THE TRADITION ABOUT THE CORPOREAL RELICS OF BUDDHA

BY J. F. FLEET, I.C.S. (RETD.)
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of
Great Britain and Ireland for 1907
p. 341-363


p. 341 III. Mahavamsa. In continuing the inquiry into the tradition about the subsequent fate of the eight original deposits of the corporeal relics of Buddha,(1) we take next the second Ceylonese chronicle, the Mahavamsa; or, more precisely, the earlier part of that work, which was composed, by way of being a commentary on the Dipavamsa, by the Thera Mahanama, in or about the period A.D. 520 to 540.(2) Like the Dipavamsa, the Mahavamsa does not present any narrative such as that found in the Divyavadana. But, as we shall see, it gives a story about the relics at Ramagrama which is not found in either of those works.(3) -------------------- 1. For the preceding articles on this topic, see this Journal, 1906. 655 ff., 881 ff. The list of the places at which the corporeal relics, and the kumbha and the embers, were enshrined, is at page 671. At page 671, line 14, read " At or in Pippalivana," etc. At page 912, line 13 f., read "Pavaka(sic) , Vethadipa, and Kusinara, and caused," etc. The last paragraph of note 1 on page 896 is not quite correct; see page 344 below. On page 112 above, in line 20, for sakya(nam) read sakya|na(m). 2. The supposed period is A.D. 459 to 477. But see this Journal, 1906. 894, note 1. 3. If that story stood in the Dipavamsa at all, we should expect to find it in connexion with chapter 19, verses 1 to 20; where, howerer, there is no indication of it. That chapter is, indeed, described by the editor as being very confused and fragmentary. But, even so, there would surely hare been traceable there some hint of the story, however slight, if it was current when the Dipavamsa was being written. p. 342 Again like the Dipavamsa, it does not say anything about relics of Buddha in connexion with Asoka-Kalasoka, the son of Susunaga. Differing from the Dipavamsa, it mentions him only as Kalasoka (Turnour, 15, 19, 20; Wijesinha, 11, 14, 16), and not as Asoka. It mentions Asoka the Moriya, grandson of Chandagutta and son of Bindusara, as Asoka and Dhammasoka, and does not appear to present his appellations Piyadassi and Piyadassana, or to give the form Asokadhamma. Like the Dipavamsa, it does not seem to say anything about his having had the appellation Chandasoka. In respect of his appellation Dhammasoka, it merely says, somewhat inconsequentially (T., 35; W., 24), that at first, on account of his sinful deeds, he was known as Asoka, but subsequently be became known as Dhammasoka because of his meritorious actions. In chapter 17 (T., 104; W., 67) it gives, without any indication as to whence Asoka had obtained any relics of Buddha, the story, which we have cited from the Dipavamsa (this Journal, 1906. 895f.) and from Buddhaghosha (ibid., 904f.) , about the Samanera Sumana, deputed by the Thera Mahinda, procuring relics (dhatuyo) of Buddha from Asoka, and obtaining the right collar-bone of Buddha from the god Sakka (Indra), in order that king Devanampiya-Tissa of Ceylon (B.C. 246 to 228) might found a Thupa of Buddha. Whereas, however, the Dipavamsa and Buddhaghosha indicate (see ibid., 895, and note 5; 904) that it was Sumana's almsbowl that Asoka filled with relics, the Mahavamsa distinctly asserts something else. It represents Sumana as being directed to say to Asoka (T., 105):-- Munino dhatuyo dehi pattam bhuttam cha Satthuna sariradhatuyo santi bahavo hi tav=antike; "Give relics of the Saint, and the alms-bowl used by the Teacher; for thou hast many corporeal relics." And the immediately following instructions to Sumana run thus: -- Pattapuram gahetvana gantva devapuram varam; "Having taken the bowlful, and having gone to the excellent city of the gods," remind Sakka (Indra) that p. 343 he has a right tooth(1) and the right collar-bone of the Teacher, and ask him for the collar-bone. And it goes on to say of Sumana that:-- Therassa vachanam vatva rajato laddha-dhatuyopattapuram gahetvana Himavantam upagami; "Having delivered the message of the Thera (Mahinda), and having taken the relics, filling the bowl, obtained from the king, he went to Himavat." Depositing there the bowl, with the relics, he went on into the presence of Indra. From that god (T., 106; W., 68) he obtained the right collar-bone, from the Chulamanichetiya.(2) And then, taking that relic and the other relics and the bowl, he returned to the Chetiyagiri mountain, and gave them to the Thera (Mahinda). The latter placed all the relics there on the mountain; whence that mountain, the Missakapabbata, ------------------------------ 1. This tooth-relic is mentioned in the account of the mission of Aumana as given by Buddhaghosha (this Journal, 1906. 904), but not in the account given in the Dipavamsa (ibid., 895). For the manner in which Indra obtained it, according to Buddhaghosah, see ibid., 906f. Turnour said (Mahavamsa. 105, note) that this tooth is the one which. according to the Mahavamsa (T., 241: W., 154), was transferred in A.D. 370 (as adjusted from his date, A.D. 310) from (Dantapura in) Kalinga to Ceylon, in circumstances detailed in the Dathadhatuvamsa, and was installed in the edifice called Dhammachakka built by Devanampiya-Tissa; adding that in his own time it was enshrined in the Dalada-Maligava temple at Kandy. But I do not find any explanation by him as to how it passed from the possession of Indra to Dantapura; and the verses added at the end of the Mahaparinibbana-Sutta (see this Journal, 1906, 665 f.) speak of a tooth in Kalinga in addition to a tooth in heaven. 2. Mentioned by Buddhaghosha (see this Journal, 1906. 907;)as the shrine in which Indra installed the tooth, when he took it away from the Brahman Dona. I have not been able to trace any exact statement as to how Indra became possessed of also the collar-bone. But Hiuen-tsiang has said (see, e.g., Beal, Records, 2. 40 f.) that, alter the division of the relics into eight shares for "the kings of the eight countries," shares were claimed by Sakra (Indra) on behalf of the Devas. and by the Naga kings Anavatapta, Muchilinda and Elapatra. Accordingly, the relics were redivided into three portions; one for the Devas, one for the Nagas, and one for " the eight kingdoms among men." It mar also be remarked that in another place (see, e.g., Beal, Records, 1. 126. 132 f.) he has allotted one of the shares in the relics, and a Stupa over them, to Uttarasena, king of Udyana. This person is represented as the son of one of the four Sakyas who (see this Journal, 1906. 