| J.289 |
Naanacchanda Jaataka |
Once the bodhisatva was king of Benares and while walking about in the city in disguise,
he fell one night into the hands of drunken thieves. He pleaded poverty, gave them
his robe and escaped. In the city, lived his father’s former chaplain who had been
dismissed. He told his wife how, as he watched the stars that night, he had seen
the king fall into hostile hands and then escape. The king heard all this in the
course of his wanderings and the following morning sent for his astrologers. They
had not observed any such thing in the stars. He dismissed them therefore, and appointed
the other in their place, giving them a boon. When the chaplain went home to consult
his family about which boon he should ask, his wife Chatta and his slave Punna each
wanted something different. He reported this to the king, who gave to each what they
desired. The circumstances leading up to the Jataka are given in the Ju.nha
Jataka (J.456). The brahmin is identified with Ananda. |
58/310 |
Jaataka |
Khuddhaka |
J.ii.426ff. |
wish |