The Bodhisatta was once king of Bārāṇasī. One day a cowherd left behind, inadvertently, a cow, which was in calf, and a friendship sprang up between her and a lioness. The cow bore a calf and the lioness a cub, and these two young ones became playmates. A forester seeing them together, reported the matter to the king, who wished to be informed should a third animal appear on the scene. A jackal, seeing the calf and the cub, and hoping for food, became friendly with them, and soon managed to make them quarrel. The king was informed of this, and by the time he arrived on the scene the two animals were dead.

The story was related to the group of six monks (Chabbaggiyā) as a warning against their habit of back-biting (J.iii.149 ff).

This is probably the story referred to as the Saṅghabheda Jātaka (J.iii.211).