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Gadgadasvara
At that moment the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., darted a flash of light from the circle of hair between his eyebrows, one of the characteristic signs of a great man, by which flash of light hundred thousands of myriads of koṭis of Buddha-fields, equal to the sands of eighteen rivers Ganges, became illuminated. Beyond those Buddha-fields, equal, &c., is the world called Vairokanarasmipratimandita (i.e., embellished by the rays of the sun). There dwells, lives, exists the Tathāgata named Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, who, surrounded and attended by a large and immense assembly of Bodhisattvas, preached the law. Immediately the ray of light flashing from the circle of hair between the eyebrows of the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., filled the world Vairokanarasmipratimandita with a great luster. In that world Vairokanarasmipratimandita there was a Bodhisattva Mahāsattva called Gadgadasvara, who had planted roots of goodness, who had before seen similar luminous flashes emitted by many Tathāgatas, &c., and who had acquired many Samādhis, such as the Samādhi Dhvagāgrakeyūra (i.e., bracelet at the upper end of the banner staff), Saddharma-puṇḍarika (i.e., the Lotus of the True Law), Vimala Datta (i.e., given by Vimala), Nakshatrarajavikridita (i.e., sport of the king of asterisms, the moon god), Anilambha , Gñānamudrā (i.e. the seal of science), Kandrapradīpa (i.e., moonlight), Sarvarutakausalya (i.e., skill in all sounds), Sarvapunyasamukkaya (i.e., compendium or collection of all piety), Prasādavatī (i.e., the favorably-disposed lady), Riddhivikrīdita (i.e., sport of magic), Gñānolkā (i.e., torch of knowledge), Vyūharāja (i.e., king of expansions or speculations), Vimalaprabhā (i.e. spotless luster), Vimalagarbha (i.e., of spotless interior part), Apkritsna, Sūryāvarta (i.e., sun-turn); in short, he had acquired many hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Samādhis equal to the sands of the river Ganges. Now, the flash of light came down upon that Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara. Then the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara rose from his seat, put his upper robe upon one shoulder, fixed his right knee on the ground, stretched his joined hands towards the Lord Buddha, and said to the Tathāgata Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña: O Lord, I would resort to the Sahā-world to see, salute, wait upon the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c.; to see and salute Mañjuśrī, the prince royal; to see the Bodhisattvas Bhaiṣajyarāja, Pradānasūra, Nakshatrarājasankusumitābhigña, Viśiṣṭacāritra, Vyūharāja, Bhaiṣajyarājasamudgata.
Then the Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, the Tathāgata, &c., said to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara: On coming to the Sahā-world, young man of good family, thou must not conceive a low opinion of it. That world, young man of good family, has ups and downs, consists of earth, is replete with mountains of Kāla, filled with gutters. The Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., is short of stature, and so are the Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas, whereas thou, young man of good family, hast got a body forty-two hundred thousand yojanas high, and myself have got a body sixty-eight hundred thousand yojanas high. And, young man of good family, thou art lovely, handsome, of pleasant appearance, endowed with a full bloom of extremely fine color, and abundantly blest with hundred thousands of holy signs. Therefore then, young man of good family, when you have come to the Sahā-world, do not conceive a low opinion of the Tathāgata, nor of the Bodhisattvas, nor of that Buddha-field.
Thus addressed, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, the Tathāgata, &c.: I shall do, Lord, as the Lord commands; I shall go to that Sahā-world by virtue of the Lord’s resolution, of the Lord’s power, of the Lord’s might, of the Lord’s disposal, of the Lord’s foresight. Whereon the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, without leaving that Buddha-field and without leaving his seat, plunged into so deep a meditation that immediately after, on a sudden, there appeared before the Tathāgata on the Gṛdhrakūṭa-mountains in the Sahā-world eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of lotuses on gold stalks with silver leaves and with cups of the hue of rosy lotuses and Butea Frondosa.
On seeing the appearance of this mass of lotuses the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Mañjuśrī, the prince royal, asked the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c.: By what cause and by whom, O Lord, have been produced these eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of lotuses on gold stalks with silver leaves and with cups of the hue of rosy lotuses and Butea Frondosa? Whereon the Lord replied to Mañjuśrī, the prince royal: It is, Mañjuśrī, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, who accompanied and attended by eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Bodhisattvas arrives from the east, from the world Vairokanarasmipratimandita, the Buddha field of the Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, the Tathāgata, &c., at this Sahā-world to see, salute, wait upon me, and to hear this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law. Then Mañjuśrī, the prince royal, said to the Lord: What mass of roots of goodness, O Lord, has that young man of good family collected, that he has deserved to obtain such a distinction? And what meditation is it, O Lord, that the Bodhisattva practices? Let us also learn that meditation, O Lord, and practice that meditation. And let us see that Bodhisattva, Lord; see how the color, outward shape, character, figure, and behavior of that Bodhisattva is. May the Lord deign to produce such a token that the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva be admonished by it to come to this Sahā-world.
