The Eight Great Caityas and their Cult
Bagchi, P.C.
The Indian Historical Quarterly
Vol.17.no.2
1941
P.223-235
P.223
A number of texts relating to the eight great
caityas ( a.s.ta mahaacaitya, a.s.ta mahaastahaana-
caitya ) is preserved in the Tibetan and Chinese
translations. These texts contain a very old
tradition on the career of Buddha as well as its
later development. They have therefore a special
interest which may not be overlooked. These texts
are the following:
I. Gnas chen po brgyad kyi mchod rten la bstod
pa, Bstan h.gyur, I, no. 24, Cordier, Catalogue du
Fonds Tibetain, p.7, ¢w The Sanskrit title of the
text is given as A.s.tamahaasthaana caityastortra.
The name of the author in the colophon of the text
is given as AAcaarya Naagaarjuna.
II. Gnas cben po brgyad kyi mcbod rten la bstod
pa, Bstan hgyur, I, no. 25, Cordier, ibid., p.7. The
Sanskrit title is A.s.tamabaastbaana caityastotra.
It is also a work of the same Naagaarjuna. The text
however is different from the one mentioned above.
III. Fo shuo pa ta ling t'a ming hao king in I
fasc. This is Nanjio 898, Hob. 1685; Bagchi ¢w Le
Canon Bouddhique, II, p.590(n.57), a translation by
Fa t'ien(Dharmadeva) of the Song dynasty who was
originally a teacher at Nalanda and went to China in
973 A.D. and worked there till his death in 1001
A.D. The title of the text has been rendered by
Nanjio as "Suutra on the names of eight great and
auspicious caityas". The text is alleged to be
canonical and so the title is preceded by the
expresion ¢w `Fo shuo'= Buddha prokta.
IV. (i) Pa ta ling t'a fan tsan ¢w This is not
a translation but the transliteration of a Sanskrit
text made by the same Fa t'ien. ¢w Nanjio 1071, Hob.
1684; Le Canon Bouddhique, II, p.594. The text was
restored into Sanskrit by Prof. L'evi ¢w Cf. Une
po'esie inconnue du roi Har.sa 'Silaaditya (Actes du
Xe Congres international des orientalistes, II, I,
1897 pp. 189-203; the articlc has been reprinted in
M'emorial Sylvain L'evi, pp.243-256). The title of
the text has been restored in Sanskrit as
A.s.tamabaa-'Srii-caityas-stotra.
(ii) Gnas chen po brgyad kyi mchod rten la
phyag `tshal ba'i bstod pa ¢w A.s.tamahaasthaana
caityavandanaastava. This is a Tibetan translation
of the text mentioned above. Cordier ¢w ibid., Bstan
.hgyur, I, n. 57(p.12) where it is said to be the
work of Har.sadeva, king of Kashmir. the translation
is due to the Indian scholar Raaja'srii
j~nnaanamitra. Prof. L'evi did not take any account
of the Tibetan translation in his article referred
to above.
P.224
The first two texts (I and II) are said to be
the works to AAcaarya Naagaarjuna. This Naagaarjuna
was certainly a person different from the great
Naagaarjuna, the founder of the Madhyamaka school of
philosophy. The great Naagaarjuna does not seem to
have taken delight in the composition of light poems
except the Subrllekba which has however a different
character. There was a later Naagaarjuna who was a
teacher at Naalandaa and lived in the 10th century
A.D. (See my Kaulaj~naananir.naya, p.28). The nature
of the two texts fits in well with the authorship of
this latter Naagaarjuna.
There is some difficulty in believing that the
A.s.tamahaa'srii-caitya-stotra (IV), restored into
Sanskrit by Prof. L‚vi, was the work of king Har.sa
'Silaaditya. The Chinese transcription is due to Fa
t'ien(Dharmadeva) of Naalandaa who was in China from
973 to 1001. According to the Chinese tradition it
is the work of king Kie-je (§Ù¤é ). Kie-je is the
regular Chinese translation of the name of
'Silaaditya. The Tibetan translation in its colophon
however says that it is the work of king Har.sadeva
of Kaa'smiir (Kha che i rgyal po = 'Srri
Ha-ri''sa-deva) who composed it in order to pleasse
her mother (Yum gyi cbed du mrdsad pa).
