Buddhist Vrata Stories Reflect Local Culture

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Stories of Success: The Role of

Narrative in Nepalese Buddhist
Vrata Literature
M.Phil Classical Indian Religion Thesis
Candidate Number: 580304
Word count: 18101
Abstract: This paper looks at the ways in which the narratives of

Nepalese Buddhist vratakath literature have been revised since their
earliest known versions in other genres in order to account for the
influences of local Newar culture, the ritual itself, and how authority is
lent to the ritual via the text. Examples used are the Tr Vrata, Aam
Vrata, gabher Avadna, the story of Sihalasrthabhu, and the
Ahortra Vrata.
Introduction to Vratas
ya lokamtram apy asy kathayiyati sdara
yo v royati tau sadyo muktappau bhaviyata
yakavetlakmakinrkasdaya
na tatra prabhaviyanti yatrai krtayiyate
- Kathsaritsgara 12, 32.28-29 (Vetlapacaviati)1
Stories throughout South Asian history, and indeed even just words and
syllables, have had a long association with magical or spiritual
transformative powers. Chanting a mantra in order to create a kind of
spiritual transformation is an essential part of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh
and Jain traditions. Sanskrit literature boasts a large and diverse narrative
tradition, a lot of which has strong ties to religion and philosophy. In Nepal
and India, the vrata fasting rite is one of the most popular rituals among
householders both Buddhist and Hindu. One of the most interesting parts
of this rite is that it always involves some form of storytelling, called
vratakath, on the face of it in order to expound religious teachings and
explain the legendary history behind the ritual. There are however more
layers of meaning encoded into these stories. They reflect local traditions,
sometimes even when such traditions go against the grain of the religious
affiliation of the ritual. Ethnic identity is reinforced at the expense of other
(foreign) Buddhists even if they perform similar vrata rituals and have the
same beliefs. Being a ritual with a mostly Vedic history, tensions between
Buddhism and Hinduism are reflected in the stories of the Buddhist vratas
in a struggle to gain authority over the ritual. As many vratakath stories
are taken from pre-existing collections of tales, such as Jtakas and
Avadnas, all of these aspects change and shape the narrative into
something distinctly different from its original version. This paper looks at
the ways in which the narratives of Nepalese Buddhist vratakath
1 He who recounts even a part of these verses with respect,Or he who hears them, they
will become immediately free from sin.
And elves, zombies, demons, witches, goblins and so on,
Will have no influence wherever these [stories] are told.
literature have been revised since their earliest known versions in order to
account for the influences of local Newar culture, the ritual itself, and how
authority is lent to the ritual via the text.
As a ritual on the very fringes of Vedic thought, and perhaps
because it is mostly performed by women, the vrata tradition has been
mostly overlooked by early Western scholars. When it did get some
attention, it was considered a curiosity (Piriya A Curious Folk Rite) or a
ritual whose aims were superficial (Bratas in Bengal: A Cult of Beauty). 2
Perhaps the most well-known figure who performed vrats was Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi. He kept the Prdoa and Ekda Vrats, both of
which were traditional vrats kept by his family, as well as numerous extra
fasts.3 Vrata is often translated as vow, however there are not many
contexts where to translate vrata as vow is correct. Perhaps the
similarity of the two words has encouraged academics to use it, but a
more thorough and correct term would be observance. Translating it as
fast also has the same problem, as fasting is only one aspect of a vrat,
and despite being one of its most defining characteristics, the term fast
does not incorporate the vow side of the ritual. There is a fast, a vow,
storytelling, gift giving, puja (worship) as well as any aspects a specific
vrat may entail, such as pilgrimage to a trtha (sacred ford). Access to the
vrata observance is traditionally open to all, not just women and dras,
but outcastes, dogs (sic) and lepers, but this is not always the case, as
will be examined later.4
The cultural area of Nepal has played a major role in the history of
both Buddhism and Sanskrit literature. After the 12th century decline in
Buddhism in Magadha and Bihar, a vast amount of Sanskrit Buddhist texts
from India were preserved in the Kathmandu Valley for centuries.5
Wherever possible this paper has avoided comparisons to modern Newar
2 Pearson, p. XV
3 Pearson, A., M., Because it Gives Me Peace of Mind: Ritual Fasts in the Religious Lives
of Hindu Women. State University of New York Press, Albany, 1996, pp. 1-2
4 Tuladhar-Doulgas, W., Remaking Buddhism for Medieval Nepal: The Fifteenthcentury reformation of Newar Buddhism. Routledge, Abingdon, 2006, p. 156
3
practises, however most recent scholarship tends to approach vratas from

an anthropological, ethnographic perspective, and with an academic
rigour that cannot be ignored. Where a Sanskrit word is well-known in
English or is a proper noun it has been left non-italicised. All Nepal Bhasa
terms and phrases have been italicised unless otherwise specified. The
Sanskrit term vrata is used when referring to the historical observances
contained in the Puras, vratakath and so on, and the Hindi term vrat is
used to denote the modern day Hindu practise. The Nepali term barta or
any other alternatives are not used in order to facilitate consistency
throughout the paper. The language of this dissertation is kept gender
neutral, however in cases where a ritual that only men, for example, can
perform occurs then the masculine pronoun is used.
The history of Vratas in the Brahmanical tradition
The term vrata (but note not the corresponding ritual) is seen in the
oldest extant literature from India; the Vedas. Thus the term itself is at
least 3000 years old. The most widely accepted root for the term vrata is
v, meaning to choose or select. This is the preferred root for P.V. Kane,
who in volume five of his monumental work The History of Dharmasastra
devoted 462 pages to vratas.6 This is also seen in the Nirukta of the
influential lexicographer Yska, dated as being written in either the fifth,
sixth or seventh century BCE prior to the grammarian Pini.7 In the g
Veda the term appears just over 200 times.8 In this, the oldest of the
Vedas, the word vrata is linked with the ta, the ultimate foundation of
everything and the natural order which regulates the operation of the
5 Tuladhar-Doulgas, p. 1
6 Kane, P., V., History of Dharmastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law).
Govt Oriental Series, Class 3, No. 6. Vol. V, 2nd ed. Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute, Poona, 1973, p. 1
7 A fifth century reference can be found in Winternitz, M., A History of Indian Literature,
Vol. 1, Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi, 1996, p 268, and a seventh century reference can be
found in Coward, H., G., and Kunjunni Raja, K., eds., The Philosophy of the Grammarians,
Vol. 5., Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1990, p. 107
8 Pearson, p. 45
4
Vedic universe. One passage of the g Veda says that the various
occupations which men engage in are their vrata. This is similar to the
later sentiments of the Bhagavad Gt where Ka implores Arjuna to
accept that to do the right thing is to do what his caste is enjoined to do,
which is to fight in a just war regardless of who is on the other side,
without attachment to the results of his action. In the g Veda this
includes occupations such as being a priest or a bard.9
Later in the Sahits, Brhmaas and Upaniads the term vrata
shifts in meaning. P. V. Kane notes that it is used in two separate ways.
Firstly, as a religious observance or vow, with restrictions on food or
behaviour when one has undertaken one. Secondly, in particular is
denotes the special food which is allowed when one is engaged in a
religious observance, such as cows milk.10 However, by religious
observance P. V. Kane means the ritual obligations a sacrificer must do
before, during and after Vedic sacrifices, including ethical and behavioural
restrictions, and injunctions specific to the type of sacrifice. Of the many
ritual sacrifices which Vedic householders had to perform, two were lunar
sacrifices done on the Uposatha days of the new moon (dara) and full
moon (puramsa). The day before they were to be done was a
preparatory time, called vrata, filled with rites for purification such as
fasting, desisting from work and sexual abstinence.11 As shall be examined
later this preparatory Uposatha vrata later became the most popular of all
Newar Buddhist observances. However, so far in the Vedic age the term
vrata does not mean any kind of optional, instrumental rite. The religious
observances in preparation to a sacrifice were not optional for the
intended (Brahmin) reader of the texts, likewise the food he is allowed to
eat is also not contestable, and ta is certainly not open for debate.
9 Ibid.
10 Pearson, p. 46
11 Locke, J. K., The Upoadha Vrata of Amoghapa Lokevara in Nepal in

lEthnographie 83:159-89, 1987, p. 160
Vrata appears several times in the Upaniads. In the Bhadrayaka

Upaniad 1.5.21-23; Tasmdekameva vrata
caretpryccaivpnycca. Nenm ppm mtyurpnavaditi. (Therefore
a man should undertake a single observance he should breathe in and
breathe out with the thought May evil death not capture me.)12 This
associates the term vrata with a kind of yogic activity. The context of the
verse is underlining the importance of wind for the deities, and breath for
human beings, explaining the universal law that breath is the most
powerful of all the vital functions of the body, as death in the form of
weariness cannot conquer it. The Taittirya Upaniad 3.7-10 talks about
several vratas relating to how one should not belittle food, reject food,
turn anyone away from their home or not prepare enough food. Patrick
Olivelle here translates the term to mean rule, whereas Pearson, quoting
Terrance Day, takes it here to mean an observance.1314 The four verses use
the formula One should not [verb] X. That is a vrata. as the opening line,
to quote verse seven, Anna na nindyt. Tad vratam. (One should not
revile food. That is a vrata.) Whether it can be translated as rule or
observance, it is not referring in either Upaniad to a religious ritual but in
the case of the Bhadrayaka Upaniad a general law along the lines of
the ta of the g Veda, and in the Taittirya Upaniad a rule of correct
behaviour. Although religious observances are used often to prescribe
proper conduct, Pearson notes that these examples are important because
they underline the moral dimension to the vrata concept that is expanded
upon in later literature.15
The moral dimension to the term appears in later dharmastric
texts as the Vedic term ta began to decline in use in favour of the
multifaceted term dharma. In the Yjavalkya Smti and Manusmti it no
12 Olivelle, P., The Early Upaniads: Annotated Text and Translation. Oxford University
Press, New York, 1998, pp.58-9
13 Pearson, p. 47
14 Olivelle, The Early Upaniads, p. 311
15 Pearson, p. 47
6
longer refers to the fixed duties of all living beings, but became more
explicitly related to religious observances, rules of conduct and ritual
food.16 It also took on a new meaning of a penance done for breaking a
vow, such as in the Manusmti 11.117: But after he has fully performed
the penance [vrata], he must give to those leaned in the Vedas ten cows
and a bull...17 And in the Yjavalkya Smti 3.254: Wearing a woollen
garment and matted locks he should perform the penance of
brahmanicide [brahmanatyvratam]: He should eat, in the night, cakes of
sesame seeds or particles of rice for three years.18
Then in the Mahbhrata vrata begins to be associated with a kind
of vow which begins to look more like a structured religious observance.
Though often left indistinct, through context they can be seen to be
behavioural restrictions for set periods of time or rules taken for life.19 The
term most often appears in the form of the epithet suvrata (Of good
vows) or nityavrata (Strict vows) for certain types of individual, usually a
i of good character or a virtuous woman, such as in the story of Nala
and Damayanti, where Nala is described as anuvrata (true to his
vows).20 There is at least one case where a story from the Mahbhrata
directly inspires a vrata observance still done today in modern India. The
story of Svitr from the Mahbhrata 3.42.277-83 is a three-day annual
vrata based on the titular character performing niyama (bodily and mental
self-restraint) in order to beget a child. This is an early example of the
relationship between observances and niyama, a concept that is not fully
linked with them until later in the Puras.21 As the Mahbhrata is so
popular and well-known, this story when used in vratakath is unlikely to
16 Pearson, p. 50
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid. For other examples see Manu: 11.170, 182 and Yj.Sm: 3.251, 252, 267,
270, 283, 301.
19 Pearson, p. 51
20 Lanman, C. R., A Sanskrit Reader with Vocabulary and Notes, Ginn and
Company, Boston, 1888, p. 6
21 Pearson, p. 54
7
be subject to a rigorous editing process which tries to redefine her niyama

