ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 23.18

23.18

trustworthy, shrewd, disciplined, and prudent. Their names were Nanda and Upananda. King Mahā­deva thought, ‘After I die and pass on, Nanda and Upananda will be able to safeguard the royal palace.’ With this thought, he summoned both ministers by messenger and then instructed them, ‘The two of you should know that soon I shall be no more. You two will be able to care for the royal palace after I die and pass on.’ The king handed one of them the prince and the royal treasury, and the other the country and the four divisions of the royal army, instructing them, ‘After my passing the two of you must protect the royal palace and ensure that it prospers.’

“Then the king ceded the throne to the prince and passed away. After his passing, the two ministers divided his affairs:¹⁶⁴ one would safeguard the prince and the royal treasury, and the other would safeguard the kingdom and the four divisions of the army.

“When the prince had come into his own and grown strong, one of the two ministers offered him the wealth and the treasury, and the other offered him the country and the four divisions of the army, saying, ‘Deva, this wealth was your father’s. May you therefore rule righteously as king!’

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that aged king, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. The one who safeguarded the four divisions of the army and the country then is none other than the monk Kāśyapa. The one who safeguarded the prince and the royal treasury then is none other than Ānanda. The one who was the prince then is none other than Śāṇavāsa. At that time, I