3-4. Khujjuttarā and Sāmāvatī
Aspirations in the Past
The future Khujjuttarā and Sāmāvatī were reborn into the families of rich men in the city of Haṁsavatī, during the time of Buddha Padumuttara. As they went to the Buddha’s monastery to listen to a discourse given by the Buddha, the future Khujjuttarā saw a female lay disciple being named by him as the foremost among female lay disciples in learning. She had a strong desire to become the same herself. After making an extraordinary offering to the Buddha, she expressed her aspiration to him, and he predicted the fulfilment of her aspiration.
The future Sāmāvatī saw a female lay disciple being named by the Buddha as the foremost in abiding in loving-kindness. She had a strong desire to be so designated by a Buddha in future time. After making an extraordinary offering to the Buddha, she expressed her aspiration to that designation to him, and he predicted that her aspiration would be fulfilled.
These two ladies spent their whole lives in deeds of merit. At the end of their respective lifespan, they were reborn in the Deva realm. After being reborn in either the Deva realm or human world for 100,000 aeons, the present world-element with five Buddhas arrived.
During the time of Buddha Gotama, in the city of Kosambī, Ghosaka the householder and his wife made a routine alms giving of 1,000 pieces of money everyday. For details of this illustrious couple, read chapter 27a.
Discipleship in Their Last Existences
It was during the time in which the Ghosaka couple were practising their routine generosity that the future Khujjuttarā passed away from her Deva existence and was conceived in the womb of the governess in the house of Ghosaka. She was humpbacked at birth and was called Khujjuttarā.
About the same time, the future Sāmāvatī passed away from her Deva existence and was reborn as the daughter of Bhaddavatiya the householder in Bhaddiya, in the province of Bhaddiya. She was named as Sāmā by her parents.
At one time, the town of Bhaddiya suffered from famine and the people left the town for other towns for their own survival. Bhaddiya the householder said to his wife: “Dear wife, we cannot know when this famine will end. We too must leave this place. Our friend Ghosaka the householder of Kosambī will recognise us if he sees us. Let us go to him.” He told his wife about going to Ghosaka but the two householders had known each other by their reputations only and had never met. They decided to go, leaving behind their servants. The father, mother and daughter, went in the direction of Kosambī, travelling by stages. After going through much hardship on the way, they at last reached Kosambī and stayed in a public rest house which was outside the city.
Ghosaka the householder was making his daily alms giving to all the needy who called at
Sāmāvatī, as a daughter of a householder, was reluctant to jostle through her way in the unruly crowds of alms seekers. As she stood apart in a hesitant manner, her dignified demeanour was noticed by the superintendent of alms distribution. He thought to himself: “While everyone else is making loud noise and trying to reach out ahead of others like in a fisherman’s fish distribution, this young maiden is keeping back. She must be of some worthy family. And she has a fine personality.” And so he addressed Sāmāvatī: “Dear girl, why don’t you step up and beg?” She replied: “Dear father, how could a decent girl like me elbow through in such a jammed packed crowd?”
“How many persons are there in your family?”
“There are three, father.”
The man doled out three food packages to her.
Sāmāvatī gave the food to her parents. Her father who had not eaten for some time, ate it greedily and died of overeating on that very day. On the next day, Sāmāvatī went to the food distribution point and asked for only two food packages. Her mother who was not used to poor food as this and she was also bereaved for the loss of her husband, and was taken ill that evening and died after midnight. Then, on the next day, Sāmāvatī went and asked for only one food package.
The superintendent asked her: “Dear girl, on the first day, you asked the food package for three persons; on the second day, you asked only for two and now on the third day, you are asking for only one. Why is this?” Sāmāvatī told him about the death of her father on the first day, her mother after midnight on the second day, and that she alone survived.
“Where do you come from?” the man inquired. Sāmāvatī told him how her family had fled famine in Bhaddiya and the subsequent happenings. “In that case,” the superintendent said, “you should be deemed as a daughter of Ghosaka the householder. But I have no daughter of my own, so you will henceforth be my daughter.”
