Nigrodhamiga — Book of the Ones · Chapter Two (Sīlavagga) · Poem 2 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
Unspecified in the canonical verse itself
Form
One four-line stanza
Length
Under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — one short verse of resolute preference
Why this text
This tale's commentarial story — a noble deer-king offering himself in place of a pregnant doe about to be sacrificed — is one of the most affecting acts of self-sacrifice among this whole partial selection, and the verse's own stark preference (‘better death with Banyan than life with Branch’) distills it into a single memorable line.
Reading guide
A stark preference between two leaders
The verse states its choice directly: ‘befriend only Banyan, stay away from Branch. Better is death with Banyan than life with Branch.’ The names stand for two contrasting kinds of leadership, one worth dying under and the other not worth living under.
A commentarial story of self-sacrifice
Per Sujato's comment, a meat-loving king hunted deer daily, until the deer made a pact to offer one animal from each herd by lot. When the lot fell on a pregnant doe in Branch's herd, the wicked deer-king Branch insisted she give herself up anyway — but Banyan, the noble deer-king of the other herd, intervened and went in her place himself. Moved by this act of self-sacrifice, the king spared not only Banyan's life but the lives of all the deer.
Key terms
nigrodha — “Banyan” — the noble deer-king who offers himself in the pregnant doe's place.
sākha — “Branch” — the wicked deer-king who insists the doe give herself up despite her condition.
nigrodhasmiṁ mataṁ seyyo — “better is death with Banyan” — the verse's stark central preference.
Nigrodhamigajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Deer Named Banyan’.
self-sacrifice — the act at the center of this tale's commentarial story — Banyan taking the doe's place, moving the king to spare every deer's life.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Befriend only Banyan, stay away from Branch. Better is death with Banyan than life with Branch.
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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
What choice does the verse state directly?
Correct: D. A stark preference distilled into a single memorable line.
Question 2 of 10
What pact, per Sujato's comment, did the deer make with the hunting king?
Correct: A. Setting up the crisis when the lot fell on a pregnant doe.
Question 3 of 10
What happened when the lot fell on a pregnant doe in Branch's herd?
Correct: B. Prompting Banyan's intervention from the other herd.
Question 4 of 10
What did Banyan do in response?
Correct: C. An act of self-sacrifice that moved the king to spare every deer's life.
Question 5 of 10
What was the ultimate outcome of Banyan's self-sacrifice, per the commentarial story?
Correct: D. One of the most affecting acts of self-sacrifice among this whole partial selection.
Question 6 of 10
What do the names 'Banyan' and 'Branch' represent in this verse?
Correct: A. The verse's stark preference distills this contrast into a single line.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: B. The twelfth poem overall, and the second of the Sīlavagga.
Question 8 of 10
How many lines make up this verse?
Correct: C. A standard single stanza, like most poems in this collection's Ekakanipāta selection.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: D. Part of the same ten-poem Sīlavagga as Ja 11.
Question 10 of 10
What broader theme does this tale's self-sacrifice illustrate, fitting the Sīlavagga's own name (Ethics Chapter)?
Correct: A. Continuing the ethical theme opened by Ja 11's contrast of two deer-kings.
