Mahāsattva ［摩訶薩埵・薩埵王子］ (;  Makasatta or Satta-ōji): Also known as Sattva. A prince who sacrificed himself to save a starving tigress, according to the Golden Light Sutra. Mahāsattva is identified as a previous incarnation of Shakyamuni Buddha. This story is cited in several Buddhist scriptures as an illustration of compassion, and it is depicted in a number of ancient Buddhist artworks. According to the Golden Light Sutra, Mahāsattva was the third son of King Mahāratha. One day when Prince Mahāsattva was walking in a bamboo grove with his two elder brothers, Mahāpranāda and Mahādeva, he found a dying tigress that had given birth to seven cubs seven days earlier and was too weak with hunger to feed them. After his elder brothers hastily returned to the palace in fear, Prince Mahāsattva presented his flesh and blood as an offering to the starving tigress and thus saved her and her cubs.