Taught at Jetavana to Anāthapiṇḍika and his five hundred friends, who were followers of other schools. They had gone with the banker to hear the Buddha teach and became converts. However, when the Buddha left Sāvatthi and went to Rājagaha they reverted to their old faiths, coming back to the Buddha when he returned to Sāvatthi.
The story of the past is of two merchants who travel with caravans across a desert. One, beguiled by goblins, throws away his drinking water and is devoured with all his people and cattle. The other completes his journey safely, not putting faith in the goblins. The moral is that the followers of false teachers are led astray. The foolish merchant was Devadatta (J.i.95ff). This Jātaka will be among the last to be forgotten when the Dhamma disappears from the world at the end of the Kāliyuga. AA.i.51.
2The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a caravan of five hundred carts. One night, while crossing a desert of sixty leagues, in the last stage of a journey, the pilot fell asleep and the oxen turned round. All the wood and water was finished, but the Bodhisatta made the men dig a well. After digging sixty cubits down they came upon a rock. The men were filled with despair, but the Bodhisatta had the rock broken through by a serving lad who still showed courage and thus obtained water.
The story was related about a young man of Sāvatthi who entered the Order and practiced meditation, but was unable to attain insight. He was filled with despair and his companions took him to the Buddha. He is identified with the serving lad of the story. J.i.106‑110.
3The Bodhisatta was a hawker of Seriva, and was called Serivā. Once, in the company of a greedy merchant of the same name, he crossed the Telavāha and entered Andhapura. In that city was a family fallen on evil days, the sole survivors being a girl and her grandmother.
The greedy merchant went to their house with his wares. The girl begged her grandmother to buy her a trinket, and suggested that they should give the hawker in exchange the bowl from which they ate. This was an heirloom and made of gold; but it had lost its lustre, and the women did not know its value. The hawker was called in and shown the bowl. He scratched it with a needle and knew it was of gold, but, wishing to have it for nothing, said it was not worth one half farthing. So saying he threw it away and left. Later the Bodhisatta came to the same street and was offered the same bowl. He told them the truth, gave them all the money he had and his stock, leaving only eight pieces of money for himself. These he gave to a boatman, and entered his boat to cross the river.
Meanwhile the greedy merchant went again to the old woman’s house, hoping to get the bowl in exchange for a few trinkets. When he heard of what had happened he lost command of himself, and, throwing down all he had, ran down to the river, to find the Bodhisatta’s boat in mid stream. He shouted to the boatman to return, but the Bodhisatta urged him on. The merchant, realising what he had lost through his greed, was so upset that his heart burst, and he fell down dead.
The story was told to a monk who had given up striving. The greedy merchant is identified with Devadatta, and this was the beginning of his enmity towards the Bodhisatta. J.i.110ff.
4Once the Bodhisatta was born as Cūḷaseṭṭhi in Bārāṇasī. One day, while on his way to the palace, he saw a dead mouse lying on the road, and, noticing the position of the stars, he said, “Any decent young fellow with his wits about him has only to pick up the mouse and he will be a made man.” A young man of good family, called Cūḷantevāsika, hearing this, picked up the mouse and sold it for a farthing to a tavern for their cat to eat. With the farthing he bought molasses and drinking water for flower-gatherers. Later, he gathered branches and leaves blown down by the wind in the king’s garden and sold them to a potter for a large sum of money. He entered into friendship with a land-trader and a sea-trader and, by using the information he obtained from them, he was able to make two hundred thousand pieces by means of skilful and far-sighted business dealings. He then visited Cūḷaseṭṭhi to express to him his gratitude, and the seṭṭhi, on hearing of his skill, was so impressed that he gave him his daughter in marriage.
The young man is identified with Cūḷapaṇṭhaka (q.v.), in reference to whom the story was related. J.i.114‑23. Cf. the story of Visākhila in Kathāsaritsāgara (i.33).
5Once the Bodhisatta was appraiser to the king of Bārāṇasī, with whom he always dealt fairly. The king was greedy, and thinking that his appraiser paid too much for things bought for the palace, he appointed in his place a rustic, whom he happened to see passing. This man fixed prices according to his own fancy. One day a dealer brought five hundred horses from Uttarāpaṭha, and the appraiser valued the whole lot at a single measure of rice. The horse-dealer sought the Bodhisatta’s advice, who suggested that the appraiser should be asked to value a measure of rice. The horse-dealer went to the king, and, in the presence of the court, asked the appraiser the value of one measure of rice. The man replied that it was worth all Bārāṇasī and its suburbs. The ministers laughed, thus putting the king to shame. He dismissed the fool and reinstated the Bodhisatta.
The story was told in reference to Lāḷudāyī, who had a dispute with Dabba- Mallaputta regarding the distribution of food tickets. The monks thereupon asked Lāḷudāyī to undertake the task. This he did so badly that great confusion ensued, and the matter was reported to the Buddha, who related the above story to show that in the past, too, his stupidity had deprived others of their profit.
Lāḷudāyī is identified with the false appraiser. J.i.123‑26.
6Once the Bodhisatta was born as Mahiṃsāsa, son of the king of Bārāṇasī. His brother was Canda and his stepbrother Suriya. Suriya’s mother, having been granted a boon, claimed for him the kingdom. Mahiṃsāsa and Canda thereupon went into exile, but they were accompanied by Suriya. Arrived in Himavā, Mahiṃsāsa sent his two brothers to fetch water from a pool. There, first Suriya and then Canda, were seized by a demon who had been allowed by Vessavaṇa to eat anyone entering the pond, provided he did not know the Devadhamma. Mahiṃsāsa then went himself to the pond, and on being questioned by the demon, taught him the Devadhamma — which is to shrink from sin. The demon was pleased, and offered to release one of his victims. Mahiṃsāsa chose Suriya, and gave as his reason that he was afraid of being blamed by others. Thereupon the demon gave up both his brothers and showed the Bodhisatta great honour. The Bodhisatta converted him and he gave up his evil ways.
The story was related in reference to a rich man of Sāvatthi who joined the Order after his wife’s death. However, he continued to enjoy all kinds of luxuries until, arraigned before the Buddha, he pulled off his robes and stood only in his waist-cloth. The Buddha told him it was not the first time he had had to show him the error of his ways. He is identified with the water demon, Ānanda with Suriya, and Sāriputta with Canda (J.i.126ff; DhA.iii.74‑6).
The Nacca Jātaka was taught in reference to the same monk.
7Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, while wandering about in a grove, seeking for fruits and flowers, came upon a woman merrily singing as she gathered sticks. He became intimate with her, and the Bodhisatta was conceived then and there. The king gave the woman his signet ring, with instructions that if the child was a boy, he should be brought to the court with the ring. When the Bodhisatta grew up his playmates nicknamed him “No-father.” Feeling ashamed, he asked his mother about it and, on hearing the truth, insisted on being taken to the king. When confronted with the child, the king was too shy to acknowledge his parentage, and the mother, having no witness, threw the child into the air with the prayer that he should remain there if her words were true. The boy, sitting cross-legged in the air, requested the king to adopt him, which request was accepted, his mother being made queen consort. On his father’s death he became king under the name of Kaṭṭhavāhana.
The story was told to Pasenadi on his refusal to recognise the claim to the throne of Viḍūḍabha, his son by Vāsabhakhattiyā (J.i.133ff; iv.148; DhA.i.349).
Perhaps the story has some connection with that of Dusyanta and Sakuntalā, as given in the Mahābhārata and later amplified by Kālidāsa in his drama.
9The Bodhisatta was once born as Maghādeva, king of Mithilā in Videha. For successive periods of eighty-four thousand years each he had respectively amused himself as prince, ruled as viceroy, and reigned as king. He one day asked his barber to tell him as soon as he had any grey hairs. When, many years later, the barber found a grey hair, he pulled it out and laid it on the king’s palm as he had been requested. The king had eighty-four thousand years yet to live, but he granted the barber a village yielding one hundred thousand, and, on that very day, gave over the kingdom to his son and renounced the world as though he had seen the King of Death. For eighty-four thousand years he lived as a recluse in the Maghādeva-ambavana and was reborn in the Brahma world. Later, he became once more king of Mithilā under the name of Nimi, and in that life, too, he became a recluse.
The barber is identified with Ānanda and the son with Rāhula. The story was related to some monks who were talking one day about the Buddha’s Renunciation. J.i.137ff; cp. M.ii.74ff., and J.vi.95. See Thomas: op.cit., 127.
10The Bodhisatta was once an Udicca-brahmin and later became a leader of ascetics. When the ascetics came to Bārāṇasī for the rainy season, the king invited their leader to stay behind while the others returned at the end of the rains. One day the Bodhisatta’s chief disciple visited him and sat down on a mat by his side, exclaiming: “Oh happiness, what happiness!” The king came to pay his respects to the teacher, but was displeased because the disciple still sat there. The Bodhisatta explained that the disciple had also been a king who had renounced his kingship for the ascetic life.
The story was related in reference to Bhaddiya who, after he had won Arahantship, kept on saying “aho sukhaṃ, aho sukhaṃ,” because he realised how full of fear he had been as a layman and how free from fear he was as an Arahant. Bhaddiya is identified with the chief disciple of the Bodhisatta. J.i.140‑2.
11The Bodhisatta was once a deer and had two sons, Lakkhaṇa and Kāla. When the time came for gathering the crops, he told his sons to seek refuge in the mountain tracts with their herds. They agreed, but Kāla, being ignorant, kept his deer on the tramp early and late, and men, coming upon them, destroyed most of them. Lakkhaṇa, however, moved his deer only in the dead of night and reached the forest without losing any of his herd. The same thing happened on their return four months later, and the Bodhisatta praised Lakkhaṇa’s intelligence.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta and Sāriputta. Devadatta had persuaded five hundred monks to secede from the Buddha and go with him, but Sāriputta visited them and brought them all back.
Devadatta is identified with Kāla and Sāriputta with Lakkhaṇa. J.i.142f; the story is referred to at DhA.i.122.
12Also called the Nigrodha Jātaka. Once the Bodhisatta was born as king of the deer and was called Nigrodha. With him was the leader of another herd, and he was called Sākha. There was an agreement between these two leaders that, on alternate days, a deer from their herd should offer itself to be killed by the king of Bārāṇasī. One day the turn fell on a pregnant doe of Sākha’s herd, and when she asked to be allowed to wait until she had brought forth her young she was refused by Sākha. She then appealed to Nigrodha, who took her turn on himself. Immunity had been granted to Nigrodha, and when his act was reported to the king, he came in person to enquire into the matter. On hearing the story, he was greatly moved, and promised immunity both to Nigrodha and the doe. However, Nigrodha was not satisfied until the king promised immunity to all living beings. Later, on discovering that the deer, taking advantage of this, were destroying men’s crops, Nigrodha, gave orders to his herd to refrain from doing so.
The story was related in reference to the mother of Kumāra-Kassapa (q.v.) She had joined the Order under Devadatta not knowing that she was pregnant. On discovering her condition, Devadatta expelled her from the Order. She appealed to the Buddha, who caused an enquiry to be held, and, having been assured of her innocence, he restored her to all honour. When Kumāra Kassapa was born he, too, was admitted to the Order.
Devadatta is identified with Sākha, Kumāra-Kassapa with the doe’s young one, his mother with the doe, and the king with Ānanda.
J.i.145ff; DhA.iii.148f. The story is figured in the Bharhut Stupa (Cunningham: pl. xxv. (1) and xliii. (2). It is given in Mtu. (i.359ff.) with several variations in detail.
13A mountain stag fell in love with a doe who had gone into the forest from the village during the time of the ripening of the corn. When the time came for the doe to return to the village, the stag, in his love, accompanied her. The people of the village, knowing of the deer’s return, lay in ambush for them. The doe, seeing a huntsman, sent the stag on ahead, and he was killed and eaten. The doe escaped. The Bodhisatta, who was a forest-deva, seeing the incident, taught the other forest-dwellers on the three infamies:
The circumstances in which the story was related are given in the Indriya Jātaka.
14The Bodhisatta was once born as Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. He had a gardener named Sañjaya. An antelope (vātamiga)¹ used to visit the royal park, and the king asked Sañjaya to catch it. Sañjaya put honey on the grass where the animal fed, and, in due course, the animal came to eat out of his hand. He was thus able to entice it right into the palace, where he shut the door on it. The king marvelled that an antelope, who was so shy that if it once saw a man it would not visit the same place for a week after, should allow itself to be caught by greed.
The story was related in reference to Cūḷapiṇḍapātika Tissa (q.v.), who was enticed back to the lay life by a slave girl. Sañjaya is identified with the slave and the antelope with the monk.²
According to the Dhammapada Commentary,³ however, it was with reference to Sundarasamudda Thera that the story was told.
¹ lit. a “Wind deer.” Presumably a swift and very timid deer (ed.)
² J.i.156ff. ³ DhA.iv.199.
15The Bodhisatta was once born as a leader of deer. His sister Kharādiyā brought him her son that he might teach him the wisdom of the deer, but the young deer was disobedient and did not attend his lessons. As a result, he was caught in a gin-trap and killed by huntsmen.
The story was told in reference to an unruly monk. Kharādiyā is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā. J.i.159f.
16Once the Bodhisatta was born as a stag, leader of a herd of deer. Rāhula was his sister’s son and was entrusted to him, that he might learn the “deer’s tricks.” The young stag followed his instruction diligently and one day, being caught in a net, he feigned death and so made his escape.
The story was told in reference to Rāhula. Once, at the Aggāḷava-cetiya, the Buddha, noticing that monks were in the habit of sleeping with novices in the Dhamma hall after the discourse, he passed a rule making this an offence to be confessed (pācittiya). As a result, Rāhula could find no lodging and spent the night in the Buddha’s latrine, not wishing to transgress the rule. The Buddha, discovering this, assembled the monks and blamed them for their thoughtlessness, for if they thus treated his son, what might they not do to the other novices. The rule about lodgings was thereupon modified. The story was related to show Rāhula’s diligence in following rules (J.i.160ff; cp. Vin.iv.16).
The Jātaka seems also to have been called the Sikkhākāma Jātaka. JA.1876, p.516.
17Once, two friends, a lion and a tiger, lived in a cave. They had a dispute as to which was the cold part of the month, the dark half or the light, and they referred the matter to a hermit (the Bodhisatta), who said that the cold was caused by wind and not by light or darkness.
The story was told to two forest dwelling monks of Kosala, Kāḷa and Juṇha, who consulted the Buddha in a similar dispute. The lion and the tiger are identified with the monks. J.i.164ff.
18Once a brahmin, well versed in the Vedas, wished to slay a goat at the Feast of the Dead (Matakabhatta), and sent his pupils to bathe the goat in the river. After the bath, the goat remembered its past lives and knew that after its death that day it would be free from misery. So it laughed for joy. However, it saw also that the brahmin, through slaying it, would suffer great misery, and this thought made it weep. On being questioned as to the reason for its laughing and its weeping, it said the answer would be given before the brahmin. When the brahmin heard the goat’s story, he resolved not to kill him; but that same day, while the goat was browsing near a rock, the rock was struck by lightning and a large splinter cut off the goat’s head. The Bodhisatta, who was a tree sprite, saw all this and taught the Dhamma to the assembled multitude.
The story was told in reference to a question by the monks as to whether there was any good at all in offering sacrifices as Feasts for the Dead, which the people of Sāvatthi were in the habit of doing. J.i.166ff.
19Once the squire of a certain village, in the Kāsi country, promised the deity of a banyan tree a sacrifice should his enterprise succeed. When he came back from his journey he slew a number of creatures and took them to the tree. The deity of the tree appeared and admonished the squire, saying that no one could attain deliverance by means of slaughter.
The story was related in answer to a question by some monks, who had noticed that many people when going on a business journey would slay living creatures and offer them to various deities in order that their ventures might be successful. The monks wished to know if such sacrifices were of any good (J.i.169).
The Jātaka is also known as the Pānavadha Jātaka (Feer: JA.1876, p.516).
20The Bodhisatta is born as leader of a herd of monkeys. He has given strict injunctions that none of his followers should eat or drink in a strange place without his consent. One day the monkeys are very thirsty and arrive at a lake in the forest, but will not drink until their leader arrives. He examines the lake and discovers that it is haunted by an ogre. He then provides all his followers with long reeds which, by the power of his virtue, immediately become hollow throughout. Thenceforth all the reeds round that lake are hollow, and the lake itself comes to be known as Naḷakapāna-pokkharaṇī.
This is one of the four miracles that will endure throughout the world-cycle.
The story was related by the Buddha in the village of Naḷakapāna to explain the hollowness of the reeds that grew round the lake. The ogre in the story is identified with Devadatta. J.i.170ff.
211. Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka (No. 21).– Once the Bodhisatta was an antelope who used to eat the fruit of a sepaṇṇi-tree. One day a huntsman discovered him and lay in wait to kill him, but the Bodhisatta suspected his presence and so escaped death.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s plots to kill the Buddha, the huntsman being identified with Devadatta. J.i.173f.
2. Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka (No. 206).– In a forest lived three friends: an antelope, a woodpecker and a tortoise. One night the antelope was caught in a huntsman’s noose, and the tortoise set about biting through the thongs of the noose while the woodpecker, uttering cries of ill-omen, kept the huntsman in his hut. The antelope escaped, but the tortoise, exhausted by his labours, was caught by the huntsman. The antelope thereupon enticed the hunter into the forest and, eluding him, released the tortoise. The antelope was the Bodhisatta, Sāriputta the woodpecker, Mahā-Moggallāna the tortoise and Devadatta the hunter.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s wickedness (J.ii.152ff; DhA.iii.152f).
This Jātaka is figured on the Bharhut Stupa. Cunningham: p.67 and PL xxvii.9.
221. Kukkura Jātaka (No 22).– Because his carriage straps, left in the rain, are gnawed by his own dogs, the king of Bārāṇasī orders all dogs except his own to be killed indiscriminately. The Bodhisatta, who is the leader of the pack of dogs in the cemetery, visits the king, points out to him his iniquity, and reveals the truth by causing an emetic to be administered to the king’s dogs. Having convinced the king, the Bodhisatta teaches him the ten stanzas of righteousness found in the Tesakuṇa Jātaka (dhammañcara mahārāja, etc.) (J.v.123). Great are the benefactions made to dogs thereafter. The Bodhisatta’s teaching lasted for ten thousand years under the name of Kukkurovāda.
The king is identified with Ānanda (J.i.175ff). The occasion for the story is given in the Bhaddasāla Jātaka.
2. Kukkura Jātaka.– See Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 209).
23The Bodhisatta was once born as a thoroughbred horse and was made the war-horse of the king of Bārāṇasī. He was given every kind of luxury and was shown all honour. All the king’s around coveted the kingdom of Bārāṇasī, and seven kings encompassed the city. At the suggestion of his ministers, the king sent out a knight on the royal war-horse. Mounted on the noble steed, the knight destroyed six camps, when his horse was wounded. He thereupon took it to the gate, loosened its armour, and prepared to arm another horse. However, the animal, knowing that no other horse could accomplish what awaited him, insisted on attacking the seventh camp. Then when they brought him back to the king’s gate, the king came out to look upon him, and the horse died with a counsel for mercy towards the captive kings.
The story was told in reference to a monk who had given up persevering. Ānanda is identified with the king. J.i.178‑81.
Cp. the Ajañña Jātaka.
24Once, when Brahmadatta was ruling in Bārāṇasī, seven kings laid siege to the city. A warrior sent by Brahmadatta harnessed two horses (brothers) and, sallying forth from the city, overcame six camps and captured six kings. Just then the elder horse (who was the Bodhisatta) was wounded. The charioteer unfastened the horse’s armour as he lay on his side, and started to arm another horse. The Bodhisatta addressed the charioteer and said that as an Ājañña horse he must fight on. The charioteer set him on his feet again and, with his help, captured the seventh camp and its king.
The Bodhisatta, having counselled the victorious king to show mercy to his captives, died, and his body was burnt with all honours.
The story was told to a monk who had given up striving. J.i.181‑2.
25The Bodhisatta was once adviser to the king of Bārāṇasī. One day, another horse was washed in the place reserved for the king’s state charger, who, when taken there to bathe, refused to enter. The Bodhisatta, divining the reason, directed that the horse should be taken elsewhere, and not always bathed in the same spot, adding that a man will tire even of the daintiest food, if it never be changed. The Bodhisatta was amply rewarded for his skill in reading the horse’s thoughts.
The story was told in reference to a monk, a disciple of Sāriputta. He had been a goldsmith and the meditation on impurity, prescribed for him by Sāriputta, proved impossible for him. He was taken to see the Buddha, who asked him to gaze at a lotus in a pond nearby. The monk saw the lotus fade and, developing insight, became an Arahant. He marvelled at the Buddha’s power of reading the thoughts and temperaments of others.
The monk is identified with the state charger and Ānanda with the king. J.i.182ff
26Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, owned a state elephant, called Mahilāmukha, who was gentle and good. One day thieves sat down outside his stable and started talking of their plans for robbery, and murder. Several days in succession this happened, until at last, by dint of listening to them, Mahilāmukha became cruel and began to kill his keepers. The king sent his minister, the Bodhisatta, to investigate the matter. He discovered what had happened, and made good men sit outside the stables who talked of various virtues. The elephant regained his former goodness and gentleness.
The story was related in reference to a monk who was persuaded by a friend to eat at the monastery of Gayāsīsa, built for Devadatta by Ajātasattu. The monk would sneak off there at the hour of the meal and then return to Veḷuvana. After some time his guilty secret was discovered, and he was admonished by the Buddha. He is identified with Mahilāmukha and the king with Ānanda. J.i.185‑8. See also the Giridanta and Manoja Jātaka.
27The story of a dog and an elephant who grew up to be great friends and became indispensable to each other. The dog used to amuse himself by swinging backwards and forwards on the elephant’s trunk. One day the merchant sold the dog. The elephant went off his food and would not be consoled until the dog was brought back.
The story was told in reference to two monks of Sāvatthi who were very intimate with one another and spent all their time together. J.i.189f.
291. Kaṇha Jātaka (No. 29).– The story of Ayyikākāḷaka (q.v.) The story was related by the Buddha to the monks, who expressed great wonder at the miracles performed by him at Saṅkassa. It was not only in his last birth that he performed wonders. The old woman in the story is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā (J.i.193ff).
The story is also given in the Aṅguttaranikāya Commentary (i.415), with a few additional details. The Dhammapada Commentary (iii.213) refers to it as the Kaṇha-usabha Jātaka.
2. Kaṇha Jātaka (No. 440).– The story of Kaṇha-tāpasa. He was the only son of a brahmin in Bārāṇasī and inherited great wealth; he was educated at Takkasilā. When his parents died he gave away all his wealth and retired to the Himavā, where he practised rigid asceticism, never entering a village, eating the produce of only one tree, and living not even in a hut. He acquired great mystic powers, and Sakka’s throne was heated by his virtue. Sakka visited him and, having tested him and asked him various questions, granted him six boons. The ascetic chose only such things as pertained to the life of renunciation. Sakka decreed that the tree under which the ascetic lived should bear fruit perennially.
The Sakka of the story was Anuruddha. It is said that the acetic was called Kaṇha on account of his dark complexion.
The story was related to Ānanda in explanation of the Buddha’s smile as he was passing a certain spot in the Nigrodhārāma in Kapilavatthu; it was the spot where the ascetic Kaṇha practised his meditations. J.iv.6ff
30The Bodhisatta was once an ox, called Mahālohita, in a householder’s family, where his brother Cūḷalohita and he did all the work. When their master’s daughter was about to be married, a pig, named Munika, was brought and fattened on all kinds of luxuries. Cūḷalohita protested to his brother, but the latter warned him of Munika’s fate. And soon after Munika was killed and eaten.
The origin of the story is the same as that of the Cūḷanārada Jātaka. The passion-tossed monk was Munika, and Ānanda the younger ox. J.i.196ff.
31The Bodhisatta was born in Macala under the name of Magha. He spent his time with the heads of the other twenty-nine families in the village, engaged in various forms of social service. The headman, finding his gains diminish, made a false report to the king, who ordered Magha and his friends to be trampled by elephants; but by virtue of their loving-kindness (mettā) they could not be killed, and thereupon the king showed them great favour. After death they were all born in Tāvatiṃsa, with Magha as Sakka.
Three of Magha’s wives — Sudhammā, Cittā, and Nandā — who had persuaded him to let them share in his good work, were born as Sakka’s handmaidens. However, Sujātā, who had taken no part in their activities, received no such honour. At that time the Asurā shared Tāvatiṃsa with the Devā, but one day they got drunk and were hurled down to the foot of Sineru. They therefore declared war on the Devā, and during one of their fierce battles Sakka was defeated and fled over the sea in his chariot Vejayanta. When he came to Simbalivana, the chariot felled down the trees there, and the young Garuḷā were hurled into the sea. Hearing their cries of agony, Sakka made his driver, Mātali, turn the chariot and go back. The Asurā, seeing him return, thought it was another Sakka coming with reinforcements, and fled in terror. The Vejayanta-pāsāda rose from the earth, and Sakka lived in it, having fortified his city with a fivefold guard.
The story was told in reference to a monk who had drunk water without first straining it, because his friend, with whom he was travelling and with whom he had fallen out, had the only strainer available. Mātali is identified with Ānanda (J.i.198ff; with the introductory story cp. Vin.ii.118).
In the version given in the Dhammapada Commentary (i.263ff; see also SA.i.260f; DA.iii.710ff; and SNA.ii.484f; according to these accounts Sakka was helped by not 29 but 33 others), the story of Magha is related in response to a question asked of the Buddha by the Licchavi Mahāli. The reason given for Sakka’s flight in the Vejayanta chariot also differs. According to this account, when Sujā (q.v.) was reborn as the daughter of Vepacitti and the time came for her to choose a husband, Sakka went to the assembly in the guise of an aged Asura and was chosen by Sujātā. Sakka thereupon revealed himself and fled with his bride in the chariot, the Asurā in full chase.
See also Kulāvaka Sutta.
32When the world was yet young, a golden swan, who had been elected king of the birds, had a lovely daughter, and to her he promised the boon of being allowed to choose her own husband. When all the birds were assembled, she gazed on them, and, by reason of his beautiful colouring, chose the peacock. Overjoyed by his good fortune, the peacock spread his feathers and began to dance, thus exposing himself, and feeling no shame. The swan king was so shocked by this lack of modesty that he gave his daughter to a young swan.
The story was related in reference to a monk who was charged before the Buddha with possessing too many clothes. On being questioned by the Buddha, he removed all his clothes and stood naked in the assembly. The people expressed disgust at his behaviour, and he became a layman. He is identified with the peacock of the story.
J.i.206ff. The story is sculptured in Bharhut; see Stupa of Bharhut. Pl.zzvii. (11).
33The Bodhisatta was once a quail. There was a fowler who enticed quails by imitating their cry and then throwing a net over them. The Bodhisatta suggested that when the fowler did this, they should all fly away with the net. This they did, and, day after day, the fowler returned empty handed until his wife grew angry. One day, two of the quails started quarrelling, and the Bodhisatta, hearing their wrangling, decided to go elsewhere with his following. When the fowler came again and spread his net, the two quails started quarrelling, and he was able to capture them.
This was one of the stories related at the time of the quarrel (cumbatakalaha) between the Sākyā and the Koliyā (J.i.208‑10). See also the introductory story of the Kuṇāla Jātaka. Elsewhere the story is called the Vaṭṭaka Jātaka. e.g., J.v.414.
341. Maccha Jātaka (No. 34).– Some fishermen once cast their net into a river, and a great fish, swimming along, playing amorously with his wife, was caught in the net, while his wife escaped. The fishermen hauled him up and left him on the sand while they proceeded to light a fire and whittle a spit whereon to roast him. The fish lamented, saying how unhappy his wife would be, thinking he had gone off with another. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s priest, coming along to the river to bathe, heard the lament of the fish and obtained his freedom from the fishermen.
The story was related to a passion-tossed monk who longed for the wife of his lay days. The two fish were the monk and his seducer. J.i.210‑12.
2. Maccha Jātaka (No. 75).– Once the Bodhisatta was born as a fish in a pond; there was a great drought, the crops withered, and water gave out in tanks and ponds and there was great distress. Seeing this, the Bodhisatta approached Pajjunna, god of rain, and made an Act of Truth, begging for rain. The request succeeded, and heavy rain fell.
The story was told in reference to a great drought in Kosala. Even the pond by the gate of Jetavana was dry, and the Buddha, touched by the universal suffering, resolved to obtain rain. On his way back from his almsround, he sent Ānanda to fetch the robe in which he bathed. As he was putting this on, Sakka’s throne was heated, and he ordered Pajjunna to send rain. The god filled himself with clouds, and then bending his face and mouth, deluged all Kosala with torrents of rain. The Pajjunna of the earlier story is identified with Ānanda. J.i.329‑32; cp. Cyp.iii.10.
3. Maccha Jātaka (No. 216).– The story very much resembles Maccha Jātaka (1). J.ii.178f.
351. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (No. 35).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a quail, and before he was old enough to fly, fire broke out in the forest wherein his nest was. Seeing no means of escape, he made an Act of Truth (sacca-kiriyā), calling to mind the holiness of the Buddhas and their doctrines. The fire retreated to a distance of sixteen lengths and then extinguished itself. The story was related in reference to a fire which broke out in the jungle when the Buddha was travelling in Magadha with a large company of monks. Some of the monks were frightened and suggested various methods for putting out the fire, while others said they should seek the Buddha’s protection. This they did and the Buddha took them to a certain spot, where he halted. The flames came no nearer than sixteen lengths from where they were standing, and in approaching the spot extinguished themselves. When the monks marvelled at the great power of the Buddha, he told them the story of the past and said that, owing to his Act of Truth as a quail, that spot would never be harmed by flames during the whole of this world-cycle. J.i.212ff; cp. J.i.172.
See the Vaṭṭa Paritta.
2. Vaṭṭa Jātaka (No. 118).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a quail, and was caught by a fowler who sold birds after fattening them. The Bodhisatta, knowing this, starved himself, and when the fowler took him out of the cage to examine his condition the quail flew away and rejoined his companions.
The story was told in reference to a young man of Sāvatthi called Uttaraseṭṭhiputta. He had descended from the Brahma world and had no desire for women. Once, during the Kattikā festival, his friends sent him a gaily decked woman to entice him, but he gave her some money and sent her away. As she came out of his house, a nobleman saw her and took her with him. When she failed to return, her mother complained to the king, and the millionaire’s son (seṭṭhiputta) was told to restore her. On failing to do so, he was taken off for execution. He resolved that if by any means he could escape execution he would become a monk. The girl noticed the crowd following the young man, and on learning the reason she revealed her identity and he was set free. He, thereupon, joined the Order and soon after became an Arahant. J.i.432ff.
3. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (No. 394).– The Bodhisatta was once a forest quail living on rough grass and seeds. A greedy crow of Bārāṇasī, who was in the forest, saw the quail and thought that the good condition of his body was due to rich food. The quail, seeing the crow, talked to him, and then the crow discovered that the quail had a beautiful body not because he ate rich food, but because he had contentment of mind and freedom from fear.
The story was related in reference to a greedy monk who is identified with the crow. J.iii.312f.
4. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka.– See also the Sammodamāna Jātaka, which is evidently also referred to as the Vaṭṭaka Jātaka, e.g., J.v.414; DhA.i.46; SNA.ii.358.
361. Sakuṇa Jātaka (No. 36).– The Bodhisatta was once a bird, leader of a large flock. He lived in a tree, and noticing one day that two of the boughs were grinding one against the other and producing smoke, he warned his flock of the risk of fire and left for elsewhere. The wiser birds followed him, but some remained behind and were burnt to death.
The story was related to a monk whose cell was burnt down. He told the villagers of this, and they continually promised to build him a new one, but failed to do so. As a result the monk lived in discomfort and his meditations were fruitless. When he reported this, the Buddha blamed him for not going elsewhere. J.i.215f.
2. Sakuṇa Jātaka (No. 308).– The Bodhisatta was once a woodpecker, and coming across a lion with a bone stuck in his throat he removed the bone, after having fixed a stick in the lion’s mouth to prevent him from biting off the head of his rescuer. Later, he saw the lion eating the carcase of a buffalo and asked for a boon. The lion refused, saying it was enough for him to have escaped death after putting his head into a lion’s jaws. The lion is identified with Devadatta, and the story was related in reference to his ingratitude. J.iii.25‑7; cp. Jātakamālā No.iv.
371. Tittira Jātaka (No. 37).– There were once three friends, a partridge (tittira), a monkey and an elephant. Discovering that the partridge was the oldest of them, they honoured him as their teacher and he gave them counsel. Their conduct came to be called the Tittiriya-brahmacariya. The Bodhisatta was the partridge, Mahā-Moggallāna the elephant, and Sāriputta the monkey.
The story was related in reference to the failure of the Chabbaggiyā to show due respect to Sāriputta. Once, when he visited them in company with the Buddha, they refused to provide him with lodging, and he had to sleep under a tree. J.i.217ff; cp. Vin.ii.161; Avadāna S.ii.17.
2. Tittira Jātaka (No. 117).– The Bodhisatta was once a leader of five hundred ascetics. One day, a talkative ascetic approached a jaundiced colleague who was chopping wood and worried him by giving him directions on how to do it. The ill man killed him with one blow of the axe. Soon after, a partridge, who used to sing on an anthill nearby, was killed by a fowler. The Bodhisatta pointed out to his followers how the death of both was due to their talking too much.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika, who is identified with the chattering ascetic. J.i.431f.
3. Tittira Jātaka (No. 319).– Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin ascetic, and Rāhula a decoy partridge used by a village fowler. When the partridge uttered a cry, other partridges would flock to him, and they were killed by the fowler. The partridge was filled with remorse, fearing that he was doing wrong. One day he met the Bodhisatta who set his doubts at rest.
The story was told in reference to Rāhula’s readiness to profit by instruction (J.iii.64ff). It was related by Moggaliputta-Tissa to Asoka, to prove to him that an action becomes a crime only when performed with bad intention. Mhv.v.264.
381. Baka Jātaka (No. 38).– A crane, living near a pond, where the water dried up in summer, offered to carry the fish to a distant pond where water was plentiful. The fish, very suspicious, sent one of their numbers with the crane to verify his words, and when he returned with a favourable report, they accepted the crane’s offer. One by one the fish were carried off and eaten by the crane, until only a crab was left. The wily crab agreed to go too, but he clung round the crane’s neck while being carried along and cut off his head with his pincers when he discovered the crane’s intentions.
The story was told in reference to a monk of Jetavana who was a clever robe maker. He could make robes of rags, which he dyed so skilfully that they looked new and costly. Visiting monks, on seeing them, would exchange their new robes for his old ones and not discover their folly until later. A similar robe maker lived in a hamlet at some distance from Jetavana, who, hearing of the Jetavana monk succeeded in cheating him. The monk was the crane and the hamlet dweller the crab of the story. J.i.220ff.
2. Baka Jātaka (No. 236).– The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a large shoal of fish. A crane, who wished to eat them, stood on the bank of the pond with outstretched wings, gazing vacantly into space. The fish were impressed by his pious demeanour, but were warned against him by the Bodhisatta.
The story was told in reference to a hypocrite who is identified with the crane. J.ii.233f.
3. Baka Jātaka (No. 405) v.l. Bakabrahma Jātaka.– Relates the story of the Buddha’s visit to Baka Brahma (q.v.) and the incidents mentioned regarding Baka’s previous birth as Kesava. J.iii.358ff.
40Once the Bodhisatta was Treasurer of Bārāṇasī, and a Pacceka Buddha, arising from seven days in samāpatti, came to him at meal time. The Bodhisatta sent him some food, but Māra created a pit of glowing khadira-embers between the Pacceka Buddha and the Treasurer’s house. When the Treasurer heard of this, he took the bowl of food himself and stepped into the pit, ready to die rather than to have his alms-giving thwarted. A lotus sprang up to receive his foot, the pit vanished, and Māra, discomfited, vanished.
The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika.
A devatā, who lived in the upper storey of his palace, had to come with her children down to the ground floor whenever the Buddha visited Anāthapiṇḍika. She tried to check the merchant’s munificence by talking to his manager and his eldest son, but all in vain. At last, when as a result of his extreme piety Anāthapiṇḍika’s wealth was exhausted, the devatā ventured to approach him and warn him of his impending ruin if he did not take heed. He ordered her out of the house, and she had, perforce, to obey. In despair she sought the aid of Sakka, who suggested that she should recover for the merchant all his debts, and reveal to him his hidden treasure which had been lost sight of. She did so, but Anāthapiṇḍika, before consenting to pardon her, took her to the Buddha, who then related this Jātaka. The Velāma Sutta was also taught on this occasion (J.i.226‑34; see also the Visayha Jātaka). For a continuation of the story see the Siri Jātaka.
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.i.447) the Khadiraṅgāra Jātaka was taught in reference to the two friends Sirigutta and Garahadinna. It is said (AA.i.57) that at the teaching of the Jātaka eighty-four thousand beings realised the Truth.
41In the time of Kassapa Buddha there lived a monk who was maintained by a rich man of the district. Into the monastery belonging to this rich man there came one day an Arahant, and the former, liking his appearance, asked him to stay in the monastery, promising to look after him. The Arahant agreed, but the incumbent of the monastery grew jealous and told their patron that the Arahant was lazy and good for nothing. Some food sent by the patron for the Arahant the incumbent threw into the embers. The Arahant, reading his thoughts, left and went elsewhere. The monk was seized with remorse and was reborn in hell. In five hundred successive births he was a yakkha, with never enough to eat; during a further five hundred births he was a dog. Then he was born, under the name of Mittavindaka, in a poor family in Kāsi. Because of him, dire misfortune befell the family, and he was driven out. In Bārāṇasī he became a charity scholar under the Bodhisatta, who was a teacher there, but he was so quarrelsome that he was sent away. He married a poor woman and had two children. For a while he was a teacher, but the village in which he lived earned the king’s displeasure seven times, their houses caught fire and the water dried up. Having discovered the cause, the villagers drove out Mittavindaka and his family. In a haunted forest the wife and children were eaten up by demons.
In his wanderings Mittavindaka came to a coastal village, Gambhīra, where he took service in a ship. On the seventh day of the voyage the ship suddenly stopped sailing. Lots were cast, and seven times the lot fell on Mittavindaka, so they put him on a raft and lowered him overboard. He was cast ashore on an island where lived four vimāna petas in palaces of crystal, and he enjoyed happiness with them for seven days. From there he went to an island where lived eight goddesses in palaces of silver, thence to another where lived sixteen in palaces of jewels, thence to another still where lived thirty-two in palaces of gold. In each he stayed seven days. From the last he went to an island of ogres. There he seized an ogress wandering about in the shape of a goat, and, when she kicked him, he was hurled into the dry moat of Bārāṇasī. There goatherds were keeping watch for thieves, and when Mittavindaka seized a goat, hoping to be kicked back to his original place, he was caught. As he was being led away, the Bodhisatta saw and recognised him and persuaded the goatherds to allow him to have him as a slave.
The story was told in reference to Losaka Tissa, with whom Mittavindaka is identified. J.i.234‑46.
421. Kapota Jātaka (No. 42).– Once the Bodhisatta was born as a pigeon and lived in a straw basket hung in the kitchen of the treasurer (seṭṭhi) of Bārāṇasī. A crow, sniffing the savour of the food being cooked in the kitchen and longing to taste it, struck up a friendship with the pigeon in order to gain admission. In the evening, having searched for his food in the pigeon’s company, he accompanied him home, and the treasurer’s cook, on seeing him, provided a basket for him. One day, seeing some fish being prepared, the crow feigned illness and stayed behind in his basket, in spite of the warnings of the pigeon, who suspected his real reason. The cook caught the crow stealing a piece of fish and, in order to punish him, plucked his feathers and soused him in a pickle of ginger and salt and cumin mixed with sour butter-milk. The pigeon, on his return, found him in this state and, having learnt his story, flew away, not wishing to live there any more. The crow died and was flung on the dust heap.
The story was related in reference to a greedy monk who was identified with the crow. J.i.241ff.
2. Kapota Jātaka (No. 375).– The same as above, except for a few details. When the theft was discovered, the cook made a mixture of moist ginger and white mustard, pounded with a rotten date, and after wounding the crow with a potsherd, rubbed the stuff into the wound and fastened the potsherd round its neck. J.iii.224ff
43The Bodhisatta was once at the head of five hundred hermits, one of whom had a pet viper which was called Veḷuka, because it was kept in a bamboo. The Bodhisatta warned the ascetic against the snake, but his warning was not heeded. The hermit thus came to be called Veḷukapitā. One day the hermits went into the forest and were away for a few days, and when Veḷukapitā touched the viper on his return, the animal, hungry and angry, bit him, and he fell down dead. The story was told in reference to a headstrong monk who is identified with Veḷukapitā. J.i.245f.
44Once, in a border village in Kāsi, there lived a number of carpenters. One day, one of them, a bald, grey-haired man, was planing some wood when a mosquito settled on his head and stung him. He asked his son who was sitting by to drive it away. The boy raised an axe, and meaning to drive away the mosquito, cleft his father’s head in two, killing him. The Bodhisatta, a trader, saw this incident. ” Better an enemy with sense than such a friend,” said he.
The story was related in reference to some inhabitants of a hamlet in Magadha who were worried by mosquitoes when working in the jungle. One day they armed themselves with arrows, and while trying to shoot the mosquitoes, shot each other. The Buddha saw them outside the village greatly disabled because of their folly. J.i.246‑48.
45Once the Bodhisatta was the Lord High Treasurer of Bārāṇasī and he had a slave woman named Rohiṇī. One day, when Rohiṇī was pounding rice, her mother lay down near her and flies settled on her and stung her. When she asked her daughter to drive them away, the latter lifted her pestle and hit her with it, thinking thus to kill the flies. However, instead of the flies she killed her mother.
The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika in reference to a slave girl of his also named Rohinī, who killed her mother in the same way. The mother and daughter are the same in both stories. J.i.248f.
461. Ārāmadūsaka Jātaka (No. 46).– Once in Bārāṇasī there was a festival and all the townsfolk assembled to keep holiday. The king’s gardener, wishing to join in the festivities, approached the king of the monkeys who lived in the royal garden and, pointing out to him all the benefits the monkeys had derived from their residence there, asked him if he would get the monkeys to water the trees in the gardener’s absence. The monkey-king agreed and, when the man had gone, distributed the water-skins and water-pots among the monkeys. In order that the water should not be wasted, he gave instructions to the monkeys that they should pull out the trees by the roots and give plenty of water to those plans whose roots went deep and little to those with small roots. A wise man, happening to see this being done, and reflecting how with every desire to do good, the foolish only succeed in doing harm, rebuked the monkey-king.
The story was told by the Buddha while staying in a hamlet in Kosala. The squire of the village invited the Buddha and his monks to a meal and at the conclusion of the meal gave them leave to stroll about in the grounds. In their walk the monks came across a bare patch of land and learnt from the gardener that it was caused by a lad who had been asked to water the plants there and who, before watering them had pulled them out to see how they grew. This was reported to the Buddha, who related the story of the past. J.i.249‑51. The story is sculptured in the Bharhut Stupa: See Cunningham, Pl.xlv.5.
2. Ārāmadūsaka Jātaka (No. 268).– Same as the above except that the monkeys are asked to water the garden for seven days, and the conversation between the wise man (in this case a young man of good family belonging to Bārāṇasī) and the monkey-king is different.
The story is told in reference to a lad in Dakkhiṇāgiri and not in Kosala as above. J.ii.345‑7.
47The Bodhisatta once had a friend who was a tavern keeper. One day the tavern keeper made ready a supply of strong spirits and went to bathe, leaving his apprentice, Koṇḍañña, in charge. The latter, who had seen customers send for salt and jagghery to make their drink more appetising, pounded some salt and put it in the liquor, hoping to improve it.
The story was told in reference to a friend of Anāthapiṇḍika who was a tavern keeper, whose apprentice did likewise. J.i.251ff.
48There was once a brahmin who knew the Vedabba charm which, if repeated at a certain conjunction of the planets, made the seven precious things rain down from the sky. The Bodhisatta was his pupil, and one day, while journeying in the forest, they were attacked by five hundred robbers called “despatchers” (pesankacorā). They were so called because when they took two prisoners they would keep one, sending the other for ransom.
These robbers kept the brahmin and sent the Bodhisatta for the ransom. The Bodhisatta, knowing that that night the conjunction of the stars would occur, which ensured the efficacy of the charm, warned the brahmin not to make use of it. However, when night came the brahmin repeated the charm, and the robbers were so delighted that he was able to persuade them to set him free. They set off with the treasures that had fallen from the sky, the brahmin accompanying them, but on the way they were attacked by another robber band. These were told that the brahmin could make treasures fall from the sky; they were therefore set free, only the brahmin being kept back. However, on being told that they must wait for one year for the necessary conjunction of planets, they were angry, cut the brahmin in two, and pursued the first band of robbers, destroying them entirely. Unable to agree on the division of the spoils that they thus obtained, the second band fought among themselves until only two were left. These took the treasure and hid it in a jungle near the village. One guarded it while the other went to the village for rice. When he returned he cooked the rice, ate his share, and put poison in the rest hoping thus to rid himself of his companion; the latter, however, killed him, then ate the rice and died himself. The Bodhisatta returning with the ransom, found all the dead bodies, in various places, and realised what had happened. He took the treasure to his own house.
The story was told in reference to a self-willed monk who is identified with the Vedabba brahmin. J.i.253‑6.
49Two parties, having arranged a marriage, fixed a day for it to take place. The bridegroom’s party consults their family ascetic who, piqued at not having been asked before, declares that the chosen day is unlucky. The bride’s families, after waiting a while, give their daughter to another. When the first bridegroom comes later to claim her, he is charged with lack of common courtesy and a wrangle ensues, which is settled by a wise man who points out that all the trouble is due to the foolish habit of consulting stars.
The story is related in reference to two parties of Sāvatthi whose plans are similarly thwarted by a naked ascetic. The characters in both stories are the same, says the Buddha. J.i.257ff.
501. Dummedha Jātaka (No. 50).– The Bodhisatta was once born as Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. Seeing that his subjects were much given to offering sacrifices to the gods in course of which animals were killed and other immoral deeds committed, he made proclamation, soon after becoming king, that he had made a vow to offer in sacrifice all those of his subjects who were addicted to the five immoral deeds and walked upon the ten paths of unrighteousness. His ministers were sent to look for such people, and the proclamation had the desired effect (J.i.259f).
For the introductory story see the Mahākaṇha Jātaka.
2. Dummedha Jātaka (No. 122).– The Bodhisatta was once the state elephant of the Magadha king of Rājagaha. When the king rode in procession, the people had eyes only for the elephant, and the king, in envy, schemed to have the elephant thrown down a precipice. The mahout discovering this, flew on the elephant’s back to Bārāṇasī. The king of Bārāṇasī welcomed them and, with their help, obtained the sovereignty of all India.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s envy of people’s praise of the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with the Magadha king, Sāriputta with the king of Bārāṇasī and Ānanda with the mahout. J.i.444f.
51The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī under the name of Mahāsīlava. He built six almonries and ruled in all goodness. One of his ministers, having intrigued with a member of his harem, was expelled and took service under the king of Kosala. He caused several bands of ruffians to invade the territory of Mahāsīlava at different times. When they were caught and brought before Mahāsīlava, the latter gave them money and sent them away, telling them to act differently in the future. In this way the king of Kosala was persuaded by his minister that Mahāsīlava’s kingdom could easily be captured. He therefore set out with an army, and as the people of Mahāsīlava were allowed to offer no resistance, the king and his ministers were captured alive and buried up to their necks in the cemetery. In the night, when jackals approached to eat them, Mahāsīlava fastened his teeth in the neck of the jackal that came to him. The jackal started howling and his companions fled. In his struggles to get free, the jackal loosened the earth round Mahāsīlava, who managed to free himself and then his companions.
In the cemetery two yakkhas were having a dispute about a dead body, and they asked Mahāsīlava to settle it. However, he wished first to bathe, and they fetched him water and perfumes and food from the usurper’s table in Bārāṇasī and also his sword of state. With this he cut the body in half, giving half to each yakkha, and, with their aid, he entered the usurper’s room where he slept. When the latter showed signs of terror, Mahāsīlava told him of what had happened and granted him forgiveness. His kingdom was then restored, and Mahāsīlava exhorted his subjects on the virtues of perseverance.
The story was related to a backsliding monk. Devadatta is identified with the treacherous minister of the Jātaka. J.i.261‑8.
53The Bodhisatta was once Treasurer of Bārāṇasī, and some rogues, wishing to rob him of his money, conspired together and drugged some liquor, which they offered him as he was on his way to the palace. The Treasurer suspected them, and promised to join them on his way back from the palace. However, on his return the vessels that contained the liquor were still quite full; he therefore charged the men with the intent to poison him, or they would have drunk some of the liquor during his absence. They then ran away.
The story was told to Anāthapiṇḍika, who had a similar experience. However, in this case he was returning from the palace, and challenged the rogue’s to taste their own liquor first. J.i.268ff.
54The Bodhisatta was once a caravan leader, and, while travelling along a road which led through a forest, advised his followers to eat neither fruit, flower nor leaf, without first obtaining his leave. Near a village, on the outskirts of the forest, grew a kimpakka-tree, which, in every respect, resembled a mango tree. Some of the men ate of it, and their leader, when he knew this, gave them medicine which cured them. The next day the villagers rushed up to the tree hoping to find all the members of the caravan dead, like those of former caravans, leaving the villagers to rob their goods. They were amazed on finding these men alive.
The story was told in reference to a gardener employed by a squire in Sāvatthi. He took some monks round the garden and was amazed to find that they could tell the condition of a mango by looking at the tree. J.i.270ff.
55The Bodhisatta born as king of Bārāṇasī. He was the son of Brahmadatta, and was named Pañcāvudha-kumāra because eight hundred brahmins prophesied that he would win glory through prowess in arms. He studied in Takkasilā, and, at the end of his course, his teacher gave him a set of five weapons. On the way home he had a conflict with an ogre named Silesaloma, against whom his weapons were of no avail, as they could not penetrate the ogre’s hair. However, he fought on, and the ogre, marvelling at his courage and his fearlessness, set him free. He thereupon taught the ogre and converted him. Pañcāvudha later became king of Bārāṇasī. J.i.272ff.
The ogre is identified with Aṅgulimāla. The story was related in reference to a monk who had renounced all effort. J.i.272ff.
56The Bodhisatta was once born as a farmer and, while ploughing his field, came upon a nugget of gold, four cubits long and as thick as a man’s thigh, which had been buried by a merchant in bygone days. Finding it impossible to remove the gold as a whole, he cut it into four and carried it home easily. The story was related in reference to a monk who wished to leave the Order because he was frightened by all the rules his teachers asked him to learn and obey. The Buddha gave him three rules — to guard his speech, actions, and thoughts — and the monk won Arahantship. Even a heavy burden becomes light if carried piece by piece. J.i.276‑8.
57The Bodhisatta was once a monkey living on a river bank. On his way from one bank to another, he used to jump off and on a rock in midstream, and a female crocodile, living in the river, longed to eat his heart and asked her husband to get it. So the crocodile lay on the rock, ready to catch the monkey as he jumped. The monkey noticing that, in spite of there being no tide, the rock was higher than usual, spoke to it and received no reply. His suspicions were then confirmed, and he said again, “O rock, why don’t you talk to me today?” The crocodile then revealed both his identity and his purpose, and the monkey resolved to outwit him. So he asked him to open his mouth, knowing that when a crocodile does this he shuts his eyes. So the crocodile did this, and the monkey jumped on to its back and from there to the other bank.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha. J.i.278f; cp. Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka.
58Once Devadatta was born as king of the monkeys, and the Bodhisatta was his son. The monkey-king had the habit of gelding with his teeth all his male offspring, lest they should one day supersede him; but the Bodhisatta’s mother left the herd before the child was born and brought him up elsewhere. When he grew up he came to see the monkey-king, and on the latter’s trying to kill him by crushing him in a false embrace, the Bodhisatta showed greater strength than his sire. Then Devadatta asked him to fetch lotuses from a neighbouring lake, which was inhabited by an ogre, saying that he wished to crown his son as king. The Bodhisatta guessed the presence of the ogre and plucked the flowers by leaping several times from one bank to the other, grasping them on his way. The ogre seeing this expressed his admiration, saying that those who combine the three qualities of dexterity, valour, and resource can never be vanquished. When the monkey-king saw his son returning with the ogre, who was carrying the flowers, he died of a broken heart. The story was related in reference to hunting. J.i.280‑3.
59The Bodhisatta was once a drummer, and having gone one day, with his son, to a great festival where he had earned much money, was returning through a forest infested by robbers. The boy kept on beating the drum, though his father tried to stop him, saying, “Beat it only now and again, as if some great lord were passing by.” At first the robbers were scared away, but they soon discovered that the two were alone and robbed them of their money.
The story was told to a self-willed monk who is identified with the youth of the story. J.i.283‑4.
60The Bodhisatta was once a conch-blower. He went with his father to a public festival, where they earned a great deal of money. On their way through a forest infested with robbers, the son warned his father not to blow on his conch shell, but his father persisted, and they were plundered by the robbers.
The story was told to a self-willed monk who is identified with the father. J.i.284.
Saṅkhadhama Sutta
At Nāḷandā. in Pāvārika's mango grove. The village headman Asibandhakaputta, a disciple of the Nigaṇṭhā, approached the Blessed One, and sat down at one side.¹
The Buddha asked him how Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta teaches his disciples.
Asibandhakaputta explains his teaching that anyone who kills, stills, commits sexual misconduct, or tells lies, goes to hell, led on to rebirth by the manner in which he dwells.
The Buddha explains that this is impossible, since even one who does these things is mostly not doing them.
A disciple of a teacher who places full confidence in his teaching would be destined for hell unless he abandons that view.
The Tathāgata teaches in many ways that killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying are blameworthy and urges his disciples to restrain from them. One who has full confidence in this teaching restrains from those wrong actions and cultivate thoughts of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic-joy, and equanimity.
On the conclusion of the discourse, Asibandhakaputta expresses his appreciation, takes refuge, and declares himself to be a lay-follower. S.iv.317
¹ It is noteworthy that in this case, Asibandhakaputta does not pay homage to the Blessed One, as he does in the Asibandhakaputta Sutta, thus this is an earlier discourse before his conversion to the faith.
61The Bodhisatta was once a famous teacher in Takkasīlā. A young brahmin of Bārāṇasī came to study under him and, after completing his course, went back home. His mother, however, was anxious that he should renounce the world and tend Aggi-Bhagavā in the forest. She accordingly sent him back to the Teacher that he might learn the “Asātamanta” (Dolour Text). The Teacher had a mother aged 120 years, on whom he himself waited. When the youth came back to learn the Asātamanta, he was asked to look after the old woman. She, falling in love with him, hatched a plot to kill her son.
The Bodhisatta, having been told of this plot, made a wooden figure and placed it in his bed. The mother, thinking to kill her son, struck it with an axe, and discovering that she had been betrayed, fell down dead. The youth, having thus learnt the Asātamanta, returned to his parents and became a hermit. Bhaddā Kāpilānī was the mother in the story, Mahā-Kassapa the father and Ānanda the pupil.
This story, together with the Ummadantī Jātaka, was related to a passion-tossed monk to warn him of the evil nature of women. J.i.285‑9.
62On the innate wickedness of woman. A girl is bred from infancy among women only, never seeing any man but her husband, the king’s chaplain. The latter had embarked on the enterprise of so bringing up the girl, in order to defeat the king at dice, because the king was in the habit of winning by a declaration of truth to the effect that all women were treacherous; the chaplain wanted to find an exception in order to falsify the declaration. For a time the experiment succeeds, but later, as a result of the king’s scheming, the girl starts an intrigue with a flower-seller as a lover and is discovered (J.i.289ff). The Jātaka is so called because the woman in the story was guarded from the time she lay in her mother’s womb as a foetus (aṇḍabhūta).
The story was related concerning a monk who was worried by his passions.
63Once the Bodhisatta was an ascetic on the banks of the Gaṅgā, from which he rescued Duṭṭhakumārī, daughter of the treasurer of Bārāṇasī, who had been thrown into the flood during a storm by her long-suffering servants. The ascetic succumbed to the wiles of Duṭṭhakumārī and took up his abode with her in a village, where they earned their living by selling curds (takka). He therefore came to be called Takkapaṇḍita. One day the village was looted by robbers, and they carried the woman away together with their booty. Living happily with the robber chief, she feared that her former husband might come to claim her; she therefore sent for him with sweet words, planning to have him killed.
While being beaten by the robber-chief, Takkapaṇḍita kept repeating, “Ungrateful wretches,” and, on being asked the reason, related the story. The robber thereupon killed the woman.
Ānanda is identified with the robber-chief. The story was related to a passion-tossed monk (J.i.295‑99).
The Jātaka is sometimes referred to as the Takkāriya Jātaka, e.g., J.v.446 (16).
651. Anabhirati Jātaka (No. 65).– Women cannot be regarded as private property. They are common to all; they extend universal hospitality.
The Bodhisatta was once a famous teacher of Bārāṇasī. A pupil of his, finding his wife unfaithful, was so affected by the discovery that he kept away from classes. When asked why, he told his teacher the whole story; the latter consoled him by telling him that all women were unfaithful.
The story was told to an upāsaka who came to visit the Buddha. Once, on discovering his wife’s faithlessness, he had words with her and kept away from the vihāra. J.i.301‑2; see also DhA.iii.348ff., where the details given are slightly different.
2. Anabhirati Jātaka (No. 185).– Told to a young brahmin of Sāvatthi who knew the three Vedas by heart. When he married his mind became darkened. He visited the Buddha, who talked to him pleasantly and discovered in the course of conversation that his memory had grown weak. The same thing had happened to him in the past, said the Buddha. Serenity of mind is essential for good memory. J.ii.99‑101.
Anāgāmiphala Sutta
1. Anāgāmiphala Sutta.– Four qualities lead to the attainment of the Path of Non-returning. What four? Association with good men, listening to the true Dhamma, systematic attention, and practising in according with the Dhamma. (S.v.411)
2. Anāgāmiphala Sutta.– Endowed with six qualities, and without abandoning them it is impossible to attain the path of Non-returning. What six? Lack of faith, shamelessness, recklessness, laziness, muddleheadedness, and lack of wisdom. (A.iii.421)
66The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic, named Mudulakkhaṇa, of great spiritual attainments, living in the Himavā. On one occasion he came to Bārāṇasī where the king, pleased with his demeanour, invited him to the palace and persuaded him to live in the royal park. Sixteen years passed, and the king, leaving the city to quell a border rising, left his wife in the care of the ascetic. The next day the ascetic visited the palace, and having seen the queen, fell instantly in love with her, losing all his psychic powers. When the king returned he found the ascetic disconsolate, and, on learning the reason, agreed to give him the queen. However, he secretly asked the queen, whose name was Mudulakkhaṇā, to think of some device by which she might save the ascetic’s holiness. Together the ascetic and the queen left the palace and went to a house which the king had given them and which was generally used as a jakes. The queen made the ascetic clean the house and fetch water and do one hundred other things. The ascetic then realised his folly and hastened back to the king, surrendering the queen.
The story was related to a young man of rich family belonging to Sāvatthi, who became a monk and practiced meditation. One day, while going for alms, he saw a beautiful woman and was seized with desire. He thereupon gave up his practices, and was brought before the Buddha, who told him this story, at the conclusion of which he became an Arahant.
Ānanda was the king and Uppalavaṇṇā the queen. J.i.302‑6.
67Three men who were ploughing on the outskirts of a forest were mistaken for bandits and taken before the king. While they were being tried a woman came to the palace and with loud lamentations begged for “wherewith to be covered.” The king ordered a shift to be given to her but she refused, saying that that was not what she meant. The king’s servants came back and reported that what the woman wanted was a husband. When the king had her summoned and questioned, she admitted that it was so. Being pleased with the woman, the king asked in what relationship the three prisoners stood to her. She answered that one was her husband, one her brother and one her son. When the king asked which of the three she wished to have released, she chose the brother, because, she said, the two others were replaceable. Well-pleased with her, the king released all three.
The story was related in reference to a woman in a village in Kosala who obtained, from the king of Kosala, the release of three men in similar circumstances and in the same way. At that time, the Bodhisatta was the king. J.i.306‑8.
681. Sāketa Jātaka (No. 68).– Once, when the Buddha visited Sāketa, an old brahmin met him at the gate and fell at his feet, calling him his son, and took him home to see his “mother” the brahmin’s wife — and his “brothers and sisters” — the brahmin’s family. There the Buddha and his monks were entertained to a meal, at the end of which the Buddha taught the Jarā Sutta. Both the brahmin and his wife became Once-returners. When the Buddha returned to Añjanavana, the monks asked him what the brahmin had meant by calling him his son. The Buddha told them how the brahmin had been his father in five hundred successive past births, his uncle in a like number, and his grandfather in another five hundred. The brahmin’s wife had similarly been his mother, his aunt, and his grandmother. J.i.308f; cf. DhA.iii.317f; SNA.ii.532f.
2. Sāketa Jātaka (No. 237).– The story of the present is the same as in the above Jātaka. When the Buddha returned to the monastery he was asked how the brahmin had recognised him. He explained how, in those who have loved in previous lives, love springs afresh, like lotus in the pond. J.i.234f
69The Bodhisatta was once a snake-bite doctor, and, on one occasion, when a countryman had been bitten by a snake, the doctor ordered the snake to be brought and asked it to suck the poison out of the wound. This the snake refused to do even though threatened with death by the doctor.
The story was told in reference to a vow taken by Sāriputta. Some villagers once brought some meal cakes to the monastery, and when the monks present there had eaten, it was suggested that what remained should be saved for those monks who were absent in the village. This was done, but a young colleague of Sāriputta, arriving very late, found that Sāriputta had already eaten his portion, whereat he was very disappointed. Sāriputta immediately vowed never again to touch meal cakes, and the Buddha said that Sāriputta would never return to anything that he had once renounced.
The snake is identified with Sāriputta. J.i.310f.
70The Bodhisatta was once a gardener in Bārāṇasī, and because his only possession was a spade (kuddāla) he was known as Kuddāla Paṇḍita. Later he became a recluse, but six times thoughts of his spade drew him back to the world. The seventh time he threw the spade into the river and shouted for joy, winning insight. The king of Bārāṇasī heard his shouts, and on knowing the reason for them, resolved to join Kuddāla as an anchorite. When the news spread, the people from twelve leagues round accompanied them, and Sakka sent Vissakamma to erect monasteries for them in the Himavā.
The story was told in reference to Citta-Hatthisāriputta (q.v.) (J.i.311ff). The names of some of those who accompanied Kuddāla in his renunciation are mentioned at the end of the Hatthipāla (J.iv.490) and the Mūgapakkha Jātaka. J.vi.30.
The same story is given in different words in the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.i.311f).
71The Bodhisatta was once a teacher of Takkasilā, with five hundred brahmin pupils. One day he sent the pupils into a forest to gather wood, but one of them was lazy and went to sleep, and when his companions woke him he climbed on to a tree and broke off some green branches. One of the boughs hit him in the eye and wounded him. The next day the pupils had been invited to a meal in a distant village and a servant girl was told to make them some gruel early, before their start. She lit a fire with the green wood which lay on the top of the firewood, and the fire would not burn. The green wood had been thrown there last by the lazy pupil who had been the last to return. The pupils could not start in time and the journey had to be abandoned.
The story was told in reference to Kuṭumbiyaputta Tissa, with whom the brahmin youth is identified. J.i.316ff.
Vāruṇī
The name given to slave women, attendants of Varuṇa. They live in dread of him. J.vi.500, 501. At J.vi.586 (in the Vessantara Jātaka) Vāruṇī is explained as “Vāruṇīvā’ti yakkhāviṭṭhā ikkhaṇikā,” — fortune tellers possessed by a yakkha — the yakkha being perhaps Varuṇa.
72The Bodhisatta was once an elephant in the Himavā, head of a herd of eighty thousand. His name was Sīlava. One day he saw a forester of Bārāṇasī who had lost his way, and, feeling compassion for him, took him to his own dwelling, fed him with all kinds of fruit, and then, taking him to the edge of the forest, set him on his way to Bārāṇasī. The wretched man noted all the landmarks, and, on reaching the city, entered into an agreement with ivory workers to supply them with Sīlava’s tusks. He then returned to the forest and begged Sīlava for a part of his tusks, pleading poverty and lack of livelihood. Sīlava allowed the ends of his tusks to be sawn off. The man returned again and again, until, at last, Sīlava allowed him to dig out the stumps as well. As the man was on his way back to Bārāṇasī, the earth opened and swallowed him up into the fires of hell. A tree sprite, who had witnessed all this, spoke a stanza illustrating the evils of ingratitude.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s wickedness; he is identified with the forester and Sāriputta with the tree sprite (J.i.319‑22; the story is referred to in the Milindapañha, p.202).
The birth as Sīlava is mentioned among those in which the Bodhisatta practised the perfection of morality (sīla-pāramī). e.g., MA.ii.617.
Sīlavanta Sutta
1. Sīlavanta Sutta.– Sāriputta tells Mahā-Koṭṭhika, in answer to a question, that the virtuous monk should methodically ponder on the five aggregates of attachment. S.iii.167.
2. Sīlavanta Sutta.– Wherever a virtuous monk dwells, the people make much merit by body, speech, and thought. A.i.151.
3. Sīlavanta Sutta.– Endowed with five things a monk is pleasing to his fellow monks and revered by them. What five? A monk is virtuous and dwells restrained by the Pāṭimokkha, he is endowed with proper conduct and resort, fearful of the slightest fault, he is learned, remembers what he has learnt, and able to teach the Dhamma in detail, he has a pleasant and unhurried speech, is able to develop the four absorptions (jhāna) at will, and has attained the destruction of the corruptions (āsava). A.iii.113.
73The king of Bārāṇasī had a son called Duṭṭhakumāra, who was hated by everyone. One day, when he was bathing in the river, a storm came on, and he ordered his servants to take him into the middle of the river and there bathe him. The servants thereupon flung him into the water and reported to the king that he was lost. As he was swept along on the stream, he caught hold of a tree trunk, and on to this tree trunk there came to cling, also, a snake, a rat, and a parrot, who had all lost their dwelling places in the storm. The Bodhisatta, who was an ascetic living on the bank of the river, rescued Duṭṭha and his companions and looked after them. When they bade him farewell, the snake said that he had four hundred million hidden in a certain spot, and the ascetic had only to ask for these and they were his. The rat had three hundred million, also at the ascetic’s disposal; the parrot promised the ascetic wagon-loads of rice; and Duṭṭha promised to provide him with the four requisites. In his heart, however, he hated the ascetic for an imaginary slight, and vowed vengeance.
After Duṭṭha became king, the ascetic wished to test the faith of his former guests. He went to the snake and called out his name, and the snake at once appeared, offering his treasure. The rat and the parrot did likewise, but Duṭṭha, riding in a procession and seeing him from afar, gave orders that the ascetic should be beaten and put to death. On his way to the place of execution the ascetic kept on repeating: “They knew the world who framed this proverb true: a log pays better salvage than some men!” When asked what these words meant, he related the whole story.
The enraged citizens, seizing Duṭṭha, put him to death and made the ascetic king. Later, he brought the snake, the rat, and the parrot to the palace and looked after them.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with Duṭṭha, the snake with Sāriputta, the rat with Mahā-Moggallāna, and the parrot with Ānanda. J.i.322‑7.
74The Bodhisatta was once a tree-sprite in a sāla grove. A new king Vessavaṇa was appointed by Sakka, and the king gave orders to the tree sprites to choose their abodes. The Bodhisatta advised his kinsmen to choose trees near his own. Some did not follow his advice and dwelt in the lonely trees. A tempest came and uprooted the lonely trees, leaving the trees in the grove unscathed.
This story was one of those related by the Buddha to the Sākyā and Koliyā, who fought for the waters of the Rohinī. He wished to show them the value of concord (J.i.327ff).
For another Jātaka, not found in the Jātaka Commentary, but quoted in the Aṅguttaranikāya and sometimes (e.g., ThagA.i.397) referred to as the Rukkhadhamma Jātaka, see Suppatiṭṭha.
751. Maccha Jātaka (No. 34).– Some fishermen once cast their net into a river, and a great fish, swimming along, playing amorously with his wife, was caught in the net, while his wife escaped. The fishermen hauled him up and left him on the sand while they proceeded to light a fire and whittle a spit whereon to roast him. The fish lamented, saying how unhappy his wife would be, thinking he had gone off with another. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s priest, coming along to the river to bathe, heard the lament of the fish and obtained his freedom from the fishermen.
The story was related to a passion-tossed monk who longed for the wife of his lay days. The two fish were the monk and his seducer. J.i.210‑12.
2. Maccha Jātaka (No. 75).– Once the Bodhisatta was born as a fish in a pond; there was a great drought, the crops withered, and water gave out in tanks and ponds and there was great distress. Seeing this, the Bodhisatta approached Pajjunna, god of rain, and made an Act of Truth, begging for rain. The request succeeded, and heavy rain fell.
The story was told in reference to a great drought in Kosala. Even the pond by the gate of Jetavana was dry, and the Buddha, touched by the universal suffering, resolved to obtain rain. On his way back from his almsround, he sent Ānanda to fetch the robe in which he bathed. As he was putting this on, Sakka’s throne was heated, and he ordered Pajjunna to send rain. The god filled himself with clouds, and then bending his face and mouth, deluged all Kosala with torrents of rain. The Pajjunna of the earlier story is identified with Ānanda. J.i.329‑32; cp. Cyp.iii.10.
3. Maccha Jātaka (No. 216).– The story very much resembles Maccha Jātaka (1). J.ii.178f.
76The Bodhisatta was born as a brahmin in Bārāṇasī and became an ascetic. In the course of his wanderings he once travelled with a merchant caravan. The caravan halted for the night, but while the merchants slept, the ascetic spent his time pacing up and down. Robbers, coming to plunder the caravan, were prevented from so doing by the watchfulness of the ascetic. The next day the merchants, discovering what had happened, asked him if he had felt no fear at the sight of the robbers. “The sight of robbers causes what is known as fear only to the rich. I am penniless, why should I be afraid?” he answered.
