Bodhisatta Jataka: Fate, Loss, and the Wisdom of Impermanence

In this Jataka, the Bodhisatta is born as one of ten royal brothers who rule all of India. The story begins with a prophecy made by brahmins when the Bodhisatta’s mother, a princess, is born. The prophecy foretells that one of her sons would eventually destroy the royal kingdom and its lineage. In an attempt to prevent this, the king decides to keep his daughter alive but places her fate in the hands of her two sons when they come of age. Upon their father’s death, the brothers decide not to kill their sister but to imprison her in a tower to prevent her from marrying. A husband-and-wife team of servants is assigned to care for her and guard her.

A neighboring kingdom’s prince, having fallen out of favor for misusing the royal harem, flees to the princess’s kingdom and is treated with great honor. He falls in love with the princess at first sight, and she likewise becomes smitten by him. They meet secretly, and the princess soon becomes pregnant. When her two brothers discover the pregnancy, they interrogate the servant in charge of the princess, who confesses the truth. Rather than killing their sister, the brothers allow the pair to marry and live in a village, with a stipulation that any sons born would be killed, but any daughters spared.

The princess bears a daughter first, and then, with each subsequent pregnancy, she has a son and swaps the child with a daughter born to her lady-in-waiting. Over time, the princess bears ten sons, with the Bodhisatta being the second to last born. The brothers grow up to be notorious thieves, feared by the kingdom. Eventually, the king learns the truth about their criminal deeds and, after repeated rebukes to their supposed father, the servants, the brothers are forced to flee.

The brothers wreak havoc across India, eventually conquering all but one city by the sea. The city, it turns out, is inhabited by goblins who make it rise into the air and move to an island whenever invaders approach. A wise ascetic reveals to the brothers that they must plead with the goblins’ donkey sentry to help them conquer the city. The brothers succeed by following the ascetic’s advice and eventually take over the city, thus ruling all of India.

The brothers divide the kingdom into ten shares, but the youngest brother, who prefers being a businessman over a king, allows his share to be given to the princess. She is granted her share of the kingdom, and peace seems restored. However, the brothers’ rule is marred by violence, greed, and the eventual destruction of their lineage.

When King Vasudeva, the eldest of the brothers, mourns the death of his beloved son, the Bodhisatta (now a wise ascetic) tries to console him. The Bodhisatta’s seemingly mad request for a hare from the moon serves as a vehicle for him to teach the king that mourning is futile when nothing can bring back the lost. King Vasudeva, realizing the truth of his brother’s words, finds peace and ceases his mourning.

Meanwhile, the brothers’ sons continue their legacy of violence, ultimately leading to their deaths. The Bodhisatta’s foresight and wisdom prevent the brothers from further harm, but they cannot escape their fates. The final death of King Vasudeva fulfills the prophecy made at his birth, marking the end of the royal lineage.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha:

This Jataka was retold by the Buddha to his disciples to illustrate the futility of excessive grief and the inevitable nature of death. The story is intended to show how sorrow over the loss of something irreplaceable is pointless and that true wisdom lies in accepting life’s impermanence. The Buddha recounts this story to a grieving father, whose son has died, to help him understand the nature of grief and ultimately attain spiritual clarity.

In the context of the Buddha’s life, the king (Vasudeva) and the courtier who tried to help him understand his brother’s behavior are identified as earlier lives of Sariputta and Ananda, two of the Buddha’s closest and most respected disciples.

Moral:

This Jataka emphasizes the themes of fate, loss, and the wisdom that can arise from understanding impermanence. The story illustrates that mourning over what cannot be changed is futile, and true wisdom comes in accepting life’s natural course, including death.