Der Bodhisatta war einmal geboren als Dhatarattha, König of ninety tausend golden geese living in Cittakūta. One day some of sein flock came upon Lake Mānusiya, near the haunts of men, und finding it ein reicher feeding-ground, persuaded ihm much against sein will to go there mit them. But immediately he alighted he was caught in a fowler's noose und found escape impossible. He waited till the flock had fed, then gab the cry of alarm at which all the geese flew away except sein commander-in-chief, Sumukha. When the fowler came, Sumukha offered to give sein life for sein König, und thereby softened the fowler's heart. The latter set Dhatarattha free und tended sein wounds, und because of the man's great charity der König of the geese wurde whole again. When the fowler suggested that they should fly home, the two geese insisted that they should be taken to Sakula, the König of the land, the Mahimsaka country, that they might obtain for the fowler a suitable reward. When der König heard the story er gab to the fowler a village yielding one hundert tausend annually, a chariot und a large store of gold. Dhatarattha preached to der König the moral law und, after being paid great honour, returned to Cittakūta.
Die Geschichte bezog sich auf in reference to Ananda's attempt to offer sein life in order to save der Buddha from being killed by the elephant Nālāgiri (q.v.). Channa is identifiziert mit the fowler, Sāriputta mit der König, und Ananda mit Sumukha. J.v.333-.54; DhA.i.119; cf. the Mahāhamsa Jātaka und the Hamsa Jātaka.