經律異相 3.14

3.14

Question: "Cities such as Śrāvastī, Kapilavastu, and Vārāṇasī all contain royal abodes of various kings. Why is this city alone called Royal Abode (Rājagṛha)?"

Answer: Some say that this king of Magadha had a son with one head, two faces, and four arms. The people of the time considered him inauspicious. The king tore apart his body and head and abandoned him in the wilderness. A rākṣasī named Līlā reassembled his body and nursed him. Later, when he grew to adulthood, through his strength he annexed various kingdoms, took eighteen thousand kings, and placed them in the midst of these five mountains, ruling over Jambudvīpa with great power and might. Because of this, these mountains were named the City of Royal Abodes (Rājagṛha).

Furthermore, some say that fires frequently broke out in the city where the king of Magadha formerly dwelt: as soon as it was burned it was rebuilt, and this happened seven times. The people of the realm were exhausted by the forced labor. The king assembled all the wise men and asked the reason for this. Some said, "You ought to change your location." The king saw that these five mountains encircled the area like a city wall, and he immediately built a palace in their midst and dwelt there. Therefore it was named the City of Royal Abodes.

Furthermore, in ancient times, this realm had a king named Vasu. Weary of the world, he renounced the household life to learn to be a ṛṣi. At that time, householder brāhmaṇas and various renounced ṛṣis were engaged in debate. The householder brāhmaṇas said, "In sacrifices to heaven, one ought to kill living beings and eat meat." The renounced ṛṣis said, "One ought not." They argued back and forth. The renounced brāhmaṇas said, "Here there is a great king who has renounced the household to become a ṛṣi; do you believe him or not?"

The householder brāhmaṇas said [they agreed, and] the renounced ṛṣis said, "We take this man as our witness; we shall ask him on a later day."

The householder brāhmaṇas went first to Vasu's dwelling and said to the ṛṣi Vasu, "In tomorrow's debate, you must assist us."

[The next day] the renounced ṛṣis asked, "In sacrifices to heaven, ought one to kill living beings and eat meat, or not?"

The ṛṣi Vasu said, "One ought to kill living beings and eat meat. Because these living beings die within a sacrifice to heaven, they attain rebirth in heaven."

The renounced ṛṣis said, "You are greatly mistaken! You tell a great lie!" They immediately spat upon him and said, "Perish, sinner!"

At that moment, the ṛṣi Vasu sank into the earth up to his ankles. This was the initial opening of the gate of great sin. The renounced ṛṣis said, "You must speak truthfully! If you persist in lying, your body will sink entirely into the earth."

Vasu said, "I know that killing sheep and eating meat for the sake of heaven incurs no sin." Thereupon he sank up to his knees, and in this manner gradually sank to his waist and to his neck.

The renounced ṛṣis said, "You are now receiving the visible retribution in this present life for your false speech. If you speak truthfully, even though you have entered beneath the earth, I can pull you out and cause you to be freed from sin."

Vasu reflected: "I am an honored and exalted person; I ought not to speak with two tongues. Furthermore, in the laws of the four Vedas, the rites of sacrifice to heaven are praised. Why should the death of me alone be worth calculating?" With single-minded resolve he said, "In sacrifices to heaven, killing living beings and eating meat incurs no sin!" Thereupon his entire body plunged into the earth.

From that time onwards, the method of the ṛṣi Vasu was constantly used: when killing a sheep in sacrifices to heaven, at the moment of bringing down the knife they say, "Vasu kills you."

Vasu's son was named Bṛhadratha. He succeeded to the throne as king, and he too was weary of worldly ways, yet he was unable to renounce the household. He thought: "My father renounced the household and entered the earth alive. If I govern the realm, I will again commit great sins. How should I conduct myself now?"

At that time, a voice in the air said, "If, while traveling, you see a rare and wondrous place, you should build a dwelling in its midst and reside there."

Before long, the king went out hunting and saw a deer running as swift as the wind. The king then pursued it, and none of the hundred officials or attendants could keep pace with him. Ahead, he saw five mountains encircling [a valley], precipitous and solid. The ground was adorned, with celestial flowers and fragrances, and celestial music could be heard. "This place is rare and never before seen. Right now, I should build a dwelling in its midst and reside here." He immediately abandoned his original city and dwelt in the midst of these mountains. From then on, successive generations dwelt there, and therefore it was named the City of Royal Abodes (Rājagṛha). (From the third fascicle of the Da zhidu lun)