On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c9.s5.80

v1.c9.s5.80

In his remarks about the rishi whom he calls "Single-horn" (or *Ekaśringa*) our pilgrim is apparently following the "Jātaka of Rāhula's mother". In this story, the scene of which is laid in the Benares country, the ascetic of mixed breed, human and cervine, is named Unicorn on account of the horn on his forehead. He has attained great power by his devotions and becoming offended he stops the rain. The king is told that in order to save his country from a prolonged drought he must find a means by which the rishi's devotions will be stopped. A very clever rich "lustful woman" comes forward and undertakes to seduce the saint. She takes 500 pretty girls with her, and by means of love potions, disguised wines, and strong love-making she overcomes the rishi and makes him fall into sin. Beguiling her lover-victim to the city of Benares she pretends on the way to be faint and the rishi carries her on his shoulders into the city.² In other versions of this curious wellknown legend the lady who woos and wins the simple, innocent, but very austere and all-powerful, hermit is a good princess, the daughter of the king of the country. For her father's sake and at his request she undertakes the task of wiling the saint from his austerities and devotions: he is captivated, becomes the princess's lover, marries her and succeeds her father on the throne. In most versions of the story the saint to be seduced is called *Rishyaśringa*, the Pali *Isisinga*; the lady who leads him astray is *Śāntā* in the Chinese translations and some other versions, but *Nalinī* or *Nalinikā* in other versions.³ In the "Jātaka of Rāhula's mother” the rishi and his tempter are respectively the Bodhisattva and his wife Yasodhara, but in the Jātaka it is the wise father of the rishi who is the Bodhisattva, and the rishi and the lady are a certain bhikshu and his former wife.