Naradatta

**Naradatta** (नरदत्त) was a disciple of Asita and a monk who traveled with the Buddha.

## History

### Start of the journey

Naraddata was a disciple of Master Asita. After hearing the Riddle of the Self-Sacrificing Rabbit, Asita himself requested Naradatta to held Straight South so he may find The Great One, the one who may be a king or god. On his journey, he was attacked by Tatta in the guise of a tiger. Despite the incident, Naradatta did not cower in fear and simply told the tiger that if it was his time to go, it was his time. The tiger retreated, leaving Naradatta to ponder the nature of it. (BM: "Brahmin")

Naradatta soon found himself in a small village where he contacted a villager and asked if he knew anything about anyone with powers. The villager directed him to a bunyan tree and noticed Naradatta's gash and asked about it. Naradatta explained to the villager it was from a tiger attack, causing the villager to cower. Naradatta found himself in the presence of the man with magic, though was furious at his selfish nature, using his sleight of hand to wow villagers for profit. Naradatta confronted the villager, who told of him the one named Tatta, a Pariah who had the magic powers. (BM: "Brahmin")

Some time later, Naradatta found himself in the palace of General Budai of Kosala. The two men quickly found each other at the others odds, with Budai noting Naradatta was a grumpy monk. Naradatta tried to tell of The Great One who would become king of the world, though Budai refused to acknowledge such tripe, flashing his loyalty towards the king of kosala as the true king. Budai told Naradatta of his plans to sack Kapilvastu. Before long, Tatta and his friends bursted from the alcohol containers and began to fight Budai's guards, only to be slaughtered en masse. Naradatta attempted to protect Tatta given his status, and because of that, the two were taken outside and tied to poles. (BM: "Tatta the Urchin")

Naradatta and the remaining survivors were rescued by Chapra and his mother during a Locust swarm had distracted the soldiers and together the group ran into a small house. Naradatta expressed concern for the soldiers despite their wanton cruelty when Chapra came back from a scouting and resource hunt. After Chapra found grain food, he let Tatta divide up the food. Naradatta praised Tatta for allowing the animals equal amounts of food as the rest, proclaiming that he was amazing. (BM: "General Budai")

Having grown a beard, Naradatta and the othrs traveled long in the Dead Season after Chapra had left them. The trio eventually came across a snake cave where Naradatta suggest they eat the snakes eggs to gain strength. Naradatta suggested they kill the snake, though Tatta asked instead. According to the snake, they could eat the eggs if they allowed the snake to eat one of them. Tatta suggested they draw straws, and Tatta drew the smallest one, allowing himself to be eaten by the snake. Remembering the riddle of the self-sacrificing rabbit, Naradatta begged to be the one to be killed instead of Tatta. (BM: "Chapra")

## Personality and traits

Naradatta was a virtuous monk, though suffered from the teachings of his time. He obeyed the caste system thoroughly, openly considering Brahmin to be the greatest peoples, while Pariahs were lesser humans. Because of this, Naradatta's kindness tended to be one-sided, aiding those who he deemed worthy and rarely others. He was friendly enough to commoners, however and was extremely brave. Naradatta did not fear death, believing that his time to go was simply his time to go and would greet death with grace.