Paumacariya 103

English (machine translation) 103

Language: English

103.1

Vibhīṣaṇa, the king of the Vidyādharas, having bowed to the ornament of all [the kevalin], / asked with an astonished heart about the greatness of the noble Rāma:

103.2

"Blessed One, what good deed was earned by Rāghava in a previous rebirth, / by which he has attained great prosperity here, and is endowed with Lakṣmaṇa?

103.3

"Why was his beloved Sītā, while staying in the Daṇḍaka forest, / carried off through an opening by the lord of Laṅkā, through what connection of karma?

103.4

"How did Rāghava, though skilled in all scriptures, fall into delusion? / And how did the lord of Rākṣasas come to fix his mind on another’s wife?

103.5

"How was the supreme king of Vidyādharas, the ten-faced one, though exceedingly strong in battle, / slain by Lakṣmaṇa? Explain this to me, O Blessed One!"

103.6

Then the possessor of omniscience began to speak: "In another rebirth, O Vibhīṣaṇa, / there was enmity between these two—Rāvaṇa and Lakṣmaṇa.

103.7

"Here in the excellent Jambūdvīpa, in southern Bharata, in the city of Kṣemapura, / there was a merchant named Nayadatta; his wife was Sunandā.

103.8

"His son was Dhanadatta, and his second was Vasudatta; / and a brāhmaṇa named Yajñavalka was the friend of those youths.

103.9

"In that very city was a trader, Sāgaradatta, and his beloved was Ratnābhā; / his son was named Guṇa, and his daughter was named Guṇavatī.

103.10

"Once upon a time, that maiden Guṇavatī, / endowed with youth and virtues, was given by Sāgaradatta to the one named Dhanadatta.

103.11

"In that very city was a merchant named Śrīkānta, renowned in the world; / he sought that maiden, who was full of youth and loveliness.

103.12

"Taking her away from Dhanadatta, that maiden, by her mother Ratnaprabhā who was greedy for wealth, / was secretly given to the merchant Śrīkānta.

103.13

"Learning the news concerning Guṇavatī, / Yajñavalka quickly told everything to his friend Vasudatta.

103.14

"Hearing that, Vasudatta became enraged; dressed in dark blue garments, / with an excellent sword in hand, he went at night to where the merchant was.

103.15

"Seen in the garden, the merchant was confronted face-to-face; / and he was struck with the excellent sword, and by him he too was killed on the spot.

103.16

"Thus both those men, striking one another, died; / having died with an impure mind, they were born at the foot of Mount Vindhya as boars.

103.17

"Dhanadatta, overcome with grief at his brother’s death, having that maiden denied to him by wicked people, / departed from his house and wandered in foreign lands.

103.18

"Her mind deluded by false belief, that maiden died under the power of fate / and was born there as a doe, where those deceased ones lived.

103.19

"For her sake, they, filled with impure thoughts, struck each other / and through the power of karma were born as tusked boars in the terrible forest.

103.20

"As elephants, buffalos, bulls, monkeys, leopards, and again as deer, / striking one another, both were repeatedly born as antelopes.

103.21

"Again in water and on land, possessed of the enmity firmly bound in the past, / they were born and died, constantly causing each other pain.

103.22

"Then Dhanadatta, wandering the earth separated from his mother, / exhausted by thirst, arrived at night at a heretical hermitage.

103.23

"He said to those ascetics: 'Give water to me, who am exceedingly thirsty! / You who are devoted to dharma, take pity on all living beings in the world!'

103.24

"One ascetic said to him, consoling him with sweet words: / 'Even nectar should not be drunk by you, good sir, so what need be said of water?

103.25

"'Flies, worms, moths, hair, and other impure things— / eating at night, all that is inevitably consumed.

103.26

"'When the sun has set, he who eats out of the fault of a deluded state, / wanders repeatedly in saṁsāra, which extends through the four states of existence.

103.27

"'Whether marked by ascetic garb or without garb, greedy for taste, he who eats at night, / does not reach a good rebirth because of the fault of non-restraint.

103.28

"'Those men who eat at night, devoid of virtue and self-control, / addicted to honey, liquor, and meat, go to the great hell when they die.

103.29

"'Men born in low families, deprived of wife, wealth, and kinsmen, / doing the bidding of others, are those who ate at night.

