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Jātaka Stories of Past Lives 43
Ekakanipāta The Book of the Ones
Atthakāmavagga Wanting to Help
3. Veḷukajātaka The Pole Acrobat: a past life story
“Yo atthakāmassa hitānukampino, One who does not follow advice when instructed The commentary relates the story of an ascetic who kept a viper as a pet, despite being warned it will turn on him one day. Similar to Aesop’s fable The Farmer and the Viper, this story is retold in modern songs and politics. The viper was named Veḷuka because it lived in a tube of bamboo (veḷu), and the ascetic cared for it like a father. Note, however, that the verse says nothing about a viper.
Ovajjamāno na karoti sāsanaṁ; by an ally who wants to help,
Evaṁ so nihato seti, ends up destroyed
Veḷukassa yathā pitā”ti. like the pole acrobat’s father. Compare SN 47.19, where a low-caste acrobat who engages in a dangerous balancing act with their student is protected by the fact that they listen to each other’s wise advice. There, the “pole acrobat” is vaṁsika, whereas here it is the synonymous veḷuka.
Veḷukajātakaṁ tatiyaṁ.