• Kisa-Vaccha

(also called Vaccha Kisa) (J.v.150, 267)

A hermit (isi), the chief disciple of Sarabhanga. Desiring solitude, he lived in the park of King Dandaki, near Kumbhavatī in Kalinga. A certain courtesan of the city walking about in the park, having lost the king's favour, saw Kisa-Vaccha, and considering the sight an ill-omen, she spat on him and threw her tooth stick at his head. That same day she received again the patronage of the king and decided that it was as a result of spitting on the hermit. Later, when the purohita lost his office, she advised him to do as she had done, and by coincidence he, too, was restored. Some time after, the king going to quell a border rising, was advised to spit on the ascetic and throw his tooth stick at him; in this way he would find good luck. The king followed this advice, all his soldiers doing likewise. The king's general, a supporter of Kisa-Vaccha, bathed the holy man, and on being told that the Gods would destroy the kingdom unless apology were made, urged the king to apologise. The king was, however, unwilling, and the whole tract of Kalinga, sixty leagues in extent, was turned into a waste; only three people escaped unhurt - Kisa-Vaccha, the king's general, and Matuposaka Rāma. Kisa-Vaccha himself was taken in a palanquin to Sarabhanga by two of Sarabhanga's pupils (J.iii.463, 469; v.133-6; MA.ii.599ff).

The story was evidently well known in India and is often referred to (E.g., J.v.267; DA.i.266).

Kisa-Vaccha is mentioned in a list of eleven sages (E .g., J. vi.99). He is identified with Kolita (Moggallāna) (J.v.151).