Sanjiva Jataka

The Buddha told this Jataka at the Bamboo Grove (Veluvana) near Rajagaha, about King Ajatasattu. The king had supported Devadatta, the Buddha's rival, and had built a monastery at Gayasisa in his honour. Following Devadatta's counsel, he had also taken the life of his father, the righteous old king. When he heard that the earth had swallowed Devadatta, he feared the same fate for himself. He could not sleep or attend to his kingdom, and he imagined the earth opening beneath him. He longed to be reconciled with the Buddha, but his guilt kept him away.

On the night of the Kattika festival, the king sat on a golden throne and asked his courtiers which sage or brahmin could bring peace to his heart. Several named teachers of other schools, but his physician Jivaka Komarabhacca stayed silent until pressed, and then praised the Buddha, who was staying in Jivaka's mango grove with about twelve hundred and fifty monks. The king went there, was moved by the calm of the assembly, and asked, "What is the fruit of the ascetic life?" The Buddha taught him the Samannaphala Sutta, and the king made his peace and departed. Afterwards the Buddha remarked that, had the king not killed his father out of lust for power, he would have gained clear vision of the Dhamma before leaving his seat; because he had favoured Devadatta, he had missed the fruit. The next day the monks spoke of this, and the Buddha said that it was not the first time the king had suffered for favouring the wicked, and he told the story of Sanjiva.

This story is recorded as Jataka No. 150 in the Ekanipata, the first book of the Pali Jataka collection, its prose preserved in the Jatakatthavannana, the classical commentary that explains each birth story. In ancient times when Brahmadatta was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was born into a distinguished brahmin household. After completing his own education at Takkasila, the great seat of learning in the northwest, he settled in Benares itself and grew there into a teacher of world-wide fame. Five hundred young brahmins studied sacred lore under his direction. Such a reputation drew students not for a single specialty but for the full breadth of sacred learning, and a teacher of this standing was trusted to judge, case by case, which of his many branches of knowledge each pupil was ready to receive.

Among the five hundred was a talented but reckless youth named Sanjiva. To this pupil the master taught a formidable spell capable of restoring life to the dead, but he did not teach him the counter-charm. Sanjiva was left with a power he did not know how to make safe.

Proud of his power, Sanjiva went with his fellow students into the forest to gather wood. There they came upon the body of a dead tiger. Full of youthful vanity, Sanjiva declared that he would bring the beast back to life. His companions doubted him, but he insisted. They climbed into a tree to watch, and left Sanjiva alone with the decision he had already made.

Sanjiva stepped forward, recited his spell, and struck the dead tiger with a potsherd. The tiger came back to life, sprang at him, and bit him in the throat, killing him instantly. Then the tiger itself fell dead, and the two lay lifeless side by side.

The surviving students returned to their teacher in Benares and told him what had happened. The master explained that Sanjiva had brought this calamity upon himself by favouring one who lacked virtue and honouring one who did not deserve it, and he spoke this verse: whoever favours the wicked and keeps company with the wicked makes himself their prey, as Sanjiva did with the tiger.

At the close of the Jataka, the Buddha identified the reckless pupil Sanjiva with King Ajatasattu, and the world-famed teacher with the Bodhisatta himself. The Jataka was told at the Bamboo Grove about the king's favour toward Devadatta, and it stands as a timeless warning against honouring those who lack virtue and against placing power into hands not ready to hold it safely.