Tesakuna Jataka

At Jetavana the Buddha spoke to the king of Kosala, who had come to hear the teaching. He reminded him that a king should rule righteously, for when kings are unrighteous their officers become unrighteous too. He spoke of the sorrow of sensual pleasures and of the certainty of death, which no bribe can move and no battle can defeat. When the world is left behind, he said, only one's own good deeds remain as a refuge. At the king's request, he told a story of the past. Jataka No. 521 of the Pali Canon records the tale, and this retelling follows that text.

Once, King Brahmadatta ruled at Benares and had no heir. His prayer for a son or a daughter had gone unanswered. One day he went to his park with a large escort and rested for a while at the foot of a royal sal tree. On waking he saw a bird's nest in the branches and wished to know what it held. An attendant climbed up and found three eggs. The king warned him not to breathe on them, spread cotton in a casket, and had the eggs carefully brought down.

The courtiers did not know what the eggs were, so hunters were called. They said that one was an owl's egg, one a maynah's, and one a parrot's. The king was surprised to hear of three kinds of bird in one nest. The hunters answered that where there is nothing to fear, what is carefully set down does not perish. Pleased, the king said, "They shall be my children." He gave the eggs to three courtiers to guard and told them to report when the chicks hatched.

The owl hatched first and proved to be a male. The king rejoiced, gave rich gifts, and named him Vessantara. A few days later the maynah hatched as a female, and the king named her Kundalini and called her his daughter. Then the parrot hatched as a male, and the king ordered a great festival and named him Jambuka. The three grew up in their keepers' houses with royal honour, and the king spoke of them everywhere as his son and his daughter. The courtiers laughed among themselves at a king who called birds his children.

The king knew that his courtiers did not understand how wise his children were. He resolved to show them. He sent word to Vessantara that his father wished to ask a question, and Vessantara named the seventh day. On that day the king had a drum beaten through the city, visited the house, and was treated with great respect. Then he had a pavilion raised in the palace yard, sat in it among a great crowd, and had Vessantara brought on a golden stool. The bird played on his father's lap and then took his seat. In verse the king asked what course is best for one who wishes to rule.

Vessantara first gently reproved the king for carelessness. He said that Kamsa, lord of Kasi, had once urged him, though he was already zealous, to show still greater zeal. Then he taught in eleven stanzas. A king should first put away falsehood, anger, and scorn, and should do what a king has to do. If he errs through passion, he should repent and not repeat it. Good Fortune, said the bird, delights in the energetic man free from jealousy, while Ill Fortune delights in the hard-hearted. A king should be a friend to all, since even Sakka watches over courage. He should be earnest in right action, for no sluggard wins bliss. The crowd cheered, and the king made his son general of the army.

Some days later the king questioned Kundalini in the same way. She teased him gently that he might be testing a woman, and then reduced a king's duty to two maxims. Keep what you have and gain what you have not. Choose wise counsellors who avoid gambling and drink, guard the treasury, take stock of your affairs yourself, never act in overhaste, and never give way to wrath. The king made her his treasurer. Then he questioned Jambuka. The parrot spoke of five powers. Bodily strength ranks lowest, then wealth, then counsel, then birth, and wisdom is best of all. He taught that a king without wisdom cannot hold even a rich realm, and he urged right conduct toward parents. The king made him commander-in-chief.

Great honour was paid to all three birds, and all three gave instruction in worldly and spiritual matters. The king, abiding in the counsel of the Great Being (an honorific for the Bodhisatta, here the parrot Jambuka), gave alms and did good works and was bound for heaven. After the funeral rites, the councillors came to Jambuka and told him that the king had ordered the royal umbrella to be raised over him. The Great Being said he had no need of the kingdom and told them to rule with vigilance. He established the people in the moral law, said, "Execute justice," and had a righteous judgment inscribed on a golden plate. Then he went away into the forest. The text says his counsel remained in force for forty thousand years.

The Buddha ended the lesson and identified the births. The king was Ananda. Kundalini was Uppalavanna, Vessantara was Sariputta, and the bird Jambuka was the Buddha himself.

The story's best joke is also its lesson. The courtiers sneered at a king who called birds his children, yet the birds gave better counsel than many ministers. Wisdom does not depend on birth, and the text itself ranks birth below counsel and learning among the powers. Notice also what the wisest bird did with power. He did not take the throne. He left a plain rule written on gold, that justice be done, and walked into the forest. The teaching outlasted the one who gave it.