Bharhut Stupa, medallion: Ruru (deer) Jataka (detail)

The Ruru Jataka narrates the story of the Bodhisattva's birth as a deer, often regarded as sacred and innocent in India, particularly in the Buddhist tradition. In the story which has been portrayed in various sites in India and outside, the deer is betrayed by an ungrateful man who should feel indebted to the deer for saving him from drowning. Instead, the man reveals the deer's secret hideout to the king, which leads to the deer's being captured. When the deer appeals to the conscience of the king by exposing the treachery of the man, the king finally corrects the wrongdoing and sets the deer free.