The Gâtakamâlâ; Or, Garland of Birth-StoriesAryasura
Religion
The Gâtakamâlâ; Or, Garland of Birth-Stories
Aryasura
Gautama Buddha -- Pre-existence
12. 'It is not filled with water, either the largess of the clouds or
drawn from a holy stream; nor with fragrant honey gathered out of the
filaments of flowers; nor with excellent butter; nor with milk, whose
hue equals that of the moonbeams awaking the waterlilies in a cloudless
night. No, this jar is filled up with mischievous liquor. Now, learn the
virtue of this liquor.
13. 'He who drinks it will lose the control of himself, in consequence
of mind-perplexing intoxication; as his mindfulness will slacken, he
will stumble even on plain ground; he will not make a difference between
food allowed and forbidden, and will make his meals of whatever he may
get. Of such a nature is the fluid within this jar. Buy it, it is for
sale, that worst of jars!
14. 'This liquor has the power of taking away your consciousness, so as
to make you lose the control of your thoughts and behave like a brute
beast, giving your enemies the trouble of laughing at you. Thanks to it,
you may also dance in the midst of an assembly, accompanying yourself
with the music of your mouth. Being of such a nature, it is worth
purchasing by you, that liquor within the jar, devoid as it is of any
good!
15. 'Even the bashful lose shame by drinking it, and will have done with
the trouble and restraint of dress; unclothed like Nirgranthas[132] they
will walk boldly on the highways crowded with people. Of such a nature
is the liquor contained in this jar and now offered for sale[133].
[132] The Nirgranthas are a class of monks, especially _G_ain
monks, who wander about naked.
[133] Instead of the reading of the printed text, the fourth pâda,
I suppose, should be read thus: sâ pa_n_yatâm upagatâ nihitâtra
kumbhe.
16. 'Drinking it may cause men even to lie senseless asleep on the
king's roads, having their figures soiled with food ejected by their
vomitings and licked from their face by bold dogs. Such is the beverage,
lovely to purchase, which has been poured into this jar!
17. 'Even a woman enjoying it may be brought by the power of
intoxication into such a state, that she would be able to fasten her
parents to a tree and to disregard her husband, may he be as wealthy as
Kubera[134]. Of this kind is the merchandise which is contained within
this jar!
[134] The strange examples for illustration are occasioned by the
exigencies of a metrical tour de force, very skilfully executed.
18. 'That liquor, by drinking which the V_ri_sh_n_ayas and the Andhakâs
were put out of their senses to this degree, that without minding[135]
their relationship they crushed down each other with their clubs, that
very beverage of maddening effect is enclosed within this jar!
[135] It is evident that vismitabandhubhâvâ_h_ is a misprint for
vism_ri_tabandhubhâvâ_h_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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