The Nine-Colored Deer

Jataka of the Deer King

A rescued man betrays the deer who saved him; the mural-tale ends with justice done.

The Nine-Colored Deer saves a drowning man who swears never to reveal her. When the queen dreams of the deer’s coat and the king offers a reward, the man leads the hunters to her. Before the king, the deer tells her story; the king is moved and forbids the hunt. The betrayer’s mouth breaks out in sores — and the mural ends with justice, not mercy, for ingratitude.