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PANIYAVADANA
'e,s \ Q :
PiniYivadana is the title of a short palm-leaf manuscript kept in the Asiatic
Society of Bengal. Written in Newari characters, it has three folia with four
lines in a plg. S'rijetasi q ha of the K;yastha caste is the scribe according to
the colophon, which give, the date of the manuscript as 429 of the Satnvat era.
As the Neplli savrpat era begins in 880 A. D., the date of this manucript is
1309 A. D. The m:uscript bars the number 4773 and is listed as number
26 by Mahamahopadhyaya Hara Prasad Shastri in his descriptive catalogue of
Sanskrit manuscripts in the government collection under the care of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, Vol I. Buddhist Manuscripts, Calcutta 1917.
On examining this manuscript, I found that the Sanskrit text it contains
is the same as that of story No. 43, called Paniya of the Avadanasataka, a
collection of Buddhist tales dated about 100 A. D.l The description of a peit
seen by Verable Mahamaudgalyayana during a sojourn in the world of the
dead ;reto/o|o) and the incident of her refusal to give some water to a monk
during a previous existence, which led to her birth as a p-t:,as related by the
Buddha. forms the content of this Pan I ya S lory, the text of which as printed
in the xo1ae.,to/a can be rendered into English as follows:
The Buddha, the Blessed One, was honoured, praised, revered, and worshipped by
kings, chief mjnisters, rich men. townsmen, guild-leaders, merchants, (classes
of beings like) the devas, nagas
,
yak as. asuras, garuQas, kinnaras and
the mahoragas. The Buddha. the Blessed One, known, great in merit, the
recipient of robes, alms, beds, seats, requisites for the sick, medicines, and personal
belongings. who was worshipped thus by the devas, nagas. yakas. asuras, garuas
kinnaras, and the mahoragas. resided, together with the community of disciples
,
at (a place called) Kalandakanivapa, in (the grove) Vetuvana near (the city of)
Rajagrha. Then, the venerable Mahamaudgalyayana, wandering about (in the
world of) the departed, saw a female spirit (prefi). resembling a burnt stump,
covered wjth her own hair. her mouth like the eye of a needle, her belly like
a mountain. burning. blazing. bright, turned into a single flame. being melte
d
,2
oppressed
by thirst, experiencing pain. uneasy, severe, harsh, sharp. and unpleasant.
1.
2.
ed. J. S. Speyer (BibliothteQ Brddhica. 11 n St
.
Petersburg 1906-1909: Reprinted Mouton & Co.
'S-Gravenha
ge 1958. See p. XV for the dating. Yet another manuscript hpt in the Asiati
Society of Bengal, No. 4758 I I. called Di"yannavadana. described by Ha

P
!
"3d Sh.stn
in his catalogue, contains the sam< text as story No. 20 of te Ava
.
d

oas"tlka called
Divyabhojanam. The ga
p in Speyer's edition of the text can be filled wltn the help ot
this manuscriPt, as follows. .
- _ . _ .
nagasahasra (yopaDitani ye buddhapramukhasya bhik

u8amghasya satasahasrakam chat

.
tra

I
dharayanti. S-cipramukhaoi canekany apSarasahaslay upanitani ye buddhapramukhab
blku
samgham mani) valavyajanena.
The tet,
adopted by Speyer, here. does not contain the phrase 'irlaslaro

rudantiT'

hich
ocurs in the fonula repeated in the continuation of the story. were Maudgalyayana
describes the pr,1I he
,
saw to the Buddha. The text followed by Fe

