ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 25.9

25.9

and as soon as he heard this he became afraid and could no longer leave the city.

“Soon after, some merchants came to Vārāṇasī from the north with horses to sell. King Brahmadatta heard that merchants had arrived from the north with horses to sell, and straightaway he dispatched experts in the examination of horses. ‘Go and buy all the horses that are coming,’ he told them, ‘especially if there is a clever horse among them—be on the lookout for that.’

King Brahmadatta’s attendants replied, ‘As you wish, Deva.’ They bought all the horses and examined them, and took the most clever horse among them to offer to the king. As soon as he heard this, the king was very pleased, and he presented the merchants with a great deal of gold and silver.

“One day he mounted the clever horse and rode out to the gardens. When the neighboring kings heard that King Brahmadatta had ridden out to the gardens, they arrayed the four division of their armies and met in Vārāṇasī, where they surrounded the gardens. Desperate and not knowing what to do, King Brahmadatta thought, ‘Which way should I go?’ He thought, ‘I must drop everything, mount my clever horse, and leave the gardens,’ but when he looked out, he saw the gardens were surrounded by the armies of his opponents.

“It was in the clever horse’s nature to save the king’s life. There was a ditch that separated the garden from the city—a very deep ditch, thick with lotus flowers. The clever horse thought, ‘There’s nowhere else to go,’ and stepped out onto the lotus petals to return to the city. When the neighboring kings saw this, they split open the clever horse’s belly with a sharp arrow shaped like a fishtail.