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UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
WILLIAM H. DONNER COLLECTION
purchased from a gift by
THE DONNER CANADIAN FOUNDATION
THE
SANSKRIT BUDDHIST LITERATURE)
I? A. L.
BY
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RAJENDRALALA MITRA,) LL. D., 0. I. E.
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"51821
CALCUTTA :
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PRINTED BY J. W. THOMAS, BAPTIST MitihlOTS PBEBS,
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AN]) 1'UJ'T.ISHED BY
THE ASTATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, 57, PAKK STKKKT. -> "
1882.
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PREFACE.
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} " \ Englishman
About sixty years ago a young Englishman, placed by the exigencies of public service amidst strangers in an ] inhospitable and till then little-known clime, occupied him- , self in collecting materials, which have since afforded the
to the religion of one-fifth of the human race. That
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was Brian Houghton Hodgson, and a brief notice of his career in India may not be out of place here.
Born at the close of the last century, he entered the Bengal Civil Service as a writer on April 30, 1818. According to the rules of the Service at the time* he had, on his arrival at Calcutta, on August following, to attend for a year the College of Port William, and pass through the usu^l course of training there. His career at the College was a highly satisfactory one, and he distinguished himself greatly by his zeal, assiduity and successful sti^dy of the Persian language. On August 20, 1819, he wa& appointed
Assistant to the Commissioner of Kumaon, which office he t
exchanged, oix the following year, for that of Assistant fo the Resident of Kathniandu. His services in these two offices were well-spoken of, and in two years (November 23, 1822) he was promoted to the Eoreigii Office, as Officiating Deputy Secretary in the Persian Department. At the be- ginning of 1824 he returned to Kathmandu to assume charge' 'of the, Post Offic3 'there ; but he did not hold it long. In. March 1825, he reverted to « his former office of Assistant to the Resident) which he held till he was himself appointed Resident in January 1833. His career as a Resident ex- tended from that time to the close of 1813, when he retired
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from the Service. His sojourn in Nepal thus* extend ec\ over f a period of twenty-one years. In 1848, he returned to India, and lived for nine years at Darjiling as a private resident, engaged in literary and scientific pursuits. r
Gifted with intellectual powers of the highest order, thoroughly well educated, and possessing indomitahle energy, Mr. Hodgson was always most laudably employed, and the result of his labours placed him in th« foremost rank as an accomplished man of letters and a highly successful cultivator of science in India.
Of his services to Government no notice need be tajcen here. Suffi€e it to say that he repeatedly received cordial, thanks for them, and all along enjoyed the fullest confidence of his employers. To him. is especially due the credit of frustrating, at a very critical period, the intrigues which werQ being carried on for the overthrow of English supre- macy in India by the Sikhs, the Sindhians, and the Mar- hattas during the first Afghan war when the country was denuded of British troops. During tli£ years 1838 tp 1842 he was instrumental in intercepting twenty-three missions from Kathmandu to the plains, and in holding back the j\epal«IDurbar from avenging the defeat it had sustained in 1816. His wisdom, tact, influence, and judicidiis manage- rftent also contributed largely to secure foe the British Government the cooperation of Nepalese soldiers during the Mutiny of. -1857-58.
His literary labours may be noticed under7 two heads : first, ] Vhat were undertaken for Government ; second, what were t 'rendered to the republic of letters. Under the first head come the various memoirs and reports which he submitted to Govern-- ment in his official capacity, t The ordinary round of duties . (\tvol vfng on an Assistant in an Indian embassy is limited enough ; but an officer in a foreign Court has many opportu- nities of collecting and digesting valuable information, and
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Mr. Hodgson utilised them to the utmost. While working as Assistant to the Resident, his attention was first directed to the military organisation of Nepal, and his studies resulted in two memoirs giving details regarding the then existing force of the Nepal Durbar, the military tribes and races from which it was drawn, their tribal names and classifica- tion, their physical and moral qualities as soldiers, their pay and discipline, as also the manufacture of their arms and ammunitions. He closed his memoirs with the suggestion that the British. Government should obtain through the Durbar the services of a large body of the Gurkha soldiery, so as, on the one hand, to reduce the chances of collision with Nepal, and, on the other, to remove the homogeniety of the Bengal army. The memoirs were very favourably received, and elicited the hearty thanks of Government ; but the suggestion was not acted upon until many years after.
Mr. Hodgson next turned his attention to the com-
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merce of Nepal with the people of the plains on this side, and with those of Central Asia and China on the other. Eor some time before the first Nepal war this commerce was extensive, and Mr. Hodgson's object, in the papers he wrote on the subject, was to furnish practical directions, routes and, details about travelling, and customhouse charges, with a view to revive that commerce, and divert the people from their warlike propensities. The topographical and statistical information compiled in those papers, was of high importance, comprising as they did translations of some old itineraries from Kathmandu to Darjiling, and of all principal military routes in the valley of Nepal.
The legal administration of the country also found in him an able and most faithful historiographer. The administration was purely Hindu, absolutely untouched oy foreign influence for several centuries, and in it he very justly recognised the outcome of ancient Indian Bralmianic
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laws developed by Indian administrators. 'His essay on this subject appeared in the Researches of the Asiatic 'Society of Bengal, and for the first time gave to Europeans a faithful and complete picture of the social condition of the people of Nepal. The opinion of the Bengal Government on this report was thus expressed — " This subject is one which
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possesses much interest, whether for tne legislator, the his- torian, or the philosopher. In Hindustan we look in vain for any traces of Hindu legislation or government. r The Moslem conquerors have everywhere swept them away. And if we wish to enquire what are the features of , the Hindu system of Jurisprudence and Judicature it is in Nepal we must seek for the answer. Mr. Hodgson is the first who has enabled us to obtain a precise and definative view of the subject. His information was transmitted to
the Governor- General, and the Governor- General deemed it
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of sufficient importance to authorise its publication."
During his sojourn in Nepal Mr. Hodgson was greatly impressed by the evils which resulted from the borders oJP the Nepal territory, serving as an Alsatia to the criminal classes of India. The weakly governed dominion of the king taf Otidh was a rich field of adventure for men. of this class, and when hard-pressed^they always fou*n4 a secure asylum in those borders. Nor were their operations confined to Oudh. Well-organised parties sallied forth from the Terai every year, and committed depredations over the whole of India, as far as Dakkhan, returning from tlieir expeditions, j icavily laden with booty, during the rains when Thuggi ^md highway robbery were the least productive. Before devising means for the suppression of the evil, Mr. Hodgson deemed it <-\'l><'di<Mit to coUect information from the robbers themselves aii(lL()1Iicrs raniiliar with the subject, and compiled a large mass of authentic depositions and facts for which he received the most cordial acknowledgments of Government. They
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ultimately, but after some delay, led to the establishment of the Thuggi Department, which has completely broken up the Organized bands of robbers which had been for a long time the opprobrium of every civilized Government in India. The next subject to which reference should be made is Indian Education, The battle fought between the Anglicists and the ^Orientalists during the administration of Lord William Bentinck, was of too stirring a character to escape the notice of Mr. Hodgson. Remarkable alike for the force and massiveness of his intellect and for his disinterestedness and devotion to the well-being of the people^ of this country, he plunged into it with characteristic intrepidity. But he joined neither the Anglicists led by Lord William Bentinck, Mr. Macaulay, Mr, Trevelyan and Dr. Duff, nor the Orientalists who were represented by Dr. Wilson, Dr. Tytler, Mr. Thoby Prinsep and Mr. John
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Colvin. He could not for a moment believe that the English language could under any circumstance be made the vernacular of the two hundred ami forty millions of India, and he cherished equal doubts about the fitness of the Sanskrit and the Arabic languages for the every-day use of the various nationalities and races who inhabit > this Vast country. He adopted, therefore, a middle course. Without detracting from, the merits of the English language and-» of the ancient classics as instruments of intellectual culture for the select few, he held that education to b'e effectual for the masses m>ust be imparted through the medium of the current vernaculars. In Europe vernacular languages » had achieved wonderful success. They had dispelled 'the « impervious gloom 4,5of the Middle Ages, and inaugurated an era of widespread intellectual enlightenment, the like of which the world had never before seen; and ha urged thai', under similar circumstances, the vernaculars of India were well able to accomplish the same object. This via media,
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however, did not commend itself to men's minds at the' time. People in power then were so wedded to their extreme opinions that they could not listen to what ,appearefd to them to be a mere compromise, and the admirable letters in which Mr. Hodgson put forth his views in" the columns of the local newspapers and afterwards published in book-form Avere to a great extent neglected by tlidm. But the letters did not fail to attract the attention of persons who had " not fallen in with the theories of the two contending parties, and the testimony borne by these regarding the soundness of his arguments, must have been a source of great satisfac- tion to the learned author. In a letter to the Political Agent at Bhopal, in 1838, the late Dr. John Wilson, of Bombay, than whom, few could speak with greater emphasis on questions relating to Indian education, remarked — " Mr. Hodgson's advocacy of the vernaculars is most powerful and convincing. They must be the medium of the regeneration of India, as they have been such of every country ba r'the face of the globe." In the same year the official Report on Education in Bengal (p. 200) contained the following : " No one has more earnestly urged the duty of communica- ting'^ uropean knowledge to the natives than Mr. Hodgson ; no one has more powerfully shown . the importance of employing the vernacular languages for accomplishing that object ; no one has more eloquently illustrated the necessity of conciliating the learned and making them our coadjutors in the great work of a nation's regeneration." Eive years al'tcr, in his address to the Medical College of Calcutta, Professor Sir William O'Shauglmessy said — " The progress of the principles of Normal and Vernacular. Education canngt now be checked. These facts (see his address to the«Medical
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C» I !<"_;<> stuctents) have deprived the anti-vernacular party
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of even a pretext for advocating the exclusive use either of EimTish or <>!' the learned native tongues. Let those who
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wish well to India, and desire to see its inhabitants flourish in knowledge, visit the secondary schools of the new Medi- cal College, and they will see the first fruits of the Normal- system. I have, felt it an imperative duty to publish these important facts. It is the only contribution I can offer to the measures of the eminent and wise philanthropist under whose auspices normal instruction is now claiming public support." Truth once put forth can never be lost, and it is gratifying to notice that for the last thirty years Mr. Hodg- son's opinion has been very widely accepted, and much has already been done in India to accord to the vernaculars their ^ight place in the curriculum of education.
The next question of local value to which Mr. Hodgson addressed himself was the fitness of the Himalaya mountains for the settlement of Europeans. He had watched with lively interest the introduction of tea-planting at Darjiling, and knowing how intimately that industry was connected with th&t'Of European colonization in this country, he came to the conclusion that, though the plains wquld not, and could not, be inhabited permanently by Englishmen, no objection would apply to the hills, and if adequate and remunerative occupa- tions could be found for them there, the problem vgould at once be sojved. The then lieutenant- Governor of Bengal was struck"' by this opinion, and desired Mr. Hodgson to, furnish him with a memorandum thereon. The report furnished pleased him much, and " he ordered its publica- tion along with jsorne of the author's previous Essays to make up an entire number of the ' Selections from the , Records.' No. XXVII was the result, whereby most of the aforementioned papers, though in themselves hardly official, became -so by adoption."
The papers above noticed form but a ' small fraction of the writings" of Mr. Hodgson. A keen observer, master of a facile pen, and enthusiastically devoted to study, he neg-
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lected no opportunity of taking notes of ail that appeared . before him, e whether performed by man or produced by .nature ;' and his writings are as varied as they .are yolumirfous, bearing the most satisfactory evidence of f his ardent zeal, unremitting industry, and profound learningf Man formed the central figure of his study, and he devoted a great part of his time to researches into the elucidation of the ethnic relations, the languages, the ancient history, the literatures, and the handicrafts of the different tribes of men who fell under his observation. His ethnologicial papers* include
* The following is a list of the papers: —
1. On the Languages, Literature, and Keligion of the Baud3has of Nepal and Bhot. As. Res. vol. XVI.
2. On the Aborigines of the Sub-Himalayas. Jour. A. S. B. vols. XVI.
3. Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas, ib., vol. XVII, p. I.
4. On the Chepang and Kusunda Tribes of Nepal, ib., vol. XVII.
6. Comparative Vocabulary of the Languages of the broken rtribes of N'epal, ib., vols. XXVI and XXVII.
6. On the several Dialects of the Kiranti language, ib., vol. XX^/ If *'
7. Vayu Vocabulary, ib., vol. XXVI. <
8. Vayu Grammar, ib,, vol*XXVI. *
9. Bahing Vocabulary, ib., vol. XXVI.
10. Grammar of the Bahing dialect, ib., vol. XXVII.
lli Origin and Classification of the Military Tribes of Nepal, ib., vol. II.
12. Classification of the Newafs ; or Peofje" of Ne,pal Proper, ib. IQ\. III. .
13. Sifan and Horsok Vocabularies. On the Trans-hnnalayan Tribes of Hor-Yeul, Sog-Yeul, and Sifan, ib., vol. XXII.
14. On the Tibetan Type of Mankind, ib , vol. XVII, p. II. »
15. Caucasian and Mongolian Affinities, ib., vol. XX 1 1.
. 10. Comparative Vocabulary of the several Languages and Dialects of the pastern Sub-Himalayas from the Kali or Ghogra to Dhansri, ib. vol. XVI.
17, 18. On the Aborigines of the North East Frontier (Assam and south of it), ib., vols. XVIII and XIX. <J**
19. Indo- Chinese borderers and * their connection with the Himalayan atfd Tibetan tribe*, ib., vol. XXII.
2$. On fiie Aborigines of the South of India j cultivated and unculti- vated, ib., vols. XVIII, XIX.
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all the different and till then almost unknown tribes of the
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Eastern Himalayas to the Indo-Chinese borders, and several of "Central and Southern India as far as Ceylon, and thn information collected have been pronounced by competent judges to T3e of high scientific value. Speaking of one of them — the litttle volume on the Kooch, Bodo and Dhimal tribes, — Dr. Latham V/ites : " The Kooch, Bodo and Dhimal, is the title of one of Mr. Hodgson's works, and it is a model of an ethnological monograph." Speaking more generally, he says, " Next come in brilliant succession the labours of Botta, Layard, and Rawlinson, to which may be added the bold ' yet cautious criticism and varied observations of Hodgson, illustrating the obscure Ethnology of the Hima- layan Indians." Chevalier Bunsen, in his ' Philosophy of Universal History/ is equally emphatic in his estimate of Mr. Hodgson's works. According to him, " our highest living authority and best informant on the Ethnology > of
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the native races of India is Mr. B. H. Hodgson, who uses Tamilian as the general name of the Non- Aryan races."
Di\ Hooker dedicated his " Rhododendrons of Himalaya" to Mr. Hodgson, " whose researches into the physical geogra- phy and especially the ethnology of the people of the Eastern Himalaya," he said, " arc.1 bey cud all praise." Professor Owen, in his report ,to the British Association, May 1863, bore the following testimony on the subject : " Mr. Hodgson, my accomplished and scientific friend, has contributed an important element to the Ancient History of India, by his Buddhist researches, and he has now established an addi- tional claim to the gratitude of the Ethnologist, by th<» collection he has made of the skulls of various tribes." Dr.
21, 22. On i\\e Aborigines of the Nilgiris, two papers, ib , vol. XXV.
23. On the Aborigines of the Eastern Ghats.
24. On the Aborigines of Ceylon.
25. On the Abori^ires of Central India, J A. S. B., vol. XVII.
26. On the Kooch, Bodo and Dhimal Tribes, ib., vol. XV1I1.
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Barnard Davis, on the same occasion, said : r; Mr. Hodgson r early and constantly felt that the most interesting object of ^atural history is man himself, and he devoted his unremit- ting attention to the study of the many cuidous tribes with
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whom his long residence in India brought him 'in contact. He studied the physical and philological aspects of the subject, and was at infinite pains to gain a knowledge of the ideas as well as languages of these races. One of the most complete Ethnological Essays ever written, ig Mr. Hodgson's book on Kooch, Bodo, and Dhirnal Tribes." , Other authorities, equally distinguished, have spoken in similar terms of Mr. Hodgson's ethnological works, but I shall forbear to quote them.
Mr. Hodgson's researches into religion are limited to that form of it which prevails in Nepal — the Buddhism of S'akya Sinha as it manifested itself in that Alpine region on its expulsion from Hindustan, — but he has done more on that subject than any other European writer.* Before^ his
* The following are the titles of his essays on this £ abject :
I. Sketch of Buddhism, derived from the Bauddha Scriptures of Nepal. Trans. R. A. S., vol. ii.
2.^ Quotations in proof of the above. Jour. R. A. S., vol. V.
3. On Buddhist Symbols, ib., vol (XVIII.
4, 5. On the Resemblance of the Symbols of Buddhism and Sinaism. Quart. Ori. Mag., vol. VII, two papers.
6. On the Bauddha Literature and Religion of Nepal. As Res., vol. XVI.
7. Sketch of Buddhism. Jour. As. Soc., vol. V. <
8. On Bauddha Inscriptions, ib., vol. III.
9. On Ancient Inscriptions, ib., vol. III. * 10. On Sarnath Inscriptions, ib., vol. IV.
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II. On the Ruins of Sarnaran (Simroun), ib., vol.1 IV.
12. Remarks on an Inscription in the Runga and Tibetan characters frojn Ne^al, ib., vol. IV.
13. On the Relics of the Catholic Mission in Tibet and Nepal, ib. vol XVII, p. II.
14. A Bauddha Disputation on Caste, Trans. R. A. S.; vol. III.
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time all that was known of Buddhism was crude, vague and shadowy, derived from secondary and by no means reliable sources. He it was who established the subject on a sound* philosophic basis. To quote the language of M. Csoma, de Koros, than' whom no European had studied the literature of Tibetan Buddhism with greater success, " Mr. Hodgson's illustrations of the literature and religion of the Buddhists form a wonderful combination of knowledge on a new subject with the deepest philosophical speculations." The opinion of the illustrious savant, Eugene Burnouf, in regard to one of Mr. Hodgson's papers is equally emphatic. In his Intro- duction to the History of Buddhism, he says, " In the Asiatic Researches for the year 1828 was contained a dissertation by Mr. Hodgson, full of ideas entirely new regarding the languages, literature, and religion of Nepal and of Tibet ; and this first essay contained also an account of the different philosophical schools of Buddhism, which has never since been surpassed or equalled. This first memoir yet further teemed^ with value as bringing to light, among other impor- tant discoveries, the grand and theretofore wholly unknown fact that in Nepal there existed numerous Buddhist works composed in 'Sanskrit, the original language of Buddhism." Altogether ha has written 18 papers on the subject, and they are replete with most varied and instructive information: Much has been done since, but no one can even now write on Buddhism with any accuracy who has not ' thoroughly studied Mr. Hodgson's essays.
Reference has already been made to Mr. Hodgson's' Memoirs on Law, Legal Practice, Police and Administration • of Justice in Nepal. On economic subjects there are extant
15. On the Primary Language of the Buddhist Writings. Jour. As. Soo., vol. VI.
16. European Speculations on Buddhism, ib., vol. III.
17. Remarks on M. l&emusat's Review of Buddhism, ib., vol. III.
18. Translation of the Napalia Devata Kalyaiia, il.t vol. XII.
papers by him on tlie Wool of Tibet, on the Cultivation of Hemp in Nepal, on the Paper of Nepal, and on the Silk- worms of India.*
r No one can live on the Himalayas without being deeply impressed by the sublime scenery around him, and to students of science it affords the richest field for enquiry and research. The lofty snow-capped peaks, the wonderful glaciers, the intricate river systems, the high tablelands, the fertile valleys, the flora and the fauna, so peculiar, so characteristic, so distinct from everything of the kind seen in other parts of the globe, are all fraught with instruction of the deepest interest to science, and Mr. Hodgson devoted himself to their study with the greatest ardour. Eew were at the time better qualified by previous training, habit of research, and scientific acumen to do them adequate justice, and the various essays and notes he has published on the
Physical Geography, Topographyf and Fauna prove the sue-
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* The titles of the papers are :
1. On the Law and Legal practice of Nepal, Jour .R. A S., vol. 1.
2. Some Account of the Systems of Law and Police in Nepal, ib.
3. On the Administration of Justice in Nepal, As. Res., vol. XX.
4. On the Wool of Tibet, Trans. Agri. Soc. of India, yol. VIII. £. On the Cultivation of Hemp in Nepal, ib. vol. V.
6. On the Paper of Nepal. Jour. A S. B. vol. I.
7. On the Silk-worms of India, Jour. Agri. Soc. of Jndia, vol. II.
t The following are the titles of the papers on Physical Geography and Topography :
1. On'the Physical Geography of the Himalayas, ib., vol. XvTII, p. II.
2. On the snow line in the Himalayas, ib., vol. Xv III.
3. Memorandum on the seven Kasis of Nepal, ib., vol. XVII, p. I{.
'4. Route from Kathmandu to Tazedo on the Chinese frontier, As. Res., vol. XVII.
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5. Route of two Nepalese embassies to Pekin, with remarks on the
watersheds and plateaus df Tibet, J. A. S. B., vol. XXV. c6. Route from Kathmandu to Darjiling, ib. vol. XVII, p. II.
7. Measurement (official) of the great Military Road throughout Nepal,
from Kumaon to Sikim, ib. 18 (?)
8. A cursory Notice of Nayakote, ib.} vol. IX.
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cess with which he prosecuted his researches. Adverting to the essay on the Physical Geography of the Himalaya Mountains and , Tihet, Baron Humholdt remarked, " La chaine de 1' Himalaya a eu dans ces derniers temps des savants ohservateurs, M. Hodgson et le Capt. Stracliey, que reunit une grande variete connaissances solides." Studying Mr. Hodgso^ m statements and map, proving t lie identity of the Sampu and the Brahmaputra rivers, the great, Indian geographer, Pemherton, remarked, "I consider this so satisfactory that nothing hut ocular demonstration 'to the contrary could now shake off my conviction."
TJie fruits of his zoological researches are contained in a series of one hundred and twenty-three papers,* alike remark-
* Their titles are :
1. On the Mammalia of Nepal, Jour. As. Soc., vol. I.
2. ,0n the same continued up to 1841, ib. vol. X.
3. On the Mammalia of Tibet, ib. vol. V. ' 4'. ' On the same up to 1842, ib. vol. XI.
5. 'Catalogue of the Mammals of Nepal and of Tibet brought down
to 1843, Ivl'Clelland's Journal, 1§43.
6. On the Rats, Mice, and Shrews of Nepal (to complete the Mammal
Catalogue up to 1843) Ann. and Mag. of Nat. History, 1845.
7. On the Geographical Distribution of the Mammals of .Nepal,' Proc.
Zool, Soc. 1847. )
[See XXVII of Selections, Art. Phy. Geog. of Nepal, J. A. S.]
8. Characters and Descriptions of the New Mammals from Nepal, ib.
vol. I.
9. Description of the Chiru Antelope, ib. vol. I. '. •
10. Further account of ditto ib. vol III.
11. Description and Characters of the Wild Dog of Nepal, ib. 1833.
12. On various Zoological subjects, ib. vol. III. ,
13. Synopsis of the Ghoral and the Thar, ib. vol, IV.
14 to 17. Wil(J &6at and Wild Sheep of the Himalaya with remarks on the Genera Capra and Ows, ib. vols. IV, V,.XII and XVI.
