Who Is Byan Chub Rdzu Phrul

Author(s): Ernst Steinkellner
Publisher: Ernst Steinkellner

Page 9

E. Steinkellner
Samdhinirmocanasūtra
In several recent semantical studies, especially by MACDONALD and STEIN, it has been shown that both parts of this name, byan chub and rdzu 'phrul, refer to essential aspects of the nature of the Tibetan king.27 They evoke his nature as Bodhisattva and his magical, supernatural powers respectively and served in this function as a part of the king's title. While the compound with the term 'phrul would evoke very old associations28 (suffice it to mention the title 'phrul gyi lha btsan po29) the first compound seems to have only a Buddhist meaning. And for a combination of these two compounds in the king's titles we have only one inscriptional piece of evidence, namely the title 'phrul gyi lha byan chub chen po in an inscription of Khri Sron lde btsan.30 This is of course not the same as the combination Byan chub rdzu 'phrul, but the difference seems to be only gradual: the original title appositions to the king's name may have developed into a veritable name of the king. But in this case we would assume that both compounds were already meant with their full Buddhist connotations, i.e. "enlightenment" (bodhi) and "supernatural yogic powers" (rddhi), to designate a Buddhist king by showing that he has gained the crown of insight and is in control of the necessary means to act and rule accordingly.
That Byan chub rdzu 'phrul may really be considered as a name for the king Khri Sron lde btsan is corroborated by Bu ston. In his Tanjur catalogue in a note on our Vyākhyāna we find the lha btsan po Byan chub rdzu 'phrul as the author of the bKa'yan dag pa'i tshad ma (TK[Bu) 633,7) a few lines after this work itself has been listed as composed (mdzad pa) by the king (rgyal po) Khri Sron lde btsan (TK(Bu) 633,3f.).31 And in Bu ston's Chos bsgyur dkar chag, within the quotation from the 'Phan thar list of Tibetan works, the bKa' yan dag pa'i tshad ma is listed among the works of the btsan po Khri Sron Ide btsan (NISHIOKA 2900), while in the discussion on the authorship of our
27 MACDONALD 1971, pp. 335ff., 348; STEIN 1973, pp. 417-422; STEIN 1981, passim,
particularly pp. 260ff., 269, 273f.; STEIN 1983, pp. 167 (n. 32), 186f.; RICHARDSON
1985, p. 39 (n. 2). 28 TUCCI 1950, n. 38; MACDONALD 1971, pp. 335ff. 29 Cf. the studies mentioned above (n. 24, 25) and, e.g. RICHARDSON 1985, p. 38,
1.16. 30 RICHARDSON 1985, p. 40, 11.33f. 31 This is repeated in sGra tshad pa's catalogue; cf. TK(sGra) 564,2 and 563,6.
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