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Sacred Texts: Buddhism

The Jataka, Volume I: Book I.--Ekanipāta: No. 50. Dummedha-Jātaka

Buddha's Previous LivesJataka TalesPali Text Society

Connected to
The Jataka, Vol. V: No. 528.: Mahābodhi-Jātaka. Similar meaning (84%) The Jataka, Vol. III: No. 325.: Godha-Jātaka. Similar meaning (83%) The Jataka, Vol. V: No. 526.: Naḷinikā-Jā... Similar meaning (82%) The Jataka, Vol. III: No. 380.: Āsaṅka-Jātaka. Similar meaning (82%)
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This is a Jataka tale — a Buddhist birth story from the Pali canonical collection — recounting a past life of the Bodhisatta (the future Buddha) as a prince of Benares. The story centers on the Bodhisatta's scheme to end the widespread practice of animal sacrifice without coercing or harming any of his subjects: as viceroy, he publicly performs tree worship, then upon becoming king announces he has vowed to sacrifice one thousand *sinners* (those who kill living creatures or violate the ten precepts), using their flesh as the offering. The mere threat of this punishment causes the entire population of Benares to abandon their immoral practices, so that no one is ever actually punished. The tale's distinctive claim is that skillful deception deployed for compassionate ends — feigning religious devotion, then weaponizing superstition against itself — is not only permissible but exemplary of the Bodhisatta's wisdom. It frames the abolition of animal sacrifice as a social engineering problem solved through clever statecraft rather than moral preaching. The framing narrative situates this within a teaching session at Jetavana, where the Master identifies himself as the king of that past life, reinforcing the continuity of the Buddha's compassionate action across rebirths.

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