166 f.) were banished from Kapilavastu, because they had the temerity to withstand an attack by king Virudhaka. And it may be added that, according to the Mahavamsa (Turnour, 4; Wijesinha, 5), the Thera Sarabhu. a disciple of Sariputta, received the givatthi, grivasthi, the neck-bone of Buddha. at the funeral pile, and enshrined it in a Chetiya in Ceylon over which king Dutthagamini eventually erected the Mahiyangana Thupa. It seems probable that, if once we go away from the simple narrative of the Mahaparinibbana-Sutta, an extensive list of variations might be made out. p. 344 obtained the name Chetiyapabbata. And then, having installed(1) the alms-bowl and the relics (inside it) on the Chetiyapabbata, the Thera took the collar-bone, and went, attended by his disciples, to the appointed place, the Mahanagavana park, where he was met by the king. The rest of this narrative runs as in Buddhaghosha's version (this Journal, 1906. 905); except that the name of the exact place where the Thupa was made seems to be here given as Pamojavatthu, and that it appears to be located in the Mahameghavana garden (T., 107; W., 69). And so, eventually (T., 108 f.; W., 70), the king installed that relic, the right collar-bone, in the Chetiya,, and caused the Thupa to be completed, and founded the Vihara known as the Thuparama. The following may be added regarding the ultimate disposal of the alms-bowl of Buddha and the relics with which Asoka had filled it. Later on (T., 122; W., 78), Devanampiya-Tissa announced to the Thera Mahinda his intention of building many Viharas, and asked the Thera how he might obtain relics to be deposited in Thupas at them. The Thera reminded him of the relics, filling the alms-bowl of Buddha, which had been brought by Sumana and had been installed on the Chetiya mountain. Accordingly, those relics were transported thence on the shoulders of an elephant. Viharas were made at the distance of a yojana from each other; and the relics were there deposited in Thupas. And the alms-bowl of Buddha was installed vatthu-ghare subhe, i.e, , according to the translators, "in a superb apartment of the royal residence."(2) -------------------- 1. The word used here is thapetva,while,in the preceding verse we have thapesi where I have translated "he placed, " and in a previous passage we have thapetvana in respect of temporarily "depositing" the alms-bowl and its contents in the mountain Himavat. Against these we have, further on, patitthapesi in respect of Devanampiya-Tissa "installing" the right collar-bone in his Thupa. We gather, however,from Buddhaghosha (see this Journal, 1906. 905), that the alms-bowl and its contents were regularly installed in some place on the Missaka-Chetiya mountain. 2. The history of the alms-bowl does not fall within the scope of our prerent inquiry. The following notes, however, may be given here. The bowl consisted of four stone bowls, of the colour of a mugga or kidneybean, presented by the four Devarajas, which Buddha placed one above another, p. 345 So far as the preceding accounts go, the relic1 at Ramagrama had remained untouched. The Mahavamsa, however, in a subsequent portion of its earlier part (chapter 27 ff.) presents the following romantic story regarding them:-- King Dutthagamini of Ceylon (about B.C. 100 to 77)(1) found, inscribed on a golden tablet that bed been deposited in a box in his palace (Turnour, 161; Wijesinha, 103), a record of a prophecy, uttered by Mahinda to king Devanampiya-Tissa,(2) that after 146 years Dutthagamini would erect the Mahathupa or Great Thupa, and do certain other things. Dutthagamini fulfilled the prophecy, in the first instance, by building the Lohapasada palace, to serve as an uposatha-hall (T., 163; W., 104) . And he then determined to construct the Mahathupa (T., 165; W., 106). The work was commenced (T., 169; W., 108), and was carried as far as the formation of the dhatugabbha or relic- --------------------------------- or one within another, and caused to become one; see the Nidanakatha, in the Jataka, l. 80, line 21 ff., and Hiuen-tsiang, in Beal, Racords, 2. 129 f. Fa-hian says (Beal, Records, l. introd., 78) that it see originally preserved in Vaisali, but in his own time it was in the borders of Gandhara, or (ibid., 32) in the country of Fo-lu-sha. He mentions other contries including Ceylon, which it had visited or was to visit. And he says that eventually it would resolve itself into four bowls again, which would return to the Pin-na or An-na mountain, whence they had come. Hiuen-tsiang says (Beal, Records, 2. 73 f.) that Buddha gave it as a token of remembrance to the Lichchhavis, when he parted from them after leaving Vaisali on his last journey. He further syas (Records, 1. 98; 2. 278) that after the death of Buddha it went to Gandhara and was worshipped there for many centuries, but in his own time it was in Persia, in the king's palace, after traversing different countries. The Buddhavamsa, 28. 8, allots the bowl, along with the staff and the robe, to Vajira, a place at which there arose the schismatic Buddhist school of the Vajiriyas, and which seems (see this Journal, 1906. 666, note 3) to have been also a Jain centre. 1. The supposed period is B.C. 161 to 137. But see this Journal, 1906 894, note 1. 2. The utterance of this prophecy and the recording of it are mentioned by Buddhaghosha in his Samantapasadika (see Vinayapitaka, 3. 341). But the fulfilment of it does not come there; and there is no hint there of the story about the Ramagrama relics. That the story, however was in some form or another known to Buddhaghosha, seems to be established by the remarks in his Sumangalavilasini (see this Journal, 1906. 908) that the danger which in the time of Ajatasatru was hanging over the other relics did not threaten those at Ramagrama, because the Nagas had taken charge of them, and that they were destined for the great Chetiya at the Mahavihara in Ceylon. p. 346 chamber (T., 179; W.114).(1) That was prepared from six cloud-coloured stones obtained from the land of Uttara-Kuru by two Samaneras, Uttara and Sumana: one was placed on the flower-offering ledge, in the centre; four were placed on the sides, in the form of a coffer (manjusa); and the sixth, which was to be the cover, was placed apart, out of sight, on the east.