Buddhist Suttas — SBE Vol. 11 (Clarendon Press, 1881) page scans

e Buddhists of China and Japan is a description of this heavenly paradise of theirs, called the Sukhdvati-vyuha, the ' Book of the Happy Country/ the Sanskrit text of which has been just published by Professor Max Muller in the volume of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for the present year. It is instructive to find that several of the expressions used are word for word the same as the corresponding phrases in the ' Book of the Great King of Glory/

THE GREAT KING OF GLORY 1 .

MAHA-SUDASSANA - SUTTA.

Chapter I.

1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Kusiniri in th^ Upavattanaf tfife Sila grove of the Mallas, between the twin Sila trees, at the time ok his death.

2. Now the venerable Ananda went up to the place where the Blessed One was, and bowed down before him, and took his seat respectfully on one side. And when he was so seated, the venerable

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Ananda said to the Blessed One :

2 * Let not the Blessed One die in this little wattel and daub town, in this town in the midst of the jungle, in this branch township. For, Lord, there are other great cities, such as uâfampi, R^agaha, SAvatthi, Sdketa, Kosambi, and Benâres. Let the Blessed One die in one of them. There there are many wealthy nobles and Brâhmans and heads of houses, believers in the Tathâgata, who will pay due honour to the remains of the Tathâgata/

3. 'Say not so, Ananda! Say not so, Ananda,

1 Sudassana means ' beautiful to see, having a glorious appearance/ and is the name of many kings and heroes in Indian legend.

2 From here down to the end of the next section is found also,
nearly word for word, in the Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, above, pp. 99,
100. Compare also Maha-Sudassana Gataka, No. 95.

p. 248

THE GREAT KING OF GLORY.

CH.

that this is but a small wattel and daub town, a town in the midst of the jungle, a branch township. Long ago, Ananda, there was a king, by name Mahi-Sudassana, a king of kings, a righteous man who ruled in righteousness, an anointed Kshatriya \ Lord of the four quarters of the earth, conqueror, the protector of his people, possessor of the seven royal treasures. This KusinirA, Ananda, was the royal city of king Mahi-Sudassana, under the name of Kusivati 2 , and on the east and on the west it was twelve leagues in length, and on the north and on the south it was seven leagues in breadth. That royal city Kusivati, Ananda, was mighty, and prosperous, and full of people, crowded with men, and provided with all things for food. Just, Ananda, as the royal city of the gods, A/akamand£ by name, is mighty, prosperous, and full of people, crowded with the gods, and provided with all kinds of food, so, Ananda, was the royal city Kusivatt mighty and prosperous, full of people, crowded with men, and provided with all kinds of food.

ust, Ananda, as the royal city of the gods, A/akamand£ by name, is mighty, prosperous, and full of people, crowded with the gods, and provided with all kinds of food, so, Ananda, was the royal city Kusivatt mighty and prosperous, full of people, crowded with men, and provided with all kinds of food. Both by day and by night, Ananda, the royal city Kusivatl resounded

1 Khattiyo muddhavasitto, which does not occur in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Mahapadhana Sutta, the Lakkhana Sutta, and other places where this stock description of a JTakkavatti is found. It is omitted also in the Lalita Vistara. The Burmese Phayre MS. of the India Office reads here mudddbhisitto, but this is an unnecessary correction. So the name of the Hindu caste mentioned in the Sahyddri Kha»</a of the Skanda Purawa is spelt both ways. The epithet is probably inserted here from § 12 below.

9 Kujâvatt was the name of a famous city mentioned as the capital of Southern Kusala in post-Buddhistic Sanskrit plays and epic poems. In the Mahabharata it is called Kujavatf. It is said to have been so named after Kuja, son of Rama, by whom it was built; and it is also called Kujasthali.

I.

MAHA-SUDASSANA SUTTA.

p. 249

with the ten cries ; that is to say, the noise of elephants, and the noise of horses, and the noise of chariots ; the sounds of the drum, of the tabor, and of the lute ; the sound of singing, and the sounds of the cymbal and of the gong; and lastly, with the cry, " Eat, drink, and be merry 1 ! "

4. 'The royal city Kusâvati, Ananda, was surrounded by Seven Ramparts. Of these, one rampart was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems 2 ! '

1 This enumeration is found also at Gâtaka, p. 3, only that the chank is added there — wrongly, for that makes the number of cries eleven.

8 Beryl, agate, and coral are doubtful renderings of Pali names of precious substances, the exact meaning of which has been discussed on the very slender evidence available (and hence, it seems to me, with very little certain result) by Burnouf in the ' Lotus de la Bonne Loi/ pp. 3 1 9-321 ; and Professor Max Mtiller has a further note in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1880, p. 178. The Pali words here are in the first column :

1. Sovawwamayo, Suvarwasya;

2. Rupimayo, Rupasya;

3. Ve/uriyamayo, Vau/uryasya ;

4. Phalikamayo, Spha/ikasya;

5. Lohitahkamayo, Lohitamuktasya ;

6. Masaragallamayo, Asmagarbhasya ;

7. Sabbaratanamayo, Musaragalvasya : those in the second being taken from the Sukhavativyuha in the passage corresponding to § 6 below. It is quite possible that the writers of these passages used the rarer words only as names of precious substances, without attaching any clearly distinct meaning to each (compare Rev. xxi. 19-21).

ya : those in the second being taken from the Sukhavativyuha in the passage corresponding to § 6 below. It is quite possible that the writers of these passages used the rarer words only as names of precious substances, without attaching any clearly distinct meaning to each (compare Rev. xxi. 19-21). The Pali author seems to have been hard put to it to find enough names to fill up the sacred number seven; just as in the 'Seven Jewels' of the D ham ma, the sacred number seven is reached by giving to one jewel two distinct names (Pa#£* indriyâni = pa#£a baldni). At -Afulla Vagga IX, 1, 4 we find the following enumeration of

THE GREAT KING OF GLORY.

CH.

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5. ' To the royal city Kusdvatl, Ananda, there were Four Gates. One gate was of gold, and one of silver, and one of jade, and one of crystal. At each gate seven pillars were fixed ; in height as three times or as four times the height of a man. And one pillar was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems.

6. 'The royal city Kus£vatf, Ananda, was surrounded by Seven Rows of Palm Trees. One row was of palms of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems.

7. ' And the Golden Palms had trunks of gold, and leaves and fruits of silver. And the Silver Palms had trunks of silver, and leaves and fruits of gold. And the Palms of Beryl had trunks of beryl, and leaves and fruits of crystal. And the Crystal Palms had trunks of crystal, and leaves and fruits of beryl. And the Agate Palms had trunks of agate, and leaves and fruits of coral. And the Coral Palms had trunks of coral, and leaves and fruits of agate. And the Palms of every kind of Gem had trunks and leaves and fruits of every kind of gem.

8. 1 ' And when those rows of palm trees, Ananda, rata/zas as found in the ocean, though only Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6 are really produced there :

1. Mutta. 6. Pavâafli.

2. Mam. 7. RagaXam.

3. Ve/uriyo. 8. Gâtarupam.

4. Sankho. 9. Lohitahko.

5. Sila. 10. Masaxagallaw.

1 This section and § 9 should be compared with one in the Sukhavatfvyuha, translated by Professor Max Mliller as follows (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1880, p. 170):

' And again, O *Sariputra, when those rows of palm trees and

I.

MAHA-SUDASSANA SUTTA.

p. 251

were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

4 Just, Ananda, as the seven kind of instruments yield, when well played upon, to the skilful man, a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating — just even so, Ananda, when those rows of palm trees were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating.

9.