15. On the Lacjirymal Sinus in Antelope, Thar and Cirvus Ailstotel^,
ib. vol. III.
16. On a new form of the Hog kind or Forcula Salvania, ib. XVI, p. I.
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able for great originality, minute observation, keen r acu- men, high critical skill, and thorough knowledge of the , requirements of scientific classification. Most of the species of mammals and birds were, when described by him, new to
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science and typical, and the light thrown^ bry them on the fauna of the Himalayan and trans -Himalayan regions is immense. To show this I p^ant)t do better than quote, as I have so often done above, the opinions of those who are best able to speak authoritatively on the subject. " Mr. Hodgson's labours," says Dr. Hooker in his
17. On a new species of Badger from Tibet, J. A. S., vol. XVI, p. II.
18. On the Wild Goat and Wild Sheep of Nepal, As Res., vol. XVIII.
19. On the Ratwa Deer, ib. vol. XVIII, p. II.
20. On Ciion Primoevus, J. A. S. B., vol. I.
21. On Ursitaxus Inauritus, ib. vol. V.
22. On three new species of Paradox urus, with remarks on the structure,
and habits of the genera, ib. vol. III.
' 23 On Antelope Hodgsoni, ib., vol. I.
24. On the Black Antelope, Gleanings in Science, vol. II.
25. On a new species of Felis, ib. vol. III.
26. On the Musk Deer, ib? vol. III. ^
27. On the Cervus Jarai, ib. vol. III.
28. On the Jharal Goat, ib. vol. III. 2fj. Oi. the Chiru Antelope, ib. vol. III. 30. On Nepal Zoology, J. A. S. F-., vol. I.
«,, 31. On a new Lagomys and a new Mustela, inhabiting the northern region of Sikim and the proximate parts of Tibet, ib. vol. XXVI.
32. Specific description of a new species of Cervus, ib. vol. IV.
33. On, the Wild Goat of Nepal, ib. vol. V.
34. On Zool. Nomenclature, ib. vol. V.
35. On the new genus Ursitaxus, As. Res. vol. XIX. 86. On the Gauri Gau, ib. vol. VI.
37. On a new genus of the Plantigrades, ib. vol. VI.
38. On Bibos, a new Bovine genera typed by thfec«Gauri Gau, ib. vol. VI*.
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39. On the Hare of the Gangetic Provinces, the Himalaya and Tibet,
ib. vod. IX.
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40. On the genera Semno-pithecus et Macacus with description of
three new species, ib. vol. IX.
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Himalayan Journal, "have extended over twenty -five years during all which time he has seldom had a staff of less than
41. On Oervus Elaphus of the Saul Forest of Nepal, As. Res. vol. X.
42. On the Mirmots of Himalaya and Tibet, ib. vol. X. '
43. Illustrations of the genera of the Bovinse, part 1. Skeletons of Bos,
Bibos and Bison, the individuals examined being the common Uull of Nepal, the GowriNiao of Nepal, and the Yak, ib. vol. X.
44. Of a new species of Lagomys, inhabiting Nepal, ib. vol. X. 45., On a new organ in the genus Moschus, ib. vol. X.
46. Classical Terminology of Natural History, ib. vol. X.
47. Second Paper on the Marmots of Himalaya and Tibet, and on a
new species of Rhinolophus, ib. vol. XII.
48. ** On a new species of Cervus Dimorphe, ib. vol. XII.
49. On the structure and habits of Prionodon Pardicolor.
50. On the Hispid Hare of the Saul Forest, J. A. S. B. vol. XVI.
51. On the Genera of the Ruminants, ib. vol. XVI.
52. Summary of the Vespertilionidse of Nepal, ib. vol. IV.
53. ^Summary description of two new species and Flying Squirrel ib.
vol. XIII. 54". ' On three new species of Musk inhabiting the Himalayan districts,
• ib. vol. VIII. ' 55. Summary description of four new species of otter, ib vol. VIII.
56. On the Anatomy of Ailurus, Porcula, and Stylocerus, with
corrections of the paper on Ruminants, ib. vol. XVII.
57. A4dendum to the Anatomy of Ailurus, ib. vol XVII p. 51.
58. On the Cat-toed Plantigrades .Jf the Himalaya, ib. vol. XVII.
59. On the Polecat, of Tibet, ib. vol. XVIII.
60. On a new species of Himalayan Mole, ib. 184:9.
61. On the domesticated Goats and Sheep of the sub-Himalayas and .•Tibet, ib. v. XVI, p. II. '. •
62. On Budoreas-Taxicolor, a new genus of Bovine Antelopes, ib. vol XIX. 6§. Description of a new species of Himalayan Mole, ib. XX VI I.
64. On a second new species of Himalayan Lagomys, ib. XXVI. ,
65. On the Shou or Tibetan Stag, ib. vol. XIX.
66. Further Ac^oitnT; of the Shou, ib. vol. XX.
67. On the Ponies of Tibet and Himalaya, Ben. Sporty Mag., 18-10 (?)
68. The Jharal Hunter's Song, ib. 1840. • | »
69. On two species of Wild Sheep inhabiting the Himalaya, with n marks
on the craniologtcal characters of the Ovis and its allies, Jour. As. Soc, vol. X.
xvm
»
two to twenty persons of various tongues andf races employed as translators, collectors, artists, shooters, and stuff ers. By
. .
70. On the Wild Ass and Wolf of Tibet, McClelland's Jour. Nat.
History, 1847.
71. On the Pigmy Hog of the Saul Forest, J. A. S. B., vol. XVI.
72. Postscript to ditto, ib. vol. XVI.
73. On a new species of Porcupine, ib.- rsTT XVI.
74. Definitions and descriptions of new genera and species of I^epal
Birds, not heretofore published in India, Proc. Zool. Soc., ^815.
75. Catalogue of Nepal Birds collected between 1824 and 1844, Zool.
Misc. 1844.
76. Reprint of the above Catalogue in India for reasons assigned,
Jour. As. Soc., vol. XXIV.
77. Additions to the Bird Catalogue of 1844, bringing it down to 1854,
Cura Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1854.
78. On Ninox, a new piscatory genus of the Strigine family, ib. vol. V.
79. On the structure and habits of Elanus Melanopterus, ib. vol. VI,
75, 18 (?)
80. On sundry new species of Nepalese Cinnyris, Ind. Rev., 1, 272.
18 (?)
81. On new Nepalese species of Edolian and Ceblepyrine Shrikes, ib.
324, 18 (?)
82. On new species of the more typical Laniidse, ib. 445, 18 (?)
83. On the new genus Niltava, ib. 18 (?)
84. On the new forms of the ParianaB and Leiotrichanae, ib. 18 (?)
85. On a new species of Partridge, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1833.
86. On the Scolopacidae of Nepal, ib. 1834. r
87. On Nepalese Birds, ib. 1845.
88. Description the Aquila Nepalensis, As. Ees. vol. XVIII.
89. On the Migration of the Grallatores and Natatores. Gleanings in
Science, vol. II.
90. On the Homrai Buceras, ib. vol. II.
"91. Notes on the Ornithology of Nepal, A. R. vol. XIX.
92. On a new species of Bucerine Bird (Aceros Nepalensis), G. in S.
vol. I, 1829.
•
93. On the S'fcolopacidae, ib. vol? II.
(,94. Ofn the new species of Buceros, J. A. S. B., W)l, II.
95. On Aquila Nepalensis, ib. vol. II.
96. On Circoectus Nepalensis, ib. 1833.
97. On Nepal Zoology, ib. vol. II.
XIX
unceasing exertions and princely liberality he has unveiled the mysteries of Buddhism, chronicled the affinities, lan-
98. On the Bearded Vulture of the Himalaya, J. A. S. B., vol. IV.
99. On the Eed^billed Erolia, ib. vol IV.
100. Summary description of some new species of Falconidaj. ib. vol. V.
101. Addition to the Ornithology of Nepal, ib vol. V.
102. Notes on ZoologtbaVS^pienolature, ib. vol. V.
103. On new species of Columba, ib. vol. V.
104. On new Incessores, ib. vol. V.
105. On Charadriadae, ib. vol. V.
106. On FalconicUe, ib. vol. V.
107. On Yunxinse, ib. vol. V. 108; On Certbiadae, ib. vol. V.
109. New species of Hirundinidae, ib. vol. V.
110. On Indian Thrushes, ib. vol. VI.
111. Indication of a new genus of Incessorial Bird, ib. vol. VI.
112. Description of three new species of Wood-peckers, ib. vol. VI.
113. On a new genus of the Sylviadse, ib. vol. VI.
114. On some new genera of the llaptores, ib. vol. VI.
115. > New species of Scolopacidae, ib. vol. VI.
116. On a new genus of the Pheasant group (Grossopticoii Tibetanum),
ib. vol. "VII.
117. On Cuculus, ib. vol. VIII.
118. Notice of a new form of the Glaucopinse or rasorial crows, inhabit-
ing the northern region of Nepal, ib. vol. X.
119. On Conostoma ^Emodium, ib 1841.
-,
120. Description of a new genus of the Falconidse, ib. vol. XII.
121. Catalogu& of Nepalese Birds presented to the Asiatic Society, ib.
vol. XII.
122. Additions to the above Catalogue, ib. vol XII.
123. On a new species of Partridge from Tibet. (P. Hofysona), ib.
vol. XXV 1^4. On the new genus Merva, ib. vol. XII.
125. On the Charj or Otis Bengalensis, ib. vol. XVI.
126. On a New G<*tfus of the Meropidae, J. A. S B , vol. V.
127. A new Genus of the Picadi\>, also two new spivies of the Genus
Sitta, ib. vol. V. ,
128. Two new species of Meruline Birds from Catamandn, ib. vol. VlII.
129. On a a new specie^ of Plecotua, ib. vol. XVI.
130. On a new genus of the Fissirostrial Tribe at Catimandu, ib. vol. VIII,
> I
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XX
guages, customs and faiths of the Himaldyan Tribes, and completed a natural history of the quadrupeds and birds of "these regions. Throughout the Bird and Quadruped depart- ments of our national Museum, Mr. Hodgson's name stands prominent." Dr. Jerclon says, " Mr. Hodgson, for many years our accomplished Minister at the Court of Nepal, has added largely to our knowledge of 'STe birds of the Himalaya, few of which escaped his notice. His papers are distin- guished by deep research and great acumen, and are very full of details of structure."
The following extract from the Natural History Review for April 1865, p. 156, is also worthy of notice :
"About the year 1882, Mr. B. H. Hodgson, for many years British resi- dent at the Court of Nepal, began his labours. This gentleman, it may be fairly said, has distinguished himself far beyond all his fellow-workers, by the great extent of. his collections, and the numerous observations he has given to the public on almost every branch of Natural Science. Before Mr. Hodgson com- menced his residence in Nepal, the Zoology of that country and of the higl\ lunges of the great adjacent mountain-chain was almost unknown in Europe, and the novelties, which it fell to his lot to discover and describe, «were consequently bq>th striking and numerous. With the utmost liberality Mr. Hodgson has from time to time presented the whole of his enormous collections to the British Museum, and to other scientific institutions in this country, and though it is much to be regretted that he has never collected the whole of liis scattered
It f .
•writings into one connected series, this deficiency has been to Some extent sup- plied by two catalogues of Mr. Hodgson's collections, published by the Trustees
of the British Museum in 1846 and 1863 Referring to the list of Birds in
0
the second edition of this catalogue (prepared, we believe, by Mr. Q . R. Gray,) it will be seen that the species of this class of Vertebrates obtained by Mr. Hodgson, in Nepal, Sikim, and Tibet number no less than 168. Nearly the whole of these are represented in our National Collection, through Mr. 'Hodg- son's munificence, by several specimens in skins as well as by drawings
made from life, and in many instances by skeletons (^portions of skeletons.'"
«
The time/ trouble, and 'expense incurred in collecting materials for the above contributions* were immense. Hunters, taxidermists, collectors, draftsmen, copyists, and translators had to be organised and trained, their works
XXI
constantly watched and directed, and their charges all de- frayed from a private purse ; and, amidst his onerous official duties and private literary occupation, Mr. Hodgson C!HMT- fully did all that was necessary or desirable. Of the work done by his staff of hunters and taxidermists, sonic id may be formed from the fact that no less than a total of 10,499 specimens, iiicln*Riig 9,512 birds, 903 mammals, and 84 reptiles &c., all their handiwork, were presented to the British Museum, besides several thousands more to the .Asiatic Society of Bengal and other scientific bodies. Du- plicates from these collections have been distributed to the chief European and American Societies.
The draftsmen were employed in drawing natural history specimens and ethnological, architectural and anti- quarian subjects, as also maps, plans, routes &c. The drawings were made of one uniform size, folio, each con-
^.j
tain ing one or more subjects. There is no record to show the total number of drawings prepared under the superin- taidance and at the expense of-Mr Hodgson; but he presented 1,241 sheets containing drawings of birds and 567 sheets of mammals to the Zoological Society of London; 55 sheets of reptiles &c. to the British Museum ; 46 sheets of ethnological illustrations to the Christie Collection ; 61 sheets of ditto' to1 the Anthropological Society of London , 66 sheets of architectural drawings to the India Office Library; and 24 sheets of architectural and 258 sheets of archaelogical drivings to the Institute of France. The last wene accompanied by a large mass of MSS., mostly in Sanskrit, explanatory of the Buddhist drawings. It is to these that M. Bwi&ouf repeatedly refers in his great work on the History of Indian Buddhism.
Mr. Hodgson's collection comprised a great ^umb^r'bf
ethnographical specimens, mostly crania, whirh have Invn given to the British Museum. It included, moreover, th;
XX11
r r
trunks full of MSS. of various kinds, in Sanskrit, N^wari, Persian, and English (mostly unpublished essays, papers and f notes by Mr. Hodgson, and translations from old Indian records), which had been amassed for the r full exposition of the history, institutions, races and tongues, reyenue and commerce of Nepal and other Indian places. The whole of
net
this collection was presented to the xndia Office, in August 1864, along with a detailed catalogue of its contents. The catalogue is too long to be copied here, but the following extract from the report of the Librarian of the India Office will give an idea of the value attached to the collection by a competent judge.
" Mr. Hodgson's present to our Library is indeed one of eminent im- portance, if only embracing materials from which, for the first time, the history, political, religious and linguistic, of Nepal might be digested by a competent scholar. That a person duly qualified to undertake such a compilation be found is highly desirable ; though no one in any wise* so ably as the learned donor himself could execute an account of a people, aiur ng whom, in the advantageous and responsible position of British Resident at the Court of Kathmandu, Mr. Hodgson passed nearly «, quarter of a century. At least it is earnestly to be hoped that Mr Hodgson's health will still render it practicable for him to contribute a single chapter, and that a most valuable one, to the history of Nepal, in a narrative of uhe measures by which he succeeded, on more than ojie critical occasion, in restraining the Nepalese from disastrous irruption into the plains of India.- The influence that effectuated this check, was wholly personal to Mr1 Hodgson, and yet the service here referred to, though of momentous import, has never, it occurs to me, been recognised. „
" The Sanskrit and other oriental MSS. sent by Mr. Ff>dgson are a* priceless addition to our collection. Of most of these there are no other copies in Europe."
Among the papers contained in this collection was a number of vocabularies of the non- Aryan v vernaculars of India and its frontiers, and these have been most satisfactorily utilised in*Dr. W. W. Hunter's Non- Aryan Dictionary.
There are yet two other contributions made by Mr. Hodg- son to the cause of knowledge which require to be noticed
XX111
>
here. The first? is a collection of zylographs, comprisi two complete sets of the great cyclopedias of Tibet, the - Kahgyur and the Stangyur. Each set is made up of 334 • bulky volumes, printed with wooden blocks on Tibetan paper, in the Indian putlii form, and comprises the whole circle of the sacred literature of the Tibetans. Analyses of these grand compilations liavB^been published by M. Csoma de Koros in the last volume of the Asiatic Researches and in the1 Journal of the Asiatic Socity of Bengal, and they $how the high value of the works for a correct understand- ing of the religion of Buddha as current beyond the Hima- layan J range. The number of copies extant of these grand compilations is exceedingly limited. The Kahyynr alias Kangyur includes 110 less than a hundred volumes, arranged under the three grand divisions of Dulva, Do, and Sltcrchln, whence^their common name De-not-sum, Sanskrit, Tripithaka, " The three Repositories." This is obviously of the same character as the Buddhist Tripithaka as now known in China and Japan, of which Hev. S. Beal has lately published a useful catalogue, though the order of arrangement and the con- tents are not the same. The whole of the works in either case is strictly sacred or religious. The name "Kahgyur means " translations of commandments," and the works arc avowed to be translations of texts existing between the 7tl? and the 13th centuries, mostly in the 9th, in the language of Magadha.
" The Stangyur is a compilation in Tibetan of all sorts of literary works, written, mostly by ancient Indian I'andi and some learned Tibetans, in the first centuries al'lor'the- introduction of I^uldhism into Tibet, commencing with the seventh 'century of our era. TJie whole makes t\vo hundred and twenty-five volumes. It is divided into IAVO classes the |S and -$% Rgyud and Mdo, (Tantra and Siilra classes in Sanskrit). The ' Egyud/ mostly on Tantrika rituals and
XX1T
ceremonies, makes eighty-seven volumes. -The c Mdo,' on science and literature, occupies one hundred and thirty-six t volumes. One separate volume contains hymns or praises of several deities or saints. And one volume, is the Index of the whole." (Asiatic Researches, XXI, 553.) Only a few of the richer monasteries of Tibet possess these zylographs : beyond Tibet they were unknowmiM Tne works were firsl printed in 1731, from blocks which are still in use in a monas- tery near Testrilhua-po. Mr. Hodgson obtained two sete, the second set, now in the India Office, from the Grand Lama of Thibet. The first set is now preserved in the Library of the Asiatic Society of Eengal.
The second contribution refers to Sanskrit-Buddhist works, of which Mr. Hodgson discovered a great number in Nepal. The existence of these was before his time per- fectly unknown, and his discovery has entirely revolutionized the history of Buddhism as it was known to Europeans in the early part of this century. The total number of "works discovered is not known, but it is believed that the works
. '
when carefully arranged and indexed will amount to about two hundred. Copies of these works to the total number of 381 bundles have been distributed so as to render them accessible to European scholars. Of these eighty-five bundles com- prising 144 separate works were presented to the Asiatic Society of Bengal; 85 to the Hoyal Asiatic Society of London; 30 to the India Office Library; 7 to the Bodleian Library, Oxford ; 174 to the Societe Asiatique, and M. Burnouf . The last two collections have since been deposited in the Bibliotheque Rationale of France.
The character of these works was\ first noticed by Mr. Hodgson in his Essays. Jle was thus not only the dis-
c6veref of these most ancient and authentic .records, but also i
the first intelligent exponent of their nature and value, both in their ritualistic and in their philosophical aspect, and
( (
XXV
very appropriately did Burnouf address liim, in the dedica- tion of his Saddharma-ptlndctrifca, "comme fondateur de la
veritable etnde de Buddhisme." Elsewhere he added, " Quand aux dogmas generaux de Buddhisme il n'y a rien dans le Sadd/iarma-pundarl/caquene se trouvc dans vos excellent s
memoires. Vous avez trace d'une maniere complete et liar-
•-j
die le plan de 1'edifice c&FB uddhisme." It should he added, however, that the plan adopted by Mr. Hodgson was to give the result of his researches, and not to describe at length the contents of the works found by him, and his notices, therefore, served more to excite than to allay curiosity in regard to those texts.
M. Burnouf, working on the codices that were sent to Eraiice, produced, in 1844, his ' Introduction a 1'Histoire du Buddhisme indien.' None can speak too highly of the industry, the ability, and the critical acumen displayed in this learned essay ; but in it the nature of the materials was subor- dinated to the historical facts deducible from them, and the MSS. therefore remained comparatively unknown. His next venture was a translation of one of the works, the Saddharma-pundarika — " le Lotus de la bonne Loi," —and it affords an excellent specimen of the nature, character, slyle, and subject of the N-epalese collection.
The MSS. -presented to the Royal Asiatic Society o£ Great Britain have the benefit of a nominal catalogue pre- pared by Professors Co well and Eggling, but no aivilysis of any of them kas yet been published. Mr. Bendall has, I hear, in hand an edition of the Vina y a- Sutra, and M. E. Senart promises a recension of the Mahdvastu Acad<iit«, taken probably from the Paris collection.
Of the Calcutta collection one work, the Lalita-A'istarn, was published by me several years ago, and1 brief notices were added of seven others in its Introduction ; but the rest, until lately, had never been touched. Even the list
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XXVI
preserved of it was corrupt, sometimes desdribing the, same work under two or three names as different works, at others giving one name for four or five or more worte. These mistakes arose chiefly from the fact of two<or more different works having been written continuously in a single volume without any break in the pagination, and in cursory exami- nation, only the first and the last-pctge of each codex having been read to make out the name of the volume.
In order to bring to a focus all the information avail- able regarding the MSS. brought away from Nepal by Mr. Hodgson, Dr. "W. W. Hunter published, last year, a cata- logue, giving the names of all the works comprised In the several collections ; but the list given in it of the Calcutta collection, compiled by me from the records of the Asiatic Society's office, is, I am sorry to observe, for the reasons aforesaid, not correct. Whether similar errors, owing to
similar causes, exist in the European lists or not, I cannot
t * a
make out ; but on the whole the Catalogue is a useful compila- tion, and the thanks of oriental scholars arevdue to its learned author for the service he has done them by its publication.
