Divine Stories
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77Following the Tibetan (Mahāvyutpatti 91), ’khor ba ’jig. In Pāli, Kakusandha. Perhaps, “Living (= saṃsthā?) in the Mountains.”
78Conjecure based on Divy 54.14–15, 141.19–20, etc., and on parallels noted by Speyer (1902: 125). Cf. Avadānaśataka i, 285.17–286.2, and ii, 29.7–9. Silk (2008a: 145n73) and Hiraoka (2007: i, 466n67) concur.
79Divy 254.7–8, sa ca kalatrasahāyaḥ. The cliché generally reads sa tayā sārdhaṃ | Divy 1.5–6, 24.13, 87.14, etc.
80Following G2 (Silk 2008a: 139n5), Silk (2008a: 139.8), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read baṇig dharmaṇā. Speyer (1902: 125–26) emends to baṇig dharmeṇa. Divy 254.12 and G1, baṇig dharmāṇām.
81Following Gilgit mss. (Silk 2008a: 139n6), Speyer (1902: 126), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read baṇiglobhenāvṛtaḥ.Divy 254.12, baṇiglokenāvṛtaḥ (mss. BCD, baṇiklokanāvṛtaḥ; ms. A, baṇiglobhakenāvṛtaḥ). Silk (2008a: 139.9) reads vaṇig l0bhenāvṛtaḥ.
82Divy 254.13, ciram. Silk (2008a: 139.10) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), following G1 and G2 (Silk 2008a: 139n7), read ciraṃ pravṛttir. Silk (2008a: 145) offers this translation: “And for an exceedingly long time no tidings came from him.”
83Divy 254.16, kulārthāgatam. Silk (2008a: 139.12) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), following G1 and G2 (Silk 2008a: 139n9), read kulānvāgatam.
84Following Gilgit mss., the Tokyo and Kyoto University mss. of the Divy (Silk 2008a: 139n11), Silk (2008a: 139.17), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read rāgavinodakam. Divy 254.21, rogavinodakam.
85Divy 254.22, vṛddhayuvatī. The term is peculiar, for it is a compound of opposites—“old woman–young woman” or even “old maid,” although that term has very different connotations. The woman in question is clearly a kind of madam or procuress. For more on the term, see Silk 2008a: 177–78. In what follows, the woman is mostly referred to as “an old woman” (vṛddhā | Divy 254.23, 254.25, 255.1, etc.). Cf. 483.25–484.1.
86Divy 254.26, vijñāpyam. Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), following GBM 1475.2, suggests me vijñaptim.
87Divy 255.5, evaṃvidhopakramayuktaḥ. Here I take upakrama in the sense of “plan,” although Silk (2008a: 146n82) reads it in the sense of “sexual approach.” He offers this translation: “If there’s no other man suitable for such an approach . . .”
88Divy 255.6, bhavati. Silk (2008a: 139.26) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), following G1 and G2 (Silk 2008a: 139n14), read bhavatu.
89Following G1, G2 (Silk 2008a: 140n16), Silk (2008a: 139.31–140.1), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read kiṃ pratiṣṭhito ’sy atha na.Divy 255.13, kiṃ pratiṣṭhito ’syārthena. Perhaps, “Why are you only concerned with money?”
90Here the madam is tempting the boy with a younger version of herself. She is “old-young” (vṛddhayuvatī), and the potential lover she describes is “young-young” (taruṇayuvatī| Divy 255.14.15). In what follows, I translate the latter simply as “young girl.” The term yuvatī seems to have a sexual connotation—something like “in her prime.”
91Following G2 (Silk 2008a: 140n18), Silk (2008a: 140.7), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read maṃnimitte. Silk (2008a: 146) offers this translation: “Mother, did you say something to that young woman about me?” Divy 255.21, saṃnimitte. Cowell and Neil (Divy 255n6) query tan nimmite. Cf. 255.22. Perhaps, “What have you said to the young girl about this matter?”
92Following G1 (Silk 2008a: 140n19), Silk (2008a: 140.8), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read tvannimittam. Divy 255.22, tannimittam.
93Following Vaidya (Divy-V 158.1) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 63), read nimitte na. Divy 255.22, nimittena. Silk (2008a: 140.9, 147) reads likewise and offers this translation: “. . . and she agreed thanks to my suggestion.”
