.
p.159
I. Suukarikaavadaana.(1)
IT IS, of course, a law that, when a god(2) is
destined to "fall",(3) five premonitory signs appear:
his clothes which were formerly not dirty become
dirty, his wreaths which formerly were unfaded fade,
an evil smell issues from his body, sweat appears in
his two arm-pits, and a god who is about to fall takes
no pleasure in his throne.(4)
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* I am deeply indebted to M. J. Przyluski, who
carefully examined and corrected my translations
of the Tibetan and Chinese texts of the
suukarikaavadaana and furnished me with valuable
notes and suggestions. Acknowledgement should
also be made to the trustees of the American
Field Service Fellowships, for it was as a fellow
on that foundation that I was able to obtain the
material for this study.
The Sanskrit text which I here translate is to
be found in Cowell and Neil's edition of the
Divyaavadaana, pp. 193-196. The Tibetan text is
in mdo 29, ff. 427a-430a. The Chinese text is to
be found in Tripi.taka, Tokyo XIV, 7.2, and in
Taisho Issai-kyo, XV, 129.
(1) Our Skt. text hesitates between the true word for
"sow", suukarii, and the barbarism suukariikaa,
e. g., p. 194, 1.14 suukaryaa.h but elsewhere it
reads suukarikaayaa.h.
(2) We know from at least p. 57 of the Divyaa. that
devaputra = deva where 'sakra says to the sonless
king: yadi ka'scio cyavanadharmaa devaputro
bhavi.syati tat te putratve samaadaapayi.syaami.
(3) The Chinese has made a proper name of the
adjective cyavana-dharmi.no: ¦W¶Ø¡]²+½°¡^Ääªk Of
course. the sense demands that we understand an
adjective; cf. the quotation in ftn. 2, where it
can only be an adjective. Altho the Chinese has
thus lost the point of the original story, its
rendering has far more literary merit than the
Skt. or Tib.
(4) In enumerating the five signs the Tib.
interchanges the position of Nos. 3 and 4 of the
Skt. The Chinese gives as the five signs: "his
body did not have the virtue of majesty, filth
arose everywhere (this is lacking in both Tib.
and Skt.), the garlands of flowers on his head
all entirely withered, from parts of his body a
bad smell proceeded, and from under his arm-pits
nothing but sweat flowed." ¨µL«Â¼w, «¯±Û¥Í, ÀY¤W
ªáö¥, «w±xµäµÑ, ½Ñ¨¤À¤¤, ¯ä®ð¦Ó¥X, ¨âµÅ¤§¤U, ±x
¬Ò¦½¬y. It is interesting to note that almost
this same list is found in another avadaana of
the Divyaa., p. 57. M. Przyluski suggested
p.160
Well, a certain god who was destined to fall
rolled himself on the ground, and after he had rolled
he said: Ah Mandaakinii, ah pool, ah pond, ah
Caitraratha, ah Paaru.syaka, ah Nandana-grove, ah
Mi'srakagrove, ah Paariyaatraka, ah
Paa.n.dukambala-rock, ah assembly-hall of the gods,
ah Sudar'sana. So saying, he lamented in distress.(5)
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that I make a study of the signs of the fall of a
god, but as our library has no facilities
whatsoever for research in Hindu studies I cannot
follow up his suggestion.
(5) Most of the names in this list are to be found in
Kirfel, Kosmographie der Inder: p. 59; "Am Fusse
des Berges (Kailaasa-a fabulous mountain in the
Himaalaya range) liegt der Lotusteich Manda (=
puskiri.ni and vaapi of our list) mit kaltem
Wasser, einer herbstlichen Wolke ahnlich. Aus dem
Teiche entspringt der Fluss Mandaakinii, an
dessen Ufer der Weld Nandana liegt... An dem Ufer
des Flusses (Acchodaa) liegt der grosse Hain
Caitraratha; " p. 94, "In Ilavrrta liegen in der
Richtung von Osten nach Suden die vier Haine
Caitraratha..."; p. 95, "Nach dem p.95.