After death he was born in the Brahma world.
The story was told to a lay disciple of Sāvatthi who had likewise prevented a caravan from being robbed. “In guarding himself a man guards others; in guarding others he guards himself.” J.i.332‑4.
77Pasenadi, king of Kosala, had, one night, sixteen bad dreams, and his brahmins, on being consulted, said that they presaged harm either to his kingdom, his life, or his wealth, and prescribed all manner of sacrifices in order to avert the danger (It is perhaps this sacrifice which is referred to at S.i.75).
Mallikā, the king’s wife, heard of this and suggested that the Buddha should be consulted. The king followed her advice, and the Buddha explained the dreams.
Having thus explained the dreams, the Buddha told Pasenadi a story of the past. A king of Bārāṇasī, named Brahmadatta, had dreams similar to those of Pasenadi. When he consulted the brahmins, they began to prepare sacrifices. A young brahmin protested, saying that animal sacrifice was against the teaching of the Vedas, but they would not listen. The Bodhisatta, who was a hermit in the Himavā, possessed of insight, became aware of what was happening, travelled through the air and took his seat in the park. There he was seen by a young brahmin, who brought the king to the park. The Bodhisatta heard the king’s dreams and explained them to his satisfaction.
Ānanda was the king and Sāriputta the young brahmin. J.i.334‑45.
78The story of Illisa. The Jātaka was related in reference to the conversion by Mahā-Moggallāna of the banker Maccharikosiya (q.v.) of Sakkhara. Illisa of the past is identified with Macchariyakosiya (J.i.345ff).
The story is given as an example of psychic powers (iddhi) by means of which Moggallāna made a little thing increase manifold. Vism.ii.403.
79A minister of the king of Bārāṇasī arranged in secret with a band of robbers that when he had collected the revenue of a border village he would march his men off to the jungle, leaving the robbers free to secure the booty. The plan was carried out, and half the booty was made over to him; but his treachery became known and he was disgraced.
The story was related in reference to a minister of the Kosala king, who was guilty of similar treachery. J.i.354f.
80The Bodhisatta was once a very skilful archer, educated at Takkasilā and famed as Cūḷa Dhanuggaha. He was a crooked little dwarf and, lest he should be refused employment on account of his size, he persuaded a tall, well built weaver, called Bhīmasena, to be his stalking horse. Bhīmasena went with him to the king of Bārāṇasī and obtained the post of royal archer. Once, the kingdom was attacked by a tiger and Bhīmasena was sent to kill it. Following the advice of the Bodhisatta, he went with a large band of country men, and when the tiger was sighted he waited in a thicket and lay flat on his face. When he knew that the tiger had been killed, he came out of the thicket trailing a creeper in his hand and blamed the people, saying that he had meant to lead the tiger like an ox to the king and had gone into the wood to find a creeper for that purpose. “Who has killed the tiger and spoilt all my plans?” he asked. “I will report all of you to the king.” The terrified people bribed him heavily and said no word as to who had killed the tiger. The king, believing that Bhīmasena himself had killed it, rewarded him handsomely. The same thing happened with a buffalo. Bhīmasena grew rich and began to neglect the Bodhisatta. Soon after, a hostile king marched on Bārāṇasī. Bhīmasena went with a large army riding on an elephant, the Bodhisatta behind him, but at the sight of the battlefield Bhīmasena was so terrified that he fouled the elephant’s back. The Bodhisatta taunted him and sent him home, while he himself captured the enemy king and brought him to the king of Bārāṇasī, who showed him all honour.
The story was related in reference to a monk who, although of low family, used to boast of that family’s greatness. The truth was discovered and his pretensions exposed. He is identified with Bhīmasena. J.i.355‑9.
81The Bodhisatta was once born in a high-caste brahmin family (udiccabrāmaṇakula), and became a hermit with five hundred pupils. One day his pupils went, with his leave, to Bārāṇasī, to the haunts of men, for salt and vinegar. The king welcomed them, and invited them to stay in the royal park for four months. During this time a drinking festival was held in the city, and the people, thinking to give the hermits a rare gift, entertained them to the best they had. The hermits became drunk and behaved with undue hilarity. When they emerged from their stupor and realised what they had done, they left the city and hastened back to their teacher.
The story was related in reference to the occasion on which Sāgata Thera (q.v.) got drunk. J.i.360f.
821. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 82).– This is evidently a fragmentary continuation of the story of Mittavindaka, as given in the Catudvāra Jātaka (q.v.) (J.i.363).
2. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 104).– An additional fragment of the Catudvāra Jātaka. (J.i.413f)
3. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 369).– Evidently another fragmentary version of the Catudvāra Jātaka. (J.iii.206ff)
83The story of a millionaire (seṭṭhi) of Bārāṇasī who had a friend named Kāḷakaṇṇī.
The rest of the story resembles that given above, about Kāḷakaṇṇī, friend of Anāthapiṇḍika (J.i.364f).
In the same connection the Kusanāḷi Jātaka was taught (J.i.441f). There the Kāḷakaṇṇi Jātaka is referred to as Kāḷakaṇṇi Vatthu.
84The Bodhisatta was once born as a very wealthy millionaire (seṭṭhi) in Bārāṇasī. He had a son who, when only seven years old, showed great intelligence and anxiety for his own spiritual welfare. One day the boy asked his father which were the paths leading to welfare and on being told them he followed their teaching.
The story was told in reference to a similar child, the son of a millionaire of Sāvatthi. The father, not being able to answer the boy’s questions, took him to the Buddha at Jetavana. J.i.366‑7.
85The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a caravan. During a journey through a forest he gave orders to his men not to eat any fruit without his leave. Seeing the fruit of a kimpakka-tree, which in appearance and flavour resembled a mango, some of the men ate of the fruit and died in spite of efforts to save them.
The story was related to a monk who was stirred to lust by the sight of a beautifully dressed woman in Sāvatthi. Lusts of the senses are like the fruit of the kimpakka-tree, sweet and attractive in the hour of enjoyment, but leading later to death. J.i.367f
861. Sīlavīmaṃsaka Jātaka (No. 86).– The Bodhisatta was chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī and wished to test the respective powers of virtue and learning (as given in the Sīlavīmaṃsa Jātaka No.362). When being led before the king, he saw snake charmers exhibiting their snake and warned them lest it should bite them. “He is not like you,” they replied, “for he is good.” The king ordered the chaplain to be executed; but, on hearing of his intentions, he allowed him to become an ascetic.
The story was related in reference to a learned and pious brahmin, in the service of the king of Kosala, who carried out a similar test. Then he joined the Order and became an Arahant. J.i.369‑71.
2. Sīlavīmaṃsaka Jātaka (No. 290).– Very similar to No.86 above
87The Bodhisatta was once an Udicca-brahmin who, having entered the ascetic life, lived in the Himavā. He one day visited Rājagaha, and the king invited him to stay in the Royal Park. While he was there, a brahmin who believed in omens as shown by clothes (dussalakkhaṇa brāhmaṇa) found a garment in his chest which had been gnawed by mice, and, fearing disaster, wished to have it thrown out into the charnel ground. Unwilling to entrust the job to anyone else, he gave the clothes to his son to throw away. The Bodhisatta saw the garment and picked it up in spite of the grave warnings of the old brahmin, saying that no wise man should believe in omens.
The story was told in reference to a superstitious brahmin of Rājagaha who had his clothes thrown away in the way related above. The Buddha was waiting in the charnel field and picked up the garments. When the brahmin protested, he related to him the story and taught him on the folly of paying heed to superstitions. At the end of the discourse, father and son became Stream-winners. The characters in both stories are the same. J.i.371ff.
88The story is the same as that of the Nandivisāla Jātaka (No. 28) (q.v.), but with this difference, that the Bodhisatta was an ox named Sārambha, and belonged to a learned brahmin of Takkasilā. J.i.374f.
89Once a country squire, having great faith in the holiness of a matted-haired ascetic, buried some of his wealth in the hermitage he himself had provided for the ascetic. The latter, coveting the gold, hid it elsewhere, and took leave of the squire as though he were going to some other part of the country. The squire, after pressing him in vain to stay, accompanied him part of the way. Suddenly the ascetic stopped and said he had found a straw from the roof of the hermitage sticking to his hair and wished to restore it as it did not belong to him. The squire was greatly impressed by this show of non-covetousness, but another ascetic, who was the Bodhisatta, observing what happened and guessing the reason, communicated his suspicions to the squire. When they searched for the gold it could not be found, but the ascetic confessed his guilt after a sound thrashing (J.i.375ff).
The occasion for the telling of the story is given in the Uddālaka Jātaka.
90A merchant is befriended by a colleague in another country but refuses to return the service.
The servants of the latter thereupon take revenge.
The story is related to Anāthapiṇḍika, who experiences similar ingratitude at the hands of a fellow-merchant. J.i.377‑9.
91The Bodhisatta was once a dice player, and used to play with a sharper who, when he saw that he was losing, would put one of the dice in his mouth, pretending that it was lost. The Bodhisatta discovered this, and one day brought dice smeared with dried poison. The sharper played his usual tricks, and suffered great pain from the poison. The Bodhisatta then cured him, thus teaching him to be honest in future. The story was told in reference to certain monks who were careless in the use of various requisites given to them. J.i.379f.
92The Bodhisatta was once a minister of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. One day the king went with his queens to the park and the latter took off their ornaments for bathing. A female monkey, watching her opportunity, stole a pearl necklace. On the loss being discovered, the king had every person and every place searched. A rustic, seeing the commotion, took to his heels and was chased and captured by the guards. When questioned, he confessed to having stolen the necklace, thinking that the best way of saving his life, and said he had given it to the Treasurer. The Treasurer said he had given it to the chaplain, the chaplain to the chief musician, the musician to the courtesan. As it was by this time late, the matter was put off until the next day, the alleged accomplices being imprisoned. The Bodhisatta, doubting their words, obtained the king’s leave to investigate the matter. He had the prisoners watched, and knew, from their reported conversations, that they were innocent. He then decided that it had been stolen by a monkey, and gave orders that a number of monkeys should be captured and turned loose again with strings of beads round their necks, wrists, and ankles. The monkey, who had stolen the necklace, on seeing the others with their beads, was filled with jealousy and produced the necklace. The guard frightened her, and so she dropped it, and the Bodhisatta was greatly praised for his wisdom.
The story was told in reference to Ānanda. Pasenadi’s wives wished for someone to teach them in the palace. Pasenadi went to the Buddha and from him heard the praises of Chattapāṇi. Later, he met him and asked him to teach in his harem. However, Chattapāṇi was unwilling, saying that it was the prerogative of the monks. Thereupon the king asked the Buddha to appoint someone, and the Buddha appointed Ānanda. One day Ānanda found all the women of the palace very dejected, and learnt that the jewel of the king’s turban had been lost and everyone was most distracted. Ānanda, therefore, went to the king and asked that each suspect should be given a wisp of straw on a lump of clay and asked to place it somewhere, the idea being that the thief would leave the jewel in one of these lumps. The ruse, however, did not succeed, and orders were then given that a water-pot be set in a retired corner of the courtyard behind a screen and that everyone should be asked to wash his hands. When all had washed, the pot was emptied and the jewel found inside it.
Ānanda is identified with the king of the Jātaka. J.i.381‑7.
93The Bodhisatta was once a rich merchant and had a herdsman to guard his cows in a forest paddock. They gave little milk through fear of a lion living in the forest. The merchant, knowing that the lion loved a doe, had her caught and her body rubbed with poison. When she returned to the forest, the lion licked her body and died.
The Buddha related this story to the monks to show them the necessity for circumspection in accepting gifts. J.i.387f.
94The Bodhisatta once became a naked-ascetic (Ājīvaka) who practised all manner of austerities in order to test the efficiency of asceticism, enduring extremes of heat and cold. He realised his error as he lay dying, and was reborn in the deva world.
The story was told in reference to Sunakkhatta, who, having left the Order and joined Korakkhattiya, went about Vesāli, vilifying the Buddha and declaring that his doctrines did not lead to the destruction of suffering. When Sāriputta reported this to the Buddha, the Buddha declared that he had tested the efficacy of asceticism ninety world-cycles ago and had found it wanting. J.i.389‑91.
The story is also referred to in the Cariyāpiṭaka (Cyp.iii.15) as the Mahālomahaṃsacariyā, where it exemplifies the practice of equanimity (upekkhā). J.i.47.
95Relates the story of the death of Mahāsudassana.
For the rest of the king’s story, reference is suggested to the Mahāsudassana Sutta.
Mahāsudassana’s queen is called Subhaddā and is identified with Rāhulamātā. J.i.391‑3.
96The Bodhisatta was once the youngest of one hundred sons of the king of Bārāṇasī. He heard from the Pacceka Buddhas, who took their meals in the palace, that he would become king of Takkasilā if he could reach it without falling a prey to the ogresses who waylaid travellers in the forest. Thereupon, he set out with five of his brothers who wished to accompany him. On the way through the forest the five in succession succumbed to the charms of the ogresses, and were devoured. One ogress followed the Bodhisatta right up to the gates of Takkasilā, where the king took her into the palace, paying no heed to the Bodhisatta’s warning. The king succumbed to her wiles, and, during the night, the king and all the inhabitants of the palace were eaten by the ogress and her companions. The people, realising the sagacity and strength of will of the Bodhisatta, made him their king.
The story was related in reference to the Janapadakalyāṇi Sutta (q.v.) The monks said it must be very hard not to look at a Janapadakalyāṇī, but the Buddha denied this and related the above story (J.i.393ff).
The Jātaka seems also to have been called the Takkasilā Jātaka (J.i.470).
97Once the Bodhisatta was a famous teacher of Takkasilā, and among his pupils was one named Pāpaka. Wishing for a less ill-omened name, he consulted his teacher. The Bodhisatta suggested that Pāpaka should travel and find a suitable name. He came back a wiser man, for he discovered that those name “Jīvaka” died and that some named “Dhanapālī” grovelled in poverty. He thus realised that a name signified nothing.
The story was related in reference to a monk called Pāpaka who wished to change his name. The two are identical. J.i.401ff.
981. Kūṭavāṇija Jātaka (No. 98).– The Bodhisatta was once a merchant named Paṇḍita and entered into partnership with a dishonest man, Atipaṇḍita. When the time came for dividing the profits the latter claimed a larger share, for he, as his name showed, was the “brains” of the business. To settle the dispute he hid his father in a hollow tree, and feigning to consult a Tree-sprite, referred the matter to the Tree. Paṇḍita suspecting the ruse, lit a fire at the foot of the tree and thus exposed the cheat.
The story was related in reference to a cheating merchant of Sāvatthi, who is identified with Atipaṇḍita. He tried to rob his honest partner, always putting off his claims, in the hope that he would die from the hardships suffered in a long journey they had undertaken for trade. J.i.404f
2. Kūṭavāṇija Jātaka (No. 218).– A villager once deposited five hundred ploughshares with a friend in the town, but when he came to claim them, he was told that they had been eaten by mice, and was shown the dung the mice had left behind. Some time later the villager took his friend’s son to bathe, hid him in a house, and reported to the townsman that the boy had been carried off by a hawk. When he was taken before the judge, who was the Bodhisatta, he protested that in a place where mice ate ploughshares a hawk could easily carry off a boy. The Bodhisatta settled their dispute (J.ii.181ff).
The introductory story is similar to that of No.1 above.
99Once the Bodhisatta was an ascetic in the Himavā, leader of five hundred ascetics. His chief disciple was away at the time of his (the Bodhisatta’s) death, and when his other disciples asked him, just before his death, what excellence he had won, he answered “Nothing,” meaning, “insight into the nothingness of things.” However, they did not understand, and therefore neglected to pay him the customary honours at his cremation. When the chief disciple returned and heard of this, he tried to explain matters to them, but they would not pay heed until the Bodhisatta himself appeared from the Brahma world and convinced them of their folly.
“Far better than a thousand fools,” he said, “is one who, hearing, understands.”
The story was told in reference to Sāriputta’s great wisdom. He is identified with the chief disciple (J.i.406ff). See also Sarabhaṅga Jātaka.
100Once the Bodhisatta was King of Bārāṇasī. The Kosala king waged war on him, slew him and bore off his queen to make her his own wife. The king’s son escaped through a sewer and later came back with a large army to give battle. His mother, hearing of his doings, suggested that he should blockade the city instead.
This he did, and the blockade was so close that on the seventh day the people cut off the head of the king and brought it to the prince.
It was this prince who became Sīvalī in the present age; the blockade was the reason for his remaining seven years in his mother’s womb, and for her being seven days in bringing him forth. His mother was Suppavāsā, daughter of the Koliya king.
The story was related by the Buddha to explain to the monks the reason for Suppavāsā’s long pregnancy. J.i.407‑10. This Jātaka appears, with variations in detail, in DhA.ii.198ff.
102A greengrocer of Bārāṇasī had a pretty daughter who was always laughing. Before agreeing to give her in marriage, her father wished to test her virtue, lest she should bring disgrace on his name. He took her into the forest and whispered to her words of love. When she expressed her horror, he was convinced of her innocence and agreed to the marriage. The Bodhisatta was a Tree-sprite and witnessed the incident. The story was related to a greengrocer in Sāvatthi who treated his daughter in a similar way. He later visited the Buddha and told him the story. The characters were identical in both cases. J.i.411f.
103The Bodhisatta was once a rich merchant, and one day, while on his way home from a village where he had collected his dues, he noticed that there were robbers about. He, therefore, urged his oxen on to the top of their speed and reached home safely.
The story was told to Anāthapiṇḍika, who had a similar experience. J.i.412f.
1041. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 82).– This is evidently a fragmentary continuation of the story of Mittavindaka, as given in the Catudvāra Jātaka (q.v.) (J.i.363).
2. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 104).– An additional fragment of the Catudvāra Jātaka. (J.i.413f)
3. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 369).– Evidently another fragmentary version of the Catudvāra Jātaka. (J.iii.206ff)
105Once an elephant, caught in the Himavā, while being trained by the king’s trainers, broke away from his chains and escaped to the mountains. There he lived in a constant state of terror until the Bodhisatta, who was a tree-sprite, dispelled his fears.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was always in fear of death. He is identified with the elephant. J.i.414‑6.
106The Bodhisatta and his son lived in a hermitage. One evening when the Bodhisatta came back with fruits to the hermitage, he found that his son had neither brought in food and wood nor lit the fire. When questioned by his father, he answered that during the latter’s absence a woman had tempted him, and was waiting outside for him to go with her, if he could obtain his father’s consent. The Bodhisatta, seeing that his son was greatly enamoured of the woman, gave his consent, adding that if ever he wished to come back he would be welcome. The young man went away with the woman, but after some time, realising that he had to slave to satisfy her needs, he ran away from her and returned to his father (J.i.416‑7).
For the circumstances relating to the telling of the story, see the Cūḷanārada Jātaka.
107The king of Bārāṇasī once had a very talkative chaplain. Outside the city gate was a cripple, who lived under a banyan tree, so clever that he could cut the leaves of the tree into various shapes by throwing stones at them. The king, seeing him, engaged his services to cure his chaplain. The cripple obtained a peashooter filled with dry goat’s dung, and, sitting behind a curtain with a hole in it, he shot pellets of dung into the mouth of the chaplain as he talked away ceaselessly. When half a peck had thus been shot, the king revealed the plot to the chaplain and advised an emetic. The chaplain realised his folly and did not offend again. The cripple was given four villages, bringing in four thousand a year.
The story was told in reference to a novice on the banks of the Aciravatī who, challenged by his companions, shot a pebble through the eye of a swan in flight, the pebble emerging through the other eye.
The novice is identified with the cripple and Ānanda, with the king. The Bodhisatta was one of the king’s courtiers. See also Sunetta (3). J.i.418f; cf. DhA.ii.69f; Pv.iv.16; PvA.282f.
108Once Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, saw from his window a fat and badly dressed woman relieving nature modestly and decently as she passed the courtyard of the palace when pressing need came upon her. The king was pleased with her quickness and decency, and having sent for her made her his chief queen. Their son became a Cakkavatti.
The story was told in reference to the fat wife of a Licchavi prince. The monks expressed surprise that he should love her, but the Buddha pointed out that she was healthy and cleanly in her house (J.i.420ff).
In the course of the Jātaka, the woman is referred to as a “bāhiyā,” which the scholiast explains by “bahijanapadavāsī” — from the outlying districts of the country. Therefore, “bāhiyā” probably means “rustic.”
109The Bodhisatta was once a tree-sprite in a castor-oil tree and received worship and offerings from many people. Among them was a very poor man who, having nothing else to offer at the tree, took a cake made of husk powder. However, when he saw the other rich offerings, he felt that the sprite would never accept so humble a gift and wished to eat the cake himself. The tree-sprite appeared, took the offering, and revealed to the man that heaps of treasure lay buried under the tree. The man informed the king of this, and the king, in return, appointed him royal treasurer.
The story was told in reference to a poor man of Sāvatthi. Once the people of a whole street in that town pooled their resources in order to entertain the Buddha and his monks to a meal of rice-gruel and cakes. The poor man, unable to afford anything else, made a bran-cake and by sheer determination put it in the alms-bowl of the Buddha himself. When it became known that the Buddha had accepted it, people of all classes crowded round the man offering him wealth if he would share with them the merit he had gained. After consulting with the Buddha, the man accepted the offers, and the gifts he received amounted to ninety million. That same evening the king appointed him treasurer. J.i.422f.
111One of the problems set by King Vedeha to Mahosadha, in order to test him, at the instigation of the king’s ministers. The king sent word to Mahosadha that while he was on his way to see him his horse had broken its leg; would Mahosadha therefore, send him a more excellent horse? Mahosadha, understanding the significance of the message, went to the palace, sending his father on before him. When Mahosadha entered he found his father seated, but, as had been prearranged, he obliged his father to get up and offer him his seat. On this there was a great uproar, all saying that he had slighted his father. However, Mahosadha convinced the king that he was a more excellent man than his father, giving proof of this by producing before the king an ass which he had brought with him, and making the king acknowledge that a colt born of the ass through a Sindh mare would be far more valuable than the colt’s sire (J.vi.342f).
The story is given as a separate Jātaka (No. 111), J.i.424, but the Commentary there just refers to the Umaṅga Jātaka.
1131. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 113).– The people of Bārāṇasī once held a sacrifice to the yakkhas, placing meat and liquor in their courtyards. A jackal, who entered the city through a sewer, regaled himself with food and drink and then went to sleep in some bushes in the city. He did not awake until morning, and then, looking for a way of escape, met a brahmin. Promising to show him a spot where lay hidden two hundred pieces of gold, he persuaded the brahmin to carry him out of the city in his waist cloth. Arrived at the cemetery, he asked the brahmin to spread his robe and dig under a tree. While the brahmin dug, the jackal fouled the robe and ran away. The Bodhisatta, then a tree sprite, advised the brahmin to wash his robe and cease being a fool.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the jackal. J.i.424‑26.
2. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 142).– Once, during a festival in Bārāṇasī, some rogues were drinking and eating until late at night, and when the meat was finished, one of them offered to go to the charnel field and kill a jackal for food. Taking a club, he lay down as though dead. The Bodhisatta, then king of the jackals, came there with his flock, but in order to make sure that it was a corpse, he pulled at the club. The man tightened his grip, and the Bodhisatta mocked at his silliness. The man then threw the club at the jackals, but they escaped.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the rogue. J.i.489f.
3. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 148).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a jackal, and, coming across the dead body of an elephant, ate into it from behind and lived inside it. When the body dried up, he became a prisoner and made frenzied efforts to escape. Then a storm broke, moistening the hide and allowing him to emerge through the head, but not without losing all his hair as he crawled through. He thereupon resolved to renounce greediness.
The story was told in reference to five hundred companions, rich men of Sāvatthi, who joined the Order. One night the Buddha perceived that they were filled with thoughts of lust. He therefore sent Ānanda to summon all the monks in the monastery, and told this tale to illustrate the evil effects of desire. The five hundred monks became Arahants. J.i.601f.
4. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 152).– The Bodhisatta was once a lion with six brothers and one sister. When the lions were away after food, a jackal who had fallen in love with the lioness told her of his love. She was greatly insulted, and resolved to tell her brothers and then die. The jackal slunk away and hid in a cave. One by one the lions came in, and when their sister told them of the insult, they tried to reach the jackal by leaping upwards, but perished in the attempt. At last came the Bodhisatta; being wise, be roared the lion’s roar three times and the jackal died. He then consoled his sister.
The story was told to a barber in Vesāli who served the king’s household. His son used to go with him to the palace, and, having fallen in love with a Licchavi girl, died of a broken heart because he could not have her. The barber, who was a pious follower of the Buddha, visited the Buddha some time after and told him of what had happened.
The jackal was the barber’s son, the lioness the Licchavi girl, and the six young lions the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā). J.ii.5ff.
114There were once three fish — Bahucintī, Appacintī, and Mitacintī¹ — who, one day, left their haunts and came to where men dwelt. Mitacintī (the Bodhisatta) saw the danger and warned the others, but they would not listen and were caught in a net. Then Mitacintī splashed about and deceived the fishermen into thinking that the other two had escaped. They thereupon raised the net by one single corner and the other two escaped.
The story was told in reference to two aged monks who spent the rainy season in the forest, wishing to go to the Buddha. However, they constantly postponed their visit and it was not until three months after the end of the rains that they finally arrived at Jetavana. The two monks are identified with the thoughtless fish. J.i.426‑8.
¹ The names mean: “Think a lot,” “Think a little,” and “Think moderately.” The Bodhisatta is the fish who saves the others by being too smart, nor too simple (ed.)
115Taught at Jetavana regarding a gluttonous bhikkhuṇī, who sought alms in quarters not visited by other bhikkhuṇīs. In order to keep these areas for herself she warned others of dangers lurking there. One day, while begging for alms, her leg was broken by a cart, and her secret discovered.
The story of the past is of a greedy bird, which, after warning others of the dangers of a road in which it found food, is crushed to death by a cart on the same road.
The gluttonous bhikkhuṇī is identified with the bird. (J.i.429.)
116The Bodhisatta was once a very skilled acrobat and travelled about with his teacher who knew the dance of the four javelins. One day the teacher, in a drunken fit of boasting, announced that he would do the dance of the five javelins — which he did not know — and insisted on doing it against the advice of the Bodhisatta. The result was that the boaster was impaled on the fifth javelin (J.i.430f). For the introductory story see the Gijjha Jātaka (No. 427).
1171. Tittira Jātaka (No. 37).– There were once three friends, a partridge (tittira), a monkey and an elephant. Discovering that the partridge was the oldest of them, they honoured him as their teacher and he gave them counsel. Their conduct came to be called the Tittiriya-brahmacariya. The Bodhisatta was the partridge, Mahā-Moggallāna the elephant, and Sāriputta the monkey.
The story was related in reference to the failure of the Chabbaggiyā to show due respect to Sāriputta. Once, when he visited them in company with the Buddha, they refused to provide him with lodging, and he had to sleep under a tree. J.i.217ff; cp. Vin.ii.161; Avadāna S.ii.17.
2. Tittira Jātaka (No. 117).– The Bodhisatta was once a leader of five hundred ascetics. One day, a talkative ascetic approached a jaundiced colleague who was chopping wood and worried him by giving him directions on how to do it. The ill man killed him with one blow of the axe. Soon after, a partridge, who used to sing on an anthill nearby, was killed by a fowler. The Bodhisatta pointed out to his followers how the death of both was due to their talking too much.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika, who is identified with the chattering ascetic. J.i.431f.
3. Tittira Jātaka (No. 319).– Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin ascetic, and Rāhula a decoy partridge used by a village fowler. When the partridge uttered a cry, other partridges would flock to him, and they were killed by the fowler. The partridge was filled with remorse, fearing that he was doing wrong. One day he met the Bodhisatta who set his doubts at rest.
The story was told in reference to Rāhula’s readiness to profit by instruction (J.iii.64ff). It was related by Moggaliputta-Tissa to Asoka, to prove to him that an action becomes a crime only when performed with bad intention. Mhv.v.264.
1181. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (No. 35).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a quail, and before he was old enough to fly, fire broke out in the forest wherein his nest was. Seeing no means of escape, he made an Act of Truth (sacca-kiriyā), calling to mind the holiness of the Buddhas and their doctrines. The fire retreated to a distance of sixteen lengths and then extinguished itself. The story was related in reference to a fire which broke out in the jungle when the Buddha was travelling in Magadha with a large company of monks. Some of the monks were frightened and suggested various methods for putting out the fire, while others said they should seek the Buddha’s protection. This they did and the Buddha took them to a certain spot, where he halted. The flames came no nearer than sixteen lengths from where they were standing, and in approaching the spot extinguished themselves. When the monks marvelled at the great power of the Buddha, he told them the story of the past and said that, owing to his Act of Truth as a quail, that spot would never be harmed by flames during the whole of this world-cycle. J.i.212ff; cp. J.i.172.
See the Vaṭṭa Paritta.
2. Vaṭṭa Jātaka (No. 118).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a quail, and was caught by a fowler who sold birds after fattening them. The Bodhisatta, knowing this, starved himself, and when the fowler took him out of the cage to examine his condition the quail flew away and rejoined his companions.
The story was told in reference to a young man of Sāvatthi called Uttaraseṭṭhiputta. He had descended from the Brahma world and had no desire for women. Once, during the Kattikā festival, his friends sent him a gaily decked woman to entice him, but he gave her some money and sent her away. As she came out of his house, a nobleman saw her and took her with him. When she failed to return, her mother complained to the king, and the millionaire’s son (seṭṭhiputta) was told to restore her. On failing to do so, he was taken off for execution. He resolved that if by any means he could escape execution he would become a monk. The girl noticed the crowd following the young man, and on learning the reason she revealed her identity and he was set free. He, thereupon, joined the Order and soon after became an Arahant. J.i.432ff.
3. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (No. 394).– The Bodhisatta was once a forest quail living on rough grass and seeds. A greedy crow of Bārāṇasī, who was in the forest, saw the quail and thought that the good condition of his body was due to rich food. The quail, seeing the crow, talked to him, and then the crow discovered that the quail had a beautiful body not because he ate rich food, but because he had contentment of mind and freedom from fear.
The story was related in reference to a greedy monk who is identified with the crow. J.iii.312f.
4. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka.– See also the Sammodamāna Jātaka, which is evidently also referred to as the Vaṭṭaka Jātaka, e.g., J.v.414; DhA.i.46; SNA.ii.358.
119A cock belonging to a school of young brahmins had its neck wrung because it crowed in and out of season. A monk, who is inconsiderately noisy, is the cause of the story being told (J.i.435‑6).
In the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iii.142f) the name of the story is given as Akālarāvikukkuṭa Jātaka, and is related regarding Padhānika Tissa Thera, who is stated to have been the cock of the Jātaka story.
120The Bodhisatta was once chaplain to King Brahmadatta. While the king was absent, quelling a frontier rebellion, his queen sinned with all the messengers sent by the king to inquire after her welfare. On the day of the king’s return, the chaplain, while decorating the palace, entered the queen’s apartments, and she asked him to satisfy her lust. When he refused the queen (feigning illness) charged him with having ill-treated her. Thereupon the king ordered that the chaplain be beheaded, but the latter begged to be brought before the king, where he protested his innocence and proved, by the testimony of the king’s messengers, the queen’s wickedness. The king wished to put to death the queen and all the messengers, but the chaplain interceded on their behalf and they were pardoned. He himself retired to the Himavā, where he became an ascetic.
The story was told in reference to the attempt of Ciñcā-māṇavikā to bring calumny upon the Buddha. The queen is identified with Ciñcā and the king with Ānanda. J.i.437ff.
Bandhana Sutta
1. Bandhana Sutta.– The world is bound by pleasure; by abandoning craving, the world will become free. S.i.39.
2. Bandhana Sutta.– The Buddha once heard that Pasenadi had taken men prisoners and had bound them in chains. He thereupon declared that the bonds of passion were stronger than any chains (S.i.76). The Commentary says (SA.i.115; cp. Bandhanāgāra Jātaka) that the incident was connected with the loss of the king’s turban diadem.
3. Bandhana Sutta.– Those who regard the body, feelings, perceptions, etc., as self, are fettered by bonds those who do not are free. S.iii.164.
4. Paṭhamabandhana Sutta.– There are eight ways in which a woman binds a man. A.iv.196.
5. Dutiyabandhana Sutta. – Eight ways in which a man binds a woman. A.iv.197. The same eight ways as the above.
121The Bodhisatta was born as a sprite, in a clump of kusa-grass. Hard by was a mukkhaka-tree in which lived a Tree-sprite. One day the king’s carpenter, looking for a suitable pillar for the king’s one-pillared palace, reluctantly decided to fell the mukkhaka. Learning of the Tree-sprite’s imminent danger, the Bodhisatta assumed the shape of a chameleon and deceived the carpenter in such a way that he saw the mukkhaka as all rotten and of no use for his purpose.
The story was told in reference to one of Anāthapiṇḍika’s friends. He was of low rank and poor, and Anāthapiṇḍika’s other friends protested against such intimacy. However, one day the poor friend saved Anāthapiṇḍika’s house from being burgled. The Buddha related the story to show how each, according to his strength, could help a friend in need (J.i.441ff).
Ānanda was the Tree-sprite. The story is often quoted (e.g., J.iv.77) to show the value of a good friend.
1221. Dummedha Jātaka (No. 50).– The Bodhisatta was once born as Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. Seeing that his subjects were much given to offering sacrifices to the gods in course of which animals were killed and other immoral deeds committed, he made proclamation, soon after becoming king, that he had made a vow to offer in sacrifice all those of his subjects who were addicted to the five immoral deeds and walked upon the ten paths of unrighteousness. His ministers were sent to look for such people, and the proclamation had the desired effect (J.i.259f).
For the introductory story see the Mahākaṇha Jātaka.
2. Dummedha Jātaka (No. 122).– The Bodhisatta was once the state elephant of the Magadha king of Rājagaha. When the king rode in procession, the people had eyes only for the elephant, and the king, in envy, schemed to have the elephant thrown down a precipice. The mahout discovering this, flew on the elephant’s back to Bārāṇasī. The king of Bārāṇasī welcomed them and, with their help, obtained the sovereignty of all India.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s envy of people’s praise of the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with the Magadha king, Sāriputta with the king of Bārāṇasī and Ānanda with the mahout. J.i.444f.
1241. Amba Jātaka (No. 124).– During a very severe drought, a hermit living in the Himavā at the head of five hundred ascetics, provided water for the animals, using the hollowed trunk of a tree as trough. In gratitude the animals brought him various fruits, enough for himself and his five hundred companions. The story is related regarding a brother who was very zealous in his duties, doing everything well and wholeheartedly. Because of his great goodness the people fed regularly every day five hundred of the Brethren. J.i.449‑51.
2. Amba Jātaka (No. 474).– The story of a brahmin youth who learnt a charm from a wise outcaste (caṇḍāla). The charm had the power of making lovely and fragrant mangoes grow out of season. The youth exhibited his skill before the king, but when asked the name of his teacher he lied and said he had been taught it in Takkasilā. Immediately the charm escaped his memory and all his power deserted him. At the king’s suggestion he went back to the teacher to ask his forgiveness and to learn the charm anew, but the teacher would have none of him and the youth wandered away into the forest and died there.
The story is told in reference to Devadatta who had repudiated the Buddha as his teacher and as a result was born in Avīci (J.iv.200‑7). The youth was a former birth of Devadatta.
125Once when the Bodhisatta was a rich treasurer in Bārāṇasī a son was born to him. A female slave in the house gave birth to a son on the same day. The boys grew up together, the slave’s son being called Kaṭāhaka. Kaṭāhaka acquired various arts in the company of his master. When he grew up he was appointed as the Treasurer’s private secretary. One day he visited a merchant on the frontier, carrying a letter purporting to be from the Treasurer (in which he was stated to be the son of the latter), asking for the hand of the merchant’s daughter in marriage. The merchant was overjoyed, and the marriage took place. Kaṭāhaka gave himself great airs and spoke contemptuously of everything “provincial.” The Treasurer, discovering what had happened, decided to visit the merchant, but Kaṭāhaka went to meet him on the way, and paying him all the honour due from a slave, begged him not to expose him. Meanwhile, he had misled his wife’s relations into the belief that the homage, paid by him to the Treasurer, was but the regard due from a son to his father. He was not like the sons of other parents, but knew what was due to his father. The Bodhisatta, being pleased, did not expose the slave, but on learning from Kaṭāhaka’s wife that Kaṭāhaka always complained of his food, he taught her a stanza which contained the threat — not intelligible to her, though clear to Kaṭāhaka — that if Kaṭāhaka continued to make a nuisance of himself, the Treasurer would return and expose him. Thenceforth Kaṭāhaka held his peace.
The story was related in reference to a novice who used to boast of his high lineage and the wealth of his family until his pretensions were exposed (J.i.451ff).
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iii.357ff), the story was told in reference to a novice named Tissa who would complain, no matter what attentions were paid to him.
126In Bārāṇasī was a brahmin who could tell, by smelling them, whether swords were lucky or not. One day, while testing a sword, he sneezed and cut off the tip of his nose. The king had a false tip made and fastened to his nose so that no one could tell the difference.
The king had a daughter and an adopted nephew, who, when they grew up, fell deeply in love with each other. They wished to marry, but the king, having other plans, kept them apart. The prince bribed an old woman to get his beloved for him. The old woman reported to the king that his daughter was under the influence of witchcraft and that the only way of curing her was to take her to the cemetery under armed escort, where she must be laid on a bed under which was a corpse, and there she must be bathed for the purpose of exorcism.
The prince was to impersonate the corpse, being provided with pepper in order that he might sneeze at the right moment; the guard were warned that if the exorcism succeeded, the dead body would sneeze, rise up and kill the first thing it could lay hold of. The plot succeeded, the guard taking to their heels when the prince sneezed. The two lovers were married and were forgiven by the king. Later, they became king and queen.
One day the sword-testing brahmin was standing in the sun when the false tip of his nose melted and fell off. He stood hanging his head for very shame. “Never mind,” laughed the king, “sneezing is bad for some, but good for others. A sneeze lost you your nose, but a sneeze won for me both my throne and my queen.”
The story was related in reference to a brahmin of the kingdom of Kosala who tested swords by smelling them. He accepted bribes and passed the swords only of those who had won his favour. One day an exasperated dealer put pepper on his sword so that when the brahmin smelt it he sneezed, slitting his nose. The monks were once talking about him when the Buddha entered and told them the story of the past. The two brahmins were one and the same man in different births. J.i.455‑8.
127Kalanduka was the servant of the Treasurer of Bārāṇasī. He ran away, and with the help of a forged letter, just as did Kaṭāhaka (q.v.), and married the daughter of a border merchant.
The Treasurer sent a parrot to seek for him. The parrot saw him hawking and spitting out milk at his wife’s head in order to assert his power, and, wishing to teach him a lesson, threatened to expose him. The Treasurer, hearing from the parrot of Kalanduka’s whereabouts, had him brought back and reduced again to slavedom. J.i.458.
128The Bodhisatta was once born as a big rat, leader of a troop of rats. A roving jackal, wishing to eat them, took up his stand near their home, poised on one leg, feigning great holiness. Impressed by his austerities, the Bodhisatta and his troop worshipped him, and each day the jackal ate the hindmost rat when they turned to leave him. Seeing their number diminish, the Bodhisatta suspected the reason, and one day he himself came last, behind the others. When the jackal pounced on him, he sprang at his throat and killed him, the other rats eating the body.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was a hypocrite. J.i.460f.
129The story of a jackal, who, when his hair is singed by a forest fire, pretends to be a saint of the name of Aggika-Bhāradvāja and eats the rats that trust him. J.i.461f.
1301. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 130).– A brahmin of Bārāṇasī had a bad wife who lay in bed by day feigning sickness and spent her nights in enjoyment. The husband worked hard to supply her with dainties, and, in consequence, could not visit his teacher who was the Bodhisatta. When the latter discovered the truth, he advised the brahmin to prepare a mess of cow-dung and other things and to insist that his wife should either swallow this medicine or get up and work. She then knew that her shamming was discovered and abandoned her evil ways.
The story was told to a brahmin of Sāvatthi, a pious follower of the Buddha, whose wife behaved in a similar way. The Buddha told him this story of the past and asked him to try the same remedy, for, he said, the brahmin and his wife were identical with the couple of the story (J.i.463f).
In the story of the past the woman is addressed as “Kosiyā.” The scholiast (J.i.465) adds that she belonged to the Kosiya-gotta.
2. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 226).– The king of Bārāṇasī, making war at an unseasonable time while camping in the park, saw an owl (kosiya) being attacked by crows. The king asked his minister the reason for this; the minister, being the Bodhisatta, said the owl had left his hiding-place too early — that is, before sunset.
The story was told to Pasenadi, who visited Jetavana on his way to quell a border uprising; the time was unsuitable for such an enterprise. J.ii.208f.
3. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 470).– Given under the Sudhābhojana Jātaka.
131The Bodhisatta was born in Rājagaha and became known as Saṅkhaseṭṭhi, worth eight hundred million. He had a friend, Pīḷiyaseṭṭhi, in Bārāṇasī, who was equally wealthy. Pīḷiya having lost all his wealth, sought the assistance of Saṅkha, who gave him one-half of all his possessions. Later, Saṅkha, himself becoming bankrupt, went with his wife to Bārāṇasī to seek help from Pīḷiya; the latter, however, dismissed him with half a quarter of pollard. On the way back Saṅkha was recognised by an erstwhile servant of his whom he had given to Pīḷiya. This servant befriended Saṅkha and his wife, and with the help of his companions, brought to the king’s notice Pīḷiya’s ingratitude. The king, having tried the case, wished to give all Pīḷiya’s wealth to Saṅkha, but at the latter’s request restored to him only what he had, in days of prosperity, given to Pīḷiya.
The story is related in reference to Devadatta’s ingratitude. J.i.465‑9.
132v.l. Pañcagaru Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once the youngest of the hundred sons of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. He had, as far as could be seen, no chance of being king, but on seeking the counsel of a Pacceka Buddha and following his advice, he became king on his father’s death. For details reference is invited to the Takkasilā Jātaka, this evidently being another name for the Telapatta Jātaka (q.v.)
This Jātaka was related in reference to the attempts made by Māra’s daughters to tempt the Buddha as he sat under the Ajapāla Nigrodha tree. J.i.469ff.
133Once the Bodhisatta was king of the birds and lived with his subjects in a giant tree, whose branches spread over a lake. The Nāga king of the lake, Caṇḍa, enraged by the dropping of the birds’ dung into the water, caused flames to dart up from the water to the tree, and the Bodhisatta, perceiving the danger, flew away with his flock.
The story was told to a monk whose hut was burnt by fire. The villagers undertook to build him another, but there was a delay of three months, during which the monk with no shelter could not proceed in his meditation. The Buddha chided him for not seeking another shelter. J.i.471f.
134The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic who, at the moment of his death, said “neither conscious nor unconscious.” His chief disciple interpreted these words, but the others would not believe him until the Bodhisatta descended from the Brahma-world in order to uphold his explanation.
The story was related in reference to an explanation given by Sāriputta at Saṅkassa (J.i.473).
This Jātaka is probably also called the Anaṅgana Jātaka (q.v.)
Jhāna Sutta
1. Jhānādi Sutta.– Anuruddha tells his colleagues that it is through cultivating the four foundations of mindfulness that he has gained mastery of the absorptions (jhāna). S.v.305.
2. Jhāna Sutta.– The great benefit one derives from practising absorption, even for the duration of a finger-snap, and the different methods of attaining to such practice. A.i.38ff.
3. Jhāna Sutta.– On the advantages that result from the practice of mindfulness centred on the body. A.i.43f.
4. Jhāna Sutta.– Six other things which must be abandoned in order that absorption may be developed. A.iii.428.
5. Jhāna Sutta.– Six things one must give up in order to develop absorption. A.iii.428.
6. Jhāna Sutta.– The Buddha explains to the monks how the destruction of the corruptions (āsava) is the result of every step taken in the sphere of contemplation. A.iv.422f.
135The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic and, at the moment of his death, answered his disciples’ inquiries with the words “moonlight and sunlight.” When his chief pupil (identified with Sāriputta) interpreted the words, his colleagues did not believe him until the Bodhisatta appeared in mid-air and said that whoever meditated on the sun and the moon would be born in the Ābhassara world (J.i.474).
The Jātaka was taught about the interpretation of a problem by Sāriputta at the gates of Saṅkassa.
136The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin. He had three daughters: Nandā, Nandavatī, and Sundarī-Nandā. After death he was born as a golden goose, and, remembering his past birth, he flew to where his wife and daughters lived and gave one of his golden feathers. This happened several times, until at last his wife planned to pull out all his feathers. Now the feathers taken from a golden goose, against his wish, cease to be golden and become like the feathers of a crane. The woman discovered this when she had pulled out all his feathers, so she flung him into a barrel and fed him there. Later white feathers grew on him, and he flew away never to return.
The story was told in reference to Thullanandā (q.v.) One day she went to a bailiff’s house for some garlic, as he was in the habit of giving this to the nuns. However, the supply was finished, and she was asked to get some from the field. She went there and took away a large quantity, and the bailiff was very angry.
Thullanandā is identified with the greedy woman and her three sisters with the three daughters. J.i.474‑7.
137There was once a rich merchant of Kāsi who amassed four hundred million in gold. His wife died and, because of her love of money, was reborn as a mouse dwelling over the family treasure. In due course the rest of the family died and the village was deserted. The Bodhisatta was a stone-cutter, working a quarry near the mouse’s residence. She, liking him, brought him one day a coin, suggesting that, with a part of it, he should buy her some meat. The Bodhisatta agreed, and this continued for some time. One day the mouse was caught by a cat, but she obtained her release by promising him some of her food. She was later caught by three other cats, but was let free on the same terms. The mouse thus had only one fifth of her food and grew very thin. The Bodhisatta noticed this, and when she told him the reason, he put her inside a crystal box and suggested that when the cats came she should refuse to have anything to do with them. The first cat arrived and, on being reviled by the mouse, jumped on the crystal box and was crushed to death. The same fate overtook the other cats. The mouse thus became free, and in gratitude to the Bodhisatta, showed him all the treasure.
The story was told in reference to Kāṇā (q.v.), who lost her husband owing to four monks. The monks were the cats and Kāṇā the mouse. J.i.477‑80.
1381. Godha Jātaka (No. 138).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a lizard and paid homage to a good ascetic living near the ant-hill where he dwelt. The good ascetic left and was replaced by a wicked one, to whom the Bodhisatta paid like homage. One day, the villagers brought a dish of lizard’s flesh to the ascetic. Being attracted by its flavour, he planned to kill the Bodhisatta, that he might have more of the flesh. However, the Bodhisatta discovered his intention just in time, and, making good his escape, denounced the hypocrite.
The story was told in reference to a wicked monk. J.i.480f.
2. Godha Jātaka (No. 141).– The Bodhisatta was born once as an iguana, leader of many others. His son became intimate with a young chameleon, whom he used to clip and embrace. The Bodhisatta warned his son against this unnatural intimacy, but, finding his advice of no avail, and knowing that danger would come to them through the chameleon, he prepared a way of escape, should the need arise. The chameleon, growing tired of the friendship with the iguana, showed a trapper the home of the iguanas. The trapper made a fire round the hole and killed many of the iguanas as they tried to escape, but the Bodhisatta reached safety through the hole he had provided.
The story was told about a treacherous monk, identified with the young iguana (J.i.487f). For details see the Mahilāmukha Jātaka.
3. Godharāja Jātaka (No. 325).– The story of the past is very similar to No.1 above, except that there is only mention of one ascetic and he is a hypocrite. The young lizard threatened to expose the ascetic’s hypocrisy and compelled him to leave the hermitage. The story was related in reference to a monk who was a cheat and a rogue (J.iii.84f).
Cf. the Kuhakābrāhmaṇa Vatthu (DhA.iv.154f).
139Once in a village of line-fishermen one of the men took his tackle and went with his little son to fish. A snag caught hold of his line, but the man, thinking it was a big fish, sent his son home to ask his mother to pick a quarrel with the neighbours in order to keep them occupied lest they should claim a share of his catch. When the boy had gone, the fisherman went into the water to drag the fish, but he struck against the snag and was blinded in both eyes. Moreover a robber stole his clothes from the bank and his wife was taken before the village chief and fined and beaten for quarrelling. The Bodhisatta who was a Tree-sprite saw all this happen and drew a moral from it. The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the fisherman, all his enterprises having come to grief. J.i.482‑4.
1401. Kāka Jātaka (No. 140).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a crow. One day a crow dropped filth on the king’s chaplain as he was returning from the bath arrayed in all his splendour. He thereupon conceived hatred against all crows. Soon after that a woman slave, watching some rice spread out in the sun to dry, was angered by a goat who, as soon as she fell asleep, started to eat the rice. In exasperation she fetched a torch and struck the goat’s shaggy back, which caught fire. To ease its pain, the goat ran into the hay-shed near the king’s elephant-stalls and rolled in the hay. In the conflagration that ensued many of the elephants were badly burnt, and when the chaplain was consulted, remembering his anger against crows, he said that the cure for burns was crows’ fat. Crows were accordingly being mercilessly slaughtered; the Bodhisatta, hearing of this sought the king and explained to him the chaplain’s motive. Crows had no fat, he said, because their life is passed in ceaseless dread. The king, being greatly pleased with the Bodhisatta’s act, granted immunity to all living beings, showing particular favour towards crows.
The circumstances that led to the recital of the story are described in the Bhaddasāla Jātaka (q.v.) The king in the story was Ānanda.
2. Samuddakāka Jātaka (No. 146).– Once a crow came with his mate to the seashore and ate freely of the remnants of a sacrifice which had been offered by men to the Nāgā and drank freely of the strong drink which he found. Both crows became drunk, and, while trying to swim in the surf, the hen-crow was washed into the sea and eaten by a fish. Hearing the husband’s lamentations, many crows gathered together and started to empty the ocean, working away until ready to drop from weariness. Seeing their plight, the Bodhisatta, who was then a sea-sprite, caused a bogey to appear from the sea, frightening them away.
The story was told in reference to a number of monks who had joined the Order in their old age. They went for alms to their former wives’ and children’s houses, and gathering together at the house of the wife of one of them (she being particularly beautiful), placed together what each had received and ate it with sauces and curries prepared by the beautiful wife. The woman died, and the aged monks, returning to the monastery, wept aloud for their benefactress, the giver of sauces. The matter was reported to the Buddha, who identified the crows of the past with the foolish monks (J.i.497‑9).
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iii.422), the name of the woman was Madhurapācikā.
1411. Godha Jātaka (No. 138).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a lizard and paid homage to a good ascetic living near the ant-hill where he dwelt. The good ascetic left and was replaced by a wicked one, to whom the Bodhisatta paid like homage. One day, the villagers brought a dish of lizard’s flesh to the ascetic. Being attracted by its flavour, he planned to kill the Bodhisatta, that he might have more of the flesh. However, the Bodhisatta discovered his intention just in time, and, making good his escape, denounced the hypocrite.
The story was told in reference to a wicked monk. J.i.480f.
2. Godha Jātaka (No. 141).– The Bodhisatta was born once as an iguana, leader of many others. His son became intimate with a young chameleon, whom he used to clip and embrace. The Bodhisatta warned his son against this unnatural intimacy, but, finding his advice of no avail, and knowing that danger would come to them through the chameleon, he prepared a way of escape, should the need arise. The chameleon, growing tired of the friendship with the iguana, showed a trapper the home of the iguanas. The trapper made a fire round the hole and killed many of the iguanas as they tried to escape, but the Bodhisatta reached safety through the hole he had provided.
The story was told about a treacherous monk, identified with the young iguana (J.i.487f). For details see the Mahilāmukha Jātaka.
3. Godharāja Jātaka (No. 325).– The story of the past is very similar to No.1 above, except that there is only mention of one ascetic and he is a hypocrite. The young lizard threatened to expose the ascetic’s hypocrisy and compelled him to leave the hermitage. The story was related in reference to a monk who was a cheat and a rogue (J.iii.84f).
Cf. the Kuhakābrāhmaṇa Vatthu (DhA.iv.154f).
1421. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 113).– The people of Bārāṇasī once held a sacrifice to the yakkhas, placing meat and liquor in their courtyards. A jackal, who entered the city through a sewer, regaled himself with food and drink and then went to sleep in some bushes in the city. He did not awake until morning, and then, looking for a way of escape, met a brahmin. Promising to show him a spot where lay hidden two hundred pieces of gold, he persuaded the brahmin to carry him out of the city in his waist cloth. Arrived at the cemetery, he asked the brahmin to spread his robe and dig under a tree. While the brahmin dug, the jackal fouled the robe and ran away. The Bodhisatta, then a tree sprite, advised the brahmin to wash his robe and cease being a fool.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the jackal. J.i.424‑26.
2. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 142).– Once, during a festival in Bārāṇasī, some rogues were drinking and eating until late at night, and when the meat was finished, one of them offered to go to the charnel field and kill a jackal for food. Taking a club, he lay down as though dead. The Bodhisatta, then king of the jackals, came there with his flock, but in order to make sure that it was a corpse, he pulled at the club. The man tightened his grip, and the Bodhisatta mocked at his silliness. The man then threw the club at the jackals, but they escaped.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the rogue. J.i.489f.
3. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 148).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a jackal, and, coming across the dead body of an elephant, ate into it from behind and lived inside it. When the body dried up, he became a prisoner and made frenzied efforts to escape. Then a storm broke, moistening the hide and allowing him to emerge through the head, but not without losing all his hair as he crawled through. He thereupon resolved to renounce greediness.
The story was told in reference to five hundred companions, rich men of Sāvatthi, who joined the Order. One night the Buddha perceived that they were filled with thoughts of lust. He therefore sent Ānanda to summon all the monks in the monastery, and told this tale to illustrate the evil effects of desire. The five hundred monks became Arahants. J.i.601f.
4. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 152).– The Bodhisatta was once a lion with six brothers and one sister. When the lions were away after food, a jackal who had fallen in love with the lioness told her of his love. She was greatly insulted, and resolved to tell her brothers and then die. The jackal slunk away and hid in a cave. One by one the lions came in, and when their sister told them of the insult, they tried to reach the jackal by leaping upwards, but perished in the attempt. At last came the Bodhisatta; being wise, be roared the lion’s roar three times and the jackal died. He then consoled his sister.
The story was told to a barber in Vesāli who served the king’s household. His son used to go with him to the palace, and, having fallen in love with a Licchavi girl, died of a broken heart because he could not have her. The barber, who was a pious follower of the Buddha, visited the Buddha some time after and told him of what had happened.
The jackal was the barber’s son, the lioness the Licchavi girl, and the six young lions the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā). J.ii.5ff.
143The Bodhisatta was once a lion and lived in Kañcanaguhā. He granted to a jackal the favour of being allowed to inform him of the presence of prey, the animal being given a portion of the carcase in return for this service. In time the jackal grew strong and begged to be allowed to kill an elephant. The lion reluctantly agreed to this, but the jackal, in his attempts to leap on to the elephant, missed his aim and fell to the ground where he was crushed to death.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to pose as the Buddha and his failure to do so, wherefore he received a kick on the chest from Kokālika (q.v.) The jackal is identified with Devadatta. J.i.490‑3.
1451. Rādha Jātaka (No. 145).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a parrot, named Poṭṭhapāda, and his brother was Rādha. They were brought up by a brahmin of Kāsī. When the brahmin was away, his wife admitted men to the house and her husband set the birds to watch. Rādha wished to admonish her, but his brother said it was useless and they must await the brahmin’s return. Having told him what had happened, the two parrots flew away, saying they could not live there any longer.
Rādha is identified with Ānanda (J.i.495f). The introductory story is identical with that of the Indriya Jātaka (No. 423).
2. Rādha Jātaka (No. 198).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a parrot, brother to Poṭṭhapāda. They were brought up by a brahmin in Bārāṇasī. When the brahmin went away, he told the birds to watch his wife and report to him any misconduct. However, Poṭṭhapāda, in spite of his brother’s warning, admonished the woman, who, in a rage, while pretending to fondle him, wrung his neck and threw him into the fire. When the brahmin returned, Rādha said he did not wish to share his brother’s fate, and flew away.
Poṭṭhapāda is identified with Ānanda. The story was told in reference to a monk who became a backslider owing to a woman. J.ii.132ff; cf. the Kāḷabāhu Jātaka.
1461. Kāka Jātaka (No. 140).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a crow. One day a crow dropped filth on the king’s chaplain as he was returning from the bath arrayed in all his splendour. He thereupon conceived hatred against all crows. Soon after that a woman slave, watching some rice spread out in the sun to dry, was angered by a goat who, as soon as she fell asleep, started to eat the rice. In exasperation she fetched a torch and struck the goat’s shaggy back, which caught fire. To ease its pain, the goat ran into the hay-shed near the king’s elephant-stalls and rolled in the hay. In the conflagration that ensued many of the elephants were badly burnt, and when the chaplain was consulted, remembering his anger against crows, he said that the cure for burns was crows’ fat. Crows were accordingly being mercilessly slaughtered; the Bodhisatta, hearing of this sought the king and explained to him the chaplain’s motive. Crows had no fat, he said, because their life is passed in ceaseless dread. The king, being greatly pleased with the Bodhisatta’s act, granted immunity to all living beings, showing particular favour towards crows.
The circumstances that led to the recital of the story are described in the Bhaddasāla Jātaka (q.v.) The king in the story was Ānanda.
2. Samuddakāka Jātaka (No. 146).– Once a crow came with his mate to the seashore and ate freely of the remnants of a sacrifice which had been offered by men to the Nāgā and drank freely of the strong drink which he found. Both crows became drunk, and, while trying to swim in the surf, the hen-crow was washed into the sea and eaten by a fish. Hearing the husband’s lamentations, many crows gathered together and started to empty the ocean, working away until ready to drop from weariness. Seeing their plight, the Bodhisatta, who was then a sea-sprite, caused a bogey to appear from the sea, frightening them away.
The story was told in reference to a number of monks who had joined the Order in their old age. They went for alms to their former wives’ and children’s houses, and gathering together at the house of the wife of one of them (she being particularly beautiful), placed together what each had received and ate it with sauces and curries prepared by the beautiful wife. The woman died, and the aged monks, returning to the monastery, wept aloud for their benefactress, the giver of sauces. The matter was reported to the Buddha, who identified the crows of the past with the foolish monks (J.i.497‑9).
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iii.422), the name of the woman was Madhurapācikā.
147Once, during the Kattikā Festival in Bārāṇasī, the wife of a poor man insisted on having a pair of garments dyed with safflower to wear at the festival. Urged by her desire, the husband stole at night into the king’s conservatories to get the safflowers.
He was caught by the guard and impaled alive. He died lamenting the non fulfilment of his wife’s desire and was born in hell. The Bodhisatta was, at that time, a Spirit of the Air.
The story was told to a passion-tossed monk who longed for the wife of his lay life. The couple are identified with that of the story. J.i.149f.
1481. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 113).– The people of Bārāṇasī once held a sacrifice to the yakkhas, placing meat and liquor in their courtyards. A jackal, who entered the city through a sewer, regaled himself with food and drink and then went to sleep in some bushes in the city. He did not awake until morning, and then, looking for a way of escape, met a brahmin. Promising to show him a spot where lay hidden two hundred pieces of gold, he persuaded the brahmin to carry him out of the city in his waist cloth. Arrived at the cemetery, he asked the brahmin to spread his robe and dig under a tree. While the brahmin dug, the jackal fouled the robe and ran away. The Bodhisatta, then a tree sprite, advised the brahmin to wash his robe and cease being a fool.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the jackal. J.i.424‑26.
2. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 142).– Once, during a festival in Bārāṇasī, some rogues were drinking and eating until late at night, and when the meat was finished, one of them offered to go to the charnel field and kill a jackal for food. Taking a club, he lay down as though dead. The Bodhisatta, then king of the jackals, came there with his flock, but in order to make sure that it was a corpse, he pulled at the club. The man tightened his grip, and the Bodhisatta mocked at his silliness. The man then threw the club at the jackals, but they escaped.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the rogue. J.i.489f.
3. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 148).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a jackal, and, coming across the dead body of an elephant, ate into it from behind and lived inside it. When the body dried up, he became a prisoner and made frenzied efforts to escape. Then a storm broke, moistening the hide and allowing him to emerge through the head, but not without losing all his hair as he crawled through. He thereupon resolved to renounce greediness.
The story was told in reference to five hundred companions, rich men of Sāvatthi, who joined the Order. One night the Buddha perceived that they were filled with thoughts of lust. He therefore sent Ānanda to summon all the monks in the monastery, and told this tale to illustrate the evil effects of desire. The five hundred monks became Arahants. J.i.601f.
4. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 152).– The Bodhisatta was once a lion with six brothers and one sister. When the lions were away after food, a jackal who had fallen in love with the lioness told her of his love. She was greatly insulted, and resolved to tell her brothers and then die. The jackal slunk away and hid in a cave. One by one the lions came in, and when their sister told them of the insult, they tried to reach the jackal by leaping upwards, but perished in the attempt. At last came the Bodhisatta; being wise, be roared the lion’s roar three times and the jackal died. He then consoled his sister.
The story was told to a barber in Vesāli who served the king’s household. His son used to go with him to the palace, and, having fallen in love with a Licchavi girl, died of a broken heart because he could not have her. The barber, who was a pious follower of the Buddha, visited the Buddha some time after and told him of what had happened.
The jackal was the barber’s son, the lioness the Licchavi girl, and the six young lions the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā). J.ii.5ff.
149The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin ascetic of great psychic power (iddhi) and dwelt in the Himavā. One day he entered Bārāṇasī and took up his residence in the royal park. The king, pleased with his demeanour, invited him into the palace and asked him to spend the rainy season in the park. The king had an ill-natured son, named Duṭṭhakumāra, and despairing of ever being able to reform him, handed him over, as a last resort, to the ascetic. One day, when the ascetic was walking about in the garden with the prince, he asked him to taste one (eka) leaf (paṇṇa) of a young Nimba-plant. The prince did so, but at once spat it out, because of its intense bitterness. “If such bitterness should reside in the baby-tree, how will it be when it grows up?” asked the Bodhisatta, and thereupon drew a moral with regard to the prince’s own conduct. The prince benefited by the lesson, and thenceforth changed his nature.
The story was told in reference to a Licchavi youth called Duṭṭha. J.i.504‑8.
150The Bodhisatta was a famous teacher in Bārāṇasī, and among his pupils was a young brahmin, Sañjīva, who was taught a spell for raising the dead, but not the counter spell. One day he went with his companions into the forest, and they came across a dead tiger. He uttered the charm and restored it to life. The tiger instantly killed him and fell down dead again.
The story was told in reference to Ajātasattu after his visit to the Buddha. The Buddha said that had it not been for his crime of patricide he would have become a Stream-winner, but because of his early association with Devadatta he had committed numerous bad deeds and shut himself out from that possibility.
Sañjīva is identified with Ajātasattu. J.i.508‑11.
1511. Rājovāda Jātaka (No. 151).– Two kings, Brahmadatta of Bārāṇasī (the Bodhisatta) and Mallika of Kosala, while journeying in disguise, in order to discover if anyone in their respective kingdoms could tell them of any faults which they (the kings) possessed, meet in a narrow path, and a dispute arises among the charioteers as to who should give place. It is discovered that both are of the same age and power. Each driver sings the praises of his own master, but then they discover that Mallika is good to the good and bad to the bad, while Brahmadatta is good to both the good and the bad. Mallika’s charioteer acknowledges Brahmadatta as the superior and gives place.
The story is related to Pasenadi, who comes to the Buddha after having had to decide a difficult case involving moral turpitude. He is satisfied that he has done well, and the Buddha agrees with him that to administer justice with impartiality is the way to heaven.
Mallika is identified with Ānanda and his driver with Mahā-Moggallāna, while Brahmadatta’s driver is Sāriputta. J.ii.1ff.
2. Rājovāda Jātaka (No. 334).– Once the king of Bārāṇasī, wishing to discover if he ruled justly, travelled about in disguise, and, in the course of his wanderings, came to the Himavā, where the Bodhisatta lived as an ascetic. The ascetic gave him ripe figs, and, when asked why they were so sweet, explained that the king of the country was evidently a just ruler. The king returned to his kingdom and ruled for a while unjustly; and returning again to the hermitage, he found that the figs had become bitter.
The story was related to Pasenadi, in order to show the importance of a king ruling wisely and justly. Ānanda is identified with the king of the story. J.iii.110‑12; cp. Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 407).
1521. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 113).– The people of Bārāṇasī once held a sacrifice to the yakkhas, placing meat and liquor in their courtyards. A jackal, who entered the city through a sewer, regaled himself with food and drink and then went to sleep in some bushes in the city. He did not awake until morning, and then, looking for a way of escape, met a brahmin. Promising to show him a spot where lay hidden two hundred pieces of gold, he persuaded the brahmin to carry him out of the city in his waist cloth. Arrived at the cemetery, he asked the brahmin to spread his robe and dig under a tree. While the brahmin dug, the jackal fouled the robe and ran away. The Bodhisatta, then a tree sprite, advised the brahmin to wash his robe and cease being a fool.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the jackal. J.i.424‑26.
2. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 142).– Once, during a festival in Bārāṇasī, some rogues were drinking and eating until late at night, and when the meat was finished, one of them offered to go to the charnel field and kill a jackal for food. Taking a club, he lay down as though dead. The Bodhisatta, then king of the jackals, came there with his flock, but in order to make sure that it was a corpse, he pulled at the club. The man tightened his grip, and the Bodhisatta mocked at his silliness. The man then threw the club at the jackals, but they escaped.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta, who is identified with the rogue. J.i.489f.
3. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 148).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a jackal, and, coming across the dead body of an elephant, ate into it from behind and lived inside it. When the body dried up, he became a prisoner and made frenzied efforts to escape. Then a storm broke, moistening the hide and allowing him to emerge through the head, but not without losing all his hair as he crawled through. He thereupon resolved to renounce greediness.
The story was told in reference to five hundred companions, rich men of Sāvatthi, who joined the Order. One night the Buddha perceived that they were filled with thoughts of lust. He therefore sent Ānanda to summon all the monks in the monastery, and told this tale to illustrate the evil effects of desire. The five hundred monks became Arahants. J.i.601f.
4. Siṅgāla Jātaka (No. 152).– The Bodhisatta was once a lion with six brothers and one sister. When the lions were away after food, a jackal who had fallen in love with the lioness told her of his love. She was greatly insulted, and resolved to tell her brothers and then die. The jackal slunk away and hid in a cave. One by one the lions came in, and when their sister told them of the insult, they tried to reach the jackal by leaping upwards, but perished in the attempt. At last came the Bodhisatta; being wise, be roared the lion’s roar three times and the jackal died. He then consoled his sister.
The story was told to a barber in Vesāli who served the king’s household. His son used to go with him to the palace, and, having fallen in love with a Licchavi girl, died of a broken heart because he could not have her. The barber, who was a pious follower of the Buddha, visited the Buddha some time after and told him of what had happened.
The jackal was the barber’s son, the lioness the Licchavi girl, and the six young lions the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā). J.ii.5ff.
153The Bodhisatta was a lion living in a mountain cave; on the banks of a lake nearby lived many boars, and in the neighbourhood were some hermits. One day the lion, having eaten some game, went to the lake to drink; but after he had drunk, seeing a boar which he did not wish to frighten away, having the idea of eating it when food should be scarce, he slunk away. The boar saw this, and, thinking that the lion was afraid of him, challenged him to a fight. The lion agreed to fight a week later. The boar was overjoyed, and told his relations of this. However, they all frightened him and advised him to spend the next seven days rolling in the hermits’ dunghill. When the dirt was dry, he was to moisten his body with dew and go to the meeting place early, standing well to windward. This he did, and when the lion arrived and smelt the filth, the boar was allowed to go away uninjured.
The story was told in reference to an old and foolish monk. One night the Buddha returned to his cell late at night after teaching. Then Mahā-Moggallāna asked Sāriputta various questions, which the latter explained. The people stayed on, entranced with Sāriputta’s expositions. An old monk, wishing to attract attention to himself, stood up and asked a foolish question. Sāriputta, reading his thoughts, rose from his seat and walked away; so did Mahā-Moggallāna. The laymen who were present were annoyed with the old monk and chased him away. As he ran he fell into a cesspit and was covered with filth. The laymen then felt remorse and visited the Buddha to ask his forgiveness. The old monk is identified with the boar. J.ii.9‑12; cf. DhA.iii.344f; it is said that the story was told concerning Lāḷudāyī.
1541. Uraga Jātaka (No. 154).– King Brahmadatta of Bārāṇasī once held a festival to which came the inhabitants of many worlds. A Nāga in the crowd, not noticing that the person beside him was a Garuḷa, laid a hand on his shoulder; discovering his mistake, he was frightened to death and ran away, pursued by the Garuḷa. The Nāga, coming to a river, where an ascetic, who was the Bodhisatta, was bathing, took refuge in the ascetic’s bark-garment. The Garuḷa, though able to see the Nāga, would not attack him out of respect for the ascetic. The latter took both of them to his hermitage and made them friendly towards each other by teaching the blessings of loving-kindness.
The story was related in reference to two soldiers who were in the habit of quarrelling whenever they met. Not even the king could reconcile them. The Buddha visited them at their homes and, having made them both Stream-winners, took them to see each other. Thenceforth they were great friends, and people marvelled at the Buddha’s power (J.ii.12‑14). The Nakula Jātaka was also taught in this connection.
2. Uraga Jātaka (No. 354).– The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin in Bārāṇasī. His household consisted of himself, his wife, a son, a daughter, a daughter-in-law and a female slave. They lived happily together, and on the Bodhisatta’s advice kept their thoughts constantly fixed on the inevitableness of death. One day, while burning some rubbish in the field, the son was bitten by a snake and died. The father laid his body under a tree, and having sent word to his house that all the others should come with perfumes and flowers, when bringing his meal, be went on with his work. After the meal they made a funeral pyre and burnt the body, but not one of them wept a single tear. By virtue of their piety, Sakka’s throne was heated and he appeared to them in disguise. He questioned them separately as to whether their lack of any show of grief for the dead meant that they did not love him. Being convinced that their composure was due to their practice of the thought of death, he revealed his identity, and filled their house with the seven kinds of treasures. The story was related to a landowner of Sāvatthi who, when his son died, gave himself up to despair. The Buddha visited him and consoled him (J.iii.162ff).
This story is referred to in the Dhammapada Commentary DhA.iii.277.
155v.l. Gagga Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a trader’s son in Kāsi. One day during their travels father and son were obliged to take lodging in a hall haunted by a yakkha. In the case of persons occupying this hall, if one of them should happen to sneeze and the other failed, thereupon, to wish him long life, the yakkha was allowed to eat them. This boon had been granted him in return for twelve years’ services to Vessavaṇa. The two travellers from Kāsi took up their abode in the hall for one night, during which the father sneezed. The son, knowing nothing of his danger, said nothing, but on seeing the yakkha preparing to eat him, he guessed the reason and hastened to wish his father long life. The father acted likewise, and the yakkha was foiled in his attempt on their lives. The Bodhisatta, having heard the yakkha’s story, established him in the five precepts. The story became known, and the Bodhisatta was given the post of general, while the yakkha was made tax-gatherer. In the story the Bodhisatta addresses his father as Bhagga.
Once, when the Buddha was teaching, he sneezed, and all around him shouted “Long Life,” thus interrupting his discourse. The Buddha told them that the custom was superstitious, and forbade them to follow it. On their obeying him, the common people blamed them for their lack of good manners. The Buddha, thereupon, withdrew the injunction and related this story to account for the origin of the custom. (J.ii.15f; the introductory story is found in Vin.ii.140).
Bhagga is identified with Mahā-Kassapa. J.ii.17.
156The story of the Bodhisatta, when he was born as Alīnacitta, King of Bārāṇasī.
An elephant, while walking in the forest, trod on a splinter of acacia wood left there by carpenters while felling forest trees for wood for buildings in Bārāṇasī. In great pain he came to the carpenters and lay down before them. They removed the splinter and owing to their treatment the wound healed. The elephant, in gratitude, spent the rest of his life working for them, and, before his death, he enlisted his son, white in colour, magnificent and high-bred, in their service. One day a half-dry cake of the young one’s dung was carried into the river by the flood (we are told that noble animals never dung or stale in water), and, floating down, stuck near the bathing place of the king’s elephants in Bārāṇasī. The royal elephants, scenting the noble animal, refused to enter the water and fled. Having discovered the reason for their behaviour, the king decided to obtain the animal for himself, and going up-stream in a raft, he saw the carpenters and the white elephant working for them. The merchants agreed to give him to the king, but the elephant refused to move until the carpenters were adequately compensated. The animal was taken in procession to the city and with his help the king became supreme ruler over India.
In course of time the Queen Consort bore a son to the king, but the king died before his birth. The Kosala king thereupon laid siege to Bārāṇasī, but desisted from attack for seven days, astrologers having predicted that at the end of that time the child would be born. The men of Bārāṇasī had agreed to surrender unless the baby proved to be a boy. After seven days the queen bore a son named Alīnacitta, and the inhabitants of Bārāṇasī gave battle to the Kosala king. The queen, being told that they were in danger of defeat, dressed the baby and took him to the elephant for protection. The elephant had been kept in ignorance of the king’s death, lest he himself should die of a broken heart. However, on hearing the news, he sallied forth into battle and soon brought back the Kosala king as captive.
Alīnacitta became, in due course, king over the whole of Jambudīpa (J.ii.17‑23). This story and that of the Saṃvara Jātaka were both related in connection with a monk who had become faint-hearted. For details see Saṃvara. The elephant of the Jātaka was the faint-hearted monk and the father-elephant was Sāriputta.
This Jātaka also was related by the Buddha, with reference to the elder Rādha whom Sāriputta had taken under his special spiritual protection and guidance, in gratitude for a ladleful of food that Rādha, as layman, had once given him. The Buddha pointed out that this was not the first time that Sāriputta had shown his gratitude (DhA.ii.106).
157The Bodhisatta was once a Lion, and one day while out hunting he sank into a bog and remained there starving for seven days until rescued by a Jackal. To show his gratitude the Lion took the Jackal and his wife home with him, and the two animals and their wives lived together, the Lion and the Jackal going out together hunting. Later on, the Lioness grew jealous of the she-Jackal and tried to frighten her away in the absence of their husbands. When the Lion heard of this, he told his wife how the Jackal had befriended him in his hour of danger, and thenceforth they all lived happily together.
The Jackal is identified with Ānanda.
The story was told in reference to a gift made by Ānanda. Once, when he had been teaching the women of Pasenadi’s palace, they gave him five hundred new garments, which the king had just presented to them. The king hearing of this was at first annoyed, but on questioning Ānanda he was satisfied that no gift presented to the Saṅgha could ever be wasted. Delighted with this discovery, the king himself gave five hundred robes to Ānanda, all of which Ānanda presented to a young monk who was very useful and helpful to him. The monk, in his turn, distributed them among his fellow celibates, who wondered why Ānanda should have singled out one monk as the recipient of his gifts. When the matter was related to the Buddha, he assured the monks that the gift was offered to the monk by Ānanda only in return for numerous services (J.ii.23ff).
The Jātaka is also called Sīha Jātaka, and probably also the Sigāla Jātaka. e.g., in J.ii.314.
158The Bodhisatta was minister to the king of Bārāṇasī. The king had a wild horse called Mahāsoṇa. The king was miserly, and one day, when some horse dealers brought horses for sale, he gave orders, unknown to his minister, that Mahāsoṇa should be let loose among these horses, and that when he had bitten and weakened them, they should be bought at reduced price. The dealers complained to the minister. After inquiring into the matter, he advised them to bring Suhanu, a very strong horse they had, the next time they visited Bārāṇasī. This they did, and when Mahāsoṇa and Suhanu were confronted with each other they showed great affection, and started licking each other. The king saw this, and was told by his minister that the horses recognised each other’s virtues. He then warned the king against excessive covetousness.
The story was told in reference to two hot-headed monks, both passionate and cruel. One lived in Jetavana and the other in the country. One day the country monk came to Jetavana, and the monks eagerly awaited their quarrel. However, when the two monks met they showed great affection. The Buddha explained that this was because of their similar nature. J.ii.30‑32.
159The Bodhisatta was once born as a golden peacock and lived on a golden hill in Daṇḍaka. He used to recite one spell in honour of the sun and another in praise of the Buddhas, and thus he was protected from all harm. Khemā, queen of Bārāṇasī, saw in a dream a golden peacock teaching. She longed for the dream to come true and told it to the king. He made enquiries, and sent hunters to catch the golden peacock, but they failed. Khemā died of grief, and the king, in his anger, inscribed on a golden plate that anyone eating the flesh of the golden peacock would be immortal. His successors, seeing the inscription, sent out hunters, but they, too, failed to catch the Bodhisatta.
Six kings in succession failed in this quest. The seventh engaged a hunter who, having watched the Bodhisatta, trained a peahen to cry at the snap of his finger. The hunter laid his snare, went with the peahen and made her cry. Instantly, the golden peacock forgot his spell and was caught in the snare. When he was led before the king and told the reason for his capture, he agreed with the king that his golden colour was owing to good deeds done in the past as king of that very city, and that he was a peacock owing to some sin he had committed. The eating of his flesh could not make anyone young or immortal, seeing that he himself was not immortal. Being asked to prove his words, he had the lake near the city dredged, when the golden chariot in which he used to ride was discovered. The king thereupon paid him great honour and led him back to Daṇḍaka.
The story was told to a backsliding monk who was upset by the sight of a woman magnificently attired.
Ānanda is identified with the king of Bārāṇasī (J.ii.33‑8; the story is alluded to at J.iv.414).
See also Mora Paritta.
160A golden goose once paired with a crow and they had a son of blue black hue, whom they called Vinīlaka. The goose had two sons, and they, noticing that their father often went to Mithilā to see Vinīlaka, offered to go and fetch him. They perched Vinīlaka on a stick and flew with the ends of the stick in their beaks. As they flew over Mithilā, Vinīlaka saw King Videha (the Bodhisatta) riding in his state chariot and boasted that Videha was no better off than he himself, since he was being carried by a pair of golden geese. The geese, in their anger, wished to drop him, but took him on to their father and told him of his son’s words. The goose was very angry on hearing this and sent Vinīlaka home to his mother.
The story was related in reference to an attempt by Devadatta, at Gayāsīsa, to imitate the Buddha when he was visited by Sāriputta and Mahā-Moggallāna.
Vinīlaka is identified with Devadatta. J.ii.38f.
161A hermit who lived, with a large number of other anchorites, in the Himavā. He had a young elephant which he had reared; being headstrong and rough in speech, he would not listen to the warning of his teacher, the Bodhisatta, that it was dangerous to have such a pet. Once while the hermits were away the elephant was seized with a frenzy, and when his master returned it killed him (J.ii.41‑3).
Perhaps the man’s name was Kosiya, because we are told (J.vi.501) that Inda was of the Kosiya-gotta.
Kātiyāna, who was a brahmin of the Kosiya-gotta (ThagA.i.450), is addressed in a verse (416) of the Theragāthā as Indasagotta.
The story was related to tame a head-strong bhikkhu who would not heed advice.
162The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin, and, when he grew up, he lived in a hermitage in the forest, tending his birth-fire (jātaggi). One day, having received a present of rice and ghee, he took it home, made his fire blaze up, and put the rice into the fire. The flames rose up and burnt his hut. Deciding that the company of the wicked was dangerous, he put out the fire and went up into the mountains. There he saw a deer licking the faces of a lion, a tiger, and a panther. Nothing is better than good friends thought the Bodhisatta.
The story was related to show the uselessness of tending the sacred fire. J.ii.41f.
1631. Susīma Jātaka (No. 163).– Susīma was king of Bārāṇasī, and the Bodhisatta was his chaplain’s son. The chaplain had been master of ceremonies in the king’s elephant festival, and, as a result, had amassed great wealth. He died when his son was sixteen. Soon after, another elephant festival came round, and other brahmins obtained the king’s consent to be in charge of the ceremonies on the plea that the chaplain’s son was too young. When but four days remained before the festival, the Bodhisatta found his mother weeping. She explained that for seven successive generations their family had managed the elephant festival and that she felt the change deeply. The Bodhisatta discovered that a teacher expert in elephant lore lived in Takkasilā, two thousand leagues away. He comforted his mother and proceeded to Takkasilā, reaching it in a single day. There he paid his fee of one thousand pieces to the teacher and explained the urgency of his mission. In one night the teacher taught him the three Vedas and the elephant lore, and the pupil could even excel his teacher in knowledge. The next morning he left early for Bārāṇasī and reached it in one day.
On the day of the festival the Bodhisatta went in all his array before the king, and protested against the alienation of his rights. He challenged anyone to show his superiority over him in elephant lore, and nobody could be found to do so. The king then appointed him to conduct the ceremonies.
The story was related in reference to an attempt on the part of the heretics to prevent the people of Sāvatthi from giving alms to the Buddha. All the people of the city made a collection to hold an almsgiving, but they were divided in their allegiance, some wishing to entertain the Buddha, others favouring heretical teachers. A vote was passed, and the majority were found to be in favour of the Buddha. For a whole week alms were given on a lavish scale, and, at the end of the week, the Buddha pronounced a benediction.
Ānanda is identified with Susīma, Sāriputta with the teacher, Mahāmāyā with the Bodhisatta’s mother, and Suddhodana with his father. J.ii.45‑50.
2. Susīma Jātaka (No. 411).– The Bodhisatta was born as son of the chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī and was called Susīma. The king’s son, born on the same day, was called Brahmadatta. Together they grew up, and then studied under the same teacher in Takkasilā. Later Brahmadatta became king and Susīma his chaplain. One day, when Susīma was taking part in a procession with the king, the queen mother saw him and fell desperately in love with him. The king, discovering this, made Susīma king in his place and the queen mother Susīma’s queen. However, Susīma soon tired of royalty, and after establishing Brahmadatta once more on the throne, returned to the Himavā in spite of his wife’s protests. There he became an ascetic.
The story was told in reference to the Buddha’s Renunciation. Ānanda is identified with Brahmadatta and the queen mother with Rāhulamātā. J.iii.391‑7.
1641. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 164).– Once the Bodhisatta was born among the vultures on Gijjhakūṭa. On one occasion there was a great storm of wind and rain, and the vultures were forced to seek shelter in a ditch outside Bārāṇasī. A merchant, seeing them, provided them with a warm fire and food. When the weather cleared, the vultures returned to their haunts, and decided to give the merchant whatever finery and jewellery they might find in their wanderings. These they dropped in the merchant’s garden. The king, hearing of their depredations, set traps and caught a vulture, who confessed the truth, which was corroborated by the merchant. The vulture was set free and the goods were returned to their owners.
Ānanda was the king, and Sāriputta the merchant.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was charged with having supported his poor parents. The Buddha praised the man’s action, saying that such gratitude was an excellent quality. J.ii.50f; see also the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka.
2. Mātuposakagijjha Jātaka (No. 399).– Once the Bodhisatta was a vulture, and supported his blind parents who lived in a cave. One day, being caught in a trap, he was heard by a hunter lamenting for his parents; the hunter set him free.
The story was told in reference to a monk who supported his mother. Channa was the hunter. J.iii.330f.
3. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 427).– Once the Bodhisatta was a vulture in Gijjhakūṭa. His son, Supatta, was king of the vultures; he was very strong and supported his parents. One day, against the advice of his father, he flew in the upper air and was dashed to death by the Verambhā-wind.
The story was related in reference to a disobedient monk of good family, who objected to being instructed in his duties (J.iii.483f; cf. the Migalopa Jātaka; see also the Dubbaca and the Indasamāṇagotta Jātaka).
The Catudvāra Jātaka (J.iv.1ff) was related in reference to the same monk.
165The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic in the Himavā. Near his walk lived a mongoose and a snake who were always quarrelling. He taught them the virtues of amity and dispelled their suspicions of each other.
The story was related to two of Pasenadi’s officers, who were always quarrelling. For details see the Uraga Jātaka (No. 154). The two noblemen are identified with the two animals. J.ii.52f.
166Taught to Upasāḷaka. The story of the past is that of a brahmin Upasāḷaka (identified with Upasāḷaka). He instructed his son that after death he should be burnt in a cemetery unpolluted by the presence of outcasts. While descending Gijjhakūṭa, having ascended the mountain in order to find such a spot, they met the Bodhisatta, who was a holy ascetic, possessed of various attainments and mystic powers. When the Bodhisatta had heard their story, he revealed to them that on that very same spot Upasāḷaka had been burnt fourteen thousand times, and taught them the way of deathlessness (J.ii.54ff).
The Upasāḷaka Jātaka was taught by the Buddha to the novice Vanavāsī-Tissa when the Buddha visited him in his forest solitude. DhA.ii.99.
167The Bodhisatta was once a young ascetic in the Himavā, and on one occasion, after wrestling all night with his spirit he bathed at sunrise and stood in one garment to dry his body in the sun. A nymph, seeing him, tried in vain to tempt him.
The story was told in reference to Samiddhi Thera, who had a similar experience on the banks of the Tapodā. Seeing his youth and beauty, a nymph reminded him that he was yet young, asceticism could be practised in old age. Samiddhi replied that no one knew if he would live to see old age. The nymph vanished. J.ii.56‑8.
168The Bodhisatta was once a quail and was seized one day by a falcon. The quail lamented, saying that if he had remained in the feeding ground of his own people he would not have suffered thus. The falcon, hearing this, let him go, saying that he could catch him, no matter where he was. The quail flew back and perched on an immense clod, whence he called to the falcon. The falcon swooped down, but the quail just turned over, and the falcon was dashed to pieces against the clod. J.ii.58f.
The Jātaka was related on the occasion of the teaching of the Sakuṇagghi Sutta (q.v.)
169The Bodhisatta was once born in a brahmin’s family and was named Araka; when he grew up he embraced the religious life and lived in the Himavā as a teacher with a large following. He taught his pupils the value of the four sublime abidings (brahmavihāra). After his death he was born in the Brahma-world and remained there for seven aeons.
The story was told to the monks at Jetavana in reference to the Mettā Sutta (J.ii.60‑2).
171The Bodhisatta was once a rich merchant in Bārāṇasī. One day, when he had gone to pay his respects to the king, his mother-in-law visited his wife. The former was deaf, and on asking her daughter if they were happy, and receiving the reply that the husband was a very good man, like a hermit, she heard only the word “hermit,” and she raised a great uproar thinking that her son-in-law had turned hermit. The news spread like wildfire, and as the merchant was on his way home he was told by someone that all the members of his household were weeping because he had become a hermit. Thinking that auspicious words should not be trifled with, the merchant went to the king, took his leave, and became an ascetic in the Himavā.
The story was told in reference to a merchant of Sāvatthi to whom the same thing happened when he went to pay his respects to the Buddha (J.ii.63‑5).
The story is also given in the Jātakamālā, where it is called the Sresthi Jātaka (No. 20).
Anīghaṃ passa āyantaṃ, chinnasotaṃ abandhana”nti.
“With faultless wheel and white awning
The one-spoked wheel rolls, see it coming, trouble-free
The stream cut, without bondage.”
Citta explains this as referring to the Arahant and points out the significance of each term (S.iv.291f). In the Udāna (p.76; UdA.370f; cf. DhsA.398) the words of the riddle are mentioned as having been used by the Buddha in reference to Lakuṇḍaka-Bhaddiya.
1721. Daddara Jātaka (No. 172).– Once the Bodhisatta was a lion and dwelt with his retinue in Rajataguhā, while in a neighbouring cave lived a jackal. One day, when the lions were roaring and playing about, the jackal tried to imitate them and the lions became silent for very shame.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika who, trying to imitate the eloquence of the learned monks of Manosilā, failed miserably. The jackal is identified with Kokālika. J.ii.65ff.
2. Daddara Jātaka (No. 304).– Once the Bodhisatta was born among the Nāgā in Daddarapabbata. He was called Mahādaddara, his father being Sūradaddara and his brother Cūḷadaddara. Cūḷadaddara was passionate and cruel and teased the Nāga maidens; the king wished to expel him, but he was saved by Mahādaddara. However, at last the king was very angry and sent them both for three years to Bārāṇasī. There the boys ill-treated them, but when Cūḷadaddara tried to kill them his brother urged him to practise patience.
The story was related in reference to a choleric monk who is identified with Cūḷadaddara. J.iii.15ff.
3. Daddara Jātaka (No. 438).– Once in Bārāṇasī was a famous teacher who retired into the forest. Men came from all parts to learn from him and brought him many presents. He had in his house a tame partridge, who, by listening to the teacher’s exposition, learnt the three Vedas by heart. A tame lizard and a cow were given as presents to the teacher. When the teacher died, his students were in despair, but were reassured by the partridge who taught them what he knew. One day a wicked ascetic came to the hermitage and, in the absence of the students, killed the partridge, the young lizard and the cow. The partridge had two friends, a lion and a tiger, who killed the murderer.
The ascetic was Devadatta, the lizard Kisāgotamī, the tiger Mahā-Moggallāna, the lion Sāriputta, the teacher Mahā-Kassapa, and the partridge the Bodhisatta.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. J.iii.536f.
173Once the Bodhisatta was a learned brahmin of Kāsi, and, when his wife died, he retired with his son to the Himavā, where they lived the ascetic life. One day during a heavy shower of rain, a monkey, wishing to gain admission to the ascetics’ hut, put on the bark dress of a dead ascetic and stood outside the door. The son wished to admit him, but the Bodhisatta recognised the monkey and drove him a way. The boy is identified with Rāhula (J.ii.68f).
The circumstances in which the story was related are given in the Uddālaka Jātaka (q.v.)
174When Brahmadatta was the king of Bārāṇasī, the Bodhisatta was born into a brahmin family in a certain Kāsi village. Nearby was a deep well at which the villagers would draw water and leave some for wild animals to drink. The Bodhisatta, having drawn some water for himself, drank it, and washed his hands; then he noticed a thirsty monkey. He drew water from the well and filled the trough for him.
The monkey drank and grimaced, to frighten away the Bodhisatta. As the Bodhisatta got up to go, the monkey dropped dung on his head from the branch where he was sitting, and ran off into the forest. The Bodhisatta washed, and went his way.
The Buddha identified the monkey as Devadatta and the brahmin as himself. (J.ii.69)
175The story of a monkey who used to visit the hermitage of some ascetics whose leader was the Bodhisatta; when they were away in the village, he upset everything he could lay hands on, and did much damage generally. When the ascetics were about to return from the village to the hermitage after the rainy season, the people brought them various foods, and the monkey, thinking to get some for himself, stood outside their hut worshipping the sun. The people, impressed by the monkey’s holy demeanour, started praising his virtues, whereupon the Bodhisatta revealed to them his true character (J.ii.72‑3).
The story was related concerning a rogue.
176Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, once started off during the rainy season to quell a border uprising. He stopped on the way, while his men steamed peas and put them into troughs for the horses to eat. A monkey came down from a tree hard by, filled his mouth and hands with peas, went back to his tree and started eating. One pea fell down, and he, letting all the other peas fall, clambered down to seek for the lost one. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s counsellor, pointed out to the king how fools of little wit spend a pound to win a penny. On hearing this, the king went back to Bārāṇasī.
The story was told to Pasenadi, who was going on a similar expedition during the rains, and on the way visited the Buddha at Jetavana. The king in the story is identified with Ānanda. J.ii.74ff.
177The Bodhisatta was once the leader of eighty thousand monkeys. Near their dwelling place was a village where grew a tinduka tree (Diospyros embryopteris), whose sweet fruits were eaten by the monkeys. However, the people came and built a village near the tree and the monkeys could no longer take the fruit. One night, when the villagers were asleep, they crept up to the tree and began eating the fruit. A villager gave the alarm and the monkeys were in great danger of being slain when dawn came. However, the Bodhisatta comforted them and kept them in good humour until they were rescued by his nephew, Senaka, who set fire to the village, distracting the attention of the people, thus allowing the monkeys to escape.
The story was related in illustration of the Bodhisatta’s sagacity (J.ii.76f).
Senaka is identified with Mahānāma the Sakyan.
1781. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 178).– The story of a turtle who would not leave the lake where he lived even though all the other turtles, knowing there would be a drought, swam in time to the neighbouring river. When the drought came, he buried himself in a hole. There he was dug up by the Bodhisatta who was digging for clay, having been born as a potter. The turtle’s shell was cracked by the potter’s spade and he died, having uttered two verses on the folly of clinging too much to things. The Bodhisatta took his body to the village and taught the villagers.
The story was told to a young man of Sāvatthi who, when the plague broke out in his house, listened to his parents’ advice and escaped through a hole in the wall. When the danger was past he returned and rescued the treasure hoarded in the house and, one day, visited the Buddha with many gifts.
Ānanda is identified with the turtle of the story. J.ii.79‑81.
2. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 215).– The story of a turtle who became friendly with two geese living in the Cittakūṭa mountain. One day the geese invited the turtle to their abode, and when he agreed they made him hold a stick between his teeth, and seizing the two ends flew away with him. The children of the village, seeing them, started shouting, and the turtle, being of a talkative nature, opened his mouth to reprimand them and fell near the palace of the king of Bārāṇasī, crushing himself to death. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s minister, seized the opportunity for admonishing his master, who was an inveterate talker, on the virtues of silence.
The turtle is identified with Kokālika, in reference to whom the story was related (J.ii.175‑8; repeated also in DhA.iv.91f). For details see the Takkāriya Jātaka.
3. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 273).– The story of how a monkey insulted a turtle by introducing his private parts into the turtle as the latter lay basking in the sun with his mouth open. The turtle caught hold of the monkey and refused to release him. The monkey went for help, and the Bodhisatta, who was an ascetic in a hermitage nearby, saw the monkey carrying the turtle. The Bodhisatta persuaded the turtle to release the monkey.
The story was related in reference to the quarrelsome ministers of the king of Kosala. J.ii.359‑61.
179The Bodhisatta was once born in the lowest caste (caṇḍala), and one day went on a journey, taking his food in a basket. On the way he met a young man from Bārāṇasī, Satadhamma, a brahmin. They travelled together, and when the time came for the meal, because Satadhamma had no food, the Bodhisatta offered him some. “I could not possibly take yours,” said the brahmin youth, “because you are the lowest of the low.” The Bodhisatta ate some of the food and put the rest away. In the evening they bathed, and the Bodhisatta ate without offering Satadhamma anything. The latter had expected to be asked again and was very hungry. However, finding that he was offered nothing, he asked the Bodhisatta for some and ate it. As soon as he had finished he was seized with remorse that he should thus have disgraced his family. So greatly was he upset that he vomited the food, and with it some blood. He plunged into the wood and was never heard of again.
The story was related in reference to monks who earned their living in the twenty-one unlawful ways, as physicians, messengers, etc. (These are not listed in full in this Jātaka, but the full list is found elsewhere, e.g. in the Commentary to the Kandaraka Sutta MA.iii.5, ed.)
The Buddha summoned them and warned that food unlawfully come by was like red-hot iron, a deadly poison. It was like partaking of the leavings of the vilest of mankind. J.ii.82‑5.
180v.l. Dudda°, Dudada°.– Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin of Kāsi and, after being educated in Takkasilā, became an ascetic in the Himavā. When he and his fellow ascetics visited Bārāṇasī for salt and seasoning, the people gathered together and gave them food. The story was told in reference to two young men who made a collection in Sāvatthi to feed the Buddha and his monks (J.ii.85f).
181The story of the prince Asadisa. It was told in reference to the Great Renunciation to show that in former lives also the Bodhisatta had renounced a royal state (J.ii.86‑92). The latter part of the story is given in the Mahāvastu and is called the Saraksepana Jātaka (Mtu.ii.82‑3).
The story is figured in the Bharhut Stupa (Cunningham, p.70, and Plate xxvii.13) and in the Sanchi Tope (Fergusson, Tree and Serpent Worship, p.181, Plate vi). King Kittisirirājasīha of Sri Lanka wrote a beautiful poem in Singhalese based on this Jātaka. Cv. Supplement 101, vs.13.
182The Bodhisatta was once a skilled elephant-trainer. The king, in whose service he was, attacked Bārāṇasī, riding the state elephant; but the elephant was so scared by the missiles and noise that he would not approach the place. Thereupon his trainer encouraged him, telling him that he should feel at home on the battlefield, and the elephant, impressed by his words, broke down all obstacles and achieved victory for his master.
The story was told in reference to the Buddha’s step-brother Nanda (q.v.), who, at first, kept the precepts of the Order, because the Buddha had promised to get for him the dove footed nymphs (kakuṭapādiniyo) of Sakka’s heaven; but later, moved by Sāriputta’s words, he put forth effort and attained Arahantship. Nanda was the elephant and Ānanda the king. J.ii.92‑5.
183Once Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, went with a large army to quell a frontier rebellion, and, on his return, ordered that his horses be given some grape juice to drink. The horses drank and stood quietly in their stalls. There was a heap of leavings empty of all goodness, and the king ordered that these be kneaded with water, strained, and given to the donkeys who carried the horses’ provender. The donkeys drank it, and galloped about braying loudly. The king asked his courtier (the Bodhisatta) the reason for this, and he answered that the lowborn lack self control.
The story was told in reference to some boys, attendants of devotees, at Sāvatthi. The devotees themselves were calm and collected, but the boys would eat and then scamper about the banks of the Aciravatī, making a great uproar. They are identified with the donkeys (J.ii.95f).
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.ii.154f ) the story was related after the monks returned to Sāvatthi from Verañjā. Their attendants had been quiet in Verañjā, where there was little to eat, but in Sāvatthi they ate the remnants of the monks’ food and made a great noise.
184King Sāma of Bārāṇasī had a state horse Paṇḍava, whose trainer was the lame Giridanta. Observing that his trainer limped, the horse imitated him. When the king saw the horse limping, not being able to discover the reason, he asked his adviser, the Bodhisatta, to investigate the matter. The Bodhisatta reported that it was the result of evil association, and had the trainer replaced by another. The trainer was Devadatta (J.ii.98f).
For the introductory story see the Mahilāmukha Jātaka.
1851. Anabhirati Jātaka (No. 65).– Women cannot be regarded as private property. They are common to all; they extend universal hospitality.
The Bodhisatta was once a famous teacher of Bārāṇasī. A pupil of his, finding his wife unfaithful, was so affected by the discovery that he kept away from classes. When asked why, he told his teacher the whole story; the latter consoled him by telling him that all women were unfaithful.
The story was told to an upāsaka who came to visit the Buddha. Once, on discovering his wife’s faithlessness, he had words with her and kept away from the vihāra. J.i.301‑2; see also DhA.iii.348ff., where the details given are slightly different.
2. Anabhirati Jātaka (No. 185).– Told to a young brahmin of Sāvatthi who knew the three Vedas by heart. When he married his mind became darkened. He visited the Buddha, who talked to him pleasantly and discovered in the course of conversation that his memory had grown weak. The same thing had happened to him in the past, said the Buddha. Serenity of mind is essential for good memory. J.ii.99‑101.
Anāgāmiphala Sutta
1. Anāgāmiphala Sutta.– Four qualities lead to the attainment of the Path of Non-returning. What four? Association with good men, listening to the true Dhamma, systematic attention, and practising in according with the Dhamma. (S.v.411)
2. Anāgāmiphala Sutta.– Endowed with six qualities, and without abandoning them it is impossible to attain the path of Non-returning. What six? Lack of faith, shamelessness, recklessness, laziness, muddleheadedness, and lack of wisdom. (A.iii.421)
186Once four brothers of Kāsi became ascetics in the Himavā. The eldest died and was born as Sakka; he visited the others, and gave them, respectively, a magic razor-axe, which could be used as razor or axe; a drum, one side of which drove away elephants, while the other made friends of them; and a bowl from which a stream of curd flowed at its possessor’s will. In a beautiful island far away lived a wild boar who owned a gem which enabled its possessor to travel through the air. A shipwrecked sailor from Kāsi stole this while the boar slept, and, with it, travelled to the Himavā. There he saw the ascetics, and, in exchange for the gem, obtained from them their magic possessions, afterwards returning and killing them, so that he regained the gem. He then went to Bārāṇasī and took possession of the throne, becoming known as King Dadhivāhana, because he destroyed his enemies by drowning them in a river of curds. In his garden grew a mango tree, sprung from a mango which had floated down from Lake Kaṇṇamuṇḍa. He sent fruits from this tree as presents to the neighbouring kings, but always pricked the mango stone with a thorn so that it should not bear fruit. Once, an offended king sent to Dadhivāhana a gardener whom he had bribed to destroy the flavour of the mangoes. The king gave him employment, but the gardener, by growing bitter creepers round the mango tree, destroyed the flavour of the fruit. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s councillor, discovered the plot and had the creepers uprooted.
The story was related to illustrate the effects of evil association (J.ii.101‑6).
187Two geese from Cittakūṭa once used a certain tree as a perch, whenever they approached it, and became friendly with the spirit of the tree, who was the Bodhisatta. They talked together about religion until a jackal came and interrupted them. Then the geese flew away and did not return.
The story was told of an old monk who interrupted a conversation between Sāriputta and Moggallāna. The monk was the jackal. J.ii.106f.
188The Bodhisatta was, once a lion and had a cub by a she-jackal. The cub was like his father in appearance, but like his mother in voice. One day, after rain, when the lions were gambolling and roaring together, the cub thought to roar too, and yelped like a jackal. Thereupon all the lions at once fell silent. When the Bodhisatta was told of this by another cub he advised the jackal cub to keep quiet.
The story was related in reference to Kokālika’s attempt to teach, Kokālika is identified with the jackal-voiced cub and Rāhula with his brother. J.ii.108f.
189Once a merchant used to go about hawking goods, his pack carried by a donkey. After the day’s work he would throw a lion’s skin over the donkey and let him loose in the fields. The farmers, taking him for a lion, dared not stop him eating their crops. However, one day they summoned up courage and armed themselves, and approached the animal with great uproar. The donkey, frightened to death, heehawed. The farmers cudgeled him to death.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika, who is identified with the donkey (J.ii.109f).
190Once a pious disciple of Kassapa Buddha went to sea with a barber who had been placed in his charge. The ship was wrecked, and together they swam by means of a plank to a desert island. There the barber killed some birds and ate them; but the lay disciple refused a share and meditated on the Three Jewels. The Nāga king of the island, moved by this, turned his body into a ship, and, with the Spirit of the Sea as helmsman, offered to take the lay disciple to Jambudīpa. The barber also wished to go, but his plea was refused because he was not holy. Thereupon the lay disciple made over to him the merits of his own virtues, and the barber was taken on board. Both were conveyed to Jambudīpa, where wealth was provided for them.
The story was related to a holy believer who, coming one day to Jetavana, found there none of the ferry boats which crossed the Aciravatī; not wishing to return, he started to walk across the river, his mind full of thoughts of the Buddha. In the middle he lost his train of thought, and was about to sink when he again put forth effort and crossed over. The Buddha, hearing of this, told him this story, and at its conclusion the man became a Once-returner. The Nāga king was Sāriputta and the Sea spirit was the Bodhisatta. J.ii.111‑113.
191Ruhaka was the chaplain of the Bodhisatta, born as king of Bārāṇasī. The king gave him a horse with rich trappings, and when he rode him everyone was lost in admiration. Ruhaka’s wife was a foolish old woman who, on hearing of the people’s praise, declared that their excitement was due, not to the qualities of the animal, but to its trappings, and that if Ruhaka would go out wearing the horse’s trapping, he would be similarly applauded. Ruhaka agreed to the suggestion, and suffered great humiliation; he went home in anger, determined to punish his wife, but she had escaped, and sought the king’s protection. The king persuaded Ruhaka to forgive her because “All womankind is full of faults.” (J.iii.113f).
The occasion for the story is given in the Indriya Jātaka (No. 423). (q.v).
1921. Sirikāḷakaṇṇi Jātaka (No. 192).– Another name for the Sirikāḷakaṇṇi-pañha (q.v.)
2. Sirikāḷakaṇṇi Jātaka (No. 382).– The Bodhisatta was once a merchant of Bārāṇasī, and, because his household observed the rules of piety, he came to be called Suciparivāra (“pure household”). He kept an unused couch and bed for anyone who might come to his house and was purer than himself. One day Kālakaṇṇī, daughter of Virūpakka and Sirī, Dhataraṭṭha’s daughter, went to bathe in the Anotatta, and a quarrel arose as to which should bathe first. As neither the Four Regent Gods nor Sakka were willing to decide, they referred the two goddesses to Suciparivāra. Kālakaṇṇī first appeared before him in blue raiment and jewels, and, on being asked what were her qualities, she told him, and was asked to vanish from his sight. Then came Sirī, diffusing yellow radiance, and the Bodhisatta, discovering her identity and her virtues, welcomed her and offered her his unused couch. Thus was the dispute settled. The bed used by Sirī came to be called Sirisaya, hence the origin of Sirisayana.
Sirī is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā. J.iii. 257‑64.
193The Bodhisatta was once born as Paduma, son of the chief queen of the king of Bārāṇasī. He had six brothers. The king, becoming suspicious of his sons, ordered them to leave the kingdom. They went away with their wives, and coming to a region where no food was to be had, they killed their wives one by one and ate their flesh.
The Bodhisatta managed to save his wife by foregoing a share of the meal each day, and fled with her. During the flight the Bodhisatta gave his wife some of his blood to drink, she being so thirsty. Later they lived in a hut on the bank of the Gaṅgā. One day the Bodhisatta rescued from the river a thief with his limbs cut off who was drifting down stream in a boat. At first the Bodhisatta’s wife would not even look at the man, but soon she conceived a passion for him and threw her husband down a precipice. The Bodhisatta fell on a fig-tree, and after some time climbed down with the help of an iguana. He went to Bārāṇasī and established his claim to his father’s kingdom. His erstwhile wife, wandering from place to place with the cripple on her shoulders, gained great reputation as a devoted wife. One day she came to Bārāṇasī. There the king recognised her and revealed her treachery (J.ii.115‑21).
The story was told in reference to a backsliding monk. The details are given in the Ummadantī Jātaka.
Devadatta was the thief, Ciñcā-māṇavikā the treacherous woman, and Ānanda the iguana.
194The Bodhisatta was once a householder in a village near Bārāṇasī and he had a most beautiful wife, named Sujātā. One day, at her request, they prepared some sweetmeats, and, placing them in a cart, started for Bārāṇasī to see her parents. On the way Sujātā was seen by the king of Bārāṇasī, and, wishing to possess her, he ordered the jewel of his diadem to be introduced into the Bodhisatta’s cart. The cry of “thief” was then set up, and the Bodhisatta arrested and taken off to be executed. However, Sakka’s throne was heated by Sujātā’s lamentations, and, descending to earth, Sakka made the king and the Bodhisatta change places. The king was beheaded, and Sakka, revealing himself, set the Bodhisatta on the throne.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. The king is identified with Devadatta, Sakka with Anuruddha, and Rāhulamātā with Sujātā (J.ii.121‑5). The story gives the case of a man getting happiness through a virtuous woman. J.iv.77.
195Once, Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, discovered one of his courtiers intriguing in his harem. However, being fond both of the man and the woman concerned, he asked advice of his counsellor, the Bodhisatta, in a riddle — that a pretty lake at the foot of a hill was being used by a jackal, while the lion lay quiet through it all. The counsellor’s answer was that all creatures drink at will of a mighty river, yet the river is a river for all that. The king understood the answer and advised both those concerned.
The story was related to the king of Kosala who had detected a similar happening in his court. J.ii.125ff.
196Once, in Tambapaṇṇidīpa, was a yakkha-city called Sirīsavatthu, peopled by yakkhinīs. When shipwrecked sailors were cast on the shore from the River Kalyāṇī to Nāgadīpa, the yakkhinīs would assume human form and entice them and use them as their husbands. On the arrival of other castaways, they would eat their former husbands and take the new arrivals as their lovers. Once five hundred merchants were cast ashore there and became the husbands of the yakkhinīs. In the night the yakkhinīs left them and ate their former husbands. The eldest merchant discovered this and warned the others, but only half of them were willing to attempt an escape. Now it happened that the Bodhisatta was a horse of the Valāhaka race and was flying through the air from the Himavā to Tambapaṇṇī. There, as he passed over the banks and fields, he asked in a human voice: “Who wants to go home?” and the two hundred and fifty traders begged to be taken. They climbed on the horse’s back and tail and he took them to their own country. The others were eaten by the yakkhinīs.
The story was told in reference to a monk who had become a backslider from running after a beautifully dressed woman. J.ii.127ff.
1971. Mittāmitta Jātaka (No. 197).– The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a band of ascetics, and one of these, disregarding the advice of the Bodhisatta, adopted a young elephant whose dam was dead. The elephant grew up and slew its master.
The story was told in reference to a monk who took a piece of cloth belonging to his teacher and made with it a shoe bag, feeling sure that his teacher would not mind. The latter, however, flew into a rage and struck him. J.ii.130ff.
2. Mittāmitta Jātaka (No. 473).– The Bodhisatta was once the minister of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. At that time the other ministers were slandering a certain courtier who was upright. The king consulted the Bodhisatta, who pointed out to him the marks of a friend as opposed to those of a foe.
The story was told to the king of Kosala, who consulted the Buddha on a similar matter. J.iv.496ff.
1981. Rādha Jātaka (No. 145).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a parrot, named Poṭṭhapāda, and his brother was Rādha. They were brought up by a brahmin of Kāsī. When the brahmin was away, his wife admitted men to the house and her husband set the birds to watch. Rādha wished to admonish her, but his brother said it was useless and they must await the brahmin’s return. Having told him what had happened, the two parrots flew away, saying they could not live there any longer.
Rādha is identified with Ānanda (J.i.495f). The introductory story is identical with that of the Indriya Jātaka (No. 423).
2. Rādha Jātaka (No. 198).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a parrot, brother to Poṭṭhapāda. They were brought up by a brahmin in Bārāṇasī. When the brahmin went away, he told the birds to watch his wife and report to him any misconduct. However, Poṭṭhapāda, in spite of his brother’s warning, admonished the woman, who, in a rage, while pretending to fondle him, wrung his neck and threw him into the fire. When the brahmin returned, Rādha said he did not wish to share his brother’s fate, and flew away.
Poṭṭhapāda is identified with Ānanda. The story was told in reference to a monk who became a backslider owing to a woman. J.ii.132ff; cf. the Kāḷabāhu Jātaka.
199Once, in Kāsi, the Bodhisatta’s wife carried on an intrigue with the village headman. The husband, determined to catch them, pretended to leave the village, but returned as soon as the headman entered the house. The wife, seeing her husband, climbed into the granary, and professed that the headman was there to demand the price of meat which he had supplied to them during a famine, and that as there was no money he insisted on being given the value in grain, which, she said, she was determined to refuse to do. However, the Bodhisatta saw through the ruse, thrashed the headman and then his wife.
The Buddha related the story to a backsliding monk to demonstrate to him how women were always sinful (J.ii.134f).
200The Bodhisatta was once a famous brahmin teacher. A certain brahmin had four daughters who were wooed by four suitors — one handsome, another advanced in years, another of noble family, and the last virtuous. Unable to decide between them, the brahmin sought the teacher’s advice and gave all his four daughters to the virtuous man.
The story was related to a brahmin of Sāvatthi who consulted the Buddha in a similar case. The two brahmins were identical. J.i.137f.
201The Bodhisatta was once born in a poor family and supported his mother. Having provided him with a wife, much against his will, she died soon after. When his wife was with child, he wished to go away and became an ascetic, but his wife persuaded him to stay. On her second conception he ran away and, becoming an ascetic, rejoiced in his freedom from the bonds of wife and family.
The story was related when some monks reported to the Buddha that a gang of thieves had been taken captive by Pasenadi and put in chains. No chains were stronger than those of passion, said the Buddha.
J.i.139ff; cp. Bandhana Sutta (2); the verses given in the Jātaka are also found there.
202Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, could not look upon anyone old or decrepit without playing jokes on them. He made old men roll about on the ground and played practical jokes on old women. His friends behaved likewise. All old people left his country; no parents or aged persons remained to be tended by the young, and newcomers among the gods were few in number. Sakka (the Bodhisatta), wishing to teach the king a lesson, once appeared before him in the guise of an old man, with two jars of butter milk in a crazy old cart, having willed that only the king should be able to see him. The king was riding his state elephant, and when he asked the old carter to move the latter dashed the two jars on the king’s head and the onlookers laughed to see the milk dripping down his face. Resuming Sakka’s form, the Bodhisatta admonished the king.
The story was related to account for Lakuṇḍakabhaddiya’s deformity. J.ii.142‑4.
203The Bodhisatta was once born in Kāsi, and later became an ascetic. On it being reported to him that many ascetics died of snake-bite, he gathered them together and taught them how, by cultivating love for the four royal races of snakes — the Virūpakkha, the Erāpatha, the Chabyāputta, and the Kaṇhagotama — they could prevent themselves from ever being bitten by any creature.
The story was told in reference to a monk who died of snake-bite. J.ii.144ff. cf. Vin.ii.109f.
The story is evidently an expansion of the Khandha Paritta.
204The Bodhisatta was once born as a marsh crow, named Vīraka, and lived near a pool. There was a drought in Kāsi, and a crow, named Saviṭṭhaka, finding no food, went with his wife to where Vīraka lived, and, becoming his servant, ate the fish that Vīraka caught in the pool. Later, Saviṭṭhaka, in spite of Vīraka’s warning, tried to catch fish himself and was drowned.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to imitate the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with the crow Saviṭṭhaka. J.ii.148f; quoted at DhA.i.122.
205Two fish, one from Gaṅgā, the other from Yamunā, once met at the confluence of the rivers and disputed as to their relative beauty. They appealed to a turtle who was there for a decision; he said they were both beautiful, but he himself was more beautiful than either.
The story was told in reference to two monks who bragged of their good looks and quarrelled about them. They appealed to an older monk, who gave the same answer as the turtle of the story. J.ii.151f.
2061. Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka (No. 21).– Once the Bodhisatta was an antelope who used to eat the fruit of a sepaṇṇi-tree. One day a huntsman discovered him and lay in wait to kill him, but the Bodhisatta suspected his presence and so escaped death.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s plots to kill the Buddha, the huntsman being identified with Devadatta. J.i.173f.
2. Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka (No. 206).– In a forest lived three friends: an antelope, a woodpecker and a tortoise. One night the antelope was caught in a huntsman’s noose, and the tortoise set about biting through the thongs of the noose while the woodpecker, uttering cries of ill-omen, kept the huntsman in his hut. The antelope escaped, but the tortoise, exhausted by his labours, was caught by the huntsman. The antelope thereupon enticed the hunter into the forest and, eluding him, released the tortoise. The antelope was the Bodhisatta, Sāriputta the woodpecker, Mahā-Moggallāna the tortoise and Devadatta the hunter.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s wickedness (J.ii.152ff; DhA.iii.152f).
This Jātaka is figured on the Bharhut Stupa. Cunningham: p.67 and PL xxvii.9.
207King of Potali in the kingdom of Kāsi. His queen consort Ubbarī was very dear to him, and when she died he was plunged into grief. He put her corpse in a coffin, placed it under his bed and lay thereon, starving for seven days. The Bodhisatta was then an ascetic in the Himavā, and just at this time he visited Potali. There, in the royal park, the king came to see him because he was told that the ascetic would show him Ubbarī. The Bodhisatta showed him Ubbarī now reborn as a dung-worm in the park, because, being intoxicated with her own beauty, she had done no good deeds. Seeing the king incredulous, the ascetic made her speak, and she declared that she cared much more for the dung-worm, who was now her mate, than for Assaka who had been her husband in her previous life. Assaka went back to the palace, had the body disposed of, married another queen and lived righteously. J.ii.155‑8.
208v.l. Suṃsumāra Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a monkey, living on the banks of the Gaṅgā. The wife of a crocodile (suṃsumāra) living in the river saw him and wished to eat his heart. Her husband, therefore, grew friendly with the monkey, whom he suggested taking across the river on his back, so that he might eat of fresh fruit on the opposite bank. The monkey trusted him and climbed on to his back, but, half way across the river, the crocodile began to sink and then confessed his intentions. The monkey thereupon laughed and told him that he never took his heart with him when he went climbing trees for food, otherwise it would get torn to pieces; but he, like all the other monkeys, hung it on a tree, and he showed it to the crocodile hanging there on the opposite bank.
The crocodile believed him and took him across, where he hoped to get the heart. However, the monkey jumped on the bank and laughed at his stupidity.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. The crocodile is identified with Devadatta and his wife with Ciñcā. J.ii.159f; cf. Cyp.iii.7; Mtu.ii.208.
2091. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 209).– The story of a wise bird who, seeing a farmer trying to catch him, avoided him until the farmer was quite exasperated. In the end the farmer camouflaged himself like a tree, but the bird laughed in his face.
The story was related in reference to a monk, a fellow-celibate of Sāriputta. This monk was very careful about his body, and earned the reputation of a dandy. The bird is identified with the monk (J.ii.161f). This story bears some resemblance to the second Sakuntaka Jātaka in the Mahāvastu, particularly to the latter part of it. Mtu.ii.250. v.l. Kakkara Jātaka.
2. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 383).– The story of a cat who tried to deceive a cock — with the idea of eating him — by offering to become his wife. Her efforts failed. The cock was the Bodhisatta.
The story was told to a monk who was tempted by the sight of a woman (J.iii.265f).
This Jātaka is illustrated in the Bharhut Stūpa. Cunningham: Pl.xlvii.5.
3. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 448).– The Bodhisatta was once the chief of a large flock of fowls. A falcon, by means of engaging speech, tried to become friendly with him in order to eat him, but his attempts failed. There could be no friendship between fowl and falcon, said the Bodhisatta. The story was related in reference to Dedavatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. v.l. Kukkuha. J.iv.55ff
210The Bodhisatta was once a woodpecker named Khadiravaniya, and be had a friend named Kandagalaka. One day Khadiravaniya took Kandagalaka with him into the acacia wood (khadiravana) and gave him insects from the acacia trees. As Kandagalaka ate them, pride rose in his heart and, feeling he could get food without his friend’s assistance, he told him so. In spite of the warning of Khadiravaniya, Kandagalaka pecked at an acacia trunk, broke his beak, and fell down dead.
The story was related in connection with Devadatta’s attempts to imitate the Buddha, these attempts ending in his own ruin. Kandagalaka is identified with Devadatta. J.ii.162‑4.
2111. Somadatta Jātaka (No. 211).– The story of the Bodhisatta when he was born as the son of Aggidatta. For details see Aggidatta (J.ii.164‑7). The story was related in reference to Lāḷudāyī who is identified with Aggidatta, and is repeated in the Dhammapada Commentary. DhA.iii.123ff.
2. Somadatta Jātaka (No. 410).– A wealthy brahmin of Bārāṇasī once left the world and became an ascetic in the Himavā, where he adopted an elephant calf, calling it Somadatta. One day the elephant ate too much and fell ill. The brahmin went in search of wild fruit for it, but before he could return, the animal was dead. The ascetic was filled with grief. Sakka (the Bodhisatta) saw this and, appearing before him, reminded him that it was not for this that he had left wife, wealth and children.
The story was related in reference to a monk who had ordained a novice, and, when the latter died, he was full of grief. Somadatta is identified with the novice and the brahmin with the monk. J.iii.388‑91.
212In a village near Kāsī, a brahmin’s wicked wife received her lover when her husband was away. She prepared a meal for her lover and while he ate she stood at the door watching for her husband. The brahmin appearing before he was expected, the lover was bundled into the store-room. The woman put some hot rice over the food left unfinished by her lover and gave the plate to her husband. When asked why the rice was hot on the top and cold at the bottom, she remained silent. The Bodhisatta, who had been born as a poor acrobat, had been at the door of the house waiting for alms and had seen all that had happened. He informed the brahmin of his wife’s conduct and both wife and lover received a sound beating.
The story was told to a monk who hankered after his wife. The Buddha related the story in order to show him that in a past birth this same wife had made him eat the leavings of her paramour. J.ii.167ff.
213Once the Bodhisatta was leader of a band of five hundred ascetics in Himavā. One day they came to the city of Bharu for salt and vinegar, and took up their residence under a banyan-tree to the north of the city. A similar group remained under a tree to the south. Next year, the tree to the south of the city was found to have withered away, and the group who had lived there, having arrived first, took possession of the other tree, to the north. This led to a dispute between the two groups, and they sought the intervention of Bharu, king of the Bharu country. He decided in favour of one group, but being bribed by the other, he changed his mind. Later, the ascetics repented of their greed and hastened back to Himavā. The gods, angry with the king, submerged the whole of Bharu, three hundred leagues in extent, under the sea.
The story was told to Pasenadi, king of Kosala, who took bribes from some heretics and gave permission for them to build a centre near Jetavana. When the Buddha heard of it, he sent monks to interview the king, but the latter refused to receive even the Chief Disciples. The Buddha then went himself and dissuaded the king from giving permission for an act which would lead to endless dissensions.
J.ii.169ff; the story is also given at SA.iii.218f., which says further that Pasenadi built the Rājakārāma to make amends for his fault.
214The Bodhisatta was once chaplain at the court of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. However, the king, listening to his enemies, sent the Bodhisatta away from the court, and he dwelt in a village of Kāsi. Later, the king, remembering his chaplain’s goodness, composed a verse, wrote it on a leaf, and sent it to him, together with cooked crow’s flesh. The Bodhisatta understood the message and returned to the court.
The story was related in reference to the great wisdom of the Buddha. Ānanda is identified with the king (J.ii.173‑5). The Jātaka derives its name from the first two words of the verse composed by the king.
2151. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 178).– The story of a turtle who would not leave the lake where he lived even though all the other turtles, knowing there would be a drought, swam in time to the neighbouring river. When the drought came, he buried himself in a hole. There he was dug up by the Bodhisatta who was digging for clay, having been born as a potter. The turtle’s shell was cracked by the potter’s spade and he died, having uttered two verses on the folly of clinging too much to things. The Bodhisatta took his body to the village and taught the villagers.
The story was told to a young man of Sāvatthi who, when the plague broke out in his house, listened to his parents’ advice and escaped through a hole in the wall. When the danger was past he returned and rescued the treasure hoarded in the house and, one day, visited the Buddha with many gifts.
Ānanda is identified with the turtle of the story. J.ii.79‑81.
2. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 215).– The story of a turtle who became friendly with two geese living in the Cittakūṭa mountain. One day the geese invited the turtle to their abode, and when he agreed they made him hold a stick between his teeth, and seizing the two ends flew away with him. The children of the village, seeing them, started shouting, and the turtle, being of a talkative nature, opened his mouth to reprimand them and fell near the palace of the king of Bārāṇasī, crushing himself to death. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s minister, seized the opportunity for admonishing his master, who was an inveterate talker, on the virtues of silence.
The turtle is identified with Kokālika, in reference to whom the story was related (J.ii.175‑8; repeated also in DhA.iv.91f). For details see the Takkāriya Jātaka.
3. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 273).– The story of how a monkey insulted a turtle by introducing his private parts into the turtle as the latter lay basking in the sun with his mouth open. The turtle caught hold of the monkey and refused to release him. The monkey went for help, and the Bodhisatta, who was an ascetic in a hermitage nearby, saw the monkey carrying the turtle. The Bodhisatta persuaded the turtle to release the monkey.
The story was related in reference to the quarrelsome ministers of the king of Kosala. J.ii.359‑61.
2161. Maccha Jātaka (No. 34).– Some fishermen once cast their net into a river, and a great fish, swimming along, playing amorously with his wife, was caught in the net, while his wife escaped. The fishermen hauled him up and left him on the sand while they proceeded to light a fire and whittle a spit whereon to roast him. The fish lamented, saying how unhappy his wife would be, thinking he had gone off with another. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s priest, coming along to the river to bathe, heard the lament of the fish and obtained his freedom from the fishermen.
The story was related to a passion-tossed monk who longed for the wife of his lay days. The two fish were the monk and his seducer. J.i.210‑12.
2. Maccha Jātaka (No. 75).– Once the Bodhisatta was born as a fish in a pond; there was a great drought, the crops withered, and water gave out in tanks and ponds and there was great distress. Seeing this, the Bodhisatta approached Pajjunna, god of rain, and made an Act of Truth, begging for rain. The request succeeded, and heavy rain fell.
The story was told in reference to a great drought in Kosala. Even the pond by the gate of Jetavana was dry, and the Buddha, touched by the universal suffering, resolved to obtain rain. On his way back from his almsround, he sent Ānanda to fetch the robe in which he bathed. As he was putting this on, Sakka’s throne was heated, and he ordered Pajjunna to send rain. The god filled himself with clouds, and then bending his face and mouth, deluged all Kosala with torrents of rain. The Pajjunna of the earlier story is identified with Ānanda. J.i.329‑32; cp. Cyp.iii.10.
3. Maccha Jātaka (No. 216).– The story very much resembles Maccha Jātaka (1). J.ii.178f.
217The story of a greengrocer who, in order to test his daughter, Seggu, took her to the woods and made as if wishing to seduce her. However, she begged for his protection, and he, convinced of her virtue, gave her in marriage to a good young man.
The story was told in reference to a greengrocer of Sāvatthi, who similarly tested his daughter. The characters in both stories were identical. J.ii.179f.
2181. Kūṭavāṇija Jātaka (No. 98).– The Bodhisatta was once a merchant named Paṇḍita and entered into partnership with a dishonest man, Atipaṇḍita. When the time came for dividing the profits the latter claimed a larger share, for he, as his name showed, was the “brains” of the business. To settle the dispute he hid his father in a hollow tree, and feigning to consult a Tree-sprite, referred the matter to the Tree. Paṇḍita suspecting the ruse, lit a fire at the foot of the tree and thus exposed the cheat.
The story was related in reference to a cheating merchant of Sāvatthi, who is identified with Atipaṇḍita. He tried to rob his honest partner, always putting off his claims, in the hope that he would die from the hardships suffered in a long journey they had undertaken for trade. J.i.404f
2. Kūṭavāṇija Jātaka (No. 218).– A villager once deposited five hundred ploughshares with a friend in the town, but when he came to claim them, he was told that they had been eaten by mice, and was shown the dung the mice had left behind. Some time later the villager took his friend’s son to bathe, hid him in a house, and reported to the townsman that the boy had been carried off by a hawk. When he was taken before the judge, who was the Bodhisatta, he protested that in a place where mice ate ploughshares a hawk could easily carry off a boy. The Bodhisatta settled their dispute (J.ii.181ff).
The introductory story is similar to that of No.1 above.
219Once the Bodhisatta was a monkey in the Himavā and, having been captured by a forester, was given to the king. The king grew fond of him, and the monkey learnt the ways of men. The king set him free, and when his fellows saw him they insisted on hearing from him how men lived. He told them of men’s greed for possessions, and how in each house there were two masters, one of them beardless, with long breasts and plaited hair. The monkeys, hearing of this folly, stopped their ears and went elsewhere, saying they could not bear to live in a place where they had heard such unseemly things! That place came thereafter to be called the Garahitapiṭṭhi-pāsāṇa.
The story was told in reference to a discontented monk. J.ii.184.
2201. Dhammaddhaja Jātaka (No. 220).– The Bodhisatta was once born as Dhammaddhaja, chaplain to Yasapāni, king of Bārāṇasī. One day the king’s captain, Kālaka, who was wont to take bribes, gave a wrong decision in a case, and the Bodhisatta, being appealed to, reheard the case and decided in the plaintiff’s favour. The people applauded greatly and the king made him judge. However, Kālaka, wishing for an excuse to put Dhammaddhaja to death, persuaded the king that he was getting too popular, and the king gave him various impossible tasks. Dhammaddhaja, with the help of Sakka, performed them all. One day the king ordered him to find a park-keeper with four virtues, and once again, with the aid of Sakka, the Bodhisatta discovered Chattapāṇi, the king’s barber. On being questioned, Chattapāṇi told the king that he was free from envy, drank no wine, had no strong desires, never gave way to anger; he then related stories of his past lives, the experiences of which had made him renounce these evils. (For details see Chattapāṇi). The king, at length, discovered Kālaka’s perfidy and had him put to death.
The Jātaka was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with Kālaka and Sāriputta with Chattapāṇi. J.ii.186‑96.
A poor man of Bārāṇasī, having entered into a contract with ivory workers to supply elephants’ tusks, went into the forest clad in a Pacceka Buddha’s yellow robe, and standing in the path of the elephants, slew the last one of the herd each day. The Bodhisatta, being the leader of the elephants, on discovering what was happening, threatened to kill the man; but receiving his promise never to visit the forest again, he let him go free on account of his robe.
A trader, coming to Rājagaha on business, contributed a magnificent yellow robe to an almsgiving organised by the townspeople. There was some dispute as to whether Sāriputta or Devadatta should receive the robe; but the majority favouring Devadatta, he cut the robe into strips and wore it in great style. When the matter was reported to the Buddha, he related the above Jātaka story, in which Devadatta is identified with the huntsman. J.ii.196ff
222v.l. Cūḷānandaka Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a monkey named Nandiya and, with his brother Cūḷanandiya, headed a band of eighty thousand monkeys. They had a blind mother, and finding that when they were away with the herd she never received the fruits they sent her, they decided to stay with her in a banyan-tree near a village. One day a brahmin, who had studied at Takkasilā, entered the forest with a bow and arrow. He had been warned by his teacher Pārāsariya to curb his wickedness, but he could find no way, apart from killing, of keeping his wife and child. Seeing the aged monkey, he prepared to shoot her, but her sons offered their lives in her stead. The brahmin killed first them and then the mother. On his way home he heard that lightning had hit his house and that his family was dead; he himself was thereupon swallowed up by the fires of hell.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s wickedness. The hunter was Devadatta. J.ii.199‑202.
223Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, had a son whom he feared, so he sent the son away with his wife, and these two lived in a village in Kāsi. When the king died they returned to Bārāṇasī and on the way someone gave the prince a bowl of food asking share it with his wife; but he ate it all, and even when he became king and she his queen, he showed her very little honour. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s counsellor, perceiving this, asked the queen to speak to the king about his neglect of her. The king confessed his fault, and thereafter showed the queen great honour.
The story was related to a landowner of Sāvatthi who once went with his wife into the country to collect a debt. On the way back, when they were famishing, someone gave a meal to be shared by them. However, the man, deceiving his wife, sent her on ahead and ate the food himself. The wife, on visiting the Buddha, spoke to him of this. The two couples were identical. J.ii.202ff. Cp. Godha Jātaka.
225A courtier of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, started an intrigue in the king’s harem, and a servant of the courtier did likewise in his master’s house. When the courtier brought the servant to the king, the king advised the master to be patient, as good servants were rare, and, said the king, he knew of a courtier who had acted in the same way, but his king did not wish to lose him.
The story was related to the king of Kosala, who had been made a cuckold by one of his young and zealous courtiers. J.ii.206f.
2261. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 130).– A brahmin of Bārāṇasī had a bad wife who lay in bed by day feigning sickness and spent her nights in enjoyment. The husband worked hard to supply her with dainties, and, in consequence, could not visit his teacher who was the Bodhisatta. When the latter discovered the truth, he advised the brahmin to prepare a mess of cow-dung and other things and to insist that his wife should either swallow this medicine or get up and work. She then knew that her shamming was discovered and abandoned her evil ways.
The story was told to a brahmin of Sāvatthi, a pious follower of the Buddha, whose wife behaved in a similar way. The Buddha told him this story of the past and asked him to try the same remedy, for, he said, the brahmin and his wife were identical with the couple of the story (J.i.463f).
In the story of the past the woman is addressed as “Kosiyā.” The scholiast (J.i.465) adds that she belonged to the Kosiya-gotta.
2. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 226).– The king of Bārāṇasī, making war at an unseasonable time while camping in the park, saw an owl (kosiya) being attacked by crows. The king asked his minister the reason for this; the minister, being the Bodhisatta, said the owl had left his hiding-place too early — that is, before sunset.
The story was told to Pasenadi, who visited Jetavana on his way to quell a border uprising; the time was unsuitable for such an enterprise. J.ii.208f.
3. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 470).– Given under the Sudhābhojana Jātaka.
227A dung-beetle drank some liquor dropped by merchants staying in a rest-house and returned to his dung-heap intoxicated. An elephant who came up smelt the dung and went away in disgust. The beetle, thinking the elephant was frightened of him, called after him and challenged him to a fight. The elephant returned, dropped some dung on him and, making water over him, killed him on the spot.
The story was told in reference to a monk who quelled the pride of a hooligan who used to molest monks who went for alms to a village near Jetavana, asking them questions and insulting them so much that the monks were reluctant to go there. One day a monk, stronger than the rest, enticed the man out of the village, felled him with one blow, and threatened to teach him another lesson if he did not cease pestering the monks. After that the man ran away at the sight of a monk. J.ii.209ff.
228The king of Bārāṇasī had two sons; the elder became king, but was full of greed for wealth. The rest of the story resembles that of the Kāma Jātaka; the three cities that Sakka proposes to win for the king are given as Uttarapañcāla, Indapatta, and Kekaka.
In this case the physician who cures the king is Sakka himself, who is identified with the Bodhisatta (J.ii.212-16). The story was related in the same circumstances as the Kāma Jātaka.
229Once the Bodhisatta was king of Takkasilā. Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, marched on his city with a large army, hoping to capture it; but on seeing the towers on the city gates, he took fright and fled.
The story was told in reference to a mendicant who loved arguing. He could find no one to contradict him until he came to Sāvatthi, where the Buddha was. Forthwith he set off for Jetavana; but on seeing the gate towers, he fled (J.ii.216ff). See also Dutiyapalāyita Jātaka.
230The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī, and the Gandhāra king of Takkasilā besieged his capital. The Bodhisatta appeared before him and threatened to crush his forces, and the Gandhāra king fled.
The story was told in reference to an ascetic who visited Jetavana in order to argue with the Buddha; but on seeing the Buddha seated in the hall expounding the Doctrine, his courage forsook him and he ran away with a crowd at his heels. He is identified with the Gandhāra king. (J.ii.219‑21).
231Once the Bodhisatta was an elephant-trainer and taught his art to a young man of Kāsi. The latter wished to take service under the king, but would not accept any fee less than that paid to his teacher. A contest of skill was arranged to settle the point. The night before the contest the Bodhisatta taught an elephant to do all things awry, going back when told to go forward, etc. At the time of the contest the pupil could not match this in any way and was defeated and stoned to death by the onlookers. The Bodhisatta thereupon declared that a low-bred churl was like an ill-made shoe (upāhana). The story was told concerning the base ingratitude of Devadatta. J.ii.221ff.
232The Bodhisatta was once a rich merchant, and a marriage was arranged between his son and the daughter of a Bārāṇasī merchant. In her parents’ house, the girl saw honour being offered to a bull, and seeing a hunchback in the street on the day of her marriage, she thought him worthy of great honour (because of his hunch) and went away with him in disguise, carrying her jewellery. The Bodhisatta’s friends saw her, and persuading her of her folly, took her back home.
The story was told in reference to a rich girl of Sāvatthi who went away with a hunchback in similar circumstances. The girls of both stories were the same. J.ii.224f.
233The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī, and, one day, while dallying near a lake in his park, he noticed that fish and turtles flocked to him. He learnt, on enquiry, that these animals were attracted by his music, and ordered that they should be fed regularly. On finding that some of them failed to appear, he made arrangements for a drum to be sounded at the feeding time. Later, finding that a crocodile came and ate some of the fish, the king ordered him to be harpooned. The crocodile escaped capture, but died soon after.
The story was related to a backsliding monk. Desire always leads to suffering, said the Buddha; it was desire that caused the death of the crocodile. J.ii.227f.
234The Bodhisatta was once a holy ascetic living in the Himavā. At that time the king of Bārāṇasī, growing jealous of his son Prince Brahmadatta, banished both him and his wife, Asitābhū. They went to the Himavā and lived in a hut of leaves. One day the prince, becoming enamoured of a kinnarī, followed her, forsaking his wife. (The kinnarī’s name was Candā, see Candā 9). Asitābhū went to the Bodhisatta and, having developed various superhuman powers, returned to her hut. Brahmadatta, having failed in his quest, returned to the hut where he found his wife poised in mid-air uttering songs of joy over her newfound freedom. When she left, he lived in solitude until, at his father’s death, he succeeded to the throne.
The story was told in reference to a young girl, the daughter of a servitor of the two chief disciples. She was married, but finding her husband neglectful of her, visited the two Chief Disciples. Under their instruction she attained the First Fruit of the Path and embraced the religious life, ultimately becoming an Arahant.
She was Asitābhū in the previous birth (J.ii.229ff).
The story is referred to in the Vibhaṅga Commentary (p.470f) in connection with a King of Bārāṇasī who, having gone into the forest with his queen to eat roast flesh, fell in love with a kinnarī and deserted his wife. When he returned to his queen he found her flying through the air away from him, having developed psychic powers. A tree-sprite then uttered a stanza, citing the example of Asitābhū.
tesaṃ hetuṃ Tathāgato āha
tesañca yo nirodho,
evamvādī Mahāsamano.”
Sāriputta immediately understood and hurried to give the glad tidings to Moggallāna that he had succeeded in his quest. Vin.i.39ff; the incident is related in the DhA (i.75ff.) with slight variations as to detail.
Sāriputta held Assaji in the highest veneration, and we are told that from the day of this first meeting, in whatever quarter he heard that Assaji was staying, in that direction he would extend his clasped hands in an attitude of reverent supplication, and in that direction he would turn his head when he lay down to sleep (DhA.iv.150‑1).
One day when Assaji was going about in Vesāli for alms, the Nigaṇṭha Saccaka, who was wandering about in search of disputants to conquer, saw him, and questioned him regarding the Buddha’s teaching because he was a well-known disciple (ñātaññatara-sāvaka). Assaji gave him a summary of the doctrine contained in the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta. Feeling sure that he could refute these views attributed to the Buddha, Saccaka went with a large concourse of Licchavis to the Buddha and questioned him. This was the occasion for the teaching of the Cūḷa-Saccaka Sutta (M.i.227ff). The Commentary (MA.i.452) tells us that Assaji decided on this method of exposition because he did not wish to leave Saccaka any loophole for contentious questioning.
The Saṃyuttanikāya (S.iii.124ff) records a visit paid by the Buddha to Assaji as he lay grievously sick in Kassapārāma near Rājagaha. He tells the Buddha that he cannot enter into jhāna because of his difficulty in breathing and that he cannot win balance of mind. The Buddha encourages him and asks him to dwell on thoughts of impermanence and non-self.
2. Assaji.– One of the leaders of the Assaji-Punabbasukā (q.v.), the other being Punabbasu. He was one of the Chabbaggiyā, the others being Mettiya-Bhummajaka, Paṇḍuka-Lohitaka J.ii.387; MA.ii.668.
Assaji Sutta.– Records the incident, mentioned above, of the Buddha’s visit to Assaji (1). S.iii.124‑6.
235The Bodhisatta was once born as Vacchanakha, an anchorite living in the Himavā, and on one occasion, having gone to Bārāṇasī for salt and seasoning, he stayed in the king’s garden. A rich man saw him and, pleased with his looks, attended to his wants. A friendship soon grew up between them, and the rich man invited the hermit to give up his robes and share his wealth. However, this offer the hermit refused, pointing out the disadvantages of household life.
The story was told in reference to an attempt of Roja, the Malla, friend of Ānanda, to tempt the latter back to the worldly life by offering him half his possessions. Roja is identified with the rich man of the story. J.ii.231ff.
