come 
 to the girl's wedding," fattened up a pig with boiled rice. 
 And his name was ' Sausages.' 
 
 When Little-red saw this, he asked his brother, " All 
 the carting work in the household falls to our lot. Yet 
 these people give us mere grass and straw to eat ; while 
 they bring up that pig on boiled rice ! What can be the 
 reason of that fellow getting that ? " 
 
 Then his brother said to him, " Dear Little-red, don't 
 envy the creature his food ! This poor pig is eating the 
 food of death ! These people are fattening the pig to 
 provide a feast for the guests at their daughter's wedding. 
 But a few daj^s more, and you shall see how these men 
 wiU come and seize the pig by his legs, and drag him off 
 out of his sty, and deprive him of his life, and make 
 curry for the guests ! " And so saying, he uttered the 
 following stanza : 
 
 " Envy not ' Sausages ! ' 
 'Tis deadly food he eats ! 
 Eat youj chaff, and be content ; 
 'Tis the sign of length of life ! " 
 
 And, not long after, those men came there ; and they 
 killed ' Sausages,' and cooked him up in various ways. 
 
 Then the Eodisat said to Little- red, "Have you seen 
 ' Sausages,' my dear ? " 
 
 " I have seen, brother," said he, " what has come of the 
 food poor Sausages ate. Better a hundred, a thousand 
 times, than his rice, is our food of only grass and straw 
 and chaff; for it works no harm, and is evidence that our 
 Kves wiU last." 
 
Z0.— 7//E OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG. 277 
 
 Then the Teacher said, "Thus then, monk, you 
 have already in a former birth lost your life through 
 her, and become food for the multitude." And when he 
 had concluded this lesson in virtue, he proclaimed the 
 Truths. When the Truths were over, that love-sick 
 monk stood fast in the Fruit of Conversion. But the 
 Teacher made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, 
 by saying, " He who at that time was ' Sausages ' the pig 
 was the love- sick monk, the fat girl was as she is now. 
 Little-red was Ananda, but Big-red was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE OX WHO ENVIED THE PIG.' 
 
 * If Munika, the name of the Pig, is derived from the root MAR (B. E. 
 Ko. 2) — as I think it must be, in spite of the single n — it is a verbal noun 
 derived from a past participle, meaning ' cut into small pieces.' The idea is 
 doubtless of the small pieces of meat used for curry, as the Indians had no 
 sausages. I could not dare to coin such a word as ' Curry-bit-ling,' and 
 have therefore preserved the joke by using a word which will make it intel- 
 ligible to European readers. 
 
 This well-told story is peculiarly interesting as being one of those Indian 
 stories which have reached Europe independently of both the ' Kalilag and 
 Dimnag ' and the ' Barlaam and Josaphat ' literature. Professor Benfey 
 (pp. 228-229 of his Introduction to the Pafica Tantra) has traced stories 
 somewhat analogous throughout European literature ; but our story itself is, 
 he says, found almost word for word in an unpublished Hebrew book by 
 Beracbia ben Natronai, only that two donkeys take the place of the two oxen. 
 Berachia lived in the twelfth or thirteenth century, in Provence. 
 
 One of the analogous stories is where tt falcon complains to a cock, that, 
 while he (the falcon) is so grateful to men for the little they give him that 
 he comes and hunts for them at their beck and call, the cock, though fed up 
 to his eyes, tries to escape when they catch him. " Ah ! " replies the cock, 
 " I never yet saw a falcon brought to table, or frying in a pan ! " (Anvar i 
 Suhaili, p. 144; Livre des Lumieres, p. 112; Cabinet des Pees, ivii. 277; 
 Bidpai et Lokman, ii. 59 ; La Fontaine, viii. 21). Among tlie so-called 
 ^sop's Fables is also one where a calf laughs at a draught ox for bearing 
 his drudgery so patiently. The ox says nothing. Soon after there is a feast, 
 and the ox gets a holiday, while the calf is led off to the sacrifice (James's 
 iEsop, No. 150). 
 
 Jataka No. 286 is the same story in almost the same words, save (1) that 
 the pig's name is there Saluha, which means the edible root of the water-lily, 
 and might be freely rendered ' Turnips ' ; and (2) that there are three verses 
 instead of one. As special stress is there laid on the fact that ' Turnips ' was 
 allowed to lie on the hettha-manca^ which I have above translated * sty,' it is 
 possible that the word means the platform or seat iu front of the hut, and 
 under the shade of the overhanging eaves, — a favourite resort of the people 
 of the house. 
 
CHAPTER IV. KULAVAKAVAGGA. 
 
 No. 31. 
 
 KTJLAVAKA JATAKA. 
 
 On Mercy to Animals. 
 
 "Let the Nestlings in the wood." — ^This tte Master told 
 while at Jetavana, about a monk who drank water with- 
 out straining it. 
 
 Two young monks who were friends, it is said, went 
 into the country from Savatthi ; and after stopping as long 
 as it suited them in a certain pleasant spot, set out again 
 towards Jetavana, with the intention of joining the 
 Supreme Buddha. 
 
 One of them had a strainer, the other had not ; so 
 they used to strain water enough at one time for both to 
 drink. 
 
 One day they had a dispute ; and the owner of the 
 strainer would not lend it to the other, but strained water 
 himself, and drank it. When the other could not get the 
 strainer, and was vmable to bear up any longer against his 
 thirst, he drank without straining. And in due course 
 they both arrived at Jetavana; and after saluting the 
 Teacher, took their seats. 
 
 The Teacher bade them welcome, saying, "Where are 
 you come from ? " 
 
31.— OJV MERCY TO ANIMALS. 
 
 279 
 
 " Lord ! we have been staying in a village in the land 
 of Kosala ; and we left it to come here and visit you." 
 
 " I hope, then, you are come in concord." 
 
 The one without a strainer replied, " Lord ! this monk 
 quarrelled with me on the way, and wouldn't lend me his 
 strainer ! " 
 
 But the other one said, " Lord ! this monk kno'^dngly 
 drank water with living things in it without straining 
 it!" 
 
 " Is it true, monk, as he says, that you knowingly 
 drank water with living creatures in it .'' " 
 
 " Yes, Lord ! I drank the water as it was." 
 
 Then the Teacher said, " There were wise men once, 
 monk, ruling in heaven, who, when defeated and in full 
 flight along the mighty deep, stopped their car, saying, 
 ' Let us not, for the sake of supremacy, put liviag things 
 to pain ; ' and made sacrifice of all their glory, and even 
 of their life, for the sake of the young of the Supannas." 
 
 An d he told a tale.^ 
 
 Long ago a king of Magadha was reigning in E,aja- 
 gaha, in the land of Magadha. 
 
 At that time the Bodisat (just as he who is now Sakka 
 was once bom in the village of Macala in Magadha) was 
 born in that very village as a nobleman's son. On the 
 naming-day they gave him the name of Prince Magha, 
 and when he grew up he was known as ' Magha the young 
 Brahman.' 
 
 His parents procured him a wife from a family of equal 
 
 1 The following tale is told, -with some variations, in the course of the 
 commentary on Terse 30 of the Dhammapada (pp. 186 and foil.) ; but the 
 Introductory Story is there different. 
 
2 8o Sl.—ICULAVAA'A JATAKA. 
 
 rank ; and increasing in sons and daughters, lie became a 
 great giver of gifts, and kept the Five Commandments. 
 
 In that village there were as many as thirty families ; 
 and one day the men of those families stopped in the 
 middle of the village to transact some village business. 
 The Bodisat removed with his feet the lumps of soil on 
 the place where he stood, and made the spot convenient 
 to stand on ; but another came up and stood there. Then 
 he smoothed out another spot, and took his stand there ; 
 but another man came and stood upon it. StiU the 
 Bodisat tried a^ain and ag-ain with the same result, until 
 he had made convenient standing-room for all the thirty. 
 
 The next time he had an open-roofed shed put up 
 there ; and then pulled that down, and built a hall, and 
 had benches spread in it, and a water-pot placed there. 
 On another occasion those thirty men were reconciled by 
 the Bodisat, who confirmed them in the Five Command- 
 ments ; and thenceforward he continued with them, in 
 works of piety. 
 
 Whilst they were so living they used to rise up early, 
 go out with bill-hooks and crowbars in their hands, tear 
 up with the crowbars the stones in the four high roads and 
 village paths, and roll them away, take away the trees which 
 would be in the way of vehicles, make the rough places 
 plain, form causeways, dig ponds, build public halls, give 
 gifts, and keep the Commandments — thus, in many ways, 
 all the dwellers in the village listened to the exhortations 
 of the Bodisat, and kept the Commandments. 
 
 Now the village headman said to himself, "I used to 
 have great gain from fines, and taxes, and pot-money, 
 when these fellows drank strong drink, or took life, or 
 broke the other Commandments. But now Magha the 
 
Z\.— ON MERCY TO ANIMALS. 281 
 
 young Braliman has determined to have the Command- 
 ments kept, and permits none to take life or to do any- 
 thing else that is wrong. I'll make them keep the 
 Commandments with a vengeance ! " 
 
 And he went in a rage to the king, and said, " king ! 
 there are a number of robbers going about sacking the 
 
 villages ! " 
 
 " Gro, and briag them up ! " said the king in reply. 
 
 And he went, and brought back all those men as 
 prisoners, and had it announced to the king that the 
 robbers were brought up. And the kiag, without in- 
 quiring what they had done, gave orders to have them 
 all trampled to death by elephants ! 
 
 Then they made them all lie down in the court- yard, 
 and fetched the elephant. And the Bodisat exhorted 
 them, saying, " Keep the Commandments in mind. 
 Regard them all — the slanderer, and the king, and the 
 elephant — with feelings as kind as you harbour towards 
 yourselves ! " 
 
 And they did so. 
 
 Then men led up the elephant; but though they brought 
 him to the spot, he would not begin his work, but trumpeted 
 forth a mighty cry, and took to flight. And they brought 
 up another and another, but they all ran away. 
 
 " There must be some drug in their possession," said 
 the king ; and gave orders to have them searched. So 
 they searched, but found nothing, and told the king so. 
 
 " Then they must be repeating some spell. Ask them 
 if they have any spell to utter." 
 
 The officials asked them, and the Bodisat said there 
 was. And they told the king, and he had thein all called 
 before him, and said, " TeU me that spell you know ! " 
 
282 Z\.—KULAVAKA JATAKA. 
 
 Then the Bodisat spoke, and said, "0 king! we have 
 no other spell but this — that we destroy no life, not even 
 of grass ; that we take nothing which is not given to us ; 
 that we are never guilty of unchastity, nor speak false- 
 hood, nor drink intoxicants ; that we exercise ourselves in 
 love, and give gifts ; that we make rough places plain, 
 dig ponds, and put up rest-houses — this is our spell, this 
 is our defence, this is our strength ! " 
 
 Then the king had confidence in them, and gave them 
 all the property in the house of the slanderer, and made 
 him their slave ; and bestowed too the elephant upon 
 them, and made them a grant of the village. 
 
 Thenceforward they were left in peace to carry on their 
 works of charity ; and they sent for a builder and had a 
 large rest-house put up at the place where the four roads 
 met. But as they no longer took delight in womankind, 
 they allowed no woman to share in the good work. 
 
 Now at that time there were four women in the 
 Bodisat's household, named Piety, Thoughtful, Pleasing, 
 and Well-born. Piety took an opportunity of meeting 
 the builder alone, and gave him a bribe, and said to him, 
 " Brother ! manage somehow to give me a share in this 
 rest-house." 
 
 This he promised to do, and before doing the other 
 work he had a piece of timber dried and planed; and 
 bored it through ready for the pinnacle. And when it was 
 finished he wrapped it up in a cloth and laid it aside. 
 Then when the hall was finished, and the time had come 
 for putting up the pinnacle, he said, — 
 
31.— OA^ MERCY TO ANIMALS. 283 
 
 " Dear me ! there's one thing we haven't provided for ! " 
 
 " What's that ?" said they. 
 
 " We ought to have got a pinnacle." 
 
 " Very well ! let's have one brought." 
 
 " But it can't be made out of timber just cut ; we 
 ought to have had a pinnacle cut and planed, and bored 
 some time ago, and laid aside for use." 
 
 " WTiat's to be done now then.?" said they. 
 
 " You must look about and see if there be such a thing 
 as a finished pinnacle for sale put aside iu any one's 
 house." 
 
 And when they began to search, they found one on 
 Piety's premises ; but it could not be bought for money. 
 
 " If you let me be partaker in the building of the hall, 
 I will give it you ?" said she. 
 
 " ISTo ! " replied they, " it was settled that women should 
 have no share in it." 
 
 Then the builder said, " Sirs ! what is this you are 
 saying ? Save the heavenly world of the Brahma-angels, 
 there is no place where womankind is not. Accept 
 the pinnacle ; and so will our work be accomplished ! " 
 
 Then they agreed ; and took the pinnacle and completed 
 their haU with it.^ They fixed benches in the hall, and 
 set up pots of water in it, and provided for it a constant 
 supply of boiled rice. They surrounded the hall with a 
 wall, furnished it with a gate, spread it over with sand 
 inside the wall, and planted a row of pahnyra-trees out- 
 side it. 
 
 And Thoughtful made a pleasure ground there ; and so 
 
 1 The commentator on the " Scripture Verses'' adds an interesting point — 
 that there was an inscription on the pinnacle, and that the Bodisat put up a 
 stone seat under a tree outside, that all who went iu might read the letters, 
 and say, " This haU is called the Hall of Piety." 
 
z84 ZL—KULAVAKA JATAKA. 
 
 perfect was it that it could never be said of any particular 
 fruit-bearing or flowering tree that it was not there ! 
 
 And Pleasing made a pond there, covered with the five 
 kinds of water-lilies, and beautiful to see ! 
 
 "Well-born did nothing at all.' 
 
 And the Bodisat fulfilled the seven religious duties — 
 that is, to support one's mother, to support one's father, 
 to pay honour to age, to speak truth, not to speak harshly, 
 not to abuse others, and to avoid a selfish, envious, 
 niggardly disposition. 
 
 That person who his parents doth support. 
 Pays honour to the seniors in the house. 
 Is gentle, friendly-speaking, slanders not ; 
 The man unselfish, true, and self- controlled, 
 Him do the angels of the Great Thirty Three 
 Proclaim a righteous man ! 
 
 Such praise did he receive ; and at the end of his life 
 he was born again in the heaven of the Great Thirty 
 Three, as Sakka, the king of the Gods, and there, too, his 
 friends were born agrain. 
 
 At that time there were Titans dwelling in the heaven 
 of the Great Thirty Three. 
 
 And Sakka said, " What is the good to us of a kingdom 
 shared by others?" 
 
 And he had ambrosia given to the Titans to drink, and 
 
 ' The " Scripture Verses " commentator (p. 189) avoids the curious 
 abruptness of this rather unkind remark by adding that the reason for this 
 was that 'Well-bom's being the Bodisat's niece and servant, she thought she 
 ■would share in the merit of hia part in the work. 
 
31.— OA^ MERCY TO ANIMALS. 285 
 
 wlien they became like druiiken men, lie had them seized 
 by the feet and thrown headlong upon the precipices of 
 Mount Sineru. 
 
 They fell just upon " The abode of the Titans ; " a place 
 so called, upon the lowest level of Sineru, equal in size to 
 the Tava-tigsa heaven. In it there is a tree, like the 
 coral-tree in Sakka's heaven, which stands during a kaloa, 
 and is called " The variegated Trumpet- Flower Tree." 
 
 When they saw the Trumpet-Flower Tree in bloom, 
 they knew, " This is not our heaven, for in heaven the 
 Coral-Tree blossoms." 
 
 Then they said, " That old Sakka has made us druak, 
 and thrown us into the great deep, and taken our heavenly 
 city!" 
 
 Then they made resolve, " We'll war against him, and 
 win our heavenly city back again ! " 
 
 And they swarmed up the perpendicular sides of 
 Sineru like so many ants ! 
 
 WTien Sakka heard the cry, " The Titans are up ! " he 
 went down the great deep to meet them, and fought with 
 them from the sky. But he was worsted in the fight, and 
 began to flee away along the summit of the southern vault 
 of heaven in his famous Chariot of Grlory a hundred and 
 fifty leagues in length. ' 
 
 Now as his chariot went rapidly down the great deep, it 
 passed along the Silk Cotton Tree Forest, and along its 
 route the silk cotton trees were cut down one after 
 another like mere palmyra palms, and fell into the great 
 deep. And as the young ones of the Winged Creatures 
 tumbled over and over into the great deep, they burst 
 
 • Vejayanta. Compare what is said above, p. 97, of Mara's vahana, 
 Giri-mekiala. 
 
286 Zl.—KULAVAKA JATAKA. 
 
 forth into mighty cries. And Sakka asked his charioteer, 
 Matali — 
 
 " What noise is this, friend Matali ? How pathetic is 
 that cry!" 
 
