Story of Devadatta

A king of ancient India, son of King Jayadatta. Jayadatta wanted to marry his son Devadatta to the daughter of a Vaiśya in Pāṭalīputra. Though it was a far cry from Pāṭalīputra to Jayadatta’s court the Vaiśya married his daughter to the prince as he attached much importance to such an alliance with the King. From the dowry given by the Vaiśya to his daughter the resources of her father appeared to be very meagre to Devadatta.

After some time Devadatta’s wife returned to her house with the permission of her husband. During her absence Jayadatta expired, enemies attacked his kingdom and Devadatta with his mother ran away from his kingdom. Sometime after that he started for his wife’s house. But, feeling that it would not be proper for him to personally tell his father-in-law about what had happened to him he waited outside an inn near his wife’s house, and he had not waited there for long when he saw a woman descending by a cord from the other door of the house. He felt deeply mortified to detect that it was his wife who was thus descending. And, when she, not recognising Devadatta in his dirty clothes, asked him who he was, he answered a 'traveller'. Taking no notice of this 'traveller' she got into the inn, and Devadatta followed her. Inside the inn she was met by a man who beat her for being late to go to him; but, in spite of the beating she pleased him with coy words. Then and there Devadatta divorced her in his mind, but remained there observing their love-making. In the course of their loveplay an ear-ring studded with costly gems rolled down the floor from her ears, but she did not notice it. She parted from her paramour before dawn. Devadatta went to Kānyakubja with the ear-ring, and there he pledged it for one lakh sovereigns with which money he collected an army and conquered back his lost kingdom. Then he redeemed the pledge and sent the ear-ring to his father-in-law. The whole incident became public. When she realised the fact that the stranger whom she had met at the inn was her own husband, Devadatta’s wife felt so deeply hurt and humiliated that her heart was broken and she died. (Kathāsaritsāgara, Naravāhanadatta Janana, Taraṅga 1).