Ganadhar Sudharma Swami
Twentieth Lecture: The Great Duty of the Nirgranthas
Piously adoring the perfected and the restrained saints, listen to my true instruction which (teaches the real) profit (of men), religion, and liberation.[1] (1)
King Śrēṇika,[2] the ruler of Magadha, who possessed many precious things, once made a pleasure-excursion to the Maṇḍikukṣi Chaitya.[3] (2)
It was a park like Nandana,[4] with trees and creepers of many kinds, peopled by various birds, and full of various flowers. (3)
There he saw a restrained and concentrated saint sitting below a tree, who looked delicate and accustomed to comfort. (4)
When the king saw his figure, his astonishment at that ascetic's figure was very great and unequalled. (5)
"O his colour, O his figure, O the loveliness of the noble man, O his tranquillity, O his perfection, O his disregard for pleasures!" (6)
Adoring his feet and keeping him on his right side (he sat down), neither too far off nor too close by, and asked him with his hands clasped: (7)
"Though a young nobleman, you have entered the order; in an age fit for pleasure you exert yourself as a Śramaṇa, O ascetic; I want to hear you explain this." (8)
"I am without a protector, O great king; there is nobody to protect me, I know no friend nor anyone to have sympathy with me." (9)
Then king Śrēṇika, the ruler of Magadha, laughed: "How should there be nobody to protect one so accomplished as you?" (10)
"I am the protector of religious men;[5] O monk; enjoy pleasures together with your friends and relations; for it is a rare chance to be born as a human being." (11)
"You yourself are without a protector, Śrēṇika, ruler of Magadha; and as you are without a protector, how can you protect anybody else?" (12)
When the saint had addressed this unprecedented speech to the king, who was greatly moved and astonished, and struck with astonishment, (he answered):[6] (13)
"I have horses, elephants, and subjects, a town and a seraglio, power and command: enjoy human pleasures. (14)
"In possession of so great means, which permit the owner to enjoy all pleasures, how could he be without protection? Reverend sir, you speak untruth." (15)
"O king, you do not know the meaning and origin[7] of (the word) "without protection," nor how one comes to be without protection or with protection, O ruler of men. (16)
"Hear, O great king, with an undistracted mind in what way a man can be said to be "without protection," and with what purpose I have said all this. (17)
"There is a town Kauśāmbī by name, which is among towns what Indra[8] is (among the gods); there lived my father, who possessed great wealth. (18)
"In my childhood, O great king, I caught a very bad eye-disease and a severe burning fever in all my limbs, O ruler of men. (19)
"My eyes ached as if a cruel enemy thrust a sharp tool in the hollow of my body. (20)
"In the back, the heart,[9] and the head, I suffered dreadful and very keen pains equal to a stroke of lightning. (21)
"Then the best physicians came to my help, who cure by their medical art and by spells, who were versed in their science, and well knew spells and roots. (22)
"They tried to cure me according to the fourfold science[10] which they had been taught; but they could not rid me of my pains: hence I say that I am without protection. (23)
"My father would have spent all he possessed, for my sake; but he could not rid me of my pains, hence I say that I am without protection. (24)
"My mother, O great king, was agonized with grief about her son; but she could not, etc. (25)
"O great king, my own brothers, the elder and younger ones, could not rid me of my pains, etc. (26)
"O great king, my own sisters, the elder and younger ones, could not, etc. (27)
"O great king, my loving and faithful wife moistened my breast with the tears of her eyes. (28)
"The poor lady did not eat, nor drink, nor bathe, nor use perfumes, wreaths, and anointment, with my knowledge or without it. (29)
"O great king, she did not leave[11] my side even for a moment; but she could not rid me of my pains, hence I say that I am without protection. (30)
"Then I said: It is very hard to bear pains again and again in the endless Circle of Births. (31)
"If I, for once, shall get rid of these great pains, I shall become a houseless monk, calm, restrained, and ceasing to act. (32)
"While I thought so, I fell asleep, O ruler of men; and after that night my pains had vanished. (33)
"Then in the morning of the next day I took leave of my relations and became a houseless monk, calm, restrained, and ceasing to act. (34)
"Thus I became the protector of myself and of others besides, of all living beings, whether they move or not. (35)
"My own Self is the river Vaitaraṇī, my own Self the Śālmalī tree;[12] my own Self is the miraculous cow Kāmaduh, my own Self the park Nandana. (36)
"My own Self is the doer and undoer of misery and happiness; my own Self, friend and foe, according as I act well or badly. (37)
"But there is still another want of protection, O king; hear, therefore, O king, attentively with concentrated thoughts, how some easily discouraged men go astray after having adopted the Law of the Nirgranthas.[13] (38)
"If an ordained monk, through carelessness, does not strictly keep the great vows, if he does not restrain himself, but desires pleasure, then his fetters will not be completely cut off. (39)
"One who does not pay constant attention to his walking, his speaking, his begging, his receiving and keeping (of things necessary for a monk), and his easing nature,[14] does not follow the road trod by the Lord. (40)
