Aṇḍabhūtajātaka
“Blindfold, a-luting.”—This story was told by the Master while at Jetavana, about another passion-tost person.
Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral
1.1PTS 1.293“Yaṁ brāhmaṇo avādesi,The brahmin who played11.2vīṇaṁ samukhaveṭhito;the harp while blindfolded21.3Aṇḍabhūtā bhatā bhariyā,had raised his wife since infancy—1.4tāsu ko jātu vissase”ti.who would ever trust such women?
2.1Aṇḍabhūtajātakaṁ dutiyaṁ.
An innocent baby girl was sold into slavery and kept locked up under guard her entire life by a brahmin who married her. This was to feed his gambling addiction by refuting his adversary’s lucky charm, which was an asseveration of truth that all women were faithless. When the brahmin started winning at dice, his adversary employed a knave to restore his fortunes. Cruelly deceiving her waiting-woman, the knave managed to sneak in and seduce the wife. To help the knave make his escape, the young wife persuaded her husband to play the harp while she danced, asking him to cover his eyes for modesty’s sake. On discovering the ruse, the brahmin beat his wife and chased her away. Somehow, the moral of the story is that women can’t be trusted!
The brahmin of this story is depicted in a Bharhut sculpture, Plate 26, 8.
