No. 543. The Bhuridatta Jataka - 1st Gallery Balustrade, Reliefs IBa, 187-190.

AVADANA/JATAKA

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Sigala Jataka
Mati Posaka Jataka
Story  of King Sivi 
Vidhura Jataka
Story of King Surupa
Story of Bhuridatta
Kaccapavadana
Cula Nandiya Jataka
Kancanakkhanda Jataka
King Padmaka Jataka
Story of Manohara
Story of Mandhatar
Samuddavanija Jataka
Story of the Sibi King
Story of the Dharma Seeker
Story of Sambula
Story of Rudrayana
Story of Bhallatiya
Valahassa Jataka
Story of Maitrakanyaka

"I am a Naga prince great in power,
invincible with a poisonous breath.
Issuing forth from a prosperous land
with an angry bite that smites with death;
My mother is Samuddaja,
Dhatarattba is the sire I claim,
Sudassana my youngest brother,
and Bhuridatta is my name."

While dwelling at Savatthi, the Master told this story about some lay-brethren who kept the fast-days. Now it is said that the lay brethren rose early on the morning of a fast-day, took upon themselves the fasting vows and gave alms. After having their meal, they took perfumes and garlands in their hands, went to the Jetavana, and seated themselves on one side at the time of hearing the Buddha's preaching of the Law.

The Master, coming to the Hall of Truth, having sat down in the adorned Buddha-seat, gazed upon the assembly of the brethren. Now the Tathagatas like to converse with those among the brethren or others to see in regards to whom a religious discourse might take its rise. Therefore on the present occasion, as he knew that a religious discourse concerning former teachers would arise in connection with these lay-brethren, he asked them:

"O lay-brethren, do you keep the fast-day?"

On their replying in the affirmative, he said: "It is right and well done of you, O lay-brethren. But yet it is no matter for wonder that you who have a Buddha teacher like me should keep the fast-day. Sages of old who were without any teacher forsook great glory and kept the fast-day."

At their request, the Master related an old legend of the past.

I.

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, he established the young man as his viceroy. When the king saw his son's great glory, however, he became suspicious that the young man might attempt to seize the kingdom. The king therefore instructed his son as follows:

"Do you depart hence and dwell for the present where you please. Upon my death you may then inherit the kingdom."

Agreeing to his father's wishes, the prince saluted the king, went out and proceeding to the Yamuna river where he built a hut of leaves on a pleasant spot located between the river and the sea. There he dwelt, living on roots and fruit.

Now at that time there was a young Naga female from the Naga-world beneath the ocean who had lost her husband. On account of her carnal passions, whenever she saw the happiness of the other Nagas who had husbands still living, she would leave the Naga-world and wander by the seashore. One day she observed a man's footprints in the snad along the shoeline, and after following the track she came upon that very hut of leaves where the prince was dwelling.

At that very moment the prince was away, having gone out in search of some fruit to eat. Curiousity getting the better of her, she entered the hut and saw the wooden bedstead upon which the prince slept as well as the rest of the young man's furniture. She then thought to herself:

"This appears to be the dwelling-place of some ascetic. But is he an ascetic because of his devout faith or not? I shall prove him. If he was an ascetic from faith and bent upon self-abnegation well then he would not suffer to lie in a bed that had been adorned. But if at heart he is a lover of pleasure then he will lie down on the bed that I shall prepare. If the latter be true, then I shall make him my husband and we shall dwell here together."

After collecting divine flowers and perfumes from the Naga-World, she went back to the prince's abode, prepared a bed of flowers, scattered perfumed powder about and otherwise adorned the hut. Then she departed to the Naga-world.

When the prince returned to his home at evening time, he saw what she had done. While munching on the various fruit that he had gathered, he wondered aloud: "Oh these sweet scented flowers, and this bed which has been so pleasantly arranged! Who has prepared this bed?"

As the young man was not truly an ascetic, his heart became filled with pleasure at the thought of it. So he laid down on that couch of flowers and fell quickly into a deep sleep.

The next day, the prince rose at sunrise and then went off to find some food, without taking the time to sweep out that hut of leaves. Following his departure, the female Naga returned and upon seeing the withered flowers scattered aboutn the bed, knew immediately what had happened. "This man is a lover of pleasure," said she, "not an ascetic from faith. I therefore shall be able to capture him."

After removing the old flowers, she brought fresh ones to spread over the bed. Then she adorned that hut of leaves, strewed flowers on the covered walkway leading up to it and then once again returned to the Naga-world.

That night the bemused prince once again reposed on a bed of flowers. The next morning he thought to himself: "I wonder who it is that is adorning my abode?"

So instead of going out to gather fruit, he remained concealed not far away. When the Naga woman returned, having already collected more perfumes and flowers, he was enchanted by the sight of her walking along the covered path leading up to the hermitage and fell in love with her at once.

Without letting himself be seen, he entered the hut just as she was preparing to adorn his couch.

"Who are you?" the prince inquired.

"My lord, I am a Naga woman," she replied.

"Do you have a husband or not?" the prince asked.

"I am a widow without a husband. What is your name and where do come from?" she inquired.

"I am Brahmadatta-kumara, the son of the king of Benares. But why do you wander about, my dear, leaving the abode of the Nagas far behind?"

"My lord, having beheld the happiness of the other Naga women who possess living husbands I became discontented on account of my desire for carnal passions. So of late I have beeen wandering about the human world in search of a new husband."

"I also am not an ascetic from faith," replied the prince. "I have come to dwell here because my father has driven me away. Well do not vex yourself, my dear for I shall be your husband and we will dwell here in concord."

She consented at once. From that day onward they lived together in harmony. By means of her magic power, she made a magnificent house appear, together with rich couch and spread. And no longer did the prince partake of roots or fruit, instead feasting on divine meat and drink.

After some time had passed, the prince's Naga wife conceived a son whom they named Sagara-Brahmadatta. And as soon as that first child was able to walk, the Naga-wife brought forth a daughter. Since the girl had been born on the seashore they called her Samuddaja.

One day a forester from Benares came upon their splendid dwelling. When the couple came out to greet him, the man recognized the prince immediately. After staying there a few days, the forester said: "My lord, I will tell the king's family that you are dwelling here."

Back to the city of Benares, the ministers were hastily preparing funeral services for the king, who had just passed away. After burying their monarch, they met together on the seventh day to deliberate the fate of their country.

"A kingdom without a king cannot stand," they said. "We know not where the prince dwells nor whether he is alive or dead. We must learn his whereabouts so that we may send forth the festal car to fetch our new king."

Upon returning to the city, the forester heard the sad news. So he went to the ministers and told them that he had stumbled upon the whereabouts of the the king's son. After paying the forester respect, the ministers accompanied him back to the prince's dwelling by the Yamuna.

After engaging the prince in a friendly greeting, they informed him that that his father had passed away and then asked him to assume the throne. The prince thought to himself: "I will learn first what the Naga woman thinks."

So he went up to his wife and said, "Lady, my father is dead and his ministers have come to raise the royal umbrella over me. Let us go and reign together in Benares, where you shall be the chief among my sixteen thousand queens."

"My lord, I cannot go," replied his Naga wife sadly.

"Why not?" asked her husband.

"The Naga possess a deadly poison and as we become easily displeased over mere trifling matters, what would the anger of a co-wife likely produce? If I ever see or hear anything that disturbs my harmony, I need only cast an angry glance thereupon and my poison would be instantly scattered like a handful of chaff. Therefore I cannot go with you."

The next day when the prince asked her once again to accompany him to Benares, she said: "On no account will I go with you. However, our children are not Nagas being borne of the race of men. If you love me then you must take them with you and watch over them.

"As they are of a watery nature and therefore delicate, they would die if they went by the road, in which case they would bear the twin burdens of wind and sunshine. So I will hollow out a boat and fill it with water so that you may transport them to Benares in safety. And when they have arrived in the city, you must have a lake prepared within the palace precincts so that they may play in the water and not suffer."

Then after saluting the prince and walking round him respectfully, she embraced her sons, folded them between her breasts and kissed them upon their heads. After entrusting the children to her husband, and as she shed many tears and sobs, she vanished on the spot and returned to live once again among her own kind.

Overcome with sorrow that the prospect of never seeing her again, prince's eyes began to shed tears as he departed from their house. After wiping his eyes, he proceeded to the ministers, who at once sprinkled him with the waters of consecration and said: "Your Magesty, let us go return to the city."

But before they departed, the new king commanded them to hollow out a ship, put it on a cart and then fill it with water. "Strew all sorts of flowers of various colors and scents on the surface of the water," he said. "For my sons have a watery nature and they will go along joyfully playing there." The ministers did as they were instructed.

When the king arrived in Benares, he entered the now-adorned city, greeted his new subjects, and then seated himself on the palace terrace. Surrounded by sixteen thousand dancing girls, his ministers and other royal officers, he presided over a great feast that lasted for seven whole days. Upon conclusion of the festivities, he commanded a lake to be prepared for his sons where they might sport in the waters continually.

One day when fresh water was let into this lake, a tortoise gained entry to the lake quite by accident. Unable to find his way out, the creature floated up to the surface of the water, put out his head and spied the king's children splashing about. When the young lads saw that tortoise they began to wail in terror, which caused the tortoise retreat back to the bottom of the lake. Then the frightened children ran to the king and said unto him: "0 father, we are terrrified by a Yaksha who has taken up residence in our lake."

In response, the king ordered some men to go and seize it. After casting a net they snared the tortoise and brought him before the king. When the princes saw it, they cried out: "Look father, it is a demon!"

Disturbed by his sons cries, the king became quite angry and so he ordered his attendants to punish the creature. "As it is an enemy to the king, it should be pounded to powder with a pestle and mortar." some said. Others wanted to cook it three times over and then eat it. There were attendants who wanted to bake that tortoise upon hot coals, while were others who said it should be baked in a jar.

"It should be thrown into the whirlpool of the Yamuna, for in that way it will be utterly destroyed," said one minister who was afraid of the water. "There is no fitter punishment than this one."

