經律異相 32.6.3

32.6.3

"[I] your younger brother alone dragged and held onto a corpse, and thereby was saved alive. All the wealth and goods are now entirely lost." Kalyāṇamitra said, "Of all the great treasures under heaven, none precedes one's own body." The younger brother said, "It is not so. A person would rather die rich than live poor. How do I know this is so? I once went to a cemetery and heard the dead spirits holding such a discussion." Kalyāṇamitra was guileless and spoke truthfully to his brother: "Although you have lost your treasures, it is of no consequence. I have now obtained the wish-fulfilling jewel of the dragon king." The younger brother said, "Where is it now?" Kalyāṇamitra said, "It is now in my topknot." Hearing this, the younger brother felt jealousy and said to Kalyāṇamitra, "Splendid! Excellent! Having obtained this precious jewel, you should guard it with great care." Kalyāṇamitra untied the jewel, gave it to his brother, and admonished him, saying, "If you are tired and lie down, I shall guard it; when I sleep, you must guard it." Then it was Pāpamitra's turn to guard the jewel. When his elder brother was fast asleep, he got up, took two dry bamboo thorns, pierced both of his elder brother's eyes (The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says: "He pierced them with thorns from a khadira tree"), seized the jewel, and went away. Kalyāṇamitra called out to Pāpamitra, "There is a thief here who has pierced both my eyes and gone off with the precious jewel!" Pāpamitra did not answer. The elder brother was then overcome with sorrow, fearing that he might be killed by the thief. Calling out loudly like this, his voice moved the spirits and deities, but after a long time there was no response. Then a tree spirit spoke, saying, "Your younger brother Pāpamitra is your evil thief. He pierced both your eyes and took the precious jewel away." The prince was dejected, grieved, and distressed. Pāpamitra brought the jewel back to his kingdom and reported to his parents, saying, "By the power of my own merit, I alone was saved alive. Kalyāṇamitra and the companions all sank into the water and perished." The parents wept bitterly, fainted, and fell to the ground. They said to Pāpamitra, "How could you have the face to come back?" Having heard these words, Pāpamitra felt anguish in his heart, and he immediately buried the precious jewel in the earth. Kalyāṇamitra had been pierced, but there was no one to pull out the thorns for him. He wandered around, rolling about, not knowing where to go. At that time, in his distress, he suffered greatly from hunger and thirst; he could neither manage to live nor manage to die. Gradually walking forward, he arrived in the kingdom of Ṛṣivadana. Its king had a daughter who had previously been promised to Kalyāṇamitra, the prince of Vārāṇasī. There was a cowherd tending five hundred cows for the king, following after water and grass. The prince was sitting in the middle of the road. The herd of cows approached and crowded around him. The bull king stood over the prince to let the herd of cows pass by. Afterwards, it shifted its feet, circled clockwise, turned its head back, stretched out its tongue, and licked the prince's two eyes, pulling out the bamboo thorns. Seeing this, the cowherd asked, "Who are you?" Kalyāṇamitra did not recount what had happened from beginning to end, but answered, "I am only a blind beggar." The cowherd observed him carefully; he had the signs of an extraordinary man. He said to him, "My home is nearby; I will provide for you." He then took him back to his home and gave him various kinds of food and drink. He instructed his family members, saying, "You must attend upon him just as you would attend upon me." After more than a month, the family grew weary and annoyed. Kalyāṇamitra felt dejected, and the next morning he said to the master, "I wish to leave now." The master said, "What was not to your liking?" Kalyāṇamitra said, "The etiquette between guest and host cannot last indefinitely." Kalyāṇamitra said, "If you care for me, please give me a sounding zither and send me to a place where many people gather." The master then provided for him as requested and escorted him to a crowded place in the city of Ṛṣivadana. Kalyāṇamitra played the zither; its notes were harmonious and elegant, pleasing to the hearts of the multitude. The entire crowd joined together to provide him with food and drink. The king had an orchard. The orchard was lush, but always troubled by birds. The keeper of the orchard said to Kalyāṇamitra, "Protect it from the birds for me, and I will provide for you. I will tie ropes to the tops of the trees and hang bronze bells from them. You will sit under the trees, and when you hear the sounds of birds, pull on the ends of the ropes." Kalyāṇamitra said, "Very well. I can sit comfortably under the trees and also play the zither to entertain myself." At that time, the princess of Ṛṣivadana entered the orchard with her attendants. Seeing this blind man, she went to his place and asked, "Who are you?" He replied, "Only a blind beggar." The princess felt love in her heart and could not bear to part from him. The king again sent an envoy to summon his daughter back. The daughter said, "I will not go back. Send food to me." Having finished providing the blind man with food and drink, she said to the great king, "If the king now gives me to this blind man, it will suit my wishes very well." The king said, "A demonic ghost has possessed you; your mind is delirious and deranged! How could you wish to live together with a blind man? Your parents previously promised you to Kalyāṇamitra, the crown prince of the king of Vārāṇasī. Kalyāṇamitra went to the ocean and has not yet returned. How can you now become the wife of a beggar?" The daughter said, "Even so, even to the end of my life, I will never part from him." When the king heard these words, he could not oppose her. He immediately sent an envoy to welcome the blind man and locked them in a quiet room. The princess said to the blind man, "I will now become husband and wife with you." Kalyāṇamitra replied, "Whose family's daughter are you that you wish to be my wife?" She replied, "I am the daughter of the king of Ṛṣivadana." Kalyāṇamitra replied, "You are a king's daughter, and I am a beggar; how could we pay each other due respect?" The woman said, "I will serve you with all my heart." Later, the wife went out without informing her husband and returned only after a long time. Kalyāṇamitra rebuked her, saying, "You went out privately without telling me; where did you go and come back from?" The wife said, "I did not go out illicitly." The husband said, "Whether illicit or not, who could know for sure about you?" The wife made a vow of truth on herself: "If I went out illicitly, may both your eyes never heal. If it is not so, may one of your eyes be restored as before." After she had made this vow, [one eye] became fully restored as before, clear and brightly luminous. The wife said, "Do you believe me or not?" Kalyāṇamitra smiled. The wife said, "You do not recognize kindness and care! I am the daughter of the king of a great country, and you are a lowly man, yet I serve you with all my heart; why do you not understand and trust me?" The husband said, "Do you recognize me?" She answered, "I recognize that you are a beggar." The husband said, "That is not so. I am Prince Kalyāṇamitra of the king of Vārāṇasī." The wife said, "You foolish man! How could you utter such words? The crown prince of the king of Vārāṇasī went to the ocean and has not yet returned. Now you speak falsehoods; I do not believe you." Kalyāṇamitra said, "Since I was born, I have never spoken a falsehood." The wife said, "Whether false or true, who could believe it?" The husband said, "If I am deceiving you, may my other eye never be healed. If I speak the truth, may my other eye be restored as before, so that you may see." Thereupon, just as he had sworn, his eye shone with brilliance, no different from how it had originally been. Both eyes of Prince Kalyāṇamitra were restored; his countenance and head were handsome, and his exquisite appearance was extraordinary. Seeing this, the wife rejoiced, as though blessed by a sage; she looked over his entire body, her gaze not leaving him for an instant. She immediately went into the palace and said to her father, the king, "My husband now is none other than Prince Kalyāṇamitra." The king said, "Foolish person!"