Stories of karma and rebirth in the Buddhist tradition are not presented merely as frightening entertainment. The story connected with Venerable Ānanda in the Mahānāradakassapa Jātaka is a serious teaching about ethical consequences, the influence of friends, and the way actions can bear fruit across many lives.
For readers who are new to Theravāda Buddhism, it is important to understand the tone of this story: it is not meant to be a horror story or a sensational tale about punishment. Its purpose is to encourage careful conduct, responsibility, and wisdom.
Ānanda as Rujā in the Mahānāradakassapa Jātaka
In the Jātaka identification at the end of the story, Ānanda is identified with Princess Rujā, the daughter of King Aṅgati. Rujā is presented as someone who remembers a number of previous and future lives and uses that knowledge to challenge her father’s dangerous view that moral actions have no real consequences.
The king had been persuaded by a teacher who taught that there is no meaningful result from good or evil actions. Rujā strongly disagreed. She explained that what we do can remain dormant for a long time and later produce painful or beneficial results.
The Beginning: A Life as a Goldsmith’s Son
Rujā explains that one of the relevant past lives was as the son of a goldsmith in Rājagaha. In that life, he associated with a bad companion and committed sexual misconduct with other men’s wives.
The Jātaka compares such actions to a fire hidden under ashes. The fire may not be visible, but it has not disappeared. In the same way, an unwholesome action may not produce an immediate result, yet the moral consequence is not simply erased.
A Different Life With Good Friends
After that life, Rujā describes being born into a wealthy merchant family in Kosambī. In that existence, he encountered a good and wise friend who encouraged wholesome conduct and religious observance.
This part of the story is especially important. Buddhism does not teach only that bad actions have consequences. It also emphasizes that our present choices can create new conditions. A person who has made serious mistakes is not being told to give up. Wise friendship, generosity, discipline, and spiritual practice can become new causes for good results.
When Earlier Karma Bears Fruit
Despite the wholesome actions performed in the merchant’s life, the earlier unwholesome karma eventually came to fruition. Rujā says that after death she experienced a long period in the Roruva hell realm.
The story then describes a sequence of difficult rebirths. These descriptions are deliberately disturbing because the teaching is meant to make the consequences of harmful conduct impossible to dismiss as something trivial.
Rebirth as a Castrated Goat
After the hell experience, Rujā describes being born as a castrated goat. The animal was used to carry wealthy people’s children and to pull a carriage.
The story explicitly connects this painful condition with the earlier sexual misconduct. For a modern reader, this can be difficult to read. That discomfort is part of the ethical force of the traditional story: sexual misconduct is not portrayed as harmless pleasure, but as conduct that can cause suffering for oneself and others.
Rebirth as a Monkey
Rujā next describes being born as a monkey. The account is particularly graphic: the leader of the troop mutilated the newborn monkey.
Again, the Jātaka directly connects this painful experience with the earlier misconduct involving another person’s spouse. The purpose is not to encourage fear for its own sake. It is to make the principle of karmic responsibility vivid: actions have consequences, even when those consequences are delayed.
Rebirth as an Ox
After the monkey life came another difficult existence as an ox among the Dasaṇṇas. The ox was castrated and used for pulling a carriage for a long time.
The repetition matters. The story is showing a pattern rather than a single punishment. One harmful action can have consequences that unfold through circumstances that may seem far removed from the original act.
Rebirth Without a Male or Female Sex
Rujā then describes being born among the Vajjī people without being male or female. The Jātaka again presents this as part of the consequences associated with the previous sexual misconduct.
Readers should be careful here. This passage belongs to an ancient Buddhist karmic narrative and should not be used to shame or condemn people in the present day because of their sex, gender, or bodily condition. The ethical point of the story concerns intentional misconduct and its consequences, not the worth of any human being.
Then a Rebirth in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three
The sequence does not end in suffering. Rujā later describes being born as a beautiful female celestial being in Nandana Grove in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, associated with Sakka’s court.
This change is important because the story also remembers wholesome actions performed in the merchant’s life. The Buddhist teaching here is more subtle than a simple system of punishment. Different actions can mature at different times. One should therefore not assume that a person’s present circumstances can be explained by only one past action.
Rujā Also Knows Seven Future Births
Rujā says that she remembers seven past births and also knows of seven future births after her present life. The story therefore presents a much wider view of existence than a single lifetime.
For Buddhist readers, this makes the lesson urgent: a person’s character is shaped by repeated choices, and life should not be lived as though only immediate pleasure matters.
Why the Story Is Not “Fun”
For someone encountering this story online, it may be tempting to focus on the unusual rebirths, the frightening realms, or the dramatic details. But that misses the central purpose.
The story is a warning. It asks the reader to take actions seriously before their results become painful. Sexual misconduct is treated as a serious breach of trust because it can harm spouses, families, relationships, and the mind of the person who commits it.
At the same time, the story does not teach that a person is permanently condemned by the past. Rujā’s life also contains wholesome actions, good friendship, religious observance, and the possibility of better future results.
The Deeper Lesson: Choose Your Friends Carefully
One of the strongest teachings in the Jātaka concerns friendship. Rujā explains that the people we associate with can influence the direction of our lives. A bad companion can make wrongdoing seem normal. A wise companion can encourage restraint and goodness.
This is highly practical even if you do not accept the Buddhist cosmology of rebirth. Ask yourself: Who makes it easier for me to act with honesty? Who encourages me to cross boundaries that I know are wrong? Who helps me become calmer, kinder, and more responsible?
A Buddhist Reflection for Modern Life
The story can be approached without sensationalism. Its central questions are simple:
- What actions am I repeating because I have stopped noticing their consequences?
- Am I using desire as an excuse to ignore another person’s suffering?
- Which friendships are strengthening my character, and which are weakening it?
- What wholesome action can I begin today, even if I cannot change the past?
One Important Caution About the Story
The identification of Rujā with Ānanda belongs to the traditional Jātaka commentary and identification verses. The story should therefore be presented as a Buddhist textual tradition, not as a claim that can be established by modern historical methods.
Likewise, different Buddhist texts and commentaries preserve different accounts about Ānanda’s previous lives. They should not automatically be combined into one continuous biography unless a source explicitly makes that connection.
The Main Message
The most useful way to read this story is not to ask, “How frightening was the punishment?” but, “What kind of person do my actions make me?”
In the Buddhist view, karma is not merely a story about punishment after death. It is also about intention, habit, character, and the direction in which the mind is being trained. Harmful choices strengthen harmful tendencies. Wise choices strengthen wholesome tendencies.
That is why this ancient story still matters. It asks us to stop treating serious ethical choices as entertainment and to recognize that what we do to others also shapes who we become.
Sources and Further Reading
Primary and traditional sources for this article include the Mahānāradakassapa Jātaka and related Buddhist commentary. See the Thai Tipiṭaka text of the Mahānāradakassapa Jātaka and an English translation of Jātaka 544.
A Gentle Practice for Today
If this story makes you uncomfortable, do not turn that discomfort into fear or self-hatred. Instead, pause and look honestly at your conduct. Recognize harmful actions, stop repeating them where possible, make amends when appropriate, and deliberately cultivate honesty, restraint, compassion, and wise friendship.
