The actor begged for pardon, for he got his living by his performances. Udayin demanded in return for this that the actor should give up to him the whole of his receipts. To which demand the actor yielded, from fear of farther interference. [[247]]

[1] Kah-gyur vii. ff. 221–229. [↑]

[2] See Childers’ Dictionary of the Pali Language, under the word Vimána.—S. [↑]

[3] Mahoraga, “a great Nāga or serpent-demon, forming one of the classes inhabiting Pātāla.” [↑]

[[Contents]]

XIV.

THE DUMB CRIPPLE.[1]

In long past days, King Brahmadatta lived in the city of Vārāṇasī. His wife’s name was Brahmavatī, and a lake also bore the same name. Now the king was childless, and longed to have a son. With that intent he implored the gods in all manner of ways. At length his entreaties were heard, and a being of firm resolve, departing from hell, entered into the queen’s womb. At her desire the king ordered presents to be given at all the gates of the city. Later on he had to go with her into the penance forest, and in the third place to embark with her on board a ship, which was constructed at her request, and placed in the above-named lake. There she gave birth to a fine boy, who was endowed with recollection of his previous existence. As he was born on the water, the name of Abja (water-born) was given to him.

As he rapidly grew up under the care of nurses and female attendants, he reflected that, if he were to be invested with sovereign power, this would not be a good thing, seeing that in consequence of a sixty years reign which he had accomplished in a previous state of existence, he had been born again in hell, and that he now ran the risk of going to hell a second time. So he determined to evade the sovereignty by means of an artifice, and he pretended to be a cripple. As the five hundred ministers’ sons who were his playfellows, having all been [[248]]born at the same time with him, were in the habit of running and jumping, King Brahmadatta reflected that his son, if he were not a cripple, would take part in those exercises. However, he determined to invest him with the sovereign power, although he was a cripple. When Prince Abja heard of this, he thought that it was very unkind of his father to do him such an injury, and he determined to pretend he was dumb. So he was commonly called “The Dumb Cripple.”