While living at Jetavana, the Teacher spoke this with regards to a deceitful bhikkhu.
The Teacher said this concerning a deceitful monk while staying at the Jetavana.
When informed of his deceit nature, the Teacher said, "Monks, not only now, in the past too he was deceitful", and recounted his past story (brought the past).
When his deceitful nature had been informed, the Teacher told the story of the past after saying, "oh monks, not only now but also in the past was this man a liar."
In the past when Brahmadatta was reigning in Bārāṇasī, the Bodhisatta was conceived in the womb of a rat. After he had grown up, he had a big body like a young pig, and lived in the forest with many hundreds of rats under his leadership.
In the past during the reign of Brahmadatta in benares, the future Buddha took rebirth in the womb of a rat, when he had grown up to become as big as a piglet, surrounded (parivuto) by many hundreds of female rats (mūsikāhi, if male rats it would have been mūsikehi), he lived in the forest.
At that time, a jackal, while wandering here and there, saw the colony of rats and thought, "After deceiving these rats, I shall eat them." Facing the sun, he inhaled the wind, and stood on one leg near the rats' abode.
And then, a jackal (an animal often sued for being tricky), while he was wandering/moving around this way and that way, he saw that swarm of rats and thought, "I shall eat after deceiving these rats" (by deceiving these rats, I shall get to eat them), he stood on one leg, drinking in the wind, facing the sun, not far from the home of the rats.
He stood on one leg not far from the home of the rats, facing the sun and drinking in the wind.
While the Bodhisatta was out wondering in search for food, he saw the jackal., Thinking, "this will be a virtuous one", he approached the jackal and asked, "Venerable Sir, what is your name?"
The Bodhisatta as he was going foraging (looking for food), on seeing him, he thought, "this person will be (using future to indicate the sense of "must be") a virtuous one (one who keeps the precepts)" - "this must be some virtuous person", went up to him and asked, "Venerable Sir, what is your name?" [Ee is correct: bhante, tvaṃ ko nāmā"ti pucchi]
"Why are you standing on just one leg without placing all four on the ground?"
Why are you standing on one foot without putting all four on the ground?"
"If I placed four legs on the earth, the earth will not be able to bear, therefore I stand on just one."
With me placing four feet on the ground, the earth would not be able to bear me, therefore I am standing on only one
"Why do you stand with your mouth open?"
Why are you standing with your mouth open?
"We do not eat anything else but just the wind (air)."
We do not feed on something else (aññaṃ - neuter sg.), it is (eva) the wind that we feed on. (or: we feed only on the wind)
Having heard his speech, the Bodhisatta thought, "this will be a virtuous one." From then on, he went to wait on the jackal in the dawn and dusk together with the colony of rats.
On hearing his speech, thinking, "this will be a virtuous person", from then on (tato paṭṭhāya) he was going to pay his respect (upaṭṭhāna - service or worship to a higher being) with his group of rats in the evening and morning.
When the rats were leaving after waiting upon him, the jackal caught the last rat among the group, chewed his flesh and after swallowing, wiped his mouth and stood there.
Then the jackal, at the time of his going after paying respect to him, grabbing the rat that was last of all, having eaten his flesh and swallowed it and rinsed his mouth and stood there.
Gradually (by and by), the colony of rats dwindled in numbers.
in due course, the swarm of rats become less.
The rats thought, "in the past, (the space in) this abode was inadequate, we had to stand without any interval between us."
The rats informed the Bodhisatta of what was happening, "Formerly, this home/shelter was insufficient for us, we stand there without any interval (shoulder to shoulder with no spare room). Now we are loose, even so (evampi) the residence is simply not being filled, what's going on here?"
The Bodhisatta thinking, "by what reason has the colony of rats become dwindled in numbers?" Suspecting the jackal (having placed his suspicion on the jackal), he thought, "I shall investigate him." At the time of waiting upon the jackal, he let the rest of the rats go in front and he himself stayed at the rear. At the time of waiting on him, he made the rest of the rats go in front, and he himself became last.
The Bodhisatta thinking (cintento), "for what reason the rats had gone to sparseness (had become sparse)", placing his doubt/suspicion on the jackal (conceiving a suspicion of the jackal), I shall examine him.
The jackal jumped on top of him. The Bodhisatta saw the jackal jumping to get hold of himself and turned around, saying, "Yo jackal,
And the jackal jumped on him. When the Bodhisatta saw advancing to catch himself, he turned back and said, "Hey jackal, this vow undertaking of yours is not for having good behaviour (or being virtuous), but for the sake of the harming of others, you are behaving as if creating a flag of virtue (virtue-signalling) [dhaja - flag or signal]
{para = people other than yourself; vs. añña = any other person. So here use para}
Having said this, he then said this verse: