The Great Serpent Apalala
(Greco-Buddhist Reconstructed Stories Series)

By Astalon

( Greco-Buddhist Reconstructed Stories is an adaptation of the known Buddhist stories from various Buddhist sutras and adapting into it known Greek elements. There is no large assumption jumps in attempting to reconstruct the stories. It is based solely upon known Greco-Buddhist syncretism )

( This story actually has many versions in various sutras and in popular stories outside the canons. This is story is about Apalala who is a powerful Great Serpent who was brought to the Buddha Dharma through the grace of the Buddha. This story combines elements from the more and well known popular stories of Apalala ( Chinese, Japanese and Thai versions ) and is also based around the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya. The Greek element is acknowledged. Note that the only consistent features in all these versions is that all versions agree that it took place in Bactria, that Vajrapani followed the Buddha, and that the serpent became a Buddhist. The difference lies in what instigated the Buddha to go to see Apalala in the first place. Also readers will note elements of conflict in this story. This exists in most popular versions though some versions states that Apalala got converted to Buddhism solely through deep intellectual and ethical discussion with the Buddha with no conflict involved. Others state that Apalala was happy to see the Buddha come and converted immediately. )

( Please note that the story Apalala is definitely not considered a historical canon either by the Mahayana or Theravada schools and is seen as fictional, mythical and allegorical. However this story is unique in that most Buddhist scholars and monks are convinced this story originated from Bactria and originated before the Buddhist schism to exist in written form as stories both in the Mahayana and Theravada traditions. This position the original story before it fragmented into many versions to have its origins from either the Greco-Bactrians or the Indo-Greeks!! )

It is said that when the Lord Buddha was residing in the city of Rohitaka he thought to himself late in the night.

“My Mahaparanirvana draws near. Even though I can delay my Mahaparanirvana by a few decades that still would not be enough time to save every being in this world from the cycle of suffering and woe. I must strive harder to bring the Buddha Dharma to more beings.”

Thinking thus the Lord Buddha went into deep meditation. While in deep meditation he noticed a conflagration from the home of the Gods, Olympus. Every so often in his mind’s eye he would see bolts of lightning lancing from the edge of Olympus and striking a place in far off Bactria.

Concerned about this the Buddha projected his mind to the plane of the Gods where he saw Zeus Indra standing at one corner of Olympus. In his right hand he held a vajra. The Buddha moved beside him and beheld the known world shrouded in the darkness of the night beneath him. Zeus Indra narrowed his eyes, raised up the vajra and flung the vajra down onto Earth whereupon the vajra would become a bolt of lightning and strike the far off location.

The Buddha glanced at the distance and saw a large serpent undulating through the air. It dodged the thunderbolt that Zeus Indra hurled at it before it flew into a cave around a tall hill.

“That Serpent Apalala!!” Zeus Indra said as he picked up another vajra, “For centuries that beast has been menacing quite a few towns and villages around Bactria. It has killed countless childrens, husbands, wives all for its own whimsical needs. Today it has done something totally intolerable. It sent a storm over a town and flooded it!! That beast has to be stopped.”

The Buddha through his powers as an Enlightened One watched as an entire town was flooded. He reached out to see if anyone was hurt but found that everyone got out from their homes on time and reached higher grounds before the water came.

Then the Buddha focused his attention on Apalala. The Tathagatha’s heart sank for the Great Serpent as he saw the Great Serpent past misdeeds and foresaw what will soon happen to the Great Serpent unless something is done urgently.

“Withold trying to strike down Apalala, oh Zeus Indra. I’ll go to the Great Serpent Apalala myself.” The Buddha said.

Zeus Indra glanced at him, surprised. “ The Great Serpent Apalala is a being of tremendous power Tathagatha. He’s both violent and unreasonable but also has great power. You should reconsider this.”

“I’ve Zeus Indra and I need to go to Great Serpent Apalala myself.”

The Buddha returned back to Rohitaka and walked out of his place of residence.

“You’re not leaving without me Tathagatha,” A might gust of wind billowed through the area Herakles Vajrapani swooped down from the heavens riding a mighty roc. “The entire Olympus knows that you’re planning to face Great Serpent Apalala. I’ll not let you Tathagatha go alone.”

The Buddha smiled and nodded and next thing they were soaring on the back of the roc over the Indus River, over the Kashmir and landed alongside a flooded town in Bactria. Overhead the rain was pouring. The citizens of the town looked on helplessly as their town is washed away by a river of water. Many were offering and praying at the altar of Zeus Indra begging for assistance.

“Herakles Vajrapani, can you stem the flood?” the Buddha said. Vajrapani nodded as he leapt off the roc and slammed his clublike vajra alongside the hill. The tremor dislodged a few boulders alongside the hill sending it into the river and damming up the river in the process. The roc then bolted skywards and pushed away the rain clouds with the beat of its wings.

The citizens cried out in the joy as the flood water started to recede. Thanking the Buddha and Herakles Vajrapani and thanking Zeus Indra they returned back to their town.

The Buddha and Herakles Vajrapani then soared on the back of the roc towards the hill that is the Great Serpent Apalala’s palace.

“Why is it oh Lord Buddha that you’re taking this drastic step to help the Great Serpent Apalala?” Herakles Vajrapani said as the roc swooped over one of Apalala’s handiwork, the ruins of a town with graves strewn around it.

