27a: The 9th Rains Retreat (Ghosaka and Māgaṇḍiya)
The Rich Man Ghosaka
This short account of the rich man of Kosambī has been compiled from the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada, Dhp 21) commentary, and the Numerical commentary (Khujjuttarā-sāmāvatī-vatthu, AN 1.14.7, PTS 1.420), where fuller accounts are given.
Prior to the appearance of the Fully Self-Awakened Buddha, a deadly infectious disease (ahi-vātaka) broke out in the country of Allakappa, and the toll of this plague affected anything from 10-20 in a family at a time. Those who evacuated to other countries escaped death. One of the citizens left Allakappa together with his wife and a baby son. But they suffered from a shortage of food in the middle of crossing a barren land and were in a state of exhaustion. The parents took turns to carry the baby for some time.
The husband was of the idea that crossing the desert would not be possible with the extra load of the baby on their shoulder. So he kept himself a bit behind the wife by slowing down his speed as though pressed by the call of nature. He placed the child on the ground in a sitting posture and resumed his journey. When the wife did not see her son in his hands, she enquired about the child, asking: “My lord, where is my baby?” The husband replied: “What good will he be under such stress and strain. We could produce many children so long as we are alive!” The wife screamed in anger: “Such a brute you are, I will not go along with a cruel person like you.” The husband confessed his inconsiderate act and apologized to her: “Please pardon me for my fault.” They continued their journey again after picking up the child.
The fatigued couple, with the baby to carry, managed to cross the sandy plain with great difficulty. By evening, they reached the cowherds’ hut where they had cooked rice with pure milk for their own consumption. When they saw the couple and the child, they at once realized that the strangers were hunger-stricken, and offered them a big pot full of rich milk gruel. The wife was moderate in eating and so she ate just the right measure of food while the greedy husband ate very much, beyond his limit, so much so, that he died of indigestion the next morning. As he was very much attached to the people in the cowherds hut before his death, he took conception in the womb of a dog who lived there. The dog gave birth to a lovely puppy in due time. It was well looked after by the cowherd as though it was his own child. The two were very much attached to each other and the puppy followed the cowherd wherever he went.
One morning, a Paccekabuddha stopped at the door of the cowherd to receive alms food. The cowherd paid respect and offered food and requested the Paccekabuddha to stay and the cowherd would provide him the requisites. The Paccekabuddha took up residence in a grove not far from his dwelling. The cowherd used to take the puppy along with him whenever he went to visit the Paccekabuddha. He used to strike the boulders and dry stumps with a stout staff, on the way to the dwelling of the Paccekabuddha, to frighten away the beasts of prey. The puppy took careful note of his master’s activities.
On one occasion, the cowherd made it plain to the Paccekabuddha that he might not attend on him personally everyday for one reason or other. He assured the Paccekabuddha that the little dog would come to his dwelling to accompany him to and from his hut, on his behalf, in case of his failure to do it himself.
One day, the cowherd sent his little dog to accompany the Paccekabuddha from the forest to his hut. The little dog went there, and, on arrival, lay on its belly stretched at the feet of the Paccekabuddha. The Paccekabuddha realized that the little dog was sent to fetch him. Hence, he took his robe and alms bowl. Being desirous of testing the intelligence of the dog, he deliberately went in a wrong direction. Whereupon, the little dog went in front of him and blocked his way. It gave way only when the Paccekabuddha resumed the right
At the end of the Rains Retreat (Vassa), the cowherd offered a piece of cloth to the Paccekabuddha for making robes and said: “Reverend Sir, the Rains Retreat (Vassa) has come to a close and I would leave it to you to stay on at the same place or go to any place of your own choice, as pleases you.” As the Paccekabuddha appeared to have a desire to leave for another place, the cowherd accompanied him to a certain distance and returned to his hut. When the little dog discovered that the Paccekabuddha had left for good, it died of a broken heart and was reborn in the Deva realm of Tāvatiṁsa.
He was endowed with a voice that excelled that of the other Devas of the celestial world, as a reward for barking aloud and frightening the beasts of prey as he passed through the forest in the company of the Paccekabuddha in his previous existence. He was therefore known as Ghosaka Deva for having a voice that covered the whole of Deva realm.
