Paumacariya 3
English (machine translation) 3
- Language
- English
3.1
Seated in the assembly pavilion, his body adorned with all ornaments, / with his footstool illuminated by the rays from the pearls in the diadems of feudatories,
3.2
there that king of Magadha, eager to behold the sage, / mounted a noble elephant possessing auspicious marks and renowned in treatises.
3.3
Then he departed from the city, surrounded by excellent elephants, chariots, warriors, and horses; / the bull among kings proceeded to where the venerable Gautama was.
3.4
Arriving at that place, in the midst of the assembly of the best of sages, / he saw the supreme Gaṇadhara, blazing like the autumn sun with his splendour.
3.5
Dismounting from the noble elephant and circumambulating the sage, the king, / with a joyful mind, bowed, placing his folded hands upon his head.
3.6
Having received a blessing, he sat at the feet of the noble sage; / with supreme deference he inquired after the welfare of his body and all else.
3.7
Recognizing the proper occasion, endowed with humility and courteous conduct, / the king then questioned Gautama, the dispeller of the darkness of doubt:
3.8
“O greatly renowned one! I wish to hear clearly the Paümacariya; / a contrary renown has been propagated by exponents of false texts.
3.9
If Rāvaṇa, O greatly renowned one, was a night-wanderer of supreme prowess like an eminent god, / how was he defeated in the midst of battle by subhuman monkeys?
3.10
By Rāma, an antelope with a golden body was pierced with an arrow in the forest; / and for the sake of Sugrīva and Tārā, Vālin was treacherously killed.
3.11
[Rāvaṇa], going to the abode of the gods and conquering the lord of gods in the midst of battle, / bound him with strong, hard fetters and threw him into prison.
3.12
Even Kumbhakarṇa, skilled in all scriptures and weapons, sleeps for six months; / and how was a bridge built across the waters of the ocean by monkeys?
3.13
O venerable one! Bestow your favor, narrate it endowed with truth and reasons; / dispel the darkness of my doubt with the light of knowledge.”
3.14
Then said the lord of Gaṇadharas: “Listen, O bull among men, giving ear and mind! / As it was taught by the kevalins, I too shall recount it to you.
3.15
Daśānana should not be called a Rākṣasa, nor was he an eater of flesh; / all that which foolish, bad poets proclaim is entirely false.
3.16
Without an introduction, even when narrated, it yields no clear meaning; / O king, such speech would be defective, like a plant severed at its root.
3.17
First I shall describe the division of space and the division of time therein; / then hear in due order the life of the most exalted great men.
3.18
There is space, infinite of infinites; in the midst of it / is the universe, eternal, without beginning or end, divided into three divisions.
3.19
Below, the universe is to be known as resembling a cane-seat; / in the middle it is like a jhallarī cymbal, and above it has the shape of a mṛdaṅga drum.”
3.20
And the whole [universe] is like a palm tree, enclosed by three envelopes.
In the middle is the Middle World, with many oceans and continents.
3.21
And in its very central region lies Jambūdvīpa, shaped like a mirror,
measuring one hundred thousand yojanas in extent.
3.22
And it is encircled entirely by the Salt Ocean,
with the excellent Lotus Balustrade, having gates of brilliant splendour.
3.23
In the middle is Mount Mandara, adorned with four forests, variegated with jewels,
ninety-nine thousand [yojanas] high and ten [thousand] wide.
3.24
Descending one thousand yojanas below, it rests on a stratum of diamond,
and touching Saudharma itself above with its crest.
3.25
Six indeed are the mountain ranges, and seven the regions to be known,
fourteen great rivers, and four central mountains.
3.26
Twenty Vakṣāra mountains, thirty-four capitals,
and thirty-four Vaitāḍhya mountains are to be known.
3.27
And sixty-eight caves, moreover thirty thrones,
and in the midst of Uttarakuru and Devakuru are excellent divine trees.
3.28
Two hundred golden peaks, and six lakes are to be known,
and two [peaks] named Citta and Vicitra, and two twin mountains.
