The Perfection of Endurance by Prince Mahajanaka

Long ago, in the kingdom of Aritthajanaka, there was a king with two sons: Polajanaka and Aritthajanaka. A prophecy foretold that one of the sons would bring destruction to the kingdom. Trusting this prophecy, King Aritthajanaka imprisoned his younger brother Polajanaka. However, Polajanaka was innocent and had no such ill intentions toward his brother. He called upon the heavens, asking for divine intervention. He prayed: “If I am truly innocent, let my chains break and the door open.” Miraculously, his chains fell off, and the door to his prison opened, allowing him to escape.

Polajanaka fled to a distant border town where he became the local leader and earned the respect of the people. Over time, however, he began to see his brother Aritthajanaka as an enemy and decided to return to the city with an army to challenge him. He sent a message to his brother, demanding surrender or threatening destruction. The king, unwilling to yield, chose to face battle, but his subjects, seeing the righteousness in Polajanaka’s cause, rallied to his side. In the ensuing battle, King Aritthajanaka was defeated, and he died shortly afterward.

In the aftermath, the queen of King Aritthajanaka, now widowed and pregnant, was forced to flee the capital city. She disguised herself as a peasant and hid her gold and jewels in a basket of rice. Indra, the king of the gods, who knew that the unborn child in her womb was the Bodhisatta, saw her sitting along the road, distressed and without help. He decided to assist her. Disguised as an old man driving a chariot, he offered her a ride. Using his divine powers, he magically transported her on a journey of sixty leagues in one night.

In the city of Kalacampa, the queen met a renowned teacher who, impressed by the spiritual energy of the Bodhisatta in her womb, took her in and cared for her. To protect her secret, the teacher claimed that the queen was his long-lost sister. When the Bodhisatta, named Mahajanaka, was born, his royal blood was clear to all who saw him, even though he grew up fatherless. As a child, he was often taunted by others, who called him “the widow’s son.” One day, when he was still nursing, he bit his mother and demanded to know who his father was. His mother told him the truth, and from that moment, Mahajanaka no longer felt ashamed of his origins. He knew he was of royal descent, and the teasing of other children no longer bothered him.

By the time Mahajanaka was sixteen, he had grown into a wise and handsome young man. He felt ready to reclaim his father’s throne. His mother offered him her treasure to fund his journey, but he only took half of it, choosing instead to trade as he traveled. On the same day he set sail to the distant land of Suvarnabhumi to raise money through trade, his uncle—the king—fell ill and died.

While Mahajanaka was at sea, disaster struck. After seven days at sea, a storm caused the ship to sink. As the ship broke apart, the other passengers panicked, but Mahajanaka remained calm. While the other passengers prayed to their gods, Mahajanaka ate a hearty meal, smeared his body with sugar and ghee, and donned two sets of clothes soaked in oil. As the ship sank, he climbed to the top of the mast. While the waters turned red with the blood of those who had drowned, Mahajanaka, using his great physical strength, jumped 65 meters from the sinking ship and escaped. However, the king had already passed away.

For a week, Mahajanaka floated in the vast ocean, alone and with no hope of rescue. During this time, the goddess of the ocean, who was responsible for rescuing virtuous souls in distress, noticed him. She had been distracted and had forgotten to fulfill her duty. When she saw Mahajanaka, she recognized him as no ordinary mortal. She approached him, lifted him from the water, and held him gently in her arms, like a child. For seven days, Mahajanaka rested and recovered. When he had regained his strength, the goddess flew him to his family’s kingdom and laid him on a ceremonial stone in a mango grove, where the goddesses of the garden would watch over him.

Meanwhile, back in the kingdom, the king had no sons, and his brother had died in battle. On his deathbed, the king had left instructions that his successor must be someone who could pass four tests:

1. Win the approval of his daughter, the wise and beautiful Princess Sivali.
2. String the powerful bow of the king, which required the strength of a thousand men.
3. Identify which side of a square bed was the head.
4. Solve a riddle to find sixteen hidden treasures, which included the treasures of the rising sun, treasures inside and outside, and many other cryptic clues.

