The Lost Charm

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the family of his household priest was destroyed
by malarial fever. One son only broke through the wall 1
and escaped. He came to Takkasila, and under a world-
renowned teacher learnt the Vedas and the other arts.
Then he bade his teacher farewell, and departed, with the
intent to travel in different regions ; and on his travels he
arrived at a frontier village. Near to this was a great
village of low-caste Candalas. Then the Bodhisatta abode
in this village, a learned sage. A charm he knew which
could make fruit to be gathered out of due season. Early
of a morning he would take his carrying pole, forth from
that village he would go, until he reached a mango tree
which grew in the forest ; and standing seven foot off, he
would recite that charm, and throw a handful of water so
as to strike on that tree. In a twinkling down fall the
sere leaves, sprout forth the new, flowers blow and flowers
fall, the mango fruits swell out: but one moment they
are ripe, they are sweet and luscious, they grow like fruit
divine, they drop from the tree ! The Great Being chooses
and eats such as he will, then fills the baskets hung from
his pole, goes home and sells the fruit, and so finds a
living for wife and child.

Now the young brahmin saAv the Great Being offer ripe
mangoes for sale out of season. "Without doubt," thought
he, " it must be by virtue of some charm that these are
grown. This man can teach me a charm which has no
price." He watched to see the manner in which the Great
Being procured his fruit, and found it out exactly. Then
he went to the Great Being's house at the time when he
was not yet returned from the forest, and making as
though he knew nothing, asked the wise man's wife,
"Where is the Teacher?" Quoth she, "Gone to the
woods." He stood waiting until he saw him come, then
went to him, and taking the pole and baskets from him,
carried them into the house and there set them. The
Great Being looked at him, and said to his wife, " Lady,
this youth has come to get the charm ; but no charm will
stay with him, for no good man is he." But the youth
was thinking, " I will get the charm by being my teacher's
servant " ; and so from that time he did all that was to be
done in the house : brought wood, pounded the rice, did
the cooking, brought all that was needed for washing the
face, washed the feet.

One day when the Great Being said to him, " My son,
bring me a stool to support my feet," the youth, seeing no
other way, kept the Great Teacher's feet on his own thigh
all night. When at a later season the Great Being's wife
brought forth a son, he did all the service that has to be
done at a childbirth. The wife said one day to the Great
Being: "Husband, this lad, well-born though he is, for
the charm's sake performs menial service for us. Let him
have the charm, whether it stays with him or no." To this
he agreed. He taught him the charm, and spoke after
this fashion: "My son, 'tis a priceless charm; and you
will get great gain and honour thereby. But when the
king, or his great minister, shall ask you who was your
teacher, do not conceal my name ; for if you are ashamed
that a low-caste man taught you the charm, and say your
teacher was a great magnate of the brahmins, you will
have no fruit of the charm." "Why should I hide your
name?" quoth the lad. "Whenever I am asked, I shall
say it is you." Then he saluted his teacher, and from the
low-caste village he departed, pondering on the charm,
and in due time came to Benares. There he sold mangoes,
and gained much wealth.

Now on a day the keeper of the park presented to the
king a mango which he had bought from him. The king,
having eaten it, asked whence he procured so fine a fruit.
"My lord," was the answer, "there is a young man who brings
mangoes out of season, and sells them : from him I pro-
cured it." " Tell him," says the king, " from henceforth to
bring the mangoes hither to me." This the man did ; and
from that time the young man took his mangoes to the
king's household. The king, inviting him to enter his
service, he became a servant of the king; and gaining
great wealth, by degrees he grew into the king's con-
fidence.

One day the king asked him, and said : " Young man,
where do you get these mangoes out of season, so sweet
and fragrant and of fine colour? Does some naga or
garula give them to you, or a god, or is this the power of
magic?" "No one gives them to me, O mighty king!"
replied the young man, "but I have a priceless charm,
and this is the power of the charm." "Well then we
should like to see the power of the charm one of these
days." " By all means, my lord, I will shew it," quoth he.
Next day the king went with him into the park, and asked
to be shewn this charm. The young man was willing, and
approaching a mango tree, stood at a distance of seven
foot from it, and repeated the charm, throwing water
against the tree. On the instant the mango tree had
fruit in the manner above described : a shower of mangoes
fell, a very storm ; the company shewed great delight,
waving their kerchiefs ; the king ate of the fruit, and gave
him a great reward, and said, "Young man, who taught
you this charm so marvellous ? " Now thought the young
man, "If I say a low-caste candala taught me, I shall be put
to shame, and they will flout at me ; I know the charm by
heart, and now I can never lose it ; well, I will say it was a
world-renowned teacher." So he lied, and said, " I learnt
it at Takkasila, from a teacher renowned the wide world
over." As he said the words, denying his teacher, that
very instant the charm was gone. But the king, greatly
pleased, returned with him into the city.

