Chapter 18 - Sangaya

[Note: The commentators Sanskritise this name in Saṃyata. But however appropriate it may be to a Jaina, it certainly does not look like a king’s name. The Sanskrit form of the name was probably Sañjaya or Sriñgaya, both of which frequently occur in Sanskrit literature.]

In the town of Kāmpilya there was a king, named Sañjaya, who possessed numerous troops and war-chariots; once he went a-hunting. (1) He was surrounded on all sides by a large host of horses, elephants, chariots, and footmen. (2)

He chased the deer on horseback in the Kesara-park of Kāmpilya; and intent on his sport he killed there the frightened deer. (3)

Now in the Kesara-park there was a houseless ascetic intent on sacred study and meditating on the Law. (4)

Annihilating sinful inclinations^[1], he meditated in the Asphota-bower^[2]. But the king killed the deer that fled to him. (5)

Now the king on horseback came quickly there; he saw the killed deer and saw the monk there. (6)

The king in his consternation (thought) ‘I had nearly hurt the monk; ill-fated and cruel me that is mad for the sport.’ (7)

Having dismissed his horse, the king bowed respectfully to the monk’s feet (saying), ‘Forgive me this, Reverend sir.’ (8)

But the venerable monk, being plunged in silent meditation, made no reply to the king, who, therefore, was seized with fear. (9)

‘I am Sañjaya; answer me, Reverend sir; a monk might by the fire of his wrath reduce millions of men to ashes.’ (10)

'Be without fear, O king; but grant safety to others also; in this transient world of living beings, why are you addicted to cruelty? (11)

'As you must, of necessity, one day part with everything, in this transient world of living beings, why do you cling to kingly power? (12)

'Transient like a stroke of lightning are life and beauty, which you love so much; you do not comprehend what will benefit you in the next life. (13)

'Wives and children, friends and relations, all are dependent on a man during his life; but they will not follow him in death. (14)

'The sons, in great sorrow, will remove the corpse of their father (to the cemetery); and so will parents do with their sons and relations; O king, do penance! (15)

'O king, other men, glad, and pleased, and well attired, will enjoy the riches (the deceased) had amassed, and will dally with the wives he had so well guarded. (16)

‘And whatever actions he has done, good or wicked ones, with their Karman he will depart to his next existence.’ (17)

Then the king was taught the Law by this monk, and was filled with a great desire for purity, and disregard of worldly objects. (18)

Sañjaya gave up his kingly power and adopted the faith of the Jinas in the presence of the venerable monk Gardabhāli. (19)

A Kṣattriya, who had abandoned his kingdom and had turned monk, said to him: 'As you look so happy in outward appearance, you must have peace of mind. (20)

'What is your name, to which Gotra do you belong, and why have you become an ascetic^[3]?

How do you venerate the enlightened ones^[4], and how did you come to be called a well-behaved (monk)? (21)

"My name is Sañjaya; I belong to the Gotra of Gotama; my teacher is Gardabhāli, who is conversant with the sacred lore and good conduct. (22)

"O great sage, the man of limited knowledge talks foolishly on these four heads^[5], viz. the existence of the soul, its non-existence, idolatry, and the inefficiency of knowledge. (23)

"This has been declared by him who is enlightened, wise, liberated, conversant with the sacred lore and good conduct, who is truthful and of right energy. (24)

"Men who commit sins will go to hell; but those who have walked the road of righteousness, will obtain a place in heaven. (25)

"All this delusive talk (of the heretics) is untrue and without any meaning; I live and walk about according to the rules of self-control. (26)

"I know all these heresies to be contemptible; I know that there will be a life hereafter, and I know my Self. (27)

"I was an illustrious god in the Mahāprāṇa heaven, and reached old age as we here would say of a man who is a hundred years old; but in heaven, hundred years consist of as many Mahāpālīs of Pālīs^[6]. (28)

"Descending from the Brahmaloka, I was born as a man. I know exactly the length of my life as well as that of other men. (29)

"A monk should abandon the manifold doctrines (of heretics), and his own fancies, and such deeds as are productive of evil everywhere. One should live up to this wisdom^[7]. (30)

"I keep clear of the (superstitious) questions and the spells of laymen, exerting myself day and night (in the true religion). Thinking thus, one should practise austerities. (31)

