Paumacariya 105
English (machine translation) 105
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105.1
Having abandoned her husband and sons, free from possessions, filled with intense spiritual urgency, / the asceticism that Sītā performed, that I shall recount to you, O lord of Magadha!
105.2
At that time, all the people, pacified by the sage Sakalabhūṣaṇa, / became devoted to the Jina's dharma and exceptionally dedicated to giving alms.
105.3
She who had been equal to a goddess in the qualities of beauty and youth, / that Sītā had her body emaciated by austerities, like a parched creeper.
105.4
Holding the five great vows, free from evil thoughts, gentle by nature, / censuring womanhood, she practiced the twelvefold austerity.
105.5
With head plucked bare, wearing a coat of dirt, her body thin, / she took food in accordance with scriptural rules during fasts of six, eight [meals], or a month.
105.6
Freed from attachment and aversion, her mind ever fixed on study and meditation, / unswerving in the samitis and guptis, she was devoted to self-restraint.
105.7
With flesh, blood, fat, and veins wasted away, her cheekbones visible, / Sītā was not recognized at that time even by people she had grown up with.
105.8
Having performed such severe austerity for sixty years, / and for thirty-three days having properly undertaken sallekhanā,
105.9
properly fulfilling her conduct and meeting her end there, Vaidehī / was born in Acyuta as a Pratīndra with a lifespan of twenty-two sāgaras.
105.10
O lord of Magadha, behold the greatness of the Jina's teaching, whereby a soul, / abandoning the state of a woman, became a man, an overlord of gods!
105.11
There in an excellent celestial car resembling the peak of Mount Sumeru, adorned with jewels, / surrounded by divine maidens, Indra Pratīndra revels, full of bliss.
105.12
These and other stories of souls' rebirths, O king, / are heard, as related by the best of sages.
105.13
Then the king of Magadha said: "O Blessed One, how was a lifespan of twenty-two sāgaras / in the Acyuta heaven enjoyed even by Madhu and Kaiṭabha?"
105.14
The leader of the troop then said: "Having performed extensive austerity / for sixty-four thousand years, they were born as gods in Acyuta."
105.15
In due course descending [from heaven], those two, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, were born here in Bharata / as the two sons of Kṛṣṇa, Sāmba and Pradyumna.
105.16
Six hundred thousand years: such is the interval declared by the Tīrthaṅkaras, / O greatly renowned one, between the Bhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa!
105.17
Again the king spoke: “O Blessed One! How did they attain the enlightenment so hard to obtain, / and how did they perform austerities? Explain all this to me!”
105.18
Then Indrabhūti said: “O Śreṇika! Listen with a focused mind / to how enlightenment was attained in another birth by Madhu and Kaiṭabha in the doctrine of the Jinas:
105.19
Here, indeed, in the realm of Magadha, there was a well-known village named Sāligrāma. / At that time a king named Nisyandika ruled it.
105.20
A Brahmin named Somadeva lived there in that excellent village of Sāli. / His wife, Agnilā, had two sons: Śikhibhūti and Vāyubhūti.
105.21
Now they considered themselves scholars, devoted to the six duties, deluded by false views, / devoid of right view, and opposed to the doctrine of the supreme Jina.
105.22
Then, after some time, the sage Nandivardhana, / wandering about surrounded by a congregation of monks, arrived at Sāligrāma.
105.23
Learning that the great ascetic was in the garden, / the people went forth from Sāligrāma to pay him homage.
105.24
Seeing this, Agni[bhūti] and Vāyubhūti asked: “Where is this vast crowd of people / hurrying, including both the young and the old?”
105.25
Another told them: “To pay homage to the ascetic / who has arrived in the garden—this village folk is going for that purpose.”
105.26
Then the elder and younger brothers, eager for a debate, went into the presence of the sage. / Both men uttered abusive words to the sage:
105.27
“Hey, you false monks! If you know anything about the scriptures, / speak here among the people! Do not cause delay or evasion!”
