The Story of Surasundarī 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.1

Then, seeing me with a dejected face, with tears streaming from my eyes, / resting my cheek on the palm of my hand, he began to speak thus:

5.2

"Handsome one, it is not fitting for noble men like you / to commit suicide, which is practiced by low people and produces a miserable realm of rebirth.

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Moreover, who are you? To whom do you belong? Or for what purpose did you do this? / Why, handsome one, full of grief, do you shed unbroken, thick tears?"

5.4

Drawing a deep breath, I then spoke this [to him]: / 'What is to be gained, good sir, by telling this wretched story?

5.5

It is fitting to speak in this world of that from whose telling some good is obtained; / otherwise, what is the point of speaking, when it is like pounding chaff?

5.6

Moreover, when an affair is already ruined, no recounting can provide support; / when the water has run out, what good can the building of a dike achieve?

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Why did you create an obstacle for me as I gave up my life, / my mind bent on destroying intolerable sorrow?

5.8

So do not make an obstacle for me now either.' Then he said: / 'Noble sir! Do not do so; tell me your reason first.

5.9

For once the nature of the matter is known, some remedy may be found.' / Thereupon I told him the entire preceding story,

5.10

ending with the hanging [attempt]. Hearing that, O Supratiṣṭha, / I was addressed by him: 'It is certainly not fitting for noble men,

5.11

to act in this way on account of a young woman, especially for you, who are skilled in prudence! / For men who stay alive attain the highest good after highest good.

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Moreover, you are fortunate, since at least you have an exchange of words between you, / and there are the goddess’s words which are a basis for hope;

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likewise, you dwell in the same city, with the occasion for producing mutual affection. / Why then do you grieve? You are fortunate and full of merit!

5.14

As for me, bereft of merit, even that hope of seeing her somehow / suffers from destitution; yet still I hold onto my life.

5.15

How great can your suffering be, noble sir, when conversation was possible, / compared to mine, who does not even know the whereabouts of my beloved?'

5.16

Then I said: 'Tell me your own story first: / How is it that you do not even know your beloved’s whereabouts?

5.17

In what city is your dwelling, and on what business have you come here?' / Then he said: 'Listen with a single mind, sir!

On this very mountain, filled with many Vidyādhara cities, / there is a splendid city named Suranandana on the northern row [of Vaitāḍhya], / with well-divided crossroads and squares, lovely with various parks,

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endowed with very wide ramparts, resembling the excellent city of Indra.

5.20

There was a king of the Vidyādharas, celebrated among all sky-goers, / having mastery over all magical lores, the lotus of his feet bowed to by multitudes of Vidyādharas, / with eyes like lotus petals, delighting eyes and minds, heroic,

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like the sun destroying the radiance of all bright ones, of unbroken majesty, / like a lion cub in holding back the arrogant enemy elephants;

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his stainless fame was spreading far and wide, and he was named Haricandra.

5.23

He had a wife named Ratnavatī, / whose face was like a lotus, whose wide, excellent eyes were like blue water-lily petals, / and whose body had the splendor of the interior of a lotus.

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While he was experiencing with her—the chief of all the inner apartment, / the queen dearer than life—the pleasure of the senses, the essence of the triad of life’s goals,

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a son resembling a divine prince was born to her; / and in due time they gave him the name Prabhañjana.

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And [she bore] a daughter named Bandhusundarī, of peerless beauty and charm. / Both of them gradually attained early youth.

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Then one day, having great affection for one another, / while sitting in private, a conversation took place between them.

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Prabhañjana said: 'Whichever child is born first to you, / whether daughter or son, must be given to my child;

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moreover, whether it is yours or mine, whatever child is born first here, / a mutual marital alliance between them must be made by us.'

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Then Bandhusundarī assented, saying 'So be it,' / her mind drawn by great affection and love for her brother.

5.31

Now on the northern row of Vaitāḍhya there is a city / adorned with groves of trees bearing fruit in all seasons, named Camaracañcā.

5.32

And there was a king of the sky-goers named Bhānugati, of matchless power, / who surpassed the beauty of the Bodiless One, the delight of the minds of amorous women.

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Haricandra, the best of the sky-goers, gave his daughter Bandhusundarī to him / with great affection, and she was respectfully married by him.

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Experiencing with that slender-bodied lady the five kinds of sense pleasures / with deep affection, Bhānugati enjoyed his realm.

