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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1No one else could have made this explanation except one wise like you ! ' [Here ends the dilemma as to the heat of the sun.] [DILEMMA THE SEVENTIETH. THE SEASONS.] 24. ' Venerable Nagasena, why is it that the heat of the sun is more fierce in winter than in summer?' 'In the hot season, O king, dust is blown up3 into clouds, and pollen4 agitated by the winds rises up into the sky, and clouds multiply in the heavens, and gales blow with exceeding force. All these crowded and heaped together shut off the rays of the sun, and so in the hot season the heat of the sun is diminished. But in the cold season, O king, the earth below is at rest, the rains above are 1 Megho, literally ' rain-cloud.' But clouds of smoke are meant, as is clear from the parallel passage loc. cit. which has dhuma- rag-o, but see ^Tullavagga XII, 1, 3 (from which the whole section IV, 7, 23 is derived). 2 Rdhu. 3 Anupahataw. Compare Dr. Morris's note in the * Journal of the Pali Text Society/ 1884, P- 75, on Thera Gatha 625. 4 Rewu. Perhaps this should again be rendered dust. See the verse at £ataka I, 117 (which is nearly the same as Divyavadana, p. 490- IV, 7, 24. OF MILINDA THE KING. 1 1 3 in reserve1, the dust is quiet, the pollen wanders gently through the air, the sky is free from clouds, and very gently do the breezes blow. Since all these have ceased to act the rays of the sun become clear, and freed from every obstruction the suns heat glows and burns. This, O king, is the reason why the heat of the sun is more fierce in winter than in summer. ' So it is when set free from the obstacles besetting it that the sun burns fiercely, which it cannot do when the rains and so on are present with it/ [' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say V] [Here ends the dilemma of the seasons3.] Here ends the Seventh Chapter4. 1 Maha-megho upa//^ito hoti, which is very ambiguous. The Sinhalese (p. 389) has maha meghaya pa/an-ganna-lada wanneya. 2 Inserted from Hina/i-kumbure\
2That is so, and I accept it as you say V] [Here ends the dilemma of the seasons3.] Here ends the Seventh Chapter4. 1 Maha-megho upa//^ito hoti, which is very ambiguous. The Sinhalese (p. 389) has maha meghaya pa/an-ganna-lada wanneya. 2 Inserted from Hina/i-kumbure\ 3 There is great uncertainty at present as to the views held, first in the Pi/akas and later in the Commentaries, regarding the calcu- lation of time and the division of years into months and seasons. Our author here seems to regard the year as divided into two seasons only, Hemanta and Gimha. But Hemanta is usually supposed to last only from the 1st November (that is the middle of Kattika) to the beginning of March (that is the middle of Phagguni), Gimhana for the next four months (March ist- June 30th), and Vassana the remaining four (July-October) — the year being thus divided into three equal cold, hot, and rainy seasons. At Mahavagga VIII, 24, 3 there is a division of the year into unequal dry and wet seasons (utu and vass&na), and at Gataka I, 86 it is said that vasanta-samayo begins when he- manta ends at the full moon of Phagguni. As our author places the characteristic events of the rainy season in the hot season, he cannot have had the division into three seasons in his mind. 4 'Of the excellent Saddharmadasa* says the Sinhalese. [36] I 114 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, I. Book IV. Chapter 8. [DILEMMA THE SEVENTY-FIRST. VESSANTARAS GIVING \] i. 'Venerable Nagasena, do all the Bodisats give away their wives and children, or was it only Vessantara the king who did so?' 'All of them do so, not Vessantara only/ [275] ' Do they then give them away with their own consent ? ' ' The wife, O king, was a consenting party. But the children, by reason of their tender age, lamented. Had they thoroughly understood, they too would have approved.' 'A hard thing, Nagasena, was it that the Bodisat carried out, in that he gave away his own children, his only ones, dearly beloved, into slavery to the Brahman. And this second action was harder still, that he bound his own children, his only ones, and dearly beloved, young and tender though they were, with the jungle rope, and then, when he saw them being dragged along2 by the Brahman, — their hands 1 We have seen above, IV, i, 41 (I, 178), how Hina/i-kumbure expanded the story of Vessantara, which had aroused also in our author a greater enthusiasm than any of the many other subjects that he treats. Here too the Sinhalese translator fairly runs riot over the ' mighty giving of the glorious king,' and expands the ten pages of the Pali into thirty-three pages of his version (pp. 389-421), whereas usually one page of the Sinhalese covers very nearly a page of the Pali. s Anuma^iyante. See Mr. Trenckner's note. But the IV, 8,2. OF MILINDA THE KING. 115
