The Divyāvadāna or Divine narratives is a Sanskrit anthology of Buddhist avadana tales, many originating in Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya texts.[1] It may be dated to 2nd century CE. The stories themselves are therefore quite ancient[2] and may be among the first Buddhist texts ever committed to writing, but this particular collection of them is not attested prior to the seventeenth century.[3] Typically, the stories involve the Buddha explaining to a group of disciples how a particular individual, through actions in a previous life, came to have a particular karmic result in the present.[3] A predominant theme is the vast merit (puṇya) accrued from making offerings to enlightened beings or at stupas and other holy sites related to the Buddha.[3]
Contents
editThe anthology contains 38 avadana stories in all, including the well-known Aśokāvadāna "Legend of Aśoka", which was translated into English by John Strong (Princeton, 1983). The collection has been known since the dawn of Buddhist studies in the West, when it was excerpted in Eugène Burnouf's history of Indian Buddhism (1844). The first Western edition of the Sanskrit text was published in 1886 by Edward Byles Cowell and R.A. Neil.[4] The Sanskrit text was again edited by P. L. Vaidya in 1959.[5] The Aśokāvadāna part of Divyavadana compiled during 4-5th century A.D. by sectarian Mathura's Buddhist monks[6]
Sahasodgata-avadāna, in the opening paragraphs, describe the Buddha's instructions for creating the bhavacakra (wheel of life).[7]
Rudrāyaṇa-avadāna explains how the Buddha gave the first illustration of the Buddha to King Rudrayaṇa. According to this story, at the time of the Buddha, King Rudrayana (a.k.a. Udayana (king) ) offered a gift of a jeweled robe to King Bimbisara of Magadha. King Bimbisara was concerned that he did not have anything of equivalent value to offer as a gift in return. Bimbisara went to the Buddha for advice, and the Buddha gave instructions to have the first drawing of the Buddha himself send the drawing to Rudrayana. It is said that Rudrayana attained realization through seeing this picture.[8]
List of Stories
editThis is the list of stories contained in the Divyāvadāna[9] :
- Koṭikarṇa-avadāna
- Pūrṇa-avadāna
- Maitreya-avadāna
- Brāhmaṇadārikā-avadāna
- Stutibrāhmaṇa-avadāna
- Indrabrāhmaṇa-avadāna
- Nagarāvalambikā-avadāna
- Supriya-avadāna
- Meṇḍhakagṛhapativibhūti-pariccheda
- Meṇḍhaka-avadāna
- Aśokavarṇa-avadāna
- Prātihārya-sūtra (The miracles at Śrāvastī)
- Svāgata-avadāna
- Sūkarika-avadāna
- Cakravartivyākṛta-avadāna
- Śukapotaka-avadāna
- Māndhātā-avadāna
- Dharmaruci-avadāna
- Jyotiṣka-avadāna
- Kanakavarṇa-avadāna
- Sahasodgata-avadāna
- Candraprabhabodhisattvacaryā-avadāna
- Saṅgharakṣita-avadāna
- Nāgakumāra-avadāna
- Saṅgharakṣita-avadāna
- Pāṃśupradāna-avadāna
- Kunāla-avadāna
- Vītaśoka-avadāna
- Aśoka-avadāna
- Sudhanakumāra-avadana
- Toyikāmaha-avadāna
- Rūpāvatī-avadāna
- Śārdūlakarṇa-avadāna
- Dānādhikaraṇa-mahāyānasūtra
- Cūḍāpakṣa-avadāna
- Mākandika-avadāna
- Rudrāyaṇa-avadāna
- Maitrakanyaka-avadāna
Selected English translations
edit| Author | Title | Publisher | Notes | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Tatelman | Heavenly Exploits (Buddhist Biographies from the Dívyavadána), ISBN 978-0-8147-8288-0 | New York University Press | English translation of stories 1, 2, 30 and 36 with original Sanskrit text | 2005 |
| Andy Rotman | Divine Stories, ISBN 9780861712953 | Wisdom Publications | English translation of the first seventeen stories | 2008 |
| Andy Rotman | Divine Stories, Part 2 , ISBN 9781614294702 | Wisdom Publications | English translation of stories 18-25, 31, 32, and 34-37. | 2017 |
Original Sanskrit
edit| Title | Publisher | Notes | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| दिव्यावदानम्, http://www.dsbcproject.org/canon-text/book/364 | Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon | Sanskrit original in Devnāgri script | 2007 |
References
edit- ^ "Fables in the Vinaya-Pitaka of the Sarvastivadin School" by Jean Przyluski, in The Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol.V, No.1, 1929.03
- ^ Winternitz, Moriz (1993). A History of Indian Literature: Buddhist literature and Jaina literature. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 273. ISBN 9788120802650.
- ^ a b c Buswell, Jr., Robert; Lopez, Jr., Donald S. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. p. 262. ISBN 9781400848058.
- ^ Neil, Robert Alexander; Cowell, Edward B.: The Divyâvadâna: a collection of early Buddhist legends, now first edited from the Nepalese Sanskrit mss. in Cambridge and Paris; Cambridge: University Press 1886.
- ^ Vaidya, P. L. (1959). Divyāvadāna Archived 2014-10-25 at the Wayback Machine, Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning (romanized)
- ^ Kurt A. Behrendt, ed. (2007). The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 44. ISBN 9781588392244.
- ^ Bhikkhu Khantipalo (1995-2011). The Wheel of Birth and Death Access to Insight
- ^ Dalai Lama (1992). The Meaning of Life, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins. Wisdom, p. 45
- ^ Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon, Language: Sanskrit, Script: Devanagari
External links
edit- The Divyâvadâna: a collection of early Buddhist legends by E. B. Cowell (English transliteration)
- Divyavadana (1959) by P. L. Vaidya (Sanskrit)