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Dictionary of Pali Proper Names v2.c36: S

Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names v2.c36

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S

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Samyama.—A king of Benares, mentioned in the Mahāhamsa Jātaka (q.v.). Khemā was his chief consort. He is identified with Sāriputta.¹

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¹ J. v. 354, 382.

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Samyutta Nikāya, Samyuttāgama.—One of the five divisions of the Sutta Piṭaka. It consists of 7,762 suttas,¹ and, at the First Council, was given in charge of Mahā Kassapa and his pupillary succession (nissitaka).² The Nikāya is divided into five main Vaggas and fifty-six sections, called Samyuttas, each Samyutta being again subdivided into minor Vaggas or chapters. Buddhaghosa wrote a Commentary on the Samyutta, called Sāratthappakāsinī. The Samyutta Nikāya is quoted in the Milindapañha.³

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¹ DA. i. 17; Gv. 56.

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² DA. i. 15.

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³ E.g., pp. 137, 242, 377, 379; see also Vin. ii. 306, where Uposatha Samyutta is mentioned, but what is evidently meant is the Uposatha Khandhaka.

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Kittisirirājasīha, king of Ceylon, had the Samyutta Nikāya copied by scribes.⁴ One of the Samyuttas, the Anamatagga, was preached by Rakkhita in Vanavāsa⁵ and by Mahinda in Ceylon,⁶ soon after their respective arrivals in these countries, at the conclusion of the Third Council. The Nikāya has been translated into Burmese.⁷

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⁴ Cv. xcix. 33.

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⁵ Mhv. xii. 32.

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⁶ Ibid., xv. 186.

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⁷ Bode, op. cit., 92.

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Samyoga Sutta.—On how men and women forge bonds for themselves by being attached to sex.¹

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¹ A. iv. 57.

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Samyojana Sutta.—On the ten samyojanas.¹

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¹ A. v. 17.

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Samvaṇṇanānayadīpanī.—A grammatical work by Jambudhaja Thera of Pagan.¹

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¹ Bode, op. cit., 55.

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1. Samvara.—The youngest of the hundred sons of Brahmadatta, king of Benares. See the Samvara Jātaka.

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2. Samvara.—The Ājīvaka mentioned in the Paṇḍara Jātaka (q.v.).¹ 3. Samvara.—A chieftain of the Asuras, skilled in wiles.¹ Cf. Sambara.

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¹ J. v. 87; see scholiast, ibid., line 27.

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¹ J. v. 452, 454.

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Samvara Jātaka (No. 462).—The Bodhisatta was the teacher of Samvara (1), youngest of the hundred sons of the king of Benares. When he had finished his studies, the king offered him a province, but, at the suggestion of his teacher, he preferred to live near his father. There, acting on the Bodhisatta’s advice, he won all hearts, and on the death of his father the courtiers made him king. The brothers protested, and Samvara, again following his teacher’s advice, divided his father’s wealth among them. Then his brothers, led by Uposatha, acknowledged him king.

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The story was told to a monk who had dwelt in the forest and had then given up striving. He is identified with Samvara and Sāriputta with Uposatha.¹

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¹ J. iv. 130 ff.; see also the Alinacitta Jātaka and Gāmaṇi Jātaka.

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Samvara Sutta.—On the four efforts: to restrain, abandon, make become and watch over.¹

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¹ A. ii. 6.

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Samvasita.—A king of twenty-eight kappas ago, a former birth of Gandhodaka Thera.¹

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¹ Ap. i. 106.

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Samvāsa Suttā.—Two Suttas—one preached to some householders on the road between Madhurā and Verañjā, the other to the monks—on four ways of living together: a vile man with a vile woman, a vile man with a devī, a deva with a vile woman, a deva with a devī.¹

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¹ A. ii. 57 ff.

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Samvutta Sutta.—The three spheres—kāma, rūpa, arūpa—must be given up and three kinds of training must be developed: greater virtue (adhisīla), greater thought, greater insight.¹

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¹ A. iv. 444.

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Samvejaniya Sutta.—Four spots connected with the Buddha—the scenes of his birth, his Enlightenment, the preaching of his first sermon, and his death—which should be looked upon with emotion by believers.¹ v.l. Vejanīya.

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¹ A. ii. 120; D. ii. 140.

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Samsaya.—A divine musician or a musical instrument.¹

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¹ VvA. 93, 372.

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Samsāraphala.—A park in Ceylon, laid out by Parakkamabāhu I.¹

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¹ Cv. lxxix. 10.

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Samsāramocakā.—A class of micchādiṭṭhikas.¹

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¹ E.g., PvA. 67.

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Sa-ādhāna Vagga.—The sixth chapter of the Aṭṭhaka Nipāta of the Aṅguttara Nikāya.¹

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¹ A. iv. 274-93.