Sāmāvatī, the adopted daughter of the superintendent of the alms distribution place, asked her adopted father: “Father why is there such a din at the place?”
“When there is such a huge crowd, there has to be a big noise,” he replied.
“But, father, I have an idea!”
“Then, say it.”
“Father, let there be fencing around the place, keep only one entrance; let the people go in, receive their alms, and go out on the other end, through the only exit.”
The father took her advice and after following her instruction, the distribution centre then became as quiet and dignified as a lotus pond. Soon after that Ghosaka noted the silence that prevailed in the alms distribution place which was usually full of noise and asked his superintendent: “Are you not giving alms today?”
“Yes, I am giving, master.”
“But why is it so quiet at the centre which used to be so much of a din?”
“Ah! That is true, indeed, master. I have a wise daughter, I have been able to maintain quiet at the place on the advice of my daughter.”
“But, I never knew you had a daughter. Where have you got one?”
The superintendent had to confess the truth. He related to his master the circumstances under which Sāmāvatī became his adopted daughter. Thereupon, Ghosaka said to him:
Sāmāvatī Became Queen of King Udena
One day when King Udena of Kosambī went round the city, he happened to see Sāmāvatī and her 500 maid companions, romping in the garden and fell in love with her. On inquiring her parentage, he was told that she was the daughter of Ghosaka the householder. The king enquired whether she was married or not, and learning that she was not married, he sent his royal messengers to Ghosaka to ask for the hand of Sāmāvatī in marriage to him. Ghosaka thought to himself: “Sāmāvatī is our only daughter. We cannot put her life at risk in the king’s court which is full of intriguing women.” So he bluntly refused the king’s request. The king was furious and ordered that Ghosaka and his wife be evicted from their house which was to be sealed off.
When Sāmāvatī and her playmates returned and met her parents sitting miserably outside the house, she asked them what had happened. On hearing the story, she said to them: “Dear parents, why did you not tell the king’s men that your daughter would go and live at the palace on the condition that her 500 maid-companions were allowed to go with her there? Now, dear parents, give your reply to the king as I suggest.” Her parents said to her: “Very well, daughter, we did not know how you would accept the king’s proposal.”
King Udena was greatly pleased to hear the message from Ghosaka. He said: “Let all the maid-companions come and stay with Sāmāvatī, even if they number 1,000!” Afterwards, on an auspicious day, at the auspicious hour when the planets were favourable, Sāmāvatī, together with her 500 companions, were conveyed to the palace of King Udena. The king appointed all 500 maids as ladies-in-waiting to his wife Sāmāvatī when he made her queen with ceremonial anointing, and put her in a golden terraced mansion of her own, with the full state of a queen.
About this time, Ghosaka and his two householder friends, Kukkuṭa and Pāvārika of Kosambī, learning the news of the appearance of the Buddha and his residence at Sāvatthī, went to him. After listening to a discourse by the Buddha, they were established in Stream-entry knowledge. Later, they returned to Kosambī after making great offerings to the Buddha and his Saṅgha for fifteen days. They obtained the assurance from the Buddha that he would visit Kosambī when they would invite him later. They built a monastery each and on completion of which, they sent messages to the Buddha, inviting him to visit Kosambī. Hence, the Buddha began his journey to Kosambī but seeing the ripeness of the past merit in a Brahmin couple by the name of Māgaṇḍiya, he made a detour to Kammāsadamma, a market town in the province of Kuru, where he caused the Māgaṇḍiyas to comprehend the noble truths and then proceeded to Kosambī.
Travelling by stages, he reached Kosambī and accepted the gift of three monasteries which were donated by three noble (ariya) householders. When he entered the town on an alms collecting round, he and his procession of monastics were reviled by a gang of drunken men who were instigated by Queen Māgaṇḍiya, who held a grudge against the Buddha. Ven. Ānanda suggested to the Buddha that they leave the town which appeared so inhospitable. Instead, the Buddha gave a discourse to Ven. Ānanda on the importance of taming oneself, which was recorded in the commentary on the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada, Dhp 320-322). The Buddha stayed on for some time in Kosambī in the three monasteries in towns. For details of this episode, read chapter 27a.
