Paumacariya 11

English (machine translation) 11

Language: English

11.1

Then the king Rāvaṇa, fully equipped with the power of magical lores, / having conquered whoever was renowned on the earth's surface, placed them under his control.

11.2

Having brought under control all the earth-rulers born in diverse lands, / whose tumult was crowded with many warriors, chariots, elephants, horses, and vehicles,

11.3

he caused repairs to be made to Jina temples that were old, broken, and fallen down, / and arranged many kinds of worship for images of the lord Jinas.

11.4

Yet he destroyed those opposed to the supreme Jinas, and honoured the excellent ascetics. / Wandering about in this way, he then set out toward the eastern quarter.

11.5

Then that bull of men arrived; by him in the excellent city of Rājapura / was heard [of one] dedicated to the meaning of worldly treatises, engaged in sacrificial rites.

11.6

Hearing the mention of sacrifice, the lord of Magadha asked the praiseworthy sage: / “O holy one! Explain clearly to me the origin of sacrifice.”

11.7

Then the homeless ascetic began to speak in a very sweet voice: / “There was a king, lord of Ayodhyā, born in the Ikṣvāku lineage,

11.8

named Ajita, of great fortitude, and his wife was Surakāntā. / And his son was Prince Vasu, whose mind was intent on serving the teacher.

11.9

Kṣīrakadamba was the teacher, and Śaktimatī was his excellent wife. / His son was Parvataka, and the brāhmaṇa Nārada was his pupil.

11.10

Then once upon a time, in a forest region, the preceptor / with all his pupils undertook the recitation of the Āraṇyaka treatise.

11.11

Then, for the sake of compassion for living beings, a sadhu standing in the sky, / filled with pity, said before the brāhmaṇa:

11.12

‘Among the four living beings, indeed one is always destined for hell!’ / Hearing this, the preceptor Kṣīrakadamba became terrified.

11.13

The companions were dismissed; then he quickly reached his own home. / He was addressed by Śaktimatī: ‘Son! Your father has not come here.’

11.14

By him it was said to her: ‘Father will surely come at the end of the day.’ / Yearning to see him, she remained with a sorrowful mind, watching the road.

11.15

The sun set, yet the preceptor did not come home. / Her limbs afflicted by the burden of grief, Śaktimatī fell into a swoon.

11.16

Having revived, she then lamented: ‘Alas, how dreadful for an unfortunate woman! / Were you killed, my beloved? Alone, which direction have you gone to?

11.17

Did you, free of all attachments, renounce the world, seized by intense spiritual urgency?’ / While she was thus lamenting with an aching mind, the night passed.

11.18

At sunrise Parvataka set out to search for the teacher; / he saw his father standing on a riverbank in the midst of ascetics.

11.19

Having seen his teacher renounced as a nirgrantha, he told his mother. / Hearing this, Śaktimatī became exceedingly dejected and sorrowful.

11.20

Then Nārada too, having heard that the teacher's wife was sorrowful, / came, bowed down, and comforted her.

11.21

At that time, King Jitāri renounced the world, having placed his son Vasu on the throne; / [Vasu possessed] a divine seat made of crystal, purer than the sky.

11.22

A debate determining the true meaning arose between Parvataka and Nārada. / Then Nārada said: ‘Dharma has been declared twofold by the Jina:

11.23

First is non-violence, truth, avoidance of taking what is not given, celibacy, / and abstention from all possessions; these are the five great vows.

11.24

The rest, holding minor vows, are men devoted to the householder's dharma, / who are engaged with divisions such as sons, sharing with guests, and sacrifice.’

11.25

‘In this respect, a sacrifice should be performed with ajas,’ so says Nārada; / ‘And those ajas are non-germinating grains, devoid of sprouts such as barley.’

11.26

Then Parvataka said: ‘Ajas are called animals, there is no doubt! / Having killed them, the sacrifice is performed; this is the prescribed rite.’

11.27

Then Nārada told Parvataka: ‘Do not be a speaker of falsehood / and perish in hell, the abode of thousands of miseries!’

11.28

Then Parvataka said: ‘Vasu is our mediator here, / who received knowledge from the same teacher; his word is authority for me.’

11.29

Then his mother was quickly sent by Parvataka to Vasu's presence; / she said: ‘Lord, you must take the side of my son!’

11.30

Then at sunrise, Parvataka and Nārada along with the people / arrived at the king's palace, where the great king Vasu resided.

11.31

And King Vasu was addressed by Nārada: ‘You are a speaker of truth; / whatever the teacher taught, utter that very statement!

