THE MANUHARI JĀTAKA-TALE

TRANSLATED BY JOHN R. KRUEGER

INTRODUCTION

THE MANUHARI tale, never before translated, presents an interesting example of the “birth-story” (Sanskrit, jātaka) as developed among the Oirats or Western Mongols. The Oirat nation occupied Western Mongolia (Dzungaria) in the centuries after the fall of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, and around 1630 a sizable faction resettled on the lower reaches of the Volga and Don rivers. These, known as Kalmyks, continue to live in the present region as an autonomous Soviet republic, although in 1771 large numbers returned to Mongolia and accepted Manchu-Chinese rule. However, both groups share the same language and literature.

Oirat-Mongolian literature began in 1648, when the lama-monk, Zaya Pandita, created for his people a divergent and more precise form of the old vertical Mongolian script, and began a program of translation and publication in it. It was actively used until the early years of this century, when increasing Russification and general change in society brought about its decline. In Kalmyk Republic of the Soviet Union, a Cyrillic alphabet based on Russian is now in use, and in Mongolia (the present-day Mongolian People’s Republic) too, the old standard script has been supplanted by a Cyrillic version. Probably not more than 200 different literary and religious works in Oirat script survive. Copies of many are in Mongolian manuscript collections in Germany and other countries, but I do not know of any in the United States, except for photocopies from European holdings in my own possession. Very little of Oirat-Mongolian literature has been translated for English or Western readers, and translation of this tale, a representative literary work of the culture, will serve to introduce the English-speaking reader to this literary tradition.

The Mongols follow Buddhism in its Lamaistic form as developed in Tibet. A large part of their literature is an outgrowth of this religion and is often didactic, seeking to impart to society the values of a culture which considers seeking rebirth to a higher plane to be a main goal of existence. A story of the Buddha in one of his previous births, like the Manuhari tale, serves to draw attention to the practice of basic Buddhist virtues. The Mongol thus joins with other Buddhists of China, Tibet, and South East Asia through mutual sharing of a vast Buddhistic popular nondogmatic literature.

The form and content of a birth-story is generally fixed along the following lines. Lord Buddha is dwelling in his pleasure-park when, one day, some of his disciples engage him in conversation, and ask a question on morals or conduct. By way of illustration, the Buddha relates a story, often about a king or wealthy householder who was faced with a problem or who took an action along the lines of the original question. When the tale is concluded and the right moral action has been illustrated, we learn that the identities of the characters in the story correspond to the Buddha and his close associates, relatives, or even enemies in a prior rebirth, or cycle of reincarnation: “I was that king, and you, Ananda, were my. . .

A considerable body of such tales has made its way into Mongolian, as the story-cycles, known generally by their Sanskrit names, the Pancatantra or “Five Fable Books,” and the Vetalapancavimsati, “Twenty-five Goblin Stories,’’ the latter also found in an Oirat rcension. The Manuhari tale is a version of one called the Sudhanaavadana.*

The text itself is found in an original manuscript of 23 folios, acquired by Baron Asch and presented to the University Library at Göttingen (West Germany) in 1807.† It is a beautifully executed specimen of Oirat calligraphy, and an illustration of one folio is reproduced herewith. The translation has been made from the Laufer copy, with reference to the Göttingen manuscript. The text is straightforward and uncomplicated, and there seemed to be no need to make a detailed edition with transcription, variants and explanations. There remain only two or three unclear words, and one somewhat obscure sentence, by which I have set question marks.

The Manuhari tale is noteworthy both for its literary merit and as an important example of Western Mongolian popular Buddhistic literature and can be appreciated by a wide audience of readers.

This type of story, though widespread and known to many levels of society, is not a native composition, and bears little relation to the genuine Mongolian folk compositions, like the typical heroic epics, In like manner, we cannot count Grimm’s tales, Aesop’s fables or even the Biblical parables as part of English or American literature, though they are also widely known in these countries.

To avoid the use of many technical and foreign terms that will disrupt the reader’s pleasure, but at the same time to maintain the usefulness of the translation for the specialist, I use the following technique in translation. The foreign word is combined and hyphenated with its rough English equivalent. In this way the specialist will know what technical term is used, and the general reader can use the more common word. One such term is bodhi-sancity, where bodhi is a Sanskrit term denoting a kind of religious enlightenment requiring a long explanation. Words in brackets indicate explanatory additions; words in parentheses give foreign words or their equivalents, or aid in better phrasing in English.

The reader may also note a peculiarity of Mongolian reflected in the translation: the narrative annoyingly shifts back and forth between two speakers, referring to both as “he.” To avoid the constant addition of identification, I generally use the pronoun as it is always evident from the action who the speaker(s) must be.

Two more features of the original are perforce reflected in the translation. One is the practice of using a verb of statement or speech both before and after a quotation. The other is the fact that transition between events is sometimes abrupt or sharp, at least for a Western reader, because the event or intermediate step thus omitted is familiar to or subconsciously assumed by the native reader.

Last, the reader may feel, in some of the poetical sections of the final pages, that sometimes the phrases and sentences do not quite seem to make sense. The reason for this is that the quatrains are alliterative in the original, and the poet sometimes chose the imagery of key phrases more for their sound-value than their sense-value. This is what produces a certain disjointed air, in strictly logical terms.

THE MANUHARI JĀTAKA-TALE / HEREIN DWELLS THE TALE
OF THE GODDESS MANUHARI WHO CLEANSES GRAVE SIN

I bow to the Lama and the Three Jewels.

The Saints among those who are reborn and who have found unthinkable and inexhaustible strength, having demonstrated the merit of striving well and their own strength, have led all sentients to an incomparable bodhi-sanctity, according to a plan, and are extremely wondrous to those of the world.

At a time early and long past, in the land of India, there were two (states), Tabun Togolder (Five Perfections) of the North and Tabun Togolder of the South. The one called Tabun Togos of the North became prosperous: field crops were plentiful; rain fell from time to time; there were no enemies on yonder side; disease and epidemic were nonexistent; and all the people gathered there. The others in that land, at a lake called Ling-xotu, were a Naga-king called Eldeb Zuil Torolkitu (having various kinds of creatures) and a very remarkable king, Nomci (Learned).

