妙法蓮華經玄贊 2.62

2.62

The commentary says: In Sanskrit it is asura, which means here 'non-deva' (feitian). Sura is an alternative name for deva; a- means non-. Because they have much flattery and deceit and lack the conduct of devas, they are called 'non-devas', just as a person who lacks benevolence is also called a 'non-person'. The Yogācārabhūmi and Buddhabhūmi-śāstra state that they are included in the deva destiny; the Miśrakābhidharmahṛdaya calls them the preta destiny; the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra regards them as the preta and animal destinies; and the Gāthā-sūtra speaks of three destinies: preta, animal, and deva. Some say that the asura Rāhu is a lion's whelp and is subsumed under animals. Here, we take the Mahāyāna Yogācārabhūmi as standard. There are five classes of these: first, the weakest dwell among human beings in mountains and on the earth; namely, nowadays in the Western Regions there are large, deep caverns in the mountains, many of which are palaces of non-devas. The following four classes are expounded in the Daśabhūmika-sūtra: second, twenty-one thousand yojanas beneath the great ocean north of Mount Meru is Rāhu's palace. Third, twenty-one thousand yojanas further down is the Valiant Palace. Fourth, twenty-one thousand yojanas further down is the Flower-Garland Palace. Fifth, twenty-one thousand yojanas further down is Vemacitra's palace. Following this, the depth below Mount Meru reaches eighty-four thousand yojanas. This conflicts with the Lokasthiti-sūtra, which states that one thousand yojanas outside the mountain to the east and west of Mount Meru is Vemacitra's palace, eighty thousand yojanas in length and breadth, with sevenfold walls and so forth; but these are different settlements, so there is no error. Rāhu means here 'holding the sun'. When the non-devas fight with the devas, they first do battle with the gods of the Four Heavenly Kings. The sons of heaven of the sun and moon emit brilliant light to shine into the eyes of the non-devas, serving as arrowheads against the non-devas; [Rāhu] holds the sun with his hand to block its light, and is therefore called 'holding the sun'. Now he is listed as the fourth, as should be understood. The first listed, Bali, was formerly said to mean 'bound', because the vanguard of the non-devas was bound by the devas. Correctly it is balikā, which means here 'rounded'; in the Zheng fahua [jing] it is 'Supreme', which corresponds to 'Valiant'. Coming next after Holding the Sun, when fighting with the devas, he has valiant strength. Baddha has the meaning of 'bound', but this does not mean 'bound'. As for Kharaskandha, khara and skandha are both in the departing tone, and dha is pronounced in the level tone; formerly it was rendered 'Broad Shoulders', having an even greater physical form; coming after Valiant, it corresponds to 'Flower-Garland'. In Sanskrit it is vemacitrin, which means here 'variegated drawings', indicating patterns decorating his body, or it means using precious brocade to adorn his attire; to say 'Vimacittara' is an error. He is the greatest, the father-in-law of Śakra, king of the devas, and father of Śacī; the explanation of these circumstances is as found in the Commentary on the Samayabhedoparacanacakra.