Vol. 11 · pages 511–515

492 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES VI nor I do see any medicine for that emergency. If you cannot do that yourself, why don’t you appoint one of your disciples, the king of Kosala, Anathpindika or Visakha for that purpose. 16. “It seems you know well how to seduce a girl, but you do not know how to take care of the newborn baby that is born out of the seduction.” The assembly remained silent. 17. The Buddha, breaking the continuity of his lecture, answered her with reserved dignity. “ Sister, whatever you have said, whether true or false, is only known to us both.” 18. Chincha coughing loudly, said. “Yes, O Teacher, such a thing can be known to us only.” 19. With her coughing the knot with which the wooden protuberance was tied round her belly slackened, and it fell on her feet to her discomfiture. 20. And she was turned away with stones and sticks. § 6. Devadatta a Cousin and an Enemy 1. Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha. But from the beginning he was jealous of the Buddha and disliked him intensely. 2. When the Buddha had left his home, Devadatta tried to make love to Yeshodhara. 3. Once when Yeshodhara was about to retire, he without being intercepted by anybody entered into her chamber in the guise of a monk. She asked him, “Bhikkhu, what do you want ? Have you got any message for me from my husband ?” 4. “ Your husband, he cares a damn for you. In your house of happiness he cruelly and wickedly abandoned you,” said Devadatta. 5. “ But he did it for the good of many,” replied Yeshodhara. 6. “ Whatever that be, now take revenge on his disdainful cruelty to you,” suggested Devadatta. 7. “ Stop it, O Monk : your words and thoughts are impure,” countered Yeshodhara.

493 HIS ENEMIES VI 8. “Don’t you recognize me, Yeshodhara? I am Devadatta who loves you.” 9. “ Devadatta, I knew you to be false and vile. I thought you would make a bad monk, but did not suspect you to be so mean-minded.” 10. “ Yeshodhara, Yeshodhara, I love you” pleaded Devadatta. “And your husband shows you nothing but contempt. He has been cruel to you. Love me and revenge his cruelty.” 11. Yeshodhara’s pale and emaciated face became tinged with a purple hue. Tears rolled down her cheeks. 12. “Devadatta, it is you who are cruel to me. Even if your love were sincere, it would have been an insult to me. You are simply lying when you say you love me. 13. “When I was young and pretty you hardly looked at me. Now I am old, broken down by sorrow and anguish, you have come at night to declare your treacherous and guilty love. You are a base coward.” 14. And she shouted: “ Devadatta, get out from the place,” and Devadatta left the place. 15. Devadatta was very angry with the Buddha who did not make him the chief in the Sangh and instead made Sariputta and Mogallana the chief men in the Sangh. Devadatta made three attempts on the Buddha’s life, but did not succeed in any of them. 16. At one time the Blessed One was walking up and down in the shade below the hill called the Vultures Peak (Girdhra Kuta). 17. Devadatta climbed it up and hurled down a large stone with the intention of depriving the Blessed One of his life, but it fell upon another rock and there it was entombed; only a splinter falling from it made the foot of the Blessed One to bleed. 18. A second time he made an attempt to take the life of the Buddha. 19. This time Devadatta went to Prince Ajata- satru and said: “Give me some men.” And Ajata- satru, the prince gave orders to his men : “ What- soever the worthy Devadatta tells you, do that.”

