Legends of Indian Buddhism;

LIBRARY OF

WELLES LEY COLLEGE

PURCHASED FROM
LIBRARY FUNDS

Ube Mts^om of tbe Bast Sertes

Edited by

L. CRANMER-BYNG

Dr. S. A. KAPADIA

LEGENDS OF INDIAN
BUDDHISM

WISDOM OF THE EAST

LEGENDS OF INDIAN
BUDDHISM

TRANSLATED FROM " L'INTRODUCTION A L'HISTOIRE
DU BUDDHISME INDIEN " OF EUGENE BURNOUF

WITH INTRODUCTION BY

WINIFRED STEPHENS

Wer sich selbst und And're kennt
Wird auch hier erkennen :
Orient und Occident
Sind nicht mehr zu trennen.

NEW YORK

E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY

1911

>^U^; ) 0 10/LC

^ l-f io(^

^

PRINTED BY

HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.

LONDON AND AYLESBURY,

ENGLAND.

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction 7

I. The Childhood and Youth of As'oka . 20

II. The Conversion of Kino Asoka . 30

III. The Establishment of the Law by

Asoka . . . . ... 42

IV. The Eyes of Kunala .... 74

V. The Legend of Vitasoka . . . 101

VI. The Death of King A§oka ; or, The

Gift of a Handful of Earth . 121

EDITORIAL NOTE

THE object of the Editors of this series is a
very definite one. They desire above all
things that, in their humble way, these books
shall be the ambassadors of good-will and
understanding between East and West — the old
world of Thought and the new of Action. In
this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they
are but followers of the highest example in the
land. They are confident that a deeper know-
ledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy
of Oriental thought may help to a revival of
that true spirit of Charity which neither despises
nor fears the nations of another creed and colour.
Finally, in thanking press and public for the
very cordial reception given to the " Wisdom
of the East " Series, they wish to state that
no pains have been spared to secure the best
specialists for the treatment of the various
subjects at hand.

L. CRANMER-BYNG.
S. A. KAPADIA.

northbrook society,
21 Cromwell Road,
Kensington, S.W.

LEGENDS OF INDIAN
BUDDHISM

INTRODUCTION

AMONG the many religious beliefs originating
in the speculative Oriental mind, Buddhism
is one which becomes increasingly attractive
to Occidentals. Dissatisfied with the system
of rewards and punishments mitigated by sacrifice
and mercy, to which the race has so long been
enslaved, the modern mind of the West is in-
clined to favour a creed which teaches that
good inevitably brings forth good, and evil evil.

In the number of its adherents and in the
area of its prevalence Buddhism surpasses any
other creed ; and its existence through twenty-
four centuries entitles it to be considered one
of the most venerable forms of behef .

Buddhism in its purity ignored the existence
of a God it denied the existence of a soul ;
it was not so much a religion as a code of ethics.
The relations of Buddhism to the still more

8 INTRODUCTION

ancient religion of Hinduism may be compared
to the relation of Christianity to Judaism. As
Christians saw in Christianity the fulfilment of
Judaism, so Buddhists beheld in their creed the
natural evolution of Hinduism. It has been
maintained ^ that Buddhism, while introducing
into the older religion several striking innova-
tions, involved no absolute break with Hinduism.
As Jesus was born and brought up a Jew, so
was Gautama,* the founder of Buddhism, born
and brought up a Hindu. As certain pagan
myths and pagan festivals became Christianised,
so, in a much greater degree, did Hindu myth-
ology pass into Buddhist legends. Gautama,
we are told, came to deUver not men only,
but the deities, or devas, of Hinduism. We
read that " to the city of deliverance he led
thousands of men and gods," that " to eighty
thousand divinities he revealed the truth."
In the Buddhist as in the Homeric world,

^ See Renan, Nouvellea Etudes d'histoire Religieuse (1884),
p. 159, and Dr. L. D. Barnett, The Path of Light (Wisdom of
the East Series), Introduction, p. 8. To Dr. Barnett and to
Mrs. Bode the present writer wishes to express her gratitude
for the reading of the MS. of this work and for useful sugges-
tions, which she has been happy to adopt.

* Gautama was the family name of the Buddha, or En-
lightened One (see Heinrich Kern, Der Buddhismua und
seine Oeschichte in Indien, 1882, vol. i. p. 313). At his
birth, circ. 560 B.C. {ibid., p. 36), he received the name
of Siddhartha, which means " he who has accomplished his
aim." His disciples called him by numerous titles, many
of which will appear in these pages.

INTRODUCTION 9

gods and men lived side by side. Indeed, the
deities of both worlds are but beings living under
happier conditions than men.

Gautama seems to have accepted not Hindu
mythology only, but the Hindu theory of the
universe. At any rate he appears to have made
no attempt to formulate any theory of his own.
But long after his death, his disciples, according
to their various schools of philosophy,^ evolved
theories which they attributed to Gautama.
One of these is expressed in a dialogue * between
Gautama and his disciple Kasyapa.

" On what doth the earth repose, 0 Gautama?"
asked Kasyapa.

" The earth reposeth on the circle of the
waters, 0 Brahman."

" And the circle of the waters, on what doth
it repose ? "

It reposeth on the wind."
And the wind, 0 Gautama, on what doth
it repose ? "

It reposeth on the ether."
And the ether, 0 Gautama, on what re-
poseth it ? "

" Thou searchest too far, 0 great Brahman,

1 E. Burnouf in V Introduction d, VHistoire du Buddhisme
Indien (1876, p. 397) says there were four chief schools founded
by the four chief disciples of Gautama — Rahula his son,
Kd^yapa, Upali, and Katy-ay-ana.

2 Ihid., p. 400.

10 INTRODUCTION

thou searchest too far. The ether, 0 Brahman,
reposeth on nothing ; it hath no support."

We Occidentals, however, are not Hkely to
go to Buddhism for any system of physics or
of metaphysics. The attraction of Gautama's
teaching for Western minds Hes in his theory
of good and evil, and in the rules for conduct
which he laid down. And there is no doubt
that in the past his doctrine has exerted a great
civilising and humanising influence, first in that
north-eastern corner of India where he lived * and
worked, then throughout the Indian Peninsula,
and later in eastern lands beyond India.

The way of salvation preached by Gautama
is in effect a system of intellectual and moral
seH-culture. It depends not upon the mediation
of any god or priest, not upon the offering of
any sacrifice or any mortification of the flesh,
not upon the accomplishment of any outward
act, but upon the growth of the inner nature
to be brought about by self-control and diHgence.
Every man must " be a lamp unto himself, to
hold fast ... to the truth, to look not for refuge
to any one besides himself."

The reformed creed of Gautama involved a

1 He was born of the Sakya tribe, in the grove of Lumbini,
not far from his father's city of Kapilavastu. Anoka's original
empire was that of Magadha, situated immediately south
of the Ganges. But he extended his dominion over vast
areas, from the valley of Cabul to the mouths of the Ganges
and from the Himalayas to south of the Vindhj-a mountains.

INTRODUCTION 11

certain modification of the older Hindu doc-
trines. Perhaps the most striking innovation
it introduced was its rejection of the caste
system. The greatest Buddhist King, the
Asoka of these legends, was following his master,
Gautama, when he said of Buddha's Law :

" Caste may be considered when it is a question
of marriage or of an invitation, but not of the
Law, for the Law's fulfilment is the result of
virtue, and virtue dependeth not upon caste. . . .
For the sage there is no difference between the
body of a prince and the body of a slave." *

Gautama's rejection of penance as a means
of salvation was another deviation from Hinduism.
It was one which the devotees of the older
religion found great difficulty in accepting.
When the Brahmans beheld Buddhist monks
wearing fine linen and reclining on soft couches
they doubted their sincerity.*

Hindus were probably readier to accept the
fundamental truths of Buddhism. The all-
important Buddhist doctrine of Karma was,
indeed, a modification of the Hindu behef in
the transmigration of souls ; and closely asso-
ciated with Karma was the belief in the eight-
fold path to deliverance or salvation and the
final attainment of deliverance in Nirvana.

Denying, as he did, the existence of the soul,

■ ^ ' The Establishment of the Law by Asoka,' see 'post^ p. 47.
' Legend of Vita^oka, see yost, p. lOL

12 INTRODUCTION

it was impossible for Gautama to accept the
theory of the soul's transmigration. He sub-
stituted for it the doctrine of transmigration of
character, or the doctrine of Karma. Karma
has been described as the moral power working
in the universe. Gautama held that after the
death of any being, human, animal, or divine,
*' there survived nothing at all save the being's
* Karma,' the result, that is, of that being's mental
and bodily actions. Every creature is the
last inheritor and the last result of the Karma
of a long series of past creatures — a series so
long that its beginning is beyond the reach of
calculation, and its end will be coincident with
the destruction of the world." Hence every
action, mental or physical, good or evil, some-
where in the course of time has its reward or
its retribution : evil produces evil, good produces
good with eternal inevitabihty. No exterior
power, no mortification of the flesh, no priestly
or personal sacrifice can destroy the fruit of a
man's deeds. His actions must work out their
full effect to the pleasant or to the bitter end.
The reward or the retribution may be delayed
for ages, at length it is bound to come. " Works
are not destroyed by hundreds of Kalpas (ages) ;
but when in due time deeds have attained their
consummation they bring forth fruits for creatures
endowed with bodies." ^ " Man dies and passes

1 'The Eyes of Kui;iala,' see poat^ p. 79.

INTRODUCTION 13

away ; but, by means of a certain yearning
for life, which every ordinary man feels, his
good or evil karma (hterally his * doing ')
does not die : a new being is produced in a
more or less painful and material state of
existence, according to the desert or merit
of the being who had died." *

Three legends in this volume forcibly illustrate
the doctrine of Karma : the story of King
Asoka's son, Kunala ; of Kunala's contemporary,
Sundara ; and of Asoka's brother, Vitasoka.
In Kunala's case, beauty and royal rank are
the reward of his restoration, in a previous
existence, of a ruined Buddhist temple, while
the loss of his eyes befalls him as retribution
for his having, in a former Hfe, bhnded a herd
of gazelles. In like manner, for deeds performed
in earlier stages of existence did Sundara and
Vitasoka suffer punishment and enjoy reward.

From such inevitability of cause and effect
Gautama taught that there exists one way of
escape. A narrow path it is, and few there be
that find it. Yet the few, who are most blessed,
may pass through seven stages and attain at
length dehverance. Nirvana, the state of perfect
knowledge. The seven stages lead from con-
templation to greater and greater wisdom — that
is, to purer and purer detachment from the
world, until in perfect wisdom all craving for

1 Rhys Davids, Manual of Buddhism (1894), pp. 103, 104.

14 INTRODUCTION

existence vanishes. Then and then only the
Karma ceases to be individuahsed, personahty
is extinguished, and Nirvana is attained.

Few indeed are the creatures who attain to the
last stage in the eightfold path. Gautama and the
twenty-four other Buddhas who preceded him
have entered into Nirvana, but only after count-
less ages of heroic struggle in many different
births. Not one of the heroes whose progress
towards deliverance is related in the following
legends attains this consummation.

The six legends of this volume are translated
from U Introduction a VHistoire du Buddhisme
Indien, by Eugene Burnouf, one of those great
Frenchmen to whose labours in the early nine-
teenth century the Western world largely owes
its knowledge of this venerable creed.

But Burnouf could never have carried out
his researches had it not been for the Englishman,
Brian Houghton Hodgson.^ During his twenty-
three years' residency in Nepal, from 1820 until
1843, Hodgson unearthed from Buddhist monas-
teries an invaluable collection of Buddhist
manuscripts in the Sanskrit tongue. These he
bestowed on the Asiatic societies of Calcutta,
London, and Paris. And it is on the Paris
collection of those documents, in which, says
Burnouf, we probably possess the very foundation

1 See Sir William Wilson Hunter, Life of Brian Houghton
Hodgson (189G).

INTRODUCTION I5

of the vast system of Buddhism, that L^Intro-
duction a VHisioire du Buddhisme Indien is based.

Since Burnouf's day extensive researches have
been made among the Buddhist inscriptions
and in the Buddhist temples of India, and much
still remains to be done ; yet the work of the
great French scholar, who was one of the pioneers
of this study, has never been superseded.

The Sanskrit documents discovered by
Hodgson and used by Burnouf are of a date con-
siderably posterior to the fifth century B.C., when
Gautama is said to have lived. In addition to
the teaching of the Buddha's own discourses,
these documents present an elaborate system of
rehgious discipline and metaphysics, which was
evolved by his disciples. Hence in the following
legends the beautiful morality and the rich
spirituality of Gautama's gospel will be found
frequently overlaid by the accretions of crude
polytheism and fantastic superstition.

From among the legends reproduced by
Burnouf these stories have been selected for
various reasons : first, as illustrating funda-
mental Buddhist doctrines ; second, as revealing
the civilising influence of Buddhism; and last,
as telling the history of Asoka, that greatest
among Buddhist kings, who reigned in the
second century before Christ.^

* The Cingalese and other Buddhists believe that there
was an earlier Asoka who reigned about one hundred years

16 INTRODUCTION

" Wherever the teaching of the Buddha has
spread, from the Volga to Japan, from Ceylon and
Siam to the borders of Mongoha and Siberia, the
name of King A^oka is known and reverenced."

In the early years of his reign A^oka was a
great warrior and a great conqueror. Then,
about ten years after his accession, according
to the King's own account contained in his
thirteenth edict, ^ he reaUsed the horrors of
war, and became convinced that the only true
conquest was conquest by religion. It has
been suggested * that in his conversion Asoka,
like Const antine, was actuated by considerations
of state, that the Indian king, like the Roman
emperor, was impressed by the high organisation
of the religion he adopted, as well as by the
noble characters of its adherents. This, how-
ever, is pure hypothesis.

According to legend Asoka was converted
by a miracle ^ in the tenth year of his reign.

after Gautama (see post, * The Eyes of Kui;iala,' p. 99, note).
Burnouf's narratives of Asoka are taken from the A6oka
Avadama, in Buddhist Sanskrit, preserved in Nepal. Other
narratives dealing with the great King are to be found in
the Pali Mahavamsa, preserved in Ceylon, and in Budda-
ghosa's account in his commentary on the Vinaya (Rhys
Davids, Buddhist India, 1903, p, 276).

^ See post, p. 1 7, and * The Conversion of A^oka,' p. 39,
note.

2 Edmund Hardy, Konig Asoka (1902), p. 30, and Rhys
Davids, Indian Buddhism, p. 298.

2 See post, * The Conversion of King A^oka,' pp. 38-40.

INTRODUCTION 17

From Asoka the Furious or Chandasoka, he
was transformed into Dharmasoka or the Asoka
of the Law. The warrior who had spread
devastation and murder throughout India began
to engage in works of peace, in making roads,
in digging wells and planting trees, in estabhshing
charities and providing for their businessUke
distribution. Many were the great monasteries
and temples built by the converted Asoka.
Throughout the vast dominions which his
conquests had added to his original empire of
Magadha, on pillars and on rocks he engraved
the articles of Buddhist beUef . These inscriptions
are described as edicts. They are the only known
contemporary documents for the history of
Anoka's reign and for the study of his religion.

By means of these edicts and by means of
missionaries A^oka is said to have extended
Buddhism throughout India. From a great
council held at Pataliputtra,* in 250 B.C., he is
said to have sent forth missionaries to all parts
of India, and even to countries outside the
Indian peninsula — to Ceylon, and possibly to
Thibet.

At this Council of Pataliputtra, Asoka would
seem to have estabhshed the cause of sacred
Buddhist writings, as well as certain articles of
Buddhist faith. In the Council's decrees, a
recent Italian writer discerns, some five centuries

^ The modern Patna.

18 INTRODUCTION

before the Christian Edict of Milan, the earliest
trace of a principle of religious hberty.^

Religious toleration is likewise the theme of
one of Asoka's rock edicts, wherein the King
decrees that no one shall disparage other sects
in order to exalt his own, and that honour shall
be paid to the followers of other religions. After
a reign of some forty-six years, from about 268
to 222 B.C., Asoka died great and fortunate.
His glory, it was believed, would endure as long
as the Law of Buddha, which he had so strictly
observed and so powerfully propagated.

The creed of Asoka was Buddhism in its
purity. Under his sway the law of Buddha
and the organisation of his religion attained
its highest development. After Asoka's death
the history of India and of the Buddhist belief
in India is somewhat obscure. It has yet to
be deciphered from untranslated inscriptions
and manuscripts. Two facts, however, are es-
tablished, viz. that some centuries after Asoka's
death Buddhism was rapidly decaying through-
out India, and that this dechne continued until
not a single Buddhist remained in the land where
Buddhism arose. The precise causes of the
disappearance of Buddhism from India are as
yet undetermined." It has been suggested that

^ L. Luzzatti, Liberie de Conscience et Liberie de Science,
trad, par J. Chamard (Paris, 1900), pp. 11 et passim.
2 See A. Barth, Religions of India (1882), pp. 133-138.

INTRODUCTION 19

Anoka's munificent gifts to the order of Buddhist
monks, by fostering a corrupt and worldly
spirit among the disciples of the Master, con-
tributed to the expulsion of his faith from the
land of its birth.

Truth fails not ; but her outward forms that bear
The longest date do melt like frosty rime.
That in the morning whiten'd hill and plain
And is no more.

Winifred Stephens.

London, 1911.

THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF ASOKA

AND in those days King Bimbisara ^ reigned
in the city of Rajagrilia. The son of
Bimbisara was Ajatasatru. And Ajatasatru
begat Ujjayin ; and Ujjayin begat Munda ; and
Munda begat Sahalin ; and Sahalin begat Tula-
kuchi ; and Tulakuchi begat Mahamandala ;
and Mahamandala begat Prasenajit ; and
Prasenajit begat Nanda ; and the son of Nanda
was Bindusara. King Bindusara reigned in the
city of Pataliputtra. He had a son whose
name was Susima.

Now in those days, in the city of Champa
was a Brahman, the father of a fair and
amiable daughter, who became the pride
of the country. At her birth the astrologers
had made the following prediction : " This
child shall espouse a king and shall give birth
to two jewels of sons : one shall be a king,

1 Bimbisara was a contemporary of the Buddha.

20

YOUTH OF ASOKA 21

Ckakravartin,* master of the four quarters of
the earth ; the other, after having embraced a
religious life, shall behold the fruit of his good
works."

