眾許摩訶帝經

Book 2

In that time, in the great city of Potalaka there lived a courtesan of surpassing beauty. A man named Mṛṇāla was deeply infatuated with her, and he would often present her with gold, silver, jewels, and precious, beautiful garments. Then another man, likewise captivated by the woman, came and said to her: "I will give you five hundred coins; come and take your pleasure with me."

The courtesan consented, and she sent her maidservant to tell Mṛṇāla that she had a guest that day, and that they would meet on another day. When Mṛṇāla heard this, he said to the maidservant: "If she returns, tell her to come quickly to the garden grove; I will wait for her there."

The maidservant returned and reported, perceiving that the courtesan had no wish to go to the appointed place, and so she went back to tell Mṛṇāla. When he heard this, he became very angry and ordered the maidservant to go back and find a way to persuade her. The maidservant went back, and the courtesan had now come. The man rebuked her loudly: "All this while I have provided you with garments and many precious things—why now do you betray me?" Having spoken, he at once drew a sharp sword and stabbed the courtesan to death. Having killed her, he flung the sword into the hermitage of a Gautama recluse nearby, and then fled. The maidservant cried out: "Here is a murderer!"

Everyone came running, and they found the bloodstained sword within the hermitage of the Gautama recluse. They then rebuked him: "You are a man of religious cultivation—why now have you committed murder?" Having rebuked him, together they bound the hands of the Sage with rope, brought him before the king's palace, and reported to the king: "This man is a Sage gone forth who does not keep the pure conduct; he does unrighteous deeds and has even used a sword to kill a courtesan."

When the king heard this report, he was greatly enraged and ordered that the Sage be led outside the city and that sharp stakes be driven through his hands and feet. After the king had given the order, the officers and soldiers led the Gautama Sage away. At that time the Sage wore a garland of flowers upon his head and a robe of blue upon his body; those who led him bore weapons and surrounded him, crying aloud:

"This is one who has broken the precepts and committed murder."

The Gautama recluse remained calm, without the least fear, and went out of the city quite naturally to undergo his punishment.

At that time his teacher, the Sage Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana, came to visit and did not find him; he then sought him out and saw his disciple bound hand and foot, with sharp stakes driven through him, suffering such torment. Filled with grief, he wept and asked: "My son, how could you have committed such an offense? You suffer this painful punishment day and night—how can you bear it?" The Gautama recluse replied: "I have prayed that my body might feel pain, yet it does not."

The teacher asked: "How is it that you are free from such pain?"

Gautama replied: "I sincerely make a vow before you, teacher: if indeed my body feels no pain, then your body will take on a golden color."

After Gautama uttered this vow, the teacher's body suddenly manifested a golden color. All who were present saw this, and therefore they called the teacher the Golden-colored Sage. At that time Gautama asked his teacher: "After I die, where shall I be reborn?"

The Sage replied: "According to the law of the Brahmins, if one has no son to continue the lineage, then when one dies there will be no place of rebirth!"

The disciple said: "From my youth I have not delighted in the royal palace; I forsook my throne to go forth—how then could I have a son?"

The teacher said: "Now imagine the pleasures of the royal palace."

Gautama said: "My body now undergoes the king's punishment thus—how can I imagine such pleasures?"

Then the Golden-colored Sage used his spiritual power and, in but a moment, made a rain pour down to sprinkle the disciple's whole body, causing the disciple to feel cool, his every suffering dissolved, and his body restored as before. Thereupon he recalled his former pleasures and gave rise to a mind of desire, and let fall two drops of seed upon the ground. At that time the Gautama Sage reflected upon four things: first, he thought of his own body; second, he thought of sentient beings; third, he thought that sentient beings would become Buddhas; fourth, he thought of all the Buddha-lands.

When he reflected upon these matters, the two drops of seed suddenly formed into two eggs. Each day, as the sun rose, its rays warmed the two eggs, and before long the two eggs hatched, giving birth to two boys of upright and handsome form. The Gautama Sage brought the two boys to dwell within a sugarcane field.

After he passed away, the Golden-colored Sage came to visit and met the two boys; upon inquiring, he learned that they were the sons of Gautama. Greatly rejoicing, he brought the two boys back to his hermitage to raise them. Because they were born through the sun's warming, the boys belonged to the Solar race (the race of the sun); and because they were born of Gautama, they bore the surname Gautama; and because they were self-born, they took the surname Aṅgirasa; and because they were found within the sugarcane field and brought back to be raised, they also bore the surname Ikṣvāku (Sugarcane).

At that time King Brahmavarja passed away without a son to succeed to the throne, and the court ministers did not yet know whom to choose. One great minister said: "Formerly King Karṇa had a crown prince named Gautama, who forsook the precious throne and followed the Sage Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana into the forests and mountains to cultivate the religious life. The crown prince is of the Śākya lineage and may be welcomed back to succeed to the throne."

The assembled ministers heeded these words and went into the mountains, seeking out the place of the Great Sage. They reverently bowed and said: "Of old King Karṇa had a son named Gautama. Sage, do you know where the crown prince now is?"

The Great Sage told them that the crown prince had already died, and he related the whole matter to them. The assembled ministers were greatly grieved and recognized their own fault. Suddenly they saw the two boys of upright and dignified form, and upon inquiring they learned that these were the sons of the crown prince Gautama.

The assembled ministers rejoiced greatly and begged to welcome the boys back, and they established one as king under the title of King Ikṣvāku (Sugarcane King). The line of King Ikṣvāku continued for one hundred generations, all of whom established their capital in the great city of Potalaka. By the time of the last King Ikṣvāku, four sons were born: the first was named Ulkāmukha, the second was named Karaṇḍa, the third was named Hastiniyaṇa, and the fourth was named Sunāpura.

After bearing these four sons, the queen passed away. The king was deeply grieved and distressed. At that time a great minister, seeing the king's grief and distress, asked: "Great King, why are you so joyless?"

The king told him that he was grieved because the queen had died. The great minister then said: "I have learned that the minor king of a neighboring state has a daughter endowed with full merit and virtue, of beautiful countenance and upright form; Your Majesty may seek her hand and establish her as queen."

The king said: "The king of that state has always wished to bring his army to invade our country—how can we seek a marriage alliance?"

The great minister said: "But in that small kingdom there is also a beautiful, dignified princess who may be welcomed back as consort and queen, and this would lessen Your Majesty's grief."

The king then sent an envoy to that small kingdom to convey the king's wish to take the princess in marriage as principal consort. That minor king rejoiced greatly, but he said to the envoy: "If the Great King takes my daughter in marriage as principal consort, then when she bears a son, that son must be made to succeed to the throne. Only on these terms will I consent to give her in marriage."

The envoy returned and clearly reported the wish of the king of the small kingdom. When the king heard this, his heart was displeased, and he said: "I already have an elder son who by right should succeed to the throne—how can I set aside the elder and establish the younger?"

A great minister said: "Now let us simply seek the marriage; as for whether she bears a son or a daughter, how can that be known?"

The king heeded this and sent silks, gold, silver, and brocades to seek the marriage. Afterward this consort and queen conceived, and after nine months she bore a crown prince of upright and dignified form. After the crown prince was born, the assembled ministers came to offer congratulations, and the king then said: "Now what name should be given to this child?"

The great minister said: "That minor king consented to give his daughter to Your Majesty as consort, wishing that the crown prince, when born, should succeed to the throne; therefore the crown prince should be named King of Joy (Priyavardhana)." Having heard this, the king appointed eight ladies as nursemaids to attend to the rearing of the crown prince.

At that time the king wished to establish the elder crown prince to succeed to the throne when he grew up. When the king of the small kingdom learned of this, he became enraged and sent an envoy to rebuke him: "Formerly it was promised that if my daughter bore a prince, he would succeed to the throne; why now do you break the agreement? If it be so, our country has mighty generals and a great army, and I will lead my forces to attack you."

When the king heard this, he was greatly troubled and said to his assembled ministers: "To set aside the elder son and establish the younger is truly not in accord with right principle."

The ministers of the court said: "That country, though small, has a king of great might and prowess, and his generals and soldiers are very skilled in battle. If they raise their forces to attack, we fear we cannot prevail; therefore the crown prince should be sent abroad to avoid the calamity of war."

When the king heard this report, he was silent and said nothing. Then the assembled ministers devised a stratagem: near the city they built a royal garden complete with palaces, terraces, ponds, and springs, adorned splendidly with sandalwood incense and precious things. At that time the crown prince, together with the assembled ministers, went outside the city to roam and sightsee, and seeing the garden he asked:

"Whose garden is this?" The assembled ministers told him it was the royal garden of the palace. Hearing this, the crown prince turned his horse to go back. The ministers urged the crown prince to enter and stroll in the flower garden, but the crown prince said: "It is the royal garden of my royal father; how dare I enter?"

The ministers said that if it were the ministers and the common people, they could not enter, but the crown prince could enter. Hearing this, the crown prince then entered the royal garden to take his pleasure.

