The Wisdom of Vidhura Pandita

Once there lived a wise man named Vidhura Pandita. He became t he minister of king
Dhananjaya, who ruled the kingdom of Kuru wit h Indapatta (mode rn Indrast ha of t he Delhi
region) as his capital. The king was virt uous; and so were t he ot her t hree contemporary
kings, namely, Sakka, the king of the devas; Varuna, t he king of t he Nagas; and Venateyya t he
king of the Supannas or gar udas (large golden eagles).
Once all the four kings met in a garden on some occasion, where each claimed to be t he most
virtuous. So, the dispute began, which was not resolve d by t hem. So, t hey requested Vidhura
pandita, the wisest person of the time to settle t he dispute. Vidhura satisfi ed all of t hem by
telling that each was equal just like the four spokes of a wheel. Pleased, t he Naga king
off ered him a jewelled ornament from his own neck; and t he ot her kings also rewarded him
wit h some precious gif ts.
When the king of the Nagas retur ned to his palace and Vimala, his consort noticed t hat his
neckalace was missing she demanded an explanation. The king narrated t he whole story and
praised the wisdom of the Kuru minister for having resolved t he dispute of t he four virtuous
kings. Charmed, Vimala crave d to meet t he minister. She as ked t he king, O lord! Bring me
t he heart of Vidhura if you love me. She t hen feigned illness.
That was the time when the yakkha (yaksa) General Punnaka was fl ying over t he Naga
kingdom on his white winged horse and saw t he Naga princess Irandati amusing herself on a
swing ador ned with fl owers and singing a melodious song all by herself in t he royal garden.
No sooner than he looke d at her he lost his heart to her. So, he descended t here and
introduced himself to her. The princess, too, was equally charmed by his looks.
The General then went to the Naga king to ask for t he Irandatis hand. As t he yakkhas were
far more powerful than the Nagas the Naga king could not reject his proposal outrightly on
t he g round by stating that the yakkhas and Nagas belonged to two diff erent species. He,
t herefore, obtained some time for consideration of t he proposal. So, on one hand, he did not
ove rlook the love for his daughter, who persisted for t he marriage; and on t he ot her he did
not incur any hostility of his chief tains. Yet, he was indecisive.
So, he consulted his minister, who was cunning and jealous of Vidhura
panditas wide-popularity. The minister advised him to ask Punnaka to bring t he heart of t he
Vidhura pandita as a condition for the princesss hands. The king accepted t he suggestion as
it was to fulfi l the wish of the ailing Queen Vimala, too.
Punnaka accepted the condition for the marriage and went to t he court of Dhananjaya in
Indapatta. As he knew the kings weakness for gambling he challenged him for a game of
dice. He off ered his wonderful steed and an all-seeing-ge m at stake. Tempted for t he gem
when the king fumbled for his stake, Punnaka as ked him to put his most precious gem, which
was none but Vidhura pandita. The game of t he dice was t hus on. Soon t he king lost; and
Vidhurapandita was put at the disposal of t he Yakkha General. Vidhuras wife Anujja fainted
when she heard that her husband was to be taken away by t he Yakkha General.

Flying on his horse with Vidhura on his back Punnaka reached a secluded place on a dark
hillock called the Kalapabbata and dismounted upon it. There, he drew his sword out of t he
sheat h and with a lightning speed str uck it in t he abdomen of his captive. The sword,
however, did not hurt Vidhura; and was broken. Surprised, Punnaka as ked t he reason for t his
miracle but Vidhura told him that the answer to such a que ry would made at an appropriate
time. Punnaka then wished to set him free and take him to Indapatta. But t he virtuous
minister so desirous to practise charity desired to help Punnaka. So, he preferred to
accompany him to the Naga kingdom.
When Punnaka and Vidhura entered the Naga kingdom t hey were given a warm reception.
The entire Naga kingdom was then decorated wit h fl ags and banners. Festoons adorned t he
house-tops and fl oral gates were erected all over t he pat h to receive t he prospective g room.
When the malicious Naga minister sought an explanation from Punnaka for not having killed
Vidhura to bring his heart, Punnaka said, As I won t he costliest jewel of Indapatta from t he
Kuru king I did not fi nd a matching cas ket for it. The reply made t he Naga minister dumbfounded.
In t he Naga world, Vidhura fi rst gave discourses to King Varuna and t hen to his consort
Vimala. Both were delighted at his preaching.
Soon, Punnaka and Irandati were married, and lived happily.
Finally, Punnaka took Vidhura back to Indapatta and presented him t he all-seeing-ge m. Thus,
Vidhura had the two best jewels of the time in his crown: one from t he Naga king Varuna;
and t he othe r from the yakkha Gene ral Punnaka.

