Y. And whither did Siddhattha go from Rajagaha?
K. He visited the great philosophers Arada and Udraka, but he found no satisfaction in their theories. So he went on to Uruvela where the ascetics live. I followed the Bodhisatta and learned that he stayed with five disciples in the forest. I found shelter near by in the cottage of the chief shepherd, a good old man with a pretty daughter, Nanda. There I watched Siddhattha and his disciples from a distance. He was the youngest but the wisest of them, and they reverenced him as master. He outdid them all in fasting. One day Nanda, the shepherd's daughter, saw him faint, and he might have died from exhaustion right on the spot if Nanda had not given him rice milk to drink.
Y. O good Kala, what shall I do? What shall I do? Here I sit at home, a poor, helpless woman, unable to assist him or to take care of him! O Kala, advise me, what can I do?
King Suddhodana (S) and Visakha (V) come out of the palace. The Princess retires into the palace. Gopa hides behind the bushes.
S. I am glad to see you back. Have you seen my son?
K. I have sire.
S. Where did you find him?
K. At Uruvela, the place of mortification where saints try to see visions and reach a state of bliss.
V. And has Siddhattha succeeded?
K. It does not seem so; he is starving himself to death.