105.28
An excellent sage addressed them: “From where have you come?” / They answered: “Indeed, we have come from Sāligrāma.”
105.29
Again the sage said: “From which birth have you entered / into this human birth? Tell that, if you possess learning!”
105.30
Not knowing that, the Brahmins stood with downcast faces, ashamed. / Then the sage began to recount their previous birth:
105.31
“In the woodland of this very village, you two were indeed jackals / in your previous life, eating flesh and enduring much misery.
105.32
In this very village, a poor peasant went to his field, / and leaving his gear there, he returned home.
105.33
Those two jackals, having eaten that gear, died. / Driven by karma, they were born as the sons of Somadeva.
105.34
Then at daybreak, the peasant went to his field; / he saw the two jackals who had died from eating the gear.
105.35
Having skinned them both, he went to his home. / When the peasant died, he was conceived in the womb of his daughter-in-law.
105.36
Remembering his past births, the child acts dumb, [thinking:] / ‘How can I address my son, my father, and my mother?’
105.37
If you have no doubt, then summon that peasant here, / so that I may narrate this whole matter just as it happened.”
105.38
When he was called, the sage said: “O dear one, you who were the peasant! / Through evil karma you were born in the womb of your daughter-in-law.
105.39
A king becomes a servant; a servant in turn attains kingship; / a mother becomes a daughter, and a father is born as a son.
105.40
Thus, in this entire saṃsāra, which resembles the mechanism of a waterwheel, / all living beings wander for a very long time, impelled by their own karma.
105.41
Knowing such to be the state of saṃsāra, dear one, abandon your dumbness! / Utter clear-lettered speech, and speak here among the people!”
105.42
As soon as this was said, he was filled with joy; bowing to the best of sages, / he declared to all the people the account of the jackals and the rest.
105.43
Having attained spiritual urgency, the peasant was initiated in the sage's presence; / and hearing this, many men and women became monks and nuns.
105.44
The people ridiculed those Brahmins with an uproar: / “Look at these Brahmins, who were meat-eating jackals!
105.45
Deceiving all the subjects, these beast-like men of wicked intent, / devoid of vows and good conduct, crave pleasures under the pretext of dharma!
105.46
Engaged in all worldly activities, unchaste, attached to the senses, / and devoid of right conduct, they are called Brahmins in the world, yet are non-Brahmins!
105.47
These monks, steadfast in austerity and right conduct, are the pure Brahmins in the world, / having the binding of vows as their crest, and patience and celibacy as their sacred thread!
105.48
Devoted to the sacrificial fire of knowledge, burning the fuel of their own passions, / the wise monks teach the path to liberation—they are the true Brahmins here!”
105.49
Just as some men in the world are named Skanda, Indra, or Rudra, / so these men devoid of vows are called Brahmins, but are really non-Brahmins.
105.50
Hearing the populace thus voicing praise of the ascetics, / [Vāyu]bhūti and Agnibhūti, deeply ashamed and disgraced, went home.
105.51
Aware of the affliction that was approaching him, the lord of sages, / steadfast and deep, stood in the kāyotsarga posture in a cemetery.
105.52
Inflamed with the fire of wrath, those Brahmins, intent on killing the sage, / entered the burning-ground at night, holding sharp swords, terribly fierce.
105.53
It was blazing with numerous pyres, dense with burning and smoldering corpses, / terrifying with planetary spirits, ghosts, Brahma-rākṣasas, ḍākinīs, and vetālas,
105.54
thronged with Rākṣasas shouting ‘kili-kili’ and pretas illuminated by howling jackals, / filled with skulls and swords, the ground covered with heaps of corpses,
105.55
with oozing blood trickling and hissing from bursting corpses, / and frightful swarms of creatures weeping, dragged by ḍākinīs and headless trunks,
105.56
with screams of children seized by Kaṭapūtanas, while charms and mantras were being applied, / where the sky seemed painted with rainbows stirred by the wind of magic circles,
105.57
where spells were muttered with fingers raised high in the practice of magic sciences, / where packs of jackals turned their faces upward as crows snatched away human flesh,
105.58
in some places noisy with quarrels as corpses were dragged away by pretas, / in other places spirits were sporting with women struck down by flames,
105.59
in some places with screeching crows, elsewhere with jackals making ‘bhugu-bhugu’ sounds, / with flames crackling loudly, and somewhere yellowish flares being made,
105.60
in some places sounding with the crackling of bones bursting in the intense fire, / in other places with the noise of dogs fighting over flesh sticking to corpses,
105.61
white with skulls here, gray with soot, smoke, and dust there, / elsewhere having the color of kiṃśuka flowers, blazing and crowded with garlands of flames.