as a type of vrata. This is also helped by the fact that the term niyama
already implies a performance of a vrata observance to a later audience
who know the Puras. Svitrs story also hints at the development, at
least in literature, of an act of determination or resolution in validating a
vrata. She states: I shall finish the vow; for it is done with resolve
(vyavasya), and resolve is the reason.22 This is a sentiment expressed
by modern Hindu women who say that it is the resolve or intention which
makes a simple act of austerity into a vow.23 Svitr also mentions her
intention (sakalpa) to complete the observance, which in modern Hindu
vratas is a required spoken (though in rare cases sometimes just mentally
spoken) part of the ritual.
Pearson argues that there is a clear relationship between the
austerity of a vrata and tapas, the figurative heat of the spiritual
mortification of an ascetic.24 In the modern day Hindu tradition tapas
informs womens understanding of the importance of the vratas that they
undertake. The idea of fire and heat both actually and ritually changing
what it came into contact with in the Vedas was so significant that what
was raw and uncooked could not be used as a suitable offering to the gods
or used as a suitable part of a meal for human consumption. To eat raw
food such as roots and fruits then was a traditional way of eating without
breaking a ritual fast. In his autobiography Ghandi stated that as a rule, a
Hindu allows themselves milk and fruit on a fasting day.25 In the Sahits
vrata has the meaning of milk, as living on milk alone was something
done for penance. So-called fast food, known as phalhar (fruit food/rice)
in Hindi, can always be considered acceptable during a fast, and includes
water, roots, fruits, ghee, milk, any food with the permission of ones
preceptor, and medicine. This is also seen in Modern Hindu and Newar
22 Ibid.
23 Ibid.
24 Pearson, p. 56
25 Pearson, p. 2
8
vratas where the fast-breaking meal is usually based on dairy substances.

It may be noted however that in the Garua Pura, which gives an
extensive list of what is and is not to be avoided during a fast, perfumes
and ornaments are an exception where women are concerned, as their
most important vrata is their pativrata, a vow made to look after her
husband and be the best wife, a state which all women should cultivate,
and so are allowed to keep using these otherwise forbidden items during a
vrata to look good for their husbands. Another relationship to tapas can be
seen in the term mahavrata meaning consecration (dka) in Brhmaa
texts. This consecration is to stop the yajamna (performer of the
sacrifice) or dkita (the initiated/consecrated one) from being melted
with the heat of his ascetic power, just as raw clay is fired into a pot or
bowl before it can be used to withstand the heat of sacrifice. Thus, vratas
have a kind of transformational power over the vratin. Later in the
Puras vratas are described as a form of tapas, and the power of Svitrs
austerities, and thus the power of all vrata observances, Pearson believes
can be explained in this way.26 In the Pura s there can be no doubt that
Hindu vratas are one of the direct heirs of the Vedic sacrifice as the
performer of the vrata (vratin) is called the yajamna, a term used to
mean the sponsor of a Vedic sacrifice, and the authors of the Puras try
hard to make the descriptions of various vratas sound similar to the Vedic
sacrifices described in the Brhmaas.
By the time of the Pura and Nibandhas, vratas had become a type
of religious ritual worthy of attention and discussion by paits, as they
are found in these texts as a prominent topic, appearing in almost all of
the Puras and there are entire Nibandhas devoted to the discussion and
description of them.27 The amount of vratas present in the earlier Puras
was not very extensive, but it increased exponentially in the works dated
from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries, with texts even from the
eighteenth century such as the Vratarja being devoted entirely to vrata
26 Pearson, p. 59
27 Pearson, p. 63
9
observances alone.28 In many cases the vratakath stories accompanying

them are also present, alongside the descriptions of the vratas
themselves. Also despite being depicted in these texts as kmya
(optional) rites, the moral dimension of vrata observances is much more
pronounced than in previous literature, with the editors of these
prominent works on dharma using them to promote dharmastric values
and behaviour which is ethical and socially responsible.29 Throughout the
history of vratas that we have examined so far, it is worth noting that
women rarely, if ever, feature in any of these texts except sometimes in
the vratakath, despite being the majority gender that practises vratas
today and, most likely, the gender of the majority of vrata practitioners
throughout their history.
The typical section on a vrata in a Nibandha text usually began with
praise for the observance, the general rules and regulations for
undertaking it, and then a description of the vrata in question. They were
usually arranged in time-related categories, such as by tithi (lunar day),
month, week and day. According to the Nibandhas, the elements of a
vrata consist of, give or take: The sakalpa (statement of intent), snna
(ritual bathing), japa (meditational recitation), homa sacrifice, pj
worship and making the mrti (image of the deity), the maapa (a ritual
enclosure where the vratins reside), upacra rites to honour the deity,
sometimes nysa (projecting divinity onto parts of the body) is performed,
upavsa (fasting), kath (storytelling), dna (giving), designing ritual art
such as maalas, yantras or lpans, and finally the upypana (final
concluding rite of a vrata).30 Nibandha texts generally consider the
sakalpa to be an integral part of a vrata, whereas the Puras
emphasise the importance of the discipline and restraint of niyama.31
28 Ibid.
29 Pearson, p. 62
30 Pearson, p. 65
31 Pearson, p. 66
10
Newar Buddhism and the Newar textual tradition.

The Newars are an ethnic group indigenous to the Kathmandu valley area,
historically called the Nepal Maala. Phonetically, the terms Newar and
Nepal are related, the latter coming from the Sanskrit Nepla, which
although it is obscure in origin, most scholars agree that it is a
Sanskritisation of the Prakrit term Newara/Newra.32 Thus their TibetoBurman language was known simply as Nepal Bhasa (Npl bh), with
the term Newari arising in the 1920s to differentiate it from the recently
renamed and Indo-Aryan Nepali language, which was itself previously
known as Khaskura, Gorkhali/Gurkhali or Parbatiya. It is important to note
these differences as Buddhism only flourished in the Nepal Maala
among the Newars. For centuries, it has only been within the Kathmandu
valley that Mahayana Buddhism still exists in a South-Asian cultural
environment, and only there can be found Buddhists whose ritual texts are
still written in Sanskrit today.33 Among scholars there has been much
debate over the status of Newar Buddhism in regard to its relationship
with Hinduism. David Snellgrove has argued that Newar Buddhism does
not differ substantially in practice from its surrounding Hinduism.34
Theoretically too Newar Buddhism has fallen between the cracks, with
Max Weber for example exaggerating the differences between ancient
Buddhism and Mahayana, and underestimating the role of the laity.35 The
supposed dichotomies between Hindu and Buddhist and ancient and
revised Buddhism ignore key characteristics of Newar Buddhism such as
the continuities with its distant relation Theravada Buddhism in the case
32 Malla, K. P., Nepla: Archaeology of the Word, originally published in The Nepal
Heritage Society Souvenir for PATA Conference, Kathmandu, 1983, pp. 33-39. Online
resource: http://www.kpmalla.com/?attachment_id=285, p. 7
33 Gellner, D., N., Monk, Householder and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its
Hierarchy of Ritual. Number 84 in Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992, pp. 1-2
34 Gellner, p. 2
35 Gellner, p. XVII
11
of the Upoadha vrata and the inclusive nature of both Hindu and
Buddhist rituals.36
David Gellner has argued that, the English term religion has no single
equivalent in Newari, instead it corresponds to three distinct terms, all of
which have a Sanskrit origin: Dharma, mrga and mata.37 Mrga and mata
are used almost exclusively in the expressions buddhamrga,
buddhamata, ivamrga and ivamata to refer to the path and doctrine
respectively of Buddhists and aivites. Dharma is a term with more
nuanced meanings, including religion, ritual, duty, teaching or religious
merit.38 Dharma, being such a broad term, covers three ideal types of
religion for the Newars. The first is the soteriology of mrga and mata
religion. The remaining two types both come under the heading of
thisworldy religion, the second being social religion, which includes
festivals, life-cycle rituals and guthi (local religious groups formed for the
sake of social religious duties such as arranging rituals and pilgrimage).
The third and final type is called instrumental religion (Skt. kmya, Newari
svrth Selfish, self-interested).39 Instrumental religion is any religious
action undertaken in order to make something beneficial happen for the
practitioner, whether positively in the form of wealth or abundance or
negatively in the case of warding off disease or overcoming a sickness.
Unlike the second category of social religion, it does not occur regularly
according to a social calendar, but is undertaken according to desire or
need (in the case of sickness). This threefold framework can be further
qualified by the distinction between optional and obligatory rites. In
general, what is obligatory falls into the category of social religion, but
also includes optional rites which generate long term obligatory effects,
such as tantric initiation. Optional includes all instrumental religion and all
that fall into the first category of soteriology, as both the worldly and
36 Gellner, p. 2
37 Gellner, p. 5
38 Ibid.
39 Gellner, p. 6
12
spiritual motivations for these affect the individual alone.40 Vrata

observances fall into the optional category, but whether they are a part of
instrumental religion, soteriological religion or even social religion is
difficult to determine completely. Like social religious rites they are often
planned and performed by a guthi, follow a social calendar (or at the least
the times they can be performed are restricted to certain dates) and
unlike some Hindu vrata always require the presence of an officiating
priest.41 Pearson notes that modern Hindu vrats are depicted only as
kmya rites.42 She notes that although they are instrumental in nature,
they do not normally take the form of a bargain (if God does X I will do
Y) but usually in the form of a vow that highlights the charitable nature of
the God (I will do this vrata and may you God, pleased by my devotions,
do Y).43 Indeed there is a strong instrumental motivation in Newar
Buddhist observances as well, as seen from the myriad of boons listed in
the vratakath literature, which is covered later in this dissertation.
Puric vrata descriptions devote a large amount of explanation to the
boons promised to the votaries, and are often so exaggerated that it led
P.V. Kane to express the opinion that vratas were performed for the
purpose of securing some object in this world or sometimes the next world
or both. Most of the vratas are really secular though under the garb of
religion.44 The rewards for performing (or even just hearing about) a
vrata are lavishly detailed in the Puras, however they are not just
characterised as a means of acquiring bhukti (earthly) rewards despite
being considered kmya rites, but may also allow the performer a means
to attain liberation in the current kali yuga.45 In the Buddhist context
vratas can also produce merit and liberation and thus can be classed as
40 Gellner, p. 137
41 Gellner, p. 138
42 Pearson, p. 62
43 Pearson, p. 3
44 Kane, Vol. 5., p. 55
45 Pearson, p. 63
13
soteriological religion.46 The boon of the Aam Vrata at the end of the rite
is merit and liberation.47 Ultimately, although the varied nature of a vrata
may not be classified easily according to an ideal version of what religion
should look like, in practise it is easy to see how its individualistic and
optional nature allows it to be both simultaneously kmya and
mrga/mata.
Newar Buddhism is normally categorised as Mahyna or Vajrayna
Buddhism, however it is important to note that in the case of Newar
Buddhism this does not mean that the Theravda/Hnayna path is
completely left out. Indeed, the tradition recognises at least three valid
paths to enlightenment; that of the monk, the householder and the tantric
practitioner, with correspond in turn to the three paths of Theravda,
Mahyna and Vajrayna.48 In the Nepalese context Theravda is currently
used locally to denote modern Theravdin practitioners from eastern Asia
who arrived in Nepal from the 1950s and their Nepalese converts. There is
currently an ongoing large-scale conversion drive by Theravda in Nepal,
possibly helped by the traditional inclusion of monasticism in Newar
Buddhism, a perceived greater authority due to the age of the two
traditions and the decline in the amount of Vajrcrya priests, who are
needed for many, if not all, Mahyna and Vajrayna rituals. The term that
is used to mean the monastic side of Newar Buddhism is rvakayna. A
Theravdin convert in Nepal would not observe a vrata, and there is
hardly any crossover between the two groups.49 In a typical lifetime, a
Newar Buddhist male will cross in succession these three stages of
religion. At a young age, he is subject to a coming of age ritual in which he
becomes a monk for a short period of time, before returning to the lay
community having discovered a better path to enlightenment in
Mahyna. In summary, the three ways can be described thus: The
46 Gellner, p. 139
47 Gellner, p. 223
48 Gellner, p. 4
49 David Gellner, personal communication.
14
rvakayna comprises of monasticism, asceticism, and basic worship of