r, In his French transla

tion of the Avodl"o-fal.ko (tee note 3 below), appears to have had It.
Rivers and wells in the forests became dry, at her mere glance. When it rained ,
a jhower of sparkling charcoal fell upon her. Seeing her, the
venera
ble
No himaudgalyiyana said, "What evil have you done. becaus.' of whi
ch yo
u
S1fer misery like this?" The pre! said "I am an evil-doer, 0 reveren
d Maha
ro. udgalyiyana. Ask the Blessed One about this matter. He will tell you
my
prvious action. which forms the connecting link (with my present stlte). hearing
Ih ich other beings here will abstain from evil deeds." Then the
venerable
M dhamaudgalyayana went to that place where the Blessed One was.
At that time. the Blessed One. coming out from (meditative) seclusion, was
ounding the pleasant doctrine. pure like bees' honey. to the four assemblies.
ihe assembly of many hundreds listend to the pleasant doctrine of the Bless
ed
Olle,
Iheir faculties of sense unvacillating Now then, Buddhas, the Hlessed Ones,
s
p
eak first. speak pleasantly, speak words of welcome. saying, "Come near,"
feceded by a smile On that occa<lon, the Blessed One spoke as follows to
venerable Mahamaudgalyayana. "Come near, Maudgalyayana. Welcome. Where
nC
ve you come from now?:a 'v1audgalyayana said, "I have come, reverend
sir.
(fer wanderirg about (in the world of) the departed. There, I saw a preti.
resembling a burnt :tump, covered with her own hair, her mouth like the eye of
a needle, her belly I ike a mountain, burning, blazing. bright. turned into a flame,
being melted. crying in pain, oppressed by thirst, experiencing pain, uneasy,
severe. harsh, sharp. and unplea<anc. Wells in the forest became dry. at her
mere glance. When it rained. a :bower of charcoals fell upon her." The Blessed
One said, "That pret!. 0 Mau8galyayancl, is an evil-doer. Do you wish to
hear her previous action, which forms the connecting link (with her present state)?"
'ee>, reverend sir." "Then. indeed, Maudgalyayana, listen well and pay attention
t my words. I shall speak.
In the past. 0 Maudgalyayana. in times gone beyond. in th is very hhadra
kalpa (world-age), when the lifetime of men was twenty thousand years. a
perfectly enlightened one, Kas'yapa by name. arose in the world, perfected in
wisdom and good conduct. one who had attained bliss, world knowing, a supreme
charioteer of human beings that need to be tamed. a teacher of gods and men,
an elllighlened one, : blessed one. He resided near the city of Baratasi, in the
deer-park (called) fipatana. There. a certain monk was going on a journey.
Oppressed by thirst, he went near a well. A certain girl stood there, her water
pot filled. The monk said to her, 'I am suffering from thirst, sister. Give me
some water.' (A feeling of) selfishness arose in her. Then, taking her personal
belongings, she said to the monk, 'I shall not give you water, even if you die,
o monk. My pitcher will be short (of water).' Thereupon that monk went away,
suffering from thirst. bereft of hope. Afterwards, that girl died, and being
born among the departed (spirits), because of that selfishness which she mani
fested, cultivated, and practised, she experiences pain like this, uneasy, severe, harsh,
sharp, and unpleasant. Therefore, 0 Maudgalyayana, it should then be taught
thus: 'We shall make a great effort to destroy selfishnes. You should instruct
thus,O MaudgaJyayana." Delighted at heart, Venerable Maudgalyayana and the
others, the devas, asuras. garu<as, kinnaras, mahoragas, anj so on rejoiced i
n
the words of the Blessed One.
RATNA HANDURUKANDE
160
Leon Feer. who has translated the Avadana-Jatlka into French.
gives an
analy
sIs of two versions of the story given elsewhere in Sao:krit sources 3 ,
namely the Ratna-avadana-milii, da led between 400 and 1000 A. 0.4 and the
Dvivirrsati-avad,ina
,
which. according to R. L. Turner, is a compilation of Buddhist
bin .storics of comparatively late origin" much of which. particularly of the prose
porlldns. was borrowed from the Avadana.wtaka at a time when the manuscript
. of
that work was alrlady faulty. 5 The story. tbe fourtb in the RatllG-al'adina
miIa collection. bearing tbe title Pretika-avadana gives more details than the
Avadina-sataka version Here, the monk. who was refused water by a young woman,
goes back to his retreat. and weeps thinking about tbe cruel punishment she will
bring upon herself because of her misdeed, while the young woman goes home
and relates the incident to her husband. He reprimands her sharply, but she
retorts, betraying a callolsness of beart, best exemplified by her concluding statement
that she prefers to giv&

