Shèlìfó Móhémùlián yóu sìqú jīng 舍利弗摩訶目連遊四衢經
Sūtra of Sāriputra and Mahāmaudgalyāyana Travelling the Four Crossroads (parallel to Ekottara-āgama 45.2) by 康孟詳 (Kāng Mèngxiáng, 譯)
About the work
A single-fascicle Eastern Hàn translation of a discourse on the parinirvāṇa of Sāriputra and Mahāmoggallāna shortly before the Buddha’s own. The Chinese parallel is T125[45.2].
Prefaces
The text bears no preface or postface. The only paratext is the canonical translator’s signature at the head: 「後漢外國三藏康孟詳譯」.
Abstract
康孟詳 Kāng Mèngxiáng (also written 孟祥) was a Sogdian (康居) monk active at Luòyáng during the LíngXiàn 靈獻 period (168–220 CE), particularly between Xìngpíng 興平 1 (194) and Jiàn’ān 建安 4 (199). He is credited with the Xìngqǐ xíng jīng 興起行經 (KR6b0054), the Xiūxíng běnqǐ jīng 修行本起經 (KR6b0040, with 竺大力 Zhú Dàlì), the Zhōngběnqǐ jīng 中本起經 (KR6b0053, with 曇果 Tánguǒ), the Shèlìfó Móhémùlián yóu sìqú jīng 舍利弗摩訶目連遊四衢經 (T137, the present work), and others. His translations bridge the An Shigao stratum and the Three Kingdoms register. The defensible bracket 194–199 (the period of attested activity) is recorded in the frontmatter.
Links
- CBETA T02n0137 CBETA online text
- Kanseki DB
- 康孟詳 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (190): Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014. dazangthings entry