| J.213 |
Bharu Jaataka | Bharuraaja Jaataka |
Once the bodhisatva was the leader of a band of 500 ascetics in the Himavanta forest.
One day they came to the city of Bharu for salt and vinegar, and took up residence
under a banyan tree to the north of the city. A similar group remained under a tree
to the south. Next year, the tree to the south of the city was found to have withered
away, and the group who had lived there, having arrived first, took possession of
the other tree to the north. This led to a dispute between the two groups, and they
sought the intervention of Bharu, king of the Bharu country. He decided in favour
of one group, but being bribed by the other, he changed his mind. Later, the ascetics
repented of their greed and hastened back to the Himavanta forest. The gods, angry
with the king, submerged the whole of Bharu, three hundred leagues in extent under
the sea. The story was told to Pasenadi, king of Kosala, who took bribes from some
heretics and gave permission for them to build a centre near Jetavana. When the Buddha
heard of it, he sent monks to interview the king, but the latter refused to receive
even the chief disciples. The Buddha then went himself and dissuaded the king from
giving permission for an act which would lead to endless dissensions. |
57/331 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.ii.169ff., SA.iii.218ff. |
corruption |