Publisher's Synopsis
Translations of two works from Sri Lanka on Yasodhara, the wife of the Buddha-an allusive and intriguing figure in Buddhist lore and literature.
What about Buddha's wife? We all know that Prince Siddhartha left his wife and infant son to begin his journey to enlightenment. The Pali canon does not mention the woman he left behind. Yasodhara enters the commentarial tradition around the first century CE and lives on in the folk tradition, growing from a shadowy figure to a nun and arahat (an Enlightened One), even gaining magical powers. In this book, Ranjini Obeyesekere offers a translation of two works from Sri Lanka on this intriguing figure. The Yasodharavata (The Story of Yasodhara) is a folk poem, whose best-known verses are Yasodhara's lament over the departure of her husband. The Yasodharapadanaya (The Sacred Biography of Yasodhara) is an account of Yasodhara as a nun capable of miracles, who has traveled through saṃsara with the Bodhisattva, and who is praised by him. Obeyesekere places these works within their historical and literary context and provides a glossary of Buddhist terms.
