A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
The Bodisat is born as a bull because his accumulated merits are not yet complete. He feeds at night in a royal bean-field and reluctantly allows an ass to accompany him, provided it stays quiet. Once fed, the ass insists on singing. The bull leaves before the noise draws the king’s men, who cut off the ass’s ears and fasten a pestle around its neck. The bull mocks the result, but the ass retorts that three men with clubs are searching for him too. The ending leaves danger to the bull open; it does not narrate his capture or a magical power in the song.
Origins & earliest records
Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation
Records & interpretation
Whole chapter and its footnotes directly read in the digitized1906 edition.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
XXXII, The Ass as a Singer, pp. 323–324; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 293
- 02
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XXXII The Ass as a Singer
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selectedXXIX–XXXIX314–343, including bothXXXIII variants and all notes, independently read. ChapterXXXVIII read as adjacent corpus context without inventing a new profile; source-language originals not collated.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)
XXXII, The Ass as a Singer. XXXII, The Ass as a Singer, pp. 323–324; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 293
Complete chapter and all notes read. Translation’s canonical locator retained; original Tibetan not independently inspected. Actual endings, explicit identities and comparative material kept separate, with no death/kinship/anatomy inferred beyond the telling.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selectedXXIX–XXXIX314–343, including bothXXXIII variants and all notes, independently read. ChapterXXXVIII read as adjacent corpus context without inventing a new profile; source-language originals not collated.
- A Bodisat bull feeds secretly in a royal bean field. An ass joins him and promises silence, but after eating insists on singing. The bull leaves before the noise brings guards, who mutilate and burden the ass. Later the bull mocks the result, and the ass answers that armed men are also seeking the bull. The close does not portray the bull as permanently safe.
XXXII The Ass as a Singer, complete323–324; note Kah-gyuriv.f293
Historical German-mediated English rendering, not independently collated Tibetan manuscript. Page labels from hosted transcription. Religious/moral assertions remain narrative framing. No verse, ritual, prayer, medical preparation or modern adaptation copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), XXXII, The Ass as a Singer, pp. 323–324; note cites Kah-gyur iv. f. 293Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.