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Cariyapitaka · Story 34

The One King’s Conduct

Ekarāja Cariyā — The Chapter With Yudhañjaya · The Perfection of Love (2nd of 2)

Setting
No external narrative frame; the Buddha speaks in the first person about his past life as a just king, ruling the whole earth
Speaker
The Buddha, recounting his life as the One King
Form
Five verses of first-person narration
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this story in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — short, but ends on its claim before showing the conduct that earns it

Why this text

This is the most abrupt story in the whole collection: a diligent, ethical king is overthrown, his city sacked, his court and family captured, and he himself buried in a pit — and then, without narrating any act of forgiveness, mercy, or restraint toward the man who did this to him, the text simply declares, ‘there is no-one to equal my love: this is my perfection of love.’

Reading guide

A model ruler, established briefly

The opening verses establish the king's character economically: ‘resolved on highest ethics’, following the ten skillful deeds without exception, using the four ways of being inclusive to unite his population — a ruler doing everything right.

A sudden, total reversal

Dabbasena's attack is described with no warning and no buildup: the city is sacked, the king's dependents, military, and citizens are all captured, and the king himself is buried in a pit — a complete collapse compressed into a single verse.

A claim made without its evidence shown

Unlike Cp 33's Sāma, whose peaceful coexistence with the forest's animals is at least described directly, this story never shows what loving-kindness toward Dabbasena, or toward anyone else in this crisis, actually looked like. The text moves from calamity straight to the claim of perfected love, with the demonstrating action itself left out entirely.

The most extreme gap in a collection full of them

Several stories in this collection leave a resolution untold — Cp 9's Vessantara, Cp 19's Alīnasattu, Cp 26's Temiya. This story goes further: it is not the outcome that goes unnarrated here, but the entire action the title perfection is named for. What the fuller Ekarāja tradition presumably shows — forgiveness, or restraint toward a captor — this particular verse selection does not include at all.

Key terms

mettā — “loving-kindness” — the perfection this story illustrates, closing this chapter's two stories on the theme.
dasakusalakammapatha — the “ten skillful deeds”, the same standard named in Cp 3 and Cp 18, followed here ‘without exception’ by the king before his downfall.
saṅgahavatthu — the “four ways of being inclusive” — the methods the king uses to unite his population, named directly in this text.
Dabbasena — the attacker who sacks the king's city and buries him in a pit; the text gives no further detail about him or what became of the conflict.
cariyā — “conduct” — this collection's title, and the word used for each of its thirty-five stories, this one its thirty-fourth.

The text

The text in full: five verses, closing the Cariyapitaka's chapter on loving-kindness. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Then again when I was the renowned One King, resolved on highest ethics, I ruled the great earth.

§2Without exception I followed the ten ways of skillful deeds. With the four ways of being inclusive, I brought together the population.

§3As I was being diligent, for the sake of this world and the next, Dabbasena attacked and sacked my city.

§4The royal dependents in the city, with the military and the citizens—he captured them all, and buried me in a pit.

§5The court ministers, the flourishing kingdom, and my royal court—were captured and held, I even saw my beloved son. There is no-one to equal my love: this is my perfection of love.”

· · ·

Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10
How is the king's character established at this story's opening?
Correct: B. Following the ten skillful deeds without exception.
Question 2 of 10
What happens to the king's city and family?
Correct: B. A complete, sudden reversal compressed into a single verse.
Question 3 of 10
Who attacks the king, and what further detail does the text give about him?
Correct: B. Named, but otherwise left unexplained.
Question 4 of 10
Does this text show any specific act of loving-kindness the king performs?
Correct: B. The most extreme gap of its kind in this collection.
Question 5 of 10
How does this story's gap compare to Cp 9's Vessantara or Cp 26's Temiya?
Correct: B. The most extreme example of this pattern in the whole collection.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'saṅgahavatthu' refer to in this story?
Correct: B. Named directly as part of the king's good governance.
Question 7 of 10
What standard of conduct, also named in Cp 3 and Cp 18, does this king follow?
Correct: B. A recurring standard across several stories in this collection.
Question 8 of 10
What perfection does this story close, and what position does it hold?
Correct: B. Closing this chapter's pair of stories before equanimity closes the whole collection.
Question 9 of 10
What does the king see during the calamity, mentioned in the story's final lines?
Correct: B. One of the last details given before the closing claim.
Question 10 of 10
What is the very last perfection covered by the Cariyapitaka's thirty-five stories, immediately after this one?
Correct: B. Cp 35, the collection's final text.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousCp 33 · Goldblack’s Conduct