beat him both on his hands and feet, made him bring back the gold, which they took possession of.
When the Bodhisat saw the gold he said, "You stuck to and carried off a hundred palas of gold, though you did not suffer a blade of grass to stick to you." Upbraiding him, he uttered the following gâthâ:—
"Thy words were smooth and soft, O crafty monk,
Full friendly was thy speech, O artful saint.
No blade of clinging grass thou took'st away,
Yet thou didst steal and carry off our gold."
After the Bodhisat had thus rebuked him he gave him good advice: "Never again, deceitful ascetic, do such an act." Then (after his death) he went to receive the reward due to his deeds.
The Manisûkara Jâtaka.[1]
In times long since past, when Brahmadatta reigned at Benares, the Bodhisat was reborn in a certain village, in the family of a brahman. When he grew up he saw the disadvantages of worldly pleasure; and, having crossed three mountain ranges, he dwelt in a hermitage as a holy anchorite. Not far from him there was a jewelled cave, in which lived some thirty hogs. Not far off the cave there dwelt a lion, whose shadow appeared in the crystal cave.
On seeing the lion's shadow the hogs were terrified and alarmed, and got thin and pale. They thought to themselves, "On account of the brightness of this crystal (cave) does this shadow appear; we'll make it dirty and dull." Going to a pool at no great distance off, they rolled themselves in the mud, came back, and rubbed themselves against the crystal cave. Through being rubbed by the hogs' bristles the cave became brighter. The hogs not seeing a means (of making the crystal dull) said, "We'll ask the anchorite what plan to adopt for making this crystal cave lose its lustre." They paid a visit to the Bodhisat, saluted him, stood on one side (at a respectful distance), and uttered the following gâthâs:—
- ↑ Jâtaka Book, vol. ii. No. 285, p. 417.