 " Lord ! as the Silk Cotton Tree Forest falls, torn up 
 hy the swiftness of your car, the young of the "Winged 
 Creatures, quaking with the fear of death, are shrieking 
 all at once together ! " 
 
 Then answered the Great Being, " my good Matali ! 
 let not these creatures suffer on our account. Let us not, 
 for the sake of supremacy, put the living to pain. Rather 
 •will I, for their sake, give my life as a sacrifice to the 
 Titans. Stop the car ! " 
 
 And so sajring, he uttered the stanza — 
 
 " Let the Nestlings in the Silk Cotton Wood 
 Escape, Matali, our chariot pole. 
 Most gladly let me offer up my life : 
 Let not these birds, then, be bereft of offspring ! " 
 
 Then Matali, the charioteer, on hearing what he said, 
 stopped the car, and returned towards heaven by another 
 way. But as soon as they saw him stopping, the Titans 
 thought, "Assuredly the Archangels of other world- 
 systems must be coming ; he must have stopped his car 
 because he has received reinforcements ! " And terrified 
 with the fear of death, they took to flight, and returned to 
 the Abode of the Titans. 
 
 And Sakka re-entered his heavenly city, and stood in 
 the midst thereof, surrounded by the hosts of angels from 
 both the heavens."^ And that moment the Palace of Glory 
 burst through the earth and rose up a thousand leagues 
 
 ' That is, his OTvn angels and those of the archangel Brahma. 
 
31.— OA^ MERCY TO ANIMALS. 287 
 
 in heiglit. And it was because it arose at the end of this 
 glorious victory that it received the name of the Palace of 
 Glory. 
 
 Then Sakka placed guards in five places, to prevent the 
 Titans coming up again, — in respect of which it has been 
 said — 
 
 Between the two unconquerable cities 
 A fivefold line of guards stands firmly placed 
 Of Snakes, of Winged Creatures, and of Dwarfs, 
 Of Ogres, and of the Four Mighty Kiags. 
 
 When Sakka had thus placed the guards, and was 
 enjoying the happiness of heaven as king of the angels. 
 Piety changed her form of existence, and was re-bom as 
 one of his attendants. And in consequence of her gift of 
 the pinnacle there arose for her a jewelled hall of state 
 under the name of 'Piety,' where Sakka sat as king of 
 the angels, on a throne of gold under a white canopy of 
 state, and performed his duties towards the angels and 
 towards men. 
 
 And Thoughtful also changed her form of existence, 
 and was re-born as one of his attendants. And in con- 
 sequence of her gift of the pleasure-ground, there arose 
 for her a pleasure-ground under the name of ' Thought- 
 ful's Creeper Grove.' 
 
 And Pleasing also changed her form of existence, and 
 was re-born as one of his attendants. And in consequence 
 of her gift of the pond, there arose for her a pond under 
 the name of ' Pleasing.' 
 
 But since Well-bom had done no act of virtue, she was 
 
288 Z\.—XULAVAKA JATAKA. 
 
 re-born as a female crane in a pool in a certain forest. 
 And Sakka said to himself, " There's no sign of Well-born. 
 I wonder where she can have got to ! " And he considered 
 the matter till he discovered her. 
 
 Then he went to the place, and brought her back with 
 him to heaven, and showed her the delightful city with 
 the Hall of Piety, and Thoughtfiil's Creeper Grove, and 
 the Pond of Pleasing. And he then exhorted her, and 
 said — 
 
 " These did works of charity, and have been bom again 
 as my attendants ; but you, having done no such works, 
 have been re-born as an animal. Henceforward live a 
 life of righteousness ! " 
 
 And thus confirming her in the Five Commandments, 
 he took her back, and then dismissed her. And from 
 that time forth she lived in righteousness. 
 
 A few days afterwards, Sakka went to see whether she 
 was able to keep good, and he lay on his back before her 
 in the form of a fish. Thinking it was dead, the crane 
 seized it by the head. The fish wagged its tail. 
 
 " It's alive, I think ! " exclaimed she, and let it go. 
 
 "Good! Good!" said Sakka, "You are well able to 
 keep the Commandments." And he went away. 
 
 When she again changed her form of existence, she was 
 bom in a potter's household in Benares. Sakka, as 
 before, found out where she was, and filled a cart with 
 golden cucumbers, and seated himself in the middle of 
 the village in the form of an old woman, calling out, 
 " Buy my cucumbers ! Buy my cucumbers ! " 
 
 The people came up and asked for them. 
 
 "I sell," said she, "only to those who live a life of 
 righteousness. Do you live such a life ?" 
 
31.— OJV MERCY TO ANIMALS. 289 
 
 " We don't know anything about righteousness. Hand 
 them over for money ! " said they. 
 
 " I want no money ; I will only give to the righteous," 
 was her reply. 
 
 " This must be some mad woman ! " said they, and left 
 her. 
 
 But when Well-born heard what had happened, she 
 thought, " This must be meant for me ! " and went and 
 asked for some cucumbers. 
 
 "Do you live a righteous life, lady?" was the question. 
 
 " Certainly, I do," said she. 
 
 " It's for your sake that I brought these here," replied 
 the old woman ; and leaving all the golden cucumbers, 
 and the cart too, at the door of the house, she departed. 
 
 And Well-born still continued in righteousness to the 
 end of that life ; and when she changed her existence, she 
 became the daughter of a Titan named 'The Son of 
 Misunderstanding ; ' but in consequence of her virtue she 
 became exceeding beautiful. 
 
 When she was grown up, her father assembled the 
 Titans together that his daughter might choose for a 
 husband the one she liked best. Sakka was looking about 
 as before to iind out where she was ; and when he dis- 
 covered it, he took the form of a Titan, and went to the 
 place, — thinking that when choosing a husband, she 
 migrht take him. 
 
 Then they led Well-born in fine array to the meeting 
 place, and told her to choose whomsoever she liked as her 
 husband. And when she began to look at them, she saw 
 
 VOL. I. . 19 
 
290 Zl.-KULAVAKA JATAKA. 
 
 Sakka, and by reason of her love to hini in the former 
 birth, she was moved to say, " This one is my husband," 
 and so chose him. 
 
 And he led her away to the heavenly city, and gave 
 her the post of honour among great multitudes of houris ; 
 and at the end of his allotted time, he passed away 
 according to his deeds. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse, he 
 reproved the monk, saying, " Thus, monk, formerly wise 
 men, though they held rule in heaven, offered up their 
 lives rather than destroy life ; but you, though you have 
 taken the vows according to so saving a faith, have 
 drunk unstrained water with living creatures in it ! " 
 And he make the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, 
 by saying, "He who at that time was MataU the 
 charioteer was Ananda, but Sakka was I myself." 
 
 EXD OF THE STORY ON MEECY TO ANIMALS.^ 
 
 ' In this story we have a good example of the way in wliich the current 
 legends, when adopted by the Buddhists, were often so modified as to teach 
 lessons of an effect exactly contrary to those they had taught before. It is 
 with a touch of irony that Satka is made to conquer the Titans, not by might, 
 but through his kindness to animals. 
 
Wo. 32. 
 
 jSTACCA JATAKA. 
 
 Tlie Dancing Peacock. 
 
 " Pleasant is your cry." — This the Master told when at 
 Jetavana, about the luxurious monk. The occasion is as 
 above in the Story on True Divinity.^ 
 
 The Teacher asked him, "Is this true, monk, what 
 they say, that you are luxurious ? " 
 
 "It is true. Lord," said he. 
 
 "How is it you have become luxurious?" began the 
 Teacher. 
 
 But without waiting to hear more, he flew into a rage, 
 tore off his robe and his lower garment, and calling out, 
 " Then I'll go about in this way ! " stood there naked 
 before the Teacher ! 
 
 The bystanders exclaimed, " Shame ! shame ! " and he 
 ran oiF, and returned to the lower state (of a layman). 
 
 When the monks were assembled in the Lecture Hall, 
 they began talking of his misconduct. "To think that 
 one should behave so in the very presence of the Master ! " 
 The Teacher then came up, and asked them what they 
 were talking about, as they sat there together. 
 
 " Lord ! we were talking of the misconduct of that 
 monk, who, in your presence, and in the midst of the 
 disciples, stood there as naked as a village child, without 
 
 1 See above, p. 178. 
 
2g2 S2.—JVACCA JATAKA. 
 
 caring one bit; and when the bystanders cried shame 
 upon him, returned to the lower state, and lost the 
 faith ! " 
 
 Then said the Teacher, " Not only, O monks, has this 
 brother now lost the jewel of the faith by immodesty ; in 
 a former birth he lost a jewel of a wife from the same 
 cause." And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, in the first age of the world, the quadrupeds 
 chose the Lion as their king, the fishes the Leviathan, and 
 the birds the Golden Goose. ^ 
 
 Now the royal Golden Goose had a daughter, a young 
 goose most beautiful to see ; and he gave her her choice 
 of a husband. And she chose the one she liked the best. 
 
 For, having given her the right to choose, he called 
 together all the birds in the Himalaya region. And 
 crowds of geese, and peacocks, and other birds of various 
 kinds, met together on a great fiat piece of rock. 
 
 The king sent for his daughter, saying, " Come and 
 choose the husband you like best ! " 
 
 On looking over the assembly of the birds, she caught 
 sight of the peacock, with a neck as bright as gems, and 
 a many-coloured tail ; and she made the choice with the 
 words, " Let this one be my husband ! " 
 
 So the assembly of the birds went up to the peacock, 
 and said, " Friend Peacock ! this king's daughter having 
 to choose her husband from amongst so many birds, has 
 fixed her choice upon you ! " 
 
 ' How this was done, and the lasting feud which the election gave rise to 
 between the owl and the crow, is told at length in Jataka No. 270. The 
 main story in Book III. of the Pafica Tantra is founded on this feui 
 
Zi.— THE DANCING PEACOCK. 293 
 
 " Up to to-day j'ou would not see my greatness," said 
 the peacock, so overflowing with delight that in breach of 
 all modesty he began to spread his wings and dance in 
 the midst of the vast assembly, — and in dancing he exposed 
 himself. 
 
 Then the royal Golden Goose was shocked ! 
 
 And he said, "This fellow has neither modesty in his 
 heart, nor decency in his outward behaviour ! I shall 
 not give my daughter to him. He has broken loose from 
 all sense of shame ! " And he uttered this verse to aU the 
 assembly — 
 
 " Pleasant is your cry, brilliant is your back. 
 Almost like the opal in its colour is your neck, 
 The feathers in your tail reach about a fathom's length, 
 But to such a dancer I can give no daughter, sir, of 
 
 Then the king in the midst of the whole assembly be- 
 stowed his daughter on a young goose, his nephew. And 
 the peacock was covered with shame at not getting the 
 fair gosling, and rose straight up from the place and 
 flew away. 
 
 But the king of the Golden Geese went back to the 
 place where he dwelt. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this lesson in virtue, in 
 illustration of what he had said (" Not only, monks, has 
 this brother now lost the jewel of the faith by immodesty, 
 
294- ZZ.—JVACCA JATAKA. 
 
 formerly also te lost a jewel of a wife by the same cause "), 
 he made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, by 
 saying, "The peacock of that time was the luxurious 
 monk, but the King of the Geese was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY ABOUT THE DANCING PEACOCK. ^ 
 
 ' This fable forms one of those illustrations of which were carved ia ba'. 
 relief round the Great Tope at Bharhut. There the fair gosling is repre- 
 sented just choosing the peacock for her husband ; so this tale must be at 
 least sixteen hundred years old. The story has not reached Europe ; but it is 
 referred to in a stanza occurring in, according to Benfey, the oldest recension 
 of the Panca Tantra contained in the Berlin MS. See Benfey, i. § 98, 
 p. 280 ; and Kahn, ' Sagwissenschaftliche Studien,' p. 69. 
 
 The word JTaTjsa, which I have here translated Goose, means more 
 exactly a wild duck ; and the epithet ' Golden ' is descriptive of its beauty of 
 colour. But the word Sar^sa. is etymologically the same as oxir word Goose 
 (compare the German Gans) ; and the epithet ' golden,' when applied to a 
 goose, being meaningless as descriptive of outward appearance, gave rise to 
 the fable of the Goose with the Golden Eggs. The latter is therefore a true 
 ' myth,' bom of a word-puzzle, invented to explain an expression which had 
 lost its meaning through the progress of linguistic growth. 
 
No. 33. 
 
 SAMMODAMANA JATAEA. 
 
 The sad Quarrel of the Quails. 
 
 " So long as the birds hut agree." — This the Master told 
 while at the Banyan Grrove, near Kapilavatthu, concerning 
 a quarrel about a ckumbat (a circular roll of cloth placed 
 on the head when carrying a vessel or other weight). 
 
 This will be explained in the Xunala Jataka. At that 
 time, namely, the Master admonishing his relations, said, 
 " My lords ! for relatives to quarrel one against another 
 is verily most unbecoming ! Even animals once, who had 
 conquered their enemies so long as they agreed, came to 
 great destruction when they fell out with one another." 
 And at the request of Jus relatives he told the tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat came to life as a quail ; and lived in a forest 
 at the head of a flock many thousands in number. 
 
 At that time there was a quail- catcher who used to go 
 to the place where they dwelt, and imitate the cry of a 
 quail ; and when he saw that they had assembled together, 
 he would throw his net over them, get them all into a 
 
296 Vi.-SAMMODAMANA j7iTAKA. 
 
 heap by crushing them together in the sides of the net, 
 and stuff them into his basket ; and then going home, he 
 used to sell them, and make a living out of the proceeds. 
 
 Now one day the Bodisat said to the quails, "This 
 fowler is bringing our kith and kin to destruction ! Now 
 I know a stratagem to prevent his catching us. In 
 future, as soon as he has thrown the net over you, let 
 each one put his head through a mesh of the net, then all 
 lift it up together, so as to carry it off to any place we like, 
 and then let it down on to a thorn bush. When that is 
 done, we shall each be able to escape from his place under 
 the net ! " 
 
 To this they all agreed ; and the next day, as soon as 
 the net was thrown, they lifted it up just in the way the 
 Bodisat had told them, threw it on a thorn bush, and got 
 away themselves from underneath. And whilst the fowler 
 was disentangling his net from the bush, darkness had 
 come on. And he had to go empty-handed away. 
 
 From the next day the quails always acted in the same 
 manner : and he used to be disentangling his net till 
 sundown, catching nothing, and going home empty- 
 handed. • 
 
 At last his wife said to him in a rage, " Day after day 
 you come here empty-handed ! I suppose you've got 
 another establishment to keep up somewhere else ! " 
 
 "My dear ! " said the fowler, "I have no other estab- 
 lishment to keep up. But I'U tell you what it is. Those 
 quails are living in harmony together ; and as soon as I 
 cast my net, they carry it away, and throw it on a thorn- 
 bush. But they can't be of one mind for ever I Don't 
 you be troubled about it. As soon as they fall out, I'll 
 come back with every single one of them, and that'll 
 
ZZ.— THE SAB QUARREL OF THE QUAILS. 297 
 
 bring a smile into your face ! " And so saying, he 
 uttered this stanza to his wife : 
 
 " So long as the birds but agree, 
 They can get away with the net ; 
 But when once they begin to dispute, 
 Then into my clutches they fall ! " 
 
 And when only a few days had gone by, one of the 
 quails, in alighting on the ground where they fed, trod 
 unawares on another one's head. 
 
 " Who trod on my head ? " asked the other in a passion. 
 
 "I didn't mean to tread upon you; don't be angry," 
 said the other ; but he was angry still. And as they 
 went on vociferating, they got to disputing with one 
 another in such words as these : " Ah ! it was you then, 
 I suppose, who did the lifting up of the net ! " 
 
 When they were so quarrelling, the Bodisat thought, 
 "There is no depending for safety upon a quarrelsome 
 man ! No longer will these fellows lift up the net ; so 
 they will come to great destruction, and the fowler will 
 get his chance again. I dare not stay here any more ! " 
 And he went off with his more immediate followers to 
 some other place. 
 
 And the fowler came a few days after, and imitated the 
 cry of a quail, and cast his net over those who came 
 together. Then the one quail cried out : 
 
 " The talk was that the very hairs of your head fell off 
 when you heaved up the net. Lift away, then, now ! " 
 
 The other cried out, "The talk was that the very 
 feathers of your wings fell out when you heaved up the 
 net. Lift away, then, now ! " 
 
 But as they were each calling on the other to lift away, 
 
298 3Z.—SAMM0DAMANA yATAKA. 
 
 the tunter himself lifted up the net, bundled them all in 
 in a heap together, crammed them into his basket, and 
 went home, and made his wife to smile. 
 
 "When the Master had finished this lesson in virtue, in 
 illustration of what he had said ("Thus, king, there 
 ought to be no such thing as quarrelling anaong relatives ; 
 for quarrels are the root of misfortune "), he made the 
 connexion, and summed up the Jataka, " He who at that 
 time was the foolish quail was Deva-datta, but the wise 
 quail was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE SAD QUARREL OF THE 
 QUAILS.^ 
 
 1 Professor Benfey, in the Introduction to his Pafica Tantra (vol. i. p. 304), 
 and Professor Fausboll in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for 1870, 
 have dealt Trith the history of this story. It has not been found in Europe, 
 hut occurs iu somewhat altered form in the Maha-bharata (Book V. vv. 2455 
 and foU.), in the first Book of the Hitopadesa, and in the second Book of the 
 Panca Tantra. The Buddhist story is evidently the origin of the others. 
 
No. 34. 
 
 MACCHA JATAKA. 
 
 Tlie Fish and Ms Wife. 
 
 "'Tis not the heat, 'tis not the cold." — This the Master 
 told when at Jetavana, about being tempted back by one's 
 former wife. 
 
 For on that occasion the Master asked the monk, " Is it 
 true, then, that you are love-sick ? " 
 
 " It is true. Lord ! " was the reply. 
 
 " What has made you sad ? " 
 
 " Sweet is the touch of the hand. Lord ! of her who was 
 formerly my wife. I cannot forsake her ! " 
 
 Then the Master said, " Brother ! this woman does 
 you harm. In a former birth also you were just being 
 killed through her when I came up and saved yoxi." And 
 he told a tale. 
 
 Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in 
 Benares, the Bodisat became his private chaplain. 
 
 At that time certain fishermen were casting their nets 
 into the river. Now a big fish came swimming along 
 playing lustily with his wife. She still in front of hira 
 smelt the smell of a net, and made a circuit, and escaped 
 
300 Zi.—MACCHA JATAA'A. 
 
 it. But the greedy amorous fish went right into the 
 mouth of the net. 
 
 When the fishermen felt his coming in they pulled up 
 the net, seized the fish, and threw it alive on the sand, 
 and began to prepare a fire and a spit, intending to cook 
 and eat it. 
 
 Then the fish lamented, saving to himself ; 
 
 " The heat of the fixe would not hurt me, nor the torture 
 of the spit, nor any other pain of that sort ; but that my 
 wife should sorrow over me, thinking I must have deserted 
 her for another, that is indeed a dire affliction ! " 
 
 And he uttered this stanza — 
 
 " 'Tis not the heat, 'tis not the cold, 
 'Tis not the torture of the net ; 
 But that my wife should think of me, 
 'He's gone now to another for delight.' " 
 
 Now just then the chaplain came down, attended by his 
 slaves, to bathe at the ford. And he understood the 
 language of all animals. So on hearing the fish's lament, 
 he thought to himself : 
 
 " This fish is lamenting the lament of sia. Should he 
 die in this unhealthy state of mind, he will assuredly be 
 reborn in helL I will save him." 
 
 And he went to the fishermen, and said — 
 
 " My good men ! don't you furnish a fish for us every 
 day for our curry ? " 
 
 " What is this you are saying, sir ? " answered the 
 fishermen. " Take away any fish you like ! " 
 
 " We want no other : only give us this one." 
 
 " Take it, then, sir." 
 
 The Bodisat took it up in his hands, seated himself at 
 
Zi. — THE FISff AND HIS WIFE. 
 
 301 
 
 the river-side, and said to it, " My good fish ! Had I not 
 caught sight of you this day, you would have lost your 
 life. Now henceforth sin no more ! " 
 
 And so exhorting it, he threw it into the water, and 
 returned to the citJ^ 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse, he pro- 
 claimed the Truths. At the end of the Truths the de- 
 pressed monk was established in the fruit of conversion. 
 Then the Teacher made the connexion, and summed up 
 the Jataka : " She who at that time was the female fish 
 was the former wife, the fish was the depressed monk, but 
 the chaplain was I myself." 
 
 ' This story has several points of affinity with the one ahove, No. 13 
 (pp. 211-213), on the stag who came to his death through his thoughtless 
 love for the roe. 
 
No. 35. 
 
 VATTAKA JATAKA. 
 
 The Holy ftuail. 
 
 " Wings I have that will not fly." — This the Master told 
 when journeying through Magadha about the going out 
 of a Jungle Fire. 
 
 For once, when the Master was journeying through 
 Magadha, he begged his food in a certain Tillage in that 
 land; and after he had returned from his rounds and 
 had finished his meal, he started forth again, attended by 
 the disciples. Just then a great fire arose in the jungle. 
 Many of the monks were in front, many of them behind. 
 And the fire came spreading on towards them, one mass of 
 smoke and flame. Some of the monks being unconverted 
 were terrified with the fear of death ; and called out — 
 
 " Let's make a counter-fire, so that the conflagration 
 shall not spread beyond the space burnt out by that." 
 
 And taking out their fire- sticks they began to get a 
 light. 
 
 But the others said, " Brethren, what is this you are 
 doing ? 'Tis like failing to see the moon when it has 
 reached the topmost sky, or the sun as it rises with its 
 thousand rays from the eastern quarter of the world ; 'tis 
 like people standing on the beachy shore and perceiving 
 not the ocean, or standing close to Sineru and seeing not 
 that mighty mountain, for you — ^when journeying along 
 
Zh.~THE HOLY QUAIL. 303 
 
 in company with tile greatest Being in earth or heaven — 
 to call out, ' Let u& make a counter fire,' and to take no 
 notice of the supreme, the Buddha ! You know not the 
 power of the Buddhas ! Come, let us go to the Master ! " 
 
 And they all crowded together from in front, and from 
 behind, and went up ia a body near to the Mighty by 
 Wisdom. 
 
 There the Master stopped, surrounded by the whole 
 body of disciples. 
 
 The jungle fire came on roaring as if to overwhelm 
 them. It came right up to the place where the Great 
 Mortal stood, and then — as it came within about sixteen 
 rods of that spot — ^it went out, like a torch thrust down 
 into water, leaving a space of about thirty-two rods in 
 breadth over which it could not pass ! 
 
 Then the monks began to magnify the Teacher, saying ; 
 
 " Oh ! how marvellous are the qualities of the Buddhas ! 
 The very fire, imconscious though it be, cannot pass over 
 the place where the Buddhas stand. Oh ! how great is 
 the might of the Buddhas ! " 
 
 On hearing this the Teacher said — 
 
 " It is not, monks, through any power I have now that 
 the fire goes out on reaching this plot of ground. It is 
 through the power of a former act of mine. And in all 
 this spot no fire will burn through the whole kalpa, for 
 that was a miracle enduring through a kalpa." ' 
 
 Then the venerable Ananda folded a robe in four, and 
 spread it as a seat for the Teacher. The Teacher seated 
 hunself ; and when he had settled himself cross-legged, the 
 body of disciples seated themselves reverently round him, 
 and requested him, saying — 
 
 "What has now occurred, Lord, is known to us. 
 The past is hidden from us. Make it known to us." 
 
 And the Teacher told the tale. 
 
 ^ See above, p. 235. 
 
304- Zi.— VATTAJCA JATAKA. 
 
 Long ago the Bodisat entered upon a new existence as 
 a quail in this very spot, in the land of Magadha ; and 
 after having been born in the egg, and having got out of 
 the shell, he became a young quail, in size like a big 
 partridge.' And his parents made him lie still in the 
 nest, and fed him ^vith food they brought in their beaks. 
 And he had no power either to stretch out his wings and 
 fly through the air, nor to put out his legs and walk on 
 the earth. 
 
 Now that place was consumed year after year by a 
 jungle fire. And just at that time the jungle fire came 
 on with a mighty roar and seized upon it. The flocks of 
 birds rose up, each from his nest, and flew away shrieking. 
 And the Bodisat's parents too, terrified with the fear of 
 death, forsook the Bodisat, and fled. 
 
 When the Bodisat, lying there as he was, stretched 
 forth his neck, and saw the conflagration spreading to- 
 wards him, he thought : " If I had the power of stretching 
 my wings and flying in the air, or of putting out my legs, 
 and walking on the ground, I could get away to some 
 other place. But I can't ! And my parents too, terri- 
 fied with the fear of death, have left me all alone, and 
 flown away to save themselves. No other help can I 
 expect from others, and in myself I find no help. What 
 in the world shall I do now ! " 
 
 But then it occurred to him, " In this world there is 
 such a thing as the efiicacy of virtue; there is such a 
 thing as the efficacy of truth. There are men known as 
 omniscient Buddhas, who become Buddhas when seated 
 under the Bo-tree through having fulfilled the Great 
 Virtues in the long ages of the past ; who have gained 
 
 ' Bhenduka. 
 
%^.-THE HOLY QUAIL. 305 
 
 salvation by the wisdom arising from good deeds and 
 earnest thouglit, and have gained too the power of show- 
 ing to others the knowledge of that salvation ; who are 
 full of truth, and compassion, and mercy, and long- 
 suffering ; and whose hearts reach out in equal love to all 
 beings that have life. To me, too, the Truth is one, there 
 seems to be but one eternal and true Faith. It behoves 
 me, therefore — meditating on the Buddhas of the past 
 and on the attributes that they have gained, and relying 
 on the one true faith there is in me — to perform an Act of 
 Truth ; and thus to drive back the fire, and procure 
 safety both for myself, and for the other birds." 
 Therefore it is said (in the Scriptures) — 
 
 " There's power in virtue in the world — 
 In truth, and purity, and love ! 
 In that truth's name I'll now perform 
 A mystic Act of Truth sublime. 
 
 Then thinking on the power of the Faith, 
 And on the Conquerors in ages past. 
 Relying on the power of the Truth, 
 I then performed the Miracle ! " 
 
 Then the Bodisat called to mind the attributes of the 
 Buddhas who had long since passed away ; and, making 
 a solemn asseveration of the true faith existing in himself, 
 he performed the Act of Truth, uttering the verse — 
 
 " Wings I have that will not fly. 
 Feet I have that will not walk ; 
 My parents, too, are fled away ! 
 All-embracing Fire — go back ! "^ 
 
 ' It is difficult to convey the impression of the mystic epithet here used 
 of fire. Jatmeda must mean " he who possesses (or perhaps possesses the 
 
 TOL. r. 20 
 
3o6 35.— VATTAArA JATAKA. 
 
 Then before him and his Act of Truth the Element 
 ■^veut back a space of sixteen rods ; but in receding it did 
 not return to consume the forest ; it went out imme- 
 diately it came to the spot, like a torch plunged into 
 water. 
 
 Therefore it is said — 
 
 " For me and for my Act of Truth 
 The great and burning fire went out. 
 Leaving a space of sixteen rods. 
 As fire, with water mixed, goes out." 
 
 And as that spot has escaped being overwhelmed by 
 fire through all this kalpa, this is said to be 'a kalpa- 
 enduring miracle.' The Bodisat having thus performed 
 the Act of Truth, passed away, at the end of his life, 
 according to his deeds. 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse, in illus- 
 tration of what he had said (" That this wood is not passed 
 over by the fire is not a result, monks, of my present 
 power ; but of the power of the Act of Truth I exercised as 
 anew-born quail"), he proclaimed the Truths. At the 
 conclusion of the Truths some were Converted, some 
 reached the Second Path, some the Third, some the Fourth. 
 And the Teacher made the connexion, and summed up the 
 Jataka, " My parents at that time were my present parents, 
 but the King of the Quails was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE HOLT QUAIL.^ 
 
 knowledge of) all that is produced.',' It is used not infreqnently in the Vedic 
 literature as a peculiarly holy and mystical epithet of Agni, the personification 
 of the mysterious element of fire, and seems to refer to its far-reaching, all- 
 emhracing power. 
 
 ' This story is referred to as one of the ' kalpa-enduiing miracles ' in 
 Jataka No. 20 above, p. 235. 
 
No. 36. 
 
 SAKUNA JATAKA. 
 
 The Wise Bird and the Fools. 
 
 " The earth-horn tree." — This tlie Master told vrhen at 
 Jetavana, about a monk whose hut was burned. 
 
 A certain monk, says the tradition, received from the 
 Teacher a subject for meditation, and leaving Jetavana, 
 took up his abode in a dwelling in a forest near a border 
 village, belonging to the people of Kosala. 
 
 Now in the very first month his hut was burned down ; 
 and be told the people, sajdng, " My hut is burnt down, 
 and I live in discomfort." 
 
 " Our fields are all dried up now," said they ; " we 
 must first irrigate the lands." When they were well 
 muddy, " We must sow the seed," said they. Wlen the 
 seed was sown, " We must put up the fences," was the 
 excuse. Wben the fences were up, they declared, " There 
 will be cutting, and reaping, and treading-out to do." 
 And thus, telling first of one thing to be done and then 
 of another, they let three months slip by. 
 
 The monk passed the three months in discomfort in the 
 open air, and concluded bis meditation, but could not 
 bring the rest of his religious exercise to completion. So 
 wben Lent was over he returned to the Teacher, and 
 saluting him, took his seat respectfully on one side. 
 
 The Teacher bade him welcome, and then asked him. 
 
308 Ze.—SAA^C/.VA yATAA'A. 
 
 " Well, brother, have jou spent Lent in comfort ? Have 
 you brought your meditation to its conclusion? " 
 
 He told him what had happened, and said, " As I had 
 no suitable lodging, I did not fully complete the medi- 
 tation." 
 
 " Formerljr, monk," said the Teacher, " even animals 
 ■were aware what was suitable for them, and what was 
 not. Why did not you know it ? " 
 
 And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat came to life again as a bird, and lived a forest 
 life, attended by a flock of birds, near a lofty tree, with 
 branches forking out on every side. 
 
 ISTow one day dust began to fall as the branches of the 
 tree rubbed one against another. Then smoke began to 
 rise. The Bodisat thought, on seeing this, — 
 
 " If these two branches go on rubbing like that they 
 will send out sparks of fire, and the fire will fall down 
 and seize on the withered leaves ; and the tree itself will 
 soon after be consumed. We can't stop here ; we ought 
 to get away at once to some other place." And he ad- 
 dressed the flock in this verse : 
 
 " The earth-born tree, on which 
 We children of the air depend. 
 It, even it, is now emitting fire. 
 Seek then the skies, ye birds ! 
 Behold ! our very home and refuge 
 Itself has brought forth danger ! " 
 
 Then such of the birds as were wise, and hearkened to 
 
ZQ.—THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. 
 
 309 
 
 the voice of the Bodisat, flew up at ouce with him into 
 the air, and went elsewhere. But such as were foolish 
 said one to anothei-, " Just so ! Just so ! He's always 
 seeing crocodiles in a drop of water! " And paying no 
 attention to what he said, they stopped there. 
 
 And not long afterwards fire was produced precisely in 
 the way the Bodisat had foreseen, and the tree caught 
 fire. And smoke and flames rising aloft, the birds were 
 bKnded by the smoke ; they could not get away, and one 
 after another they fell into the fire, and were burnt to 
 death ! 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse with the 
 words, " Thus formerly, monk, even the birds dwelling 
 on the tree- tops knew which place would suit them and 
 which would not. How is it that you knew it not?" 
 he proclaimed the Truths. At the conclusion of the 
 Truths the monk was established in Conversion. And the 
 Teacher made the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, 
 " The birds who at that time listened to the voice of the 
 Bodisat were the followers of the Buddha, but the Wise 
 Bird was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE WISE BIRD AND THE FOOLS. 
 
No. 37. 
 
 TITTIRA JATAKA. 
 
 The Partridge, Moiikey, and Elephaut. 
 
 " 'Tis those who reverence tJie aged." — This the Master 
 told oa the road to Savatthi about Sariputta being kept 
 out of a night's lodging. 
 
 For when Anatha Pindika had finished his monastery, 
 and sent word to the Teacher, the latter left Rajagaha and 
 arrived at Vesali ; and after resting there a short time, 
 he set out again on the road to Savatthi.^ 
 
 On that occasion the pupils of the Six went on in front, 
 and before lodgings had been taken for the Elders, occu- 
 pied all the places to be had, saying, — 
 
 " This is for our superior, this for our instructor, and 
 these for us." 
 
 The Elders who came up afterwards found no place to 
 sleep in. Even Sariputta's pupils sought in vain for a 
 lodging-place for the Elder. So the Elder having no 
 lodging passed the night either walking up and down, or 
 sittrug at the foot of a tree, not far from the place where 
 the Teacher was lodged. 
 
 In the early morning the Teacher came out and coughed. 
 The Elder coughed too. 
 
 " Who's there ? " said the Teacher. 
 
 " 'Tis I; Lord ; Sariputta," was the reply. 
 
 ' See above, p. 130. 
 
Vt.—THE PARTRIDGE, MONKEY, AND ELEPHANT. 311 
 
 " What are you doing here, so early, Sariputta?" asked 
 he. 
 
 Then he told him what had happened ; and on healing 
 what the Elder said, the Teacher thought, — 
 
 " If the monks even now, while I am yet living, show 
 so little respect and courtesy to one another, what will 
 they do when I am dead ? " And he was filled with anxiety 
 for the welfare of the Truth. 
 
