Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism

Avadāna – 67
Buddha. This narrative piece is extracted from a Parinirvāṇasūtra
and is in tolerable accord with the celebrated Pāḷi
Mahaparinibbānasutta (another passage from the Parinirvāṇasūtra
serves as an introduction to Story No. 40).
A hundred years after the passing of the Buddha lived king Aśoka.
He had a son named Kuṇāla who was so [52] charming that the king
thought he had no equal in the world. One day, however, he learnt
from merchants from Gandhāra that there were still more handsome
young men than the prince in their country. According to the
merchants there was living a youth called Sundara who was not only
of irreproachable beauty, but wherever he turned, there sprang up a
lotus-pond and a garden. The astonished king Aśoka sent a
messenger and invited Sundara and satisfied himself about this
wonder. The king asked to what karma the youth owed his
excellence and the Elder Upagupta gave the explanation. At the time
that the Buddha had just attained to complete Nirvāṇa the present
Sundara was an impoverished peasant who prepared a refreshing
bath and revived with food Mahakāśyapa and his suite of 500 monks
who had performed the obsequies of the Master, who were depressed
with sorrow at the passing of the Lord and who had been exhausted
with the long journey. Sundara was now enjoying the fruit of this his
good deed.
Avadānaśātaka and Cognate Tales
A number of the stories in our Avadānaśataka turn up in other
Avadāna anthologies and a few also in the Pāḷi Apadānas. Thus the
legend of Raṣṭrapāla which is No. 90 in our collection corresponds
partly to the Raṭṭhapālasutta of the Pāḷi Majjhimanikāya and partly