The Demon with the Matted Hair
Adapted from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs (1892)
Long ago, the Teacher told this story in Jetavana about a Brother who had given up striving for righteousness.
“Is it true that you have ceased all striving?” the Teacher asked him.
“Yes, Blessed One,” the Brother replied.
Then the Teacher said, “O Brother, in former days wise men made effort where effort should be made, and so attained royal power.” And he told this story from ancient times.
Once upon a time, when Brahmadatta was King of Benares, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of his chief queen. On the day of his naming ceremony, the King invited 800 Brahmans and, after satisfying all their desires, asked them about his son’s lucky marks. The Brahmans skilled in divining from such signs observed the excellence of the prince’s marks and declared:
“Great King, your son is full of goodness. When you pass away, he will become king. He shall be famous and renowned for his skill with the five weapons, and shall be the foremost man in all India.”
Hearing the Brahmans’ prediction, they named him the Prince of the Five Weapons: sword, spear, bow, battle-axe, and shield.
When the prince reached sixteen years of age, the King said to him, “My son, go and complete your education.”
“Who shall be my teacher?” the young man asked.
“Go to the kingdom of Candahar, in the city of Takkasila,” the King replied. “There lives a far-famed teacher from whom I wish you to learn. Take this thousand pieces of money and give it to him as a fee.”
The prince departed and studied under this teacher. Upon completing his education, he received the Five Weapons as a gift from his teacher. He bid his teacher farewell and began his journey back to Benares, armed with the Five Weapons.
On his way, he came to a forest inhabited by the Demon with the Matted Hair. At the entrance to the forest, some travelers saw him and warned, “Young sir, avoid that wood! A demon called ‘He of the Matted Hair’ lives there. He kills everyone he sees!” They tried to stop him, but the Bodhisatta, confident in himself, continued straight ahead, fearless as a maned lion.
When he reached the middle of the forest, the Demon revealed himself. He made himself as tall as a palm tree; his head was the size of a small temple, his eyes as large as saucers, and he had two tusks covered with knobs and bulbs. His face resembled a hawk’s, with a variegated belly and blue hands and feet.
“Where are you going?” the Demon shouted. “Stop! You’ll make a meal for me!”
The Bodhisatta replied calmly, “Demon, I came here trusting in myself. I advise you to be careful about approaching me. Here’s a poisoned arrow, which I’ll shoot at you and knock you down!”
With this warning, he fitted a poison-dipped arrow to his bow and let it fly. The arrow stuck fast in the Demon’s matted hair. The prince continued shooting until he had fired fifty arrows, all of which became caught in the Demon’s hair. The Demon simply snapped them all off and threw them to the ground.
Then the Demon approached the Bodhisatta, who drew his sword—thirty-three inches long—and struck at him, but the sword also stuck in the Demon’s hair! Next, the prince struck with his spear—that stuck too! He struck with his club—and that stuck as well!
Seeing that all his weapons had become trapped, the Bodhisatta addressed the Demon: “Have you never heard of me before—the Prince of the Five Weapons? When I entered your forest, I did not rely solely on my bow and other weapons. This day I will pound you and grind you to powder!”
With this declaration and a mighty shout, he hit the Demon with his right hand. It stuck fast in the Demon’s hair! He hit with his left hand—that stuck too! He kicked with his right foot—that stuck! Then with his left foot—that stuck as well! Finally, he butted the Demon with his head, crying, “I’ll pound you to powder!” But his head also became stuck.
Thus, the Bodhisatta was caught in five places, suspended from the Demon’s body. Yet he felt no fear—not even a trace of nervousness.
The Demon thought to himself, “Here’s a lion of a man! A truly noble man! More than human is he! Here he is, caught by a Demon like me, yet he shows not a bit of fear. Since I began terrorizing this road, I have never seen such a man. Why is it that he does not fear?”
Though the Demon had the power to devour the prince, he asked instead, “Young sir, why are you not frightened to death?”
“Why should I fear, Demon?” replied the prince. “In one life, a person can die but once. Besides, within my belly is a thunderbolt. If you eat me, you will never be able to digest it. This thunderbolt will tear your insides into tiny pieces and kill you. So we would both perish. That is why I fear nothing.” (By this, the Bodhisatta meant the weapon of knowledge that he carried within him.)
When the Demon heard these words, he thought, “This young man speaks the truth. A piece of flesh from such a lion-man would be too much for me to digest, even if it were no bigger than a kidney bean. I’ll let him go!” Terrified, the Demon released the Bodhisatta, saying:
“Young sir, you are truly a lion among men! I will not eat you. I set you free from my hands, as the moon is released from the jaws of Rāhu after an eclipse. Go back to your friends and family!”
The Bodhisatta replied, “Demon, I will go, as you say. You were born a Demon—cruel, blood-drinking, and a devourer of others’ flesh—because you did wicked deeds in your former lives. If you continue doing evil, you will go from darkness to darkness. But now that you have met me, you will find it impossible to continue your wicked ways. Taking the lives of living creatures leads to rebirth as an animal, as a hungry ghost, or as an Asura. Even if one is reborn as a human, such actions make one’s life short.”
With this and similar teachings, he explained the disadvantages of the five kinds of wickedness and the benefits of the five kinds of virtue. He frightened the Demon in various ways until he subdued him, made him practice self-restraint, and established him in the five virtues. He instructed the Demon to worship the deity to whom offerings were made in that forest. After carefully admonishing him, the prince departed.
At the edge of the forest, he told his story to the people of the area, then continued to Benares, still armed with his five weapons. Later, he became king and ruled righteously. After giving alms and doing good throughout his life, he passed away according to his deeds.
When the Teacher finished this tale, he became perfectly enlightened and recited this verse:
Whose mind and heart from all desire is free,
Who seeks for peace by living virtuously,
He in due time will sever all the bonds
That bind him fast to life, and cease to be.
Thus the Teacher reached the summit through sainthood and the teaching of the law, and then he declared the Four Truths. At the conclusion of the Truths, the Brother who had ceased striving also attained sainthood.
Then the Teacher made the connection and gave the key to the birth-tale, saying: “At that time, Angulimala was the Demon, but the Prince of the Five Weapons was I myself.”
This tale teaches us that courage and wisdom are more powerful than physical weapons. The prince’s true strength came not from his five weapons, but from his inner knowledge and fearlessness. It also shows how even the most fearsome adversaries can be transformed through wisdom and compassion rather than violence.
