Once, two friends, a lion and a tiger, lived in a cave. They had a dispute as to which was the cold part of the month, the dark half or the light, and they referred the matter to a hermit (the Bodhisatta), who said that the cold was caused by wind and not by light or darkness.

The story was told to two forest dwelling monks of Kosala, Kāḷa and Juṇha, who consulted the Buddha in a similar dispute. The lion and the tiger are identified with the monks. J.i.164 ff.