3.29
Six regions of enjoyment, delightful to the mind, adorned with excellent trees;
and in these places are temples to the Jinas.
3.30
Now from here in the Salt Ocean, four islands are to be known,
charming with Jina shrines, and equal to the realm of the gods in enjoyment.
3.31
To the south of Bharata in Jambūdvīpa is the island of the Rākṣasas;
the island of the Gandharvas is situated to the west of Videha.
3.32
Then, to the north of Airāvata is the island of the Kinnaras;
and to the east of Pūrvavideha is situated the island of Varuṇa.
3.33
In Bharata and Airāvata, decrease and increase should be known [to occur];
in the remaining regions, time is always constant.
3.34
The sovereign of Jambūdvīpa, Anādhṛta, an eminent deity of great power,
accompanied by thousands of gods, exercises lordship over all.
3.35
Formerly this Bharata was full of enjoyments like Uttarakuru,
abounding in excellent wish-fulfilling trees, extremely delightful during Suṣamasuṣamā.
3.36
Three gavyūtis was the height of those men;
their form was quadrangular, and their lifespan was three palyopamas.
3.37
The wish-fulfilling trees were: Tuḍitāṅga, Bhojanāṅga, Vibhūṣaṇāṅga, Madaṅga, Vastrāṅga,
Gṛhāṅga, Jyotirdīpāṅga, Bhājanāṅga, and Mālāṅga.
3.38
Through these, being ever happy, they enjoyed ten kinds of great pleasures
pleasing to the mind according to desire, and did not notice the passage of time.
3.39
When little of their lifespan remained, having generated a twin pair of excellent beauty,
they died and subsequently attained the happiness of eminent gods.
3.40
Even lions and other beasts were gentle; they did not become angry with one another;
roaming about at will and in comfort, they too enjoyed pleasures.
3.41
In Bharata and Airāvata there is decrease and increase of time;
and in the remaining regions there is neither decrease nor increase.
3.42
Having heard this, the king, bowing again, asked the sage:
“By doing what is a human born in the lands of enjoyment?”
3.43
Then the lord of the Gaṇadharas says: “Those men here who are upright and gentle
attain the path to the land of enjoyment by making gifts to holy men.
3.44
Those who give gifts to unworthy recipients for the sake of pleasant enjoyments
are born as elephants and the like, enjoying here the pleasure of gifts.
3.45
Just as in a well-ploughed field a seed grows and suffers no loss,
so in giving to a true sage one accumulates abundant merit.
3.46
Just as from a single pond water is drunk by a cow and a snake,
[and] in the snake turns into poison, while in the cow milk is produced,
3.47
so a gift given to the unvirtuous or to the virtuous will bear fruit or remain fruitless;
in the next world one's merit depends upon the distinction of the recipient.
3.48
Thus, O king, the distinction among gifts has been told by me in brief.
Now listen as I declare the origin of the lineage of Kulakaras.
3.49
Just as the moon waxes and wanes according to its own nature,
so Utsarpiṇī increases, and thus Avasarpiṇī decreases.
3.50
In the third period of time, when an eighth part of a palyopama remained,
the first of the bull-like Kulakaras was born, named Pratiśruti.
3.51
A noble soul, possessing knowledge of previous births, who knew three connections of birth;
and his fame was celebrated, [while] the earth dwelled happily on all sides.
3.52
As time passed in this way, Sanmati was born;
and after him Kṣemaṅkara; then Kṣemandhara was born.
3.53
The noble Sīmaṅkara was born, [then] Sīmandhara, Prajānanda;
and then the one named Cākṣuṣa was born in the land of Bharata.
3.54
By him the people, frightened upon seeing the moon and the sun, were comforted,
and he explained everything in full, as it truly was in the division of time.
3.55
Then indeed was born the noble and steadfast Vimalavāhana,
Abhicandra, Candrābha, Marudeva, Prasena, and Nābhi.