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Sakacittaniya Thera.—An arahant. Ninety-one kappas ago, in the time of Sikhī Buddha, he made a thūpa of bamboos in the name of the Buddha and offered flowers to it. Eighty kappas ago he was a king.¹

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¹ Ap. i. 111 f.

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Sakaṭa.—A Yakkha who, with five thousand others, guarded the fifth door of Jotiya’s palace.¹ v.l. Kasakaṇḍa.

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¹ DhA. iv. 209.

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1. Sakalikā Sutta.—Seven hundred devas of the Satullapa group visit the Buddha at Maddakucchi as he lay grievously hurt by a stone splinter. They express their admiration, in various ways, of the Buddha’s mindfulness and self-possession and blame his enemy (Devadatta) for trying to injure so marvellous a being.¹

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¹ S. i. 27 f.

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2. Sakalikā Sutta.—Māra approaches the Buddha at Maddakucchi as he lay there in great pain, and tries to grieve him by saying that he is idle and full of brooding thoughts. The Buddha denies the charge.¹

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¹ S. i. 110.

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Sakā.—A tribe, mentioned in a list.¹ The name probably refers to the Scythians.

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¹ Mil. 327, 331.

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Sakimsammajjaka Thera.—An arahant. He saw the Pātali-bodhi of Vipassī Buddha and swept around it and paid it honour. On the way home he was killed by a python.¹

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¹ Ap. i. 378f.

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Sakuṇa Jātaka (No. 36).—The Bodhisatta was once a bird, leader of a large flock. He lived in a tree, and noticing one day that two of the boughs were grinding one against the other and producing smoke, he warned his flock of the risk of fire and left for elsewhere. The wiser birds followed him, but some remained behind and were burnt to death.

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The story was related to a monk whose cell was burnt down. He told the villagers of this, and they continually promised to build him a new one, but failed to do so. As a result the monk lived in discomfort and his meditations were fruitless. When he reported this, the Buddha blamed him for not going elsewhere.¹

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¹ J. i. 215 f.

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Sakuṇaggi Jātaka (No. 168).—The Bodhisatta was once a quail and was seized one day by a falcon. The quail lamented, saying that if he had remained in the feeding ground of his own people he would not have suffered thus. The falcon, hearing this, let him go, saying that he could catch him, no matter where he was. The quail flew back and perched on an immense clod, whence he called to the falcon. The falcon swooped down, but the quail just turned over, and the falcon was dashed to pieces against the clod.¹

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¹ J. ii. 58 f.

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The Jātaka was related on the occasion of the preaching of the Sakuṇovāda Sutta (q.v.).

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Sakuṇaggi Sutta.—See Sakuṇovāda Sutta.

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Sakuṇovāda Sutta.—A monk must keep to his own pasture ground, his own native beat (pettikavisaya)—viz., the four satipaṭṭhānas. Objects, sounds, etc., are passion-fraught, inciting to lust.¹

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¹ S. v. 146 f.

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The introduction of the sutta contains the Sakuṇaggi Jātaka (q.v.). The name given in the uddāna of the Saṃyutta is the Sakuṇaggi Sutta.

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1. Sakula.—A city in Mahiṃsaraṭṭha.¹

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¹ J. v. 337.

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2. Sakula.—A king of Sakula. See the Cullahamsa Jātaka. He is identified with Sāriputta.¹

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¹ J. v. 337, 353.

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1. Sakulā Therī.—She belonged to a brahmin family of Sāvatthi and became a believer on seeing the Buddha accept Jetavana. Later, she heard an arahant monk preach, and, being agitated in mind, joined the Order. Having developed insight, she won arahantship. Afterwards the Buddha declared her foremost among nuns in *dibba-cakkhu*.¹

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¹ Cf. A. i. 25.

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In the time of Padumuttara Buddha she was Nandā, daughter of King Ananda, and, therefore, half-sister of the Buddha. One day she heard the Buddha declare a nun chief among possessors of the "heavenly eye" and herself wished for similar honour. In the time of Kassapa Buddha she was a brahminee and later became a Paribbājikā. One day she offered alms at the Buddha’s *thūpa* and kept a lamp burning there all night. She was then reborn in Tāvatiṃsa.²

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² Thig. vss. 98-101; ThigA. 91 f.; Ap. ii. 569 f.; AA. i. 199 f.

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2. Sakulā.—Sister of Somā. They were both wives of Pasenadi and followers of the Buddha. Once, when Pasenadi was staying at Ujjuñña, he went to see the Buddha, and carried to him the greetings of the two queens.¹

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¹ M. ii. 125 f.; MA. ii. 757.