11.32

Whether non-germinating seeds are called ajas, or animals as taught by the teacher— / speak one of these with truth, [if] you have the capacity.’

11.33

Then King Vasu said: ‘The true meaning has been spoken by Parvataka; / Nārada's word is false, it was never heard in the presence of the teacher.’

11.34

And as soon as this was spoken, together with the crystal seat, / the false-speaking Vasu entered the earth in the midst of the assembly.

11.35

Into that seventh earth, Mahātama, filled with terrible agony, / right there was born that false babbler of violent words.

11.36

‘Fie, fie on the false speakers Parvataka and Vasu!’ the people proclaimed loudly; / while right there Nārada received immense honour.

11.37

Even that wicked Parvataka, his body tormented by the reproach of the people, / having performed perverted penance, died and became a Rākṣasa.

11.38

Remembering his former birth and the unbearable words of public reproach, / in order to avenge the hostility, he then assumed the form of a brāhmaṇa.

11.39

Wearing many sacred threads on his neck, holding an umbrella, water-pot, and rosary in his hands, / he devised a false scripture imbued with the doctrine of violence.

11.40

Hearing that evil scripture, ascetics and brāhmaṇas were led astray; / at his word they perform sacrifices bringing slaughter to many creatures:

11.41

In the sacrifice named Gomēdha, liquor is made to be drunk; / he says incestuous intercourse should be committed, ‘there is no fault in it!’

11.42

In the Pitṛmedha, Mātṛmedha, Rājasūya, Aśvamedha, and Paśumedha— / in these, those creatures whose names they bear must be killed;

11.43

‘Creatures must be slaughtered, and drinking of liquor should be done, / and meat must be eaten; this is the procedure of the sacrifice.’

11.44

Thus deluding the people, spoke that greatly sinful Rākṣasa; / and in three ways his teaching was adopted by incapable souls.

11.45

“O Śreṇika, those bhavya souls who avoid this violent sacrifice, / with minds striving after the doctrine of the supreme Jinas, go to the world of the gods.”

11.46

Meanwhile, the ten-faced [Rāvaṇa] set out for the populous city of Rājapura, / where King Marutta was staying in the sacrificial enclosure.

11.47

Having heard of the undertaking of the sacrifice, many Brahmins had gathered there, / and animals of various kinds stood bound, their faces wretched.

11.48

Traveling through the sky, Nārada saw that crowd of people; / seized by intense curiosity, he descended into that very city.

11.49

The lord of Magadha asked: “O Blessed One! Who is Nārada? Whose son is he? / What are his superior qualities? Tell me, for my curiosity is great.”

11.50

Then the leader of the gaṇas said: “There was a Brahmin named Brahmaruci; / his wife was the noble Kūrmī, and she became heavy with child.

11.51

In the course of time, monks wandering through that region / arrived at the hermits' abode, and they were quickly surrounded by them.

11.52

Having sat down upon the offered seat, the monks saw Brahmaruci there, / and his wife Kūrmī, heavily pregnant, with full pairs of breasts.

11.53

Then a monk, whose eyes understood the nature of saṃsāra, said: / ‘Alas, how dreadful! How souls are made to dance among their karmas!

11.54

Having abandoned kinfolk and the householder's life out of desire for dharma, / he embraced the hermits' religion, yet he still does not cast off attachment!

11.55

Just as people, having vomited food, do not eat that inedible thing again, / so renunciants, having abandoned worldly activity, do not perform what ought not to be done.

11.56

He who, having renounced women, attends upon [a woman] again in an ascetic's garb— / his mind deluded by evil, he acquires a long wanderings in saṃsāra.’

11.57

Hearing the ascetic's words, Brahmaruci was instantly enlightened; / casting off all attachment, he took initiation into the Jina's order.

11.58

Kūrmī too, having heard the dharma and renounced wrong views, fixed her mind on the Jina's teaching; / then, in the tenth month, she gave birth to a son in the forest.

11.59

Recalling the monks' words and knowing human existence to be impermanent, / filled with spiritual urgency, Kūrmī reflected in her heart:

11.60

‘In the forest, in the midst of the sea, in fire, or dwelling in a mountain peak or cave, / a person's own karmas protect him with effort.

11.61

Even if guarded by armed men, even if placed inside an iron cage, / still, when the time has arrived, a person certainly dies.’

11.62

Thus understanding the ultimate truth, she abandoned the infant in the forest, / and went eagerly to the city of Lokapura into the presence of an āryikā.