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As days passed, a daughter was born to that queen, / illuminating the circle of the directions, named Citralēkhā.

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And after that, indicated by auspicious dreams, the queen gave birth to a son / under an auspicious lunar day and constellation, and he was given the name Citragati.

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King Haricandra too, having heard the Jina-dharma, the cause of the bliss of liberation, / at the feet of a cāraṇa monk named Sumukha,

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established his son Prabhañjana in his place and renounced the world, / terrified of dwelling in saṃsāra and disgusted with sensual pleasures.

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Taking up monkhood at the feet of the cāraṇa Sumukha, / he destroyed the web of karma, put an end [to rebirth], and became an omniscient one.

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That Prabhañjana, too, a majestic Vidyādhara king, / freed from all fear, enjoyed the kingdom bestowed by his father.

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He had two chief queens born of noble lineages, / the best in the entire inner apartment: Kalahaṁsī and Mañjūsā.

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To Kalahaṁsī a son was born named Jvalanaprabha; / to Mañjūsā a younger son was born named Kanakaprabha.

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Queen Bandhusundarī, remembering her brother's words / and seeing that her daughter Citralēkhā had attained youth,

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related those words of her brother to her beloved Bhānugati. / Then by Bhānugati his daughter Citralēkhā

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was given to the sky-goer Prabhañjana's handsome eldest son / Jvalanaprabha, and by him she was married with great affection.

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She was taken to the city of Suranandana, and, enjoying sense-pleasures / with her who was full of affection, he lives like a god in the heavenly world.

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Now on a certain day, the sky-goer lord Prabhañjana, having seen in the sky / a bank of clouds white as the moon resembling a temple,

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began to think: 'Ah! This form is charming! / In this very shape I will have a delightful Jina temple built.'

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Then, as the king was about to sketch it on the jeweled floor, / just then the entire cloud, struck by the wind, suddenly vanished.

5.50

Seeing it vanish in an instant, the king reflected thus: / 'Such are the fortunes of men, transient in nature!

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Just as this piece of cloud was seen for a moment and then disappeared, / so all objects produce joy for only an instant.'

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Beauty, life, youth, and every family connection—
all are impermanent! Alas, cursed be dwelling in saṃsāra!

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Though it is manifestly impermanent, beings attached to sense pleasures
regard it as permanent: this is the power of delusion.

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Even knowing the word of the Jinas, attached to passions, they engage in
violence and possessions: ah, the might of great delusion!

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Therefore, enough of my kingdom, the cause of dwelling in saṃsāra,
the root of grave suffering, for one who knows the word of the lord of Jinas, alas!

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So, abandoning harmful activity, I shall quickly undertake renunciation.
What use to me is this worthless kingdom, a fetter to bad rebirths?

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Moreover, in my lineage, many kings, having given the kingdom
to their own sons and practiced the monkhood, attained a good rebirth.

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Therefore, born in that lineage, I too must do this.'
Reflecting thus, the king declared [it] to the gathered Vidyādharas.

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Meanwhile, the monk Sughoṣa, a wandering ascetic
possessing four kinds of knowledge, arrived there while roaming to enlighten the worthy.

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Then King Prabhañjana, having given the kingdom to his son Jvalanaprabha
and the noble spell Prajñapti to Kanakaprabha,

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renounced, setting aside royal fortune at the feet
of the sādhu Sughoṣa—thus [acted] the king of Vidyādharas.

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Jvalanaprabha too enjoyed royal splendour, surrounded by Vidyādhara multitudes,
together with Citralekhā, foremost among all the inner apartments.

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And Kanakaprabha, having mastered the spell named Prajñapti according to the rites,
experienced the great expansion of power born from the spell's might.

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Abandoning the conduct of his lineage, disregarding the drum of ill fame in the world,
esteeming lack of judgment, giving no thought to descent into a bad rebirth,

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disregarding the status of his elder, taking up discourtesy,
longing for royal splendour, filled with pride at the strength of his spell,

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Kanakaprabha, through the power of his spell, stripped away
the royal rank given by their father to his elder brother, Jvalanaprabha.

5.67

Then, through his fierce splendour, he occupied that entire kingdom;
he brought the whole host of Vidyādharas under his control through conciliation and the rest.

5.68

Banished from his territory by his younger brother, Jvalanaprabha
arrived at his father-in-law's side in the city Camaracañcā.