At that time a great minister reported to the king: "Now the royal garden is complete; I invite Your Majesty to come and enjoy the scenery." When the king heard this report, he had his carriage brought to the royal garden. As soon as he arrived, he heard the sound of music, and the king became suspicious; upon inquiring, he learned that the crown prince had already arrived before him and was making music there. The king became enraged and declared: "I had this royal garden built and have not yet come to see it—how dare the crown prince come to take his pleasure here first? This offense cannot be pardoned; drive the crown prince out of the country!"

The assembled ministers remonstrated, but the king was enraged and would not heed them. He issued a command that within seven days the crown prince be sent out of the country, permitting him to take along his retinue and kinsfolk. The crown prince obeyed the command, taking his retinue and kinsfolk out of the city, and dwelt not far from the city; but the king again issued a command that he must go still farther away.

In those days, by the Snow Mountains, beside the bank of the Bhāgīrathī River, there lived a sage named Kapila, who kept the pure conduct and had established a hermitage of cultivation there. The crown prince again brought all his kinsfolk to the place of that Sage to settle, gathering fruits and hunting game to sustain themselves. Later, because he dwelt too much upon sensual desire, the crown prince's body grew haggard. The Sage, becoming suspicious, asked him, and the crown prince spoke the truth. The Sage said: "With one's own sisters and kin it is not permitted, but with those outside the family it is permissible."

The crown prince indulged in pleasure and revelry, clamorous day and night, and the number of men and women became so great that it disturbed the Sage's mind. He then told the crown prince that he wished to go elsewhere to attend to his cultivation. When the crown prince heard this, he was ashamed and said to the Sage: "Great Sage, you have cultivated here for a long time, and the fruit of the Way has been attained; you should not go elsewhere. Now I beg to take my kinsfolk and find another place to dwell."

Hearing this, the Sage was pleased, and he chose a good plot of ground nearby, sprinkled water to mark its boundaries, and let the crown prince settle there in peace. After a time the populace flourished and the kinsfolk became numerous, and so following the boundaries they built a city and established a state, naming it Kapila (Kapilavastu). Afterward a Worthy King ascended the throne and built a separate citadel, naming it Citadel City, and made that city his capital.

At that time King Virūḍhaka asked his great ministers: "Where is my son, the crown prince, now?"

A great minister said: "The crown prince is now to the south of the Snow Mountains, beside the bank of the Bhāgīrathī River, at the city of Kapila. He has built two great cities there to serve as his capital and townships. Officials, scholars, commoners, and kinsfolk are prosperous and numerous, like a great country."

King Virūḍhaka Ikṣvāku bowed his whole body down and asked the great minister: "How did my son come to be thus?"

The great minister said: "Because the crown prince possesses humane virtue, he has attained such flourishing; and from this a clan name was established."

After King Virūḍhaka Ikṣvāku passed away, the crown prince Śākyamuni (the Able and Humane One) ascended the throne. King Śākyamuni had a son, King Ulkāmukha; the son of King Ulkāmukha was King Karaṇi; the son of King Karaṇi was King Hastina; and following in succession were King Nupunāraka, King Upalaka, and thus the descendants continued in succession through fifty-five thousand generations of kings, establishing their capital in the great city of Kapila.

Afterward there was a king named King Ten-Chariots (Daśaratha), followed by King Ninety-Chariots, then King Hundred-Chariots, King Painted-Chariot, King Supreme-Chariot, King Strong-Chariot, King Ten-Bows, King Ninety-Bows, King Hundred-Bows, King Supreme-Bow, King Painted-Bow, and King Strong-Bow; this king was the finest archer in the southern continent of Jambudvīpa. King Strong-Bow had two sons: the first was named King Siṃhahanu (Lion's Jaw), and the second was named King Lion's Roar.

King Siṃhahanu bore four sons: King Śuddhodana, King Śuklodana, King Droṇodana, and King Amṛtodana. King Śuddhodana had two sons, Siddhārtha and Nanda. King Śuklodana had two sons, Tiṣya and Bhadrika.

King Droṇodana had two sons, Mahānāma and Aniruddha. King Amṛtodana had two sons, Ānanda and Devadatta. King Śuddhodana had a daughter named Sundarī.

King Śuklodana had a daughter named Bhadramālā. King Droṇodana had a daughter named Bhadrā. King Amṛta had a daughter named Vimalā.

Siddhārtha had a son named Rāhula, who is the Buddha's son. This is the lineage of the Mahāsammata of the age that is past. Now, meeting the Buddha's coming into the world, they followed the Buddha and went forth, came to understand birth and death, brought an end to the cycle of rebirth, realized true emptiness, and attained the holy stage.