103.30

"'Those with chapped hands, feet, and hair, loathsome, miserable, and poor, / living by grass and wood, are those who ate in the evening.

103.31

"'Those, however, who adopt the doctrine of the supreme Jina, abstaining from honey, meat, and liquor, / and do not eat at night, become gods of great majesty.

103.32

"'There in excellent celestial vehicles, surrounded by hundreds of goddesses, / their greatness praised by celestial maidens, they enjoy sensual pleasure for a long time.'"

103.33

Departing [from heaven] and coming here into celebrated lineages of kings, / enjoying happiness, they attain once more [a state] equal to the gods.

103.34

Again attaining enlightenment in the doctrine of the supreme Jina, undertaking vows and restraints, / and performing noble austerities, the heroes reach the abode of bliss.

103.35

"Even when greatly distressed, good man, you must never eat at twilight; / meat must also be shunned, as it is the root of all suffering."

103.36

Having heard that instruction of the monk, he then became a śrāvaka. / Having died, he was born in Saudharma as a splendid god.

103.37

His body adorned with ornaments of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and a diadem, / surrounded by divine courtesans, he enjoyed pleasures like a lord of the gods.

103.38

Then, having fallen [from heaven], he was born in Mahāpura to Dhāriṇī and the merchant Meru, / bearing the name Jayapadmaruci.

103.39

The ruler of that city was a bull among men named Chatrachāya; / his wife was Śrīkāntā, an embodiment of the goddess Śrī in the essence of beauty.

103.40

Then once upon a time, while going to the cattle-pen, Padmaruci saw / an old bull lying motionless upon the surface of the ground.

103.41

Then, having quickly descended [from his vehicle], the compassionate man gave him / this Pañcanamaskāra [mantra], and then the soul relinquished its body.

103.42

By its power, he was conceived in the womb of Śrīkāntā / as the son of Chatrachāya, an excellent bull [of a prince] named Vṛṣabhadhvaja.

103.43

Then, while enjoying the sports of childhood, he went to that region / where the old bull had died, and he then attained recollection of past births.

103.44

The prince remembered the sufferings of the bull—cold, heat, hunger, thirst, binding, hauling, and the like— / and [he remembered] the giver of the Pañcanamaskāra.

103.45

Having attained enlightenment, the boy caused a lofty Jina temple to be built, / and placed there a picture scroll illustrating his own past experience.

103.46

And he said to his men: "Whoever indeed knows the true meaning / of this painting, report that to me without delay!"

103.47

Then Padmaruci, desiring to pay homage, arrived at that temple of the Jina; / having bowed in reverence, he looked upon that painted scroll of various colors.

103.48

While Padmaruci kept his gaze fixed upon that painted scroll, / the men immediately went and reported [it] to the prince.

103.49

Mounted upon an elephant in rut, endowed with great splendor, he went to that abode of the Jina; / having descended from the noble elephant, he bowed to Padmaruci with a delighted heart.

103.50

Preventing the prince from falling at his feet, Padmaruci / recounted completely that suffering of the bull, full of immense distress.

103.51

Then the prince said: "Through your grace, I, that very bull, / have been born as a king's son and have obtained a kingdom of great excellence.

103.52

Neither mother, nor father, nor one's own kinsmen do / what a gracious giver of a peaceful death accomplishes!"

103.53

Then the prince said to him: "Padmaruci, enjoy this entire kingdom / as you please, issuing commands even unto me!"

103.54

In this way, both men of supreme splendor became excellent laymen, / devoted to the worship of gods and gurus, firm in their disposition of supreme right view.

103.55

In time, Vṛṣabhadhvaja attained a peaceful death full of deep composure, / and was born in the Īśāna heaven as a god endowed with divine splendor.

103.56

Padmaruci also, having attained a peaceful death through the virtue of his good conduct, / was born right there in Īśāna as a noble god of great power.

103.57

Having long enjoyed that noble happiness of the immortals, and then descending, / on the lovely Mount Vaitāḍhya to the west of Mount Meru,

103.58

in the city of Nandāvarta, he was born from the womb of Kanakābhā / as the son of Nandīśvara, named Nayanānanda.

103.59

Having enjoyed the prosperity of a Vidyādhara, he undertook renunciation as a nirgrantha; / having practiced austerities and died, he became a noble god in Māhendra heaven.

