At one time, the Buddha was in the Deer Park at Sarnath, beneath the Asoka tree, accompanied by twelve thousand fifty great bhikkhus, along with Maitreya Bodhisattva and other great bodhisattvas, as well as devas, nagas, yakshas, rakshasas, asuras, gandharvas, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, non-humans, and others. They respectfully surrounded him as he taught the Dharma. The teaching was excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end, its meaning profound, the holy life pure, and everything perfectly complete.

At that time, in the kingdom of Varanasi, there was a great king named Brahma-Longevity. His body and mind were pure and good, and he was compassionate and kind to all living beings, nurturing every creature on earth as if they were his own children. The king once left the city to visit a Buddhist temple. When he arrived at the gate of the monastery, he paused for a moment to look around. The gatekeeper informed the holy assembly, "King Brahma-Longevity is now outside the gate and wishes to enter the temple." Immediately, the holy assembly instructed the monk in charge to arrange flower garlands. Upon hearing this, the monk in charge opened the hall doors to search for flower garlands but found none. Then, he noticed a flower garland atop the Buddha's head, took it, and brought it to the senior monks and the holy assembly to welcome the king. The flower garland was presented to the king, who accepted it and placed it on his head. Shortly after, he suddenly developed a severe headache.

The king thought to himself, "Why is this happening? Perhaps it is because I went out in the summer heat, which caused this suffering." He then respectfully bid farewell to the holy assembly and returned to his palace. He told his attendants, "I am suffering from a headache and wish to bathe. Please quickly prepare fragrant water for me." The king removed all his fine robes and ornaments and began to bathe. One of the palace attendants, skilled in serving the king, washed his body for a long time, but the headache did not subside. The king then issued an order to summon physicians. When they arrived, the king explained, "I went out of the city in the summer heat and developed a headache on the way. I bathed, but the pain has not gone away. What do you think?" The physicians replied, "Your Majesty's ailment is due to internal heat. You should apply sandalwood paste to your body." The king followed their advice and applied the sandalwood paste, but it did not cure him. Day and night, he endured great suffering.

All the physicians gathered before the king, examined him, and said to one another, "The cause of this illness is unfathomable. We are deeply worried. Since the king is in such a state, what can we do to relieve his suffering?" While they were discussing this, the king had a sister named Subhadra, who had developed the mind of enlightenment and was deeply compassionate. Seeing the king's suffering, she became fearful and distressed. She placed her hand on his head and said, "Why are you so fearful, like a timid person?" The king replied to Subhadra, "I do not know how to be free from this pain and fear." His sister then said, "If that is the case, please go to see the Buddha. The Buddha possesses great compassion and will surely provide relief." The king said, "Your suggestion is excellent. I had forgotten, but now I must go immediately."

He ordered his ministers to quickly prepare carriages and horses. The charioteer prepared five hundred carriages, and the king, along with his retinue and ministers, left the city and headed to the Buddha's location under the Campaka tree in the garden of Udyāna. On the way, they encountered a woman who made a living by gathering firewood. She was carrying a bundle of firewood and gave birth to a child by the roadside. When the king's sister saw this, she could not bear to look and covered her face with her hands, fainting and collapsing to the ground. The king, seeing this, asked his sister, "Why are you so distressed? Please tell me." The king's queen, named Surasundarī, thought for a moment and said to the king, "Subhadra fainted and collapsed because she saw the woman by the roadside giving birth while carrying firewood. The suffering was too intense for her compassionate heart to bear, and so this happened." Upon hearing this, the king said to the queen, "This is the result of past karma, which cannot be avoided."

The king ordered the palace attendants to provide wealth and resources to help the poor woman and sent her home quickly. His sister, who had fainted, was revived by fanning her with a cool breeze. She then exclaimed, "Homage to the Buddha! Great King, that poor woman suffered greatly, and I could not bear to see it." They continued their journey and soon saw a grove in the distance. As they approached the monastery, the king descended from his carriage, took Subhadra by the hand, and entered the grove. There, they saw the Buddha, the World-Honored One, shining like a magnificent golden mountain, radiating light brighter than a hundred thousand suns. Upon seeing the Buddha, the king released his sister's hand, bared his right shoulder, removed his crown, approached the Buddha, joined his palms respectfully, circumambulated the World-Honored One, prostrated at the Buddha's feet, and remained bowed for a long time.

Then, the World-Honored One extended his golden arm and touched the king's head, saying, "Arise, arise." As soon as the king heard the Buddha's command, he stood up. In an instant, his headache vanished, and his body and mind felt at ease. The king was overjoyed. At that time, Subhadra and the other members of the retinue sat together in one place. The king noticed that his sister looked troubled and asked her, "Why are you so distressed?" He then encouraged her to ask the Buddha. Hearing this, Subhadra rose from her seat, bared her right shoulder, placed her right knee on the ground, joined her palms respectfully, gazed at the Buddha's noble countenance, and said, "World-Honored One! Last night, the great king suffered greatly from a headache, and all his retinue and ministers were deeply worried. Because of this, we have come to see you. On the way, we saw a woman carrying firewood by the roadside. She was wearing old clothes, her hair was disheveled, and she was crying out in pain as she gave birth to a child. Seeing this, I was greatly frightened and deeply averse to the female body. World-Honored One! How can we be freed from the female body? Also, this great king suffered from a headache that even skilled physicians could not cure. Yet now, by the World-Honored One's touch on his head, he was instantly relieved. What is the cause of this? I beg the Buddha, in his compassion, to explain this to us."