﻿vom 14. Januar 1869. 43 



Dhammapadam ] ) eine Legende von einem Kaufmann aus Kau- 

 pdmbi an, welcher, unter verschiedenen Versuchen, seinen natür- 

 lichen Sohn Ghosika, auf den er einen Hafs geworfen, aus dem 

 Wege zu räumen, auch zu dem Mittel schreitet, ihn an seinen 

 Aufseher über 100 grdma mit einem Briefe zu senden des In- 

 halts, dafs derselbe ihn tödten und in eine Grube werfen solle. 

 Der junge Mensch übernachtet unterwegs und die Tochter seiner 

 Wirthsleute zerstört den Brief, den sie aus Neugier geöffnet 

 hat, und schreibt einen andern, über dessen Inhalt leider nichts 

 angegeben wird 2 ). Wenn nun auch aus der Dürftigkeit dieser 

 Notiz nicht erhellt, ob die Änderung des Briefes etwa gar auch 

 bereits in der Weise stattfindet, dafs der unschuldige Träger 

 seiner eignen Todesbotschaft statt des Todes ein Mädchen zur 

 Frau gewinnt, wenn ferner auch die Verhältnisse im Übrigen 

 erheblich differiren, so ist es doch wenigstens theils auch 



2 ) in Fausböll's Auszügen daraus in seiner Ausgabe des Dhamma- 

 padam findet sich nichts Entsprechendes vor. 



2 ) Die Stelle lautet in wörtlicher Übersetzung bei d' Alwis, wie folgt: 

 »Such being the case, the Setthi could not see him füll (in the face). 

 Pondering how he might cause his death and divising a means, viz. „that 

 he would kill him by sending him to the Superintendent of his Hundred 

 estates", he wrote to him a leaf as follows: „This is my unfortunate son. 

 Kill him and put him into the cess-pool. When that shali have been af- 

 fected, I shall know how to recompense my Unele" [a term of respect 

 even to an underling], and said „Son Ghosika, there is a Superintendant 

 in our Hundred estates; take this letter and give it to him." So saying 

 he tied the letter to the end of his (son's) garments. He was illiterate. . . . 

 [The story then proceeds to narrate, that Ghosika, on his way to the 

 Estates, fook lodgings at the house of another Setthi; and that his 

 daughter, who heard that the stranger had something tied to his garments], 

 thinking what it could be, cäme down whilst Ghosika was asleep, and 

 unperceived by her parents, who were elsewhere engaged. Having un- 

 tied (the knot) and secured the leaf, she entered her own room; where, 

 after closing the door, and opening the window, she, who was clever in 

 letters, read the epistle. [That donejshe exclaimed „Alas! this blind 

 idiot goes about with his own death Warrant tied to his garments. If 

 it had not been seen by me, he would (surely) forfeit his life. a So 

 saying, she destroyed that letter, and substituted (wrote) another, as if 

 it had come from the Setthi [lit. in the language of the Setthi].* 