Vyaasabhaa.sya zum Yogasuutra liegen auf der
Gipfelflache des Meru die Haine Mi'sravana,
Nandana, Caitraratha und Sumaanasa, die
Gotterhalle heisst Sudharmaa, die Gotterstadt
Sudar'sana und der Palest Vaijayanta "; p. 232,
"Nach den vier Himmelsrichtungen liegen vier
Felsen:...im Suden Paa.n.dukambalaa, im Westen
Raktaa...." I cannot find out to what Paaru.syaka
refers. The Tib. takes it as the name of a grove:
rtsub.hgyur gyi tshal (I follow the transcription
of Das's dictionary). The Chinese lists it along
with the other groves: Ä_¨®»P³À´cÅw³ßÂøªLµ¥.
Regarding Paariyaatraka, I can do no more than
reproduce the note which M. Przyluski gave me on
the word: "Paariyaatraka eat enigmatique.
Comparez Divyaa. p. 219, 1. 18. Vous voyez que du
sommet du Meru on apercoit l'arbre Paarijaataka
qui est l'arbre paradisiaque bien connu. Mais ici
Paarijaataka est donne par les editeurs, non par
lee mss. qui ont tous Paariyaatraka comme dans le
Suukarikaav. (Noter que p. 219, 3e ligne avant la
fin, Cowell et Neil ecrivent Paarijaataka sans
indiquer ce que donnent les mss.) Il n'est pas
certain que Paariyaatraka soit une faute de
scribe comme I'ont cru Cowell et Neil, car la,
meme forme revient en deux endroits; elle eat
confirmee par la version chinoise
po-li-ye-to-lo-chia et probablement aussi par le
tibet.: completement = pari + assemblee = yaatra,
car yaatra " pelerinage, fete " eat. voisin de
"reunion, assemblee." Je suis tout pres
d'admettre que Paariyaatraka est une autre forme
du nom de I'arbre paradisiaque."
As is usual, the Tib. has here followed its Skt.
original very closely. It varies from our present
Skt. text only in inserting a word sdug (= i.s.ta
rakta) between the Paariyaatraka, and Paa.n.du.
Since the Chinese after the Paariyaatraka is
wholly unintelligible one wonders whether the
Tib. has not preserved something that the Skt.
has lost and that the Chinese has
p.161
'Sakra, the chief of the gods, saw that god
turning (6) and rolling excessively on the ground.
After looking again, he went up to where the god was.
After going up he said this to the god: Why, my
friend, do you turn and roll excessively on the
ground and lament in distress: Ah Mandaakinii,... in
distress.
Thus addressed the god said this to 'Sakra, the
chief of the gods I here, O Kaau'sika, after enjoying
the bliss of the gods, shall on the seventh day from
today be born in the womb of a sow in the city of
Raajag.rha There for many years I shall have to
feed upon excrements. Then 'Sakra with pity (7)
said this to the god:
Go thou, my friend, for refuge to the Buddha, the
best of men; go for refuge to the Law, the best of
the destroyers of desire; go for refuge Do the Order,
the best of groups.
Then the god, trembling because of the fear of
birth in an animal's womb and because of the fear of
death,(8) said this to 'Sakra,
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hopelessly confused. Between the Paariyaatraka
(which the Chinese has transcribed and probably
attempted to interpret as: flower long unplucked
¥Ã¤£±ÄºK )and devasabhaa the Chinese has "mixed,
precious, soft earth, long unwalked," ÂøÄ_¬X¤§¦a
¤£¼i½î, which might (but I don't know how) be an
attempt to interpret an original haa Raktaa haa
Paa.n.dukambalaa'silaa.
Devasabhaa very likely has the same meaning here
as in Divyaa. p. 220 (e.saa deva devaanaa.m
trayastri^m'saanaa.m Sudharmaa naama devasabhaa
yatra devaas trayastri^m'saa's...). Cf. the above
quotation from p. 95 of Kirfel.
Some of the names discussed in this note are to
be found also in the Mahaavastu: Mahaa. I, p. 32,
1. 4 (which should certainly read as I shall
quote it), a.s.tasu ca mahaaudyaane.su vaijayante
mandaapu.skari.nyaa.m paariyaatre Kovidaare
mahaavane paaru.syake citrarathe nandane
mi'srakaavane apare.su ca ratanaamaye.su ca
vimaane.su...; Mahaa. II, p. 451, 1. 20,
yaadrrsa.m citrarathe mi'srakaavane devaanaa.m
traayastri^m'saanaa.m yaatrakaa kovidaaraa
devaparivrrtaa 'sobhanti taadrrsa.m...
