A BHOODAAN

      

                                          King Asoka was famous for his bounty. He was a real Kalpa Tree for the mendicants. Lakhs of Bhikshus reached the palace and received food and clothes from the king. He gave them gold coins too

                                         Twenty six years of his reign brought tremendous growth in the country’s wealth. So, the king decided to donate one billion gold coins to the Bhikshus. But, before completing his ‘dana’, the king fell ill.

                                    A virtuous man does not bother about the body. Good deed inspires him to overcome physical handicaps. So, the king was determined to complete his ‘dana’ by giving the balance amount to the Bhikshus.

                                      But his grandson, Sampadan, raised his objection. The officials of the finance department too supported Sampadan. They could not approve of the King’s extravagant generosity.

                                     Then the King took another decision. He had a personal possession. A precious gooseberry. The gooseberry tree had a speciality. It blossomed once in thousand years and out of thousand blossoms, only one grew into a fruit. One who eats the divine fruit will live for thousand years. Hence it was called ‘Arul gooseberry’.

                                     Though the king heard his death-knell, he was not prepared to save his life by eating the fruit. He knew that longevity is curse for a King. It is better for Kings to have a short span of life. So the King decided to give Arul gooseberry to the Bhikshus.

                                     When Radhagupthan, the Minister, heard about the King’s decision, he tried to prevent him. He persuaded the King to eat the fruit and save his own life. But the King believed that it is better to be a lightning that has a short but bright life than to be a stone on the road trampled by pedestrians for thousands of years. So, without yielding to the Minister’s temptation, the King gave the fruit to the Bhikshus. He completed his ‘dana’ by giving away his land to the Buddha Sangha.

                                     At this juncture, Sampadan came forward to help his grandfather. He gave four crores worth of gold to the Bhikshus and got back the land. Thus the King’s mission was fulfilled. The bounty was completed. 

O

Prof. C. Chandramathy.