When Brahmadutta was ruling Varanasi, the Bodhisattva was born into a family oftraders. Because of his intelligence and erudition,he came to be known as the 'Young Master'. He was highly skilled in the arts and sciences.
One day, as the Young Master was on his way to the king's court, he saw a dead rat onthe road. He remarked, 'Even this dead rat could make a fortune for an enterprising youth, if he were to use it for capital!'
A passing young man, named Visakha, overheard this. He had great faith in the Young Master's wisdom. He picked up the dead rat and took it to the market. There, a shopkeeper bought it as food for his pet cat.
Visakha used the money to buy some jaggery. With the jaggery and a potful of water, he went and sat on the roadside leading to a forest. This was the path used by flower-sellers who daily visited the forest to gather flowers. When they came out of the forest with flowers, he offered them water and jaggery. The flower-sellers, who were tired and thirsty, were very happy. They gave him a bunch of flowers each. Visakha sold the flowers in the market and made some money.
The next day, he was back in the same place with more water and jaggery. The flower-sellersrewarded him with even bigger bunches of flowers, which he sold. This went on for a few days. Soon, Visakha managed to make a saving of a few silver coins.
One day, there was a terrible storm; many trees were destroyed. The royal garden was in amess, with broken branches and boughs strewn all over. As the gardener was wondering how to clean it up, along came Visakha offering to takeaway the debris. The gardener happily agreed. Visakha had noticed some children playing outside the garden. He called them and offered them a lump of jaggery each if they would help him take the broken branches out of the garden. They were only too happy to agree.
Soon, Visakha had a neat pile of woods tacked by the roadside, just outside the garden. Just then, a potter came that way, looking for wood. He struck a deal with Visakha and took away his pile of wood in exchange for twenty fivesilver coins and a few earthen pots.
Now Visakha had another idea. He filled the pots with water and carried them to a meadow near the city's main gateway, where many grass cutters were working. He gave them water to drink. When the grateful grass-cutters asked him how they could repay the favour, he told them that he would ask for their help if ever he needed it in future.
