Yasodhara, the Wife of the Bodhisattva: The Sinhala Yasodharavata (The Story of Yasodhara) and the Sinhala Yasodharapadanaya (The Sacred Biography of Yasodhara)

117 Pages·2009·0.34 MB·English

by  Ranjini Obeyesekere

Yasodharā,
the Wife of the Bōdhisattva

Yasodharā,
the Wife of the Bōdhisattva
THE SINHALA Yasodharāvata
(The Story of Yasodharā)
AND THE SINHALA Yasodharāpadānaya
(The Sacred Biography of Yasodharā)
Translated with an Introduction and Notes by
RANJINI OBEYESEKERE
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS
COVERART: The Buddha visits his former wife and son, approximately 100-300.
Pakistan; former kingdom of Gandhara. Frieze; phyllite. The Avery Brundage
Collection, B60S283. © Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Used by permission.
Published by
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, ALBANY
© 2009 State University of New York
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
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Production and book design, Laurie Searl
Marketing, Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Yasodharāvata. English.
Yasodharā, the wife of the Bōdhisattva : the Sinhala
Yasodharāvata (the story of Yasodharā) and the Sinhala Yasodharāpadānaya
(the sacred biography of Yasodharā) / Ranjini Obeyesekere.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4384-2827-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4384-2828-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Sinhalese literature—
Translations into English. I. Obeyesekere, Ranjini. II. Yasodharapadanaya.
English. III. Title.
PK2859.Y38E5 2009
891.4'808—dc22
2009000585
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my sisters Damayanthi Ratwatte and Savitri Goonesekere
with much affection and admiration for their outstanding contributions
each to their own world.

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
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
CHAPTERONE 35
The Poem: Yasodharāvata (The Story of Yasodharā)
CHAPTERTWO 59
Comments on the Yasodharāpadānaya
vii
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTERTHREE 63
The Prose Text: Yasodharāpadānaya
(The Sacred Biography of Yasodharā)
Appendix 81
A Review of the Palm Leaf Manuscripts of the
Yasodharāvata in the National Museum Library,
Colombo, and the British Museum Library, London
Glossary 89
Bibliography 99