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.
Yasodhara, the Wife of the Bodhisattva, Ranjini Obeyesekere, Suny, Paperback, 100 Pages, $35.00
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
Yasodhara: The Woman Yasodhara in Early Sanskrit and Pali Buddhist Literature Yasodhara in Sinhala Literature The Folk Poem Yasodharavata (A) The Tradition of Lament in Sinhala Poetry The Yasodharavata (A) in the Context of Sinhala Literary History The Printed Texts An Analysis of the Poem Yasodharavata (A) Modern Critics of the Yasodharavata
1. The Poem: Yasodharavata (The Story of Yasodhara)
2. Comments on the Yasodharapadanaya
3. The Prose Text: Yasodharapdanaya (The Sacred Biography of Yasodhara)
Appendix A Review of the Palm Leaf Manuscripts of theYasodharavata in the National Museum Library, Colombo, and the British Museum Library, London.
Glossary Bibliography
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