Jathaka stories:

Thundila Jathakaya

Retold by Risitha Deelaka WICKMAL SUBASINGHE

There lived a pig family in the heart of the jungle of Varanasi. The mother pig had to go out far from their cave in search of food for her and her two piglets.

Whenever the mother pig goes out to bring food, she advises her children not to go out of the cave. These two piglets always obeyed their mother and used to play in the vicinity of the cave. One day while the mother pig was going in search of food she saw a woman with a white box on her head who appeared like a witch coming towards their cave. The mother pig was little away from the cave and had no time run back to the cave to rescue her two piglets. Instead she ran towards the wilderness so that she could save her life.

The woman who looked like a witch was actually not a witch but a kind peasant woman who was returning from other village after visiting her parents. The woman approached the two piglets and said "O, what a cute pair of piglets. I must take these two to my home and adopt them". She put the two piglets into the box and took them home. She had no children and therefore she adopted the two piglets and treated like her own children and named the big one Maha Thundila and the little one Kuda Thundila. The two piglets too loved the woman as their own mother. The villagers too knew that the woman was raising the two piglets like her own children.

When the piglets grew up they looked very healthy and fleshy. One day when two drunken men who were passing that way, saw the two healthy pigs and wanted them for meat.

"O, madam, how much do you want for these two pigs?"

"I am very sorry. These are not pigs. These two are my kids. How can a mother place a monetary value for her children? I have to disappoint you both, and please do not come here again and ask for my children for meat". The woman shut the door of the house on their face and put the two pigs into a cage and locked them up.

But the two were not discouraged by that woman's words and so planned out a better strategy.

"Let's go and offer her some toddy. When she gets intoxicated she might willingly offer the two pigs to us," one man suggested to the other. "That sounds good", replied the other.

So another day the two approached the woman, this time with a bottle of toddy to her.

She, at first refused their offer but after a little persuasion she couldn't control her temptation. After she sipped the first gulp, she yearned for more and finally she had consumed two full containers of strong toddy and fell unconscious, and started jabbering. The cunning men asked her." Will you give us one of your two pigs for meat? We have all spices with us. We can prepare you a nice pork dish" "Ok, you take one of them now itself, and prepare me a tasty dish. The elder Thundila heard all what the woman was saying. The woman over to the backyard and called out `Kuda Thundila, where are you little pig, come here soon'. The ,Maha Thundila ran to his younger brother and said "Brother, our mother's behaviour is very strange today. Usually she calls me first but today she had called for you first. And I heard she agreed to give you for meat. Little brother, don't panic. We are both like poultry. They raise animals like us for meat not for any other purpose. So, one day or other we have to sacrifice our lives to alleviate the hunger of people.

That's reality. So let's face it, dear brother. Now you clean yourself before your death" " Dear brother" said Kuda Thundila, "have you ever heard of pigs cleaning their bodies? "I did not mean the physical body. Purify your soul". Now, the two men were ready to kill Kuda Thundila for meat.

Meanwhile the king of the country was passing by in disguise and had happened to listen to the conversation between the two pigs. Being impressed by the wisdom of the Maha Thundila, the king Brahmadaththa appeared before the three and introduced himself.

The woman now fully frightened and the two men fell on the feet of the King "I will take these two pigs to my palace in obeisance, said the king and ordered his men to take charge of the pig. The King then gave permission for the woman to come to the royal palace whenever she wished to see the pigs.Therefore the king appointed the wise Maha Thundila as his chief advisor, who along with Kuda Thundila received the right royal treatment till their death, at the royal palace.

The Bodhi Satva was born as Maha Thundila in one of his five hundred and fifty five lives.