King Pasenadi’s chaplain was a learned but superstitious Brahmin named Bhaggava Gagga. It was his job to cast horoscopes, advise about the best time to embark on various projects and ward off evil influences with spells and mantras. He was filled with joy when his wife gave birth to a boy, but when the baby’s horoscope was drawn up, his joy turned to dread. The horoscope indicated that the boy would grow up with criminal tendencies. Filled with superstitious fear, the parents decided to name the boy Ahimsaka, ‘Harmless’ in the hope that this would counter the influence of the stars. “The boy grew up into a fine youth who was good at his studies and obedient to his parents. But to make sure that the boy would never turn bad, they constantly stressed to him the importance of obeying them and doing what he was told.

Eventually, he left home for Taxila to do his higher studies. In those days, young Brahmins would go to Taxila and live in the house of a learned Brahmin to learn traditional lore and in return, work in his home. The relationship would be like that between father and son. Ahimsaka was a particularly obedient student which earned him special attention from his teacher but it also created jealousy in the other students. They decided to try to turn the teacher against Ahimsaka. According to plan, they went one by one to the teacher and whispered that his favourite student was trying to usurp his position. At first the teacher dismissed this as nonsense, but gradually the seeds of doubt were sown, and they eventually sprouted into suspicion and the teacher became convinced of Ahimsaka’s hostility to him. “This young man is strong in body and quite capable of doing me harm. I must get rid of him and make sure he never comes back,” he thought to himself. One day, the teacher called Ahimsaka and said: “You have successfully finished your studies, now you must bring me my fee.” “Certainly,” said Ahimsaka. ” What do you demand as your fee?” “You must bring me a thousand first fingers from the human hand.” “Surely you don’t require this of me?” responded the horrified Ahimsaka. “You have taken from me and in return you must now do my bidding. Go now and bring a thousand fingers.” The teacher’s hope was, of course, that in the process of carrying out this task Ahimsaka would be killed and he would never have to see him again. Continue reading →