The seduction theme, somewhat present in the Mahavastu, clearer
in the Vinyapitaka of the Mulasarvastivadin is now the major theme
in this version.
Everything was as previously described in the lunch given by
Yasodhara for Buddha. The story ends at the conversion and
ordination of Yasodhara, but there is no mention of Rahula's
ordination, which is said to have occurred prior to this.
Consequently, the two major versions of the Mahavastu version, the
"scenette 1+2," have completely disappeared.
More information on Yasodhara is available in the monastic laws of
the Mulasarvastivadin. We are told Yasodhara becomes pregnant the
day of the big departure (32). She practices austerities parallel
to those of Buddha for six years, hoping for enlightenment. These
exercises suspend the embryo's development in the womb. When Buddha
decides that these austerities were useless, Yasodhara does the
same, and feels great joy.(35)
This results in the embryo starting to develop naturally. Seeing
this the Shakyas laugh and accuse Yasodhara of infidelity during
Buddha's absence. Yasodhara denies this and, to prove her
innocence, predicts the birth of a son with a brilliant moon in his
hands. Indeed, a sage comes to examine the newborn child and finds
a moon in his hands. Because of this the child was named
Rahula.(37)
Even though Yasodhara's prediction comes to pass, the Shakyas do
not believe Rahula is Buddha's son. Hearing this Yasodhara cries
and decides to prove Rahula's legitimacy by test. She brings him to
a pond where Buddha used to bathe, puts him on a stone and declares
that if Rahula is the son of Buddha he and the stone will float, if
not, they'll drown. The stone floats and Yasodhara orders the stone
to carry Rahula back and forth. The order is obeyed, and the
Shakya's have witnessed this miracle. Yasodhara takes Rahula and
announces that Buddha, having become enlightened after six years of
austerities, will come back to Katmandu in another six years, hence
12 years after his departure.( 38 )
This and similar stories are to be found in the same collection of
documents. Let's compare new versions with old- when Yasodhara
finds out that Buddha has become enlightened, she gives birth to
Rahula in her ultimate happiness.(39) At that moment a lunar
eclipse occurs, and Sudhoddava takes this as a positive omen. He
cleans the city and is charitable towards the poor. The ministers,
brought together by Sudhoddava, decide to give the infant the name
Rahula, in connection with Rahu, demon of the eclipse.(40) At the
same time, Awanda is born to king Dronodana, brother of Sudhoddava.
Sudhoddava, having said Rahula is not Buddha's son, causes
Yasodhara to become worried, so she goes to the pond with her son
and performs an operation similar to the one mentioned above. The
child sits on the stone and directs it at whim. Sudhoddava and his
entourage witness the event and are convinced. Sudhoddava enters
the water, holds up Rahula, and watches as the stone sinks
immediately.
We find, in both passages, elements already present in the
Mahavastu. The day of Rahula's conception, his six years in
Yasodhara's womb, Yasodhara's six year long austerities, as well as
a series of consequences are only alluded to or completely absent
from the Mahavastu. But the six years of austerities which allow
Rahula's growth in the womb, the different explanation of Rahula's
name, the child being born on the day of the eclipse, the birth
causing a scandal and seeming illegitimate, Yasodhara being blamed
and scorned, suffering then using miracles to prove her innocence,
and Buddha returning six years after Rahula's birth are all
present.
Other passages from the Vinayapitaka of the Mulasarvastivadin
complete our information on the legends surrounding Yasodhara. She
is the daughter of Shaliya Dandapani (43). Gautama gives her a gold
ring, a symbol of the love between them from past lives. (44)
Harking to a concensus by councilors, Sudhoddava gives Yasodhara to
Buddha as his spouse.(45) Buddha also marries two other Shakya
maidens, Gopika and Mrgarajamya (not to mention having 60,000
concubines) but Yasodhara is the main spouse.(46) To prove he is a
real man, Buddha gets Yasodhara pregnant on the day of his
departure.(47) That same night Yasodhara has 8 dreams which she
tells her husband about. He interprets them as good omens for his
future enlightenment, and based upon this Yasodhara allows him to
leave his family.( 48 ) Many of these elements are present in the
Mahavastu, mostly in simplified format; the ring gift, the
marriage, the premonition dreams of Yasodhara. In the
Mulasarvastivadin as well, Yasodhara is linked to Buddha by love in
past existences (all mutual). Amidst the important elements ignored
by the Mahavastu, aside from the ordination of Yasodhara, are her
rapid ascension to sainthood, Buddha's comments on her virtues
which trampoline her to first place amongst all the saintly women
involved with Buddha, and the fact that in between her and all the
concubines come two other spouses.
The same goes for the Jakata, where Yasodhara is formally
identified as the heroine, having been Buddha's wife or companion
during prior lives. The only contribution of the Pali Jatakas, the
Mahavastu, and a few other documents preserved elsewhere is that
the woman who was Buddha's wife in his last reincarnation is the
same one who was present in his other lives. Such a long attachment
signifies that the woman had accumulated immense merit in previous
lives in order to be chosen again and again, especially for the
last reincarnation. On this basis she was worthy of great respect
from the Buddhist monks and accepted as the top female saint.
Throughout this structure we see the belief in multiple re-birth.
This belief asserts that certain couples who love each other very
much can be linked through different reincarnations due to the
power of their mutual love, and certain rights accomplished
together. A passage in the Kathavattu concerns these rights, (50)
and to show how strong this belief was we will mention the story of
Nakulapitr and Nakulamatr as told by the Samajivi-sutta(51) Pali on
one side and the ending of Rabindranath Tagore's on the other
side.(52)
The introductory comments in the Pali Jatakas give us very little
on Rahulamata, wife of Gautama. She is ordained in Savatthi along
with 500 other Shakya women, and they all become Saints.(53) As
such she is known as Bimba or Bimbaderi.(54) Rahula, himself a
monk, comes to visit her in her cell and twice procures her a
medicine to relieve her of some ailment.
(55) When she is still a faithful laywoman, Buddha and Sudhoddava
visit her in her palace suite where she lives with her 40,000
women. Sudhoddava praises her highly and reveals to Buddha that she
chose the austere life of
a widow after Buddha's death- this due to her fidelity. Buddha
approves and says she behaved likewise in another life, which is
the theme of the Candakinnara-Jataka.
Here we find two elements that are also present
elsewhere-Rahulamata's ordination after Rahula becomes a monk like
her ancient husband, and an allusion to the self -imposed
macerations and austerities of Rahulamata after Buddha left her.
This allusion is unclear and suggests another explanation for the
six years of austerities. She may have chosen a hard life naturally
due to her sorrow, which no longer allowed her to appreciate the
luxurious life she had lived so far- due to the discredit she could
have suffered because her husband abandoned her. The other scenes,
told in detail, contrast with the silence of the Pali texts on so
many other more important elements spun around the legend of
Buddha's wife- legends described in detail by the Mahavastu, the
Vinayapitaka and other works from north India.
