| J.171 |
Kalaya.nadhamma Jaataka | Sre.s.thi Jaataka |
The bodhisatva was once a rich merchant in Benares. One day, when he had gone to
pay his respects to the king, his mother-in-law visited his wife. The former was
deaf and on asking her daughter-in-law if she was happy, gained the reply that her
husband was ëa man as virtuous as a hermití. The mother in law heard only the world
ëhermití and thought her son had renounced the world. The rumour spread like wildfire
and as the merchant was returning from the palace, he was informed that all the members
of his family were crying because he had become a hermit. Thinking that auspicious
words should not be trifled with, the merchant returned to the king, took his leave,
and really did become a hermit in the Himalayas. The Jataka is told in reference
to a merchant of Savatthi to whom the same thing happened when he went to pay his
respects to the Buddha. |
57/124 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.ii.063ff., Jatakamala No.20 |
rumour |