The Bhuridatta Jataka: Virtue, Patience, and the Path to Liberation

In a distant age, when the world was young and full of wonders, there lived a wise and noble naga king, who was none other than the Bodhisatta in a previous life. In those times, the King of Varanasi had a son who was the prince and a man of great virtue. He was so righteous that all who knew him admired his noble heart. But the King, fearing that his son might one day take his throne, grew paranoid and sent the young prince away, telling him that he would only return when his natural life had come to an end.

The prince, with no desire for power, left the royal palace in silence. He sought solace in the deep forests and lived an ascetic life in a humble leaf hut, eating only roots and fruits. He was content, though he was far from the life he had known, and he gave no complaint.

One day, a naga queen, a widow who had lost her husband, took on the form of a beautiful woman and ventured into the human world. She roamed the earth until she found the prince’s hut. There, she decided to test the prince’s resolve, for she wondered if he was truly a man of virtue or just another who would be tempted by worldly pleasures.

When the prince was away gathering food, the naga queen entered his hut and adorned his bed with the finest flowers and perfumes. She left, but watched from afar. When the prince returned and saw the lovely scene, his heart swelled with joy. He lay upon the bed and fell into a deep sleep, forgetting his ascetic vows.

The next day, when the naga queen returned and saw that the flowers had wilted and the bed was left untidy, she knew that this man’s heart was not as pure as she had hoped. He had enjoyed the pleasures of the world too much. She decided to test him again.

This time, she filled the entire hut with flowers and scents, so that it would be impossible for the prince to ignore his desires. When the prince came back, he was so moved by the beauty around him that he again lay down, delighted, and again fell asleep.

The naga queen, knowing the prince’s heart was swayed by such things, decided to confront him. The next morning, instead of gathering food, the prince hid nearby, hoping to discover the source of the temptation. When the naga queen came again with flowers, he saw her and asked who she was and why she was doing this.

She told him that she was a naga widow seeking a husband, and that she had come to find a worthy man. The prince, struck by her beauty and tempted by her words, confessed he was a prince. He explained that he had been banished from the kingdom by his father and had chosen to live as an ascetic. But he was willing to give up his vows and marry her. Overcome with joy, she used her magic to summon a grand palace where they could live in comfort. They were soon married, and from their union came two children: a son named Sagara-Brahmadatta and a daughter named Samuddaja.

But fate took a different turn. The king of Varanasi died, and the royal advisors, not knowing where the prince had gone, decided to search for a new king. After much effort, a forester stumbled upon the prince in his new home with his naga wife. He led the advisors back to the prince, and they crowned him king.

The prince, now king, was overjoyed, but when he returned home and told his wife, the naga queen, that she would be chief among his many wives, she grew worried. She explained to him that nagas, when angered, could cause destruction with their poison, and she could not live with him in the human world among many wives. So, for the safety of others, she decided to return to the naga realm. Though the prince begged her to stay, she would not be moved, and so she left.

Before leaving, the naga queen, who had given birth to their children, took her children with her to the naga realm. As they traveled back to Varanasi, they were carried in a water-filled cart to ensure their safety. The people of the city celebrated the return of their king, and a week-long festival was held in his honor.

Meanwhile, the children of the prince and the naga queen spent much of their time playing in a special lake prepared for them. One day, while playing, they saw a turtle swimming and, frightened, ran to their father, crying that a goblin had appeared. The king, loving his children dearly, ordered that the turtle be captured and punished. Some suggested that the turtle be crushed with a mortar, while others wanted to eat it. One person, afraid of water, suggested throwing the turtle into a whirlpool. The turtle, knowing that the whirlpool would be the worst fate, cried out, begging for mercy.

The king, moved by the turtle’s plea, ordered that the creature be thrown into the whirlpool. However, the turtle, clever and quick-thinking, managed to escape by swimming to the naga realm. Once there, he was caught by two sons of the naga king, Dhatarattha, who believed the turtle was a messenger sent by the King of Varanasi.

The turtle, seizing the opportunity, claimed that the King of Varanasi had proposed a marriage between their families and that his daughter would be given to the naga king. Delighted by this, the naga king sent four nagas in the form of young men to Varanasi to arrange the marriage. On the way, the turtle tricked them into leaving their mission, and he escaped back to the human realm.

Back in Varanasi, the king, though he respected King Dhatarattha, refused to give his daughter to the naga king. Angered, the young nagas returned to their father, and soon, a mighty naga army was sent to lay siege to the city. Fearing for his life and the lives of his people, the king reluctantly agreed to hand over his daughter.

The naga king’s sons took Samuddaja to their realm, where she was made queen. Unaware of the true nature of her new husband and her surroundings, she lived in the naga world for many years, raising four sons: Sudassana, Bhuridatta (the Bodhisatta), Subhaga, and Kanarittha. The boys, growing up in the naga world, were unaware of their mother’s human origin until one day, the youngest, Kanarittha, revealed her true nature when he changed into his naga form while nursing. Terrified, Samuddaja struck him, and the naga king, furious, ordered him punished.

But Samuddaja, filled with love for her son, convinced her husband to forgive him. As the sons grew older, they each inherited a kingdom, living in glory and attending to their duties. The Bodhisatta, now a grown man, longed for greater spiritual insight and began to follow strict ascetic practices, hoping to be reborn in Indra’s heaven.

During one such retreat, the Bodhisatta met a hunter and his son who were lost in the forest. Seeing their hardship, the Bodhisatta invited them to live with him in the naga realm, where they would want for nothing. The hunter accepted, but after a year, he longed for his old life and decided to return to the human world. The Bodhisatta, ever kind and generous, offered him a magic jewel that would fulfill his wishes. However, the hunter, now pretending to be an ascetic, refused, stating that an ascetic should have no desires.

Back in the human world, the hunter’s life returned to normal. But greed consumed him, and he sought the magic jewel, which had been left behind. When he found it, he decided to betray the Bodhisatta. He went to the naga realm, and the Bodhisatta, foreseeing the betrayal, did not flee but endured the suffering with patience and kindness.

The snake charmer who had captured the Bodhisatta used him to perform tricks for profit, but eventually, the Bodhisatta was freed by his brothers, Sudassana and Subhaga, and returned to the naga realm. In the end, the Bodhisatta’s virtue, patience, and wisdom led him to the heaven he had long sought, where he was reborn as a being of great glory.

As the Buddha later taught his followers, the hunter who betrayed him in this life had been Devadatta, the bitter rival of the Buddha, while the Bodhisatta’s brothers were the rebirths of the great disciples, Sariputta, Moggallana, and Ananda.

Thus, the tale of the Bhuridatta Jataka teaches the importance of sīla, the practice of virtue, and how the pursuit of righteousness can lead to liberation and rebirth in higher realms.