3.56
These fourteen bull-like Kulakaras who were born in Bharata
were skilled in policy on earth, and like beloved friends to the people.
3.57
There was a wondrous house-tree, surrounded by various gardens and step-wells,
an abode for the conditions of enjoyment, where Nābhi himself resided.
3.58
And he had a beloved wife named Marudevī, endowed with many virtues,
blessed with youth, beauty, and grace, like a goddess in visible form.
3.59
Then indeed the goddesses Hrī, Śrī, Dhṛti, Kīrti, Buddhi, and Lakṣmī
continually performed service and attended upon her by command of Indra.
3.60
The goddesses performed services such as offering food, drink, sandalwood, bed, seat, and bath,
and [delighted her with] the lute, celestial music, and dance.
3.61
Then once upon a time, sleeping comfortably on a costly couch,
Marudevī saw auspicious dreams in the last watch of the night:
3.62
A bull, an elephant, a lion, the goddess Śrī, a garland, the moon, the sun, a banner, a jar,
a lotus lake, the ocean, an excellent palace-celestial car, a heap of jewels, and a fire.
3.63
At the conclusion of the dreams, with the sound of musical instruments proclaiming victory,
she shone, newly awakened, like a lotus bed at the rising of the sun.
3.64
Having performed auspicious morning rites, her eyes full of joy, she went into Nābhi's presence;
seated upon a jewelled throne, she related the excellent dreams to her husband.
3.65
Having understood the meaning of the dreams, Nābhi then said: “O lovely one, in your
womb a son has been conceived who will be a Tīrthaṅkara.”
3.66
Having heard these words, Marudevī, her body filled with delight,
her eyes like blooming lotuses, experienced thrilling goosebumps from extreme joy.
3.67
Six months before the supreme Jina descended into the womb, / Dhanada showered down rains of jewels for fifteen days.
3.68
Because a shower of golden riches fell while he was in the womb, / Ṛṣabha is sung in the world as 'Hiraṇyagarbha' (Golden-Wombed).
3.69
Endowed with three kinds of knowledge, after dwelling in the womb, / at the moment of birth the great-souled one came forth, shaking the entire threefold world.
3.70
Seeing the birth of a son, Nābhi, thoroughly rejoiced, / celebrated with drums and trumpets resounding, and with auspicious splendor.
3.71
Seeing their thrones shaken as if struck by powerful winds, / the kings of the gods then beheld the Jina born through the range of their clairvoyance.
3.72
By the sound of conches the mansion-dwellers, and the Vyantara gods by the sound of drums, / and the stellar gods by lion-roars, rose up in agitation.
3.73
The lords of the heavens also moved, awakened by the sound of bells; / with all their retinue, they came here to the world of mortals.
3.74
Mounted on excellent vehicles—elephants, horses, bulls, lions, and celestial cars— / the four classes of gods then arrived at Nābhi's house.
3.75
Blazing with cat's-eye gems, diamonds, emeralds, chrysoberyls, and sun-stones, / the rejoicing gods rained down showers of jewels upon Nābhi's house.
3.76
Then the commander [Hariṇaigameṣin], taking the lord of Jinas, placed an illusory infant beside [the mother] / and brought him to the palm of the king of gods' hands.
3.77
Bowing his head and receiving the Jina in excitement, / Śakra was not satiated even by gazing with a thousand eyes.
3.78
Then with all their retinues, the gods departed facing Mount Mandara, / filling the sky, their splendor radiant with ornaments.
3.79
And the king of great mountains was seen, a mass of crystalline rocks and various gems, / with dangling wild garlands swaying on graceful creepers,
3.80
radiant with rays of various great gems streaming from clusters of peaks, / the tips of its wind-blown sprout-hands tender, pure, and charming with leaves,
3.81
sung to by bees richly fragrant with blossoms grown on excellent young trees, / its flowing streams of pure water murmuring with gushing cascades,
3.82
abundant with wild beasts—deer, mongooses, oxen, lions, boars, ruru deer, and yaks— / with dense herds frolicking at will, freed from fear and pleasing to the mind,
3.83
its slopes frequented by hosts of Garuḍas, excellent Kinnaras, Uragas, and Kiṃpuruṣas, / all its directions resonant with the very sweet, gentle celestial music of the gods.
3.84
Possessed of such qualities was Mount Meru; on its highest great peak, / all those glorious supreme gods then descended.
3.85
And the Pāṇḍukambalā slab was seen, blazing with brilliant gems, / like moonlight, illuminating the ten directions.
3.86
The Lord of Jinas was placed on the lion-throne by the delighted and glad Śakra; / and the gods commenced the costly consecration.
3.87
With the sound of clouds, the drums of the birth-consecration were sounded: / sharp-drums, kettledrums, jhallarīs, āiṅgas, mṛdaṅgas, conches, and paṇavas.
3.88
Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Kinnaras, Tuṃburus, and Mahoragas of many kinds / held in their hands excellent flowers, sandal, agallochum, divine garments, and fly-whisks.
3.89
Some danced in delight, others sang with sweet voices, / while others clapped their hands, stamped their feet, and stretched their limbs.
3.90
Others held a parasol aloft, adorned with pearls; / and others sounded kettledrums producing deep and weighty sounds.
3.91
The heavenly maidens danced with grace, exhibiting natural gestures, / stepping with charming paces and casting glances from the corners of their eyes.
3.92
And from above, the gods showered flower-dust rich with various fragrances, / so that even the clear sky instantly became dusty and gray.
3.93
Then, having filled pitchers with water from the Ocean of Milk, / the hosts of gods swiftly brought them for the consecration of the Lord of Jinas.
3.94
Taking a jeweled pitcher, Indra began to pour the bath, / while a tumult of praises and auspicious sounds rang out with cries of victory.
3.95
Yama, Varuṇa, Soma, and other supreme gods of great majesty, / eager and with tranquil minds, performed the Jina's consecration.
3.96
The goddesses headed by Indrāṇī joyfully rubbed him / with fragrant perfume powders, with hands soft as tender shoots.
3.97
Having performed the consecration according to rule, the king of gods, well pleased, / placed the service of ornaments and decorations upon the limbs of the Jina.
3.98
Above, he fashioned a crest-jewel, a diadem of Saṃtānaka blossoms upon his head, / earrings at his ears, and ruby bracelets upon his arms.
3.99
A waist-band was fastened upon the cloth around the supreme Jina's waist; / over the divine garment, it shone, blazing with gems.
3.100
Having decorated his body with ornaments with all respect, / the lord of the gods, his mind filled with joy, began to praise the Jina:
3.101
"Victory, O Sun [dispelling] the darkness of delusion! Victory, O Full Moon to the night-lotuses that are the bhavya souls! / Victory, O Dryer of the ocean of existence! Adorned with the Śrīvatsa, conquer!"
3.102
Having praised the supreme Jina with true virtues / and circumambulated him thrice, all the other supreme gods also departed as they had come.
3.103
Hariṇaigameṣin, too, brought the lord of Jinas to his own home, / placed him in his mother's lap, and likewise returned to the heavenly abode.
3.104
Seeing her son adorned with divine ornaments, / Marudevī, her hair standing on end with thrill, could not contain herself within her own limbs.
3.105
Nābhi too, seeing his son heavily anointed with heavenly saffron / and his limbs adorned with excellent gems, considered himself the master of the three worlds.
3.106
Because a bull colored like a white jasmine and the moon entered his mother's womb [in a dream], / the delighted Nābhi gave him the name 'Ṛṣabha'.
3.107
Day by day he grew, by licking nectar from his thumb, / surrounded by divine children, playing with hundreds of toys.
3.108
In a short time his body attained full growth and supreme loveliness; / he became an abode of auspicious marks and virtues, his chest marked with the Śrīvatsa.
