Tribes in Ancient India c60.32

c60.32

It is stated in the Introduction to the Kunāla Jātaka¹ that the Koliyas used to dwell in the Kola tree. Hence they came to be called ‘Koliyas’ or dwellers in Kola (jujube) trees. When the Śākyas wished to abuse the Koliyas, they said that the latter had once ‘lived like brute beasts in a hollow Kola tree’. The territories of the Śākyas and Koliyas were adjacent, being separated by the river Rohiṇī. A bitter quarrel once arose between the two tribes regarding the right to the waters of the river which irrigated the land on both sides. Incensed by insulting remarks as to their respective origins, the two tribes got themselves ready for battle, and sallied forth at eventide. Now at this time, so the story goes, the Buddha came to the spot from Sāvatthī, and sat cross-legged in the air between the two hosts. The Śākyas recognised him and at once threw down their arms with the words, ‘Let the Koliyas slay us or roast us alive.’ The Koliyas, on seeing the Buddha, acted in the same way. The Lord instructed them, quelled the feud and brought about a reunion. In gratitude, each tribe dedicated some of its young men to the membership of the Order, and during the Buddha’s stay in the neighbourhood, he lived alternately in Kapilavastu and in Koliyanagara.²