"And what you of a pure mind asked me just now, that has been revealed by the enlightened one^[8]; such knowledge makes part of the creed of the Jinas. (32)

"A wise man believes in the existence of the soul^[9], he avoids the heresy of the non-existence of the soul; possessing true faith one should practise the very difficult Law according to the faith. (33)

"Having learned this pure creed, which is adorned by truth and righteousness, Bharata^[10] gave up Bharatavarṣa and all pleasures, and entered the order. (34)

"King Sagara^[11] also gave up the ocean-girt Bharatavarṣa and his unrivalled kingly power, and reached perfection through his compassion. (35)

"After having given up Bharatavarṣa, the famous universal monarch of great power, called Maghavan^[12], entered the order. (36)

"King Sanatkumāra^[13], a universal monarch of great power, placed his son on the throne, and then practised austerities. (37)

"Śānti^[14], a universal monarch of great power, the bringer of peace to the world, gave up Bharatavarṣa and reached perfection. (38)

"King Kunthu, the bull of the Aikṣvāka race, the widely famed lord, reached perfection. (39)

"King Ara, after he had given up the sea-girt Bharatavarṣa, reached perfection on becoming exempt from defilement. (40)

"After having given up his large kingdom, his army and war-chariots, his exquisite pleasures, Mahāpadma^[15] practised austerities. (41)

"Having brought the (whole) earth under his sceptre, king Harisheṇa^[16], who humbled the pride (of other kings), reached perfection. (42)

"Jaya^[17], together with thousands of kings, renouncing the world, practised self-restraint. He reached perfection which has been taught by the Jinas. (43)

"Daśārṇabhadra^[18], giving up his flourishing kingdom of Dasārṇa, turned monk; he renounced the world, being directed to do so by Śakra himself. (44)

"Karakaṇḍu was king of Kaliṅga; Dvimukha, of Pañcāla; Nami, of Videha; Naggati (or rather Nagnajit), of Gāndhāra^[19]. (45)

"Nami humbled himself, being directed to do so by Sakra himself; the king of Videha left the house and became a Śramaṇa. (46)

"These bulls of kings have adopted the faith of the Jinas; after having placed their sons on the throne, they exerted themselves as Śramaṇas. (47)

"Udāyaṇa^[20], the bull of the kings of Sauvīra, renounced the world and turned monk; he entered the order and reached perfection. (48)

"And thus the king of Kāśi^[21], exerting himself for the best truth, abandoned all pleasures, and hewed down, as it were, his Karman like a forest. (49)

"And thus king Vijaya^[22], whose sins were not quite annihilated^[23], turned monk after he, the famous man, had quitted his excellent kingdom. (50)

"And thus the royal seer Mahābala^[24] practised severe penance with an undistracted mind, and took upon himself the glory (of self-control). (51)

"Why should a wise man, for bad reasons, live on earth like a madman, since those persons (mentioned above) who reached eminence, exerted themselves strongly? (52)

"I have spoken true words able to promote virtue; some have been saved, some are being saved, and some will be saved. (53)

“Why should a wise man, for bad reasons, bring affliction upon himself? He who has become free from all ties and sins, will reach perfection.” (54)

Thus I say.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

To render āsrava.

[2]:

Apphova in the original; there are several plants which are called āsphota.

[3]:

Literally, a Brahman.

[4]:

Buddhe, explained ācāryān, preceptors.

[5]:

These are the four great heresies: (1) that of the kriyāvādinas, who maintain that the soul exists; (2) that of the akriyāvādinas, who hold the reverse of the preceding doctrine; (3) that of the vainayikas, which seems to be identical with salvation by bhakti; (4) that of the ajñānavādinas, who contend that knowledge is not necessary for salvation, but t a p a s; this seems identical with the karmapatha. The commentators explain kriyāvādinaḥ 'those who believe the soul or ātman to be characterised by the verb to be (i.e. by a permanent and unchangeable existence), and ascribe to it such qualities as ubiquity or non-ubiquity, activity or non-activity.' This they treat as heresy, but from Mahāvagga VI, 31, 2 (vol. xvii, p. 109) it is evident that the Jainas were considered kriyāvādins. The akriyāvāda is also identified with the kṣaṇikavāda or doctrine, usually ascribed to Buddhists, that everything has but a momentary existence and is in the next moment replaced by a facsimile of itself. About these heresies compare the Sūtrakṛtāṅga I, 12; II, 2, 77.

