The Two Good Kings

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was king of
Benares, the Bodhisatta was conceived by his Queen
Consort; and the ceremonies proper to her state having
been duly done 1 , she was afterwards safely delivered. On
his name-day, the name they gave him was Prince Brah-
madatta.

In course of time, he grew up, and at sixteen years
went to Takkasila 2 for his education ; where he mastered
all branches of learning, and on his father's death he
became king in his stead, and ruled with uprightness and
all rectitude, administering justice with no regard had to
his own will or whim. And as he ruled thus justly, his
ministers on their part were also just; thus, while all
things were justly done, there was none who brought a
false suit into court. Presently all the bustle of suitors
ceased within the precincts of the palace ; all day long the
ministers might sit on the bench, and go away without
seeing a single suitor. The courts w r ere deserted.

Then the Bodhisatta thought to himself, "Because of
my just government not one suitor comes to try issue in
court ; the old hubbub is quiet ; the courts of law are
deserted. Now I must search whether I have any fault
in me; which if I find, I will eschew it, and live a good
life hereafter." From that time he tried continually to
find some one who would tell him of a fault; but of all
who were about him at court he could not find one such;
nothing could he hear but good of himself. "Perhaps,"
thought he, " they are all so much afraid of me that they
say no ill of me but only good," and so he went about to
try those who were outside his walls. But with these it
was just the same. Then he made inquisition of the
citizens at large, and outside the city questioned those
who belonged to the suburbs at the four city gates. Still
there was none who had any fault to find; nothing but
praises could he hear. Lastly, with intent to try the
country side, he entrusted all government to his ministers,
and mounted in his carriage, and taking only the driver
with him, left the city in disguise. All the country he
traversed, even to the frontier; but not a fault-finder could
he light upon ; all he could hear was only his own praises.
So back he turned from the marches, and set his face
homewards again by the high-road.

Now it fortuned that at this very time Mallika, the king
of Kosala, had done the very same thing. He too was a
just king, and he had been searching for his faults; but
amongst those about him there was none who had any
fault to find ; and hearing nothing but praise, he had been
making enquiry throughout all the country, and had but
then arrived at that same spot.

These two met, in a place where the carriage-road was
deeply sunk between two banks, and there was no room
for one carriage to pass another.

" Get your carriage out of the way! " said king Mallika's
driver to the driver of the king of Benares.

" No, no, driver," said he, " out of the way with yours !
Know that in this carriage sits the great monarch Brahma-
datta, lord of the kingdom of Benares!"

"Not so, driver!" replied the other, "in this carriage
sits the great king Mallika, lord of the realm of Kosala !
It is for you to make way, and to give place to the carriage
of our king!"

"Why, here's a king too," thought the driver of the
king of Benares. " What in the world is to be done ? "
Then a thought struck him ; he would enquire what should
be the age of the two kings, so that the younger should
give way to the elder. And he made enquiry of the other
driver how old his king was ; but he learnt that both were
of the same age. Thereupon he asked the extent of this
king's power, wealth, and glory, and all points touching
his caste and clan and his family; discovering that both
of them had a country three hundred leagues long, and
that they were alike in power, wealth, glory, and the nature
of their family and lineage. Then he bethought him that
place might be given to the better man ; so he requested
that the other driver should describe his master's virtues.
The man replied by the first verse of poetry following, in
which he set forth his monarch's faults as though they
were so many virtues:

Rough to the rough, king- Mallika the mild with mildness sways,
Masters the good by goodness, and the bad with badness pays.
Give place, give place, driver! such are this monarch's ways!

" Oh," said the man of the king of Benares, " is that all
you have to say about your king's virtues ? " " Yes," said
the other. " If these are his virtues, what must his vices
be ! " " Vices be it, then," quoth he, " if you will ; but let
us hear what your king's virtues may be like!" "Listen
then," rejoined the first, and repeated the second verse:

He conquers wrath by mildness, the bad with goodness sways,
By gifts the miser vanquishes and lies with truth repays.
Give place, give place, driver ! such are this monarch's ways l 1

At these words both king Mallika and his driver de-
scended from their carriage, and loosed the horses, and
moved it out of the way, to give place to the king of
Benares. Then the king of Benares gave good admonition
to king Mallika, saying, " Thus and thus must you do " ;
after which he returned to Benares, and there gave alms
and did good all his life, till at the last he went to swell
the hosts of heaven. And king Mallika took the lesson to
heart ; and after traversing the length and breadth of the
land, and lighting upon none who had any fault to find in
him, returned to his own city; where he gave alms all his
life and did good, till at the end he too attained to heaven.