Regarding the form pu.skiri.ni of our text (where
one would expect pu.skari.ni), Senart has a note
on the same form which is found in the Mahaavastu
III, p. 508 at top, "La forme pu.skiri.nii est
trop frequente dans nos mss. pour que je me sois
cru autorise a la corriger. Rile fait pendant, en
sens inverse, au pokkhara.ni du paali."
Mandaakinii is found in Mahaavagga VI, 20, 2, as
the name of a lake.
(6) In spite of the mss. we must read aavartamaanam.
(7) Preserved in the Chinese, but not in Tib.
(8) Tiryagyony... mara.nabhayabhiita's, lost in Tib.
The Chinese has translated tiryag "approaching."
p.162
the chief of the gods: I here, O Kaau'sika, go for
refuge to the Buddha, the best of men, etc. Then the
god, protected by the three refuges, fell, died, and
was born in the Tu.sita heaven in the company of the
gods.(9)
It is, of course, a law that sight by the
intelligence exists for the gods downward but not
upward.(10) Then 'Sakra, the chief of the gods,
looked for that god. As he looked he thot: Has that
god been born in the womb of a sow or not? He had not
been born there. As he looked he thot: Has he been
born among the beasts or pretas, or among the
creatures of hell?(11) He had not been born there. As
he looked he thot: Has he been born in the company of
men? (12) He was not born there. He began to look at
the gods who belong to the class of the four great
kings and at the thirty-three gods, but he did not
see him there either.(l3) Then 'Sakra, the chief of
the gods, his curiosity aroused, went up to where the
Blessed One was. Having gone up and having honored
the Blessed One's feet with his head, he sat down to
one side. Seated to one side 'Sakra, the chief of the
gods, said this to the Blessed One: I here, Sir, saw
a certain god who was destined to fall rolling on the
earth and lamenting: Ah Mandaakinii, etc.... I spoke
thus to him: Why, my friend, do you excessively weep,
mourn, cry out, beat your breast,
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(9) The concluding sentence of this paragraph is
the translation of the Sanskrit text, but it
should not be given without the Tibetan and
Chinese. According to the Skt. we are here
confronted with a god who has fallen upward.
Such, however, is not the case in the other two
texts. The Tib. has .hchi-.hpho.hdus-byas-nas
dga.h-ldan phyi Iha.hi ris-su skyes, "death
having been completed, later in the Tu.sita
heaven among the gods he was born." The Chinese
says, ¦Ó«á©R²×, "and afterwards he died."
(10) This sentence is parenthetical, and if
foot-notes had existed for the author of the
story, he would certainly have made it a note to
what follows. It is interesting to note that the
Tib. puts this statement at the end of the
account of Indra's, vain search.
(11) The Tib. here reads: Has he been born in the
station of hell-beings and animals, or not?
sems-can dmyal-ba da~n dud-.hgro.hi skye-gnas-su
skeys sam-ma skyes-`ses bltas-na ya~n ma
skyes-te. The Chinese, again interpreting tiryak
as "approaching," "nearby," has merely: He also
gazed in the world of nearby-born ghosts, but
again he did not see him ¤SÆ[³Ä¥Í«ä¬É¥ç´_¤£¨£.
The Tib. has omitted preta.
(12) Tib. omits this, while the Chinese misread its
original as Sahalokadhaatu ¤SÆ[®P¶F¥@¬É¤H¶¡.
(13) Omitted in Tib.
p.163
and why are you in this state of confusion? He spoke
thus: I here, O Kaau'sika, after abandoning the bliss
of the gods, on the seventh day etc.... I spoke thus
to him: My friend, go thou for refuge etc.... He
spoke thus: I here, O Kaau'sika, go for refuge etc...
. After speaking thus the god died. Where, Sir, has
the god been born? The Blessed One said: Kaau'sika,
the gods known as the Tu.sitas see the accomplishment
of all their desires. There that god is enjoying
himself, because he here went to the three refuges.
Then 'Sakra, the chief of the gods, transported with
joy, spoke at this time the following gaathaa:
Who refuge in the Buddha take, they go not to
hell; on forsaking their bodies of men, they obtain
bodies of gods.
Who refuge in the Dharma etc.