the akyamuni Buddha. It is also considered to be a subset of Hnayna
which also includes the Pratyekabuddhayna, where a person attains
enlightenment by themselves without having heard the teachings. The
Mahyna path includes the worship of all the bodhisattvas, festivals, lifecycle rituals, acquiring merit via donations, and the bodhisattva vow.
Vajrayna includes the worship of specifically tantric deities, initiation into
the Tantric cult of a deity (dka) and the acquisition of magical abilities
from devotion to powerful deities and their mantras.50
When approaching a text which contains detailed instructions and
stories it might be prudent to think that the most important thing you can
do with it is to read it. Indeed, this is what most scholars do when faced
with a text. But this is not the only thing they are for in the South Asian
context, and what the Newar people themselves do with physical copies of
religious texts is almost anything but read them. More often, they are
recited, a practise rather different than reading as it can involve aspects
such as a public liturgical performance and a lack of understanding of the
meaning of the text (or a lack of regard to convey it). Also, copies of the
texts are made to generate merit for the sponsor and show religious
conviction. The texts themselves are worshipped with aromatic powers,
unguents and pastes and are carried in procession and seen by onlookers.
Edward Dimock, when his attempt to get access to an old and valuable
Bengali text finally succeeded, discovered that all but one, the colophon,
of the 360 folios were completely unreadable due to three centuries
worth of worship with unguents and powders.51 This is not a singular event
limited to Bengal; Newar worshippers do the same thing with their sacred
texts precisely because the texts themselves state that they should.
Gregory Schopen makes the point that there is quite clearly no substitute
for living contexts when it comes to textual study, and this can be seen
50 Gellner, p. 114
51 Lewis, T., Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal: Narratives and rituals of Newar
Buddhism. SUNY, Albany, New York, 2000, p. IX
15
quite well in the South Asian cultural environment.52 There is a risk

however that treating a modern culture as a link to the distant past traps
it in time and does not allow it the historical complexity it must certainly
have. Modern South Asian rituals are old, just as the Eucharist is old, but
every current modern version of the bread and the wine reflects a long
history of change and religious debate. The same can be said of South
Asian traditions, as even though the rituals are detailed thoroughly within
the manuscripts themselves there is room for change or improvement.
Current Newar tradition can be used to put a face to these ancient rituals
but it cannot be the sole guide.
One of the defining characteristics of the content of Newar texts is a
process Todd Lewis calls domestication, which he defines as the
dialectical historical process by which a religious tradition is adapted to a
region or ethnic groups socioeconomic and cultural life.53 Lewis argues
that the historical survival of religious traditions is less in the great
tradition missionised by the main branch of the faith but more in its
ability to be multivocalic, meaning it gains a large spectrum of texts,
rituals, folklore and so on for later followers to draw upon.54 He argues that
to study religious domestication you seek to demonstrate the underlying
reasons for the selection process as the tradition evolves in specific places
and times to the logic of life in a locality.55 Quoting Charles Hallisey,
he notes that one of the basic historical questions for locating and
understanding the role of texts is the question of why it was chosen to
endure and not fade into obscurity.56 Buddhisms expansive success was
based on a myriad of vernacular texts for laity, not ones aimed at an
audience of monastic sagha and philosophers. With this in mind, what
can be considered the most influential of Buddhist textual sources should
52 Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal, p. X
53 Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal, p. 3
55 Ibid.
56 Ibid.
16
not limited to a canon of texts hidden away in a monastery but must also
include vernacular, popular narratives. Most Buddhists have been working
laity, namely, farmers, artisans or merchants, not monks, nuns or
intellectuals.57 With academia often focusing on the Buddhist
philosophical writings it is sometimes forgotten who, in fact, are the
Buddhists. An idealised portrayal of Buddhism which ignores, mostly
unintentionally, the large amount of written material produced for the
benefit of the lay majority of the Buddhist population runs the danger of
becoming ahistorical.
The earliest narrative literature of Buddhism describes the
advantages of rituals done in a lay setting.58 This shows that from the
earliest times, lay practise was emphasised in Buddhist literature and was
not a later development. Narrative and the use of stories too was a
common early genre. Even the historical kyamuni Buddha is shown
using parables to illustrate doctrinal points. Some of the earliest examples
of Buddhist artwork, especially architecture, show scenes which depict
several of these stories in detail.59 The narrative literature of Buddhism
was divided into two related categories; Avadna and Jtaka. Jtaka
(Belonging to a previous birth) are stories about the Buddhas past lives
when he was usually a human or an animal, whereas the topic of Avadna
literature tends to be the past lives of sages or other non-enlightened
ones. These categories do not have a very strict boundary, and likewise
the content should not be rigidly judged by the past-life genre. In many
cases, especially in Avadna, the fact that the story is concluded with a
summary of the main characters future incarnations, it is secondary to
the main plot of the story and usually only consists of a formulaic ending
detailing how, for example, the good king eventually attained
enlightenment. Lewis notes that familiarity with these narratives and with
their public recitation eventually became a recognised monastic
57 Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal, p. XIII
17
avocation, as one text notes six such roles within the sagha that include
folklorists (tirascakathika).60 The monasteries, being the bearers of
literacy, were the collectors of lay stories and public storytelling events
were common, and the nuns and monks also used these stories
themselves to explain doctrine within the monastic community. To study
popular narratives such as vratakath is to study not only one of the
earliest genres of Buddhism but also to study the most widespread
literature that travelled everywhere Buddhism spread, and was the
concern of all practitioners both lay and monastic.
The relationship between ritual and doctrine in Vajrayna
Buddhism
It is not just with vratakath that Buddhism aims to make the links
between doctrine and practise known to its practitioners. But in the case
of tantric ritual it is philosophy rather than the use of narrative which is
more important. Buddhist ritual texts from the Vajrayna tradition are in
some ways like a chimera. They contain many different features which all
together make a very unique type of monster. As work by Sanderson has
shown, one of these parts is the overall framework which is borrowed from
aiva rituals, with many portions of the Buddhist text being directly
redacted from aiva manuals.61
Based on a wide range of evidence, via textual criticism, the
development of the Yogintantras and avaratantras of Vajrayna
Buddhism can be traced back to early aiva Tantras. Alexis Sanderson
critiques the widely-held view that all known tantra can in some way
derive from a common Indian religious substratum, an hypothetical base
for ritual, text and iconography that sits just below all of our known extant
60 Ibid.
61 Sanderson, A., History through Textual Criticism in the study of aivism, the
Pacartra and the Buddhist Yogintantras. In: Les Sources et le temps. Sources and
Time: A Colloquium, Pondicherry, 11-13 January 1997, edited by Franois Grimal.
Publications du dpartement d'Indologie 91. Pondicherry: Institut Franais de
Pondichry/cole Franaise d'Extrme-Orient (2001), pp. 1-47.
18
tantra literature from all traditions. He argues instead that Buddhist

materials have a direct dependence on the aivite materials. He
concludes that almost everything in the Yogintantras is non-Buddhist in
origin, despite being wholly Buddhist in function.
The term Tantra refers here to a particular set of rituals
distinguished from the rest of Buddhism by the use of mantras and the
visualization of mantras as deities, and that access to this ritual is open to
no-one, not even monks, except those who have taken and passed the
empowerment ritual (initiation). Throughout history Buddhist Tantric
initiation has been available for laymen of all types, and in many cases,
including the modern era, also ordained monks and nuns despite its often
sexual content. An important note here however is that in modern Nepal
among Newar Buddhists all Tantric rituals have been stripped of any
explicit sexual elements, yet references to things such as meat and
alcohol remain.62
The substratum theory is demonstrated here by Stephan Beyer
writing about the deities of the Yogintantras:
Although there are iconographic variations among these general
high patron deities, they share instantly recognizable similarities;
they are all derived from the same cultic stock that produced the
iva figure...63
The main problem with this way of thinking is that this hypothetical
common ancestor is only ever inferred but never perceived. What exists
are aiva, Buddhist and Vaiava texts or texts from other specific cults.
Derivation from a common stock cannot therefore be the most logical
explanation for the similarities between these texts, as there is no positive
evidence in this direction. Although not all Yogintantra is identifiable with
specific aiva tantra, evidence indicates that the author of the Buddhist
texts drew from many materials from a certain area of the aiva canon to
62 Sanderson, A., Vajrayna: Origin and Function. In:Buddhism into the Year 2000.
International Conference Proceedings, Bangkok and Los Angeles: Dhammakya
Foundation (1995), p97
63 Sanderson, Vajrayna: Origin and Function. p92

