經律異相 29.24

29.24

Formerly, a king had a wish-fulfilling luminous pearl, which he kept concealed in his topknot and treasured day and night. Later, when the king died, the custom of the country was to first expose the corpse in the wilderness until the flesh had completely decomposed, and only then gather the bones for burial. When the king's form decomposed and his topknot loosened, the luminous pearl became exposed. At that time, the wife of an expeditionary soldier, named Cedārī, was walking by, saw the pearl, and took it home. When the royal house gathered the remains for burial, they had forgotten and lost this pearl. When the crown prince succeeded to the throne, he realized it and searched for it, putting out a reward for the divine pearl of a fief of ten thousand households and a thousand catties of gold. The soldier's wife brought the pearl in response to the summons. She was immediately enfeoffed with the estate, and the king wore the pearl upon his head. (Extracted from the seventh fascicle of the Parables Sūtra)