The king said to the prince, ‘Well then, Dīghāvu, harness the chariot and let’s go.’ He did as asked and told to the king, ‘Sir, the chariot is ready. You may leave when you’re ready.’ The king mounted the chariot, with the prince driving it. And he drove it so that it soon rejoined the army.

When he was back in Benares, the king gathered his court and said, ‘Now, let me ask you: if you saw Prince Dīghāvu, the son of Dīghīti the king of Kosala, what would you do to him?’ They variously replied, ‘Sir, we’d cut off his hands;’ ‘We’d cut off his feet;’ ‘We’d cut off both his hands and feet;’ ‘We’d cut off his ears;’ ‘We’d cut off his nose;’ ‘We’d cut off both his ears and nose;’ ‘We’d cut off his head.’ ‘Well, this is Prince Dīghāvu, the son of Dīghīti the king of Kosala. You shouldn’t do anything to harm him. I’ve spared his life and he’s spared mine.’