The Thirty-Two Marks of a Great Man in Two Metrical Lists in the Mahāvastu

Abstract

The paper presents an edition, translation, and analysis of two metrical lists of the major marks of a Great Man (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), which occur in the Mahāvastu. The lists consist of one-word designations pertaining to particular features. The edition is based on the oldest manuscript of the Mahāvastu, the so-called Ms. Sa, which offers better readings than those proposed by Émile Senart in his editio princeps of the text from 1882–1897.