3.109
His body was five hundred bows tall, possessing the adamantine joint-structure, / endowed with a thousand auspicious marks, blazing with brilliance like the sun.
3.110
Food, drink, conveyances, beds, seats, ornaments, and the like of various kinds / were instantly provided in excellence for him by the gods.
3.111
Then, as the various wish-fulfilling trees vanished by the course of time, / at that time the food of men was sugarcane juice alone.
3.112
The earth was devoid of sciences and crafts, and untouched by virtue and non-virtue; / there was no origination of auspicious treatises nor of heretics.
3.113
Then Dhana[da] built a city with lofty ramparts of excellent gold, / nine yojanas wide, twelve long, filled with gems.
3.114
By the blessed Ṛṣabhajina, the layouts of villages, mines, towns, and cities, / auspicious practices, and crafts themselves were taught.
3.115
Those men of great, steadfast courage who were appointed by him to provide protection— / they became renowned as Kṣatriyas, celebrated on earth.
3.116
Those engaged in trade, farming, and the like, and in the rearing and protection of cattle— / those steadfast men, devoted to occupations, came to be called Vaiśyas.
3.117
Those engaged in menial work, executing the orders of others at all times— / they became the class of Śūdras, divided into many kinds in the world.
3.118
And since he instituted an age that brought happiness to all living beings on earth, / therefore that era was proclaimed in the world by the name Kṛtayuga.
3.119
Sumaṅgalā was the wife of the supreme Jina; then Nandā was his second; / to him were born a hundred sons, the princes Bharata and the rest,
3.120
and two excellent daughters, endowed with youth, loveliness, and radiant beauty: / Brāhmī and Sundarī, whose fame was renowned among people.
3.121
To vassals, warriors, chaplains, generals, guild-masters, and governors / he revealed royal policy, and to the people, worldly relations.
3.122
As he thus enjoyed the splendid fortune of kingship, time passed by; / and seeing the passing of a cloud, he became filled with spiritual urgency.
3.123
“Alas, what misery! Attached to the service of others, the world wastes away; / like a madman it dances, and performs hundreds of diverse actions.
3.124
Human existence is insubstantial; life is unsteady like a flash of lightning; / the body is a vessel containing many diseases, griefs, and swarms of worms.
3.125
Enamored with the bait of sense-objects, the soul considers misery to be happiness; / and deceived so greatly again and again, it does not perceive its lifespan slipping away.
3.126
Abandoning this very happiness of sense-objects as impermanent, free from attachment, / for the sake of the bliss of perfection, I shall undertake the practice of penance and self-restraint.”
3.127
And while Ṛṣabha was contemplating this, which is the cause for severing the cycle of rebirth, / just then the Lokāntika gods arrived, their diadems gleaming.
3.128
Bowing their heads, they said, “Well done, O Lord! You are awakened! / A very long time has passed here since the path to perfection was broken off.
3.129
These souls wander repeatedly in the terrible ocean of rebirth; / boarding the ship of the Jina's word, let them cross over—do not delay them!”
3.130
Thus, on the occasion of the renunciation of him who had formed a firm resolve, / the four classes of gods, headed by the lord of gods, arrived swiftly.
3.131
Bowing to the supreme lord of Jinas, joyfully shouting cries of victory, / they held fluttering leafy twigs in their hands, along with banners, parasols, and beautiful chowries.
3.132
He mounted the Sudarśanā palanquin, whose golden frame was encrusted with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and candrakānta jewels, / carried on the shoulders of the assembled gods.
3.133
Then the great-souled one departed from the city, surrounded by gods and lords of men, / amid the sound of thousands of drums beat together and the cries of victory shouted by bards.
3.134
He arrived at the excellent park named Vasantatilaka, / beautifully filled with fine bakula, tilaka, campaka, aśoka, punnāga, and nāga trees.
3.135
Taking leave of all his mothers, fathers, sons, kinsmen, and retinue, / he then cast off his ornaments, waist-strings, bracelets, and garments.
