|
Once Brahmadatta, king of Benares, saw from his
window a fat and badly dressed woman relieving nature modestly and decently as
she passed the courtyard of the palace when pressing need came upon her. The
king was pleased with her quickness and decency, and having sent for her made
her his chief queen. Their son became a Cakkavatti.
The story was told in reference to the fat wife of a Licchavi prince. The
monks expressed surprise that he should love her, but the Buddha pointed out
that she was healthy and cleanly in her house (J.i.420 ff).
In the course of the Jātaka, the woman is referred to as a bāhiyā, which the
scholiast explains by bahijanapadavāsī. Bāhiya here, therefore, probably means
"rustic."

|