When the MSS. were discovered, opinion was divided as to tiieir iage and authenticity. While men like Burnouf, Prinsep, Wilson and others accepted them to represent the oldest records of Buddhism, those who liac1 directed their attention to the Pali texts of Southern Buddhism thought
otherwise; and the discovery and decipherment^ of the
^
As'oka edicts strengthened their position vi great deal. It was urged that since the Pali of the edicts was the oldest type of that language, and it was unquestionably the ver- nacular of India within 250 years of Buddha's ministrya and since it wa^s equally unquestionable that Buddha sought proselytes among the unlettered classes of society, he must have addressed them in the vernacular dialect of the time, and the most authentic and ancient record of his religion
XXV11
necessarily must be found in the Pali language. This, how- ever, is a non sequitor. Admitting, for the sake of argument and not as facts, that the premises are correct, it does not follow that the religion of S'akya Sitiha must exist in the Pali J#n- guage. The language used in preaching to the masses is not the language that is ordinarily used, nor is it fit, for the develop- ment of abstruse philosc/pMcal ideas ; and the southern Pali texts do not pretend that they are verbatim reports of S'akya' s preachings. It would be absurd to suppose that in the 6th .century before Christ there was any organisation for verbatim reports, and that such organisation was brought into operation to take down the sermons and lectures of an itinerant hermit addressed to the lower orders of the people. It must follow that the teachings of the saint were recorded by his followers, long after date, when the effect of those teachings had been thoroughly established, and ^ there was a desire created to know what he had taught ; and tliat the records contained the substance of the teachings as remembered fyy those who reduced them to writing. In such a case it is by no means necessary that even the Ians;ua2;e should be the same which was used at the time of
O O
preaching, to quote the opinion of Mr. Hodgson* (HJ&ays, p. 121) — " T^he preaching and the spreading of the religion is a very diff,«reat thing from the elaboration of th<> - speculative principles from which the religion was deduced. In the »one case, the appeal would be to the many ; in the other to the few. And whilst I am satisfied that the Bud.dhists as practical reformers addressed themselves to the people, and as propagandists used the vulgar ion^ue,* I think those philosophical dogmata which formed the basis ol' the popular 'creed, were e/iounced, defended, and sys-
tomatised in Sanskrit. I never alleged that the Buddhists
'* * had eschewed the Prakrits, I only denied tho allegation
that they had eschewed the Sanskrit ; and I endeavoured
i • i
XXVlll
at the same time, to reconcile their use of toth, by dra'wing a distinction between the means employed by their philo sophers to establish the principles of their religion, and th means employed by their missionaries rto propagate the religion itself." History fully supports the validity of this position ; but not to travel out of India I may appeal to a parallel case of recent <r*b^e ^and unquestionable authenticity — that of Chaitanya of the 15th century — to prove the fact. The lectures of that saint were delivered in three languages : Bengali in Bengal, Uriah in Orissa, and Hindi in the North Western Provinces, but they have been all reduced to Bengali in the Ckaitanya-ckaritdmrita, while his philosophical doctrines occur in Sanskrit. So strong w the influence of Sanskrit in this case that the followers of th saint have thought fit even to annex to the Bengali text a Sanskrit commentary. In the 6th century before Christ, this influence of the Br&hmanic language must have been infinitely more powerful, and it is difficult to suppose that its Use was then avoided even in philosophical disquisitions. " Were it otherwise, still the fact is patent that the Buddhists them- selves, both Northern and Southern, admit in the most un- qualified- terms that their scriptures, including 'the teachings of the founder, were compiled; not during the lifetime of the ^teacher, but at three convocations held from, time to time during 250 years after his death. This admission is a settler To contradict it would be to attach to a priori arguments a importance which logically they cannot claim.
Nor are the premises on which the theory is based at all tenable. The Pali of the Edicts was, doubtless, the language of record and the Court language of As'oka; it was probably also, with more or less local variations, the vernacular of the Indo- Aryan races ; but itjs far from being a proved "fact, that it was the common vernacular of all the different races, Aryan and non- Aryan, who peopled India
XXIX
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in former times. Nay, the presumption is strong that fhe case was quite the contrary. Unity of language implies or presupposes -not only unity of race, unity of religion, and unity of political condition, but also unity of climatic influences. * Sounds are the outcome of the vocal organs ; but those organs, though formed on the same model and structurally are ideiitica-li^the same, are not in the same state
e/ c' *
of development and tension under all circumstances. The gutturals of northern climes, which we have to " hiss, spit and sputter all," cannot be naturalised in the tropics. The guttural K of the Persians is entirely lost by their descen- dants in India, even in the second generation. The early Indo- Aryans had the same K, as we find in the Pratis'akhyas, but it has long since been lost. The Bengali organs of speech in the Gangetic delta cannot control the sounds which are natural to the people of Central and- North West India. Hence it is that among the descendants of the Arjrah immigrants one single language, the original Sanskrit, got converted into the different vernaculars that are now current. The process of change was even more powerfully in operation at the time of As'oka, when social intercourse among the different tribes was more limited than it. is Aow. Then, at that ,time, the non-Ar/an races were more powerful and better organised than now, and they spoke in very* different dialects. And under the circumstances it was impossMe for the Pali to have been the common' vernacular of all at the time<*)f As'oka. It mia;ht have been the I'm (in a
franca, but certainly not the vernacular or the household language of all classes.
Three hundre$,ycars before the time of As'oka the r was even stronger. Society was much more*, divided, the different tribes were more isolated, and the inihienms which regulate the decay and regeneration of languages much more actively in operation; and it was impossible I'oi-
XXX
-
S'akya Buddha to make himself intelligible to his mixed * Aryan and non- Aryan audiences in one common language. c He must have adapted his language to the" capacity of I hearers, and if we had verbatim reports of 4iis lectures, the would have shown that he did not speak in the same dialec
at Magadha and at Sr avast!. There is then the evidence of
^
the Gatha, which lias been so iTtfgely quoted in Buddhist works to prove the authenticity of the Sanskrit narratives, to show that the popular language of the Aryans at the time of As'oka's death and for some time hefore it, was the Gatha and, not the Pali. (Of. Introduction to my edition of the Lalita- Vistara.) And this suggests the question — was it the Gatha, or some now unknown archaic form of Pali, or the Gath in varying forms to suit local circumstances, that S'akya used in his preachings ? There is nothing reliable to answer this question ; but whatever it was, it was not pure Sanskrit, nor was it the same everywhere. A preacher anxious to win the heart of his hearers and secure proselytes could' riot adopt any language but ttiat which would, appeal clirectly and tellingly upon the hearers. The Sanskrit could not do so in the time of SYikya Sifiha, ergo the language of S'akya was 'hot Sanskrit, but one or more vernaculars, 'and the same must have been the case with* his successors. Anyhow with the unquestionable and living proof of the1 G£tha, we cannot unhesitatingly accept the Pali.
Professor Lassen, following Tumour and the Cevlonese
^
accounts, is of opinion that Mahendra arrived in Ceylon 'in 245 B. C., and he or his successors taught the religion (of S'akya orally, without any text, for one hundred and fifty years, until between 102 and 7£v,B. C. the Pita- kataya was committed to Anting in Pall and its com- mentaries in( Cingalese (Mah&vanso, Ch.. 33), and five hundred "years after that Buddha Ghosa translated the latter into Pali. (Idem, Ch. 37.) "Dr. John Muir does
I
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XXXI
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I
not subscribe to this opinion. He says, "It is also difficult to concur in Lassen's opinion MS to the period at which the -Pali or Magadhi was introduced into Ceylon. Mahendra and his followers, who were no doubt numerous, must necessarily have carried with them the language of their native country; and not only so, but they may have been the bearers of nunie^?^*e works written in that lanimasre.
o o
For it is not easy to receive literally the account given by the Ceylonese writers of the time, at which their religious works were first committed to writing, or to suppose that the foreign propagators of Buddhism, who would at first be ignorant of Cingalese, should, at the period of their arrival, have had no records in their own language of the new religion which they were introducing, or that these records should not have been safely handed down to their successors." While fully subscribing to Dr. Muir's argument, I -cannot help thinking that the expressions, " the language of their native 'country" and "records in their own language," are calculated to mislead. The language of the records must
'• v
have been that in which they were preserved in their native country, and not necessarily their native vernacular. In case of the Jesuit Missionaries in Southern India, the language of the Bible they introduced was* not the vernacular of their native country,; and what was true of tfre Missionaries was' equally so of the Buddhist propagandists. At the time of Mahendna (245 B. C.) two, if not three, con vocations, of the Buddhist clergy had already been held and their scriptures finally settled, and the books carried must have been what were so settled at the convocations, and these were certainly not written in Pali^pr Magadhi; for the Pali of the Pilaka- taya is n0t the Pali of As 'oka's edicts, and the Magndhi, as we know it, could not have been in existence AV!«KMI th/ Pali was current, for it is unquestionably a later evolution of the Sanskrit than the Pali! To say the Magadhi of the original
XXX11
I
texts must have been different from the °dramatic Mas:a-
' O
dhi, is to give up the contention altogther, for we then come to something unknown and non-existent. • It follows 6onse- quently, that the premises with which thr3 advocates of the Pali theory start must fall to the ground, and with them the conclusion about the claim of the Pali to be the language of the original texts. fr~
The discovery of the Chinese translations of original Buddhist records has placed in the hands of scholars ra new mass of evidence which goes a great way to solve this vexe(J. question. These records arc avowed to be translations, not from Tibetan or Pali texts, but from the Fan, the language of the Brahmans, i. e., the Sanskrit. Some of these trans- lations date from the 1st century of the Christian era, and most of them were prepared between the 3rd and the 9th centuries. These facts incontestably prove the existence of some Sanskrit originals at a time long anterior to the date of the Pali translations of Ceylon.
The question then Arises, are the MSS. discovered by Mr. Hodgson the representatives of those originals ? That some of them are not so, and of comparatively recent date, is fully admitted ; but there are others whose claims to authen- ticity and antiquity cannot bb questioned. Their names are 'given in the Chinesje versions, and that circwnstance alone is sufficient to vindicate the justice of their claim. It is to be regretted -that the public has not before it translations of all these Chinese versions to compare with Mr. Hodgson's Sanskrit texts, but from what little it has, ample evidence "is found in favour of the Nepalese texts. The Ceylonese, the Burmese and the Siamese versions of the life of S'akya as preserved in fali are deeply tinctured with local colouring. They 'give us pictures of the places where they were produced7 and not of India, and the languages in which they are preserved are of a much later date' than even the monu-
•
I
>
. XXX111 ^
I
mentaj Pali of j^s'oka,* whereas the Chinese version, as seen in Mr. Beal's ' Romantic Legend of Sdkya Buddha,' is purely Indian, perfectly devoid of local colouring, and it is impossible to ^believe that it had been taken from any P*ili original.
Mr. Beal's work is a mutilated version of the original Chinese, many descriptiVJ^Jbrtions being omitted ; but such as it is, it " is a translation of the Chinese version of the * AbhinisliJcramana Sutra1 done into that language by Djnanakuta, a Buddhist priest from North India, who resided in China during the Tsui dynasty, i. e., about the end of the 'sixth century A. D. It would seem from a consi- deration of the title of the- seventeenth chapter, ' Leaving the palace for religious life,' that originally the story of the ' Abhinishkramana' was simply that of Buddha's flight from his palace to become an ascetic. Afterwards, the same title, was applied to the complete legend (as in the present work), which includes his previous and subsequent history. A very valuable 4ate, later than wltich we cannot place the origin of the story, may be derived from the colophon at the end of the last chapter of the book. It is there stated that the ( Abkinishkram^ina Sutra' is called by the sehooi of Dharmagupteis Fo-p&n-hing-ldng ; by the Sarvastivadas it is called Ta-cliifian'g-yen (great magnificence, i. e., ( Lalita- "* Vistara') ; by the Mahasanghikas it is called Ta-sse, /. e., Mahava/tu." (Beal's Introduction, p. v.) This description shows that it is ' made up of three distinct Sanskrit work the AbMniskramana Sutra, the Lalita-Vistara, and the Mahdvastu, — all relating to the life of Buddha, and it "is ' hopeless to expect ,4hat it should closely represent any one ol'
* Westergaard and Kuhn take the Ceylonese Pali to be^he language of Ujjaini, a local Prakrit, and Oldenberg places its original home i* Sout'.XTii India (Andhara and Kaliiiga\ ; neither place connected with the original of Buddhism.
XXXIV
( I
I
the three originals. It is observable, too, that Asiatic translators have never observed the rigid scrupulousness of the modern European rules about faithful translation, where the ipsissima vcrba of the original is carefully preserved, and even the turn of the style, language and idiom* is attempted to be reproduced. Ordinarily a general concordance in feature is all that Asiatics thifuFhecessary, and much lati- tude is allowed in ornamentation. It is, nevertheless, not difficult to show which parts of the Chinese version have been taken from which work, for the correspondence in language even in the purely jdescriptive portions, which refer not to the speeches of the principal actors, is as close as can reasonably be expected, if we bear in nrind the peculiarities of the Sanskrit and the Chinese idioms. To give an instance : chapter YI I of the Chinese version (page 35), giving an account of the descent of the Bodhisattva, opens with the
following: :
, . ^
"At this time Prabhapala Bodhisattva, the Winter being now passed, and the opening month of Sprip-g arrived, when all tlje flowers and the trees put out their scents, the vernal air, soft and serene, neither too cold nor hot, the young grass and other verdure freshly come forth, brightly shining on ever£ side, at the time of the junction of the constellation Kwei (with thesun)"r&c. {
This subject is treated of in the 6th cliapter of the Lalita-Vistara, and in my translation (p. 94) it commences
with the words :
" Thus, Bhikshus, the Winter having passed aw*/, in the fullness of the Spring season,, in the month of Vaisakha, when the sun was in the constella- tioji Visakha, the trees were covered with leaves, and loaded with exquisite flowers and blossoms. The earth was covered with a carpet of green. The evils of great heat or cold were then absent, and everywhere there was cairn and quietness. At such a time the Bodhisattva <fcc. &c."
" , It i£ oBvious that the translators ha«ve arranged their words and sentences with a keen eye tto the English idiom, and the Chinese translation has judiciously omitted the name
XXXV
. * t
I
of the Hindu mfcnth, which would have been useless and puzzling to Chinese readers, the name of the constella- tion being quite sufficient for them. These divergences apart, it is undeniable that this portion of the Chinese version is a* counterpart of the Sanskrit Lalita-Vistara as we have in Mr. Hodgson's collection. Other instances of such close correspondence5*!*! language may be multiplied ad libitum, and the portions taken from the Mahavastu also affords* similar correspondence ; but we look in vain for such coincidences in the Southern versions. There even the speeches of the saint and his divine mother, which from their sanctity should have been most faithfully preserved, appear to be quite distorted. The details, too, of the narrative have been very materially altered, so as to show that we have in them an imperfect outline of the story and its substance. To give an instance. The Lalita-Vistara gives the dream of Maya in these words :
"X* noble elephant, white as silver or snow, having six tusks, well- proportioned trunk and feet, blood-red veins, adamantine firmness of joints, aifd easy pace, has entered my belly." (p. 94).
The Tibetan version has : —
" Un £l£phant blanc comme la neige et 1'argent, a six defenses, aux meds, a la trompe»superbes, a la. tete rouge, a la demarche agreable, aux membres forts comme le.cKamant, 16 plus beau des elephants entrait en elle, et jamais elle n'avait vu, n* erftendu (dire) qu'on eprouvat un pareil bien-etre.""* (Foucaux, p. 61).
The, Chinese text has —
" Boflhisatwa having then descended into the womb of Maya the Queen, she in the midst of her sleep had a dream to this effect, 'she thought she saw a six-tusked white elephant, his head coloured like a ruby (or red pearl) &0. descend thro' space and enter her right side.' " (Deal, p. ;>7.)
All these thr,oe Northern versions it will he seen, ;nv closely Similar/ and unquestipnably prodiuvd from one source. But we fail to perceive ai i \ 1 • 1 1 i 1 1 g 1 i k ^ i 1 1 i s si i n i !i -
tude in the Southern narratives. The Burmi\sr vrrsiou of
*
Bishop Bigandet (p. 21),) says :
XXXVI
«
" Opposite this mount and facing the cave where <Maia sat surrounded >y her attendants, rose another mount, where Phralaong, under the shape of a young white elephant, was roaming over its sides in various directions. He was soon seen coming down that hill, and ascending the --one where the priKcess lay on her bed, directed his course towards, the cave. On the extremity of his trunk, lifted up like a beautiful string of flowers, he carried a white lily. His voice, occasionally resounding through the air, could be heard distinctly by the inmates of the .^rntto, £nd indicated his approach. He soon entered the cave, turned three times round the couch whereupon sat the princess, then, standing for a while, he came nearer, opened her right side, and appeared to conceal himself in her womb."
The Siamese version follows this account pretty closely; but not quite faithfully. It says —
" Then they led her to a golden palace, standing on a silver mountain, and prayed her to rest on a couch with her face turned to the west. Then she saw a golden mountain, whereon the Royal Being that should be Buddha marched in the form of a white elephant. The most admirable of white elephants^ leaving the mountain of gold, came to the foot of the mountain of silver, and passed round to its northern side. In his beautiful trunk he held a newly expanded white lotus flower. He ascended the mo,un<f>ain, and having trumpeted loudly, entered the golden palace. Thrice he, marched around the couch, and at the' end of the third circuit, he appeared to en^er her right side, and pass into her womb." (Alabaster's Wheel of the Law, p. 98j.
None, I venture to think, will be disposed to accept these Pali versions to be the archetypes of the Chinese text, or to doubt for a moment that the Sanskrit original
'as we have it in Mr. Hodgson's collebtien supplied the model for it. If so, the fact being admitted that the first Chinese version of the Lalita-Vistara was prepared in the first century of the Christian era, the inference is unavoidable that the Sanskrit original had existed for
' at ^ least two to three centuries before that time to have ac- quired the necessary antiquity and religious authority to be fit for acceptance as the scriptures of the Buddhists, and Y»'o^th'y of translation by the people of China. This brings us to the Convocation held under the auspices of As'oka ; but for the reasons assigned in the Introduction to my edition of
XXXVII /
• •»
the L(ilita-Vistai\i, it is impossible to believe that that work was produced on that occasion (cf. pp. 56-7), and we must go back\o the. synod of Kalas'oka. Now, the Lalita-Vistara as 1 we have it at present is a compound of two different works^-a prose version in pure Sanskrit, which substantiates its state- ments by quotations from a metrical and simpler version in the Gathci dialect. I poiiiteft out this fact twenty-seven years ago (Journal, As. Soc. for 1856), and it has since been general- ly accepted. At the last Oriental Congress, held at St. Peters- burg, it was announced as a new fact, but in no way contro- verted. The interval between the synod of Kalas'oka and the Nirvana cannot be extended to much more than a hundred to a hundred and forty years. If we admit the originality of the Pali we have to believe that within that period, the original life of the saint in Pali was first rendered into Gatha and then into Sanskrit, and that the most ancient and authentic Pali having been lost, the author of the Sanskrit text was obliged to quote the Gatha for his authority. This ^ould be absurd, #nd the Pali theory must, therefore, be abandoned.
It is to be regretted that evidence is wanting to prove in the above way tl;e authenticity of the other works of the collection und-er notic'e ; but the evidence available in favour of the assumption that the more revered portions of the scrip-' tures were compiled at the same, or about the same, time at which tiie Lalita-Vistara was got up is by no means stinted. It would be unreasonable and opposed to every law of in- ference to suppose that the Lalita-Vistara was the only work
•-*• *.
got up at the time; and if any faith is to be placed in the' accounts of the convocations, held avowedly to preserve the scriptures from corruption amd interpolation, and to settle disputed points of doctrine and of discipline, tfir roiirlusioh is forced on us that seyeral works, besides the Lalita-Vistara, were compiled on those occasions. And as a number of Mr.
XXXV111
«
Hodgson's texts are written in the same r£tyle as that of the Lalita-Vistara, and quote the Gathas in support of their • statements, it would be perfectly reasonable to accept 'them to f be of the same age. Moreover, as the Gatha was not adequate for the precision necessary for abstruse philoso- phical discussions, and no language existed in India in former
P.
times which was so well fitted fertile definition of various shades of philosophical thought as the Sanskrit, it would be by no means unreasonable to suppose that Sanskrit 'alone, without the Gatha, was used for philosophical works, and as, the philosophy of Buddhism form the corner-stone of the doctrine of Buddha, some works on the subject must have existed from the earliest date. At any rate, the Pali originals of the present Sanskrit works must first be found before the argument above set forth can be fairly traversed. This argu- ment is the same which Pali scholars used before <the dis- covery of the Sanskrit texts, and it is perfectly legitimate.
There was a time when it was urged that the rational
<
character of the Pali narrative was of itsjelf proof sufficient for their antiquity and originality, and James Prinsep went the length of admitting that " if the rationality of a story be a' fair* test of its genuineness, which few will (Jeny, the Pali record will here bear away the palm." < ^he publica- tion of some of the original Pali texts ha& since completely set this argument at rest. The quotations given above leave us little room for choice on the score of rationality,, They are alike legendary, and full of romantic Mbles. Were they otherwise, still the question at issue would not be influenced ' one way or other by it. Plausibility is no proof in law, nor can it be in history. If we admit the reverse of the position, we have to aecept all the ..society novels and stories of tlie dsCy as hi'story. The argument is that the Chinese texts were taken from Sanskrit originals, and that those originals are now before us in the MSS. discovered by Mr. Hodgson ;
XX XIX
and t^iis is born?; out by tlieir close correspondence in name, language and matter. If this be admitted, as it must be, the high value of "the discovery cannot be gainsaid.
This question*, however, of the antiquity of the MSS. apart, the services rendered by Mr. Hodgson to the cause of literature and science generally have called forth the warmest acknowledgments from aU""7rho are able to appreciate them. The quotations given above, express the opinion of some of the ablest critics on the subject, and associated bodies have not been slow in bearing tlieir testimony to their value. The Asiatic Society of Bengal, whose transactions have been so greatly enriched by the contributions of Mr. Hodgson, presented him, on the occasion of his retirement from India, an address, elected him an Honorary member, and voted a marble bust which now adorns its meeting-room. The Royal Society of London, the highest scientific association on t^e face of the earth, elected him a Fellow ; and another body no less distinguished and more exclusive, the French 4,cademy, elected^, him a Foreign Member. The dignity of the Knighthood of the Legion of Honor, was bestowed on him by the French Government. He has now retired from
the field of active labour, carrying with him. the respect ^and
«•
esteem of alL cultivators of science, and the warmest wishes of his friends and 'admirers for his long life and prosperity in his happy home in Gloucestershire.
To .'turn now to the immediate object of this Preface. The total number eof MSS. presented by Mr. Hodgson to the Asiatic Society of Bengal was 80 bundles, including 170 separate works on various subjects. They vary in extent from a few slokas &) a hundred and twenty thousand si an /as.
*> '
The great bulk of the works refers to the history, philosophy, morality, and rituals of the religion of Buddha; a IV ,Y are devoted to miscellaneous subjects. To classify them according to the scheme of the Nepale.se Buddhists as de-
xl
iolopnons belong, a
scribed by Mr. Hodgson in his essays, (pp. impracticable. The codices do not in their give the names of the classes to which the, definitions of the classes as supplied to Mr. .Hodgson by his informants are obviously arbitrary, and do not suffice to help nie. An old classified catalogue would have been of much use ; but such a record does not" exist. Taking no note of a primer on grammar,* another on versification, t a collection of moral maxims, J obviously Hindu, a commentary an a Jain astronomical work,§ a treatise on precious stones, || and a few rituals, the whole of the works are narrative, in each case the author relating what he had heard himself or from some one of what Buddha said on particular occasions about particular subjects, and in so far the form of the works, supply no clue to their classification. The subjects, too, are- not unoften so varied in each work that they afford no help. The threefold division of the Southern Buddhists — the Sutra, the Vinaya, and the Abhidharma — is nowhere prominently marked in the Nepalese texts. Judging b^r the nature of the works, the Sutras may be said to be represented by the "nine dharmas" of the Nepalese. Some of them are called MahayafLa, others Mahavaipulya, but .none Sutra only. M. Burnouf takes the simple Sutras to be the' most ancient, but on insufficient grounds, for he had only one work of the kind before him, and it was by no means a satisfactory one. I have none to refer to.