While Ghosaka was enjoying the luxurious life of a Deva in Tāvatiṁsa, Udena was the King of Kosambī in the world of humans. The life of Udena has been dealt with elsewhere in this treatise, see chapter 45b. Then Ghosaka Deva died and was conceived in the womb of a courtesan in Kosambī, during the reign of Udena. When the courtesan came to know that she had given birth to a son, she had the newly born babe cast on the garbage dump.
One of the supervisors of workmen, in the employment of the rich man of Kosambī, noticed the child in the middle of a flock of crows, on his way to his master’s house. He was impressed by the look of the lovely child and thought there was a bright future for the child. Therefore, he picked up the baby and sent him to his house, under the care of one of his workmen while he continued his way to his master’s house.
That morning the rich man of Kosambī met a wise man on his way to the palace of the King Udena. The rich man asked the wise men: “Master, have you studied the astrological signs of the stars and their trends?” The astrologer examined the movements and behaviour of the planets on the spot and replied: “Anyone born today is destined to become a rich man in Kosambī, as he is born in conjunction with such and such stars and planets.”
On hearing the prediction of the astrologer, the rich man of Kosambī turned to his attendants and gave instructions: “My dear men, the prediction of this wise man are always axiomatic and determinate. My wife is an expectant mother, and, you better go to my house and find out if she has given birth to a child.” The attendants rushed to his house and hurried back to tell him that his wife has not yet given birth to a child. He sent his men out again to find if there is any child born in the city on this day.
The attendants went all over the town to find out if there was any child born on that day. They discovered that there was a newly born babe in the house of his own supervisor. When this was brought to his notice, the rich man sent for the supervisor, and on his arrival, asked him a few questions.
Rich Man: Is it true that there is a baby in your house who is born today?
Supervisor: Yes, Master.
Rich Man: Can you give me that child?
Supervisor: I can’t give, Master.
Rich Man: Take 1,000 pieces of money in exchange for the baby!
The supervisor tried to speculate mentally: “This baby may or may not live long, the question of life and death is beyond my power of decision.” In view of this matter of uncertainty, he decided to accept the money in exchange for the baby.
The rich man conceived an idea: “Should my wife give birth to a girl, he would be treated
The Brutal Acts of the Rich Man of Kosambī
He thought of placing the adopted son Ghosaka, the son of a courtesan, in the cow-shed to be killed by being trodden on by oxen. He accordingly asked his servants to place the babe at the gate of the cowshed. The boy was placed at the exit of the cow-shed, as instructed by the rich man.
A big bull, the chief of the herd was the first to come out of the compound and finding the baby lying helplessly on the ground, it shielded him from the imminent danger of being trodden on by standing over him with its four legs placed around him like a fence. On seeing Ghosaka, the cowherds expressed this opinion among themselves: “This child must be a favoured child of fortune, even animals seem to know of his attributes,” and so with mutual consent they took him to their house to be looked after
The rich man enquired as to the fate of the baby and was told that he was safe, under the care of the cowherds. He regained possession of the baby by giving the cowherds 1,000 pieces of money in exchange for him. He then commanded his men to throw the baby away at the cemetery.
The baby was abandoned in the cemetery at a time when the rich man’s goat-herd was tending a herd of goats there. A milking she-goat caught sight of the baby and left the herd to put herself in such a posture as to afford an opportunity for the baby to suck her milk. She left the baby only after feeding him in the manner just described. On departure from the pasture in the evening, she went to feed the baby again, in the same manner. The goat-herd’s attention was drawn by the strange movements of that she-goat on that day, and he saw for himself that the she-goat was feeding the baby as if it was her own babe. The goat-herd thought to himself: “This baby must be a favoured child of fortune, even animals seem to know his attributes,” and so he brought the baby to be looked after in his own house.
On the next morning, the rich man sent his men to find out what had happened to the baby. When he was told that the baby was safe under the care of a goat-herder, he sent his men to redeem the baby in exchange for 1,000 pieces of money and commanded them to place the baby on the cart-track, in the busy part of the town, so that he might be killed by being trodden by the carts of a passing trader on the following day.
His servants did as they were told. A train of carts came into the town as expected but the oxen that drew the first cart saw the baby in their track, so they stood still with their legs fixed like four pillars. The leader of the traders saw the strange spectacle and was greatly moved by it, so much so that he picked up the babe and looked after him himself, as the baby appeared to be a favoured child of fortune with a bright future.
