Maha Buddhavamsa - The Prognostication of the marks on the Bodhisatta

Maha Buddhavamsa
The Great Chronicle of The Buddhas
by Tipitakadhara Mingun Sayadaw

Edited and Translated by
U Ko Lay and U Tin Lwin

The Prognostication of the marks on the Bodhisatta
at the head-washing and naming ceremonies

      On the fifth day after the birth of the noble Bodhisatta, the father King Suddhodana held the head-washing ceremony, and with the idea to name his son he had his palace pervaded with four kinds of fragrant powder, namely, tagara (Tabernaemontana coronaria), Iavanga (cloves, Syzygium aromaticum), kunkuma (saffron, Crocus sativus), and tamala (Xanthochymus pictorius) and strewn with the five kinds of 'flowers', namely, saddala (a kind of grass), rice, mustard seeds, jasmine buds and puffed rice. He had also pure milk-rice cooked without any water, and having invited one hundred and eight learned Brahmins who were accomplished in the three Vedas, he gave them good and clean seats prepared in the palace and served them with the delicious food of milk-rice.

(The enumeration of the four kinds of fragrant powder here is in accordance with that given in the exposition of the Sekha Sutta, Majjhima Pannasa Tika and in the Tika on the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. (a) In the exposition of the Mahasudassana Sutta, however, kunkuma is replaced by turukkha. (b) In the exposition of the Avidure Nidana, etc., Jataka Tika, the enumeration is black sandalwood, tagara, camphor and essence of sandalwood. (c) In the Magadha Abhidhana (Abhidhanappadipika) the four are saffron, cloves, tagara and turukkha. (d) The exposition of the sixth Sutta of the Asivisa Vagga, Salayatana Samyutta Tika, contains saffron, turukkha, cloves, and tamala. (e) The Mala1aakara Vatthu has sala, mahatagara, camphor essence and sandalwood essence, (f) The Jinatthapakasani mentions aguru (aloe wood), tagara, camphor and sandalwood.)

      Having fed them, the king honoured them, making excellent offerings to them, and out of one hundred and eight Brahmins, eight were selected and asked to prognosticate the marks on the body of the Bodhisatta.
      Among the eight selected Brahmins, the seven, namely, Rama, Dhaja, Lakkhana, Jotimanta, Yanna, Subhoja and Suyama, having examined the physical marks of the Bodhisatta Prince each raised two fingers and made two alternative predictions with no decisiveness thus: "If your son who is endowed with these marks chooses to live the life of a householder, he will become a Universal Monarch, ruling over the four great Islands; if he becomes a monk, however, he will attain Buddhahood."
      But Sudatta of the Brahmin clan of Kondanna, the youngest of them, after carefully examining the Prince's marks of a Great Man raised only one finger and conclusively foretold with just one word of prognostication thus: "There is no reason for the Prince's remaining in household life. He will certainly become a Buddha who breaks open the roof of defilements."

(The young Brahmin Sudatta of the Kondanna clan was one whose present existence was his last and who had previously accumulated meritorious deeds that would lead him towards the fruition of Arahatship; therefore he excelled the seven senior Brahmins in learning and could foresee the prospects of the Bodhisatta that he would definitely become a Buddha. Hence his bold reading with only one finger raised.)

      This reading of the marks by young Sudatta, a descendent of Kondanna family, with the raising of a single finger was accepted by all the other learned Brahmins.

The Treatise dealing with the Marks of a Great Man

      It became possible for these Brahmins to read the physical marks of a Great Man such as a Buddha and other Noble Ones owing to the following events: At times when the appearance of a Buddha was drawing near, Maha Brahmas of Suddhavasa abode incorporated in astrological works certain compilations of prognosticative matters with reference to the marks, etc. of a Great Man who would become a Buddha (Buddha Mahapurisa Lakkhana). The Brahmas came down to the human world in the guise of Brahmin teachers and taught all those who came to learn as pupils; in so doing their idea was: "Those who are possessed of accumulated merit and mature intelligence will learn the works of astrology which include (the art of reading) the marks of a Great Man." That was why these Brahmins were able to read the marks such as those indicating the future attainment of Buddhahood and others.

There are Thirty-two Major Marks of a Great Man

      There are thirty-two major marks which indicate that their possessor is a Great Man (Bodhisatta). They are as follows;
     1. The mark of the level soles of the feet which, when put on the ground, touch it fully and squarely;
     2. The mark of the figures in the one hundred and eight circles on the sole of each foot together with the wheel having a thousand spokes, the rim, the hub and all other characteristics,
     3. The mark of the projecting heels;
     4. The mark of the long and tapering fingers and toes;
     5. The mark of the soft and tender palms and soles;
     6. The mark of the regular fingers and toes like finely rounded golden rail posts of a palace window; there is narrow space between one finger and another as well as between one toe and another;
     7. The mark of the slightly higher and dust-free ankles;
     8. The mark of the legs like those of an antelope called eni
     9. The mark of the long palms of the hands which can touch the knees while standing and without stooping;
     10. The mark of the male organ concealed in a sheath like that of a Chaddanta elephant;
     11. The mark of the yellow and bright complexion as pure singinikkha gold;
     12. The mark of the smooth skin (so smooth that no dust can cling to it);
     13. The mark of the body-hairs, one in each pore of the skin;
     14. The mark of the body-hairs with their tips curling upwards as if they were looking up the Bodhisatta's face in devotion;
     15. The mark of the upright body like a Brahma's;
     16. The mark of the fullness of flesh in seven places of the body: the two upper parts of the feet, the two backs of the hands, the two shoulders and the neck;
     17. The mark of the full and well developed body like a lion's front portion;
     18. The mark of the full and well developed back of the body extending from the waist to the neck like a golden plank without any trace of the spinal furrow in the middle;
     19. The mark of the symmetrically proportioned body like the circular spread of a banyan tree, for his height and the compass of his arms are of equal measurement;
     20. The mark of the proportionate and rounded throat;
     21. The mark of the seven thousand capillaries with their tips touching one another at the throat and diffusing throughout the body the taste of food even if it is as small as a sesamum seed;
     22. The mark of the lion-like chin (somewhat like that of' one who is about to smile);
     23. The mark of the teeth numbering exactly forty;
     24. The mark of the teeth proportionately set in a row;
     25. The mark of the teeth touching one another with no space in between;
     26. The mark of the four canine teeth white and brilliant as the morning star;
     27. The mark of the long, flat and tender tongue;
     28. The mark of' the voice having eight qualities as a Brahma's;
     29. The mark of the very clear blue eyes;
     30. The mark of the very soft and tender eyelashes like a newly born calf's;
     31. The mark of the hair between the two eyebrows;
     32. The mark of the thin layer of flesh that appears by nature like a gold headband on the forehead.
      These are the thirty-two marks of a Great Man. (Extracted from the Mahapadana Sutta and Lakkhana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya as well as from the Brahmayu Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya.)