View source for Sugata

{{Short description|Epithet for  Buddha}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Buddhism}}
'''Sugata''' ([[wikt:सुगत|सुगत]]) is a Sanskrit epithet for [[Gautama Buddha]]. {{sfn|Harris|2008|p=10}}{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=865}}<ref group=web>[https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/translate?search=sugata&dir=se Sanskrit Dictionary, ''sugata'']</ref> In some sects of [[Vaishnavism]], a Sugata Buddha is regarded as the ninth [[avatar]] of [[Vishnu]],{{sfn|Carman|1994|p=211-212}} instead of Gautama Buddha.
== Etymology ==
''"Su"' is a prefix meaning good and ''"gata"'' is the past passive participle of "to go".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Buswell |first1=Robert E. |last2=Lopez |first2=Donald S. |editor-first1=Robert E |editor-first2=David S |editor-last1=Buswell |editor-last2=Lopez |title=Sugata - meaning |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001/acref-9780190681159-e-4300 |website=The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |publisher=Princeton University Press |access-date=22 May 2022 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780190681159.001.0001 |date=20 July 2017|isbn=9780691157863 }}</ref>
Among other meanings, [[Buddhaghosa]] says the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] is ''sugata'' because both the way he took (''gata'') is good (''su'') and where he has gone (''gata'') is good (''su'').<ref name=dict>{{harvnb|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=865}}</ref> The [[Mahayana]] author [[Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)|Haribhadra]] also says the [[Buddha]] is ''sugata'' because he is one from whom all faults are totally (''suṣṭhu'') gone (''gata''), or into whom all good qualities have gone (''gata'') with none remaining (''suparipūrṇa'').<ref name=dict/>
It is customary to relate three denotations of sugata with three stages through which a [[Buddhahood|buddha]] must pass in order to reach the goal of [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]]: he has gone well beyond rebirth in [[saṃsāra]], he has gone well into [[Nirvana|nirvāṇa]], and he has gone well into the state of perfect [[buddhahood]] (''samyaksaṃbuddha'').{{sfn|Buswell|Lopez|2013|p=865}}
According to Bhikkhu Khantipalo, the term "sugato" can be translated as "auspicious", "fortunate" or more literally "well gone", "one who has gone to goodness", "one whose going was good". This refers to both the fact that his nirvana was good and that his awakening was a good for the world.<ref>Laurence-Khantipalo Mills. ''Buddha, My Refuge: Contemplation of the Buddha Based on the Pali Suttas'', page 53.</ref>
== Five Buddhas ==
[[File:Shishoin temple shibamata Five Tathagatas 2020.jpg|thumb|231x231px|[[Five Tathāgatas]] in Shinshoin Temple (Shibamata, Katsushika, [[Tokyo]]). From right to left: [[Akshobhya]], [[Ratnasambhava]], [[Vairocana]], [[Amitābha]], and [[Amoghasiddhi]].]]
[[A. Teeuw|Teeuw]] and Robson mention "5 saugata" in their translation of ''Kuñjarakarṇa Dharmakathana'' {{sfn|Teeuw|Robson|1981|p=26}} or ''Kakawin Kuñjarakarṇa'', an [[Old Javanese]] [[kakawin]] from 15th century written by Mpu Ḍusun. [[Lokesh Chandra]] notes that in the Buddhist system this expression would be incorrect; as the pentad isn't termed ''pañcasugata'' ("Five Sugatas") but ''pañcabuddha'' {{sfn|Chandra|1986|p=404}} ("Five Buddhas"), and refers to the [[Five Tathāgatas]] :
# [[Vairocana]] (Shining Buddha),
# [[Akshobhya|Akṣobhya]] (Immovable Buddha),
# [[Ratnasambhava]] (Jewel-Born Buddha),
# [[Amitābha]] (Endless-Light Buddha),
# [[Amoghasiddhi]] (Unfailing Buddha).<ref group="web" name=":2">[https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pancabuddha Wisdom Library; Pancabuddha, Pañcabuddha, Panca-buddha]</ref>
==In Hinduism==
In some sects of [[Vaishnavism]], Sugata Buddha is regarded by various [[Puranas]] as the ninth [[avatar]] among the [[Dashavatara]] of [[Lord Vishnu|Vishnu]],{{sfn|Carman|1994|p=211-212}} instead of Gautama Buddha.
