དཔལ་གྱ་སྡའ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ 14

14

I will ask him if he is a nonhuman or a demon. It will be difficult for him to speak, but if he does, that would be astonishing.’ A while later, one of the others who saw the spectacle asked, ‘Brahmin! Are you a human or a demon? Who cut off the lower half of your body and left you in this state? Where did you come from?’

“Then Śakra, lord of the gods, in the form of the old brahmin, lying on the stretcher and acting as if he were in tremendous pain, replied in verse:

“ ‘Man of Śibi, be not afraid.
I am a brahmin, not a demon.
Because of past deeds,
I have ended up in this state.

“ ‘Were I to explain everything,
My time would run out.
The Lord of Death is coming quickly.
He will snatch my life away.

“ ‘Please report all this
To your Dharma king.
It is certain that I must experience
The fruits of past actions today.

“ ‘Where can I gaze upon the great one?
Where is the one adorned with all good qualities,
The one who is as peaceful as the moon,
The one who loves giving and discipline?

“ ‘Where does the Dharma king live?
Where lives the one who is as deep as the ocean,
The one who is as stable as Mount Sumeru,
He who is chief among all beings?

“ ‘Where is he who is a refuge for the fearful?
Where is the one to whom all beggars travel,
The one who speaks pleasantly,
He who gives generously and upholds discipline?

“ ‘Quickly, death is looming before me.
Tell me, people of Śibi, where can I see him?
No one but the great compassionate one
Will give me half his own body.’

“In this manner, the old brahmin kept wailing pitifully, uttering weak and disheartened words as he made his way along the path toward the gate of King Śrīsena’s royal estate. Hundreds and thousands of astonished beings followed after him. As they proceeded, crowds of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas,