Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.1299

v2.c31.1299

In time Sīvalī bore him a son, Dīghāvukumāra, whom, in due course, Mahājanaka made viceroy. One day Mahājanaka went into his park, and noticing how a mango-tree which bore fruit had been plundered by his courtiers while another which was barren was left in peace, he realised that possessions meant sorrow, and retiring into a room, lived the ascetic life. His life-span was ten thousand years, of which three thousand still remained to him. After living for four months in the palace, he resolved to renounce the world, and having made his preparations, secretly left the palace. The queen met him on the stairs, but did not recognise him in his ascetic garb. On discovering his absence, she ran after him and tried by many devices to persuade him to return, but in vain. She then urged his people to follow him, but he turned them back. She, however, would not obey him, and for sixty leagues she and the people followed Mahājanaka.