釋迦譜 1.415

1.415

At that time King Śuddhodana, just awaking from his swoon, summoned Chandaka and spoke to him, saying: “Why have you brought great distress to the Śākya clan? I issued strict regulations ordering the internal and external officials to guard the prince for fear that he might go forth from the household. With what intent did you then presumptuously send the prince off, and where have you placed him?” Terrified, Chandaka addressed the king, saying: “The prince’s departure from the city was truly not my fault. I only beg the great king to hear me speak in full.” He then placed the jeweled crown and the bright pearl from the topknot at the king’s feet: “The prince ordered me to place the pearl from his crown at the king’s feet, to give the seven-jeweled necklace to Mahāprajāpatī, and the remaining ornaments to Yaśodharā.” Seeing these items, the king’s grief and heartbreak redoubled: even wood and stone would feel moved, how much more so the depth of love between father and son! Chandaka reported the previous events in full and said to the king: “The prince instructed me: ‘If my father the king should say that according to our original agreement I would be permitted to go forth only when I had a son, yet now without a son how could I depart, and why did I not inform him at the time of departure? You may answer my father the king fully on my behalf: Yaśodharā has long been pregnant; the king should ask her. The past decree was thus; it was not presumptuous on my part.’” Hearing these words, the king immediately sent someone to ask Yaśodharā: “The prince says you have long been pregnant. Is it truly so or not?” Yaśodharā replied through the messenger: “When the great king came to this palace, the prince pointed at me, and I at once felt I was pregnant.” Hearing her words, the king felt wonder, his distress paused for a moment, and he thought to himself: “Previously, the reason I promised to permit his going forth once he had a son was that within seven days there was certainly no possibility of having a son, and the position of a wheel-turning king would arrive naturally. I did not expect that before seven days had ended she would already be pregnant. I deeply blame and lament my own shallow wisdom, for the expedient means I devised could not keep him. Having lightly made this pact, my regret and remorse have only redoubled. The prince’s divine strategies exceed human imagination. Today’s event is also combined with the power of the great devas; I should not rebuke Chandaka now.” At that time King Śuddhodana thought to himself: “The prince’s going forth cannot possibly be turned back. Even if I were to devise further expedients, they could not detain him. Although he has abandoned the state to go forth and learn the Way, he already has a son, so the lineage is not broken. I should now instruct Yaśodharā to care well for the child she carries.” At that time King Śuddhodana, deeply moved by affection, spoke to Chandaka, saying: “I must now go and search for the prince. I do not know where he is right now. Since he has now abandoned me to study the Way, how can I bear to live on alone? I will pursue him wherever he may be.” At that time the royal preceptor and the minister, hearing that the king wished to set out to search for the prince, both came together to remonstrate with the king, saying: “The great king should not give rise to distress on his own. Why is that? As we observe the prince and look upon his physical signs, in past lifetimes he has long cultivated the karmic practice of going forth from the household. Even if he were made Śakra Devānām Indra, he would still not delight in it; how much less could the status of a wheel-turning king today detain him? Does the great king not remember? When the prince was first born, he took seven steps, raised his hand, stood, and said: ‘My births are ended; this is my final body.’ All the Brahma kings and Śakra Devānām Indra all came down to attend him. With such extraordinary signs, how could he delight in the mundane world?” They further addressed the king: “The ṛṣi Asita previously read the prince’s marks and said that when he reached the age of nineteen he would go forth to study the Way and would surely attain sarvākārajñatā. Now that the time has arrived, why should the great king give rise to grief and distress? Moreover, the great king strictly ordered internal and external officials to guard the prince for fear of his going forth, yet the devas came to guide him out of the city. Such a matter is no longer human power. We only wish the great king would rejoice, not harbor sorrow, and there is no need to set out yourself. If you still cannot cease longing for the prince, the minister and I will now go and search for his whereabouts.” Hearing these words, the king thought to himself: “Although I know the prince cannot be turned back, I cannot yet bear to simply let him go without pursuing him. Now I should test this by having the preceptor and the minister search once more.” He then answered the preceptor and the minister, saying: “Very well, you may go. The whole palace, within and without, is in distress; make haste to return quickly.” Thereupon the royal preceptor and the minister took their leave and went out in pursuit of the prince. At that time, having dispatched the royal preceptor and the minister, King Śuddhodana gave the prince’s necklace to Mahāprajāpatī and spoke to her, saying: “This is the necklace worn by the prince, handed back to Chandaka; I now give it to you.” Seeing the necklace, Mahāprajāpatī’s grief redoubled, and she thought to herself: “The people of the four continents are extremely lacking in merit, losing this wise wheel-turning sage king!” The king also sent the remaining ornaments to Yaśodharā and said to her: “The prince instructed that these body ornaments be brought and given to you.” Seeing these items, Yaśodharā collapsed to the ground in a dead faint. The king also sent someone to instruct Yaśodharā to care for herself with love and respect, so that the child in her womb would not be disturbed.