Khujjuttarā Attains Stream-Entry
The three householders of Kosambī attended on the Buddha and his Saṅgha in turns, making big offerings for a month. Then they extended the privileges of honouring the Buddha and his Saṅgha, in making great offerings, to other people of Kosambī by organizing them into localities or associations.
One day, the Buddha and his company of a large number of monastics were at the house of a florist, to receive his offerings. At that time, Khujjuttarā, the personal attendant to Queen Sāmāvatī, went to buy flowers, which was her routine duty. The florist said to her: “Ah, dear Uttarā, I have no time to serve you this morning. I am busy attending on the Buddha and his Saṅgha. Will you lend a hand in our food offering? This good deed of yours will lead to your emancipation from bondage.” Khujjuttarā ate her portion of food given by the florist and joined him and his people in serving food to the Buddha. She learnt by heart the Buddha’s discourse, which was taught to those who came near him. At the end of the discourse, she was established in the fruition of Stream-entry.
Sāmāvatī and 500 Ladies-in-Waiting Attain Stream-Entry
Khujjuttarā, in her daily purchase of flowers for Queen Sāmāvatī, usually bought only four coins worth of flowers and pocketed four coins out of the queen’s daily allowance of eight coins for flowers. But on the day she became a noble Stream-enterer, Khujjuttarā had no mind to steal the money entrusted to her, and bought eight coins worth of flowers, which now filled her basket. Queen Sāmāvatī, seeing an unusually large quantity of flowers in Khujjuttarā’s basket, asked her: “Why dear Uttarā, do you have such a big basket of flowers today, unlike the previous days! Did the king increase my allowance for flowers?”
Khujjuttarā, as a Stream-enterer, was now incapable of telling lies, and so confessed her previous misconduct. The queen asked her: “Why, then, have you brought such a big quantity of flowers today?” And Khujjuttarā replied: “Because I did not steal the money today. I cannot do so because I have realized Nibbāna. I have comprehended deathlessness, after hearing the Buddha’s discourse.” Thereupon, Queen Sāmāvatī and her 500 ladies-in-waiting spread out their hands and asked Khujjuttarā: “Dear Uttarā, give us a share of that deathless Nibbāna!”
“Dear friends, Nibbāna is not something that can be apportioned to others. I will tell you the words of the Buddha. If you are endowed with past merit you may gain Nibbāna, the deathless, on hearing them.”
“Dear Uttarā, do go ahead!”
“But, I have to sit on a higher level than your seats before I start making the discourse.”
Queen Sāmāvatī arranged a higher seat for Khujjuttarā and listened to her discourse, sitting at a lower level. Khujjuttarā, exercising the analytical knowledge pertaining to a Stream-enterer, while teaching still as a trainee (sekkha), gave a discourse to Sāmāvatī and her 500 ladies-in-waiting. At the end of which all of them were established in the fruition of Stream-entry. From that time onwards, Khujjuttarā was relieved of her all-round service duties and was given the task of going to the Buddha’s monastery to listen to his discourses and, in turn, to teach Queen Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting what she had learnt from the Buddha. In this way, Queen Sāmāvatī and her company of ladies-in-waiting were given regular discourses in the palace by Khujjuttarā.
Khujjuttarā’s Past Merit and Demerit
Why was Khujjuttarā reborn into a slave family? It was due to her past evil deed. She had, during the time of Buddha Kassapa, made a female novice assist her in odd jobs, running errands for her. On account of that misdeed, she was reborn into a slave family for 500 existences in succession.
Why was she born with a humpback? When she was a lady at the court of the King of Bārāṇasī before the advent of Buddha Gotama, she saw a Paccekabuddha with a humpback who went to the palace to collect alms food. Then she mimicked the Paccekabuddha in the presence of the other court ladies. For that evil deed, she was born humpbacked in the present existence which was her last existence.
