Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c31.1701

v2.c31.1701

1. Mahāpaduma.—A Pacceka Buddha, chief of five hundred Pacceka Buddhas, all sons of Padumavatī. He alone was born of his mother’s womb, the others being saṃsedajā. After Padumavatī’s rivals¹ had placed the children in caskets which they launched down-stream, they announced to the king that Padumavatī was a non-human and had given birth to a log of wood. He expelled her from the palace, and as she wandered about in the streets, deprived of all her glory, an old woman had pity on her, took her home, and looked after her. The king was bathing in the river when the caskets containing the children got entangled in his nets, and, having taken them out and unlocked them, he found the babes inside, together with a letter from Sakka saying that they were the children of Padumavatī. The king hastened back to his palace and issued a proclamation that anyone finding Padumavatī would receive one thousand as reward. On Padumavatī’s suggestion, the old woman, her protector, offered to find her, and Padumavatī then revealed herself. She was conducted back to the palace in all glory, and her five hundred rivals were given to her as slaves. She had them freed, and appointed them as nurses to look after her children, except Paduma (called Mahāpaduma), whom she nursed herself. When Mahāpaduma and his brothers reached the age of sixteen, they went one day to the park, where they were impressed by the appearance of old and faded lotus among the fresh ones growing in the pond, and developing this topic of thought, they became Pacceka Buddhas and went to Nandamūla-cave. Padumavatī died of grief at the loss of all her sons and was reborn in a labourer’s family. She married, and, one day, while taking gruel to her husband, she saw eight Pacceka Buddhas (her sons in a previous birth) travelling through the air and descending near to where she stood. She gave them the food intended for her husband and invited them for the next day. The next day all the five hundred came to do honour to their mother and to accept her entertainment. She fed them all and offered flowers to them.² Afterwards Mahāpaduma and his brothers were entertained by Nanda, king of Benares, and his queen (who in their last birth were Mahā Kassapa and Bhaddā Kāpilānī).