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Sakuludāyī.—A famous Paribbājaka. The Mahā-Sakuludāyī and the Culla-Sakuludāyī Suttas (*q.v.*) record two conversations between him and the Buddha in the Paribbājakārāma at Moranivāpa in Rājagaha. He is also said to have been present when the Buddha visited the Paribbājakārāma on the Sappinī River and talked to the Paribbājakas there.¹ In these contexts he is said to have been in the company of Annabhāra (Anugāra) and Varadhara, evidently themselves eminent Paribbājakas. Sakuludāyī’s teacher was Vekhanassa.²

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¹ A. ii. 29, 176.

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² MA. ii. 716.

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Sakoṭa, or Koraṇḍadāyaka Thera.—An arahant. Thirty-one kappas ago he saw the footprint of Sikhī Buddha and worshipped it, covering it with *koraṇḍa*-flowers.¹

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¹ Ap. i. 283.

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Sakka.—Almost always spoken of as "devānaṃ indo," chief (or king) of the devas. The Saṃyutta Nikāya¹ contains a list of his names: he is called Maghavā, because as a human being, in a former birth, he was a brahmin named Magha.² As such he bestowed gifts from time to time, hence his name Purindada³ (generous giver in former births or giver in towns). Because he gives generously and thoroughly (*sakkaccaṃ*) he is known as Sakka.⁴ Because he gives away dwelling-places (*āvasatham) he is called Vāsava.⁵ Because in one moment he can think of one thousand matters, he is called Sahassakkha.⁶ Because he married the Asura maiden Sujā, he is called Sujampati.⁷ Because he governs the devas of Tāvatiṃsa, he is called Devānam Indo.⁸ Elsewhere⁹ Sakka is addressed as Kosiya (q.v.). He is also spoken of as Yakkha.¹⁰

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¹ S. i. 229; DhA. i. 264.

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² But see *s.v.* Magha; *cf.* Sanskrit Maghavant as an epithet of Indra.

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³ Cf. Indra’s epithet Purandara (destroyer of cities).

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⁴ Śakra occurs many times in the Vedas as an adjective, qualifying gods (chiefly Indra), and is explained as meaning "able, capable." It is, however, not found as a name in pre-Buddhistic times.

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⁵ But see s.v. Vāsava.

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⁶ Also Sahassanetta.

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⁷ For the romantic story of Sakka's marriage, see s.v. Sujā. Thus Sujā's father, Vepacitti (q.v.), became Sakka's father-in-law. Several quaint stories are related about father- and son-in-law. The two sometimes quarrelled and at others lived together in peace (SA. i. 265).

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⁸ See s.v. Inda.

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⁹ E.g., D. ii. 270; M. i. 252.

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¹⁰ M. i. 252; cf. S. i. 206 (Sakkanāmako Yakkho); at S. i. 47 Māghadevaputta (Sakka) is called Vatrabhū, slayer of Vṛtra (SA. i. 83); Sakka is also, in the Jātakas, called Gandhabbarāja (J. vi. 260) and Mahinda (J. v. 397, 411).

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Sakka rules over Tāvatiṃsa devaloka, the lowest heaven but one of the lower plane. His palace is Vejayanta (q.v.) and his chariot bears the same name. Though king of the Tāvatiṃsa devas, he is no absolute monarch. He is imagined rather in the likeness of a chieftain of a Kosala-clan. The devas meet and deliberate in the Sudhammā-sabhā and Sakka consults with them rather than issues them commands. On such occasions, the Four Regent Devas are present in the assembly with their followers of the Cātummahārājika-world.¹¹ Among the Tāvatiṃsa devas, Sakka is more or less primus inter pares, yet he surpasses his companions in ten things: length of life, beauty, happiness, renown, power; and in the degree of his five sense-experiences: sight, hearing, smelling, taste and touch.¹²

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¹¹ See, e.g., D. ii. 207 f., 220 f.

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¹² A. iv. 242; these are also attributed to the rulers of the other deva-worlds.

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In the Saṃyutta Nikāya¹³ the Buddha gives seven rules of conduct, which rules Sakka carried out as a human being, thus attaining to his celestial sovereignty. When the devas fight the Asuras¹⁴ they do so under the banner and orders of Sakka. Pajāpati, Varuṇa and Isāna are also mentioned as having been associated with him in supreme command.¹⁵

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¹³ S. i. 228, 229, 231; cf. Mil. 90; for details of these see Magha.

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¹⁴ For details of Sakka's conquest of the Asuras see s.v. Asura. The Asuras called him Jara-sakka (J. i. 202).

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¹⁵ S. i. 219.

