YOUTHFUL (a) PLAY # AREA III The Realm of the Four Great Kings This has two topics: (i) Palaces, and (ii) Places on mountains (i) Palaces This has four topics: A Measuring the sun and moon, B The way they function, C Distinctions of season that depend upon them, and D The reason the m oon waxes and wanes A Measuring the sun an d m o o n This has two points The altitude o f the sun a n d m o o n 60a The sun and m oon are at mid Meru, T he sun and m oon are at the m iddle o f M ount Meru: they orbit at the same altitude as the peaks o f the Yoke Holder mountains The sizes o f the sun a n d m o o n 60b Fifty plus one in diameter The orb o f the m oon is fifty leagues and the orb o f the sun is fifty plus one, or fifty-one, leagues in diameter They are i leagues in-depth The moon is made from water crystal, and the sun from fire crystal Their shapes are fine and lovely to behold, and they are inhabited by the divine children Sun and M oon, who have great wealth, and their entourages The largest o f the stars are eighteen earshots156 and the smallest are one earshot in size B The way they function 60cd So midnight, sunset, and midday And sunrise are at the same time So the way a single sun and single moon function in all four continents is that m idnight in N orthern Unpleasant Sound, sunset in Eastern Superior Body, and m idday in the Rose-Apple Land, and sunrise in Bountiful Cow are all at the same time In the same way, when it is m idnight in the east, it is sunset in the south, noon in the west, and dawn in the north, and so forth; the order of times is related in this way C Distinctions o f season that d e p e n d upon them This has three points 264 THE WORLD THAT CONTAINS BEINGS W h en day length changes 61 After the second rainy m onth’s N inth day of waxing, nights grow longer And then in the fourth m onth of autum n, Grow shorter Days are the reverse From a commentary: The seasons, for Buddhists, are first autum n, second spring, and third rains The autum n, spring, and summer m entioned here each have four months The four autum n m onths are Asvina, Karttika, Margaslrsa, and Paisa The four spring months are Magha, Phalguna, Caitra, and Vaisakha T he four rainy months are Jyestha, Asadha, Sravana, and Bhadra The first autum n m onth, Asvina, begins on the day following the full moon of the eighth m onth o f the Tibetan calendar,157 and continues one m onth until the next full moon It is followed by the second autum n m onth, Karttika, and then Margaslrsa and so forth in order In this tradition, the waning phase is presented as the first half o f the m onth, and the waxing phase the second The m onth of Jyestha begins from day after the full m oon of the middle Tibetan summer m onth (May-June) and continues until the full m oon of the last Tibetan summer m onth From the day after that full m oon until the full m oon o f the first Tibetan m onth of autum n is the second m onth of rains or the rains, the m onth o f Asadha O n the eighth day of its last half or waxing phase, the days are eighteen hours long and the nights twelve hours long.158 After the second rainy m o nths nin th day o f the waxing phase of the moon, the nights grow longer and the days grow shorter From the commentary: The nights grow longer from the ninth day of the wax ing phase o f the second rainy m onth Asadha And then on the eighth day o f the last half in the fourth m o nth o f autum n, the sun reverses, and from the ninth day nights grow shorter The days are the reverse o f that and grow longer From the commentary: From the ninth day o f the last half o f the fourth of the winter months they grow shorter, it is said: this is from the ninth day o f the waxing phase o f the second spring m onth 265 YOUTHFUL PLAY * AREA III The a m o u n t it changes by 62a The days or nights by minutes lengthen T he days or nights by the duration o f m inutes lengthen The duration of a m inute is i / 900th o f the length o f a day and night According to the Kalachakra, it is the duration o f the inhalation, holding, and exhalation of twenty-four breaths T hat is explained as four moments, so in each m om ent there are six breaths Position o f the sun in the sky 62b It s as the sun moves south or north It is as the sun moves to the south that the nights lengthen or as it moves no rth that the days lengthen D The reason the m o o n waxes a n d wanes 62cd From moving too close to the sun, M oon shades itself with its own shadow