It was the custom for the heir to the throne of the kingdom of Ava to be
placed, while young, in a monastery with the priests, to be instructed
in a manner suitable to the position that he was destined to occupy.
Prince Min Goung, while a boy, was put under the special care of the
Phoongyee Shin Ah Tah Thaya--a prudent and learned man, who gave all his
time and wisdom to his pupil.
Min Goung was of a proud and wilful nature, and one who would not
willingly bend his haughty head to any yoke, however light and silken.
One day his reverend teacher punished him, for persistent bad writing,
somewhat severely--an act which he regretted afterwards, thinking,
perhaps, that he had been over harsh.
Time passed away. The King died, and the young Prince was crowned. Then
the priest began to fear that his former pupil might do him some harm,
for he imagined that he had never forgiven him the liberty he had taken
in chastising him. So he quitted his retreat, and fled to Prome for
safety. Disliking his enforced banishment, he determined to write and
crave for pardon; and in the course of his long appeal, written on palm
leaves, was the following story:--
"There was a king of Bayanathee, learned and merciful, who had a hundred
sons, each of whom, when old enough, was given into the hands of a
carefully selected instructor to be taught those subjects for which he
had the greatest taste. When each was grown up and had completed his
education, he was appointed a governor of a portion of the royal
dominions; and so ninety-nine of the Princes had been educated and been
presented to the King and received their appointments. Prince Thanwara
was the youngest of them, and was taken care of by a distinguished
minister, who began and continued his instruction in a way that was very
suitable to the quick natural intelligence of the boy; and when the time
came for Thanwara to go to his father, his teacher accompanied him.
"When they came before the King--who was seated on a throne of silver
and agate, with golden doors behind him--he asked his son if he had
learnt and completed the same course of studies as his elder brothers,
and the young Prince answered him--
"'I am sufficiently qualified, sire, to take upon me the same duties and
responsibilities as those of my brothers who have gone before.'
"The King was satisfied with the reply; and then, after a while, the
Prince and his tutor returned to their home.
"Talking to the tutor before he slept, Thanwara said--
"'If the King my father offers me the same position as he has bestowed
on my brothers, will it be well with me to accept it?'
"The teacher made answer thus--
"'If a man, O Prince, desires to partake of the Bandaya fruit, which
only grows in Nirvana, can he obtain it from its tree from the distance
of a hundred yujanas (eight hundred miles), or would he rather not stand
under the tree and take the fruit with a hooked bamboo? In the same
way, if you wish to sit on the throne it is best for you not to go from
here, but to remain in the shadow of the palace.'
"The prince listened, and then, when he had heard to the end, he said--
"'Then, my teacher, when to-morrow I go before my father, and he asks me
my desires, what shall I make reply?'
"'Ask of him to bestow on you the rents of the bazaars and the produce
or the royal gardens within the city gates.'
"'Of what benefit would such be to me?'
"'The greatest benefit, my son. For those who have money have power, of
which truth I will give you an illustration:--
"'A timid doe in the forest, when it once sees a leopard, will fly, and
hiding carefully, will not venture to stir out again for many days and
nights; but on the other hand, retiring as it is by nature, it will, if
a person constantly feed it, so far lose its timidity as to approach him
and take from his hand. Therefore, my son, if you give presents often to
the favourites and the advisers of the King, you will gain their
confidence and their liking.'
"On the following day, when the Prince reached the palace, and his
father asked him to name the province that he wished to govern, he
answered thus:--
"'My brothers have all gone from you to distant parts of the world to
guard over your vast possessions; let me then remain here to be your
Majesty's attendant, and render you that care and assistance in
sickness, in health, and in trouble, or any other trial, that affection
can alone offer.'
"The old King was pleased, and granted unhesitatingly what he was
asked.
"From that day forth Thanwara received the rents and profits of the
bazaars and gardens, and took up his residence near the throne, in the
white palace of his father.
"Gradually his winning manners, his deference to his elders, his many
thoughtful and beautiful gifts, and, lastly, his own piety and learning,
gained for him the first place in the hearts of those who were about the
Court.
"So the years fled away, and were counted with the past.
"But when the tenth year was young, the King's health failed him; he
felt that the sands of his life were nearly run. So about him he
gathered his ministers and advisers. After they had expressed their
sympathy and regret at finding him ill, they inquired which of all his
sons he would best like to wear his crown when he was gone.
"The dying King raised himself from the low couch on which he was
reclining, and, propped by many cushions, answered their question in
this wise:
"'A hermit was one day coming from his lonely Himalayan abode through a
forest. Over his head, as a sunshade, he had an enormous flower, called
the kakayu mala, which is found, as you are aware, only in the Nāt
Country, and its fragrance reached to the distance of one yujana (eight
miles). On his way he encountered four fairies, each of whom saw and
coveted the blossom. They all in turn asked him for it, but he said, in
reply to their request, "I can only give it to the most virtuous and the
most excellent of you all."
"'Whereupon each protested, all contending for the honour.
