Fó shuō shǒuhù dàqiān guótǔ jīng 佛說守護大千國土經
Buddha-Pronounced Sūtra Protecting the Great-Thousand State-Lands by 施護 (Dānapāla, 譯)
About the work
A three-fascicle Sòng-period translation by Dānapāla (施護) of a state-protection dhāraṇī-sūtra distinct from the Tang Rénwáng and Shǒuhù guójièzhǔ traditions. The text presents the Buddha’s pronouncement at the trichiliocosm (大千 dàqiān) level of cosmological state-protection, integrating the Mahāmegha, Mahāmāyūrī, and Mahā-pratyaṅgirā protective frameworks within a single comprehensive scripture.
Abstract
Dānapāla (施護, fl. 980–1017) was the principal translator of the Sòng Yìjīngyuàn 譯經院 — the imperial translation bureau established 982 by emperor 宋太宗 Sòng Tàizōng — and produced over 100 translations across his thirty-five-year tenure. He came from Uḍḍiyāna (Swāt valley) and arrived at Kāifēng in 980. The Shǒuhù dàqiān guótǔ jīng belongs to his major state-protection translation series; together with KR6j0163 (Dharmadeva’s T978) and the contemporary Sòng Rénwáng and Suvarṇaprabhāsa recensions, the text constituted a comprehensive Sòng imperial-Buddhist state-protection corpus to replace the Tang Tángmì heritage that had been disrupted by the late-Tang Buddhist persecutions and the Wǔdài chaos. The cosmological scope (dàqiān, “great-thousandfold world-system”) is distinctive — the protection extends not merely to one state or kingdom but to the entire trichiliocosm — reflecting the Sòng cosmopolitan-imperial theology.
Translations and research
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade: The Realignment of Sino-Indian Relations, 600–1400. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2003. — primary biographical context for Dānapāla and the Yìjīngyuàn.
- Jan, Yün-hua. A Chronicle of Buddhism in China, 581–960 A.D.. Santiniketan: Visva-Bharati, 1966.