In fact king Har.sa of Kaa'smiir is known to have
possessed great literary talents and composed poems
and songs. King Har.sa, the son of Kala's, whose
later career as a king was vitiated by many acts of
oppression, was an ideal prince in his younger days.
He was a patron of talents, and himself a great
musician and composer (Raajatara^ngi.nii, VII,
611-615). Har.sa knew many languages, was able to
compose poem in those languages and his fame as
composer spread even to other kingdoms (ibid., VII,
610). The court musicians used to sing his beautiful
compositions (ibid., VII, 717). "He excelled even
B.rhaspati in talents. When anybody sang one of his
many compositions even the musicians could not
resist their tears" (ibid., VII, 941-942). There is
also proof to show that the oppressive king Har.sa
had a tender corner in his heart for Buddhism. In
the latter part of his reign when he was burning the
temples all through his kingdom he spared only the
famous Maarta.n.da temple and two famous Buddhist
temples at the request of a Buddhist singer named
Ku'sala'srii (ibid., VII, 1097-98). This clearly
shows that king Har.sa was a good composer of songs
and that he also took delight in Buddhist songs. It
is therefore quite possible that he composed the
A.s.tamabaastbaana caitya vandanaa stotra at the
request of his mother in his younger days.
P.225
The internal evidence contained in the poem tends
to give an additional proof. In the first two verses
the author mentions the caityas in the famous places
of Buddhist pilgrimage like Vaii'saali,Sraavastii,
Ku'siinagara, Lumbinii, Kau'saambi and Mathuraa.
Then follows a list of places and countries far and
wide beginning with Kaa'smiira, Ciina, Kha'sa,
Yamunaa, etc. This shows that the author belonged to
kaa'smiira. There is also mention of a city called
Kala'savarapura in this list. The name is translated
into Tibetan as Bum b'ui klo^n mchog "the great city
of Kala'sa (water pot)." Where was this city of
Kala'sa? We know from the Raajatara^ngi.nii that
Har.sa's father Kala'sa, like his predecessors,
built a new city in the valley of Kaa'smiira after
his name (ibid., VII, 607, 608, 646). Har.sa, while
mentioning many other unimportant places in his
poem, probably thought it fit to include a city
founded by his father. he had the best relation with
his father in his young days. Then again the name
Marvaara mentioned in the 4th stanza does not seem
to be very old.
It therefore seems that king Har.sa of kaa'smiir
was the author of this poem. It is through mistake
that the Chinese chroniclers have identified him
with king 'Silaaditya. The accepted chronology of
the kings of Kashmir however stands in the way. Fa
t'ien transcribed the work in Chinese between 973
and 1001 A.D. But Har.sa is said to have reigned
about a century later between 1089 and 1101 A.D. At
the time of his death he was only 42 years old (H.C.
Ray, Dynastic History of India, I,p.182). It is not
possible to go into the intricate problem of
chronology in this atticle but attention of scholars
may be drawn to certain inconsistencies in this
chronology. Kala'sa died in the Laukika era
4165(Raajatara^ngi.nii, VII, 723) which according to
current calculation corresponds to 1064 A.D. and not
1085 A.D. Then again according to the Tibetan
accounts, (Pag Sam Jon Zang, pp.liv-lv) king Gopaala
(i.e. Gopaala III) of the Paala dynasty was a
contemporary of king Har.sa of Kashmir. But Dr. Ray
(ibid., I, p.385)places him in circa 1130 A.D. This
shows the uncertain character of the accepted
chronology of Kashmir kings. It therefore may not be
impossible that Fa t'ien got a poem of king har.sa
before 1001 A.D. and transcribed it into Chinese. It
is not impossible, though improbable, that the
transcription of Har.sa's poem was done later by
some other scholar and attributed to Fa t'ien by
mistake.
It therefore appears that three of the four
texts described above are compilations of about the
10th-11th century. Both Naagaarjuna and king Har.sa
of Kashmir belonged to that period. The other
(no.III) ¢w which is supposed
P.226
to be a Buddhavacana ¢w was also translated for the
first time in this period (973-1001 A.D.) by Fa
t'ien (Dharmadeva) who originally belonged to
Nalanda.
