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Once there lived a deer, who headed the band of one thousand deer in a forest close to the Magadhajanapada. He had two young ones Lakkhana and Kala.
One day, thinking that he was getting old he made each of his young ones the leader of five hundred deer to ensure safe grazing for them. As the harvest time was approaching the people took every precaution to protect their crops from the animals. So, they dug pitfalls, fix stakes, set stone traps and so on to kill any encroaching animal. Knowing that fact, the old deer advised the two young ones to go to the mountains along with their herds by avoiding the people to spend the harvest season there.
Lakkhana and Kala
Kala was rash and haughty. He, without paying much heed to what his father had advised rushed to the mountains with his herds. He did not bother to remember that the people were quite likely to ambush, shoot and kill them before they could finally reach the mountain. So, Kala lost most of his followers before reaching the mountain.
Lakkana, however, took the advice of his father seriously. He was wise and cautious. He traveled only in nights and thus reached the mountain safely with all his companions.
After four months, when both the leaders returned at the end of the harvest season the deer king noticed that most of followers of Kala were missing and surprisingly all the followers of Lakkhana had arrived, safely. When the old deer heard the whole story he praised the wisdom of Lakkhana and congratulated him.
[Old deer king is identified with Bodhisatta; Lakkhana with Sariputta; and Devadatta with Kala]
See Lakkhana-miga Jataka, Jataka Atthakatha No.11; Dhammapada Atthakatha 1.120.
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007 - The Story of a Buffalo
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Story of a Buffalo, Ajanta
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Once, the Bodhisatta was born as a buffalo in Himava. He was dark and dirty-looking. Though born in the animal-state he believed in righteousness; and exerted his best to uphold the value of a good conduct. In the same forest there lived a wicked monkey, who used to tease and bully him. Sometimes he would leap upon the back of the sleeping buffalo. Sometimes he would obstruct him from grazing the grass. Sometimes he would climb on his head by holding his horns and swing down by holding his tail. Sometimes he would mount on his back with a brandishing stick to counterfeit Yamaraja - the lord of death. [It may be noted that in the Indian mythologies buffalo is said to be the vehicle of Yamaraja]. The gentle animal bore all the unbecoming behaviour of the monkey to practise the virtue of forbearance.
In the same region there lived a yaksa, as a spirit of a tree. He resented the monkey’s acts. So, one day he advised the buffalo to punish the monkey by using his greater strength. The gentle buffalo declined to do so by saying,
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Inflicting grief on others -
To overcome one’s own discomfort
Is no virtue:
As the result of such acts
Shall not bear the fruits of true happiness.
Yet, he added that one day the monkey would have his lesson; but then he would be saved from the guilt of inflicting any pain on the other.
Monkey riding the gentle buffalo
Indeed, a few days later, when the gentle buffalo was away, a savage buffalo came and stood on the same spot. The wicked monkey thinking him to be the same buffalo jumped on his back and tried the same games. The other buffalo in no time shook him off on the ground and pierced the horns straight into his heart and trampled him with his hoofs.
The monkey was thus killed in no time.
The agressive buffalo throws the monkey down before killing him.
Mark the expression of aggression in the eyes of the buffalo
See Mahisa Jataka, Jataka Pali N0..278; Jatakamala No.33; Chariyapitaka 2.5
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Silava in the forest
| Once the Bodhisatta was born as an elephant in a Himalayan forest. He was white like silver. His eyes were like diamond balls. His mouth was red like the scarlet velvet. His trunk was like the silver flecked with red gold; and his four feet looked like the polished lac. Thus was his persona with consummate beauty and ten-fold perfections. When he grew up, he became the leader of eighty thousand elephants. Nonetheless, he preferred to lead the life of a recluse and live alone in a solitary forest. One day, when walking in the forest he saw a man crying there with his out-stretched arms, as he had lost his way. Moved with compassion, the elephant advanced to help him. The man in turn was further terrified and thought, “a solitary elephant and a rogue are dangerous to be met with”. So, he ran faster and widened the distance. Watching him, thus, running the Bodhisatta halted. When the elephant stopped three times upon his running the man felt that the animal was not intending to harm him. The elephant then came near the man and calmed him by saying that he could help him reach Varanasi. He then lifted him with his trunk and placed him on his back and carried him first to his abode and offered him food. Next, he carried him out of the forest and set him on the high-road of Varanasi.
