A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t2.254

v2.c19.s3.t2.254

The hero of this Jātaka is Mahosadha, who already as a boy, gives proof of great wisdom, and especially proves himself to be a clever judge. Thus, like King Solomon, he determines to which of two quarrelling women the child belongs, by allowing mother-love to decide. He draws a line on the ground and lays the child in the middle, ordering the one woman to pull the child by the hands and the other by the feet, so that it shall belong to the one who pulls it over the line to herself. They begin to pull and the child cries. Then the real mother lets go of the child, whereby the dispute is, of course, settled.²) Whatever riddles and puzzling tasks the king may wish to have solved, Mahosadha is never at a loss. By laying a pole in the water and seeing which is the heavier end, he determines where the root and where the top of the tree was, out of which the pole has been made. Like a modern anthropologist, by observation of the sutures, he distinguishes between a male and female skull. He can also distinguish male from female snakes. When the king requires to have sent to him a white bullock with horns on its legs and a hump on its head, which raises its voice after three notes, nobody except Mahosadha knows that the king wants a white cock. The king commands that cooked rice shall be brought to him under the following conditions: it must be cooked without rice, without water, without a pot, without a stove, without fire and without fire-wood, and may not be carried across the street either by a man or a woman. Mahosadha accomplishes this also. The king asks for a string of sand for his swing. Mahosadha declares himself prepared to produce this, only he requests a sample of the old string of sand, in order to make it of the same thickness and length. He can also discover the thoughts of animals, *e.g.*, of a chameleon. The wise Mahosadha, who, through his displays of wisdom, has succeeded in becoming one of the king's counsellors, also chooses for his wife a supremely clever maiden,¹ who understands all his riddles. In an extremely clever manner, she manages the ministers who try to set traps for her and are jealous of Mahosadha. Mahosadha also shows himself to be a wise political counsellor in the fight against external enemies, and finally proves himself a splendid master-builder also, who builds a tunnel whose description reminds us of the most artistic Indian cave structures, such as those of Ajanta.²