 As soon as it was light he called all the priests together, 
 and asked them — 
 
 " Is it true, priests, as I have been told, that the Six 
 went on in front, and occupied all the lodging-places to 
 the exclusion of the Elders ? " 
 
 " It is true, Blessed One ! " said they. 
 
 Then he reproved the Six, and addressing the monks, 
 taught them a lesson, saying, — 
 
 " Who is it, then, monks, who deserves the best seat, 
 and the best water, and the best rice ? " 
 
 Some said, "A nobleman who has become a monk." 
 Some said, " A Brahman, or the head of a family who has 
 become a monk." Others said, " The man versed in the 
 Hules of the Order ; an Expounder of the Law ; one who 
 has attained to the First Jhana, or the Second, or the 
 Third, or the Fourth." Others again said, "The Con- 
 verted man; or one in the Second or the Third Stage 
 of the Path to Nirvana ; or an Arahat ; or one who knows 
 the Three Truths ; or one who has the Sixfold Wisdom." '^ 
 
 When the monks had thus declared whom they each 
 thought worthy of the best seat, and so on, the Teacher 
 said: 
 
 " In my religion, monks, it is not the being ordained 
 from a noble, or a priestly, or a wealthy family ; it is not 
 being versed in the Rules of the Order, or in the general 
 or the metaphysical books of the Scriptures ; it is not the 
 attainment of the Jhanas, or progress in the Path of 
 
 1 See the translator's 'Buddhism,' pp. lOS and 174-177 (2nd edition). 
 
3IZ Vt.~TITTIRA JATAKA. 
 
 Nirvana, that is the standard by which the right to the 
 hest seat, and so on, is to be judged. But in my religion, 
 monks, reverence, and service, and respect, and civility, 
 are to be paid according to age ; and for the aged the best 
 seat, and the best water, and the best rice are to be re- 
 served. This is the right standard; and therefore the 
 senior monk is entitled to these things. And now, monks, 
 Sariputta is my chief disciple ; he is a second founder of 
 the Kingdom of Righteousness, and deserves to receive 
 a lodging immediately after myself. He has had to pass 
 the night without a lodging at the foot of a tree. If you 
 have even now so little respect and courtesy, what will 
 you not do as time goes on ? " 
 
 And for their further instruction he said : 
 " Formerly, monks, even animals used to say, ' It 
 would not be proper for us to be disrespectful and wanting 
 in courtesy to one another, and not to live on proper 
 terms with one another. We should find out who is 
 eldest, and pay him honour.' So they carefully inves- 
 tigated the matter, and having discovered the senior 
 among them, they paid him honour ; and so when they 
 passed away, they entered the abode of the gods." 
 And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago there were three friends living near a great 
 Banyan- tree, on the slope of the Himalaya range of 
 mountains — a Partridge, a Monkey, and an Elephant. 
 And they were wanting in respect and courtesy for one 
 another, and did not live together on befitting terms. 
 
 But it occurred to them, " It is not right for us to live 
 in this manner. Wbat if we were to cultivate respect 
 towards whichever of us is the eldest ? " 
 
 " But which, is the eldest ? " was then the question ; 
 
VI. —THE PARTRIDGE, MONKEY, AND ELEPHANT. 313 
 
 until one day they thought, " This will be a good way for 
 finding it out ; " and the Monkey and the Partridge asked 
 the Elephant, as they were all sitting together at the foot 
 of the Banyan-tree — 
 
 " Elephant dear ! How big was this Banyan Tree at 
 the time you first knew it? " 
 
 " Friends ! " said he, " When I was little I used to 
 walk over this Banj'an, then a mere bush, keeping it be- 
 tween my thighs ; and when I stood with it between my 
 legs, its highest branches touched my navel. So I have 
 known it since it was a shrub." 
 
 Then thej^ both asked the Monkey in the same way. 
 And he said, "Friends ! when I was quite a little monkey 
 I used to sit on the ground and eat the topmost shoots of 
 this Banj^an, then quite young, by merely stretching out 
 my neck. So that I have known it from its earliest 
 infancy." 
 
 Then again the two others asked the Partridge as before. 
 And he said — 
 
 " Friends ! There was formerly a lofty Banyan-tree 
 in such and such a place, whose fruit I ate and voided 
 the seeds here. From that this tree grew up : so that I 
 have known it even from before the time when it was 
 bom, and am older than either of you ! " 
 
 Thereupon the Elephant and the Monkey said to the 
 clever Partridge — 
 
 " You, friend, are the oldest of us all. Henceforth we 
 will do all manner of service for you, and pay you rever- 
 ence, and make salutations before you, and treat you with 
 every respect and courtesy, and abide by your counsels. 
 Do you in future give us whatever counsel and instruction 
 we require." 
 
3r4 Vt.—TITTIRA JATAKA. 
 
 Thenceforth the Partridge gave them counsel, and kept 
 them up to their duty, and himself observed his own. So 
 they three kept the Five Commandments ; and since they 
 were courteous and respectful to one another, and lived 
 on befittiag terms one with another, they became destined 
 for heaven when their lives should end. 
 
 " The holy life of these three became known as ' The 
 Holiness of the Partridge.' For they, monks, lived in 
 courtesy and respect towards one another. How then can 
 you, who have taken the vows in so well-taught a religion, 
 live ^vithout courtesy and respect towards one another? 
 Henceforth, monks, I enjoin upon you reverence, and 
 service, and respect, according to age ; the giving of the best 
 seats, the best water, and the best food according to age ; 
 and that the senior shall never be kept out of a night's 
 lodging by a junior. Whoever so keeps out his senior 
 shall be guilty of an offence." 
 
 It was when the Teacher had thus concluded his dis- 
 course that he, as Buddha, uttered the verse — 
 
 " 'Tis those who reverence the old 
 That are the men versed in the Faith. 
 Worthy of praise while in this life. 
 And happy in the life to come." 
 
 When the Teacher had thus spoken on the virtue of 
 paying reverence to the old, he established the connexion, 
 and summed up the Jataka, by saying, " The elephant of 
 that time was Moggallana, the monkey Sariputta, but the 
 partridge was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STOUT OF THE PAKTRIDGE, THE MONKEY, 
 AND THE ELEPHANT.^ 
 
 * This Birth Story, with the same Introductory Story, is found, in nearly 
 identical terms, in the Culla Vagga (vi. 6). The story, therefore, is at least 
 as old as the fourth century B.C. Jataka No. 117 is also called the Tittira 
 Jataka. 
 
No. 38. 
 
 BAKA JATAKA. 
 
 The Cruel Crane Outwitted. 
 
 " The villain though exceeding clever." — This the Master 
 told -when at Jetavana about a monk who was a tailor. 
 
 There was a monk, says the tradition, living at Jeta- 
 vana, who was exceeding skilful at all kinds of things that 
 can be done to a robe, whether cutting out, or piecing 
 together, or valuing, or sewing it. Through this clever- 
 ness of his he was always engaged in making robes, until 
 he became known as ' The robe-maker.' 
 
 JN^ow what used he to do but exercise his handicraft on 
 some old pieces of cloth, so as to make out of them a robe 
 soft and pleasant to the touch ; and when he had dyed it, 
 he would steep it in mealy water, and rub it with a chank- 
 shell so as to make it bright and attractive, and then lay 
 it carefully by. And monks who did not understand robe 
 work, would come to him with new cloths, and say — 
 
 " We don't understand how to make robes. Be so kind 
 as to make this into a robe for us." 
 
 Then he would say, "It takes a long time. Brother, 
 before a robe can be made. But I have a robe ready 
 made. You had better leave these cloths here and take 
 that away with you." 
 
 And he woidd take it out and show it to them. 
 
 And they, seeing of how fine a colour it was, and not 
 noticing any difference, would give their new cloths to 
 
3i6 ZS.—BAA'A JATAKA. 
 
 the tailor-monk, and take the robe away mth them, 
 thinking it would last. But when it grew a little dirt}', 
 and they washed it in warm water, it would appear as it 
 really was, and the worn-out places would show themselves 
 here and there upon it. Then, too late, they would repent. 
 
 And that monk became notorious, as one who passed oif 
 old rags upon anybody who came to him. 
 
 Now there was another robe-maker in a country village 
 who used to cheat everybody just like the man at Jeta- 
 vana. And some monks who knew him very well told 
 him about the other, and said to him — 
 
 " Sir ! there is a monk at Jetavana who, they say, 
 cheats all the world in such and such a manner." 
 
 " Ah ! " thought he, " 'twould be a capital thing if I 
 could outwit that city fellow ! " 
 
 And he made a fine robe out of old clothes, dyed it a 
 beautiful red, put it on, and went to Jetavana. As soon 
 as the other saw it, he began to covet it, and asked him — 
 
 " Is this robe one of your own making, sir ? " 
 
 " Certainly, Brother," was the reply. 
 
 " Sir ! let me have the robe. Tou can take another for 
 it," said he. 
 
 " But, Brother, we village monks are but badly pro- 
 vided. If I give you this, what shall I have to put on ? " 
 
 "I have some new cloths, sir, by me. Do you take 
 those and make a robe for yourself." 
 
 " Well, Brother ! this is my own handiwork ; but if 
 you talk like that, what can I do ? Tou may have it," 
 said the other ; and giving him the robe made of old rags, 
 he took away the new cloths in triumph. 
 
 And the man of Jetavana put on the robe ; but when a 
 few days after he discovered, on washing it, that it was 
 made of rags, he was covered with confusion. And it 
 became noised abroad in the order, " That Jetavana robe- 
 maker has been outwitted, they say, by a man from the 
 country ! " 
 
%i. — THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED. 317 
 
 And one day the monks sat talking about this in the 
 Lecture Hall, when the Teacher came up and asked them 
 what they were talking about, and they told him the 
 Avhole matter. 
 
 Then the Teacher said, "Not now only has the Jeta- 
 vana robe-maker taken other people in in this way, in a 
 former birth he did the same. And not now onl}'' has he 
 been outwitted by the countryman, in a former birth he 
 was outwitted too." And he told a tale. 
 
 Long ago the Bodisat was born to a forest life as the 
 Genius of a tree standing near a certain lotus pond. 
 
 Now at that time the water used to rim short at the 
 dry season in a certain pond, not over large, in which 
 there were a good many fish. And a crane thought, on 
 seeing the fish — 
 
 " I must outwit these fish somehow or other and make 
 a prey of them." 
 
 And he went and sat down at the edge of the water, 
 thinking how he should do it. 
 
 When the fish saw him, they asked him, " What are 
 you sitting there for, lost in thought ? " 
 
 " I am sitting thinking about you," said he. 
 
 " Oh, sir ! what are you thinking about us ? " said they. 
 
 " Why," he replied ; " there is very little water in this 
 pond, and but little for you to eat; and the heat is so 
 great ! So I was thinking, ' What in the world wiR 
 these fish do now ? ' " 
 
 " Yes, indeed, sir ! what are we to do ? " said they. 
 
 " L£ you will only do as I bid you, I will take you in 
 
3i8 Z%.—BAKA JATAICA. 
 
 my beak to a fine large pond, covered with all the kinds 
 of lotuses, and put you into it," answered the crane. 
 
 " That a crane should take thought for the fishes is a 
 thing unheard of, Sir, since the world began. It's eating 
 us, one after the other, that you're aiming at ! " 
 
 " Not I ! So long as you trust me, I won't eat you. 
 But if you don't believe me that there is such a pond, 
 send one of you with me to go and see it." 
 
 Then they trusted him, and handed over to him one of 
 their number — a big fellow, bUnd of one eye, whom they 
 thought sharp enough in any emergency, afloat or ashore. 
 
 Him the crane took with him, let him go in the pond, 
 showed him the whole of it, brought him back, and let 
 him. go again close to the other fish. And he told them 
 all the glories of the pond. 
 
 And when they heard what he said, they exclaimed, 
 " All right. Sir ! You may take us with you." 
 
 Then the crane took the old purblind fish first to the 
 bank of the other pond, and alighted in a Varana-tree 
 growing on the bank there. But he threw it into a fork 
 of the tree, struck it with his beak, and killed it; and 
 then ate its flesh, and threw it^ bones away at the foot of 
 the tree. Then he went back and called out — 
 
 " I've thrown that fish in ; let another come ! " 
 
 And in that manner he took all the fish, one by one, 
 and ate them, till he came back and found no more ! 
 
 But there was still a crab left behind there ; and the 
 crane thought he would eat him too, and called out — 
 
 "I say, good crab, I've taken all the fish away, and 
 put them into a fine large pond. Come along. I'll take 
 you too ! " 
 
 "But how will you take hold of me to carry me 
 along?" 
 
Zi.—THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED. 
 
 319 
 
 " I'll bite hold of you with my beak." 
 
 " You'll let me fall if you carry me like that. I won't 
 go with you ! " 
 
 " Don't be afraid ! I'll hold you quite tight all the 
 way." 
 
 Then said the crab to himself, " If this fellow once got 
 hold of fish, he would never let them go in a pond ! Now 
 if he should reallj- put me into the pond, it would be 
 capital; but if he doesn't — then I'll cut his throat, and 
 kill him ! " So he said to him — 
 
 " Look here, friend, you won't be able to hold me tight 
 enough ; but we crabs have a famous grip. If you let me 
 catch hold of you round the neck with my claws, I shall 
 be glad to go with you." 
 
 And the other did not see that he was trying to outwit 
 him, and agreed. So the crab caught hold of his neck 
 with his claws as securely as with a pair of blacksmith's 
 pincers, and called out, " Ofi' with you, now ! " 
 
 And the crane took him and showed him the pond, and 
 then turned oS towards the Varana-tree. 
 
 " Uncle ! " cried the crab, " the pond lies that way, but 
 you are taking me this way ! " 
 
 " Oh, that's it, is it ! " answered the crane. " Tour 
 dear little uncle, your very sweet nephew, you call me ! 
 You mean me to imderstand, I suppose, that I am your 
 slave, who has to lift you up and carry you about with 
 him ! Now cast your eye upon the heap of fish-bones 
 lying at the root of yonder Varana-tree. Just as I have 
 eaten those fish, every one of them, just so I will devour 
 you as well ! " 
 
 " Ah ! those fishes got eaten through their own 
 stupidity," answered the crab ; " but I'm not going to 
 
320 ZS.SAA'A JATAKA. 
 
 let you eat me. On the contrary, it is you that I am 
 going to destroy. For j^ou in your folly have not seen 
 that I was outwitting you. If we die, we die both to- 
 gether ; for I will cut off this head of yours, and cast it 
 to the ground ! " And so saying, he gave the crane's 
 neck a grip with his claws, as with a vice. 
 
 Then gasping, and with tears trickling from his eyes, 
 and trembling -with the fear of death, the crane beseeched 
 him, saying, " m.j Lord ! Indeed I did not intend to 
 eat you. Grant me my life ! " 
 
 " Well, well ! step down into the pond, and put me in 
 there." 
 
 And he turned round and stepped down into the pond, 
 and placed the crab on the mud at its edge. But the 
 crab cut through its neck as clean as one would cut a 
 lotus-stalk with a hunting-knife, and then only entered 
 the water ! 
 
 When the Genius who lived in the Yarana-tree saw 
 this strange affair, he made the wood resound with his 
 plaudits, uttering in a pleasant voice the verse — 
 
 " The villain, though exceeding clever, 
 Shall prosper not by his villany. 
 He may win indeed, sharp-witted in deceit. 
 But only as the Crane here from the Crab ! " 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse, showing 
 that " Not now only, mendicants, has this man been 
 outwitted by the country robe-maker, long ago he was 
 outwitted in the same way," he established the connexion, 
 
Zi. — THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED. 
 
 321 
 
 and summed up the Jataka, by saying, " At that time lie 
 was the Jetavana robe-maker, the crab was the country 
 robe-maker, but the Genius of the Tree was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE CRUEL CRANE OUTWITTED. 
 
 ' This fable is a great favourite. It was among those translated into the 
 Spiac and Arabic, and has been retained in all the versions of the Kalila 
 and Dimna series, while it occurs in the Arabian Nights, and in the story- 
 books of the Northern Buddhists and of the Hindus. It has been already 
 traced through all the following story-books (whose full titles, and historical 
 connexion, are given in the Tables appended to the Introduction to this 
 volume). 
 
 Kalilag und Dimnag, pp. 12, 13. 
 
 Sylvestre de Sacy, chapter v. 
 
 Wolf, vol. i. p. 41. 
 
 Anvir i Suhaili, p. 117. 
 
 Knatchbull, pp. 113-115. 
 
 Sj-meon Seth (Athens edition), p. 16. 
 
 John of Capua, c. 4 b. 
 
 ■ XJlm' German text, D. V. b. 
 
 The Spanish version, xiii. 6. 
 
 Firenzuola, p. 39. 
 
 Doni, p. 59. 
 
 Livre des Lumieres, p. 92. 
 
