Another Version of the Mahāśītavatī

Abstract

The Mahāśītavatī (ŚV) is a Buddhist scripture associated with the Pañcarakṣā, a unit of five dhāraṇī. This dhāraṇī sūtra has two versions, A (ŚV-A) and B (ŚV-B).

In ŚV-A, the Buddha bestows the Mahāśītavatī on Rāhula, and in ŚV-B, the Buddha describes the ŚV to four great kings. The main common point of these two versions is their preaching at a śītavana (cemetery). However, many other aspects of ŚV-A differ from those of ŚV-B. For example, Rāhula is a main character in ŚV-A, but he does not appear in ŚV-B. In prior studies, the Āṭānāṭiya-sutta has been found to be similar to ŚV-B.

On the other hand, ŚV-B is similar to the Mahāsāhasrapramardanī (SP) rather than to ŚV-A. SP is contained in the Pañcarakṣā. For example, after the “four great kings” pronounce a spell, the Buddha preaches a better spell. In this paper, I present the key features of ŚV-B according to its Tibetan translation.