Then the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., said to the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., who was completely extinct: Produce such a token, Lord, that the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara be admonished by it to come to this Sahā-World. And the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., who was completely extinct, instantly produced a token in order to admonish the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara (and said): Come, young man of good family, to this Sahā-world; Mañjuśrī, the prince royal, will hail thy coming. And the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, after humbly saluting the feet of the Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, the Tathāgata, &c., and after three times circumambulating him from left to right, vanished from the world Vairokanarasmipratimandita, along with eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Bodhisattvas who surrounded and followed him, and arrived at this Sahā-world, among a stir of Buddha fields, a rain of lotuses, a noise of hundred thousands of myriads of koṭis of musical instruments. His face showed eyes resembling blue lotuses, his body was gold-colored, his person marked by a hundred thousand of holy signs; he sparkled with luster, glowed with radiance, had limbs marked by the characteristic signs, and a body compact as Narayana’s. Mounted on a tower made of seven precious substances, he moved through the sky to a height of seven Talas, surrounded by a host of Bodhisattvas, in the direction of this Sahā-world, and approached the Gṛdhrakūṭa, the king of mountains. At his arrival, he alighted from the tower, and went, with a necklace of pearls worth a hundred thousands, to the place where the Lord was sitting. After humbly saluting the feet of the Lord, and circumambulating him seven times from left to right, he offered him the necklace of pearls in token of homage, whereafter he said to the Lord: The Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, the Tathāgata, &c., inquires after the Lord’s health, welfare, and sprightliness; whether he feels free from affliction and at ease. That Lord has also charged me to ask: Is there something thou hast to suffer or allow? the humors of the body are not in an unfavorable state? thy creatures are decent in manners, tractable, and easy to be healed? their bodies are clean? They are not too passionate, I hope, not too irascible, not too unwise in their doings? They are not jealous, Lord, not envious, not ungrateful to their father and mother, not impious, not heterodox, not unsubdued in mind, not unrestrained in sexual desires.? Are the creatures able to resist the Evil One? Has the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., who is completely extinct, come to the Sahā-world in order to hear the law, sitting in the center of a Stūpa made of seven precious substances? And as to that, Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., the Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, inquires: Is there something that the Lord Prabhūtaratna, &c., has to suffer or allow? Is the Lord Prabhūtaratna, &c., to stay long? We also, O Lord, are desirous of seeing the rudimentary frame of that Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c. May the Lord therefore please to show us the rudimentary frame of the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c.
Then the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., said to the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., who was completely extinct: Lord, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara here wishes to see the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., who is completely extinct. Whereon the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., spoke to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara in this strain: Well done, well done, young gentleman, that thou hast come hither in the desire to see the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c.; to hear this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law, and see Mañjuśrī, the prince royal.
