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No clouds gathered in the skies and the polluted streams became clear, whilst celestial music rang through the air and the angels rejoiced with gladness. With no selfish or[Pg 9] partial joy but for the sake of the law they rejoiced, for creation engulfed in the ocean of pain was now to obtain release. 9
The cries of beasts were hushed; all malevolent beings received a loving heart, and peace reigned on earth. Mra, the evil one, alone was grieved and rejoiced not. 10
The Nga kings, earnestly desiring to show their reverence for the most excellent law, as they had paid honor to former Buddhas, now went to greet the Bodhisatta. They scattered before him mandra flowers, rejoicing with heartfelt joy to pay their religious homage. 11
The royal father, pondering the meaning of these signs, was now full of joy and now sore distressed. 12
The queen mother, beholding her child and the commotion which his birth created, felt in her timorous heart the pangs of doubt. 13
Now the re was at that time in a grove near Lumbin Asita, a rishi, leading the life of a hermit. He was a Brahman of dignified mien, famed not only for wisdom and scholarship, but also for his skill in the interpretation of signs. And the king invited him to see the royal babe. 14
The seer, beholding the prince, wept and sighed deeply. And when the king saw the tears of Asita he became alarmed and asked: "Why has the sight of my son caused thee grief and pain?" 15
But Asita's heart rejoiced, and, knowing the king's mind to be perplexed, he addressed him, saying: 16
"The king, like the moon when full, should feel great joy, for he has begotten a wondrously noble son. 17
"I do not worship Brahm, but I worship this child; and the gods in the temples will descend from their places of honor to adore him. 18
"Banish all anxiety and doubt. The spiritual omens manifested indicate that the child now born will bring deliverance to the whole world.19
[Pg 10] "Recollecting that I myself am old, on that account I could not hold my tears; for now my end is coming on and I shall not see the glory of this babe. For this son of thine will rule the world. 20
"The wheel of empire will come to him. He will either be a king of kings to govern all the lands of the earth, or verily will become a Buddha. He is born for the sake of everything that lives. 21
"His pure teaching will be like the shore that receives the shipwrecked. His power of meditation will be like a cool lake; and all creatures parched with the drought of lust may freely drink thereof. 22
"On the fire of covetousness he will cause the cloud of his mercy to rise, so that the rain of the law may extinguish it. The heavy gates of despondency will he open, and give deliverance to all creatures ensnared in the selfentwined meshes of folly and ignorance. 23
"The king of the law has come forth to rescue from bondage all the poor, the miserable, the helpless." 24
When the royal parents heard Asita's words they rejoiced in their hearts and named their new-born infant Siddhattha, that is, "he who has accomplished his purpose." 25
And the queen said to her sister, Pajpat: "A mother who has borne a future Buddha will never give birth to another child. I shall soon leave this world, my husband, the king, and Siddhattha, my child. When I am gone, be thou a mother to him." 26
And Pajpat wept and promised. 27
When the queen had departed from the living, Pajpat took the boy Siddhattha and reared him. And as the light of the moon increases little by little, so the royal child grew from day to day in mind and in body; and truthfulness and love resided in his heart.28
[Pg 13] When a year had passed Suddhodana the king made Pajpat his queen and there was never a better stepmother than she.29
When Siddhattha had grown to youth, his father desired to see him married, and he sent to all his kinsfolk, commanding them to bring their princesses that the prince might select one of them as his wife. 1
But the kinsfolk replied and said: "The prince is young and delicate; nor has he learned any of the sciences. He would not be able to maintain our daughter, and should there be war he would be unable to cope with the enemy." 2
The prince was not boisterous, but pensive in his nature. He loved to stay under the great jambu-tree in the garden of his father, and, observing the ways of the world, gave himself up to meditation. 3
And the prince said to his father: "Invite our kinsfolk that they may see me and put my strength to the test." And his father did as his son bade him. 4
When the kinsfolk came, and the people of the city Kapilavatthu had assembled to test the prowess and scholarship of the prince, he proved himself manly in all the exercises both of the body and of the mind, and there was no rival among the youths and men of India who could surpass him in any test, bodily or mental. 5
He replied to all the questions of the sages; but when he questioned them, even the wisest among them were silenced. 6
Then Siddhattha chose himself a wife. He selected Yasodhar, his cousin, the gentle daughter of the king of Koli. And Yasodhar was betrothed to the prince. 7 [Pg 14]
In their wedlock was born a son whom they named Rhula which means "fetter" or "tie", and King Suddhodana, glad that an heir was born to his son, said: 8
"The prince having begotten a son, will love him as I love the prince. This will be a strong tie to bind Siddhattha's heart to the interests of the world, and the kingdom of the Sakyas will remain under the sceptre of my descendants." 9
With no selfish aim, but regarding his child and the people at large, Siddhattha, the prince, attended to his religious duties, bathing his body in the holy Ganges and cleansing his heart in the waters of the law. Even as men desire to give happiness to their children, so did he long to give peace to the world. 10