Having heard this prophecy, the Brahman
was transported with joy, for man ever loveth
prosperity. Taking his daughter with him, he
repaired to Pataliputtra. In this city he adorned
her with all manner of beautiful ornaments,
and then gave her to King Bindusara to be his
wife, saying : " Behold, 0 King, a fortunate
maiden and a perfect." Then did King Bindu-
sara place her in the inner apartments of his
palace. There the King's women reflected :
" Lo ! here is a charming woman, ravishing
to look upon ; she is the pride of her country,
and if the King take her unto himself, he will
never look at us again." Wherefore they taught
her the trade of a barber ; and the Brahman's
daughter began to dress the King's hair and
his beard, so that she became skilled at the
work. . . . One day, when the King was pleased
with her, he asked her what favour she desired.

" My Lord," replied the girl, " let the King
consent to take me to wife."

" But thou art of the barber^' caste," objected

^ . . . A prince of earthly dominance,
A Chakravartin, such as rise to rule,
Once in each thousand years.

Edwin Abnold, The Light of Asia.

22 YOUTH OF ASOKA

Bindusara, " and I, the royal anointed, am
of the race of the Shattriyas. How is it possible
for me to take thee to wife ? "

" I am not of the barbers' caste," she replied ;
*' I am the daughter of a Brahman, who gave
me unto the King to be his wife."

*' Then who hath taught thee the barbers'
craft ? " inquired the King.

*' The women of the inner apartments ; and
I am resolved never more to exercise that craft,"
she replied.

In the end the King recognised her as the
first of his wives. And she conceived, and in
due time brought forth a son. When the festival
of his birth had been celebrated with great
magnificence, the Queen was asked: "What
shall be the name of the child ? " And she
answered : "At his birth I suffered no pangs
(asoka), wherefore let the child's name be Asoka,"
which, being interpreted, meaneth " griefless."
Thereafter she bore a second son ; and because
at his birth also the Queen did not suffer, he was
named Vigatasoka or Vitasoka, which being in-
terpreted meaneth " one from whom grief is
far away."

Asoka 's limbs were hard to the touch ; where-
fore he was not pleasing unto the King Bindusara.
On a day, the King desirous to put his sons to
the test, summoned the mendicant Pingala
vatsajiva and said unto him :

YOUTH OF ASOKA 23

-" Let us put these children to the test, 0
master, in order that we may know which of
them is able to be king when I shall be no
more."

Then the mendicant Pingala vatsajiva rephed :
*' 0 King, take thy children to the garden in
which is the golden mandara,* and there we will
put them to the test." The King took his
children and went into the garden, where was
the golden mandara. Meanwhile the Queen
said to the young Asoka : " The King is putting
his children to the test ; he hath gone to the
garden where is the golden mandara ; you must
go also." " I do not please the King," repHed
Asoka ; " he will not even look at me ; what good
is it for me to go ? " "Go nevertheless," said
his mother. Then said Asoka, "Send some food
before me."

Asoka went forth from the town Pataliputtra,
which was his father's capital. ... As he
went he saw an old elephant which had once
carried the King. Asoka mounted the elephant
and rode to the garden of the golden mandara
where he alighted among the children and sat
upon the ground. The children then received
their food. For Asoka the Queen had sent rice
and curds in an earthen vessel.

Then King Bindusara thus addressed the men-
dicant Pingala vatsajiva : " Put the children to

^ A lovely flower with a sweet fragrance.

24 YOUTH OF ASOKA

the test, 0 master, in order that I may see who
among them is able to reign after me."

Pingala vatsajiva began to look at the children
and to meditate: "Asoka is he that shall be
king," he thought to himself ; " and yet he
findeth not favour with the King. If I say A^oka
shall be king I shall be in danger of my Hfe."

Then the mendicant opened his mouth and
spoke : "0 King, I shall make my prediction
without distinction of persons."

" Do so," said the King.

The mendicant continued : " He who hath a
fine steed, sire, shall be king."

And each of the children thought to himself :
" I have a fine steed ; I shall be king."

Asoka reflected : "I came on the back of an
elephant, I have a fine steed • therefore I shall
be king."

Then said Bindusara : *' Continue the test,
0 master."

Pingala vatsajiva opened his mouth and spoke :
*' 0 King, ho who hath the best seat shall be
king."

And each one of the children thought : "I
have the best seat." Asoka reflected : " The
earth is my seat ; it is I who shall be king."
Likewise did the mendicant take for a sign the
food and the drink of the children and the vessel
in which their food was contained. Then,
having spoken, he departed.

YOUTH OF ASOKA 25

The Queen said unto her son : " Which of the
King's sons hath been appointed to be king ? "

" The prophecy was made without distinction
of persons," replied A^oka. " In this manner :
he whose steed, whose seat, whose vessel, whose
drink, and whose food is the best, he shall be
king. If I mistake not, it is I who shall be king.
For my steed was the elephant's back, my seat
was the earth, my vessel an earthen pot, my food
rice seasoned with curds, and my drink water."

Then the mendicant began to pay his addresses
to Asoka's mother. Wherefore one day she
said unto him : "0 master, which of my two
sons shall be king on the death of Bindusara? '*

"A^oka shall be king," answered the mendi-
cant.

Then said the Queen unto him : "It might
come to pass that the King might question thee
with a persistency which thou couldest not evade.
Depart therefore from this country and take
refuge beyond the frontier. When thou hearest
that Asoka is king, then may est thou return."

Wherefore the mendicant departed and sought
refuge beyond the frontier.

Thereafter King Bindusara desired to lay siege
to the town of Takshasila. Thither he sent his
son Asoka, saying unto him : " Go, my son,
and lay siege to the town of Takshasila."

But the King, albeit he gave him an army of
four divisions, refused him arms and chariots.

26 YOUTH OF ASOKA

When the young Asoka saUied forth from
Pataliputtra, his followers remonstrated with
him, saying : "Prince, we have no weapons;
wherewithal shall we fight ? "

Then Asoka cried out, saying :

" If there be within me any virtue which as
it ripeneth shall win me the throne, then let
men and weapons appear ! "

Hardly had the Prince spoken when the
earth opened and the Devatas ^ brought unto him
soldiers and weapons.

Then the King's son, with an army in four
divisions, set forth for Takshasila. The in-
habitants of the town had cleared the road for
the distance of two yojanas and a half ; and,
bearing vessels filled with offerings, they came
forth to meet him. Having advanced into his
presence, they said unto him : *' We are not
hostile unto the King's son, nor yet unto the King ;
but it is the King's evil ministers who oppress
us." Then entered Asoka into Takshasila, and
with great pomp. In like manner he entered
into the kingdom of the Svasas. Two naked
giants took refuge in his camp. They received
food and began to march before him, dividing
the mountains at his approach. And the Devatas
uttered these words :

"Asoka shall be a sovereign Chakravartin,

^ One of the three kinds of divinities, the other two being
Yakshas and Nagas.

YOUTH OF ASOKA 27

the master of the four quarters of the earth ; no
man shall stand in his path. In the end the
earth down to the seashore shall fall beneath his
sway."

On a day it came to pass that Susima, one of
the King's sons, was returning from the garden
to Pataliputtra, and Khallataka, King Bindu-
sara's first minister, was coming out of Patali-
puttra. Susima, with playful intention, threw
his gauntlet at the minister's head. But the
minister thought : " To-day he throws down his
gauntlet ; but when he is king, it will be the Law
that he will throw down ; wherefore must I take
measures to prevent his becoming king. So
the minister detached from the Prince's fealty
five hundred councillors, saying unto them :

" Asoka hath been appointed to be one day
Chakravartin, the master of the four quarters
of the earth ; we must place him upon the throne."

Meanwhile the inhabitants of Takshasila re-
volted, and Susima, the King's son, was sent
against them by his father ; but he could not
subdue the town.

Thereafter King Bindusara fell sick, and he said :
" Bring unto me my son Susima, I will place him
on the throne ; establish Asoka in Takshasila."

But the ministers made answer : " Asoka, the
King's son, is sick."

When King Bindusara had fallen so low that
but little life remained to him, they adorned

28 YOUTH OF ASOKA

Asoka with all manner of ornaments and took
him into the King's presence, saying : " For the
nonce place Asoka on the throne ; when Susima
shall have returned from Takshasila, then will we
re-establish him."

But the King fell into a fury.

Then A^oka uttered these words : " If the throne
be mine by right, then let the Devatas crown me
with the royal diadem." And straightway the
Devatas placed the royal diadem upon his brow.

At the sight of this miracle, blood flowed from
the mouth of King Bindusara, and he died.

When Asoka was established upon the throne,
the news of his accession was proclaimed by
the Yakshas to the height of a yojana above the
earth, while the Nagas proclaimed it to the
depth of a yojana under the earth. These
things caused Radhagupta ^ to come forth from
his retreat ; and throughout the neighbourhood
he heard the tidings : " The days of Bindusara are
accomplished, and A^oka sitteth upon the throne."

At the rumour of this event Susima, filled with
wrath, hastily set forth for Pataliputtra. But
at the first gate of the city Asoka stationed a
naked giant, at the second another giant, at the
third Radhagupta, while at the eastern gate he
himself waited. In front of the eastern gate
Radhagupta erected an elephant made of wood,
while he dug a hole as big as the body of Susima,

1 See podt, ' The Death of Kmg Asoka,' p. 122.

YOUTH OF ASOKA 29

filled it with charcoal, and covered it with grass,
over which he sprinkled dust. Then he said
to Susima : "If thou art able to slay Asoka,
then shalt thou be king."

Susima advanced towards the eastern gate,
cr3dng : " I will fight with Asoka."

But he fell into the hole full of burning char-
coal, and there died in agony.

When Susima had thus been put to death, his
giant, named Bhadrayudha, accompanied by a
following of some thousands, entered the religious
life under the law of Bhagavat^ and became Arhat.'

1 One of the Buddha's many titles.

2 The fourth stage in the eightfold path to Nirvaija or
Dehoiana, trodden by those who have left the universal
current of creatures ; as to whether or no for the first three
stages they must necessarily be monks there are various
opinions. After passing through the first stage, Srota-
apanna, a being must traverse 80,000 Kalpas, at the end of
which he must seven times be re-born among the Devas
and among men before attaining deliverance. After travers-
ing the second stage, Sakrid-ag&min, a being must pass
through 60,000 Kalpas and be born once among men and
once among the gods before attaining deliverance. After
the 40,000 Kalpas which follow the third stage, Andgdmin, a
being is exempt from returning to the world of desire before
attaining deliverance. To enter the fourth^ stage, that of
Arhat, a being must become a monk. An Arhat possesses
supernatural faculties, and after 20,000 Kalpas will attain
deliverance. The ^ravakas and Pratyeka-Buddhas of the
fifth and sixth stages have attained to the state of Bodhi
or knowledge of the Buddha. But they only possess this
knowledge for themselves, they cannot impart it to others.
That faculty is reserved for the perfect Buddha who has
attained the seventh stage which leads to the final goal of
Nirvana.

II

THE CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA

AFTER the accession of Asoka, his ministers
disobeyed him. Wherefore he said unto
them : " Cut down the flowering and the fruit-
bearing trees, and preserve nought but the thorny-
trees."

His ministers made answer : " What is in the
mind of the King ? It behoveth rather to cut
down the thorny trees and to preserve the
flowering and the fruit-bearing trees."

Three times they disobeyed the King's com-
mand. Then in fury Asoka drew his sword and
cut off the heads of his five hundred ministers.

Another time, in the spring, when the trees
are covered with flowers and fruits [sic], Asoka,
surrounded by the women of his inner apart-
ments, was going to the garden in the eastern
quarter of the city. On the way he perceived
an asoka-tree in bloom. Straightway he saluted
it, thinking : " Behold a tree which beareth the
same name as I."

30

CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA 31

Now, the limbs of King Asoka were hard to the
touch, wherefore the young women dehghted
not to caress him. The King fell asleep ; and
while he slept, the women of his inner apartments,
in vexation of spirit, broke the branches and
scattered the flowers of the asoka-tree. On his
awaking, the King beheld the broken tree and
asked : " Who broke it thus ? " " The women
of the inner apartments," he was told. On hearing
this, the King was transported with wrath. He
caused the five hundred women to be surrounded
with wood and burnt. The people, when they
beheld the cruel deeds committed by the King,
said : "The King rages, he is Chandasoka, Asoka
the Furious."

Then the first minister, Radhagupta, remon-
strated with the King, saying : "0 King, it
behoveth thee not to thyself perform deeds
which are unworthy of thee. Thou shouldest
appoint men charged to put to death those whom
the King hath condemned ; they would execute
the sentences pronounced by the King."

Wherefore Asoka commanded that a man
should be found to execute criminals.

Not far away, at the foot of a mountain, was
a cottage inhabited by a weaver. The weaver
had a son, whose name was Girika, or the Moun-
taineer. The child was passionate and cruel ; he
insulted his parents ; and, when he was not fight-
ing with boys and girls, he passed his time in

C(

32 CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA

killing ants, flies, mice, birds, and fish on spits
and in nets. So ferocious was he that he received
the name of Chanda-girika, Girika the Ferocious.

It came to pass that the King's servants found
him occupied with his evil practices, and they
said unto him : *' Wilt thou be executioner to
King Asoka ? "

The child replied : "I would fain be exe-
cutioner to the whole universe."

His reply was made known unto the King, who
said : " Let him be brought into my presence."

So the King's men went and said to the child :

Come, the King asketh for thee."

Chanda-girika replied : "I must first go and
see my father and mother."

Then he said to his parents : "0 my father and
my mother, grant me your permission ; ^ I am
about to exercise the office of executioner to King
Asoka."

But his parents endeavoured to dissuade him
from entering upon this office. Whereupon
Girika deprived them both of fife.

Meanwhile the King's men were asking ;
" Wherefore tarriest thou ? "

He told them everything that had happened.
Thereupon was he taken unto the King, from

1 So far the conduct of Girika is in accordance with the
Buddhist recognition of parental authority. An applicant
for admission to the Buddhist order was obliged to prove
that he had obtained his parents' permission to enter it.

CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA 33

whom he demanded that a house should be built
for him.

The King therefore had a house built for him,
a beautiful house, but with nought pleasant
therein save the entrance, and it was called " the
Pleasant Prison-house."

Then said young Girika : " Grant me a favour,
0 King : that whosoever entereth into this house
may never leave it." To which request the King
replied : " So be it."

Thereafter Chanda-girika repaired to the her-
mitage of Kukkuta-arama,^ where he found the
monk Balapandita reading a Sutra.

" There are beings who are re-born in Hell,"
he was reading. *' The servants of Hell seize
them and stretch them out on the ground, which
is all of hot molten iron, so hot that it is as one
single flame ; thus extended, their mouths are
forced open with an iron skewer and into them
are pushed balls of red-hot molten iron. These
balls burn the lips of the miserable sufferers ; and,
after consuming the tongue, the throat, the heart,
the parts in the region of the heart, and the
entrails, they pass out through the body. These,
0 monks, are the torments of Hell." '

Then addressing Chanda-girika^ the monk bade

^ This hermitage, which plays an important part in the
A^oka legends, was probable situated near the famous
Buddhist temple at Gaya.

2 I have here omitted several paragraphs which describe four
other forms of torture varying but slightly one from the other.

34 CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA

him imitate these torments. Wherefore the King's
executioner began to inflict these tortures and
others similar to them on the criminals who were
delivered unto him.

In those days, in the city of Sravasti was a
merchant w^ho, accompanied by his wife, trav-
ersed the great ocean. There, on the high seas,
his wife, being with child, was dehvered of a boy
who was called Samudra, or Ocean. At length,
after the lapse of twelve years, the merchant
returned from his voyage ; but he was captured
and slain by five hundred brigands. Then
Samudra, the merchant's son, entered the
reUgious life according to the Law of Bhagavat.
As he travelled through the country begging
alms, he reached Pataliputtra. Having dressed
himself at dawn, he took his cloak ^ and his
bowl * and went into the city to beg. There, all
unweening, he came to the Pleasant Prison-
house. Having crossed the threshold, he found
within a dw^elling horrible and hell-] ike. Then he
wished to come out, but he was seized by Chanda-
girika, who said unto him : " Here must thou die."

* A loose robe, of dull orange colour, which covered the
whole of the body except the right shoulder. As well as
this cloak Buddhist monks wore two under-garments also
of dull orange coloiir. Their heads were shaved, and they
were not permitted to possess more than one change of robes.

2 The begging-bowl of Buddhist monks is a brown earthen-
ware vessel, in shape nearly like a soup-tureen without its
cover.

CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA 35

■ The monk, realising that in the end he would
have to submit, was filled with sorrow and began
to weep.

Then the executioner asked : " Wherefore
weepest thou thus like a child ? "

The monk made answer : "I weep not for
the loss of my body. I weep only because the
working out of my salvation is about to be
interrupted. After having reached the state of
man, which it is so difficult to attain unto, and
the religious life, which is the source of happiness,
after having had Sakya-sinha ^ for my master,
in my misfortune, I must now renounce this
happiness."

Then said the executioner : "Of his grace,
hath the King granted unto me the right to
put to death all those who enter here. Take
courage therefore. Salvation is not for thee."

Then in his anguish the monk implored the
executioner to accord unto him one month's
respite. And Chanda-girika vouchsafed unto him
seven nights.

Nevertheless the heart of the monk was troubled
by the fear of death ; his mind could not escape
from the thought : "In seven days I shall have
ceased to exist."

On the seventh day King Asoka surprised a
woman of the inner apartments talking to a

1 One of Buddha's numerous names, meaning " the lion
of the tribe of Sakya."

36 CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA

young man, with whom she was in love. At the
mere sight of it the King fell into a fury. The
woman and the young man he delivered into
the hands of the executioner, who with a pestle
pounded them in a mortar of brass so that
there remained nothing of their bodies save
the bones.

Greatly moved by such a spectacle, the monk
exclaimed :

" Ah ! how true were the words of the great
hermit, the master full of compassion, when he
said that the human form is like unto a ball
of moss having neither substance nor solidity !

" Where now is that charm of countenance ?
Where now is that beauty of the body ? Woe
unto this world in which fools take pleasure and
delight !

