15.

The Book of the Twenties

497.

"From where do you come, you poorly dressed one" - this the Teacher, while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, spoke referring to a hereditary king named Udena. For at that time the Venerable Piṇḍolabhāradvāja, having gone from Jeta's Grove through the sky, mostly went to the pleasure grove of King Udena in Kosambī for the day residence. It is said that the Elder, in a previous existence, while exercising kingship, for a long course of time experienced success in that pleasure grove with a great retinue. He, by that former habitual practice, mostly sat down right there for the day residence and spent his time in the happiness of fruition attainment. One day, when he had gone there and was seated at the foot of a sāla tree in full bloom, Udena, having drunk at a great drinking feast for a week, thinking "I shall play park amusements," having gone to the pleasure grove with a great retinue, lying in the lap of a certain woman on the auspicious stone slab, fell into sleep through the intoxication of liquor. The women who had been sitting singing, having set aside their musical instruments, having entered the pleasure grove, while selecting flowers, fruits and so on, having seen the Elder, having gone, having paid homage, sat down. The Elder sat giving them a talk on the Teaching. The other woman too, having shaken her lap, having awakened the king, when it was said "Where have those outcasts gone?" said "They are sitting having surrounded a certain ascetic." He, angry, having gone, having reviled and abused the Elder, saying "Come, I shall have that ascetic eaten by red ants," through the power of anger had a container of red ants broken open on the Elder's body. The Elder, having stood in the sky, having given him exhortation, having descended right at the door of the perfumed chamber in Jeta's Grove, when asked by the Tathāgata "Where have you come from?" the Elder reported that matter. The Teacher, having said "Indeed, Bhāradvāja, Udena does not vex those gone forth only now; in the past too he vexed them indeed," being requested by him, brought up the past.

In the past, when Brahmadatta was exercising kingship in Bārāṇasī, at that time the Great Being was born in an outcast womb outside the city; they gave him the name "Mātaṅga." Afterwards, having attained discretion, he became well-known as "Mātaṅga the Wise." At that time the daughter of the millionaire of Bārāṇasī, named Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, went to the pleasure grove to play at intervals of one month or two months with a great retinue. Then one day the Great Being, entering the city on some business, having seen Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā at the inner gate, having gone aside, having clung to the wall, stood there. Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, looking through the curtain, having seen him, having asked "Who is this?" when it was said "An outcast, lady," saying "Indeed I see something never seen before that is fitting," having washed her eyes with scented water, turned back from there. The people who had come out together with her, overcome by anger, saying "I say, you wicked outcast, today on account of you our liquor and food has been lost without cause," having beaten Mātaṅga the Wise with hands and feet, having rendered him unconscious, departed. He, having spent a moment, having regained perception, thought "The retinue of Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā beat me, who am faultless, without reason; I shall rise up only having obtained Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, not without obtaining her" - having thus determined, having gone, he lay down at the door of her father's dwelling. When it was said "For what reason are you lying down?" he said "There is no other reason; I have need of Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā." One day passed, likewise the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth. The determination of Bodhisattas indeed succeeds; therefore, on the seventh day, having brought out Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, they gave her to him.

Then she said to him "Rise up, husband, let us go to your house." "Dear lady, I have been thoroughly beaten by your attendants and am weak; lift me up, place me on your back, and carry me away." She, having done so, while the citizens were watching, having departed from the city, went to the outcast hamlet. Then the Great Being, without committing the transgression of mixing of castes, having caused her to dwell in the house for a few days, thought "I shall be able to make her attain the highest gain and the highest fame only by going forth, not otherwise." Then, having addressed her, having said "Dear lady, when I do not bring anything from the forest, our livelihood does not proceed; do not be distressed until my return; I shall go to the forest," having also exhorted the household members "Do not neglect this one," having gone to the forest, having gone forth in the ascetic's going forth, being diligent, on the seventh day, having produced the eight attainments and the five direct knowledges, thinking "Now I shall be able to be a support for Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā," having gone by supernormal power, having descended at the outcast village gate, he went to the house door of Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā. She, having heard of his arrival, having come out from the house, lamented "Husband, why have you gone forth having made me helpless?" Then he said to her "Dear lady, do not worry; I shall now make for you fame greater than your former fame; but moreover, will you be able to say this much in the midst of the assembly: 'Mātaṅga the Wise is not my husband; the Great Brahmā is my husband'?" "Yes, husband, I shall be able." "If so, when asked 'Where is your husband now?' having said 'He has gone to the Brahma world,' when it is said 'When will he come?' you should say 'On the seventh day from now, on the full moon, having broken through the moon, he will come'" - having said this to her, the Great Being went to the Himalayas itself.

Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā too spoke thus at those various places in the midst of the public in Bārāṇasī. The public believed "Oh, being the Great Brahmā, he does not go to Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā; so it will be." The Bodhisatta too, on the full moon day, when the moon was standing in the midst of the sky, having created a Brahmā body, having made the whole Kāsi country of twelve yojanas and the city of Bārāṇasī a single radiance, having broken through the disc of the moon, having descended, having circled three times over and above Bārāṇasī, being venerated by the public with scents, garlands and so on, he faced towards the outcast hamlet. The devotees of Brahmā, having assembled, having gone to the outcast hamlet, having covered Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā's house with pure cloths, having wiped the ground with the four kinds of scent, having scattered flowers, having given incense, having spread a cloth canopy, having prepared a great bed, having lit lamps with scented oils, having scattered sand of the colour of a silver plate at the door, having scattered flowers, they tied up banners. In the house thus decorated, the Great Being, having descended, having entered inside, sat down briefly on the back of the bed.

At that time Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā was in her fertile period. Then he touched her navel with his thumb; an embryo was established in her womb. Then the Great Being, having addressed her, having exhorted her "Dear lady, an embryo has been established in you; you will give birth to a son; both you and your son will attain the highest gain and the highest fame; your foot-washing water will become the consecration water for the kings of the whole of Jambudīpa; your bathing water will become the deathless medicine; those who will pour it on their heads will be released from all diseases and will avoid misfortune; those paying homage having placed their heads on the top of your feet will give a thousand; those standing within hearing range and paying homage will give a hundred; those standing within the range of vision and paying homage will pay homage having given one coin; be diligent" - having gone out from the house, while the public was watching, having flown up, he entered the disc of the moon. The devotees of Brahmā, having assembled, standing just so, having spent the night, right early, having placed Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā upon a golden palanquin, having lifted it up on their heads, entered the city. Having approached her saying "The wife of the Great Brahmā," the public venerated her with scents, garlands and so on. Those who were able to pay homage having placed their heads on the top of her feet give a bag of a thousand; those who were able to pay homage standing within hearing range give a hundred; those who were able to pay homage standing within the range of vision give one coin. Thus, taking her around the twelve-yojana Bārāṇasī, they obtained eighteen hundred million in wealth.

Then, having taken her around the city and having brought her, having had a great pavilion built in the middle of the city, having enclosed it with curtains, having prepared a great bed, they caused her to dwell there with great splendour and glory. Right near the pavilion they began to build a seven-storeyed mansion with seven gateways; it was a great new construction work. Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā gave birth to a son right in the pavilion. Then on his name-giving day, the brahmins, having assembled, because he was born in the pavilion, gave him the name "Prince Maṇḍabya." The mansion, however, was completed in ten months. Thenceforth she dwelt there with great fame, and Prince Maṇḍabya too grew up with a great retinue. When he was just seven or eight years old, the foremost teachers on the surface of Jambudīpa assembled. They taught him the three Vedas. From the age of sixteen onwards he established a meal for brahmins; regularly sixteen thousand brahmins eat. At the fourth gateway he gives a gift to brahmins.

Then on a certain great festival day, they prepared much milk-rice in the house. Sixteen thousand brahmins, having sat down at the fourth gateway, consumed milk-rice prepared with fresh ghee of the colour of gold and with cooked honey, candy, and sugar. The boy too, adorned with all ornaments, having mounted golden slippers, having taken a golden staff in his hand, goes about giving directions, saying "Give ghee here, give honey here." At that moment Mātaṅga the Wise, seated at the hermitage in the Himalayas, looking about thinking "What indeed is the news of Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā's son?" having seen his state of rushing towards an unsuitable place, having thought "This very day, having gone, having tamed the young man, having caused him to give gifts where what is given is of great fruit, I shall return," having gone through the sky to Lake Anotatta, having performed the washing of the face and so on, standing on the red arsenic slab, having put on the red double cloth, having tied the waistband, having put on the rag-robe double robe, having taken a clay bowl, having come through the sky, having descended right at the alms-giving hall at the fourth gateway, he stood to one side. The boy Maṇḍabya, looking here and there, having seen him, conversing with him, thinking "This one gone forth, so ugly, resembling a refuse-heap demon, coming to this place - from where indeed does he come?" spoke the first verse -

1.

Therein, "poorly dressed" means one wearing an unointed, unadorned, patched-together double robe of rags. "Wretched one" means sinful, or one wearing garments with hanging and dangling ends. "Like a dust-goblin" means like a goblin at a rubbish heap. "Refuse-rag" means a rag obtained at a rubbish heap. "Fastened" means having fastened. "Unworthy of offerings" means you, being unworthy of offerings, having become one among the sitting place of these supremely worthy of offerings, from where have you come?

Having heard that, the Great Being, with a tender mind itself, conversing with him, spoke the second verse -

2.

Therein, "prepared" means arranged. "O glorious one" means accomplished with a retinue. "That is eaten" means that they eat and consume and drink. For what reason are you angry with me? "Almsfood by standing up" means almsfood to be obtained by standing close, or almsfood to be obtained by standing below while it is being given by those who have risen and stood. "May the outcast obtain" means let even the outcast, the caṇḍāla, obtain. For those accomplished in birth obtain anywhere whatsoever, but who gives to an outcast caṇḍāla? I am one for whom almsfood is difficult to obtain, therefore have food given to me for the sustenance of my life, prince.

Then Maṇḍabya spoke a verse -

3.

Therein, "for his own benefit" means for the purpose of one's own prosperity. "Go away from here" means go away from this place. "Those like me" means those like me, accomplished in birth, northern brahmins, give gifts; not to you, an outcast; go away, wretch.

Then the Great Being spoke a verse -

4.

Its meaning is - Young man, hoping for the fruit of the crop, they sow seed in all three fields. Therein, in a time of excess of rain, the crop succeeds on high ground, in low places it becomes rotten, and in watery fields what is made in dependence on rivers and lakes is carried away by the flood. In a time of little rain, in the field on high ground it fails, in low places it succeeds a little, and in watery fields it succeeds indeed. In a time of even rain, in the field on high ground it succeeds a little, and in the others it succeeds indeed. Therefore, just as hoping for fruit they sow in all three fields, so too you, with this faith in fruit, give a gift to all those who come and go; it is well if, thus giving, you may succeed with those worthy of offerings, you may obtain.

Then Maṇḍabya spoke a verse -

5.

Therein, "in which I" means in which I. "Endowed with birth and sacred hymns" means endowed with birth and with sacred hymns.

Then the Great Being spoke two verses -

6.

7.

6-7. Therein, "vanity of birth" means conceit arisen thus: "I am accomplished in birth." "And arrogance" means conceit occurring by way of surpassing, thinking "There is no other equal to me in birth and so on." Greed and so on are merely the acts of coveting, hating, being intoxicated, and being deluded. "Ill-behaved" means such persons are of disagreeable nature, like ant-hills filled with venomous snakes. What is given to such persons is not of great fruit; therefore do not imagine them to have the state of well-behaved fields. For indeed those of noble birth are not givers of heaven. But those noble ones who are free from conceit of birth and so on, those are the well-behaved fields; what is given to them is of great fruit; they are the givers of heaven.

Thus, having become angry while the Great Being was speaking again and again, he spoke a verse saying "This one prattles on far too much; where have these doorkeepers gone, why do they not remove this outcast?" -

8.

Therein, "where have they gone here" means where have the three doorkeepers gone - Upajoti and the preceptor and Gaṇḍakucchi - who were stationed at these three doors? This is the meaning.

They too, having heard his words, having come quickly, having paid homage, said "What shall we do, Sire?" "Has this contemptible outcast been seen by you?" "We do not see him, Sire, we do not know from where he has come." "Who is this one - he must be either a juggler or a sorcerer; why do you now stand about?" "What shall we do, Sire?" "Having beaten this one right on the face, breaking him, tearing off the skin of his back with sticks and bamboo splints, and having given him a beating, having seized him by the throat, drive out this contemptible one, remove him from here."

The Great Being, even before they had come to his presence, having flown up, standing in the sky, spoke a verse -

9.

Therein, "you strive against fire" means you endeavour to swallow fire.

And having spoken this verse, the Great Being, while the young man and the brahmins were watching, sprang into the sky. Making known that meaning, the Teacher said -

10.

Therein, "with true exertion" means with exertion of intrinsic nature.

He, having gone facing the eastern direction, having descended by one street, having determined "Let my footprint be visible," going for almsfood near the eastern gate, having collected mixed food, having sat down in a certain hall, consumed the mixed food. The city deities, not enduring it, thinking "This one speaks having vexed our noble one," came. Then the chief demon, having seized Maṇḍabya's neck, twisted it; the remaining deities, having seized the necks of the remaining brahmins, twisted them. But due to the Bodhisatta's tender-heartedness, thinking "He is his son," they did not kill him, only making him weary. Maṇḍabya's head, having turned round, became facing the back, his hands and feet stood straight and stiff, his eyes rolled back as if he were dead. He lay down with a stiff body, and the remaining brahmins, vomiting spittle from their mouths, rolled about again and again. The young men informed Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, saying "Lady, what has happened to your son?" She, having gone with speed, having seen her son, having said "What is this?" spoke a verse -

11.

Therein, "curved" means turned round.

Then the people standing at that place spoke a verse to inform her -

12.

She, having heard that very thing, thought: "No one else has this power; without doubt it must be Mātaṅga the Wise; but the wise one, accomplished in the development of loving-kindness, will not go having wearied so many people; to which direction might he have gone?" Then, asking, she spoke a verse -

13.

Therein, "having gone" means having gone to his presence. "May we make amends for the transgression" means we shall make amends for that transgression, we shall confess it, we shall ask forgiveness, will we not. "Son, we may obtain his life" means perhaps we may obtain the life of our son.

Then the young men standing there, speaking, said a verse -

14.

Therein, "in the middle of its path" means like the moon on the fifteenth day, standing in the middle of the period reckoned as the path of the sky. "And he also" means but further, he went to the eastern direction.

She, having heard their words, thinking "I shall look for my husband," having had golden water-pots and golden drinking vessels taken, surrounded by a group of female servants, having reached the place where he had determined the footprint by that route, going in accordance with that, while he was sitting on a small bench and eating, having gone to his presence, having paid homage, stood there. He, having seen her, placed a little cooked rice in the bowl. Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā gave him water with a golden water-pot. He washed his hand and rinsed his mouth right there. Then she, asking "By whom was that affliction caused to my son?", spoke a verse -

15.

Thereafter, there are verses of speech and reply between them -

16.

17.

18.

19.

16-19. Therein, "demons" means the demons who guard the city. "Endowed with" means having followed; the meaning is knowing thus that the sages are of good dispositions and accomplished in virtues. "They" means they, having known the virtues of the sages, having known your son's malicious mind and angered mind. "You yourself to me" means if the demons, angered, acted thus, let them do so; deities can be satisfied with merely a ladleful of drinking water, therefore I do not fear them; only do not you yourself be angry with my son. "Endowed with" means I have come. "Monk" - addressing the Great Being, she requests the gift of life for her son. "For that same thing indeed" means O believer in auspicious things seen, at that time when your son was reviling me, there is no ill-will in me, and now too, even when you are making a request, there is indeed no ill-will in me towards him. "Through vanity of the Vedas" means through the vanity that "the three Vedas have been learnt by me." "Having learnt" means even having learnt the Vedas, he does not know what is beneficial and what is harmful. "In a moment" means having learnt whatever, in just a moment.

Thus, being asked for forgiveness by her, the Great Being, having said "If so, I shall give the deathless medicine for the purpose of making these demons flee," spoke a verse -

20.

Therein, "almsfood obtained by standing up" means leftover almsfood; "leftover almsfood" is also a reading.

She, having heard the Great Being's words, offered a golden drinking vessel, saying "Give it, master, the deathless medicine." The Great Being, having poured the leftover rice-gruel into it, having said "First of all, having poured half of this into your son's mouth, having mixed the remainder in a jar with water, pour it into the mouths of the remaining brahmins; all too will become healthy," having flown up, went to the Himalayas itself. She too, having taken that drinking vessel on her head, saying "The deathless medicine has been obtained by me," having gone to the dwelling, first poured the rice-gruel into her son's mouth; the demon ran away. The other, wiping off the dust, having risen, said "Mother, what is this?" What was done by you, you yourself will know. Come, dear son, see the alteration of those worthy of offerings of yours. He, having seen them, became remorseful. Then his mother, having said "Dear son Maṇḍabya, you are a fool; you do not know the place of great fruit of giving. Those called worthy of offerings are not of such a form; they are like the wise Mātaṅga. Henceforth do not give gifts to these immoral ones; give to the virtuous," said -

21.

22.

23.

21-23. Therein, "to those with great corruptions" means to those endowed with great corruptions such as the corruption of lust and so on. "With matted hair and locks" means dear Maṇḍabya, among those you consider worthy of offerings, some have their hair made into matted locks and bound. "Clothed in antelope hides" means clothed in rough antelope-skin hides. "Like a decayed well" means the face is overgrown with a long beard, like a decayed well overgrown with a thicket of grass. "This generation" means see this generation of such appearance, with rough attire, unanointed and unadorned. "Not matted hair and antelope hide" means this matted hair and antelope hide is not able to protect this generation lacking wisdom; morality, knowledge, and the practice of austerity alone are the support for these beings. "For whom" means because for those for whom these lust and so on, whose intrinsic nature is defiling, corrupting, and deluding, and the eight-based ignorance have faded away and departed, and precisely because of the departure of these mental defilements, those who have eliminated the mental corruptions, the Worthy Ones, what is given to them is of great fruit; therefore you, dear son, henceforth, without giving to such immoral ones, to whatever righteous ascetics and brahmins in the world who have attained the eight meditative attainments and possess the five direct knowledges, and to Individually Enlightened Ones, give gifts to them. Having said "Come, dear son, having made your family dependants drink the deathless medicine, I shall make them healthy," having had leftover rice-gruel taken, having thrown it into a water jar, she had it poured into the mouths of the sixteen thousand brahmins.

Each one rose up while still wiping off the dust. Then the brahmins made them non-brahmins, saying "By these the leftovers of an outcast have been drunk." They, ashamed, having departed from Bārāṇasī, having gone to the Majjha country, dwelt in the presence of the Majjha king; but Maṇḍabya dwelt right there. At that time, in dependence on the city of Vettavatī, on the bank of the river Vettavatī, a certain brahmin named Jātimanta, having gone forth, generated great conceit in dependence on birth. The Great Being, thinking "I shall break his conceit," having gone to that place, made his residence upstream near him. He, one day, having chewed a wooden toothbrush, having determined "Let this wooden toothbrush stick in the matted hair of Jātimanta," threw it into the river. That stuck in his matted hair as he was rinsing with water. He, having seen that, having said "Perish, outcast!" thinking "From where has this wretch come? I shall investigate," going upstream, having seen the Great Being, asked "Of what birth are you?" "I am an outcast." "Was a wooden toothbrush thrown into the river by you?" "Yes, by me." Having said "Perish, outcast, untouchable, wretch! Do not dwell here, dwell downstream," even when he was dwelling downstream and the wooden toothbrush thrown by him came against the stream and stuck in his matted hair, he said "Perish, outcast! If you dwell here, on the seventh day your head will split into seven pieces."

The Great Being, thinking "If I become angry with this one, my morality will be unguarded; I shall break his conceit by a skilful means," on the seventh day prevented the rising of the sun. The people, troubled, having approached the hermit Jātimanta, asked "Venerable sir, do you not allow the sun to rise?" He said - "This is not my doing; but on the riverbank there dwells an outcast; this might be his doing." The people, having approached the Great Being, asked "Venerable sir, do you not allow the sun to rise?" "Yes, friend." "For what reason?" "Your family-attending ascetic cursed me who am innocent; when he comes and falls at my feet for the purpose of asking forgiveness, I shall release the sun." They, having gone, dragging him, having brought him, having made him lie down at the feet of the Great Being, having made him ask forgiveness, said "Release the sun, venerable sir." "It is not possible to release it; if I release it, this one's head will split into seven pieces." "Then, venerable sir, what shall we do?" He, having said "Bring a lump of clay," having had it brought, having said "Having placed this on the ascetic's head, having brought the ascetic down, place him in the water," having had him placed, released the sun. As soon as it was struck by the sun's rays, the lump of clay split into seven pieces; the ascetic plunged into the water.

