Toh 330 — The Shorter Devatā Sūtra

Notes

1. Skt. (Mat.) has, in addition, atikrāṁtavarṇā atikrāntāyāṃ rātryāṃ (“of beautiful appearance, when the night was through”).

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2. Skt. (Mat.) has, in addition, apīdānīṃ tasyā devatāyā varṇānubhāvena sarvaṃ jetavanam udāreṇāvabhāsena sphuṭam abhūt (“At this moment, through the power of the divine being’s appearance, the whole of Jetavana became filled with exalted splendor”). This accords with the framing narrative of The Devatā Sūtra (Toh 329).

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3. Skt. (Mat.) reads sā devatā tasyāṃ velāyāṃ gāthāṃ bhāṣate (“At this moment, the divine being utters this verse”).

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4. D khrims bzung yang dag sdom la dga’. The Sanskrit fragment (Mat.) here reads suśīlāḥ saṃyame ratāḥ. So khrims bzung appears to be a corruption of khrims bzang, “good law,” “good custom,” or “good ethics,” as a rendering of suśīlāḥ. F (Phukdrak Kangyur, folio 119.b) here reads khrims bsrung (“will protect the law”). In translating khrims here as “law,” rather than as “discipline” or “ethics,” (as would be merited by the Sanskrit śīla), we have opted to retain the Tibetan referentiality of the term khrims, since by Tibetan tradition the ten virtues were enshrined as the foundation of law (khrims), both secular and monastic (rgyal khrims and chos khrims), from the Tibetan imperial period onward.

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5. The Sanskrit fragment (Mat.) ends with this verse. This verse is quoted in full by Desi Sangyé Gyatso in his biography of the Fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Losang Gyatso (1617–82). See Ngawang Losang Gyatso, pp. 471–72.

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6. Tib. gzhan gyi chung ma’i thad mi ’gro (“approach the wives of others”). In the English translation, we have preferred the less gender-specific “spouses.”

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7. F and He here read gzhan gyi nor la rku bya dang (“to steal the wealth of others”). Go has gzhan gyi don la mgu bya (“to satisfy the interest of others”).

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8. F and He here read grogs po rtag par dbyen byed pa, with the similar meaning “that constantly creates discord among friends.”

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9. Go here reads gang dag dum par rab dga’ ba (“those who delight in concord”).

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10. Reading with Ky, K, N, C, H spong, as in previous verses. D here reads sbyong (“purify, refine”), which appears to be a scribal error. See Mahāvyutpatti no. 1692: pāruṣyāt prativiratiḥ–tshig rtsub po smra ba spong ba.

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11. dgon pa na. The term dgon pa, here is most likely translating the Sanskrit araṇya, meaning “remote place” or “wilderness.” This would later become the standard Tibetan term for “monastery.”

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12. In Taishō 99, sūtra no. 1299, and Taishō 100, sūtra no. 297, this final verse is uttered by the devatā. It also corresponds loosely with the final verse spoken by the devatā in The Devatā Sūtra (Toh 329) #UT22084-072-029-111: cirasya bata paśyāmi brāhmaṇaṃ parinirvṛtam sarvavairabhayātītaṃ tīrṇaṃ loke viṣaktikām (“Oh! After a long time, I see a brāhmaṇa who has attained nirvāṇa, who has left all enmity and fears behind, and who has gone beyond attachment to the world”). Nearly all sūtras of Taishō 99 and Taishō 100 have this verse at the end. Note that Sanskrit and Chinese attestations of this verse, and the Tibetan of Toh 329, do not include “I do not see many,” as found in this text. This indicates the iteration of the verse in the present text may be a corruption. In the Pali canon, a similar verse is found only once, in SN 1.1. See also Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra#UT22084-090-007-38 (Toh 563). For more on this verse, see Choong 2011, pp. 68–69.

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