Paumacariya 88

English (machine translation) 88

Language: English

88.1

Then the lord of the city of Magadha, having made obeisance, asked the chief of the gaṇas: / "For what reason was Madhurā chosen by the son of Kaikeyī?

88.2

Here there are many capitals equal to the realm of the gods; / they were not desirable to Śatrughna, but rather the city of Madhurā?"

88.3

Then the best of sages said: "O Śreṇika! In Madhurā, the son of King Daśaratha, Śatrughna, / had lived many previous lives; therefore it was dear to him.

88.4

Now, blown by the wind of karma upon the ocean of saṁsāra, / in Bharata, in the city of Madhurā, there arose a soul named Jatuṇadeva.

88.5

Devoid of dharma, he died and became a wild hog, and then a crow; / wandering through births, he was born as a mighty buffalo.

88.6

Then, as a water-carrying ox, he was born six times as a buffalo; / through the subsidence of karma, he became a poor mortal,

88.7

A brāhmaṇa named Kuliśadhara, devoted to serving the best of sages, / possessed of one hundred and twenty [virtues], free from infantile deeds.

88.8

The lord of that city, named Asahita, once set out / for a distant land; and his chief queen was Lalitā.

88.9

Afflicted by wind-disease, struck by the arrows of Kāma upon seeing the brāhmaṇa, / she had a maidservant summon him and sat on the same seat with him.

88.10

Then one day the king swiftly returned to his own home / and saw him sitting on the very same seat with the queen.

88.11

That deceitful woman wailed loudly within the palace; / the brāhmaṇa was terrified, and he was seized by the king's men.

88.12

"By the king's order, impose corporal punishment on this man!" / Outside the city, he was seen by a sage named Kalyāṇa.

88.13

[The sage] said: "If you take renunciation, then I will release you." / He consented to that; released by the men, he took renunciation.

88.14

Having performed severe asceticism, at the time of death he was born as a supreme god; / surrounded by goddesses, immersed in an ocean of pleasure, he sported.

88.15

There was a king named Candrabhadra, lord of Madhurā, possessed of devotion to truth; / he had three noble wives who were like sisters.

88.16

To them three sons were born: Śūra, Jatuṇadatta, / and Deva the third, [also known as] Bhānuprabha, Ugrāsya, and Kākāsya.

88.17

Another wife of Candrabhadra was named Kanakābhā; / then that god descended and was born to her as her son Acala.

88.18

Another man named Artha, having approved dharma, of great beauty, / was born in due course at that time as the son of Maṅgikā.

88.19

He resided in Śrāvastī; misbehaving, he was deeply hated by the people; / expelled from there, he wandered about in due course, suffering greatly.

88.20

Meanwhile Prince Acala, dear to his father, was attacked three times / by Ugrāsya and the others seeking to slay him, and he fled.

88.21

Wandering the earth, pierced by a thorn in a tilaka forest, / he was seen groaning while trying to extract it by Artha, who was carrying a bundle of wood.

88.22

Setting down the load of wood, Artha extracted the thorn in an instant; / having become comfortable, Acala said to him: "Listen!

88.23

If you hear anywhere of one renowned on earth by the name of Acala, / you must certainly go to his presence without hesitation."

88.24

Having said this, Artha then set out for Śrāvastī; / and Acala in due course reached a splendid garden in Kauśāmbī.

88.25

There he pleased Indradatta, best of men, who was suffering from Garuḍa poison, / with his archery skills and with an antidote that subdued the serpent.

88.26

The king gave his own daughter Mitradattā to Acala; / he became inviolable in the world and attained kingship.

88.27

Having won over the provinces and accompanied by all his forces, / to wage war against his father's [enemies], Acala arrived at Madhurā.

88.28

Those sons of Candrabhadra, together with their allied kings, / were all split and alienated by Acala with lavish wealth.

88.29

Knowing that all his servants were alienated, Candrabhadra / sent his brothers-in-law, Vasu and Datta, for the sake of peace.

88.30

Seeing Acala, they recognized him by the marks from before; / feeling ashamed, they returned and told Candrabhadra.

88.31

All the servants together with the sons made their submission; / Candrabhadra learned of Acala's return together with his maternal uncles.

88.32

Candrabhadra, delighted with his son, celebrated the joy of reunion; / by the power of his good deeds, Acala became sovereign of the kingdom.

88.33

Once Acala saw Artha in the midst of a crowd of dancers, / recognized him, and rescued him while he was being beaten by the doorkeepers.

88.34

King Acala gave him his own birthplace, Śrāvastī, / as well as abundant wealth, beginning with various ornaments.

88.35

Both of them, accompanied by their retinue, went to a garden for pleasure; / seeing the sage Samudra, they renounced the world in his presence.

88.36

Cultivating themselves in right faith, knowledge, and conduct, they passed away in time; / both were born as gods in Kamalottara, accompanied by celestial nymphs.

88.37

Having enjoyed celestial pleasures, the god who was Acala descended into the womb of Kaikeyī / and was born as the son of Daśaratha, Śatrughna, renowned across the earth.

88.38

O Śreṇika! Because of his numerous previous lives right there in the excellent city of Madhurā, / Śatrughna took delight in it, setting aside all other cities.

88.39

Under the shade of a house or a noble tree where one resides for even a single day, / a soul naturally develops an attachment to that place.

88.40

How much more, O Śreṇika, where a soul has lived for many births? / In that place an exceeding affection arises; such is the rule.

88.41

Then that chief of gods, Artha, falling from there upon the exhaustion of his lifespan, / was born as Kṛtāntavadana, the commander-in-chief of Haladhara [Lakṣmaṇa].

88.42

Thus has been recounted to you, O Śreṇika, who asked with humility, / the series of births of Śatrughna, together with Kṛtāntavadana.

Hearing thus [of deeds] followed through successive rebirths, whoever in this world does not engage in acts of dharma,
being obstructed by the ripening of evil karmas, that fool does not attain the spotless abode of bliss.

88.44

Here ends the eighty-eighth chapter in the Paümacariya, titled 'The Proclamation of the Previous Births of Śatrughna and Kṛtāntamukha'.

Linked texts (1)

Paümacariya — Vimalasūri, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit