1. Ekarája.-King of Benares. He was the Bodhisatta. A minister, whom he expelled on the ground of misconduct in the royal harem, took service under Dabbasena, king of Kosala, and incited him to make war on Ekarája. The latter was captured while sitting on the dais in the midst of his councillors and hanged head downwards by a cord from the lintel of a door. In this position Ekarája cultivated thoughts of loving-kindness towards his enemy and attained a stage of complete absorption in mystic meditation. His bonds burst and he sat cross-legged in mid air. Dabbasena was, meanwhile, seized with a burning pain in his body and, on the advice of his courtiers, had Ekarája released, whereupon the pains disappeared. Realising Ekarája's holiness, Dabbasena restored the kingdom to him and asked his forgiveness (J.iii.13-15).
In the Ekarája Játaka, reference is made to the Mahásílava Játaka for details regarding the expulsion of the minister for misconduct and of the subsequent events. But there the king is called Sílava and not Ekarája. The two stories contain certain similarities but the details vary very much. See also the Seyya Játaka, where the king is called
Kamsa, and compare it with the Ghata Játaka. The Ekarája Játaka is given as an example of a birth in which the Bodhisatta practised mettá to perfection (E.g., BuA.51; Mbv.11). The story of Ekarája is the last in the Cariyá-Pitaka (No. xiv).
According to the Cariyá Pitaka Commentary (p.205), Ekarája was a title given to the king on account of his great power, in which case his real name might have been Sílava, as mentioned above. The scholiast on the Ekarája Játaka (J.iii.14), however, says that Ekarája was the king's personal name.
2. Ekarája.-King of Pupphavatí (Benares). He was the son of Vasavatti and the father of Candakumára. For his story see the Khandahála Játaka (J.vi.131ff). He belonged to the Kondańńagotta (J.vi.137).