Verse III.19

Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse III.19

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Verse III.19 Variations

सिंहपूर्वार्धकायत्वं निरन्तरचितांशता
संवृत्तस्कन्धता वृत्तश्लक्ष्णानुन्नामबाहुता

E. H. Johnston as input by the University of the West.^[1]

siṃhapūrvārdhakāyatvaṃ nirantaracitāṃśatā
saṃvṛttaskandhatā vṛttaślakṣṇānunnāmabāhutā

E. H. Johnston as input by the University of the West.^[2]

།རོ་སྟོད་སེང་གེ་འདྲ་བ་དང་།
ཐལ་གོང་བར་མེད་རྒྱས་པ་དང་། །
དཔུང་མགོ་ལེགས་ཟླུམ་ཕྱག་འཇམ་ཞིང་། །
ཟླུམ་ཞིང་མཐོ་དམན་མེད་པ་དང་། །

Dege, PHI, 131-132

His upper body is lionlike,
The flesh between the shoulders is broad and compact,
His shoulders are evenly rounded,
And his arms are rounded, soft, and not uneven.

When the Clouds Part, Brunnhölzl, 432 ^[3]

Il a un torse de lion et des épaules

Pleines et larges aux sommets

Bien rebondis. Il a les bras tendres,

Ronds et réguliers.

Charrier, Christian and Patrick Carré. Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule. Plazac: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.

RGVV Commentary on Verse III.19

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།སྐྱེས་བུ་ཆེན་པོའི་མཚན་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་དང་ལྡན་པའི་གཟུགས་མངའ་བ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ནི། ལེགས་གནས་འཁོར་ལོས་མཚན་པ་དང་། །ཡངས་དང་ཞབས་ལོང་མི་མངོན་དང་། །སོར་མོ་རིང་དང་ཕྱག་ཞབས་རིང་། །དྲ་བ་ཡིས་ནི་འབྲེལ་བ་དང་། །པགས་འཇམ་གཞོན་ཤ་ཅན་ལེགས་ཉིད། །སྐུ་ནི་བདུན་དག་མཐོ་བ་དང་། །བྱིན་པ་ཨེ་ན་ཡ་འདྲ་གསང་། །གླང་པོ་བཞིན་དུ་སྦུབས་སུ་ནུབ། །རོ་སྟོད་སེང་གེ་འདྲ་བ་

དང་། །ཐལ་གོང་བར་མེད་རྒྱས་པ་དང་། །དཔུང་པ་ལེགས་ཟླུམ་ཕྱག་འཇམ་རིང་། །ཟླུམ་ཞིང་མཐོན་དམན་མེད་པ་དང་། །ཕྱག་རིང་ཡོངས་སུ་དག་པ་ཡི། །འོད་ཀྱི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་དག་དང་ལྡན། །མགྲིན་པ་དྲི་མེད་དུང་འདྲ་དང་། །འགྲམ་པ་རི་དགས་རྒྱལ་པོ་འདྲ། །ཚེམས་ནི་བཞི་བཅུ་མཉམ་པ་དང་། །རབ་དངས་ཚེམས་ཐགས་བཟང་བ་དང་། །རྣམ་དག་ཚེམས་མཉམ་ཉིད་དང་ནི། །མཆེ་བ་རབ་མཆོག་དཀར་བ་ཉིད། །ལྗགས་རིང་མཐའ་མེད་བསམ་མེད་པ། །རོ་བྲོ་བ་ཡི་མཆོག་ཉིད་དང་། །རང་བྱུང་ཀ་ལ་པིང་ཀ་ཡི། །སྒྲ་དང་ཚངས་པའི་དབྱངས་ཉིད་དང་། །སྤྱན་བཟངས་ཨུཏྤལ་ཁྱུ་མཆོག་རྫི་འདྲ་དང་། །ཞལ་མཛེས་དྲི་མེད་མཛོད་སྤུ་དཀར་བར་ལྡན། །གཙུག་ཏོར་དབུ་ལྡན་དག་ཅིང་སྲབ་པ་དང་། །པགས་པ་གསེར་གྱི་མདོག་འདྲ་སེམས་ཅན་མཆོག །བ་སྤུ་ལེགས་ཕྲ་འཇམ་ཞིང་རེ་རེ་ནས། །སྐུ་ཡི་གྱེན་དུ་གཡས་ཕྱོགས་འཁྱིལ་བ་དང་། །དབུ་སྐྲ་དྲི་མེད་རིན་ཆེན་མཐོན་མཐིང་བཞིན། །ནྱ་གྲོ་རྫོགས་པའི་ལྗོན་ཤིང་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་འདྲ། །ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ་དཔེ་མེད་དྲང་སྲོང་ཆེ། །སྲེད་མེད་བུ་ཡི་སྟོབས་མངའ་མཁྲེགས་པའི་སྐུ། །བསམ་མི་ཁྱབ་པར་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་པོ། །འདི་དག་སྟོན་པས་མི་དབང་མཚན་དུ་གསུངས།

