Mahavastu (great story)

by J. J. Jones | 1949 | 502,133 words | ISBN-10: 086013041X

Buddhism Mahayana

Buy relevant books

Summary: The English translation of the Mahavastu (“great story”): one of the important and monumental canonical works of the Mahasanghika school of early Buddhism, a precursor of the Mahayana tradition. The Mahavastu contains three sections narrating the former lives of the Buddha, full of instructive stories, Jatakas and Avadanas.

The core of the text can be fixed at least at the 2nd century BC, although the Mahasanghika school existed as early as the 4th century BC.

Source 1: motilalbanarsidass.com
Source 2: archive.org

Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the Mahavastu (great story) in English is available here and publically accesible (free to read online). Of course, I would always recommend buying the book so you get the latest edition. You can see all this book’s content by visiting the pages in the below index:

+ Volume I

. Foreword to the first volume

. Chapter I - Prologue

. Chapter II - Maudgalyāyana’s visits to hell

. Chapter II-a - Sermon on the Hells (naraka)

. Chapter II-b - The hell named Saṃjīva

. Chapter II-c - The hell named Kālasūtra

. Chapter II-d - The hell named Saṃghāta

. Chapter II-e - The hell named Raurava (...)

. Chapter II-f - The hell named Mahā-Raurava

. Chapter II-g - The hell named Tapana

. Chapter II-h - The hell named Avīci

. Chapter III-a - Visit to other worlds (1): Animals (tiryak)

. Chapter III-b - Visit to other worlds (2): Ghosts (preta)

. Chapter III-c - Visit to other worlds (3): Titans (asura)

. Chapter III-d - Visit to other worlds (4): Four Great Kings (cāturmahārājika)

. Chapter III-e - Visit to other worlds (5): Thirty-three (trāyastriṃśa)

. Chapter III-f - Visit to other worlds (6): Higher Deva Realms

. Chapter IV(a) - The story of Abhiya

. Chapter IV(b) - Anugīta-Gāthā

. Chapter V - The many Buddhas (bahubuddha-sūtra)

. Chapter VI - A visit to the Śuddhāvāsa Devas

. Chapter VII - The ten Bhūmis

. Chapter VIII - The first Bhūmi

. Chapter IX - The second Bhūmi

. Chapter X - The third Bhūmi

. Chapter XI - The fourth Bhūmi

. Chapter XII - The fifth Bhūmi

. Chapter XIII - The sixth Bhūmi

. Chapter XIV - The seventh Bhūmi

. Chapter XV - The eighth Bhūmi

. Chapter XVI - The ninth Bhūmi

. Chapter XVII - The tenth Bhūmi

. Chapter XVIII - Attributes of the Buddhas

. Chapter XIX - Apparitions (for the edification of men)

. Chapter XX - The history of Dīpaṃkara (Dīpaṅkara)

. Chapter XXI - The birth of the Buddha Dīpaṃkara

. Chapter XXII - Enlightenment of Dīpaṃkara

. Chapter XXIII - Megha and Meghadatta

. Chapter XXIV - The Buddha Maṅgala

. Chapter XXV - The Buddha’s visit to Veśālī (Vaiśālī)

. Chapter XXVI - The Sunshades

. Chapter XXVII - Jātaka of the Three Birds

. Chapter XXVIII-a - Plagues of former days

. Chapter XXVIII-b - The Jātaka of the Bull

. Chapter XXIX - The Buddha in Veśālī (Vaiśālī)

. Chapter XXX - The story of Mālinī

. Chapter XXXI - Ghatikāra and Jyotipāla

. Chapter XXXII - Genesis of the world (Rājavaṃśa): the Śākyans and the Koliyans

. Chapter XXXIII - The deer park (Mṛgadāya or Mṛgadāva)

+ Volume II

. Foreword to the second volume

. Chapter I - The birth of Gotama

. Chapter III - Gotama’s youth

. Chapter II - Asita and the young Gotama

. Chapter IV - Mañjarī-jātaka

. Chapter V - Godhā-jātaka (Jātaka of the Lizard)

. Chapter VI - The gift of a necklace to Yaśodharā

. Chapter VII - Yaśodharā as a tigress (vyāghrī)

. Chapter VIII - The Wooing of Yaśodharā

. Chapter IX - The Story of Dharmapāla

. Chapter X - The Śarakṣepa-jātaka (story of the arrow that was shot far)

. Chapter XI - The Jātaka of Amarā (the smith’s daughter)