(2) Various wonderful things, including ag olden bodhi-tree, were made for placing in the relic-chamber. And then there remained the matter of obtaining relics and enshrining them (T., 183; W., 117). For the mission of obtaining relics there was selected a young ascetic, a Thera named Sonuttara, who, though only sixteen years old, had already acquired the six supernatural faculties. And, in answer to an inquiry as to where he might obtain them, the assembly of Theras gave him the following statement (T., 184; W., 118):-- When Buddha was lying on the couch on which he died, he spake thus to the god Indra:--"'Lord of the gods!, amongst the eight donas of my corporeal relics, one dona will be honoured by the Koliyas at Ramagama. Taken thence to the world of the Nagas, it will be honoured next by the Nagas; and it will be deposited in the Mahathupa in the island Landka, Ceylon," Moreover,--said the priests (T., 185; W., 118), -- the far-seeing Thera Maha-Kassapa, the great ascetic, perceiving --------------------------- 1. The process of construction is detailed at great length; and the account is instuctive. An abstract of it has been given by Cunningham in his Bhilsa Topes, 169 ff. 2. In this case, the dhatugarbha, though shaped like a box, seems to have been a structural part of the Stupa. For other apparently structural relic-chambers, reference may be made to the illustrations of three dhatugarbhas from the Bhattiprolu Stupa, given in ASSI, 6. 9, plate 3: there, however, in each case, only two stones where used. a bottom slab and another to cover it, and the relic-chambers were sunk in the lower slabs; the inscriptions accompanying them were (with the exception of that on the hexagonal piece of crystal) engraved on the lower slabs, round the relic-chambers (see EI, 2. 324, plates). We seem to have another structural dhatugarbha, somewhat like those at Bhattiprolu, from the Boria or Lakha Medi Stupa, near Junagadh; see JASB, 60, 1891 18, plate 5. We hare dhatugarbhas which are actual boxes from Sanchi; see Cunningham's Bhilsa Topes, plate 20, and a mention of two others on page 297. So, also, the stone coffer at Piprahwa, inside which the inscribed vase and other things were found, is evidently to be classed as a dhatugarbha; see Antiquities in the Tarai, 43, and plate 27, fig. 3. p. 347 that a distribution of relics, would be made by king Dhammasoka, induced king Ajatasattu to make a great deposit of relics in the neighbourhood of Rajagaha, causing to be carried there seven donas of relics;(1) but, mindful of (what had been said by) the Teacher, he did not take the dona which was at Ramagama. Having seen that great deposit of relics (at Rajagaha), the king Dhammasoka set his mind on causing the eighth dona also to be brought. But sanctified ascetics prevented Dhammasoka, telling him that that deposit had been predestined by the Jina, i.e., the Conqueror, Buddha, to be enshrined in the Mahathupa. Now, the Thupa at Ramagrama had bee made on the bank of the Ganges, and was broken open by the current of that river; and the box containing the relics (dhatu-karandaka), being carried away to the sea, came to rest on a bed of gems at the place where the waters are divided in twain,(2) and lay there covered with rays. Some Nagas saw the box, and going to Manjerika, the abode of the Nagas, apprised their king, the Naga Kala.(3) He, going there with ten thousand crores of Nagas, did reverence to the relics, and took them away to his own abode; and having erected over the relic-box a Thupa made of all sorts of jewels and also a house, he, with the Nagas, ever respectfully did worship to it. There is a close guard over it; but go there, and bring the relics here; to-morrow, the king will place them in this receptacle. The story proceeds as follows (T., 186; W., 119). On the next day, the king started in procession for the Mahameghavana garden, with a great accompaniment of ----------------------------- 1. The text does not name the places Whence he obtained them. 2. The intention seems to be to indicate Gangasagara, the place where the waters of the river and the ocean meet. 3. The Naga king Kala was celebrated for singing the praises of Buddha when the latter, having ascended the bodhi-throne, was waiting to undergo the temptation by Mara; see the Dhammapada, ed. Fausboll, 118. Of another Naga king, Chakravaka, an interesting statue was obtained; at Bharaut; see Cunningham's Stupa of Bharhut, plate 21, right. And a basrelief from the same place shews another, Erapata, Elapatra, doing worship to (the invisible figure of) Buddha, see ibid., plate 14, right. p. 348 instrumental and vocal music, to enshrine the relics. Sonuttara, in his cell (T. 187; W., 119), heard the music, and knew from it that the procession was on its way; so, diving into the earth, he proceeded to the habitation of the Nagas, presented himself before their king, and demanded the relics. The Naga king, unwilling to give them up, but apprehending that Sonuttara was quite able to take them by force, secretly intimated to his nephew, Vasuladatta, that they should be transferred to some other place. Vasuladutta accordingly went to the Chetiya, swallowed the box containing the relics, and betook himself to the foot of the mountain Sineru (Meru), where he coiled himself up, with his body, three hundred yojanas long, rolled up within the circuit of a yojana. Throwing forth thousands of hoods, he emitted smoke and fire. And, creating thousands of serpents similar to himself, he made them coil themselves around him; while gods and Nagas came there in numbers, expecting to see a great fight between him and the Thera. The uncle, having satisfied himself that the relics had been removed, told Sonuttara that they were not in his possession, and (T., 188; W., 120), when the Thera persisted in demanding them, sought to pacify him by shewing him the Chetiya-house,--the house which he had erected over the Thupa in which he had placed the relics, -- exquisitely built and adorned with all sorts of gems; and, claiming that even the jewels on the lowest step of its staircase surpassed all the jewels in Lanka, he protested that a removal of the relics from such a place to an inferior one could not be proper. Sonuttara however, pointed out that a comprehension of the Truth was unattainable by Nagas, and that it was quite right to remove the relics to a place where the Truth could be reached, and, further, that in this matter there was an intention of Buddha to be fulfilled; and he demanded the surrender of the relics without any more trouble. The Naga said:--"If, reverend Sir!, thou seest the relics, take them and depart! " Sonuttara made him repeat these words three times; and