The Great Being, having tamed him, reflecting "Where now are the sixteen thousand brahmins dwelling?" having known "Near the Majjha king," thinking "I shall tame them," having gone by supernormal power, having descended in the neighbourhood of the city, having taken his bowl, went for almsfood in the city. The brahmins, having seen him, thinking "This one, even dwelling here for one or two days, will make us without a footing," having gone quickly, reported to the king "Great king, a juggler, a certain sorcerer, a thief has come; have him seized." The king received it saying "Good!" The Great Being too, having taken mixed food, leaning against a certain wall, seated on a small bench, eats. Then, while he was consuming food with his attention directed elsewhere, men sent by the king, having struck his neck with a sword, brought him to the destruction of life. He, having died, was reborn in the Brahma world. It is said that in this Jātaka the Bodhisatta was a tamer of the untamed. He met with the destruction of life by that very state of being engaged in the welfare of others. The deities, having become angry, having caused a rain of hot ashes to fall upon the entire Majjha country, made the country without a country. Therefore it was said -

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Not only now; in the past too Udena vexed those gone forth indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time Maṇḍabya was Udena, but Mātaṅga the Wise was myself."

The Commentary on the Mātaṅga Jātaka is the first.

498.

"All that is well practised by people is fruitful" - this the Teacher, while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, spoke referring to two co-resident monks who were dear companions of the Venerable Mahākassapa. It is said that they shared without reservation with each other and were supremely trustworthy; even when going for almsfood they go together only, they come back together only; they are not able to be apart. In the Teaching hall the monks sat praising the trust of those very ones. The Teacher, having come, having asked "What discussion were you having as you sat together here, monks?" when it was said "Such and such," having said "It is not wonderful, monks, that these should be trustworthy in one individual existence; the wise ones of old, even while passing through three or four other existences, did not abandon their friendship indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, in the Avanti country, in Ujjenī, a king named the Great King of Avanti exercised kingship. At that time outside Ujjenī there was a small outcast village. The Great Being was reborn there, and another being too was reborn as his very own maternal aunt's son. Among them one was named Citta, one was named Sambhūta. They both, having come of age, having learnt a craft called outcast-lineage washing, one day, thinking "We shall display our craft at the gates of the city of Ujjenī," one displayed his craft at the northern gate, one at the eastern gate. And in that city there were two women who believed in auspicious things seen, one was a millionaire's daughter, one was a chaplain's daughter. They, having had much solid food, soft food, garlands, scents and so on taken, thinking "We shall play the park amusements," one went out through the northern gate, one through the eastern gate. They, having seen those outcast sons displaying their craft, having asked "Who are these?" having heard "Outcast sons," saying "Indeed we have seen what is not fit to be seen," having washed their eyes with scented water, turned back. The great multitude, saying "Hey, wicked outcasts, on account of you we did not obtain free liquor, food and so on," having beaten both those brothers, brought them to calamity and disaster.

They, having regained consciousness, having risen, going to each other's presence, having met together at one place, having reported to each other that arising of suffering, having cried, having lamented, having consulted "What shall we do?" having made the conclusion "In dependence on this birth of ours suffering has arisen; we shall not be able to do outcast work; having concealed our birth, in the appearance of young brahmins, having gone to Takkasilā, we shall learn a craft," having gone there, having become regular pupils, began the craft in the presence of the world-famed teacher. On the surface of Jambudīpa it was heard "Two outcasts, it is said, having concealed their birth, are learning a craft." Among them, the craft of Citta the Wise was completed, but that of Sambhūta was not yet finished.

Then one day a certain villager, saying "I shall hold a brahmin recitation," invited the teacher. That very night the rain god rained and filled the ravines and so on on the road. The teacher, right early, having had Citta the wise one summoned, sent him saying "Dear son, I shall not be able to go; you, having gone together with the young men, having spoken the blessing, having eaten what is obtained by you, bring what is obtained for us." He, saying "Very well," having taken the young men, went. While the young men were bathing and washing their faces, the people, having served the milk-rice, set it aside to cool down. The young men came and sat down while it had not yet cooled down. The people, having given the water of dedication, placed dishes before them. Sambhūta, as if being of a greedy disposition, with the perception "It is cool," having lifted up a lump of milk-rice, placed it in his mouth; it burnt his mouth like a blazing iron ball. He, trembling, not having established mindfulness, having looked at Citta the wise one, said in the outcast language itself "Khaḷu khaḷū." He too, likewise not having established mindfulness, said in the outcast language itself "Niggala niggalā." The young men, having looked at one another, said "What language is this?" Citta the wise one spoke the blessing. The young men, having gone outside, having formed into groups, having sat down here and there, examining the language, having known "It is the outcast language," beat both of them, saying "Hey, wicked outcasts, for so long a time, having said 'We are brahmins,' you have deceived us!" Then a certain good person, having prevented them saying "Depart," dismissed both of them, saying "This is the fault of your birth; go and having gone forth somewhere in some region, live." The young men reported their outcast status to the teacher.

They too, having entered the forest, having gone forth in the going forth of sages, before long, having passed away from there, were reborn in the womb of a hind on the bank of the Nerañjarā. From the time of emerging from the mother's womb, they went about together only; they were not able to be apart. They, one day, having taken their food, standing at the foot of a certain tree, head to head, horn to horn, muzzle to muzzle, pressed together, chewing the cud, having been seen by a certain hunter, he, having thrown a spear, deprived them of life with a single blow. Having passed away from there, they were reborn in the realm of generation of ospreys on the bank of the Nammadā river. There too, when they had come of age, having taken their food, having been seen standing pressed together head to head, beak to beak, a certain stick-hunter, having bound them with a single blow, killed them. Then, having passed away from there, Citta the wise one was reborn as the son of the chaplain in Kosambī. Sambhūta the wise one was reborn as the son of the king of Uttarapañcāla. From the day of the name-giving ceremony, they recollected their own births. Of those, Sambhūta the wise one, being unable to remember continuously, recollects only the fourth birth as an outcast; Citta the wise one recollects all four births in succession. He, at the age of sixteen, having departed, having entered the Himalayas, having gone forth in the going forth of sages, having produced the meditative absorptions and direct knowledges, spent his time in the happiness of meditative absorption. Sambhūta the wise one too, by the elapse of his father, having raised the parasol, on the very day of the coronation festival, in the midst of the public, having performed an auspicious song, spoke two verses by way of an inspired utterance. Having heard that, saying "Our king's auspicious song," the harem ladies and the musicians too sang that very same song. Gradually, saying "The king's beloved song," all the people dwelling in the city too sang that very same one.

Citta the wise one too, while dwelling right in the Himalayan region, reflecting "Has the parasol been obtained by my brother Sambhūta, or not?" having known the fact of its being obtained, having thought "While the kingdom is new, even going now, I shall not be able to awaken him; in his old age, having approached him, having spoken the Teaching, I shall give him the going forth," without going for fifty years, at the time when the king had grown up with sons and daughters, having gone by supernormal power, having descended into the park, sat down on the auspicious stone slab like a golden image. At that moment a certain boy, singing that song, was gathering firewood. Citta the wise one summoned him. He, having come, having paid homage, stood there. Then he said to him - "You, from right early, sing this very same song; do you not know anything else?" "Venerable sir, I know many others too, but these two are the king's beloved songs; therefore I sing just these." "But is there anyone who sings a reply-song to the king's song?" "There is not, venerable sir." "But will you be able to sing a reply-song?" "If I know it, I shall be able." "Then, when the two songs have been sung by the king, you should make this the third and sing it" - having given the song, he dismissed him saying "Having gone, you will sing in the king's presence; the king, having been pleased with you, will give you great sovereignty."

He quickly, having gone to his mother's presence, having had himself adorned, having gone to the king's gate, having had it announced to the king "A certain boy, it is said, will sing a reply-song together with you," when it was said "Let him come," having gone, having paid homage, when asked "You, it seems, dear son, will sing a reply-song?" having said "Yes, Sire, convoke the entire royal assembly," he said to the king when the assembly had gathered together: "You first, Sire, sing your song, then I shall sing the reply-song." The king spoke a pair of verses -

24.

25.

24-25. Therein, "nothing done by action is in vain" means among deeds well done and wrongly done, not even a single action is called in vain, it is not fruitless, it perishes only after having given its result - he said this with reference to kamma whose results are experienced from one life to another. "Sambhūta" means he addresses himself; "I see the Venerable Sambhūta endowed with the fruit of merit by his own action" - the meaning is "I see him who is endowed with the fruit of merit in dependence on his own action." "I wonder whether for Citta too" means for we two persons, having come together, observed morality for not a long time; I for my part, by the fruit of that, have attained great fame; I wonder whether for my brother Citta too, just so, his mind is prosperous and successful.

At the conclusion of his singing, the boy, singing, spoke the third verse -

26.

Having heard that, the king spoke the fourth verse -

27.

Therein, "heard from another, you" means the meaning is: was it heard by you from the presence of Citta himself, who was saying "I am Sambhūta's brother, named Citta"? "Someone, him" means or did someone tell you this matter, that "Citta, the brother of King Sambhūta, has been seen by me"? "Well sung" means in every way this verse is well sung, there is no uncertainty for me here. "A hundred excellent villages" means he says "I give you a hundred excellent villages."

Then the boy spoke the fifth verse -

28.

Therein, "this matter" means one sage seated in your park told me this matter.

Having heard that, the king, commanding the men, thinking "That must be my brother Citta; having gone right now, I shall see him," spoke a pair of verses -

29.

30.

29-30. Therein, "let them beat" means let them beat. "That hermitage" means that hermitage.

He, having said thus, having ascended the chariot, having gone quickly, having stopped the chariot at the park gate, having approached Citta the wise one, having paid homage, seated to one side, with a satisfied mind, spoke the eighth verse -

31.

Its meaning is - It is indeed a well-gained gain for me, the verse sung in the midst of the assembly on the day of the umbrella-raising ceremony was as if well sung; I, today having seen the sage accomplished in moral conduct, have become one who has attained joy and pleasure.

He, filled with pleasure from the time of seeing Citta the Wise, commanding such things as "Spread a divan for my brother," spoke the ninth verse -

32.

Therein, "concerning the guest-offering" means we ask you concerning the guest-offering that is fit to be given to a guest. "May you accept our" means may you accept this guest-offering of ours.

Having thus made a sweet friendly welcome, dividing the kingdom in the middle and giving it, he spoke the other verse -

33.

Therein, "this sovereignty" means having divided the kingdom in the middle in the city of Uttarapañcāla in the Kapila country, even two people exercise and experience it.

Having heard that word of his, Citta the wise one, teaching the Teaching, spoke six verses -

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

34-39. "Of misconduct" means great king, you know only the fruit of good conduct, but I indeed see the fruit of misconduct as well. For we both, by the fruit of misconduct, in the fourth individual existence from now, were born in an outcast womb. There, having observed morality for not a long time, by the fruit of that, you were born in a family of the warrior caste, I in a brahmin family; thus I, having seen the fruit of misconduct and the great result of what is well practised, would restrain myself alone through the self-control of morality; I do not wish for son, or cattle, or wealth.

"These are but ten decades of years" means great king, the decad of dullness, the decad of play, the decad of beauty, the decad of power, the decad of wisdom, the decad of deterioration, the decad of inclining, the decad of crookedness, the decad of sheer delusion, the decad of lying down - by way of these ten decads, there are but ten decades of years as the life of these mortals here in the human world. This does not as a fixed course reach all of these decades; rather, not having reached that limit, like a cut reed one withers away. Even those who live a whole hundred years, the material and immaterial phenomena occurring in the decad of dullness, having been cut off, like a reed thrown in the sun's heat, wither away right there and disappear; having not passed beyond that limit, they do not reach the decad of play; likewise those occurring in the decad of play and so on do not reach the decad of beauty and so on.

"There" means in that life thus withering away, what delight is there in dependence on the five types of sensual pleasure, what amusement by way of bodily sport and so on, what pleasure by way of pleasure, what search for wealth, what use are sons to me, what use is a wife to me, I am freed from that bondage of children and wife - this is the meaning. "Overcome by the Ender" means overpowered by Death, the one who makes an end of life. "The lowest of two-footed beings" means inferior among two-footed beings. "We dwelt" means we two both dwelt.

"We were outcasts" means great king, previously, in the fourth birth from now, in the Avanti country, in the city of Ujjenī, we were outcasts; having passed away from there, on the bank of the river Nerañjarā, we were both deer. There, while we two were standing at the foot of a certain tree in dependence on each other, a certain hunter deprived us of life with a single spear-blow; having passed away from there, on the bank of the Nammadā river, we were ospreys. There too, while we were standing in dependence on each other, a certain hunter, having bound us with a single blow, brought us to the destruction of life; having passed away from there, we today are born as a brahmin and a warrior. I was born in a brahmin family in Kosambī, you were born here as a king.

Thus, having made known his inferior births in the past, now having shown the limited nature of the vital principle even in this birth, generating endeavour in meritorious deeds, he spoke four verses -

40.

41.

42.

43.

40-43. Therein, "is carried away" means, great king, this life approaches death. For this life span of these beings is small even by the limitedness of substance and even by the limitedness of duration, like a dew-drop on the tip of a blade of grass at sunrise. "There are no shelters" means for one brought by ageing to death, sons and so on are indeed not shelters. "This word of mine" means this saying of mine. "Do not do" means do not, on account of the types of sensual pleasure beginning with forms, having fallen into negligence, do actions that increase suffering in hell and so on. "With painful fruits" means with painful results. "With dusty heads" means with heads covered by the dust of mental defilements. "Beauty" means ageing destroys the bodily beauty of a man who is decaying. "For rebirth in hell" means for the purpose of arising in the tasteless hell.

When the Great Being was thus speaking, the king, being pleased, spoke three verses -

44.

45.

46.

44-46. Therein, "not insignificant" means not of a limited kind, many, unlimited. "They are difficult to give up by one like me" means brother, you stand having abandoned mental defilements, but I am submerged in the mire of sensual pleasures, therefore by one like me those sensual pleasures are difficult to give up. By this, "just as an elephant," he shows a simile for his own state of being submerged in the mire of sensual pleasures. Therein, "byasanno" means sunk into, entered into; or this itself is the reading. "The path" means I do not follow the path of your exhortation and instruction, I am not able to go forth, but give exhortation to me standing right here. "Anusāsare" means they instruct.

Then the Great Being said to him -

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

47-51. Therein, "ussahase" means "are you able." "Righteous tax" means the meaning is: he takes a tax by the Teaching, righteously, not in excess. "Wrongdoing" means unrighteous conduct that proceeds having broken the principle of judgment established by ancient kings. "Inviters" means those who, having invited righteous ascetics and brahmins, summon them. "According to one's ability" means according to one's strength, according to one's power. "This very verse" - he said this with reference to what is now to be spoken. Therein this is the intention - "Great king, if vanity should overcome you, if conceit should arise in you who are surrounded by a company of women, regarding forms and other types of sensual pleasure or regarding the happiness of kingship, then you should think thus: 'I was formerly reborn in an outcast womb, and due to the absence of even a proper grass hut for shelter, I was one who slept in the open air. At that time my mother, an outcast woman, going to the forest for the purpose of firewood, leaves, and so on, having laid me down in the open air in the midst of a pack of dogs, having given me her own milk to drink, would go. I, surrounded by dogs, having drunk the milk of a bitch together with those very dogs, was reared. Thus, having been of low birth, today I have become what is called a king.' 'Thus indeed, you, great king, exhorting yourself with this meaning, should speak this verse: "The creature who formerly slept in the open air, suckled by the outcast woman going about in the forest, wandering here and there, and by a bitch, surrounded by dogs, reared - he is today called a king."'

Thus the Great Being, having given him exhortation, having said "Exhortation has been given to you by me; now you may go forth or not; by oneself alone one will experience the result of one's own action," having flown up into the sky, letting the dust of his feet fall upon his head, went to the Himalayas itself. The king too, having seen that, with religious emotion arisen, having given the kingdom to his eldest son, having turned back the army, set forth facing towards the Himalayas. The Great Being, having known of his coming, surrounded by a group of sages, having come, having taken him, having gone, having given him the going forth, taught him the preliminary work on the circular meditation object. He produced the meditative absorptions and direct knowledges. Thus both of them were reborn in the Brahma world.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, the wise ones of old, even while passing through three or four other existences, were of firm trust indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time Sambhūta the wise one was Ānanda, but Citta the wise one was myself."

The Commentary on the Cittasambhūta Jātaka is the second.

499.

"Not seeing from afar, O elder" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, referring to the incomparable gift. That has been explained in detail in the Sivi Jātaka in the Book of Eights. At that time, however, the king, on the seventh day, having given all the requisites, requested thanksgiving; the Teacher departed without having done so. The king, having eaten his morning meal, having gone to the monastery, said "Why, venerable sir, was thanksgiving not given?" The Teacher, having said "The assembly is impure, great king," taught the Teaching with the verse "The miserly indeed do not go to the heavenly world." The king, having gained confidence, having venerated the Tathāgata with an upper robe of Sivi cloth worth a hundred thousand, entered the city. On the following day they raised up a discussion in the Teaching hall: "Friends, the King of Kosala, having given the incomparable gift, unsatisfied even by such a gift, when the Teaching was taught by the One of Ten Powers, again gave a Sivi cloth worth a hundred thousand. How unsatisfied indeed, friends, is the king with giving!" The Teacher, having come, having asked "What discussion were you having as you sat together here, monks?" when it was said "Such and such," having said "Monks, external goods are indeed well given; the wise ones of old, having made the entire Indian subcontinent ploughless, even while giving gifts daily through the bestowal of six hundred thousand, unsatisfied with external giving, plucked out their eyes and gave them to beggars who had arrived, saying 'The giver of what is dear obtains what is dear,'" brought up the past.

In the past, in the Sivi country, in the city of Ariṭṭhapura, when the great King Sivi was exercising kingship, the Great Being was born as his son; they gave him the name "Prince Sivi." He, having come of age, having gone to Takkasilā, having learnt the craft, having returned, having shown the craft to his father, having obtained the viceroyalty, afterwards, by the elapse of his father, having become king, having abandoned going to bias, without disturbing the ten duties of a king, having exercised kingship righteously, having had six alms-halls built at the four gates, in the middle of the city, and at the door of his dwelling, carried on a great gift daily through the bestowal of six hundred thousand. On the eighth day, the fourteenth day, and the fifteenth day, he would constantly go to the alms-hall and inspect the giving. Once, on the full moon day, right early, seated on the royal divan beneath the raised white parasol, reflecting on the gift given by himself, not seeing any external thing not given by himself, he thought: "There is no external thing not given by me. External giving does not please me. I wish to give an internal gift. Oh, if indeed today, at the time of going to my alms-hall, some beggar, without requesting an external thing, were to mention something internal! For if someone were to mention the flesh of my heart, having struck my chest with a lance, like one pulling up a lotus with its stalk from clear water, having extracted the heart dripping with drops of blood, I shall give it. If one were to mention the flesh of the body, like one scraping an oil-horn with a scraping knife, having cut off the flesh of the body, I shall give it. If one were to mention blood, having leaped upon the opening of a machine, having filled a vessel brought near, I shall give the blood. If, however, someone were to say 'Work does not proceed in my house, do slave-work for me in my house,' having removed the royal attire, having stood outside, having declared myself, I shall do slave-work. If someone were to mention my eyes, like one extracting the pith of a palmyra palm, having plucked out my eyes, I shall give them" - thus he thought.

Thus he -

Having thought thus, having bathed with sixteen pots of scented water, adorned with all ornaments, having eaten food of various excellent flavours, mounted upon the back of a decorated excellent elephant, he went to the place of giving. Sakka, having known his disposition, thinking "King Sivi has thought 'Today I will pluck out my eyes and give them to beggars who have arrived'; will he indeed be able to give, or not?" for the purpose of investigating him, having become like an old blind brahmin, at the time of the king's going to the place of giving, having stretched out his hand at a raised place, having hailed the king with a cry of victory, stood there. The king, having sent the elephant towards him, asked "Brahmin, what do you say?" Then Sakka, having said to him "Great king, the entire world's habitation is continuously pervaded by the reputation that has arisen in dependence on your disposition towards giving; I am blind, you have two eyes," requesting an eye, spoke the first verse -

52.

Therein, "from afar" means living far from here. "Elder" means an elder feeble and decrepit with age. "Each having one eye" means give one eye to me; thus both of us will each have one eye.

Having heard that, the Great Being, with a satisfied mind, thinking "Just now I, having sat in the mansion and having thought, have come; oh, it is a gain for me! This very day my wish will reach its summit; I shall give a gift never given before," spoke the second verse -

53.

Therein, "pauper" - he addresses him. "Eyes" - this is the name for the eyes. "Which they call" means what the wise speak of as "difficult to give up."

From here onwards, the verses, being clear in meaning and connection, should be understood according to the method of the Pāḷi text -

54.

55.

56.

57.

54-57. Therein, "a pauper" means of one who is requesting. "Request" means entreaty. "Those of yours" means those thoughts of yours for that purpose. "Endowed with eyes" means you, having become endowed with eyes through my eyes. "Whatever you wish, may that succeed for you" means whatever you wish from my presence, may that succeed for you.

The king, having said this much, having thought "It is not proper for me to pluck out my eyes and give them right here," having taken the brahmin, having gone to the inner palace, having sat down on the royal seat, having had a physician named Sīvika summoned, said "Clean my eyes." There was a single uproar throughout the entire city: "It is said that our king wishes to pluck out his eyes and give them to the brahmin." Then the generals and others, the king's favourites, the citizens, and the harem-ladies, all having assembled together, preventing the king, spoke three verses -

58.

59.

60.

58-60. Therein, "abandoned" means gave up. For when the eyes have been given, you will not exercise kingship, another king will be - thus we shall be abandoned by you - with this intention they said thus. "Parikireyyuṃ" means they would surround. "Give thus" means just as the Sivis would surround you with unimpaired eyes, so give external wealth only to him, not the eyes. For when the eyes have been given, the Sivis will not surround you.