Bodhisattvas judgement
A woman, carrying her child, went to the Bodhisatt vas tank to wash. And having fi rst bat hed
t he child, she put on her upper garment and descended into t he water to bat he herself.
Then a Yaksha, seeing the child, had a craving to eat it. And taking t he form of a woman, she
drew near, and asked the mothe r, Friend, t his is a ver y pretty child. Is it one of yours? And
when she was told it was, she asked if she might nurse it. And t his being allowed, she nursed
it a little, and then carried it off .
But when the mother saw this, she ran af ter her, and cried out, Where are you taking my
child to? and caught hold of her.
The Yaksha boldly said, Where did you get t he child from? It is mine! And so quarreling,
t hey passed the door of the Bodhisattvas Judgment Hall.
He heard the noise, sent for them, inquired into t he matter, and asked t hem whet her t hey
would abide by his decision. And they agreed. Then he had a line drawn on t he g round; and
told t he Yaksha to take hold of the childs arms, and t he mot her to take hold of its legs; and
said, The child shall be hers who drags him ove r t he line.
But as soon as they pulled at him, the mot her, seeing how he suff ered, grieved as if her heart
would break. And letting him go, she stood t here weeping.
Then the Bodhisattva asked the bystanders, Whose hearts are tender to babes? Those who
have borne children, or those who have not?
The hearts of mothers are tende r. They answered in unison
Then he said Who, then, is the mother? She who has t he child in her arms, or she who has
let go? She who has let go is the mot he r. The bystanders answered.
Then do you all think that the other was t he t hief? Bodhisatt va as ked
And t hey answered, Sire! We cannot tell.
Bodhisattva said, This person is a Yaksha, who stole t he child to eat it. Because her eyes
winked not, and were red, and she knew no fear, and had no pity, I knew it. And so saying,
he demanded of the thief, Reveal who you are!
She said: Lord! I am a Yaksha.
Bodhisattva asked, Why did you take away t his child?
The Yaksha said, I thought to eat him, Oh my Lord!
Bodhisattva rebuke d the Yaksha, saying, Foolish woman! For your former sins you have been
born a Yaksha, and you continue to sin! And he laid a vow upon her to keep t he Five

Commandments, and let her go. But the mot her of t he child exalted t he Bodhisattva, and
said, Oh my Lord! Oh great physician! May you live long! And she went away, wit h her
baby clasped to her bosom.

Jataka tale Strength of Love

Being established in the practice of compassion, t he bodhisattva was born as t he beloved king
Maitribala, which means strength of loving kindness. Feeling t he suff ering of all his
subjects, he ruled his people skillfully. Ot her kings held him in high regard and respected his
word as law, so wars were neve r fought in his kingdom. He took g reat measures to promote
his peoples welfare, r uled with right action, and even punishment of wrongdoers was done in
such a skillful and compassionate way t hat it increased t he fort unes of t he entire kingdom.
One day howeve r, fi ve Yaksha demons, exiled by t heir lord, invaded Maitribalas lands.
Skilled in sucking the life-force from ot hers and bent on creating havoc, t he demons were
ove r joyed to fi nd such an idyllic kingdom to destroy. Yet all t heir atte mpts were unsuccessful
and t hey did not know why. Disguising t hemse lves as Brahmans t hey questioned a cowhe rder
and learned of the glory of Maitribala. This g reat king was surely t he reason t heir eff orts to
spread suff ering were unsuccessful so t hey set off to t he palace to create trouble.
Upon arriving in their Brahman disguises, t he demons approached t he king who was in t he
midst of addressing a grand audience. They stated t hat t hey were hung ry and immediately
t he king ordered a g reat feast to be prepared for t hem. Yet when t he elaborate meal was
ser ved, the demons scorned it and angrily exclaimed t hat t hey did not eat such dishes. The
king t hen asked what sort of food would please t hem and seeing t his as an opportunity, t he
Yakshas revealed their true demonic form. Their reply was t hat t hey needed to eat fresh
human fl esh and blood. The king, unable to refuse a request even from demons, but also not
able to kill any of his subjects to feed them, found himself stuck in a serious dilemma.
He t hen resolved that the only possible action was to feed t he demons his own fl esh and
blood, despite his royal court imploring him not to. In fact, t he sorrow over what t he king
was about to do was so great that the eart h began to tremble and shake in many places.
Never the less, Maitribala had his physicians open fi ve of his veins and began to ser ve his
fresh blood to the Yakshas. He proceeded to cut off chunks of his fl esh and felt ve ry little
pain as he did so, for the joy of generosity over whelmed t he shar p physical sensation. Seeing
t his, t he fi ve Yaksha demons became awestr uck wit h admiration and astonishment. All t he
anger and ill intent they had been nurturing vanished and t hey bowed in reverence to t he
great king, eventually taking vows themselves to follow right action.
Shakra, the Lord of Gods, having witnessed t he great rumbling of t he eart h, arrive d at t he
royal palace to fi nd eve rybody fi lled wit h fear and sorrow, crying for t he newly disfi gured
king. The king himself, although in the process of bleeding to deat h, was t he only one t hat
remained calm and clear. Seeing Maitribalas infi nite compassion, Shakra t hen rewarded t he
king by gathering herbs from both heaven and eart h and applying t hem to his wounds. In
ver y little time, the kings pain ceased and his body was restored to its wholeness.