Tag Archives: The Bodhisatta And The Jackal
185. The Bodhisatta And The Jackal
Once upon a time, Brahmadatta was king of Benares, and the Bodhisatta was his chaplain; and he had mastered the three Vedas and the eighteen branches of knowledge. He knew the spell entitled ‘Of subduing the World.’
One day, the Bodhisatta thought that he would recite this spell; so he sat down in a place on a flat stone, and went on reciting it. It is said that this spell could be taught to no one without use of a special rite. It so happened that a jackal lying in a hole heard the spell at the time that he was reciting it, and got it by heart. This jackal in a previous existence had been some Brahmin who had learnt the charm ‘Of subduing the World.’