by Andy Rotman
After hearing King Candraprabha’s proclamation, all of the people of Jambudvīpa once again began to enjoy royal pleasures. Thousands of veenas, flutes, paṇava drums, sughoṣakas, vallarīs, kettledrums, mridangams, cymbals, and conchs were played, hundreds of horns were sounded, and the people of Jambudvīpa, wearing armlets, necklaces, jewels, pearls, finery, and earrings, and surrounded by groups of beautiful young women adorned with all kinds of ornaments, experienced royal glory.
At that time, as the people of Jambudvīpa enjoyed those royal pleasures,294 the sounds of veenas, flutes, paṇava drums, sughoṣakas, vallarīs, kettledrums, mridangams, war drums as well as the melody of cymbals and bamboo pipes295 arose in all 68,000 cities. And as golden kettledrums were beaten at King Candraprabha’s four great sacrificial sites, sweet and pleasing sounds emerged. As such, all of Jambudvīpa resounded with pleasing sounds. Even [Sudarśana], the divine city of the gods of Trāyastriṃśa, reverberated with the sounds of dancing, singing, and the playing of musical instruments.296 In this way, at that time and at that juncture, owing to the sounds of singing, all the people living in Jambudvīpa were filled with intense pleasure and enjoyed themselves greatly.
Raudrākṣa and the Gift of a Head
At that time on Mount Gandhamādana (Intoxicated with Fragrance) there lived a brahman named Raudrākṣa (Cruel-Eyed)297 who could perform magical spells. The brahman Raudrākṣa heard that in the capital Bhadraśilā there was a king named Candraprabha who had vowed to himself to give away everything.
“I really should go and beg for his head,” he thought. Then it occurred to him, “If he’ll give away everything, he’ll give me his head. But it is difficult, impossible, and inconceivable that one would sacrifice the best part of one’s body, that which is cherished, precious, dear, and beloved—namely, one’s head. It simply isn’t possible!” With this in mind, he came down from Mount Gandhamādana.
Then a deity living on Gandhamādana began to cry out: “It’s so sad! King Candraprabha, who is kind at heart, greatly compassionate, and treats all beings as his children, will experience the force of impermanence!” [321]
At that time all of Jambudvīpa became very disturbed and darkened with smoke. There were meteor showers, the sky looked like it was on fire, and the drums of the gods thundered in the air.
Not far from the capital Bhadraśilā there lived a seer named Viśvāmitra (Friend to the World), who possessed the five superhuman faculties. He had five hundred followers, and he too was kind at heart, compassionate, and treated all beings as his children. Seeing that all of Jambudvīpa was disturbed, the seer addressed his young brahman disciples: “Young brahmans, as you know, at present all of Jambudvīpa is in disarray and darkened with smoke. The sun and the moon, powerful as they are, neither shine nor burn or illuminate. Certainly some great man will soon be no more.298
Hordes of kinnaras and forest deities are crying,299
the assemblies of the gods likewise call out in distress.300
The moon doesn’t shine, and the thousand-rayed sun doesn’t glow;
even the sound of instruments being played301 is no longer heard.
Fruits and flowers covering the multitude of trees
fall to the ground when merely stirred by the wind.302
A foreboding sound fills the air.
A great303 disaster will surely304 befall the city!
All the devoted residents of Bhadraśilā are filled with sorrow;
struck by the arrow of intense grief, their faces and throats quiver.305
Young women with faces like the moon cry in their fine homes;
everyone wails piteously as though at a cremation ground.306
Why307 do all the city’s residents
bear308 such grief welled up in their minds?
For those incessantly crying, with fingers clenched,309
a matchless power310 holds back their words.
Clouds thunder with no water,
and the ponds have almost dried up.311
Those tender breezes, over water as on land,312
now blow as fierce and dusty winds.
The inauspicious omens are now manifold!313
It would be best314 if we left here and went to a safer region.
“And there’s this, young brahmans: golden kettledrums are being beaten at King Candraprabha’s four great sacrificial sites, and pleasing sounds no longer emerge. [322] Alas! A great disaster will definitely befall Bhadraśilā.”
