觀無量壽佛經義疏 2.29

2.29

"He said, 'Great King! Your servant has heard the Vedas say that since the beginning of the kalpa, evil kings greedy for the throne have murdered their fathers to the number of eighteen thousand, but never has it been heard that there was an unprincipled one who murdered his mother. The King now commits this patricidal and treacherous act, defiling the kṣatriya lineage. Your servant cannot bear to hear of such a caṇḍāla, and it is not fitting that we remain here.'" The Vedas are secular texts, sometimes written Weituo; the Sanskrit pronunciation varies slightly. They are like the historical texts here, recording the affairs of their state. Killing one's father out of greed for the throne still had some reason; but harming one's innocent mother is truly unprincipled. The four varnas of India encompass all surnames: kṣatriyas and brāhmaṇas are the two noble and venerated ones, while vaiśyas and śūdras are the two lowly ones. Kṣatriyas are the royal varna. Caṇḍāla is translated here as "killer," corresponding to the executioners and slaughterers here. Since the ruler is unprincipled, worthy ministers will not support him, and so it was not fitting to remain. Third, intending to leave after remonstrating.