494 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES VI 20. Then to one man Devadatta gave command: “Go, my friend ; the Samana Gautama is staying at such a place. Kill him.” And the man returned and said to him : “ I cannot deprive the Blessed One of his life. 21. He made a third attempt on the life of the Buddha. 22. This time there was at Rajgraha an elephant named Nalagiri, fierce and a man-slayer. 23. And Devadatta went into Rajgraha and to the elephant stables, and said to the elephant keepers : “I, my friends, am a relative of the raja, and am able to advance a man occupying a low position to a high position, and to order an increase of his rations or of his pay.” 24. Therefore, my friends when Samana Gautama shall have arrived at this carriage road, then loose the elephant Nalagiri and let him go down the road. 25. Devadatta engaged archers to kill the Buddha. He had also let loose on his way the mad elephant Nalagiri. 26. But he did not succeed. When these attempts became known, Devadatta lost all the public endowments given to him. And even the king (Ajatasatru) stopped giving him interview. 27. For living he had to beg from house to house. Devadatta received many favours from Ajatasatru, which he could not retain long. Devadatta lost all his influence after the Nalagiri incident. 28. By his acts, Devadatta becoming very unpopular in Magadha left it for Kosala, thinking that Prasenjit might receive him cordially. But he was contemptuously driven out by Prasenjit. § 7. Brahmins and the Buddha (i) 1. Once when the Blessed One was travelling about in the Kosala country with a large company of the monks, he went down to a Brahmin village named Thuna.

495 HIS ENEMIES VI 2. The Brahmin householders of Thuna heard the news, “ The Samana Gautama, they say, has arrived in the field of our village.” 3. Now the Brahmin householders were non-believers, holding wrong views and avaricious by nature. 4. They said, “If the Samana Gautama should enter this village and stay two or three days, he would convert all these people. Then the Brahmin religion would have no support. We must, therefore, prevent his entry in our village. 5. To reach the village a river had to be crossed and the Brahmins, in order to prevent the Blessed One from entering the village, took the boats away from the landing places, and made the bridges and causeways unusable. 6. They filled all the wells except one with weeds and the like and concealed the watering-places, resthouses and sheds. 7. The Blessed One learned of their misdeeds and having compassion on them, crossed the river with his company of monks, went on, and in due course of time reached the Brahmin village of Thuna. 8. He left the road and sat down at the foot of a tree. At that moment many women were passing by near the Blessed One carrying water. 9. And in that village an agreement had been made, “ If the Samana Gautama comes there, there is to be no welcome or the like made for him and when he comes to a house, neither to him nor to his disciples is any food or water to be given.” 10. Then a certain Brahmin’s slave girl, going along with a jar of water, saw the Blessed One and the monks, realized that they were weary and thirsty, and being of devout heart, wanted to give them water, 11. “Even and though the people of this village have resolved that nothing at all is to be given to the Samana Gautama and not even a show of respect is to be made,” she said to herself, “ yet if after I have found these supreme fields of merit and worthy

496 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES VI recipients of meritorious giving, I do not lay the foundation for my salvation by a mere giving of water, when hereafter shall I be released from woe ?” 12. “ So be it, my masters ! Let every one who lives in the village beat or bind me, still I will give a gift of water to a field of merit such as this.” 13. When she had made this resolve, though the other women carrying water tried to stop her, without regard for her life, she lifted down the water jar from her head, placed it on one side, approached the Blessed One, and gave him water; he washed his hands and feet and drank the water. 14. Her master, the Brahmin, heard of her giving water to the Blessed One. “ She has broken the rule of the village and I am blamed,” he said, and burning with rage and grinding his teeth he hurled her to the ground and beat her with hands and feet. Because of that she died. (ii) 1. Now Brahmin Dona visited the Exalted One and greeted him; and after exchanging the customary words of greetings, sat down at one side. So seated, Brahmin Dona said to the Exalted One : 2. “I have heard it said, Master Gotama, that Master Gotama does not salute aged, venerable Brahmins, well stricken in years, long on life’s road, grown old—nor rise up for them, nor offer them a seat. 3. “ Master Gotama, it is just so; Master Gotama does none of these things ... to aged, venerable Brahmins . . . This is not right, Master Gotama.” 4. “ Do you not profess to be a brahmin, Dona ?” 5. “ If of anyone, Master Gotama, in speaking rightly it should be said: ‘ The brahmin is well born on both sides, pure in descent as far back as seven generations, both of mother and father, unchallenged and without reproach in point of birth; studious, carrying the mantras in mind, a past master in the three Vedas with the indices and ritual, in phonology too, and in the legends; an expert in verse and grammar, skilled in reading the marks of a great man, in