The rich man sent out his men to find out if the baby had been killed, by being trodden on by the carts of the traders, and was told that the boy was safe under the care of the leader of the traders. He again asked them to redeem the child in exchange for 1,000 pieces of money and to throw the baby down a steep cliff at a distance from the town.
The baby was thrown upside down by the servants, but the child fell right on top of a workshop of those who manufactured mats from reeds. The mats made of reeds proved to be as soft as cotton that had been ginned 1,000 times due to his deeds of merits in the past. The leading workman opined that the baby was a favoured child of fortune with a bright future, and so he brought the child to his house for adoption.
The rich man sent out his men again to enquire into the state of the child. When he came to know all about the babe, he asked his servants to recover the baby in exchange for 1,000 pieces of money, and to bring him to his house.
In due course the rich man’s own son and Ghosaka came of age. The rich man
The rich man thought that the potter would not do something for nothing, and so he paid him 1,000 pieces of money to make him yield to his persuasions. He was successful because there is no one who cannot be corrupted by bribery. The potter accepted the money and told the rich man: “I will arrange for the pot-kilns to be kept ready on such and such a day, and you might send the boy to me on that date by appointment.”
The rich man marked time and on the day of the appointment, he asked the youthful Ghosaka: “My dear son, I require many pots and I have arranged with our potter to supply them by certain date, you might go now to the potter and ask him to do as he was bid by me, without any delay.” Ghosaka replied: “Very well,” and left the house.
On seeing Ghosaka on the road, the rich man’s own son came running to him and asked for help: “Elder brother, I’ve lost many marbles while playing a game with my playmates. I do pray that you try to recover the loss I’ve sustained.” Whereupon, Ghosaka said: “I can’t do it now, because our father has sent me on an errand.” The rich man’s own son made another request: “If so, just play for me and recover the lost balls. I will go on the errand on your behalf.” Whereupon, Ghosaka said: “In that case, you might go to the potter’s place and convey the message of your father to the potter in detail while I play with the boys to recover the marbles you lost to them.”
The rich man’s son went and conveyed his father’s message to the potter, on behalf of Ghosaka as agreed. The potter said he would carry out his father’s orders. He took the boy into his house and hacked him into pieces with an axe and put the pieces of the dead boy’s body into a mud pot which was later kept along with the unbaked mud-pots in the kiln.
Ghosaka won quite a lot of marbles and he waited for the return of his younger brother for a time. When the younger boy failed to turn up, he went to the potter’s place to look for him and returned home when no trace of his younger brother could be found.
The rich man was astonished to see the return of Ghosaka at a distance and was at a loss to know what had happened. He got up before Ghosaka could even take a seat to explain the matter. “Dear son, did you not go to the potter’s place?” The youth replied: “No, father, I didn’t go.” He asked him again: “Why did you not go?” The youth explained the reason why he did not go and why the younger brother went there on his behalf, in detail.
The rich man felt as if he was reeling under the weight of the great earth and scolded him: “My dear son, what do you mean by that?” and so saying he hurried to the place of the potter with a greatly agitated mind. When he got to the house of the potter, he could not tell the full facts of the tragedy and so he simply uttered: “Look, my man, look my man.” But the potter gave him a stiff reply: “Rich man, what do you mean by that, when it is too late!” The rich man had to return home without any further ado. He was reduced to a mental wreck from that time.
The rich man of Kosambī did not take his meal together with Ghosaka from that time onwards, and deliberated as to how to do away with his son’s rival. He wrote a note and asked Ghosaka to deliver it to one of his supervisors at a certain village and to tell him verbally that the contents of the note must be translated into action at once. He also instructed the lad to contact one of his boyhood friends, a rich man of Gāmaka, and stop at his home for the meals on the way to his destination. Ghosaka had come of age by that time.
Ghosaka paid respect to the rich man and left. On arrival at the village of Gāmaka, he found his way to the rich man’s house and stood worshipping in front of him. The local rich man was shaving his beard by the side of a window. When he noticed the lad, he asked: “Young man
By that time, one of the maids of the daughter of the rich man was on her way to the market to fetch some flowers for her mistress. She stopped by the rich man who asked her: “Maid, tarry a little, you might wash and brush the feet of Ghosaka and arrange for the provision of a bed for him.” The maid did as she was bid and then went to the market to fetch some flowers as usual.
