One of the four sages—who were friends—had suffered a broken leg; they were tasked with answering a riddle about a creature that had two bodies, seven legs, and one back. Unable to solve it, the four sages went to learn the answer from Mahosadha. The Bodhisatta instructed Senaka to recite "goat, goat," Kaminda to recite "dog, dog," Devinda to recite "the two are friends," and Pukkusa to recite "the two eat both grass and meat," without explaining the meaning to them. The next morning, the King listened to the four sages' answers but could not comprehend them, so he turned to Mahosadha for the explanation. Mahosadha then recounted the story of the goat and the dog. Subsequently, the King appointed all five of them as sages of the kingdom. However, Queen Udumbaradevi objected, arguing that it was inappropriate to grant the four sages equal status to Mahosadha, given that they had actually learned the solution from him. The King then posed various other problems to the four sages and Mahosadha to test and compare their wisdom; Mahosadha prevailed over all of them. The King appointed Mahosadha—a supreme sage—as his Chief Minister and bestowed upon him a reward of one thousand oxen, ten thousand elephants and thoroughbred horses, and sixteen revenue-yielding villages. Queen Udumbaradevi considered finding a wife for the sixteen-year-old Mahosadha, but the Bodhisatta asked for permission to seek a wife himself. He encountered Amara, the daughter of a wealthy merchant and a woman of perfect grace and beauty; after testing her and discovering her great wisdom, he successfully sought her hand in marriage. Regarding the vast wealth Amara received as a dowry, she divided it into two portions: one to be distributed to the public and the other to be stored in the royal treasury. Meanwhile, the four royal advisors ceaselessly devised schemes to harm Mahosadha; however, because the Bodhisatta and Amara possessed equal wisdom, they were able to resolve every riddle and counter every plot the advisors concocted, living on in peace and prosperity. Serving as the Chief Minister, the Bodhisatta—known as Mahosadha—diligently worked to bring prosperity to the kingdom. He ordered the construction of a double-layered defensive wall around the city. He also dispatched officials to the 101 neighboring kingdoms to gather intelligence and monitor for any signs of aggression or plans to invade other realms. Mahosadha kept a highly intelligent parrot named Madhura; he sent the bird on a reconnaissance mission, through which he discovered that the Brahmin teacher Kevatta and King Culani Brahmadatta of the Northern Kingdom intended to subjugate the 101 kings and capture King Videharaja of Mithila. However, this plot failed. Instead, King Culani requested a meeting with Mahosadha to engage in a philosophical and doctrinal debate. Mahosadha agreed and led a thousand of his trusted warriors to the designated arena for this intellectual contest. Realizing that the Brahmin teacher Kevadda wanted him to bow in submission, the Bodhisatta instead offered a precious gem to the teacher. As Kevadda bent down to receive the gem, Mahosadha forcefully shoved him, driving his face into the ground and causing blood to flow profusely. Meanwhile, King Culani’s forces, threatened by the weapons of Mahosadha’s men, fled in disarray. Mahosadha then instructed a Brahmin named Anukevadda to learn a secret spell and use a ruse to trick King Culani Brahmadatta’s troops into wearing Mahosadha’s insignia, thereby making it appear as though they were plotting treason against their own king. Anukevadda then secretly led King Culani away on horseback under the cover of night, abandoning him in a remote forest before returning to the kingdom of Mithila. Subsequently, seeking a way to kill King Videharaja and Mahosadha, the Brahmin teacher Kevadda advised King Culani to send a message offering Princess Pancali—the king's own daughter—in marriage to King Videharaja. Acting on intelligence gathered by the Sarika bird, the Bodhisatta Mahosadha arranged for the preparation of a city named Upakara in the province of Kapila, located across the Ganges River. He requested King Culla-Nī to allow him to prepare the city of Uttarapañcāla for a royal coronation ceremony. The King consented, granting Mahosadha the opportunity to organize the city; Mahosadha used this chance to secretly construct a tunnel leading from within the city of Uttarapañcāla directly to the foot of the staircase of King Culla-Nī’s palace—a covert operation that took four months to complete. Meanwhile, Mahosadha requested King Videha to come and wait at the royal city of Upakara, near the Ganges, accompanied by four royal advisors. Believing this to be the perfect opportunity to capture King Videha and Mahosadha, King Culla-Nī marched his army out of his capital to lay siege to the city of Upakara. Seizing a favorable moment, Mahosadha’s troops—who had been lying in wait within the secret tunnel—quietly emerged at the royal pavilion of King Culani. They captured four members of the royal family: Queen Nandadevi (King Culani’s chief consort), Princess Panculacandi, Prince Panculacanda, and Queen Salakadevi (King Culani’s mother), and took them to be held within the palace walls of the city of Upakara. King Culani, stationed outside the walls, heard Princess Nanda Devi weeping and wondered why she was crying in the kingdom of King Videharaja. At dusk, King Culani’s army beat their drums and raised a thunderous war cry. King Videharaja and the four sages, unaware of the situation, were terrified and pleaded with Mahosadha to save them from their plight. Mahosadha ordered his soldiers to trigger the mechanism of the underground tunnel, guiding King Videharaja, the four sages, and the four royal relatives of King Culani through the passage to emerge inside the *Mahavisala*—the grand pavilion where the royal consecration ceremony had taken place. He then had them escorted onto a fleet of one hundred boats to cross to the opposite bank and proceed to the Kingdom of Mithila. The following morning, King Culani entered the new royal palace...
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