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3. Dvattiṃsamahāpurisalakkhaṇā (The Thirty-two Marks of a Great Man)

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The brahmin fortune tellers read the thirty-two marks of a great man on the newborn Prince Vipassī and tell King Bandhumā his two courses: a righteous wheel-turning emperor if he stays at home, a perfectly awakened one if he goes forth. Translated from the Mahāpadānasutta (7D/1), paragraphs 50–84.

Original text: 7D/1.3 Dvattiṃsamahāpurisalakkhaṇā 50–84 in the World Tipitaka Edition

The third part of the Mahāpadānasutta: the brahmin fortune tellers read the thirty-two marks of a mahāpurisa (great man) on the newborn Prince Vipassī and tell King Bandhumā the two courses open to one who bears them, a righteous cakkavattī (emperor) with the seven treasures if he lives the household life, an arahant (liberated one), a perfectly awakened one, if he goes forth. The marks are listed from the feet to the head, most in a word or two, with the exposition abbreviated by the edition’s “… and so on …”.

flowchart TB
    A["Prince Vipassī is born"] --> B["the brahmin fortune tellers read the marks"]
    B --> C["thirty-two marks of a mahāpurisa (great man)"]
    C --> C1["feet and legs: soles, heels, fingers, hands, ankles, calves"]
    C --> C2["body: skin, hair, limbs, torso, shoulders, proportion"]
    C --> C3["head: jaw, teeth, tongue, voice, eyes, brow, crown"]
    C --> D["two courses, no other"]
    D --> E["lives the household life: a righteous cakkavattī with seven treasures"]
    D --> F["goes forth: an arahant, perfectly awakened"]

(33.)

50. Now when Prince Vipassī was born, Bhikkhave, they informed King Bandhumā: ‘A son has been born to you, your majesty; let your majesty see him.’ King Bandhumā, Bhikkhave, saw Prince Vipassī; having seen him, he had the brahmin fortune tellers summoned and said this: ‘Let the worthy brahmin fortune tellers see the prince.’ The brahmin fortune tellers, Bhikkhave, saw Prince Vipassī; having seen him, they said this to King Bandhumā: ‘Be delighted, your majesty; a son of great influence has been born to you. It is a gain for you, Mahārāja, it is a great gain for you, Mahārāja, in whose family such a son has been born. Indeed, your majesty, this prince is endowed with the thirty-two marks of a mahāpurisa (great man), for a mahāpurisa endowed with which there are only two courses, no other. If he lives the household life, he becomes a king, a cakkavattī (emperor), righteous, a just king of the four quarters, who has conquered, who has achieved stability in the country, possessing the seven treasures. He has these seven treasures. That is to say: the wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the jewel treasure, the woman treasure, the steward treasure, and the counsellor treasure as the seventh. And he has more than a thousand sons, valiant, with the qualities of heroes, crushing the armies of others. Having subdued this earth bounded by the ocean without force, without weapons, righteously, he rules over it. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, he becomes an arahant (liberated one), a sammāsambuddha (perfectly awakened one), who rolls back the veil in the world.

(34.)

51. And with which thirty-two marks of a mahāpurisa is this prince endowed, your majesty, for a mahāpurisa endowed with which there are only two courses, no other? If he lives the household life, he becomes a king, a cakkavattī (emperor), righteous, a just king of the four quarters, who has conquered, who has achieved stability in the country, possessing the seven treasures. He has these seven treasures. That is to say: the wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the jewel treasure, the woman treasure, the steward treasure, and the counsellor treasure as the seventh. And he has more than a thousand sons, valiant, with the qualities of heroes, crushing the armies of others. Having subdued this earth bounded by the ocean without force, without weapons, righteously, he rules over it. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, he becomes an arahant (liberated one), a sammāsambuddha (perfectly awakened one), who rolls back the veil in the world.

(35.)

52. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has firmly grounded feet. And since this prince, your majesty, has firmly grounded feet, this too is a mark of a mahāpurisa for this mahāpurisa. (1)

53. On the soles beneath this prince’s feet, your majesty, wheels have arisen, thousand-spoked, with rims, with hubs, complete in every aspect. And since on the soles beneath this prince’s feet, your majesty, wheels have arisen, thousand-spoked, with rims, with hubs, complete in every aspect, this too is a mark of a mahāpurisa for this mahāpurisa. (2)

54. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has long heels … and so on … (3)

55. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has long fingers … and so on … (4)

56. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has soft and tender hands and feet … and so on … (5)

57. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has lined hands and feet … and so on … (6)

58. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has arched feet … and so on … (7)

59. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has calves like an antelope’s … and so on … (8)

60. Indeed, your majesty, this prince, standing without bending down, touches and rubs his knees with both palms … and so on … (9)

61. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has the genitals enclosed in a sheath … and so on … (10)

62. Indeed, your majesty, this prince is golden-coloured, with skin like gold … and so on … (11)

63. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has fine skin; because of the fineness of his skin, dust and dirt do not stick to his body … and so on … (12)

64. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has individual body hairs; individual hairs have arisen in the hair follicles … and so on … (13)

65. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has body hair with raised tips; body hairs have arisen with raised tips, blue-black, the colour of collyrium, curling in rings, growing turning to the right … and so on … (14)

66. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has long and straight limbs … and so on … (15)

67. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has seven protuberances … and so on … (16)

68. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has the torso of a lion … and so on … (17)

69. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has a full upper back … and so on … (18)

70. Indeed, your majesty, this prince is proportioned like a banyan tree: as much as his body is, so much is his arm span; as much as his arm span is, so much is his body … and so on … (19)

71. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has well-rounded shoulders … and so on … (20)

72. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has an acute sense of taste … and so on … (21)

73. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has a jaw like a lion’s … and so on … (22)

74. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has forty teeth … and so on … (23)

75. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has even teeth … and so on … (24)

76. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has gapless teeth … and so on … (25)

77. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has extremely white canine teeth … and so on … (26)

78. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has a large tongue … and so on … (27)

79. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has a deep voice and speaks with a clear and melodious voice … and so on … (28)

80. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has extremely dark eyes … and so on … (29)

81. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has eyelashes like a cow’s … and so on … (30)

82. The hair between this prince’s eyebrows, your majesty, has arisen white, like soft cotton. And since the hair between this prince’s eyebrows, your majesty, has arisen white, like soft cotton, this too is a mark of a mahāpurisa for this mahāpurisa. (31)

83. Indeed, your majesty, this prince has a head shaped like a turban. And since this prince, your majesty, has a head shaped like a turban, this too is a mark of a mahāpurisa for this mahāpurisa. (32)

(36.)

84. With these thirty-two marks of a mahāpurisa, your majesty, this prince is endowed, for a mahāpurisa endowed with which there are only two courses, no other. If he lives the household life, he becomes a king, a cakkavattī (emperor), righteous, a just king of the four quarters, who has conquered, who has achieved stability in the country, possessing the seven treasures. He has these seven treasures. That is to say: the wheel treasure, the elephant treasure, the horse treasure, the jewel treasure, the woman treasure, the steward treasure, and the counsellor treasure as the seventh. And he has more than a thousand sons, valiant, with the qualities of heroes, crushing the armies of others. Having subdued this earth bounded by the ocean without force, without weapons, righteously, he rules over it. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, he becomes an arahant (liberated one), a sammāsambuddha (perfectly awakened one), who rolls back the veil in the world.’

  • The marks are given in full only for the first, second, thirty-first and thirty-second; the edition abbreviates the rest with “… and so on …”, and the cakkavattī passage stands three times word for word (50, 51, 84). The 8D/7 Lakkhaṇasutta expands each mark.
  • The marks’ names are the DPD’s glosses (jālahatthapāda “lined hands and feet”, nigrodhaparimaṇḍala “proportioned like a banyan tree”, uṇhīsasīsa “a head shaped like a turban”); the list as Brahmanical lore is a point for the sutta’s index page.
  • Renderings: deva as the king’s address “your majesty” (the Susima page’s word), mahārāja kept as Mahārāja, nemitta “fortune teller”, gati “course”, vivaṭacchada “who rolls back the veil” (DPD).
  • “Goes forth from the household life into homelessness” and “a liberated one, a perfectly awakened one” are the Khandhaka pages’ wordings; the brahmins’ speech runs from 50 to 84 inside one pair of quotation marks.

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