Hāritī Notebook. Slide 23, Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography inJapan. Copyright Mark Schumacher. 2016.

Why did Hāritī become a kitchen god?
Hāritī was among the most popular deities of Buddhism in the first few centuries of theCommon Era. Artwork of her and consort Pāñcika is abundant. In most traditions, Hāritī/Pāñcika are said to have bred 500 powerful children. By the 7th-century CE, Hāritī is also
paired with Jambhala (Pāñcika’s double) and with Mahākāla (aka Daikokuten). The latterpair was installed in India’s monastery kitchens to ensure the food supply. Why Hāritī?
Hāritī is a composite deity of Buddhist origin, but she actually represents an amalgamationof thousands of village goddesses from India’s local traditions. In nearly all cases, thesevillage goddesses were goddesses of fertility, motherhood/children and of smallpox. They
guarded the borders of the village from disease, pestilence and even human enemies –just like a mother protects her own children. In many cases, these village goddesses weresimply referred to affectionately as “mother.”Hāritī’s evil child-eating ways may be read as a direct reference to her role as the smallpox
deity. Until the discovery of vaccinations, smallpox was the most serious of deadly
diseases. Children were the first victims of the disease, and thus the people considered
the goddess as a terrible mother, the devourer of their children. At the same time, ample
evidence shows that many of these goddesses were the spirits of women who died during
their pregnancies or when delivering their children. People began to approach thesegoddesses with offerings and prayers as a means to protect their own children. It isinteresting to note that, in the Taisho canon, #1451, the pregnant Hāritī is urged to dance
at a local feast and loses her pregnancy as a result. Out of revenge, she vows to eat thechildren of the village in her next rebirth.
Jumping forward……to cure Hāritī of her evil child-eating ways, the Buddha hides her
youngest and most favored child. After looking high and low for her lost child, without
success, Hāritī turns to the Buddha in despair and agony, and finally awakens to the painand suffering she has caused countless parents and children. She repents her sins,
embraces Buddha’s teachings, and transforms herself into a protector of children.
However, asks Hāritī: “How shall my five hundred children subsist hereafter?” The Buddha
replied: “In every monastery, where my devotees dwell, thy family shall partake ofsufficient food, offered by them [the monks] every day.” For this reason, says Yìjìng in his
7th-century text [T2125.54.0209 b21]: “The image of Hāritī is found either in the porch or ina corner of the dining-hall of all Indian monasteries depicting her as holding a babe in herarms, and round her knees three or five children. “Yìjìng’s relevant passage [English trans.] is shown on the next seven pages. Also see:

Hāritī: Village Origins, Buddhist Elaborations, and Saivite Accommodations, bySree Padma. Asian and African Area Studies, 11 (1): 1-17, 2011.
Praying for Heirs: The Diffusion and Transformation of Hāritī in East and Southeast
Asia, by Yuan Quan. Chinese Society of History Studies 中國史學會, Oct. 2011,vol., no.74, pp. 117-205 (89 pages).

% JAN 19*A RECORD

V,}/.LSOF

THE BUDDHIST RELIGION
AS PRACTISED IN

INDIA

AND THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO(A.D. 671-695)

By I-TSING

Translated by J. TAKAKUSU, B.A., Ph.D.

WITH A LETTER FROM THE RIGHT HON. PROFESSOR F. MAX MULLER

WITH A MAP

Ojcfovb

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS1896

RULES ABOUT THE UPAVASATHA-DAY.
adopted by Bodhisattva Nagar^una.
practice, to drink water is also good.

If this35

be too hard to putinWhen a man gets used to thesepractices he is less attacked by sickness.

The dirt at the roots of theWashed with warm

teeth hardened by time must all be cleaned away.

Tooth-water, the teeth will be freed from the dirt for the whole of life.

ache is very rare in India owing to their chewing the tooth-wood.
WillowIt is wrong to identify the tooth-wood with a willow-branch.
trees are very scarce in India.

Though translators have generally used

this name, yet, in fact, the Buddha's tooth-wood-tree (for instance) which
I haveINowpersonally seen in the Nalanda monastery, is not the willow.

require no more trustworthy proof from others tlian this, and my readersneed not doubt

Moreover, we readit.

Nirvawa-sutra thus':

inthe Sanskritof thetext

The time when they were chewing tooth-woods.'

Some in China use small sticks of willow which they chew completely
mouth and remove theSometimes it is held that one can cure a sickness by drinking thejuice of the tooth-wood. They become impure, in so doing, contrary toin their mouth without knowing how to rinse thejuice.

Though desirous of being released fromAre they not already aware
a disease, they fall into a greater sickness.

their desire for purification.

It is quite common
Any argument would be in vain
among the people of the five parts of India to chew the tooth-wood.
Even infants of three years old are taught how to do it.
The teaching of the Buddha and the custom of the people correspondof this fact ?

!

on this point, and help each other.
I have thus far explained the comEachparative merit of the use of the tooth-wood in China and India.
custom.
therejectoradopt
hewillmust judge for himself as to whether

CHAPTER IX.
RULES ABOUT THE RECEPTION AT THE UPAVASATHA-DAY 1
I

SHALL briefly describe the ceremony of inviting priests, in India as

well as in the islands of the Southern Sea.

1.

I. e.

the fast-day;laymen and priests, anditisisIn India the hosta day of religious observance andcomescelebration fora weekly festival when laymen see a priest

and takeupon themselves the Upavasatha-vows, i.e. to keep the eight Silas during the day.

F 2

A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES.

36IX.

previously to the priests, and, after a salutation, invites them to the festival.

On the Upavasatha-day he informs them, saying,

The preparation of the utensils andaccording to circumstances.

'It is the time.'seats for the priests

Necessaries

may be carriedmonastery) by some of the monastic servants

ismade(from theor provided by the host.
Only copper utensils as a rule are used, which are cleansed by being
rubbed with fine ashes. Each priest sits on a small chair placed at such;a distance that one person may not touch another.

has been already described in chap. iii.

The shape of the chair

not wrong, however, to use

It isearthenware utensils once, if they have not been used before. When they
have been already used, they should be thrown away into a ditch, for usedvessels (lit. touched ') should not be preserved at all.
Consequently in'India, at almsgiving places at the side of the road, there are heaps ofEarthenware (of superiorquality) such as is manufactured at Siang-yang (in China) may be kept
after having been employed, and after having been thrown away may
be cleansed properly.
In India there were not originally porcelain andLacquered
lacquer works.
Porcelain, if enamelled, is, no doubt, clean.
articles are sometimes brought to India by traders people of the islands of
the Southern Sea do not use them as eating utensils, because food placedin them receives an oily smell.
But they occasionally make use of themwhen new, after washing the oily smell away with pure ashes. Wooden
articles are scarcely ever employed as eating utensils, yet, if new, they
may be used once, but never twice, this being prohibited in the Vinaya.
The ground of the dining-hall at the host's house is strewn over with
cow-dung, and small chairs are placed at regular intervals and a large
discarded utensils which are never used again.

;;

When the priests arrive

quantity of water is prepared in a clean jar.

they untie the fastenings of their cloaks.

All have clean jars placed

before themif:they examine the water, andthey wash their

feet

with

it,

then they sit

there are no insects in it,

down onthe small chairs.

When they have rested awhile, the host, having observed the time andfinding that the sun

isnearly at the zenith, makes this announcement

Then each priest, folding his cloak by its two corners,
and taking up the right corner of his skirt, holds it by
the girdle at his left side. The priests cleanse their hands with powder
made of peas or earth-dust; and either the host pours water, or the4

It is the time.'

ties them in front,

RULES ABOUT THE UPAVASATHA-DAY.
priests themselves use water out of the YLundi (i.e. jars) ;37

thisdoneisaccording as they find oneway or the other more convenient.

Thenthey return to their seats.

Next eating-utensils are distributed

to theguests, which they wash slightly so that water does not flow over them.

never customary to say a prayer before meals.

It is

The host, having

cleansed his hands and feet (by this time), makes an offering to saints(images of arhats) at the upper end of the row of seatsthen he dis;tributes food to the priests.

At the lowest end of the row an offeringof food is made to the mother, Hariti.

