Week 10: Reading Notes A- Jataka


What is a Measure of rice?


                                                        Image Details: Rice, Source: Public Domain Pictures

In this jataka, a dishonest king calls a valuer to his court in order to set prices for specific commodities such as horses, elephants, gold, etc. However, the valuer was an honest man which upset the king as he wanted to gain more riches without paying as much for them. So, the king fired the honest valuer and appointed a peasant man in his place as he thought that he could manipulate him in order to gain more riches for his kingdom. Since the peasant did not know the value of the commodities being sold, he chose whatever price he saw fit and the people had to sell their items at that price. One day, a horse seller comes to the kingdom to sell five-hundred horses. The peasant tells him that they are worth a measure of rice. The horse seller is shocked at the price and visits the honest valuer to see if he could help him.

 The honest valuer tells the horse seller to take a nice present to the peasant and ask him if he would come to the palace with him to see the king. Then, the honest valuer tells the horse seller to have the peasant tell what a measure of rice is worth in front of the king’s court. The horse seller believed this to be a brilliant idea and visits the peasant with a gift. The peasant agrees to go with the horse seller to the king and explain what a measure of rice is worth. When in front of the king, the horse seller tells the king that the peasant had set the price for selling his horses at a measure of rice; however, he doesn’t know what a measure of rice is worth. The king asks the peasant to answer the horse seller’s question. The peasant replies by saying that a measure of rice was worth the entire city. The king is shocked by the peasant’s answer and the king’s court begins to laugh at the foolish valuer. The peasant is then driven out of the city by the king.

This jataka is really interesting as it encompasses several messages. The concept of Karma is prevalent in the story as the king had fired the honest valuer and replaced him with a foolish peasant. In the end of the story, it is the foolish valuer that the king had hired that caused him ridicule and embarrassment. Another concept found in the jataka was the value of honesty. If the king had chosen to be honest and respect the honest valuer, he would have never been as embarrassed as he was at the end of the story. I really liked this jataka and the messages behind it. It was very simple, but really effective with its message.

Bibliography: Babbitt, Ellen C. The Measure of Rice, 2019.

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