Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v1.c10.130

v1.c10.130

In the Ekarāja Jātaka, reference is made to the Mahāsilava Jātaka (q.v.) for details regarding the expulsion of the minister for misconduct and of the subsequent events. But there the king is called Silava and not Ekarāja. The two stories contain certain similarities but the details vary very much. See also the Seyya Jātaka, where the king is called Kamsa, and compare it with the Ghata Jātaka. The Ekarāja Jātaka is given as an example of a birth in which the Bodhisatta practised mettā to perfection.² The story of Ekarāja is the last in the Cariyā-Piṭaka.³ According to the Cariyā Piṭaka Commentary,⁴ Ekarāja was a title given to the king on account of his great power, in which case his real name might have been Silava, as mentioned above. The scholiast on the Ekarāja Jātaka,⁵ however, says that Ekarāja was the king’s personal name.