Sa duo wang zi, Sà duǒ wáng zi: 1 definition

[The following represents an unverified English translation. For all purposes consult the original Chinese text.]

薩埵王子 [sa duo wang zi]—Prince Sattva — [Jataka (本生 [ben sheng])] In a past life, there was a king named Maharatha (大車 [da che]). He had three sons. The crown prince was named Mahabala (摩訶波羅 [mo he bo luo]), the second son Mahadeva (摩訶提婆 [mo he ti po]), and the youngest son Mahasattva (摩訶薩埵 [mo he sa duo]). The three sons were wandering in the mountains and forests when they saw a tigress that had just given birth to seven cubs. Only seven days had passed, and the cubs surrounded her. Seeing her oppressed by hunger and thirst, they each felt a sense of sorrow and left. Subsequently, Mahasattva developed great compassion. For the sake of supreme enlightenment (無上菩提 [wu shang pu ti]), wishing to abandon this impure body (穢身 [hui shen]), he first sent his two elder brothers away. He then entered the forest alone, went to where the starving tigress was, took off his clothes and placed them on a bamboo, and lay down, offering his body. The tigress, fearing Sattva's compassionate power, dared not eat him. Seeing this, Sattva climbed to a high place and threw himself to the ground. At that moment, a minor deity held the prince with their hand, so he suffered no harm. Sattva then used a dry bamboo stick to pierce his neck, drawing blood, and gradually approached the tigress. At that time, the great earth quaked in six ways, and celestial flowers rained down in profusion. The starving tigress, seeing blood flowing from Sattva's head, immediately licked the blood and consumed the flesh completely. This prince is none other than the present Shakyamuni (釋迦牟尼 [shi jia mou ni]). By virtue of this merit, he transcended eleven kalpas. This account can be found in the "Chapter on Giving Up the Body" (捨身品 [she shen pin]) of the Suvarnaprabhasa Sutra (最勝王經 [zui sheng wang jing]), and the "Chapter on Mahasattva Giving His Body to the Tigress" (摩訶薩埵以身施虎緣品 [mo he sa duo yi shen shi hu yuan pin]) of the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish (賢愚經 [xian yu jing]).