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Visakha ( pi, Visākhā; sa, Viśākhā), also known as Migāramāta, was a wealthy aristocratic woman who lived during the time of
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
. She is considered to have been the chief female
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of the Buddha. Visakha founded the temple Migāramātupāsāda (meaning "Migaramata's Palace") in
Savatthi Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the anc ...
, considered one of the two most important temples in the time of the historic Buddha, the other being
Jetavana Monastery Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
. Visakha was born into a prominent and wealthy family in what was then the kingdom of
Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
. She met the Buddha at the age of seven when he was visiting her hometown and attained ''sotapanna'', a stage of enlightenment, after hearing him preach. Visakha and her family later moved to the city of Saketa (present day
Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
) in the kingdom of
Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...
. Visakha married her husband Punnavaddhana when she was sixteen and then moved to
Savatthi Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the anc ...
to live with his family. She famously converted her father-in-law, a wealthy treasurer named Migāra, to Buddhism, giving her the nickname Migāramāta'','' literally "Migāra's mother". As chief patron, Visakha generously supported the Buddha and his monastic community throughout her life, as well as served as one of his primary aides in dealing with the general public. She is known as the female lay disciple of the Buddha who was foremost in generosity. Visakha was the Buddha's greatest patron and benefactor along with her male counterpart,
Anathapindika Anathapindika ( pi, Anāthapiṇḍika; sa, Anāthapiṇḍada); born Sudatta, was a wealthy merchant and banker, believed to have been the wealthiest merchant in Savatthi in the time of Gautama Buddha. He is considered to have been the chief mal ...
.


Background

In Buddhist belief, when a fully enlightened
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
appears in the world, he always has a set of chief disciples that fulfill different roles. On top of the pair of chief
Arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...
disciples such as Gautama Buddha's chief male disciples Sariputta and
Moggallana Maudgalyāyana ( pi, Moggallāna), also known as Mahāmaudgalyāyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of the Buddha's closest disciples. Described as a contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, Śāriputra ('), and Mahākāśyapa ( pi, ...
, and his chief female disciples
Khema Khema (Pali: Khemā; Sanskrit: Kṣemā) was a Buddhist ''bhikkhuni'', or nun, who was one of the top female disciples of the Buddha. She is considered the first of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, along with Uppalavanna. Khema was b ...
and
Uppalavanna Uppalavanna (Pali: Uppalavaṇṇā; Sanskrit: Utpalavarṇā) was a Buddhist ''bhikkhuni'' (Pali; Sanskrit: Bhikshuni), or nun, who was considered one of the top female disciples of the Buddha. She is considered the second of the Buddha's two ...
, all Buddhas have a set of chief patrons as well. Gautama Buddha's chief male patron was
Anathapindika Anathapindika ( pi, Anāthapiṇḍika; sa, Anāthapiṇḍada); born Sudatta, was a wealthy merchant and banker, believed to have been the wealthiest merchant in Savatthi in the time of Gautama Buddha. He is considered to have been the chief mal ...
, with his chief female patron being Visakha. According to the
Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...
, in the time of Padumattara Buddha, Visakha had been born the friend of a laywoman who was one of that Buddha's principal supporters. In that lifetime, the woman saw Padumattara Buddha declare a laywoman his female lay disciple foremost in generosity. Having heard this, the woman made the
resolve Resolve may refer to: * ''Resolve'' (Lagwagon album) * ''Resolve'' (Last Tuesday album) * "Resolve" (song), by the Foo Fighters *'' The Resolve'', a 1915 American silent short drama film * "Resolve" (''One Tree Hill'' episode) *''Resolve'', a Brit ...
to become the female lay disciple foremost in generosity of a future Buddha and did good deeds for many lifetimes in hopes of becoming one. This wish came true in the time of Gautama Buddha, when she was reborn as Visakha.


Biography


Early life

Visakha was born into a wealthy family, in the city of Bhaddiya in
Anga Anga (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The members of the Aṅga tribe were called the Āṅgeyas. Counted among the "sixteen great nations" in Buddhist texts ...
, which at the time was part of the kingdom of
Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
. Her father was named Dhanañjaya, and her mother was named Sumanā. According to Buddhist tradition, Visakha's family possessed special merit from her grandfather, Mendaka, having given his last meal to a Pacceka Buddha in a previous life, an act of
merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, ...
the whole family partook in. Visakha met
Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
at the age of seven, when he was visiting her home town. When the Buddha taught her she achieved ''
sotāpanna In Buddhism, a sotāpanna (Pali), śrotāpanna (Sanskrit; , , Burmese: သောတာပန်, Tibetan: རྒྱུན་ཞུགས་, Wylie: ''rgyun zhugs''), "stream-enterer", "stream-winner", or "stream-entrant" is a person who has see ...
'', a stage of enlightenment. Over the next two weeks, Mendaka invited the Buddha and his monks to eat at his house daily. Visakha moved later in life when
King Pasenadi Pasenadi ( pi, पसेनदि ; sa, प्रसेनजित् ; c. 6th century BCE) was an ruler of Kosala. Sāvatthī was his capital. He succeeded after . He was a prominent (lay follower) of Gautama Buddha, and built many Budd ...
of
Kosala The Kingdom of Kosala (Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indian kingdom with a rich culture, corresponding to the area within the region of Awadh in present-day Uttar Pradesh to Western Odisha. It emerged as a janapada, small state during the late Ve ...
heard about this family of special merit. King Pasenadi requested that his brother in law, King Bimbasara, send him some of the people of special merit in his kingdom so his subjects could see their example. King Bimbasara obliged and had Visakha and her father and mother moved to the city of Saketa (present day
Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Sāketa, Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and ...
), near the Kosalan capital of
Savatthi Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the anc ...
.


