Campeyya-Jataka– The Serpent King – No 5O6

After this speech he took the Great Being out of his basket. The Serpent King came forth and crept into a flower, where he put off his shape and reappeared in the form of a young man magnificently arrayed: there he stood, as though he had cleft the earth and come through. And down from the sky came Sumana and stood beside him. The Serpent King stood reverently joining his hands in respect to the king.

To make all clear, the Master recited two stanzas:

The Serpent King Campeyyaka addressed the King, now free:
O King of Kasi fostering lord, all honour now to thee!
I do thee reverence, ere I go again my home to see.
Superhuman beings may Hardly win belief, they say.
If you speak the truth, O Serpent,
Where's your palace? Show the way.

But the Great Being, to make him believe, swore an oath as follows in these two stanzas:

Should the wind move mountains high,
Moon and sun fall from the sky,
Flow upstream the running rivers, I O King! could never lie.

Split the Sky, the sea run dry, Bounteous mother earth awry
Crumblings roll, uproot Mount Meru,
Yet, O King, I could not lie!

But notwithstanding this assurance he still disbelieved the Great Being, and said-

Superhuman beings may
Hardly win belief, they say .
lf you speak the truth, O Serpent!
Where's your palace ? Show the way.

Again he repeated the same stanza, adding,"You must be grateful for the good deeds wrought by me: whether I should believe you to be right or not, however, that is for me to decide." This he made clear in the next stanza:

Deadly envenomed, full of might,
Quick in quarrel, shining bright,
You are freed by me from prison:
Then is gratitude my right.

The Great Being made oath thus to win his belief:

He that will no thanks return,
Happiness should never learn:
He should die in basket-prison,
He in horrid hell should burn!'

Now the king believed him, and thanked him thus:

As that vow of thine is true,
Anger flee and hate eschew:
As we flee the fire in summer
May the roe-birds flee from you!

The Great Being too on his part said another stanza meaning to thank the king:

As a mother would have done
To an only well-loved son,
You are kind to all the serpents:
We will serve you, every one.