Culla Paduma Jātaka

Once upon a time, when King Brahmadatta reigned over Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the chief Queen’s son. On his naming day, they called him “Prince Paduma,” the Lotus Prince. After him there were six younger brothers who were born. One after another these seven princes came of age. They married and settled down, living as the King’s companions.

One day the King looked out into the palace courts, and as he looked he saw these men with a great number of followers accompanying the princes. The King suspected that they meant to kill him and seize his kingdom. So he sent for them, and after a fashion he spoke to them:

“My sons, you may not live in this town. So go elsewhere, and when I die you can return and take the kingdom that belongs to our family.”

They consented to their father’s words but went home weeping and wailing. “It does not matter where we go!” they cried. And taking their wives with them, they left the city and traveled along the road.

By and bye they came to a wood where they could not get any food or drink. They were in danger of starving, so they conspired to save their lives at the expense of the women. They seized the youngest brother’s wife and killed her. They cut up her body into thirteen parts and ate it. But the Bodhisatta and his wife set aside one portion and ate the other between them.

They repeated this for six consecutive days. They killed and ate six of the women. And each day the Bodhisatta set one portion aside so that he had put aside six portions of food.

On the seventh day the other princes would have taken the Bodhisatta’s wife to kill her. But instead he gave them the six portions that he had kept. “Eat these,” he said. “Tomorrow I will manage.” They did eat the flesh. And when the time came that they fell asleep, the Bodhisatta and his wife snuck off together.

When they had gone a short distance the woman said, “Husband, I can go no further.” So the Bodhisatta took her on his shoulders, and at sunrise he came to the edge of the woods. She said, “Husband, I am thirsty!”

“There is no water, dear wife!” he said.

But she begged him again and again. Finally he struck his right knee with his sword and said, “There is no water. But sit down and you can drink the blood from my knee.” And so she did.

By and bye they came to the mighty Ganges. They drank, they bathed, they ate all manner of fruits, and they rested in a pleasant spot. And there by a bend in the river they built a small hut and lived there.

Now it happened that a robber in the region of the Upper Ganges had been guilty of high treason. His hands and feet and nose and ears had been cut off. He was put in a boat and left to drift down the great river. He floated to where the hut was, groaning with pain.

The Bodhisatta heard his pitiful wailing. He went to the river bank and saved the man. He brought him to the hut and tended to his wounds with astringent lotions and ointments.

But his wife said to herself, “Here is a lazy fellow he has fetched out of the Ganges, and now we have to look after him!” And she walked around spitting disgust at the unfortunate fellow.

Now while the man’s wounds were healing, the Bodhisatta had him living there in the hut along with his wife. He brought fruits of all kinds from the forest to feed both him and the woman. And as they lived there together, the woman fell in love with the fellow and started having an affair with him. She wanted to get rid of the Bodhisatta and said to him, “Husband, when I was sitting on your shoulder as we came out of the woods, I saw a hill, and I vowed that if we were saved and came to no harm, I would make an offering to the holy spirit of the hill. Now this spirit haunts me, and I want to make good on my promise!”

“Very well,” the Bodhisatta said, not knowing her vile plan. He prepared an offering and gave it to her. Then they climbed to the top of the hill. Then his wife said to him, “Husband, it is not the hill-spirit, but you who are my chief of gods! In your honor I will first offer wild flowers. Then I will walk reverently around you, keeping you on the right, and I will pay homage to you. After that I will make my offering to the hill-spirit.”

So saying, she had him face the cliff at the edge of the hill. She pretended that she was paying homage to him in reverent fashion. As she walked behind him, she hit him on the back and threw him over the cliff. Then she cried in joy, “I have seen the back of my enemy!” She went back down the hill and went back to her lover.

