生まれてより敬虔に祭火を守ってきたバラモンが、留守中に泥棒が捧げ物として残した牛を食い尽くしたため、火の神が自分の供物すら守れなかったと悟り、嫌悪して火を捨てたというジャータカで、苦行者が困難な苦行から功徳を得るかという問いに関連して説かれた。

A Jātaka in which a brahmin who has devoutly tended a sacrificial fire since birth abandons it in disgust after thieves devour the cow he left as an offering while he was away, realizing the fire-god could not even protect his own gift, told in connection with a question about whether ascetics gain merit from difficult austerities.