The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

270 - Maṇimēkhalai feeds the Hungry
Her appearance being quite as welcome as that of welcome rain, the
king with his assemblies of ministers, feeling gratified that what the
statuette on the pillar had said had already turned true, offering
worship and praising her, bowed to her from a distance and went to
the grove where she was. Addressing her, he said:
‘Either because my rule had deflected from the path of righteousness,
or because of errors in the performance of austerities by those whose
duty it was to do them, or because of women falling away from the
path of chastity, the whole of my country suffers from want of rain.
Not knowing how it came about, I was [203] in great perplexity when
a goddess appeared before me and said:–
“Give up grief. As a result of your good deeds in the past, there will
appear a damsel with a begging bowl in her hand. Fed from that
inexhaustible bowl the whole living world will revive. As a result of
her grace, rains will pour in plenty at the command of Indra, and
many other miracles will take place in this town. Even when rains fail,
the country will still have an abundance of water. In the great streets,
construct tanks and plant gardens, so that they may appear with the
tanks constructed of old, as if the great Maṇipallavam itself had come
here.”
So saying she disappeared.’
He pointed out to Maṇimēkhalai where exactly he actually carried
out the instructions of the goddess. Maṇimēkhalai entered the grove,
and, pleased with its appointments and appearance, she had
constructed a Buddha seat just like that which she saw in
Maṇipallavam. She also had a temple constructed for Tīva-tilakai and
the goddess Maṇimēkhalā, and arranged for the celebration of
recurring festivals through the king.