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With great honour he was ushered into his city by his father-in-law,
King Bhānugati, together with Citralekhā.

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Then, as he dwelt with supreme delight in that heavenly city,
O Citravega, a few days passed for him.

5.71

Then, on another day, Jvalanaprabha, accompanied by his brother-in-law
named Citragati, went out from that city.

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Viewing various groves endowed with lovely trees,
and ponds of clear water adorned with pairs of bhāraṇḍa birds,

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viewing the peaks of the great mountain radiant with outspread white luster,
beautified by groves of plantains well frequented by Kinnara couples,

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delightful with the pleasant bustle of cuckoos cooing very softly,
and sweet with the deep buzzing of wandering swarms of bees,

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he reached, with curiosity and together with Citragati,
a bower in the forest filled with hundreds of trees bending under the weight of fruit.

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He beheld a red aśoka tree whose mass of lovely sprouts stirred
in the blowing gentle breeze, full of the buzzing made by swarms of bees.

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And beneath it, seated upon a golden lotus, he saw the noble monk
being bowed down to by Vidyādharas, humans, Kinnaras, and hosts of gods,

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in whom spotless omniscience had arisen, and who was being praised by chief gods;
and as he drew near, Jvalanaprabha recognized him:

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‘This is my father, the noble monk named Prabhañjana.’
When this was told to Citragati, both of them with joy,

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having duly circumambulated him three times, their bodily hair bristling profusely with joy,
bowed to the feet of the omniscient one and sat down on the surface of the earth.

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Then, with a voice as deep as the thunder of a raincloud, which surpassed it,
the Blessed One began to deliver a sermon to that assembly:

5.82

‘Moreover, fortune is as fickle as an elephant-calf’s ear, the lifespan of humans is transient,
and old age swiftly assails the youth of men.

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Even that youth departs in the world of living beings, afflicted by hundreds of diseases,
and for some, by the pain of separation from the dear and union with the disagreeable.

5.84

In such youth of living beings, extremely limited, fickle,
and abundant in diseases, old age, grief, and illnesses, what attachment can there be?

5.85

Objects of sense are causes for a bad rebirth; even when enjoyed, they are trivial,
and always tasteless in the end: what attachment, then, can there be to them?

5.86

Thus in saṃsāra, what appears to have substance is due to delusion;
knowing that even that is the cause of hundreds of sufferings, practice the Dharma of the Jinas!

5.87

Since this assemblage [of conditions], difficult to attain and never before attained,
has been obtained by you in the ocean of saṃsāra, do not make it fruitless!

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For this [human state] is difficult to attain again for those wandering in existence
crowded with hundreds of thousands of wombs, nor is there any other [path] except the doctrine of the Jinas.

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Therefore, as spoken by the Jinas, take initiation, practice self-restraint,
and abandoning saṃsāra, attain the supreme bliss of perfection!’

5.90

When the Dharma was thus expounded by the monk, some there took initiation,
and others became lay-votaries, duly receiving [the vows].

5.91

Meanwhile, Jvalanaprabha bowed and submitted to his father:
‘Blessed One, shall that kingdom be mine once again, or not?’

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Then the omniscient one said, ‘It shall be.’ ‘When?’ he asked;
then the chief of noble monks, knowing ultimate reality through omniscience, said:

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‘When the Rohiṇī spell given by Bhānugati has been mastered by you, fortunate one,
you will become sovereign of the Vidyādharas again; there is no doubt.’

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When the monk had spoken thus, [Jvalanaprabha] praised the Blessed One with a smiling face;
meanwhile, the whole assembly returned the way they had come.

5.95

Then those two men quickly returned to their own city,
and Citragati told the words of the omniscient one to his father.

5.96

And then, under an auspicious lunar mansion, Bhānugati
gave the Rohiṇī spell simultaneously to both his son-in-law and his son.

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And he told [them]: ‘Perform the preliminary service duly with the proper ritual;
remain in a secluded dwelling together for six months, and afterwards,

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the rigorous final service must be performed alone in the wilderness,
while the other must act as the auxiliary accomplisher.

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Moreover, you must not pay attention even to terrifying frights;
then, when the seventh month is completed, the spell will manifest in visible form.’

5.100

Instructed in this way by the king, both bowed to his lotus feet / and began to perform that [rite] until six months had elapsed.

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Then, when the seventh month arrived, going to the forest, / Jvalanaprabha first began the complete procedure, starting with the oblation during the recitation of the spell.

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With the sword Vasunandaka in hand, Citragati became his protector; / with an undistracted mind, he too began to perform that procedure.

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On another day, Citralekhā was seen at that spot, / approaching hastily, her body trembling, terrified with fear.

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Seeing his own sister, Citragati said: “Where have you come [from], fair lady, / alone into this exceedingly terrifying forest?

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From fear of whom are you trembling violently, sister?” Then she said: / “I went out from the city, accompanied by female slaves and servant-girls.

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I reached the garden, and there I worshiped the Flower-Arrowed One [Kāma]. / While returning to my own house, I was suddenly bewildered by someone.

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Leaving that retinue behind and fleeing, I arrived here in the forest; / then suddenly Kanakaprabha was seen by me.

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By that wicked man it was said: ‘Desire me!’ Then, filled with intense anger, / he was cursed by me in many ways with harsh words.

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Raising his sword, he said to me: ‘Desire me! / And if not, then I will cut off your head with this sword!’

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And addressed thus by him, fleeing and trembling with fear, / I came to your presence. Protect me from that villain!”

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While she was speaking thus, Kanakaprabha suddenly arrived, seized her in his hands, / and flew up into the sky, which was dark as tamāla leaves.

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“Alas! Protect, protect, brother! Alas, beloved! Rescue me!” / Seeing his sister being carried off, weeping in this manner,

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[crying:] “O stain upon your own lineage! Where will you escape alive, having fallen into my line of sight? / Stand like a man! I will cut off your head!”—

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Shouting such things, Citragati, grasping his sharp sword, / flew up in pursuit in order to liberate his sister.

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Then Kanakaprabha, bewildering him, arrived in his own city; / and Citragati, the sky-goer, also arrived close behind him.

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Then, bewildering Citragati with a spell of bewitchment, / Kanakaprabha entered his own city, Suranandana.

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Then Citragati, his mind bewildered, with the abduction of his sister forgotten, / descended in curiosity into the outer pleasure-garden there,

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Seeing a multitude of people assembled at the time of the festival / in the excellent temple of the Jina Ṛṣabha, shining with various garments.

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Entering the temple of the Jina and bowing with devotion to the first Lord of Jinas, / Citragati sat down in the midst of a multitude of vidyādharas.

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After a moment, a man named Damaghoṣa, / sent by Jvalanaprabha, arrived in the Jina's temple, inquiring for Citragati.

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Seeing Citragati, bowing, and leading him to a secluded spot, / Damaghoṣa then said: “In order to liberate your sister,

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You flew up; but Jvalanaprabha, even seeing all that, / remained unperturbed in mind and did not deviate at all from his proper rite.

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Seeing Jvalanaprabha with an unwavering mind engaged in the recitation of the spell, / that Rohiṇī spell manifested visibly at once.

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She said: ‘O son! Your fortitude is indeed completely incomparable. / Therefore I am mastered by you; tell me, what should I do?’

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Jvalanaprabha said: ‘She who was my wife and was abducted / by Kanakaprabha—bring her quickly to my presence!’

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Then the spell said: ‘O son, hear first this matter: / through the words of the omniscient one, all his circumstances [were known].

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Told by Prajñapti, he then came to your presence. / All this was done by him through illusion to agitate you.

5.128

Your wife remains happily in her own home without affliction; / but Citragati has been bewildered by him through the power of a bewitching spell.

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He remains seated in the temple of the Jina in the city of Suranandana; / therefore do not feel any anxiety regarding this matter, O son!’

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Having spoken thus, the spell instantly vanished; / then I was dispatched by Jvalanaprabha to your presence.”

5.131

And addressed thus by Damaghoṣa, Citragati's mind became unclouded; / he set out together with him to his own place.

5.132

Meanwhile, when the lustration of the best of Jinas was nearly completed, / the people, mounted on various kinds of conveyances, were entering the city.

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Moreover, someone was mounted on a palanquin, [others] mounted on painted excellent chariots, / on horses, elephants, mules, and various kinds of litters.

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At that moment an elephant belonging to Kanakaprabha, of immense body, / rut-maddened and unleashed, rushed out of that city,

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Smashing doorways of houses, repeatedly pulling down verandas, / killing multitudes of people, and tossing aside various chariots.

