बोधिसत्त्व

{ bodhisattva }

Puranic Encyclopaedia

BODHISATTVA   A good-natured husband generally quoted in Sanskrit works. The following is the story given about him in Kathāsaritsāgara, Taraṅga 9. Once there lived a wealthy Vaiśya, who had a son named Bodhisattva. When the childhood of the boy was at an end his mother died. The Vaiśya married again and got his son also married. Because of the ear-buzzing of his wife, the Vaiśya drove his son out of the house. Bodhisattva left the house of his father, with his wife. By and by they reached a desert. Not a drop of water was to be had. There was not even the shoot of a grass. It was a sandy place with nothing else in sight. He walked for seven days carrying his wife on his shoulders. His wife grew weary and worn with hunger and thirst. Seeing that she was about to die he gave her his flesh and blood. The wicked woman took them and saved herself from death. On the eighth day they reached the jungles of a hilly place full of fruit-trees and with a river with grassy banks, flowing down to the valley. With fruits and cool water he appeased the hunger and thirst of his wife. Then he got down to the river to take a bath. He saw a man with his limbs cut off, coming afloat. Now and then he was producing pitiable sounds. The kind son of the Vaiśya, without minding his weakness due to fast for the last seven days, swam to the man and brought him to the bank of the river. He did all services possible for him. Then he asked him who had cut off his limbs. He replied that his enemies had done so, with the intention that he might die suffering severe pain for a long time. The Vaiśya's son stood still for a little while. Then he took his bath. With his wife he lived in the forest doing penance. The wounds of the man he saved had been healed. The Vaiśya's son, one day, went out to the forest to gather fruits and roots for their food. At that time his wife grew lustful and had coition with the man without limbs. Gradually she began to dote on him. She decided to kill her husband who was an impediment on her way. She pretended to be ill. The Vaiśya's son began to treat her. One day she took her husband to the edge of a very deep well and said: “See, there is a divine herb at the bottom of this well. I will be cured if I could eat it. This is what a goddess told me in a dream yesternight”. Hearing this her husband made a rope, and tied it to a tree. Then he began to go down the well by the rope. She cut the rope and the man fell into the well. There was a passage from the well to the river. The current took him through that passage to the river. He got out of the river, and sat under a tree thinking of the wickedness of women. There was a city close by. At that time the King of the city was dead and there was no heir left. The subjects of the city brought an elephant and said, “whom ever this elephant takes and places on his back shall be our king”. They sent the elephant out. The elephant was pleased at the virtuous character of the son of the Vaiśya. So taking him, as if he was God, placed him on its back and walked to the city. The people gathered round him and anointed him as their King. The son of the Vaiśya became King. He never even thought of women who are generally fickle and wicked. The wicked wife of the Vaiśya's son took the limbless man on her shoulder and wandered about saying, “The enemies of my husband have put him in this plight. Because of my conjugal fidelity I carry him thus and earn our daily bread. Please give us alms”. In this manner she spent her days in begging. Thus wandering from place to place she reached the city where the Vaisya's son was the King. The people, seeing her loyalty to her husband, honoured her and spoke highly of her. Hearing that a very loyal wife had reached his city the King sent for her. The King recognized her instantly. But she did not know him. The King reminded her of her deeds of the past one by one and began to tease and scold her. Finally when she understood that the King was her husband she was dumb-founded. The amazed ministers looked at each other. The King revealed everything to them. The ministers disfigured her and drove her away.

हिन्दी (hindi) WN

noun  बौद्ध धर्म को अनुसार वह जो बुद्धत्व प्राप्त करने का अधिकारी हो पर बुद्ध न हो सका हो   Ex. बोधिसत्त्व ने अपनी तपस्या और अधिक कठिन कर दी ।

ONTOLOGY:

व्यक्ति (Person) ➜ स्तनपायी (Mammal) ➜ जन्तु (Fauna) ➜ सजीव (Animate) ➜ संज्ञा (Noun)

SYNONYM:

बोधिसत्व

Wordnet:

ben বোধিসত্ত্ব

guj બોધિસત્ત્વ

kok बोधिसत्त्व

mal ബോധിസത്വന്

ori ବୋଧିସତ୍ତ୍ବ

urd بودھی ستو

कोंकणी (Konkani) WN

noun  बौध्द धर्मा प्रमाणें बुद्धत्व प्राप्त करपाचो अधिकारी आसा पूण बुद्ध जावंक ना असो   Ex. बोधिसत्त्वान आपली तपस्या आनीक चड कठीण केली

ONTOLOGY:

व्यक्ति (Person) ➜ स्तनपायी (Mammal) ➜ जन्तु (Fauna) ➜ सजीव (Animate) ➜ संज्ञा (Noun)

SYNONYM:

बोधिसत्व

Wordnet:

ben বোধিসত্ত্ব

guj બોધિસત્ત્વ

hin बोधिसत्त्व

mal ബോധിസത്വന്

ori ବୋଧିସତ୍ତ୍ବ

urd بودھی ستو

A Sanskrit English Dictionary

बोधि—सत्त्व  m.  m. ‘one whose essence is perfect knowledge’, one who is on the way to the attainment of p° k° ( i.e. a Buddhist saint when he has only one birth to undergo before obtaining the state of a supreme बुद्ध and then निर्वाण), [Śiś.]; [Kathās.]; [Rājat.]; [Buddh.] (the early doctrine had only one बोधि-सत्त्व, viz. मैत्रेय; the later reckoned many more, [MWB. 134, 188, 189])

ROOTS:

बोधि सत्त्व

N. of the principal बुद्ध of the present era (before he became a बुद्ध), [Śiś.] Sch.; [L.]
of a poet, [Cat.]

Shabda-Sagara

बोधिसत्त्व  m.  ( -त्त्वः) A Buddha, or Bauddha saint.
E. बोधि intellect, सत्त्व truth.

ROOTS:

बोधि सत्त्व