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Sujāta Jātaka (No.269, 306, 352)

1. Sujāta Jātaka (No.269).– The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī. His mother was a passionate woman, harsh and ill-tongued, and the Bodhisatta waited for an opportunity of admonishing her. One day, as he accompanied her to the park, a blue jay screeched, and the courtiers stopped their ears, saying: “What a scream! Stop it!” On another day they heard a cuckoo singing and stood listening eagerly. The Bodhisatta pointed this out to his mother and left her to draw her own inference. She understood and reformed herself.

The story was related to Anāthapiṇḍika’s daughter-in-law, Sujātā, who was identified with the queen mother. J.ii.347‑51.

2. Sujāta Jātaka (No.306).– The Bodhisatta was once chaplain to the king of Bārāṇasī. One day, the king heard a fruiterer’s daughter, Sujātā, hawking sweets, and falling in love with her voice he sent for her and made her his queen. Some time later she saw the king eating sweets from a golden dish and asked him what those egg-shaped fruits were. The king was very angry; but the Bodhisatta interceded on her behalf and she was pardoned.

The story was told in reference to a quarrel between Mallikā and Pasenadi, which became famous under the name of Sirivivāda or Sayanakalaha. Pasenadi ignored Mallikā completely, and the Buddha, knowing this, went to the palace with five hundred monks. The king invited them to a meal, and as the food was being served, the Buddha covered his bowl and asked for Mallikā. She was sent for, and the Buddha made peace between them. Mallikā is identified with Sujātā and Pasenadi with the king of Bārāṇasī. J.iii.20‑22.

3. Sujāta Jātaka (No.352).– The Bodhisatta was once a landowner of Bārāṇasī, named Sujāta. When his grandfather died his father gave himself up to despair and, having erected a mound over the dead man’s bones, spent all his time offering flowers there. Wishing to cure him, Sujāta feigned madness, and, seeing a dead ox outside the city, put grass and water near it and kept on trying to make it eat and drink. News of this was carried to his father, who hurried to the spot. In the course of their conversation Sujāta convinced his father of his folly.

The story was told to a lay follower of the Buddha who, after his father’s death, gave himself up to grief. The Buddha visited him and told him this story.

J.iii.155‑7. The story is given in PvA.39 f, but there it is related to the monks and not to the householder; he, however, became a Stream-winner.