Vessantara-Jataka in Pali and English - MyWebSpace

Translation 530 Vessantara-Jåtaka
[Fausbøll, Jåtaka, vol. VI, p. 530]
Ebony, aloe, trumpet-flower, and many another tree, 1
Acacias, berries, nuts, and all as thick as thick can be.
Hard by there is a lake bespread with lilies blue and white,
As in the garden of the gods, the Garden of Delight.
And there the cuckoos make the hills re-echo as they sing,
Intoxicated with the flowers which in their season spring.
See on the lilies drop by drop the honey-nectar fall,
And feel the breezes blowing free from out the south and west,
Until the pollen of the flowers is waften over all.
Plenty of rice and berries 2 ripe about the lake do fall,
Which fish and crabs 3 and tortoises dart seeking with a zest,
And honey drips like milk or ghee from the flowers one and all.
A frequent breeze blows through the trees where every scent is found,
And seems to intoxicate with flowers the forest all around.
The bees about the scented flowers fly thronging with their hum,
There fly the many-coloured birds together, all and some,
Cooing and chirping in delight, each with his mate they come.
"O pretty chicky, happy chap!" they twitter and they tweet—
O lovey dovey, deary dear, my pretty little sweet!" 4
Festoons of flowers garlanded as when the banners fly,
Blossoms of every hue and tint, sweet odours wafted by,
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."
1
The names of the trees are given in full, and may be found in Childers. We may add the
following: kuṭajī = kuṭajo?, kuṭṭha (Costus Speciosus; Skt. ku∑†ha); uddhālaka
(unknown), somarukkha = somavakka?, puttajiva (Putranjīva Roxburghii).
2 The words siṁghātakā, samsādiya, pasādiyā need explanation. They appear to be
plants; the two latter are explained as a kind of rice. The bhiṁsa is a flower (Skt.
bh¥∑mam). [See Émile Senart, Mahāvastu, vol. I (1882), p. 230, and vol. III, pp. 94-95; J.
J. Jones, The Mahāvastu, vol. I (1949), pp. 186-187, and vol. III (1956), pp. 97-98. -- jrb]
3
upayanakā: "kakkaṭakā."
4 This couplet is made up of words which express joy and affection, and seems to contain
names for the birds playfully made; jīvaputto means one who has living children. Perhaps
it is not too fanciful to hear an echo of their melodious chirping. The scholiast says:
tesam etān’ eva nāmāni ahesuṁ.