A Record Of Buddhistic Kingdoms - Being An Account By The Chinese Monk Fa-hien Of His Travels In India And Ceylon (a.d. 399-414) By James Legge
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Three Le North-West Of The City There Is A Tope Called, "Bows And
Weapons Laid Down." The Reason Why It Got That Name Was This:
- The
inferior wife of a king, whose country lay along the river Ganges,
brought forth from her womb a ball of flesh.
The superior wife,
jealous of the other, said, "You have brought forth a thing of evil
omen," and immediately it was put into a box of wood and thrown into
the river. Farther down the stream another king was walking and
looking about, when he saw the wooden box (floating) in the water. (He
had it brought to him), opened it, and found a thousand little boys,
upright and complete, and each one different from the others. He took
them and had them brought up. They grew tall and large, and very
daring, and strong, crushing all opposition in every expedition which
they undertook. By and by they attacked the kingdom of their real
father, who became in consequence greatly distressed and sad. His
inferior wife asked what it was that made him so, and he replied,
"That king has a thousand sons, daring and strong beyond compare, and
he wishes with them to attack my kingdom; this is what makes me sad."
The wife said, "You need not be sad and sorrowful. Only make a high
gallery on the wall of the city on the east; and when the thieves
come, I shall be able to make them retire." The king did as she said;
and when the enemies came, she said to them from the tower, "You are
my sons; why are you acting so unnaturally and rebelliously?" They
replied, "If you do not believe me," she said, "look, all of you,
towards me, and open your mouths." She then pressed her breasts with
her two hands, and each sent forth 500 jets of milk, which fell into
the mouths of the thousand sons.
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