Riddles in the Story of Mahosadha
The nineteen cases/riddles are as follows:
Regarding the riddles:
1. *Mamsa* (Meat): A kite snatched a piece of meat from a vendor's chopping block and flew into the air. Children saw this and ran in pursuit—some even fell down—but the bird refused to drop it. Mahosadha stopped the children; he then lunged with all his might to stomp on the kite's shadow while shouting loudly. The sound waves struck the kite, startling it and causing it to drop the piece of meat.
2. *Gono* (The Cow): Resolving a dispute between a cow's owner and a thief. The conflict between the owner and the thief prompted Mahosadha to step in and resolve the matter with justice.
3. *Kanla* (The Necklace/Chain): Resolving a dispute by ruling in favor of the woman who owned the necklace against the woman who had stolen it. 4. *Sutta* (Thread): A woman was spinning thread and had wound it into a ball around a core object. Upon arriving at a lotus pond, she placed the ball of thread on her cloth and went down to bathe. A female thief came and stole it; the owner caught her and tried to retrieve it, but the thief refused to return it. The matter reached Mahosadha, who summoned both women to hear their accounts. After learning the details, he ruled in favor of the woman who owned the thread.
5. *Putta* (Child): This case involved a woman who left her child at the edge of a lotus pond while she went in to bathe. A female *yakkha* (demoness) transformed herself, snatched the child, and prepared to tear it apart and devour it. The mother returned just in time and tried to reclaim the child, but the *yakkha* refused, leading to a dispute that reached Mahosadha. Mahosadha drew a circle on the ground, placed the child in the center, and instructed the two women to pull the child toward themselves—one grabbing the arms and the other the legs. The true mother, filled with compassion and pity for her child, let go. Mahosadha realized the truth from this reaction and exposed the woman who was actually the *yakkha*. 6- Godho (The story involving a man named Godhaka): A husband and wife were traveling to the husband's hometown when they arrived at a river they dared not cross. A man offered to ferry them across but took the wife first and then disappeared with her. The furious husband managed to cross and confronted the man. News of the dispute reached Mahosadha, who resolved the matter justly.
7- Ratha (The Cart): This story concerns an incident where Indra transformed himself and stole a man's cart to test Mahosadha's wisdom. Mahosadha resolved the situation with great intelligence and accuracy.
8- Danda (The Log): The King tested Mahosadha's wisdom by presenting a finely planed log to the villagers of Batin-gama and asking them to determine which end was the base and which was the tip. Unable to figure it out, the villagers consulted a wealthy merchant. The merchant summoned Mahosadha, who explained the solution to everyone: by tying a thread around the center of the log and lowering it into the water, the end that sank first was the base, while the end that sank later was the tip. 9. *Sīsaṃ* (Head): The King tested Mahosadha’s wisdom by sending the skulls of a man and a woman to the villagers of Bāmin-gāma. Unable to distinguish between them, the villagers consulted Mahosadha. He explained that the skull with straight sutures belonged to a male, while the one with winding, spiral-like sutures belonged to a female.
10. *Ahi* (Snake): The King sent a pair of snakes—one male and one female—to the villagers of Bā-gāma. Unable to tell which was male and which was female, the villagers consulted Mahosadha. The Bodhisatta explained that the male snake had a thick, broad head, large eyes, and continuous, flowing body patterns, whereas the female snake had a slender head, small eyes, and broken, interrupted patterns.
11. *Kukkuṭo* (Rooster): King Videha ordered the villagers of Bācin-gāma to urgently send a rooster that was pure white in color, possessed spurs on its legs and a crest on its head, and crowed three times a day. Not knowing what to do, the villagers consulted Mahosadha. He instructed them to borrow a white male rooster—one with spurs on its legs and a crest on its head that crowed three times each morning—and present it as an offering.
12. The Gem (Mani): A thread had become stuck inside a precious gem, and no one could extract it. The King had sent the gem to the villagers, but they could not remove the old thread or insert a new one. Unable to solve the problem, they asked Mahosadha for advice. He told them to coat the openings on both sides of the gem with honey, then coat a new thread with honey and insert one end slightly into the hole. Finally, they were to place the gem near an ant hole; the ants, attracted by the scent, would enter, bite the old thread to pull it out, and thereby draw the new thread in.
13. Vimanam (The Birth): The King sent a pregnant male ox to the villagers, demanding that they make it give birth. At a loss, the villagers consulted Mahosadha. The Bodhisatta instructed a man with a quick wit to walk toward the royal palace while wailing loudly. When the King summoned him and asked the reason, the man claimed that his father was in labor and unable to deliver the baby, asking the King to assist with the birth. The King exclaimed, "That is impossible!" The man replied, "Why did Your Majesty send a male ox for me to breed offspring?"
14. *Odana* (Cooked Rice): The King instructed the villagers to prepare rice possessing eight specific qualities—avoiding the use of [standard] rice grains, water, a cooking pot, a stove, firewood, and the presence of men or women—and to carry it along the road. The villagers consulted Mahosadha, who advised them to use broken rice grains, dew, and a new earthenware vessel (not a standard cooking pot); to place the vessel in a hollow at the base of a tree; to kindle a fire using lightning-struck wood and leaves; and to have a person carry it along the roadside. 15. *Valuka* (Sand): The King ordered the villagers to twist a rope made of sand and bring it to the royal palace. The people went to consult Mahosadha. Mahosadha instructed two articulate men to go and address the King: "Your Majesty, please show mercy; the villagers do not know the required thickness of the rope. Please cut a sample piece of the old rope—one span in length—so we may use it as a model." The King replied, "There has never been a rope twisted from sand." The men countered, "If such a thing does not exist, how could Your Majesty order the villagers to twist a rope out of sand?"
16. *Talaka* (Pond): The King ordered the villagers to bring a lotus pond to the royal palace for his recreation. Lacking a way to do this, the villagers consulted Mahosadha. The Bodhisatta summoned a few articulate men, gave them clubs and ropes, and told them to dive into the pond and play until their eyes were red and they were smeared with mud. They were then to go and tell the King: "Regarding the pond Your Majesty ordered us to bring..."
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