up ber life rather than indulge in the practice of giving.
Also, true to her word, she never gives anything, and is finally born in hell
(naraka). It is she whom MaudgaJyayana saw. At this point, the Buddha speaks
at length on the virtue of giving, especially the giving of water.
Ananda asks
the Buddha about the final destiny of the preti. He says that she IS destined
to go from hell to hell. But. at the end of her existence in one of these, she
would remember the Three Jewels: the Lord of the worlds will come to ber aid,
and there will be a change in her condition resulting in her becoming a Bodhi
sattva Mabasattva and finally attaining emancipation.
The story is related very bnefly in tbe thirteenth chapter of the DVivirali
avadana. under the title Pana-katha. in the form of a sermon that the Blessed
One preaches to Maitreya, Here, a young girl, who bad her pitcher full, is
approached by eight monks who want water to drink. She refuses them all and
is re-born as a preli. However, the greater part of the chapter is devoted to
another character, the heroine of the story, namely the daughter of a merchant
called Simhaketu. Not only does she give water to the eight monks, but
al
so
prevails upon her father to give cane-sugar and other sweetmeats. Her good
deeds culminate in great honour being paid to the Buddha. As a result of the
merit accrued thereby, she is re-born among the 'Trayastriqs'a' gods.
I have not been able to trace any parallels to tbe Paniya story in other
traditions. Though bearing a similar title, the Paniya Jataka (No. 459)) of the
Pali lataka collection is entirely different in its content. It describes how six
persons became Pacceka Buddhas by feeling remorse for sins committed, and by
developing supernatural insight. This jataka derives its title from the first of
these persons, a villager of Kasi, called paniya. The sin he committed was that
of drinki ng water from his friend's flask in the field, wishing t6 save the
water in his own.6
3, Avadina-falaka traduites du Sanskrit par Leon Feer. Annales du Musee Guimet, tome XVIII
Pari 1891, pp 169-171.
4. Avadinos;toka, .d. Speyer, op. cit. Preface p. XXXVI
5. R, L. Turner, Notes on the language of the Dav
i
satyavadanakatha, Journ"l f ,h Royal .sUtic
Soeilty of Grlat Britoin and Ireland, 1913, p. 289.
6. G. P. Malalasekera, DictioDary of Pali Proper Name., Vol II London 1938 s. Y. paniya.
1
161
PANYAVADANA
.. \
An inci:e:t of giving water, rather than refusing, is the theme of the
Paniyadinnwatthu, incl uded ina collection of tales in the Pali text Sah:savatthulpa
kara:a, wfch in the opinion of its editor is a pre-tenth century work, aod an
apparent source of another Pali text, the Rasavihini written by Vedeha thera,
attributed to the thirteenthS or the first half of the fourteenth century 9. According
to this story, Paniya is the name of a man, who gave some water to a pregnant
woman in distress, whom he met in a boat, while crossing the river Candrabhaga.
The wom': ln helps him in return, later, when he was accu!ed of a robbry
that he did not commit. The Rasavahin7 includes the story in the section called
Nandirajavagga, also under the title Paniyadinnassa vatthu, while the Sinbala
work; Dharmakirti's Sadd'armila'karaya, written in the latter half of t
he
fourteenth century includes it in the Tun Yahalu Vargaya, under the title
Paniya vastuva
y
/
))
/
Rtna Handurukande
,
7. ed. A. P. Buddhadatta, Colombo 1959.
8. C. E. Godakumbure, Sinhalese Literature Colombo 1955, p. 89.
9. G. P. Malalasekera, Pali Literature of Ceylon, London, 1928, p. 162.
10. C. E. Gedakumbure, op. cit. p. 93.