Legends, Images and Descriptions of Dragons in Ancient India and Buddhism

内容院根据印度古代两大史诗之一的叶罗摩衍那曳与印度古代最著名的法典叶摩奴法典曳的记载,印度古代传说中的野龙冶住在地狱里,其形象是人面、蛇尾、蛇长颈的半神,地位低于摩奴、大神、大仙等,并没被特殊尊崇遥但是,佛教出现之后,将古代印度传说中的野天冶、野龙冶等都吸收进来,编为野天龙八部冶,成为佛教的重要护法遥随着佛教的兴盛,印度野龙冶的特征与传说也越来越丰富多样,如九龙吐水、龙象等都极大地丰富了印度野龙冶的艺术具象遥其中,佛经中佛陀诞生的故事最初只有摩尼宝珠的譬喻,而无九龙吐水的情节遥但是据一些佛教经典记载,摩尼宝珠仅为龙王所拥有,并且伴随着龙王一起出现遥以此,九龙吐水的情节可能在较晚时期被添加到佛陀诞生故事中遥此外,龙象并不是大象,而是龙,是指犹如大象一般力大无穷的龙遥龙象这一概念也是在佛教兴起后产生与发展起来的.@@@@According to ancient Indian epic The Ramayana and The Laws of Manu, "dragons"lived in the hell. Depicted as demigods with human faces, snake tails and long snake necks, they were lower in status to manus, manitos and great immortals, and received no special worship. After the emergence of Buddhism, the eight races of non-human entities, including Deva (Heaven) and Naga (Dragon), became important guardians of Buddhism. With the thriving of Buddhism, there were more and more descriptions of and legends about dragons, such as "nine dragons spouting water"and"dragon-elephants." However, at first there was only the metaphor of the Moni bead in the story of birth of the Buddha in Buddha Sutras. According to some Buddhist classics, the Moni bead belonged to the Dragon King and only appeared with him. Therefore, the scene of"nine dragons spouting water"might be added to the story at a later time. Besides, "dragon-elephants" are not elephants, but dragons as powerful as elephants. The concept of"dragon-elephants"emerged and evolved after the rise of Buddhism, too.0114-1