Paumacariya 29

English (machine translation) 29

Language: English

29.1

Then, on the bright eighth day of Āṣāḍha, the king, / with great magnificence, undertook the festival in honor of the Jina caityas.

29.2

Having properly swept and smeared the floor of the Jina temple, / some arranged patterns of colored powders in five hues.

29.3

Others, taking excellent flowers, fashioned garlands on the archways / and, out of devotion, painted figures with varied mineral pigments.

29.4

When everything was well prepared, the king, accompanied by his sons, performed the ablution / of the Jinas according to rite, accompanied by the loud sounds of paṭaha drums and mṛdaṅgas.

29.5

For eight days, observing the poṣadha vow, the king performed the excellent worship of the supreme Jinas; / full of devotion, he praised them with supreme modesty.

29.6

That soothing bath-water was sent by the king to his wives; / the young women took it and sprinkled it upon their heads.

29.7

While the fragrant water entrusted to the chamberlain was delayed, / the chief queen felt both anger and grief.

29.8

Reflecting within, she thought: “These wives of the king / were honored with the soothing water of the Jina, but not I!

29.9

What fault is it of my beloved? I did not acquire merit in the past; / for that very reason I have been neglected in the midst of the young women.

29.10

Burned by the fire of humiliation, how can this heart of mine, filled with sin, / be extinguished except by death through another means?”

29.11

Calling the treasurer Viśākha, the moon-faced queen said: / “You must not mention this matter to anyone now.”

29.12

Having entered the inner chamber, her mind resolved upon death, / holding the cloth to her neck with her hand, just then the king arrived.

29.13

There the king heard the servant's exceedingly pitiful cry: / “Alas, O queen! Why have you undertaken this action that puts an end to your life?”

29.14

Taking her and placing her upon his lap, the king said: / “Why, O lovely one, have you conceived a desire for death over an unworthy matter?”

29.15

She said: “O master of great renown! You sent the soothing water / to all the wives, but I alone was deprived of it.

29.16

Tormented by humiliation, what use is life to beloved wives / born of a high lineage? Death is truly preferable and brings comfort.”

29.17

Just as she was saying this, the chamberlain arrived, / saying aloud: “The lord has sent water for you.”

29.18

Sprinkled by the chamberlain with that soothing water, / the fire in the gentle lady's mind was extinguished, and her heart then became joyful.

29.19

Then the king angrily addressed the chamberlain: / “You did not arrive quickly! What hindrance did you have?”

29.20

Then the chamberlain spoke, his whole body trembling greatly with fear: / “O master! In this living world, there is no [other] hindrance for me.

29.21

Old age has made this body of mine devoid of pride and energy; / even when hurrying greatly, it does not move forward, like a dilapidated cart.

29.22

My eyes, master, which formerly possessed keen sight, / are now no longer farsighted, like bad friends.

29.23

Even my ears, which previously could hear a whispered word, / do not hear even very loud sounds at all, O lord, like bad sons.

29.24

My teeth, which formerly resembled fine kuṭaja blossoms, / loosened by the carpenter of old age, have fallen out like spokes from a nave.

29.25

My hands, which were formerly capable of pulling a stiff bow, / now, like an elephant its morsel, carry [food] to the mouth with difficulty.

29.26

My shanks too, which formerly were skilled in moving and walking, / have now become unruly, O lord, like wicked women.

29.27

Only my staff, dear to my heart like a beloved woman, O king, / provides support to my body as it stumbles and falters.

29.28

When I hurry, my body trembles, sighs become frequent, / exhaustion arises, and my gait moves slowly.

29.29

Whence could there be any other hindrance? O master, I am seized by old age; / coming at your command, I have arrived at this hour.”

29.30

Hearing his words, the king reflected: “The body is impermanent; / it is perceived like a flash of lightning; life perishes in a moment.

29.31

For the sake of the body, men attached to possessions commit sin; / with minds deluded by the poison of sense objects, they avoid dharma from afar.

29.32

Favored by merit are those men of firm resolve who, abandoning the household, / constantly practice the teachings of the conduct of dharma.”

29.33

"When shall I, having abandoned sensual pleasure and possessions, unattached, / perform the penance of the Jinas for the sake of ending suffering?

29.34

Sensual pleasure has indeed been enjoyed; the earth was protected for a long time; / and excellent sons have been born. What else do I await?"

29.35

Reflecting thus at the close of his son's festival, the king, / dyed with devotion to dharma, showed disregard for worldly enjoyments.

29.36

Then, after some time, wandering with an immense assembly [of monks], / Sarvabhūtaśaraṇa, the bull among ascetics, arrived at the city of Sāketa.

29.37

Having halted his assembly, fatigued by the heat of the road, in a suitable place, / he, attended by nine others, entered the excellent Mahendrodaya park.

29.38

There on an even, delightful stone slab devoid of mobile organisms and tiny creatures, / beneath a snake-tree, the possessor of four knowledges sat down.

29.39

Some ascetics dwelt in caves, others stayed under overhanging rocks, / others in mountain caverns, and some lodged in temple halls.

29.40

He, Sarvabhūtaśaraṇa, with the monastic order divided into four groups, / spent a month right there; and just then the rainy season arrived.

29.41

Dense clouds thundered loudly; the sky shone with flashes of lightning; / the earth was battered by hundreds of rain-torrents and filled with fresh green shoots.

29.42

Rivers swelled; paths became impassable for travellers; / and women whose husbands were abroad, their minds yearning, grieved here.

29.43

The rushing sound of waterfalls and the cries of cuckoos, frogs, and peacocks, / spreading far and wide, slowed the proud gait of elephants.

29.44

At such a time, the ascetics, devoted to scriptural study, meditation, and penance, / the great-souled ones, remained contemplating liberation from suffering.

29.45

Then one day, at dawn, surrounded by warriors, / the king went to the excellent park with loving devotion to venerate the ascetic.

29.46

Having arrived, Daśaratha devoutly bowed to the virtuous monk; / seated right there, he listened to an account of the doctrine:

29.47

the universe, the substances, the division of space, the nature of time, / the succession of the kulakaras, and the various royal lineages.

29.48

Having praised and bowed to the bull among ascetics, the lord of men, delighted in mind, / entered his own city and spent time as he pleased.

Thus the great-souled king, his mind intent on hearing the virtues of ascetics, bowed in humility, / respectfully offered worship and alms; / served by celestial-like women, he passed his days, / and with a pure heart enjoyed bodily bliss earned by past deeds.

29.50

Thus ends the twenty-ninth chapter of the Paümacariya, named 'The Renunciation of King Daśaratha and the Arrival of Sarvabhūtaśaraṇa'.

Linked texts (1)

Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit