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THE SUTRA STORY Episode 3 Prince Virudhaka's Anger - The End of the Shakyas -
THE SUTRA STORY Prince Virudhaka's Anger - The End of the Shakyas -
About 2500 years ago,
in northern India, there was a prosperous kingdom called Kosala.
Its capital was Savatthi.
Let me go there.
No.
Mother, please.
No way.
Why?
Why don't you allow me to visit your home town? Please tell me.
The two people who were arguing were the queen and the prince of Kosala.
Being strongly opposed by the queen,
Prince Virudhaka complained to King Pasenadi.
Father,
is my maternal grandfather really an elder of the Shakyas?
Of course.
His name is Mahanama.
He has the noblest blood among the Shakyas.
Father,
but I've never met him,
and he has never written me any letter nor given me any present.
That's true.
I miss him a lot.
I really wish to meet my grandpa...
...and enjoy the family union.
I also want to have a look at the city Kapilavastu...
...where my mother grew up.
Father, please,
please allow me to go to Kapilavastu.
All right.
My King!
What's wrong? What're you worrying about?
Nothing...
I just think the journey is too dangerous.
In this case...
General.
Yes.
- You escort the prince there. - Aye.
General Karayana is the best one in my army.
He will be protecting the prince directly.
Now you should set your mind at rest,
my queen.
Yes, I do.
I'll prepare a munificent greeting gift for you.
You can take off tomorrow afternoon.
Yes.
Beside the joy of the prince was the big worry of the queen.
The queen sent a letter to Kapilavastu, said,
"The prince is going to visit Kapilavastu,
please don't let him know about the secret of the past.
Please."
The next day,
Prince Virudhaka left the palace, passed the Jetavana Vihara outside Savatthi.
Ah, Buddha.
Shakyamuni Buddha was dwelling there with his disciples at the time.
Are you travelling?
Yes. I'm going to go to Kapilavastu,
visit my grandfather and my relatives.
I heard that you were also born in Kapilavastu.
You were the prince there, right?
That was quite a long time ago.
I haven't seen elder Mahanama for a long time.
Please give him my regards.
Have a nice journey.
Yes.
I must take my leave.
He is pretty frank and straight-out.
Straight trees break easily.
He has a violent temper.
I hope nothing bad will happen to him in the future.
Prince, we're about to get to Kapilavastu.
The prince and his procession arrived in Kapilavastu at last.
Headed by Mahanama,
the elders of Shakyas gave them the reception.
But...
Are you my grandfather?
Yes, prince.
I'm your grandson.
Finally we met!
Welcome!
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
How do you do.
How do you do.
I'm greeting you,
but why didn't I get any response?
Please tell me!
That's because they are all noble elders and are not used to greet young people.
Where're the young people then?
I've been looking forward to meet my cousins.
Unfortunately, they happened to be on an outing in the country side.
On an outing?
They knew about my coming and went out?
Anyway, have a rest first.
A feast is already prepared for you.
I want to go back.
Ok.
They are all impolite guys.
It's not fun at all.
So hateful.
You're right.
It's so dirty. Clean it up, quickly.
The floor was stained by the son of a slave woman.
The prince is a son of a slave woman?
Is that true?
Yes, it is.
The young people went to the country side just to avoid meeting a slave.
Didn't you get it?
Damn it.
Please restraint, prince.
How could I do nothing to those words!
Probably they were not joking.
What?
It's better to get back first and ask the queen.
Let's think about how to deal with this issue later.
All right.
Damn.
Even if it would be true that I was a son of a slave,
I am still the prince of Kosala.
How could they humiliate me like that!
I have to get even with them sooner or later.
Is that true, mother?
Tell him it's not.
Do tell.
It's true.
My mother and I are both slaves.
What're you talking about?
The queen revealed the secret of the past at last.
When King Pasenadi was young,
he conquered a lot of countries.
He wanted have the noblest princess to be his wife.
So he ordered the Shakyas to send their princess.
The elders of Shakyas were very unwilling to do it,
because King Pasenadi didn't have noble blood.
He would stain their lineage if he married their princess.
But they couldn't reject the king's order.
How to deal with it then?
Mahanama came up with an idea.
He had a daughter with a slave.
She could be sent to the king.
The slave girl's name was Vasavakhattiya.
She was a celestial beauty.
The other elders were quite in favor of this plan.
They dressed Vasavakhattiya gorgeously and sent her to Kosala.
King Pasenadi fell in love with her at the first sight.
He made her the queen and favored her a lot afterwards.
They cheated me!
They fooled me!
Damn the Shakyas!
And you too!
You cheated me with your beautiful face.
You have been fooling me and my citizens all the time.
Please forgive me, my king.
Unforgivable!
You both are no longer queen and prince.
Get back to what you were!
You are slaves from tomorrow.
Move to the slave hut and finish your work every day!
Whatever is fine with me.
Please forgive the prince.
Shut up.
It's not his fault.
Get off!
The son by a slave is also a slave.
Father.
General.
Get them out of here.
Did you hear me? Get them out!
Aye.
Father.
Shut up.
Don't call me father any more.
Having become slaves,
the queen and the prince were forced to work together with other slaves the next day.
Why did this happen to me?
It's all due to the Shakyas and my father.
He's not my father any more.
Let's wait and see.
General.
Don't make sound.
To be frank, I also hate the king.
Did you know that he wronged my uncle and killed him.
The king is a cruel man. I really feel compassion for you, prince.
So I'm going to help you to become the king.
Please be patient.
That day will come sooner or later.
I get it. Please.
Shakyamuni Buddha was ill at the time and rested in Jetavana Vihara.
He felt very sorry about what happened to the queen and the prince.
