Chapter 27
direction. He barked aloud at the same spots where his master used to strike the boulders
and dried stumps with a stout staff to frighten away the beasts of prey.
The Paccekabuddha used to give it a big lump of food out of His own bowl every day.
The dog was very much attached to the Paccekabuddha for showing such kindness to him.
At the end of the
vassa
, the cowherd offered a piece of cloth to the Paccekabuddha for
making robes and said: ‚Reverend Sir... the
vassa
has come to a close and I would leave it
to You to stay on at the same place or go to any place of Your own choice, as please You.‛
As the Paccekabuddha appeared to have a desire to leave for another place, the cowherd
accompanied Him to a certain distance and returned to his hut. When the little dog
discovered that the Paccekabuddha had left for good, it died of broken hearted and was
reborn in the deva realm of TÈvatiÑsa.
He was endowed with a voice that excelled that of the other devas of the celestial world,
as a reward for barking aloud and frightening the beasts of prey as he passed through
forest in the company of the Paccekabuddha in his previous existence. It was therefore
known as Ghosaka Deva for having a voice that covered the whole of deva realm.
While Ghosaka Deva was enjoying the luxurious life of a deva in TÈvatiÑsa, Udena was
the King of KosambÊ country, in the world of humans. (Life of Udena has been dealt with
elsewhere in this treatise).
Then Ghosaka Deva died and was conceived in the womb of a courtesan in KosambÊ,
during the reign of Udena. When the courtesan came to know that she had given birth to a
son, she had the newly born babe cast on the garbage dump.
One of the supervisors of workmen, in the employment of the rich man of KosambÊ,
noticed the child in the middle of a flock of crows, on his way to his master's house. He
was impressed by the look of the lovely child and thought there was a bright future for the
child. Therefore, he picked up the baby and sent him to his house, under the care of one of
his workmen while he continued his way to his master's house.
On that morning, the rich man of KosambÊ met a wise man on his way to the palace of
the King Udena. The rich man asked the wise men: ‚Master ... have you studied the
astrological signs of the stars and their trend?‛ The astrologer examined the movements
and behaviour of the planets on the spot and replied: ‚Anyone born today is destined to
become the rich man of KosambÊ, as he is born in conjunction with such and such stars and
planets.‛
On hearing the predictions of the astrologer, the rich man of KosambÊ turned to his
attendants and gave instructions: ‚My dear men .... the predictions of this wise man are
always axiomatic and determinate. My wife is an expectant mother, and, you better go to
my house and find out if she has given birth to a child.‛ The attendants rushed to his house
and hurried back to tell him that his wife has not yet given birth to a child. He sent his men
out again to find if there is any child born in the city on this day.
The attendants went all over the town to find out if there was any child born on that day.
They discovered that there was a newly born babe in the house of his own labour
supervisor. When this was brought to his notice, the rich man sent for the supervisor, and
on his arrival, asked a few questions.
Rich man: Is it true that there is a baby in your house who is born today?
Supervisor: Yes... master.
Rich man: Give me that child.
Supervisor: I can't give... master.
Rich man: Take one thousand pieces of money in exchange for the baby!
The labour supervisor tried to speculate mentally: ‚This baby may or may not live long,
the question of life and death is beyond my power of decision.‛ In view of this matter of
uncertainty, he decided to accept the money in exchange for the baby.
The rich man conceived an idea: ‚Should my wife give birth to a girl, he would be treated