When the King saw what the people (citizens of the country) were giving, he felt hopeless and asked himself, "What is the point of my life if I can't give to the Buddha and monks more than the people?" He then laid down on his couch and thought of ways to beat his subjects. Then Queen Mallikā asked the King, "Great King, why are you lying down?" "Why do your senses, like your eyes, look like they're going away?" The king then asked, "Don't you know, my dear Queen?" The queen said, "No, I don't, Great King." After that, the King told Mallikā about it.
"Five hundred monks should be housed in a pavilion within the grounds of the golden palace, and it should be constructed with fragrant planks of sāla-kalyāṇī trees," the Queen advised the King, who she had previously encouraged in this way, because she wanted to assume control of the Unparalleled dāna (asadisa-dāna).
1. Make 500 white umbrellas; the 500 white elephants will each stand with one umbrella held aloft by its trunk, protecting the monks beneath it.
2. Eight nīphalaṃ gold boats should be constructed. Perfumes are to be placed in these boats and left in the center of the pavilion.
3. A princess will sit between every pair of monks, and they will all be pounding aromatic wood to make perfumes. Each pair of monks will be greeted by a different princess who will wave a round fan. The other princesses will load the boats with ground fragrances.
4. One tradition among these princesses is to bring blue lotus flower branches and use them to muddle the scents in the boats, making sure that everyone on board smells like a rose garden.
“People have no princesses, white umbrellas, or elephants. Because of these factors, the people will lose.
"As I have now instructed you, Great King, do it."
Queen Mallikā required an additional white elephant.
King said, “Very well, my dear, you have given me good advice,” and followed the Queen's orders.
While everything was going as planned, a monk still needed a tame elephant. The king asked, “Dear Queen, a tamed elephant is wanted. How do we proceed? Have you no 500 elephants? I have, dear. But the rest are wild. They may go crazy when they see monks, like the verambha wind. “I have an idea, Great King, as to where a young wild elephant should be placed to hold an umbrella with his trunk.” “Where is it?” “It is near the Venerable Aṅgulimāla,” the Queen replied.
Everything went nicely in Unparalleled Dana
The King followed the Queen's instructions. The baby wild elephant stood gently with its tail between its thighs, ears down, and eyes closed. People were shocked to see the elephant and thought, “Even such a wild elephant has now become such a docile and quiet animal!”After giving dāna to the Buddha and monks, the King showed reverence and said:
"Exalted Buddha, in this alms-giving pavilion, I offer monk-friendly (kappiya-bhaṇḍā) and monk-unfriendly (akappiya-bhaṇḍā) items."
Significance of the Unparalleled Dāna by Queen Mallika
The items offered in this Unparalleled Dāna cost 14 crores (14 milions) in one day. The four gifts to the Buddha—the white parasol, the seat throne, the bowl stand, and the wooden board to stand on after washing His feet—were priceless. It was difficult to repeat such a great offering to Buddha. The spiritual practice of dāna by both Queen Mallikā and King Kosala became known as asadisa-dāna, or the “Unparalleled Gift.”
An Asadisa Dāna should only occur once for each Buddha. The one-time Asadisa-Dāna for each Buddha was organized by a wise woman.
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