103.60

There too, having duly enjoyed pleasures delightful to the five senses, / he descended in Kṣemapura in the delightful region of Pūrvavideha.

103.61

He was born as the son of Vipulavāhana and Queen Padmāvatī, / a prince named Śrīcandra, filled with youth, beauty, and virtues.

103.62

Surrounded by lovely women, enjoying the supreme pleasure of the senses, / he was immersed in twofold pleasure and did not notice time passing away.

103.63

Then once upon a time, the lord of sages Samādhigupta, accompanied by his congregation, / wandering across the earth, arrived at that very city.

103.64

Hearing that the noble sage had arrived in the park, the king, / accompanied by a circle of monarchs, went into his presence.

103.65

Seeing that assembly of monks, Śrīcandra stepped down from his noble elephant / and, along with his retinue, bowed with a joyful mind to Samādhigupta.

103.66

Having offered praise and seated himself together with the kings, having received blessings, / the king inquired about dharma, and the sage spoke [to him] concisely:

103.67

"Wandering through various wombs since time without beginning, / the soul attains human birth with difficulty by virtue of its karma.

103.68

Yet having attained human birth, greedy for the taste of sensual pleasure, deluded, / deceived by attachment to his wife, he does not practice the dharma taught by the Jina.

103.69

In a human birth resembling a rainbow, foam, a water-bubble, or twilight, / he who does not practice the Jina's dharma indeed goes to hell upon dying.

103.70

In hell there is immense agony—striking, burning, cutting, and the like— / for the soul for an exceedingly long time, without obtaining a single moment of pleasant relief.

103.71

For animals there is the suffering of subjugation, binding, beating, thirst, hunger, and the like; / and for humans too arise [afflictions] caused by numerous illnesses, separation, and grief.

103.72

Even after enjoying the pleasures of the senses in the celestial realm, at the time of falling / the soul dwelling in saṁsāra experiences immense distress.

103.73

Just as fire is never satisfied with fuel, nor the ocean with waters, / so the soul is never satisfied even with abundant sensual pleasures.

103.74

The wretched soul was not satisfied even with the vast happiness of the gods; / how can it now be satisfied with trivial human pleasures?

103.75

Therefore, knowing this life to be like a dream, impermanent and fickle, / O king, practice the dharma ordained by the Jina for liberation from suffering!

The doctrine taught by the Jinas is celebrated as twofold: with householder conduct and without householder conduct; / householders practice the former, while monks practice that without householder conduct.

103.77

Refraining from injury, falsehood, theft, another's wife, and possessions— / these are called the minor vows for laymen.

103.78

These very same vows, O king, become the great vows for ascetics, / possessing many modifications, crossing over the ocean of saṁsāra.

103.79

Practicing the lay doctrine with resolve, one obtains the great splendor of noble gods; / the ascetic, however, endowed with steadfast austerity, reaches perfection without doubt.

103.80

This twofold dharma has been explained to you, the lesser as well as the supreme; / take up one of these according to the application of your strength!"

103.81

Having heard those words of the supreme sage, Śrīcandra was exceedingly delighted. / He then gave his own kingdom to his son named Dhṛtikānta.

103.82

Abandoning his beloved family who were weeping and making sweet, plaintive cries, / Śrīcandra received renunciation in the presence of Samādhigupta.

103.83

Endowed with the highest vows, observing the three restraints, possessing pure right view, / his body was adorned with right conduct, knowledge, faith, asceticism, and religious observances.

103.84

Devoted to scripture-study and meditation, senses conquered, endowed with the samitis and guptis, / freed from the seven fears, he was indifferent even to his own body.

103.85

Taking food according to fasts of two days, three days, and month-long fasts, / the noble-minded sage wandered, burning away his karmas.

103.86

Thus with senses purified and endowed with steadfast meditation, Śrīcandra / met his death and was born as an Indra in the Brahmaloka heaven.

103.87

There in a celestial palace, adorned with crest-jewel, crown, and earrings, / the abode of glory, fame, and fortune, his body was like the summer sun.

103.88

Surrounded by goddesses who charmed the mind and eyes, possessing great supernatural power, / that lord of gods, residing in Brahmaloka, enjoyed sense pleasures.