When the tortoise heard these words, he thrust out his head and said: "Dear me, what sin have I committed that would make you even consider such a dire punishment? The others I could bear, but really this last one is the height of all cruelty. Pray, do not even mention it again."

However, when the king heard the tortoise's remark, he said: "Seize him. This is indeed the punishment that shall be carried out.!"

WAnd so the tortoise was cast into the whirlpool of the Yamuna. But instead of disintigrating, he encountered a strong current that dragged him right down to the Naga-world. Upon his arrival, he was spied by the young sons of the Naga-king Dhatarattha, who upon seeing the tortoise cried out: "Seize that slave."

"I have escaped from the hand of the king of Benares only to fall into the hands of these fierce Nagas," thought the tortoise. "What should I do now?"

Then a smile creased his lips as a plan began to take form based on falsehood and trickery. So he said: "Why do you speak in this manner, you who belong to the court of King Dhatarattha? I am Cittacula and you should know that I am come bearing a message from that exhaulted king of Benares who wishes to give his very own daughter to your King Dhatarattha. Take me to him at once."

the Naga youths immediately went before the king and told him what had been said. But when the Naga-king saw that the messenger was a tortoise he became displeased.

"Those who have such mean bodies cannot act as the messengers of kings," he said.

"Why indeed should my king have need of messengers as tall as palm trees?" replied the tortoise. "Whether the messenger has a small body or a large one is of no consequence. Of far greater importance is whether that messenger has the power to carry out the errand at hand, which I have Your Majesty.

"You should know, O monarch, that my king has many messengers. Men conduct his business on the dry land, birds in the air, and I in the water. For I am Cittacula, the king's favorite, and I having won this honorable post, do you  not scoff at me!"

Then King Dhatarattha asked for the message and the tortoise replied as follows: "Now that my king has sealed friendships with all the kings of India, he now wishes to offer you the hand of his daughter Samuddaja and thereby seal his friendship with the kingdom of the Nagas, Your Majesty. With these words he has sent me. But you must not delay if you are well disposed to receive this great boon. Send a company with me at once to come before my king and name the day when you will be ready to receive that fair maiden."

Being highly pleased that the king of Benares was paying him such a great honor, King Dhatarattha ordered four Naga youths to return with the tortoise to the upper world. "Go and fix the day after hearing the king's words," he said, "and then return to me here with the glad tidings."

Taking the tortoise with them, the Naga-kings messengers departed from the abode of the Nagas and entered the human world. Wishing to make a timely escape, the tortoise Cittacula gestured with his head toward a nearby lotus-pond and said: "0 Naga youths, the king, his queen and his sons have all asked me to gather some lotuses and lotus roots on their behalf. As I wish to present them upon my return, I will now enter yonder pond and gather some. Do you let me go here, and, if you do not see me coming back straight-away, then you must go forward at once to greet the king. Do not worry about my absence for I will certainly meet you there."

Believing that tortoise the Naga youths let the tortoise swim off in the pond to find a good hiding place. When those youths could no longer see him, they thought that he must have gone onward to meet the king. So they proceeded to the palace in the guise of young men, where the king received them with all due honor. The monarch asked them from whence they had come.

"From the Naga kingdom of Dhatarattha, Your Majesty, for we are his messengers. Dhatarattha asks after your health and he proposes to give you whatever you desire so that he may make your daughter Samuddaja his queen. Whatever jewels there may be stored in Dhatarattha's palace, they are yours for the asking as the price for this royal boon. Therefore give us your daughter for our lord."

When the king heard this unexpected propostion he replied with these stanzas: "Never has a man been known to wed his daughter to a Naga king. Such a match is utterly unfit, how could we even think of such a thing?"

"If an alliance with Dhatarattha seems so improper to you, then why did you send your attendant, the tortoise Cittacula, to offer our king the hand of your daughter?" replied the youths. "But after sending such a message, you now show only scorn to our king. We shall know how to deal with you as you deserve."

"You sacrifice your life, your throne and kingdom what are they?
Before a Naga in his wrath all mortal glory fades away;
Standing there, a poor mortal who by your vanity undone,
Would look with scorn on Yamuna, king Varuna's imperial aon!"

The king replied:

"I do not scorn that king of yours, Dhatarattha of wide renown,
Of many Nagas is he king, he wears by right a royal crown.
But great and noble though he be, sprung from Videha's khattiya line,
My daughter is of purer blood, let him not dream for a child of mine."

Although the Naga youths desired to kill the king on the spot through the deadly power of their poisonous breath, they restrained themselves. As they had been sent to fix the marriage day, it would not be proper to kill the king right now. So as they prepared to vanish from the king's sight, they said: "We will depart and go tell our king."

When the youths arrived back in the Naga-world, King Dhatarattha asked them whether they had brought the princess to him.

"0 king, why dost thou send us about, hither and thither without cause!" they replied in anger. "If you wish to kill us, well then slay us here at once. Reviling and defaming you, that king of Benares has and set his daughter upon a pinnacle due to his pride of birth."

By repeating things both said and unsaid, they aroused the king's wrath. After ordering them to assemble his army, King Dhatarattha said: "Towards Benares let them flock, but do no harm to great or small."

"If no man is to be harmed, then what shall we do, if we go there?" asked the Nagas.

King Dhatarattha replied:

"Over tanks and palaces, public roads and tops of trees,
Over gateways twined in wreaths may you hang dangling in the breeze;
While white bodies and white hoods I will this city invest,
Drawing close my lines of siege, with terror fill each Kasi breast.
Seeing snakes on every side--throngs of women, trembling crowds,
When Nagas swell their hoods, in fear they'll shriek and wail aloud;
Benares shall lie prostrate before these wild invading bands,
Raising arms they'll beg and pray: 'Give up the daughter he demands.'"

When the king of Benares heard the wailing of his own wives and those of the citizens, and becoming afraid because of the threats of the four naga youths, he thrice exclaimed: "I will give to Dhatarattha my daughter Samuddaja."

When the Nagas heard his pledge, they retired at a distance of one league from the city. After fixing their camp there, they built a veritable city of the gods. Then they dispatched a complimentary present, saying: "Let him send his daughter as he says."

Having received the proffered present, the king dismissed those who brought it, saying: "Do you depart. I will send my daughter by the hands of my ministers."

Then he sent for his daughter and, taking her upon the terrace, he opened a window and said to her: "Daughter, behold that adorned city on the horizon. They say that you are to be the chief queen of a king there. Well the city is not far off, so you will be able to come back whenever you feel home-sick. But for the sake of the kingdom you must go there now."

Then he ordered the attendants to wash her head and adorn her with all kinds of ornaments. Setting her in a covered carriage, the king handed her over to the care of his ministers.

When the Nagas came to meet her, they paid her great honor. Then ministers entered the Naga city, gave her up to King Dhatarattha, and returned with much wealth. Taken up into the palace, the princess was told to lie on a divinely decked bed. Assuming humpbacked and other deformed appearances, the Naga women waited on her as if they were human attendants. And as soon as she lay down on that heavenly bed she felt a divine, soft touch and then immediately fell asleep.

Having thus received her, Dhatarattha, together with his Naga host, vansihed from the human realm and reappeared in the world of the Nagas. When the princess awoke and saw golden, jeweled palaces, as well as the gardens and tanks of the Naga-world, she said: "This city is magnificently adorned, it is not like our city. Whose is it?"

"O Lady Samuddaja," said the attendants. "It belongs to your Lord. It is not for those of scanty merits to win such glory as this. You have, no doubt, obtained it by reason of your great merits."

Then Dhatarattha ordered the drums to be carried about the Naga City, which was five hundred yojanas in extent, for the purpose of announcing a proclamation. Whoever betrayed any signs of his snake-nature to Samuddaja would be severely punished. For this reason, no one dared to appear before her in snake form. So she lived affectionately and harmoniously with King Dhatarattha, believing that she continued to live in the world of men.

II.

In course of time, Queen Samuddaja conceived and brought forth a son in the Naga-world. Because of his fair appearance the royal parents named him Sudassana.

Then Samuddaja a second child called Datta, who was none other than the Bodhisattva. THe in turn was followed by a third called Subliaga, and a fourth by the name of Arittha.

Even though Queen Samuddaja had given four sons to her Naga-king husband, she remained unaware that she was living in the world of the Nagas.

Then one day the other Nagas began to tease Samuddaja's youngest son Arittha.

"Your mother is a woman, not a Naga," they said.

Contemplating the truth of the matter, Arittha said to himself: "I will prove her."

One day as he was drinking from his Samuddaja's breast, Arittha assumed his serpent's form and then struck the back of his mother's foot with his tail. When she saw her son in his serpent-form, she uttered a great cry in terror and threw him on the ground, in the process striking his eye with her nail, which made his blood pour forth.

Upon hearing the queen's cry, the king came to find out the reason for it. When he learned what his son Arittha had done, he commanded his attendants: "Seize that slave and put him to death."

Knowing of her husband's passionate nature, the queen proclaimed her love for her son by saying: "My lord, I struck my son's eye. Please forgive him."

"What else can I do?" said the king as he granted his wife's request to forgive his son. From that day onward the boy was called Kanarittha, which means the "one-eyed Arittha."

The four Naga princes eventually grew up, reaching their years of discretion. Their father gave each of them a kingdom that was a hundred yojanas square. Possessing great glory, each of the princes was attended upon by sixteen thousand Naga maidens.

Once each month, three of the king's sons went to visit their parents in what remained of their father's kingdom. But Prince Datta, who was none other than the Bodhisattva, went to see them every fortnight. During each visit he would propound on some question which had arisen in the Naga realm. Then in the company of his father, he would pay a visit to the great king Virupakkha to discuss the question with that monarch.

One time Virupakkha went with the Naga assembly to the world of the Devas. While that Naga host was waiting for Sakra to arrive, a question arose among the Devas that none could answer. The Great Being, however, was able to provide the right answer. For this reason, the Lord of the Devas honored him with divine flowers and fruits, and addressed him with these words: "O Datta, you are empowered with a wisdom as broad as the Earth. For this reason, you shall henceforth be known as Bhuridatta."