The worship of Caitya was introduced very early
in Buddhism. The famous story of the division of the
ashes of Buddha occurs in the Mahaaparinibhaana
Sutta (Dialogues of Buddha, III, pp.187-191). Those
who received shares of the ashes were ¢w King
Ajaatasattu of Magadha, the Licchavis of Vesaali,
the Saakiyas of Kapilavatthu, the Bulis of
Allakappa, the Koliyas of Raamagaama, a Brahmin of
Ve.thadiipa, the Mallas of pava, the Mallas of
Kusinaaraa and the Moriyas of Oipphalivana. They
built caityas in their respective countries on the
ashes of Buddha received by them. Hence caityas came
to be founded immediately after the death of Buddha
in the following places ¢w Paajagaha (Magadha),
Vesaali, Kapilavatthu, Allakappa, Raamagaama,
Ve.thadiipa, pava, Kusinaaraa and Pipphalivana. The
Brahmin named Do.na, who divided the ashes into
eight equal shares took the vessel which contained
the ashes and erected a caitya on it. This Brahmin
seems to be the same as the Brahmin of Ve.thadiipa,
otherwise we get nine different parties claiming the
shares of the ashes.
The corresponding passage in the Diirgbaagama
gives a clear version of the text (Diirghaagama
translated into Chinese by Bddhaya'sa and fo-nien,
412-413 A.D.;Yeou hing king¢wBuddhavibara.na-suutra,
Taisho ed. vol. I, p.30).
"The people of the country of Kiu-she (Ku'sinag-
ara) received a share of the relics, built a caitya
over it and worshipped it. The people of the country
of P'o-p'o (Paavaa), the countries of Che-Lo (¾Bù
), Lo-mo-kiq(Raama-graama), Pi-leou-t'i (Ïi¯d´£ ),
Kia-wei-lo-wei (Kapilavastu) , and Pi-she-li
(Vai'saali) , and king Ajaata'satru of Mo-kie
(Magadha) all received shares of the relics and in
their countries built caityas for worship. The
Brahmin Dro.na (»©m ) got the earthen vessel that
contained the relics and erected a caitya over it in
his country for worship. The men of the village of
P'i-p'o (Pipphalivana) got the earth with charcoal
and built a caitya. Thus there were the eitht
caityas. The 9th is the bbaa.n.da-Caitya (the
earthen vessel that contained the ashes), the 10th
is the charcoal-Caitya and the 11th is the
Ke'sa-Caitya" (hair of the birth time).
Thus the text corresponding to the Mahaaparinib-
baana Sutta in Chinese translation clearly
distinguishes the Eight Caityas built on the eight
shares of the ashes from the rest. They were at
Ku'sinagara, Pava, Raamagraama,
P.227
Kapilavastu, Vesaali, Magadha and in the countries
of Che-lo and Pi-leou-t'i. The last name is a
transcription of Ve-.du-di(p) which corresponds to
Ve.thadiipa. Che-lo outht to correspond to Allakappa
but nothing can be made out of the name at present.
Although there are minor differences between the
two versions of the text both agree in recording the
tradition that the ashes of the Buddha were divided
into eight portions among eight important countries
in North-Eastern India and that Caityas were built
on them. Some of the most important places connected
with the career of Buddha like Gayaa, Vaaraa.nasii
and 'Sraavastii are not mentioned in this
connection. Thus the Eight Caityas built soon after
the demise of the Lord have nothing to do with the
Eight Great Caityas of which the cult persisted till
later times.
It therefore seems that the oldest caityas were
four in number. These were located repectively at
Buddha's birth place ¢w jaati ¢w (Lumbinii), the
place where he attained abhisambodhi (Gayaa), the
place where he made his first predication ¢w
dbarmacakra-pravartana(Vaaraa.nasii) and the place
where he attained nirvaa.na (Ku'siinagara). It is
not improbable that the first three caityas were
founded before the parinirvaa.na took place and that
is why Har.sa in his poem (Text No.IV) mentions
these three as the first caityas (jaati.m bodhim
pravaram atula.m dharmacakra.m ca ramya.m). We know
from the Divyaavadaana(p.389) that A'soka made a
pilgrimage to Buddhist sacred places and established
stuupas. But his teacher Upagupta while showing him
round at Lumbinii says ¢w ida.m hi pratbama.m
caitya.m Buddbasyottamacak.su.sa.b ¢w "this is the
first caitya of Buddha the best seer." This confirms
the tradition of the early existence of some of the
caityas in places connected with the life of Buddha.
