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 sam|sara 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.

Ranjini Obeyesekere is an independent scholar and retired Lecturer of Anthropology at Princeton University. She is the author, editor, and translator of several books, including Portraits of Buddhist Women: Stories from the Saddharmaratnavaliya and Jewels of the Doctrine: Stories of the Saddharmaratna&valiya, both also published by SUNY Press.

Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction

Yasodharā: The Woman
Yasodharā in Early Sanskrit and Pali Buddhist Literature
Yasodharā in Sinhala Literature
The Folk Poem Yasodharāvata (A)
The Tradition of Lament in Sinhala Poetry
The Yasodharāvata (A) in the Context of Sinhala Literary History
The Printed Texts
An Analysis of the Poem Yasodharāvata (A)
Modern Critics of the Yasodharāvata

1. The Poem: Yasodharāvata (The Story of Yasodharā)

2. Comments on the Yasodharāpadānaya

3. The Prose Text: Yasodharāpdānaya
(The Sacred Biography of Yasodharā)

Appendix
A Review of the Palm Leaf Manuscripts of theYasodharāvata in the National Museum Library, Colombo, and the British Museum Library, London.

Glossary
Bibliography