དཔལ་གྱ་སྡའ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ intro.13

intro.13

The conversations that King Śrīsena has about generosity, and the narrative details concerning his sacrificial deed, are reminiscent of other past life stories featuring bodily sacrifice. Reiko Ohnuma calls these “gift-of-the-body stories” and describes how they are found throughout all Buddhist canons, most commonly in avadāna and jātaka works but elsewhere as well.⁵ A few of these bodily sacrifice stories were well known across Buddhist traditions. Indeed, as Śrīsena argues with Mahāmati about the merits of his impending deed, he cites several previous gift-of-the-body stories to make his case. These include the stories of a king of Śibi who gives his eyes to a brahmin, another king of Śibi who gives his flesh to a hawk in order to save a pigeon, and King Candraprabha who gives his head to a brahmin.⁶