No. 28.— 1884.] first fifty jatakas. 



169 



who would strike their neighbours when they meant to strike a 

 mosquito," established the connection and summed up the birth- 

 story by saying, The wise merchant who uttered the stanza and 

 went away was I myself." 



(End of the "Mosquito" Birth-Story.) 



45.— "ROHINI" BIRTH-STORY. 



" Better a wise Enemy" fyc. 

 This the teacher told while residing in Jetavana on occasion of 

 a slave woman of the nobleman Anathapindika's. Anathapindika, 

 the story goes, had a slave named Rohini. She was once pound- 

 ing rice when her aged mother came to the place and sat down. 

 The flies came about her and bit her as if they were running 

 needles into her. She said to her daughter : u My girl, the flies 

 are biting me ; drive them off." She said, " I will mother," and 

 raising the pestle, thinking " I will kill and destroy the flies on 

 my mother's body," struck her mother with the pestle, and killed 

 her. Seeing that, she began to cry, "O mother! mother"! 

 They told this event to the nobleman. The nobleman having 

 performed the funeral rites for her, went and told the whole story 

 to the teacher. The teacher said : " This is not the first time, 

 householder, that this woman, thinking to kill flies on her mother's 

 body, has killed her mother with a blow of her pestle ; in a former 

 birth she did the same ; and at his request he told the story of 

 the past. 



In past time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the 

 Bodhisat was born in a nobleman's family, and on his father's 

 death succeeded to the family honours. He, too, had a slave named 

 Rohini. She also, when her mother came and sat where she was 

 pounding rice, when told l< Daughter, drive away the flies," in 

 exactly the same way struck her mother with the pestle and 

 killed her, and began to cry. The Bodhisat, when he heard of it> 

 thinking " Even an enemy if he is wise is better in this world," 

 uttered this stanza : — 



" Better a sensible enemy 



Than a fool, however kind he be ; 



Look at silly Rohini, 



She's killed her mother, and sore weeps she !" 



The Bodhisat, in praise of the wise man, discoursed religion in 

 this stanza. 



The teacher, after relating this religious discourse to illustrate 

 what he had said, " This is not the first time, householder, that 

 this woman, meaning to kill flies, has killed her mother ; she did 



