D. ii. 209. JANA-VASABHA'S STORY. before Come hither; and in glory all the other gods out This they behold right gladly, both lord and Thirty- Tathagata they honour and the cosmic law sublime. Hereat [209], lord, the Three-and-Thirty Gods were even more abundantly glad and of good cheer and filled with joy and happiness, saying:-" Verily the celestial hosts are waxing, the titanic hosts are waning!" 14. Then, lord, concerning the object for which the Su The uttered word th' admonished Kings accepted there, 15. Then, lord, a splendid light came forth out of the North, and a radiance shone around surpassing the divine glory of the gods. And, lord, then did Sakka, king of the gods, say to the retinue of the ThirtyThree:" According, friends, to the signs now seen, the light that ariseth, the radiance that appearethBrahmâ will be manifested. For this is the herald sign of the manifestation of Brahmâ to wit, when the light ariseth and the glory shineth 1" "Yes Enche ti The portents now are seen, so Brahmâ draweth nigh, For this is Brahma's sign, this glorious splendour vast. 16. Then, lord, the gods of the Thirty-Three sat down in their own places, saying:-"We will ascertain, what shall be the result of this radiance, when we have tion so excellent.' Perhaps this technical phrase is to be taken here who have 1 So also in the Kevaddha (p. 200, translated above, Vol. I, p. 281). realized it, we will go to meet him. The Four Great Kings also sat down in their own places, saying the same. [210] And when they had heard this, the gods of the Three-and-Thirty were all together agreed:"We will ascertain what shall be the result of this radiance; when we have realized it, we will go to meet him." 1 17. When, lord, Brahmâ Sanamkumâra1 appears before the Thirty-Three gods, he appears as (relatively) gross personality which he has specially created. For Brahma's usual appearance is not sufficiently materialized to impress the vision of the Thirty-Three Gods. And, lord, when Brahmâ Sanamkumâra appears before the Thirty-Three Gods, he outshines the other gods in colour and in glory. Just, lord, as a figure made of gold outshines the human frame, so, when Brahmâ Sanamkumara appears before the Thirty-Three Gods, does he outshine the other gods in colour and in glory. And when, lord, Brahmâ Sanamkumâra appears before the Thirty-Three Gods, there is no god in all that assembly that salutes him, or rises up, or invites him to be seated. They all sit in silence, with clasped hands and cross-legged, thinking:-"Of whichever god Brahmâ Sanamkumâra now desires anything, he will sit down on that god's divan." And by whichever god he does sit down, that god is filled with a sublime satisfaction, a sublime happiness, even as a Kshatriya king newly anointed and crowned is filled with a sublime satisfaction, a sublime happiness. 18. [211] So, lord, Brahmâ Sanamkumâra having created a grosser personality and become in appearance as the youth Five-crest, manifested himself thus to the gods of the company of the Thirty-Three. Rising up into the air he sat down cross-legged in the sky. Just, lord, as easily as a strong man might sit down crosslegged on a well-spread divan or a smooth piece of 1 See Vol. I, p. 121. 2 Pañcasikha, which became a famous name in Indian legends, and was adopted by Saivite and Sânkhya writers. It is nowhere explained what, or how disposed, his five crests were. D. ii. 212. JANA-VASABHA'S STORY. y? ド 245 ground, even so did Brahmâ Sanamkumâra, rising up into the air, sit down cross-legged in the sky. And seeing the tranquillity of the gods of the company of the Thirty-Three he expressed his pleasure in these The Three-and-Thirty, verily, both gods and lord, rejoice, Tathagata they honour and the cosmic law sublime, bright, Who erst the holy life had lived, under the Happy The Mighty Sage's hearers, who had won to higher truths, Come hither; and in glory all the other gods out shine. This they behold right gladly, both lord and Thirty- Tathagata they honour and the cosmic law sublime. 19. This was the matter of Brahmâ Sanamkumâra's speech. And he spoke it with a voice of eightfold characteristics-in a voice that was fluent, intelligible, sweet, audible, continuous, distinct, deep, and resonant. And whereas, lord, Brahmâ Sanamkumâra communicated with that assembly by his voice, the sound thereof did not penetrate beyond the assembly. He whose voice has these eight characteristics is said to be Brahmâ-voiced. 20. Then, lord, Brahmâ Sanamkumâra, having created thirty-three shapes of himself [212], sitting each on the couch of each of the Thirty-Three Gods, thus addressed the Gods : "Now what think ye, my lord gods Thirty-andThree? Inasmuch as the Exalted One hath acted for the welfare of the peoples, for the happiness of the peoples, out of pity for the world, for the advantage, for the welfare, for the happiness of gods and men, they, whoever they be, Sirs, who have taken the Buddha for their refuge, the Truth for their refuge, the Order for their refuge, they, on the dissolution of the body after death, have been reborn, some of them into the communion of the Paranimmita-Vasavatti gods, some of them into the communion of the Tusita gods, or of the gods in the retinue of Yâma, or of the Thirty-Three Gods, or of the Four Great Kings. Those who fill the number of the lowest group, they go to fill the number of the Gandharva host." 21. This was the matter of Brahmâ Sanamkumâra's speech. And he spoke it with such a voice, that each god fancied1:-"He who is on my divan, he alone hath spoken." Sose de Speaks but one Brahmâ-shape, the Thirty-Three all speak; Silently sits one shape, they all in silence sit. Then all the Three-and-Thirty with their king too think, He who is on my couch, 'tis he alone that spake 2. 22. Then, lord, Brahmâ (Sanamkumâra betook himself to one end [of the Hall] and then [213] sitting down on the divan of Sakka, lord of the gods, addressed the Thirty-Three Gods : "Now what think ye, my lord gods Thirty-and-Three, of the completeness wherewith the Exalted One, who knows, who sees, the Arahant, Buddha Supreme, hath revealed the Four Ways to Iddhi for the development, thereof, for proficiency therein, for the elaboration thereof? Which are the Four Ways? In the first place a brother practises that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with desire. In the second place a brother practises that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with energy. In the third place a brother practises that way which In the text read so so devo. 2 The first couplet of this verse, oddly enough it seems to us, was a great favourite. It survived among the Buddhists for many centuries, and is extant in its Sanskritised form in the Divyâvadâna, p. 166; and also in the Madhyamaka Vritt, p. 118 of the edition published by the Buddhist Text Society. N Evity 247 is compounded of concentration and effort with a V [dominant] idea. In the fourth place a brother practises that way which is compounded of concentration and effort with investigation. These, sir, are the Four Ways to Iddhi revealed by the Exalted One who knows, who sees, the Arahant, Buddha Supreme, for the development thereof, for proficiency therein, for the elaboration thereof1. Now those recluses or brahmins who, in past times, have enjoyed Iddhi in one or more of its forms, they have all done so through practice and improvement in just these Four Ways. And those recluses or brahmins who, in future times, will enjoy Iddhi in one or more of its forms they will all do so through practice and improvement in just these Four Ways. And those recluses or brahmins who, at the present time, enjoy Iddhi in one or more of its forms, they all do so through practice and improvement in just these Four Ways. "I too, Sirs, through practice and improvement in just these Four Ways to Iddhi [214], have acquired such power and potency therein." 23. Such was the matter of Brahmâ Sanamkumâra's speech. And having thus spoken he addressed the Thirty-Three Gods: boby 67 "Now what think ye, my lord gods Thirty-andThree, of the Three Avenues for arriving at Bliss manifested by the Exalted One who knows, who sees, by the Arahant, Buddha Supreme? Which are the t Three? сти In the first place, Sirs, take a brother who is living in indulgence in the pleasures of sense, in association with bad conditions. He on a certain occasion hears the Aryan Truth, studies it and acquires both the main There are two orts of Iddhi, the worldly and the spiritual. On the former see above, Vol. I, pp. 272, 3; and on the latter Digha III, |