Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c34.168

v2.c34.168

Lāḷudāyī Thera.—An Elder who possessed the knack of saying “the wrong thing.” He would go to a place where people were enjoying a holiday and recite stanzas suitable to a funeral and vice versa.¹ When the Buddha heard of this he related the Somadatta Jātaka (q.v.), showing that in past births, too, Lāḷudāyī had possessed the same propensity. He is identified with the foolish father (Agnidatta) of the story.² We also read of his jealousy of the praises bestowed on Sāriputta and Moggallāna for their knowledge and exposition of the Law, and he claimed that he possessed knowledge equal to theirs. But one day when asked to preach, he sat on a seat holding a painted fan, but found nothing to say. He thereupon agreed to preach in the evening; but the same thing happened, and he barely escaped with his life, so furious was his audience. The Buddha, on hearing of this, related the Sūkara Jātaka (q.v.) (in which Lāḷudāyī was the pig), showing that in the past, too, he had covered himself with disgrace because of his boastfulness.³ On another occasion, he had a dispute with Dabba Mallaputta regarding the allotment of the rice tickets, and the monks, in order to teach him a lesson, handed him the tickets to distribute. But he created such confusion that there was a great uproar, and Ānanda was sent by the Buddha to find out what was happening. When Ānanda returned with this story, the Buddha related the Taṇḍulanāli Jātaka (q.v.) to show that in the past Lāḷudāyī had been a foolish appraiser.⁴ The Naṅgalisa Jātaka gives another example of his folly and ineptitude⁵; so does also the Padañjali Jātaka,⁶ where he is identified with Padañjali, an idle, lazy loafer. In the Mahāummagga Jātaka⁷ he is identified with the somewhat foolish king, Vedeha.