Once the Bodhisatta was king of the birds and lived with his subjects in a giant tree, whose branches spread over a lake. The Nāga king of the lake, Canda, enraged by the dropping of the birds' dung into the water, caused flames to dart up from the water to the tree, and the Bodhisatta, perceiving the danger, flew away with his flock.
The story was told to a monk whose but was burnt by fire. The villagers undertook to build him another, but there was a delay of three months, during which the monk with no shelter could not proceed in his meditation. The Buddha chided him for not seeking another shelter. J.i.471f.