The Mahavastu (great story)
by J. J. Jones | 1949 | 502,133 words | ISBN-10: 086013041X
This page describes kusha-jataka (abridged version) which is Chapter I of the English translation of the Mahavastu (“great story”), dating to the 2nd-century BC. This work belongs to the Mahasanghika school of early Buddhism and contains narrative stories of the Buddha’s former lives, such as Apadanas, Jatakas and more..
Chapter I - The Kuśa-jātaka (abridged version)
Note: This is an abridged version, mostly metrical, of the Jātaka with which Vol. 2 closed. The abridgement is clumsily done, and often the story can only be understood by reference to the other version.
(1) In Benares there was a king named Ikṣvāku. He was mighty, glorious and triumphant. But no son had been born to him.
Then the happy thought occurred to him: “What if I were to let out the women of my harem three times a fortnight?”
And so the king, in order to have a descendant, let out the women of his harem on the fourteenth, fifteenth and eighth days of the fortnight.[1]
The women in great excitement and decked out in all their finery, but timid as fawns, went about from door to door.
Some chattered as they sought to allure, others laughed, and others ran about chasing all kinds of men.
All were excited, all were bewildered. And King Ikṣvāku’s city, too, was bewildered by these mistresses of the king.
. . .[2] “Let the brahman come to me early and late.
“Let me know at once whether he is a mendicant, whether he is a mendicant a gift to whom will bring great reward.”
Thereupon[3] Śakra, lord of Trāyastriṃśa[4] reflected (2) that the deed the king wished done had been suggested by the household priest.[5]
He made himself into an old man, bent double[6] and leaning on his staff. With shaking limbs he came to the king’s door.
To the servitor who carried messages the brahman said, “Announce me at once. I wish to see the king.”
The servitor reported this to the king, saying, “A brahman who wishes to see the king has come to your majesty.”
“Hail to you, great Brahman,” (said the king,)[7] “You are welcome. What do you want, what do you seek, what do you need, what can I give to you?”
[The brahman replied:]
“O Ikṣvāku, I have heard the people here say that the king, lord of men, is letting out the women of his harem thrice a fortnight,
“On the fourteenth, fifteenth and eighth days, for that the chief of men is desirous of a son. So have I heard it said.
“And now, having heard this rumour, with my senses thrilled and exhilarated, I have come[8] hither seeking a woman. So do you honour me.”
The king said:
“Here, chamberlain, go at once and quickly[9] show him the women. Oblige[10] him to-day with whatever woman is to his liking.”
He was led by the chamberlain into the women’s quarters, where the chief queen at the time was named Alindā.
(3) The brahman said:
“Let her be mine, she who stands yonder so proudly and with faultless limbs, but wets her cheeks with tears.”
A hunchbacked woman[11] said:
“Old man, do you wish to amuse yourself with young damsels? No young damsel would touch you even with her hand.
“Old man, do you wish to amuse yourself with young damsels? No young damsel would touch you even with her foot.
“You are foul and wrinkled, pale of face; your house is evil-smelling like the jujube flower. You stink like a goat. Begone, I have naught to do with you.”
The king said:
“I shall give you sustenance, wealth and riches or a fair village. Be content with this.[12] What will you do[13] with Alindā?”
The brāhman replied:
“I am faint from coughing; repeatedly I swoon, and I wet my bed. But she will help me on to my feet.
“Do you, hunchbacked dame, hold your tongue, and go on grinding face-powder.[14] I’ll make myself dear to Alindā, never you mind.
(4) “Do you, hunchbacked dame, hold your tongue, and go on twining[15] your garlands.[16] I’ll make myself dear to Alindā, never you mind.”
The king said:
“If, O brāhman, you wish to eat bread in the king’s palace, you can enjoy this now. What will you do with Alindā?”
The brāhman replied:
“Lord, let not King Ikṣvāku repent of his proffered gift. If, after offering[17] a boon, you then regret it, I’ll go and tell men that you do not give what you have offered.";
The king said:
“No, brāhman, I do not repent. So be satisfied again. All these women, with Alindā, shall wait on you.
“But I give you this low-caste hunchbacked woman for you to make love to. Or let her be your servant. Take her wherever you wish.”
The hunchbacked woman said:
“I’ll kill myself by eating poison if my lord gives me to him. Or I’ll secretly kill this bent and aged man.”
The brahman said:
“I’ll be at enmity with all hunchbacked women that cumber the earth, just because this low-caste hunchback wishes to kill me.”
(5) The king said:
“We here, O brāhman, are just towards all living beings. Do not then go on reproaching and upraiding me.
“O brāhman, an old man as good as dead, a decrepit man, though he wear the garb of a teacher—these are as disgusting to the world as an angry black snake.”
The brāhman said:
“It is not fitting,[18] O Ikṣvāku, that I do not get this boon, for, after offering me the choice of a woman you repent of your offer.
“I’ll go and tell people that you are a king who makes offers and then repents of them, a king who offered me the choice of a woman and then broke his promise.”[19]
The king said:
“No, brāhman, I do not go back on my promise. So, pray,[20] be a young man again. All these women, with Alindā, shall wait upon you.[21]
“Take your joy with her, good brahman, as much as you wish. Spread your couch and lie on it, she will be at your service.”
The brahman took by the hand the weeping and sobbing lady with the fine hips and slender waist, and went away from the king’s doors. And when they had left the royal precincts he built a hut in an enclosure.
(6) Śakra said:
“Clothe yourself in fine array, lady, come, let us take our joy. Turn your face to me and gratify me; do not turn your face away. Gratify me with passion. For if I am gratified it will mean a boon for you.
“Gratify me smilingly; for if I am gratified it will mean a boon for you. Come, lady, gratify me; for if I am gratified it will mean a boon for you.
“Bestir yourself and be not weary, Alindā; thus shall I be honoured. And when you go to the king you can bid him to be glad that I had my way.”
Then Śakra doffed his disguise as a brāhman and stood up in his own form, illuminating all quarters with his radiance. When Alindā looked the change had taken place. She was offered a boon by Śakra. She chose the boon of a son, saying, “Give me the boon of a son.”
Śakra said:
“I am Śakra, lord of the devas, sovereign of Trāyastriṃśa. Fair lady, choose a boon, whatever your heart is set on.
The queen replied:
“May Śakra, the sovereign of Trāyastriṃśa, grant me a boon. I beg the boon of a son. Grant me this boon, O Śakra.”
Śakra said:
“If you, Alindā, had been well-disposed to me and had gratified me, the son you ask for would prove to be well-born, a joy to the realm.
“A son would be born[22] to you who would be strong as a lion, powerful, radiant with beauty, (7) a well-born son, a joy to the realm.
