| Yasodhara, the Wife of the Bodhisattva: The Sinhala Yasodharavata (the Story of Yasodhara) and the Sinhala Yasodharapadanaya (the Sacred Biography of Contributor(s): Obeyesekere, Ranjini (Notes by) |
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ISBN: 1438428278 ISBN-13: 9781438428277 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $90.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 2009 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Buddhism - Theravada - Religion | Buddhism - History |
| Dewey: 891.480 |
| LCCN: 2009000585 |
| Physical Information: 0.5" H x 5.9" W x 9.1" (0.55 lbs) 114 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Buddhist |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. Yasodharā 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 Yasodharāvata (The Story of Yasodharā) is a folk poem, whose best-known verses are Yasodharā's lament over the departure of her husband. The Yasodharāpadānaya (The Sacred Biography of Yasodharā) is an account of Yasodharā 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. |