猟をする王に射られながらも逃れた鹿が、後に同じ王を穴から救い出して法を説き、王に五戒を民に定めさせるに至った本生話で、忉利天で阿毘達磨を説いた後に仏が発した問いに答えたサーリプッタの並外れた智慧を示すために語られた。

A birth-story about a stag, wounded but escaped from a hunting king, who later pulled the same king out of a pit and taught him the Dhamma, prompting the king to decree the five precepts for his subjects, told to illustrate Sāriputta’s extraordinary wisdom in answering questions the Buddha posed after teaching the Abhidhamma in Tāvatiṃsa.