經律異相 46.11

46.11

In a past age, there was an asura king named Rāhula. He fathered a daughter who was exceptionally lovely and upright, completely endowed with all sixty-four feminine virtues. Her breath was like an utpala flower, and her body emitted the fragrance of ox-head sandalwood. Her complexion was fair and rosy, pleasing and delightful to all who saw her. At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra had this thought: "The maidens in this palace are mostly fair and upright, yet none can compare to the daughter of the asura. Now I shall gather an army to go attack, take her, and make her serve me." He immediately summoned the devas and told them the matter in full. The devas said, "You should send the musicians of the Gandharva devas, holding ninety-one-stringed lapis lazuli lutes (the Garbhāvakrānti Sūtra says ninety-nine strings) in their hands, to sing of the blessings and happiness enjoyed by our celestials." He then commanded the heavenly son of musicians, Pañcaśikha, and others to equip the musical instruments and go before Vāsiṭṭha to play the lute, expressing his intent: "We wish to obtain Vāsiṭṭha to serve me. If you do not give her, we will take her by force of arms." The asura grew enraged: "I too have sufficient strength to resist you!" Pañcaśikha and the others immediately reported this to Śakra. Then the asuras assembled their forces and came beside Mount Sumeru, destroying the Qujiao heavenly palace, then the wind deity palace, the horse palace, the adornment palace, and other heavenly palaces, all the way to the four gates. Śakra remembered what he had originally recited and chanted the spell over them. The asura forces gradually fell back and retreated, leading their fourfold army into the hollow of the lotus stalks in Lake Kokiṭa. A man saw this and thought to himself, "I have gone mad and lost my wits, mistakenly seeing bizarre things." The Buddha told the monks, "This was real." Then Śakra Devānām Indra assembled the celestial hosts and went out through the four gates, but saw only swords, armour, bows, and arrows on the ground, and did not see the asura host. Advancing further, they went straight into the palace of the asura, where they saw tens of millions of Vāsiṭṭha women, but did not see the asuras. He brought the women back to the Trāyastriṃśa palace. At that time, the asuras begged for mercy and took refuge, saying to Śakra Devānām Indra, "We were foolish and deluded, not recognizing the majestic spiritual power of the Buddha's disciple. Our ancestors had faith in and venerated the Tathāgata, and heard that the Buddha has a precept against taking what belongs to others. Now the Heavenly King Śakra has taken our kin to fill the heavenly palace entirely; this is not the proper conduct of a disciple of the Buddha." When Śakra heard this, he felt dejected and displeased, [thinking,] "I must rather uphold the precepts and not commit theft." He immediately returned the women. Then the asura king offered his most beloved daughter to Śakra, and Śakra reciprocated with amṛta. The asuras and the devas reconciled and lived in harmony, together upholding the Tathāgata's three refuges and eight precepts (from the Garbhāvakrānti Sūtra and the second fascicle of the Avadāna Sūtra).