The eight great caityas came to be famous in the
Buddhist world in the next stage. These were at
Kapilavastu (Lumbinii) , Gayaa, Vaaraa.nasii,
'Sraavastii, Saa^nkaa'sya, Raajagrha and Vai'saali
and Ku'siinagara. In fact the four new places ¢w
'Sraavastii, Saa^nkaa'sya, Raajagrha and Vai'saali
did not have the same importance in the life of
Buddha as the other four. The caitya at 'Sraavastii
was founded on a spot in the Jetavana where Buddha
performed a miracle. The caitya at Saa^nkaa'sya is
connected with a similar miracle ¢w the descent of
Buddha from the 33rd heaven. The caitya at Vai'saali
marks the place where Buddha meditatred on the
limits of his life and at Raajag.rha it marked the
spot where Buddha spoke to the sa^ngha on the
necessity of avoiding dissension in the church.
Buddha certainly had lived in each of the three
P.228
places ¢w Raajag.rha, Vai'saali and 'Sraavastii but
there were surely other places in those cities which
had greater claim to be sanctified by caityas. There
is nothing historical in Buddha's association with
Saa^nkaa'sya. All the eight great caityas therefore
have not the same historical importance.
The two works of Naagaarjuna (I,II) and the poem
of Har.sa (IV) mark a later stage in the development
of the cult of caitya. Naagaarjuna mentions the
eight great caityas referred to above but at the
same time pays respects to " all other caityas in
the ten directions." Har.sa mentions the eight
caityas as well as other caityas in places in and
outside India which had no connection with the
career of Buddha without distinguishing them in any
way from the eight great caityas.Yet he gives the
title of his poem as A.s.tamahaasthaana-caityavandanam.
In the last verse he also refers to all other "eight
caityas" (Ye caa.s.tau dhaatugarbhaa).
This shows that the expression a.s.ta-caitya had
a different significance in later times. It did not
mean the Eight Great Caityas of earlier times but
the " Eight caityas located in various cities." "
These Eight caityas" in different cities either
perpetuated the memory of the traditional eight
caityas or had connection with the eight cardinal
directions. The historical Buddha had no longer any
importance in the Buddhism of later times. It is his
omnipresent Dharmakaaya, referred to by Naagaarjuna
(text. NO.1), that had taken the place of the
historical Buddha, as such Buddha, in the eyes of
his devotees, was present everywhere and performed
the same old acts in all places.
TEXTS
I
(A.s.tamabaasthaana caitya stotra)
Homage to Ma~nju'srii-Kumaarabhuuta!
The first and the foremost teacher was born in Lumi
-pi (Lumbinii). He lived in the city of Ser-skya
(Kapilavastu) and possessed precious knowledge.
Homage to all the caityas of the Tathaagata [1].
Homage to the caitya of Wisdom, the support of
Bodhi, situated near the river called Nera~njana and
the Bodhi tree of Magadha [2].
P.229
Homage to the four caityas of spiritual knowledge
(yi 'ses) at Vaa-raa-na-se (Vaaraa.nasii) in
Ka-'si-ka (Kaa'sii) where by the wheel of law
excellent salvation was attained and sins removed
completely [3].
Homage to the caityas of the destruction of the
heretics in 'Sraavastii (M~nan du yod) where in the
Jeta garden great miracle was performed to the
astonishment of the three words[4].
Homage to the caitya worshipped by thirty gods
near the holy city of Saa^nkaa'sya (Gsal Idan)
where, when the Lord came down, Brahmaa and Indra
bent their heads at his feet [5].
Homage to the caitya of Maitrii (Byams ^nos) in
the Bamboo grove in the city of Raajag.rha where
after a previous division amongst the Bhik.su^s (dge
'dun) the 'Sraavakas (~nam thos) under the teachers
(ston pa'i) came to an agreement [6].
Homage to the holy caitya in the city of Vai'sa-
alii (Ya^ns pa can) where (the Lord thought that
life had been again blessed on account of
transmigration [7].
Homage to the caitya of Nirvaa.na in the forest
of the twin ('Saala trees) in the country of the
Mallas ('gran med gyad) at Ku'siinagara where all
beings perform meritorious acts [8].