The Vinaya by name is represented by a single com- mentary on a work which is not included in the collection before me, and, to judge from the character of the cornmen-
* Prayoga-mukha. f Chliaiidomrita-lata. J Chanakya-sarasangraha. § Surya-prajnapti-tika. || Mani-pariksha,
xli
;
tary , I have in it> a treatise on philosophy, and not on moral discipline as the class is said to include. M. Burnouf noticed this t absence in the collection which he examined. He says, (p. 33,) " la collection de M. Hodgson n'offre pas d'ouvrages cfui se placent dans la classe dn Vinaya, comme elle en possede qui appartiennent a celle des Sutras. Dans les deux listes que j'aj ^citees plus haut, le noni de Vinaya ne se presente qu'une seule fois, et encore n'est-il pas employe avec ce caractere de geiieralite qu'il a dans 1' expression de Vinaya pitaka ( le Recueil de la discipline/ 11 figure seulernent sur le titre d'un traite philosophique, le Vinaya tsutra9 dont j'ai indique 1'existence tout a 1'heure, et duquel il me sufnt de dire en ce moment qu'il n'est pas attribue a Qakyamuni." It is obvious, however, that the moral stories which figure so prominently in the collection under the name of Avadana, are the representatives of Vinaya works. The stories are intended to illustrate t he- deserts of virtue and vice, and pro tanto they are lessons on morality1. In Ceylon there is a lar^e class of works under the name of Jataka's. These narrate the prominent incidents in the former lives of S'akya Buddha. Many stories in the Nepalese collection also bear the same commo^ nadie, but they occur in compilations >which have the generic title of Avadanas. In f^ct, the Avadana of the Nepalese is the • class of which the Jataka is an order. The former treats of the anterior lives of S'akya Buddha as well as of other persons/ whereas the latter is confined to S'akya only.
The Abhidharma of the Ceylonese includes philoso- phical works ; and the Prajnaparamitas and their comnieif »
taries take its place in the Nepalese collection. * » *
Apart from. £h'e above, there is a large number of works
in the Nepalese collection which* bear the name ^f Dhajani.^ They begin in the usual style of Sutra works, wit it the set form, " thus has it bceil heard by me, that when Bhagavan
I
' )
xlii (
sojourned in such a place," &c., &c., and, like the "Sutras, bear no author's name, and in this respect they may be called simple Sutras, but they supply, each one OF more, charms to be worn as amulets, and mustpbe of a much later date than that of S'akya Buddha and his r earlier disciples. The atheistic and the later theistic Bauddhas could not have invoked the name, as fcbe Dllaranis do, of Tara, or Vajrasattva, or Avalokites'vara to preserve them from snake- bites, malarial fevers, and demons. They are olcviously
imitations of the Hindu Kavachas from the Tantras, of
c
which a great many were translated into Tibetan between the 7th and 13th centuries of the Christian era.
Believing in the authenticity and great historical value of the MSS. presented to the Asiatic Society by Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Arthur Grote, when President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, often urged me to examine them and prepare an
j.
analysis of their contents ; but the magnitude of the task
v
deterred me. The total number of MSS. was 86 bundles representing, according to the Indian mode of reckoning, nearly a million and a half of verses, written in the, to me, very unfamilar Newari character, bristling with errors, full of" uncouth and unknown technical terms, and abounding in
o
quotations in a dialect which was but imperfectly intelligible to me. To master them thoroughly was .the task of a life- time, and, having regard to my official and other pressing
works, I could not take it up. Mr. Grote, however, did not
,
like to see his project dropped altogether, and, kfter his retirement from India, suggested the plan of dividing the •M&sk among two or more persons, and the Council of the Asiatic Society having accepted it, ^nd agreed to defray the cost of .preparing and printing ah c analyses, Pandit Harinath Yidyaratna was employed to read the texts and prepare, under my direction and supervision, abstracts of their contents in Sanskrit, The Bandit read about two*
xliii
•
• thirds t of the tdtal number of the texts. Pandit Rama- nath Tarkaratna read the large Prajndpdramitd, and Pandit Kama'khyanath Tarkavagis'a three of the smaller works, The rest fell to my, lot. I had also frequently to comp.ye the Pandits' 'abstracts with the originals, and this involved the necessity of a great deal of very hard and tedious reading. It was originally ^intended that I should trans- late all the abstracts into English* but during a protracted attack* of illness, I felt the want of help, and a friend otf mine, Babu Haraprasad S'astri, M. A., offered me his co-operation, and translated the abstracts of 16 of the larger works. • His initials have been attached to the names of those works in the table of contents. I feel deeply obliged to him for the timely aid he rendered me, and tender him my cordial acknowledgments for it. His thorough mastery of the Sanskrit language and knowledge of. Euro- pean literature fully qualified him for the task ; and he did his "work to my entire satisfaction. I must add, however, that I cfid not deem it necessary, noj had I the opportunity, to compare all his renderings with the originals. In preparing the abstracts it was found that my Pandits could not always master the true'irnport of the philosophical terminology of the
•
Buddhists, nor .could they condense with sufficient clearness the diffuse disquisitions about obscure dogmas to make them fit for presentation to the public. The attempt, therefore, to review thp dogmas was abandoned, and attention wsCs directed mainly 'to the narratives and the stories about the previous births of Buddha, which have been so largely illustrated in the ancient sculptures of India. Even in this respev-,, however, some limit had to be put to the length of the stories. Some of 'the stories are very loni*, extending over a hundred to two hundred pages, and all are •docked out, with a good deal of descriptive ornaments and* tedious details. To reproduce "them in their entirety would require
xliv
not one, but many, volumes, and I had, therefore, to satisfy myself with their bare outlines — their skeletons — omitting all flesh and blood which give them their vividness and interest for the faithful. But reduced and attenuated as they are in the following pages, they will, I believe, prove useful in elucidating Buddhist traditions and sculpture, and in conveying a fair idea of the suture and contents of the
newly discovered literature.
\
8 MANIKTOLLAH,
July 27, 1882.
CONTENTS.
JV. B. — The MSS. as now arranged in the Asiatic Society's Library bear the Nos. shown here.
1. Abhidhanottara,
2. Abhidharmakos'a-vyakhya,
3. As'oka Avadana,
4. Avadana S'ataka,
5. Aparimitayur-dharani, . ..
6. Bhadrakalpa Avadana,
7. Bodhi-charyavatara,
8. Bodhisattva Avadana,
9. Bodhisattvavadana-kalpalata,
10. Buddha-charitraj j *
11. Chhandomritalata,
12. Chaitya-pungava, ...
13. Chanakya-sarasangraha,
14. Dharani-mantra-Sangraha,
15. Dharanis?
16. Dhvajagrakeyim Dharani,
17. Das'ablmmis'vara,
18. Div*favadana-mala,
19. Durgati-paris'oflhana,
20. Dvavins'a Avadana,
21. Ganapati-hridaya,
22. Ganda-vyuha,
k * *
23. Gitapustaka,, •
24. Grahamatrika Dharani,
25. Gunakarnda-vydha,
26. Kalyana-panchavins'atika,
27. Kalpadiama Avadana, ...
No.
... B. 26, ... A. 13, ... A. 14,
... B. 6, (H. P. S.) ... B. 48,
... B. 40, (H. P. S.) ... B. 42,
.. B. 13, (H. P. S.) ... B. 15, ... . 823, ... B. 8, ... B. 43, ... B. 56, ... B. 5,
... B. 5, andB. 65, ... B. 51,
... B. 45, (H. P. S.) ... A 8, ... B. 30,
... B. 41, (H. P. S ) ... B. 51, ... A. 9, (H. P. S.)
... B. 49, '
... B. 27, (H.'P. §.)
... B. 36, B. :>:>
Page
1
3
6
17
41
42
47
49
57
78
79
280
» 282
80
291
283*
81
304
84
85
• ^>
90
99
xlvi
|
No. ' |
Pttfje |
||
|
28. |
Kapis'a Avadana, ... |
B. 25, (H. P. S.) |
100 |
|
29. |
Karanda-vyuba, |
A. 19,. |
101 |
|
30. 31. r |
Katbina Avadana, ... Kavikumara-katba, |
B. 62, B. 47^ (II. P,. S.) |
284 102 |
|
32. |
Karuna pundarika, |
A. 16, |
285 |
|
33. 34. |
Kriyasangraba-pnnjika, ... No. B. 10, Kus'a Jataka, |
^. 23, (H P. S.) B. 32, |
105 110 |
|
35. |
Lokes'vara S'ataka, |
B. 46, |
112 |
|
36. |
Lalita-Vistara, ... t.. |
B. 14, B. 61, |
113 |
|
37. |
Lanka vat a ra, ... ... |
B. 12, |
113 |
|
38. |
Madbyamaka-vritti, |
B. 2, |
169 |
|
39. |
Mabavastu Avadana, |
A. 11, (H. P. S) |
1J5 |
|
40. |
Maba-sitavati, |
B. 4, |
164 |
|
41. |
Maba-raksba-mantranusarini, |
B. 4, |
165 |
|
42. |
Maba-sabasra pramardini, |
B. 4, |
166 |
|
43. |
Maba-pratisara-kalpa, |
B. 4, |
168 |
|
44. |
Mabakala Tantra, |
B. 52, |
172 |
|
45. |
Mabamayuri, ... |
B. 4, |
173 |
|
46. |
Manicbuda Avadana, |
B. 28, |
T62 |
|
47. 48. |
Maricbi-nama dbarani, ... ' ( Paramartba-nama-safigiti, |
B. 49, BP rf • . ^/y, |
174 175 |
|
49. |
Parnas'avarinama dbanmi, |
B. 49, |
176 |
|
50. 51. 52. < |
( Prajna-paramita, S'atasabasrika, Nos. A. 1 to A. 7,,and A. 21, Prajna-paramita, Asbtasabasri^ka, ... A. 15, Prajna-paramita, PancbavinVati- sabasrika, ... ... A. 10, |
177 188 193 |
|
|
53. |
Prajna-paramita tika, |
A. 17, |
194 |
|
54. |
Pin dapatravadana, ... |
B. 53, |
195 |
|
55. |
Pujapaddbati |
A. 12o |
196 |
|
56. |
Prayoga-mukba, |
B. 54, |
197 |
|
j>7: - |
Ratnamala Avadana, ... ... |
B. 11, (H. P. S.) |
197 |
|
58. |
Ratna pariksba, |
B. 50, |
291 |
|
59. |
S'addbarma-pundarika, ... |
B. '?i , |
20& |
|
60. 61. t 62. |
Samadbiraja, * Saptakumarika Avadana alias Abo- ratravratanus'ansa, Sardulakarna Avadana, ... |
B. 3, (H. P. S.) i B. 24, B. 17, |
207 221 223 |
I >.
xlvii / *•
•
^ No. Page
63. Sarvatatbiig-atosbnisba-sitatapatra
, alias Pratyapg-ira-kalpa, ... B. 46, 227
64. Sragdbdra stotra, ,.. ... B. (53, 228^
65. Sragdhara tika/ ... ... B. 64, *229
66. S'riAgabberi, ... ... B. 38, 229
67. S'riAgabheri vratavadana, ... B. 29, 231
68. Sucbandra Avadana' ...^ ... B. 21, 232
69. Sug-ata Avadana, ... ... B. 31, 233
70. Sukbavati-vyuha, ... .. B. 20, 236
71. Sumag-adba Avadana, ... ... B. 57, 237
72. Suprabbata-stava, ... ... B. 39, 239
73. S^uryaprajnapti-tika, ... ... B. 58, 240
74. Suvarna prabhasa, ... ... B. 9, (H. P. S ) 241
75. Svayambbu puraua, ... ... B. 19, (H. P. S.) 249
76 Tarasbtottaras'ata-nama-stotra, ... B. 33, 259
77. Tatbagata-guhyaka alias Gubya-sarna-
gjia, ... ... B. 22, 261
78. Uposhadha Avadana, ... ... B. 37, 265
79. Ushnishavijaya Dbarani, ... B. 49, 267
80. Vajras'iichi, ... ... B. 34, 268
81. Vajravidarana-fiama-dbarani-bridayopa-
bridaya, ... ... B. 49, 269
82. Vasuudbara-vratotpattyavadana, ... B. 44, 269
83. Vasitndbarashtottra-s atanama, ... B. 49, 274
84. Virakuspb Avadana,' ... ... B. 16,
85. Vratavadanafna]*a, ... ... A. 18,
t C
THE
SANSKRIT BUDDHIST LITERATURE OF NEPAL.
No. B. 26. ABHIDHANOTTAKA ALIAS AVADA'NA-STOTRA TANTEA.
Substance, yellow Nepalese paper, 12 X 3. Folia 205. Lines on a page, 6. Extent^ in s'lokas, 3100. Character, Newari. Date, Newari . Samvat 805 = A. c. 1685. Appearance, old. Prose and verse. Very incorrect.
*A treatise of the Tantra class, containing mystic mantras and directions ' for the worship of demigods and good and evil spirits of various kinds. Anonytnous. The scene is laid in the abode of a Gruhya- ka of the name of Vajrakrodha Dakini, (" the imp of lightning pas- sion,") where the .great Tathagata Vajrasattva once sojourned. There certain other Tathagatas solicit him to impart to them a knowledge of the secret actence of ' destroying the net of the imp of lightning passion ( V(tjrakronhat'ddMni-jdla-samvarabhinottcu'ottara-hi'id(Ujat — the full name of the work); and the knowledge is imparted in a series of sixty-fiv/a lectures. After defining the time, the place, arid the per- sons fit fo'r the worship of various kinds of imps, the spirit of Vajrasatt- va is directed to oe meditated upon in the essence of certain letters of the alphabet, which constitute the vijamantras. In his heart the wor- shipper should reflect upon a central point, and over it the syllable yum forming a blue atmps^here, thereupon a brilliant red triangular halo formed by the syllable ram, thereupon a frost-like wat'ery glow formed by the syllable vanv, and thereupon a four-cornered ye'llow-colourec3) terrene globe formed by the syllable lam. He must then meditate on the wheel diagram, which he should imagine to consist of eight red-
coloured spokes placed on the globe aforesaid. TVe form of the demi- goddess is fierce, four-mouthed, twelve-armed, &c., and the vijamantra for her is Om hum ah mahdsukham. In this Way the rituals for the performance of the rites and the worship of certain other divinities Earned are given at length. The divinities, imps, ar.d rites are : Samva- ravajra, Pithaparva, Yajrasattva, Pithadevata, Bheruka, Yogavira, Pithamala, Matrikabheda, Adikarmika-yoga, Vajravira, Sadyoga-sam- vara, Amrita-sanjivani, (raising thfrdead), Yogini, Kuladaka, Yogini- yoga-hridaya, Buddha-kapalika Yoga, Yajrasattva, Manjuvajra, Na- vaksharalidaka, Yajradaka, Yarshayana, Kavachadvaya Chomaka, JDakini Chomaka, consecration of pictures, daily service for Yoginis, meditation on the seven-syllabic mantra, Yajra-yoga-sadhana, Gardhava- kara-yoga, the five cries, the fourfold goddess, Yajrabhairavp-krodha- dhipati yoga, meditation on Yajrakrodha, Janmapas'ubhavana, and At- mabhava. The Yoginis, whose worship is particularly enjoined, are described as women fair as the pith of the lotus stalk, with lotus-like pink eyes, fond of white garments, odorous as fresh sandal paste, and devoted to the adoration of Sugata and his successors* There are several kinds of these; some are called Kulajas, others Brahmis, others Eudras. The Dakinis are women of a bright red complexioh, having the aroma of the lotus, benign countenances, red eyes and nails, and fondness for decorating their rooms with pictures of lotus flowers. They belonging to the race of Padmanetra. In course of the work several charms and amulets are given to protect persons from the attacks of evil spirits, diseases and other evjls. Beginning. ^> *
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Colophon.
No. A. 13. ABHIDH^EMAKOS'A-YYA'KHYA.
Subtance, Nepalese paper of a yellow colour, 18 X 6. Folia, 338. Lines on a p&ge, 12 to 13. Extent in s'lokas, 19,266. Character, Newari. Date, ? Prose. Generally correct.
A series of Aphorisms on the principles of Buddhist philosophy. By Yasubandhu. With an elaborate commentary, by Yasomitra Acha- rya. The aphorisms are brief and terse, and so constructed as to express their meaning by their case-marks, without the aid of verbs, as is the case with the Sutras of Brahmanical writers, and totally unlike the Sutras of the Buddhists, which are generally loose, verbose and prolix. The commentary also follows the style of the Hindu philosophers, and dis- cusSes th*e questions raised, with reference to their philosophical bearings, but supplies no vritti or literal meaning, 'fhe logical precision of the H'indu writers is, however, to some extent wanting, both in the text and the commentary : the categories are also different. The work is divided into eight chapters, each called a Kos'asthdna or ' receptacle.' The first chapter opens with a discussion about fflarma or religious duty, which is said to be of ttfo kinds,- — one Sds'mva leading to transmigration, and the other Ands'ravafoT'that which effects emancipation from the bond of mundane existence. Then follow descriptions of the twelve sentient organs which constitute corporeality ; these include the five sensory or- gans, eyes, ears, &c., aAd seven desires, collectively called the adhydtmika dhdtus. The second treats of organic and mental functions (indriya), which are reckoned at twenty-two. They comprise vision, audition, smelling, taste, touch, living, thinking (manas), feminity, masculinity, sensation of pleasure? ditto of pain, ditto of ease, ditto of uneasiness, ditto of indifference, ditto of earnestness, ditto of vigour, the sens,e of memory, ditto of meditation, ditto of knowledge, the desire of comman clover un- known persons (andjndtamaJQ&ydmindriya) that of command (djnendriya), the sense of being commanded, (ajiiqlcndriya). The third treats of the dif-
ferert order of beings (kdmadMfa) resultingfrom ouncarnal desires, kdma. The subject of the fourth chapter is the relation which our actions be to our future life, or the manifestation of the sou] in different fprms animal life in accordance with actions performed in previous lives. The fifth describes the pain and suffering resulting fr-am transmigration. The sixth refers to meditation on the attributes of the Deity (I's'vara). The seventh treats of knowledge, which is of two kinds, carnal (Laukika) and transcendental or that which results from Toga meditation. The eighth explains Samddhi or concentration of the mind on the Divinity — the only means of salvation open to man.
The work is of great importance as a repository of the various me- taphysical theories of the early Buddhists. It takes up, one after another, all the various topics which engaged their attention ; points out their character ; notices their authors ; decides upon their merits with great tact and learning ; and forms altogether a valuable work of refer- ence on the subject. M. Burnouf, in his Introduction a VHistoire du Bud- dhisme Indien (p. 563), has the following appreciative remarks on this work : Les observations les plus generales entre celles que m'fi, suggerees Texamen de ce volumineux traite, embrassent trois points principaux. Le premier concerne la redaction et le systeme du commentateuf ; le second, les indications qu'il $onne sur d'autre ouvrages, independamment du sujet qu'il traite ; le troisieme porte sur le sujet lui-meme. En ce qui touche la redaction et le systeme du commentateur, il faut recon- nai^re qu'il appartiant a la bonne ecole des glossateurs indiens. Ya- comitra possedait certainement,- toutes les r'essources de la langue sanskrite, et il en a fait une excellent usage pour' explication du texte primitif. Sa glose est a la fois grammaticale et philosophique. II suit, pour la grammaire, 1'ecole de Panini ; et quant au systeme phi- losophique, il developpe les opinions exposees ou seulmen't indiquees, dans ceux des livres cannoniques qu'on nomme butras. De la vient la qualite de Sautrantika ou philosophe de 1'ecole des Sutras, qu'il prend dans un grand nombre de passages. Sous ce rapport, les indications que renferme ce commentaire sont aussi nombreuses que variees, et on y
*r ^
rencontre presque 'a chaque page des fragments pk.s ou mpins etendus de ces traite^, dont plusieurs se retrouvent dans les volumes que nous 1 ptssedonr a Paris. L'examen d'un tell livre met a mes y eux 1'authen- ticite des Sutras a 1'abri de toute contestation ; et il rend k la littera- ture sacree des Buddhistes un service^du meme genre que celui que les
commentaires philssophiques des Brahmanes rendent aux Vedas, qu'ils citent a tout imtant." Beginning. *n?j
End. '
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Colophon.
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qfrwr
No. B. 3. AS'OKA AVAD^NA.
Subs tan ce,Nepalese paper of a yellow colour, 16 X 5". Folia, 276. Lines on a page, 8. Extent in s'lokas, 9,660. Character, Newari. Appearance, old. Verse. Incorrect. «
An account of the early life of As'oka, and of his conversion to Bud- dhism, and tales and anecdotes related to him by a Yati nam'od Upa Gupta, with a view to illustrate the morality of the Bauddha religion. The name of the author is not given, but the work professes to be a record of the history of As'oka which a sage, named Jayas'ri, related to his audience at the Kukkuta Vihara, situated in a garden called Upakan- thikarama, on the bank of the Ganges at Pataliputra. There is a Kukkuta Vihdra in Behar, but that is not on the bank of the Ganges ; this must therefore be different.
Mr. 'Hodgson says the class of works called Avaddna includes trea- tises on " the fruits of actions or moral law of mundane existence." According to Burnouf : " Us s'occupent, en effet, comme le dit la liste nepalaise, du fruit des oeuvres ; qui signifie legende, recit legendaire, ainsi que Pentend Csoma de Coros, d'apres les interpretes tibetains du Kahgyur. Ces legendes roulent d'ordinaire sur ces deux sujets, 1'expli- catiqn des actions presentes par les actions passees,,et 1'annonce des recompenses ou des peines reserves pour 1'avenir aux actions' presentes. Ce double objet est, on le voit, nettement resume dans la4 definition de la listes nepalaise, a laquelle il ne manque que la Iraduction litterale du mot sanskrite."")"
The conclusions arrived at by Burnouf are — 1st, that the Avaddnas of the Nepalese represent the second division of the" Buddhist scriptures, or that which includes the Vinaya or discipline. 2nd, That this discipline is not taught dogmatically as in the Sutras, but illustrated by examples, anecdotes and stories. 3rd, That they refer to all matters relating to Buddhist rules of conduct, both for householders arid /or the clergy, and monks, as well as to forms of rituals, and mode of life under all
• . ,
* Illustrations of the Literature and Religion of the Buddhists, p. 23. f Introduction a 1'histoire du Buddhisme, p. 64.
circumstances. 4tff, That we have in them the history of Buddhism both of the tfhie of S'akya, and of his successors for a long period.* These -facts will be illustrated at length in the analyses which will fol- low of the several Avadanas which occur in the collection now under notice.
The genealogy of As'oka begins with Birnbisara, king of Raja- griha, who was a contemporary of S'akya. His lineal descendants suc- cessively were —
2. Mahipdla. 7. Turakuri.
3. Udayis'a. 8. Mahamanclala.
4. Munda. 9. Prasenajit.
5. Kakavarni. 10. Nanda.
6. Sahali. 11. Vindusara.
These names occur in the life of As'oka given in the Divya Ava/ dana, except the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th which have been differently given, Ajatasatru appearing for Mahipala, Udayin for Udayis'a; Muyiu or Udayibhava, for Munda and Tulakuchi for Turakuri or Turakuvi. In the absence of necessary MSS. it is impossible to ascertain how far these differences are due to copyist's errors. Apparently they are. The lists given in the Pali annals and in the Vishnu Purana are more seriously discrepant. They stand thus : — »
Vishnu Purdtia, Vol. IV, Mahdivamo, pp. 15 — 20.
pp. 180—186.