 Cabinet des Fees, ivii. p. 221. 
 
 Livre des Merveilles (du Meril in a note to Batalo, p. 238). 
 
 Contes et Fables Indiennes de Bidpai et de Lokmau, i. p. 357. 
 
 La Fontaine, x. 4. 
 
 Arabian Nights (WeU, iv. 915). 
 
 Paflca Tantra, i. 7 (comp. ii. 68). 
 
 Hitopadesa, iv. 7 (Max Miiller, p. IIS). 
 
 Katha Sarit Sagara Tar. Ix. 79-90. 
 
 Dhammapada, p. 155. 
 Professor Benfey has devoted a long note to the history of the story (Intro- 
 duction to the Paflca Tantra, i. 174, § 60). and I have only succeeded iu 
 adding, in a few details, to his results. The tale is told very lamely, as 
 compared with the Pali original, in aU those versions I have been able to 
 consult. It is strange that so popular a tale was not included by Planudes or 
 his successors in their collections of so-called .ZEsop's Fables. 
 
 21 
 
No. 39. 
 
 NAjSTDA JATAKA. 
 
 Nanda on the Buried Gold. 
 
 "The golden heap, methinks." — This the Master told 
 ■w'hile at Jetavana, about a monk living under Sariputta. 
 
 He, they say, was meek, and mild of speech, and served 
 the Elder with great devotion. Now on one occasion the 
 Elder had taken leave of the Master, started on a tour, 
 and gone to the mountain country in the south of 
 Magadha. When they had arrived there, the monk 
 became proud, followed no longer the word of the Elder ; 
 and when he was asked to do a thing, would even become 
 angry with the Elder. 
 
 The Elder could not understand what it all meant. 
 AVhen his tour was over, he returned again to Jetavana ; 
 and from the moment he arrived at the monastery, the 
 monk became as before. This the Elder told the Master, 
 saying,— 
 
 " Lord ! there is a mendicant in my division of the 
 Order, who in one place is like a slave bought for a hun- 
 dred, and in another becomes proud, and refuses with 
 anger to do what he is asked." 
 
 Then the Teacher said, " Not only now, Sariputta, has 
 the monk behaved like that ; in a former birth also, when 
 in one place he was like a slave bought for a hundred, and 
 in another was angrily independent." 
 
 And at the Elder's request he told the story. 
 
^'i.—NANDA ON THE BURIED GOLD. 323 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma- datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat came to life again as a landowner. He had a 
 friend, also a landowner, who was old himself, but whose 
 wife was young. She had a son by him ; and he said to 
 himself, — 
 
 " As this woman is young, she will, after my death, be 
 taking some husband to herself, and squandering the 
 money I have saved. What, now, if I were to make 
 away with the money under the earth ? " 
 
 And he took a slave in the house named Nanda, went 
 into the forest, buried the treasure in a certain spot of 
 which he informed the slave, and instructed him, saying, 
 " My good Nanda ! when I am gone, do you let my son 
 know where the treasure is ; and be careful the wood is 
 not sold ! " 
 
 Very soon after he died; and in due course his son 
 became of age. And his mother said to him, " My dear ! 
 your father took Nanda the slave with him, and buried 
 his money. You should have it brought back, and put 
 the family estates into order." 
 
 And one day he accordingly said to Nanda, " Uncle ! 
 is there any money which my father buried ? " 
 
 " Yes, Sir ! " said he. 
 
 " Where is it buried ? " 
 
 " In the forest. Sir." 
 
 " Then come along there." And taking a spade and 
 a bag, he went to the place whereabouts the treasure was, 
 and said, " Now, uncle, where is the money?" 
 
 But when Nanda had got up on to the spot above the 
 treasure, he became so proud of it, that he abused his young 
 master roundly, saying, "You servant ! You son of a slave- 
 girl ! Where, then, did you get treasure from here .? " 
 
324 39.—NAJVDA yATAA'A. 
 
 The young master made as though, he had not heard 
 the abuse ; and simply saying, " Come along, then," took 
 him back again. But two or three days after he went to 
 the spot again ; when Nanda, however, abused him as befoi-e. 
 
 The young man gave him no harsh word in reply, but 
 turned back, saying to himself, — 
 
 " This slave goes to the place fully intending to point 
 out the treasure ; but as soon as he gets there, he begins 
 to be insolent. I don't understand the reason of this. 
 But there's that squire, my father's friend. I'll ask him 
 about it, and find out what it is." 
 
 So he went to the Bodisat, told him the whole matter, 
 and asked him the reason of it. 
 
 Then said the Bodisat, " On the very spot, my young 
 friend, where Nanda stands when he is insolent, there 
 must your father's treasure be. So as soon as Nanda 
 begins to abuse you, you should answer, ' Come now, 
 slave, who is it you're talking too ? ' drag him down, 
 take the spade, dig into that spot, take out the treasure, 
 and then make the slave lift it up and carry it home ! " 
 And so saying he uttered this verse — 
 
 " The golden heap, methinks, the jewelled gold, 
 Is just where Nanda, the base-born, the slave, 
 Thimders out swelling words of vanity ! " 
 
 Then the young squire took leave of the Bodisat, went 
 home, took Nanda with him to the place where the 
 treasure was, acted exactly as he had been told, brought 
 back the treasure, put the family estates into order ; and 
 following the exhortations of the Bodisat, gave gifts, and 
 did other good works, and at the end of his life passed 
 away according to his deeds. 
 
3d.—ArAJVBA OiV THE BURIED GOLD. 325 
 
 When the Teacher had finished this discourse, showing 
 how formerly also he had behaved the same, he established 
 the connexion, and summed up the Jataka, "At that 
 time Nanda was the monk under Sariputta, but the wise 
 squire was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STOKY OF NANDA ON THE BURIED GOLD.' 
 
 ' In the so-called JEsop's Fables are several on the text that a haughty 
 spirit goeth hefore a fall ; for instance, ' The Charger and the Ass,' ' The 
 Bull and the Frog,' and ' 'The Oats and the Reeds ' ; hut this is the only story 
 I know directed against the pride arising from the temporary possession of 
 wealth. 
 
No. 40. 
 
 KHADIRANGAEA JATAKA. 
 
 The Fiery Furnace. 
 
 "Far rather will I fall into this hell." — ^This the Master 
 told wHle at Jetavana, about Anatha Pindika. 
 
 For Anatha Pindika having squandered fifty- four thou- 
 sands of thousands in money on the Buddhist Faith ahout 
 the Monastery, and holding nothing elsewhere in the 
 light of a treasure, save only the Three Treasures (the 
 Buddha, the Truth, and the Order), used to go day after 
 day to take part in the Three Great Services, once in the 
 morning, once after breakfast, and once in the evening. 
 
 There are intermediate services too. And he never 
 went empty-handed, lest the lads, and the younger 
 brethren, should look to see what he might have brought. 
 When he went in the morning he would take porridge ; 
 after breakfast ghee, butter, honey, molasses, and so on ; 
 in the evening perfumes, garlands, and robes. Thus 
 ofiering day after day, the sum of his gifts was beyond 
 all measure. Traders, too, left writings with him, and 
 took money on loan from him up to eighteen thousands of 
 thousands, and the great merchant asked it not again of 
 them. Other eighteen thousands of thousands, the pro- 
 perty of his family, was put away and buried in the river 
 bank ; and when the bank was broken in by a storm they 
 were washed away to the sea, and the brazen pots rolled 
 just as they were — closed and sealed — to the bottom of 
 
ia.—THE FIERY FURNACE. y.-j 
 
 the ocean. In his house again a constant supply of rice 
 was ordered to be kept in readiness for five hundred 
 members of the Order, so that the Merchant's house was 
 to the Order like a public pool'dug where four high roads 
 meet ; and he stood to them in the place of father and 
 mother. On that account even the Supreme Buddha 
 himself used to go to his residence ; and the Eighty Chief 
 Elders also ; and the number of other monks coming and 
 going was beyond measure. 
 
 Now his mansion was seven stories high, and there 
 were seven great gates to it, with battlemented turrets 
 over them ; and in the fourth turret there dwelt a fairy 
 who was a heretic. When the Supreme Buddha entered 
 the house, she was unable to stop up above in the turret, 
 but used to bring her children downstairs and stand on 
 the ground floor ; and so she did when the Eighty Chief 
 Elders, or the other monks were coming in or going 
 out.i 
 
 And she thought, " So long as this mendicant Grotama 
 and his disciples come to the house, there is no peace for 
 me. I can't be eternally going downstairs again and again, 
 to stand on the ground floor ; I must manage so that they 
 come no more to the house." 
 
 So one day, as soon as the chief business manager had 
 retired to rest, she went to him, and stood before him in 
 visible shape. 
 
 " Who's there ? " said he. 
 
 " It's I ; the Fairy who dwells in the turret over the 
 fourth gate." 
 
 " What are you come for ? " 
 
 "You are not looking after the Merchant's affairs. 
 PayincT no thought to his last days, he takes out aU his 
 money, and makes the mendicant Grotama full of it. He 
 undertakes no business, and sets no work on foot. Do 
 
 1 It is a great breach of etiquette for an inferior to remain in any place 
 above that where his superior is. 
 
328 Vi.—KHADIRAiXGARA JATAKA. 
 
 you speak to the Merchant so that he may attend to his 
 business ; and make arrangements so that that mendicant 
 Gotama and his disciples shall no longer come to the 
 place." 
 
 But the other said to her, " foolish Fairy ! the Mer- 
 chant in spending his money spends it on the religion of 
 the Buddhas, which leadeth to salvation. Though I 
 should be seized by the hair, and sold for a slave, I will 
 say no such thing. Begone with you ! " 
 
 Another day the Fairy went to the Merchant's eldest 
 son, and persuaded him in the same manner. But he re- 
 fused her as before. And to the Merchant himself she did 
 not dare to speak. 
 
 Now by constantly giving gifts, and doing no business, 
 the Merchant's income grew less and less, and his wealth 
 went to ruin. And as he sank more and more into poverty, 
 his property, and his dress, and his furniture, and his 
 food were no longer as they had been. He nevertheless 
 still used to give gifts to the Order ; but he was no longer 
 able to give of the best. 
 
 One day when he had taken his seat, after saluting the 
 Teacher, he said to him, "Well, householder! are gifts 
 still given at your house ? " 
 
 " They are stiU being given, Lord," said he, " but only 
 a mere trifle of stale second day's porridge." 
 
 Then said the Master to him, " Don't let your heart be 
 troubled, householder, that you give only what is un- 
 pleasant to the taste. For if the heart be only right, a 
 gift given to Buddhas, or Pacceka Buddhas,^ or their 
 disciples, can never be otherviise than right. And why ? 
 Through the greatness of the result. For that he who 
 can cleanse his heart can never give unclean gifts is de- 
 clared in the passage — 
 
 ' One who has the power of gaining salvation for himself ; but not of 
 giving others the knowledge of it. The Birth Story to which this is an In- 
 troduction is about a gift to a Pacceka Buddha. 
 
Vi.—THE FIERY FURNACE. 329 
 
 If only there be a believing heart, 
 
 There is no such thing as a trifling gift 
 
 To the Mortal One, Buddha, or his disciples. 
 
 There is no such thing as a trifling service 
 
 To the Buddhas, to the Illustrious Ones ; 
 
 If you only can see the fruit that may follow. 
 
 E'en a gift of stale gruel, dried up, without salt ! 
 
 And again he said to him, " Householder ! although 
 the gift you are giving is but poor, you are giving it to 
 the Eight Noble Beings.' Now when I was Velama, 
 and gave away the Seven Treasures, ransacking the whole 
 continent of India to find them, and kept up a great 
 donation, as if I had turned the five great rivers into one 
 great mass of water, yet I attained not even to taking 
 refuge in. the Three Gems, or to keeping the Five 
 Precepts, so unfit were they who received the gifts. Let 
 not your heart be troubled, therefore, because your gifts 
 are trifling." And so saying, he preached to him the 
 Velamika Sutta. 
 
 Now the Fairy, who before had not cared to speak to 
 the Merchant, thinking, " Now that this man has come to 
 poverty, he will listen to what I say," went at midnight 
 to his chamber, and appeared in visible shape before him. 
 
 " Who's there ? " said the Merchant on seeing her. 
 
 " 'Tis I, great Merchant ; the Fairy who dwells in the 
 turret over the fourth gate." 
 
 " What are you come for ? " 
 
 " Because I wish to give you some advice." 
 
 " Speak, then." 
 
 " great Merchant ! you take no thought of your last 
 days. You regard not your sons and daughters. Tou 
 have squandered much wealth on the religion of Gotama 
 
 ' Ariya-puggalas, the persoas who, hy self-culture and self-control, have 
 entered respectively on the Four Stages, and have reached the Four Fruits of 
 the Noble Jiightfold Path. 
 
330 '>S).—KHADIRANGARA JATAKA. 
 
 the mendicant. By spending your money for so long a 
 time, and by undertaking no fresh business, you have 
 become poor for the sake of the mendicant Gotama. Even 
 so you are not rid of the mendicant Grotama. Up to this 
 very day the mendicants swarm into your house. What 
 j'ou have lost you can never restore again ; but hence- 
 forth neither go yourself to the mendicant Gotama, nor 
 allow his disciples to enter j'^our house. Turn not back 
 even to behold the mendicant Gotama, but attend to your 
 own business, and to your own merchandize, and so re- 
 establish the family estates." 
 
 Then said he to her, " Is this the advice you have to 
 offer me ? " 
 
 "Yes; this is it." 
 
 " He whose power is Wisdom has made me immovable 
 \ij a hundred, or thousand, or even a hundred thousand 
 supernatural beings such as you. For my faith is firm 
 and established like the great mountain Sineru. I have 
 spent my wealth on the Treasure of the Heligion that 
 leads to Salvation. What you say is wrong ; it is a blow 
 that is given to the Religion of the Buddhas by so wicked 
 a hag as you are, devoid of affection. It is impossible for 
 me to live in the same house with you. Depart quickly 
 from my house, and begone elsewhere ! " 
 
 When she heard the words of the converted, saintly 
 disciple, she dared not stay ; and going to the place where 
 she dwelt, she took her children by the hand, and went 
 away. But though she went, she determined, if she 
 could get no other place of abode, to obtain the Merchant's 
 forgiveness, and return and dwell even there. So she 
 went to the guardian god of the city, and saluted him, 
 and stood respectfully before him. 
 
 " What are you come here for ? " said he. 
 
 " Sir ! I have been speaking thoughtlessly to Anatha 
 Pindika ; and he, enraged with me, has driven me out 
 from the place where I dwelt. Take me to him, and 
 
an.— THE FIERY FURNACE. 
 
 331 
 
 persuade Mm to forgive me, and give me back my 
 dwelling-place." 
 
 " AVhat is it you said to him ? " 
 
 " ' Henceforth, give no support to the Buddha, or to the 
 Order of Mendicants, and forbid the mendicant Uotama 
 the entry into your house.' This, Sir, is what I said." 
 
 "You said wrong. It was a blow aimed at religion. 
 I can't undertake to go with you to the Merchant ! " 
 
 Getting no help from him, she went to the four Arch- 
 angels, the guardians of the world. And when she was 
 refused by them in the same manner, she went to Sakka, 
 the King of the Gods, and telling him the whole matter, 
 besought him urgently, saying, "O God! deprived of 
 my dwelling-place, I wander about without a shelter, 
 leading my children by the hand. Let me in your 
 graciousness be given some place where I may dwell ! " 
 
 And he, too, said to her, " You have done wrong ! You 
 have aimed a blow at the religion of the Conqueror. It 
 is impossible for me to speak on your behalf to the 
 Merchant. But I can tell you one means by which the 
 Merchant may pardon you." 
 
 " It is well, O God. TeU me what that may be ! " 
 
 " People have had eighteen thousands of thousands of 
 money from the Merchant on giving him writings. Now 
 take the form of his manager, and without telling any- 
 body, take those writings, surround yourself vsdth so 
 many young ogres, go to their houses with the writings 
 in one hand, and a receipt in the other, and stand in the 
 centre of the house and frighten them with your demon 
 power, and say, ' This is the record of your debt. Our 
 Merchant said nothing to you in byegone days ; but now 
 he is fallen into poverty. Pay back the moneys which 
 you had from him.' Thus, by displaying your demon 
 power, recover all those thousands of gold, and pour them 
 into the Merchant's empty treasury. There was other 
 wealth of his buried in the bank of the river AciravatI, 
 
332 ia.—KHADIRANGARA JATAKA. 
 
 whicli, when the river-bank was broken, was washed away 
 to the sea. Bring that back by your power, and pour it 
 into his treasury. In such and such a place, too, there is 
 another treasure of the sum of eighteen thousands of 
 thousands, which has no owner. That too bring, and 
 pour it into his empty treasury. When you have under- 
 gone this punishment of refilling his empty treasury with 
 these fifty- four thousands of thousands, you may ask the 
 Merchant to forgive you." 
 