What merit did she earn in the past to be endowed with inmate wisdom in her last existence? When she was a lady at the court of the King of Bārāṇasī before the advent of the Buddha, she saw eight Paccekabuddhas carrying alms bowls which were filled with milk rice and were piping hot. To relieve the heat on the hands of these revered ones, she removed eight gold bangles which she was wearing and offered them to use as buffers underneath the alms bowls. That thoughtful deed was the merit she earned.
Queen Māgaṇḍiyā’s Intrigue Against Queen Sāmāvatī
Although Queen Sāmāvatī and her 500 ladies-in-waiting had become Stream-enterers, they never had the opportunity of meeting the Buddha because King Udena was a non-believer. Since they were Stream-enterers, they had a great longing to see the Buddha in person. All they could hope for was to get a glimpse of the Buddha whenever he was passing through the city. As there were no sufficient trellis windows to peep through, the ladies bore holes in the walls of their sleeping quarters, through which they peeped to gain precious glimpses of the Buddha.
One day, as Queen Māgaṇḍiyā was strolling outside she noticed the small holes on the walls of the ladies-in-waiting of Queen Sāmāvatī and asked the maidens what the holes were for. They did not know that Queen Māgaṇḍiyā was holding a grudge against the Buddha and honestly divulged their secret arrangement that had enabled them to watch the Buddha passing by and to honour him by standing in their own rooms and peeping through the small holes in the wall. Queen Māgaṇḍiyā thought to herself, grinning, thus: “Now my time has come to avenge ascetic Gotama. These girl followers of Gotama will also have their deserts!”
Then, when Queen Māgaṇḍiyā was alone with King Udena, she said to him: “Great King, Queen Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting have given their hearts to someone else besides you. They are plotting against your life in a few days. They have no affection for you. They have such great interest in ascetic Gotama that they peep at him whenever he goes into the city. They have made holes in the wall of their rooms to get a view of the ascetic Gotama. The king did not believe her at first but Māgaṇḍiyā repeated her story another time, yet the king still did not believe her. For the third time, she repeated it, and when the king refused to believe her, she suggested that the king go to the private quarters of the ladies-in-waiting and inquire. The king did as she had suggested and saw the small holes. He asked the ladies-in-waiting about the holes and they honestly and truthfully told him the purpose of the holes. The king was not angry with them but merely ordered that the holes be closed. He let a trellis windows be fixed on the upstairs of the ladies’ quarters. This was then the first malicious report on the part of Queen Māgaṇḍiyā.
Queen Māgaṇḍiyā then hatched another plot. She said to the king: “Great King, let us put to the test the loyalty of Sāmāvatī and her company towards you. Send them eight living hens and ask them to cook a meal with them for your majesty.” The king did as Māgaṇḍiyā advised. Queen Sāmāvatī, being a noble disciple of the Buddha, was above killing and so replied to the king that it would not be proper to kill the hens.
But Māgaṇḍiyā was crafty enough. She said to the king: “Great King, say to Sāmāvatī to cook a meal with the hens for ascetic Gotama.” The king did as he was told. This time, Māgaṇḍiyā had the hens killed on the way, before they reached Queen Sāmāvatī, who, on receiving the lifeless hens, had no suspicions about them in her simple mind. She had them cooked and sent the cooked dish to the Buddha. Queen Māgaṇḍiyā then pointed out the fact of Sāmāvatī’s behaviour to the king, saying: “Now, do you see where Sāmāvatī’s interest lies?” However, the king still did not take offence against his beloved Sāmāvatī. This was the second malicious plot on the part of Queen Māgaṇḍiyā.
King Udena had three queens: 1) Queen Sāmāvatī, 2) Queen Vāsuladattā, daughter of King Caṇḍapajjota of Ujjenī and 3) Queen Māgaṇḍiyā. Each Queen had 500 ladies-in-waiting. The king spent seven days with each of his three queens in turn, in their respective palatial mansions. Queen Māgaṇḍiyā kept a small cobra by her side in a bamboo
When the king was about to go to Queen Sāmāvatī, Queen Māgaṇḍiyā said to him as if she had real concern for the king’s safety: “Great King, Sāmāvatī is a follower of ascetic Gotama. She does not value your life as much as a blade of grass. She is always intent on doing harm to you. So, please beware.”