then, standing where he was, he stretched forth a subtile arm, and, thrusting his p. 349 hand into the nephew's mouth, took out from him the casket containing the relics. Then, bidding the Naga remain wherre he was, he dived into the earth, and ascended again at his cell. At the place where he emerged from the earth (T., 189 W., 121) , the god Sakka received the box containing the relics from him, and placed it in a golden casket (changota) on a jewelled couch or cushion under a jewelled canopy made by Vissakamma. Then (T., 190;W., 121) king Dutthagamini arrived, and placed that casket in a golden casket which he brought there on his head. Carrying them so on his head, he, attended by the community of friars, marched in procession round the Thupa, and, ascending it on the eastern side, went down into the relic chamber. And so, eventually (T., 191f.; W., 122f.), after various formalities and miraculous manifestations, in the course of which the relic-box, rising into the air, opened itself spontaneously and the relics came forth and assumed the form of Buddha, the Ramagrama relics were installed by Dutthagamini in the Mahathupa; the Samaneras Uttara and Sumana closed the relic-chamber with the sixth stone; and the Thupa was completed and was crowned by a square capital.(1) As regards the Nagas, the story adds (T., 188; W., 120) that, when Sonuttara, having secured the box containing the relics, disappeared from the presence of the Naga king, the latter, not realizing what had happened, sent a message to his nephew:--" The friar has departed, outwitted by us; bring back the relics!" The nephew, however, knew quite well that the casket was no longer in his stomach, and returned lamenting, and told his uncle what had happened; whereupon the latter exclaimed --"It is we who have been outwitted!," and wept. Then the Nagas repaired in a body to the community of Theras and friars (in Ceylon), and ------------------------------ 1. Owing however, to the sickness and death of Dutthagamini, the construction was not then quite finished off. The canopy, pinnacle, or spire was added, the whole erection was plastered, and a surrounding wall decorated with figures of elephants was built, by his brother and succesor, Saddha-Tissa (T., 200; W., 128). p. 350 complained sorely about having been deprived of the relics. They were consoled, however, by the gift of some small relic, or a few of the relics; and they seem to have contributed some utensils of worship in return for it. Hiuen-tsiang. We come, finally, to the statements left on record by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-tsiang, who travelled in India between A.D. 630 and 644. There is no evidence that Hiuen-tsiang visited, out of the places mentioned in the list given in this Journal, 1906. 671, [4] Allakappa, [6] Vethadipa,(1) and [7] Pava. He visited [3] Kapilavastu and [8] Kusinagara. But there is no mention for either of these two places, either in the Si-yu-ki or in the Life, of a Stupa containing corporeal relics of Buddha. He visited, as did Fa-hian, between Ramagrama and Kusinagara, [10] the Stupa over the extinguished embers of the funeral pile.(2) Like Fa-hian, he has not mentioned either Pippalivana or the Mauryas in connexion with this memorial. And he has, in fact, attributed it to some unnamed Brahmans, and has placed it, but perhaps without any important difference, in a grove of nyagrodha-trees.(3) He has added that `ever since the time (when this Stupa was erected), extraordinary prodigies manifest themselves here without interruption; and sick persons who come to pray at this place, are for the most part healed. ---------------------- 1. A suggestion mentioned by me (this Journal, 1906. 900. note 1), that this place might be the modern `Bettiah, Bettia, or Bettia,' is not tenable; Dr. Grierson having told us (page 166 above) that the latter name is Betiya, Bitiya, with the dental t. 2. See Julien, Memoires, l. 332: Beal. Records, 2. 31: Watters, On Yuan Chwang, 2. 23. This Stupa seems to be not mentioned in the Life. 3. The Pali name, as given in the Mahaparinibbana-Sutta, is Pipphalivana; see this Journal, 1906. 665. The nyagrodha, Pali nigrodha, is `Ficus Indica, the banyan-tree.' In Pali we have pipphala, = the Sanskrit pippala, `Ficus religiosa, the sacred fig-tree,' and pipphali, = the Sanskrit pippali, with, according to childers, the meaning of `the wave-leafed fig-tree,' in addition to that of `long pepper, Piper longum,' which is given for pippali by Monier-Williams. p. 351 Of the other places with which we are concerned, Hiuentsiang visited first Lan-mo, = Rama, = [5] Ramagrama, between Kapilavastu and Kusinagara. And in connexion with Ramagrama he has left on record the following detailed statement,-- a fuller version of the story given by Fa-hian (this Journal, 1906. 901 f.),- of which I give a rendering from the French of M. Julien (Memoires, l. 325 ff ):(1)- On the south-east of the ancient capital, there is a brick Stupa, a little less than 100 feet high. In days of yore, after the nirvana of the Tathagata' [the death of Buddha], the first king of this realm obtained his share of the relics, brought them into his realm, and [326] built this Stupa to honour them. Various miracles display themselves here from time to time; and sometimes (the relics) shed abroad a divine lustre. By the side of this Stupa, there is a pool of pure water. Every day the dragons used to come forth from it to walk, and, transforming themselves into men, used to respectfully circumambulate the Stupa. Some wild elephants, mustered in a troop, used to pluck flowers and scatter them; encouraged by a secret power, they continued these meritorious acts without interruption. This is the Stupa in which king Asoka (Wu-yau) deposited his share of the relics. Those which the other seven kings(2) had to construct, were already commenced.' It must be parenthetically observed that there is plainly something wrong about the last two sentences, either in the text which M. Julien had before him, or in his rendering --------------------------- 1. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 26 ff., and Watters, On Yuan Chwang, 2. 