Marriage

When Visakha was sixteen, a wealthy treasurer named Migara wished to find a wife for his son, Punnavaddhana. However, Punnavaddhanna did not want to marry and described a woman of beauty he thought was impossible to find as the only woman he would marry. Because of this, Migara hired a set of
brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s to find a woman that met Punnavaddhanna's description. The brahmins searched many cities until they found a festival in the city of Saketa. When it began to rain at the festival, everybody ran for cover except for Visakha, who walked to cover slowly. When the brahmins saw this they first ridiculed her as lazy. However, Visakha explained to them that she did not run because it was ungraceful for kings, royal elephants, monks, and women to run. She also explained that she did not want to injure herself, as wet clothes can be fixed, but if a woman of marriageable age breaks a limb she couldn't marry and would be a problem for her parents. During this conversation, the brahmins noticed that Visakha had all of the traits Punnavaddhana described and they proposed to her on his behalf, which Visakha accepted. On her wedding day her father wanted to give her cattle. After releasing several he stated that was enough and the gates be closed. However, the cattle behind the gate still followed her, jumping over the gate to reach her. According to Buddhist scripture this was because in a previous existence, Visakha made an offering of milk products to the monastic community of the previous Buddha, Kassapa. Despite the efforts by the monastics telling her that her gifts were enough she insisted on giving more. This
merit Merit may refer to: Religion * Merit (Christianity) * Merit (Buddhism) * Punya (Hinduism) * Imputed righteousness in Reformed Christianity Companies and brands * Merit (cigarette), a brand of cigarettes made by Altria * Merit Energy Company, ...
is believed to have caused cattle to go to Visakha on her wedding day, despite efforts to stop them. After her marriage, Visakha moved to
Savatthi Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the anc ...
to live with her husband's family. Upon entering the city standing in her chariot, the people of Savatthi were amazed by her beauty and showered her with welcoming gifts. Upon receiving the gifts, Visakha redistributed the gifts back to the people of the city in an act of generosity.


Family

After Visakha moved into her husband's household her father-in-law, a follower of
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...
, became very irritated by Visakha's devout faith in Buddhism. Eventually her father-in-law started looking to break up the marriage between his son and Visakha. One day when a monk had entered the household to ask for alms, Migara ignored him, prompting Visakha to say "Pass on, Venerable Sir, my father-in-law is eating stale food". Seeing this as an opportunity to get rid of her, her father-in-law asked that Visakha be expelled from the household. Arbitrators were called in but Visakha explained that by her father-in-law eating food and not making merit for the future, he was using up past merit and not making any more, so it was like he was eating stale food. After hearing this it was agreed that Visakha meant no disrespect. Visakha later convinced Migara to see the Buddha, which led to him reaching ''sotapanna'', a stage of enlightenment. Migara was so grateful for Visakha helping him reach a stage of enlightenment he declared her his spiritual mother, earning her the nickname Migāramāta'','' or "Migara's mother". Over time, she gradually got her entire household to become devout Buddhists. Visakha had twenty children, ten sons and ten daughters, with each of her children having similarly large numbers of children themselves.


