A garland maker, given as an example of one whose acts bore fruit in this very life (Mil.115, 291, 350; cf. DhSA.426; PSA.498). He was Bimbisāra’s gardener, and provided the king daily with eight measures of jasmine flowers, for which he received eight pieces of money, One day, while on his way to the palace, he saw the Buddha, and threw two handfuls of flowers into the air, where they formed a canopy over the Buddha’s head. Two handfuls thrown on the right, two on the left and two behind, all remained likewise in the air and accompanied the Buddha as he walked through the city, a distance of three leagues, that all might see the miracle.

When Sumana returned home with his empty basket and told his wife what he had done, she was fearful lest the king should punish him. Going to the palace, she confessed what he had done, and asked for forgiveness for herself as she had had no part in the deed. Bimbisāra visited the Buddha and then sent for Sumana. Sumana confessed that when he offered the flowers to the Buddha he was quite prepared to lose his life. The king gave him the eightfold gift: eight female slaves, eight sets of jewels, eight thousand pieces of money, eight women from the royal harem, and eight villages.

In reply to a question by Ānanda, the Buddha said that in the future the garland maker would become a Pacceka Buddha, Sumana. DhA.ii.40 f; KhA.129. According to KhA., the Pacceka Buddha’s name will be Sumanissara.