After the king had spent seven days with Queen Sāmāvatī, he went to stay with Queen Māgaṇḍiyā for another seven days. She said to him: “How was it, Great King, did Sāmāvatī find no opportunity to harm you?” Then, taking the harp from the king’s hand, and shaking it, she exclaimed: “Why? There’s some living thing moving about inside the harp!” And after stealthily opened the small hole in the harp, she exclaimed: “O! Death unto me! There is a snake in the harp!” She dropped the harp and ran away from it. The snake’s coming out from the harp was enough to arouse the king’s anger. Like a bamboo forest on fire, the king hissed with fury. “Go and bring Sāmāvatī and all her ladies-in-waiting!” he shouted. The king’s men obeyed promptly.
Queen Sāmāvatī knew that the king was angry with them. She advised her ladies-in-waiting to diffuse loving-kindness towards the king for the whole day. When they were brought before the king, Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting were made to line up facing the king who stood with bow and poisoned arrow. They remained diffusing loving-kindness towards the king, who found himself unable to shoot and at the same time unable to put down the bow and arrow. Perspiration flowed from his body which was trembling. His mouth discharged saliva. He resembled a man who had suddenly lost his faculties.
Queen Sāmāvatī said to him: “Great King, are you feeling exhausted?”
The King replied: “My dear Queen, I do feel exhausted. Be my support.”
“Very well, O king,” she said, “direct your arrow towards the ground.”
The king did as he was told. Then Sāmāvatī wished: “May the arrow be released.” And the poisoned arrow went into the ground.
At that moment, King Udena went and dipped himself in water and in his wet cloths and hair, he fell at Sāmāvatī’s feet, saying: “Forgive me, my dear queen. I acted foolishly under the instigation of Māgaṇḍiyā.”
“I forgive you, king,” said Sāmāvatī.
“Very well, queen, you are full of forgiveness towards me. From now on, you are free to make offerings to the Buddha. Do make offerings and do go to the Buddha’s monastery in the afternoons and attend his sermons. From now on you shall be well protected.”
Sāmāvatī, seizing the opportunity, made this request: “If so, Great King, would you ask the Buddha to arrange for a monastic to come to the palace and teach us the good doctrine every day?” King Udena went to the Buddha and made the request, whereupon the Buddha assigned Ven. Ānanda the task. From that time on, Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting invited Ven. Ānanda to the palace and made daily food offerings, after which, they learnt the doctrine from him.
Ven. Ānanda had in one of his past existences offered a needle and a small piece of robe material of a palm’s width to a Paccekabuddha. For that good deed, in his present existence, he was endowed with innate wisdom, and also received gifts of robe material on 500 occasions.
Sāmāvatī and Her Ladies-in-Waiting Burnt to Death
Queen Māgaṇḍiyā was at her wit’s end in her attempts to estrange King Udena from Queen Sāmāvatī. She became desperate and made a desperate attempt. She persuaded the king to go on a picnic in the park. She detailed her uncle to commit arson at the palace during the absence of the king. Queen Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting were to be ordered to remain indoors, using the king’s authority. Then their mansion was to be burnt. Queen Māgaṇḍiyā’s uncle, the foolish Brahmin, executed the plot successfully.
As their past evil deed had now fructified, Sāmāvatī and her 500 ladies-in-waiting could not dwell in the attainment of the fruition of Stream-entry on that fateful day and lost their lives in the flames, like lumps of bran in a storehouse. The guards, at Queen Sāmāvatī’s mansion reported the calamity to the king.
The king made discreet inquiries into the prime mover in this horrible case of arson, and knew that it was none other than Queen Māgaṇḍiyā. However, he did not reveal his true intention. Instead, he sent for Queen Māgaṇḍiyā and said to her: “Dear Māgaṇḍiyā, you have done for me what I ought to have done by myself. You have done away with Sāmāvatī who had made various attempts on my life. I adore you for this act. I am going to reward you amply. Now, call your kinsmen.”