Who refuge in the Sa.mgha etc.(14)
Then the Blessed One, agreeing with the words of
Indra, spoke
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(14) The Tibetan and Chinese then insert three verses
which correspond rather well to one another:
ga~n-dag ~nin-mtshan rtag-par ya~n
sa~ns-rgyas rje-su dran-pa da~n
ga~n-dag sa~ns-rgyas skyabs mchis-pa
mi de-dag-ni r~ned-pa che
ga~n-dag ~nin-mtshan rtag-par ya~n
chos-ni rje-su dran-paa da~n
ga~n-dag chos-la skyabs mchis-pa
mi de-dag-ni r~ned-pa che
ga~n-dag ~nin-mtshan rtag-par ya~n
dge-.hdun rje su dran-pa da~n
ga~n-dag dge-.hdun skyabs mchis-pa
mi de-dag-ni r~ned-pa; che
Who also day and night always
Upon the noble Buddha meditate
Who have come to the Buddha for refuge
For those men the profit is great.
Who also day and night always
Upon the noble Dharma meditate
Who have come to the Dharma for refuge, etc.
Who also day and night always
Upon the noble Sa.mgha meditate
Who have come to the Sa.mgha for refuge, etc. ÿ
p.164
thus: Quite so, Kaau'sika, quite so. Who refuge in
the Buddha take, etc.(15)
_____________________________________________________
1. ¸Û ¤ß Âk ©R ¦ò
©¼ ¤H ·í ©Ò ±o
Y ±Þ Y ©] ¤¤
¦ò ¤ß ±` ¾Ð ©À
2. - - - - ªk
- - - - -
- - - - -
ªk ¤O ±` ¥[ «ù
3. - - - - ¹¬
- - - - -
- - - - -
¹¬ «Â ±` ÂÐ Å@
Who sincerely takes refuge in the Buddha,
That man will certainly obtain (merit),
Him during the day, him in the midst of night,
The Buddha's mind ever heeds.
Who sincerely takes refuge in the Dharma, etc.
The Dharma's might ever supports.
Who sincerely takes refuge in the Sa.mgha, etc.
The Sa.mgha's majesty ever protects.
(15) The Skt. text merely repeats the former gaathaa.
The Tib. does the same thing except that it uses
synonyms for mchi: ga~n-dag sa~ns-rgyas skyabs
do~n-pa / de-dag nan-.hgror mi.hgro-ste, etc.
The Chin. combines the whole three verses into
one:
Âk ©R ¦ò ªk ¹¬, ©w ¤£ ¼Z ´c ¹D,
±ó ±Ë ¤H ¨ ¤w, ·í Àò ±o ¤Ñ ¨.
Who takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, the
Sa.mgha,
He surely falls not into the evil way (the Chin.
gives an analytic translation of durgati), etc.
The Chin. then inserts three verses which do not
appear in the Skt. or Tib.:
1. Y ¦ò ªû ¤G ¦r
2. ±o ¨ì ©ó ¦Þ ¤W
3. ¦P ©¼ Âk ©R µ¥
4. ¤£ µê ¹L ¤@ ¥Í
1. ¹F »ò +2,3,4
1. ¹¬ ¦÷ +2,3,4
p.165
Then 'Sakra, the chief of the gods, having
praised and rejoiced over the words of the Blessed
One, and having worshipped the Blessed One's feet
with his head, and having circumambulated the Buddha
three times to the right, making an anjali, honoring
the Buddha, vanished right then and there.(16)
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Who succeeds in having the two syllables,
Buddha, upon his tongue,
and with them (the word) "refuge" etc.
He has not idly passed one birth.
Who succeeds in having the two syllables,
Dharma, etc.
Who succeeds in having the two syllables,
Sa.mgha, etc.
(16) After this closing the Tib. adds:
bcom-ldan-.hdas-kyis de-skad-ces
bka.h--stsal-nas dge-slo~n-dag-yi ra~ns-te
bcom-Idan-.hdas-kyis gsu~ns-pa-la m~nonpar
bstod-to: When the Blessed One had spoken thus,
the Monks, rejoicing, greatly praised what the
Blessed One ham said.
Instead of this closing the Chin. has: ¦ò»¡¬O
¸g¤w. ½ÑÐl¯ì²³. ¤Ñ«ÒÄÀµ¥. ¤@¤Á¤j²³Åw³ß. «H¨ü
§@§¦Ó°h: When the Buddha, had spoken this
suutra, the crowd of Bhik.sus, the god 'sakra,
and others, altogether a large company,
rejoiced. Having received it in faith, they
departed paying him homage.