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In the Saṃyutta Nikāya a whole Saṃyutta—one of the shortest, consisting of twenty-five short suttas—is devoted to Sakka. In the first and second suttas Sakka praises energy (viriya); in the third he denounces timidity; in the fourth he shows forbearance to his enemy¹⁶;

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¹⁶ The enemy, in this case, is his father-in-law, Vepacitta. Sakka had a reputation for great forbearance. In sutta 22 a Yakkha is said to have come and to have sat on his throne, to anger him. But Sakka showed him great honour and the Yakkha vanished. The Commentary adds (S.A. i. 272) that it was no Yakkha, but a Rūpāvacara Brahmā, named Kodhabhakkha, who had come to test Sakka's patience.

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in the fifth he advocates the conquest of anger by kindness; in the sixth kindness to animals; in the seventh he denounces trickery, even towards enemies; and in the ninth he preaches courtesy and honour towards the wise. In the eleventh are described the seven life-long habits which raised him to his present eminent position; twelve and thirteen repeat this and explain his titles. In the fourteenth Sakka explains how new gods, who outshine the old ones, do so because they have observed the Buddha's teaching. In the fifteenth he describes as the most beautiful spot that where arahants dwell; in the sixteenth he praises gifts to the Order¹⁷; in the seventeenth he praises the Buddha, but is told by Sahampati that he has selected the wrong attributes for praise. In eighteen to twenty he says that whereas brahmins and nobles on earth and the gods of the Cātummahārājika-world and of Tāvatiṃsa worship him, he himself worships good men and arahants. Numbers twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-four and twenty-five are against anger, and twenty-three is against deceit.

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¹⁷ The story connected with this sutta is that of Sakka, seeing the people of Aṅga and Magadha make preparations for a great sacrifice to Mahā Brahmā, feels pity for them and comes among them in the guise of Brahmā, advising them to take their offerings to the Buddha and seek his counsel (SA. i. 270).

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These and other passages show that Sakka was considered by the early Buddhists as a god of high character, kindly and just, but not perfect, and not very intelligent. His imperfections are numerous: in spite of his very great age,¹⁸ he is still subject to death and rebirth¹⁹; as an example of this, it is mentioned that Sunetta had thirty-five times been reborn as Sakka,²⁰ a statement confirmed by the Buddha.²¹ Sakka is not free from the three deadly evils—lust, ill-will, stupidity²²; nor is he free from anxiety. He is timid, given to panic, to fright, to running away.²³

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¹⁸ At J. ii. 312, Sakka's life is given as lasting thirty million and sixty times one hundred thousand years.

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¹⁹ A. i. 144.

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²⁰ Ibid., iv. 105.

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²¹ Ibid., 89.

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²² Ibid., i. 144. The story of Rohiṇī shows that Sakka was very susceptible to the charms of beauty. He evidently liked other people to enjoy life and sent a heavenly dancer to amuse Mahāpanāda when nobody on earth could accomplish that feat (SNA. ii. 400). On another occasion, as Sakka was rejoicing in his triumph over the Asuras, he saw a crane on a hill-top who wished to be able to eat fish without going down into the stream. Sakka immediately sent the stream, in full flood, to the hill-top (J. iii. 252).

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²³ He is mentioned in the Jātakas as being frightened of ascetics who practised severe penances, lest they should unseat him from his throne, e.g., J. ii. 394; also the stories of Visayha, Lomasakassapa, Kaṇha, Akitti, Mahā-Kañcana and Isisiṅga.

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In the Sakkapañha Sutta (q.v.), Sakka is said to have visited the Buddha at Vediyagiri in Ambasanda and to have asked him a series of questions.

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He sends Pañcasikha with his *vīṇā*²⁴ to play and sing to the Buddha and to obtain permission for him (Sakka) to visit him and question him. The Buddha says to himself that Sakka, for a long time past, has led a pure life, and gives him permission to question him on any subject. It is stated in the course of the sutta²⁵ that it was not the first time that Sakka had approached the Buddha for the same purpose. He had gone to him at the Saḷalaghara in Sāvatthi, but found him in meditation, with Bhuñjatī, wife of Vessavaṇa, waiting on him. He therefore left with a request to Bhuñjatī to greet the Buddha in his name. He also declares²⁶ that he has become a *sotāpanna* and has earned for himself the right to be reborn eventually in the Akaniṭṭhā-world, whence he will pass entirely away.

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²⁴ It was Sakka who had given the Beluvapaṇḍuvīṇā to Pañcasikha (SNA. ii. 394).

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²⁵ D. ii. 270.

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²⁶ *Ibid.*, 286.

