| J.497 |
Maata"nga Jaataka |
The bodhisatva was once born in an untouchable (candala) village outside Benares
and was named Matanga. One day, when Matanga was on his way to the city, a rich woman
called Ditthamangalika and her friends on their way to the park noticed him and turned
back, washing their eyes to save themself from inauspiciousness. Their followers,
disappointed at being deprived of their fun, beat the bodhisatva and left him senseless.
On recovering consciousness, Matanga was determined to obtain Ditthamangalika as
his wife and lay down in front of her father’s house refusing to move. For seven
days he lay there until the relations, fearing the ignominy of having an untouchable
die on their doorstep, gave Ditthamangalika to him as wife. Knowing that her pride
had been curbed by this act, Matanga decided to bring his wife great honour. He therefore
retired to the forest and in seven days through meditation, attained supernatural
powers. On his return he told her to proclaim publically that her husband was no
untouchable, but ‘Mahabrahma’ and that seven days later, on the night of the full
moon, he would come to her breaking through the moon’s disk. She did as he said and
he did as predicted. The people therefore honoured the woman as a goddess and the
water in which she washed her feet was fit for the coronation of a king. In one single
day she received 18 crores from those who were allowed the privilege of saluting
her. Matanga touched her navel with his thumb, and knowing that she had conceived
a son, admonished her to be vigilant and returned to the moon. The son was born in
a pavillion which the people had constructed for the use of Ditthamangalika and was
therefore called Mandavya. At the age of sixteen he knew all the Vedas and fed 16,000
brahmins daily. On a feast day Matanga came to him thinking to turn him from his
false doctrines, but Mandavya failed to recognize him and had him cast out by his
servants. The gods of the city thereupon grew angry and twisted the necks of Mandavya
and all the brahmins so that their eyes looked over their shoulders. When Ditthamangalika
heard of this, she sought Matanga who had left his footsteps so that she might know
where he was. He asked her to sprinkle water containing the remnants of his food
on the brahmins. Mandavya himself was given some of the food. On recovering and seeing
the plight of the brahmins, he realized his error. The brahmins recovered, but were
shunned by their colleagues -- and therefore left the country and went to live in
the kingdom of Mejjha. On the bank of the river Vettavati lived a brahmin called
Jatimanta who was very proud of his birth. Matanga went to humble his pride and lived
on the same bank further upstream. One day he nibbled a tooth-stick and threw it
in the river, where lower down, it stuck in Jatimanta’s hair. He was so annoyed that
he went to Matanga and told him that if he stayed any longer than seven days his
head would split into seven pieces. On the seventh day, Matanga stopped the sun from
rising. On discovering the cause, the people dragged Jatimanta to Matanga to ask
forgiveness. Matanga then went to the kingdom of Mejjha where the exiled brahmins
reported to the king that he was a juggler and a mountebank. The king’s messenger
surprised Matanga as he was eating his food beside a well and cut off his head. He
was born in the Brahma world. The gods were angry and wiped out the whole kingdom
of Mejjha by covering it in torrents of hot ashes. The Jataka was told in reference
to the attempt of King Udena to torture Pindolabharadvaja. Udena is identified with
Mandavya. |
61/001 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.iv.375ff. |
arrogance |