• Dadhivāhana Jātaka (No.186)

Once four brothers of Kāsi became ascetics in the Himālayas. The eldest died and was born as Sakka; he visited the others, and gave them, respectively, a magic razor-axe, which could be used as razor or axe; a drum, one side of which drove away elephants, while the other made friends of them; and a bowl from which a stream of curd flowed at its possessor's will.

In a beautiful island far away lived a wild boar who owned a gem which enabled its possessor to travel through the air. A shipwrecked sailor from Kāsi stole this while the boar slept, and, with it, travelled to the Himālaya. There he saw the ascetics, and, in exchange for the gem, obtained from them their magic possessions, afterwards returning and killing them, so that he regained the gem. He then went to Benares and took possession of the throne, becoming known as King Dadhivāhana, because he destroyed his enemies by drowning them in a river of curds. In his garden grew a mango tree, sprung from a mango which had floated down from Lake Kannamunda. He sent fruits from this tree as presents to the neighbouring kings, but always pricked the mango stone with a thorn so that it should not bear fruit. Once, an offended king sent to Dadhivāhana a gardener whom he had bribed to destroy the flavour of the mangoes. The king gave him employment, but the gardener, by growing bitter creepers round the mango tree, destroyed the flavour of the fruit. The Bodhisatta, who was the king's councillor, discovered the plot and had the creepers uprooted.

The story was related to illustrate the effects of evil association (J.ii.101-6).