At that time, after these matters had been set forth, the Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana rose from his seat, joined his palms, and faced the Buddha. The Buddha said:

"Return to your seat. Excellent! How splendid! For the sake of the bhikṣus you have spoken of the past lives of the Śākya lineage, causing the bhikṣus to gain wholesome benefit and to be forever at peace."

At that time the whole Śākya assembly rejoiced and believed, and accordingly received and upheld it.

At that time the king of the country of Kapila was King Siṃhahanu, who possessed full great merit and virtue, with countless wealth and riches, a populous people, and fertile lands. Not far from this country was a country named Devadaha City (Heavenly-Citadel City), whose king was named Subhadramūrti. He was exceedingly rich, with silver, gold, and jewels filling every place.

The king had a principal consort named Lūhitanetrā (Long-Eared One), of upright and dignified body and complexion, endowed with the full marks of goodness. In that country there was an elder who possessed wholesome roots, of pure and substantial virtue, with numerous kinsfolk and abundant treasuries, no different from Vaiśravaṇa the Heavenly King. The elder had a flower garden, within which were palaces, terraces, towers, flowing springs, bathing ponds, and all manner of rare and precious flowers, plants, and birds.

One day, King Subhadramūrti, together with his principal consort and kinsfolk, came to the elder's flower garden to roam. The principal consort, seeing the flower garden so resplendent and beautiful, gave rise to great delight in it, and at once said to the king:

"I wish to have a flower garden such as this in which to roam."

The king said:

"This garden belongs to the elder; how can I take it? But I am the king, and so I too can have one made."

The king then issued a command to build a royal garden with springs, ponds, terraces, and lodges, the most beautiful of all, naming it Lūhitanetrā Garden. At that time the king pondered day and night, longing to obtain a crown prince who might afterward become a Golden-Wheel King (Cakravartin). In accord with this longing, the principal consort soon afterward conceived, and then bore a daughter endowed with full merit, virtue, and wisdom, of dignified countenance and the most surpassingly beautiful complexion in the world.

All who beheld this auspicious form deemed it a rare wonder; some even said it was made by the god of the Viśvakarma heaven, or by Brahmā. After the princess was born, for twenty-one days the king continually held feasts to celebrate the princess's birth, taking his pleasure together with the assembled ministers and kinsfolk, and then named her Māyā. The princess had eight breasts, and the physiognomist deemed this a noble mark, saying she would bear a noble son to succeed to the throne.

Afterward the king had another princess, whose form was likewise the most upright and dignified in the world. When this princess was born, a resplendent light shone throughout the citadel, and therefore the king named her Mahāmāyā. The physiognomist declared that this princess would later bear a son endowed with the thirty-two marks, who would become a Golden-Wheel King.

At that time King Subhadramūrti heard it rumored that the crown prince, son of King Siṃhahanu, was one of worthy virtue, and he at once dispatched an envoy to convey the message:

"I have two princesses named Māyā and Mahāmāyā. When they were newly born, the physiognomists all said that these two princesses would later bear sons endowed with the thirty-two marks, who would become Golden-Wheel Kings."

When King Siṃhahanu heard this report, he then said to the crown prince Śuddhodana:

"King Subhadramūrti wishes to give his two daughters to you in marriage; later you will bear a son who may become a Golden-Wheel King."

Then the king sent five hundred of the Śākya clan to that country to welcome the brides.

At that time, at the border, there was a tribe named Bāndhava that intended to send forth its generals and soldiers to block the perilous passes and seize the brides by force. The party of the Śākya clan learned of this and, fearing they might meet with calamity, reported to the king and requested that the king himself come in royal procession. The king said:

"I am now advanced in years; let the crown prince Śuddhodana lead the army to campaign against them. If he is victorious, I shall grant rewards."

Having spoken thus, the king ordered that soldiers be selected and entrusted to the crown prince Śuddhodana, and the Śākya clan went together to subdue that tribe in order to welcome the brides back. When the task was done, they reported to the king regarding the promise he had made. The king said:

"Now you have taken a wife. If later you have a son, you must strive to protect him, so that there may be one to succeed to the throne."

After the king passed away, the assembled ministers together honored the crown prince Śuddhodana, raising him to succeed to the throne. At that time the country was prosperous, and the king, his lady, and the consorts often enjoyed every happiness.

At that time the Bodhisattva Śākya, in the Tuṣita heaven, wished to manifest himself in the human world, and so he contemplated five matters. First, he considered into what class he should be born. He thought: "I cannot be born into the classes of the Brahmins, the Vaiśyas, or the Śūdras, for these are not the noble class.