W hat causes the moon to wane? you ask From the house of the moon moving too close to the house o f the sun, the light of the sun falls on the m oon and the m oons own shadow falls on the opposite side, so it appears as if the mandala shades itself w ith its own shadow and wanes, it is said, like a candle and a pillar (ii) Places on mountains This has two topics: A An explanation o f the terraces on the Supreme M ountain, and B W hich gods live on which mountains A An explanation o f the terraces on the S up rem e M o u n tain 63 O n that there are four terraces, The distance between which is ten thousand, Extending sixteen thousand leagues, And eight, four, and two thousand leagues O n this Supreme M ountain there are four terraces, the distance between which is ten thousand leagues As for the distance they extend out, the first extends out by sixteen thousand leagues, and the second by eight thousand, and also the third by four thousand, and the fourth by two thousand leagues 266 THE WORLD THAT CONTAINS BEINGS The terraces start from the base, so they come up to the middle o f the Supreme M ountain B W hich gods live on w hich m ountains This has two points W hich live on the S u p rem e M ountain 64a-d The Basin Holders, Garland Holders, The Always Intoxicated, and The gods of the Four Great Kings’ Realm Live there O n the first o f these terraces live the yakshas called the Basin Holders O n the second live the G arland Holders, on the third the Always Intoxicated, and the gods o f the Four Great Kings’ Realm live there on the fourth: Dhritarashta in the East, Virudhaka in the South, Virupaksha in the West and Vaishravana in the North, along with the gods in their retinues W hich live on the seven gold m ountains 64d and in seven m ountain ranges The cities and villages of these gods are also in the seven m ountain ranges of Yoke Holder and so forth The class o f gods of the Four Great Kings is much more numerous than the other classes either individually or together The Realm of the Thirty-Three This has three topics: (i) General teaching, (ii) Describing the location o f the Vajra-Holders, and (iii) An extensive expla nation o f the Realm o f the Thirty-Three (b) (i) General teaching 65ab O n M eru’s peak is Thirty-Three, Each side of which is eighty thousand O n M ount M erus peak is the Heaven o f the T hirty-T hree, each side o f which, just like M ount Meru, is eighty thousand leagues, for a perimeter of 320,000 leagues 67 YOUTHFUL PLAY * AREA III (ii) Describing the location of the Vajra Holders 65cd O n peaks in each of its four corners There dwell the Vajra-Holder yakshas O n four peaks that have a height of 500 leagues in each o f its— the Supreme M ountain’s— four corners, there dwell the Vajra-Holder yakshas in order to protect the careless gods (iii) An extensive explanation of the Realm of the Thirty-Three This has two topics: A The city, and B The groves A The city This has two points The city in general 66 The central city Lovely to Behold, Twenty-five hundred leagues per side, Has golden ground of one and half Leagues deep; it is soft and variegated In the center of the ground on the top of the Supreme M ountain is the city of the god Sakra called Lovely to Behold It has twenty-five hundred leagues per side, and has golden ground o f one and one half leagues deep It is soft to the touch and variegated with one hundred hues Indra's palace 67ab W ithin is Utterly Conquering, W ith sides two hundred fifty leagues W ithin the center of that city is the palace o f Sakra,159 Utterly Conquering It is made out o f various precious substances and is lovely to behold Elevated four and one half leagues, its glory is greater than any other’s and it overwhelms all Each of its sides are two hundred fifty leagues, for a perimeter o f one thou sand leagues B The groves This has four points 268 ... th day o f the waxing phase of the moon, the nights grow longer and the days grow shorter From the commentary: The nights grow longer from the ninth day of the wax ing phase o f the second rainy... longer From the commentary: From the ninth day o f the last half o f the fourth of the winter months they grow shorter, it is said: this is from the ninth day o f the waxing phase o f the second... Position o f the sun in the sky 62b It s as the sun moves south or north It is as the sun moves to the south that the nights lengthen or as it moves no rth that the days lengthen D The reason the m