Chief Patron

According to
Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...
Visakha was the Buddha's chief patron, along with
Anathapindika Anathapindika ( pi, Anāthapiṇḍika; sa, Anāthapiṇḍada); born Sudatta, was a wealthy merchant and banker, believed to have been the wealthiest merchant in Savatthi in the time of Gautama Buddha. He is considered to have been the chief mal ...
, and was responsible for providing for the
Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
. The two chief patrons were also Gautama Buddha's primary aides when dealing with the general public, and he often turned to one of the two whenever there needed to be something arranged with the community. Visakha regularly visited the Buddha in the afternoon for Dhamma sermons whenever he was in Savatthi, and fed large numbers of monks at her house daily. When leaving the house, Visakha would assign one of her granddaughters to give alms in her place. The Buddha called Visakha's love of giving exemplary, and pointed to her as an example of an ideal benefactor, with both a love of giving and abundant wealth to give. He contrasted this with people who have wealth but don't give, who he called unwise and likened to flower garland makers who have many flowers but do not have the skills to make good flower garlands. Visakha often wore her finest clothes and perfume to monasteries, although she later developed an insight into the values of asceticism and chose to give up her fine attire. One day Visakha lost some jewelry which was found by Ananda, who put it away for her. After realizing what happened, Visakha decided to sell the jewelry and use the proceeds to make merit. However, the jewelry was too expensive for anyone to buy, so she bought it herself out of her existing assets and set aside the money to build a monastery near Savatthi. As Visakha prepared to begin the construction of the monastery, she requested the Buddha stay in Savatthi for the construction, however, the Buddha needed to teach elsewhere and let her choose a monk to stay with her for the construction. Visakha chose Maha Moggallana, the Buddha's disciple foremost in
psychic powers This is a list of alleged psychic abilities that have been attributed to real-world people. Many of these abilities pertain to variations of extrasensory perception or the ''sixth sense''. Superhuman abilities from fiction are not included. Psyc ...
, to stay with her and oversee the construction. Thanks to Maha Moggallana's oversight and use of psychic powers to aid with the construction, the two-storey temple was built in nine months. The temple was known as Pubbarama Monastery, often referred to as Migāramātupāsāda (literally, "Migaramata's Palace"). After the building of the monastery, the Buddha would alternate between Migāramātupāsāda and
Jetavana Jetavana (Jethawanaramaya or Weluwanaramaya ''buddhist literature'') was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvan ...
, the monastery built by his chief male disciple Anathapindika, whenever he was staying in Savatthi. In total, the Buddha spent a total of six rainy seasons at Visakha's monastery, the second most of any monastery during his lifetime, surpassed only by Jetavana. According to Buddhist scriptures, after her death Visakha was reborn in Nimmānaratī, the fifth heavenly realm, as the consort of the deva king of the realm.


Legacy

Visakha is considered to be one of the most prominent female lay figures in the Buddha's time and her role in the Buddhist scriptures is often cited in determining the attitudes toward women in early Buddhism. Religious studies scholar Nancy Falk states that "the grand heroine of Buddhist storytelling is not the nuns' founder, Mahapajapati, as one might expect, but Vishakha, a daughter and wife who belonged to the early community and who never took the nuns' vows". Historian L.S. Dewaraja points to the fact that Visakha often wore her best clothes to monasteries as indicating a more liberal attitude toward women in early Buddhism. Visakha was never chastised for her clothes and it was not until she personally developed an insight into non-attachment that she chose to give up the fine clothes on her own. Dewaraja contrasts this to other religions in Asia which generally describe pious women's love of ornamentation as "an evil attribute". Scholars cite the story of Visakha as evidence of a strong presence of female patronage in early Buddhism, and an indication of a strong value seen in the presence of female Buddhist donors. In fact, Buddhist studies scholar Peter Harvey notes that the majority of the stories in the
Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During th ...
of donors being reborn in the Buddhist heavenly realms are about women. Parallels are often drawn between Visakha and the Buddha's chief male benefactor,
Anathapindika Anathapindika ( pi, Anāthapiṇḍika; sa, Anāthapiṇḍada); born Sudatta, was a wealthy merchant and banker, believed to have been the wealthiest merchant in Savatthi in the time of Gautama Buddha. He is considered to have been the chief mal ...
. Religious studies scholar Todd Lewis describes Visakha and Anathapindika as some of the most popular figures in Buddhist art and storytelling in Asian Buddhist tradition. The two patrons each play parallel roles, both being called upon to arrange things with the lay community, both building important temples for the Buddha, and both pursuing various types of giving for the
Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
. Any form of giving that one of the benefactors pursued was also performed by the other. Falk calls them a "matched pair of 'perfect' male and female donors". Harvey states that this symbiotic parallel relationship between the two chief patrons implies that no form of giving in Buddhism is gender specific.


See also

*
Anathapindika Anathapindika ( pi, Anāthapiṇḍika; sa, Anāthapiṇḍada); born Sudatta, was a wealthy merchant and banker, believed to have been the wealthiest merchant in Savatthi in the time of Gautama Buddha. He is considered to have been the chief mal ...
*
Dāna Dāna (Devanagari: दान, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Dānam) is a Sanskrit and Pali word that connotes the virtue of generosity, charity (practice), charity or giving of alms in Indian philosophies. In Hindui ...
* Khujjuttarā *
Velukandakiya Velukandakiya is considered one of the two standard-bearer lay female disciples of the Buddha, the other being Khujjuttara Khujjuttarā was one of the Buddha's foremost (Sanskrit: agra, Pali: ''agga'') female lay disciples (Pali: '' upa ...


Notes


References


External links


"Buddhist Women in the Time of the Buddha and Theravada Women Today 2003"
by Dion Peoples

from the "Paw Center."

by Rev. Siridhamma (1983; 2004) from "BuddhaNet."

from "Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names."

from "Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names.
Early Buddhist Women Stories
{{authority control Foremost disciples of Gautama Buddha Buddhism and women 5th-century BC Indian people