105.62
In such a cremation ground, seeing the noble sage standing in meditation, / the brahmins, seized by great arrogance, cursed the sage and began to speak:
105.63
“O monk! May the people take you as you are being killed in this cremation ground! / Though we are manifest gods, you despise us brahmins!
105.64
You say to us: ‘In the other world, these [two] were jackals, in truth; / both these people having died, they were reborn as these two brahmins.’”
105.65
Having said just that, biting their lips, brandishing their excellent swords, / as they were striking the bull among sages, they were paralyzed by a yakṣa.
105.66
In this manner, the night passed gradually for the paralyzed brahmins; / the lord of day arose, and the concentration of the sādhu was completed.
105.67
Then the powerful one arrived together with the townsfolk; with an astonished heart, / he venerated the bull among sages, gazing upon the paralyzed brahmins.
105.68
And the people spoke: “These brahmins were defeated in debate / by the monk of supreme virtue; knowing [this], they reviled him.”
105.69
Then the brahmins thought: “This is solely the power of the sage; / even though we possess strength and prowess, we have been paralyzed right here by him.
105.70
If we somehow get released from this condition, / then without a doubt we will obey the command of the noble sage.”
105.71
In the meantime, the brahmin Somadeva, / hastening with Aggilā at that very moment, bowed down, propitiating the sādhu:
105.72
Bowing again and again to the monk, the brahmin spoke thus: / “O lord, let these two ill-behaved ones live by your word!
105.73
Monks possess equal feeling toward foes and friends, are equal in pleasure and pain, equal toward praise and blame; / with tranquil minds, they do not harm even evil persons.”
105.74
Then the yakṣa, appearing with a mace, angrily said to the brahmin: / “Do not make a false accusation against the noble sage now!
105.75
Sinful, wicked-natured, holding false beliefs, despising the sage— / O brahmin, these two sons of yours have been paralyzed by me!
105.76
He who kills receives slaughter; he who honors receives respect; / whatever karma one does, he surely experiences its fruit.”
105.77
As he spoke thus of that exceedingly fierce, terrible, great suffering, / the brahmin, falling at his feet, repeatedly implored the sādhu.
105.78
Then the sage said to the yakṣa: “Pardon the fault of these brahmins; / for my sake, O gentle one, do not kill these wretched beings.”
105.79
“As you command, O noble sage!” Having spoken thus, the yakṣa / released the brahmins; revived, they bowed to the sādhu.
105.80
Abandoning the fire [sacrifice], the wind [rite], and the Vedic scriptures, becoming calm, / both of them became lay followers in the presence of the sādhu.
105.81
Devoted to the Jina's teaching, having observed the householder's dharma, they passed away; / and both were reborn as gods dwelling in the Saudharma heaven.
105.82
Falling from there, they were born in Sāketa / as the beloved sons of the merchant Samudradatta and Dhāriṇī.
105.83
Named Nandana and Nayanānanda, through their adherence to the lay dharma, / dying, they were reborn again as gods in the Saudharma heaven.
105.84
There in an excellent celestial vehicle, adorned with armlets, bracelets, and earrings, / surrounded by divine maidens, they enjoyed sensual pleasures for a very long time.
105.85
Descending, they were born from the womb of Queen Amaravatī / as the sons of Hemanātha in Vinītā, equal to the Kumāra gods.
