21.2 The Story about a Woman Who Ate Chicken Eggs
Kukkuṭa-Aṇḍakhādikāvatthu

“One who desires happiness,” this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to a certain woman who ate the eggs of a hen.

It seems that in a certain village named Paṇḍupura, not far from the city of Sāvatthī, there dwelt a certain fisherman. One day as he was on his way to Sāvatthī, he saw some tortoise’s eggs lying on the bank of the river Aciravatī. Taking these with him, he went to [30.177] Sāvatthī, where he stopped at a certain house and had them cooked. As he was eating the eggs, he gave a single egg to a girl who lived in that house. {3.450} The girl ate the egg and after she had done so, would have nothing more to do with hard food. So her mother took a single egg from the nest of a hen and gave it to her to eat. She ate the egg, and her liking for this kind of food became so strong that after that she would herself take hen’s eggs and eat them.

The hen, observing that every time she laid eggs the girl would take them and eat them, took offense and conceived a grudge against her. And she made the following aspiration: “When I have passed out of this state of existence, may I be reborn as a Yakkhinī able to devour your children.” So when the hen died, she was reborn in that very house as a cat. When the girl died, she was reborn in that very house as a hen. The hen laid eggs, and the cat came and ate them. Again the second time she ate them, and again the third.

Then said the hen: “Three times you have eaten my eggs, and now you desire to eat me too. When I have passed out of this state of existence, may I be able to devour you and your children.” When she passed out of that state of existence, she was reborn as a leopardess. When her enemy died, she was reborn as a doe. When the doe brought forth young, the leopardess came and ate both the young and the doe.

Thus in each of five hundred successive states of existence they devoured each other and brought suffering one upon another. Finally one of them was reborn as a Yakkhinī and the other as a young woman of station at Sāvatthī.

From this point on the story runs the same as that given in the Commentary on the verse beginning: “For not by hatred do hatreds cease.” AJ: Dhp-a 1.4, the commentary gave only a summary, I include the story here.

When the latter grew up, she was married and went to live with her husband’s family in a little settlement near the gate of the city. After a time she gave birth to a son. The Yakkhinī disguised herself as a dear friend of the young woman and went to see her. “Where is my friend?” said the Yakkhinī. “In the inner room; she has just given birth to a child.” – “Did she give birth to a son or a daughter? I should like to see her.” So saying, the Yakkhinī went in. While pretending to be looking at the child, she seized him, devoured him, and then went out.

Again a second time she devoured a child of the young wife in the same way. The third time the young wife was great with child she addressed her husband: “Husband, in this place a Yakkhinī has devoured two sons of mine and escaped. This time I intend to go to the house of my parents to give birth to my child.” Now at this time that Yakkhinī was away doing her turn at drawing water.

The moment the Yakkhinī was released from her turn at drawing water she went quickly to the young wife’s house and enquired: “Where is my friend?” – “Where you will not see her. There is a Yakkhinī that devours every child she bears in this house, and therefore, she has gone to the house of her parents.” – “She may go wherever she likes, but she will not escape from me.” Spurred on by an impulse of hatred, the Yakkhinī dashed towards the city.

On the day appointed for the naming of the child the mother bathed him, gave him a name, and then said to her husband: “Husband, now we will go back to our own home.” Accordingly she took the boy in her arms and set out with her husband along the path leading through the grounds of the monastery. When they reached the monastery pool, the young wife gave the boy to her husband and bathed in the pool. When she had finished her bath, her husband bathed in the pool. While the husband was bathing, the wife remained near, giving suck to her child.

Just then the Yakkhinī drew near. The young wife saw her coming and recognized her. Immediately she screamed with a loud voice: “Husband! Husband! Come quickly! Come quickly! Here is that Yakkhinī!” Not daring to wait until her husband came, she turned and dashed into the monastery.

Now at this time the Teacher was teaching the Dhamma in the midst of the assembly. The young wife laid her boy at the feet of the Realised One and said: “I give you this child; spare the life of my son.” The Deva Sumana, who resided in the embattled chamber over the gate, prevented the Yakkhinī from entering. The Teacher addressed the Elder Ānanda, saying: “Go, Ānanda, summon that Yakkhinī within.” The elder summoned her within. The young wife said: “Here she comes, venerable Sir.” Said the Teacher: “Let her come; make no noise.”

When the Yakkhinī came and stood before him, the Teacher said: “Why have you so done? Had you not come face to face with a Buddha like me, you would have cherished hatred towards each other for an aeon, like the snake and the mongoose, who trembled and quaked with enmity, like the crows and the owls. Why do you return hatred for hatred? Hatred is quenched by non-hatred, not by hatred.” And when he had thus spoken, he pronounced the following verse:

For not by hatred do hatreds
cease at any time in this place,
they only cease with non-hatred,
this truth is surely eternal.

In this case the Teacher, after pronouncing the words: “For not by hatred do hatreds cease,” expounded the Dhamma for the benefit of both women by pronouncing the following verse:

291. Paradukkhūpadānena attano sukham-icchati,
verasaṁsaggasaṁsaṭṭho, verā so na parimuccati.

One who desires happiness for oneself
by causing suffering for another,
being associated thus with hatred,
is not fully released from that hatred. {3.451}

At the end of the teaching, the Yakkhinī became established in the refuges, took upon herself the five precepts, and was freed from hatred. The other was established in the fruition of Stream-entry, and those who had assembled also had benefit from the Dhamma teaching.

last updated: August 2024