" My abode in the house of the executioner
hath brought me succour which shall serve me
to-day as I traverse the ocean of existence."

All night long he meditated on the teaching
of the Buddha, and, having broken every bond,
he attained to the supreme rank of Arhat.*

When day had dawned, Chanda-girika said
unto him : " Monk, the night is ended ; the sun
hath risen : behold the hour of thy death."

" Yea," answered the monk, " the night is
indeed ended, that night which for me closeth a
long existence ; the sun hath risen, which for

1 See antCf ' Childhood and Youth of Asoka,' p. 29, note 2.

CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA 37

me heraldeth the moment of supreme grace. Do
as thou wilt."

" I comprehend thee not," rephed Chanda-
girika. " Explain thy words."

Then the monk answered him in these verses ;

" The awful night of error hath vanished
from my soul, a night darkened by the five veils, ^
haunted by the sorrows which are like unto
brigands.

" The sun of knowledge hath risen ; my heart
is happy in heaven, and heavenly light hath
revealed unto me the true worlds as they really
are.

" Behold the moment of supreme grace ; now
do I follow in the footsteps of the Master. This
body hath lived long. Do thy will."

Straightway the pitiless, stony-hearted exe-
cutioner, full of wrath and caring nought for the
future life, seized the monk and threw him into
an iron cauldron, containing water defiled with
dirt, blood, and grease. Then beneath the cauld-
ron he kindled a fierce fire. But, albeit the fire
consumed a great mass of wood, it caused the
monk no pain. The executioner would have
lit it again, but the fire refused to burn. As he

1 Probably the five skandhas of Buddhist psychology :
(1) the material properties of the body ; (2) the sensations ;
(3) abstract ideas ; (4) tendencies or potentialities, of which
there are no less than fifty-two divisions — three being, memory,
individuality, and vitality ; (5) thought or reason : cf. Rhys
Davids, Buddhism (S.P.C.K.), pp. 90-2.

38 CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA

was trying to discover the cause of its not burning,
the executioner beheld the monk seated with
crossed legs upon a lotus ; and immediately he
hastened to the King to inform him of this
miracle.

Wlien the King was come with a following of
many thousands, the monk, knowing that the
moment to convert the King had arrived, began
to display his supernatural powers. From the
midst of the iron cauldron, wherein he was
surrounded by water, in the eyes of the gazing
crowd, he rose into the air, like unto a swan ;
and in the air he began to produce divers miracu-
lous appearances ; so say the verses :

" From half his body came forth water,
from the other half fire ; producing alternately
rain and flames, he shone in the sky like
unto a mountain from the summit of which
streams gush forth in the midst of burning
verdure."

At the sight of the monk in the sky, the
King, hands clasped and amazement depicted
on his countenance, addressed him eagerly and
said :

" Thy form, 0 my friend, is like unto that of
man ; but thy power is divine. I cannot under-
stand thy nature, 0 my Lord ; by what name shall
I call thee who art indeed perfection ? Tell me
straightway who thou art, that I may know thy
majesty, and that knowing it, I may, according

CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA 39

as it lieth in me and as a disciple, honour the
greatness of thy attributes and of thy merit."

Thereupon it was borne in upon the monk that
the King was destined to receive instruction,
to make known the Law of Bhagavat and thereby
to benefit a vast number of creatures. There-
fore the monk, explaining his attributes, addressed
Asoka thus :

*' 0 King, I am the son of the Buddha, of that
being full of mercy, freed from the bonds of all
guilt, the most eloquent of men. I observe the
Law ; I crave for no kind of existence.

" Subdued by the Hero of men who hath sub-
dued himseK, having received peace from that
sage who hath attained unto perfect peace, I
have been deHvered from the bonds of existence
by him who himseK is delivered from the great
terrors of the world.

" And thou, 0 great King, thy coming hath
Bhagavat foretold when he said : ' A hundred
years after I have entered into complete Nirvana
there shall reign in the city of Pataliputtra a
king named Asoka, ruler over the four quarters
of the earth, a righteous king, who shall distribute
my relics and set up eighty-four thousand edicts
of the Law.^ Meanwhile, 0 King, thou hast

^ The edicts were engraven in different Prakrit dialects on
pillars or rocks, the wide distance of which one from the other
is sufficient to show the great extent of Asoka's empire.
The pillars are at Delhi and Allahabad ; the rocks at Kapur

40 CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA

constructed this dwelling, which is like unto Hell,
wherein thousands are put to death. By the
destruction thereof shalt thou give unto thy
people a pledge of safety and make known unto
them that thou wilt fulfil the Law of Bhagavat."

Then he uttered these words :

*' 0 King of men, grant security unto the people
who implore thy pity ; satisfy the desire of the
Master and multiply the edicts of the Law."

Then the King, feeling drawn unto the Law of
Bhagavat, clasping his hands as a token of respect,
spoke thus in order to gratify the Religious :

" 0 Son of the Sage, who art possessed of the
ten powers,^ forgive me this wicked deed. I
confess it this day before thee ; and I seek refuge
with Buddha, the Rishi,* with the first of the
Assemblies, with the Law proclaimed by the
Aryas.'

" And I make this resolve : this day, filled
with veneration for the Buddha and with love
for him, I will adorn the earth by covering it

da Giri, near Peshaur, at Girnar in Guzerat, at Dhauli in
Orissa, and at Babra, on the road running south-west from
Delhi to Jayapura." (Rhys Davids, Buddhism (S.P.C.K.),
p. 223.)

* The ten supernatural powers.

2 This title, here used to describe the Buddha, was gener-
ally applied to the sages of the older teaching, i.e. of Brah-
minism.

3 The most eminent among the Buddha's disciples : those
who have grasped the four truths, viz. (1) that sorrow
exists ; (2) that it is the heritage of every creature ; (3)

CONVERSION OF KING ASOKA 41

with Chaityas in honour of the chief of the
Djinas ; ^ and the Chaityas shall be radiant as
a swan's wing, as a sea-shell, yea, even as the
moon.' '

Meanwhile, by the exercise of his supernatural
power, the Religious came forth out of the
executioner's house. The King likewise was
about to depart, when Chanda-girika, with clasped
hands, implored him, saying :

" 0 King, thou hast granted unto me this favour,
that a man once having entered here shall never
leave this dwelling."

"What!" cried A^oka. " Wouldest thou
put me to death also ? "

" Yea," replied the executioner.

Then the King called for his servants ; and
straightway was Chanda-girika seized by the
executioners and cast into the torture-chamber,
wherein he was consumed by fire. The Prison-
house called Pleasant was pulled down, and
security was restored to the people.

the importance of deliverance from sorrow ; (4) that by
knowledge alone can such deliverance be wrought. The
Aryas also possess supernatural powers. (E. Burnouf,
Introduction^ p. 259.)

1 Temples in honour of the Buddha.

Ill

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

BY ASOKA

DESIRING to distribute the relics of Bhag-
avat/ King Asoka set forth at the head of
an army in four divisions ; and, having opened
the monument, called the Stupa ' of the Vase,
which Ajatasatru had set up, he took possession
of the rehcs. Then he distributed them in the
places whence they had been brought, and over
each he erected a Stupa. He did the same for
the second Stupa and likewise for them all down
to the seventh Stupa, taking away the relics in
order to place them in new Stupas.' Then he
went unto Rama-grama, where the Nagas * took

1 The bones of the Buddha.

^ A Stupa is a temple differing from a Chaitya in that the
Stupa always contains relics, whereas the Chaitya may contain
merely a sacred tree or an image of the Buddlia (cf. E.
Burnouf, Introduction, p. 311, and passim). In form the Stupa
was a cone-shaped edifice, round at the top like an umbrella.

3 The first being the Stupa of the Vase. These Stupas
now opened by Asoka were the original eight Stupas in
which the bones of the Buddha had been deposited.

* See ante, * Childhood and Youth of Asoka,' p. 26, note.

42"

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 43

him -down into their palace and said unto him :
" Here we adore this Stupa."

Wherefore the King abstained from opening
that Stupa. And the Nagas conducted the King
out of their palace. Touching this matter there
is a verse which saith :

*' The eighth Stupa is at Rama-grama. In
those days it was kept by the Nagas, who were
full of faith. ' Let not the King take the relics
from this Stupa,' said they.

*' The monarch, full of faith, reflected ; and then,
granting what was asked of him, departed."

The King had caused to be made eighty-four
thousand caskets of gold, silver, crystal, and
lapis-lazuh to contain the relics. Thereafter he
gave to the Yakshas ^ eighty-four thousand
vases, with as many fastenings (with which to
fix the lid on to the body of the vase), distribu-
ting them over the whole earth down to the sea-
shore, among great towns, medium towns, and
small towns, wheresoever the fortune of the
inhabitants amounted to a Koti. And in each
town he set up an edict of the Law.

• •••••

Then the King went to the hermitage of Kuk-
kuta-arama. There he addressed the Sthavira'

^ See ante, * Childhood and Youth of A^oka,' p. 26, note.

2 The Sthaviras were the fathers of the Buddhist religion,
the elders who composed the Assembly of the Religious.
They were literally the elders, the youngest among thera
being 120 (see Heinrich Kern. op. cit.f vol. ii. p. 307).

44 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

Yasas,* saying: "Behold my desire: on the
same day and at the same hour I wish to set
up the eighty-four thousand edicts of the Law."

" So be it," repHed the Sthavira. " At that time
the disk of the sun will I conceal with my hand."

And the Sthavira Yasas did as he had prom-
ised. The same dsij at the same hour the eighty-
four thousand edicts of the Law were set up.
Thus say the verses :

" Having taken from the seven ancient temples
the relics of the Rishi,* the descendant of the
Mauryas ' on the same day erected throughout
the world eighty-four thousand Stupas, resplend-
ent with the splendour of clouds in autumn.

"When King Asoka had established eighty-
four thousand edicts of the Law, he became a
just king, a king according to the Law, where-
fore was he called Dharmasoka, the Asoka of
the Law. Thus saith the verse :

" The venerable Maurya, the fortunate, set up
all these Stupas for the weal of mankind. For-
merly was he known throughout the land as
Chandasoka ; now hath his good work won for
him the name of Dharmasoka."

^ Ya^as was one of the Buddha's earliest disciples. The
mother and wife of Yasas were Gautama's first female fol-
lowers (see ibid.f vol. i. p. 108).

2 This title is here applied to Buddha.

2 The family name of A^oka. One of his ancestors was
called Maurya because he was the possessor of several peacocks
[mayura or mora) (cf. Edmund Hardy, op. cit., pp. 10 and 11).

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 45

Soon after the King had submitted to the Law
of Buddha it became his custom, whenever he
met the sons of Sakya, no matter whether they
were alone or in the crowd, to salute them,
touching their feet with his head. The King's
minister was Yasas, who was full of faith in
Bhagavat. Ya^as said unto the King : " My
Lord, it is not seemly for thee thus to prostrate
thyself before mendicants of all castes." For
from all castes come the ascetics of Sakya who
enter the religious life.

The King answered nothing ; but some time after-
wards he addressed the assembly of his councillors,
saying : " I wish to know the value of the heads
of divers creatures. Bring unto me, thou such a
head, and thou another." Then to the minister
Yasas he said : " Bring thou a human head."

When all the heads were brought, the King
said unto his councillors : "Go and sell these
heads for a price."

All the heads were sold save the human head,
which no one wanted.

Then said the King to his minister : "If
you cannot obtain money for it, then give it to
whomsoever will have it." But Yasas could find
no one to take the human head.

The minister, ashamed at his failure to dispose
of the head, came to the King and told him
what had happened. " The heads of cows, asses,
rams, gazelles, and birds," he said, "have been

46 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

bought Avith money by one or another ; but this
human head is a worthless object which no one
will take even for nothing."

Then the King asked of his minister : " Where-
fore did no one desire the human head ? "

" Because it is a despicable object," repHed
the minister.

"Is it that head alone which is despicable ? "
asked the King, " or may the same be said of all
human heads ? "

"It is the same with all human heads,"
answered Yasas.

" What ! " cried Asoka, " is my head likewise
despicable ? "

But the minister was afraid and dared not utter
the truth.

" Speak what is in thy heart," said the King.

Thus encouraged, the minister answered: "Yes."

Having thus made his minister confess his
thoughts, the King expressed himself thus, in
the following verses :

" Yea, by a sentiment of pride and delusion,
fostered by beauty and power, dost thou desire
to dissuade me from prostrating myself at the
feet of the Religious.

" And if my head, that worthless object,
which no man desireth even when he may obtain
it for nothing, meet an occasion for purification
and acquire some merit thereby, what is there
unlawful in that ?

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 47

" In the ascetics of Sakya thou regardest nought
save caste and thou beholdest not their virtues ;
wherefore, puffed up with pride of birth, thou
forgettest in thy error both thyseK and others.

" Caste may be considered when it is a question
of marriage or of an invitation, but not of the
Law ; for the Law is concerned with virtues,
and virtues have nought to do with caste.

" When a man of high birth falls into vice he is
blamed by the world ; wherefore when a man of
low caste is virtuous should he not inspire respect ?

" It is by reason of the spirit that men's bodies
are despised or honoured. The spirits of Sakyas
monks should be venerated, for they have been
purified by Sakya."

• •«•••

And the King added :

" Hast thou not heard the words of the pitying
hero of the Sakyas ? — ' The wise man discerneth
a treasure in an object which to others is worth-
less.' Such are the words of the master of
truth, and a slave may understand them. If I
desire to keep these commandments, he is no
friend of mine who endeavoureth to dissuade me
from them.

" When my body, abandoned hke the pieces
of a sugar-cane, shall sleep on the ground, it will
be powerless to salute, or to arise, or to clasp its
hands as a sign of respect.

" Of what virtuous deed will this body be

48 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

capable ? Therefore what boots it to attach
value to a body which must end in the dust ?
It is worth no more than a burning house or jewels
lost in the sea.

" Those who in this perishable body fail to
distinguish such things as have value, ignoring
the essence of things, faint when they enter the
jaws of death.

" Whenfrom a vaseall itsbestcontents havebeen
taken, the curds, the whey, the milk, the melted
butter, and the fresh butter, nought remaineth
save the froth ; wherefore if that vase be broken,
there is no great cause for complaint. Likewise
is it with the body : once the good works, which
give it value, are taken away, then when it
perisheth is there little cause to mourn.

" But when in this world death shatters the
vessel of the body of a proud man who is a
stranger to good works, then doth the fire of
sorrow consume his heart, as when one breaketh
a vessel of curds, of which the best is utterly lost.

" Wherefore, my Lord, be not vexed when I
bow before the ReHgious ; for he who, knowing
nought of himself, sayeth, ' I am the noblest,'
is shrouded in the darkesss of error.

" But he who with the torch of the Sage
searcheth the body, and possesseth the ten powers*
he is a sage ; for him is there no difference between
the body of a prince and that of a slave.

^ The ten supernatural powers.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 49

(C

Skin, flesh, bones, head, Hver, and the other
organs are the same in all men. Clothes and
ornaments alone constitute the superiority of
one body to another.

" But that which is essential in this world
may be found in a vile body, and the wise do
well to honour and salute it."

Thus did King Asoka recognise that the body
is worth less than eggshells filled with balls of
sand compounded with serpents' tears. Thus
did he persuade himself that the benefits resulting
from respect shown to monks surpass those
accruing from vast domains throughout aeons
of time. Then he desired to adorn himself in
order to honour the Stupas of Bhagavat ; then,
surrounded by his ministers, he went to Kuk-
kuta-arama. There, with his hands clasped
as a sign of respect and standing in the place of
honour, he inquired : " Is there another of whom
the All Wise hath uttered a prophecy like unto
that which he prophesied of me when (in another
existence) I offered him a handful of earth ? " ^

Then Yasas, the elder of the Assembly, an-
swered him thus :

^ An allusion to the virtuous action of Asoka in another
existence when the Buddha passed hinr. Asoka was then
a little boy, called Jaya, who with Vidjaya, another boy of
his own age, was playing in the dust of the high-road. At the
sight of the Buddha's perfections the boy was filled with
adoration for him ; and, intending to give him flour, he
threw into his bowl a handful of earth.

50 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW .

" Yea, 0 King, there is another. When
Bhagavat was on the point of entering complete
Nirvana, after he had converted the Naga Apatala^
and the Chandali Gopali the potter's Tvdfe, he
went to Mathura,* where he thus addressed the
venerable Ananda ' :

'"In this city of Mathura, 0 Ananda, one hun-
dred years after I have entered complete Nirvana,
shall there be a merchant of perfumes called
Gupta. This merchant shall have a son, called
Upagupta,* who shall be the first among the in-
terpreters of the Law and a veritable Buddha,
save that he shall lack the external signs. ^ To
him is it appointed, one hundred years after I
have entered complete Nirvana, to play the part
of a Buddha. By his instruction many Rehgious
shall destroy all the corruptions of evil and
behold face to face the condition of Arhat.'

" Now, in the mountain of Urumunda was a
cavern eighteen arms' lengths in depth and
twelve in width. The Sthavira Upagupta said
unto those of his disciples who had fulfilled their

^ A great dragon, very famous in legend.

' At Mathura, on the Yamung River, was a famous Buddhist
monastery.

2 Ananda was the nephew of the Buddha and his most
beloved disciple.

* In the Buddhist period of India it was usual to call a
son by his father's name with the addition of the prefix
upa, which means under or little ; thus, Upagupta is " the under
Gupta " or "the little Gupta."

^ The thirty-two signs of physical beauty.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 51

duties : ' Let him who by means of my instruc-
tion hath beheld face to face the condition of
Arhat throw into this cavern a wand of four
fingers' length ' ; and it came to pass that in one
single day ten thousand Arhats threw the wand
into the cavern."

Then the Sthavira Yasas uttered these words :
" The Chief of the world hath predicted that
the glorious Upagupta, the first among the in-
terpreters of the Law, shall fulfil the duties of a
Buddha."

" Is this perfect being already in this existence,"
inquired the King, "oris he yet to be born ? "

The Sthavira replied : " He is already born,
the magnanimous Sage, who hath triumphed
over corruption ; and, out of compassion for the
world, he dwelleth in Mount Urumunda, sur-
rounded by a multitude of Arhats."

