Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c8.223

v1.c8.223

Meanwhile Illīsa’s father, who had been born as Sakka, having learnt, as a result of investigations, that his son had become a miser, came down to earth to wean him from his folly. Assuming in every detail the form of Illīsa, he entered the king’s palace and offered all the wealth of Illīsa to the king. On the offer being refused, he went to Illīsa’s house and gave orders to the servants to throw open all the treasure chambers and give the wealth to the poor. The servants took the disguised Sakka to be Illīsa himself, and Illīsa’s wife, believing her husband’s sudden generosity to be due to his drunkenness, acquiesced in the instructions.