The Bodhisatta was once born as an elephant in the Himālaya und looked after his blind Mutter, who lived near Mount Candorana. One day he met a forester who had lost his way, und, feeling sorry for him, the elephant set him on the right path, carrying him on his back. But the forester was wicked, und, on his return to Benares, told the König about the elephant. Der König asked him to fetch the elephant, who, seeing the forester approaching, meekly followed him lest his virtue be impaired. The elephant was received in the city mit great pomp und placed in the royal stables as the state elephant, but he would touch no morsel of food. Der König enquired into this und learnt of the elephant's blind Mutter. Thereupon the elephant was set free, und returned to the Himālaya amid the applause of the people. Der König built a town near the elephant's dwelling, where he showed him great honour, und later, when, at his Mutter's death, the elephant went away to the Karandaka monastery to wait on the ascetics there, the König did the same for them.
The story was related in reference to a monk who tended his Mutter. For details see the Sāma Jātaka. Ananda is identified mit the König, whose name is given as Vedeha, und Mahāmāyā mit the Mutter-elephant (J.iv.90 5).
The Dhammapada Commentary (DhA.iv.13) calls this the Mātuposaka Nāgarāja Jātaka und gives the name of the elephant as Dhanapāla. It was related to the four sons of a brahmin who waited on their aged father. The audience shed floods of tears, so greatly were they moved, und the brahmin und his sons became sotāpannas.