• Sankicca Jātaka (No. 530)

The Bodhisatta was once born in the family of the chaplain of the king of Benares and was educated in Takkasilā, with the king's son. They became great friends, and, when the prince became viceroy, they lived together. The prince, having conceived the plan of killing his father in order to become king, confided this idea to Sankicca. The latter tried to dissuade him, but finding his efforts in vain, he fled to the Himālaya, where he became an ascetic. The prince killed his father, but was later filled with remorse and could find no peace of mind. He longed to see Sankicca, but it was not till fifty years later that Sankicca, with five hundred followers, came to the garden of Dayāpassa in Benares. The king visited him and questioned him on the results of wickedness. Sankicca described the horrors of hell awaiting the wicked, illustrating his story with stories

• of Ajjuna who annoyed the sage Gotama,
• of Dandaki, who defied Kisavaccha,
• of the king of Mejjha, whose country became a desert,
• of the Andhavenhudāsaputtā who assailed Dīpāyana, and of Cecca, swallowed up by the earth.

After describing the terrors awaiting the victims of various hells, Sankicca showed the king the deva worlds and ended his discourse, indicating the possibility of making amends.

The king was much comforted and changed his ways.

He is identified with Ajātasattu, in reference to whose parricide and its consequences the story was related. It was not till Ajātasattu sought the Buddha and listened to his preaching that he found peace of mind. J.v.261-77.