Story 205 - The Boy who went to learn the Sciences

IN a certain country a boy was sent by his two parents near a teacher for learning the arts and sciences. Then the boy, [after] learning for a long time the sixty-four mechanical arts,^[1] came back to his home.

The boy’s parents asked the boy,

“Did you leam all the sciences ?”

The boy told his parents that he leamt the whole of the sciences. At that time his father asked,

“Did you learn the subtlety (mayama) of women ?”

Thereupon the boy said he did not. Having said,

“[After] learning that very science come back,”

he was sent away again by his two parents.

The boy having set off from there, at the time when he was going along, in the King’s garden were the King and Queen. The King was walking and walking in the garden. The Queen, sewing and sewing a shawl,^[2] was [sitting] in the shade under a tree.

Having seen that this very boy is going, the Queen, calling the boy, asked,

“Where are you going ?”

Thereupon the boy says,

“When I came home [after] learning the arts and sciences, and the sixty-four mechanical arts, my parents asked, ‘Did you leam the arts ?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Then they asked, ‘Did you learn the subtlety of women ?’ When I myself said I did not, because they said, ‘[After] learning that very science come back,’ I am going away to leam that very science,”

he said to the Queen.

Thereupon that very Queen said,

“I will teach you the subtlety,”

and calling the boy near, placed the boy’s head on the Queen’s thigh, and having told him to lie [still], and taken the shawl that the Queen was sewing and sewing, and covered the boy [with it], the Queen remained sewing and sewing. At that time the King was not there.

After that, the King came there. Then the Queen, having called the King [and said],

“I wish to tell you a story,”

told the King to listen to the story. The King was pleased regarding it.

The Queen, leaving the thigh on which was the head of the above-mentioned boy, having placed the head of the King on the other thigh, and told him to lie [there], told the story.

The story indeed was:—

“Like we are here, a King and Queen of the fore-going time, like we came here went for garden-sport, it is said. At that time the King went to walk in the garden, it is said. While that very Queen was staying [there] sewing a shawl, a boy came there.

Then the Queen asked the boy,

‘Where are you going ?’

Thereupon the boy says,

‘Because my parents said I am to leam the subtlety of women, I am going away to leam that very subtlety,’

he said.

Then the Queen having said,

‘I will teach you,’

called the boy, and having placed his head on her thigh, and told him to lie [still], sewed the shawl. At that time the King came, like you now have come here. Then, having told the King to place his head on the other thigh and having told him this story, with the shawl that covered the boy she covered the King.”

[As she said this, she covered the King with the shawl.]

Thereupon the boy quickly jumped up and went away.

When his parents afterwards asked the boy,

“Did you leam the subtlety of women ?”

he said that he had learnt it.

Tom-tom Beater. North-western Province.

 

Notes:

In The Jataka, No. 61 (vol. i, p. 148), there is an account of a Brahmana youth who, on completing the usual education, was asked by his mother if he had learnt the Dolour Texts, and on his replying in the negative was sent back to leam them. There were no such texts, but his mother intended him to leam the wickedness of women. This he did, but not in the manner related in the Sinhalese story.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Siwsaeta kala shilpaya.

[2]:

Saluwak.