Buddhamitra
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Buddhamitrā (born c. 60) was a
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 ...
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
from
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
during the
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
. She is remembered because of dated inscriptions on images of
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
s and
the 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 ...
that she erected in three cities near the
Ganges river The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
. They mark her success in attracting money and patronage to the
Sarvāstivāda 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 ...
, the sect of Buddhism to which she belonged.


Life and work

Buddhamitrā was born around 60 in Mathurā. Her parents were wealthy
Buddhists 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 gra ...
. She entered into 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 ...
and became a
Buddhist nun 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 gra ...
. Her teacher was a monk named Bala, who belonged to the
Sarvāstivāda 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 ...
, an early school of Buddhism. Both teacher and student were educated in the entire threefold knowledge of Buddhism (the
Tripiṭaka ''Tipiṭaka'' () or ''Tripiṭaka'' () or ''තිපිටක'' (), meaning "Triple Basket", is the traditional term for ancient collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures. The Pāli Canon maintained by the Theravāda tradition in ...
) and were noted for their efforts. Accompanied at first by a monk named Pushyavuddhi, beginning in about 117, Buddhamitrā and Bala built monuments at
Śrāvastī 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 ...
and at Sārnāth. They had the help of two of the region's
satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
s or governors, Vanaspara and Kharapallāna, the "great satrap". For the next six years, or until about 123, Buddhamitrā then went to Kosam, where she built several monuments. For example, one of the images at Kosam is a standing stone bodhisattva which today can be seen in the
Allahabad Museum The Allahabad Museum is a national-level museum in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Established in 1931, it is known for its rich collection and unique objects of art, and is funded by Ministry of Culture. Moreover, it is a premier research centre for ...
. Satya Shrava gives a translation of the inscription, originally written in
Brāhmī Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...
characters in a mixture of the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and Prākrit. It reads, "In the year 2 of mahārāja Kanishka, in the 2nd month of hemanta, i.e., the winter season, on the 8th day, the image of Bodhisattva is set up by the nun Buddhamitrā, well versed in the Tripitaka, at the promenade of the Lord Buddha." Buddhamitrā and Bala were not interested in only converting others to their religion. To quote ''A Rough Guide to Kushan History'', " tronage, not conversion was the goal of Buddhamitra." She sought, successfully, money from wealthy and powerful people to promote Buddhism, and specifically for followers of the Sarvāstivāda school. The prestige of each patron enhanced the legitimacy of Sarvāstivāda. Her desire was to reach the leaders of the Kushan Empire. Buddhamitrā lived at the time of the
Fourth Buddhist council Fourth Buddhist Council is the name of two separate Buddhist councils, Buddhist council meetings. The first one was held in Sri Lanka and is traditionally attributed to the 1st century BCE. In this fourth Buddhist council the Theravadin Pali Cano ...
and it is likely given her political connections and learning that she was involved. She is a remarkable figure, because despite living in a
patriarchal society Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males ...
she has left a mark in history where many male kings have been entirely forgotten. Her niece, who was a nun named Dhanavati (or Dhanadevī), in 148 built a memorial in honor of Buddhamitrā in the city of her birth. Shrava gives a translation of the inscription:


Record

The female gender of someone named Buddhamitrā has been known since at least the 1960s or 1970s. ''A Rough Guide to Kushan History'' says, "The evidence for Buddhamitra comes completely from inscriptions." Just as other scholars have, Theo Damsteegt catalogs these inscriptions, in his case, in his 1978 doctoral dissertation, ''Epigraphical Hybrid Sanskrit'', which identifies Buddhamitrā as a nun."...In Kosam III the donor is the nun Buddhamitrā; in Sārnāth I–II it is the monk Bala, with the same nun Buddhamitrā as one of the co-donors (Sārnāth I); at Set-Mahet it is the monk Bala. Both Bala and Buddhamitrā are, moreover, referred to in a Mathurā inscription which dates from the year 33 (I Ros., Pl.) and records a donation of a sister's daughter of Buddhamitrā, viz. M 24." in Including all of the known works by and about Buddhamitrā, in 1993, Satya Shrava published a book of the inscriptions of the
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
rulers of India that have dates, along with a photograph of each one. Peter Skilling refers to this historical record and to a female named Buddhamitrā in 2001, in "Nuns, Laywomen, Donors, Goddesses: Female Roles in Early Indian Buddhism". Thea Mohr and Jampa Tsoedren give the female gender of someone named Buddhamitrā in a footnote in their book ''Dignity & Discipline: Reviving Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns'' (2010), which identifies Buddhamitrā as a nun, one who had committed the entire ''Tripitaka'' to memory."Not only the Buddhist canonical scriptures, but also inscriptions in ancient India testify to the learnedness of Buddhist nuns. One of these inscriptions indicates that a nun had performed the impressive deed of memorizing the entire ''Tripitaka''." and part of the footnote: "Inscriptions no. 38 and 925 in Lüders 1973; 8 and 94 refer to the nun Buddhamitra as a ''trépitikå''...." in


Further reading

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddhamitra Indian Buddhists Kushan Empire 60 births Buddhist nuns Year of death unknown Indian Buddhist nuns 1st-century Buddhist nuns 1st-century Indian people 1st-century Indian monks