Sakra

“ And if thou dost not exterminate him, he will conquer the three worlds with ourselves, and overpowering thee, will himself become the mighty lord of the celestials.’ Perplexed in mind, Sakra replied unto them, ‘This child is endowed with great prowess. He can himself destroy the Creator of the Universe, in battle putting forth his might. I venture not, therefore, to do away with him.’ To this the gods replied, ‘Thou hast no manliness in thee, in that thou talkest in this manner. Let the great Mothers of the Universe repair to-day to Skanda. They can master at will any degree of energy. ”

“ At these words Sakra, the Lord of the Devas, [164] hastily divested himself of his divine appearance, brilliant with his ear-rings, his head-ornament, and his lightning, and respectfully bowing to the Bodhisattva, spoke thus in order to appease him:
32. 'O thou who art free from all selfishness, deign to forgive me the thoughtless deed I did with the aforesaid purpose; pardon it like a father, like a teacher!
33. 'It is proper, indeed, to those whose eyes are not yet opened to wisdom, to offend against others, be they even their equals. ”

“ Now the king being ever wont to give, and having never trodden the way of miserable begging, in conformity with his astonishment and his lofty mind spoke to him:
33, 34. 'Great is my wealth, Sakra, my army is large and strong; my blindness, however, makes death welcome to me. It is impossible for me, after supplying the wants of the mendicants, to see their faces brightened by gladness and joy; for this reason, O Indra, I love death now.'
Sakra said: 'No more of that resolution! Only virtuous persons come in such a state as thine. ”

“ And, O bull of the Bharata race, devote thyself to fierce asceticism. Armed with the bow and sword, and cased in mail, betake thyself to austerities and good vows, and go thou northwards, O child, without giving way to anybody. O Dhananjaya, all celestial weapons are with Indra. The celestials, from fear of Vritra, imparted at the time all their might to Sakra. Gathered together in one place, thou wilt obtain all weapons. Go thou unto Sakra, he will give thee all his weapons. ”

“ But thy sacrifice, O foremost one of Bharata's race, O son of Parikshit, is not inferior to any of those. Let those dear unto us be blessed! Sakra performed a hundred sacrifices. But this sacrifice of thine, O foremost one of Bharata's race, O son of Parikshit, is fully equal to ten thousand sacrifices of Sakra. Let those dear unto us be blessed! Like the sacrifice of Yama, of Harimedha, or of king Rantideva, is the sacrifice of thine, O foremost one of Bharata's race, O son of Parikshit. Let those dear unto us be blessed! ”

“ Like Sakra himself, thunderbolt in hand, thou art, in this world, the protector of all creatures. In this earth there is no man so great as thou and no monarch who is thy equal in sacrifice. Thou art like Khatwanga, Nabhaga, and Dilipa. ”

“ Then the King of the Gods, Śakra, laid aside his Brahman’s form, assumed his proper shape, and said to Madrī: “O fortunate one, I am not a Brahman, nor am I a man at all. I am the King of the Gods, Śakra, the subduer of the Asuras. ”

“ The livelihood of those who in earnest practise continence is nowhere difficult to be obtained. Say, where are not found grass and leaves and ponds?
Yet Sakra, the Lord of the Devas, though his astonishment increased, in consequence of the Bodhisattva's behaviour in that situation, and his high opinion of his virtues grew stronger, resorted to another [49] trial. ”

“ Sakra answered:
31. 'How is it possible that anybody like me should kill another living being? And how much less a being like thee, who hast shown friendship to me?'
The hare said: 'Verily, this becomes well a Brâhman, inclined to compassion. Well then, thou must grant me at least the favour of resting here in this place; in the mean while I think I shall find in some way or other the means of showing my favour to thee.' Now Sakra, the Lord of the Devas, understanding [44] his intention, created by magic a heap of charcoal burning without smoke ”

“ Acquainted with what is supreme and what is not so among all things, omniscient and of universal sight, as he was seated one day in a solitary chamber with his senses under complete control, Sakra approached him, and desirous of awakening him, said these words, 'O king, I behold all those qualities permanently residing in thee by which a person wins the esteem of all. ”

