法苑珠林 29.22

29.22

又從此北行二百里至羯若鞠闍國。是中印度曲女城也。都城西近殑伽河。長二十餘里。廣四五里。即統五印度之都王也。王前尸羅逸多（唐云戒日）吠奢姓。初欲登位。於殑伽岸有觀自在像。乃請告曰。汝本此林蘭若比丘。金耳月王既滅佛法。王當重興。愍物在懷方王五境。慎勿昇師子座及稱大王號也。王乃共童子王平殄外道。月王徒眾又約嚴令。有噉肉者當截舌。殺生者當斬手。乃與寡妹共知國事。於殑伽側建千餘浮圖。各高百餘尺。二十年來五年一會。傾及府藏拯濟群有。唯留兵器用備不虞。初作會日集諸國僧。三七日中四事供養令相論議。若戒行貞固道德優洽者昇師子座。王便受戒。清淨無學示有崇仰。穢行彰露者驅出國界。城西北育王所造。昔佛於此七日說法。其側有髮爪塔四佛行坐迹。又南臨殑伽寺有佛牙。長寸半。光色變改。寶函盛之。遠近瞻者日有百千。守者煩擾重稅金寶。而樂禮者不辭重貨。齋日便出置高座上。散華雖積牙齒不沒。

Further, travelling two hundred li north from here, one reaches the kingdom of Kanyākubja. This is the city of Kanyākubja in Central India. The capital borders the Gaṅgā River on the west, being more than twenty li in length and four to five li in width. Its king is the sovereign monarch who rules over the five regions of India. The previous king was Śīlāditya (translated in the Tang as Jieri, ‘Sun of Virtue’), of the Vaiśya caste. When he first wished to ascend the throne, there was an image of Avalokiteśvara on the bank of the Gaṅgā. He prayed and consulted it, and the statue said: ‘You were originally an araṇya bhikṣu in this forest. Now that King Śaśāṅka of Karṇasuvarṇa has destroyed the Buddha’s Dharma, you, O King, ought to revive it. If you cherish compassion for living beings in your heart, you will eventually rule over the five realms. Be careful not to ascend the lion throne or assume the title of Mahārāja.’ The king then, together with King Kumāra, completely crushed the non-Buddhists and the followers of King Śaśāṅka, and strictly instituted laws: whoever ate meat would have their tongue cut out, and whoever took life would have their hand severed. He then governed state affairs jointly with his widowed sister. Along the banks of the Gaṅgā, he erected more than a thousand stūpas, each over a hundred feet high. For twenty years, he held an assembly once every five years, emptying his storehouses and treasuries to relieve all beings, retaining only military weapons to guard against the unexpected. On the initial day of holding the assembly, he gathered the monks of all kingdoms, and for three times seven days offered them the four requisites and had them engage in debate. If anyone’s precepts and conduct were steadfast and moral virtue deeply consummate, they ascended the lion throne, and the king received the precepts from them. Pure [monks] without training (aśaikṣa) were shown reverent respect, while those whose foul conduct was exposed were banished beyond the kingdom’s borders. Northwest of the city is a stūpa built by King Aśoka, where the Buddha formerly preached the Dharma for seven days. Beside it are a hair-and-nail stūpa and traces of the walking and sitting of the four Buddhas. Further, in a monastery bordering the Gaṅgā to the south, there is a tooth relic of the Buddha, an inch and a half long, whose radiant colour continually changes. It is kept in a jeweled casket. Those coming from near and far to venerate it number hundreds of thousands daily. Because the keepers were troubled by the crowds, they levied heavy taxes in gold and gems, yet those who rejoiced in paying homage did not begrudge these heavy valuables. On fast days, it is brought out and placed on a high seat; though scattered flowers pile up, the tooth is never covered over.