Chapter 27a - An Account of Rich Man Ghosaka of Kosambī Country

(This short account of the rich man of Kosambī country has been compiled in the light of Dhammapada Atthakatha, Vol. I and Ankuttara Atthakatha, Vol. I, where full accounts are given.)

Prior to the appearance of the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, a deadly infectious disease (ahivataka) broke out in the country of Allakappa, and the toll of this plague ranged anything from ten to twenty in a family at a time. Those who evacuated to the other countries escaped death. One of the citizens left Allakappa together with his wife and a baby son. But they suffered from shortage of food in the middle of crossing a barren land and were in a state of exhaustion. The parents took turns to carry the baby for some time.

The husband was of the idea that crossing the desert would not be possible with an extra load of the baby on their shoulder. So he kept himself a bit behind the wife by slowing down his speed as though pressed by the call of nature. He placed the child on the ground in a sitting posture and resumed his journey. When the wife did not see her son in his hands, she enquired about the child, asking: “My lord... where is my kiddy?” The husband replied: “What good could he do for us under such a condition of stress and strain. We could produce many children so long as we are alive!” The wife screamed in anger: “Such a brute you are.... I will not go along with a cruel person like you.” The husband confessed his inconsiderate act and apologized to her: “Please pardon me for my fault.” They continued their journey again after picking up the child.

The fatigued couple, with the load of a baby, managed to cross the sandy plain with great difficulty. By evening, they reached the hut of cowherds; who had cooked rice with pure milk for their own enjoyment. When they saw the couple and the child, they at once realized that the strangers were hunger-stricken, and offered them a big pot full of rich milk gruel. The wife was moderate in eating and so she ate just the right measure of food while the greedy husband ate very much, beyond his limit, so much so, that he died of indigestion the next morning. As he was very much attached to the people in the cowherds hut before his death, he took conception in the womb of a bitch.

The bitch gave birth to a lovely puppy in due time. It was well looked after by the cowherd as though it was his own child. The two were very much attached to each other and the puppy followed the cowherd wherever he went.

One morning, a Paccekabuddha stopped at the door of the cowherd to receive alms-food. The cowherd paid respect and offered food and requested the Paccekabuddha to stay and he (cowherd) would provide Him the requisites. The Paccekabuddha took up residence in a grove not far from his dwelling. The cowherd used to take the puppy along with him whenever he went to visit the Paccekabuddha. He used to strike the boulders and dry stumps with a stout staff, en route to the dwelling of the Paccekabuddha, to frighten away the beasts of prey. The puppy took careful note of his master’s activities.

On one occasion, the cowherd made it plain to the Paccekabuddha that he might not attend on Him personally everyday for one reason or other. He assured the Paccekabuddha that the little dog would come to His dwelling to accompany Him to and from his hut, on his behalf, in case of his failure to do it himself.

One day, the cowherd sent his little dog to accompany the Paccekabuddha from the forest to his hut. The little dog went there, and, on arrival, lied with its belly stretched at the feet of the Paccekabuddha. The Paccekabuddha realized that the little dog was sent to fetch him. Hence, He took His robe and alms bowl. Being desirous of testing the intelligence of the dog, He deliberately went in a wrong direction. Whereupon, the little dog went in front of Him and blocked His way. It gave way only when the Paccekabuddha resumed the right

direction. He barked aloud at the same spots where his master used to strike the boulders and dried stumps with a stout staff to frighten away the beasts of prey.

The Paccekabuddha used to give it a big lump of food out of His own bowl every day. The dog was very much attached to the Paccekabuddha for showing such kindness to him.

At the end of the vassa, the cowherd offered a piece of cloth to the Paccekabuddha for making robes and said: “Reverend Sir... the vassa has come to a close and I would leave it to You to stay on at the same place or go to any place of Your own choice, as please You.” As the Paccekabuddha appeared to have a desire to leave for another place, the cowherd accompanied Him to a certain distance and returned to his hut. When the little dog discovered that the Paccekabuddha had left for good, it died of broken hearted and was reborn in the deva realm of Tāvatiṃsa.

