釋迦譜 1.54

1.54

祐案。劫初草昧。肇建皇極。發源民主。迄于善思。父子繼業三十三王。自善思以後云有十族轉輪王。第一伽㝹至第十懿摩。或是兄弟支胤。聖賢遞興。容可異族別起。應天受命。長源遙緒。難以意量也。總其世數。凡八萬四千二百一十聖王。仰尋白淨所承。出自懿摩。轉輪相纂。億葉重輝。所以釋迦權應。示現降生。託跡既顯。苗裔遂彰。然經舉大數。似亦未周。昔犧農軒曎猶莫詳厥歲。況飛行聖帝壽踰大椿。其年世邈絕。豈凡識所揆哉。

Sengyou notes: In the primordial chaos at the beginning of the kalpa, sovereign rule was first established, taking its source from Mahāsammata down to Kalyāṇa, thirty-three kings succeeding from father to son. From Kalyāṇa onward, it is said there were ten clans of wheel-turning kings, from the first, Gānuci, to the tenth, Iṣīma. They may have been brothers or collateral descendants; as sages and worthies arose alternately, different clans could have arisen separately, responding to Heaven and receiving the mandate. Their distant lineage and ancient origins can hardly be measured by conjecture. Totalling their generations, there were eighty-four thousand two hundred and ten sage kings altogether. Looking back at what Śuddhodana inherited, it stemmed from Iṣīma, wheel-turners in continuous succession, their glory renewed over hundreds of millions of generations. Therefore, the provisional manifestation of Śākya(muni) appeared as a descent to be born; once his traces were visibly lodged, the lineage was made renowned. Yet when the sūtras cite great numbers, they seem not to be exhaustive. In ancient times, even with Fuxi, Shennong, Huangdi, and Shaohao, the exact years were unknown; how much more so with the flying sage emperors whose lifespans exceeded the great cedrela tree? How could ordinary intellect fathom such vast eras?