Kavikumāravadāna

[Full title: Jātakas and Avadānas in the Amarāvatī Art: Kavikumāra-avadāna]

Story:-

According to the story once there was a king of Pancala named Satyarata.

He had a queen named Lakshana who was childless. With the intervention of Lakshana the king married a beautiful lady named Sudharma. But after few days the first wife gave birth to a son named Alolamantra. After sometime Sudharma conceived. But before the child was born the king passed away. As a result Alolamantra inherited the throne. The king’s astrologer predicted the death of the present king at the hands of the unborn child of Sudharma. Afraid of king’s displeasure Sudharma took refuge under the chief minister. When the son was born, the child was hidden in the dwelling of a fisherman and a girl was presented to the king. The king thought that the prediction was absurd.

Sudharma’s son was named Kavikumāra. He grew up among the fisher boys and learned all arts and sciences. One day the royal astrologer recognized the boy and informed the king that his source of danger was alive. Immediately he called his minister, enquired about the boy and ordered to destroy him. The minister sent the army of men to catch the youth.

Knowing the plan of the king Sudharma secretly called his son and gave him a crest jewel. She warned her son of the danger and asked him to run away. The minister saw the crest and recognized him. He threw Kavikumara in the lake which was the abode of Nāga Chaṃpaka. By the power of the jewel he was not drowned and was welcomed by the Nāgā. Getting information of Kavikumāra, Chaṃpaka requested him to leave the place. The prince escaped from the lake and took shelter in a washerman’s dwelling Even here he was traced and the terrified washer man took up the bundle in which he lay hidden and left him in a far off place. He took shelter in a potter’s house. Here also the soldiers pursued him. The potter wrapped him in a cloth and flowers as in the case of a dead body and weeping and wailing left him in a desolate place as though he was a corpse. After leaving the corpse he hurriedly ran and fell in a pit. Accidentally his crest jewel was caught in a creeper. The minister saw the crest on the creeper and thought that the body was dead. Kavikuṃara was saved from the pit by Yakṣa Anjana. The prince was protected by several people in the forest and was finally saved by a sage. With his help he acquired mastery over some magic and disguised himself as a lady dancer. Finally he returned to his own kingdom. His brother was infatuated by Kavikumāra, disguised as a dancer. One day he killed his step brother and ascended the throne^[1].

Depiction:-

A synoptic mode of this Avadāna is reported on a broken limestone coping panel at Amarāvatī. The panel shows a wagon and a circular roofed hut and a number of soldiers on the horse back. Here a washer man is shown coming out of his house carrying a bundle where the prince was hidden. To right the washer man releases the prince from the bundle and the prince runs hurriedly to escape from the sight of the soldiers. The top right portion of the panel shows a person kept on a cot surrounded by a number of persons. It depicts the sequence when the prince settled in the potter’s area. The prince was covered with flowers and persons around the corpse are shown weeping. The details of the scene are missing^[2]. This specimen is preserved in the Madras Government Museum. (Pl 14a)

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Sivaramamurti C, Op.cit, pp 216-217

[2]:

Ibid, pl XLVIII, fig 2 Burgess J, 1970 (Reprint), The Buddhist Stupas of Amaravati and Jaggayyapeta in the Krishna District, Madras Presidency, Surveyed in 1982, Varanasi, p 61, pl XXVII, fig 1.