Other Translations: Deutsch
From: ,
Jātaka Stories of Past Lives 31
Ekakanipāta The Book of the Ones
Kulāvakavagga Nests
1. Kulāvakajātaka Nests: a past life story
“Kulāvakā mātali simbalismiṁ, Mātali, don’t ram the bird nests Apart from a couple of variant readings, this verse is identical with that from SN 11.6. | In Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, Mātali is the charioteer of Indra/Sakka. Here Sakka is telling him not to harm the nests, acknowledging the unacceptable ecological damage of warfare. | The commentary interprets kulāvakā as “nestlings”, but it refers rather to the “nests”.
Īsāmukhena parivajjayassu; in the red silk-cotton woods with your draft-pole.
Kāmaṁ cajāma asuresu pāṇaṁ, I’d rather give up our lives to the titans
Māme dijā vikkulāvā ahesun”ti. than deprive these birds of their nests.
Kulāvakajātakaṁ paṭhamaṁ.