Funday Times

This article is part of a continuing series on the ‘Mahavamsa’, the recorded chronicle of Sri Lankan history

Curing a snake
1. King Buddhadasa spoke to the snake. "O snake, I have diagnosed your ailment. I can cure it. But you being a powerful one, I know you can be poisonous. This boil in your stomach has to be removed. When I attempt to do it, you are sure to suffer severe pain. When in pain, you may sting me in anger. So what am I to do now?"

2. The snake listened to the king. He glanced innocently at the king and put his head into the ant-hill, leaving the body out. He stayed still. The king understood the snake's intention. The king approached the snake, took an instrument he was carrying with him, slit open the boil and applied medicine. The snake was cured. As a gift of gratitude, the snake gave the 'Jewel' (Naga Manikya) to the king. The king kept this jewel in the Abhayagiri temple.

3. The king got a Buddha statue carved out of stone and for the eyes of this statue, he used the jewel. The people commended the king's action. During this time, a certain monk went begging for alms in the village of 'Thusavati'. It was a village where very poor people lived. What the monk got as alms was only a little curd, which was badly spoilt. There were even tiny worms in it. The monk partook of this curd and developed a severe stomach upset. He was suffering in pain.

4. This monk came to the king for help. The king, at that moment, was treating a horse. He soon stopped that and saw what was wrong with the priest. The king immediately diagnosed the case and asked the priest what food would have given him this stomach ache. The priest narrated all that had happened. The king pondered for a moment. He instructed the priest to lie down for a while. The king went and got a little blood from one of the veins of the horse and gave this to the priest to drink as medicine.

5. Without knowing what it was, the priest gulped it down his throat. A little while later the king spoke to the monk and said that it was horse-blood that he drank. The monk felt an uneasiness, on hearing this. He began to throw out. All the dirt that was in the curd he had eaten came out and the monk felt greatly relieved. He was fully cured. There is another anecdote where a man has mistakenly drunk some water containing tiny serpent eggs. After a few days, serpents started growing inside his stomach. The stomach was unusually enlarged and he was in terrible pain.

6. He too came to see King Buddhadasa. After asking a few questions from this man, the king was able to diagnose the ailment. He was treated accordingly and was completely cured. He blessed the king and went back. There is mention of another case where a woman, from the Chandala village of Hellioli was suffering from a severe ailment. The king went in search of her, treated her and cured her.

7. King Buddhadasa appointed a physician to each village. Dispensaries were put up in every village. For the maintenance of these dispensaries, income of certain villages were set apart. The king wanted this science of Medicine, to be written down, for the benefit of the future generation. The book thus compiled was named 'Sarartha Sangraha'. Upto now, it is being used by Ayurvedic physicians and it is considered a valuable book. The king also appointed a Chief Physician to a block of ten villages. It was the king's orders to give 1/20 of the income obtained from farming as payment for the Chief Physician.

8. King Buddhadasa is also well-known for building resting halls for the blind and the lame. There were preachers appointed to preach the Dhamma to them and those preachers were paid by the king. He carried his box of medicine wherever he went. As he was very kind towards animals, he appointed Veterinary doctors to cater to the sick animals. They were paid by the king.

King Buddhadasa had built a huge hall for the Mahavihara too.

Back to Mirror Magazine