A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Āśuga is the son of a kinnari and a Brahman youth whom she keeps in a cave closed by a heavy rock. Named for his swiftness, he trains by lifting progressively larger stones until he can move the barrier and escape with his father. His mother’s companions later give him her lute so that he can earn a living, warning him never to touch its highest string.
That string compels listeners and even a house to dance; on a ship its music makes the vessel leap and capsize. Surviving on a plank, Āśuga reaches Kaśerudvīpa and becomes Suśroṇī’s lover. He loses his sight after opening his eyes during their concealed flight on Suparṇa. His mother is unnamed, and the text treats him as a man rather than providing a bird-human bodily mixture.
Origins & earliest records
Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation
Records & interpretation
Complete chapter XII, Suśroṇī and footnotes directly read in the digitized 1906 edition.
In the literature
“the whole house skipped with a crash”
XII Suśroṇī, hosted printed-page marker230 · W.R.S.Ralston, English from Schiefner’s German Tibetan translation
The top string’s narrative effect extends beyond the teacher and wife to their house and crockery.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
XII, Suśroṇī, pp. 228–232; chapter footnote cites Kah-gyur xi. 93–99
- 02
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XII Suśroṇī
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. CompleteXII227–235 and all source/comparative notes independently read through the restored queen’s recurring payment to the jackal; source-language originals not collated.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Primary records and illustrations
Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)
XII, Suśroṇī. pp. 228–232
Entire relevant chapter and footnotes read. Edition cites Kah-gyur xi. 93–99; original Tibetan not independently checked. Original paraphrase, historical text public domain in the United States.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. CompleteXII227–235 and all source/comparative notes independently read through the restored queen’s recurring payment to the jackal; source-language originals not collated.
- Āśuga is born to a Kinnarī and a Brahman she confines behind a rock. Increasing his strength and distracting his mother lets him free his father and himself. His mother sends a livelihood lute with a warning against its top string; violating it makes pupils, a teacher’s household and later a ship dance, the last resulting in a fatal capsize. He survives on a plank, becomes Suśroṇī’s lover and rides concealed on Suparṇa. Opening his eyes against warning blinds him. Exiled with her, he is thrown from a temple wall by a robber and beheaded by the townspeople.
XII Suśroṇī, complete227–235; Āśuga birth/lute/flight/death228–232; note Kah-gyurxi.93–99
German-mediated historical English rendering; source-language manuscripts and footnoted comparisons not independently collated. Printed labels from transcription. Misogynistic judgments and coerced relationships remain historical framing, not endorsed. No verse, ritual, prayer, truth formula or modern adaptation copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), XII, Suśroṇī, pp. 228–232Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