Then the king spoke three verses -

61.

62.

63.

61-63. Therein, "fastens" means makes enter. "From bad, worse" means even from being inferior, he becomes more inferior. "Has reached Yama's domain" means he has indeed reached the Ussada hell, the place where Yama's command holds sway. "What one would request" means whatever a beggar would request, the donor too should give that very thing, not what is unrequested; and this brahmin requests my eye, not wealth such as pearls and so on; he says "I will give that very thing to him."

Then the ministers, asking "Having desired what, did you give your eyes?" spoke a verse -

64.

Therein, "for the sake of the world beyond" means: great king, how indeed could a wise person such as you, having abandoned sovereignty visible here and now, give his eyes for the sake of the world beyond?

Then the king, speaking to them, spoke a verse -

65.

Therein, "na vāha" means "not indeed I." "For the sake of fame" means for the sake of divine or human fame. "I do not wish for a son" means by the fruit of this gift of eyes, indeed I do not wish for a son, nor wealth, nor a country; but further, this is the habitual, well-practised, ancient path of the virtuous, the wise, the omniscient Bodhisattas, that is to say, the fulfilment of the perfections. For indeed, without having fulfilled the perfections, there is no one able to attain omniscience on the seat of enlightenment; and I, having fulfilled the perfections, wish to become a Buddha. "Thus indeed my mind delights in giving" - he says that by this reason, my mind is devoted to giving alone.

The Fully Self-Enlightened One too, while teaching the Cariyāpiṭaka to the Elder Sāriputta, the Generalissimo of the Teaching, in order to make clear that "even more than my two eyes, the knowledge of omniscience itself is dearer," said -

But having heard the Great Being's talk, while the councillors stood bewildered, the Great Being addressed the physician Sīvika in verse -

66.

Its meaning is - My dear Sīvika, you are my companion and friend and are well-trained in the physician's craft; do well my word. Having pulled out my eyes like palmyra pith while I am looking on, place them in the hands of this beggar.

Then Sīvika said to him "The gift of eyes is indeed weighty; consider, Sire." Sīvika, it has been considered by me; do not make delay, do not speak much with me. He thought "It is inappropriate for a well-trained physician like me to apply a knife to the king's eyes." He, having ground various medicines, having saturated a blue water-lily with medicinal powder, made him inhale it at the right eye; the eye turned, an unpleasant feeling arose. "Consider, great king, restoring to the original state is my burden." "Enough indeed, dear son, do not make delay." He, having saturated it, made him inhale it again; the eye became free from the eye-socket, a stronger feeling arose. "Consider, great king, I am able to restore it to the original state." "Do not make delay." He, on the third occasion, having saturated it more strongly, brought it near. The eye, by the power of the medicine, having revolved, having come out from the eye-socket, stood hanging by a sinew-thread. "Consider, O lord of men, restoring to the original state is again my power." "Do not make delay." An exceeding feeling arose, blood flowed forth, the cloths that were worn became wet with blood. The harem-ladies and the ministers, having fallen at the king's feet, lamented with great lamentation "Sire, do not give the eyes!"

The king, having endured the feeling, said "Dear son, do not make delay." He, saying "Very well, Sire," holding the eye with the left hand, having taken a knife with the right hand, having cut the eye-thread, having taken the eye, placed it in the Great Being's hands. He, having looked at the right eye with the left eye, having endured the feeling, having summoned the brahmin saying "Come, brahmin," having said "More dear to me than this eye, a hundredfold, a thousandfold, a hundred-thousandfold, is the eye of omniscient knowledge itself; may this be a condition for that," gave the eye to the brahmin. He, having lifted it up, placed it in his own eye. That, by his power, having become like a blossomed blue water-lily, was established. The Great Being, having seen that eye of his with the left eye, thinking "Oh, well given by me is the gift of eyes!" having become continuously pervaded by the joy that had arisen within, gave the other eye too. Sakka, having placed that too in his own eye, having departed from the king's abode, having departed from the city while the public was looking on, went to the heavenly world itself. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke one and a half verses -

67.

Before long the king's eyes healed, and as they healed, not having reached the state of a pit, having been filled by a lump of flesh that had risen up like a woollen ball, the eyes became like a painted figure; the pain was cut off. Then the Great Being, having dwelt in the mansion for a few days, having thought "What use is kingship for a blind man? Having handed over the kingdom to the ministers, having gone to the park, having gone forth, I shall practise the ascetic duty," having had the ministers summoned, having reported that matter to them, having said "Only one giver of face-washing water and so on, a caretaker of allowable things, shall be near me; and at the places for bodily functions too, tie a cord for me," having addressed the charioteer, said "Harness the chariot." But the ministers, not allowing him to go by chariot, having led him by a golden palanquin, having caused him to sit down on the bank of the pond, having arranged protection, withdrew. The king, seated cross-legged, reflected upon his own giving. At that moment Sakka's seat became hot. He, reflecting, having seen that reason, having thought "Having given a boon to the great king, I shall restore his eyes to their original state," having gone there, walked up and down again and again not far from the Great Being. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke these verses -

68.

69.

70.

Sakka too, having heard the sound of footsteps from the Great Being, when asked "Who is this?" spoke a verse -

71.

When this was said, the king spoke a verse -

72.

68-72. Therein, "only death is pleasing" means king of gods, now for me, because of blindness, only death is pleasing; give me that.

Then Sakka said to him "King of the Sivis, do you, having become desirous of dying, approve of death, or is it because of blindness?" "Because of blindness, Sire." "Great king, giving is not given only for the sake of the future life; it is also a condition for the benefit of the present life; and you, when asked for one eye, gave two; therefore make a declaration of truth" - having raised this discussion, he said -

73.

Having heard that, the Great Being, having said "Sakka, if you wish to give me an eye, do not use any other means; let an eye arise for me by the very outcome of my giving," when Sakka said "Great king, even I, Sakka, the king of gods, am not able to give an eye to others; an eye will arise for you by the very fruit of the gift given by you," having said "If so, a gift was well given by me," making a declaration of truth, spoke a verse -

74.

Therein, "ye maṃ" means those who come to beg from me; among those beggars who come, whoever requests from me, he too is dear to my mind. "By this" means if all beggars are indeed dear to me, this was indeed truly spoken by me; by this truthful word of mine, may one eye arise for me, let it arise - thus he said.

Then, immediately after his words, the first eye arose. Then, for the purpose of the arising of the second, he spoke a pair of verses -

75.

76.

75-76. Therein, "yaṃ maṃ" means whoever requests of me. "He" means that brahmin defective in eye who came to beg "Give me your eyes." "To one who begs" means to one who is requesting. "Joy entered me even more" means having given the eyes to the brahmin, from the time of blindness onwards, during that time of blindness, not counting such feeling, reviewing "Oh, well given is my gift," even more exceeding joy entered me, entered my heart, and pleasure infinite and immeasurable arose in me. "By this" means if at that time no small measure of joy and pleasure arose in me, this was indeed truly spoken by me; by this truthful word of mine, may a second eye too arise - thus he said.

At that very moment the second eye too arose. But those eyes of his were neither natural nor divine. For the eye given to Sakka in the form of a brahmin cannot be made natural again, and for one whose sense-base is damaged, a divine eye does not arise; but those eyes of his are said to have arisen through the power of the perfection of truthfulness. At the very same time as their arising, by Sakka's power the entire royal assembly had gathered together. Then Sakka, offering praise to him in the very midst of the public, spoke a pair of verses -

77.

78.

77-78. Therein, "spoken by the Teaching" means, great king, these verses of yours were spoken by the Teaching, by their very intrinsic nature. "Divine" means endowed with divine power. "Paṭidissare" means they appear. "Through walls" means, great king, may these eyes of yours, like the eyes of deities, having passed over and surpassed another's wall, another's rock, and whatever mountain, accomplish and experience the seeing of forms for a hundred yojanas all around in the ten directions - this is the meaning.

Thus he, having stood in the sky, having spoken these verses amidst the great multitude, having exhorted the Great Being "Be heedful," went to the heavenly world itself. The Great Being too, surrounded by the great multitude, having entered the city with great honour, ascended the Sucandaka mansion. Thereby the fact of his having regained his eyes became well-known throughout the entire Sivi country. Then the inhabitants of the entire country, having taken many presents, came for the purpose of seeing him. The Great Being, thinking "At this great gathering of people I shall praise my giving," having had a great pavilion built at the royal gate, seated on the royal divan beneath the raised white parasol, having had a drum circulated in the city, having convoked all the troops, teaching the Teaching - "Hey, inhabitants of the Sivi country, having seen these divine eyes of mine, from now on do not eat without having given" - spoke four verses -

79.

80.

81.

82.

79-82. Therein, "ko nīdhā" means who indeed here. "Api visiṭṭhan" means even though being the highest. "Cāgamattā" means there is nothing excellent other than the measure of generosity. "Idha jīvite" means in this world of the living. "Idha jīvata" is also a reading; the meaning is "of those living in this world." "Amānusan" means the divine eye was obtained by me; by this reason this should be known: "There is nothing higher than generosity." "Etampi disvā" means having seen even this divine eye obtained by me.

Thus, having taught the Teaching with these four verses, from that time onwards, fortnightly on the fifteenth-day Observance days, having assembled the public, he constantly taught the Teaching with these verses. Having heard that, the public, having performed meritorious deeds such as giving and so on, went filling up the heavenly world.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, the wise ones of old, not satisfied with external giving, plucked out their own eyes and gave them to beggars who had arrived," having made known the truths, connected the Jātaka - "At that time the Sivi physician was Ānanda, Sakka was Anuruddha, the rest of the assembly was the Buddha's assembly, but King Sivi was myself."

The Commentary on the Sivi Jātaka is the third.

500.

83-103. "One endowed with wisdom but lacking in glory" - this question about the one possessing glory will become evident in the Mahā Ummagga.

The Commentary on the Sirīmanta Jātaka is the fourth.

501.

"These herds are fleeing" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at the Bamboo Grove, referring to the relinquishment of life by the Venerable Ānanda. But that relinquishment of life of his will become evident in the Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka in the Book of Eighties, in the taming of Dhanapāla. Thus, when life had been given up by that venerable one for the sake of the Teacher, they raised up a discussion in the Teaching hall: "Friends, the Venerable Ānanda, having attained the analytical knowledges of a learner, gave up his life for the sake of the One of Ten Powers." The Teacher, having come, having asked "What discussion were you having as you sat together here, monks?" when it was said "Such and such," having said "Not only now, monks; in the past too this one gave up his life for my sake indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, when Brahmadatta was exercising kingship in Bārāṇasī, his queen-consort was named Khemā. At that time the Bodhisatta, having been born in the womb of a deer in the Himalayan region, was gold-coloured, having attained beauty. His younger brother too, named Cittamiga, was also gold-coloured; and his younger sister too, named Sutanā, was also gold-coloured. The Great Being, however, was a king of deer named Rohaṇa. He, having passed beyond two mountain ranges in the Himalayas, in between the third, in dependence on a lake named Rohaṇa, with a retinue of eighty thousand deer, made his dwelling. He supported his blind and aged mother and father. Then a certain hunter's son, a dweller in a hunter's village not far from Bārāṇasī, having entered the Himalayas, having seen the Great Being, having come back to his own village, afterwards, while dying, informed his son: "Dear son, in our hunting ground, at a certain place, a gold-coloured deer dwells; if the king should ask, you should tell him."

Then one day Queen Khemā, towards the break of dawn, saw a dream. The dream was of such a form - a gold-coloured deer, having come, having sat down on a golden chair, as if striking a golden bell, with a sweet voice teaches the Teaching to the queen; she, having given applause, listens to the Teaching. The deer, while the talk on the Teaching was still unfinished, having risen, goes away; she, while saying "Seize the deer, seize the deer!" awoke. The attendants, having heard her voice, laughed saying "The house has its doors and windows shut; there is no opportunity even for the wind; yet the lady, at this hour, has a deer seized!" She, at that moment, having known "This is a dream," thought: "If it is said 'a dream,' the king will be disregardful; but if it is said 'a longing has arisen,' he will search with regard; I shall hear the talk on the Teaching of the gold-coloured deer." She, having made a pretence of illness, lay down. The king, having come, asked "Dear lady, what is your ailment?" "Sire, there is nothing else, but a longing has arisen in me." "What do you wish, queen?" "I wish to hear the Teaching of a gold-coloured righteous deer, Sire." "Dear lady, your longing has arisen for what does not exist; there is simply no such thing as a gold-coloured deer." She, saying "If I do not obtain it, right here is my death," having turned her back to the king, lay down.

The king, having said "If it exists, you shall obtain it," having sat down in the midst of the assembly, having asked the ministers and brahmins in the very manner stated in the Mora Jātaka, having heard "There are indeed gold-coloured deer," having assembled the hunters, having asked "Such a deer, by whom has it been seen, by whom has it been heard?" when it was told by that hunter's son in the manner heard from his father's presence, having said "My dear, at the time of bringing that deer of yours, I shall make great honour; go, bring it," having given expenses, he sent him. He too, having said "If I, Sire, shall not be able to bring it, I shall bring its hide; being unable to bring it, I shall bring even its hair; do not worry," having gone to his own dwelling, having given expenses to his children and wife, having gone there, having seen that king of deer, investigating "At which place indeed, having laid a snare, shall I be able to catch this king of deer?" he saw an opportunity at the watering ford. He, having twisted a strong leather strap, at the place where the Great Being drank water, laid a stick-snare.

On the following day the Great Being, having roamed for food together with eighty thousand deer, thinking "I shall drink water at the usual landing place," having gone there, while descending was caught in the snare. He, having thought "If I cry the cry of the trapped right now, the group of relatives, without even drinking water, will flee frightened," having clung to the stake, having brought it under his own control, was as if drinking water. Then, when the eighty thousand deer had drunk water and come out and were standing, thinking "I shall break the snare," he pulled three times. On the first occasion the hide was cut, on the second occasion the flesh was cut, on the third occasion, having cut through the sinew, the snare, having struck against the bone, held fast. He, being unable to break it, cried the cry of the trapped; the herd of deer, having become frightened, fled in three groups. Cittamiga, not seeing the Great Being among all three groups, having thought "This fear that has arisen must have arisen for my brother," having gone to his presence, saw him bound. Then the Great Being, having seen him, having said "Brother, do not stand here; this is a dangerous place," dismissing him, spoke the first verse -

104.

Therein, "these" - he said this with reference to those gone far, having passed beyond the range of vision. "Are fleeing" means they go back, they run away - this is the meaning. "Cittaka" - he addresses him thus. "Together with you" means you, having stood in my place over these, become king; these will live together with you.

Thereupon, for both of them there are three alternate verses -

105.

106.

107.

105-107. Therein, "Rohaṇa" - he addressed the Great Being by name. "Draws back" means pulls; or is pulled by sorrow. "They will surely" means those, our mother and father, definitively, when both of us have died here, having become without a guide, not being looked after, will wither away and die; therefore, brother Cittaka, go you, together with you they will live - this is the meaning. "Here I will give up" means in this very place I will give up life.

Having said thus, he stood in dependence on the Bodhisatta's right side, having supported him and consoling him. Sutanā too, the young doe, having fled, not seeing both brothers among the deer, having turned back thinking "This fear must have arisen for my brothers," came to their presence. Having seen her coming, the Great Being spoke the fifth verse -

108.

Therein, "timid one" means a woman by nature fears even from a trifle; therefore he addresses her thus. "Trap" means in a concealed snare. "Iron" means for it was laid by driving an iron mass into the water and tying a hardwood stick to it; therefore he spoke thus. "Together with you" means those eighty thousand deer will live together with you.

Beyond that, by the former method itself there are three verses -

109.

110.

111.

109-111. Therein, "they will surely" - here too he said this with reference to the mother and father themselves.

She too, having refused in just the same way, stood leaning against the Great Being's left side, consoling him. The hunter too, having seen those deer fleeing and having heard the cry of the trapped, thinking "The king of beasts must be caught," having firmly tied his loin-cloth, having taken his deer-killing spear, came with speed. The Great Being, having seen him approaching, spoke the ninth verse -

112.

Therein, "fierce in appearance" means of cruel nature. "With spear" means he will kill us even by striking with a spear, therefore as long as he does not come, flee.

Even having seen him, Cittamiga did not flee. But Sutanā, being unable to remain in her own state, frightened by the fear of death, having fled a little - "Having abandoned my two brothers, where shall I flee?" having given up her own life, seizing Death by the forehead, having come back again, she stood at her brother's left side. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke the tenth verse -

113.

Therein, "she turned back towards death" means she turned back for the purpose of death.

The hunter too, having come, having seen those three persons standing together, having produced a benevolent heart, imagining them as if they were brothers born from one womb, thought "The king of beasts is caught in the snare, but these two persons are bound by the bond of moral shame and moral fear; what indeed are these to him?" Then, asking him, he spoke a verse -

114.

Therein, "why indeed these" means why indeed they, these. "Attend upon" means they attend.

Then the Bodhisatta told him -

115.

He, having heard his word, became even more of tender heart. The deer-king Citta, having known his state of tender-heartedness, said: "My dear hunter, do not think of this king of deer as 'merely a deer'; for he is the king of eighty thousand deer, accomplished in morality and good conduct, of tender heart towards all beings, of great wisdom, and he supports his blind and aged mother and father. If you kill such a righteous deer, by killing him you would indeed kill all five of us - our mother and father, and us, and me, and my sister. But by giving my brother his life, you are a giver of life to all five persons." Having said this, he spoke a verse -

116.

He, having heard his talk on the Teaching, with a gladdened mind, having said "Do not fear, master," spoke the next verse -

117.

Therein, "vo" is merely an indeclinable particle. "Released" means having seen him released from bondage.

And having said thus, he thought: "What will the fame given by the king do for me, if I kill this king of deer? Either this earth will split and give an opening for me, or a thunderbolt will fall upon my head; I shall release him." He, having approached the Great Being, having laid down his stick, having cut the leather strap, having embraced the king of deer, having laid him down at the water's edge, with a tender mind, gently having released him from the snare, having joined sinew with sinew, flesh with flesh, and hide with hide, having washed the blood with water, with a mind of friendliness rubbed him again and again. By the power of his friendliness and by the power of the Great Being's perfections, all the sinews, flesh, and hide were joined together; the foot became covered with skin and covered with hair; it could not even be discerned that he had been bound at such and such a place. The Great Being, having attained happiness, stood there. Having seen that, the spotted deer, filled with joy, while giving thanksgiving to the hunter, spoke a verse -

118.

Then the Great Being, having thought "Did this huntsman seize me of his own desire, or by the command of another?" asked the reason for his capture. The hunter's son said - "Master, I have no business with you, but the king's queen-consort named Khemā wishes to hear a talk on the Teaching from you; for that purpose, by the king's command, you were seized by me." My dear, that being so, in releasing me you do what is exceedingly difficult to do; come, having led me, show me to the king; I shall teach the Teaching to the queen. Master, kings are hard by nature; who knows what will happen? I have no business with the fame given by the king; go you as you please. Again the Great Being, having thought "By this one releasing me, what is exceedingly difficult to do has been done; I shall make a means for his acquisition of fame," said "My dear, first rub my back with your hand." He rubbed, and his hand filled with gold-coloured hairs. "Master, what shall I do with these hairs?" "My dear, having taken these and having shown them to the king and the queen, having said 'These are the hairs of that gold-coloured deer,' having stood in my place, teach the Teaching to the queen with these verses; just upon hearing that, her longing will be allayed." Having taught him the ten verses on the practice of the Teaching beginning with "Practise the Dhamma, great king," having given the five precepts, having exhorted him with diligence, he dismissed him. The hunter's son, having placed the Great Being in the position of teacher, having circumambulated three times, having paid homage at four places, having taken the hairs on a lotus leaf, departed. Those three persons too, having followed a little, having taken food and drinking water in their mouths, went to the presence of their mother and father. The mother and father, asking "Dear Rohaṇa, you, it seems, were caught in a snare; how were you freed?" spoke a verse -

119.

Therein, "when life was brought near" means when your life was brought near to the proximity of death, how were you released.

Having heard that, the Bodhisatta spoke three verses -

120.

121.

122.

120-122. Therein, "speaking" means while speaking. "Charming" means pleasant to the heart. In the second verse, "they speak" means while speaking. "Having heard" means he, having heard the speech of both of these.

Then his mother and father, rejoicing, said -

123.

The hunter too, having come out from the forest, having gone to the royal family, having paid homage to the king, stood to one side. Having seen him, the king spoke a verse -

124.

Therein, "deer hides" means a deer or a hide. "I will bring" means I shall bring. This is what is meant - Hey, huntsman, did you not say thus "Being unable to bring a deer, I shall bring a hide; being unable to bring that, hairs" - then you, for what reason, brought neither a deer nor a deer hide?

Having heard that, the huntsman spoke a verse -

125.

126.

125-126. Therein, "came" means great king, that deer came within reach of my hand, within stretched arm's reach, and to the hidden snare laid by me, and was caught in that hidden snare. "And the released ones attended upon him" means the other two deer, released and unbound, consoling that bound one, stood there in dependence on him. "Wonderful" means not become before, unprecedented. "And this I say" means then this occurred to me who was spiritually stirred: "If I kill this deer, this very day in this very place I will give up life."

