Suwannasahm (สุวรรณสาม)

Pali-Thai. Name of one of the ten jataka, i.e. life stories of the previous incarnations of the Buddha, which are known in Thai as chadok. In this story, the bodhisatta is born as a son of a hermit and his wife, who were both blind as a result of their bad karma. As a result, the boy, who had a golden skin, had a look after his blind parents. One day, on his way back from fetching some water for his parents, Suwannasahm −who was accompanied by a deer that carried the water for him− was accidentally shot by Kabilayakkaraja (กบิลยักขราช), the king of Benares, who was hunting for venison. Yet, he could subdue his anger, showed kindness to the king and preached him the Noble Truth. Before his last breath, he asked the king to take care of his blind parents. His loving kindness impressed the gods so much that they saved the boy's life and restored his parents' eyesight. Also spelled Suwannasaam, Suwannasam, Suvannasam, Suwannasama and Suvannasama. Prince Suwannasahm, as well as the jataka, is also known as Sama and Sama Jataka, respectively, while King Kabilayakkaraja is also referred to as King Piliyakkha. See also POSTAGE STAMPS. 回