• Rohantāmiga Jātaka (No. 501)

The Bodhisatta was once born as Rohanta, a golden deer, king over eighty thousand deer, near Lake Rohanta. He had a brother, Cittamiga, and a sister Sutanā. One day Khemā, wife of the king of Benares, dreamed that a golden deer preached to her and begged the king to make the dream come true. The king offered great rewards, and a hunter, who was aware of Rohanta's existence, undertook to bring him to the court. He set a trap in the ford where the deer drank and Rohanta was caught in it. When Rohanta gave the alarm, all the deer fled except Cittamiga and Sutanā. They told the hunter that they would die with their brother rather than leave him, and the hunter, touched by their devotion, set Rohanta free. When Rohanta discovered why he had been caught, he offered to go to Benares, but was dissuaded by the hunter owing to the risks he would run. Rohanta then taught the Law to the hunter and sent him back with a golden hair from his body. The hunter related the story to the king and queen and preached to them the Law. Then rejecting the rewards they offered him, he became an ascetic in the Himālaya.

The story was related in reference to Ananda's attempt to throw himself before the elephant Dhanapāla, who was sent to kill the Buddha. Ananda is identified with Cittamiga, Channa with the hunter, Sāriputta with the king and Uppalavannā with Sutanā. J. iv.413ff.; some of the verses of this Jātaka are found also in the Tesakuda Jātaka (J.v.123f.).