On seeing the maid with a collection of flowers, the daughter of the rich man scolded her: “You have loitered on the road today, what on earth had made you take such a long time in fetching the flowers?”
Whereupon, the servant girl replied: “Mistress, I’ve never seen such a beautiful youth before. He is said to be the son of your father’s boyhood friend. It is beyond my power to express his handsomeness and graciousness. Your father asked me to wash his feet and provide a bed when I was on my way to the market to fetch flowers for you, hence the delay.”
The daughter of the rich man of Gāmaka happened to be the wife of the lad Ghosaka four existences ago. On hearing about the youth, she was assailed by uncontrollable affection for him.
The daughter of the Gāmaka rich man, accompanied by her maid, went to the bedroom and found Ghosaka sound asleep. She noticed a note tied to the edge of his waist-cloth and, out of curiosity, detached it quietly and read it. She discovered that the youth had brought a note that would cause the loss of his own life. She had it torn into pieces and wrote another one in substitution for the original one, before the lad woke up: “Dear supervisor, I am sending my son to you. My boyhood friend, Gāmaka, the rich man, has a daughter who has attained the age of puberty. I want you to collect all the yields accrued from our own estates and regroup them into lots of 100 of each kind for presentation at the matrimonial ceremony between the daughter of the Gāmaka rich man and my own son, and I wish you to act as my duly accredited representative on that happy occasion.” I also wish you to give me an account of the matrimonial ceremony with a statement of expenditure incurred in connection with the marriage, in due course. And it was signed by the rich man of Kosambī.
She had the fresh note nicely stamped with a fabricated seal and tied it to the edge of the waist-cloth of the lad as though nothing untoward had happened to it during his sound sleep.
Ghosaka spent a day in that house and resumed his journey after taking leave from the rich man. On arrival at the place of the supervisor, he promptly handed over the note with the information that the contents of the note should be translated into action at once. The supervisor, after reading the note, summoned all the villagers and addressed the gathering: “My dear men, although you do not seem to care much about me, my own master, the rich man of Kosambī, has entrusted me with the responsibility of arranging, on his behalf, a matrimonial ceremony for his son, Ghosaka, and the daughter of the rich man of Gāmaka. It asks that all the products issued from this area should be collected and grouped into lots of 100 of each kind for presentation to the couple as his gifts.
When everything was set, he arranged for the matrimonial ceremony to be performed in a traditional manner and sent a report to the rich man of Kosambī, to the effect that the
On hearing the news, the rich man of Kosambī felt like one suffering from burns and uttered: “Alas! I have been ruined beyond redemption.” He suffered both physical and mental agony and was eventually attacked with acute dysentery, and, yet he had not given up the idea of denying the estate to Ghosaka by hook or by crook. He, therefore, wrote a note with an ulterior motive and sent it to the lad. The note read: “Why have you, my son, stayed there long after your marriage. I want you to come back home urgently.”
Upon receipt of the letter, simple-minded Ghosaka made preparations for the return journey. The daughter of the Gāmaka rich man perceived that the simpleton Ghosaka never knew that it was she who was responsible for his present luxurious life. So she tried to detain him by her own clever tactics. She convinced him by saying: “My dear man, don’t be so hasty. One should make the necessary arrangements before one goes to one’s relatives.” She delayed his early departure for good reasons.
The rich man of Kosambī, with an undaunted will, sent another note stating that he had broken down in health through an acute attack of deadly dysentery and that he was in a state of hopelessness and the situation warranted Ghosaka’s immediate return. The daughter of the Gāmaka rich man could not help worrying that, by that time, the truth connected with their union and other things was at stake.
“My dear man, the rich man of Kosambī is not your own father, though you have all along regarded him as your father. He had sent you to his supervisor with a note containing express instructions to kill you right away. I personally destroyed that fateful note and substituted it with a fresh one of my own design that brought about our union. He did not call you for nothing but to expose that you are not his successor. You should wait until his death.”
