Jataka 224
Kumbhīla Jātaka
The Virtuous Ape
as told by Eric Van Horn
originally translated by William Henry Denham Rouse, Cambridge University
originally edited by Professor Edward Byles Cowell, Cambridge University
It is hard to know why the redactors of the Jātaka Tales chose to include certain stories. This isn’t really a story at all, simply a verse. It feels like it belongs more in the Dhammapada, the collection of sayings.
Another curiosity about this story is the name. “Kumbhīla” literally means “alligator” or “crocodile,” while the verse is addressed to an ape. Perhaps the Jātaka editor was having a bad day.
Nonetheless, the important point is to concentrate on the message. In this passage, the meaning is clear.
“Oh Ape.” The Master told this story at the Bamboo Grove (Veluvana). It is about Devadatta.
“Oh Ape, these four virtues bring victory:
Truth, Wisdom, Self-control, and Piety.
“Without these blessings is no victory—
Truth, Wisdom, Self-control, and Piety.”
Figure: Truth, Wisdom, Self-control, and Piety
