法苑珠林 44.32

44.32

又智度論。問曰。如舍婆提諸大城。皆有諸王舍。何故獨名此城為王舍城。答曰。有人言。是摩迦陀國王有子。一頭兩面四臂。時人以為不祥。王即裂其身首棄之曠野。羅剎女鬼名闍羅。還合其身而乳養之。後大成人。力能併諸國王有天下。取諸國王萬八千人置此五山中。以大力勢治閻浮提。人因名此山為王舍城。復有人言。摩伽陀王先所住城。城中失火。一燒一作。如是至七。國人疲役。王大憂怖。集諸智人問其意故。有言。宜應易處。王即更求住處。見此五山周匝如城。即作宮殿於中止住。以是義故名王舍城。復往古世時。此國有王。名婆藪。心厭世法出家作仙人。是時居家婆羅門。與出家諸仙人共論議。居家婆羅門言。經書云。天祀中應殺生噉肉。諸出家仙人言。不應天祀中殺生噉肉。共諍云云。諸出家婆羅門言。此有大王出家作仙人。汝等信不。諸居家婆羅門言信。諸出家仙人言。我以此人為證。後日當問。諸居家婆羅門即以其夜先到婆藪仙人所。種種問已語婆藪仙人。明日論義。汝當助我。如是明旦論時。諸出家仙人問婆藪仙人。天祀中應殺生噉肉不。婆藪仙人言。婆羅門法天祀中應殺生噉肉。諸出家仙人言。於汝實心云何。婆藪仙人言。為天祀故應殺生噉肉。此生在天祀中死故得生天上。諸出家仙人言。汝大不是。汝大妄語。即唾之言。罪人滅去。是時婆藪仙人尋陷入地沒踝。是初開大罪門故。諸出家仙人言。汝應實語。若故妄語者。汝身當陷入地中。婆藪仙人言。我知為天故殺生噉肉無罪。即復陷入地至膝。如是漸漸稍沒至腰至項。諸出家仙人言。汝今妄語得現世報。更以實語者。雖入地下我能出汝令得免罪。爾時婆藪仙人自思惟言。我貴人不應兩種語。又婆羅門四韋陀法中種種因緣讚祀天法。我一人死當何足計。一心言天應天祀中殺生噉肉無罪。諸出家人言。汝重罪人摧去不用見汝。於是舉身沒地中。從是已來乃至今日。常用婆藪仙人王法。於天祀中殺羊。當下刀時言。婆藪仙人殺汝。婆藪之子。名曰廣車。嗣位為王。後亦厭世法而不能出家。如是思惟。我父先王出家生入地中。若治天下復作大罪。我今當何以自處。如是思惟時。聞空中聲言。汝若行見難值希有處。汝應是中作舍住。作是語已便不復聞聲。未經幾時。王出畋獵。見有鹿走其疾如風。王便逐之而不可及。遂逐不止。百官侍從無能及者。轉前見有五山周匝峻固。其地平正生草細軟好華遍地。種種樹林華菓茂盛。溫泉浴池皆悉清淨。其地莊嚴。處處有散天華天香聞天伎樂。爾時揵闥婆伎樂。適見王來各自還去。是處希有未曾所見。今我正當在中作舍住。如是思惟已群臣百官尋跡而到。王告諸臣。我前所聞空中聲言。汝行若見希有難值之處。汝於是中作舍住。我今見此希有之處。我應是中作舍住。即捨本城於此山中住。是王初始在此中住。從是已後次第止住。是王元起造立宮舍。故名王舍城。