2361. Baka Jātaka (No. 38).– A crane, living near a pond, where the water dried up in summer, offered to carry the fish to a distant pond where water was plentiful. The fish, very suspicious, sent one of their numbers with the crane to verify his words, and when he returned with a favourable report, they accepted the crane’s offer. One by one the fish were carried off and eaten by the crane, until only a crab was left. The wily crab agreed to go too, but he clung round the crane’s neck while being carried along and cut off his head with his pincers when he discovered the crane’s intentions.
The story was told in reference to a monk of Jetavana who was a clever robe maker. He could make robes of rags, which he dyed so skilfully that they looked new and costly. Visiting monks, on seeing them, would exchange their new robes for his old ones and not discover their folly until later. A similar robe maker lived in a hamlet at some distance from Jetavana, who, hearing of the Jetavana monk succeeded in cheating him. The monk was the crane and the hamlet dweller the crab of the story. J.i.220ff.
2. Baka Jātaka (No. 236).– The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a large shoal of fish. A crane, who wished to eat them, stood on the bank of the pond with outstretched wings, gazing vacantly into space. The fish were impressed by his pious demeanour, but were warned against him by the Bodhisatta.
The story was told in reference to a hypocrite who is identified with the crane. J.ii.233f.
3. Baka Jātaka (No. 405) v.l. Bakabrahma Jātaka.– Relates the story of the Buddha’s visit to Baka Brahma (q.v.) and the incidents mentioned regarding Baka’s previous birth as Kesava. J.iii.358ff.
2371. Sāketa Jātaka (No. 68).– Once, when the Buddha visited Sāketa, an old brahmin met him at the gate and fell at his feet, calling him his son, and took him home to see his “mother” the brahmin’s wife — and his “brothers and sisters” — the brahmin’s family. There the Buddha and his monks were entertained to a meal, at the end of which the Buddha taught the Jarā Sutta. Both the brahmin and his wife became Once-returners. When the Buddha returned to Añjanavana, the monks asked him what the brahmin had meant by calling him his son. The Buddha told them how the brahmin had been his father in five hundred successive past births, his uncle in a like number, and his grandfather in another five hundred. The brahmin’s wife had similarly been his mother, his aunt, and his grandmother. J.i.308f; cf. DhA.iii.317f; SNA.ii.532f.
2. Sāketa Jātaka (No. 237).– The story of the present is the same as in the above Jātaka. When the Buddha returned to the monastery he was asked how the brahmin had recognised him. He explained how, in those who have loved in previous lives, love springs afresh, like lotus in the pond. J.i.234f
238Once the Bodhisatta was born as a rich merchant in Bārāṇasī. One day his son, sitting on his lap, asked him for one word that comprehended all things. The Bodhisatta said it was “skill” (dakkhayya). The story was told in reference to a lad in Sāvatthi who asked his father a question regarding the entrance to the Path (dvārapañha). The father, not being able to answer the boy, brought him to the Buddha. J.ii.236f.
239The Bodhisatta was once born as a green frog. A water snake, looking for fish, fell into a wicker cage set by men to catch fish. The fish, seeing the snake, bit him until he fled, dripping with blood. Exhausted, he lay on the edge of the water. Seeing the green frog at the mouth of the cage, the snake asked him if the fish had done right in attacking him. “Why not?” asked the frog; “you eat fish which get into your place and they eat you when you get into theirs.” The fish, hearing this, fell upon the snake and did him to death.
The story was related in reference to Ajātasattu’s war with Pasenadi. When he was victorious, Ajātasattu showed great delight, but when he lost he was quite downcast. The snake is identified with Ajātasattu. J.ii.237‑39.
240Mahāpiṅgala was once king of Bārāṇasī; he was extremely wicked and quite pitiless. When he died the people were delighted, and burnt his body with one thousand cartloads of wood amidst great festivity. They then elected his son, the Bodhisatta, as king. He noticed that while all others rejoiced, the palace doorkeeper wept, and inquired the reason. The man replied that Mahāpiṅgala would strike him on the head in passing eight times a day. He was sure, he would treat Yama in like fashion, and would be banished from hell and return to his palace where he would again start to assault him. The Bodhisatta told the man it would be quite impossible for Mahāpiṅgala to rise from hell.
The story was told in reference to the great joy shown by multitudes of people at the death of Devadatta.
Devadatta is identified with Mahāpiṅgala. J.ii.239ff; DhA.i.126f.
241The Bodhisatta was once chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī and knew a spell called Paṭhavījaya (subduing the world). One day he retired to a lonely place and was reciting the spell. A jackal, hiding in a hole nearby, overheard it and learned it by heart. When the Bodhisatta had finished his recital, the jackal appeared before him, and saying: “Ho, brahmin, I have learnt your spell,” ran away. The Bodhisatta chased him, but in vain. As a result of learning the spell, the jackal subdued all the creatures of the forest and became their king, under the name of Sabbadāṭha. On the back of two elephants stood a lion and on the lion’s back sat Sabbadāṭha, with his consort.
Filled with pride, the jackal wished to capture Bārāṇasī, and went with his army and besieged the city. The king was alarmed, but the Bodhisatta reassured him, and, having learnt from Sabbadāṭha that he proposed to capture the city by making the lions roar, gave orders to the inhabitants to stop their ears with flour. Then he mounted the watch-tower and challenged Sabbadāṭha to carry out his threat. This Sabbadāṭha did, and even the lions on which he rode joined in the roar. The elephants were so terrified that, in their fright, they dropped Sabbadāṭha, who was trampled to death. The carcases of the animals which died in the tumult covered twelve leagues.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to injure the Buddha, which only resulted in working harm upon himself.
The jackal is identified with Devadatta and the king with Ānanda (J.ii.242‑6).
The story is referred to in the Milindapañha (Mil. P. 202), and there the Bodhisatta’s name is given as Vidhura.
242There was in Bārāṇasī a man who owned a dog that had been fattened on rice. A villager saw the dog, and, having bought it from its master, took it away on a lead. Arrived at the edge of the forest, he entered a hut, tied up the dog, and lay down to sleep. The Bodhisatta, seeing the dog, asked him why he did not bite through the lead and escape.
“I am going to,” answered the dog, “as soon as all are asleep.” And he did so.
The story was told in reference to a dog belonging to a water carrier who used to be fed near the Ambalakoṭṭhaka in Jetavana. Once a villager saw it and bought it from the water carrier and took it away on a chain. The dog followed quietly, and the man, thinking it to be fond of him, let it loose. The dog ran away and returned to its old home. The two dogs were identical. J.ii.246‑8.
243The story of Guttila (q.v.) and his contest with Mūsila. Mūsila is identified with Devadatta, Sakka with Anuruddha, and the king with Ānanda.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta. The monks had tried to persuade him to acknowledge the Buddha as his teacher, because it was from him that he had learned the three Piṭakas and attained the four Jhānas. However, Devadatta would not consent. J.ii.248ff.
244The Bodhisatta, was once a wise hermit living in a hut on the bend of a river. A pilgrim, a clever disputant, came to try and defeat him in debate. However, in answer to his question, the hermit asked him another, and the pilgrim was forced to retire discomfited.
The story was related in reference to a wanderer (paribbājaka) who came to Sāvatthi to debate with the Buddha, but who was forced to own defeat. The two disputants were identical. J.ii.257f.
245The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin teacher of great fame. Among his pupils were five hundred brahmins, versed in the three Vedas, who thought they knew as much as their teacher. The Bodhisatta, aware of this, gave them a riddle to solve: “Time consumes all, even itself, but who can consume the all consumer?” For a whole week they tried to find a solution and then admitted defeat. The Bodhisatta rebuked them, saying that they had holes in their ears but no wisdom. Their pride was quelled, and from that time they honoured their teacher.
The story was told in reference to some monks: to whom the Mūlapariyāya Sutta was taught. The disciples are the same in both cases. J.ii.259‑262.
246Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin ascetic. He came to a village for alms and was invited by a wealthy brahmin who, after having given him food with fish, tried to annoy him by saying that the fish had been killed specially for him. The Bodhisatta said that he himself was entirely free from blame.
The story was related in reference to Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta who sneered because the Buddha had consented to eat at the house of the general Sīha. The wealthy brahmin is identified with Nāṭaputta. J.ii.262f.
247Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, had a son Pādañjali, who was an idle loafer. When the king died, the courtiers, headed by the Bodhisatta who was the chaplain, went to test him. At everything the boy sneered with a superior air, whether it were right or wrong; and the Bodhisatta was made king in his stead.
The story was related in reference to Lāḷudāyī, who once curled his lip in scorn when the two chief disciples were praised. Lāḷudāyī is identified with Pādañjali. J.ii.263f.
248Four monks came to the Buddha and asked him for a topic of meditation. He gave them various topics and they, having retired to various places, all became Arahants: one by understanding the six-fold sphere, the second the five aggregates (khandha), the third the four primary elements (mahābhūta), and the fourth the eighteen elements (dhātu). They returned and related to the Buddha each the particular excellence attained by him, and one of them asked the Buddha how all these methods could lead to nibbāna.
The Buddha related a story of the past where four sons of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, having asked their charioteer to show them a kiṃsuka-tree, are shown the tree at four different times: when the buds were just sprouting, when the leaves were green, at the time of blossoming, and at the time of fruit-bearing.
When asked to describe the tree, the first likened it to a burnt stump, the second to a banyan tree, the third to a piece of meat, and the fourth to an acacia. The matter was referred to the king, who solved the difficulty.
The king was the Bodhisatta. J.ii.265f
249A snake-charmer had a monkey called Sālaka, whom he trained to play with a snake; by this means the man earned his living. During a feast he entrusted the monkey to his friend, the Bodhisatta born as a merchant, and when he returned seven days later he beat the monkey and took him away. When the man was asleep the monkey broke away and refused to be enticed back by the man.
The story was related in reference to an elder who ill-treated a novice ordained by him. Several times the novice returned to the lay life, but came back at the elder’s request, but in the end he refused to be persuaded. The novice was the monkey. J.ii.266f.
2501. Kapi Jātaka (No. 250).– Once when the Bodhisatta was living the ascetic life in the Himavā, his wife having died, a monkey came in the rainy weather to the hermitage clad in an anchorite’s robe which he had found in the forest. The Bodhisatta recognised the monkey and drove him away.
The story was told in reference to a hypocritical brother. J.ii.268ff
2. Kapi Jātaka (No. 404).– Once the Bodhisatta and Devadatta were both born as monkeys. One day a mischievous monkey took his seat on the arch which was over the gateway to the park and, when the king’s chaplain passed under the arch, he let excrement fall on his head, and, on the chaplain looking up, even into his mouth. The chaplain swore vengeance on the monkeys, and the Bodhisatta, hearing of it, counselled them to seek residence elsewhere. His advice was followed by all except the monkey, who was Devadatta, and a few of his followers. Sometime after, the king’s elephants were burnt through a fire breaking out in their stalls. A goat had eaten some rice put out to dry and was beaten with a torch; his hair caught fire and the fire spread to the stalls. The chaplain, seizing his opportunity, told the elephant-doctors that the best remedy for burns was monkey-fat, and five hundred monkeys in the royal gardens were slain by archers for the sake of their fat.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta being swallowed up by the earth. J.iii.355f; cp. Kāka Jātaka.
3. Kapi Jātaka.– See the Mahākapi Jātaka.
251The Bodhisatta was once born into a very rich family of Bārāṇasī. When his parents died he gave away his wealth, became an ascetic in the Himavā, and developed psychic powers. During the rains he returned to Bārāṇasī, where, at the king’s invitation, he lived in the royal park. For twelve years he did this, until, one day, the king had to leave to quell a frontier rebellion, after having instructed the queen to look after the ascetic. One evening the ascetic returned rather late to the palace, and the queen, rising hastily at his arrival, let her garment slip. The ascetic’s mind became filled with thoughts of lust, and he lost his powers. On his return to the hermitage, he lay there for seven days without touching food. On his return, the king visited the ascetic, who explained that his heart had been wounded. Asking the king to retire from the hut, he once more developed his trance. He then took leave of the king and returned to Himavā.
The story was told to a monk who was filled with discontent because he had fallen in love with a woman whom he met on his alms rounds. The king is identified with Ānanda. J.ii.271‑77.
252Brahmadatta, son of the king of Bārāṇasī, was sent to Takkasilā to study. One day, when going to bathe with his teacher, he ate some white seeds that an old woman had spread in the sun to dry. He did this on three different days; on the third day the woman reported him to the teacher and he was beaten. When Brahmadatta ascended the throne, be sent for the teacher, wishing to avenge this insult by killing him. The teacher did not come until the king had grown older, but when he did arrive, the sight of him so rekindled the king’s hatred, that he ordered him to be put to death. However, the teacher spoke to him, telling him that if he had not been corrected in his youth, he would today be a highway robber. Convinced that the teacher’s action had been due to a desire for his welfare, Brahmadatta asked his forgiveness and showed him all honour.
The story was told in reference to a monk who showed resentment when advised. J.ii.277‑82.
253The Bodhisatta and his younger brother, after the death of their parents, lived as ascetics in leaf huts on the Gaṅgā, the elder being higher up the stream than the younger. One day, the Nāga king Maṇikaṇṭha, while walking along the river in the guise of a man, came to the hut of the younger ascetic and became his friend. Thereafter he called daily and their friendship grew apace. Maṇikaṇṭha finally became so fond of the ascetic that he put off his disguise, and encircling the other in his folds, lay thus for a short while each day, until his affection was satisfied. However, the ascetic was afraid of his Nāga shape and grew thin and pale.
The Bodhisatta noticing this, suggested that the next time Maṇikaṇṭha came, his brother should ask for the jewel that he wore round his throat. On the morrow, when the ascetic made this request, Maṇikaṇṭha hurried away. Several times this happened, and then he came no more. The ascetic was much grieved by his absence, but was comforted by the Bodhisatta.
The Buddha related this story at the Aggāḷava-cetiya near Āḷavī. The monks of Āḷavī became so importunate with their requests for building materials from the householders that at the mere sight of a monk the householders would hurry indoors. Mahā-Kassapa discovered this and reported it to the Buddha, who admonished the monks against begging for things from other people. J.ii.282‑6; also Vin.iii.146f, where the details of the story of the past are slightly different.
On the same occasion were taught the Brahmadatta Jātaka and the Aṭṭhisena Jātaka (q.v.)
254A householder was lodging in a poor old woman’s house on the road from Bārāṇasī to Uttarāpaṭha. During his stay there his thoroughbred mare foaled, and the foal was given to the woman at her request, in part payment of her charges. She brought up the foal as though he were her own child. Some time after, the Bodhisatta, who was then a householder, happened to pass the same way and discovered the thoroughbred’s presence by the behaviour of his own horses. The woman agreed to part with the foal to him for a large price on condition that he should be provided with all manner of luxuries. The Bodhisatta kept his word, and when the king came to inspect his horses, made the foal, who knew his own worth, exhibit his marvellous powers. The king installed him as his state horse, and thereafter the lordship of all India passed into the king’s hands.
The story was told in reference to Sāriputta. Once, when the Buddha was returning to Sāvatthi after a tour, the citizens decided to celebrate his arrival by each one taking on himself the task of feeding a certain number of monks in the Buddha’s retinue. A poor old woman wished to feed a monk, but all the monks were already allotted, only Sāriputta remaining. She invited him to her house, and he accepted her invitation. When it became known that Sāriputta was to feed with her, the king and all the rich citizens of Sāvatthi sent her food and garments and money to help in her entertainment of the elder. As a result, through the kindness of Sāriputta, she became rich in a single day.
Sāriputta is identified with the thoroughbred of the Jātaka (J.ii.286ff).
This is evidently the same story as that which, in the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iii.325), is called the Kuṇḍakasindhayapotaka Jātaka. However, there the story is related, not in reference to Sāriputta, but to the Buddha himself, because he accepted a cake of rice-husks from the slave-woman Puṇṇā. This is probably due to some confusion with two or more stories of similar import. See also the Kuṇḍakapūva Jātaka.
255The Bodhisatta was once a parrot. When he grew old his eyes became weak and he was looked after by his son. The son once discovered a special kind of mango on an island, and, having eaten of it himself, brought some home to his parents. The Bodhisatta recognised the mango and warned his son that parrots visiting that island were short-lived. However, the son took no heed, and one day, while flying back from the island, he fell asleep from weariness and was eaten by a fish.
The story was told in reference to a monk who died of over-eating. The parrot is identified with him. J.ii.291‑4.
256The Bodhisatta was once travelling with a large caravan. In a wood they came across a disused well and, needing water, dug it deeper. There they came across buried treasure, but the men, not being satisfied, dug deeper, in spite of the Bodhisatta’s warning.
A Nāga-king who lived there was disturbed and slew all except the Bodhisatta.
The story was related in reference to some Arahants of Sāvatthi, who, on their way back from there, after having entertained the Buddha, saw the same well and found treasure there. They, however, were satisfied with their find and reported it to the Buddha (J.ii.294f).
257The Bodhisatta was once born as Ādāsamukha, son of Janasandha, king of Bārāṇasī. Ādāsamukha became king at the age of seven, having successfully solved the problems set him by his courtiers.
Janasandha had a servant named Gāmaṇicanda who, being old, retired when Ādāsamukha came to the throne. However, various mishaps befell Gāmaṇicanda, and he was charged on various counts by different people. As he was being brought to the king to receive punishment, he was asked by several persons to convey messages to the king, and to find out from him solutions for their troubles.
The king listened to the charges brought against Gāmaṇi and to his explanation of them. Convinced of Gāmaṇi’s innocence, he passed sentences which ultimately brought gain to Gāmaṇi. The king then proceeded to solve the problems contained in the messages brought by Gāmaṇi. He gave to Gāmaṇi the village in which he lived, free from all taxes, and there Gāmaṇi lived happily to the end of his days.
The story was told by the Buddha to certain monks who had been discussing his wisdom.
Gāmaṇicanda is identified with Ānanda. In the story he is referred to also as Gāmaṇi, Canda-Gāmaṇi and Canda. J.ii.297‑310.
258The story of King Mandhātu. It was told to a backsliding monk who, while travelling in Sāvatthi for alms, saw an attractively dressed woman and fell in love with her. This was reported to the Buddha, who told him this story to show that lust could never be satisfied. At the end of the discourse the monk, with many others, became a Stream-winner.
DhA.iii.240 gives a different occasion for the story; but that, too, refers to a discontented monk. J.ii.310ff.
259Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin in Kāsi named Tirīṭavaccha and after the death of his parents he became an ascetic. The king of Bārāṇasī, fleeing from his enemies, arrived at Tirīṭavaccha’s hermitage, riding on an elephant. Looking for water but finding none, he let himself down into the hermit’s well but was unable to get out again; the hermit rescued him and showed him every hospitality. Later the hermit visited the king, now restored to the throne, and was given a dwelling place in the royal park. The courtiers were inclined to be jealous of the attentions paid to the hermit, but the king told them of the incident in the forest and they acknowledged the hermit’s claim to honour.
The story was told in reference to Ānanda having received five hundred robes from the women of Pasenadi’s palace. The king is identified with Ānanda. J.ii.314ff.
2601. Dūta Jātaka (No. 260).– Once the Bodhisatta was king of Bārāṇasī. He was very dainty as to food, and spent so much on it that he came to be known as Bhojanasuddhika (Dainty food). He always ate in a decorated pavilion in full view of his people. One day, a greedy man seeing him eat and wishing to taste the food, rushed up to him with clasped hands, saying that he was a messenger (dūta), messengers having free access to the king. Approaching the table, he snatched some food and thrust it into his mouth. The king’s attendants wished to behead him, but the king invited him to share his meal, and, at the conclusion, enquired as to his message. He said he was the messenger of Lust and of the Belly, and told the king how great was the power of these two. The king was pleased with him and gave him one thousand cows.
The story was told in reference to a greedy monk. J.ii.318‑21.
2. Dūta Jātaka (No. 478).– The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin of Kāsi. He studied at Takkasilā, and wandered about begging for gold to pay his teacher. He collected a few ounces, but on his way back he was forced to cross the Gaṅgā, and the gold fell into the river. He then thought out a plan and sat fasting on the bank of the river, refusing to speak to anybody until the king of Bārāṇasī himself came. To him he told his story, pointing out that it would have been useless to tell the others, they being unable to help him. The king gave him twice the original quantity of gold.
The story was related in reference to a discussion by the monks as to the Buddha’s great resourcefulness. J.iv.224‑8.
261The Bodhisatta was once the son of a rich merchant in Bārāṇasī. In the town was a tank tended by a leper who had lost his nose. One feast day the Bodhisatta with his two brothers went to the tank to fetch some lotuses. The brothers tried to flatter the leper, thereby making him angry, but the Bodhisatta, being honest, was given a whole bunch of lotuses.
The story was related in reference to Ānanda. Some monks once wandered all over the Lotus street to find some lotuses to offer at the Ānandabodhi (q.v.) However, they found none, and Ānanda, hearing of it, went himself to the Lotus street and returned with many handfuls of blue lotus. The incident was reported to the Buddha who related the story of the Jātaka. J.ii.321ff.
262The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī and had a daughter whom he was anxious to marry to his nephew; later, however, he changed his mind. However, the young people loved each other, and the prince bribed the princess’s nurse to help her to escape. The nurse, while combing the girl’s hair, indicated, by scratching her head with the comb that the prince was in love with her. The princess then taught her a stanza to be repeated to the prince: “A soft hand (mudupāṇi), a well-trained elephant and a black rain cloud will give you what you want.” The prince understood, and, one night in the dark fortnight, when his preparations were complete, a heavy shower of rain fell as he waited outside the princess’s window, accompanied by a page-boy seated on the king’s elephant. The princess slept in the same room as the king, and realising that the prince was there, she told the king that she wished to bathe in the rain. The king led her to the window and bade her step outside on to the balcony while he held her hand. As she bathed she held out the other hand to the prince, who removed the bangles from it and placed them on the page’s arm. Then, lifting the boy, he placed him beside her. The princess took his hand and placed it in her father’s, who thereupon let go of her other arm. This process was repeated, and, in the darkness, the king took the page inside thinking it was his daughter and put him to sleep while the lovers escaped. When the king discovered the plot, he was convinced of the futility of trying to guard women and forgave the lovers.
The story was related to a monk who became a backslider owing to a woman’s wiles. The monk became a Stream-winner. J.ii.323‑7.
263The Bodhisatta once left the Brahma-world and was born as the son of the Bārāṇasī king, but would have nothing to do with women. When he grew up his father was filled with despair, and then a dancing-girl offered to seduce the prince. She sang outside his door until he was filled with desire. Eventually he came to know the joys of love, and filled with madness, ran amok through the streets, chasing people. The king banished both his son and his seducer, and they lived in a hut away down the Gaṅgā. One day a hermit visited the hut and, seeing the woman, lost his power of flying through the air. When he saw the Bodhisatta he ran away and fell into the sea. The Bodhisatta, realising his plight, told him of the wiles of women and helped him to regain his lost power, while he himself sent the woman back to the haunts of men and became an ascetic.
The story was told in reference to a backsliding brother. J.ii.328ff
265Once the Bodhisatta was a forester, head of five hundred others. They hired themselves out to guide men through the forest. One day, while conducting a caravan, robbers fell on them and all but the Bodhisatta fled; he remained and drove the robbers off. When asked how he could do this, he replied that he who would do heroic deeds must contemn life.
The story was related in reference to a monk who had lost energy in his duties (J.ii.335f).
266The Bodhisatta was once born as the state horse of the king of Bārāṇasī, his name being Vātaggasindhava. A she-ass, Kuṇḍalī, fell in love with him and refused to eat. Her son discovered this, and made the horse agree to come and see her after his bath. However, when the horse came, Kuṇḍalī, not wishing to make herself cheap, kicked him on the jaw and nearly killed him. The horse was ashamed and did not repeat his visit, and Kuṇḍalī died of love.
The story was told to a landowner of Sāvatthi, with whom a beautiful woman fell desperately in love. Her friends, with great difficulty, persuaded him to visit her one night, but she was capricious and rejected his advances. He went away never to return, and she died of love. When he heard of her death, he sought the Buddha, who told him the story. The she-ass is identified with the woman. J.ii.337ff.
267Once a golden crab as large as a threshing floor lived in Kuliradaha in the Himavā, catching and eating the elephants who went into the lake to drink. In terror they left the district. The Bodhisatta, being born among the elephants, took leave of his father, and went back into the lake with his friends. The Bodhisatta, being the last to leave the water, was caught by the crab’s claws; hearing his cries of pain, all the other elephants ran away except his mate, whom he entreated not to leave him.
Realising her duty, the she-elephant spoke to the crab words of coaxing and of flattery; the crab, fascinated by the sound of a female voice, let go his hold. Whereupon the Bodhisatta trampled him to death. From the two claws of the crab were later made the Ānaka and the Ālambara drums (q.v.)
The story was related in reference to the wife of a landowner of Sāvatthi. Husband and wife were on their way to collect some debts when they were waylaid by robbers. The robber chief, wishing to possess the wife for her beauty, planned to kill the husband. The wife expressed her determination to commit suicide if her husband were killed, and they were both released. The she-elephant of the Jātaka was the landowner’s wife (J.ii.341‑5).
This Jātaka is illustrated in the Barhut Stupa (Cunningham; Bharhut plate xxv.2).
The Kakkaṭa Jātaka is mentioned (DhA.i.119) among those taught by the Buddha giving instances where Ānanda offered his life for that of the Bodhisatta. The reference is evidently to the Suvaṇṇakakkaṭaka Jātaka (q.v.)
The story is also found in the Saṃyuttanikāya Commentary (SA.ii.167), but there the Bodhisatta’s life is saved not by his mate but by his mother.
2681. Ārāmadūsaka Jātaka (No. 46).– Once in Bārāṇasī there was a festival and all the townsfolk assembled to keep holiday. The king’s gardener, wishing to join in the festivities, approached the king of the monkeys who lived in the royal garden and, pointing out to him all the benefits the monkeys had derived from their residence there, asked him if he would get the monkeys to water the trees in the gardener’s absence. The monkey-king agreed and, when the man had gone, distributed the water-skins and water-pots among the monkeys. In order that the water should not be wasted, he gave instructions to the monkeys that they should pull out the trees by the roots and give plenty of water to those plans whose roots went deep and little to those with small roots. A wise man, happening to see this being done, and reflecting how with every desire to do good, the foolish only succeed in doing harm, rebuked the monkey-king.
The story was told by the Buddha while staying in a hamlet in Kosala. The squire of the village invited the Buddha and his monks to a meal and at the conclusion of the meal gave them leave to stroll about in the grounds. In their walk the monks came across a bare patch of land and learnt from the gardener that it was caused by a lad who had been asked to water the plants there and who, before watering them had pulled them out to see how they grew. This was reported to the Buddha, who related the story of the past. J.i.249‑51. The story is sculptured in the Bharhut Stupa: See Cunningham, Pl.xlv.5.
2. Ārāmadūsaka Jātaka (No. 268).– Same as the above except that the monkeys are asked to water the garden for seven days, and the conversation between the wise man (in this case a young man of good family belonging to Bārāṇasī) and the monkey-king is different.
The story is told in reference to a lad in Dakkhiṇāgiri and not in Kosala as above. J.ii.345‑7.
2691. Sujāta Jātaka (No. 269).– The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī. His mother was a passionate woman, harsh and ill-tongued, and the Bodhisatta waited for an opportunity of admonishing her. One day, as he accompanied her to the park, a blue jay screeched, and the courtiers stopped their ears, saying: “What a scream! Stop it!” On another day they heard a cuckoo singing and stood listening eagerly. The Bodhisatta pointed this out to his mother and left her to draw her own inference. She understood and reformed herself.
The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika’s daughter-in-law, Sujātā, who was identified with the queen mother. J.ii.347‑51.
2. Sujāta Jātaka (No. 306).– The Bodhisatta was once chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. One day, the king heard a fruiterer’s daughter, Sujātā, hawking sweets, and falling in love with her voice he sent for her and made her his queen. Some time later she saw the king eating sweets from a golden dish and asked him what those egg-shaped fruits were. The king was very angry; but the Bodhisatta interceded on her behalf and she was pardoned.
The story was told in reference to a quarrel between Mallikā and Pasenadi, which became famous under the name of Sirivivāda or Sayanakalaha. Pasenadi ignored Mallikā completely, and the Buddha, knowing this, went to the palace with five hundred monks. The king invited them to a meal, and as the food was being served, the Buddha covered his bowl and asked for Mallikā. She was sent for, and the Buddha made peace between them. Mallikā is identified with Sujātā and Pasenadi with the king of Bārāṇasī. J.iii.20‑22.
Once the birds wanted to select a king because all the other animals had kings. It was proposed to make the owl king, but when the vote came to be taken, a crow stood up and objected, saying: “If this is how he looks when he is being consecrated king, how will he look when he is angry?” The owl gave him chase and the birds chose a goose instead. Here began the eternal enmity of the owl and the crow. The story was told by the Buddha when it was reported to him that the owls near Jetavana were killing numerous crows nightly. J.ii.351‑4.
271In times gone by, the Bodhisatta, having embraced the religious life, dwelt with a body of followers at Isipatana. A jackal was in the habit of fouling the well from which the ascetics obtained their water. One day the ascetics caught the jackal and led him before the Bodhisatta. When questioned, the jackal said that he merely obeyed the “law” of his race, which was to foul the place where they had drunk. The Bodhisatta warned him not to repeat the offence.
The story was related concerning the fouling of the water at Isipatana by a jackal. When this fouling was reported to the Buddha, he said it was caused by the jackal which had been guilty of the same offence in the Jātaka story. J.ii.354ff.
272The Bodhisatta was once a tree sprite and lived near another tree sprite. No one dared to enter the forest, fearing a lion and a tiger who roamed about there. So the people could not collect wood. One day the second tree sprite assumed an awful shape, in spite of the Bodhisatta’s advice, and frightened away the lion and the tiger. The people, finding that they had disappeared, began cutting down the trees. Then the foolish tree sprite tried in vain to bring the animals back.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika’s attempt to bring Sāriputta and Mahā-Moggallāna back, after having insulted them. Kokālika is identified with the foolish sprite, Sāriputta with the lion, and Moggallāna with the tiger. J.ii.356‑8; cf. the Takkāriya Jātaka.
2731. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 178).– The story of a turtle who would not leave the lake where he lived even though all the other turtles, knowing there would be a drought, swam in time to the neighbouring river. When the drought came, he buried himself in a hole. There he was dug up by the Bodhisatta who was digging for clay, having been born as a potter. The turtle’s shell was cracked by the potter’s spade and he died, having uttered two verses on the folly of clinging too much to things. The Bodhisatta took his body to the village and taught the villagers.
The story was told to a young man of Sāvatthi who, when the plague broke out in his house, listened to his parents’ advice and escaped through a hole in the wall. When the danger was past he returned and rescued the treasure hoarded in the house and, one day, visited the Buddha with many gifts.
Ānanda is identified with the turtle of the story. J.ii.79‑81.
2. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 215).– The story of a turtle who became friendly with two geese living in the Cittakūṭa mountain. One day the geese invited the turtle to their abode, and when he agreed they made him hold a stick between his teeth, and seizing the two ends flew away with him. The children of the village, seeing them, started shouting, and the turtle, being of a talkative nature, opened his mouth to reprimand them and fell near the palace of the king of Bārāṇasī, crushing himself to death. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s minister, seized the opportunity for admonishing his master, who was an inveterate talker, on the virtues of silence.
The turtle is identified with Kokālika, in reference to whom the story was related (J.ii.175‑8; repeated also in DhA.iv.91f). For details see the Takkāriya Jātaka.
3. Kacchapa Jātaka (No. 273).– The story of how a monkey insulted a turtle by introducing his private parts into the turtle as the latter lay basking in the sun with his mouth open. The turtle caught hold of the monkey and refused to release him. The monkey went for help, and the Bodhisatta, who was an ascetic in a hermitage nearby, saw the monkey carrying the turtle. The Bodhisatta persuaded the turtle to release the monkey.
The story was related in reference to the quarrelsome ministers of the king of Kosala. J.ii.359‑61.
274The story of the Bodhisatta born as a pigeon and of his friendship with a greedy crow. The story is practically the same as that of the Kapota Jātaka (No. 42) (q.v.), and was related in reference to a greedy monk who was reported to the Buddha. The crow is identified with the monk. J.ii.361ff.
276The Bodhisatta was once born as the son of Dhanañjaya, king of the Kurū, and, after his father’s death, reigned in Indapatta. He observed the “Kurudhamma” — that is to say, the five precepts (pañcasīla) — as did the queen-mother, his queen-consort, the viceroy, the chaplain, the king’s driver, his charioteer, the treasurer, the keeper of the royal granaries, the palace porter and the courtesan of the city. The country thus became very prosperous and its people happy. In the kingdom of Kāliṅga there was a drought and consequent scarcity of food. The king, acting on the advice of his ministers, sent brahmins to beg from the Bodhisatta the loan of his state elephant, Añjanavasabha, who was reported to bring rain. The elephant was lent willingly but no rain fell. It was thereupon decided that the prosperity of the Kurū was due to the Kurudhamma observed by the king and the others, and messengers were despatched to find out which these Kurudhamma were. From the king down to the courtesan, all had rigorously kept them, but each had unwittingly done something that he or she considered a violation of the Dhamma. The messengers, therefore, had to visit each one and take down a list of the Dhamma. The incidents related by each to the messengers, explaining wherein they had transgressed the precepts, only served to emphasise how scrupulously they had conducted themselves. The Kāliṅga king practised the Kurudhamma and rain fell in his country.
The story was told in reference to a monk who had killed a wild goose. Two monks bathed in the Aciravatī, and while standing on the bank, drying themselves, they saw two geese appear. The monks took a bet as to which should hit the goose in the eye, and one of them threw a stone, which pierced one eye and came out of the other. The monk was reported to the Buddha. J.ii.365ff; DhA.iv.86ff; cp. Cariyāpiṭaka i.3.
Compare the introductory story to that of the Sālittaka Jātaka (J.i.418).
277v.l. Pārāpata Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once born its king of a flock of pigeons (pārāpata). For a long time they visited regularly a good ascetic in a cave nearby, until, one day, he left and his place was taken by a sham ascetic. The pigeons continued their visits, until one day the villagers served the ascetic with a dish of pigeon’s flesh, and he, liking the flavour, conceived the desire to kill the pigeons. The Bodhisatta, suspecting his intentions, warned his followers and charged the ascetic with hypocrisy. J.ii.382‑4; cp. Godha Jātaka (No. 325).
278v.l. Mahisa Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once born as a buffalo in the Himavā. One day, as he was eating under a shady tree, a monkey came down from the tree, sat on his back, swung from his horns and tail, and dropped dung on his back, but the buffalo did nothing. When asked by the tree deity why he was so patient, the buffalo replied that the monkey would soon do the same to one less patient, and so he would be rid of him without incurring blame. The following day, another buffalo stood in the same place, and the monkey did as before. The other buffalo trampled the monkey and gored him through the chest. (J.ii.385)
279A landowner of Bārāṇasī had given one thousand to some one and had died before recovering it. His wife, lying on her deathbed, asked her son to get it for her while she was yet alive. He went and recovered the money; but while he was away his mother died, and, because of her great love for him, was born as a jackal. She tried to prevent him from entering a wood infested with robbers, headed by the Bodhisatta, but the man did not understand what the jackal said and kept on driving her away. A crane, flying overhead, cried out to the robbers, announcing the lad’s approach, but he, taking it to be a bird of good omen, saluted it. The Bodhisatta heard both sounds, and when his band captured the man, he told him that he did not know how to distinguish between friend and foe and sent him off with a warning.
The story was told in reference to two of the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā), Paṇḍu and Lohitaka. They questioned the Buddha’s teachings on certain points and encouraged others to do the same, the result being quarrel and strife. The Buddha sent for them and told them that this was a foolish policy; they did not know what was good for them. J.ii.387‑90.
280The Bodhisatta was once a householder, and one day, on going to the park, he saw the gardener picking large leaves and throwing them on the ground for pottles, and the chief monkey who lived in the park destroying them as they fell. The monkey, on being questioned, said it was his nature to destroy these things; thereupon the Bodhisatta drove him away.
The story was related in reference to the young son of a gardener of Sāvatthi. The owner of the garden invited the monks to his park, and there they saw the gardener picking leaves for pottles and his son tearing them up. The monkey is identified with the boy. J.ii.390ff.
281The Sister Bimbādevī (Rāhulamātā) had suffered from flatulence, and was cured with mango-juice and sugar, which Sāriputta had obtained from the king of Kosala, at Rāhula’s request. The king, having heard of Bimbādevī’s affliction, ordered that she should be continually supplied with mango-syrup. On being told of the incident, the Buddha revealed this story of the past to show that it was not the first time that Sāriputta had obtained mango-syrup for Bimbādevī.
The Story of the Past (atītavatthu) is about the chief queen of a king of Bārāṇasī. Sakka, becoming nervous on account of the austerities of an ascetic, wishes to destroy him, and arouses in the queen a desire for a “Midmost Mango” (Abbhantara-Amba). After prolonged search — during which the ascetic and his companions are driven from the royal park because they are reported to have eaten the mangoes there — a favourite parrot of the palace is commissioned to find the Midmost Mango. He goes to Himavā, and learns from the parrots of the seventh mountain range that the mango grows on a tree which belongs to Vessavaṇa and which is most strictly guarded. He goes stealthily by night to the tree, but is caught by the guardian goblins, who decide to kill him. He tells them that he is delighted to die in the performance of his duty, and thereby wins their respect. Following their counsel, he seeks the assistance of an ascetic, Jotirasa, living in a hut called Kañcanapatti, to whom Vessavaṇa sends a daily offering of four mangoes. The ascetic gives the parrot two mangoes, one for himself and one for the queen. J.ii.392‑400.
Ānanda was the parrot and Sāriputta was Jotirasa.
2821. Seyya Jātaka (No. 282).– The Bodhisatta was king of Bārāṇasī and ruled well. One of his courtiers was found guilty of an intrigue in the harem and was banished. He went to the court of an enemy king and persuaded him to lead an army against Bārāṇasī. The Bodhisatta offered no resistance, and was captured and cast into the prison in chains. While there he developed the ecstasy of pity towards his enemy, whose body became filled with great pain. Having discovered the reason, he set the prisoner free and restored to him his kingdom.
The story was related in reference to a courtier of the king of Kosala who was imprisoned on a false charge. Owing to his virtue he became a Stream-winner, and the king, discovering his innocence, set him free.
Ānanda is identified with the marauding king. J.ii.400, 403; c.f. the Mahāsīlava Jātaka.
2. Seyya Jātaka (No. 310).– The Bodhisatta was once the son of the chaplain of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. He was brought up with the king’s son, and they studied together in Takkasilā, becoming great friends. When the prince succeeded to the throne, the Bodhisatta, not desiring to live a householder’s life, became an ascetic and lived in the Himavā. As time passed, the king began to think of him, and sent his minister, Seyya, to fetch the ascetic, that he might become the royal chaplain. However, the Bodhisatta refused to come, saying that he had no need of such honour.
The story was related in reference to a monk who, loving a woman, was discontented. The king is identified with Ānanda, and Seyya with Sāriputta. J.iii.30‑33.
283A carpenter of a village near Bārāṇasī was once wandering in the forest, and having found a young boar in a pit, took him home and brought him up. The boar was well mannered and helped the carpenter in his work, and so he came to be called Vaḍḍhakīsūkara (“Carpenter boar”). When he grew up, the carpenter took him back to the forest, and there he came across some boars who lived in mortal fear of a tiger. The young boar drilled his army of boars, arranged them in battle array, and awaited the tiger. When he arrived, the boars, under their leader’s instructions, mimicked the tiger in all he did. The tiger, thereupon, sought the advice of a false ascetic who shared his prey, and, following his counsel, made a leap at the boar leader and fell into a pit which had been dug for him. There the boars attacked him and ate him, and those who were unable to get any of the flesh sniffed at the others’ mouths to see how “tiger” tasted. Then they set off after the false ascetic, and when he climbed a fig tree they dug it up and it fell to the ground. The man was torn to pieces and his body licked clean. The boars then placed their leader on the tree trunk, consecrated him king with water, which they fetched in the dead man’s skull, and made a young sow his consort. (This is how kings came to be consecrated with water from shells and seated on a throne of fig planks.) The Bodhisatta who was then a tree sprite sang the boar’s praises.
The story was told in reference to Dhanuggaha-Tissa (q.v.), who was responsible for Pasenadi’s victory over Ajātasattu. J.ii.403ff.
284The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic and had, as patron, an elephant-trainer. A stick gatherer, sleeping at night in a temple, heard two cocks, roosting on a tree nearby, abusing each other. In the course of the quarrel one cock boasted that whoever ate his flesh would be king; his exterior, commander-in-chief or chief queen; his bones, royal treasurer or king’s chaplain. The man killed the cock and his wife cooked it; then, taking it with them, they went to the river to bathe. They left the meat and the rice on the bank, but, as they bathed, a breeze blew the pot holding the food into the river. It floated down stream, where it was picked up by the elephant trainer. The Bodhisatta saw all this with his divine-eye and visited the trainer at meal time. There he was offered the meat and divided it, giving the flesh to the trainer, the exterior to his wife, and keeping the bones for himself. Three days later the city was besieged by enemies. The king asked the trainer to don royal robes and mount the elephant, while he himself fought in the ranks. There he was killed by an arrow, and the trainer, having won the battle, was made king, his wife being queen, and the ascetic his chaplain.
The story was told in reference to a brahmin who tried to steal Anāthapiṇḍika’s good fortune (siri). He perceived that this lay in a white cock, for which he begged. Anāthapiṇḍika gave it to him, but the good fortune left the cock and settled in a jewel. He asked for that also and was given it. However, the good fortune went into a club. The club was also asked for, and Anāthapiṇḍika giving it, asked the brahmin to take it and be gone. However, the good fortune now settled on Anāthapiṇḍika’s wife. The brahmin then owned defeat, and confessed his intentions to Anāthapiṇḍika, who told the story to the Buddha. J.ii.409ff; cf. Khadiraṅgāra Jātaka.
285The Bodhisatta lived in the Himavā as an ascetic, and near his hut was a crystal cave in which lived thirty boars. A lion used to range near the cave in which his shadow was reflected. This so terrified the boars that one day, they fetched mud from a neighbouring pool with which they rubbed the crystal; but because of the boars’ bristles, the more they rubbed, the brighter grew the crystal. In despair they consulted the Bodhisatta, who told them that a crystal could not be sullied.
The story was told in reference to an unsuccessful attempt by the heretics to accuse the Buddha of having seduced Sundarī (q.v.) and then brought about her death. J.ii.415‑8.
286The Bodhisatta was once an ox named Mahālohita and his brother was Cūḷalohita. They both belonged to a village family, and when the girl of the family grew up and was married, a pig, called Sālūka, was fattened for the feast. Cūḷalohita, saw this and coveted the food which was being given to the pig, but when he complained to his brother, it was explained to him that the pig’s lot was an unhappy one.
The introductory story is given in the Cūḷanārada Jātaka. Sālūka is identified with the love-sick monk of that story, and Cūḷalohita with Ānanda. J.ii.419f.
287The Bodhisatta was once a famous teacher of the Vedas with five hundred pupils. One pupil asked him how people could obtain gain in this world. His teacher answered that in a world full of fools the man who slanders, possesses the tricks of an actor, and carries on evil talk, gains prosperity. The pupil expressed his disappointment and continued his religious life.
The story was related in reference to a colleague who asked Sāriputta the same question and received the above answer. J.ii.420‑3.
288The Bodhisatta was once the son of a landed proprietor, and, after his father’s death, he and his younger brother went to a village to settle some business. On their way back, they had a meal out of a leaf bottle, and, when they had finished, the Bodhisatta threw the remains into the river for the fish, giving the merit to the river spirit. The power of the river spirit increased and she discovered the cause. The younger brother was of a dishonest disposition, and when the elder was asleep, he packed a parcel of gravel to resemble the money they were carrying and put them both away. While they were in mid-river he stumbled against the side of the boat and dropped overboard what he thought to be the parcel of gravel, but what was really the money. He told the Bodhisatta about it who said, “Never mind, what’s gone has gone.” However, the river spirit out of gratitude to the Bodhisatta made a fish swallow the parcel. The fish was later caught and hawked about, and, owing again to the influence of the spirit, the fisherman asked one thousand pieces and seven pence for it, and the people laughed at what they thought was a joke. However, when they came to the Bodhisatta’s house, they offered him the fish for seven pence. The fish was bought and cut open by his wife, and the money was given to him. At that instant the river spirit informed him of what she had done and asked him to have no consideration for his brother, who was a thief and was greatly disappointed at the failure of his trick. However, the Bodhisatta sent him five hundred pieces.
The story was told in reference to a dishonest merchant who is identified with the cheat. J.ii.423‑6.
289Once the Bodhisatta was king of Bārāṇasī, and while walking about the city in disguise, he fell one night into the hands of drunken thieves. He pleaded poverty, gave them his robe and escaped. In the city lived his father’s former chaplain who had been dismissed. He told his wife how, as he watched the stars that night, he had seen the king fall into hostile hands and then escape. The king heard all this in the course of his wanderings and the following morning sent for his astrologers. They had not observed any such thing in the stars. He dismissed them therefore, appointed the other in their place, and gave him a boon. When the chaplain went home to consult his family as to what boon he should beg, his wife, his son Chatta, and his slave Puṇṇā, each wanted something different. He reported this to the king, who gave to each what he had desired.
The circumstances leading to the story are given in the Juṇha Jātaka. The Brahmin is identified with Ānanda. J.ii.426ff.
2901. Sīlavīmaṃsaka Jātaka (No. 86).– The Bodhisatta was chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī and wished to test the respective powers of virtue and learning (as given in the Sīlavīmaṃsa Jātaka No.362). When being led before the king, he saw snake charmers exhibiting their snake and warned them lest it should bite them. “He is not like you,” they replied, “for he is good.” The king ordered the chaplain to be executed; but, on hearing of his intentions, he allowed him to become an ascetic.
The story was related in reference to a learned and pious brahmin, in the service of the king of Kosala, who carried out a similar test. Then he joined the Order and became an Arahant. J.i.369‑71.
2. Sīlavīmaṃsaka Jātaka (No. 290).– Very similar to No.86 above
291Once the Bodhisatta was a rich merchant with an only son. He did great good and was born as Sakka. The son squandered all his wealth in drinking and amusements and fell into poverty. Sakka took pity on him and gave him the Bhadraghaṭa (Wishing Cup), asking him to take care of it. However, one day, when the son was drunk, he threw the cup into the air and smashed it, thus reducing himself once again to misery.
The story was told in reference to a ne’er-do-well nephew of Anāthapiṇḍika. His uncle helped him again and again, but he squandered everything, and one day Anāthapiṇḍika had him turned out of his house. The two squanderers were the same. J.ii.431f.
292The Bodhisatta was once a crow, named Supatta, king of eighty-four thousand crows: His chief mate was Suphassā and his chief companion Sumukha. One day, while Supatta and Suphassā were out looking for food, they noticed that the king’s cook had prepared a host of dishes and had left some of them out in the open to cool. Suphassā sniffed at the food but said nothing. The next day, however, she wished to stay behind and taste some of the king’s food. Supatta consulted his captain, and they went with a large number of crows, whom they set in groups round the kitchen. As the cook was taking the dishes on a pingo, Sumukha, as arranged, attacked him with beak and claw and made him drop them. Then the crows ate their fill and flew away with food for Supatta and Suphassā. Sumukha was caught and taken before the king, who has seen what had happened. When questioned by the king, he told him the whole story and said that he would gladly lose his life for his king, Supatta. The king sent for Supatta and listened to his teaching, and, thereafter protecting all creatures, practised the good life.
The story was told in reference to Sāriputta, who had obtained from Pasenadi a meal of red rice and new ghee, flavoured with red fish, because he had been informed by Rāhula that Bimbādevi (Rāhulamātā) suffered from gastric trouble and would be cured by this food.
The king of Bārāṇasī is identified with Ānanda, Sumukha with Sāriputta, and Suphassā with Rāhulamātā. J.ii.433‑6.
293v.l. Kayavicchinda Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin of Bārāṇasī and fell sick of jaundice. The physicians failed to cure him, and his family were in despair. He resolved that if he recovered he would embrace the religious life; soon afterwards he was cured, became an ascetic and cultivated the psychic powers (abhiññā) and the attainments (samāpatti).
The story was told in reference to a man in Sāvatthi who had a like experience. He entered the Order and became an Arahant (J.ii.436‑8).
294The Bodhisatta was once a tree-sprite in a jambu-grove and saw how a crow, flattered by the words of a jackal sitting under the tree, dropped fruits for him to eat, praising his breeding. The sprite drove them both away as being liars.
The story was related in reference to a report that Devadatta and Kokālika were going about singing each other’s praises. J.ii.438f; cp. Anta Jātaka.
295Taught at Veḷuvana regarding Devadatta and Kokālika, who were going about singing each other’s praises in order to obtain followers.
The story of the past is of a jackal who was eating the carcase of a bull. A crow, seeing him, flattered him, hoping to get some of the flesh.
The jackal and the crow were Devadatta and Kokālika respectively (J.ii.440‑1).
296The Bodhisatta was once a sea spirit, and heard a water crow flying about, trying to check shoals of fish and flocks of birds, saying, “Don’t drink too much sea water, be careful of emptying the sea.” The sea spirit, seeing his greediness, assumed a terrible shape and frightened him away.
The story was related in reference to the great greediness of Upananda the Sakyan (q.v.) He is identified with the water crow. J.ii.441f.
297The story is similar to that of the Puppharatta Jātaka (q.v.) As the man stood impaled he looked up, and seeing a crow flying through the air, hailed him and sent a message to his wife, informing her where his possessions lay concealed and asking her to enjoy them (J.ii.443f; cp. Nos.34 and 216). In the introduction to the Jātaka it is said that the story of the present (paccuppannavatthu) is given in the Puppharatta Jātaka and the story of the past (atītavatthu) in the Indriya Jātaka. There seems to be an error here, for the first story of the Indriya Jātaka (J.iii.461ff) (unless another story is meant) bears no resemblance to the Kāmavilāpa Jātaka.
298The story of two monkeys. One, small and red-faced, lived in a rock cave. During heavy rains, the other, a large and black-faced monkey, saw him, and wishing to have the shelter for himself, sent him away, on the pretext that outside in the forest there was plenty of food to be had. The small monkey was taken in by the trick, and when he came back he found the other monkey, with his family, installed in the cave.
The story was told in reference to a monk who lived comfortably in a village hermitage and was ousted from there by another monk whom he had welcomed as a guest. J.ii.444‑6.
299Some ascetics in Himavā failed to take their duties seriously and spent their time eating and making merry. They had a monkey who provided them with amusement. One day when the ascetics went to the plains for salt and condiments, the Bodhisatta, who had been born as a brahmin ascetic named Komāraputta, occupied their lodging; when the monkey started to play his pranks for him, the Bodhisatta snapped his fingers at him and told him to behave properly, because he lived with ascetics. The monkey thereupon became virtuous and refused to return to his evil ways, even after the arrival of his former friends.
The story was told at the Pubbārāma, in reference to some monks who lived there in the apartments below those of the Buddha, and who were quarrelsome and abusive. At the Buddha’s request, Mahā-Moggallāna made their dwelling shake in order to frighten them. J.ii.447f.
300A wolf once lived on a rock near the Gaṅgā. The winter floods came and surrounded the rock, and the wolf, unable to escape, decided to keep the holy day. The Bodhisatta, who was Sakka, appeared before him in the guise of a ram, and the wolf, forgetting his holy day, chased him round and round the rock. Finding he could not succeed in catching him, the wolf expressed his joy that his holy day had not been violated! Sakka, hovering above him, rebuked him for his weakness.
The story was related in reference to some monks, followers of Upasena Vaṅgantaputta (q.v.) Being aware of the permission granted by the Buddha to the monks who practiced the thirteen ascetic practices (dhutaṅga) to visit him even during his periods of solitude, these monks would practice them for a short while and then visit him. However, the visit over, they would at once throw off their rag robes and don other garments. The Buddha discovered this and related the Jātaka. J.ii.449ff; cp. Vin.iii.231f., where no mention is made of the Jātaka.
301Kāliṅga, king of Dantapura, anxious to make a fight, sent his four daughters of surpassing beauty into every kingdom, offering them to any man who would fight him for them. Assaka, king of Potali, with the advice of his minister Nandisena, accepted the challenge. Kāliṅga thereupon came with his mighty army, and the Bodhisattva who was an ascetic declared, after consultation with Sakka, that victory would be his. However, Nandisena, undaunted, instructed Assaka as to how he should kill the tutelary deity of Kāliṅga when this deity, in the guise of a white bull, should appear on the battlefield. Nandisena led the attack of the soldiers, the white bull was killed and Kāliṅga defeated. He had to provide dowries for his daughters, and thenceforth the two kings lived as friends.
The story was related in reference to Sāriputta who is identified with Nandisena. Two Jains, a man and a woman, each versed in five hundred theses, met in Vesāli and the Licchavis arranged a marriage between them. They had one son, Saccaka, and four daughters, Saccā, Lolā, Avavādakā and Paṭācārā. After the death of their parents, the girls wandered from city to city for purposes of disputation. They came at last to Sāvatthi, where they set up at the city gate the branch of a rose-apple-tree, to be pulled up by anyone accepting their challenge to a discussion. Sāriputta, seeing the branch, had it removed, and when the girls came to him with a great crowd of people, answered all their questions and defeated them in debate. Thereupon they entered the Order under Uppalavaṇṇā, and the fame of Sāriputta increased. J.iii.1ff.
302The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī, and having been defeated in some frontier disturbance, he fled on his horse until he reached a certain village. At the sight of him all the people disappeared except one man, who made enquiries, and, on finding that he was no rebel, took him home and entertained him with great honour, looking after his horse well. When the king left, he told the man that his name was Mahā-Assāroha, and asked him to visit his home if ever he should be in the city. On reaching the city himself, he gave orders to the gate-keepers that if anyone should come enquiring for Mahā-Assāroha, he should be brought at once to the palace. Time passed and the man failed to appear. The king, therefore, constantly increased the taxes of the village, until the villagers asked their neighbour to visit his friend Mahā-Assāroha and try to obtain some relief. So he prepared presents for Mahā-Assāroha and his wife, and taking a cake baked in his own house he set forth. Arrived at the city gates, he was conducted by the gate-keeper to the palace. There the king accepted his presents, showed him all the honours due to a king, and, in the end, gave him half of his kingdom. When the ministers complained, through the medium of the king’s son, that a mere villager had been exalted to the rank of king, the Bodhisatta explained that real friends who help one in time of adversity should be paid every honour.
The story was related in reference to the good offices of Ānanda, who is identified with the villager. J.iii.8‑13.
303The story of Ekarāja (1).
For the circumstances relating to the story see Seyya Jātaka.
3041. Daddara Jātaka (No. 172).– Once the Bodhisatta was a lion and dwelt with his retinue in Rajataguhā, while in a neighbouring cave lived a jackal. One day, when the lions were roaring and playing about, the jackal tried to imitate them and the lions became silent for very shame.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika who, trying to imitate the eloquence of the learned monks of Manosilā, failed miserably. The jackal is identified with Kokālika. J.ii.65ff.
2. Daddara Jātaka (No. 304).– Once the Bodhisatta was born among the Nāgā in Daddarapabbata. He was called Mahādaddara, his father being Sūradaddara and his brother Cūḷadaddara. Cūḷadaddara was passionate and cruel and teased the Nāga maidens; the king wished to expel him, but he was saved by Mahādaddara. However, at last the king was very angry and sent them both for three years to Bārāṇasī. There the boys ill-treated them, but when Cūḷadaddara tried to kill them his brother urged him to practise patience.
The story was related in reference to a choleric monk who is identified with Cūḷadaddara. J.iii.15ff.
3. Daddara Jātaka (No. 438).– Once in Bārāṇasī was a famous teacher who retired into the forest. Men came from all parts to learn from him and brought him many presents. He had in his house a tame partridge, who, by listening to the teacher’s exposition, learnt the three Vedas by heart. A tame lizard and a cow were given as presents to the teacher. When the teacher died, his students were in despair, but were reassured by the partridge who taught them what he knew. One day a wicked ascetic came to the hermitage and, in the absence of the students, killed the partridge, the young lizard and the cow. The partridge had two friends, a lion and a tiger, who killed the murderer.
The ascetic was Devadatta, the lizard Kisāgotamī, the tiger Mahā-Moggallāna, the lion Sāriputta, the teacher Mahā-Kassapa, and the partridge the Bodhisatta.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. J.iii.536f.
305Sīlavīmaṃsana Jātaka (No. 305).– The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin, head of five hundred students under one teacher. The teacher, wishing to test them, told them that he wished to give his daughter in marriage, and asked them to steal things for her ornaments and clothes without letting anyone know. They all did this except the Bodhisatta, who brought nothing. When asked the reason of this behaviour, he said: “You accept nothing unless brought in secrecy; but in wrong doing there is no secrecy.” The teacher then explained his intention, and, very pleased with the Bodhisatta, gave him his daughter in marriage. The names of six pupils who stole were: Dujjacca, Ajacca, Nanda, Sukha Vacchana, Vajjha and Addhuvasīla.
The story was related, late at night, to a company of monks who went about discussing the pleasures of the senses. The Buddha asked Ānanda to fetch them and taught them. At the end of the discourse they became Stream-winners. Sāriputta is identified with the teacher. J.iii.18‑20.
3061. Sujāta Jātaka (No. 269).– The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī. His mother was a passionate woman, harsh and ill-tongued, and the Bodhisatta waited for an opportunity of admonishing her. One day, as he accompanied her to the park, a blue jay screeched, and the courtiers stopped their ears, saying: “What a scream! Stop it!” On another day they heard a cuckoo singing and stood listening eagerly. The Bodhisatta pointed this out to his mother and left her to draw her own inference. She understood and reformed herself.
The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika’s daughter-in-law, Sujātā, who was identified with the queen mother. J.ii.347‑51.
2. Sujāta Jātaka (No. 306).– The Bodhisatta was once chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. One day, the king heard a fruiterer’s daughter, Sujātā, hawking sweets, and falling in love with her voice he sent for her and made her his queen. Some time later she saw the king eating sweets from a golden dish and asked him what those egg-shaped fruits were. The king was very angry; but the Bodhisatta interceded on her behalf and she was pardoned.
The story was told in reference to a quarrel between Mallikā and Pasenadi, which became famous under the name of Sirivivāda or Sayanakalaha. Pasenadi ignored Mallikā completely, and the Buddha, knowing this, went to the palace with five hundred monks. The king invited them to a meal, and as the food was being served, the Buddha covered his bowl and asked for Mallikā. She was sent for, and the Buddha made peace between them. Mallikā is identified with Sujātā and Pasenadi with the king of Bārāṇasī. J.iii.20‑22.
1. Palāsa Jātaka (No. 307).– Once a poor brahmin paid great honour to a Judas tree (palāsa), hoping thereby to get some benefit. One day, the tree sprite appeared before him in disguise and asked why he honoured the tree. Pleased with his answer, the sprite revealed his identity and helped the brahmin to obtain the treasure that lay buried beneath the tree. The story was related to Ānanda as he stood weeping, leaning against the lintel, when the Buddha lay dying. The Buddha sent for him and told him not to grieve as his services to the Buddha would not be fruitless. Ānanda is identified with the poor brahmin. J.iii.23ff.
2. Palāsa Jātaka (No. 370).– Once the Bodhisatta was a golden goose living in Cittakūṭa. On his way to and from the Himavā, he rested on a palāsa tree and a friendship sprang up between him and the tree-sprite. One day a bird dropped a banyan seed in the fork of the palāsa tree from which a sapling sprang. The goose advised the sprite to destroy it, but he paid no heed, and by and by the banyan grew up and destroyed the tree.
The story was related by the Buddha to the monks to illustrate that sins should be uprooted however small they may be. J.iii.208ff.
3081. Sakuṇa Jātaka (No. 36).– The Bodhisatta was once a bird, leader of a large flock. He lived in a tree, and noticing one day that two of the boughs were grinding one against the other and producing smoke, he warned his flock of the risk of fire and left for elsewhere. The wiser birds followed him, but some remained behind and were burnt to death.
The story was related to a monk whose cell was burnt down. He told the villagers of this, and they continually promised to build him a new one, but failed to do so. As a result the monk lived in discomfort and his meditations were fruitless. When he reported this, the Buddha blamed him for not going elsewhere. J.i.215f.
2. Sakuṇa Jātaka (No. 308).– The Bodhisatta was once a woodpecker, and coming across a lion with a bone stuck in his throat he removed the bone, after having fixed a stick in the lion’s mouth to prevent him from biting off the head of his rescuer. Later, he saw the lion eating the carcase of a buffalo and asked for a boon. The lion refused, saying it was enough for him to have escaped death after putting his head into a lion’s jaws. The lion is identified with Devadatta, and the story was related in reference to his ingratitude. J.iii.25‑7; cp. Jātakamālā No.iv.
309The Bodhisatta was once born as an outcaste (caṇḍāla). His wife, being with child, yearned to eat a mango, and he went by night to the king’s garden to try and get one. However, day broke before he could escape and he remained perched in the tree. While he was there, the king came with his chaplain and, sitting on a high seat at the foot of the tree, learnt the Dhamma from the chaplain, who occupied a low seat. The Bodhisatta climbed down from the tree and pointed out to them their error. The king, being very pleased, made him ruler of the city by night and placed round his neck the garland of red flowers which he himself was wearing. Hence the custom of the lords of the city to wear a wreath of red flowers.
The story was related in reference to the Chabbaggiyā monks, who taught the Doctrine to those who sat on a higher seat than they themselves. J.iii.27ff.
3101. Seyya Jātaka (No. 282).– The Bodhisatta was king of Bārāṇasī and ruled well. One of his courtiers was found guilty of an intrigue in the harem and was banished. He went to the court of an enemy king and persuaded him to lead an army against Bārāṇasī. The Bodhisatta offered no resistance, and was captured and cast into the prison in chains. While there he developed the ecstasy of pity towards his enemy, whose body became filled with great pain. Having discovered the reason, he set the prisoner free and restored to him his kingdom.
The story was related in reference to a courtier of the king of Kosala who was imprisoned on a false charge. Owing to his virtue he became a Stream-winner, and the king, discovering his innocence, set him free.
Ānanda is identified with the marauding king. J.ii.400, 403; c.f. the Mahāsīlava Jātaka.
2. Seyya Jātaka (No. 310).– The Bodhisatta was once the son of the chaplain of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. He was brought up with the king’s son, and they studied together in Takkasilā, becoming great friends. When the prince succeeded to the throne, the Bodhisatta, not desiring to live a householder’s life, became an ascetic and lived in the Himavā. As time passed, the king began to think of him, and sent his minister, Seyya, to fetch the ascetic, that he might become the royal chaplain. However, the Bodhisatta refused to come, saying that he had no need of such honour.
The story was related in reference to a monk who, loving a woman, was discontented. The king is identified with Ānanda, and Seyya with Sāriputta. J.iii.30‑33.
311Once the Bodhisatta was the sprite of a nimba (Azadirachta Indica) tree in a cemetery, and one day, when a robber with stolen goods came in front of the tree, he drove him off, lest he should be discovered and impaled on a stake from the tree. When the king’s officials came to find the robber, he had disappeared, and they went away. Nearby was a Bodhi tree whose sprite was Sāriputta.
The story was related to Mahā-Moggallāna, who saw a man lurking near his cell, and, feeling suspicious, drove him away. Later, his suspicions were confirmed by the arrival of the kings men. J.iii.33ff.
312Once the Bodhisatta, on the death of his mother, gave away all the wealth in the house and, together with his father and younger brother, lived as an ascetic in the Himavā. During the rains the three came down to the haunts of men and at the end of the rainy season returned to the hermitage. The Bodhisatta went on ahead to prepare the hermitage, leaving the father and the younger brother to follow. The lad, finding the father’s progress very slow, tried to hurry him, much to the latter’s annoyance. The two quarrelled, and thus were so late that the Bodhisatta came to look for them. On hearing what had happened, he told the father, who is called Kassapa, that the old should have patience with the young.
The story was told in reference to a nobleman of Sāvatthi, who became a monk and who, on his mother’s death, was joined by his father and younger brother. All three went to a village retreat to fetch robes, and things happened as in the past. As a result, it was not until the next day that they could pay their respects to the Buddha, who, hearing what had occurred, related the Jātaka. J.iii.36‑9.
313The Bodhisatta, under the name of Kuṇḍala, was once born in a very rich family of Kāsī. After the death of his parents he gave away his immense wealth in charity and became an ascetic in the Himavā. Returning later to Kāsī, he dwelt in the royal park, being tended by the commander-in-chief. One day Kalābu, king of Bārāṇasī, visited the park with his harem and, falling into a drunken sleep, left the women to their own devices; they, wandering about and meeting the ascetic, asked him to teach them. When the king woke he sought his women, and seeing the ascetic and being told that he had been teaching on patience (khanti), he gave orders that the ascetic’s own patience be tested. The ascetic was subjected to various forms of ill-treatment until, becoming more and more angry at his composure, the king gave orders for him to be tortured by the cutting off of his limbs. As the king left the park the earth opened and he was swallowed in Avīci. The commander-in-chief, hearing what had happened, hurried off to the ascetic to ask forgiveness. The ascetic declared that he bore no malice, and died of his injuries with a blessing to the king on his lips. It is told by some that he went back to the Himavā.
The story was related at Jetavana in reference to a wrathful monk (J.iii.39‑43). Kalābu was Devadatta and the commander-in-chief, Sāriputta.
The Jātaka is frequently mentioned as an example of supreme forgiveness, the ascetic being referred to as Khantivādī (e.g., DhA.i.126; KhpA.149; J.i.46; iii.178; vi.257; BuA.51). The Jātaka further illustrates how a man’s anger can grow towards an unoffending victim (J.iv.11), and how an angry man loses all his prosperity (J.v.113, 119).
315The four sons of four rich merchants of Bārāṇasī were once sitting at the cross roads, and, seeing a deer stalker hawking venison in a cart, one of them proposed to get some flesh from him. So he went up to the man and said, ” Hi! My man! Give me some meat,” and the hunter gave him some skin and bone; the second, going up to him addressed him as “elder Brother” and was given a joint; but the third cajoled him, calling him “Father,” and received a savoury piece of meat; while the fourth (the Bodhisatta) addressed him as “Friend,” and was given the whole of the rest of the deer, and the meat was conveyed to his house in the man’s cart.
The story was related in reference to Sāriputta. Some monks of Jetavana, having taken oil as a purgative, wished for some dainty food. They sent their attendants to beg in the cooks’ quarters, but these had to come back empty-handed. Sāriputta met them, and, having heard their story, returned with them to the same street; the people gave him a full measure of dainty fare, which was distributed among the sick monks. Sāriputta is identified with the hunter of the story. J.iii.48‑51.
316The Bodhisatta was once born as a hare. He lived with three friends: a monkey, a jackal, and an otter. The three lived in great friendship, and the hare was their guide in the good life. One day, the hare, observing the approach of the full-moon, told his friends that the next day would be a fast day and that they must collect food and give it to any beggar who approached them. The animals all went out very early in the morning, one by one; the otter found some fish buried in the sand; the jackal a dead lizard, some meat, and a pot of curds; and the monkey some fruits; and, finding that nobody appeared to claim them, each took them to his own dwelling. The hare had only kusa grass, which he could not offer to anyone. He therefore decided to give his own body, and, because of this brave decision, Sakka’s throne was heated. Disguised as a brahmin, he came to test the hare. He went first to the other animals in turn and they all offered him what they had. He then approached the hare, whom he asked for food. The hare asked him to collect faggots from the wood and make a fire. Then, telling the brahmin that he would give him his own body, without the brahmin having the necessity of killing him, he shook out any animals which might lurk in his fur, and then jumped into the fire as into a lotus-bed. By the power of Sakka, the fire remained as cool as snow, and Sakka revealed his identity. Then, so that the hare’s nobility might be known to all the world, he took some essence of the Himavā and painted the form of a hare in the moon, to remain there during this whole world-cycle. Having done this, he went to the hare and talked of the Dhamma, and then, making the hare lie down on his bed of grass, Sakka went back to his heaven.
The story was related in the course of giving thanks to a landowner of Sāvatthi who had entertained the Buddha and his monks for seven days. Ānanda is identified with the otter, Mahā-Moggallāna with the jackal, and Sāriputta with the monkey (J.iii.51‑6).
The story is included in the Cariyāpiṭaka (i.10) and in the Jātakamālā (No. 6). It is also referred to in the Jayaddisa Jātaka (J.v.33). This Jātaka exemplifies the perfection of charity (dāna-pāramī). BuA.50.
317The Bodhisatta was once born in a family worth eight hundred million. When his parents died, his brother managed the estate. Some time later the brother also died, but the Bodhisatta shed no tear. His relations and friends called him heartless, but he convinced them that he did not weep because he knew that all things are transient.
The story was related to a landowner of Sāvatthi who gave himself up to despair on the death of his brother. The Buddha visited him and taught him, and the man became a Stream-winner. J.iii.56‑8.
318Once the Bodhisatta was born as a robber in a village in Kāsi and became notorious for his banditry. When the people complained of him to the king, the latter had him arrested by the governor of the province and condemned to death. While being led to execution with a wreath of red kaṇavera-flowers on his head, he was seen by Sāmā, the chief courtesan of the city, and she immediately fell in love with him for his comely and striking appearance. Sāmā, sending word to the governor that the robber was her brother, persuaded him, by means of a bribe of one thousand pieces of money, to set him free and send him to her for a little while. Then, using all her guile, she substituted for the robber a youth who was enamoured of her and who had happened to visit her that day. This youth was killed in the place of the robber, who was brought to Sāmā, and she showered on him all her favours. Fearing that when Sāmā grew tired of him she might betray him, the robber went with her one day into the park and, on the pretence of embracing her, squeezed her until she swooned, then taking all her ornaments, made good his escape. Sāmā, all unsuspecting, imagined him to have run away from fear of having killed her by his too violent embraces, and she used all her ingenuity in searching for him, such as bribing some wandering minstrels to sing, wherever they went, a set of stanzas declaring that she was still alive and loved none but him, her lover. One day the robber heard the stanzas and learned from the minstrels that Sāmā still longed for him, but he refused to return, sending her word that he doubted her constancy. In despair, Sāmā returned to her former means of livelihood. J.iii.58‑63.
