Lóngwáng xiōngdì jīng 龍王兄弟經
Sūtra of the Two Nāga-King Brothers translated by 支謙 (Zhī Qiān, 譯)
About the work
The Lóngwáng xiōngdì jīng (T597) is a one-fascicle short nāga narrative translated by Zhī Qiān 支謙 (支謙). The two nāga-king brothers Nanda 難陀 and Upananda 跋難陀 (or Lóngwáng 龍王 in plain Chinese paraphrase) attempt to obstruct the Buddha but are subdued by his disciple Maudgalyāyana.
Prefaces
The text opens with the canonical formula.
Abstract
A brief disciplinary-mythological sūtra recounting the celebrated subjugation of the Nanda-Upananda nāga brothers — well-known from the Pāli Mahāvagga and from a wide spread of Vinaya and Āgama texts. Datable to Zhī Qiān’s Wú-period activity (222–252 CE). Among the earliest Chinese versions of the episode.
Translations and research
- Strong, John. The Legend and Cult of Upagupta. Princeton, 1992 — nāga-subjugation episodes.
- Nattier, Jan. A Guide to the Earliest Chinese Buddhist Translations. Tokyo: IRIAB, 2008.
Links
- CBETA T15n0597
- Kanseki DB
- 支謙 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (245) — 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.