Bodhisattva Vadana Kalpalata And The Saddantavadana

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided text from J. W. de Jong's work on the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā and the Şaddantāvadāna:

This text by J. W. de Jong is a scholarly analysis focusing on the textual history and critical examination of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā, a significant Buddhist text, and specifically the Şaddantāvadāna, one of its constituent stories.

Publication and Editions of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā:

• The Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā was published in the Bibliotheca Indica in two volumes.
• Initial fascicles were edited by Sarat Chandra Das and Pandit Hari Mohan Vidyābhūshaņa.
• Publication was later resumed by Das and Satis Chandra Vidyābhūşaņa.
• A reprint of the Sanskrit text was made by P. L. Vaidya.
• Das's edition is based on a Tibetan blockprint from 1662-1663, which contains both Sanskrit text in Tibetan transliteration and a Tibetan translation.
• The Peking edition of the Tanjur places the work in Vol. 93 of the Mdo-'grel.

Textual Issues and Rearrangements:

• The author details discrepancies and rearrangements in Das's edition compared to the Peking Tanjur.
• The Tenth Pallava (Mngal-las 'byung-ba): This story, meaning "The coming forth from the womb," is present in the Tibetan translation but its Sanskrit text was missing in the blockprint Das used. Das therefore placed it at the end of Volume 1. The story is identified as a sermon by the Buddha to Ananda concerning conception and the miseries of life, with possible Sanskrit titles like Garbhakrāntyavadāna or Garbhāvakrānti. The text discusses its relation to various Buddhist scriptures and the possible confusion between Ananda and Nanda in different versions.
• Renumbering of Pallavas: Due to the insertion of the Mngal-las 'byung-ba, the numbering of subsequent pallavas in Das's edition differs from the Tibetan original, with Pallavas 11-49 becoming 10-48 in Das's edition.
• The Forty-ninth Story (Şaddantāvadāna): This story is mentioned in the table of contents of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā in both Sanskrit and Tibetan. However, it is missing from the Tibetan blockprint used by Das and also from the Peking edition of the Tibetan translation. This suggests it was already missing in the text used by the Tibetan translators.

The Şaddantāvadāna:

• The Şaddantāvadāna (The Story of the Six-Tusked Elephant) is confirmed to exist in some manuscripts of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā, specifically Cambridge manuscripts Add. 1306 and Add. 913, despite being absent in others and in the Tibetan translation.
• Manuscript Add. 1306, dated 1302, contains the Şaddantāvadāna on leaves added later, suggesting it was omitted during the initial copying and inserted afterward. This insertion aligns with the table of contents listing it as the 49th tale.
• The scribe of this manuscript likely used a recension of the Şaddantāvadāna found in the Kalpadrumāvadānamālā to supply the missing text.
• Analysis of the Kalpadrumāvadānamālā Recension: De Jong provides a summary of this recension, outlining its narrative. The story involves:
  • King Asoka asking Upagupta for a tale.
  • The Buddha teaching at the Garga Pond near Campā.
  • Devadatta instigating a woman named Cañāmānavikā to falsely accuse the Buddha of impregnating her.
  • The Buddha remaining unfazed as divine intervention reveals Cañcāmānavikā's deception.
  • The main narrative of the Şaddantāvadāna: The Elephant King Şaddanta (a Bodhisattva) lives with his two wives. One wife, jealous, wishes to be reborn as a queen and have a seat made from Şaddanta's tusks. After her rebirth as Queen Bhadrā, she requests this from King Brahmadatta. Despite a hunter's warning that Şaddanta is a Bodhisattva, the king eventually orders his tusks to be removed. Şaddanta willingly breaks off his tusks. The hunter later has his hands cut off, and Queen Bhadrā suffers a fiery demise. The story concludes with the identification of characters: Şaddanta as the Buddha, Bhadrā as Cañcāmānavikā, the hunter as Devadatta, and other elephants as monks.
• Scribe's Adaptation: The scribe of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā selectively used verses from the Kalpadrumāvadānamālā recension, omitting sections (particularly those detailing Devadatta's role) and adding verses to bridge gaps. This suggests a preference for the past-life narrative of Şaddanta over the present-life story of Cañcāmānavikā.
• Foucher's Hypothesis: The author disputes A. Foucher's claim that the Kalpadrumāvadānamālā recension is based on the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā recension, arguing the opposite is more likely.

Unresolved Issues:

• The disappearance of the Şaddantāvadāna from the Tibetan translation remains difficult to explain.
• The text also notes that Kṣemendra, the author of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā, did not compose the 108th tale, despite being alive later. The reason for this incompleteness is not explained by his son, Somendra.

In essence, de Jong's work meticulously traces the publishing history and textual variations of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā, highlighting the critical issues surrounding the inclusion and transmission of the Şaddantāvadāna, and analyzing how one significant manuscript attempted to rectify a perceived omission.