Fó shuō èduōhéduōqí jīng 佛說頞多和多耆經
The Buddha’s Sūtra of Atavataki (a personal-name title, the eponymous subject of the discourse) translator unknown (失譯, 譯)
About the work
T740 in one fascicle is an anonymous brief sūtra of unknown date, transmitting the discourse on or to the figure 頞多和多耆 (Skt. probably Ātavataka or similar — the Sanskrit identification is uncertain). The translator-attribution is lost; the text may belong to the early translation period (Hàn–Six Dynasties) on linguistic grounds, but a precise dating is not possible.
Abstract
The text records a discourse delivered by the Buddha relating to the figure 頞多和多耆 — likely a brāhmaṇa convert or a previous-life identity discussed by the Buddha. The narrative is in the standard avadāna mode: a present-life event prompts the Buddha’s recollection of a previous-life sequence that explains the present karmic situation. The doctrinal content is the standard karma-vipāka exposition.
The text is a useful witness to the early Chinese transmission of obscure Indian Buddhist avadāna materials. The transliterated title preserves a Sanskrit personal name in its phonological form, indicating the text was rendered before the standardization of Buddhist Chinese onomastic conventions. The brief extent (one fascicle) and the avadāna-type content place it within the broad genre of early Buddhist Chinese narrative-doctrine sūtras.
Translations and research
- Strong, John S. The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983. (Background on the avadāna genre.)
- Lévi, Sylvain, and Édouard Chavannes. “Les seize Arhat protecteurs de la loi,” Journal Asiatique 8 (1916), 5–50, 189–304.
No standalone English translation located.