The Shakyas were wrong.
But what King Pasenadi did was neither right.
He cared about the status too much,
became estranged from his wife and son.
How ridiculous it is.
Having heard the Buddha's comments,
King Pasenadi restored the status of the queen and the prince.
But he didn't get over it completely.
May I call you father again like before?
Please answer me.
The day that the general and the prince had been waiting for came earlier than they expected.
Halt!
Get back to the palace.
Close the gate!
Open the gate!
The king is back!
You are not the king any more.
Don't joke.
The new king is right over there.
Prince!
I will not kill you.
You can go wherever you want.
Betrayer.
Are you talking to your father like that?
"Don't call me father."
That's what you said.
I won't let you be. I mean it!
King Pasenadi whipped his horse on to the Magadha Kingdom far away.
He wanted to ask his nephew, King Ajatasatru, for help.
But the Magadha Kingdom was too far away.
He lost his horse on the long journey.
It was already midnight when he got to the capital of the Magadha Kingdom, city Rajgir.
Rajgir was entirely enclosed with city walls.
All the gates were closed in the night.
Open the gate.
I'm Pasenadi,
the king of Kosala.
Open...
Please...
Exhausted King Pasenadi breathed his last outside the gate of Rajgir that night.
Having become the new ruler of Kosala,
King Virudhaka decided to revenge on the Shakyas.
He massed all the troops.
Now, we're going to attack Kapilavastu and punish those unreasonable Shakyas!
What's wrong, general?
Why are you looking so bad?
Do you still have anything to say?
In fact I've already expressed my opinion.
It's too rash for a new king to start a war shortly after accession.
If you're not happy with that, you can stay.
No, I won't.
It's my duty to take orders from the king and command the army.
That's right!
Move!
Move!
I have to save the Shakyas.
But Buddha...
I can not sit by and watch King Virudhaka commit a crime.
But you aren't well yet.
Ananda,
- give me your shoulders. - Yes.
We can't get through.
Then ask them to make way.
Buddha,
it's so hot today.
Why are you sitting under a tree without leaves?
Why don't you sit in the shade under the tree over there?
Please leave me alone.
This tree is my family tree.
There's no cooler place than under the family tree.
He's talking about the Shakyas.
He is attempting to protect his family tribe.
Then step over them.
Shakyamuni Buddha is the saint respected by all the people in the world.
We'll be spat at forever if we hurt him.
Pull back.
Pull back!
But King Virudhaka didn't give it up.
He chose another day,
marched off very early in the morning.
He thought that it must be too early for the Buddha to obstruct them.
Pull back!
King Virudhaka picked another day.
This time he took off before dawn.
He thought the Buddha couldn't get ready to block them this early.
Pull back!
All right.
This time, I'll take a detour through the pass in the north mountain.
The Buddha is ill.
There's no way that he could make it up on the steep mountain.
Stop it!
There you go again.
The Buddha is already in his old age.
The Shakya is also your family tribe.
How could you do this to them?
Mahanama is your grandfather anyway.
It's too unreasonable to start war at them and kill them all.
My child!
Mother...
Prince, if I might advise once more.
The Shakyas are faithful friends of our country.
If we kill them all, no country will stand on our side anymore.
Friends?
"Clean it up, quickly"
"It was stained by the son of a slave."
"Son of a slave..."
What kind of friends they are!
What kind of family tribe it is!
What kind of grandfather he is!
Even killing them all is not enough to avenge me!
The Shakyas are all dead, no exception!
Prince, it's too...
Shut up!
I'll show no mercy on you if you try to hold me back again.
I don't care if you are the general or my mother.
Just a hack with my sword!
Did I make myself clear?
That's impossible!
Eh...
All right, that's it.
Your Majesty, please give it up.
Move!
My King!
Move!
I shouldn't have helped him to become the king.
But it's too late.
Move!
Buddha, are you all right?
Close the gate, quickly!
King Virudhaka's army forced into Kapilavastu.
The Shakyas fled everywhere in fear.
Kill them all!
It's all my fault.
I apologize.
Please spare the others, my grandson!
Spare your words. It's already too late.
Isn't there any chance?
I'm going to kill you all.
May I make a request?
I'll submerge myself in the water in the pool.
Could you please put off attacking while I'm under water,
give people a chance to escape.
Please, please.
He can't hold his breath very long.
He'll get out of the water very soon.
Ok, I agree.
Now you can go.
Thank you.
Strange, it's been so long.
Check it out!
Aye.
He already died at the bottom.
He tied his hair to a stone so that his body couldn't come out of the water.
He tried to gain more time for the others with his life.
What a brave old man!
He fooled me!
Kill them all!
All the buildings in Kapilavastu were burnt down.
All the Shakyas, young and old, men and women were killed.
The noblest tribe of Shakyas in India, which produced the Buddha, was annihilated.
The Shakyas cared too much about their lineage, offended King Virudhaka and incurred the annihilation.
King Virudhaka has committed a heinous crime also due his blood.
People have no difference in status at all in the face of the ultimate truth.
Until when will people keep fighting for their lineage and status!
Ananda, I'm travelling.
Eh... You don't have to.
The world is full of sufferings.
That's why I have to spread the way for people to get released.
I will keep teaching Dharma until my last breath.
Buddha!
After annihilated his family tribe unreasonably,
King Virudhaka neither got a good end.
It's said that he and his troops were swept away by a heavy flood.
The mighty Kosala Kingdom followed the trail of the Shakyas afterwards,
disappeared from history.
BASED ON The Buddha Speaks of the King Virudhaka Sutra
DIRECTOR 渡邊靜波
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PRODUCED BY Jodoshinshu, West Hongan-ji, Japan
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