19
assemble texts which were not direct copies of any one source. The
evidence in particular is that it was obvious to contemporary aivas that
these Buddhist redactors were copying aiva scriptures. In a aiva myth
from Kashmir from the thirteenth century, the Hindu gods are being
oppressed by three demons. They can do nothing to stop them, as in an
extraordinary turn of fate, devotion to the iva cult has made them
invincible. Bhaspati invents the following solution:
I shall propagate the following system and call it Bauddha
truthfully enough, since it will be no more than the invention of my
intellect. In it the famous Buddha will be represented as master over
the gods... I shall add certain mantras culled from the aiva Tantras;
and lifting various passages out of these scriptures of iva I shall
fabricate and propagate a system of [Buddhist] Tantric ritual.64
Falling for this new and improved Tantric deal, the demons of course could
be quelled. In another version of this early propaganda myth, the three
demons are Hevajra, avara and the dibuddha who have destroyed all
orthodox religion in the world. This clearly shows that at least at the time
of the creation of this myth, the Buddhist works the author has in mind are
the Yogintantras, as it is there where Hevajra and avara are found.
Although of course highly biased, these two mythical accounts of
Buddhism borrowing from aiva texts rests on facts easily visible if one
reads the Yogintantras; there are extensive parallels between these texts
and parts of the aiva canon. There are in fact similar myths from the
Buddhist side. The first major Buddhist Tantra, the
Mahvairocanbhisabodhi, was self-conscious about the fact that it
could be accused of absorbing non-Buddhist practises into Mahyna:
O [Vajrapi] Lord of the Yakas, in time to come there will arise
people of inferior understanding and no faith who will not believe
this teaching... they will say that this is not the teaching of the
Buddhas but belongs to the outsiders.65
There is also the Buddhist mythological account of the origin of all the
Tantras, that they were originally, and thus continue to be, Buddhist:
64 Sanderson, Vajrayna: Origin and Function., p93
20
I have taught this Mantra [of iva] which together with the trident
Mudra destroys all demons... Those living on the earth will say that
its ancient Kalpa, that I taught in former times, was taught by iva.
[But] the various excellent extensive [Kalpas] in the aiva Tantras
are in fact my teachings.66
However the tone of these arguments is different to the ones made on the
aiva side. Not only was the former found in the first major Buddhist
Tantra, worrying about how the future would take these new teachings,
but it specifically mentions that people might come to say it was not
originally Buddhist. The seventh century source does not specifically
define these others as aiva, but we can rule out the idea that these
others were part of a common religious substratum because of the known
popularity of aiva rituals at that time. Interestingly, an account of the
myth of the three demons oppressing the gods appears in at least two
vratakath collections for the Tr Vrata and the Ahortra Vrata. In the
Tr Vrata one of the embedded narratives tells this story:
Once when the demons ousted Lord Brahm, Viu, Maheshvara
and Indra from their thrones, these gods went to take refuge in Ugra
Tr, a goddess who in turn asked them to pray and to recite the
mantra of rya Tr.
Straight away the gods went to the present site of the Tr trtha
and recited the mantra of rya Tr as directed. After the recitation
of the mantra by the gods, the rya Tr made her appearance
right at the trtha and liberated Brahm, Viu, Maheshvara, and
Indra from their miseries. O Gentle Lady! You also may perform pj
to Ugra Tr Bajrajogin; then go to bathe at [this] Tr trtha where
you should also meditate and offer prayers.67
This vratakath is definitely a version of the three demon story, which was
created in order to bring authority to one tantric tradition over another.
65 Sanderson, A., "The aiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of aivism during the
Early Medieval Period." In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism,edited by
Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009.
Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, p128
66 Sanderson, The aiva Age, p130. See also p101 for reference to date.
21
Here however any secret tantric ritual for initiates only is replaced with a
pilgrimage to the Tr trtha, an integral part of the Tr Vrata if it is
possible to do, and in the text this story is called the origin myth for this
particular pilgrimage and the reason people began to go there. The form
of Tr, Ugra Tr Bajrajogin, is a local Nepalese form of the deity from
Bgduvl, near the town of Snkhu which has a popular temple to the
goddess.68 This indicates that the reason for including this story into the
Tr Vratakath may be to give authority to a local version of the deity by
subverting more famous figures. The gods whose authority is undermined
are all non-Buddhist figures, as it would not make sense for a Bodhisattva
to need the help of another Bodhisattva, but the emphasis here is on
promoting a local religious figure using a popular story rather than
undermining the Hindu gods. It should be noted however that Buddhist
laity in Nepal are often inclusive rather than exclusive when it comes to
rituals such as vratas, and will often perform a popular ritual whatever
religion it belongs to. The message that Buddhist rituals are superior
would not be lost on the performers of the rite who hear this story, but
what it is ultimately trying to do is make people perform the full version of
the vrata and travel to the Tr trtha at Bgduvl.
There are parts of tantric texts which do not owe their inclusion to
aiva borrowings, but serve to incorporate Buddhist beliefs into the ritual
in order to make the resulting function of the texts entirely Buddhist. This
can be seen in the inclusion of meditations on emptiness, taking the
bodhisattva vow, the transference of merit, and the incorporation of lists
of corresponding philosophical attributes to some of the physical
components and mental visualisations of the ritual. This is called the
viuddhi process. It is important to understand how Buddhism utilises
different methods of redacting ritual texts other than vratakath,
especially as this viuddhi process is visible in tantric texts used in Newar
Buddhism. It should not be assumed that the use of either viuddhi or the
narrative tradition to lend a text a specific Buddhist or local authority that
68 Lewis, T., Mahyna Vratas in Newar Buddhism. JIABS, 12, 1:109-38, 1989,
p. 118
22
it didnt possess before is exclusive, in fact the two methods (or at least,
the residual effects of one or the other) can often be seen in the same
context. Meaning purification, these viuddhi correspondences
according to Elizabeth English are meant to establish, or re-establish, the
yogins union with the deity.69 We must understand then that impurity is
an obstacle to the full benefits of such a ritual. This is a mental impurity,
which could be described as the practitioners mental state being outside
of the ritual time. Physical impurity in the rituals, such as the use of
culturally dirty substances, is constantly challenging the meaning of purity
and impurity for the rituand, but this purposefully provocative nature does
not extend as far as his mind.70 He must remain certain and steadfast in
his conviction that, for example, the amtas (urine, faeces, semen,
menstrual blood and phlegm or meat) are in fact pure substances, and he
must gratefully receive his gurus semen after he has copulated with the
consort girl. Overall, the viuddhi process can be described as the means
by which the practitioner retains his link with the deity in order to make
the ritual valid. It is a construct to keep ritual time and ritual space in
effect, often through numbered sets of concordances linking the ritual to
Abhidharma terminology.
The term viuddhi appears in Vajrayna texts alongside other
frequent terms such as uddhi, odhana, pariodhana, uci, vyavadna
and adhivsana, with viuddhi and uddhi being the most used. We also
find chapters on purification, viuddhipaalas, in the Hevajra Tantra,
Caamahroaa Tantra and Buddhakapla Tantra.71 Sferra notes that
there are two ways in which this term and its varying synonyms appear in
Vajrayna literature, one ritual and the other speculative.72 It is important
before continuing to make clear in what way this study understands the
69 English, Elizabeth. Vajrayogin: Her visualisations, rituals, and forms, Wisdom
Publications, 2002, p. 116
70 By dirty I do not mean to be colloquial, I am referring to Mary Douglas oftquoted explanation that dirt is merely matter out of place from her work Purity
and Danger.
71 Sferra, F., The concept of Purification in some texts of late Indian Buddhism, in
Journal of Indian Philosophy 27 (1/2):83-103 (1999), p. 84
23
term. The speculative way in which viuddhi appears shall not be

examined here. In that context the term denotes the pureness of
Buddha nature, or purification as a process linked to the essential nature
of things, not to be confused with the viuddhi process of encoding and
purifying ritual. This speculative purification, as a philosophical concept, is
subject to redefinition over time within the different Buddhist schools,
linked to the relationship between mind (citta) and impurity (mala).73 In its
ritual sense, the term purification means different things at different
stages of the ritual. In rituals which have to be performed before the
drawing of the maala and during the initiation ceremony the term
signifies elimination, as any type of purification at this stage is about
removing impurities present in the mind and body of the practitioner, in
the initiation substances, and the platform for the ritual.74 At this stage
purification is done by physical actions such as fasting or by reciting
mantras. During initiation, which itself is often described as a process of
purification, purity is achieved through mantras or cleansing aspersions,
seka. Interestingly, the term for initiation is abhieka, which despite the
retroflex derives from the same root sic (pour out).75
David Snellgrove notes that the term viuddhi in the instrumental
can also mean something represented by something else. So, In the
Hevajratantra, the initiation of the master is purified by a smile, meaning
that the initiation is symbolised by a smile.76 Here the term begins to shift
away from purification and into its final use to mean a symbolic
relationship, a correspondence between seemingly unrelated levels of
reality. To symbolise and to purify, in this sense, is essentially the same
thing. Deities, maalas, mantras, colours, emotions, parts of the body,
72 Ibid.
73 Sferra, p. 86
74 Sferra, p. 85
75 Whitney, W., D., The Roots, Verb-forms and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit
Language. Low Price Publications, New Delhi, 2006, p. 186
76 Ibid.
24
religious and philosophical concepts are all mutually related in some way.
There is not always complete agreement in which ways they are related,
they may overlap and a part of a maala may have more than one
philosophical relationship, or to what exactly a certain list is related to
may change, for example from a set of goddesses to the colours on a
maala. An example of this viuddhi process can be seen in the
Saptkarasdhana:
Smtisambodhyagam rheruka,
dharmmapravicayasambodhyaga
m Srheruk, vryyasambodhyagam
Vajrabhairav, prtisambodhyagam
Ghoraca,
prasrabdhisambodhyagam
Vajrabhskar,
samdhisambodhyagam
Vajraraudr,
upeksambodhyagam
Vajrakin.
Kahik rucaka ratna[]

kualam bhasma strakam.
apramitviuddhy
bodhyagam...
Srheruka is the element of

enlightenment of mindfulness,
Srheruk is the element of
enlightenment of penetrating
investigation, Vajrabhairav is the
element of enlightenment of
energy, Ghoraca is the element
of enlightenment of joy,
Vajrabhskar is the element of
enlightenment of endurance,
Vajraraudr is the element of
enlightenment of concentration,
[and] Vajraakin is the element of
enlightenment of equanimity.
The crown, bracelet, jewel, earrings,
ash and the sacred thread. [These
six ornaments of the deity] should
be understood as the six
perfections.
The six perfections of dna, la, knti, vrya, dhyna and praj
(very roughly translated as generosity, virtue, patience, diligence,
concentration and wisdom respectively) are listed in Mahyna texts such
as the Saddharma Puarka Stra, the famous Lotus Stra, and many
others. Here in the Saptkarasdhana they correspond respectively to
different parts of the iconography of the goddesses. The goddesses
themselves correspond in turn to one of the Bodhyagas, the Seven
Elements of Enlightenment. Here we have a slight overlap, with
Vajrabhairav herself being the element of vrya as well as the deitys
earrings. The most important factor in choosing which correspondences to
25
adopt was the number, not the content. There were seven goddesses for
the Seven Ancillaries of Enlightenment and six selected ornaments for the
Six Perfections. Perhaps if there happened to be one more goddess, the
corresponding list would change to the Eightfold Path of the Noble ones.
Also notable is the use of ash in the iconography, a traditionally very aiva
symbol with no Buddhist connotations. Borrowed directly from original
aiva texts, here it is endowed with Buddhist meaning via this viuddhi
process. What was originally a very mundane icon, directly taken from
another tradition with no Buddhist relevance, has become another means
to the path of enlightenment. Normal objects believed to contain no
special relationship to enlightenment, wisdom, or whichever concept it is
later linked to, when used in the ritual space, via this process become
tools to attain enlightenment. Anthony Tribe points out that this even
works for negative conditions such as sasra, meaning that ignorance
and suffering themselves can become tools to reach enlightenment via
this process of purification.77
This purification process ultimately seems to serve two purposes.
Practically, it is a tool to help sustain ritual time. By engaging the mind of
the practitioner any doubts as to the nature of the things he is dealing
with is dispelled. The fierce goddesses, wrathful, sexual and unorthodox,
are given a new layer of religious meaning which not only deifies the
concepts, but links them with the non-Tantric Mahyna teachings. The
other purpose is to maintain Buddhist authority over the text, which it
shares with other Newar Buddhist texts as well, such as the Vratakath
literature and its many stories adapted from Avadna texts. In this case
the authority is apt due to, as with the aiva ash in the
Saptkarasdhana, vratas traditionally being a Hindu practise. Another
example would be the use of framing narratives in the
Guakraavyha, which although got most of its content from the
Kraavyha, was less interested in the content and cared more about
borrowing authority from a famous and prestigious text. This is reflected
77 Williams, P., and Tribe, A., Buddhist Thought, Routledge 2000, p.201
26
inside the text by the inclusion of a new framing narrative, a

characteristically medieval Nepalese narrative feature, that allows it to
become the direct descendant to a lineage of important writings.78 In the
Guakraavyha, the overarching framing narrative is a king being
taught by his political advisor and rjaguru, who is in a lineage of teachers
going back to the followers of the Buddha. The text follows a series of
teaching dialogues, each linked to its enclosing framing narrative by being
the words and deeds of the earlier (outer) frames narrators teacher. A
successful framing narrative can bring the text authority from past
teachers and Buddhas, but they are not considered independent from the
nested text. Events in the framing narrative can affect the embedded
narrative, and vice versa, for example in a Nepalese version of the
Vaval iva attempts to narrate his recent teachings from
Avalokitevara to his wife Prvat and thus create a framing narrative, but
she falls asleep. When he is made aware of this, his immediate reaction is
not to consider the framing narrative lost, but to think that because he
has been speaking, there must have been a listener. He was right, and
Avalokitevara had been listening in the form of a nearby fish, because
the absence of a listener within the framing narrative is intolerable.79
This is used to generate authority in the Guakraavyha, where the
listener in one of the framing narratives, having been told about
Avalokitevara (in embedded narratives), wants so badly to meet him and
move his own dialogue to an embedded narrative, which is usually set in
the past and thus more respectable. He is finally rewarded with a
visualisation of Avalokitevara, which serves to bring the same level of
authority to the younger, outer framing narrative that the older, inner
framing narratives have. The purpose of creating narrative tension in the
outer frame was to bring the entire text the authority which older
Buddhist works have.80
78 Tuladhar-Douglas, p. 24
27
Localisation and authority in Nepalese narratives.