The occasion for the telling of this story is given in the Indriya Jātaka. The story is referred to in the Sulasā Jātaka (J.iii.436) and in the scholiast to the Kuṇāla Jātaka (J.v.446).
3191. Tittira Jātaka (No. 37).– There were once three friends, a partridge (tittira), a monkey and an elephant. Discovering that the partridge was the oldest of them, they honoured him as their teacher and he gave them counsel. Their conduct came to be called the Tittiriya-brahmacariya. The Bodhisatta was the partridge, Mahā-Moggallāna the elephant, and Sāriputta the monkey.
The story was related in reference to the failure of the Chabbaggiyā to show due respect to Sāriputta. Once, when he visited them in company with the Buddha, they refused to provide him with lodging, and he had to sleep under a tree. J.i.217ff; cp. Vin.ii.161; Avadāna S.ii.17.
2. Tittira Jātaka (No. 117).– The Bodhisatta was once a leader of five hundred ascetics. One day, a talkative ascetic approached a jaundiced colleague who was chopping wood and worried him by giving him directions on how to do it. The ill man killed him with one blow of the axe. Soon after, a partridge, who used to sing on an anthill nearby, was killed by a fowler. The Bodhisatta pointed out to his followers how the death of both was due to their talking too much.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika, who is identified with the chattering ascetic. J.i.431f.
3. Tittira Jātaka (No. 319).– Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin ascetic, and Rāhula a decoy partridge used by a village fowler. When the partridge uttered a cry, other partridges would flock to him, and they were killed by the fowler. The partridge was filled with remorse, fearing that he was doing wrong. One day he met the Bodhisatta who set his doubts at rest.
The story was told in reference to Rāhula’s readiness to profit by instruction (J.iii.64ff). It was related by Moggaliputta-Tissa to Asoka, to prove to him that an action becomes a crime only when performed with bad intention. Mhv.v.264.
320The Bodhisatta was once a minister to the king of Bārāṇasī, and the king, fearing his son, the viceroy, gave orders that he should live outside the city. The viceroy therefore left the city with his wife and lived in a hut in a frontier village. When he discovered, by observing the stars, that the king was dead, he returned with his wife to take the throne. On the way they passed a mountain, and his wife asked: “If this mountain were of pure gold, would you give me some of it?” “Not an atom,” he replied, and she was deeply hurt. She became queen, but was shown no respect or honour by the king. The Bodhisatta, noticing this, questioned her and made her promise to repeat her story in the king’s presence. This she did, and the king, realising her affection for him, bestowed all honour on her.
The story was told to a landowner of Sāvatthi who went with his wife to collect a debt. They received a cart in satisfaction of the debt, and, leaving it with friends, were on the way home when they saw a mountain, and a conversation, identical with the one above, took place. Arrived at Sāvatthi, they went to Jetavana, and when the Buddha asked the wife if she were happy, she told him what had happened. The Buddha then related the story of the king and queen who were the landowner and his wife. At the end of the story they became Stream-winners. J.iii.66‑70.
321A Toucan (siṅgila), seeing a monkey shivering in the rain, suggested to him that he should build a nest. The monkey, in envy, destroyed the bird’s nest.
The story was told in reference to a novice Uluṅkasaddaka, who had burnt down Mahā-Kassapa’s hut in a forest near Rājagaha. At that time Mahā-Kassapa had two novices, one dutiful and helpful and the other ill-behaved. Whatever was done by his comrade the latter would pretend that he himself had done it. One day, in exasperation, the good novice heated water for the elder’s bath and then hid it in a back room, leaving only a little in the boiler. When the other novice saw the steam rising he informed the elder that his bath was ready. When asked where was the water, he let a ladle down into the almost empty boiler and the ladle rattled. When the story became known he was nick-named Uluṅkasaddaka (“Rattle-ladle”).
Being found fault with on this and several other occasions, he bore the elder a grudge, and one day, having set fire to the elder’s hut, he ran away. Later he was born first as a hungry ghost (peta) and then in Avīci. This incident was reported to the Buddha by monks who came from Rājagaha.
The monkey of the Jātaka is identified with the wicked novice. J.iii.71ff.
322Once a timid hare lying at the foot of a vilva (wood-apple) tree heard a vilva fruit fall on a palm-leaf and, imagining that the world was collapsing, started to run. Other animals, alarmed by the sight, ran also until all the beasts of the forest were in headlong flight. The Bodhisatta, born as a lion, heard their story and calmed their fears.
The story was related in reference to a question asked of the Buddha by some monks, as to various austerities practised by ascetics. J.iii.74ff. The Jātaka is quoted at MA.i.313f.
323Once, the Bodhisatta, after studying at Takkasilā, became an ascetic in the Himavā, visited Uttarapañcāla, and resided in the garden of the Pañcāla king. The king saw him begging for alms, invited him into the palace and, having shown him great honour, asked him to stay in the park. When the time came for the Bodhisatta to return to the Himavā, he wished for a pair of single soled shoes and a leaf parasol. However, for twelve years he could not summon up enough courage to ask the king for these things! He could only get as far as telling the king he had a favour to ask, and then his heart failed him, for, he said to himself, it made a man weep to have to ask and it made a man weep to have to refuse. In the end the king noticed his discomfiture and offered him all his possessions; but the ascetic would take only the shoes and the parasol, and, with these, he left for the Himavā.
The king is identified with Ānanda. J.iii.78ff.
324Once a religious mendicant, clad in a leather garment, saw a ram falling back before him, and imagining that the animal was doing him obeisance, uttered its praises. The Bodhisatta, who was a merchant, hearing this, warned the ascetic that the ram was only preparing to attack him, and even as he was speaking the animal charged the mendicant and felled him to the ground.
The story was related in reference to a monk of Sāvatthi, to whom a similar thing happened while he was wearing a leather jerkin. J.iii.82ff
3251. Godha Jātaka (No. 138).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a lizard and paid homage to a good ascetic living near the ant-hill where he dwelt. The good ascetic left and was replaced by a wicked one, to whom the Bodhisatta paid like homage. One day, the villagers brought a dish of lizard’s flesh to the ascetic. Being attracted by its flavour, he planned to kill the Bodhisatta, that he might have more of the flesh. However, the Bodhisatta discovered his intention just in time, and, making good his escape, denounced the hypocrite.
The story was told in reference to a wicked monk. J.i.480f.
2. Godha Jātaka (No. 141).– The Bodhisatta was born once as an iguana, leader of many others. His son became intimate with a young chameleon, whom he used to clip and embrace. The Bodhisatta warned his son against this unnatural intimacy, but, finding his advice of no avail, and knowing that danger would come to them through the chameleon, he prepared a way of escape, should the need arise. The chameleon, growing tired of the friendship with the iguana, showed a trapper the home of the iguanas. The trapper made a fire round the hole and killed many of the iguanas as they tried to escape, but the Bodhisatta reached safety through the hole he had provided.
The story was told about a treacherous monk, identified with the young iguana (J.i.487f). For details see the Mahilāmukha Jātaka.
3. Godharāja Jātaka (No. 325).– The story of the past is very similar to No.1 above, except that there is only mention of one ascetic and he is a hypocrite. The young lizard threatened to expose the ascetic’s hypocrisy and compelled him to leave the hermitage. The story was related in reference to a monk who was a cheat and a rogue (J.iii.84f).
Cf. the Kuhakābrāhmaṇa Vatthu (DhA.iv.154f).
326v.l. Kakkaru°, Takkaru°.– Once a great festival was held in Bārāṇasī, attended by both humans and non-humans. Among the latter were four gods from Tāvatiṃsa, wearing wreaths of kakkāru-flowers, the fragrance of which filled the town. When men wondered at the fragrance, the gods showed themselves and their wreaths. Men asked for these flowers, but the gods explained that they could only be worn by those possessed of certain virtues. The king’s chaplain, hoping to deceive the gods, claimed possession of these virtues. The wreath was put on his head and the gods disappeared. The chaplain was seized with great pain in his head, but on trying to remove the wreath he found it impossible to do so. When he had suffered for seven days, the king, hoping to save his life, held another similar festival at which the gods were again present. The chaplain confessed his guilt and obtained relief.
The story was told in reference to the vomiting of blood by Devadatta when his disciples left him. J.iii.86‑90.
327Kākavatī was the chief queen of the King of Bārāṇasī (the Bodhisatta). A certain Garuḷa king came disguised as a man and played at dice with the king. Having fallen in love with Kākavatī, the Garuḷa carried her off to his abode by the Simbalī-Lake and there lived with her. The king, missing his queen, sent his physician, Natakuvera, to look for her. The physician hid himself in the Garuḷa’s plumage and thus reached the palace where Kākavatī was. There he enjoyed her favour and returned to Bārāṇasī in the Garuḷa’s wing. While the Garuḷa and the king were playing at dice, Natakuvera sang a song telling of his experiences with Kākavatī. The Garuḷa, realising what had happened, brought the queen back to Bārāṇasī.
The story was related by the Buddha to a monk who was discontented on account of a woman. The monk is identified with Natakuvera (J.iii.90‑2).
The story is among those related by the bird Kuṇāla, in the Kuṇāla Jātaka. There (J.v.428) we learn that the Garuḷa’s name was Venateyya, who is identified with Kuṇāla.
The Kākavatī Jātaka very closely resembles the Suyonandī Jātaka. J.iii.187ff.
328The Bodhisatta was born as a rich Brahmin in Bārāṇasī. After his education at Takkasilā his parents wished him to marry. After much persuasion he agreed to do so, if they could find a woman like a golden image which he would make. Emissaries were sent out and they found a girl of sixteen, Samīllabhāsinī, in the Kāsi kingdom. She did not wish to marry either, but yielded to her parent’s wishes. Though the two young people were married they lived in celibacy and when their parents died they gave away their immense wealth and became ascetics. Samillabhāsini died of dysentery caused by unsatisfactory meals. The Bodhisatta coming back from his begging-rounds found her dead on a bench, but proceeded to eat his meal much to the surprise of the onlookers. On being questioned, “Why should I weep?” he said “that which has the quality of dissolution is dissolved.”
The story was related in reference to a landowner who, when his wife died, gave himself up to despair. The Buddha, seeing his potential (upanissaya), went out to meet him and told him the story, whereupon he obtained the First Fruit of the Path. J.iii.92‑7.
329Once the Bodhisatta was a parrot named Rādha and his brother was Poṭṭhapāda. They were captured by a fowler and brought to the court of Dhanañjaya, king of Bārāṇasī, where they were paid great attention. Later, a monkey, Kālabāhu, was added to the collection of animals, and the people in the palace lost interest in the parrots, much to the annoyance of Poṭṭhapāda. Soon, however, the children became frightened of the monkey’s tricks and he was sent away, just as Rādha had prophesied to his brother.
Ānanda was Poṭṭhapāda, and Devadatta, Kālabāhu.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha by letting loose Nāḷāgiri. J.iii.97ff
3301. Sīlavīmaṃsa Jātaka (No. 330).– The Bodhisatta was once chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī, later becoming an ascetic. One day be saw a hawk, attacked by other birds, drop a piece of meat he had stolen. On another day he saw a slave girl, Piṅgalā, waiting for her lover until late into the night, and, when he did not come, she fell asleep. On a third occasion he saw a hermit meditating. Drawing a moral from these incidents, he lived the hermit life and was reborn in the Brahma world.
The story was told in reference to a brahmin who was ever proving his virtue. J.iii.100‑102.
2. Sīlavīmamsa Jātaka (No. 362).– The Bodhisatta was chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. He was both learned and good; but wishing to test which quality brought him greater honour, he started stealing money from the treasurer. On the third occasion he was arrested and led before the king. He then explained his behaviour to the king, and, having discovered that virtue was the more highly esteemed, he became an ascetic with the king’s leave.
The story was told in reference to a brahmin of Sāvatthi who carried out the same test. J.iii.193‑5.
331King Brahmadatta was very talkative, and his minister, the Bodhisatta, sought an opportunity of admonishing him. This opportunity occurred while they were watching a crow’s nest in which a cuckoo had laid an egg. The crow watched over it and fed the young cuckoo after its birth. One day the cuckoo cried before it was grown up, and the crow killed it and threw it away. The king inquired of the Bodhisatta the reason for this, and he explained that the garrulous who talk in and out of season meet with a similar fate. The king was cured of his evil habit.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika, who is identified with the young cuckoo. J.iii.102f
332The chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī, while on his way to his village estate, came upon a caravan in a narrow road, and, becoming impatient, threw his goad at the driver of the first cart. The goad, however, struck the yoke of his own chariot, and, rebounding, hit him on the forehead, where a lump appeared. He turned back in a rage and complained to the king, who, without any enquiry, confiscated the property of the caravan owner. However, the Bodhisatta, who was the king’s chief judge, had the order reversed.
The story was told in reference to the chaplain of the king of Kosala, who was guilty of a similar offence, but, in this case, the king had the case examined by his judges and the chaplain was proclaimed guilty (J.iii.104ff). The stanzas of the Jātaka are quoted elsewhere. e.g., at J.iv.30, 451; vi.375.
333A prince and his wife, returning after a long journey, were greatly distressed by hunger, and some hunters, seeing them, gave them a roasted lizard. The wife carried it in her hand, hanging it from a creeper. Arriving at a lake, they sat down at the foot of a tree, and while his wife was away fetching water the prince ate the whole lizard. When his wife came back, he told her that the lizard had run away, leaving only the tail in his hand. Later, the prince became king, but his wife, though appointed queen consort, received no real honour. The Bodhisatta, who was the king’s minister, wishing to see justice done to the queen, contrived that the king should be reminded of his ingratitude by allusion being made to the incident of the roast lizard. The king thereupon realised his neglect of his dutiful wife, and conferred on her supreme power.
The story was told in reference to a couple who had been given a roast lizard, when returning from a journey undertaken to collect debts. The husband ate the whole lizard when his wife was away. She said nothing and drank some water to appease her hunger, but when they visited the Buddha, and he asked her if her husband were good and affectionate, she replied in the negative. The Buddha then told her the story of the past. J.iii.106f; cf. Succaja Jātaka.
3341. Rājovāda Jātaka (No. 151).– Two kings, Brahmadatta of Bārāṇasī (the Bodhisatta) and Mallika of Kosala, while journeying in disguise, in order to discover if anyone in their respective kingdoms could tell them of any faults which they (the kings) possessed, meet in a narrow path, and a dispute arises among the charioteers as to who should give place. It is discovered that both are of the same age and power. Each driver sings the praises of his own master, but then they discover that Mallika is good to the good and bad to the bad, while Brahmadatta is good to both the good and the bad. Mallika’s charioteer acknowledges Brahmadatta as the superior and gives place.
The story is related to Pasenadi, who comes to the Buddha after having had to decide a difficult case involving moral turpitude. He is satisfied that he has done well, and the Buddha agrees with him that to administer justice with impartiality is the way to heaven.
Mallika is identified with Ānanda and his driver with Mahā-Moggallāna, while Brahmadatta’s driver is Sāriputta. J.ii.1ff.
2. Rājovāda Jātaka (No. 334).– Once the king of Bārāṇasī, wishing to discover if he ruled justly, travelled about in disguise, and, in the course of his wanderings, came to the Himavā, where the Bodhisatta lived as an ascetic. The ascetic gave him ripe figs, and, when asked why they were so sweet, explained that the king of the country was evidently a just ruler. The king returned to his kingdom and ruled for a while unjustly; and returning again to the hermitage, he found that the figs had become bitter.
The story was related to Pasenadi, in order to show the importance of a king ruling wisely and justly. Ānanda is identified with the king of the story. J.iii.110‑12; cp. Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 407).
335A jackal, seeing a lion, expressed his wish to be his servant. The lion agreed and provided him with food. On growing strong, the jackal offered to kill an elephant and, in spite of the lion’s warnings, was trampled to death. The lion was the Bodhisatta and the jackal Devadatta.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to imitate the Buddha. J.iii.112ff.
336Once Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, captured Kosala with its king, and brought all its treasures to Bārāṇasī, where he buried them in iron pots in the royal park. Chatta, the Kosala king’s son, escaped, and became an ascetic near Takkasilā with a following of five hundred. Later he came with his followers to Bārāṇasī, won the heart of the king by his demeanour, and lived in the royal park. There, by means of a spell, he discovered the buried treasure, and taking his followers into his confidence, took the treasure to Sāvatthi and made the city impregnable. When Brahmadatta discovered his loss and its results, he was disconsolate, but was comforted by his minister, who was the Bodhisatta, and who pointed out to him that Chatta had but taken what belonged to him.
The story was told in reference to a knavish monk, identified with Chatta. J.iii.115ff.
337The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic in the Himavā. One day, having gone to Bārāṇasī for salt and vinegar, he entered the city for alms and went to the house of a merchant with a reputation for piety. However, the merchant was away at the court, and as the ascetic saw no one in the house, he turned and went away. On the way he was met by the merchant, who apologised for his absence and invited him to return to his house.
The story was told to a monk, who, on joining the Order, inquired who looked after the monks. On being told that Anāthapiṇḍika and Visākhā did so, he went to their houses very early the next day. It was so early that no one attended to him. When he returned later it was too late and the food had all gone. Thereupon he started abusing the two families. J.iii.118ff.
338Once the Bodhisatta was a teacher in Takkasilā, and the heir to the throne of Bārāṇasī was his student. Foreseeing danger to the prince from his son, he taught the prince four stanzas to be repeated when his son should be sixteen years old, at the evening meal, at the time of the great levee, while ascending the palace roof, and in the royal chamber respectively. The prince in due course became king, and, as had been foreseen by his teacher, he was conspired against by his son, but saved his life by repeating the stanzas. The son was cast into prison, and set free only after the king’s death.
The story was related in reference to Bimbisāra’s great love for Ajātasattu, though soothsayers had predicted that the latter would kill his father (J.iii.121ff).
339Once some merchants sailed from Bārāṇasī to Bāveru (Babylon) with a crow on board to help them in finding land. There were then no birds in Bāveru, and the people, marvelling at the sight, bought the bird, after much bargaining, for one hundred pieces and paid it great honour.
On another voyage, the same merchants brought with them a peacock (the Bodhisatta), and this bird, after much show of reluctance on the part of the merchants, was sold to the people of Bāveru for one thousand pieces. From the time of the arrival of the more beautiful peacock, the crow was entirely neglected and flew away on to a refuse heap.
The story was told in reference to the fact that from the time the Buddha appeared in the world, the heretics lost all their glory. J.iii.126ff; cp. Ud.vi.10.
340The Bodhisatta was once born as Visayha, the treasurer of Bārāṇasī, and gave alms daily to six hundred thousand persons in six different parts of the city. Sakka’s throne was heated by his great generosity, and, feeling nervous for his safety, Sakka contrived that all Visayha’s possessions should disappear. Quite undaunted, Visayha became a grass-cutter, and for six days gave alms from the money so earned, he and his wife fasting. On the seventh day, while cutting grass, he fainted, and Sakka, appearing before him, suggested that he, should be moderate in his generosity. Visayha rejected the suggestion as unworthy and declared that his aim was Buddhahood. Thereupon Sakka praised him and made him prosperous.
The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika, as mentioned in the Khadiraṅgāra Jātaka. Visayha’s wife is identified with Rāhulamātā. J.iii.128‑32; see also J.i.45.
The story is given in the Jātakamālā (No. 5), where the treasurer is called Avisayha.
341Kaṇḍari, a king of Bārāṇasī, was very handsome; each day he received one thousand boxes of perfume for his use, and his food was cooked with scented wood. His wife, Kinnarā, was very beautiful; his chaplain was Pañcālacaṇḍa. One day, Kinnarā, on looking out, saw a loathsome cripple in the shade of a jambu-tree near her window, and conceived a passion for the man. Thereafter she would wait for the king to fall asleep and would then, nightly, visit the cripple, taking him dainty foods and having her pleasure with him. One day the king, returning from a procession, saw the misshapen creature, and asked the chaplain if such a man could ever win the love of a woman. The cripple, hearing the question, proudly boasted of his intimacy with the queen. At the chaplain’s suggestion the king watched the queen’s movements that same night, and saw the cripple abuse her and strike her for being late in coming. The blow fell on her ear breaking off her ear ornament, which the king picked up.
The next day he ordered the queen to appear before him in all her ornaments, and having proved that he knew of her infidelity, handed her over to the chaplain to be executed. Pañcālacaṇḍa, pitying the woman, begged that she should be pardoned, because in being unchaste she had but obeyed the instincts common to all women. To prove his contention, Pañcālacaṇḍa took the king with him and, in disguise, they wandered through Jambudīpa, testing the virtue of various women, including that of a young bride who was being taken to her husband’s house. Convinced that all women were alike, the king spared Kinnarā’s life, but drove her out of the palace together with the cripple, and caused the jambu-tree to be cut down.
The story was among those related by the bird Kuṇāla to his friend Puṇṇamukha, testifying to the unfaithfulness of women. Kuṇāla is identified with Pañcālacaṇḍa. J.v.437‑40; J.iii.132.
342The Bodhisatta was a young monkey living on a river bank. A female crocodile in the river longed to eat his heart and her husband persuaded the monkey to go for a ride on his back in search of wild fruits. In midstream he began to sink and revealed his purpose, and the monkey, nothing daunted, said that monkeys did not keep their hearts in their bodies for fear of their being torn to pieces on the trees, but that they hung them on trees, and, pointing to a ripe fig tree, showed the crocodile what he said was his heart. The crocodile took him to the tree, and the monkey jumped ashore and laughed at him.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha. J.iii.133f; cf. Susumāra Jātaka (No. 208).
343v.l. Kuntani Jātaka.– In the court of the king of Bārāṇasī was a heron who carried messages. Once, when she was away, the boys of the palace killed her two young ones. In revenge she persuaded a tiger to eat the boys, and told the king what she had done. She then flew away to the Himavā because, she said, there could be no friendship between the wrong-doer and the wronged one.
The story was told in reference to a heron of the Kosala king, who acted in a similar way (J.iii.311f).
344The story of a wicked ascetic who built for himself a hut in a mango orchard on the river bank near Bārāṇasī and ate the ripe mangoes as they fell. In order to frighten him Sakka made the orchard appear as if it had been plundered by thieves. The ascetic, coming back from his begging-round and seeing what had happened, charged the four daughters of a merchant who had just entered the garden with having stolen the mangoes. They denied the charge and swore dreadful oaths to support their statement. Thereupon he let them go.
The story was told about an elder who had entered the Order in his old age and who, instead of practising his duties, looked after mangoes. Thieves stole his mangoes, and he charged with the theft the four daughters of a rich merchant who happened to visit the park. They swore oaths to prove that they were not guilty and were released. J.iii.137‑9.
345v.l. Gajakumba Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a minister of the king of Bārāṇasī. Noticing that the king was slothful, the Bodhisatta took a tortoise as an object lesson, showing him how the indolent came to misery.
The story was related in reference to a monk who was slothful regarding his duties. J.iii.139f.
346The ascetic Kesava lived in Himavā with five hundred pupils. The Bodhisatta, having been born as Kappa, a brahmin of Kāsī, joined him and became his senior pupil. When the ascetics went to Bārāṇasī for salt and vinegar, the king lodged them in his park and fed them, and when they returned to Himavā, persuaded Kesava to stay behind. Kesava fell ill of loneliness, and the five physicians of the king could not cure him. At his own request he was taken to the Himavā by the king’s minister, Nārada, and there, on seeing again his familiar haunts and his pupil Kappa, he immediately recovered, though his medicine was but the broth of wild rice.
The king of the Jātaka is Ānanda, Nārada is Sāriputta, and Kesava, Baka Brahmā.
The story was related to Pasenadi. Having discovered that Anāthapiṇḍika daily fed five hundred monks in his house, the king gave orders that the same should be done in his palace. One day he discovered that the monks would take the food from the palace, but would eat that which was given to them elsewhere by those who served them because they loved them. When the king reported this to the Buddha, the Buddha pointed out to him that the best food was that which was given in love; love was the best flavouring for food (J.iii.142‑5; iii.362; S.i.144; SA.i.165).
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.i.342ff), the king personally looked after the monks for seven days, after which he forgot about them and they were not cared for. Thereupon they omitted to go to the palace.
The story of the past as given in this Commentary differs considerably from the Jātaka version. Here Kesava is described as a king who had left the world and become an ascetic. The ascetics left the royal park, disliking the noise there, but they left Kappa with Kesava. Soon after, Kappa went away, and it was then that Kesava fell ill.
Kesava is identified with the Bodhisatta, Kappa with Ānanda, the king of Bārāṇasī with Mahā-Moggallāna, and Nārada with Sāriputta.
It was this reluctance of the Sakyan monks to accept Pasenadi’s hospitality which led him to seek marriage with a Sakyan maiden; but the Sākyā gave him Vāsabhakhattiyā (q.v.)
347The Bodhisatta was once born in Bārāṇasī and became its king. At that time people were in the habit of sacrificing animals to the gods in order to win their favour, but the Bodhisatta proclaimed that no living creature should be slain. Being enraged at the loss of their food, the yakkhas sent one of their number to the Bodhisatta. He came to the Bodhisatta’s bed at night meaning to strike him a deadly blow. Thereupon Sakka’s throne grew hot, and learning the cause, Sakka himself came and stood guard over the Bodhisatta. The latter saw the yakkha standing over him ready to strike but powerless, and only learnt later, to his great encouragement, that Sakka had been there to protect him (J.iii.145‑7).
The reason for the telling of the story is given in the Mahākaṇha Jātaka.
348The Bodhisatta was once born in a brahmin family. He learned all the arts in Takkasilā, but when his wife died he went with his son to be an ascetic in the Himavā. One day a girl came to the hermitage, fleeing from brigands, and corrupted the virtue of the youth. However, when she tried to induce him to go away with her, he wished to consult his father. The father warned him against leaving the hermitage and taught him the way to mystic meditation (J.iii.147‑9).
The reason for telling the story is given in the Cūḷanārada Jātaka.
349The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī. One day a cowherd left behind, inadvertently, a cow, which was in calf, and a friendship sprang up between her and a lioness. The cow bore a calf and the lioness a cub, and these two young ones became playmates. A forester seeing them together, reported the matter to the king, who wished to be informed should a third animal appear on the scene. A jackal, seeing the calf and the cub, and hoping for food, became friendly with them, and soon managed to make them quarrel. The king was informed of this, and by the time he arrived on the scene the two animals were dead.
The story was related to the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā) as a warning against their habit of back-biting (J.iii.149ff).
This is probably the story referred to as the Saṅghabheda Jātaka (J.iii.211).
350The questions of the goddess (devatāpañha) or Devatāpañha Jātaka (Ja.iii.152). The Commentary states that the story will be explained in the Umaṅga Jātaka.
The Umaṅga Jātaka contains a series of questions asked of King Vedeha by the goddess who lived in his parasol, because she wished to restore Mahosadha to the king’s favour. Videha inquired of all his wise men, but they could find no answers, and, in the end, he was compelled to send for Mahosadha. The questions, in the form of riddles, were put to him, and he answered them all. (Ja.vi.370f; the riddles with answers are found at p.376f).
351The Bodhisatta, born as king of Bārāṇasī, discovering that one of his ministers had intrigued in his harem, expelled him from the kingdom. The minister took up service under the king of Kosala, and, as a result of his conspiracy, the Bodhisatta was taken captive and cast into prison (J.iii.153ff). For the rest of the story see Ekarāja Jātaka.
The story was related in reference to a councillor of Pasenadi who was guilty of misconduct in the harem.
Maṇimekhalā
1. Maṇimekhalā.– A goddess who presided over the ocean where she was placed by the Cātummahārājikā to protect virtuous people who might suffer shipwreck. J.iv.17; vi.35.
2. Manimekhalā.– A dam erected by Aggabodhi I across the Mahāvāḷukagaṅgā (Cv.xlii.34). It was restored by Sena II. Cv.li.72.
3. Maṇimekhalā.– A district in Sri Lanka, founded by the general Saṅkha during the time that the usurper Māgha ruled at Pulatthipura. Cv.li.7.
3521. Sujāta Jātaka (No. 269).– The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī. His mother was a passionate woman, harsh and ill-tongued, and the Bodhisatta waited for an opportunity of admonishing her. One day, as he accompanied her to the park, a blue jay screeched, and the courtiers stopped their ears, saying: “What a scream! Stop it!” On another day they heard a cuckoo singing and stood listening eagerly. The Bodhisatta pointed this out to his mother and left her to draw her own inference. She understood and reformed herself.
The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika’s daughter-in-law, Sujātā, who was identified with the queen mother. J.ii.347‑51.
2. Sujāta Jātaka (No. 306).– The Bodhisatta was once chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. One day, the king heard a fruiterer’s daughter, Sujātā, hawking sweets, and falling in love with her voice he sent for her and made her his queen. Some time later she saw the king eating sweets from a golden dish and asked him what those egg-shaped fruits were. The king was very angry; but the Bodhisatta interceded on her behalf and she was pardoned.
The story was told in reference to a quarrel between Mallikā and Pasenadi, which became famous under the name of Sirivivāda or Sayanakalaha. Pasenadi ignored Mallikā completely, and the Buddha, knowing this, went to the palace with five hundred monks. The king invited them to a meal, and as the food was being served, the Buddha covered his bowl and asked for Mallikā. She was sent for, and the Buddha made peace between them. Mallikā is identified with Sujātā and Pasenadi with the king of Bārāṇasī. J.iii.20‑22.
v.l. Dhonasākha Jātaka.– Once a prince of Bārāṇasī, named Brahmadatta, learned the arts from the Bodhisatta, then a teacher at Takkasilā. The teacher (Pārāsariya), having observed his character, warned him against harshness and counselled him to be gentle. In due course, Brahmadatta became king, and on the advice of his chaplain, Piṅgiya, went out at the head of a large army and captured alive one thousand kings.
He could not, however, take Takkasilā, and Piṅgiya suggested that a sacrifice be offered, to take the form of blinding the captive kings and letting their blood flow round the rampart. This was done; but when Brahmadatta went to bathe, a yakkha tore out his right eye, and, as be lay down, a sharp-pointed bone, dropped by a vulture, blinded his left eye. He died in agony and was born in hell.
The story was related in reference to Bodhirājakumāra who blinded the architect of his palace (Kokanada), lest he should build another as grand.
Bodhi is identified with Brahmadatta and Devadatta with Piṅgiya (J.iii.157.161).
3541. Uraga Jātaka (No. 154).– King Brahmadatta of Bārāṇasī once held a festival to which came the inhabitants of many worlds. A Nāga in the crowd, not noticing that the person beside him was a Garuḷa, laid a hand on his shoulder; discovering his mistake, he was frightened to death and ran away, pursued by the Garuḷa. The Nāga, coming to a river, where an ascetic, who was the Bodhisatta, was bathing, took refuge in the ascetic’s bark-garment. The Garuḷa, though able to see the Nāga, would not attack him out of respect for the ascetic. The latter took both of them to his hermitage and made them friendly towards each other by teaching the blessings of loving-kindness.
The story was related in reference to two soldiers who were in the habit of quarrelling whenever they met. Not even the king could reconcile them. The Buddha visited them at their homes and, having made them both Stream-winners, took them to see each other. Thenceforth they were great friends, and people marvelled at the Buddha’s power (J.ii.12‑14). The Nakula Jātaka was also taught in this connection.
2. Uraga Jātaka (No. 354).– The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin in Bārāṇasī. His household consisted of himself, his wife, a son, a daughter, a daughter-in-law and a female slave. They lived happily together, and on the Bodhisatta’s advice kept their thoughts constantly fixed on the inevitableness of death. One day, while burning some rubbish in the field, the son was bitten by a snake and died. The father laid his body under a tree, and having sent word to his house that all the others should come with perfumes and flowers, when bringing his meal, be went on with his work. After the meal they made a funeral pyre and burnt the body, but not one of them wept a single tear. By virtue of their piety, Sakka’s throne was heated and he appeared to them in disguise. He questioned them separately as to whether their lack of any show of grief for the dead meant that they did not love him. Being convinced that their composure was due to their practice of the thought of death, he revealed his identity, and filled their house with the seven kinds of treasures. The story was related to a landowner of Sāvatthi who, when his son died, gave himself up to despair. The Buddha visited him and consoled him (J.iii.162ff).
This story is referred to in the Dhammapada Commentary DhA.iii.277.
3551. Ghaṭa Jātaka (No. 355).– The story of Ghaṭakumāra (q.v.) It was related in reference to a minister of the Kosala king. He had been the king’s favourite, but then, influenced by slanderers, the king cast him into prison, where he entered the First Path. When he was released he visited the Buddha, who told him the Jātaka story.
Ānanda is identified with King Vaṅka of the Jātaka. J.iii.168ff
2. Ghaṭapaṇḍita Jātaka (No. 454).– The story of the Andhakaveṇhudāsaputtā (q.v.) and of the manner in which Ghaṭapaṇḍita (q.v.) assuaged the grief of his brother, Vāsudeva. The introductory story resembles that of the Maṭṭhakuṇḍali Jātaka.
Rohiṇeyya is identified with Ānanda and Vāsudeva with Sāriputta (J.iv.79ff).
This Jātaka perhaps influenced the story of Ummāda-Cittā found in the Mahāvaṃsa (ix.13); for its connection with the Harivaṃsa, see ZDMG.53, 25ff.
356Once the Bodhisatta was a brahmin youth named Koraṇḍiya, in Bārāṇasī. He became the chief pupil of a world-famed teacher in Takkasilā, who was in the habit of teaching the moral law to whomever he met regardless of their fitness to receive it. One day Koraṇḍiya was sent with his colleagues by his teacher to accept some cakes offered by the inhabitants of a village and to bring the teacher’s share. On the way back Koraṇḍiya saw a cave and started throwing stones into it. Told of this by the other boys, the teacher questioned Koraṇḍiya, who replied that it was his ambition to make the whole world level. If his teacher thought he could make the whole world moral, why should he himself not make it level? The teacher understood and accepted the lesson.
The story was told in reference to Sāriputta who taught all who came to him, including even hunters and fishermen. They listened to him with respect, but failed to follow his teaching. On the remonstrance of his colleagues Sāriputta was offended, and the matter came to the Buddha’s knowledge. Sāriputta is identified with the teacher of old. J.iii.170‑4.
357A quail once laid her eggs in the feeding ground of the elephants. When the young ones were hatched, the Bodhisatta, the leader of the elephants, passed along that way with the herd, and, at the request of the mother quail, carefully avoided the young ones. However, a rogue elephant, who came after, though warned in the same way, trod on the nest and fouled it. The quail swore revenge, and got a crow to put out the elephant’s eyes and a fly to put maggots in them, and when the elephant, in great pain, looked for water, she persuaded a frog to croak on the mountain top and thus to lead the elephant into a precipice down which he fell and was killed.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta who was identified with the rogue elephant (J.iii.174‑77). In the accounts (see Rohinī) of the quarrel between the Sākyā and the Koliyā, this Jātaka is said to have been one of those taught by the Buddha on that occasion, showing that even such a weak animal as a quail could sometimes cause the death of an elephant. Perhaps the story was related on more than one occasion. See also the Laṭukikopama Sutta.
See DhA.i.46, where it is related to the Kosambī monks to show the danger of quarrelling.
358Once the Bodhisatta was born as Dhammapāla, son of Mahāpatāpa, king of Bārāṇasī and his queen, Candā. One day Candā was playing with her seven-months-old baby with whom she was so engrossed that, when the king entered the room, she omitted to rise.
This roused the king’s jealousy, and he sent for the executioner and had the prince’s hands and feet and head cut off and his body encircled with sword-cuts ” as though with a garland.” He paid no heed to Candā’s lamentations, and she, in her great sorrow, fell down dead of a broken heart. Flames arose from Avīci, and wrapping Mahāpatāpa about, “as with a woollen garment,” plunged him in the lowest hell.
The story was, told in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. Devadatta was Mahāpatāpa and Mahāpajāpatī was Candā (J.iii.177‑82). The Jātaka is often cited (e.g., J.iv.11; v.113) to illustrate how anger, when once arisen, is difficult to control.
359The Bodhisatta was a young stag of golden colour who lived happily with a beautiful doe. The stag was the leader of eight myriads of deer. One day a hunter set a snare and the Bodhisatta’s foot got entangled therein. He gave a succession of warning cries and the herd fled. The doe, however, came up to him and encouraged him to try to break the noose. However, all his efforts were in vain, and, when the hunter approached, the doe went up to him and asked to be allowed to die in her mate’s place. The hunter was so touched and amazed that he set them both free, and the stag gave him a magic jewel which he had found on the feeding ground.
The story was told in reference to a girl of Sāvatthi in a family devoted to the two Chief Disciples. She married an unbeliever, but was allowed to practise her own religion unmolested. She finally persuaded her husband to listen to a discourse by Sāriputta, and both husband and wife became Stream-winners. Later, they joined the Order and became Arahants.
Channa (the husband) is identified with the hunter, while the woman was the doe. J.iii.182‑7.
360Tamba was a king of Bārāṇasī and his wife was the beautiful Suyonandī. Nāgadīpa was then known as Seruma, and the Bodhisatta was a young Garuḷa living there. He used to go in disguise to Bārāṇasī and play at dice with Tamba. The queen heard of his beauty and contrived to see him, and they fell in love with each other. The Garuḷa, by his power, raised a storm in the city and covered it with darkness, under cover of which he carried off Suyonandī. The king was filled with grief, not knowing what had happened to his queen, as the Garuḷa continued to play at dice with him. Tamba therefore sent Sagga, a minstrel, to search for her. In the course of his wanderings, Sagga came to Bhārukaccha and took ship for Suvaṇṇabhūmi. In the middle of the ocean the sailors asked Sagga to play for them, but Sagga told them that his music would excite the big fish and trouble would ensue. The sailors, however, insisting, Sagga played, and the fish, maddened by the sound, splashed about, and the ship broke in two under the leap of a sea-monster. Sagga lay on a plank, which drifted to Nāgadīpa. There he saw and was recognised by Suyonandī. Suyonandī took him home, and, keeping him hidden from the Garuḷa, enjoyed herself with him when the Garuḷa was away playing at dice. Six weeks later a ship, with merchants for Bārāṇasī, touched at Nāgadīpa, and Sagga returned home. He found Tamba playing at dice with the Garuḷa and recounted his adventures in song. The Garuḷa heard the song and understood the references. Filled with remorse that he had not been able to keep his wife, he brought her back to Tamba.
The story was related in reference to a love sick monk. Ānanda is identified with Tamba. J.iii.187‑90.
361Once a lion, Sudāṭha, and a tiger, Subāhu, who lived in a forest, became friends. A jackal, who lived on their leavings, wishing to make them quarrel, told each that the other spoke evil of him. The lion and tiger discovered his plot and he had to flee.
The story was told in reference to a man who lived on the broken food of Sāriputta and Mahā-Moggallāna and tried to set them at variance with each other. The attempt failed and the man was driven away. He is identified with the jackal. J.iii.191ff. Cp. the Sandhibheda Jātaka.
3621. Sīlavīmaṃsa Jātaka (No. 330).– The Bodhisatta was once chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī, later becoming an ascetic. One day be saw a hawk, attacked by other birds, drop a piece of meat he had stolen. On another day he saw a slave girl, Piṅgalā, waiting for her lover until late into the night, and, when he did not come, she fell asleep. On a third occasion he saw a hermit meditating. Drawing a moral from these incidents, he lived the hermit life and was reborn in the Brahma world.
The story was told in reference to a brahmin who was ever proving his virtue. J.iii.100‑102.
2. Sīlavīmamsa Jātaka (No. 362).– The Bodhisatta was chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. He was both learned and good; but wishing to test which quality brought him greater honour, he started stealing money from the treasurer. On the third occasion he was arrested and led before the king. He then explained his behaviour to the king, and, having discovered that virtue was the more highly esteemed, he became an ascetic with the king’s leave.
The story was told in reference to a brahmin of Sāvatthi who carried out the same test. J.iii.193‑5.
365The story of a snake-charmer in Bārāṇasī who had also a tame monkey. Once, during a festival, he left the monkey with a corn-factor (the Bodhisatta) and set out to earn money by making sport with the snake. The monkey was well looked after by the Bodhisatta. Seven days later the snake-charmer returned drunk and ill-treated the monkey. When the man was asleep the monkey escaped and refused to come back in spite of his former owner’s fine words.
The story was told with reference to a novice who was ordained by a distinguished elder. The elder ill-treated the lad who, in exasperation, left the Order. The elder persuaded him to return, but when this had happened twice again, the lad refused to come back (J.iii.197‑9). The novice is identified with the monkey of the story.
366Once the Bodhisatta was a merchant of Bārāṇasī, and led a caravan of five hundred carts through the forest. He warned his men that they should not eat anything found in the forest without first consulting him. On the way they came across leaves strewn in the forest, covered with honeycomb. These had been placed there by a yakkha, named Gumbiya, who had put poison in the honey. Some of the men ate the honey, while others remembered the warning of the Bodhisatta as soon as they had tasted it. Those who ate died, the others were given emetics and recovered.
The story was related to a monk who, fascinated by a woman’s charm, wished to become a layman. Sensuous pleasures are like honey sprinkled with deadly poison, said the Buddha. The monk became a Stream-winner. J.iii.200f; cp. Kiṃpakka Jātaka.
367Once a village doctor saw a snake lying in the fork of a tree and asked the Bodhisatta, who was then a village boy, to get it for him, telling him that it was a hedgehog. The boy climbed the tree and seized the animal by its neck, but, on discovering that it was a snake, threw it away. The snake fell on the doctor and bit him so severely that he died.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha (J.iii.202f). Elsewhere (DhA.iii.31f), however, the story is told in reference to the hunter Koka (q.v.), with whom the doctor is identified.
368Once a poor village doctor saw some boys playing near a tree, in the hollow of which lived a snake. Hoping to make some money, he asked one of the boys, who was the Bodhisatta, to put his hand into the hollow of the tree, saying that a hedgehog lived there. The boy did so, but, feeling the snake, with great presence of mind, he seized it firmly by the neck and flung it away from him. The snake fell on the doctor and bit him so severely that he died. The boys were brought before the king and charged, but on hearing the Bodhisatta’s explanation the king released them.
The story was related to show how the Bodhisatta practised the perfection of wisdom (paññā-pāramī). Ānanda is identified with the king. J.iii.204ff.
3691. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 82).– This is evidently a fragmentary continuation of the story of Mittavindaka, as given in the Catudvāra Jātaka (q.v.) (J.i.363).
2. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 104).– An additional fragment of the Catudvāra Jātaka. (J.i.413f)
3. Mittavindaka Jātaka (No. 369).– Evidently another fragmentary version of the Catudvāra Jātaka. (J.iii.206ff)
3701. Palāsa Jātaka (No. 307).– Once a poor brahmin paid great honour to a Judas tree (palāsa), hoping thereby to get some benefit. One day, the tree sprite appeared before him in disguise and asked why he honoured the tree. Pleased with his answer, the sprite revealed his identity and helped the brahmin to obtain the treasure that lay buried beneath the tree. The story was related to Ānanda as he stood weeping, leaning against the lintel, when the Buddha lay dying. The Buddha sent for him and told him not to grieve as his services to the Buddha would not be fruitless. Ānanda is identified with the poor brahmin. J.iii.23ff.
2. Palāsa Jātaka (No. 370).– Once the Bodhisatta was a golden goose living in Cittakūṭa. On his way to and from the Himavā, he rested on a palāsa tree and a friendship sprang up between him and the tree-sprite. One day a bird dropped a banyan seed in the fork of the palāsa tree from which a sapling sprang. The goose advised the sprite to destroy it, but he paid no heed, and by and by the banyan grew up and destroyed the tree.
The story was related by the Buddha to the monks to illustrate that sins should be uprooted however small they may be. J.iii.208ff.
371Contains the latter part of the story of Dīghāyu, son of Dīghīti, who, remembering the advice of his father, fore-bore from killing Brahmadatta when the occasion arose, and later benefited by this action of his (J.iii.211f; cp. Vin.i.342ff; J.iii.487).
It is stated in the Jātaka that the full story is given in the Saṅghabhedaka Jātaka. No such story is, however, to be found, unless this is another name for the Kosambiya Jātaka.
The story of Dīghīti was related in reference to the quarrelsome monks of Kosambī. Some of the stanzas found in the Jātaka story are repeated in the Upakkilesa Sutta (M.ii.154).
372Once a certain ascetic in Himavā adopted a young deer which had lost its dam. The deer grew up most comely but died from over-eating. The ascetic lamented greatly until Sakka (the Bodhisatta) appeared before him and pointed out the folly of his sorrow.
The story was told in reference to an old man of Sāvatthi who looked after a novice very devotedly. The novice died and the old man abandoned himself to grief. The characters in both stories were identical. J.iii.213‑15.
373The Bodhisatta was once a world famed teacher. Among his pupils was Yava, son of the king of Bārāṇasī. He was a good student, and when he was about to leave, the Bodhisatta, foreseeing danger for him, taught him three verses (the verses are in the nature of conundrums, with double meanings). The first two were based on incidents seen by the Bodhisatta — a horse killing the mouse that worried the sore place in his foot and throwing him into the well; and the same horse, later, trying to eat barley by putting its head through the fence; the third was made of his own accord. Later, Yava became king, and his son, when sixteen years old, made three attempts on his life. However, they all failed because Yava repeated the stanzas taught him by the Bodhisatta. On each occasion, the uttering of the stanzas made the boy feel that he was discovered, and he confessed his guilt, whereupon he was cast into chains.
The story was related in reference to Ajātasattu (J.iii.215‑9). For details see the Thusa Jātaka.
374A young brahmin of Bārāṇasī came to Takkasilā and became very proficient in archery. His teacher gave him his daughter in marriage and he became known as Cūḷa-Dhanuggaha. When on his way with his wife to Bārāṇasī, he killed a fierce elephant, and then meeting fifty bandits, slew all except the leader. He seized the leader and hurling him to the ground asked his wife for his sword. However, his wife, conceiving a passion for the bandit, placed the sword’s hilt in the bandit’s hand, and he straightway slew Cūḷa-Dhanuggaha. While walking away with the woman, the bandit, reflecting on her treacherousness, decided to leave her. When they came to a river he left her on the bank, and taking her ornaments across the river on the pretence of keeping them safe he deserted her. The Bodhisatta, born as Sakka, observing this and wishing to shame the woman, appeared before her as a jackal, with Mātali as a fish and Pañcasikha as a bird. The jackal had a piece of flesh in his mouth, but when the fish leapt up he abandoned it to catch the fish, only to find the bird flying away with it. The woman saw and understood. The story was told in reference to a monk who wished to leave the Order because of his former wife. The monk is identified with Cūḷa-Dhanuggaha and his wife with the woman of the story (J.iii.219‑24).
According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iv.65ff), the story was told in reference to a young monk who, going to a house to fetch water, saw a young woman and fell in love with her. She encouraged his attentions, and the monk, desiring her, wished to leave the Order.
3751. Kapota Jātaka (No. 42).– Once the Bodhisatta was born as a pigeon and lived in a straw basket hung in the kitchen of the treasurer (seṭṭhi) of Bārāṇasī. A crow, sniffing the savour of the food being cooked in the kitchen and longing to taste it, struck up a friendship with the pigeon in order to gain admission. In the evening, having searched for his food in the pigeon’s company, he accompanied him home, and the treasurer’s cook, on seeing him, provided a basket for him. One day, seeing some fish being prepared, the crow feigned illness and stayed behind in his basket, in spite of the warnings of the pigeon, who suspected his real reason. The cook caught the crow stealing a piece of fish and, in order to punish him, plucked his feathers and soused him in a pickle of ginger and salt and cumin mixed with sour butter-milk. The pigeon, on his return, found him in this state and, having learnt his story, flew away, not wishing to live there any more. The crow died and was flung on the dust heap.
The story was related in reference to a greedy monk who was identified with the crow. J.i.241ff.
2. Kapota Jātaka (No. 375).– The same as above, except for a few details. When the theft was discovered, the cook made a mixture of moist ginger and white mustard, pounded with a rotten date, and after wounding the crow with a potsherd, rubbed the stuff into the wound and fastened the potsherd round its neck. J.iii.224ff
376Once, when the Bodhisatta was an ascetic, at the invitation of the King of Bārāṇasī, he dwelt in the royal garden, admonishing the king on the virtues of righteousness and compassion. Being pleased with him, the king wished to present him with a village of which the revenue was a thousand, but the ascetic declined the gift. For twelve years the ascetic lived in the park; then, desiring a change, he went away, and in the course of his wanderings, arrived at a ferry on the Gaṅgā, where lived a foolish ferryman named Avāriyapitā. He took the Bodhisatta across, on the latter’s promising to tell him how to increase his wealth, his welfare, and his virtue. On reaching the other side, the Bodhisatta advised the ferryman on the desirability of getting his fare before crossing if he wished to increase his wealth; he then proceeded to recite to him the stanzas on the virtue of compassion, which, for twelve years, he had daily recited to the king. Incensed at feeling that he had been cheated out of his money, the ferryman started striking the ascetic; his wife, coming along with his food, tried to stop him. Thereupon he struck her, upsetting the food and causing her womb to miscarry. He was brought before the king and punished.
Good advice is wasted on fools, like fine gold on beasts.
The story was told regarding a foolish ferryman of Aciravatī. When a certain monk came to him one evening to be taken across the river, the ferryman was annoyed and steered so badly that he wet the monk’s robes and delayed him. The two ferrymen were the same (J.iii.228‑32).
377This Jātaka was related at Jetavana regarding a deceitful bhikkhu. The Bodhisatta was once a far famed teacher, with five hundred pupils, chief among whom was Setaketu, an Udicca-brahmin, who prided himself on his high caste. One day, meeting an outcaste (caṇḍāla), Setaketu told him to pass on his leeward side, but the outcaste refused, challenging Setaketu to answer a question. Setaketu accepted the challenge, and he was asked what were the four “quarters.” Setaketu gave the usual answer, whereupon the outcaste forced him between his feet. When this was reported to the teacher, he told Setaketu that the four quarters were parents, teachers, generous householders, and deliverance from misery. Later, Setaketu left for Takkasilā, and, after finishing his studies there, went to Bārāṇasī with five hundred ascetics. There they practised false penances and won the king’s approval; the king’s chaplain, however, warned him against them, saying that they possessed only false knowledge and had no morality. The chaplain persuaded Setaketu and his followers to become laymen and enter the king’s service.
The story was related in the same circumstances as the Uddālaka Jātaka (q.v.) Setaketu is identified with the deceitful bhikkhu, the outcaste with Sāriputta, and the king’s chaplain with the Bodhisatta. J.iii.232‑7.
378The Bodhisatta was once born as Brahmadatta, son of the king of Magadha. He studied at Takkasilā with his friend Darīmukha, son of the king’s chief priest (purohita). Once, while travelling, they came to Bārāṇasī and there, while resting in the king’s garden, Brahmadatta fell asleep and Darīmukha, who perceived certain omens which foretold kingship for his friend, left him, and having become a Pacceka Buddha, retired to Nandamūlapabbhāra.
Brahmadatta became king of Bārāṇasī and, in his glory, forgot Darīmukha for many, many years. When fifty years had passed Darīmukha visited the king and taught him on renunciation. Later, Brahmadatta also became an ascetic.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s renunciation. J.iii.238‑46.
379Once, the Bodhisatta was a golden swan living on Cittakūṭa with his brother. One day, while flying homewards, they saw Mount Neru and settled down there. All the birds there looked golden by virtue of the lustre of the mountain, and no one paid honour to the Bodhisatta and big brother; so they flew away.
The story was related in reference to a monk of a frontier village. At first he was honoured by the people who, however, later, transferred their favours elsewhere. However, the monk, though very unhappy, contrived to stay on. When the Buddha heard of this, he rebuked the monk for remaining where he was not appreciated. J.iii.246ff.
380Once the Bodhisatta was an ascetic in the Himavā. At that time a being of great merit left Tāvatiṃsa and was born as a girl in the midst of a lotus in a pool near the Bodhisatta’s hermitage. The Bodhisatta, noticing some peculiarity in the growth of the lotus, swam to it and recovered the girl, whom he brought up as his daughter, giving her the name of Āsaṅkā. Sakka, coming to visit him, saw the girl, and, inquiring what he could do for her comfort, he provided her with a crystal palace and divine food and raiment. She spent her time waiting on the Bodhisatta.
The King of Bārāṇasī, having heard of her great beauty, came to the forest with a large following and asked for her hand. The Bodhisatta agreed, on condition that the king would tell him her name. The king spent a whole year trying to guess it and, having failed, was returning home in despair, when the girl, looking out of her window, told him of the creeper Āsāvatī, for whose fruits gods wait for one thousand years. She thus encouraged him to try again. Another year passed and she again raised hopes in the disappointed king by relating to him the story of a crane whose hopes Sakka had fulfilled. At the end of the third year the king, disgusted by his failure, started to go home, but again the girl engaged him in conversation, and in the course of their talk the girl’s name was mentioned. When the king was told that the word had occurred in his talk, he returned to the Bodhisatta and told it to him. The Bodhisatta then gave Āsaṅkā in marriage to the king (J.iii.248‑54). See also the Indriya Jātaka.
381The Bodhisatta was once born as a vulture, Aparannagijjha, and lived with his son, Migālopa, in Gijjhapabbata. Migālopa used to fly much higher than the others in spite of his father’s warning, and he was, one day, dashed to pieces by the Verambha winds.
The story was told in reference to an unruly monk who is identified with Migālopa. J.iii.255f; cp. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 427).
3821. Sirikāḷakaṇṇi Jātaka (No. 192).– Another name for the Sirikāḷakaṇṇi-pañha (q.v.)
2. Sirikāḷakaṇṇi Jātaka (No. 382).– The Bodhisatta was once a merchant of Bārāṇasī, and, because his household observed the rules of piety, he came to be called Suciparivāra (“pure household”). He kept an unused couch and bed for anyone who might come to his house and was purer than himself. One day Kālakaṇṇī, daughter of Virūpakka and Sirī, Dhataraṭṭha’s daughter, went to bathe in the Anotatta, and a quarrel arose as to which should bathe first. As neither the Four Regent Gods nor Sakka were willing to decide, they referred the two goddesses to Suciparivāra. Kālakaṇṇī first appeared before him in blue raiment and jewels, and, on being asked what were her qualities, she told him, and was asked to vanish from his sight. Then came Sirī, diffusing yellow radiance, and the Bodhisatta, discovering her identity and her virtues, welcomed her and offered her his unused couch. Thus was the dispute settled. The bed used by Sirī came to be called Sirisaya, hence the origin of Sirisayana.
Sirī is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā. J.iii. 257‑64.
3831. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 209).– The story of a wise bird who, seeing a farmer trying to catch him, avoided him until the farmer was quite exasperated. In the end the farmer camouflaged himself like a tree, but the bird laughed in his face.
The story was related in reference to a monk, a fellow-celibate of Sāriputta. This monk was very careful about his body, and earned the reputation of a dandy. The bird is identified with the monk (J.ii.161f). This story bears some resemblance to the second Sakuntaka Jātaka in the Mahāvastu, particularly to the latter part of it. Mtu.ii.250. v.l. Kakkara Jātaka.
2. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 383).– The story of a cat who tried to deceive a cock — with the idea of eating him — by offering to become his wife. Her efforts failed. The cock was the Bodhisatta.
The story was told to a monk who was tempted by the sight of a woman (J.iii.265f).
This Jātaka is illustrated in the Bharhut Stūpa. Cunningham: Pl.xlvii.5.
3. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 448).– The Bodhisatta was once the chief of a large flock of fowls. A falcon, by means of engaging speech, tried to become friendly with him in order to eat him, but his attempts failed. There could be no friendship between fowl and falcon, said the Bodhisatta. The story was related in reference to Dedavatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. v.l. Kukkuha. J.iv.55ff
3841. Dhammaddhaja Jātaka (No. 220).– The Bodhisatta was once born as Dhammaddhaja, chaplain to Yasapāni, king of Bārāṇasī. One day the king’s captain, Kālaka, who was wont to take bribes, gave a wrong decision in a case, and the Bodhisatta, being appealed to, reheard the case and decided in the plaintiff’s favour. The people applauded greatly and the king made him judge. However, Kālaka, wishing for an excuse to put Dhammaddhaja to death, persuaded the king that he was getting too popular, and the king gave him various impossible tasks. Dhammaddhaja, with the help of Sakka, performed them all. One day the king ordered him to find a park-keeper with four virtues, and once again, with the aid of Sakka, the Bodhisatta discovered Chattapāṇi, the king’s barber. On being questioned, Chattapāṇi told the king that he was free from envy, drank no wine, had no strong desires, never gave way to anger; he then related stories of his past lives, the experiences of which had made him renounce these evils. (For details see Chattapāṇi). The king, at length, discovered Kālaka’s perfidy and had him put to death.
The Jātaka was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with Kālaka and Sāriputta with Chattapāṇi. J.ii.186‑96.
The Bodhisatta was once born as a deer named Nandiya and looked after his parents. The king of Kosala was very fond of hunting, and his subjects, that they might be left in peace, planned to drive deer from the forest into a closed park where the king might hunt. Nandiya, seeing the men come, left his parents in the thicket and joined the deer who were being driven into the park so that his parents might not be seen. The deer agreed each to take his turn in being killed by the king. The Bodhisatta stayed on even in spite of a message brought by a Brahmin from his parents — though he could have escaped. However, he wished to show his gratitude to the king who had supplied the deer with food and drink. When his turn came to be killed, he appeared fearlessly before the king, and by the power of his virtue the king’s bow refused to shoot. The king thereupon realised Nandiya’s goodness and granted him a boon. Nandiya asked for security for all living beings, and established the king in the path of virtue.
The story was related in reference to a monk who was blamed for looking after his parents. However, the Buddha praised him.
The king of the story was Ānanda, and the Brahmin who brought the message was Sāriputta. J.iii.270ff.
386Once Senaka, king of Bārāṇasī, saved a Nāga-king from being beaten to death by village lads, and the Nāga in gratitude gave the king many gifts, including a Nāga maiden to minister to him, and a charm by which he might trace her if ever she went out of his sight. One day the king went with her to the park, and there Senaka found her making love to a water-snake and struck her with a bamboo. She went to the Nāga-world and complained that she had been ill-treated. The Nāga-king sent four attendants to kill Senaka, but they, overhearing the king relating the story to his queen, reported the matter to the Nāga-king.
The latter confessed his error to Senaka, and in order to make amends taught him a charm that gave him the knowledge of all sounds. Senaka was told that if he taught anyone else the charm he would perish in flames. Senaka’s queen discovered his possession of the charm, and did not cease to beg him to teach it to her, even though she knew that by so doing he would incur death. Unable to resist her, Senaka went with his queen to the park to teach her the charm and enter the flames.
Sakka’s throne was heated, and transforming himself and his wife into goats they waited for the king, and on the approach of his chariot began to make love. The steeds in the chariot were shocked and upbraided the goats for their stupidity, but the goats replied that the steeds were stupid to let themselves be fastened to a chariot which carried so stupid a king as Senaka. The king, hearing their conversation, alighted from the chariot and, sending the queen on, asked of Sakka how he could evade his promise. Sakka suggested that the queen be told that she would receive one hundred lashes as part of her initiation. The queen agreed to this, but, when the flogging started, wished to change her mind, but the king, remembering her selfishness, caused the flogging to be carried out.
The story was related concerning a monk who was tempted by his former wife. Senaka was identified with the monk; Sāriputta was the chief steed and Sakka the Bodhisatta (J.iii.275ff).
One of the verses in the Jātaka occurs also in the Mahāsutasoma Jātaka. J.v.498.
387The Bodhisatta was once a very clever smith of Kāsi, but was very poor. The principal royal smith had a beautiful daughter, and the Bodhisatta, wishing to win her, made a delicate needle that could pierce dice and float on water, and for this needle he made seven sheaths. He then went to the village of the head smith, stood outside his house, and sang the praises of his needle. The smith’s daughter, who was fanning her father, spoke to the Bodhisatta and asked him to go elsewhere, as no one in that village would want needles. The Bodhisatta answered that his were no ordinary needles, and the head smith asked him to show them. The Bodhisatta suggested that all the smiths be summoned, and in their presence he gave the needle-tube to the head smith. He thought that it was the needle itself, for he could find no end or tip. The tube was handed back to the Bodhisatta, who took out the first sheath. In this way the seven sheaths were removed, and when the needle was at last revealed he made the needle pierce the anvil and lie on the surface of a vessel of water. The whole assembly was filled with envy and admiration, and the head smith gave his daughter to the Bodhisatta.
The story was related in the same circumstances as the Umaṅga Jātaka(q.v). The smith’s daughter is identified with Rāhulamātā. J.iii.281‑6.
388The Bodhisatta was once born as a pig and had a brother. They were adopted by an old woman of a village near Bārāṇasī and were called Mahātuṇḍila and Cūḷatuṇḍila.
The woman loved them like her own children and refused to sell them, but, one day, some lewd men made her drunk and she agreed to sell Cūḷatuṇḍila. When Cūḷatuṇḍila discovered this, he ran to his brother, but the latter taught him how it was the fate of pigs to be slaughtered for their flesh; he should, therefore, meet his death bravely. All Bārāṇasī heard the Bodhisatta’s teaching, and flocked to the spot. The king adopted the pigs as his sons and Mahātuṇḍila was appointed to the seat of judgment. On the king’s death, he wrote a book of law for the guidance of future generations.
The story was related in reference to a monk who was in constant terror of the thought of death. The monk was identified with Cūḷatuṇḍila (J.iii.286ff).
It is said (DhA.i.83) that the lewd men were identical with the Bhaddavaggiyā. Having heard Mahātuṇḍila teach the five precepts, they observed them for sixty thousand years, hence their attainment of Arahantship as in their last birth.
Mahātuṇḍila’s teaching is referred to as the Tuṇḍilovāda.
Turūbrahma Sutta
At Sāvatthi. On one occasion the monk Kokālika was grievously ill. Then when the night was far advanced the Brahma Turū approached Kokālika, illuminating the entire Jeta grove. Then he said to Kokālika, “Repose confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika, they are well-behaved.
Then Kokālika said to the Brahma Turū, “Who are you?”
Then Turū said, “I am Turū the solitary Brahma.”
Then Kokālika replied, “But didn’t the Blessed One declare you to be a Non-returner, so why have you come here? See how far you have transgressed!”
Then the Brahma Turū says in verse:
“When a person takes birth an axe is in his mouth with which a fool cuts himself by uttering defamatory speech. He who praises the blameworthy, or blames the praiseworthy, casts an unlucky dice. A throw of the dice that causes loss of all one’s wealth, even becoming a slave, is trifling compared to the loss of harbouring hatred against the fortunate ones. The slanderer of Noble Ones is condemned to hell for many aeons.” S.i.149.
389The Bodhisatta was a brahmin farmer of Sālindiya. On the way to his fields he passed a pond and grew friendly with a golden crab living in the pond. A she-crow longed to eat the farmer’s eyes, and persuaded her husband to induce a snake to bite the farmer. This he did, and, overcome with the poison, the farmer fell near the pool. Attracted by the noise, the crab emerged, and, seeing the crow about to peck out the farmer’s eyes, caught the crow with his claws. When the snake came to the rescue of the crow, the crab fastened on him too. The crab made the snake suck the poison from the farmer’s body, and, when he stood up, the crab crushed the necks of both the snake and the crow and killed them.
The story was told in reference to Ānanda’s attempt to save the Buddha from the elephant (Dhanapāla) sent by Devadatta to kill him, by standing between the elephant and the Buddha.
Māra was the serpent, Devadatta the crow, and Ānanda, the crab. Ciñcamāṇavikā was the female crow. J.iii.293‑8.
390The Bodhisatta was once born in a very wealthy family, and he built an alms hall and gave away generously. He married, and, on the birth of a son, he entrusted wife and child to his younger brother and became an ascetic. When the boy began to grow up, the brother drowned him in the river lest he should claim half the estate. The Bodhisatta saw this with his divine-eye and called on his brother, to whom he pointed out the folly of covetousness — “You are like the bird, Mayhaka, who sits on the pipal tree and keeps on crying ’Mine, mine,’ while the other birds eat the fruit.”
The story was told in reference to a wealthy man of Sāvatthi, a stranger who settled down there. He neither enjoyed his wealth nor gave it to others, living in poverty, eating rice dust and sour gruel, and travelling in a broken down chariot with a parasol of leaves. He died without issue and his money, passed to the king. When the king told the Buddha of this, the Buddha explained to him that the miser had, in a previous birth, met the Pacceka Buddha Tagarasikhī begging for alms and had sent word to his wife to give the food prepared for himself. This the wife gladly did. However, the man saw Tagarasikhī with his bowl full of sweet foods and repented of his generosity. Therefore, in this birth, though possessing much wealth, he never enjoyed it. He was childless because he was the very man who had drowned the Bodhisatta’s son. J.iii.299‑303.
391v.l. Dhajavihetha Jātaka.– A wizard was wont to come at midnight in order to corrupt the queen of Bārāṇasī. She complained to the king and, at his request, she set the mark on her hand with vermilion on his back. By day the man was an ascetic, and when he found that he was discovered he fled through the air. The king thereupon suspected all ascetics and ordered them all to leave the kingdom. The king became a heretic. The Bodhisatta who was born as Sakka, seeing all this, he came to Bārāṇasī with an old Pacceka Buddha and stood close to the palace, showing him great reverence. When the king came out Sakka revealed his identity, telling him that even the ruler of the gods honoured pious men. The king saw his error and mended his ways.
The origin of the story is given in the Mahākaṇha Jātaka. The king is identified with Ānanda. J.iii.303‑7. More or less the same story is given at greater length and with several variations in detail in both the Cūḷahaṃsa and the Mahāhaṃsa Jātaka.
Vijjā Sutta
1. Vijjā Sutta.– A certain monk asks the Blessed One about the meaning of knowledge (vijjā). The Buddha replies that the well-instructed noble disciple understand form, the arising of form, the cessation of form, and the way leading to the cessation of form … feeling … perception … mental formations … consciousness. S.iii.163.
2. Vijjā Sutta.– A certain monk asks the Blessed One about the meaning of knowledge (vijjā). The Buddha replied that it means knowledge of the four noble truths. S.v.429.
3. Vijjā Sutta.– Ten qualities, the possession of which makes a man’s accomplishment complete in every detail. A.v.12f.
4. Vijjā Sutta.– Just as ignorance (avijjā) is in the forefront of all evil, so is knowledge (vijjā) in the forefront of all good. A.v.214.
392v.l. Bhisapuppha Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was born once as an ascetic, and one day a goddess, having seen him smell a lotus in bloom, upbraided him, telling him he was a thief to smell a lotus which did not belong to him. Nearby was a man digging up lotus plants for their fibres, but to him the goddess said nothing. When questioned, her answer was that in a man like the Bodhisatta, seeking for purity, a sin even as large as a hair tip showed like a dark, cloud in the sky. The Bodhisatta, greatly impressed, thanked her.
The goddess is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was upbraided by a deity in a forest tract in Kosala for smelling a lotus. In great agitation, he went and consulted the Buddha, who told him the above story. J.iv.307ff.
393Once seven brothers of a Kāsi village renounced the world and lived as ascetics in Majjhārañña (s.v. Mejjha), but they were given up to various amusements. The Bodhisatta, who was Sakka, saw this, and, assuming the form of a parrot, visited them and sang the praises of the ascetic life. They expressed their joy at being thus praised, but the parrot went on to make them understand that their lives were useless; they were mere refuse eaters and not ascetics.
The story was related in reference to the monks mentioned in the Pāsādakampana Sutta (q.v.) The monks are identified with the seven ascetics. J.iii.310f.
3941. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (No. 35).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a quail, and before he was old enough to fly, fire broke out in the forest wherein his nest was. Seeing no means of escape, he made an Act of Truth (sacca-kiriyā), calling to mind the holiness of the Buddhas and their doctrines. The fire retreated to a distance of sixteen lengths and then extinguished itself. The story was related in reference to a fire which broke out in the jungle when the Buddha was travelling in Magadha with a large company of monks. Some of the monks were frightened and suggested various methods for putting out the fire, while others said they should seek the Buddha’s protection. This they did and the Buddha took them to a certain spot, where he halted. The flames came no nearer than sixteen lengths from where they were standing, and in approaching the spot extinguished themselves. When the monks marvelled at the great power of the Buddha, he told them the story of the past and said that, owing to his Act of Truth as a quail, that spot would never be harmed by flames during the whole of this world-cycle. J.i.212ff; cp. J.i.172.
See the Vaṭṭa Paritta.
2. Vaṭṭa Jātaka (No. 118).– The Bodhisatta was once born as a quail, and was caught by a fowler who sold birds after fattening them. The Bodhisatta, knowing this, starved himself, and when the fowler took him out of the cage to examine his condition the quail flew away and rejoined his companions.
The story was told in reference to a young man of Sāvatthi called Uttaraseṭṭhiputta. He had descended from the Brahma world and had no desire for women. Once, during the Kattikā festival, his friends sent him a gaily decked woman to entice him, but he gave her some money and sent her away. As she came out of his house, a nobleman saw her and took her with him. When she failed to return, her mother complained to the king, and the millionaire’s son (seṭṭhiputta) was told to restore her. On failing to do so, he was taken off for execution. He resolved that if by any means he could escape execution he would become a monk. The girl noticed the crowd following the young man, and on learning the reason she revealed her identity and he was set free. He, thereupon, joined the Order and soon after became an Arahant. J.i.432ff.
3. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka (No. 394).– The Bodhisatta was once a forest quail living on rough grass and seeds. A greedy crow of Bārāṇasī, who was in the forest, saw the quail and thought that the good condition of his body was due to rich food. The quail, seeing the crow, talked to him, and then the crow discovered that the quail had a beautiful body not because he ate rich food, but because he had contentment of mind and freedom from fear.
The story was related in reference to a greedy monk who is identified with the crow. J.iii.312f.
4. Vaṭṭaka Jātaka.– See also the Sammodamāna Jātaka, which is evidently also referred to as the Vaṭṭaka Jātaka, e.g., J.v.414; DhA.i.46; SNA.ii.358.
395v.l. Kāka Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a pigeon and lived in a net basket in the kitchen of a Benares merchant. A greedy crow, becoming intimate with him, came to live there. The cook discovered the crow trying to steal some food, and, pulling out his feathers, sprinkled him with flour, hung a chowrie round his neck and flung him into the basket.
The story closely resembles those of the Kapota Jātaka and the Lola Jātaka (q.v.), and is related in reference to a greedy monk (J.iii.314-16; see also Cunningham: Bharhut Stūpa, xlv. Pl.7).
The Kapota Jātaka (J.i.241) makes reference to a Kāka Jātaka of the Navanipāta. There is no such story in the Ninth Book; perhaps it is a wrong reading for the Cakkavāka Jātaka (No. 434), where the story is also related with reference to a greedy monk.
396Contains several parables that the Bodhisatta, as counsellor to Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, employed for the king’s instruction. Like the peak of a roof that falls unless tightly held by the rafters, is a king who must be supported by his subjects who have been won over by his righteousness. As a citron must be eaten without its peel, so must taxes be gathered without violence. Like the lotus, unstained by the water in which it grows, is the virtuous man untainted by the world.
The king is identified with Ānanda (J.iii.317ff). The occasion for the story is given in the Tesakuṇa Jātaka.
397The Bodhisatta was once a lion and had a son called Manoja. One day Manoja, in spite of his father’s warnings, made friends with a jackal called Giriya. Acting on Giriya’s suggestion, Manoja went in search of horse flesh and attacked the king’s horses, The king engaged the services of an archer, who shot Manoja as he was making off with a horse. Manoja managed to reach his den, but there he fell down dead (J.iii.321ff).
The circumstances in which the story was related are similar to those of the Mahilāmukha Jātaka (q.v.)
398The Bodhisatta was once a poor householder, named Sutana, and supported his parents. One day the king of Bārāṇasī went hunting, and, after chasing a deer, killed it, and was returning with the carcase when he passed under a tree belonging to the yakkha Maghādeva, who, by the power conferred on him by Vessavaṇa, claimed him as his food. The king was set free on condition that he sent one man daily to the yakkha for food. As time went on, no one could be found to take rice to the yakkha, because all knew what awaited them. Then the king offered one thousand, and the Bodhisatta, for the sake of his parents and against his mother’s wishes, consented to go. Before going he obtained from the king his slippers, his umbrella, his sword, and his golden bowl filled with rice. Sutana then approached the yakkha’s tree, and, with the point of his sword, pushed the bowl of rice to him. The yakkha then started talking to Sutana and was very pleased with him. Sutana exhorted him to give up his evil ways, and returned to Bārāṇasī with the yakkha, who was given a settlement at the city gate and provided with rich food.
For the introductory story see the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka. The yakkha is identified with Aṅgulimāla and the king with Ānanda. J.iii.324f.
3991. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 164).– Once the Bodhisatta was born among the vultures on Gijjhakūṭa. On one occasion there was a great storm of wind and rain, and the vultures were forced to seek shelter in a ditch outside Bārāṇasī. A merchant, seeing them, provided them with a warm fire and food. When the weather cleared, the vultures returned to their haunts, and decided to give the merchant whatever finery and jewellery they might find in their wanderings. These they dropped in the merchant’s garden. The king, hearing of their depredations, set traps and caught a vulture, who confessed the truth, which was corroborated by the merchant. The vulture was set free and the goods were returned to their owners.
Ānanda was the king, and Sāriputta the merchant.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was charged with having supported his poor parents. The Buddha praised the man’s action, saying that such gratitude was an excellent quality. J.ii.50f; see also the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka.
2. Mātuposakagijjha Jātaka (No. 399).– Once the Bodhisatta was a vulture, and supported his blind parents who lived in a cave. One day, being caught in a trap, he was heard by a hunter lamenting for his parents; the hunter set him free.
The story was told in reference to a monk who supported his mother. Channa was the hunter. J.iii.330f.
3. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 427).– Once the Bodhisatta was a vulture in Gijjhakūṭa. His son, Supatta, was king of the vultures; he was very strong and supported his parents. One day, against the advice of his father, he flew in the upper air and was dashed to death by the Verambhā-wind.
The story was related in reference to a disobedient monk of good family, who objected to being instructed in his duties (J.iii.483f; cf. the Migalopa Jātaka; see also the Dubbaca and the Indasamāṇagotta Jātaka).
The Catudvāra Jātaka (J.iv.1ff) was related in reference to the same monk.
400There was once a jackal called Māyāvī. His wife had a longing to eat fresh fish, and while he was searching for it he saw two otters, Anutīracārī and Gambhīracārī, disputing as to the division of a red fish which they had caught between them. They appealed to Māyāvī to arbitrate, and he gave one the head, the other the tail, while he kept the middle portion for himself!
The story was related in reference to Upananda, who is identified with the jackal. Two old monks had received as a gift two coarse cloaks and one fine blanket, and they appealed to him to divide the gifts. He gave them each a cloak and kept the blanket for himself. J.iii.332ff; the story is quoted at DhA.iii.139ff.
401v.l. Dasaṇṇaka Jātaka.– Once the Bodhisatta was born as Senaka, a brahmin, counsellor to King Maddava of Bārāṇasī. Maddava, seeing that his chaplain’s son was yearning for his chief queen, gave her to him for a week. However, at the end of the week the queen ran away with the youth and the king became ill with longing for her. Senaka thereupon arranged for a festival, in the course of which the king was shown a man swallowing a sword. The king then asked his counsellors, Āyura, Pukkusa, and Senaka, if anything could be harder to do than that. They, in turn, replied that to promise a gift, to make it, and having made it, not to regret it, these acts were, in increasing degrees, far harder than swallowing a sword made in Paṇṇaka. The king, grasping the purport of their answers, regained his self-composure.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was tempted by his former wife.
The king was identified with the monk, Āyura with Mahā-Moggallāna, and Pukkusa with Sāriputta (J.iii.336‑41).
402The Bodhisatta was once Senaka, counsellor to Janaka, king of Bārāṇasī. He taught the Dhamma once a fortnight, on fast days, and large numbers of people, including the king, went to hear him.
An old brahmin, begging for alms, was given one thousand pieces. He gave these to another brahmin to take care of, but the latter spent them, and when the owner came to ask for them, he gave his young daughter as wife, instead of the pieces. This girl had a lover, and, in order to be able to see him, she asked her husband to go begging for a maid to help her in the house. She filled a bag of provisions for the journey. On his way home, having earned seven hundred pieces, the brahmin opened his bag, and after having eaten some of the food, went to a stream to drink, leaving the bag open. A snake crept into the bag and lay there. A tree sprite, thinking to warn the brahmin, said, “If you stop on the way you will die, if you return home your wife will die,” and then disappeared. Much alarmed, the brahmin went towards Bārāṇasī, weeping along the way, and, as it was the fast day, people going to hear Senaka, directed the brahmin to him. Senaka, hearing the brahmin’s story, guessed the truth, and had the bag opened in front of the people. The snake crept out and was seized. To show his gratitude, the brahmin gave Senaka his seven hundred pieces, but Senaka gave them back with another three hundred, warning the brahmin not to take the money home. He buried the money under a tree, but could not keep the secret from his wife. She told her lover, and the money was stolen. The brahmin again sought Senaka, who told him of a plan for discovering the lover, and when he was found, Senaka sent for him and made him confess his guilt.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s wisdom. Ānanda was the brahmin and Sāriputta the tree sprite (J.iii.341‑51). The story is often referred to as exemplifying the Buddha’s practice of the perfection of wisdom (paññā-pāramī). e.g., J.i.46; BuA.50f.
403The story of Atthisena (q.v.) Some monks in Āḷavī were begging everywhere for materials and aid to build houses for themselves. People were annoyed by their solicitations and avoided them. When Mahā-Kassapa came to Āḷavī people ran away from him thinking he too was one of the monks. On enquiry he learnt the reason and told the Buddha, who was then at the Aggāḷava-cetiya. The Buddha rebuked the monks, saying that formerly samaṇas and recluses, even though offered their choice by kings, never asked for alms, holding that begging from others was neither agreeable nor pleasant. The Maṇikaṇṭha Jātaka (J.ii.282ff) was also taught on the same occasion.
4041. Kapi Jātaka (No. 250).– Once when the Bodhisatta was living the ascetic life in the Himavā, his wife having died, a monkey came in the rainy weather to the hermitage clad in an anchorite’s robe which he had found in the forest. The Bodhisatta recognised the monkey and drove him away.
The story was told in reference to a hypocritical brother. J.ii.268ff
2. Kapi Jātaka (No. 404).– Once the Bodhisatta and Devadatta were both born as monkeys. One day a mischievous monkey took his seat on the arch which was over the gateway to the park and, when the king’s chaplain passed under the arch, he let excrement fall on his head, and, on the chaplain looking up, even into his mouth. The chaplain swore vengeance on the monkeys, and the Bodhisatta, hearing of it, counselled them to seek residence elsewhere. His advice was followed by all except the monkey, who was Devadatta, and a few of his followers. Sometime after, the king’s elephants were burnt through a fire breaking out in their stalls. A goat had eaten some rice put out to dry and was beaten with a torch; his hair caught fire and the fire spread to the stalls. The chaplain, seizing his opportunity, told the elephant-doctors that the best remedy for burns was monkey-fat, and five hundred monkeys in the royal gardens were slain by archers for the sake of their fat.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta being swallowed up by the earth. J.iii.355f; cp. Kāka Jātaka.
3. Kapi Jātaka.– See the Mahākapi Jātaka.
4051. Baka Jātaka (No. 38).– A crane, living near a pond, where the water dried up in summer, offered to carry the fish to a distant pond where water was plentiful. The fish, very suspicious, sent one of their numbers with the crane to verify his words, and when he returned with a favourable report, they accepted the crane’s offer. One by one the fish were carried off and eaten by the crane, until only a crab was left. The wily crab agreed to go too, but he clung round the crane’s neck while being carried along and cut off his head with his pincers when he discovered the crane’s intentions.
The story was told in reference to a monk of Jetavana who was a clever robe maker. He could make robes of rags, which he dyed so skilfully that they looked new and costly. Visiting monks, on seeing them, would exchange their new robes for his old ones and not discover their folly until later. A similar robe maker lived in a hamlet at some distance from Jetavana, who, hearing of the Jetavana monk succeeded in cheating him. The monk was the crane and the hamlet dweller the crab of the story. J.i.220ff.
2. Baka Jātaka (No. 236).– The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a large shoal of fish. A crane, who wished to eat them, stood on the bank of the pond with outstretched wings, gazing vacantly into space. The fish were impressed by his pious demeanour, but were warned against him by the Bodhisatta.
The story was told in reference to a hypocrite who is identified with the crane. J.ii.233f.
3. Baka Jātaka (No. 405) v.l. Bakabrahma Jātaka.– Relates the story of the Buddha’s visit to Baka Brahma (q.v.) and the incidents mentioned regarding Baka’s previous birth as Kesava. J.iii.358ff.
406The Bodhisatta was once king of Gandhāra, and he and the king of Videha became friends, though they never saw each other. One day the Gandhāra king saw an eclipse of the moon and, being stirred in his mind, left his kingdom and became an ascetic in Himavā.
The Videha king, hearing of this, did likewise. They met in Himavā, but failed to recognise each other until, seeing another eclipse of the moon, they exchanged reminiscences. They went out begging together, and the Videha ascetic, having once been given a large quantity of salt, stored up some of it for a day when they got no salt. The Gandhāra ascetic, finding this out, blamed his friend for his greediness, and the latter begged his forgiveness.
The Videha ascetic is identified with Ānanda. The story was told in reference to the occasion of the passing of the rule forbidding monks to store medicine for more than seven days. J.iii.363ff; the introductory story is given in Vin.i.206ff; see also Piliṇḍivaccha; the Jātaka story is given in MA.i.534f.
4071. Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 407).– The Bodhisatta was once a monkey, leader of eighty thousand. In the grove where they lived was a mango tree (some say a banyan) growing on a river bank bearing fruit of divine flavour, and the monkeys were always careful to let no fruit drop into the river. However, one day a fruit, which bad been hidden by an ants’ nest, fell into the water, and was picked up at Bārāṇasī, where the king was bathing. The king tasted it, and being seized with a desire to eat more, had many rafts made, and ascended the river with a company of foresters. They found the tree, and the king, having eaten his fill, lay down at the foot. At midnight the Bodhisatta came with his retinue and started eating the mangoes. The king was disturbed, and gave orders to his archers that the wood should be surrounded and all the monkeys shot at daybreak. However, the Bodhisatta was a real leader; he ascended a straight-growing branch and, with one leap, reached the river bank. He then marked the distance, and having cut off a bamboo shoot of the required length, fastened one end to a tree on the bank and the other end round his waist. On leaping back, he found he had not allowed for the length which went round his waist, but grasping a branch firmly with both hands, he signalled to his followers to cross the bridge so formed. The eighty thousand monkeys thus escaped; but the monkey who was Devadatta, coming last, saw a chance of injuring the Bodhisatta, and taking a spring into the air, fell on the Bodhisatta’s back, breaking it, There the Bodhisatta hung in agony, and the king who had seen all this caused him to be brought down and covered with a yellow robe and ministered to. However, nothing could be done, and the Bodhisatta died after having admonished the king. A funeral pyre was made with one hundred wagon loads of timber, and the dead monkey was paid all the honours due to a king. A shrine was built on the spot where the cremation took place, while the skull was inlaid with gold and taken to Bārāṇasī, where a great feast was held in its honour for seven days. Afterwards it was enshrined and offerings were made to it.
The story was told concerning good works towards one’s relations, as narrated in the introduction to the Bhaddasāla Jātaka. Ānanda is identified with the king. J.iii.369‑75; cf. Jātakamālā, No.27; the story is sculptured in the stūpa of Bharhut, Cunningham, pl.iii.4.
The Jātaka is also called the Rājovāda Jātaka. It is probably this story which is said to have greatly impressed Iḷanāga when he heard it from the Thera Mahāpaduma, who lived in Tulādhāra. Mhv.v.30.
2. Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 516).– The Bodhisatta was once a monkey, and one day, in the forest, he came across a man who had fallen into a pit while looking for his oxen and had lain there starving for ten days. The Bodhisatta pulled him out and then lay down to sleep. However, the man, very hungry, and wishing to eat him, struck his head with a stone, grievously wounding him. The monkey at once climbed a tree in order to escape, but realising that the man would be unable to find his way out of the forest, he jumped from tree to tree (in spite of his intense pain) and showed him the way out. The man became a leper, and wandered about for seven years until he came to the Migācira Park in Bārāṇasī and told his story to the king. At the end of his recital the earth opened and he was swallowed up in Avīci.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha by hurling a stone upon him. The leper was Devadatta. J.v.67‑74; cf. Jātakamālā, No. 24.
The story is also called the Vevatiyakapi Jātaka.
408The Bodhisatta was a potter in Bārāṇasī, and four Pacceka Buddhas — Karaṇḍaka, Naggaji, Nimi and Dummukha — came to his house from Nandamūlapabbhāra. He welcomed them and asked them the stories of their renunciation. Having heard them, both he and his wife wished to leave the world, but his wife, deceiving him, went before him, leaving him to look after their son and daughter. When the children were old enough he, too, became an ascetic, and though he met his wife later he refused to have anything to do with her.
The son was Rāhula and the daughter Uppalavaṇṇā, the wife being Rāhulamātā.
The story was related to five hundred monks who had lustful thoughts at midnight. The Buddha read their thoughts and visited them with Ānanda (J.iii.375ff). See also the Pānīya Jātaka.
Kumbhaṇḍa
1. Kumbhaṇḍa.– A Nigaṇṭha for whom Paṇḍukābhaya built a hermitage, named after him, near the Gāmaṇi Tank. Mhv.x.99.
2. Kumbhaṇḍa.– A class of spirits mentioned with Yakkhā, Asurā, and Nāgā. They live in the South and Virūḷha is their king (D.ii.257; D.iii.198). In the Vidhurapaṇḍita Jātaka (J.vi.272), Kumbhīra (q.v.) is mentioned as one of their chiefs. They had huge stomachs, and their genital organs were as big as pots, hence their name. DA.iii.964.
Kumbhaṇḍa Sutta.– Mahā-Moggallāna reports seeing a hungry ghost with testicles as big as pots, while descending from Vultures’ Peak. The Buddha confirms it, and says that the ghost was formerly a corrupt judge in Rājagaha. S.ii.258.
409Once the Bodhisatta was born as minister to Daḷhadhamma, king of Bārāṇasī. The king possessed a she-elephant who was of great service to him and whom he greatly honoured.
When she grew old, however, all her honours were withdrawn and she was given to the king’s potter to drag his cow-dung cart. One day she saw the Bodhisatta and fell at his feet. He interceded with the king on her behalf and all her honours were restored.
The story was told in reference to Udena’s she-elephant Bhaddavatikā (q.v.) In her old age the king neglected her, but one day she complained to the Buddha, who admonished the king on the duty of gratitude to those who had once been of great service. The elephant was the same in both stories. J.iii.384ff.
4101. Somadatta Jātaka (No. 211).– The story of the Bodhisatta when he was born as the son of Aggidatta. For details see Aggidatta (J.ii.164‑7). The story was related in reference to Lāḷudāyī who is identified with Aggidatta, and is repeated in the Dhammapada Commentary. DhA.iii.123ff.
2. Somadatta Jātaka (No. 410).– A wealthy brahmin of Bārāṇasī once left the world and became an ascetic in the Himavā, where he adopted an elephant calf, calling it Somadatta. One day the elephant ate too much and fell ill. The brahmin went in search of wild fruit for it, but before he could return, the animal was dead. The ascetic was filled with grief. Sakka (the Bodhisatta) saw this and, appearing before him, reminded him that it was not for this that he had left wife, wealth and children.
The story was related in reference to a monk who had ordained a novice, and, when the latter died, he was full of grief. Somadatta is identified with the novice and the brahmin with the monk. J.iii.388‑91.
4111. Susīma Jātaka (No. 163).– Susīma was king of Bārāṇasī, and the Bodhisatta was his chaplain’s son. The chaplain had been master of ceremonies in the king’s elephant festival, and, as a result, had amassed great wealth. He died when his son was sixteen. Soon after, another elephant festival came round, and other brahmins obtained the king’s consent to be in charge of the ceremonies on the plea that the chaplain’s son was too young. When but four days remained before the festival, the Bodhisatta found his mother weeping. She explained that for seven successive generations their family had managed the elephant festival and that she felt the change deeply. The Bodhisatta discovered that a teacher expert in elephant lore lived in Takkasilā, two thousand leagues away. He comforted his mother and proceeded to Takkasilā, reaching it in a single day. There he paid his fee of one thousand pieces to the teacher and explained the urgency of his mission. In one night the teacher taught him the three Vedas and the elephant lore, and the pupil could even excel his teacher in knowledge. The next morning he left early for Bārāṇasī and reached it in one day.
On the day of the festival the Bodhisatta went in all his array before the king, and protested against the alienation of his rights. He challenged anyone to show his superiority over him in elephant lore, and nobody could be found to do so. The king then appointed him to conduct the ceremonies.
The story was related in reference to an attempt on the part of the heretics to prevent the people of Sāvatthi from giving alms to the Buddha. All the people of the city made a collection to hold an almsgiving, but they were divided in their allegiance, some wishing to entertain the Buddha, others favouring heretical teachers. A vote was passed, and the majority were found to be in favour of the Buddha. For a whole week alms were given on a lavish scale, and, at the end of the week, the Buddha pronounced a benediction.
Ānanda is identified with Susīma, Sāriputta with the teacher, Mahāmāyā with the Bodhisatta’s mother, and Suddhodana with his father. J.ii.45‑50.
2. Susīma Jātaka (No. 411).– The Bodhisatta was born as son of the chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī and was called Susīma. The king’s son, born on the same day, was called Brahmadatta. Together they grew up, and then studied under the same teacher in Takkasilā. Later Brahmadatta became king and Susīma his chaplain. One day, when Susīma was taking part in a procession with the king, the queen mother saw him and fell desperately in love with him. The king, discovering this, made Susīma king in his place and the queen mother Susīma’s queen. However, Susīma soon tired of royalty, and after establishing Brahmadatta once more on the throne, returned to the Himavā in spite of his wife’s protests. There he became an ascetic.
The story was told in reference to the Buddha’s Renunciation. Ānanda is identified with Brahmadatta and the queen mother with Rāhulamātā. J.iii.391‑7.
412A Garuḷa-king seized a Nāga-king, and when the Nāga coiled himself round a banyan-tree the Garuḷa uprooted the banyan and took it with him. He ate the Nāga’s fat seated on a koṭisimbali-tree, and threw away the banyan and the Nāga’s carcase. A bird who was in the banyan-tree left it and took up his abode in the simbali. The Bodhisatta, who was a tree-sprite in the simbali, trembled at the sight of the tiny bird, because the sprite knew that from the bird’s droppings huge trees would spring up and kill the simbali. The Garuḷa, seeing the sprite trembling, asked the reason, and on learning it frightened the bird away. It is right to distrust where distrust is proper.
The story was related to five hundred monks who were in danger of being overcome by sinful desires (J.iii.397ff). Cf. the Palāsa Jātaka.
413Dhanañjaya, king of Indapattana, was wont to neglect his old warriors and to show favour only to newcomers. The result was that he once suffered defeat in a rebellion. On his return from the battle he consulted his chaplain Vidhurapaṇḍita (the Bodhisatta), who told him of a goatherd of yore, called Dhūmakāri. Once, when Dhumakāri was tending his goats, a herd of golden deer came from the Himavā, and he looked after them and neglected his own goats. In the autumn the deer went back to the mountains and he found that his goats had died of starvation.
The story was told to Pasenadi who, like Dhanañjaya, suffered a defeat, and for the same reasons. Pasenadi sought the consolation of the Buddha, who told him this ancient tale.
Dhanañjaya is identified with Ānanda and Dhumakāri with Pasenadi. J.iii.400ff.
414Once, the Bodhisatta was a brahmin who, having studied at Takkasilā, became an ascetic in the Himavā, living only in standing and walking attitudes. One day a tree-sprite appeared before him and asked him a riddle about waking and sleeping, which he solved to her satisfaction.
The story was related in reference to a certain layman who was a Stream-winner (sotāpanna). He was once travelling with a caravan along a forest road. When the caravan halted for the night it was attacked by robbers. However, seeing the layman walking to and fro all night they stopped their attack and reported the matter to their leader. The layman was greatly honoured and, on arriving at Sāvatthi, told the Buddha of it.
The tree-sprite is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā (J.iii.403f).
415Once the Bodhisatta was servant to a rich man in Bārāṇasī, and having received four portions of sour gruel for wages, gave them to four Pacceka Buddhas. After death he was born as heir to the king of Bārāṇasī, and made the daughter of the Kosala king his chief queen. Remembering his previous life, he composed a song about it; the song became very popular, though no one understood its import. The queen, having been promised a boon, chose to know the meaning of the song, and the king, having summoned the people from twelve leagues around, explained the allusions. The queen, too, revealed how she had once been a slave in the court of Ambaṭṭha and had given alms to a holy monk. She is identified with Rāhulamātā.
The story was told in reference to Queen Mallikā; she was a garland-maker’s daughter, and one day gave three portions of sour gruel to the Buddha. That same day she became the chief queen of Pasenadi. J.iii.405ff. Cp. the third story of the Jātakamālā, also Divyāvadāna, p.88, and Kathāsaritsāgara xxvii.79ff.
416The Bodhisatta was once born as the son of the king of Bārāṇasī. He came to understand the speech of animals, and thus learned from a she jackal whom he had offended that a hostile king with whom he would have to fight would march on to the city. His father bore him no love, and sent him to fight this king when he arrived. However, all the citizens followed the prince, and his father, very alarmed, retired into the forest with his queen, his chaplain, and a servant, named Parantapa, and lived in a hut. When the king and the chaplain went for fruit, the queen, though with child by the king, sinned with Parantapa and instigated him to kill the king while on his way to bathe in the river. The chaplain watched this deed but said nothing, and on his return feigned to have been suddenly blinded by a snake’s breath. The queen bore a son, and when he was sixteen, the chaplain told him of what had happened and taught him the use of a sword. Soon after, the boy killed Parantapa and returned with his mother and the chaplain to Bārāṇasī, where the Bodhisatta made him his viceroy.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. Devadatta is identified with the old king. J.iii.415‑21.
417A young man devoted himself, after his father’s death, entirely to his mother, until the latter, much against his will, brought him a wife. The wife plotted to estrange mother and son, and the old woman had to leave the house. The wife, having given birth to a son, went about saying that if the mother-in-law had been with her such a blessing would have been impossible. When the old woman heard of this, she felt that such things could only be said because Truth (Dhamma) was dead and, going into the cemetery, she started to perform a sacrifice in memory of the Truth. Sakka’s throne becoming heated, he came down and, hearing her story, reconciled the old woman with her son and daughter-in-law by means of his great power. In the stanza spoken by Sakka, the old woman is addressed as Kaccāni and Kātiyānī. The scholiast explains that she belonged to the Kaccānagotta.
The story was related to a young man of Sāvatthi who looked after his aged mother until his wife came; then the wife undertook to tend her and for some time did her duties well. Later, she grew jealous of her husband’s love for his mother, and contrived by various means to make the son angry with the old woman. Finally, she asked her husband to choose between herself and his mother. The young man, without hesitation, stood up for his mother, and the wife, realising her folly, mended her ways. J.iii.422‑8.
418Taught at Jetavana. Pasenadi, having heard one night a cry uttered by four inhabitants of hell, sought the advice of the Buddha (The story is given in full in the Lohakumbhi Jātaka; J.iii.43f).
The Buddha tells him of a former king of Bārāṇasī who, when seated on his bed at midnight, heard eight unusual sounds which frightened him until they were shown by the Bodhisatta to be quite natural. J.iii.428‑34.
419Once in Bārāṇasī there lived a courtesan, Sulasā, whose price was one thousand a night. In Bārāṇasī also lived a robber, Sattaka. One day he was taken by the king’s men, and, as he was being led to execution, Sulasā saw him and fell in love with him. She bribed the chief guard to free him and lived with him. After a few months Sattaka, tired of her, and, wishing to kill her, took her to a lonely mountain top, saying that he had made a vow to the deity dwelling there. When Sulasā discovered his real intention, she begged leave to be allowed to pay obeisance to him before her death, and, as she walked round him, she watched her opportunity and pushed him down the precipice, where he was crushed to death.
The story was related in reference to Puññalakkhaṇā, a slave girl of Anāthapiṇḍika’s wife. The girl borrowed a costly jewel belonging to her mistress and went to the pleasure garden. There a thief became friendly with her and planned to kill her. However, she, reading his thoughts, asked him to draw some water for her from a well nearby, and as he did so, she pushed him into the well and threw a stone down on to his head. The characters in the two stories were identical. J.iii.435‑9; cf. the story of Bhaddā-Kuṇḍalakesā and also the Kaṇavera Jātaka.
420The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī and had a park-keeper called Sumaṅgala (10).
A Pacceka Buddha came from Nandamūlapabbhāra and took up his abode in the park. The king, seeing him as he went begging, invited him to the palace, fed him, and urged him to continue to stay in the park. The Pacceka Buddha agreed to do so, and the king told Sumaṅgala to look after him. One day the Pacceka Buddha went away to a village, and, after an absence of some days, returned in the evening. Putting away his bowl and robe, he sat on a stone seat. Sumaṅgala, looking in the park for some meat in order to feed some relations who had suddenly arrived, saw the Pacceka Buddha, and, taking him for a deer, shot him. The Pacceka Buddha revealed his identity and made Sumaṅgala pull out the arrow. Sumaṅgala was full of remorse, but the Pacceka Buddha died. Feeling sure that the king would never forgive him, Sumaṅgala fled with his wife and children. After a year he asked a friend, a minister at court, to discover how the king felt towards him. The man uttered his praises in the king’s presence, but the king remained silent. This was repeated every year, and in the third year, knowing that the king now bore him no ill-will, he returned to the king, who, after hearing from him how the accident had happened, forgave him. When asked why he had remained silent, the king replied that it was wrong for a king to act hastily in his anger.
Sumaṅgala is identified with Ānanda. The story was related in connection with the admonition of a king. J.iii.439‑44
421The Bodhisatta once took service under Suciparivāra of Bārāṇasī, in whose household everyone kept the fast on uposatha-days. The Bodhisatta, not knowing this, went to work as usual on the fast day, but, on discovering that no one else was working and the reason for their abstention, he refused to take any food, and as a result of his fasting died in the night. He was reborn as son of the king of Bārāṇasī, and later became king under the name of Udaya. On meeting Aḍḍhamāsaka (q.v.), Udaya shared the kingdom with him, but one day Aḍḍhamāsaka, discovering that he harboured a desire to kill Udaya, renounced his kingdom and became an ascetic. When Udaya heard of this he uttered a stanza, referring to his own past life, but no one could understand the meaning of it. The queen, anxious to learn the meaning, told the king’s barber Gaṅgamāla how he might win the king’s favour, and when the king offered him a boon, Gaṅgamāla chose to have the stanza explained to him. When he learnt how Udaya had won a kingdom as a result of having kept the fast for half a day, Gaṅgamāla renounced the world and, developing asceticism, became a Pacceka Buddha. Later he visited King Udaya and taught him and his retinue, addressing the king by name. The queen-mother took offence at this and abused Gaṅgamāla, but the king begged him to forgive her. Gaṅgamāla returned to Gandhamādana, though urged by Udaya to stay in the royal park.
Ānanda was Aḍḍhamāsaka, and Rāhulamātā was the queen.
The story was related by the Buddha to some lay-followers to en-courage them in their observance of the Uposatha (J.iii.444ff). Gaṅgamāla is mentioned as an example of a man who realised the evils of craving (taṇhā) and renounced desire, e.g., J.iv.174.
423Once an ascetic named Nārada, younger brother of Asita Devala (Kāḷadevala), became a disciple of the Bodhisatta Jotipāla (also called in the story Sarabhaṅga), and lived in the mountainous country of Arañjara. Near Nārada’s hermitage was a river, on the banks of which courtesans used to sit, tempting men. Nārada saw one of these courtesans, and becoming enamoured of her, forsook his meditations and pined away for lack of food. Kāḷadevala, being aware of this, tried to wean him from his desires. Nārada, however, refused to be comforted, even when his colleagues, Sālissara, Mendissara and Pabbatissara admonished him. In the end Sarabhaṅga himself was summoned and Nārada, having listened to the words of his Master, was persuaded to give up his passion.
The story was told in reference to a backsliding monk. He went about for alms with his teachers and instructors but, being their junior, he received very little attention. Dissatisfied with his food and treatment, he sought his wife of former days. She provided him with every comfort and gradually tempted him with the desire to become a householder again. When the monk’s fellow-celibates discovered his wish, they took him to the Buddha who taught him this Jātaka, showing that in a past life, too, he had been sorely tempted by the same woman. Nārada was identified with the backsliding monk and the courtesan with the wife of his lay-days (J.iii.461‑9).
The Buddha is stated on this occasion to have taught also the Kaṇḍina Jātaka (J.i.153ff), the Rādha Jātaka (J.i.495ff), the Ruhaka Jātaka (J.ii.113ff), the Kaṇavera Jātaka (J.iii.58ff), the Āsaṅka Jātaka (J.iii.248ff) and the Alambusā Jātaka (J.v.152ff).
The Indriya Jātaka is also referred to in the Kāmavilāpa Jātaka (J.ii.443ff), but the connection between the two stories is not clear; perhaps the reference is to another story of the same name.
See also the Sarabhaṅga Jātaka.
424Once the Bodhisatta was born as Bharata, King of Roruva, in the country of Sovīra. He was very righteous and much beloved, and his chief queen, Samuddavijayā, was wise and full of knowledge.
The king, wishing to give alms to Pacceka Buddhas instead of to others far less holy, consulted the queen, and acting on her advice, made proclamation to his people that they should keep the precepts. He himself observed all holy days and gave great gifts in charity. One day he offered flowers to the eastern quarter, and making obeisance, wished that any Pacceka Buddha in that quarter might come to accept his alms. His wish not being fulfilled, he repeated, on the following days, the same ceremony to the other quarters until, on the fourth day, seven Pacceka Buddhas came to him from the north where they lived in Nandamūlapabbhāra. The king and queen fed them for seven days and gave them robes and all the other requisites of an ascetic. The Pacceka Buddhas departed one by one, each expressing his thanks in a stanza and exhorting the king and queen to lead pure lives.
The story was related in reference to Pasenadi’s incomparable alms-giving (asadisadāna), to show that wise men of old also gave gifts to holy men, with discretion (J.iii.469‑74).
This is evidently the story referred to as the Sucira Jātaka in the introduction to the Dasabrāhmaṇa Jātaka (J.iv.360) and again as the Sovīra Jātaka in the introductory story of the Sivi Jātaka (J.iv.401).
425On the untrustworthiness and treacherousness of women. A young merchant, Mahādhana, patronised a courtesan, giving her a thousand pieces daily. One day, having no time to fetch the money, he went empty-handed and was cast out. Thereupon, in disgust, he became an ascetic (J.iii.474ff).
The story is related to a monk who wished to leave the Order on account of a woman.
426Goatherds once occupied an ascetic’s hut, and, on their departure, left behind a she-goat who had strayed away. As she ran to join the others, she saw a panther in the way; she showed great daring and tried to pacify him with soft words, but all in vain, for he devoured her.
The story was related in reference to a she-goat whom Mahā-Moggallāna once saw near his mountain hut. When she, however, saw a panther, she, with great daring, jumped over his body and escaped. J.iii.479f.
4271. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 164).– Once the Bodhisatta was born among the vultures on Gijjhakūṭa. On one occasion there was a great storm of wind and rain, and the vultures were forced to seek shelter in a ditch outside Bārāṇasī. A merchant, seeing them, provided them with a warm fire and food. When the weather cleared, the vultures returned to their haunts, and decided to give the merchant whatever finery and jewellery they might find in their wanderings. These they dropped in the merchant’s garden. The king, hearing of their depredations, set traps and caught a vulture, who confessed the truth, which was corroborated by the merchant. The vulture was set free and the goods were returned to their owners.
Ānanda was the king, and Sāriputta the merchant.
The story was told in reference to a monk who was charged with having supported his poor parents. The Buddha praised the man’s action, saying that such gratitude was an excellent quality. J.ii.50f; see also the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka.
2. Mātuposakagijjha Jātaka (No. 399).– Once the Bodhisatta was a vulture, and supported his blind parents who lived in a cave. One day, being caught in a trap, he was heard by a hunter lamenting for his parents; the hunter set him free.
The story was told in reference to a monk who supported his mother. Channa was the hunter. J.iii.330f.
3. Gijjha Jātaka (No. 427).– Once the Bodhisatta was a vulture in Gijjhakūṭa. His son, Supatta, was king of the vultures; he was very strong and supported his parents. One day, against the advice of his father, he flew in the upper air and was dashed to death by the Verambhā-wind.
The story was related in reference to a disobedient monk of good family, who objected to being instructed in his duties (J.iii.483f; cf. the Migalopa Jātaka; see also the Dubbaca and the Indasamāṇagotta Jātaka).
The Catudvāra Jātaka (J.iv.1ff) was related in reference to the same monk.
428The introductory story relates how the monks of Kosambī quarrelled and brought about great dissension among themselves because one of their number had failed to refill a jar for rinsing in the latrine.¹ When the Buddha found that he could not induce the monks to live in harmony, he related to them the story of Dīghīti, king of Kosala, and when even that failed to produce the desired effect he uttered ten stanzas, standing poised in mid-air, and went away from Kosambī, leaving the monks to their fate.
The Kosambiya Jātaka contains only a small portion of the story of Dīghīti, scarcely more than an allusion to it. The Dīghīti Kosala Jātaka (q.v.) contains further details, but even when taken together, these two do not make the story complete. The full story is related in the Vinaya Piṭaka (Vin.i.342ff).
¹ The original translation is clearly wrong here, as the water jar is used in the latrine for rinsing after defecation, and it should be refilled ready for the next monk to use the latrine. To deliberately fail to do so, e.g. through haste or laziness, it is an offence of wrong-doing, but if one simply forgets through inattention there is no offence.
429The Bodhisatta was once king of the parrots and lived in a fig tree grove in the Himavā. After some time the fruits of the trees on which he lived came to an end, but he still lived on there, eating bark or shoots or whatever else he could find. Sakka’s throne was heated, and Sakka, assuming the form of a goose and accompanied by Sujā, visited the parrot and asked why he did not go elsewhere. The parrot answered that he did not wish to forsake old friends, and Sakka, pleased with this answer, promised him a boon. The parrot asked that the fig tree be made fruitful again, and this Sakka did.
The story was told in reference to a monk who had a pleasant dwelling place near a village, but who found alms difficult to get, the villagers becoming very poor. He became very discontented, but the Buddha asked him not to forsake his dwelling.
The Sakka of the story is identified with Anuruddha (J.iii.490‑4). According to the Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.i.283ff), the story was related to Nigamavāsī Tissa (q.v.) and Sakka is identified with Ānanda.
430The story of the past is the same as that of the Mahāsūva Jātaka (q.v.) It was related in reference to the Buddha’s visit to Verañjā, where, for the three months of the rainy season, he had to live on water and a modicum of the ground flour of roots, because of the evil influence of Māra. J.iii.494‑6; Vibh.iii.1ff
431The Bodhisatta was born in a wealthy brahmin family and was called Harittaca because of his golden colour. When his father died, he left the world and became an ascetic, with great supernatural powers. He went to Bārāṇasī, and was invited by the king to live in the royal park. He accepted the invitation, and lived there for twelve years. The king was then called away to quell a frontier rebellion, and instructed the queen to look after the ascetic. One day, as the Bodhisatta came in late for his meal, the queen rose hastily and her robe of fine cloth fell from her. Harittaca was filled with lust, and, taking her hand and drawing a curtain round them, he lay with her. This then became a daily occurrence and the scandal spread abroad. The ministers wrote to the king, who, however, refused to believe them. When he returned he questioned the queen, who confessed her wrong-doing, but even then the king refused to believe it until Harittaca (or Hārita as he is also called) acknowledged his guilt. The king was full of admiration for his truthfulness and forgave him, but Harittaca, after teaching the king on the misery of sinful desire, once more developed his mystic powers, took leave of the king, and returned to the Himavā.
The story was told in reference to a monk who had grown discontented because of a beautiful woman. J.iii.496‑501.
432Once the queen of a Bārāṇasī king, having sworn a false oath, became a horse-faced yakkha. She served Vessavaṇa for three years and was given leave to eat people within a certain range. One day she caught a rich and handsome brahmin, and, falling in love with him, made him her husband. When she went out she shut him up, lest he should escape. The Bodhisatta was born as their son, and, on learning his father’s story, discovered from the yakkha how far her power extended, and then escaped with his father. The yakkha followed, but they were outside her territory and would not be persuaded to return. She gave her son a charm enabling him to trace the footsteps of any person, even after the lapse of twelve years. On the strength of his charm, the lad entered the service of the king of Bārāṇasī. One day, the king and his chaplain, wishing to test him, stole some treasure, took it away by devious paths, and hid it in a reservoir. The youth recovered it quite easily, tracing their footsteps even in the air. The king wished the names of the thieves to be divulged, but this the boy would not do. However, he related to the king various stories, showing that he knew the real culprits. The king, however, insisted on the thieves being denounced, and when the boy revealed their names, the assembled populace murdered the king and his chaplain and crowned the Bodhisatta as king.
The story was related in reference to a seven year old boy of Sāvatthi who could recognise footsteps. His father put him through a severe test, and then went to the Buddha, where the boy found him. When the Buddha heard the story he revealed that of the past. The father of the story of the past is identified with Mahā-Kassapa. J.iii.501‑14.
433The Bodhisatta was once born as Kassapa, son of the chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. He and the king’s son shared a teacher and became friends. When the prince became king, Kassapa, having no desire for power, left him and became an ascetic. Because of the thick hair on his body, men called him Lomasakassapa. Sakka grew frightened of Kassapa’s power and, wishing to destroy it, appeared before the king at midnight and suggested to him that if he could persuade Kassapa to offer a sacrifice of slain beasts, he should be king over all India. The king, therefore, sent his minister Seyya, to fetch Kassapa to him. When Kassapa heard of the proposal he refused to go, but Sakka appeared again before the king and said that if the king’s daughter, Candavatī, were offered as reward, Kassapa would come. This proposal was agreed to, and Kassapa, tempted by the princess’s beauty, agreed to come. The people gathered at the place of sacrifice and tried to dissuade Kassapa from slaying the animals, but he refused to listen. Many beasts were slain, and as he raised his sword to cut off the head of the royal elephant the latter raised a cry in which all the animals joined. Roused by this uproar, Kassapa remembered his asceticism and was filled with remorse. He admonished the king, and, sitting cross-legged in the air, developed transcendental power, which enabled him to fly through the air.
The story was related to a passion-tossed monk. Seyya is identified with Sāriputta. J.iii.514ff; the story forms one of the dilemmas of the Milindapañha, p.219. There Kassapa is stated to have performed the Vājapeyya sacrifice.
4341. Cakkavāka Jātaka (No. 434).– A greedy crow, dissatisfied with the fish from the Gaṅgā, flew to the Himavā and there, seeing two golden-coloured geese (cakkavāka), asked what they fed on that they should be so beautiful. The geese replied that not food but character made people comely; the crow was too greedy ever to be beautiful.
The story was told in reference to a greedy monk who went from house to house in search of dainty food, frequenting the dwellings of the rich. The monk is identified with the crow. J.iii.520‑4; cf. Kāka Jātaka.
2. Cakkavāka Jātaka (No. 451).– Similar to the above. The reason given for the colour of the crow was that his heart was full of fear and sin and that he had done evil in past lives. The greedy monk always went about looking for invitations. J.iv.70‑2.
435The story is very similar to that of the Cūḷanārada Jātaka (q.v.) The girl tried to seduce the young ascetic when his father was away and take him back with her to the haunts of men, but he told her to go on, saying that he would follow after taking leave of his father. When the latter heard his story and learnt his intention, he exhorted the youth not to be ensnared by thoughts of lust. His son realised his folly and remained in the hermitage. J.iii.524‑6.
436The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic of great psychic power. Near his hut lived an Asura who from time to time listened to his teaching. One day the Asura saw a beautiful woman of Kāsi going with an escort to visit her parents. The Asura swooped down on the party and as soon as the men had fled, took the woman and made her his wife. For her safe protection he put her in a box, which he then swallowed. Some time later the Asura went to bathe, and having taken out the box and let the woman bathe, he allowed her to remain out until he himself had bathed. A son of Vāyu, a magician, was travelling through the air, and the woman, seeing him, invited him to her box and there covered him up. The Asura, all unsuspecting, shut up the box and swallowed it. Then he visited the Bodhisatta who said in greeting, “Welcome to all three of you.” The Asura expressed his surprise, and the Bodhisatta explained the matter to him. The box was produced and the truth of his story proved. The magician went his way and the woman was allowed to go hers.
The story was related to a monk who was hankering after a woman (J.iii.527‑31).
It is also referred to (J.v.455) as the Karaṇḍaka Jātaka.
437Once, on the slopes of the Himavā, lived a jackal called Pūṭimaṃsa with his mate Veṇī. Nearby dwelt a flock of wild goats. Pūtimaṃsa formed a device for killing the goats one by one and eating their flesh, until only a she-goat, called Meḷamātā, was left. Wishing to devour her as well, Pūṭimaṃsa suggested to Veṇī that he should pretend to be dead and that Veṇnī should then entice Meḷamātā into the cave by asking her to assist in the funeral rites. However, the goat was wise and observant and discovered the ruse. Veṇī went to her later and saying that Pūṭimaṃsa had recovered consciousness at the very sight of her, invited her to join them in a feast to celebrate his recovery. Meḷamātā, agreed, saying that she would bring with her a large escort of her friends, fierce dogs, including Maliya, Piṅgiya, Caturakkha, and Jambuka, in order that the celebration might be a great one. At this suggestion Pūṭimaṃsa and Veṇī fled from their cave, taking refuge elsewhere.
The story was told to the monks in order to impress on them the necessity for keeping guard over their senses. J.iii.532ff.
4381. Daddara Jātaka (No. 172).– Once the Bodhisatta was a lion and dwelt with his retinue in Rajataguhā, while in a neighbouring cave lived a jackal. One day, when the lions were roaring and playing about, the jackal tried to imitate them and the lions became silent for very shame.
The story was told in reference to Kokālika who, trying to imitate the eloquence of the learned monks of Manosilā, failed miserably. The jackal is identified with Kokālika. J.ii.65ff.
2. Daddara Jātaka (No. 304).– Once the Bodhisatta was born among the Nāgā in Daddarapabbata. He was called Mahādaddara, his father being Sūradaddara and his brother Cūḷadaddara. Cūḷadaddara was passionate and cruel and teased the Nāga maidens; the king wished to expel him, but he was saved by Mahādaddara. However, at last the king was very angry and sent them both for three years to Bārāṇasī. There the boys ill-treated them, but when Cūḷadaddara tried to kill them his brother urged him to practise patience.
The story was related in reference to a choleric monk who is identified with Cūḷadaddara. J.iii.15ff.
3. Daddara Jātaka (No. 438).– Once in Bārāṇasī was a famous teacher who retired into the forest. Men came from all parts to learn from him and brought him many presents. He had in his house a tame partridge, who, by listening to the teacher’s exposition, learnt the three Vedas by heart. A tame lizard and a cow were given as presents to the teacher. When the teacher died, his students were in despair, but were reassured by the partridge who taught them what he knew. One day a wicked ascetic came to the hermitage and, in the absence of the students, killed the partridge, the young lizard and the cow. The partridge had two friends, a lion and a tiger, who killed the murderer.
The ascetic was Devadatta, the lizard Kisāgotamī, the tiger Mahā-Moggallāna, the lion Sāriputta, the teacher Mahā-Kassapa, and the partridge the Bodhisatta.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. J.iii.536f.
439Contains the story of Mittavindaka.
The Jātaka probably derives its name from the fact that the Ussada-niraya, where Mittavindaka was destined to suffer, looked like a city with four gates, surrounded by a wall.
For the introductory story see the Gijjha Jātaka.
The story is sometimes called the Mahā Mitta-vindaka Jātaka, e.g., J.i.363; iii.206.
4401. Kaṇha Jātaka (No. 29).– The story of Ayyikākāḷaka (q.v.) The story was related by the Buddha to the monks, who expressed great wonder at the miracles performed by him at Saṅkassa. It was not only in his last birth that he performed wonders. The old woman in the story is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā (J.i.193ff).
The story is also given in the Aṅguttaranikāya Commentary (i.415), with a few additional details. The Dhammapada Commentary (iii.213) refers to it as the Kaṇha-usabha Jātaka.
2. Kaṇha Jātaka (No. 440).– The story of Kaṇha-tāpasa. He was the only son of a brahmin in Bārāṇasī and inherited great wealth; he was educated at Takkasilā. When his parents died he gave away all his wealth and retired to the Himavā, where he practised rigid asceticism, never entering a village, eating the produce of only one tree, and living not even in a hut. He acquired great mystic powers, and Sakka’s throne was heated by his virtue. Sakka visited him and, having tested him and asked him various questions, granted him six boons. The ascetic chose only such things as pertained to the life of renunciation. Sakka decreed that the tree under which the ascetic lived should bear fruit perennially.
The Sakka of the story was Anuruddha. It is said that the acetic was called Kaṇha on account of his dark complexion.
The story was related to Ānanda in explanation of the Buddha’s smile as he was passing a certain spot in the Nigrodhārāma in Kapilavatthu; it was the spot where the ascetic Kaṇha practised his meditations. J.iv.6ff
441This is given as the title of the four hundred and forty first Jātaka and it is there stated that it will be described in the Puṇṇaka Jātaka (J.iv.14).
No such separate Jātaka exists and it is, probably, another name for the Vidhura Jātaka, which, in its present form, seems to be a conglomeration of various legends which were once separate stories, each with its own title. The Catuposathika Jātaka was evidently one such story, which was later included in the Vidhura Jātaka, as its first section, and came to be known as the Catuposathikakhaṇḍa (see below) of that Jātaka. The first stanza of the Catuposathika Jātaka is quoted in the Catuposathika-khaṇḍa. J.vi.257.
Catuposathika-khaṇḍa.– The first section of the Vidhura Jātaka.
It relates how Sakka, the Nāga king, the Garuḷa king, and Dhanañjaya Koravya, practised various virtues and asked Vidhura to judge as to their respective goodness. J.vi.262.
4421. Saṅkha Jātaka (No. 442).– The Bodhisatta was once born in Molinīnagara (Bārāṇasī) as a very rich brahmin, named Saṅkha. He spent six thousand daily on almsgiving. He had a ship built, equipped and prepared to sail for Suvaṇṇabhūmi. A Pacceka Buddha, seeing him with his divine-eye, and foreseeing the danger in store for him, appeared before him on the way to the seaport. Saṅkha paid him all honour and presented him with his shoes and umbrella.
Saṅkha’s ship sprang a leak on the seventh day. Taking with him one companion, he dived overboard and swam in the direction of Molinī. He swam thus for seven days, until Maṇimekhalā, seeing his plight, came to his rescue and offered him food. However, this he refused, as he was keeping the fast. The goddess told him that his purity in worshipping the Pacceka Buddha had been the cause of her coming to his aid and offered him a boon. He chose to be sent back to Molinī. The goddess provided him with a ship full of treasure, and he returned safely to Molinī with his attendant.
The story was related by way of thanks to a pious layman of Sāvatthi, who, having entertained the Buddha and his monks for seven days, presented shoes to the Buddha and to the members of his Order.
Ānanda is identified with Saṅkha’s attendant and Uppalavaṇṇā with Maṇimekhalā (J.iv.15‑22). The story is also called the Saṅkhabrāhmaṇa Jātaka. e.g., ibid., 120.
2. Saṅkha Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta, named Saṅkha, was once born as a brahmin in Takkasilā and had a son, Susīma. When Susīma was about sixteen, he took leave of his father and went to Bārāṇasī to study the Vedas. His teacher, who was a friend of his father’s, taught him all he knew, and then Susīma went to Isipatana, where lived some Pacceka Buddhas. He entered the Order under them, attained Arahantship, and died while yet young. Having heard no news of his son for some time, Saṅkha was alarmed and went to Bārāṇasī in search of him. There, after enquiry, he heard of his son’s death as a Pacceka Buddha, and was shown the shrine erected in his memory. Saṅkha weeded the grass round the shrine, sprinkled sand, watered it, scattered wild flowers round it, and raised aloft his robe as banner over it. He then planted his parasol over the top and departed.
The Buddha related the story to the monks at Rājagaha, after his return from Vesāli, to explain the unparalleled honours he had received during the journey. Because he had uprooted the grass round Susīma’s shrine, a road of eight leagues was prepared for him to journey comfortably; because he had spread sand, his route was also so spread; because he had scattered flowers, his route was covered with flowers; because he had sprinkled water, there was a shower in Vesāli on his arrival; because he had raised a banner and set up a parasol, the whole world-system (cakkavāḷa) was gay with flags and parasols. DhA.iii.445f; KhpA.198f. The story is not given in the Jātakaṭṭhakatha.
443The Bodhisatta, under the name of Bodhi (he is also referred to as Cūḷa-bodhi), was once born in a very rich family of Kāsi and studied in Takkasilā. His parents married him to a suitable wife but, because they had both come from the Brahma-world, they were free from passionate desire. After his parents’ death, the two distributed their wealth and became ascetics. One day they came to the king’s park, and there the king fell in love with the woman and carried her away by force to the palace. When he told the Bodhisatta of this, he showed no resentment whatever. In the palace the king found that he could not win the woman’s love, and returned to the park, curious to know whether the ascetic really meant what he said. In the course of conversation the Bodhisatta told the king that he did not give way to anger because anger, once awakened, is difficult to curb.
The story was related in reference to a monk of violent temper. The king was Ānanda and the Bodhisatta’s wife was Rāhulamātā. (J.iv.22‑27. Cf. the Ananusociya Jātaka).
The story is also given in the Jātakamālā as the Khuddabodhi Jātaka (No.xxi), and in the Cariyāpiṭaka. Cyp., p.86.
444During the reign of Kosambaka in Kosambī, two brahmins, Dīpāyana and Maṇḍabya (v.l. Maṇḍavya), gave away their vast wealth and lived for fifty years as ascetics in Himavā. After that, while on a pilgrimage to Bārāṇasī, they were entertained by a householder who was also named Maṇḍabya. Dīpāyana journeyed on while the ascetic Maṇḍabya remained in a cemetery near Bārāṇasī. There some robbers left some stolen goods outside his hut, and Maṇḍabya, being charged before the king, was impaled, but by virtue of his great powers he continued to live. Dīpāyana came to see his friend, and finding him thus and learning that he bore no ill-will towards anyone, took up his abode under his impaled body. Gouts of gore fell from Maṇḍabya’s wound on to Dīpāyana’s golden body and there dried, forming black spots; so he came to be called Kaṇha-Dīpāyana. When the king heard of this, he had Maṇḍabya released with a piece of the stake still inside him, on account of which he came to be called Āṇi-Maṇḍabya. Dīpāyana returned to the householder Maṇḍabya, whose son Yaññadatta he helped to heal by an Act of Truth, the child having been bitten by a snake while playing ball. The lad’s parents then performed acts of Truth. In this declaration of Truth it was disclosed that Dīpāyana had no desire for the ascetic life, that the father did not believe in the fruits of generosity, and that the mother had no love for her husband. They thereupon admonished each other and agreed to mend their ways.
The Maṇḍabya of the story was Ānanda, his wife Visākhā, the son Rāhula, Āṇi-Maṇḍabya Sāriputta and Kaṇha-Dīpāyana the Bodhisatta (J.iv.27ff). The occasion for the story is the same as that for the Kusa Jātaka (q.v.) In one verse Kaṇha-Dīpāyana is addressed merely as Kaṇha (Ibid., p.33).
The story is also given in the Cariyāpiṭaka (p.99f).
445A king, named Magadha, once reigned in Rājagaha. His son married a rich merchant’s daughter, but she, because she was barren, lost favour. Thereupon she pretended to be with child, and when her time drew near, she journeyed to her home with an old nurse who was in the secret. On the way she found a child deserted by its mother, and, greatly rejoicing, she claimed it as her own. The child was the Bodhisatta and was called Nigrodha. His father found for him two companions: Sākha, son of a merchant, and Pottika, son of a tailor.
These three grew up together and were educated in Takkasilā. In the course of their travels, while his companions lay sleeping, Pottika heard a cock say that whoever ate its fat would become king, the flesh of its body commander-in-chief, and the flesh near its bone’s treasurer. Pottika killed the cock, gave to Nigrodha the fat, to Sākha the flesh of the body, while he himself ate the flesh near the bones. Immediately after, men, in search of a successor to the throne of Bārāṇasī chose Nigrodha, while the others accompanied him as commander-in-chief and treasurer. One day Nigrodha, wishing to have his parents near him, sent Pottika to fetch them from Rājagaha. On the way back he called at Sākha’s house, but Sākha, who had a grievance against him for having given the cock’s fat to Nigrodha, insulted him. When Pottika reported this to Nigrodha, he wished to have Sākha killed, but Pottika intervened on his behalf.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s ingratitude. Sākha is identified with Devadatta and Pottika with Ānanda. J.iv.37ff.
Nigrodha Kappa Sutta
The twelfth sutta of the Cūḷa Vagga of the Suttanipāta.
Taught by the Buddha at Aggāḷava-cetiya. Vaṅgīsa’s teacher, Nigrodhakappa, had just died there, and Vaṅgīsa Thera asks the Buddha if he had attained nibbāna. Vaṅgīsa’s question is really a poem in itself, containing ten verses, in praise of the Buddha.
The Buddha says that Nigrodhakappa has won nibbāna, because he had severed all the bonds of Māra. Vaṅgīsa then declares that Nigrodha Kappa attained that state because he followed the Buddha’s teaching.
SN. pp.59ff; the verses of the sutta are included in the Theragāthā (1263‑79).
446Once in a village lived a man called Saviṭṭhaka, an only son, who looked after his father with great devotion, until the latter, much against the wishes of his son, found a wife for him. A son was born to the pair and, when seven years old, he overheard his mother planning to have the old man taken by a ruse to the cemetery and there killed and buried in a pit. The next morning, when his father set out in a cart for the cemetery, the child insisted on accompanying him. Having watched his father dig a pit, he asked what it was for, and was told that the useless old man was a burden to keep and that the pit was for him. The boy was silent, and when his father stopped to have a rest, he took up the spade and began to dig another hole. On being asked the reason, he said it was for his father when he should be too old to be supported. This remark opened Saviṭṭhaka’s eyes; he returned home and drove away his wife. He afterwards took her back on her promising to give up her treacherous ways.
The story was related to a man who had looked after his father; but the wife, whom he took at his father’s wish, wanted to get rid of the old man, and suggested the idea to her husband. However, his answer was that if she found the house inconvenient she could go elsewhere. The Buddha said that the characters of both stories were identical, and that he himself was the lad of the story of the past (atītavatthu). J.iv.43‑50.
447In Dhammapāla, a village of Kāsi, there lived a family whose head was Mahādhammapāla. The Bodhisatta was his son, and was called Dhammapala-kumāra. He went to study at Takkasilā. There the teacher’s eldest son died, but among all the lamentations it was noticed that Dhammapāla did not weep. When questioned by his fellows as to how he could refrain, he answered that as it was impossible for anybody young to die, he did not believe his friend was dead. The teacher asked him about this, and found that in Dhammapāla’s family no one died young. Wishing to know if this were true, he left Takkasilā and went to the home of Dhammapāla, carrying with him the bones of a goat. After his welcome had subsided, he announced to Dhammapāla that his son was dead, and begged him not to grieve. However, Dhammapāla clapped his hands and laughed, saying that such a thing could never be as no member of their family ever died young. He then told the brahmin, in answer to his query, that they owed their longevity to the fact that they lived good lives.
The story was related to Suddhodana, who told the Buddha how, when the Buddha was practising severe penances, some gods came to him (Suddhodana) and said that he was dead. However, he refused to believe them. Suddhodana was Mahādhammapāla and the teacher Sāriputta (J.iv.50‑55). At the conclusion of the Jātaka, Suddhodana became a Non-returner and Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī a Stream-winner. DhA.i.99; J.i.92.
4481. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 209).– The story of a wise bird who, seeing a farmer trying to catch him, avoided him until the farmer was quite exasperated. In the end the farmer camouflaged himself like a tree, but the bird laughed in his face.
The story was related in reference to a monk, a fellow-celibate of Sāriputta. This monk was very careful about his body, and earned the reputation of a dandy. The bird is identified with the monk (J.ii.161f). This story bears some resemblance to the second Sakuntaka Jātaka in the Mahāvastu, particularly to the latter part of it. Mtu.ii.250. v.l. Kakkara Jātaka.
2. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 383).– The story of a cat who tried to deceive a cock — with the idea of eating him — by offering to become his wife. Her efforts failed. The cock was the Bodhisatta.
The story was told to a monk who was tempted by the sight of a woman (J.iii.265f).
This Jātaka is illustrated in the Bharhut Stūpa. Cunningham: Pl.xlvii.5.
3. Kukkuṭa Jātaka (No. 448).– The Bodhisatta was once the chief of a large flock of fowls. A falcon, by means of engaging speech, tried to become friendly with him in order to eat him, but his attempts failed. There could be no friendship between fowl and falcon, said the Bodhisatta. The story was related in reference to Dedavatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha. v.l. Kukkuha. J.iv.55ff
449The son of a wealthy brahmin died at the age of sixteen and was reborn among the devas. From the time of his son’s death, the brahmin would go to the cemetery and walk round the heap of ashes, moaning piteously. The deva visited him and admonished him, as in the story of Maṭṭhakuṇḍali. The brahmin followed his advice and gave up his grief.
The story was told in reference to a rich landowner of Sāvatthi, a devout follower of the Buddha, who lost his son. The Buddha, knowing of his great grief, visited him in the company of Ānanda and taught him. At the conclusion of the discourse, the landowner became a Stream-winner. J.iv.59ff.
450The Bodhisatta was once a rich merchant of Bārāṇasī who built an almonry and distributed much alms. On his deathbed, he asked his son to continue with the alms, and, after death, he was reborn as Sakka. His son followed him and became the god Canda. His son Suriya, Suriya’s son Mātalī, and Mātalī’s son Pañcasikha, all followed in the same path. However, the sixth of the line, Bilārakosiya, became a miser and burnt the almonry. Sakka and the others then came separately, in the guise of brahmins, to visit him and to ask for alms. Kosiya refused their request until each one uttered a little verse, when he was asked to enter and receive a small gift. Kosiya asked the servant to give each a little unhusked rice. This was refused, and in the end he was obliged to give the brahmins cooked rice, meant for cows. Each swallowed a mouthful, but then let it stick in his throat and lay down as if dead. Kosiya, very frightened, had a meal prepared, which he put into their bowls, and then, calling in the passers by, asked them to note how the brahmins, in their greed, had eaten too much and died. However, the brahmins arose, spat out the rice, and publicly shamed Kosiya by showing up his miserliness and the way in which he had disgraced his ancestors. Then each revealed his identity and departed. Bilārakosiya mended his ways and became most generous.
The story was related to a monk reputed for his great generosity; he would not even drink a cup of water without sharing it. The monk is identified with Bilārakosiya, and the Buddha related the story to show how he had changed his ways. Sāriputta was Canda, Mahā-Moggallāna was Suriya, Mahā-Kassapa was Mātalī and Ānanda was Pañcasikha. J.iv.62‑9.
4511. Cakkavāka Jātaka (No. 434).– A greedy crow, dissatisfied with the fish from the Gaṅgā, flew to the Himavā and there, seeing two golden-coloured geese (cakkavāka), asked what they fed on that they should be so beautiful. The geese replied that not food but character made people comely; the crow was too greedy ever to be beautiful.
The story was told in reference to a greedy monk who went from house to house in search of dainty food, frequenting the dwellings of the rich. The monk is identified with the crow. J.iii.520‑4; cf. Kāka Jātaka.
2. Cakkavāka Jātaka (No. 451).– Similar to the above. The reason given for the colour of the crow was that his heart was full of fear and sin and that he had done evil in past lives. The greedy monk always went about looking for invitations. J.iv.70‑2.
452The name given to a section of the Umaṅga Jātaka, which describes how Mahosadha, having lost the king’s favour, lived with a potter. The deity of the king’s parasol put several questions to the king, but his wise men (Senaka and others) were unable to answer them. The king then sent messengers with gifts to look for Mahosadha; they found him in the potter’s hut and brought him back. The king expressed surprise that Mahosadha should have borne him no resentment. Mahosadha pointed out to him that wise men were incapable of ingratitude or meanness. J.vi.372‑6.
453The Bodhisatta, called Rakkhita, was born in a wealthy brahmin family. He married, and then, having distributed all his wealth, became an ascetic with five hundred followers. During the rains, his disciples went to Bārāṇasī and dwelt in the king’s park, while Rakkhita stayed in the hermitage. At that time there was a great discussion going on among men as to what constituted auspiciousness, and Rakkhita’s disciples, on being consulted, said that Rakkhita would solve the problem. They, therefore, went to Rakkhita’s hermitage and asked him the question, which he answered in a series of eight verses. (The blessings enumerated in these verses differ from those given in the Maṅgala Sutta). The disciples, having learnt the verses, returned to Bārāṇasī, where they expounded them, thus setting all doubts at rest.
The story was related in reference to the teaching of the Mahāmaṅgala Sutta. It happened that in Rājagaha there was a large assembly at the Mote Hall (Santhāgāra), and a man rose and went out, saying, “This is a day of good omen.” Someone, hearing this, inquired the meaning of “good omen.” One said, “The sight of a lucky thing is a good omen.” However, this was denied, and then began the discussion on omens, which, in the end, was carried to Sakka, and referred by him to the Buddha.
The senior disciple of Rakkhita is identified with Sāriputta (J.iv.72‑9).
4541. Ghaṭa Jātaka (No. 355).– The story of Ghaṭakumāra (q.v.) It was related in reference to a minister of the Kosala king. He had been the king’s favourite, but then, influenced by slanderers, the king cast him into prison, where he entered the First Path. When he was released he visited the Buddha, who told him the Jātaka story.
Ānanda is identified with King Vaṅka of the Jātaka. J.iii.168ff
2. Ghaṭapaṇḍita Jātaka (No. 454).– The story of the Andhakaveṇhudāsaputtā (q.v.) and of the manner in which Ghaṭapaṇḍita (q.v.) assuaged the grief of his brother, Vāsudeva. The introductory story resembles that of the Maṭṭhakuṇḍali Jātaka.
Rohiṇeyya is identified with Ānanda and Vāsudeva with Sāriputta (J.iv.79ff).
This Jātaka perhaps influenced the story of Ummāda-Cittā found in the Mahāvaṃsa (ix.13); for its connection with the Harivaṃsa, see ZDMG.53, 25ff.
455The Bodhisatta was once born as an elephant in the Himavā and looked after his blind mother, who lived near Mount Caṇḍoraṇa. One day he met a forester who had lost his way, and, feeling sorry for him, the elephant set him on the right path, carrying him on his back. However, the forester was wicked, and, on his return to Bārāṇasī, told the king about the elephant. The king asked him to fetch the elephant, who, seeing the forester approaching, meekly followed him lest his virtue be impaired. The elephant was received in the city with great pomp and placed in the royal stables as the state elephant, but he would touch no morsel of food. The king enquired into this and learnt of the elephant’s blind mother. Thereupon the elephant was set free, and returned to the Himavā amid the applause of the people. The king built a town near the elephant’s dwelling, where he showed him great honour, and later, when, at his mother’s death, the elephant went away to the Karandaka monastery to wait on the ascetics there, the king did the same for them.
The story was related in reference to a monk who tended his mother. For details see the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka. Ānanda is identified with the king, whose name is given as Vedeha, and Mahāmāyā with the mother-elephant (J.iv.90‑5).
The Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iv.13) calls this the Mātuposaka Nāgarāja Jātaka and gives the name of the elephant as Dhanapāla. It was related to the four sons of a brahmin who waited on their aged father. The audience shed floods of tears, so greatly were they moved, and the brahmin and his sons became Stream-winners.
456Once the Bodhisatta was born as Juṇha, son of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. He studied in Takkasilā and, on one occasion, while walking in the dark, he ran up against a brahmin, knocking him down and breaking his bowl. Juṇha raised the brahmin to his feet and, on being asked for the price of a meal, told the brahmin who he was. He had no money with him, but requested the brahmin to remind him of the circumstance when he should become king. In due time Juṇha was anointed, and the brahmin stood one day by the road when the king was passing on his elephant. The brahmin stretched out his hand, crying, “Victory to the king.” Juṇha took no notice, so the brahmin uttered a stanza to the effect that a king should not neglect a brahmin’s request. Juṇha then turned back, and the man explained who he was, asking Juṇha for five villages, one hundred slave girls, one thousand ornaments and two wives, all which Juṇha gave him.
The story was related in reference to the eight boons granted by the Buddha to Ānanda when the latter became his constant attendant. Ānanda is identified with the brahmin (J.iv.95‑100).
See also the Nānacchanda Jātaka.
457v.l. Dhamma Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta once became a Kāmāvacara-god, named Dhamma, and Devadatta became Adhamma. On uposatha-days Dhamma would appear among men and urge them to lead virtuous lives, while Adhamma encouraged them in wickedness. One day, their two chariots meeting in mid-air, they each claimed the right of way. However, at the end of the argument Adhamma’s chariot fell headlong to earth, where he was swallowed up into hell. The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s being swallowed up in Avīci. J.iv.100‑4.
458The story of Udayabhadda and Udayabhaddā (q.v.)
The story was related in reference to a back-sliding monk; the details are given in the Kusa Jātaka (No. 531).
The Udaya Jātaka also bears certain resemblances to the Ananusociya Jātaka (No. 328).
459The story of how six persons became Pacceka Buddhas by feeling remorse for sins committed and by developing supernormal insight. The Jātaka derives its name from the first of these, who was a villager of Kāsi. He went with his friend into the fields, each carrying a flask of water. From time to time they drank, but the first drank out of the other’s flask, wishing to save the water in his own. In the evening remorse seized him, and as he stood reflecting on his wickedness he became a Pacceka Buddha.
The Pacceka Buddhas met at Nandamūlapabbhāra and together visited the king of Bārāṇasī who was the Bodhisatta. On hearing their stories he renounced the world, and, in spite of the efforts of his consort to stop him, became an ascetic.
The story was related in reference to five hundred householders of Sāvatthi who became monks. They lived in the monastery but indulged in thoughts of sin. The Buddha sent Ānanda to summon them, and admonished them saying that no matter how small a sin it was, it must be checked (J.iv.113ff). The queen consort of the story was Rāhulamātā.
460The Bodhisatta was once born as Yuvañjaya, son of Sabbadatta, king of Ramma (Bārāṇasī). He was the eldest of one thousand sons, and Yudiṭṭhila was his younger brother. After he came of age he was on his way early one morning to the park, and saw all around him dew. In the evening, as he returned home, the dew drops were no more to be seen. His charioteer explained that the sun had dried them up. Reflecting on this, the prince realised the impermanence of life and asked his father’s leave to renounce the world.
