Kurudhamma Jātaka

Once upon a time, when Dhanañjaya was the King of Indapatta City in the Kuru kingdom, the Bodhisatta was born as a son of his Queen Consort. By and by he grew up, and he was educated at Takkasilā University. His father made him Viceroy, and afterwards, when his father died, he became the King.

He grew in the Kura righteousness, keeping the ten royal virtues (generosity, morality, renunciation, honesty, gentleness, asceticism, non-violence, patience, uprightness). The Kuru righteousness includes the Five Precepts. The Bodhisatta kept these as did the Queen Mother, Queen Consort, younger brother, viceroy, family priest, brahmin, driver, courtier, charioteer, treasurer, master of the granaries, a noble, a porter, a courtesan, and their slave girl.

King, mother, consort, viceroy, chaplain too,

Driver and charioteer and treasurer,

And he that governed the King’s granaries,

Porter, and courtesan, eleven in all,

Observed the rules of Kuru righteousness.

Thus all of them observed the Five Precepts and kept them untarnished. The King built six Almonries (places at which alms could be given). There was one at each of the four city gates. One was in the middle of the city, and one was just outside his own door. Every day he distributed 600,000 gold coins in alms, a gesture that inspired the whole of India. All of India was overwhelmed by his love and delight in charity.

At that time there was in the city of Dantapura, in the kingdom of Kāliṅga, a King named King Kāliṅga. In his realms the rain did not fall, and because of the drought there was famine in the land. The people thought that lack of food might produce a plague. There was a constant fear of drought and fear of famine. These three fears were always with them. Finally, all the people in the kingdom gathered together and went to Dantapura. And there at the King’s door they made their plea.

As the King stood by the window, he heard the clamor, and he asked why the people were making so much noise.

“Oh, Sire,” was the reply, “three fears consume your entire kingdom. No rain falls, the crops fail, and there is a famine. The people, starving, diseased, and destitute, are wandering about in desperation with their little ones by the hand. Make rain for us, O King!”

The King replied, “In the past what did monarchs do if it would not rain?”

“Former monarchs, O King, would give alms if it did not rain. They would keep the holy day, make vows of virtue, and lie down for seven days in their chamber on a grass pallet. Then the rain would fall.”

“Very well,” the King said, and he did as they asked. But still no rain came. The King said to his court, “I have done as you have asked, but there is still no rain. What am I to do?”

“O King, in the city of Indapatta there is a state elephant named Añjana-vasabho, the Black Bull. He belongs to Dhanañjaya, the Kura King. Let us fetch him. Then the rain will come.”

“But how can we do that? The King and his army are not easy to overcome.”

“O King, there is no need to fight him. The King is fond of giving. He loves giving. If asked, he would even cut off his head in all its magnificence or tear out his gracious eyes or give up his very kingdom. There will be no need to plead for the elephant. He will give it without fail.”

“But who should ask him?” said the King.

“The brahmins, great King!”

So the King summoned eight brahmins from a brahmin village, and with all honor and respect sent them to ask for the elephant. They took money for their journey and dressed in travelling clothes. And without resting more than one night in a single place, they travelled quickly until after a few days they took their meal at the alms hall at the city gate. When they had satisfied their bodily wants, they asked, “When does the King come to the Almonry?”

The answer was, “On three days in the fortnight: the fourteenth, fifteenth, and the eighth. But tomorrow is the full moon, so he will come tomorrow as well.”

So early the next morning, the brahmins went to the eastern gate. The Bodhisatta also left. He washed and was anointed. He was adorned and rarely arrayed, mounted upon a fine elephant richly decorated. He arrived with a great company at the eastern gate Almshall. There he dismounted. He gave food to seven or eight people from his own hand. “In this manner we should all give,” he said. And mounting his elephant, he left for the south gate.

At the eastern gate, because of the force of the royal guard, the brahmins did not get a chance to talk to the King. So they proceeded to the south gate and waited for the King to arrive. When the King reached a rising ground not far from the gate, they raised their hands and were able to hail the King. The King guided his animal with a sharp goad to where they were. “Well, brahmins, what is your wish?” he asked. Then the brahmins declared the virtues of the Bodhisatta in the first stanza:

“Knowing your faith and virtue, Lord, we come,

For this beast’s sake our wealth we spent at home.

To this the Bodhisatta replied, “Brahmins, if all your wealth has been exhausted in getting this elephant, never mind. I give him to you in all his splendor.” Thus comforting them, he repeated these two verses:

“Whether or not you serve my kingdom,

Whatever creature shall come here to me,

As my preceptors taught me long ago,

All that come here shall always welcome be.

“This elephant to you for gift I bring,

‘Tis a king's portion, worthy of a King!

Take him, with all his trappings, golden chain,

Driver and all, and go your ways again.”

So spoke the great Being mounted upon his elephant’s back. Then, dismounting, he said to them, “If there is a spot on him unadorned, I will adorn it and then give him to you.” Three times he walked around the creature. He turned towards the right and examined him, but he found no spot on him without adornment. Then he put the trunk into the brahmins’ hands. He sprinkled him with scented water from a fine golden vase and gave him to them. The brahmins accepted the elephant with his belongings, and seating themselves on his back, they rode to Dantapura and handed him over to their King. But although they had brought the elephant, still no rain fell.

Then the King asked again, “What can be the reason?”

They said, "Dhanañjaya, the Kuru King, observes the Kuru virtue. Therefore, in his realm it rains every ten or fifteen days. That is the power of the King’s goodness. If this animal possesses any good, it must be very little!” Then the King said, “Take this elephant, decorated as he is, with all his belongings, and give him back to the King. Then write down on a golden plate the Kuru code of virtue that he observes and bring it back to me.” With these words he sent the brahmins and courtiers off.

So they went before the Kuro King. They returned his elephant, saying, “My lord, even when your elephant came, no rain fell in our country. They say that you observe the Kuru code of virtue. Our King wants to follow it. He has sent us to write it down on a golden plate and bring it to him. Tell us your code of virtue!”

“Friends,” the King said, “indeed I did once observe this code of conduct. But now I am in doubt about it. This code does not bless my heart any longer. Therefore I cannot give it you.”

Why, you may ask, did the King say he was no longer blessed by virtue? Well, every third year in the month of Kattika (the lunar month that spans October and November), the Kings used to hold a festival called the Kattika Feast. While keeping this feast, the Kings used to dress themselves in great magnificence. They would dress like gods. They stood in the presence of a goblin named Cittarāja, the King of Many Colors. Then they would shoot arrows draped in flowers and painted in many colors to all four points of the compass. The Kuru King then, in keeping the feast, stood on the bank of a lake in the presence of Cittarāja and shot arrows to the four quarters. They could see where three of the arrows went. But they could not find the fourth arrow, the one that was shot over the water,. The King thought that perhaps the arrow had killed a fish. As this doubt arose, the misdeed of taking a life caused a flaw in his virtue. That is why his virtue did not bless him as before. The King told them this and added, “Friends, I am in doubt about my conduct and whether or not I properly observe the Kuru virtue. But my mother keeps it well. You can get it from her.”

“But, O King,” they said, “you had no intention of taking a life. Without the intention of the heart there is no taking of life. Give us the Kuru righteousness which you have kept!”

(As noted in the opening notes, this is a fundamental principle in the Buddha’s teaching on virtue. If you accidentally step on an ant and kill it, there is no karmic penalty. However, if you intentionally step on an ant, that creates negative karma.)

“Write this down, then,” he said. “Do not take the life of any living being. Do not take not what is not freely given. Do not use your sexual energy in a way that causes harm. Always speak the truth. Do not consume intoxicants.” Then he added, “Still, it does not bless me. You should learn it from my mother.”

The messengers saluted the King and went off to visit the Queen-mother. “Lady,” they said, “they say you keep the Kuru code of virtue. Please pass it on to us!”

The Queen Mother said, “My sons, indeed I did once keep this code of virtue, but now I have my doubts. This conduct does not make me happy, so I cannot give it to you.”

