THE BEAUTIFUL COURTESAN AMRAPALI IN BUDDHA’S LIFE
V.S.Gopalakrishnan
If there was an Anarkali in Jehangir’s life, there was an Amrapali in Buddha’s life in a very different way altogether. These two famous female names are separated by more than 2000 years. Both women were very beautiful. Both were named after fruits, the first after pomegranate (anar) and the second after mango (amba).
Buddha’s life was long (80 years) and his encounters with women were few. His mother Maya died seven days after his birth, and he was brought up by Maya’s sister Prajapati Gotami. As a young prince named Siddharth, he was inattentive to all the allurement in the form of attractive females of the Court. He was married at 16 to his cousin Yasodhara and had a son named Rahul before he left his family and home in Kapilavastu at the age of 29 in pursuit of the Truth.
It took six years of undiminished ardour and inexplicable arduousness before Siddharth Gautama attained enlightenment at the age of 35. And then he preached as he wandered continuously until his death at the age of 80 in Kusinagara. As he wandered and as he preached, his disciples swelled in number and they formed the “sangha” (order). Before we come to the story of Amrapali, we have some grounds to cover.
Buddha and his monks covered a good portion of the Gangetic plains moving on foot from place to place. They would stay at a place normally for three days for carrying out their preaching to the lay public and then move on to another place. Kings and merchants provided them with gardens and special residential facilities at many places. The gardens were “gifted” not personally to Buddha but to the “Sangha” for their activities. The villagers assembled in the gardens to listen to the discourses of Buddha. Food for Buddha and the members of the Sangha was provided by the King or prince or merchants or by the populace. Magadha, Kosala, Vaishali, Vajji etc were the kingdoms and regions that the wandering Buddha covered relentlessly.
Jetavana (Jeta garden) was perhaps the best known amongst the beautiful gardens provided to Buddha’s entourage and it was close to Sravasthi, capital of the Kosala kingdom. (I visited Sravasthi on 2/2/1963, nearly 50 years ago! Please see the Note at the bottom). There is a fascinating story of how a very rich merchant named Anaathapindika (meaning “feeder of orphans”) managed to buy that enchanting garden from the reluctant owner prince named Jeta! The rich merchant Anaathapindika, whose real name was Sudatta, was the “chief lay disciple of Buddha”, and he held an elaborate and grand ceremony for presenting the Jeta garden to the Sangha.
Perhaps the second-most important monastic resort of Buddha was the “bamboo grove” in Rajgriha, capital of Magadha, provided by king Bimbisara. Buddha’s monks used to get divided into groups and march in different directions so that they could cover as many villages as possible. Buddha had to compete with, so to say, five other similar spiritual preachers with their own band of disciples that broke off from ritualistic and Vedic Hinduism! The wanderings covered eight months in a year and for the remaining four months covering the monsoon season, all monks of the order joined up with the Buddha in order to stay put in one place. The monsoon time of four months was a difficult time to move around and yet intense meditation and discourses continued with the Order during these months.
When the enlightened Buddha initially visited his father , King Suddhodana and foster mother Prajapati Gotami , it so happened that Gotami pleaded with her son to allow her and other Sakya women to become nuns. Buddha did not want women to become nuns. He replied to her: "Strive for perfection in your homes, clothed in the white robes which women wear, and aspire not to the yellow robes and hard life of the monks. Lead pure and virtuous lives, so shall you find peace and happiness."
But a few years later, when Buddha was nearly 40, he suddenly received a message that his father was seriously ill and dying. Buddha rushed to Kapilavastu to see his father . He was 97 and died in a few days. After the cremation Buddha went back on to his preaching mission.
As king Suddhodana was gone, Prajapati Gotami and many other Sakya women including Buddha’s wife Yasodhara decided to make one more attempt at becoming nuns. They shaved their head, put on yellow clothes and went all the way to Magadha to see Buddha. Buddha again did not accede to their request. His cousin Ananda who was his chief disciple happened to notice the dejected Prajapati Gotami crying outside the door. Ananda pleaded her cause before Buddha but without avail. Exasperated, Ananda asked Buddha whether women were not meant to achieve nirvana. Buddha relented, admitting that women could also achieve nirvana and were entitled to become nuns. It is said that Prajapti was thus the first woman to become a Bhikkuni (nun). However Buddha laid many more restrictions on the nuns than on the monks and treated the former category as slightly inferior.