In the land of Tabun Togolder of the South, in contrast to this, field crops did not come up, they fought one another, and it was not very peaceful. Once the fifth king of Togos of the South thought to himself, “What is the reason for the king of the North being prosperous? What is the reason this land of mine has become disquieted?” he thought to himself. As he did not know, he beat the state drums in the palace, sent up a pennant, blew a horn, assembled all his own people, and said as follows in verse:

Hear ye, my people assembled here. I am asking of you now

A plan to make this southern land happy.

If there be one who knows, let him speak.

Is this not our constant idea?

The northern land is prosperous;

Crops always grow and rain falls;

Man and beast are ever devoid of ills;

Many people have gathered and are very happy.

If you assembled here now know

The differences between these two,

Tell me without fail!

Let me devise a plan to be happier than that land.

Thus he declaimed.

From amidst those assembled an old man supported by a cane arose and came, made obeisance to the king, and reported as follows:

Oh great king, hear!

As regards the tranquil land of the north,

The incomparable king defends a regime of religion, and

People whosoever heed the king’s command.

Furthermore, there is the lake called Ling-xotu there;

It is evident there is a rich Naga-king within this lake;

Specifically, the people of this land

Are happy for precisely this reason.

“As for the reason for the unhappiness of those in the South, you, Oh King, do not act in accordance with doctrine; your tributaries do not heed your commands. Because there is no such Naga-king here, our misery has thus arisen,” he reported.

The king said, “Is there a means to bring that rich Naga-king to this land?” The old man said, “There are indeed spellcasters who know the way to bring him.”

Assembling all the spellcasters, however many, the king said, “Oh spellcasters grounded in Vairocana, do ye spellcasters bring here by the might of upadesa-sorcery the rich Naga-king of the north! If you are not able to bring him, I shall punish you,” he said.

From amongst the spellcasters a yellow-bearded spellcaster said, “We local spellcasters cannot bring him. There is a snowy mountain, like unto a helmet, at the source of a river, and before it is a cliff similar to palms pressed together. In a grotto of that cliff dwells the king of the spellcasters, who has practiced spells for many years, and who bites serpents with his mouth. If you go and summon that spellcaster, he surely will be able to bring the Naga-king,” he said.

When the king dispatched spellcasters to invite the king of the spellcasters, the spellcasters arrived there, and when they had explained the whys and wherefores of bringing the Naga-king, the grand spellcaster came to the king’s palace.

The king spoke as follows to the spellcaster. “Do you know a means to bring the Naga-king of the north here?” he said. The spellcaster advised, “I can indeed do so. The upadesa-sorcery to summon him will demand 108 drugs, 108 poisons, one elephant-load of five-colored thread, and eight iron pickets the size of a standing man, and requires the skull of a man who died from swelling sickness, and building a lake in this land equal in size to Ling-xotu Lake and surrounded by trees. It will be necessary for all us spellcasters to execute spells intermittently,” he reported.

Then the king had everything performed in accordance with what the spellcaster had said, and when the spellcasters were executing spells, the rich Naga-king of the north learned of it by prescience and wisdom, and thought to himself as follows. “On the night of the fifteenth of the month, I shall leave this my own happy land, and go to the suffering land of the south,^יי he thought, and his mind was ill at ease.

First transforming himself into the shape of an eight-year-old boy, he came out at the edge of his own lake. Perceiving a huntsman at the edge of the lake, he said, “What is the name of this land? What is this land called? Are the people of this land happy or miserable? What is your name?”, he inquired. The man said, “This land is the happy country Togos of the North. The beings of this land are very happy. I am a man who catches and eats fish from this lake,” he said.

Then the Naga-king said, “What is the reason this land has been happy?” The hunter said, “The lord of this land is King Nomci. The king defends the realm by doctrine, and furthermore, there is a rich Naga-king within this Ling-xotu Lake. By virtue of these two reasons, the entire people is happy,” he said. The Naga-king said, “In that case, when on the night of the fifteenth of this month, spellcasters who have woven spells come and take this your rich Naga- king to the south, will the people of the north protect him?” he inquired. The hunter said, “If spellcasters come and take this our rich Naga-king to the southern land, why won’t everyone protect him?”

Thinking to himself, he said, “Since this hunter is a very sinful man, he surely will be able to slay the spellcasters when they come.” [Then he said,] “I am he, your rich Naga-king. On the night of the fifteenth of this month, a spellcaster will come, confining every direction of the lake with eight iron pickets and netting it with five- colored thread, and will put 108 poisons in the attached skull of a man who died from swelling sickness. When he casts it into the lake, I shall be unable to endure the pestilence and will come out above the lake. At that time, you seize the spellcaster fearlessly by the hair and tell him as follows. ‘You evil spellcaster, why are you defiling this our Lake Ling-xotu? If you will restore this lake to its original state, do so; if not, I shall slay you.’ When you say this, the spellcaster will be afraid, and will weave a tranquil spell. At that time when he casts his 108 drugs into the lake, my illness will disappear. Just then you kill the spellcaster. Whatever siddhi- power you need, I shall bestow. You will make this land very happy,” he said. The hunter promised [to do as he was told].

Then the grand spellcaster of the south, executing all his great needs, put five-colored thread on an elephant, loaded the iron pickets, the drugs, poisons and so on, took the upadesa-sorcery, and together with all his colleagues, went to bring back the Naga-king on the night of the fifteenth.

The grand spellcaster thought to himself, “Now these spellcasters have observed my entire sorcery. If they witness this sorcery now, my name will later not come to the fore,” he thought, and said to his colleagues as follows. “You do not need to go there; return each to your home,” he said. When he had them return, he proceeded alone.

Then the spellcaster came to the edge of the lake, and impaling the iron pickets at the four directions and the four intervals between, he spread out netting of five-colored thread. Placing 108 poisons in the attached skull of a man who died from swelling sickness, he blew and invoked a fierce spell, and cast it into the lake. Lake Ling-xotu seethed, and the rich Naga-king Eldeb Torolkitu was unable to endure the pestilence and came out above the lake.

The hunter, who was lurking about just then, suddenly appeared and seized the spellcaster by the hair, saying as follows. “Why are you tormenting our rich Naga-king? If you will leave this Naga-king in his previous state, do so; if not, I shall surely slay you,” he said. The spellcaster was afraid, and said as follows. “Don’t kill me. As for what way the lake and Naga-king were, I shall leave them like that,” he said. He blew and invoked a tranquil spell on the 108 drugs, and when he cast them into the lake, the Naga-king’s illness was cured. After he had cast them into the lake, the hunter killed the spellcaster, and using his bones as a pillow, he spent the night beside the lake.