Now we are told the following story. The Queen Mother had two sons. The elder son was the King. The younger son was a viceroy. A certain King sent a gift to the Bodhisatta. It included perfumes of fine sandal wood worth 100,000 gold coins and a golden neckband worth another 100,000 gold coins. The Bodhisatta wanted to honor his mother, so he sent the entire gift to her. She thought, ‘I do not perfume myself with sandal wood, and I do not wear necklaces. I will give them to my sons’ wives.” Then she thought, “My elder son’s wife is my lady. She is the chief queen. I will give her the gold necklace. But the wife of my younger son is a poor creature. I will give her the sandal wood perfume.” And so she gave the necklace to the first wife and the perfume to the other. Afterward she thought her, “I keep the Kuru code of virtue. Whether someone is poor or not should not matter. Perhaps by doing this I have made a flaw in my virtue!” And she began to doubt, and that is why she spoke as she did.

The messengers said, “If you have doubt about a thing as small as that, what other misdeed would you ever do? Virtue is not broken by something like that. Teach us the Kuru code of virtue!” And from her they also received it, and they wrote it down on the golden plate.

“All the same, my sons,” the Queen Mother said, “I am not happy in my virtue. But my daughter-in-law observes it well. Ask her for it.”

So they took their leave of her respectfully, and they went to ask the the daughter-in-law in the same way as they had before. And, as before, she replied, “I cannot, for I no longer keep it myself!” And she told this story.

Now one day she was sitting on a balcony. She looked down and saw the King making a solemn procession around the city. The viceroy sat behind him on the elephant’s back. She fell in love with him and thought, “What if I were to strike up a friendship with him. Then if his brother dies, he would become King and perhaps he would take me to be his wife!” Then it flashed across her mind, “I who keep the Kuru code of virtue, who am married to a husband, I have looked with love at another man! Here is a flaw in my virtue!” She was overcome with remorse. This is what she told the messengers.

Then they said, “Misconduct is not the mere arising of a thought. If you feel remorse for a thing as small as this, what misdeed could you ever commit? Such a small matter does not break your virtue. Give us this code of virtue!” And she likewise told it to them, and they wrote it down on a golden plate. But she said, “However, my sons, my virtue is not perfect. But the viceroy observes these rules well. Go and receive them from him.”

Then again they went off to see the viceroy, and as before they asked him for the Kuru code of virtue. Now the viceroy used to go and pay his respects to the King in the evening. And when they went to the palace courtyard in his carriage, if he wished to eat with the King and spend the night there, he would throw his reins and goad on the yoke. That was a sign for the people to leave. On the next morning they would come back and wait for the viceroy to leave. The charioteer would take care of the carriage. He would return with it early in the morning and wait by the King’s door. But if the viceroy left at the same time, he left the reins and goad there in the chariot and went in to wait upon the King. Then the people, taking it for a sign that he would soon leave, stood waiting there at the palace door.

One day he did this and went in to wait upon the King. But when he was inside, it began to rain. And the King, seeing this, would not let him go leave. So he ate his meal and slept there. But a great crowd of people stood outside expecting him to come out. They stayed all night in the pouring rain. On the next day the viceroy came out. Seeing the crowd standing there drenched, he thought, “I, who keep the Kuru code of virtue, have caused such discomfort for this whole crowd of people! Surely here is a flaw in my virtue!” He was overcome with remorse. So he said to the messengers, “Now doubt has overcome me about whether I do indeed keep this code of virtue. Therefore I cannot give it to you.”

“But,” they said, “you never intended to harm those people. What is not intended is not counted against one’s merit. If you feel remorse for so small a thing, in what way would you ever transgress?” So they received from him, too, the knowledge of the code of virtue and wrote it on their golden plate. “However,” he said, “this righteousness is not perfect in me. But my chaplain keeps it well. Go, ask him for it.” Then—again—they went on to see the chaplain. And he told them this story.

Now it so happened that the chaplain one day had gone to wait upon the King. He saw a chariot on the road. It had been sent to the King by another King. It was the color of the young sun. “Whose chariot is this?” he asked. “It was sent for the King,” they replied. Then he thought, “I am an old man. If the King were to give me that chariot, how wonderful it would be to ride about in it!”

