A creature whom the śakra Sunetra, who was the Buddha Śākyamuni in a previous life, spontaneously generated to heal the people of Kuru during a period of great pestilence. The Tibetan term is attested elsewhere as a translation for the Sanskrit terms sūrata and sauratya (Mahāvyutpatti), peśala (Bodhisattva­bhūmi), and some other terms, and is attested as a translation equivalent for the name Surata in the title of Surata’s Questions (Toh 71). However, in the Sanskrit of the parallel telling of this story found in the Bodhisatvapiṭaka (Toh 56), the name is attested as Saumya. This Sanskrit name is derived from Soma, both the plant and the moon, and can have the meanings of gentleness and mildness as well as auspiciousness.

A former life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, he fed his flesh to the people of the city of Kuru, who were suffering from a plague.