On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c14.8

v1.c14.8

According to this story long ages ago when Brahmadatta was king, and men lived very many years the name of the city was Kusumapura (that is, Flower-Palace or city). King Brahmadatta was a mighty sovereign and a great warrior; he had also the full number of 1000 sons wise and valorous and 100 fair and virtuous daughters. On the bank of the Ganges there lived at this time a rishi the years of whose life were to be counted by myriads; he was popularly called the “Great-Tree-Rishi”, because he had a banyan tree growing from his shoulders; the seed of the tree had been dropt on him by a bird, had taken root and grown to be a huge tree in which birds had been building their nests while the rishi remained unconscious in a trance of prolonged absorbed meditation (samādhi). When he had emerged from the trance, and moved about, he had glimpses of the king’s daughters as they chased each other in the wood near the river. Then carnal affection laid hold on him, and he demanded of the king one of his daughters in marriage. But all the princesses refused to wed “Great-Tree-Rishi”, and the king was in great fear and distress. In this extremity, however, the youngest daughter made a sacrifice of herself by offering to marry the rishi in order to save her father and country from the effects of his displeasure. But when the circumstances were told to him the old rishi was very much enraged at the other princesses for not appreciating him properly, and he cursed them with immediate crookedness. In consequence of this the ninety nine princesses all became bowed in body, and the capital of the country was henceforth known as the city of the Hunch-backed Maidens.