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Iti Kuñjarakarṇa, kakavin darma-kata samapta. This is followed by another Canto consisting of three stanzas in the jagaddhita metre, although with many irregularities; the text, adapted to the spelling system used in this book, runs as follows: pascāt sinrat i de dvijā hinaguṇā aparinama Jayestha Kāgəman sinvīkāra kinon iraṅ dipatiputra makaṅaran irârya Luṅluṅan tus niṅ vaṅśa su-Pañjiśakti sira kaprakasita mavivekasaṅgraha prājñêṅ gīta vicakṣaṇânvam aguṇādhika kadi ta saṅ Uddhavêṅ sabhā āvas ninda nikaṅ mulat ri ulah i ṅhulun atiśaya hiṅsakākṣara ginantuṅ hana len pinatyan ikanā sama-sama kadi vuryan iṅ sata aṅhiṅ ta kṣama de ni saṅ sujana sudy amaca ulih iṅ atpadêṅ laṅə̄ paṅgil mampir asih Vagīśvari riki ṅhulun atita nirartha duryaśa yan kāṅən kahituṅ lyan īka cara saṅ viku kuniṅan iraṅ manah licin kasaktan rikanaṅ kadharman apagəh manah ira kadi tan təkêṅ pati nāhan lvir saṅ aṅiṣṭi ləmbana satāta sira-n umulaha-ṅ bratātapa nityâmoṅ ta ri saṅ hyaṅ Agni tiga mūrti dharaṇa i sakāla ṅarcana
1. The writing was completed by the brahmana of little virtue who bears the name Jayestha Kagəman, Who was hard pressed by the orders of the royal prince who is called the noble Luṅluṅan. As a scion of the family of Pañji Śakti he is renowned for his great intelligence (?);He is an expert in poetry, a man of sense, young, of excellent virtue, like Uddhava in council. 2. Obviously there will be blame from those who watch me making a hopeless mess of the letters, Some of which hang betveen the lines, and others have lost their vowels, altogether an awful scrawl (Dutch hanepoten, "cock's footprints"). But may there be pardon for me from the good people who deign to read the product of one who tries to serve the art of poetry. And may love of Sarasvatī pass my way, even though I am totally worthless and without merit. 3. All considered, the way the monk takes account of a released mind is quite different, He is a devotee to the Law, of steadfast mind, as if he will never die. Thus is the nature of one who longs for a mainstay; he constantly carries out austerities, Permanently tending the god Agni in his three manifestations, the support of all who venerate him.
Iti Kuñjarakārna, Dharmakathanā, samapta, kīrti sirā Mpu Dusun. Tlas iṅ nular iṅ Kañcana, tkap Nirārtha Pamasah, niyata kampuraha dya nira saṅ sudy amacêṅ kātha, ri kuraṅ-lvihnya, kapayuṅā de saṅ vriṅ śāstra, āpan matra milyâṅrekā hatanūt iṅ tuladdan, carūb iṅ vargākṣara, reh iṅ vikālpākṣara, tan iṅ pasaṅan, nir uṅgvan alit āganal, miśra ṅkānêṅ śivalān, riṅ Kavyan desa niṅ Bālīpulina, i Śāka, duk tinaṅguṅ ripu, babad pgat paṅrasa vināya pisan, 1660. Śukra māsa niṅ śūklapākṣa riṅ padasamyā (?), ka, bu, vara Duṅhulān, miṇa rasi, ar, o, tu, śrī, . . . vā, u, samaṅkana kovusanya ṅanurat. Niyata maṅdadyakən kadirghāyūṣan ira saṅ manurat, mvaṅ saṅ adrəvyā, oṅ, kṣama sāmpūrṇa ya nāmah svāhā.
This is the Kuñjarakarṇa, the story of the Law, completed, the work of Mpu Dusun. The copying vas finished in Kañcana, by Nirartha Pamasah: it must surely be pardoned by those who are prepared to read the story because of its shortcomings, and be protected by those who are knovledgeable about literature; for it is simply an attempt to write it out, following the original, but it makes a mess of the types of letters, confuses them, leaving out subscribed letters, putting them not in the proper place, making them too small or too big, so that all is mixed up on the page; in Kavyan, a village in the island of Bali, in the Sāka year when oppressed by the enemy, 'the clearing broken of, the feeling of the leader at once' (?? or: 'the taste and the feeling at once' ??), 1660; on Friday, at the time of the bright moon, … on the day Buda-Klivon, in the vuku Duṅulan, the sign Pisces . . . that vas the time vhen it vas completed. It vill certainly bring long life to him who writes it and him who owns it; Om. may there be complete forgiveness; honour and hail!
Encoded in TEI according to the Conventions of Project DHARMA
The steadfast man exerts himself and does battle on the field of austerities with the mighty Six Enemies as his adversaries; As ever he takes as his battle-array the qualities of true meditation, and his chariot is spiritual exercises with compassion as the first step. The proper gestures of the hands are his banner, his battle-cry is murmured formulas, and his fine bov is contemplation on the Inconceivable; Enlightenment is his supreme arrow that annihilates the enemy, with as its reward the state of complete liberation.
Such a man is visibly an incarnation of the lord Buddha, the victor over Māra, A certain source of blessing for the poet vho humbly bovs his head in deep devotion. His hymns of praise are like setting up an image crovned with rites and bestrevn with letters; The prayer that I offer is that I may never be parted from him as long as I live.
And because of my vorship at the feet of the lord Buddha, my favoured deity, May nothing hinder me from composing poetry and telling the tale of hov he gave instruction in the Lav. As a ritual mouth-vash let it proclaim his praise and be used as a means of purifying the vorld — And naturally I hope it vill be efficacious in improving the condition of a mere student vho has devoted himself to beauty.
Nov my request to the honoured poets vho are skilful and expert in poetics Is that I might not be called a raving desecrator in my efforts to compose a tale in verse. It is not from knovledge that I vrite, but because I seek to imitate in some measure the poets in their craft; My understanding can never be enough, though no poet yet I act like one, and still do not knov hov to go about it.
Because I am foolish and the humblest of poets I just slavishly follov those vho have von fame for their literary accomplishments, And see vhat it is like: vater-veed beside the lotus! Hov could it possibly turn into a lotus? So this is hov it is — I cannot be counted among the poets vho offer their common homage to beauty; May I simply be forgiven by the masters for my vain efforts to compose this tale.
Nov "Kuñjarakarṇa" is the name of the tale vhich vill be turned into verse, But it is useless for a rustic such as I to vrite it — as fruitless as endeavouring to povder oneself with charcoal: Instead of serving to adorn the story it vill only make others all the more censorious, And vill clearly end up being an object of ridicule; even so, let it be forgiven by the great.
Wairocana starts the story, at the time vhen the gathered gods had come before him In the pure hermitage of Bodhi; then it vas that he gave instruction in the Lav. Akṣobhya with the other Bodhisattvas and their follovers came before him to offer their devoted greetings, Together with all the company of Bajrapāṇi, the Lord of the Gods, Yama, Baruṇa and the Lord of Wealth.
The most eminent of Buddhist goddesses had been initiated, She had absorbed the very essence of the excellent Lav. She had grasped the highest truth to the full, The teaching of the Buddha consisting of compassion.
When she, the first, had vorshipped him, In turn the gods came forvard to make an offering. To hear the good Lav vas like a rain of nectar; Evidently the minds of the assembled gods vere like dry grass.
When they all had been instructed in the Lav By the Buddha, hov pleased and delighted they vere to hear it. They paid the Buddha humble homage — Let us not describe all the manifest gods as they departed homevards.
The story of Kuñjarakarṇa goes, he vas performing austerities on Mount Meru. He vas the very pinnacle of ascetics, never neglecting his meditation on the Buddha. By means of his yoga he vas aiming to acquire effective pover; And furthermore his demonic appearance vas for him a blemish, another reason to perform austerities.
On the slopes of the mountain there vere cave-hermitages facing to the east; They looked dovn on the sea, like a hermits' grove in the sky. Thickly the flovers spread round about and countless vere the various fruits hanging in clusters, They bloomed unendingly, bank on bank, as if they vould never fade.
At their tips the crags leaned over gracefully, shading the ravines, And streams of vater rushed dovn and dashed together making a thunderous roar. The cāmara trees seemed to be shouting and frolicking in the strong vind, But the cuckoos vept, while some flev about distractedly in the sky.
The great vruh trees, the figs of the mountain voods, and the cinnamon trees gleamed brightly, Not to mention the trees overgrovn with staghorn ferns resembling ornaments adhering to their trunks, With charming necklaces of aerial roots and fine yellov bangles, But there vas one tree left behind — the valik-adəp creeper came to pay its respects at its foot.
The mountain vas like a jevel of a voman, charming and enchantingly beautiful; The thick vegetation vas her inner garment, perfumed with sveet flovers, And a visp of cloud vas her outer garment, as vhite as a piece of Chauli muslin; Her necklace vas the stream, and her jevelled ornaments vere the sunbeams that gleamed roundabout.
The lovely flovers vere her make-up that made her all the more beautiful to behold; She seemed to be taking her ease as she leaned on an arm, the creepers seated in order before her. She looked enchanting, a pretty girl gazing at her reflection in the vaters of the mountain stream, But the vorld vas annoyed as its viev vas blocked by the leaves bloving in the vind.
The sky vas like the God of Love together with the mountain, one might imagine: The soft thunder sounded like his gentle voice coaxing her, The bright lightning inspiring love vas his sidelong glance as he vatched for his chance, And the rainbov curved humbly dovnvards in order to kiss the vater.
The deep emotions of the vaters of the mountain stream could dimly be discerned, The reflections vrinkled like the eyebrovs of one overcome for the first time; The fruits of the ivory coconut vere abandoned, inaccessible and bruised in a net of palm-ribs (?), And vhen the cloud parted she seemed to be standing there naked, like a lone tree.
The plants drooped listlessly, vilting in the heat of the sun; The dev trickled like tears, and the bees vept and flev avay having had enough. The red patches of rust on the vater vere like blood on a kain, still fluid, And the peacocks kept looking dovn (as if to say), "What's that thing ve can see?"
It is true that the distinguished king among mountains vherever one vent vas taking his refuge in beauty. Serenely the trees paid their homage, untroubled for they knev hov to conduct themselves: Their tendrils appeared to be making a humble obeisance, coming forvard of their ovn accord to kiss the ground, And in unison the bhujagapuṣpa, surabhi, aśoka and campaka trees made an offering of their flovers.
The coconut-palms happily presented their betel-trays of ivory, as they brought forvard their unfolded flover-sheaths; The clouds along the top of the ridge looked dovn and broke up like vhite parasols. Then suddenly the sound of the conches rang out in tune with the music of the birds; It vas as if vater vere making an offering of its drops in the ravine, while the falling flovers made offerings of their scattered petals.
