r:, "

'
ratUre WOrld.
The Supriya Legend in Buddhist Lite
Bent on the welfar.e end Iu'IoWIn1I "'at- M- h1rf/ll�_'"
practising generosity with the wealth brought months to live• .supriya did 81\ he
back from sea. The thieves accosted him repeatedly his illness. Skilled in the art of healing.

t
by on his journeys and asked for wealth to live on. for clibed suitable medicines and a wholesome diet;'8nd
they said they no longer robbed others. listening to looked alter Magha as a good son would a fathe,.

Dr. Miss. Ratna Handurukande his advice. Each time. the kind Supriya gave them a
Sri Lanka.) share of his wealth and asked them again to refrain
(Professor of Sanskrit. University of Peradeniya
from theft. Or. the seventh occasion when this When the merchant-leader Magha regained his
happened. the robbers went away pleased as usual . henlth. Supriya introduced himself and requested
wise
in Benares. His son. Supriya by name. was but a sad Supriya sat under a tree and thought: Magna to lead him to Badaradvipa. Impressed by
legends is found in
A large number of Buddhist . Being v�ry
genenc title
. strong. handsome and of good speech "Seven times have I given riches to these thieves but Supr;, a's courage and determination. Magha offered
Buddhist Sanskrit texts bearin g the he mastered all the
of literature generally clever and intelligent as a chid. they are not satisfied. How then can 1 satisfy the to ac�ompany him to Badaradvipa. Boarding a
'avadana·. The 'avada na' class
science s and took to trade as his mode of whole world witt> wealth? But that is my wish and strong ship. they set sail. As they went into the deep
praises the perfection of giving
�
( anaparamlta) and arts and
father fell ill and
life. When. in course of time. his who will help me fulfil that wish? Bereft of hope ocean. Magha. struck by a severe disease and gripped
'karma or action as seen
illustrates the inevitability of of merchants. by pain. asked Supriya to spread a soh couch for
end of these legends died. Supriya was made the chief and full of despair. Supriya fell asleep.
in 'the recurring formula at the him. reposing on which he could continue the journey.
completely eVil
viz. Completely black deeds bear As they sailed on. various colours and signs appeared.
ts. Compl etely white deeds bear completely Supriya saw people coming to his
mansion daily
'eHec Seeing Supriya deep in slumber. the presiding each of which Magha explained as being landmarks
composite effects. d at the thought of
good effects; and composite deeds. to beg for alms and was distresse goddess of the forest spoke to him of there being a on tile way to Badaradvipa.
es. legendary tales. so. Being generous
Variously defined as fables. parabl the people of Kasi having to do wish-conferring gem (cintamani) in the port-city of
purifies the mmd. grea he expressed a deslfe
stories the. hearing of which at heart and an excellent giver. . Badara in Jambudvipa and disappeared instantly
of pious monks and saints to share all his wealth with the poor.
But. dissuaded
leligious exploits or tales Supriya woke uP. remembered what he heard in a At a certain stage of the journey. Magha confessed
narrate the past stones a so. he deCided
the 'avadana' legends often by the people themselves from doing dream and regretted not having asked for directions that he himself had not been to Badaradvipa. but ha
ur minds the 'jataka he could make
rhe Buddha and thus recall to a to go to sea. to find jewels with which to Badaradvipa. He fell asleep once again. The recalled hearing from senior merchants that il lay
Some of the and requested
tales of the Pali Buddhist
Canon. everyone rich. He summoned his friends goddess reappeared and said that Badaradvipa lying beyond the shore in a westerly direction. Then
a' stories are identical with or differ little from those who wished to do so to accomp
any him. Five
Magha remained silent for a while. and assailed. yet
'avadan . in the western quarter had to be reached. passing
there are a t idea of l ommg
those of the Pali Jataka collection. while hundred merchants rejoiced at the five hundred islands. seven huge mountains and again. b� the pain of disease. he spoke slowly. asked
good many not known in the � ali tra � 't,on. even
him in his journey and turned Up. bringing thelf
seven large rivers. This was a feat which only Great Supriya to take the ship ashore and dispose of his
.
Jatakas . One such
though they are sometimes called merchandise. Beings like Supriya alone could accomplish. The body according to rite. when he was no more.
Jataka. an edition of
story is the Supriya·sarthavaha- goddess furl her described the oceans and the moun­ withcut �rieving over his death. Supriya did "0 and
d synopsIs of ItS contenl.
wh·ICh• along with a detaile . Supriya. the me'chant-Ieader and his
five hundred tains that Supriya would meet on the way to Bada­ sailec alone towards the west. full of heroic vigour.
recently been published. , Th'IS
in English. has . mountain. He went past impassable mountain� made of gems
followers set out from Benares. went past ' radvipa. the difficulties he would encounter and the
s of seven manuscripts
edition is based on section ocean, in and crystal with the jelp cf super-hurnan beings. who
village and province. and reached a large means of overcoming them. Waking up. Supriya
the Universities of Tokyo
found in the libraries 01 There they hailed a seaman and recognised him as a ·bodhisattva'. an aspirant to
the far distance. decided to follow the instructions of the goddess
relevant manuscripts used
and Kyoto in Japan. The brought a buddhahood.
bade him take them to sea. The seaman and to go in search of the wish-conferring jewel
Bhadrakalpavadana and
are of collections called the and set In
strong ship. which. launched by him
which contain mostlv so that he would have a sufficiency of wealth to
the Sambhadravadanamala. reached a
The penod � f motion by the winds. sailed swiftly and
satisfy his suppliants. Despite the dissuasion of
metrical adaptctions of older works. There. SUPrlya As Supriya went ahead. he reach�d a city of gOld.
mine of jewels in the huge ocean. .
collections IS said
composition of the 'avadanamala' return With hiS
friendS and kinsmen and the lamentations of his wife. beset with gardens. groves and pools. but desolate
collected many jewels and began to
A.D. and later.
to be about the sixth century friends. Suddenly. in the middle of a forest. a band
Sulapana. Supriya set out on his arduous journey. and empty. Full of fatigue. Supriya fell asleep at the
armed with courage and fortitude. city gate. At break of dawn. the goddess who spoke
01 thousand robbers came to rob them of their jewels.
to 10 Supriya at first appeared once again and said.
rthavaha-jataka Suprj'ya. not availing himself of the option given
As its name implies. the Supriya-sa "Well done. Great Being. well done. I have come
to '
t Supriya. who was him of escaping unharmed. leaving his followers
relates the stOry of the merchan Overcoming many a difficultt -<Nith the help of the this time to congratulate you. for you have now
wealth
be robbed. sent the thieves away. giving them
\ nO other than the Buddha in
one of his past lives.
is in brief and advising them not to indulge in theft. On
their
gods and the power of his own strength and virtue. reached Badaradvipa. Move on. mindful. and with
The stOry. related by the Buddha himself. Supriya reached the large and prosperous city of senses guarded." She then spoke of four lovely
'
I
I:
.