In every Newar story, without any known exception, a type of
localisation of the story content can be found.81 The events and places
featured in Buddhist stories are fixed geographically and ethnically to the
local community, thus also fixing geographic and ethnic identification with
the stories themselves. Through such stories, local Buddhists not only
understood the significance of any imparted religious teachings, but also
established their local neighbourhoods as the sites of religious and
miraculous events, as well as securing the religion firmly with their own
ethnic identity. Just as across Nepal and Tibet there are many caves said
to have been inhabited by the great sage Guru Rinpoche, stories have
given authority not only to the rituals and philosophy they contain, but
also to local spiritual landmarks, tying religion to the local landscape. All
vratakath contain some form of framing narrative or internal reference
that links the stories with the historical Buddha, making explicit claims for
the authority of the ritual.82 Some stories also claim that the protagonists
are the ethnic ancestors of the community, seen for example in the
gabher Avadna and the Caturda Vrata.
The gabher Avadna is similar to vratakath literature (and in
some cases is used as vratakath) in that it is a narrative which expounds
the benefits and meaning of a ritual, but in this case the ritual is a form of
caitya veneration. The text is the basis for a specific ritual done in its
honour, but is also used as an example of the benefits of caitya worship in
other contexts, such as when it is a part of another ritual. The gabher
Avadna is sometimes found in the vratakath text for the Lakacaitya
Vrata (hundred thousand caitya observance), which as its name
suggests involves the making of a hundred thousand or so small,
temporary caityas by a family, and is concluded with a reading from the

28
gabher Avadna.83 This is not a singular example however, and the

making of small caityas made most often of clay or sand is a requirement
of several Newar vratas.84 A caitya (Sanskrit, reminders, memorials from
the verbal root cit, think, know), often considered a synonym for stpa
(Sanskrit, literally heap), is a monument constructed to contain Buddhist
relics, usually the ashes or other remains or possessions of an important
Buddhist figure. They have a general appearance consisting of a square
base, rounded roof and tapering spire, though other geometric shapes are
used. L. de La Vallee Poussin notes however that a Dharmagupta
commentary on the Vinaya monastic code suggests the existence of a
technical distinction, where a stpa contains relics whereas a caitya does
not.85 Regardless of this the two structures are intimately related as they
are treated essentially the same in practical religious worship. Other forms
of caitya worship in Newar society include dyathyegu (Newari Making
the deity) where special black clay caityas are disposed of at a the side
of a river during the Buddhist holy month of Gul, and normal sand
caityas are moulded by a river as part of certain raddha pjs, and in
both of these cases the gabher Avadna may be read aloud.86
The basic content of the gabher Avadna can be determined
through comparison between different versions. Lewis gives an English
translation of a modern version which claims the Sanskrit Citravisati
Avadna as its source. This agrees with Rajendralala Mitra, who in his
catalogue of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts from Nepal found two versions
of the gabher Avadna among manuscripts collected by the naturalist
and ethnologist Brian Houghton Hodgson. One claims to be a chapter of
the Citravisati Avadna, date unknown, and contains descriptions of the
caityasavara and gabher rituals as well as a narrative which closely,

86 Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal, pp. 37-8
29
if not identically, resembles the modern version.87 The other is similar in

content although more amplified, is dated as Nepal Sambat 848 (around
1728 AD), and claims to be a part of the Vratvadnaml, making it
explicitly a vratakath text.88 Mitra also has a source for the
Vratvadnaml, but it is only a fragment, containing three chapters of
the story of Suvaravara in praise of the Lakacaitya Vrata, however in
other contexts the text is known to contain many different vratakath
stories and due to it containing Lakacaitya Vratakath the full version
probably did contain the gabher Avadna.89
Using the evidence presented by Lewis and Mitra a summary of the
basic story of the gabher Avadna can be summed up as follows. The
story is first given a framing narrative which claims it was told by the
kyamuni Buddha at the request of his famous disciple riputra, who
asked the Buddha to relate how it is possible that some people are able to
attain liberation through caitya worship accompanied by blowing a buffalo
horn instrument. There is also a second framing narrative at this point,
where the kyamuni Buddha narrates that it is Pupaketu (Pradpaketu in
one of Mitras sources), the son of king Suvaraketu, who hears this tale
and the description of the rite from the Vipav Buddha, the twenty-second
of the twenty-seven Buddhas that precede the Gautama Buddha
according to the Buddhavamsa.90 The framing narrative which goes back
to the historical kyamuni Buddha gives the story the authority it needs
to be a reliable source for the ritual, otherwise it would lack a legitimate
association to the path to enlightenment. The ritual is described as the
circumambulation of caityas while playing musical instruments, including
the blowing of a buffalo horn, during the month of rvaa. This should be
done after bathing. The giving of gifts, sitting in front of a caitya while
87 Mitra, R., The Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal. Elibron Classics, 2004, p. 229
88 Mitra, p. 231
89 Mitra, p. 275
90 Morris, R., ed., XXVII: List of the Buddhas, The Buddhavamsa, Pali Text Society,
London, 1882, pp. 667
30
seeking refuge in the three jewels, whitewashing a caitya with lime,

decorating one with garlands and making offerings to a caitya all result in
gaining more merit and virtuous rebirths. During this month one who
wishes to do this gabher rite should also make small votive caityas
every day until they have made over a hundred thousand of them (the
Lakacaitya Vrata). These can be made of cow dung, clay, sandstone or
metal according to the available means of the practitioner. When this is
done alone it is known only as the Lakacaitya Vrata, but together with
the music and circumambulation during rvaa it is called the gabher
rite.91 An appendix from an early nineteenth century copy of the
Buddhacharita also confirms that there is a long traditional association
between these two rituals.92
The Buddha then relates the story of King Sihaketu who lived
happily in the city of aiprabh with his loving wife Sulaka. Lewis lists
the name of the city as aipaana and the name of the queen as
Sraka, both very similar words to the older versions, as prabh
(splendor) and paana (city) are common endings for cities and towns. As
has been seen before in this dissertation with the Nepal/Newar example, a
Prakrit R can mutate into the Sanskrit L and as seen in the case of
Sulaka/Sraka the reverse is also true.93 Both - and - are
common feminine name endings and their change over time requires no
additional explanation. The king hunted constantly and killed many living
creatures, much to the distress of his wife, who counselled him one day to
give up his love of hunting, concerned about the retribution he must
surely face in his future births for being the exterminator of so many lives.
She quotes some verses on the virtues of ahis (non-violence) to him,
and among the methods she suggests to counter his transgressions is
circumambulating a caitya. Ignoring his wifes advice, the king eventually
91 Mitra, p. 230
92 Cowell, E. B., and others, Buddhist Mahyna Texts, Dover reprint, New York, 1969, p.
199
93 Hodgson, B. H., Essays on the Languages, Literature and Religion of Neal and Tibet,
Manjusri, New Delhi, 1972 (original edition 1874), p. 51
31
passed away. So distraught was she at the passing of her husband into
what must be a terrible next birth, she immolates herself on her
husbands funeral pyre. Note that the traditionally Hindu practise of widow
self-immolation (sat) is featured prominently here, in a Buddhist story,
with only good moral consequences. The sat rite also appears in some
Tr Vratakath, but in a negative way, with the woman who commits
suicide going straight to hell.94 It seems strange that this should happen
after the queen has just been quoting scripture about the virtues of nonviolence, and yet this story could not continue without the widow
immolation having taken place. The inclusion of sat in a text written for
lay communities shows that there was a practise of religious syncretism in
Newar communities similar to the aforementioned methods, such as
viuddhi, that tantric and scholastic texts used in order to redact
previously aivite material. The purpose however seems to be a reflective
one, it is not included to change or authorise certain practises but to
reproduce what the community already does. More examples of
traditionally non-Buddhist practises appearing in stories is seen later in
this dissertation.
After a time spent in hell, her husband eventually works his way up
to being reborn as a buffalo in his old city, and the meritorious queen was
reborn as a brhma woman in the same city. Her name in this life was
Rpavat, and she was given the task of looking after the family buffalo.
She reject all offers of marriage, until a Bodhisattva came to her and told
her that the buffalo she cares for every day was actually her husband in a
previous life, doomed to be killed by the wild beasts of the forest. If she
wanted to help him, she would have to gather up the buffalos remains
and put them into a caitya made of sand. In one of Mitras versions, she is
advised instead to throw the bones into the river and create the caitya on
the spot where the buffalo was slain. She may use one of the buffalos
horns for offering it water, and the other as a trumpet as she
circumambulates it. When it came to pass that the buffalo was attacked
94 Lewis, p. 106
32
and killed by wild animals, she followed the advice of the Bodhisattva until
one day an elegant caitya appeared in the sky, and merged with her sand
caitya. From the trumpet horn emerged a person, her husband, liberated
from his suffering. Having circumambulated the caitya together in
gratitude, they lived happily ever after as king and queen of the city once
more, extolling the virtues of the gabher rite.
The gabher Avadna voices a Buddhist opinion less often heard;
that rather than being a hindrance, married life can actually help a
practitioner along the path to enlightenment. Householder Buddhism was
never in any opposition to mainstream monasticism; rather it was itself
the mainstream in that it was the path taken by the majority of Buddhists.
Rpavat is less of an obstacle to virtue, meditation, and to wisdom... like
a thief, a murderer, or a guardian of hell as wives have been described in
the Buddhist tradition, but just the opposite.95 As has been examined
already, Newar Buddhism has a sphere of religion which actively promotes
the householder lifestyle. As a text aimed primarily at a Newar lay
audience, this was most likely the sentiment expressed outside a
monastic setting, at gatherings of lay people such as on the Upoadha
days. Historically caityas and stpas have always been focal points for
pilgrimage and local worship. On full moon and eighth lunar days stpa
worship was one of the most important activities.96
The Upoadha and Aam Vrata.
The Upoadha day has a long history with Buddhism and is
associated with it from its earliest times. Upoadha, or just Posaha, is the
term used in Nepal Bhasa and Nepalese Sanskrit ritual texts, and comes
from the Pali word Uposatha, which in turn derives from the Sanskrit
upavasatha, the term used for a day of fasting and preparation that
preceded pre-Buddhist Vedic sacrifice days.9798 Of the many ritual
sacrifices which Vedic householders had to perform, two were lunar
sacrifices done on the new moon (dara) and full moon (puramsa). The
33
day before they were to be done was a preparatory time, called vrata,
filled with rites for purification such as fasting, desisting from work and
sexual abstinence in order to bring the sacrificer closer to the gods.99
Hence the term upavasatha, from upa near and vas dwell, referring to
dwelling nearer to the gods during this period.100 This vrata day of
preparation would have been held on the day before the sacrifice, so on
the 14th tithi (lunar day) if it was the 15th Uposatha, for example see the
Yajurveda 1.6.7: Even as the Soma [sacrifices] come together in
competition, so the new and full moon [sacrifices] are sacrifices which
come together in competition. Whose sacrifice then do the gods approach
and whose not? He, who among many sacrificers first appropriates the
gods, sacrifices to them when the next day comes. By the time Buddhism
had rose in popularity to become a major religion, the word had come to
mean the day preceding four stages of the moons waxing and waning,
viz. 1st, 8th, 15th, 23rd nights of the lunar month... a weekly sacred day, a
Sabbath.101 Because the vrata was originally a preparatory rite and it
was the sacrifice which was on the Upoadha, it originally fell on the day
before, the 14th. The Upoadha day of rest was observed even in
communities which did not perform sacrifices, so the preparatory rite
beforehand should not have held any interest, and yet we find that
possibly due to the popularity of the later rubricated Puric vrata ritual,
as the post popular rite the (originally only preparatory) vrata moves to
the most popular day among communities which do not sacrifice.102 Some
vratas, such as the Mahkla Vrata, are still done on the 14th lunar day, in
97 Rhys-Davids, T. W., and Stede, W., The Pali Tet Societys Pali-English Dictionary, Pali
Text Society, London, 1921-25. The entry on "Uposatha" is available online at
http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:4011.pali.
98 Locke 160
99 Locke, p. 160
100 Ibid.
101 Ibid, pp. 151-152
102ibid, p. 160
34
this case on the 14th day of the dark half, because of the strong
significance that day has as a time of dark happenings.
The days of the full moon and the new moon were the most popular
Upoadha days to hold regular Buddhist celebrations and festivals.
Vaikha (or Vesak), a holy day that celebrates the birth, enlightenment
and death of kyamuni Buddha, always falls on a full moon day. Every
two weeks on these new and full moon days the ordained Buddhist
sagha reaffirm their adherence to the prtimoka, a list of rules for
monastic discipline from the Vinaya monastic code that governs the
behaviour of monks and nuns. They also practised locan, where a monk
or nun confesses any sins they may have committed or rules they may
have broken privately to their superiors and one of the earliest of all
Buddhist customs.103 Upoadha days were traditionally used by different
sects and schools of all main contemporary religions, as well as wanderers
and ascetics, to teach and expound their views, a practise which
Buddhism also adopted.104 According to legend first the ordained sagha
began this tradition by reciting dharma, and then later the Buddha
prescribed the confession aspect of the ritual.105 Eventually ritual activities
on the Upoadha days were extended to the laity, who did not confess as
the monks and nuns did but used this day to visit local monasteries and
give offerings to the ordained community, and the aim of this was often
recorded in an anti-householder manner such as for the purification of a
soiled mind by a proper process.106 They would also have the option to
hear recitations of Buddhist stories and be taught the dharma, and
sometimes lay folk might take this opportunity to observe eight of ten
monastic regulations and reside temporarily for that day in the monastery.
It is ironic that in one of the earliest Buddhist scriptures, the Aguttara
Nikya, the Jaina laity are ridiculed for the practise of becoming a monk
103 ibid, p. 159
104 Ibid 152
105 ibid, p. 160
106 Locke 160
35
for the day. P.S. Jaini concluded from this that the lack of observances for
the laity was the reason Buddhism died out in India but Jainism
survived.107 This Upoadha day is the only practise which ancient
Buddhism provided for lay practitioners. White robes could be worn to
symbolise a non-celibate practitioner taking on these extra vows, and
those that did often fasted on this day as well, starting at midday and
continuing until the next morning. This led to Upoadha days being
commonly known as fasting days.108 It is no surprise then that we find
the most popular of all the Newar vratas is performed on these days,
called the Upoadha Vrata when performed on the new or full moon but as
it is more popularly performed on the two quarter moons it is most
commonly known as the Aam Vrata (Dhala Danegu in Nepal Bhasa),
the Observance of the Eighth Lunar Day. The most formal and full version
of the rite is the Noble Observance of Eight-Limbed Upoadha
(ryga upoadha vrata).109 Modern Newar explanations for the
meaning of the terms aam and (rya)aga refer to either the date or
to the eight precepts they must follow on this day, though the term came
from the former and not the latter.110 Note that the 23rd would also be
considered the 8th, as lunar days were counted in two batches of fifteen,
with the waxing moon half being the ukla paka (bright side) and the
waning the ka paka (dark side).
The Aam Vrata did not begin to take shape as a vrata ritual
distinct from general Upoadha fasting until around the 12th century,
where according to the Blue Annals, a Tibetan source, an early version of
it is found in a manuscript that also details its transmission to Tibet: The
Degree of propitiating rya Avalokitevara by performing the rite of
fasting was preached by the nun Lakm... by fasting once in the presence
of rya Avalokitevara, one was able to remove a great sin, and obtain
107 Gellner, p. 220
109 Gellner, p. 221
110 Tuladhar-Douglas, p. 186 (note 71)
36
(rebirth) in a human form, and that in the end such a person was to go to
Sukhvat.111 The Aam Vrata is linked exclusively with Avalokitevara
and his local Nepalese form, Amoghapa Lokevara, except for the
version mentioned above which was spread by the nun Lakm through
Tibet. This form of the fast, known as sMjung gnas, has replaced any
Upoadha Vrata there was before. We know that this was not the original
version of the Upoadha Vrata as the original version is contained in the
legend of Lakm herself. The story of Lakm is that she had leprosy, and
due to that was excluded from her home and from other places where she
went to practise. A dream advised her to propitiate the Bodhisattva
Avalokitevara through the Upoadha Vrata in order to be free of her
affliction. She did this religiously, and when her leprosy was cured she
noticed that the image of the Bodhisattva Avalokitevara she was
currently worshipping (aakar Lokesvara) had changed to
Ekdaamukha atasahasrabhuja Lokevara, and thus it was this final
version of the deity with eleven heads and a hundred thousand hands that
was codified into the sMjung gnas ritual.112 As a leper she was still eligible
to do the vrata ritual, which boasts universal accessibility to all castes and
even dogs.113 There are many rituals which can be performed on these
lunar days which are called Aam Vrata or Upoadha Vrata but when the
term is given alone without any further specification, they are referring to
the Aam Vrata of Amoghapa Lokevara.114 It is not fixed to any
particular aam or Upoadha day of the year, and often a group of
practitioners (guhi) will arrange to perform it on twelve successive
months, telling twelve different collections of vratakath stories each
time.115 Which stories are read depends on where they are (sometimes it
is held at twelve pilgrimage spots) and the time of year. It is possible that
111 Roerich, G., N., and Lotsaba, G., The Blue Annals. Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, 2 nd
Edition, 1976, pp. 1007-8