“But as it is,[23] he will be ugly, though worthy to sit on the throne.[24] He will be wise and a vanquisher of other realms. His name will be Kuśa.”
Śakra gave the queen a medicinal pill.[25] “Grind this pill,” said he, “and taste it on the tip of your tongue. Then you will have a son.” The queen tied up the medicinal pill in a corner of her robe and came to the palace. And when she arrived she told the king all about it, saying, “It was Śakra, lord of the devas, in the disguise of a brāhman, who came here. I served him well, and he gave me this medicinal pill, telling me to grind it and taste it on the tip of my tongue, and then I should have a son.”
The king said:
“You have a look of content and you regard me with a smile. Surely such a blissful mien betokens the greatest good fortune.”
The queen said:
“Sire, Indra[26] has given me a son, who will be powerful, worthy to sit on the throne,[27] strong and a vanquisher of other realms.”
The king in anger[28] said:
“Take her by the throat, put her away, you subjects of mine, for she has scorned my command. I have no wish to see her.”
He then broke up the pill and distributed it among those four hundred and ninety-nine queens,[29] and said, “She shall not have any of it, because her son would be ugly.”
Alindā asked where the pill had been ground. They said to her, “On the millstone[30] yonder.” Then she wetted the stone with water, and tasted a tiny portion of the pill (8) on a blade of kuśa grass. Thus all the five hundred queens conceived, and after an interval of nine or ten months they were delivered and five hundred young princes were born.
When Ikṣvāku passed away Kuśa succeeded to the throne. Then Kuśa spoke to his mother and his counsellors, saying, “Bring me a wife to be my chief queen.” His mother said to him, “Who will give you, ugly as you are, a beautiful wife? I will get you an ugly wife.”
[Kuśa said:]
“Mother, if you bring me an ugly wife,[31] I tell you I will not touch her even with my hand.
“Mother, if you bring me an ugly wife, I tell you I will not touch her even with my foot.”
Alindā said:
“My son, pleasant is the dwelling together of two whose features are like. When both have a like appearance one does not reproach the other.
“A beautiful woman scorns a mate whom she sees to be ugly. It is better for you, my son, to have an ugly wife since you are ugly yourself.”
The king replied:
“I have never heard nor seen that kings are unfortunate, or that a prince amuses[32] himself with ugly women.
“I am a king, noble, triumphant, mighty, wealthy, and powerful. I say this because women are fond of substantial things.
“Beautifully arrayed women are brought from other kingdoms, who have been purchased with wealth and whose fathers' homes are far away.
(9) “So bring me as wife the daughter of the king of the Madrakas[33] who is named Prajāpatī,[34] and who is accomplished and perfect in all good conduct.”
Her mother-in-law[35] told the girl, “It is our rule in Ikṣvāku’s court that a wife may not see her husband until after twelve years.” And so no lights burned in their bed-chamber.
Sudarśanā said to King Kuśa:
“This royal palace is rich, an unfailing mine of precious stones. And yet we get no light either by night or day.
“Neither by night nor by day do we see each other, but we sit unseen by, and hidden from, each other.
“Here we[36] dwell in the thick and blinding darkness. Meseems, this is a union of the blind.”
The king said:
“I do not know the reason for it nor why it should be so. Go to my mother and ask her. She will explain it to you.”
And she, when the night was passing into day, bowed at her mother-in-law’s feet and said to her:
“This royal palace is rich, an unfailing mine of precious stones. And yet we get no light by night or by day.
“Neither by night nor by day do we see each other. We sit here unseen by, and hidden from, each other.
(10) “Here we dwell in the thick, blinding darkness. Meseems this is a union of the blind.”
Her mother-in-law said to her:
" When I shall see a twelve-year old son of yours, Prajāpatī, then shall you see each other. Such was my prayer to the dev as.”
Sudarśanā replied:
“Evil was the prayer you made to the devas, madam, that we should not see our union for such a long time.”
A vehement desire to see her husband came over the queen, and she appealed to her mother-in-law. Her mother-in-law answered her, saying, “My daughter, to-morrow the king is showing himself to the people. Look on him then.”[37]
Alindā dressed up Kuśadruma[38] like the king and made him sit on the throne. Kuśa himself held the sunshade, while the princes, counsellors, townspeople and countrymen took their respective seats. When Sudarśanā saw the king and the whole assembly, she rejoiced. But when she saw the sunshade-bearer, the sight repelled her. Sudarśanā said to her mother-in-law,[39] “The king is splendid, the princes are splendid, the whole assembly is splendid, but the sunshade-bearer is a repulsive sight. The glory of this royal assembly is marred by him. If this sunshade-bearer were not in view, this royal assembly would be splendid.” Her motber-in-law replied, “My daughter, do not speak so, for you do not know the high-mindedness of this sunshade-bearer. He is high-minded, (11) strong, virtuous and wealthy, and it is through his might that we all enjoy prosperity.”
Then Sudarśanā as she lay in bed said to the king:
“Could you not now, my lord, find in all the world some other man to be your sunshade-bearer? So shameless and insolent[40] is this one that you have.”
The king said:
“Fair lady, what matters his outward form? He is powerful, and he pleases me because I have regard to his power.[41]
“Fair lady, what matters his outward form? He is wealthy, and he pleases me because I have regard to his wealth.
“Fair lady, what matters his outward form? He is courageous, and he pleases me because I have regard to his courage.
“Fair lady, what matters his outward form? He is virtuous, and he pleases me because I have regard to his virtue.
“Fair lady, what matters his outward form? His voice is loud.[42] It is through his power that we all live.
“He is my good friend, an esteemed comrade, and as dear as life to me. If I lost him, neither you nor I could live.”
Now it happened that the queen and all the women of the court went out to see the lotus pool. The king in simple garb[43] had gone down into the pool and was sitting there. When the queen went down into the pool, he seized her, and she thought
(12) that she had been seized by a water-demon.[44] The women released her by throwing showers of blossoms[45] at the king.
The king said[46]:
“You went, O queen, to the park to look at the lotus-pool. But you have brought me no lotuses, and so, my dear, you do not love me.”
The queen replied:
“Yes, my lord, I did go to the park to bathe in the lotus pool. But I saw a demon there and I collapsed in a sudden swoon.
“Now he who holds your sunshade and he who was there in the lotus grove were, I should think, born of the same[47] woman. For their features were alike.”
On another occasion the queen, with the women of the court, went out to see the mango grove. Now the king, in simple garb, had also gone to the mango grove and was standing there. As the queen was strolling about she was seized by him. The queen thought that she had been seized by a demon of the forest.[48] The women released her by throwing showers of blossoms[49] at the king.
