The Bodhisatta was once born in a Candála village outside Benares and was named Mátanga. One day, when Ditthamangaliká, the daughter of a rich merchant, was on her way to the park with a group of friends, she saw Mátanga coming towards the city, and thinking the sight inauspicious, washed her eyes with perfumed water and turned back home. Her companions, annoyed at being deprived of their fun, beat Mátanga and left him senseless. On recovering consciousness, he determined to get Ditthamangaliká as wife and lay down outside her father's house refusing to move. Seven days he lay thus until her relations, fearing the ignominy of having a candála die at their door, gave Ditthamangaliká to him as wife.
Knowing her pride to be quelled by this act, Mátanga decided to bring her great honour. He, therefore, retired into the forest and in seven days, won supernatural power. On his return he told her to proclaim abroad that her husband was not a candála but Mahábrahmá, and that seven days later, on the night of the full moon, he would come to her, breaking through the moon's disk. She did as he said and so it happened. The people thenceforth honoured her as a goddess; the water in which she washed her feet was used for the coronation of kings, and in one single day she received eighteen crores from those who were allowed the privilege of saluting her. Mátanga touched her navel with his thumb, and, knowing that she had conceived a son, admonished her to be vigilant and returned to the moon.
The son was born in the pavilion, which the people had constructed for the use of Ditthamangaliká, and was therefore called Mandavya,. At the age of sixteen he knew all the Vedas and fed sixteen thousand brahmins daily. On a feast day Mátanga came to him, thinking to turn him from his wrong doctrines, but Mandavya failed to recognize him and had him cast out by his servants, Bhandakucchi, Upajjháya, and Upajotiya. The gods of the city thereupon grew angry and twisted the necks of Mandavya and all the brahmins so that their eyes looked over their shoulders. When Ditthamangaliká heard of this she sought Mátanga, who had left his footsteps so that she might know where he was. He asked her to sprinkle on the brahmins water in which were dissolved the leavings of his food; to Mandavya himself was given some of the food. On recovering and seeing the plight of the brahmins, he realized his error. The brahmins recovered, but were shunned by their colleagues; they left the country and went to live in the kingdom of Mejjha.
On the bank of the Vettavatí lived a brahmin called Játimanta, very proud of his birth. Mátanga went thither to humble the pride of Játimanta and lived higher up stream. One day he nibbled a tooth stick and threw it into the river, where, lower down, it got entangled in Játimanta's hair. He was greatly annoyed and went up stream, where he found Mátanga and told him that, if he stayed there any longer, at the end of seven days his head would split into seven pieces. On the seventh day Mátanga stopped the sun from rising. On discovering the cause, the people dragged Játimanta to Mátanga and made him ask forgiveness, falling at Mátanga's feet. Játimanta's head was covered with a lump of clay, which was immersed in the water as the sun rose.
Mátanga then went to the kingdom of Mejjha, where the exiled brahmins reported against him to the king, saying that he was a juggler and a mountebank. The king's messengers surprised Mátanga as he was eating his food beside a well, and cut off his head. He was born in the Brahma world. The gods were angry and wiped out the whole kingdom of Mejjha by pouring on it torrents of hot ashes. Before his meeting with Ditthamangaliká the Bodhisatta was a mongoose tamer (kondadamaka). But in SNA.i.186, he is called a sopákajívika.
The story was told in reference to the attempt of King Udena (q.i) to torture Pindolabháradvája. Udena is identified with Mandavya. J.iv.375 90; the story is found also at SNA.i.184 93, with alterations in certain details e.g., for Vettavatí we have Bandhumatí; see also Mil.123ff.