Part 6 - Sakrendra, king of the Devas in Saudharma-kalpa

Second Gautama, monk Agnibhūti, paid his homage and obeisance to Sramaṇa Bhagavān Mahāvīra, and having done so, he made the following submission:

Q. 10. Bhante! If Jyotiṣka-Indra, the king of the Jyotiṣkas, is in possession of a great fortune,...till a great power to transform, then, Bhante, how great is the power of Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king,...how great is his power to transform?

A. 10. Gautama! Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king, is in possession of a great fortune,...till a great influence, and exercises suzereinty over 32,00,000 vimāna-abodes, 84,000 Sāmānika gods,...till 3,36,000 body-guard gods and many other (ordinary) gods,...till he reigns over them. Such is his great fortune...till his great power to transform, similar to Camara’s, difference being that he can fill up a space twice as big as the isle of Jambu-dvīpa, the rest as before. Gautama! This much about Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king, (but) this has been a quality, a mere quality, though this power, he has never given effect to, not gives effect to, nor will ever give effect to⁶.

Q. 11. Bhante! (You have said that) Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king, is in possession of a great fortune,...till a great power to transform. Now, your disciple, the beloved of the gods, Tiṣyaka by name, gentle by nature,...till with great humility, enriched his soul by incessant fasts missing six meals on each occasion, spent in all eight years in the holy order as a monk, and then courted a month-long penance and submitted his mortal frame to a prolonged fast missing sixty meals in all, discussing (lapses) and saying pratikramaṇa, entered into a state of trance, and on the arrival of the right moment, passed away, and attained a position in a celestial abode in Saudharma-kalpa. There, in his own abode, in the Hall of Genesis (Upapāta-sabhā), enjoying a cushion as thick as an infinitesimal fraction of a finger, covered with a divine cloth, and placed on a divine couch, he was born as a Sāmānika god unto Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king.

Thereafter, the said Tiṣyaka-deva, having been born there, had a five-fold attainments, which are attainments of food, of body, of organs of senses, of respirations and of expression and mind⁷. By virtue, of these five-fold attainments, he made a complete construction of his celestial body. Then, as Tiṣyaka-deva atṭained fullness by these five-fold attainments, the gods of the Sāmānika order folded their hands, placed the ten fingers of their folded hands on their respective heads, and welcomed him (to the order) shouting victory unto him. Then they said unto him:

Oh beloved of the gods! You are in possession of the divine fortune of the Devas, the divine grace of the Devas, the divine influence of the Devas; you have obtained them, and they are at your disposal⁸. Oh beloved of the, gods! As you are recipient of the divine fortune of the Devas, the divine glow of the Devas, the divine influence of the Devas, so is Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king, the recipient of the divine fortune of the Devas, the divine glow of the Devas, the divine influence of the Devas, and they are at his disposal. And just as Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king, is recipient of the divine fortune of the Devas,...till at his disposal, so are you the recipient of the divine fortune of the Devas,...till at your disposal. Now, Bhante, how great a fortune is in the possession of this Tiṣyaka-deva,...till how great is his power to transform?

A. 11. Gautama! (He is in possession of) a great fortune,...till a great influence. He exercises suzerainty over his own vimāna, over 4,000 Sānānika [Sāmānika?] gods, 4 principal consorts with their families, 3 assemblies, a seven-fold army, 7 commanders, 16,000 bodyguard gods, and many other Vaimānika gods and their consorts,...till he reigns over them. The said Tiṣyaka-deva is in possession of such a great fortune,...till a great power to transform that like a lass held by the hand by a young man, etc., his power to transform is as great as that of Sakra himself,...till, Gautama, with Tiṣyaka-deva, this power is a quality, a mere quality, though this power he has never given effect to, nor gives effect to, nor will he ever give effect to.

Q. 12. Bhante! If Tiṣyaka-deva is in possession of such a great fortune,...till such a great power to transform, then, how great may be the fortune of other Sāmānika gods of Sakra, the Indra of the Devas, their king,...till how great is their power to transform?

A. 12. All exactly similar,...till, Gautama, with each one of the Sāmānika gods of Sakra, the Indra of the gods, their king, this power is a quality, a mere quality, though none has ever given effect to it, none gives effect to it, and none will ever give effect to it. And as for the Trāyas-triṃśaka gods, Lokapālas, principal consorts (of Sakrendra), they are all similar to those of Camara, difference being that they can fill up space twice as big as the isle of Jambu-dvīpa, the rest being as before (as with Camara).

Bhante! So they are. Glory be to the Lord! So saying, second Gautama paid his homage and obeisance,...till withdrew to his seat.

Notes (based on commentary of Abhayadeva Sūri):

6. The following details about Śakrendra need be filled up: He has eight principal Consorts with families, four Lokapālas, three assemblies, seven-fold army and seven Commanders.

7. Normally attainment regarding expression and attainment regarding mind are counted as two separate attainments so that the total would be six. But in the case of the infernal beings and of celestial beings, the two aforesaid attainments may be combined into one, as here, by some great sage. This is not normally allowed.

Cf.

iha tu pañcadhā bhāṣā-manaḥ-paryāptyor-bahuśrutābhimatena kenāpi kāraṇena ekatva-vivakṣanāt

It is a case of what is called vivakṣā or exception.

8. The commentator writes:

laddhe tti janmāntare tadupārjanāpekṣayā patte tti prāpta devabhavā’pekṣayā abhisamaṇṇāgae tti tad-bhogā’-pekṣayā

[Laddha is something carried forward from previous life. Patta is something carried forward from celestial life. Abhisamaṇṇāgaya means that the objects are at one’s disposal so that one is free to use them.]