3389-421), whereas usually one page of the Sinhalese covers very nearly a page of the Pali. s Anuma^iyante. See Mr. Trenckner's note. But the IV, 8,2. OF MILINDA THE KING. 115 bruised by the creeper, — yet could look on at the sight. And this third action was even harder still, that when his boy ran back to him, after loosing the bonds by his own exertion, then he bound him again with the jungle rope and again gave him away. And this fourth action was even harder still, that when the children, weeping, cried: " Father dear, this ogre is leading us away to eat us ! " he should have appeased them by saying: "Don't be afraid." And this fifth action was even harder still, that when the prince, Gali, fell weeping at his feet, and besought him, saying : " Be satisfied, father dear, only keep Ka^hagin& (his little sister). I will go away with the ogre. Let him eat me ! " — that even then he would not yield. And this sixth action was even harder still, that when the boy £ali, lamenting, exclaimed : " Have you a heart of stone then, father, that you can look upon us, miserable, being led away by the ogre into the dense and haunted jungle, and not call us back ? " — that he still had no pity. And this seventh action was even harder still, that when his children were thus led away to nameless horrors until they passed gradually to their bitter fate1, out of sight — that then his heart did not break, utterly break ! What, pray, has the man who seeks to gain merit to do with bringing sorrow on others ! Should he not rather give himself away ? ' 2. ' It is because what he did, O king, was so Sinhalese (p. 390) has at mardanaya ko/a welannawun doeka. 1 Ru/aru/assa bhimabhimassa. The Sinhalese (p. 390) omits these words, giving other details in place of them, and as they occur only here I am not sure of their meaning. I 2 Il6 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 3. difficult, that the sound of the fame of the Bodisat was spread abroad among gods and men through the ten thousand world systems — [276] that the gods exalt him in heaven ; and the Titans in the Titan- world, and the Garu^as in their abodes, and the Nagas in the Naga-world, and the Yakshas where they dwell — that through the ages the reputation of this his glory has been handed down by successive tradition— till now, to-day, it has reached to this meeting of ours, at which we sitting are, forsooth, disparaging and casting a slur on that gift1, debating whether it were well given or ill! But that high praise, O king, shows forth the ten great qualities of the intelligent, and wise, and able, and subtle-minded Bodisats. And what are the ten ? Freedom from greed, the not clinging (to any worldly aim), self- sacrifice, renunciation, the never turning back again (to the lower state), the equal delicacy and great- ness, the incomprehensibility, the rarity, and the peerlessness of Buddhahood. In all these respects is it that the fame of that giving shows forth the great qualities of the Bodisats/
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1No one else could have made this explanation except one wise like you ! ' [Here ends the dilemma as to the heat of the sun.] [DILEMMA THE SEVENTIETH. THE SEASONS.] 24. ' Venerable Nagasena, why is it that the heat of the sun is more fierce in winter than in summer?' 'In the hot season, O king, dust is blown up3 into clouds, and pollen4 agitated by the winds rises up into the sky, and clouds multiply in the heavens, and gales blow with exceeding force. All these crowded and heaped together shut off the rays of the sun, and so in the hot season the heat of the sun is diminished. But in the cold season, O king, the earth below is at rest, the rains above are 1 Megho, literally ' rain-cloud.' But clouds of smoke are meant, as is clear from the parallel passage loc. cit. which has dhuma- rag-o, but see ^Tullavagga XII, 1, 3 (from which the whole section IV, 7, 23 is derived). 2 Rdhu. 3 Anupahataw. Compare Dr. Morris's note in the * Journal of the Pali Text Society/ 1884, P- 75, on Thera Gatha 625. 4 Rewu. Perhaps this should again be rendered dust. See the verse at £ataka I, 117 (which is nearly the same as Divyavadana, p. 490- IV, 7, 24. OF MILINDA THE KING. 1 1 3 in reserve1, the dust is quiet, the pollen wanders gently through the air, the sky is free from clouds, and very gently do the breezes blow. Since all these have ceased to act the rays of the sun become clear, and freed from every obstruction the suns heat glows and burns. This, O king, is the reason why the heat of the sun is more fierce in winter than in summer. ' So it is when set free from the obstacles besetting it that the sun burns fiercely, which it cannot do when the rains and so on are present with it/ [' Very good, Nagasena ! That is so, and I accept it as you say V] [Here ends the dilemma of the seasons3.] Here ends the Seventh Chapter4. 1 Maha-megho upa//^ito hoti, which is very ambiguous. The Sinhalese (p. 389) has maha meghaya pa/an-ganna-lada wanneya. 2 Inserted from Hina/i-kumbure\