Meanwhile the brahman Raudrākṣa arrived in the capital Bhadraśilā. A deity who resided in the city saw the brahman Raudrākṣa from a distance and then approached King Candraprabha. Having approached, she said this to him: “My lord, there is something you should know. Today a beggar will come to my lord. He is hostile and violent. He looks for weaknesses, seeking a point of attack. He will beg for my lord’s head. For the sake of living beings, my lord should protect himself!”
When King Candraprabha heard that someone would come begging for his head, he was glad at heart, and his eyes opened wide with wonder. He spoke to the deity. “Deity, go away. If he comes, I will fulfill this long-held wish of his.” The deity realized the strength of King Candraprabha’s resolve and felt sad, dejected, and deeply disturbed. Then she vanished on the spot.
It occurred to King Candraprabha, “What a wonderful thing it is that I give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, and clothes, gold and golden things, jewels, pearls, and the like to those who desire them. But to those who come begging, I really should sacrifice my own body as well.”
Meanwhile, as the brahman Raudrākṣa was entering the southern gate to the city, the deity stopped him. “Go away, evil brahman,” she said. “Don’t enter! You deluded man, how can you cut off315 King Candraprabha’s head? He is kind at heart, compassionate, and treats all beings as his children; he is endowed with many virtues, a protector of Jambudvīpa, and he does no wrong and causes no harm. You vicious and evil brahman, don’t enter here!”
In the meantime, King Candraprabha heard about this incident: “A deity has detained a man who wants to beg from me at a gate to the city!” After hearing about it, he addressed his chief minister Mahācandra: “Mahācandra, please be informed that a deity has detained a supplicant at a gate to the city. Go quickly and bring him to me.”
“Yes, my lord,” the chief minister Mahācandra replied, consenting to King Candraprabha’s request. He then went to the city gate and spoke to the deity: “Deity, please be informed that this brahman is to be allowed to enter. King Candraprabha has summoned him.” [323]
Then that deity residing in the city said this to the chief minister Mahācandra: “Mahācandra, please be informed that this brahman is vicious and without compassion. He has come to Bhadraśilā to destroy King Candraprabha. Why should someone evil at heart be allowed to enter? He will approach the king and ask for his head!”
Then the chief minister Mahācandra said to the deity, “Deity, I’ve thought of a plan so that the brahman won’t be able to take the lord’s head.”
So the chief minister Mahācandra brought the brahman Raudrākṣa into the city and ordered the treasurers as follows: “Gentlemen, bring out the jeweled heads! I will give them to this brahman.” The treasurers made a pile of the jeweled heads at the king’s door. The chief minister Mahācandra showed the jeweled heads to Raudrākṣa. “Great brahman,” he said, “take all these jeweled heads! I’ll also give you so much gold that it will provide livelihoods for your children and grandchildren. What do you want with my lord’s head, filled as it is with marrow, snot, and fat?”
Thus addressed, the brahman Raudrākṣa said this to the chief minister Mahācandra: “I have no use for jeweled heads, nor for gold and golden things. I have come to this all-giving protector of the great earth for the sake of his head.”
Thus addressed, the chief ministers Mahācandra and Mahīdhara each sat lost in thought, with cheeks in hand: “What is to be done now?”316
When King Candraprabh
a heard what had happened, he had a messenger 317 convey these instructions to the chief ministers Mahācandra and Mahīdhara: “Bring that [brahman]318 before me. I will fulfill this desire of his.”
Thus addressed, the chief ministers Mahācandra and Mahīdhara, their faces streaked with tears, lamented mournfully and cried out: “My lord is kind at heart, compassionate, and treats all beings as his children. He is endowed with many virtues, is wise and skillful, and possesses divine sight. Soon he will experience the force of impermanence. Today we will become deprived, detached, disconnected, and separated from my lord!” With this in mind, they fell prostrate at the king’s feet and then sat down at a respectful distance.
Now since King Candraprabha desired to make a sacrifice that would be distinguished as the ultimate sacrifice,319 he addressed the brahman while the latter was still a distance away. “Come here, brahman!” he said. [324] “Make a request. Take whatever you want.”320
The brahman Raudrākṣa then approached King Candraprabha and, having approached, greeted him with wishes for his success and well-being. Then he said this to him:
You are steadfast in the pure dharma, O excellent bodhisattva,321
desiring omniscience with all your heart, O virtuous one.