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The Commentary says²⁷ that Sakka was constantly seeing the Buddha and was the most zealous of the devas in the discharge of his duties to the *sāsana*. But this visit to the Buddha at Vediyagiri had a special object. Sakka saw signs that his life was drawing to an end and was frightened by this knowledge. He therefore went to the Buddha to seek his help. It adds²⁸ that, as Sakka sat listening to the Buddha, he died in his old life and was reborn a new and young Sakka; only Sakka himself and the Buddha was aware of what had happened. The Commentary continues²⁹ that Sakka became an "*uddhaṃ-sota*," treading the path of *anāgāmins*. As such he will live in Avihā for one thousand kappas, in Atappa for two thousand, in Sudassanā for four thousand, and will end in the Akaniṭṭha-world, after having enjoyed life in the Brahma-worlds for thirty-one thousand kappas.

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²⁷ DA. iii. 697. In the sutta Sakka admits (D. ii. 284) that he visited other brahmins and recluses as well. They were pleased to see him, and boasted that they had nothing to teach him; but he had to teach them what he knew.

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²⁸ DA. iii. 732; *cp.* DhA. iii. 270.

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²⁹ DA. iii. 740.

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An account of another interview which Sakka had with the Buddha is given in the Cūḷataṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta (*q.v.*). There the question arises regarding the extirpation of cravings. Sakka accepts the Buddha's answer and leaves him. Anxious to discover whether Sakka has understood the Buddha's teaching, Moggallāna visits Sakka and questions him. Sakka evades the questions and shows Moggallāna the glories of his Vejayanta palace. Moggallāna then frightens him by a display of *iddhi*-power, and Sakka repeats to him, word for word, the Buddha's answer. Moggallāna departs satisfied, and Sakka tells his handmaidens that Moggallāna is a "fellow of his" in the higher life, meaning, probably, that he himself is a sotāpanna and therefore a kinsman of the arahant.³⁰

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³⁰ In a passage in the Saṃyutta (S. i. 201) Sakka is represented as descending from heaven to make an enquiry about Nibbāna, and in another (S. iv. 269 f.), as listening, in heaven, to Moggallāna’s exposition of the simplest duties of a good layman. On another occasion, at Vessavaṇa’s suggestion, Sakka visited Uttara Thera on the Saṅkheyyaka Mountain and listened to a sermon by him (A. iv. 163 f.). See also Sakka Sutta (2) and (3).

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The later books contain a good deal of additional information regarding Sakka. His city extends for one thousand leagues, and its golden streets are sixty leagues long; his palace Vejayanta is one thousand leagues high; the Sudhammā-hall covers five hundred leagues, his throne of yellow marble (Paṇḍukambalasilāsana) is sixty leagues in extent, his white umbrella with its golden wreath is five leagues in circumference, and he himself is accompanied by a glorious array of twenty-five million nymphs.³¹ Other features of his heaven are the Pāricchattaka-tree, the Nandā-pokkharaṇī and the Cittalatāvana.³² His body is three gavutas in height³³; his chief conveyance is the marvellous elephant Erāvaṇa (q.v.), but he goes to war in the Vejayanta-ratha (q.v.). Reference is often made to his throne, the Paṇḍukambalasilāsana (q.v.), composed of yellow stone. It grows hot when Sakka’s life draws towards its end; or his merit is exhausted; or when some mighty being prays; or, again, through the efficacy of virtue in recluses or brahmins or other beings, full of potency.³⁴

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³¹ J. v. 386.

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³² DA. iii. 716; see also s.v. Tāvatiṃsa.

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³³ DhA. iii. 269.

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³⁴ J. iv. 8; when the Buddha, however, sat on it, he was able to conceal it in his robe (DhA. iii. 218).

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Sakka’s devotion to the Buddha and his religion is proverbial. When the Bodhisatta cut off his hair and threw it into the sky, Sakka took it and deposited it in the Cūḷāmaṇi-cetiya.³⁵ He was present near the Bodhi-tree, blowing his Vijayuttara-saṅkha (q.v.), when Māra arrived to prevent the Buddha from reaching Enlightenment.³⁶ When the Buddha accepted Bimbisāra’s invitation to dine in his palace, Sakka, in the guise of a young man, preceded the Buddha and his monks along the street to the palace, singing the Buddha’s praises.³⁷ When the Buddha performed his Yamaka-pāṭihāriya at the foot of the Gaṇḍamba, it was Sakka who built for him a pavilion, and gave orders to the gods of the Wind and the Sun to uproot the pavilions of the heretics and cause them great discomfort.³⁸ When the Buddha returned to Saṅkassa from Tāvatiṃsa, whither he went after performing the Twin Miracle, Sakka created three ladders—of gold, of silver, and of jewels respectively—for the Buddha and his retinue.³⁹

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³⁵ J. i. 65.

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³⁶ Ibid., 72.

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³⁷ Vin. i. 38.

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³⁸ DhA. iii. 206, 208.

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³⁹ DhA., ibid., 225.