From that time onward, Bhuridatta paid regular visits to the court of the Lord of the Devas. Seeing the exceedingly delightful splendor of Sakra's court and its heavenly nymphs, Bhuridatta longed for a future birth in the heavenly world.

"What have I to do with this frog-eating snake-nature of mine?" he asked himself. "I will return to the snake-world and keep the fast and follow the religious observances by which one may be reborn among the Devas of the realm of heaven."

Upon returning to the Naga-world, Bhuridatta asked his parents for their permission to do so.

"O my father and mother, I wish to keep the fast." he said.

"By all means, O son, keep it," said his parents. "But while you are keeping the fast do not stray from this one empty palace in the Naga realm, for there is great fear of the Nagas in the outside world."

Consenting to his parent's wishes, Bhuridatta kept the fast only in the parks and gardens of that empty palace. But the snake maidens kept waiting upon him with their musical instruments, a distraction that he would prefer to be without.

"If I continue to dwell here my observance of the fast will never come to its completion," he considered. "I will go to the haunts of men and keep the fast there."

Fearing that others would oppose this plan, he said to his wife: "Lady, I must go to the haunts of men to observe the fast. There is a banyan tree on the bank of the Yamuna river. I will fold up my body in the

top of an ant-hill nearby and I will lie down there and observe the fast. After I have lain there all night and kept the fast, let ten of your women attendants come with the dawn with musical instruments in hand. After decking me with perfumes and flowers, let them conduct me back to the abode of the Naga-world with song and dance."

he then traveled to that banyan tree on the banks of the Yamuna, folded his body on the top of that ant-hill and began to observe the fast.

"Let he who desires to do so, take my skin or muscles or bones or blood," said Bhuridatta as he assumed a body consisting of just a head and a tail on the top of the anthill that he had selected. Each morning at daybreak, the Naga girls came and performed as they had been ordered, conducted him back to the Naga abode. And a long period of time passed by as that Naga prince observed the fast in this fashion.

 III.

Now there was a Brahman who lived in a village outside the city gates of Benares who used to go to the forest in the company of his son Somadatta for the purpose of killing wild animals, which is how they made their livelihood.

They would set out snares, nets and stakes and thereby catch their prey unawares. After gathering up their daily catch, they would put the dead animal flesh on their poles and then carry it off to market.

One day the two men failed to catch even a young lizard.

"If we go home empty-handed your mother will be angry," said the Brahman. Come, let us catch something at any rate."

Their search for food eventually took them in the very direction of the ant-hill upon which the Bodbisattva was lying. Spying a deer-trail that led down to the Yamuna rive, the Brahman said:

"My son, this place is where the deer come to quench their thirst. Wait, while I go down and kill some deer that has come for a drink."

With bow in hand, he stood watching for deer at the foot of a tree. As the afternoon was about to close, the Brahman spied a deer on the path and shot it. However, the deer did not fall at once. Spurred on by the force of the arrow, it fled as its blood flowed down onto the ground. The father and son pursued it through the woods until arriving at the very spot where it had fallen. They then stripped the deer of its flesh and as they headed out of the woods they passed that banyan tree on the Yamuna under which the Bodhisattva was observing the fast just as the sun was beginning to set in the west.

"Sunset is a perilous time to be journeying," said the Brahman. "Rather than go on, we must pass the night here." So they laid the deer flesh to one side, and climbed that banyan tree in order to lie amongst its branches.

When the Brahman woke at dawn, he began listening for the sound of approaching deer. Then the Naga maidens came up to prepare a flowery couch for the Bodhisattva. Laying aside his snake form, Bhuridatta assumed a divine body that was adorned with all kinds of ornaments. As he sat on his flower-bed, he seemed to radiate the glory comparable to that of Sakra, Lord of the Devas.

Honored him with perfumes and garlands, the Naga maidens plunked their heavenly instruments and performed dances and songs. When the Brahman heard these sweet sounds, he said, "Who is this? I must find out."

He cried to his son, but though the Brahman called and called he was unable to wake him. "Well let him sleep on," thought the Brahman, "for he is certainly tired. I will go alone to find the answer to this mystery. After climbing down from the tree, he tried to sneak up on the maidens. Sensing the hunter's approach, the Naga maidens sank into the Earth with all their instruments and departed for the Naga-world. Finding the Bodhisattva all alone, the Brahmin, standing near, and addressed him with these stanzas:

"What youth is this, red-eyed, who here is seen,
His shoulders broad with ample space between,
And what ten maidens these who guard him round
Clad in fair robes, with golden bracelets bound.
Who art thou amidst this forest greenery,
Bright like a fire newly dressed with ghee?
Are you Sakra or a Yaksha, please say,
Or some famed Naga prince of potent sway?"

When the Great Being heard that man's questions, he thought to himself: "If I say that I am one of Sakra's clan he will no doubt believe me, for he is a Brahman. But I must speak only the truth today."

He then declared his Naga birth:

"I am a Naga prince great in power, invincible with a poisonous breath. Coming forth from a prosperous land with angry bite that smites with death;
My mother Samuddaja, Dhatarattba as sire I claim,
Sudassana my youngest brother, and Bhuridatta is my name."

But after saying this, the Great Being further considered:

"This Brahman is a fierce and cruel one. He could very well betray me to a snake-charmer, who might attempt to capture me and thereby hinder my performance of the fast. But if I were to carry him off to the Naga world and there bestow great honor upon him, then he would be unable to betray me and thus I would be able to carry on my fast without a break."

So he said to him: "O Brahman, go with me to the pleasant home of the Nagas, where I can grant you great honor. Come, let us go there at once."

"My lord, I have a son with me," answered the Brahman. "I will agree to go with you if he can come too."

The Bodhisattva replied, "Go then, Brahman, and fetch him here so that we may set forth together."

"Awful and dark is yonder lake,
incessant storms its waters toss,
Beneath the surface my subjects there all hear
and none my bidding cross.
Plunge we shall beneath those dark blue waves,
where the peacocks and herons call,
Plunge and enjoy the bliss there stored
for those who keep the precepts all."

So the Brahmin went to fetch his son. When the two men arrived at the Great Being's side, Bhuridatta took them both down to the Yamuna. While standing there on the river bank, he said:

"Vary not, 0 Brahman with thy son, follow my words and ye shall live
Honored and happy in my home with all the pleasures I can give."

So saying the Great Being used his magic power to bring both father and son to the abode of the Nagas, where they attained a condition of divine prosperity, each now in possession of four hundred Naga maidens. While the two men continued to enjoy the prosperity of the Naga-world,. the Bodhisattva continued to diligently practice his fast on the banks of the Yamuna.

Each fortnight he would go to pay honor to his parents and discourse on the Law, after which he would visit the Brahman and his son to express his concern for their health, happiness and welfare.

"Tell me anything that you want," said the Great Being each time. "Enjoy yourself without discontent."

But after dwelling a year in the Naga realm, the Brahman, due to his lack of previous merit, began to grow discontented, longing to return to the world of men. To him the dwelling-place of the Nagas

seemed like hell, his adorned palace a prison, and the Naga maidens like female ogres. He thought to himself: "I have grown discontented," he said to himself. I must learn what my son Somadatta thinks."

So he went to him and inquired: "Art you discontented with this new life, my son?"

"Why should I be suffering from discontent? Are you, father?"

"Yes, my son."

"Why so?"

"Because I have not seen your mother or your brothers and sisters for a very long time. Come, my son, let us go."

After being repeatedly entreated by his father, Somadatta finally gave his consent. The Brahman then reflected: "I may have won my son's consent, but if I tell Bhuridatta that I am unhappy, well he will just heap more honor upon me and thereby make it impossible for us to go. There is only one way to obtain our release. I will describe that Naga prince's prosperity and then ask him the following question:

"Why do you wish to leave the glory of the Naga-realm behind in order to enter the world of men and observe the fast? When he answers, 'For the sake of obtaining heaven,' I will give him the following excuse. Then he will have to grant us his permission to depart.

"'My son and I previously made our livelihood by slaughtering living creatures, and so I have become fearful concerning our lives in the next world. Better that we go back to the world of men, see our kindred, and then follow the penitent path of the ascetics.'"

Having thus decided, that Brahman waited for an opportunity to put his plan into action. The next time that the Great Being came to ask whether he was content, the Brahman assured him that there was nothing wanting that the Naga prince could supply. Then without making any mention of his intend to depart, he described the prince's prosperity by uttering the following stanzas:

"Level the ground on every side, with flower blossoms whitened over,
Red with the cochineal insect-swarms, the brightest verdure for its floor.
With sacred shrines in every wood, and shining lakes which charm the eye,
While strewn with fallen lotus leaves as carpets on the surface lie.
These thousand-columned palaces with halls where heavenly maidens dance,
Their columns all of jewels wrought, whose angles in the sunshine glance.
You have indeed a glorious time, won by merits of your making own,
Where all desires are gratified As soon as each new wish is known.
Not envious of Great Sakra's halls,what are his stateliest courts to thine?
For your palaces are more glorious and with more dazzling splendors shine."

The Great Being replied, "Say not so, O Brahman," replied the Great Being. "Compared to Sakra's, our glory seems only as a mustard-seed beside Mount Meru, the abode of the Devas. We are not even equal to his attendants."

Then Bhuridatta recited this stanza:

"Our highest thoughts cannot conceive
the imperial pomp round Sakra's throne,
or the four Regents in his court,
each in his own appointed zone."

"I have long been aware of the incomparable nature of Sakra's heavenly abode," continued the Great Being. This is the reason why I practice the observance of the fast, for the purpose of attaining a place in Sakra's heaven in the next life"

To further describe his own most earnest wish, Bhuridata recited this stanza:

"I long intensely for the home of the immortal saints on high,
Therefore upon that ant-hill top I keep the fast unceasingly."

