Part 7: Story of Puṇḍarīka and Kaṇḍarīka

In this Jambūdvīpa in the province Puṣkalāvatī, the ornament of Mahāvideha, there is a city Puṇḍarīkiṇī. Its king was Mahāpadma; his wife was Padmāvatī; and their sons were Puṇḍarīka and Kaṇḍarīka. One day King Mahāpadma listened to dharma in the presence of sādhus who had come to a garden Nalinavana. After installing Puṇḍarīka on the throne, Mahāpadma took the vow. Omniscience arose from the destruction of karma and in course of time he reached emancipation.

One day the sādhus came again to Puṇḍarīkiṇī and Puṇḍarīka and Kaṇḍarīka listened to dharma then. Puṇḍarīka, a sādhu in spirit, went to his house and said to Kaṇḍarīka in the presence of ministers: ‘Dear boy, do you take this great ancestral throne. I am afraid of existence and shall take initiation which wards off fear of it.’ Kaṇḍarīka replied: ‘Why do you make me fall into the cycle of births? I shall take the vow and cross the ocean of births.’

When he did not do what was asked by the king two or three times in regard to the throne, then he was allowed to take the vow; and was thus instructed by him seeking his welfare.

‘The senses are difficult to repress in this existence; the mind is always fickle; youth is the house of change; carelessness is inborn in men. Trials and attacks are hard to bear. That would have to be accomplished by you with a resolute vow, dear boy. Indeed, mendicancy is hard to practice. Rather, observe lay-duties and take care of the kingdom. Take initiation when youth has passed. Then it is suitable.’ Kaṇḍarīka said: ‘That is true. Nevertheless, what I said must be done. Certainly I shall become a mendicant.’ Kaṇḍarīka took initiation, but King Puṇḍarīka, restrained from the vow by the ministers, remained at home, a mendicant in spirit. Kaṇḍarīka, his body emaciated by numerous penances, observing all the practices of sādhus, become dear to the sādhus.

One day, when the spring season was unfolding, Sādhu Kaṇḍarīka’s mind became confused from the maturing of good conduct-obscuring karma. He thought: ‘Enough of this mendicancy of mine. I shall go and accept the throne which my brother offered me before.’ With this thought, he went to Puṇḍarīkiṇī and stopped in a garden. Hanging his bowls, et cetera to a tree, he rested on cool ground with a green couch. Soon he had himself announced to the king by the gardener; and the king went there with his ministers and paid homage to him.

The king knew, “His equipment fastened to a tree, resting on vegetable-bodies, alone, I think he has abandoned the vow,’ and said: ‘Sirs! you all remember that he, though I opposed it, took the vow at that time as a boy from excessive zeal.’ After saying this, Puṇḍarīka installed Kaṇḍarīka on the throne for which he asked and delivered the royal insignia to him. King Puṇḍarīka received a sādhu’s equipment from him and, after taking initiation himself, pure-minded, wandered as a mendicant.

‘His vow broken, emaciated, he seeks food, like a poor man,’ ridiculed thus by his attendants, Kaṇḍarīka became exceedingly angry in his heart. “First I shall eat and later I shall kill, et cetera these ridiculers,’ thinking, he went in the house. He ate three kinds of food—the worst, medium, and the best—as he liked, up to his neck, like a young pigeon at daybreak. During the night because of staying awake from the food and because of the excessive food that was indigestible, a kind of cholera developed and he had great pain. His stomach was swollen like a leather bag filled with air; his breathing was obstructed; and there was severe burning with thirst.

Thinking, I He is a wicked man with a broken vow,’ his ministers had no medical attendance called in and he, suffering, thought, ‘If I live through the night somehow, at dawn I shall execute all these ministers and their families.’ Thus with a black soul-color and engaged in cruel meditation, he died and was born a hell-inhabitant in the seventh hell, Apratiṣṭhāna.

