Oct 29, 2008

Āryapratītyasamutpādo nāma mahāyānasūtram (I)

The following are my Sanskrit exercises with a Buddhist sūtra for which I haven't found an English translation yet. This is the reason I beg the reader who is familiar with the terminology to drop few lines with some more clarifications.

(The mahāyāna sūtra called "The noble dependent origination")


evaṃ mayā śrutam |
Thus I have heard:

ekasmin samaye bhagavān trāyastriṃśānāṃ devānāṃ madhye viharati sma pāṇḍukambalakalpe śilātale jitāśvādimahāśrāvakaiḥ āryamaitreyāvalokiteśvaravajrahastādibhirbodhisattvairmahāsattvaiḥ aprameyaguṇaratnālaṃkṛtaiḥ mahābrahmasahāṃpatinārāyaṇamaheśvarādibhirdevaiḥ śakreṇa devānāmindreṇa gandharvarājena pañcaśikhena ca sārdham |
In one occasion, The Divine, was dwelling in the middle of 33 gods. On a rock having the aspect of Śakra's throne(pāṇḍukambala), together with disciples, horse trainers etc., great beings and bodhisattvas in front with the noble Maitreya, Avalokiteśvara, Vajrahastā, adorned with countless high quality jewels, and gods in front with the great Brahma Sahāmpati, Viṣṇu, Śiva and so on, Śakra(the Mighty), prince of gods, Pañcaśikha the king of gandharvas.

athāvalokiteśvaro bodhisattvo mahāsattvaḥ utthāyāsanāt ekāṃsamuttarāsaṅgaṃ kṛtvā dakṣiṇaṃ jānuṃ merupṛṣṭhe'vaṣṭabhya yena bhagavān tenāñjaliṃ praṇamya bhagavantametadavocat-ete hi bhagavan devāḥ caityanamaskriyāmaṇḍanāḥ etatpariṣanmaṇḍalapatitāḥ kathamapi brahmacaryapuṇyaprasavāḥ sadevake samārake sabrahmake loke saśramaṇabrāhmaṇaprajāsu bhikṣavo bhikṣuṇyaḥ upāsakopāsikāḥ subahulapuṇyaprasavāḥ bhagavato dharmadeśanāṃ yācante iti |

Now, the great being and boddhisattva Avalokiteśvara raising from his seat and having placed the end of his robe on one of his shoulders leaning the right knee on the top of mount Meru, in the [direction] in which The Divine was, in that [direction] he bowed with the palms together(añjaliṃ) [and] said this to Him: Bhagavan, these gods here, stupa-worship-decorations(caitya-namaskriyā-maṇḍanāḥ???) this assembly in circle fallen somehow, the acquisitions of the merit of chastity in the world of gods, Māra [or/and] Brahma, in those with monks with divine descendants, monks, nuns, male and female lay worshipers the sources of many merits from The Divine instruction in dharma [they] beg:

In this last part of the translation I had difficult time trying to get the meaning of the following words/compounds:
  • caityanamaskriyāmaṇḍanāḥ
  • etatpariṣan-maṇḍalapatitāḥ
  • brahmacaryapuṇyaprasavāḥ
  • saśramaṇabrāhmaṇaprajāsu
  • subahulapuṇyaprasavāḥ

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