A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t3.149

v2.c19.s6.t3.149

No. 100. Whilst the heroes of all the other Avadānas are contemporaries of the Buddha, the hero of this last story is a contemporary of King Aśoka. The link with the time of Buddha is established by the initial mention of a report of the passing away of the Buddha.¹ King Aśoka lived a hundred years after the passing of the Buddha. Aśoka had a son named Kuṇāla, who was so handsome that the king believed there could not be his equal in the whole world. One day, however, he hears from some merchants from Gandhāra, that a still handsomer young man exists. In their country, they say, there lives a youth named Sundara ("Beautiful") who is not only of faultless beauty, but wherever he goes, a lotus pond and a garden arise. The astonished King Aśoka sends messengers for Sundara, and convinces himself of this miracle. The king then asks what Karman has given the youth his advantages, and Upagupta,² one of the elders, replies as follows: At the time when the Buddha had just attained complete Nirvāṇa, the present Sundara had been a poor farmer, who prepared a refreshing bath and food for Mahā-Kāśyapa and his retinue of 500 monks when they went to the burial of the Lord and were bowed down with grief at the passing of the Master, and were quite exhausted by their long wanderings. He is now enjoying the fruit of that good deed.