103.89

In this way has the fate of Dhanadatta been narrated to you in due order, O Bibhīṣaṇa! / Now I clearly explain the course of the merchant Vasudatta.

103.90

In the city of Mṛṇālakuṇḍa there lived a king named Vijayasena; / his wife, adorned with virtues, was named Ratnacūlā.

103.91

Their son was Vajrakañcu, whose beloved wife was Hemavatī; / from her was born a son Śrīkānta, who was then called Svayambhū.

103.92

His family priest, devoted to the Jina's doctrine, was Śrībhūti; / his excellent wife, well-matched in virtues, was named Sarasvatī.

103.93

She had [previously] been Guṇamatī; having wandered through various wombs / duped by her own karmas, that woman was born as a female elephant in a forest.

103.94

When she plunged into the Mandākinī river and was reaching the end of her life, / Taraṅgavega, a sky-goer, gave her the sacred formula in her ear.

103.95

Then having died, she was born from the womb of Sarasvatī / as the excellent maiden Vegavatī, daughter of the brahmin Śrībhūti.

103.96

Now, once she was laughing at home at an ascetic who had come for alms; / rebuked with conviction by her father, she then became a pious laywoman.

103.97

Because of her extraordinary beauty, kings longed to take her hand; / all of them, beginning with Svayambhū, were overtaken by lovesickness.

103.98

"Even if a man in this world were equal to Kubera, yet has false belief, / I will not give my daughter to him," thus said Śrībhūti.

103.99

Enraged, King Svayambhū killed Śrībhūti, / came by night, and abducted the weeping Vegavatī.

103.100

Lamenting piteously, unwilling, by sheer force / that Vegavatī was enjoyed by Svayambhū, maddened by lust.

103.101

Enraged, she said to him: "Because you enjoyed me after killing my father, / may I be born for your destruction, vile man, in the next world!"

103.102

In the presence of Aritkāntā, Vegavatī took initiation, her sins pacified; / filled with spiritual urgency, she performed twelvefold austerities.

103.103

Having practiced severe penance, she died in peaceful meditation; / from there she became a goddess of exceedingly charming form in the Brahma heaven.

103.104

Svayambhū too, his mind steeped in false belief, having died in due course, / wandered through hellish and animal wombs.

103.105

Through the pacification of karma, he was born to the brahmin Kuśadhvaja / and Sāvitrī as a son named Prabhāsakunda.

103.106

Then that Prabhāsakunda renounced the world as a nirgrantha in the presence of sage Vijayasena, / casting aside all possessions and worldly undertakings.

103.107

Free from attachment, passion, and anger, possessing many virtues, his senses conquered, steadfast, / he performed asceticism, eating on every second, third, or fourth day.

103.108

As that practitioner of austerities was thus traveling to Mount Sammeda for worship, / he saw the splendour of Kanakaprabha, a lord of the Vidyādharas.

103.109

Then he formed a worldly aspiration: "Let the bliss of liberation wait for me; / may I enjoy the splendour of a sky-goer, if there is power in my penance!"

103.110

Behold, alas, the foolishness of sages whose penance is spoiled by worldly aspirations! / A jewel worth the entire earth was traded away for a handful of greens.

103.111

Cutting down camphor trees, that fool makes a fence for coarse grain; / pulverizing a gem, the undiscerning fool takes a piece of thread.

103.112

Burning sandalwood, that senseless man takes mere ashes— / he who, having practiced severe asceticism, dies with a worldly aspiration.

103.113

Then, having performed great austerities with a heart corrupted by a worldly aspiration, / he died and was born as a deity in the Sanatkumāra heaven.

103.114

Descending from there, he was born in the womb of Kekasī / as the son of Ratnaśravas, renowned as Rāvaṇa.

103.115

If such is the condition even of sages whose minds are troubled, / what can be said of ordinary men, devoid of vows, virtues, penance, and good conduct?

103.116

And the Indra of Brahmaloka also descended and was born of Queen Aparājitā / as the son of King Daśaratha, Rāma, renowned throughout the three worlds.

103.117

He who was Dhanadatta, the son of Nayadatta, and lord of Brahmaloka, / is indeed this lotus-hued one, who has attained the glory of a Baladeva.

