“Once I lived in the forest as an elephant who provided for his mother. At that time no one on earth could equal my virtues.

Seeing me in the forest, a forester informed the king about me. ‘Great King, an elephant that befits you is dwelling in the forest grove.

No need to dig a moat around him, nor tether him to a post in a pit. Taken by the trunk, he will come here by himself.’

When he heard these words, the king, elated, sent an elephant-tamer, a well-trained and expert tutor.

When the elephant-tamer reached there, he saw me in a lotus pond, pulling out lotus roots to feed my mother.

Discerning my moral virtue, he checked me for marks. Saying, ‘Come, child’, he took me by the trunk.

What was at that time the natural strength of my body, would equal a thousand of the elephants of today.

If I had been upset with those who came to capture me, I would have had the power to defeat even a kingdom of men.