法苑珠林 3.24

3.24

As the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra states: Mount Sumeru is 3,360,000 li high and made of four jewels: the eastern face is gold, the western face silver, the southern face vaiḍūrya, and the northern face crystal (sphaṭika). Encircling halfway around the mountain on four sides are the Yugaṃdhara mountains, each forty-two thousand yojanas high, where the Four Heavenly Kings each dwell on one mountain. The Dīrgha Āgama says: The northern face is made of celestial gold, shining its light over the northern direction; the western face is made of crystal, shining its light over the western direction; the eastern face is made of celestial silver, shining its light over the eastern direction; the southern face is made of celestial vaiḍūrya, shining its light over the southern direction. The Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra states: The Four Heavenly Kings each dwell in their own city: the eastern city is named Superior Worthy, the southern city Good View (Sudarśana), the western city Cūḍā, and the northern city has three names: first, Terrible; second, Heavenly Reverence; and third, Assembly Refuge. Furthermore, the Dīrgha Āgama says: Pañcaśikha addressed the World-Honoured One, saying: “Once, when the devas of Trāyastriṃśa assembled in the Hall of Good Dharma for a discussion, the Four Heavenly Kings each took their proper seats according to their directions. The heavenly king Dhṛtarāṣṭra sat in the east facing west, with Śakra, Lord of the Gods, before him; the heavenly king Virūḍhaka sat in the south facing north, with Śakra before him; the heavenly king Virūpākṣa sat in the west facing east, with Śakra before him; and the heavenly king Vaiśravaṇa sat in the north facing south, with Śakra before him. When the Four Heavenly Kings had all taken their seats, only then did I sit.” Furthermore, the Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra states: In the heaven of Trāyastriṃśa, the great city of Sudarśana is forty myriad [and] ten thousand yojanas in circumference, encircled by a wall of pure gold ten yojanas high. The battlements atop the wall are half a yojana high. The gates are two yojanas high, and their outer gates are one and a half yojanas high. Every ten yojanas there is a gate; on the four sides of the city there are a thousand gate towers. These city gates are made of various jewels and adorned with various mani gems. In one-fourth of the great city, at the center, is the golden city where Śakra dwells; it has two gates every twelve yojanas, with 499 gates on the four sides, plus one small gate, making five hundred gates in total. The features of this city include four divisions of flanking troops, palisades, moats, tree pools, diverse groves and palaces, musical performances, and various outdoor amusements; its various jewel adornments cannot be fully described. In the center of this city is a multi-storied jewel pavilion named the Vaijayanta Pavilion. It is five hundred yojanas long, two hundred and fifty yojanas wide, and one thousand five hundred yojanas in circumference. Around the four sides of the pavilion are jewel battlements: twenty-six on the east, and twenty-five on each of the other three sides, making one hundred and one in all. Each battlement is two yojanas square and eight yojanas in perimeter. Atop these battlements are further jewel towers, half a yojana high, used for looking out. On each battlement there are seven celestial women, and each celestial woman has seven maidens. Within the pavilion are ten thousand seven hundred rooms; in each room there are seven celestial women, and each celestial woman also has seven maidens. These celestial women are all Śakra's primary consorts. Between the outer battlements and the inner chambers, there are in total 494,900 primary consorts and 3,464,300 maidens; together, consorts and maidens number 3,959,200. The topmost central circular chamber of the Vaijayanta multi-storied pavilion is thirty yojanas wide, ninety yojanas in circumference, and forty-five yojanas high; this is the dwelling place of Śakra, wholly made of vaiḍūrya and inlaid with various jewels. Furthermore, the Saṃyukta Āgama says: In Śakra's palace there is the Vaijayanta Hall, with a hundred towers, seven tiers, seven rooms, and seven celestial queens, each queen having seven maidservants. The venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana wandered through the minor chiliocosm, and there was no hall or tower as stately and adornment-filled as the Vaijayanta Hall. According to the Qishi jing: The carvings, adornments, sensual enjoyment, and happiness within that celestial palace city cannot be fully described. In such places described as these, Śakra devānām Indra dwells together with the asura maiden Śacī. Śakra's manifestation bodies dwell together with all his consorts; each consort thinks, ‘Śakra is dwelling with me,’ while his true body dwells together with Śacī. The dwellings on the four sides inside this city, its avenues, lanes, and market squares, are all straight and orderly. These celestial cities, according to their merits, have houses few or many, made of various jewels, level, upright, and straight. The roads of this celestial city number five hundred; crossroads intercommunicate, clearly laid out like a chessboard, the four gates leading through so that east and west look upon one another. The lanes and market squares are brimming with precious goods. Among them, the heaven has seven markets: first, the grain market; second, the clothing market; third, the incense market; fourth, the food and drink market; fifth, the garland market; sixth, the artisan craft market; and seventh, the courtesan market. Everywhere there are market overseers. In these markets, devaputras and celestial maidens come and go to trade, discussing high and low prices, seeking increases or reductions, weighing and tallying numbers, fully practicing the conventions of the marketplace. Although they engage in these activities as play and amusement, they are devoid of grasping, giving, and the sense of 'mine'. If they happen to need something, they simply pick it up and leave; if it suits their pleasure, they take it at will, and if it does not suit them, they say, ‘This item is extraordinarily expensive and is not what I need.’ The pathways between the markets are soft, slippery, and lovely, adorned with various jewels, hung with celestial garments, and set with banners and flags, while the sounds of music and the like continue incessantly. There are also voices saying, ‘Welcome, welcome! Please eat, drink; I now make offering to you.’ This is the great city of Sudarśana, the dwelling place of Śakra. There are also celestial prefectures, commanderies, counties, and villages distributed all around. (Apart from this, the jewel adornments, fragrances, and music of the other celestial abodes are brimming everywhere, and the joy of their retribution cannot be fully recorded.) Outside the north gate of the great city of Sudarśana, at a distance of twenty yojanas, there is a great park and grove named Joy (Nandana), one thousand yojanas in circumference. Within it is a pool also named Joy, a hundred yojanas square and of equal depth, brimming with celestial water, with the four jewels serving as bricks lining its bottom and banks. Outside the eastern gate of the city is a park named Many Chariots (Citrāratha), with a pool named Citrā. Outside the southern gate of the city is a park named Harsh Speech (Pāruṣyaka), its pool of the same name. Outside the western gate of the city is a park named Mixed Garden (Miśrakā), its pool also of the same name. The size of the parks and pools is identical to the preceding description. Flowers, fruits, birds, and woods flutter and sing in various ways, their ornate decorations beyond description.