 " Very well, my Lord ! " said she ; and agreed to what 
 he said, and brought back all the money in the way she 
 was told ; and at midnight entered the Merchant's bed- 
 chamber, and stood before him in visible shape. 
 
 " Who's there ? " said he. 
 
 " It is I, great Merchant ! the blind and foolish Tairy 
 who used to dwell in the turret over your fourth gate. 
 In my great and dense stupidity, and knowing not the 
 merits of the Buddha, I formerly said something to you ; 
 and that fault I beg you to pardon. For according to 
 the word of Sakka, the King of the Gods, I have per- 
 formed the punishment of filling your empty treasury 
 with fifty- four thousands of thousands I have brought — 
 the eighteen thousands of thousands owing to you which 
 I have recovered, the eighteen thousands of thousands lost 
 in the sea, and eighteen thousands of thousands of owner- 
 less money in such and such a place. The money you 
 spent on the monastery at Jetavana is now all restored. 
 I am in misery so long as I am allowed no place to dwell 
 in. Keep not in your mind the thing I did in m.y igno- 
 rance, but pardon me, great Merchant ! " 
 
 When he heard what she said, Anatha Pindika thought, 
 " She is a goddess, and she says she has undergone her 
 pimishment, and she confesses her sin. The Master shall 
 consider this, and make his goodness known. I will take 
 her before the Supreme Buddha." And he said to her, 
 " Dear Fairy ! if you wish to ask me to pardon you, ask 
 it in the presence of the Buddha ! " 
 
iO.-THE FIERY FURNACE. 
 
 333 
 
 " Very well. I wiU do so/' said she. " Take me with 
 j'ou to the Master ! " 
 
 To this he agreed. And when the night was just pass- 
 ing away, he took her, very early in the morning, to the 
 presence of the Master; and told him all that she had 
 done. 
 
 When the Master heard it, he said, " You see, O house- 
 holder, how the sinful man looks uj)on sin as pleasant, so 
 long as it hears no fruit ; but when its fruit ripens, then 
 he looks upon it as sin. And so the good man looks upon 
 his goodness as sin so long as it bears no fruit ; but when 
 its fruit ripens, then he sees its goodness." And so saying, 
 he uttered the two stanzas in the Scripture Verses : 
 
 The sinner thinks the sin is good. 
 So long as it hath ripened not ; 
 But when the sin has ripened, then 
 The sinner sees that it was sin ! 
 
 The good think goodness is but sin. 
 So long as it hath ripened not ; 
 But when the good has ripened, then 
 The good man sees that it was good ! 
 
 An d at the conclusion of the verses the Tairy was estab- 
 lished in the Fruit of Conversion. And she fell at the 
 wheel-marked feet of the Teacher, and said, " My Lord ! 
 lustful, and infidel, and blind as I was, I spake wicked 
 words in my ignorance of your character. Grant me thy 
 pardon ! " 
 
 Then she obtained pardon both from the Teacher and 
 from the Merchant. 
 
 On that occasion Anatha Pindika began to extol his 
 own merit in the Teacher's presence, saying, " My Lord ! 
 though this Fairy forbad me to support the Buddha, she 
 could not stop me; and though she forbad me to give 
 
334 aa.—KHADIRANGARA JATAKA. 
 
 gifts, I gave tliem still. Shall not this be counted to my 
 merit, my Lord ? " 
 
 But the Teacher said, "You, householder, are a Con- 
 verted person, and one of the Elect disciples. Your faith 
 is firm, you have the clear insight of those who are walk- 
 ing in the First Path. It is no wonder that you were 
 not turned back at the bidding of this weak Fairy. But 
 that formerly the \vise who lived at a time when a Buddha 
 had not appeared, and when knowledge was not matured, 
 should still have given gifts, though Mara, the Lord of 
 the angels of the Realms of Lust, stood in the sky, and 
 told them to give no gifts ; and showing them a pit full 
 of live coals eighty cubits deep, called out to them, ' If 
 you give the gift, you shall be burnt in this hell ' — that 
 was a wonder ! " 
 
 And at the request of Anatha PirKjika, he told the 
 tale. 
 
 Long ago, when Brahma-datta was reigning in Benares, 
 the Bodisat came to life in the family of the Treasurer of 
 Benares, and was brought up in much luxury, like a 
 prince. And he arrived in due course at years of dis- 
 cretion ; and even when he was but sixteen years old he 
 had gained the mastery over all branches of knowledge. 
 
 At the death of his father he was appointed to the 
 office of Treasurer, and had six Gift-halls built, — four at 
 the four gates, and one in the midst of the city, and one 
 at the entrance to his mansion. And he gave Gifts, and 
 kept the Precepts, and observed the Sabbath-days. 
 
 Now one day when pleasant food of all sweet tastes was 
 being taken in for the Bodisat at breakfast-time, a Pac- 
 ceka Buddha, who had risen from a seven days' trance, 
 saw that the time had come for him to seek for food. 
 
W.—THE FIERY FURNACE. 335 
 
 And thinking he ought to go that day to the door of the 
 Benares Treasurer's house, he washed his face with water 
 from the Anotatta lalie, and used a toothpick made from 
 the betel-creeper, put on his lower robe as he stood on the 
 table-land of Mount Manosila, fastened on his girdle, 
 robed himself, took a begging-bowl he created for the 
 purpose, went through the sky, and stood at the door of 
 the house just as the breakfast was being taken in to the 
 Bodisat. 
 
 As soon as the Bodisat saw him, he rose from his seat, 
 and looked at a servant who was making the preparations. 
 
 " What shall I do. Sir ?" said he. 
 
 " Bring the gentleman's bowl," said his master. 
 
 That moment Mara the Wicked One was greatly agi- 
 tated, and rose up, saying, " It is seven days since this 
 Pacceka Buddha received food. If he gets none to-day, 
 he will perish. I must destroy this fellow, and put a stop 
 to the Treasurer's gift." 
 
 And he went at once and caused a pit of live coals, 
 eighty fathoms deep, to appear in the midst of the house. 
 And it was full of charcoal of Acacia-wood ; and appeared 
 burning and flaming, like the great hell of Avici. And 
 after creating it, he himself remained in the sky. 
 
 When the man, who was coming to fetch the bowl, saw 
 this, he was exceeding terrified, and stopped still. 
 
 " What are you stopping for, my good man ? " asked 
 the Bodisat. 
 
 " There is a great pit of live coals burning and blazing 
 in the very middle of the house, Sir ! " said he. And as 
 people came up one after another, they were each over- 
 come with fear, and fled hastily away. 
 
 Then thought the Bodisat, " Yasavatti Mara must be 
 
336 aa.—KHADIRANGARA JATAKA. 
 
 exerting timself with the hope of putting an ohstacle in 
 the way of my almsgiving. But I am not aware that I 
 can he shaken hy a hundred or even a thousand Maras. 
 This day I will find out whether my power or Mara's — 
 whether my might or Mara's — is the greater." 
 
 And he himself took the dish of rice just as it stood 
 there ready, and went out, and stood on the edge of the 
 pit of fire; and looking up to the sky, saw Mara, and 
 said — 
 
 " Who are you ? " 
 
 " I am Mara," was the reply. 
 
 " Is it you who created this pit of fire ? " 
 
 " Certainly, I did it." 
 
 "And what for?" 
 
 " Simply to put a stop to your almsgiving, and destro}^ 
 the life of that Pacceka Buddha ! " 
 
 "And I'U allow you to do neither the one nor the 
 other. Let us see this day whether your power or mine 
 is the greater ! " And still standing on the edge of the 
 pit of fire, he exclaimed — 
 
 "My Lord, the Pacceka Buddha! I will not turn 
 hack from this pit of coal, though I should fall into it 
 headlong. Take now at my hands the food I have be- 
 stowed, even the whole of it." And so saying, he uttered 
 the stanza : 
 
 " Far rather wiU I fall into this hell 
 Head downwards, and heels upwards, of my own 
 Accord, than do a deed that is unworthy ! 
 E,eceive then. Master, at my hands, this alms ! " 
 
 And as he so said, he held the dish of rice with a firm 
 grasp, and walked right on into the fiery furnace ! 
 
^.~THE FIERY FURNACE. 337 
 
 And that instant ttere arose a beautiful large lotus- 
 flower, up and up, from the bottom of the depth of the 
 fiery pit, and received the feet of the Bodisat. And from 
 it there came up about a peck of pollen, and fell on the 
 Grreat Being's head, and covered his whole body with a 
 sprinkling of golden dust. Then standing in the midst 
 of the lotus-flower, he poured the food into the Pacceka 
 Buddha's bowl. 
 
 And he took it, and gave thanks, and threw the bowl 
 aloft ; then rose himself into the sky, in the sight of all 
 the people ; and treading as it were on the clouds whose 
 various shapes formed a belt across the heavens, he passed 
 away to the mountain regions of Himalaya. 
 
 Mara too, sorrowing over his defeat, went away to the 
 place vs^here he dwelt. 
 
 But the Bodisat, still standing on the lotus, preached 
 the Law to the people in praise of charity and righteous- 
 ness ; and then returned to his house, surrounded by the 
 multitude. And he gave gifts, and did other good works 
 his life long, and then passed away according to his 
 deeds. 
 
 The Teacher then concluded this discourse in illustra- 
 tion of his words, " This is no wonder, householder, that 
 you, having the insight of those who are walking in the 
 First Path, should now have been unmoved by the Fairy; 
 but what was done by the wise in former times, that was 
 the wonder." And he established the connexion, and 
 summed up the Jataka, by saying, " There the then 
 Pacceka Buddha died, and on his death no new being 
 VOL. I. 22 
 
338 m.~KHADIRANGARA JATAKA. 
 
 was formed to inherit his Karma ; but he who gave alms 
 to the Pacceka Buddha, standing on the lotus after de- 
 feating the Tempter, was I myself." 
 
 END OF THE STORY OF THE FIEEY FOKNACE.^ 
 
 ' This story is quoted in ' Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,' trans- 
 lated by Herbert A. Giles, vol. i. p. 396. 
 
 END OF BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 The names mentioned in the Tables following the Introduction 
 are not included in this Index, as the Table in which any 
 name should occur can easily be found from the Table of 
 Contents. The names of the Jatakas as far as published in 
 Mr. Fausboll's text are included in this Index, the refer- 
 ence being to the number of the story ; all the other 
 references are to the pages in this volume. 
 
 In Pali pronounce vowels as in Italian, consonants as in English 
 (except c^ ch, 5 r= ny, l) =: ng), and place the accent on 
 the long syllable. This is a rough rule for practical use. 
 Details and qualifications may be seen in my manual 
 'Buddhism,' pp. 1, 2. 
 
 No. 281 
 
 27 
 
 Abbhantara Jataka . 
 Abhidhamma, Ixiv, 106 
 Abhinha Jataka . . No, 
 Abbisambuddha-gatha, lixvi 
 Adiccupattbana jataka . No. 175 
 JEsop, vii, xi, xxxi-xxKV 
 Afgbanistan, xliii 
 
 Age, virtue of reverence to, 310, 320 
 .Aggika Jataka . . No. 129 
 
 AjaiSBa Jataka . . No. 24 
 
 Ajita, Brabman and Bodisat, 39 
 Akalarivi Jataka . No. 119 
 
 Akatafifiu Jataka . . No. 90 
 Alara Kalama, 111, 89 
 Aiina-citta Jataka . . No. 156 
 Amaravati, a city, 23 
 Amba Jataka . . . No. 124 
 Anabhirati Jatakas . Nos. 65, 185 
 Anatba-pindika, 130, 326-330 
 Andabhuta Jataka . . No. 62 
 Andhapura, a city, 153 
 Angels open tbe gate for Gotama, 83 ; 
 Sie four guardian (Lokapala), 110, 
 92 ; foolisbly doubt regarding tbe 
 Bnddba, 90, 105 
 Anoma, a river, 85 
 Antelope, tbe greedy, 212 
 Antelope, tbe wily, 237 
 Anupiya, a grove, 87 
 Annsasika Jataka . 
 Apadana, Ixxiv 
 Apannaka Jataka 
 Arabian Nigbts, xhi 
 Arabian story-books, xxix, xxx 
 Araka Jataka . . .No. 169 
 
 No. 115 
 
 No. 1 
 
 Arabats, outward signs of, 87 ; un- 
 consciousness, a supposed condition 
 of, 90 ; indifferent to worldly 
 tbings, 120 
 Arama-dusa Jataka . Nos. 46, 268 
 Arcbery, 76 
 
 Arindama, King and Bodisat, 69 
 Asadisa Jataka . No. 187 
 
 Asampadana Jataka . . No. 131 
 Asar|kbeyya, an ason, 105 
 Asaijkiya Jataka . No. 76 
 
 Asatamanta Jataka . No. 61 
 
 Asatarupa Jataka . No. 100 
 
 Asi-lakkbana Jataka No. 126 
 
 Asitabbu Jataka . . No. 'IZi 
 Ass in tbe Lion's Skin, v 
 Assaji, tbe fiftb convert, 113, 118 
 Assaka Jataka . . No. 207 
 
 Astrology, 168, 185 
 Astronomy, 150 
 
 Atideva, Brabman and Bodisat, 39 
 Atita-vattbu=Birtb Story, loiv 
 Attbadassin, a monk in Ceylon, 1 ; 
 
 see Buddha, No. 17 
 Attbassa-dvara Jataka . No. 84 
 Atula,Naga-,KingandBodisat,38,48 
 . Avadanas, see Apadana 
 
 Babbu Jataka . . No. 137 
 
 Babrius, tbe Greek fabxJist, xxdii 
 
 Babiya Jataka . . No. 108 
 
 Baka Jataka . . . No. 38 
 
 Bandbana-mokkba Jataka No. 120 
 
 Bandbanagara Jataka . No. 201 
 Baptism, 71 
 
34° 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bark, clotlies of, 8 
 Barlaam and Josaphat, xxxvi-xli 
 Earonius, martTrologist, xxxix 
 Beal, the Rev."S., quoted, 111 
 Begging for food, 125 
 Bells, 91, 111 
 Benares muslin, 86 
 Benfey, Professor, s«e Pancha Tantra 
 Berachia, author of a Hebrew story- 
 book, 277 
 Betting, 267, 268 
 Bhaddasala Jataka, 186 
 Bhaddiya the third convert, 113 
 Bhaddiya the happy-minded, 190 
 Bhadra-ghata Jataka . No. 291 
 Bhalluka, a merchant, 110 
 Bharliut sculptures, lii, 193, 233 
 Bharu Jataka . . . No. 213 
 Bhavas, the three, 81 
 Bherivada Jataka . . No. 59 
 BhTmasena Jataka . . No. 80 
 Bhojajaniya Jataka . No. 23 
 
 Bhoja, a Brahman, 72 
 Bhoja horses, 245 
 Bidpai, the Bactrian fabulist, xliv, 
 
 Ixxi 
 Bigandet, 111 
 
 Big-red, name of an ox, 275 
 Bilara Jataka . . .No. 128 
 Bimbisara, king of Eajagaha, 114 
 Bird-catching, 296 
 Birds and the burning tree, 308 
 Birds, see Quail, Partridge, etc. 
 Blackie, the old woman's buU, 271 
 Bodisat= Josaphat, ixxvii 
 Bodisats, 53 
 
 Body, contempt of the, 200 
 Bowl, the Buddha's begging-, 87, 
 
 93, 94, 110 
 Brahma subservient to Gotama, 66, 
 
 92, 97, 102 
 Brahman and goat, 266 
 Briihman and his bet," 267, 268 
 Brahmans, good men are the true, 
 
 260 
 Brahmans and Buddhists, xxviii 
 Brass, ornaments and water-pote of, 
 
 154, 5, 6 
 Buddha, a. Former Buddhas, 52 
 1-3. Tanhagkara Medhagkara 
 Saranagkara, 52 
 
 4. Dipagkaia, 8-31, 126 
 
 5. Kondafina, 31, 32, 33, 126 
 
 6. Maggala, 34 
 
 7. Sumana, 38 
 
 8. Eevata, 39 
 
 9. Sobhita, 39 
 
 10. Anomadassin, 40 
 
 11. Paduma, 41 
 
 12. Narada, 41 
 
 13. Padumuttara, 42 
 
 14. Sumedha, 43 
 
 15. Sujata, 43 
 
 16. Piyadassin, 44 
 
 17. Atthadassin, 45 
 
 18. Dhammadassiu, 46 
 
 19. Siddhattha, 46 
 
 20. Tissa, 47 
 
 21. Phussa, 47 
 
 22. Vipassin, 48 
 
 23. Sikhin, 49 
 
 24. Vessabhu, 49 
 
 25. Kakusandha, 50 
 
 26. Konagamana, 51 
 
 27. Kassapa, 86, 51 
 
 h. Gotama the Buddha, life of, 
 60-130 ; date of death of, Ivi 
 Buddhadeva, a monk in Ceylon, 2' 
 Buddhaghosa, Ixiii-lxv 
 Buddhamitta, a monk in Ceylon, 2 
 Buddhavagsa, liv, Ivi, 3-54, 29 
 Bull who lost a bet, 266 
 Bull who earned wages, 271 
 