114 Locke 162
115 Locke 159
37
the Nepal Bhasa term meaning to fast, apas cwane derives from the
term Upoadha.116 The colloquial Nepal Bhasa term for performing a vrata
is called dhal dane, which comes from dharma dane, meaning to
observe or fulfil the dharma [of a specific deity].117 Even though
Brahmanical vratas were common in Nepal, the Aam Vrata and its
related Upoadha day entered the ritual landscape of Nepal from its
importance in Buddhism. Even though the quarters of the lunar month
were well known as days of rest and sacrifice, the importance of the
Aam Vrata in Newar Buddhism does not have roots in any specific
Puric vrata or other later Brahmanical ritual but to the Buddhist
Upoadha confession. Yet, the content of the vrata itself is inspired not
just by Buddhism but also by Purical equivalents as well as local Newar
culture. It must also be noted that although the practise of undertaking
the eight precepts on full moon days is found in Theravda Buddhism as
well and historically they share the same source, there are more
differences than the inclusion of a vrata culture. Modern participants are
not really aware that they are undertaking the eight precepts, and they
are only chanted by the priest and not orally affirmed by the laity.
The story of the trader Sihalasrthabhu.
One of the most popular of all stories in Nepal, and one of the most
famous Buddhist stories of all time which has a popular version in nearly
all Buddhist communities is the story of the trader Sihalasrthabhu.
Versions of it are found in the Pali Jtaka tales, the Divyvadna, the most
disseminated collection of Buddhist stories, and even in Jain prakrit
literature.118 The modern Nepal Bhasa version most likely originated from
an early version of the Divyvadna which was heavily redacted and
included in a strongly Mahyna text called the Kraavyha.119 The
116 Gellner, p. 221
117 Ibid.
119 Ibid.
38
earliest local Newar redaction of the story is found in the 14th century in
the Kraavyha-inspired Sanskrit Guakraavyha, at a time where
Newar Buddhism was undergoing significant reformation. The
Guakraavyha is devoted to the Amoghapa Lokevara form of
Avalokitevara, the same deity of the Aam Vrata, and thus the role of
this Bodhisattva in the story is a major one. The Guakraavyha may
have been used as vratakath during the Aam Vrata in the past but no
tradition of using the Guakraavyha during a vrata performance
currently survives.120 The Sihalasrthabhu story is found in several
Aamvratakath manuscripts, including three in the archives of the
ASK ( Saph Kut) in Kathmandu; ASK 169 (NS 1011), ASK 146 (NS
947), and ASK 167 (NS 1020).121 ASK 169 (NS 1011) is very short, only 114
folios, which strongly suggests that it was a standard story included in
many Aamvratakath manuscripts. The story itself contains many
references to geographic and cultural details which allow the reader or
listener to know that it is set locally. This understanding is crucial to the
message of the story, which is more than a pious portrayal of how
practising the Aam Vrata can bring you success, fortune and merit, but
also establishes the boundaries of what is socially acceptable. It supports
caste, is anti-exogamy, portrays fellow Buddhists and neighbours the
Tibetans in a negative way and mirrors the many fears of trading families
whose loved ones must brave travelling the Himalayas and the waters of
the Brahmaputra. With all forms of Buddhism having a strong relationship
with travelling trading communities it is clear why this story is so popular
worldwide, but it is what the Newars do with the story which shows the
complexity behind vratakath and other popular literature. Using Lewis
version of the story, a modern version developed from oral storytelling of
the Guakraavyha, Will Tuladhar-Douglas version taken directly from
manuscripts of the Guakraavyha, and Siegfried Lienhards notes
also taken from both the Kraavyha and the Guakraavyha the
basic features of the story can be determined with the invaluable addition
120 Tuladhar-Douglas, p. 115 (note 26)
121 Will Tuladhar-Douglas, personal communication.
39
of an awareness of the oral evolution it has undertaken since its written

standardisation.122
The framing narrative in chapter XV of the Guakraavyha,
called the sihalasrthavhoddhraa, is the main protagonist and
interlocutor, Sarvanivaraavikambhin, asking the highest Buddha,
rghana (Cloud of Glory), about the countless methods which
Avalokitevara uses to save all living beings.123 This is a common
beginning to many chapters of the Guakraavyha , and this time
rghana tells him that Avalokitevara once protected him from danger in
a past life as the merchant Sihalasrthavha. He is also known as
Sihalasrthabhu or just Sihala, and in Lewis version he is
Sihalasrthabhu son of Sihalasrthabha, which is a cognate of
Sihalasrthavha. Setting out one day from his family home, he decides
to begin trading across the Ratnkar Sea to spread his familys jewellery
business. His family are distressed at the dangers their son is about to
face and attempt to convince him from going, but Sihalasrthavha
remains adamant, arguing that if he did not make an income of his own,
any dna he performed would be meaningless because it would be charity
given with his parents money rather than anything he had earned
himself. He assembles 499 attendants for the journey, and departs in the
northern direction. Along the way however they destroy some caityas that
they encounter, and due to this immoral deed their journey takes a turn
for the worst. When they finally reach the mighty Brahmaputra and
attempt to sail across, a sudden storm capsizes the boat. It is noted that,
if they hadnt have gained demerit (pp) from destroying the caityas, they
would have been able to focus their minds on taking refuge in the three
jewels, which would have granted them safe passage. Luckily, all five
hundred of them were able to swim to a nearby island, where they wept at
their bad luck. At that time, five hundred beautiful and lonesome ladies
come to welcome them to the island, telling them how glad they are to
122 Lienhard, S., Avalokitevara in the Wick of the Night-Lamp. IIJ, 36: 93-104,
1993.
40
see some men. All alone on the island, the gorgeous virgins bewailed their
fate at dying alone without husbands. More than happy to fulfil their
wishes, the five hundred traders each took a wife and settled down to a
life of luxury and sensual pleasure on the island, forgetting any thoughts
of returning home. After a week of living like this, Sihalasrthavha is
awakened in the night by the flickering of his bedside lamp. In the flames
is Avalokitevara, come to warn him. Their beautiful new wives were not
human; they were in fact man-eating rkass preparing to eat them all.
Following the directions of Avalokitevara, Sihalasrthavha finds the
hidden cell where the rkass previous husbands are kept and fed upon
by the evil women. The only way for he and his assistants to survive was
to call upon the magical flying horse known as Balha (Vrhaka) and
while riding on his back they must never look back at their wives but
concentrate fully on taking refuge in the three jewels. Many of the traders
do in fact look back at the pitiful wails of their lovely wives, and are
instantly ensnared in their gaze and eaten alive. It is Sihalasrthavha
alone, from the protective effects of taking refuge and from having
performed the Aam Vrata, who survives. In the earlier chapter XI of the
Guakraavyha, called the sihaladvparkasparibodhanoddhraa,
Avalokitevara actually goes to the island of man-eating rkass and
converts them all to Buddhism. This is a regression back to the original
avadna version of the tale, where the island in question is actually r
Lak, but in Sihalasrthavhas version he is going north from Nepal
towards Tibet. Lewis oral version has a different ending of the tale. In that
version, the leader of the rkass, the wife of Sihalasrthavha, follows
him back to his country in order to silence him so that others will fall into
the same trap. When there she conjured a fake baby and told everyone
she met that she was a princess, married and abandoned by
Sihalasrthavha. Though he told everyone that she was a rkas, none
were convinced. Eventually her charms ensnared the king of that land,
who made her his wife despite the warnings of Sihalasrthavha. One
night, the rkas put the palace under a sleeping spell and invited her
sisters to feast. Having seen the entire population of the palace killed, the
41
people of the city followed Sihalasrthavha to destroy the rkass in

revenge. It was due to the power of the Aam Vrata that the army was
able to destroy the rkas and bring peace to the area.124
Sihalasrthavha for his wisdom and bravery was made king, and he
changed his name to Sihalarj. His reign was virtuous, and because he
promoted taking refuge in the three jewels and the bright fortnight
Aam Vrata of Lokevara his country enjoyed the following benefits;
abundant food, virtuous conduct, timely rainfall, the elimination of
diseases, dangers, unhappiness, troubles, thieves, thugs and evil ones,
and everyone who lived there was virtuous, artistic, learned, and
auspicious.125
The original version of the tale on which the Sihalasrthavha
story is founded is called the Valhassa (cloud horse) Jtaka and is found
in the Pli Canon. Other important versions are the Dharmalabdhajtaka
in the Mahvastu and the Sihalvadna in the Divyvadna.126
Depictions of it can be found at Borobudur, and the story has spread to all
Buddhist cultures. It is very similar in content but with some notable
differences. The island of the rkass is identified as Lak, and the
rkass typically enact a more elaborate rouse, causing an entire illusory
town to appear complete with children and men seen working in the
fields. Two hundred and fifty of the men decide to stay behind with their
new wives, whereas the other half successfully fly away on the back of the
horse Valhassa. The Buddha explains the reason it is a Jtaka; The
Buddhas followers were the two hundred and fifty who followed the
advice of the horse, and I was the horse myself.127 In the Kraavyha
version, and indeed in many Mahyna versions, the horse is identified
with Avalokitevara. The Kraavyha is also the oldest version to have
126 Lienhard, p. 93
127 Cowell, E. B., ed., The Jataka: Stories of the Buddhas Former Births, Vol. 2., 18951907, p. 89
42
the rkass call out to their victims and all of them but the leader is
killed. The demonesses are not always identified with rkass, the
Valhassa Jtaka calls them yaks.128 A rkas (masculine rkasa) is
typically an illusionist and shape changer who feeds on human flesh. They
are fearsome in form, with fangs and claw-like fingers and often depicted
with very black skin, but with the ability to change this into a beautiful
human appearance. Yaks (masculine yaka) on the other hand tend to
have two sets of imagery. On the one hand, they are depicted as nonaggressive forest spirits similar to a troll or fairy, and on the other they are
treated as malignant spirits that devour travellers similar to rkass. The
human female form of a yak is often portrayed as voluptuous, with round
faces and large breasts and hips. Among the many continuities the stories
have is that the main characters are trading abroad. Many jtaka tales
feature merchants, as they were a dominant group among early converts
to Buddhism.129 Because of their wealth they were major donors to
monasteries, and because of their line of work they were crucial in the
spread of Buddhism and establishing Buddhist communities along major
trade routes. The tale of the merchant Sihala addresses many concerns
and worries trading families would have had, such as the dangers of
travelling far from home, the constant fear of shipwreck when travelling
by water and the dangers posed by foreigners, and especially in the case
of the Nepalese version, foreign women.130
It was a common custom for those who traded to and from Tibet to
have two wives, a wife in Nepal and a wife in Tibet, because the mountain
passes were only open at certain times of the year and a trader could
easily spend half of the year living away from home in Tibet.131 In the
Newar redaction this worry is an obvious part of the story, and reflects the
128 Young, S., Courtesans and Tantric Consorts: Sexualities in Buddhist Narrative,
Iconography and Ritual. Routledge, New York, 2004, p. 213
129 Ibid.
130 Ibid.
43
domestication of the original jtaka. The narrative has gained more

meaning than its Buddhist didactic exterior. The issue here is no longer
focused on the damaging effects women have on male spirituality, and
what was originally just a geographic shift has highlighted issues which
have a strong local presence among merchant Newars. This pan-Buddhist
story of merchants crossing the ocean has become translated linguistically
as well as culturally not just into a trans-Himalayan adventure crossing the
Brahmaputra but into a means to extol local deities (Amoghapa
Lokevara) and local rituals (Aam Vrata) in an attempt to ward off a
very real danger. Lewis notes, the heartache and fears of Newar wives
who stayed at home while their husbands lived for years in Tibet is
aroused, while devotions to the bodhisattva Avalokitevara... especially
through the Aam Vrata... simultaneously highlighted and alleviated the
anxiety.132 It was not just jealous wives who felt threatened by a Tibetan
wife, but male family members who stayed at home often felt that their
potential profits or eventual inheritance would be threatened by claims
made by any children that resulted in the Tibetan marriage. The story
supports the boundaries inherent with the concepts of home and family,
and also to remain loyal to your own ethnic group against outsiders, even
if those outsiders might also be Buddhists such as the Tibetans. This
brings the Newar version of the story at odds with Mahyna teachings on
the universality of Buddhism in favour of ethnic and caste identity. Charles
Hallisey and Anne Hansen in an article about how Theravda narrative
literature is able to change morality via transforming sub-ethics, the
basic conditions at the centre of morality, identify three main ways in
which a story can affect morality rather than just reflect it: Prefiguration
(the effect of narratives in enlarging an agent's moral horizon),
configuration (the power of narratives to expose the opaqueness of moral
intention), or refiguration (the healing and transformative potential of
narratives).133 In this case, the anti-caste idea which the Buddha
propagated is left out of the story, but Newars do have access to other
stras which support it, but they obviously have no refigurative power.
132 Ibid, p. 86
44
This could be because the vratakath stories, by their very nature, are
developed orally by any who are doing the vrata, mostly by priests but the
rest of the lay community also has an input into this matter. The
popularity of the text and the subsequent morality that it eschews is
because of its ability to be relevant to the lives of its listeners and readers.
This is the deciding factor in the texts popularity, and so a limit can be
drawn for how far localisation and domestication can be taken because if
the original version of the story did not resonate with listeners it would not
have been given as many local recensions.
The Ahortra Vrata, authority and caste.
There are some aspects of the Newar version of the vrata ritual
which are either exclusive to the tradition or are more pronounced than in
non-Buddhist vratas. In Nepal Buddhist vratas are always led by priests of
the Vajrcrya caste whereas Hindu vratas are often led by Brahmans but
this is not a requirement.134 Most vrata observances, particularly the
Aam Vrata, and several auspicious life-cycle rituals, are brought to an
end with Kumr worship.135 The Royal Kumr (Sanskrit, virgin, maiden)
is the manifestation of the divine goddess Taleju/Durg in a prepubescent
girl. Though there are many Kumr girls in Nepal, the Royal Kumr is the
most famous, and when used without any additional information the term
Kumr refers to her. She is an important figure for Buddhists and aivites
alike and she is represented by a plate filled with all the dishes to be
served in the feast which follows the pj. Though the human girl is
important she is simply the figurehead of a much larger cult.
Contemporary Vajrcrya priests explain Kumr worship as a means to
move a ritual into the third, tantric path of Newar Buddhism.136 The tantric
133Hallisey, C., and Hansen, A., Narrative, Sub-Ethics, and the Moral Life: Some
Evidence from Theravda Buddhism, The Journal of Religious Ethics, vol. 24, No. 2, pp.
305-327, 1996), p. 308

135 Gellner, p. 225
136 Ibid.
45
nature of the Kumr is reinforced by the fact that during the Kumr
worship shares of the feast are laid out not only for her representation but
also on either side of it, and these are said to be for Sihin and Byaghin
(in Sanskrit, Vyghrin), the two guardians who stand at the door to
Buddhist tantric shrines.137 This shows how the Aam Vrata in particular
moves through all three paths of Newar Buddhism. Although performers of
the observance do not verbally acknowledge the Eight Precepts, they are
still built into the rite and the disciples way of taking monastic vows on
the Upoadha forms the basis for the ritual. The worship of the Mahyna
Bodhisattva Amoghapa Lokevara brings it into the great way, and
finally it is the Kumr worship at the end which marks the transition to the
way of the tantric practitioner. David Gellner notes that without these
elaborate differences in Buddhist observances, the tradition would appear
as merely an alternative to Hindu vratas without an inherent identity of
their own.138
The vratakath of the Ahortra Vrata often contains a segment on
which castes can and cannot perform the rite, much to the contrary of the
Aam Vrata which often tries to impress upon the performers that is it a
ritual that everyone can do. Alex von Rospatt points out that Ahortra
vratakath makes a distinction between members of the jtis of the four
varas (brahmins, katriyas, vaiyas and dras) being allowed to do the
pj whereas lower caste or outcastes cannot.139 In a collection of different
Sanskrit Ahortra Vrata texts (called the
Ahortravratacaityasevnuasvadna, a metrical form of the
Ahortravratakath and a prose version of the Ahortravratakath, from
now on these texts will be referred to respectively as AVC, AVKm and
AVKp) by Ratna Handurukande a form of caste exclusivity can be seen in
all three texts.140 The AVC in verses 130-136 states:
137 Gellner, p. 87
138 Gellner, p. 227
46
gandhapupdibhir viprair
arcanya jinlayam /
chattrvarohaam caitye kartavya
katriyair api // 130 //
dhvajvaropaa vaiyai ktya
patkay saha /
naivedyam eva drais tu dtavya
caityapugave // 131 //
anyair vihnajtbhir nrcanyo
jinlaya /
dhpadpdibhir naiva pjanyo na
cnyath //132 //
...
carmakraplavamlecchaniyogilubdh
akdibhi /
drt pradakiktya vandya eva
jinlaya // 135 //
eva sarvais tath lokair
dvijdisarvajtibhi /
svasvajtyarhapjbhi pjanyo
jinlaya // 136 //
eva caranti ye lok
ahortravrata mud /
te sarvappanirmukt
saprayyur jinlayam // 137 //141
Learned Brahmins [who] worship a

caitya with scents, flowers and so
on [will attain] the abode of the
Jinas (Buddhas). Parasols should be
mounted on the caitya by
Katriyas. (130)
Flags should be raised by Vaiyas
with banners, and supplicatory food
should be offered by dras in
honour of the caitya. (131)
By others without a jt [to attain]
the abode of the Jinas [a caitya] is
not to be worshipped with incense,
lamps etc. or in any other way.
(132)
...
Leatherworkers, outcastes,
barbarians, officials, hunters and so
on [to attain] the abode of the Jinas
should praise [the caitya] having
circumambulated it from a
distance. (135)
Thus by everyone (loka. Lit. the
world), by twice-born Brahmins
and all the jts,
By [anyone] fit to perform pj
according to their own birth [may]
worship [to attain] the abode of the
Jinas. (136)
Thus they who do the Ahortra
Vrata with great delight, they are
liberated of all sins and they will go
to the abode of the Jinas. (137)
Similar lists are made in the AVKm and AVKp. The AVKm also
includes a list of thirty-six castes other than the four varas, and the AVKp
140 Handurukande, R., Three Sanskrit Texts on Caitya Worship. Number XVI in Studia
Philologica Buddhica. International Institute for Buddhist Studies, Tokyo, 2000, p. XVII
141 Handurukande, pp. 22-23