11.63

Then, having developed intense spiritual urgency, she was ordained by Indramālinī, / and, focusing her mind upon it, she undertook the practice of austerities.

11.64

Meanwhile, that child there was seen by groups of Jṛmbhaka gods dwelling in the sky; / they carried him off, took him away, and raised him like a son.

11.65

They taught him the treatises and gave him the magical art of traveling through the sky; / having attained full youth, he became devoted to the teaching of the Jina.

11.66

Seeing his own mother and recognizing her by the marks on her limbs, / he was delighted and embraced the dharma: supreme conduct and right view.

11.67

He delighted in love-sports and cock-fights, was constantly eager for music and disputes, / was honored by kings, and roamed the earth as he pleased.

11.68

Because he was protected by gods, possessed divine gait, and spoke with divine charm, / he became renowned in the world as a divine sage (devarṣi), Nārada.

11.69

Traveling through the sky and seeing the crowd of people, he descended, / and said to King Marutta: ‘What undertaking have you begun?

11.70

For what purpose are animals of many kinds kept bound? / And for what reason have many Brahmins assembled here?’

11.71

He was told by the Brahmin Saṃvartaka: ‘Do you not know of the sacrifice, / the great dharma performed by King Marutta for the sake of the next world?

11.72

The sacrifice which was taught of old by the Four-faced One, originating from the Vedic scriptures, / of great merit, ought to be performed among those classes.

11.73

Having placed them inside the altar, the animals are to be slain with mantras, / and the gods, Soma and the others, are to be gratified with effort.

11.74

This is the eternal dharma, revealed to the world through yoga; / it grants a reward pleasing to the senses and the mind in the world of the gods.’

11.75

Hearing these words, the bold-minded Nārada then said: / ‘Listen, I shall explain the sacrifice that is approved by the true Vedic tradition.

11.76

The fire of the mind, seated in the altar of the body and blazing brightly with the ghee of knowledge, / burns up the heap of sacrificial wood that is defilement, arisen from the tree of karma.

11.77

Anger, pride, deceit, greed, attachment, hatred, and delusion— / these are the animals that must be slain, together with the sense-faculties.

11.78

Truth, forgiveness, non-violence: these should be offered as the sacrificial gift with great effort; / right view, conduct, self-restraint, celibacy, and the like: these are the gods.

11.79

This is the sacrifice taught by the Jinas, declared in the Vedas of true meaning; / performed through special spiritual application, it grants the fruit of supreme nirvāṇa.

11.80

Those, however, who perform an un-Vedic sacrifice, born of false Vedas, / killing herds of animals, craving the taste of blood, fat, and flesh—

11.81

those evil-doers, pitiless and devoid of compassion like hunters, / die and go to hell, and acquire a long wanderings in saṃsāra.’

11.82

When this was spoken by Nārada, all the Brahmins became exceedingly enraged, / and set about striking him with hard blows of their fists and hands.

11.83

Nārada, warding off those Brahmins with the strength of his arms and swift blows of his heels / with a steadfast mind, fell into grave danger.

11.84

Surrounded by many, seized by his hands, feet, and limbs, / Nārada suffered greatly, like a bird trapped in a cage.

11.85

At that moment, a messenger belonging to the ten-faced [Rāvaṇa] arrived there, / and he saw the wretched Nārada being beaten by the Brahmins.

11.86

Seeing Nārada seized there by the numerous Brahmins, / the messenger went and reported the business of the sacrifice to the ten-faced one:

11.87

‘O lord, to that king into whose presence I was sent by you, / there I saw Nārada being beaten by many Brahmins.

11.88

Knowing that the king there was agitated, and with my body trembling with fear, / I came here, O lord of men, to inform you.’

11.89

The lord of Laṅkā, enraged, dispatched warriors equipped with all weapons; / going quickly, they freed the Brahmin Nārada.

11.90

Beating the crowds of Brahmins, they wrecked the sacrifice and released the animals; / and they spoke to those thread-necked [priests]: ‘Never cause this to be done again!’

11.91

Then Nārada, released from the tight grip of the Brahmins' hands, / flew up at once into the sky and, delighted, looked upon the lord of Laṅkā.

11.92

"May great good fortune be yours! Do not strike down the wicked brahmins. / Fond of their lives, let the poor wretches wander the earth at will.

11.93

Hear, O noble man, with a single mind, the origin of the ascetics / at the time and place of renunciation of the Lord Jina Ṛṣabha:

11.94

Four thousand foremost of kings, together with Marīci, / having taken renunciation in the presence of the Jina, soon turned back.