 Candabha Jataka . . No. 1 35 
 
 Canda-kinnara Jiltaka . No. 128 
 
 Canonization, iixviii 
 
 Caravans, Jatakas Nos. 1 and 2 
 
 Cariya Pitaka, liii 
 
 Caste, 61 ' , 
 
 Catumatta Jataka . . No. 187 
 
 Channa, "81-87 
 
 Charity, power of, 101 
 
 City-cheats and country fools, 316 
 
 Council of the Disciples (Savaka- 
 
 sannipata), 119 
 Crab, the, with the famous grip, 319 
 Crane, the cruel, outwitted, 317 
 Crane, the good, and the live fish, 
 
 288 
 Credulity, sin of, 80 
 Crocodiles in a djop of water, 309 
 Crow and fox, viii 
 Crow and jackal, xii 
 Crows and owls, feud between, 291 
 Cucxmibers, the golden, 288 
 Cullaka-seithi Jataka . No. 4 
 Cup, the wishing, xxi 
 
 Dabha, the MaUian, 172. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 341 
 
 Daddara Jstata . . No. 172 
 Dadhivahaua Jstaka . No. 1S6 
 Dagaba of the Diadem, 86 ; of Kan- 
 thaka's Staying, 84 ; of the Stead- 
 fast Gaze, 106; of the Jewelled 
 Cloister, 106; of the Hair-relics, 
 110 
 Bancing -women, 81 
 Davids, the Rev. T. 'W., xl 
 Dead, feast in honour of, 226 
 Deer, loses his herd by foolishness 
 (Jataka No. 11), 195; saves his 
 herd by self-sacrifice (Jataka No. 
 12), 205 ; who would not learn, 
 219; the cunning, 221 
 Deer forest, the, near Benares, 111 
 Delusion, one of the three great sins, 
 
 80, 164 
 Demons, red-eyed, and bold, and 
 
 shadowless, 143 
 Demon of water, 181, 233 
 Dennys, Dr., 'Folklore of China,' 
 
 xIy 
 Desert demons, see Jataka No. 1 
 Devadaha, a village, 60 
 Devadatta, 156, 194, 257 
 Deva-dhamma Jataka . No. 6 
 Bhaja, a Brahman, 72 
 Dhammadhaja Jataka . No. 220 
 Dhammaka, a mountain, 7 
 Dhammapada, see Pitaka 
 Dhammapada Commentary, 123 
 Dhammapala Jataka, 126, 129 
 Dhanapalaka, 88 
 Digha Nikaya, repeaters of, 78 
 Diptychs in the early Christian 
 
 church, xxxviii 
 Divyavadana quoted, 185 
 Dog and elephi,ut, 263 
 Dog who turned preacher, 240 
 Double miracle (by the Buddha), 105, 
 123, 164; (by Little Eoadling), 
 165 
 Dubbaca Jataka . . No. 1 16 
 Dubbala-kattha Jataka . No. 105 
 Duddada Jataka . . No. 180 
 Dummedha Jataka . Nos. 50, 122 
 Durajana Jataka . . No. 64 
 Duta Jataka . . . No. 260 
 
 Earthquakes, miraculous, 33, 58, 118 
 East, facing towards the, 67, 96 
 Eclipse, 253 
 
 Ekapada Jataka . . No. 238 
 Ekapanna Jataka . . No. 149 
 
 Elephant, Mara's mystic, 97, 99, 
 
 101 
 Elephant's feet, of gold, 182 
 Elephant, the gentle, 259-262 
 Elephant and dog, 263 
 Elephant, monkey, and partridge, 3 1 2 
 Emetic, 243 
 Erasmus quoted, vii 
 Evil communications, etc., xxi, 257- 
 
 262 
 Evil to be overcome with good, xxv, 
 
 xxvui 
 Execution by elephants, 281 
 
 Fairy, story about a, 216 
 
 Fetish worship, xxi 
 
 Fiery furnace, story of the, 316 
 
 Fire-god conquered by a quaU, 304 
 
 Fire restrained in presence of the 
 
 Buddha, 303 
 Fire worshippers, 114, 115 
 Fire, origin of jungle-, 308 
 Fish and his wife (No. 34), 299 
 Fish choose the Leviathan as their 
 
 king, 291 
 Fish and the good crane, 288 
 Fish and the cruel crane, 317 
 Flying, accomplishment of Arahats, 
 
 122 
 Flying of Pacceka Buddhas, 336 ; by 
 
 means of a gem, ti'y 
 Fowler and the quails, 296-298 
 Fox and crow, xiii 
 
 Gagga Jataka . . No. 155 
 
 Gahapati Jataka . . No. 199 
 Gamani-canda Jataka . No. 257 
 Gaggeyya Jataka . . No. 205 
 Garahita Jataka . . No. 219 
 Gaya-sisa hiU near Eajagaha, 114 
 
 257 
 Gesta Eomanorum, xlvi 
 Ghatasana Jataka . No. 133 
 
 Ghatikara, an archangel, 86, 93 
 GiftlhaUs, 334 
 
 Gifts, trifling, of great value, 329 
 Gijjha Jataka . . No. 164 
 
 Gilchrist, J., translator of JEsop, 
 
 XXXV 
 
 Giridanta Jataka . . No. 1 84 
 Girly-face, an elephant so called, 269 
 Goat and ISrahman, 226 
 Godha Jataka. . Nos. 138, 141 
 Gods, Brahman and Buddhist, 180- 
 184 
 
342 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Godpole's JEsop in Sanskrit, xxxv 
 
 Gold of Ophir, xlvii 
 
 Gold, buried, 323, 326 
 
 Gold dishes, 156 
 
 Golden Hill, 63, 71 
 
 Goldsmith, 251 
 
 Goose, the Golden, L-c, 292, 294 
 
 Gotama, name of the Buddha, 1 1 2 
 
 Greediness, story against, 214-218 
 
 Greek and Buddhist fables, xliii 
 
 Guna Jutaka . . No. 157 
 
 Guimdhya, poet, bmii 
 
 GuthapQna Jritaka . . No. 227 
 
 Guttila Jataka . No. 243 
 
 Hair, unkempt, a sign of holiness, 
 
 69 ; the Buddha's, 86; Digaha of 
 
 the Hair-relic, 110 
 Halo from the Buddha's person, 114, 
 
 125, 135 
 Hagsas, ii, 292 
 Hardy, 111 
 
 Haritaraata Jitaka . . No. 239 
 Hawkers, 153-157 
 Heaven, war in, 284 ; the glories of, 
 
 shown to a sinner, 288 
 Hell becomes filled with Ught, 103 
 Hire of boats, 155; carriages, 170 
 Hitopadesa, Ixxii 
 Horse, see Sindh, Bhoja ; the mythic 
 
 horse, 82-87; horse-dealers, 174; 
 
 stories of the noble, 244-250 ; 
 
 story of the proud, 251 
 House, figuratively of the individual, 
 
 104 
 Hungarian tales, xlii 
 Hunters, stories against, 238 
 Hunting, evils of, 206 
 Hynm of triumph, the Buddha' s, 1 03 - 
 
 105 
 
 Illlsa Jataka . . . No. 78 
 
 Inda-samana-gotta Jataka No. 161 
 
 Individuality, 104 
 
 Indra, 8-5 
 
 Inherited qualities, liv, Ixxsv, 25 1 
 
 Isipatana, suburb of Benares, 91 
 
 Jackal and crow, xii 
 Jali, a prince, 105 
 
 Jambu-khadaka Jataka . No. 294 
 Janaka Jataka . . No. 52 
 
 Janapada KalyanT, 128 
 Jarudapana Jataka . . No. 256 
 Jasmine, the Arabian, 82 
 
 Jitaka Mala (in Sanskrit), liv 
 Jataka Commentary, the old one, 82 
 Jataveda the god of fire, 305 
 Jatila, a Bodisat, 62 
 Jerome quoted, vii 
 Jetavana, a monastery, gift of, 130 
 Jews and Moslems, xxx 
 Jewish translators, xxxi 
 Jhaua-sodhaua Jataka . No. 134 
 John, St., of Damascus, xxxvi, xl 
 Jotipala, Brahman and Bodisat, 51 
 Jungle -fire stopping before the 
 Buddha, 303 
 
 Kacchapa Jataka . Nos. 178, 215 
 
 273 
 Kacchapa Jataka, No. 215, trans- 
 lated, ix 
 Kaka Jataka . . Nos. 140, 146 
 Kakantaka Jataka . . No. 170 
 Kakkara Jataka . . No. 209 
 Kakkata Jataka . . No. 267 
 Kala Devala, 69 
 Kaia Nagaraja, 94, 97 
 Kaia Udayin, 120 
 
 Kaiakanni Jataka . Nos. 83, 192 
 Kaiama, 89, 111 
 
 Kalanduka Jataka . . No. 127 
 Kalaya-mutthi Jataka . No. 176 
 Kalyana-dhamma Jataka . No. 171 
 Kalllag and Damnag literature, t^tti'y 
 Kalpa-lasting miracle, 235 
 Kamanita Jataka . . No. 228 
 KamanTta-vilapa Jataka . No. 297 
 Kammatthana, 127 
 Kancanakkhaudha Jataka No. 56 
 Kandagalaka Jataka No. 210 
 
 Kandina Jataka . . No. 13 
 Kanha Jataka . . . No. 29 
 Kanha Jina, a princess, 105 
 Kanthaka, the mythic horse, 82-87 
 Kanthaka Nivattana Cetiya, 84 
 Kapi Jataka . . . No. 250 
 Kapota Jataka . . No. 42 
 
 Karma, instances of action of, 161, 
 
 164 
 Kasava Jataka . . No. 221 
 Kassapa of Uruvela, the sixty-second 
 
 convert, 114 
 Kassapa Brahman and Bodisat, 44 
 Kassapa Buddlia, see Buddha 
 Kassapa Kumara, the Elder, 199, 
 
 204 
 Kassapa Maha Narada, 115 
 Katiihaka Jutaka . . No. 125 
 
INDEX. 
 
 343 
 
 No. 102 
 
 No. 40 
 
 No. 203 
 No. 225 
 
 Katlia-sarit-Sagara, liili, 16S 
 Kaya-vicchinda Jataka . No. 293 
 Keii-sTla Jataka 
 Kesa-dkatu-var]sa, 111 
 Khadiraggara Jataka 
 Khandahala Jataka, 190 
 Kliandhavatta Jataka 
 Khauti-vannana Jataka 
 Khara-dhatika, a demon, 33 
 Kharadiya Jataka . No. 16 
 
 Kharassara Jataka . No. 79 
 
 Khema, king and BodLsat, 50 
 Khurappa Jataka . No. 266 
 
 Kimpakia Jataka . No. 85 
 
 Kingdom of Righteousness, 112 
 Kings chosen by the animals, 292 
 Kings, a lesson for, fTii 
 Kirjsukopama Jataka 
 Kinnara Jataka, 12S 
 Kisa GotomT, 79, 80 
 Komaya-pntta Jataka 
 Kondauya, a Brahman, 72, 
 
 comes the first disciple, 112 
 Kosala, a country near Benares, xiiii 
 Kosiya Jataka . . Nos. 130, 226 
 Kshemendra, Kashmirian poet, Ixxiii 
 
 No. 248 
 
 No. 299 
 73; be- 
 
 Kuddala Jataka 
 
 . No. 
 
 70 
 
 Kuhaka Jataka, 
 
 . No. 
 
 89 
 
 Kukkura Jataka 
 
 . No. 
 
 22 
 
 Kulavaka Jataka 
 
 . No. 
 
 31 
 
 Kiunbhlla Jataka . 
 
 . No. 
 
 224 
 
 Kunala Jataka, 295 
 
 
 
 Kundaka-puva Jataka 
 
 . No. 
 
 109 
 
 Kusanali Jataka 
 
 No. 
 
 121 
 
 Kurudhamma Jataka 
 
 . No. 
 
 276 
 
 Kururiga-miga Jataka 
 
 Nos. 21, 
 
 206 
 
 Kuta-vanija Jataka 
 
 . No. 
 
 218 
 
 Labha-garaha Jataka . No. 287 
 La Fontaine's fables, vii, xi, xlii 
 Lakkhana, a Brahman, 72 
 Lakkhana Jataka . . No. 11 
 Lalita Vistara, 104, 87 
 Lamp, the wonderful, xxi 
 Latthiranuyyana (groTe of reeds), 116 
 Leviathan, king of the fish, 292 
 Life like Hviug in a house on fire, 81 
 Lion of the Termilion plain, 11 
 Lion as Bodisat, 40 
 Lion, the Buddha walks like a, 93 
 Lion, the Buddha mighty in Toice 
 
 as a, 135 
 Lion and tiger, 214 
 Lion chosen king of the beasts, 292 
 Litta Jataka . . . No. 91 
 
 Little-r«d, name of an oi, 273 
 Lola Jataka . . .No. 274 
 Lomahagsa Jataka . . No. 94 
 Losaka Jataka. . . No. 41 
 Lotus stalks, edible, 140, 143 
 Love, the dart of, 212 
 Lumbini grove, where the Buddha 
 was born, 66 
 
 Macala, a village in Magadha, 279 
 Maccha Jitaka Nos. 34, 75, 216 
 Macchudana Jataka. No. 288 
 
 MaddT, queen, 105 
 Magadha, land of, 195 
 Magha, a Brahman, 279 
 Maha-bharata quoted, xxvii, 185 
 Maha Maya, mother of the Buddha, 
 
 61 and foil. 
 Maha-nama, the fourth convert, 113 
 Mahapadana, 77 
 
 Maha-panada Jataka . No. 264 
 Maha-piggala Jataka . No. 240 
 Maha-sara Jataka . No. 92 
 
 Maha-silava Jataka . No. 51 
 
 Maha-sudassana Jataka . No. 95 
 Maha-supina Jataka . No. 77 
 Maha Vagsa quoted. 111, 264 
 Mahila-mukha Jataka . No. 26 
 Mahiijsasa, Prince, 180 
 Mahir|Sasaka, race of, 2 
 Mahisa Jataka . . No. 278 
 
 Mahosadha Jataka, xiv 
 Majjhima Desa, the Buddhist Holy 
 
 Land, 110 
 Makasa Jataka . . No. 44 
 Makha Deva Jataka . No. 9 
 Makkata Jataka . Nos. 173, 174 
 Maluta Jataka . No. 17 
 
 Mallika, king of Kosala, Txiii 
 Mandhatu Jataka . . No. 258 
 Maggala, ascetic and Bodisat, 46 
 Maijgala Jataka . . No. 87 
 Mafij erika, palace of the Nagaking, 9 7 
 Mani-cora Jataka . . No. 194 
 Mani-cora-kantha Jataka No. 253 
 Mani-sukara Jataka . No. 285 
 Mautin, a Brahman, 72 
 Mara, the. Buddhist Satan, tempts 
 Gotama with sovereioiity, 84 ; con- 
 flict between the Buddha and, 96- 
 101 ; the daughters of, 106-108; 
 as tempter, 335 
 Marriage feast, 276 
 Marriage custom, choice by the 
 woman, 289-292 
 
344 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Marks on a cMld's body signs of its 
 
 future, 70, 72, 125 
 Jlartyrologies, xxxix 
 Mataka-bhatta Jataka . N"o. 18 
 Matali, Sakka's charioteer, 286 
 Migadaya, a deer forest near Benares, 
 
 111 
 Milk, legend of ' ■working in and in,' 
 
 91 
 MUky Way, the, 135 
 Mirage, 141 
 
 Mittacinti Jataka . . No. 114 
 Mittamitta Jataka . . No. 197 
 Mittavinda Jataka . Nos. 82, 104, 
 369, 439 
 Moggallana, the chief disciple, 118 
 Monastery, gift of , 118, 130-132 
 Monk, the eight things allowed to a, 
 
 87 
 Monkey, partridge, and elephant, 312 
 Monkeys and demon, 232 
 Moon Prince, 180 
 
 Mora Jataka . . . No. 159 
 Mucalinda, the king of the cobras, 109 
 Mudulakkhana Jataka . No. 66 
 Mudupani Jataka . . No. 262 
 Mula-pariyaya Jataka . No. 245 
 Munika Jataka . , No. 30 
 Muslin of Benares, 36 
 Myth, tale of the Golden Goose a 
 
 true, 294 
 
 Nacea Jataka . . . No. 32 
 Nilgas, mystic snakes, 85, 88, 94 ; 
 
 king of, sings the Bodisat's praise, 
 
 97 
 Nakkhatta Jataka . . No. 49 
 Nakula Jataka . , No. 165 
 
 Nalakapana, a village and lake, 233 
 Naiaka, 70 
 
 Nalapana Jataka . , No. 20 
 Namasiddhi Jataka . . No. 97 
 Nanacchanda Jataka . No. 289 
 Nanda Jataka . . . No. 39 
 Nanda, the Bnddha's half brother, 
 