Upon hearing this, the Brahman thought to himself: "Now I have gained my opportunity." Filled with joy, that Brahman recited two more stanzas in declaration of his desire to depart:

"I too sought deer when with my son into that forest glade I sped;
The friends I left at home know not whether I am alive or dead.
0 Bhuridatta, let us go, thou glorious Lord of the Naga race,
Let us depart and see once more our kindred in their native place."

The Bodhisatta answered:

"My desire, it is, that you dwell with us, And here pass many happy hours;
Where in the upper world of men Will you find divine haunts like ours?
But would you dwell a while elsewhere and yet enjoy our pleasures still,
So take my leave, go, see your friends, and be as happy as you will."

Then the Bodhisattva thought to himself: "If he obtains great happiness through me he will be sure not to tell my secrets to anyone else. Therefore I shall give him my head-jewel, which has the power to grant all desires."

He then gave that precious jewel to the Brahman and said:

"The bearer of this heavenly gem beholds his children and his farm;
Take it, O Brahman, and be gone, its bearer never comes to harm."

The Brahman replied:

"I understand your words too well, grown old as you can see,
Adopting the ascetic ways, what are life's pleasures now to me?"

The Bodhisattva said:

"If you should fail and break your vow to seek life's joys once more,
Then come and bid me out again and I will grant you ample store."

The Brahmin answered:

"O Bhuridatta, I accept with thanks the offer you have made;
Should the occasion come to me I will return to claim thy aid."

Perceived that the Brahman no long desired to abide there, the Bodhissatva commanded some young Nagas to take him and his son back to the world of men.

"The four attendants heard the words, at once their Lord's command was done;
They brought the Brahman to the place and leaving him returned alone."

While on their way back home, the Brahman said to his son: "Somadatta, we wounded a deer in this place and a boar in that." Then, when they saw a lake along the way, he exclaimed: "Somadatta, let us bathe before we see your mother."

So they both took off their divine ornaments and clothes. They wrapped their possessions up bundles, laid them on the river-bank and then entered the water to bathe. At that very moment, their precious ornaments vanished and returned to the Naga-world. When they climbed back out of the water all that was left was their former poor clothes of yellow, together with their bows, arrows, and spears.

"We are undone, father," wailed Somadatta.

"Fear not, my son," said the Brahman to comfort him. "As long as there are deer in the forest, we shall be able to make a livelihood."

When Somadatta'a mother heard of their coming, she rushed out to meet them. After ushering them into the house, she satisfied their wants with food and drink.

When the Brahmin had eaten his fill and fallen asleep, she asked her son this question: "Where have you been all this time?"

"O mother, we were carried off by the Naga-king Bhuridatta to the great Naga realm. But now we are back, having grown discontented with our lives there."

"Have you brought any jewels?" she asked.

"None, mother."

"Why did that Naga-king not give you any?"

"Mother, Bhuridatta offered my father an incomparable jewel with the power to grant all desires, but he would not accept it."

"Why not?"

"He says that he is going to become an ascetic."

"What? After leaving me so long with the burden of caring for our children? After dwelling in the Naga realm, he is going off to become an ascetic?"

Flying into a passion, she struck her sleeping husband's back with the spoon that she normally used to fry rice. Upbraiding her husband, she said:

"You wicked, wicked Brahman! Why did you tell the Naga prince that you were going to become an ascetic? For what reason did you refuse that precious jewel and then come back here without taking the vow of an ascetic? Answer me forthwith or depart from my house now!"

"Good lady, be not angry," the Brahman said to her. "As long as there are deer in the forest I will support you and the children."

The following day, the Brahman went with his son into the forest and there they resumed the same livelihood as before.

IV.

Now at that time the king of the garula birds had been dwelling in a silk-cotton tree in a region of the great southern ocean. After sweeping up water with the wind of its wings, he swooped down on the Naga region and seized a Naga-king by the head. Without scattering the water, the bird carried the dangling Naga-king all the way to the summit of Himavat. There the garula bird perched in the top of a banyan that grew next to a hut of leaves. Making an effort to escape, the Naga-king wrapped his tail around one of the tree's branches in order to prevent the bird from once again carrying him off.

The nearby hut of leaves was the dwelling place of an old Brahman who was pursuing the life of an anchorite. By day he made his abode at the root of this very tree. Unaware of the old man's presence, the garula uprooted the entire tree and flew up to heaven by dint of his great strength.

The bird then bore the Naga back to his old home in the silk-cotton tree. Striking it with his beak, he split open the Naga's belly and ate it, after which dropped the remainder of the Naga's body into the sea, together with the banyan tree that was still clasped in the strong grip of the Naga's tail. As it fell made a great noise. Wondering what caused the noise, the bird looked down to see the tree and thought to himself:

"From whence did I carry that off?" Recognizing that it was the very banyan that had formerly been installed at the end of the anchorite's covered walk, he considered: "This tree was of great service to that holy man. Will an evil consequence follow me because of its displacement? Perhaps I should go back and ask the ascetic."

As the bird was coming up to the old Brahman in the guise of a young pupil, he noticed that the ascetic was busy smoothing down the hole in the earth where that banyan had once been rooted. Having saluted the hermit Kosiya and sitting down on one side, the Garula King asked him, as if he himself were ignorant of the fact, what had once grown in that now-open spot.

"A garula was about carry off a Naga for food, when that great snake twined its tail round a branch of a banyan tree in his attempt to escape," replied the old Brahman. "But the bird, by its great strength, sprang upwards and flew away, taking the entire tree with him down to the roots. This hole marks the place out of which that banayan tree was torn."

"What demerit did the bird accrue through his actions?" inquired the Garula King.

"If he performed that act not knowing what he did, well then ignorance is not a sin," replied the hermit Kosiya.

"How about with regards to the Naga?" asked the bird.

"He did not seize the tree with an intent to hurt it, therefore he also has in no way diminished his stock of merit." answered the hermit Kosiya.

Pleased with the news, the bird then said: "My friend, I am that king of the garulas, and I am pleased with your answer to my question. As you live alone here in the forest, it be of great benefit to you if you learned the Alambayana spell of priceless value. I shall give it to you as my fee for your lesson. Pray be pleased to accept it."

"I know enough spells already, so you can be going," replied the hermit.

But the Garula King continued to press him, until at last the old Brahman accepted his offer. So the bird taught him that spell for taming serpents and demonstrated the simples and then departed.

Meanwhile there was a poor Brahman living in Benares who had gotten himself deeply into debt. After being pressed by his creditors, he said to himself: "Why should I go on living here? I am sure that it would be better to go off into the forest and die."

So he left his home behind, and after completing several journeys in succession, he eventually arrived at that very same hermitage with the gaping hole nearby where a banyan tree was formerly rooted. Upon entering that hermitage, he greeted the hermit Kosiya who lived there and pleased that ancient ascetic through the diligent discharge of his duties.

"This Brahman's arrival is a great boon to me," the hermit said to himself. "I shall disclose to him that very same divine spell which the king of garulas gave to me." So he said unto him: " O Brahman, I know the Alambayana spell of priceless value. I will give it to you, do you take it."

The other replied: "Peace, good friend, I do not want any spell."

But the old hermit pressed him again and again until the younger Brahman was at last persuaded. So Kosiya gave him the spell, showed him the simples that are necessary for it and described the entire method of how that spell should be used.

"I have gained a means of livelihood," the younger Brahman suddenly realized much to his own delight.

So after staying at the hermitage for a few days longer, he pretended to suffer an attack of rheumatism. After begging the hermit's forgiveness, he took his leave, departed from the forest, and by successive stages reached the banks of the Yamuna river. As he traveled along the high road, he kept repeating the spell over and over.

Now at that very moment, a thousand Naga youths arrived on the banks of the Yamuna, carrying that famous jewel which grants all desires for the purpose of bringing it to Bhuridatta. Having just come out of the Naga-world, they had stopped for a moment to rests to play all night in the river's waters leaving that wondrous jewel on a hillock of sand, from whence it illuminated the river with its radiance. Just before sunrise, the youths climbed out of the water and put back on all their ornaments. Causing the jewel to contract its splendor, they sat down to guarding it.

As fate would have it, that Brahman approached them as he was repeating that potent Alambayana spell. Upon hearing the charm, the Naga youths became seized with terror lest the man walking towards them be the garula king in disguise. so they plunged into the earth, leaving their famous jewel behind, and fled back to the Naga-world.

When that Brahman spied the jewel, he exclaimed, "Look here! My spell has already succeeded!" After joyfully seized his prize, he continued on his way.

Now at that very moment the wicked Brahman who had grown discontented in the Naga-world, together with his son Somadatta, was entering the forest for the purpose of hunting deer. When he saw that famous jewel on the other Brahman's hand, he said to his son: "Is not this the jewel which Bhuridatta once gave to us?"

"Yes," said his son, "It is the very same one."

"Well, I will tell its current holder of its evil qualities. So deceiving him, I shall be able to get the jewel back for my own."

"O father, you were unable to keep the jewel before, why do you think you can get it back now? It is far more likely that its new owner will end up cheating you in the bargain. Better that you keep silent about it."

"Let it be, my son. You shall soon learn who cheats best, he or I."

So he went to the Brahman Alambayana and addressed him with these words: "Where did you get that gem of yours, which brings good luck and is fair to the eye, Owing to its certain signs and marks, which I recognize it by?"

Alambayana replied:

"This morning as I walked along I saw this jewel where it lay,
Its thousand red-eyed guardian had fled and left it as my prey."

The Brahman who had formerly resided in the Naga-world proceeded to tell Alambayana if the jewel's evil qualities for the purpose of secure it for himself:

"Carefully tended, honored well, and worn or stowed away with care,
It brings its owner all good things, however large his wishes are.
But if he shows it disrespect and wears or stows it heedlessly,
Sore will he rue the finding of it, 'twill only bring him misery.
Do you have nought to do therewith, you have no skill such ware to hold:
Give it to me and take instead a hundred pounds of yellow gold."

