[65] Of old a wolf, in the semblance of a ram,
came up unsuspected to a herd of goats;
having slain a ewe, a she-goat, and a he-goat —
having slain them and lain down — it makes off wherever it will.
Of just such a kind are some ascetics and brahmins (samaṇabrāhmaṇā):
making themselves a cover, they deceive human beings —
going without food, lying on the bare ground,
wearing dust and grime, striving in the squatting posture,
taking food only by turns, and drinking nothing —
men of evil conduct, professing themselves arahants.
These are untrue men (asappurisā) in the world,
fools who conceive themselves wise;
such a one would do evil himself,
and would set another, too, to the doing of it:
association with untrue men ends in suffering (dukkha);
bitter is the fruit it yields.
Those who say, "There is no energy (vīriya),"
and who deny cause,
who have declared another's doing and one's own doing
to be empty —
these are untrue men in the world,
fools who conceive themselves wise;
such a one would do evil himself,
and would set another, too, to the doing of it:
association with untrue men ends in suffering;
bitter is the fruit it yields.
For if there were no energy,
no action (kamma) good or evil,
the king would not maintain the carpenter,
nor would he have machines built;
but because there is energy,
and there is action good and evil,
therefore the king has machines built
and maintains the carpenter.
If for a hundred years the heavens should not rain
and no dew should fall,
this world would be annihilated,
this race of beings would perish;
but because the heavens do rain
and the dew keeps moistening the earth,
the crops ripen,
and the realm is long preserved.
When cattle are crossing over,
if the leading bull goes crooked,
they all go crooked,
their guide having gone crooked.
Just so among human beings:
he who is held to be the chief —
if he conducts himself against righteousness (adhamma),
how much more the rest of the folk!
The whole realm lies in suffering
if the king is unrighteous.
When cattle are crossing over,
if the leading bull goes straight,
they all go straight,
their guide having gone straight.
Just so among human beings:
he who is held to be the chief —
if he conducts himself by righteousness,
how much more the rest of the folk!
The whole realm rests in happiness
if the king is righteous.
Whoever cuts the unripe fruit
of a great fruit-bearing tree
knows not its taste,
and its seed is destroyed.
Whoever governs unrighteously
a realm that is like the great tree
knows not its savour,
and his realm is destroyed.
Whoever cuts the ripened fruit
of a great fruit-bearing tree
knows well its taste,
and its seed is not destroyed.
Whoever governs by righteousness
a realm that is like the great tree
knows well its savour,
and his realm is not destroyed.
And whatever king governs
the countryside unrighteously —
that king, that warrior-noble (khattiya),
is set at variance with all the herbs.
Likewise, oppressing the townsfolk,
those engaged in buying and selling,
in presenting provisions and rendering tribute,
he is set at variance with his treasury.
Oppressing those who know the prime field for the blow,
who have borne the toil of battle,
men raised to eminence — such a king
is set at variance with his army.
Likewise, a warrior-noble of unrighteous conduct,
oppressing seers (isi), the restrained
who live the holy life (brahmacārī),
is set at variance with heaven.
And a king who stands in unrighteousness,
who slays a wife who has done no wrong,
begets for himself a dreadful state
and is set at variance with his sons.
Let him practise righteousness toward country folk,
toward townsfolk and toward troops;
let him not oppress the seers;
let him walk evenly toward sons and wife.
Such a lord of the earth, a guardian of the realm,
free from anger,
makes those round about him tremble,
even as Inda, the overlord of the asuras.
The Mahābodhi Jātaka, the Third.
The summary (uddāna) thereof:
The first is the one bearing Naḷinikā's name;
the second, the excellent one of Ummadantī;
the third, the one called by the glorious name of Bodhi:
three fair tales spoken by the Conqueror (Jina).
The Section of Fifty Verses (Paññāsanipāta) is concluded.
THE SECTION OF SIXTY VERSES (SAṬṬHINIPĀTA)
1. The Soṇaka Jātaka
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.