Māndhātar

Also known as: Mūrdhaja · Role: king · First appears: Chapter I

In olden days, Māndhātar, also known as Mūrdhaja, was born from a tumour on King Utposhadha’s head; when it broke, a boy came forth, and he was named Māndhātar. While the prince was away on a journey, King Utposhadha ordered the ministers to invest him with sovereign power. At Sāketa, Māndhātar received the regalia and treasures and was consecrated king, with the fillet laid upon him by demons.

At Sumeru, Māndhātar ordered the Rishis out of his realm, and they settled on the mountain’s slopes. As he conceived various desires, deities sent down rains of seeds, cotton, cotton thread, and raiment, and precious stones fell within his palace for seven days. With his runner, the Yaksha Divaukasa, he went on to conquer and rule Pūrvavidehadvīpa, Aparagodānīya, and Uttarakuru. He then set out from Sumeru for the abode of the thirty-three gods; at Sudharmā, Śakra gave him half his seat to share.

While Māndhātar was there, he defeated the Asuras in battle. When his good fortune ended, he returned to Jambudvīpa gravely ill and died amid intolerable agonies, before finding satisfaction in the fivefold pleasures of sense. Thereupon many hundreds of thousands renounced house-life, retired to the forest, and lived with the Rishis.

Relationship record

Life events

• Māndhātar was born from a tumour on King Utposhadha’s head.(Chapter I)
  • With: King Utposhadha
  • “When it had become quite ripe and had broken, there came forth from it a boy”
• The boy received the name Māndhātar.(Chapter I)
  • “Wherefore he received the name of Māndhātar.”
• King Utposhadha ordered the ministers to invest Māndhātar with sovereign power.(Chapter I)
  • With: King Utposhadha
  • “he ordered the ministers to invest the prince with sovereign power.”
• Māndhātar was consecrated king after receiving the regalia and treasures.(Chapter I · 📍 Sāketa)
  • With: Divaukasa
  • “Thereupon the fillet was laid upon him by demons. Moreover the seven treasures were revealed”
• Māndhātar ordered the Rishis to leave his realm, and they settled on Sumeru’s slopes.(Chapter I · 📍 Sumeru)
  • “So they went away and settled there.”
• A rain of twenty-seven kinds of seed fell at Māndhātar’s request.(Chapter I)
  • “the deity sent down a rain of twenty-seven kinds of seed.”
• A rain of cotton fell at Māndhātar’s request.(Chapter I)
  • “the deity let a rain of cotton fall.”
• A rain of cotton thread fell at Māndhātar’s request.(Chapter I)
  • “the deity sent down a rain of cotton thread.”
• A rain of raiment fell at Māndhātar’s request.(Chapter I)
  • “the deity sent down a rain of raiment.”
• Precious stones rained inside Māndhātar’s palace for seven days.(Chapter I)
  • “there began to fall within his palace a rain of precious stones which lasted for seven days”
• Māndhātar conquered Pūrvavidehadvīpa and ruled it.(Chapter I · 📍 Pūrvavidehadvīpa)
  • With: Divaukasa
  • “There, like a being who has acquired great power and supernatural force by means of virtue and merit, he ruled”
• Māndhātar conquered Aparagodānīya and ruled there.(Chapter I · 📍 Aparagodānīya)
  • With: Divaukasa
  • “Having reached Aparagodānīya, he tarried therein”
• Māndhātar conquered Uttarakuru and ruled over its hosts.(Chapter I · 📍 Uttarakuru)
  • With: Divaukasa
  • “King Māndhātar reached Uttarakuru, and there, enjoying the fruits of his deserts”
• Māndhātar set out for the abode of the thirty-three gods.(Chapter I · 📍 Sumeru)
  • With: Divaukasa
  • “Scarcely had this idea occurred to King Māndhātar when he arose, surrounded by his thousand sons”
• Śakra gave Māndhātar half his seat, and the two shared it.(Chapter I · 📍 Sudharmā)
  • “No sooner had he conceived this idea than Śakra the king of the gods gave up to him half of his seat”
• Māndhātar defeated the Asuras in battle.(Chapter I)
  • “overcome, full of fear and trembling, they turned their backs and withdrew into the stronghold of the Asuras.”
• Māndhātar’s good fortune ended, and he returned to Jambudvīpa gravely ill.(Chapter I · 📍 Jambudvīpa)
  • “On his return to Jambudvīpa he was attacked by a violent illness”
• Māndhātar died before he was satisfied by sensual pleasures.(Chapter I)
  • “King Māndhātar, who possessed the seven treasures, who with a fourfold host of men acquired power over the four dvīpas, and made his way to the abode of the thirty-three gods, is said to have died before he had obtained satisfaction through the fivefold pleasures of sense.”
• Many people renounced house-life, retired to the forest, and pursued ascetic practices.(Chapter I · 📍 the forest)
  • “many hundreds of thousands of men renounced house-life, retired from the world to the Rishis, and lived in the forest”

Chapter I

• subordinate: Divaukasa “During this inauguration of King Māndhātar’s rule six Śakra-evanescences passed away. Then King Māndhātar asked his runner, the Yaksha Divaukasa, ‘Is there not some part of the world as yet unsubdued by me which I could subdue?’”
• parent: King Utposhadha “Thereupon the ministers sent another messenger with the tidings that the prince’s father was dead, and that he ought now to come in order to assume the regal power.”

Also listed in Other Figures — Minor Figures

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Extracted from the original text of Tibetan Tales, Derived from Indian Sources. Made with Rho MD.