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Story of the Cakravartin Sanatkumāra
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He exclaimed: • Alas, in the world all is perishable: beauty, youth, and brilliance; no one craves a pudding mixed with poison.' He placed his imperial diadem upon his son, took the vow with the Guru Vinayamdhara, and wandered forth into homelessness. His people followed him on his way for six months, but he did not look upon them even with a lion's glance 58 (1213).
It came to pass that, after a fast of two days and a half, he was given porridge with goat's buttermilk, after which he fasted again for two days and a half. Owing to this regimen he was afflicted by seven diseases: scab, fever, cough, asthma, nausea, 54 opthalmia, and pain in the body, which he bore for seven hundred years, while performing the severest austerities. Owing to this, he obtained the power to cure diseases, but, even thus, he did not apply any remedy to his own body. Again he was praised by Indra in Sāudharma, and the same two gods (Vijaya and Vāijayanta), having assumed the guise of two Çabara physicians,65 went before him, and offered to remove his diseases. Then he rubbed his finger with his spittle, and made it bright as gold, 56 and said: 'Ah, if you are true doctors, then do'ye quickly cure the disease whose name is Samsāra.' They replied, that the deepseated disease Samsāra they could not cure; that he him
8 sinhåvalokana, the lion's backward look.'
04 annåruci: Kathăkoça, p. 36, reads annăruci; the Pråkrit version bhatta. chando. The last two seem to mean the opposite, namely, 'morbid appetite. But Prakrit bhattachanda may be Skt. bhakta + achanda, and aruci is the medical term for lack of appetite.' It seems, therefore, that Parcva nátha has the right word, and that Kathakoca is to be corrected accordingly.
Wandering village doctors; they occur also in Samarādityasanksepa 6. 402.
* To show that he might cure himself, if so disposed, see additional note 6, on p. 187.