2That is so, and I accept it as you say V] [Here ends the dilemma of the seasons3.] Here ends the Seventh Chapter4. 1 Maha-megho upa//^ito hoti, which is very ambiguous. The Sinhalese (p. 389) has maha meghaya pa/an-ganna-lada wanneya. 2 Inserted from Hina/i-kumbure\ 3 There is great uncertainty at present as to the views held, first in the Pi/akas and later in the Commentaries, regarding the calcu- lation of time and the division of years into months and seasons. Our author here seems to regard the year as divided into two seasons only, Hemanta and Gimha. But Hemanta is usually supposed to last only from the 1st November (that is the middle of Kattika) to the beginning of March (that is the middle of Phagguni), Gimhana for the next four months (March ist- June 30th), and Vassana the remaining four (July-October) — the year being thus divided into three equal cold, hot, and rainy seasons. At Mahavagga VIII, 24, 3 there is a division of the year into unequal dry and wet seasons (utu and vass&na), and at Gataka I, 86 it is said that vasanta-samayo begins when he- manta ends at the full moon of Phagguni. As our author places the characteristic events of the rainy season in the hot season, he cannot have had the division into three seasons in his mind. 4 'Of the excellent Saddharmadasa* says the Sinhalese. [36] I 114 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, I. Book IV. Chapter 8. [DILEMMA THE SEVENTY-FIRST. VESSANTARAS GIVING \] i. 'Venerable Nagasena, do all the Bodisats give away their wives and children, or was it only Vessantara the king who did so?' 'All of them do so, not Vessantara only/ [275] ' Do they then give them away with their own consent ? ' ' The wife, O king, was a consenting party. But the children, by reason of their tender age, lamented. Had they thoroughly understood, they too would have approved.' 'A hard thing, Nagasena, was it that the Bodisat carried out, in that he gave away his own children, his only ones, dearly beloved, into slavery to the Brahman. And this second action was harder still, that he bound his own children, his only ones, and dearly beloved, young and tender though they were, with the jungle rope, and then, when he saw them being dragged along2 by the Brahman, — their hands 1 We have seen above, IV, i, 41 (I, 178), how Hina/i-kumbure expanded the story of Vessantara, which had aroused also in our author a greater enthusiasm than any of the many other subjects that he treats. Here too the Sinhalese translator fairly runs riot over the ' mighty giving of the glorious king,' and expands the ten pages of the Pali into thirty-three pages of his version (pp. 389-421), whereas usually one page of the Sinhalese covers very nearly a page of the Pali. s Anuma^iyante. See Mr. Trenckner's note. But the IV, 8,2. OF MILINDA THE KING. 115
3389-421), whereas usually one page of the Sinhalese covers very nearly a page of the Pali. s Anuma^iyante. See Mr. Trenckner's note. But the IV, 8,2. OF MILINDA THE KING. 115 bruised by the creeper, — yet could look on at the sight. And this third action was even harder still, that when his boy ran back to him, after loosing the bonds by his own exertion, then he bound him again with the jungle rope and again gave him away. And this fourth action was even harder still, that when the children, weeping, cried: " Father dear, this ogre is leading us away to eat us ! " he should have appeased them by saying: "Don't be afraid." And this fifth action was even harder still, that when the prince, Gali, fell weeping at his feet, and besought him, saying : " Be satisfied, father dear, only keep Ka^hagin& (his little sister). I will go away with the ogre. Let him eat me ! " — that even then he would not yield. And this sixth action was even harder still, that when the boy £ali, lamenting, exclaimed : " Have you a heart of stone then, father, that you can look upon us, miserable, being led away by the ogre into the dense and haunted jungle, and not call us back ? " — that he still had no pity. And this seventh action was even harder still, that when his children were thus led away to nameless horrors until they passed gradually to their bitter fate1, out of sight — that then his heart did not break, utterly break ! What, pray, has the man who seeks to gain merit to do with bringing sorrow on others ! Should he not rather give himself away ? ' 2. ' It is because what he did, O king, was so Sinhalese (p. 390) has at mardanaya ko/a welannawun doeka. 1 Ru/aru/assa bhimabhimassa. The Sinhalese (p. 390) omits these words, giving other details in place of them, and as they occur only here I am not sure of their meaning. I 2 Il6 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 3. difficult, that the sound of the fame of the Bodisat was spread abroad among gods and men through the ten thousand world systems — [276] that the gods exalt him in heaven ; and the Titans in the Titan- world, and the Garu^as in their abodes, and the Nagas in the Naga-world, and the Yakshas where they dwell — that through the ages the reputation of this his glory has been handed down by successive tradition— till now, to-day, it has reached to this meeting of ours, at which we sitting are, forsooth, disparaging and casting a slur on that gift1, debating whether it were well given or ill! But that high praise, O king, shows forth the ten great qualities of the intelligent, and wise, and able, and subtle-minded Bodisats. And what are the ten ? Freedom from greed, the not clinging (to any worldly aim), self- sacrifice, renunciation, the never turning back again (to the lower state), the equal delicacy and great- ness, the incomprehensibility, the rarity, and the peerlessness of Buddhahood. In all these respects is it that the fame of that giving shows forth the great qualities of the Bodisats/
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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