They told the Buddha. “You shouldn’t eat elephant meat. If you do, you commit an offense of wrong conduct.” At one time the king’s horses had died. Because there was a shortage of food, people ate the horse meat. They also gave horse meat to monks who were walking for alms. When the monks ate it, people complained and criticized them, “How can the Sakyan monastics eat horse meat? Horses are an attribute of kingship. If the king knew, he would not be pleased with those monks.” They told the Buddha.