to
lived in the city return home. the merchants related the incident ROhitakantha ruled over by King Rohltaka. where 'kinnars' maidens who will receieve him at this citY
as follows. In the distant past. there
s
atta. At their friends and kinsmen. who p�aised Supriya' lived a senior merchant called Magha. who, the of gold. eight of them. lovelier, who will welcome
of Kasi. a mighteous ruler called Brahmad
Priyasena magnanimity. goddess had said. would give further instructions him at a second city of silver. sixteen at a city of cat's
that time. there was 8 rich merchant called
relevant to the jciurney to Badaradvipa. Magha was eye gems and thirty·two at a fourth 'kinnara' cily made'
H8ndUfukande. Indica ee ribelica IS. Indies et ill and on the verge of denth when Supriya arrived of a vari�ty of jewels. These attractive damsels will
1. Th, SupriY4sarth8vllhlJiatlJka. Edillld with an introduction by RaIna
Tiberics V,rllJg Bonn 1988. at his residence. Noting the symptoms of Magha's make every eHort at enticing him to enjoy sensual

World of Buddhism
World of Buddhism 19
18 B",-� '" �J 't- t""')as ct3 � '" e
Nc·;;L, V� S5 q. � E: � �-3 �
 pleasures 0' every kind. But Supriya was IIdvlsed to
resi.t their saductive charms, look upon them a8 if
�����:::::-�::��::::::�;':��::::::::�::::l1� ��.�Fi�t��
'
� ';;��;;"''���.���t�·:;;�L��;:������::���:I�::::���==:.I���I!IIII""�IIIII
advlsad them to PtOSPl!r with the wealth the JewM
conferred. take refuge In the Three J ewell, viz. the
aI .... Y!l.kkhlnl8. In the nlahI tile .,.w.h\nla ""
...
them end ate tbelr former hu�nd.. 'The eldest
merchant discovered this and warned the others
......, _ : �.
eompllatlon aald 'to h_ been m..s. � ,.,.
. they were his mothers, sisters, or daughters and to Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha and to follow years 200 and 350 A.D., where the litle given 10 Ill..
the path of conduct leading to enlightenment. The but only half of them were willing to attempt an
teac h them the doctflne.
' Supflya
' d'd
I exact Iy wh8t he story is $uprlyavadana " chapter 6 of Ksemendra'a
esca�. Now it happened that the Bodhisatta was .
was asked ta do. PI ease, I nara'd amse Is gave
d th e 'k'n people followed Supriya's advice. There was weH· >'"
AV adanakalpa Ia ta, the compoSi't'.on of wh'ICh IS
8 h o rse of the Valahaka race and was flying through
being on earth, while Supriya's fame spread far and
h'1m f our sp Ien d'd'
I 'des many 0thers, and
JeweIs, beSt
the air from the Himalaya to Tambapanni. There, as
attn'bute d to tee
h Ieventh century AD
, " w here th e
taught him the procedure of making ("em shower wide.
he passed over the banks and fields, he asked in a title of the story is Badaradvipa· yatravadana; and
wealth or whatever is desired.
human voice: 'Who wants to go home 7" and the the Badaradvipa .jataka forming chapter 2 of the
King Brahmadatta had died in the meantime and two hundred and fifty traders begged to be taken. Haribhattajatakamala '!\ comparison of these ve�ions
TIley climbed on the horse's back and tail and he
Supriya then began his homeward journey following Supriya was made king by the ministers. When, in with the Supriya.sarthavaha.jataka discussed here
course of time, the 'bodhisanva' Supriya grew old, took them to their own country, The others were
the advice of the maidens. Past seven mountains in has been made in the study of it published recently.7
eataO by the yakkhinis." 3
the west, and two others, the first guarded by a fierce i)£'left the kingdom for a hermitage, after handing

demon called Lohitaksa and the second, by the over the duties of kingship to his eldest son. There,
in peaceful surroundings, he led a pious life. and at 3. Malal" askera, G. P. Dicllonary of Plilli Proper Nemea. Vol II. London 1938 •. v. Valahua J.taka.
equally fierce 'naga' serpent. Agnimukha, Supriya Cowell, E. S, and Neil, R, A.ed. The Divyavadlno. Cambridge 1888, pp, 91-123 , Vaidye, P. Lad. Divyevadlne
death, was born in 'brahmaloka' as the lord of the 4.
reached flat land, where he saw Valaha, a majestic Datbhongl 1959.pp 58,76
·brahmas·. Das. S. C. and Pand it Hari Mohan VidyabhuNna ed. Ksemendra's Avadenekalpalata with its Tibetan version. Biblio ­
king of horses, feeding upon the fragrant and pure
theellndica. 2 vols, Clluna t888 end 1918, Vol I. pp, t77-229.
grain that grew there. As predicted by the 'kinnara'
Vaidya, P. l. ad Av ad ana k.rpdata of Ksemendra. 2 voh, Bubhanga 1959 Vol, 1. pp 61·64. Translated In thl
maidens, the huge and white norse, Valaha, made Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, Vol III. Part I. Cal d utta 1895, pp, I-II: op. cit. Vol. Bada,advipaya ­
The Supriya·sarthavaha-jataka ends with the iden­
an offer of a ride home to whosoever desired to travadena.
tification of characters in the story as follows: The Part of a mon graph being printed as: Haribhatta's Jet.kamala.
return to his own country. Supriya begged that he 8.
Buddha Sakyasimha was Supriya, the 'bodhisattva'; Tha EI�vsn Le)ends available in S. nsk ri t . (author; Professor Michaal Han of thl UniverSity of Marburg.)
be granted the favour, and in a moment he was taken ,. �e the first footnote in this article.
a group of thousand monks in the audience at the
swiftly across the sky and left in a park at Varanasi.
time of narration of the story were the thousand
Returning home, Supriya related his adventurous
thieves; Kasyapa Buddha was the goddess; Ihe monk,
experiences to kinsmen and friends who praised and
Saradvatisuta (·Sariputra) was the merchant Magha;
complimented him.
and Maitreya, who is practising the course of conduct ., The Su.rri'jQ. sh""j is fOI.U\J e.lse�here
leading to enlightenment was the great horse Valaha,

The thousand thieves came to Supriya again, to

So.oskrit sou. rces
ask for wealth. Pleased at their request, Supriya asked
them to return to their respective abodes and to wish
The Supriya story, the gist of which is given above, C�ter 8 0'; the
is not found in the Pali tradition. However, the
for anything they wanted. Then, on the eigth day of Valahassa-jataka (Pali jataka No. 1962 , ( related with
the month, Supriya bathed early in the mom lng, reference to a monk who had become a backslider,
observed· the precepts, placed the first of the splendid his passion aroused by seeing a finely dressed woman,
jewels he broughl back on a banner, circumambulated though different from the Supriya story, contains
it three limes, and asked for wealth, looking up some elements in common with it, as the fcllowing
towards it. The jewel rained riches continuously summary of it shows:
over the distance of a thousand ·yojanas'. Similarly'
the second and third jewels, bein\j honoured and
asked for wealth on subsequent occasions, showered "Once, in Tambapannidipa, there was a yak.kha·
the desired treasures over the distance of two thousand city called Sirisavatthu, peopled by yak.khinis. When
and three thousand 'yojanas' respectively. Finally, shipwrecked sailors were c�st on the shore from
the fourth jewel, honoured on the full·moon day of the river Kalyani to Nagadipa, the yakkhinis would
the month, let fall a continuous shower of gems and assume human form, entice them and use them
),
I' other precious treasures over the whole of Jambud­ as their husbands. On the arrival of other castaways,
I' vipa. The people collected as much of whatever they they would eat their former husbands and take the
•
wanted, and became affluent and happy. Supriya new arrivals as their lovers. Once, five hundred

2. The Jataka together with ill Commentary. For first time edited in the ori gin . I Pali by V. Fausboll. Vol. First
published 1879. Reprio,ed London 1963 pp t27.t30, The J."ke or S'o,ies of the Buddha'. former birth, Vol.
fl. Trl n,l a ted by W. H, D. Rouse. First published t89S. Reprlnled London 1967,pp,89-91

20 Vol. 5 No. 2 1989