Mahāsammata

Mahāsammata (; also spelled Maha Samrat; lit. "the Great Elect"), also known as Khattiya and Rāja, was the first monarch of the world according to Buddhist tradition. The chronicles of Theravada Buddhist tradition such as ''Mahāvaṃsa'' and ''Maha Yazawin'' state that he was the founder of the Sakya dynasty, to which the historical Buddha belonged. He was the first of the eleven world monarchs named Maha Sammata, each of whom founded the eleven dynasties that existed from the beginning to the day of the Buddha.Kala 1724: 46–51

Brief

The future king was born "in the beginning of the world" in Jambudvīpa, the only habitable continent on earth, to a family descended from the solar race. As no leaders or political orders were in existence, the people elected him to be their king.Kapferer 1997: 68Kala 1724: 46–48 He ascended to the throne with the title ''Mahāsammata'' ("the Great Elect", He Who is designated by people),Rhys Davids 2006: 88 and took Manikpala as his queen. As king, he constituted the order of the city-state, the various duties and offices defined for the state, and the boundaries of armies of their protection.Kapferer 2002: 112 He also compiled the first ''dhammasattha'' (law treatise).

According to the ''Mahāvaṃsa Ṭīkā'' ( sub-commentaries), Mahāsammata was the bodhisatta in a previous life. The ''Jātaka'' commentary identifies the primeval king Mahāmandhātā(Emperor Mandatus) as being the bodhisatta as well, Mahāmandhata being the great-great-great-great grandson of Mahāsammata. Mahāmandhātā is given as an example of one who could obtain great sense-pleasure (and even to the glory of the gods) in his lifetime, but still had to die. The ''Cetiya Jātaka'' states that the lifespan of Mahāsammata was an asankheyya long (literally, "cannot be calculated").

Aftermath

The dynasty he founded was to have a line of 63,000 kings. That dynasty eventually fell because people forgot religion (''dharma''). The second dynasty was founded by the founder who took the title Mahāsammata II. That dynasty too eventually fell after another 63,000 kings later. The fall of the second dynasty was followed by the foundation of the third dynasty. The cycle of rising and falling dynasties continued to the day of the historical Buddha, over 2500 years ago. Based on the reporting in the Sinhalese and Burmese chronicles, each of the eleven cycles lasted 800 billion years, meaning the earth is 10 trillion years old.Mahānāma 1999: 57 in the footnotes by editor Douglas Bullis According to tradition, there were 334,569 kings (of the 11 dynasties) from Mahāsammata to the time of the historical Buddha.Mahā Thilawuntha 1928: 81

According to Theravada tradition, a total of 28 Buddhas have appeared including the historical Buddha. The first 24 Buddhas appeared in the first seven cycles. The last four Buddhas appeared in the most recent four cycles.Kala 1724: 51

Significance

Maha Sammata is mentioned in various Buddhist traditions. In addition to the Theravada accounts, Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist schools describe him as the founder of political thought.Heissig 1980: 69

See also

* Buddhist cosmology
* Buddhist mythology
* Burmese chronicles
* Buddhist kingship
* Sinhalese chronicles

References

Bibliography

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* Sudheer Maurya,(2020). Manikpala Mahasammat. Aman Prakashan. {{ISBN, 978-93-89220-81-0.

Buddhist mythology