112. The Dilemma of Princess Amarā (The Dilemma of the Hidden Road, The Dilemma of the Maiden)

This dilemma will be found too in the MahāUmmagga-Jātaka [No. 546].

[When the Enlightenment Being was born as the erudite Mahosadha, he was given a number of riddles to solve by the populace. Then he was summoned to the royal palace, where he took up residence. While living there and serving the king, he became sixteen years of age and grew into a handsome youth.]

The king’s queen, Queen Udumbara, thought, “The Enlightenment Being, who is like a brother, has become a youth. He has plenty of wealth. Now it is time to bring an appropriate wife from a family of similar rank. She mentioned this to the king. On hearing this news, the king became very happy and said, “That is good, indeed, my sweetheart. Tell him the news.”

The queen told this to the Enlightenment Being. He accepted the proposal. She asked him, “Brother, if such is the case, shall we bring princesses that are appropriate to your standing from different places?” The Enlightenment Being thought, “The maidens brought to me by her may not fulfill my requirements. Therefore, first I will go and find someone myself who is appropriate.” He said, “Your grace, I will go away for a few days and look myself for a suitable wife. Do not tell the king the reason I have gone away. I will select a maiden whom I like, and I will inform you first. The queen agreed, saying, “Yes, my younger brother. Do as you like.” The Enlightenment Being, after kneeling in front of her, went back to his residence. He informed his friends and household of his impending journey and its purpose. Disguised as a tailor, and taking a tailor’s tools, he left alone through the northern gate and set out for the central northern village.

At that time, there was a poor family that had been wealthy in the past. All who had seen the only daughter in that family considered her to be beautiful. She was endowed with all female charms and virtues owing to her merits in her past lives. She was beautiful like a female form drawn on a cloth.

One morning, she was carrying gruel to her father who was ploughing the family’s field. She set forth on the same road on which the Enlightenment Being was walking. When he saw her approach, he thought, “This girl is beautiful, and is endowed with all female charms. If she does not have a husband, she would make a good wife for me.”

The maiden Amarā, on seeing the Enlightenment Being, thought, “If I can have such a one as my husband, I may be able to bear a noble family that can earn much wealth and thereby restore the wealth of my family.”

The Enlightenment Being thought, “As I do not know whether or not she has a husband, I will question her with a hand gesture. If she is wise enough to understand my hand gesture, she will reply.” Thinking so, he made his hand into a fist and raised it, while still at a distance from her.

On seeing this, Amarādevī thought, “This man asked me whether or not I have a husband.” She spread out her fingers. The Enlightenment Being understood that she was unmarried, and approaching her, he asked, “Damsel, what is your name?” “Master, if there be one in this world who never existed in the past, never exists in the future, and who is not now existing, that is my name.”

Then he said, “Dear maiden, as there is no immortal being [amara] in the world, your name should be Amarā. Is that so?”

She said, “Yes, sir.”

And he asked, “To whom are you carrying this gruel?”

She said, “I am carrying it to my foremost god.”

Then he said, “Ah, you are carrying gruel to your father?”

She said, “Yes, sir.”

And he asked, “What is your father doing?”

“He is making one thing into two.”

“To make one thing into two is to plough.

Is he ploughing, dear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where is your father ploughing?”

She said, “Sir, if somebody goes to a place and he or she does not return, he is ploughing in such a place.”

Then he said, “If somebody goes somewhere, and he or she does not come back from there, such a place is a cemetery. Is he ploughing at a cemetery?”

Then she said,

“Yes, sir.”

Then Mahosadha asked her, “My dear, will you come back today or tomorrow?”

Then she said, “Sir, if it comes, I will not come. If it does not come, then I will come.”

Then the Enlightenment Being said, “Beautiful one, does your father plough on the other side of a river? Because from what I understand, you said that if the river floods you will not be able to come. And if it does not flood, then you will come.”

Then she said, “Yes, my lord.”

This is the discussion they had. Amarādevī requested him to accept some gruel, saying, “Sir, would you like some gruel?”

The Enlightenment Being thought, “It is not good to reject this first invitation.” And he said, “Alright. I would like to drink a little.”

Then she took the container down from on top of her head and placed it on the ground. The Enlightenment Being thought, “If she hands me gruel without washing the cup and offering me water first, then I will leave her here and will go.”

But Amarādevī rinsed the cup, filled it with water that she offered to him, and then took back the empty cup. She placed it on the ground instead of leaving it in his hand, stirred the container of gruel, filled the cup with gruel, and then gave it back into his hand.

As it happened, there was very little rice in the gruel. The Enlightenment Being said, “My dear, when the rice was growing in your field, it did not get enough water. [Because of this, it has not puffed up in the cooking.]”

She said, “Yes, sir.”

Amarādevī, leaving enough gruel for her father, fed the Enlightenment Being sufficiently with gruel.

After drinking the gruel, he washed his mouth and said, “Sweet lady, I would like to go to your home. Tell me the way.”

Then she said, “Very well. Go this way into the inner village and then you will see a restaurant where they sell Aggala. Pass it, and go further ahead. Then you will see a restaurant where they sell gruel. Pass that too and go further ahead, and you will see a coral tree in full blossom. When you reach that tree, take the road that turns toward the hand with which you eat. Do not take the road that turns toward the hand with which you do not eat. In other words, do not go left. Turn right, and go further. Then you will see our Middle Village where my parents’ house is. In a roundabout way I am telling you the way to my parents’ home.”

The moral: “Both men and women can be wise.”

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