Soon afterwards a rumour that the Kosambī rich man had died was afloat and the couple made preparations to go there with attendants. The intelligent wife warned her husband to enter the building with great caution and to post escorts around the house beforehand. She accompanied her husband as he entered the house, raising her hands and crying as if lamenting. She found her way to the rich man who was lying in a dark corner and struck his chest with her head, as if in great sorrow sending the dying man already weak with ailment to an early death.
After the cremation of the corporeal relics (sarīra-jhāpana) of the rich man of Kosambī, Ghosaka, by generous bribing, induced the intimate servants of the deceased to tell outsiders that he was the son of the late old man.
Title of Rich Man of Kosambī
Seven days after the death of the rich man of Kosambī, King Udena considered that he had to find a person to succeed him, one with the desirable qualifications who would earn the title: “The Rich Man of Kosambī (Kosambī-seṭṭhi).” He ordered his royal servants to find out if the late rich man had a son or not. All the intimate servants of the late rich man unanimously reported that he had a son by the name of Ghosaka, who was worthy of succeeding his father. King Udena then conferred the title of “The Rich Man of Kosambī” on Ghosaka complete with insignia of office.
When Ghosaka became The Rich Man of Kosambī, his wise and intelligent wife said: “My dear lord, although we are of lowly origins, we have become great and glorious by virtue of our meritorious deeds of the past, and let us, therefore, maintain it by performing meritorious deeds with redoubled zeal and enthusiasm.” Her husband readily accepted her good proposals, and the couple mutually agreed to spend 1,000 pieces of money every day in unbroken generosity (nibaddha-dāna), without any breach or breakage throughout their lives.
The Recluses of Kosambī
There were three distinguished rich men in Kosambī country before the time of the Fully Self-Awakened Buddha. They were Ghosaka, Kukkuṭa and Pāvārika who were boyhood friends. They looked upon 500 recluses as their teachers in the absence of the Buddha and looked after them well. All the recluses used to take up residence at Kosambī during the rainy season, which lasted for four months, and retreated to the forests of the Himālayas in the summer and winter seasons, lasting eight months.
Years rolled by, and one day, the recluses felt exhausted after crossing a vast barren land without water on their way from the Himālayas to Kosambī. They eventually came upon a huge banyan tree and naturally entertained the hope that from the look of the banyan tree, there would be a guardian deity powerful enough to provide them with water.
The guardian deity of the banyan tree thought it would be well to fulfil the need of the recluses, and he caused a stream of water, about six inches in volume, to flow from the fork of the tree. When the recluses saw the silvery water, they received it with their cups and quenched their thirst, and then they began to think that it would be a good thing if the guardian deity could also provide them with food, since they happened to be in the thick of a forest far away from the villages. Whereupon, the guardian deity offered them celestial gruel, which was suitable for the recluses.
The recluses thought, since the guardian deity had provided them with food and water, they now had a desire to see him in person. The recluses asked him: “Deva, you are enjoying such pleasure; therefore, we wonder what kind of deeds of merit you did in your previous existence?” The deity replied: “I observed the eight precepts for half a day in my previous existence.”
This will be further explained: This guardian deity of the banyan tree was one of the servants of Anāthapiṇḍika in his previous life. It was customary amongst the occupants of the house of Anāthapiṇḍika that everyone should observe the precepts on every holy day. One early morning of an Observance Day a workman was required to go to the place of work to perform his duties. When Anāthapiṇḍika took a list of the recipients of food for that day, he discovered that the workman was the only one who had gone to the forest for work that day. So he allowed the cook to draw food for the evening, just enough for that workman. The cooking woman drew the allotted ration and kept it ready prepared for him. On his return, the cook gave him the share of food reserved for him.
When the workman found that the whole house was unusually quiet that day, he enquired about the unusual silence and the empty mess room from the cook. “It is an Observance Day, so all the occupants of the house are observing the precepts,” was her reply. He asked her again: “Is it true, Mother?” She nodded her head, saying: “Yes, it is.” – “Dear mother, please enquire from the rich man if one could keep precepts for the remaining part of the day.”
The cook obliged him by putting his question to the rich man, who replied: “It is tantamount to keeping observance of precepts for half a day but not for a full day. On hearing the words of the rich man, the workman washed his mouth and made a formal vow to observe the precepts and went to his place and kept the precepts till he fell asleep. He died of exhaustion on the following morning and was reborn as a guardian deity of a huge banyan tree on the fringe of a forest.