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Then, seeing him who resembled the god of death, with his huge trunk raised and a dreadful face, / the people fled in every direction, terrified by the fear of death.

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And he, smashing groups of carriages with blows of his tusks and feet / and tossing them with his trunk, wandered everywhere there.

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Standing in the sky out of curiosity, Citragati began to watch / that rutting elephant, difficult to look upon like the face of the god of death.

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Meanwhile, in an excellent chariot, a young maiden in the bloom of youth, / of matchless beauty, adorned with many kinds of splendid ornaments,

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Fell to the ground as if dead when the chariot was smashed / by noble horses terrified by the elephant and running off the path.

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That noble woman, with large, trembling eyes possessing the luster of fresh blue water-lilies, / had her ear-rings broken and the mass of her fine hair disheveled;

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The girdle-cord dangling with clusters of gold bells was snapped, / her breasts were lightly covered by a fine scarf, and the flowers had fallen from her head;

5.143

Her pair of armlets was detached, her bracelets had fallen, her neck-ornaments were ruined, / and her body was adorned with pearls scattered from a broken string of gems;

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Her pair of anklets was broken, and her mass of jewel-garlands was crushed; / then she, whose body tossed upon the ground, was seen by that elephant.

5.145

Then, raising his trunk, the lordly elephant advanced to kill her; / seeing that, the attendants raised a great cry of despair.

5.146

Then, [seeing] that young woman whose limbs and minor parts were well-formed, whose face was like the full moon, / whose waist could be grasped by a hand, and whose hips were broad,

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Even seeing the elephant approaching, unable to move, / her body trembling violently from fear of death, terrified—

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Seeing her helpless, looking in all directions with trembling pupils, / Citragati, standing in the sky, thought thus:

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"Alas! Alas! This jewel of a woman, a treasury of love, is about to perish!" / Descending from the sky, he then took her into his lap.

5.150

Having taken her himself, swiftly carrying her to a place free from danger, / he placed her upon a paved platform in the cool shade of a tree.

5.151

Then, having been comforted by the gentle breeze of his upper garment, / she looked at him with eyes half-closed in embarrassment and modest apprehension.

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Seeing that youth, as if one long-known, out of an emergence of deep affection, / her cheeks bloomed, as if sprinkled with nectar.

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Citragati too, seeing her peerless beauty, / stood with motionless eyes fixed upon her face.

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Meanwhile, her nurse, surrounded by several young women, quickly / arrived, sat down, and spoke to him in sweet words:

5.155

"It is truly said that virtuous people are devoted to doing good for others; / this has been proved true by you, who freed this maiden from the lordly elephant.

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Therefore, O you who are affectionate without motive! She is alive thanks to your power." / Praising him with many such remarks, she spoke again:

5.157

"We are going to our home, for it is now evening." / Citragati replied, "Do so." And then,

5.158

as they set off facing toward their city, by that maiden / a jewel-ring was swiftly taken from Citragati's hand.

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And secretly she handed over to him the one situated upon her own hand; / then, with her body trembling from modesty and nervousness, she set out to go.

5.160

With turned neck and a glance betraying excessive love, / she gazed at him in such a way that he became the target of the flower-arrowed god.

5.161

Then, accompanied by her female companions, she gradually entered her excellent city; / Citragati too had his heart captured by her youth and beauty.

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He became as if painted in a picture for a moment, devoid of any other activity; / seeing him, Damaghoṣa spoke thus with modesty:

5.163

"The sun, its heat departed, is approaching the peak of the mountain of setting; / therefore, prince, let us go to our own place. Why this delay?"

5.164

Hearing his words, concealing his inner thought, he said: / "We shall do so; however, this is the reason for the delay:

5.165

A jewel-ring has fallen from my hand somewhere here; / to search for it, I will come back quickly at dawn.

5.166

You, however, go swiftly and tell the news to Jvalanaprabha." / Smiling slightly, Damaghoṣa then spoke thus:

5.167

"When it has been seen directly with one's own eyes, prince, what is the use of crooked words here? / Was the maiden not seen taking it from your hand?

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Therefore, abandoning deceit, it is proper to state the matter just as it is. / I will go to discover the pure lineage of the maiden."

