Once upon a time the Bodhisatta was born as a poor young man named “Nandasenakumāra.” One day a royal priest predicted that Nandasenakumāra become a king of Vārāṇasī in the future. The king of the city knew and wanted to kill him. The king therefore commanded him to find three women living in the Himavanta forest. He encountered obstacles in the journey but could finally find the three women. He brought them back to the city. The king was later swallowed underneath the earth because he was vicious to the Bodhisatta. Nandasenakumāra married the three women and ruled the city.
Colophon:
[The writing of this manuscript] was completed soon before lunch time in CS 1253, a ruang mao y, on the ninth waning-moon day of the eleventh [lunar] month, the seventh day of the week. May the merit derived from writing this manuscript reward me sharp wisdom to understand all complex questions. May I be reborn in the period of Metteyya Buddha. May the wishes be fulfilled. May the merit derived from writing this manuscript be transferred to my family members and my teachers. I, Novice Kāvijaya, wrote the manuscript at Wat Ban Hong, near the main road. Monks and novices who use the manuscript are suggested to be very careful. Please do not complain about my handwriting that looks like hen scratching.
Other notes:
This date corresponds to Saturday, 29 August 1891 (1253 Sravana 24).