In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh's quest for immortality is marked by ignorance and selfish desire. Desire and ignorance, as the Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha suggests, pollute man's judgment resulting in his inability to interrupt the cycle of birth and death. At the heart of Gilgamesh's desire lies his inability to accept the inevitability of death, rendering his rationality behind the pursuit of immortality ignorant and selfish. Implicitly, Gilgamesh's corrupt desire for immortality communicates that Gilgamesh does not mature as a character. Enkido's arrival in The Epic of Gilgamesh forces Gilgamesh to reconsider his immaturity. Gilgamesh is presented as "tall, magnificent, and terrible" and as one "who has crossed the ocean" (George i.37-40). As a “raging wild bull,” Gilgamesh's sovereign tyranny is not questioned until an observer notices Enkido, a beast that “fills the pits that I myself dig” and “prevents me from doing the work of the wild” ( George i.30, 130-133). As Enkido, “releases” all the “beasts of the field,” he is presented as a wild creature who can “fill the pit” that Gilgamesh digs and prevent him from being a “wild bull on the rampage” (George i.130-133 ). Subsequently, Enkido is referred to as “the son of nature, the wild man from the midst of the wilderness,” conveying that his “wild” origins (nature) are essential to eliminating civilization's harmful influence on Gilgamesh (George i .178-179 ). While Enkido represents nature's weapon to combat the misadventures of civilization, Enkido also describes that even his pure soul is vulnerable to "Confusion, mirth, and pride" and "Lust, joy, and thirst" (Cowell xiii.3). By seducing the “child of nature” and doing “a woman's work for man,” Shamhat (or “Lust”) corrupts the purity of Enkido. “When the... middle of the paper......rings. At this point, Gilgamesh understands the finality of death but is troubled by its impact on his own life. He asks, “Now, what is this sleep that has come over you?” after the death of Enkido (George viii.55-56). Seeing Enkido, someone almost as strong and powerful as Gilgamesh, die, Gilgamesh realizes that being one-third human he is subject to the same fate. Thus, he embarks on his final journey: a journey that leads to disappointment, uncertainty and regret. In a different perspective, Gilgamesh's quest for immortality is futile and therefore reflects his inability to fully mature. The Buddha-karita supports the notionWorks CitedCowell, EB The Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha. Np: Oxford at the Clarendon, 1893. Print.George, AR The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.