103.118

And Vasudatta, who was then the brahmin Śrībhūti, / was born as Lakṣmaṇa, and is now this Nārāyaṇa.

103.119

And Śrīkānta, who was Svayambhū, in due course became Prabhāsakunda; / he became a king of the Vidyādharas, the valiant lord of Laṅkā.

103.120

That Guṇamatī, who in due course became Vegavatī, daughter of the priest Śrībhūti, / and then a goddess in the Brahma heaven, is now Sītā here.

103.121

He who was the brother of Guṇamatī, named Guṇadhara, / was born as this Bhāmaṇḍala, the son of King Janaka.

103.122

The other brahmin was born as you, O Bibhīṣaṇa! / And Vṛṣabhadhvaja was born as Sugrīva, the lord of the Vānaras.

103.123

All of them were formerly bound in continuous affection; / therefore they bear love for Rāma and are favourably disposed to him as their own.

103.124

Then Bibhīṣaṇa bowed and asked Sakalabhūṣaṇa: / "Tell me, O Lord, the succession of past births of Vālin!"

103.125

"Listen, O Bibhīṣaṇa! A soul, having wandered through saṃsāra, / died under the sway of karma and was born in the Daṇḍaka forest.

103.126

Hearing the recitation of scriptures by monks, he met his death / and was born in Airāvata as a wealthy man named Maghadatta.

103.127

His father was Vidhitākṣa, an excellent lay follower, and Śivamati was his mother; / Maghadatta too developed great devotion to the doctrine of the supreme Jinas.

103.128

Keeping the five minor vows, he died and was born as an eminent god, / wearing excellent necklaces and earrings, his body like the summer sun.

103.129

Descending [from heaven] in Pūrvavideha, in a village near Vijayāvatī, / where the intoxicating calls of cuckoos sounded, Kāntāśoka was the king there.

103.130

In the womb of his wife Ratnāvatī, a son was born to him; / named Suprabha, having enjoyed the kingdom, he took renunciation.

103.131

Having practiced austerities, upon death he arose as a great deity in the heavens; / falling from there, he was born as Vālin, the son of Ādityarajas.

103.132

At that time, having no hostility with Rāvaṇa, filled with spiritual urgency, / he renounced [the world] on Kailāsa, steadfast and profound, performing austerities.

103.133

At that time, Kailāsa was respectfully lifted up by Rāvaṇa, / but Vālin, unaffected by perturbation, was not shaken at all.

103.134

Burning away the entire heap of accumulated karma with the fire of meditation, Vālin / attained the supreme state, the rank free from old age, death, and passion.

103.135

Thus, performing boundless killing and bound with firmly rooted ancient hostility, / both Vasudatta and Śrīkāntā wandered through the saṃsāra.

103.136

Because Vegavatī had once been the beloved of Svayambhū, / through that karmic bond, Sītā was also abducted by the king of Rākṣasas.

103.137

And that Śrībhūti, who had been slain by Svayambhū for the sake of Vegavatī, / became a deity in a celestial vehicle by the fruit of his dharma.

103.138

Falling [from there], he was born in the city of Pratiṣṭhāna as Punarvasu, lord of the Vidyādharas; / grieving on account of a woman, he made a resolve and took renunciation.

103.139

Having performed severe austerities, he arose as a deity in the Sanatkumāra heaven; / falling [thence], he was born as Lakṣmaṇa, the son of Sumitrā.

103.140

The enemy by whom Svayambhū had slain the priest Śrībhūti in the past, / by that very one, now the abode of fortune, the ten-faced [Rāvaṇa] was killed here.

103.141

He who was slain by someone in the past is in turn slain by him—there is no doubt; / this is the eternal rule, O Vibhīṣaṇa, for living beings residing in saṃsāra.

103.142

Having thus heard this nexus of ancient hostilities among living beings, / therefore, completely abandon hostility forever from afar!

103.143

Even with words, anguish causing distress to another should not be produced; / for Sītā, too, experienced a great slander owing to words [spoken in a past life].

103.144

In the Maṇḍalika park, the great sage Sudarśana arrived; / he was seen and revered by people of right view.

103.145

Seeing that ascetic, Vegavatī spoke to everyone: / 'I saw him staying in the park together with a woman!'

