Commentary on the stanza beginning with dussaṅgaha (difficult to look after)

99. What is the origin of the stanza beginning with dussaṅgaha? it is said that the chief queen of the king of Benares died. When the days of bereavement were over, the ministers, one day, made their request thus; “Chief queen is certainly to be desired in those and those royal business, namely, to sovereign kings; well, let his majesty bring in another queen also”, The king replied thus: “O ministers! Well then, you should let me know”. The ministers went about in search of a suitable chief-queen to-be; in a border kingdom, the king was dead; his queen administered the kingdom; she, however, was in pregnancy; the ministers came to know that the reigning queen was suitable for their king and asked for her hand. She replied thus: “A pregnant woman is not pleasing to men; if you wait until I have given birth, it is thus well and good; if not, please seek another”. The ministers informed that matter also to their king. The king said: “Let her be pregnant, bring her”. They brought her. The king anointed her and gave her all the equipages of the chief queen; she was also honoured with all kinds of presents and a retinue of women to attend to her. She in due course of time delivered a son. The king spent his life carrying the child on his hip or chest wherever he moved about or while sitting or standing, as if it was his own son. Then the retinue of the queen thought thus: “The king honours our queen and her son exceedingly; he makes himself too much familiar with the young prince; Come! let us break them up thoroughly.”

99.1. Thereafter they spoke to the young prince thus:- “My dear! You are our king's son; not the son of this king; do not have trust (vissāsam) in him”. Later on, although the young prince was told by the king saying “Come, my son!” and although he was dragged by the king's hand, he did not hang on to the king. On enquiry as to what the reason was, the king came to know about that matter, became disgusted saying: “Although they are looked after by me, these people are thus behaving despicably”, abandoned his kingdom, renounced the world and became a recluse. Many ministers and members of the royal retinue saying: “The king has become a renounced recluse”;themselves renounced the world and became recluses as well. Although the king, together with his retinue had renounced the world and become recluses, people brought to him excellent ecclesiastical essentials. The king had the excellent requisites too be given to his fellow monks according to their seniority in age. In that matter, whoever received good requisites, they were contented;while others grumbled saying: “Sweeping monastic cells and so on, we do everything that should be done, but we get meagre food and old garments.” That the king came to know of also and said to himself: and “These monks grumble although they have been given according to seniority in age; retinue is indeed, difficult to look after”, took his bowl and robe, entered the forest all alone, began to develop spiritual insight (vipassanā) and visualised the silent buddhahood. When asked about his mental exercise; (kammaṭṭhāna) by those who had arrived there, he recited this stanza. That stanza is but obvious from the point of view of meaning. However, this is the exegesis (yojanā):- “In spite of their being monks, some are difficult to look after, whosoever are over-whelmed by discontent; of the same category only again are lay people, living in houses. Getting fed up with this state of difficulty to look after, I began to develop spiritual insight and made this achievement.” The rest is to be understood in the self-same manner as before.

The Commentary on the stanza beginning with dussaṅgaha, difficult to look after, has ended.