Having heard that, the king said -

127.

This that king asks again and again by way of astonishment. Having heard that, the huntsman spoke a verse -

128.

Therein, "with white horns" means with horns similar to a silver garland. "With pure tail-hair" means endowed with pure tail-hair similar to the tail-hair of a yak. "Red" means with red nails, similar to coral. "Feet" means up to the limit of the hooves. "With anointed eyes" means endowed with eyes having pure five sense faculties, as if anointed.

Thus he, while speaking, having placed the golden-coloured hairs of the Great Being in the king's hand, making known the bodily appearance of those deer, spoke a verse -

129.

Therein, "supporting one's parents" means they nourish their aged and blind mother and father; such is their righteousness. "He cannot be brought to you" means that king of beasts cannot be brought by anyone for the purpose of a present to you - this is the meaning. "Abhihārayi" is also a reading; the meaning is I did not bring him to you for the purpose of a present, I did not bring him.

Thus he, having spoken of the virtues of the Great Being, the painted deer, and the young doe named Sutanā, said "Great king, I was instructed and commanded by that king of beasts, 'Having shown your own hairs, having stood in my place, you should teach the Teaching to the queen with ten verses on the practice of the duties of a king.'" Having heard that, the king, having bathed him, having dressed him in new garments, having caused him to sit down on a divan inlaid with seven kinds of precious things, himself together with the queen having sat down to one side on a low seat, raising joined palms towards him, requests. He, while teaching the Teaching, said -

Thus the hunter's son, according to the procedure taught by the Great Being, as if bringing down the celestial river, taught the Teaching with the grace of a Buddha. The great multitude uttered thousands of acclamations. Just upon hearing the talk on the Teaching, the queen's longing subsided. The king, being pleased, satisfying the hunter's son with great fame, spoke three verses -

130.

131.

132.

130-132. Therein, "large" means I give you a very costly jewelled earring ornament. "With four posts" means with four protuberances; the meaning is with four headrests. "Resembling flax flowers in a stream" means endowed with a lustre resembling flax flowers, due to having a blue covering; or made of dark-coloured heartwood. "Of equal status" means mutually equal in beauty and in wealth. "And a leading bull with a hundred cattle" means I give you a hundred cattle with a leading bull as the foremost. "Shall exercise" means I shall exercise kingship by righteousness alone, without disturbing the ten duties of a king. "You have been of great service to me" means because you, standing in the place of the gold-coloured king of deer, have taught the Teaching, you are of great service to me; in the very manner stated by the king of deer, I have been established by you in the five precepts. "Farming and trading" means my dear hunter, I too, without seeing the king of deer, having heard only his words, have been established in the five precepts; you too, from now on, be virtuous; whatever means of livelihood there are, such as farming, trading, giving of loans, and gleaning; by this very right livelihood support your children and wife; do not do evil again.

He, having heard the king's words, having obtained permission saying "I have no need of the household life; allow me the going forth, Sire," having given the wealth given by the king to his children and wife, having entered the Himalayas, having gone forth in the going forth of sages, having produced the eight attainments, was one heading for the Brahma world. The king too, standing firm in the Great Being's exhortation, filled the city of heaven; his exhortation continued for a thousand years.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, in the past too Ānanda gave up his life for my sake indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time the hunter was Channa, the king was Sāriputta, the queen was the nun Khemā, the mother and father were the great royal families, Sutanā was Uppalavaṇṇā, the spotted deer was Ānanda, the eighty thousand deer were the Sākiyan group, but Rohaṇa the king of deer was myself."

The Commentary on the Rohaṇamiga Jātaka is the fifth.

502.

"These swans depart" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at the Bamboo Grove, referring to the Venerable Ānanda's giving up of his life. Then too, when monks were speaking of the Elder's virtues in the Teaching hall, the Teacher, having come, having asked "What discussion were you having as you sat together here, monks?" when it was said "Such and such," having said "Not only now, monks; in the past too Ānanda gave up his life for my sake indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, a king named Bahuputtaka exercised kingship in Bārāṇasī. His queen-consort was named Khemā. At that time the Great Being, having been reborn in the realm of a golden swan, surrounded by ninety thousand swans, dwelt at Cittakūṭa. Then too the queen, having seen a dream in the very manner already stated, reported to the king her longing to hear the teaching of the Teaching of the gold-coloured swan. The king too, having asked the ministers, and having heard "Gold-coloured swans dwell on Cittakūṭa mountain," having had a lake named Khema made, having had various kinds of fodder grains planted, had a proclamation of safety proclaimed daily at the four corners, and employed a hunter's son for the purpose of catching the swans. The manner of his employment, and the state of the birds being examined by him there, and the procedure of reporting to the king when the golden swans had come and laying the snares, and the procedure of the Great Being being caught in the snare, and Sumukha the swan-general not seeing him in the three groups of swans and turning back - all this will become evident in the Mahāhaṃsa Jātaka. Here too the Great Being, having been caught in the stick-snare, while hanging on the snare-stick, having stretched out his neck, looking at the path traversed by the swans, having seen Sumukha approaching, having thought "When he has come, I shall test him," when he had come, spoke three verses -

133.

134.

135.

133-135. Therein, "driven by fear" means stirred by fear, threatened by fear, shaken by fear. "O golden-skinned one, golden-coloured one" - by both words he addresses that very one. "Surely" means he says: O golden-skinned one, golden-coloured one, fair-faced one, depart definitively indeed; what is the use of your coming here? "Having left behind" means having abandoned me, they flew up. "Without looking back" means those relatives of mine go without regard for me. "Fly" means fly up. "Do not neglect your effort for freedom from trouble" means do not neglect your energy for the state of freedom from suffering to be attained having gone from here.

Then Sumukha, having sat down on the mud surface, spoke a verse -

136.

Therein, "afflicted by suffering" means, great king, "you are afflicted by the suffering of death" - by just this much alone I do not give you up.

When Sumukha had thus spoken the lion's roar, Dhataraṭṭha spoke a verse -

137.

Therein, "this for a noble one" means what you speak as "I shall not give him up," this is a good, highest word of a noble one accomplished in good conduct. "Let it fall" means I did not speak thus as one wishing to give him up, but rather, investigating that, I let go this word "let it fall"; the meaning is: I said to him "go."

While they were thus still speaking, the hunter's son, having taken his stick, came with speed. Sumukha, having comforted Dhataraṭṭha, having gone facing him, having shown esteem, spoke of the virtues of the king of swans. At that very moment the hunter became of tender heart. He, having known his tender-heartedness, having gone back again, stood consoling the king of swans. The hunter too, having approached the king of swans, spoke the sixth verse -

138.

Therein, "by footlessness a footprint" means great king, a bird moving through the sky such as you, having made a footprint in trackless space, goes. "You did not perceive" means he asks whether you, being of such a form, did not perceive, did not know this snare even from afar.

The Great Being said -

139.

Therein, "when ruin comes" means my dear hunter's son, when ruin, non-progress, destruction has arrived, then a man, when the end of life has been reached, even having come upon the net and the snare, does not know - this is the meaning.

The hunter, having delighted in the talk of the king of swans, conversing with Sumukha, spoke three verses -

140.

141.

142.

140-142. Therein, "you alone" means he asks "you alone are left behind." "You attend" means you attend on.

Sumukha said -

143.

Therein, "until the end of time" means dear hunter's son, until the end of the span of life, I will indeed not abandon him.

Having heard that, the huntsman, having become of gladdened mind, having thought "If I offend against these who are thus accomplished in morality, even the earth would give an opening for me; what use is the wealth obtained from the king's presence to me? I shall release him" - spoke a verse -

144.

Therein, "and you who" means whoever you are. "So" means he, I. "Your follower" means let this king of swans be one who has gone under your control, let him dwell in one place together with you.

And having said thus, having brought Dhataraṭṭha down from the stick-snare, having led him to the bank of the lake, having released the snare, with a tender mind having washed the blood, he arranged the sinews and so on. Due to his tender-heartedness and by the power of the Great Being's perfections, at that very moment the foot became covered with skin; even the place where he had been bound could not be discerned. Sumukha, having looked at the Bodhisatta, with a gladdened mind, while giving thanksgiving, spoke a verse -

145.

Having heard that, the huntsman said "Go, master." Then the Great Being, having asked him "But did you, my dear, bind me for your own benefit, or by the command of another?" when the reason was reported by him, considering "Is it better for me to go from here to Cittakūṭa, or to the city?" thinking "If I go to the city, the hunter's son will obtain wealth, the queen's longing will be allayed, Sumukha's disposition of a friend will become well-known, likewise the power of my knowledge, and having made the lake Khema a gift of safety, I shall obtain it; therefore it is better to go to the city itself" - having made this conclusion, he said "Hunter, you take us on a carrying pole and lead us to the presence of the king; if the king wishes to release us, he will release us." Kings are hard by nature, master; go, you. We made even such a fierce huntsman soft; winning the favour of the king is our burden; just take us there, my dear. He did so. The king, upon seeing the swans, having become joyful, having caused both swans to sit on a golden chair, having had them eat honey-parched corn, having given them sweet water to drink, having raised joined palms, requested a talk on the Teaching. The king of swans, having known his desire to hear, first made a friendly welcome. Herein these are the verses of words and replies of the swan and the king -

146.

147.

148.

149.

150.

151.

152.

153.

146-153. Therein, "well" means health; the other is a synonym for that very thing. "Prosperous" means he asks "Is it that this country of yours is prosperous, with abundant food, and do you govern it by the Teaching?" "Fault" means offence. "Like a shadow from the south" means just as a shadow facing the southern direction does not grow, thus he says "Is it that your enemies do not grow?" "Equal to yourself" means equal in birth, clan, family, and region. For such a one is not an adulteress. "Loyal" means one who accepts words. "Endowed with sons, beauty, and fame" means endowed with sons and with beauty and with fame. "With the speed of wisdom" means he asks "Is she able, by the force of wisdom, having impelled wisdom, to determine those various duties?" "They rejoice here and there" means he asks "Wherever they are appointed, from there they only rejoice, they do not oppose?" "Heard of through me" means renowned through me. For the world calls me "the king of many sons"; thus they, in dependence on me, have become renowned and well-known - thus he says they are called "heard of through me." "Tell them their duty" means he spoke thus with the intention: "Tell them the duty of those sons of mine, saying 'Let them do this'; they do not oppose your word; give them exhortation."

Having heard that, the Great Being, giving him exhortation, spoke five verses -

154.

155.

156.

157.

158.

154-158. Therein, "by discipline" means by good conduct. "Afterwards makes exertion" means if one, without making exertion and energy in the trainings that should be trained in during one's youth, afterwards makes it in old age, such a one afterwards, when such sufferings or misfortunes have arisen, sinks and is unable to lift himself up. "Of his contracted wisdom" means of one whose wisdom must be drawn from here and there because of being untrained, of one whose intelligence is always unsteady. "Opening" means a fissure in wealth and so on; the meaning is decline. "Night-dim" means night-blind. This is what is meant - "Just as one who is night-blind, one-eyed at night, sees only gross forms at night by the light of the moon and so on, and is unable to see subtle things, so one who is untrained, of contracted wisdom, when some fear has arisen, is unable to see subtle duties, and sees only gross things; therefore it is fitting to have your sons trained while still in their youth."

"In the unessential" means in the worthless doctrine of worldly knowledge and the Vedas. "One who thinks the unessential is connected with essence" means imagining "this doctrine is connected with essence." "Does not find wisdom" means even having studied much, one does not obtain wisdom at all. "In a mountain fortress" means such a one, just as a sarabha deer, coming to its own dwelling place, imagining even the uneven to be level on the road, coming with speed through a mountain fortress, having fallen into a hellish precipice, sinks right there in obstacles and does not reach its abode; just so, having taken up this unessential doctrine of worldly knowledge and the Vedas with the perception of essence, one reaches great destruction. Therefore, having engaged your sons in duties that are based upon welfare and that bring growth, have them trained. "At night like fire" means great king, even one of low birth, accomplished in qualities beginning with industriousness, shines at night like a great mass of fire. "This for me" means this was said by me; having made the night-blind and the great mass of fire as a simile, teach your sons in the branches of knowledge; engage them in the trainings that are fit to be trained in. For one thus engaged, just as a seed grows in a good field with good rainfall, so too the wise one grows, and increases in fame and in wealth.

Thus the Great Being taught the Teaching to the king the whole night; the queen's longing subsided. The Great Being, at the very time of the break of dawn, having established the king in the five precepts, having exhorted him with diligence, together with Sumukha, having departed through the northern lion-cage window, went to Cittakūṭa itself.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, in the past too life was given up by this one for my sake indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time the hunter was Channa, the king was Sāriputta, the queen was the nun Khemā, the swan assembly was the Sākiyan group, Sumukha was Ānanda, but the swan king was myself."

The Commentary on the Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka is the sixth.

503.

"The deer hunter, the great king" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at the Deer Park in Maddakucchi, referring to Devadatta. For when a stone was hurled by Devadatta, intense pain arose in the Blessed One's foot cut by a splinter. Many monks assembled for the purpose of seeing the Tathāgata. Then the Blessed One, having seen the assembly gathered together, said "Monks, this lodging is too confined; the assembly will be great; lead me on a bed-palanquin to Maddakucchi." The monks did so. Jīvaka made the Tathāgata's foot comfortable. The monks, while seated in the presence of the Teacher, raised up a discussion: "Friends, Devadatta is himself evil, and his assembly too is evil; thus he, being evil, dwells with an evil retinue." The Teacher, having asked "What are you discussing, monks?" when it was said "It is such and such," having said "Not only now, monks; in the past too Devadatta was evil, with an evil retinue indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, in the city of Uttarapañcāla, a king named Pañcāla exercised kingship. The Great Being, in a forest haunt, on a certain mountain with a plateau, in a silk-cotton tree forest, was reborn as the son of a king of parrots; there were two brothers. Now on the windward side above that mountain there was a thieves' village, the abode of five hundred thieves; on the leeward side below there was a hermitage, the abode of five hundred sages. At the time when those young parrots' wings were emerging, a whirlwind arose. Struck by it, one young parrot fell among the weapons of the thieves in the thieves' village; because of his having fallen there, they gave him the name "Sattigumba." One fell at the hermitage on the sandy ground among the flowers; because of his having fallen there, they gave him the name "Pupphaka." Sattigumba was reared among the thieves, Pupphaka among the sages.

Then one day the king, adorned with all ornaments, having mounted an excellent chariot, with a great retinue, having gone for the killing of deer to a delightful thicket-forest, fully flowering and fruiting, not too far from the city, having said "On whichever side the deer flees, that is his neck," having descended from the chariot, having concealed himself in the given porch, having taken a bow, he stood. When the men were beating the thickets of trees for the purpose of rousing the deer, one eṇi deer, having risen, looking at the path of going, having seen the seclusion of the very place where the king stood, having sprung forward towards it, fled. The ministers, asking "On whose side did the deer flee?" having known "On the king's side," made sport with the king. The king, unable to bear their sport due to the conceit 'I am,' having mounted the chariot thinking "Now I shall catch that deer," having commanded the charioteer "Drive quickly," proceeded along the path traversed by the deer. The assembly was unable to follow the chariot going with speed. The king, with the charioteer as his companion, having gone as far as midday, not seeing that deer, turning back, having seen a delightful grotto near that thieves' village, having descended from the chariot, having bathed and drunk, came out. Then his charioteer, having brought down the upper cover of the chariot, prepared a bed in the shade of a tree; he lay down there. The charioteer too sat down massaging his feet. The king now and then fell asleep and woke up.

The thieves dwelling in the thieves' village too entered the forest itself for the purpose of safeguarding the king. In the thieves' village, only two stayed behind - Sattigumba and a man named Patikolambo, the cook. At that moment Sattigumba, having gone out from the village, having seen the king, having thought "Having killed this one while he is sleeping, we shall take his ornaments," having gone to the presence of Patikolambo, reported that reason. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke five verses -

159.

160.

161.

162.

163.

159-163. Therein, "deer hunter" means he is called "deer hunter" because of seeking deer like a hunter. "Separated from his group" means having been left behind and fallen away from his group. "A hut made for thieves" means that king saw there in the forest a small village made for the purpose of thieves' dwelling. "From that" means from that thieves' hut. "Speaks cruel words" means he speaks harsh words together with Patikolamba. "Endowed with a vehicle" means endowed with a horse-vehicle. "With a red turban" means endowed with a red turban-cloth. "Just now" means just now, at this time; the meaning is at such a time when midday is established. "By force" means he says "I shall seize by force, having acted with violence." "Even at midnight it is secret now" means even at midnight, even now, it is a secret place. This is what he says - Just as at midnight, at the time of the middle of the night, human beings, being weary, sleep, and it is called a secret place, so too now even at the time when midday is established, it is likewise. "Having killed" means having killed the king, having taken his garments and ornaments, then having seized him by the feet, having dragged him, we shall conceal him to one side with branches.

Thus he with haste once goes out, once goes to the presence of Patikolamba. He, having heard his words, having gone out, looking about, having known his royal status, frightened, spoke a verse -

164.

Then the parrot addressed him in verse -

165.

Therein, "then you" means surely you. "Intoxicated" means having obtained the leftover liquor of the thieves, having become intoxicated by it, formerly you roar great roars. "Towards my mother" - he said this with reference to the wife of the chief of the thieves. It is said that she at that time went about having dressed in a broken branch. "Feel disgust" means why indeed do you now loathe the work of thieves towards my mother who is naked, do you not wish to do it?

The king, having awoken, having heard the words of him speaking with him in human speech, thinking "This is a perilous place," rousing the charioteer, spoke a verse -

166.

He too, having quickly got up and having harnessed the chariot, spoke a verse -

167.

Therein, "powerful steed" means a powerful draught animal; the meaning is endowed with a horse of great strength. "Mount up" means ascend.

And as soon as he had ascended, the Sindh horses plunged forward with the force of the wind. Sattigumba, having seen the chariot going, being struck with religious emotion, spoke two verses -

168.

169.

168-169. Therein, "where indeed" means where indeed are these. "Here" means in this hermitage. "Attendants" means thieves. "From their sight" means freed from the sight of these thieves, this one goes; or the meaning is that having become freed from their hands, this one goes to disappearance. "Kodaṇḍaka" means bows. "Alive" means do not release them while they are alive; having run with weapons in hand, seize them.

Thus, while he was crying aloud and running here and there, the king arrived at the hermitage of the sages. At that moment the sages had gone for the purpose of gathering various fruits. One parrot alone was standing at the hermitage. He, having seen the king, having gone forward to meet him, exchanged friendly greetings. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke four verses -

170.

171.

172.

173.

170-173. Therein, "welcomed" means upon seeing the king, he was satisfied. "With a red beak" means one with a red beak, endowed with beauty. "Madhuka" means madhuka fruits. "Kāsumāriya" means fruits of such a name, or kāra fruits. "Drink from there" means having taken drinking water from that drinking-water pavilion, drink. "Those who are attendants here" means great king, those sages who dwell in this hermitage have gone to the forest for gleanings. "Take" means take the various kinds of fruit. "To give" means to give.

The king, having been pleased with his hospitality, spoke a pair of verses -

174.

175.

Therein, "the other" means the parrot in the thieves' hut. "Thus" means but I, even while he was thus wailing, reached this hermitage in safety.

Having heard the king's words, Pupphaka spoke two verses -

176.

177.

176-177. Therein, "we are brothers" means: great king, he and I, both of us are brothers. "Of thieves" means: he grew up near thieves, I near sages. "He of the wicked, I of the good" means: he went to the presence of the bad, the immoral; I to the presence of the good, the virtuous. "Not without that teaching" means: great king, the thieves trained that Sattigumba by the way of thieves, by the practice of thieves; the sages trained me by the way of sages, by the morality and conduct of sages; therefore he too is not without that way of thieves, and I too am not without the way of sages.

Now, classifying that teaching, he spoke a pair of verses -

178.

179.

178-179. Therein, "fraud" means cheating by means of a counterfeit. "Cheating" means straightforward cheating itself. "Snatching morsels" means plundering of villages by day. "Acts of violence" means entering a house, threatening with death, and carrying out violent deeds. "Truth" means intrinsic nature. "The Teaching" means the Teaching of good conduct. "Non-violence" means the preliminary part of friendliness. "Self-control" means self-control in morality. "Taming" means restraint of the faculties. "Givers of seats and water" means of those fond of giving seats and water to guests. "O burden-bearer" means he addresses the king.

Now, teaching the Teaching to the king, he spoke these verses -

180.

181.

182.

183.

184.

185.

180-185. Therein, "a virtuous man or not" means a good person or a bad person. "One associating with one who associates" means the teacher being associated with, and the pupil who associates. "Touched" means the teacher touched by the pupil. "Touching another" means or the pupil touching another, the teacher. "Stained" means that pupil stained by evil character - that teacher, like a clean arrow, smears the rest of the quiver of arrows. "Thus is association with fools" means one who associates with fools is like the tip of kusa grass wrapping a rotten fish; even without doing evil deeds, one obtains blame and disrepute. "Thus is association with the wise" means a person who associates with the wise is like a leaf wrapping fragrant substances such as tagara and so on; even being unable to become wise, one who associates with good friends obtains fame for virtues. "Like a leaf-container" means just like a leaf wrapping foul-smelling or fragrant substances. "Knowing one's own outcome" means the meaning is having known one's own ripening and development by means of association with good friends. "They bring to a good destination" means the good, those of right view, bring beings dependent on themselves to heaven itself. Thus he brought the teaching to its conclusion according to its proper connection.