Both his parents tried to dissuade him but they failed, and he and Yudhiṭṭhila built a hermitage in the Himavā, where they became ascetics.
Yudhiṭṭhila is identified with Ānanda. This story was told in reference to the Buddha’s Renunciation, to some monks who marvelled at the Buddha’s great sacrifice. J.iv.119ff; the story of Yuvañjaya (Yudhañjaya) is also given in the Cariyāpiṭaka iii.1; CypA.143ff.
461Dasaratha, king of Bārāṇasī, had three children, Rāmapaṇḍita, Lakkhaṇa and Sītā. On the death of his queen he took another queen and had by her a son, Bharata. When Bharata was seven years old his mother claimed the kingdom for him in accordance with a boon granted her by the king. The king was horrified and fearing that she would harm his elder children, sent them into the forest for twelve years, asking them to return after his death. In the forest Rāma lived the ascetic life while Lakkhaṇa and Sītā provided him with food. Dasaratha died after nine years, and when the ministers refused to recognise Bharata as king, he went into the forest in search of Rāma. Rāma, however, refused to return until three more years had elapsed, and on Bharata refusing to occupy the throne, Rāma gave him his straw slippers to be placed on the throne in his absence. When cases were heard, if the decision given was wrong, the slippers would beat upon each other, but, if right, they would lie quiet. After three years Rāma returned and reigned from his palace of Sucaṇḍaka for sixteen thousand years, with Sītā as queen consort.
Dasaratha was Suddhodana, Bharata Ānanda, Lakkhaṇa Sāriputta, Sītā Rāhulamātā and Rāma the Bodhisatta.
The story was related to a man of Sāvatthi who greatly grieved at his father’s death and neglected all his duties. J.iv.123‑30.
462The Bodhisatta was the teacher of Saṃvara (1), youngest of the hundred sons of the king of Bārāṇasī. When he had finished his studies, the king offered him a province, but, at the suggestion of his teacher, he preferred to live near his father. There, acting on the Bodhisatta’s advice, he won all hearts, and on the death of his father the courtiers made him king. The brothers protested, and Saṃvara, again following his teacher’s advice, divided his father’s wealth among them. Then his brothers, led by Uposatha, acknowledged him king.
The story was told to a monk who had dwelt in the forest and had then given up striving. He is identified with Saṃvara and Sāriputta with Uposatha. J.iv.130ff; see also the Alīnacitta Jātaka and Gāmaṇicanda Jātaka.
Saṃvara Sutta
1. Saṃvara Sutta.– Listen monks, I will teach about restraint and lack of restraint. There are sights pleasing to the eye, pleasing, delightful, and enticing. If a monk welcomes them, delights in them, and clings to them, he can know that he is falling away from wholesome states.
There are sounds pleasing to the ear … odours pleasing to the nose … tastes pleasing to the tongue … touches pleasing to the body … ideas pleasing to the mind, delightful, and enticing. If a monk welcomes them and clings to them, he can know that he is falling away from wholesome states. This is lack of restraint.
If a monk does not welcome them, delight in them or cling to them he can know that is not falling away from wholesome states. This is restraint. S.iv.79.
2. Saṃvara Sutta.– On the four efforts: to restrain, abandon, develop, and guard. A.ii.15.
463The Bodhisatta, named Suppāraka, was once a master mariner of Bhārukaccha. His eyes were injured by the salt water and he went completely blind. The king appointed him valuer and assessor. One day an elephant was brought before him which was designed to be the state elephant, but, feeling it over with his hands, he condemned it, saying that its dam had dropped it in its youth, injuring its hind feet. He similarly condemned a horse, a chariot, and a blanket for various reasons, all these things having been designed for royal use. All his judgments were verified by the king and found to be correct; but he only gave Suppāraka eight pieces of money each time, and so Suppāraka left his service in disgust.
Some merchants had commissioned a ship, and, while searching for a captain, thought of Suppāraka. When Suppāraka refused, saying that he was blind, they replied that blind he might be, but no ship could founder if he were at the helm. After seven days the ship was caught in a storm and Suppāraka drove her through various seas — Khummāla, Aggimāla, Dadhimāla, Nīlavaṇṇakusamāla, Nalamāla, and Vaḷabhāmukha. When he arrived at the last ocean he saw that there was no means of rescuing the ship, and so performed an act of Truth. In one day the ship sailed back to Bhārukaccha.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s perfection of wisdom. J.iv.136‑47; cf. Sapāraga Jātaka in the Jātakamālā (No. 14).
464For this story reference is made to the Kuṇāla Jātaka.
The opening words quoted occur at the end of several stories, related by Kuṇāla to illustrate the fickleness and wickedness of women.
Cūḷa-Kuṇāla is probably the name given to the last of these stories, which tells of Piṅgiyānī, wife of Brahmadatta. J.iv.144.
465Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, wishing to have a palace built on one column, sent his carpenters to find a suitable tree. They found many such in the forest, but no road by which to transport them. At last they discovered a lordly sāla tree in the king’s park and made preparations to cut it down. The deity of the tree, Bhaddasāla (2), who was the Bodhisatta, was greatly distressed at the prospect of the destruction of his children. He, therefore, visited the king by night and begged him not to have the tree cut down. When the king refused this request, Bhaddasāla asked that the tree should be cut down in pieces, so that in its fall it might not damage its kindred round about. This feeling of Bhaddasāla for his kinsmen touched the king, and he desisted from his purpose of destroying the tree.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s interference with Viḍūḍabha (q.v.) when he wished to destroy the Sākyā.
Ānanda is identified with the king (J.iv.153‑7). On this occasion was taught also the Kukkura Jātaka, the Kāka Jātaka (No. 140), and the Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 407).
466Once one thousand carpenters unable to meet their debts, built a ship, and sailed away until they came to a fertile island. There they found a castaway, from whom they learned that the island was safe and fruitful. So they stayed there, and, as time went on, they grew fat and began to drink toddy made from sugar cane.
The deities, incensed because the island was being fouled with their excrement, decided to send a wave up to drown them. A friendly deity, wishing to save them, gave them warning; but another cruel deity asked them to pay no heed to her words. Five hundred of the families, led by a wise man, built a ship in which they placed all their belongings in case the warning should prove true. No harm would be done should it prove false. The others, led by a fool, laughed at them. At the end of the dark fortnight the sea rose; the five hundred wise families escaped, the others were drowned.
The story was told in reference to five hundred families who were born in hell (niraya) as a result of following Devadatta. J.iv.158‑66.
467Brahmadatta, king of Benares, had two sons. When he died the elder refused the crown and retired into a frontier village. The people there, discovering his identity, offered to pay their taxes to him instead of to the king, and the king, at his request, agreed.
As his power increased, the prince became more covetous and demanded the kingdom, which the younger brother gladly renounced. However, the elder’s greed was insatiable, and Sakka, to teach him a lesson, came in the guise of a young man and offered to capture for him three cities. The king made up his mind to accept the offer; but, then the young man could not be found, and the king fell ill of greed.
The Bodhisatta, just returned from Takkasila, heard of this, and having obtained the king’s leave to treat him, cured him of this disease by showing him the futility of his wishes. Thereafter the king became a righteous ruler (J.iv.167ff).
The story was told in reference to the brahmin to whom the Kāma Sutta was taught. The Kāmanīta Jātaka was also taught in this connection.
468The Bodhisatta was once born as Janasandha, son of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. He studied at Takkasilā. On becoming king he built six almonries and there daily distributed six thousand pieces of money. He ruled righteously and his kingdom was free from all wickedness. On the fifteenth day of every month he assembled all his people, beginning with the women of his household, and taught them the ways of righteousness.
The story was related to Pasenadi when he gave himself up to sin, became remiss in his duties and refrained from visiting even the Buddha for a long time. J.iv.176ff.
469In the past, when the teachings of Kassapa Buddha were already forgotten, there ruled a king named Usīnara. Monks and nuns lived in wickedness, and men followed evil paths, being born, after death, in hell (niraya). Sakka, finding no one entering the deva worlds from among men, decided to scare the men into virtue. Assuming the guise of a forester and leading Mātali disguised as a black fierce looking dog called Mahākaṇha, Sakka came to the city gates and cried aloud that the world was doomed to destruction. The people fled in terror into the city and the gates were shut. However, the forester leapt over the city wall with his dog, the latter scaring everyone he saw. The king shut himself up in his palace, but the dog put his forefeet on the palace window and set up a roar, which was heard from the hells to the highest heavens. The forester said the dog was hungry, and the king ordered food to be given him. However, he ate it all in one mouthful and roared for more. Usīnara then asked the forester what kind of dog it was, and was told that the animal ate up all those who walked in unrighteousness, and described who the unrighteous were. Then having terrified everyone, Sakka revealed himself and returned to his heaven. The king and his people became virtuous, and Kassapa’s religion lasted for one thousand years more.
The story was told in reference to a conversation among the monks to the effect that the Buddha was always working for the good of others, never resting, never tiring, his compassion extended towards all beings. Mātali is identified with Ānanda (J.iv.180‑6).
The barking of Mahākaṇha was among the four sounds heard throughout Jambudīpa. SNA.i.223; see J.iv.182, where only three are mentioned.
Mahakapāṭihāriya Sutta
Once a number of monks staying in the Ambāṭaka grove in Macchikāsaṇḍa were entertained by Citta-gahapati to a sumptuous meal. At the end of the meal, Citta, escorted them back to the monastery. On the way the monks were overcome by the heat, and Mahaka, the junior monk, with the permission of his senior, made by his magic power a cool wind to blow and wrought a thunderstorm accompanied by gentle rain. Citta was greatly impressed, and, seeking Mahaka in his cell, asked him to perform some miracle. Mahaka told him to put his cloak on the veranda and to scatter a bundle of grass on it. Then he retired to his cell, locked the door, and caused a flame to dart through the keyhole and burn the grass without damaging the cloak. Citta was overcome with surprise, and promised to supply Mahaka with all requisites. Mahaka thanked him, but soon after left Macchikāsaṇḍa never to return. Because he did not wish to enjoy gains won by a display of psychic power; S.iv.288ff; the story is also referred to at Vism. 393.
4701. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 130).– A brahmin of Bārāṇasī had a bad wife who lay in bed by day feigning sickness and spent her nights in enjoyment. The husband worked hard to supply her with dainties, and, in consequence, could not visit his teacher who was the Bodhisatta. When the latter discovered the truth, he advised the brahmin to prepare a mess of cow-dung and other things and to insist that his wife should either swallow this medicine or get up and work. She then knew that her shamming was discovered and abandoned her evil ways.
The story was told to a brahmin of Sāvatthi, a pious follower of the Buddha, whose wife behaved in a similar way. The Buddha told him this story of the past and asked him to try the same remedy, for, he said, the brahmin and his wife were identical with the couple of the story (J.i.463f).
In the story of the past the woman is addressed as “Kosiyā.” The scholiast (J.i.465) adds that she belonged to the Kosiya-gotta.
2. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 226).– The king of Bārāṇasī, making war at an unseasonable time while camping in the park, saw an owl (kosiya) being attacked by crows. The king asked his minister the reason for this; the minister, being the Bodhisatta, said the owl had left his hiding-place too early — that is, before sunset.
The story was told to Pasenadi, who visited Jetavana on his way to quell a border uprising; the time was unsuitable for such an enterprise. J.ii.208f.
3. Kosiya Jātaka (No. 470).– Given under the Sudhābhojana Jātaka.
471The Commentary states that the questions are to be found in the Umaṅga Jātaka. One of the questions set by King Videha to his five ministers, after having noticed a strange friendship between a ram and a dog. The ram was beaten by the elephant keepers because he took the grass from the stalls, while the dog had suffered at the hands of the cook for stealing meat from the kitchen. They met and agreed that the dog should go to the stalls and the ram to the kitchen, in order to avoid suspicion. The king saw this and set the question to his ministers. Only Mahosadha knew the solution and he told it to the others. The king was pleased and gave to each a chariot, a she-mule and various other gifts. J.vi.349ff.
472The Bodhisatta was once born as Mahāpaduma, son of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. When Paduma’s mother died, his father took another wife. On one occasion the king had to leave the city to quell a border rising, and, thinking the dangers too great to take his queen with him, he entrusted her to the care of Paduma. The campaign was victorious. In the course of making arrangements for the celebration of his father’s return, Paduma entered the queen’s apartments. She was struck by his amazing beauty, and fell in love with him, inviting him to lie with her. On his indignant refusal, she feigned illness, and, on the return of the king, falsely accused him of having ill-treated her. The king gave orders, in spite of the protestations of the people, that Paduma should be thrown from the “Robbers’ Cliff.” The deity of the mountain saved his life and entrusted him to the care of the Nāga king, who took him to his abode, where he stayed for one year. Paduma then went to the Himavā and became an ascetic. The king heard of this and went to offer him the kingdom, but it was refused by Paduma. The king, convinced of the falsity of the charge brought against Paduma, caused the queen to be flung from the Robbers’ Cliff.
The story was related in reference to Ciñca-māṇavikā's false accusations against the Buddha. Ciñcā was the wicked queen, Devadatta the king, Sāriputta the deity, and Ānanda the Nāga. J.iv.187‑96; DhA.iii.181ff.
4731. Mittāmitta Jātaka (No. 197).– The Bodhisatta was once the leader of a band of ascetics, and one of these, disregarding the advice of the Bodhisatta, adopted a young elephant whose dam was dead. The elephant grew up and slew its master.
The story was told in reference to a monk who took a piece of cloth belonging to his teacher and made with it a shoe bag, feeling sure that his teacher would not mind. The latter, however, flew into a rage and struck him. J.ii.130ff.
2. Mittāmitta Jātaka (No. 473).– The Bodhisatta was once the minister of Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī. At that time the other ministers were slandering a certain courtier who was upright. The king consulted the Bodhisatta, who pointed out to him the marks of a friend as opposed to those of a foe.
The story was told to the king of Kosala, who consulted the Buddha on a similar matter. J.iv.496ff.
4741. Amba Jātaka (No. 124).– During a very severe drought, a hermit living in the Himavā at the head of five hundred ascetics, provided water for the animals, using the hollowed trunk of a tree as trough. In gratitude the animals brought him various fruits, enough for himself and his five hundred companions. The story is related regarding a brother who was very zealous in his duties, doing everything well and wholeheartedly. Because of his great goodness the people fed regularly every day five hundred of the Brethren. J.i.449‑51.
2. Amba Jātaka (No. 474).– The story of a brahmin youth who learnt a charm from a wise outcaste (caṇḍāla). The charm had the power of making lovely and fragrant mangoes grow out of season. The youth exhibited his skill before the king, but when asked the name of his teacher he lied and said he had been taught it in Takkasilā. Immediately the charm escaped his memory and all his power deserted him. At the king’s suggestion he went back to the teacher to ask his forgiveness and to learn the charm anew, but the teacher would have none of him and the youth wandered away into the forest and died there.
The story is told in reference to Devadatta who had repudiated the Buddha as his teacher and as a result was born in Avīci (J.iv.200‑7). The youth was a former birth of Devadatta.
475A lion acquired the habit of going to lie under a phandana tree, but one day a branch fell on his shoulder and hurt him. The lion thereupon conceived an enmity against the tree, and when a carpenter came in search of wood for a cartwheel, suggested to him that he should cut down that very tree as the wood would be excellent for his purpose. The deity of the tree, discovering this, appeared before the carpenter and told him that if he placed four inches of the hide of a lion on the rim of his wheel its value would be greatly enhanced.
The carpenter, adopting both suggestions, killed the lion and cut down the tree (J.iv.207ff). This was one of the stories related by the Buddha in the course of the quarrel between the Sākyā and the Koliyā. SNA.i.358.
476The Bodhisatta was once king of ninety thousand geese in Cittakūṭa. The king of Bārāṇasī, seeing him, took a great fancy to him and did him honour, desiring his friendship. When the king went to Anotatta, the Bodhisatta did him similar honour and friendship was established between them. One day, two of the young geese, in spite of the advice of the Bodhisatta, wished to try their speed against the sun. Their king, wishing to save them from death, went with them, rescuing them when tired. Then he himself raced the sun and was victorious, arriving at the king’s palace. The king, hearing of this, wished to see an exhibition of the Bodhisatta’s powers of speed, and his desire was granted. When asked whether anything was fleeter than himself, the king of the geese replied that the decay of the elements of life was a thousand-fold speedier. He thereupon taught the moral law to the king. Ānanda is identified with the king and Sāriputta and Mahā-Moggallāna with the two geese. J.iv.211‑8.
477v.l. Cūḷanāradakassapa Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once a rich brahmin who, on the death of his wife, retired with his son to the Himavā and became an ascetic. One day a girl, having been carried off by thieves, escaped from them and arrived at the ascetic’s but when the Bodhisatta was away. The son fell a victim to her charms and agreed to return with her to the haunts of men. She went on ahead and he was to follow, but his father, hearing of what had occurred during his absence, described to the youth the snares of household life in such a graphic way that he gave up the idea of following the girl.
The story was related in reference to a vain monk who succumbed to the wiles of a maiden of Sāvatthi. The girl’s mother used her to entice the monk to become her son-in-law. The Buddha warned him that in the past the same girl had tried to destroy his spiritual life (J.iv.219‑24).
In the Jātaka itself the Bodhisatta’s son is called Nārada (p.222), but elsewhere (J.i.416, 417) he is referred to as Cūḷatāpasa (probably only a descriptive title). It was in reference to the same monk that the Muṇika, the Udañcanī, the Sālūka and the Arañña Jātakas were related.
4781. Dūta Jātaka (No. 260).– Once the Bodhisatta was king of Bārāṇasī. He was very dainty as to food, and spent so much on it that he came to be known as Bhojanasuddhika (Dainty food). He always ate in a decorated pavilion in full view of his people. One day, a greedy man seeing him eat and wishing to taste the food, rushed up to him with clasped hands, saying that he was a messenger (dūta), messengers having free access to the king. Approaching the table, he snatched some food and thrust it into his mouth. The king’s attendants wished to behead him, but the king invited him to share his meal, and, at the conclusion, enquired as to his message. He said he was the messenger of Lust and of the Belly, and told the king how great was the power of these two. The king was pleased with him and gave him one thousand cows.
The story was told in reference to a greedy monk. J.ii.318‑21.
2. Dūta Jātaka (No. 478).– The Bodhisatta was once a brahmin of Kāsi. He studied at Takkasilā, and wandered about begging for gold to pay his teacher. He collected a few ounces, but on his way back he was forced to cross the Gaṅgā, and the gold fell into the river. He then thought out a plan and sat fasting on the bank of the river, refusing to speak to anybody until the king of Bārāṇasī himself came. To him he told his story, pointing out that it would have been useless to tell the others, they being unable to help him. The king gave him twice the original quantity of gold.
The story was related in reference to a discussion by the monks as to the Buddha’s great resourcefulness. J.iv.224‑8.
479The Kāliṅga king of Dantapura had two sons, Mahā Kāliṅga and Cūḷa Kāliṅga. Soothsayers foretold that the younger would be an ascetic, but that his son would be a Cakkavatti. Knowing of this prophecy, Cūḷa Kāliṅga became so arrogant that Mahā Kāliṅga, on coming to the throne, ordered his arrest. However, Cūḷa Kāliṅga fled to Himavā and lived there as an ascetic. Near his hermitage lived the king and queen of Madda who had fled with their daughter from their city of Sāgala. Soothsayers had predicted that the princess’s son would be a Cakkavatti, and all the kings of Jambudīpa sought her hand. Her parents, not wishing to incur the enmity of any of the kings, fled with her from the city. One day a wreath of mango-flowers which the princess dropped into the river was picked up by Cūḷa Kāliṅga, who thereupon went in search of her. With her parents’ consent he married her, and to these two was born a son whom they called Kāliṅga.
When the stars revealed that Mahā Kāliṅga had died, Kāliṅga was sent to Dantapura, to a courtier who had been an ally of Cūḷa Kāliṅga. The prince’s identity having been duly established, he was crowned king, and his chaplain, Kāliṅga-bhāradvāja, taught him the duties of a Cakkavatti. On the fifteenth day after his coronation, the tokens of a Cakkavatti king appeared before him. (For details see J.iv.232). One day while riding through the air with his retinue, he came to the Bodhi-tree under which Buddhas attain Enlightenment, and though he prodded his elephant until it died the animal found it impossible to fly over the spot. The royal chaplain investigated matters and reported his finding to the king who, having learnt from the chaplain of a Buddha’s virtues, paid great honour to the tree for seven days. See also Samaṇakolañña.
Kāliṅga is identified with Ānanda and Kāliṅga-bhāradvāja with the Bodhisatta.
The story was related in reference to the Bodhi-tree planted, at Ānanda’s suggestion, by Anāthapiṇḍika, at the entrance to Jetavana, in order that people might worship it while the Buddha was away on tour. As soon as a seedling was planted from the great Bodhi-tree at Gayā, it grew into a tree fifty cubits high, and the Buddha consecrated it by spending one night under it, wrapt in meditation (J.iv.228‑36).
The Kāliṅgabodhi Jātaka is found also in the Mahābodhivaṃsa (Mbv.62ff ); there it is given in much greater detail and differs in minor details from the Jātaka version, containing, among other things, a long description of the divine-eye (dibbacakkhu) and the seven gems of a Cakkavatti.
480See Akitti. It was related at Jetavana, of a generous donor who lived at Sāvatthi. This man invited the Buddha, and during seven days gave many gifts to him and to the monks. On the last day he presented the company of Arahants with all necessaries. The Buddha praised the man’s generosity and told him how wise men of old shared their possessions with others, even when they themselves had nothing to eat but kāra-leaves and water. J.iv.236ff.
481Brahmadatta had, as chaplain, a tawny-brown brahmin who was toothless, and whose wife had a paramour possessed of the same attributes. Wishing for the death of the latter, the chaplain asked the king to build anew the southern gate of his city, and declared that on the day the gate was set up a tawny-brown brahmin should be killed and sacrificed to the guardian spirits. The king agreed, but the chaplain, unable to restrain his wife’s conduct, told her about it. The news spread abroad, and all tawny-brown brahmins fled from the city, leaving, on the auspicious day, only the chaplain. The people demanded that he should be slain to avert ill-luck, and that his pupil, Takkāriya (the Bodhisatta), should be appointed in his place. The chaplain confessed his plan to Takkāriya, who thereupon related several stories showing how “silence is golden.” In the end Takkāriya allowed the chaplain to flee from the city, and had the corpse of a goat buried under the city gates in the dead of night (J.iv.242ff).
The story was related in reference to Kokālika, who came to grief by abusing the Chief Disciples. See Kokālika (2).
The tawny-brown brahmin is identified with Kokālika.
The Jātaka seems also to have been called the Takka Jātaka (e.g., J.v.446) and the Mahātakkāri Jātaka. J.ii.175.
482Once, in Bārāṇasī, there lived Mahādhanaka, the son of a rich man. His parents had taught him nothing, and after their death he squandered all their wealth and fell into debt. Unable to escape his creditors, he summoned them and took them to the banks of the Gaṅgā, promising to show them buried treasure. Arrived there, he jumped into the river. He lamented aloud as he was being carried away by the stream. The Bodhisatta was then a golden hued deer living on the banks of the river, and, hearing the man’s wailing of anguish, he swam into the stream and saved him. After having ministered to him, the deer set him on the road to Bārāṇasī and asked him to tell no one of the existence of the Bodhisatta.
The day the man reached Bārāṇasī, proclamation was being made that the Queen Consort, Khemā, having dreamed of a golden deer teaching her, longed for the dream to come true. Mahādhanaka offered to take the king to such a deer and a hunt was organized. When the Bodhisatta saw the king with his retinue, he went up to the king and told him the story of Mahādhanaka. The king denounced the traitor and gave the Bodhisatta a boon that henceforth all creatures should be free from danger. Afterwards the Bodhisatta was taken to the city, where he saw the queen. Flocks of deer, now free from fear, devoured men’s crops; but the king would not go against his promise and the Bodhisatta begged his herds to desist from doing damage.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s ingratitude and wickedness. Devadatta was Mahādhanaka and Ānanda the king. J.iv.255‑63; the story is included in the Jātakamālā (No. 26).
483The Bodhisatta was once born as stag. The king of Bārāṇasī went out hunting with his courtiers, who contrived to drive the stag near the king; he shot, the stag rolled over as hit, but soon got up and ran away. The courtiers laughed and the king set off in pursuit of the stag. During the chase he fell into it a pit, and the stag, feeling pity for him, drew him out and taught him the Dhamma. On the king’s return, he decreed that all his subjects should observe the five virtues. The king told no one of what had befallen him, but the chaplain, hearing him repeat six stanzas, divined what had happened. He questioned the king, who told him the story.
Many men and women, following the king’s instructions, were reborn in heaven, and Sakka, realising the reason for this, appeared before the king, who was practising shooting, and contrived that he should proclaim the Bodhisatta’s nobility.
The story was told in reference to Sāriputta’s wisdom. It is said that, when the Buddha descended from Tāvatiṃsa after teaching the Abhidhamma, wishing to demonstrate the unique wisdom of Sāriputta, he propounded certain questions before the multitude at Saṅkassa, which none but Sāriputta could answer. What the Buddha asked in brief Sāriputta answered in detail.
Ānanda is identified with the king and Sāriputta with the chaplain (J.iv.263‑75). The story is also included in the Jātakamālā (No. 25) as the Sarabha Jātaka.
484Once, when King Magadha was reigning in Rājagaha, the Bodhisatta was a parrot and looked after his aged parents. When the fields of the brahmin Kosiyagotta, of Sālindiya in Magadha, were ripe, the parrot went there with his flock, and, having fed himself, took some corn for his parents. The watchman of the fields reported this to Kosiyagotta, and, on his instructions, a snare was set and the Bodhisatta caught. When he raised the alarm, the other parrots fled. The Bodhisatta explained to Kosiyagotta why he carried the corn away — to feed his parents, his young ones, and those who were in need, thus, as it were, paying a debt, giving a loan, and setting up a store of merit. The brahmin was very pleased, and gave permission to the Bodhisatta to take the corn of all his thousand acres; but the Bodhisatta accepted only eight (J. iv.276‑82).
For the introductory story see the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka.
Channa, is identified with the watchman and Ānanda with Kosiyagotta.
485Once the Bodhisatta, born as a kinnara named Canda, lived with his mate Candā in the Canda mountain in Himavā. One day, while they were disporting themselves near a little stream, singing and dancing, the king of Bārāṇasī, who had gone hunting, saw Candā and fell in love with her. So he shot Canda with an arrow, and when Candā lamented aloud at the sight of her dead husband the king revealed himself and offered her his love and his kingdom. Canda scorned the offer and protested to the gods that they should have allowed harm to befall her husband. Sakka’s throne was heated by her such great loyalty and, coming in the guise of a brahmin, he restored to Canda his life.
The king was Anuruddha and Candā was Rāhulamātā. The story was related by the Buddha when he visited his father’s palace at Kapilavatthu and heard from Suddhodana how devotedly Rāhulamātā had continued to love the Buddha. He said it was not the first time that she had shown her undying affection. J.iv.282ff; DhA.i.97.
486Not far from a certain village settlement a hawk lived on the south shore of a lake. He courted a female hawk on the western shore, and, at her suggestion, made friends with an osprey on the west side, a lion on the north and a turtle on an island in the lake. Later, the hawks had two sons, who lived on the island. One day, some men, wandering about in search of food, lay down under the tree where the hawks lived and kindled a fire to keep away the insects. The smoke disturbed the young ones and they set up a cry. The men, hearing this, wished to get the birds for their food. However, the she-hawk, perceiving the danger, sent her husband to summon their friends. First came the osprey who brought water in his wings and quenched the fire every time it was lighted; when he was tired, the turtle sent his son with mud from the lake, which he put on the fire. The men caught the turtle and tied it with creepers, but he plunged into the water, dragging the men with him. Then the lion appeared, and at his first roar the men fled, and the friends rejoiced over the firmness of their friendship.
The story was told in reference to Mittagandhaka (q.v.) and his wife. They were the hawks of the story. Rāhula was the young turtle and Moggallāna the father turtle. Sāriputta was the osprey and the Bodhisatta the lion. J.iv.288‑97.
487The story of Uddālaka given above. It was related in reference to a monk who led a deceitful life.
The monk is identified with Uddālaka. (J.iii.232).
The Jātaka is depicted in the Bhārhūt Tope (see Cunningham, Plate XLVI).
On the same occasion were taught the Makkaṭa, Kuhaka, and Setaketu Jātaka stories.
488Once the Bodhisatta was born into a family that had a fortune of eight hundred million. He was called Mahā Kañcana and had six younger brothers (the eldest of them being Upakañcana) and a sister, Kañcanadevi. None of them would marry, and, on the death of their parents, they distributed their wealth, and, together with a servant man and maid, they went into the Himavā and became ascetics, gathering wild fruits for food. Later, they agreed that Mahā Kañcana, Kañcanadevi and the maid should be spared the task of collecting fruit and that the others should do this in turn. Each day the fruits collected were divided into lots and the gong was sounded. The ascetics would then come one by one and take each his or her share. By the glory of their virtues, Sakka’s throne trembled. In order to test them, for three days in succession he caused Mahā Kañcana’s share to disappear. On the third day, Mahā Kañcana summoned the others and asked the reason for this. Each protested his innocence and swore an oath that heavy curses should attend them if any were guilty of stealing so much as a lotus stalk (bhisa). In each case punishment was to be that in their next birth they should have lands, possessions, and other encumbrances — which, from an ascetic’s point of view, would be a grievous thing. At this gathering were also present the chief deity of the forest, an elephant escaped from a stake, a monkey who had once belonged to a snake charmer, and Sakka, who remained invisible. At the end of their protestations of innocence, Sakka inquired of Mahā Kañcana why they all so dreaded possessions; on hearing the explanation, he was greatly moved and asked pardon of the ascetics for his trick.
The story was related in the same circumstances as the Kusa Jātaka (q.v.)
489There once reigned in Mithilā a king, named Suruci. He had a son also called Suruci-kumāra, who studied at Takkasilā, where Prince Brahmadatta of Bārāṇasī was his fellow student. They became great friends, and agreed to bring about an alliance between the two royal houses. Suruci came to the throne of Mithilā and had a son called after himself. Brahmadatta became king of Bārāṇasī and had a daughter, Sumedhā. A marriage was arranged between Suruci and Sumedhā, but Brahmadatta agreed to the alliance only on condition that Sumedhā should be Suruci’s only wife. Suruci accepted this condition, but, though Sumedhā lived in the palace for ten thousand years, she had no child. The people clamoured for an heir, but Suruci refused to take another queen, though Sumedhā herself obtained for him many thousands of women for his harem, sixteen thousand in all. Forty thousand years thus passed, but no child was born in the palace.
Then Sumedhā vowed an Act of Truth; Sakka’s throne was heated, and he asked the god Naḷakāra to be born as Sumedhā’s son. Naḷakāra reluctantly agreed. Then Sakka went to the king’s park disguised as a sage and offered to give any woman who was virtuous a son. “If thou seek virtue, seek Sumedhā,” they said. He then went to the palace, and having made Sumedhā declare to him her virtue, he revealed his identity and promised her a son. In due course a son was born — Mahāpanāda. He grew up amid great splendour, and, when he was sixteen, the king built for him a grand palace.
It is said that Sakka sent Vissakamma as mason to help with the building. When the palace was completed, three ceremonies were held on the same day: the dedication of the palace, Mahāpanāda’s coronation and his marriage. The festival lasted for seven years, and the people began to grumble; but the king would not bring the festival to an end, for all this time Mahāpanāda had not once laughed, and the king said the feast could not end until he was made to laugh. Various people came to amuse him, among them two jugglers, Bhandukaṇṇa and Paṇḍukaṇṇa; but it was not until Sakka sent a divine dancer to dance the “Half-body” dance, in which one half of the body danced while the rest stood still, that Mahāpanāda smiled.
The story was related on the occasion on which the Buddha gave Visākhā eight boons. One night there was a great storm, and the Buddha asked the monks to drench themselves in the rain as that would be the last great rain storm in his time. Together with them the Buddha appeared at Visākhā’s house, but as soon as they arrived on the threshold they were quite dry.
Bhaddaji is identified with Mahāpanāda, Visākhā with Sumedhā, Ānanda with Vissakamma, and the Bodhisatta, was Sakka. J.iv.314‑25; cf. DA.iii.856f; and J.ii.334.
490Once four animals — a wood pigeon, a snake, a jackal, and a bear lived on friendly terms with the Bodhisatta, who was an ascetic, and, with him as their teacher, they all kept the uposatha to rid themselves of their sins and desires. The pigeon had yearned too much after his mate, who was killed by a hawk; the snake had killed a bull, which trod on it; the jackal had lost his hair by clinging too long to an elephant’s corpse; the bear had received many blows when he visited a village for food; while the ascetic himself had been proud until visited by a Pacceka Buddha, who pointed out to him the folly of pride.
Anuruddha was the pigeon, Mahā-Kassapa the bear, Mahā-Moggallāna the jackal, and Sāriputta the snake.
The Jātaka was related to five hundred lay disciples (upāsaka) to encourage them to keep the fast days. J.iv.325ff.
491The Bodhisatta was once reborn as a golden peacock. Realising that he would be in danger due to his beauty he went to live in Himavā. One day, the queen of Brahmadatta the king of Bārāṇasī had a dream about a golden peacock teaching the Dhamma. When the peacock rose to depart, the queen cried out to catch him, and then awoke. Telling the king of her dream, she said that she would die if she did not get the golden peacock. The king sent a hunter to capture the peacock, but he could not be caught because every day he recited the Mora Paritta (q.v.) The hunter employed a pea-hen as a decoy. The peacock, being lustful forgot to recite the protection discourse, and so was trapped.
At the end of the discourse, the Buddha identified himself as the golden peacock, and the back-sliding monk for whose benefit it was taught, attained Stream-winning. (J.iv.333)
492Once a carpenter in a village near Bārāṇasī picked up a young boar from a pit and took him home and reared him, calling him Tacchasūkara (Carpenter’s Boar). The boar helped him in his work, fetching his tools and so on. When he grew up to be a big, burly beast, the carpenter let him go free in the forest. There he joined a herd of wild boars that was being harassed by a fierce tiger. Tacchasūkara made all the preparations for a counter-attack, digging pits and training all the members of the herd in their various duties, and their several positions at the time of attack. Under his guidance they succeeded in killing the tiger and greedily devouring the corpse. Tacchasūkara was told that there was a sham ascetic who had helped the tiger to eat the boars. The herd attacked the ascetic, who climbed up a fig-tree, but they uprooted the tree and devoured him. They consecrated Tacchasūkara as their king, making him sit on a fig-tree, and sprinkling water on him from a conch-shell, with its spirals turned clockwise, which the ascetic had used for drinking.
Hence arose the custom of seating the king on a chair of figwood and sprinkling him with water from a conch-shell at his coronation. The story was related in connection with Dhanuggaha-Tissa Thera (q.v.) Spies of Pasenadi had heard him discuss with Datta Thera the plan of campaign that should be adopted if Pasenadi wished to defeat Ajātasattu. This was repeated to Pasenadi, who followed the suggestion and captured Ajātasattu.
Dhanuggaha-Tissa is identified with Tacchasūkara. J.iv.342ff.
493A company of merchants once went astray in the forest without food or water, and, seeing a huge banyan-tree with moist branches, they out off a branch and water poured out, from another branch came food, from another a company of girls, and from the fourth various precious things. Overcome by greed, they wished to cut the tree from its roots in order to get more. Their leader, the Bodhisatta, tried to prevent this, but they refused to listen. Then the Nāga king who lived in the tree, ordered his followers to slay all the merchants except the leader. Him the Nāgā escorted to his home with all the treasures.
The story was told in reference to a company of merchants from Sāvatthi, followers of the Buddha, who had a similar experience. However, having moderate desires, they made no attempt to cut down the tree. Then they returned to Sāvatthi, and, offering some of the precious things to the Buddha, made over the merit thereof to the deity of the tree. The Buddha praised them for their moderation. Sāriputta is identified with the Nāga king. J.iv.350ff.
494The Bodhisatta was once born as Sādhīna, king of Mithilā. He built six alms halls and spent daily six hundred thousand pieces on alms. He lived a good life, and his subjects followed his example. In the assembly of the Devā his praises were spoken, and various Devā wished to see him. So Sakka sent Mātali, with his chariot, to fetch Sādhīna to Tāvatiṃsa. When he arrived, Sakka gave him half his kingdom and his luxuries. For seven hundred years, in human reckoning, Sādhīna ruled in heaven, and then he became dissatisfied and returned to his royal park on earth. The park-keeper brought news of his arrival to Nārada, the reigning king, seventh in direct descent from Sādhīna. Nārada arrived, paid homage to Sādhīna, and offered him the kingdom. However, Sādhīna refused it, saying that all he wished was to distribute alms for seven days. Nārada arranged a vast largesse for distribution. For seven days Sādhīna gave alms, and on the seventh day he died and was born in Tāvatiṃsa. The story was related to lay disciples to show them the importance of keeping the fast day.
Ānanda is identified with Nārada and Anuruddha with Sakka (J.iv.355‑60).
Sādhīna was one of the four human beings who went to Tāvatiṃsa while in their human body. Mil.115, 271; MA.ii.738.
495Once the Bodhisatta was born as Vidhura, counsellor to Koravya of the Yudhiṭṭhila-gotta, and king of Indapatta. The king’s generosity was unparalleled, but he gained no satisfaction there from as all the recipients of his gifts were wicked men. He therefore consulted with Vidhura and, after having discussed with him the qualities of real virtue, obtained, with Vidhura’s help, five hundred Pacceka Buddhas from the Nandapabbata in Himavā and entertained them for seven days.
The story was related in reference to the Asadisadāna of Pasenadi. Koravya is identified with Ānanda. J.iv.360‑8.
496Once Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, travelled about his kingdom in disguise seeking for someone who would tell him of a fault possessed by him. One day, in a frontier village, a very rich landowner saw him, and, pleased with his appearance, brought him a very luxurious meal. The king took the food and passed it to his chaplain; the latter gave it to an ascetic who happened to be nearby. The ascetic placed it in the bowl of a Pacceka Buddha sitting near them. The Pacceka Buddha proceeded, without a word, to eat the meal. The landowner was astonished and asked them the reason for their action, and, on learning that each one was progressively greater in virtue than the king, he rejoiced greatly.
The story was told in reference to a landowner of Sāvatthi, a devout follower of the Buddha. Being anxious to honour the Dhamma also, he consulted the Buddha, and, acting on his advice, invited Ānanda to his house and gave him choice food and three costly robes. Ānanda took them and offered them to Sāriputta, who, in his turn, made a gift of them to the Buddha.
Ānanda was the king of the story, Sāriputta the chaplain, while the ascetic was the Bodhisatta. J.iv.369ff.
497The Bodhisatta was once born in a village of outcastes (caṇḍāla) outside Bārāṇasī and was named Mātaṅga. One day, when Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, the daughter of a rich merchant, was on her way to the park with a group of friends, she saw Mātaṅga coming towards the city, and thinking the sight inauspicious, washed her eyes with perfumed water and turned back home. Her companions, annoyed at being deprived of their fun, beat Mātaṅga and left him senseless. On recovering consciousness, he determined to get Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā as his wife and lay down outside her father’s house refusing to move. Seven days he lay thus until her relations, fearing the ignominy of having an outcaste die at their door, gave Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā to him as wife.
Knowing her pride to be quelled by this act, Mātaṅga decided to bring her great honour. He, therefore, retired into the forest and in seven days, won supernatural power. On his return he told her to proclaim abroad that her husband was not an outcaste, but Mahābrahmā, and that seven days later, on the night of the full-moon, he would come to her, breaking through the moon’s disk. She did as he said and so it happened. The people thenceforth honoured her as a goddess; the water in which she washed her feet was used for the coronation of kings, and in one single day she received a hundred and eighty million from those who were allowed the privilege of saluting her. Mātaṅga touched her navel with his thumb, and, knowing that she had conceived a son, admonished her to be vigilant and returned to the moon.
The son was born in the pavilion, which the people had constructed for the use of Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, and was therefore called Maṇḍavya. At the age of sixteen he knew all the Vedas and fed sixteen thousand brahmins daily. On a feast day Mātaṅga came to him, thinking to turn him from his wrong doctrines, but Maṇḍavya failed to recognise him and had him cast out by his servants, Bhaṇḍakucchi, Upajjhāya, and Upajotiya. The gods of the city thereupon grew angry and twisted the necks of Maṇḍavya and all the brahmins so that their eyes looked over their shoulders. When Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā heard of this she sought Mātaṅga, who had left his footsteps so that she might know where he was. He asked her to sprinkle on the brahmins water in which were dissolved the leavings of his food; to Maṇḍavya himself was given some of the food. On recovering and seeing the plight of the brahmins, he realised his error. The brahmins recovered, but were shunned by their colleagues; they left the country and went to live in the kingdom of Mejjha.
On the bank of the Vettavatī lived a brahmin called Jātimanta, very proud of his birth. Mātaṅga went there to humble the pride of Jātimanta and lived higher up stream. One day he nibbled a tooth stick and threw it into the river, where, lower down, it got entangled in Jātimanta’s hair. He was greatly annoyed and went up stream, where he found Mātaṅga and told him that, if he stayed there any longer, at the end of seven days his head would split into seven pieces. On the seventh day Mātaṅga stopped the sun from rising. On discovering the cause, the people dragged Jātimanta to Mātaṅga and made him ask forgiveness, falling at Mātaṅga’s feet. Jātimanta’s head was covered with a lump of clay, which was immersed in the water as the sun rose.
Mātaṅga then went to the kingdom of Mejjha, where the exiled brahmins reported against him to the king, saying that he was a magician and a mountebank. The king’s messengers surprised Mātaṅga as he was eating his food beside a well, and cut off his head. He was born in the Brahma world. The gods were angry and wiped out the whole kingdom of Mejjha by pouring on it torrents of hot ashes. Before his meeting with Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā the Bodhisatta was a mongoose-tamer¹ (koṇḍadamaka). The story was told in reference to the attempt of King Udena (q.v.) to torture Piṇḍola-Bhāradvāja. Udena is identified with Maṇḍavya.²
¹ However, in SNA.i.186, he is called a sopākajīvika.
² J.iv.375‑90; the story is found also at SNA.i.184‑93, with alterations in certain details — e.g., for Vettavatī we have Bandhumatī; see also Mil.123ff.
498The Bodhisatta was once born as an outcaste (caṇḍāla) in Ujjeni in the kingdom of Avanti. He was called Citta and his brother Sambhūta. One day, when they were out sweeping, two rich women on their way to the park noticed them and turned back. Their followers, disappointed at their loss of a picnic, beat the two outcastes.
Then the brothers went to Takkasilā to study. Citta became very proficient, and was sent one day, in place of his teacher, to the house of a villager who had invited the teacher and his pupils. However, while there, in a moment of forgetfulness, the brothers used the Caṇḍāla dialect, and having thus disclosed their caste, were driven out of Takkāsilā.
In their next birth they became does and in a subsequent birth ospreys. They were always together and always met their death together. Later Citta was born as the son of the chaplain of Kosambī, and Sambhūta as son of the king of Uttarapañcāla. Citta, becoming an ascetic at the age of sixteen, remembered his past births. He waited until Sambhūta had reigned for fifty years, and knowing that he also had some recollection of his previous existences, taught a stanza to a lad and sent him to recite it before the king. Sambhūta heard the stanza, remembered his brother, and, after inquiry, visited Citta, who had then gone to the royal park. There Citta gave him counsel, and not long after Sambhūta renounced the world. After death they were both born in the Brahma world.
Ānanda is identified with Sambhūta. The story was told in reference to two monks, colleagues of Mahā-Kassapa, who were greatly devoted to each other. J.iv.390‑401.
499The Bodhisatta was once born as Sivi, king of Ariṭṭhapura, his father bearing the same name as himself. He ruled well, and daily gave alms to the amount of six hundred thousand. One day the desire came to him to give part of his body to any who might ask for it. Sakka read his thoughts, and, appearing before him as a blind brahmin, asked for his eyes. The king agreed to give them, and sent for his surgeon Sivaka. Amid the protests and lamentations of his family and his subjects, Sivi had his eyes removed and given to the brahmin. It is said that the surgeon did his work in several stages, giving Sivi chances of withdrawing his offer. When the sockets healed Sivi wished to become an ascetic, and went into the park with one attendant. Sakka’s throne grew hot, and appearing before Sivi, he offered him a boon. The king wished to die, but Sakka insisted on his choosing something else. He then asked that his sight might be restored. Sakka suggested an Act of Truth (saccakiriyā), as not even Sakka could restore lost sight. The eyes reappeared, but they were neither natural eyes nor divine, but eyes called “Truth, Absolute and Perfect.” Sivi collected all his subjects, and, resting on a throne in a pavilion, taught them the value of gifts.
The story was related in reference to the incomparable almsgiving (asadisa-dāna) given by King Pasenadi. On the seventh day of the almsgiving the king gave all kinds of requisites and asked the Buddha to teach a thanksgiving discourse, but the Buddha left without doing so. The next day, on being questioned by the king, he explained his reasons for this (For details see Asadisa-dāna). The king, greatly pleased with the Buddha’s explanation, gave him an outer robe of Sīveyyaka cloth worth one thousand. When the monks started commenting on how tireless the king was in giving, the Buddha related to them the old story, in which Ānanda is identified with Sivaka, the physician, and Anuruddha with Sakka (J.iv.401‑12; of. CypA.52f).
The Sivirājacariyā is included in the Cariyāpiṭaka (Cyp.i.8; the story is also given with variant details in the Avadānaśataka i.183‑6). It forms the topic of one of the dilemmas of the Milindapañha. Mil.p.119f.
501The Bodhisatta was once born as Rohaṇa, a golden deer, king over eighty thousand deer, near Lake Rohaṇa. He had a brother, Cittamiga, and a sister Sutanā. One day Khemā, wife of the king of Bārāṇasī, dreamed that a golden deer taught her and begged the king to make the dream come true. The king offered great rewards, and a hunter, who was aware of Rohaṇa’s existence, undertook to bring him to the court. He set a trap in the ford where the deer drank and Rohaṇa was caught in it. When Rohaṇa gave the alarm, all the deer fled except Cittamiga and Sutanā. They told the hunter that they would die with their brother rather than leave him, and the hunter, touched by their devotion, set Rohaṇa free. When Rohaṇa discovered why he had been caught, he offered to go to Bārāṇasī, but was dissuaded by the hunter owing to the risks he would run. Rohaṇa then taught the Dhamma to the hunter and sent him back with a golden hair from his body. The hunter related the story to the king and queen and taught them the Dhamma. Then rejecting the rewards they offered him, he became an ascetic in the Himavā.
The story was related in reference to Ānanda’s attempt to throw himself before the elephant Dhanapāla, who was sent to kill the Buddha. Ānanda is identified with Cittamiga, Channa with the hunter, Sāriputta with the king and Uppalavaṇṇā with Sutanā. J.iv.413ff; some of the verses of this Jātaka are found also in the Tesakuṇa Jātaka (J.v.123f).
5021. Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka (No. 502).– Once Khemā, wife of King Bahuputtaka of Bārāṇasī, dreamed of a golden goose teaching the Dhamma and craved for her dream to come true. The king had a lake, called Khemā, dug outside the city, and put into it various kinds of food in order to entice the golden geese that lived in Cittakūṭa. They came, led by Dhataraṭṭha the Bodhisatta, who was caught in the snare laid by the king’s hunter. The Bodhisatta gave the alarm, and all the geese fled except Sumukha, his captain, who refused to leave him even though told to do so. When the hunter came, Sumukha persuaded him to let Dhataraṭṭha free and to take him instead. The hunter agreed, but when the Bodhisatta heard of the reason for his capture, he, too, insisted on going before the king. Both geese were, therefore, led before the king, who was overjoyed. Dhataraṭṭha taught the Dhamma and the queen’s craving was appeased; the geese were then allowed to fly away.
The story was related in reference to Ānanda’s readiness to give his life for the Buddha. Channa is identified with the huntsman, Sāriputta with the king, Khemā Therī with the queen, and Ānanda with Sumukha. J.iv.423‑30; cf. the Mahāhaṃsa Jātaka.
2. Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka (No. 533).– The Bodhisatta was once born as Dhataraṭṭha, king of ninety thousand golden geese living in Cittakūṭa. One day some of his flock came upon Lake Mānusiya, near the haunts of men, and finding it a rich feeding-ground, persuaded him much against his will to go there with them. However, immediately he alighted he was caught in a fowler’s noose and found escape impossible. He waited until the flock had fed, then gave the cry of alarm at which all the geese flew away except his commander-in-chief, Sumukha. When the fowler came, Sumukha offered to give his life for his king, and thereby softened the fowler’s heart. The latter set Dhataraṭṭha free and tended his wounds, and because of the man’s great charity the king of the geese became whole again. When the fowler suggested that they should fly home, the two geese insisted that they should be taken to Sakula, the king of the land, the Mahiṃsaka country, that they might obtain for the fowler a suitable reward. When the king heard the story he gave to the fowler a village yielding one hundred thousand annually, a chariot and a large store of gold. Dhataraṭṭha taught the king the moral law and, after being paid great honour, returned to Cittakūṭa.
The story was related in reference to Ānanda’s attempt to offer his life in order to save the Buddha from being killed by the elephant Nālāgiri (q.v.) Channa is identified with the fowler, Sāriputta with the king, and Ānanda with Sumukha. J.v.333‑.54; DhA.i.119; cf. the Mahāhaṃsa Jātaka and the Haṃsa Jātaka.
503Two parrots were once carried away by the wind during the moulting season. One of them fell among the weapons in a robber village and was called Sattigumba; the other fell in a hermitage among flowers and was called Pupphaka. He was the Bodhisatta. One day, Pañcāla, king of Uttarapañcāla, went out hunting. While chasing the deer with his charioteer, he was separated from his bodyguard and found himself in a glen near the robbers’ village. There he slept. The robbers were absent, leaving only Sattigumba and a cook, named Patikolamba. The parrot, seeing the king, plotted with the cook to kill him. The king overheard the plan and fled with his charioteer. In his flight he came to the hermitage, where he was made welcome by Pupphaka until the return of the sages. The king told his story, and Pupphaka explained that though he and Sattigumba were brothers, their upbringing had been different, which accounted for the difference in their natures. The king decreed immunity to all parrots and provided for the comfort of sages in his park.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha by hurling a stone at him. Sattigamba is identified with Devadatta and the king with Ānanda. J.iv.430‑7.
504The Bodhisatta was once born as Bhallātiya, king of Bārāṇasī. Desirous of eating venison cooked on charcoal, he gave the kingdom in charge of his courtiers and went to the Himavā on a hunting expedition. While wandering about near Gandhamādana, among pleasant streams and groves, he came across two kinnaras fondly embracing each other and then weeping and wailing most pitifully. The king quieted his hounds, laid down his weapons, and approached the kinnaras. In answer to his questions, the female told him that one day, while she was picking flowers on the opposite bank for a garland for her lover, it grew late and a storm arose. The stream which separated the two lovers swelled in flood and they had to spend the night apart from each other. The memory of one night, thus passed in separation, had filled them with sorrow for six hundred and ninety-seven years, and they still wept whenever they thought of it.
The story was told in reference to a quarrel between Pasenadi and Mallikā about conjugal rights. They were sulky and refused to look at each other. The Buddha visited the palace and reconciled them. The two kiṇṇaras were identified with the king and the queen. J.iv.437ff.
505Once, when Reṇu was king of Uttarapañcāla, an ascetic, Mahārakkhita, visited him with five hundred others from the Himavā. The king entertained them and told them of his worry because he had no sons. Some time later, when the ascetics were returning, Mahā Rakkhita saw that the king would have a son and told his companions so. One of the ascetics, a cheat, hoping to get gain thereby, feigned illness, and, returning to the palace, told the king that a son would be born to his queen, Sudhammā. The king showed him great honour, and he came to be called Dibbacakkhuka. In due course, the Bodhisatta was born as the king’s son, and was named Somanassa. When the boy was seven years old the king had to leave home to quell a border rising, and Somanassa was left in the charge of the cheating ascetic. The boy soon discovered his real nature and paid him no honour. As soon as the king returned, Dibbacakkhu complained to him that the prince had ill-treated him. Somanassa was ordered to be executed, but he exposed the cheat’s knavery, and men, sent to search his hut, found bundles of money in it. Disgusted with life at court, Somanassa obtained the king’s leave and became an ascetic in the Himavā, where Vissakamma, commanded by Sakka, built a hermitage for him. The cheat was stoned to death by the people.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha. He is identified with Dibbacakkhu, Sāriputta with Mahārakkhita and Somanassa’s mother with Mahāmāyā. J.iv.445ff.
506Once the king of Magadha, at constant war with the king of Aṅga, obtaining the help of the Nāga-king who dwelt in the river Campā, defeated his rival. Thereafter he held an annual festival in honour of the Nāga-king. The Bodhisatta, a very poor man, saw Campeyya’s splendour on his way to the feast and longed for a like greatness. As a result, after death, he was born in the Nāga world where he became king under the name of Campeyya. Realising what had happened, he felt disgust at his position as a Nāga and made many attempts to observe religious vows, hoping, in this way, to gain release. However, he was foiled in his efforts by his consort Sumanā. At last he came to the world of men, where he kept fast on certain days, lying on an ant-hill. There he was taken captive by a snake charmer who tortured him in various ways and took him about, exhibiting him for gain. By certain tokens of which Campeyya had earlier warned her, Sumanā knew that her husband had been taken captive and, after much searching, she discovered him just as the snake charmer was about to give a performance before Uggasena, king of Bārāṇasī. The whole story was then revealed, and the snake charmer set Campeyya free. That Uggasena might be convinced of the truth of the story, he was invited to the Nāga-world, where he and his retinue were lavishly entertained.
The story was related in connection with the observance of uposatha vows. Devadatta was the snake charmer and Sāriputta was Uggasena. Rāhulamātā was Sumanā (J.iv.454‑68).
The Campeyya-cariyā is included in the Cariyāpiṭaka (p.85f in order to illustrate the perfection of virtue (sīla-pāramī).
This Jātaka is often referred to (e.g., J.i.45; MA.ii.617) as one of the births in which the Bodhisatta practised morality (sīla) to perfection.
508Also called Pañcapaṇḍitapañha and Paṇḍitapañha.
The name given to a section of the Umaṅga Jātaka that deals with the plot of Senaka, Pukkusa, Kāvinda, and Devinda, to have Mahosadha killed by informing the king that Mahosadha has a guilty secret that he did not want anyone to know about. However, Mahosadha learnt their secrets and defeated their intentions. J.iv.473; v.81; vi.379, 389.
509Esukārī, king of Bārāṇasī, had no sons. His chaplain, hearing that the deity of a certain banyan tree had the power of giving sons, went to the tree and threatened to cut it down unless Esukārī had a son. The tree deity consulted Sakka, who persuaded four devas to be born as the sons, not of Esukārī, but of his chaplain. On the day when the chaplain came to cut down the tree, the deity told him of Sakka’s decision, and also warned him that the sons would not live the household life. In due course the sons were born and were named Hatthipāla, Gopāla, Assapāla, and Ajapāla. Various devices were adopted to prevent them from turning to the ascetic life. However, when Hatthipāla grew up he insisted on leaving home and becoming an ascetic, heedless of the entreaties both of his father and of Esukārī. His brothers, when their time came, acted in the same way. Later, their parents joined them. The king sent for all their wealth, but the queen, being wise, made him realise by means of a simile the folly of such an act. Together they left the world and joined Hatthipāla and his family. The citizens followed their example until the whole city was empty.
Hatthipāla taught them and they all became ascetics. His company covered an area of thirty leagues, and with it he went to the Himavā, where Vissakamma, acting under Sakka’s orders, built for them a hermitage extending over thirty-six leagues, on the bank’s of the Gaṅgā. Soon after, other kings who, with their followers, had gone, one after another, to take Bārāṇasī, realising their folly, joined Hatthipāla and became ascetics.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s Great Renunciation. Suddhodana was Esukārī, Mahāmāyā his queen, Mahā-Kassapa the chaplain, Bhaddā Kāpilānī his wife, Anuruddha was Ajapāla, Mahā-Moggallāna was Gopāla, Sāriputta was Assapāla, and the Buddha himself was Hatthipāla.
The large concourse that followed Hatthipāla is called Hatthipāla-samāgama, and in it were several who later attained Arahantship in Sri Lanka — Phussadeva of Kaṭakandhakāra, Mahā Saṅgharakkhita of Uparimaṇḍalakamalaya, Malaya Mahādeva Thera, Mahādeva of Bhaggagiri, Mahāsīva of Vāmantapabbhāra, and Mahānāga of Kāḷavallimaṇḍapa (J.iv.473‑91; referred to at J.i.45). A Burmese monk of Ava, Raṭṭhasāra by name, born in 1468, composed a metrical version of the Hatthipāla Jātaka. Bode, op.cit., 44.
510The Bodhisatta was once born as the son of the king of Bārāṇasī. Both the earlier children of the Queen Consort had been eaten up by a she-goblin. For the third child, therefore, an iron house (Ayoghara) was built, and in this the Bodhisatta was born, hence his name, Ayoghara.
Meanwhile the she-goblin had died, but yet the Bodhisatta grew up in the iron house. When he was sixteen his father, wishing to give him the kingdom, had him taken in ceremonial procession round the city. Wondering at all that he saw, he asked why he had been denied the sight of all these things before. When told the reason, he reflected that all life was a prison, that though he had escaped the goblin, there still remained old age and death. Accordingly, at the end of the procession, he announced his intention of renouncing the world. His parents and many others being converted to his views, they followed him into the forest, where a special hermitage was built for them by Vissakamma under Sakka’s orders. J.iv.490‑99.
511A chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī, who took bribes and gave false judgments, is reborn to a state of suffering all day, but as a result of having given a mango fruit to a woman who was keeping the fast, he enjoys great glory throughout the night in a charming mango-grove. His king, who had become an ascetic, eats a mango which had been carried by the river from this grove, and wishes for some more. He is transported by a river nymph (Uppalavaṇṇā of this age) to the mango-grove, where he hears from his erstwhile chaplain the story of his alternate bliss and misery. The Buddha related the story to some of his lay disciples who were keeping the fast (J.v.1ff). The king is identified with the Bodhisatta.
512The story of how a forester, Sura, accidentally discovered strong drink, and how, with the help of his accomplice, the ascetic Varuṇa, he spread abroad the discovery, thus leading to the destruction of all Jambudīpa, had Sakka not appeared on earth and by his exposition of the evils of drink induced Sabbamitta, king of Sāvatthi, to abstain from its use.
The story was told in answer to a question by Visākhā as to the origin of drink. Once during a drinking festival at Sāvatthi five hundred women, friends of Visākhā visited Jetavana in her company. On the way they became drunk, which led to their behaving improperly in the monastery. The Buddha frightened them by his psychic power and restored them to their senses. (J.v.11ff; the DhA.iii.100ff gives a slightly different version of the doings of Visākhā’s friends).
The story of the past is also given in the Jātakamālā (No. 17).
514The story of the Bodhisatta, born as Chaddanta, king of elephants. It was related in reference to a nun of Sāvatthi who, while listening one day to a discourse by the Buddha, admired his extreme beauty of form and wondered if she had ever been his wife. Immediately the memory of her life as Cullasubhaddā, Chaddanta’s consort, came to her mind and she laughed for joy; but on further recollecting that she had been the instrument of his death, she wept aloud. The Buddha related this story in explanation of her conduct.¹
¹ J.v.36; Speyer (ZDMG.lxxv.2, 305ff) suggests an allegorical explanation of the Chaddanta Jātaka. Feer (JA.1895 v.) gives a careful study of the story based on a comparison of five different Versions — two Pāḷi, two Chinese, and one Sanskrit. This Jātaka forms the theme of many illustrations — e.g., in Barhut (Cunningham, pl.vi.6), also Ajanta Caves x. and xvii.
515Dhanañjaya Koravya, king of Indapatta, asks a question of his chaplain Sucīrata on the Service of Truth (Dhammayāga). Sucīrata confesses ignorance, and declares that none but Vidhura, chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī, could find the answer. At once the king sends him with an escort and a present and a tablet of gold on which the answer may be written. Sucīrata visits other sages on the way, and finally Vidhura, who had been his school-mate. When the question is asked, Vidhura refers it to his son Bhadrakāra, who, however, is busy with an intrigue with a woman and cannot give attention to the matter. He sends Sucīrata to his younger brother, Sañjaya, but he, too, is occupied, and sends him on to his brother Sambhava (the Bodhisatta), a boy of seven. Sucīrata finds him playing in the street, but when he is asked the question, he answers it with all the fluent mastery of a Buddha. All Bārāṇasī, including the king, hears the answer and stays to listen. Sambhava is paid great honour and receives many presents. Sucīrata notes the answer on the golden tablet and brings it to Dhanañjaya.
The story is related in reference to the Buddha’s great wisdom. Dhanañjaya is identified with Ānanda, Sucīrata with Anuruddha, Vidhura with Mahā-Kassapa, Bhadrakāra with Mahā-Moggallāna, and Sañjaya with Sāriputta. J.v.57‑67.
5161. Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 407).– The Bodhisatta was once a monkey, leader of eighty thousand. In the grove where they lived was a mango tree (some say a banyan) growing on a river bank bearing fruit of divine flavour, and the monkeys were always careful to let no fruit drop into the river. However, one day a fruit, which bad been hidden by an ants’ nest, fell into the water, and was picked up at Bārāṇasī, where the king was bathing. The king tasted it, and being seized with a desire to eat more, had many rafts made, and ascended the river with a company of foresters. They found the tree, and the king, having eaten his fill, lay down at the foot. At midnight the Bodhisatta came with his retinue and started eating the mangoes. The king was disturbed, and gave orders to his archers that the wood should be surrounded and all the monkeys shot at daybreak. However, the Bodhisatta was a real leader; he ascended a straight-growing branch and, with one leap, reached the river bank. He then marked the distance, and having cut off a bamboo shoot of the required length, fastened one end to a tree on the bank and the other end round his waist. On leaping back, he found he had not allowed for the length which went round his waist, but grasping a branch firmly with both hands, he signalled to his followers to cross the bridge so formed. The eighty thousand monkeys thus escaped; but the monkey who was Devadatta, coming last, saw a chance of injuring the Bodhisatta, and taking a spring into the air, fell on the Bodhisatta’s back, breaking it, There the Bodhisatta hung in agony, and the king who had seen all this caused him to be brought down and covered with a yellow robe and ministered to. However, nothing could be done, and the Bodhisatta died after having admonished the king. A funeral pyre was made with one hundred wagon loads of timber, and the dead monkey was paid all the honours due to a king. A shrine was built on the spot where the cremation took place, while the skull was inlaid with gold and taken to Bārāṇasī, where a great feast was held in its honour for seven days. Afterwards it was enshrined and offerings were made to it.
The story was told concerning good works towards one’s relations, as narrated in the introduction to the Bhaddasāla Jātaka. Ānanda is identified with the king. J.iii.369‑75; cf. Jātakamālā, No.27; the story is sculptured in the stūpa of Bharhut, Cunningham, pl.iii.4.
The Jātaka is also called the Rājovāda Jātaka. It is probably this story which is said to have greatly impressed Iḷanāga when he heard it from the Thera Mahāpaduma, who lived in Tulādhāra. Mhv.v.30.
2. Mahākapi Jātaka (No. 516).– The Bodhisatta was once a monkey, and one day, in the forest, he came across a man who had fallen into a pit while looking for his oxen and had lain there starving for ten days. The Bodhisatta pulled him out and then lay down to sleep. However, the man, very hungry, and wishing to eat him, struck his head with a stone, grievously wounding him. The monkey at once climbed a tree in order to escape, but realising that the man would be unable to find his way out of the forest, he jumped from tree to tree (in spite of his intense pain) and showed him the way out. The man became a leper, and wandered about for seven years until he came to the Migācira Park in Bārāṇasī and told his story to the king. At the end of his recital the earth opened and he was swallowed up in Avīci.
The story was related in reference to Devadatta’s attempt to kill the Buddha by hurling a stone upon him. The leper was Devadatta. J.v.67‑74; cf. Jātakamālā, No. 24.
The story is also called the Vevatiyakapi Jātaka.
518A ship was once wrecked in mid ocean and only a man called Karambiya survived. He was cast upon an island, where he wandered about naked and destitute. The people thought he was an ascetic and built him a hermitage. Among his followers were a Garuḷa king, and also a Nāga king named Paṇḍara (or Paṇḍaraka). One day, at the instigation of the Garuḷa, the ascetic wheedled out of Paṇḍara the secret of how the Nāgā prevented themselves from being carried off by the Garuḷā. They swallowed large stones, thus making themselves very heavy. If the Garuḷā seized them by their tails, they would have to disgorge the stones and could easily be carried off. Karambiya betrayed this secret to the Garuḷa king who, thereupon, seized Paṇḍara in the right way and carried him away. Paṇḍara begged for mercy, and the Garuḷa set him free, warning him never again to tell his secret. Thereafter the Garuḷa and Paṇḍara lived as friends. Paṇḍara cursed Karambiya and his head split in seven pieces.
The story was related in reference to the wickedness of Devadatta, who is identified with Karambiya.
Paṇḍara was Sāriputta and the Garuḷa the Bodhisatta. J.v.75ff; vi.177.
519Sambulā was the wife of Sotthisena, king of Bārāṇasī, whose father was the Bodhisatta. Sambulā was very beautiful, but when Sotthisena, being seized with leprosy, left his kingdom and went into the forest, she went with him and tended him with great devotion. One day, after fetching food from the forest, she went to bathe, and was drying herself, when she was seized by a yakkha who threatened to carry her away.
By her power Sakka’s throne was heated, and Sakka, coming with his thunderbolt, frightened the yakkha and put him in chains. It was late when Sambulā returned home, and Sotthisena, wishing to test her love, refused to believe her story.
She then performed an Act of Truth, declaring that she was faithful and sprinkled water on Sotthisena. He was completely healed, and together they went to Bārāṇasī, where Sotthisena’s father was still king. He made Sotthisena king and became an ascetic. Sotthisena gave himself up to pleasure and neglected Sambulā. The ascetic, returning, found her thin and miserable and, learning the reason, admonished Sotthisena.
The story was related in reference to Mallikā’s great devotion to her husband. She is identified with Sambulā and Pasenadi with Sotthisena. J.v.88‑98.
520Pañcāla, king of Kampilla, is a wicked monarch, and his subjects, harassed by his officers, suffer great oppression. The Bodhisatta, born as the divinity of a gandatindu-tree, becoming aware of this, appears in the king’s bedchamber and urges him to give up his evil ways and find out for himself the condition of his subjects. The king, taking this advice, travels about in disguise with his chaplain. Everywhere he finds men, women and even the beasts cursing his very name. He returns to the capital and devotes himself to good works (J.v.98ff).
The introductory story is given in the Rājovāda Jātaka (q.v.)
521Once upon a time, the king of Bārāṇasī had no heir, but finding three eggs in a nest — an owl’s, an mynah's, and a parrot’s — he brought them, and when they were hatched out, adopted the birds as his children, giving them the names of Vessantara, Kuṇḍalinī, and Jambuka. When they had grown up in the houses of the courtiers who had charge of them, the king had them summoned one by one, and asked them for advice as to how a king should reign. Each admonished the king in eleven stanzas, and, at the suggestion of the admiring populace, they were given respectively the ranks of general, treasurer, and commander-in-chief. When the king died, the people wished to make Jambuka king, but, having inscribed rules of righteousness on a golden plate, he disappeared into the forest.
The story was related in reference to the admonitions delivered by the Buddha to the king of Kosala. The king of the past was Ānanda, Kuṇḍalinī was Uppalavaṇṇa, Vessantara, Sāriputta, and Jambuka the Bodhisatta (J.v.109‑25).
The verses uttered by Jambuka are often quoted. e.g., J.i.177; vi.94.
522The Bodhisatta was once born as the son of the chief priest (purohita) of the king of Bārāṇasī. He was called Jotipāla because, on the day of his birth, there was a blaze of all kinds of arms for a distance of twelve leagues round Bārāṇasī. This showed that he would be the chief archer of all India.
After having been educated in Takkasilā, he returned to Bārāṇasī and entered the king’s service, receiving one thousand a day. When the king’s attendants grumbled at this, the king ordered Jotipāla to give an exhibition of his skill. This he did, in the presence of sixty thousand archers. With the bow and arrow he performed twelve unrivalled acts of skill and cleft seven hard substances. Then he drove an arrow through a furlong of water and two furlongs of earth and pierced a hair at a distance of half a furlong. The sun set at the conclusion of this exhibition, and the king promised to appoint him commander-in-chief the next day. However, during the night, Jotipāla felt a revulsion for the household life, and, departing unannounced, went into the Kapiṭṭhavana on the Godhāvarī and there became an ascetic. On Sakka’s orders, Vissakamma built a hermitage for him, in which he lived, developing great psychic powers. When his parents and the king with his retinue visited him, he converted them to the ascetic life, and his followers soon numbered many thousands.
He had seven pupils — Sālissara, Mendissara, Pabbata, Kāladevala, Kisavaccha, Anusissa and Nārada. When Kapiṭṭhavana became too crowded, Jotipāla, now known as Sarabhaṅga, sent his pupils away to different parts of the country: Sālissara to Lambacūḷaka, Mendissara to Sātodikā, Pabbata to Añjana Mountain, Kāḷadevala to Ghanasela, Kisavaccha to Kumbhavatī and Nārada to Arañjara, while Anusissa remained with him. When Kisavaccha, through the folly of a courtesan, was ill-treated by King Daṇḍakī of Kumbhavatī and his army, Sarabhaṅga heard from the king’s commander-in-chief of this outrage and sent two of his pupils to bring Kisavaccha on a palanquin to the hermitage. There he died, and when his funeral was celebrated, for the space of half a league round his pyre there fell a shower of celestial flowers.
