Part 3 (1/2)
V.
THE TIES OF LIFE.
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 a.s.sembled to test the prowess and scholars.h.i.+p 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 surpa.s.s 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 Yasodhara, his cousin, the gentle daughter of the king of Koli. And Yasodhara was betrothed to the prince. 7
In their wedlock was born a son whom they named Rahula 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
VI.
THE THREE WOES.
The palace which the king had given to the prince was resplendent with all the luxuries of India; for the king was anxious to see his son happy. 1
All sorrowful sights, all misery, and all knowledge of misery were kept away from Siddhattha, for the king desired that no troubles should come nigh him; he should not know that there was evil in the world. 2
But as the chained elephant longs for the wilds of the jungles, so the prince was eager to see the world, and he asked his father, the king, for permission to do so. 3
And Suddhodana ordered a jewel-fronted chariot with four stately horses to be held ready, and commanded the roads to be adorned where his son would pa.s.s. 4
The houses of the city were decorated with curtains and banners, and spectators arranged themselves on either side, eagerly gazing at the heir to the throne. Thus Siddhattha rode with Channa, his charioteer, through the streets of the city, and into a country watered by rivulets and covered with pleasant trees. 5
There by the wayside they met an old man with bent frame, wrinkled face and sorrowful brow, and the prince asked the charioteer: ”Who is this? His head is white, his eyes are bleared, and his body is withered. He can barely support himself on his staff.” 6
The charioteer, much embarra.s.sed, hardly dared speak the truth.
He said: ”These are the symptoms of old age. This same man was once a suckling child, and as a youth full of sportive life; but now, as years have pa.s.sed away, his beauty is gone and the strength of his life is wasted.” 7
Siddhattha was greatly affected by the words of the charioteer, and he sighed because of the pain of old age. ”What joy or pleasure can men take,” he thought to himself, ”when they know they must soon wither and pine away!” 8