"One who for a long time wears a shaven crown and mortifies himself, but who is careless with regard to the vows, and neglects penance and self-control, will not be a winner in the battle (of life). (41)
"He is empty like a clenched[15] fist, (of no value) like an uncoined[16] false Kārṣāpaṇa or like a piece of glass resembling turquoise, he is held lightly by men of discernment. (42)
"He who has the character of a sinner, though he lays great stress on the outward signs of his calling[17] as a means of living; he who does not control himself, though he pretends to do so; will come to grief for a long time. (43)
"As the poison Kālakūṭa kills him who drinks it; as a weapon cuts him who awkwardly handles it; as a Vētāla kills him who does not lay him; so the Law harms him who mixes it up with sensuality. (44)
"He who practises divination from bodily marks and dreams, who is well versed in augury and superstitious rites, who gains a sinful living by practising magic tricks,[18] will have no refuge at the time (of retribution). (45)
"The sinner, always wretched, goes from darkness to darkness, to utter misery; the unholy man who breaks the rules of monks, rushes, as it were, to hell, and to be born again as a brute. (46)
"He who accepts forbidden alms, viz. such food as he himself asks for, as has been bought for his sake, or as he gets regularly (as by right and custom), who like fire devours everything, will go to hell from here, after having sinned. (47)
"A cut-throat enemy will not do him such harm as his own perversity will do him; the man without pity will feel repentance in the hour of death. (48)
"In vain he adopts nakedness, who errs about matters of paramount interest; neither this world nor the next will be his; he is a loser in both respects in the world. (49)
"Thus the self-willed sinner who leaves the road of the highest Jinas, who with the appetite of an osprey is desirous of pleasure, will grieve in useless sorrow. (50)
"A wise man who hears this discourse, an instruction full of precious wisdom, and who deserts every path of the wicked, should walk the road of the great Nirgranthas. (51)
"He who possesses virtuous conduct and life, who has practised the best self-control, who keeps from sinful influences,[19] and who has destroyed his Karman, will reach (in the end) the greatest, best, and permanent place (viz. mukti)," (52)
Thus the austere and calm, great ascetic and great sage who kept great vows and possessed great fame, preached at great length this great sermon: the great duty of the Nirgranthas. (53)
And king Śrēṇika, pleased, spoke thus: "You have truly shown what it is to be without protection. (54)
"You have made the best use of human birth, you have made a true gain, O great sage, you are a protector (of mankind at large) and of your relations, for you have entered the path of the best Jinas. (55)
"You are the protector of all unprotected beings, O ascetic; I ask you to forgive me: I desire you to put me right. (56)
"That by asking you I have disturbed your meditation, and that I invited you to enjoy pleasures, all this you must forgive me." (57)
When the lion of kings had thus, with the greatest devotion, praised the lion of houseless monks, he, together with his wives, servants, and relations, became a staunch believer in the Law, with a pure mind. (58)
The ruler of men, with the hair on his body joyfully erected, bowed his head (to the monk), keeping him on his right side, and departed. (59)
And the other, rich in virtues, protected by the three Guptis, and abstaining from injuring (living beings) in the three ways (viz. by thought, words, and acts), travelled about on the earth, free like a bird, and exempt from delusion. (60)
Thus I say.
Atthadhammagaiṃ = arthadharmagati. I think this equal to artha dharma mōkṣa, though the commentators offer a different explanation by making gati mean jñāna. The phrase is derived from the typical expression kāmārthadharmamōkṣa by leaving out kāma, which of course could not be admitted by ascetics.
He is identical with Bimbisāra of the Buddhists; see my edition of the Kalpa Sūtra, introduction, p. 2.
The following verses prove that chaitya denotes park here as the word is explained by the scholiast in IX, 9.
The verb is wanting in this verse, and there is an apparent tautology in the words as they now stand. This is an obvious mark of a corruption in the text, which, however, I do not know how to remove by a plausible conjecture.
Potthaṃ or pocchaṃ. The commentators are at a loss to give an etymology of this word, or rather have a choice of them to offer, which comes to the same thing, and proves that nothing certain was known. If potthā is the correct form, it may be derived from pra + ut + sthā, and mean "origin"; if pocchā or pucchā is the right spelling it is pṛcchā, and may mean "etymology."
Purāṇa purabhēdaṇī. As usual the commentators give a purely etymological explanation. But it is obvious that purabhēdana must have a similar meaning as purandara = Indra, or purabhid Śiva. The latter word occurs in later literature only, and, besides, Siva does not yet seem to have been generally acknowledged as the supreme god, when and where the Jaina Sūtras were composed. The Vedic word pūrbhid, "destroyer of castles," also presents itself as an analogy; though it is not yet the exclusive epithet of a god, it is frequently applied to Indra.
The verses 38-53 are apparently a later addition because (1) the subject treated in them is not connected with that of the foregoing part, and (2) they are composed in a different metre.
Ayantita = ayantrita. My translation is but conjectural. Perhaps the regular coins are not meant, but stamped lumps of metal, which were current long before coins were introduced.