On another day the king desired mangoes to eat ; and
going into the park, and taking his seat upon a stone
bench, which was used on state occasions, he bade the
youth get him mangoes. The youth, willing enough, went
up to a mango tree, and standing at a distance of seven
foot from the tree, set about repeating the charm ; but
the charm would not come. Then he knew that he had
lost it, and stood there ashamed. But the king thought,
" Formerly this fellow gave me mangoes even in the midst
of a crowd, and like a heavy shower rained the fruit down.
Now there he stands like a stock : what can the reason
be ? " Which he enquired by repeating the first stanza :

Young: student, when I asked it you of late,

You brought me mango fruit both small and great:

Now no fruit, brahmin, on the tree appears,
Thoug-h the same charm you still reiterate.

When he heard this, the young man thought to himself,
if he should say this day no fruit was to be had, the king
would be wroth ; wherefore he thought to deceive him
with a lie, and repeated the second stanza:

The hour and moment suit not: so wait I
Fit junction of the planets in the sky.

The due conjunction and the moment come,
Then will I bring- you mangoes plenteously.

"What is this," the king wondered. "The fellow said
nothing of planetary conjunctions before ! " To resolve
which questions, he repeated two stanzas:

You said no word of times and seasons, nor
Of planetary junctions heretofore:

But mangoes, fragrant, delicate in taste,
Of colour fine, you brought in plenteous store.

Aforetime, brahmin, you produced so well
Fruit on the tree by muttering' of your spell :
To-day you cannot, mutter as you may.
What means this conduct, I would have you tell?

Hearing this, the youth thought, " There is no deceiving
the king with lies. If, when the truth is told, he punishes
me, let him punish me : but the truth I will tell." Then he
recited two stanzas :

A low-caste man my teacher was, who taught
Duly and w T ell the charm, and how it wrought:

Saying, " If you are asked my name and birth,
Hide nothing, or the charm will come to nought."

Asked by the Lord of Men, though well I knew,
Yet in deceit I said what was not true:

"A brahmin's spells," I lying said; and now,
Charm lost, my folly bitterly I rue.

This heard, the king thought within himself, "This
sinful man took no care of such a treasure ! When one
has a treasure so priceless, what has birth to do with it ?
And in anger he repeated the following stanzas :

Nimb, castor oil, or judas tree, whatever be the tree
"Where he who seeks finds honeycombs, 'tis best of trees, thinks he.
Be it Khattiya, Brahmin, Vessa, he from whom a man learns right
Sudda, Candala, Pukkusa seems chief est in his sight.

Punish the worthless churl, or even slay,
Hence hale him by the throat without delay,

Who having gained a treasure with great toil,
Throws it with overweening pride away!

The king's men so did, saying, "Go back to your
teacher, and win his forgiveness; then, if you can learn
the charm once more, you may come hither again, but if not,
never more may you set eyes on this country." Thus they
banished him.

The man was all forlorn. " There is no refuge for me,"
he thought, "except my teacher. To him I will go, and
win his pardon, and learn the charm again." So lamenting
he went on his way to that village. The Great Being per-
ceived him coming, and pointed him out to his wife, saying,
"See, lady, there comes that scoundrel again, with his
charm lost and gone ! " The man approached the Great
Being, and greeted him, and sat on one side. " Why are
you here ? " asked the other. " O my teacher ! " the man
said, "I uttered a lie, and denied my teacher, and I am
utterly ruined and undone ! " Then he recited his trans-
gression in a stanza, asking again for the charms :

Oft he who thinks the level ground is lying at his foot,
Falls in a pool, pit, precipice, trips on a rotten root ;
Another treads what seems a cord, a jet-black snake to find;
Another steps into the fire because his eyes are blind:
So I have sinned, and lost my spell; but you, teacher wise,
Forgive ! and let me once again find favour in your eyes !

Then his teacher replied, "What say you, my son ? Give
but a sign to the blind, he goes clear of pools and what
not ; but I told it to you once, and what do you want here
now ? " Then he repeated the following stanzas :

To you in right due manner I did tell,
You in due manner rightly learnt the spell,

Full willingly its nature I explained:
Ne'er had it left you, had you acted well.
Who with much toil, O fool! hath learnt a spell
Full hard for those who now in this world dwell,

Then, foolish one! a living- gained at last,
Throws all away, because he lies will tell,

To such a fool, unwise, of lying fain,
Ungrateful, who cannot himself restrain,

SpeUs, quotha! mighty spells we give not him:
Go hence away, and ask me not again!

Thus dismissed by his teacher, the man thought, "What
is life to me ? " and plunging into the woods, died forlorn.