Because of the outrage committed on Kisavaccha, sixty leagues of Daṇḍakī’s kingdom were destroyed together with the king. When the news of this spread abroad, three kings — Kaliṅga, Atthaka and Bhimaratha — recalling stories of other similar punishments that had followed insults to holy men, went to visit Sarabhaṅga in order to get at the truth of the matter. They met on the banks of the Godhāvarī, and there they were joined by Sakka. Sarabhaṅga sent Anusissa to greet them and offer them hospitality, and, when they had rested, gave them permission to put their questions. Sarabhaṅga explained to them how Daṇḍaka, Nālikira, Ajjuna and Kalābu, were all born in hell owing to their ill-treatment of holy men, and went to expound to them the moral law. Even as he spoke the three kings were filled with the desire for renunciation, and at the end of Sarabhaṅga’s discourse they became ascetics, under him.
The story was told in reference to the death of Mahā-Moggallāna Thera (q.v.) It is said that after Moggallāna had been attacked by brigands and left by them for dead, he recovered consciousness, and, flying to the Buddha, obtained his consent to die. The six deva worlds were filled with great commotion, and, after his death, the devas brought offerings of flowers and incense to his pyre, which was made of sandalwood and ninety-nine precious things. When the body was placed on the pyre flowers rained down for the space of one league round and for seven days there was a great festival. The Buddha had the relics collected and deposited in a shrine in Veḷuvana. The Buddha identified Moggallāna, with Kisavaccha and related this Jātaka. Of the others, Sālissara was Sāriputta, Mendissara was Mahā-Kassapa, Pabbata was Anuruddha, Devala was Kaccāyana, and Anusissa was Ānanda. J.v.125‑51.
523Isisiṅga, son of the Bodhisatta and of a doe, who had drunk water into which the Bodhisatta’s semen had fallen, lived the ascetic life like his father. He had been warned by his father about the wiles of women, and lived in the forest practising the most severe austerities. By virtue of the power of these austerities, Sakka’s abode trembled, and Sakka, fearing his rivalry, sent down a beautiful celestial nymph, Alambusā, to tempt him and despoil him of his virtue.
This she succeeded in doing, and for three years he lay unconscious in her embrace. At last, realising what had happened, he forthwith forsook sensual desire, and developing mystic meditation, attained to jhāna. Alambusā pleaded for forgiveness, which was readily granted. The story was related in reference to the temptation of a monk by the wife he had had during his lay life.¹
In the Dīghanikāya Commentary² the name of the ascetic is given as Migasingi, and the story is quoted as an instance of a wrong explanation of the cessation of consciousness.
¹ J.v.152‑61. See also the Niḷinikā Jātaka (J.v.193f) where Isisiṅga is tempted by Niḷinikā.
² DA.ii.370; see also Sp.i.214. Cp. the story of Ṛṣyaśṛṅga in the Ramayana i.9. The story is found in the Bharhut Tope, see Cunningham, CSB.29, P1.15.
524The Bodhisatta was born as Duyyodhana, son of the king of Rājagaha. When he came of age his father handed over the kingdom to him, became an ascetic, and lived in the royal park. There Duyyodhana frequently visited him; finding this inconvenient, the ascetic went to Mahiṃsaka-raṭṭha and lived in a hut on a bend of the Kaṇṇaveṇṇā river, which flows from the Saṅkhapāla Lake near Mount Candaka. There he was visited by the Nāga king Saṅkhapāla, to whom he taught the Dhamma. Later, Duyyodhana discovered the whereabouts of the ascetic and visited him. There he saw the Nāga-king, and, impressed by his great magnificence, desired to visit the Nāga-world. On his return to the capital, Duyyodhana engaged in works of merit, and was born after death in the Nāga world and became its king under the name of Saṅkhapāla. In the course of time, he grew weary of his magnificence, and, leaving the Nāga world, lived near the Kaṇṇaveṇṇā, on an ant-hill, keeping the holy fast. As he lay there, sixteen men, roaming in the forest, saw him and seized him. They drove stakes into his body, and made holes in the stakes and fastened ropes to them in order to drag him along. However, Saṅkhapāla showed no resentment. A landowner of Mithilā, called Āḷāra, saw him being ill-treated and had him released. Thereupon, Saṅkhapāla invited Āḷāra to the Nāga world, and Āḷāra lived there for one year. He later became an ascetic, and, in due course, visited Bārāṇasī, where he told the king the story of his visit to the Nāga world. After the rains he returned to the Himavā.
The story was told to some laymen who kept the fast.
The Bodhisatta’s father is identified with Mahā-Kassapa, the king of Bārāṇasī with Ānanda, and Āḷāra with Sāriputta. J.v.161‑71. See also Āḷāra.
The story is given in the Cariyāpiṭaka (ii.10; see also J.i.45; MA.ii.617; BuA.50) to illustrate the perfection of morality (sīla-pāramī).
525The Bodhisatta was once born as the son of the king of Sudassana (Bārāṇasī), under the name of Soma. Because he was fond of Soma juice and poured out libations of it, they called him Sutasoma. When he came of age his father gave up the throne to him, and he had sixteen thousand wives, of whom Candādevī was the chief consort. As time went on his family became very great, and he wished to become an ascetic as soon as a grey hair appeared on his head. Everyone in the palace tried to turn him from this resolve; rich merchants, like Kulavaḍḍhana, offered him their immense wealth, but all in vain. Having handed over the kingdom to his brother, Somadatta, he donned the garb of an ascetic and left the city unknown to anyone. When his departure was discovered, all the inhabitants of the city left their belongings to follow him. Sakka sent Vissakamma to build for them a hermitage thirty leagues in extent. J.v.177‑92.
526v.l. Naḷinikā, Nalini Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once an ascetic in Himavā. A doe drank water in which his semen had fallen and conceived a son, whom he adopted and named Isisiṅga.
Isisiṅga was a sage of such austerity that Sakka trembled at his power. In order to destroy his virtue, Sakka caused a drought in Kasī, lasting three years. When the inhabitants complained to the king, Sakka appeared before him and suggested that if the king’s daughter, Niḷinikā, would seduce Isisiṅga and destroy his virtue, rain would fall. Niḷinikā was, accordingly, sent to the Himavā and arrived in Isisiṅga’s hut dressed in the ascetic’s garb, when the Bodhisatta was absent. Pretending to have been wounded by a bear, she played on the simplicity of the guileless young man (much as Venus did on that of Adonis). Through her seductions his virtue was overcome and his mystic meditation broken off.
Delighted with the outcome of his plot, Sakka caused rain to fall on Kasī, and Niḷinikā left the hermitage. When the Bodhisatta returned and heard of the visit of the youthful ascetic and of all that followed, he admonished Isisiṅga and warned him for the future. The story was told in reference to a monk who was seduced by the wife of his worldly days. Isisiṅga is identified with the monk and Niḷinikā with his wife. (J.v.193‑209. It is probably a variation of the same story that is found in Mtu.iii.143ff).
527The story of Ummadantī. The story was related in connection with a backsliding brother who, having seen a very beautiful woman as he was going his alms-rounds in Sāvatthi, gave himself up to despair and had to be led to the Buddha for admonition (J.v.209ff).
The story is also found, with certain slight variations, in the Jātakamālā under the title of Ummādayantī Jātaka (No.xiii).
The tale of a maiden who made all who saw her mad, and of the love-smitten monarch who preferred walking in the right path and even meeting death itself to indulging in passion, is found also in the Kathāsaritsāgara. e.g., in the 15th, 23rd and 91st taranga.
528The Bodhisatta was born in an Udicca-brahmin family, and, on growing up, renounced the world. His name was Bodhi.
Once, during the rains, he came to Bārāṇasī, and, at the invitation of the king, stayed in the royal park. The king had five councillors, unjust men, who sat in the judgment hall giving unjust judgments. One day a man, who had been very badly treated by them, asked Bodhi to intervene. Bodhi reheard the case and decided in his favour. The people applauded, and the king begged Bodhi to dispense justice in his court. Bodhi reluctantly agreed and twelve years passed. The former councillors, deprived of their gains, plotted against Bodhi and constantly poisoned the king’s mind against him; they first decreased all the honours paid to Bodhi, and when this failed to drive him away, obtained the king’s permission to kill him.
A tawny dog, to whom Bodhi used to give food from his bowl, overheard the plot, and, when Bodhi approached the palace the next day, bared his teeth and barked as a warning of the conspiracy. Bodhi understood, returned to his hut, and, in spite of the king’s expression of remorse, left the city, promising to return later, and dwelt in a frontier village. The councillors, nervous lest Bodhi should return, informed the king that Bodhi and the queen were conspiring to slay him. Believing their words, he had the queen put to death. The queen’s four sons thereupon rose in revolt, and the king was in great danger and fear.
When Bodhi heard of this, he took a dried monkey skin, went to Bārāṇasī, and stayed again in the royal park. The king came to do him honour, but Bodhi sat silent, stroking the monkey skin. The king asked him why he did so. He answered, “This monkey was of the greatest service to me; I travelled about on its back, it carried my water pot, swept out my dwelling, and performed various other duties for me; in the end, through its simplicity, I ate its flesh and now I sit and lie on its skin.”¹
The councillors who were present made great uproar, calling him a murderer and a traitor. However, Bodhi knew that of these councillors, one denied the effect of all kamma, one attributed everything to a Supreme Being, one believed that everything was a result of past actions, one believed in annihilation, and one held the khattiya doctrine that one should secure one’s interests, even to the extent of killing one’s parents. He, therefore, argued with one after another, and proved that in accordance with their doctrines no blame whatever attached to him for having killed the monkey. Having thus completed their discomfiture, he exhorted the king not to trust in slanderers, and asked the king’s sons to obtain their father’s pardon. The king wished the councillors to be killed, but Bodhi intervened, and they were disgraced and exiled from the kingdom, their hair fastened in five locks.
The story was related in the same circumstances as the Umaṅga Jātaka. The five ministers are identified with Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Pakudha Kaccāna, Ajita Kesakambala, and Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta. The dog was Ānanda. J.v.227‑46; cp. Jātakamālā, xxiii.
¹ He had used the skin for his garment, hence “I sat on the monkey’s back”; he had the skin on his shoulder, whence his water pot was suspended, hence “it carried the water pot”; he had swept the cell with the skin, hence “swept my dwelling place”; he had eaten the flesh of the monkey, hence “I ate its flesh.”
529The story of the Bodhisatta in his birth as Arindama and of his friend, Soṇaka, who became a Pacceka Buddha (J.v.247‑61; cf. Ntu.iii.450).
For the story see Arindama. It was related regarding the Buddha’s perfection of renunciation (nekkhamma-pāramī).
530The Bodhisatta was once born in the family of the chaplain of the king of Bārāṇasī and was educated in Takkasilā, with the king’s son. They became great friends, and, when the prince became viceroy, they lived together. The prince, having conceived the plan of killing his father in order to become king, confided this idea to Saṅkicca. The latter tried to dissuade him, but finding his efforts in vain, he fled to the Himavā, where he became an ascetic. The prince killed his father, but was later filled with remorse and could find no peace of mind. He longed to see Saṅkicca, but it was not until fifty years later that Saṅkicca, with five hundred followers, came to the garden of Dayāpassa in Bārāṇasī. The king visited him and questioned him on the results of wickedness. Saṅkicca described the horrors of hell awaiting the wicked, illustrating his story with stories of Ajjuna, who annoyed the sage Gotama; of Daṇḍaki, who defied Kisavaccha; of the king of Mejjha, whose country became a desert; of the Andhavenhudāsaputtā who assailed Dīpāyana; and of Cecca, swallowed up by the earth.
After describing the terrors awaiting the victims of various hells, Saṅkicca showed the king the deva worlds and ended his discourse, indicating the possibility of making amends.
The king was much comforted and changed his ways.
He is identified with Ajātasattu, in reference to whose parricide and its consequences the story was related. It was not until Ajātasattu sought the Buddha and listened to his teaching that he found peace of mind. J.v.261‑77.
531The story of Kusa (q.v.) It was told in reference to a backsliding monk who fell in love with a woman in Sāvatthi, neglected all his duties and refused food. He was taken to the Buddha, who related this story to show how even mighty men may lose their power and come to misery through love of a woman. (J.v.278ff; the story is also given in Mtu.iii.1ff; ii.441f; the details differ, as do some of the names, from the Pāḷi version).
The story bears much resemblance to that of Anitthigandha Kumāra (q.v.) See also Sammillahāsinī (s.v. Ananusociya Jātaka).
532Once when Manoja was king of Brahmavaḍḍhana (Bārāṇasī), the Bodhisatta was born as Soṇa, the son of a rich brahmin. He had a brother Nanda. When the boys grew up their parents wanted them to marry, but they refused, and declared their desire to become ascetics after the death of their parents. Then the parents suggested that they should all, at once, become ascetics; this they did, and lived in a pleasant grove in the Himavā. After some time, because Nanda brought unripe fruit for his parents in spite of Soṇa’s warning, Soṇa dismissed him. Nanda thereupon sought Manoja, and, with his magic power, helped him to win various kingdoms in Jambudīpa, bringing into subjection one hundred and one kings in seven years, seven months and seven days. All these kings Manoja brought to Brahmavaḍḍhana, where he caroused with them. Nanda spent his time in the Suvaṇṇaguhā in the Himavā, obtaining his alms from Uttarakuru. At the end of the seventh day Manoja looked for Nanda, who, reading his thoughts, appeared before him. Manoja wished to give some token of his gratitude, and Nanda asked that he should intercede for him with Soṇa and win for him Soṇa’s forgiveness. Together they went to Soṇa accompanied by a large retinue. Soṇa explained why he had forbidden Nanda, to look after their parents, and Nanda asked his forgiveness for having given his parents unripe fruit in his eagerness to wait on them. Soṇa forgave him, and they all lived together once more, while the kings returned to their countries, where they ruled wisely.
The occasion for the story is the same as that for the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka (q.v.), regarding a monk who supported his mother. Nanda is identified with Ānanda and Manoja with Sāriputta (J.v.312, p.332).
The story is also given in the Cariyāpiṭaka. Cyp.iii.v.
5331. Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka (No. 502).– Once Khemā, wife of King Bahuputtaka of Bārāṇasī, dreamed of a golden goose teaching the Dhamma and craved for her dream to come true. The king had a lake, called Khemā, dug outside the city, and put into it various kinds of food in order to entice the golden geese that lived in Cittakūṭa. They came, led by Dhataraṭṭha the Bodhisatta, who was caught in the snare laid by the king’s hunter. The Bodhisatta gave the alarm, and all the geese fled except Sumukha, his captain, who refused to leave him even though told to do so. When the hunter came, Sumukha persuaded him to let Dhataraṭṭha free and to take him instead. The hunter agreed, but when the Bodhisatta heard of the reason for his capture, he, too, insisted on going before the king. Both geese were, therefore, led before the king, who was overjoyed. Dhataraṭṭha taught the Dhamma and the queen’s craving was appeased; the geese were then allowed to fly away.
The story was related in reference to Ānanda’s readiness to give his life for the Buddha. Channa is identified with the huntsman, Sāriputta with the king, Khemā Therī with the queen, and Ānanda with Sumukha. J.iv.423‑30; cf. the Mahāhaṃsa Jātaka.
2. Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka (No. 533).– The Bodhisatta was once born as Dhataraṭṭha, king of ninety thousand golden geese living in Cittakūṭa. One day some of his flock came upon Lake Mānusiya, near the haunts of men, and finding it a rich feeding-ground, persuaded him much against his will to go there with them. However, immediately he alighted he was caught in a fowler’s noose and found escape impossible. He waited until the flock had fed, then gave the cry of alarm at which all the geese flew away except his commander-in-chief, Sumukha. When the fowler came, Sumukha offered to give his life for his king, and thereby softened the fowler’s heart. The latter set Dhataraṭṭha free and tended his wounds, and because of the man’s great charity the king of the geese became whole again. When the fowler suggested that they should fly home, the two geese insisted that they should be taken to Sakula, the king of the land, the Mahiṃsaka country, that they might obtain for the fowler a suitable reward. When the king heard the story he gave to the fowler a village yielding one hundred thousand annually, a chariot and a large store of gold. Dhataraṭṭha taught the king the moral law and, after being paid great honour, returned to Cittakūṭa.
The story was related in reference to Ānanda’s attempt to offer his life in order to save the Buddha from being killed by the elephant Nālāgiri (q.v.) Channa is identified with the fowler, Sāriputta with the king, and Ānanda with Sumukha. J.v.333‑.54; DhA.i.119; cf. the Mahāhaṃsa Jātaka and the Haṃsa Jātaka.
534Khemā, wife of Saṃyama, king of Bārāṇasī, had a dream, after which she longed to see a golden goose (haṃsa) teach the law from the royal throne. When the king came to know this, he consulted various people, and, acting on their advice, had a pond dug to the north of the city in the hope of enticing a golden goose there, and appointed a fowler, who came to be called Khemaka, to look after the pond.
The plan succeeded. Five different kinds of geese came: the grass geese, the yellow geese, the scarlet geese, the white geese, and the pāka geese.
Dhataraṭṭha, king of the golden geese, who lived in Cittakūṭa, had taken as wife a pāka goose, and at the repeated suggestion of his minister, Sumukha, arrived with his flock of ninety thousand, to see the wonderful pond at Bārāṇasī. Khemaka saw them and waited his opportunity. On the seventh day he found it, and set a snare in which Dhataraṭṭha was caught. At his cry of alarm the flock fled, with the exception of Sumukha, who stayed and asked Khemaka for permission to take Dhataraṭṭha’s place. When Sumukha heard why they had been caught, he asked that both he and Dhataraṭṭha should be taken before Saṃyama. When Saṃyama heard of Sumukha’s devotion he was greatly touched, and showed the geese every possible honour, after asking their forgiveness for the way they had been treated. Dhataraṭṭha taught the queen and the royal household, and, having exhorted the king to rule righteously, returned to Cittakūṭa.
The story was told in reference to Ānanda’s attempt to sacrifice his own life for that of the Buddha, when Nāḷāgiri (q.v.) was sent to kill him.
Khemaka was identified with Channa, Khemā with Khemā Therī, the king with Sāriputta, Sumukha with Ānanda, and Dhataraṭṭha with the Bodhisatta. J.v.354‑82; cp. Cūḷahaṃsa Jātaka.
535There once lived in Bārāṇasī a wealthy householder, worth eight hundred million. He offered his wealth to the king, who, however, had no need for it; so he gave much away in gifts and was born as Sakka. Equally generous were his descendants — Canda, Suriya, Mātali, and Pañcasikha. However, the next in descent, Pañcasikha’s son, Maccharikosiya, became a miser. He stopped all giving and lived in abject poverty. One day, seeing his sub-treasurer eating rice porridge, he wished for some himself, but, owing to his miserliness, he went in disguise to the river with a little rice and there started to cook it with the help of a slave. Sakka saw this, and, accompanied by Canda and the others, appeared before him disguised as a brahmin. Advancing towards him, Sakka asked him the way to Bārāṇasī, and, pretending to be deaf, approached the place where the porridge was being cooked and asked for some. Maccharikosiya refused to give him any, but Sakka insisted on reciting to him some stanzas on the value of giving, and then Kosiya agreed to give him a little porridge. One by one the others, also disguised as brahmins, approached, and, in spite of all his efforts, Kosiya was forced to invite them to share his meal. He asked them to fetch small leaves, but in their hands small leaves became large. After the porridge had been served, Pañcasikha assumed the form of a dog, then of a horse of changing colours, and started chasing Kosiya, while the others stood motionless in the air. Kosiya asked how beings could gain such powers, and Sakka explained to him and revealed their identity. Maccharikosiya went back to Bārāṇasī and gave away his wealth in charity. Later he became a hermit and lived in a hut.
At that time the four daughters of Sakka — Āsā, Saddhā, Sirī, and Hirī — went to Anotatta to play in the water. There they saw Nārada under a pāricchattaka-flower, which served him as a sunshade, and each asked him for the flower. Nārada said he would give it to the best of them, and referred them to Sakka. Sakka sent (by Mātali) a cup of ambrosia (sudhābhojana) to Kosiya, and said that whichever of his daughters succeeded in persuading Kosiya to share with her his drink would be adjudged the best. He listened to all their claims and decided in favour of Hirī. Sakka, wishing to know why he decided thus, sent Mātali in his chariot to ask him. While Mātali was yet speaking to him, Kosiya died and was reborn in Tāvatiṃsa. Sakka gave him Hirī as wife and also a share of the kingdom of Tāvatiṃsa.
The story was told in reference to a monk of Sāvatthi, who was so generous that he would give away his own food and drink and so starve. He is identified with Maccharikosiya, Uppalavaṇṇā with Hirī, Anuruddha with Pañcasikha, Ānanda with Mātali, Mahā-Kassapa with Suriya, Mahā-Moggallāna with Canda, Sāriputta with Nārada, and Sakka with the Buddha himself. J.v.382‑412.
536Kuṇāla, king of the Citrakokilā, though well served by his hen birds, always despised them and found fault with them. The king of the Phussakokilas, Puṇṇamukha, on the other hand, always sang the praises of his escort. One day the two kings met, and Puṇṇamukha asked Kuṇāla why he was not more gracious to his ladies. “Because I know too much about women,” was the answer; but Puṇṇamukha was not in a mood to discuss the matter any more.
Later, Puṇṇamukha fell ill, and his hen birds deserted him and came to Kuṇāla. He drove them away, ministered to Puṇṇamukha, and cheered him. Some time after, Kuṇāla, seated on the Manosilātala in Himavā¹ started to tell his friend of the wickedness of women.² Hearing of this, many inhabitants of numerous worlds came to listen to him, among them Ānanda, king of the vultures, and the ascetic Nārada. Many were the instances given by Kuṇāla to illustrate the deceitfulness, ingratitude, and immorality of women — among them the stories of Kaṇhā, Saccatapāvī, Kākātī, Kuraṅgavī, Piṅgiyānī, Brahmadatta’s mother who sinned with Pañcālacaṇḍa, the queen Kiṇṇarā, Pañcapāpā. Kuṇāla’s diatribe was followed by Ānanda’s, and his by Nārada’s, each claiming to speak from facts within their knowledge. In the stories related by Kuṇāla, the bird-king is identified with one of the characters concerned in each story, so that he was able to speak with authority. Thus he was Ajjuna, one of Kaṇha’s husbands; the goldsmith in the story of Saccatapāvī; the Garuḷa in Kākātī’s tale; Chaḷaṅgakumāra, who misconducted himself with Kuraṅgavī; Pañcālacaṇḍa, lover of Brahmadatta’s mother; the chaplain, also called Pañcālacaṇḍa, who saved Kiṇṇarā from her husband’s wrath; Baka, one time husband of Pañcapāpā; and Brahmadatta, husband of Piṅgiyānī.
The teaching of the Kuṇāla Jātaka was followed by that of the Mahāsamaya Sutta.
This Jātaka was related in order to destroy the discontent that rose in the hearts of the Sakyan youths, kinsmen of the Buddha, who, having entered the Order, were troubled by the thought of the wives they had left behind. The Buddha therefore took them to the Himavā, showed them the magnificent beauty of the region, particularly the miraculous splendours of the Kuṇāladaha, and there taught them. At the end of the Jātaka they all became Arahants. We are told that that very day they became Arahants (J.v.412‑56; also DA.ii.674ff; AA.i.173).
See also the Cūḷa-Kuṇāla Jātaka.
¹ According to Buddhaghosa, D.ii.675, this was on the banks of the Kuṇāladaha
² Although this story (among many others) may seem very misogynistic by modern standards, one should not miss the context. In every case here where a woman is committing sexual misconduct, a man is also involved, so the same advice with due alteration of details should be given to young nuns about the wickedness of men to discourage them from disrobing (ed.)
537Brahmadatta, king of Bārāṇasī, was greatly addicted to eating meat. One uposatha day the meat that had been prepared for him was eaten by dogs, and the cook, unable to buy any more, cut a piece from a human body recently dead and cooked it. Brahmadatta had been a yakkha in a former birth and therefore enjoyed the dish. Having discovered what the meat was, he developed a taste for human flesh, and, in due course, came to having his subjects murdered in order to supply him with food. His crime was discovered and his guilt brought home by his commander-in-chief, Kāḷahatthi, but the king refused to give up his cannibalism and was driven out of the kingdom. Kāḷahatthi relates various stories to the king, showing the folly of his behaviour — e.g., the story of the fish Ānanda, of Sujāta’s son, of the geese who lived in Cittakūṭa and of the Unnanābhī spider.
The king dwelt in the forests with his cook, eating all the travellers they were able to seize. The day arrived when he killed the cook himself and ate his flesh. Some time after he fell upon a brahmin travelling through the forest with a large retinue, and they gave chase to the king. As he ran an acacia splinter pierced his foot, causing him great pain. Seeing a banyan tree, he made a vow to bathe its trunk with the blood of one hundred and one princes if his foot were healed in seven days. The foot did heal within that time, and with the assistance of a yakkha, who had been his friend in a previous birth, he managed to capture one hundred kings whom he hung on the tree by means of cords passed through their hands.
The deity of the tree was alarmed and, on the advice of Sakka, appeared before the man eater (who is called in the context Porisāda) and demanded that he should bring Sutasoma, Prince of Kuru, to complete the number of his victims. Sutasoma had been the man-eater’s friend and private tutor (piṭṭhācariya) at Takkasilā. Anxious to appease the deity, the man eater went to Sutasoma’s park and there waited for him hidden in the pond, when Sutasoma came to take his ceremonial bath on the festival day of Phussa. On the way to the park, Sutasoma met a brahmin, Nanda, who offered, for four thousand pieces, to teach him four verses learnt from Kassapa Buddha. Sutasoma promised to learn them on his return from the park, but there he was caught by the Porisāda. Promising to return to the Porisāda, Sutasoma obtained leave to keep his appointment with Nanda. This promise fulfilled, Sutasoma returned to the Porisāda and went with him to the banyan tree. There he told the Porisāda of the verses he had learnt from Nanda, reciting them to him, and discoursing on the virtues of Truth. The Porisāda was greatly pleased and offered Sutasoma four boons. Sutasoma chose as his first boon that the Porisāda should live for one hundred years; as his second that the captive kings should be released; as his third, that their kingdoms should be restored; and as his fourth that the Porisāda should give up his cannibalism. Only very reluctantly did the Porisāda agree to the fourth. Sutasoma then took him back to Bārāṇasī, where he restored to him his kingdom, having first assured the people that the king would never return to his former vicious habits. Sutasoma then returned to Indapatta. In gratitude for the tree sprite’s intervention, a lake was dug near the banyan tree and a village founded nearby, whose inhabitants were required to make offerings to the tree. This village, built on the spot where the Porisāda was converted, came to be called Kammāsadamma.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s conversion of Aṅgulimāla, with whom the man eater is identified. Kāḷahatthi was Sāriputta, Nanda was Ānanda, the tree sprite was Kassapa, Sakka was Anuruddha, and Sutasoma the Bodhisatta. J.v.456‑511; cp. Jātakamāla i.
The Sutasomacariyā is given in the Cariyāpiṭaka iii.12.
538Also called Temiya Jātaka. Candādevī, wife of the king of Kāsi, had, to her great grief, no son. Sakka’s throne was heated by her piety, and he persuaded the Bodhisatta, then in Tāvatiṃsa, to be born as her son. The Bodhisatta reluctantly agreed. Great were the rejoicings over his birth. He was called Temiya because on the day of his birth there was a great shower throughout the kingdom and he was born wet. When he was one month old, he was brought to the king, and, as he lay in his lap, he heard grievous sentences passed on some robbers brought before the king. Later, as he lay in bed, Temiya recollected his past births and remembered how he had once reigned for twenty years as king of Bārāṇasī, and, as a result, had suffered in Ussada hell (niraya) for twenty thousand years. Anguish seized him at the thought of having to be king once more, but the goddess of his parasol, who had once been his mother, consoled him by advising him to pretend to be dumb and incapable of any action. He took this advice, and for sixteen years the king and queen, in consultation with the ministers and others, tried every conceivable means of breaking his resolve, knowing him to be normal in body. However, all their attempts failed, and at last he was put in a chariot and sent with the royal charioteer, Sunanda, to the charnel ground, where he was to be clubbed to death and buried. At the queen’s urgent request, however, Temiya was appointed to rule over Kāsi for one week before being put to death, but the enjoyment of royal power did not weaken his resolve. The charioteer, under the influence of Sakka, took Temiya to what he considered to be the charnel-ground and there, while Sunanda was digging the grave, Temiya stole up behind him and confided to him his purpose and his resolve to lead the ascetic life. Sunanda was so impressed by Temiya’s words that he immediately wished to become an ascetic himself, but Temiya wanted him to inform his parents of what had happened. When the king and queen heard Sunanda’s news, they went with all their retinue to Temiya’s hermitage and there, after hearing Temiya teach, they all became ascetics. The inhabitants of the three kingdoms adjacent to Bārāṇasī followed their example, and great was the number of ascetics. Sakka and Vissakamma provided shelter for them. The crowds who thus flocked together were called the “Mūgapakkha samāgama.” With the death of Malaya Mahādeva Thera (q.v.) came the end of those who participated in this great collection of ascetics.
Temiya’s parents are identified with the parents of the Buddha, Sunanda with Sāriputta and the goddess of the parasol with Uppalavaṇṇā. The story was told in reference to the Buddha’s Renunciation (J.vi.1‑30; the story of Temiya is also given in Temiyacariyā in Cyp.iii.6). It is often referred to (e.g., BuA.51) as giving an example of the Bodhisatta’s great determination. The Dhammika Sutta (q.v.) mentions Mūgapakkha in a list of teachers of old.
539Mahājanaka, king of Mithilā in Videha, had two sons, Ariṭṭhajanaka and Polajanaka. On his death, the elder came to the throne and made his brother viceroy, but, later, suspecting him of treachery, had him put in chains. Polajanaka escaped, and, when he had completed his preparations, laid siege to the city, killed Ariṭṭhajanaka, and seized the throne. Ariṭṭhajanaka’s wife escaped in disguise, taking with her a lot of treasures. She was pregnant, and as her child was the Bodhisatta, Sakka’s throne was heated, and he appeared before her as a charioteer and took her to Kālacampā. There she was adopted by an Udicca brahmin as his sister and the child was born. When he played with other boys they mocked at him, calling him the widow’s son. He asked his mother what this meant, but she put him off with evasive answers until one day he bit her on the breast and insisted on being told the truth. When he was sixteen, she gave him half the treasures, and he embarked on a ship going to Suvaṇṇabhūmi for trade. The ship was wrecked in mid ocean, but nothing daunted, Mahājanaka (as the boy was called) swam valiantly for seven days, until Maṇimekhalā, goddess of the sea, admiring his courage, rescued him and placed him in the mango grove in Mithilā.
Meanwhile Polajanaka had died and left orders that the throne should go to one who could find favour in the eyes of his daughter, should know which is the head of a square bed, could string the bow that required the strength of one thousand men, and could draw out the sixteen great treasures. No one seemed forthcoming who was able to fulfil these conditions; the ministers thereupon decked the state chariot with the five insignia of royalty and sent it out, accompanied by music. The chariot left the city gates, and the horses went to the mango grove and stopped at the spot where Mahājanaka lay asleep. The chaplain, seeing the auspicious marks on his feet, awoke him, and explaining to him his mission, crowned him king. When he entered the palace, Sīvalī (the late king’s daughter) was immediately won over by his appearance, and willingly agreed to be his queen. He was told of the other conditions mentioned by the dead king; he solved the riddles contained in some and fulfilled them all.
In time Sīvalī bore him a son, Dīghāvu-kumāra, whom, in due course, Mahājanaka made viceroy. One day Mahājanaka went into his park, and noticing how a mango tree, which bore fruit had been plundered by his courtiers while another which was barren was left in peace, he realised that possessions meant sorrow, and retiring into a room, lived the ascetic life. His life span was ten thousand years, of which three thousand still remained to him. After living for four months in the palace, he resolved to renounce the world, and having made his preparations, secretly left the palace. The queen met him on the stairs, but did not recognise him in his ascetic garb. On discovering his absence, she ran after him and tried by many devices to persuade him to return, but in vain. She then urged his people to follow him, but he turned them back. She, however, would not obey him, and for sixty leagues she and the people followed Mahājanaka.
The sage Nārada, dwelling in Himavā, saw Mahājanaka with his divine-eye and encouraged him in his resolve, as did another ascetic, Migājina, who had just risen from a trance. Thus they journeyed on until they reached the village of Thūna. There the king saw a dog running away with a morsel of roasted flesh, which it dropped in its flight. The king picked it up, cleaned it, and ate it. The queen, very disgusted, felt that he was not worthy to be a king. Further on they saw a girl shaking sand in a winnowing basket; on one arm she wore a single bracelet, on the other arm, two. The two bracelets jingled, while the single one was noiseless. Mahājanaka pointed out the moral of this to Sīvalī, and she agreed to go a different way, but soon came running back to him and followed him until they came across a fletcher, straightening an arrow, looking at it with one eye only. On being questioned by the king, he answered that the wide horizon of two eyes served but to distract the view. However, Sīvalī still refused to leave him until, on the edge of a forest, he told her there could be no more intercourse between them, and she fell senseless. The king rushed into the forest, while the ministers revived the queen. When she recovered the king was no more to be seen, and she returned to the city. Thūpas were erected on various spots connected with the king’s renunciation, and the queen lived as an ascetic in the royal garden of Mithilā.
The story was told in reference to the Buddha’s Renunciation.
Maṇimekhalā is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā, Nārada with Sāriputta, Migājina with Mahā-Moggallāna, the girl with Khemā, the fletcher with Ānanda, Sīvalī with Rāhulamātā, Dīghāvu with Rāhula, while Mahājanaka was the Bodhisatta (J.iii.30‑68).
The Jātaka exemplifies the perfection of energy (viriya-pāramī). BuA.51.
Mahājanapadā
The books frequently mention¹ the sixteen great countries (Mahājanapada) that existed in the time of the Buddha. They are:
The first fourteen are included in the Middle Country of India (Majjhimadesa), the two last being in the Northern States (Uttarāpaṭha).
The Jaina Bhagavatī sutta gives a slightly different list: Aṅga, Baṅga, Magadha, Malaya, Mālava, Accha, Vaccha, Kocchaka, Pādha, Lādha, Bajji, Moli, Kāsi, Kosala, Avaha and Sambhuttara (PHAI. p.60).
¹ e.g., A.i.213; iv. 252, 256, 260; a list of twelve is found at D.ii.200, in which the last four are omitted. The Niddesa adds the Kaliṅgas to the sixteen and substitutes Yonā for the Gandhāra (CNid., p.37).
540v.l. Sāma Jātaka.– Once two hunters, chiefs of villages, made a pact that if their children happened to be of different sexes, they should marry each other. One had a boy called Dukūlakumāra, because he was born in a wrapping of fine cloth; the other had a daughter called Pārikā, because she was born beyond the river. When they grew up the parents married them, but, because they had both come from the Brahma world, they agreed not to consummate the marriage. With their parents’ consent they became ascetics, and lived in a hermitage provided for them by Sakka on the banks of the Migasammatā. Sakka waited on them, and perceiving great danger in store for them, persuaded them to have a son. The conception took place by Dukūlakumāra touching Pārikā’s navel¹ (nābhiṃ) at the proper time. When the son was born they called him Sāma, and, because he was of golden colour, he came to be called Suvaṇṇasāma. He was the Bodhisatta.
One day, after Sāma was grown up, his parents, returning from collecting roots and fruits in the forest, took shelter under a tree on an anthill. The water that dripped from their bodies angered a snake living in the anthill, and his venomous breath blinded them both. When it grew late Sāma went in search of them and brought them home. From then onwards he looked after them.
Pīḷiyakkha, the king of Bārāṇasī, while out hunting one day, leaving his mother in charge of the kingdom, saw Sāma drawing water, and, lest he should escape, shot at him with his arrow. The king took him for some supernatural being, seeing that the deer, quite fearless, drank of the water while Sāma was filling his jar.
When Pīḷiyakkha heard who Sāma was and of how he was the mainstay of his parents, he was filled with grief. Sāma fell down fainting from the poisoned arrow, and the king thought him dead. A goddess, Bahusundarī, who had been Sāma’s mother seven births earlier, lived in Gandhamādana and kept constant watch over him. This day she had gone to an assembly of the gods and had forgotten him for a while, but she suddenly became aware of the danger into which he had fallen. She stood in the air near Pīḷiyakkha, unseen by him, and ordered him to go and warn Sāma’s parents. He did as he was commanded, and, having revealed his identity, gradually informed them of Sāma’s fate and his own part in it. However, neither Dukūlakumāra nor Pārikā spoke to him one word of resentment. They merely asked to be taken to where Sāma’s body lay. Arrived there, Pārikā made a solemn Act of Truth (saccakiriyā), and the poison left Sāma’s body, making him well.
Bahusundarī did likewise in Gandhamādana, and Sāma’s parents regained their sight. Then Sāma taught the marvelling king, telling him how even the gods took care of those who cherished their parents.
The story was told in reference to a young man of Sāvatthi. Having heard the Buddha teach, he obtained his parents’ leave with great difficulty and joined the Order. Five years he lived in the monastery, and, failing to attain insight, he returned to the forest and strove for twelve years more. His parents grew old, and as there was no one to look after them, their retainers robbed them of their goods. Their son, hearing of this from a monk who visited him in the forest, at once left his hermitage and returned to Sāvatthi. There he tended his parents, giving them food and clothing which he acquired by begging, often starving himself that they might eat. Other monks blamed him for supporting lay folk, and the matter was reported to the Buddha. However, the Buddha, hearing his story, praised him and taught him the Mātuposaka Sutta (q.v.)
Dukūlakumāra is identified with Mahā-Kassapa, Pārikā with Bhaddā Kāpilānī, Pīḷiyakkha with Ānanda, Sakka with Anuruddha, and Bahusundarī with Uppalavaṇṇā.²
The Sālikedāra Jātaka was taught in reference to the same monk.
¹ Presumably a euphemism for the vulva. The Pāḷi says: “Bhante, sace evaṃ na karotha, pārikāya tāpasiyā utunikāle nābhiṃ hatthena parāmaseyyāthā”ti.” i.e. Sakka tells Dukūlakumāra, “Venerable sir, if you cannot do that (indulge in the worldly dhamma of sexual intercourse) then touch Pārikā’s vulva with your hand when she is in season.” So this is probably a case of artificial insemination rather than one of divine conception. (ed.)
² J.vi.68‑95; the story is referred to at Mil.198f; J.iv.90, etc; see also Mtu.ii.212ff.
541Once the Bodhisatta was born as the son of the king of Mithilā, in the Videha country. He was a rebirth of Maghādeva, who came down among men from the Brahma world to bring the number of his family, who renounced the world, up to eighty-four thousand. And because the boy was born to round off the family, like the hoop of a chariot, he was called Nimi (nemi = hoop).
On his father’s renunciation, he came to the throne and engaged himself and all his subjects in righteousness and generosity. Once, when doubt arose in his mind as to which was more fruitful — holy life or giving alms — Sakka himself appeared before him to answer and encourage him. His fame spread to Tāvatiṃsa, and when the gods desired to see him, Sakka sent his chariot, with Mātali, to fetch him. On the way to Tāvatiṃsa, Mātali showed the king various hells and heavens and the palaces of various gods and goddesses. Arriving at the Sudhammā Hall, Nimi discoursed to the assembled gods. After staying in Tāvatiṃsa for seven clays, he returned to Mithilā to tell his subjects what he had seen.
When, later, his barber told him of the appearance of the first white hair on his head, he, like all his predecessors, handed over the throne to his son and became an ascetic. His son, Kālārajanaka, was the last of the eighty-four thousand kings of Maghādeva’s dynasty.
The story was told by the Buddha when he visited Mithilā. He smiled when he came to the site of Maghādeva’s palace, and when asked why he smiled he related the Jātaka.
Anuruddha is identified with Sakka and Ānanda with Mātali.¹
This story forms the basis of the Maghādeva Sutta² and is included in the Cariyāpiṭaka.³
¹ M.ii.74ff; in Dpv. (iii. 35) the king is called Nemiya.
² J.vi.95‑129 ³ Cyp.i.6; CypA.42ff.
542v.l. Ummagga Jātaka.– The Bodhisatta was once born in Mithilā as the son of Sirivaḍḍhana and Sumanadevī. The child was born with a medicinal plant in his hand, and was therefore called Mahosadha. He talked immediately after birth, and it is said that, on the day of his conception, Vedeha, king of Mithilā, dreamed a dream, which presaged the birth of a sage. From early childhood Mahosadha gave evidence of unusual ability, and one of his first acts was to build a large hall and lay out a garden with the help of his companions. The king wished to have him in the court though he was only seven years old, but was dissuaded by his wise men. However, he sent a councillor to watch the boy and report of his doings from time to time. When the king was fully convinced (the Jātaka gives an account of nineteen problems solved by Mahosadha) that Mahosadha was undoubtedly endowed with unusual wisdom, he sent for him in spite of the counsel of his ministers — Senaka, Pukkusa, Kāminda, and Devinda — and appointed him as his fifth councillor. One day, Mahosadha saved the queen Udumbaradevī (q.v.) from the unjust wrath of the king, and ever after she was his firm and loyal friend. After his entry into the court, Mahosadha was on many occasions called upon to match his wit against that of the senior councillors, and on each occasion he emerged triumphant. e.g., in the Meṇḍaka-pañha (q.v.) and the Sirimanta-pañha (q.v.)
When aged sixteen he married Amarādevī. She was a wise woman, and frustrated many attempts of Mahosadha’s enemies to embroil him with the king. Once they stole various things from the palace and sent them to her. She accepted them, and made assignations with each of the donors. When they arrived she had them seized, their heads shaved, and thrown into the latrines, where she tormented them, and then arraigned them before the king with the stolen goods. Mahosadha, aware of the plots against him, lay in hiding, and the deity of the king’s parasol put several questions to the king, knowing that none but Mahosadha could answer them. The king sent men to seek him, and he was discovered working for a potter. The king showed him all honour, and obtained from him the answers to the deity’s questions.
However, his enemies continued to plot against him, until orders were given by the king that he should be killed the next day. Udumbaradevī discovered this and warned him. However, in the meantime he had discovered the guilty secrets of his enemies: Senaka had killed a courtesan, Pukkusa had a leprous spot on his thigh, Kāvinda was possessed by a yakkha named Naradeva, and Devinda had stolen the king’s most precious gem. Mahosadha posted these facts everywhere in the city, and the next day went boldly into the palace. The king professed innocence of any evil intentions against him; but Mahosadha exposed the schemes of them all, and Senaka and the others were only saved from severe punishment by the intervention of Mahosadha himself. Thenceforward Mahosadha was Vedeha’s trusted councillor, and took various measures to increase his royal master’s power and glory. Spies were sent to every court, whence they brought home reports. Mahosadha also had a parrot whom he employed to ferret out the most baffling secrets. While returning from a visit to Saṅkhapāla, king of Ekabala, the parrot passed through Uttarapañcāla and there overheard a conversation between Cūḷani-Brahmadatta, king of Kampilla, and his chief priest (purohita) Kevaṭṭa, wherein the latter unfolded a scheme for capturing the whole of Jambudīpa. Kevaṭṭa was too wise to allow Brahmadatta to attack Mithilā, knowing of Mahosadha’s power, but Mahosadha deliberately provoked Brahmadatta by sending his men to upset a feast he had prepared, during which he had planned to poison the hundred princes whom he had brought under subjection. Brahmadatta then set out to attack Mithilā. He laid siege to the city, and adopted various ways of compelling the citizens to surrender. However, Mahosadha was more than a match for him, and found means of defeating all his plans. In the end Mahosadha engaged the services of Anukevaṭṭa, who, pretending to be a traitor to Mithilā, went over to the army of Brahmadatta and, gaining the king’s confidence, informed him that Kevaṭṭa and all the other counsellors of Brahmadatta had accepted bribes from Mahosadha. The king listened to him, and on his advice raised the siege and fled to his own city.
However, Kevaṭṭa planned revenge, and, a year later, he persuaded Brahmadatta to send poets to Vedeha’s city, singing songs of the peerless beauty of the daughter of Brahmadatta, Pañcālacandī. Vedeha heard the songs and sent a proposal of marriage, and Kevaṭṭa came to Mithilā to arrange the day. Vedeha suggested that Kevaṭṭa should meet Mahosadha to discuss the plans, but Mahosadha feigned illness, and when Kevaṭṭa arrived at his house, he was grossly insulted by Mahosadha’s men. When Kevaṭṭa had left, Vedeha consulted Mahosadha, but would not be dissuaded from his plan to marry Pañcālacandī. Finding that he could do nothing with the king, Mahosadha sent his parrot Suva to find out what he could from the maynah bird that lived in Brahmadatta’s bedchamber. Suva used all his wits and won the favour of the maynah and learnt from her of Kevaṭṭa’s plan, which he repeated to Mahosadha.
With Vedeha’s leave, Mahosadha went on to Uttarapañcāla to, as he said, make preparations for the wedding. However, he gave orders for a village to be built on every league of ground along the road, and gave instructions to the shipwright, Ānandakumāra, to build and hold ready three hundred ships. At Uttarapañcāla he was received with great honour, and obtained the king’s permission to build in the city a palace for Vedeha. The king gave him a free hand, and be immediately started to threaten to pull down houses belonging to various people, from the queen mother downwards, and obtained money from them as bribes to spare their houses. Having reported to the king that no suitable spot was available within the city, he obtained his consent to erect a palace outside the city, between that and the Gaṅgā. All access was forbidden to the site on penalty of a large sum, and having first erected a village called Gaggali for his workmen, elephants, etc., Mahosadha started to dig a tunnel, the mouth of which was in the Gaṅgā. The tunnel, a marvellous place, was duly constructed, fitted with all manner of machinery, and beautifully decorated. A smaller tunnel was dug, leading into the larger, one opening, which was, however, concealed, giving access to the king’s palace. The task occupied four months, and when all preparations were complete, Mahosadha sent word to Vedeha.
Vedeha arrived at Brahmadatta’s court, and a great feast was held in his honour at Upakārī, the palace which had been prepared for his residence. While the feast was in progress, Mahosadha sent men by the smaller tunnel to the palace and bade them fetch Calākā (the queen mother), the queen Nandā, and Pañcālacandī, on the pretext that they had been sent for by Brahmadatta to take part in the festivities as Vedeha and Mahosadha had both been killed, according to plan. Meanwhile Brahmadatta had given orders that the whole city should be surrounded. Vedeha was overcome with fright on discovering what was happening, but he put himself into Mahosadha’s hands. The latter led him into the large tunnel, and there he was brought face to face with the members of Brahmadatta’s family, who had already been conducted there. Pañcālacandī was placed upon a heap of treasure and married to Vedeha. On emerging from the tunnel, they were placed on board a waiting ship, with Tālatā and Nandā, and sent away into safety, escorted by the other ships, Mahosadha himself remaining behind in Uttarapañcāla.
The next day, Brahmadatta came with his army to Upakāri, hoping to capture Vedeha. There Mahosadha revealed to him what had happened, and, in due course, persuaded him to forget his wrath and inspect the tunnel. While in the tunnel Brahmadatta expressed his remorse for having listened to the evil advice of Brahmadatta, and he and Mahosadha swore eternal friendship. Mahosadha returned to Mithilā, taking with him Brahmadatta’s dowry for his daughter; the members of Brahmadatta’s family returned to Uttarapañcāla, and the two kings lived in great amity.
Vedeha died ten years later, and in fulfilment of a promise made to Brahmadatta, Mahosadha went to Uttarapañcāla. There Nandā, who had never forgiven him, tried to poison the king’s mind against him; but this plot was frustrated by a religious woman, Bherī (q.v.), and Brahmadatta remained his firm friend, loving him, as he confessed to Bherī, more than any of his own family.
The Jātaka was related to illustrate the Buddha’s great wisdom.
543Prince Brahmadatta, son of the king of Bārāṇasī, lived on the banks of the Yamunā, exiled from his father’s kingdom. He wore the garb of an ascetic, but his heart was not in the ascetic life, and, when a Nāga maiden tried to seduce him, he easily succumbed. Their children were Sāgara, Brahmadatta, and Samuddajā. When the king of Bārāṇasī died, Brahmadatta returned with his children to the kingdom and his Nāga wife returned to the Nāga world. While playing about in a lake specially prepared for them, the children of Brahmadatta discovered a turtle, Cittacūḷa, and were greatly frightened. Cittacūḷa was brought before the king and was ordered to be cast into the Yamunā, that being the direst penalty the king could envisage. Caught in a whirlpool, Cittacūḷa was carried to the realm of the Nāga king Dhataraṭṭha, and, when questioned, had the presence of mind to say that he had been sent from Bārāṇasī to propose a marriage between Dhataraṭṭha and Samuddajā. Nāga messengers were sent to the Bārāṇasī court to make arrangements, and they laid their proposal before the king. Cittacūḷa had meanwhile spirited himself away. Brahmadatta was horrified at the proposals of the messengers, and did not fail to say so, whereupon Dhataraṭṭha was so incensed at the insult offered to him that he laid siege to Bārāṇasī with his Nāga hosts. To avert the total destruction of the city, Samuddajā was given to Dhataraṭṭha, with whom she dwelt for a long time without discovering that she was in the Nāga world, everyone, at the king’s orders, having assumed human form. Samuddajā had four children — Sudassana, Datta, Subhaga, and Ariṭṭha (Kānāriṭṭha) — and one step-daughter, Accimukhī. Datta, who was the Bodhisatta, used to visit Virūpakkha, the ruler of the Nāga hosts, and one day went with him to pay homage to Sakka. In the assembly a question arose which only Datta could answer, and Sakka was so pleased with him that he gave him the name of Bhūridatta (wise Datta). Anxious to be born in Sakka’s company, Bhūridatta took the vows and observed the fast, lying on the top of an ant hill. At the end of the fast, Nāga maidens would come and take him back.
One day a brahmin villager and his son, Somadatta, went hunting in the forest and spent the night on a banyan tree near where Bhūridatta lay. At dawn, these two saw the Nāga maidens come for Bhūridatta and witnessed their song and dance, which Bhūridatta, having laid aside his snake form, much enjoyed. Discovering the presence of the villagers, Bhūridatta entered into conversation with them, and invited them to the Nāga world, where they passed a whole year, enjoying great luxury. Owing to lack of merit, the villagers grew discontented and wished to return to the world of men on the pretext that they wished to become ascetics. Bhūridatta offered them a wish-conferring jewel, but this they refused, saying that they had no use for it. Once in the world of men, Somadatta and his father took off their ornaments to bathe, but these divine ornaments disappeared to the Nāga world.
Some time later, while father and son were wandering about in the forest, having returned from stalking deer, they met a brahmin called Alambāyana, who possessed a Nāga jewel. He was a poor man of Bārāṇasī who had fled into the forest to escape his creditors. There he had met an ascetic, Kosiya, to whom a Garuḷa king had taught the Ālambāyana spell which was potent to tame Nāgā. The Garuḷa had torn up a banyan tree, which shaded the ascetic’s walk. A Nāga, which the Garuḷa had seized, coiled itself round the tree, but the Garuḷa carried the tree with the Nāga on it. When he discovered that he had done the ascetic an injury in pulling up the tree, he felt repentant and taught the ascetic the Ālambāyana spell by way of atonement. The ascetic, in turn, taught it to the poor brahmin, hoping it would help him. The brahmin, now called Ālambāyana, left the ascetic and, while wandering about, came across some Nāgā, carrying Bhūridatta’s jewel. They heard him recite the spell and fled in terror, leaving behind them the jewel, which he picked up.
When Somadatta and his father met the brahmin, they saw the jewel, and the father schemed to steal it. He told Ālambāyana of the difficulties connected with guarding the jewel and of how dangerous it might prove, if not duly honoured. If Ālambāyana would give him the jewel, he would show him the abode of Bhūridatta, whom the brahmin might then capture, making money with his help. When Somadatta realised his father’s treachery, he rebuked him and fled from him. Ālambāyana went with the villager and captured Bhūridatta and crushed his bones. Having thus rendered the Nāga helpless. Ālambāyana put him in a basket and travelled about making him dance before large audiences The jewel, which Ālambāyana gave to the treacherous villager, slipped from the later’s hand and returned to the Nāga world.
On the day of the capture of Bhūridatta, his mother had a terrifying dream, and later, when Bhūridatta had been absent for a month, she grew very anxious and lamented piteously. A search was instituted — Kānāriṭṭha was sent to the deva world, Subhaga to Himavā, Sudassana and Accimukhī to the world of men. Sudassana went disguised as an ascetic, and Accimukhī, assuming the form of a frog, hid in his matted hair. They found Ālambāyana making ready to give an exhibition of Bhūridatta’s dancing before the king of Bārāṇasī. Sudassana took up his stand at the edge of the crowd, and Bhūridatta, seeing him, went up to him. The crowd retreated in fear. When Bhūridatta was back in his basket, Sudassana challenged Ālambāyana to prove that his magic powers were greater than those of Sudassana. This challenge was accepted, and Sudassana called out to Accimukhī who, uttering the frog’s cry, stood on his shoulder, and having spat drops of poison on to his palm, went back into his hair. Saying that the country would be destroyed if the poison fell on the earth, Sudassana had three holes dug, and filled the first with drugs, the second with cow dung, and the third with heavenly medicines. He poured the poison into the first hole; a flame instantly burst out, spread to the second, and, having travelled on to the third, consumed all the medicines and was extinguished. Ālambāyana was standing near the last hole: the heat of the poison smote him, the colour of his skin changed, and he became a leper. Filled with terror, he set the Nāga free. Bhūridatta assumed a radiant form decked with all ornaments; so did Sudassana and Accimukhī. The king, on discovering that they were the children of Samuddajā, rejoiced greatly and entertained them. Bhūridatta returned to the Nāga world, the king accompanying him. The king stayed there for some days and then returned to his kingdom.
Subhaga, in the course of his wanderings, came across Somadatta’s father, and, on discovering that it was he who had betrayed Bhūridatta, snatched him away into the Nāga world, after first nearly drowning him in the whirlpools of the Yamunā. Kānāriṭṭha, who was guarding the entrance to the room where Bhūridatta lay ill and tired after his experiences, protested against Subhaga’s ill-treatment of a brahmin, and described the greatness of the brahmins and the importance of holding sacrifices and of learning the Vedas. The Nāgā, who were listening, were greatly impressed, and Bhūridatta, seeing them in danger of accepting false doctrine, sent for Kānārittha, confuted his arguments, and converted the Nāgā to the right view. Some time after, Bhūridatta, with his retinue, and followed by Dhataraṭṭha, Samuddajā, and their other children, visited his grandfather Brahmadatta, who had become an ascetic. There they met Sāgara Brahmadatta, now king of Bārāṇasī, and great was the rejoicing over their reunion. Samuddajā then returned with her family to the Nāga world, where they lived happily to the end of their days.
The story was related in reference to some laymen of Sāvatthi who kept the fast diligently.
Devadatta is identified with Ālambāyana, Ānanda with Somadatta, Uppalavaṇṇā with Accimukhī, Sāriputta with Sudassana, Mahā-Moggallāna with Subhaga, and Sunakkhatta with Kānāriṭṭha (J.vi.157‑219).
The story of Bhūridatta is found also in the Cariyāpiṭaka (Cyp.ii.2) as the Bhūridatta cariyā, to illustrate the perfection of virtue (sīla-pāramī). In the fifteenth century Raṭṭhasāra, a monk of Ava, wrote a metrical version of the Bhūridatta Jātaka. Sās.99.
544v.l. Khaṇḍahāla Jātaka.– Khaṇḍahāla was the chaplain of King Ekarājā of Pupphavatī. The chaplain took bribes, and the king’s son, Candakumāra, having been told of this, once righted a wrong decision, thereby winning the applause of the people. The king appointed him judge, and Khaṇḍahāla vowed vengeance. Later the king, having dreamed of heaven, asked Khaṇḍahāla the way there; the chaplain replied that the way lay through a sacrifice in which all the king’s sons, his queens, his merchant princes, and his most treasured possessions should be offered. Khaṇḍahāla hoped thereby to bring about the death of Candakumāra. Ekarājā accepted the suggestion and made all preparations for the sacrifice. Several times the king wavered in his resolve, being interceded with by his parents, Canda and his wives, and the people. Khaṇḍahāla goaded him on, but at the moment when the sword was about to descend on the neck of Candakumāra, the latter’s wife, Candā, daughter of the Pañcāla king, made an “act of truth,” and Sakka appeared, brandishing a thunderbolt. Canda was saved, the crowd killed Khandahāla, and would have killed the king too but for the intervention of Sakka. The king was made an outcast and banished from the city, and Candakumāra, now the crowned king, supplied all his wants. (J.vi.129‑57; the story is also found in the Cariyāpiṭaka as the Candakumāra-cariyā).
Khaṇḍahāla is identified with Devadatta, Candā with Rāhulamātā, and Candakumāra with the Bodhisatta.
The story was told in reference to Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha by engaging the services of archers to shoot him.
The story is referred to as an example of a husband being saved by the virtue of his wife (J.iv.47), and also of one instance of Devadatta having greater power than the Bodhisatta (Mil.203).
545Aṅgati, king of Mithilā in Videha, is a good ruler. One full-moon night he consults his ministers as to how they shall amuse themselves. Alāta suggests new conquests; Sunāma suggests that they shall seek pleasure in dance, song, and music; but Vijaya recommends that they shall visit some samaṇa or brahmin. Aṅgati falls in with the views of Vijaya, and in great state goes to Guṇa of the Kassapagotta, an ascetic who lives in the park near the city. Guṇa teaches him that there is no fruit, good or evil, in the moral life; there is no other world than this, no strength, no courage; all beings are predestined and follow their course like the ship her stern. Alāta approves of the views of Guṇa; he remembers how, in his past life, he was a wicked councillor called Piṅgala; from there he was born in the family of a general, and now he is a minister. A slave, Bījaka, who is present, can remember his past life and says he was once Bhavaseṭṭhi in Sāketa, virtuous and generous, but he is now the son of a prostitute. Even now he gives away half his food to any in need, but see how destitute he is!
King Aṅgati is convinced that Guṇa’s doctrine is correct, and resolves to find delight only in pleasure. He gives orders that he shall not be disturbed in his palace; Candaka, his minister, is deputed to look after the kingdom. Fourteen days pass in this manner. Then the king’s only child, his beloved daughter Rujā, comes to him arrayed in splendour, attended by her maidens, and asks for one thousand to be given the next day to mendicants. Aṅgati protests; he will deny his daughter no pleasure or luxury, but has learnt too much to approve of her squandering money on charity or wasting her energy in keeping the fasts.
Rujā is at first amazed, then tells her father that his councillors are fools, they have not taken reckoning of the whole of their past, but remember only one birth or two; they cannot therefore judge. She herself remembers several births; in one she was a smith in Rājagaha and committed adultery, but that sin remained hidden, like fire covered with ashes, and she was born as a rich merchant’s only son in Kosambī. There she engaged in good works, but, because of previous deeds, she was born after death in the Roruva hell and then as a castrated goat in Bheṇṇākaṭa. In her next birth she was a monkey, and then an ox among the Dasaṇṇas; then a hermaphrodite among the Vajjī , and later a nymph in Tāvatiṃsa. Once more her good deeds have come round, and hereafter she will be born only among gods and men. Seven births hence she will be a male god in Tāvatiṃsa, and even now the god Java is gathering a garland for her.
All night she teaches in this way to her father, but he remains unconvinced. The Bodhisatta is a Brahmā, named Nārada Kassapa, and, surveying the world, sees Rujā and Aṅgati engaged in conversation. He therefore appears in the guise of an ascetic, and Aṅgati goes out to greet and consult him. The ascetic praises goodness, charity, and generosity, and speaks of other worlds. Aṅgati laughs, and asks for a loan which, he says, he will repay twice over in the next world, as the ascetic seems so convinced that there is one. Nārada tells him of the horrors of the hell in which Aṅgati will be reborn unless he mends his ways, and mentions to him the names of former kings who attained to happiness through good lives. The king at last sees his error and determines to choose new friends. Nārada Kassapa reveals his identity and leaves in all majesty.
The story was related in reference to the conversion of Uruvela-Kassapa. He came, after his conversion, with the Buddha to Laṭṭhivana, and the people wondered if he had really become a follower of the Buddha. He dispelled their doubts by describing the folly of the sacrifices which he had earlier practised, and, laying his head on the Buddha’s feet did obeisance. Then he rose seven times into the air, and, after having worshipped the Buddha, sat on one side. The people marvelled at the Buddha’s powers of conversion, which, the Buddha said, were not surprising since he possessed them already as a Bodhisatta.
Aṅgati is identified with Uruvela-Kassapa, Alāta with Devadatta, Sunāma with Bhaddiya, Vijaya, with Sāriputta, Bījaka with Moggallāna, Guṇa with the Licchavi Sunakkhatta, and Rujā with Ānanda. J.vi.219 55; see also J.i.83.
546v.l. Vidhūrapaṇḍita Jātaka.– Four kings — Dhanañjaya Korabya, king of Indapatta; Sakka, the Nāga king Varuṇa; and Venateyya, the king of the Supaṇṇā — having taken the uposatha-vows, meet together in a garden and there have a dispute as to which of them is the most virtuous. They cannot decide among themselves and agree, therefore, to refer the matter to Dhanañjaya’s minister, Vidhurapaṇḍita (the Bodhisatta). The minister listens to the claims of each and then declares that all are equal; their virtues are like the spokes of a wheel. They are pleased, and Sakka gives the minister a silk robe, Varuṇa a jewel, the Supaṇṇa king a golden garland, and Dhanañjaya one thousand cows.
Vimalā, Varuṇa’s wife, hearing from her husband of Vidhura’s wisdom, is so enchanted that she yearns to see him, and in order to do so feigns illness, and says that she must have Vidhura’s heart. Varuṇa’s daughter, Irandatī, is offered to anyone who can get possession of Vidhura’s heart, and the yakkha Puṇṇaka, nephew of Vessavaṇa, who sees her and is fascinated by her beauty, accepts the condition. He obtains Vessavaṇa’s consent by a ruse and visits Dhanañjaya’s court. There he challenges the king to a game of dice, giving his name as Kaccāyana, and offers as stake his wonderful steed and all seeing gem, provided the king will offer Vidhura as his. Dhanañjaya agrees, plays and loses. Vidhura agrees to go with Puṇṇaka; the king asks him questions regarding the householder’s life for his own guidance, and Vidhura is given three days’ leave to visit his family. Having taken leave of them, he goes with Puṇṇaka. On the way Puṇṇaka tries in vain to kill him by frightening him. When Vidhura discovers Puṇṇaka’s intention, he teaches to him as he sits on the top of the Kāḷapabbata, and the yakkha is so moved that he offers to take Vidhura back to Indapatta. However, in spite of his protestations, Vidhura insists on going on to the Nāga world. They arrive in Varuṇa’s abode; Vidhura teaches first to Varuṇa and then to Vimalā. They are both delighted, and Puṇṇaka wins the hand of Irandatī. In his great joy Puṇṇaka gives Vidhura his marvellous jewel and takes him back to Indapatta. There Vidhura relates his adventures and gives the jewel to the king. A festival lasting one month is held in honour of Vidhura’s return.
The story was related in reference to the Buddha’s wisdom. Vidhura’s chief wife, Anujjā, is identified with Rāhulamātā; his eldest son, Dhammapāla, with Rāhula; Varuṇa with Sāriputta; the Supaṇṇa king with Mahā-Moggallāna; Sakka with Anuruddha, and Dhanañjaya with Ānanda (J.vi.255‑329).
The Jātaka is also referred to as the Puṇṇaka Jātaka (e.g., J.iv.14, 182). Four scenes from the Jātaka are found on the Bharhut Tope. Cunningham, Bharhut, p.82.
547Vessantara (the Bodhisatta) was the son of Sañjaya, king of Sivi, and queen Phusatī, and was so called because his mother started in labour as she passed through a street of workers (vessa) in the city of Jetuttara, and he was born in a house in the same street. He spoke as soon as he was born.¹ On the same day was also born a white elephant named Paccaya. At the age of eight, Vessantara wished to make a great gift and the earth trembled. He married Maddī at the age of sixteen, and their children were Jāli and Kaṇhājinā.
At that time there was a great drought in Kāliṅga, and eight brahmins came from there to Vessantara to beg his white elephant, which had the power of making rain to fall. He granted their request, and gave the elephant together with its priceless trappings.² The citizens of Jetuttara were greatly upset that their elephant should have been given away, and demanded of Sañjaya that Vessantara should be banished to Vaṅkagiri. The will of the people prevailed, and Vessantara was asked to take the road along which those travel who have offended. He agreed to go, but before setting out, obtained the king’s leave to hold an almsgiving called the “Gift of the Seven Hundreds” (Sattasataka), in which he gave away seven hundred of each kind of thing. People came from all over Jambudīpa to accept his gifts, and the almsgiving lasted for a whole day.
When Vessantara took leave of his parents and prepared for his journey, Maddī insisted on accompanying him with her two children. They were conveyed in a gorgeous carriage drawn by four horses, but, outside the city, Vessantara met four brahmins who begged his horses. Four devas then drew the chariot, but another brahmin soon appeared and obtained the chariot. Thenceforth they travelled on foot, through Suvaṇṇagiritāla, across the river Kontimārā, to beyond Mount Arañjaragiri and Dunniviṭṭha, to his uncle’s city, in the kingdom of Cetā. The devas shortened the way for them, and the trees lowered their fruit that they might eat. Sixty thousand khattiyas came out to welcome Vessantara and offered him their kingdom, which, however, he refused. He would not even enter the city, but remained outside the gates, and, when he left early the next morning, the people of Cetā, led by Cetaputta, went with him for fifteen leagues, until they came to the entrance to the forest. Vessantara and his family then proceeded to Gandhamādana, northwards, by the foot of Mount Vepulla to the river Ketumatī, where a forester entertained them and gave them to eat. Thence they crossed the river to beyond Nālika, along the bank of Lake Mucalinda, to its north eastern corner, then along a narrow footpath into the dense forest, to Vaṅkagiri. There Vissakamma had already built two hermitages, by order of Sakka, one for Vessantara and one for Maddī and the children, and there they took up their residence. By Vessantara’s power, the wild animals to a distance of three leagues became gentle. Maddī rose daily at dawn, and, having fetched water to wash, went into the forest for yams and fruit. In the evening she returned, washed the children, and the family sat down to eat. Thus passed four months.
Then from Dunniviṭṭha there came to the hermitage an old brahmin, called Jūjaka, who had been sent by his young wife, Amittatāpanā, to find slaves for her, because when she went to the well for water the other women had laughed at her, calling her “old man’s darling.” She told Jūjaka that he could easily get Vessantara’s children as slaves, and so he came to Vaṅkagiri. Asking the way of various people, including the hermit Accuta, Jūjaka arrived at Vaṅkagiri late in the evening and spent the night on the hilltop. That night Maddī had a dream, and, being terrified, she sought Vessantara. He knew what the dream presaged, but consoled her and sent her away the next day in search of food. During her absence, Jūjaka came and made his request. He would not await the return of Maddī, and Vessantara willingly gave him the two children. However, they ran away and hid in a pond until told by their father to go with Jūjaka. When Vessantara poured water on Jūjaka’s hand as a symbol of his gift, the earth trembled with joy. Once more the children escaped and ran back to their father, but he strengthened his resolve with tears in his eyes. Jūjaka led the children away, beating them along the road until their blood flowed.
It was late in the evening when Maddī returned because devas, assuming the form of beasts of prey, delayed her coming, lest she should stand in the way of Vessantara’s gift. In answer to her questions, Vessantara spoke no word, and she spent the night searching for the children. In the morning she returned to the hermitage and fell down fainting. Vessantara restored her to consciousness and told her of what had happened, explaining why he had not told her earlier. When she had heard his story she expressed her joy, affirming that he had made a noble gift for the sake of Omniscience.
And then, lest some vile creature should come and ask for Maddī, Sakka, assuming the form of a brahmin, appeared and asked for her Vessantara looked at Maddī, and she expressed her consent. So he gave Maddī to the brahmin, and the earth trembled. Sakka revealed his identity, gave Maddī back to Vessantara, and allowed him eight boons. Vessantara asked that:
In the meantime, Jūjaka had travelled sixty leagues with the children, whom the devas cared for and protected. Guided by the devas, they arrived in fifteen days at Jetuttara, though Jūjaka had intended to go to Kāliṅga. Sañjaya bought the children from Jūjaka, paying a high price, including the gift of a seven storeyed palace. However, Jūjaka died of over-eating, and as no relation of his could be traced, his possessions came back to the king. Sañjaya ordered his army to be prepared and a road to be built from Jetuttara to Vaṅkagiri, eight furlongs (usabha) wide. Seven days later, led by Jāli, Sañjaya, and Phusatī started for Vaṅkagiri.
In the army was the white elephant, which had been returned because the people of Kāliṅga could not maintain him. There was great rejoicing at the reunion of the family, and the six royal personages fell in a swoon until they were revived by rain sent by Sakka, the rain only wetting those who so wished it. Vessantara was crowned king of Sivi, with Maddī as his consort. After a month’s merry making in the forest, they returned to Jetuttara. On the day Vessantara entered the city he set free every captive, including even cats. In the evening, as he lay wondering how he would be able to satisfy his suitors the next day, Sakka’s throne was heated, and he sent down a shower of the seven kinds of precious things, until the palace grounds were filled waist high. Vessantara was thus able to practise his generosity to the end of his days. After death he was born in Tusita.³
The story was related on the occasion of the Buddha’s first visit to Kapilavatthu. The Buddha’s kinsmen escorted him to the Nigrodhārāma, but sat round him without doing any obeisance, because of their great pride. The Buddha then performed the Twin Miracle, and the Sākyā, led by Suddhodana, worshipped him. There was then a shower of rain, refreshing all and falling only on those who so wished. When the people expressed their wonder, the Buddha related this story, showing that in the past, too, rain had fallen on his kinsfolk to revive them.⁴