And he added : " This perfect Sage, who
delighteth in the ways of the All Wise, expoundeth
the Law in its purity to the multitude of his
disciples, leading to the city of deliverance thou-
sands of men and gods."

Now, in those days Upagupta, surrounded by
eighteen thousand Arhats, dwelt in the hermitage
of Natabhatika. The King, having learnt the
place of his abode, summoned the multitude of
his ministers and said unto them : " Let a body
of elephants be equipped with chariots and
riders ; straightway will I repair to the mountain

52 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

of Urumunda. With my own eyes will I behold
the Sage Upagupta, who is delivered from all
stain."

But the ministers made answer : " My Lord,
it is better to send a messenger ; and then the
Sage who abideth in that place will himself
certainly come unto the King."

" It is not for him to come to me," replied the
King, " but for me to go to him." And he
added : " The form of Upagupta, which is like
unto that of the Master, must be of diamond and
hard as the rock. Such a man would ignore the
command which a King should address unto him."

Wherefore the King sent a messenger to the
Sthavira Upagupta and said : "I will go myself
unto the Sthavira."

Meanwhile Upagupta was thinking to himself :
" If the King come hither it will be a heavy
burden for the country and for the multitude of
the people." Wherefore he said : " I myseK will
go unto the King."

Asoka, hearing of his resolve and thinking
that the Sthavira would come by water, estab-
lished a service of boats between Mathura and
Pataliputtra. Then Upagupta, in order to show
favour unto the King, embarked with a following
of eighteen thousand Arhats, and reached the
city of Pataliputtra. Thereupon the King's
men announced unto him the approach of the
Sthavira.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 53

" My Lord, happy art thou. There cometh
unto thee, in order to testify his loving-kind-
ness towards thee, Upagupta, the master of
thought, the pilot of instruction ; he cometh on
foot and surrounded by sages who have reached
the shore of the ocean of existence."

At these words A^oka, transported with joy,
took from his neck a chain of pearls worth one
hundred thousand suvarnas and gave it to the
bearer of these glad tidings. Then, calling the
bell-ringer, he bade him ring the bell in Patali-
puttra in order to announce the coming of the
Sthavira Upagupta, crying :

*' He who renounceth poverty, which profiteth
not, and desireth happiness in this world, let him
come to Upagupta, the pitiful Sage, who to all
creatures bringeth heaven and deliverance.

" Those who have never beheld the first among
men, the Master full of mercy, the being who is
self-sufficing, let them come to the Sthavira
Upagupta, the noble torch of the three worlds,
so like unto the Master."

When the King by the sound of the bell had
spread the tidings abroad in Pataliputtra and had
decorated the city, he went out to the distance
of two yojanas and a half to m«et the Sthavira
Upagupta. The way was decked with garlands
of flowers and perfumed with sweet scents ; all
manner of instruments were played ; and the
King was followed by all his ministers and all the

54 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

inhabitants. In the distance he saw the Sthavira
Upagupta in the midst of eighteen thousand
Arhats, who surrounded him on the right hand
and on the left like the two crescents of the
moon. No sooner had the King descried him, than,
alighting from his elephant, he went on foot to
the river's bank ; there, standing with one foot
on the bank and the other on the deck of the
boat, taking in his arms the Sthavira Upagupta,
he bore him to land. When he had placed him
on the ground, the King fell prostrate at his feet,
like a tree cut through at the roots, and kissed
the feet of the Sthavira. Then, kneeling, A^oka
clasped his hands as a token of respect, and,
looking at the Sthavira, he spoke thus :

" When, after triumphing over my enemies, I be-
held united beneath my sway mountain and plain
down to the seashore, I did not experience so great
a joy as now I feel on beholding the Sthavira.

" The sight of thee increaseth twofold the love
of my heart for the most excellent Law. The
cleansing sight of thee maketh manifest to my
eyes, although he be absent, that incomparable
Being who owed everything to himself.

" Now that the all-pitiful Chief of the Jinas is
entered into rest, having for the three worlds
fulfilled the function of Buddha, do thou now
cause to shine the light of knowledge like the sun
over the perishing universe, wherein the illusions
of the world confuse the sight.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 55

" Thou, who art Hke unto the Master, thou,
the only eye of the universe, and the first among
the interpreters of the Law, be my refuge, 0 my
Lord, and give me thy commands ; straightway
will I hasten, 0 perfect Sage, to obey thy voice."

Then said the Sthavira : "0 great King,
Bhagavat, the venerable Tathagata, the perfect
and complete Buddha, hath confided to me and
to thee the keeping of the Law. Let us make
every endeavour to preserve what the Guide of
creatures hath transmitted unto us when he was
in the midst of his disciples."

Then the King made answer : " Sthavira, I
have obeyed the commands of Bhagavat. I have
adorned the earth with beautiful Stupas, like
unto mountain tops, decorated with parasols and
waving standards and enriched with precious
stones ; and I have multiplied the vases which
contain the relics of Bhagavat. Wives, children,
houses, myself, worldly possessions and treasures,
all have I renounced according to the teaching
of the King of the Law."

" Well done," answered the Sthavira Upagupta.
** Thou hast done well to obey the behest of the
Buddha. He who useth his body in the service
of what is truly essential, and who employeth
material objects merely to sustain life, will not
mourn when his time cometh, and he will depart
to the desired dwelling of the gods."

The King mth great pomp introduced the

56 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

Sthavira Upagupta into his royal dwelling, took
him in his arms and placed him upon the seat
prepared for him.

The body of the Sthavira Upagupta was smooth
and soft, as soft as a flock of cotton. The King
perceived it, and, with his hands clasped as a
sign of respect, he said :

*' Noble being, thy limbs are soft, soft as cotton,
soft as silk of Benares ; but I, unhappy that
I am, have coarse skin and my body is hard to
the touch."

The Sthavira replied : " It is because I pre-
sented the peerless Being with a precious and
incomparable offering ; not merely the handful of
earth that thou gavest unto him, 0 King."

" 0 Sthavira," rephed the King, " it was be-
cause I was then a child, and, having met a
peerless Being, I gave him a handful of earth ;
and of that action I reap the fruit to-day."

Then the Sthavira, desiring to set the King's
mind at rest, replied to him thus : " Great King,
behold the excellence of the soil in which thou didst
sow that dust. To that action thou owest the
brilliance of thy throne and thy supreme power."

At these words the King opened his eyes wide
with amazement, and summoning his ministers,
said unto them : "I have obtained the empire of a
Balachakravartin merely for having given a hand-
ful of earth ! Wherefore what efforts ought ye not
to make, my lords, in order to honour Bhagavat ?"

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 57

Then, falling at the feet of the Sthavira, he
cried : " Behold, Sthavira, this is my desire : I
wish to honour all the places in which the Blessed
Buddha abode. I desire to mark them with a
sign to be handed down to posterity." And he
uttered these words : " All places in which the
Blessed Buddha abode do I desire to honour and
mark with a sign for posterity."

"Well done, 0 great King," repHed the Sthavira.
" Thy desire is good. I will to-day show unto thee
the places in which the Blessed Buddha dwelt."

** I will visit them, I will honour them with
clasped hands, I will mark them with a sign,"
said Asoka.

Then the King, having equipped an army of four
divisions, took perfumes, flowers, and garlands,
and set forth, accompanied by the Sthavira
Upagupta.

Upagupta began by leading the King to the
garden of Lumbini.^ Then, putting forth his
right hand, he said : " In this place, 0 great
King, was born Bhagavat." And he added :
" In this place was the first monument conse-
crated to the honour of Buddha, whom to behold
is a delight. Here, the moment after his birth,
the Solitary took seven steps along the ground.
Having gazed towards the four quarters of the
horizon, he uttered these words : ' Lo, this is my

^ The famous birthplace of the Buddha, not far from
Kapil&vastu on the Ganges.

58 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

last existence ; never again shall I enter into a
woman's womb.' "

Straightway Asoka prostrated himself at the
feet of the Religious. Then, rising, he clasped
his hands as a sign of respect, and said, weeping :
** Happy are they and virtuous are their actions
who beheld the great Solitary when he came into
this world and who harkened unto his pleasant

voice."

Then the Sthavira, desiring to please Asoka,
said unto him : " Great King, wilt thou behold
the Divinity who was present at the birth of the
most eloquent among men when in this wood he
entered this life and took seven steps ? "

" Yea, Sthavira, I wish to see the Divinity."

Straightway the Sthavira, extending his hand
towards the tree from which the Queen Maha-
maya ^ had gathered a branch, spoke thus and
said : " Let the Divinity which resideth in that
asoka-tree, that daughter of the gods who beheld
the prophet Buddha, appear here in order to
increase the faith in the Law of King Asoka."

And at that moment the Divinity appeared
close by the Sthavira Upagupta, and clasping her
hands said : " Sthavira, what commandest thou ? "

Then the Sthavira, turning to Asoka, said :
" Behold, 0 great King, the Divinity who beheld
Bhagavat at the moment of his birth."

1 Mother of the Buddha.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 59

Clasping his hands as a token of respect, the
King thus addressed the Divinity :

" Didst thou behold at the moment of birth
the Sage whose body was marked with the signs
of beauty, whose large eyes were like unto the
lotus ? Didst thou hear the first words of the
Hero of Men, the pleasant words which he spake
in this wood ? "

" Yea," made answer the Divinity, *' I beheld
at the moment of birth the First of Men, whose
body shone like gold. I beheld him when he was
taking the seven steps. I heard the words of
the Master."

" Tell me, 0 Divinity," inquired the King,
'* of the spendour of Bhagavat when he came
into the world."

I cannot describe it," the goddess rephed.

But judge of it by these words :

In this system of the three worlds, wherein
Indra reigneth, the earth, shining with a miracu-
lous light, splendid as gold, and pleasant to look
upon, trembled to its mountain tops and to the
seashore, like unto a vessel upon the high seas."

After giving a hundred thousand suvarnas to
the people of the country, the King caused a
Stupa to be erected in the place and withdrew.

Thereafter the Sthavira Upagupta took the
King to Kapilavastu ; and there, putting forth
his right hand, he said ;

" In this place, 0 great King, was the Bodhi-

n

60 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

sattva ^ presented to his father, King Suddhodana.
At the sight of that form, which bore the thirty-
two signs of a great man, Snddhodana could not
turn away from him, and he fell prostrate at the
feet of the Bodhisattva. Behold, 0 great King,
the family deity, Sakya-vardha (he who bringeth
prosperity to the Sakyas). Immediately after
his birth the Bodhisattva was brought to this
deity in order that he might worship him. But
the deities threw themselves at the feet of the
Bodhisattva. Then King Suddhodana cried :
* Lo, unto the deities themselves the child is a god.'
Wherefore he received the name of Devatideva,
which being interpreted is ' a god above the
gods.'

" Here, 0 great King, was the Bodhisattva
presented to the clairvoyant Brahmans who
predict the future. Here the Rishi Asita de-
clared that the child would one day be a Buddha.
Here, 0 great King, was the child confided to
his nurse, Maha Prajapati. There was he
taught to write, to ride the elephant and the
horse, to drive a chariot, to wield the bow and
arrow, the club, the goad — in short, to perform all
exercises becoming his rank. Behold the hall

^ There is some diversity of opinion as to the meaning
of this term. Heinrich Kern, op. cit., vol. i. p. 24, defines
it as one who is destined to appear in the world as a Buddha.
See also Barnett, The Path of Light, Introduction, p. 20 : "A
being . . . destined to Buddhahood is called a Bodhisattva,
or ' creature of enlightenment.' "

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 61

wherein the Bodhisattva exercised. Here in this
place, protected by a hundred thousand divinities,
was the Bodhisattva with his sixty thousand
women. Here, disgusted with the world at the
sight of an old man, a sick person, and a corpse,*
the Bodhisattva left his dwelhng to retire into the
forest. Here, sitting in the shade of a Jambu-
tree, and detaching himself from the conditions of
sin and sorrow, by means of reflection and of judg-
ment, he attained to Dhyana or contemplation,
which is the first stage in the path to Nirvana.
This condition is the result of insight, it giveth
satisfaction and happiness ; it resembleth the
state of being exempt from all imperfection. Then
it was that a little after noon, at the hour of the
midday repast, the shadows of the other trees
were cast towards the east, while the shadow of
the Jambu-tree forsook not the body of the
Bodhisattva. At this sight King Suddhodana
again prostrated himself at the feet of the Bod-
hisattva. By this gate did the Bodhisattva,
accompanied by a hundred thousand divinities,
leave Kapilavastu in the middle of the night.
Here the Bodhisattva delivered up his house
and his ornaments to his servant Chhandaka
and dismissed him. As the book sayeth :

" ' Chhandaka, having received his ornaments
and his horse, was dismissed. Alone and Avithout

1 Sir Edwin Arnold has put this legend into verse in The
Light of Asia.

62 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

a servant did the Hero enter into the forest,
where he was about to do penance.'

" Here it was that the Bodhisattva, changing his
clothes of Benares silk for a hunter's yellow gar-
ments, embraced the life of a mendicant. In this
place King Bimbisara invited the Bodhisattva to
reign with him on his throne. Here he met Arada
and Udraka, according to the verse which saith :

" ' In this hermitage there hved the Rishis
Udraka and Arada. The Bodhisattva, that pro-
tector, that Indra among men, made himself
acquainted with their teaching.' Here the
Bodhisattva submitted to a severe penance during
six years. Wherefore saith the book :

" ' The great Solitary, having submitted to a
severe penance for six years, realised that such was
not the true path, and abandoned such practices.'

" In this place Nanda and Nandabala, the
daughters of village folk, presented to the Bodhi-
sattva an offering of milk and honey, which was
multiphed miraculously into ten offerings, and of
which he partook. Thus saith the book :

" ' Having eaten in this place the offering of
milk and of honey given unto him by Nanda, the
great Hero, the most eloquent of men, went to
sit in the shade of the Bo-tree.' ^

1 This tree, which was to become as sacred for the Buddhist
as the tree of the cross for the Christian, was a fig-tree {Ficus
religiosa). Each Buddha had his Bo-tree. This one was
at Gay a.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 63

" Here it was that Kalika,^ the King of the
Nagas, came to the Bodhisattva where he was
sitting near the Bo-tree, and began to sing his
praises. Wherefore is it said that when, beneath
the Bo-tree, in his desire for Nirvana the most
eloquent of men had entered the path thereto,
there came to worship him Kalika, King of the
serpents."

Straightway the King, with his hands clasped
as a sign of respect, prostrated himself at the
feet of the Sthavira and addressed him thus : "If
only I might behold that King of the Nagas who
beheld the Tathagata when, with the vigour of a
king of Avild elephants, he walked in the path ! "

And forthwith the King of the Nagas, Kalika,
appearing, with hands clasped respectfully,
before the Sthavira Upagupta, addressed him and
said : " Sthavira, what commandest thou ? "

Then the Sthavira said unto the King : " Be-
hold, 0 great King, Kalika, the King of the
Nagas, who sang the praises of Bhagavat when,
seated beneath the Bo-tree he advanced in the
way of salvation."

Straightway the King, with hands clasped as
a sign of respect, spoke thus to Kalika, King of
the Nagas :

" Didst thou indeed behold him whose skin
shone like molten gold ? Didst thou see my
peerless Master whose countenance is Hke unto

1 A blind dragon.

64 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

an autumn moon ? Tell me what were the attri-
butes of the Sage with the ten powers. Tell me
what was the splendour of the Sugata." *

" I may not describe it," said the Dragon.
" But judge of it by these words ;

"Touched by the soul of his foot, the earth
and the mountains thereof trembled in diverse
manners. Lit by the light of the Sugata, which
rose like the moon over the world of men, the
earth appeared beautiful and more radiant than
the sunbeams."

After that conversation, the King caused a
Chaitya to be built in the place, and then he
departed.

Thereafter the Sthavira Upagupta took the
King to the Bo-tree. There putting forth his
hand, he said :

"In this place, 0 great King, the Bodhisattva,
endowed with great charity, after overcoming all
the powers of Mara,^ attained to the state of the
perfect Buddha, according to the verse :

" ' There, by the Bo-tree, in a few moments did
the Hero of the Religious scatter the hosts of the
discomfited Namuchi. There did this peerless
Being attain to the noble, the supreme, and
immortal state of the Buddha.' "

1 " The well gone " or " the well arrived " : "he who has
left the world of becoming in order to enter Nirva^ia " (see
Barnett, The Path of Light, notes, p. 95).

2 The Evil One.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 65

Wherefore the King gave unto the Bo-tree
one hundred thousand suvarnas and caused a
Chaitya to be built in that place, after which he
departed.

Then the Sthavira Upagupta said unto King
Asoka : " Here it was that the four great kings of
Heaven offered unto Bhagavat four stone vases,
from which he chose one. In this place he
received the alms of a repast from the hands of
two merchants, Trapusha and Bhallika. Here
Bhagavat, about to go unto Benares, was praised
by one Upagana."

Finally the Sthavira, having taken the King to
a place called Rishipatana, putting forth his right
hand said unto him : " Here, 0 great King, did
Bhagavat turn the lawful wheel of the Law."

And the Sthavira uttered these words :

" In this place our Lord, in order to set a term to
the revolutions of the world, caused to turn the
beautiful and excellent wheel * which is the very
Law.

" In this place he caused one thousand ascetics
with platted hair to embrace the mendicant life.
Here he taught the Law to King Bimbisara.
Here were its truths revealed unto this Prince, in
company with eighty thousand divinities and many
thousand Brahmans and householders of Magadha.
Here Bhagavat taught the Law to Sakra, the Indra

1 See post, p. 122, note 1, and Renan, Nouvelles Etudes sur
la Religion^ p. 67.

5

66 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

of the Devas. Here were the truths revealed unto
this God in company with eighty thousand Devatas.
Here our Lord worked the great miracle. After
passing the time of the Varsha ^ with the Devas
Trayastrimsas in order to instruct in the Law his
mother, to whom he owed his days, Bhagavat came
down from Heaven escorted by a multitude of gods."