Arriving at Varanasi the ungrateful man first went to the ivory market to survey the prices of the ivory tusks of a living elephant. Next, he asked the sellers to keep the money ready as he would soon return with a good bargain. He then went to the forest again with all necessary provisions for the journey to approach the kind elephant. Reaching the Silava’s abode, he first greeted him with a false gesture of respect and then begged for his tusks. The elephant, who was then practising the dana-paramita, one of the ten perfections (parami), readily agreed to offer his tusk if the man could cut it off. The greedy man immediately took out his saw, as he had made all preparations to obtain the tusks. The gentle animal then bowed down to let the man cut off his tusks. Off with the tusks the man went to Varanasi and sold them in the market in a handsome price. |
| After a few days, again the greedy man came to the forest and requested the elephant for more tusks because the proceeds from the sale of the tusks, which he had carried earlier was not enough and was spent in clearing his old debts only. The elephant conceded to his request and again allowed him to cut off the rest of his trunks for sale. |
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Silava and the greedy man
But the man’s greed had no bounds. He soon returned to the forest to beg for more. As the elephant was already shorn off his tusks by then, the man, therefore, asked for the stumps of his trunks to make a better living. The gentle Silava, again acquiesced. The cruel and ungrateful man then climbed on his trunk , which was like the corded silver and climbed on his temples, which was like the snowy peak of the mount Kailash; dug the flesh away from his gums; and sawed off the stumps of the tusks and had his way. Thus, Silava breathed his last in severe pains.
The tree fairy
The man, however, had to pay the price for his sinister act. So, when he was returning, the earth burst asunder in a yawning chasm and there sprang a large flame of fire, which swallowed him through and through; and the wretch entered the bowels of the earth to be tormented in the hell.
A tree-fairy, who witnessed the whole scene uttered the following stanza:
Greed demands more, the more it gets
Not all the world can glut its appetite.
Silava (which means Virtuous in the Pali language) Elepahant is now the logo of Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), Ajanta
Silava-Hatthi-Jataka.No.72; Cf. Milinda Panho 202, 29.
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The Monkey King
Once, there lived a wise monkey, who was the leader of eighty thousand monkeys. One day, wandering in a forest they went very far and became very thirsty. So, they looked for water and eventually found a water-pond surrounded by densely grown canes. But before the monkeys could jump into the water to quench their thirst, their leader, the wise monkey, warned them to wait until the safe drinking was assured, as the place was new for them. So, he made a circuit and scrutinised the foot-prints around the pond. There, he noticed that there were some foot-prints, which appeared to have gone to the water but have not come up again. So, he inferred that there was a water-ogre living in the lake. The result of the investigation was very disappointing and frustrating for all the monkeys. So, the wise monkey then made the suggestion that they could still drink the water safely by using the canes as straws, as their was a lavish growth of canes there. So, each monkey picked up one cane and made it hollow to use it as a straw and drank the water. Thus, they all quenched their thirst safely by obeying the wise leader.
The water-ogre, however, appeared but could not harm a single monkey, as he was not empowered to touch the land.
(The monkey king is identified with the Bodhisatta; the 80,000 monkeys with his followers; and the ogre with Devadatta).
See Nalapana Jataka Jataka Pali No.20.
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| 010 - The Story of the Golden Swan |
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Once, the Buddha was born as a virtuous house-holder in Varanasi. He worked hard to maintain his small family of a wife and three daughters. After his death he was reborn as a golden swan with the consciousness of his former existence.
One day, being overwhelmed with the memory of the family of his previous birth, he visited them in his old house in Varanasi. There, he introduced himself and informed them of his previous life’s relationship. Later, before saying good-bye, he offered them one golden feather and advised them to sell it in the market to overcome their poverty.
Since then he was a regular visitor to his old family; and upon every visit he offered them one golden feather. With the proceeds of the feathers, soon the family overcame its poverty.
The mother of the daughters was, however, greedy and cruel. She wanted to be much richer in much less time. So, one day, she advised her daughters to pluck out all the feathers of the bird upon his next visit and become rich in no time. The daughters strongly opposed her malicious intention and warned her to refrain from any cruel act, which could pain their benefactor.
Next time, when the bird visited the family, the wife coaxed him to come near her. When he hopped on her lap, she seized him violently and plucked out his feathers. But to her surprise and disappointment what she could pluck was just the ordinary feathers. This was because the bird’s feathers were to change into ordinary ones when plucked against his wish.
The poor bird in his great agony tried hard to fly but could not. The woman then threw him away into an abandoned barrel. When his daughters saw him groaning in severe pain they gave him necessary first aid and took care of him until his fresh wings once again grew. He then flew again. But this time when he flew he never came back again.
See Suvanna-Hamsa Jataka Jataka Pali No.136. |
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कोणत्याही टिप्पण्या नाहीत:
टिप्पणी पोस्ट करा