Once the Bodhisatta was servant to a rich man in Bārāṇasī, and having received four portions of sour gruel for wages, gave them to four Pacceka Buddhas. After death he was born as heir to the king of Bārāṇasī, and made the daughter of the Kosala king his chief queen. Remembering his previous life, he composed a song about it; the song became very popular, though no one understood its import. The queen, having been promised a boon, chose to know the meaning of the song, and the king, having summoned the people from twelve leagues around, explained the allusions. The queen, too, revealed how she had once been a slave in the court of Ambaṭṭha and had given alms to a holy monk. She is identified with Rāhulamātā.

The story was told in reference to Queen Mallikā; she was a garland-maker’s daughter, and one day gave three portions of sour gruel to the Buddha. That same day she became the chief queen of Pasenadi. J.iii.405 ff. Cp. the third story of the Jātakamālā, also Divyāvadāna, p.88, and Kathāsaritsāgara xxvii.79 ff.