The Bodhisatta born as a brahmin of Vegaḷiṅga in the time of Kassapa Buddha. Ghaṭīkāra was his friend and invited Jotipāla to accompany him to the Buddha, but Jotipāla refused to go, saying that a “shaveling recluse” could be of no use to him. However, Ghaṭīkāra was very insistent, and one day, after they had bathed together in the river, seized Jotipāla by the hair and made a final appeal. This boldness on the part of an inferior (Ghaṭīkāra was a potter) caused Jotipāla to realise his extreme earnestness and he agreed to go. After hearing the Buddha teach, Jotipāla became a monk (M.ii.46 ff; J.i.43; Bu.xxv.10; see also S.i.34 f; Mil.221; Mtu.i.319 ff).

This insulting remark made by Jotipāla regarding Kassapa Buddha led to Gotama, in his last life, having to practise austerities for a longer period than did the other Buddhas (Ap.i.301; UdA.265; ApA.i.95). The memory of what he did as Jotipāla was one of the things that made the Buddha smile. DhsA.294, 496.