On hearing the full account of his previous existence, the recluses asked the deity: “You have spoken about the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, which we have never heard of before. Is it true that a fully Self-Awakened Buddha has appeared?” When the deity answered in the affirmative, the recluses asked: “Where is that Buddha residing at presently?” The deity said: “The Realised One is residing at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatthī.”
The recluses left, saying: “Dear Deva of the banyan tree, we are going to pay homage to
As soon as they had taken their meal, the recluses said as a token of courtesy: “We are going.” Surprised by such words, the rich men asked: “Revered sirs, it is quite unusual that you uttered such words when you have stayed only for a day on this occasion, though you have usually stayed for one, two, three or four months on previous occasions; we pray that you enlighten us as to the reason why you depart so early in the day?” Whereupon, the recluses replied: “Rich men, you have, indeed, spoken truly. The Fully Self-Awakened Buddha has appeared already, and death is certain, though we know not how or when. Therefore, we are in great haste to go to the Buddha.” The rich men asked for permission to go along with them.
The recluses said a few words of encouragement in response to their request: “You might stay behind and come afterwards as you all are saddled with worldly affairs which restrict your movements. We will go ahead of you.” They left Kosambī and found their way to Sāvatthī without stopping too long on the way. On their arrival at Sāvatthī, they went immediately to the Buddha who fed them with the sweet elixir of Dhamma. The recluses became Arahats through path-knowledge acquired by hearing the teaching of the Buddha.
The Three Rich Men Attain Stream-Entry
The three rich men left Kosambī, each with 500 carts fully loaded with gifts of all sorts for offering, arrived at Sāvatthī eventually. They stayed at a spot in the vicinity of Jetavana and erected temporary alms booths before they went to pay homage to the Buddha. On their arrival at the feet of the Buddha, they sat in suitable places. The Buddha then taught discourses in harmony with their dispositions, with the result that the three of them attained Stream-entry (Sotāpatti). They made offerings of gifts on a large scale for fifteen days in succession. They cordially requested the Buddha to do them the honour of visiting Kosambī. The Buddha said in response: “Buddhas naturally prefer places of seclusion!”
They enthusiastically replied: “This is understood, exalted lord!” and added, “kindly honour us by your visit, on receipt of our formal invitation in due time,” and after making three rounds keeping the Buddha on the right side, they went their way home, building resting centres at every one league’s distance between Sāvatthī and Kosambī. On arrival at Kosambī they publicised the appearance of the Fully Self-Awakened Buddha far and wide. Each rich man constructed big monasteries in their own garden lands at great costs, in anticipation of the arrival of the Buddha.
The three monasteries were named after their supporters, so that the one donated by Ghosaka was called Ghositārāma, the one by Kukkuṭa was called Kukkuṭārāma, the one by Pāvārika in his mango garden was called Pāvārikambavana. When everything was ready, the three rich men despatched a cordial address of invitation to the Buddha, through a special messenger.
Brahmin Māgaṇḍiya and His Wife
[What follows is based on the Discourse to Māgaṇḍiya (Māgaṇḍiya-sutta, Snp 4.9, and its commentaries.]
The Buddha, on his way to Kosambī, in the company of many monastics, perceived that Brahmin Māgaṇḍiya and his wife were destined to attain the Arahat fruition. He, therefore, diverted his route from the main road towards the direction of the market-town of Kammāsadamma in Kuru country.
Brahmin Māgaṇḍiya returned early after spending almost all night outside the village in offering lights, according to their custom. On his way to the village to receive food in the morning, the Buddha noticed Māgaṇḍiya coming from the opposite direction at a distance. He grasped the opportunity of making his presence known to the old Brahmin. On seeing him, Māgaṇḍiya thought to himself: “I have all along been looking for a suitable bridegroom for my daughter, who is as charming as she is, who has a golden body and has assumed the form of a recluse.
There was a link in the chain of Māgaṇḍiya’s births, being a recluse in one of his existences. Therefore he had a natural inclination towards a recluse.
Old Māgaṇḍiya told his wife: “Dear one, I’ve never seen such a recluse before. The one whom I’ve seen has a golden colour. He has the appearance of the Great Brahma. He is really a match to my daughter Māgaṇḍiyā. Get my daughter Māgaṇḍiyā dressed up hurriedly.” As they were busy with dressing up their daughter, the Buddha left a pair of footprints (pada-cetiya) at the spot where he had first seen the old Brahmin, and entered the town to receive alms food.
