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J. W. DE JONG
advice of Jivaka the physician, the monkey Nanda is sent to the Himavant mountain to fetch the herb amṛta-samjiva 20). In the Tibetan version, following the advice of Ampakarṇa, the brother of Daśagrīva, Hanumanta is sent to mount Kailasa to fetch the herb (a)mṛta-samjiva. Bailey and Bulcke have already drawn attention to the fact that both the Khotanese and the Tibetan version mention Daśagrīva's toe. According to the first, to quote Bailey's translation: "They looked to his (Daśagriva's) horoscope, 'Where is his vital point?' They saw that it was on the toe of his right foot. They said to him: 'If you are a hero to behold, stretch out to us the toe of your right foot.' He stretched out his foot. Rāma shot him with an arrow, he fell at the blow upon the earth." 21) In the Tibetan story Daśagriva makes himself invisible and Rāma defies him to show the toe of his foot. As had been told before in the story, Daśagriva is immortal as long as his first head, the head of a horse, is not struck. When Rāma sees the toe of his foot, he is able to calculate the place of his horse-head and with an arrow he cuts it off. Daśagriva then loses his magical power and falls from the sky upon the army of demons. In the Tibetan version Daśagriva's vital point is not the toe of his foot but his horse-head 22). It is obvious that this version has combined different themes: the toe of the right foot, the horse-head as vital point and finally the invisibility of Daśagrīva which reminds us of the invisibility of Indrajit in Vālmiki's Rāmāyana. The Indian original of the Tibetan version seems to have taken elements from Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa and to have combined them with stories taken form other Rāmāyaṇa recensions. Also the fact, mentioned before, that Sītā is given the name of "Found in the furrow" points in the same direction. In the Tibetan story Sita is the daughter of Daśagrīva, she is enclosed in a box and committed to the waters. In all these details, which are found also in other Rāmāyaṇa recensions, the story is quite different from Valmiki's Rāmāyaṇa. However, the finding of Sītā in a field and her name remind us again of the classical version. A parallel occurs in the Vasudevahindi. Here Sita is also the daughter of Daśagriva and enclosed in a box. However, the box is not committed to the waters but put before a plough in the park of king Janaka in Mithila. 23)
200
20) Cf. H. W. Bailey, op. cit., pp. 570 and 594.
21) H. W. Bailey, op. cit., p. 570.
22) This has not been made clear by Bulcke, cf. op. cit., p. 585.
23) Atmanand Jain Granth Ratmanfalā, Nos. 80-81, Bhavnagar, 1930-31,
p. 241.