“ O supreme spirit! being afflicted by the devout austerities of Dhruva, we have come to thee to seek thy refuge. As the moon increases in his orb day by day, so, O lord, (this boy) by his devotion is approaching incessantly superhuman power. O Janārddana, we have been greatly alarmed by the devout austerities of the son of Uttanpadā and have taken thy refuge: do thou desist him from his devout exercises. We do not know whose position, he aspireth to—whether the throne of Sakra, of the sun, of the lord of wealth or that of Varuna the lord of water. ”

“ He that behaveth thus, acquireth, O hero, fame in this world and excellent state in the next. And by having displayed his prowess at the proper place and time, Sakra with the Vasus hath obtained the dominion of heaven. He that from anger cannot see his fall and he that being naturally wicked and evilminded followeth evil and he that knoweth not the propriety relative to acts, meet with destruction both in this world and the next. ”

“ He who lives in the depth of the forest without any desire, only intent on calmness of mind, such a man causes reverence for his virtues to arise in the hearts of the pious.
Sakra, then, the Lord of the Devas, watched the time when the maid-servant, after gathering her provision of eatable lotus-stalks, as white and tender as the teeth of a young elephant, washed them and arranged them in equal portions on lotus-leaves with the green hue of emeralds, taking care to adorn each share by adding to it some petals and filaments of the lotuses. ”

“ Po-lo, and Sakra king of Devas, and Nung-Sha returning to Sakra; what certainty is there, even for the lord of heaven? Neither is any country safe, though kept by the mighty strength of those dwelling in it. But when one's clothing consists of grass, the berries one's food, the rivulets one's drink, with long hair flowing to the ground, silent as a Muni, seeking nothing, in this way practising austerities, in the end lust shall be destroyed. ”

“ It appears to define the period at the end of which Śakra’s life comes temporarily to a close. For a different computation of the length of Śakra’s life, see Hardy’s “Manual of Buddhism,” p. 25. “The déwalóka of Sekra or Indra, on the summit of Maha Méru, in which one day is equal to 100 of the years of men; and as they live 1000 of these years, their age is equal to 36,000,000 of the years of men.” ↑
[Contents]
II. KUŚA JĀTAKA.1
In olden times there was a mighty king named Śakuni, who was a beloved associate of the king of the gods, Indra. ”

“ Thus did the virtuous king Sagara renounce his son. But what offence has Rāma committed that he is to be banished? We do not find any fault whatever in Rāghava. Rare is his fault even like the spot on the Moon. Or it may be, O exalted lady, that you perceive some fault in Rāghava,—Do you, if so, unfold it; and then let Rāma be banished. But the renunciation of the honest ever constant in a righteous course, in consequence of its being opposed to virtue, destroys the splendour of Sakra himself. ”

“ Even if the father of a girl be like unto Sakra himself on earth, he reapeth odium at the hands of his equals and inferiors. Perceiving this obloquy at a short distance, the king was plunged in a sea of anxiety, but could not cross it, like one that hath no raft. ”

“ And when the Kuru king entered the palatial sabha having also worshipped the gods with various kinds of music and numerous species of excellent and costly perfumes, the athletes and mimes and prize-fighters and bards and encomiasts began to gratify that illustrious son of Dharma by exhibiting their skill. And thus celebrating his entry into the palace, Yudhishthira with his brothers sported within that palace like Sakra himself in heaven. ”

“ If thou remain pure, when a full thousand years shall be complete, thou wilt give birth unto a son who will slay Sakra in battle. And through me, thou wilt give birth to a son that will destroy the three worlds.' Having said this, that highly energetic one rubbed her person with his palm. ”

“ The Yakshas said to the king of the gods, Śakra, “Know, O Kauśika, that the Asuras have broken through the five bulwarks and are near at hand. Be pleased, therefore, to accomplish all that ought to be done and prepared.” Now when Śakra, the king of the gods, had equipped a fourfold army and was setting out to wage war against the Asuras, King Māndhātar turned towards him and said, “Stay here; I will take the field myself.” Śakra replied, “Let that be done.” Then the king arose heavenward with an army eighteen koṭi strong, and caused his bowstring to clang. ”

