『大乗荘厳経論』「種姓品」におけるAkṣarāśisūtra：何故「多界修多羅」と訳されたのか=Akṣarāśisūtra in Chapter Three of the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra-bhāṣya: Why was Akṣarāśisūtra Translated as 多界修多羅?
In Chapter Three of the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra-bhāṣya, a sūtra called Akṣarāśisūtra (ARS) is quoted as a source of the Triyāna-theory. Akṣa is the name of a plant, and rāśi means an accumulation. Therefore, I suppose that ARS must be “Accumulation of Akṣa’s Fruit Sūtra.” However, Prabhākaramitra, the Chinese translator of the work, rendered ARS as 多界修多羅, which is completely different from the original title just given. In this study, I would like to consider why the two titles are different.
Although 多界修多羅 has been understood to be the title of a sūtra in previous studies, it is difficult to come to this conclusion based on my survey of Prabhākaramitra’s translation of the word 修多羅. In translating a specific sūtra, Prabhākaramitra uses the word 経, as in 十地経, yet when it comes to general references to types of sūtras, he intentionally uses the word 修多羅, as in 大乗修多羅. Therefore, I assume that 多界修多羅 is not the title of a sūtra, but rather, it is a type of sūtra that discusses 多界.
In fact, Prabhākaramitra’s incomprehensible translations are related to the development of translations of the ARS. The ARS is roughly classified into two kinds, and one of them cannot be a source of the Triyāna-theory. Consequently, Asvbhāva in his commentary quoted another sūtra called the Bahudhātuka-sūtra in order to make its source clear. I suppose that this is how Prabhākaramitra translated ARS and other sūtras including the Bahudhātuka-sūtra as 多界修多羅.
