A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

When Madrī returns from gathering roots and fruit, a deity takes a lioness’s form and bars her path so that she cannot prevent Viśvaṇtara giving away their children. She appeals to it as the wife of the king of beasts and compares their ranks, requesting passage. The deity steps aside, and Madrī reaches the empty hermitage, where she laments the loss. The narrator explicitly identifies a transformed deity; her speech does not establish a separately named lion husband or offspring. Later Śakra appears and assumes a Brahman’s form, but the chapter does not identify him as this earlier unnamed lioness deity.

Unnamed deity adopting a lioness form to block a mother’s returnBuddhist narrative witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation

02

Records & interpretation

Whole chapter and its footnotes directly read in the digitized1906 edition.

In the literature

“assumed the form of a lioness”
Anonymous Buddhist narrative tradition; F. Anton von Schiefner and W.R.S.Ralston, mediated translators · Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XVI Viśvaṇtara
XVI Viśvaṇtara, hosted printed-page marker266 · W.R.S.Ralston, English from Schiefner’s German Tibetan translation

Narrator explicitly identifies an unnamed deity’s assumed animal form; later Śakra is not automatically the same figure.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources

    F. Anton von Schiefner, Tibetan-to-German translator; W. R. S. Ralston, English translator · 1906

    XVI, Viśvaṇtara, pp. 257–272, especially pp. 265–266; note cites Kah-gyur iv. ff. 192–200

  2. 02

    Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XVI Viśvaṇtara

    Anonymous Buddhist narrative tradition; F. Anton von Schiefner and W.R.S.Ralston, mediated translators · 1906

    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. Complete selected XVI257–272/XIX286–287/L360–363 and all notes independently read. Particular subject arcs located separately; 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

Direct primary record

Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)

XVI, Viśvaṇtara. XVI, Viśvaṇtara, pp. 257–272, especially pp. 265–266; note cites Kah-gyur iv. ff. 192–200

Complete chapter and all notes read. Translation’s canonical locator retained; original Tibetan not independently inspected. Actual endings, explicit identities and comparative material kept separate, with no death/kinship/anatomy inferred beyond the telling.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

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. Complete selected XVI257–272/XIX286–287/L360–363 and all notes independently read. Particular subject arcs located separately; source-language originals not collated.

  1. As Madrī hurries back with forest food after the children have been surrendered, an unnamed deity assumes lioness form to bar her path and prevent interference. Madrī appeals through a comparison of their positions as wives, and the disguised deity moves aside. She reaches the empty hermitage, learns what happened and laments. Later Śakra appears separately, restores Madrī and redirects the children’s captor to their grandfather’s city.

    XVI Viśvaṇtara, complete257–272; lioness deity265–266; Kah-gyuriv.ff192–200

German-mediated English witness; Tibetan originals and cited comparative texts not independently read. Page markers from transcription. Historical sacrificial/slavery and moral framing not endorsed. No rite, vow, verse, poison preparation or trapping instructions copied.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), XVI, Viśvaṇtara, pp. 257–272, especially pp. 265–266; note cites Kah-gyur iv. ff. 192–200Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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