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Sakka was present at Vesālī when the Buddha visited that city in order to rid it of its plagues. His presence drove away the evil spirits, and the Buddha’s task was thus made easier.⁴⁰ When the Buddha and his monks wished to journey one hundred leagues, to visit Culla Subhaddā at Uggapura, Sakka, with the aid of Vissakamma, provided them with pavilions (kūṭāgāra) in which they might travel by air.⁴¹ Once, when the ponds in Jetavana were quite dry, the Buddha wished to bathe, and Sakka immediately caused rain to fall and the ponds were filled.⁴² In Sakka’s aspect as Vajirapāṇi (q.v.) he protected the Buddha from the insults of those who came to question him.⁴³ During the Buddha’s last illness, Sakka ministered to him, performing the most menial tasks, such as carrying the vessel of excrement.⁴⁴ He was present at the Buddha’s death, and uttered, in verse, a simple lament, very different from the studied verses ascribed to Brahmā.⁴⁵ At the distribution, by Doṇa, of the Buddha’s relics, Sakka saw Doṇa hide the Buddha’s right tooth in his turban. Realizing that Doṇa was incapable of rendering adequate honour to the relic, Sakka took the relic and deposited it in the Cūḷāmaṇicetiya.⁴⁶ And when Ajātasattu was making arrangements to deposit his share of the relics, Sakka gave orders to Vissakamma to set up a vālasaṅghātayanta for their protection.⁴⁷

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⁴⁰ Ibid., 441

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⁴¹ Ibid., 470.

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⁴² J. i. 330.

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⁴³ See also the story of Ciñcā-māṇavikā, when Sakka protected the Buddha from her charges. Sakka also regarded it as his business to protect the Buddha’s followers, as is shown by the manner in which he came to the rescue of the four seven-year-old novices—Saṅkicca, Paṇḍita, Sopāka and Revata—when they were made to go hungry by a brahmin and his wife (DhA. iv. 176 f.).

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⁴⁴ Ibid., 269 f. He did the same for other holy men—e.g., Sāriputta. Sakka also waited on the Buddha when he was in Gayāsīsa for the conversion of the Tebhātika-jaṭilas (Vin. i. 28 f.); see also the story of Jambuka (DhA. ii. 59).

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⁴⁵ The Udāna (iii. 7) contains a story of Sakka assuming the guise of a poor weaver and Sujā that of his wife, in order to give alms to Mahā Kassapa who had just risen from a trance. They succeeded in their ruse, to the great joy of Sakka (cp. DhA. i. 424 f.). On other occasions—e.g., in the case of Mahāduggata—Sakka helped poor men to gain merit by providing them with the means for giving alms to the Buddha (DhA. ii. 135 ff.).

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⁴⁶ D. ii. 157; on the importance of this verse, however, see Dial. ii. 176, n. 1.

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⁴⁷ DhA. ii. 609.

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Sakka did all in his power to help followers of the Buddha in their strivings for the attainment of the goal, as in the case of Paṇḍitasāmaṇera, when he sent the Four Regent Gods to drive away the birds, made the Moon-deity shroud the moon, and himself stood guard at the door of Paṇḍita’s cell, lest he should be disturbed.⁴⁸ Often, when a monk achieved his ambition, Sakka was there to express his joy and do him honour.⁴⁹ He was ready to help, not only monks and nuns, but also eminent laymen, such as Jotika, for whom he built a palace of wondrous splendour, and provided it with every luxury.⁵⁰ Sakka was always ready to come to the rescue of the good when in distress—e.g., in the case of Cakkhupāla when he became blind; Sakka led him by the hand and took him to Sāvatthi.⁵¹ He loved to test the goodness of men, as in the case of the leper Suppabuddha,⁵² to see if their faith was genuine. The Jātaka contains several stories of his helping holy men by providing them with hermitages, etc.—e.g., Kuddāla-paṇḍita, Hatthipāla, Ayoghara, Jotipāla (Sarabhaṅga), Sutasoma, Dukūlaka, Pārikā and Vessantara. Sometimes, when he found that ascetics were not diligently practising their duties, he would frighten them—e.g., in the Vighāsa and Somadatta Jātakas. The Aṅguttara Nikāya⁵³ contains a story of Sakka punishing a deva called Supatiṭṭha, who lived in a banyan-tree, because he failed to keep the rukkhadhamma.

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⁴⁸ Ibid., 613.

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⁴⁹ DhA. ii. 143; cf. the story of Sukha ibid., iii. 96 f.

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⁴⁹ See, e.g., the story of Mahāphussa (SNA. i. 55 f.).

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⁵⁰ DhA. iv. 207 f.

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⁵¹ Ibid., i. 14 f. Many instances are found in the Jātaka where Sakka rescued the good in distress—e.g., Dhammadhaja, Guttila, Kaccāni, the Kinnarī Candā, Sambulā, Kusa, Mahā-janaka’s mother, Candakumāra’s mother, Candā, and Mahosadha.