Some Vaishnavite schools argue that Sugata Buddha, the incarnation of Vishnu, was born around 1800 BC{{sfn|Vaswani|2017}} in [[Bodh Gaya|Bodhi-Gaya]] ([[Kikata kingdom|Kikata]]) to Ajana, and was a different person from Gautama Buddha.{{sfn|Keshava|2003|p=42-49}}{{sfn|Tirtha|p=184-197}}
As per the [[Agni Purana]], a Sugata Buddha is [[Chaturbhuja|four handed]] like [[Vishnu]]. He holds the Vedas, a [[Padma (Vishnu)|lotus]], a japamala, and a vessel to receive alms.{{source?|date=July 2024}} In [[Shiva Purana]], he is described as a bald man with faded clothes who was sent to earth as a monk with the task of making [[Tripurasura]] leave worship of [[Vedas]] and [[Shiva]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shastri |first=Jagdishalal |url=https://archive.org/details/SivaPuranaJ.L.ShastriPart1/page/n7/mode/2up |title=The Siva Purana |publisher=[[Motilal Banarasidass]] |year=1950 |volume=1st}}</ref>
== In Jainism ==
Sugata ("pleasing gait") is a Prakrit name based on the beauty of the human body, mentioned as an example in the Aṅgavijjā chapter 26. This chapter includes general rules to follow when deriving proper names.<ref>Tej Ram Sharma. ''Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions'', page 10.</ref>
The Aṅgavijjā (mentioning ''sugata'') is an ancient treatise from the 3rd century CE dealing with physiognomic readings, bodily gestures and predictions and was written by a Jain ascetic in 9000 Prakrit stanzas.
== See also ==
* [[Buddhahood]]
* [[Gautama Buddha in Hinduism]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
;Printed sources
{{refbegin}}
<!-- B -->
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Buswell|editor1-first=Robert Jr|editor2-last=Lopez|editor2-first=Donald S. Jr.|editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr.|editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez, Jr.|title=Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism.|date=2013|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA865|isbn=9780691157863}}
<!-- C -->
* {{Citation | last =Carman | first =John Braisted | year =1994 | title =Majesty and Meekness: A Comparative Study of Contrast and Harmony in the Concept of God | publisher =Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing}}
* {{cite journal |last=Chandra |first=Lokesh | date =October 1986 | title =Notes on Kuñjarakarṇa |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41017773| journal= Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde |volume= 142 |issue= 4 |pages= 399–406 |doi= 10.1163/22134379-90003346|doi-access= free }}
<!-- D -->
* {{cite book|author=Ḍusun |translator=Teeuw, A.|editor= Robson, S.O.|title=Kuñjarakarṇa Dharmakathana|date=1981|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff|location= The Hague|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S2CvAAAAIAAJ |isbn=9789024761715 |ref={{sfnref|Teeuw|Robson|1981}}}}
<!-- H -->
* {{Citation | last =Harris | first =Ian | year =2008 | title =Cambodian Buddhism: History and Practice | publisher =University of Hawaii Press}}
<!-- K -->
* {{Cite book |last=Keshava |first=Bhakti Prajnan |author-link=Bhakti Prajnan Keshava |url=https://www.purebhakti.com/resources/ebooks-magazines/bhakti-books/english/5-beyond-nirvana/file |title=Beyond Nirvana: The philosophy of Mayavadism: A life history |publisher=Gaudiya Vedanta Publications |year=2003 |pages=42–49 |chapter=Two Buddhas}}
<!-- M -->
* {{cite book|author=  Mills, Laurence-Khantipalo|title=Buddha, My Refuge: Contemplation of the Buddha Based on the Pali Suttas|date=1990|publisher=Buddhist Publication Society|location=Kandy, Sri Lanka|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IiAVBgAAQBAJ|isbn=9552400376}}
<!-- S -->
* {{cite book|author= Sharma, Tej Ram|title=Personal and Geographical Names in the Gupta Inscriptions|date=1981|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|location= Delhi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcnnB-Lx2MAC&q=sugata}}
<!-- T -->
* {{Citation | last =Thaplyal | first =Kiran Kumar | year =1972 | title =Studies in Ancient Indian Seals: A Study of North Indian Seals and Sealings | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=CYYiAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Sugata+Buddha%22+Vishnu}}
* {{Cite book |last=Tirtha |first=Bhakti Ballabh |author-link=Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha |url=http://archive.org/details/Dasavatar_201803 |title=Dasavatara: Ten Manifestations of Godhead |pages=184–197 |chapter=Sri Buddha-Avatara}}
<!-- V -->
* {{Cite book |last=Vaswani |first=J. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eSNADwAAQBAJ&dq=son+of+anjan+and+gautama+buddha&pg=PT144 |title=Dasavatara |date=2017-12-22 |publisher=Jaico Publishing House |isbn=978-93-86867-18-6 |language=en |author-link=Dada Vaswani}}
<!-- W -->
* {{Citation | last =Wuaku | first =Albert | year =2013 | title =Hindu Gods in West Africa: Ghanaian Devotees of Shiva and Krishna | publisher =BRILL}}
{{refend}}
;Web sources
{{reflist|group=web}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Epithets of Gautama Buddha]]
[[Category:Forms of Vishnu]]