Alambayana replied:

"I will not sell this gem of mine, though cows or jewels offered be;
Its signs and marks I know full well, and it shall ne'er be bought from me."

The discontented Brahmin said:

"If cows or jewels will not buy from you that jewel which you now wear,
What is the price you'll sell it for? Come, a true answer let me hear."

Alambayana answered:

"He who can tell me where to find the mighty Naga in his pride,
To him this jewel will I give, flashing its rays on every side."

The Brahman said:

"Is this perchance the Garuli King, come in a Brahman's guise today;
Seeking, while on the track for food, to seize the Naga as his prey?"

Alambayana answered:

"No bird-king or garuli bird ne'er came across these eyes of mine,
I am a Brahman doctor, friend, and snakes and snake-bites are my line."

The discontented Brahman said:

"What special power do you possess, or have you learned some subtle skill
Which gives you this immunity to handle snakes whose fangs can kill?"

Alambayana replied:

"The hermit Kosiya in the wood kept a long painful penance well,
And at the end a Garula revealed to him the serpent-spell.
That holiest sage, who dwelt retired upon a lonely mountain height,
I waited on with earnest zeal and served unwearied day and night;
And at the last to recompense my years of faithful ministry
My blessed teacher did reveal the heavenly secret unto me.
Trusting in this all-powerful spell, the fiercest snakes I do not fear;
I counteract their deadliest bites, I Alambayana the seer."

As he heard these words, the discontented Brahman thought to himself: "This Alambayana is ready to give that pearl of gems to anyone who shows him the Naga; I will take him to Bhuridatta and so secure the gem for myself."

He then uttered this stanza to his son:

"Let us secure this gem, my son; come, Somadatta, let's be quick,
Nor lose our luck as did the fool who smashed his meal-dish with his stick."

Somadatta replied :

"All honor due he showed to you, when you came in that stranger's way;
And would you turn and rob him now, his kindly welcome to repay?
If you want wealth, go seek for it from Bhuridatta as before;
Ask him and he will gladly give all that your heart desires, and more."

His father said:

"That which, by lucky fortune brought, in bowl or hand all ready lies,
Eat it at once nor questions ask, lest ye should lose the offered prize."

Somadatta replied:

"Earth yawns for him, hell's fiercest fires await the traitor at the end,
Or, with fell hunger gnawed, he pines a living death, who cheats his friend.
Ask Bhuridatta, he will give, if you want wealth, the wished-for boon;
But if you sin, I fear the sin will find you out and that right soon."

But the wicked Brahman said:

"But, through a costly sacrifice Brahmans may sin and yet be clean;
Great sacrifices we will bring and, so made pure, escape the sin."

Somadatta said:

"Cease your vile talk, I will not stay, this very moment I depart,
I will not go one step with you, this baseness rankling in your heart."

So saying, the wise youth and rejecting his father's counsel exclaimed in a loud voice that startled all the deities in the neighborhood: "I will not go with such a sinner."

He then fled that place as his father stood looking on. Plunging into the recesses of the Himavat, he took up the life of an ascetic. After practiced the Faculties and the Attainments and having become perfected in mystic meditation, he was reborn in the Brahma world.

"Whither will Somadatta go except to his own home?" said the discontented Brahman to himself. And when he saw that Alambayana was a little vexed, he said to him: "Do not pay any attention to that boy, Alambayana. Come, I will introduce you to Bhuridatta."

So he took Alambayana and went to the place where the Naga-king kept the fast-day. When they saw him lying on the top of that ant-hill with his hoods contracted, the discontented Brahman stood a ways off, and while holding out his hand, he uttered these stanzas:

"Seize this King-serpent where he lies and snatch away that priceless gem, which bright-red like a lady-bird glows on his head a diadem.
On yonder ant-heap see! He lies, stretched out without a thought of fear,
spread like a heap of cotton there, seize him before he knows you're near."

The Great Being opened his eyes, and, seeing that the discontented Brahman had once again returned, he pondered:

"I took this fellow to my Naga home and settled him in high prosperity, but he would not accept the jewel which I gave him, and now he has returned here in the company of a snake-charmer. If I were to grow angry over for this treachery, I would only injure my own moral character. The first of all my duties is to keep the fast-day in its four periods, that must remain inviolate. So whether that snake-charmer Alambayana cuts me in pieces or cooks me or fixes me on a spit, I must in any event not become angry."

So closing his eyes and embracing the highest ideal of Resolution he placed his head between his hoods and lay perfectly motionless.

 V.

Then the discontented Brahman exclaimed: "O Alambayana, do you seize this Naga and give me the gem."

Delighted to at last see the Naga and not caring the least for the gem, Alambayana cast it into the wicked man's hand, saying: "Take it, Brahman."

As soon as he touched that famous jewel, it slipped out of his hand, went into the ground and passed back into the Naga-world. Now finding himself bereft of three things--the priceless gem, Bhuridatta's friendship, and his son--he loudly lamented: "I have lost everything by not following my son's advice."

But Alambayana, after having first anointed his body with divine drugs and eaten a little and so fortified himself within, uttered the divine spell. Then going up to the Bodhisattva, he seized the Great Being by the tail, and while holding him fast, opened his mouth and, having himself eaten a drug, spat into it.

The pure-natured Naga king did not allow himself to feel any anger. Although he opened his eyes he did not open them to the full so that his destructive power would remain shielded.

After Alambayana had filled the snake with the magic drug, he held him by the tail with his head downwards, shaking him and made him vomit up the food he had swallowed earlier. Then he stretched him out at full length on the ground. Pressing him like a pillow with his hands, he crushed the Naga's bones to pieces. Then he seized his tail and pounded him as if he were beating a cloth. Yet despite suffering greatly at the snake charmer's hands, the Great Being felt no anger.

By dint of drugs of magic power and muttering spells with evil skill,
He seized and held him without fear and made him subject to his will.

Having thus made the Great Being helpless, Alambayana prepared a basket of creepers and then threw the Naga into it. At first the Bodhisattva's huge body would not fit into it. But after Alambayana had kicked the Naga's body with his heels, the Great Being forced to enter.

Then, going to a certain village, Alambayana set the basket down in the middle of it and shouted aloud: "Let all come here who wish to see a snake dance."

As the villagers all crowded round, he called to the Naga king to come out.

"It will be best for me to please the crowd and dance today," the Great Being reflected. "Perhaps he will gain plenty of money and in his content will let me go. Whatever he makes me do, I will do it."

So when Alambayana took him out of the basket and told him to swell out he assumed his full size. And when the snake charmer told him to become small or round or heaped up like a bank, or to assume one hood or two hoods or three or four or five or even ten, twenty or more hoods up to a hundred, or to become high or low, or to make his body visible or invisible, or to become blue, yellow, red, white or pink, or to vomit water, or to emit water and smoke, or to exhibit his dancing abilities, the Naga performed exactly as he was commanded.

Those who witnessed his performance were unable to keep back their tears. Moreover, the people brought gold coin, gold, garments, ornaments, and the like, so that the snake-charmer received a hundred thousand pieces in that single village alone.

After first capturing the Great Being, Alambayana had initially intended to let him go after he had gained a thousand pieces. But now that he had reaped such a great harvest in just one little village, he imagined the great fortune he would obtain in the city!

After settling his family in Benares, the snake-charmer set about constructing a great jewel-studded basket to hold the Great Being. Now traveling about in a luxurious carriage that was attended by a great train of servants, Alambayana took his dancing snake show from village to village and town and town until at last reaching Benares.

Although he provided the Naga-king with honey, fried grain, and dead frogs to eat, but the Bodhisattva would not take any of the food, through fear of not being released from his captivity. But despite his not eating, the snake-charmer continued to make a spectacle of him, beginning with the four villages at the gates of the city, where they spent an entire month.

Then on the fast-day of the fifteenth, he announced to the king of Benares that he would that day exhibit the snake's dancing powers before the royal court. In consequence of the king's having a proclamation made by the beat of drum, a large crowd had gathered to occupy the tiers of scaffolding that had been erected in the courtyard of the king's palace.

 
VI.

On the very day when Alambayana had seized the Bodhisattva, the Great Being's mother had a dream in which a black man with red eyes cut her arm off with a sword and carried it away, as the blood streamed down from her wound. She sprang up from her bed in terror, but upon feeling her right arm, she realized that it had only been a bad dream.

"I have seen an evil frightful dream," she reflected. "It portends some misfortune either to my four sons or to King Dhatarattha or to myself."

But soon thereafter her thoughts became fixed on the Bodhisattva: "All my other son are presently dwelling in the Naga-world, but Bhuridatta has gone into the world of men for the purpose of keeping the precepts and observe the fast-day. I wonder whether some snake-charmer or garula has seizing him?"

So she began to think of him more and more, and by the end of a fortnight she had become quite dejected. "My son could not live a whole fortnight without me. Surely some evil must have befallen him."

After a month bad passed there was no limit to her tears. In her distress, she sat watching the road by which he would come back, continually saying: "Surely he will now be coming home. Surely he will now be coming."

Then after a month's absence, her eldest son Sudassana came to pay a visit to his parents in the company of a great retinue. After leaving his attendants outside, he ascended the palace, saluting his mother and stood on one side. But because of her sorrowing for Bhuridatta, she spoke not a single word to him.

"Whenever I have returned before, my mother has always been pleased and given me a kind welcome," thought Sudassana. "But today she is in deep distress. For what reason?"

So he asked her:

"You see me come with all success, my every wish has hit the mark;
And yet you show no signs of joy, and your whole countenance is dark,
Dark as a lotus rudely plucked which droops and withers in the hand;
Is this the welcome which you give when I come back to this land?"

Still she said nothing. Then Sudassana thought, "Has someone abused or slandered her?"

So he uttered another stanza, questioning her:

"Has anyone upbraided you or are you racked with secret pain,
That thus your countenance is dark, even when you see me back again?"

She then replied:

"I saw an evil dream, my son, a month ago this very day;
There came a man who lopped off my arm as on my bed I sleeping lay,
And carried off the bleeding limb, no tears of mine his hand could stay.

"Blank terror overpowers my heart, and since I saw that cruel sight
A moment's peace or happiness I have not known by day or night.
I cannot see anywhere my darling son your youngest brother;
some evil must have happened to him.

He whom fair maidens in their bloom used to be proud to wait upon,
Their hair adorned with golden nets, Bhuridatta, alas is gone;
He whom stout soldiers used to guard,
with their drawn swords, a gallant train,
Flashing like kanikara flowers,
Alas! I look for him in vain!
I must pursue your brother's track and find
where he has fixed to dwell,
Fulfilling his ascetic vow,
and learn myself if all be well."

Having uttered these words he set out with his retinue as well as her own. Bhuridatta's wives had not felt any anxiety when they did not find him on the top of the ant-hill, believing that he had, no doubt, gone to visit his mother. But when they heard that she had coming aweeping because she could nowhere see her son, they went to meet her and fell at her feet, making a loud lamentation: "O lady, it is a month today since we last saw your son."

"The wives of Bhuridatta there beheld his mother drawing nigh,
And putting out their arms they wept with an exceeding bitter cry;
Bhuridatta, thy son, went hence a month ago, we know not where;
Whether he be alive or dead we cannot tell in our despair."

The mother joined with her daughters-in-law in their lamentations in the middle of the road and then went up with them into the palace. Then her grief burst forth anew as she looked upon her son's bed:

"Like a lone bird whose brood is slain, when it beholds its empty nest,
So sorrow, when I look in vain for Bhuridatta, fills my breast.
Deep in my heart my grief for him burns with a fierce and steady glow
Just like the furnace which a smith carries wherever he is called to go."

As she thus wept, Bhuridatta's house seemed to be filled with one continuous sound like the hollow roar of the ocean. No one could remain unmoved, and the whole dwelling was like a sal-forest smitten by the storm of doom's day.

Like sal-trees prostrate in a storm, their branches broken, roots up-torn,
So mother, wives, and children, lay in that lone dwelling-place forlorn.

Arittha and Subhaga also, the brothers, who had come to visit their parents, heard the noise and entered Bhuridatta's dwelling and tried to comfort their mother.

"Mother, be calm, thy waiting at end,
this is the lot of all who live;
They all must pass from birth to birth:
change rules in all things, do not grieve.'"

Samuddaja replied:

"My son, I know it but too well, this is the lot of all who live,
But now no common loss is mine, left thus forlorn I can but grieve,
Verily if I see him not, my jewel and my soul's delight,
My Bhuridatta, I will end my wretched life this very night."

Her sons answered:

"Mourn not, dear mother, still your grief, we'll bring our brother back;
Through the wide earth on every side we will pursue his track.
O'er hill and dale, through village, town and city, till he's found,
Within ten days we promise you to bring him safe and sound."

Then Sudassana thought: "If all three of us go in the same direction there will be much delay. Each must go to a different place, one to the world of the gods, one to the Himavat, and one to the world of men. But if Kanarittha goes to the land of men he will set that village or town on fire should shall happen to see Bhuridatta, for he is cruel-natured. It therefore will not do to send him there."

So he said to him: "Do thou go to the world of the gods. If the gods have carried him off to their world in order to learn the law from him, then do thou bring him thence."

But he said to Subhaga: "Do thou go to Himavat and search for Bhuridatta in the five rivers and come back."

But as he was resolving to go himself to the world of men, he reflected: "If I go as a young man, people may revile me. I must go as an ascetic, for ascetics are dear and welcome to men."

So he took the garb of an ascetic and, after bidding his mother farewell, set out.

Now the Bodhisattva had a sister born of another mother. Named Accimukhi, she had a very great love for her brother. When she saw Subhaga setting out, she said to him: "Brother, I am greatly troubled, I will go with you."

"Sister," he replied, "you cannot go with me for I have assumed an ascetic's dress."

"I will then become a little frog also that I may hide inside your matted hair."

Upon receiving his consent, she became a young frog and nestled down within his matted hair. Subhaga resolved that he would search for his brother from the very commencement, so he asked his wife where the Great Being spent the fast-day so that he might go there first of all.

When he saw the blood on the spot where Alambayana had seized the Great Being and the place where the Brahman had made the basket of creeping plants, he felt sure that the Bodhisattva had been seized by a snake-charmer. Overcome with grief and with eyes full of tears, he followed Alambayana's tracks.

When he came to the village where the Brahman had first displayed the Naga-snake dancing, he asked the people whether a snake-charmer had shown his tricks there.

"Yes, Alambayana showed these tricks a month ago."

"Did he gain anything thereby?"

"Yes, he gained a hundred thousand pieces in this one place."

"Where has he gone now?"

"To another village, no doubt."

Asking his way as he went, the Naga prince at last arrived at the gates to the king's palace in Benares. Alambayana had just arrived there, bathed and anointed, and wearing a tunic of fine-cloth, and making his attendant carry his jeweled basket. A great crowd collected, a seat was placed for the king, and he, while he was still within the palace, sent a message:

"I am coming. Let him make the king of snakes play."

Then Alambayana placed the jeweled basket on a variegated rug, and gave the sign, saying: "Come hither, 0 snake-king."

At that moment Sudassana was standing at the edge of the crowd, while the Great Being put out his head and looked round surveying the people. Now Nagas look at a crowd for two reasons, to see whether any garula is near or any actors; if they see any garulas, they do not dance for fear, if any actors, they do not dance for shame.

The Great Being looked out, beheld his brother in another part of the crowd, and, repressing the tears which filled his eyes, came out of the basket and went up to him. The crowd, seeing him approach, retreated in fear and Sudassana was left alone. So the Great Being went up to him and laid his head on his foot and both of them began to weep.

The Bodhisattva at last stopped weeping and went into the basket. AIambayana said to himself: "This Naga must have bitten yonder ascetic. I must go and comfort him."

So he went up to him and said: "It slipped out of my hand and seized your foot with all its might. Did it by chance bite you? Never fear, there's no harm in its bite."

Wishing to have a talk with him, Sudassana answered:

"This snake of yours can harm me not, I am a match for him, I wot;
Search where you will, you will not see one who can charm a snake like me."

Alambayana did not know who it was, so he answered angrily:

"This lout dressed out in Brahman guise challenges me today,
Let all the assembly hear my words and give us both fair play."

Then Sudassana uttered a stanza in answer:

"A frog shall be my champion, and let a snake be yours,
Five thousand pieces be the stake, and let us show our powers."

Alambayana rejoined:

"I am a man well-backed with means, and you a bankrupt clown;
Who will stand surety on your side, and where's the money down!
There is my surety, there's the stake in case I lose the bet;
Five thousand coins will show my powers, your challenge, see, is met."

Sadassana heard him and said: "Well, let us show our powers for five thousand pieces." And so undismayed he went up into the royal palace and, going up to the king his father-in-law, he said this stanza:

"O noble monarch, hear my words, ne'er may good luck thy steps forsake;
Wilt thou be surety in my name Five thousand pieces is the stake."

The king thought to himself: "This ascetic asks for a very large sum, what can it mean?" So he replied:

"Is it some debt your father left or is it all your own,
That you should come and ask from me such an unheard of loan?"

Sudassana repeated two stanzas :

"Alambayana would beat me with his snake;
I with my frog his Brahmin pride will break.
Come forth, 0 king, with all thy train appear,
And see the beating which awaits him here."

The king consented and went out with the ascetic. When Alambayana saw him, he thought: "This ascetic has gone and got the king on his side, he must be some friend of the royal family." So he grew frightened and began to follow him, saying:

"I do not want to humble thee, I will not boast at all;
But you despise this snake too much, and pride may have a fall."

Sudassana uttered two stanzas:

"I do not seek to humble thee, a Brahmin, or despise thy skill;
But wherefore thus cajole the crowd with harmless snakes that cannot kill?
If people knew your real worth as well as I can see it plain,
Why talk of gold if a little meal would be the limit of your gain."

Alambayana grew angry and said:

"You mendicant in ass's skin, uncombed and squalid to the sight,
You dare to scorn this snake of mine, and say forsooth it cannot bite;
Come near and try what it can do, learn by experience if you must;
I warrant you its harmless bite will make of you a heap of dust."

Then Sudassana uttered a stanza, mocking him:

"A rat or water-snake perchance may bite
And leave its poison if you anger it;
But your red-headed snake is, harmless quite,
It will not bite, however much it spit."

Alambayana replied in two stanzas:

"I have been told by holy saints who practiced penance ceaselessly,
Those who in this life give their alms will go to heaven when they die;
I counsel you to give at once if you have anything to give,
This snake will turn you into dust, you have but little time to live."

Sudassana said:

"I too have heard from holy saints, those who give alms will go to heaven;
See to your alms while yet you may, if you have aught that can be given.
This is no common snake of mine, she'll make you lower your boastful tone;
A daughter of the Naga king, and a half-sister of my own,
Accimukhi, her mouth shoots flames; her poison is of the deadliest known."

Then he called to her in the middle of the crowd: "0 Accimukhi, come out of my matted locks and stand on my hand."

He put out his hand and when his half-sister heard his voice she uttered a cry like a frog three times while lying in his hair. Then she came out and sat on his shoulder. Springing up, she dropped three drops of poison on the palm of his hand and then entered again into his matted locks.

Sudassana stood holding the poison and exclaimed three times: "This country will be destroyed, this country will be wholly destroyed." The sound of his voice filled all Benares to the extent of twelve leagues.

The king asked what would destroy the city.

"0 king, I see no place where I can drop this poison."

"This Earth is big enough, drop it there."

"That is not possible," he answered.

"If I should drop it on the ground, listen, 0 king, to me,
The grass and creeping plants and herbs would parched and blasted be."

"Well then, throw it into the sky," said the king.

"That also is not possible," said the Naga prince. Then he recited this stanza:

"If I should do thy heat, 0 king, and throw it in the sky,
No rain nor snow will fall from heaven till seven long years roll by."

"Then throw it into the water," suggested the king.

"That is also not possible," came the reply.

"If in the water it were dropped, listen, 0 king, to me,
Fishes and tortoises would die and all that lives in the sea."

Then the king exclaimed: "I am utterly at a loss. Do you tell us some way to prevent the land being destroyed."

"O king, cause three holes to be dug here in succession," said the Naga prince.

The king did so. Sudassana filled the middle hole with drugs, the second with cow dung, and the third with heavenly medicines. Then he let fall the drops of poison into the middle hole. A flame burst out, which filled the hole with smoke. It then spread and caught the hole with the cow dung. Then bursting out again it caught the hole filled with the heavenly plants and consumed them all before itself becoming extinguished.

Alambayana was standing near that hole when the heat of the poison smote him. The color of his skin at once vanished and he became a white leper. Filled with terror, he exclaimed three times: "I will set the snake-king free."

On hearing him the Bodhisattva came out of the jeweled basket. Assuming a form that was radiant and displaying all kinds of ornaments, he stood with all the glory of Indra. Sudassana and Accimukhi, likewise radiant, stood nearby. Then Sudassana said to the king: "Do you not know whose children these are?"

"I know not," said the king.

"You do not know us, but you do know that the king of Kasi gave his daughter Samuddaja to Dhatarattha."

"I know it well, for she was my youngest sister."

"We are her sons, and you are our uncle."

Then the king embraced them and kissed their heads and wept. He then brought them up into the palace, where he paid them great honor. While he was showing all kindness to Bhuridatta, he asked him how Alambayana had caught him, since he possessed such a terrible poison. Sudassana related the whole story and then said:

"O great monarch, a king ought to rule his kingdom in this way." Then he taught his uncle the Law. Then he said: "O uncle, our mother is pining for want of seeing Bhuridatta. We cannot stay away any longer from her."

"It is right that you should go. However, I too wish to see my sister. Can I see her?"

"0 uncle, where is our grandfather, the king of Kasi?"

"He could not bear to live without my sister, so he left his kingdom and became an ascetic. He is now dwelling in the forest."

"Uncle, my mother is longing to see you and my grandfather. We will take her and go to our grandfather's hermitage. Come there if you wish to see her also."

So they fixed the day and then departed from the palace. After parting with his sister's sons, the king returned to weeping as they sank into the earth and returned to the Naga-world.

VII.

When the Great Being thus came among them, the city became filled with one universal lamentation. He himself was tired out with his month's residence in the basket and took to a sick-bed. As there was no limit to the number of Nagas who came to visit him, he soon tired himself out by talking to them.

In the meantime Kanarittba, who had gone to the world of the gods and did not find the Great Being there, was the first to come back. So they made him the doorkeeper of the Great Being's residence, for they said that he was compassionate and could keep away the crowds. Subhaga also, after searching all Himavat and after that the great ocean and the other rivers, came in the course of his wanderings to search the Yamuna. But when the discontented Brahman saw that Alambayana had become a leper, he thought to himself:

"He has become a leper because he worried Bhuridatta. Now I too, through my lust for the jewel, betrayed him. Although he had been my benefactor, this crime will come upon me. Before it comes, I will go to the Yamuna and will wash away the guilt in the sacred bathing-place."

So he went down into the water, saying that he would wash away the sin of his treachery. At that moment, Subhaga came to the spot, and, hearing his words, said to himself: "This evil wretch for the sake of a gem-charm betrayed my brother, who had given him such a means of enriching himself. I will not spare his life."

So, twisting his tail round his feet and dragging him into the water, he held him down. Then when he was breathless he let him remain quiet a while, and when the other lifted up his head he dragged him in again and held him down. This he repeated several times, until at last the outcast Brahman lifted his head and said:

"I'm bathing at this sacred spot here in Payaga's holy flood;
My limbs are wet with sacred drops, what cruel demon seeks my blood?"

Subhaga answered:

"He who, men say, in ancient days to this proud Kasi wrathful came,
And wrapped it round with his strong coils,
that serpent-king of glorious fame,
His son am I, who holds thee now: Subhaga, Brahman, is my name."

The Brahman thought: "Bhuridatta'a brother will not spare my life, but what if I were to move him to tender-heartedness by reciting the praises of his father and mother, and then beg for my life?" So he recited this stanza:

"Scion of Kasi,' royal race divine,
Thy mother born from that illustrious line,
Thou would not leave the meanest Brahman's slave
To pariah drowned beneath the ruthless wave."

Subhaga thought: "This wicked Brahman thinks to deceive me and persuade me to let him go. But I will not give him his life." So he answered, reminding him of his old deeds:

"A thirsty deer approached to drink
from your tree-porch your shaft flew down:
In fear and pain your victim fled,
spurred by an impulse not its own;
Deep in the wood you saw it fall
and bore it on your carrying-pole
To where a banyan's shoots grew thick,
clustering around the parent bole;
The parrots sported in the boughs,
the kokil's song melodious rose,
Green spread the grassy award below,
evening invited to repose.

"But there your cruel eye perceived my brother, who the boughs among
In summer pomp of color dress sported with his attendant throng.
Who in his joyance harmed you not, but you in malice bid him slay,
An innocent victim, lo that crime comes back on your own head to-day,
I will not spare your life an hour, my utmost vengeance you shall pay."

Then the Brahmin thought: "He will not give me my life, but I must try my best to escape." So he uttered the following stanza:

"Study, the offering of prayers, libations in the sacred fire,
These three things make a Brahmin's life inviolate to mortal's ire."

Subhaga, when he heard this, began to hesitate and he thought to himself: "I will carry him to the Naga-world and ask my brothers about this." Then he repeated these two stanzas:

"Beneath the Yamuna's sacred stream, stretching to far Himalaya's feet,
Lies deep the Naga capital where Dhatarattha holds his seat;
There all my hero brethren dwell, to them will I refer thy plea,
And as their judgment shall decide, so shall thy final sentence be."

He then seized him by the neck, and, shaking him with loud abuse and revilings, carried him to the gate of the Great Being's palace.

VIII.

Kanarittha who had become the doorkeeper was sitting there, and when he saw that the other was being dragged along so roughly he went to meet them, and said:

"Subhaga, do not hurt him; all Brahmans are the sons of the great spirit Brahman. If he learned that we were hurting his son he would be angry and would destroy all our Naga-world. In the world Brahmins rank as the highest and possess great dignity; thou dost not know what their dignity is, but I do."

For they say that Kanarittha in the birth immediately preceding this had been born as a sacrificing Brahman, and therefore he spoke so positively. Moreover being skilled in sacrificial lore from his former experiences, he said to Subhaga and the Naga assembly: "Come, I will describe to you the character of sacrificial Brahmans:"

"The Veda and the sacrifice, things of high worth and dignity,
Belong to Brahmins as their right, however worthless they may be;
Great honor is their privilege; and he who flouts them in his scorn,
Loses his wealth and breaks the law, and lives guilt-burdened and forlorn."

Then Kanarittha asked Subhaga if he knew who had made the world; and when he confessed his ignorance, he told this stanza to show that it was created by Brahman, the grandfather of the Brahmans:

"Brahmans he made for study for command He made the Khattiyas;
Vessas plough the land;Suddas he servants made to obey the rest;
Thus from the first went forth the Lord's behest."

Then he said: "These Brahmans have great powers, and he who conciliates them and gives them gifts is not fated to enter any new birth, but goes at once to the world of the gods."

And he repeated these stanzas:

"Kubera, Soma, Varuna of old,
Dhata, Vidhata, and the Sun and Moon,
Offered their sacrifices manifold,
And to their Brahman priests gave every boon.
The giant Ajjun too who wrought such woe,
Round whose huge bulk a thousand arms once grew,
Each several pair with its own threatening bow,
Heaped on the sacred flame the offerings due."

Then he went on describing the glory of the Brahmins and how the beat gifts are to be given to them.

"That ancient king who feasted them so well
Became at last a god, old stories tell.
King Mujaliuda long the fire adored,
Glutting its thirst with the the ghee he poured;
And at the last the earned reward it brought,
He found the pathway to the heaven he sought."

He also repeated these stanzas to illustrate this lesson:

"Dujipa lived a thousand years in all,
Chariots and hosts unnumbered at his call;
But an ascetic's life was his at last,
And from his hermitage to heaven he past.
Sagara all the earth in triumph crossed,
And raised a golden sacrificial post;
None worshipped fire more zealously than he,
And he too rose to be a deity.

"The milk and curds which Anga, Kasi's lord,
In his long offerings so profusely poured,
Swelled Gariga to an ocean by their flood,
Until at last in Sakra's courts he stood.
Great Sakra's general on the heavenly plain,
By soma-offerings did the honor gain;
He who now marshals the immortal powers
Rose from a mortal sin-stained lot like ours.
Brahma the great Creator, he who made
The mountains landmarks in his altar yard,
Whose heat the Ganges in its path obeyed
By sacrifice attained his great reward."

Then he said to him: "Brother, know you how this sea became salt and undrinkable?"

"I know not, Arittha."

"You only know how to injure Brahmans, listen to me."

Then he repeated a stanza:

"A hermit student, versed in prayer and spell,
Once stood upon the shore, as I've heard tell;
He touched the sea, it forthwith swallowed him,
And since that day has been undrinkable."

"These Brahmans are all like this." He then uttered another stanza:

"When Sakra first attained his royal throne,
His special favor upon Brahmans shone;
East, west, north, south, they made their ritual known,
And found at last a Veda of their own."

Thus Arittha described the Brahmans and their sacrifices and Vedas.

When they heard his words, many Nagas came to visit the Bodhisattva's sick-bed, and they said to one another: "He is telling a legend of the past."

And they seemed to be in danger of accepting false doctrine. Now the Bodhisattva heard it all as he lay in his bed. The Nagas told him about it, and then the Bodhisatta reflected: "Arittha is telling a false legend, I will interrupt his discourse, and put true views into the assembly."

