Biḷārikosiya Jātaka

Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into a rich man’s family. When he came of age, he acquired a property, and at his father’s death, he received his father’s station as a merchant.

One day, as he reviewed his wealth, he thought, “My wealth is here, sure enough, but where are those who gathered it? I must disperse my wealth and give alms.” So he built an alms house, and while he lived, he distributed a great deal of alms. And when his days were drawing to a close, he instructed his son to continue the practice of almsgiving.

He was born again as Sakka in the Heaven of the Thirty-three. The son gave alms as his father had, and having instructed his son as his father had, he was born as Canda, the Moon, among the gods. And his son became Suriya, the Sun, who gave birth to another son who became Mātali the Charioteer, and his son was born again as Pañcasikha, one of the Gandhabbas, or celestial musicians. But the sixth son in the line was without faith. He was hard-hearted, loveless, and miserly. He demolished the alms house and burned it. He beat the beggars and sent them on their way. He gave no one so much as a drop of oil on the end of a blade of grass.

Then Sakka, King of the gods, looked back over his actions in the past. He wondered, “Does my tradition of almsgiving continue or not?” Pondering this he saw, “My son continued the giving, and he became Canda. His son is Suriya, and his son is Mātali, and his son has been born as Pañcasikha. But the sixth in line has broken the tradition.” Then this thought occurred to him. He would go humble that defiled man and teach him the fruit of giving. So he summoned Canda, Suriya, Mātali, and Pañcasikha to him, and he said, “Sirs, the sixth in our line has broken the family tradition. He has burned the alms house. He has driven the beggars away. He does not give anything to anyone. Let us humble him!” And so with them all, he proceeded to go to Benares.

At that moment the merchant had just been to wait upon the King. He was walking back and forth under the seventh gate-tower and looking down the road. Sakka said to the others, “Wait until I go in and then follow one after another.” With these words he went forward. And standing before the rich merchant, he said to him, “Ho, sir! Give me something to eat!” “There is nothing to eat for you here, brahmin. Go elsewhere.” “Ho, great sir! When brahmins ask for food, they must not be refused!” “In my house, brahmin, there is no food cooked or food ready for cooking. Away with you!” “Great Sir, I will repeat to you a verse of poetry. Listen.” He replied, “I do not want your poetry. Be gone and do not keep standing here.” But Sakka, without attending to his words, recited two stanzas:

“When food is not within the pot, the good would get and not deny,

And you are cooking! ’tis not good, if you would now no food supply.

“He who remiss and miser is, ever to give denies,

But he who virtue loves, must give, and he whose mind is wise.”

When the man heard this, he answered, “Well, come in and sit down, and you shall have a little.” Sakka entered, repeating these verses, and then he sat down.

Next came Canda, and he asked for food. “There is no food for you,” said the man. “Go away!” Canda replied, “Great sir, there is one brahmin seated inside. There must be a free meal for a brahmin, I suppose, so I will enter too.” “There is no free meal for a brahmin!” said the man. “Be off with you!” Then Canda said, “Great sir, please listen to a verse or two,” and he repeated two stanzas. (Whenever a terrified miser gives to no one, that very thing that he fears comes to be.)

“When fear of hunger or of thirst makes miser souls afraid,

In this world and the next those fools shall fully be repaid.

“Therefore give alms, flee avarice, purge filth of greed away,

In the next world men’s virtuous deeds shall be their surest stay.”

Having listened to these words as well the man said, “Well, come in, and you shall have a little.” In Canda went, and the took a seat with Sakka.

After waiting a little while, Suriya came up and asked for food by repeating two stanzas:

“’Tis hard to do as good men do, to give as they can give,

Bad men can hardly imitate the life that good men live.

“And so, when good and evil go to pass away from earth,

The bad are born in hell below, in heaven the good have birth.”

The rich man, not seeing any way out of it, said to him, “Well, come in and sit down with these brahmins, and you shall have a little.” And Mātali, after waiting a little while, came up and asked for food. And when he was told there was no food, as soon as the words were spoken, he repeated the seventh stanza:

“Some give from little, some give not though they have plenteous store,

Who gives from little, if he gave a thousand, twere no more.”

To him the man also said, “Well, come in and sit down.” Then after waiting a little while, Pañcasikha came up and asked for food. “There is none, go away,” was the reply. He said, “What a number of places I have visited! There must be a free meal for brahmins here, I think!” And he repeated the eighth stanza:

“Even he who lives on scraps should righteous be,

Giving from little store, though sons have he,

The hundred thousand that the wealthy give,

Are worth not one small gift from such as he.”

