Buddhist traditions, Nivedita and Coomaraswamy
Devadatta
Devadatta is the Buddha’s cousin and an opponent in the collection’s retelling. Meditation and austerity give him powers, but his malice turns those achievements towards ruin rather than release. He attempts murder and gathers rival followers, yet the Buddha receives would-be attackers kindly and draws followers away from the hostile party. The account contrasts the use of power with the direction of intention.
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In the sources
Principal account
TraditionalDevadatta is the Buddha’s cousin and an opponent in the collection’s retelling. Meditation and austerity give him powers, but his malice turns those achievements towards ruin rather than release.
Further detail
TraditionalHe attempts murder and gathers rival followers, yet the Buddha receives would-be attackers kindly and draws followers away from the hostile party. The account contrasts the use of power with the direction of intention.
Context & interpretation
The entry follows the Devadatta opposition narrative in the 1914 collection. His alleged past-life enmity and miraculous punishments are traditional claims, without being used as an independently established biography.
Original passages
Source 1
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
these powers, so far from helping him toward ReleaseOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 340
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0340
- Original scan leaf
- 340
- Recorded leaf number
- 340
- Current Reader position
- 331
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Source 2
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists
received the first and all the other archers in turn very kindlyOpen this page in the book
Passage & edition details
Location recorded at citation review: Myths of the Hindus & Buddhists (1914), active reader leaf 341
Exact passage checked against active scan text and original-leaf mapping; scan line breaks normalised.
- Edition
- IMJ-0109-E001
- Reader page
- IMJ-0109-E001-P0341
- Original scan leaf
- 341
- Recorded leaf number
- 341
- Current Reader position
- 332
- Reader verification
- Source-preserving update confirmed
Continue exploring
Figures in Sacred Narratives ↗
Prajapati
The queen-mother whose repeated request leads to the admission of women into the order.
Same subject and traditionAnanda
The disciple who pleads for women’s admission and grieves at Buddha’s final departure.
Same subject and traditionChanna
The charioteer who explains the prince’s first encounters with suffering and accompanies his departure.
Same subject and traditionMahamaya
Siddhartha’s mother, whose conception dream announces the final birth of the Buddha-elect.