Kaṇḍijātaka
“Cursed be the dart of love.”—This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana about the temptation caused to Brethren by the wives of their mundane life. This will be related in the Indriya-jataka in the Eighth Book. Said the Blessed One to the Brother, “Brother, it was because of this very woman that in bygone days you met your death and were roasted over glowing embers.” The Brethren asked the Blessed One to explain this. The Blessed One made clear what had been concealed from them by re-birth.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1PTS 1.155“Dhiratthu kaṇḍinaṁ sallaṁ,Curse the dart, the arrow11.2purisaṁ gāḷhavedhinaṁ;that deeply strikes a man.1.3Dhiratthu taṁ janapadaṁ,Curse the nation1.4yatthitthī pariṇāyikā;where women rule.21.5Te cāpi dhikkitā sattā,Those creatures are cursed31.6ye itthīnaṁ vasaṅgatā”ti.who fall to women’s sway.
2.1Kaṇḍijātakaṁ tatiyaṁ.
A naive mountain buck falls for a doe wily in the ways of men. When the path grows dangerous, she lets him lead the way, so that he falls to the arrow.
Reality has disproven this ancient prejudice, as women leaders are at least as successful as men in both perception and results. This is the first of many misogynistic Jātakas. These show how Jātaka stories were adapted from non-Buddhist sources, introducing bigotry into Buddhism.
Dhikkhitā (“cursed”) is a word of unique occurrence in Pali, from the same root as the more common imprecation dhiratthu (“cursed be!”). Both are glossed with √garah.