In the morning when the sun rose, the Naga-king came and said to the hunter, “You have helped me. Now come to my palace.” The hunter said, “I am unable to go into water.” The Naga-king said as follows, “Let me take you by means of rddhi-magic,” and taking him on his back, the Naga-king took him to his palace, seated the hunter on the jeweled throne, regaled him with all kinds of different foods, and said as follows.

You saved my life from a clearly fearful enemy,

Possessing secret and evident rddhi-magic;

Therefore, whatever awards you find suitable,

I shall repay your deed of merit openly.

When he presented him various kinds of jewels, that hunter was very happy and thought to himself, “Although I was formerly of lowly rebirth, and whereas I used to eat just game and fish, today the Naga-king has seated me on the jeweled throne within his palace and bestowed on me ever so many kinds of jewels. By the might of these jewels, I shall indeed be able to gratify the sentients of the Jambudviparworld. Is this a dream, or is it true? If this is a dream, don’t let me wake up!” he thought to himself. Then the hunter said, “Oh thou Naga-king, you have repaid my good deed. Now send me to land,” he said, and the Naga-king sent the hunter to land in a twinkling.

The hunter took the jewels and showed them to an old man and woman who lived in his own country. “Are these jewels which I found good or bad jewels? Look at them, you two,” he said. They said as follows, “We two do not know about good and bad jewels. At the time when we were infants, at the source of a river, there was an old rsi- sage dwelling in dhyana- meditation. If he is still there now, he will know a great deal about good and bad jewels.”

The hunter proceeded to go to that rsi-sage. In the grotto of the cliff called Guuri, which is at the source of a river, he found the sage, bowed and received his blessing, and when he had him investigate whether the jewels were good or bad, the sage spoke as follows. “These jewels are three-sided and five-sided, and there are many good lapis lazuli. Whence came so many jewels to you?” he said, and the hunter related his story in detail. “The Naga-king was extremely gracious to you,’’ he declaimed.

The hunter said, “Oh most remarkable sage! An old man and woman at the foot and mouth of this river said to me that when they both were infants, you were an old man. Now, you have not grown extremely aged. By virtue of what has such occurred?” he asked. The sage declaimed, “In a land two or three leagues beyond here, there is a lake where the Esrua( Brahma )-gods gather and wash. There comes a girl seven times as fine as a human girl to wash her body. After that comes a girl seven times as fine as the Naga-maiden to wash. After that comes a girl seven times as fine as the heavenly maiden to wash her body. After that comes a girl seven times as fine as the Gandharva girl to wash. And after that comes the daughter of the Kinnara king, he of the horse’s head (Hayagriva), who is far better than all of them.

“Her name is Manuhari. When you behold her, she is insatiably beautiful. Her body is adorned with various sorts of jewels. Every single strand of her hair is decorated each one with a jewel; and each one of the adorning jewels is impossible to be compared at all with the entire goods of the Jambudvipa-world. Such girls as this come to wash on an auspicious day of every month.

“At the time when these girls sing and dance the dance of the gods, the dance of the Nagas, the dance of the Gandharvas and the dance of the Kinnara, and when their music resounds to the waters flowing in that land, those waters flow softly and silently. The plants and trees, wafting in the wind, silently bend their tips to hear the girls’ songs. The birds which are there, and tigers, leopards, bears, monkeys, simin [?] animals, and pisaca-vampires, raksa-demons, malevolent demons, pretas and others, all of them observe these girls’ dances, listen to the music, and no harm befalls [anyone].

“Thus, when I drink the water of that lake, and wash my body, I do not seek food for seven sun-rounds because I am cleansed of all my faults and evils. The blessing of this water is why my life and age have become long,” he declaimed. The hunter stated, “Oh grand sage, if it were possible to see this great sight, what a fine thing that would surely be,” he said respectfully. The sage declaimed, “Tomorrow is the auspicious day. If I am not there, it will be impossible to see them. If you wish to observe, follow behind me tomorrow and watch,” he said.

On the morrow the sage let the hunter follow him, and they concealed themselves in the spaces between the trees at the edge of the lake where the Esrua-gods gathered. While they were there, in accord with the sage’s previous statement, before long there came through the sky one by one in turn a human maiden, a Naga-maiden, a Gandharva-maiden, and a very beautiful girl, seven times far more lovely than these, and they washed. After this, when the Kinnara king’s daughter came, they danced the dance of the gods, the Naga dance, and the dances of Gandharvas, men, the big-bellied one and the jug-bellied one, and others. As for the place where they disported, an incomparably fine exhibition, like the opening of the monastery gates, was seen.

Then, after these maidens had gone back, the sage and the hunter returned to the grotto of the cliff. On the morning following this, the hunter stated, “Oh great sage, yesterday I saw a remarkable sight. How lovely were the beautiful girls and songs! Is there a way to catch one of them?” he asked. The sage declaimed, “There is a means to catch her. If you can get an efficacious jewel-sling, it will be possible to catch her,” he said.

The hunter thought to himself as follows. ‘‘The Naga-king surely must have an efficacious jewel-sling. Let me seek and get it,” he said. That night he found no repose. Early the next day he took his previous jewels and went to the edge of the lake. “Oh Naga-king!” he cried. The Naga-king made no sound. The hunter said, “If I go to the land of Tabun Togosuqsen of the south, there surely must be some one (there) like that former spellcaster.” When he threatened thus, although the Naga-king knew by his prescient wisdom that there was no such great and powerful spellcaster, he said to himself, “This man was a person very helpful to me; if it be that there is something that he needs, I shall give it to him.”

When the Naga-king came, the hunter said, “These jewels which you formerly gave me are not able to repay my good deed. If you will truly repay me, give me the efficacious jewel-sling,^יי he said. The Naga-king said, “As for this efficacious jewel-sling, because of the danger of the King Garuda to us Nagas, this efficacious jewel-sling is our talisman. If we are without it, there is danger from the King Garuda.” When he offered him two additional jewels, the hunter did not accept. “If you are going to give something, give the efficacious sling,” he said and beseeched repeatedly.

The Naga-king brought the efficacious jewel-sling, placed it in the hunter’s hands, and said as follows:

The reason that this country is tranquil and happy

Is the might of me, the supreme Naga-king.

When a spellcaster was leading me helpless

From here to the land of the south,

When I was being taken to an unknown land,

You had pity on me and saved me;

I shall never be forgetful of your kind deed;

Today I bestowed still more, the efficacious sling.

