me: I will take the religious life so that the kingdom does not make me dark as Rahu does the moon's orb": and so taking the moon's orb seized by Rahu as my theme, I forsook my great kingdom and took the religious life." "Master, were you king of Gandhara?" [366] "Yes, I was." "Master, I was the king Videha in the kingdom of Videha and city of Mithila: were we not friends though we never saw each other?" "What was your theme?" "I heard that you had taken the religious life and thinking, "Surely he has seen the good of that life," I took you as my theme, and leaving my kingdom took the religious life." From that time they were exceedingly intimate and friendly, and lived on fruits only. After a long time's dwelling there they came down from Himalaya for salt and vinegar, and came to a frontier village. The people, being pleased with their deportment, gave them alms and taking a promise made for them houses for the night and the like in the forest, and made them dwell there, and built by the road a room for taking their meals in a pleasant watered spot. They, after going their rounds for alms in the frontier village, sat and ate the alms in that hut of leaves and then went to their dwelling-house. The people who gave them food one day put salt on a leaf and gave it them, another day gave them saltless food. One day they gave them a great deal of salt in a leaf basket. The ascetic of Videha took the salt, and coming gave enough to the Bodhisatta at the meal time and took to himself the proper measure: then putting up the rest in a leaf basket he put it in a roll of grass, saying, "This will do for a saltless day." Then one day when saltless food was received, the man of Videha, giving the alms-food to the man of Gandhara, took the salt from the roll of grass and said, "Master, take salt." "The people gave no salt to-day, where have you got it?" "Master, the people gave much salt one day before: then I kept what was over, saying, "This will do for a saltless day." "Then the Bodhisatta chid him, saying, "O foolish man, you forsook the kingdom of Videha, three hundred leagues in extent, took the religious life and attained freedom from attachments, and now you get a desire for salt and sugar." And so admonishing him he spoke the first stanza:--

[367] Villages full sixteen thousand with their wealth you threw away,
Treasuries with wealth in plenty: and you're hoarding here to-day!

Videha, being thus chidden, did not endure the chiding but became estranged, saying, "Master, you see not your own fault, though you see mine; did you not leave your kingdom and become religious, saying, "Why should I admonish another? I will admonish myself alone": why then are you now admonishing me?" So he spoke the second stanza:--