法苑珠林 9.121

9.121

As the Guozhi Yinguo Jing states: When the prince reached ten years of age, he competed in strength with his brothers. Accompanied by ten thousand attendants, he was about to leave the city. At that time there was a great elephant standing at the city gate; no one dared advance. Devadatta struck its head with his hand, and it immediately collapsed to the ground. Nanda tossed it to the roadside with his toe. The prince seized the elephant with his hand and hurled it outside the city, then caught it again with his hand so that it was not harmed, and the elephant revived. At that time, the people praised it as unprecedented, deeming it deeply miraculous. From near and far, hundreds of thousands of koṭis of people all gathered to watch. In the park were seven layers of golden drums, silver drums, brass drums, bronze drums, iron drums, and so forth, seven of each. Devadatta shot first and pierced three golden drums. Next came Nanda, who also pierced three drums. The prince considered the bow weak, so he took a fine bow belonging to his ancestral king from the storehouse, which no one had been able to draw. Sitting in his place, the prince pulled the bow with his hand, and the sound was heard throughout the city. Hundreds of thousands of countrymen and the devaputras in the sky raised their voices in admiration. Releasing a single arrow, it pierced straight through all the drums, then entered the earth, from which spring water gushed forth; it also pierced through the Great Iron Ring Mountain.