English
What is your desire, what your intent, Alone you ponder in the heat? What do you wish, what do you seek, For what purpose, O brahmin? Just as a great water-bearer, A pot well-rounded and complete; So like it was a ripe mango, Excellent in color, scent, and taste. That, being carried by the stream, I saw in the clear middle; With my hands I took it, And brought it to the fire-sanctuary. Then on banana leaves, Having placed it, I myself; With a knife having cut it, It removed my hunger and thirst. So I, free from weariness, Having become tranquil, free from pain; I find no delight, In any other fruits. Surely, death will dry up, That will bring me (death); The mango whose fruit is sweet, Supremely delicious, delightful; Which I drew out, being carried away, From the great ocean. All has been told to you by me, Why I am fasting; I am seated facing Ramma, With widely spread, abundant hair. And you, indeed, tell me, Your true self, without concealment; Who are you, O beautiful one, Whose are you, O slender-waisted one? Like a polished plate of silver, Like a tigress born of a mountain slope; The women who are among the gods, Attendants of the gods. And those in the human world, Women endowed with beauty; None is equal to you in beauty, Among gods, gandhabbas, and humans; You are asked by me, O beautiful-limbed one, Tell your name and relatives. Where you are seated facing, O brahmin, the beautiful Kosikī; I am that, risen from a dwelling of reeds, Flowing with excellent water, a flood. Crowded with various kinds of trees, Many mountain caves; They are indeed my sources, They flow forth in the rainy season. And also many forest streams, Bearing dark blue water; Many streams from serpent-haunted places, They flow forth with water. Those with mango, rose-apple, and buja trees, Nīpa trees, palm trees... Many kinds of fruits, They bear again and again. 15. Whatever fruit, Falls into the water from both banks; Without doubt, that fruit, Becomes subject to the current. 16. Knowing this, O wise one, O widely discerning one, listen to me; Do not delight, do not cling, Refuse it, O lord of men. 17. I do not consider it growth, That you, O enhancer of the realm, Being taught, O royal sage, Desire death. 18. His fathers know this, And the gandhabbas with the devas; And also those sages in the world, Self-controlled ascetics; Without doubt, they too know, The renowned ones, who have become established. 19. Thus knowing, the wise one, all phenomena, The destruction, the passing away of life; No evil accumulates for that person, If he does not intend his destruction. 20. Known by the assembly of sages, Thus, worldly things are known, being mindful; In ignoble speech, You desire evil deeds. 21. If I die, On your bank, O broad-hipped one; Without doubt, that ill-repute, Will come to me, when I am gone. 22. Therefore, indeed, evil deeds, Protect yourself from them, O slender-waisted one; Lest all people afterwards, Should revile you, after I am dead. 23. This is known, O unconquerable one, I give you myself and the mango; Having abandoned hard-to-give sense pleasures, You are established in peace and Dhamma. 24. He who, having abandoned a former connection, Afterwards stands in fetters; He practices unrighteousness, And evil increases for him. 25. Come, I will lead you, Be content, free from eagerness; I will bring you to coolness, Dwell without craving. 26. There, by those intoxicated with flower nectar, By the curved-limbed ones, O subduer of foes; Cranes, peacocks, divine ones, Kolaṭṭhi-madhusāḷikā; Awakened by flocks of geese, Cuckoos here awaken. 27. Here, in the mango tree, with widely spread branch-tips Burnt, like a heap of straw. Kosamba, Salala, Nipa trees, hanging like ripe palm fruits. 28. Garlanded, crowned, with armlets, bracelets, smeared with sandalwood. At night you served, by day you felt pain. 29. Sixteen thousand women, who were your attendants. Such was your great power, wondrous, hair-raising. 30. What evil deed did you do before, bringing suffering to yourself? Having done which among humans, you eat back-flesh. 31. Having accepted gifts, I was greedy for sensual pleasures. I wandered for a long time, for the harm of others. 32. Whoever is a back-biter, thus eats, tearing apart, just as I today eat, my own back-flesh. The first Kiṃchanda Jātaka. 512. The Kumbha Jātaka (2) 33. Who appeared in the daytime sky, illuminating the night like the moon? From your body rays emanate, like a hundred flashes of lightning in the sky. 34. You traverse the airless space, in the void, you go through the sky and stand still. Is your psychic power well-developed, made real, even for gods who have not gone far? 35. Having come through the sky, you stand, and say, "Buy the pot!" Who are you, and whose is this pot? Tell me, brahmin, this matter. 