Story 85 - How The Gardener Became King

IN a certain city there is a King, it is said. The King told them to plant a garden. After that, he said,

“Can anyone (kata) plant a garden ?”

One man said,

“I can.”

Every day the King gave the things the man wanted. The man, cutting channels and fixing the fence, began to plant the garden; he set various kinds [of plants] in the garden. After that, the King went to look at the garden; he saw that there were various kinds of sugar-cane, sweet oranges, mandarin oranges, in the garden. The King said to the gardener that he must look well after the garden.

In that way, after not many days, the King said to the gardener, "Take bows and arrows; should thieves come, shoot them.” Thereupon, by the authority of the King, he was thinking of shooting should they come in from outside.

Not many days after that, the King said to the Adika-rama (Minister),

“Let us go to the garden [secretly] to look into the examination [of it made] by the gardener.”

Then the Adikarama said,

“The order made by Your Honour is [that he is] to shoot thieves. It is not good for us to go.”

The King said,

“That man by this time is asleep.”

Afterwards the King and the Adikarama, after the foolish King had taken off the royal ornaments, that very night, taking the disguise of thieves, went to the garden. Having gone, they began to pluck oranges.

Then the gardener awoke. The man, taking his bow, and having come, shot at the King; when he shot him (widapii-hama) the King died.

After that, the Adikarama and the gardener spoke together,

“What shall we do about this ?”

Speaking [further] the Adikarama said,

“The things that are to happen happened.”^[1]

Having said [this], the Adikarama having told the gardener to cut a hole, when he cut it they buried the King.

After that, the Adikarama said to the gardener,

“Come, and go to the palace.”

The two persons having gone to the palace, and [the Minister] having decorated the gardener with the royal insignia (abarana), while he was on the Lion throne all the Chiefs make obeisance.^[2] The Adikarama does not make obeisance.

Regarding this matter the King thought he must tell him a parable. Having thought so, and having called the Adikarama, he said,

“In the midst of the forest there are many kinds of trees. Having cut a tree of good race out of them, and shaved [the bark off] it, and planed it, and done carving work, they take it as a log for a travellers’ shed (ambalama). Taking it [there], after they have built the travellers’ shed, do both persons possessing lineage and persons of no lineage stay in the travellers’ shed ?”^[3]

he asked.

When he asked, the Adikarama said,

“All persons stay in the travellers’ shed.”

After that, the King said,

“[There is] service for persons possessing the Adikarama lineage, service for persons of no lineage, service for [all in] the world.”^[4]

After that, the Adikarama from that day made obeisance to the King.

Well then, the King remained exercising the sovereignty quite virtuously (hondinma), without injustice.

North-western Province.

 

Note:

In The Orientalist, vol. ii, p. 55, a similar story is given, as related to Mr. K. J. Pohath by a Buddhist monk. According to it, the King Visited the garden alone, pretending to steal Kaekiri fruits, and was shot by the gardener. When he was dead the gardener reported the matter to the Adikar, who got the King buried secretly, and proclaimed the gardener King. Some poor people whose lands the Adikar had seized complained to the new King, who held an enquiry, and gave judgment in their favour, remarking,

“Adikar, even though it should so happen that I might be obliged to go back to the Kaekiri garden, I cannot say that the lands in dispute belong to you.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Wenda tiyana de wuna. There is a strong belief in the action of Fate. When a person is accidentally killed a common remark is,

“His day had come.”

[2]:

Muladaeni baehae dakinawa.

[3]:

Like the people in the travellers’ shed all alike were under the shelter of the King’s authority, he meant.

[4]:

That is, all, from the highest to the lowest, have duties which they should perform.