20 ff. And for a briefer statement see the Life, Julien, 128; Beal, 96: that account does not add any details; on the contrary, it omits the story about Asoka. One would prefer to cite Mr. Watters' rendering of Hiuen-tsiang; partly because it is in English, partly because it is the latest rendering, and so, presumably, the most up-to-date: unfortunately, however, he has almost always used the inconvenient oratio obligua, and has in many places passed over details which are given in the other two versions. Of those other versions, M. Julien's seems to be generally the preferable one. But, both in using it and otherwise, I substitute Mr. Watters' transliterations, whenever I can find them, of the Chinese forms or translations of Indian names and words. 2. Regarding the meaning of the expressions "the seven kings," "the eight kings," see this Journal, 1906.897. p. 352 of it; if only because there was not any king Asoka at the time when the original Stupas were made. We must therefore quote the other renderings also:--- Mr. Beal has said (loc. cit., 26):--"In former days, when "Asoka-raja, dividing the relics, built stupas, having opened "the stupas built by the kings of the seven countries, he "proceeded to travel to this country, and put his hand to " the work (viz., of opening this stupa)." Mr. Watters has said (loc. cit., 20):-" When king Asoka " was dispersing the Buddha-relics of the eight topes, having " taken away those of seven of the topes, he came to Rama, " in order to carry off the relics in its tope also." However, M. Julien's version runs as rendered above, and then proceeds thus:- When he had arrived in this kingdom, he wished to put hand to the work' [of opening the Stupa]. `But the dragon of that pool, fearing an invasion of his domains, assumed the form of a Brahman, and, prostrating himself at the feet of the elephant, said:--"Great king!; you have devoted your affections to the law of Buddha, and have sown largely in the field of happiness. I venture to ask you to turn aside your chariot,(1) and to deign to visit my abode." "Where is your abode," said the king; " is it near, or far away?" [327] "I am the king of the dragons of this pool," replied the Brahman; "as I learnt that Your Majesty wished to lay the foundations, of an excellent happiness, I have ventured to come to solicit the honour of your visit." The king, having accepted the invitation, entered forthwith the palace of the dragon. When he had sat there for a long time, the dragon came forward' [in his own shape and said:--" It is because of my evil actions that I received this form of a dragon. I hope that, in making some ----------------------- 1. Beal has said " to detain your carriage awhile; " Watters, "to dismount." The text seems to mean plainly that the king was riding in a chariot drawn by an elephant. Such chariots were one of the customary means of conveyance; see, for instance, the Pattadakal inscription (IA, 11. 125), of the time of the Rashtrakuta king Dhruva (about A.D. 783), which records that Badipoddi, a harlot of the temple of Lokamahadevi, presented a horse-chariot and an elephant-chariot. p. 353 offerings to the relics, I may be able to efface my past crimes. I desire that the king should himself go near to the Stupa, that he may examine it and also offer his homage (to the relics)." When king Asoka (Wu-yau) had finished looking, he was seized with fear, and said:--"None of the objects which you use for making offerings at all resemble those which are in use among men." "If it is so," replied the dragon, "I ardently desire that you should not destroy them." King Asoka (Wu-yau), recognizing that he was not strong enough to contend with the dragon, renounced the construction that he had designed' [? the intention that he had formed].(1) `At the spot where the dragon came forth from the pool, there has been placed an inscription.' Hiuen-tsiang goes on to narrate, much like Fa-hian, the story about elephants tending the place, and about the establishment, near the Stupa, of a monastery which had been maintained under the direction of a Sramanera up to his own time. It seems unnecessary to repeat that. But a few words may be added about the position of Ramagrama; because there, if anywhere, there might be found an intact Stupa containing really some of the corporeal relics of Buddha. The place was named Ramagrama after the king, Rama,-- a king of Benares, who had abdicated and gone into exile because he was afflicted with leprosy,-- by whom it was founded. It was named Kolanagara, because (it seems) a kola-tree, Zizyphus jujuba, or a grove of such trees, was cleared away to make the site for it. From the same source, the people derived their name Koliya; and so the place was also known as Koliyanagara, as being the town of the Koliyas. And it was further called in Pali Vyagghapajja, and in Sanskrit Vyaghrapadya, `the tiger's path, ' in connexion with the circumstances in which Rama found and -------------- 1. Beal has "did not attempt to open the stupa (to take out the relics)." Watters has "abandoned the idea of rifling the tope." p. 354 married the eldest sister of the banished princes who founded Kapilavastu and the race of the Sakyas (see this Journal, 1906. 161 f., 163 f.), who had been immured in a subterranean abode because she also was afflicted with leprosy.(1) Fa-hian and Hiuen-tsiang agree in locating Ramagrama on the east of the Lumbinivana garden, the position of which is fixed by the now well-known Rummindei. But it is quite certain that, for some reason or another, in this part of their narratives "east" means "south-east."(2) Fa-hian says that the distance from the Lumbinivana to Ramagrama was 5 yojanas, =(see this Journal, 1906. 1012) 22.72 miles. Hiuen-tsiang puts it, according to Beal at 300 li, but according to Julien and Watters at 200 li, = (see ibid., 1013) 24.24 miles. The two statements together, taken as plainly statements in round-numbers, indicate a distance of about 23 to 24 miles. The Jataka No. 536 (ed. Fausboll, 5. 