At the former birth of this mother, she from some cause or other,made a vow to devour all babes at Ra^agrz'ha. In consequence of thiswicked vow, she forfeited her life, and was reborn as a Yakshiand gave;

Every day she ate some babes at Ra^agr/ha, and the people informed the Buddha of this fact.
He took andbirth to five hundred children.

concealed one of her own children, which she called

Her Beloved Child.
She sought for it from place to place, and at last happened to find itnear the Buddha.
Art thou so sorry,' said the World-honoured One to'her,Thou lamentest for only one lost
how much more grieved are those who have lostfor thy lost child, thy beloved ?

'out of five hundred;their only one or two children on account of thy cruel vow?

'Soon con-verted by the Buddha, she received the five precepts and became an Upasika 1.

'How shall my five hundred children subsist hereafter?

convert asked the Buddha.
'''

the new

In every monastery,' replied the Buddha,

where Bhikshus dwell, thy family shall partake of sufficient food, offeredby them every day.' For this reason, the image of Hariti is found either
in theporch or in a corner of the dining-hall of all Indian monasteries

depicting her as holding a babe in her arms, and round her knees three orEvery day an abundant offering of food is made before2
is one of the subjects of the four heavenly kings
She has a power of giving wealth. If those who are childless on accountof their bodily weakness (pray to her for children), making offerings offive children.

this image.

Hariti.

A full account of her

food, their wish is always fulfilled.

1

The conversion of thegiven in the

mythical monster is said to have occurred in thesixteenth year of the Buddha's ministry
2is;see Rhys Davids, Buddhism, p. 73.

Aaturmahara^-adevas (A'atummahara^ika deva), Mahavagga I, 6, 30.

A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES.

38

IX.

Vinaya 1 so I have only given it in brief. The portrait of the demon
mother of the children (Kuei-tze-mu) has already been found in China.
There is likewise in great monasteries in India, at the side of a pillar';'before the porch, a figure of a deity carved in wood,
two or three feet high, holding a golden bag, and seated on a small
Being always
chair, with one foot hanging down towards the ground.
wiped with oil its countenance is blackened, and the deity is called Mahakala or the great black deity. The ancient tradition asserts that hebelonged to the beings (in the heaven) of the Great god (or Maheyvara).
He naturally loves the Three Jewels, and protects the five assemblies 2
from misfortune. Those who offer prayers to him have their desires
fulfilled.
At meal-times those who serve in the kitchen offer light andI once
incense, and arrange all kinds of prepared food before the deity.
3a spot where the great
visited the Pan-da-na monastery (Bandhana)
There, usually more thanNirva/za was preached (by the Buddha).
Inspringmonks
dine.
andautumn,
the best seasons forhundredapilgrimages, the monastery is sometimes unexpectedly visited by aOnce five hundred priests suddenly arrived
multitude (of travellers).
There was no time to prepare food for them
there, about midday.
How
exactly before noon. The managing priest said to the cooks
An old woman, theshall we provide for this sudden increase ?
Be not perplexed, it is quite
mother of a monastic servant, replieda usual occurrence.' Immediately she burnt abundant incense, andThough
and invoked him, saying
offered food before the black deity
thyself
still exist.
the Great Sage has gone to Nirvana, yet beings likeNow (a multitude of) priests from every quarter has arrived here toworship the holy spot. Let not our food be deficient for supplying
themfor this is within thy power.
May thou observe the time.'in the kitchen, or,':'':':;;

1

The Sawyuktavastu, chap, xxxi Sawyuktaratna-sutra VII, 106.
The five Parishads are: (i) Bhikshus, (2) Bhikshu;zis, (3) £ikshama«as,;2(4) .Sramaweras, (5) -Sramawens.

where -Slkshamawas,i.

e.

For four Parishads see Childers, s. v. parisa (f),the women who are under instruction with the view of

becoming .Sramaweris, are included in the .SYamaweris.
3
This is no doubt a monastery in Maku/a-bandhana
Mahaparinibbana-sutta VI, 45, S. B.E., vol. xi, p. 129.

inKujinagara, seeRULES ABOUT THE UPAVASATHA-DAY.

