Introduction
i.1The Verses of Nāga King Drum is a short sūtra composed entirely in verse, in which the Buddha recounts an episode from one of his former lives as a nāga king to illustrate and explain the importance of practicing patience and nonviolence in order to maintain harmony within the monastic community. The sūtra refers to a time when discord had broken out among the monastic saṅgha. This prompts the Buddha to outline the types of behavior that are worthy of someone who has adopted the religious life. His lesson takes the form of a parable from one of his previous lives as a righteous nāga king named Drum. The story recounts how King Drum, accompanied by his brother Tambour, set out in search of the Dharma, only to encounter the belligerent nāga Drumbeat, who proceeds to harass and verbally abuse the two brothers. Tambour is unable to withstand such ill treatment from someone he considers inferior and, in a burst of anger, makes plans to lay waste to Drumbeat’s city. However, King Drum intervenes with wise counsel as to why one should eschew violence at all costs and face belligerence with patience and wisdom. Tambour takes this message to heart, and his need for retaliation is assuaged. The Buddha concludes the sūtra by disclosing that in their past lives, he was King Drum, Ānanda was Tambour, and Devadatta was Drumbeat.
i.1《那迦王鼓經頌》是一部完全以偈頌形式組成的短經。在這部經中，佛陀講述了他前世作為那迦王的一段故事，用來說明和闡釋在僧伽共和內部修習忍耐和不害的重要性，以此維持僧伽的和諧。這部經文提及僧伽共和曾經出現過不和的時期。這促使佛陀列舉出那些值得採取出家生活的人應該遵循的行為準則。他的教誨採取了前世故事的形式，講的是他前世作為一位名叫鼓的正直那迦王的經歷。故事講述了鼓王與他的弟弟鼓聲一起踏上尋求法的旅程，卻在途中遭遇了好戰的那迦鼓音，後者對這兩位兄弟進行騷擾和謾罵。鼓聲無法忍受來自他認為低等者的這種惡劣對待，在盛怒之下，計畫要摧毀鼓音的城市。然而，鼓王以明智的勸告進行了干預，闡述了為什麼應該不惜一切代價避免暴力，以及應該如何以忍耐和智慧來面對他人的好戰行為。鼓聲聽進了這個教誨，他對報復的渴望也隨之平息。佛陀在經文的結尾披露，在他們的前世中，他曾是鼓王，阿難曾是鼓聲，提婆達多曾是鼓音。
i.2There are no known Sanskrit manuscripts or Chinese translations of this sūtra. As for the Tibetan translation, the text is found in Kangyur collections of different periods and is also recorded in the Denkarma and Phangthangma catalogs of Tibetan imperial translations. Thus, it appears that it was first translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as the Denkarma is dated to 812 ᴄᴇ. This provides us with the only information to date the Tibetan translation, as the text does not include a translators’ colophon. Hence, we do not know the names of the Tibetan translators and editors involved in the translation. This English translation was prepared based on the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
i.2這部經沒有已知的梵文手稿或中文譯本。至於藏文譯本，這部經文見於不同時期的甘珠爾藏經集合中，也記載在藏地皇帝時期譯本的丹噶瑪和邦唐瑪目錄中。因此，這部經似乎是在不遲於九世紀早期從梵文翻譯成藏文的，因為丹噶瑪的年代是西元812年。這提供了我們目前僅有的藏文譯本年代資訊，因為經文本身不包含譯者的跋文。因此，我們不知道參與翻譯和編輯的藏文譯者和編者的名字。這個英文譯本是根據德格版甘珠爾參考對勘本和斯托克宮版甘珠爾準備的。