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Maha Sammata

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Maha Sammata

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Mahāsammata (; also spelled Maha Samrat; lit. "the Great Elect"), also known as first Khattiya and Rāja, was the first farmer monarch of the world according to Buddhist tradition. The chronicles of Theravada Buddhist tradition such as Mahāvaṃsa and Maha Yazawin states that he was the founder of the Shakya dynasty, to which the historical Buddha belonged. According to the Agganna Sutta, he was a rice farmer who was elected by the other farmers to rule them as per Dhamma. He was the first of the eleven world monarchs called Maha Sammata, each of whom founded the eleven dynasties that existed fro

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Occupation
politician

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Encyclopedic overview

6 sections
Contents
  • Brief
  • Aftermath
  • Significance
  • See also
  • References
  • Bibliography

Mahāsammata (; also spelled Maha Samrat; lit. "the Great Elect"), also known as first Khattiya and Rāja, was the first farmer monarch of the world according to Buddhist tradition. The chronicles of Theravada Buddhist tradition such as Mahāvaṃsa and Maha Yazawin states that he was the founder of the Shakya dynasty, to which the historical Buddha belonged. According to the Agganna Sutta, he was a rice farmer who was elected by the other farmers to rule them as per Dhamma. He was the first of the eleven world monarchs called Maha Sammata, each of whom founded the eleven dynasties that existed from the beginning to the day of the Buddha. The Burmese Thervada text The Great Chronicle of Buddhas mentioned that Mahasammat Raja was the founder Surya Vanshi Kshtriyas(Suriya Vassi Khattiyas). His another name was Adicca or Sun because his personality was similar to the sun. Pali canon described that Bodhisattva Siddharta Gotama claimed his ancestry from Mahasammat Raja, Addicca naman gotten, name jatiya, meaning in clan of Adicca and house of Shakyans.

==Brief== The future king was born "in the beginning of the world" in Jambudvīpa, the only habitable continent on earth, to a family descended from the solar race. As no leaders or political orders were in existence, the people elected him to be their king. He ascended to the throne with the title Mahāsammata ("the Great Elect", He Who is designated by people), and took Manikpala as his queen. As king, he constituted the order of the city-state, the various duties and offices defined for the state, and the boundaries of armies of their protection. He also compiled the first dhammasattha (law treatise).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Maha Sammata” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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