Queen Māgaṇḍiyā was delighted to hear the king’s words. She gathered all her relatives and also her friends, who were as close as her relatives. When all of Māgaṇḍiyā’s associates were gathered, the king had deep pits dug in the palace ground, where all the culprits were put in with only their heads showing above the ground. Their heads were then severed and then iron plough shares were driven across their broken skulls. As for Queen Māgaṇḍiyā, her body was cut into pieces and cooked in oil.
The Past Evil Deeds of Sāmāvatī and Her Ladies-in-Waiting
The death of Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting by being burnt alive had its root in their past evil deeds. In one of their existences before the advent of Buddha Gotama, the 500 maidens were standing on the river bank at the Ganges after having a long frolicking bath. As they were shivering with cold, they saw a small thatched hut nearby, which was the dwelling of a Paccekabuddha. They rashly burnt it for warming themselves without first seeing whether there was any occupant inside or not.
At that time, the Paccekabuddha was dwelling in the attainment of cessation. Only when the little hut was reduced to ashes they found, to their horror, the sitting Paccekabuddha in a motionless state. Although in setting fire to the hut, they had no intention to kill the Paccekabuddha, the thought of killing him now entered their frightened minds because they recognized him as the Paccekabuddha who went to the king’s palace for daily alms food. To avoid the king’s wrath, they must burn the revered one and leave no trace of him. So, by way of cremation, they gathered more fuel and set fire to the sitting Paccekabuddha. This act being done with an intention to kill, it constituted a grave misdeed, carrying grave consequences.
When the fuel which the maidens put to the fire was exhausted, the Paccekabuddha rose from dwelling in the attainment of cessation, cleaned his robes of ashes and rising into the air, went away, even as the maidens were watching in great wonder. They suffered in the lower worlds of Niraya for that evil deed, and as a remaining resultant thereof, they were burnt alive.
Foremost Titles Achieved
After the utter destruction of Queen Sāmāvatī and her 500 ladies-in-waiting, there arose words of praise among the four types of assembly: the assembly of monks, that of nuns, that of male lay disciples and that of female lay disciples, such that: “Khujjutarā was learned and although a woman, she could expound the doctrine that resulted in 500 ladies of the court attaining Stream-entry.
Later on, when the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery and was naming female lay disciples, he declared, in respect of Khujjutarā:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvikānaṁ upāsikānaṁ
bahussutānaṁ yad-idaṁ Khujjuttarā.
Monastics, among my female lay-disciples who are learned, Khujjutarā is the foremost.
Khujjutarā earned the distinction because she was given by Queen Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting, after their attaining Stream-entry, the task of learning further about the Buddha’s doctrine by listening from him, and repeating his sermons daily. This privilege of hers made her so immersed in the doctrine that she learnt the Dhamma by heart. This was why the Buddha named her the “foremost in learning.”
As a trainee (sekkha), a noble one still learning by herself for Awakening, Khujjutarā was endowed with the four analytical knowledges pertaining to a trainee which enabled her to bring Awakening to Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting.
While the Buddha was staying in Kosambī, Khujjutarā went to the Buddha daily and listened to the sermons. On returning to the palace, she repeated what she had learnt to Sāmāvatī and her ladies-in-waiting. She would begin her discourses to them with these words: “Indeed the Fortunate One has said this; I have heard the Arahat say this …” The 112 discourses she made to the ladies have been put on record by the elders at the Council as the Buddha’s words, under the title of Thus-saids (Iti-vuttaka). See the commentary on the Thus-Saids (Iti-vuttaka).
On that occasion, the Buddha said in respect of Sāmāvatī:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvikānaṁ upāsikānaṁ
Mettā-vihārīnaṁ yad-idaṁ Sāmāvatī.
Monastics, among my female lay-disciples who dwell in the absorption of loving-kindness (mettā-jhāna), Sāmāvatī is the foremost.