Any account of Amrapali, the famous dancer and courtesan, does not usually provide the above background which I thought fit to incorporate since she also ends up as a bhikkuni.
Amrapali was born of unknown parentage and as a baby she was found at the foot of a mango tree in a garden in Vaishali. Vaishali was the large and prosperous Capital city of the Lichhavi republic –one of world’s first republics - which was part of the Vajjian Confederacy. Amrapali was also known as Ambapali and amba means mango which explains how she was discovered and named.
Amrapali grew into a young woman of extraordinary beauty and charm. Her company was sought by many young nobles and rich men, and under these circumstances she was formally given the status of “nagarvadhu” which nearly meant “city courtesan”. This was said to be an ancient practice which was meant to prevent rivalries and jealousies if a very beautiful woman became wife to one man!
Having heard of the beauty of Amrapali, King Bimbisara of the adjoining Magadha kingdom attacked Vaishali. During this war, he had a liaison with Amrapali incognito, and later a son was born to them who was named Vimal Kaundinya (Pali: Vimal Kondanna). Amrapali discovered Bimbisara’s identity, made him stop the war and asked him to leave Vaishali which he did. The story goes that when Vimal grew up, he became a monk.
King Bimbisara’s son was Ajatashatru and between them there was no love lost. Ajatashatru imprisoned his father and took over the reins. His mother Queen Vaidehi secretly fed the King and when Ajatashatru discovered this, he was about to kill his mother when he was prevented from doing so by the advice of a Minister and a Physician. King Ajatashatru of Magadha also invaded Vaishali and it happened that when he was injured he was treated by Amrapali who fell in love with him. But Vaishalians came to know about it and they had her imprisoned. Ajatashatru was so infatuated with her that in the process of securing her freedom he ravaged the city, and angered by this, Amrapali finally rejected him.
And then comes the story of the Buddha on one of his usual visits to Vaishali along with his disciples. Amrapali was keen to have the privilege of serving food to Buddha. She managed to meet him and express her wish to him. Buddha accepted the invitation although this was not liked by many others. Buddha and his retinue stayed in the famous mango grove belonging to Amrapali. Thereafter, totally captivated by Buddha’s mission, Amrapali gifted to the sangha the mango grove which she possessed. She became Buddha’s disciple, one of the bhikkunis.
There is also a story sometimes told about a very young and handsome monk whom Amrapali wanted to host and feed. She chanced to see him passing by and she was drawn to him irresistibly. The monsoon was to start soon and so she offered him accommodation and food for four months. The young monk accepted the offer subject to clearance from his Master, the Buddha. When he narrated the events to Buddha, the Buddha saw no objection to it. Many other monks were jealous and expressed their skepticism to the Master to the effect that the young monk could fall a victim to carnal pleasure. The Buddha however discounted this. And it so happened that the young monk remained steadfast in his ways and it was Amrapali who got converted to a spiritual bent of mind. This story is stated to predate Buddha’s visit to her.
There are always some variations in the different stories recounted about Amrapali. The original sources are ascribed to some Pali texts and one of them is Ambapalika Sutta.
The life of Buddha has several extraordinary and paranormal aspects. The story goes that his parents were childless for 20 years and he was conceived in his mother’s womb as a result of a dream by her in which a white elephant secured entry into her womb. There are several miracles happening and several heavenly bodies descending to earth, as his life is narrated. However, it is well established by history that such a great man indeed was born in India nearly 2600 years ago. And the story of Amrapali has also been integral to Gautama’s story and the former is absolutely enchanting and incredible.
===========end=================
Notes:
1) My short diary note for 2/2/1963 reads:
“Later in the afternoon, drove from Balrampur to Sravasti, a sacred Buddhist place, 11 miles away. Visited the well-maintained Chinese temple and the ill-kept Burmese pagoda. The serpentine course of the placid Rapti (river) was a grand site from near the Angulimal temple”.
2) The name Gautama/Gotama/Gotami etc signifies descent from Gotama rishi.
V.S.Gopalakrishnan
If there was an Anarkali in Jehangir’s life, there was an Amrapali in Buddha’s life in a very different way altogether. These two famous female names are separated by more than 2000 years. Both women were very beautiful. Both were named after fruits, the first after pomegranate (anar) and the second after mango (amba).