The impression of footprints of the Buddha stands on the spot of his own choice but not on any other place. At the same time, his footprints are visible only by privileged persons and nothing could stand in their way of seeing them: no bull elephant, no torrential rain, no violent destructive storm could destroy these foot prints (see the commentary to Dhp 21).
The old Brahmin, his wife and daughter went to the place where he had caught sight of the Buddha, but they could not see him as he had gone into the village by that time. The old Brahmin grumbled at the way in which his wife had taken so long in dressing their daughter that the recluse had gone away. The wife asked the Brahmin: “Let him be gone, but do tell me in which direction he has gone.” The old Brahmin retorted: “He’s gone that way,” and eventually they found the footprints of the Buddha. The old man said: “Here are his footprints, he must have gone in that direction.”
On seeing the footprints, the old Brahmin’s wife thought: “This Brahmin is really ignorant. He is not intelligent enough to know the intricacies of the treatises in the Veda,” and to ridicule her husband, she made this caustic remark: “Brahmin, you are such a fool as to have said that you would give away our daughter to this person whose footprints are quite different from those of worldlings, who have the stains of passion (rāga), malice (dosa) and delusion (moha). Brahmin, look at his footprints which characterize those of a Fully Self-Awakened Buddha, who has broken open the enveloping dome of the defilements; just look at those footprints with care.”
Rattassa hi ukkuṭikaṁ padaṁ bhave,
duṭṭhassa hoti saha-sānupīḷitaṁ,
mūḷhassa hoti avakaḍḍhitaṁ padaṁ,
vivaṭṭa-chadassa idam-īdisaṁ padaṁ.
The footprint of one with strong lust does not touch the ground in the middle; the footprint of one with a great amount of anger is more marked at the heels; the footprint of one with a great amount of delusion is marked by the impression of its toes and heels. The footprint, we are seeing, is free from all these and therefore it is evident that it belongs to the omniscient one who had done away with all forms of defilements.
The old Brahmin felt uneasy in his mind because of his wife’s caustic remarks and complained: “Woman, you are rude and aggressive.” While they were thus engaged in arguing, the Buddha had taken his meal in the company of the monks and he made his appearance at a place where the Brahmin could easily see him.
When Brahmin Māgaṇḍiya saw the Buddha coming from a distance, he scolded his wife and said: “The person whom I spoke of is here,” and so saying he approached the Buddha and made things plain to him:
The old Brahmin spoke directly and simply. Whereupon, the Buddha said, in response to his offer: “Brahmin, I had no desire whatsoever for the three charming daughters of Māra of the celestial plane of Vasavatti, who stood by my side and wooed and tempted me with talk of love-making full of sweet charms. So you might imagine how I would not have any desire for your daughter, Māgaṇḍiyā!” and he recited the following verse (Snp 4.9):
Disvāna Taṇhaṁ Aratiṁ Ragañ-ca,
nāhosi chando api methunasmiṁ,
kim-evidaṁ mutta-karīsa-puṇṇaṁ,
pādā pi naṁ samphusituṁ na icche.
Although the three charming daughters of Māra: Taṇhā, Aratī, and Ragā approached me under the Goatherder’s banyan tree with firm determination to tempt me to enjoy sensual pleasure by mutual co-operation with them, I had not the least desire to yield to their wishes nor was there the slightest taint of sensual passion in me. In the same way, I have not the slightest taint of sensual desire on seeing this young Māgaṇḍiyā whose physical body is full of filth such as excreta and urine. I have not the slightest desire to touch her, even with my feet.
The Buddha uttered this verse as though he was communicating not with the Brahmin but with a different person. Māgaṇḍiyā, the daughter of Brahmin Māgaṇḍiya, haboured resentment towards the Buddha for insulting her by saying her body was full of fifth such as excreta and urine and what not. “He should have rejected me in a simple manner that does not affect my dignity. I will revenge this insult, as and when opportunity occurs, hereafter.” Thus Māgaṇḍiyā sowed the seed of enmity against the Buddha.
