Dhammapada 7.9.p2

7.9.p2

Āyasmā hi sāriputto sattāsītikoṭidhanaṃ pahāya pabbajitvā cālā, upacālā, sīsūpacālāti tisso bhaginiyo, cundo upasenoti ime dve ca bhātaro pabbājesi. Revatakumāro ekova gehe avasiṭṭho. Athassa mātā cintesi – ‘‘mama putto upatisso ettakaṃ dhanaṃ pahāya pabbajitvā tisso ca bhaginiyo dve ca bhātaro pabbājesi, revato ekova avaseso. Sace imampi pabbājessati, ettakaṃ no dhanaṃ nassissati, kulavaṃso pacchijjissati, daharakāleyeva naṃ gharāvāsena bandhissāmī’’ti. Sāriputtattheropi paṭikacceva bhikkhū āṇāpesi ‘‘sace, āvuso, revato pabbajitukāmo āgacchati, āgatamattameva naṃ pabbājeyyātha, mama mātāpitaro micchādiṭṭhikā, kiṃ tehi āpucchitehi, ahameva tassa mātā ca pitā cā’’ti. Mātāpissa revatakumāraṃ sattavassikameva gharabandhanena bandhitukāmā samānajātike kule dārikaṃ vāretvā divasaṃ vavatthapetvā kumāraṃ maṇḍetvā pasādhetvā mahatā parivārena saddhiṃ ādāya kumārikāya ñātigharaṃ agamāsi. Atha nesaṃ katamaṅgalānaṃ dvinnampi ñātakesu sannipatitesu udakapātiyaṃ hatthe otāretvā maṅgalāni vatvā kumārikāya vuḍḍhiṃ ākaṅkhamānā ñātakā ‘‘tava ayyikāya diṭṭhadhammaṃ passa, ayyikā viya ciraṃ jīva, ammā’’ti āhaṃsu. Revatakumāro ‘‘ko nu kho imissā ayyikāya diṭṭhadhammo’’ti cintetvā ‘‘katarā imissā ayyikā’’ti pucchi. Atha naṃ āhaṃsu, ‘‘tāta, kiṃ na passasi imaṃ vīsavassasatikaṃ khaṇḍadantaṃ palitakesaṃ valittacaṃ tilakāhatagattaṃ gopānasivaṅkaṃ, esā etissā ayyikā’’ti. ‘‘Kiṃ pana ayampi evarūpā bhavissatī’’ti? ‘‘Sace jīvissati, bhavissati, tātā’’ti. So cintesi – ‘‘evarūpampi nāma sarīraṃ jarāya imaṃ vippakāraṃ pāpuṇissati, imaṃ me bhātarā upatissena diṭṭhaṃ bhavissati, ajjeva mayā palāyitvā pabbajituṃ vaṭṭatī’’ti. Atha naṃ ñātakā kumārikāya saddhiṃ ekayānaṃ āropetvā ādāya pakkamiṃsu.

When the Venerable Sāriputta renounced eighty-seven crores of treasure and became a monk, three sisters of his, Cālā, Upacālā, and Sīsūpacālā, and two brothers, Canda and Upasena, entered the Religious Life and the youth Revata alone remained at home. His

mother thought to herself, "My son Upatissa has renounced all this wealth and become a monk; three sisters of his and two brothers of his have entered the Religious Life; Revata alone remains at home. Should he make a monk of Revata also, all this wealth will be lost and the family stock will be uprooted. I will get him married while he is yet a mere boy."

On his return the Elder Sāriputta addressed the monks as follows, "Brethren, should Revata come here desiring to become a monk, you are to make a monk of him the moment he arrives; my mother and father hold false views; why should their permission be asked? I myself am Revata's mother and father."

When the boy Revata was only seven years old, his mother made preparations for his marriage. She selected a girl of good family, appointed a day for the wedding, adorned the boy with handsome garments and costly ornaments, and accompanied by a large retinue, accompanied him to the house of the girl's parents. The kinsfolk of both parties were present at the festivities, and placing their hands in a bowl of water, pronounced blessings and wished them prosperity, saying to the bride, "May you behold the Truth your grandmother beheld; may you live long, even as your grandmother."

The youth Revata thought to himself, "What do they mean by 'the Truth her grandmother beheld'?" And he asked them, "Which woman is her grandmother?" They said to him, "Sir, do you not see that woman a hundred and twenty years old with broken teeth and gray hair, full of wrinkles, her body marked with moles, crooked as a Ʌ-shaped rafter? That is her grandmother." "But will my wife look like that some day?" "Sir, she will if she lives." Revata thought to himself, "Can it be that even so beautiful a body as that of my wife will so change for the worse through old age? This must be what my brother Upatissa saw. This very day it behooves me to run away and become a monk."

Kinsmen assisted the youth and his bride to enter a carriage, and they started out all together. When they had gone a little way, Revata informed them that he wished to relieve himself and said, "Just stop the carriage and I will step out and return immediately." He stepped out of the carriage, went into a certain thicket, remained there a little while, and then returned. A second and a third time he made the same excuse, stepped down from the carriage, and climbed back again. His kinsmen made up their minds, "Doubtless these calls of nature are habitual with him," and therefore did not keep close watch of him. When they had gone a little way farther, he made the same excuse, stepped down out of the carriage, and saying, “You drive on ahead; I will follow after you slowly,” disappeared in the direction of a thicket. When his kinsmen heard him say, “I will follow after you,” they drove on ahead.