Subsequently the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Padmasri said to the Lord: What root of goodness has the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara formerly planted? And in presence of which Tathāgata? And the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., said to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Padmasri. In the days of yore, young man of good family, at a past period there appeared in the world a Tathāgata called Meghadundubhisvararāja (i.e., the king of the drum sound of the clouds), perfectly enlightened, endowed with science and conduct, a Sugata, &c., in the world Sarvabuddhasandarsana (i.e., sight or display of all Buddhas), in the Æon Priyadarsana. To that Lord Meghadundubhisvararāja the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara paid homage by making resound hundred thousands of musical instruments during twelve thousand years. He presented to him also eighty-four thousand vessels of seven precious substances. Under the preaching of the Tathāgata Meghadundubhisvararāja, young man of good family, has the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara obtained such a beauty as he now displays. Perhaps, young man of good family, thou hast some doubt, uncertainty or misgiving, (and thinkest) that at that time, that epoch, there was another Bodhisattva Mahāsattva called Gadgadasvara, who paid that homage to the Lord Meghadundubhisvararāja, the Tathāgata, and presented him the eighty-four thousand vessels. But, young man of good family, do not think so. For it was the very same Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, young man of good family, who paid that homage to the Lord Meghadundubhisvararāja, the Tathāgata, and presented to him the eighty-four thousand vessels. So, young man of good family, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has waited upon many Buddhas, has planted good roots under many Buddhas, and prepared the soil under each of them. And this Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara had previously seen Lords Buddhas similar to the sands of the river Ganges. Dost thou see, Padmasri, how the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara now looks? Padmasri replied: I do, Lord; I do, Sugata. The Lord said: Now, Padmasri, this Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara preaches this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law under many shapes he assumes; sometimes under the shape of Brahma, sometimes under that of Indra, sometimes under that of Siva, sometimes under that of Kubera, sometimes under that of a sovereign, sometimes under that of a duke, sometimes under that of a chief merchant, sometimes under that of a citizen, sometimes under that of a villager, sometimes under that of a Brahman. Sometimes again the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara preaches this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law under a monk’s shape, sometimes under a nun’s, sometimes under a male lay devotee’s, sometimes under a female lay devotee’s, sometimes under that of a chief merchant’s wife, sometimes under that of a citizen’s wife, sometimes under a boy’s, sometimes under a girl’s shape. With so many variations in the manner to show himself, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara preaches this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law to creatures. He has even assumed the shape of a goblin to preach this Dharmaparyāya to such as were to be converted by a goblin. To some he has preached this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law under the shape of a demon, to some under a Garuḍa, to some under a Kinnara’s, to some under a great serpent’s shape. Even to the beings in any of the wretched states; in the hells, the brute creation, Yama’s realm, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is a supporter. Even to the creatures in the gynaeceums of this Sahā-world has the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, after metamorphosing himself into a woman, preached this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law. Verily, Padmasri, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is the supporter of the creatures living in this Sahā-world. Under so many shapes, assumed at will, has the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara preached this Dharmaparyāya of the Lotus of the True Law to creatures. Yet, there is no diminution of wisdom, nor diminution of magic power in that good man 2. So many, young man of good family, are the manifestations of knowledge by which this Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has made himself known in this Sahā-world. In other worlds also, similar to the sands of the river Ganges, he preaches the law, under the shape of a Bodhisattva to such as must be converted by a Bodhisattva; under the shape of a disciple to such as must be converted by a disciple; under the shape of a Pratyekabuddha to such as must be converted by a Pratyekabuddha; under the shape of a Tathāgata to such as must be converted by a Tathāgata. Nay, he will show to those who must be converted by a relic of the Tathāgata himself such a relic, and to those who must be converted by complete extinction he will show himself completely extinct l. Such is the powerful knowledge, Padmasri, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva is possessed of.
Thereafter the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Padmasri said to the Lord: The Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara then has planted good roots, Lord. What meditation is it, Lord, whereby the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, with unshaken firmness, has converted (or educated) so many creatures? Whereupon the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., replied to the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Padmasri: It is, young man of good family, the meditation termed Sarvarūpasandarsana. By steadiness in it has the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara so immensely promoted the weal of creatures.
While this chapter of Gadgadasvara was being expounded, all the eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas who, along with the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, had come to the Sahā-world, obtained the meditation Sarvarūpasandarsana, and as to the number of Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas of this Sahā-world obtaining the meditation Sarvarūpasandarsana, it was beyond calculation.
Then the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, after having paid great and ample worship to the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata, &c., and at the Stūpa of relics of the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata, &c., again mounted the tower made of seven precious substances, among the stir of the fields, the rain of lotuses, the noise of hundred thousands of myriads of koṭis of musical instruments, and with the eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Bodhisattvas surrounding and following him, returned to his own Buddha-field. At his arrival there he said to the Lord Kamaladalavimalanakṣhatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña, the Tathāgata, &c.: O Lord, I have in the Sahā-world promoted the weal of creatures; I have seen and saluted the Stūpa of relics of the Lord Prabhūtaratna, the Tathāgata,; I have seen and saluted the Lord Śākyamuni, the Tathāgata,; I have seen Mañjuśrī, the prince royal, as well as the Bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, who is possessed of mighty knowledge and impetuosity, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Pradānasūra; and these eighty-four hundred thousand myriads of koṭis of Bodhisattvas Mahāsattvas have all obtained the meditation termed Sarvarūpasandarsana.
And while this relation of the going and coming of the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Gadgadasvara was being delivered, forty-two thousand Bodhisattvas acquired the faculty of acquiescence in future things, and the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Padmasri acquired the meditation called the Lotus of the True Law.
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