མ་ག་དྷ་བཟང་མའ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ intro.2

intro.2

The Exemplary Tale of Sumāgadhā opens at Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī, where the Buddha is staying. At the time, Anāthapiṇḍada’s daughter Sumāgadhā is married off to Vṛṣabhadatta, the son a merchant who follows the nirgrantha or Jain tradition, in the distant city of Puṇḍravardhana. After arriving at the home of her in-laws, Sumāgadhā is disheartened on encountering the nirgrantha mendicants. When her mother-in-law asks why she seems despondent, Sumāgadhā tells her about the Buddha. At her mother-in-law’s request, she invites the Buddha and the saṅgha of monks for a meal, and she does so by preparing an offering and calling out from the rooftop. When Ānanda inquires about this invitation, the Buddha announces that all monks with miraculous powers must take a tally stick and travel to Puṇḍravardhana. As the śrāvakas arrive on different extraordinary vehicles that they have created with their miraculous powers, Sumāgadhā relates a brief story about each of them, with these stories alluding to other tales about the śrāvakas.