The rich man reflected after hearing the speech of Pañcasikha. Then he repeated the ninth stanza, to ask an explanation of the little worth of such gifts:

“Why is a rich and generous sacrifice

Not equal to a righteous gift in price,

How is a thousand, that the wealthy gives,

Not worth a poor man’s gift, tho’ small in size?”

In reply, Pañcasikha recited the concluding stanza:

“Some who in evil ways do live

Oppress, and slay, then comfort give,

Their cruel sour-faced gifts are less

Than any given with righteousness.

Thus not a thousand from the wealthy can

Equal the little gift of such a man.”

Having listened to the admonition of Pañcasikha, he replied, “Well, go indoors and be seated. You shall have a little.” And he, too, entered and sat with the rest.

Then the rich merchant Biḷārikosiya, beckoning to a maidservant, said to her, “Give those Brahmins a measure each of rice in the husk.”

She brought the rice. And approaching them, she told them to take it, to get it cooked somewhere else and eat. “We never touch rice in the husk,” they said. “Master, they say that they never touch rice in the husk!” “Well, give them husked rice.” She brought them husked rice and told them to take it. They said, “We accept nothing that is uncooked.” “Master, they accept nothing that is uncooked!” “Then cook them some cows' food in a pot and give them that.” She cooked a mess of cows’ food in a pot and brought it to them.

All five of them took a bite and put it into their mouths. But they let it stick in the throat. Then rolling their eyes, they became unconscious and acted as though they were dead. The serving-maid, seeing this, thought they must be dead. She was afraid and went and told the merchant. She said, “Master, those brahmins could not swallow the cows’ food, and they are dead!” He thought, “Now people will condemn me, saying, ‘This lewd fellow gave a mess of cows’ food to delicate brahmins. They could not swallow it, and they died!” Then he said to the maid, “Go quickly. Take away the food from their bowls and cook them all sorts of the finest rice.” She did this.

Then the merchant brought in passers-by from the road outside. And when he had gathered a number of them together he said, “I gave these brahmins food after my own manner of eating, and they were greedy and made great lumps. So as they ate, the food stuck in the throat, and they are now dead. I call you to witness that I am guiltless.” But then the brahmins got up. And looking upon the multitude, they said “Behold the deceitfulness of this merchant! He gave us his own food, he said! A mess of cow’s food is all he gave us, and then while we lay as if dead, he had this food prepared.” And they spit out the food from their mouths that they had taken and showed it. The crowd rebuked the merchant, crying, “Blind fool! You have broken the custom of your family. You burned the alms house. You took the beggars by the throat and threw them out. And now when you were providing food to these delicate brahmins, all you gave them was a mess of cows’ food! As you go to the next world, you will carry the wealth of your house fast around your neck!”

At this moment, Sakka asked the crowd, “Do you know whose is the wealth of this house?” “We do not know,” they replied. He said, “You have heard about a great merchant of Benares who lived in this city once upon a time. He built alms houses, and he gave a great deal in charity.” “Yes,” they said. “We have heard of him.” “I am that merchant,” he said, “and because of those gifts, I am now Sakka, King of the gods. And my son, who did not break my tradition, has become the god Canda. And his son is Suriya, and his son is Mātali, and his son is Pañcasikha. Of these, that is Canda. That is Suriya, and this is Mātali the charioteer. And this again is Pañcasikha, who is now a heavenly musician. He was once the father of that vulgar fellow! Generosity is extremely powerful. Therefore wise men ought to act virtuously.”

Having spoken, in order to dispel the doubts of the people assembled there, they rose up in the air. They remained poised, and by their mighty power they surrounded themselves with a great host. Their bodies were ablaze so that the whole city seemed to be on fire. Then Sakka addressed the crowd. “We left our heavenly glory to come here. We came because of this evil-doer Biḷārikosiya. He is the last of his race, the devourer of his race. We came out of pity for him because we knew that he had broken the tradition of his family and that he burned the alms house. We knew that he cast out the beggars by the throat, that he had violated our custom, and that by ceasing to give alms he would be born in hell.” In this way he addressed the crowd, telling them about the power of generosity.

Biḷārikosiya put his hands together in humility and made a vow. “My lord, from this time forth I will not break the family custom. I will distribute alms, and beginning from this very day, I will never eat without sharing my own supplies with another. I will share even the water I drink and the tooth-cleaner that I use.”

Having thus humbled him, Sakka established him in the Five Virtues (Five Precepts). Then he went back to his own realm, taking the four gods with him. And the merchant gave alms as long as he lived, and he was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.