47
also lists sixteen and twenty castes which should worship caityas in
their own way and not perform the Ahortra Vrata. This is in contrast to
what Pearson discovered about Hindu vrats among women in Benares.
One of her informants notes that Anyone may do a vrat. God is one for
everybody. Whoever has belief in these (vrats)... whether they be a Hindu,
a Muslim, a Christian... it is no problem.142 She also notes that earlier
Puric vratas were designed to be accessible to everyone (in theory, at
least), which suggests that they were and continue to be a means of
practising religion for lower caste devotees.143 We have also seen in the
story of the leper nun Lakm that the Newar tradition itself holds vratas
to be an accessible ritual, not just women and dras, but outcastes,
dogs (sic) and lepers.144 Will Tuladhar-Douglas notes that clearly part of
the point of her story for subsequent fasters is that fasting in
Avalokitevaras name is a doorway to asceticism... which is always open
to everyone.145 It seems that the only Newar vrata which contains caste
restrictions is the Ahortra, so in that regard it is a singular case. Further
investigation into the textual and ritual history of the Ahortra Vrata may
yield results as to why this is the case.
Ahortra, means in Sanskrit a day and a night, which Mitra takes
to mean ephemeral.146 However, Monier-Williams glosses it as having
the opposite meaning of continually.147 Its more likely that the name
was just descriptive, however the rite itself actually lasts two days and
two nights. The basic outline of the vratakath can be discerned using
Handurukandes three Sanskrit versions, AVC, AVKm and AVKp. In the AVC
the first framing narrative is given to be a dialogue between King Aoka
142 Pearson, p. 122
143 Pearson, p. 76
145 Ibid.
146 Mitra, p.221
147 Monier-Williams, M., A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Asian Educational Services, New
Delhi, 2012, p. 124
48
and the Elder Upagupta, but the AVKm and AVKp start with the AVCs
second frame, where the Buddha is requested by Subhti to explain the
Ahortra Vrata and its merits. The framing narrative of King Aoka and the
Elder Upagupta is also used in the Guakraavyha, however it seems
that in the case of vratakath a framing narrative other than one linking it
to the historical Buddha is not always needed. The reference to the
Buddha alone gives it all the authority it needs. This could be because in
the Guakraavyha the story of the king and his advisor is repeated in
a second framing narrative with Jayar and Jinar and as a whole the text
uses this framing structure to uphold a model of an ideal king. With Aoka
being the ideal Indian king, and Jayar the ideal Nepalese king, by placing
them in linked framing narratives it brings continuity with the older Indian
Buddhist tradition and gives the Guakraavyha the authority to be a
reputable guide for princes.148 Vratakath for a general lay audience does
not need to go to such lengths. Then, a third frame is included where King
Indrapa is informed of how to perform the rite by Vasubandhu. The
AVKp has a different story, with King Dharmadaka being informed about
the rite by the sage riputra. Then the preparations for the rite are
explained, including the erection of a dharmal (a temporary hall for
religious teaching) and setting up a maala. Then procedures to be
observed on the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth full-moon day of the
light half of the month are described until the conclusion of the vrata. The
merit gained from performing the vrata is divided into seven parts; one for
the king, one of all beings, one for those who assist or accomplish the
vrata, one for the sdhak jan (according to the AVC, the AVKp lists the
srath jan, referring to religious devotees or the people of that region)
and the four remaining parts are for the person who performed the
vrata.149 This part of the ritual is not logical by itself, so it is explained by
the inclusion of a story of the nga maidens which occurs later in the
texts. After the performance of the vrata by King Indrapa ( or
Dharmadaka), the followers of the Buddha request him to recount the
149 Handurukande, p. XVII
49
stories of others who have performed the Ahortra Vrata. Interestingly,

the first tale he gives is the story of how Indra practised the Ahortra at a
caitya erected by previous chieftains of the gods in heaven, and thus was
able to vanquish the demon Nirghoadamana. This is another version of
the demons usurping the gods motif that was examined earlier. The three
texts are relatively similar in plot details except for one, and all three
contain the story. The demon lord Nirghoadamana conquered the three
worlds and the city of Indra by force. In the AVC and AVKp the myth takes
a strange turn, as it is the demon lord himself who undermines his
position in charge of his new empire by annoyingly attaining
enlightenment. He performed the Ahortra Vrata so many times that he
attained liberation, thereby nullifying his own threat. Note that it was not
the performance of the rite that gave him the power to conquer heaven
like the demon lords in the other myths, but it was the Ahortra Vrata that
removed him. In the AVKp the story is more similar, with Indra performing
the Ahortra Vrata and attaining thereby the power to overthrow the
demon tyrant.150 The seven shares of the merit is then explained in a story
about the nga maidens. Each version tells it slightly differently. The AVC
version has eight nga maidens disrupting the performance of an
Ahortra Vrata with thier poisonous breath. Cursed by the sages
performing it to become shells, they are told that they can break the curse
if the concentrate on worshipping a caitya. In the AVKm seven sages are
interrupted performing caitya worship by some nga maidens and their
poison, and they are given the same curse and means to escape from it.
The AVKp has two ngas who live in the grove of the Bodhisattva
Mahmati biting a sage who visited there. Cursed, they both became
seven shells at death. The shells somehow see a heap of corn, and
remembering the shape of a caitya, they circumambulate and worship it.
In the AVKp and AVKm this causes them to be reborn as the seven
daughters of a king, had prosperous marriages, and eventually went to
the pure lands. The AVC has a different ending. One day when they are
still shells, after being caught in a fishermans net, they are eaten by his
150 Handurukande, p. XX
50
wife, who in due time gives birth to eight daughters. When they grew
older they were told to sell fish at the local market, but they disliked
selling live fish and let them go free into the water, and only sold dead
fish. They were often beaten for this, and their screams of pain were heard
by a Pratyekabuddha. They asked him to put them on the path to
enlightenment, so he predicted their birth as eight princesses in their next
life, where the story converges with the other two texts. The focus on the
number seven in the other texts is clearly seen as the reason for seven
portions of merit, but this is left unexplaned in the AVC with its eight nga
princesses.
These Ahortra vratakath texts show many features which have
been examined so far. First, there is not just one framing narrative, but
two or three which are used, giving the texts a distinctly Nepalese flavour.
The power and efficacy of the rite is affirmed through the use of the myth
of how the demon Nirghoadamana lost his supremacy over the three
worlds, which also reminds performers of the rite that it is more powerful
than any hindu alternatives. The logic of the ritual is supported directly by
the stories accompanying it, in the case of the seven divisions of merit.
Domestication of the text can be seen in its unabashed support of caste
purity rules, which although may be distinct to this one vrata is most likely
inherited by the most popular local version of this observance.
Conclusion
Buddhist vratakath is often redacted from forms of earlier Jtakas
and Avadnas, ostensibly to lend a background to the ritual. How this
background is accomplished, and what is changed and included, is a
fascinating story of its own. The Puras and Nibandhas show the origin of
the vrata observance as it was known in Medieval India and Nepal, but the
influences of local culture have given the rite a multifaceted existence.
Focusing on just Nepalese Buddhist vratakath is still a difficult task, as
contrary to what David Snellgrove may think the Newar Buddhist tradition
51
differs substantially in practise from its surrounding Hinduism and its

vrata rites are no less individual and complex.
At first it seemed that Lewiss domestication theory could account
for most of the changes to the Avadnas that the vratakath tradition
made, as well as features of local stories. For example, the gabher
Avadna set the story in a Nepalese landscape, and the sat rite of widow
immolation, which may have been a problem for a Buddhist from another
country, was included as a major feature of the story without objection,
because of the norms of the local Nepalese communities who would be
hearing the story. The inclusion of sat in a text written for lay
communities shows that there was a practise of religious syncretism in
Newar communities, similar to the methods that tantric and scholastic
texts used in order to redact previously aivite material. The purpose
however seems to be a reflective one, it is not included to change or
authorise certain practises but to reproduce what the community already
does. The story of the trader Sihalasrthabhu is in places anti-Tibetan
and pro-caste, to the extent that even though Tibetans are also Buddhists
they are (especially the women) to be feared as dangerous others. The
Sihalasrthabhu story is more than an explanation of the boons of the
Aam Vrata, it is a treatise on respecting your own culture. Likewise, the
gabher Avadna voices a Buddhist opinion less often heard; that
rather than being a hindrance, married life can actually help a practitioner
along the path to enlightenment. This shows how householder Buddhism
was never in any opposition to mainstream monasticism; rather it was
itself the mainstream in that it was the path taken by the majority of
Buddhists.
When the texts are compared to methods like the viuddhi process,
it appears that Lewis idea of domestication does not account for outright
battles for authority. It was more than just trying to tie the religion to the
locality, it was an attempt to give them a greater sense of success in a
society where it was acceptable to perform the rituals of another religion.
It was necessary to try and undermine these rivals while simultaneously
52
promoting the specific rite of the text. The inclusion of the story of the
demons overthrowing the gods in the Tr Vratakath may have been to
give authority to a particular local version of the deity in order to promote
pilgrimage to the Tr trtha at Bgduvl, while simultaneously giving
performers of the observance the message that Buddhist rituals are
superior and give greater boons. The Ahortra Vratakath includes a
version of this story where it is the demon lord himself who undermines
his position in charge of his new empire by underestimating the efficacy of
the vrata and attaining enlightenment. All vratakath includes some
reference to the kyamuni Buddha teaching the vrata in a framing
narrative, and some go further and add further framing narratives to give
the text authority.
The study of popular narratives such as vratakath is the study not
only one of the earliest genres of Buddhism but also the study of the most
widespread literature that travelled everywhere Buddhism spread. As
such, it is the most versatile, multifaceted genre of Buddhist texts and
reflects the actual held sentiments, beliefs and practises of the
communities it passed through. The title of this paper, Stories of
Success, refers not only to the ways the rite is portrayed in the text as a
means for merit, earthy boons or magical powers, but also to the authority
the story gives to the observance, to Buddhism as a whole and to local
customs of the laity.
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Buddhist Vrata Stories Reflect Local Culture

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UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Stories of Success: The Role of

Abstract: This paper looks at the ways in which the narratives of

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practises, however most recent scholarship tends to approach vratas from

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11 Locke, J. K., The Upoadha Vrata of Amoghapa Lokevara in Nepal in

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Vrata appears several times in the Upaniads. In the Bhadrayaka

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be subject to a rigorous editing process which tries to redefine her niyama

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vratas where the fast-breaking meal is usually based on dairy substances.

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observances alone.28 In many cases the vratakath stories accompanying

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Newar Buddhism and the Newar textual tradition.

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spiritual motivations for these affect the individual alone.40 Vrata

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rvakayna comprises of monasticism, asceticism, and basic worship of

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quite well in the South Asian cultural environment.52 There is a risk

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tantra literature from all traditions. He argues instead that Buddhist

63 Sanderson, Vajrayna: Origin and Function. p92

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term. The speculative way in which viuddhi appears shall not be

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Kahik rucaka ratna[]

Srheruka is the element of

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inside the text by the inclusion of a new framing narrative, a

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Localisation and authority in Nepalese narratives.

81 Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal, p. 5

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gabher Avadna.83 This is not a singular example however, and the

83 Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal, p. 39

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if not identically, resembles the modern version.87 The other is similar in

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seeking refuge in the three jewels, whitewashing a caitya with lime,

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112 Tuladhar-Douglas, p. 159