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⁵² DhA. ii. 34 f.; see also the story of the courtezan in the Kurudhamma Jātaka (J. ii. 380).

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⁵³ iii. 370 f.

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Sakka appears as the guardian of moral law in the world. When wickedness is rampant among men, or kings become unrighteous, he appears among them to frighten them so that they may do good instead of evil. He is on the side of the good against the wicked, and often helps them to realize their goal. Instances of this are seen in the Ambacora, Ayakūṭa, Udaya, Kaccāni, Kāma, Kāmanīta, Kumbha, Keḷisīla, Kharaputta, Culladhanuggaha, Dhajaviheṭha, Biḷārikosiya, Maṇicora, Mahākaṇha, Vaka, Sarabhaṅga, Sarabhamiga and Sudhābhojana Jātakas. Sakka patronised good men; some of the more eminent he invited to his heaven, sending his charioteer Matali to fetch them, and he showed them all honour—e.g., Guttila, Mandhātā, Sādhīna, and Nimi; others he rewarded suitably—see, e.g., the Uraga Jātaka.

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The lesser gods consulted Sakka in their difficulties and problems—e.g., in the case of the deity of Anāthapiṇḍika’s fourth gateway, who incurred the displeasure of Anāthapiṇḍika by advising him to refrain from too much generosity towards the Buddha and his monks.⁵⁴ Sakka has also to deal with disputes arising among the devas themselves.⁵⁵ On several occasions Sakka helped the Bodhisatta in the practice of his Perfections—e.g., as King Sivi, Temiya, Nimi and Vessantara, also in his birth as a hare; in this last story, the Sasa Jātaka (q.v.), Sakka paints the picture of a hare in the moon to commemorate the Bodhisatta's sacrifice.

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⁵⁴ J. i. 229.

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⁵⁵ DA. iii. 705.

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Sakka sometimes answers the prayers of good and barren women and gives them sons—e.g., Sumedhā, Sīlavatī, Candādevī. Mention is also made of other boons granted by Sakka to various persons. Thus in the Mahāsuka Jātaka he visited the parrot who clung to the dead stump of a tree through gratitude, and granted him the boon that the tree should once more become fruitful.⁵⁶ He granted four boons to Kaṇha, that he might be calm, bear no malice or hatred against his neighbour, feel no greed for others' glory, and no lust towards his neighbour.⁵⁷ To Akitti he granted several boons, the last of which was that he should have no more visits from Sakka⁵⁸! When Sivi became blind, Sakka gave him two eyes; these were not natural eyes, but the eyes of Truth, Absolute and Perfect (saccapāramitā-cakkhunī). Sakka confesses that he has not the power of restoring sight; it was the virtue of Sivi himself which had that power.⁵⁹ When Sīlavatī wished for a boon, Sakka took her to heaven, where he kept her for seven days; then he granted that she should have two sons, one wise and ugly and the other a fool and handsome. He also presented her with a piece of kusa-grass, a heavenly robe, a piece of sandalwood, the flower of the Pāricchattaka-tree and a Kokanda-lute. All this passed into the possession of Kusa, and, later, Sakka gave him the Verocana-jewel.⁶⁰ He gave Phusati, mother of Vessantara, ten boons⁶¹ and to Vessantara himself he gave eight.⁶²

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⁵⁶ J. iii. 493.

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⁵⁷ J. iv. 10.

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⁵⁸ Ibid., 240 f.

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⁵⁹ Ibid., 410 f.

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⁶⁰ J. v. 280 f., 310.

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⁶¹ J. vi. 481 f.

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⁶² Ibid., 572.

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In the Sarabhaṅga Jātaka⁶³ mention is made of four daughters of Sakka—Āsā, Saddhā, Hirī and Sirī. His wife, Sujā, accompanied him everywhere on his travels,⁶⁴ even into the world of men, because that was the boon she had asked for on her marriage to him.⁶⁵ Vessavana was Sakka's special friend,⁶⁶ and when one Vessavana died, it was Sakka's duty to appoint a successor.⁶⁷ Matāli (q.v.) is Sakka's charioteer and constant companion. Vissakamma (q.v.) is his "handy-man." Sakka has twenty-five million handmaids and five hundred dove-footed nymphs (kakuṭapādiniyo), famed for their beauty. It was the sight of these which tempted the Buddha's step-brother, Nanda, to give up thoughts of Janapadakalyāṇī-Nandā.⁶⁸ Sakka's special weapon is the Vajirāvudha (*q.v.*), and his special drum the Ālambara (*q.v.*). His voice is sweet, like the tintinabulation of golden bells.⁶⁹

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⁶³ J. v. 392.

