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Wessantara rejoiced to hear her dream, as he saw that the time for fulfilling the pdramit^ had come ; but he told her that she had formerly eaten agreeable food and slept on pleasant beds, whereas she had now only fruits to eat and was obliged to lie on logs of wood ; and with this intimation he sent her away. At the usual hour, she took the children and delivered them to his care, whilst she went into the forest. When the prince saw the brahman approaching, he told his son J&liya to go and meet him, and carry his wateivvessel. After the brahman had par- taken of some fruits that were set before him, Wessantara en- quired why he had come ; and he replied that he had come to iisk the gift of his two children. On hearing his request, the prince told him that he was the best friend he had yet met with, as others had asked only the elephant or the chariot ; but that their mother was then absent, and as it would be right for her to see them before their departure, he would haye to remain until the next day. The brahman said that he could not stay so long ; and that if he did not receive the children now he must go away without them. Wessantara then informed him that if he took them to his royal parents, he would be rewarded with many gifts ; but he rephed that if he were to take them to the city it would cost him his life, when it became known in what way he had i^eceived them, and that the prince must decide whether he would give up the children or not. Jdliya and Krishndjin^, on hearing this conversation, fled away in extreme terror, and hid themselves under the leaves of a lotus growing in a pond near their dwelling. Bj this time Wessantara had resolved upon giving his children to the brahman without any further delay ; but when he called them they did not make their appearance. Upon this the old man began to reproach him, and said that he had not seen so great a liar in the whole country ; as he must have sent them away purposely, though he had promised to give them in alms. To discover whither they had fled, the prince went to the forest, and when near the pond called out to Jaliya ; and no sooner did the boy hear the voice of his father, than he said, " The brah- man may take me ; I am willing to become his servant ; I can- not remain here and listen to my father's cries ;" and tearing in 124 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. two the leaf by which he was covered, he sprang up, and ran towards his father, weeping. Wessantara asked him where his sister was ; and when Jdliya told him that thej had fled away in fear and hid themselves, he called ont to her ; on which she came from under the lotus as her brother had done, and like him shedding tears, clung to the feet of her father. But aa Wessantara reflected that if he did not give up his children he could not become a Budha, and would be unable to release sentient beings from the miseries of repeated existence, he called them to the pansal, and pouring water on the hands of the brahman, delivered them to him, saying, *' May I by this become the all-kuowing !*' The brahman took the children away, but he stumbled on going down a hill that he had to descend, and there remained, lying upon his face. The children embraced the opportunity of running away ; and returning to their father, they put their hands upon his feet, and with many tears reminded him of the dream of their mother. Jaliya said how much they wished to see their mother before their departure, and requested that if it was necessary their father should give them to some brahman, he would give them to some one who was less ugly than this decrepid old man ; and further, that as his sister was tender and delicate, and unfitted for work, it would be better to give him alone, and leave Krishndjina with her mother. Wessantara made no reply, and as Jdliya was asking him why he was silent, Jiijaka approached bleeding, and looking like an executioner who had just been taking the life of some criminal The children trembled with fear when they saw him. Unable to retain them both, as Krishndjind ran away when he seized Jdliya, and the sister when he seized her brother, he tied them together by a withe, and began to drive them along with a stick, beating them as they went. Looking at their father, they told him to see the blood streaming down their backs, and to consider the pain they en- dured. Wessantara reflected, '' If my children have to suffer this before my eyes, what will they not have to endure when they are at a distance ? How can they pass over hills, thorns, and stones ? When they are hungry, who will feed them ? When their feet are swollen who will give them relief ? When the cold wind chills them, who will administer unto them comfort ? How will the mother who has borne them in her V. g(5tama b<5dhisat: his yirtues, etc. 125 bosom, grieve when she returns at night, and finds that they are gone P Thus thinking, he resolved to drive away the brahman, and receive them again. As they passed along the shady places where they had played together, and the cave in which they had been accnstomed to make different figures in clay as a pastime, and the trees growing by the familiar pond, they said sorrow- fully, *'Fare ye well, ye trees that put forth the beautiful blossoms ; and ye pools in whose waters we have dabbled ; ye birds that have sung for us sweet songs ; and ye kindur^ that have danced before us and clapped your hands ; toll our mother that we have given you a parting salutation ! Ye well-known d6was, and ye animals with whom we have sported, let our mother know the manner in which we thus pass along the road !*' When Madrid^wi was about to return home, Sekra sent four d^was to assume the form of wild beasts, and delay her return to the pansai ; but as she went along, her mind dwelt upon the dream, and alarmed at the sight of the animals (not having pre- viously met with any in the same place), she dreaded lest the children should come to meet her and so be devoured. And when she came near the pansai, and heard not their voices, she was still more afraid, and began to think that some eagle or sprite might have carried them off when they were sleeping ; or else that perhaps her relatives had come and demanded them, in order to take them away. Going to the pansai she enquired of Wessantara where the children were, but he remained silent. This silence caused her to wonder, and the more so as he had not collected the wood and water as usual. Then he said to her that they had gone out when she delayed her return from col- lecting fruits ; as he thought that her death might be caused if he informed her at once that he had given them in alms. On hearing this, the princess went into the forest, going from place to place, and examining every spot in which they had been ac- customed to play; and as she did not find them, she became senseless. Wessantara followed her to learn the cause of her prolonged absence, and when he found her he sprinkled water upon her face, by which she recovered. Her first question was, " Where are the children ?" The prince now informed her that he had given them away in alms to an aged brahman, that the pre-requisites of the Budhaship might be fulfilled. Then Madri- d^wi replied, *' The Budhaship is more excellent than a hundred 126 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. thonsand children !" and rejoicing in the reward that was to be obtained from this gift, wished that it might be extended to all the beings in the world. When Sekra perceived that Wessantara had given away his children, thinking it would not be right that any one should take the princess in the same way, he assumed the appearance of an aged brahman, and went to the rock. Wessantara, on seeing him, asked him why he had come, and he replied, " I am now old and powerless ; I have no one to assist me ; I have therefore come to receive the princess as my slave." The prince looked in the fekce of Madrid^wi; and she, knowing his thoughts, ex- pressed her willingness to comply with the wish that had been expressed ; whereupon he delivered her to the supposed brah- man, that the gift might assist in the reception of the Bndha- ship. When the brahman received her, he said, " The princess now belongs to me ; that which belongs to another, you have not the right to give away ; therefore keep her for me until I shall return.