94Divy 255.24, na ca śarīram āvṛtaṃ kariṣyati. The meaning here is obscure, for āvṛtaṃ is peculiar. G1 (Silk 2008a: 147n90) reads āvṛtta, but that too is peculiar. Silk (2008a: 147) offers this translation: “She won’t reveal her body.” Cf. DS 424n500 for a discussion of saṃvṛtaḥ.
95Divy 255.24, vānveṣaṇe. Silk (2008a: 140.10, 147n91) and Hiraoka (HC 13; HC 63–64) suggest vācānveṣaṇe.
96Divy 256.1, icchāpitaḥ sa vo ’yaṃ dārakaḥ. One could also take this to mean “I have stirred up desire in this boy of yours.”
97Following Silk (2008a: 140.19–20) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read niśi kāle apratyabhijñātarūpe kāle. Divy 256.7, niśi kālam apratyabhijñātaṃ rūpe kāle. Cowell and Neil (Divy 707) offer a literal but puzzling translation: “He did not notice black in the darkness, she came to him in a black dress.” G1 and G2 (Silk 2008a: 140n25), niśi kālam apratyabhijñātarūpe kāle. Speyer (1902: 126) suggests niśi vikāle apratyabhijñātarūpe kale. Another possible emendation would be niśi kālam apratyabhijñātam arūpe kāle. That is, “He didn’t realize the night had approached, and at that time when forms are indistinct . . .”
98Divy 256.9–10, avyaktiṃ vibhāvyamāne. Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), following GBM 1477.3, emends to abhāvyamāne. Cf. Hiraoka 2007: i, 467–468n84.
99Divy 256.21, vartamānena ratikrīḍākrameṇa. Silk (2008a: 140.27) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), following G1 (Silk 2008a: 140n26), read vartamāne ratikrīḍākrame.
100Following G1, G2 (Silk 2008a: 140n27), Silk (2008a: 140.30), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read ratikrīḍām anubhaveyam. Divy 256.21, ratikrīḍā bhavema. Speyer (1902: 126) suggests ratikrīḍām anubhavema. Vaidya (Divy-V 158.18–19) emends to ratikrīḍā bhavet.
101Vaidya (Divy-V 158.19) omits tathaiva (Divy 256.22).
102Following Edgerton (BHSD, s.v. pontī), Silk (2008a: 141.4), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read upariprāvaraṇapontīm.Divy 256.26, upariprāvaraṇapotrīm(ex conj.; ms. A, -yāntīm; ms. B, -yontim; mss. CD, -yontīm).
103Following Vaidya’s emendation (Divy-V 158.30), read kariṣyāmi. Divy 257.11, smariṣyāmi. Silk (2008a: 141.15, 148) reads likewise and offers this translation: “How shall I not be mindful of my depression, or my bewilderment?” G2 (Silk 2008a: 141n31), gamiṣyāmi.
104Following G1 (Silk 2008a: 141n32), Silk (2008a: 141.17), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read manaḥśokam. Divy 257.12, manaḥśūkam.
105Divy 257.15, evaṃ eva mātṛgrāmaḥ. Perhaps, “Women are just the same.” Silk (2008a: 148) offers this translation: “it is rather the female sex [which is the agent of the fault].”
106Divy 257.20–21, anunayavacanaiḥ. Edgerton (BHSD) translates this as “with words of (impure sexual) love.” Cf. Divy 519.11, where the corresponding Tibetan (D 3 ña 172b1) takes the same expression to mean “words of passion” (rjes su chags ba’i tshig = Skt.,
107Divy 258.1, āgamiṣyatīti. Silk (2008a: 141.31) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), following G1 and G2 (Silk 2008a: 141n37), read āgamiṣyāmīti.
108Following Vaidya (Divy-V 159.14), Silk (2008a: 142.4), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read karmākaraṇīyam. Divy 258.6, karma karaṇīyam.
109Following G1, G2 (Silk 2008a: 177), Silk (2008a: 142.16), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read ekaphelāyām. Silk (2008a: 149) offers this translation: “Later while eating together with his father atop a cargo crate . . .” Silk (2008a: 176–77) also provides a detailed discussion of the term. Cf. Divy 503.24, suvarṇasya phelāṃ pūrayitvā. Divy 258.20, ekaphalāyām.
