Ja 159 — The Peacock | Ru-Yi Meditation Center

Reading guide

A chant recited twice a day, for safety

Per Sujato's comment, a golden peacock-king, having fled deep in the mountains for safety, recites this verse every day. The first pair of stanzas is spoken at sunrise, invoking the sun as protection through the coming day; the second pair mirrors it almost exactly at sunset, asking the same protection through the night. Each half closes with the same narrative line marking what the peacock then does — wanders out searching for food by day, settles in for the night.

Vedic solar worship, with Buddhist verses laid alongside it

Sujato's comment is direct: ‘the poem takes straightforward solar worship in the Vedic style and adds quite separate Buddhistic verses.’ The sun is addressed as ‘ekarāja’, ‘the one king’ — per the comment, a title given to Indra himself at Rig Veda 8.37.3, and used of actual kings elsewhere in the Jātaka tradition (Ja 303 and Ja 542, neither part of this site's own selection). ‘Harissavaṇṇo’, ‘palomino-colored’, likewise echoes the Vedic ‘haryaśva’, ‘he of the yellow horses’, itself a name for Indra in solar hymns at Rig Veda 3.30 and 3.44. Set directly against this borrowed Vedic vocabulary, the peacock's own chant adds lines with no Vedic counterpart at all: homage to the Awakened Ones, to Awakening itself, to the freed ones, and to freedom.

A single grammatical detail, and a confirmed cross-reference

Sujato's comment notes one further detail: though the peacock speaks in the singular (‘I worship’), the safety he asks for is plural (‘let us live out this day’) — his own protection extended, in the asking, to others besides himself. The comment also cross-references this site's own Snp 5.5 for the repeated construction ‘taṁ taṁ’, a linguistic note rather than a thematic one.

Key terms

ekarāja — “the one king” — here an epithet for the sun, per Sujato's comment also used of Indra (Rig Veda 8.37.3) and of actual kings elsewhere in the Jātaka tradition.

Harissavaṇṇo — “palomino-colored” — echoing the Vedic ‘haryaśva’, a name for Indra in solar hymns, applied here to the sun.

Namo vimuttānaṁ, namo vimuttiyā — “homage to the freed ones, homage to freedom” — one of the chant's own Buddhist verses, with no counterpart in the Vedic material it otherwise draws on.

parittaṁ — “protection” — the chant's own self-description, giving this poem its traditional association as the Mora Paritta.

Morajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Peacock’.

The text

The text in full: four short stanzas in two mirrored pairs, morning and evening. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1This Clear-eyed One arises, the One King, palomino-colored, shining over the earth. I bow especially to you, palomino-colored, shining over the earth: guarded by you let us live out this day.

§2Those brahmins who are knowledge-masters with respect to all things, I worship them, may they keep me safe. Hail the Awakened Ones, hail Awakening! Homage to the freed ones, homage to freedom! Having made this protection, the peacock wanders seeking.

§3This Clear-eyed One sets, the One King, palomino-colored, shining over the earth. I bow especially to you, palomino-colored, shining over the earth: guarded by you let us live out this night.

§4Those brahmins who are knowledge-masters with respect to all things, I worship them, may they keep me safe. Hail the Awakened Ones, hail Awakening! Homage to the freed ones, homage to freedom! Having made this protection, the peacock made his home.

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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

Who recites this chant, per Sujato's comment?

Correct: C. The chant is his own daily protective recitation.

Question 2 of 10

When is this chant recited, per its own structure?

Correct: D. Two mirrored pairs of stanzas, one for each moment.

Question 3 of 10

What does Sujato's comment say the poem combines?

Correct: A. Sujato's own direct characterization of the poem's composition.

Question 4 of 10

What does 'ekarāja' ('the one king') refer to in this poem?

Correct: B. Per the comment, elsewhere applied to Indra or to actual kings, but here it is the sun.

Question 5 of 10

What Vedic figure does 'Harissavaṇṇo' ('palomino-colored') echo, per the comment?

Correct: C. 'He of the yellow horses' — a solar-hymn epithet transferred here to the sun itself.

Question 6 of 10

What Buddhist elements does the chant add that have no Vedic counterpart, per this reading guide?

Correct: D. Laid directly alongside the borrowed Vedic solar-worship vocabulary.

Question 7 of 10

What detail does Sujato's comment note about the grammatical number of 'I worship' versus 'let us live'?

Correct: A. His own protection extended, in the asking, to others besides himself.

Question 8 of 10

What confirmed cross-reference does Sujato's comment give for the construction 'taṁ taṁ'?

Correct: B. A linguistic note, not a thematic connection.

Question 9 of 10

What is this poem's traditional title, and what living practice is it associated with?

Correct: C. A protective chant still recited today, per this reading guide's introduction.

Question 10 of 10

What two references does the comment cite for 'ekarāja' used of actual kings, and are they part of this site's own selection?

Correct: D. Noted for completeness, consistent with how external, uncollected references are handled elsewhere on this site.

Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

The Peacock

Why this text