Finally the Sthavira Upagupta, having taken
the King to the town of Kusinagari, said unto
him, putting forth his right hand :

" In this place, 0 great King, Bhagavat, having
fulfilled all the duties of a Buddha, entered com-
pletely into the regions of Nirvana, wherein
remaineth nought of the accumulated elements
of existence." And he added this verse :

" ' After subjecting to the eternal Law the world
with Devas and men, Yakshas and Nagas, the
great Rishi, the Sage, gifted with intelligence
and immense compassion, entered into his rest,
tranquil henceforth because there remained no
beings for him to convert.' "

At these words the King fell fainting on the
ground. Water was sprinkled on his counten-
ance and he revived. When he had returned to
consciousness, he gave one hundred thousand
suvarnas to the place of the Nirvana, and there
he set up a Chaitya.

^ See po8tt p. G9, note 2.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 67

When King Asoka had thus given one hundred
thousand suvarnas to each of these places, to
the birthplace, to the Bo-tree, to the place where
the Buddha had turned the wheel of the Law,
and to the place where he entered into Nirvana, he
bestowed especial favour upon the Bo-tree ; for
there Bhagavat had attained to the state of a
perfect Buddha. Wherefore to this tree he
sent all his most precious jewels.

The first among the wives of the King was
named Tishya-rakshita. The Queen, beholding
Asoka's piety, thought to herself : " The King
takes his pleasure with me, and yet he sends his
most precious jewels to the Bo-tree ! " Then she
called unto her a woman of the Matanga caste
and said to her : " Couldst thou not destroy the
Bo-tree, for it is in a way my rival ? " "I can,"
replied the woman. Then she attached a thread to
the tree, which straightway began to wither away.

The King's men announced to him that the
Bo-tree was withering ; and they uttered these
words : " The tree, beneath which was revealed
to the Tathagata ^ the world as it is, the tree under
which he attained to omniscience, the Bo-tree,
0 King of men, is beginning to die."

At these tidings the King lost consciousness
and fell to the ground ; but water was sprinkled
on his countenance and he revived. Then he
cried, weeping : " When I beheld the trunk of

* A title applied equally to the twenty-five Buddhas,

68 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

the king of trees, I thought to see Svayambhu *
himself ; but if the tree of the Lord fadeth, then
also shall my life wither away."

Meamvhile Tishya-rakshita, beholding the King
troubled with grief, said unto him : " My Lord,
if the Bo-tree should die, I would crown the King
with happiness."

" No woman," rephed the King, " but the Bo-
tree alone can give me happiness. Beneath that
tree Bhagavat attained to the supreme grace of
perfect Buddha."

Then said Tishya-rakshita unto the Matangi
woman : " Canst thou restore the Bo-tree ? "

"I can," replied the woman, "if any life
be left in it."

Then she untied the thread, hollowed the ground
round the trunk, and in one day watered it with
one thousand vessels full of milk. After a few
days the tree completely revived ; and the King's
men hastened to tell him the good tidings.

" My Lord, happy art thou. Behold, the tree
hath revived."

Transported with joy, Asoka went to gaze on
the Bo-tree. And when he had seen it, he
cried : " Deeds never accomplished by Bimbisara
and the other great kings will I now perform.
I will render the highest honour to the Bo-tree.
With perfumed water will I wash it ; on the

1 The Buddha.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 69

Assembly of the Aryas ^ will I bestow hospitality
during the five months of the Varsha." ^

Then the King, having summoned the herald
Sarvamitra, said unto him : "I will bestow one
hundred thousand suvarnas on the Assembly of
the Aryas, and I will water the Bo-tree with water
from, a thousand vessels. Proclaim in my name
that the Religious shall be entertained by me
during the five months of the Varsha."

In those days Kunala,^ who had already lost
his eyes, was on the King's right hand. Without
uttering a word, he put up his fingers, with the
intention of announcing that he would give
double. But when Kunala thus by a sign in-
creased the sum, the multitude of the people
began to laugh. The King, laughing in his turn,
said to Radhagupta : " Who doubled the sum ? "

"There are many," repHed Radhagupta, "who
need the merit of good works. One of those
doubled it."

1 The Aryas, or the Venerable Ones, who have grasped
the four fundamental truths of the Law and possess the
ten supernatural powers.

2 The four or five months of the rainy season, when, be-
cause of the difficulty of travelling from place to place,
the Buddhist monks abandoned their wandering life to
dwell with Brahmans or householders. They spent this time
in teaching, meditation, and study. When the rainy season was
past, they met again in the Assembly and conferred together
on their meditations in retreat. The institution of the
Varsha is very ancient and may have been established by the
Buddha himself (see E. Burnouf, Introduction, p. 255).

3 The son of Asoka. See the following chapter.

70 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

((

Well," said the King, " I will bestow on the
Assembly of the Aryas three hundred thousand
suvarnas, and I will water the Bo-tree with the
water of a thousand vases. Let it be proclaimed in
my name that the Religious shall be entertained
by me during the five months of the Varsha."

Straightway Kunala raised four fingers . Where-
at the King in wrath said unto Radhagupta :
" Who is he, Radhagupta, who thus striveth
with me ? What person is he that is so ignorant
of the world ? "

Beholding the King's wrath, Radhagupta threw
himself at his feet and said : " Who but the
virtuous Kunala could thus contend with the
King of men ? "

Straightway the King, turning round to the
right, perceived Kunala and cried :

" Sthavira, to the Assembly of the Aryas, and
first to the Bo-tree, do I dedicate my royal rank,
my wives, the multitude of my councillors,
Kunala, and my own person, reserving only my
treasure. I will water the great Bo-tree with
milk and with water scented with sandal-wood,
with saffron and with camphor, and contained in
five thousand vases of gold, of silver, of crystal,
and of lapis-lazuli. I will offer unto the tree
thousands of flowers. Let it be proclaimed in
my name that the Religious shall be entertained
by me during the five months of the Varsha."
And the King spake these words :

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 71

"The prosperity of my kingdom, my wives,
the multitude of my councillors, I give all, save
my treasure, to the Assembly, which is as a
vessel of virtues. I give myself and Kunala, who
aboundeth in merit."

Then the King, going out in the presence of
the Assembly, . . . caused a platform to be
erected on the four sides of the Bo-tree. Going
up on to the platform, he watered the Tree with
water from four thousand vessels. And no sooner
had he watered the Tree than it became as it was in
the beginning, according to the verse which saith :

*'No sooner had the King of men poured the
excellent water upon the Tree than it was
covered with a green and tender foliage. At the
sight of the green leaves which clothed it, and
of its tender buds, the King and the multitude
of his ministers were filled with a great joy."

When the King had watered the Bo-tree, he set
himself to bring the Assembly of the ReHgious into
his palace. Then the Sthavira Ya^as addressed
him in these words : " Great King, the Assembly
of the Ayras gathered here is worthy of the
greatest respect. It must receive every honour."

Wherefore the King himself introduced into the
palace each Religious, even the least among them.

There were two Sramaneras ^ who were ex-
changing politenesses with each other. If one gave
flour to his companion, then the other did like-

1 Ascetics.

72 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW

wise ; and thus they were exchanging food and
sweetmeats. When the King saw them, he began
to laugh.

"Behold," he said, "two Sramaneras playing
at children's games."

Then, when the King had introduced every
member of the Assembly, he sat down in the place
of honour. But at that moment the Sthavira
remonstrated with him, saying : " Has not the
King inadvertently committed an oversight ? "

" No," replied the King. " And yet down there
two Sramaneras are playing at children's games ;
like unto little boys playing in the sand, these
Sramaneras play with flour, with food, and with
sweetmeats."

" Enough," answered the Sthavira. " They
are two Arhats giving up their portions each to
the other with equal detachment."

At these words Asoka's heart was filled with
joy, and he thought : " When I have entertained
these two Sramaneras, I will give unto the
Assembly of the Religious cloth sufficient for
the clothing of its members,"

The two Sramaneras, having divined the King's
intention, said to each other : " It behoveth us to
increase his merits."

And straightway one appeared holding a
tortoiseshell, while the other brought colours.

Then the King said unto them : " Sramaneras,
what will ye do ? "

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW 73

*'-We divined," they answered, *' that the King
desired to give unto the Assembly of the EeHgious
enough cloth to clothe its members withal, and
we come to dye the cloth."

" I merely had the idea, and not one word
did I utter concerning it," thought the King.
" Wherefore must these noble sages possess the
power of reading the thoughts of men."

And straightway he prostrated liimseK at their
feet, and said, with hands clasped as a sign of re-
spect : " The descendant of the Mauryas, with his
servants, his people, and the inhabitants of his
towns, hath attained to the height of happiness
and hath successfully offered his sacrifices, since
virtuous beings testify their consideration of him
by bringing him such gifts."

Thereafter the King said to them : " After
having entertained you, I will give unto the
Assembly of the Religious enough cloth to make
for each monk three garments."

Wherefore, when the five months of the
Varsha were past, King Asoka gave to each
Religious three garments. And when he had
given four hundred thousand cloaks to the Assem-
bly, he ransomed from the monks his lands,
his wives, the multitude of his ministers, himself,
and Kunala his son.

His faith in the teaching of Bhagavat had
continued to increase. And he set up eighty-
four thousand royal edicts of the Law.

IV

THE EYES OF KUNALA^

AFTER King Asoka had set up the royal
edicts, his wife Padmavati bore unto him a
son. The child was beautiful to look upon and
his eyes shone with a radiant light. When the
King heard of his son's birth he was transported
with joy, and he cried : " Great is my delight, my
heart is filled with infinite gladness. The splendour
of the Maury as is at its zenith. Because I rule
according to the Law therefore is a son born unto
me. May he cause the Law to bud and to blos-
som." For this reason was the child called
Dharma-vivardhana, which being interpreted is
" expansion of the Law." *
Then was the babe brought unto the King,

^ The main episode of this Eastern legend has its parallels
in Western antiquity : (1) in the legend of Phaedra and
Hippolj'tus ; (2) in the story told of Constantino's son
Crispus and his step-mother Fausta. See Gibbon, Decline
and Fall of the Boman Empire, chap, xviii. (ed. Bury, vol.
ii. p. 210).

3 This was the child's official name : in legend he is known
as Kuriala.

U

THE EYES OF KUNALA 76

who, gazing upon him, was filled with rapture and
exclaimed : " How pure are the beautiful eyes
of the child ! They are like unto a lotus-bloom
in full flower."

Then said the King unto his ministers :
*' Unto what can you liken the eyes of this
child ? "

" We know no man," they replied, "with eyes
like his ; but in the Himavat, the King of Moun-
tains, is a bird called Kunala, with eyes which
resemble those of your son."

" Let a kunala be brought," said the King.
And straightway a kunala was presented unto
him. Having gazed long at the eyes of the
bird to see if there were any difference between
his eyes and those of his son, the King could
observe none ; and so he said to his ministers :
" The Prince's eyes are like unto the eyes of the
Kunala, wherefore let him be called Kunala."

The young child was confided to the care of
eight nurses • two to give him the breast, two
to give him milk to drink, two to wash him, and
two to play with him.

One day, when he was adorned with all his
ornaments, the King, holding him in his arms,
began to gaze at him fondly. Then he cried ;
" No, not one of my sons is so beautiful as he."

Now, in those days, in the province of Gandhara

76 THE EYES OF KUNALA

lived a man whose name was Pushpa-bherotsa.
It happened that there was born to a certain
householder of that province a son more beautiful
than the sons of men, but less beautiful than the
gods. At his birth there appeared a lake, in a
basin of precious stones, filled with water of a
divine fragrance ; there appeared also a great
garden full of flowers and fruits. Both the lake
and the garden moved ; and wherever the child
went, there the lake and the garden appeared.
Wherefore the child was named Sundara, or the
Beautiful. And with the years the child grew.

Some time afterwards, Pushpa-bherotsa went
with the merchants of the province to the town
of Pataliputtra on business. Taking with him a
gift for the King, he was introduced into his
presence. Then, having prostrated himself at
the King's feet, he offered his gift and stood before
his monarch. Asoka showed the merchants his son
Kunala. "Merchants," he said, "in the countries
you have visited, have you ever seen a child
endowed with such perfect beauty ? "

The merchants, clasping their hands as a token
of respect, prostrated themselves at the King's
feet ; and after being assured that they might
speak fearlessly, they made this reply: "In
our country, 0 King, there is a young man,
named Sundara, whose beauty surpasseth that
of men, but doth not equal that of the gods. At
his birth appeared a moving lake in a basin of

THE EYES OF KUNALA 77

precious stones, full of water divinely fragrant
and a moving garden full of flowers and fruits.
Wheresoever the young man goeth there appear
the lake and the garden."

At these words the King wondered greatly ;
and, filled with curiosity, he sent a messenger
to Sundara with the follo^^ing announcement :
" King Asoka desire th to come and see the
young Sundara ; do all that is needful and
prepare to receive the King."

But the multitude was alarmed, thinking :
" If the King come hither with a great escort
of soldiers, serious disasters may ensue."

Wherefore a good team was harnessed to the
chariot, and Sundara, provided with a necklace of
a thousand pearls as a gift for the King, was sent
unto Asoka.

Having completed his journey and reached the
town of Pataliputtra, he took the necklace of a
thousand pearls and went unto Asoka. The
King had no sooner beheld the beauty, the bril-
liance, the splendour, and the perfection of the
young Sundara, as Avell as the miraculous lake and
the garden, than he was overcome with amazement.

Thereafter the King, desiring to astonish the
Sthavira Upagupta, took with Jiim the young
Sundara and went to the hermitage of Kukkuta-
arama. In this garden dwelt eighteen thousand
Arhats, with Upagupta at their head, and a
double number of disciples and laymen of great

78 THE EYES OF KUNALA

virtue. Having saluted the feet of the Sthavira,
Sundara sat down before him to Hsten to the
Law, which Upagupta expounded unto him.

Then the young Sundara, whose character was
now fully matured, after he had listened to the
Law, desired to enter the religious life.

He made known his desire unto the King, and,
in the presence of the Sthavira Upagupta, he
became a Religious.

After long effort and study and persistent
application, he came to realise the wheel of
transmigration, which beareth five marks, and
which is at once movable and immovable. Then,
triumphing over all the paths by which one enters
the world, destroying them, diverting them, and
annihilating them, he succeeded, by the destruction
of all the corruptions of evil, in beholding face
to face the condition of Arhat.^

Having become one of the Arhats, freed from
all attachment to the three worlds, esteeming
alike a piece of gold and a handful of earth, regard-
ing as equal the world of space and the palm of
the hand, a piece of sandal- wood and the axe
which cuts it, having by wisdom alone broken an
eggshell, having acquired science, supernatural
knowledge, and perfect ^Wsdom, turning his back
on existence, on gain, on pleasure, and on honour,
he became one of those whom all the Devas,
with Indra and Upendra, hail, honour, and
worship.

THE EYES OF KUNALA 79

Then in the mind of King A^oka there arose
a doubt, and he addressed to the Sthavira the
following question :

*' What deeds did Sundara do that he came to
possess such great beauty ? What deeds did
he do that at his birth there should appear a
moving lake in a basin of precious stones, filled
with water divinely fragrant, and a great garden,
blooming with flowers and fruit ? "

The Sthavira Upagupta made answer :

*' This Sundara, 0 great King, hath formerly
in other existences committed and accumulated
acts which have attained their completion, and
the causes of which have arrived at their matu-
rity. They have accompanied him as the light
accompanies the body that produces it. Acts
committed and accumulated arrive not at their
maturity in the external elements of the earth,
in water, in fire, or in wind. It is only in the
five intellectual attributes, in the six constituent
parts of the body and in the B.Ye organs of the
senses, the true elements of every person, that
actions committed and accumulated, the good
and likewise the evil, attain to their complete
maturity. Works are not destroyed, not even
by hundreds of Kalpas ; but when in due time
they have attained their consummation, they
bring forth fruits for creatures endowed with
bodies.

" Once, 0 great King," continued the Sthavira,

80 THE EYES OF KUNALA

'* when Bhagavat had entered into complete
Nirvana, the venerable Maha Kasyapa/ with a
following of five hundred Religious, was travers-
ing the provinces of Magadha. There he desired
to convoke an Assembly of the Law. It happened
that a poor labourer beheld this great Assembly
of the Rehgious plunged in grief by the death of
the Master, their bodies weary and covered with
the dust of travel. At this sight the labourer's
heart was filled with pity ; and he prepared a
holy bath for the Rehgious, which he invited
them to enter. The bath was of water heated and
perfumed with diverse sweet scents. The monks
went down into it, and, having bathed, they
washed their garments therein. Afterwards the
labourer offered them food, carefully prepared ;
then were communicated unto him the formula
of refuge and the precepts of instruction, where-
upon he uttered the following prayer :

*' ' May I, entering the religious life under the
law of Sakya-muni himself, attain to the condition
of Arhat.'

*' Understandest thou this, 0 great King ? "
inquired the Sthavira. "He who in those days
and at that time was a poor labourer is the monk
Sundara. Because he offered a holy bath to the
Religious, therefore is he adorned with radiant
beauty, therefore there appeared with him a
moving lake in a basin of precious stones, filled

1 See *The Legend of Vitasoka,' and note, p. 120.

THE EYES OF KUNALA 81

with water scented with sandal- wood,* and a
vast moving garden filled with flowers and fruits.
Because in those days he hearkened unto the
formula of refuge and the precepts of instruction,
therefore in this present existence hath he beheld
the condition of Arhat face to face. Thus, O
great King, is there reserved for dark deeds a
dark reward, for bright deeds a bright reward, for
mingled deeds a mingled reward. Wherefore,
O King, in this world ought man to avoid black
deeds and likewise mingled deeds, and to aim only
at deeds pure and white."

When the Prince Kunala grew up there was
given unto him for a wife a young girl named
Kanchana-mala.

On a day the King with his son went forth to
the hermitage of Kukkuta. There Yasas, the
Sthavira of the Assembly, who was acquainted
with five secret sciences, beheld Kunala and saw
that ere long he would lose his eyes. This
he made known unto the King.

" Wherefore shall this come to pass," inquired
the King.

" Because Kunala fails to do his duty."

"Kunala," said the King, "take heed to
do all that the Sthavira shall command
thee."

Straightway, throwing himself at the feet of

^ The medicinal and refreshing properties of sandal-wood
are frequently referred to in Buddhist legends.