“Millenias ago Herakles Vajrapani the being you call Apalala was a sage of great wisdom, compassion and knowledge. He was kind, he was caring. One day to put out a severe drought that was afflicting a kingdom he used his magical powers and summoned the rain. This hurt him badly and brought him to the brink of death. This he knew was the cost but he was willing to do it. However the king and the people were utterly ungrateful for his efforts and did not even so much as recompense him. In anger and in spite as he lay dying he used his magical powers to ensure that he would be reborn as the Great Serpent Apalala and ravage their cities and their crops.”

“Apalala when he became a Great Serpent was filled with hate towards the people of Bactria and with his tremendous power wreaked havoc, wreaked destruction and brought on suffering to the people. In fact his very first act as a Great Serpent was to shatter the city of the former king, which is the very hill we are heading to. Due to his most violent and bellicose nature the people unsurprisingly treats him very badly whenever he is not wreaking havoc but become subservient to him when he is wreaking havoc. This in turns fuel his delusion that only by wreaking havoc can he get any respect which fuels his hate further so he continues to wreak havoc. So the cycle of woe continues.”

“So you plan to rectify his delusion oh Tathagatha?”

“Eventually. However there are far more urgent issues than that for Apalala at the moment.” The Buddha said as the roc landed on Apalala’s hill.

The entire hillside shook as a muscular serpentine form long enough to encircle a very large building thrice erupted out of the ground, sending a shower of boulder and mud down on Herakles Vajrapani and the Lord Buddha. Herakles Vajrapani swung his vajra around and shattered any boulder or mud that were heading their way.

Apalala shrieked in anger as he showered down hate in the form of icy, sharp, and cold hailstones. The Buddha went into a Samadhi of loving kindness as the hailstones were converted into puffs of perfume that beautifully scented the air around them.

“The Buddha thinks that loving kindness can counter hate. Now let him fight hate with spite!” the Great Serpent Apalala roared as sharp blades of ice appeared around him and descended upon Herakles Vajrapani and the Lord Buddha.

The blades exploded into thousands of lotus blossoms gently descending onto the Earth.

“Even Herakles Vajrapani cannot fight what you cannot see.” Apalala said as he wove a dense fog of ignorance and blanketed both his opponents. However the fog soon thinned to mist and vanish as it came into contact with the Buddha who dissolve the fog through understanding.

“You should yourself reflect on your level of delusion oh Apalala”, the Buddha said as fog far denser and thicker than what Apalala could ever weave enveloped Apalala. In mid-air Apalala began to choke. “Oh Apalala, see how thick is your own ignorance, so thick even you begin to choke on it.”

Apalala realizing he was defeated retreated into his cavern under the hill.

“Can you shatter the hill, Herakles?” the Buddha asked. With three mighty strokes of his vajra the hill caved in, revealing a large cavern with a lake in the middle. Apalala, his long, scaly body undulating in the air darted into the lake.

“Enough of this Apalala, you must see the predicament you’ve put yourself in!!” the Buddha shouted as he entered the Samadhi of fire. The entire cavern, the entire hillside, the air itself was filled with fire. Tall gouts of flame ringed around the lake then advanced on it. The water soon boiled away and the Great Serpent Apalala was trapped between the flames.

The Buddha and Herakles Vajrapani walked through the flame, totally unharmed, towards Apalala. “Oh Apalala behold the flames of your hate made visible, it is enough to consume and destroy you Apalala and quite honestly so it has.”

“Apalala, if you do not change your ways immediately you will assuredly be reborn in Avici Tartarus and suffer in unbelievable and indescribable suffering for another ten thousand years. If you should commit just one more misdeed, one more ill you will have enough cause to bring forth a consequence that will lead to your immediate demise. And no that does not need one of Zeus Indra’s thunderbolt, you will die solely because your Serpent body is unable to contain another misdeed, another ill. Even as we speak your Serpent body is decaying under the burden of ill.”

“If you Apalala die with the burden of ill you now have only Avici Tartarus awaits you. Your hate and misdeeds will both drag you to Avici Tartarus.”

“Nothing can be worse than this!” The Great Serpent Apalala said as his scales are burnt by the flames and he is wracked by pain.

“To a being in Avici Tartarus oh Apalala what you are experiencing now is celestial bliss!!”

Apalala, his eyes now terrified cried. “Oh Lord Buddha, please let me take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.”

“It is so done, but you Apalala must now promise that you will never harm any being, not even one other being for so long as you live in this Naga form. Furthermore you must repair the damage you’ve caused to others. And above all, you must cultivate loving-kindness within your heart. Do you accept these?”

The Serpent Apalala assented and bowed before the Buddha, seeking refuge in the Triple Gems and went immediately to restore the crops of the town he has destroyed.

Though initially the Great Serpent Apalala was treated with great suspicion the more the Great Serpent Apalala helped the people in Bactria the more people warmed to him. Though his motivation to change was initially driven by fear of Avici Tartarus the Great Serpent Apalala learnt that what he had always wanted was acceptance from the people. The more he helped, the more he was accepted, the more he felt loving kindness towards the people the more he was willing to help and the more loving kindness was returned to him by the people.

The Great Serpent Apalala for the remainder of his days continued to love and was loved by the people of Bactria.

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