1. S'is'unaga. 1. Ajatasattu.
2. Kakavarna. £?. Udayibhaddhako.
3. Kshemadharman. 3. Anuruddhako.
4. Kshattraujas. 4. Mundo.
5. Vidmisara, or Bimbisara. 5. Nagadasako.
6. Ajatas''atru. 6. Susunago.
7. Darbhaka. 7. Kalas'oko.
8. Udayas'va. 8. Ten sons of the last, no name
9. Nandivardhana. given.
10. Mahanandi. 9. Chandagutto.
11. Sumalya &c., tnVmne Nandas. 10. Bindusaro.
12. Chandragupta.
13. Vindusara. *
The other Puninas give many different versions of the names above noted, (sue Mr. Hall's Notes in loco elf.). The Pali names arc
* Ibid, p. 47.
8
obviously not so authentic as the Buddhist ones from Nepal. The latter were very early translated into the Chinese and have therefore better claim to confidence. At the same time it should be observed that the omission of the name of Chandragupta from the latter is significant. Coupled with the fact mentioned by the Nepalese writer that Vindusara came to Magadha from Rajagriha, it suggests the idea that Chandra- gupta was the sole king of his race, and thaf the Mauriya line com- menced and ended with him. The Pali annals make Vindusara the son of Chandragupta. If so he could not have come from Rajagriha to take possession of his ancestral kingdom of Magadha. This is, however, not the place to enter into a discussion on the subject.
According to the work under notice Vindusara of Kajagriha became the king of Pataliputra, and his eldest son was Susima. o When Vindusara was reigning at Pataliputra, a Brahman of Champapuri presented to him a daughter named Subhadrangi. The damsel was extraordinarily beautiful, and a soothsayer having foretold that she would be the wife of a great king and mother of a universal monarch, the father made the present with a view to help the prophscy. The immediate fruit of this presentation did not, however, prove satisfactory to Subhadrangi. Immured in the palace she was, through the jealousy of the princesses of the zenana, doomed to menial service. Among other low occupations she was ordered to acquire the art of a barber, whereby, she was told, she would gain the goodwill of the king. When welF proficient in the art she was ordered by the princesses to go and shave the king. She did so, and acquitted herself so well that the king Coffered to grant her any boon she wished. She prayed for his society ; but the king denounced her on account of her being of the low caste of a barber. She explained that she was only acting the part of a barber by order of the princesses of the palace, but that she was a Brahmani by birth, and had been presented to the king expressly with a view to his marrying her. The king, thus reminded of her history, granted her wish, and made her the chief queen of the palace. As'oka was the first fruit of this union. He was so named because the mother emancipated herself from her sufferings by his birth, the word mt-aning " griefless." The lady had a second son named "Yigatas'oka, which word has a simi- lar meaning. As'oka was very unruly and troublesome, and his father made him over for training to an astrologerj named Pingalavatsa, who foretell that the boy would succeed his father on the throne of Pataliputra.
9
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When the prince had attained his majority, his character did not tnend ; he was found to troublesome, that it was deemed advisable to get rid of him by deputing him to quell a mutiny which had broken out at Takshas'ila, at, a great distance from the seat of the empire. His efforts proved successful, and he was well received by the people of that place. In the meantime his elder brother Susima created disturbances at Pataliputra, and offended the chief minister, through whose intrigue he too was sent to Takshas'ill, and As'oka was recalled therefrom.
™
Soon after, the king fell ill, appointed As'oka his successor through the instigation of the minister, but, much against his own will, and died. Susima, disappointed of his patrimony, rose against his younger brother, and attacked Pataliputra ; but As'oka, through his able minister Radha Gupta, soon overpowered him, and, to prevent future disturbances, ordered his ministers " to lop off the heads of all the trees in the royal garden with their flowers and fruits," in the same sense in which Tarquin the Proud lopped off the heads of the " tallest poppies" in his garden to instruct his son as to what he should do. The ministers demurred, and so he himself struck off their heads, and, retiring to a garden with* the ladies of the palace, enjoyed the pleasures of life to the utmost.
Noticing one day that some of the ladies had broken the branches of an As'oka tree, he was very much annoyed.,and directed a wicked man named Chandagirika, " the fierce mountaineer", to burn them to ashes on a large fire, and this was immediately done. The mountaineer, however, soon after met his deserts. Sarthavaha, a rich merchant, had proceeded to sea in the company of a hundred other ^merchants, and there had a son born unto him, *who was named Samudra. On his way home, after twelve years, falling into the hands of pirates, he was deprived of all his effects, and murdered along with all his companions. His son Samudra alone escaped, and led the life of a beggar. Once he came to the house of the mountaineer to beg alms, and was set upon, but could not by any means be murdered. Surprised at it, the mountaineer reported the cir- cumstance to As'oka. The king came to see the strange beggar, heard everything from him, an^ then cut off the head of the mountain
The miracle wroftght by the beggar worked on the mind of the king; and he became attached to the religion of Buddha. He caused a chaitya to be erected at the Kukkuta garden, and deposited in it so!iio reli«* of Buddha. He then causecVa chaitya and other religious edifices to bo erected at Harnagrurua. Coining thence to the river Ganges, ho was 2
10
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requested by the Nagas to go to their country, and there he caused religious edifices to be erected. At the request of the people of Takshas'ila, he caused 3,510,000,000 stupas to be erected for the deposit of relics. By his order the Yakshas erected, on the shores of the sea, ten million stupas for the same purpose.
After this a son was born unto him named Kunala, who soon dis- tinguished himself in all that was taught him.
Subsequently, on one occasion As'oka went to a Yati, at the Kuk- kuta garden, to study the true religion, and, at the suggestion of that recluse, sent for, from the Urumunda Hill, a Yati named Upa Gupta, to whom he assigned the monastery of Yenuvana, or the " Bamboo Grove." This saint was the son of Gupta, a rich man of Mathura, who had been converted by one Soiiavasi, a mendicant who resided on the Urumunda Hill, and presented his three sons As'va Gupta, Dhana Gupta and Upa Gupta to his tutor. A prophecy of Buddha is quoted, according to which the birth of Upa Gupta was to take place a hundred years after his demise (mama nirvritimarabhya s'atavarshagate upa» guptanamabhikshumtpatsyati.) (Fol. 23-2-1.) This chronology, how- ever, does not accord with the statement that As'oka was the thirteenth from Bimbisara, a contemporary of the great teacher. A contemporary of As'oka could scarcely be born within a hundred years of the' reformer's death. Such a prophecy, -however, was needed to exalt the rank of the great teacher who became the spiritual guide of so mighty a sovereign as As'oka. Having studied Buddhism under this tutor, As'oka caused, at ey«ery Buddhist resort, a Matha to be established for the adoration of the " Three Jewels."
When the teacher retired to his own hermitage, As'oka caused a proclamation to be issued declaring Buddhism to Ke the religion of his country. His chief queen Pavishyarakshita was, however, annoyed at his forsaking the old family religion, and, through a secret agent, got the sacred tree where adoration was paid, to be" cut down. As'oka was much grieved at this ; but, through the miraculous power of his religion, he restored it to life. He deputed Supindola Bharadvaja, a Yati, from
the Mandar Hill, to preach the true religion everywhere over his empire,
* t
and celebrated with great pomp the quinquennial humiliation and con- ference, givipg a great profusion of wealth, raiment and food to the clergy. ^ o About this time he also celebrated the marriage of his son Kunala with a maiden named Kauchanamala, andcsoon after deputed the son to quell an insurrection in Takshas'ila, a distant province, which seems
;
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p
to have been til at ease under the house of Bimbisiira. Kunjarakarna, the 'chief of the rebels,* succumbed to the powerful army which follow- ed the prince, and peace was soon restored. The insurrection, however, would appear to.be a 'feint, and the real reason, as in the case of Susima and As'oka himself, was the removal of a troublesome prince from near
i f
the throne ; for it is Stated, apparently by way of euphemism, that soon after the deputation, the king saw in a dream the prince's face all pale, haggard, and dried up, and, Jpeing informed by astrologers that that por- tended one of three things, via. loss oflife, retirement from the world as a hermit, or loss of sight, wrote a letter to Kunjarakarna to deprive the prince of 'his eyesight, as the least of the three evils. The mandate was duly carried out through the instrumentality of a Chandala — the task hav- ing been held as too cruel to be executed by any person of a higher caste. It is not a noteworthy fact that after this Vitas xoka, the younger brother of the king, should retire to the hermitage of Upa Gupta, and afterwards accept from Gunakara, a disciple of that teacher, consecration as a houseless hermit. This renunciation of the world did not, however, enable him to escape with his life. It so happened that at this time a professor of the Nirgrantha school, who reviled the religion of Buddha,
had got a picture painted, representing himself with the likeness of
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Buddha lying at his feet, and this he had circulated widely in the province of Pundravardjiana, and As'oka, hearing of it, had proclaimed a price (some dinars) on his head. A cow-herd (Abhira) had heard of this, and one night taking Vitas 'oka, with his long beard, matted uu- keinpt hair, and urfcut nails, to be the Nirgrantha, cut off his he|id, aid presented it to the king with a vie\t» to obtain the promised reward. - The sight of the nead deeply grieved the king ; and he sought from Upa Gupta, his spiritual guide, religious consolation for his many acts of cruelty.
A hunclred folia of the text are devoted to the life of As'oka as given above. The incidents narrated are the same as those given in the Divya Avadana, translated by Burnouf ;* but the language is different, the one being a prose work, and the other a poetical version. The rest of the work is made up of lectures delivered by the teacher for the consolation of his*ro"yal pupil.
The first lecture is devoted to the celebration of a fasj in honor of a chaitya (chaitya-vrata), and the religious merit derivable therefronu*
• * Introduction a 1'Histoire clu Buddhism-- indicn. \^\ 358,
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The second expatiates on the merits of devotion to Buddha, and on the propriety of confessing to him one's sins, praying for redemption. The third is on desire to be useful to mankind. The next five lectures have for their themes, contentment (samprqsdda) ; the sup- pression of the passions and indifference to carnal sufiering (kshdnti- pdramitd) ; relinquishment of works tending to birth, death and hell, and devotion to Buddha (virya pdramitd) ; the abstraction of the mind from worldly affairs, to be centred in medita^'on (Dliy ana-par amita) ; and the conviction that all things are0 illusory, and Buddha alone is true (Pajna pdramitd). These are followed by a story in which seven maidens obtained preeminence by devotion to Buddha. It forms the subject of a distinct work, (Sapta-Jcumdrikd Avadand) , and will be noticed under that head. The means of salvation and the evils of mundane existence are then descanted upon, and they are followed oby a long string of stories in illustration of various duties incumbent on house holders and hermits, and of proper and improper conduct.
Prasenajit and Ajatas'atru were rival kings who long fought with each other for supremacy. Thrice had the former been defeated, but, a rich banker helping him with a thousand pieces of gold, on the fourth occasion he became successful. To evince his gratitude he placed the banker on the throne for seven days, during which the latter did a great deal to promote the spreadr-of Baudha religion.
A householder was a great reviler of the Baudha religion, but was converted by the sight of some miracles performed by Maudgalyayana. H& then worshipped S'akya with great devotion, and beheld the miracle of lights of various colours issuing from the mouth of the great Saint.
The person of a Brahman's wife, when enciente, smelt most offensively. Astrologers declared the cause to be the presence of a Preta (an evil spirit) in her womb. She brought forth an ugly brat whose body smelt like a putrid substance, and who was fond of feasting on aquatic weeds unfit for human food, whence his name Durgandha Jarnbala. After roaming about in many places, Jambala sought the shelter of Bhaga- van when he sojourned at Kutagara near the Karkata tank, in the sub- urbs of Yaifl'ali. The Lord converted him, and, when asked by his followers the cause of the foetid odour, said, that ft Was due f.o his having, in a former Ijfe, abused a Yati.
« Onc°! when Presanajit, king of S'ravasti, was retiring from Jetavana, after adoring Bhagavau, five hundred geese*came to him, and announced
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that the king of Panchala had been greatly pleased to notice Prasenajit's devotion, and was ooming to congratulate him on his conversion to the true faith. Prasenajit let loose the geese in the tank near the monas- tery, and retired. The geese, hearing the discourses of Bhagavan, were released from' their anserine form, whereupon they repaired to the highest heaven. Shagavan explains that the geese were Brahnfan Buddhists who, hearing the evil teaching of some Tirthikas, had wavered in their belief, an^d were therefore punished by being doomed to be born as geese. From the genealogical table above given it will be seen that Prasenajit was the 9th from Bimbisara, a contemporary of S'akya,'and could not have been a contemporary of the great teacher ; Jbut such anachronisms are frequent in the Avadanas. The Tir- thikas appear to have been Jains ; some say they are Brahmanas.
A youth of the name of Viditajasaof the S'akya race, solicited Bha- gavan, when he was at Kapila A's'rama, to make him a monk. The lord declined, because he was a youth, and had not obtained his father's sanction. Sanction was, after some difficulty, obtained and he was or- dained. His claim to the distinction was, that he had, in a former life, replaced a* flag which had been knocked down by some wrestlers'whom he overcame in fight.
King Prasenajit had a very ugly daughter, by name Kutsita, whom he gave away to one Ganga. The husban^, ashamed of his bargain, and apprehensive of ridicule from his relations, kept her confined in a room. The relatives wished much to see her, and once proposed that
at a festive assembly whoever would come without his wife would be
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fined five hundred pieces of coin. F^ery one came to the assembly
with his wife, 'except Ganga, who paid the fine. Kutsita heard of this, and, to relieve her husband of the trouble she caused him, repaired to a jungle to commit suicide. Just after applying the noose round her neck she frayed to Buddha. Rays of light from the person of the Lord
• .
came to her rescue, and by their touch converted her into a handsome woman. Thus metamorphosed she returned home. In the mean time the relatives had plied Ganga with so much wine that he became
insensible, and lay o"n the ground. Seizing this opportunity they went
, *
to the hous.6 of GaftgA, and were surprised to behold the most handsome woman they had ever cast their eyes on. Returning, to the place of feasting they congratulated Ganga on the possession of sucli a be;*itfy. He took the remarks of his relatives to be mere banter, but, on return
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home, was himself surprised to behold the change. 'The lady soon after obtained her husband's permission to become a men&icant, and was duly ordained by the Lord. The cause of her ugliness is related to be her fault, committed during a former life, in having expelled from her. home a Pratyeka Buddha named Virupa, after insulting him for his ugliness.
A king of the Kaurava race, while reigning-at Kashthanagara, wished to be a hermit. The Lord refused to ordain him until he had obtained the permission of his wife and relates. He did so, and was ordained. His good fortune was dutrto various acts of piety performed in former lives, which are detailed at length.
When sojourning at Jetavana near S'ravasti, S'akya Sifiha once dwelt on the importance of giving presents to worthy persons, and, in, illustration of this subject, said, that when, after many successful ven- tures and loaded with valuable commodities including sandal -wood of the kind called Gros'irsha, a number of merchants were returning home from Bakshasa-dvipa (island of genii), a violent hurricane arose, and every moment threatened them with destruction. Beholding this, some offered their prayers to Tirthikas, some to Chandra, some to S'akra, some to Agni, some to Varuna, and so on, but to no avail. One of them, named Punyasena, prayed Hetuttania, a Bodhisattva who dwelt near his abode. Immediately the vessel was cast on shore, and the merchants returned home. Just at the^ time Hetuttania happened to be laid up with a burning fever, and his medical advisers recommended an un- guent of Gros'irsha to be smeared on his person. Knowing that the drug was to be had only from Punyasena, king Chandraloka 'offered four lacs of coins for a supply of it. Punyasena declined the offer, but, carried the drug to the hermit, and cured his suffering with it.' ' The result of this act of beneficence was, that the person of the" merchant became most beautiful and redolent with exquisite aroma, and all the wealth he had lost at sea was found, in the bottom of the well behind his' house.
Bhava S'arma, a Brahman of S'ravasti, was one( night about ito go to his lady love, when his old mother stood in the way, and prevented him. He felt vexed and killed her ; but when he came to his mistress and told her of what he had done for her love, she was annoved, and sent him away from her house, as she would not associate with a mataiai.de. Deeply mor- tified, he consulted certain Brahmanas, and through their advice, per- • foi^nod all the expiatory ceremonies enjoined in the Vedas, but they failed to afford him consolation. At last he retired to the wilderness, and, by the advice of a Bhikshu, performed the rite called ashtmga upasadha, (the
. •'.
t
cleansing of the eight members of the body,) and, then going to the Lord at Jetavana, got hiinself ordained a hermit, and obtained peace of mind.
Madhurasvara, a householder, had left some wealth with misers. The wealth, so deposited, was all destroyed by fire. The householder taught the misers the true religion, and they got their wealth ba,ck. Some robbers next* attempted to rob them, and he saved them. lie then became a prisoner in lieu of some mendicants, and remained tied hand and foot in a field. Some robbers came to kill him ; but Bhairavi Devi, with a retinue of live hundred imps, came to his rescue ; his bonds fell off, and he rose high up in the sky like a flamingo, where- upon tie robbers fled, and he became a devoted hermit.
One Padmaka, beholding, in his youth, a dead body, felt disgusted with the world, and, obtaining the permission of his parents, became a hermit.* When at Mathura, he entered the house of a prostitute for alms. The frail one was charmed with the beauty of his person, and sought his love. He was disgusted, and immediately left her house. To over- come him she employed a Chanclali, who lighted a fire and by the force of her enchantments brought him thither; but, rather tban yield to the wishes of the two wicked women, he offered to jump into the blazing fire
and kill himself. His enticers were terrified, and at last took his ad\io'
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and became mendicants.
»
The Lord Jina was once in the Nandana garden of Indra, and there, amidst the gods, performed many miracles for their edification. He performed the meditation (samadhi) called Durgati-sodhcwa, and instant- ly millions of rays of diverse colours issued from his body, and bl&ssed the gods. He then "performed th« Rajadhishthdna meditation, and similar rays iss'ued from his turban, purified all classes of beings, ancV returned back to their place. Then issued from his person the Hrit mantra, and the sound of it at once translated the dwellers of hell to
heaven. "Then from his turban issued the sound of Guhya mantra, and • i
it excited in all created beings a desire to adore the three Ratnas. Similarly the Munindrahrit mantra issued therefrom and excited in all creation a desire to adopt the Bodhi religion. Then the Sarvajinopahrit niantra issued forth in great effulgence, and wrought salvation for all the greatest signers ; thereupon bright lights issued from the head of all the saints, and the Lord closed his instruction by explaining the secret knowledge of the great Dhiirani. * * J
In Mr. Beal's Tripifehaka three works are mentioned as bearing on the life of As'oka ; the first is A-yu-wang-pi'it-king, which is the
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same with the As'oka Avadana. The name of its translator is lost.
The second is A-yu-wang-chun or a history of As'oka raja ; ,it was r " translated by Ngan-fa-kin of the Western Tsin dynasty (circ. 265- ( 313), belonging to the Ngan-sih (Assika Parthian country). The third
is named A-yu-wang-wan-muli-yun-in) and refers to the circumstances
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which induced As'oka to put out the eyes of his son.* Beginning.
rf:
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ff*!T tT
End. ,
srsrf
Colophon.
: I
No B. 6. AVADA'NA S'ATAKA.
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Substance, yellow Nepalese paper, 15 X k\ inches. Folia, 176. Lines on each page, 9. Extent in s'lokas, 6248. Character, Nagara. Date, ? Appearance, old. Verse and prose. Incorrect.
A collection of stones in illustration of miracles performed by Budclha. ' Compiled by Nandis'vara Acharya. According to the name of the work, there should be a hundred t^les ; but the codex under notice contains only ninety. The stories are puerile and of little interest. They open and conclude in very much the same way in every case, and repetitions are frequent. The language is simpie, and of the peculiar verbrfse style common in Nepalese Sanskrit works. Nothing is knoWn of the author ; but the work is of considerable antiquity. It appears to be the same with the Pih-u-king of the Chinese, which was translated from the Sanskrit by one Grunabhadra. The Sanskrit name of the Chinese work as given by Mr. Beal is S'atd- vaddna tfiitra, (Catalogue of the Buddhist Tripilliaka, p. 88). The following are brief abstracts of the stories.
STORY I. — Once upon a time, the great Buddha lodged in the Bam- boo grove (VenU'vana) on the side of the Kalandaka tank at R&jagriha. There, he initiated PiAJa'Biuibisara into his doctrines, and, \>y pivuohin^ converted thousands to his faith. Theto lived, at this time,, in a retired village named Dakshinagiri, on^Sampiirna, a Brahman as riel^ as *IC^v vera. Some of his relatives»embraced the Buddhist religion, and spoke
highly of it before him. One day he fell on his kne^es and adored Buddha. The Lord appeared before his votary* attended by , Ananda. Sampurna received him with every manifestation of reverence due to a god, and waited the pleasure of the Lord. Of him the Lord sought food and drink, both for self and his retinue of Bhikshus. When a thousand
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begging vessels were filled with all the dainties' of the time, a voice from heaven declared " the vessels of a thousand Bhikshus are full,"
At the manifestation of this miraculous voice, Sampurna fell, like a felled tree, at the feet of the Lord, and importuned him for instruction in Bodhi knowledge. The Lord lent a willing ear to his importuni- ties, and, calling to mind the doings and sufferings of his votaries in his former existences, smiled. Bays, blue, red, yellow and white, shot forth from his smiling lips. Some of these proceeded upwards and some downwards: the latter cooled the fiery regions cf hell and warmed the chill blush of Stygian wind, liberating multitudes of suffering sinners, who repaired to the regions of the gods and of men, and there took new births. Those rays which preceded upwards, reached the re- gions of Brahma and others, and there recited the two following Gathas : —
" Commence the good work, give up the world, and be obedient to the command of Buddha.''
These rays afterwardr turned thrice round Buddha, and disappeared in his head-dress. When Buddha had a mind to reveal the past, these rays, issuing from his teeth, disappeared in his back ; when he wished to speak of the future they vanished in his front ; when he thought to speak of hell they fell at his feet ; and whe.n of perfect knowledge they lost themselves in his head-dress.
After the disappearance of these rays the Lord addressed Ananda, saying, " this Brahman is sure to become a great Buddha, endowed with mercy, memory, the three qualities, and the ten powers, observant of the six articles of our faith and adorned by universal benevolence." The Lord then-taught Sampurna the perfect knowledge.
II. — When dwelling in a lofty tower on the lake Markala, in the vicinity of Vaishali, the Lord, while on a begmng excursion, entered the house of one Sinha, a general of the royal aVmy, who offered him welcome. The brilliancy of the Lord's person attracted tke notice of * Yasoma/i, daughter-in-law of SinhaT She enquired of her father-in- law how she could be as brilliant. He replied, by becoming a votary of the Lord.