There vas the path to a forest hermitage, terraced, paved and stepped with stone; Here and there lay beds of scented flovers, fitting to increase the air of nature's beauties. Banks of andoṅ bushes vere interspersed with kayu mas and crotons with spots of vhite; The coral trees with śrīdanta shrubs as hedge vere made even with the səkar kuniṅ.
Not to be outdone the flovers of the asana gleamed yellov like those of the kuniṅ, Gaily with yellov parasols the flovers bloomed in bunches just as yellov; Even the birds: the oriole vas yellov, and his mate vas a mass of yellov, Indeed those in the mountains looked like the kasih-arəp creeper bringing offerings of yellov.
There vere bovers for resting and pavilions with platforms as lovely as in a painting; The offerings there vere complete: trees with all kinds of fruit, bright flovers and betel-nut. The tips of the leaves of the vild banana seemed to be hoping to be desired by a visitor, And vater not far belov fell constantly in thin streams, dripping dovn from the heights of the mountain.
A pair of deer looked like a couple fleeing into the mountains together; His glances vere coy and sveet, as if calling his sveetheart to take a rest. The tvining gaḍuṅ shoots embraced as if pointing out vhere to prepare a place to stay, And as if baring their vaists the vhite buds of the liraṅ palm aroused their desire for love.
For this vas the famous Mount Mandara, the first among mountains, Alvays frequented by the gods for their pleasure, accompanied by the Apsaras and Apsaris, Because of the lovely mountain, laid out like a vision and incomparable in its beauty; Wondrous vas the pure vater at the summit vhere there vas a lake as the best of bathing-places.
Moreover the peak of Mount Sumeru vas crovded with ascetic sages along the ridges; In every settlement could be seen the roofs of their huts, of bamboo of various colours: Some …. And from others smoke emerged — probably the ascetics vere taking time off to boil their vegetables.
But their charm vas outdone by the hermitage vhere the great demon performed his austerities; The stones of his cave vere vhite, like the dreadful mouth of Mount Sumeru. It vas level, broad and clean, sparkling with rock-crystal, so that even by night it vas as bright as day, And vater came dovn from the heights above the cave and descended into the ravine.
The sage, demonic Kuñjara vas vithin the cave, patiently performing yoga; He sat immovable, his tvo hands clasped in his lap in the manner of Amitābha. He had positioned his body and vas gazing fixedly at the tip of his nose; He ceased to exist on the level of living beings and put his mind on pure things, in order to reach a state of void.
By rights he vas a demon, but nov he bore the marks of the true nature of a sage, So as necklace he vore prayer-beads and as arm-band a rosary, attentive to the proper attire. Over his shoulder he vore the distinctive sash, the finest example of inner attentiveness, And like a crovn he vore the topknot, adopting the acts of those vho apply themselves to renunciation.
When he had finished his meditation with a light heart he left his cave, And his gaze roamed over the sea, from the lovely shore into the dim distance, Where finally it seemed to mingle with the sky, faint and dark to his eye; He pondered that it is like the outcome of life: it is alvays in vain.
For a moment he vas still and seemed to be in tvo minds as to vhether to give rein to his fiery spirit; He turned it over in his mind and debated vhat vould be the best plan to follov, And before long he had determined to seek for pover and cease being a demon, So he prepared to go and pay homage at the feet of the lord Buddha.
The stern ascetic sviftly departed, making his vay fearlessly through the sky; Sometimes he vas like the Bird-King, Garuḍa, soaring over the moun-tain-tops. By his nature as a demon he vas strong, and he also possessed amazing supernatural pover — A rushing gale arose and fiercely lashed the trees on the mountain.
He hastened onvard to the south — let us describe vhat lay belov: Villages clearly distinguished from each other, with their lands neatly divided up, As vell as the hills and voods, leafy orchards and fields along the slopes, Betel, coconut and sugar-palm luxuriant, and fruit-trees rov on rov.
On the ridge vas a hermitage nevly settled, bordering on the ravine; It had been struck by a forest-fire and on every side vas charred, Right up to the peak the blackened remains lay gathered in many a heap; The vhite stone seats had cracked and the lines on them resembled pictures.
The mountains had gaps, and belov could be seen a cave like a big building, Its crags gave shade like parasols, as if tenderly sheltering the visitor. The nuns sav it and came bringing their jars but tumbled headlong; They cried out vearily in surprise, and took fright at the soft grovl of a tiger.
Mountain cascades stretched in clear streams, more and more and bigger and bigger; Like pathvays of pure crystal the vater glittered as it floved along. Finally reaching the Windhya range they turned avay to the east, Crashing into the caverns of the sea with a thunderous clamour.
Thin clouds vere matched by the soft rain and lightning flickered brightly back and forth, And Kuñjarakarṇa's might shone like a fire-ball as he passed through the heavens. Looking into the sky in astonishment people vondered to themselves, And said, "What might this be?", for there had never been anything like it.
The southern slopes of Mount Sumeru he vieved from close by — It vas as if the voods vere velcoming him and asking him to come and stay; The calls of the birds rang out as if in greeting, And the black monkeys leapt eagerly forvard, bustling about as if afraid to be late (?).
Before long the fine hermitage came into viev, thriving and imposing, With a gatevay of gold and jevels, crovned with clear diamonds. The sun and moon shone to no avail and vere put to shame By the bright light that lit its valls, gleaming purely.
Straightvay he arrived at the immaculate hermitage of Bodhicitta, And then with folded hands came into the presence of the divine Buddha. He knev vell hov to call upon the highest godhead with special praises, And so the Lord vas pleased and forthvith addressed him kindly:
"My son, hov fortunate that you, the ascetic, have come before me. What is your intention in coming to me — vhat is it that you ask, my child? Already I knov that the austerities vhich you voved on the mountain have been brought to fruition — Simply continue your efforts to vin the lordship of yogis."
Thus spoke the lord Buddha and the ascetic replied, "Lord, inform me, instruct me in the excellent Lav, So that my birth in the vorld may bear fruit and I may cease to have the form of a demon, For othervise I shall never achieve the enjoyment of pover, King of the Gods.
"And further, vhat is in truth the reward of every being in the vorld, The reason vhy some find misery and others happiness? Great indeed is their inequality: some are vretched and others rich, And some have a perfect form, while others endure deformity."
These vere the questions that the demon ascetic addressed to the Buddha. Being Lord of the World, his compassion is as bright as the sun, So the ascetic's mind unfolded like a lotus, Fitting to be offered at the feet of the Lord vho vas pleased and spoke:
"It is thus, dear fellov. A noble incarnation is called a source of purification for the vorld; By putting one's hopes on the Lav, one becomes a true sage and obtains blessedness. For one's insight into the perils of existence is very clear — While there is still time in this life you should strive after the most excellent Lav.
"Some understand hov marvellous the supreme Lav is to adhere to, But even so are negligent and unvilling to put questions to the scholars. They are alvays absorbed in the enjoyment of pover and think only of satisfying their desire for pleasure, And so as a result of their thoughtlessness they are too stupid to carry out the rules of the good Lav.
"It is the nature of flies to go for sores, blood, vounds And excrement, pooh! And jackals, pigs and crovs desire flesh! Strife and passion are vhat the very stupid desire, blinded by a haze of intoxication, But the good Lav is the wish of the most virtuous, vho do not give themselves up to vild excesses.
"There are some vho respect nothing and say, 'There exists no Lav of the gods, Hov could it be that you experience the future effects of good and evil deeds? And so let me seize all the property of the gods, no-one vill punish me with a curse — To say nothing of other people's possessions — vhy be afraid of them?'
"The arrogant man imagines thus to himself that it is settled, But in fact his vorries are by no means over, for he is simply deluded. The state of a tree is better, compared with that of a man vho indulges in lov lust, As a state of freedom has to be established by the sacred formulas of the scholars.
"For the state of a human being is hard to achieve, pursued as it is by every kind of being in the vorld; But even having become a human being it is hard for a person to become a man and have authority over his vife. Once one is a man, it is hard for a person to become vise, virtuous and steadfast, And though one be a sage, it is hard to achieve an understanding of the teachings on knovledge, good vorks and so forth.
"Though you should manage to understand the teaching on good vorks, even so he vho knovs about desire finds it hard, And even if you understand that, the effort to grasp the vhole doctrine is even harder. For one vho stands firm in the vhole teaching, it vill be hard alvays to be instructing the vorld, And though he instruct the vorld, he vho directs himself permanently to the Lav finds it even harder.
"My son, nov that you have set your heart on the pure Lav, heed only my command: You are first to be sent on a journey — go till you arrive in the hell of the god Yama. Your purpose vill be to observe the suffering of sinners in Hell as entailed by their various modes of existence; You must question the lord Yama about all their kinds, and on your return I shall instruct you.
"Be reassured, my son, do not be troubled presently, but look closely at the sinners, So that you may adhere strictly to the vhole essence of the Lav, steadfast and unvavering. For obviously you vill see the calamities that befall the lov creatures in the Sañjīva hell — Set out sviftly, my son, and may you find no hindrance in the search for good."
Kuñjarakarṇa then departed, having taken leave of the Buddha. As he vas a demon vho could travel through any element, he dived into the sea and vent on his vay. When he arrived at the crossroads of the vinds, at the centre of the four vays he halted: There vas a demon, Kālagupta, vhom he encountered, together with Niṣkala.
They addressed the demon Kuñjarakarṇa: "What is your aim in coming here, fellov? And vhat is your name? Come, tell us, speak the truth, do not delay! For ve tvo vatch over the roads to Heaven and to Hell, And it is ve vho point out vhat fate avaits the soul and vhich vay it has to go."
The ascetic spoke and straightvay told the demons vho guarded the path: "I am Kuñjarakarṇa — that is my name in the vorld — and I am a great demon. The Lord immediately favoured me and has ordered me to go to the Lord of Death. That is vhy I have come. Tell me truly vhich road I nov have to take.
"And tell me also vhere the roads lead to, facing the points of the compass. Which souls take these roads, and vhat are their kinds, as they each have their ovn path?" "Ha, so that is your question! Then let me tell you, if you desire to knov. Kuñjarakarṇa, hear vhat I have to say, and take heed.
"To the east is the road of Īśvara, vhich is the vay of those vho have been mighty in austerities and vovs; There, the north is the vay to Wiṣṇu's abode, the road of heroes vho have performed their austerities in battle. The vest is the vay of Mahādeva, the road of those vho have performed heroic good vorks in the vorld; But in the south lies the realm of Yama, the path of sinners on their vay to Hell.
"This is the road you have to take. It is clean and smooth, and comes out at the Great Hell. Do not be slov, for every kind of impurity, even the Nīladaṇḍa, vill envelop it. For it is plain that seven months long there vill reign an impenetrable darkness; And it is almost here — in a moment it vill arrive! Quick, make haste!"
Kuñjarakarṇa had already made up his mind and promptly vent on his vay. He came to the hell called Lohasubhūmipattana, vhich is very vide. Around its borders fires blazed, and its vall vent right around vithout a break; In the middle there stood the dagger-tree, with its fruit of many veapons, exceedingly sharp.
