| J.149 |
Ekapa.n.na Jaataka |
The bodhisatva was once a brahmin of great supranormal powers who dwelt in the Himalayas.
One day he entered Benares and took up residence in the royal park. The king, pleased
with his deportment, invited him into the royal palace and asked him to spend the
rainy season in the park. The king had an ill-natured son called Dutthakumara and
despairing of every being able to reform him, handed him over, as a last resort to
the brahmin. One day, when the ascetic was walking in the garden with the prince,
he asked him to taste the leaf of a young Nimba plant. The prince did so, but at
once spat it out, because of its intense bitterness. ëIf such bitterness should reside
in the baby tree, how will it be when it grows up?í said the bodhisatva, and thereupon
drew a moral with regard to the princeís own conduct. The prince benefitted from
the lesson, and thenceforth changed his nature. The story was told in reference to
a Licchavi prince called Duttha. |
56/598 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.i.504ff. |
upbringing, stubbornness |