The hunter was very happy and spoke his reply:

Knowing it has brought benefit is very remarkable;

A Naga-king just like you is rare in the world;

If much benefit has been brought, it is also rare like you;

Giving the efficacious sling to me was very fine.

Bringing the efficacious sling, he spoke to the sage:

Oh great sage who has pacified his senses!

Oh you topmost adornment of sages without error!

I have found the efficacious sling, difficult to find in this world.

Now let us proceed to the lake where Esruas assemble.

The two of them on the next auspicious day took the efficacious sling and went to the edge of the lake. As they sat concealed among trees, there came a girl seven times more beautiful than a human girl, adorned with many ornaments and silkstuffs. When she was washing, the hunter said, “Let me seize her,” but the sage restrained him and did not let him seize her. Then, when there came a girl far more beautiful than the Naga girl, the heavenly girl, and the Gandharva girl, he asked, “Shall I catch her?” and again the sage restrained and stopped him.

Soon after this came the daughter of the Kinnara king, surrounded by five hundred maidens, replete with parasols, banners [lit. ‘victorious symbols’], guidons, lute and flute music, and so forth, ringing and tinkling, and adorned with various kinds of jewels. As they watched them dance the dance of the gods, the dance of the Nagas, the dance of the Gandharvas, etc., they danced insatiably, voicing fine and lovely melodies, and a beautiful, remarkable exhibition, like the opening of the temple gates, was seen.

“How would it be now if I seize the goddess Manuhari?” he respectfully inquired of the sage. The sage declaimed, “If you are go- ing to seize her, seize her!” When the hunter cast the efficacious jewel sling, he caught the goddess Manuhari by the right hand, and all her comrades flew off into the sky. Then Manuhari thought thus to herself, ‘A sinful hunter has seized me among us many maidens at the lake where the Esrua-gods gather and wash. If he lays hand on me, because my person is pure and immaculate, I shall die,” she thought. Giving him her own fine jeweled ring, she said, “Take this and let me go. If you take this jeweled ring, it is [worth] more than all the goods of the Jambudvipa-continent. I am unable to be the mate of an ordinary mortal. I am of noble and pure origin, and immaculate.”

The hunter said, “Although you may die, I shall not send you to your land. If I seize you with the efficacious sling, it will work.” He wrapped her hands doubled with the efficacious sling, and when she was biting the riverbank and getting a toehold on stones, Manuhari thought to herself, “No matter what I may do, this man is not going to release me. If he does not release me, this small jewel encrusted in my jeweled diadem is more than all the goods of the Jambudvipacontinent. Specifically, my life-soul is within it. You take it! I can fly by the power of it. As long as you hold me, this jeweled diadem is not something of mine. Although I think of my diadem, you will surely catch me.”*

When he managed to lay hand on her, the sage declaimed, “Hunter, because you are of lowly birth, it will not do for you to lay hand on her. As for the jeweled diadem, because it is Manuhari’s life-soul, take it.” Thereupon the hunter took the diadem, and when he stepped to a spot seven paces away, Manuhari went to a spot seven paces behind the hunter. Then the sage, the girl Manuhari, and the hunter, all three, went to the Guuri cliff. While they were dwelling there, Manuhari thought to herself, “I am devoid of a destiny, but I was born a daughter of the Kinnara King. Although there are many girls who come thus to the lake where Esrua-gods gather, a sinful man of low birth has seized me from among all of them,” she thought to herself. The hunter was thinking to himself as follows. “Although a lowly fellow like me has seized such a beautiful goddess as Manuhari, if I lay hand on her, she will die,” he thought.

The sage was aware of the thoughts of these two and spoke to the hunter. “If you were to give this goddess Manuhari in marriage to the prince named Manibhadra, son of King Nomci of Tabun Togosuqsen of the north, she will surely be a queen superior to all queens. There surely cannot be found a better husband for Manuhari in the lands of man than this prince. He will surely enrich you, hunter, with goods and cattle,” he said.

“If a hunter lays hand on Manuhari, she will die. Prior to this, when I followed the sage’s command, my affairs resolved themselves. Now, too, let it be in accord with the sage’s command,” he said. Seizing Manuhari’s jeweled diadem himself, he had Manuhari follow and they went to the palace of Prince Manibhadra of Tabun Togosuqsen of the north. With the prince’s minister as matchmaker, he brought Manuhari and came before the king.

The hunter made obeisance, and placed the jeweled diadem in the king’s hand, and said respectfully as follows:

Oh powerful heavenly prince, hear ye!

I manifestly present to be married as queen

This Manuhari, daughter of the incomparable Kinnara;

No more beautiful one is there in the world.

The prince and Manuhari marveled one at the other, and looked one another over this way and that. Prince Manibhadra thought to himself as follows. “Although I have 500 wives, when I look at her, they are like apes. Such a queen of mine as she has surely come by strength of merit.”

Thereupon, when they made an extremely joyous feast, the prince’s glory and majestic refulgence fell on Manuhari, and Manuhari’s glory and majestic refulgence fell on the prince, and owing to the luminence of them both, the palace shone like bronze, gleaming and sparkling. The prince bestowed a large state on the huntsman.

As the (new) king and queen dwelt, constantly happy together, his five hundred wives thought thus to themselves, “Since this Manuhari came, the prince has neither looked nor glanced at us.” And they all talked together. “Let us devise a means to do away with this Manuhari,” they said.

The father of the prince, King Nomci, had a magician, a lama named Qara Qari (Somber Stranger). The five hundred wives fiattered (?) this lama with goods, and said as follows. “Since this Manuhari came, the prince does not even glance at us. Lama, work out a way to dispose of her,” they said. This sage went and spoke to the Maharaja Nomci.

“Oh Maharaja! Since the prince is replete with might and main, if he should go and lead an army against our protagonist, the enemy in the south, he surely would be able to defeat them. Now, if one does not utilize this prince’s might, the enemy may later vanquish us with their strength, and it might happen that we would lose our kingdom,” he said.

The king loved his son and did not send him. When the sage repeatedly mentioned it, the king appointed Prince Manibhadra head of the northern army and was about to send him [into battle]. When it was time for the army to depart, Prince Manibhadra thought to himself as follows. “The king has verily given a command; now there is naught else [to do] but to go,” he said, and his face grew gloomy. As he sat there, Manuhari said to the prince,

Son of Heaven, insatiable to behold,

Savior of sentients by a sublimely sage scheme,

Whereas previously your visage was manifestly bright,

Why is your bright countenance overcast today?