Great compassion being foremost in your mind,322 cast off your head to me!
Give it to me! Satisfy me now!323
When King Candraprabha heard the brahman utter such words, he was glad at heart and wide-eyed with pleasure. He then said to the brahman Raudrākṣa, “At last, brahman, freely and without interference, you may take this head of mine—it is the best part of my body.” And he said,
Although it is as dear as an only son,
take this head324 of mine nonetheless.
May the fruit of your desires come quickly.
And from this gift of my head, may I attain awakening.325
After he spoke, he removed the crown from his head. And at the very moment that King Candraprabha removed the crown from his head, the crowns on the heads of all the people of Jambudvīpa fell off.326 And in the capital Bhadraśilā, there were meteor showers in the four directions, and the sky looked like it was on fire.
The deities of the city cried out: “This evil brahman will cut off King Candraprabha’s head!” Hearing this, the chief ministers Mahācandra and Mahīdhara realized that King Candraprabha truly would make such a sacrifice of his body. Their faces streaked with tears, they embraced King Candraprabha’s feet and said, “Fortunate are those men, my lord, who will again catch sight of your truly wonderful form.”327 Looking up toward King Candraprabha, the two cultivated faith in their hearts for him and produced thoughts of loving-kindness toward the brahman Raudrākṣa. “We can’t watch the impermanence of my lord,” they thought. “He is incomparably virtuous.” And at that very moment, they died. Transcending the realm of desire, they were reborn in the Brahmā world.
When the yakṣas on the ground and in the air came to understand the strength of King Candraprabha’s resolve and heard the pained cries of those deities residing in the city, they began to cry out. “How terrible! Now King Candraprabha will abandon his body.”
Meanwhile, at the gate to the palace, many hundreds of thousands of people had assembled. [325] When the brahman Raudrākṣa saw this crowd of people, he spoke to King Candraprabha. “My lord, there is something you should know. I can’t take my lord’s head in front of a crowd of people. If your head is to be sacrificed, let us go to a secluded place.”
Thus addressed, King Candraprabha said to the brahman Raudrākṣa, “So be it, great brahman. Let it be done. May you have success in all that you desire, and may your wishes be fulfilled.” Then King Candraprabha got up from his throne, took a sharp sword, and approached Maṇiratnagarbha Park.
Seeing the strength of King Candraprabha’s resolve, many hundreds of thousands of people in the capital Bhadraśilā followed behind him, wailing. Seeing this large gathering of people wailing, King Candraprabha consoled them. “Don’t be careless with virtuous things,” he said.
After giving this brief dharma teaching, he took the brahman Raudrākṣa and entered Maṇiratnagarbha Park. As soon as King Candraprabha entered the park, the umbrellas, flags, and banners in Bhadraśilā bent over in that direction. King Candraprabha then shut the gate to Maṇiratnagarbha Park and addressed the brahman Raudrākṣa: “Brahman, please take my head, the best part of my body.”
Thus addressed, the brahman Raudrākṣa said to King Candraprabha, “I can’t cut off my lord’s head.”
Now in the middle of Maṇiratnagarbha Park there was a red amaranth tree as well as a campaka tree always in bloom.328 King Candraprabha then took out his sharp sword and approached that ever-blossoming campaka tree.
Then the deities living in the park, realizing that King Candraprabha was about to make such a sacrifice of his own body, began to cry out. “Evil brahman!” they said. “King Candraprabha does no wrong and causes no harm, he treats all beings as his children, and he is endowed with many virtues. How can you cut off his head?”
