The Bodhisatta as a golden swan
Long, long ago, the Bodhisatta was born as a swan and became the leader of a great flock of golden swans of the Dhatarattha clan. The beautiful swans lived in a cave in the Cittakuta mountains. Meanwhile, King Seyyassa ruled a kingdom with Varanasi as the capital. One night, his chief consort, Queen Khema, had a dream in which seven golden swans came into her room and discussed the ethics of lying. She was captivated by the beauty and wisdom of the swans. When she woke up, she was seized with the uncontrollable desire to get real golden swans to come to the palace and give her their teaching.
The plot to capture the golden swan
The King, wanting to fulfill Khema’s wish, consulted his Advisers and skillful hunters. He found out that there were indeed golden swans living in the far-off Cittakuta mountains. The Chief Adviser then suggested a way of capturing some of those golden swans: “Create a big lake and call it Lake Serene. Plant lotus varieties on the lake and grains on the shore. Let one clever hunter stay at the lake shore, but do not let anyone else even close to the lake. Let the hunter make loud proclaims that the lake was a safe refuge for all birds. Once the golden swans hear this, they will also arrive there. Then the hunter should lay a snare and catch some of them.”
The King agreed, the lake was created, and lotuses and grains were planted as planned. The King also ordered Khemaka, a clever hunter, to live on the shore and keep all others away. Every day, Khemaka was to walk the perimeter of the lake proclaiming that it was a safe refuge for all birds. Everything went according to plan and hundreds of birds arrived at the lake.
The news about Lake Serene reached Cittakuta and many of the younger golden swans wanted to visit the lake too. They asked for permission from Sumukha, the Bodhisatta’s close friend and Captain. The Bodhisatta understood that it was all a plot to capture them. But he agreed to the visit because the young swans were very insistent.
The capture and the change of heart
When the Bodhisatta and the flock of golden swans began visiting Lake Serene every day, Khemaka quickly figured out who their leader was and how he moved. Khemaka laid a snare for the Bodhisatta. The next day, the Bodhisatta’s leg was caught in the snare. All the other swans flew away, but Sumukha, the Captain, realized that the Bodhisatta was trapped. The Bodhisatta asked him to escape too, but Sumukha decided to stand by his friend and leader. When Khemaka came to capture the Bodhisatta, Sumukha told him: “Do not harm the trapped swan. He is our wise leader. Take me instead and do anything you want with me.” Khemaka was amazed and so moved at the loyalty and friendship shown by Sumukha, that he decided to free both the swans. He removed the snare and attended to the Bodhisatta’s injured leg. He also explained the King’s plans to the swans.
Now, it was Sumukha’s turn to be moved by the hunter’s gesture. “Without any concern for your livelihood and the King’s wrath, you are letting us go. We cannot accept your supreme offer. Take us to your King. Don’t worry about us, we can tame the King too with our words.” Khemaka took the swans with him and presented them to the King and Queen. When the King heard Khemaka’s story, he too was amazed at the qualities exhibited by the swans. He fed them himself and they gave him their teachings. The King promised to rule wisely and well. He honoured the swans and let them fly away.
The remarkable story of friendship, loyalty, compassion, and atonement spread far and wide. Lake Serene became a true refuge for all birds and other animals.
Background: This is an abridged version of a Jataka tale. You can read the full story in the magazine Parabola (Volume 45, No. 2, Summer 2020).
The Jataka tales are teaching stories from the Buddhist tradition. Jataka means “birth-story” in Pali. The tales describe the many previous lives of the Buddha, in which he was born in different forms and exhibited noble qualities of heart and mind. All those lives led to his full awakening as the Buddha of our times. I will be posting more Jataka stories in the days to come.
A very good story to share in these troubled times! Thank you!
If one is good at heart it is not difficult to convince or influence another. But often we are more concerned about ourselves and our immediate kith and kin that we have excuses when we deviate from principles. Unless principles are understood and discerned, its often difficult to act and tread an exceptional path. The story goes to the extent of protecting every ones interest that it creates a benign and beneficial atmosphere for more virtues to thrive. This requires an exceptional quality of courage, conviction and an acute sense of detachment. Yes, more Jataka tales will do good and will be a balm in these tormenting times, even without Covid 2019.