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Thereupon she invited Buddha and his companions, satisfied them with various dainty "dishes, and adored the Lord by throwing flowers at his feet. These flowers forthwith went to the lofty tower and form* ed a gemmed parasol of such exquisite beauty as even the most skilled artist would fa'il to imitate. She fell at the feet of the Lord, and prayed for admission »to the ranks of his followers. The Lord addressed A'nanda, saying, " This Yasomati is destined to become a great Buddha, Batnamati by name." t
III. — When the Lord sojourned In the garden of Anathapindada in the Jeta grove at S'ravasti, there lived at S'rasvasti a rich usurer who had obtained *a son by worshipping Indra and other gods. The son, named At'nanda, grew up under the care of his parents. But he was weak ia the loins, and even at the age of six years could not walk, though by his sharpness .and intelligence he readily, at the time, mastered all the sciences of his day. The usurer was very sorry at the ailment of his son, and wept bitterly for his sad lot.
The omniscient Lord, knowing all this, presented himself one day at the usurer's house. The boy, seeing him marked with all the 32 signs of greatness,* suddenly rose up from his seat, received him with' great reverence, and enquired about his health. The parents of the child wondered 'at this miraculous cure.
The Lord smiled and said, " This boy will become a great Buddha."
IV. — A merchant at S'ravasti carried his mercantile transactions beyond the sea. In two successive voyages his vessels were wrecked. He escaped with hl*s life with great difficulty, his splendid Jfortufce being drowned in the sea.' »
He started oh a third expedition with the firm conviction that the Lord Buddha was the greatest and most merciful of gods. This time fortune smiled on him ; after a prosperous voyage he returned laden with riches 'from the Jewel Island. After his return he bought two Karshapana worth of incense, and at the Jeta grove burnt it before the Lord. The smoke rose up in clouds and covered the sun. The- asto- nished merchant invited Buddha and all his Bhik^hus, feasted them to their fill, and showered precious stones with a lavish hand amou^
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them. These, stones *oSe up in the air, and there formed a splendid tower and a brilliant geinined umbrella over the Lord's, head. £he merchant fell on his knees and asked instruction in supreme kuawledg<*.J
The Lord said to Luanda, " This man will bucomo a perfect Buddha, llatuottauia by name."
V. — In S'ravasti there was a patriarch as rich as Kiivera. When Devaputra fell from heaven he, under the name( of Chandika, became the son of that patriarch. Chandika for a long time suffered from a burning sensation throughout his body. Obtaining no relief from medicines, he meditated on Buddha. The Lord kindly presented him- self before Chandika, and granted him a medicine obtained from Indra. It effected an instant cure. Chandika feasted Buddha to his entire satisfaction and asked instruction in supren?e knowledge.
The Lord said to Ananda &G,
VI. — Before the advent of Buddha Raja Prasenajit used to worship the Tirthikas, but, after the appearance of that great preacher, he bowed to none but the great Lord. W hen the Lord was dwelling in the Jeta grove, a gardener of S'ravasti brought a big lotus flower as a present for the king. '»
A worshipper of the Tirthikas asked its price. At this time Anatha- pindada came and doubled its value. They bade against each other with emulous pride till the price rose to a hundred-fold. Thereupon the gardener enquired about the whereabouts of Buddha, and, hear- ing of his great power from Anathapindada, presented the flower to the Lord. Instantly the lotus swelled out to the size of a carriage wheel, and stood over Buddha's head. The gardener, astonished at this, asked instruction in supreme knowledge. The ( Lord said to A'nanda, " This man is to become a great Buddha, Padmodbhava by name."
YII. — When the Lord was dwelling in the Jeta grove, the kings of North and South Kos'hala made war uponL each other. Raja Prasenajit came with a sorrowftil countenance to the Lord, and begged him to bring about a peace. Whereupon the Lqrd proceeded to Benares where the king of North Kos'hala paid him a visit. Buddha preach- ed before him the blessings of peace. His lecture had the desired effect. The king repented, and went to a monastery where he rose to the rank of an Arhat.
At the request of the Southern king Buddha lived for three months in his capital. The king bestowed on him the gift of a thousand pieces of cloth, and asked instruction in perfect knowledge.
The Lord said to A'nanda, " The king will bec'ome a perfect Buddha untfer the name Vijais for this good work."
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YKI. — When the Lord resided in the Jeta grove, two bankers of S'ravasti quarrelled with each other. On<o was a Buddhist, the other a
follower of H Tirtliika named Purana. Eacli held his object of worship to be. the most powerful. The king Prasenajit convened a large assembly to settle their quarrel, and requested the disputants to worship each his own ggd. The flowers offered to Purana fell to the ground, while those o'ffered to Buddha flew like so many flamingoes (haiisa) to- wards the Jeta grftve. The worshipper of Parana, astonished at nis great mistake, deserted the altar of his god and falling on his knees, asked &o. ,
IX. — The ninth miracle is wanting.
X. — Once upon a time Ajatas'atru defeated Eaja Prasenajit in a great battle. The vanquished monarch, overwhelmed with grief at .this sad reverse of his fortune, shut himself up in one of the innermost apartments of his seraglio. On this, a rich banker of S'ravasti incited the king to go again to war by offering him a large heap of gold. In this second battle Ajatas'atru was made a captive. Prasenajit went in triumph to the Jeta grove where the Lord was residing, carrying the captive in his train. There, before the Lord, he generously set the vanquished king at liberty.
Prasenajit did not forget the banker. He offered the man his throne for a week. During this week the banker-king had no other occupation but honoring the Lord and feasting his Bhikshus. At the expiration of his short reign, he fell at the feet of the Lord, and asked for supreme felicity.
The Lord addressed to A'nanda, saying, " This man will obtain his desired object. He will become a Buddha, Avayaprada by n^,me.v
XI. — The Lord was. residing in «, hamlet down the stream Ajera- vati, in S'raVasfi. T^e inhabitants of that place were all boatmen. Theji cheerfully entertained the Lord with a share of their frugal fare, and sat round him iu a retired spot, listening to him with great attention.
From him the boatmen obtained each his desire. • t
The Lord revealed the secret of his great miraculous power to those Bhikshus who were desirous of knowing it in the following words : —
" Once on a time, a Buddha, Bhagiratha by name, reached the banks of the Ganges* with two thousand Bhikshus, on a travel round the country. A merchant, who was ferrying his goods ovei»tlie stiviiju with a number of his dependents, approached the Lord respectfully, limped him iu crosbiug over the* stream, and feasted him to his entire satisfao-
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tion. I am that merchant. I enjoy the supreme felicity by the virtue of my good works in my former existences.7' <
XII. — Perambulating in the Kaurava country, the Lord one day reached its capital. There he summoned Indra and bestowed Qn him a quantity of sandal-wood from Gros'irsha. A few days later Indra, expecting favours from the Lord, anointed him with the sandal, and feast- ed him with rich viands. Wondering at the submission of the gods, thousands of the Kaurava race flocked round Jjim to receive his blessing. By his precepts every one obtained ^vhat he desired.
The Lord addressed the Bikshus who desired to know the secret of his power, saying :—
" A great Buddha, Brahma by name, entered once the capital of a, Kshatri/a king, who prayed the Lord for staying there for a period of three months. During this short time, the king honored the Lord in every possible way. He offered him flowers, aromatics, incense, rich food, splendid robes and the sandal from Gros'irsha.
" 0 Bhikshus ! I am that king ; by virtue of my former good works I obtain this piija from the gods."
XIII. — While the Lord was living in the Jeta grove it caravan of five hundred merchants missed their way in a sandy desert, and suffered greatly from the scorching heat of the meridian sun. ' Every moment their sufferings gre\7 more and more intense. They prayed Varuna and others, but from none did they receive the least help. They then sought protection from Buddha. The Lord Buddha left the Jeta grove, and appeared before them. They welcomed him with ardent manifestations of respect. <• By the command of Buddha, Indra rent refreshing showers down, and fresh and delightful brdezes blew from the south. The merchants, relieved of their sufferings, went to S'ravasti. There they obtained all they desired through the blessing of the
Lord.
The Lord addressed the Bhikshus, saying ; " In ancient days Chan- dana, a great Buddha, went to the capital of a king. The king prevailed upon the Lord by his entreaty to honor his capital with a temporary re- sidence for three months. There was no rain fpr several years in the kingdom ; the ministers advised the king to bathe th& Lord owith per- fumed ,jvater. The Lord was deligh'ted, and forthwith heavy showers of Vain fell&om the clouds. I made one of those tliat poured the per- fumed water over the Lord's head."
XIV.— Once on a time the city of Nathakantha was desolated by a ^destructive epidemic. The suffering multitude prayed Indra and other gods for help, but to no effect. They then sought protection from Buddha. • He appeared among them from his then residence in the Bamboo grove , (Vcnu-vana) in Rajagriha, and granted them relief. The Brahmanas of the place, grateful for the kindness of the Lord, listened to his preaching with great attention. They obtained all their desires through Ms lectures^
The Lord revealed to the Bhikshus the real cause of his great power. f He said, " Chandana, a great Buddha, entered of yore the capital of a Kshatriya king. The king honored him greatly. I was •that king ; my great power resulted from that great man's blessing."
XV. — The Lord lodged in the Bamboo grove on the side of the tank K*alaudaka. Ajatas'atru, the king of that place, was a great hater of the Buddhists. He made preparations for an extensive sa- crifice. Brahinans came to the sacrifice by thousands, but none to the Bamboo grove.
When the priests offered the oblation to Iridra, the Lord, disguised in the form of that god, accepted it from them. People wondered at the, visible appearance of the god, and came flocking to the sacred spot. To the great astonishment of the assembled multitude the Lord assum- e£ his own form. M»ny turned Buddhist at this miracle and obtained whatever they desired from the great Lord.
The Lord revealed to the TBhikhus the following ancient story.
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" A Kshafyiya king founded a splendid Viluira at the desire bf Indra- dyumna, a great J3uddha/ I was that Kshatriya king who was blessed by Indradyurnna." •
XVI. — Ajatas'atru and Devadatta, two great enemies of the Buddhist faith, published a hostile criticism on the sacred books of th'at religion. Thereupon Indra visaed the Lord, and himself superintended the deco- ration of the Bamboo grove, which rivalled Vaijayanta. At this the people went in crowds to receive blessings from the Lord, in spite of royal prohibition. The king was at last obliged to revoke his decree against the Lord's worship.
XVII.« — There were five hundred musicians at S'nivasti. The Jking had a great taste for music. Supriya, a master musician, aifpliel
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one day for permission to play on the Vina before him. The ; took Supriya to Jetavaiui. * Supriya's performance was quite charming.
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But the Lord had, before this, from prescience of Supriya's design, in- vited Panchas'ikha, the prince of heavenly choristers.' Panchas'ikba now played on a Vina the staff of which was set with gems and rubies. Every one was ravished. Supriya and his tuneful band, knowing the eva- nescent character of all worldly excellence, invited the Lord to a sump- tuous feast, and solicited Bodhi knowledge. The Lord smiled, and said to Ananda; " These musicians will become BuddhasVarnas'varas by name." Then he addressed the Bhikshus, saying, " Thes my great power is owing to my merit in feasting and delighting Prabodha, a great Buddha."
XVIII. — When the Lord was at S'ravasti an adulterer was led to the place of execution by an order from the king. Having fortunately met the Lord on the way, the convict prayed him for his own life. The Lord sent Luanda to procure a reprieve from the king on the score of the convict's betaking himself to a monastery. As a monk the adul- terer soon became celebrated for his piety and devotion.
The Lord said to the Bhikshus : — " In one of my former existences I was a Brahmana, Padas'ata by name. I gave Lord Indradhvaja an excellent dinner at that time. From him I got this my present power."
XIX. — When the Lord sojourned in the Bamboo grove, Bimbisara, the king of Magadha, approached him reverentially with drums beating and cymbals sounding, led him in a pompous procession to tlje capital, and feasted him magnificently. (
The Lord said to the Bhikshus that in one of his former exis- tences he, as a king, had honored Buddha Kshemankara in a similar way.
XX* — A rich banker in S'ravasti was converted" to Buddhism by Maudgalyayana. He gratified tlie Lord by inviting him to a dinner of a ^hundred dishes of delicious viands, and prayed^r Bodhi knowledge. The Lord smiled, variously coloured rays of light issued from his teeth as describedin miracle I. The Lord said to Aiianda, " This banker will become a great Buddda, Divyananda by name."
XXI. — Travelling in Magadha the Lord stood one day on the "banks of the Ganges. The Bhikshus beheld a large stupa at a little distance, and enquired to whose honor it had been raised. The Lord re- plied ; "Brahmadatta was the king of Benares in ancient times. Being childless ho worshipped many gods. Once" He found, in his gar- den tank a boy marked with all the 32 signs of greatness, born in a lotus, and seateS. on its seed vessel. He picked the boy up, and had him edu- cated as his own son. At every step the bo^ took, lotus flowers issued
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from his fea* and instantly withered and decayed. Kas'yapa instruc- ted him in divine knowledge. He left the world, and, becoming a IKT- mit, obtained supreme felicity.
XXII. — As the. Lord was passing one day through a street of S'ravasti, a bo^ fetched a full-blown lotus from a gardener in the bazar, and threw it upon the Lord's head. The Lord smiled and said, " For ttiis deed of merit this boy will become a great Buddha, Padmottara by
name."
XXIII. — The wife of a sea -fating merchant vowed that she would, on the safe and speedy return of her husband, present to the shrine of Vishnu,' a golden wheel. On his arrival, true to her vow, she proceeded Straight to the temple, but met the Lord Buddha in the midway. Observing him marked with all the 32 signs of greatness, she offered the wheej to him. The Lord smiled and said, On her attainment to the Bodhi knowledge, she will become a great Buddha, named Chakrantara.
XXIV. — On arriving before a large stupa, the Bhikshus in his re- tinue enquired of the Lord, to whom was the old stupa dedicated ? The Lord replied, to Das'as'iras. The gardener of a king named Brahrnadatta found a little urchin one day on a lotus flower, and presented it to the king. The king named him Das'as'iras. On arriving to majority, he left* the King, and became a hermit. As fire expires when fuel is con- sumed, so he obtained utter annihilation. ,
The Bhikshus enquired about the merits of Das'as'iras. The Lord replied that in one of his former existences Das'as'iras threw a lotus flower on Buddha Vipas'chit. From that Lord he obtained a bion, dissevering'the bond of 'transmigration.
XXV. — A 'rich merchant of S'ravasti, considering the evanescent character of all worldly happiness, determined to buy the goodwill of the Lord at the sacrifice of everything else. The Lord prophesied that the mercha*nt would become a great Buddha, Sukshmatvak by name.
XX*VI. — The next merchant who obtained the Lord's favor was prophesied to obtain the name of Sitaprabha on his attaining nirvana,
XXVII. — The boatman who ferried the Lord across the Ganges in
one of his numerous travels in Magadha was blessed to havo tho name
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Samsarottarajoa whew 'he should attain supreme felicity by the teach- ing of tlio Lord.
iXVIH. — A girl ono day decked tho Lord's feet with r^d san<fcii<- When ho w<iiit on his begging tour, tho whole city of 4
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S'ravasti was reddened with, the paste. At this marvellous display of the Lord's power, the girl, oil her knees, prayed for Bodhi knowledge, which the Lord granted her. She became a great lord, named Dharma- dana. *
XXIX. — A gardener presented the Lord at S'ravasti with a pil- grim's staff. The Lord took it, and planted it in the earth. Forth- with it swelled to the size of a big banian tree, covered all over with beautiful green foliage. At this miraculous power of the Lord, the gardener, &c. &c. His name was^to be Nirmala.
XXX. — A band of intoxicated revellers was dancing and singing in a street of S'ravasti. The Lord presented himself among them. Their riotous indecent songs changed at once into hymns in praise of the Lord. They threw blue lotuses on his head. These flowers rose up in the air and there formed a rich parasol. At this marvellous display &c. They were each to be named Balgusvana on attaining Bodhi knowledge.
XXXI. — At one time the Bhikshus suffered greatly from an epidemic of jaundice. They enquired of the Lord the cause of such suffering. The Lord said : — " The people of Benares laboured under this very same disease in the reign of Padmaka. The physicians, unable to relieve the jaundiced by the medicines they had, advised them to bring a Rohita fish of a particularly large size. But this fish was nowhere to be found. The king, who loved his subjects greatly, unable to behold their sufferings, vowed to give up his life. He abdicated the throne iu favour of his son, leaped from the terrace of his pala'ee, and died. On his death he became a big Eohitatfish. By tjie use of its flesh, every one ,. obtained a thorough cure. After this the BoMta fish addressed his subjects in the following way : ' Come, 0 my people, I will teach you the excellent Bodhi knowledge, by which you will obtain nirvana.' They said ' You took for us so much pains, therefore when you become a Buddha we will become your disciples/ "
XXXII. — The Lord taught the doctrine that merit results from giving alms, and that a meritorious man can work miracles. He gave
the following as an instance : „
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Once upon a^time, the kingdom of one Brahmddatta being stricken by a severe famine, he. numbered his people, weighed the grains in the cVuntry, fjud made it a rule that every one should get only one mouthful of food a day, only the king getting two. <-A Brahman, who was not
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included in the census, demanded his portion. The ki e up lialf his
share. .Then Indrawn the disguise of a B; to demand
his share. The king, even at the risk of his life, gladly oil it to hi.m. Indra gfeatly delighted, sent down a heavy shower of rain.
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XXXIII. — Devadatta sent assassins to the Ji'tavaiia grove to kdl the Lord. The Lord received the murderers very hospitably. Tho Bhikshus wondering at this, the Lord said :— ' Bramhadatta, king of
ires, had by his queen Durmati an only sou Dharmpala by name. Durmati, full of anger, envy and malice vowed one <; * If I take anything in the king's household I shall drink my sen's blood by cutting his throat.' At the nonfulfilmeut of the vow, the king in wrath commanded her to keep her word. The child cried pitiftusly in the agony of death. But the cruel mother would not relent. I am that Dharmapala. aud this Devadatta is that Durmati."
XXXIV. — ABhikshu, who wanted to mend his nether garment, wept bitterly, not being able to thread the needle. He cried : " Who is t- desirous of merit ?" The Lord said he wanted merit. The Bhikshu, won- dering, said, " 0 wonderful! wonderful ! the Lord, who is a great Buddha himself, still thirsts after merit." The Lord replied, there was a king, Sibi by na,me, who gave different parts of his body for the benefit of small animals. To Indra he gave his eyJs. At this, ludra granted him the Bodhi knowledge.
XXXY. — A king of Benares had a Yaksha for his spiritual guide. The Yakshi! ' d for his food the flesh of the king's sor^ After
much lamentation the ki,ng submitted to his demand. The cruel Yaksha then wanted ^devour the queen. She too was sacrificed for tho gratification of the spiritual guide. Then the king had to offer his owi; a victim to the unappeasable appetite of the Yaksha. Whea the king had already promised his own body, the Yaksha taught him tho follow- ing verse — " Grief is always caused by our dear ones; we four for th<Hr mishap. lie who has none to love has none to fear or to grieve i The king, in meek submission, said, " Do, Oh lord, as you lik :ny
body." But he was agreeably surprised to find the Yaksh into Indra, who held*tue prince in one, aud the queen in ti n 1,
and restored them to the king.
0 Bhikshus! I am that king, Anundu is thu SUK • ,_«rti
is l' 11, •
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XXXVI. — Buddha, when preaching the doctrine of filial love and obedience, narrated the following story by way of 'illustration :
" When Maitrakanyaka was a mere child, his father, a rich mer- chant of S'ravasti, went to sea and died by shipwreck. On arriving at majority Maitrakanyaka enquired of his mother about the profession of his father in order that he may betake to it. His mother, unwilling to tell the truth, lest she should lose her son too in the sea, deceived him by saying his father was a menial servant.
" Maitrakanyaka took to that profession, and earned four karshapa- iias. Next he turned a dealer in spices, and gained eight karshapanas. On the first day of his career as a gold merchant he obtained 16 karshapa- nas, on the second 32. All these earnings he made over to his mother. But on being apprised of the true profession of his father, he determined to start on a nautical expedition, and when his mother, with t&irs in her eyes, came to dissuade him from his purpose, he kicked her, and bid her be gone. At sea, a sea-monster (Makara) broke his vessel to pieces. He saved himself on a plank, and wandered in a state of utter destitution in the city of Eamanaka. He was, however, taken up and hospitably entertained by four Apsarasas, with whom he remained for several years. Then travelling southward he was met by a company of eight Apsarasas. By them he was whirled in a giddy round of pleasures for years together. Travelling again in the same direction he fell in with a band of sixteen Apsarasas, who also tried their best to make him happy. On the fourth time he was welcomed by a troop of thirty-two Apsarasas, \vko top spared no pains to make him joyous. These enjoyments he derived as a reward for having nvade over his earnings to his mother. But on the fifth time he happened to find himself "in a city of iron. On entering it, a big burning iron wheel began to revolve over his head, from, that time blood and pus became his only food. In this man- ner he remained there for sixty-nine thousand years. These gains were owing to his kicking and disobeying his mother. Then he determined to hold that iron wheel on his head for ever, that others may not suffer the same pains. Just at this charitable thought the wheel went up seven times the distance of the nether region and leftjiirn free. "I am, 0 Bhikshus ! that Maitrakanyaka." l ' XXXVIL — The Lord persuaded by his lectures the son of a rich backer td\go to a hermitage, and lead a solitary life, unknown to the public. The Bhikshus enquired of the Lo*d the reason for this. The Lord said : —
90 '
* »
»
In da^s of yore, there liv.ed in a mountain-cave a sage with no other companion than* a hare. The hare, coming to know, one day, that the sage was about to leave the place x>n account of a draught, requested him to postpone his departure till the next morning. Tlio sage consented. The hare kindled a fire and was on the point of jump- ing into it, when' he, out of love to the poor creature, prom to stay there even at the risk of his life. The hare, well pleased, turned his eyes towards heaven, and prayed Indra for rain. Forthwith there was a heavy shower of rain. The sage asked the favor of becoming the hare's disciple, when it should attain the rank of a Buddha.
The Lord said, " I am that hare, and the banker's son is that sage."
XXXVIII. — The Lord made no distinction as to proper and impro- per times in preaching the truths of religion. One day he preached while cleansing the Jetavana with a broom in hand. The Bhikslms admired his unwearied labour in the cause of truth. The Lord said : —
" Subhasuitagaveshi, the son of Brahmadatta-, ascended the throne of Benares, and ordered his ministers to search for good news [sublia- shita or gospel]. Indra, in the disguise of a Yaksha, brought him one. On the king's asking for a second, the false Yaksha made the king's falling or jumping into a fiery ditch heated by burning fire for seven days an(J nights, a condition of felling it. The king abdicated his throne in favour of hig son, and, coming to1 the brink of the fiery lake, jumped into it. Forthwith it was filled with cold limpid water. Indra throwing off his disguise, taught him the following Gathii :
" * Walk in tlie path of duty ; do good to your brethren ; and work no evil unto them. He, who confers^ benefit upon a man, is lodged comfortably both her^and in the next world.'
