Ja 262 The Birth Story about the Soft Hand (3s)

In the past, while king Brahmadatta reigned in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of his queen consort. Growing up, he was educated at Taxila, and on his father’s death he became king in his stead, and reigned righteously.

There dwelt with him a daughter and a nephew, both together in his house. One day as he sat with his court, he said: “When I am dead my nephew will be king, {2.324} and my daughter will be his chief queen.”

Afterwards, when they were grown up, he was sitting again amidst his court; and he said to them, “I will bring home some other man’s daughter for my nephew, and my own daughter will I marry into another king’s family. In this way I shall have many relations.” The courtiers agreed. Then the king assigned to the nephew a house outside the palace, and forbade his coming to the palace. [2.225]

But these two were in love with each other. Thought the youth, “How shall I get the king’s daughter outside the house? Ah, I have it.” He gave a present to the nurse.

“What am I to do for this, master?” she asked. “Well, mother, I want to get a chance of bringing the princess out of doors.” “I will talk it over with the princess,” said she, “and then tell you.” “Very good, mother,” he replied.

To the princess she came. “Let me pick the bugs off of your head,” said she.

She sat the princess upon a low stool, and herself sitting on a higher one, she put the princess’s head upon her lap, and in looking for the bugs, she scratched the princess’s head. The princess understood. She thought: “She has scratched me with my cousin the prince’s nail, not her own. Mother,” asked she, “have you been with the prince?”

“Yes, my daughter.” “And what did he say?” “He asked how he could find a way of getting you out of doors.” “If he is wise, he will know,” said the princess; and she recited the first verse, bidding the old woman learn it and repeat it to the prince:

This is the meaning of the verse: if your page’s hand is a soft hand like my hand, if your well-trained elephant is immoveable, if the day is endowed with four factors, It is not clear to me what these four factors are. is exceedingly thick and dark, and the Deva rains down.

Then surely it will be, at such a time if these four reasons come together, then certainly your heart’s desire will come to a conclusion.

“Well, mother, what did the princess say?” he asked. “Nothing, {2.325} but only sent you this verse,” replied she; and she repeated it. The prince took it in, and dismissed her.

The prince understood exactly what was meant. He found a beautiful and soft-handed page lad, and prepared him. He bribed the keeper of a state elephant, and having trained the elephant to be impassive, he bided his time. Then, one Uposatha of the dark fortnight, just after the middle watch, rain fell from a thick black cloud. “This is the day the princess meant,” thought he; he mounted the elephant, and placed the lad of the soft hands on its back, and set out. Opposite the palace he fastened the elephant to the great wall of an open courtyard, and stood before a window getting drenched.

Now the king watched his daughter, and let her rest nowhere but upon a little bed, in his presence. She thought to herself, “Today the prince will come!” and lay down without going to sleep. “Father,” said she, “I want to bathe.”

“Come along, my daughter,” said the king. Holding her hands, he led her to the window; he lifted her, and placed her on a lotus ornament outside it, holding her by one hand. As she bathed herself, she held out a [2.226] hand to the prince. He loosed off the bangles from her arm, and fastened them on the arm of his page boy; then he lifted the lad, and placed him upon the lotus beside the princess. {2.326} She took his hand, and placed it in her father’s, who took it, and let go his daughter’s hand. Then she loosed the ornaments from her other arm, and fastened them on the other hand of the lad, which she placed in her father’s, and went away with the prince. The king thought the lad to be his own daughter; and when the bathing was over, he put him to sleep in the royal bedchamber, shut the door, and set his seal on it; then setting a guard, he retired to his own chamber, and lay down to rest.

When the daylight came, he opened the door, and there he saw this lad. “What’s this?” cried he. The lad told how she was fled along with the prince. The king was cast down. “Not even if one goes along and holds hands,” thought the king, “can one guard a woman. Thus women are impossible to guard,” and he uttered these other two verses:

In this connection, soft talk is not enough, with soft words they are unable, they are not able to treat kindly with delicate words, this is the meaning. Or, it is never enough for them with men, this is not enough. Soft talk, although they have hard hearts, their talk is soft, this is soft talk.

Like rivers hard to fill, like rivers, from the flow of whatever water arrives, are hard to fill with water, so from not being satisfied with repeated experience of sex and so on, it is hard to fulfill their desires. Therefore this is said: Cf. AN 2.62, there though two, not three, things are listed, so that it seems this commentary records part of a lost discourse, which would have been in AN 3. As it is not now canonical, I leave it in commentarial colours. “There are three things, Cf. AN 2.62, there though two, not three, things are listed, so that it seems this commentary records part of a lost discourse, which would have been in AN 3. As it is not now canonical, I mark it as commentary. monastics, that women who complete their time Lit: make time, i.e. die. are not satisfied with, not satiated with. What three? The performance of sex, giving birth, and ornaments. These three things, monastics, women who complete their time are not satisfied with, not satiated with.”

They sink means they plunge into the eight great hells and the sixteen lesser hells.

Knowing means knowing thus.

He should avoid from afar, knowing: “These women surely with sexual intercourse and so on, not being satisfied, after death, sink into the hells, these women, sinking themselves in this way, what else will they be happy with?” Knowing this the wise man avoids them from afar, this is the explanation.

Through desire or through wealth, through his own desire, liking, loving, or because of wealth received through wages, these women keep company, associate with that person.

Fire means fire. (Repeating the note from Ja 35): This is what SED says: jātavedas, jāta-vedas (-ta-) mfn. (fr. vid cl. 6) “having whatever is born or created as his property”, “all-possessor” (or fr. vid cl.2. “knowing [or known by] all created beings”; cf. Nir. vii, 19 ŚBr. ix, 5, 1, 68 MBh. ii, 1146 &c.; N. of Agni) RV. AV. VS. &c.; m. fire... Even a new born experiences fire, it is understood, it is clearly seen, so Jātaveda is said. This is a folk-etymology, deriving jātaveda from jātamatto va vediyati. As in his place, when there is a cause, an opportunity, it burns, so those women keep company with someone, that person, though endowed with wealth, fame, virtue and wisdom, all of these, from the destruction of wealth and so on, from that abundance, making it not liable to arise again, quickly burn it up, set fire to it.

This is also said: This looks like a quotation from a canonical source, but it is only found here.

“Those who are strong become weak, and those who are firm dwindle away, those with eyes become blind, when under the control of women.

Those with virtue lose their virtue, those with wisdom dwindle away, the heedless lie in bondage, when under the control of women.

Study, asceticism, virtue, truth, sharing, mindfulness, wisdom, they cut these off from the heedless, like treacherous thieves on the road.

Fame, glory, resolution, heroism, much learning, and knowing, they waste away the heedless, like an inferno a bunch of sticks.”

So saying, the Great Being added, “I must support my nephew,” so with great honour he gave his daughter to this very man, and made him viceroy. And the nephew at his uncle’s death became king himself.