39

The food, provided
when supplied waswas as muchandthereofpriests,
multitude
sufficient for that great
andapplauded
the power
remaining over as usual. All shouted GoodThen

the priests were asked to take seats.

allfor only the priests in residence at the monastery,!

''myself went there to worship the spot consequently
I saw the image of that black deity before which abundant offerings
I asked the reason, and the above account was reof food were made.

of that deity.

I

lated to me.

In China the image of that deity has often been found;Those whoof Kiang-nan, though not in Huai-poh.
boon) find their wishes fulfilled. The efficacy of thatThe Naga (snake) Mahamu/tilinda of the Mahadeity is undeniable.

in the districts

ask him(for a1bodhi monastery (near Gaya) has also a similar miraculous power.
The following is the manner of serving food. First, one or twopieces of ginger about the size of the thumb are served (to every guest),

as well as a spoonful or half of salt on aHe who serves the salt,leaf.

stretching forth his folded hands and kneeling before the head priest,
Saz/zpragatam (well come !). This is translated by goodmutters''arrival.''2

The old rendering of it is Sam-ba

the head priest says:'

which is erroneous.

Now

Serve food equally.'

This word (Sawpragatam) conveys the idea that the entertainmentThis
is well provided, and that the time of the meal has just arrived.
whentheButword.
theofsense
theis what is understood according toBuddha with his disciples once received poisoned food from some one,then they all ate it. Ashe taught them to mutter Sawpragatam
much poison as was in the food was changed into nourishment. Considering the word from this point of view, we see that not only docs itmean 'well-arrived,' but that it is also a mystic formula. In either
language, whether of the East or of the West (i.e. in Chinese or in3
In the Ping and Fan
Sanskrit), one may utter this word as one likes.
;'districts (in'China) some pronounce Shi-chi, or'the time has arrived,'which has a great deal of the original character.

He who serves food, standing before the guests, whose feet are in a
1Mu&linda, in Mahavagga

hear the sermon;

I,3,

comes to protect

see S. B. E., vol. xiii, p. 80.

theBuddha, and eventoA RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES.

40IX.

line, bows respectfully, while holding plates, cakes, and fruits in his hands,

them about one span away from (or above) the priest's hands
every other utensil or food must be offered one or two inches above theserves;

guest's hands.

receiveIf anything be served otherwise, the guests should not

The guests begin to eat as soon as the food is servedit.

;theyshould not trouble themselves to wait till the food has been served all round.

That they should wait till the food has been served equally all roundNor is it according to the Buddha's
instruction that one should do as one likes after a meal.
Next some gruel made of dried rice and bean soup is served with hotbutter sauce as flavouring, which is to be mixed with the other food withthe fingers. They (the guests) eat with the right hand, which they do not
Now cakes and fruits
raise up higher than the middle part of the belly.
somesugar.
If
any
guest
feels thirsty, heare served ghee and also
The above is a brief
drinks cold water, whether in winter or summer.
is

not a correct interpretation.

;account of the eating of the priests in daily life as well as at a reception.

The ceremony of the Upavasatha-day is observed on a scale so grandthat all the trays and plates are full of the cakes and rice remaining over;and melted butter and cream can be partaken of to any extent.
In the Buddha's time king Prasena^it * invited the members of theBuddha's Order, in order to offer them a feast, when drink, food, ghee,cream, &c, were served to such an extent that they overflowed profusely
on the ground. There is some reference to this in the Vinaya texts.
When I first arrived in Tamralipti, in Eastern India, I wished to invite theBut people hindered me, saying
priests on a small scale one fast-day.
It is not impossible to prepare just enough food for the guests, butaccording to the traditional custom of olden times it is necessary to have'an abundant supply.

Itisfeared

that

men may smile, if the foodsupplied be only just sufficient to satisfy the stomach.

We hear thatyou come from a great country in which every place is rich andprosperous
if you cannot prepare food in abundance you had better
Therefore I followed their custom, which is not atgive up the idea.';

allunreasonable, forif

the intention of giving food be generous the

reward obtained for the good work will be correspondingly abundant.
1

Or Pasenadi, king of Kosala.