Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
192 THE SMALLER SUKIIAVAtJ-V^OhA. §3. palm-trees, and with strings of bells \ It is enclosed on every side -, beautiful, brilliant with the four gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, and crystal ^. With ' Kihkiwi^ala, The texts read kahka«a^alai^ kz. and kahkawi^alais ^a, and again later kahkawi^alunam (also IQ) and kahkawi^alanam, Mr. Beal translates from Chinese 'seven rows of exquisite curtains,' and again ' gemmous curtains. First of all, it seems clear that we must read ^ala, net, web, instead of ^ala. Secondly, kahkawa, bracelet, gives no sense, for what could be the meaning of nets or strings of bracelets .-' I prefer to read kihkiwi^ala, nets or strings or rows of bells. Such rows of bells served for ornamenting a garden, and it may be said of them that, if moved by the wind, they give forth certain sounds. In the commentary on Dhammapada 30, p. 191, we meet with kihkinika^ala, from which likewise the music proceeds; see Childers, s.v. ^ala. In the I\ISS. of the Nepalese Sukhavati-vyfiha (R.A.S.), p. 39 a, 1. 4, I likewise find svarwaratnakinkiwi^alani, which settles the matter, and shows how little confidence we can place in the Japanese texts. * Anuparikshipta, enclosed; see parikkhej^o in Childers' Dictionary, and compare pairidaSza, paradise. ' The four and seven precious things in Pali are (according to Childers) : — 1. suva;/;/aw, gold. 2. ra^j^ataw, silver. 3. multa, pearls. 4. ma//i, gems (as sapphire, ruby). 5. ve/uriyaw, cat's eye. 6. va^iraw, diamond. 7. pava/am, coral. Here Childers translates cat's eye; but s.v. ve/uriyam, he says, a precious stone, perhaps lapis lazuli. In Sanskrit (Burnouf, Lotus, p. 320): —
2I. suvarwa. gold. 2. rOpya, silver. 3- vai</flrya, lapis lazuli. 4- spha/ika. crystal. R- lohilamukti, red }x;arls. 6. a.rmagarbha. diamond. 7 musAragalva, coral. §4. THE SMALLER SUKIIAVATI-VyOhA. 93 such arrays of excellences peculiar to a Buddha country is that Buddha country adorned. §4. 'And again, O ^'ariputra, in that world Sukhavati there are lotus lakes, adorned with the seven gems, viz, gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, diamonds, and corals as the seventh. They are full of water which possesses the eight good qualities \ their waters rise as high as the fords and bathing-places, so that even crows ^ may drink there ; they are Julien (Pelerins Buddhistes, vol. ii, p. 482) gives the following list :— 1. spha/ika, rock crystal. 2. vaidGrya, lapis lazuli. 3. ajmagarbha, cornaline. 4. musaragalva, amber. 5. padmaraga, ruby. Vaifi^Clrya (or Vaidfirya) is mentioned in the Tathagataguwa- ^wana/i'intyavishayavataranirde.ya (Wassilief, p. 161) as a precious stone ^vhich, if placed on green cloth, looks green, if placed on red cloth, red. The fact that va.id\lvya. is often compared with the colour of the eyes of a cat would seem to point to the cat's eye (see Borooah's Engl.-Sanskrit Dictionary, vol. ii, preface, p. ix), certainly not to lapis lazuli. Cat's eye is a kind of chalcedony. I see, however, that vaiffurya has been recognised as the original of the Greek ^ijpvXXos-, a very ingenious conjecture, either of Weber's or of Pott's, considering that lingual d has a sound akin to r, and ry may be changed to ly and 11 (Weber, Omina, p. 326). The Persian billaur or ballur, which Skeat gives as the etymon of jSijpv'Wos, is of Arabic origin, means crystal, and could hardly have found its way into Greek at so early a time. See ' India, what can it teach us? ' p. 267. * The eight good qualities of water are limpidity and purity, refreshing coolness, sweetness, softness, fertilising qualities, calmness, power of preventing famine, productiveness. See Beal, Catena, p. 379. 2 Kakapeya. One text reads kakapeya, the other kakapeya. It is difficult to choose. The more usual word is kakapeya, which is explained by Pawini, II, i, 33. It is uncertain, however, whether kakapeya is meant as a laudatory or as
394 THE SMALLER SUKnAvATi-VvOHA. §4. Strewn with golden sand. And in these lotus-lakes there are all around on the four sides four stairs, beautiful and brilliant with the four gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal. And on every side of these lotus-lakes gem- trees are growing, beautiful and brilliant with the seven gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, diamonds, and corals as the seventh. And in those lotus-lakes lotus-flowers are growing, blue, blue-coloured, of blue splendour, blue to behold ; yellow, yellow-coloured, of yellow splendour, yellow to behold ; red, red-coloured, of red splendour, red to behold ; white, white-coloured, of white splendour, white to behold ; beautiful, beautifully-coloured, of beautiful splendour, beautiful to behold, and in circumference as large as the wheel of a chariot. a depreciatory term. Bohtlingk lakes it in the latter sense, and translates nadi kakapeya, by a shallow riverthat could be drunk up by a crow. Taranatha takes it in the former sense, and translates nadi kakapeya, as a river so full of water that a crow can drink it without bending its neck (kakair anatakandharai/; piyate ; pQrwodakatvena prajasye kakai^ peye nadyadau). In our passage kakapeya must be a term of praise, and we therefore could only render it by ' ponds so full of water that crows could drink from them. But why should so well known a word as kakapeya have been spelt kakapeya, unless it was done intentionally? And if intentionally, what was it intended for? We must remember that Tawini, II, i, 42 schol., teaches us how to form the word tirthakdka, a crow at a lirtha, which means a person in a wrong place. It would seem therefore thai crows were considered out of place at a lirtha or baihing-place, either because they were birds of ill omen, or because they defiled the water. From that point of view, kakapeya would mean a pond not visiied by crows, free from crows. Professor Pischel has called my atlcnlion to Mahapariuibbana Sulla (J. R. A. S. 1875, p. 67, p. 21), where kakapeya clearly refers to a full river. Samali////ika, if this is the right reading, occurs in the same place as an epiihel of
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
192 THE SMALLER SUKIIAVAtJ-V^OhA. §3. palm-trees, and with strings of bells \ It is enclosed on every side -, beautiful, brilliant with the four gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, and crystal ^. With ' Kihkiwi^ala, The texts read kahka«a^alai^ kz. and kahkawi^alais ^a, and again later kahkawi^alunam (also IQ) and kahkawi^alanam, Mr. Beal translates from Chinese 'seven rows of exquisite curtains,' and again ' gemmous curtains. First of all, it seems clear that we must read ^ala, net, web, instead of ^ala. Secondly, kahkawa, bracelet, gives no sense, for what could be the meaning of nets or strings of bracelets .-' I prefer to read kihkiwi^ala, nets or strings or rows of bells. Such rows of bells served for ornamenting a garden, and it may be said of them that, if moved by the wind, they give forth certain sounds. In the commentary on Dhammapada 30, p. 191, we meet with kihkinika^ala, from which likewise the music proceeds; see Childers, s.v. ^ala. In the I\ISS. of the Nepalese Sukhavati-vyfiha (R.A.S.), p. 39 a, 1. 4, I likewise find svarwaratnakinkiwi^alani, which settles the matter, and shows how little confidence we can place in the Japanese texts. * Anuparikshipta, enclosed; see parikkhej^o in Childers' Dictionary, and compare pairidaSza, paradise. ' The four and seven precious things in Pali are (according to Childers) : — 1. suva;/;/aw, gold. 2. ra^j^ataw, silver. 3. multa, pearls. 4. ma//i, gems (as sapphire, ruby). 5. ve/uriyaw, cat's eye. 6. va^iraw, diamond. 7. pava/am, coral. Here Childers translates cat's eye; but s.v. ve/uriyam, he says, a precious stone, perhaps lapis lazuli. In Sanskrit (Burnouf, Lotus, p. 320): —
2I. suvarwa. gold. 2. rOpya, silver. 3- vai</flrya, lapis lazuli. 4- spha/ika. crystal. R- lohilamukti, red }x;arls. 6. a.rmagarbha. diamond. 7 musAragalva, coral. §4. THE SMALLER SUKIIAVATI-VyOhA. 93 such arrays of excellences peculiar to a Buddha country is that Buddha country adorned. §4. 'And again, O ^'ariputra, in that world Sukhavati there are lotus lakes, adorned with the seven gems, viz, gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, diamonds, and corals as the seventh. They are full of water which possesses the eight good qualities \ their waters rise as high as the fords and bathing-places, so that even crows ^ may drink there ; they are Julien (Pelerins Buddhistes, vol. ii, p. 482) gives the following list :— 1. spha/ika, rock crystal. 2. vaidGrya, lapis lazuli. 3. ajmagarbha, cornaline. 4. musaragalva, amber. 5. padmaraga, ruby. Vaifi^Clrya (or Vaidfirya) is mentioned in the Tathagataguwa- ^wana/i'intyavishayavataranirde.ya (Wassilief, p. 161) as a precious stone ^vhich, if placed on green cloth, looks green, if placed on red cloth, red. The fact that va.id\lvya. is often compared with the colour of the eyes of a cat would seem to point to the cat's eye (see Borooah's Engl.-Sanskrit Dictionary, vol. ii, preface, p. ix), certainly not to lapis lazuli. Cat's eye is a kind of chalcedony. I see, however, that vaiffurya has been recognised as the original of the Greek ^ijpvXXos-, a very ingenious conjecture, either of Weber's or of Pott's, considering that lingual d has a sound akin to r, and ry may be changed to ly and 11 (Weber, Omina, p. 326). The Persian billaur or ballur, which Skeat gives as the etymon of jSijpv'Wos, is of Arabic origin, means crystal, and could hardly have found its way into Greek at so early a time. See ' India, what can it teach us? ' p. 267. * The eight good qualities of water are limpidity and purity, refreshing coolness, sweetness, softness, fertilising qualities, calmness, power of preventing famine, productiveness. See Beal, Catena, p. 379. 2 Kakapeya. One text reads kakapeya, the other kakapeya. It is difficult to choose. The more usual word is kakapeya, which is explained by Pawini, II, i, 33. It is uncertain, however, whether kakapeya is meant as a laudatory or as
394 THE SMALLER SUKnAvATi-VvOHA. §4. Strewn with golden sand. And in these lotus-lakes there are all around on the four sides four stairs, beautiful and brilliant with the four gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal. And on every side of these lotus-lakes gem- trees are growing, beautiful and brilliant with the seven gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, diamonds, and corals as the seventh. And in those lotus-lakes lotus-flowers are growing, blue, blue-coloured, of blue splendour, blue to behold ; yellow, yellow-coloured, of yellow splendour, yellow to behold ; red, red-coloured, of red splendour, red to behold ; white, white-coloured, of white splendour, white to behold ; beautiful, beautifully-coloured, of beautiful splendour, beautiful to behold, and in circumference as large as the wheel of a chariot. a depreciatory term. Bohtlingk lakes it in the latter sense, and translates nadi kakapeya, by a shallow riverthat could be drunk up by a crow. Taranatha takes it in the former sense, and translates nadi kakapeya, as a river so full of water that a crow can drink it without bending its neck (kakair anatakandharai/; piyate ; pQrwodakatvena prajasye kakai^ peye nadyadau). In our passage kakapeya must be a term of praise, and we therefore could only render it by ' ponds so full of water that crows could drink from them. But why should so well known a word as kakapeya have been spelt kakapeya, unless it was done intentionally? And if intentionally, what was it intended for? We must remember that Tawini, II, i, 42 schol., teaches us how to form the word tirthakdka, a crow at a lirtha, which means a person in a wrong place. It would seem therefore thai crows were considered out of place at a lirtha or baihing-place, either because they were birds of ill omen, or because they defiled the water. From that point of view, kakapeya would mean a pond not visiied by crows, free from crows. Professor Pischel has called my atlcnlion to Mahapariuibbana Sulla (J. R. A. S. 1875, p. 67, p. 21), where kakapeya clearly refers to a full river. Samali////ika, if this is the right reading, occurs in the same place as an epiihel of
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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