He was endowed with a voice that excelled that of the other devas of the celestial world, as a reward for barking aloud and frightening the beasts of prey as he passed through forest in the company of the Paccekabuddha in his previous existence. It was therefore known as Ghosaka Deva for having a voice that covered the whole of deva realm.

While Ghosaka Deva was enjoying the luxurious life of a deva in Tāvatiṃsa, Udena was the King of Kosambī country, in the world of humans. (Life of Udena has been dealt with elsewhere in this treatise).

Then Ghosaka Deva died and was conceived in the womb of a courtesan in Kosambī, during the reign of Udena. When the courtesan came to know that she had given birth to a son, she had the newly born babe cast on the garbage dump.

One of the supervisors of workmen, in the employment of the rich man of Kosambī, noticed the child in the middle of a flock of crows, on his way to his master’s house. He was impressed by the look of the lovely child and thought there was a bright future for the child. Therefore, he picked up the baby and sent him to his house, under the care of one of his workmen while he continued his way to his master’s house.

On that morning, the rich man of Kosambī met a wise man on his way to the palace of the King Udena. The rich man asked the wise men: “Master... have you studied the astrological signs of the stars and their trend?” The astrologer examined the movements and behaviour of the planets on the spot and replied: “Anyone born today is destined to become the rich man of Kosambī, as he is born in conjunction with such and such stars and planets.”

On hearing the predictions of the astrologer, the rich man of Kosambī turned to his attendants and gave instructions: “My dear men.... the predictions of this wise man are always axiomatic and determinate. My wife is an expectant mother, and, you better go to my house and find out if she has given birth to a child.” The attendants rushed to his house and hurried back to tell him that his wife has not yet given birth to a child. He sent his men out again to find if there is any child born in the city on this day.

The attendants went all over the town to find out if there was any child born on that day. They discovered that there was a newly born babe in the house of his own labour supervisor. When this was brought to his notice, the rich man sent for the supervisor, and on his arrival, asked a few questions.

Rich man: Is it true that there is a baby in your house who is born today?

Supervisor: Yes... master.

Rich man: Give me that child.

Supervisor: I can't give... master.

Rich man: Take one thousand pieces of money in exchange for the baby!

The labour supervisor tried to speculate mentally: “This baby may or may not live long, the question of life and death is beyond my power of decision.” In view of this matter of uncertainty, he decided to accept the money in exchange for the baby.

The rich man conceived an idea: “Should my wife give birth to a girl, he would be treated as my own son; should she give birth to a boy, he would be killed.” After a few days, the wife of the rich man gave birth to a boy.

Brutal Acts of The Rich Man of Kosambī

(1) He thought of placing the adopted son (Ghosaka, son of a courtesan) in the cow-shed to be killed by the treading of oxen. He accordingly asked his servants to place the kid at the gate of the cowshed. The boy was placed at the exit of the cow-shed, as instructed by the rich man.

A big bull, the chief of the herd was the first to come out of the compound and finding the baby lying helplessly on the ground, it shielded him, by standing over him with its four legs placed around him like a fence, from the imminent danger of being trodden by other oxen. On seeing Ghosaka, the cowherds expressed their opinion among themselves: “This child must be a favoured child of fortune, even animals seem to know his attributes” and so they took him to their house to be looked after by them with mutual consent.

(2) The rich man enquired as to the fate of the baby and was told that he was safe, under the care of the cowherds. He regained possession of baby by giving the cowherds one thousand pieces of money in exchange for him. He then commanded his men to throw away the baby at the cemetery.