11.95

Tormented by thirst and hunger, having entered the wilderness with miserable faces, / feeding on fruits of great trees, they became ascetic sectarians.

11.96

Thus they, deluding the people on the earth's surface with false scriptures, / became ascetic brahmins; like seeds, they increased greatly in number.

11.97

Even among the Tīrthaṅkaras, all people without exception were not brought to single-minded devotion to dharma; / why then, O Daśānana, is an act transgressing the Jina's teaching committed by you?"

11.98

Having heard this discourse and bowed to the Jina Ṛṣabha, the Ten-headed One / restrained the wearers of the sacred thread from being beaten by the Rākṣasa warriors.

11.99

King Marutta too, making a folded hand-gesture on his own head, / bowed to the lord of Laṅkā: "I am your servant, subject to your command."

11.100

The maiden Kanakaprabhā was given by Marutta to the Rākṣasa lord; / the moon-faced girl, full of youth and beauty, was taken in marriage.

11.101

While he was enjoying the pleasures of passion with her, within a year / a daughter of wondrous form was born, named Kayacittā by name.

11.102

Whatever heroes, proud warriors endowed with power, were upon the earth's surface, / all of them Daśānana quickly brought under his own dominion.

11.103

Travelling through the sky, he beheld the delightful Middle Country, / enriched with villages, mines, towns, and cities, and adorned with forests and groves.

11.104

The Ten-headed One descended and halted near a city; / he was gazed upon with wonder and joy by the men and women of the land.

11.105

Dark as emerald rays, with the facial splendor of a blooming choice lotus, / possessing a broad, expansive chest and plump, raised, long arms,

11.106

with a waist graspable by a single hand, a lion's waist, thighs like an elephant's trunk, / charming feet like an excellent tortoise, endowed with all thirty-two auspicious marks,

11.107

with limbs adorned with the śrīvatsa mark, well-attired with all ornaments, / the Ten-headed One was seen by the people like Indra of great majesty.

11.108

Leaving that excellent city, he went to another land with his army; / there too he was rejoiced and greeted by the king, citizens, and country-folk.

11.109

To whichever land he went, that very land became like heaven: / filled with wealth, grain, and jewels, and free from famine, fear, and other evils.

11.110

Those lands were embraced by merit due to good deeds in previous lives, / through which the Ten-headed One, an abode of majesty, fame, and fortune, moved about.

11.111

When cold and heat had departed, as he was stationed on the delightful bank of the Gaṅgā, / the rainy season arrived, noisy with thundering clouds,

11.112

bearing banner-cloths of white cranes, with girdles fastened with golden lightning-bolts, / adorned with rainbows, pouring down streams of freshly flowing rain-water,

11.113

having the hue of a mountain of collyrium—as though massive cloud-elephants, / exceedingly huge, were sent as a gift by the lord of the gods to the Rākṣasa lord.

11.114

The whole sky was darkened, the assembly of planets concealed by the sun's rays [being hidden], / with loud cracking sounds arising, the surface of the earth struck by torrential rain-arrows.

11.115

His body pierced by rain-arrows, the traveler, remembering his beloved, fainted; / yet he breathed again in the hope of the sweet joy of reunion with her.

11.116

Having inhaled the fragrance of fresh kadamba blossoms, with minds and hearts bewildered, / those groups of travelers, not knowing the highest truth, wandered in that very place.

11.117

The sound of frogs, peacocks, clouds, and cātaka birds arose as one, / as if a rhythmic tempo had begun in the manner of the playful sport of elephants.

11.118

Though exceedingly longing, travelers whose paths were blocked by torrents of water, / their minds set on joining their beloveds, were helpless and grieved without wings.

11.119

With limbs dark green with fresh grass, wearing garments of water, / with teeth of choice kuṭaja blossoms, the earth-woman seemed to smile at the arrival of Daśānana.

11.120

Thus the rainy season with dense gatherings of clouds was spent happily / by him who delighted in the hundreds of lands whose hostile factions had been destroyed.

Thus, through the rise of the fruits of merit, men attain lofty fortune, their fame covering the entire earth's surface, the hopes of their enemy factions broken; / they become abodes of divine jewels, men revered by the world; afterwards, their conduct radiant with pure power, they attain the abode of the perfected.

11.122

Thus ends the eleventh chapter, titled "The Destruction of Marutta's Sacrifice and the Affection of the Provinces," in the Paümacariya.

Linked texts (1)

Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit