A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4.200

v2.c19.s6.t4.200

Chapter IV is on a lofty ethical plane, and contains many a beautiful passage such as the confession of sins,² and the praise of love (maitrī) towards all beings.³ The doctrine of Śūnyatā is developed in Chapter VI. The major portion of the work consists, however, of a glorification of the Suvarṇa-Prabhāsa itself, and the merit of reading this book is extolled over and over again. In Chapter VIII the goddess Sarasvatī appears, and in Chapter IX Śrī Mahādevī, the great goddess Śrī, in order to magnify the Suvarṇa-Prabhāsa as a Dhāraṇī.⁴ Chapter XIII is a kind of manual for kings (rājaśāstra), called Devendrasamaya, which Baladaketu recited to his son Ruciraketu when he was anointed as king.⁵ Among the legends which are related in the Suvarṇa-Prabhāsa, there is also one about a prince who kills himself in order to serve as food for a hungry tigress,¹ whereupon the prince's father has his son's remains preserved in a golden casket, and has a Stūpa erected over them. In other places, however, Tantric ritual is also taught, and female deities, Hārītī, Caṇḍikā, etc., are mentioned.