In the bed-chamber (that night) the king said to the queen:
“You went, O queen, to see the flourishing mango grove. But you have brought me no mangoes, and so, my dear, you do not love me.”
The queen replied:
“Yes, my lord, I did go to see the flourishing mango grove. But I saw a demon[50] there and I collapsed in a sudden swoon.
(13) “Now he who holds your sunshade, he who was in the lotus grove and he who was in the mango grove, were, I should think, born of the same woman.”
Once the elephant stable was on fire. The king girded up his loins and rescued the elephants. With a knife he cut their halters and then threw the roof down.[51]
The king, having the power of Nārāyaṇa,[52] in his strength seized the burning[53] elephants and threw them out and rescued them from the blaze.[54]
The women of the court sang the praises of the king. “Behold,” said they, “the prowess of the king.” A certain hunchbacked woman also sang the praises of the king, saying:
“He who sits on the throne[55] is strong, splendid, resourceful and great. Like the moon in the sky he illumines all around him.
“With the red eyes of a partridge he is resplendent like Kāmadeva. The valiant, strength-endued king has rescued the elephants.”
The king said:
“This hunchback who praises the king is a good dame. I will give you four garments of Benares cloth.”
The daughter of the king of the Madrakas was pained when she saw the king, and grieved that such a man as this should be her husband.
(14) The daughter of the king of the Madrakas said:
“Will no one cut off with a sharp knife the tongue of this chattering hunchbacked woman who praises the king?”
The hunchbacked woman said:
“Kings can hold out the threat of prison or of death. So I tell his praises to safeguard my life.”
The queen[56] said:
“I do not see, nor shall I see, what good there is for me in life. I shall go away this very day ere the breath of life deserts me.”
And the angry queen, daughter of the king of the Madrakas, accompanied by a hunchbacked woman, rode away in a carriage to the home of her kinsfolk.
Kuśa’s mother, in sorrow for her son, collapsed to the ground like the broken stalk of a palm-tree.
Like a stalk of the sāl[57] tree cut off by an axe, she fell to the ground overcome by sorrow for her son.
The king, unhappy and grieving after his wife, decided to go in search of her. His unhappy mother spoke to King
Kuśa in verse:
“Behold the harm I have done through my ill-luck. For it was I who sought after her;[58] she is a king’s daughter, and she came here from five hundred yojanas away.
“There the country people feed on barley meal and are always clothed in blankets. Coarse is their food and coarse their behaviour. How will you fare on your way?”
(15) The king replied:
“By dance and song and music and play, or by a hundred tricks of jugglery, by these various means I’ll win me a livelihood.”
The king established his brother Kuśadruma on the throne and said to his counsellors,
“After I have saluted my mother and respectfully taken leave of her I shall take my lute and set out for the north.”
He came to a house in a certain village in the land of the Madrakas, where an old woman gave him lodging.[59] On that day he was welcomed in the village because of his playing on the lute. He was given plenty of solid and soft food, a large milk-bowl[60] of solid food, a large water-jug[61] of soft food, together with a pot of curds and various condiments. The old woman thought to herself: “He will have one meal here, and in the morning he will go away, so that there will be enough food for me for two months.” But King Kuśa, chatting the while with the old woman, ate the food in the milk-bowl in one or two mouthfuls.[62] And the large jug-full of gruel which was enough for eight or nine meals of rice-gruel[63] was all eaten, as well as the condiments and the dish of curds.
The old woman lost all hope, and she cried out:
“Help! help![64] Come in. A destructive demon[65] in human form is within my house and is going to eat me up.”
Kuśa said:
“All can live in the village, even those who are ugly. Mother,[66] I’ll stay here one night, and to-morrow I’ll go.”
(16) After staying there one night he went on to Kanyakubja[67] where he joined[68] a master garland-maker. When he had become a skilled craftsman he went to the king’s kitchen.
The king, too, was pleased and so on up to[69] he was dear to the king. The women introduced him into the harem, saying, “he will become our plaything.” The women of the harem and the other daughters of King Mahendraka rode on his back. But Sudarśanā avoided him and refused[70] to be carried by him.
[Sudarśanā said:]
“Now what am I to do, or why should I be blamed?[71] He frightens me when he looks at me, as though he were a demon[72] of the sea.
“What am I to do, or why should I be blamed? I fear him when he looks at me, as a straying deer fears the huntsman.
“Without sustenance[73] as you are, return and hurry night and day along the way you came. Go, Kuśa, to your own kingdom. I have no wish for an ugly man.”
The king said:
“You love me well, O dark lady of the fine hips and slender waist, and because of my love for you I shall not yearn for my great kingdom.
“I will not go away, O deep-bosomed lady, though I know[74] what land I came from. I roam the world like one distraught. I am mad with love, O lady of the fawn-like gentle eyes.”
[The queen said:]
“You are out of your mind, since you desire one who does not desire you. O king, you are in love with one who loves you not. That is not the mark of a wise man.”
(17) Kuśa said:
“When a man wins the lady dear to him, whether she loves him or loves him not, men acclaim his success. He who fails is a sorry fellow.”[75]
The queen said:
“You can gratify even a thousand women in one night, but in loving one woman only you incur great misery.”
The king said:
“I know none of that misery. O glorious, lovely lady, in chaste living accomplished, you will be my wife.”
The queen said:
“Talk not of my chastity; let wicked suffering[76] be yours. You will make love elsewhere to a lioness or a jackal.”
Kuśa said:
“Talk not so,[77] O lady of the fine hips and slender waist. Even recluses, I see,[78] win bright renown by their chaste living.
“For, lady, they shine in this world by virtue of their well-spent lives, and are reborn in heaven, in Tridaśa,[79] where they enjoy the pleasures of sense.”
“This I tell you, O lady of the fine hips and slender waist—no other man is your lord save Kuśa of the lion-voice.”
The queen said:
“If what the prophets say be true, you can cut me in seven pieces ere I become your wife.”[80]
(18) The king said:
“I have no wish to cut you up, O lady of the fine hips and slender waist. Whole as you are will you become my wife.
“A great realm is mine, rich in horses and in men, where gifts are endless and clothing and food are abundant.
“Yet here am i now come having abandoned[81] throne and realm. Because of my love for you i care not for all that kingdom.”
The queen said:
“You might as well dig a hole in the rock with the wood of the karṇikāra tree,[82] or catch the wind in a net, as desire one who does not desire you.
“Why do you love unloved?. . .[83] Go back to your kingdom, Kuśa. Why do you weary yourself?”
The king said:
“This is no weariness for me, it is but living a chaste life. Somewhere or other, fair lady, you will be my wife.”
The queen said:
“Let this chaste life of yours be regarded as worthless. Somewhere else you will woo a lioness or a jackal, or even an ass.”
Then Kuśa, the son of a king, heroic, invincible in combat, this Kuśa who was noble and wise,[84] spoke these words.
(19) “If I go away, O lady of the fine hips and slender waist, I will first bind you with fetters. What would your people do then?”
The queen said:
“You must not sin against the dharma[85] which you once upheld. Bearing that dharma in mind will you wish to bind me?”
The king said:
“I have the power, sovereign lady,[86] to bind you and make you go wher’er I will. What can your father do?
“I can if I like gratify a thousand women in one night. But you are my choice, O sovereign lady of the gleaming teeth.”
The queen said:
“I know, your majesty, that you are strong and valiant. But you are ugly and hideous too. Y ou are repulsive, though you are a mighty lord.
“You are thick-lipped, thick-headed, fat and pot-bellied. I have no wish to see you. So do not weary yourself.
“These high walls,[87] these lofty towers and copings, and these warriors on elephants[88] will stop you.
“These fight with swords, axes, arrows and well-sharpened knives, and they shall seize you,[89] O king.”
(20) Then King Mahendraka reproached his daughter,[90] saying, “Why did you come here abandoning[91] such a king of whom rival kings are afraid? Here am I besieged by seven kings because of you. And now I will cut you up into seven pieces and give a piece to each of the seven kings.”
Then the king’s daughter, frightened, sobbing and weeping, with the tears filling her eyes, spoke these words:
“If, mother,[92] these nobles from afar slay me, then collect my bones and burn them.
“And when you have burnt them, erect a shrine.[93] And when you have erected the shine you will plant there a karṇikāra tree.
“Then when it breaks out into blossom in the spring, when winter is gone, you will remember[94] me, my mother, and say ‘such beauty was my daughter’s’.”
Sudarśanā then stood up and said, “Kuśa is a king’s son, skilled in battle, and noble and wise, and I must acquaint him with the situation[95]
“When he has given battle to these kings, bound them and cut them to pieces, then there will be peace.”
(21) Then she, the noble and glorious lady, trembling in all her frame, thus spoke to the king’s son:
“I truly admit it to you, O mighty prince and lord of men, if I at any time did give you offence.[96]
Kuśa said:
“I, too, admit it to you, O sovereign lady with the gleaming teeth, if I at any time did give you still greater offence.[97]
Then Prajāpatī’s mother, sobbing and weeping, with her eyes full of tears spoke these words:
“Is he a musician, or trader, or a pukkasa?[98] In what royal court was he born? What is his especial skill?”[99]
Sudarśanā replied to her mother:
“He is no musician, nor a caṇḍāla,[100] nor yet a pukkasa. He is the son of King Ikṣvāku, and you think that he is a slave.
“Rich is this nobleman’s court, full of the cries of peacock and curlew accompanied by the strains of music, and you think that he is a slave.
“Rich is this nobleman’s court, gleaming white as a shell, the resort of throngs of women, and you think that he is a slave.
“Rich is this nobleman’s court, furnished with vessels of gold and teeming with women, and you think that he is a slave.
(22) “He has sixty thousand cities, his kingdom is prosperous and peaceful. Rich is this nobleman’s court, and you think that he is a slave.
“He has sixty thousand elephants arrayed in trappings and housings of gold. With their long tusks, these mighty beasts issue forth,
“Ridden by village chiefs who are armed with swords and lances. Rich is this nobleman’s court, and you think that he is a slave.
“He has sixty thousand chariots, moving with a merry sound, decorated, with well-fastened fellies of iron, and covered with leopard’s skin;
“They are ridden by village chiefs armed with bows and clothed in armour. Rich is this nobleman’s court, and you think that he is a slave.
“He has sixty thousand horses, the best of thoroughbred steeds, with girths of gold and bejewelled bits,
“Ridden by village chiefs with whips in their hands and clothed in armour. Rich is this nobleman’s court, and you think that he is a slave.
“Twenty thousand brahmans always eat at the king’s table, and day and night they are ever honoured and esteemed. Rich is this nobleman’s court, and you think that he is a slave.
“Five hundred princes, who have a mother and a father,[101] dwell there. Rich is this nobleman’s court, and you think that he is a slave.”
Then the king heard from the queen that their son-in-law had come, and that ne was in the women’s apartment. He was alarmed, since the kings were a menace without, and now there was this menace within. For he wondered what Kuśa would do.
(23) [To the queen he said:]
“Why do you talk so, like one mad and demented? What is Kuśa like? Why should I not[102] have a look at him?”
The queen said:
“My lord, he who is within the house is a king’s son. He has left his own home and come hither.”
When the king heard these words he was alarmed and disturbed in mind. Then quite[103] pleasantly and agreeably he respectfully saluted Kuśa, and said to him:
“Forgive us, your majesty, forgive us, valiant man. We did not know, O lion-voiced one, that you had come hither.
“Forgive us, your majesty, forgive us, valiant man. We did not know, O lion-voiced one, that you had come hither.
“Forgive us, your majesty, forgive us, great warrior. We did not know, O sweet-voiced one, that you had come hither.”
Then the king again reproached his daughter, saying, “My son-in-law has been here a long time, but you did not tell me.” Kuśa was immediately anointed with oil worth a hundred pieces and with oil worth a thousand pieces.[104] He was bathed, rubbed with royal ointments, clothed in royal raiment, crowned with a diadem of pearls, and entertained[105] with music on the five musical instruments.[106]
Kuśa said to his father-in-law:
”Let the ears of all the elephants and horses you have he stopped,[107] lest your own army he shattered[108] when it hears my lion-roar.
“Quickly yoke the horses, with golden pennons flying.”
(24) And, followed by King Mahendraka, he went out of the palace.
The hero, the lord of battle, roared his lion-roar, and when he had done so, the nobles were captured
He took these seven nobles prisoner and brought them to his father-in-law. And those kings said, “What do we do?” Kuśa replied, “Go to my father-in-law, fall at his[109] feet and hail[110] him.” They therefore fell at the feet of King Mahendraka and hailed him as victor. The king of the Madrakas said, “What do I do?” Kuśa replied, “You will do as I bid you.” His father-in-law said, “I will do so.”
[Kuśa said] “You have (seven) daughters, dower them with a thousand pieces of gold[111] and give a daughter to each king. Let these be your sons-in-law. Then you will live in comfort and without fear.” And King Mahendraka dowered his daughters with a thousand pieces of gold and gave them to the kings. By this alliance made with gold he secured sons and grandsons.[112] Then they left for their own kingdoms.
