Toh 41 — The Sūtra of the Sun
Sūryasūtra
Translated by the Pema Yeshé Dé Translation Team under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Sūtra of the Sun
F.282.a Respectful homage to the noble Three Jewels!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.[1] At that time the god Sūrya was seized by Rāhu, lord of the asuras. Then F.282.b the god Sūrya, recollecting and taking the Blessed One to heart,[2] recited this verse:
Then the Blessed One, for the sake of the god Sūrya, addressed Rāhu, lord of the asuras, with these verses:
Thereupon Rāhu, lord of the asuras, set the god Sūrya free and hurriedly[8] approached Vemacitra,[9] lord of the asuras. He then sat to one side, displeased,[10] agitated, and with all his body hairs bristling. Vemacitra, lord of the asuras, now questioned Rāhu, lord of the asuras, in verse:
He replied:[12]
Notes
The Paritta collection gives the setting in full, as does the Tibetan, but it is abbreviated as sāvatthinidānaṃ in the SN.
back“Taking to heart” is missing in the Pali. Alternatively, it is possible that the Tibetan phrase bcom ldan ’das rjes su dran pa yid la byas is an attempt to translate the Pali bhagavantam anussaramāno and might be rendered “bringing to mind the remembrance of the Blessed One.”
backThe Pali reads namo te buddha vīratthu (“Homage to you, Buddha, heroic one!”).
backHere the Pali reads vippamuttosi sabbadhi (“You are completely liberated!”).
backThe Pali reads sambādhapaṭipannosmi, tassa me saraṇaṃ bhavā”ti (“I have entered confinement, be my refuge!”). Though the Tibetan translation bdag ’di’i kha ru bcug pas na/ /bdag ni khyed la skyabs su mchi, the first part of which seems to say, “As I have entered into the mouth of it,” seems distant at first, upon reflection it conveys the meaning of the Pali well.
backThe causal connections in this verse are not explicit in the Pali.
backThe Pali reads yo andhakāre tamasi pabhaṅkaro, verocano maṇḍalī uggatejo, mā rāhu gilī caramantalikkhe, pajaṃ mamaṃ rāhu pamuñca sūriyan”ti (“He lights up darkness and gloom, / The sun, circle of mighty splendour. / Rāhu, do not swallow the sun as he traverses the sky! / Rāhu, set my offspring, the sun, free!”). This verse is missing in Toh 42 and in its Pali source, but it has a parallel in #UT22084-072-031-27 and in its Sanskrit and Chinese counterparts.
backHere translated with reference to the Pali taramānarūpo yena vepacitti asurindo tenupasaṅkami. The Tibetan phrase sngar gyi gzugs bzhin du corresponds to the Pali taramānarūpo, which means “hurriedly.”
backIn Toh 331 Rāhu’s interlocutor is Bali. These asuras are often associated, and are accredited with the role of leaders. See The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, Toh 113 (#UT22084-051-001-174) and The Play in Full, Toh 95 (#UT22084-046-001-1161).
backMissing in the Pali.
backThe Pali has kiṃ nu santaramānova, rāhu sūriyaṃ pamuñcasi; saṃviggarūpo āgamma, kiṃ nu bhītova tiṭṭhasī”ti (“Why did you, Rāhu, in a hurry, release the sun? After having approached, moved by fear, why are you standing here so scared?”).
backMissing in the Pali.
backThis theme is found in parallel sūtras and elsewhere in the Kangyur. See The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, Toh 113 (#UT22084-051-001-2703), The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340 (#UT22084-073-001-3058), The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī, Toh 543 (#UT22084-088-038-2620) and Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm, Toh 558 (#UT22084-090-002-295)
backNarthang, Stok Palace, Lhasa, and Bardan here add: paNDi ta chen po A nanda shrI’i zhal snga nas/ mang du thos pa’i lo tsA ba shAkya’i dge slong nyi ma rgyal mtshan dpal bzang pos skad gnyis smra ba rnams kyi gdan sa/ gtsug lag khang chen po dpal thar pa gling du bsgyur cing zhus te gtan la phab pa’o/ sa’i steng du nyi ma dang / zla ba ltar gyur cig (“Translated, edited, and finalized by the great paṇḍita Ānandaśrī and the learned translator the Śākya monk Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo at the seat of translators, the great monastery glorious Tharpa Ling. May the sun and moon transform above the earth in the same way”).
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