103.146

Thereupon, disrespect toward the noble sage was begun by the village folk; / and then an ascetic vow was swiftly undertaken by that steadfast man:

103.147

'If this fault of mine, alleged by wicked folk of bad conduct, is removed, / only then will there be food!' Thus indeed was spoken by the ascetic.

103.148

Then Vegavatī's face was struck by the command of a deity; / then she spoke: 'I told you a falsehood!'

103.149

Thereupon, that village folk was exceedingly pleased with the noble sage; / beginning with honour and affection, they became devoted to grasping virtue.

103.150

Just as the noble sage was cleared after the maiden had cast slander, / by that [karmic consequence], this daughter of Janaka was cleared likewise.

103.151

A fault of another, whether seen or heard, should never be uttered / by a man or by a woman devoted to the Jina's dharma.

103.152

He who, out of passion or hatred, proclaims a fault among the people, / wanders in saṃsāra experiencing thousands of miseries.

103.153

Hearing that speech of the noble sage, gods and mortals were greatly astonished; / overcome with spiritual urgency, they became free from hostility.

103.154

Many became endowed with right view, and others there became lay followers; / with minds detached from worldly pleasures, some embraced monkhood.

103.155

Then Kṛtāntavaktra, having heard the flood of griefs across thousands of lives / and eager for initiation, said to Padma: 'Lord, listen to my words!

103.156

Wandering for a long time in beginningless saṃsāra, greatly tormented, / for the sake of release from misery, O Rāghava, I take renunciation!'

103.157

Then Lord Padma said: 'How will you abandon your love for me / and take up this difficult practice, razor-sharp, conforming to the Jina's doctrine?

103.158

How will you endure very severe afflictions such as hunger, / and again, the words of wicked men that are like thorns?

103.159

With prominent cheek veins and a body reduced to skin and bones, / how will you now accept the gift of alms in another's house?'

103.160

Kṛtāntavaktra said: 'O Lord, when I abandon my intense love for you, / how should I not accomplish any other duty?'

103.161

When Kṛtāntavaktra was thus known to be of resolute intent, / then indeed he was granted permission by Rāma along with Lakṣmaṇa.

103.162

Taking leave of Padma and the son of Sumitrā, who bestowed all happiness, / Kṛtāntavaktra took renunciation in the presence of the sage.

103.163

Then, at the conclusion of all the adornments, the gods and asuras, having bowed with devotion / together with their retinues, all returned whence they had come.

103.164

Rāma too, having paid homage to that kevalin and to the remaining sages, / went to the vicinity of Sītā, accompanied only by himself.

103.165

Then Sītā was seen by Rāma standing in the midst of the nuns, / clad in white garments, like the crescent moon surrounded by stars.

103.166

Seeing her in such a state, possessed of the virtues of self-restraint, Lord Padma / thought: 'How has this Sītā undertaken such difficult conduct?

103.167

She who always rested comfortably on my lap, cherished in ease— / how will she endure the harshness of wicked, false-believing women?

103.168

Leaving aside food of many kinds, rich in flavours, / how will she consume alms given by strangers, whether obtained or not obtained?

103.169

She who once fell comfortably asleep while serenaded by the sounds of the vīṇā and flute— / how will she find sleep now on the bare, hard surface of the earth?

103.170

She was the abode of many virtues, full of chastity, ever devoted; / through the slander of others, I, a fool, have cast Sītā away!'

103.171

Reflecting on these and other thoughts, Padma there, / having his mind attuned to the ultimate truth, then bowed to the daughter of Janaka.

103.172

Then Lord Rāma said: 'While living together in the same place, / whatever wrongful conduct was done to you by me, please forgive that!'

103.173

Thus that noble nun, the daughter of Janaka, was saluted / by the foremost kings headed by Lakṣmaṇa, with hearts exceedingly rejoiced.

103.174

'Rejoice, O Vaidehī!'—saying this, Rāghava departed; / surrounded by an army of warriors, he arrived at his own dwelling.

103.175

The man who reads or listens to this deed of Rāghava with a purified mind, / obtains the attainment of enlightenment, and becomes foremost in the world with spotless fame. (175)

103.176

Thus ends the one hundred and third chapter, entitled 'The Previous Lives of Rāma and Sītā's Renunciation', in the Paümacariya.

Linked texts (1)

Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit