As soon as He had sixty monks the Buddha sent them away to preach His teaching to people everywhere and then He himself also left the deer park at Isipatana, and turning Southwards in the direction of the Magadha country, at last came back to Uruvela.
On the bank of the river there lived three brothers whose names were Uruvela Kassapa, Nadi Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa. They were living separately with 500, 300 and 200 followers respectively.
One evening the Buddha visited Uruvela Kassapa’s hut and said;
“If it is not an inconvenience to you may I spend the night in your kitchen?”
“I don’t mind, Great Gotama, your spending the night in my hut. But there is a fierce serpent king in the kitchen. I am afraid that it would harm you.”
said Uruvela Kassapa.
“O! that I don’t mind. If you have no objection shall I spend the night over there?”
said the Buddha.
“All right, go and sleep. Good night and best of luck.”
said the ascetic.
The Buddha also wishing him good night went into the kitchen and spreading some grass on the floor sat down on it. The serpent-king became very fierce and opening his mouth went to sting the Buddha.
“I will not harm this poor serpent-king. But I will subdue him by my love and kindness.”
thought the Buddha.
The more the serpent-king became angry the more kindly became the Buddha. The serpent-king could not do any harm to the Buddha. Early in the next morning the ascetic thought that the Buddha might have been killed by the serpent-king and said to himself,
“Let me go and bury his body.”
So he went to see the Buddha.
When he went there he found Buddha sitting in deep meditation. The ascetic was shocked and asked Him whether the serpent-king had harmed Him or not.
“Here it is, see yourself.”
said the Buddha and opened His begging bowl in front of the ascetic. Out came the fierce serpent-king. The ascetic ran away for his life. The Buddha stopped him and said that He had a great charm to tame any fierce serpent.
“Can I too learn it?”
asked the ascetic who was very proud of his power at the beginning. He realized that the Buddha had acquired greater power than he and so he became a follower of the Buddha.
As soon as his younger brothers came to now that their elder brother had become a Buddhist, they too followed him. And all the thousand followers of these brothers also became Buddhists.
