Viyahapannatti 3.1.156

3.1.156

"If, Venerable Sir, Śakra, the king of gods, the ruler of gods, possesses such great supernatural power up to and is able to transform this much—surely, [your] pupil named the homeless ascetic Tīṣyaka, Beloved of the Gods, was gentle by nature, tranquil by nature, with anger, pride, deceit, and greed naturally attenuated, endowed with mildness and softness, restrained, humble, cultivating himself through unbroken ascetic practices of continuous two-day fasts, having maintained the ascetic course for a full eight years, emaciating himself with a one-month saṃlekhanā, terminating sixty meals through fasting, having confessed and repented, having attained spiritual composure, dying at his appointed time, was reborn in Saudharma Kalpa in his own celestial abode, in the assembly hall of rebirth, on a divine couch, covered by a divine cloth, with a bodily stature measuring an innumerable fraction of an aṅgula, as a sāmānika god of Śakra, the king of gods, the ruler of gods.

Then, as soon as that god Tīṣyaka was newly reborn, he attained the state of completion through the fivefold completion, namely: completion of nourishment, completion of body, completion of sense organs, completion of respiration, and completion of speech and mind.

Then, when that god Tīṣyaka had attained the state of completion through the fivefold completion, the gods of the sāmānika assembly, joining their palms, clasping their ten nails together, raising them in a reverent gesture above their head and making an añjali upon their crown, congratulated him with shouts of victory and triumph. Having congratulated him, they spoke thus:

'O Beloved of the Gods! Divine godly splendour, divine godly brilliance, and divine godly power have been attained, reached, and acquired by you. Just as divine godly splendour, divine godly brilliance, and divine godly power have been attained, reached, and acquired by you, Beloved of the Gods, so too have divine godly splendour up to been acquired even by Śakra, the king of gods, the ruler of gods. Just as divine godly splendour up to has been acquired by Śakra, the king of gods, the ruler of gods, so too divine godly splendour up to has been acquired by you, Beloved of the Gods.'

How great, Venerable Sir, is the supernatural power of that god Tīṣyaka up to and how much is he able to transform?"

"Gautama, he is of great supernatural power up to great majesty. There he dwells, presiding over his own celestial abode, four thousand sāmānika gods, four chief queens along with their retinues, three assemblies, seven armies, seven commanders of the armies, sixteen thousand guardian gods, and many other Vaimānika gods and goddesses.

He possesses such great supernatural power up to and is able to transform this much: just as a young man might seize a young woman by the hand—just as with Śakra, exactly so up to. But this, Gautama, is stated only as the scope and full capacity of the god Tīṣyaka; never in actuality have they transformed, do they transform, or will they transform [to that full extent]."

"If, Venerable Sir, the god Tīṣyaka has such great supernatural power up to and is able to transform this much, Venerable Sir, how great is the supernatural power of the remaining sāmānika gods of Śakra, the king of gods, the ruler of gods?"

"Everything is exactly the same up to: Gautama, this is stated only as the scope and full capacity of each and every sāmānika god of Śakra, the king of gods, the ruler of gods; never in actuality have they transformed, do they transform, or will they transform [to that full extent].

Concerning the trāyastriṃśa gods, the Lokapālas, and the chief queens, it is to be understood just as with Camara, with the difference that: two entire Jambūdvīpa continents [can be encompassed], and all the rest is just the same."

"It is so, Venerable Sir! It is so, Venerable Sir!" So saying, the second Gautama [Agnibhūti] up to dwells.