Now the Bodhisatta tumbled down the cliff, but he landed on top of a fig tree. But he could not get down off of the hill, so he sat there in the branches eating the figs. It so happened that there was a huge iguana that used to climb up the hill to eat the fruit of this fig tree. That day he saw the Bodhisatta and ran away. On the next day, however, he worked up the courage to eat some fruit on the opposite side of the tree. Again and again he came, until at last he struck up a friendship with the Bodhisatta.

“How did you get here?” he asked, and the Bodhisatta told him what had happened.

"Well, don’t be afraid,” the iguana said. And taking him on his back, he descended the hill, bringing the Bodhisatta with him. There he took him to the road and showed him the direction that he should go. Then he returned to the forest.

The Bodhisatta went to a nearby village. He lived there until he heard of his father’s death. He made his way back to Benares where he inherited the kingdom that belonged to his family. He took the name “King Lotus.” He faithfully followed the ten rules of righteousness for kings (generosity, morality, renunciation, honesty, gentleness, asceticism, non-violence, patience, uprightness), and he ruled honorably. He built six Halls of Bounty, one at each of the four gates, one in the midst of the city, and one before the palace. Every day he distributed 600,000 gold coins.

Now the wicked wife took her lover on her shoulders and left the forest. She went begging among the people, and she collected rice and gruel to support him. If she was asked what the man was to her, she would reply, “His mother was my father’s sister, and he is my cousin. They gave him to me to care for. I have made him my husband. Even if he were doomed to death I would take him on my shoulders and care for him and beg for food for him!”

“What a devoted wife!” all the people said. And from then on they gave her more food than ever. Some of them also offered advice. They said, “Do not live in this way. King Lotus is the lord of Benares. He has created a stir throughout all India by his generosity. He would be delighted to see you. He will be so delighted that he will give you rich gifts. Put your husband in this basket and make your way to him.” So saying, they persuaded her to go.

The wicked woman placed her lover in the basket. Taking it up she left for Benares where she lived on what she got at the Halls of Bounty.

Now the Bodhisatta used to ride to an alms-hall on the back of a splendid, richly decorated elephant. And after giving alms to eight or ten people, he would go back home again. The wicked woman placed her lover in the basket, and she took it to where the King was used to passing. When the King saw her, he asked, “Who is this?” “A devoted wife,” was the answer. He sent for her and immediately recognized who she was. He had the man removed from the basket and asked her, “What is this man to you?” “He is the son of my father’s sister, given to me by my family, my own husband” she answered.

“Ah, what a devoted wife!” they all cried, for they did not know the whole story, and they praised the wicked woman.

“What? Is the scoundrel your cousin? Did your family give him to you?” the King asked. “He is your husband, is he?”

She did not recognize the King and replied “Yes, my lord!” as bold as can be.

"And is this the King of Benares’ son? Are you not the wife of Prince Lotus, the daughter of a king? Did not you drink the blood from my knee? Did you not fall in love with this rascal and throw me down a cliff? Ah, you thought that I was dead. Yet here I am alive!”

Then he turned to his courtiers. “Do you remember what I told you when you questioned me? My six younger brothers killed their six wives and ate them. But I kept my wife unharmed. I brought her to the bank of the Ganges where I lived in a humble hut. I hauled a condemned criminal out of the river and took care of him. This woman fell in love with him. She threw me down a cliff, but I saved my life by showing kindness to an iguana, and he, in turn, showed kindness to me. This is no other than the wicked woman who threw me off the hilltop. This and no other is the condemned wretch!” And then he uttered the following verses:

“’Tis I - no other - and this queen is she.

The handless knave, no other, there you see.

She says, ‘This is the husband of my youth.’

The wicked deserve to die; they have no truth.

“With a great club beat out the scoundrel’s life

Who lies in wait to steal his neighbor’s wife.

Then take the faithless temptress by and bye,

And shear off her nose before she die.”

But although the Bodhisatta was full of anger and ordered this punishment for them, he did not go through with it. He stifled his wrath, and instead he had the basket bound to her head so tightly that she could not get it off. He had the same thing done to the villain, and they were driven out of his kingdom.