The Story of Phurindatta Naga King (Bhuridatta Jataka)
Phurindatta Naga King is a Jataka tale describing the supreme perfection of morality (Sila-parami) practiced by the Bodhisatta, who later became Gautama Buddha, during a former life when he was born as a Naga (serpent king).
During the reign of King Brahmadatta of Benares, the king appointed his son as viceroy. Later, however, he became suspicious that the prince intended to seize the throne. Therefore, he ordered the prince to leave the city and remain in exile until the king’s death. The prince renounced worldly life and became an ascetic living by the Yamuna River. There, he lived with a Naga maiden as husband and wife. In time, they had a son named Sagara Brahmadatta and a daughter named Samuddaja.
When King Brahmadatta passed away, the prince returned to rule Benares, bringing his son and daughter with him. One day, while the children were playing in a pond, they were frightened by a turtle. The king ordered the turtle to be thrown into a whirlpool in the Yamuna River. The turtle sank to the Naga realm and was captured by the Nagas. To save itself, it claimed to be a royal messenger from Benares, sent to offer Princess Samuddaja in marriage to King Dhatarattha, the Naga king.
Delighted, King Dhatarattha sent four Nagas as envoys with gifts to request the princess’s hand. The King of Benares replied that humans and Nagas were of different races and could not intermarry. The envoys reported this as an insult. Enraged, King Dhatarattha ordered the Nagas to display their supernatural powers in the human city, spreading fear. Eventually, the king relented and gave Princess Samuddaja in marriage to the Naga king.
In the Naga realm, Samuddaja did not realize she was among Nagas because they had transformed into human form. She lived happily and bore four sons: Sudassana, Datta, Subhoga, and Arittha. One day, Arittha revealed his true Naga form. Startled, Samuddaja accidentally injured his eye, and thus learned she was living in the Naga world.
When the sons matured, King Dhatarattha divided his realm among them. Datta, the second son, was exceptionally wise and frequently assisted his father—even solving problems for the devas. Because of his great wisdom, he was called Phurindatta, meaning “one whose wisdom is as vast as the earth.”
Having often visited the heavenly realm with his father and seeing its bliss, Phurindatta resolved to observe the Uposatha precepts in order to be reborn in heaven. To avoid disturbance, he went to the human world and coiled himself around an anthill near a banyan tree by the Yamuna River. He made a solemn vow that even if anyone desired his skin, flesh, blood, or bones, he would willingly offer them, so long as he could maintain his moral purity.
A hunter named Nesada discovered him. Though Phurindatta could have defended himself, he remained still to preserve his virtue. Later, a Brahmin learned the Alampayana spell—a charm used by Garudas to subdue Nagas. Reciting it, he captured Phurindatta and forced him to perform in public exhibitions, displaying his powers.
Meanwhile, his brother Sudassana searched for him and eventually found him in Benares. To rescue him, Sudassana challenged the Brahmin, proposing a contest of powers. With the king as witness, Sudassana demonstrated the deadly poison of a small frog (actually their half-sister disguised), showing its immense destructive power. Terrified, the Brahmin released Phurindatta.
Phurindatta then revealed his true identity to the king, who realized he was his grandson. The family was joyfully reunited. Phurindatta forgave the hunter and bore no resentment toward anyone.
For the rest of his life, Phurindatta continued to observe moral discipline faithfully. At the end of his life, he was reborn in the heavenly realm.
The moral of the story:
One who steadfastly maintains virtue, even in the face of suffering, will attain a fortunate rebirth as a deva or human being.
Reference: The Jataka Tales (547 Birth Stories of the Buddha) from the Pali Canon.