The baby was abandoned in the cemetery at a time when the rich man’s goat-herd was tending a herd of goats there. A milking she-goat caught sight of the baby, she left the herd and kept herself in such a posture as to afford an opportunity for the baby to suck her milk. She left the baby only after feeding him in the manner just described. On departure from the pasture in the evening, she went again to feed the baby again, in the same manner. The goat-herd’s attention was drawn by the strange movements of that she-goat on that day, and saw for himself that the she-goat was feeding the baby as if it was her own kid. The goatherd thought to himself: “This baby must be a favoured child of fortune, even animals seem to know his attributes,” and so he brought the baby to be looked after in his own house.

(3) On the next morning, the rich man sent his men to find out what had happened to the baby. When he was told that the baby was safe under the care of a goatherd, he sent his men to redeem the baby in exchange for one thousand pieces of money and commanded them to place the baby on the cart-track, in the busy part of the town, so that he might be killed by being trodden by the carts of a trader on the following day.

His servants did as they were told. A train of carts came into the town as expected but the oxen that drew the first cart saw the baby in their track, so they stood still with their legs fixed like four pillars. The leader of the trade band saw the strange spectacle and was greatly moved by it, so much so that he picked up the baby to be looked after by himself, as the baby appeared to be a favoured child of fortune with a bright future.

(4) The rich man sent out his men to find out if the baby had been killed, by being trodden by the carts of the trader, and when told that the boy was safe under the care of the leader of the trade band. He again asked them to redeem the child in exchange for one thousand pieces of money and to throw the baby down a steep cliff at a distance from the town.

The baby was thrown upside down by the servants, but the child fell right on top of a work-shop of those who manufactured mats from reeds. The mats made of reeds proved to be as soft as cotton that had been ginned a thousand times due to his deeds of merits in the past. The leading workman opined that the baby was a favoured child of fortune with a bright future, and so he brought the child to his house for adoption.

(5) The rich man sent out his men again to enquire into the state of the child. When he came to know all about the baby, he asked his servants to recover the baby in exchange for one thousand pieces of money, and to bring him to his house.

In due course of time, the rich man’s own son and Ghosaka came of age. The rich man again made a plot to kill the lad in conspiracy with his trusted potter. He therefore went to the potter and confided to him that there was a stupid son in his house whom he wanted to do away with secretly by hook or by crook, The potter said: “O rich man... you shouldn’t have uttered such a speech, a speech full of sin.”

The rich man thought that the potter would not do anything for nothing, and so he paid him one thousand pieces of money to make him yield to his persuasions. He was successful because there is no one who will not be corrupted by bribery. The potter accepted the money and told the rich man: “I will arrange for the pot-kilns to be kept ready on such a such a day, and you might send the boy to me on that date of appointment.”

The rich man kept on marking time and on the day of appointment, he asked the youth Ghosaka: “My dear son, I require many pots and I have arranged with our potter to supply them by certain date, you might go now to the potter and ask him to do as he was bid by me, without any delay.” Ghosaka replied: “Very well,” and left the house.

One’s Own Malice brings about One’s Own Ruin

On seeing Ghosaka on the road, the rich man’s own son came running to him and asked for help: “Elder brother.... I've lost many marbles while playing a game with my playmates. I do pray that you try to recover the loss I've sustained.” Whereupon, Ghosaka said: “I can't do it now, because our father has sent me on an errand.” The rich man’s own son made another request: “If so, just play for me and recover the lost balls. I will go on the errand on your behalf.” Whereupon, Ghosaka said: “In that case, you might go to the potter’s place and convey the message of your father to the potter in minute detail while I play with the boys to recover the marbles you lost to them.”

The rich man’s son went and conveyed his father’s message to the potter, on behalf of Ghosaka as agreed. The potter said he would carry out his father’s orders. He took the boy into his house and hacked him into pieces with an axe and put the pieces of the dead boy’s body into a mud pot which was later kept along with unbaked mud-pots in the kiln.

Ghosaka lad had won quite a lot of marbles and waited for the return of his younger brother for a time. When the younger boy failed to turn up, he went to the neighbourhood of the potter’s place to look for him and returned home when no trace of his younger brother could be found.

