Ja 233 The Birth Story about the Barb (2s)

Alternative Title: Vikaṇṇajātaka (Cst)

In the present one monk is overcome with desire and about to fall away. The Buddha tells a story about a crocodile who, hearing the king call the fish to their meal, came to feed on the fish for himself, was harpooned and eventually died.

The Bodhisatta = the king of Benares (Bārāṇasirājā),
the Buddha’s disciples = the fish (maccha),
Devadatta = the crocodile (suṁsumāra).

Keywords: Attachment, Greed, Animals, Fish.

“The barb is in your back.” {2.227} This story the Teacher told while dwelling in Jetavana, about a discontented monk.

He was brought into the Dhamma Hall, and asked if he were really discontent; to which he replied yes. When asked why, he replied, “Because of the quality of desire.” The Teacher said: “Desire is like two-barbed arrows for getting lodgement in the heart; once there, they kill, as the barbed arrows killed the crocodile.” Then he told them a story.

In the past, the Bodhisatta was king of Benares, and a good king he was. One day he entered his park, and came to the side of a lake. And those who were clever with dance and song began to dance and to sing. The fish and turtles, eager to hear the sound of song, flocked together and went along beside the king. And the king, seeing a mass of fish as long as a palm trunk, asked his courtiers, “Now why do these fish follow me?” Said the courtiers, “They are coming to offer their services to their lord.”

The king was pleased at this saying, that they were come to serve him, and ordered rice to be given to them regularly. At the time of feeding some of the fish came, and some did not; and rice was wasted. They told the king of it. “Henceforward,” said the king, “at the time for [2.158] the giving of rice let a drum be sounded; and at the sound of the drum, when the fish flock together, give the food to them.” From thenceforth the feeder caused a drum to sound, and when they flocked together gave rice to the fish. As they were gathered thus, eating the food, came a crocodile and ate some of the fish. The feeder told the king. The king listened. “When the crocodile is eating the fish,” said he, “pierce him with a harpoon, and capture him.” {2.228}

“Good,” the man said. And he went aboard a boat, and so soon as the crocodile was come to eat the fish, he pierced him with a harpoon. It went into his back. Mad with pain, the crocodile went off with the harpoon. Perceiving that he was wounded, the feeder spake to him by this verse:

1. Kāmaṁ yahiṁ icchasi tena gaccha,
Viddhosi mammamhi vikaṇṇakena,
Hatosi bhattena suvāditena,
Lolo ca macche anubandhamāno ti.

Surely go wherever you so desire, you are shot in the vitals with a barb, you have been killed by your food and by sound, the greedy one is following the fish.

In this connection, surely means with certainty. Kamaṁ is an indeclineable, sometimes meaning according to desire, gladly, willingly, and sometimes used as an emphatic, as here.

Go wherever you so desire means wherever you desire, to that place go.

In the vitals means in a vital place.

With a barb means with a barb or dart.

You have been killed by your food and by sound, the greedy one is following the fish, you, having perception of the sound of the drum when food was being given, becoming greedy, following along in order to eat fish, have been killed by that sound and food, there is no life in the place you have gone to, this is the meaning.

To explain this matter, the Teacher having become perfectly enlightened spake the second verse as follows:

2. Evam-pi lokāmisaṁ opatanto,
Vihaññatī cittavasānuvattī,
So haññatī ñātisakhāna’ majjhe,
Macchānugo so-r-iva suṁsumāro ti.

So also when falling on worldliness, following the mind’s desire, he suffers, he dies in the midst of kin and of friends, like the crocodile following the fish. {2.229}

In this connection, worldliness means the five strands of sense pleasure. Because you grasp at what is pleasing, charming, likeable, therefore worldliness is said.

Falling on, falling into that worldliness, because of defilements, and the mind’s desire, that person suffers, is exhausted.

He dies means such a person, in the midst of kin and friends, being pierced by a barb, like the crocodile following the fish, having grasped at what is likeable in the five strands of sense pleasure, is killed, exhausted, It seems here that kilamati takes on a stronger meaning than its usual wearied, tired, fatigued, and must mean something like completely exhausted (to the point of death). attains complete destruction.

When this discourse was ended, the Teacher declared the Truths and identified the Jātaka, at the conclusion of the Truths, the discontented monk reached the Fruit of the First Path, “In those days I was the king of Benares.”