The prince declaimed, “My supremely beautiful Manuhari, hear ye! My father’s command is grave. The army of the north and I are to go. How am I to go and leave you?” he said. Manuhari said, “Manibhadra, beautifully imbued with complexion and vigor, hear ye! It is not posible to break the king’s command. If you are to go with the northern army, as planned, how am I to dwell separated from you? Now give me my jeweled diadem and send me to the land of the Kinnara. I shall make a wish for us to meet later,” she said.

The prince did not agree, but went and took Manuhari in to his mother the queen, and reported to his mother, “Until I return from the army, do you, mother, supervise this diadem and Manuhari. Give her the diadem when harm threatens her life. Do not give it for any other reason,” he said, and had his mother keep the diadem and Manuhari.

He went into the army. Later, the wily sage Qara Qari discovered a way, and had King Nomci dream an evil dream. He made him dream that he went to a place and his insides were taken out, that his stomach was wrapped up three times, and that his heart was taken out. When the king asked the sage for an interpretation, the sage spoke. “The king is in danger of dying. Set up a filled pool before the royal palace, and in it fix a four-step podium of stone. On this, anoint Kinnara fat, and the king is to wash in the water. Then make a fragrance with Kinnara girl fat, and when the king comes out on this podium, have a man versed in the eight Brahmanic wisdoms lick his feet, and the harmful demon will come out.”

The king declaimed, “Where is one to find Kinnara fat?” and the sage Qara Qari said, “Is not the king’s daughter-in-law a Kinnara?” The king declaimed, “I have sent Manibhadra, who is like my own heart, to the army. If I slay Manuhari, who is like Manibhadra’s own eyes, how am I to remain alive?” he said.

The sage said, “For the sake of your life, if you love the daughter-in-law more than your own life, I am unable to effect a cure.” The king believed the sage’s statement, and Manuhari, hearing that she was to be taken to make a cure, said to the Queen Mother, “The Maharaja is being deceived by the sage Qara Qari. Pretending it necessary, they are going to slay me. Please give me my diadem. I shall return,” she said.

When the queen mother looked furtively from the palace window, she saw the executioner corning and was afraid, and placing the jeweled diadem in Manuhari’s hand, said, “Go quickly!” Manuhari took the diadem and flew up into the sky, saying to the executioner, “Oh most mighty forces, hear ye! The Maharaja has been deceived by others. Harm befell the life of blameless Manuhari. If you desire Manuhari’s fat, come up in the sky,” she said and flew away.

Beginning with the king, they all repented together. They repented greatly together, saying “What are we to say when Prince Manibhadra comes and inquires, ‘Where has Manuhari gone?’ “ The sage Qara Qari said, “Oh King, indeed evil and obstacles have manifestly emerged.”

Then the goddess Manuhari said, “When I was formerly in the grotto of Guuri cliff, good and evil deeds came to pass there. Let me go there, meet that former sage, and relate my tale,” she said and went. Bowing to the prior sage, she said as follows:

We, Sage, Naga and Hunter, after resolving our differences,

Encountered the prince by the might of pure destiny;

A youth so greatly beloved would not leave [me], we thought;

Because the beneficent Maharaja was deceived by others.

After good Manibhadra went into the army,

The girls all but brought harm to my fine life;

The queen mother gave me my unequalled diadem;

Without delay I was to go to the land of the Kinnaras.

This bejeweled ring,

At the time when the mighty prince came to sue for me,

I gave to him, and said* these words,

“We two shall surely meet by the might of ancient destiny.”

Beyond a land some leagues from here .

Is a lake where Esrua-gods gather and wash;

In a country beyond this noble lake

Lies a boundless dense forest.

Within it are many jewels of all sorts,

Shielding the heavens, sun and moon;

In a land some leagues beyond it

Are manifest carnivores on a snowclad mountain.

It is not possible to endure the unbearable cold;

In a land some leagues beyond that,

On the other hand, the danger of serpents is great;

To such a yonder land I arrived.

There poisonous water boils up to the sky;

Constantly the poison water flows and trickles;

If one comes to a land beyond here

There are harmful insects like long-nosed flies, bees and so forth.

There are also large hosts of pretas (?) which are disagreeable;

When one comes to the land not far beyond this,

It is our superior Kinnara land;

Its palace is lofty and very majestic.

At its top is a white canopy, and its peak is beautiful;

In the corners it is finely netted about with pearls;

There are four superior lakes for washing, in the four directions;

There are many different flowers delighting all.

There are many treasuries of gold, silver and jewels;

There are also many carnivores like lions and others;

In compassion they bring no harm to one another,

And are in company with whatever offspring be there.

In wintertime, fruit and flowers appear from trees;

In such an esteemed and sublime land

I, Manuhari, am thinking of thee, master;

Amongst my many unbounded comrades my thought is on thee.

On account of such fearful things, you surely will be unable to come from there. If you come after me without fear of those intervening horrors,

May you come enumerating these various things!

Here in a land some leagues beyond

There is a lake where Esrua-gods gather and wash;

Please come after washing with such esteemed water!

There in a land some leagues beyond

There is a transparent flat white crystal;

If you come carrying it wholly on your shoulder,

Its efficiency will protect you from the danger of carnivores.

In a land some leagues beyond there

There is a well-inaugurated white pagoda

Of the Well-Gone Kasyapa Buddha;

When you have bowed to it, circumambulated and taken the blessing,

Within this incomparable pagoda

There is superior kashika-fabric.

When you take it quickly, load it on your shoulders and proceed,

It delivers you from the angry carnivores of the snowclad mountains.

If you go to a land further beyond

There is an elephant fashioned from stone.

Beneath the stone elephant is an iron hammer.

If you take the hammer resolutely, and strike the elephants belly,

The essence of it is that there is an immortal spring which fills jugs.

If you partake of it and anoint your person,

It manifestly delivers [one] from poison water and harmful serpents.

When you come to a land beyond this,

There is the palace of the incomparable Kinnara King.

I, captivating Manuhari, in that Land

Shall dwell, thinking well on thee;

Unrivaled prince,

Please proceed to that land without delay.

With such words of instruction did she command the sage, and flew away to her own land.

