Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c12.413

v1.c12.413

Kaṇḍari Jātaka (No. 341).—Kaṇḍari, a king of Benares, was very handsome; each day he received one thousand boxes of perfume for his use, and his food was cooked with scented wood. His wife, Kiṇṇarā, was very beautiful; his chaplain was Pañcālacaṇḍa. One day, Kiṇṇarā, on looking out, saw a loathsome cripple in the shade of a jambu-tree near her window, and conceived a passion for the man. Thereafter she would wait for the king to fall asleep and would then, nightly, visit the cripple, taking him dainty foods and having her pleasure with him. One day the king, returning from a procession, saw the misshapen creature, and asked the chaplain if such a man could ever win the love of a woman. The cripple, hearing the question, proudly boasted of his intimacy with the queen. At the chaplain's suggestion the king watched the queen's movements that same night, and saw the cripple abuse her and strike her for being late in coming. The blow fell on her ear breaking off her ear ornament, which the king picked up.