The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature c8.s8.37

c8.s8.37

These seven *bodhy-aṅgas* as a group are highly valued and appreciated by all the Sanskrit authors, Hinayānists and Mahāyānists alike. A Buddha is said to be richly endowed with “the flowers of the *bodhy-aṅgas*”; 342 but they are usually spoken of as “jewels and gems” (*ratnāni*).343 The commentator of the *M. S. Al.* works out the simile in detail and compares the seven *bodhy-aṅgas* to the seven *ratnas* of a universal monarch. According to the Indian tradition, a monarch (*cakra-vartin*) possessed seven “jewels”: a wheel (*cakra*), an elephant (*hasti*), a horse (*aśva*), a gem (*maṇi*), a woman (*strī*), a treasurer or manager (*gṛha-pati*), and an adviser or Marshal (*pariṇāyaka*). Vasubandhu applies this idea to a *bodhisattva*, who cultivates the seven *bodhy-aṅgas*.