Then King Candraprabha stopped the deities of the park. “Deities, don’t obstruct this man who begs for my head! [326] Why is that? Deities, in the past a deity obstructed someone who begged for my best limb. That deity earned a lot of demerit. Why is that? If that deity had not obstructed that beggar, I would have attained supreme knowledge very quickly. It is for this reason that I say to you—don’t obstruct this man who begs for my best limb! Right here, in this Maṇiratnagarbha Park of yours, I have sacrificed my head thousands of times, and no one has ever obstructed me. So, deity, don’t obstruct this man who begs for my best limb. Moreover, deity, it was right here that I sacrificed myself to a tigress and surpassed Maitreya. The bodhisattva Maitreya, who had set out for buddhahood forty eons before, was surpassed with a single sacrifice of my head!”329
Now as those deities came to understand the great majesty of King Candraprabha, they experienced great faith in the king and so remained silent. Then King Candraprabha made this proper fervent aspiration:
“Listen, honorable deities, antigods, heavenly birds, celestial musicians, and kinnaras living in the ten directions! Here in this park I will make a sacrifice, a great sacrifice,330 a complete sacrifice of my own head. And I will sacrifice my own head,331 not for the sake of royal power, not for reaching heaven, not for personal pleasure, not for becoming a Śakra, not for becoming a Brahmā, and not for the victory of a wheel-turning king.332 It is for no other reason than that I may attain unsurpassed perfect awakening and so subdue those beings who are unsubdued, pacify the unpacified, help to cross over those who have not crossed over, liberate the unliberated, console the unconsoled, and lead to final nirvāṇa those who have not reached final nirvāṇa.
“By this truth, this vow of truth, may my efforts be successful! And when I have passed into final nirvāṇa, may there be relics the size of mustard seeds.333 And here in the middle of Maṇiratnagarbha Park, may there be a great stūpa that is the most distinguished of all stūpas. And may those beings who are exhausted334 and who want to venerate this great shrine go there, and when they see it—the most distinguished of all stūpas and filled with relics335—may their exhaustion cease. And when I have passed into final nirvāṇa, may crowds of people come to my shrines, make offerings, and become intent on heaven and liberation.”
After making this proper fervent aspiration, King Candraprabha bound his topknot to the campaka tree and then said to the brahman Raudrākṣa, [327] “Come, great brahman. Take it! Don’t obstruct me!”
Then King Candraprabha, generating strength and power in his body and producing thoughts of loving-kindness along with compassion for the brahman Raudrākṣa, cut off his head and presented it to him. And when he died, because of his virtuousness,336 he transcended the Brahmā world and was reborn among the gods of Śubhakṛtsna (Complete Beauty).
As soon as King Candraprabha sacrificed his head, three times the billionfold world-system teetered, to
ttered, and tremored; quivered, quavered, and quaked; shifted, shuddered, and shook.337 And the deities in the sky began to throw divine blue waterlilies as well as red waterlilies, white waterlilies, and white lotuses; agarwood, tagara, and sandalwood powders; tamāla leaves and flowers from the divine coral tree. They also began to play divine instruments and throw cloth streamers.
Then the brahman Raudrākṣa left the park, holding King Candraprabha’s head.338 Many hundreds of thousands of people let out the cry, “How terrible! My lord, who fulfilled everyone’s wishes, has been killed!”
Some of those people writhed around and about on the ground; some cried out, flailing their arms; and some wept, their hair disheveled. Many hundreds of thousands of people gathered together. While there in that place, some of them attained meditative states, died right then and there, and were reborn among the Śubhakṛtsna gods—at the same level as King Candraprabha. Others attained [lower] meditative states, died right then and there, and were reborn among the gods of Ābhāsvara (Radiant). Others entered the first meditative state and then died and were reborn as inhabitants of the Brahmā world.
Still others gathered together, built a funeral pyre out of all all kinds of fragrant wood, and cremated King Candraprabha’s body.339 And when his bones were burned to ashes, they placed them in a golden pot and at the main crossroads built a stūpa for his relics. And there they raised umbrellas, flags, and banners. Then they honored the stūpa with offerings of fragrances, garlands, incense, oil lamps, and flowers, and having cultivated faith in their hearts for King Candraprabha, they died and were reborn among the gods in the six spheres of desire. And all of those who made offerings there became intent on heaven and liberation.
“You may have some doubt or uncertainty, [328] monks, as to the identity of the capital called Bhadraśilā in the North Country at that time and at that juncture. Ponder no further. Why is that? Because at that time and at that juncture Takṣaśilā itself was the capital called Bhadraśilā.