འཕགས་པ་གསར་འད་དམ་པ་མད་སྡའ་དབང་པའ་རྒྱལ་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད 235

235

let alone now when I am a samyaksaṃbuddha who is free of all faults.

“ ‘In that way, for the sake of each being I would gladly remain in hell for eons and liberate that being from saṃsāra. Those who are dedicated to beings accomplish numerous different kinds of difficult actions so as to benefit all beings.’

“The Bhagavat then spoke these verses:

“ ‘For many eons, I⁵²⁹ gave away my body
When seeking the highest enlightenment.
Whether I was a king or a prince,
I gave away my body in that way.

“ ‘I remember my previous lives:
There was a king named Mahāratha
Who had a son that made the great gift,
A sublime one called Mahāsattva.

“ ‘He had two elder brothers
Named Mahāpraṇāda and Mahādeva.
The group of siblings⁵³⁰ went into a thick forest
Where they saw a tigress tormented by hunger.

“ ‘Compassion for her arose in that excellent being:
“This tigress is so tormented by hunger and thirst
She will eventually eat her own children.
Therefore, I will give her my body.”

“ ‘Mahāsattva, Mahāratha’s son,
Seeing the hungry tigress, with compassion
So as to save the tiger cubs
Leapt from a mountain cliff.⁵³¹

“ ‘The earth and the mountains shook,
The multitudes of birds scattered,⁵³²
The herds of deer were frightened,
And this world was enveloped in darkness.

“ ‘His older brother Mahāpraṇāda,
And likewise Mahādeva, both
Looked in that great forest
But could not find Mahāsattva.

“ ‘Their hearts pained by intense misery,
They roamed within the forest mindlessly,
Searching for their younger brother.
Faces streaming with tears, they wandered the forest.

“ ‘Those two young princes,
Mahāpraṇāda and Mahādeva,
Came near the place where
The weakened tigress was lying.