A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
A merchant’s widow survives a shipwreck and becomes the wife of the bird king Suparṇa on Kaśerudvīpa. She bears an elder human son and a younger bird son, also called Suparṇa. The younger inherits the bird kingdom after his father’s death. At their mother’s insistence he seizes the king of Vārāṇasī in his claws, throws him into the sea and installs his own human brother in that king’s place.
The younger Suparṇa subsequently carries his brother’s wife Suśroṇī between the island and Vārāṇasī. She gradually accustoms him to carrying extra stones so that she can conceal the weight of a lover riding with her. This is a particular bird king in the translated narrative, with a father of the same name; the shared word Suparṇa does not establish that every deed belongs to the independently worshipped Garuḍa.
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
“carried off King Brahmadatta in his claws”
XII Suśroṇī, hosted printed-page marker227 · W.R.S.Ralston, English from Schiefner’s German Tibetan translation
The young bird king displaces the previous king to install his elder brother, who subsequently takes the same royal name.
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. 227–231; 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. 227–231
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.
- A shipwreck survivor marries the bird-king Suparṇa and bears first a handsome boy, then a young Suparṇa. After the father’s death the bird son inherits the bird kingship and installs his elder brother at Vārāṇasī by throwing the previous Brahmadatta into the sea. The new king also takes the name Brahmadatta. Later the younger bird king carries that brother’s wife Suśroṇī between the island and city; she conceals her lover Āśuga among a progressively increased load. The carrier is not said to discover the concealment.
XII Suśroṇī, complete227–235; Suparṇa family/transport arc227–231; 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. 227–231Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