The advisors, hearing of the king’s wishes, began their search for the new ruler. The general was the first to meet the princess, but he failed all her tests, including being kicked in the chest when he rubbed her feet. The treasurer and other court dignitaries were also unable to pass the tests. The advisors became desperate but then remembered the king’s final instructions: Let the royal chariot be the guide.

They hitched four lotus-colored horses to the royal chariot and drove it out of the city. The chariot was guided by divine providence and circled the ceremonial stone in the mango grove where Mahajanaka lay sleeping. The chariot then stopped, signaling that Mahajanaka was the rightful heir. The royal chaplain, seeing the marks of royalty on Mahajanaka’s feet, recognized that he was destined to rule.

Mahajanaka awoke, but he did not reveal his identity. The chaplain invited him to become the king, and Mahajanaka agreed. He was crowned King Mahajanaka on the spot. When the princess heard of the new king, she called for him, but Mahajanaka, already absorbed in the duties of ruling, ignored her calls. Finally, Princess Sivali visited him and was delighted by his wisdom and majesty.

Mahajanaka, as king, quickly impressed everyone by passing the four royal tests that had been left by his late father. He solved the riddle and distributed the treasure found to the poor in five alms halls around the city. The people adored him for his generosity and wisdom.

However, despite his great success as a king, Mahajanaka understood the impermanence of material wealth and power. One day, while walking through his park, he saw two mango trees: one laden with fruit and the other barren. As he tasted a mango from the fruitful tree, he realized that the people had torn the branches from the fruitful tree in search of more fruit, while leaving the barren tree undisturbed. He saw this as a metaphor for life—having possessions often leads to misery. The fruit-bearing tree symbolized the transient nature of wealth and worldly attachments, while the barren tree represented peace and detachment.

Realizing the emptiness of worldly pleasures, Mahajanaka decided to renounce his royal glory and become an ascetic. He passed on the governance of the kingdom to his commander-in-chief and advisors and withdrew to the palace, where he lived alone, avoiding all but the servants who brought him food.

After four months of ascetic practice in the palace, Mahajanaka left the kingdom, making a final escape toward the Himalayas. His seven hundred queens and the entire city, gripped with sorrow, followed him. Queen Sivali, desperate for him to stay, even set a fire to create a false emergency, hoping to make Mahajanaka turn back. But he, now fully detached from worldly concerns, refused to return.

As Mahajanaka traveled, he encountered various signs and symbols, like the single bracelet worn by a girl sifting sand and the practice of an arrow maker closing one eye to focus. These served as metaphors for focusing on the path of enlightenment. Despite all his followers’ efforts to change his mind, Mahajanaka continued on his path of renunciation.

Finally, after much suffering, Mahajanaka reached a mystical insight in the forest, realizing the truth of the impermanence of all things. Queen Sivali, having witnessed her husband’s resolve, accepted the truth and stayed behind, overseeing the coronation of their son. She too chose the path of renunciation, following her husband’s example.

Moral of the Tale:

The Mahajanaka Jataka teaches the perfection of endurance (viriya). Mahajanaka’s perseverance through hardship, his unwavering commitment to renouncing worldly power and pleasure, and his ultimate realization of the fleeting nature of material wealth all exemplify the ideal of endurance in the pursuit of spiritual liberation. His strength and wisdom illustrate the importance of enduring trials without attachment, understanding that true peace comes from letting go of worldly desires.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha:

The Buddha, hearing his disciples praise his own Great Renunciation, shared this story to show that he had cultivated the perfections through many lives, including as King Mahajanaka. The figures of the goddess of the ocean, the two ascetics, the girl with the bracelets, and the arrow maker were all earlier births of important disciples like Uppalavanna, Sariputta, Moggallana, Khema, and Ananda.

This Jataka is a powerful tale of strength, resilience, and renunciation, emphasizing the transformative power of endurance in the pursuit of enlightenment.