Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36.3821

v2.c36.3821

Sudhābhojana Jātaka (No. 535). There once lived in Benares a wealthy householder, worth eighty crores. He offered his wealth to the king, who, however, had no need for it; so he gave much away in gifts and was born as Sakka. Equally generous were his descendants—Canda, Suriya, Mātali and Pañcasikha. But the next in descent, Pañcasikha’s son, Maccharikosiya, became a miser. He stopped all giving and lived in abject poverty. One day, seeing his sub-treasurer eating rice-porridge, he wished for some himself, but, owing to his miserliness, he went in disguise to the river with a little rice and there started to cook it with the help of a slave. Sakka saw this, and, accompanied by Canda and the others, appeared before him disguised as a brahmin. Advancing towards him, Sakka asked him the way to Benares, and, pretending to be deaf, approached the place where the porridge was being cooked and asked for some. Maccharikosiya refused to give him any, but Sakka insisted on reciting to him some stanzas on the value of giving, and then Kosiya agreed to give him a little porridge. One by one the others, also disguised as brahmins, approached, and, in spite of all his efforts, Kosiya was forced to invite them to share his meal. He asked them to fetch small leaves, but in their hands small leaves became large. After the porridge had been served, Pañcasikha assumed the form of a dog, then a horse of changing colours, and started chasing Kosiya, while the others stood motionless in the air. Kosiya asked how beings could gain such powers, and Sakka explained to him and revealed their identity. Maccharikosiya went back to Benares and gave away his wealth in charity. Later he became a hermit and lived in a hut.