110Divy 258.27, hiraṇyasuvarṇam. Sometimes this compound appears to be a dvandva, and I translate it as “gold and golden things,” “gold and valuables,” or even “silver and gold.” Cf. Divy 575.11. Also possible is “gold nuggets and coins” or “gold and bullion.” Elsewhere the compound seems to refer to one thing (i.e., “golden valuables”), like maggapatha in Middle Indic (literally, “path-path”). In Hindi, such reduplicative compounds are common. There are rhyming ones meaning “X and the like”—for example, “tea and drinks” (cāy vāy) and “food and snacks” (khāna vāna). There are also translation compounds—terms with similar meanings in different dialects or regist
ers conjoined for a sense of expansiveness. Most common are śādī-vivāh for “wedding” (literally, “wedding-wedding”) or rīti-rivājfor “custom.” Although translation compounds are unattested by Pāṇini, there are numerous redundant compounds, if not translation compounds, in Pāli and Buddhist Sanskrit (Dhadphale 1980).
111Divy 258.28, tasya ca gatasya. Silk (2008a: 142.23) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), following G1 (Silk 2008a: 142n51), read tasya cāgatasya.
112Divy 259.14, sa vicintya. Silk (2008a: 143.7), following G1 and G2 (Silk 2008a: 143n55), reads sa ciraṃ vicintya.
113In what follows, however, they wait until he is finished eating before they kill him.
114Divy 259.23–24, antargṛhaviśrabdhacārakramam. Silk (2008a: 143n58; cf. 183, folio 1357.2) reads arhantaṃ viśvastacārakramam. As Silk (2008a: 151n105) notes, the syntax of this sentence is peculiar.
115The “boy” (dāraka) has now become a “man” (puruṣa).
116As Silk (2008a: 152n111) rightly observes, “To prevent futher trouble he [i.e., the bodhisattva] seems willing to ‘ordain’ Dharmaruci, but the Buddhist practice appropriate for the latter [i.e., concentration on the three refuges] is the most basic and introductory available. It is important to note that in refusing to teach Dharmaruci the rules of training [i.e., the precepts], he is in fact denying him access to the monastic state, and thus not ordaining him at all.”
117Divy 261.22, smṛtaṃ pratilabethāḥ. Or perhaps, “you will regain your memory.” Cf. Divy 245.24.
118For translations, see Zimmer 1925: 105–74 and Hiraoka 2007: i, 470–518. For Sanskrit parallels, see GBM 1484–85 [only a single folio extant]; Gāndhārī manuscript fragments, and their translation, in Baums 2002 and 2016 [cf. Divy 268.15–269.29, 270.1–271.7, and 280.27–281.21]; Mahāvastuii, 271.1–276.15 [cf. Divy 282.19–289.9]; Avadānakalpalatāno. 9 (Rani 2005: 20–21 and woodcut R-7; Tucci 1949: ii, 452 and plate 104). The corresponding Tibetan can be found at P 1035 de 10b2–28b1 and D 6 tha 12a3–31a4, although I only refer to the Derge in what follows. For more, see Hiraoka 2007: i, 502; HC 64; and Grey 2000: 136–37.
119Divy 262.20, divyamānuṣīm. This compound is generally understood as a dvandva (i.e., “divine and human”), but the meaning here seems to be “human yet of a divine nature.” Cf. DS 429n577. Baums (2002: 297) translates it as “semi-divine.”
120Divy 263.8–9, sa bhūriko gaṇitre kṛtāvī śvetavarṇāṃ gṛhītvā gaṇayitum ārabdhaḥ. Edgerton (BHSD) recognizes that this passage is obscure but takes gaṇitra as “(astrological) calculation” and śvetavarṇāas “chalk.” Cowell and Neil (Divy 679, 692) suggest “astrologer’s instrument” for both terms. Cf. Zimmer 1925: 107. For śvetavarṇā, the Tibetan (12b5) reads rdo rgyus kha dog dkar ba.
121Following Speyer (1902: 127), the Tibetan (12b6), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), read -abhiprasatsyati. Divy 263.13, -abhipraśaṃsyati (mss., -abhiprasaṃśyati).
