Vessantara-Jataka in Pali and English - MyWebSpace

Translation 529 Vessantara-Jåtaka
[Fausbøll, Jåtaka, vol. VI, p. 529]
Thronging among the leafy twigs they bid the stranger come,
Welcome the guest, delighting all who make the woods their home,
Where with his children now abides Vessantara the king.
With brahmin's dress, with hook and spoon, the ascetic's matted hair,
Skinclad he lies upon the ground, and tends the fire with care."
Moreover he said, in praise of the hermitage:
"Mango, rose-apple, jackfruit, sāl, all kinds of myrobolan,
Bo, golden tindook, many more, including the banyan; 1
Plenty of figs, all growing low, all ripe, as sweet as sweet,
Dates, luscious grapes, and honeycomb, as much as you can eat.
The mango-trees are some in flower, some with the fruit just set,
Some ripe and green as any frog, while some are unripe yet.
A man may stand beneath the trees and pluck them as they grow:
The choicest flavour, colour, taste, both ripe and unripe shew.
It makes me cry aloud to see that great and wondrous sight,
Like heaven where the gods abide, the garden of delight.
Palmyra, date-palm, coconut grow in that forest high,
Festoons of flowers garlanded as when the banners fly,
Blossoms of every hue and tint like stars that dot the sky.
1
Other trees mentioned are: kapittha (Feronia Elephantum), kapitthana = kapitana?
(Thespesia Populneoides).