Thereupon Prince Manibhadra vanquished all the enemies of the north, and returned. Owing to the fact that the Maharaja and all the others had been deceived by the sage Qara Qari, they said, “Manuhari has returned to her own country.” The prince’s mind was sorely troubled, and his father the Maharaja declaimed, “I shall give you to wife a human girl far superior to Manuhari.” He replied, “Where can there be found one like Manuhari who was perfected in all the signs, pure and immaculate among the Kinnara women?”

Since this has entered the mind of each and every such one, neither woman, duck, thief nor monks who bestrive their strivings will repose. On account of such the Maharaja and all the others could not restrain the prince. Then after the prince had departed to seek her, seeing that the moon of the fifteenth had come out, he wondered to himself as follows:

Oh Moon, king of the stars which have filled your destiny,

As you go, revolving quickly over the four continents,

Hast thou seen in the world the fair and beautiful Manuhari,

Finer than all, with eyes like the lotus leaf?

Then going to a yonder country, and mindful of how they had formerly been happy together, he saw an antelope-doe and wondered to himself as follows:

Oh you nicely sympathetic antelope,

Go in peace eating grass and water.

I am no vicious hunter.

Have you seen the well-behaved Manuhari, she of the fine doe eyes?

Then he went to a further country, and perceiving a bee on a flower amidst many flower-gardens, he wondered to himself as follows:

Oh gatherer in gardens and reeds

The color of honeybees and indigo,

Have you clearly perceived in the world

The long jet-black-haired one with the wasp-waist by herself?

When he went on, he saw a serpent, and wondered to himself,

Oh producer of poison from mouth and snout,

Flashing your tongue like a tree leaf,

There is no one of such bad habit and vicious lust as you.

Have you seen the incomparable Manuhari?

Then going to a further country, he perceived the singing of a fine cuckoo bird, and again he asked himself:

Oh dweller in the top of trees like larch and others,

You cuckoo, king of all birds,

Have you glimpsed Manuhari

The lotus-eyed, more beautiful than all?

When he came to a further country, seeing a tree which had spread out many blossoms, he wondered and asked:

Oh assemblage of trees of fortune and sanctity

You have become the king of trees and plants.

Dispel my melancholy quickly and well.

Have you seen the intellect-ravishing Manuhari?

When they all of them gave no reply, the prince thus thought to himself: “Now as to when Manuhari is coming back, there is nothing else [to do] but to ask the sage, when I meet him, how it will be,” he said. Arriving before the sage at Cliff Guuri, he bowed to him and said respectfully as follows:

Dweller in the style of Gautama

In the grotto of the cliff called Guuri,

Reflector of Gautama’s doctrine,

Have you seen the stone-like Manuhari?

Oh thinker on the Diamond Vehicle (= Vajrayana)

By diamond-like firm thought

In the grotto of the diamond-like cliff,

Hast thou seen the Diamond-Dakini-like Manuhari?

The sage said, “When Manuhari went back, she stopped past here, and said, ‘Let this be given to the prince as a bequest!’ and bestowed a jeweled ring.”

“I have presented a ring to the prince’s hand.

The prince and I, we two, were intimate comrades in this rebirth.

By the malice of persons of evil design

I left and went to my own country.

Now it is not necessary to pursue me. Because there are many great dangers in the intervening places, it will not be possible for you, a mortal of the Jambudvipa-continent, to attain the country of the Kinnara. Take this ring and return.’ This was Manuhari’s command,” he said.

The prince spoke. “Even if it is a matter of my life, I am going to seek Manuhari,” he said, and was on the point of going. The sage said, “If this prohibition is not obeyed, and the prince is going to go, these are Manuhari’s instructions previously to the sage on the means of evading these dangers.” The sage instructed the prince in detail. The prince, by virtue of both performing and executing these things, arrived at the land of the Kinnara king.

Then when he saw a lovely girl carrying a jeweled jug of water on her back, he inquired of this maiden, “What are you going to do with this water?” She said, “Our comrade Manuhari went to wash in the water where the Esrua assemble and wash. A sinful hunter from amongst the humans has seized her. She is to wash with the water his filth which adhered to her.” The prince declaimed, “Does she wash letting this water flow in gushes, or does she wash letting it pour all at once?” “She will wash letting it flow in gushes,” she said. There-upon the prince, unbeknownst to yonder girl, cast the ring into the jar. The girl now took the water and went, and when she poured it all at once, all the impurities were to come off.

The girl took the water and went, and when Manuhari washed, she poured it without letting it gush. Seeing the ring which fell out, she marveled, and inquired of the girl. The girl said, “There was a man standing by the water’s edge.” Manuhari jumped, descending from the high steps and leaping from the low steps, and ran hastily. Seeing the prince, she took him by the hand and reported as follows:

Oh prince who is like my inmost heart, hear ye!

Have you come after defeating the enemies of the north?

Has the sage of true command conveyed my words to you?

Have you arrived safely, steadily evading the dangers on the way?

The prince declaimed,

Thinking of you, peerless Manuhari,

I said, ‘Let me pursue her however difficult the deeds’;

When the sage conveyed your instruction to me

I came and arrived here in tranquility, desiring you.

Then Manuhari invited him to her own palace filled with treasures of the five wishes, and as they dwelt nicely enjoying themselves, the prince declaimed: “Report to the king your father that I shall now return and take you home. My father and mother, the king and queen, are surely greatly worried,” he said. Manuhari went and spoke respectfully as follows to the king of the Kinnara.

“Oh King my father, if Manibhadra from the land of men were to arrive here, what would you do, oh King?” she inquired. The king declaimed, “If that man comes to this land, I shall surely cut him into one hundred and eight pieces.” She declaimed, “Oh King, in the realm of man a hunter of low station took hold of me. At that time, Prince Manibhadra took me to wife and loved me greatly,” she said. The King’s anger and wrath became tranquil, and he said, “If Prince Manibhadra comes here, I shall adorn you nicely and regale him with many goods and a thousand Kinnara maidens, and give you in betrothal.”

Manuhari rejoiced, and adorning the prince nicely with divine ornaments, she gave him jewels and so forth, and many goods. When he met the king and made presents of these, the king came and received him at the central gate, they met together, and he seated him on the great high throne. He entertained him nicely with tasty food and drink. They conducted talks for a month in harmony with doctrine. When the prince reported, “Please deign to bestow Manuhari on me. I shall be going back,” the Kinnara king declaimed, “Although the numerous suitors included the god Khormusta and others, because she was so greatly beloved by me, I did not bestow her. I shall not give her to you.”