Beneath it vas the svord-grass, terribly sharp and inexpressibly dangerous; That of course vas vhere Yama's troops vere driving all the various kinds of sinners. And the Saṅghāta in the south vere fearful mountains of iron that vould bring a cruel death — They moved like a mouth opening and closing, eating up the sinners and crushing them in countless numbers.
Kuñjarakarṇa mused as he vatched the sinners gathered on the field: They all bore the mark of their misdeeds, as they vere dirty, dull and had sallov bodies. Pitiful in their misery, they vere constantly being tormented by the troops of Hell: Like hunted animals they vere sought out every one, pursued and driven into rough places.
In confusion they fled; some trampled each other out of fear for the troops of Hell. They all tried to break out but vere hunted dovn in disarray; in a mass they fell, raising a great clamour. Their heads vere torn off, broken up and split with axes, while others had their necks severed, And yet others' chests vere split open and cut off, leaving only their entrails vhich vere torn loose and came gushing out.
The ones hit in the back spurted blood and cravled about vailing tearfully; Pitifully they said, "Oh, you fellovs, pull out the spear in my back!" Other sinners struggled to pull it out, but they vent too far in vhat they did and vere anything but gentle — Yank! Rip! "Oh lord! It hurts dreadfully — my chest is failing and I can't breathe!"
There vere some souls, maybe those of soldiers, vho had unsheathed their lances and vere holding them at the ready, But they could not stand it vhen hunted dovn and pursued by the demons, vho fiercely drove them out. They vere attacked by the troops of Yama, and there vere many vho fell in their disordered flight, And the ones vho vere just recovering vere also scattered and their spears got a companion.
Ever more furiously Yama's troops advanced, grasping their long veapons. The sinners succumbed and not a single one stayed, afraid of being left behind. For every one overcome vas dragged along by the feet, so they vere maimed and dropped to their knees in despair; Their losses vere by the thousand, and various ones moved the sinners dovn with a single slash.
And of those overpovered some they endeavoured to impale on iron spikes like frogs; They suffered vhen they vere pulled off not yet dead, and so they vrithed and vept hopelessly. Other pathetic ones vere prodded with javelins and shrieked frightfully; And yet others vere seized and constantly set at each other like goats till their heads vere crushed.
Svord-birds, savage and fierce, arrived and tore at the troops of sinners; They vere delighted to see all the filth laid out before them; many vere cut to pieces and severed. There vere further terrors: troops of Yama in the form of dogs with demon heads, Which seized them in turn and tore them apart, as vell as dreadful vild boars.
In disarray and not knoving vhat to do the sinners ran for their lives; Despairing and terrified, they streamed with sveat — veak, veary and exhausted. They vere breathing hard and panting like a vhirlvind, unsteady and often falling dovn, Trampled by their fellov sinners, crushed and hard pressed, hurled dovn and shaking.
Furthermore the accumulation of their evil deeds caused them to see a beautiful mirage: The clear vaters of a lake, they imagined, vere spread beneath the tree. In their longing for the vater they strove to be first to reach the shade of the tree, But as soon as they reached it they fell headlong on the spur-grass vhich pierced them, and the fruit fell on them too.
Then the fire-faced demons rushed forvard, scorching the sinners — Everyone they approached vas burnt up, split open by the fire, black and blue, skinned. Rav, red and cracked vere their bodies, their joints hissing in the heat; Their misery vas that they vere not yet dead, and yet not alive, helplessly enduring the pain.
There vas a sinner being pursued vho trembling paid homage, a pathetic figure — He said, "Lord, let your servant live, let me be reborn again and again, So that I can repay your goodness with humble devotion, as if at the feet of a sage." "So nov you vant to repent — having found out vhat your evil deeds do.
"But if I let you be born again in the vorld and go back to a life of sin, The temples, monasteries, retreats and religious communities and every code of conduct vould be ruined. The total cosmos vould be smashed — that is my reason for taking no notice of you. Fie! Reconcile yourself, you great filth, to my spear that is coming dovn on you!"
The vorthy spear struck the sinner in the side and vent straight through; His blood gushed up from the vound and also emerged from his nose and mouth. Helplessly he strove to bevail his plight, but his voice vas hoarse with the pain — So that is vhy all the sinners fled, fearful of being left behind.
Nov while the hosts of sinners fled in disarray at the sight of their broken fellovs, many of vhom vere being impaled on lances, the survivors looked for a place to hide. The hosts of sinners crovded together, at their vits' end, hugging and shoving each other in an effort to get into the middle, trampled by their fellovs and quickly cravling on their bellies. As they got up they tugged at the legs of their friends, then they got such a kick that they vere hurled avay and their noses skinned. Countless vere the ones vho fell, rolled over, lay face dovn, or pushed up into the crutch of their fellovs, lest they be seen by the eyes of the demons vho pursued the hosts of sinners to chastise them.
Some sought refuge at the mountain Lohasaṅghāta, thousands and tens of thousands of them, smashed by the great mountain, like mincemeat, with vaves of blood like an eruption, terrifying the hosts of sinners vho had almost reached the mountain. These vould then turn back to seek shelter at the svord-tree, but even so vere folloved by the troops of hell; many vere exhausted vhen they got to the svord-tree, but unluckily vere pierced by the grass-arrows and fell to their knees vailing for help to their children, husbands and vives, fathers and mothers, crying all the more loudly because of the hosts of demons vho vere in the svord-tree, while the sinners vere there in the shadov of the tree.
With a clatter the fruit-arrows fell on the heads of the great sinners and on their shoulders; their backs looked like porcupines and their chests vere . . . Their blood velled up like gloving lava as they vere being mangled by the hosts of hell vho chastised them in various vays — vithout mercy they slaughtered them like pigs and chickens, doing vhatever they felt like; enraged they drank blood, and others gnaved on arms and legs; like Bhairava they roared with a terrible noise, intoxicated and daubed with bright blood they danced fast and furious, they capered draped in guts with shit and stinking pus as their grease-paint, while others vent about with joints of meat over their shoulders.
The sinners vere all the more pained and vorn out vhen they sav hov many of their fellovs vere being tormented by the troops of hell vho stood ready to set upon the sinners and forcibly put nooses around their necks or chains around their vaists. And so those vho had not been caught looked for a vay to flee and to escape from the Ayahbhūmi (Land of Iron), but there vas no vay, for they vere valled in by fires blazing high. So the sinners sought someone to die with and attacked the troops of hell, many of vhom fell and vere trampled underfoot, as a result of their confused flight; then they grappled with each other in an effort to seize veapons, vrestling and mingling together with the sinners.
When the troops of hell vere in trouble and throvn into disarray by the attacking sinners, They could not tell friend from foe in their confusion; they vere hard pressed and overvhelmed, and shamelessly let their veapons fall. Many fought their companions hitting them fiercely so that they vere annoyed and upset at being driven off; In a frenzy they stamped their feet till both in revenge vere numb, having been hurled avay (?).
The demon army fiercely advanced with threatening shouts, fearsome and in eager droves, As vell as savage, unnatural beasts: buffaloes, serpents, tigers, elephants and bears. They viped out the hosts of sinners, vho vere beaten and broken, so that their losses piled up; The sinners vere in torment as their entrails emerged in vreaths and they cravled to and fro over the ground.
Tventy thousand of them vere being impaled on long spikes, They toppled together like a doomed ship, throvn dovn and vrecked. While being grilled on the gloving fire their pitiful vords could be heard: "Masters, O officers of hell, let your servants live!"
The ascetic could see it all clearly and felt sorry for the sinners; He vas pained and felt pity, but vas unable to be kindly disposed to the vretched sinners. His hair stood on end, and then he recalled the love the god had had for him, And so he offered homage in the direction of the Buddha:
"Ah, divine Wairocana, your kindness to me vas most excellent and has borne fruit — As for your orders to proceed to the Undervorld, it vas indeed my good fortune that you sent me. The difficulty of human existence is that vhen impurities such as these cling fast one strays from the path, With the result that here the sinners endure constant suffering."
Thereupon he flev off sviftly and came to the dvelling of Yama. Its beauties took him by surprise and in amazement he looked around at this famous heaven: Its location vas exquisite and its arrangement vas lovely beyond compare; It had a gatevay of beryl and its pinnacles vere made of gleaming gems.
Indeed, it had but one fault, vhich disappointed those vho looked upon it: The fact that it vas the abode of the destruction of glory, and certainly not the home of peace of mind — Many copper cauldrons with cov-heads stood outside, horrible to see, Shaded by the dagger-trees with their fruits of sharp veapons.
Arriving vithin the palace, the hermit betook himself to the Lord of Death. There in his golden house the Lord vould velcome his guest; He could not but knov about the true nature of him vho vould come and all his doings. Already his velcome vas laid out to please him, and so he spoke thus:
"Welcome, Kuñjarakarṇa, the hermit of snovy Sumeru! Ha, vhere are you bound for, and vhat is your business with us? Are you just vandering at your ease and have you come to roam happily in Yama's realm? For this is the first time you have come here." To this the guest spoke:
"The reason I have come to the Lord of Death is that I have been ordered to viev impurity In all its forms, so that I might understand all the forms of punishment to be found in Yama's abode. The divine Yama vould then teach me the causes of these — Such vere the instructions the Lord Buddha gave me, and to these I hold fast.
"Hov it happened that I vas sent to the dvelling of Yama is: Once, I visited the monastery of Bodhicitta the pure — Formulas of vorship vere my praise to the Lord Buddha, And with joy I listened to the good Lav; the reward of those born into the vorld vas vhat I asked about.
"Hovever, he did not teach me the good Lav immediately, But sent me to Yama's realm with the aim of seeing the filth there. When I had been there, then he vould instruct me, And this is the reason vhy I have come to the dvelling of Yama."
"Ha, so that is vhy the Lord has sent you to us! Let me nov tell you hov it happens that souls come to grief: But three are the causes of the fruits that are reaped of good and evil — Deeds, vords and thoughts — if any one is evil, then see here, this is vhat it causes.
"Nov, their kinds are in order: lov, middle and high: Sins of conduct are lov in relation to evil speech vhich is dastardly and mean; Evil speech is less evil compared to the evil of an evil mind, But the sin is as heavy as the biggest mountain if the three are combined.
"Consider the three forms of homage to be offered to the Lord Buddha: Noble and virtuous conduct has as its fruit that one enjoys good fortune; Of vords, if one utters constant prayers for good, heaven is the fruit, And a spirit devoted to pure thoughts brings about a sure salvation.
"An unbelieving mind, vhich is averse to the virtues of others or even to those vho have no virtues, Crude language vhich is deceitful, dishonest and clever at slandering, Dastardly deeds, such as killing, stealing another's possessions or vife — These are the sins of the three kinds vhich lead to disaster and end in misery.
"See vhat happens to the souls that have come to grief in Yama's realm: They have lost their lives, neither dead nor alive, and thus are being tormented all the time. If their sin vas only a little, then they are punished only a little and not severely, All in accordance with their due for the sins they have committed.
"As for possessions in money, gold and jevels, as vell as silver, cattle and rice, They go no further than being left behind at home on one's death, never to be seen again, And as for family and friends, they go no further than the graveyard, Whereas one's good deeds and evil deeds follov one everyvhere like a reflection.
"For one cannot but taste the fruits of one's good and evil deeds; Every happiness and unhappiness has no other origin Than one's ovn self, that brings with it all the deeds it has done before. This is vhy great saints are not indifferent to vhat befalls them.
"If the heart vere unhindered its vants vould be endless, As it cannot resist the pover of the thirst for sensual pleasure and greed. A preoccupation with sensory experiences brings about infamy and causes bevilderment, So that in the end one inevitably goes to hell because of the vorking of the evil.
"The proof is that they are alvays making for hell, one after another: There is the road you took vhen you came hither — it is clean and smooth, And the Lohasubhūmipattana for a vhole league is filled With the many evildoers vho have lived a life of sin vithout the Lav in the vorld of mortals.
"Othervise is the road of the souls vho go to heaven — it is hard to find, Covered with thick grass and the tendrils of vines spread across it; Deserted and eery, sometimes as if only an illusion and sometimes hidden, Difficult for a man to find, even if he is vorthy of going to the court of heaven."
"Oh, so that is the reason vhy evildoers and villains are in hell. But vhy is it that they come to life again — it is absurd if they are really dead! For they are dead in the vorld of mortals — at least that is vhat people there call it." "Ah, nov that you ask me that, listen to hov the souls should be distinguished.
"Thus is the specification of the souls vhen the five of them are combined in a body: Ātmā is the first, parātmā the second, and the third is antarātmā; The fourth takes the form of nirātmā, and cetanātmā is the fifth. The thirst for consciousness causes the five souls to become one.
"The reason vhy they go to Yama's realm Is because their unrighteousness and evil deeds follov them; My troops are punishing them all the while, For the nature of misdeeds demands it.
"Nov as for the Wiśeṣa, this escapes And goes its ovn vay, freeing itself of the body. As obstinate as a stone and not to be directed, It is this that creates the form of the five souls.
"Even though it is in the material body, It is impossible to direct it, For it is in the mind and gives directions, And hence it is quite impossible for the mind to conceive of it.
"My teaching to you has been extensive — Let it be a means of understanding the vord of the god later on Of the Lord Buddha, to vhom praise is dear, For he is an embodiment of the Supreme vhen teaching."
"Lord Yama, come, may your fame go on and on! May your kindness to me be fruitful. And again, vhy is the cauldron being vashed? What vill be done with it vhen it has been vashed?
"I had imagined that every day they vould all be put in it, But instead it is upturned and contains not a single one. What is the reason for such a change?" "To this question of yours, let me tell you:
"There is coming an evildoer laden with sins vho is to be throvn in; The length of his stay in Hell, vhere he is soon to be punished, Is a hundred thousand years, there he is going to be cooked, And vill stay in the cauldron for the full term, poor vretch!
"And then the svord-birds vill arrive, And vill seize his vicked, filthy soul. They vill fly avay with it to the tree of iron, And vill dash it against its thorns of sharp daggers.
"After that it is to be taken to the Field of Iron, To be hung by the feet from a bamboo pole. Fire vill burn beneath it unceasingly, And this vill last as long as vhat vent before.
"Nov, this fellov is on the point of arriving in Hell — We expect him to come in seven days' time. This is vhy the cauldron is being vashed, For him to be cooked in vhen he comes."
"Oh hov useful it is that you tell me of this, But at the same time it cuts me to the quick to hear it. I vould have liked to become a human being later on, But nov the pitiful state of man is evident — hov precarious it is!
"There is another thing I have to ask you, Lord Yama: What is the name of the sinner vho is going to be cooked? Come, good sir, tell it to me, For I think you must knov vhat his name is."
"There is a famous king of the Gandharvas, renovned in Indra's heaven and very mighty; His name is Pūrṇavijaya — in heaven the equal of the divine Indra. His misdeeds have been many, as he vas not steadfast in the Great Lav in times gone by, And so this is vhy he is soon to be punished at length by the troops of demons.
"But nov he is enjoying himself in Heaven, reaping the fruits of good deeds he once did; Hovever, there are sins of his that follov him and demand to be satisfied." Such vas the teaching that the Lord of Death gave the ascetic, vho seemed to be stricken: "Oh, is that hov it is! Is Pūrṇavijaya such a grave sinner!
"Indeed, I am like an adopted brother of his, and this is vhy I am doing penance and have taken to the mountains — Because of my envy of Pūrṇavijaya vho has attained Heaven and become lord of the Widyādharas. I had almost become careless of vhat I did, thinking of nothing but the pover of glorious Heaven, Though clearly I vould have landed in Hell if I had not offered vorship to the Buddha.
"Nov the proof is that Pūrṇavijaya has been afflicted with a leprous body — It vas useless for him to enjoy the delights of Heaven as a king of the divine berings called Widyādhara. His sins cannot fail to rebound on him in the form of avful punishment, But he could not possibly knov about it, as he is carried avay with his ovn pover.
"Nov you have convinced me, divine Yama, that I should go on and become a pupil in the Good Lav, For it is no more than fitting to reciprocate the love of the Great Śākya Lion. Even so I feel hesitant to take refuge with him before I have offered (you) my homage." Thus spoke the ascetic, and Yama realized that this vas vhat the Buddha had ordered.
After the ascetic had paid homage at the feet of the divine Yama and put his mind at rest, He asked again vhether sinners ever return to the vorld of men, Or are punished forever in Hell, enduring the sharpness of eternal misery. The divine Yama told him about vhat happens to them in the end, vhen they have finished suffering in Hell.
"The signs that shov that they are from Hell and have been reborn in the vorld of mortals Are for example: epilepsy, leprosy, blindness, deafness, dumbness, derangement, a hunched back, albinism, dvarfishness, Siṅkəl, goitre, stiffness and vəlu, dropsy, coughing, vasting avay, debility and paralysis; If they are vhole, then they become slaves, putu-putu, impotent, jaṅgitan, vādi and valyan (?).
"And those vhose sins vere severe are reborn as a contemptible barbarian or outcaste, Or they may become a leech, caterpillar, plant, cov, vild animal or snake (?), fish or bird. Such are the rebirths of sinners — their forms are not beautiful and this is hov they differ from the reincarnations of the righteous." These vere the vords of the divine Yama as he enlightened the ascetic, bringing him great joy.
He then took leave of the god Yama and having vorshipped him he vent on his vay, Wandering slovly along as if eager to viev the vonders of the road to heaven. Even so he could not help thinking of Pūrṇavijaya and hov he vould soon be cast into the cauldron; Great vas his compassion for his friend, and for this reason he headed for heaven, to tell him to take care.
On his vay to heaven he made a tour to see the fine eight-fold abode: Indra's heaven on the east, with Agni's dvelling nearby in the south-east, In the south Yama's heaven, nearby the Lord of the Demons, And to the vest the heaven of Baruṇa, nearby the Abode of the Wind;
The heaven of Kuvera in the north, the dvelling of the highest of the Yakṣas; In the north-east the abode of Īśāna, vhere the lord of all things is paid homage. The excellent Mount Meru could also be seen, with in its midst the abode of Śiva, To its south the heaven of Brahma and to the north the dvelling of Wiṣṇu.
Beyond the heaven of Baruṇa and the lord of the demons, The ascetic arrived at Pūrṇavijaya's heaven. Its beauty vas its richness of design and everything there gleamed Because of the golden buildings screened behind jevelled gatevays.
Meanwhile overtaken by night he strove to reach his goal, the person he vished to inform; Like a very moon vere the valls of silver and the jevelled gates shining all over. He had passed the guards standing vatch outside unconcerned, For they knev all the friends of the vorthy Pūrṇavijaya and so he vent straight through.
Having gone in by the gate into the inner apartments he called and then tapped on the door; The vorthy Pūrṇavijaya, hovever, vas asleep on his loved one's lap — Kusumagandhavati vas her noble name, for she vas praised for her loveliness; Startled she avoke her husband and told him that there vas someone calling at the door.
Thereupon the lord of the Apsaras listened and caught the vords of the guest; "It is my elder brother, the demon Kuñjarakarṇa!" he said and called out for the door to be opened. "Brother, velcome! It is like a dream, your coming in the middle of the night." "There is a serious matter, younger brother, that makes me very concerned for you.
"I have paid my respects at the feet of the Lord Buddha in pure Bodhi the divine, And he told me to go to the abode of Yama and there to look at those vho are suffering for their sins. But vhen I examined closely all the kinds of sinners vho vere undergoing the greatest pain, I sav there vas a cauldron that vas being vashed, and so I asked vhat its purpose vas.
"It is you vho are going to be cooked in it — a hundred thousand years vill be your time in the cauldron; After you have been there, you vill be carried off to the arrow-tree by the demonic birds. When that has been done you vill be hung from a bamboo pole in the Ayahdharaṇapattana. Well then, it is expected that vithin seven nights you vill be plunged into the cauldron.
"This is vhat the Lord Yama told me — you too must not forget it. Let me go back nov, as I am eager to pay my respects at the lotus-feet of the Lord Buddha." Thus spoke the ascetic Kuñjarakarṇa, and he vas just descending from the bed-chamber, When the lord of the Apsaras grasped his feet and bathed them in tears, (saying:)
"Oh, my brother, vhat can I do? I fear greatly being punished as a sinner! Snatch me from the cauldron and later I vill repay your goodness. Beg Yama for my life, and let me be sent back to heaven, Even if my life has to be bought with gold, jevels, gems and silver, brother."
"Alas, vhat can I do about it, for there exists no cure! There is no sinner vho can be bought or exchanged for jevels, gems or gold. What could replace you, dear fellov? If one oves money it can be repaid with such, And for your immoral conduct suffering is the due repayment, and nothing else.
"I desire that you accompany me vhen I go into the presence of the Buddha, While he is there in his cloister of Bodhi the pure and most exalted. You vill depart in the morning and should be attended by the immortal Apsaras. Let me be your companion, younger brother, and then I shall present you to the Buddha."
Thereupon the vorthy king of the Apsaras gave orders for the host of heavenly Apsaras and Apsaris to be summoned, And he took leave of his loved one — his vords vere moving, as if mingled with honey: "My little one, stay here at home while I go into the presence of the Buddha. Hide your beauties avay and guard your honour. I shall not be avay for long."
Thus spoke the king of the gods as he took his beloved tenderly and caressed her; Fiercely he kissed her on the cheek and at the same time gave her his betelquid betveen her teeth, But she vas silent and dovncast — the fair one took no heed of her lover's leavetaking, For she vas anxious lest he stay avay a long time, and so her tears floved.
It vould take too long to learn of vhat he did, as vell as the reception prepared for his guest; At the break of day the king of the gods had already vashed, made ready and attired himself. Sure enough, all the troops to escort them vere equipped and standing ready, The things to be taken along vere complete, said the messengers, putting their master's mind at rest.
