Okkāka untranslated

Okkāka 01. A king, ancestor of the Sākyans and the Koḷians. In the Ambaṭṭhasutta (DN.i.92) it is stated that Okkāka, being fond of his queen and wishing to transfer the kingdom to her son, banished from the kingdom the elder princes by another wife. These princes were named Okkāmukha, Karakaṇḍa, Hatthinika, and Sīnipura.

The Mahā Vastu (which confuses Ikṣvāku with his ancestor Sujāta) mentions five sons of Ikṣvāku: Opura, Ulkāmukha, Karaṇḍaka, Hastikaśīrsa and Nipura (i.348). See also Rockhill, p.9ff.

They lived on the slopes of the Himālaya and, consorting with their sisters and their descendants, formed the Sākyan race. The legend, thus briefly given, is enlarged on with great detail in the Commentaries. According to Buddhaghosa, there are three dynasties with a king named Okkāka at the head of each, all of them lineal descendants of the primeval king, Mahā Sammata, and in the line of succession of Makhādeva.

The Okkāka of the third dynasty had five queens – Bhattā, Cittā, Jantū, Jālinī and Visākhā – each with five hundred female attendants. The eldest queen had four sons – mentioned above – and five daughters – Piyā, Suppiyā, Ānandā, Vijitā and Vijitasenā (the Mahā Vastu calls them Suddhā, Vimalā, Vijitā, Jālā and Jālī).

When Bhattā died, after the birth of these nine children, the king married another young and beautiful princess and made her the chief queen. Her son was Jantu, and being pleased with him, the king promised her a boon. She claimed the kingdom for her son, and this was the reason for the exile of the elder children (DN­a.i.258f; Snp-a.i.352f).

The Mahā Vaṁsa (Mhv.ii.12-16) mentions among Okkāka’s descendants, Nipuṇa, Candimā, Candamukha, Sivisañjaya, Vessantara, Jāli, Sīhavāhana and Sīhassara. The last named had eighty-four thousand descendants, the last of whom was Jayasena. His son Sīhahanu was the grandfather of the Buddha. The Dīpavaṁsa (iii.41-5) list resembles this very closely.

Okkāka had a slave-girl called Disā, who gave birth to a black baby named, accordingly, Kaṇha. He was the ancestor of the Kaṇhāyanas, of which race the Ambaṭṭha-clan was an offshoot. Later, Kaṇha became a mighty sage and, by his magic power, won in marriage Maddarūpī, another daughter of Okkāka (DN.i.93, 96).

According to the Brāhmaṇa Dhammikasutta (Sn.p.52ff; AN­a.ii.737), it was during the time of Okkāka that the Brahmins started their practice of slaughtering animals for sacrifice. Till then there had been only three diseases in the world – desire, hunger and old age; but from this time onwards the enraged Devas afflicted humans with various kinds of suffering.

It is said (DN­a.i.258) that the name Okkāka was given to the king because when he spoke light issued from his mouth like a torch (kathanakāle ukkā viya mukhato pabhā niccharati).

Although the Sanskritised form of the Pāli name is Ikṣavāku, it is unlikely that Okkāka is identical with the famous Ikṣavāku of the Purāṇas, the immediate son of Manu, son of the Sun. The Pāli is evidently more primitive, as is shown by the form Okkāmukha, and the name Ikṣavāku looks like a deliberate attempt at accommodation to the Purāṇic account. For discussion see Thomas: Life and Legend of the Buddha, p.6.

According to the Mahā Vastu, Ikṣavāku was the king of the Kosalas and his capital was Sāketa – i.e. Ayodhyā. See also s.v. Sākya.

The Cūḷa Vaṁsa mentions among Okkāka’s descendants, Mahā Tissa, Sagara and Sāhasamalla (q.v.).

Okkāka 02. King of Mahā Sammata in the Malla country. He had sixteen thousand wives, the chief of whom was Sīlavatī. As a result of her consorting with Sakka, two sons were born, Kusa and Jayampati.

The story is related in the Kusajātaka. Ja.v.278ff.