6

82 THE EYES OF KUNALA

the Sthavira, Kunala said : " My Lord, what
commandest thou ? "

" Be persuaded, 0 Kunala, that the eye is a
perishable thing." Then he added these words :
*' It is the source of a thousand evils. Because
they esteem it too highly many men commit deeds
which cause them unhappiness."

Kunala fell to meditating on this maxim, which
was ever in his mind. Henceforth he cared for
nought save peace and soUtude. Seated in the
heart of the palace in a lonely place, he reflected
how perishable is the source of sight and the
sources of all the senses.

On a day Tishya-rakshita, the chief wife of
Asoka, passed by and beheld Kunala, who was
alone. Charmed by the beauty of his eyes, she
took him in her arms and said : " Beneath thy
ravishing glance, at the sight of thy beautiful
form and thy radiant eyes, my whole body burns
like dry straw consumed by a forest fire."

At these words Kunala, closing his ears with his
hands, replied : " Cease to utter such guilty words
in the presence of a son, for unto me you are as a
mother. Renounce so perverse a passion ; such
a love will lead you to Hell."

But Tishya-rakshita, finding that she could not
seduce him, said in wrath : " Since thou turnest
away from me when, transported with love, I offer
myself unto thee, then know, O foolish Prince,
that not long hence thou shalt cease to live."

THE EYES OF KUNALA 83

-" 0 mother," replied Kunala, '' liefer would I
die^ while persisting in my duty and remaining
pure. I would not live a life which should deserve
the censure of honest folk and the scorn and
condemnation of the wise, a life which, by closing
against me the path to Heaven, would lead to
death."

Henceforth Tishya-rakshita thought of nothing
but how to injure Kunala.

It came to pass that the town of Takshasila,
situated in the north and under the dominion
of King Asoka, revolted. When he heard of the
rebellion the King wished to go himself ; but
his ministers said unto him : "0 King, send
the Prince ; he will bring back the town to its
allegiance."

Wherefore the King, having summoned Kunala,
spake unto him these words : " My beloved son,
go thou to Takshasila, and subdue it."

" Yea, sire, I will go," replied Kunala.

• •••••

Then Asoka, having caused the town and the
road to be decorated, and having sent away all
the aged, the sick and the poor,^ went up into his
chariot with his son, and departed out of Patali-
puttra. Before returning to the city, when

^ This incident sounds like an echo of the legend told of
Siddhartha, afterwards the Buddha, whose father, Suddho-
dana, when his son went forth, had the aged, the sick, and
the poor driven from his path.

84 THE EYES OF KU^ALA

Asoka parted from his son in the way, he fell upon
Kunala's neck, and, gazing at his eyes, he wept,
saying : " Happy are those eyes, and happy is the
mortal who may for ever behold the lotus-flower
of the Prince's countenance."

But a Brahman, who was an astrologer, had
prophesied that ere long Kunala would lose his
sight. Wherefore King Asoka, who could never
tire of looking upon his son's eyes, cried, when
he had gazed upon them : " The eyes of the
Prince are perfect ; and the King's heart over-
flows with love for him. This day I contemplate
the pure radiance of those eyes which shed happi-
ness, and of those eyes which are destined to
perish. The town whither thou goest shall be
happy as Heaven itself when it beholdeth the
Prince ; but when he shall have lost his eyes,
all hearts in that town shall be plunged in grief."

Soon the young Prince reached the neighbour,
hood of Takshasila. At the news of his approach-
the inhabitants, having adorned the town and
the highway as far out as two yojanas and a half,
went forth to meet him, bearing in their hands
vessels filled with precious stones. When they
had arrived before him, with hands clasped as a
sign of respect, they said : " It is not against the
Prince or against King Asoka that we have
rebelled ; but because wicked ministers came to
oppress us." Then Kunala in great pomp entered
into the town of Takshasila.

THE EYES OF KUNALA 85

Meanwhile King Asoka had fallen a prey to a
terrible disease. Believing it to be incurable,
he commanded that Kunala should be brought
unto him, for he was determined to place him upon
the throne. But Tishya-rakshita, having heard
the King's command, reflected : "If Kunala
become king, I shall be ruined." Wherefore
she said to King Asoka : "I will undertake to
cure thee, but thou must forbid any doctor to
enter thy palace." The King did as Tishya-
rakshita requested, and she restored him to
health.

When the King was cured of his malady he
was full of joy ; and he asked Tishya-rakshita
what he should do for her. " What gift shall I
give unto you ? " he inquired.

" Let the King," she replied, " grant unto
me royal power for one week."

" And what shall become of me ? " inquired
the King.

"At the end of one week the King "shall
resume his power."

So Asoka gave unto Tishya-rakshita royal
power for one week.

The first thought of the Queen was to satisfy
her hatred of Kunala. In the King's name she
wrote a letter commanding the inhabitants of
Takshasila to tear out Kunala's eyes. And she
added these words : *' For Asoka, a king who is
strong and violent, hath commanded the inhabi-

86 THE EYES OF KUNALA

tants of Takshasila to tear out the eyes of this
enemy who is a disgrace to the house of the
Mauryas."

Whenever King Asoka issued an order which
was to be executed promptly he sealed it with an
ivory seal. Tishya-rakshita said : "I will seal
this letter with the ivory seal while the King is
asleep." So she went to Asoka. But just at
that moment the King awaked in terror.

What trouble th the King ? " asked the Queen.
I have just dreamed a sad dream," he replied.

I beheld two vultures about to tear out the eyes
of Kunala."

"That means happiness for the Prince," said
the Queen.

Then a second time the King awaked in
terror. "0 Queen," he said, "I have just
dreamed a sad dream."

What dream ? " inquired the Queen.
I saw Kunala entering the city with long
hair, long nails, and a long beard."

" That means happiness for the Prince,"
cried the Queen.

At length, the King having again fallen asleep,
Tishya-rakshita sealed her letter with the ivory
seal and despatched it to the town of Takshasila.

Meanwhile the King in a dream beheld his
teeth falling from his mouth. As soon as the
day dawned, he called the soothsayers and asked
them the meaning of his dreams.

THE EYES OF KUNALA 87

" 0 King," replied the soothsayers, " he who
dreams such dreams, he who in his sleep be-
holdeth his teeth decay and fall from his
mouth will behold his son bereft of his eyes
and will hear of his death."

At these words King Asoka, rising hastily from
his seat, and turning, with hands clasped as a
sign of reverence, towards the four quarters of
the horizon, began to implore the Divinity,
uttering these words : *' May the Divinity who
is benevolent for the Preceptor, for the Law, and
for the Assembly, which is the first among all
assemblies, may the Rishis who are the first in
the world protect our son Kunala."

Meanwhile the Queen's letter had reached
Takshasila. When they read this missive the
inhabitants of Takshasila, both of the town and
of the outlying country, who were rejoiced at
the many virtues of Kunala, dared not to make
known unto him the cruel order contained in the
letter. But, after having reflected long, they
said : " The King is violent ; he is passionate by
nature. If he pardoneth not his own son, then
most certainly will he not spare us. He who is
capable of nourishing hatred towards so peaceful
a Prince, who lives the Hfe of^ a solitary, whose
only desire is that all creatures may be fed, what
will he feel towards us ? "

At length they resolved to tell Kunala and to
give him the letter. Kunala, having read it,

88 THE EYES OF KUNALA

cried : " The order must be obeyed ; do what
is commanded."

Then were the executioners brought and told
to put out Kunala's eyes. But, folding their
hands as a sign of respect, they cried : " We dare
not. And why ? Because only he who is mad
enough to rob the moon, the star of night,
of its brightness can tear the eyes from your
countenance."

Then the Prince took the ornaments from his
head and said : " Do your duty as a reward for
this gift."

But they refused, saying : *' Such a deed would
be the cause of great misfortune."

Then there came forth a man who was de-
formed and covered with eighteen spots of a
repulsive colour, who offered to tear out the eyes
of the Prince. He was brought to Kunala.

At that moment there came into the young
man's mind the words of the Sthaviras, and re-
calHng them he said : "It was because they fore-
saw this misfortune that the sages who know the
truth said : ' Behold how fleeting is this world,
and how varying is the lot of man.' Yea, good
friends and virtuous, careful of my advantage
and desirous of my happiness were those great-
hearted sages, and free from passion were those
who taught me that Law. When I think on the
frailty of all things, when I reflect on the counsels
of my masters, I cease to tremble, my friends,

THE EYES OF KUNALA 89

at the thought of this suffering, for I know that
my eyes are things which perish."

Then turning to the man, he said : *' Come, take
out one eye and put it in my hand."

The torturer began to do his work ; and at
that moment thousands of men lifted up their
voices in lamentation, wailing : " Ah ! Woe !
Misery ! Misfortune ! "

" Lo ! the moon, pure in splendour, falleth
from heaven ; a beautiful lotus-flower is torn from
the cluster of white nymphaeas."

While the people thus lamented, the eye of
Kunala was torn from him and he received it
in his hand, saying : " Why, coarse sphere of
flesh, dost thou no longer behold the forms of
earth ? How mistaken and how guilty are
those who are bound to thee and say, ' this is I.*
Those who, seriously reflecting, come to recog-
nise in thee an organ, elusive like a ball, pure but
dependent, those alone shall be beyond the reach
of misfortune."

While the Prince thus meditated on the in-
stability of all beings he was rewarded by attain-
ing the state of Srota-apatti ^ in the eyes of the
assembled crowd.

Then Kunala, beholding truths, said to the
torturer : " Take out the other eye."

The man obeyed and placed the eye in the hand
of the Prince.

* This is the first stage in the Buddhist path to Nirvdijia.

90 THE EYES OF KUNALA

At that moment, Kunala, who had just lost
the eyes of the flesh but in whom the eyes of
knowledge were purified, uttered these words ;
*' The eye of the flesh, which eludeth the grasp,
hath been taken from me ; but I have acquired
the perfect and irreproachable eyes of wisdom.
If I am forsaken by the King, I become the son
of the great-hearted King of the Law, who names
me his child.

" If I am fallen from supreme greatness, which
brings with it so much vexation and grief, I
have acquired the sovereignty of the Law,
which destroy eth grief and sorrow."

Not long afterwards Kunala knew that his
suffering was the work not of his father Asoka,
but of the intrigues of Tishya-rakshita. At this
news he said : *' May the Queen Tishya-rakshita,
who hath been the means of securing me so great
an advantage, continue long in happiness, life,
and power."

Meanwhile, Kanchana-mala heard that the
eyes of her husband, Kunala, had been put out.
Straightway, asserting her wifely right, she rushed
through the crowd in search of Kunala ; and she
found him sightless and bleeding. Beholding him
thus, she swooned and fell to the ground. In
haste the bystanders brought water and endea-
voured to restore her. When she began to come
to herself, weeping bitterly she cried out : " The
gaze of those beautiful eyes, which I so dearly

THE EYES OF KUNALA 91

■

loved, was all my happiness. Now that they are
cast on the ground and bereft of sight, I feel that
I shall die."

Then Kunala, wishing to console his wife, spoke
thus : " Dry thy tears ; it behoveth thee not
to give way to grief. Every man receiveth the
reward of the deeds he hath committed in this
world." And he uttered this saying : " Recog-
nising this world to be the fruit of actions, and
beholding creatures condemned to misfortune,
knowing men to be created in order that their
dear ones may be torn from them, my beloved,
thou oughtest not to weep."

Thereupon Kunala and his wife went forth
from Takshasila. From the moment of his
conception the Prince's body had been very
delicate. Wherefore he was unable to exercise
any trade ; he knew only how to sing and how
to play upon the vina.^ So he went about begging
his bread and sharing with his wife that which
he received.

Kanchana-mala and the Prince retraced their
steps along the road which led to Pataliputtra.
Having arrived in the city, they thought it
their duty to return to the abode of A^oka.
But the porter refused them admittance. They
were, however, taken to the shed in which
the King kept his chariots. At break of day
Kunala touched his vina and began to sing how

1 The Viol.

92 THE EYES OF KUNALA

his eyes had been put out and how the vision
of truth had appeared unto him. And he uttered
these words :

" The sage, who by the pure flame of knowledge
beholdeth the eye and the other senses, is freed
from the law of transmigration.

" If thy mind, given up to sin, be tormented
by the sorrows of existence, and if thou desirest
happiness in this world, hasten to renounce for
ever the things of sense."

King Asoka heard the Prince's song ; and he
said joyfully : " It is for me that Kunala sings
and plays on the vina, which I have not heard
for so long. The Prince hath returned to my
dwelling, but he wishes to see no one."

Then, calling one of his guards, the King said
unto him : " Does not this singing sound unto
you like the singing of Kunala ? It seemeth
as if he were in trouble. That voice hath pro-
foundly moved my soul. I am as an elephant,
who having lost her young has just heard its
voice. Go therefore and bring Kunala unto me."

Straightway the guard went to the place where
the chariots were kept. There he found Kunala,
eyeless and with his body parched by sun and
wind. Failing to recognise him, the guard re-
turned to A^oka and said : "0 King, this is not
Kunala ; it is a blind beggar who with his wife
is in the place where are kept the King's
chariots."

THE EYES OF KUNALA 93

Then was the King greatly troubled, and
he thought : " Behold the realisation of my bad
dreams ; in sooth, this is Kunala, whose eyes
have been torn out." And Asoka uttered these
words : " According to the omens which formerly
appeared unto me in a dream, there is no longer
any doubt that Kunala hath been bereft of his
eyes."

Bursting into tears he cried : " Hasten to bring
this beggar into my presence ; for my heart
cannot rest for thinking of the misfortune which
may have fallen upon my son."

The guard, having returned to the place of
chariots, said to Kunala : " Whose son art thou,
and what is thy name ? "

" Asoka," replied Kunala, " the king who en-
hanceth the glory of the Mauryas, beneath whose
sway the whole earth doth bow in obedience, that
king is my father, and my name is Kunala.
But to-day am I the son of the Buddha, that
descendant of the sun race, who hath established
the Law."

Straightway Kunala was led with his wife into
the presence of King Asoka.

Beholding Kunala eyeless, his body parched
by sun and wind, clothed in a wretched garment
discoloured by the rain during his journey, the
King, being ignorant of the crime which had been
committed, gazed many times at his son, but
failed to recognise him . Seeing before him nought

94 THE EYES OF KUNALA

but the form of a man, he said : " Art thou
Kunala ? "

"Yea," replied the Prince, " I am Kunala."

At these words the King swooned and fell to
the ground. Thus saith the sacred word :

" Beholding the countenance of Kunala, from
which the eyes had been torn out, King A^oka, dis-
tracted with grief, fell upon the ground, consumed
with the fire of anguish at the sight of his son's
misfortune."

Water was thrown over the King ; he was
raised and placed upon his throne. When he
had come to himself, he clasped his son in his
arms. Thus saith the sacred word :

*' After a few moments, the King, having
regained consciousness, threw his arms around
his son's neck ; and, ofttimes caressing the
countenance of Kunala, he lifted up his voice
in complaints mingled with his sobs : ' Formerly,
at the sight of those eyes, like unto those of
the kunala, I called my son Kunala ; to-day,
now that those eyes are extinguished, how can
I continue to call him by that name ? ' "

Then he said :

" Tell me, tell me, my beloved son, how this
countenance with the beautiful eyes hath been
bereft of its light and hath become like unto
the heavens robbed of their splendour by the
waning of the moon ?

" The heart of that man is pitiless, 0 my son,

THE EYES OF KIHsTALA 95

who, being impelled by the hatred of the un-
righteous for the righteous who feel no hatred,
hath destroyed the eyes of the best of beings,
of the image of the Solitary himself. This is a
cruel deed which for me is the source of many
evils.

" Speak to me and delay not, 0 thou of the
beautiful countenance. Consumed with grief at
the loss of thine eyes, my body perisheth like unto
a forest devoured by the lightning of the Nagas."

Then Kunala, having thrown himself at his
father's feet, spoke unto him thus :

" 0 King, thou must not sorrow thus over
an event which is past. Hast thou not heard
the words of the Solitary, who saith that not even
the Jinas themselves, any more than the Pratyeka
Buddhas,^ may escape from the inevitable in-
fluence of deeds ?

" Like unto ordinary men they reap the fruit
of the actions they have committed here below ;
in this world is the reward of one's deeds. How
therefore can I describe that which I have
suffered as the work of another. In time past,
0 great King, I have committed some sin, and
under the influence of this sin have I returned to
this world, I whose eyes have been the cause of
my misfortune.

^ Those who had attained the sixth stage in the path of
knowledge, to whom there remained only one more stage,
that of the perfect Buddha.

96 THE EYES OF KU^ALA

*' Sword, lightning, fire, poison, birds, nothing
can wound the spirit, which is unchangeable by
nature ; it is on the body, wherein the spirit re-
sides, that the cruel sorrows fall which seem to
devour the body as a victim."

But Asoka, with grief -racked heart, continued
thus : " Who hath bereft my son of his eyes ?
Who in order to commit this crime hath risked
the loss of so great a treasure as life ? Into my
heart, consumed by the fire of sorrow, wrath
enters. Tell me quickly, 0 my son, upon whom
chastisement must descend."

At length the King learned that the crime was
the work of Tishya-rakshita. Straightway he
had the Queen summoned ; and when she was
come he said unto her : " Wherefore, O cruel
woman, does the earth not open and engulf
thee 1 Beneath the sword or the axe will I
cause thy head to fall. I renounce thee, woman
covered with crime. Unjust soul, I renounce
thee as the sage renounceth fortune."

Then, gazing upon her with a countenance
inflamed with the fire of wrath, he added :
" Wherefore should I not break her limbs in
pieces after tearing out her eyes with my sharp
nails ? Wherefore should I not hang her alive
from the gallows ? Wherefore should I not cut
off her nose ? Wherefore should I not take out
her tongue with a razor or cause her to die by
poison ? "

THE EYES OF KUNALA 97

Such were the tortures with which Tishya-
rakshita was threatened by the King of Men.

Hearing these words, Kunala the magnani-
mous, filled with compassion, said to his father :
" It would be dishonourable for thee to put to
death Tishya-rakshita. Respect and honour, but
do not slay a woman. There is indeed no reward
greater than that of magnanimity. Patience, my
Lord, hath been celebrated by the Sugata." ^

Then, throwing himself again at the feet of the
King, the Prince addressed to his father these
words of truth :

" 0 King, I feel no pain ; and despite the
cruelty I have suffered the fire of wrath burneth
not within me. In my heart there is nought but
benevolence towards my mother, who commanded
my eyes to be torn out.

