Kukkuripa: The Dog Lover

During his travels as a renunciate, Kukkuripa encountered a starving dog on the side of the road. Moving by compassion, he fed and cared for the dog. The two traveled and lived together for twelve years, until the gods took note of Kukkuripa's accomplishments and invited him to the heavenly realm.

Upon his arrival Kukkuripa met a glorious feast and a scene of immesurable splendor. All the while, however, he was thinking of the dog, waiting in the cave they shared for his return.

He eventually looked down from the heavens and saw his dog, thin and starving, at which point he immediately returned. Upon reaching out to stroke his companion, the dog vanished: in her place stood a dakhini. Upon speaking with her, he attained enlightenment.

From the Biographies of the 84 Mahasiddhas, as recorded by twelfth century Indian scholar Abhayadatta Sri and translated into Tibetan By Möndrup Sherab. The beautifully illustrated text explores the personalities of the 84 and the miraculous occurrences that marked their lives. This manuscript is made available to BDRC by the Cultural History of the Western Himalaya Project, "Tibetan Manuscripts," at the University of Vienna. BDRC Work ID: W8LS15975