The king was pleased by his talk on the Teaching, and the group of sages too came. The king, having paid homage to the sages, having said "Venerable sirs, having compassion for me, dwell at my dwelling place," having obtained their acknowledgment, having gone to the city, gave safety to the dogs. The sages too went there. The king, making the group of sages dwell in the park, having attended upon them for as long as life, filled the city of heaven. Then his son too, raising the umbrella, looked after the group of sages indeed. Thus in that generation, seven kings kept up the giving to the group of sages. The Great Being, while dwelling right in the forest, went according to his actions.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, in the past too Devadatta was evil, with an evil retinue indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time Sattigumba was Devadatta, the thieves were Devadatta's assembly, the king was Ānanda, the group of sages was the Buddha's assembly, but the flower-parrot was myself."

The commentary on the Sattigumba Jātaka is the seventh.

504.

"There was a king named Bhallātiya" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, referring to Queen Mallikā. It is said that one day a quarrel arose between her and the king concerning the bed. The king, having become angry, did not look at her. She thought "Surely the Tathāgata does not know of the king's angry state towards me." The Teacher, having known that reason, on the following day, surrounded by the community of monks, having entered Sāvatthī for almsfood, went to the gate of the king's house. The king, having gone out to meet him, having taken his bowl, having led the Teacher up to the mansion, having caused the community of monks to sit down in succession, having given the water of offering, having served them with superior food, at the conclusion of the meal, sat down to one side. The Teacher, having asked "Why indeed, great king, is Mallikā not to be seen?" when it was said "Because of her intoxication with her own happiness," having said "Is it not so, great king, that you, having been reborn formerly in the realm of kinnaras, having been without your kinnarī for one night, wandered about lamenting for seven hundred years?" being requested by him, brought up the past.

In the past, in Bārāṇasī, a king named Bhallātiya, while exercising kingship, thinking "I shall eat the meat of wild game cooked on charcoal," having handed over the kingdom to the ministers, armed with five weapons, surrounded by a pack of well-trained pedigree dogs, having departed from the city, having entered the Himalayas, having gone along the river, being unable to ascend upwards, having seen a river that had descended into the Ganges, going along in accordance with it, having killed deer, boars, and so on, eating meat cooked on charcoal, ascended to a high place. There a delightful small river, at the time of fullness, having become breast-deep in water, flows; at other times it is knee-deep in water. There various kinds of fish and turtles roam about. At the water's edge there was sand the colour of a silver plate; on both banks trees bent down laden with various flowers and fruits, crowded with groups of various birds and bees delighting in the nectar of flowers and fruits, frequented by herds of various deer, with cool shade. On the bank of such a delightful Himalayan river, two kinnaras, having embraced each other, having kissed each other, lamenting in various ways, weep.

The king, ascending Gandhamādana along the bank of that river, having seen those kinnaras, having thought "Why indeed do these lament thus? I shall ask them," having looked at the dogs, snapped his fingers. The well-trained pedigree dogs, by that signal, having entered a thicket, lay down on their chests. He, having known their state of seclusion, having placed the bow and quiver as well as the remaining weapons against a tree, not making the sound of footsteps, having gone slowly to their presence, asked the kinnaras "For what reason do you weep?" Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke three verses -

186.

187.

188.

186-188. Therein, "pack of hounds" means a group of dogs. "At the passing of winter" means with the passing of the four winter months. "On the Hemavatā" means on the bank of this Hemavatā river.

Having heard the king's word, the kinnara remained silent, but the kinnarī conversed with the king -

189.

Therein, "Malla mountain" means my dear hunter, we roam about this Malla mountain and Paṇḍaraka and Tikūṭa and these rivers. "Mālāgiri" is also a reading. "Resembling in appearance" means having an appearance that is visible, meaning having a visible body.

Thereupon the king spoke three verses -

190.

191.

192.

190-192. Therein, "as though in great distress" (sukiccharūpa) means having become as though well stricken with suffering. "And the beloved was embraced by his beloved" (āliṅgito cāsi piyo piyāya) means by you, the beloved, your beloved was embraced. "Āliṅgiyo cāsī" is also a reading; the meaning is the same. "Why here in the forest" (kimidha vane) means for what reason here in the forest, having embraced now and then, having kissed, having spoken affectionate talk, again displeased, do you weep?

Thereafter, there are verses of conversation and dialogue between both of them -

193.

194.

195.

196.

197.

198.

199.

200.

201.

202.

203.

204.

205.

206.

193-206. Therein, "we for one night" means we for one night. "We stayed apart" means having been dissociated, we dwelt. "Regretting" means reflecting upon that one night thus: "One night has passed for us who were unwilling." "Will not come again" means will not be again, will not come again - thus we grieve. "Like wealth lost or a father who has died" means he asks: like wealth lost, or a father or mother who has died, deceased - what indeed were you thinking about, for what reason did you arrange to dwell apart for that one night? Tell me this. "Yamiman" means which this. "Rocky bank" means flowing between two rocks. "In the rainy season" means at the time of raining when a single cloud had arisen. For while we were wandering driven by delight in this jungle thicket, a single cloud arose. Then my dear husband, the kinnara, thinking "She is coming from behind," crossed this river, she said.

"And I" means but I, not knowing that he had gone to the far shore, gather the fully blossoming flowers of aṅkolaka trees and so on. Therein, "and sattali creepers" means while gathering kundāla flowers and golden jasmine, but for this reason I gather them: "My beloved will be a garland-bearer, and I, having become garlanded, will approach him." "Uddālaka trees, trumpet-flower trees, and sindhuvāraka trees" means she says those too were indeed gathered by me. "Having picked" means having gathered. "Aloe wood and sandalwood" means black aloe wood and red sandalwood. "With anointed limbs" means with anointed body. "Anointed" means having been anointed. "I will approach" means I will approach on the bed. "Sweeping away the sal trees, salaḷa trees, and kaṇṇikāra trees" means sweeping away and carrying off these flowers gathered by me and placed on the bank. "Very difficult to cross" means for while she was still standing on the near shore, the water of the river came, at that very moment the sun set, lightning flashed forth, and kinnaras are by nature afraid of water; thus she did not dare to descend into it. Therefore she said: "In the evening the river was very difficult to cross by me."

"Seeing" means seeing at the time of the flashing of lightning. "We weep" means at the time of darkness, not seeing, we weep; at the time of the flashing of lightning, seeing, we laugh. "Saṃvarī" means night. "Catukka" means hollow. "Having crossed over" means having crossed. "Less by three" means seven hundred years less by three. "That we here" means she says: the time during which we here stayed apart, that amounts to seven hundred years less by three from now. "This one year" means this one year; she says: for you, this life is but one single hundred years. "Who here" means it explains: in such a short life, who indeed here would be without his beloved? It is inappropriate for you to be without your dear wife.

"How much indeed" means the king, having heard the kinnarī's words, having thought "I shall ask the life-span of these," asks "How long is your life span?" "From oral tradition" means if you have heard from anyone speaking, or if there is a tradition from parents or from senior elders, then tell me that from oral tradition or from elders or from scripture, unwavering. "And not in between" means our life span is a thousand years, and in between there is no evil disease that endangers life for us. "Not free from lust" means having been with love not departed from each other.

Having heard that, the king, thinking "These indeed, though being animals, go about weeping for seven hundred years on account of separation for one night, yet I, having abandoned great success in a kingdom of three hundred yojanas, wander in the forest - alas, I have been one who does not do his duty!" turned back from that very place, and having gone to Bārāṇasī, when asked by the ministers "What marvellous thing was seen by you, great king, in the Himalayas?" having reported everything, from that time onwards he enjoyed his wealth while giving gifts. Making known that meaning, the Teacher -

207.

Having spoken this verse, again exhorting, he spoke two verses -

208.

209.

208-209. Therein, "of the non-humans" means of the kinnaras. "The offence of one's own action" means the fault of one's own deed. "The kimpurisas for one night" means just as the fault of one's own deed, committed among those kimpurisas for one night, burned them, so may it not burn you too - this is the meaning.

Queen Mallikā, having heard the Tathāgata's teaching of the Teaching, having risen from her seat, having raised joined palms, offering praise to the Possessor of the Ten Powers, spoke the concluding verse -

210.

Therein, "with a devoted mind I hear your various" means venerable sir, the teaching of the Teaching taught by you, adorned with various different reasons, I, with a devoted mind, having become one with a confident mind, hear. "Way of speaking" means that various speech spoken by you. "Uttering your word, you dispel my anguish" means uttering a sweet word pleasant to the ear, you dispel indeed, you remove indeed, the sorrow and disturbance in my heart. "Ascetic, bringer of happiness, may you live long for me" means venerable sir, Buddha-ascetic, bringer of divine, human, mundane, and supramundane happiness, my master, King of the Teaching, may you live long.

The King of Kosala thenceforth dwelt in harmonious living together with her.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, connected the Jātaka - "At that time the kinnara was the King of Kosala, the kinnarī was Queen Mallikā, but the Bhallātiya king was myself."

The commentary on the Bhallātiya Jātaka is the eighth.

505.

"Who hurts you, who harasses you" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, referring to Devadatta's endeavouring for murder. For then the Teacher, having said "Not only now, monks; in the past too this one endeavoured for my murder indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, in the Kuru country, in the city of Uttarapañcāla, a king named Reṇu exercised kingship. At that time, an ascetic named Mahārakkhita, with a retinue of five hundred ascetics, having dwelt for a long time in the Himalayas, wandering on a journey for the purpose of partaking of salt and sour things, having reached the city of Uttarapañcāla, having dwelt in the royal garden, walking for almsfood together with his retinue, reached the king's gate. The king, having seen the group of sages, being confident in their deportment, having caused them to sit down on the decorated great terrace, having served them with superior food, having said "Venerable sirs, dwell for this rains retreat in my park itself," having gone together with them to the park, having had dwelling places made, having given the requisites for those gone forth, having paid homage, departed. Thenceforth all of them eat at the king's residence. But the king, being childless, desires a son; sons do not arise. By the elapse of the rains retreat, Mahārakkhita, having asked permission of the king saying "Now the Himalayas are delightful; we shall go there itself," having departed, honoured by the king with hospitality, on the way, at the noon period of the day, having turned aside from the road, together with his retinue sat down beneath a tree giving dense shade, on the surface of young grass.

The ascetics raised up a discussion: "In the king's palace there is no son protected by the lineage; it would indeed be good if the king were to obtain a son, the succession would be continued." Mahārakkhita, having heard their talk, reflecting "Will there be a son for the king or not?" having known "There will be," said thus: "Do not worry, sirs; today towards the break of dawn, one young god, having passed away, will take conception in the womb of the king's queen-consort." Having heard that, one fraudulent matted-hair ascetic, having thought "Now I shall become an attendant of the royal family," at the time of the ascetics' departure, having made a pretence of illness, having lain down, when it was said "Come, let us go," said "I cannot." Mahārakkhita, having known the reason for his lying down, having said "When you are able, you should come," having taken the group of sages, went to the Himalayas itself. The cheat too, having turned back, having come with speed, having stood at the king's gate, having had it announced to the king "The attendant ascetic of Mahārakkhita has come," having been summoned with speed by the king, having ascended the mansion, sat down on the prepared seat. The king, having paid homage to the deceitful ascetic, seated to one side, having asked about the health of the sages, said "Venerable sir, you have returned too soon; for what purpose have you come with speed?" "Yes, great king, the group of sages, comfortably seated, raised up a discussion: 'It would indeed be good if a son, a guardian of the succession, were to arise for the king.' I, having heard the talk, looking with the divine eye as to whether 'Will there be a son for the king or not?' having seen 'A young god of great supernormal power, having passed away, will be reborn in the womb of the queen-consort Sudhammā,' thinking 'Those not knowing might destroy the embryo; let me tell them,' I have come for the purpose of telling you. It has been told to you by me; I shall go, great king." The king, full of mirth, with a confident mind, saying "Venerable sir, it is not possible to go," having led the deceitful ascetic to the park, having arranged a dwelling place, gave it to him. He, from then on, eating at the royal family, dwelt there; "The One with the Divine Eye" was his name.

At that time, the Bodhisatta, having passed away from the Tāvatiṃsa realm, took conception there. And on the name-giving day of the one born, they gave him the name "Prince Somanassa." He grows up with the care of a prince. The deceitful ascetic too, on one side of the park, having planted various kinds of vegetables suitable for curry and creeper fruits, selling them into the hands of green-grocers, established wealth. When the Bodhisatta was seven years old, the king's borderland was in revolt. Having entrusted the prince saying "Do not be negligent towards the ascetic with the divine eye," he departed saying "I shall appease the borderland." Then one day the prince, having gone to the park thinking "I shall see the matted-hair ascetic," having seen the fraudulent ascetic having put on one knotted ochre robe as a lower garment, having wrapped one as an upper garment, having taken two water pots with both hands, watering the vegetable plot, having known "This fraudulent ascetic, not practising his own ascetic duty, is doing the work of a greengrocer," having shamed him saying "What are you doing, greengrocer householder?" without paying homage, he departed. The fraudulent ascetic, having thought "This one is already such an adversary now; who knows what he will do; it is fitting to destroy him right now," at the time of the king's arrival, having thrown the stone slab to one side, having broken the drinking water pot, having scattered the grass of the hermitage, having smeared his body with oil, having entered the hermitage, having covered himself up to the head, lay down on the bed as if having reached great suffering. The king, having come, having circumambulated the city, without even entering his dwelling, having gone to the door of the hermitage thinking "I shall see my master, the one endowed with the divine eye," having seen that alteration, having entered inside thinking "What is this indeed?" having seen him lying down, while stroking his feet, spoke the first verse -

211.

Therein, "hurts" means strikes. "Harasses" means reviles. "Where today is a bridge" means who should lie down today.

Having heard that, the fraudulent ascetic, groaning, having risen, spoke the second verse -

212.

From here onwards, the verses, being clear in meaning and connection, should be understood according to the method of the Pāḷi text -

213.

214.

215.

216.

217.

213-217. Therein, "harmless one" means I am harmless to anyone, accomplished in morality and good conduct. "Having entered Reṇu" means great king Reṇu, I, having been entered upon by your son with a great retinue, having said "Hey, fraudulent hermit, why do you dwell here?" having thrown a stone slab, having broken the water pot, having beaten with hands and feet, I have been vexed - thus he, having made what was not factual as if factual, caused the king to believe. "Let them come" means let them go. Having become angry thinking "From the time my husband has gone wrong, he will not be ashamed even of me," commanding his murder, he said thus. "Executioners" means executioners of thieves. He says let them too, with hatchets in hand, go with their own equipment. "Excellent" means having cut off the excellent head, the highest head, let them bring it.

"Of the king" means monks, the messengers from the king's presence, sent by the king, having gone with speed, having surrounded the prince who had been adorned by his mother and made to sit in her own lap, said this. "By the lord" means by the king. "You are done for" means you are abandoned. "That prince" means monks, having heard their words, frightened by the fear of death, having risen from his mother's lap, that prince. "Show him" means let them show him. "For him" means monks, those messengers, having heard that word of the prince, being unable to kill him, dragging him like a bull with a rope, having led him, showed him to the king. But when the prince was being led away, Queen Sudhammā too, surrounded by a group of female servants, together with the harem-ladies, and even the citizens, saying "We shall not allow the innocent prince to be killed," went together with him. "They came" means they came to my presence by your command. "To kill me" means to kill me. "Who here" means who indeed here is my offence, on account of which you would kill me - he asked.

The king, explaining his fault saying "The highest point of existence is too low, your fault is exceedingly great," spoke a verse -

218.

Therein, "enters the water" means he performs the practice of immersion in water. "Such a one" means he says: why do you address my master, the hermit with the divine eye, of such a form, with the term "householder"?

Then the prince, having said "Sire, what is my fault in calling a householder 'householder'?" spoke a verse -

219.

Therein, "roots" means roots such as radishes and so on. "Fruits" means various kinds of creeper fruits. "He protects them, guards them diligently" means this one, the ascetic dependent on your family, doing the work of a greengrocer, having sat down, protects them; having made a fence, guards them diligently. For that reason, that brahmin of yours is called a householder.

Thus I too spoke of him as "a householder." If you do not believe, have the green-grocers at the four gates questioned. The king had them questioned. They said "Yes, we buy leaves and various kinds of fruit from his hand." Having had the leaf business also investigated, he made it evident. Having entered his hermitage too, the prince's men, having brought out the bundle of coins and māsakas obtained from the sale of leaves, showed it to the king. The king, having known the faultless nature of the Great Being, spoke a verse -

220.

Then the Great Being thought: "Rather than dwelling near such a foolish king, it is better to enter the Himalayas and go forth; having made known his fault in the very midst of the assembly, having asked permission, this very day, having departed, I shall go forth." He, having made homage to the assembly, spoke a verse -

221.

Therein, "this foolish one, of the fool" means this king, himself a fool, having heard the word of this foolish fraudulent ascetic, has me killed without cause.

And having said thus, having paid homage to his father, causing him to give permission for his own going forth, he spoke the other verse -

222.

Therein, "spread out" means having become broad and great. "Hard to remove" means hard to drag out.

Thereafter, there are verses of speech and reply between the king and the son -

223.

224.

225.

226.

223-226. Therein, "suffering" means "Dear son, the going forth is suffering because one's livelihood is dependent on others; do not go forth, be king" - thus he entreated him. "What wealth is there here for you, O king" means "Sire, whatever wealth you have, what among them is there to be enjoyed?" "Surrounded" means "served"; or this itself is the reading. For him, it is said, the knowledge of remembering past births arose; therefore he spoke thus. "To be led by another" means to be led by another with a stick, like a blind person. "Such" means a wise person should not dwell near such a king; "Today life was obtained by me through the power of my own knowledge; I shall not dwell near you" - to inform thus, he spoke thus. "According to my wish" means "If again such a fault arises in me, then you may act according to your disposition" - thus he asked forgiveness of his son.

The Great Being, exhorting the king, spoke eight verses -

227.

228.

229.

230.

231.

232.

233.

234.

227-234. Therein, "without consideration" means without looking at, without reflecting upon. "Thought out without deliberation" means thought out without having established, without having weighed, without having decided. "The result is evil" means for just as the failure of medicine is its miscarriage, just so the result is evil. "Unrestrained" means unrestrained in body and so on, immoral. "That is not good" means that proneness to wrath of his is not good. "Not considerately" means one should not do any action without having attended to it. "Should undertake" means should establish, should set going. "In haste" means with speed, forcibly. "And rightly established" means the meaning is that a man's purposes done with a wisely established mind become without remorse afterwards. "Having analysed" means having discriminated with wisdom thus: "These are fitting to do, these are not fitting." "Fields of action" means actions. "Approved by the Buddhas" means approved by the wise, they are blameless. "Painful" means Sire, I have met with painful confinement, distress, and fear of death. "Having obtained" means having obtained by the power of one's own knowledge. "I am indeed inclined towards the going forth" means I am one whose mind is directed towards the going forth indeed.

Thus, when the Teaching had been taught by the Great Being, the king, having addressed the queen, spoke a verse -

235.

Therein, "to beg" means to beg.

She, urging towards the going forth itself, spoke a verse -

236.

Therein, "having considered" means and while going forth, having attended to it, having abandoned the going forth of those of wrong view, go forth into the going forth leading to liberation that is connected with right view.

Then the king spoke a verse -

237.

Therein, "and such as" means whatever this is that you say, that is a marvellous thing indeed. "Suffering" means even by nature you cause me, already suffering, more suffering.

Again the queen spoke a verse -

238.

Therein, "free" means free from lust and so on. "Attained final Nibbāna" means quenched through the final extinguishment of the mental defilements. "That noble path" means I do not endeavour to prevent my son entering upon that path belonging to those noble ones beginning with the Buddha, Sire.

Having heard her words, the king spoke the concluding verse -

239.

Therein, "thinkers on many grounds" means thinkers on many reasons. "Of whom" (yesāyaṃ) means "of whom this one." For she, having heard the well-spoken word of Prince Somanassa himself, became one living at ease; the king too said with reference to that very thing.

The Great Being, having paid homage to his mother and father, having made a salutation with joined palms to the public saying "If there is any fault of mine, forgive it," having gone facing towards the Himalayas, when the people had turned back, led by deities who came in human appearance, having passed beyond seven mountain ranges, brought to the Himalayas, in a hermitage created by Vissakamma, he went forth in the going forth of sages. There, deities themselves attended on him up to the time he was sixteen years old, in the guise of attendants of the royal family. The public, having beaten the fraudulent matted-hair ascetic, brought him to the destruction of life. The Great Being, having produced the meditative absorptions and direct knowledges, was reborn in the Brahma world.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, in the past too this one endeavoured for my murder indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time the cheat was Devadatta, the mother was Mahāmāyā, Mahārakkhita was Sāriputta, but Prince Somanassa was myself."

The commentary on the Somanassa Jātaka is the ninth.

506.

"Who is she that shone like lightning" - this the Teacher, while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, spoke referring to the Observance practice. For then the Teacher, having said "Well done by you, lay followers, who are observing the Observance dwelling; the wise ones of old, having abandoned the success of a serpent, observed the Observance dwelling indeed," being requested by them, brought up the past.

