Indra's Sermon to the Gods and the Talk of Rama's Love

Seated on his throne, Rama hears that Lakshmana's eight sons and Hanuman have become munis (monks). He laughs and marvels that, having hardly tasted the pleasures of human life, they gave them up so young to sit in detached meditation, and he calls them blessed. Though Rama is a samyagdrishti (one of right faith) and wise, the karma that clouds conduct keeps him among worldly pleasures, and he and Lakshmana go on ruling justly.

One day Saudharma Indra takes his jewelled lion throne amid the Samanika gods, who are like elders, the Lokapalas, who are like guardians of the regions, the Trayastrimsha gods, who are like ministers, and all the other gods, shining among them like the moon among the stars. The text notes that the sun and moon are only Jyotishi (luminary) gods, that the gods of heaven outshine them and Indra outshines all, and that hundreds of human tongues could not describe his throne and court.

The Lokapalas who sit near Indra will fall from heaven, become munis and win liberation. The sixteen heavens have twelve Indras, each with four Lokapalas who are ekabhavatari (bound to only one more birth); six of the Indras, Saudharma, Sanatkumara, Lantava, Shatara, Anata and Arana, are also ekabhavatari and will be born as men and reach moksha (liberation), as will Shachi the Indrani, the Laukantika gods of the fifth heaven and the Ahamindras of Sarvarthasiddhi.

Expounding the scriptures to the listening gods, Indra urges them to offer the flowers of their devotion to the Arhat, lord of the world, and teaches that the sight of the akritrima (uncreated, eternal) Jina temples shatters mithyatva (false belief). He counts them: 77,200,000 in the lower world beneath the Chitra earth, and 458 in the middle world, namely 80 on the five Sumerus, 20 on the Gajadanta ranges, 10 on the Jambu and Shalmali trees, 170 on the Vijayardha ranges, 80 on the Vakshara mountains, 30 on the Kulachalas, 4 on the Ishvakara ranges, 4 on Manushottara, 52 on Nandishvara island, 4 on Ruchakagiri and 4 on Kundalagiri.

The upper world holds 8,497,023: 3,200,000 in Saudharma, 2,800,000 in Aishana, 1,200,000 in Sanatkumara, 800,000 in Mahendra, 400,000 in Brahma and Brahmottara, 50,000 in Lantava and Kapishtha, 40,000 in Shukra and Mahashukra, 6,000 in Shatara and Sahasrara, 700 in Anata, Pranata, Arana and Achyuta, 111 in the lower Graiveyakas, 107 in the middle, 91 in the upper, 9 in the Anudishas and 5 in the Anuttara vimanas. Made by no one and never to perish, each has 108 jewelled images in 108 inner shrines with the eight auspicious objects, each 108 in number, and worshipping them brings right faith and in time liberation.

Indra praises the Vitaraga (passionless) Lord, whom the gods carry to Sumeru at his birth and bathe with 1,008 pitchers of water from the Ocean of Milk, and who left the bride that is the earth to win the bride that is siddhahood. He is called by many names, Arhat, Svayambhu, Sugata, Mahadeva, Hiranyagarbha, Ishvara, Maheshvara, Brahma, Vishnu, Dharmachakri, Paramatma, Tirthankara and more; Indras, Dharanendras and Chakravartis sing his praise, devotion to him frees the soul from karma, and so Indra urges the gods to enthrone the Jina in their hearts.

Shame on those, he says, who gain the rare human birth and yet neither meditate on the Arhat nor take the vows he taught. Through false austerities some become lowly gods of the Bhavanatrika (the three lower classes of gods) and then fall into immobile one-sensed births, and such lesser gods, seeing the splendour of the great ones, lament that as humans in the middle world they ignored the Arhat's path; shame too on those who write false scriptures and lead souls astray. Even great gods suffer the agony of falling from heaven and of losing those they love, so blessed are those who use their human birth for the soul's good.

Indra longs for the day when his heavenly life will end and, born a man, he will conquer the senses and win liberation through austerity. A god replies that everyone in heaven says so but forgets after gaining a human birth: Brahmendra, the Indra of the fifth heaven, has now become Ramachandra, and though he spoke just like this in heaven, he does not even think of renunciation now.

Indra answers that of all bonds the bond of affection is the strongest: one bound hand, foot and neck may yet be freed, but not one bound by love. Rama loves Lakshmana more than his own life, cannot bear to lose sight of him for a moment and is never sated with seeing him, so how could he leave him and renounce; such is the strangeness of karma that even the wise grow foolish through attachment, and even Rama, who has heard all his past lives, does not pursue his own good. Hearing this sermon, the gods grow pure in mind and, fearing birth, old age and death, long for a human birth in which to win liberation.