The rich man was astonished to see the return of Ghosaka at a distance and was at a loss to know what had happened. He got up before Ghosaka could even take a seat to explain the matter. “Dear son... did you not go to the potter’s place?” The youth replied: “No, father, I didn't go.” He asked him again: “Why did you not go?” The youth explained the reason why he did not go and why the younger brother went there on his behalf, in detail.

The rich man felt as if he was reeling under the weight of the great earth and scolded him: “My dear son,.... what do you mean by that?” and so saying he hurried to the place of the potter with a greatly agitated mind. When he got to the house of the potter, he could not breathe out full facts of the tragedy and so he simply uttered: “Look.. my man, look my man.” But the potter gave him a stiff reply: “Rich man... what do you mean by that... when it is too late!” The rich man had to return home without any further ado. He was reduced to a mental wreck from that time.

(6) The rich man of Kosambī did not take meal together with Ghosaka from that time onwards, and deliberated as to how to do away with his son’s rival. He wrote a note and asked Ghosaka to deliver it to one of his labour supervisors at a certain village and to tell him verbally that the contents of the note must be translated into action at once. He also instructed the lad to contact one of his boyhood friend, a rich man of Gamaka, and stop at his home for the meals en route to his destination. Ghosaka lad had come of age by that time.

Ghosaka paid respect to the rich man. On arrival at the village of Gamaka, he found his way to the rich man’s house and stood worshipping in front of him. The local rich man was shaving his beard by the side of a window. When he noticed the lad, he asked: “Young man from where have you come?” He replied with due respect: “Father.... I am the son of rich man of Kosambī.” The Gamaka rich man was delighted to see the son of his boyhood friend.

By that time, one of the maids of the daughter of the rich man was on her way to the market to fetch some flowers for her mistress. She was stopped by the rich man who asked her: “Maid... tarry a little, you might wash and brush the feet of this Ghosaka lad and arrange for the provision of bed for him.” The maid did as she was bid and then went to the market to fetch some flowers as usual.

On seeing the maid with a collection of flowers, the daughter of the rich man scolded her: “You have loitered on the road today...What on earth had made you take such a long time in fetching the flowers?”

Whereupon, the servant girl replied:

“Ahem, Mistress, I've never seen such a beautiful youth before. He is said to be the son of your fathers boyhood friend. It is beyond my power to express his handsomeness and graciousness. Your father had asked me to wash his feet and provide a bed in the middle of my way to the market to fetch flowers for you, hence the delay.”

(The daughter of the rich man of Gamaka happened to be the wife of the lad Ghosaka four existences ago. On hearing about the youth, she was assailed by uncontrollable affection for him.)

The daughter of Gamaka rich man, accompanied by her maid, went to the bed-room and found Ghosaka sound asleep. She noticed a note tied to the edge of his waist-cloth and, out of curiosity, detached it quietly and read it. She discovered that the youth had brought a note that would cause his own life. She had it torn into pieces and wrote another one in substitution for the original one, before the lad woke up:

Dear Labour Supervisor... I am sending my son to you. My boyhood friend, Gamaka, the rich man, has a daughter who has attained the age of puberty. I want you to collect all the yields accrued from our own estates and regroup them into lots of one hundred each kind for presentation at the matrimonial ceremony between the daughter of Gamaka rich man and my own son, and I wish you to act as my duly accredited representative on that happy occasion.

I also wish you to give me an account of the matrimonial ceremony with a statement of expenditure incurred in connection with the marriage, in due course.

Kosambī Rich man

Kosambī Country

She had the fresh note nicely stamped with a fabricated seal and tied it to the edge of the waist-cloth of the lad as though nothing untoward had happened to it during his sound sleep.