In the past, when in the country of Aṅga the Aṅgans and in the country of Magadha the Magadhans were exercising kingship, in between the countries of Aṅga and Magadha there was a river named Campā; there was a serpent realm there. A king of serpents named Campeyya exercised kingship. Sometimes the king of Magadha seizes the country of Aṅga, sometimes the king of Aṅga the country of Magadha. Then one day the king of Magadha, having fought with the Aṅgan, defeated in battle, having mounted a horse, fleeing, pursued by the warriors of the king of Aṅga, having reached the full Campā river, thinking "Rather than death at the hands of others, it is better to die having entered the river," descended into the river together with the horse itself. At that time Campeyya the king of serpents, having created a jewelled pavilion beneath the water, with a great retinue, was drinking a great beverage. The horse, having plunged into the water together with the king, descended before the king of serpents. The king of serpents, having seen the adorned and prepared king, having produced affection, having risen from his seat, having caused the king to sit down on his own divan saying "Do not fear, great king," asked the reason for his submersion in the water. The king related it as it really was. Then, having reassured him saying "Do not fear, great king, I shall make you the lord of the two countries," having experienced great fame for a week, on the seventh day he departed from the serpent realm together with the king of Magadha. The king of Magadha, by the power of the king of serpents, having seized the king of Aṅga, having deprived him of life, exercised kingship in the two countries. Thenceforth the trust between the king and the king of serpents was firm. The king, annually, having had a jewelled pavilion built on the bank of the Campā river, with great generosity, makes an oblation to the king of serpents. He too, having departed from the serpent realm with a great retinue, accepts the oblation. The public looks at the success of the king of serpents.

At that time the Bodhisatta, having been born in a poor family, having gone to the riverbank together with the royal assembly, having seen that success of the king of serpents, having aroused greed, aspiring for that, having given gifts, having guarded morality, on the seventh day from the death of Campeyya the king of serpents, having passed away, was reborn on the surface of the royal couch in the royal bedchamber in his dwelling mansion. His body was the colour of a jasmine garland and was great. He, having seen that, becoming remorseful, thought "By the outcome of the wholesome deed done by me, sovereignty in the six sensual heavens was like grain stored in a granary. Yet I took conception in this animal realm; what is the use of life for me?" and produced the thought of death. Then a serpent maiden named Sumanā, having seen him, thinking "A being of great might must have been born," gave a signal to the remaining serpent maidens; all, with various musical instruments in hand, having come, made an offering to him. For him that serpent realm was like Sakka's abode; the thought of death subsided; having abandoned the serpent body, adorned with all ornaments, he sat down on the surface of the bed. Then from that time onwards his fame was great.

He, exercising the nāga kingship there, afterwards becoming remorseful, having thought "What is this animal realm to me? Having observed the Observance, having been freed from here, having gone to the path of humans, having penetrated the truths, I shall make an end of suffering," from then on performs the Observance practice in that very mansion. Adorned nāga maidens go to his presence; mostly his morality is broken. He, from then on, having departed from the mansion, goes to the pleasure grove. They go there too; the Observance is broken just the same. He thought "It is fitting for me, having departed from here, from the nāga realm, having gone to the human world, to observe the Observance." He, from then on, on Observance days, having departed from the nāga realm, not far from a certain borderland village, near the highway, on the top of an ant-hill, thinking "Let those desirous of my hide and so on take them, or those desirous of making a performing snake, let them do so," having given up his body through giving, having coiled his coils, lying down, he observes the Observance. Those going and coming along the highway, having seen him, having venerated him with scents and so on, depart. The borderland villagers, having gone, saying "The king of serpents is of great might," having made a pavilion over him, having scattered sand all around, venerated him with scents and so on. From then on, people, having gained confidence in the Great Being, having made offerings, desire a son, desire a daughter.

The Great Being too, performing the Observance practice, having lain down on the top of the ant-hill on the fourteenth and fifteenth days, on the first day of the fortnight goes to the nāga realm. As he was thus performing the Observance, a period of time passed. One day Sumanā, the queen-consort, said "Sire, you go to the human world and observe the Observance, and the human world is dangerous and perilous; if fear should arise for you, then by whatever sign we might know, tell us that." Then the Great Being, having led her to the bank of the auspicious pond, said "If, dear lady, anyone having struck me will torment me, the water of this pond will become turbid; if a supaṇṇa seizes me, the water will boil; if a snake-catcher seizes me, the water will become the colour of blood." Thus, having told her the three signs, having determined the fourteenth-day Observance, having departed from the nāga realm, having gone there, he lay down on the top of the ant-hill, adorning the ant-hill with the beauty of his body. For his body was white like a silver chain, his head was like a red woollen ball. But in this Jātaka the Bodhisatta's body was the size of a ploughshare; in the Bhūridatta Jātaka it was the size of a thigh; in the Saṅkhapāla Jātaka it was the size of a single-hulled boat.

At that time a certain young man dwelling in Bārāṇasī, having gone to Takkasilā, having learnt the Ālampāyana spell in the presence of a world-renowned teacher, going to his own house by that road, having seen the Great Being, having thought "Having taken this snake, causing him to perform in villages, market towns, and royal cities, I shall produce wealth," having taken the divine medicines, having recited the divine spell, went to his presence. From the time of hearing the divine spell, for the Great Being it was as if iron probes were being inserted into his ears, as if he were being crushed on the head with a sharp point. He, thinking "Who indeed is this?" having raised his head from between his coils, looking about, having seen the snake-catcher, thought "My poison is great; if I, having become angry, were to release the breath from my nostrils, this one's body would scatter like a handful of ashes; then my morality will be broken. I shall not now look at him." He, having closed his eyes, placed his head between his coils.

The snake-catcher brahmin, having chewed the medicine, having recited the spell, applied spittle on the Great Being's body; by the power of the medicines and the spell, at each place touched by the spittle, it was as if it were the time for blisters to arise. Then he, having seized him by the tail, having dragged him, having made him lie down at full length, pressing him down with a forked stick, having made him weak, having firmly seized his head, squeezed him; he opened the Great Being's mouth. Then, having applied spittle into his mouth, having performed the medicine-spell, he broke his fangs; his mouth filled with blood. The Great Being, enduring such suffering out of fear of breach of his own morality, did not even so much as open his eyes and look. He too, thinking "I shall make the king of serpents weak," beginning from the tail, as if grinding his bones, having crushed the entire body, performed what is called the slab-wrapping, performed what is called the thread-rubbing, and having seized him by the tail, performed what is called the cloth-beating. The Great Being's entire body was smeared with blood. He endured great pain.

Then, having known his feebleness, having made a box with creepers, having put him in there, having led him to a borderland village, he caused him to perform in the midst of the public. In colours such as blue and so on, in shapes such as round, quadrangular and so on, in sizes such as minute, massive and so on, whatever the brahmin wishes, the Great Being, having made that very thing, dances, and makes even a hundred hoods or a thousand hoods. The public, having become pleased, gave much wealth. In a single day alone he obtained a thousand coins and requisites worth a thousand. The brahmin had thought from the very beginning "Having obtained a thousand, I shall release him." But having obtained that wealth, "Even in a borderland village so much wealth has been obtained by me; in the presence of kings, royal ministers, and chief ministers, I shall obtain much wealth" - having taken a cart and a comfortable carriage, having placed the requisites on the cart, seated in the comfortable carriage, with a great retinue, causing the Great Being to perform in villages, market towns, and so on, "Having caused him to perform in the presence of King Uggasena in Bārāṇasī, I shall release him" - he set forth. He, having killed frogs, gives them to the serpent king. The serpent king, thinking "Again and again, in dependence on me, he will kill," does not eat. Then he gave him honey-parched corn. The Great Being, thinking "If I take food, death will occur right inside the box," does not eat those either. The brahmin, within the span of a month, having reached Bārāṇasī, causing him to perform in the villages outside the city gates, obtained much wealth.

The king too, having had him summoned, said "Make him perform for us." "Very well, Sire, tomorrow on the fifteenth I shall make him perform for you." The king, having had the drum circulated "Tomorrow the king of serpents will dance in the royal courtyard; let the public assemble together and watch," on the following day, having had the royal courtyard adorned, had the brahmin summoned. He, having led the Great Being in a jewel box, having placed the box on a variegated carpet, sat down. The king too, having descended from the mansion, surrounded by the public, sat down on the royal seat. The brahmin, having taken out the Great Being, made him dance. The public, unable to remain in their own nature, set going a thousand wavings of garments. A rain of the seven jewels rained upon the Bodhisatta. A month was completed since his seizure. For that much time he was without food. Sumanā, thinking "My dear husband is taking too long; now a month is completed for him not coming here; what indeed is the reason?" having gone and looking at the pond, having seen water of the colour of blood, having known "He must have been seized by a snake-catcher," having departed from the nāga realm, having gone to the vicinity of the ant-hill, having seen the place where the Great Being was seized and the place where he was tormented, having wept and lamented, having gone to a borderland village, having asked, having heard that news, having gone to Bārāṇasī, stood weeping in the sky in the midst of the assembly in the royal courtyard. The Great Being, while just dancing, having looked at the sky, having seen her, ashamed, having entered the box, lay down. The king, at the time of his entering the box, thinking "What indeed is the reason?" looking here and there, having seen her standing in the sky, spoke the first verse -

240.

Therein, "I do not consider you a human woman" means I do not consider you to be a human woman; he says that for you alone it is fitting to be a deity or a female gandhabba.

Now there are verses of speech and reply between them -

241.

242.

243.

244.

245.

241-245. Therein, "I have come here for a purpose" means I have come here dependent on one reason. "With agitated faculties" means with weary faculties. "Groups of water" means clusters of teardrops. "And they said 'a snake'" means and this great multitude said "a snake." "A man seized that one" means this man seized that king of serpents for the sake of livelihood. "Of a pauper" means she asks "How did this one of great majesty come within reach of the hand of this pauper?" "And the Teaching" means he dwells respecting the principle of the five precepts and the principle of the Observance day practice; therefore, even though seized by this man, thinking "If I were to release the breath from my nostrils upon him, he would scatter like a fistful of ashes; thus my morality would be broken" - out of fear of the breach of morality, having exerted, having endured that suffering, he practises austere asceticism, he exerts energy alone - thus she said.

The king asked "Where then was this one seized by him?" Then she, explaining to him, spoke a verse -

246.

Therein, "at the crossroads" means at a place near a crossroad, in a certain ant-hill, having firmly determined a determination possessed of four factors, observing the Observance day, he lies down - this is the meaning. "Him from bondage" means release that righteous and virtuous king of serpents from the box-bondage by giving wealth to this man.

And having said thus, again too, entreating him, she spoke two verses -

247.

248.

247-248. Therein, "sixteen thousand women" means do not think that this is just any poor serpent. For this shows that he had this many women adorned with all ornaments alone, and the remaining success was immeasurable. "Who sleeps in a water-house" means having made a water roof and a water inner room, she was accustomed to sleeping there. "With body released" means having become one whose body is let loose. "Carātū" means let her go about.

Then the king spoke three verses to him -

249.

250.

251.

249-251. Therein, "cruel" means the king, having addressed the snake-catcher in order to release the snake, showing the gift fit to be given to him, said thus. But the verses have the meaning already stated below.

Then the huntsman said to him -

252.

Therein, "your word" means great king, even without a gift, your word alone is venerable to us. "Let us release this" means he says "I shall release this."

And having said thus, he took the Great Being out from the box. The king of serpents, having gone out, having entered amongst the flowers, having abandoned that individual existence, having become one with body adorned in the appearance of a young man, stood forth as if splitting the earth. Sumanā, having descended from the sky, stood near him. The king of serpents, having raised joined palms, stood paying homage to the king. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke two verses -

253.

254.

253-254. Therein, "may you see my dwelling" means my dwelling, the Campeyyaka serpent realm, is delightful and fit to be seen. That I wish to show you; you, with your army and vehicles, having come, see it, O lord of men - thus he says. "Untrustworthy" means not to be trusted. "And if" means if you request me, we shall see your dwellings, but yet I do not believe that - thus he says.

Then the Great Being, making an oath in order to make him believe, spoke two verses -

255.

256.

255-256. Therein, "the earth that bears beings should roll up" means this great earth, which has gone to the term "bearer of beings" and "bearer of wealth," should roll up like a mat of rushes. "Should fly up with its root" means thus the great Mount Sineru, having risen up with its root, should spring forward into the sky like an old leaf.

He, even when thus spoken to by the Great Being, not believing -

257.

Having spoken that very same verse again, making known "You are worthy to know the virtue done by me, but whether it is justified or unjustified to believe, I shall know," he spoke the other verse -

258.

Therein, "eminent" means of eminent venom. "Jānituye" means to know.

Then the Great Being, making an oath again in order to make him believe, spoke a verse -

259.

Therein, "paccataṃ" means let him be cooked. "Kammakataṃ" means the deed done; whoever does not know one such as you who is such a doer of virtuous deeds, he says, let such a one be thus.

Then the king, having believed him, offering praise, spoke a verse -

260.

Therein, "may this be true to me of yours" means may this acknowledgment of yours be true. "May they avoid like fire in the summer" means just as human beings, not wishing for torment in the hot season, avoid a burning fire, so may they avoid, may they keep away even from afar.

The Great Being too, offering praise to the king, spoke the other verse -

261.

Having heard that, the king, wishing to go to the serpent realm, commanding the army to prepare for the journey, spoke a verse -

262.

Therein, "the well-tamed mules from Kamboja" means let them harness the well-trained mules originating from the country of Kamboja.

The other is a verse discovered by the Fully Enlightened One -

263.

Therein, "greatly resplendent" means, monks, the king of Bārāṇasī, honoured and surrounded by sixteen thousand women, in the midst of that group of women, going from Bārāṇasī to the nāga realm, exceedingly resplendent, set forth.

At the very time of his departure from the city, the Great Being, by his own power, having made the nāga realm made of all jewels, and the walls and gate-towers visible in form, created the road leading to the nāga realm, decorated and prepared. The king, together with his retinue, having entered the nāga realm by that road, saw the delightful piece of land and the mansions. Making known that meaning, the Teacher said -

264.

265.

266.

267.

268.

264-268. Therein, "strewn with gold" means spread with golden sand. "Divine mansion" means the decorated nāga realm. "Of Campeyya" means having entered the nāga realm, he entered the dwelling of Campeyya the king of serpents. "Luminous as bronze lightning" means shining like golden lightning moving across the face of a cloud. "Pervaded with various fragrances" means frequented by various kinds of divine fragrances. "Frequented by a company" means that dwelling was frequented and walked about by a company of nāga maidens. "Anointed with the essence of sandal-wood" means anointed with divine essence of sandal-wood.

There, as soon as he had sat down, they offered him divine food of various excellent flavours, and likewise to the sixteen thousand women and the rest of the royal assembly. He, for about a week, together with his retinue, having consumed divine food and drink and so on, having delighted in divine types of sensual pleasure, seated on a comfortable couch, having praised the fame of the Great Being, asked "King of serpents, having abandoned such success, having lain down on the top of an ant-hill in the human world, why did you observe the Observance?" He too related it to him. Making known that meaning, the Teacher said -

269.

270.

271.

272.

273.

274.

275.

269-275. Therein, "those" is said with reference to the sixteen thousand serpent maidens. "Wearing conch-shell bracelets" means wearing golden ornaments. "With rounded fingers" means with rounded fingers resembling coral sprouts. "Endowed with copper-coloured soles" means endowed with deeply reddened palms of the hands and soles of the feet. "Give to drink" means having raised up a celestial beverage, they give it to drink. "With broad-scaled fish" means endowed with various fish having broad fins. "Resounding with mynah birds" means resounded with birds called mynahs. "With good landing places" means with beautiful landing places. "And divine swans" means and celestial swans. "Fly about" means crying out delightful cries, they fly about from tree to tree. "And divine odours" means in those lotus ponds divine odours constantly blow forth. "Longing for" means I wander about aspiring. "Therefore" means for that reason, having exerted, having aroused energy, I practise austere asceticism, I observe the Observance.

When this was said, the king said -

276.

277.

276-277. Therein, "well-anointed" means well perfumed.

Then the king of the nāgas, explaining to him, said -

278.

Therein, "purity or" means great king, apart from the human world, purity reckoned as the deathless great Nibbāna or self-control in morality does not exist. "The end" means having obtained the human realm, I will make an end of birth and death - thus I practise austere asceticism.

Having heard that, the king said -

279.

Therein, "and the women" means he says: having seen these your nāga maidens and you, I will perform many meritorious deeds.

Then the king of the nāgas said to him -

280.

Therein, "make" means you should make, great king.

When this was said, Uggasena, wishing to go, asked permission saying "King of serpents, we have dwelt a long time, we shall go." Then the Great Being, showing him wealth, said "If so, great king, take as much wealth as you wish" -

281.

282.

283.

281-283. Therein, "heaps" means heaps the measure of palm trees at those various places. "Golden houses" means golden dwellings. "Free from mud" means thus the ground in your inner palace will be free from mud and free from dust. "Such" means of such form, made of gold, with a silver wall, with a ground area spread with pearls and lapis lazuli. "Prosperous" means prosperous, and dwell in the city of Bārāṇasī. "Of superior wisdom" means of no inferior wisdom.

The king, having heard his talk, consented. Then the Great Being had the drum beaten in the nāga realm: "Let the entire royal retinue take as much as desired of wealth such as unwrought gold, gold and so on." And he sent wealth to the king by many hundreds of carts. The king, having departed from the nāga realm with great fame, went to Bārāṇasī itself. Thenceforth, it is said, the surface of Jambudīpa became possessed of gold.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus the wise ones of old, having abandoned the success of a serpent, observed the Observance dwelling," connected the Jātaka - "At that time the snake-catcher was Devadatta, Sumanā was Rāhula's mother, Uggasena was Sāriputta, but the king of serpents Campeyyaka was myself."

The commentary on the Campeyya Jātaka is the tenth.

507.

"Having fallen away from the Brahma world" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, referring to the defilement of one who was pure. The story has been explained in detail below. But here the Teacher, having said "Monks, a woman indeed makes even purified beings defiled," brought up the past.

"In the past at Bārāṇasī" - the past story should be explained in detail in the very manner stated in the Cūḷapalobhana. At that time, however, the Great Being, having passed away from the Brahma world, was reborn as the son of the king of Kāsi; he was known as Prince Anitthigandha. He would not remain in the hands of women; they gave him mother's milk to drink in the appearance of men; he dwelt in a meditation chamber; he did not see women. Making known that meaning, the Teacher spoke four verses -

284.

285.

286.

287.

284-287. Therein, "endowed with all sensual pleasures" means having been a son of a king established in the prosperity and attainment of all sensual pleasures, one young god was born. "Svāssu" means that boy. "Tāyeva" means by that very perception of meditative absorption that had produced rebirth in the Brahma world. "Well built" means created by the father, having made it well and agreeable. "Alone in a secret place, meditated" means he dwelt not seeing a woman. "Lamented" means he wailed.

The fifth is the king's verse of lamentation -

288.

Therein, "who now here is that means" means who indeed here is the means for this one to enjoy sensual pleasures. "Who indeed here is that means" is also a reading; but in the commentary it is said "who indeed knows the cause of persuading this one, having attended upon him." "Or who knows anything" means or who knows the cause of impediment for this one - this is the meaning.

Beyond that, the one and a half verses are verses discovered by the Fully Enlightened One -

289.

290.

A half-verse was spoken by the girl.

Therein, "if husband" means if this one will become my husband.

291.

Therein, "your husband" means this one will become your husband, you yourself will become his queen-consort; go, entice him, make him know the taste of sensual pleasure.

Having said thus, the king sent word to the prince's attendants saying "Give this one permission, it is said." She, at the break of dawn, having taken a lute, having gone, having stood outside not far from the prince's bedchamber, playing the lute with the tips of her fingernails, having sung with a sweet voice, she enticed him. Making known that meaning, the Teacher said -

292.

293.

294.

295.

296.

297.

298.

299.

300.

301.

302.

303.

304.

305.

306.

307.

308.

309.

310.

311.

312.

313.

314.

292-314. Therein, "inner palace" means the dwelling place of the prince. "Much" means much of various kinds. "Connected with sensual pleasure" means producing a song dependent on sensuality. "Sensual desire" means sensual desire arose in this boy Anitthigandha. "People" means the attendant people who frequented his presence. "High and low" means lofty and not lofty. "Should enjoy" means if you were to enjoy. "Would please you" means these sensual pleasures would please you. He, having heard the word "woman," remained silent. The other sang on the following day too. Thus the prince, having become enamoured, delighting in her coming, having addressed the attendants, spoke the verse beginning with "come."

"Outside the wall" means outside the wall of the bedchamber. "Let there not be another" means let there not be another man enjoying sensual pleasures. "Began to kill" means having descended to the middle of the street, he began to kill. "They cried out" means when several men had been struck by the prince, the men, having fled, entered their houses. He, not finding the men, rested for a little while. At that moment, having assembled in the royal courtyard, they complained. "He harasses the innocent people" means he harasses innocent people; they said "Have him seized." The king, having had the prince seized by a means, asked "What should be done with this one?" When it was said "Sire, there is nothing else, but it is fitting to banish this prince from the country together with that girl," he did so. Making known that meaning, the Teacher said beginning with "and that." Therein, "married off" means banished. "You should not dwell so far" means however much is my realm, in that much you should not dwell. "For gleaning" means for the purpose of gathering fruits.

