Dhammapada 2.1.p9

2.1.p9

Allakapparaṭṭhe pana dubbhikkhe jīvituṃ asakkonto eko kotuhaliko nāma manusso kāpiṃ nāma taruṇaputtañca kāḷiṃ nāma bhariyañca ādāya ‘‘kosambiṃ gantvā jīvissāmī’’ti pātheyyaṃ gahetvā nikkhami. ‘‘Ahivātarogena mahājane marante disvā nikkhamī’’tipi vadantiyeva. Te gacchantā pātheyye parikkhīṇe khudābhibhūtā dārakaṃ vahituṃ nāsakkhiṃsu. Atha sāmiko pajāpatiṃ āha – ‘‘bhadde, mayaṃ jīvantā puna puttaṃ labhissāma, chaḍḍetvā naṃ gacchāmā’’ti. Mātu hadayaṃ nāma mudukaṃ hoti. Tasmā sā āha – ‘‘nāhaṃ jīvantameva puttaṃ chaḍḍetuṃ sakkhissāmī’’ti. ‘‘Atha kiṃ karomā’’ti? ‘‘Vārena naṃ vahāmā’’ti. Mātā attano vāre pupphadāmaṃ viya naṃ ukkhipitvā ure nipajjāpetvā aṅkena vahitvā pituno deti. Tassa taṃ gahetvā gamanakāle chātakatopi balavatarā vedanā uppajji. So punappunaṃ āha – ‘‘bhadde, mayaṃ jīvantā puttaṃ labhissāma, chaḍḍema na’’nti. Sāpi punappunaṃ paṭikkhipitvā paṭivacanaṃ nādāsi. Dārako vārena parivattiyamāno kilanto pitu hatthe niddāyi. So tassa niddāyanabhāvaṃ ñatvā mātaraṃ purato katvā ekassa gacchassa heṭṭhā paṇṇasanthare taṃ nipajjāpetvā pāyāsi. Mātā nivattitvā olokentī puttaṃ adisvā, ‘‘sāmi, kuhiṃ me putto’’ti pucchi. ‘‘Ekassa me gacchassa heṭṭhā nipajjāpito’’ti. ‘‘Sāmi, mā maṃ nāsayi, puttaṃ vinā jīvituṃ na sakkhissāmi, ānehi me putta’’nti uraṃ paharitvā paridevi. Atha naṃ nivattitvā ānesi. Puttopi antarāmagge mato hoti. Iti so ettake ṭhāne puttaṃ chaḍḍetvā tassa nissandena bhavantare satta vāre chaḍḍito. ‘‘Pāpakammaṃ nāmetaṃ appaka’’nti na avamaññitabbaṃ.

Once upon a time there was a famine in the kingdom of Ajita, and a man named Kotūhalaka, unable to get a living, took his young son Kāpi and his wife Kāḷi, and thinking, "I will go to Kosambi and get a living there," set out with provisions for the journey. (There are also those who say that he left his home because the people were dying of intestinal disease.) As they proceeded on their journey, their provisions gave out, and finally they were so overcome with hunger that they were not able to carry the boy. Thereupon the husband said to his wife, "Wife, if we live, we shall have another son. Let us cast this child away and continue our journey alone."

There is a proverb, "A mother's heart is tender," and so it was with this woman. She replied, "I could never cast away a living child." "Well, what shall we do?" "Carry him by turns." When the mother's turn came, she would lift the child like a wreath of flowers, clasp him to her breast, or carry him on her hip, finally giving him back to his father. When the father took the child, no matter where he held him he suffered more intense pain than ever from hunger. Again and again he said to his wife, "Wife, if we live, we shall have another son. Let us cast this child away." But this the mother steadfastly refused to do.

Finally the child became so tired from being passed back and forth that he fell asleep in the arms of his father. When the father observed that he was asleep, allowing the mother to precede him, he went and laid the child on a couch of leaves under a bush, immediately resuming his journey. The mother turned, looked back, and not seeing the child, asked, "Husband, where is my son?" "I laid him down under a certain bush." "Husband, do not kill me. Without my son I cannot live. Bring my son back to me." And she smote upon her breast and wept. So the husband retraced his steps, recovered the child, and brought him back to her. (In consequence of having cast away his child on this one occasion, Kotūhalaka was himself cast away seven times in a later existence. Let no one regard an evil deed lightly, saying, "It is only a small matter.")