Devadatta is known as a very bad person. Once he attempted to murder Sakyamuni. It is said that he was the elder brother of Ananda, Sakyamuni’s cousin, who was the famous reciter of his teachings. This makes Devadatta a close relative of Sakyamuni.

Since childhood, however, Devadatta had been jealous of his extraordinary cousin. After becoming a monk himself, he became arrogant, and plotted to take over the leadership of Sakyamuni’s movement. When that failed, he withdrew and started a counter-movement of his own. Finally he decided to murder the Buddha. One day as Sakyamuni was entering the city of Rajagriha, Devadatta let loose in his path a mad elephant, hoping it would trample the Buddha to death. However, a popular story relates that the plan did not work. The elephant terrified people on the streets, and sent them flying in all directions for safety. But when it saw Sakyamuni, it suddenly stopped, and kneeled before him.