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could string the bow that only a thousand men can string. But again they
could find no one. Similarly, they could find no one who knew the head of
the royal square bed, or who could find the 16 treasures.
The ministers became more and more worried that they could not find a
suitable king. So they consulted the royal family priest. He said to them,
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Calm down, my friends. We will send out the royal festival carriage. The
one it stops for will be able to rule over all India.
So they decorated the carriage and yoked the four most beautiful royal
horses to it. The high priest sprinkled the carriage with holy water from a
sacred golden pitcher. He proclaimed, Now go forth, riderless carriage, and
find the worthy one with enough merit to rule the kingdom.
The horses pulled the carriage around the palace and then down the main
avenue of Mithila. They were followed by the four armies the elephants,
chariots, cavalry and foot soldiers.
The most powerful politicians of the city expected the procession to stop in
front of their houses. But instead it left the city by the eastern gate and went
straight to the mango garden. Then it stopped in front of the sacred stone
where Prince Fruitful was sleeping.
The chief priest said, Let us test this sleeping man to see if he is worthy to
be king. If he is the one, he will not be frightened by the noise of the drums
and instruments of all four armies. So they made a great clanging noise, but
the prince just turned over on his other side, remaining asleep. Then they
made the noise again, even louder. Again the prince simply rolled over from
side to side.
The head priest examined the soles of the feet of the sleeping one. He said,
This man can rule not only Mithila, but the whole world in all four
directions. So he awakened the prince and said, My lord, arise, we beg
you to be our king.
Prince Fruitful replied, What happened to your king? He died, said the
priest. Did he have any children? asked the prince. Only a daughter,
Princess Sivali, answered the priest. Then Prince Fruitful agreed to be the
new king.
The chief priest spread jewels on the sacred stone. After bathing, the prince
sat among the jewels. He was sprinkled with perfumed water from the gold
anointing bowl. Then he was crowned King Fruitful. The new king rode in
the royal chariot, followed by a magnificent procession, back to the city of
Mithila and the palace.
Princess Sivali still wished to test the king. So she sent a man to tell him she
wished him to come at once. But King Fruitful ignored him, simply
continuing to inspect the palace with its furnishings and works of art.
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The messenger told this to the princess and she sent him back two more
times with the same results. He reported back to her, This is a man who
knows his own mind, not easily swayed. He paid as little attention to your
words as we pay to the grass when we step on it!
Soon the king arrived at the throne room, where the princess was waiting.
He walked steadily up the royal staircase not hurrying, not slowing
down, but dignified like a strong young lion. The princess was so impressed
by his attitude that she went to him, respectfully gave him her hand, and led
him to the throne. He gracefully sat on the throne.
Then he asked the royal ministers, Did the previous king leave behind any
advice for testing the next king? Yes lord, they said, Whoever can
satisfy my daughter Sivali. The king responded, You have seen the
princess give me her hand. Was there another test?
They said, Whoever recognises the head of the royal square bed. The king
took a golden hairpin from his head and gave it to Princess Sivali, saying,
Put this away for me. Without thinking, she put it on the head of the bed.
As if he had not heard it the first time, King Fruitful asked the ministers to
repeat the question. When they did, he pointed to the golden hairpin.
Was there another test? asked the king. Yes lord, replied the ministers,
Whoever can string the bow that only a thousand men can string. When
they brought the bow, the king strung it without even rising from the throne.
He did it as easily as a woman bends the rod that untangles cotton for
spinning.
Are there any more tests? the king asked. The ministers said, Whoever
can find the 16 hidden treasures. These are the last tests.
What is the first on the list? he asked. They said, The first is the treasure
of the rising sun. King Fruitful realised that there must be some trick to
finding each treasure. He knew that a Silent Buddha is often compared to
the glory of the sun. So he asked, Where did the king go to meet and feed
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