釋迦譜 1.391

1.391

爾時太子姨母。摩訶波闍波提。乳養太子如母無異。時白淨王。勅作七寶天冠及以瓔珞。而與太子。太子年漸長大。為辦象馬牛羊之車。凡是童子所玩好具。無不給與。爾時舉國人民。皆行仁惠。五穀豐熟風雨以時。又無盜賊快樂安隱。皆是太子福德力故。時王又以青衣所生。是車匿等五百蒼頭給侍。太子至年七歲。父王心念。太子已大宜令學書。訪覓國中聰明婆羅門。善諸書藝。請使令來。以教太子。爾時有一婆羅門。名跋陀羅尼（漢言選友）。與五百婆羅門。以為眷屬。來受王請。即白婆羅門言。欲屈尊者為太子師。此可爾不。婆羅門言。當隨所知以授太子。時白淨王。更為太子起大學堂。七寶莊嚴床榻。學具極令精麗。卜擇吉日。即以太子與婆羅門。而令教之。爾時婆羅門。以四十九書字之本。教令讀之。于時太子見此事已。問其師言。此何等書。閻浮提中。一切諸書凡有幾種。師即默然不知所答。又復問言。此阿一字有何等義。師又默然亦不能答。內懷慚愧。即從座起禮太子足。而讚歎言。太子初生行七步時。自言天人之中最尊最勝。此言不虛唯願為說。閻浮提書凡有幾種。太子答言。閻浮提中或有梵書。或佉樓書。或蓮華書。有如是等六十四種。

At that time, the prince's maternal aunt, Mahāprajāpatī, suckled and reared the prince no differently than his mother would have. Then King Śuddhodana ordered the crafting of a celestial crown of the seven treasures, as well as necklaces, and gave them to the prince. As the prince gradually grew older, carts drawn by elephants, horses, oxen, and sheep were prepared for him; whatever toys and fine implements a boy might enjoy were provided without exception. At that time, all the people of the country practiced benevolence and kindness, the five grains ripened abundantly, wind and rain came in season, and there were no thieves or robbers, so all was joyful and secure. This was entirely due to the power of the prince's merit. Then the king also provided five hundred servants born of maidservants, such as Channa and others, to attend upon him. When the prince reached the age of seven, his father the king thought: 'The prince is now grown; he should be made to learn writing.' He searched for an intelligent Brahmin in the kingdom skilled in the arts of writing, inviting him to come and instruct the prince. At that time, there was a Brahmin named Bhadra (in Chinese, 'Selected Friend'), who came with an entourage of five hundred Brahmins in acceptance of the king's invitation. The king said to the Brahmin, 'I wish to invite the Venerable One to be the prince's master. May this be permitted?' The Brahmin replied, 'I shall instruct the prince according to what I know.' Then King Śuddhodana built another great study for the prince, with couches adorned with the seven treasures and study implements made exceedingly exquisite. Selecting an auspicious day through divination, he entrusted the prince to the Brahmin to be taught. At that time, the Brahmin used forty-nine basic characters of the script to instruct him in reading. When the prince saw this, he asked his master, 'What kind of script is this? How many types of scripts are there in all in Jambudvīpa?' The master remained silent, not knowing what to answer. The prince further asked, 'What is the meaning of this syllable "A"?' The master was again silent and unable to answer. Feeling deeply ashamed within, he rose from his seat, bowed to the prince's feet, and praised him, saying, 'When the prince was first born and walked seven steps, he declared himself the most honored and supreme among gods and humans. These words are not in vain. I only pray that you will explain: how many types of scripts are there in Jambudvīpa?' The prince replied, 'In Jambudvīpa, there are the Brāhmī script, the Kharoṣṭhī script, the Lotus script, and so on, sixty-four kinds in total.'