“ Purandara of a thousand eyes, beholding the gods flying in fear and Vritra growing in boldness, became deeply dejected. And the foremost of gods Purandara, himself, agitated with the fear of the Kalakeyas, without losing a moment, sought the exalted Narayana's refuge. And the eternal Vishnu beholding Indra so depressed enhanced his might by imparting unto him a portion of his own energy. And when the celestials beheld that Sakra was thus protected by Vishnu, each of them imparted unto him his own energy. ”

“ Beholding that the animals had all become cheerless, those Rishis, endued with wealth of penances, approached Sakra and said unto him, "This method of sacrifice is not auspicious. Desirous of acquiring great merit as thou art, this is verily an indication of thy unacquaintance with sacrifice. O Purandara, animals have not been ordained to be slaughtered in sacrifices. O puissant one, these preparations of thine are destructive of merit. This sacrifice is not consistent with righteousness. The destruction of creatures can never be said to be an act of righteousness. ”

“ And, O Ananda, as a low man and powerless man, before the face of the mighty king, is neither bright, nor warm, nor brilliant, nor is he self-confident and radiant, thus Sakra, king of the Devas, if before the face of the Paranirmitavasavartin gods, is neither bright, nor warm, nor brilliant, namely, with regard to his gardens, palaces, dresses, ornaments, his dominion, his perfection, his miraculous power, or his supremacy, his comprehension of the Dharma, and his full enjoyment of the Dharma. ”

“ Verily, if Heaven, though protected by Sakra's sovereignty, does not feel something like jealousy, when it looks down on this earth, guarded by your heroism—Heaven, forsooth, is deceived.
'Why use many words? Mankind is happy, indeed, being under the protection of such a person as you; but we, we are utterly distressed at having approved of your suffering. Yet, we hope that applying to such a being as you are, may prove a means of salvation for us, be we ever so wicked as we are. ”

“ And seeing the wicked thousand-eyed deity in the guise of an ascetic, the well-behaved anchoret fired with rage said,— 'And since, O thou of wicked understanding assuming my form, thou hast done this foul deed, thou shalt lose thy scrotum.' And soon as the high-souled Gautama had said this in ire, the scrotum of the thousand-eyed one dropped to the earth. And having seen Sakra in this plight, he cursed his wife also,—'For a thousand years thou shalt live here feeding upon air, without food, tormented with repentance and thou shalt remain in this hermitage unseen of any. ”

“ In ancient days the Rishi kings, Vasishtha Rishi, Mândhâtri, the Kakravartin monarchs, and the rest, these and all others like them, the former conquerors, who lived with strength like Îsvara, these all have long ago perished, not one remains till now; the sun and moon, Sakra himself, and the great multitude of his attendants, will all, without exception, perish; there is not one that can for long endure; all the Buddhas of the past ages, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, by their wisdom enlightening the world, have all gone out as a lamp ”

“ Recognizing the god of heaven under his Brahmanical disguise, Karna preferred his request, which was granted with conditions which made it almost nugatory. Karna peeled off his natural armour, which act, by Indra’s favour, left no scar upon his person. “And Sakra (Indra) ,” says the poet, “having thus beguiled Karna, but made him famous in the world thought, with a smile, that the business of the sons of Pandu had already been completed.” ”

“ Vaisampayana continued, 'The celebrated Kunti, thus addressed by her lord, invoked Sakra (the king of the gods) who thereupon came unto her and begat him that was afterwards called Arjuna. And as soon as this child was born, an incorporeal voice, loud and deep as that of the clouds and filling the whole welkin, distinctly said, addressing Kunti in the hearing of every creature dwelling in that asylum, 'This child of thine, O Kunti, will be equal unto Kartavirya in energy and Siva in prowess. Invincible like Sakra himself he will spread thy fame far and wide. ”

“ In this way the people of the country became aware of the fact, and on the spot reared a tope, adorned with layers of gold and silver plates.
[Footnote 1: Sakra is a common name for the Brahmanic Indra, adopted by Buddhism into the circle of its own great adherents;—it has been said, "because of his popularity." He is now the representative of the secular power, the valiant protector of the Buddhist body, but is looked upon as inferior to S‚kyamuni, and every Buddhist saint.] ”