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Simhasanadvatrimshika 13

English (machine translation) 13

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English

13.p1

Again, as the king was about to sit on the throne, another statuette said: "O King, he alone is capable of sitting on this throne who has generosity and other virtues like Vikrama's." King Bhoja said: "O statuette, tell of his generosity." The statuette said: "Listen, O King. Once Vikramārka, having placed the burden of the kingdom on his ministers, went out himself in the guise of an ascetic to travel the earth. He spends one night in a village, and passes five nights in a city. Wandering thus, once he came to a city. On the bank of a river situated near that city, there was a temple. In that temple, all the citizens were listening to a Purāṇa from a reciter of Purāṇas. The king too, having bathed in the river, went to the temple, bowed to the deity, and sat down near the citizens. At that time, the reciter of Purāṇas recited verses from the Purāṇa:

13.1

"Bodies are impermanent; wealth is not at all eternal;
Death is ever close at hand; an accumulation of righteousness must be made. || 1

13.2

Let the essence of righteousness be heard, which has been spoken by millions of treatises:
Benevolence towards others leads to merit, harm to others leads to sin. || 2

13.3

He who becomes sorrowful upon seeing beings sorrowful,
and happy [upon seeing them] happy, he knows ultimate righteousness. || 3

13.4

There is no other righteousness for embodied beings greater than this:
that one bestows safety upon living beings terrified of danger. || 4

13.5

Giving one's own life for a single living being is better,
and not [giving] a thousand cows day by day to thousands of brahmins. || 5

13.6

For him devoted to compassion who gives safety to all beings,
there is never any destruction once he is released from the body. || 6

13.7

Givers of gold, cows, land, and the like are easy to find on earth;
rare in the world is a man devoted to compassion for all living beings. || 7

13.8

Even of great sacrifices, the fruit decays with time;
[but] of the gift given as safety, there is never any decay. || 8

13.9

Charity given, sacrifice performed, austerity undergone, pilgrimage, as well as sacred learning—
all these are not worth a sixteenth part of the gift of safety. || 9

13.10

He who would give this earth bordered by the four oceans,
and he who [gives] safety to living beings—of the two, the giver of safety is greater. || 10

13.11

He who does not acquire steadfast righteousness with his impermanent body
that is perishing every moment, is a fool whose heart is to be pitied. || 11 ||"

13.12

If this body is not employed for the welfare of living beings, / then why do men attend to its needs day after day? || 12

13.13

On the one side are all sacrificial rites with complete and excellent fees; / on the other, protecting the life of a terrified creature. || 13

13.p2

What need of many words?

13.14

A man on earth who is dedicated to the practice of benevolence towards others / attains fortune, and that which is supreme beyond even the supreme. || 14

13.p3

At the time of this recitation of the Purāṇa, a certain brahmin, while crossing the river with his wife, was swept away by a great flood; crying out in distress, he called to the great crowd of listeners to the Purāṇa on the riverbank: "O gentlemen, run, run! Here I, an old brahmin with my wife, am being carried off by force by the current of the river; let someone rich in courage and righteousness grant the gift of life to me and my wife!" Hearing the cry of him being swept away by the water, all those people merely looked on with curiosity; no one gave him freedom from fear, nor entered the river to rescue him from the current. Then King Vikramārka, giving him freedom from fear, saying "Do not be afraid!", entered the river, pulled the brahmin along with his wife from the great flood, and brought them to the bank. The brahmin, having recovered his senses, said to the king: "O great-spirited one, this body of mine was previously born from my mother and father; now it has received a second birth from you. Therefore, if I do not do some kind turn in return to you, who have done me a great service by giving me my life, my life is indeed in vain. For that reason, whatever merit has been acquired by my chanting the three names [of God] in the waters of the Godāvarī for twelve years, that is given to you. Moreover, whatever merit has been earned through the Kṛcchra, Cāndrāyaṇa, and other penances, take all of that!" Having said this, offering all that merit to the king and giving him a blessing, he departed for his own home with his wife.

13.p4

At that moment, a brahmarākṣasa of terrifying form came near the king. The king also, seeing him, said: "O great person, who are you?" He replied: "In this very city I was a certain brahmin, always living on improper gifts and officiating at sacrifices for those unfit to sacrifice, and through pride in my learning I reviled all elders, great men, and virtuous folk. By the force of that sin, having become a brahmarākṣasa in this peepal tree standing before you, I have remained utterly miserable for ten thousand years. Today, having heard the conversation between you two, I have come into your presence. You, then, are a benefactor of the entire world, like a great tree." The king said: "What is requested by you?" He said: "Let that merit which has just now been given to you by the brahmin be given to me. By that merit I will cross over this terrible ocean of karma." The king immediately gave that merit to him. He too, freed from that karma by that merit, assuming a divine form and praising the king, went to heaven. The king also went to his own city. Having told this story, the statuette said to the king: "O king, if such generosity and benevolence towards others are found in you, then sit upon this throne." Hearing that, the king also lowered his face.

13.p5

Thus ends the thirteenth tale.

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