122Following Vaidya (Divy-V 162.24), read agrajyotir. Divy 263.19, agrejyotir. Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 64), following the Tibetan (13a1) and the Chinese, suggests agner dyotir.
123Following Divy 270.2 and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65), read samāttaśikṣaḥ. Divy 263.29–30, śamānuśikṣāḥ. Cf. Edgerton (BHSD, s.vv. samātta, samādatta) and Baums 2002: 295n2.
124For more on this line, see Edgerton (BHSD, s.v. upasaṃkrama). Cf. Divy 272.16–17.
125Following Vaidya (Divy-V 163.18), add catur. Divy 264.29 (omitted).
126Divy 265.2, asaṃhatavihārīṇām (ms. B, asaṃbhavavihārisa). Cf. Divy 95.19, saṃghātavihāriṇām. Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65) suggests its omission. As he explains (HC 65), this compound “does not mention any number even though the standard cliché is supposed to modify the Buddha with numerical phrases. Tib. drug la rtag tu ngas pa (14a1) mentions the number ‘six’ but it is unclear to what this ‘six’ exactly refers.”
127Following Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65), read narakān. Divy 265.21, narakam.
128Following Divy 68.2 and 138.9–10, add ye śītanarakās teṣūṣṇībhūtvā nipatanti. Divy 265.22 (omitted).
129Divy 68.6 adds darśanam.
130Divy 266.3, devān. Understand as devanikāyān.
131Here other instances of this formulaic passage (e.g., Divy 68.16, 138.23, 568.28) add “Abṛha (Not Great)” (abṛhān). Divy 266.7 (omitted).
132Following Vaidya (Divy-V 164.28) and Aśokāv 33.21, read dhīra buddhyā. Divy 266.25, dhīrabuddhyā. And following Vaidya (Divy-V 164.29), Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65) and Aśokāv 33.21, read śramaṇa jinendra. Divy 266.25–26, śramaṇajinendra.
133Read ādhvagagaṇa. Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65) concurs. Cf. DS 426n527. Divy 267.21–22, ādhvagaṇa(mss., andhagaṇa).
134Other instances of this passage (e.g., Divy 126.7–8, 148.18–19, 182.12–13) here include “like the great king Virūpākṣa surrounded by a group of nāgas” (virūpākṣa iva nāgagaṇaparivṛtaḥ). Divy 267.26 (omitted).
135For a list of these eighteen benefits, see Divy 92.15–93.2; trans. in DS 179.
136The Schøyen Collection contains eleven fragments of the Jyotiṣka-avadāna. Stefan Baums (2002, 2016) has examined these fragments and their corresponding passages in the Divyāvadāna and the Tibetan. Based on these sources, he offers a reconstruction of the Sanskrit text. My thanks to him for his helpful suggestions.
137Divy 268.19–20, mā haiva bhagavatā bhāṣitaṃ vitathaṃ syād iti. This sentence can also be read as more of an assertion. Perhaps, “Never could it be that the Blessed One would speak falsely!” or, following Baums (2002: 297), “But what is said by the Blessed One may not be false!” Considering, however, that the speaker here is a brahman boy not immersed in faith, I read this as a bit of a question, not just an assertion of the Buddha’s infallibility. Cf. Divy 272.3–4, 272.9–10, 272.15–16.
138Divy 268.25, gacchāmaḥ. The Schøyen fragments (Baums 2016: 346) read gacchāvaḥ. As Baums notes, “Curiously, within the same line of our manuscript this dual form is followed by plural gacchāmo.”
139Divy 268.28, gāthām. The Schøyen fragments (Baums 2016: 346) read gāthe. Here too, Baums notes, we find “the dual gāthe in place of the Divyāvadāna’s apparent singular (or possibly plural) gāthāṃ (the Tibetan has simple tshigs su bcad pa). Both cases may represent an incomplete attempt at greater grammatical precision on the part of our manuscript’s scribe.”
140Divy 269.3, nadasyate. The Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 292) and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65) read nadiṣyate.
141Divy 269.5–6, himapaṅkaśītalāh. Baums (2016: 349) translates this as “cool like an ointment made of snow.”