 128 
 Nandi-Tisala Jataka , No. 28 
 Nandiya Jataka . . No. 222 
 Naggalisa Jataka . . No. 123 
 Najguttha Jataka . . No. 144 
 Narada Kassapa, 275 
 Narada Kassapa Jataka (the Maha), 
 
 115 
 Nautch girls, 81 
 Nerafijara, a river near TTruvcla, 94 
 
 Nigrodha tree, 91-93 
 
 Nigrodha-miga Jataka . No. 12 
 
 Nimi Jataka, 181 
 
 Nipata, division of the Jataka Book, 
 Ixxis 
 
 Nirvana, 80, 104, 105, 106, 137, 204 
 
 Numbers, sacred or lucky, 71, 74 
 
 Nun, leave of relatives required to 
 become a, 199 ; charge against a, 
 202, 2C3 ; attains Nirvana, 204 
 
 Offerings, uselessuess of, 115 
 
 Old woman and her black bull, 
 
 273 
 Old woman and her golden cucumbers, 
 
 288 
 Omens, the thirty-two good, 64, 68, 
 
 103 ; the four, 73, 78 
 Ophir, probably in India, xM ; gold 
 
 of, xlvii 
 Overland route in ancient times, xlvii 
 Owls and the crows, 291 
 Ox who envied the pig, 275 
 
 Pabbajja Sutta, 82 
 Pabbata king and Bodisat, 60 
 Pabbatupatfiara Jataka . No. 195 
 Paccnppanna-vatthu = Introductory 
 
 Story, Ixxiv 
 Pfida-gata-sannaya, Ixxvii 
 Padai jali Jataka . . No. 247 
 Paduma Jataka . Nos. 193, 261 
 Pahlavi, ancient Persian, xxii 
 Palayi Jataka . . Nos. 229, 230 
 Palmyra fruits, single seeded, 94 
 Palobhana Jataka . . No. 263 
 Panada Jataka . . No. 264 
 
 Paficavudha Jataka . . No. 65 
 Paficagaru Jataka . . No. 132 
 Pancha Tantra, ™, xi, xxix, Ixx 
 Pandava, a rock near Eajagaha, 88 
 Pannika Jataka . . No. 103 
 Paramitas, the Ten Perfections, 18 
 
 and foil., 54 and foil. 
 Paricchfitaka flowers (of heaven), 85 
 Parosahassa Jataka . . No. 99 
 Parosata Jataka . . No. 101 
 Partridge, monkey, and elephant, 312 
 Peacock, the dancing . No. 32 
 Penance not the way to ■wisdom, 91 
 Petms de Natalibus, martyrologist, 
 
 xxxix 
 PhsedruB, the Latin fabulist, xxxiii 
 Phala Jataka . . No. 64 
 
 Piety, name of a woman, 282 
 
INDEX. 
 
 IM 
 
 Pig and ox, 276 
 
 Pitakas quoted or referred to : — 
 
 Apadaiiag, Ixxiv 
 
 Pabbajja Sutta, 89 
 
 Maha-padhiiua Sutta, 77, 89 
 
 SamaSaa-phala Sutta, 7 
 
 Dhammapada, xxvii, 109,137, 158, 
 178, 185, 197, 199,209,239,253 
 
 Jataka, see separate titles. 
 
 Sutta Nipata, 185 
 
 CuUaVagga, lii, 3U, 193, 177, 190 
 
 Sagyutta jS'ikSya, xiu, lii 
 
 Agguttara Nikaya, Ixii 
 
 Abhidhamma, Ixiv, 106 
 
 Cariya Pitaka, liii 
 
 BuddliaTai|sa, liv, Ixvi 
 
 Maha Vagga, 61 
 
 Vammlka Sutta, 204 
 
 Eatthapala Sutta, 212 
 
 Sudinna Sutta, 212 
 
 Parajikag, 212 
 
 Maha Samaya Sutta, 136 
 
 Planudes, author of ^sop, xxxii 
 Plato quoted, ti 
 
 Pleasing, name of a woman, 282 
 Ploughing festival, 74, 75 
 Pnnna-nadT Jataka . . No. 214 
 Punnapati Jataka . . No. 53 
 Punna, slave girl of Sujata, 92 
 Puppharatta Jataka. , No. 147 
 Puta-bbatta Jataka . . No. 223 
 Puta-dr.saka Jataka . No. 280 
 
 Quail, the Holy . . No. 35 
 Quaik, Sad Quarrel of the No. 33 
 
 Eadha Jataka . . Nos. 145, 198 
 Eahu, head without a body, 253 
 Eahula, Gotama's son, 79, 82, 128, 
 
 221 
 Eajagaha, 87 
 Eajayatana-tree, 109 
 Eajovada Jataka . No. 151 
 
 Eama, a Brahman, 72; father of 
 
 Buddha's teacher Uddaka, 89 
 Eanuna, a city, 9, 26, 27 
 Eanunavati, a city, 31 ■ 
 Eangoon, 111 
 Eays of light stream from a Buddha, 
 
 33 
 Eeady-made clothes not to be trusted, 
 
 315 
 Eenunciation, the Great, 81-84 186; 
 
 garb of, 87; power of, 100 
 
 Repeaters of the Scriptures {Bhan- 
 
 aka), 78 
 Eest-houses for travellers, 282 
 Roadliug, story of Great Roadling 
 
 and Little Eoadling, 158-165 
 Robbers' talk, effect of, 259-261 
 RoliinI Jataka . No. 45 
 
 Romaka Jataka . . No. 277 
 Rucira Jataka . . . No. 275 
 Ruhaka Jataka . . No. 191 
 Rukkha-dhamma Jataka . No. 74 
 
 Sabbadatha Jataka . . No. 241 
 Saccakiriya, solemn appeal made in 
 
 truth, 235, 241 
 Saccaijkira Jataka . . No. 73 
 Sacrifices, folly of, 226-231 
 Sadhu-sTla Jataka . . No. 200 
 Sahajata, or Connatal Ones, 68 
 Saketa Jataka . . Nos. 68, 237 
 Sakka as Bodisat, 46 ; his character 
 in Buddhist tales, xvii ; places the 
 Buddha's hair in a dagaba in 
 heaven, 86 ; serves the Buddha, 
 66, 92, 102, 109, 116, 117; legend 
 of his throne feeling hot, 110; 
 former birth of the present, 279 ; 
 the Bodisat bom as, 284 ; tempts 
 a mortal, 288 ; his presents, xvii 
 Sakuna Jataka . . No. 36 
 
 Sakunagghi Jataka . . No. 168 
 Sakyas, the, 123 
 
 Salaka Jataka . . No. 249 
 
 Salitta Jataka . . . No. 107 
 Saluka Jataka . . Nos. 30, 286 
 Samanfia-phala Sutta quoted, 7 
 Samapatti, 89 
 
 Samiddhi Jataka . . No. 167 
 Sammappathana, 89 
 Sammodamana Jataka . No. 33 
 Samuddha Jataka . . No. 295 
 Sanchi Tope, sculptures at, lix 
 Saggamavacara Jataka . No. 182 
 Sanjaya, a gardener so called, 217 
 Safijiva Jataka . . No. 150 
 Sagkappa Jataka . . No. 251 
 Sagkha-dhamana Jataka . No. 60 
 Saijvara Jataka . . No. 186 
 Santhava Jataka ;• . No. 162 
 Sap of life, curions legend concern- 
 ing, 90, 92 
 Sarambha Jataka . . No. 88 
 Sariputta, the chief disciple, 118, 129, 
 
 194, 251, 316, 322 
 Satadhamma Jataka .- No. 179 
 
346 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Satapatta Jataka . . No. 279 
 
 ' Sausages,' 276 
 
 Savatthi, 130 
 
 Seal-ring, as pledge, 170 
 
 Soggu Jataka . . . No. 217 
 
 Senani, a landowner, fatlier of Sujata, 
 
 91 
 Seriva, a country, and a trader, 153 
 Serivaijiia Jataka . . No. 3 
 Seven allied kings, 246-249 
 Seyya Jataka . . . No. 282 
 Shadow, men without, are demons, 
 
 143 
 Shakespeare, Tii, xlii 
 Shield of virtue, 98 
 Siddhattha, name of the Buddha, 
 
 73, 89, 96, 105 
 Sigala Jataka . . Nos. 113, 142, 
 148, 152, 157 
 Signs, the thirty-two bodily, of a 
 
 Great Being, 70, 72, 91 
 Siha-camma Jataka, No. 189, trans- 
 lated, V 
 SThakotthnka Jataka . No. 188 
 Silanisaijsa Jataka . . No. 190 
 Silava-naga Jataka . . No. 72 
 Silavlmai|saiia Jataka Nos. 86, 290 
 330, 362 
 Simpson, V., iliii 
 Sinhad the Sailor, xli 
 Sindh horses, 76, 78 
 Sindhava Jataka . Nos. 254, 266 
 Singi gold, 117 
 Sinhalese version of the Birth 
 
 Stories, xiii 
 Sirens in Buddhist stories, xiv 
 Siri Jataka . . .No. 284 
 Six, the, 310 
 
 Slave on the buried gold, 322 
 Slaves addressed as ' uncle,' 323, 319 
 Slavonic tales, xlii 
 Snakes, see Naga and Mucalinda 
 Solomon's Judgment, xiv, lUv-xlvii 
 Somadatta Jataka . . No. 211 
 Somadeva, Ixii 
 Sotthiya, a merchant, 132 
 Sotthiya, the grasscutter, 95 
 Soul, sermon on, 113 
 SpeE, how righteousness was the 
 
 Bodisat'e, 281 
 Spring, beauties of, 121 
 St. Barlaam, xxxix 
 St. John of Damascus, xxxvi 
 St. Josaphat, xxxix 
 Stag and roe, 211-213 
 
 Strainer used by monks, 278 
 Struggle, the Great, against sin, 89, 
 
 91 
 Suhanu Jataka . . No. 158 
 Suka Jataka . . No. 255 
 
 Sukara Jataka . No. 153 
 
 Sudassana (BeUe Vue) monastery, 9 ; 
 
 city, 42 
 Sudassana, Suiiita-Buddha's chief 
 
 disciple, 43; king and Bodisat, 49 
 Sudatta, a Brahman, 7'2 
 Suddodhana, the husband of the 
 
 Buddha's mother, 61, 65 and foil., 
 
 90, 119, 126 
 Sujata Jataka . . . No. 269 
 Sujata, a Bodisat, 46 
 Sujata, legend of her offering to the 
 
 Buddha, 91-94 
 Sumedha, the Bodisat in the time of 
 
 Dipar|kara, xliii, 2-28 
 Sunakha Jataka . No. 242 
 
 Sugsumara Jataka . . No. 208 
 Sun Prince, 180 
 Supannas, winged creatures, 287, 
 
 285, 85, 88 
 Supatta Jataka . . No. 292 
 Surapana Jataka . . No. 81 
 Suruci Jataka, Ixxx 
 Suruci, a Brahman, 34 
 Susima ascetic and Bodisat, 45 
 SusTma Jataka . . No. 163 
 
 Suvanna-hagsa Jataka . No. 136 
 Suyama, a Brahman, 72 ; an arch- 
 angel, 67 
 
 Tailor, the crafty monk who was a, 
 
 315 
 Takka Jataka . . . No. 63 
 Takkasila = Taxila, a university town, 
 
 xxii 
 Tandula-nali Jataka . No. 5 
 Tapassu, a merchant, 110 
 Tavatigsa heaven, 86, 87 
 Tayodhamma Jataka . No. 68 
 Telapatta Jataka . . No. 96 
 Telavaha river, 153 
 Telovada Jataka . . No. 246 
 Thoughtful, name of a woman, 252 
 Tiger, 214 
 
 Tilamutthi Jataka . . No. 252 
 Tin, 154 
 
 Tinduka Jataka . . No. 177 
 Tirltavaccha Jataka . . No. 259 
 Tissa, an Elder so named, 214-216 
 Titans war against the gods, 285 
 
INDEX. 
 
 347 
 
 Tittha Jstaka . . . No. 25 
 Tittira Jataka . . Nos. 37, 117 
 Tortoise, of gold, 133 ; the talkative, 
 
 viii 
 Trade customs : — 
 
 Caravans, Jatakas Nos. 1, 2 
 
 Hawkers, Jataka No. 3 
 
 Close of contract by deposit of 
 seal-ring, 170 
 
 Kings fix their own prices, 174-6 
 
 Dodges of a ready-made clothier, 
 315 
 
 Business manager, 317 
 
 Loans on bond, 326, 331 
 
 Receipts on payment, 331 
 Transmigration of souls, Ixsv 
 Treasure trove, 332 
 Treasurer of Benares, 334 
 Trees pay homage to Maha Maya, 66 ; 
 
 to the Buddha, 75, 102 
 Tree-god, the Buddha mistaken for 
 
 it, 93 ; prayer to, 91 
 Tree of Wisdom (Bo- or Bodhi-tree), 
 
 95 
 Tree-god, or genius, or fairy, the 
 
 Bodisatas, 212, 238, 230, 317 
 Truth-act, curious belief of, 235 
 
 Ubhatobhattha Jataka . No. 139 
 TJcchaijga Jataka . . No. 67 
 TTcchittha-bhatta Jataka . No. 212 
 TJdaacani Jataka . . No. 106 
 XTdapana-dusa Jataka . No. 271 
 TJdayin (Kaia), 120, 121 
 tJdayin the Simpleton, 172, 173 
 Uddaka, the Buddha's teacher, 89, 
 
 111 
 TJdumbara Jataka . . No. 298 
 Ugga, a merchant, 133 
 TJkkala, Orissa, 110 
 UlQka Jataka . . . No. 270 
 Ummagga Jataka, Lsxs 
 Upahana Jataka . . No. 231 
 TJpaka, a Hindu mendicant, 112 
 TJpasalha Jataka . No. 166 
 
 TJpasampada-kammavaca quoted, 161 
 Uppala-vanna, 220, 223 
 TJraga Jataka . . .No. 154 
 TJruvela, 73, 89, 91 
 TJttara, Brahman and Bodisat, 43 
 
 Vacchanakha Jataka . No. 235 
 Vaddhaki-sukara Jataka . No. 283 
 Vaka jataka . . .No. 300 
 Valahakassa Jataka . . No. 196 
 
 Valodaka Jataka No. 183 
 
 Vanarinda Jataka . No. 57 
 
 Vannabhumi (Place of Praise), 116 
 Vannupatha Jataka . . No. 2 
 Vappa, the second couvert, 113 
 Varana Jataka . . No. 71 
 
 Yarro quoted, vii 
 
 Varuni Jataka . No. 47 
 
 Vatamiga- Jataka . No. 14 
 
 Vattaka Jataka . Nos. 35, 118 
 Vedabbha Jataka No. 48 
 
 Vedas, the tliree, 4, 71 
 Veluka Jataka . No. 44 
 
 Yeiuvaua (the Barabu-grove), 118 
 Veii Jataka . . No. 103 
 
 Verses iu the Jatakas, Ixxviii 
 Vesali, Council of, Ivi 
 Vessantaxa Jataka, 33, 101, 124 
 Yessavana, king of the goblins, 181 
 Vetala-panca-vir|Sat7, bcxiii 
 Yijayuttara, Sakka's trumpet, 97 
 YijitavT, Bodisat, 47 
 Vikannaka Jataka . . No. 233 
 
 Vinathuna Jataka . No. 232 
 
 YruTlaka Jataka . . No. 160 
 Ylraka Jataka . . No. 204 
 
 A'^irocana Jataka . No. 143 
 
 Yirtues, the Ten Cardinal, 15-18, 
 
 54-58, 107 
 Visavanta Jataka . . No. 69 
 Vissakamma, 78 
 
 Yissasabhojana Jataka . No. 93 
 Yiticcha Jataka . . No. 244 
 Yow, folly of offerings given under 
 
 a, 230 
 Yrihat-katha, Ixxiii 
 Yyaggha Jataka . . No. 272 
 
 "Water of presentation, 131, 165 
 Water goblin, 180-184 
 Well-bom, name of a woman, 282 
 Wessautara, Buddha's birth as, re- 
 ferred to, 101, 124 
 Wheel, the sacred, 114 
 Wind, story about, 224 
 Winged creatures, see Supannas 
 Women, 180, 204, n. ; none in the 
 Brahma heaven, 282 
 
 Yakkhas, xiv, 95 
 Takshas, see Yakkhas 
 YakshinT, see Yakkhas 
 Yasa, the sixth convert, 113 
 Yasodhara, 127 
 Yojana (seven miles), 87 
 
kbeifoed: thixted bt STEPniiN aus™ am, sons.