Buddha’s life was long (80 years) and his encounters with women were few. His mother Maya died seven days after his birth, and he was brought up by Maya’s sister Prajapati Gotami. As a young prince named Siddharth, he was inattentive to all the allurement in the form of attractive females of the Court. He was married at 16 to his cousin Yasodhara and had a son named Rahul before he left his family and home in Kapilavastu at the age of 29 in pursuit of the Truth.
It took six years of undiminished ardour and inexplicable arduousness before Siddharth Gautama attained enlightenment at the age of 35. And then he preached as he wandered continuously until his death at the age of 80 in Kusinagara. As he wandered and as he preached, his disciples swelled in number and they formed the “sangha” (order). Before we come to the story of Amrapali, we have some grounds to cover.
NATURE OF WANDERINGS:
Buddha and his monks covered a good portion of the Gangetic plains moving on foot from place to place. They would stay at a place normally for three days for carrying out their preaching to the lay public and then move on to another place. Kings and merchants provided them with gardens and special residential facilities at many places. The gardens were “gifted” not personally to Buddha but to the “Sangha” for their activities. The villagers assembled in the gardens to listen to the discourses of Buddha. Food for Buddha and the members of the Sangha was provided by the King or prince or merchants or by the populace. Magadha, Kosala, Vaishali, Vajji etc were the kingdoms and regions that the wandering Buddha covered relentlessly.
Jetavana (Jeta garden) was perhaps the best known amongst the beautiful gardens provided to Buddha’s entourage and it was close to Sravasthi, capital of the Kosala kingdom. (I visited Sravasthi on 2/2/1963, nearly 50 years ago! Please see the Note at the bottom). There is a fascinating story of how a very rich merchant named Anaathapindika (meaning “feeder of orphans”) managed to buy that enchanting garden from the reluctant owner prince named Jeta! The rich merchant Anaathapindika, whose real name was Sudatta, was the “chief lay disciple of Buddha”, and he held an elaborate and grand ceremony for presenting the Jeta garden to the Sangha.
Perhaps the second-most important monastic resort of Buddha was the “bamboo grove” in Rajgriha, capital of Magadha, provided by king Bimbisara. Buddha’s monks used to get divided into groups and march in different directions so that they could cover as many villages as possible. Buddha had to compete with, so to say, five other similar spiritual preachers with their own band of disciples that broke off from ritualistic and Vedic Hinduism! The wanderings covered eight months in a year and for the remaining four months covering the monsoon season, all monks of the order joined up with the Buddha in order to stay put in one place. The monsoon time of four months was a difficult time to move around and yet intense meditation and discourses continued with the Order during these months.
BUDDHA ALLOWING FORMATION OF THE ORDER OF NUNS:
When the enlightened Buddha initially visited his father , King Suddhodana and foster mother Prajapati Gotami , it so happened that Gotami pleaded with her son to allow her and other Sakya women to become nuns. Buddha did not want women to become nuns. He replied to her: "Strive for perfection in your homes, clothed in the white robes which women wear, and aspire not to the yellow robes and hard life of the monks. Lead pure and virtuous lives, so shall you find peace and happiness."
But a few years later, when Buddha was nearly 40, he suddenly received a message that his father was seriously ill and dying. Buddha rushed to Kapilavastu to see his father . He was 97 and died in a few days. After the cremation Buddha went back on to his preaching mission.
As king Suddhodana was gone, Prajapati Gotami and many other Sakya women including Buddha’s wife Yasodhara decided to make one more attempt at becoming nuns. They shaved their head, put on yellow clothes and went all the way to Magadha to see Buddha. Buddha again did not accede to their request. His cousin Ananda who was his chief disciple happened to notice the dejected Prajapati Gotami crying outside the door. Ananda pleaded her cause before Buddha but without avail. Exasperated, Ananda asked Buddha whether women were not meant to achieve nirvana. Buddha relented, admitting that women could also achieve nirvana and were entitled to become nuns. It is said that Prajapti was thus the first woman to become a Bhikkuni (nun). However Buddha laid many more restrictions on the nuns than on the monks and treated the former category as slightly inferior.
