Nānā-Chanda Jātaka

Jataka No. 289 of the Pali Canon, the Nana-chanda Jataka ("diverse wishes"), was told by the Buddha at Jetavana. In his later years the Buddha wanted a permanent attendant. Several monks offered, but he declined each one. Ananda agreed on one condition, that the Buddha grant him eight boons. Four were refusals: the Buddha would not give Ananda his leftover robes or his share of food, would not let him share the Buddha's fragrant cell, and would not require him to go with the Buddha to invitations. Four were requests: the Buddha would go with Ananda when he was invited, Ananda might present visitors arriving from distant lands, he might approach the Buddha whenever a doubt arose, and the Buddha would repeat any teaching given in Ananda's absence. The Buddha granted all eight, and Ananda served him for twenty-five years. When the monks praised in the Dhamma Hall how the Teacher had satisfied Ananda, the Buddha said that he had done the same before, and told this story.

In the time of King Brahmadatta of Benares, the Bodhisatta was the king's son. He was educated at Taxila and succeeded his father as king. One of his subjects was his father's former family priest, now poor and living in a shabby house.

One night the king went out in disguise to inspect the city. Thieves who had been drinking in a wine-shop saw him, knocked him down, took his upper robe, and fled with their jar of liquor.

The old priest was outside studying the stars and saw the king's plight. He called to his wife, but she dismissed the matter as none of their concern, since the king's own brahmins would see to it. Meanwhile the king pleaded with the robbers, claiming to be a poor man, and they let him go out of pity. He took note of where they lived and started home. The priest remarked to his wife that the king had escaped, and the king heard it as he passed.

At dawn the king asked his court astrologers what they had observed, and they said that all was well. Then he summoned the old priest, who told him that he had been in danger during the night but had escaped quickly. Struck by the accuracy of this, the king dismissed the other brahmins and offered the old man any boon he wished. The priest asked leave to consult his family.

His household each asked for something different. His wife asked for a hundred milch cows. His son Chatta asked for a chariot drawn by fine white thoroughbreds. His daughter-in-law asked for jeweled ornaments and earrings. The maidservant Punna asked for a pestle and mortar with a winnowing basket. The priest himself wanted the revenue of a village.

When the king asked whether the priest's wife had made her wish too, the priest answered in verse. The first verse, which begins with the words "Nanachanda, maharaja," says that the people of one household have differing desires and yet live under one roof. The second names the wishes: a village for himself, cows for his wife, a chariot for his son, earrings for his daughter-in-law, and a mortar for the maid. The king agreed to give everyone what they had asked for. The priest received the village with great honor, and the king appointed him to manage royal affairs and kept him close.

The tale shows how widely desires differ even among those who share a home, and how a wise ruler can meet each wish without judging it. It also shows that the priest's patient watching of the sky, though his post was lost, was what reached the king.

At the end the Buddha identified the characters: the brahmin was Ananda, and the king was the Buddha himself. As he had granted a household's wishes then, so now he had granted Ananda his eight boons.