Then he went before the King. He waited behind after greeting him with the prayer for prosperity. They showed the chariot to the King. “That is a most beautiful chariot,” the King said. “Give it to my teacher.” But the chaplain did want to take it. Why was this? Because the thought came into his mind, “I, who practice the Kuru code of virtue, have coveted another person’s goods. Surely this is a flaw in my virtue!” So he told the story to these messengers, adding, “My sons, I am in doubt about my ability to keep the Kuru code of virtue. This righteousness does not bless me now. Therefore I cannot teach it to you.”

But the messengers said, “Virtue is not tarnished by the mere arising of covetousness. If you feel regret in so small a matter, what real transgression would you ever do?” And from him they also received the code of virtue and wrote it on their golden plate. “Still, this goodness does not bless me now,” he said. “But the royal driver carefully practices it. Go and ask him.” So they found the royal driver, and they asked him.

Now the driver’s story was this. One day he was measuring a field. Tying a cord to a stick, he gave one end to the owner of the field to hold and took the other end himself. The stick tied to the end of the cord which he held came to a crab’s lurk-hole. He thought, “If I put the stick in the hole, the crab in the hole will be hurt. If I put it on the other side, the King’s property will lose. If I put it on this side, the farmer will lose. What is to be done?” Then he thought again, “The crab is probably not in his hole. If he was, he would show himself.” So he put the stick in the hole. The stick made a click! Then he thought, “The stick must have struck the crab, and it must have killed him! I observe the Kuru code of virtue, and now here’s a flaw in it!” So he told this to the messengers and added, “So now I have doubts about my virtue, and I cannot give it to you.”

The messengers said, “You had no wish to kill the crab. What is done without intent is not counted against one’s merit. If you feel remorse about so small a matter, what real transgression would you ever do?” And they took the code of virtue from his lips likewise and wrote it on their golden plate. “However,” he said, “even though this does not bless me, the charioteer practices the code carefully. Go and ask him.”

So they took their leave and sought out the charioteer. Now the charioteer’s story was this. One day he drove the King into his park in the chariot. There the King took his pleasure during the day. He entered the chariot and returned in the evening. But before he could get back to the city, just at sunset a storm cloud arose. The charioteer, fearing the King might get wet, whipped the team with the goad. The horses sped swiftly home.

Ever since then, whenever they went to the park or returned from it, they ran at great speed. Why was this? Because they thought there must be some danger, and that was why the charioteer had whipped them with the goad. And the charioteer thought, “If the King is wet or dry, that is no fault of mine. But I have whipped these well-trained horses, and so they run at great speed again and again until they are tired. This is all my doing. And I observe the Kuru code of virtue! Surely there is a flaw in it now!” He told this to the messengers and said, “Because of this I am in doubt about my virtue, and I cannot give it to you.” “But,” they said, “you did not mean to tire the horses, and what is done without intent does not mar your virtue. If you feel remorse about so small a matter, what real transgression could you ever commit?” And they learned the code of virtue from him also and wrote it down upon their golden plate. But the charioteer sent them in search of a certain wealthy man, saying, “Even though I am not pure in virtue, he keeps it carefully.”

So they went to see this rich man, and they asked him. He told them this story. He said that one day he had gone to his paddy field. There he saw a head of rice bursting the husk. He went to tie it up with a wisp of rice. Taking a handful of rice, he tied the head to a post. Then it occurred to him, “I have yet to give the King his share from this field, and I have taken a handful of rice from an unshared field! I, who observe the code of Kuru virtue! Surely I must have broken it!” And he told this matter to the messengers, saying, “Now I am in doubt about my virtue, and so I cannot give it to you.”

“But,” they said, “you had no intention of stealing. Without the intention to steal you cannot be guilty of theft. If you feel remorse in such a small matter, when will you ever take what belongs to another man?” And from him, too, they received the code of virtue and wrote it down on their golden plate. He added, “Still, although I am not happy in this matter, the Master of the Royal Granaries keeps these rules well. Go, ask him for them.” So they went to see the Master of the Granaries.

