བསད་ནམས་ཀྱ་སྟབས་ཀྱ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ intro.11
The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala intro.11
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intro.11
He recounts a previous life as King Puṇyabala, who was the fifth of five brothers. His four older brothers each exemplify, and indeed are named after, the human qualities they consider most worthy: Rūpabala, Vīryavanta, Śilpavanta, and Prajñāvanta. It becomes clear early on that it is Puṇyabala’s inborn quality of merit, especially generosity, that makes his birth the most valuable and auspicious of the five. Indeed, his presence in his mother’s womb already attracts the veneration of the gods and all the kingdom’s residents, including the king, and causes treasures to rain down from the sky.