[6]:

According to the commentary a pālī seems to be what is commonly called palyopamā, and mahāpālī a sāgaropamā. However the longest life of a god in Brahmaloka is but ten Sāgaropamās, see below, XXXVI, 225. The construction of the verse is very involved, but the drift of it cannot be mistaken.

[7]:

ii vijjām aṇusaṃcare. I believe that vijjām here stands for vidvān, as in the following verse. The meaning would then be, 'knowing this one should live as a monk.'

[8]:

Buddha.

[9]:

The Jainas do not deny the existence of the soul, but the unalterable character of the soul. Hence they object to the kriyāvāda.

[10]:

Bharata was the eldest son of Ṛṣabha, the first Tīrthakara. He became the first Cakravartin, or universal monarch, and resided in Ayodhyā. At his renunciation he was ordered by Indra himself to pluck out five handfuls of his hair as is the custom of Jaina monks on entering the order.

[11]:

Sagara, king of Ayodhyā, was, according to the legend contained in the commentary (see R. Fick, Eine jainistische Bearbeitung der Sagara-Sage, Kiel, 1889), the younger brother of Ajita, the second Tīrthakara. He became the second Cakravartin, and, in the end, he was ordained by Ajita. The Jaina legend seems to be but a strangely distorted version of the story of Sagara told in the first book of the Rāmāyaṇa.

[12]:

Maghavan, son of king Samudravijaya of Śrāvastī, and his wife Bhadrā, became the third Cakravartin.

[13]:

Sanatkumāra, son of king Aśvasena of Hastināpura, and his wife Sahadevī, became the fourth Cakravartin. The adventures of Sanatkumāra are told in a Prākṛt legend, which I have published in my Ausgewählte Erzählungen in Māhārāṣṭrī, Leipzig, x886, p. 20 ff.

[14]:

Śānti was the sixteenth Tīrthakara, Kunthu the seventeenth, and p. 86 Ara the eighteenth Tīrthakara. Kunthu sounds strange for a proper name. I think it just possible that it is a popular or Prākṛt corruption of Kakutstha, who was an Aikṣvāka. As is well known, Rāma is frequently called after him Kākutstha, and so are other kings of the same line, in which he stands as the twenty-fifth according to the list in the Rāmāyaṇa I, 70.

[15]:

Mahāpadma was the ninth Cakravartin. His elder brother was Viṣṇukumāra, who was ordained by Suvrata, a disciple of Munisuvrata, the twentieth Tīrthakara. He wrenched the sovereignty of the world from Namuci, minister of his father Padmottara, who had ascended the throne, by making him promise as much of his territory as he could cover with three strides. This is the Brahmanical story of Viṣṇu and Bali, for whom the Jainas have substituted Namuci. According to them the minister Namuci was, in a disputation, defeated by the Jaina monks, and to revenge himself on them, he ordered them to quit his kingdom as soon as he got it.--Mahāpadma’s residence was Hastināpura.

[16]:

Harisheṇa, son of king Mahāhari of Kāmpilya, became the tenth Cakravartin.

[17]:

Jaya, son of king Samudravijaya of Rājagṛha, became the eleventh Cakravartin.

[18]:

King Daśārṇabhadra was a contemporary of Mahāvīra.

[19]:

These are the four Pratyekabuddhas; see p. 35, note 2.

[20]:

The story of Udāyaṇa (or perhaps Uddāyana) will be found in my Ausgewählte Erzählungen in Māhārāṣṭrī, p. 28 ff. He was contemporary with Mahāvīra.

[21]:

He was Nandana, the seventh Baladeva, son of king Agniśikha of Benares.

[22]:

He was the son of king Brahmarāja of Dvārakāvatī, and eldest brother of the Vāsudeva Dvipṛṣṭa or Dvipuṣṭi.

[23]:

To render aṇaṭṭhakati, of which the commentators offer several explanations, rendering it anārttākīrti and anaṣṭakīrti. A various reading āṇaṭṭhākitti is mentioned, and explained ājñā-artha-ākṛti.

[24]:

Mahābala was the son of king Bala of Hastināpura. He lived at the time of Vimala, the thirteenth Tīrthakara.