412) mentions the town as Koliyanagara, and places a river named Rohini between Kapilavatthunagara, the city Kapilavastu, and Koliyanagara; i.e., as I understand the matter, not actually between the sites themselves of the two towns, but between the territories of which those towns were the capitals. It does not say whether Koliyanagara was on the bank of the Rohini. But of course it has the effect of placing Koliyanagara on the east of the Rohini; Kapilavastu being on the west. The Mahavamsa (see page 347 above) locates the Ramagrama Stupa on the bank of a river. It calls that river the Ganga, the Ganges. But we need only understand it as meaning, in accordance with a not infrequent license, some ----------------------------- 1. For the whole story, see Buddhaghosha's Sumangalavilasini, ed. Davids and Carpenter, part l. 260 ff. For another account. similar in leading features but differing in details, see the Mahavastu, ed. Senart, l. 348 ff.; according to that, howererr Kapilavastu was built on the site of a grove, not of saka-trees (teak or Sal, as the case may be) , but of sakota-trees (Trophis aspera). Will someone favour us with translations of these (and other) legends? There is much that is of interest in them. My own work leads me only to skim the surface of them. 2. Possibly, they both did this part of their travels in the winter, and, starting on each stage at sunrise and taking their bearings by the sun, omitted to allow sufficiently for the declination of the sun. p. 355 river the waters of which flowed more or less directly into the Ganges. These indications, taken together, point to the result that we should look for the Ramagrama Stupa on or near to the east bank of the Rohin Nadi, somewhere about six miles towards the West from a place which is shewn as `Bagapar,' in lat. 27 12', long. 83 34', in the Indian Atlas sheet No. 102 (1880), about thirty-two miles towards the north-north-east from Gorakhpur and twenty-five miles south-east-half-south from Rummindei. And, while it is rash to speculate when one has not, as a basis, even the certified correct form of a modern place-name, it seems perhaps not impossible that some reminiscence of the name Vyaghrapadya may be preserved in what the map shews as `Bagapar.' Hiuen-tsiang visited next [9] the Stupa raised by the Brahman Drona over the kumbha, the earthen jar in which the bones of Buddha had been collected. He has perhaps located this memorial in a kingdom, (1) visited by him between Po-lo-na-se (Varanasi, Benares) and Fei-she-li (Vaisali), and mentioned by him as Tchen-tchou according to M. Julien, as Chen-chu according to Mr. Beal, and as Chan-chu according to Mr. Watters; which I take (see below) as meaning Chanchu. He has described it as being in ruins, but still several tens of feet high. And his statement in connexion with it runs as follows (Julien, Memoires, l. 383):(2)-- `In days of yore, after the Tathagata had entered nirvana, the great kings of eight realms divided amongst them his relics. The Brahman who measured out the relics, smeared with honey the inside of the vase which he used. After distributing the relics to the eight kings, the Brahman took his vase, and returned home. Having thus obtained some relics which had stuck therein, he erected a Stupa, and ---------------------- 1. It is usually understood that this Stupa was in the kingdom in question. But, in describing his approach to it from the last preceding place visited by him, he says, according to Julien, `in leavign this country,'-- en partant de ce pays. 2. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 65; Watters, 0n Yuan Chwang, 2. 60. This Stupa seems to be not mentioned in the Life. p. 356 placed them with the vase in the centre of the monument. Thence there came the name of that Stupa.(1) Eventually, king Asoka (Wu-yau) opened the Stupa, and took from it the vase which contained the relics. Then he reconstructed the monument, and enlarged it.(2) `Sometimes, when there comes a fast-day, a radiant light is seen to issue from this Stupa.' A few remarks may be made on the locality of this Stupa also. M. Julien said that the Chinese form of the name, Tchen-tchou-koue as transliterated by him, means `kingdom of the master of battles;' and he suggested either Yodhapatipura as the Sanskrit original of that, or Yodharajapura as the original of the form Tchen-wang-koue, `kingdom of the king of battles, which he found in a certain Buddhist encyclopaedia. M. Vivien de Saint-Martin pointed out (Memoires, 2. 362) that, on that understanding, Yuddha-patipura or Yuddharajapura would be more accurate, and proposed to identify the place with Ghazipur, on the north bank of the Ganges, about forty-fire miles east-north-east from Benares.(3) General Sir Alexander Cunningham (AGI, 438 f.), accepting that identification as certain, cited a statement that the name Ghazipur is a Musalman adaptation of an original Hindu name Garjpur,(4) and proposed to take Hiuen-tsiang's form as the translation of a Sanskrit Garjana-patipura. Mr. Watters said that the term Chan-chu means `fighting lord' or 'lord of battle,' and "is evidently a ------------------- 1. Hiuen Tsiang has not reported the name of this Stupa, which might well come to be known as either the Drona-Stupa or the Kumbha-Stupa. Julien has told us that the Chinese word p`ing, used here to denote the vase, is one which occurs elsewhere as the equivalent of the Sanskrit karka, `a waterjar.' Watters, however, has said that it is the recognized rendering of the Sanskrit kumbha. 2. Beal says:--" Afterwards Asoka-raja, opening (the stupa), took the relics "and the pitcher, and in place of the old one built a great stupa." Watters says:-"Afterwards King Asoka took away the relics and jar, and "replaced the old tope by- a large one." 3. That is, as the crow flies; the distance along the bends of the river is much more. 4. This, however, seems to be a mistake for Gadhipura; see the Imperial Gazetteer of India, 5. 62, and Mr. Hoey in JASB, 69, 1900. 86. p. 357 translation of a Sanskrit name or epithet with a similar meaning;" and, without expressing any definite opinion about the proposed identification, he further remarked that "chan is used to translate yuddha and chu stands for several words such as pati, svamin, and isvara, and the Chan-chu of our text may be the rendering of a word like Yuddhapati, which may be an epithet of Siva." Now, M. Julien observed (loc. cit., 377, note 1) that this kingdom is the only one of which Hiuen-tsiang has given the name in Chinese, instead of offering us the pronunciation in phonetic characters. This being so, I venture to think, in spite of there being the form `Tchen-wang' as well as `Tchen-tchou, ' that there has been a misunderstanding; that Hiuen-tsiang has in reality, in accordance with his otherwise unfailing practice, given us here, also, his transliteration in Chinese of an Indian name, Chanchu;(1) and that the supposition to the contrary is to be simply attributed to the fact that the Chinese syllables chan-chu, really used here as a phonetic rendering, happen to have an actual meaning, coupled with the fact that, though chanchu is a perfectly well known Sanskrit word, with various meanings (notably, `the beak of a bird'), it had not been found anywhere else as a place-name or as a part of such a name. As regards one point, we have a very similar case in the writings of Sung-yun, who (see Beal, Records, 1. introd., 103) mentioned a certain " tower " as "a Tsioh-li Feou-thou, a pagoda with a surmounting pole;" to which Beal attached the note:--"Tsioh-li means a sparrow, but it is a phonetic for sula, a surmounting spear or trident." As regards the other, I find a mention of a place named Chanchu, which I take to be the same one, in the Sohgaura plate (JASB, 63, 1894. proceedings, 86, plate; IA, 25. 