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⁶⁴ E.g., J. iii. 491.

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⁶⁵ DhA. i. 279.

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⁶⁶ MA. i. 476 f.

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⁶⁷ J. i. 328.

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⁶⁸ J. ii. 93.

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⁶⁹ SA. i. 273.

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It is Sakka’s special duty to protect the religion of the Buddha in Ceylon. As the Buddha lay dying, he enjoined on Sakka the task of looking after Vijaya and his successors. This duty Sakka, in turn, entrusted to the god Uppalavaṇṇa.⁷⁰ Sakka informed Mahinda of the right moment for his visit to Ceylon.⁷¹ When Devānaṃpiyatissa wished for relics to place in the Thūpārāma-Thūpa, Sumana-sāmaṇera visited Sakka and obtained from him the right collar-bone of the Buddha, which Sakka had placed in the Cuḷāmaṇi-cetiya.⁷² Again, when Duṭṭhagāmaṇi was in need of building materials for the Mahā Thūpa, it was Sakka who supplied them.⁷³ On the occasion of the enshrining of the relics in the Mahā Thūpa, Sakka gave orders to Vissakamma to decorate the whole of Ceylon. He also provided the throne and casket of gold for the relics brought from the Nāgā-world by Soṇuttara and was himself present at the festival, blowing his conch-shell.⁷⁴

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⁷⁰ Mhv. vii. 1 ff.

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⁷¹ Ibid., xiii. 15.

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⁷² Ibid., xvii. 9 ff.

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⁷³ Ibid., xxviii. 6 ff.

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⁷⁴ Ibid., xxxi. 34, 75, 78.

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Other Cakkavāḷas have also their Sakka,⁷⁵ and in one place⁷⁶ mention is made of many thousands of Sakkas.

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⁷⁵ (aññehi Cakkavāḷehi Sakkā āgacchanti) J. i. 203.

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⁷⁶ Ibid., 204.

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It is evident from the foregoing account that, as Rhys Davids suggests,⁷⁷ Sakka and Indra are independent conceptions. None of the personal characteristics of Sakka resemble those of Indra. Some epithets are identical but are evidently borrowed, though they are differently explained. The conception of the popular god which appealed to a more barbarous age and to the clans fighting their way into a new country, seems to have been softened and refined in order to meet the ideals of a more cultured and peaceful civilization. The old name no longer fitted the new god, and, as time went on, Sakka came to be regarded as an entirely separate god.

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⁷⁷ Dial. ii. 297 f.

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2. Sakka.—A Yakkha. See Sakka Sutta (1).

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3. Sakka.—Another form of Sākya (*q.v.*).¹

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¹ E.g., A. iv. 195; v. 334.

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Sakka Saṃyutta.—The eleventh section of the Saṃyutta Nikāya.¹ It contains twenty-five short discourses connected with Sakka (*q.v.*).

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¹ S. i. 216-42.

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1. Sakka Sutta.—A Yakkha visits the Buddha at Gijjhakūṭa and tells him that he should not spend his time teaching others. The Buddha answers that he does it out of sympathy and compassion.¹

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¹ S. i. 206.

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The Commentary adds² that this Sakka was a Yakkha belonging to Māra's faction (Mārapakkhiko).

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² SA. i. 232.

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2. Sakka Sutta.—Sakka, king of the devas, visits the Buddha at Gijjhakūṭa and asks him why only some beings are fully set free in this life. Because of grasping, answers the Buddha.¹

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¹ S. iv. 101.

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3. Sakka Sutta.—A series of four conversations which Sakka and his retinue had with Moggallāna, at Jetavana, on various simple topics, such as taking refuge in the Buddha, having unwavering faith in him, etc.¹

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¹ S. iv. 269 ff.

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Sakkacca Vagga.—The fourth section of the Sekhiyā in the Vinaya Piṭaka.¹

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¹ Vin. iv. 191-4.

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Sakkacca Sutta.—Four qualities, including zeal, desirable in those who practise meditation.¹

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¹ S. iii. 267, 271, 277.

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Sakkaṭa.—A Yakkha who, with five hundred others, stood guard over the fifth gates of Joṭiya's palace.¹ *v.l.* Kasakanda.

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¹ DhA. iv. 209.

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“Sakkattvā” Sutta.—Sāriputta, seated in seclusion and pondering as to whom a monk should respect and rely on, finds, in answer, that a monk should respect and revere the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, and should rely on goodwill. He visits the Buddha and consults him, and the Buddha tells him that his conclusions are correct.¹

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¹ A. iv. 120 f.

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Sakkadattiya.—This word, occurring several times in the Jātaka,¹ is evidently not a name but an adjective, meaning “provided by Sakka.”

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