Jā 207 Assakajātakaṁ
The Impermanence of Desire
A negligent queen gets reborn as a worm, and is made by the Bodhisatta to speak to her grieving King, who when he hears about her love for her new husband abandons his grief.
95. Navena sukhadukkhena porāṇaṁ apithīyati,
Tasmā Assakaraññā va kīṭo piyataro mamaṁ.
The pleasure and pain of past lives
Are forgotten in the new life,
Therefore a worm appears to me
Better than good King Assaka.
Wasn’t she reborn as a dung beetle? Nothing like a worm! Actually they are extremely interesting (and busy) insects but, obviously, not very loyal 😉
Hi Visakha, kīṭa is not an easy word as it seems to used in more than one way.
In Cone’s Dictionary of Pali, it says: worm, insect, and also in Sanskrit it has these meanings.
There are definitely places where it must mean insect (though never something so precise as a dung-beetle).
In Abhidhānappadīpaka it is defined with two words for worm: pulava and kimi. Having tossed a coin and coming up heads I went with worm.
I have a special fondness for dung beetles — patient, industrious, useful and vastly entertaining, I’ve watched one working, rolling her ball of dung, over rough terrain and entirely lost track of time. Wish your coin had turned up the other way, just because they are so cool.
Then I think you will like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1RHmSm36aE
Also see this for dung-beetles with silicone boots. I ain’t kidding: http://asiancorrespondent.com/91057/dung-beetles-use-dung-balls-to-stay-cool/