105.86
Becoming the kings Madhu and Kaiṭabha, whose majesty was renowned across the three worlds, / having subdued their enemy vassals, they enjoyed the entire earth.
105.87
Only Bhīma, dwelling on mountain peaks and in trees, did not bow down to them; / with an army descended like the God of Death, he ravaged the country.
105.88
By Vīrasena, the lord of Vaḍanagara, out of fear of Bhīma, / letters were sent in haste to King Madhu.
105.89
Hearing of the destruction of the country directly, King Madhu, exceedingly enraged, / marched out against him, accompanied by his army.
105.90
Then, having arrived in due course at Vaḍanagara, entering and taking his meal, / the king saw Candrābhā, the wife of Vīrasena.
105.91
Then he thought in his mind: “As long as I do not enjoy pleasures with her, / this kingdom of mine is worthless, fruitless, and vile.”
105.92
Having accomplished his task, having vanquished the adversary in battle, / the king gradually set out again toward the city of Sāketa.
105.93
Holding a council, the king honored all his vassals; / then he summoned Vīrasena together with his entire inner court.
105.94
Having honored him, he dismissed the entire assembly of kings; / but Candrābhā alone was retained by Madhu in his harem.
105.95
The king bestowed the royal consecration and diadem on Candrābhā; / and she became the chief queen among all the women.
105.96
Then King Madhu, residing in that palace together with Candrābhā, / immersed in an ocean of sensual delight, did not notice even the passage of time.
105.97
Vīrasena, on the other hand, knowing his beloved had been abducted, / his body pierced by the dart of intense grief, suddenly went mad.
105.98
Having thus experienced unbearable sorrow for a long time in separation from his beloved, / that Vīrasena renounced the world in the presence of the sādhu Maṇḍava.
105.99
That monk Vīrasena, having practiced asceticism, passed away; / wearing a heavenly diadem, he became a god dwelling in a celestial car.
105.100
Now King Madhu, seated comfortably on the seat of justice, / conversed with his ministers and investigated legal disputes.
105.101
Settling that very lawsuit, the king departed for his private quarters; / Candrābhā said: “Lord, why were you delayed today?”
105.102
And he answered her: “My dear, it was a trial of an adulterer! / It was not easy to resolve; on that account I was delayed today.”
105.103
Then Candrābhā said with a smile: “Lord, you should carefully honor / the adulterer; there is no fault in him in this world!”
105.104
Hearing her words, the angry King Madhu spoke thus: / “How can that wicked man, who deserves punishment, be honored?”
105.105
“O lord of men, if you inflict severe and terrible punishment / upon an adulterous man, why indeed do you not inflict it upon yourself?
105.106
Lord, ruler of the entire earth, you are the foremost enjoyer of another's wife! / The people merely follow after: as is the king, so are all the subjects.
105.107
Where the lord of men himself is a wicked adulterer, / what legal judgment can be passed in the midst of the people?”
105.108
Hearing these words, King Madhu was instantly awakened; / seized by spiritual urgency, he condemned himself again and again.
105.109
Giving the kingdom to Kulavardhana, King Madhu, of firm resolve, / along with Kaiṭabha renounced the world in the presence of the sage Śīhasena.
105.110
Candramā too, born of a great lineage, giving up royal splendor, / received initiation at the very feet of that sage.
105.111
Having performed severe penance, having died, they reached the Āraṇa and Acyuta heavens; / the two followers, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, both became Indra and Pratīndra.
105.112
The nun Candramā too, her mind joined to restraint, penance, and vows, / upon dying was reborn as a goddess endowed with divine form.
105.113
For twenty-two sāgaras, charming bliss was enjoyed by them in the sky; / O Śreṇika, in the Acyuta heaven, Sītā also [lived] like an Indra.
105.114
This conduct of kings Madhu and Kaiṭabha has been told to you in brief by me; / O king, now hear this pure narration concerning the noble young princes!
105.115
Thus ends the one hundred and fifth chapter in the Paümacariya, entitled “The Story of Madhu and Kaiṭabha.”
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit