Part 8: Nami’s omniscience

Then he went to Sahasrāmravaṇa, the place of initiation, and stood in pratimā beneath a bakula, observing a two-day fast. The Lord Nami’s brilliant omniscience appeared on the eleventh day of the bright half of Mārga in the constellation Aśvinī because of the destruction of the destructive karmas. At once the gods made a samavasaraṇa ornamented with an aśoka tree a hundred and eighty bows tall. There the Lord circumambulated the aśoka, bowed to the congregation, and sat down on the eastern lion-throne, facing the east. At once the Vyantaras created images of the Lord placed on lion-thrones in the other directions.

The holy fourfold congregation remained in the proper placed and the Indra of Saudharma bowed to the Blessed One and recited a hymn of praise.

Stuti:

“Homage to you who are three-eyed because you see the whole world with an eye named ‘omniscience.’ Homage to you, Supreme Lord, endowed with thirty-four supernatural powers, whose speech has thirty-five supernatural powers. We worship your speech, Lord, which conforms to all languages, charming with grāmarāgas, Mālava, Kaiśikī, and others. At the sight of you people’s snares of karma disappear, even though strong, like serpent-nooses at the sight of Tārkṣya. At the sight of you people slowly, slowly ascend the series of guṇasthānas like a ladder to emancipation. You are the source of joy, Master, when you have been remembered, heard, praised, meditated on, seen, touched, worshipped by any means whatever. Surely we had merit in the past with merit as a consequence, master, by which you, offering unusual happiness, were brought into our range of vision. Let my heavenly kingdom, et cetera, be entirely different in every way, but do not let the words of your teaching depart from my heart, lord.”