"'But the hermit, who was discreet and prudent, said, "How can I, who
have no means to judge, decide? To me you all seem worthy of it, equally
charming, and deserving in all respects, therefore had I four flowers I
would divide them gladly between you; but as there is but one, and that
one incapable of division, we will refer the matter to the King of the
Nāt Country, who has the all-discerning eye."
"'So they went.
"'They had not to travel far before they came to his green and gracious
kingdom.
"'They made straight for the beautiful ivory palace where the King
dwelt, and were ushered into where he sat on his throne, composed
entirely of the very flowers.
"'He inquired what brought them before him.
"'They told him. Then he thought for a little time, while they waited at
a distance. When he called them to him and said--
"'"There is a rahan residing in the Kisokok Mountains to whom I will
present a golden pineapple; then the four of you shall go and seek him
and ask him for it. The person whom he shall give the golden apple to,
that person shall be the most worthy in every way to be the recipient of
the flower."
"'They thanked him, withdrew, and started for the Kisokok Mountains.
"'When they arrived there the rahan requested each fairy to take up her
position according to the four directions of the earth--north, south,
east and west--which they did, while each clamoured for the prize.
"'Then the rahan asked them their names, to which the eldest replied,
"Thada" ("Charity"); the second, "Thati" ("Peace"); the third, "Hiri"
("Modesty"); the fourth, "Ootoppa" ("Virtue").
"'When the rahan heard he gave the golden apple into the hands of
Ootoppa, saying, as her name represented, she was the most deserving.
Then she went to the hermit, who presented her with the beautiful
flower, and from that moment she was esteemed the most virtuous and most
excellent of all women in the Nāt Country.
"'Therefore,' continued the old King, addressing the ministers around
him, 'you must be the hermit in this case.'
"Before that day was over he was dead, and was interred with great
honours and many lamentations.
"Then the advisers, with no delay and no hesitation, elected Prince
Thanwara to succeed his father; but when the news reached the other sons
in their distant territories they were filled with wrath. The second
sent to his elder brother a letter, in which he said that the ministers
of their late father were weak and corrupt, and very wanting in
foresight in allowing themselves to be persuaded into placing the
youngest of all on the throne, thereby disregarding the principle of the
ancient rule of succession; for (continued he) in the Ahrottaya Country
there was a King who had three children, two sons and a daughter, born
of the chief Queen. When the eldest son was sixteen years of age the
Queen died. The second Queen thereupon became chief, by whom the King
had a son, and when that son reached eight years of age the King was
bitten by a snake, a fact which frightened him greatly. The Queen,
however, who was quick to think and very brave, sucked the poison from
the bite. The King, being filled with gratitude, asked her to make any
request that she liked, which he would grant, whereupon she immediately
begged that her son might be selected as the heir to the throne, and to
her inexpressible satisfaction the King gave his consent.
"A while later his Majesty sent for Narada, a soothsayer, who was asked
to calculate his term of life. Narada told him that he would live twelve
more years. The King then sent for his three children by the dead queen
and acquainted them with the soothsayer's prophecy, telling them at the
same time that they must quit the Court and find a home elsewhere for
twelve years.
"Sorrowing greatly, they obeyed. After nine years the King died of grief
for the absence of the children that he had sent from him.
"The Queen lost no time in scheming to put the crown upon her son's
head. But the chief minister opposed her, saying that the eldest boy
still lived and could not be put aside.
"Then he took the crown and all the insignia of royalty, and with many
attendants and great state travelled to where the eldest son resided,
and offered the throne to him.
"The Prince met him with the argument that the King's commands extended
to twelve years, and that, as only nine had elapsed, his step-brother
must reign for three years. Then he gave the minister a pair of
slippers, worked with wheat, to give to his half-brother, with the
direction that they were to be placed on the judgment-seat, declaring,
as he did so, that if any decision is illegal or contrary to the right,
the slippers would of themselves rise and touch each other as a protest.
"'Wherefore,' continued the brother's epistle, 'as the ministers have
not paid you the respect of deferring to you in the matter, we should
prepare to go to war with Thanwara.' The elder brother, on receiving the
above, addressed a letter to his youngest brother, in which he requested
him to surrender the crown or to prepare for hostilities.
"Prince Thanwara sought the advice of his chief minister in his
perplexity, and he told him that, according to religion, he must not
oppose his elder brother.
"'Then,' asked Thanwara, 'what am I to do?'
"The chief minister answered: 'Divide all the property in the kingdom
into one hundred shares, and give each equally.'
"And it was accordingly done, upon which the eldest brother, being quite
content, left the youngest in the possession of the throne, saying that
a hundred kings could not reign in one country, and that, if they tried,
it would be for the woe of the people.
"So all the brothers went back to their own in peace and amity."
* * * * *
When the King of Ava read the priest's letter, he was so well pleased
with the narrative that he sent a messenger to him, and appointed him
head of the ecclesiastical body, with a residence near the palace.