Homage to the eight caityas of 'Saakyamuni as
well as to all other caityas in ten directions and
all other Dharmakaaya.
Thus after giving up all illusion, after bowing
unto the best and the purest reality (aatma-tattva),
the Dharmakaaya of Buddha, which like the sky
perfectly covers all beings, may be accumulated the
virtue white as the snow mountain. So all beings,
Kuladharas, pray for Bodhi knowledge.
The Praise of Eight Mahaacaityas ¢w the work of
the great teacher¢wAAcaarya Naagaarjuna.
II
(A.s.tamahaasthaana-caitya stotra)
Homage to Ma~nju'srii Kumaarabhuuta.
Homage to the caitya Mahaabodhi where Buddha
destroyed the Maara through Bodhi and compassion
after having first fixed his mind on excellent
Bodhi and accumulated merits through countless tri-kalpas
[1].
P.230
Homage to the caityas of good luck in the city
of Kapilavastu where the law was established, the
Buddha took birth miraculously from his mother and
'Suddhodana of the 'Saakya family and grew on the
right side held by Brahmaa [2].
Homage to the caitya of the conversion of the
city in Varanaasi (Vaaraa.nasii) where Buddha on
going out for alms destroyed with his nails all the
mad elephants of King Bimbisaara (Gzugs can s~ni^n
pa) [3].
Homage to the caitya of the origination of comp-
assion (thugs rje 'byu^n ba) where on the green
grass plot Buddha meditated on life and
Ha-lu-ma-~nja(Hanuumant) offered him honey during 33
births [4].
Homage to the caitya of showing miracle ( cho
'phrul bston pa ) where all gods and men were
impressed by the performance of a miracle, the six
heretics were destroyed by (spiritual) power and the
wheel of Brahma was turned [5].
Homage to the caitya of pacification and con-
quest where the white world was completely
terminated, where the girls offered him respect and
made an offering of milk in the assembly of the
Naagas, Nanda and others [6].
Homage to the caitya of great purification (rnam
par dag pa) where Buddha kept the vow with great
attention surrounded by Bodhisattvas, Buddhas,
'Sraavakas, Arhats etc. [7].
Homage to the Nirvaa.na caitya where Buddha was
enterained by Cunda for three months, where all
transient beings were subbued, Buddha came down from
heaven and attained the end of his life [8].
The praise of the caityas of 8 great places¢wthe
work of the great teacher Naagaarjuna.
III.
Fo shuo pa ta ling t'a hao king
(Suutrra on the names of the Eight Great Caityas
spoken by Buddha¢wBuddhabbaa.sita-a.s.ta-mahaacaitya-
naama-suutra).
Once on a time the Venerable one spoke to the
assembly of Bhik.sus thus¢w
We will now speak to you on the truth of praising
the names of eight great caityas. Listen to what I
say about them. The first is in the city of
Kia-pi-lo (Kapilavastu) in the garden of
Lu-mi-ni(Lumbinii) on the spot where Buddha was
born. The second is in the country of Mo-kia-t'o
P.231
(Magadha) on the bank of Ni-lien (Naira~njanaa)
under the Bodhi tree where Buddha attained
enlightenment. The third is in the country of
Kia-she (Kaa'sii) in the city of Pl-lo-nai
(Vaaraa.nasii) on the spot where he turned the wheel
of law. The fourth is in the country of
She-wei('Sraavastii) in the Ki-t'o (Jeta) garden
where he gave proof of his great supernatural power.
The fifth is in the city of " hump backed maiden"
(Kaanyakubja) on the spot where he descended from
the Trayastri.m'sa (Tao-li) heaven. The sixth is in
the city of Raajag.rha Wang-sbe on the spot where
Buddha brought about the reconciliation of the
church after it had been divided. The seventh is in
the city of Vai'saalii (Kwang-yen) on the spot where
Buddha thought about the limits of his life. The
eight is in the city of Kiu-she-na (Ku'siinagara)
between the two 'saala trees on the spot where
Buddha entered Nirvaa.na.
Likewise the praise of the eight great caityas
has been spoken of in gaathaa thus:
In the garden of Lu-mi-ni (Lumbinii) in the city
of Kia-pi (Kapilavastu) where Buddha was born to
king 'Suddhodana.