262). That record, as I understand it, is a public notification relating to three ------------------------ 1. I may remark that, if Hiuen-tsiang's Chan-chu had really to be taken as a translation, then, as Mr. Hoey has observed to me, a most appropriate Sanskrit original of it mould be Ranesvara, from which we might easily have a modern name such as that of Rasra in the Ballia district. 2. See, fully, a separate article on this record. p. 358 great highways of vehicular traffic. It notifies that at the junction, named Manavasi, of the three roads, in two villages named Dasilimata and Usagama, storehouses were made for the goods of people using the roads. It indicates the roads by mentioning in line 3, the three places to and from which they led; as regards the junction of them. And I recognize Chanchu as one of the names there given. Hiuen-tsiang places the capital of Chanchu on the Ganges, and plainly on the north bank, at 300 li, i.e. three days' journey, down the river to the east from Benares. Going thence 200 Ii to the east and about 100 : to- the south-east, he came to a town Mo-ha-sho-lo, on the south side of the river. Thence he went 30 Ii east, and then, "in leaving this country," about 100 li south-east, and so reached the Stupa over the kumbha. And thence, travelling to the north-east and crossing the Ganges to the north, he reached Vaisali by a journey of 140 or 150 li. It appears certain that from Benares to Mo-ha-sho-lo, and perhaps; for also the next short stage, Hiuen-tsiang was using the Ganges itself for travelling. And, going downstream, he would make very much more each day than the customary 12.12 miles (=100 li) of travelling by road. On an examination of all the details, it seems to me that it is probable that Ghazipur really is Chanchu, and that this Stupa was a few miles on the west or south-west of Arrah in the Shahabad district. Hiuen-tsiang next visited (2) Vaisali. In his account of this place, after mentioning a Stupa, built by Asoka, which marked a spot where Sariputra and others attained the condition of being Arhats, he has said (Julien, Memoires, 1. 386):1-- `To the south-east of the place where Sariputra attained the dignity of being an Arhat, there is a Stupa which was built by a king of Vaisali. After Buddha had entered into nirvana, the first king of this realm obtained, in the ------------------------------ 1. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 67; Watters, On Yuan Chwnag, 2. 65. This Stupa seems to be not mentioned in the Life. p. 359 division, a portion of his relics, and, to honour them, expressly raised this monument. We read in the In-tu-ki (Notes on India):---In this Stupa, there was formerly a drona(1) of relics of Buddha. King Asoka (Wu-yau), having opened this Stupa, took nine teou, bushels, of relics, and left only one. In subsequent times,(2) there was a king of this realm who `wished to open again the Stupa and take the' [remaining] relics. But, at the moment when he went to apply himself to the work, the earth trembled, and he did not dare further `to violate this monument.' Hiuen-tsiang finally visited the locality which included [1] Rajagriha. And he was shewn there a Stupa, containing corporeal relics of Buddha, in respect of which he has given us the following statement (Julien, Memoires, 2. 31):(3)-- 'To the east of the Karanda-Venuvana, the bamboo-grove of Karanda,(4) there is a Stupe which was built by king `Ajatasatru. After the nirvana of the Tathagata, the kings `divided amongst them his relics (she-li =sarira). King `Ajatasatru returned home with the share which he obtained, 'respectfully built a Stupa, and offered homage to it. `King Asoka (Wu-yau), having conceived a sincere faith, `opened the monument, took the relics, and built in his turn `another Stupa. `We still see the remains of it, which constantly emit `a brilliant light.' --------------------------- 1. The Chinese text mentions here the measure ho or hoh, which Julien has explained as containing ten bushels, and for which he substituted drona because ho answers to the Sanskrit drona in the name of Ho-fan-wang.= Dronodanaraja. one of the uncles of Buddha. Beal has used the word hoh, and has explained it as meaning ten pecks. Watters has said "a bushel (hu or drona)." These various renderings illustrate well the difficulty of finding suitable western equivalents for oriental technical terms; especially if we bear in mind that a bushel contains only four pecks, not ten. 2. Watters has not given this part of the statement. 3. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 160; Watters, On Yuan Chwang, 2. 158. The Life does not add anything, except in one detail noted below. Neither in the Si-yu-ki nor in the Life is the number of the "kings" mentioned in this place. 4. Julien, transcribing the Chinese by Kia-lan-t'o, took it as equivalent to Karanda. Beal followed him. Watters has given Ka-lan-t'o, and has taken it as meaning Kalanda. p. 360 In connexion with the last sentence, it is to be remarked that the Life says (Julien, 155; Beal, 115) that Asoka allowed a small portion of the relics to remain there. With a view to comparing Hiuen-tsiang's statement in this matter with Fa-hian's (this Journal, 1906. 901) and with the story given by Buddhaghosha (ibid., 905 ff.), the following remarks must be made here. In this locality there were two cities, which have come to be treated as " Old Rajagriha" and "New Rajagriha," though it is questionable whether the name Rajagriha ever really belonged to the older city, the original one.(1) And, as regards the connexion between the two cities, and the foundation of the later one, Hiuen-tsiang has given us an account, of which I give an abstract from Julien's Memoires, 2. 38 ff.,(2) as follows:-- The old town was the one in which king Bimbisara resided at first. Fires were constantly breaking out in it; and the houses were so crowded together that the fires always spread and caused great destruction.