142Divy 269.17, -kumārāmātya-.Agrawala (1966: 70) argues that this expression should be taken as a single term, meaning something like “chief ministers,” as per its meaning in Gupta inscriptions (“a personal title conferred on the highest dignitary by the king like a minister, a commander, a member of the royal household”). I take it as two terms, “princes and ministers,” as does Baums (2002: 297n12).
143Following the Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 295), the Tibetan (Baums 2002: 300), Divy 269.30, and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65), read sattvaḥ. Divy 269.29, bodhisattvaḥ.
144Following mss. ABD (Divy 270n1), Baums (2002: 295n2, 298n14), and Hiraoka (HA 13; HC 65), read samāttaśikṣāḥ. Baums (2002: 298) translates this as “we have undertaken vows.” Divy 270.2, śamāttaśikṣāḥ (mss. ABD, samātta-; ms. C, śamātta-).
145A pericarp is the part of the flower that surrounds the seeds and develops from the ovary wall, suggesting that the lotus is “giving birth” to the boy. For more on lotus births, see Basu 1968.
146Following the Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 295) and Hiraoka (HA 14; HC 65), read nihatamadamānaprabhāvāḥ. Divy 270.7–8, nipātamadamānā na ca prabhāvāḥ. Speyer (1902: 127–28) suggests viyātamadamānā hataprabhāvāḥ pravṛttāḥ. Vaidya (Divy-V 167.5) suggests naṣṭaprabhāvāḥ. Cf. Divy 126.17–18, bhagnaprabhāvāḥ.
147Divy 270.11, sarveṇa sarvaṃ na bhaviṣyasīti
. Similar idioms occur throughout the text: “They will completely deprive you of life” (sarveṇa sarvaṃ jīvitād vyaparopayanti| Divy 39.1–2), “They will completely and utterly destroy you” (sarveṇa sarvaṃ jīvitād vyaparopayiṣyanti | Divy 39.3–4, 502.21), “Don’t think that with all your power you can do everything” (mā sarveṇa sarvaṃ bhaviṣyati| Divy 530.26), etc. Baums (2002: 298) offers this translation for the present passage: “you will completely and totally cease to exist.”
148Divy 270.11–12, sa na pratigṛhnāti.The verbal form here indicates that the boy is a kind of offering, available because of the Buddha’s special powers, and Subhadra is refusing to accept it.
149Divy 270.16, pratigṛhnataḥ. The Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 295) and Hiraoka (HA 14; HC 65) read pragṛhṇataḥ, which correctly fits the meter.
150Following the Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 295), add bhagavān. Divy 270.20 (omitted).
151Divy 270.28–29, yady evaṃ gṛhaṃ praveśayasi niyatam te gṛham utsādayan (mss., utsādaṃ) bhaviṣyasi. The Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 296) read uddāyādaṃ bhavati. Baums (2002: 298) offers this translation: “inevitably your house becomes heirless.” Or, as Baums (2002: 298n16) notes, “read uddāhayan and translate ‘inevitably he will cause your house to burn down’ on the evidence of the Tibetan [tshig bar]?” Speyer (1902: 128) and Hiraoka (HA 14; HC 65) suggest utsādaṃ gamiṣyati. That is, “your house will go to ruin.” Vaidya (Divy-V 157.20–21) emends to yady evaṃ gṛham praveśayasi nīyatām | te gṛham utsādayad bhaviṣyasi.
152There are a number of sculptures from early Gandhāra that feature Jyotiṣka’s fiery birth. For more on these representations, see Rotman 2009: 275–76n33.
153Following the Schøyen fragments (Baums 2002: 296), Speyer (1902: 128), Vaidya (Divy-V 167.24), and Hiraoka (HA 14; HC 65), read bhavatu. Divy 271.6, bhavati.
154There are interesting similarities between Jyotiṣka and Jīvaka. Jyotiṣka was retrieved from a pyre and then reared by King Bimbisāra. Jīvaka was retrieved from a trash heap, where he’d been abandoned as a child, and then reared by King Bimbisāra’s son Prince Abhaya (DPPN, s.v. Jīvaka Komārabhacca). Elsewhere it is said that Prince Abhaya was Jīvaka’s natural father (DPPN, s.v. Abhaya), making King Bimbisāra Jīvaka’s natural grandfather, not just his adopted one.