In Mo-kia-t'o (Magadha) on the bank of the river
Ni-lien (Naira~njanaa) under the Bodhi tree where
Buddha attained the perfect Sambodhi.
In the country of Kia-she ( Kaa'si ) in the city
of Pl-lo-nai (Vaaraa.nasii) where Buddha turned the
dharmacakra twelve times.
In the Jetavana in the great city of She-wei
('Sraavastii) where Byddga exhibited his
supernatural power to all the three worlds.
In the country of Sang-kia-she (Saa^nkaa'sya) in
the city of hump backed maidens (Kaanyakubja) where
Buddha descended from the Trayastri.m'sa heaven.
In the city of Raajag.rha where the Tathaagata
preached on the necessity of the practice of
compassion on the division of the sa.mgha.
In the great city of Vai'saali the caitya is on
the spot where the Tathaagata thought on the limits
of his life.
In the great city of Kiu she na ( Ku'siinagara )
in the land of the Mallas between a couple of 'Saala
trees where Buddha attained Nirvaa.na.
If a Brahmin or a good man or woman build caitas
like the eight caityas with great faith at heart and
worship them, he or she may attain great merit,
hight virtue and peace. By listening to these names
of vast and deep significance and by worshipping
these eight caityas in pure faith all Arhats,
Bhik.sus, good men and women are born in the world
of gods after death.
P.232
Once on a time the Lord invited all the Bhik.sus
and told them: Listen to what I say about the
countries and cities where I travelled and stayed.
He then uttered the following gaathaas-
Twenty-nine years I passed in the royal palace.
For six years I practised asceticism on the
snowy mountain.
For five years I converted men in the city of
Raajag.rha.
For four years I stayed in the Pihha forest.
For two years I stayed peacefully on the
jo-li-yen (Naira~njanaa).
For twenty-three years I stayed in 'Sraavastii,
In the city of Vai'saali, in the M.rgadaava,
Mo-kiu-lin and Trayastri.m'sa heaven,
She-shu-na and Kiao-shen-mi on the peak of the
Ratnacaitya mountain and in wilderness.
In the town of Wei-nu, Fei-lan-ti,
In the city of Kia-pi, the capital of king
'Suddhodana,
In each of these places the 'Saakya Tathaagata
travelled and stayed for one year,
Thus eighty years he lived in this world.
Afterwards the Meou-ni (muni) entered Nirvaa.na.
IV.
* In Tibetan the title is given as A.s.tamabaas-
tbaana-caitya vandana^m stava. Prof. L‚vi renders
the Chinese title as A.s.ta-mabaa-'sri-caitya-
sa^msk.rta stotra. In the colophon of the Chinese
text the title is given as A.s.tacaitya vandana.
P.233
NOTES
1. Kapilavastu ¢w I, i; II, 2 does not mention I
umbinii,III,IV,1-2,Jaati.m, Lumbinii-Kapilaalaye.
2. Gayaa, I, 2; II, i, 6, 7; III, IV, 1-2.In II,
6 a reference is made to the girls offering milk to
Buddha in the assembly of Naagas at Gayaa, cf. On
Yuan Chwang II, 126. "A tope to the north-west of
the Bodhi tree enclosure marked the home of the two
cowherd maidens who presented the P'u-sa (= Bodhisa-
ttva) with milk gruel and near it were two other
topes also connected with the incident". Watters
notes that the cowherd woman is called Nandabalaa;
in the Sarvvastivaada Vinaya however there are two
cowherd girls ¢w Nandaa and Nandabalaa. In some
texts, she is Sujaataa the daughter of Nandikaa
whereas in other texts they are two sisters Nandaa
and Balaa, the daughters of Nandikaa. See also
foucher ¢w Une liste Indienne des Actes du Buddba
('Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, 1908), no. 20 in
which all the text and the differences amongst them
have been noted.
3. Vaaraa.nasii, I, 3; II, e, III, IV. I; In IV,
I, it is Dharmacakra, but the Tibetan translation
mentions Ba-ra-naa-si (Vaaraa.nasii) instead. In II,
3 it is said that Buddha killed all the mad
elephants of King Bimbisaara at Vaaraa.nasii. This
is probably a mistake. It was at Raajag.rha that
Buddha met the mad elephant set against him by
Devadatta, cf.Foucher ¢w ibid.
