Namobuddha

The king of the land of Panchala had three princes named Mahaprasad, Mahaghosha and Mahasattva. One day all three princes went toward the forest-covered Yogakula mountain to hunt.

In a cave in the forest they saw a tigress that had just given birth to cubs. Having found no food for weeks, that tigress was so weak and tormented by hunger that she was unable even to give milk to her young. The hungry cubs were writhing, trying to suck at their mother's dried teats.

Seeing that most pitiful sight, the heart of the youngest prince, Mahasattva, melted with compassion and mercy. He sent his elder brothers on ahead, and standing himself before the tigress, resolved to offer up his own body.

But the tigress was so weak that she could not even attack the prince. Then Mahasattva cut his own throat with a bamboo sliver and let the stream of blood flow into the tigress's mouth. Roused by the taste of blood, the tigress devoured the whole body of Mahasattva and saved her own life and those of her cubs.

When the elder brothers returned and looked, they found only their brother's blood and skeleton. When this news reached the palace, the king and queen and all the city dwellers were plunged in grief. The king himself went to the spot, placed those sacred bones in a golden casket, and had a splendid chaitya built over it.

Mahasattva, who gave up his body for the welfare of others, was later born as Shakyamuni Gautama Buddha. Later, when the Buddha came here with his disciples and, bowing to that chaitya, said "Namo Buddhaya," this sacred pilgrimage site came to be called 'Namobuddha'.