དཔལ་གྱ་སྡའ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ 36

36

the sage came to genuinely admire him. ‘This great being is worthy of veneration,’ he thought. After that, he hastily led his five-hundred-strong retinue and Queen Jayaprabhā to the bodhisattva. There they uttered salutations of victory and long life to the king. In unison with Śakra, the sage said, ‘Lord, you have protected these fine, goddess-like, beautiful women. Now please enjoy life with this virtuous woman. I offer you back the beautiful queen. She has not been unhappy with her husband. Please do not give her away again to anyone else who asks for her.’

“The bodhisattva compassionately accepted the request of the sage and Śakra, lord of the gods, by remaining silent. Śakra, lord of the gods, then summoned Viśvakarma, the architect of the gods. ‘Viśvakarma,’ he said, ‘please set up a divine lion throne quickly. I would like to honor King Śrīsena myself.’

“ ‘That is excellent, Kauśika,’ Viśvakarma responded. ‘I will do as you instruct.’ Indeed, at the very moment he was listening to Śakra, lord of the gods, Viśvakarma, the architect of the gods, magically created a lion throne. It was decorated with a variety of precious gems, and it was garlanded with pearls on all sides. Śakra, lord of the gods, took the bodhisattva with both his hands and escorted him onto the divine lion throne. Hundreds of thousands of gods played and sang melodious music for him. Having shown great respect in this way, they crowned him.

“During the coronation, the bodhisattva’s power caused the earth to shake in six different ways. Out of joy and satisfaction, the gods showered flowers and precious gems on Jambudvīpa. So many fell that the flowers and gems were piled up to the peoples’ knees. In sheer amazement at seeing this amount of wealth, the gods and humans exclaimed,