Now Master of the Royal Granaries told this story. One day he was sitting at the door of the granary. He was measuring rice in order to determine the amount of the King’s tax. He took a grain from the heap which was not yet measured and put it down as a counter. At that moment rain began to fall. The official counted up the markers and then swept them up and dropped them on the heap which had been measured. Then he ran into the gate house to escape from the rain. Then he thought, “Did I throw the markers on the measured heap or the unmeasured heap?” he wondered. And the thought came into his mind, “If I threw them on what was already measured, the King’s property has been increased, and the owners have lost. I keep the Kuru code of virtue, and now here’s a flaw in my conduct!” So he told this story to the messengers, adding that because of this he had doubts about his conduct and could not give them the code of virtue. But the messengers said, “You had no intention to steal, and without this no one can be declared guilty of dishonesty. If you feel remorse in a small matter like this, when would you ever steal anything?” And from him, too, they received the code of virtue and wrote it on their golden plate. “But,” he added, “although this virtue is not perfect in me, there is the gatekeeper. He observes it well. Go and get it from him.” So they went off and asked the gatekeeper. And he told them his story.

Now it so happened that one day at the time for closing the city gate, he announced the closing of the gate by calling out three times. And a certain poor man, who had gone into the woodland to gather sticks and leaves with his youngest sister, heard the call and came running up with her. The door keeper said, “What! Don’t you know that the King is in the city? Don’t you know that the gate of this town is shut precisely on time? And yet you go out into the woods, making love?” The poor man said, “No, master, this is not my wife, but my sister.” Then the door keeper thought, “How unseemly to address his sister as a wife! And I keep the rules of the Kurus. Surely I must have broken them now!” He told this to the messengers, adding, “In this way I have my doubts about whether I really keep the Kuru code of virtue, and so I cannot give it to you.” But they said to him, “You said it because you thought it was true. This does not break your virtue. If you feel remorse on so slight a cause, how could you ever tell a lie on purpose?” And so they took the virtues from him too and wrote them on their golden plate.

Then he said, “But though this virtue does not bless me, there is a courtesan who keeps it well. Go and ask her.” And so they did. She refused as the others had done for the following reason. Sakka, King of the gods, decided to test her goodness. So he took on the form of a young man. He gave her a thousand gold coins, saying, “I will come for you at the proper time.” Then he returned to heaven and did not visit her for three years. And she, out of honor, did not take so much as a piece of betel nut from another man or three years. But eventually she ran out of money. She thought, “The man who gave me a thousand gold coins has not come for three years, and now I have grown poor. I cannot keep body and soul together. Now I must go tell the Chief Justices, go back to work, and get my wages as before.” So she went to the court and said, “There was a man three years ago who gave me a thousand gold coins. But he never came back. I do not know if he is even still alive. I cannot keep body and soul together. What am I to do, my lord?” And he replied, “If he has not returned for three years, what can you do? Earn your wages as before.”

As soon as she left the court, there came a man who offered her a thousand gold coins. As she held out her hands to take it, Sakka showed himself. She said, “You are the man who gave me a thousand gold coins three years ago. I must not take your money,” and she drew back her hand. Then Sakka caused his own proper shape to be seen. He hovered in the air, shining like the sun fresh risen. He gathered the whole city together. Sakka, in the midst of the crowd, said, “To test her goodness I gave her a thousand gold coins three years ago. Be like her and keep your honor like her.” And with this monition, he filled her dwelling with jewels of seven kinds, saying, “Henceforth be vigilant.” He comforted her and went back to heaven. So because of this she refused, saying, “I had earned one wage and yet I held out my hand for another. Therefore my virtue is not perfect, and so I cannot give it to you.” To this the messengers replied, “Merely to hold out the hand is not a breach of virtue. That virtue of yours is the highest perfection!” And from her, as from the rest, they received the rules of virtue and wrote them on their golden plate. They took it with them to Dantapura and told the King how they had fared.

Then their King practiced the Kuru precepts and fulfilled the Five Virtues. And then in all the realm of Kāliṅga the rain fell. The three fears were allayed. The land became prosperous and fertile. The Bodhisatta gave alms and did good for his whole life, and then he and his subjects went to fill the heavens.