" In order to prove the truth of these words,
may my eyes now become as they were formerly."

Hardly had he uttered these words when in
the countenance of Kunala his eyes appeared
with all their former brilliance.

Nevertheless King Asoka, enraged against
Tishya-rakshita, caused her to be thrown into
the place of torture, where she died by fire ; and
all the inhabitants of Taksha^ila Asoka caused
to be massacred.

1 Sugata and Tathdgata are synonymous and mean the
Master. See Heinrich Kern, op. cit., vol. i. p. 98, and post,
•Legend of Vitasoka,' p. 108 note.

7

98 THE EYES OF KUISIALA

Then doubt arose in the minds of the Re-
ligious ; and thus did they question the venerable
Sthavira Upagupta, who setteth all doubts at
rest : " What deed had Kunala done for his
eyes to be put out ? "

The Sthavira made answer :

" Attend, 0 venerable monks. Once in times
past, at Benares, was there a certain hunter
who went up into the Himavat, there to slay
wild beasts. One day when he was on the
mountain, in the depths of a cavern he came
upon five hundred gazelles herding together ;
and he caught them all in a net. Then he
reflected : ' If I kill them, what shall I do
with so much meat ? ' Wherefore he put out
the eyes of the gazelles. And the beasts,
being unable to see, could not escape. Thus
by his hand were the eyes put out of many
hundred gazelles.

" What think ye of that, 0 monks ? This
hunter was Kunala himself. Because he put out
the eyes of many hundred gazelles, as the recom-
pense of this deed, he hath suffered through
many hundred thousand years the torments of
Hell. Then, in order to complete the expiation
of his sin, his eyes have been put out during
five hundred human existences. But what deed
had he done to deserve rebirth in a royal family,
a beautiful form, and the knowledge of the sacred
truths ? Hearken, 0 venerable monks :

THE EYES OF KUNALA 99

" Formerly, in times past, when the life of a
man was forty-four thousand years, there ap-
peared in the world a perfect Buddha, whose
name was Krakuchchhanda. When he had ful-
filled all the duties of a Buddha, he entered the
domain of Nirvana, wherein remaineth nought
of the elements of existence. A King named
Asoka^ caused to be made for him a Stupa of
four kinds of precious stones. But after the
death of Asoka his throne was occupied by a
sovereign who knew not the Sacred Truth.
The precious stones of the Stupa were stolen by
thieves, who left nothing but the wood and earth.
The people, having assembled in this place,
beheld the ruins of the Stupa and wept. Now
among the people was the son of a master crafts-
man. This young man asked : ' Wherefore do
the people weep ? ' Then the people answered :
' The Stupa of Krakuchchhanda the Buddha
was made of four kinds of precious stones ; now
behold, it is destroyed.' — The young man rebuilt
it.

" There had been formerly in this place a
statue of the perfect Buddha Krakuchchhanda,
which was life size. It also had been destroyed.
The young man restored the statue likewise
and offered up this prayer : ' May my gift be

^ An earlier king, not the father of Kunala. This A^oka
is said to have lived one hundred years after the Buddha.
See ante, Introduction, p. 15, note.

100 THE EYES OF KUIS^ALA

acceptable in the eyes of such a master as
Krakuchchhanda ! May I not be displeasing
unto him ! '

" What think ye of that, 0 venerable monks ?
The son of the master craftsman was Kunala
himself. He it was who in those days restored
the Stupa of Krakuchchhanda, and as a reward
for this deed was he born in an illustrious family.
Because he restored the statue of the Buddha,
therefore was he born beautiful. Because he
uttered the prayer we have repeated unto you,
therefore was it granted unto him to please so
great a master as Sakya-muni, the perfect Buddha,
to whom Kunala was acceptable, therefore unto
Kunala was it given to know the sacred truth.

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

TTTHEN King Asoka had submitted to the Law
VV of Bhagavat, he set up eighty-four thou-
sand royal edicts of the Law ; and during the five
months of the Varsha he maintained three hundred
thousand Religious — that is, one hundred thou-
sand Arhats and two hundred thousand disciples
and laymen filled with virtue. The multitudes
covering the earth down to the seashore were
moved with devotion to the Law of Bhagavat.
The brother of Asoka, whose name was Vitasoka,
favoured the Tirthyas.^ They had convinced
him that deliverance is not for the Sramaneras,*
the sons of Sakya,' for they seek pleasure and
flee from pain. On a day it came to pass that
King Asoka said to his brother : "It behove th
thee not to favour such things as are without

^ Brahmanist ascetics.

2 Sectarian ascetics.

^ The Sakyas were the Aryan tribe to which the Buddha
belonged. Their seat was at Kapilavastu, about 100 miles
north-east of Benares.

101

102 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

foundation ; it is in the Buddha, in the Law and
in the Assembly that thou shouldest believe,
then would thy faith have its object in reality."
On another day King A^oka went forth to
hunt the antelope. Then Vita^oka beheld in
the forest a Rishi, who, surrounded by five fires,
was subjecting himself to severe mortifications.
The Prince approached, and, having saluted his
feet, put to him this question : "0 blessed one,
how long hast thou inhabited this forest ? "
' Twelve years," answered the anchorite.
And on what feedest thou ? "
On fruits and on roots,"
And with what art thou clothed withal ? "
With rags and with darbha-leaves."
And thy bed ? "
''The green grass."
Is there aught that troubleth thee in thy
penance ? "

" Yea," answered the Rishi, " for when I
behold the mating of the antelopes, then am
I consumed with the fever of desire."

Whereupon Vitasoka lifted up his voice and
cried : "If even this anchorite by a penance
so severe fail to stifle passion, what will become
of the Sramaneras, sons of Sakya, who desire soft
seats and fine linen ? How may they subdue
passion ? "

And he uttered these verses :

" If the Rishis, dwelling in the lonely forest,

THE LEGEND OE VITASOKA 103

living on air, on water, and on roots, by such
severe austerities practised for so long be power-
less to still their passions, then how may the
Sakyas control their senses, they who devour
so much meat, who feed on butter, on curds,
and on rice well seasoned ? If such a thing were
possible, then might Mount Vindhya traverse
the ocean.

" Yea, King Asoka is in very truth the dupe of
the Sramaneras, the sons of Sakya, to whom he
showeth respect."

Asoka heard these words ; and because his
mind was full of invention, he said to his minis-
ters : " Vitasoka careth for nought save for the
Tirthyas ; by cunning must I bring him to regard
with equal favour the Law of Bhagavat."

" Let the King command," answered the
ministers.

'* When I have entered into my bathroom," said
the King, " after I have taken off my head-dress
and my diadem, the symbols of royalty, you must
by some means contrive to put the head-dress
and the royal diadem on Vitasoka and to make
him sit upon the throne."

" It shall be done," replied the ministers.
The King, I have taken off .his head-dress and
the royal diadem, symbols of royalty, entered
into the bathroom. Then the ministers said
to Vitasoka : " When King Asoka shall die,
you will be king ; meanwhile put on these royal

104 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

ornaments. We will place upon your head the
head-dress and the royal diadem, and lead you
to the throne ; and we shall see how the royal
insignia become you."

Straightway the ministers adorned Vita^oka
with the signs of royalty and placed him upon
the throne. Then they told the King. The latter,
beholding Vitasoka wearing the head-dress and
the royal diadem, symbols of royalty, and seated
upon the throne, cried : " Lo ! while I am still
alive dost thou usurp the kingship ! Hol^ !
Come here ! " And at that very moment ap-
peared executioners wearing blue garments and
long hair, and carrying in their hands a bell.
Prostrating themselves at the King's feet, they
said : " What doth the King command ? "

" I deliver unto you Vitasoka," he replied.

Then, addressing the Prince, the executioners
said to him : " We, the executioners, armed with
the sword, we take possession of thy person."

But the ministers threw themselves at the feet
of Asoka entreating him : " Pardon, 0 King !
Vitasoka is your brother."

*' I will pardon him," replied Asoka, *' but for
seven days only. He is my brother, and because
of my love for him I grant him royalty for seven
days."

Straightway there was heard the sound of
hundreds of instruments ; cries of " Long live the
King " greeted the Prince ; thousands of men

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 105

assembled before him, stretching out their hands
to him as a sign of respect ; and hundreds of
women surrounded him. But the executioners
stayed at the palace gate. At the close of the
first day they presented themselves before
Vitasoka and said to him : " Behold one day past,
Vitasoka ; only six more days remain unto thee."
On the second day they did the same, and the
same on the following day. Finally, on the
seventh, Vitasoka, adorned with the royal insignia,
was conducted into the presence of Asoka, who
said unto him : " Vitasoka, what didst thou
think of the singing, the dancing, and the concert
of instruments ? "

" I have seen nothing, neither have I heard
anything," answered Vitasoka ; and he uttered
these words : "I listed not to the singing, I
beheld not the dancing of the women. How can
he who tasted none of these pleasures give his
opinion of them ? "

" Vitasoka," replied the King, " I granted thee
royalty for seven days ; hundreds of instruments
have been played before thee ; cries of ' Long
live the King ' have greeted thee ; the multitude
hath honoured thee, clasping their hands before
thee as a token of respect ; hundreds of women
have served thee ; how therefore canst thou say :
* I have heard nothing, I have seen nothing ' ? "

*' No," answered Vitasoka ; " I have neither seen
the dancing nor have I heard the sound of

106 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

singing ; I have neither smelt the sweet odours
nor have I tasted the sweet savours ; the gold,
the jewels, the necklace, and the forms which I
touched I perceived not ; the multitude of women
was powerless to charm a miserable man con-
demned to death."

"Women, dance, song, the palace with its
lounges and couches, fortune, youth, beauty, all —
even earth itself with its varied treasures was
empty and joyless for me as long as I beheld
the blue-garbed executioners seated tranquilly
at my gates.

" At the sound of the blue-garbed executioners'
bell the terror of death possessed me, 0 chief
of kings.

" Summoned by the goads of fear, I was deaf
to the ravishing voices, I was blind to the dancing,
I was insensible to the pangs of hunger.

" A prey to the fever of death, I knew not
sleep ; I passed my nights in meditating on my
decease."

" Ah then," replied Asoka, " if the fear of one
death which was to deprive thee of one life
alone was enough to hinder thee from tasting the
delights of kingship, how thinkest thou do the
Religious, horrified at the thought of that death
which is to end hundreds of existences, contem-
plate the places where they may be reborn and
the evils which await them there ? In Hell,
the sufferings of the body delivered to the flames ;

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 107

among beasts, the terror of being devoured one
by the other ; among the Pretas,^ the tortures
of hunger and thirst ; among men, the anxieties
of hard and strenuous existence ; among the
gods, the fear of falling and losing happiness :
behold the five causes of misery, the five chains
which fetter the three worlds. Tormented by
the sorrows of mind and body, the very attributes
of which existence is composed are for them
veritable executioners ; in the organs of the
senses villages made desolate ; in inanimate
objects brigands : in short, the whole of the three
worlds devoured by the fire of instability. How
then can passion find a place in their hearts ? "

Then he uttered these words :

*' If the fear of that death which is but to
deprive thee of one life alone can so torment
thee as to prevent thee from enjoying pleasant
things such as rejoice the heart, what pleasure
shall the heart of the Religious find in food and
other objects of the senses, they who think on
the terrors of death repeated throughout hundreds
of existences ?

" How may fine garments, beds, couches, and
vases attract hearts which are set upon deliver-
ance, which behold in such things enemies and
assassins, for whom the body is as a dwelling
on fire, and who regard all beings as perishable ?

1 Shades of the dead. See Heinrich Kern, op. cit., vol. i.
p. 377.

108 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

" Shall not deliverance be for those who desire
nought else, for such as turn away from existence,
for those on whose hearts the many causes of
pleasure sit as lightly as doth the water on the
leaves of the lotus ? "

Thus by means of the King's stratagem was
Vita^oka brought to look favourably upon the
Law of Bhagavat.

Clasping his hands as a token of respect,
Vita^oka said to the King: "My Lord, I seek
refuge with the blessed Tathagata,^ the perfect
and complete Buddha ; I seek refuge with the
Law and with the Assembly." And he uttered
these words : "I seek refuge with him whose
eyes are pure as a freshly opened lotus, with him
whom the gods, the sages, and men delight to
honour ; I seek refuge with the pure Law of
Buddha and with the Assembly."

Then Asoka, casting himself upon his brother's
neck, said: "No, I have not forsaken thee, but
this means have I taken to plant in thy heart
love for the Law of Bhagavat.

From that time Vitasoka honoured the

^ " . . . from time to time a Tathagata is born into the
world, a fully Enlightened One, blessed and worthy, abound-
ing in wisdom and goodness, happy, with knowledge of the
world, unsurpassed as a guide to erring mortals, a teacher
of gods and men, a Blessed Buddha."

Extract from the Buddhist Suttas quoted by T. W. Rhys
Davids, Hibbert Lectures, Origin and Growth of Religion^
p. 64.

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 109

Chaityas of Bhagavat, offering them sweet per-
fumes, garlands of flowers, and causing to be
played a multitude of instruments ; and he
hearkened unto the Law, and he showed respect
unto the Assembly.

One day he repaired to the hermitage of
Kukkuta-arama ; there he found the Sthavira
called Yasas, who was an Arhat endowed with
the six supernatural powers. Vitasoka sat at his
feet in order to listen to the Law. The Sthavira
began to consider him, and straightway he
discerned that the elements of his conversion
were complete, that he had attained his last
existence, and that in his present body he was
to realise the condition of Arhat. Wherefore the
Sthavira began to praise the mendicant life in
order to persuade Vitasoka to embrace it.

No sooner had Vitasoka heard the words of
the Sthavira than the desire to become a mendi-
cant under the law of Bhagavat took hold upon
him. Rising to his feet, and clasping his hands
as a token of respect, he spoke thus to the
Sthavira : " Oh that I might embrace the re-
ligious life according to the discipline of the
most renowned Law ! Oh that I might obtain
the investiture and become a monk ! Oh that
I might practise before thee the duties of a
religious life ! "

" Friend," replied the Sthavira, " make known
thy desire unto King Asoka."

no THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

Having gone to the place where the King was,
Vita^oka clasped his hands as a token of respect
and said : " 0 King, grant me thy permission ;
I desire to embrace the religious life according
to the discipline of the most renowned Law,
leaving this house in perfect faith." And he
uttered these words :

" Like an elephant who knows not the goad I
had gone astray ; but, thanks to the powerful bit
of thy intelHgence, the instructions of the Buddha
brought me back into the right path.

" Therefore, 0 sovereign master of kings, must
thou grant me a favour : permit me to wear the
glad signs of the perfect Law, the first among
the lights of the world."

When he heard these words, Asoka, with tears
in his eyes, cast himself upon the neck of his
brother and said : " Vitasoka, renounce this
resolve. The mendicant lives and consorts with
persons of low caste ; he is clothed in rags
gathered from the dust where slaves have thrown
them ; his food is begged from the hand of
another, his bed and his seat are upon the grass
scattered at the foot of a tree. When he is sick
he must lie upon leaves, he must feed on what
others have thrown away, with difficulty can he
procure medicine. And thou, who art delicate,
thou art unable to endure the pain of hunger,
of thirst, of heat and of cold. Renounce this
design, I entreat of thee."

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 111

"No, my Lord," replied Vitasoka, " so to do
would be to act as one who craves for things ;
but he who desireth to embrace the religious life
suffereth not the pains that it brings ; he be-
holdeth not the enemy deprive him of power ;
he is not reduced to poverty. At the sight of a
suffering world in the grip of death, exhausting
itself in vain efforts, I feared to be born again,
and I resolved to enter into the way of happiness
and of safety."

At these words King Asoka began to weep
and to groan.

But Vitasoka, desiring to console him, uttered
these words : *' Since, seeing that once they have
entered the ever-moving litter of the world men
are condemned to fall from it, wherefore doth
this emotion take hold upon thee ? Are we not
all destined to be separated one day ? "

" Well," said Asoka, " then begin here, in this
house, to serve your noviciate to the mendicant
life."

In the heart of the palace, in a tree-planted
enclosure, rugs were spread for the prince upon
the lawn, and there was his food brought unto
him. As a mendicant he began to wander
through the inner apartments ^ but the food
given to him was good. Then the King said to
the women of the inner apartments : " Give him
to eat such things as are given to the begging
monks." Wherefore the Prince was served with

112 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

damaged and fusty meal, which he felt bound to
eat. But Asoka saw it and prevented him, saying :
" Since I permit it thou mayest lead the life of
a beggar ; but when thou hast received alms,
show them to me."

Some time afterwards Vitasoka went to the
hermitage of Kukkuta-arama. And on the way
this thought occurred to him : " If I lead the
life of a mendicant in the palace, then am I in
the midst of the multitude. Wherefore he with-
drew into the country of the Videha ^ and there
began to beg. At length, after frequent and
strenuous endeavour, he attained to the rank of
Arhat. When the venerable Vitasoka had at-
tained thereto he experienced the happiness and
joy of deliverance, and he made this reflection :
" I am in very deed an Arhat."

The first thing he did was to go to the gates
of King Asoka.

" Go," he said to the guard, " and announce
to King Asoka that Vitasoka is at his gate and
that he desireth to see the King."

The guard, going straightway to the King,
said unto him : "0 King, happiness is thine ;
Vitasoka is at thy gate and he desireth to see
the King."

" Go quickly," answered the King, " and bring
him in."

Straightway Vitasoka was brought into the

1 The ancient Mithila, the modern Tirhut.

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 113

palace. No sooner had the King beheld his
brother than, rising from the throne, he fell pros-
trate at the feet of the Religious, just as a tree
falls when it hath been cut through at the root.
Then, gazing upon the venerable Vitasoka, he
said, weeping : " Although he seeth me, that
emotion which men generally feel when they
meet troubleth him not ; doubtless he is filled
with the savoury food of that knowledge which
his rank hath procured for him."

Radhagupta was the first minister of King
Asoka. He beheld the ragged garment of the
Vt^nerable Vitasoka and his earthen bowl, and
in the bowl rice, the alms which Luha had given
him. At the sight Radhagupta prostrated him-
self at the King's feet, and, with hands clasped
as a token of respect, said unto him :

'* 0 King, since this Religious hath so few
desires and is satisfied, he must assuredly have
attained his end.

