Ja 205 Gaṅgeyyajātaka
The Birth Story about the Ganges (Fish) (2s)
In the present two young monks are unsure which one of them is the most handsome, so they ask an old monk, who declares he is more handsome than they are. The Buddha tells a story of two fish who similarly asked a turtle to decide which of them was more handsome, only for him to declare that he was the most handsome of all!
The Bodhisatta = the Tree Devatā (Rukkhadevatā),
the old man = the turtle (kacchapa),
two young monks = the two fish (dve macchā).
Keywords: Vanity, Devas, Animals, Fish.
“Fine are the fish.”
These two young fellows, we are told, belonged to a good family of Sāvatthi, and had embraced the dispensation. But they, not realising the impurity of the body, Reading an-anuyuñjitvā. sang the praises of their beauty, and went about bragging of it.
One day they fell into a dispute on this point, “You’re handsome, but so am I,” said each of them; then, spying an aged elder sitting not far away, they agreed that he was likely to know whether they were handsome or not. Then they approached him with the question, “Sir, which of us is handsome?” The elder replied, “Friends, I am more handsome than either of you.” At this the young men reviled him, and went off, grumbling that he told them something they did not ask, but would not tell them what they did.
The Saṅgha became aware of this event; and one day, when they were all together in the Dhamma Hall, they began talking about it. “Friend, how the old elder shamed those two young fellows whose heads were full of their own beauty!” The Teacher came in, and asked what they were talking of now as they sat together. They told him. He rejoined: “This, is not the only time, monks, that our friends were full of the praises of their own beauty. In olden times they used to go about boasting of it as they do now.” And then he told them a story.
In the past, during the reign of Brahmadatta, king of Benares, the Bodhisatta became a Tree Devatā on the bank of the Ganges. At the point where Ganges and Jumna meet, two fish met together, one from the Ganges and one from the Jumna. “I am beautiful!” said one, “and so are you!” and then they fell to quarrelling about their beauty. Not far from the Ganges they saw a turtle lying on the bank. “That fellow shall decide whether or no we are beautiful!” said they; and they went up to him. “Which of us is beautiful, friend turtle,” they asked, “the Ganges fish or the Jumna fish? “The turtle answered, “The Ganges fish is beautiful, and the Jumna fish is beautiful: but I am more beautiful than you both.” And to explain it, he uttered the first verse:
1. Sobhati maccho Gaṅgeyyo, atho sobhati Yāmuno,
Catuppadoyaṁ puriso, nigrodhaparimaṇḍalo,
Īsakāyata gīvo ca, sabbeva atirocatī ti.
The Ganges’ fish are lovely, and lovely those of the Yamuna, this four-footed individual, well-proportioned like a banyan, with a neck like a carriage pole, is more lovely than all of them.
In this connection, individual, he says this in regard to himself.
Well-proportioned like a banyan means well-proportioned like a well-grown banyan tree.
With a neck like a carriage pole means with a long neck like a carriage pole.
Is more lovely than all of them, thus endowed with the appearance of a tortoise he is more lovely than all of them, having surpassed you all, I am the most lovely, this is what is said.
When the fish heard this, they cried, “Ah, you rascally turtle! You won’t answer our question, but you answer another one!” and they repeated the second verse:
2. Yaṁ pucchito na taṁ akkhāsi, aññaṁ akkhāsi pucchito,
Attappasaṁsako poso, nāyaṁ asmāka’ ruccatī ti.
Questioned he does not make answer, or questioned he answers other, that person does praise himself, but our delight is not in this.
In this connection, that person does praise himself, that person has a character of praising himself, elevating himself.
Our delight is not in this, our delight, our pleasure, in not in this wicked tortoise. Having thrown water on the tortoise, they went to their own places.
When this discourse was concluded, the Teacher identified the Jātaka, “In those days the young monks were the two fish, the old man was the turtle, and I was the Tree Devatā who saw the whole thing from the Ganges bank.”