Māgaṇḍiya and his Wife Become Arahats
The Buddha did not give any heed to the resentment harboured by the young lady, Māgaṇḍiyā, and proceeded to preach the Dhamma to the old Brahmin, Māgaṇḍiya, in harmony with his disposition. Māgaṇḍiya and his wife became noble Non-returners (Anāgāmī) at the conclusion of the discourse. In due time, the couple considered that no useful purpose will be served by continuing to live the household life after attainment to the exalted state of Non-returner for any length of time, and they entrusted their young daughter, Māgaṇḍiyā, to her paternal uncle, Cūḷa Māgaṇḍiya, before they received ordination. They both became Arahats free from the pollutants (āsava) after ordination. After emancipating Māgaṇḍiya and his wife, the Buddha resumed his journey to the country of Kosambī and arrived there eventually.
Buddha Accepts Three Monasteries
When the three rich men heard of the arrival of the Buddha in the company of monastics, they arranged for his reception on a grand scale and conducted him to the monasteries. On arrival at the monasteries, they sat at appropriate places and after paying their respects, addressed the Buddha: “Most exalted Buddha, the three monasteries which have been built, are intended to be offered to all the members of the noble Saṅgha. We humbly request the favour of your acceptance of the three monasteries for use by the Saṅgha who arrive
As a matter of course, the facts connected with the slave girl Khujjuttarā, Queen Sāmāvatī, and Queen Māgaṇḍiyā need to be included here to complete the picture. But facts connected with Khujjatarā and Sāmāvatī will be given when we come to the “Saṅgha Jewel” later on, see chapter 45b. A full account of Māgaṇḍiyā may be had by reference to the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada) commentary on Dhp 21. It is proposed to deal here only with certain pertinent facts that warrant inclusion at this place.
Māgaṇḍiyā’s Evil Acts
At the time the Buddha was observing the ninth Rains Retreat (Vassa) in Kosambī, the young woman Māgaṇḍiyā had become the Chief Queen of King Udena. This is how it happened: Māgaṇḍiyā was left by her parents to the care of her paternal uncle, Cūḷa Māgaṇḍiya, before they received ordination. King Udena made her his queen after consultation with her uncle Cūḷa Māgaṇḍiya. A separate chamber with 500 maids of honour was allotted to her by the king. Māgaṇḍiyā was thus a queen of King Udena by the time the Buddha kept the ninth Rains Retreat (Vassa) at Kosambī.
Having come to understand that the Buddha had arrived at Kosambī, she caused all the reckless, starving drunkards to be summoned, and she bribed and instigated them to call the Buddha by derogatory names as taught by her. When the Buddha entered the city on the following day, in response to the invitation of the three rich men to a feasting ceremony, the reckless drunkards reviled the Buddha by calling him the names taught by Māgaṇḍiyā.
Ven. Ānanda implored the Buddha to leave the place: “Most exalted Buddha, let us not continue our stay at a town where we have been abused. Let us go to another town!” Whereupon, the Buddha replied: “Dear Ānanda, Buddhas are totally indifferent to the eight worldly vicissitudes and all those boisterous and abusive noises are bound to die off within a period of seven days and no more. The abusers are liable to pay for their own demerit. You need not fret and bother yourself by their shortcomings!”
This is an abridged form of the exposition in the Collection of the Numerical Discourses (Aṅguttara-nikāya) commentary to Khujjuttara and Sāmāvatī’s stories in AN 1.14.7; the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada) commentary to Dhp 320-322 gives a more detailed exposition.
Extraordinary Volitional Efforts of the Three Rich Men
The three rich men invited the Buddha into the city and made offerings of all kinds on a large scale. The Buddha took residence at their monasteries in rotation and received offerings in the same manner. In other words, when the Buddha occupied Ghositārāma monastery on a certain day, he would receive alms food from Ghosita’s house on the following day. In the same manner the Buddha received alms food from Kukkuṭa and Pāvārika, in order of succession.
After a lapse of one month, it dawned on the three rich men: “Buddhas have appeared for the purpose of safeguarding sentient beings and promoting their well-being; we should see to it that all the citizens should also take a share in the meritorious deeds.”
They accordingly afforded an opportunity to all the citizens to participate in the meritorious deeds, with the result that all the citizens made offerings in their respective streets, quarters or by formation of charitable societies at that time.