The Vimanavatthu (Vimāna-; abbreviated as "Vv") is a

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

scripture, the sixth book of the '' Khuddaka Nikaya'' 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 ...

. Its name in

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist '' Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Bud ...

means "Stories of the

Vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentio ...

," usually translated as 'heavenly abodes' or 'divine mansions'. The Vimanavatthu is an anthology of 83 short stories written in verse, divided into seven chapters or ''vagga''. Each story describes the life and deeds of a character who has attained residence in a heavenly mansion, the "Vimana", due to their meritorious deeds.

Overview

Each of the stories in the Vimanavatthu follows the same pattern, using the frame of the Buddha's disciple

Mahamoggallana 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, M ...

asking a deva the reason for their current residence in a divine abode. The deva then relates the good deeds in their previous birth that lead to their rebirth in the divine realm. The text is generally regarded by scholars as a relatively late addition to the

, possibly one of the last texts added to the Khuddaka Nikaya before the Canon was closed. Selected texts or stories from the Vimanavatthu may be earlier, a few being composed in the archaic

Arya metre ''Āryā meter'' is a meter used in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Marathi verses. A verse in metre is in four metrical lines called ''pāda''s. Unlike the majority of meters employed in classical Sanskrit, the meter is based on the number of s (morae) pe ...

and others possibly reflecting reworkings of older stories, including borrowings from the

Jataka The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre i ...

collections. Its contents closely resemble a section of the Mahavastu, as well as a fragmentary

Sarvastivada The ''Sarvāstivāda'' (Sanskrit and Pali: 𑀲𑀩𑁆𑀩𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀺𑀯𑀸𑀤, ) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (3rd century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy ...

text from the Ksudrakagama called the Vimānāvadāna, suggesting an origin in an older collection of stories. Narratives based on the Vimanavatthu and the

Petavatthu __NOTOC__ The Petavatthu () is a Theravada Buddhist scripture, included in the Minor Collection (''Khuddaka Nikaya'') of the Pali Canon's Sutta Pitaka. It ostensibly reports stories about and conversations among the Buddha and his disciples, an ...

, a similar text, were expanded into narratives in the commentary tradition and became a popular source of material for sermons.Skilling, Peter. "Scriptural Authenticity and the Śrāvaka Schools: An Essay towards an Indian Perspective." The Eastern Buddhist, vol. 41, no. 2, 2010, pp. 1–47. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/44362554. Accessed 25 Feb. 2020. The collection as a whole was probably directed at lay Buddhists, and present a relatively simply view of

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively ...

where good deeds are rewarded by promising rebirth. However, many of the devas lament that they did not do even better and become fully enlightened.

Translations

* "Stories of the mansions", tr Jean Kennedy, in ''Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon'', volume IV, 1st edn, 1942 * "Stories of the mansions", tr I. B. Horner, in ''Minor Anthologies'' IV, 2nd edn, 1974, Pali Text Society

Bristol * In ''Vimana Stories'', tr Peter Masefield, 1989, Pali Text Society, Bristol; translation of the commentary, with the verses embedded; the PTS's preferred translation

References

External links

"Vimāna,"
entry in the

Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...

's Pali-English Dictionary (1921-25)
Selected suttas from the Vimanavatthu (from Access to Insight)Complete English translation of Vimana Vatthu by Ven. Gnanananda Thero
Khuddaka Nikaya {{Theravada-stub

Overview

Translations

See also

References

External links