Yasodhara in Jatakas

Authors

  • Sarah Shaw Oriental Institute, University of Oxford and Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.36763

Keywords:

gender, interrelationship, marriage, narrative, number symbolism

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of the Buddha’s wife, Yasodhara/Rahulamata, in Pali Jatakas. Noting her continued popularity in South and Southeast Asian Buddhism, it considers her path to liberation seen as a composite whole, through many lifetimes, and considers some of the literary implications of this multiple depiction. The intention of this paper is to initiate more discussion about this figure as a sympathetic and central presence in Southern Buddhist text and practice.

 

Author Biography

  • Sarah Shaw, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford and Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
    Sarah Shaw is a Member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford and Honorary Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies. She has published a number of translations and studies relating to early Buddhist meditation and narrative, including Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology and Texts from the Pāli Canon (Routledge 2006), The Jātakas (Penguin 2006), Introduction to Buddhist Meditation (Routledge 2008), The Spirit of Buddhist Meditation (Yale University Press 2014) and The Great Birth Stories of the Buddha (with Naomi Appleton, 2 volumes, Silkworm 2015). She was fortunate in experiencing many years of Lance's teaching and friendship.

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Published

2018-12-31

How to Cite

Shaw, S. (2018). Yasodhara in Jatakas. Buddhist Studies Review, 35(1-2), 261-278. https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.36763