Monks and Acharyas
Karakandu the Pratyekabuddha
करकंडु प्रत्येकबुद्ध · કરકંડુ પ્રત્યેકબુદ્ધ
A king, a beloved bull, and the day he saw that everything changes
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
A baby left at the edge of a cremation ground grows up to become the king of Kalinga. Years later, a white bull he once loved teaches him the lesson no teacher had to give him.
What it teaches Impermanence Detachment Self-awakening
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, a kind queen named Padmavati went for a ride on a big elephant with her husband, the king. The rain was soft and the air smelled of the forest. Suddenly the elephant got excited and ran into the jungle. The king caught a tree branch, but the queen was carried far away. When the elephant stopped to drink at a lake, she climbed down safely.
The queen found some kind nuns and became a nun herself. Soon a baby boy was born to her. She could not keep him, so she left him in a safe place, and a kind man and his wife found him. They loved him as their own.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Love what you have, and hold it lightly, because everything changes.
To talk about together
What is something in your life that has changed as you grew, and how did that feel?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.