The King and the Treacherous Chaplain: Andabhuta Jataka

In a past life, the Bodhisatta was once a king who ruled righteously. He often played dice with his chaplain, who had an infallible good luck mantra: “It’s nature’s law that rivers wind, and trees grow of wood by law of kind; And given opportunity, all women work iniquity.” Tired of constantly losing money to the Bodhisatta, the chaplain devised a plan to extinguish the mantra’s power so he could win games and become rich.The chaplain found a poor pregnant woman and, divining that she was carrying a girl, paid to take the child after she was born. He kept this girl confined to his palace under lock and key, raising her entirely by women and never allowing her to see a man other than himself. When she came of age, he married her.After a period of not playing dice, the chaplain challenged the Bodhisatta to a game. When the Bodhisatta sang his mantra, the chaplain added, “Except for my girl,” and won. The Bodhisatta realized there must be a virtuous woman locked up at the chaplain’s home and decided to test her virtue.The Bodhisatta hired a clever young scamp to corrupt the chaplain’s wife. The scamp opened a perfume shop near the chaplain’s house and befriended the servant who bought perfumes and flowers for the chaplain’s wife. He pretended to be the servant’s long-lost son and eventually gained her trust. Through this ruse, the scamp was smuggled into the palace in a flower basket and met the chaplain’s wife, with whom he quickly formed a romantic relationship.The chaplain’s wife and her lover devised a plan to hit the chaplain. She asked her husband to play the lute while she danced, but he had to cover his face because she was shy. While she danced, she hit him on the head, but it was actually the scamp who delivered the blow.When the chaplain next played dice with the Bodhisatta and added his usual exception, he lost. The Bodhisatta revealed the scheme with the scamp and mocked the chaplain for believing any woman could be faithful to just one man.Confronted by her husband, the chaplain’s wife denied any wrongdoing and suggested an ordeal by fire to prove her innocence. However, she had her lover grab her hand just before she walked into the flames, rendering her assertion technically false. The chaplain, seeing through the ruse, beat her and sent her away.

In the Lifetime of the Buddha

This tale has a significant connection to the Buddha’s later life. One of the Buddha’s disciples became attracted to a woman, and the Buddha told him this story to remind him that women cannot be trusted. The story was used to caution against the dangers of attachment and the unreliability of worldly desires.The Buddha did not identify any earlier births other than his own in this context, focusing instead on the moral lesson of the story.

Moral

The Andabhuta Jataka teaches us about the dangers of attachment and the unreliability of worldly desires. The story emphasizes that even the most seemingly virtuous individuals can fall prey to temptation and that trust in such contexts is often misplaced. The Bodhisatta’s actions serve as a cautionary tale about the nature of human behavior and the importance of maintaining a detached and wise perspective. This tale underscores the Buddhist principle of avoiding attachment and cultivating mindfulness to navigate life’s challenges effectively.