5.169

Being spoken to in this manner by him, Citragati laughed and said: / "Damaghoṣa, you have correctly understood what is in my mind!"

5.170

Then, having bowed, Damaghoṣa flew up and reached his own place; / Citragati too entered a delightful temple of the Jina of the Beginning of the Age.

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Having paid homage to the image of the lord of Jinas, in a solitary spot free from the Jina's presence, / he went and sat down; and by then night had arrived.

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Then he began to think: "Why, I wonder, did she take / the jewel-ring from my hand, or why did she place her own upon me?

5.173

How indeed shall I discover her family, and how can she be wed? / If she could become my wife, then my life would be fruitful.

5.174

It is fitting in this world to indulge in sensual pleasures only in the company of a woman endowed with such beauty; / in the absence of that, desire for worldly pleasures seems to me a mockery.

5.175

He indeed is a fulfilled man into whose hand touches that young girl / whose creeper-like arms are as tender as the core of a plantain, and who walks with the gait of a swan.

5.176

Blessed am I, because that slender-bodied girl was taken into my lap by me, / and yet, that she was not firmly embraced by me—by that I was cheated!

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If only there would again be a festival, and she would fall to the ground in terror of an elephant, / so that, having seized her swiftly, I might embrace her tightly!"

5.178

As he reflected upon many such thoughts, his mind fixed on her, / the night passed away along with sleep, and the sun arose.

5.179

Then, at dawn, having first worshipped the supreme Jina according to rule, / he set out facing the city in order to discover the maiden's ancestral family.

5.180

Arriving at the city, he saw it devoid of people, with every white mansion empty, / abandoned by the fortune of the city, deserted, resembling a forest.

5.181

Seeing that, his heart filled with astonishment, he thought in his mind: / "Alas, from what cause has this city become deserted all of a sudden?

5.182

Could this be an illusion, or is it truly deserted? / Has an angered deity swept it away from this place?

5.183

Or have the people fled from this city out of fear of someone?" / While Citragati was entering, reflecting thus,

5.184

a man approaching from the opposite direction was seen by him; / greeting him courteously, Citragati addressed him in sweet words:

5.185

"Gentle sir, for what reason has this excellent city suddenly become deserted?" / Then Citragati was told by him: "Listen while it is explained.

5.186

First, this is well-known: proud of the Vidyāprajñapti science, heroic / Kanakaprabha, a king of the Vidyādharas, rules this excellent city.

5.187

Having usurped the position of the kingdom given by his father / to his elder brother Jvalanaprabha, Kanakaprabha established himself here.

5.188

And the elder brother, expelled, went to the city of his father-in-law; / this king too remained in this city, enjoying the kingdom.

5.189

By his father-in-law Bhānugati, the Rohiṇī Vidyā was reportedly given to him; / he set out to master it, and this was revealed to Kanakaprabha by his own Vidyā.

5.190

Then, to obstruct him, King Kanakaprabha went there; / and he was not able to disturb him, so he became afraid in his heart.

5.191

Returning toward his own city, his mind distracted with other thoughts, / somehow, through negligence, he flew over a Jina temple.

5.192

Formerly this covenant was made by Dharaṇendra for the sky-goers: / 'Whoever flies over Jina temples or images of monks here,

5.193

for that lowest of Vidyādharas, the destruction of his magical science will occur swiftly.' / Thus it is very well known to all the Vidyādharas on Mount Vaitāḍhya.

5.194

Then, because this king flew over a Jina temple, Dharaṇa, enraged, / destroyed his magical science at that very moment, noble sir!

5.195

Knowing that Jvalanaprabha's magical science had been accomplished, Kanakaprabha, / deprived of his magical science and unable to remain here, then fled."

5.196

Stricken with terror, he went with his kinsmen to Gaṅgāvarta / on the southern range, seeking the protection of glorious Gandhavāhana.

5.197

Learning of this event, all the citizens were thrown into confusion; / deprived of their lord, terrified, they spoke thus to one another:

5.198

“Our lord has fled, nor can this city be dwelt in [by us]; / without him, it is not fitting for us to remain here now.

5.199

Who will protect us all dwelling here bereft of a master? / Therefore it is proper to abandon this city at once.”

5.200

When this was decided by the city elders, skilled in counsel, / all the people fled; then the city became deserted.

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Surasuṃdarīcariya — Dhaneśvara, Māhārāṣṭrī Prakrit