When the seven kings had gone Kuśa addressed his father-in-law, saying, “I, too, will go away.” The king of the Madrakas said, “Sudarśanā, my daughter, this courageous king, who is heroic and far-seeing, a son of Ikṣvāku, mighty and well-born, is worthy of your affectionate and reverent service. For but now have I, my retinue and all my country been rescued by him from danger.” “So be it,” said his daughter in obedience to her father’s words.
Then King Mahendraka out of his great regard for them gave his son-in-law[113] and daughter a rich gift of precious stones, and, providing them with an escort of an army of the four arms,[114] he sent them on their way.
King Kuśa sojourned in a country that was to his liking.[115] There he went down[116] to a lotus-pond to bathe. (25) And as he bathed he saw his reflection. When he saw his ugly and repulsive reflection he was troubled in mind. “This then,” said he, “is why the daughter of King Mahendraka despised me. I shall destroy myself.” But Śakra, lord of the devas, observed[117] that Kuśa, the Bodhisattva, was meaning to do away with himself because of his ugliness. He therefore gave him a single rope of pearls with the jyotirasa jewel in it,[118] saying, “Tie this on you,[119] then there will not be your equal for beauty in all Jambudvīpa.[120] Whenever you wish to recover your former appearance, then hide[121] this jewel with your hand.”
Then wearing this jewel Kuśa, divinely beautiful, came to the entrance to the royal quarters, but he was stopped[122] by the door-keeper from going in. He said, “I am Kuśa.” The door-keeper replied, “It would be a good thing were Kuśa like you.” King Kuśa then hid the jewel with his hand, and his complexion and form became again as they had been before. When the door-keeper saw this he fell on his face.
Kuśa then went in into the queen’s presence. The queen said to him, “Do not trample on the palace floor. Why have you come in?” He said, “I am Kuśa.” The queen said, “Would that King Kuśa had such beauty.” The king then hid the jewel with his hand, and he appeared as he used to be. The queen said, “Take your hand away from the jewel.” The king did so, and his appearance became celestial once more.
Kuśa explained, “I was intending to destroy myself, when Śakra gave me the jewel named jyotirasa.”
When the four hundred and ninety-nine princes, the counsellors and the officers of the army heard that King Kuśa had come, they all rose up to meet him. They beheld King Kuśa mounted on a beautiful elephant, shining like the sun and coming with a large host of the four arms. But they did not recognise him. (26) When, however, the king hid the jewel with his hand, he appeared as he was before, and then they all fell down before him. And so in great pomp King Kuśa with Queen Sudarśanā entered the inner apartment.
Thus do the affairs of the virtuous man turn out well, as in the case of King Kuśa who was reunited with his wife and his kinsfolk.
The Exalted One, the Master, calling to mind a former abode and a former life, related this jātaka to his monks.
Telling[123] them what the skandhas, the dhātus, the āyatanas and the meaning of the ātman were, the Exalted One explained the matter thus:
“When of yore I abode in one of my recurrent lives which have no beginning or end,[124] then was I Kuśa and Yaśodharā was Sudarśanā.
Māyā was then my mother, Mahānāma[125] was Mahendraka, and Māra was a certain king.”
Thus, freed from fever, fear and grief, did he recount his birth to the monks, his former faring up and down without end and full of suffering.
The monks asked the Exalted One, “As a maturing of what karma was King Kuśa so ugly, hideous and repulsive?” The Exalted One replied:
Once upon a time, monks, long ago, in the city of Kampilla in the province of Pañcāla,[126] there were a man and wife who were young and beautiful, and devoted to each other. He had provided a home which was worthy[127]of such a wife and free from trouble.
(27) Now when Buddhas do not arise, Pratyekabuddhas[128] arise in the world, who are splendid in their silence and (lonely) like a rhinoceros.[129] They learn to tame and calm their own selves and then pass entirely away.
The wife had some food ready cooked. A Pratyekabuddha came in to ask for alms. He was young and handsome, and charming in deportment. Devas and men have faith in charming men, and when the wife saw the Pratyekabuddha she experienced a feeling of joy. She gave him a bowl-full of alms.
The master of the house came in and saw the Pratyekabuddha and the wife together in the house. His suspicions were aroused, because the mendicant was youthful, and so he feared that he had looked at his wife. He spoke roughly to his wife, saying, “Have you entertained this man before, as I see you are now giving him food?” She replied, “All evil in him has been quelled. He is a mendicant of great gifts. To-day is the first time he has been in this house, and I gave him alms because of his charm.”
Then the Pratyekabuddha, understanding the wicked thought that had occurred to the man, in the kindness of his heart flew out of the house and through the air like a king of swans. And when the man saw the Pratyekabuddha flying through the air, a serene faith arose in him that he was a seer of great parts. He asked pardon of bis wife, and made a vow, saying, “In another life[130] you will be my wife, and in another realm you will be in the power of no other man; you will belong to none but me.”
The Exalted One said, “It may be again, monks, that you will think that at that time and on that occasion the man in the city of Kampilla who, because of jealousy of his wife and through his evil-mindedness, calumniated[131] the Pratyekabuddha, was somebody else. It was Kuśa who at that time and on that occasion was that man in the city of Kampilla. You may think that his wife was somebody else. But she was Sudarśanā, the daughter of King Mahendra. It was as the maturing of that karma, monks, that King Kuśa came to be ugly.
Here ends the Kuśa Jātaka.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Three of the four uposatha (upoṣadha) or “sacred” days, the fourth being the first of the month.
[2]:
A lacuna, covering apparently several lines, in which a brāhman, but not at first, as in Vol. 2, disguised as an old man, comes to the king’s court, and orders are given by the king that he be admitted.
[3]:
A lacuna, covering apparently several lines, in which a brāhman, but not at first, as in Vol. 2, disguised as an old man, comes to the king’s court, and orders are given by the king that he be admitted.
[4]:
I.e., after learning of the king’s goodness of heart.
[5]:
See Vol. I, p. 25, n 2.
[6]:
See Vol. 2, p. 378.
[7]:
{GL_NOTE:122726:}
[8]:
There would seem to be a lacuna here also, covering the king’s instructions to the servant and the leading in of the brāhman.
[9]:
Gaccheyam, pot. in aor. sense. Perhaps, however, the pot. is rather to be explained here with reference to the arising of the intention or wish to go, at the moment he heard the rumour. The force of the pot. could then be rendered in English by the insertion of “I thought that” (I would go). At the same time iha, “here”, transforms the intended or potential going into an accomplished “coming”, which brings us back again to the pot. =aor. equation.
[10]:
Anugrahe, imper. according to the first conjugation.
[11]:
Anugrahe, imper. according to the first conjugation.
[12]:
Tameva bhuñjāhi. It would seem better to read tām—,“her”, and make the allusion to be to another hunchbacked woman whom the king, in the other version, had offered the brāhman, and part of whose reply is given in the verses immediately preceding, tacked on to the words of another hunchbacked woman.
[13]:
Kāhisi, fut. of kṛt.
[14]:
The hunchback first mentioned, whose duty this was.
[15]:
Gūhasi. See Vol. 2, p. 380 n. 1. Cf. B.H.S.D.
[16]:
Another attendant of the queen’s, who had this as her task.
[17]:
Pravārayati, Bsk., Pali pavāreti.
[18]:
Āsāmprataṃ na. This compound of sāmprata. does not seem to be met with elsewhere, but the sense of the simple form is suitable here, “It is not fitting that we (I) do not get the boon” āsāmprataṃ, na... yam, vayaṃ no labhāmatha. Possibly, however, we should read āśāprāptā na, ‘we have not obtained our hope in that’ (yaṃ). The verb labhāmatha has the anomalous ending tha added to the 1st pl. ending -ma. It is noteworthy that so many of the Mhvu. examples of this anomaly should be found bunched together in this metrical version of the Kuśa story, the others being ramāmatha (p. 6), labhāmatha and āsāmatha (p. 9), jīvāmatha and bhavematha (p. 11) and anupaśyematha (p. 23). For a discussion of this form see Edgerton, Gram. § 26.8-10.
[19]:
Mithyākaroṣi yācanām, see Vol. 2, p. 381 n. 2
[20]:
No, ethic dative.
[21]:
There is, of course, no hint here that the king knew that the aged appearance of the brāhman was a disguise. It is but an ironic comment on the disparity of ages between him and Alindā.
[22]:
The text has utpadyiṣyati, fut., but the context requires that it be taken in a potential sense, analogous to utpadye in the preceding stanza. The anomaly can only be explained by the supposition that our text here is a bad adaptation of a version which did not fit in with the Mhvu. form of the story. Cf. following note.
[23]:
I.e., since you were not well-disposed. These words have to be inserted in the translation in order to make clear the difference between the handsome son, whom the queen missed through not being well-disposed, and the ugly son she actually got. This is clearly an adaptation of another version, as found in J. 5.281, where Śakra promises the queen two sons, the one wise but ugly, the other handsome but a fool.
[24]:
Reading siṃhāsapīṭha, “whose seat is a throne,” for siṃhāsupīḍa of the text. Cf. Vol. 2, p. 384, n. 2. The MSS. both here and below have the variant supīṭha. Senart is forced to render the text doubtfully “assez fort pour étrangler un lion.” Edgerton (B.H.S.D.) cannot say more than that the meaning must be " strong or the like.”
[26]:
I.e., Śakra.
[27]:
See n. above.
[28]:
The anger of the king is inexplicable in the present context, for he had not been told (as he was in the version in Vol. 2), that the queen’s son was destined to be ugly, which would be a proof that she had not succeeded in winning Śakra’s favour.
[29]:
See Vol. 2, but not mentioned before in this version.
[30]:
Text has niṣidāyām from niṣidā (?sic) for niṣadā, Pali = Sk. dṛṣad. Cf. Vol. 2, p. 385 n. 3. See also B.H.S.D.
[31]:
Bhāryāram, acc. sg. of bhāryā. On the earlier occurrences of this form in the MSS., Vol. I, pp. 129, 233, 234, Senart has invariably emended it into bhāryām. Here, however, and on the next page, he has retained it, and when it occurs again at p. 295 he comments in a note that he should have retained it throughout, though he cannot account for this “bizarre” form. Now, the explanation offered by Edgerton, Gram. § 9.25, can be adduced, namely that “it is clearly an analogical creation, using the r-stem ending of bhārtṛ, ‘husband’, acc. sg. bhārtāram, and of svasṛ, ‘sister’ acc. sg. svasāram.”
[32]:
Reading paricāreti (Pali = BSk. paricārayati) for pravicāreti.
[33]:
See Vol. 2, p. 393, n. 5.
[34]:
Called Sudarśanā below, as also in the version in Vol. 2. In the Pali J. she is named Pabhāvatī.
[35]:
The story of how Prajāpatī was brought to Benares, and how she and Kuśa did not see each other by day because of the latter’s ugliness, is left out here. See the version in Vol. 2. Literally here “the girl was spoken to by her mother-in-law,” kanyā śvaśruya uktā, where śvaśruya is oblique (instr.) case of śvaśrū.
[36]:
Mo, here obviously 1st pers. pl., and so in first line on next page. See Vol. 2, p. 51, n. 1. Cf. Edgerton, Gram. § 20.40.
[37]:
The text here is śuve te darśanaṃ dattaṃ paṣyāhi, “a view has been granted you to-morrow. See him (then).” This, however, looks like a careless repetition of the text in Vol. 2, p. 446, suve te rājānaṃ kuśaṃ darśayiṣyāmi... janasya darśanaṃ ca dattam, “I will show King Kuśa to-morrow, for a view of him has been granted to the people.” There, is, therefore, no place for te in our text, and it seems to be a needless conjecture of Senart’s for nam, “him”, of the MSS., i.e. (though the order of words is strange), “see him to-morrow, a view has been granted (to the people).”
[38]:
Kuśa’s brother. See Vol. 2.
[39]:
Śvaśruyam. For this form of the acc. of śvaśrū, see Edgerton, Gram. § 12.21.
[40]:
Anotrapa. See Vol. I, p. 87, n. 1.
[41]:
Literally, “because I consider that he is powerful,” mahābalo ti kritvāna.
[42]:
Mahāsvara, unless we should read maheśvara, “a great lord”. The latter would fit in better with the next sentence.
[43]:
Prakṛtyaiva, see Vol. 2, p. 448, ff, where he had been advised by his mother so to dress and disguise himself and sit down in the pool. Edgerton (B.H.S.D. s.v. pratikṛtya) would read pratikṛtyaiva(m), “in advance”, in all these passages. As he points out this is actually the reading of the MSS. at 2. 448, 449, and 3. 11, 12. If he is right, allusion to a disguise is made only at 2. 449 and 451, in the words prākṛtakena veṣeṇa “in simple garb”. In the other passages Kuśa is merely bidden to be at the various places “in advance” of Sudarśanā. This, however, seems to detract from the drama of the story.
[44]:
Udakarākṣasa.
[45]:
Literally “by means of showers of blossoms”, reading puṣpavṛṣṭīhi for puṣpavṛṣṭī pi of the text. Cf. the episode in Vol. 2, p. 452 (text) where the women strewed the king with “handfuls of flowers,” puṣpamuṣṭīhi. Perhaps, °muṣṭīhi is the right reading here too.
[46]:
I.e., that night, after Alindā had come home.
[47]:
Literally, “one”, ekinā, instr. of eka. See Edgerton {Gram. §21. 14), who, however, does not admit that the form can be fem., and he translates “begotten by one (man) from a woman”, ekinā striyo (so read for striyā of Senart’s text) jātā.
[48]:
Vanarākṣasa.
[49]:
Reading puṣpavṛṣṭīhi for puṣpavṛṣṭī pi. See n 2.
[50]:
Piśāca.
[51]:
I.e., in order to get the elephants out. In the fuller version in Vol. 2 (p. 458, text), he threw away the sides of the building also.
[52]:
Nārāyaṇasaṅghaṭano. For Nārāyaṇa, see Vol. 2, p. 287, n. 4, but here he is alluded to in virtue of his mythical or proverbial strength. Saṅghaṭano would seem to have some relation to saṅghāṭa in the Pali expression Nārāyaṇasaṅghāṭabala, “the name given to a certain measure of physical strength” (D.P.N.). It is now seen that Edgerton, B.H.S.D., takes it as a synonym of sthāman “strength”, comparing LV. 229 where, he says Mahānārāyaṇa-saṅghaṭakāni should be read, with LV. 234, Nārāyaṇasthāmavan. He adds that the Tibetan uses the word for “hardness”, “firmness” to render saṅghaṭanaka. See also B.H.S.D. s.v. Nārāyaṇa.
[53]:
Reading dīptakāṃ for dīptakā.
[54]:
Reading dāghānmokṣitāṃ for hastānmokṣitā. Cf. Vol. 2, p. 458 agnidāghāto mocitā. In this passage both mocita and mokṣita are indifferently used.
[55]:
Reading siṃhāsapīṭha, with two MSS., for siṃhāsupīḍa of the text. Cf. p. 6, n 3.
[56]:
I.e., Sudarśanā.
[57]:
See Vol. I, p. 54, n. 2.
[58]:
Senart’s restoration of the text here cannot be right. As he gives it, it reads aho mama mandabhāgyāye artho paryāhṛto kule, which could only-mean, “behold the good of unlucky me which has been inflicted on the family.” The corresponding passage in Vol. 2 (p. 460) has aho mandabhāgyāye anartham. Two MSS. here, too, have anartho (masc. or nom. for neut. or acc.). Paryāhṛto, though it is the reading of one MS, can only stand if it is given the very doubtful sense of “inflicted”. It seems better to substitute paryeṣitā, the word which begins the sentence following the expression just quoted from Vol. 2. Kule is Senart’s conjecture for kali or kalīm of the MSS. But the latter is for kali, “ill-luck”, and is clearly a gloss, explanatory of mandabhāgyā, which has found its way into the text to the exclusion of another word, probably mayā. The restoration suggested, and followed in the translation, is, therefore, aho mama mandabhāgyāye (a)nartho paryeṣitā mayā (paryeṣitā fem. in agreement with sā implied), or, alternatively, paryeṣito agreeing with anartho, “a profitless thing did I seek.”
[59]:
Pratiśaya, which, as Senart says, is for pratiśraya. So also B.H.S.D
[60]:
Gopiṭaka, see Vol. 2, p. 412, n. 1. “A receptacle for solid food”. (B.H.S.D.)
[61]:
Alindā, cf. alinda, Vol. 2, p. 412, n. 2. “A receptacle for soft food.” (B.H.S.D., where Edgerton cites the AMg. alinda).
[62]:
Ekadukāye = ekadvikāye.
[63]:
Literally, “was the cooking of eight or nine rice-gruels,” aṣṭānāṃ vā navānāṃ vā taṇḍula-odanānāṃ pāko.
[64]:
Avidha, avidha. See Vol. I, p. 251, n. 2.
[66]:
Ambikā.
[67]:
The home of Sudarśanā. See Vol. 2, p. 393, n. 3.
[68]:
Allīna. See Vol. 2, p. 45, n. 1.
[69]:
Literally, “quoting here as far as he was dear to the king, yāvad rājño priyo ti kṛtvā. I.e., the story is abbreviated because it has already been told in Vol. 2. Edgerton, Gram. §35. 17, seems to have mistaken the force of yāvad here. He takes it as an adverbial conjunction, “until”, introducing the main verb bhaviṣyati, “until he became (lit. should become) the plaything”. But the words rajño priyo ti kṛtvā cannot be fitted into this rendering, which, accordingly, is not consonant with the context.
[70]:
Literally “was not pleased by him carrying her,” tena vāhiyamānena asātā (Pali = Sk. aśātā).
[71]:
Garahāmyaham. See Vol. 2, p. 427, n. 5.
[72]:
Rākṣasa.
[73]:
Anūrjaka, from ūrj, “food,” “vigour,” etc. The parallel passage in J. (5.293) has anujja-bhūtena. Anujja there, however, is taken both by the ancient commentator and the modern translator as being for an-ujju, “not upright,” “not fair,” (i.e. with citta understood), a sense which is not appropriate to the Mhvu. text. But it would not be impossible, in spite of what the commentator says, to take the anujju (v.l. anujja) of J. as being from an-ūri (not an-ujju = riju), and so render the line anujja-bhūtena (for anujju°) haraṃ mahantam by “the burden is too great for one who is without sustenance.” It might be argued, indeed, that this gives better sense than “it is not right that you should bear this burden.” (J. trans.).
[74]:
Omitting na, as in Vol. 2, p. 481 (text). See Vol. 2, p. 428, n. 2.
[75]:
Cf. J. 5. 295.
[76]:
Aghaṃ te bhotu pāpakam. For agham, see Vol. I, p. 35, n. 1. But the corresponding passage in Vol. 2, p. 482 (text) has ayam te bhavatu (for bhavati?) pāpakam. “this (chastity) is worth nothing to you.”
[77]:
Mā avaca, where avaca is aor. 2 sg. of vacati. For the form, which can also be used as 3 sg., see Edgerton, Gram. §32. 113. The use of the augmented aor. with mā is, of course, anomalous, though often found in our text.
[78]:
Me, ethic dat. Cf. the pl. vayam (oblique case) in the corresponding stanza in Vol. 2, p. 482 (text). See Vol. 2, p. 429, n. 1.
[79]:
See Vol. I, p. 124, n. 2.
[80]:
See Vol. 2, p. 429, n. 3.
[81]:
Chorayitvā. See Vol. 2, p. 429, n. 4. For the various BSk. senses of this verb see B.H.S.D.
[82]:
Reading karṇikārasya daruṇā for karṇikāreṇa karṇikām. See Vol. 2, p. 430, n. 1.
[83]:
Lacuna.
[84]:
Ārūdhaprajña. See Vol. 2, p. 430, n. 2.
[85]:
Reading taṃ na dharmaṃ, aparādhyam for tam eva, etc. Cf. Vol. 2, p. 430, n. 3.
[86]:
Or, ‘O Prajāpatī.’
[87]:
The text introduces this stanza with the words devī āha, “the queen said,” but they are omitted as unnecessary in translation; for the queen was already speaking.
[88]:
Reading the pl. ye vā vahanti, as in Vol. 2, p. 484 (text) for the sg. yo vā vahati.
[89]:
Reading labheyu, as in Vol. 2, p. 484 (text) for labheyam. Senart is not correct in assigning these words to Kuśa, and prajāpati here does not refer to Sudarśanā, but is an honorific title for the king.
[90]:
A reference to Vol. 2 will show how much of the story has been omitted here.
[91]:
Reading chorayitvā (see Vol. 2, p. 429, n. 4.) for choḍitvā. One MS. has choḍayitvā.
[92]:
Reading ambe for amba, for these words are addressed to her mother, not to her father. Cf. the version in Vol. 2, p. 486 (text). And so, too, ambe is found in the next stanza but one.
[93]:
Elūka. See Vol. 2, p. 432, n. 3. Now see B.H.S.D.
[94]:
Smareyāsi. Opt. 2 sg. See Edgerton, Gram. § 29. 37.
[95]:
Literally, “he is to be acquainted,” samādāpya, so interpreted by Senart, but the text of the whole passage is doubtful. Perhaps, the more usual sense, “he is to be incited,” is better.
[96]:
Reading aparādhyaṃ ācareyam for aparādhye ācare va, and kadācid for kocid. Senart admits that the text of the second line as printed is wholly unintelligible, not so much in itself but in view of the repetition immediately below. But the emendation proposed here would seem to give some semblance of coherence to the context, especially as it makes it fit in with the sense of the next stanza, where Kuśa takes up the words of Sudarśanā and applies them to his own case. It is just this repetition of the phraseology in Kuśa’s reply that makes Senart so doubtful of the text of this line and of his rendering of it, “si quelqu’un lui faisait tort, le roi (son père) ne man-querait pas d’intervenir.”
[97]:
Supplying aparādhyam, of which there is a reminiscence in some of the MSS., with ācareyam.
[99]:
Kiṃ (a)sya kurvantato mukham. Cf. kṛtamukha, “skilled”.
“The generic name for a man of the lowest and most despised of the mixed tribes, born from a Śūdra father and Brāhman mother.” (M.W.)
I.e., were legitimate.
The text has kasmādanupaśyematha. The need to insert na, “not,” is obvious, unless we read for kasmād, “why,” tasmād, “therefore,” and render “therefore let us have a look.” For the suffix -tha, see p. 4, n. 1.
Ekāṃsa. Cf. Pali ekaṃsa.
Śatapāka and sahasrapāka. See Vol. 2, p. 435, n. 1.
Upasthihīyati, a hybrid pass. form. Cf. Pali upaṭṭhīyati and upaṭṭhahīyati.
See Vol. I, p. 135, n. 2.
Vol. 2, p. 489 says “with wax,” madhusikthakena.
Bhajiṣyati, fut-pass. of bhañj. Vol. 2, p. 289 has bhajjiṣyati, and in both instances one MS. reads bhañjiṣyati.
Text has pādehi only (instr. for loc., as often in BSk.), “at (his) feet.” This can hardly be taken with the verb allīyatha “resort with your feet,” for in the next sentence we have pādehi... rājño abhigatā, “when they were come (and fallen) at the king’s feet.”
Vṛddhim karotha. In the next line we have the form vuddhi.
Suvarṇasahasramaṇḍitām kṛtvā. Cf. Vol. 2, p. 436, n. 1.
The Sanskrit is curiously succinct, suvarṇasandhīva putrapautrā, “thus sons and grandsons were (the result of) the golden alliance.” Cf. Vol. 2, p. 436, n. 2.
Jāmātuka, Sk. jāmātṛka, Pali jāmātar.
Caturaṅgabala. See Vol. 2, p. 5, n. 6.
Yathecchite janapade for yarthechite (sic) j.° of the text.
Okasta. See Vol. I, p. 188, n. 6.
Samanvāhṛta, BSk., Pali samannāharati.
The text has jyotirasa-ekāvalikām (so reading for °valikā) maṇiratnam. In the version in Vol. 2 (p. 492 text), when the jyotirasa is first mentioned it is described as being in the centre of the rope of pearls. When mentioned subsequently it is described as ekāvalikā jyotirasamaṇiratanam, where the two terms are in opposition, “a single rope of pearls (with) the jyotirasa jewel (in it).” See Vol. 2, p. 438, n. 2. Although the arrangement of the terms is different here, the present context and the sequel require the same rendering as that given in Vol. 2, p. 438.
“On your head”, in Vol. 2.
See Vol. I, p. 7, n. 2.
Literally, “you are to cover it,” pidhiyayāsi, caus. to Sk. (a)pidhā, Pali pr. pass, pithīyati. It is now seen that Edgerton, Gram. §29. 37 prefers with one MS. the reading pithiyeyāsi, opt. 2 sg., a causative from a pass, stem, “you are to cause to be covered,” ibid. §38. 12.
Reading vārito for vāri of the text.
Literally, “These are the skandhas, etc.” i.e., respectively, “sensory elements,” “bodily or physical elements,” “elements of sense perception,” and “self” or “soul.” The formula as here given differs slightly from its expression, elsewhere, e.g., Vol. 2, p. 93 (text), where, in the second line instead of ātmano’rthaṃ ca, “and the meaning of the ātman,” we have ātmānam adhikritya, “with reference to the ātman.”
Anavarāgra’ See Vol. I, p. 29, n. 4.
A Śākyan king, son of Amṛtodana, elder brother of Anuruddha, and cousin of the Buddha. See Vol. I, p. 298, and D.P.N.
For both names see Vol. I, p. 235, n. 4.
Literally “like to,” sādṛśa.
See vol. 1, p. 40, n. 3.
See vol. 1, p. 250, n. 3.
Anye jāti, where anye is for anyasmim, and jāti a stem form used as loc. So Senart. Edgerton, Gram. §10. 68, 69 adduces other examples of such a BSk. loc., but at §10. 189 he explains jāti as acc. pl. in an adverbial sense. The former explanation seems to be decidedly simpler.
Abhyācikṣia, Pali abbhācikkhati. Cf. ācikṣati, Vol. I, p. 44 (text), where Senart says that the form is to be referred directly to the weakened stem cikṣ, Pali cikk, Māgadhi cikhk, and not to the Sk. cakṣ. The Pali form, however, is to be regarded as an intensive derivation from khyā (see P.E.D.). See also B.H.S.D. s.v. ācikṣati.