Other English translations

Obermiller (1931) ^[14]

The upper part of the body is like that of the lion,

His shoulders and his breast are broad,

He has well-rounded shoulders, long and tender arms,

Takasaki (1966) ^[15]

The upper part of the body is like that of a lion,

The parts between the shoulders are closely set and elevated,

And his shoulders are well heaped arid round;

His arms are fleshy, tender and of no unevenness,

Fuchs (2000) ^[16]

His [mighty] torso is similar to that of a lion.

[The hollow] between his clavicles is well filled.

The curve of his shoulders is perfect and beautiful.

His hands and arms are rounded, soft, and even.

Textual sources

Commentaries on this verse

Academic notes

Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input
Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input
Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.
VT (fol. 15v1) adds that the hands are likewise marked with wheels.
Skt. aṅguli means both fingers and toes, and the following phrase "hands and feet" indicates both.
According to VT (fol. 15v1), "shoulders"refers to both arms and legs, thus obviously to shoulders and hips.
Skt. anunnāma, DP mtho dman med pa.
According to VT (fol. 15v2), the throat has lines like a conch.
According to VT (fol. 15v2), there are twenty teeth each in the upper and lower jaws.
According to VT (fol. 15v2), none are longer or shorter (lit. "high and low").
Ordinarily, kalaviṅka is a name of the red-green Indian sparrow and the Indian cuckoo alike. In Buddhist texts, however, it is usually considered as a mythical bird with the head of a human (a bodhisattva) and the body of a bird, which already sings marvelously before it breaks its shell. It is often said to live in Amitabha’s pure land Sukhāvatī.
In Hindu cosmology, this is the son of Mahāpuruṣa, the latter being the primeval man as the soul and original source of the universe. Also, Nārāyaṇa is variously identified as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa.
Obviously, the numerical breakdown of the marks into thirty-two in these verses is far from being clear, so different commentaries give different numberings and combine certain features into one (for the list of thirty-two and their causes in GC and RYC, which is based on the Ratnadārikāsūtra, see the note on III.17–25 in CMW). Note also that this list here is just one from among a considerable number of more or less differing lists of the thirty-two marks that are found in various sūtras and treatises (for comprehensive lists, see Xing 2002, 27 and Tan 2011, 146–62). Also, the comments on them and their causes vary in different texts. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no evidence that the major marks (or the minor marks) are of Brahmanic origin or even of early Buddhist origin (all Buddhist sources are quite late; see Tan 2011). As indicated below in the Uttaratantra, its list of the thirty-two major marks (which includes some marks that the Abhisamayālaṃkāra presents as minor marks) is based on the Ratnadārikāparipṛcchāsūtra (Taishō 397, 37b–c) and is also contained in the Anuttarāśrayasūtra (Taishō 669, 474a–b). Except for minor differences in counting, this list is also found in TOK (see Brunnhölzl 2011b, 457–58). For the different list of these marks and their causes in Abhisamayālaṃkāra VIII.13–17, which is based on the prajñāpāramitā sūtras, see Brunnhölzl 2011b, 117–21 (for the eighty minor marks, see 121–25) and Brunnhölzl 2012a, 378–84 and 531–33 (for the minor marks, see 384–88 and 533–37). Except for a few minor changes in the order and some additional features, the Abhisamayālaṃkāra ’s list is basically repeated in Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī II.77–96, and II.98 adds that cakravartins also possess these marks but that their purity, beauty, and clarity matches not even a fraction of those of buddhas. Except for differences in the numbering, chapter 8 of the *Prajñāpāramitāśāstra (Taishō 1509, 90a–91a) ascribed to Nāgārjuna also follows the list in the Abhisamayālaṃkāra¨. For a comparison of the list in the Uttaratantra with the lists in Haribhadra’s Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā and the Mahāvyutpatti, see the notes in Takasaki 1966a on the translation of Uttaratantra III.17–25. For the most detailed presentations of the major marks apart from the prajñāpāramitā sūtras, see the Lakkhaṇasutta (Dīgha Nikāya III.142–79; translated in Walshe 1995, 441–60 and Tan 2011, 180–213; the latter also provides an overview of mainly Pāli sources of both the major and minor marks and discusses the potential Babylonian origin of the former) and the Arthaviniścayasūtra (Samtani 2002, 205–16), which however lists thirty-three marks. See also the Lalitavistarasūtra ([Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1983], 1:155–56), the Mahāvyutpatti (section 17, nos. 236–67; translated in Thurman 1976, 156), and Pawo Tsugla Trengwa’s commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra (Dpa’ bo gtsug lag phreng ba n.d., 720–23).
Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.
Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.
Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.

