Bodisat

Also known as: chief / gazelle prince / head of the gazelles / monkey-chief · Role: woodpecker · First appears: Chapter XXVII

In Chapter XXVII, Bodisat, a woodpecker, freed the lion, king of the beasts, from pain by extracting a bone from between his teeth. When Bodisat later asked for flesh, the lion refused, reminding him, “Are not you, who passed between my teeth, thankful for remaining alive?” Bodisat also escaped death after a falcon seized him.

In Chapter XXXV, five hundred jackals followed Bodisat for a long time, feeding on what he left behind. Once, a jackal rescued him from a well by diverting water from a nearby lake until he could get out.

In Chapter XLI, Bodisat was caught in a hunter’s net while leading a troop of gazelles. The doe declared, “He is my husband,” and the hunter left them and the other gazelles at liberty. In Chapter XLIII, Bodisat was the monkey-chief who left with his band after the other monkey chief would not move. The monkeys who remained were caught and thrown alive into a caldron; they perished because of discord between a sheep and a servant-maid.

Relationship record

Life events

• The woodpecker extracted the bone lodged between the lion’s teeth, freeing it from pain.(Chapter XXVII)
  • With: The lion, king of the beasts (Chapter 027)
  • “After making a careful examination, the woodpecker, by means of a continued fluttering of its wings, extracted the bone which had stuck between the lion’s teeth.”
• The lion refused the hungry woodpecker’s request for a piece of flesh.(Chapter XXVII)
  • With: The lion, king of the beasts (Chapter 027)
  • “Are not you, who passed between my teeth, thankful for remaining alive?”
• The woodpecker escaped death after being seized by a falcon.(Chapter XXVII)
  • With: the falcon
  • “the woodpecker, which had been seized by a falcon, and had only just escaped from death”
• The five hundred jackals followed Bodisat and fed on what he left behind.(Chapter XXXV)
  • With: The five hundred jackals (Chapter 035)
  • “In the neighbourhood of the hill there dwelt five hundred jackals, which followed after him and devoured what he left. ... This state of things lasted a long time.”
• A jackal rescued Bodisat from a well by filling it with water from a nearby lake.(Chapter XXXV)
  • With: The jackal who rescued the lion (Chapter 035)
  • “Having observed it, he dug a canal on one side, and filled the well with water from the lake, so that the lion was able to get out.”
• Bodisat was caught in a hunter’s net.(Chapter XLI)
  • “he was caught in a net one day while heading the troop of gazelles.”
• The doe declared that Bodisat was her husband.(Chapter XLI)
  • With: the doe (Chapter 041)
  • “He is my husband.”
• The hunter left Bodisat and the doe at liberty.(Chapter XLI)
  • With: the hunter (Chapter 041) the doe (Chapter 041)
  • “The hunter, whose astonishment became still greater, went away together with the gazelles, whom he left at liberty.”
• The monkey chief left with his band after the other chief refused to move.(Chapter XLIII)
  • “When the first monkey-chief saw that the other did not believe in him, he himself, together with his band, went away.”
• The monkeys in the neighbourhood were caught and the doctor threw them alive into a caldron.(Chapter XLIII)
  • “Accordingly orders were given to the hunters, who caught all the monkeys residing in the neighbourhood. These monkeys, whose flesh had increased in the course of time, the doctor threw into the caldron alive.”
• The monkeys perished because of the discord between the sheep and the servant-maid.(Chapter XLIII)
  • “On account of discord between the sheep and the servant-maid, the monkeys perished.”

Chapter XXVII

• with The lion, king of the beasts (Chapter 027) (They agree to provide each other service from time to time.) “As you are the lion and the king of all four-footed beasts, and can be of service, therefore you must from time to time be of service to me.” The lion replied, “I will act in accordance with your words.”

Chapter XXXII

• with the ass (They address one another as uncle and nephew.) “There an ass joined him. It said one day, ‘O uncle, your flesh and your blood and your hide thrive, and yet I have never seen you change your abode.’”
• friends with the ass (They go together to the bean-field and address one another as uncle and nephew.) “After they two had broken through the enclosure of the bean-field and reached the interior, the ass uttered no sound until it had eaten its fill.”

Chapter XXXV

• with The five hundred jackals (Chapter 035) (The jackals repeatedly followed and fed on the lion's remains over a long period.) “In the neighbourhood of the hill there dwelt five hundred jackals, which followed after him and devoured what he left.”

Chapter XLI

• married with the doe (Chapter 041) “He is my husband.”

Chapter XLIII

• with the other monkey chief (Chapter 043) (They are chiefs of separate monkey bands.) “As I have dreamed such a dream, it is to be hoped that you will move somewhere else.”

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Extracted from the original text of Tibetan Tales, Derived from Indian Sources. Made with Rho MD.