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1. Mora paritta
This paritta and certain Jataka stories from which it is derived are the
basis for the elaboration of important symbols like the peacock and
Garuda (mythical sunbird), which stand opposed to the Naga and snakes
in general; these symbols link up with the planets, the sun and moon and
Rahu, in the cosmology.
To fully understand the implications we must refer to three Jatakas—
the Mora Jataka, Ghatasana Jataka, and the Pandara Jataka.
Mora Jataka: this story was told by the Buddha to a backsliding monk
who was upset by the sight of a woman magnificently attired. The
bodhisattva was once born as a golden peacock, `fair and lovely, with
beautiful red lines under his wings', and lived on a golden hill in Dandaka.
He used to recite a spell in honour of the sun and another in praise of the
Buddhas and was thus protected from harm. A queen of Benares saw in
a dream a golden peacock preaching, and longed for this to come true.
But all attempts to catch the peacock failed and the queen died without
obtaining her wish. Six successive kings failed to snare the peacock until
in the reign of the seventh a hunter snared the peacock with a peahen
which he used as a lure. The peacock, snared because `leaving his charm
unsaid, he came towards her' who woke desire in his breast, was, however,
able to prove to the king that he was not immortal and that the eating of
his flesh would not confer on him the immortality he desired. Before he
departed he discoursed on the theme of nirvana which alone is everlasting.
(Cowell 1895, Vol. II, no. 159.)
Ghatasana Jataka: once the bodhisattva was king of the birds and lived
with his subjects in a giant tree, whose branches spread over a lake. The
Naga-king of the lake, Canda, enraged by the dropping of the birds' dung
into the water, caused smoke to rise and flames to dart up from the water
to the tree, and the bodhisatva, perceiving the danger, flew away with his
flock. (Cowell, ibid. no. 133).
The story was told to a monk whose hut in the forest was burnt by
fire and who delayed finding another shelter, which interfered with his
engaging in meditation. `And if beasts were so discerning, how could
you fall short of them in wisdom.' (Cowell, ibid. no. 133.)
Pandara Jataka: a shipwrecked, wandering, naked and destitute man
called Karambiya was mistaken for an ascetic by people who built him
a hermitage. Among his devotees were a Garuda-king and a Naga-king
out of the Naga the secret of how the Nagas prevented themselves from
being carried off by Garudas, namely the swallowing of large stones which
made them heavy. By seizing the Naga by his tail the Garuda was able
to carry off the Naga, who was then forced to disgorge the stone. The
Naga, lamented his foolishness in divulging his secret and on begging
for mercy, was released by his captor, who set him free with the warning:
`His secret no man should disclose, but guard like a treasure trove.'
Thereafter they lived in harmony as friends. The snake took his revenge
on the fake ascetic by uttering a reproof which resulted in the head of the
ascetic being split into seven pieces. (The Buddha identified himself as
the Garuda and Sariputta as the Naga, and Devadatta as Karambiya.)
(See Cowell 1905, Vol. v, no. 518.)
The Mora paritta, the great `peacock' spell, combines all these (and
other) themes—it comprises words addressed by the peacock, first to the
sun to preserve himself safe in his feeding ground, then to the Buddhas
who have passed away to protect him from harm; and other words to
preserve himself from evil.
The paritta is said to protect humans against snakes, dangerous humans,
animals and birds. Its best known use is against snake bite, on the basis
of all the elaborations by which the peacock preys on snakes.
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