In order to have the prince display his manhood, they set up a group of a seven-fold golden tree, a seven-fold palm tree, a seven-fold drum and seven-fold swine, and when they had the prince shoot, the prince shot through them all with a single arrow. He chopped through them all at once with his blue-lotus leaf sword. Then the Kinnara king marveled greatly, and said, “On the day after tomorrow, early, I shall send a thousand identical maidens, headed by Manuhari. If you are able to recognize Manuhari from among them, take her.” When he sent them in that wise, the prince prayed a holy invocation to himself: “If my wish which I have thought is to be fulfilled, let the goddess Manuhari emerge ahead of the thousand maidens at the space of one fathom,” he said. Manuhari came out ahead of the many maidens, and then the king bestowed Manuhari on the prince.

Making a grand feast, they beheld great spectacles. He presented a dowry of cintamani-jewels and other jeweled things, silks and silkstuffs, male and female servants; for a retinue, a thousand maidens, elephants, horses, water buffalos and other livestock as a favor. The Kinnara king and his company of comrades accompanied Manuhari and the prince as far as the Esrua assembly lake. They discussed doctrine exclusively for two or three sun-rounds and were in fine agreement. Then when the time came for Manuhari and the prince to go, the Kinnara king’s thoughts were greatly moved, and speaking to Manuhari as follows, he gave these admonitory commands:

Relying on the might of the Jewel Prayer,

You were born and became my lawful descendant;

Being extremely beautiful and with perfected senses,

Hear ye now your father’s admonitions.

We of the race of Gandharvas

Have unerringly been purified from harmful impediment;

Because of believing in the liberating Three Jewels,

Carry out your faith with thoughts devoid of harm.

Strive well and unimpededly for the splendor of doctrine;

Abandon sin and confusion from afar;

Eschew boasting, calumny and gossip;

Reject envy of your peers.

Spare not your life as regards the splendor of sublime merit;

Contrariwise, avoid sin even if minor;

Worship well the unrivaled clergy;

Perform not the ten sins through stupidity.

Worship well the Buddha (statues) and the excellent temple;

Read unceasingly the unparalleled doctrine;

It delivers [one] from the dangers of malicious demons;

My beautiful daughter, this is my admonition.

Now having found such a fine rebirth, and

Becoming the queen of a mighty king,

You are surrounded with nation and ruling ministers,

Men and women, kith and kin.

Rich in cattle and possessions,

Vanquishing enemies by various means,

In a jeweled city without equal,

You eat delicious food and enjoy yourself.

When the lord of death comes, it will be of no use;

If you truly believe in the Three Jewels,

They will save you from sorrow;

I have taught you these things constantly in accord with doctrine.

Now I shall instruct you in the ways of the world.

When you go from here to the land of mortals,

To be agreeable with all at that time is the best of actions;

If you perform altruisms, don’t always say, “I accomplished that.”

However wise you yourself may be,

Do not humiliate lesser and lower beings;

However acute your intellectual wisdom may be,

You must always investigate every matter.

Although they are not as beautiful as you

Hearken to the words of simple and plain folk;

Although the assistance is your own property,

By unstinting when helping and giving to others;

Give up all base ways and means, which are barriers.

Act in one manner, neither openly nor concealed;

Satisfy the folk with food and drink;

Do not call openly for the restraint of others;

Perform all deeds carefully alone.

However many people be gathered,

Defend those both near and far alike;

If you praise yourself falsely, and denigrate others,

It is reason for you to become a laughingstock to all people.

These are my admonitions which I have instructed,

Beginning from now, and no matter when,

Constantly heed these my words! My Manuhari,

It will be difficult for me to meet you again.

When he had instructed her and spoken so, Manuhari took the king by the hand and stated these words in reply.

Oh my father the king, who is the supreme one of Gandharvas (sic),

Of illumined lineage and with might and strength,

Who well vanquished the evil enemies beyond,

Hear ye well these my words in your refulgence.

When we were born from the womb, and

When we were small, you plied us with sweets and trinkets,

Loving us like the apple of your eye,

Supreme Kinnara king, my father, please attend this!

I am leaving behind myself everything,

Brothers and sisters, kind parents,

Beloved comrades and all my people, and

My unsurpassed Kinnara palace.

Am I to go to an unknown land?

When I consider I shall be looking at the faces of unknown and inconsequential people,

Truly I will think even more on transience.

It will constantly touch my thoughts.

Abandoning now my good happiness like this

I shall now go to a land of uncouth humans;

Though a girl be of lowly lineage

If her complexion and family be fine, she provokes discord.

When a girl is of fine appearance,

If she is nicely equipped with many virtues,

She will fall into the hands of inconsequential persons;

I have been thinking of the shortness and transience of life.

When the sea evaporated and dried up from heat, my mind was not at rest.

When all the crops were beaten by hail, I was unbelieving.

When the marvelous flowers were taken by the cold, my color greatly changed.

Alas! Alack! My heart is greatly moved.

A girl having gone to the land to which she is sent will dwell in the land where she has been settled. May malicious harm and evil not touch (her) precious body, and may she be forever firm and steady like Mount Sumeru!

I, the girl named Manuhari,

Devoid of harm and evil to my body,

Fulfilling your command without fail, went to the land of man.

May it be for certain that I again meet with my father!

The men and women of the Kinnara king’s retinue bowed to Manuhari, and reported as follows:

Supreme one of gods and men,

Greatly luminous one’ like the unrivaled sun and moon,

Like the cintamani that fulfills the wishes of sentients without hesitation,

Like the kalpavrksa-tree that produces in a manifest way goods,

Like a wish-fulfilling fruit, when you satisfy perfect desires,

Have we praised you, our own beautiful girl.

You will go to the foreign land by the force of prior prayers;

Our hearts have been greatly troubled.

When you go to the foreign land,

In full view of king and people, ever like a topmost adornment,

Defend like a descendant the entire people brought together;

May that whole land be filled with fortune and sanctity!

When they said this, Manuhari uttered her reply:

All of ye were variously born to the Kinnara lineage

By the power of ancient destiny, and were happy;

Now ye all have seen and instructed me;

Be it that we meet again in a rebirth after this one!

Then grasping Prince Manibhadra by the hand, the Kinnara king spoke as follows in verse:

Oh great splendid and majestic one of bodhi-thought,

Ornamented with numerous virtues among many existing men,

Vanquisher by glory of the wicked enemy,

Oh Bodhisattva youth, hear ye henceforth!

Specifically as for this Manuhari, who is my descendant,

In her are perfected the supremely good signs;

Though mighty ones of the world clearly desired her,

Considering your wish alone have I given her.

Leaving her kind parents and others,

Henceforth only you, her beloved husband, will she follow.

Ever love her, and do not torment her;

Lo! Though she be foremost, she must heed your words.

At the time when the evil dark sage

Did harm to Manuhari’s person,

Did not Manuhari escape all right by her own wits?

Remember these my words without fail, Oh Prince!

The prince declaimed to the Kinnara king:

By the might of punya performed of old

Reborn now as king of the Kinnara,

Worshipping the Three Jewels as the topmost ornament,

Lord and King of the Kinnara, hear ye!

I am the prince without compare of the land of men;

I requested Manuhari from you by the might of a pure invocation;

We are to be reborn together in each and every rebirth;

Oh, why should I cause torment when I go from here?

Saying this, they grasped one another’s hands, prayed a holy prayer to meet again later, and the Kinnara king returned.

Resplendent Prince Manibhadra and Queen Manuhari, in company with all their comrades, proceeded to the delightful palace called Tabun togolder in the north. All the people of that land were aware that Prince Manibhadra was coming, and coming from afar brought music, cymbals, drums, canopies, banners (“victorious tokens”) and so forth. They met and bowed before them many times, and reported, saying as follows:

Suppressor of inimical demons, defender of the king’s realm,

Prince who has become the refuge of many sentients,

After going to the land of the Kinnara, not desolate,

Have you returned well and safe from the various intervening dangers?

So they said, and the prince declaimed,

Hear ye, oh my many assembled people!

When the army and I went in the north,

[I thought] I had delivered fair Manuhari from the hands of the executioner,

But I had to perform many difficult deeds before I found her and returned to you.

The reception committee bowed to Manuhari and said and praised as follows:

You have become an ornament among all goddesses;

It is evident that you have made all rejoice by pure deeds;

You who create happiness for sentients by unstinting thought;

Wondrous Manuhari, have you arrived healthy and well?

Manuhari declaimed;

Having acquired a precious and irrevocable human rebirth,

In this land in which Buddhism is so greatly disseminated,

The great sainted King and Queen, ministers and entire people

Are all indeed very fine at the present time.

Prince Manibhadra and Manuhari arrived at the perfectly happy land called Tabun Togolder, and when he had bowed to his own father and mother, the king and queen, those two said, “We have been saying that Prince Manibhadra perished in the intervening interval.” Their minds in addition had been very troubled, but when they arrived safely, the king and queen were very happy, and then his father the king said to the prince as follows:

The prince called Sain Cindamani (Good Wish-Jewel)

Is indeed more rare than the blossom of the incomparable wild-fig.

My prince who vanquished enemies of yonder unimpededly

Is more rare than the lord of fine armies.*

Manibhadra who is wise in comprehension and wisdom

Is more rare than the fortuned minister jewel.

My Manibhadra of tranquil mind devoid of wrath and anger

Is more rare than the high and mighty elephant jewel.

My Manibhadra who goes swiftly by magical transformation

Is more rare than a fair and beauteous horse jewel.

My Manibhadra who guided by reins the whole nation

Is rare far more than a wheel jewel.

My Manibhadra, whom one looks at insatiably after he arrived,

Is more rare than the queen jewel who engenders happiness upon bestowal.

Now Manibhadra and Manuhari have arrived here healthy and well,

Beginning from today and forever your parents’ minds will be very peaceful.

Then the prince reported as follows to his two parents:

My parents, who superiorly fashioned my body,

Praising and worshipping forever,

May your life be firm and unchanging,

May you be reborn as my parents in more future rebirths!

Then Manuhari uttered an invocation as follows:

When you three, father, mother and son, are together, and

When we manifestly become friendly in many rebirths,

May I, Manuhari, in many rebirths there,

Be reborn as your queen beyond all doubt.

When she had prayed such a holy invocation, the entire people of the north became extremely rich in goods, field crops came forth in large number, plague and disease vanished, and all the people had long life.

At that time Prince Manibhadra sat upon the regal throne, and for twelve years to the entire great people bestowed alms of doctrine and presented alms of goods, and made the whole nation greatly rejoice.

“As for the king and father of that time, it was the king my father Pure Food (Suddhodana) of the present day. My mother of that time is my mother Mahamaya of the present time. If we mention the Kinnara king, the Horse-Headed One (Hayagriva) of that time, it is Sakya with Staff in Hand of the present time.

“The Manuhari of that time is the Sakya Maid who protects the earth of the present time. And as for Prince Manibhadra of that time, it is indeed I, Sakyamuni of the present time.

“The sage in the grotto of Guuri Cliff of that time is Sariputra of the present time. As regards the hunter of those days, it is Maudgaly- ayana of the present day. The sage Qari Qari of that time becomes various different persons, and is now the Black Shimnus Vevanta,” he said.

This tale of Good Manibhadra, from the sutra composed by Obosu-ben Boluqsan Ochir (“Self-Origin Vajra”) and Uxani lldu (“Sword of Intellect”), Zasaqtu Qung Taiji commanded “Translate it into Mongolian!”.

Pandita Kuo-shih translated it into the Mongolian dialect.

The disciple named Buddhakala wrote it.

Manggalam!

* For parallels in Indian languages, the interested reader may see volume 29 (1966) of the Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (London), for the article by H. W. Bailey, “The Sudhana Poem of rddhiprabhava” (pp. 506-532), and of Padmanabh S. Jaini, “The Story of Sudhana and Manohara . . .” (PP. 533-558).

† A copy closely agreeing with this one is found in Dresden (East Germany), in the Saxony State Library. The Marburg (West Germany) Library has a hand-written copy made by B. Julg from the Dresden manuscript, and another copy made from this manuscript by Berthold Laufer (September, 1900) was discovered by me in September, 1965, among Laufer’s belongings in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (see p. 177 of my “Catalogue of the Laufer Mongolian Collections in Chicago,” in the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 86, 1966).

* This passage of Manuhari’s thoughts is obscure.

* The ‘let it be said!’ (oguuletugei) of the text seems to be a lapsus for the simple past (oguulebei).

* Emended from ceceq “blossoms” to cereq “armies’’ on the basis of the Vessantarajataka.