So he rose and bathed, and put on all his ornaments, and sat down in the pulpit and gathered all the Naga multitude together. Then he sent for Arittha and said to him: "Arittha, you have spoken falsely when you describe the Brahmans and the Vedas, for the sacrifice of victims by all these ceremonies of the Vedas is not held to be desirable and it does not lead to heaven. See what unreality there is in your words."

Then he repeated these gathas describing the various kinds of sacrifice:

"These Veda studies are the wise man's toils,
The lure which tempts the victims whom he spoils;
A mirage formed to catch the careless eye,
But which the prudent passes safely by.
The Vedas have no hidden power to save
The traitor or the coward or the knave;
The fire, though tended well for long years past,
Leaves his base master without hope at last.
Though all earth's trees in one vast heap were piled
To satisfy the fire's insatiate child,
Still would it crave for more, insatiate still,
How could a Naga hope that maw to fill?

Milk ever changes, thus where milk has been
Butter and curds in natural course are seen;
And the same thirst for change pervades the fire,
Once stirred to life it mounts still higher and higher.
Fire bursts not forth in wood that's dry or new,
Fire needs an effort ere it leaps to view ;
If dry fresh timber of itself could burn,
Spontaneous would each forest blaze in turn.
If he wins merit who to feed the flame
Piles wood and straw, the merit is the same
When cooks light fires or blacksmiths at their trade
Or those who burn the corpses of the dead.

But none, however zealously he prays
Or heaps the fuel round to feed the blaze,
Gains any merit by his mummeries,
The fire for all its crest of smoke soon dies.
Were Fire the honored being that you think,
Would it thus dwell with refuse and with stink,
Feeding on carrion with a foul delight,
Where men in horror hasten from the sight?
Some worship as a god the crested flame,
Barbarians give to water that high name;
But both alike have wandered from their road:
Neither is worthy to be called a god.

To worship Fire, the common drudge of all,
Senseless and blind and deaf to every call,
And then one's self to live a life of sin,
How could one dream that this a heaven could win?
These Brahmans all a livelihood require,
And so they tell us Brahma worships fire;
Why should the creator who all things planned
Worship himself the creature of his hand?
Doctrines and rules of their own, absurd and vain,
Our sires imagined wealth and power to gain;
Brahmans he made for study, for command
He made the Khattiyas; Vessas plough the land;
Sudras he servants mode to obey the rest;
Thus from the first went forth his high behest.

We see those rules enforced before our eyes,
None but the Brahmans offer sacrifice,
None but the Khattiya exercises sway,
The Vessas plough, the Suddas must obey.
These greedy liars propagate deceit,
And fools believe the fictions they repeat;
He who has eyes can see the sickening sight;
Why does not Brahma set his creatures right?
If his wide power no limits can restrain,
Why is his hand so rarely spread to bless?
Why are his creatures all condemned to pain?
Why does he not to all give happiness?

Why do fraud, lies, and ignorance prevail?
Why triumphs falsehood, truth and justice fail?
I count your Brahma one of the unjust among,
Who made a world in which to shelter wrong.
Those men are counted pure who only kill
Frogs, worms, bees, snakes or insects as they will,
These are your savage customs which I hate,
Such as Kamboja hordes might emulate.
If he who kills is counted innocent
And if the victim safe to heaven is sent,
Let Brahmans Brahmans kill so all were well
And those who listen to the words they tell.

We see no cattle asking to be slain
That they a new and better life may gain,
Rather they go unwilling to their death
And in vain struggles yield their latest breath.
To veil the post, the victim and the blow
The Brahmans let their choicest rhetoric flow;
The post shall as a cow of plenty be
Securing all thy heart's desires to thee;
But if the wood thus round the victim spread
Had been as full of treasure as they said,
As full of silver, gold and gems for us,
With heaven's unknown delights as over plus,

They would have offered for themselves alone
And kept the rich reversion as their own.
These cruel cheats, as ignorant as vile,
Weave their long frauds the simple to beguile,
'Offer thy wealth, cut nails and beard and hair,
And you shall have thy bosom's fondest prayer.'
The offerer, simple to their hearts' content,
Comes with his purse, they gather round him fast,
Like crows around an owl, on mischief bent,
And leave him bankrupt and stripped bare at last,
The solid coin which he erewhile possessed,
Exchanged for promises which none can test.

Like grasping strangers sent by those who reign
The cultivators' earnings to distrain,
These rob wherever they prowl with evil eye,
No law condemns them, yet they ought to die.
The priests a shoot of Butea must hold
As part of the rite sacred from days of old;
Indra's right arm 'tis called; but were it so,
Would Indra triumph o'er his demon foe?
Indra's own arm can give him better aid,
'Twas no vain sham which made hell's hosts afraid.

Each mountain-range which now some kingdom guards
Was once a heap in ancient altar-yards,
And pious worshippers with patient hands
Piled up the mound at some great lord's commands.
So Brahmans say, fie on the idle boast,
Mountains are heaved aloft at other cost;
And the brick mound, search as you may, contains
No veins of iron for the miner's pains.
A holy doer well known in ancient days,
On the seashore was praying, legend says;
There was he drowned and since this fate befell
The ocean's waves have been undrinkable.

Rivers have drowned their learned men at will
By hundreds and have kept their waters still;
Their streams flow on and never taste the worse,
Why should the sea alone incur the curse?
And the salt-streams which run upon the land
Spring from no curse but the own digger's hand.

At first there wore no women and no men;
‘Twas mind first brought mankind to light, and then,
Though they all started equal in the race,
Their various failures made them soon change place;
It was no lack of merit in the past,
But present faults which made them first or last.
A clever low-caste lad would use his wit,
And read the hymns or find his head-piece split;
The Brahmans made the Vedas to their cost
When others gained the knowledge which they lost.

Thus sentences are made and learned by rote
In metric forms not easily forgot,
The obscurity but tempts the foolish mind,
They swallow all they're told with impulse blind.
Brahmans are not like violent beasts of prey,
No tigers, lions of the woods are they;
They are to cows and oxen near akin,
Differing outside they are as dull within.

If the victorious king would cease to fight
And live in peace with his friends and follow right,
Conquering those passions which his bosom rend,
what happy lives would all his subjects spend!
The Brahman's Veda, Khattiya's policy,
both arbitrary and delusive be,
They blindly grope their way along a road
by some huge inundation overflowed.
In Brahmin's Veda, Khattiya's policy,
one secret meaning we alike can see;
For after all, loss, gain and glory,
and shame touch the four castes alike, to all the same.

As householders to gain a livelihood
count all pursuits legitimate and good,
So Brahmins now in our degenerate day
will gain a livelihood in any way
The householder is led by love of gain,
Blindly he follows, dragged in pleasure's train,
Trying all trades, deceitful and a fool,
Fallen alas! how far from wisdom's rule."

The Great Being, having thus confuted their arguments, established his own doctrine. When they heard his exposition, the assembly of Nagas was filled with joy. The Great Being delivered the outcast Brahman from the Naga-world and did not wound him with a single contemptuous speech. Sagara-brahmadatta also did not let the appointed day pass, but went with his complete army to his father's dwelling place.

The Great Being also, having proclaimed by beat of drum that he would visit his maternal uncle and grandfather, crossed over from the Yamuna and went first to that hermitage with great pomp and magnificence.

His remaining brothers and his father and mother came afterwards. At that moment Sagara-brahmadatta, not recognizing the Great Being, as he approached with his great retinue, asked his father:

"Whose drums are these?
Whose tabours, conchs, and what those instruments,
Whose voice speaks with deep concert through the air
and makes the monarch's heart rejoice?
Who is this youth who marches there,
with quiver and with bow arrayed,
Wearing a golden coronet
that shines like lightning round his head?
Who is it that approaches there,
whose youthful countenance shines so bright,
Like an acacia brand which glows
at forge of smith with steady light.

Whose bright umbrella, golden-hued, overpowers the sun of noonday's pride,
While deftly hangs a fly-flapper ready for action by his side?
See peacocks' tails on golden sticks wave by his face with colors blent,
While bright ear-rings deck his brow as lightning wreaths the firmament.

What hero owns that long large eye, that tuft of wool between the brows,
Those teeth as white as buds or shells, their line so faultless and so even,
Those lac-dyed hands, those bimba lips,
he shines forth like the sun in heaven;
Like some tall sal-tree full of bloom, upon a mountain peak alone,
Indra in his triumphant dress with every demon foe overthrown.
Who is it bursts upon our view, drawing from out its sheath his brand,
Its jeweled handle and rich work radiant with splendor in his hand,
Who now takes off his golden shoes, richly wrought with varied thread,
with an obeisance low, pours honor on the Sage's head?"

Being thus asked by his son Sagara-brahmadatta, the ascetic, possessed of transcendent knowledge and supernatural power, replied:

"O my son, these are the sons of King Dhatarattha, the Naga sons of my sister." And he repeated this gatha:

"These are all Dhatarattha's sons glorious in power and great in fame,
They all revere Samuddaja and her as common mother claim."

While they were thus talking, the host of Nagas came up and saluted the ascetic's feet and then sat down on one side. Samuddaja also saluted her father, and then after weeping returned with the Nagas to the Naga-world. Sagara-brahmadatta stayed there for a few days and then went to Benares, and Samuddaja died in the Naga-world. The Bodhisattva, having kept the precepts all his life and performed all the duties of the fast-day, at the end of his life went with the host of Nagas to fill the seats of heaven.

After the lesson the Teacher exclaimed: "Thus pious disciples, wise men of former times before the Buddha was born, gave up the glory of the Naga state and rigorously fulfilled the duties of the fast-day."

And he then identified the birth:

"At that time the family of the great King were my father and mother, Devadatta was the wicked Brahman, Ananda was Somadatta, Uppalavanna was Accimukhi, Saripputta was Sudassana, Moggallana was Subhaga, Sunakkhatta was Kananttha, and I myself was Bhuridatta."

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