178
SADDHARMA-PUNDARÎKA.
vii.
the Arhat, &c., and the Tathâgata Merukûta, the Arhat, &c.[1] In the south-east, monks, is the Tathâgata Simhaghosha, &c., and the Tathâgata Simhadhvaga, &c.[2] In the south, monks, is the Tathâgata named Akâsapratishthita, &c., and the Tathâgata named Nityaparinirvrita[3], &c. In the south-west, monks, is the Tathâgata named Indradhvaga, &c., and the Tathâgata named Brahmadhvaga, &c. In the west, monks, is the Tathâgata named Amitâyus[4], &c., and the Tathâgata named Sarvalokadhâtûpadravodvegapratyuttîrna, &c. In the north-west, monks, is the Tathâgata named Tamâlapatrakandanagandhâbhigña[5], &c, and the Tathâgata Merukalpa, &c. In the north, monks, is the Tathâgata named Meghasvarapradîpa[6], &c., and the Tathâgata
- ↑ I am at a loss to explain by what trick the S. E. E. point is called 'summit of the Meru'.
- ↑ The names of these two Tathâgatas mean severally, having a lion's voice, and having a lion for ensign. 'Lion' is one of the constant veiled expressions for hari, yellow, ruddy, Vishnu, lion, &c., because hari possesses all these different meanings. The Buddhas here intended may be Agni and Anila or Antariksha ( = vâyu, air), both of them known by the name of hari. Cf. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, VI (new series), p. 287 seq.
- ↑ So have my MSS.; Nityaparinivrita, 'always extinct or quiet,' is Yama, Death.
- ↑ Identical with Amitâbha; he is the ruler of the blessed dead in the city of Bliss (Sukhâvatî), and therefore a variety of Yama. His being placed in the west is explainable, because Yama and Varuna in a certain function coincide, and the latter otherwise appears as the ruler of the west. The following worthy with endless name, 'Having past all worldly calamities and emotions,' is another designation of Amitâyus, i.e. he whose life is of unlimited duration.
- ↑ According to the Camb. MSS.; the name 'cognizant of the scent of Xanthochymus and sandal' denotes the Wind, the ruler of the north-west.
- ↑ Var. lect. Meghasvaradîpa; Burnouf has a third form, Megha-