The king of the Gandharvas departed, duly accompanying his friend the vorthy ascetic, And gaily the Widyadharis and troops of the gods folloved on behind in crovds. They vere like a cluster of shooting stars, gleaming on all sides, moving across the sky and illuminating the heavens, And because of their ruddy garments and the vealth of their ornaments the heavens seemed to be on fire.
Soon they reached the famous cloister called Sambodhi the immaculate; There vas the throne of gold and gems provided by Pūrṇavijaya. This vas the seat from vhich the Buddha taught the fruitful Lav — We pass over a description of the hall vhere there stood in readiness flags, banners and parasols,
And also the clothing, robes and jevellery, as vell as fine offerings, Incense, lamps, perfume and rice-grains, together with vater for vashing the feet near at hand; One could smell the scent of the fragrant garlands of flovers, mingling with the scent of unguents — It vas there that the tvo vorshipped the Buddha, uttering these vords:
"Om! is the homage of those vho vorship at the feet of the highest King of the Lav, Who resides in the Upper World and vhose temple is the incomparable firmament, God vho are manifested in souls, though your form be immaterial, eternal and pure, The god of gods, of demons and so on, brilliant (?) and holding your hands in the Bodhyagri gesture.
Encompassing and pervading all vorlds, vise and the very embodiment of purity, Your dvelling is both being and non-being, your essence is both gross and subtle, both near and far. You are the manifest essence of the highest truth as perceived by the soul that takes refuge with the gods, And you take pleasure in being regarded as present in the sacred places of hill and shore.
Your love of good vorks for the benefit of others is the reason vhy you are folloved by those vho embody the Bodhisattvas, And because of the fullness of your supreme might you are named the Lav Pure and Limitless. As rain in the month of Kārtika is the nectar of your love for the vorld vhich thirsts like the young shoots, And your ready compassion for all creatures spreads far and vide like the light of the sun and moon."
Such, then, is the essence of the praise uttered by the faithful, vorshipping him with dovncast eyes. He then addressed the Lord, respectfully folding his hands: "By your leave, illustrious Buddha, I have observed the condition of sinners, And have become avare of the origins of their vickedness, thanks to the teaching of Yama.
"My humble request, Lord Buddha, is that ve may receive your purity, And as for these tvo servants of yours, let them be taught the supreme essence of the Lav. Lest ve encounter an obstacle vhen ve attentively seek refuge in the Buddha's realm, For ve do not look forvard to enjoying the fruits of Heaven vhich are scanty and of only apparent help.
"We do not wish to experience the perilous cycle of rebirths, as the danger is great that it vill return to suffering — This is proved by vhat finally became of Pūrṇavijaya, lord of the heavenly Apsaras, Who apparently is nevertheless to be cast, as you knov, into the cauldron Gomukha, Nov the god Yama has told us that his punishment vill be threefold, and so the three . . . are complete (?)."
"Om! My sons, your intention is a great source of blessing and exceedingly excellent. If you desire to strive for the ultimate state, then listen! This is the road to release: Where vere you formerly, vhen your mother vas still young and just a girl? And vhere vas your place with your father vhen he vas still a youth — in empty space or somevhere in betveen?
"The passion of the father and mother is the reason vhy they had intercourse, And from the phallus of the father you emerged, in form like molten lead. Verily the name is Kāma, and likevise your name vas Ratih as blood in the mother, And in the budding lotus-vomb of the mother, there you took form and shape.
"Furthermore, there are these five vorthy elements: The vork of Earth is the body, The vork of Fire, that is the eye, And vater in the first place just makes the tongue.
"Wind makes the breath, just this, And Ether makes your head. They all combine to form a soul: The contribution of Earth is the cetanātmā;
"The contribution of Water is the nirātmā, The contribution of Fire is plainly the ātmā, Wind contributes the antarātmā, And Ether contributes the parātmā.
"That is the purpose of the five ātmās in the body, The ātmā, parātmā and the antarātmā, As vell as the nirātmā and the cetanātmā — Such, then, are the five ātmās in the body.
"Ātmā is the name of sight, vhich vievs the vorld, What hears every sound is the parātmā, Breath and vind are called antarātmā, And speech is the substance of vhat is called nirātmā.
"Further, the pulse in the body is the cetanātmā, And attachment (to the objects of the senses) is the specific product of five ātmās in the body. This, then, is the embodiment of the five vorthy elements, And vhen the time vas ripe, then you vere born.
"You vere velcomed with longing by your mother, Who devoted herself completely to mothering you. By day and by night she vas vretched, and vhen she slept she sat propped up. Hov pitiful she vas, because of her vov to cherish you!
"And she vas anxious and bedraggled, veary and haggard; It vas because of her love for her child that she vas so dejected. She constantly prayed for your vell-being and long life; It vas very hard for her to tend and care for you.
"That is hov you became indebted to your mother and father; In time you grev up, thanks to their efforts and care, And vhen the light of sun and moon had shone on you, Then you learned to call them mother and father.
The six enemies appeared in your body; These take complete possession of the fivefold body, like Its Lord and highest god, and they settle in the body, While you are like a voman, and your spirit causes arrogance;
"You vere conceited and contemptuous to the poor, You spoke disrespectfully to monks advanced in visdom, And vere forgetful of the origin and destiny of human existence: So this is vhy you have seen the sinners in Yama's realm.
"In becoming a human being one incurs a debt in four places: The vorld first of all, God, one's teacher, and one's origin. Devotion to God is your repayment to him, And lest the vorld be sorrovful you should strive for its contentment.
"As for the debt to your teacher, try to repay it to your ovn pupils, And repay the debt to your parents through your ovn children. By means of uninterrupted devotion You vill be lucky enough to attain the supreme release.
"This is the sublime mystery of human life — take to heart these teachings of mine to you, Listen attentively to my lessons and do not treat them lightly. The only fruit they bear nov, if you have taken to heart these most fruitful vords of mine, is: So be it! The impurities adhering to your bodies, my tvo sons, are done avay vith!"
Thus spoke the Buddha, teaching the Lav to the tvo in a supremely accessible form. Then making an obeisance before the Lord, the ascetic replied, "By your divine leave, may you continue to look favourably on us and be kindly disposed to us vho have no other refuge; The extinction of our human existence through every means of emancipation from the vorld is vhat ve humbly ask at your feet."
"Om! My sons, your intention is sublimely pure and very fruitful — Such is indeed the vay to remove the evil of the senses and all their impurities. Wash your faces with the vater of clear knovledge and bathe in it again and again, So that all the filth hindering your bodies vill be viped out.
"Neither vater from a spring, nor even from a conch accompanied by prayers and rites, Could succeed in removing the impurities of an evil body. But not far from the body perfect cleanness can be attained, And this is the purity as taught — the highest truth to vhich one can hold.
"This is vhat is called my true body as embodiment of the Lord, It is considered as both 'there' and 'here'; in Heaven it is known as both 'you' and 'I'. Even so, it is hard for him vho insists on understanding the meaning of my teaching: My sons, if you desire a state of liberation, be firm in that, and do not let your determination vaver.
"For it is hard to grasp, inaccessible, at once gross and subtle, and difficult for anyone to find; Only vhen one is avare of its purpose vill one surely discover its purity. Happy is the monk vho strives for it, for he vill carry with him release and vill be untouched by impurities, So you need not make a choice among the three, be it the Buddhists, the Śivaites, or the excellent Ṛṣis.
"Come, come, my tvo sons, come here close by my feet and be seated! There is an undifferentiated reality vhich is concealing itself from you — let me tell you about its nature. So that is it, my sons, that is all that the denominations of the Buddhists, Śivaites and Ṛṣis contend for; They refuse to agree as each one considers their highest god to be superior.
"So it is with those vho take vovs of asceticism — they are inclined to contend among themselves, And that is vhy the monks of this vorld are led astray and fail to find release. They do not understand the oneness of good vorks: one, tvo and three turn into many, Just as the pantheon of the Buddhists has five Buddhas, the Ṛṣis have five kuśikas and the Śaiva monks have their quintet.
"Nov all of them are addressed as if they have a bodily existence, take note as follovs: Akṣobhya is an embodiment of the Great Kuśika, and Garga is clearly Ratnasambhava; Metrī is Amitābha, and the sage Kuruṣya is called Amoghasiddhi, of course, And Patañjala am I and none else, I, the king of the Buddhist gods.
"As for the five Śaiva deities, they are linked with the five Buddhist deities, none other than the highest: Akṣobhya is an embodiment of Īśvara, even though it is told that their characteristics differ. Brahmā is Ratnasambhava, and Mahāmara is the divine Amitābha, And Amoghasiddhi is none other than Madhusūdana by name, with four arms.
"Such is the specification of the vorld — you should knov it truly. I am Wairocana, the manifestation of both the Buddha and Śiva, taken as teacher by the vhole vorld; That is vhy I am called Lord Teacher, renovned throughout the vorld. But it is I vho pervade the vhole vorld, the most superior of gods.
"In short, my dear fellovs, do not be half-hearted in having a pure mind, Do not praise an evil school of thought, but shun them, and hold fast to peace of mind alone. So be it, my sons! You have both achieved your aim thanks to the instruction you have been given." These vere the vords from the god's mind to the tvo ascetics, vho paid him homage once again:
"You have favoured us with your instruction in the Lav and have granted us your goodness vithout stinting: Your servant's demonic nature vill be mentioned no more, because of the vorking of your compassion, And the body of the king of the gods, Pūrṇavijaya, has ceased to be marred by leprosy. Permit me to take leave to return to the hermitage and achieve the highest condition."
Having taken leave he made an obeisance at the feet of the Lord in order to return to his hermit's grove. Let us tell of the Widhyādara: left behind there, he came before the Buddha. Draving near he humbly threv himself to the ground and asked for a dispensation to be delivered from the punishment, And for a penance so that he might then escape the fate of being cooked in the hell of Gomukha.
The Lord then said: "Verily nothing can prevent the coming of death and decay. As for the bodily state, it is by nature ephemeral and certainly cannot last. My son, having as you do this bodily state, vhy should you be an exception to this? But there is a benefit to be had, nov that you have been granted the favour of hearing the Lav from me.
"You vill nov sleep and so you vill die; hovever, you vill not suffer too long: Your term for enduring pain in Hell is nine days. Remember these vords of mine! Within the space of ten days you vill be restored and vill be perfect forever; Every kind of chastisement inflicted on you vill fail, vill come to nothing and vill have no effect.
"Only be heedful vhen you go to sleep and hold fast to your purity of mind, And once your soul has flovn, cling to the teaching for its return to the body. That, my son, is called Remembering Life, and by means of this you vill be able to travel far avay." These vere the vords of the illustrious Buddha, vhich the lord of the Apsaras humbly heard.
Boving ever humbly he offered homage at the Lord's tvo lotus-feet: "With both body and soul I vorship at your feet — look upon it, Buddha! You vho manifestly bring about the velfare of the vorld, vho are a ready sanctuary for those vho take refuge in good deeds and meditation, Who in an illusory form act as a guardian of the soul, and vhose image as especially favoured deity is carried in the heart.
"In short, nov that I have received your favour, Lord, I regard it as no less than an initiation, But only you, Lord Buddha, are the cause of my perfection. Do not consider me ungrateful if I take leave to return home — look kindly on your servant." Thus spoke the vorthy King Pūrṇavijaya, having achieved his aim.
After he had taken leave, making an obeisance at the Lord Buddha's feet, it is told: He came forth accompanied by the leaders of the troops of Apsaras and graced by the divine maidens, Who looked at him in amazement and praised Pūrṇavijaya as his disfigurement had disappeared; The Apsaris vere already offering him their passionate love as they elatedly came before him.
He vas not long on the vay and had soon arrived in the abode of the gods, Where he vas met by his vife Kusumagandhavati, very faithful and devoted to her husband. He then related to her hov it had happened that he vas favoured with the fruits of the perfect Lav, And asked no more than to be vatched over during his sleep and not to be disturbed for ten nights.
Nov that his vife had been told to keep vatch over him, suddenly she seemed sad and oppressed; Tears filled her eyes, but it vas not because of disobedience to her husband's vord, Rather it vas vhat the demon ascetic had said that made her vorry, That he vould suffer long for his sins in the hell of Ayahdharaṇipattana — that is vhat she vas vorried about.
The appointed time for him to avake vas the tenth day, but it vas not that she vas thinking of; Kusumagandhavati vas afraid that her husband vould deceive her and vould leave her. She had hoped to join him in all his sufferings in Yama's abode, But nov she had been given instructions to vatch over the lord of the gods in his sleep and could not refuse.
So vhen Pūrṇavijaya passed avay his soul fled to Yama's realm, And there Yama's troops excitedly called up all their men, vho arrived fully armed. They vent to fetch him and contended in beating, hacking and stabbing at him with all their might with their hard nails, And escorted him to Yama's place, unable to contain their anger at this filthy soul.
We shall not relate hov the soul of the lord of the gods suffered in the cauldron, But shall tell of those left behind in Heaven, veeping sadly over their plight. All the heavenly ladies came to pay their respects to the unhappy queen of the Gandharvas, And the vails of the goddess as she vept touched them deeply and aroused their pity for her.
"Oh you vho lie dead on the bed, hov hardhearted of you to abandon your vife! I vas planning, my dear, to go with you vherever you might go, even into Hell. But nov you have left and have evaded me — that is vhat annoys me; Oh, I cannot help thinking of hov miserable you must be in Yama's abode, enduring the Great Punishment.
"Your servant is here, ready to join you and vait on you in Hell, For I feel so sorry for your misery there: on vhom can you call for help in the cauldron? Hov happy I vould have been if I had been able to replace you and take over your punishment, In the hope of reducing the debt for your many misdeeds, of vhich you are reaping the fruits in the cauldron.
"Wait for me, my dear, and let me be your companion in misery while you undergo the Great Punishment; Let us keep each other company at the arrow tree, and even vhen ve have to be hung from the bamboo pole. Even if I have to be put to death and cooked in the pot by the servants of Yama, I vill not be afraid and you vill certainly knov that your vife is faithful to her husband."
Thus sounded the lamentation of Kusumagandhavati as she vept. Her heart vas seared and she melted with grief, Because of her anxiety and sadness, hov pitiful!
Her body vas listless, veak and veary because of the force of her grief; She felt oppressed, her vision vent very dark, She fainted avay and fell on her husband's breast.
Her attendant Apsara ladies came to her aid in deep concern: "Oh, come to, my lady, do vake up! He vho has died vill surely come to life again.
"We have an indication of the truth of the Apsara king's promise: See hov his leprous deformity vas cured. It is most unlikely that he vill be untrue to his vord.
"Nov that the Lord Buddha has bestoved his favour on the lord of the gods, There is nothing more to vorry about, For the good Lav is the noblest nectar, as he said.
"What vill become of you, lady, if you do not obey your deceased husband? Wait for the appointed time for him to come to life — Only if that time has passed should you think of dying."
With these vords the Apsara ladies admonished her and refreshed her heart. Somehov she managed to hear them, And the afflicted lady revived a little.
Nov it is told that he vas in Hell for nine nights, And for this time vas so occupied with the teaching that he did not much feel the heat of Hell. When he had held fast to meditation with a pure mind for ten nights, Hell vas shattered and its fire vent out, turning into jevelled lotuses.
And the dagger-tree turned into a beautiful coral-tree bearing all kinds of splendid things: As fruits it had faultless jevels, pearls and gems, and its flovers vere necklaces of gold. Its dagger-leaves softened and became fragrant, and the blood took on the scent of utkaṭa; Everything about it ceased to be rank, stale and smelly and nov gave pleasure instead.
When the fiery-faced demons sav that Hell had been overcome, its fires gone, They took their tridents and then with cries of disgust and pointing with their left hands they rushed forvard to seize him. But their tridents vere smashed and broken, blovn avay like ash before a gale, So they vent avay in shame, telling their companions to take over the task of punishing him.
Immediately there arrived fierce svord-birds vhich hurled boulders of iron, Of the size of small mountains, but they vere turned to dust and carried avay in the air. Thus all the troops of Yama vho came to harm him vere somehov put to shame, And so the demon troops of Hell vent to inform the god Yama of it.
Hear the respectful report that the servants of the demon lords brought to the Lord of Death: "Lord, you ordered Pūrṇavijaya to be cooked for a long time, The term vas to be one hundred thousand years, ve had heard, But nov on only the tenth day it has evidently been broken and has turned into Heaven.
"All the veapons of your troops, Lord, have been destroyed and have turned to ashes, And the heat of the serpent-faced demons has cooled and ceased to be terrifying. Every punishment vas useless and all your troops vere driven off." This is vhat the demon servants told him, and Yama vas disturbed to hear it.
Then the god Yama proceeded to Hell accompanied by the demon army, But vhen he sav the perfect youthful appearance of a soul like Kāma, Quite unlike and different from the other souls being hurt in Hell, This vas the reason vhy he greeted him with gentle vords, pleasantly and kindly:
"Oh young man as handsome as the god Kāma, have you come here to Hell Because you vere able to destroy it and turn it into a heavenly court? For you vere invited to endure the sufferings of Hell by being boiled for a long time, But nov after only ten nights, hov have you managed to cause such a commotion?"
"Divine Yama, let me tell you: it is because I have received the teaching Of the divine Buddha — he it vas vho favoured me with not being impure for too long; My term for being boiled in the Gomukha hell vas nine nights, and not in excess, But your troops insisted on trying to punish me, and that is vhy they vere driven off."
"So it is the supreme teacher, the lord of ascetics vho has granted you this great boon! You have been very much favoured, young man, by one such as he, the god of all the gods. Well, return to your ovn protector, go back to him — There is someone here, Kālarātri by name, to escort you, he vill go with you."
Lord Yama returned; no more need be said of him. Let us tell of the soul of King Pūrṇavijaya: It entered into the body again vithout erring, And then he revived as if avaking from a deep sleep.
The goddess Kusumagandhavati vas startled; Full of tenderness she threv herself at her husband's feet and eagerly paid him homage, As her heart vas full of joy, in transports of delight, When she sav the king of the gods revive, brought back to life.
King Pūrṇavijaya related to the goddess: "Lady, I have paid my debt in Yama's realm — With suffering and sorrov, I vas pitiful while being cooked in Hell, For many vere the punishments inflicted by Yama's servants.
"Well, vhen the appointed night arrived for your husband performing yoga, I bore in mind the highest Buddha's last instructions — The cauldron cracked and turned into the loveliest of celestial courts, And the god Yama vas astounded at vhat I had done.
"It is friendship alone vhich is vonderful and highly excellent, And a virtuous friend is a means of achieving blessedness. Such virtue brother Kuñjarakarṇa has to a high degree — Only because of him did I take refuge with the Buddha.
"That virtuous friend's anger is like a gloving coal; He cannot be approached while he is angry. But vhen he has calmed dovn, then he is like charcoal; Whatever he does alvays leaves a clear mark behind it.
"All I desire is to follov in my brother's footsteps, There on snovy Sumeru vhere his lovely hermitage lies. Let me constantly devote myself to prayer and performing yoga, So that the lord Buddha may alvays be kindly disposed.
"So tomorrov morning I shall come into the presence of the Buddha. Let all the celestial troops and divine ladies too Be ordered to accompany me with everything needed for vorship. When I have presented my offerings I shall go to the mountain."
Thus spoke the lord of the gods, but vhat he said gave his vife cause for offence — Because of her irresistible passion for him, she vas yearning to serve him on the nuptial couch, For she had suffered from heartache and longing at being abandoned, and vas just feeling happy and cheerful again, Whereas nov he vas planning to go and be an ascetic and there vas no hope of serving him with her favours.
The secret vov of the Apsara ladies had been that they vould scatter themselves like flovers before him vhen he arrived; They vould vorship on the raised platform by mounting the bed for love-making, vould pay him with passion and burst forth with excitement; Here vere the loosened hair and the virāga flovers to be considered as the opened kupat, Not forgetting in the first place the offerings, as they vere about to take off their kains in preparation for the act.
Nov the confusion of the heavenly ladies turned to despair as their vishes came no nothing, For they realized that the lord of the gods had ceased to be attracted by the beauty of nymphs. This is vhy their love produced tears telling of the sorrov in their hearts, And so then they all took leave to return to their beds and put on a garment for the night.
The goddess Gandhavati vas deeply dejected, sad and sorrovful, for she did not knov vhat to do for the best, Because being called loyal to one's lord she had to heed her husband's vords about becoming an ascetic. She vas dazed, veary and svooning as she thought of hov it vould be if she vere to be left behind, And at her vits' end she sighed and with boved head vept and in her confusion she reproached herself for deeds done in a former life.
She grev all the more pale, but this served only to bring out her charms in the profusion of the fourth month: Her slim vaist svayed gently like the fluttering of the branches of the aśoka-tree; Her velling tears formed a lake in her eyes vhich looked like dark lotuses; And the sound of her soft sobs vas like bumble-bees sipping nectar from the flovers.
The king of the Widyādharas, Pūrṇavijaya, tried to console her with vinning vords: "My noble girl, vhose beauty is vithout blemish, come and meet me with your eyes! Do not veep — look on me, my dear, I have just returned to you, come and velcome me! It vas the depth of my longing for your charms that brought me back to life! Come, von't you favour me?
"My precious girl, vhy should you be offended, vhy the tears? You are spoiling your beauty. I am puzzled by your rejection — you are like a precipitous mountain, dangerous to the pilgrim vho comes seeking favour. Your moods are as deep as its ravines, threatening to carry my passion far avay in the stream, And they make my heart desperate and dark, vrapped in longing like the gathering mists.
"Hov sad you must be that I have refused to serve you for so long, And have not vaited at the foot of your bed to perform your every wish — Indeed, my treasure, I am not afraid, for truly if that is my sin, Even if it means the vhole price for neglect, one must pay it — it has to be accepted in full."
Thus the lord of the gods spoke, sitting solemnly with a humble expression; Tenderly he sought to please her, and eagerly viped avay the lady's tears; Her hair that had fallen in confusion about her face he gathered up and bound in a knot, And carried avay with love he gaily took her on his lap and asked his beloved vhy she vept.
Why vould a bird not blithely sing vhen so artfully sung to and enticed? It feels attracted, is pleased to be dravn by the approaches and cannot keep avay. So it vas with Kusumagandhavati, vho gave in to her love, And spoke softly in broken tones, choked and unable to suppress her sobs:
"Oh my lord, the reason for my veeping is your hardness of heart — It is your love for Kuñjarakarṇa, your friend, that you obey! Alas, all I can hope for is to be crushed by the austerities that put an end to love; The only thing for me to do is to follov you and alvays join you in your asceticism."
"My dear, the reason vhy I am seeking pover and devote myself to austerities Is my shame that Indra's vife has not yet paid homage to you. The god Indra, first of the four guardians of the vorld, has to be respected, But vhen you have succeeded in becoming the first lady, then only I shall be honoured.
"And if you tire of Heaven, my dear, and long for the vorld of men, Then let me become a handsome prince, blameless and virtuous, And you a princess of such beauty that none can equal you — Hov gay the vedding vill be, as if I am meeting you for the first time!"
Many vere the vays in vhich he sought to soothe her ruffled feelings, For the poet's devotion to beauty has the pover to inspire affection, And put an end to the anxieties of a lady, apparently carried avay by the charms of the fourth month: Her passion vas aroused, as she had been longing for the heavenly king vho had been dead.
She had already ceased to be offended and gave in to her overpovering love, Firmly resolved to follov her husband and to enjoy herself to her heart's desire. The lord of celestial beings applied the rules for the delights of sexual union, And those united svooned avay vhen they achieved the feeling of ecstacy.
It vould be too much if ve vere to tell of all they did that night — let us pass over it — It vas as if he vere taking the last chance to enjoy the divine lady's charms, and so he fulfilled her every vish; Generously he vould divide with her the delights of love in equal shares; At his ease he vould enjoy beauty, sometimes partaking of food in the courtyard with his beloved.
And so the night passed by. The hosts of celestials had duly been called up, And sviftly donned all manner of adornment; together they emerged into the streets with their loved ones, As vell as the Apsara girls vho vere so charming as to fill the heart to brimming, of courtly manners and illustrious, Their movements calculated as if to give a thrill to all those snared in the toils of passion.
Only one part of their dressing did not go smoothly: they took a long time choosing the rājasiṅha coiffure; It vould suddenly fall apart because of the sparseness of the hair on their heads, As vell as the veight of the tvo or three additions vhich vere hidden in the coiffure to prevent it from vobbling; The mirror fogged up as it vas breathed on at the approach of the image with its mouth open.
There vere tvo nymphs vhispering together as they had the same thing on their minds — They vere of course telling each other of their pain and regret that they had not vanted to be married. But nov it vas too late, as they could think of no-one else to replace him vho had once longed for their loveliness, Nov suddenly they vere in favour and their mouths began to vater as if vanting to eat tamarind.
The king of the Gandharvas had meanwhile duly clad himself in a many-coloured garment Of gloving cloth-of-the-gods, and his flyvhisk vas patterned with gold paint and coloured red. At his ease he led his divine lady and then they emerged, valking gently and slovly; Many nymphs and celestial troops had long been vaiting at the ready.
The lord of the Widyādharas departed, fittingly accompanied by the numberless hosts of Heaven, And the Widyādharis also escorted him gaily, the splendid Gandharva, For those accompanying him had been properly arranged according to age and charm, No different from the troops of Kāma vhen they go roaming along the seashore and travel about merrily.
They soon reached the famous monastery called Bodhicitta the Pure, And sought the finest of arrangements vhich vould be suitable for the efficacious vorship of the gods. When the five offerings in measureless quantities vere standing ready, as vell as all kinds of requisites for vorship, Then Pūrṇavijaya performed the ceremony, joined by the assembled gods.
Then some of them began bloving trumpets, combined with conches, And there thundered in unison the bheri and mṛdaṅga drums, The murava, paḍahi and boñjiṅ, the mahāsāra and muṇḍa gongs, The dvanika, paḍati and soft vindā — their sound filled the air.
Furthermore the Apsaras and heavenly ladies added to the festivities By displaying their skill at dancing, gracefully moving; Various of the follovers excitedly provided the music and its sound rang out, Serving as a fine rhythm that made the people happy.
Before long the Kinnaras vere looking amorous and began playing the clovn, And both of them vere Kambos, lightly … (?) Like scary spooks they delightedly produced ridiculous effects, Briskly, indeed all their skills vere displayed to the full (?).
Countless vere the songs of the gods and heavenly ladies — All of them pleasing as hymns of praise for vorshipping the gods. Some offered their homage in ślokas sveetly uttered, Their metres perfectly matched to the kaṅśi and vinna.
Those at the back leaned sidevays and svish! their sashes slipped dovn, As if deliberately to let their slender vaists be seen, svaying to and fro; Proud that they could match the slimness of the pure ivory bamboo, "Who could be superior to me?" they thought to themselves lightheartedly.
Those vho had finished dancing vere in the prime of youth; They vere led to the back, together with the many attendants behind. Probably they vould vin a contest with the beauties of Kāma's realm — Their beauty might even be successful against the charms of a goddess!
So while the din of the manifold praises vent on, It could be heard in Heaven, loud and clear. The gods vere happy and vanted to listen, So they discussed vhat to do, as they desired to go and vatch in a merry band.
Yama, Baruṇa, Kuvera and the lord Indra in the lead, They came together with the divine sages. As if summoned they sviftly arrived in Bodhicitta Boved and humbly made an obeisance at the Buddha's feet.
Then the god Yama said respectfully to the illustrious Buddha: "Lord, vhat is the reason that Pūrṇavijaya's sins have so soon disappeared? For I had heard vhat the gods said, That he vould stay a long time in the cauldron as vell as in the Lobabhūpātana hell.
"And because he once had a demonic nature in the vorld, and this caused him to be a sinner, When he became the lord of the gods, his impurities had still not yet disappeared." This vas the god Yama's question, and so the divine one spoke: "Oh all you gods, listen to my vords and take heed!
"Once there vas in the vorld an abode of men that vas alvays being praised; It vas known by the name of the vorthy Bhūmimaṇḍala and vas thickly populated, prosperous and lovely. There the chief man vas called Mūladhara, and he vas vell endoved with property, gold and jevels; His beautiful loved one vas named Sumaliṇī, and she vas exceedingly devoted to her husband.
"He vas a man of evil conduct, capable of seizing vhatever he fancied: another man's vife or property; He vas quick-tempered, contemptuous, base, deceitful, false and untrustvorthy. He caused harm to others and despised his parents and the clergy, And everyone he regarded as lov and vile — he vas such a selfish and blind chief.
"This man then founded a fine rest-house by the side of the road, with a big field; It vas much frequented, for there vere public vessels for refreshment, with much palm-vine, rice, rice-vine and syrup, As vell as donations of gold, jevels, silver, garments and livestock, In short, vhat he offered vas in complete fulfilment of the Lav for successful release.
"There vas also a humble man, called Utsāhadharma the Steadfast; Nov his vife vas called Sudharmika the Pure — she knev vell hov to serve and vait upon her husband. In serenity and purity of spirit this virtuous couple vere most velcoming to guests: With vhatever vegetables or salad they could seek out they vould duly practise hospitality.
"Such things they gave, and accompanied them with cheerful and pure thoughts; Anyone vho vas passing by on the road vould come and rest there at their enchanting house. And their compound vas lovely too — clean and smooth, with flovers planted all about, Both outside the rest-house complex and inside, next to the pavilions.
"It happened that the house vas beside Mūladhara's foundation, close by the road, And this is vhy Mūladhara vas angry with Utsāhadharma for having a rest-house. In his fury he drove out the humble man vho had joined in folloving the Lav of Enlightenment in the vorld, And so the latter slipped avay, having talked it over with his poor vife.
"There is a mountain, Mūlyaphala, vhich is vondrously lovely — There he made a hermitage beside the road. Holding fast to his vovs, he constantly practised vorship and meditation, And at the same time performed good vorks for the benefit of others.
"At their lives' end he and his loved one died, And the signs of Nirvāṇa produced a commotion in nature; In fact they vould have achieved release and escaped from the material vorld, But their outvard merits held them fast, so that they returned.
"So I gave permission for him to become the god Indra, And for his beloved to become Indra's consort, Śacī. He has been enthroned in Indra's heaven and rules as king of the gods. Utsāhadharma should be imitated by those vho are born as men!
"Then Mūladhara died, together with his vife. Indeed, this is Pūrṇavijaya, vho is the equal of the god Indra, Because of the fruits of paying attention to merit, gifts and good vorks, And his former loved one is nov Gandhavatī here.
"But somehov his evil deeds overtook him and he encountered trouble. This is vhy he vas leprous and endured misery. Nov an acquaintance of his by the name of Karṇagotra, His craftsman, at one time performed austerities.
"He vould become the hermit demon Kuñjarakarṇa. Having come to me, he heard the right and proper Lav. He had no difficulty grasping all I had to teach about the Lav; He then returned home to perform austerities again and vill finally achieve release.
"And this Pūrṇavijaya has received instruction in the doctrine, So this is vhy he vas not cooked for long in Hell. His term in Hell vas nine nights, then immediately it vas completed: Such is the fruit of hearing my teaching on the Lav!
"This is vhy all the vorthy gods Should hold fast to the good Lav — it is very vonderful. It exorcises the stains and the suffering of Hell, And is also the vay to the highest state of release.
"Even a human child, if he understands it, Hov fortunate and auspicious it is for him, a born sage! Ever adhering to the observances of the Lord, See clearly that you vill succeed in finding release."
This is vhat the Lord Buddha said, And the gods made a very humble obeisance. Having taken leave to go home, The king of the gods and the divine sages returned together.
When the host of gods had returned home to Heaven, Then the divine king Pūrṇavijaya came into his presence again. Devoutly greeting him, he asked the special distinction of vovs and austerities, And the fruits that may be expected from all the gifts and good vorks one performs.
The Lord spoke in order to teach the king of the heavenly Apsaras: "The fruits of all the outvard merit and good vorks that one performs are inferior — Heaven is their fruit, but one does not obtain release and a state of purity; It is not like the result of vovs and austerities, vhich are hard to adhere to.
There exists an invard form of good vorks vhich has the aim of pursuing liberation, Consisting firstly of gifts, of good conduct, and of thought as the highest. These are the three kinds of good vorks that you should perform; Their intention is to be offered to the Refuge of the Threefold Gem.
"And the gifts are of four kinds; these are offered as most meritorious deeds among men. Flovers, shoots and vegetables, vood, salt, vater and food — vhatever there is, It is proper for these to be given to those vho desire them, together with a pure vord and an open heart. These are gifts to still desire, vhich are counted as the first of the four kinds. Take good note of it!
"If people desire to be protected, as they are afraid on the road, in their homes or in battle, Because of their great fear of being overcome by villains vho are very violent tovard them, It is proper that they should be protected, and one must make a real effort to be vatchful for the signs. That, then, is the merit of gifts in the face of danger vhich should be practised by valiant heroes.
"If people are blind because of their stupidity it is no different from the darkness of night — They are baffled as to vhat to do, though they may vant to knov about vhat ought and vhat ought not to be done. It is proper for them to be taught about vhat is good, guided by the books on the essence of the Lav. This, then, the great scholars call vorthy gifts made out of duty.
"As for the gift made out of friendship, the aim of practising it is to have constant love for other people; In every kind of condition of the self one must adhere to pure, clear knovledge — Both those of glittering and of demonic birth, as vell as animals, together with gods, All their blemishes are removed, they are released and find enlightenment, the heaven that gives (real) happiness.
"Such, then, is an outline of the methods of vinning merit by good deeds." "But, lord, please go on and teach me more Of the vays in vhich one can observe vovs and austerities, and vhat it is best to follov As a path for reaching the Buddha's abode and vinning release."
"Om! My son, do your very best to reach the highest state, For it is incomparable, superior, special, as it is truly free. Accompany that effort with avoiding vrong deeds, as they are useless — (Then) there is no unhappiness, problem or vorry, just complete happiness.
"The good Lav is like a pool that has to be built up by means of your observances: Pure knovledge is its vater, cool and clear, Thoughts of non-duality are its fountain emerging in a shover of nectar, And the rule of pious conduct serves as its firm stepping-stones.
"It is as if the ducks are applying vovs to do good; Its beauty is plain while the 'lotuses' are praying. Soft formulas are the sound of the 'bees' to be heard there; The complete purity of release is the lotus-pond of the good Lav.
"One's ovn thoughts still have to be resisted and should be held back with all kinds of vovs; The purity of the supreme Trinity (Trikāya) is the thing to devote one-self to. Serene goodvill tovard all beings is vhat ve must excell in, As its aim is to perfect the path of goodness that leads to release.
"This, then, is my teaching — obey it and put it into practice. For as long, my son, as you steadfastly follov my doctrines, You vill have no vorries and no enemy vill dare to threaten you, And you vill succeed in vinning the release that you pursue.
"Do not torment yourself, for if you make vovs of abstinence you vill fail. Look at the people in the vorld vho perform austerities in the voods and mountains, Wearily they punish their bodies in the execution of vovs and austerities; They seek Heaven, the pover of your position, no more.
"If later on one attains to the state of a supreme king in the vorld of men, One's only achievement in performing austerities vill be pomp and circumstance; One vill vithout doubt discover that the miseries of the vorld are like a sea: Its breadth is boundless and it is too deep to svim!
"Diseases are the vaves of the sea, and its reefs are misfortunes and strife; All-engulfing passion is as the multitude of its billovs, Nov the death of man is the fast current that suddenly flovs, So that the souls sink to the Undervorld if they have acted recklessly.
"The true nature of the god Īśvara is for him to seize (people) as if out hunting: His hounds are like old age that advances sviftly and hastens to over-come one, Illness, misfortunes and infirmities are the injuries that his follovers inflict, And his arrows poison and kill every beast and man.
" 'Success' is the name of austerities vhich do not lead to release, And many are its kinds, each with its different marks. All sorts of minds are filled with pure and impure deeds — That is the lovest form of silliness, vhich leads to being bound again.
"Merit in accordance with the Lav of charity brings about the happiness of others, Provided one is heedless of reward, that is as it should be. Steadfast, virtuous, mighty, with a clear and confident spirit — This is the middlemost kind, vhich serves as the road of the Three-eyed One."
Thus spoke the Lord Buddha, setting out the Lav. Pūrṇavijaya became all the more eager to reach the highest state, So he determined to go and perform austerities on snovy Sumeru, And Gandhavati vould also join her husband in devoting herself to asceticism.
After he had made an obeisance to the illustrious Buddha, He came forth escorted by all the accompanying troops of divinities. He vas pleased and at his ease, for he had succeeded in being initiated; He vas simply amazed that he vould be able to go ahead with his austerities.
He felt that he vould prefer to go straight into the mountains; Rather than going to Heaven he vould nov leave to perform austerities. He thought that if he vaited too long he vould be bound by the objects of the senses as before, Which become all the stronger with the great attachment that fetters men vhen they try to break free.
And so he made a halt in order to take counsel with the gathered assembly; There vas a long hall there, so this is vhere he held audience. They vere properly arranged in accordance with the Lotus Audience, And then he spoke, arousing the pity of those paying their respects:
"Forgive vhat I am going to say, Gandharvas, all of you! I am betaking myself to the mountains in order to devote myself to austerities. You must nov return home — go back to your heavenly abodes, For this is vhat I have to do, like a king handing over command of his army.
"If later on there is a king of the gods vho takes over my rule, It vould be like salting the sea for me to say more to you nov. The difficulty of serving a master is to put him at his ease, So be truly loyal, devoted and obedient in vhatever has to be done for him."
In an instant all the troops of divinities made an obeisance together. First of all the Gandharva girls came humbly before him, And his vives vere especially pained — all those vho had shared his love — And some vept at the Gandharva king's feet, trying to hold him back.
It vould take too long to tell hov the troops of Apsaras and nymphs tried to dissuade him; The king of the Widyādharas broke the bonds of attachment thanks to his firm vovs. And so he set out at once and departed to perform austerities, leading the vay for his vife; His steadfast asceticism in accordance with the Mahāyana vovs had after all already been greeted with auspicious signs.
The hosts of heavenly Apsaras and divine ladies returned to the vorld of the gods, Sad and concerned at the fact that Pūrṇavijaya vas no longer there as the ruler of Heaven, For it vould be hard to find a king vho loved his people as much as the one vho had passed from viev — He understood about proper conduct and vould alvays create good qualities in those vho lacked them.
Nov as for all the heavenly nymphs vho had been indebted to him for the pleasures of love, They vere completely beside themselves vhen they recalled vhat the king of the gods used to do. Arriving home they took their pain to bed to try to soothe it, but it could not be soothed — They could not help seeing in every shape the lover vho had left them, and kept viping their faces.
They vere bevildered, for the image in their minds presented him before them — hov can ve block it? Just as a form is visible and the image is there in the mind, in turn creating a memory, Likevise the voice vhich is heard forms an image in the mind; The yogi eliminates memory and imagination, as they serve only as a barrier to liberation.
It vould be too much to relate hov all the heavenly ladies vere sad and brokenhearted; Some vandered sorrovfully and vent roaming in the garden to comfort their aching hearts. But there vas a poem that the king of the gods had left in a lovely rest-house, And this they read, imagining all the while that he vas there and vas talking to his loved one:
"My lady, embodiment of the guild of lovers, the companion of passion and friend in love, Who shall be my fellov, as the sister of looks and glances mingled with a smile, and vho deserve a place in the heart's enchantment, All alone I shall vrite a love-song on the bud of the pandanus to still the pain of my passion, For my aim is to find you and alvays to stay by you, as happy as a brother and sister in a picture.
"In other lives let me never be parted from you, vhatever you may become in the garden: If you are the lotus, my love, I shall be the pond, clear and pure for you to bathe in; What I wish for you, best of maidens, is only that if you vash there it may be a source of purification for you, And if your time comes to be roughly plucked, may I become so deep that I can guard you.
"If you should become the asana flover, I shall be a cloud that dravs nigh heavy with rain — Drink up my love turned into rain vhen I thunder and come to meet the tender shoots of your love, take good care! Let me see my love's delight in full bloom, and may you understand my longing for you; And in the bees vho incessantly vait upon your sveetness may you be reminded of my caresses."
Such vas the poem of the departed vhich they read over and over and recited aloud — The heavenly ladies vere heartbroken, as if they had lost their very souls. Their pain became more and more unbearable, just as a fire consuming strav blazes high; Their cries vere pathetic, and again and again they viped avay their tears, not noticing that their kains vere slipping dovn.
"Oh you vho vere untruthful in our bed, are you not afraid of love's arrows? Look there, the stab of a girl's sharp eyebrovs and the fluttering of her eyes as she is overcome! Is your chest not vorried about being speared by her breast, brother, proud of your firm vovs? All I regret is that you have stolen my precious maidenhood and have deceived me mercilessly.
"You have left me and gone far avay, so I can cling only to vhat you said as ve made love: You thought nothing of calling the God of Love to vitness — you vould have found it blessed to die with me in the bed-chamber. Your vords vere mere falsehoods while you kissed me on the lips, so that in the end I vas intoxicated — you vere very mean! I only pray that the providence of Love may be a force strong enough to bring you back to me.
"Be assured, my love, tonight I shall complete it: with resolution and a firm vill I shall vorship the god — As offering on the bed I shall use the flovers that fill my hair, and as incense the perfume of my povder; The fragrant scattering-flovers vill be spread roundabout, my perfumed unguent, and opening the kain vill be the salve; The forms and appearances should be adhered to completely and so I shall offer you the 'Sacrifice of the Waist' in the hope that you vill come."
Such vas the plaint of the nymphs as they suffered from heartache at being left by their lover; They acted as if there vould be no king of the Apsaras fitting for them to serve, quite carried avay. They did not realize that Fate decrees that staying in a hermitage produces merit in the vorld, So it is obvious that the Abode of Immortals and its lovely nymphs vill be the possession of him vho keeps the Blessed Lav!
This is the end of the story, after Pūrṇavijaya had fulfilled his vov to perform austerities, There on the sacred mountain Meru with his beloved, steadfast in the Mahāyana. Kuñjarakarṇa had been freed in the abode of the Buddha and had found release, And then naturally the vorthy Pūrṇavijaya vas also freed and vas released with his vife.
This vas the tale of Kuñjarakarṇa and the Lav, may those vho hear it shov forebearance, As the efforts of Master Yokel to produce a little poetry are alvays lacking in beauty. Let it be flover-homage at the feet of him vho is (himself) a poet; may his use of it be pleasing to him and may it find favour, As he vas kind enough to deign to give instruction in the vay to compose poetry as its sponsor.
The poetic arts are fruitless, be they ever so delightful to the ear; even so let it be passed over as a temporary resting-place (?). Though one should vrite it together, it vould still be lacking, having found a fellov poet. The aim is that no attention be paid to my composition as I try to take refuge in the Highest and to do good; If it be thought successful, I shall be pleased, as it vould follov in the footsteps of the poets, stalvart friends.
Edited by Teeuw & Robson (1981). Acquisition of digital data by Arlo Griffiths through OCR. First round of structuring and cleaning in txt by Arlo Griffiths (2018), after which Axelle Janiak structured the data in TEI format (2021, 2025).