Sakuṇajātaka
“Ye denizens of air.”—This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about a Brother whose cell was burnt down.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1PTS 1.216“Yaṁ nissitā jagatiruhaṁ vihaṅgamā,You sky-flyers staying near the great evergreen,11.2Svāyaṁ aggiṁ pamuñcati;this fire is emerging!1.3Disā bhajatha vakkaṅgā,Geese! Flee to the quarters!21.4Jātaṁ saraṇato bhayan”ti.The threat is born from the refuge!
2.1Sakuṇajātakaṁ chaṭṭhaṁ.
Noticing a fire starting in the tree under which they shelter, the Bodhisatta tries to warn the flock, but the foolish birds dismissed him, “for he is always seeing crocodiles in a drop of water”.
“Evergreen” (jagatirūha, literally “planet-growth”) is a poetic term for a tree.
Vakkaṅga, in Sanskrit variously spelled vakrāṅga or cakrāṅga is the cakravāka or Brahminy goose. It is named for its curved neck.
