Chapter 34
that time the hunter, who had killed five hundred deer, was in a frontal seat of his cart
driven by himself and fully loaded with deer-meat for sale. The girl fell in love with him
and after handing her maid some presents, she sent her with these words: ‚Go, dear maid,
give these presents to the hunter and try to get the information about the time of his
return.‛
The maid-servant went and gave the presents to the hunter and asked: ‚What time will
you go home?‛ ‚After selling the meat today,‛ said the hunter, ‚I shall go home tomorrow
early morning by such a such a gate.‛ Having got the hunter's reply, the maid-servant
returned and told her mistress about it.
The mistress then packed her clothings, ornaments, gold and silver that she should take
with her, and put on dirty garments early that morning, carried a water-jar on her head and
left her house as though she were going to the river-side. Reaching the place mentioned in
the hunter's reply, she waited for the hunter's coming. The hunter came out from the city
driving his cart early that morning. The lady then followed the hunter's cart with alacrity.
On seeing the young lady, the hunter said: ‚O lady, I do not know whose daughter you
are. Please do not follow me.‛ ‚You did not ask me to come,‛ replied the lady, ‚I came on
my own accord. Drive on your cart quietly.‛ The hunter repeated his words to prevent her
from following him. Then the young lady said: ‚Lord, one should not bar the fortune that
has come to oneself.‛ Only then the naive hunter came to understand without any doubt the
reason for her dogged following him, he picked the young lady up on to the cart and drove
away.
The parents of the young lady searched for their daughter everywhere and could not find
her. At long last they concluded that she must have been dead and held a feast in memory
of their daughter (
matakabahatta
).
Because of her living together with the hunter, the lady gave birth to seven sons and she
had them married on their coming of age.
The Spiritual Liberation of The Hunter's Family
On surveying the world of sentient beings in the early morning one day, the Buddha saw
the hunter Kukkutamitta together with his seven sons and seven daughters-in-law who came
into the view of His supernormal-vision. When He investigated the reason, He discerned
the past merit of all these fifteen persons that would lead them to the attainment of
sotÈpatti-magga
. Taking His bowl and robe, the Buddha went alone early that morning to
the place where the snares were set up. That day not a single animal happened to be caught.
The Buddha then put His footprint near the hunter's snares and sat down in the shade of
the bush in front of him.
Carrying his bow and arrows, Kukkutamitta went early to that place and checked the
snares, one after another; he found not a single deer caught, and all he saw were the
Buddha's footprints.
Then it occurred to him thus: ‚Who could have set the animals free from the snares and
roamed about?‛ Having a grudge against the Buddha (even before he saw Him) and while
moving about, he saw the Buddha sitting under the bush before him. Thinking: ‚This than
must be the one who had released my ensnared animals. I will kill Him with an arrow,‛ he
bent the bow and pulled the string with all his might.
The Buddha permitted him to bend the bow and pull the string, but He did not permit him
to release the arrow. (The Buddha performed a miracle so that the hunter could do the
bending of the bow and the pulling of the string but not the shooting.) Not only was he
unable to shoot the arrow, he was also helpless in unbending the bow. It appeared that his
ribs were going to break, and the saliva flowed from his mouth. Looking very exhausted,
he stood like a stone statue
The seven sons went to the father's house and asked their mother during a conversation
with her: ‚Father is taking so long. What would be the reason for his delay?‛ When asked
by their mother: ‚Follow your father, dear sons,‛ they went after their father, each holding