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Pātala

1. Pātala.– A dancer. He lived in a village near Bārāṇasī. One day, having earned some money in a fête in the city, he sat down on the bank of the river, eating and drinking with his wife. He became drunk, and fastening his lute round his neck, he went with his wife down to the river. The water filled his lute and he began to sink. His wife thereupon let go of his hand and came out of the river. Seeing him about to drown, the wife begged of him one song wherewith to earn her living. He sang her a stanza to the effect that the water of the Gaṅgā, which was the salvation of many, proved to be his bane.

This story was among those related by the Bodhisatta in the Padakusala­māṇava Jātaka (J.iii.507 f). The Pārupanā made the use of this story in poking fun at the Ekaṃsikā, because the texts chosen by the Ekaṃsikā to prove their case proved just the contrary (see Bode, op cit., 76, n. 3.).

2. Pātala.– A reservoir restored by Parakkamabāhu I. Cv.lxviii.44.