4. This is the great miracle at 'Sraavastii. See
II (5), "the six heretics were destroyed," III "
where he gave proof of his great supernatural
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power, " "exhibited his supernatural power," IV
'Sri-mahaapraatihaarya.m This miracle consisted in
buddha's confounding the six heretics near Jetavana
in 'Sraavastii in the presence of King Prasenajit
and a large assembly of people. See Watters ¢w On
Yuan Chwang I, p.394, Foucher ¢w Une liste Indienne
des Actes du Buddha ('Ecole pratique des Hautes
Etudes, 1908) no. 42 in which all the references ¡¼
texts and sculptural representations have been
given.
5. Saa^nkaa'sya, I, 5, III.
6. Raajag.rha, I. 6, III.
7. Vai'saali is mentioned in I (7) as the place
where Buddha thought on the life; in II (4) it is
the place where he meditated on life and where
Hanuumant offered him honey; in III it is the place
where Buddha thought, on his life. These refer to
the incidents that happened shortly before the
Pariniirvaa.na at Ku'siinagara. Buddha thought on
the limits of life, decided as to the place where he
would die and contemplated on the city of Vai'saali
for the last time. The story is told in the
Mahaaparinibbaana sutta, Ch. 4; Cf. On Yuan Cbwang
II, pp.68-69. The other incident viz. the monkeys
offering honey to Buddha is recorded in the
Divyaavadaana, p.136, Mahaavastu, I, p.300 etc. See
On Yuan Chwang II, p.65 ¢w Hiuan tsang mentions the
tank near which the monkeys offered honey to Buddha.
" Near the west side of the tank was a tope on the
spot at which the monkeys took the Buddha's bowl up
a tree for honey to give him."
8. Ku'siinagara, I, 8; II, 8; III; IV,2.
9. 'Si'suma ¢w IV, 2, Tib. Byis pa gsod ¢w
'Si'sumaara.
10. Smerako.s.tha ¢w V, 2. Tib. mjod thug ¡×
Sthuulako.s.tha. In the Chinese text there is
clearly ¡¼ t'u which was wrongly read by Prof. L‚vi
as §K mien. This is why Prof. L'evi restored the
name as Smerako.s.tha; it should be corrected as
Sthuulako.s.tha. In the Divyaavadaana in connection
with the north-western expedition of Pu.syamitra it
is said that Pu.syamitra, after leaving 'Saakala,
went to Ko.s.thaka. In one of the Chinese versions
of the text the name is given as Sthuulako.s.tha (T'
eou-lo-kiue-toh'a). The place is also mentioned in
the Muulasarvaastivaada-Vinaya in connection with
the journey of Buddha in the North-West. See
Przyluski ¢w La L'egende de L Empereur A'soka, pp.
305ff. Przyluski is inclined to consider the place
as indentical with Ma^ngako.stha in Uddiyaana.
11. Mathuraa, IV-2, Tib. Mchog dag'sko^n yul.
12. Kaa'smiira, IV-3, Tib. Kha-cha.
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13. Ciinade'sa, IV-3, Tib. Rgyu-yul.
14. Kha'sata.ta, IV-3, Tib Kha-'sa.
15. Yamuna, IV-3, Tib. Ya-mu-na.
16. Marvaara, IV-3, Tib. Shas. (?)
17. Si.mhala, IV-3, Tib. Si^n-ga-la.
18. Laa.ta, IV-3, Tib. omits.
19. O.dra, IV-3, Tib. Au-.do.
20. Sin.dhu, IV-3, Tib. Si-ndhu.
21. Pau.n.dra, IV-3, Tib. 'Si^n.(?)
22. Samata.ta, IV-3, Tib. 'phal bag.(?)
23. Magadha, IV-3, Tib. Ma^n ba.
24. Mekhala, IV-3, Tib. Kha(?)
25. Ko'sala, IV_3, Tib. Ko. ['sa]. la.
26. Nepaala, IV-3, Tib. Bal yul.
27. kaamaruupa, IV-3, Tib. Ka-ma-ru.
28. Kala'savaraputta, IV-3, Tib. Bum bu'ii klo^n
mchog.
29 Kaa~nci, IV-3, tib. Ka(.m). ci.
30 Sauraa.s.tra, IV-3 Tib. Bzad po'i yul.