(3) Towards stopping the evil, Bimbisara issued a decree that an inquiry should always be made into the origin of any such fire, and that the person responsible for it should be banished as an outcast into "the cold forest," the place where corpses were thrown. On a certain occasion, a conflagration had its origin in the palace of Bimbisara himself; and, in pursuance of his decree, he resigned the government to "the Prince Royal or Crown Prince,"--to "his eldest son" (Beal); to "his -------------------- 1. The only statement in that direction, that I can trace, is in the Dipavamsa, 3. 52, which speaks of Bodhisa (Bhatiya) the father of Bimbisara, as reigning "amid the five mountains, in Rajagaha." This, however, appears to be worth no more, for purposes of accuracy, than a statement in the Ramayana, 1. 32, 8 f., which describes the river Sumagadhi, the Son, as looking, in flowing through Magadha, like a garland amidst the five hills which surrounded Vasumati, Girivraja. Rajagriha was outside the five hills; and it is hardly possible that the Son can ever have flowed in between them. 2. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 165 ff.; Watters, On Yuan Chwang, 2. 162. 3.This story illustrates the danger from fire which, according to Buddha's prophecy, might befall Pataliputra; see this Journal, 1906. 668. The danger from water seems to be attributable to the river Son, which at one time flowed into the Ganges on the east of Patna, but now joins that river some fifteen miles away to the west of the city. p. 361 heir" (Watters),--and banished himself. The king of Vaisali, hearing that Bimbisara was absent in banishment, raised an army and prepared to make an invasion. The wardens of the marches having informed " the king,"(1) a city was built (in order to ward off the invaders).(2) And because "the king" was the first to inhabit it, it was named Rajagriha, " the (town of the) house of the king." Others say--(Hiuen Tsiang has added)--that this town, the new one, was only founded in the reign of Ajatasatru.(3) The eldest son of that prince (of Ajatasatru) , on succeeding to the throne, forthwith established his residence there. And subsequently Asoka transferred his court to Pataliputra,(4) and gave Rajagriha to Brahmans. Hiuen-tsiang reached first the older city; arriving at it, from the direction of Gaya, through the hills on the west of it (Julien, 2. 15; Beal, 2. 149; Watters, 2. 148). He has mentioned this as Ku-she-ka-lo-pu-lo (Watters, 2. 323) , = perhaps Kusagrapura, perhaps Kusankurapura, and as '' the city surrounded by mountains, " i.e. Girivraja. Leaving that city by its northern gate (J., 2. 29; B., 2. 159; W., 2. 156), he came, by only one li, to the Venuvana, the bamboogrove, where Karanda or Kalanda built a Vihara which he gave to Buddha. On the east of this grove, at a distance which he has not specified, there was shewn to him the relic-Stupa built by king Ajatasatru, his account of which has been given above (page 359). On the north of the Venuvana Vihara, at a distance of 200 paces, he came (J., 2. 38; ------------------------- 1. That is, apparently, the king in exile, Bimbisara. Beal added a note (loc. cit., 166, note 72) to the effect that this new town was built, " as it seems, "in the place where the king was living. From this it would appear that the " site of the new town of Rajagriha had been before used as a burial-ground " for the people of the `old town.'". The next sentence seems to imply a return of Bimbisara from his self-imposed banishment. 2. Compare the story about Pataligama, Pataliputra; see this Journal, 1906. 667 f. 3. So, for instance, Fa-hian; see page 362 below. 4 On this point, compare another passage in Hiuen Tsiang's writings see this Journal, 1906. 669. Julien has left it undetermined whether Asoka is here mentioned as Wu-yau or otherwise; so also in the corresponding passage in the Life, 160; in respect of this detail, see this Journal, 1906. 669, note 2. p. 362 B., 2. 165; W., 2. 161) to the site of the Karanda or Kalanda pool or tank, which had dried up after the death of Buddha. At only two or three li to the north-west of that pool or tank, he came (loc. cit.; all three) to a Stupa built by Asoka, by the side of which there was a stone pillar bearing an inscription. And then, at a short unspecified distance to the north-east from that Stupa and pillar, he arrived (loc. cit.; all three) at the city Ho-lo-shi-ki-li-hi (Beal), i.e. Rajagriha. Fa-hian travelled by a different route, from Patna. He first reached, according to Laidlay (Pilgrimage of Fa Hian, 264), "the New Town of the Royal Residence; this new town was built by the king A-che-shi" (i.e., Ajatasatru); according to Legge (Travels of Fa-hien, 81), "New Rajagriha, the new city which was built by king Ajatasatru;" according to Beal (Records, 1. introd., 58) , "the new Rajagriha; this was the town which king Ajatasatru built." He says (Laidlay, loc. cit.): (1)-- "On leaving by the western gate, you "arrive, at the distance of 300 paces, at a tower raised by " king A-che-shi, when he obtained a portion of the reliques " of Foe: it is lofty, grand, beautiful, and majestic." And he proceeds (ibid.):--" Leaving the town on the southern side, "and proceeding four ii to the south, you enter a valley "which leads to the Five Hills: these five hills form a girdle "like the walls of a. town; it is the Ancient Town of the "king Ping-sha" (i.e., Bimbisara). Thus, the southern exit from Rajagriha was at quite a short distance-- according to Fa-hian, four li, a little under half a mile; with which the details given by Hiuen-tsiang fit in quite well,--from the northern gate of Girivraja. The relic-Stupa. which was shewn to Hiuen-tsiang, and was described to him as having been made by Ajatasatru and opened by Asoka, was to the east from a point, which was at one li from the northern gate of Girivraja, on the north-and-south line between Rajagriha and Girivraja; and it was evidently the Stupa over the underground deposit which was made by Ajatasatru, on the advice of the Thera Maha-Kasyapa, for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the bulk ------------------------ 1. For Legge and Beal, see this Journal, 1906. 901. p. 363 of seven of the eight original shares of the corporeal relics of Buddha, somewhere, as Buddhaghosha tells us (this Journal, 1906. 908f.), on the south-east of Rajagriha. The relic-Stupa made by Ajatasatru, which was shewn to Fa-hian, was 300 paces outside the western gate of Rajagriha; and it was plainly the Stupa which Ajatasatru had made in the first instance (this Journal, 1906. 665, 908), over only his own share of the relics.