Fóshuō Dàzìzài tiānzǐ yīndì jīng 佛說大自在天子因地經
Sūtra on the Bodhisattva-Stage Career of Devaputra Maheśvara translated by 施護 (Shīhù / Dānapāla, 譯)
About the work
The Fóshuō Dà-zìzài tiānzǐ yīndì jīng (T594) is a one-fascicle Mahāyāna sūtra translated by Dānapāla 施護 (施護). Dà-zìzài tiānzǐ 大自在天子 = “Devaputra Maheśvara” (i.e. Maheśvara/Śiva re-cast in Buddhist cosmology as a high-heaven deva). Yīndì 因地 (“causal stage”) is a standard term for a bodhisattva’s pre-buddhahood career.
Prefaces
The text opens with the canonical formula.
Abstract
A short Northern-Song Mahāyāna sūtra recounting the past-life career (yīndì) of Maheśvara as a bodhisattva who took the resolution to attain awakening. Datable to Dānapāla’s translation activity at the imperial Yìjīng-yuàn 譯經院 / Chuán-fǎ-yuàn 傳法院 (980–1017 CE), founded by Sòng Tàizōng 宋太宗. The text reflects the late Indian Mahāyāna’s incorporation of Hindu deities into the bodhisattva pantheon.
Translations and research
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu, 2003 — Northern Song translation bureau.
- No dedicated study of T594 located.
Links
- CBETA T15n0594
- Kanseki DB
- 施護 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (1000) — T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. 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.