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to a son in those pitiable surroundings. The queen had nobody to help her and the child was crying helpless in the pitch-dark night on the cremation ground. It is said that one of the devatās, taking pity on the queen, assumed the form of one of her attendants in the palace and did service to her. Just then one of the merchants of the city carrying his dead child to be buried came there. There he met the beautiful child Jivaka which was left alone by his mother at the advice of the devatā. The merchant, by name Kandukkaḍan, was very much pleased at the sight of the royal baby which he recognised as such from the ring in the child's finger and took the live baby, the royal child, back to his house and gave it back to his wife, saying that her child was not dead. His wife gladly accepted this gift from her husband and brought him up thinking it her own. This child was Jivaka, the hero of our story.
A. CHAKRAVARTI :
The queen Vijayā, accompanied by the devatā, went to Daṇḍakāraṇya where she assumed the form of a female ascetic and stayed in a tāpasa-āśrama. Jivaka was brought up in the merchant's house with a number of his cousins. As a youth he was educated by one Accaṇandi-ācārya and also learnt archery and other arts requisite for a prince. The guru who was attracted by the ability of his student one day narrated to him the tragic story of his royal family and took a promise from the youthful prince that he should not rush to revenge and recover his state till the expiry of one complete year. After getting this promise from the youthful disciple, the guru blessed the prince that he
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