If it be the Kṣatriya class, then I may be born into it, for the beings of that age generally honor wealth and rank; if I were to be born into a low class, the multitude would not revere me. Now, in order to draw in and transform the myriad kinds of beings and cause them to return and take refuge, I should be born into a family of the Kṣatriya class." Second, he examined the country. The Bodhisattva saw that if there were a country most excellent and fair—prosperous, with much rare and delicious fare, where no strife arose, and where the people were ever at peace—then in that place the Bodhisattva could descend to be born, so that beings would not say that the Bodhisattva, having cultivated the pure conduct through many kalpas, was born in a borderland.

Third, he examined the time. The Bodhisattva saw that in the time of the increasing kalpa, human beings live to eighty thousand years, but their faculties are dull and they are not vessels of the Dharma, and therefore he should not be born then. In the time of the decreasing kalpa, sentient beings have a lifespan of one hundred years; though near to the five turbidities, human beings have sharp faculties and bright wisdom, and therefore the Bodhisattva would descend to be born.

Fourth, he examined the lineage. The Bodhisattva saw that King Śuddhodana was of the line of King Mahāsammata in the time of the formative kalpa, who through many generations were all Wheel-Turning Kings, and therefore the Bodhisattva could descend to be born. Fifth, he examined the mother.

He saw that if there were a woman of profound and subtle wisdom, of great merit and virtue, with dignified marks, who kept the precepts purely and had been prophesied by the Buddhas of the past, then the Bodhisattva could choose her as his mother. Now, seeing that the lady Māyā possessed all these wholesome conditions and was moreover of the royal lineage, she could be chosen as the mother of the Bodhisattva.

Having examined the matters set forth above, the Bodhisattva then said to the kings of the six heavens of the Desire Realm:

"Take heed, all of you. I shall now descend into the southern continent of Jambudvīpa and descend in spirit upon the lady Māyā. Let all of you pour down the rain of sweet ambrosia, that I may enjoy delight."

The heavenly sons said:

"In the southern continent of Jambudvīpa there are six great evil men: the first is old Kāśyapa; the second is Maskarī Gośālīputra; the third is Sañjaya Vairaṭīputra; the fourth is Ajita Keśakambala; the fifth is Kakuda Kātyāyana; the sixth is Nirgrantha Jñātiputra. The southern continent of Jambudvīpa also has six schools of naked heretics: the first is the Brahmin Kuṭadanta; the second is the Brahmin Sūradanta; the third is the Brahmin Mani; the fourth is the Brahmin Brahmāyus; the fifth is the Brahmin Puṣkarasārin; the sixth is the Brahmin Lohita.

In the southern continent of Jambudvīpa there are also six great strongmen: the first is Udrakulāma; the second is Araṇa; the third is Kālama; the fourth is Subhadra; the fifth is Parimrajaka; the sixth is Sañjayamānavaka. These are the eighteen classes of sentient beings difficult to subdue."

In that time, among humankind there was a sage, already advanced in years, named Uruvilvā Kāśyapa, who thought to himself: "It is precisely in the realm that stretches twelve yojanas wide—a land of much merit and virtue—that the Bodhisattva will come to expound the Dharma. May the Bodhisattva soon descend into the human world and expound the Dharma for my sake, causing me to gain much lasting benefit."

At that time the Bodhisattva said to the king of the Tuṣita heaven:

"You now, for my sake, sound forth all the kinds of musical instruments."

The devas then sounded forth music, while the Bodhisattva blew the great Dharma-conch, whose sound rose higher and farther than even the heavenly music. Thereby the eighteen classes of beings difficult to subdue in the southern continent of Jambudvīpa would be subdued by the Bodhisattva through his unobstructed eloquence, just as above. The Bodhisattva then spoke this verse:

The lion roars, and all the beasts take fright;

A single vajra-pestle shatters the mountain peak;

Countless asuras all come and submit;

The orb of the sun shines forth and dispels the darkness.

At that time the kings of the six heavens of the Desire Realm and Śakra, Lord of the gods, beheld the Bodhisattva mount a white elephant with six tusks and, from the Tuṣita heaven, enter the womb of the lady Māyā. They then poured down sweet ambrosia in protection, causing the body of the lady Māyā to be pure and at peace, and they spoke this verse:

We behold the Bodhisattva descend to the dusty realm,

To the palace of the Ikṣvāku King, the place of his birth;

Benefiting sentient beings, fulfilling his vows,

Like the orb of the sun appearing and casting forth radiant light.