But when he had entered the forest, the other, having cooked whatever was there that was suitable to be cooked, looking out for his coming, sits at the door of the hermitage. Thus, as time went on, one day a certain ascetic possessing supernormal power, dwelling on an island, having gone forth from his hermitage grounds, as if treading upon water like a gem slab, having flown up into the sky, going on the alms round, having reached the upper portion of the hermitage, having seen smoke, thinking "In this place human beings dwell, I think," he descended at the door of the hermitage. She, having seen him, having caused him to sit down, having become enamoured, having displayed feminine wiles, engaged in misconduct with him. Making known that meaning, the Teacher said beginning with "then here." Therein, "a sage came" means a sage came. "Over and above the ocean" means over the very surface of the ocean. "See how extremely dreadful" means see, monks, how extremely dreadful a deed was done by that girl - this is the meaning.

"In the evening" means in the evening time. "Having seen" means being unable to abandon her, having been right there the whole day, in the evening time, having seen the prince who had come, attempting to flee, "I shall go through the sky," making the appearance of flying up, he fell and sinks in the great ocean. "Having seen the sage" means having gone following and having seen him. "Out of compassion" means if this one had come by land, he could have fled and entered the forest; he must have come through the sky, therefore even though fallen into the ocean he merely makes the appearance of flying up - having thus produced compassion, out of compassion for him he spoke. The meaning of those verses, however, has already been stated in the Book of Threes. "Disenchantment arose" means disenchantment with sensual pleasures arose. "The ancient path" means the distinction of meditative absorption previously attained. "Having gone forth" means having led that woman to a human habitation, having turned back, having gone forth in the going forth of sages in the forest, he removed sensual lust; having removed it, he was one reborn in the Brahma world.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, dependent on a woman, even purified beings become defiled," having made known the truths, connected the Jātaka; at the conclusion of the truths, the dissatisfied monk attained arahantship. At that time the boy Anitthigandha was myself.

The commentary on the Mahāpalobhana Jātaka is the eleventh.

508.

315-336. The Pañcapaṇḍita Jātaka will become evident in the Mahā Ummagga.

The commentary on the Pañcapaṇḍita Jātaka is the twelfth.

509.

"At long last indeed I see" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, referring to the great renunciation. For then the Teacher, having said "Not only now, monks; in the past too the Tathāgata went forth in the great renunciation indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, in Bārāṇasī, there was a king named Esukārī. His chaplain was a dear companion from childhood. Both of them were without sons. They, one day, seated on a comfortable couch, consulted: "Our sovereignty is great, yet there is neither son nor daughter; what indeed should be done?" Thereupon the king said to the chaplain - "My dear, if a son is born in your house, he shall be the owner of my kingdom; if a son is born to me, he shall be the owner of the wealth in your house." Thus both of them made an agreement with each other.

Then one day the chaplain, having gone to a revenue village, at the time of returning, entering the city through the southern gate, saw outside the city a destitute woman named Bahuputtikā. She had seven sons, all healthy; one carried a cooking vessel, one a reed mat for sleeping, one walked in front, one behind, one held her finger, one sat on her lap, one on her shoulders. Then the chaplain asked her: "Dear lady, where is the father of these children?" "Master, these have no regular father." "How did you obtain seven sons of such a kind?" She, not seeing any other explanation, having pointed to a banyan tree standing at the city gate, said: "Master, having wished in the presence of the deity dwelling in this banyan tree, I obtained them; my sons were given by her." The chaplain, having said "If so, go on your way," having descended from the chariot, having gone to the base of the banyan tree, having seized a branch and shaken it, said: "Hey, deity, what indeed do you not receive from the king's presence? The king annually disburses a thousand and makes an oblation to you, yet you do not give him a son. What favour has been done to you by this destitute woman, that you gave her seven sons? If you do not give a son to our king, on the seventh day from now, having had you cut down with your roots, I shall have you made into fragments" - having thus threatened the tree deity, he departed. He spoke in this very manner on the following day too - thus in succession for six days. On the sixth day, however, having seized a branch, he said: "O tree deity, today only one night's measure remains; if you do not give a son to my king, tomorrow I shall finish you off."

The tree deity, having reflected and known that reason as it truly is, thinking "This brahmin, not obtaining a son, will destroy my mansion; by what means indeed is it fitting to give him a son?" having gone to the presence of the four great kings, reported that matter. They said: "We shall not be able to give him a son." She went to the presence of the twenty-eight demon generals; they too said likewise. Having gone to the presence of Sakka, the king of gods, she spoke. He too, reflecting "Will the king obtain suitable sons, or not?" saw four meritorious young gods. It is said that they, in a former existence, having been weavers in Bārāṇasī, having made what was obtained by that work into five portions, consumed four portions. Having taken the fifth, they gave it together as a gift. They, having passed away from there, were reborn in the realm of the Thirty-three, thence to the Yāma realm - thus going in forward and reverse order, they go about experiencing success in the six heavenly worlds. At that time, however, it was their turn to pass away from the realm of the Thirty-three and go to the Yāma realm. Sakka, having gone to their presence, having summoned them, said: "Sirs, it is fitting for you to go to the human world; be reborn in the womb of King Esukārī's queen-consort." They, having heard his word, said: "Very well, Sire, we shall go; but we have no need of a royal family. Having been reborn in the house of the chaplain, while still young, having abandoned sensual pleasures, we shall go forth." Sakka, having received their acknowledgment saying "Very well," having come, reported that matter to the tree deity. She, with a satisfied mind, having paid homage to Sakka, went to her own mansion.

The chaplain too, on the following day, having assembled powerful men, having caused them to take adzes, hatchets, and so on, having gone to the tree-root, having taken hold of the tree branch, said "Hey, deity, today is the seventh day of me requesting you; now is the time of your ending." Then the tree deity, having emerged from the opening in the trunk with great majesty, having addressed him with a sweet voice, said "Brahmin, let one son be set aside; I shall give you four sons." "I have no need of a son; give a son to our king." "I give to you alone." "If so, give two to me, two to the king." "I do not give to the king; I give all four to you alone; and they will be only just obtained by you; but without remaining in the household, they will go forth even in their young age." "You just give me the sons; but the reason for preventing their going forth is our burden." She, having given him the boon of sons, entered her own dwelling. Thenceforth the honour towards the deity was great.

The chief young god, having passed away, was reborn in the womb of the chaplain's brahmin wife. On his name-giving day, having given him the name "Hatthipāla," for the purpose of preventing his going forth, they entrusted him to elephant keepers. He grows up near them. At the time of his walking on foot, the second, having passed away, was reborn in the womb of a mare; at the time of his birth too, they gave him the name "Assapāla." He grows up near the horse keepers. At the time of the third one's birth, they gave him the name "Gopāla." He grows up together with cowherds. At the time of the fourth one's birth, they gave him the name "Ajapāla." He grows up together with goatherds. They, following the course of growth, had attained splendour.

Then, out of fear of their going forth, they drove out the gone-forth ones from the king's kingdom. In the entire Kāsi country there was not even a single gone-forth one. Those princes were excessively harsh; in whatever direction they went, they plundered the presents being brought from that direction. At the time of Hatthipāla's sixteenth year, having seen his bodily excellence, the king and the chaplain, having consulted "The princes have grown up; it is the time for raising the royal canopy; what indeed should be done for them?" having thought "These, from the time of consecration onwards, will become excessively powerful; from here and there gone-forth ones will come; having seen them, they will go forth; at the time of their going forth, there will be commotion in the country; let us investigate them first; afterwards we shall consecrate them" - both, having assumed the guise of sages, going about for almsfood, went to the door of the dwelling of Prince Hatthipāla. The prince, having seen them, satisfied and pleased, having approached and having paid homage, spoke three verses -

337.

338.

339.

337-339. Therein, "brahmin" means a brahmin who has warded off evil. "Of divine appearance" means of excellent appearance; one who has entered upon the state of a gone-forth one with terrible austerity and supremely sharp faculties - this is the meaning. "Carrying a basket" means one bearing the burden of a basket. "Sage" means one who stands having sought the aggregates of morality and so on. "Delighting in the qualities of the teaching" means one fond of the portions of good conduct. "A seat" - this he said having prepared a seat for the purpose of their sitting and having brought scented water and foot ointment. "The guest-offering" means we ask you concerning the guest-offering for all these beginning with seats. "May you accept our" means may you accept these guest-offerings of ours.

Thus he said to each one of them in turn. Then the chaplain said to him - "Dear son Hatthipāla, imagining us to be 'who are these?' you spoke thus." "Sages from the Himalayas." "We are not sages, dear son; this is King Esukārī; I am your father, the chaplain." "Then why did you assume the guise of sages?" "For the purpose of investigating you." "What are you investigating about me?" "If, having seen us, you will not go forth, then we have come to consecrate you in the kingdom." "Dear son, I have no need of a kingdom; I shall go forth." Then his father, having said "Dear son Hatthipāla, this is not the time for going forth," instructing him according to his disposition, spoke the fourth verse -

340.

Therein, "having learnt" means having recited. "Sons" means having raised the parasol, having set up dancers by turns, having grown with sons and daughters, having established those sons in the house - this is the meaning. "All" means having experienced these odours and flavours and all the remaining objective sensual pleasures. "The forest is good, that sage is praised" means for one who has gone forth afterwards in old age, the forest is good, charming. He says that whoever goes forth at such a time, that sage is praised by the noble ones such as the Buddha and others.

Then Hatthipāla spoke a verse -

341.

Therein, "are not truth" means what they declare as heaven and the path, they do not accomplish that; they are hollow, unsubstantial, fruitless. "Nor is the gaining of wealth" means the gaining of riches too, because of being common to five, is not all of one intrinsic nature. "Ageing" means dear son, no one is able to prevent ageing or sickness and death by gaining sons. These clingings are the root of suffering. "Odours and flavours" means release from odours and flavours and the remaining objects - the wise ones beginning with the Buddha speak of freedom itself. "By one's own action" means by the deed done by oneself alone, there is the attainment of fruit, the accomplishment of result, for beings. For beings are owners of their actions, dear son.

Having heard the prince's words, the king spoke a verse -

342.

Therein, "healthy for a hundred years" means they may see him healthy for a hundred years; he says: you too, living for a hundred years, should support your mother and father.

Having heard that, the prince, having said "Sire, what indeed is this you say?" spoke two verses -

343.

344.

343-344. Therein, "friendship" means the disposition of a friend. "With death" means by conventional death, as when a given one has died, a friend has died. "With ageing" means for whom there might be friendliness with obvious ageing, or for whom this death and ageing would not come as a friend - this is the meaning. "If he stirs it" means great king, just as a man, having placed a boat in the water at a river ford, having embarked people going to the far shore, if pressing down with a rudder and pulling with an oar, he shakes and strikes it, then he brings it to the far shore. Thus illness and ageing constantly bring one under the control of Death, the Ender.

Thus, having shown the limited nature of the life-activities of these beings, having given the exhortation "Great king, you remain; even as I am speaking together with you, illness, ageing and death approach me; be diligent," having paid homage to the king and his father, having taken his own attendants, having abandoned the kingdom in Bārāṇasī, he departed from the city saying "I shall go forth." "This going forth will indeed be beautiful" - together with Prince Hatthipāla, the public departed. The assembly was a yojana in extent. He, together with that assembly, having reached the bank of the Ganges, having looked at the water of the Ganges, having performed the preliminary work on a circular meditation object, having produced the meditative absorptions, thought "This gathering will be great; my three younger brothers, mother and father, the king and the queen - all together with their followings will go forth; Bārāṇasī will become empty; until their arrival I shall remain right here." He sat down right there giving exhortation to the public.

On the following day the king and the chaplain thought "Prince Hatthipāla, having abandoned the kingdom, having taken the public, having gone saying 'I shall go forth,' is seated on the bank of the Ganges; having investigated Assapāla, we shall consecrate him." They went in the very guise of sages to the door of his house too. He too, having seen them, with a gladdened mind, having approached, saying "At long last indeed I see" and so on, proceeded in the same way. They too, having said the same to him, told the reason for their coming. He, having asked "While my elder brother Prince Hatthipāla is present, how does the white parasol come first of all to me?" when it was said "Dear son, your brother, having said 'I have no need of kingship; I shall go forth,' has departed," having said "Where is he now?" when it was said "He is seated on the bank of the Ganges," teaching the Teaching to the king and his father, saying "Dear son, I have no business with spittle discarded by my brother; for foolish beings of little wisdom are not able to give up this defilement, but I shall give it up," he spoke two verses -

345.

346.

345-346. Therein, "mire" means whatever mud. "Marsh" means smooth mud mixed with fine sand. Therein, sensual pleasures are called "mire" by way of causing one to stick, and called "marsh" by way of causing one to sink. "Difficult to cross" means difficult to pass beyond. "The realm of Death" means the foundation of Death. For beings stuck in and sunk into these, being unable to cross over, reach suffering and death of the kind stated in the exposition on the mass of suffering. Therefore he said - "Sunk in this mire and marsh, those of inferior nature do not cross to the beyond." Therein, "byasannā" means sunk. "Visannā" is also a reading; the meaning is the same. "Those of inferior nature" means those whose intrinsic nature of consciousness is inferior. "Do not cross to the beyond" means they are unable to go to the far shore of Nibbāna.

"This" means great king, this individual existence of mine, formerly growing up together with horse-keepers, did much cruel, reckless action by way of plundering and oppressing the public and so on. "That one is seized" means that result of that action has been seized by me. "For there is no release for me" means while the round of rebirths exists, there is indeed no release for me from this unwholesome result. "By restraining him I will protect" means now, closing the doors of body, speech and mind, having restrained him, I will protect him. Why? May this one not again do cruel action. For I, henceforth, not doing evil, shall do only what is good.

Thus Prince Assapāla, having taught the Teaching with two verses, having given the exhortation "You remain; even as I am speaking together with you, illness, ageing and death approach me," having taken a following of one yojana, having departed, went to the very presence of Prince Hatthipāla. He, having sat down in the sky for him, having taught the Teaching, said "Brother, this gathering will be great; let us stay right here for now." The other too accepted, saying "Very well." On the following day the king and the chaplain, having gone to the dwelling of Prince Gopāla by that very same method, he too having received them gladly in just the same way, they told the reason for their own coming. He too, having refused just like Prince Assapāla, having said "I, from long ago, desiring to go forth, wander about in the forest reflecting on the going forth like a lost bull; thereby the path gone by my brothers has been seen by me, like the track of a lost bull; I shall go by that very path," spoke a verse -

347.

Therein, "Esukārī" means he addresses the king. "My purpose" means like a bull in the forest, my purpose reckoned as the going forth is lost. "Sohaṃ" means that I, today having seen the path of those gone forth, how could I not search for the going forth? I shall go the very path gone by my brothers, O lord of men.

Then they said to him: "Dear son Gopāla, wait one day or two days; having consoled us, afterwards you shall go forth." He, having said "Great king, of a task to be done today, one should not say 'I shall do it tomorrow'; a wholesome deed should be done this very day," spoke the other verse -

348.

Therein, "tomorrow" means the meaning is "the next day." "The day after" means on the following day. This is what is meant - "Whoever, great king, having said of the work to be done today 'tomorrow,' and of the work to be done tomorrow 'the day after,' does not do it, he falls away from that; he is not able to do that work." Thus Gopāla spoke what is called the Discourse on the Auspicious Single Night. And this meaning should be spoken of by means of the Discourse on the Auspicious Single Night. "Having known the future as 'this does not exist'" means whatever is future, having known that as "this does not exist," what wise person would dispel, would remove the arisen wholesome desire?

Thus Prince Gopāla, having taught the Teaching with two verses, saying "You remain; even as I am speaking together with you, illness, ageing and death approach me," having taken a following of one yojana, having departed, went to the presence of his two brothers. Hatthipāla taught the Teaching to him too. On the following day the king and the chaplain, having gone to the dwelling of Prince Ajapāla by that very same method, he too having received them gladly in just the same way, having told the reason for their own coming, said "We shall raise the umbrella for you." The prince said - "Where are my brothers?" They, saying "We have no need of kingship," having abandoned the white parasol, having taken a following of three yojanas, having departed, were seated on the bank of the Ganges. I shall not go about carrying on my head the spittle discarded by my brothers; I too shall go forth. Dear son, you are still young, a burden in our hands; at the time of coming of age you shall go forth. Then the prince, having said to them "What are you saying? Do not these beings die both in the time of youth and in the time of old age? There is no sign on anyone's hand or foot that 'this one will die in the time of youth, this one in the time of old age'; I do not know my time of death; therefore I shall go forth right now," spoke two verses -

349.

350.

349-350. Therein, "vo" is merely an indeclinable particle; the meaning is just "I see." "Like one intoxicated" means behaving as if intoxicated with laughter, speech and coquetry. "With eyes like ketaka flowers" means with broad, elongated eyes like the petals of ketaka flowers. "Having not enjoyed pleasures" means Death, having cast great sorrow upon the parents, takes away and goes with this maiden bearing the highest beauty, existing in the first stage of life, having not enjoyed pleasures at all. "Well-born" means well-proportioned. "Of good features" means whose face is like a golden mirror or a full moon. "Of beautiful appearance" means accomplished in appearance because of bearing the highest beauty. "Sāma" means Suvaṇṇasāma. "With beard scattered like safflower" means with a beard scattered like the stamens of young safflower, in the sense of being settled and in the sense of being fine. By this, even a prince of such form comes under the power of death. For it shows that merciless Death, as if uprooting Sineru, takes away and goes even with one of such kind. "Having abandoned sensual pleasures, having left home beforehand, permit me, I shall go forth, O king" means: Sire, for when the bondage of children and wife has arisen, that bondage is difficult to cut; therefore I, having abandoned sensual pleasures and home even beforehand, shall go forth right now; permit me.

And having said thus, "You remain; even as I am speaking together with you, illness, ageing and death approach me," having paid homage to both of them, having taken a following of one yojana, having departed, he went to the bank of the Ganges itself. Hatthipāla, having sat down in the sky for him too, having taught the Teaching, saying "The gathering will be great," sat down right there. On the following day, the chaplain, having sat down seated in the middle of the excellent divan, thought: "My sons have gone forth; now I alone have become a mere human stump; I too shall go forth." He, consulting together with the brahmin woman, spoke a verse -

351.

Therein, "obtains its designation" means it obtains the conventional expression "a tree." "Vāseṭṭhi" means he addresses the brahmin woman. "For going about for alms" means it is the time for my going forth too; I shall go to the very presence of my sons.

He, having said thus, had the brahmins summoned; sixty thousand brahmins gathered together. Then he said to them - "What will you do?" - "But you, teacher?" "I shall go forth in the presence of my son." "Hell is not hot for you alone; we too shall go forth." He, having handed over the eighty ten millions of wealth to the brahmin woman, having taken the assembly of brahmins extending one yojana, having departed, went to the very presence of his sons. Hatthipāla, having stood in the sky, taught the Teaching to that assembly too. On the following day the brahmin woman thought: "My four sons, having abandoned the white parasol, have gone saying 'We shall go forth'; the brahmin too, having discarded eighty ten millions of wealth together with the position of chaplain, has gone to the very presence of the sons; what shall I alone do? I shall go by the very path my sons have gone." She, bringing an example from the past, spoke an inspired utterance verse -

352.

Therein, "just as herons in the sky" means just as heron birds go unhindered in the sky. "At the passing of winter" means at the passing of the rainy season. "Swans having burst open the nets that were made" means in the past, it is said, ninety-six thousand golden swans, having stored rice sufficient for the rainy season in a golden cave, out of fear of the rains, not going outside, dwell there for four months. Then a spider named Uṇṇanābhi weaves a web at the cave entrance. The swans give a double portion to two young swans. They, by virtue of their accomplishment in strength, having cut through that web, go in front; the rest go by the path they have gone. She, making known that meaning, said thus. This is what is meant - Just as heron birds go unhindered in the sky, so at the passing of winter, at the passing of the rainy season, two young swans, having burst open the nets that were made, go, and then by the path they have gone, the other swans. But now my sons, like young swans having cut through the net of sensuality just as a net, have gone; by me too the path they have gone should be gone - with this intention she said "My sons and my husband go, how then should I, understanding, not follow?"

Thus she, having made the conclusion "How should I, understanding thus, not go forth? I shall go forth indeed," having had the brahmin women summoned, said thus: "What will you do?" "But what about you, lady?" "I shall go forth." "We too shall go forth." She, having abandoned that wealth, having taken a following of one yojana, went to the very presence of her sons. Hatthipāla, having sat down in the sky, taught the Teaching to that assembly too. On the following day the king asked "Where is the chaplain?" "Sire, the chaplain and the brahmin woman, having abandoned all wealth, having taken a following of two yojanas, have gone to the presence of their sons." The king, saying "Ownerless wealth comes to us," had the wealth brought from his house. Then his queen-consort, having asked "What is the king doing?" when it was said "He is having the wealth brought from the chaplain's house," having said "Where is the chaplain?" having heard "He has departed with his wife for the purpose of going forth," thinking "This king, deluded by delusion, has excrement abandoned by the brahmin and the brahmin woman and the four sons brought to his own house; I shall awaken him by means of a simile," having had meat brought from the slaughterhouse, having had a heap made in the royal courtyard, having left open a straight path, had a net spread around it. Vultures, having seen it from afar, descended for that purpose. Therein, the wise ones, having known the net was spread out, having become too heavy, thinking "We shall not be able to fly straight up," having thrown away the meat eaten by themselves, having vomited, not clinging to the net, having flown straight up, went away. But the blind fools, having eaten what was thrown away and vomited by those, having become heavy, being unable to fly straight up, having come, were caught in the net. Then, having brought one vulture, they showed it to the queen. She, having taken it, having gone to the presence of the king, having opened the latticed window, saying "Come now, great king, we shall see a spectacle in the royal courtyard," having said "Look at these vultures, great king," spoke two verses -

353.

