法苑珠林 5.99

5.99

The Dīrgha-āgama also says: The asura possessed great majesty and power, and he gave rise to the thought: "This king of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven and the deities of the sun and moon walk above my head! I vow to seize the sun and moon and make them my earrings!" His wrath gradually grew greater, and he further wished to thrash them. He thereupon commanded the two asura kings, Śambara and Vemacitra, together with all their ministers, to each prepare weapons of war and go forth to do battle with the heavens. At that time, the two great dragon kings, Nanda and Upananda, wound their bodies seven times around Mount Sumeru; the mountain shook, clouds gathered, and by striking the water with their tails, the waves of the great ocean poured over Sumeru. The Trāyastriṃśa heavens said, "The asuras wish to do battle!" The dragons, spirits, and ghosts each took up arms and engaged in combat in succession. If the gods were worsted, they all fled. The palace of the Four Heavenly Kings arrayed its chariots to mount an attack, first reporting to Śakra. Śakra reported upward even unto the Paranirmitavaśavartin heaven. Countless hosts of gods, together with dragons and spirits, surrounded them in front and behind. Śakra commanded: "If my army is victorious, bind the asura Vemacitra with fivefold bonds and bring him back to the Hall of Good Dharma; I wish to look upon him." The asura also said: "If my host is victorious, also bind Śakra with fivefold bonds and bring him back to the Saptaparṇa Hall; I wish to look upon him." When the great battle took place, neither side could kill the other; they merely inflicted pain and distress when striking each other's bodies. Thereupon Śakra manifested a body with a thousand eyes, wielding a vajra pestle, with smoke and flames issuing from his head. Seeing this, the asuras retreated in defeat. They immediately captured the asura Vemacitra, bound him, and brought him back. Sighting Śakra from afar, he hurled abusive words at him. Śakra replied: "I wished to discuss the meaning of the Way with you; why must you use abusive speech?" His lifespan as a deity was one thousand years, slightly exceeding it or mostly falling short of it. His wicked mind was fond of fighting, yet he did not break the precepts and extensively cultivated dāna; however, on account of deceit and arrogance, he received this body. (Other sūtras state that one receives this body by cultivating merit with a deceitful mind.) The Sūtra on the Samādhi of the Contemplation of the Buddha says: The mother of this asura king Vemacitra lived on the food of preta spirits, eating only silt and the roots of ditch lotuses. When her son grew up, he saw the deities surrounded by court ladies, and he said to his mother: "All men have mates; why am I alone without one?" His mother told him: "On the Fragrant Mountain there is a spirit named Gandharva. That spirit has a daughter of wondrous and beautiful appearance, whose complexion surpasses white jade, and fine sounds issue from all the pores of her body. She pleases my mind greatly, and I think to betroth her to you. Does this suit your wish?" The asura said: "Excellent, excellent! May mother go and seek her." At that time, his mother went to the Fragrant Mountain and said to that music deity: "I have a son whose majesty and power are unfettered; in the four continents he has no peer. You have a fair daughter who may wed my son." Upon hearing this, the daughter rejoiced and wished to follow him. Then the asura took that maiden as his wife. Before long, she became pregnant. After eight thousand years, she gave birth to a daughter. This daughter's countenance was upright and extraordinary; above heaven and below heaven, none could compare with her. Upon her face were eighty-four thousand charming graces; on the left side and right side there were eighty-four thousand each, and likewise in front and behind. When the asura saw her, he considered her exceptional, like the moon among stars, exceedingly wondrous. Kauśika heard of her and sought the girl as his wife. Hearing this, the asura was delighted and gave his daughter to him in marriage. Śakra gave her the name Yueyi (Priyadarśanā). When the deities saw her, they praised it as unprecedented: looking east they forgot the west, looking south they forgot the north, and even their hairs and pores felt delight and bliss. Śakra went to the Pleasure Garden and entered the pool to sport with all the court ladies. At that time, Yueyi gave rise to jealousy and sent five yakṣas to inform her royal father: "Now this Śakra no longer favours me, and sports only with the court ladies." Hearing these words, the father gave rise to anger in his mind. He immediately took his fourfold army to attack Śakra, standing in the waters of the great ocean and crouching atop Mount Sumeru. With nine hundred and ninety-nine hands moving at the same time, he shook the city of Sudarśana and rocked Mount Sumeru. The waters of the four great oceans surged and billowed at once. Śakra was terrified, not knowing where to turn. At that time, a spirit in the palace said to the Heavenly King: "Do not be greatly terrified. A past Buddha preached the Prajñāpāramitā; if Your Majesty recites and upholds it, the ghost army will naturally be shattered." At that time, Śakra sat in the Hall of Good Dharma, burned various renowned incenses, and made a great vow: "Prajñāpāramitā is the great vidyā-mantra, it is the unexcelled mantra, it is the peerless mantra; it is true and not false. As I uphold this Dharma, I shall attain the Buddha-path; may the asuras naturally retreat and disperse!" When he spoke these words, a wheel of blades appeared in empty space. Due to Śakra's merit, it descended naturally right above the asura. At that time, the asura's ears, nose, hands, and feet all fell off at once, turning the great ocean's water as red as a conch-pearl. The asura was then terrified; having nowhere to flee, he entered the filament hole of a lotus stalk.