Cariyāpiṭaka 30

The Conduct Leading to Buddhahood

The Chapter With Yudhañjaya

The Perfection of Truth (4th)

The Fish King’s Conduct

1 “Then again when I was

a fish king in a great lake,

in the heat of the sun

the water in the lake evaporated.

2 Then crows and vultures,

herons, hawks, and falcons,

perched near the fish

and devoured them day and night.

3 There I had the following thought,

being harassed with my relatives:

‘By what means

can I free my relatives from this suffering?’

4 Considering the value of the Dhamma,

I saw the truth as a support.

Standing in the truth,

I freed my relatives from that holocaust.

5 Recollecting the true Dhamma,

considered the ultimate goal,

I made a declaration of truth

that would last eternally in the world.

6 ‘So long as I can recall myself,

since I became aware,

I do not recall deliberately

harming even a single living creature.

7 By this declaration of truth,

may Pajjuna rain down!

Thunder forth, Pajjuna!

Disperse the trove of the crow!

Subject the crow to sorrow,

and free the fish from sorrow!’

8 As this excellent truth was declared,

Pajjuna thundered forth.

In an instant the rain poured down,

soaking the uplands and valleys.

9 Having made such supreme effort

for this excellent truth,

I made the great cloud pour down,

relying on the force of the power of truth.

There is no one to equal my truthfulness:

this is my perfection of truth.”