With the thought, ‘By good fortune the long-desired dharma has been taken and I shall practice it in the presence of a good guru,’ Puṇḍarīka set out for a good guru. After reaching the presence of a good guru, Muni Puṇḍarīka took the vow again and broke his fast of three days. Injured by cold, harsh food taken at the wrong time, soft, worn out by the blood dripping from his feet from walking on the ground, seated on a couch of grass, after asking for a shelter in a village, he thought, ‘When shall I take initiation under a guru?’^[1] Making the act of propitiation completely, absorbed in pure meditation, even though his body was fat, he died, and went to Sarvārtha. So the fatness or thinness of ascetics is not a standard. Pure meditation is the means for the highest object of existence (i.e. mokṣa).”

The god, Śrīda’s sāmānika,^[2] grasped the lesson on Puṇḍarīka, which had been told by Gautama for his sake, by its termination alone. He adopted right-belief, but Vaiśravaṇa delighted by the understanding of his opinion, bowed, and went to his own abode.

In this way Master Gautama passed the night in teaching; and at dawn the ascetics saw him descending the mountain. The ascetics bowed to him and said: “Mahātma, depository of penance, we wish to be your disciples. Be our guru.” Master Gautama said to them: “The Supreme Lord, the Omniscient, Arhat Mahāvīra is my guru. Let him be your guru.” But Gautama initiated them, as they were persistent, and the outfit of sādhus was brought to them at once by a god.

They set out with Gautama to go to the Master, like young elephants with the Lord of the herd on Mt. Vindhya. At a hamlet on the road at time for alms, the head of the order said to them: “What do you wish for breaking your fast? I shall bring it.” They said, “Rice pudding.” When he had finished taking alms. Gautama had in his bowl just enough to fill his own stomach and he brought that. Indrabhūti said to them: “Sit down, sādhus. All of you break your fast with this rice pudding.” Thinking: “What is the use of that much pudding? Nevertheless, he is our guru,” all the munis sat down. Indrabhūti fed them all by means of the magic power of an unfailing kitchen^[3] and ate, himself, afterwards, astonishing them.

“By good fortune we have obtained Vīra, Teacher of the World, as our guru in dharma, and this muni like a father and enlightenment which is very hard to obtain. By all means we had merit acquired (in the past).” As they were thinking this, the omniscience of the ones eating duck-weed took place there quickly while they were eating. Brilliant omniscience of Datta and his followers took place while they were looking at the miraculous appearances,^[4] and of Kauṇḍinya and his followers while they were looking at Śrī Vīra.

After circumambulating the Lord, they went to the assembly of omniscients. “Pay homage to the Master,” Gautama said to them. The Lord said, “Do not insult omniscients,” and Gautama apologized to them together with mithyāduṣkṛtam. Gautama thought again: “Shall I not be emancipated in this birth? I have teacher-karma. But they are fortunate, initiated by me, in whom, high-minded, omniscience has arisen.”

As he was thinking this, the Blessed One said to him: “Gautama, is the speech of the gods or of the Jinas true?” He replied, “Of the Jinas.” “Do not show lack of restraint. For the affections of disciples for their gurus become equal to screens of straw, forked grain, skin and wool. Yours is like a screen of wool. From long association your affection for us is very strong. Your omniscience is blocked by it and will take place when it ceases to exist.” For Gautama’s enlightenment and the instruction of the others, the Supreme Lord composed the lecture, “The leaf of the tree.”^[5]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

He had first taken the vows by himself, so he took them again under a guru. I am told that it is customary to repeat the vows at the time of death. Hence, his question was equivalent to asking when would he die.

[2]:

There has been no mention of this god. It was Vaiśravaṇa himself who had laughed and for whose benefit the story was told.

[3]:

Another labdhi. See above, n. 187.

[4]:

Prātihārya. There are 8 of these associated with the Arhats: aśoka tree, a shower of flowers, heavenly music, fly-whisks, throne, halo, heavenly drum, triple umbrella. Pravac. 440, p. 106.

[5]:

The title of the tenth lecture in the Uttarādhyayana.