法苑珠林 9.38

9.38

依佛本行經云。爾時太子既誕生適滿七日。其太子母摩耶夫人遂便命終。或有師言。摩耶夫人壽命算數唯在七日。是故命終。雖然但往昔常有是法。其菩薩生滿七日已。而菩薩母皆取命終。何以故。以諸菩薩幼年出家。母見是事其心碎裂即便命終。又薩婆多師云母見生子身體端正希奇之事。歡喜不勝即便命終。命終之後。即便往生忉利天上。時淨飯王見夫人命終之後。即便喚召釋種皆令雲集。而告之言。汝等眷屬並是國親。今是童子嬰孩失母。乳哺之寄將付囑誰。教令養育使得存活。誰能憐愍愛如己生。時有五百釋種新婦。彼等新婦各各唱言。我能養育。我能瞻看。時釋種族語彼婦言。汝等一切年少盛壯意耽色欲。不能依時養育依法慈憐。唯此摩訶波闍波提親。是童子真正姨母。是故堪能將息養育童子之身。時淨飯王即將太子。付囑姨母。而告之言。善來夫人。如是童子應當養育。善須護持。應令增長。依時澡浴。又別揀取三十二女令助養育。以八女人擬抱太子。以八女人洗浴太子。以八女人令乳太子。以八女人令其戲弄。是時摩訶波闍波提白淨飯王言。謹依王勅。不敢乖違。

According to the Fo benxing jing: at that time, when seven days had just elapsed since the birth of the crown prince, Queen Māyā, the crown prince's mother, passed away. Some masters say: the lifespan and karmic measure of Queen Māyā was only seven days, and that is why she passed away. Nonetheless, in the past this was always the rule: after a bodhisattva has been born for seven days, the mother of every bodhisattva reaches the end of her life. Why is this? Because when the bodhisattvas leave household life at a tender age, their mothers would see this, their hearts would break, and they would immediately pass away. Furthermore, masters of the Sarvāstivāda school say that the mother, seeing the handsome and extraordinary physical form of her newborn son, could not bear her overwhelming joy and immediately passed away. After passing away, she was immediately reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. At that time, after King Śuddhodana saw that the queen had passed away, he immediately summoned the Śākya clan and had them gather together like clouds. He addressed them, saying: 'All of you kinsmen are relatives of the state. Now this child is an infant who has lost his mother; to whom shall the responsibility of nursing and feeding be entrusted? Who can be instructed to raise him and ensure his survival? Who is able to show pity and love him as if he were her own child?' At that time, there were five hundred young brides of the Śākya clan. Each of these brides cried out, saying: 'I can raise him! I can look after him!' Then the elders of the Śākya clan said to those women: 'All of you are young and in your prime, your minds indulging in sensual desires; you cannot nurture him at the proper times or love him with compassion in accordance with the Dharma. Only this Mahāprajāpatī is a close relative, the child's true maternal aunt. Therefore, she is capable of tending to and raising the body of the child.' Then King Śuddhodana immediately took the crown prince, entrusted him to the aunt, and addressed her, saying: 'Welcome, O lady! Such a child must be raised; you must protect and support him well, cause him to grow, and bathe him at the proper times.' In addition, thirty-two women were specially chosen to assist in raising him: eight women were designated to hold the prince, eight women to bathe the prince, eight women to suckle the prince, and eight women to play with him. At that time, Mahāprajāpatī addressed King Śuddhodana, saying: 'I shall respectfully obey the king's order and dare not go against it.'