[1] Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input

[2] Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input

[3] Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.

[4] VT (fol. 15v1) adds that the hands are likewise marked with wheels.

[5] Skt. aṅguli means both fingers and toes, and the following phrase "hands and feet" indicates both.

[6] According to VT (fol. 15v1), "shoulders"refers to both arms and legs, thus obviously to shoulders and hips.

[7] Skt. anunnāma, DP mtho dman med pa.

[8] According to VT (fol. 15v2), the throat has lines like a conch.

[9] According to VT (fol. 15v2), there are twenty teeth each in the upper and lower jaws.

[10] According to VT (fol. 15v2), none are longer or shorter (lit. "high and low").

[11] Ordinarily, kalaviṅka is a name of the red-green Indian sparrow and the Indian cuckoo alike. In Buddhist texts, however, it is usually considered as a mythical bird with the head of a human (a bodhisattva) and the body of a bird, which already sings marvelously before it breaks its shell. It is often said to live in Amitabha’s pure land Sukhāvatī.

[12] In Hindu cosmology, this is the son of Mahāpuruṣa, the latter being the primeval man as the soul and original source of the universe. Also, Nārāyaṇa is variously identified as Brahmā, Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa.

[13] Obviously, the numerical breakdown of the marks into thirty-two in these verses is far from being clear, so different commentaries give different numberings and combine certain features into one (for the list of thirty-two and their causes in GC and RYC, which is based on the Ratnadārikāsūtra, see the note on III.17–25 in CMW). Note also that this list here is just one from among a considerable number of more or less differing lists of the thirty-two marks that are found in various sūtras and treatises (for comprehensive lists, see Xing 2002, 27 and Tan 2011, 146–62). Also, the comments on them and their causes vary in different texts. Despite claims to the contrary, there is no evidence that the major marks (or the minor marks) are of Brahmanic origin or even of early Buddhist origin (all Buddhist sources are quite late; see Tan 2011). As indicated below in the Uttaratantra, its list of the thirty-two major marks (which includes some marks that the Abhisamayālaṃkāra presents as minor marks) is based on the Ratnadārikāparipṛcchāsūtra (Taishō 397, 37b–c) and is also contained in the Anuttarāśrayasūtra (Taishō 669, 474a–b). Except for minor differences in counting, this list is also found in TOK (see Brunnhölzl 2011b, 457–58). For the different list of these marks and their causes in Abhisamayālaṃkāra VIII.13–17, which is based on the prajñāpāramitā sūtras, see Brunnhölzl 2011b, 117–21 (for the eighty minor marks, see 121–25) and Brunnhölzl 2012a, 378–84 and 531–33 (for the minor marks, see 384–88 and 533–37). Except for a few minor changes in the order and some additional features, the Abhisamayālaṃkāra ’s list is basically repeated in Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī II.77–96, and II.98 adds that cakravartins also possess these marks but that their purity, beauty, and clarity matches not even a fraction of those of buddhas. Except for differences in the numbering, chapter 8 of the *Prajñāpāramitāśāstra (Taishō 1509, 90a–91a) ascribed to Nāgārjuna also follows the list in the Abhisamayālaṃkāra¨. For a comparison of the list in the Uttaratantra with the lists in Haribhadra’s Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā and the Mahāvyutpatti, see the notes in Takasaki 1966a on the translation of Uttaratantra III.17–25. For the most detailed presentations of the major marks apart from the prajñāpāramitā sūtras, see the Lakkhaṇasutta (Dīgha Nikāya III.142–79; translated in Walshe 1995, 441–60 and Tan 2011, 180–213; the latter also provides an overview of mainly Pāli sources of both the major and minor marks and discusses the potential Babylonian origin of the former) and the Arthaviniścayasūtra (Samtani 2002, 205–16), which however lists thirty-three marks. See also the Lalitavistarasūtra ([Berkeley: Dharma Publishing, 1983], 1:155–56), the Mahāvyutpatti (section 17, nos. 236–67; translated in Thurman 1976, 156), and Pawo Tsugla Trengwa’s commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra (Dpa’ bo gtsug lag phreng ba n.d., 720–23).

[14] Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.

[15] Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.

[16] Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.

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