Also, the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* asks: 'In large cities like Śrāvastī, all have royal houses; why is this city alone called Rājagṛha [City of the King's House]?' The answer states: 'Some say that the king of Magadha had a son with one head, two faces, and four arms. The people of the time considered him inauspicious. The king then tore his body and head apart and abandoned them in the wilderness. A rākṣasī named Jarā rejoined his body and nursed him. Later, when he grew up, his strength enabled him to annex all the kings and possess the realm. He took eighteen thousand kings and placed them among these five mountains, ruling Jambudvīpa with great power. People on this account named these mountains Rājagṛha. Others say that in the city where the king of Magadha previously lived, fires broke out within the city; as soon as it was rebuilt, it burned again, up to seven times. The people of the kingdom were exhausted by the labor, and the king was deeply worried and terrified. Gathering wise men, he inquired into the reason for this. Some said, "You should change location." The king then sought another dwelling place, saw these five mountains surrounding the area like a city wall, and thereupon built a palace to dwell within it. For this reason it was named Rājagṛha. Furthermore, in ancient times this country had a king named Vasu. Disgusted with worldly ways, he renounced the world and became a ṛṣi. At that time, householder brahmins and renounced ṛṣis were debating together. The householder brahmins said, "The scriptures state that in heavenly sacrifices one ought to kill living beings and eat meat." The renounced ṛṣis said, "One should not kill living beings and eat meat in heavenly sacrifices." They argued back and forth. The renounced brahmins said, "Here is a great king who has gone forth and become a ṛṣi. Do you believe him?" The householder brahmins said, "We believe him." The renounced ṛṣis said, "We shall take this man as witness and ask him another day." That night, the householder brahmins went ahead to the ṛṣi Vasu's place. After inquiring in various ways, they said to the ṛṣi Vasu, "In tomorrow's debate, you must assist us." Thus, at the debate the next morning, the renounced ṛṣis asked the ṛṣi Vasu, "In heavenly sacrifices, should one kill living beings and eat meat or not?" The ṛṣi Vasu said, "In the brahmin dharma, in heavenly sacrifices one should kill living beings and eat meat." The renounced ṛṣis said, "What is in your true mind?" The ṛṣi Vasu said, "For the sake of heavenly sacrifices one should kill living beings and eat meat. Because this living being dies in a heavenly sacrifice, it attains rebirth in heaven." The renounced ṛṣis said, "You are terribly wrong! You are telling a great lie!" They then spat on him, saying, "Sinner, perish!" At that moment the ṛṣi Vasu immediately sank into the ground up to his ankles, for this was the first opening of the gate of great sin. The renounced ṛṣis said, "You must speak the truth! If you persist in lying, your body will sink into the earth." The ṛṣi Vasu said, "I know that for the sake of heaven, killing living beings and eating meat is blameless." He immediately sank further into the earth up to his knees. In this way he gradually sank to his waist and to his neck. The renounced ṛṣis said, "You are now lying and receiving present retribution. If you speak the truth again, though you have entered beneath the earth, I can bring you out so you escape guilt." At that time, the ṛṣi Vasu reflected to himself: "I am a noble person and should not speak with two tongues. Furthermore, in the four Vedas of the brahmins, through various reasons the rituals of heavenly sacrifice are praised. Why should the death of myself alone be worth caring about?" With single mind he said, "For heaven, killing living beings and eating meat in heavenly sacrifices is blameless." The renouncers said, "You heavy sinner, be destroyed! We have no use seeing you!" Thereupon his entire body sank into the earth. From then down to the present day, they constantly follow the ṛṣi-king Vasu's law: when sacrificing sheep in heavenly sacrifices, as the knife descends they say, "The ṛṣi Vasu kills you!" Vasu's son was named Bṛhadratha. He succeeded to the throne as king. Later, he also grew weary of worldly ways but was unable to renounce home life. He reflected: "My father, the former king, went forth and sank alive into the earth. If I govern the realm, I will again commit great sins. How should I conduct myself now?" As he was reflecting thus, he heard a voice in the air say: "If as you travel you see a rare and hard-to-find place, you should build a house there and dwell in it." Having spoken these words, the voice was heard no more. Not long after, the king went out hunting and saw a deer running as swiftly as the wind. The king pursued it but could not catch it; he continued pursuing without stopping, and none of the hundred officials or attendants could keep up with him. Moving forward, he saw five mountains encircling the place, steep and secure. The ground was flat and level, growing soft, fine grass and beautiful flowers everywhere. Various groves of trees bore flourishing flowers and fruits, and thermal spring bathing ponds were all pure and clean. The ground was adorned, with heavenly flowers and heavenly incense scattered everywhere, and heavenly music heard. At that moment the gandharva musicians, upon seeing the king arrive, each withdrew. [The king thought:] "This place is rare and never before seen. Right now I should build a house here and dwell in it." Having reflected thus, the ministers and officials followed his tracks and arrived. The king announced to the ministers, "The voice I heard in the air before said: 'If as you travel you see a rare and hard-to-find place, you should build a house there and dwell in it.' Now I have seen this rare place; I should build a house here and dwell in it." Thereupon he abandoned his original city and dwelt within these mountains. This king was the first to dwell here, and from then on they dwelled here successively. Because this king originally erected palaces and dwellings here, it was called Rājagṛha [City of the King's House].'