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Avadāna (Sanskrit;Pali:Apadāna)[1] is the name given to a type ofBuddhist literature correlatingpast lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events.
Richard Salomon described them as "stories, usually narrated by the Buddha, that illustrate the workings ofkarma by revealing the acts of a particular individual in a previous life and the results of those actions in his or her present life."[2]
This literature includes around 600 stories in thePāli languageApadāna ("Legends"). There are also a large number inSanskrit collections, of which the chief are theMahāsāṃghika'sMahāvastu ("Great Book") and theSarvāstivāda'sAvadānaśataka (Century of Legends) andDivyāvadāna (The Heavenly Legend).[3] These latter collections include accounts relating toGautama Buddha and the third-century BCE "righteous ruler,"Ashoka.[4]
Amongst the most popularavadānas of Northern Hinayāna Buddhism are:
Though of later date than most of the canonical Buddhist books,avadānas are held in veneration by the orthodox, and occupy much the same position with regard to Buddhism that thePuranas do towardsHinduism.[3] They act in a similar way to other texts describing past deeds or past lives held in other traditions in the region, such as the aforementioned Puranas, theDasam Granth andJanamsakhis ofSikhism, and theKalpa Sūtra ofJainism.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Avadāna".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 51..svg)
