22a: The Discourse on the Treasures – 712 

 

ceremony when they come of age. Go to the King of Bārāṇasī and having paid 
him tributes of the five kinds of produce of the cow (

go-rasa

): milk, curds, ghee, 

butter milk and butter, make a request to him to grant you some land for the 
founding of a city. Then having circumambulated the city, appoint this young 
man your king, holding the coronation ceremony in the new city.” With this 
advice the recluse handed over the babies to the care of the villagers. After 
giving him a promise that they would follow his advice, the villagers took away 
the babies and brought them up in accordance with the instructions given by the 
recluse. 

When they grew up, they played together with the children of the cowherds. But 
whenever there was a dispute while at play, they beat and kicked their 
playmates. When the parents saw their children crying, they asked them why 
they were crying. The children would reply: “The two orphans, cared for by the 
recluse, beat and kicked us.” Even the adopted parents of the two children, along 
with other villagers, rebuked them, making remarks, such as: “These two 
children bully our children; they are too troublesome. We should not gratify 
them; we should avoid the pair of them (

vajjetabbā ime

), brother and sister.” 

Ever since that time, the region measuring 30 leagues where the cowherds’ 
village was situated was known as the Avoidance (

Vajjī

) country.” 

In due time, the cowherds approached the king, as instructed by the recluse, with 
offerings consisting of the five kinds of produce of the cow (

go-rasa

) and 

requested the allotment of a place and founded a city there. As the boy had 
reached the age of sixteen, he was crowned king of the region. This was 
followed by a matrimonial ceremony in honour of the two youths. The people of 
the region agreed then to make a ruling that no woman from another place 
should be made their queen, and none of their women should be given away in 
marriage to those outside of their country. 

The crowned king and the queen produced their offspring in due time, the queen 
giving birth to a pair of twins, one male and one female. The queen gave birth to 
twins in like manner sixteen times in all. When those children came of age, they 
in turn gave birth to twins sixteen times each. 

The population of the city grew rapidly, so much so, that there was no longer 
sufficient land in the city to accommodate all the princes and princesses with 
their palaces, pleasure parks and their large retinues. Therefore, the city had to