經律異相 44.26

44.26

In the past, there were a sister and a brother. The sister had a son, who served in the government storehouse together with his maternal uncle, weaving gold-thread brocade, silk gauze, thin damask, and rare, wonderful garments and fine treasures for the treasury. They conferred together, saying, "We weave with unremitting toil, and we know the quality and quantity of all the storehouse goods. Could we not take them together to relieve our poverty?" At night they bored a hole in the ground, tunneling in to steal the goods. At dawn, the storehouse overseer noticed that the goods were diminished and reported the matter to the king. The king decreed: "Do not make this widely known. Let the thieves think that the king is so occupied with affairs that he cannot detect it. In the days to come, they will certainly return. For now, set a strict guard; seize and arrest whoever is caught, and do not let them get away." The storehouse overseer received the command and immediately reinforced the guard. After a long while, the men indeed returned to steal. The nephew instructed his uncle: "You are advanced in years, your body is frail, and your strength is meager. If you are caught by the guards, you will not be able to free yourself. Go in backward through the tunnel; if you are seen and seized, I am strong and will rescue you." As soon as the uncle entered the hole, he was seized by the guards. The guards shouted out. The nephew, fearing that the uncle would be recognized, cut off his uncle's head and fled. At dawn, the storehouse overseer reported everything to the king. The king again decreed: "Carry out his corpse and place it at a four-way crossroads. Whoever weeps before it and attempts to take the corpse will be known as the thief." Days passed like this. Merchants from a distant land arrived, their men and horses congesting the road in a chaotic rush. The nephew loaded two carts of firewood and placed them upon the corpse. The overseers reported this fully to the king. The king decreed: "If anyone burns it, bind and deliver him here." The nephew led and instructed boys to hold torches and dance in play. When a crowd gathered, he cast fire onto the firewood, which flared up furiously. The guards did not notice. They reported this fully to the king. The king again decreed: "Increase the guards further to watch strictly over his bones." The nephew then brewed pure wine, making it especially thick and strong. He went to the guards and quietly sold it to them. The guards had been hungry and thirsty for nights on end; seeing the wine, they drank it together. Having drunk to excess, they all fell into a drunken stupor. Taking advantage of this, he put the bones into a wine jar and departed. The guards did not notice. The next morning they again reported to the king. The king again decreed: "Guards have been posted time and again, yet in the end he has not been caught. This thief is cunning; we must devise another plan." The king then brought forth his daughter, adorned with necklaces, pearls, and precious gems, and stationed her in a chamber beside a large body of water, with a crowd of attendants watching alertly without fail. "There must be someone greedy for lust who will come after the girl." He had instructed the girl beforehand: "When someone embraces you, seize him and call for men to arrest him." On another night, the nephew promptly came in secret. He released tree trunks into the water, letting them drift with the current, while shouting and hiding in haste. The guards were startled and rushed over, thinking there was a stranger, but saw only tree trunks. This repeated night after night without change. The guards fell asleep. The nephew then rode a tree trunk to the girl's chamber. The girl seized his clothing. The nephew said to her, "You may seize my arm." The nephew had previously held the severed arm of a dead person and handed it to her. The girl released his clothing, seized the arm, and cried out loudly. The guards awoke, and the nephew managed to escape. In the morning, they reported fully to the king. The king again decreed: "This man's resourcefulness is peerless. We have sought him long without capture; what is to be done?" The girl then became pregnant, and after ten months gave birth to a boy who was extremely handsome. The king ordered a wet nurse to carry him and walk all around the country: "Whoever kisses or fondles him, bind and bring him here." She carried the child all day long. The nephew had become a baker, staying beneath his pastry oven. The child cried from hunger, and the nurse carried the child toward the pastry oven to buy a pastry to feed him. Seeing the child, the nephew kissed him. She immediately returned and reported to the king, saying, "I walked with the child all day, and no one came near him. Hungry, we passed a pastry oven; the pastry seller handed him a pastry and then kissed him." The king again decreed, "Why did you not bind him?" The nurse replied, "The little child was crying from hunger; the baker handed him a pastry and kissed him out of fondness; he could not be the thief." The king ordered the nurse to carry the child out again with watchers: "Whoever approaches the child, bind and bring him here." The nephew sold fine wine, invited the nurse and the watchers to a tavern, and urged them to drink. When they fell into a heavy drunken sleep, he stole the child away. When they awoke and discovered the child lost, they reported fully to the king. The king again decreed: "You fools, greedy for mad water! Not only did you fail to catch the thief, but you also lost the child!" At that time, the nephew took the child and carried him to another kingdom. He went before the king, offering greetings and replies, citing scriptures and explaining principles. The king was greatly pleased and immediately bestowed upon him stipends and rank, making him a great minister. He said to him, "In our kingdom, none can match your wisdom and skill. Whether a minister's daughter or my own daughter, I shall match her with you, entirely as you desire." He replied, "I would not dare. If Your Majesty pities me, I desire to ask for the daughter of the king of a certain country." The king said, "Excellent! It shall be as you wish." The king treated him as a son and sent an envoy to seek that king's daughter. That king consented, but went on to reflect: "Could this be the phantom thief who was so cunning before?" He then dispatched an envoy, intending to welcome his daughter, sending his crown prince with five hundred mounted riders, all fully equipped. The nephew harbored fear, dreading that upon arriving in that kingdom, the king would surely seize him. He then petitioned his king: "If Your Majesty sends me, you must make the five hundred riders, their mounts, garments, saddles, and bridles entirely indistinguishable; only then can I welcome the bride." The king agreed with his words. He then went to welcome the bride. The king ordered his daughter to serve food and drink to entertain the guests. Two hundred and fifty riders were in front, and two hundred and fifty riders were behind. The nephew was among them, straddling his horse without dismounting. The girl's father came out himself, entered among the riders, seized the nephew, and said: "Are you the one, or not, who through various stratagems could not be caught? Is it you or not?" Bowing his head, he replied, "It is I." The king said, "Your intelligence and brilliance are peerless under heaven. According to your wish, I match my daughter to you to become husband and wife." The nephew was I myself. The king who was the girl's father was Śāriputra. The uncle was Devadatta. The father king was Śuddhodana. The mother was Māyā. The wife was Gopā. The son was Rāhula. (From the first fascicle of the Jātaka-sūtra.)