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Dhūmakāri Jātaka (No.413)
Dhanañjaya, king of Indapattana, was wont
to neglect his old warriors and to show favour only to newcomers. The result was
that he once suffered defeat in a rebellion. On his return from the battle he
consulted his chaplain Vidhurapandita (the Bodhisatta), who told him of a
goatherd of yore, called Dhūmakāri. Once, when Dhumakāri was tending his goats,
a herd of golden deer came from the Himālaya, and he looked after them and
neglected his own goats. In the autumn the deer went back to the mountains and
he found that his goats had died of starvation.
The story was told to Pasenadi who, like Dhanañjaya, suffered a defeat, and
for the same reasons. Pasenadi sought the consolation of the Buddha, who told
him this ancient tale. See Appendix.
Dhanañjaya is identified with Ananda and Dhumakāri with Pasenadi.
J.iii.400ff.

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