*' What can give pleasure to one who feedeth
upon alms, who is clothed in rags gathered from
the dust-heaps, and whose dwelling is under the
trees ?

" To one whose great heart is unfettered,
whose healthy body is free from disease, who
disposeth of his existence as he will, in the world
of men such a one beholdeth eternal feasting."

When he heard these words, joy filled the King's
heart, and he cried : " As I behold delivered from

8

114 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

pride, from arrogance, and from sorrow this
scion of our race, who hath renounced the family
of the Maury as, the town of Magadha and all
its precious treasures, I seem to see my
capital hasten to rise purified by his glory.
Expound unto us nobly the Law of the Wise
and its ten powers."

Then the King, taking his brother in his arms,
placed him upon the seat prepared for him ;
then with his own hand he gave him the food
which had been made ready ; and when the
Religious had finished his meal, washed his
hands, and put his bowl on one side, the King sat
down opposite the venerable Vitasoka to listen
to the Law.

Then the venerable Religious, desiring to in-
struct A^oka by a discourse touching the Law,
said unto him : " Attentively perform the duties of
royalty ; it is difficult to obtain the three precious
objects^ ; honour them constantly, my Lord."

And when in this manner he had rejoiced the
King by expounding the Law, Vitasoka withdrew.

But Asoka, with hands clasped in the midst of
five hundred ministers and followed by a pro-
cession of many thousand inhabitants of the
town and country, who surrounded him respect-

^ The distinguishing marks of a King of kings, of the ideal
monarch or Chakka-vatti, viz. the wheel, the white elephant,
and the horse. See Rhys Davids, Indian Buddhisin, Hibbert
Lectures, 1881, pp. 131-7.

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 115

fully, set forth to follow the venerable Vita^oka.
Thus said the word :

** The brother is followed by the King, his
elder, who reverently accompanies him ; such
is the visible result, and one worthy to be
celebrated, of the adoption of the religious life."

Then the venerable Vitasoka, desiring to give
an idea of his merit in the sight of the multitude,
by means of his supernatural power rose into the
air. And King Asoka, clasping his hands as
a sign of veneration and surrounded by hundreds
of thousands of his people, kept his eyes fixed upon
the sky ; and gazing at the venerable Vitasoka,
he uttered these words :

*' Freed from all family attachment, like a
bird thou soarest away, leaving us enchained
by the bonds of man's craving for pleasure.

" This power which is made manifest in the
sage, who is filled with peace and self-control, is the
fruit of contemplation, fruit not revealed unto
men who are blinded by desire.

" This supreme supernatural power covers us
with shame, for we are swollen with the pride of
life ; this intelligence causes us to hang our heads,
for we are puffed up with the satisfaction of our
own wisdom.

" This sage, who hath attained his end, alarms
us, for we in our blindness believed that we had
received our reward ; and now a cloud of tears
obscureth our gaze, for in reality we are not free."

116 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

Meanwhile the venerable Vitasoka went into
the country beyond the frontier, and there set
up his seat and made his bed. In that place
a serious sickness befell him. King Asoka,
having heard of it, sent him medicine and servants.
Then was the head of the Religious, through his
sickness, covered with leprosy ; but when the
sickness departed his hair grew again, and he
sent back the medicine and the servants. He
began to eat chiefly such food as contained milk,
wherefore he repaired to a cow-bier in the
neighbourhood, where he lived as a mendicant.

About this time there arrived in the town of
Pundra-vardhana a man who was the devotee of
the Brahmanist mendicants ; at the feet of a
Buddhist mendicant he overturned and broke a
statue of the Buddha. A faithful Buddhist told
the King, who straightway commanded that this
man should be brought before him. The
Yakshas heard this command a yojana away in
the sky, and the Nagas a yojana away under-
ground, wherefore at that very moment the
guilty man was brought before the King. At the
sight of him Asoka was filled with wrath and
cried : "Let all the dwellers in Pundra-vardhana
be put to death." According to this command,
in one single day eighteen thousand inhabitants
suffered death.

Some time afterwards, at Pataliputtra, another
devotee of the Brahmans overthrew a statue

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 117

of the Buddha at the feet of a Brahmanist mendi-
cant, who broke it in pieces. The King, having
heard of it, went in fury to the houses of the
mendicant, of the devotee, and of their friends
and kinsfolk, and caused all to be consumed by
fire. Then he proclaimed this decree : *' He who
bringeth unto me the head of a Brahmanist
mendicant shall receive a dinara^ as his
reward."

Meanwhile the venerable Vitasoka had with-
drawn for a night into a shepherd's hut. He was
again sick ; his garments were in rags ; his
hair, his beard, and his nails had grown to an
extraordinary length. The shepherd's wife
thought to herself : " This must be some Brah-
manist mendicant who hath entered our hut to
pass the night." Wherefore she said to her
husband : " Son of my master, lo, here is an
opportunity to earn a dinara ; let us slay this
monk, and take his head to King Aioka."
Straightway the shepherd drew his sword from its
sheath and approached Vitasoka. This venerable
Religious was possessed of the knowledge of what
had previously happened to him. He saw that
he was on the eve of reaping the fruit of deeds
done long ago. Wherefore; convinced in his own
heart, he remained perfectly still. The shepherd

* The denariua is a Western coin of somewhat late intro-
duction into India. The reference to it points to the late
date of the A^oka legend.

118 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

cut off his head with his sword, and carried it to
King Asoka, saying : " Give me a dinara."

The King beheld the head and thought he
recognised it. Nevertheless the thin hair agreed
not with the resemblance he sought. The
doctors and the servants were summoned. On
seeing it, they said : " My Lord, this is the head
of Vitasoka."

At these words the King fell fainting on the
ground. Water was sprinkled on his face and he
was restored to consciousness. Then his minis-
ters said unto him : " Thy commands, O King,
have brought down misfortune on the head of a
sage who was delivered from passion ; revoke
thy commands and restore security to thy people."

Wherefore the King restored peace unto his
people by forbidding that henceforth any man
should be put to death.

Meanwhile the Religious, who were perplexed
with doubts, approached the venerable Upagupta,
who resolveth all doubt, and questioned him
thus : " What deed had the venerable Vitasoka
committed thus to merit death by the sword ? "

" Hearken, venerable persons," replied the
Sthavira, " to the deeds he committed in
previous existences. Once in times long past,
O Religious, there lived a hunter who supported
himself by killing antelopes. In the forest was a
spring on the border of which the hunter stretched
his nets and set his traps. There it was that he

THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA 119

killed the antelope. When there are no Buddhas
in the world, then are born Pratyeka Buddhas.*
Now, a certain Pratyeka Buddha, having gone
down to the spring to eat, came up and went to
sit with crossed legs beneath a tree. Scenting
his presence from afar, the antelopes came not
down to the spring. When the hunter arrived
he saw that the game had not visited the spring
as usual ; then step by step he reached the place
where the Pratyeka Buddha was seated. As he
beheld him, this idea came into the hunter's
mind : ' This is he who hath driven away my
beasts ' ; and drawing his sword from its sheath,
he slew the Pratyeka Buddha.

" Ye must understand, 0 venerable persons,
that the hunter was Vitasoka, Because he had
once slain antelopes he was attacked by a terrible
disease. Because he had slain the Pratyeka
Buddha with his sword he suffered as the result
of that deed the torments of Hell for many

1 " There were two kinds of Buddhas, or men of insight ;
firstly, those who have seen through things and being free
from delusions . . . are completely, so to speak, out of the
jungle, and in the open. But they cannot trace back the
several parts of the path by which they have themselves
escaped, so as to be able to guide others along it. They
are Pratyeka Buddhas — that is, enlightened only for one.
. . . Only at rare intervals, once and again in hundreds of
ages, does ' a very Buddha,' one who has the insight and
can also make others see, appear in the world, and happy are
they who meet him " (T. W. Rhys Davids, Indian Biiddhiem,
Hibbert Lectures, 1881, p. 146).

120 THE LEGEND OF VITASOKA

thousand years ; for five hundred years among
men was he born and born again, his life
ever being cut short by the sword; at length,
albeit he had attained to the rank of Arhat, he
must needs perish by the sword."

" But," asked the Religious, *' what deed had
he done that he should be born again in an illus-
trious family and attain to the rank of Arhat ? "

The Sthavira replied : " In the days of Kasyapa,*
the perfect Buddha, was a certain Pradana-Ruchi
who entered the religious life. Thanks to him,
generous donors bestowed their liberality on
giving food to the Assembly, providing it with
savoury drinks prepared from meat, or inviting
it to their houses. Thanks to him, the Stupas
were covered with canopies, and in their honour
flags, standards, perfumes, and flowers were
offered and concerts were performed. In reward
for these actions was he born into a family of
high rank. At length, after having fulfilled the
duties of a religious life for ten thousand years,
he gave expression to a virtuous desire, by reason
of which he attained to the dignity of Arhat "

^ According to Tibetan tradition, Ka^yapa compiled the
third great collection of Buddhist books, the Abhidharma
(E. Burnouf, Buddhisme Indien, p. 39). Kasyapa lived in
the days when the existence of creatures was twenty thou-
sand years. Endowed with knowledge, he directed man
like a young bull ; he was preceptor of men and gods, a
Blessed Buddha. He withdrew to Benares and there took
up his abode {ibid., p. 244).

VI

THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA, OR, THE
GIFT OF A HANDFUL OF EARTH »

* ' WT -^^ ^^ ^^^^ devotee of the Law of Bhagavat
V V who hath given most alms ? " inquired
King Asoka of the Religious.

'* It is Anatha-pindika, the steward of thy
household," answered the Religious.

" What is the sum of the alms which he hath
given ? " asked the King.

" One hundred kotis."

This reply caused Asoka to reflect : " Lo ! *'
he said to himself, " a steward of my household
hath given one hundred kotis to the Law of
Bhagavat ! " Then he said aloud : " And I
also, I will give one hundred kotis."

As we have seen, he had established eighty-
four thousand edicts of the Law. He gave two
thousand suvarnas to each place where the edicts
were set up, and he did as much for the birth-
place of Sakya-muni, for the place where he had

^ By the second title this legend is usually known.

121

122 THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA

become a Buddha, for the place where he had
made the wheel ^ to turn, and for the place where
he had entered into complete Nirvana. He
received the Religious during the five months of
the Varsha, and on this occasion he gave four
hundred thousand suvarnas. He supported
three hundred thousand Religious — that is, one
hundred thousand Arhats and two hundred
thousand disciples and ordinary virtuous persons.
He dedicated to the Assembly of the Aryas the
lands of his women, the multitude of his ministers,
Kunala himself, reserving his treasure, however;
and all these possessions he reserved for four
hundred thousand suvarnas. In this manner he
gave ninety-six thousand kotis to the Law of
Bhagavat. Then he fell into a decline. *' Soon
shall I cease to be," he said. And this idea threw
him into despair.

Radhagupta * was the King's minister. He it
was with whom (in one of his previous existences)
he had given to Sakya a handful of earth.' Be-

^ One of the seven royal treasures possessed by Sakya-
muni.l It appeared to him when he had purified himself
and gone into the upper story of his palace to keep the
sacred day. It was first the wheel of conquest, rolling on
to the very extremities of the world, causing kings to submit
to the King of kings ; then the wheel of truth, set rolling in
the first discourse of the Buddha and never to be turned
back (Rhys Davids, Lectures on the Origin and Growth of
Religion, Hibbert Lectures, 1881, pp. 131, 132, 138).

» See ante, * Childhood and Youth of A§oka,' p. 28.

3 See ante, p. 56.

THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA 123

holding the despair of the King, Radhagupta
prostrated himself before him, and said, with
hands clasped as a token of respect : " Where-
fore, my Lord, do tears bathe that countenance
which thy powerful enemies dare not regard
and from which hundreds of lotus-eyed women
cannot turn away ? "

"Radhagupta," answered the King, "I weep not
for the loss of my treasures, nor for the loss of
my royal rank, nor for the sorrow of departing
from the world ; I weep because I am about to
be parted from the Aryas.

*' No more shall I behold the Assembly in
which reside all virtues, which is venerated alike
by gods and by men ; no more shall I honour it
with offerings of food and refreshing drinks :
this thought it is that causeth my tears to flow.

" Then, Radhagupta, my desire was to give
one hundred kotis for the Law of Bhagavat ;
this desire have I not fulfilled."

Having thus spoken, Asoka said to himself :
" I will collect four more kotis in order to com-
plete my alms." And straightway he began to
send gold and silver to the hermitage of Kukkuta-

arama."

In those days the heir-presumptive was Sam-
padi, the son of Kunala. The ministers said unto
him : " Prince, King Asoka hath not long to
live, and lo ! he sendeth all his treasures to
Kukkuta-arama. Now, other sovereigns possess

124 THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA

great wealth, wherefore we ought not to let the
King ruin himself."

Therefore the young prince forbade the treasurer
to give money to the King.

It was tte custom to give the King to eat in
golden vessels. Having eaten, Asoka began to
send these vessels to Kukkuta-arama. Where-
fore instead of in vessels of gold his food was
served to him in vessels of silver, but these like-
wise the King sent to Kukkuta-arama. The
silver vessels were then replaced by vessels of
iron, but these also the King sent to the hermitage.
Finally his food was brought to him in earthen
vessels. Then, holding in his hand half an
amalaka, Asoka summoned his ministers and
his subjects, and addressed them sadly, saying :
" Who now is King of this country ? "

The ministers, rising from their seats, with
hands clasped as a token of reverence, approached
Asoka and said : " It is thou, my Lord, thou who
art King of this country."

But Asoka, his eyes dim with a mist of
tears, spake unto his ministers and said :

'Wherefore out of kindness say ye unto me
that which is not true ? I have fallen from
royalty ; there remaineth unto me nought of which
I may dispose as Sovereign save the half of this
fruit.

*' Shame on so poor a power, which is like unto
the movement of waters in a swollen river, since

THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA 125

despite my empire over mankind I am powerless
to escape from misery.

" But who may flatter himself that he can bring
to nought the words of Bhagavat : ' All happiness
endeth in misfortune ' ? In sooth he spoke not
deceitful words, Gautama who lieth never.

*' After uniting the whole earth beneath his
sway, after suppressing war and disorder, and
destroying the host of his enemies, who were
puffed up with pride, after consoling the poor and
wretched. King A^oka hath fallen from glory, and
now he passeth his days in misery. As, when
it is cut from the plant, the flower or the leaf
fadeth, so withereth away King Asoka."

Then the King, calling to a man who was in
his presence, spoke unto him and said : " Friend,
though I be fallen from power, because of my
former merits execute this my last command.
Take this half amalaka which is mine, go thou to
the hermitage of Kukkuta-arama and present it to
the Assembly. Then, prostrating thyself in my
name at the feet of the Assembly, speak unto it
thus and say : ' Behold to what is now reduced the
wealth of the sovereign monarch of Jambudvipa :
this is his last alms ; eat this fruit in such a
manner that it may be distributed among the
whole Assembly on which it is bestowed.' '*

And the King opened his mouth and spake
these words :

" Behold, to-day do I offer my last alms ; my

126 THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA

royalty and my power have departed from me ;
deprived of health, of physicians, and of medicine,
I have no helper save the Assembly of the Aryas.

" Eat, therefore, this fruit in such a manner
that my last alms may be distributed among the
whole Assembly, for such is the wish of him who
offers it."

" It shall be done as thou desirest," said the
man. And, taking the half amalaka he went to
the hermitage of Kukkuta-arama. There, ad-
vancing to the place of honour, with hands
clasped reverently, he offered the fruit to the
Assembly, uttering these words : " He who once
commanded the earth united beneath his sway,
and like unto the sun was the light of the world,
having attained unto his zenith, beheld his
prosperity stand still ; his works betrayed him ;
and now, like unto the sun at the decline of day,
is he fallen from power."

Bowing his head reverently before the
Assembly, he offered unto it the half amalaka,
the visible sign of fortune's instability.

Then the Elder of the Assembly opened his
mouth and spake thus to the Religious :

*' To-day, 0 venerable persons, is it given unto
you to suffer sorrow ; and wherefore ? Because
Bhagavat hath said : ' For another's sorrow is it
meet that man should be afflicted.' And what
man having a heart shall not be afflicted to-day ?

" A^oka, the hero of the Mauryas, that monarch

THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA 127

who is a model of generosity, after being the
only sovereign of Jambudvipa, to-day possesseth
nought save the half of an amalaka !

" Now, deprived of power by his subjects, he
giveth this half fruit, revealing thus his thoughts
to the common folk who are puffed up with the
pride of life and of pleasure."

Thereafter was the fruit pealed, and being
pounded to a pulp it was distributed to the
Assembly.

Meanwhile King Asoka said unto Radhagupta :
'* Tell me, beloved, who is now the Sovereign of
the land 1 "

Then Radhagupta, casting himself at Anoka's
feet, with hands clasped as a token of respect,
said : " My Lord, thou art the Sovereign of the
land."

At these words, A^oka, rising slightly and
extending his clasped hands reverently in the
direction of the Assembly, said: "To-day give
I unto the Assembly of the disciples of Bhagavat
the whole of this vast land down to the seashore,
with the exception of my treasure." And he
uttered these words :

" This land girt around by the ocean, as in a
fine mantle of sapphire hue, this land enriched
by mines of precious stones, this land which
nourisheth all creatures and which beareth
Mount Mandara, give I unto the Assembly ; may
I reap the fruit of this action !

128 THE DEATH OF KING ASOKA

*' As my reward for this good work I desire not
to possess the palace of Indra, nor the world of
Brahma; still less do I desire the happiness of
royalty, for it passeth away as rapidly as flowing
water.

" For the perfect faith in which I bestow this
gift the reward I desire is to rule myself with a
power worthy to be respected and honoured by
the Aryas ; such a treasure can never change."

Having recorded this gift in writing, the King
gave the deed to his ministers to be sealed with
the royal seal.

No sooner had he made this donation to the
Assembly than he submitted to the law of time.

Printed by Hazdl, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury, Enc/land.

Date Due

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Burnouf, Eugene v^« v^
Legends of Indian Buddhism;^

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