Ghosaka lad spent for a day in that house and resumed his journey after taking leave from the rich man. On arrival at the place of the labour supervisor, he promptly handed over the note with the information that the contents of the note should be translated into action at once. The labour supervisor, after reading the note, summoned all the villagers and addressed the gathering: “My dear men.... although you do not seem to care much about me, my own master, the rich man of Kosambī, has entrusted me with the responsibility of arranging, on his behalf, a matrimonial ceremony for his son, Ghosaka, and the daughter of Gamaka rich man. It connoted that, all the products issued from this area should be collected and grouped into lots of one hundred each kind for presentation to the couple as his gifts.

When everything was set, he arranged for the matrimonial ceremony to be performed in a traditional manner and sent a report to the rich man of Kosambī, to the effect that the matrimonial ceremony had been conducted and that everything had been done in compliance with his instructions, with a detailed statement of accounts attached thereto.

On hearing the news, the rich man of Kosambī felt like one suffering from burns and uttered: “Alas! I have been ruined beyond redemption.” He suffered both from physical and mental agony and was eventually attacked with acute dysentery, and, yet he had not given up the idea of denying the estate to Ghosaka lad by hook or by crook. He, therefore, wrote a note with ulterior motive and sent it to the lad. The note reads: “Why have you, my son, stayed there long after your marriage. I want you to come back home urgently.”

Upon receipt of the letter, simple minded Ghosaka made preparations for the return journey. The daughter of Ghamaka rich man perceived that the simpleton Ghosaka never knew that it was she who was responsible for his present luxurious life. So, she tried to detain him by her own clever tactics. She convinced him by saying: “My dear man... don't be so hasty. One should make necessary arrangements before one goes to the place of one’s relatives.” She had thus delayed his early departure for good reasons.

The rich man of Kosambī, with an undaunted will, sent another note stating that he had broken down in health through acute attack of deadly dysentery and that he is in a state of hopelessness and the situation warranted his immediate return.

The daughter of Ghamaka rich man could not help revealing, by that time, the true aspects connected with their union and other things at stake.

“My dear man.... rich man of Kosambī is not your own father, though you have all along regarded him as your father. He had sent you to his labour supervisor with a note containing express instructions to kill you right away. I personally destroyed that fateful note and got it substituted by a fresh one of my own design that brought about our union. He did not call you for nothing but to expose that you are not his successor. You should wait until his death."

Soon afterwards rumour that “Kosambī rich man had died” was afloat and the couple made preparations to go there with attendants. The intelligent wife warned her husband to enter the building with great caution and to post escorts around the house before hand. She accompanied her husband as he entered the house, raising her hands and crying as if lamenting. She found her way to the rich man who was lying in a dark corner and struck his chest with her head, as if in great sorrow sending the dying man already weak with ailment to an early death.

After the cremation of the corporeal relics (sarīrajāpana) of the rich man of Kosambī, Ghosaka induced, by generous bribing, the intimate servants of the deceased to tell outsiders that he was the son of the late old man.

Title of Rich Man of Kosambī.

Seven days after the death of the rich man of Kosambī, King Udena considered that he had to find a person to succeed him, one with desirable qualifications to earn the title “The Rich Man of Kosambī”. He ordered his royal servants to find out if the late rich man had a son or not. All the intimate servants of the late rich man unanimously reported that he had a son by the name of Ghosaka, who was worthy of succeeding his father.

King Udena conferred the title of “The Rich Man of Kosambī” on Ghosaka complete with insignia of office.

When Ghosaka became the rich man of Kosambī, his wise and intelligent wife said: “My dear lord... although we were of lowly origins, we have become great and glorious by virtue of our meritorious deeds of the past, and let us, therefore, try and keep it up by performing meritorious deeds with redoubled zeal and enthusiasm.” Her husband readily accepted her good proposals, and the couple mutually agreed to spend one thousand pieces of money every day in humanitarian acts (nibaddha-dāna), without any breach or breakage throughout their lives.

     ——Aṅguttara Commentary Vol. I——