" 0 Bhikshus, I am that Subhashitagaveslri."
XXXIX. — One day the Lord entered the city of S'ravasti with his alms-dish in hand. ^ Brahman, approaching him, drew a circle round where he stood, and cried, " Gautama, you should not cross this line until you have counted down five hundred karshapanas to me." The Lord, seizing this opportunity to point out that good and evil deeds never go unrequited, obeyed tke Brahman, The news of this event went round the city. Many, eVe'n gods, offered their purses to the Lord's service ; but ho acoopted none. At last when An&thapindada p;iuf his ransom, ho made no objection. The Bhikshus asked, if Aiwthapiiulada'owod ^Tio Brahman, the money just "paid. The Lord said, " The eldest sou of
"30
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Brahnfadatta went to his villa in the spring. There the minister's son played at dice with another, betting five hundred k&rshapanas. He lost the wager ; but did not pay the man as he ought to have done. I am the king's son, Anathapinclada, the minister's soil, and this Brahman.
is the winner at the play."
i '
XL. — The Lord, while residing in the Gymnasium of Kus'i, ordered Ananda to raise a platform commencing from the north, saying, that was the day, for his nirvana. Subhadra, a traw^ller of Kus'i, had obtained supreme felicity from the Lord's teaching. From Subhadra the athletes of the place obtained the religion of Buddha. While lying on that plat- form the Lord revealed to the Bhikshus the following story, showing his relation with Subhadra and the athletes of the place.
" A certain king tracked a herd of deer in a cave, and aimed at them. The lord of the herd jumped into an impetuous stream and ferried over on his back one by one the deer. He did not rest un- til all were on the other side, although in so doing he was scratched all over by the hoofs of his burden, and blood flowed copiously from his back. I am that lord of the herd, Subhadra one of the herd, and the athletes are the other members of the flock."
The Bhikshus then enquired about the merits of Subhadra which raised him to such an eminence. While Lord Kas'yapa was on his way to nirvana, his nephew As'ctea was living at a gr(eat distance. Unable to see his dear uncle in his last moments, As'oka gave vent to loud lamentation, A silvan deity, taking compassion on the boy, carried him" to 3f as'yapa by his power as a god. There both' of them obtained valuable lectures from the Lord*/ The sylvan deity became an Arhat. Now he personates Subhadra. ^
XLL — When the Lord was in the bamboo grove, Maudgalyayana and S'ariputra, moved by the sight of the dreadful sufferings of a ghost, enquired its cause from the Lord. The Ldrd said : " A consumptive Buddha was advised by his physicians to use sugarcane juice. He entered the house of a rich banker of S'ravasti, and begged of him for some of the juice. The banker ordered his servant to see the Lord sup- plied. The wicked servant half filled a vessel with urine, then poured a quantity of sugarcane juice into it, and presented it to the Lord. For fhat one misdeed, the servant suffers this torture." w XLK.— Maudgalyayana enquired the cause of the terrible torture of a ghost, whom he saw convulsed with pain fct the cremation ghat. The
t
i
Lord said :•" When the Lord Kas'yapa was at ' 8, the wife of a
house-!} older was vety* ill-natured. A beggar one day :ihns of hor.
She b<fund him hand and foot to a prop, and gave him a good thrashing. She now suffers /or her sins."
XLIII. — On another occasion the Lord gave the following account
of the sufferings of \i
When the Lord Kas'yapa was at Benares, a Bhikshu asked a pahn- ful of water from a girl wty> was carrying a pitcher of water. She re- plied " Even if you die, Bhikshu, I won't grant you a drop." It is she who now suffers.
XLIV. — The history of another ghost who was at Gridhrakuta as given by the Lord is this—
Advised by physicians to take sweetmeats, a Buddha entered the house of «a rich Brahman. The Brahman charged his wife with the entertainment of the lord. She gave him a dish of night-soil co- vered over with rice. She now feels the consequences of her wicked act.
XLV. — While the Lord was residing at Bajagriha, there were five hundred who hovered over the city in whirls. They fell in with Maud- galyayana on his way to the city, and addressed him thus : —
' " Know, holy man, we were five hundred bankers of Bajagriha. We gave no alms, we threw impediments in the ways of other's charity, and we accused innocent persons of holding communion with evil spirits. Tl .It is, that we suffer infernal torture. We have our
relatives in the city. Will you, holy man, request them to feed«the l£>rd Buddha for our sake. Thereby alone fcan we escape these torments." The relatives complied \yifch their request. The Lord preached the trans- cendental doctrines of His faith, and the ghosts were ghosts no more.
XLVI. — The mother of Uttara, a shopkeeper of S'nivasti, was \ miserly and ill-natured. After her death Uttara turned a hermit. The
• g
spectre of his mother appeared before him, and revealed to him her terribly si . ;i wept bitterly, for he loved his mot < ler-
ly, i :he Lord with rich viands and rescued his anther.
XLVII. — Auanda .enquired one day the reason wli '-lin,
which he had seen, Btfnered so tremendously. The J^ord said, " J
yapa pi • at Benares. Induced by his leet uiv a banker's daugh-
ter forsook ; : »rld. Bin, her •• 'i*f.
She ! conceited, she contemned the learned, a: .iom
32
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the wise. For these three reasons, she became a hobgoblin ; bad smell issued from her body, and she lost the use of her eyes."
XL VIII. — A banker of S'ravasti, though a follower of the Lo*d, died very conceited owing to the defect of his training. When the Bhikshus disposed of his dead body, they found him transformed into a goblin. They requested the Lord to preach for the benefit of 'the conceited ghost. The banker ghost, by training his mind, rose to the chiefship of the spirits. In this form he still used to come {D listen to the Lord's edify- ing speeches. He obtained great^power ; the odour of his body rose su- perior to that of all flowers.
XLIX. — Here is the reason of another ghost's terrible suffering as given by the Lord.
A banker had two wives. They were jealous of each other. One of them was in the family-way, the other contrived to mix au quantity of noxious drugs with the food of her rival. The miscarriage, as de- signed, took place. The guilty wife then swore before her relatives, " If I have had any hand in this foul deed, let god turn me to a ghost that eats her own sou." She has now been turned to a suffering spirit.
L. — The miracle of Jambala, vide p. 12.
LI. — A rich banker of S'ravasti was very miserly. He heaped his gold in his garden where he lived. After his death, a black serpent, at wh6se very sight men l<$st their lives, took possession of the heap. Bimbisara, the king, knowing this, solicited the Lord for the discipline of the serpent. The Lord preached before the serpent and converted him. He became a Devaputra.
LI I. — A Brahman's son, Chandra by ^ name, lived close to the premises of Anathpindada, with whom he often went 'to hear the Lord preach. Dying a premature death, he became1 a Devaputra. One day the Devaputra found a Brahman in the cremation ghat bewailing the loss of an only child who still lay lifeless in his lap. In 'che disguise of a Eishi the Devaputra consoled the mourning father, and induced him to receive the lessons of fortitude from Buddha. By him he was initiated to the true faith. This Brahman was the adulterer of Benares (p. 14). Chandra was his son. The adulterer's son saved his father's life when he wats sentenced to death as a thief ky sacrificing his own life.,.
v*« LIM. — A banker's daughter covered the Lord, when entering the city to receive alms, with three sal flowers. *- Then she climbed up a tree
for more of* them, ' She fell down dead, and was instantly transformed into a £)evaputri. Sile listened to the Lord's preachings and, " tearing the mountain of this existing body with the adamantine weapon of knowledge, obtained the fruit of being furnished with ears."
LIY. — Raja Bimbisara, receiving the knowledge of truth from the Lord, had built a big stupa over the Lord's nails and hairs in his zenana, and his maids cleansed the place every day. When Ajiita- s'atru obtained the throne J}y parricide, he prohibited the females to sweep the stupa on pain of death. S r*imati, a female slave, caring not at all for her life, washed it neatly and lighted it with a row of lamps. The king, in great rage, ordered her to the place of execution. After her death, she, as a Devaputri, appeared before the Lord in the Bamboo Grove, and, " cleaving the mountain of human misery by the thunder- bolt of knowledge," obtained all that is desirable.
LY.1 — Anathapindada obtained permission from the king to solicit alms for the Lord, for the benefit of the whole population of the city. On an elephant rode the patriarch, receiving metallic vessels, bracelets and other ornaments as alms from his neighbours. A poor woman, who had an oni'y cloth, threw it over the elephant from behind a' hedge. The beggar knew instantly what the matter was, and bestowed on her rich presents. She went to the Lord and received the knowledge of truth from him. •
LYI. — When Buddha was putting up at S'ravasti, Raja Bimbisara of Rajagriha grew impatient at his absence. The omniscient Lord,- per- ceiving this, started for Bajagriha at once. But he was detained for ono night by the entreaties of a parrot in a»forest. Apprized of the Lord's residence in the wood by the intelligence furnished by the parrot, Bim- bisara, followed by the whole court, came out«to receive him. Every one was highly delighted by the Lord's lectures. The parrot, . fixing his mind on £he Lord, died and turned a Devaputra. From heaven he regularly attended the Lord's teaching, and thus " cleaving the bond of human misery by the sharp knife of knowledge," obtained the highest bliss.
LYII. — While theJLord was at Rajagriha, Anathapincjada reques- ted the king .Bimbisitrtf to send an ambassador to the Lord, inviting him to S'ravasti. He preached at that city. The messenger fixing his mind << _ ~
i LVIII. — Journeying through different countries, the Lord entered
a piece of forest where dwelt five hundred herds oi-'buffaloes. A wicked animal ran at the Lord. To avoid the danger he created five lions. The buffalo fell submissively at the Lord's feet. The Lord took pity on the poor creature, taught him the sublime truths of the Buddhist faith. All impressions, he said, are transient, the soul has 'no^ attributes, the peace is nirvana. The buffalo became a Devaputra, &c.
LIX. — Devaputra Upanshada obtained the fruit of being fur- nished with ears by constantly attending the Lord in the Jetavana grove with five hundred of his men.
The Lord gave the following story to his Bhikshus, pointing out the merits of the fortunate god. In this very Kalpa Kas'yapa Buddha lived at Benares. Raja Krika, in a splendid procession, proceeded to pay a visit to the Lord. The Brahmans, burning with the ambi- tion of becoming as great as Krika, asked the Lord to point out to them a way by which they could obtain all they desired. The Lord said, " By the holy fast called Ashtanga." They kept the fast. One was successful, he was born the son of Krika. Another, failing, became a serpent. Hot sand fell incessantly on his body and tortured him greatly. He again kept the fast, and was this time more happy in the result. His next existence was as the son of a god. This Upan- ehada was the serpent.
LX. — Hansajataka miracle, given in the Bodhisattva Avadana.
LXI. — Suvarnabha, or the golden-coloured, the son of a rich S'akya, frequented the pipul-tree grove. In pursuance of tiie Lord's teaching he betook himself to a hermitage and attained the rank of an Arhat. The Lord said, in the ninety-first mundane period^ Bu'ddha, Vihas'yi by name, lodged in the capital of Bandhumat. After he attained nirvana the Raja raised a stupa to his honor. A householder, finding a golden coloured image in the stupa, ornamented it with earrings, and prayed for having a Buddha for his preceptor, and becoming as beautiful as the golden image itself has that householder been born as Suvarndbha.
LXII to LXXI. — All relate to men who attained Arhatships for their merit in ornamenting, clearing, and repairing the stupa dedicated to the sage Yipasyi at the city of Bandhumati. ' • ^
LXXII.r— A citizen of S'ravasti had a daughter, Sup riy a by name; ^e was^atismara, or one who remembered the history of her past exis- tences. She chanted gathas as soon as she* was born. In her time the
35
country was stricken by a famine, but she feasted the Lord and the legion of his Bhikshas with food procured by the power of working miracles. By the persuasion of the Lord she turned a hermit, and be- came an, Arhat.
The Lord 'said, " In this very Bhadraku Kalpa she was the maid- servant of a rich banker. Lord Kas'yapa was then at Benares. Tfte banker, her master, went with a full supply of provision to his country- seat ; from his store she Bestowed a large quantity on the Lord and was approved by the banker. Her foi^tune in this existence she owes to her good deeds in her past."
LXXIII. — S'ukla was the only daughter of a rich S'akya at Kapi- lavastu. Many a prince sought the hand of the rich and beautiful heiress. Unwilling to marry she obtained her father's permission to betake herself to a hermit's life. She gradually rose to be an Arhat.
The Lord said, S'ukla in her former existence in this very Kalpa, entered Pravrajya at the instance of Kas'yapa.
LXXIV. — Soma, the daughter of a rich Brahman at S'ravasti could remember all she heard. Having become a hermit, she rose to be an Arhat. Her history was that in her former existence she -forsook the world at the command of Kas'yapa.
*LXXV. — On the day of Girivalgu-Sangama, a festival held -at S'ravasti, people crowded from all quarters to the city. Among others came Kubalaya, a natcn girl, from the Dakshinapatha. She asked if there was any in the city that could surpass her in beauty. Being re- plied " Gautama, <i S'ramana," she instantly repaired to the Jetavajia, and there displayed her 'charms before Jhe Lord. But by a miracle the Lord destroyed afl her beauty, and turned her into a hideous old hag.
• \9
She fell at the Lord's feet, and he gave her true knowledge.
The Lord said, Kas'isundara, the son of a Benares king, practised austerities m a secluded grove on the Himalaya. A Kumar girl fell in love with him, and endeavoured to seduce him by her charms. Finding him proof against her fascination, and mortified at the neglect of one she loved, she became a disciple of the great Kas'yapa. That Kumar girl is this Kubajaya,
LXXVI. — Thetdaughter of Brahmadatta, king of B> refused
to give her hand to any in the crowd *of princes that puu|, their court to her. At last when Tjord Kas'yapa came to live in the llislnjiatt'uj^ she sought and obtained instruction in the Bodhi knowledge from him-
36
(
Some of her lovers wanted to carry her off by force. • But she rose to the sky, and there displayed such miraculous power, that they all despaired of her hand, and went away.
The Lord said, Kas'isundari obtained her powers by an intimate attachment with Kanaka who flourished in this very E"alpa.
LXXVII. — Muktamala of S'ravasti was so named from the row of pearls with which she was born. She attained Arhatship by attending the Lord in company with a daughter-in-law of Anathapindada.
The Lord said, a banker ptesented his wife with a pearl necklace. The wife gave it to Kas'yapa, who was sojourning in Mrigadava at Eishipattana in Benares. For that merit she was born with a row of pearls on her neck.
LXXYIII. — The Lord was at Kachangala. An old woman, hearing from ^nanda that the Lord was thirsty, approachedthini with a pitcher full of water. At the sight of the Lord her breast heaved and gushed and she felt the affections of a mother. The Lord said, " This kind woman was his mother in five hundred of his former existences. In one of her former existences she mastered all the mysteries of dhyana, acquired the knowledge of proper and improper "application •thereof, and rose to the rank of a female Arhat."
LXXIX. — While the Lord was at S'ravasti, Prasenajit a'nd Brah- madatta quarrelled with e$ch other. During the progress of the war, Prasenajit begat a daughter, and Brahmadatta'a son. They adjusted their differences on condition of their children's marriage with each other. Arriving at age Kshema, the girl, expressed her deske of remaining a virgin and devoted to the Lo/d. Her father, alarmed, wrote to Brahmadatta to hasten the marriage. But Kshema ited to the Lord for protection. He examined her carefully, and, instilling into her the knowledge of truth, raised her above the influence of vile passions. When the priest was just going to unite the young couple, Kshema rose up to the sky where she displayed miracles. Sne came down thence, and with the permission of her father betook to hermitage. The Lord said, Kshema in this very Bhadraka Kalpa delighted Lord Kas'yapa and obtained the boon of becoming the first among female disciples.
LXXX. — Virupavadanam. Given in the Bodfhisattva Avadana. LXXXIj. — Saniudravadanam'. Ditto.
' LXXXII. — A householder of S'ravasti had the mortification of
V4SV> <aj
finding all his children die as soon as they (were born. He feasted the
s
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Lord one da^r, and -p'romised if his next child lived to devote him to the Lord's service, His $iext born was a long-lived one. The householder kept his' word. Sumana, the boy, soon attained Arhatship under the edifying lectures of the benign Buddha.
The Lord said, the high position of Sumana is due to his merit in feasting the Lord Vi^Jas'yi, and in decorating the stupa raised over his tooth and nails.
LXXXIII. — For granting two dinars at the stupa of Vipas'yi the donor. Hiranypaiii a gambler, was bo?n at S'ravasti, with two dinars always in hand; when the coins were removed they were instantly replaced by others. He frequented the Lord's dwelling, and easily attained the high position of an Arhat.
LXXXIV. — When the Lord was at S'ravasti the queen of Prase- najit gave, birth to a son clad in the ochre vestment of an Arhat. No sooner was he born than he enquired whether the Lord was in that city. At the tender age of seven he was raised to the dignity of an Arhat.
The Lord said, When the son of Krika (vide supra LIX) wanted the permission of his parents to enter a hermitage, they made him promise his return after he had finished the study of the ' three" recep- tacles.' He came back and taught his parents. He obtained Arhatship which he so richly merited.
LXXXV. — A pair of Yas'omitra's teeth oozed out continuous streams of water. By frequentmg the Jetavana he obtained Arhatship.
The Lord said, in one of his former existences Yas'omitra, after entering the hermitage, supplied an old Bhikshu and his followers wfth water for a thousand yeafs. The boon \^hich he secured made him what he was now. » *
LXXXVI. — Just as the Lord landed at S'ankas'ya, Upapadika, a Bhikshu, received him with great honor. The Bhikshu was admitted into the rank of Arhats.
The Tiord gave thife following account of his merits — Five Bhik- shus obtained true knowledge from Vipas'yi. One of them is this Upapadika. ,
LXXXVIL— Sobhita, the son of a rich S'akya at Kapilavastu, be- taking himself to the Jiflfmitage, obtained Arhatship.
The Lord said, "In Bhadraka**Kalpn, Kaja Sobhita erected a stupa over the hair arfd nails of Krakachelihamla, in his own^apii^Jp Sobhav^ti. On a festive occasion a brotherhood of friends proceeded
38 ( to strew flowers on the stupa. Sobhita, refusing to tale part with
r
them, was expelled from the company. Deeply mortified, he afterwards made sufficient amends for his misconduct. In another existence he obtained the favor of Kas'yapa, and, entering a mountain cave, cleansed the courtyard of a Buddhist stupa.
LXXXVIII. — Kapphina, the young king' of « Dakshinapatha, had 18,000 young courtiers. Proud of this strong body of supporters, he insolently commanded the lords of six cities, S'ravasti, &c., to appear before him. They, in alarm, took" refuge with the Lord. The Lord, in the following terms, challenged Kapphina to come and fight : " If you are standing do not sit, come with as much speed as you can." By wafting his magic wand aloft, he suddenly brought into existence an innumer- able array of veterans of which he took the lead in royal robes. But when Kapphina was about to engage, a voice from heaven declared " Obey the command of Buddha," and he changed his mind. The Lord instructed him in the Bodhi knowledge, and raised him to the rank ot an Arhat when he departed this world.
The Lord said, " A merchant of Bandhumati feasted Lord Vipas'yi and founded a Vihara for him in the 71st mundane period:' This very man in his other existence as Brahmadatta, king of Benares, gave wholesome diet to a Pratyaka Buddha who was ill, and raised a stupa to his honor. For these ^merits he obtained Arhatship when living as Kapphina, king of Dakshinapatha.
LXXXIX. — A warder of a fort at Benares once snatched a quantity of food from a girl, and subsequently, putting himself to much suffering from want of food, gave it aU to a Pratyeka Buddha. ' The Buddha showed him miracles. The man on his knees begged instruction in true knowledge, which was granted him. B<3rn at S'ravasti, this man was named Bhadrika. He obtained Arhatship from S'akyamuni.
XC. — When the Lord sojourned in a grove in the countiy of Sthula Koshtaka, that country was under the rule of a king named Koravya. His brother's son, Rashtrapala, was a handsome youth, endowed with perfection in every limb and feature. While roaming about in the grove one morning he beheld the Lord proceeding with his followers to the city to collect alms. The signs of greatness oni tke person of the Lord made a strong impression on the susceptible mind of the youth, who fcv1! at 4? is feet, and solicited conversion. The Lord, however, declined to comply with the request until the youth- should obtain the permission
39
. of his parents. ThrsVas, however, not easy of attainment, as his parents
and their relatives and friends did* not approve of the plan of the youth. The youth, however, was resolute, and his importunity prevailed. He got the permission, was duly ordained, and raised to the rank of an Arhat. The congregation was surprised at this, and begged of the Lord to explain how it was that Rasbtra*pala, a youth born in a royal family and possesS- ing no preliminary training, should at once become an Arhat. The Lord replied that this was due to the accumulated deserts of good works done by him in former lives. Once on i£ time the king of Videha, defeated by his enemy, repaired to the wilderness, and, roaming about in great distress from thirst, met a Buddha, and sought his protection. This protection was duly accorded, and the king regained his metropolis and worshipped the Lord for three months, after which he begged that he may be able to acquire true knowledge. That king is now Rashtrapala and earns the fruit of his good work. This explanation, however, did not suffice to satisfy the audience. The feeling seemed to be that the work was not enough for so high a reward as Arhatship. The Lord, therefore, continued. Again in the kalpa when human life extended to twenty- thousand yt&rs the Lord Kas'yapa sojourned in the Deer Park near Benares. At that time Benares was under the rule of Krika, a pious king, under wh<5se juSt administration the country prospered in every way, abounding in men, animals, good crops and flourishing icommerce. The youngest son of this king paid a visit to the Deer Park at Rishipatana, and beheld the Lord impressed with 32 great signs and 80 minor indications of greatness, and resplendent with glory more brilliant than a thousand suns put together. Deeply impressed ty the sight, he fell at the feet of the Lord, and, sifting aside, listened respectfully to the religious dis- course which the Lord (delivered. He then sought conversion, and Lord Kas'yapa was satisfied, and when the prince and his relatives, sought his protection Re had them duly converted. The prince planted an umbrella in honour of the Lord. That prince has now been born as Riishtrapala. a Again, Bhikslms, there lived in former times in the city of Benares a poor Brahman, who lived on tubers (Mulika Brd/imana). In order to collect tubers he UXM! to repair to the top of a hill. On one occasion he there met a Pratyeba Buddha in distress, and did everything he could to relieve the distress by offering him all such refreshments as ho could command. The Praty*eka Buddha benefitted greatly by his ittentj^ and offered him a boon fo^his good deeds. The Brahman begged that
be may be devoid of all human passions, and his prayer wa^im mediately granted. And the person who then was a poor Brahman living on roots is now born as prince Rashtrapala. In his former existences he had undergone many trials and sufferings in the cause of true religion, to which he was always attached, and in return for it he is now born in a royal family and is endowed with so much pefsopal beauty. And the ultimate reward of his devotion is that he is now come face to face with Arhatship, and acquired perfection in it. This shows that you should always avoid black acts, and betake to white ones which are sure at one time or other to bestow on you their much prized reward." The Bhik- shus were greatly delighted by this narration.
This is substantially the same with the story of the king of the Kaurava race which occurs in the As'oka Avadana (ante page 14) .
Beginning.
End.
Colophon.
41
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No. B. 38. APAK1M1TAYUH-DIIARA NE.
Substai . riper of a yellow colour, 7x3 inches. Folia, 22.
Lines on Extent in s'lokas, 190. Character, Newari. Ap;
ance, old. Prose. Generally correct.
A mystic mantra and the praise thereof as a means of promoting longevity. The work professes to have been related by Buddha him- self, when sojourning at the Jeta Grove near S'ravasti, to Manjusn. The mantra consists of the following words :
N3*3
" Om, salutation to the Bhagavat ; to the sovereign of endless life, wisdom an4 unfailing glory ; to the Tathagata ; to the Arhat ; to the perfect Buddha ; thus, Om, to the soul of the virtue of virtues, the. gre^t virtue, the measureless virtue, the knowledge of measureless load of virtue } and Om, to the possessor of all purified and pure duty ; to hiya who can rise to the sky ; to the scion of the naturally pure and righteous race, may this be propitious."
This sentence is repeated a hundred times, and he who recites it,
«
or writes it,, or causes it.to be written, or keeps it written iii his house, or hears it recited, .or promulgates it, or worships it with offerings of flowers, incense, aromavlcs, garlands, unguents, clothes, parasols, flags, bells, standards ; or wears it on his person, is said to receive the full measure o£ human life. The work is reckoned among 'the simple Sutras ; but it is obviously a charm intended to be worn as an amulet, and must bo of a comparatively recent date, — an imitation of the Hindu charms of Tan trie oriin. Beginning, ^jfr *
I
•• fiT^f«T ^ff ^T^frT ^^Rf ^I'W ^«^f«T I W'-ft:
i
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^K^ 3
VJ
End. Colophon.
No. B. 40. BHADRAKALPA AVADANA.
Substance, Nepalese paper, 15f X 5 inches. Folia, 23. Lines on a page, 8. Extent in slokas, 7,110. Character, Newari. Appearance, old. Verse. Incorrect.
Thirty-four legends on moral subjects, related by Jayas'ri in reply to a query of Jinas'ri who wished to know some of the anecdotes related by Upa Gupta, to his royal pupil As'oka. The scene of the second narrative was the Bodhimanda of Buddha Gay a, and that of the first the Kukkuta Garden referred to in the As'oka ^vadana.
Upagupta opens his narrative thus : — " When the Lord, after having obtained what he desired, thought of returning home, all the gods began to sing hymns in his praise. He taught them the sublime truths of his religion."
I. The first story is that of Yas'odhara, the forsaken wife of Buddha. Suddhodana's nephew, Devadatta, having been repulsed in his advances for her love, became her deadly enemy, and plotted several times to take her life. He accused her before his uncle, alleging that, unless she lives in guilt, how is it that when otters become mothers in ten months from their first conception, she should remain big for eighteen. The king did not give credit to these allegations. Then he induced the
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king to aL in his favour for twenty-one days, promising at the
end of that period tc»fetch his son Buddha back to him. During t twenty-one :ie tried every means in his power to put an end to
YasodhunVs lift.'. He threw her into a tank ; but she was protected and sent to her father by the king of serpents who hap].iMi«;d to be there at the time. This tank was long celebrated as Gopatirtha from ano' • name of Yasodhara. Thrown into a blazing fire she was miraculously protected by the coldness which the fire suddenly assumed. Preeij Di- lated from a high hill, she was saved by the kindness of a big monkey. At the expiration of the appointed time Devadatta, unable to fulfil liis promise, was imprisoned by the king ; but he was soou after released <p the intercession of Yasodhara.
At the end of six years Yasodhara gave birth to a child as ugly as ugly coujd be. He was named Vinipa. Envious Devadatta taunted Virupa, b}- "0 Yiriipa, do you know your father's name?
Buddha is gone these twelve years and you are at the age of six." Ya- Bodhara consoled her son by saying, " Your father is gone in the search of a desire-fulfilling elixir. He will soon, return, and change your ugli- ness into beauty. Do not believe in what envious Devadatta says to
you."
' II. ' After a stay of six years at Dharmadvipa, Lord Buddha presented himself at Benares with five of hi% followers. His residence w*as at Mrigadava in ffcishipatana. There was at this time a band of thirty " sons of Belial" who revelled in all manner of licentiousness. One of them lost his mother Bhadrangi who, in company with g§ds, came one <a*ay from the regions of blissfto hear the Lord's lecture. Bha- drangi found these wicked people following two women of bad character ; she found one of them, Kas'ika going away, and took this opportunity of correcting the gay lotharios. She presented herself before them in the guise of Kas'ikd, and gradually and artfully led them to the Mrigad&ya. There sne prayed the Lord to bring these wicked young men to the right path. Immediately after she rose to the sky, and thence si id : "If you are to come to me worship Tattagata, and renounce the path of evil." Following Bhadraiigi's advice, they proceeded to the Lord, who instructed them in Jiie* faith, and touched them with his right hand. Forthwith, their heads were miraculously shaved, and jiheir i;-;muents miraculously changed into yellow rags. They were then sent by the Lord as apostles of his faitji. They travelled from place to place in the guise of students (Brahmacharis), preaching tho Buddhist gosp
44
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III. A company of professional sacrificers of 'Benares, who were absent on a sacrifice at Vrinda, returned and fovyad thirty old vaga- bonds reclaimed. They immediately placed themselves under the Lord's tuition. The chief of the company was Luehira.
IV. There lived at Kus'alagram, inhabited by the* Dronas, one Puma, a Brahman, who, induced by a celestial 'voice, proceeded to the Himalaya, and there practised austerities to obtain favours from the Lord. He made thirty-four disciples. With these he proceeded to the Mrigadava. The Lord touched them with his right hand. Forth- with they were transformed into so many Bhikshus.
V. Uttara and Nalaka were the two sons of one Jayi, the family priest of a king of Tvarkata in the vicinity of Avanti. Uttara was versed in all the Yedas. Nalaka was a kind-hearted man ; he wandered here and there as a hermit, unmindful of his study. They w/^re both sent for their education to their uncle Driti, whose hermitage lay on the Vindhya Range. Driti advised them to proceed to the Lord at Mri- gadava, where they were initiated in the duties of silent hermits.
VI. Sabhika was a great controversialist. His mother was a per- fect mistress of the art of disputation. She was educated 'by a Bhik- shuni. She obtained the name of Maliadhi or great intelligence. By the merit of her good works she was cured of her bodily deforfmties'for which she was exposed on ber birth. She married one Vidyakara, only because she was defeated in a controversy with him. The fruit of this marriage was the great controversialist Sabhika. Sabhika, after having silenced all his antagonists, proceeded to Mrigadava to measure his powers ot' ratiocination with the, Lord. But on the first sight of that great man Sabhika fell on his knees, and begged hirii for instruction. By the Lord's command Uttara gave him the definitions of Sambuddha, Arhat, S'ramana, Brahmana, Snataka, Dvija, Vaidika, Vipra, S'rotriya Brahmachari, Rishi, Parivrajaka, Muni, Tapasvi, Yati and Yogff. Within a short time Sabhika entered the hermitage.
VII. The story of Jas'odevi.
VIII. The story of Grihapati Svastika.
IX. After causing, on his way to Gana, a thousand boatmen to renounce the world, the Lord presented himself one i day at the hermi- tage of the 3£as'yapas. There He converted Fulvavilva Kas'yapa, Buddha Kas'yapa, Sarit Kas'yapa* and their nephew Upasena with
(
* The names are differently given in other works, Urnvilva occurs for the first, Nadi for the second, and Gaya for the third.
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their numerous followers to his .own faith. He gave the following story of their former liv'es :
" Three royal brothers, Indraraja, Sinharaja and JBhadraraja, pro- ceeded once upon a time from Kaluga to Hastina, wh<'n; a Tathagata made his a; uce, in order to worship him and receive his blessing.
They invited him to tHeir own kingdom, and on his death rai : upa
to his honour. They begged of him the boon of ever remaining tho servants of Sugata. They a»e now born as tho Kas'yapas."
X. Onco on a time, on the Lord's entrance into the Dharmaranya, seven hundred Rishis explained to him as many different modes of worship. The Lord pronounced them all, without exception, to be false. H« explained to them the sublime truths of his own religion. They all obtained Nirvana by accepting his creed.
XI. 'Raja Bimbisara heard one day his family priest teach the Dvatrinsat lakslianas, or the SC2 signs of Buddhahood. From that time he became disgusted with the world, and panted for the knowledge of the true faith. Just at this time, the rumour of the Lord's appea- rance in the Jaiavana grove reached his ears. He resolved on an
.
interview with him. Great was his surprise when he found the gr<-at Rishi KaYyapa sitting before the Lord, a convert to the Buddhist faith. By the Lord's instructions the Raja regained the ease of his
mind, and entered on a course of virtuofts administration of his
* kingdom.
XII. Sariputra and Maudgalyayana were two foremost teachers among the early Buddhists. They were friends from their early boy- hood. They were both proficient in alMhe sciences of their day. The real name of Sariputra v*as Upatishya. He was the last of the s< sons of a Brahman, Dharmapati of Naradagrama, near Rajagriha, by his only wife Sari. Maudgalayaua was the son of Dhanyayana of Kelika, a village^ not far from Naradagrama. He was called Maudgalayaua because he was born in the Gotra or clan of tho Maud gal ay an as. They both were converted by the Lord himself, and both soon ro.- high rank among his followers. Dirghanakha, the mak-mul undo of Sariputra, envying the iiord's givut fa mo, came boastfully for war
•
silence the Lcvrd by arguments ; but remained one of jiis most xralous partizans to the end of his life. Jeta, a Rishi, and A'naTida his fii. were at this time made converts. Jeta presented t! i ;»'Y: *•
which still goes by his
Xlll to XXXII. Short stones relating to the roiiuT.sioii of
46
various persons to the Buddhist faithf by Buddha ' himself during his sojourn in the Jetavana grove. The converts ^ere Kas'yapa, a rich Brahmana, Naradatta the nephew of Asita a Rishi, S'aktf a Brah- mani, Padma her friend, seven hundred discipjes of Eudraka, Rebata a Muni, Amithapindada, Piirna and other inhabitants of S'ravasti. When going to his hermitage in the Yenuvana at Rajagriha, he appointed Purna at the head of the Sangha or Charch of S'ravasti. While journeying through a forest, Bud/lha found a gang of robbers dividing their booty. The Lord, giving them an equivalent in gold, restored the stolen property to its owners. The robbers became his fol- lowers, and honoured him greatly when he lived at Rajagriha.
XXXII. The Bhikshus enquired of the Lord how was it that his mother (aunt) Gautami, though blind, was called Sulochana or per- fect-eyed ? The Lord gave the following explanation : A big " white ele- phant was very fond of his mother. He migrated with his old mother from the Himalaya to the Yindhyan forest where provender was easily procurable. Finding one day a travelling merchant in great distress, the kind animal took compassion upon him, and extricated him from his difficulties. That ungrateful wretch informed the king of Benares, who
was in search of a white elephant, of such an animal being available in the
i
Yindhyan forest, a circumstance which led to the poor elephant's being tracked and caught. HS was conducted to the Royal Menagerie at Benares. For weeks together the elephant did not take any food, but shed profusion of tears. On being asked the cause he gave vent to his filial apprehensions. The king granted him release. He hastened to find his old mother, with his fceart beating with apprehensions. He found her in the forest, blind with tears, v On his arrival her eyes cleared up, and she got back her sight. I am that elephant, and
Gautami is the old mother.
r
XXXIII. The story of Nalini ; told in the Avadana-kalpalata.
XXXIY. Invited by his father, Lord Buddha proceeded from Ye- nuvana to his capital. The king paid a return visit to his son at Ye- nuvana where he heard many edifying lectures. One of them contain- ed the following story : Raja Sudasa of Benar?s had by a lioness a son
named Sutasoma When that son came to the throne he was in the habit
<
of eating privately raw human flesh in the prison house. He was expelled fry ", the liobles from the throne on account of this habit. Wandering in the forestSj unattended and alone, he was met by his mother, the lioness, who carried him to celebrate a sacrifice of a hundred royal youths. After
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ninety-nine "princes had been secured already, the ex-king went in search of Sutasoraa wlfose adventures form the subject of another book, viz., Sutasomajataka. The Lord said, I am that Sutasoma.
Beginning. ^ ?rm
End.
Colophon.
II
Old No. 815.— New No. B. 42. BODHI-CHARYA'VATARA.
Substance, palm-leaTes, 11 X 2%. Folia»4S. Lines on a page, 6. Extent in s'lokus, 1,100. Character, Newari. Date ? Appearance, old and smudgy. V ierally correct.
A philosophical disquisition on the duties appropriate to Buddhist monks. The work is in, ten chapters. Its author's name is not given. It opens 'with ,a dissertation on Buddhist disposition (Bodhi- chitta). This disposition is of two kinds, one called Bodhi-praqidhi* chitta, or desire to acquire the true knowledge, and the other Bodhi- prasthdna-chittat or that disposition of the mind which obtains when that knowledge has been acquired. The second chapter treats oflshjopa or devotion to good work. This devotion is tlesorilu'd
to manifest itself in a desire to devote every thing good in this world to the worship of Tath&gata and his sons. The- third dwells on three topics, respectively called Punydnumoda, Adhi, Tli' ,o disposition to virtue, wishing all creation k> be i :a
pain and the troubles incident to existence ; tin' second^ Bnppliffttioy] ^ all the Buddhas of every quarter for the enlightenment of the minds
48
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of those who are immersed in pain ; the third, prayer to Jinas for the suppression of all sensuous desires — to wrest the^soul from the ^bondage of the flesh. These lead to active benevolence, to the administration of medicines to the sick, food to the starving, relief to, the poor, and the like, — all which promote the disposition to acquire the true knowledge,
n (
The fourth chapter enjoins the devotion of the mind to the mandates of the Buddhas and their sons, whereby alone can liberation from the bonds of transmigration be acquired. The fifth is devoted to the means of overcoming all sensuous desires. The sixth to perturbations of the mind and the propriety of suppressing them, as also the cultivation of for- bearance (kshdnti-pdramitd) ; and the seventh to active penance (Virya- pdramitd) or the subjugation of the passions by active exertion. Tke longings of the organs of sense and desires having thus been overcome, the eighth chapter, enters upon the subject of cogitation (Dh$dna-pdra- mitd) as to what is good and what is evil. Virtuous actions resulting
from a desire to benefit one's own self, are described to be vicious, as
,
they are prompted by a Tonging for rewards ; this should be suppressed, and good should be done for the sake alone of doing it. Never should one proclaim his own merits, nor the demerits of others. Sucn cogitations settle the mind to meditation of that which alone is true. The ninth chapter is called Prajnd-pdramitd. It describes the nature pf the true knowledge, and in doing s*o, two doctrines are discussed : 1st, Mdydvdda* or that which ascribes every thing mundane to Maya or illusion ; and the 2nd, Sunyatdwada, or pure nihilism. The last chapter expresses a desire that whatever fruits may arise from the discussion 'and practice of the
rules set forth in the work, may^be to the glory of Buddhist 'devotion.
• Beginning
f%
srasq
"SJTfrT ^ftf
X X
\»
^
vj ^'
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End. *TiT^ ^f ^r«iiffT
^^
Colophon, ^fir
s No. B. 15.
BODHISATTVA AVADANA.
•
Substance, - 15 X ^i- Folia 205. Lines on a page, 9. Extent
in slokas, 4,784. Character Newari. Date,' unknown. Appearance, old. Prose and verse. Very incorrect.
A collection of legends regarding the former lives of the Bodhi- sattva. They were related at S'ravasti by the side of the tank Anava- tapta. by the Lord Buddha himself, in a series of lectures to his disciples who composed the audience, the subject of the lectures being stories illustrating the means of obtaining moksha. After an eulogy on the extraordinary powers of Sariputra (Mudgalayana), the Lord gave an account of his ten sufferings, (See Bodhisattvavadana-kalpalatu,) and
then recounted a series of stories each of which is called a Jiita ka. The*
. \
stories relate chiefly to meritorious act» performed by Buddha in his previous exist »
Sub/idsa Jataka. In one of his former existences the Lord was a king, Suprabhasa by name. lie was very irascible, and, in aji angry moment, severely scolded an elephant driver, who in return spoke to him at length on the merits of charity, mercy, forgiveness, &c. Thisroat •; on the mind of the king, who gradually began to long for Bodhi know- ledge.
Vydghri Jataka. Intone of his numerous existences the Lord re- sided on the mount Kul&chala as a hermit. Thoro ho found a hungry tigress looking with a wistful eye «it her newborn cubs.* To roll- the poor creatures from being devoured by their hungry parey-t, i 0
50
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Lord determined to offer his own body to her. He let himself fall from a high precipice, to the valley where the tigress was, and, expired, thereby saving the cubs.
Sivi Jdtaka. As king of the Sivis the Lord, after bestowing the whole of his wealth on the poor, bestowed even his eyes to Indra, who begged them of him. Indra, pleased with his munificence, granted him heavenly eyes.
Kulmdsapindi Jdtaka. Kulmaspind^ king of Kos'ala, was none else than the Lord himself. His maxim was that well-timed and well- placed charity is always laudable. A gift is never too small.
S'reshthi Jdtaka. The Lord was a banker. A Pratyeka Buddha came to his door to be$. The wicked Mara prepared a hell L'at £he door, but the virtuous banker fearlessly passed through the hell, and gave his alms.
Avisahyd sreshthi Jdtaka. In the course of an infinite number of transmigrations the Lord was once born a rich and munificent banker. Indra stole all his property except a scythe for cutting grass and a bit of string for tying bundles of grass. The kind man used to gather grass, and sell it to relieve his poor neighbours.
S'as'a Jdtaka. Once on a time the Lord transmigrated into the brute world, and became a hare. He used to lecture on mpral subjects to two of his friends, onb a jackal, the other an ape- Indra demanded food of him. Having nothing else to give he jumped into a blazing fire, and requested Indra to eat his roasted flesh.
^gastya Jdtaka. The Lord was once born a rich Brahman of the name of Agastya. He practised austerities in an island in'the Southern sea, where Indra used to come and beg th^ Kishi's food and thereby deprive him of the means of sustenance. After four days the Bishi died of hunger.
Maitribala Jdtaka. The Lord was once born a most charitable
(*•* *
king of the name of Maitribala. He gave away whatever was asked of him ; once he gave five portions of his flesh to five Yakshas who longed for human flesh, and asked it of him.
Visvamlhara Jdtaka. Yisambhara was the prince of the Sivis.
He gave away^an elephant much esteemed b/the Sivis to a Brahman.
The Sivis complained of this before their king, the Prince's father,
%,™ho Banished Yisambhara from his kingdom'. Yisambhara went to
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the forest with his wife and children. A Braliman begged as gift the boys. Jle was insttftitly complied with. Indra then denial. Visambhara'a wife. Her too Visambhara gave away. Afterwards he was known as S'akyanluni.
Yajna -, King Yajna, or Buddha in a former birth, finding
his kingdom afflicted by a drought, consulted the Brahmans as t<» remedies for the evil. They advised him to perform a sacrific
sh the id§a, because it involved the slaughter of a largo number of animals. He established alms-houses in every city, in every village, and in every street.
S'akra J> "'/v/ /.••/. In one of his previous existences the Lord bc^n as Indra, and when the Devas had to fight with the Asuras his prowess alone was sufficient to overpower the enemy.
JBrdhfnana Jdtaka. The Lord was born in the family of a Brah- man. He went to a Guru who taught him many S'astras. The Guru ordered all his disciples to procure the Dakshina — the fees due to a guru — by theft. All consented, except that boy.
Unmadayanti Jaiaka. The Lord was the king of the Si vis. The maddening fairy-like beauty of Unmfidayanti, wife of one of his' minis-
ters, captivated his heart. Some of his counsellors advised him to
t ' «
possess her, by force. But the wicked advice was spurned by the
Supdraga Jdtaka. The Lord was named Suparaga. He was a clever merchant, and expert man of business. In his old age he, along with a number of < /."her merchants, undertook a voyage to trade w,ith tlfo
iuhabitants'of a coast name.d Bharu Kuchchha. He, with his whole
.
fleet, was one night overtaken by a terrible storm. Supdraga fell on his knees and prayed and worshipped Sugata. Instantly the storm blow over, the wind was hushed, the sea was calm. The fleet reached E its place of destination, and the merchants enriched themselves by v profitable i
Matsyn Jataka. Buddha was in the course of his tran-smi^r.-ii! born a fish, lie was the lord of all the fishes. He lived in . m-
cient pond. 1 i ucUd his fellow-creatures by his edifying I
on charity, sightcoifsiless, &e. Suddenly one sunnucr th«.- the tank was on the point of drying out. Tho lish-kiug look ward the sky, and niado u vow, saying, " I will never bee the •! , *
of so many of my friends." On this Indra sent a heavy shower of rain, and filled the tank with water. f
Vartakapota Jdtaka. Once upon a time a forest was on fire. The animals of the forest fled towards every quarter. * One crippled, weak, wingless bird, unahle to fly, solicited Agni to desist from burning. In- stantly the fire was quenched. The wingless bird was the Lord himself.
jEunibha Jdtaka. In one of his existences the Lord was, under the name of Kumbha, king over the Devas. ^ Finding his allies and his subjects much addicted to drinking, he rose up to heaven, and thence harangued them with the voice of thunder. The subject of course was Temperance.
Aputrdka Jdtaka. ^ In another existence, the Lord renouncing tj>e world delivered a grand lecture on the transitory character of every- thing worldly, in order to rebuke those who re-entered the world after adopting the ascetic state. He said — the trouble of maintaining a family is a positive hindrance to Mukti.
Visa Jdtaka. The Lord was born in the family of a Brahman. He had six brothers and a sister. All of them practised austerities. They were attended by only one servant girl. She gathered fruits, and divided them for the brothers and sister. Indra, for five successive days, stole the eldest brother's share, in order to examine the imperturbability of his temper. He was d little moved on the first day ; on the second he suppressed his hunger ; from the third he had no desire for eating.
S'reshthi Jdtaka. Born in the family of a Brahman, the Lord was E&med, S'reshthi. He went to a hermitage. He baffled all the endeavours of his friends to bring him baak to his home, by showing them by the clearest arguments that the highest pleasures are to be had only in a hermit's life.
Buddhabodhi Jdtaka. The Lord was born in the family of a Brahman. He and his wife renounced the wor^d together. They lived in the same forest. One day as the Lord, at the end of his austerities, was gathering dust at a beautiful spot, and his wife was repeating the meditative formula, in came a young king, who, captivated by the beauty of her person, at once ordered his servants to take her into his carriage. She cried loudly for help. Then coming to the hermit the king found him not the least agitated by the loss of his wife. He ataired- his firmness, begged his pardon, and restored him his wife.
Hai\sa» Jataka. In the sc. ices from tlie lowest form
of anin; to man? the soul of tho Lord onco entered the external
cover of a king of the flamingoes who lived at Munsarovar. lie had a general