Tiānzūn shuō Āyùwáng pìyù jīng 天尊說阿育王譬喻經
Sūtra of Parables on King Aśoka, Spoken by the Heavenly One
translator unknown (失譯, 譯)
About the work
A short anonymous sūtra in one juan, transmitted in the Taishō (T50 no. 2044) and grouped with the Aśoka literature. The text consists of a small set of parables (pìyù 譬喻 / avadāna) attributed to the “Heavenly One” (Tiānzūn 天尊, here the Buddha) about King Aśoka — his good and evil deeds, his support for the saṃgha, his treatment of the ministers and queens, and so on. It belongs to the broader penumbra of Aśoka-avadāna material that circulated in Chinese alongside the principal translations KR6r0031 and KR6r0032.
Abstract
The translator is unknown; the text is listed in the catalog tradition (from the Chū sānzàng jì jí onward) as shīyì 失譯, with the convention placing it among Eastern Jìn anonymous translations. A composition / translation bracket of the late 4th to early 5th century is the standard.
The contents are five short parables that draw on motifs found in the Sanskrit Aśokāvadāna and its Chinese versions but condensed and simplified for didactic / moral use. The parables emphasise: the karmic consequences of pre-Buddhist royal cruelty, the merit of supporting the saṃgha, the moral lessons of Aśoka’s confrontations with various ministers, and the eventual conversion. The text was clearly intended for sermon or devotional reading rather than scholarly use.
Translations and research
- Jean Przyluski, La légende de l’empereur Aśoka (Paris, 1923) — discusses the Āyùwáng pìyù jīng alongside the principal Chinese Aśoka texts.
- No dedicated study located.
Links
- CBETA: T50n2044