354.

353-354. Therein, "having eaten and vomited" means having eaten meat and having vomited. "You will vomit back" means you will consume again. "Eater of vomit" means one who eats what has been vomited by another. "Not praiseworthy" means that fool, subject to craving, is not to be praised by wise persons such as the Buddha and others.

Having heard that, the king became remorseful; the three existences appeared as if ablaze. He, with religious emotion arisen, thinking "It is fitting for me to abandon the kingdom this very day and go forth," offering praise to the queen, spoke a verse -

355.

Therein, "sunk" means submerged; "visanna" is also a reading. "Might lift up" means having seized by the hair or by the hands, having lifted up, he would place on dry ground. "Raised me up" means raised up from the mire of sensual pleasure. "Udatāsī" is also a reading; the meaning is the same. "Uddhaṭāsī" is also a reading; the meaning is "raised up." "Pañcālī" means the daughter of the king of Pañcāla.

And having said thus, at that very moment, having become desirous of going forth, having had the ministers summoned, he said - "What will you do?" - "But you, Sire?" "I shall go forth in the presence of Hatthipāla." "We too shall go forth, Sire." The king, having abandoned kingship in the city of Bārāṇasī, twelve yojanas in extent, saying "Let those who are desirous raise the white parasol," surrounded by ministers, having taken a following of three yojanas, went to the presence of the prince himself. Hatthipāla, seated in the sky, taught the Teaching to that assembly too. The Teacher, making known the king's state of having gone forth, spoke a verse -

356.

On the following day, the people left behind in the city, having assembled, having gone to the king's gate, having reported to the queen, having entered the dwelling, having paid homage to the queen, standing to one side, spoke a verse.

357.

Therein, "instruct" means having been protected by us, exercise the kingdom righteously.

She, having heard the talk of the great multitude, spoke the remaining verses -

358.

359.

360.

361.

362.

358-362. Therein, "alone" means having been freed from the confinement of sons, daughters, and mental defilements, I shall wander alone in this world. "Sensual pleasures" means the types of sensual pleasure such as forms and so on. "Each according to its limit" means I shall abandon them just as they stand by whatever limit they stand, I shall not touch anything - this is the meaning. "Times pass by" means times such as the forenoon and so on pass beyond. "Hurry on" means being not hollow, they go consuming and devouring the life principle. "Stages of life" means the three beginning with the first stage of life, or the ten portions beginning with the slow decade. "Gradually give up" means without reaching the next higher portion, they cease right there in each. "Having become cooled" means having abandoned the mental defilements that are heat-producing, of a hot nature, having become cool. "Having overcome all attachment" means having overcome all attachment beginning with the attachment of lust, I shall wander alone; having gone to the presence of Prince Hatthipāla, I shall go forth.

Thus she, having taught the Teaching to the public with these verses, having had the ministers' wives summoned, said - "What will you do?" means "But you, ladies?" "I shall go forth." "We too shall go forth." She, saying "Very well," having had the gold storehouses and so on in the king's dwelling opened, having had inscribed on a golden slab "At such and such a place and at such and such a place a great treasure is deposited," having said "It is given indeed; let those who are desirous take it," having had the golden slab tied to a pillar on the great flat roof, having had a drum circulated in the city, having abandoned the great prosperity, she departed from the city. At that moment the whole city was stirred. "The king and the queen, it is said, having abandoned the kingdom, are departing saying 'We shall go forth'; what shall we do here?" - from here and there people, having abandoned their houses just as full as they were, having taken their children in their hands, departed. All the shops remained just in the manner of being spread out; there was not a single person who turned back and looked. The whole city became hollow; the queen too, having taken a following of three yojanas, went to that very place. Hatthipāla, seated in the sky, having taught the Teaching to that assembly too, having taken a following of twelve yojanas, set forth facing towards the Himalayas. "Prince Hatthipāla, it is said, having made the twelve-yojana Bārāṇasī hollow, having taken the public saying 'I shall go forth,' is going to the Himalayas; far less then we" - the whole of the Kāsi country was stirred. Afterwards the assembly became thirty yojanas; he, together with that assembly, entered the Himalayas.

Sakka, reflecting, having known that event, commanded Vissakamma: "Prince Hatthipāla has made the great renunciation and gone forth; the gathering will be great; it is fitting to obtain a dwelling place. Go, having built a hermitage thirty-six yojanas in length and fifteen yojanas in breadth, prepare the requisites for those gone forth." He, having assented "Very well," having built a hermitage of the stated measure on a delightful piece of ground on the bank of the Ganges, having prepared in the hermitages wood-spread coverings, leaf-spread coverings, seats, and so on, he constructed all the requisites for those gone forth. At the door of each hermitage there was a walking path, demarcated with night quarters and day quarters, with plastered preliminary work and a railing board; at those various places there were flowering shrubs covered with fragrant flowers of various colours; at the end of each walking path there was a well filled with water; near it there was a fruit tree; that one tree alone bore all kinds of fruit. All this was by the power of the deities. Vissakamma, having built the hermitage, having placed the requisites for those gone forth in the hermitages, having inscribed letters on the wall with natural vermilion "Whoever wishes to go forth, let them take these requisites," having made the frightful sounds, beasts, birds, ugly-featured non-human spirits retreat by his own power, went to his own place.

Prince Hatthipāla, having entered the hermitage given by Sakka by a footpath, having seen the letters, thinking "My state of having made the great renunciation and gone forth must have been known by Sakka," having opened the door, having entered the hermitage, having taken the outward sign of the going forth of sages, having come out, having descended onto the walking path, having walked up and down back and forth on several occasions, having given the going forth to the rest of the people, going about the hermitage, he gave hermitages in the middle place to the women with young children. Next after that to the elderly women, next after that to the middle-aged women, and having enclosed them all around, he gave to the men. Then a certain king, having come saying "There is no king in Bārāṇasī, it is said," having looked at the decorated and prepared city, having ascended to the king's dwelling, having seen heaps of jewels here and there, thinking "From the time of going forth having abandoned such a city, this going forth must indeed be noble," having asked the way from drunkards, he set forth for the presence of Hatthipāla. Hatthipāla, having known the state of his having come into the forest, having gone to meet him on the road, seated in the sky, having taught the Teaching to the assembly, having led them to the hermitage, he gave the going forth to the entire assembly. By this method six other kings too went forth. Seven kings abandoned their wealth; the hermitage of thirty-six yojanas became full without interruption. Whoever thought any one of the sensual thoughts and so on, the great man, having taught him the Teaching, described the development of the divine abidings and the development of the circular meditation objects. They, for the most part, having produced the meditative absorptions and direct knowledges, in three portions, two portions were reborn in the Brahma world. Having divided the third portion into three, one portion was reborn in the Brahma world, one in the six sensual heavens, and one, having performed service to the sages, was reborn in the human world in the three kinds of family success. Thus the Dispensation of Hatthipāla was free from hell, the animal realm of generation, the sphere of ghosts, and the host of titans.

In this island of Tambapaṇṇi, the Elder Dhammagutta the Earth-Shaker, the Elder Phussadeva the dweller at Kaṭakandha Cave, the Elder Mahāsaṅgharakkhita the dweller at the Upper Circle, the Elder Mahādeva of Malaya, the Elder Mahādeva the dweller at Abhayagiri, the Elder Mahāsiva the dweller at the Village-End Cave, the Elder Mahānāga the dweller at the Kāḷavalli Pavilion were the last persons to go forth at the assembly of the Spade, the assembly of the Mute and Crippled, the assembly of the Lesser Sutasoma, the assembly of the Wise One of the Iron House, and the assembly of Hatthipāla. Therefore the Blessed One said -

Therefore good should be done with the utmost haste.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, in the past too the Tathāgata went forth in the great renunciation indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time King Esukārī was the great King Suddhodana, the queen was Mahāmāyā, the chaplain was Kassapa, the brahmin woman was Bhaddā Kāpilānī, the goatherd was Anuruddha, the cowherd was Moggallāna, the horse-keeper was Sāriputta, the rest of the assembly was the Buddha's assembly, but Hatthipāla was myself."

The commentary on the Hatthipāla Jātaka is the thirteenth.

510.

"From the first night" - this the Teacher spoke while dwelling at Jeta's Grove, referring to the great renunciation itself. Then too he, having said "Not only now, monks; in the past too the Tathāgata went forth in the great renunciation indeed," brought up the past.

In the past, when Brahmadatta was exercising kingship in Bārāṇasī, the queen-consort of King Brahmadatta, having conceived an embryo, having received the care of pregnancy, with her pregnancy mature, gave birth to a son towards the break of dawn. In her previous existence, a co-wife made the aspiration "I shall be able to devour your offspring as each is born." It is said that she herself, being barren, having made that aspiration through wrath towards the mother of the son, was reborn in the realm of demons. The other, having become the king's queen-consort, gave birth to this son. That demoness, having then obtained the opportunity, while the queen was still watching, having assumed a hideous form, having come, having seized that boy, fled. The queen cried out with a loud voice "A demoness, having seized my son, has fled!" The other too, having devoured the boy, crunching him like a root-tuber, having displayed a frightful appearance to the queen with hand gestures and so on, having threatened her, departed. The king, having heard that word, thinking "What can be done about a demoness?" remained silent. Again, at the time of the queen's giving birth, he arranged a firm guard. The queen again gave birth to a son. The demoness, having come, having devoured him too, was gone. On the third occasion, the Great Being took conception in her womb. The king, having convoked the public, asked "A certain demoness eats the queen's offspring as each is born; what indeed should be done?" Then one said "Demons are indeed afraid of palm leaves; it is fitting to tie palm leaves on the queen's hands and feet." Then one said "They are afraid of an iron house; it is fitting to build an iron house." The king, saying "Good," having convoked the smiths in his own realm, having commanded "Build an iron house," assigned agents. Right within the city, on a delightful piece of ground, they began the house; beginning with the pillars, all the house-building materials were made entirely of iron; in nine months a great quadrangular hall made of iron reached completion. That was constantly like a blazing lamp.

The king, having known the maturity of the queen's pregnancy, having had the iron house decorated, having taken her, entered the iron house. She there gave birth to a son endowed with the marks of good fortune and merit; they gave him the name "Prince Ayoghara." Having given him to wet-nurses and having arranged a great guard, the king, having taken the queen, having circumambulated the city, ascended the decorated upper floor of the mansion itself. The demoness too, having gone on water duty, while carrying water for Vessavaṇa, reached the destruction of life. The Great Being, having grown up right there in the iron house, attained discretion, and right there learnt all the crafts. The king, having asked the ministers "What is the stage of age of my son?" having heard "He is sixteen years old, Sire, a hero, endowed with strength, able to ward off even a thousand demons," said "I shall give him the kingdom; having decorated the whole city, having brought him out from the iron house, bring him." The ministers, saying "Very well, Sire," having decorated the twelve-yojana Bārāṇasī, having taken a ceremonial elephant adorned with all ornaments, having gone there, having had the prince adorned, having caused him to sit on the elephant's back, said "Sire, having circumambulated the decorated city belonging to your family, pay homage to your father, the King of Kāsi; this very day you will obtain the white parasol."

The Great Being, while circumambulating the city, having seen the pleasant groves, forests, ponds, pleasant grounds, pleasant mansions and so on, thought: "My father made me dwell in a prison for so long a time. He did not allow me to see such a decorated city. What indeed is my fault?" he asked the ministers. "Sire, there is no fault of yours; but a certain demoness ate your two brothers; therefore your father made you dwell in the iron house; by the iron house your life was obtained." He, having heard their words, thought: "I, having dwelt for ten months in my mother's womb as if in the copper cauldron hell and as if in the excrement hell, from the time of coming forth from my mother's womb, I dwelt for sixteen years in this prison; I did not even obtain the chance to look outside; I was as if thrown into the Ussada hell. Even though released from the hand of the demoness, I am indeed neither free from ageing nor immortal. What use is kingship to me? From the time of being established in the kingdom, it is difficult to depart. This very day, having obtained my father's permission for the going forth, having entered the Himalayas, I shall go forth." He, having circumambulated the city, having entered the king's palace, having paid homage to the king, stood there.

The king, having looked at the beauty of his body, with strong affection looked at the ministers. They said: "What shall we do, Sire?" "Having placed my son upon a heap of jewels, having consecrated him with three conch shells, raise the golden garland and the white parasol." The Great Being, having paid homage to his father, said: "I have no need of the kingdom; I shall go forth; allow my going forth." "Dear son, having rejected the kingdom, for what reason will you go forth?" "Sire, I, having dwelt for ten months in my mother's womb as if in the excrement hell, having come forth from my mother's womb, dwelling for sixteen years in a prison through fear of the demoness, I did not even obtain the chance to look outside; I was as if thrown into the Ussada hell. Even though released from the hand of the demoness, I am not free from ageing and death. Death indeed cannot be conquered by anyone. I am dissatisfied with existence. Before illness, ageing and death come upon me, at that very moment, having gone forth, I shall practise the Teaching. Enough for me with kingship. Allow me, Sire" - having said thus, teaching the Teaching to his father, he said -

363.

364.

365.

366.

367.

368.

369.

370.

371.

372.

373.

374.

375.

376.

377.

378.

379.

380.

381.

382.

383.

384.

385.

386.

363-386. Therein, "from the first night" means for the most part beings taking conception in the mother's womb take it during the night itself, therefore he spoke thus. But here the meaning is - whether for one night or by day, having first taken conception, he dwells in the womb termed the mother's womb. "Young man" means a being becomes established in the state of a drop of fluid. "Having arisen, he goes on" means that young man, just as a cloud - termed abbha - having arisen, having come into being, driven by the force of the wind, moves on, just so -

Undergoing this state beginning with the drop of fluid in the mother's womb, and having emerged from the mother's womb, undergoing the state beginning with the mind-born decad, he goes constantly and continuously. "Going, he does not turn back" means if this one thus going does not turn back to reach the state of a drop of fluid from the bubble stage, or the state beginning with the bubble from the lump of flesh stage and so on, or the state of the mind-born decad from the play decad, or the state beginning with the play decad from the beauty decad stage and so on. But just as that rain cloud, being crushed by the force of the wind, cannot obtain the thought "I arose at such and such a place; having turned back and gone to that very place, I shall remain in my natural state" - whatever direction it has gone, it has just gone; whatever has disappeared, it has just disappeared - so too he, going through the states beginning with the drop of fluid, just goes on. In each and every portion, the activities, having become conditions for the preceding ones, without turning back afterwards, break up right there in each place. At the time of ageing, the activities cannot obtain the thought "By us this one was formerly made young and endowed with strength; having turned back, we shall make him so again right there" - they just disappear right there in each place. This is what it shows.

"Not by fighting" means fighting in a battle arrayed on both sides. "Not by relying on strength" means not approached, not endowed with bodily strength or warrior strength. "Do not grow old" means bringing forward the preceding negative particle "na," the meaning should be understood as: even such men do not not grow old, nor do they not die. "All this indeed" means great king, all this entire sphere of living beings, like pieces of sugar-cane being crushed by a great mill, is afflicted by birth and ageing, constantly oppressed. "That is my understanding" means for that reason, the thought arises in me, the mind arises: "Having gone forth, I shall practise the teaching."

"Fourfold" means endowed with four divisions beginning with elephants and so on. "An army of terrifying form" means an army of a thoroughly frightening nature. "They conquer" means sometimes certain kings conquer with their own army. "Not Death" means even those kings do not dare to conquer the army of Death of the great army, they are not able to crush illness, ageing and death. "Some escape" means surrounded by these elephants and so on, some are freed from the hands of enemies, but they are not able to be freed from the presence of Death. "They destroy" means with these elephants and so on they destroy the cities of enemy kings. "They plunder" means assaulting and plundering the great multitude, they bring them to the destruction of life. "Not Death" means even they, when the time of death has arrived, are not able to destroy Death.

"With flowing temples, in rut" means having erupted in three places, with rut flowing - the meaning is: with rut dripping forth. "Not Death" means even they are not able to crush great Death. "Archers" means archers, bow-bearers. "Practised" means well-trained. "One who shoots far" means able to make an arrow fall at a distance. "One who hits in an instant" means one who shoots without missing, or one able to shoot by the light of lightning. "Lakes" means the great lakes such as Anotatta and so on are just exhausted. "With rocks and forests" means even the great earth with its mountains and jungle thickets is exhausted. "All this indeed" means all this pertaining to activities, even after standing for a long interval, is just exhausted. Having reached the fire arising at the end of the cosmic cycle, even great Sineru melts like beeswax before the face of fire; not even the smallest activity is able to remain. "In the course of time" means having reached the course of time, the turn of the time of destruction, everything breaks; everything pertaining to activities is just broken. For the purpose of making that known, the Sattasūriya Sutta should be brought forth.

"Unstable" means unsteady, unable to remain in its own state, having the very intrinsic nature of becoming different and ceasing to be. "The life of living beings here" means the life of these living beings here in this world. "Like the cloth of a drunkard, like a tree grown on a riverbank" means for a drunkard, having seen liquor, having given the cloth bound around his belly, drinks straightaway; like a tree grown on a riverbank, when the bank falls apart, it falls apart; just as this cloth and tree are unsteady, so is the life of beings, O lord. "Just like fruits from a tree" means just as ripe fruits, struck by the wind, fall from the treetop to the ground, so too these young men, struck by the wind of ageing, having slipped from life, fall upon the earth of death. "The young" means even those established in the state of an embryonic drop at the very least. "Those of middle stature" means hermaphrodites and eunuchs standing in between women and men.

"Like the king of stars" means just as the king of stars wanes in the dark fortnight and fills again in the bright fortnight, the youth of beings is not so. For whatever has passed for beings, that is now gone indeed; there is no coming again of it. "Whence happiness" means for one worn out by ageing there is not even delight in the types of sensual pleasure; the happiness arising dependent on them - whence indeed? "Demons" means demons of great supernormal power. "Goblins" means dust-goblins. "Ghosts" means those belonging to the realm of the departed. "They assail" means they injure by the breath-wind, or the meaning is "they possess." "Not Death" means but even they are unable to injure or possess Death by their breath. "They make appeasement" means they ask forgiveness and inspire confidence by means of oblations. "Offenders" means those who commit offences against the king. "Corrupters" means those who corrupt the kingdom. "Harassers" means those who harass the world by housebreaking and so on. "Kings" means kings. "Having known the fault" means having known the fault, they punish with a punishment befitting the offence - this is the meaning. "Not Death" means even they are unable to punish Death.

"To convince" means to inspire confidence by making known one's own state of innocence through witnesses. "Not the wealthy, the powerful or the majestic" means "these are wealthy, this one is powerful with bodily power, knowledge-power and so on, this one is majestic" - even so, the king of death has no regard; there is no regard, love, or affection for even a single being; it shows that he crushes all indeed. "Forcibly" means having overcome by force. "Not Death" means even they are unable to devour Death. "Performing" means performing magic. "They delude" means they delude by making what is not factual appear as factual and showing it. "Of fierce heat" means endowed with risen power of poison. "Healers" means physicians who cure poison. "Dhammantarī and Vettaraṇī and Bhoja" means these are physicians of those names. "Learning terrible spells" means studying a true knowledge called Ghora. "By remedies" means having recited the Ghora or Gandhārī true knowledge, having taken medicine, by those remedies they go to invisibility from enemies.

"The Teaching" means the Teaching of good conduct. "Protects" means the one by whom it is protected, it protects in return. "Happiness" means it brings happiness in the six sensual heavens. "Causes to reach" means it leads there by way of conception.

Thus the Great Being, having taught the Teaching to his father with twenty-four verses, having said "Great king, let your kingdom be yours alone; I have no need of this. Even while speaking together with you, illness, ageing and death approach me. Remain you here," having cut the iron chain, like a rutted elephant having broken the golden cage, like a young lion having abandoned sensual pleasures, having paid homage to his mother and father, he departed. Then his father, thinking "I too have no need of the kingdom," having abandoned the kingdom, departed together with him; when he was departing, the queen too, the ministers too, the brahmins, householders and others too - all the inhabitants of the city, having abandoned their houses, departed. The gathering was great; an assembly of twelve yojanas arose. Taking them, the Great Being entered the Himalayas. Sakka, having known his state of having departed, having sent Vissakamma, had a hermitage built twelve yojanas in length and seven yojanas in breadth. He had all the requisites for those gone forth prepared. From here on, the Great Being's going forth, the giving of exhortation, the heading for the Brahma world, and the assembly's not going to the realms of misery - all should be understood by the method already stated above.

The Teacher, having brought this teaching of the Teaching, having said "Thus, monks, in the past too the Tathāgata went forth in the great renunciation indeed," connected the Jātaka - "At that time the mother and father were the great royal families, the rest of the assembly was the Buddha's assembly, but the wise man of the Iron House was myself."

The commentary on the Ayoghara Jātaka is the fourteenth.

The Jātaka summary -

The commentary on the Chapter of Twenties is concluded.

Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Fully Self-Enlightened One