. Chapter XII - The Jātaka of Śiri

. Chapter XIII - The Kinnarī Jātaka

. Chapter XIV - The great renunciation

. Chapter XV - The dreams of Śuddhodana and others

. Chapter XVI - The great renunciation again

. Chapter XVII - Śyāmā Jātaka

. Chapter XVIII - Jātaka of Campaka (the Nāga king)

. Chapter XIX - Gotama’s early wanderings

. Chapter XX - Śyāmaka Jātaka

. Chapter XXI - Jātaka of Śiriprabha (the deer)

. Chapter XXII - The temptation by Māra

. Chapter XXIII - Jātaka of the Bird (Śakuntaka)

. Chapter XXIV - Jātaka of the Tortoise (Kacchapa)

. Chapter XXV - Jātaka of the Monkey (Markaṭa)

. Chapter XXVI - Jātaka of the Bird (Śakuntaka) (2)

. Chapter XXVII - Jātaka of Surūpa (king of the deer)

. Chapter XXVIII - The first Avalokita-sūtra

. Chapter XXIX - Anaṅgaṇa Jātaka

. Chapter XXX - The second Avalokita-sūtra

. Chapter XXXI - The final defeat of Māra

. Chapter XXXII - The Kuśa-jātaka

. Foreword to the third volume

. Chapter I - The Kuśa-jātaka (abridged version)

. Chapter II - The Jātaka Of The Bull (ṛṣabha)

. Chapter III - The Jātaka of the monkey (vānara), version 1

. Chapter IV - The Jātaka of the monkey (vānara), version 2

. Chapter V - The Puṇyavanta Jātaka

. Chapter VI - The Vijitāvin Jātaka

. Chapter VII - The ordination of Mahā-Kāśyapa

. Chapter VIII - The conversion of Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana

. Chapter IX(a) - The Five Hundred Merchants (prose)

. Chapter IX(b) - The Five Hundred Merchants (metrical)

. Chapter X - The Buddha’s Visit to Kapilavastu

. Chapter XI - The Jātaka of the Crow (kāka)

. Chapter XII(a) - The Jātaka of the female elephant (hastin or hastinī) (prose)

. Chapter XII(b) - The Jātaka of the female elephant (hastin or hastinī) (metrical)

. Chapter XIII - The conversion of the Asuras

. Chapter XIV - The Jātaka of Nalinī (the king’s daughter)

. Chapter XV - The story of Padumāvatī (Padmāvatī)

. Chapter XVI - Earlier history of Padumāvatī (former birth)

. Chapter XVII - Rāhula in a former life

. Chapter XVIII - The ordination of the five-hundred Śākyans

. Chapter XIX - The Jātaka of Gaṅgapāla

. Chapter XX - The Mahāgovindīya-sūtra

. Chapter XXI - Former Buddhas

. Chapter XXII - The story of Sarvaṃdada

. Chapter XXIII - The story of Rāhula

. Chapter XXIV - After the enlightenment

. Chapter XXV - The Dharmalabdha Jātaka

. Chapter XXVI - Visits to Nāga kings

. Chapter XXVII - The goatherd’s banyan tree

. Chapter XXVIII - The story of Trapuṣa (Trapusa) and Bhallika

. Chapter XXIX - From Uruvilvā to Benares

. Chapter XXX - The rolling of the wheel

. Chapter XXXI - The Jātaka of Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya

. Chapter XXXII - The five monks

. Chapter XXXIII - The story of Kṣāntivādin (Kṣāntivāda)

. Chapter XXXIV - The story of Śarabhaṅga

. Chapter XXXV - The thirty monks (ordination of the thirty companions)

. Chapter XXXVI - The story of Pūrṇa the son of Maitrāyaṇī

. Chapter XXXVII - The questions of Nālaka

. Chapter XXXVIII - The questions of Sabhika

. Chapter XXXIX - The story of Yaśoda

. Chapter XL - The Jātaka of Yaśoda

. Chapter XLI - The temptation by Māra

. Chapter XLII - Instructions on begging

. Chapter XLIII - The Jātaka of Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, Nadī-Kāśyapa and Gayā-Kāśyapa

. Chapter XLIV - The chapter of the thousand (Sahasravarga of the Dharmapada)

. Chapter XLV - The conversion of Bimbisāra

. Chapter XLVI - The story of Arindama

Comments:

Comment functionality currently not enabled

Last Updated: 30 November, 2024

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website:

Donate on Patreon

Buy me a Coffee

|

Why? | More options...