DESIRE . ( STORY OF GOSAKA )

{ FROM DESIRE SPRINGS GRIEF, FROM DESIRE SPRINGS FEAR. FOR HIM WHO IS WHOLLY FREE FROM DESIRE THERE IS NO GRIEF, WHENCE THEN FEAR? }. .

In the town of Kosambi a courtezan gave birth to a child. Knowing that it was a son, she ordered it to be thrown on a dunghill, upon which a crowd of dogs and crows surrounded the child. A neighbour being attracted by the right, came hither and carried the child home with great affection. A Sitana (a millionaire) of the town, on his way to the palace net the royal astrologer returning home, and equired from him as to the position of the planets on that day. "Any child born today" he said, "will become the chief Sitana of the town."

During the day, his wife was in labour, and he therefore, being anxious to get home hastened to the palace and returned. He then ordered a maid-servant named Kali to bring any male child born in the town on that day by giving for it one thousand pieces of money. She went about enquiring, and finding a child born on that day, paid one thousand pieces of money to the parents and brought it to the Sitana, who thought that if his wife should bring forth daughter she could be married to this child, but if a son, then this child should be destroyed. His wife gave birth to a son, so he resolved to destroy the other child, and various methods were adopted to carry out his design. This child was first left at the gate of a cattle-shed to be trampled on by the cattle, then it was placed on the high road, to be run over by carts or trampled on by oxen. Again it was left in a cemetery, to be eaten by the yakshas (forms of devils), but there it was thrown down a precipice over which condemned criminals were cast. Each time the Sitana spent one thousand pieces of money to get back the child from those who had rescued it on the several occasions. The child now began to grow steadily and was named Gosaka.

The Sitana had a friend, who was a potter by profession, to whom he said, "Friend, do me the favour of destroying my illegitimate son, by throuwing him into your oven, for doing which I now advance you one thousand pieces of money. Tomorrow I shall send the boy on to you", and to this the potter agreed. The following morning the Sitana summoned Gosaka and said to him, "Son, I entrusted some work to that potter yesterday, go and tell him to do that work today." My Gosaka started on this mission, and his brother, who was playing ball, observing him bound on a journey enquired where he was going to, and Gosaka duly informed him; whereupon the brother volunteered to undertake the work, and in turn told Gosaka to make up whatever he had lost in playing. At first Gosaka dislike the idea, but on his brother insisting, Gosaka remained playing and his brother went on the errand. When the brother met the potter, the latter took him up and threw him into the oven.

Sometime afterwards Gosaka went home and the Sitana asked him whether he had gone to the potter and being intormed of what had happened, immediately went running to the potter, only to be told that he had done as he had promised him. The Sitana was overwhelmed with grief and passed his days in great misery. The Sitana committee there crimes owing to the affection he bore towards his own son.
~DHAMMAPADA ATHTHA KATHA

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