36. It is not a pot of ghee, nor a pot of oil, not a pot of jaggery, nor a pot of honey. The faults of the pot are not few, hear the many faults contained in the pot. 37. Having drunk which, one might fall, fall into a chasm, a pit, a cave, a ravine, a precipice. One might eat much that is uneatable, buy this pot full of that. 38. Having drunk which, not seeking in mind, one wanders like a cow seeking fodder. Heedless, he sings and dances, buy this full pot from her. 39. Indeed, having drunk which, naked, without clothes, he might wander through the village streets; with a deluded mind, sleeping too long, buy this full pot from her. 40. Having drunk which, rising, trembling, shaking his head and arms; he dances like a wooden puppet, buy this full pot from her. 41. Indeed, having drunk which, they lie burnt by fire, and are eaten by jackals; bondage, slaughter, and loss of wealth they incur, buy this full pot from her. 42. Having drunk which, one might speak what should not be spoken, sitting in an assembly, without clothes; smeared (with vomit), having vomited, ruined, buy this full pot from her. 43. Indeed, having drunk which, arrogant, with clouded eyes, "All the earth is mine!" he thinks; "No one is equal to me, not even a king of the four quarters," buy this full pot from her. 44. Pride and excessive pride, quarrels, slander, disfigurement, nakedness, flight; of thieves and rogues, it is the path, the abode, buy this full pot from her. 45. Prosperous, flourishing families there may be, with many thousands of riches in the world; made to lose their inheritance by this, buy this full pot from her. 46. Grain, wealth, silver, gold, fields, cattle, where they destroy; the destroyer of wealthy families, buy this full pot from her. 47. Indeed, having drunk which, a man, wicked-looking, abuses mother and father; he might even seize his mother-in-law, or his daughter-in-law, buy this full pot from her. 48. Indeed, having drunk which, a woman, wicked-looking, abuses father-in-law and husband; she might even seize a slave, or a servant, buy this full pot from her. 49. Indeed, having drunk which, a man might strike a monk or brahmin established in the Dhamma or. He goes to the woeful states because of it, buy this full pot of hers. 50. Having drunk which, they commit evil deeds, by body, speech, and mind; They go to hell, having committed evil deeds, buy this full pot of hers. 51. What they could not obtain before, even sacrificing much gold; Having drunk that, he speaks falsely, buy this full pot of hers. 52. Having drunk which, when sent on an errand, when an urgent matter arises; He does not understand the purpose, even when told, buy this full pot of hers. 53. Even the modest become shameless, intoxicated by liquor; Even the wise speak much, buy this full pot of hers. 54. Having drunk which, they lie in a single heap, without food, on a hard, painful bed; They fall into disfigurement and wretchedness, buy this full pot of hers. 55. Having drunk which, they lie with broken shoulders, like cows struck by a pole; The force is unbearable for a man, buy this full pot of hers. 56. What people avoid, like a snake with terrible venom; Who, being a man, is fit to drink that, which is like poison in the world? 57. Having drunk which, the Andhakaveṇḍa sons, sporting on the seashore; Attacked each other with clubs, buy this full pot of hers. 58. Having drunk which, the former gods, heedless, fell from heaven for all time; Knowing such a useless intoxicant as this, O great king, how could one drink it? 59. In this pot there is no curds or honey Oh, indeed, having thus understood, buy, O king; Thus, this, having come into the pot by me for you, has been described to you, my good friend. 60. Neither my father nor my mother were such as you are; Sympathetic to my welfare, desiring the highest good, therefore, I will do your bidding today. 61. I give you five excellent villages, a hundred slave women, seven hundred cows; And these ten chariots yoked with thoroughbreds, be my teacher, desiring my welfare. 62. Let the hundred slave women be yours, O king, and the villages and cows be yours; And the chariots yoked with thoroughbreds be yours, I am Sakka, lord of the thirty-three gods. 63. Eat rice with meat and ghee-porridge, and eat honey-meat cakes; Thus, you, O lord of men, devoted to Dhamma, blameless, go to the heavenly abode. 64. After a long time, indeed, it has arisen for me today, a great meal at the time of the seventh meal. Where are you from? Who are you? Tell me now, declare your birth, so that you may be known. 65. The king of Pañcāla, having entered the hunt, named Jayaddisa, as you may have heard; I roam the thickets and forests, eat this antelope, and release me today. 66. You are just trying to deceive me, this antelope you speak of is my food; Having eaten that antelope, being hungry, I will eat you afterwards, there is no time for lamentation. 67. There is no escape for me by ransom, to go and return for a question; Having given that promise to the brahmin, guarding the truth,