仁王護國般若波羅蜜多經疏 1.62

1.62

Regarding the words "in Rājagṛha, on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa": this is the fifth, the perfection of place, free from the fault of an inappropriate place. Roaming, converting, and residing are termed "dwelling". The Buddhabhūmi-vyākhyāna says: "If the place and the speaker were not mentioned, one would not know where and by whom this Dharma was spoken, and everyone would give rise to doubt; therefore it must be fully stated." The text is divided into two: first the city, and second the mountain. Magadha (Mocuotuo) is translated here as "Superior Excellence", and also as "Free from Harm". Furthermore, maghā is the name of a constellation, translated here as "Not Evil". Dha means "place"; thus it is called "the Place Not Evil", and also called "the Land of the Constellation Place". In older renderings it was called Magadha (Mojiaduo), Magadha (Mojieti), or Magadha (Moqueduo), which were all corruptions; this is the name of the country. The city of Rājagṛha (Héluóshéjílìsì): this is translated as "King's House", which is the name of the city. The *Vibhāṣā* gives three explanations: [1] Prince Vasu initially built houses and lived there together with the people, but they were destroyed by spirits, leaving only the king's house, and this happened up to seven times. The prince instructed them: "Just build houses again, and inscribe 'King's House' on all of them." Because of inscribing these characters, they were not destroyed; hence it was named the City of the King's House (Rājagṛha). [2] It also says: Cakravartins appearing in the world successively resided here; hence it is named the King's House. [3] It also says: The Four Heavenly Kings and others churned the ocean of milk together with the asuras and obtained amṛta; they built houses and dwelt in this mountain, guarding it for seven days before dividing it; hence it was named the City of the King's House. The third fascicle of the *Dazhidulun* also has three explanations: [1] The king of Magadha first gave birth to a son who had one head, two faces, and four arms. When he grew up, his power annexed all the states; he took eighteen thousand kings and placed them in these five mountains, ruling Jambudvīpa with great power; thus these mountains were named Rājagṛha. [2] It also says: Fires broke out repeatedly in the city where the king of Magadha formerly resided, burning and rebuilding up to seven times. The king sought a dwelling place and saw these five mountains surrounding the area like a city wall, so he built palaces to live within the mountains; for this reason it was named Rājagṛha. [3] It also says: In ancient times, there was a king in this country named Vasu, who grew weary of the world, left household life, and became a rishi. His son, named Bṛhadratha, succeeded to the throne as king and contemplated seeking another dwelling place. Later, while out hunting, he happened upon the five mountains, steep, solid, and variously adorned all around; he thereupon abandoned the original city to dwell within them, and it was named Rājagṛha. The details are as in that treatise. The *Xiyu Ji* says: "The city of Kuśāgrapura is translated into Chinese as the City of Superior Kuśa Grass; it is in the exact center of Magadha. It was the dwelling place of ancient rulers, where superior and auspicious kuśa grass grew abundantly, and it was named after it. Lofty mountains surround it on four sides as an outer wall; to the west it connects to a narrow path, and to the north it opens a mountain gate. It is long from east to west and narrow from north to south, with a circumference of one hundred and fifty li; the inner palace fortress has a circumference of more than thirty li. Karṇikāra trees line all the roads, their blossoms holding rare fragrance and glowing like molten gold; in the late spring months the entire forest turns golden. When King Bimbisāra made Kuśāgrapura his capital, the registered households frequently suffered the disaster of fire; if one family was negligent, the four neighbors suffered the calamity. Having no leisure to prevent fire, their assets and livelihood were ruined, and the common people lamented in resentment, finding no peace in their dwellings. The king said: 'Because of my lack of virtue, the humble people suffer misfortune. What virtuous conduct can I cultivate to avert this disaster?' The ministers replied: 'Great King, your virtuous transformation and governmental teachings are clear and discerning; it is the common people who are careless, bringing about these fires. You should institute strict statutes to purge future offenses. If a fire breaks out, thoroughly investigate where it began and punish the chief culprit, banishing him to the Śītavana as if discarding a corpse. Then they will be careful and vigilant on their own.' The king said: 'Well spoken. Let it be proclaimed everywhere.' Before long, a fire broke out in the royal palace. The king said to his ministers: 'I shall banish myself.' He then ordered the crown prince to oversee state affairs, and wishing to uphold the nation's laws, he moved his dwelling there. At that time, the king of Vaiśālī heard that King Bimbisāra was dwelling in the wilds of the Śītavana, and raised an army intending to attack. When the border guards heard this report, they built a city of ramparts, and because the king had resided there first, it was called Rājagṛha (the City of the King's House). Some say: It was only after King Ajātaśatru succeeded to the throne that this city was built even higher and thicker. By the time King Aśoka moved the capital to Pāṭaliputra, he gave Rājagṛha to the brahmins. However, the outer wall of Rājagṛha is now ruined with no remaining walls; although the inner city is destroyed, its foundations are still steep, with a circumference of more than twenty li and one gate on each side. Today within the old city there are no longer commoners, only fewer than a thousand brahmin households."