Chapter 2: The Vessantara Review: The 13 Cantos of Supreme Generosity in Lanna Tradition
A comprehensive synthesis of the 13 cantos of the Vessantara Jataka, exploring the climax of generosity and its sacred role in Lanna’s Tang Tham Luang.
Introduction to the Great Jataka
The Vessantara Jataka represents the apex of Buddhist didactic literature in Lanna culture. Standing as the tenth and final narrative of the Ten Great Birth Stories (Dasa Jātaka), it epitomizes the perfection of supreme giving (Dāna Pāramī), where the Bodhisatta relinquishes his most cherished possessions for the enlightenment of all beings. In Northern Thailand, reciting and listening to this epic across its thirteen cantos (encompassing 1,000 Pali stanzas) during the "Tang Tham Luang" festival is revered as a vehicle for profound spiritual merit, ensuring rebirth in the future era of the Buddha Metteyya.
Summary of the 13 Cantos
- Thotsaphon (Ten Boons): Phusati descends from Tavatimsa Heaven after receiving ten divine blessings from Sakka, being reborn to become the queen mother of Vessantara.
- Himaphan (The Himalayan Forest): Prince Vessantara bestows the sacred rain-making white elephant, Paccaya-nāga, upon drought-stricken Kalinga, provoking the wrath of the Sivi populace and prompting his banishment.
- Thanakhan (The Canto of Almsgiving): Before departing into exile, Vessantara distributes the massive Gift of Seven Hundreds (Sattasataka Mahadana), subsequently forfeiting his chariot and horses along the road.
- Vanapravet (Entry into the Wilderness): The royal family journeys past the realm of Ceta and arrives at Mount Vamkot, residing in hermitage cells created by the divine artisan Vissakamma.
- Chuchok (The Brahmin Jujaka): The elderly mendicant Jujaka obtains the young maiden Amittada as his bride; harassed by village women, she sends him to capture Vessantara’s children as household servants.
- Chulaphon (The Minor Wilderness): Jujaka outwits the forest guardian Cetaputta through deception, securing the route toward the hermitage.
- Mahaphon (The Great Wilderness): The ascetic Accuta is persuaded by Jujaka’s feigned piety to reveal the final pathway leading to Mount Vamkot.
- Kuman (The Royal Children): In Maddi’s absence, Vessantara gives Jali and Kanhajina to Jujaka, fulfilling the supreme sacrifice of offspring while the cosmos trembles in witness.
- Matsi (Queen Maddi): Deities disguised as wild predators delay Maddi’s return; collapsing in grief upon discovering her empty home, she is revived by Vessantara and joins in consecrating the sacred donation.
- Sakka-bap (The Canto of Sakka): Sakka assumes a brahmin guise to ask for Maddi, safeguarding her from lesser mortals before returning her to Vessantara alongside eight divine boons.
- Maharach (The Great Monarch): Guided by divine providence, Jujaka mistakenly arrives in the capital of Sivi. King Sanjaya redeems his grandchildren, and Jujaka perishes from gluttony.
- Cha-kasat (The Six Royals): The monarchs reunite in the mountain retreat; overcome by sorrow and joy, they faint simultaneously until revived by miraculous crimson rain (Pokkharavassa).
- Nakhon-kan (The City Canto): Vessantara triumphantly returns to the capital, restores just governance, and generates an endless shower of precious jewels to relieve his kingdom of poverty.