AMRAPALI:
Any account of Amrapali, the famous dancer and courtesan, does not usually provide the above background which I thought fit to incorporate since she also ends up as a bhikkuni.
Amrapali was born of unknown parentage and as a baby she was found at the foot of a mango tree in a garden in Vaishali. Vaishali was the large and prosperous Capital city of the Lichhavi republic –one of world’s first republics - which was part of the Vajjian Confederacy. Amrapali was also known as Ambapali and amba means mango which explains how she was discovered and named.
Amrapali grew into a young woman of extraordinary beauty and charm. Her company was sought by many young nobles and rich men, and under these circumstances she was formally given the status of “nagarvadhu” which nearly meant “city courtesan”. This was said to be an ancient practice which was meant to prevent rivalries and jealousies if a very beautiful woman became wife to one man!
Having heard of the beauty of Amrapali, King Bimbisara of the adjoining Magadha kingdom attacked Vaishali. During this war, he had a liaison with Amrapali incognito, and later a son was born to them who was named Vimal Kaundinya (Pali: Vimal Kondanna). Amrapali discovered Bimbisara’s identity, made him stop the war and asked him to leave Vaishali which he did. The story goes that when Vimal grew up, he became a monk.
King Bimbisara’s son was Ajatashatru and between them there was no love lost. Ajatashatru imprisoned his father and took over the reins. His mother Queen Vaidehi secretly fed the King and when Ajatashatru discovered this, he was about to kill his mother when he was prevented from doing so by the advice of a Minister and a Physician. King Ajatashatru of Magadha also invaded Vaishali and it happened that when he was injured he was treated by Amrapali who fell in love with him. But Vaishalians came to know about it and they had her imprisoned. Ajatashatru was so infatuated with her that in the process of securing her freedom he ravaged the city, and angered by this, Amrapali finally rejected him.
And then comes the story of the Buddha on one of his usual visits to Vaishali along with his disciples. Amrapali was keen to have the privilege of serving food to Buddha. She managed to meet him and express her wish to him. Buddha accepted the invitation although this was not liked by many others. Buddha and his retinue stayed in the famous mango grove belonging to Amrapali. Thereafter, totally captivated by Buddha’s mission, Amrapali gifted to the sangha the mango grove which she possessed. She became Buddha’s disciple, one of the bhikkunis.
There is also a story sometimes told about a very young and handsome monk whom Amrapali wanted to host and feed. She chanced to see him passing by and she was drawn to him irresistibly. The monsoon was to start soon and so she offered him accommodation and food for four months. The young monk accepted the offer subject to clearance from his Master, the Buddha. When he narrated the events to Buddha, the Buddha saw no objection to it. Many other monks were jealous and expressed their skepticism to the Master to the effect that the young monk could fall a victim to carnal pleasure. The Buddha however discounted this. And it so happened that the young monk remained steadfast in his ways and it was Amrapali who got converted to a spiritual bent of mind. This story is stated to predate Buddha’s visit to her.
There are always some variations in the different stories recounted about Amrapali. The original sources are ascribed to some Pali texts and one of them is Ambapalika Sutta.
The life of Buddha has several extraordinary and paranormal aspects. The story goes that his parents were childless for 20 years and he was conceived in his mother’s womb as a result of a dream by her in which a white elephant secured entry into her womb. There are several miracles happening and several heavenly bodies descending to earth, as his life is narrated. However, it is well established by history that such a great man indeed was born in India nearly 2600 years ago. And the story of Amrapali has also been integral to Gautama’s story and the former is absolutely enchanting and incredible.
===========end=================
Notes:
1) My short diary note for 2/2/1963 reads:
“Later in the afternoon, drove from Balrampur to Sravasti, a sacred Buddhist place, 11 miles away. Visited the well-maintained Chinese temple and the ill-kept Burmese pagoda. The serpentine course of the placid Rapti (river) was a grand site from near the Angulimal temple”.
2) The name Gautama/Gotama/Gotami etc signifies descent from Gotama rishi.
3) The correct Sanskrit form of the Pali name “Pajapati Gotami” is “Prajavati Gautami”. I have used “Prajapati Gotami” which is also used by some.
4) “Amrapali” was a movie of 1966 starring Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt.
4) “Amrapali” was a movie of 1966 starring Vyjayanthimala and Sunil Dutt.
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