3.136
Bowing to the perfected souls and performing the five-handful plucking of hair, / the Jina attained the supreme initiation together with four thousand men.
3.137
Then the bearer of the thunderbolt too, gathering the hairs in a jeweled vessel / and making a bow with his head, cast them into the Ocean of Milk.
3.138
Having celebrated the great festival of his renunciation, all the excellent gods, / after bowing to the supreme lord of Jinas, went to their respective abodes.
3.139
Along with the four thousand ascetics, the fortunate, steadfast supreme Jina / undertook fasting and wandered over the earth for a year.
3.140
Some in the first month, others in the second, third, and up to the sixth month— / all the ascetics without exception were broken by the warrior-like afflictions.
3.141
Out of fear of Bharata, they would not return home, even though exhausted by thirst and hunger; / out of shame and pride, they stayed on in the forest.
3.142
Then, exhausted by hunger, they gathered fruits from the clusters of trees; / a cry was proclaimed in the sky: “Do not take [them] while in the guise of an ascetic!”
3.143
Then, clad in bark-garments, rags, and kusa grass and leaves, eating fruits, / acting on their own whims and notions, hermits of many kinds came into being.
3.144
Meanwhile, the two princes Nami and Vinami approached the side of the Jina; / bowing their heads, they sat down comfortably near his feet.
3.145
As those princes sat there, Dharaṇendra’s throne shook, / and he too arrived right there together with his entire retinue.
3.146
Bowing to the lotus-feet [of the Jina], he sat down near the supreme Jina / and noticed the two young youths, whose eyes were like lotus petals.
3.147
Then the serpent king said, “Ho, ho! For what reason / have you two, sword in hand, taken your stand in the presence of the Jina?”
3.148
Then Nami spoke these words: “We have no royal fortune here, / and for that reason, O lord, have we approached the side of the Jina.”
3.149
When this was said, Dharaṇa immediately bestowed upon him / spells rich in power and of various forms.
3.150
And he assigned the excellent mountain Vaitāḍhya as an excellent abode for them, / fifty yojanas wide and made of pure silver,
3.151
twenty-five [yojanas] in height, delightful on both its tiers, / and six yojanas across the earth, while its breadth [at the base] is just a krosa.
3.152
Going to the southern tier, fifty excellent cities, / beginning with Rathanūpuracakravāla, were built by Nami, the lord of sky-farers.
3.153
Then, on the northern tier, the renowned city of Gaganavallabha / was built [by Vinami], adorned with excellent mansions, lofty arched gateways, and many Jina temples.
3.154
And about ten yojanas above that, / cities of the Gandharvas, Kinnaras, and Kimpuruṣas, adorned with fine mansions, [were built].
3.155
Going yet another five yojanas above that, the plateau of the summit / was enchanting with Jina temples, illuminating the ten directions.
3.156
In those temples virtuous Cāraṇa ascetics constantly dwell, / devoted to sacred study and meditation, radiant with the splendor of ascetic energy,
3.157
abounding in many villages, cities, towns, pleasure-groves, parks, and woods, / and with rows of blazing houses glittering with jewels, gems, and gold,
3.158
plentiful with fine buffaloes and cows, fair to behold with diverse grains, / endowed with all medicinal herbs, and flowing with honey, milk, and ghee.
3.159
Free from excessive heat and cold, devoid of harms, naturally mild, / that land crowded with Vidyādharas was known as a heavenly realm.
3.160
Their faces resembling excellent lotuses blossomed when gently touched by the sun's rays, / Vidyādhara maidens were endowed with manifold charms.
3.161
And the Vidyādharas there too, valiant and proud with the power of their sciences, / enjoyed pleasures just as they desired, like gods in a heaven.
3.162
Thus the great Vidyādharas dwelling on both ranges, endowed with food, drink, beds, and seats, / experienced abundant bliss and practiced the pure dharma taught by the Jina.
3.163
Thus ends the third chapter, named 'Description of the Realm of Vidyādharas', in the Paümacariya.
Linked texts (1)
- Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit