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^KV  OF  PRlUc^ 


BL  1010  .S3   V.35 
Milindapa  nh  a. 
The  questions  of  King 
Milinda 


THE 


SACRED  BOOKS  OF  THE  EAST 


[35] 


bonbon 
HENRY    FROWDE 


Oxford  University  Press  Warehouse 
Amen  Corner,  E.C. 


THE 


SACRED  BOOKS  OF  THE  EAST 


TRANSLATED 


BY  VARIOUS  ORIENTAL  SCHOLARS 


AND    EDITED    BY 

F.   MAX    MULLER 


VOL.    XXXV 


AT     THE     CLARENDON     PRESS 
1890 

\AU  rights  reserved '\ 


Oxford 

PRINTED    AT    THE     CLARENDON     PRESS 

ny  HORACE   HART,   PRINTER  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY 


THE   QUESTIONS 


OF 


KING     MILINDA 


TRANSLATED     FROM     THE     PALI 


BY 


T.   W.    RHYS    DAVIDS 


AT    THE    CLARENDON    PRESS 
1890 

\^All  rights  reserved '\ 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction         ........  xi 

The  Sinhalese  version  of  the  Milinda       ...  xii 

Buddhaghosa's  four  references  to  it .         .         .         .  xiv 

MSS.  and  edition  of  the  text xvi 

King  IMilinda  the  same  as  Menander        .         .         .  xviii 

Notices  of  him  in  classical  writers  ....  xix 

His  coins       ........  xx 

His  birthplace,  Kalasi,  probably = Karl  si  .         .         .  xxiii 

The  author  not  the  same  as  Nagar^uwa  .         .         .  xxv 

Passages  in  the  Pi/akas  referred  to  silently         .         .  xxvii 

Pali  books,  &c.,  referred  to  by  name         .         .         .  xxix 

Pi/aka  passages  quoted  ......  xxxi 

Length  of  the  Pi/akas     ......  xxxvi 

Results  of  these  comparisons  .....  xxxviii 

Differences  between  our  author  and  the  Pi/akas        .  xl 

Proper  names  outside  the  Pi/akas    ....  xliii 

Differences  of  language  between  our  author  and  the 

Pi/akas  ........  xlv 

The  IMilinda  as  a  work  of  art          .         .         .         .  xlviii 

Translation  of  the  Text. 

Book  I.    The  Secular  Narrative 
Description  of  Sagala 
Previous  births  of  Milinda  and  Nagasena 
]\Iilinda's  greatness  and  wisdom  and  love  of  disputation 
Birth  story  of  Nagasena 
His  admission  as  a  novice  into  the  Order 
His  conversion    . 
Plis  attainment  of  Arahatship 
IMilinda  confutes  Ayupala    . 
Nagasena  arrives ;  his  character 
IMilinda  goes  to  him    . 


I 

2 

4 
6 

lO 
20 

25 
29 

3° 
34 
36 


VUl 


CONTENTS. 


Book  II.    The    Distinguishing    Characteristics    of 
Ethical   Qualities     . 
Individuality  and  name 
The  chariot  simile 
The  riddle  of  seniority 

(Interlude)  How  kings  and  scholars  respectively  discuss 
No  soul  in  the  breath  .... 
Aim  of  Buddhist  renunciation 
Re-incarnation    ..... 
Wisdom  and  reasoning  distinguished    . 
'  Virtue's  the  base '       .         .         .         . 

Faith 

Perseverance  ..... 
Mindfulness  ..... 
Meditation  ..... 

Continued  identity  and  re-individualisation 
Wisdom  and  intelligence  distinguished 
Time  ..... 

Origin  and  development  of  qualities 
Is  there  a  soul  ?  . 
Thought  and  sight 
Contact,  sensation,  and  idea 

Book  III.    The  Removal  of  Difficulties 
Rich  and  poor    ..... 
Renunciation  again     .... 


Nirvawa  and  Karma    ..... 
Difficulties  of  various  kinds  as  to  transmigration 
viduality,  and  the  Buddha     . 


The  Solving  of  Dilemmas 


indi 


Book  IV 

Milinda  finds  dilemmas  in  the  Holy  Writ 

And  takes  the  Buddhist  vows 

Third  meeting  between  him  and  Nagasena 

ist  Dilemma.    If  the  Buddha  has  really  quite  passed 

away,  what  is  the  good  of  paying  honour  to  his 

relics?  ........ 

2nd  Dilemma.    How  can  the   Buddha   be  omniscient, 

when  it  is  said  that  he  reflects  ?     . 
3rd  Dilemma.    Why   did  he   admit  Devadatta  to   the 

Order,  if  he  knew  of  the  schism  he  would  create  ?  . 


40 

41 
43 
45 
46 

48 

49 

50 
51 
53 
54 
57 
58 
60 

63-77 
66 

77 
82 
86 
89 
92 

100 
100 

lOI 

106 

120 

137 

137 

138 
140 


144 


154 


162 


CONTENTS.  IX 


4th  Dilemma.  Vessantara's  earthquake 

5th  Dilemma.  King  Sivi     ..... 

7ih  Dilemma.  Difference  in  prophecies  as  to  the  dura- 
tion of  the  faith  ..... 

8th  Dilemma.  The  Buddha's  sinlessness  and  his  suf- 
ferings      ....... 

9th  Dilemma.  Why  should  the  Buddha  have  meditated  ? 
I  oth  Dilemma.  Why  did  the  Buddha  boast .? 
nth  Dilemma.     How  could  the  Buddha  revoke  regu 

lations  he  had  made  .-*  . 
1 2th  Dilemma.  \Miy  did  the  Buddha  refuse  to  answer 

certain  questions  ?..... 
13th  Dilemma.  Contradictory  statements  by  the  Buddh 

as  to  fear     ....... 

14th  Dilemma.  How  can  Pirit  cure  disease.? 

15th  Dilemma.    How  could  the  evil  one  turn  peopl 

against  the  Buddha  ?    . 
1 6th  Dilemma.  Contradiction  as  to  conscious  crime 
17th  Dilemma.  Contradiction  as  to  the  Buddha's  wish 

to  be  the  chief     ...... 

1 8th  Dilemma.  How  could  a  schism  have  arisen  in  the 

Buddha's  life .''     . 
19th  Dilemma.  Why  do  members  of  the  Order  accept 

reverence?  ....... 

20th  Dilemma.  The  evil  results  of  preaching 

22nd  Dilemma.  Was  not  the  Buddha  once  angry  with 

Sudinna  ?    . 
23rd  Dilemma.  The  tree  talking 
24th  Dilemma.  The  Buddha's  last  meal 
25th  Dilemma.  Adoration  of  relics 
26th  Dilemma.  The  splinter  of  rock     . 
27th  Dilemma.  Contradictory  description  of  the  Samawa 
28th  Dilemma.  Buddha's  boasting 
29111  Dilemma.  How  can  the  kind  punish  others  ? 
30th  Dilemma.  Was  not  the  Buddha  angry  at  Aatuma 
31st  Dilemma.  How  could  Moggallana  have  had  mira 

culous  powers  seeing  that  he  was  murdered  ? 
32nd  Dilemma.  Why  should  the  rules  of  the  Order  be 

kept  secret?         ...... 

33rd  Dilemma.  Contradictions  about  falsehood     . 


170 
179 

185 

190 
196 
198 

202 

204 

206 
213 

219 

224 


225 


227 

232 
234 

237 
241 
242 
246 
248 
251 

253 
254 

257 

261 

264 

268 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

34th  Dilemma.  Did  not  the  Omniscient  One  once  doubt  ?  270 

35th  Dilemma.  Suicide 273 

36th  Dilemma.  Love  to  all  beings         ....  279 

37th  Dilemma.  Wickedness  and  prosperity  .         .         .  283 

38th  Dilemma.  Women's  wiles     .....  294 

39th  Dilemma.  Did  not  the  Arahats  once  show  fear  ?     .  297 
40th  Dilemma.  Did  not  the  Omniscient  One  once  change 

his  mind?    ........  301 

Appendix.     Devadatta  in  the  G^atakas          ....  303 

Addenda  et  Corrigenda 305 

Index  of  Proper  Names 3°? 

Index  of  Subjects 3  ^  ^ 


Transliteration    of    Oriental    Alphabets    adopted    for    the 
Translations  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  . 


317 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  work  of  which  a  translation  is  here,  for  the  first 
time,  presented  to  the  Enghsh  reading  public,  has  had  a 
strange  and  interesting  history.  Written  in  Northern  India, 
at  or  a  little  after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  and 
either  in  Sanskrit  itself  or  in  some  North  Indian  Prakrit,  it 
has  been  entirely  lost  in  the  land  of  its  origin,  and  (so  far 
as  is  at  present  known)  is  not  extant  in  any  of  the  homes 
of  the  various  sects  and  schools  of  the  Buddhists,  except 
only  in  Ceylon,  and  in  those  countries  which  have  derived 
their  Buddhism  from  Ceylon.  It  is  true  that  General 
Cunningham  says  ^  that  the  name  of  Milinda  '  is  still  famous 
in  all  Buddhist  countries.'  But  he  is  here  drawing  a  very 
wide  conclusion  from  an  isolated  fact.  For  in  his  note 
he  refers  only  to  Hardy,  who  is  good  evidence  for  Ceylon, 
but  who  does  not  even  say  that  the  '  Milinda '  was  known 
elsewhere. 

Preserved  there,  and  translated  at  a  very  early  date 
into  Pali,  it  has  become,  in  its  southern  home,  a  book  of 
standard  authority,  is  put  into  the  hands  of  those  who  have 
begun  to  doubt  the  cardinal  points  of  Buddhist  doctrine, 
has  been  long  a  popular  work  in  its  Pili  form,  has  been 
translated  into  Si;«halese,  and  occupies  a  unique  position, 
second  only  to  the  Pali  Pi/akas  (and  perhaps  also  to  the 
celebrated  work  of  Buddhaghosa,  the  'Path  of  Purity'). 
From  Ceylon  it  has  been  transferred,  in  its  Pali  form, 
to  both  Burma  and  Siam,  and  in  those  countries  also  it 
enjoys  so  high  a  repute,  that  it  has  been  commented  on  (if 
not  translated).  It  is  not  merely  the  only  work  composed 
among  the  Northern  Buddhists  which  is  regarded  with 
reverence   by   the   orthodox    Buddhists   of    the    southern 

^  In  his  '  Ancient  Geography  of  India,'  p.  186. 


Xll  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


schools ;  it  is  the  only  one  which  has  survived  at  all 
amongst  them.  And  it  is  the  only  prose  work  composed 
in  ancient  India  which  would  be  considered,  from  the 
modern  point  of  view,  as  a  successful  work  of  art. 

The  external  evidence  for  these  statements  is,  at  present, 
both  very  slight  and,  for  the  most  part,  late.  There  ap- 
peared at  Colombo  in  the  year  of  Buddha  3420  (1877  a.D.) 
a  volume  of  650  pages,  large  8vo. — the  most  considerable  in 
point  of  size  as  yet  issued  from  the  Si7;^halese  press — entitled 
MiLlNDA  Pra5-7V^aya.  It  was  published  at  the  expense  of 
five  Buddhist  gentlemen  whose  names  deserve  to  be  here 
recorded.  They  are  Karolis  Piris,  Abraham  Liwera,  Luis 
Mendis,  Nandis  Mendis  Amara-sekara,  and  Charlis  Arnolis 
Mendis  Wijaya-ratna  Amara-sekara.  It  is  stated  in  the 
preface  that  the  account  of  the  celebrated  discussion  held  be- 
tween Milinda  and  Nagasena,  about  500  years  after  the  death 
of  the  Buddha,  was  translated  into  the  Magadhi  language  by 
'  teachers  of  old  '  (purwa/('arin  wisin) ;— that  that  Pali  ver- 
sion was  translated  into  Sinhalese,  at  the  instance  and  under 
the  patronage  of  King  Kirtti  Sri  Ra^a-siwha,  who  came 
to  the  throne  of  Ceylon  in  the  year  of  Buddha  2290  (1747 
A.D.),  by  a  member  of  the  Buddhist  Order  named  Hina/i- 
kumbure  Sumahgala,  a  lineal  successor,  in  the  line  of 
teacher  and  pupil  (anui-ishya),  of  the  celebrated  Woeli- 
wi/a  Saraz/ahkara,  who  had  been  appointed  Sawgha- 
ra^a,  or  chief  of  the  Order — that  'this  priceless  book, 
unsurpassable  as  a  means  either  for  learning  the  Buddhist 
doctrine,  or  for  growth  in  the  knowledge  of  it,  or  for  the 
suppression  of  erroneous  opinions/  had  become  corrupt  by 
frequent  copying — that,  at  the  instigation  of  the  well-known 
scholar  Moho/^i-watte  Gunananda,  these  five  had  had 
the  texts  corrected  and  restored  by  several  learned  Bhikkhus 
(kipa  namak  law  a),  and  had  had  indices  and  a  glossary 
added,  and  now  published  the  thus  revised  and  improved 
edition. 

The  Si/zAalese  translation,  thus  introduced  to  us^  follows 
the  Pali  throughout,  except  that  it  here  and  there  adds,  in 
the  way  of  gloss,  extracts  from  one  or  other  of  the  numerous 
Pi/aka  texts  referred  to,  and  also  that  it  starts  with  a  pro- 


INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 


phccy,  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  Buddha  when  on  his 
death-bed,  that  this  discussion  would  take  place  about  500 
years  after  his  death,  and  that  it  inserts  further,  at  the 
point  indicated  in  my  note  on  p.  3  of  the  present  version, 
an  account  of  how  the  Si?«halese  translator  came  to  write 
his  version.  His  own  account  of  the  matter  adds  to  the 
details  given  above  that  he  wrote  the  work  at  the  Upo- 

A 

satha  Arama  of  the  Maha  Wihara  near  .Sri-ward- 
h  a  n  a  -  p  u  r  a,  'a  place  famous  for  the  possession  of  a  temple 
containing  the  celebrated  Tooth  Relic,  and  a  monastery 
which  had  been  the  residence  of  Wceliwi/aSara;/ankara, 
the  Sawgha-ra^a,  and  of  the  famous  scholars  and  com- 
mentators Darami/i-pola  Dhamma-rakkhita  and 
Madhurasatoi^a  Dhammakkhandha.' 

As  Kirtti  Sri  Rag"a-si;;/ha  reigned  till  1781^,  this  would 
only  prove  that  our  Pali  work  was  extant  in  Ceylon  in  its 
present  form,  and  there  regarded  as  of  great  antiquity  and 
high  authority,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century.  And 
no  other  mention  of  the  work  has,  as  yet,  been  discovered 
in  any  older  Si;//halese  author.  But  in  the  present  deplor- 
able state  of  our  ignorance  of  the  varied  and  ancient  literature 
of  Ceylon,  the  argument  ex  silentio  would  be  simply  of  no 
value.  Now  that  the  Ceylon  Government  have  introduced 
into  the  Legislative  Council  a  bill  for  the  utilisation,  in  the 
interests  of  education,  of  the  endowments  of  the  Buddhist 
monasteries,  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  value  of  the  books 
written  in  those  monasteries  will  not  be  forgotten,  and  that 
a  sufficient  yearly  sum  will  be  put  aside  for  the  editing  and 
publication  of  a  literature  of  such  great  historical  value  -. 
At  present  we  can  only  deplore  the  impossibility  of  tracing 
the  history  of  the  'Questions  of  Milinda'  in  other 
works  written  by  the  scholarly  natives  of  its  southern  home. 

That  it  will  be  mentioned  in  those  works  there  can  be 


'  See  Tumour's  Mahavansa,  p.  Ixviii. 

"  I  believe  that  none  of  the  many  vernacular  literatures  of  India  can  compare 
for  a  moment  with  the  Siwhalese,  whether  judged  from  the  point  of  view  of 
literary  excellence,  variety  of  contents,  age,  or  historical  value.  And  yet  a  few 
hundreds  a  year  for  ten  years  would  probably  suffice,  on  the  system  followed  by 
the  Pali  Text  Society,  for  the  editing  and  publication  of  the  whole. 


xiv  THE    QUESTIONS    OF   KING    MILINDA. 


but  little  doubt.  For  the  great  Indian  writer,  who  long 
ago  found  in  that  beautiful  and  peaceful  island  the  best 
scope  for  his  industrious  scholarship,  is  already  known  to 
have  mentioned  the  book  no  less  than  four  times  in  his 
commentaries ;  and  that  in  such  a  manner  that  we  may 
fairly  hope  to  find  other  references  to  it  when  his  writings 
shall  have  been  more  completely  published.  In  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  VI,  3,  Buddha- 
ghosa  refers  to  the  quotation  of  that  passage  made  in  the 
conversation  between  Milinda  and  Nagasena,  translated 
below,  at  IV,  2,  i^.  And  again,  in  his  commentary  on  the 
Amba///^a  Sutta  (D.  Ill,  3,  12)  he  quotes  the  words  of  a 
conversation  between  Milinda  and  Nagasena  on  the  subject 
he  is  there  discussing.  The  actual  words  he  uses  (they 
will  be  found  at  pp.  275,  276  of  the  edition  of  the  Sumangala 
Vilasini,  edited  for  the  Pali  Text  Society  by  Professor  Car- 
penter and  myself)  are  not  the  same  as  those  of  our  author 
at  the  corresponding  passage  of  Mr.  Trenckner's  text  (pp. 
168,  169  ;  IV,  3,  11),  but  they  are  the  same  in  substance. 

The  above  two  references  in  Buddhaghosa  to  our  author 
were  pointed  out  by  myself.  Dr.  Morris  has  pointed  out 
two  others,  and  in  each  of  those  also  Buddhaghosa  is  found 
to  quote  words  differing  from  Mr.  Trenckner's  text.  The 
former  of  these  two  was  mentioned  in  a  letter  to  the 
'Academy'  of  the  i2th  November,  1881.  In  the  Mano- 
ratha  Pura;n,  his  commentary  on  the  Anguttara,  on  the 
passage  marked  in  Dr.  Morris's  edition  as  I,  5,  8,  Buddha- 
ghosa says : — 

'Imasmi;;/  pan'  atthe  Milinda-r^^^  dhamma- 
kathika-Nagasenattheraw  ^wkkh'x:  "Bhante  Naga- 
sena, ekasmim  a/^-^//arakkha«e  pavattita-X'itta- 
sa;;zkhara  sa>^e  rupino  assa  kiva  maha-rasi  bhavey- 
yati  ? 

And  he  then  gives  the  answer: — 'Vahasatanam  kho 


fc>* 


maha-ra^a   vihinaw    s.ddh3i-kn\zin    kz.    v^ha    vihi 


*<i. 


sattammanani  dve  kdi.  tumba  eka/^/^/^arakkha;ze 


1  This  was  already  pointed  out  in  a  note  to  my  translation  of  the  text  com- 
mented on  ('  Buddhist  Suttas,'  vol.  xi  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  p.  112). 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 


pavattitassa  -^'ittassa  sarikham  pi  na  upenti  kalam 
pi  na  upenti  kala-bhagam  pi  na  upentiti.' 

This  passage  of  the  Milinda,  referred  to  by  Buddhaghosa, 
will  be  found  on  p.  102  of  Mr.  Trenckner's  edition,  trans- 
lated below  at  IV,  i,  19.  But  the  question  is  not  found 
there  at  all,  and  the  answer,  though  much  the  same  in  the 
published  text,  still  differs  in  the  concluding  words.  Mr. 
Trenckncr  marks  the  passage  in  his  text  as  corrupt,  and  it 
may  well  be  that  Buddhaghosa  has  preserved  for  us  an 
older  and  better  reading. 

The  other  passage  quoted  by  Dr.  Morris  (in  the 
'Academy'  of  the  nth  January,  1881)  is  from  the  Pa- 
Tpauka.  Sudani,  Buddhaghosa's  still  unedited  Commentary 
on  the  Ma^^/nma  Nikaya.  It  is  in  the  comment  on  the 
Brahmayu  Sultanta,  and  as  it  is  not  accessible  elsewhere 
I  give  this  passage  also  in  full  here.  With  reference,  oddly 
enough,  to  the  same  passage  referred  to  above  (pp.  168, 
169  of  the  text,  translated  below  at  IV,  3,  n)  Buddhaghosa 
there  says : — 

'Vutta?;/  etaw  Nagasenattherena  Milinda- 
ra;7/7a  pu^///ena:  "Na  mahara^a  Bhagava  guy- 
haw  dasseti  k/ia.ya.m  Bhagava  dassetiti."' 

In  this  case,  as  in  the  other  quotation  of  the  same  pas- 
sage, the  words  quoted  are  not  quite  the  same  as  those 
given  in  the  published  text,  and  on  the  other  hand  they 
agree  with,  though  they  are  much  shorter  than,  the  words 
as  given  in  the  Sumangala  Vilasini. 

It  would  be  premature  to  attempt  to  arrive  at  the  reason 
of  this  difference  between  Buddhaghosa's  citations  and 
Mr.  Trenckner's  edition  of  the  text.  It  may  be  that 
Buddhaghosa  is  consciously  summarising,  or  that  he  is 
quoting  roughly  from  memory,  or  that  he  is  himself  trans- 
lating or  summarising  from  the  original  work,  or  that  he  is 
quoting  from  another  Pali  version,  or  that  he  is  quoting 
from  another  recension  of  the  text  of  the  existing  Pali 
version.  We  must  have  the  full  text  of  all  his  references 
to  the  'Questions  of  Milinda'  before  us,  before  we 
try  to  choose  between  these,  and  possibly  other,  alternative 
explanations.      What   is  at   present  certain  is  that  when 


XVI  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

Buddhaghosa  wrote  his  great  works,  that  is  about  430  A.D., 
he  had  before  him  a  book  giving  the  conversations  between 
Milinda  and  Nagasena.  And  more  than  that.  He  intro- 
duces his  comment  above  referred  to  on  the  Amba///^a 
Sutta  by  saying,  after  simply  quoting  the  words  of  the 
text  he  is  explaining  :  '  What  would  be  the  use  of  any  one 
else  saying  anything  on  this?  For  Nagasena,  the  Elder, 
himself  said  as  follows  in  reply  to  Milinda,  the  king^' — 
and  he  then  quotes  Nagasena,  and  adds  not  a  word  of  his 
own.  It  follows  that  the  greatest  of  all  Buddhist  writers 
known  to  us  by  name  regarded  the  'Questions  of 
Milinda'  as  a  work  of  so  great  authority  that  an  opinion 
put  by  its  author  into  the  mouth  of  Nagasena  should  be 
taken  as  decisive.  And  this  is  not  only  the  only  book,  out- 
side the  Pali  Pi/akas,  which  Buddhaghosa  defers  to  in  this 
way,  it  is  the  only  book,  except  the  previous  commentaries, 
which  he  is  known  even  to  refer  to  at  all.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  says  nothing  in  these  passages  to  throw  any 
further  light  on  the  date,  or  any  light  on  the  authorship,  of 
the  work  to  which  he  assigns  so  distinguished,  even  so 
unique,  a  position. 

So  far  as  to  what  is  known  about  our  'Questions  of 
Milinda'  in  Ceylon.  The  work  also  exists,  certainly  in 
Pali,  and  probably  in  translations  into  the  local  dialects,  in 
Burma  and  Siam.  For  Mr.  Trenckner  mentions  (Intro- 
duction, p.  iv)  a  copy  in  the  Burmese  character  of  the  Pali 
text  sent  to  him  by  Dr.  Rost,  there  is  another  copy  in  that 
character  in  the  Colombo  Museum-,  and  Mr.  J.  G.  Scott,  of 
the  Burmese  Civil  Service,  has  sent  to  England  a  Burmese 
Nissaya  of  the  Milinda  (a  kind  of  translation,  giving  the 
Pali  text,  word  for  word,  followed  by  the  interpretation  of 
those  words  in  Burmese  ").  A  manuscript  of  the  Pali  text, 
brought  from  Siam,  is  referred  to  in  the  Siw^halese  MSS.  in 
the  marginal  note  quoted  by  Mr.  Trenckner  at  p.  vi  of  the 

^  Kim  ettha  aw/lena  vattabba;«?  Vuttam  etaw^  Nagasenattheren' 
eva  Milinda-ra;7«a  pu////ena  ....  (Sumangala  Vilasini,  loc.  cit.). 

^  See  p.  51  of  the  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society'  for  1882. 

'  This  Nissaya  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  brother,  the  Bursar  of  St. 
John's  College,  Cambridge. 


INTRODUCTION,  XVll 


Introduction  to  his  edition.  And  there  exists  in  the  library 
of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  a  complete  MS.,  in  excellent 
condition,  in  the  Siamese-Pali  character  \  while  there  are 
numerous  fragments  in  the  Paris  Bibliotheque  Nationale  of 
one  or  more  MSS.  of  the  text,  in  the  same  Kambojan 
character  used  in  Siam  for  the  writing  of  Pali  texts  ^. 

It  may  be  noticed  here  that  there  are  seven  MSS.  of  the 
text  written  in  the  Ceylon  character  known  to  exist  in 
Europe.  Two  of  them  (one  a  very  ancient  one)  are  in  the 
Copenhagen  University  Library,  two  in  the  Bibliotheque 
Nationale^,  one  in  the  Cambridge  University  Library'',  and 
two  in  the  India  Office  Library^.  Three  only  of  these 
seven  have  been  used  by  Mr.  Trenckner  for  his  very  able 
and  accurate  edition  of  the  text,  published  in  1880. 


That  is  all  the  external  evidence  at  present  available. 
What  can  be  inferred  from  the  book  itself  is  about  as 
follows.  It  consists  of  the  discussion  of  a  number  of  points 
of  Buddhist  doctrine  treated  in  the  form  of  conversations 
between  King  Milinda  and  Nagasena  the  Elder  (Thera). 
It  must  be  plain  to  every  reader  of  the  following  pages  that 
these  are  not  real  conversations.  What  we  have  before  us 
is  really  an  historical  romance,  though  the  didactic  aim 
overshadows  the  story.  Men  of  straw,  often  very  skilfully 
put  together,  are  set  up  for  the  purpose,  not  so  much  of 
knocking  them  down  again,  as  of  elucidating  some  points 
of  ethical  or  psychological  belief  while  doing  so.  The 
king  himself  plays  a  very  subordinate  part.  The  questions 
raised,  or  dilemmas  stated,  are  put  into  his  mouth.  But 
the  solutions,,  to  give  opportunity  for  which  the  questions 
or  dilemmas  are  invented,  are  the  really  important  part  of 
the  work,  and  these  are  put  into  the  mouth  of  Nagasena. 
The  dialogues  are   introduced  by  a  carefully  constructed 


^  By  the  kindness  of  the  Master  and  Fellows  of  the  College  I  have  been 
allowed  to  collate  this  MS.  in  London. 

2  See  'Journal  of  the  Prdi  Text  Society'  for  1882,  p.  35. 
^  See  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society'  for  1883,  p.  146. 
*  See  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society'  for  1882,  p.  119. 

[35]  b 


xviii  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


preliminary  story,  in  which  the  reader's  interest  in  them  is 
aroused  by  anticipation.  And  the  abihty  of  this  part  of 
the  work  is  very  great.  For  in  spite  of  the  facts  that  all 
the  praise  lavished  therein  upon  both  Milinda  and  Nagasena 
is  in  reality  only  praise  of  the  book  itself,  and  that  the 
reader  knows  this  very  well,  yet  he  will  find  it  ahiiost 
impossible  to  escape  from  the  influence  of  the  eloquent 
words  in  which  importance  and  dignity  are  lent  to  the 
occasion  of  their  meeting  ;  and  of  the  charm  and  skill  with 
which  the  whole  fiction  is  maintained. 

The  question  then  arises  whether  the  personages  were 
any  more  real  than  the  conversations.  Milinda  is  supposed 
%  to  be  the  Menander,  who  appears  in  the  list  of  the  Greek 
kings  of  Baktria,  since  he  is  described  in  the  book  as  being 
a  king  of  the  Yonakas  reigning  at  Sagala  (the  Euthydemia 
of  the  Greeks),  and  there  is  no  other  name  in  the  list  which 
comes  so  near  to  Milinda.  This  identification  of  the  two 
names  is  certainly  correct.  For  whether  it  was  our  author 
who  deliberately  made  the  change  in  adapting  the  Greek 
name  to  the  Indian  dialect  in  which  he  wrote,  or  whether 
the  change  is  due  to  a  natural  phonetic  decay,  the  same 
causes  will  have  been  of  influence.  Indra  or  Inda  is  a  not 
uncommon  termination  of  Indian  names,  and  meaning  king 
is  so  appropriate  to  a  king,  that  a  foreign  king's  name  end- 
ing in  -ander  would  almost  inevitably  come  to  end  in 
-inda.  Then  the  sequence  of  the  liquids  of  m-n-n  would 
tend  in  an  Indian  dialect  to  be  altered  in  some  way  by 
dissimilation,  and  Mr.  Trenckner  adduces  seven  instances 
in  Pali  of  1  taking  the  place  of  n,  or  n  of  1,  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances^. 

There  remains  only  the  change  of  the  first  E  in  Men- 
ander to  I.  Now  in  the  Indian  part  of  the  inscription,  on 
undoubted  coins  of  Menander,  the  oldest  authorities  read 
Minanda  as  the  king's  name  2,  and  though  that  interpreta- 
tion has  now,  on  the  authority  of  better  specimens,  been 
given  up,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Milinda  runs  more  easily 


1  '  Pali  Miscellany,'  part  i,  p.  55. 

^  For  instance,  Wilson  in  his  '  Ariana  Antiqua,'  p.  283. 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 


from  the  tongue  than  Mehnda,  and  Mil  may  well  have 
seemed  as  appropriate  a  commencement  for  a  Milakkha's 
name  as  -inda  is  for  the  ending  of  a  king's  name.  So 
Men-ander  became  Mil-inda. 

It  may  be  added  here  that  other  Greek  names  are  men- 
tioned by  our  author — Devamantiya  at  I,  42,  and  the  same 
officer,  together  with  Anantakfiya,  Mankura,  and  Sabba- 
dinna,  at  II,  3.  There  is  a  similar  effort  in  these  other  Pali 
forms  of  Greek  words  to  make  them  give  some  approach  to 
a  meaning  in  the  Indian  dialect :  but  in  each  case  the  new 
forms  remain  as  really  unintelligible  to  an  Indian  as  Mil-inda 
would  be.  Thus  Deva-mantiya,  which  may  be  formed  on 
Demetrios,  looks,  at  first  sight,  Indian  enough.  But  if  it 
meant  anything,  it  could  only  mean  '  counsellor  of  the 
gods.'  And  so  also  both  Ananta  and  Kaya  are  Indian 
words.  But  the  compound  Ananta-kaya  would  mean 
'having  an  infinite  body,'  which  is  absurd  as  the  name  of 
a  courtier.  It  may  possibly  be  made  up  to  represent  An- 
tiochos.  What  Mankura  and  Sabbadinna  (called  simply 
Dinna  at  p.  87)  may  be  supposed  to  be  intended  for  it  is 
difficult  to  say^.  But  the  identification  of  Milinda  with 
Menander  is  as  certain  as  that  of  A'andagutta  with  Sandro- 


kottos. 


Very  little  is  told  us,  in  the  Greek  or  Roman  writers, 
about  any  of  the  Greek  kings  of  Baktria.  It  is  a  significant 
fact  that  it  is  precisely  of  Menander-Milinda  that  they  tell 
us  most,  though  this  most  is  unfortunately  not  much. 

Strabo,  in  his  Geography  -,  mentions  Menander  as  one 
of  the  two  Baktrian  kings  who  were  instrumental  in  spread- 
ing the  Greek  dominion  furthest  to  the  East  into  India. 
He  crossed  the  Hypanis  (that  is  the  Sutlej)  and  penetrated 
as  far  as  the  Isamos  (probably  the  Jumna). 

Then  in  the  title  of  the  lost  forty-first  book  of  Justin's 
work,  Menander  and  ApoUodotus  are  mentioned  as  '  Indian 
kings.' 

Finally,  Plutarch^   tells  us  an  anecdote  of  Menander. 

'  Compare  Mr.  Trenckner's  note  at  p.  70  of  the  '  Pali  Miscellany.' 
^  lidit.  Miiller,  xi,  11,  i.  ^  De  Repub.  Ger.,  p.  Sji. 

b   2 


XX  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

He  was,  he  says,  as  a  ruler  noted  for  justice,  and  enjoyed 
such  popularity  with  his  subjects,  that  upon  his  death,  which 
took  place  in  camp,  diverse  cities  contended  for  the  posses- 
sion of  his  ashes.  The  dispute  was  only  adjusted  by  the 
representatives  of  the  cities  agreeing  that  the  relics  should 
be  divided  amongst  them,  and  that  they  should  severally 
erect  monuments  {fxrrjixila,  no  doubt  digabas  or  sthupas) 
to  his  memory. 

This  last  statement  is  very  curious  as  being  precisely 
analogous  to  the  statement  in  the  '  Book  of  the  Great  De- 
cease ^,'  as  to  what  occurred  after  the  death  of  the  Buddha 
himself.  But  it  would  be  very  hazardous  to  draw  any  con- 
clusion from  this  coincidence. 

The  only  remaining  ancient  evidence  about  Menander- 

Milinda  (apart  from  what  is  said  by  our  author  himself),  is 

""  that  of  coins.     And,  as  is  usually  the  case,  the  evidence  of 

the  coins  will  be  found  to  confirm,  but  to  add  very  little  to, 

what  is  otherwise  known. 

As  many  as  twenty-two^  different  coins  have  been  dis- 
covered, some  of  them  in  very  considerable  numbers,  bear- 
ing the  name,  and  eight  of  them  the  effigy,  of  Menander. 
They  have  been  found  over  a  very  wide  extent  of  country, 
as  far  west  as  K^bul,  as  far  east  as  Mathura,  and  one  of 
them  as  far  north  as  Kashmir.  Curiously  enough  we  find 
a  confirmation  of  this  wide  currency  of  Menander-Milinda's 
coins  in  the  work  of  the  anonymous  author  of  the  '  Periplus 
Maris  Erythraei.'  He  says  ^  that  Menander's  coins,  to- 
gether with  those  of  Apollodotos,  were  current,  many  years 
after  his  death,  at  Barygaza,  the  modern  Baroach,  on  the 
coast  of  Gujarat. 

The  portrait  on  the  coins  is  very  characteristic,  with  a 
long  face  and  an  intelligent  expression,  and  is  sometimes 
that  of  a  young  man,  and  at  other  times  that  of  a  very 
old  man.     It    may   be    inferred    therefore   that   his   reign 


1  Mahapfirinibbana  Suttanta  VI,  58-62,  translated  in  my  'Buddhist  Suttas' 
(vol.  xi  of  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East),  pp.  133-135. 

"  This  number  would  be  greatly  increased  if  the  differences  of  the  monograms 
were  allowed  for. 

^  Chapter  47  of  Midler's  edition. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 


was  as  long  as  his  power  was  extensive.  All  the  coins 
have  a  legend  in  Greek  letters  on  one  side,  and  a  corre- 
sponding legend  in  Ariano-pali  letters  on  the  other  side. 
On  twenty-one  out  of  the  twenty-two,  the  inscriptions, 
according  to  the  latest  interpretations  from  a  comparison 
of  the  best  examples,  are  respectively, 

Basileos  soteros  Menandrou 

and 

Maharacasa  tradatasa  Menandrasa^ 

Wilson  read^  the  last  word  Minadasa.  But  when  he 
wrote,  in  1840,  the  alphabet  was  neither  so  well  known  as 
it  is  now,  nor  had  such  good  examples  come  to  hand.  So 
that  though  the  Mi-  is  plain  enough  on  several  coins,  it  is 
almost  certainly  a  mere  mistake  for  Me,  from  which  it  only 
differs  by  the  centre  vowel  stroke  being  slightly  prolonged. 

Fifteen  of  the  coins  have  a  figure  of  Pallas  either  on  one 
side  or  the  other.  A  '  victory,'  a  horse  jumping,  a  dolphin, 
a  head  (perhaps  of  a  god)^  a  two-humped  camel,  an 
elephant  goad,  a  boar,  a  wheel,  and  a  palm  branch  are 
each  found  on  one  side  or  the  other  of  one  of  the  coins ; 
and  an  elephant,  an  owl,  and  a  bull's  head  each  occur 
twice.  These  are  all  the  emblems  or  figures  on  the  coins. 
None  of  them  are  distinctively  Buddhist,  though  the  wheel 
might  be  claimed  as  the  Buddhist  wheel,  and  the  palm  branch 
and  the  elephant  would  be  quite  in  place  on  Buddhist 
coins.  It  may  be  said,  therefore,  that  the  bulk  of  the  coins 
are  clearly  pagan,  and  not  Buddhist ;  and  that  though  two 
or  three  are  doubtful,  even  they  are  probably  not  Buddhist. 

One  coin,  however,  a  very  rare  one,  diifers,  as  to  its 
inscription,  from  all  the  rest  that  have  the  legend.  It  has 
on  one  side 

Basileos  dikaiou  Menandrou, 
and  on  the  other, 

Maharacasa  dharmikasa^  Menandrasa. 

*  See  Alfred  Von  Sallet, '  Die  Nachfolger  Alexander's  des  Grossen  in  Baktrien 
und  ludien,'  Berlin,  1879;  and  Professor  Percy  Gardiner's  '  Catalogue  of  the 
Coins  of  the  Greek  and  Scythic  Kings  of  Baktria  and  India,'  London,  1886. 

^  In  his  '  Ariana  Antiqua,'  p.  283,  London,  1841. 

3  The  r  is  a  little  doubtful  and  is  written,  if  at  all,  after  the  dh,  though 
intended  to  be  pronounced  before  the  m. 


XXll  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

Is  any  reference  intended  here  to  the  Buddhist  Dharma 
as  distinct  from  the  ordinary  righteousness  of  kings?  I 
think  not.  The  coin  is  one  of  those  with  the  figure  of 
Pallas  on  the  side  which  bears  the  Greek  legend,  and  five 
others  of  the  Baktrian  Greek  kings  use  a  similar  legend  on 
their  coins.  These  are  Agathocles,  Heliokles,  Archebios, 
Strato,  and  Zoilos.  There  is  also  another  coin  in  the  series 
with  a  legend  into  which  the  word  Dharma  enters,  but 
which  has  not  yet  been  deciphered  with  certainty — that 
bearing  in  the  Greek  legend  the  name  of  Sy-Hermaios,  and 
supposed  to  have  been  struck  by  Kadphises  I,  If  there  is 
anything  Buddhist  in  this  coin  of  Menander's,  then  the 
others  also  must  be  Buddhist.  But  it  is  much  simpler  to 
take  the  word  dharmikasa  in  the  sense  of  the  word 
used  in  the  corresponding  Greek  legend,  and  to  translate 
it  simply  'the  Righteous,'  or,  better  still,  'the  Just.'  Only 
when  we  call  to  mind  how  frequent  in  the  Pali  texts  is  the 
description  of  the  ideal  king  (whether  Buddhist  or  not)  as 
dhammiko  dhamma-ra^a,  we  cannot  refuse  to  see 
the  connection  between  this  phrase  and  the  legend  of  the 
coins,  and  to  note  how  at  least  six  of  the  Greek  kings,  one 
of  whom  is  Menander,  are  sufficiently  desirous  to  meet  the 
views  of  their  Buddhist  subjects  to  fix  upon  '  Righteous- 
ness '  or  '  Justice '  as  the  characteristic  by  which  they  wish 
to  be  known.  The  use  of  this  epithet  is  very  probably  the 
foundation  of  the  tradition  preserved  by  Plutarch,  that 
Menander  was,  as  a  ruler,  noted  for  justice ;  and  it  is 
certainly  evidence  of  the  Buddhist  influences  by  which  he 
was  surrounded.  But  it  is  no  evidence  at  all  that  he 
actually  became  a  Buddhist. 

To  sum  up. — Menander-Milinda  was  one  of  those  Greek 
kings  who  carried  on  in  Baktria  the  Greek  dominion 
founded  by  Alexander  the  Great.  He  was  certainly  one 
of  the  most  important,  probably  the  most  important,  of 
those  kings.  He  carried  the  Greek  arms  further  into 
India  than  any  of  his  predecessors  had  done,  and  every- 
thing confirms  the  view  given  by  our  author  at  I,  9  of  his 
justice  and  his  power,  of  his  ability  and  his  wealth.  He 
must  have   reigned   for  a  considerable  time   in  the   latter 


INTRODUCTION.  XXlll 


part  of  the  second  century  B.C.,  probably  from  about  140 
to  about  115,  or  even  1 10  B.c.^  His  fame  extended,  as  did 
that  of  no  other  Baktrian  king,  to  the  West,  and  he  is  the 
only  Baktrian  Greek  king  who  has  been  remembered  in 
India.  Our  author  makes  him  say,  incidentally  '\  that  he 
was  born  at  Kalasi  in  Alasanda  (  =  Alexandria),  a  name  given 
to  an  island  presumably  in  the  Indus.  And,  as  was  referred 
to  above,  Plutarch  has  preserved  the  tradition  that  he  died 
in  camp,  in  a  campaign  against  the  Indians  in  the  valley  of 
the  Ganges. 

[It  is  interesting  to  point  out,  in  this  connection,  that 
the  town  (gama)  of  Kalasi  has  not  been  found  mentioned 
elsewhere.  Now  among  the  very  numerous  coins  of  the 
Baktrian  kings  there  is  one,  and  only  one,  giving  in  the 
legend,  not  the  name  of  a  king,  but  the  name  of  a  city, 
the  city  of  Karisi.  As  this  coin  was  struck  about  180  B.C. 
by  Eukratides,  who  was  probably  the  first  of  these  kings 
to  obtain  a  settlement  on  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  it  is 
possible  that  the  two  names,  one  in  the  Pali  form  (or 
more  probably  in  the  form  of  the  dialect  used  by  our 
author),  the  other  in  the  local  form,  are  identical ;  and 
that  the  coin  was  struck  in  commemoration  of  the  fact  of 
the  Greeks  having  reached  the  Indus.  If  that  be  so,  then 
that  they  gave  the  name  Alasanda  (Alexandria)  to  the 
island  on  which  the  town  was  built,  and  not  to  the  town 
itself,  seems  to  show  that  the  town  was  not  founded  by 
them,  but  was  already  an  important  place  when  they  took  it.] 


Beyond  this  all  is  conjecture.  When  our  author  says 
that  Milinda  was  converted  to  Buddhism  ^  he  may  be 
either  relating  an  actual  tradition,  or  he  may  be  inventing 
for  his  own  purposes.  There  is  nothing  inherently  im- 
possible, or  even  improbable,  in  the  story.  We  know  that 
all  the  Baktrians,  kings  and  people  alike,  eventually  became 


1  See  the  chronological   table  in  the  Introduction  to  Professor  Gardner's 
work,  quoted  helow. 

^  See  the  translation  below  of  III,  7,  5. 
^  See  p.  420  of  the  Pali  text. 


XXIV  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

Buddhist.     But  the  passage  occurs  in  a  part  of  the  book 
which  is  open  to  much  doubt.    We  have  to  place  against  it 
the  negative  evidence  that  none  of  Menander's  coins  show 
any  decisive  signs  of  his  conversion.     And  the  passage  in 
question   goes  much  further.      It  says  that  he  afterwards 
gave  up  the  kingdom  to  his  son,  and  having  entered  the 
Buddhist  Order,  attained  to  Arahatship.     The  Si;«halese 
MSS.  add  a  marginal  note  to  the  effect  that  the  whole  of  this 
passage  with  its  context  was  derived  from  a  MS.  brought 
from  Siam.     Mr.  Trenckner  is  therefore  of  opinion  ^  that  it 
belongs  to  a  spurious  supplement.      That  may  be  so,  in 
spite  of  the  fact   that    it    is    quite  in   our  author's  style, 
and  forms  an  appropriate  close  to  the  book.     But  it  is 
incredible  that  an  author  of  the  literary  skill  so  evident 
throughout    the  work    should    have    closed    his    book   de- 
liberately  in    the    middle   of    a   paragraph,    without    any 
closing  words  to  round   it   off.     The  Siamese  MS.   may 
after  all  have  preserved  the  reading  of  older  and  better 
MSS.    than    those    in    Ceylon,  and    the   last   leaf  of  the 
book  may  have  been  lost  there.     There  must  have  been 
some  conclusion,  if  not  in  the  manner  of  the  paragraph 
under  discussion,  then  in  some  other  words  which  we  may 
not   be  able  to   trace.     But  even  if  our  author  actually 
wrote  that  Menander  did  become  a  Bhikkhu  and  an  Arahat, 
that  is  very  poor  evidence  of  the  fact,  unless  he  not  only 
intended  what  he  states  to  be  taken  quite  literally,  but  also 
wrote  soon  after  the  events  he  thus  deliberately  records. 

Now  the  opinion  has  been  expressed  above  that  we 
have  to  deal  with  a  book  of  didactic  ethics  and  religious 
controversy  cast  into  the  form  of  historical  romance.  If  this 
is  correct  no  one  would  be  more  astonished  than  the  author 
himself  at  the  inconsistency  of  modern  critics  if  they  took 
his  historical  statements  au  grand  serieux,  while  they 
made  light  of  his  ethical  arguments.  It  is  true  that  he  would 
scarcely  have  been  guilty  of  anything  that  seemed  grossly 
im.probable,  at  the  time  when  he  wrote,  to  the  readers  whom 
he  addressed.    But  if,  as  is  most  probable,  he  wrote  in  North- 

^  '  Introduction,'  pp.  v,  vi. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 


Western  India  when  the  memory  of  the  actual  facts  of 
Menander's  reign  was  fading  away — that  is,  some  gene- 
rations after  his  death — he  may  wxU  have  converted  him  to 
Buddhism,  as  the  most  fitting  close  to  the  discussion  he 
records,  without  intending  at  all  to  convey  thereby  any  real 
historical  event. 

This  brings  us  to  the  next  point  of  our  argument. 


We  have  seen  that  the  work  must  have  been  written 
some  considerable  time  before  Buddhaghosa,  and  after  the 
death  of  Menander.  Can  its  date  be  determined  with 
greater  accuracy  than  this  ?  The  story  of  Nagasena  intro- 
duces to  us  his  father  So;aittara,  his  teachers  Roha/^a, 
Assagutta  of  the  Vattaniya  hermitage,  and  Dhamma- 
rakkhita  of  the  Asoka  Arama  near  Pa/aliputta,  and  there 
is  also  mention  of  a  teacher  named  Ayupala  dwelling  at 
the  Sahkheyya  hermitage  near  Sagala.  None  of  these 
persons  and  none  of  these  places  are  read  of  elsewhere  in 
any  Buddhist  text,  whether  Sanskrit  or  Pali.  For  the 
Ajvagupta  referred  to  in  passing  at  p.  351  of  the  Divya- 
vadana  has  nothing  in  common  (except  the  name)  with 
our  Assagutta,  the  Roha;/a  of  Aiiguttara,  III,  66,  is  quite 
distinct  from  our  Roha;/a,  and  there  is  not  the  slightest 
reason  for  supposing  Nagasena  to  be  another  form  of  the 
name  Nagai;^;^a,  found  in  both  the  Chinese  and  Tibetan 
Buddhist  literatures  \  and  in  the  Jain  lists  -.  The  famous 
Buddhist  scholar  so  called  was  the  reputed  founder  of  the 
Mahayana  school  of  Buddhism,  Our  Nagasena  represents 
throughout  the  older  teaching.  If  there  is  any  connection 
at  all  between  the  two  names,  Nagasena  must  have  been 
invented  as  a  contrast  to  Nagar^u/m,  and  not  with  the 
least  idea  of  identifying  two  men  whose  doctrines  are  so 
radically  opposed.  Even  were  there  any  reason  to  believe 
this  to  be  the  case,  it  would  not  help  us  much,  for  the  date 


*  See  the  passages  quoted  by  Dr.  Wenzel  in  the  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text 
Society'  for  iS86,  pp.  1-4. 

^  See  Professor  Weber  in  the  '  Handschriftenverzeichniss  der  koniglichen 
Bibliothek  in  Berlin,'  vol.  v,  part  2,  p.  365, 


XXVI  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


of  Nagar^u;/a  is  quite  as  much  open  to  dispute  as  that  of 
the  author  of  the  '  Questions  of  Milinda  ^.' 

I  ought  to  mention  here  that  an  opinion  of  a  Niga- 
sena  is,  according  to  Burnouf  ^,  discussed  at  length  in  the 
Abhidharma  Koi-a  Vyakhya  ;  and  that  Schiefner  "  quotes 
from  a  Tibetan  work,  the  Bu-ston,  the  statement  that  a 
schism  took  place  under  a  Thera  Nagasena  137  years  after 
the  Buddha's  death.  It  would  be  very  interesting  if  the 
former  were  our  Nagasena.  And  if  Schiefner's  restora- 
tion of  the  name  found  in  his  Tibetan  authority  be  correct, 
and  the  authority  itself  be  trustworthy,  it  is  possibly 
the  fading  memory  of  that  Nagasena  which  induced  our 
author  to  adopt  the  name  as  that  of  the  principal  interlo- 
cutor in  his  '  Questions  of  Milinda.' 

Finally,  Professor  Kern,  of  Leiden — who  believes  that 
Buddha  is  the  sun,  and  most  of  his  principal  disciples  stars — 
believes  also  not  only  that  our  Nagasena  is  an  historical 
person,  but  also  that  there  never  was  a  Buddhist  cleric  of 
that  name  ;  and  that  Nagasena  is  simply  VataiigaW,  the 
author  of  the  Yoga  philosophy,  under  another  name.  If 
this  is  not  a  joke,  it  is  a  strange  piece  of  credulity. 

The  only  reason  alleged  in  support  of  it  is  that  Pata/T^ali 
has  the  epithets  of  Nagej-a  and  of  Pha;nn.  That  he  was  a 
Hindu  who  believed  in  the  soul-theory  of  the  current  ani- 
mistic creed,  while  all  the  opinions  put  into  Nagasena's 
mouth  are  those  of  a  thorough-going  Buddhist  and  non- 
individualist,  is  to  count  as  nothing  against  this  chance  simi- 
larity, not  of  names,  but  of  the  name  on  one  side  with  an  epi- 
thet on  the  other.  To  identify  John  Stuart  Mill  with  Dean 
Milman  would  be  sober  sense  compared  with  this  proposal. 


^  Compare  on  this  point  Dr.  Wenzel,  loc.  cit,  with  Dr.  Burgess  in  the 
'Archaeological  Reports  for  Southern  India,'  vol.  i,  pp.  5-9.  Dr.  Burgess  thinks 
the  most  probable  date  of  his  death  is  about  200  A.  D. 

The  identification  of  Nagar^u^a  and  Nagasena  was  made  independently  by 
Major  Bird  in  the  '  Journal  of  the  Bombay  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society' 
for  October,  1844  (who  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  R.  Spence  Hardy  at  p.  517 
of  his  '  Manual  of  Buddhism,'  published  in  i860),  and  by  Benfey  in  his  article 
'  Indien  '  in  Ersch  and  Gruber's  Encyclopedia  (who  was  followed  by  Burnouf  at 
p.  570  of  his  '  Introduction,'  &c.,  published  in  1844). 

^  Loc.  cit.  ^  Note  to  his  translation  of  Taranatha,  p.  298. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXVII 


But  it  is  deliberately  put  forward  to  support  an  accusation 
against  the  Buddhists  of  having  falsely  appropriated  to 
themselves  every  famous  man  in  India  ^.  Any  mud,  it 
would  seem,  is  good  enough  to  pelt  the  Buddhists  with. 
Yet  who  is  it,  after  all,  who  really  makes  the  '  appropria- 
tion,' the  Buddhists  or  Professor  Kern  himself? 


It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  most  of  our  author's  person 
and  place  names  are  probably  inventions  of  his  own  ^. 

But  it  is  quite  different  with  the  books  quoted  by  our 
author.  In  several  passages  he  has  evidently  in  his  mind 
certain  P41i  texts  which  deal  with  similar  matters.  So  far 
as  yet  ascertained  the  texts  thus  silently  referred  to,  either 
in  the  present  volume  or  in  the  subsequent  untranslated 
portion  of  the  book,  are  as  follows  : 

Page  of  this 
volume. 

8  .  .  Digha  Nikaya  II,  i,  2. 

10  .  .         „  „       II,  20. 

10  .  .         „  „       II,  r. 

38  •  .         „  „       II,  10. 

38  .  .         „  „       II,  II. 

40  .  .  Katha  Vatthu  I,  i. 

41  .  .  Ahguttara  I,  15,  4-7. 
41  .  .  Digha  Nikaya  II,  17. 

41  •  •  „  „       II,  23. 

42  .  .  „  „  II,  26. 
59  •  •  ,.  „  XVII. 
80  .  .  INIahavagga  I,  i,  i. 

129  .  .  Various  (see  my  note). 

132  .  .  A'ullavagga  IX,  I,  4. 

163  .  .  A'ullavagga  VII,  1,27. 

170  .  .  Vessantara  Cataka. 

1 79  .  .  Sivi  G^aiaka. 

204  .  .  Magg/i'imsi  Nikaya  LXIII. 

^  Kern's  '  Buddhismus '  (the  German  translation),  vol.  ii,  p.  443. 

^  As  these  pages  were  passing  through  the  press  I  have  found  Assagutta  of 
the  Vattaniya  hermitage,  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  Saddhamma 
Sawgaha,  which  is  passing  through  the  press  for  the  Pali  Text  Society.  Put 
this  is  taken  no  doubt  from  the  Milinda,  and  is  not  an  independent  reference  to 
any  such  teacher  as  an  historical  person.  (The  Saddhamma  Sawgaha  was 
written  by  Dhamma-kitti  in  Ceylon,  probably  in  the  twelfth  century.) 


XXVIU  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


Page  of  this 
volume. 

212 

256 

264 

275 

277 
283 

285 
285 
286 
286 
287 
287 
288 
288 
288 
289 
289 
290 
290 
290 
294 
298 
302 

Pa^e  of  the 
Pali  Text 

220 

231 

236 

256 

277 
289 
291 

313 


G^ataka  (No.  69). 
Sutta  Vibhanga  (Par.  4). 
^atuma  Sutta  (No.  67). 
A'ullavagga  IX,  i,  3. 
Mahavagga  II,  16,  8. 
Dhamma-X'akka-pavattana  Sutta. 
Anguttara  II,  i,  i. 
The  540th  Gataka, 
Amba  (?ataka  (No.  474). 
Dummedha  Gataka  (No.  122). 
Tittira  (?ataka  (No.  438). 
Khantivada  C^ataka  (No.  313). 
^ula-Nandiya  Gataka  (No.  222). 
Ta/c/^>^a-sukara  Gataka  (No.  492). 
Kariya-pi/aka  II,  6. 
Silava-naga  Cataka  (No.  72). 
Sabba-da///a  G^ataka  (No.  241). 
Apa«;zaka  Gataka  (No.  i). 
Nigrodha-miga  Gataka  (No.  12). 
Nigrodha  Gataka  (No.  445). 
Maha-paduma  Gataka  (No.  472). 
Maha-patapa  Gataka  (No.  358). 
Ummagga  Gataka  (No.  546),' 
.A'ullavagga  VII,  3,  11. 
Anguttara  IV,  13. 


Gataka,  No.  310  (vol.  iii,  p.  32). 
Sutta  Nipata  I,  4. 
Gataka  (vol.  i,  p.  56). 

„       (vol.  iv,  p.  232,  line  20). 
Vessantara  Gataka. 
Gataka  (vol.  i,  p.  57). 
Cataka  (Nos.  258,  541,  494,  and  243), 
Ma^^/;ima  Nikaya,  No.  75  (p.  502). 


In  several  other  passages  he  refers  to  a  Pali  book,  or  a 
chapter  in  a  Pali  book,  by  name.  This  is  much  more 
valuable  for  our  purposes  than  the  silent,  and  sometimes 
doubtful,  references  in  the  last  list.  So  far  as  is  yet  ascer- 
tained, these  references  are  as  follows  : 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXIX 


Vinaya,  Sutta,  Abhidhamma. 

The  Suttantas. 

The  Abhidhamma. 

Dhamma  Sawga//i. 

Vibhahga. 

Dhatu  katha. 

Puggala  Pa;7;7atti. 

Katha  Vatthu. 

Yamaka. 

Pa//Mna. 

The  Abhidhamma  Pi/aka. 

The  Abhidhamma. 

The  Abhidhamma. 

The  three  Pi/akas. 

IMaha  Samaya  Suttanta  (No.  20  in  the  Digha). 

Maha  Mahgala  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  II,  4). 

Sama-kitta-pariyaya  Suttanta  (unknown). 

Rahulovada  Suttanta  (No.  147  in  the  Maggkima). 

Parabhava  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  I,  6). 

The  three  Pi/akas. 

Sa;;zyutta  Nikaya  (the  words  quoted  are  in  the 

Sutta  Nipata). 
The  Abhidhamma. 
The  ninefold  Scriptures. 
Moliya  Sivaka  chapter  of  the  Sawyutta. 
Ratana  Sutta  (in  the  Sutta  Nipata  II,  i). 
Khandha  Paritta  (not  traced). 
INIora  Paritta  ((zataka,  Nos.  159,  491). 
Dha^^-agga  Paritta  (in  the  Gataka  Book). 
A/ana/iya  Paritta  (in  the  Digha  Nikaya). 
Ahgulimala  Paritta  (not  traced). 
The  Patimokkha. 
Patimokkha,  Vinaya  Pi/aka. 


Dhamma-dayada  Sutta  of  the  Ma^^/z'ima  Nikaya 

(vol.  i,  p.  13). 
Sa?;?yutta  Nikaya  (vol.  i,  p.  67). 
Dakkhi;/a  Vibhahga   of  the   I\Ia^^//ima   Nikaya 

(No.  142). 
A'ariya  Pi/aka  G.  53. 


Page  of  this 
volume. 

1,2.. 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

21 

22 

22 

22 

25 

27 

28 

31 

31 

32 

32 

32 

34 

56 

71,88 

137 

195 

213 

213 

213 

213 

213 

213 

232 

264-267 

Page  of  th 
Pali  Text. 

^ 

241 

• 

242      . 

. 

258     . 

. 

281 


XXX 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


Page  of  the 
Pali  Text 

341 

341 

341 

341 

342 

342 

348 

349 

349 

349 

349 

349 

349 

349 

349 

349 

349 

350 

350 

350 

350 

350 

362 

369 
371 

372 
377 

378 
379 
381 
384 
385 
389 
392 
396 

399 
401 

402 
403 


Navangaw  Buddha-va>('anaw. 

The  (zataka  Book. 

The  Digha  Nikaya. 

The  MaggMm^.  Nikaya. 

The  Saw/yutta  Nikaya. 

The  Khuddaka  Nikaya. 

The  three  Pi/akas. 

Maha  Rahulovada  (in  the  Ma^^/?ima,  No.  147). 

Maha  Mahgala  Suttanta  (in  the  Sutta  Nipata  II,  4). 

Sama-y('itta  Pariyaya  (not  traced). 

Parabhava  Suttanta  (in  the  Sutta  Nipata  I,  6). 

Purabheda  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  IV,  10). 

Kalaha-vivada  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  IV,  11). 

ATila  Vyuha  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  IV,  1 2). 

Maha  Vyuha  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  IV,  13). 

Tuva/aka  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  IV,  14). 

Sariputta  Suttanta  (Sutta  Nipata  IV,  16). 

Maha-samaya  Suttanta  (in  the  Digha,  No.  20). 

Sakkha-paz/ha  Suttanta  (Digha,  No.  21). 

Tirokufl'r/a  Suttanta  (in  the  KhuddakaPa///a,No.  7). 

Ratana  Suttanta  (in  the  Sulta  Nipata  II,  i). 

The  Abhidhamma. 

Ekuttara  Nikaya  (=Ahguttara  I,  13,  7). 

Dhaniya-sutta  of  the  Sutta  Nipata  (I,  2). 

Kummupama  Suttanta  of  the   Sawyutta  Nikaya 

(not  yet  printed). 
Vidhura  Pu«;/aka  G^ataka. 
Sa/('/{'a  Sa;;/yutta  of  the  Sawyutta  Nikaya  (not  yet 

printed). 
Dhammapada  (verse  327). 
Sa?;iyutta  (55,  7). 
Sutasoma  G'ataka  (No.  537). 
Ka«ha  Gataka  (No.  440,  vol  iv,  p.  i  o). 
Sutta  Nipata  (I,  12,  i). 
Sa/«yutta  Nikaya. 

Ekuttara  Nikaya  (=Ahguttara  X,  5,  8). 
Lomahawsana  Pariyaya. 
Sa/z/yutta  Nikaya  (III,  5,  6,  vol  i,  p.  73). 

(XVI,  I,  3,  vol  ii,  p.  194). 
A'akkavaka  G^ataka  (No.  451,  vok  iv,  p.  71). 
A'ulla  Narada  Gataka  (not  traced). 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXI 


Page  of  the 
I'ali  Text. 

403  • 

405  . 

406  . 

408  . 

408  . 

409  . 
411  . 
414  . 


.  Sa;«yutta  Nikaya  (not  traced). 

.     Lakkha«a  Suttanta  of  the  Digha  Nikaya  (No.  30). 

.     Bhalla/iya  Gataka  (No.  504,  vol.  iv,  p.  439). 

.     Parinibbana-suttanta  of  the    Digha   Nikaya   (D, 

XVI,  5,  24). 
.     Dhammapada  (verse  32). 
.     Sawyutta  Nikaya  (XIV,  16,  vol.  ii,  p.  158). 
.     Sutta  Nipata  (II,  6,  10). 

(111,11,43). 

Lastly,  our  author  quotes  a  large  number  of  passages 
from  the  Pi/aka  texts,  which  he  introduces  (without  naming 
any  book)  by  the  formulas  :  '  It  was  said  by  the  Blessed 
One ;'  or,  'It  is  said  by  you'  (you  in  the  plural,  you  members 
of  the  Order) ;  or, '  It  was  said  by  so  and  so  '  (naming  some 
particular  member  of  the  Order).  A  great  many  of  these 
quotations  have  already  been  traced,  either  by  Mr.  Trenck- 
ner  or  myself.  Occasionally  words  thus  attributed,  by  our 
author,  to  the  Buddha,  are,  in  the  Pi/akas,  attributed  to 
some  one  else.  Such  passages  are  distinguished  in  the  follow- 
ing list  by  an  asterisk  added  to  the  letter  B,  which  marks 
those  of  them  attributed  by  our  author  to  the  Buddha. 
The  women  quoted  are  distinguished  by  the  title  '  Sister.' 


II,  I,  i>  P-  45- 
II,  1,9,  P-  53- 
II,  I,  9,  P-  54- 

II,  I,  II,  P-  57- 
II,  I,  13,  p.  61. 

II,  2,  4,  p.  69. 

II,  3,  I,  P-  79- 

II,  3,  2,  p.  80. 

III,  4,  3-  P-  loi- 
III,  4,  4,  p.  104. 

III,  6,  r,  p.  114. 

IV,  I,  10,  p.  145. 

IV,  I,  13,  p.  150. 

IV,  1,35,  p.  170- 
IV,  1,  42,  p.  179. 

IV,  1,55,  P-  185. 

IV,  1,55,  P-  186. 


Sister  Va^ira. 

B*. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B*. 

B. 

B. 
Sariputta. 

B. 

B. 
In  the  Sutta. 

B. 

B. 


Sa?«yutta  Nikaya  V,  10,  6. 
„  „        VII,  I,  6. 

Not  traced. 

,,        ,, 
Sawyutta  Nikaya  XXI,  5. 
Not  traced. 
Magi'-Zilmz  Nikaya  XXI. 

„       XVIII. 
Sa;//yutta  Nikaya  II,  3,  2. 
Ahguttara  III,  35,  4. 
Not  traced. 

Digha  Nikaya  XIV,  6,  i. 

„  !,        XIV,  3,  13. 

Not  traced. 
A'ullavagga  X,  i,  6. 
Digha  Nikaya  XIV,  5,  62. 


xxxu 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


IV,  1,67,  p.  196. 
IV,  I,  67,  p.  196. 
IV,  I,  71,  p.  199. 
IV,  I,  71,  p.  199. 

IV,  2,  I,  p.  202. 

IV,  2,  I,  p.  202. 
IV,    2,  4,  p.   204. 

IV,  2,  6,  p.  206. 
IV,  2,  6,  p.  206. 
IV,  2,  15,  p.  213. 

IV,  2,  20,  p.  214. 
IV,  2,  20,  p.  214. 
IV,  2,  27,  p.  224. 
IV,  2,  29,  p.  225. 
IV,  2,  29,  p.  225. 
IV,  2,  31,  p.  227. 

IV,  2,31,  p.  227. 
IV,  3,  I,  p.  229. 
IV,  3,  I,  p.  229. 
IV,  3,  5,  P-  234. 
IV,  3,  5>  P-  234- 
IV,  3,  15,  P-238- 
IV,  3, 15.  P-  238. 
IV,  3,  19,  P-24I. 
IV,  3,  19,  p.  241. 
IV,  3,  21,  p.  242. 
IV,  3,  21,  p.  243- 
IV,  3,  24,  p.  246. 
IV,  3,  24,  P-  246. 


IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  3, 
IV,  4, 
IV,  4, 
IV,  4, 
IV,  4, 
IV,  4, 


27,  p.  248. 
27,  p.  248. 
3I-P-25I- 
3i>  P-  251- 
33.  P- 253- 
33>P-253- 
35,  P-  254- 
38,  P- 257- 

I,  p.  261. 
4,  p.  264. 
9,  p.  268. 

II,  p.  270. 
II,  p.  271. 


You. 

You. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

You. 

You. 

You. 

B. 

B. 

You. 

You. 

B. 

You. 

You. 

You. 
Sariputta. 

B. 

B*. 

B. 
The  Theras. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

You. 

You. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B*. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 


Not  traced. 


')        )' 


Digha  Nikaya  XIV,  3,  60. 
„       XIV,  3,  63. 
Not  traced. 
Digha  Nikaya  XIV,  6,  3. 

XIV,  2,  32. 
Dhammapada  129. 
Not  traced. 
Dhammapada  127,  8. 
Not  traced. 


>s        » 


Digha  Nikaya  XIV,  2,  32. 
Not  traced. 


Various  (see  note). 
Agga;7;7a  Sutta  (Digha). 
Not  traced. 


Para^-ika  I,  5,  11. 
Cataka  III,  24. 
Gataka  IV,  2 1  o. 
Digha  Nikaya  XIV,  4,  23. 
XIV,  4,  57. 
Not  traced. 
Maha-parinibbana    Sutta    (D. 

XVI,  5,  24). 
Not  traced. 
A'uUavagga  VII,  3,  9. 
Not  traced. 

Brahma^ala  Sutta  (D.  I,  i,  5). 
Sela  Sutta  (SN.  Ill,  7,  7)- 
The  521st  e^ataka. 
Dhaniya  Sutta  (SN.  I,  2,  2). 
Ahguttara  I,  14,  i- 
Ahguttara  III,  124. 
Patimokkha  (PaX-.  i). 
Not  traced. 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXllI 


IV,  4,  13,  p.  273. 
IV,  4,  13,  p.  273. 
IV,  4,  16,  p.  279. 

IV,  4,  16,  p.  280. 
IV,  4,  17,  p.  283. 
IV,  4,  42,  p.  294. 
IV,  4,  44,  P-  297. 
IV,  4,46,  P-30I- 
The  Pali  Text. 


P.  211, 
211, 

213, 

213. 

215. 

215, 
217, 

217, 

219, 

219, 

221, 

221, 

223, 

223, 

225, 

228, 

230, 
232, 
232, 
235, 


6. 
8. 
6. 

7- 

10. 

12. 

9- 
II. 

14. 

15- 

20. 

24. 

16. 

18. 

2. 

2. 

13- 

7- 
10. 

2. 


235,  1-  4- 

236,  1.  27. 

240,  1.  3. 
242,  1.  17. 
242,  1.  26. 
245,  1.  I. 


253,  1-    T. 

255,  1-  8. 
262. 

323- 

[35] 


B. 
B. 
B. 

You. 

You. 

B*. 

B. 

You. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 
It  is  said. 

B. 
It  is  said. 

B. 
It  is  said. 

B. 

B. 

B*. 

You. 

You. 

B. 

B. 
B. 
B. 

Sariputta. 
B. 
B. 


You. 
You. 
B. 
You. 


Sutta  Viblianga  (Par.  3,  5,  13). 

Not  traced. 

Ahguttara  XI,  2,   5,  and  the 

i69ih  Gataka. 
The  540th  Gataka. 
Not  traced. 
The  536th  G'ataka. 
Not  traced. 


Muni  Sutta  (SN.  I,  12,  3). 
A'ulkvagga  VI,  i,  5. 
Dhammapada  168. 
Ma^_^//ima  Nikaya  77. 
Not  traced. 
Anguttara  I,  14,  4. 
Sawyutta  Nikaya  XXI. 
Not  traced. 

(?ataka  (No.  433). 

^/^addantaGataka(vol.v,p.49). 

Not  traced. 

Magg/i'ima  Nikaya  (No.  87). 

Sela  Sutta  (SN.  Ill,  7, '33). 
Sutta  Nipata  I,  4,  6  =  111,  4,  26. 
Kapi  G^alaka  (vol.  iii,  p.  354). 
Not  traced. 

Magg/iima.  I,  p.  1 77  =  Vinaya  I, 
p.  8. 

Maggkima.  (No.  86). 
Ahguttara  I,  15,  10. 
Magg/nma  Nikaya  (No.  142). 
Not  traced. 
Sawyutta  Nikaya  44. 
Saw/yutta  6,  14  (vol.  i,  p.  157) 
=  Thera-gatha  256,  7  =  Di- 
vyavadana,  p.  300. 
Not  traced. 

,,        )> 

,,        ,j 


XXxiv  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


The  Pali  Text. 
P-  333- 

366,  1.  6. 

366,  1.  10. 

367,  1.  8. 
367,1.  19- 

368,  1.  2. 
368,  1.  6. 

368,  1.  20. 

369,  1-  5. 
369,  1.  22. 


370,1.  II. 

371.1-  14. 
371,1.  28. 
372,1.  12. 
372,1.  23. 
373,1-  13. 

374,  1-  5- 
374,1.  16. 

375>1-  15. 
376,  1-  3- 
376,  1.  17. 

377,1-  14. 
378, 1-  5- 
378,1.  17. 

379,1-  I. 

379,  1-  M- 

380,  1.  I. 

381,1.  15. 

383,  1-  3- 

384,  1.  4- 
385,1.  I. 
385,1.28. 
386,1.  12. 
386,  1.  19. 

386,  1.  26. 

387,  1.  8. 
387,  1.  16. 
388,1.  14. 


B. 

B. 

Sariputta. 

B. 
MahaKaK-ayana. 

B. 
Sariputta. 
A'ulla  Panthaka. 

B. 
The  Theras  who 
held  the  Synod 
(at  Ra^-agaha). 
Sariputta. 
Upasena. 

B. 
Rahula. 
B. 
Sariputta. 
Sariputta. 
Sariputta. 

B. 

Anuruddha. 

Rahula. 

B. 

Sariputta. 

B. 

B. 
B. 

Sariputta. 

B. 
Sister  Subhadda. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

Subhfiti. 

B. 
Sister  Subhadda. 

B. 


Dhammapada  54-56  (taken  in 
part  from  Ahguttara  III,  79). 
Sawyutta  XX,  8,  5. 
Thera-gatha  985. 
Not  traced  (see  S.  XII,  63,  8). 
Thera-gatha  501. 
Sa;;/yutta  46,  7. 
Not  traced. 

J,        ,, 
Sutta  Nipata  I,  2,  12. 

Not  traced. 


Not  traced. 

Thera-gatha  577. 

Sa?«yutta  I,  17,  2  (vol.  i,  p.  7). 

Not  traced. 

Cataka  (No.  545)- 

Not  traced. 


Magg/iima.  (vol.  i,  p.  33)- 
Not  traced, 

Sa?«yutta  55,  7. 
Not  traced. 
Maha-parinibbana    Sutta    (D. 

XVI,  2,  12). 
Dhammapada  327. 
Sa;;/yutta  55,  7. 
Not  traced. 

Sutasoma  Gataka  (No.  537). 
Not  traced. 

Ka^ha  Gataka  (vol.  iv,  p.  10). 
(?)  Ma^^//ima  Nikaya  (No.  62). 
Sutta  Nipata  I,  12,  i. 
Dhammapada  81. 
Dhammapada  404  (from  SN. 

HI,  9,  35)- 
Not  traced. 
Dhammapada  28. 
Not  traced. 
Ma^^//imaNikaya(vol.i,p.42  4). 


INTRODUCTION. 


XXXV 


The  Pali 

Text. 

P.  389,  1 

•  9- 

B. 

Sawyutta  Nikaya  XVI,  3. 

390,] 

.17. 

Vangisa. 

Not  traced. 

391,  I 

.  6. 

Subhiiti. 

,,        J, 

391,  1 

.  21. 

B. 

Dhammapada  350. 

392, 

•3- 

B. 

Ahguttara  X,  5,  8. 

392,  ] 

.  10. 

B. 

Not  traced. 

393,  ] 

•3- 

Vangisa. 

J,        ,, 

393, 

•25. 

B. 

,,        ,3 

394,1 

.  6. 

Upasena. 

!»                  )> 

394, 

I.  16. 

Upasena. 

J,                   )■> 

394,  1 

.  28. 

Sariputta. 

),                5J 

395, 

.9. 

Maha  Kassapa. 

>)                J, 

395,  J 

.  22. 

Upasena. 

Thera-gatha  580. 

396, 

1-3. 

B. 

MaggMmo.  Nikaya  (vol.  i,  p.  74). 

396, 

.  20. 

Sariputta. 

Not  traced. 

397, 

1.15- 

Sariputta. 

,,        ,5 

398, 

1-5. 

Vmdola,. 

>>       }) 

399^  ] 

.  16. 

B. 

Saz?zyutta  Nikaya  III,  5,  6  (vol. 
h  p.  73)- 

401, 

1.  10. 

B. 

Saz?/yutta  Nikaya  XVI,  i,  3 
(vol.  ii,  p.  194). 

402, 

1.  8. 

B. 

^akkavaka  (?ataka  (vol.  iv,  p. 
71 ;  not  in  III,  520). 

402, 

1.  26. 

Brahma. 

Sa.myutta.  NikayaVI,2,4  (vol.  i, 
p.  1 54  =  Thera-gatha  142). 

403,  1 

■13- 

B. 

Alilla-narada  G^ataka  (vol.  iv, 
p.  223). 

403, 

.  27. 

B. 

Sa7/'/yutta  Nikaya  (vol.  iii,p.  125). 

404, 

1.  12. 

Pi;2^ola. 

Not  traced. 

405, 

•3- 

B. 

Digha  Nikaya  XXX. 

405, 

'..  22. 

Anuruddha. 

Not  traced. 

407, 

I.  I. 

Sariputta. 

Thera-gatha  982,  3. 

407, 

.  20. 

Anuruddha. 

Not  traced. 

408, 

1.  8. 

B. 

Digha  Nikaya  XVI,  5,  24. 

408, 

1.  22. 

B. 

Dhammapada  32. 

409. 

1.17. 

B. 

Sa/;/yutta  Nikaya  XIV,  16  (= 
Thera-gatha  148,  266). 

410, 

1.8. 

Sariputta. 

Not  traced  \ 

411, 

1.9. 

Sariputta. 

5,                 ,5        . 

411, 

.  29. 

B. 

Sutta  Nipata  II,  6,  10. 

*  That  is,  not  in  the  Pi/akas.  The  stanza  is  found  in  the  commentary  on  the 
Dhammapada  fFausboU,  p.  147),  and  also  in  Buddhaghosa's  Papa«/ta  Sudani 
(see  Trenckner's  note)— each  time  with  a  variation  at  the  close  of  the  verse. 

C  2 


XXXVi  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


The  Pali  Text. 
P.  412,  1.   21. 

413,1.  6. 
414,  1.  I. 

414,  1.  18. 

415,  1.  14. 

Moghara^a. 
Rahula. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

Not  traced. 

Sutta  Nipata  (not  traced  ^). 

„       111,11,43- 

Not  traced. 

416,  1.  4. 
416,  1.  29. 

Sariputta. 
Upali. 

417,  1.  12. 
418,1.  I. 
419,  1.  II. 

B. 

Moggallana. 
Sariputta. 

J 

Now  the  Pali  Pi/akas  consist  of  the  following  twenty- 
nine  books : 

No.  of  printed 
pages  8vo. 
.      617* 
.     668* 


I. 

2. 


Title. 
The  Sutta  Vibhafiga 


The  Khandhakas   .     .     . 

a.  Mahavagga     .     360 

b.  A'ullavagga     .     308 

3.  The  Parivara     .... 

Total    .     .     .     . 

4.  The  Digha  Nikaya 

5.  The  Magg/nma.  Nikaya 

6.  The  Sawyutta  Nikaya 

7.  The  Ahguttara  Nikaya 

Total      .     . 

8.  The  Khuddaka  Pa//^a 

9.  The  Dhammapadas 

10.  The  Udanas   . 

11.  The  Iti-vuttakas 

12.  The  Sutta  Nipata 

13.  The  Vimana  Vatthu 

14.  The  Peta  Vatthu 

15.  The  Thera-Gatha 

16.  The  Theri-Gatha 

17.  The  Gatakas  .     . 

18.  The  Niddesa  .     . 

19.  The  Pa/isambhida 

20.  The  Apadanas    . 

21.  The  Buddha  Vahsa 

22.  The  A'ariya  Pi/aka 

Total   . 


226* 

750 
1000 
1250 
1500 

10' 


15" 


4500 


The  Vinaya 

PlTAKA. 


The  Sutta 

PirAKA. 

(The  four  great 
Nikayas.) 


40- 

80* 

100* 

200* 

85* 

90* 

100* 

35* 

70 

300 

400 

400 
60* 
30* 


\ 


> 


I 


The  Khuddaka 
NikAya. 
(The  repeaters  of 
the  Digha  add 
these  to  the  Sut- 
ta Pi/aka.  The 
repeaters  of  the 
Ma^^/^ima  add 
them  totheAbhi- 
dhamma  Pi/aka.) 


2000 


I  Mr.  Trenckner  gives  no  reference,  and  I  have  searched  through  the  Sutta 
Nipata,  which  has  no  index,  in  vain. 


INTRODUCTION. 

XXXVll 

23- 

The  Dhamma  Sangawi 

260*               \ 

24. 

The  Vibhahga     .     .     . 

325 

25. 

The  Katha  Vatthu  .     . 

440 

26. 

The  Puggala  Pa;7«atti  . 

75* 

27. 

The  Dhatu  Katha    .     . 

100 

V.  The  Abhidhamma 

PirAKA. 

28. 

The  Yamakas     .     .     . 

400 

29. 

The  Pa//;/ana      .     .     . 

600 

Total  Abhidhamma 

2200 

10,211    1 

This  shows  the  total  extent  of  the  three  Pi/akas  to  be 
about  10,000  pages  8vo.  as  printed,  or  to  be  printed,  by 
the  Pah  Text  Society^.  If  our  English  Bible,  in  the 
older  authorised  version,  were  to  be  printed  in  the  same 
manner  and  type  and  on  the  same  size  of  page,  it  would 
occupy  about  5,ooo  pages.  So  that  the  Buddhist  Bible 
without  its  repetitions  (some  of  which  are  very  frequent, 
and  others  very  long),  would  only  occupy  about  double  the 
space  of  the  English  Bible.  This  would  not  have  been  a 
literature  too  large  to  be  familiarly  known  to  our  author. 
What  is  the  conclusion  which  can  fairly  be  drawn,  from 
a  comparison  of  the  last  list  with  those  preceding  it,  as 
to  his  knowledge  of  those  books  now  held,  by  living 
Buddhists,  to  be  canonical  ? 

The  answer  to  this  question  will  be  of  some  importance 
for  another  reason  beyond  the  help  it  will  afford  towards 
settling  the  date  of  the  original  '  Questions  of  Milinda.' 
As  is  well  known,  Asoka,  in  the  only  one  of  his  edicts, 
addressed  specially  to  the  members  of  the  Buddhist  Order 
of  mendicants,  selects  seven  portions  of  the  Buddhist  Scrip- 
tures, which  he  mentions  by  name,  and  expresses  his  desire 
that  not  only  the  brethren  and  sisters  of  the  Order,  but 
also  the  laity,  should  constantly  learn  by  heart  and  reflect 
upon  those  seven.  Now  not  one  of  the  seven  titles  which 
occur  in  the  edict  is  identical  with  any  of  the  twenty-nine 
in  the  last  list.  Whereupon  certain  Indianists  have  rejoiced 
at  being  able  to  score  a  point,  as  they  think,  against  these 


^  This  estimate  excludes  the  space  occupied  by  notes.     The  books  marked 
Avith  an  asterisk  in  the  foregoing  list  have  already  been  printed. 


XXXviii      THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

unbrahtnanical  Buddhists,  and  have  jumped  to  the  concUi- 
sion  that  the  Buddhist  canon  must  be  late  and  spurious ; 
and  that  the  Buddhism  of  Asoka's  time  must  have  been 
very  different  from  the  Buddhism  of  the  Pali  Pi/akas.  That 
would  be  much  the  same  as  if  a  Japanese  scholar,  at  a  time 
when  he  knew  little  or  nothing  of  Christianity,  except  the 
names  of  the  books  in  the  Bible,  were  to  have  found  an  open 
letter  of  Constantine's  in  which  he  urges  both  the  clergy 
and  laity  to  look  upon  the  Word  of  God  as  their  only 
authority,  and  to  constantly  repeat  and  earnestly  meditate 
upon  the  Psalm  of  the  Shepherd,  the  words  of  Lemuel,  the 
Prophecy  of  the  Servant  of  the  Lord,  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  the  Exaltation  of  Charity,  the  Question  of  Nico- 
demus,  and  the  story  of  the  Prodigal  Son — and  that  our 
Oriental  critic  should  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
canonical  books  of  the  Christians  could  not  have  been 
known  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  and  that  the  Christi- 
anity of  Constantine  was  really  quite  different  from,  and 
much  more  simple  than  the  Christianity  of  the  Bible.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  the  existence  of  such  a  letter  would  prove 
very  little,  either  way,  as  to  the  date  of  the  books  in  the 
Bible  as  we  now  have  them.  If  our  Japanese  scholar  were 
to  discover  afterwards  a  Christian  work,  even  much  later 
than  the  time  of  Constantine,  in  which  the  canonical  books 
of  the  Christians  were  both  quoted  and  referred  to,  he 
would  have  much  surer  ground  for  a  sounder  historical 
criticism.  And  he  would  possibly  come  to  see  that  the 
seven  portions  selected  for  special  honour  and  commenda- 
tion were  not  intended  as  an  exhaustive  list  even  of  re- 
markable passages,  much  less  for  an  exhaustive  list  of 
canonical  books,  but  that  the  number  seven  was  merely 
chosen  in  deference  to  the  sacred  character  attaching  to 
that  number  in  the  sacred  literature. 

Such  a  book  is  our  Milinda.  It  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
later  than  the  canonical  books  of  the  Pali  Pi/akas,  and  on 
the  other  hand,  not  only  older  than  the  great  commentaries, 
but  the  only  book,  outside  the  canon,  regarded  in  them  as 
an  authority  which  may  be  implicitly  followed.  And  I 
venture  to  think  that  the  most  simple  working  hypothesis 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXIX 


by  which  to  explain  the  numerous  and  varied  references 
and  quotations  it  makes,  as  s'lown  in  the  preceding  lists, 
from  the  Pi/akas  as  a  whole,  and  from  the  various  books 
contained  in  them,  is  that  the  Pali  Pi/akas  were  known, 
in  their  entirety,  and  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  we  now 
have  them,  to  our  author.  For  out  of  the  twenty-nine 
books  of  the  Pi/akas,  we  find  in  the  lists  of  works  referred 
to  by  him  the  three  Pi/akas  as  a  whole,  the  Vinaya  Pi/aka 
as  a  whole,  and  all  of  its  component  books  except  the 
Parivara  (which  was  composed  in  Ceylon),  the  Sutta  Pi/aka 
and  each  of  the  four  great  Nikayas,  the  Abhidhamma  Pi- 
/aka  and  each  of  its  seven  component  books,  and  the 
Khuddaka  Nikaya  as  a  whole  and  several  of  its  separate 
books.  And  when  we  further  recollect  the  very  large  num- 
ber of  quotations  appearing  in  my  lists  as  not  yet  traced  in 
the  Pi/akas,  we  see  the  necessity  of  being  very  chary  in 
drawing  any  argument  ex  silentio  with  respect  to  those 
books  not  occurring  in  the  lists. 

To  sum  up.— It  may  be  said  generally  that  while  the 
Sutta  Vibhanga  and  the  Khandhakas,  the  four  great 
Nikayas,  and  the  Abhidhamma  were  certainly  known  to  ■ 
our  author,  he  very  likely  had  no  knowledge  of  the  Pari- 
vara ;  and  it  remains  to  be  seen  how  far  his  knowledge  of 
the  Khuddaka  Nikaya,  which  he  happens  to  mention  once^ 
as  a  whole  by  name,  did  actually  extend.  At  present  it  is 
only  clear  that  he  knew  the  Khuddaka  Pa///a,  the  Dham- 
mapada  collection  of  sacred  verses,  the  Sutta  Nipata,  the 
Thera  and  Theri-gathi,  the  Catakas,  and  the  Kariya 
Pi/aka.  I  hope  to  return  to  this  question  in  the  Introduc- 
tion to  my  second  volume,  only  pointing  out  here  that  the 
doubtful  books  (those  concerning  which  our  author  is  ap- 
parently silent)  would  occupy  about  two  thousand  pages 
octavo,  out  of  the  ten  thousand  of  which  the  three  Pi/akas 
would,  if  printed,  consist :  and  that  those  two  thousand 
pages  belong,  for  the  most  part,  precisely  to  that  part  of 
the  Pi/akas  which  have  not  yet  been  edited,  so  that  there 
they  may  very  likely,  after  all,  be  quoted  in  one  or  other 


*  Page  342  of  the  printed  text. 


xl  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


of  the  numerous  quotations  entered  as  '  not  traced '  in  my 
lists  ^ 


Such  being  the  extent,  so  far  as  can  at  present  be  shown, 
of  our  author's  knowledge  of  the  three  Pi/akas,  the  question 
arises  as  to  the  degree  and  accuracy  of  his  knowledge.  In 
the  great  majority  of  cases  his  quotations  or  references 
entirely  agree  with  the  readings  shown  by  our  texts.  But 
there  are  a  few  exceptions.  And  as  these  are  both  in- 
teresting and  instructive,  it  will  be  advisable  to  point  them 
out  in  detail. 

The  reference  to  the  Avi^i  Hell  as  being  outside  the 
earth,  if  not  at  variance  with,  is  at  least  an  addition  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Pi/akas  as  to  cosmogony^.  But  there  is 
some  reason  to  believe  that  the  passage  may  be  an  inter- 
polation, and  the  difference  itself  is  not  only  doubtful  but 
also  of  no  particular  importance. 

The  description  of  the  contents  of  the  Puggala  Pa;7//atti 
given  in  I,  26,  does  not  really  agree  with  the  text.  The 
book,  in  its  first  section,  sets  out  six  different  sorts  of  dis- 
crimination or  distinction.  One  paragraph  only  is  devoted 
to  each  of  the  first  five  discriminations,  and  the  author  or 
authors  then  proceed,  in  the  rest  of  the  book,  to  deal 
with  the  details  of  the  last  of  the  six.  Our  author  gives 
the  six  as  the  divisions  of  the  book  itself. 

But  I  think  it  is  clear  that  so  far  as  the  description  is 
inaccurate,  the  error  is  due,  not  to  any  difference  between 
the  text  as  he  had  it  and  that  which  we  now  possess,  but 
simply  to  our  author  laying  too  great  a  stress  upon  the 
opening  paragraphs  of  the  book. 

In  the  reference  to  the  Buddha's  first  sermon,  the  Foun- 
dation of  the  Kingdom  of  Righteousness  (in  I,  38),  our 
author  says  that  '  eighteen  ko/is  of  Brahma  gods,  and  an 
innumerable  company  of  other  gods,  attained  to  compre- 


'  About  half  of  the  canonical  books,  besides  a  considerable  number  of  the 
uncanonical  works,  have  already  been  edited  in  the  last  few  years,  chiefly  owing 
to  the  Pali  Text  Society's  labours. 

^  See  the  passages  quoted  in  my  note  at  p.  9. 


INTRODUCTION. 


xli 


hension  of  the  truth.'  There  is  no  statement  of  the  kind 
in  the  Pi/aka  account  of  this  event  (see  my  translation  in 
'Buddhist  Suttas,'  pp.  146-155).  But  it  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  P^li,  and  is  doubtless  added  from  some  edifying 
commentary. 

There  is  a  difference  of  reading  between  the  lines  put 
into  Siriputta's  mouth,  at  II,  2,  4,  and  those  ascribed  to 
Sariputta  in  the  Thera  Gatha  (1003,  1003).  If  the  Milinda 
reading  is  not  found  in  some  hitherto  unpublished  passage, 
we  have  here  a  real  case  of  divergence. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  apparent  variation  between 
our  author  and  the  Pi/aka  texts  is  the  statement  put  by 
him,  in  IV,  4,  9,  into  the  mouth  of  the  Buddha,  that  a 
deliberate  lie  is  one  of  the  offences  called  Para^ika,  that  is, 
involving  exclusion  from  the  Order.  Now  in  the  old  Canon 
Law  there  are  only  four  Para^ika  offences — breach  of  chas- 
tity, theft,  murder,  and  a  false  claim  to  extraordinary  spiritual 
powers  (see  my  translation  in  vol.  i,  pp.  1-5  of  the  '  Vinaya 
Texts ') ;  and  falsehood  is  placed  quite  distinctly  under 
another  category,  that  of  the  Pi /'it  tiy  as,  offences  requiring 
repentance  (see  p.  32  of  the  same  translation).  If  our  author 
was  a  member  of  the  Order,  as  he  almost  certainly  was,  it 
would  seem  almost  incredible  that  he  should  make  an  error 
in  a  matter  of  such  common  knowledge,  and  of  such  vital 
importance,  as  the  number  and  nature  of  the  Para^ikas. 
And  indeed,  in  the  immediate  context,  he  refers  to  the 
Pa/^ittiya  rule,  though  not  in  the  exact  words  used  in  the  text 
of  the  Patimokkha.  I  think  that  he  must  have  known  very 
well  what  he  was  talking  about.  And  that  a  passage,  not  yet 
traced,  will  be  found  in  the  unpublished  parts  of  the  Pi/akas, 
in  which  the  Buddha  is  made  to  say  that  falsehood  is  a 
Para^ika — just  as  a  Christian  might  maintain  that  false- 
hood is  forbidden  in  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  yet  be 
perfectly  aware  of  the  exact  phraseology  of  the  Ten  Words. 

In  IV,  4,  26,  our  author  identifies  the  learned  pig  in  the 
TaHV/a-sukara  C'ataka  with  the  Bodisat.  He  differs  here 
from  the  Cataka  Commentary,  in  which  the  Bodisat  is 
identified  with  the  tree-god,  who  acts  as  a  kind  of  Greek 
chorus  in  the  story.     And  the  summaries  in  IV,  4,  28  of 


xlii  TOE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

Ruru  G^ataka,  and  in  IV,  4,  30  of  the  Sabba-da//^a  Cataka, 
do  not  exactly  agree  with  Professor  Fausboll's  text\  But 
the  commentary  is  not  the  text ;  and  it  is  well  known  that 
there  are  numerous  such  light  variations  in  the  different  ex- 
pansions of  the  verses,  which  latter  alone  form  the  actual  text. 

In  IV,  4,  44  we  find  our  author  giving  a  version  of  a 
well-known  incident  in  the  Buddhist  Gospel  story  different 
from  the  oldest  version  of  it  in  the  Pi/aka  texts.  This  is 
another  instance  of  an  expansion  of  the  original  adopted 
from  some  unknown  commentator,  and  does  not  argue  an 
ignorance  of  the  text  as  we  have  it. 

I  have  noticed  in  the  untranslated  portion  of  our  author, 
four  or  five  cases  of  readings  apparently  different  from  the 
Pi/aka  texts  he  refers  to.  These  I  hope  to  deal  with  in  my 
next  volume.  But  I  may  notice  here  that  two  stanzas, 
given  on  p.  414  of  the  text,  and  said  on  p.  413  to  be  'in 
the  Sutta  Nipata,'  are  not  found  in  Professor  Fausboll's 
edition  of  that  work  ;  and  we  have  there,  in  all  probability, 
another  case  of  real  divergence.  But  the  reading  in  the 
Mihnda  may  possibly  be  found  to  be  incorrect. 

The  general  result  of  this  comparison,  when  we  remember 
the  very  large  number  of  passages  quoted,  will  be  held, 
I  trust,  to  confirm  the  conclusion  reached  above,  that  our 
author  knew  the  Pi/akas  practically  as  we  now  have  them, 
that  is  as  they  have  been  handed  down  in  Ceylon. 


Outside  the  Pi/akas  there  are  unfortunately  no  references 
to  actual  books.  But  there  are  several  references  to  coun- 
tries and  persons  which  are  of  importance,  in  as  much  as 
they  show  a  knowledge  in  our  author  of  places  or  occur- 
rences not  mentioned  in  the  sacred  books.  It  will  be  most 
convenient  to  arrange  these  passages  first  in  an  alphabetical 
list,  and  then  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  conclusions  the 
list  suggests.     They  are  as  follows  : — 

Name.  Page  of  the  Pali  Text. 

Anantakaya  (Yonako)  .         .         .         .29,  30. 

Alasando  (dipo) 82,327,331,359. 

Asoka  (dhamma-ra^a)  .  .  .121. 

^  See  my  notes  to  the  passages  quoted. 


INTRODUCTION. 


xli 


11 


Name. 

Page  of  the  Pali  Text. 

Asokarama  (near  Patna) 

i6,  17. 

Assagulta  (ay  asm  a)        .         .         .         . 

6,  7,  14- 

Ayupala  (ay  asm  a) 

19. 

Uha(nadi) 

70. 

Kalasi  (gamo)       .... 

83- 

Kasmira  {x2itth2ini)        .         .         .         . 

82,  327,  331. 

Kola-pa//ana  (seaport) 

359- 

Gandhara  (ra////a?;/)       .         .         .         . 

327>  331- 

^andagutto  (ra^^a) 

292. 

A'lna  (.?  China) 

121,327,331,  359. 

Takkola  (?=Karko/a) 

•     359- 

Tissatthera  (lekha/('ariyo)     . 

71- 

Devamantiya  (Yonako) 

22-24,  29,  30. 

Dhamma-rakkhita  (ay  as  ma)  . 

16,  18. 

Nikumba  (ra////aw) 

•     327- 

Bindumati  (ga«ika) 

121. 

Bhaddasala  (senapati-putto) 

292. 

BharukaX'X'/^a  (men  of)  . 

331- 

Mankura  (Yonako) 

.     29,  30. 

Madhura  (nigamo)        .         . 

•     331- 

Yonaka  (the  tribe) 

I,  4,  20,  68. 

Rakkhita-tala  (in  the  Himakayas)     . 

6,  7,  12,  18. 

Rohawa  (ay  asm  a) 

.     7-  lo- 

Vahga  (Bengal)    .... 

•     359- 

Vattaniya  (senasana?;/) 

10,  12,  14-16. 

Vi^amba-vatthu  (senasana///) 

12. 

Yilata  (v^///ia?n)    .... 

327,  331- 

Saka-yavana  (the  countries  of) 

327'  331- 

Sahkheyya  (parive«a7«) 

19,  22. 

Sabbadinna  or  Dinna  (Yonako)      . 

.     29,  56. 

Sagala  (nagaraz?^) 

.     i,3>5.  14,  22. 

Sura////a  (nigamo) 

359,  men  of,  331. 

Suva?/;/a-bhumi  (?  Burma) 

•     359- 

So;mttara  (brahmawo)  . 

9- 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  only  names  "of  persons,  besides 
those  occurring  in  the  story  itself,  are,  in  one  passage,  Asoka 
and  Bindumati  the  courtesan,  and  in  another  A'andragupta 
and  Bhaddasala  who  fought  against  him.  Of  places,  besides 
those  in  the  story,  we  have  a  considerable  number  of  names 
referring  to  the  Panjab,  and  adjacent  countries;  and  be- 
sides these  the  names  only  of  a  few  places  or  countries  on 


xHv  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


the  sea  coast.  The  island  Alasanda  in  the  Indus,  and  the 
town  of  Kalasi  situated  in  that  island,  have  been  discussed 
above.  The  country  of  the  Sakas  and  Yavanas,  Gan- 
dhara,  Kashmir,  BharukaHV^a,  Surat,  and  Madhura,  explain 
themselves.  Nikumba  and  Vilata  were  probably  in  the 
same  neighbourhood,  but  these  names  have  not  been  met 
with  elsewhere,  and  I  can  suggest  no  identification  of  them. 
The  places  on  the  sea  coast,  to  which  a  merchant  ship  could 
sail,  mentioned  on  p.  359,  are  mostly  well  known.  Kola- 
pattana  must,  I  think,  be  some  place  on  the  Koromandel 
coast,  and  Suva««a-bhumi  be  meant  for  the  seaboard  of 
Burma  and  Siam.  The  author  mentions  no  places  in  the 
interior  south  of  the  Ganges. 

At  four  places  he  gives  lists  of  famous  rivers.  In  three 
out  of  the  four  he  simply  repeats  the  list  of  five — Gariga, 
Yamuna,  AZnravati,  Sarabhu,  and  Mahi— so  often  enume- 
rated together  in  the  Pi/akas^  In  the  fourth  passage 
(p.  1 14)  he  adds  five  others — the  Sindhu,  the  Sarassati,  the 
Vetravati,  the  Vitawsa,  and  the  A'andabhaga.  Of  these 
the  first  two  are  well  known.  Professor  Eduard  Muller 
suggests  ^  that  the  Vitawsa  is  the  same  as  the  Vitasta  (the 
Hydaspes  of  the  Greeks  and  the  modern  Bihat).  The 
Vetravati  is  one  of  the  principal  affluents  of  the  Jumna ; 
and  the  A'andrabhaga  rises  in  the  North-West  Himalayas, 
and  is  not  unfrequently  referred  to  as  the  Asikni  of  the 
Vedas,  the  Akesines  of  the  Greek  geographers,  the  modern 
Kinab  ^. 

The  list  is  meagre  enough.  An  ethical  treatise  is  scarcely 
the  place  to  look  for  much  geographical  or  historical  mat- 
ter. But  unless  our  author  deliberately  concealed  his 
knowledge,  and  made  all  the  remarks  he  put  into  the 
mouth  of  Nagasena  correspond  with  what  that  teacher 
might  fairly  be  expected  to  have  known,  the  whole  list 
points  to  the  definite  conclusion  that  the  writer  of  the 
'  Questions  of  Milinda '  resided  in  the  far  North-West  of 


1  See  pp.  70,  87,  380  of  the  Pali  text. 
'  '  Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society,'  1888,  p.  87. 

'  See  Lassen,  'Indische  Alterthumskunde,'  vol.  i,  p.  43  (first  edition,  p.  55  of 
the  second  edition),  and  the  passages  there  quoted. 


INTRODUCTION.  xlv 


India,  or  in  the  Panjab  itself.  And  this  is  confirmed  by  the 
great  improbability  of  any  memory  of  Menander  having 
survived  elsewhere,  and  more  especially  in  Ceylon,  where 
we  should  naturally  look  for  our  author's  residence  if  he 
did  not  live  in  the  region  thus  suggested. 


As  my  space  is  here  limited,  I  postpone  to  the  next 
volume  the  discussion  as  to  how  far  the  knowledge  displayed 
by  our  author,  the  conditions  of  society  with  which  he 
shows  himself  acquainted,  and  the  religious  beliefs  he  gives 
utterance  to,  afford  evidence  of  his  date.  I  will  only  say 
here  that  on  all  these  points  his  workshowsclear  signs  of 
being  later  than  the  Pi/aka  texts.  And  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  or  rather  of  our  ignorance,  of  Pili, 
there  is  very  little  to  be  drawn  from  the  language  used  by 
our  author.  In  the  first  place  we  do  not  know  for  certain 
whether  we  have  the  original  before  us,  or  a  translation 
from  the  Sanskrit  or  from  some  Northern  dialect.  And 
if,  as  is  probably  the  case,  we  have  a  translation,  it  would 
be  very  difficult  to  say  whether  any  peculiarity  we  may 
find  in  it  is  really  due  to  the  translator,  or  to  the  original 
author.  No  doubt  a  translator,  finding  in  his  original  a 
word  not  existing  in  Pili,  but  formed  according  to  rules  of 
derivation  obtaining  in  Pali,  would  coin  the  corresponding 
Pali  form.  And  in  doing  so  he  might  very  likely  be  led 
into  mistake,  if  his  original  were  Prakrit,  by  misunderstand- 
ing the  derivation  of  the  Prakrit  word  before  him.  Childers 
in  comparing  Buddhist  Sanskrit  with  Pali,  has  pointed  out 
several  cases  where  such  mistakes  have  occurred,  and  has 
supposed  that  in  every  case  the  Sanskrit  translator  mis- 
understood a  Pali  word  before  him  ^.  As  I  have  suggested 
elsewhere  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  quite  as  likely  that  the 
Sanskrit  Buddhist  texts  are  often  founded  on  older  works, 
not  in  Pali,  but  in  some  other  Prakrit  ^  And  it  may  be 
possible  hereafter  to  form  some  opinion  as  to  what  that 
dialect  was  which  the  Sanskrit  writers  must  have  had  be- 

*  See  the  articles  in  his '  Pali  Dictionary,'  referred  to  under  note  3,  p.  xi  of  the 
Introduction. 

2  See  the  note  on  pp.  178,  179  of  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas.' 


xlvi 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


fore  them,  to  lead  them  into  the  particular  blunders  they 
have  made.  In  the  same  way  an  argument  may  be  drawn 
from  the  words  found  exclusively  in  Milinda  as  to  the  dia- 
lect which  he  spoke,  and  in  which  he  probably  wrote.  A 
list  of  the  words  our  author  uses,  and  not  found  in  the 
Pi/akas,  can  only  be  tentative,  as  we  have  not  as  yet  the 
whole  of  the  Pi/aka  texts  in  print.  But  it  will  be  useful, 
even  now,  to  give  the  following  imperfect  list  of  such  as 
I  have  noted  in  my  copy  of  Childers'  '  Dictionary.' 


Word. 
A/aka    . 
Anekawsikata 
Awapako 
Anika///za 
Anughayati 
Anuparivattati 
Antobhaviko 

A 

Avapana 

Asipasa 

Anupeseti 

Asadaniya;;/ 

A/ona  ^ . 

Ayiihito 

Ayuhako 
f  Bhaddiputta^ 
I  Bha//iputta 

Bhavatiha 

A'andakanta  . 

jS'avaka 

Dhamadhamayati 

Ekaniko  , 

Ghanika 

Gilanako 

Hiriyati 

Issatthako 

G^aliipika 

Kali-devata    . 

Ka/umika 

Kummiga 


Page  of  the  Pali  Text 
.      418 

•  93 
.  147 

•  234 

•  343 
204,  253,  307 

•  95 

•  279 
.  191 

31-36 
.  205 
.  191 
.  181 
.  207 
.     191 

•  133 
92,93,  342 

.     118 
156,  200 

•  117 
.     402 

.     191 

.       74 
.     171 

•  419 

•  407 
.     191 

78,79 

•  346 


Note. 
See  'Journal,'  1886,  p.  158. 
„      P-I23. 
Peon,  officer. 
Sentinel. 
Trace  by  smell. 
Turn  towards. 
'Journal,'  1886,  p.  124. 

„      P-  157- 
A  caste  so  called. 
Send  after. 
Injury. 

Professional  beggars. 
Busy. 
Busy. 

A  caste  so  called. 

Introducing  verses. 

A  kind  of  gem. 

Wretch. 

To  blow. 

On  the  one  true  path. 

Musicians. 

A  sick  man,  a  patient. 

Is  made  afraid  of  sin. 

Archer, 

Leech. 

Worshippers  of  Kali. 

Reminding. 

Animal. 


1  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  252)  reads  an  an  ay  o. 
^  The  Sinhalese  has  bhaddiputrayo. 


INTRODUCTION. 


xl 


vu 


Name.                   Page  of  the  Pali  Text.                           Note. 

Lakanaka 

•     377     • 

.     Anchor. 

LaT/X'aka        137,242,256,362 

.     Epithet  of  the  Nikayas. 

Lahghako       .          3 

14,  191- 331     • 

Tumbler. 

Lekhaniyo     . 

172 

.     Sharp  (of  medicine). 

Ma/«kata 

•     384     • 

Done  by  me. 

INIanthayati     . 

•     173     • 

.     Churn. 

Ma;/ibhadda  . 

.     191     . 

.     A  caste  so  called. 

Na///myiko      . 

201 

.     (?)  Farmer. 

NaraX'a  . 

.     105     . 

.     The  weapon  so  called. 

Niyyamaka     . 

194,376     . 

.     Pilot. 

Okassa . 

210     , 

Rudely. 

Pabbata 

.     191     . 

.     A  caste  so  called. 

Pakkhanno     . 

144,390     . 

.     Lost,  fallen. 

Parima^^^aka  . 

•     343 

.     Touchers  of. 

Parimutti 

.      112      . 

.     Release. 

Parirawg'ita     . 

•       75 

.     Marked  over. 

Parisawha 

.     198     . 

.     Subtle. 

Pariyoga  ^ 

.     118 

.     Cauldron. 

Pa/isalliyati    . 

•     139     • 

.     To  be  secluded. 

Pa/isisaka 

.       90     . 

.     Chignon. 

Pewahika 

.     402 

.     A  bird  so  called. 

Pi/aka   . 

18,  &c. 

.     See  my  note  to  p.  28. 

Piwsati . 

•       43 

.     Compound  (a  medicine). 

Ratani » 

.       85 

.     Cubit. 

Sa-^X'ika 

226 

,     .     True. 

Samayiko 

22 

.     .     Learned  in  doctrine. 

Supana  . 

•     147 

.     .     Dog. 

Tawyatha 

I 

.     .     See  Trenckner's  '  Pali  Mis- 
cellany/ p.  55. 

Thala    . 

.       62 

.     .     Gong. 

Tipe/ako 

.       90 

.     .     Who  knows  the  Pi/akas. 

\JM/ia.de\.i      .       2 

41  (see  315) 

.     .     Perfume  the  body. 

IJhana  . 

32 

.     .     Synthesis. 

Ukkalati 

•     143 

.     Revoke. 

Uparama 

41,44 

.     .     Cessation. 

Vi^^adharo    . 

•      153,200 

.     .     Magician. 

Yogava/(-aro    .  43, 

400  and  foil. 

.     .     See  my  note  on  p.  68. 

Yogin    . 

.   2,  400  foil. 

.     .     Ascetic. 

*  This  word  has  been  found  in  the  Pi/akas  ^e.  g.  Ma^^'/ziina  I,  480)  in  the 
sense  of '  practice.' 

*  The  Pi/aka  form  is  rat  ana. 


xlvili  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 

This  list  might  be  considerably  extended  if  words  were 
included  which  differ  from  those  used  in  the  Pi/akas  only 
by  the  addition  of  well-known  suffixes  or  prefixes — such, 
for  instance,  as  viparivattati,  at  p.  117,  only  found  as 
yet  elsewhere  in  the  Tela  Ka/aha  Gatha,  verse  '^"j.  But 
such  words  are  really  only  a  further  utilisation  of  the  exist- 
ing resources  of  the  language,  and  would  afford  little  or  no 
ground  for  argument  as  to  the  time  and  place  at  which  our 
author  wrote.  I  have  thought  it  best,  therefore,  to  omit 
them,  at  least  at  present. 

If  we  turn  from  isolated  words  to  the  evidence  of  style  it 
will  be  acknowledged  by  every  reader  that  the  Milinda  has 
a  marked  style  of  its  own,  different  alike  from  the  formal 
exactness  of  most  of  the  Pi/aka  texts,  and  from  the  later 
manner  of  any  other  Pali  or  Sanskrit-Buddhist  authors  as 
yet  published.  It  is  no  doubt  the  charm  of  its  style  which 
has  been  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for  the  great  popu- 
larity of  the  book.  Even  a  reader  who  takes  no  interest  in 
the  points  that  are  raised,  or  in  the  method  in  which  the 
questions  are  discussed,  will  be  able,  I  trust,  to  see,  even 
through  the  dark  veil  of  a  lame  and  wooden  translation, 
what  the  merits  of  the  original  must  be.  And  to  a  devout 
Buddhist,  in  whose  eyes  the  book  he  was  reading  offered 
a  correct  solution  of  the  most  serious  difficulties  in  religion, 
of  the  deepest  problems  of  life, — to  whose  whole  intellectual 
training  and  sympathies  the  way  in  which  the  puzzles  are 
put,  and  solved,  so  exactly  appealed, — to  such  a  reader 
both  the  easy  grace  of  the  opening  dialogue,  as  of  a  ship 
sailing  in  calm  waters,  and  the  real  eloquence  of  occasional 
passages,  more  especially  of  the  perorations  by  which  the 
solutions  are  sometimes  closed,  must  have  been  a  continual 
feast.  I  venture  to  think  that  the  '  Questions  of  Milinda ' 
is  undoubtedly  the  master-piece  of  Indian  prose ;  and  in- 
deed is  the  best  book  of  its  class,  from  a  literary  point  of 
view,  that  had  then  been  produced  in  any  country.  Limits 
of  space  prevent  the  discussion  of  this  last  proposition, 
however  interesting :  and  it  would  be,  no  doubt,  difficult 
to  prove  that  anything  from  India  was  better  than  the  cor- 
responding thing  produced  by  our  noble  selves,  or  by  those 


INTRODUCTION.  xlix 


whose  Karma  we  inherit.  But  in  ancient  Indian  literature 
there  are  only  two  or  three  works  which  can  at  all  com- 
pare with  it.  It  ought  not  to  seem  odd  that  these  also  are 
Buddhist  and  Pali ;  that  is,  that  they  come  from  the  same 
school.  And  while  the  Digha  Nikaya  may  be  held  to 
excel  it  in  stately  dignity,  the  Visuddhi  Magga  in  sustained 
power,  and  the  G^ataka  book  in  varied  humour,  the  palm 
will  probably  be  eventually  given  to  the  '  Questions  of 
Milinda'  as  a  work  of  art. 

I  am  aware  that  this  conclusion  is  entirely  at  variance 
with  the  often  repeated  depreciation  of  Buddhist  literature. 
But  the  fact  is  that  this  depreciation  rests  upon  ignorance, 
and  is  supported  by  prejudice.  As  a  critical  judgment  it 
will  not  survive  the  publication  and  translation  of  those 
great  Buddhist  works  which  it  overlooks  or  ignores.  Some 
Sanskrit  scholars,  familiar  with  the  Brahmin  estimate  of 
matters  Indian,  and  filled  with  a  very  rational  and  proper 
admiration  for  the  many  fine  qualities  which  the  old  Brah- 
mins possessed,  may  find  it  hard  to  recognise  the  merits  of 
sectarian  works  written  in  dialects  which  violate  their  most 
cherished  laws  of  speech.  But  the  historical  student  of  the 
evolution  of  thought,  and  of  the  rise  of  literature  in  India, 
will  more  and  more  look  upon  the  question  as  a  whole,  and 
will  estimate  at  its  right  value  all  Indian  work,  irrespective 
of  dialect  or  creed. 

T.  W.  RHYS  DAVIDS. 

Temple, 

August,  1889. 


[35] 


THE   QUESTIONS 


OF 


KING     MILINDA. 


THE    QUESTIONS 

OF 

KING     MILINDA. 


Reverence   be   to    the  Blessed  One,  the 
Arahat,  the  Samma-sameuddha. 


BOOK    I. 

the  secular  narrative  \ 


I.  King  Milinda,  at  Sagala  the  famous  town  of  yore, 
To  Nagasena,  the  world  famous  sage,  repaired. 
(So  the  deep  Ganges  to  the  deeper  ocean  flows.) 
To  him,  the  eloquent,  the  bearer  of  the  torch 
Of  Truth,  dispeller  of  the  darkness  of  men's  minds. 
Subtle  and  knotty  questions  did  he  put,  many, 
Turning  on  many  points.     Then  were  solutions 

given 
Profound  in  meaning,  gaining  access  to  the  heart, 
Sweet  to    the    ear,  and   passing   wonderful    and 

strancre. 
For    Nagasena's    talk    plunged    to    the    hidden 

depths 
Of    Vinaya    and     of    Abhidhamma    (Law    and 

Thought) 

^  Bahira-katha,  literally  'outside  talk;'  so  called  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  religious  character  of  the  subjects  treated  of  in  the 
remaining  books. 

/r       [35]  B 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  2. 

Unravelling  all  the  meshes  of  the  Suttas'  net, 

Glittering  the  while  with  metaphors  and  reason- 
ing high. 

Come  then !  Apply  your  minds,  and  let  your 
hearts  rejoice, 

And  hearken  to  these  subtle  questionings,  all 
grounds 

Of  doubt  well  fitted  to  resolve. 


2.  Thus  hath  it  been  handed  down  by  tradition — 
There  is  in  the  country  of  the  Yonakas  ^  a  great 
centre  of  trade  -,  a  city  that  is  called  Sagala,  situate 
in  a  delightful  country  well  watered  and  hilly, 
abounding  in  parks  and  gardens  and  groves  and 
lakes  and  tanks,  a  paradise  of  rivers  and  mountains 
and  woods.  Wise  architects  have  laid  it  out  ^,  and 
its  people  know  of  no  oppression,  since  all  their 
enemies  and  adversaries  have  been  put  down. 
Brave  is  its  defence,  with  many  and  various  strong 
towers  and  ramparts,  with  superb  gates  and  en- 
trance archways ;  and  with  the  royal  citadel  in  its 
midst,  white  walled  and  deeply  moated.  Well  laid 
out  are  its  streets,  squares,  cross  roads,  and  market 
places  ■*.  Well  displayed  are  the  innumerable  sorts 
of  costly  merchandise  [2]  with  which  its  shops  are 
filled.     It  is  richly  adorned  with  hundreds  of  alms- 

^  That  is  lonians,  the  Pali  word  for  Baktrian  Greeks. 

^  Nana-pu/a-bhedanaw/,  hterally  'the  distributing  place  of 
parcels  of  merchandise  of  many  kinds.'  Trenckner  renders  it 
'  surrounded  with  a  number  of  dependent  towns,'  but  surely 
entrepot  is  the  idea  suggested. 

^  Sutavanta-nimmitam;  which  Trenckner  renders  '  pious  are 
its  people.'     But  I  prefer  the  Sinhalese  interpretation. 

*  This  list  recurs  at  pp.  34,  330  of  the  text.     See  below,  p.  53. 


1,3-  THE    CITY    OF    SAGALA.  3 


halls  of  various  kinds  ;  and  splendid  with  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  magnificent  mansions,  which  rise 
aloft  like  the  mountain  peaks  of  the  Himalayas. 
Its  streets  are  filled  with  elephants,  horses,  car- 
riages, and  foot-passengers,  frequented  by  groups  of 
handsome  men  and  beautiful  women,  and  crowded 
by  men  of  all  sorts  and  conditions,  Brahmans, 
nobles,  artificers,  and  servants.  They  resound  with 
cries  of  welcome  to  the  teachers  of  every  creed,  and 
the  city  is  the  resort  of  the  leading  men  of  each  of 
the  differing  sects.  Shops  are  there  for  the  sale  of 
Benares  muslin,  of  Ko/umbara  stuffs  \  and  of  other 
cloths  of  various  kinds ;  and  sweet  odours  are  ex- 
haled from  the  bazaars,  where  all  sorts  of  flowers 
and  perfumes  are  tastefully  set  out.  Jewels  are 
there  in  plenty,  such  as  men's  hearts  desire,  and 
guilds  of  traders  in  all  sorts  of  finery  display  their 
goods  in  the  bazaars  that  face  all  quarters  of  the 
sky.  So  full  is  the  city  of  money,  and  of  gold  and 
silver  ware,  of  copper  and  stone  ware,  that  it  is  a 
very  mine  of  dazzling  treasures.  And  there  is  laid 
up  there  much  store  of  property  and  corn  and  things 
of  value  in  warehouses — foods  and  drinks  of  every 
sort,  syrups  and  sweetmeats  of  every  kind.  In 
wealth  it  rivals  Uttara-kuru,  and  in  glory  it  is  as 
A/akamanda,  the  city  of  the  gods  ^. 

3.   Having  said  thus  much  we  must  now  relate  the 
previous  birth  history  of  these  two  persons  (Milinda 


^  It  is  worth  noting,  as  there  is  a  doubt  about  the  spelling,  that 
Hina/i-kumbure  reads  Ko/umbara,  not  Kodumbara. 

^  Here  follow  in  Hina/i-kumbure's  version  two  pages  of  intro- 
ductory matter,  explaining  how  he  came  to  undertake  his  transla- 
tion. 

B  2 


4  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  1,4. 

and  Nagasena)  and  the  various  sorts  of  puzzles^. 
This  we  shall  do  under  six  heads : — 

1.  Their  previous  history  (Pubba-yoga). 

2.  The  Milinda  problems. 

3.  Questions  as  to  distinguishing  characteristics. 

4.  Puzzles  arising  out  of  contradictory  statements. 

5.  Puzzles  arising  out  of  ambiguity. 

6.  Discussions  turning  on  metaphor. 

And  of  these  the  Milinda  problems  are  in  two 
divisions — questions  as  to  distinctive  characteristics, 
and  questions  aiming  at  the  dispelling  of  doubt; 
and  the  puzzles  arising  out  of  contradictory  state- 
ments are  in  two  divisions — the  long  chapter,  and 
the  problems  in  the  life  of  the  recluse. 


THEIR    PREVIOUS    HISTORY    (pUBBA-YOGa). 

4.  By  Pubba-yoga  is  meant  their  past  Karma  (their 
doings  in  this  or  previous  lives).  Long  ago,  they 
say,  when  Kassapa  the  Buddha  was  promulgating 
the  faith,  there  dwelt  in  one  community  near  the 
Ganges  a  great  company  of  members  of  the  Order. 
There  the  brethren,  true  to  established  rules  and 
duties,  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and  taking  the 
long-handled  brooms,  would  sweep  out  the  court- 
yard and  collect  the  rubbish  into  a  heap,  meditating 
the  while  on  the  virtues  of  the  Buddha. 

5.  One  day  a  brother  told  a  novice  to  remove  the 
heap  of  dust.  But  he,  as  if  he  heard  not,  went 
about  his  business ;  and  on  being  called  a  second 
time,  and  a  third,  still  went  his  way  as  if  he  had  not 
heard.  Then  the  brother,  angry  with  so  intractable 
a  novice,  dealt  him  a  blow  with  the  broom  stick. 

^  These  six  words  are  added  from  Hina/i-kumbure. 


1^8.  THEIR    TREVIOUS    BIRTH. 


[3]  This  time,  not  daring  to  refuse,  he  set  about  the 
task  crying ;  and  as  he  did  so  he  muttered  to  him- 
self this  first  aspiration  :  '  May  I,  by  reason  of  this 
meritorious  act  of  throwing  out  the  rubbish,  in  each 
successive  condition  in  which  I  may  be  born  up  to 
the  time  when  I  attain  Nirva;^a,  be  powerful  and 
glorious  as  the  midday  sun ! ' 

6.  When  he  had  finished  his  work  he  went  to  the 
river  side  to  bathe,  and  on  beholding  the  mighty  bil- 
lows of  the  Ganges  seething  and  surging,  he  uttered 
this  second  aspiration:  'May  I,  in  each  successive 
condition  in  which  I  may  be  born  till  I  attain  Nir- 
va;2a,  possess  the  power  of  saying  the  right  thing, 
and  saying  it  instantly,  under  any  circumstance 
that  may  arise,  carrying  all  before  me  like  this 
mighty  surge ! ' 

7.  Now  that  brother,  after  he  had  put  the  broom 
away  in  the  broom  closet,  had  likewise  wandered 
down  to  the  river  side  to  bathe,  and  as  he  walked  he 
happened  to  overhear  what  the  novice  had  said. 
Then  thinking :  '  If  this  fellow,  on  the  ground  of 
such  an  act  of  merit,  which  after  all  was  instigated 
by  me,  can  harbour  hopes  like  this,  what  may  not  I 
attain  to  ? '  he  too  made  his  wish,  and  it  was  thus  : 
*  In  each  successive  condition  in  which  I  may  be  born 
till  I  attain  Nirvawa,  may  I  too  be  ready  in  saying 
the  right  thing  at  once,  and  more  especially  may  I 
have  the  power  of  unravelling  and  of  solving  each  pro- 
blem and  each  puzzling  question  this  young  man  may 
put — carrying  all  before  me  like  this  mighty  surge ! ' 

8.  Then  for  the  whole  period  between  one 
Buddha  and  the  next  these  two  people  wandered 
from  existence  to  existence  among  gods  and  men. 
And  our  Buddha  saw  them  too,  and  just  as  he  did 


6  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  9. 

to  the  son  of  Moggalt  and  to  Tissa  the  Elder,  so 
to  them  also  did  he  foretell  their  future  fate,  saying : 
'  Five  hundred  years  after  I  have  passed  away  will 
these  two  reappear,  and  the  subtle  Law  and  Doc- 
trine taught  by  me  will  they  two  explain,  unravelling 
and  disentangling  its  difficulties  by  questions  put 
and  metaphors  adduced.' 


9.  Of  the  two  the  novice  became  the  king  of  the 
city  of  Sagala  in  India,  Milinda  by  name,  learned, 
eloquent,  wise,  and  able ;  and  a  faithful  observer, 
and  that  at  the  right  time,  of  all  the  various  acts  of 
devotion  and  ceremony  enjoined  by  his  own  sacred 
hymns  concerning  things  past,  present,  and  to 
come.  Many  were  the  arts  and  sciences  he  knew — 
holy  tradition  and  secular  law  ;  the  Saiikhya,  Yoga, 
Nyaya,  and  Vai^eshika  systems  of  philosophy;  arith- 
metic; music;  medicine;  the  four  Vedas,  the  Pura/^as, 
and  the  Itihasas  ;  astronomy,  magic,  causation  ^  and 
spells  ;  the  art  of  war  ;  poetry  ;  conveyancing  ^ — 
in  a  word,  the  whole  nineteen  ^. 

[4]  As  a  disputant  he  was  hard  to  equal,  harder 

^  Hetu,  literally  'cause.'  Trenckner  has  '  logic  (?);'  Hina/i- 
kumbure  repeats  the  word. 

^  Mudda,  hterally  'seal-ring.'  The  meaning  of  the  term  (which 
recurs  in  similar  lists  at  Digha  I,  i,  25;  I,  2,  14;  and  below, 
p.  59  of  the  text)  is  quite  clear,  but  the  exact  details  of  the  'art' 
are  unknown.  I  follow  Buddhaghosa's  comment  on  those  passages. 
Trenckner  leaves  the  word  untranslated,  and  Hina/i-kumbure  says, 
'  ^ngillen  oel-wima,'  that  is, '  adhering  with  the  finger,'  which  I  do 
not  understand,  unless  it  means  the  sealing  of  a  document.  At 
IV,  3,  25,  the  context  makes  it  probable  that  'law  of  property ' 
would  be  the  best  rendering. 

'  The  number  of  the  Sippas  (Arts  and  Sciences)  is  usually 
given  as  eighteen.  In  the  G'ataka  (p.  58,  1.  29,  Professor  Faus- 
boll's  edition)  it  is  twelve. 


lo.  MILINDA    THE    KING. 


Still  to  overcome  ;  the  acknowledged  superior  of  all 
the  founders  of  the  various  schools  of  thought.  And 
as  in  wisdom  so  in  strength  of  body,  swiftness,  and 
valour  there  was  found  none  equal  to  Milinda  in  all 
India.  He  was  rich  too,  mighty  in  wealth  and  pros- 
perity, and  the  number  of  his  armed  hosts  knew 
no  end, 

lo.  Now  one  day  Milinda  the  king  proceeded 
forth  out  of  the  city  to  pass  in  review  the  innu- 
merable host  of  his  mighty  army  in  its  fourfold 
array  (of  elephants,  cavalry,  bowmen,  and  soldiers 
on  foot).  And  when  the  numbering  of  the  forces 
was  over,  the  king,  who  was  fond  of  wordy  disputa- 
tion, and  eager  for  discussion  with  casuists,  sophists  \ 
and  gentry  of  that  sort,  looked  at  the  sun  (to  ascer- 
tain the  time),  and  then  said  to  his  ministers:  'The 
day  is  yet  young.  What  would  be  the  use  of 
getting  back  to  town  so  early  ?  Is  there  no  learned 
person,  whether  wandering  teacher-  or  Brahman, 
the  head  of  some  school  or  order,  or  the  master  of 
some  band  of  pupils  (even  though  he  profess  faith 

^  Lokayatas  and  Vitawt/as.  Other  Pali  passages,  where 
they  are  mentioned,  are  A'ullavagga  V,  3,  2  ;  Ahguttara  III,  58,  i; 
Sumahgala  Vilasini,  96,  247;  and  below,  §  22  (p.  17).  See  also 
Weber,  '  Bhagavati,' H,  246;  I\Iuir,  'Sanskrit  Texts,'  III,  95; 
Deussen,  'Das  Vedanta-System,'  310. 

'^  Samara.  There  is  no  expression  in  EngHsh  corresponding 
to  this  common  word  in  Pali  texts.  It  means  any  '  religious  '  (in 
the  technical  meaning  of  that  word)  who  is  not  a  recluse  according 
to  the  orthodox  Brahman  rules.  It  includes  therefore  many  who 
were  not  Buddhists,  and  also  even  Brahmans  if  they  had  joined 
the  Buddhists  or  Grains,  or  any  other  of  the  non-conforming  bodies. 
The  Samawas  remained  in  one  place  during  the  rains,  and  for  the 
rest  of  the  year  wandered  from  place  to  place,  promulgating  their 
particular  views.  They  were  not  necessarily  ascetics  in  any  strict 
use  of  that  term ;  though  they  were  usuall)-  celibates. 


8  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  ii. 


in  the  Arahat,  the  Supreme  Buddha),  who  would  be 
able  to  talk  with  me,  and  resolve  my  doubts  ?' 

11.  Thereupon  the  five  hundred  Yonakas  said  to 
Milinda  the  king :  '  There  are  the  six  Masters,  O 
l^jng  I — Pura/za  Kassapa,  Makkhali  of  the  cowshed  \ 
the  Niga/z/Z/a  of  the  Nata  clan,  Sa;'^^c^aya  the  son  of 
the  Bela////a  woman,  Afita  of  the  garment  of  hair, 
and  Pakudha  Ka/^Z'ayana.  These  are  well  known 
as  famous  founders  of  schools,  followed  by  bands  of 
disciples  and  hearers,  and  highly  honoured  by  the 
people.  Go,  great  king !  put  to  them  your  pro- 
blems, and  have  your  doubts  resolved  ^.' 

12.  So  king  Mihnda,  attended  by  the  five  hun- 
dred Yonakas,  mounted  the  royal  car  with  its 
splendid  equipage,  and  went  out  to  the  dwelling- 
place  of  Pura/^a  Kassapa,  exchanged  with  him  the 
compliments  of  friendly  greeting,  and  took  his  seat 
courteously   apart.      And   thus    sitting   he   said  to 


^  So  called  because  he  was  said  to  have  been  born  in  a  cowshed. 
See  the  Sumangala,  p.  143.  All  these  six  teachers  were  contem- 
poraries of  the  Buddha,  and  lived  therefore  about  five  hundred 
years  before  Milinda. 

2  All  this  is  a  mere  echo  of  the  opening  paragraphs  in  the 
Sama?7;7a-phala  (D.  2),  where  A^atasattu  is  described  as  visiting 
these  six  famous  sophists.  And  the  plagiarism  is  all  the  more 
inartistic  as  the  old  names  are  retained,  and  no  explanation  is 
given  of  their  being  born  twice  at  an  interval  of  five  hundred 
years.  One  may  indeed  ask  what  is  a  glaring  anachronism  to  our 
good  Buddhist  romancer  compared  with  the  advantage  of  intro- 
ducing the  stock-names  when  he  has  to  talk  of  heretics  ?  But  the 
whole  book  is  so  full  of  literary  skill,  that  it  is  at  least  strange  that 
its  author  should  have  made  this  blunder;  and  there  are  other 
reasons  for  thinking  the  whole  episode  an  interpolation.  (See 
note  on  §§  13,  15.)  So  that  probably  our  §  15  came  originally 
immediately  after  §  10,  and  then  (after  the  episode  in  §§  15-36) 
§  37  takes  up  the  narrative  interrupted  at  the  end  of  §  lo. 


I,  13.  THE    HERETICS    OF    OLD.  Q 

him :  '  Who  is  it,  venerable  Kassapa,  who  rules  the 
world  ? ' 

'  The  Earth,  great  king,  rules  the  world ! ' 

'  But,  venerable  Kassapa,  if  it  be  the  Earth  that 
rules  the  world,  how  comes  it  that  some  men  go  to 
the  Avi/6i  hell  \  thus  getting  outside  the  sphere  of 
the  Earth  ?  '    [5] 

When  he  had  thus  spoken,  neither  could  Pura;2a 
Kassapa  swallow  the  puzzle,  nor  could  he  bring  it 
up  ;  crestfallen,  driven  to  silence,  and  moody  ^,  there 
he  sat. 

13.  Then  Milinda  the  king  said  to  Makkhali  of 
the  cowshed  ^ :  '  Are  there,  venerable  Gosala,  good 
and  evil  acts  ?  Is  there  such  a  thing  as  fruit, 
ultimate  result,  of  good  and  evil  acts  ? ' 

'  There  are  no  such  acts,  O  king  ;  and  no  such 
fruit,  or  ultimate  result.  Those  who  here  in  the 
world  are  nobles,  they,  O  king,  when  they  go  to  the 


^  AviZ'i  (probably  'the  Waveless').  The  mention  of  this  par- 
ticular hell  as  being  outside  the  earth  is  noteworthy.  One  would 
expect  to  find  the  Lokantarika  hell  so  described.  Spence  Hardy 
indeed  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  AvWi  is  seven  hundred  miles 
directly  under  the  great  Bo  Tree  at  Budh  Gaya  (Manual,  p.  26), 
which  would  be  within  the  sphere  of  the  earth.  But  there  is 
nothing  in  the  Pali  texts  yet  published  as  to  its  position.  See 
^ullavagga  VII,  4,  8;  Anguttara  III,  56;  Gataka  I,  71,  96; 
Pa«X'a  Gati  Dipana,  20.  There  is  a  list  of  the  hells  at  Sutta  Nipata 
in,  10,  but  the  AvU'i  is  not  one  of  them.  This  blunder,  improb- 
able in  a  writer  so  learned  as  our  author  elsewhere  shows  himself, 
is  another  reason  for  thinking  these  sections  to  be  an  interpolation. 

^  Pattakkhando  pa^^/^ayanto.  See  my  note  on  A'uUavagga 
IV,  4,  7,  and  compare  Anguttara  III,  73,  4. 

^  This,  again,  is  most  clumsy,  as  the  rival  teachers  must  have 
dwelt  far  apart.  And  it  will  be  seen  that,  notwithstanding  the 
parade  of  the  six  names  at  the  beginning  of  this  episode,  the 
remaining  four  are  no  further  mentioned. 


lO  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  T,  14. 

Other  world,  will  become  nobles  once  more.  And 
those  who  are  Brahmans,  or  of  the  middle  class,  or 
workpeople,  or  outcasts  here,  will  in  the  next  world 
become  the  same.  What  then  is  the  use  of  good  or 
evil  acts  ^  ?  ' 

'  If,  venerable  Gosala,  it  be  as  you  say  then,  by 
parity  of  reasoning,  those  who,  here  in  this  world, 
have  a  hand  cut  off,  must  in  the  next  world  become 
persons  with  a  hand  cut  off,  and  in  like  manner 
those  who  have  had  a  foot  cut  off  or  an  ear  or 
their  nose  ! ' 

And  at  this  saying  Makkhali  was  silenced. 

14.  Then  thought  Milinda  the  king  within  him- 
self-: '  All  India  is  an  empty  thing,  it  is  verily  like 
chaff!  There  is  no  one,  either  recluse  or  Brahman, 
capable  of  discussing  things  with  me,  and  dispelling 
my  doubts.'  And  he  said  to  his  ministers  :  '  Beau- 
tiful is  the  night  and  pleasant !  Who  is  the  recluse 
or  Brahman  we  can  visit  to-night  to  question  him, 
who  will  be  able  to  converse  with  us  and  dispel  our 
doubts "  ? '  And  at  that  saying  the  counsellors  re- 
mained silent,  and  stood  there  gazing  upon  the  face 
of  the  king. 


15.  Now  at  that  time  the  city  of  Sagala  had  for 
twelve  years  been  devoid  of  learned  men,  whether 
Brahmans,  Sama/^as,  or  laymen.  But  wherever  the 
king  heard  that  such  persons  dwelt,  thither  he  would 


^  This  is  quite  in  accord  with  the  opinions  attributed  to  Mak- 
khali Gosala  in  the  Sama77«a-phala  (D.  2,  20),  and  in  the  Sumahgala 
Vilasini  on  it  (see  especially  p.  166). 

"^  See  below,  p.  30. 

^  This  is  an  echo  of  the  words  in  the  corresponding  passage  of 
the  Sama/7;7a-phala  Sutta  (D.  2,  i). 


I,  i6.  ASSAGUTTA.  I  I 

go  and  put  his  questions  to  them  ^  [6]  But  they  all 
alike,  being  unable  to  satisfy  the  king  by  their 
solution  of  his  problems,  departed  hither  and 
thither,  or  if  they  did  not  leave  for  some  other 
place,  were  at  all  events  reduced  to  silence.  And 
the  brethren  of  the  Order  went,  for  the  most  part,  to 
the  Himalaya  mountains. 

1 6.  Now  at  that  time  there  dwelt,  in  the  moun- 
tain region  of  the  Himalayas,  on  the  Guarded 
Slope,  an  innumerable  company  of  Arahats  (brethren 
who,  while  yet  alive,  had  attained  Nirva;/a).  And 
the  venerable  Assagutta,  by  means  of  his  divine 
power  of  hearing,  heard  those  words  of  king  Mi- 
linda.  And  he  convened  an  assembly  of  the  Order 
on  the  summit  of  the  Yugandhara  mountain,  and 
asked  the  brethren  :  '  Is  there  any  member  of  the 
Order  able  to  hold  converse  with  Milinda  the  king, 
and  resolve  his  doubts  ?  ' 

Then  were  they  all  silent.  And  a  second  and  a 
third  time  he  put  the  same  question  to  them,  and 
still  none  of  all  the  number  spake.  Then  he  said 
to  the  assembled  Order  :  '  There  is,  reverend  Sirs, 
in  the  heaven  of  the  Thirty-three  -,  and  east  of  the 
Ve^ayanta  palace,  a  mansion  called  Ketumati, 
wherein  dwells  the  god  Mahasena.  He  is  able  to 
hold  converse  with  Milinda  the  king,  and  to  resolve 
his   doubts.'       And   the    innumerable    company   of 

'  This  paragraph  is  so  unnecessary  after  what  has  been  said  in 
the  preceding  episode,  and  at  the  same  time  so  contradictory  to 
the  fact  of  two  teachers  at  least  living  in  or  near  the  city,  that  it 
would  really  seem  probable  that  it  (or  perhaps  §  14)  came  ori- 
ginally directly  after  §  10,  the  rest  being  an  interpolation,  and  a 
clumsy  one. 

"  These  are  the  principal  gods  of  the  Vedic  pantheon. 


12  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  1,17. 

Arahats  vanished  from  the  summit  of  the  Yugan- 
dhara  mountain,  and  appeared  in  the  heaven  of  the 
Thirty-three. 

1 7,  And  Sakka,  the  king  of  the  gods,  beheld 
those  brethren  of  the  Order  as  they  were  coming 
from  afar.  And  at  the  sight  of  them  he  went  up  to 
the  venerable  Assagutta,  and  bowed  down  before 
him,  and  stood  reverently  aside.  And  so  standing 
he  said  to  him  :  *  Great,  reverend  Sir,  is  the  com- 
pany of  the  brethren  that  has  come.  What  is  it 
that  they  want  ?  I  am  at  the  service  of  the  Order. 
What  can  I  do  for  you  ?' 

And  the  venerable  Assagutta  replied  :  '  There  is, 
O  king,  in  India,  in  the  city  of  Sagala,  a  king  named 
Milinda.  As  a  disputant  he  is  hard  to  equal, 
harder  still  to  overcome,  he  is  the  acknowledged 
superior  of  all  the  founders  of  the  various  schools 
of  thought.  He  is  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Order  and  harassing  them  by  questions 
of  speculative  import.' 

Then  said  Sakka,  the  king  of  the  gods,  to  him  : 
'  That  same  king  Milinda,  venerable  one,  left  this 
condition  to  be  born  as  a  man.  And  there  dwells 
in  the  mansion  Ketumati  a  god,  Mahasena  by  name, 
who  Is  able  to  hold  converse  with  him  and  to  re- 
solve his  doubts.  [7]  That  god  we  will  beseech  to 
suffer  himself  to  be  reborn  Into  the  world  of  men.' 

1 8.  So  Sakka,  the  king  of  the  gods,  preceded  by 
the  Order,  entered  the  Ketumati  mansion;  and  when 
he  had  embraced  Mahasena  the  god,  he  said  to 
him  :  '  The  Order  of  the  brethren.  Lord,  makes  this 
request  of  you — to  be  reborn  Into  the  world  of  men.' 

'  I  have  no  desire,  Sir,  for  the  world  of  men,  so 
overladen  with  action  (Karma).     Hard  Is  life  as  a 


I,  19.  MAHASENA    THE    GOD. 


man.  It  is  here,  Sir,  in  the  world  of  the  gods  that, 
being  reborn  in  ever  higher  and  higher  spheres,  I 
hope  to  pass  away ! ' 

And  a  second  and  a  third  time  did  Sakka,  the 
king  of  the  gods,  make  the  same  request,  and  the 
reply  was  still  the  same.  Then  the  venerable  Assa- 
giitta  addressed  Mahasena  the  god,  and  said  :  *  On 
passing  in  review.  Lord,  the  worlds  of  gods  and  men, 
there  is  none  but  thee  that  we  find  able  to  succour  the 
faith  by  refuting  the  heretical  views  of  Milinda  the 
king.  The  whole  Order  beseeches  thee.  Lord,  saying : 
"  Condescend,  O  worthy  one,  to  be  reborn  among 
men,  in  order  to  lend  to  the  religion  of  the  Blessed 
One  thy  powerful  aid.'" 

Then  was  Mahasena  the  god  overjoyed  and  de- 
lighted in  heart  at  the  thought  that  he  would  be 
able  to  help  the  faith  by  refuting  the  heresy  of 
Milinda ;  and  he  gave  them  his  word,  and  said  : 
*  Very  well  then,  venerable  ones,  I  consent  to  be 
reborn  in  the  world  of  men.' 

19.  Then  the  brethren,  having  thus  accomplished 
the  task  they  had  taken  in  hand,  vanished  from  the 
heaven  of  the  Thirty-three,  and  reappeared  on  the 
Guarded  Slope  in  the  Himalaya  mountains.  And 
the  venerable  Assagutta  addressed  the  Order,  and 
said  :  *  Is  there,  venerable  ones,  any  brother  belong- 
ing to  this  company  of  the  Order,  who  has  not 
appeared  in  the  assembly?' 

Thereupon  a  certain  brother  said  there  was,  that 
Rohana  had  a  week  previously  gone  into  the  moun- 
tains, and  become  buried  in  meditation,  [8]  and 
suQ^crested  that  a  messeno^er  should  be  sent  to  him. 
And  at  that  very  moment  the  venerable  Rohana 
aroused  himself  from  his  meditation,  and  was  aware 


14  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  20. 

that  the  Order  was  expecting  him  ^  And  vanishing 
from  the  mountain  top,  he  appeared  in  the  presence 
of  the  innumerable  company  of  the  brethren. 

And  the  venerable  Assagutta  said  to  him  :  '  How 
now,  venerable  Rohana  !  When  the  religion  of  the 
Buddha  is  in  danger  of  crumbling  away,  have  you 
no  eyes  for  the  work  of  the  Order  ?' 

'  It  was  through  inadvertence,  Sir,'  said  he. 

*  Then,  venerable  Rohana,  atone  for  it.' 

'  What,  Sir,  should  I  do  ? ' 

'  There  is  a  Brahman  village,  venerable  Rohana, 
called  Ka^angala^  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya 
mountains,  and  there  dwells  there  a  Brahman  called 
"^^  So;2uttara.  He  will  have  a  son  called  Nagasena. 
Go  to  that  house  for  alms  during  seven  years  and 
ten  months.  After  the  lapse  of  that  time  thou 
shalt  draw  away  the  boy  from  a  worldly  life,  and 
cause  him  to  enter  the  Order.  When  he  shall  have 
abandoned  the  world,  then  shalt  thou  be  free  of  the 
atonement  for  thy  fault,' 

'  Let  it  be  even  as  thou  sayest,'  said  the  venerable 
Rohana  in  assent. 

20.  Now  Mahasena  the  god  passed  away  from 
the  world  of  the  sfods,  and  was  reborn  in  the  womb 
of  the  wife  of  the  Brahman  So;^uttara.  And  at  the 
moment  of  his  conception  three  strange,  wonderful 
things  took  place  : — arms  and  weapons  became  all 


^  Pa/imaneti.  Childers  does  not  give  this  meaning  to  the  word. 
But  it  is  the  usual  one.  Compare  Sumahgala,  vol.  i,  pp.  276,  280; 
Vinaya  Pi/aka  IV,  212  ;  A'ullavagga  VI,  13,  2  ;   Gataka  II,  423. 

^  This  is  a  famous  place  in  Buddhist  story.  It  is  at  the  extreme 
limit,  to  the  East,  of  the  Buddhist  Holy  Land,  the  '  Middle  Country.' 
See  Sumahgala  Vilasini  on  D.  2,  40  (p.  1 73);  Mahavagga  V,  1 3, 1 2  ; 
Gataka  I,  49. 


1,21.  MAHASENA    THE   GOD.  I  5 

ablaze,  the  tender  grain  became  ripe  in  a  moment, 
and  there  was  a  great  rain  (in  the  time  of  drought). 
And  the  venerable  Rohana  went  to  that  house  for 
alms  for  seven  years  and  ten  months  from  the  day 
of  Mahasena's  re-incarnation,  but  never  once  did  he 
receive  so  much  as  a  spoonful  of  boiled  rice,  or  a 
ladleful  of  sour  gruel,  or  a  greeting,  or  a  stretching 
forth  of  the  joined  hands,  or  any  sort  of  salutation. 
Nay  rather  it  was  insults  and  taunts  that  fell  to  his 
share :  and  there  was  no  one  who  so  much  as  said, 
*  Be  so  good,  Sir,  as  to  go  on  to  the  next  house  ^' 

But  when  all  that  period  had  gone  by  he  one  day 
happened  to  have  those  very  words  addressed  to 
him.  And  on  that  day  the  Brahman,  on  his  way 
back  from  his  work  in  the  fields,  [9]  saw  the  Elder  as 
he  met  him  on  his  return,  and  said  :  '  Well,  hermit, 
have  you  been  to  our  place  ?  ' 

*  Yes,  Brahman,  I  have.' 

'  But  did  you  get  anything  there  ? ' 

*  Yes,  Brahman,  I  did.' 

And  he  was  displeased  at  this,  and  went  on  home, 
and  asked  them  :  'Did  you  give  anything  to  that 
hermit  ?' 

'  We  gave  him  nothing,'  was  the  reply. 

2  1.  Thereupon  the  Brahman,  the  next  day,  seated 
himself  right  in  the  doorway,  thinking  to  himself : 
'  To-day  I'll  put  that  hermit  to  shame  for  having  told 
a  lie.'  And  the  moment  that  the  Elder  in  due  course 
came  up  to  the  house  again,  he  said  :  '  Yesterday 
you  said  you  had  got  something  at  my  house,  having 

^  This  is  the  ordinary  poHte  formula  used  by  an  Indian  peasant 
when  he  wishes  to  express  his  inability  (or  his  disinclination)  to  give 
food  to  a  mendicant  friar. 


t6  the    questions    of    king    MILINDA.  I,  22. 

all  the  while  got  nothing !  Is  lying  allowed  to  you 
fellows  ?' 

And  the  Elder  replied :  '  Brahman,  for  seven 
years  and  ten  months  no  one  even  went  so  far  as  to 
suggest  politely  that  I  should  pass  on.  Yesterday  this 
courtesy  was  extended  to  me.  It  was  to  that  that 
I  referred.' 

The  Brahman  thought  to  himself :  '  If  these  men,  at 
the  mere  experience  of  a  little  courtesy,  acknowledge 
in  a  public  place,  and  with  thanks,  that  they  have  re- 
ceived an  alms,  what  will  they  not  do  if  they  really 
receive  a  gift ! '  And  he  was  much  struck  by  this, 
and  had  an  alms  bestowed  upon  the  Elder  from  the 
rice  and  curry  prepared  for  his  own  use,  and  added 
furthermore  :  '  Every  day  you  shall  receive  here 
food  of  the  same  kind.'  And  having  watched  the 
Elder  as  he  visited  the  place  from  that  day  onwards, 
and  noticed  how  subdued  was  his  demeanour,  he  be- 
came more  and  more  pleased  with  him,  and  invited 
him  to  take  there  regularly  his  midday  meal.  And  the 
Elder  gave,  by  silence,  his  consent ;  and  daily  from 
that  time  forth,  when  he  had  finished  his  meal,  and 
was  about  to  depart,  he  would  pronounce  some  short 
passage  or  other  from  the  words  of  the  Buddha  ^ 

2  2.  Now  the  Brahman's  wife  had,  after  her  ten 
months,  brought  forth  her  son  ;  and  they  called  his 
name  Nagasena.  He  grew  up  in  due  course  till  he 
became  seven  years  old,  and  his  father  said  to  the 
child  :  '  Do  you  want,  [10]  dear  Nagasena,  to  study 
the  learnino:  traditional  in  this  Brahmanical  house 
of  ours  ? ' 

^  This  custom  is  a  rule  with  the  mendicant  friars.  It  is  their 
way  of  'returning  thanks/  as  we  should  say.     See  below,  p.  25. 


I,  23.  BRAHMAN    KNOWLEDGE.  1 7 

'What  is  it  called,  father  ?'  said  he. 

'  The  three  Vedas  are  called  learning  (Sikkha), 
other  kinds  of  knowledge  are  only  arts,  my  dear.' 

'  Yes,  I  should  like  to  learn  them,  father,*  said 
the  boy. 

Then  So;^uttara  the  Brahman  gave  to  a  Brahman 
teacher  a  thousand  pieces  as  his  teaching  fee,  and 
had  a  divan  spread  for  him  aside  in  an  inner  cham- 
ber, and  said  to  him  :  '  Do  thou,  Brahman,  teach 
this  boy  the  sacred  hymns  by  heart.' 

So  the  teacher  made  the  boy  repeat  the  hymns, 
urging  him  to  get  them  by  heart.  And  young  Naga- 
sena,  after  one  repetition  of  them,  had  learnt  the  three 
Vedas  by  heart,  could  intone  them  correctly,  had 
understood  their  meaning,  could  fix  the  right  place  of 
each  particular  versed  and  had  grasped  the  mysteries 
they  contained  2.  All  at  once  there  arose  in  him 
an  intuitive  insight  into  the  Vedas,  with  a  know- 
ledge of  their  lexicography,  of  their  prosody,  of  their 
grammar,  and  of  the  legends  attaching  to  the  cha- 
racters in  them.  He  became  a  philologist  and 
grammarian,  and  skilled  alike  in  casuistry  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  bodily  marks  that  foreshadow  the 
greatness  of  a  man  ^. 

23.  Then  young  Nagasena  said  to  his  father :  '  Is 


^  Suvava ///Capita,  or  perhaps  its  use  in  ceremonies  or  sacri- 
fices. The  phrase  only  occurs  in  this  passage.  It  is  literally, '  The 
three  Vedas  were  well  fixed  by  the  boy.'  Hina/i-kumbure  simply 
repeats  the  word. 

'^  On  the  exact  force  of  the  special  terms  translated  in  these 
clauses,  one  may  further  compare  the  corresponding  phrases  used 
of  learning  the  Buddhist  texts  in  Aullavagga  IV,  14,  17  ;  IX,  5,  i. 

^  The  above  are  the  stock  phrases  for  the  learning  of  a  scholarly 
Brahman,  and  one  or  two  points  in  the  details  are  uncertain. 

[35]  C 


1 8  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  1,23. 

there  anything  more  to  be  learned  in  this  Brahman- 
ical  family  of  ours,  or  is  this  all  ? ' 

*  There  is  no  more,  Nagasena,  my  dear.  This  is 
all,'  was  the  reply. 

And  young  Nagasena  repeated  his  lesson  to  his 
teacher  for  the  last  time,  and  went  out  of  the  house, 
and  in  obedience  to  an  impulse  arising  in  his  heart 
as  the  result  of  previous  Karma,  sought  a  place  of 
solitude,  where  he  gave  himself  up  to  meditation. 
And  he  reviewed  what  he  had  learnt  throughout 
from  beginning  to  end,  and  found  no  value  in  it 
anywhere  at  all.  And  he  exclaimed  in  bitterness  of 
soul :  '  Empty  forsooth  are  these  Vedas,  and  as  chaff. 
There  is  in  them  neither  reality,  nor  worth,  nor 
essential  truth  ! ' 

That  moment  the  venerable  Rohana,  seated  at 
his  hermitage  at  Vattaniya,  felt  in  his  mind  what 
was  passing  in  the  heart  of  Nagasena.  And  he 
robed  himself,  and  taking  his  alms-bowl  in  his  hand, 
he  vanished  from  Vattaniya  and  appeared  near  the 
Brahman  village  Ka^angala.  And  young  Naga- 
sena, as  he  stood  again  in  the  doorway,  saw  him 
coming  in  the  distance.  At  the  sight  of  him  he  be- 
came happy  and  glad,  and  a  sweet  hope  sprang  up 
in  his  heart  that  from  him  he  mio;ht  learn  the  essen- 
tial  truth.  And  he  went  [11]  to  him,  and  said  : 
'  Who  art  thou.  Sir,  that  thou  art  thus  bald-headed, 
and  wearest  yellow  robes  ? ' 

'They  call  me  a  recluse,  my  child'  (Pabba^ita  : 
literally,  'one  who  has  abandoned;'  that  is,  the 
worldly  life). 

'  And  why  do  they  call  thee  "  one  w4io  has  aban- 
doned ?" ' 

*  Because  a  recluse  is  one  who  has  receded  from 


I,  23.  REASONS    FOR    SHAVING.  1 9 


the  world  in  order  to  make  the  stain  of  sinful  things 
recede.  It  is  for  that  reason,  my  child,  that  they 
call  me  a  recluse.' 

'  Why,  Sir,  dost  thou  not  wear  hair  as  others  do  ? ' 

'  A  recluse  shaves  off  his  hair  and  beard  on  the 
recognition  of  the  sixteen  impediments  therein  to 
the  higher  life.  And  what  are  those  sixteen  ^  ?  The 
impediments  of  ornamenting  it,  and  decking  it  out, 
of  putting  oil  upon  it,  of  shampooing  it,  of  placing 
garlands  round  it,  of  using  scents  and  unguents,  and 
myrobalan  seeds,  and  dyes,  and  ribbons,  and  combs, 
of  calling  in  the  barber,  of  unravelling  curls,  and  of 
the  possibility  of  vermin.  When  their  hair  falls  off 
they  are  grieved  and  harassed;  yea,  they  lament 
sometimes,  and  cry,  and  beat  their  breasts,  or  fall 
headlong  in  a  swoon— and  entangled  by  these  and 
such  impediments  men  may  forget  those  parts  of 
wisdom  or  learning  which  are  delicate  and  subde.' 

*  And  why,  Sir,  are  not  thy  garments,  too,  as  those 
of  other  men  ? ' 

'  Beautiful  clothes,  my  boy,  such  as  are  worn  by 
worldly  men,  are  inseparable  from  the  five  cravings  2. 
But  whatsoever  dangers  lurk  in  dress  he  who  wears 
the  yellow  robes  knows  nothing  of.  It  is  for  that 
reason  that  my  dress  is  not  as  other  men's.' 

'  Dost  thou  know.  Lord,  what  is  real  knowledge  ?' 

'  Yes,  lad,  the  real  knowledge  I  know ;  and  what 
is  the  best  hymn  (mantra)  in  the  world,  that  too  I 
know.' 

'  Couldst  thou  teach  it.  Lord,  to  me  too  ?' 

^  This  odd  idea  of  the  '  impediments  '  in  the  wearing  of  hair  and 
beard  is  in  accord  both  with  modern  habits  of  shaving,  and  also 
with  a  good  deal  of  early  Christian  and  medieval  ethics. 

-  The  lust  of  the  eye,  of  the  ear,  &c. 

C  2 


20  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  24. 

'  Yes,  I  could.' 
'  Teach  me,  then.' 

'Just  now  is  not  the  right  time  for  that ;  we  have 
come  down  to  the  village  for  alms.' 

24.  Then  young  Nagasena  took  the  alms-bowl 
the  venerable  Rohana  was  carrying,  and  led  him 
into  the  house,  and  with  his  own  hand  supplied  him 
with  food,  hard  and  soft,  as  much  as  he  required. 
And  when  he  saw  that  he  had  finished  his  meal, 
and  withdrawn  his  hand  from  the  bowl,  he  said  to 
him  :  '  Now,  Sir,  will  you  teach  me  that  hymn  ?' 

'  When  thou  hast  become  free  from  impediments, 
my  lad,  by  taking  upon  thee,  and  with  thy  parents' 
consent,  the  hermit's  dress  I  wear,  then  I  can  teach 
it  thee.' 

25.  So  young  [12]  Nagasena  went  to  his  father 
and  mother,  and  said  :  '  This  recluse  says  he  knows 
the  best  hymn  in  the  world,  but  that  he  cannot  teach 
it  to  any  one  who  has  not  entered  the  Order  as  his 
pupil.  I  should  like  to  enter  the  Order  and  learn 
that  hymn.' 

And  his  parents  gave  their  consent ;  for  they 
wished  him  to  learn  the  hymn,  even  at  the  cost  of 
retiring  from  the  world  ;  and  they  thought  that  when 
he  had  learned  it  he  would  come  back  again  \ 

Then  the  venerable  Rohana  took  Naofasena  to 
the  Vattaniya  hermitage,  to  the  Vi^^amba  Vatthu, 
and  having  spent  the  night  there,  took  him  on  to 
the  Guarded  Slope,  and  there,  in  the  midst  of  the 
innumerable  company  of  the  Arahats,  young  Naga- 
sena was  admitted,  as  a  novice,  into  the  Order. 


^  Under  the  rules  of  the  Buddhist  Order  any  one  can  leave  it  as 
soon  as  he  likes. 


I,  26.  BUDDHIST    EDUCATION.  2  I 

26.  And  then,  when  he  had  been  admitted  to 
the  Order,  the  venerable  Nagasena  said  to  the 
venerable  Rohana :  *  I  have  adopted  your  dress  ; 
now  teach  me  that  hymn/ 

Then  the  venerable  Rohana  thought  thus  to 
himself:  'In  what  ought  I  first  to  instruct  him,  in 
the  Discourses  (Suttanta)  or  in  the  deeper  things 
of  the  faith  (Abhidhamma)  ?'  and  inasmuch  as  he 
saw  that  Nagasena  was  intelligent,  and  could  master 
the  Abhidhamma  with  ease,  he  gave  him  his  first 
lesson  in  that. 

And  the  venerable  Nagasena,  after  hearing  it 
repeated  but  once,  knew  by  heart  the  whole  of 
the  Abhidhamma  —  that  is  to  say,  the  Dhamma 
Sariga;^i,  with  its  great  divisions  into  good,  bad, 
and  indifferent  qualities,  and  its  subdivisions  into 
couples  and  triplets  ^ —  the  Vibhaiiga,  with  its 
eighteen  chapters,  beginning  with  the  book  on  the 
constituent  elements  of  beings — the  Dhatu  Katha, 
with  its  fourteen  books,  beginning  with  that  on 
compensation  and  non-compensation — the  Puggala 
Pa;7;}atti,  with  its  six  divisions  into  discrimination 
of  the  various  constituent  elements,  discrimination 
of  the  various  senses  and  of  the  properties  they 
apprehend,  and  so  on  ^ — the  Katha  Vatthu,  with  its 
thousand  sections,  five  hundred  on  as  many  points 


^  Compare,  for  instance,  p.  125  of  the  edition  of  this  summary 
of  Buddhist  ethical  psychology,  edited  for  the  Pali  Text  Society,  by 
Dr.  Edward  IMuller,  of  Bern  (London,  1885). 

^  The  six  kinds  of  discrimination  (Pa;/;7atti)  referred  to,  are 
those  set  out  in  §  i  of  the  Puggala.  The  work  itself  is  an  ethical 
tractate  dealing  only  with  the  last  of  the  six  (the  discrimination  of 
individuals).  See  the  edition  by  Dr.  Morris,  published  by  the 
Pali  Text  Society  (London,  1883). 


2  2  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  27, 

of  our  own  views,  and  five  hundred  on  as  many 
points  of  our  opponents'  views — the  Yamaka,  with 
its  ten  divisions  into  complementary  propositions  as 
to  origins,  as  to  constituent  elements,  and  so  on — 
and  the  Pa////ana,  with  its  twenty-four  chapters  on 
the  reason  of  causes,  the  reason  of  ideas,  and  the 
rest.  And  he  said  [13] :  '  That  will  do,  Sir.  You 
need  not  propound  it  again.  That  will  suffice  for 
my  being  able  to  rehearse  it.' 

27.  Then  Nagasena  went  to  the  innumerable 
company  of  the  Arahats,  and  said  :  '  I  should  like 
to  propound  the  whole  of  the  Abhidhamma  Pi^'aka, 
without  abridgement,  arranging  it  under  the  three 
heads  of  good,  bad,  and  indifferent  qualities.'  And 
they  gave  him  leave.  And  in  seven  months  the 
venerable  Nagasena  recited  the  seven  books  of  the 
Abhidhamma  in  full.  And  the  earth  thundered, 
the  gods  shouted  their  applause,  the  Brahma  gods 
clapped  their  hands,  and  there  came  down  a  shower 
from  heaven  of  sweet-scented  sandal-wood  dust,  and 
of  Mandarava  flowers !  And  the  innumerable  com- 
pany of  the  Arahats,  then  and  there  at  the  Guarded 
Slope,  admitted  the  venerable  Nagasena,  then 
twenty  years  of  age,  to  full  membership  in  the 
higher  orrade  of  the  Order. 

28.  Now  the  next  day  after  he  had  thus  been 
admitted  into  full  membership  in  the  Order,  the 
venerable  Nagasena  robed  himself  at  dawn,  and 
taking  his  bowl,  accompanied  his  teacher  on  his 
round  for  alms  to  the  village  below.  And  as  he 
went  this  thought  arose  within  him  :  'It  was,  after 
all,  empty-headed  and  foolish  of  my  teacher  to  leave 
the  rest  of  the  Buddha's  word  aside,  and  teach  me 
the  Abhidhamma  first ! ' 


1,29-  NAGASENAS    PUNISHMENT.  23 

And  the  venerable  Rohana  became  aware  in  his 
own  mind  of  what  was  passing  in  the  mind  of  Naga- 
sena,  and  he  said  to  him  :  '  That  is  an  unworthy 
reflection  that  thou  art  making,  Nagasena ;  it  is  not 
worthy  of  thee  so  to  think.' 

'  How  strange  and  wonderful,'  thought  Nagasena, 
'  that  my  teacher  should  be  able  to  tell  in  his  own 
mind  what  I  am  thinking  of !  I  must  ask  his  pardon.' 
And  he  said  :  '  Forgive  me,  Sir ;  I  will  never  make 
such  a  reflection  again.' 

[14]  '  I  cannot  forgive  you,  Nagasena,  simply  on  that 
promise,'  was  the  reply.  *  But  there  is  a  city  called 
Saeala,  where  a  kins:  rules  whose  name  is  Milinda, 
and  he  harasses  the  brethren  by  putting  puzzles  to 
them  of  heretical  tendency.  You  will  have  earned 
your  pardon,  Nagasena,  when  you  shall  have  gone 
there,  and  overcome  that  king  in  argument,  and 
brought  him  to  take  delimit  in  the  truth.' 

'  Not  only  let  king  Milinda,  holy  one,  but  let  all 
the  kings  of  India  come  and  propound  questions  to 
me,  and  I  will  break  all  those  puzzles  up  and  solve 
them,  if  only  you  will  pardon  me ! '  exclaimed  Na- 
gasena. But  when  he  found  it  was  of  no  avail,  he 
said  :  '  Where,  Sir,  do  you  advise  me  to  spend  the 
three  months  of  the  rains  now  coming  on^?' 

29.  '  There  is  a  brother  named  Assagutta  dwell- 
ing at  the  Vattahiya  hermitage.  Go,  Nagasena,  to 
him ;  and  in  my  name  bow  down  to  his  feet,  and 
say  :  "  My  teacher,  holy  one,  salutes  you  reverently, 
and  asks  whether  you  are  in  health  and  ease,  in  full 
vigour  and  comfort.     He  has  sent  me  here  to  pass 


^  It  would  be  against  the  rules  to  go  at  once,  during  the  rains,  to 
Sagala.     So  he  would  spend  that  time  in  preparation. 


24  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  30. 

the  three  months  of  the  rains  under  your  charge." 
When  he  asks  you  your  teacher's  name,  tell  it  him. 
But  when  he  asks  you  his  own  name,  say :  "  My 
teacher,  Sir,  knows  your  name."  ' 

And  Naofasena  bowed  down  before  the  venerable 
Rohana,  and  passing  him  on  his  right  hand  as  he 
left  him,  took  his  bowl  and  robe,  and  went  on  from 
place  to  place  till  he  came  to  the  Vattaniya  hermit- 
age, begging  for  his  food  on  the  way.  And  on  his 
arrival  he  saluted  the  venerable  Assagutta,  and  said 
exactly  what  he  had  been  told  to  say,  [15]  and  to  the 
last  reply  Assagutta  said  :  '  Very  well  then,  Naga- 
sena,  put  by  your  bowl  and  robe.'  And  the  next 
day  Nagasena  swept  out  the  teacher's  cell,  and  put 
the  drinking  water  and  tooth-cleansers  ready  for  him 
to  use.  The  Elder  swept  out  the  cell  again,  threw 
away  the  water  and  the  tooth-cleansers,  and  fetched 
others,  and  said  not  a  word  of  any  kind.  So  it 
went  on  for  seven  days.  On  the  seventh  the  Elder 
again  asked  him  the  same  questions  as  before.  And 
on  Nagasena  again  making  the  same  replies,  he  gave 
him  leave  to  pass  the  rainy  season  there. 

30.  Now  a  certain  woman,  a  distinguished  follower 
of  the  faith,  had  for  thirty  years  and  more  adminis- 
tered to  the  wants  of  the  venerable  Assag-utta.  And 
at  the  end  of  that  rainy  season  she  came  one  day  to 
him,  and  asked  whether  there  was  any  other  brother 
staying  with  him.  And  when  she  was  told  that 
there  was  one,  named  Nagasena,  she  invited  the 
Elder,  and  Nagasena  with  him,  to  take  their  midday 
meal  the  next  day  at  her  house.  And  the  Elder 
signified,  by  silence,  his  consent.  The  next  forenoon 
the  Elder  robed  himself,  and  taking  his  bowl  in  his 
hand,  went  down,  accompanied  by  Nagasena  as  his 


» 


1,31.  NAGASENAS    CONVERSION.  25 

attendant,  to  the  dwelling-place  of  that  disciple,  and 
there  they  sat  down  on  the  seats  prepared  for  them. 
And  she  gave  to  both  of  them  food,  hard  and  soft,  as 
much  as  they  required,  waiting  upon  them  with  her 
own  hands.  When  Assagutta  had  finished  his  meal, 
and  the  hand  was  withdrawn  from  the  bowl,  he  said 
to  Nagasena:  'Do  thou,  Nagasena,  give  the  thanks 
to  this  distinguished  lady.'  And,  so  saying,  he  rose 
from  his  seat,  and  went  away.  [16] 

31.  And  the  lady  said  to  Nagasena:  'I  am  old, 
friend  Nagasena.  Let  the  thanksgiving  be  from  the 
deeper  things  of  the  faith.' 

And  Nagasena,  in  pronouncing  the  thanksgiving 
discourse ^  dwelt  on  the  profounder  side  of  the 
Abhidhamma,  not  on  matters  of  mere  ordinary 
morality,  but  on  those  relating  to  Arahatship^.  And 
as  the  lady  sat  there  listening,  there  arose  in  her 
heart  the  Insight  into  the  Truth  ^,  clear  and  stainless, 
which  perceives  that  whatsoever  has  beginning,  that 
has  the  inherent  quality  of  passing  away.  And  Na- 
gasena alsOjWhen  he  had  concluded  that  thanksgiving 
discourse,  felt  the  force  of  the  truths  he  himself  had 
preached,  and  he  too  arrived  at  insight* — he   too 


^  See  the  note  above,  p.  15. 

"^  SuT/mata,  used  here  in  the  sense  of  Nirvawa.  Compare  Ah- 
guttara  II,  5,  6;  Gataka  III,  191  ;  Aullavagga  XII,  2,  5. 

^  Dhamma->('akkhu.  This  perception  of  the  impermanency 
of  all  things  and  all  beings  is  called  '  the  Eye  for  the  Truth,'  and 
is  the  sign  of  the  entrance  upon  the  path  to  Arahatship,  i.  e.  Nir- 
vana. It  is  the  same  among  Buddhists  as  conversion  is  among 
the  Christians.  Compare  Acts  xxvi.  18  ('Open  their  eyes,  and 
turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God')  and  other  similar  passages. 

*  Vipassana.  Childers  says  this  is  an  attribute  of  Arahatship  ; 
and  Trenckner  translates  it  '  superior  intelligence.'     But  Arahats 


26  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  32. 

entered,  as  he  sat  there,  upon  the  stream  (that  is  to 
say,  upon  the  first  stage  of  the  Excellent  Way  to 
Arahatship). 

32.  Then  the  venerable  Assagutta,  as  he  was 
sitting  in  his  arbour,  was  aware  that  they  both  had 
attained  to  insight,  and  he  exclaimed  :  '  Well  done  ! 
well  done,  Nagasena !  by  one  arrow  shot  you  have 
hit  two  noble  quarries ! '  And  at  the  same  time 
thousands  of  the  gods  shouted  their  approval. 

Now  the  venerable  Nagasena  arose  and  returned 
to  Assagutta,  and  saluting  him,  took  a  seat  reve- 
rently apart.  And  Assagutta  said  to  him  :  '  Do 
thou  now  go,  Nagasena,  to  Pa/aliputta.  There,  in 
the  Asoka  Park,  dwells  the  venerable  Dhamma- 
rakkhita.  Under  him  you  should  learn  the  words 
of  the  Buddha.' 

*  How  far  is  it,  Sir,  from  here  to  Pa/aliputta.' 

*A  hundred  leagues  \  Nagasena.' 

'  Great,  Sir,  is  the  distance.  It  will  be  difficult  to 
get  food  on  the  way.     How  shall  I  get  there  ?  ' 

'  Only  go  straight  on,  Nagasena.  You  shall  get 
food  on  the  way,  rice  from  which  the  black  grains 
have  been  picked  out,  with  curries  and  gravies  of 
various  sorts.' 

'  Very  well.  Sir ! '    said    Nagasena,    and    bowing 

only  have  it,  because  they  have  all  the  powers  possessed  by  those 
in  the  previous  stages  of  the  path,  and  it  is  only  superior  as  being 
above  and  beyond  the  intelligence  of  the  worldly  wise,  or  even  of 
the  mere  moralist.  It  is  less  than  the  '  Divine  Eye,'  and  Nagasena 
was  not  yet  an  Arahat.  Compare  the  passages  quoted  by  Childers 
under  Dhamma-^akkhu  and  Dibba-^akkhu,  and  also  Maha- 
vagga  I,  6,  33;   G^ataka  I,  140;  Sumahgala  Vilasini,  237,  278. 

^  Yo^anas:  that  is,  leagues  of  seven  miles  each.  See  my 
'  Ancient  Coins  and  Measures  of  Ceylon,'  p.  1 6,  in  Thomas's 
'  Numismata  Orientalia,'  vol.  i. 


1,34-  NAGASENA    ARRIVES    AT    INSIGHT.  2/ 

down  before  his  teacher,  and  passing  him  on  the 
right  side  as  he  went,  he  took  his  bowl  and  his  robe 
and  departed  for  Pa/aHputta. 

2,2,.  [17]  At  that  time  a  merchant  of  Pa/aHputta 
was  on  his  way  back  to  that  city  with  five  hundred 
waggons.  And  when  he  saw  the  venerable  Naga- 
sena  coming  in  the  distance,  he  stopped  the  wag- 
gons, and  saluted  Nagasena,  and  asked  him : 
'  Whither  art  thou  going,  father  ? ' 

*  To  Pa/aliputta,  householder.' 

*  That  is  well,  father.  We  too  are  going  thither. 
It  will  be  more  convenient  for  thee  to  go  with  us.' 

And  the  merchant,  pleased  with  Nagasena's 
manners,  provided  him  with  food,  hard  and  soft, 
as  much  as  he  required,  waiting  upon  him  with  his 
own  hands.  And  when  the  meal  was  over,  he  took  a 
low  seat,  and  sat  down  reverently  apart.  So  seated, 
he  said  to  the  venerable  Nagasena  :  '  What,  father, 
is  your  name  ? ' 

*  I  am  called  Nagasena,  householder.' 

*  Dost  thou  know,  father,  what  are  the  words  of 
Buddha?' 

'  I  know  the  Abhidhamma.' 

'  We  are  most  fortunate,  father ;  this  is  indeed  an 
advantage.  I  am  a  student  of  the  Abhidhamma, 
and  so  art  thou.  Repeat  to.  me,  father,  some 
passages  from  it.' 

Then  the  venerable  Nagasena  preached  to  him 
from  the  Abhidhamma,  and  by  degrees  as  he  did  so 
there  arose  in  Nagasena's  heart  the  Insight  into  the 
Truth,  clear  and  stainless,  which  perceives  that  what- 
soever has  in  itself  the  necessity  of  beginning,  that 
too  has  also  the  inherent  quality  of  passing  away. 

34.  And   the  Pa/aliputta  merchant  sent   on    his 


2  8  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  1,35. 

waggons  in  advance,  and  followed  himself  after 
them.  And  at  a  place  where  the  road  divided,  not 
far  from  Pa/aliputta,  he  stopped,  and  said  to  Naga- 
sena :  '  This  is  the  turning  to  the  Asoka  Park. 
Now  I  have  here  a  rare  piece  of  woollen  stuff,  sixteen 
cubits  by  eight.  [18]  Do  me  the  favour  of  accepting 
it.'  And  Nagasena  did  so.  And  the  merchant, 
pleased  and  glad,  with  joyful  heart,  and  full  of  con- 
tent and  happiness,  saluted  the  venerable  Naga- 
sena, and  keeping  him  on  his  right  hand  as  he 
passed  round  him,  went  on  his  way. 

35.  But  Nagasena  went  on  to  the  Asoka  Park  to 
Dhamma-rakkhita.  And  after  saluting  him,  and  telling 
him  on  what  errand  he  had  come,  he  learnt  by  heart, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  venerable  Dhamma-rakkhita, 
the  whole  of  the  three  baskets  ^  of  the  Buddha's 
word  in  three  months,  and  after  a  single  recital,  so 
far  as  the  letter  (that  is,  knowing  the  words  by 
heart)  was  concerned.  And  in  three  months  more 
he  mastered  the  spirit  (that  is,  the  deeper  meaning 
of  the  sense  of  the  words). 

But  at  the  end  of  that  time  the  venerable  Dham- 

^  Pi/akas.  This  expression  is  not  used  in  the  sacred  books  of 
the  canon  itself.  When  it  first  came  into  use  is  unknown.  This 
is  the  earliest  passage  in  which  it  has  hitherto  been  found  in  the 
technical  sense  of  a  division  of  the  Scriptures.  It  was  in  full  use 
at  the  time  of  Buddhaghosa  (see  the  Sumahgala  Vilasini,  pp.  15, 
16,  17,  18,  &c.,  and  the  Samanta  Pasadika,  printed  in  Oldenberg's 
'  Vinaya  Pi/aka,'  vol.  iii,  p.  293).  The  tertium  quid  of  the 
comparison  is  not  the  basket  or  the  box  as  a  receptacle  for  preser- 
vation, but  as  a  means  of  handing  on  (as  Eastern  navvies  removing 
earth  put  it  into  baskets  and  pass  these  latter  on  from  hand  to  hand). 
So  the  expression  '  three  baskets '  means  not  '  the  three  collections,' 
but  'the  three  bodies  of  oral  tradition  as  handed  down  from 
teacher  to  teacher/  See  Trenckner's  decisive  argument  in  his 
'Pali  Miscellanies,'  pp.  67-69. 


I,  36.  NAGASENA    GAINS    NIRVAiVA.  29 

ma-rakkhita  addressed  him,  and  said  :  '  Just,  Naga- 
sena,  as  a  herdsman  tends  the  cows,  but  others 
enjoy  their  produce,  so  thou  too  earnest  in  thy 
head  the  whole  three  baskets  of  the  Buddha's  word, 
and  still  art  not  yet  a  partaker  of  the  fruit  of 
Sama;^aship.' 

'  Though  that  be  so,  holy  one,  say  no  more,'  was 
the  reply.  And  on  that  very  day,  at  night,  he  attained 
to  Arahatship  and  with  it  to  the  fourfold  power  of 
that  Wisdom  possessed  by  all  Arahats  (that  is  to 
say  :  the  realisation  of  the  sense,  and  the  apprecia- 
tion of  the  deep  religious  teaching  contained  In  the 
word,  the  power  of  intuitive  judgment,  and  the  power 
of  correct  and  ready  exposition)  ^  And  at  the 
moment  of  his  penetrating  the  truth  all  the  gods 
shouted  their  approval,  and  the  earth  thundered,  and 
the  Brahma  gods  clapped  their  hands,  and  there  fell 
from  heaven  a  shower  of  sweet-scented  sandal  dust 
and  of  Mandarava  flowers. 

36.  Now  at  that  time  the  innumerable  company 
of  the  Arahats  at  the  Guarded  Slope  in  the  Hima- 
laya mountains  sent  a  message  to  him  to  come,  for 
they  were  anxious  to  see  him.  And  when  he  heard 
the  message  the  venerable  Nagasena  vanished  from 
the  Asoka  Park  and  appeared  before  them.  And 
they  said  :  *  Nagasena,  that  king  Millnda  is  in  the 
habit  of  harassing  the  brethren  by  knotty  questions 
and  by  argumentations  this  way  and  that.  Do 
thou,    Nagasena,    go   and    [19]    master  him.' 

*  Not  only  let  king  Milinda,  holy  ones,  but  let  all 
the  kings  of  India,  come  and  propound  questions  to 


^  The  four  Pa/isambhidas,  which  form  the  subject  of  one  of 
the  books  of  the  Sutta  Pi/aka. 


30  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  37. 

me.     I  will  break  all  those  puzzles  up  and   solve 
them.     You  may  go  fearlessly  to  Sagala.' 

Then  all  the  Elders  went  to  the  city  of  Sagala, 
lighting  it  up  with  their  yellow  robes  like  lamps, 
and  bringing  down  upon  it  the  breezes  from  the 
heights  where  the  sages  dwell  ^ 


'^2)1'  -^t  that  time  the  venerable  Ayupala  was 
living  at  the  Sahkheyya  hermitage.  And  king 
Milinda  said  to  his  counsellors  :  '  Beautiful  is  the 
night  and  pleasant !  Who  is  the  wandering  teacher 
or  Brahman  we  can  visit  to  night  to  question  him 
who  will  be  able  to  converse  with  us  and  to  resolve 
our  doubts  ? ' 

And  the  five  hundred  Yonakas  replied  :  '  There 

A 

is  the  Elder,  Lord,  named  Ayupala,  versed  in  the 
three  baskets,  and  in  all  the  traditional  lore.  He  is 
living  now  at  the  Saiikheyya  hermitage.  To  him  you 
might  go,  O  king,  and  put  your  questions  to  him.' 

*  Very  well,  then.  Let  the  venerable  one  be 
informed   that  we  are  coming.' 

^  Isi-vata;;z  parivata?^  (nagara;«)  aka?«su.  The  meaning 
of  this  phrase,  which  has  not  been  found  elsewhere,  is  doubtful. 
Trenckner  renders  '  making  it  respire  the  odour  of  saints.'  The 
literal  translation  would  be  'making  it  blown  round  about  by 
i?/shi-wind.'  Perhaps  it  may  be  meant  to  convey  the  idea  of 
'  scented  with  the  sweet  breath  of  the  wise.'  But  in  any  case  the 
connotation  is  intended  to  be  a  pleasant  one.  Calling  to  mind 
the  analogous  phrase  vi^anavata?«  arama;;z,  'a  hermitage  with 
breezes  from  the  desert.'  (Mahavagga  I,  22,  i7=:^ullavagga  VI, 
4,  8.)  I  venture  to  suggest  the  rendering  adopted  above.  Hina/i- 
kumbure  (p.  24)  has  i??'shiwarayahge  gamanagamanaye?;/ 
^anita  wa  kivara  watayew  pratiwataya  kalahuya.  'They 
set  its  air  in  commotion  produced  by  the  waving  of  the  robes  of 
the  coming  and  going  7?/shis.' 

^  We  here  take  up  the  original  episode  of  Milinda  as  interrupted 
^^  §  15  (or  if  there  is  an  interpolation  at  §  10). 


I,  38.  AYUPALA    SILENCED.  3 1 

Then  the  ro3^al  astrologer  sent  a  message  to 
Ayupala  to  the  effect  that  king  MIHnda  desired  to 
call  upon  him.  And  the  venerable  one  said  :  *  Let 
him  come.' 

So  Milinda  the  king,  attended  by  the  five  hun- 
dred Yonakas,  mounted  his  royal  chariot  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Sahkheyya  hermitage,  to  the  place 
where  Ayupala  dwelt,  and  exchanged  with  him  the 
greetings  and  compliments  of  friendship  and  cour- 
tesy, and  took  his  seat  respectfully  apart.  And  then 
he  said  to  him  : 

A 

38.  *  Of  what  use,  venerable  Ayupala,  is  the  re- 
nunciation of  the  world  carried  out  by  the  members 
of  your  Order,  and  in  what  do  you  place  the  sum- 
mum  bonum  ? ' 

'  Our  renunciation,  O  king,'  replied  the  Elder,  '  is 
for  the  sake  of  being  able  to  live  in  righteousness, 
and  in  spiritual  calm.' 

*  Is  there.  Sir,  any  layman  who  lives  so  ? ' 

'  Yes,  great  king,  there  are  such  laymen.  At  the 
time  when  the  Blessed  One  set  rolling  the  royal 
chariot  wheel  of  the  kingdom  of  rio-hteousness  at 
Benares,  at  the  Deer  Park,  [20]  eighteen  ko/is  of 
the  Brahma  gods,  and  an  innumerable  company  of 
other  gods,  attained  to  comprehension  of  the  truth  \ 
And  not  one  of  those  beings,  all  of  whom  were  lay- 
men, had  renounced  the  world.  And  again  when 
the  Blessed  One  delivered  the  Maha  Samaya  dis- 
course^, and  the  discourse  on  the  'Greatest  Blessing ^' 

^  See  my  'Buddhist  Suttas,'  pp.  153-155.  There  is  nothing 
about  the  eighteen  ko/is  in  the  Pi/aka  text  referred  to. 

2  No.  20  in  the  Digha  Nikaya. 

^  In  the  Maha  Mahgala,  translated  in  my  'Buddhism,'  pp. 
125-127. 


32  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  1,38. 

and  the  Exposition  of  Quietism  \  and  the  Exhorta- 
tion to  Rahula-,  the  multitude  of  gods  who  attained 
to  comprehension  of  the  truth  cannot  be  numbered. 
And  not  one  of  those  beings,  all  of  whom  were 
laymen,  had   renounced  the   world  ^' 

A 

'  Then,  most  venerable  Ayupala,  your  renuncia- 
tion is  of  no  use.  It  must  be  in  consequence  of  sins 
committed  in  some  former  birth,  that  the  Buddhist 
Sama;/as  renounce  the  world,  and  even  subject 
themselves  to  the  restraints  of  one  or  other  of  the 
thirteen  aids  to  purity^!  Those  who  remain  on 
one  seat  till  they  have  finished  their  repast  were, 
forsooth,  in  some  former  birth,  thieves  who  robbed 
other  men  of  their  food.  It  is  in  consequence  of 
the  Karma  of  having  so  deprived  others  of  food  that 
they  have  now  only  such  food  as  they  can  get  at 
one  sitting ;  and  are  not  allowed  to  eat  from  time  to 
time  as  they  want.  It  is  no  virtue  on  their  part,  no 
meritorious  abstinence,  no  righteousness  of  life.  And 
they  who   live   in  the   open   air  were,  forsooth,   in 

^  Sama-^itta-pariyaya  Suttanta.  It  is  not  certain  which  Sutta 
is  here  referred  to.  Trenckner  identifies  it  with  a  short  Sutta  in 
the  Ahguttara  (II,  4,  5).  It  is  true  that  the  ten  short  Suttas  in 
A.  II,  4  are  (in  the  Burmese  MSS.  only)  called  collectively  Sama- 
^itta  Vagga.  But  the  separate  Suttas  have  no  separate  titles; 
the  title  of  the  Vagga  is  not  found  in  the  Si///halese  MSS.,  and 
is  probably  later  than  the  text;  and  it  is  not,  after  all,  identical 
with  the  tide  here  given. 

^  There  are  several  Suttas  of  this  name  in  the  Pali  Pi/akas. 
The  one  referred  to  here  (and  also,  it  may  be  added,  in  the  Asoka 
Edicts)  is  probably  the  shorter  one  (ATila  Rahulovada  Sutta) 
found  both  in  the  Ma^^/^ima  (No.  147)  and  in  the  Sa^/iyutta 
(XXXIV,  120).     See  Trenckner's  note  on  this  passage. 

^  This  way  of  looking  at  gods  as  laymen,  still  '  in  the  world,'  is 
thoroughly  Buddhist. 

*  The  dhutahgas,  enumerated  by  Childers  sub  voce. 


1,39-  AYUPALA    SILENCED.  2>3 

some  former  birth,  dacolts  who  plundered  whole  vil- 
lages. It  is  in  consequence  of  the  Karma  of  having 
destroyed  other  people's  homes,  that  they  live  now" 
without  a  home,  and  are  not  allowed  the  use  of  huts. 
It  is  no  virtue  on  their  part,  no  meritorious  absti- 
nence, no  righteousness  of  life.  And  those  who 
never  lie  down,  they,  forsooth,  in  some  former  birth, 
were  highwaymen  who  seized  travellers,  and  bound 
them,  and  left  them  sitting  there.  It  is  in  conse- 
quence of  the  Karma  of  that  habit  that  they  have 
become  Nesa^^ika  in  this  life  (men  who  always 
sit)  and  get  no  beds  to  lie  on.  It  is  no  virtue  on 
their  part,  no  meritorious  abstinence,  no  righteous- 
ness of  life ! ' 

39.  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken  the  venerable 
Ayupala  was  silenced,  and  had  not  a  word  to  say  in 
reply.  Then  the  five  hundred  Yonakas  said  to  the 
king :  '  The  Elder,  O  king,  is  learned,  but  is  also 
diffident.  It  is  for  that  reason  that  he  makes  no 
rejoinder.  But  the  king  on  seeing  how  silent  Ayu- 
pala had  become,  clapped  his  hands  [21]  and  cried 
out:  'AH  India  is  an  empty  thing,  it  is  verily  like 
chaff!  There  is  no  one,  either  Sama;^a  or  Brahman, 
capable  of  discussing  things  with  me  and  dispelling 
my  doubts  ^ ! ' 

As  he  looked,  however,  at  the  assembly  and  saw 
how  fearless  and  self-possessed  the  Yonakas  ap- 
peared, he  thought  within  himself  :  '  For  a  certainty 
there  must  be,  methinks,  some  other  learned  brother 
capable  of  disputing  with  me,  or  those  Yonakas 
would  not  be  thus  confident.'    And  he  said  to  them : 


^  See  above,  p.  10,  §  14. 
[35]  D 


34  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  I,  40. 

'  Is  there,  my  good  men,  any  other  learned  brother 
to  discuss  things  with  me  and  dispel  my  doubts  ?' 

40.  Now  at  that  time  the  venerable  Nagasena, 
after  making  his  alms-tour  through  the  villages, 
towns,  and  cities,  had  in  due  course  arrived  at 
Sagala,  attended  by  a  band  of  Sama;/as,  as  the 
leader  of  a  company  of  the  Order ;  the  head  of  a 
body  of  disciples  ;  the  teacher  of  a  school ;  famous 
and  renowned,  and  highly  esteemed  by  the  people. 
And  he  was  learned,  clever,  wise,  sagacious,  and  able; 
a  skilful  expounder,  of  subdued  manners,  but  full  of 
courage;  well  versed  in  tradition,  master  of  the  three 
Baskets  (Pi/akas),  and  erudite  in  Vedic  lore  \  He 
was  in  possession  of  the  highest  (Buddhist)  insight, 
a  master  of  all  that  had  been  handed  down  in  the 
schools,  and  of  the  various  discriminations^  by  which 
the  most  abstruse  points  can  be  explained.  He  knew 
by  heart  the  ninefold  divisions  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Buddha  to  perfection  ^,  and  was  equally  skilled  in 
discerning  both  the  spirit  and  the  letter  of  the 
Word.  Endowed  with  instantaneous  and  varied 
power  of  repartee,  and  wealth  of  language,  and 
beauty  of  eloquence,  he  was  difficult  to  equal,  and 
still  m.ore  difficult  to  excel,  difficult  to  answer,  to 
repel,  or  to  refute.  He  was  imperturbable  as  the 
depths  of  the  sea,  immovable  as  the  king  of  moun- 
tains ;  victorious  in  the  struggle  with  evil,  a  dispeller 


^  This  is  ahvays  explained  as  wise  in  the  Buddhist  Vedas,  that 
is,  the  three  Pi/akas. 

-  Pa/is ambhidas:  see  above,  the  note  on  p.  29. 

^  Parami-ppatto.  This  is  an  unusual  use  of  Parami,  but  it 
occurs  again  below,  p.  36,  in  a  similar  connection,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  of  its  meaning.  Trenckner  translates  it  '  better  than 
any  one  else.' 


I,  41.  NAGASENA.  35 

of  darkness  and  diffuser  of  light ;  mighty  in  elo- 
quence, a  confounder  of  the  followers  of  other 
masters,  and  a  crusher-out  of  the  adherents  of  rival 
doctrines  (malleus  hereticorum).  Honoured  and 
revered  by  the  brethren  and  sisters  of  the  Order, 
and  its  lay  adherents  of  either  sex,  and  by  kings 
and  their  high  officials,  he  was  in  the  abundant 
receipt  of  all  the  requisites  of  a  member  of  the  Order 
— robes  and  bowl  and  lodging,  and  whatever  is  need- 
ful for  the  sick — receiving  the  highest  veneration 
no  less  than  material  gifts.  To  the  wise  and  dis- 
cernine  who  came  to  him  with  listeninsf  ear  he 
displayed  the  ninefold  jewel  of  the  Conqueror's 
word,  he  pointed  out  to  them  the  path  of  righteous- 
ness, bore  aloft  for  them  the  torch  of  truth,  set  up 
for  them  the  sacred  pillar  of  the  truths  and  cele- 
brated for  their  benefit  the  sacrifice  of  the  truth. 
For  them  he  waved  the  banner,  raised  the  standard, 
blew  the  trumpet,  and  beat  the  drum  of  truth. 
And  with  his  mighty  lion's  voice,  [22]  like  Indra's 
thunder  but  sweet  the  while,  he  poured  out  upon 
them  a  plenteous  shower,  heavy  with  drops  of 
mercy,  and  brilliant  with  the  coruscations  of  the 
liohtnine  flashes  of  his  knowleds^e,  of  the  nectar 
waters  of  the  teaching  of  the  Nirva/^a  of  the  truth — 
thus  satisfying  to  the  full  a  thirsty  world. 

41.  There  then,  at  the  Sankheyya  hermitage,  did 
the  venerable  Nagasena,  with  a  numerous  company 
of  the  brethren,  dwell  ^.     Therefore  is  it  said  : 


^  Dhamma-yfipa;;/;  with  allusion  to  the  sacred  sacrificial  post, 
which  plays  so  great  a  part  in  Brahman  ritual. 

^  Literally  'with  eighty  thousand:'  but  this  merely  means  to 
say,  with  a  large  (undefined)  number.  See  the  use  of  the  phrase 
in  the  Na/apana  Gataka  (Fausboll,  No.  20). 

D  2 


^6  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILTNDA.  1,42. 

'  Learned,  with  varied  eloquence,  sagacious,  bold, 
Master  of  views,  in  exposition  sound, 
The  brethren — wise  themselves  in  holy  writ, 
Repeaters  of  the  fivefold  sacred  word — 
Put  Nagrasena  as  their  leader  and  their  chief. 
Him,  Nagasena  of  clear  mind  and  wisdom  deep. 
Who  knew  which  was  the  right  Path,  which  the 

false. 
And  had  himself  attained  Nirva;2a's  placid  heights! 

Attended  by  the  wise,  by  holders  to  the  Truth, 
He  had  gone  from  town  to  town,  and  come  to 

Sagala ; 
And  now  he  dwelt  there  in  Sahkheyya's  grove, 
Appearing,  among  men,  like  the  lion  of  the  hills.' 

42.  And  Devamantiya  said  to  king  Milinda  : 
*  Wait  a  little,  great  king,  wait  a  little  !  There  is  an 
Elder  named  Nagasena,  learned,  able,  and  wise,  of 
subdued  manners,  yet  full  of  courage,  versed  in  the 
traditions,  a-  master  of  language,  and  ready  in  reply, 
one  who  understands  alike  the  spirit  and  the  letter 
of  the  law,  and  can  expound  its  difiiculties  and 
refute  objections  to  perfection^.  He  is  staying  at 
present  at  the  Sahkheyya  hermitage.  You  should  go, 
great  king,  and  put  your  questions  to  him.  He  is  able 
to  discuss  things  with  you,  and  dispel  your  doubts.' 

Then  when  Milinda  the  king  heard  the  name 
Nagasena,  thus  suddenly  introduced,  he  was  seized 
with  fear,  and  with  anxiety,  and  the  hairs  of  his 
body  stood  on  end".  But  he  asked  Devamantiya  : 
'  Is  that  really  so  ? ' 


^  See  above,  p.  34,  note  3. 

-  The  name  itself,  which  means  '  Chief  of  Naga  Snakes/  is 


A 


1,43.  NAGASENA.  37 

And  Devamantlya  replied  :  'He  is  capable,  Sire, 
of  discussing  things  with  the  guardians  of  the  world 
— with  Indra,  Yama,  Varu;^a,  Kuvera,  Pra^apati, 
Suyama,  [23]  and  Santushita — and  even  with  the 
great  Brahma  himself,  the  progenitor  of  mankind, 
how  much  more  tlien  with  a  mere  human  being !' 

*  Do  you  then,  Devamantlya,'  said  the  king,  '  send 
a  messenger  to  say  I  am  coming.' 

And  he  did  so.  And  Nagasena  sent  word  back 
that  he  might  come.  And  the  king,  attended  by 
the  five  hundred  Yonakas,  mounted  his  royal  chariot, 
and  proceeded  with  a  great  retinue  to  the  Sankheyya 
hermitage,  and  to  the  place  where  Nagasena  dwelt. 

43.  At  that  time  the  venerable  Nagasena  was 
seated  with  the  innumerable  company  of  the 
brethren  of  the  Order,  in  the  open  hall  in  front 
of  the  hermitage \  So  kinof  Milinda  saw  the  assem- 
bly  from  afar,  and  he  said  to  Devamantiya  :  '  Whose, 
Devamantiya,  is  this  so  mighty  retinue  ?' 

*  These  are  they  who  follow  the  venerable  Naga- 
sena,' was  the  reply. 

Then  at  the  sight  there  came  over  king  Milinda 


terrible  enough,  especially  as  the  Nagas  were  looked  upon  as 
supernatural  beings.  But  it  is  no  doubt  also  intended  that  the 
king  had  heard  of  his  fame. 

^  Ma«fifala-mala,  that  is  a  hall  consisting  only  of  a  roof,  sup- 
ported by  pillars  which  are  connected  by  a  dwarf  wall  two  or 
three  feet  in  height.  The  roof  projects  beyond  the  pillars,  so  that 
the  space  within  is  well  shaded.  It  is  a  kind  of  open  air  drawing- 
room  attached  to  most  hermitages,  and  may  be  so  small  that  it  can 
be  rightly  rendered  arbour  (see  above,  p.  25),  or  sufficiently  large 
to  accommodate  a  considerable  number.  Usually  of  wood,  some- 
times of  stone,  it  is  always  graceful  in  appearance  and  pleasant  to 
use.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  corresponding  passage  of  the  Samawra 
rhala  (D.  II,  10). 


38  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDv\.  I,  44. 


O 


a  feeling  of  fear  and  of  anxiety,  and  the  hairs  of  his 
body  stood  on  end  \  But  nevertheless,  though  he 
felt  like  an  elephant  hemmed  in  by  rhinoceroses, 
like  a  serpent  surrounded  by  the  Garurt'as  (the 
snake-eating  mythical  birds),  like  a  jackal  sur- 
rounded by  boa-constrictors,  or  a  bear  by  buffaloes, 
like  a  frog  pursued  by  a  serpent,  or  a  deer  by  a 
panther,  like  a  snake  in  the  hands  of  a  snake 
charmer,  or  a  rat  played  with  by  a  cat,  or  a  devil 
charmed  by  an  exorcist,  like  the  moon  when  it  is 
seized  by  Rahu,  like  a  snake  caught  in  a  basket, 
or  a  bird  in  a  cage,  or  a  fish  in  a  net,  like  a  man 
who  has  lost  his  way  in  a  dense  forest  haunted  by 
wild  beasts,  like  a  Yakkha  (ogre)  who  has  sinned 
against  Vessavana  (the  king  of  ogres  and  fairies), 
or  like  a  eod  whose  term  of  life  as  a  o-od  has 
reached  its  end — though  confused  and  terrified, 
anxious,  and  beside  himself  in  an  agony  of  fear  like 
that — yet  at  the  thought  that  he  must  at  least  avoid 
humiliation  in  the  sight  of  the  people,  he  took 
courage,  and  said  to  Devamantiya  :  '  You  need  not 
[24]  trouble  to  point  out  to  me  which  is  Nagasena. 
I  shall  pick  him  out  unaided.' 

'  Certainly,  Sire,  recognise  him  yourself,'  said  he^. 

44.  Now  Nagasena  was  junior  in  seniority  (rec- 
koned from  the  date  of  his  full  membership  in  the 


^  This  again,  like  the  passage  at  p.  8,  is  an  echo  of  the  Sama?7;7a 
Phala.  (See  D.  2,  10  of  our  forthcoming  edition,  or  p.  116  of 
Grimblot.) 

-  In  the  corresponding  passage  of  the  Sama77/7a  Phala  Civaka 
points  out  the  Buddha  to  A^atasattu  (§  11,  Grimblot,  p.  117). 
This  \vould  be  in  the  memory  of  all  his  readers,  and  our  author 
alters  the  story  in  this  case  to  show  how  superior  INIilinda  was  to 
the  royal  interlocutor  in  the  older  dialogue. 


I,  44.  NAGASENA.  39 


Order)  to  the  half  of  that  great  company  seated  m 
front  of  him,  and  senior  to  the  half  seated  behind 
him.  And  as  he  looked  over  the  whole  of  the 
assembly,  in  front,  and  down  the  centre,  and  be- 
hind, king  Milinda  detected  Nagasena  seated  in  the 
middle,  and,  like  a  shaggy  lion  who  knows  no  fear 
or  frenzy,  entirely  devoid  of  nervous  agitation,  and 
free  from  shyness  and  trepidation.  And  as  soon  as 
he  saw  him,  he  knew  by  his  mien  that  that  was  Na- 
gasena, and  he  pointed  him  out  to  Devamantiya. 

'  Yes,  great   king,'  said   he,   '  that   is   Nagasena. 
Well  hast  thou,  Sire,  recognised  the  sage.' 

Whereupon   the   king  rejoiced  that  he   had    re- 
cognised Nagasena  without  having  had  him  pointed 
out  to  him.     But  nevertheless,  at  the  sight  of  him, 
the  king  was  seized  with   nervous  excitement  and 
trepidation  and  fear.     Therefore  is  it  said  : 
'  At  the  sight  of  Nagasena,  wise  and  pure, 
Subdued  in  all  that  is  the  best  subjection, 
Milinda  uttered  this  foreboding  word— 
"  Many  the  talkers  I  have  visited, 
Many  the  conversations  I  have  had, 
But  never  yet,  till  now,  to-day,  has  fear, 
So  strange,  so  terrible,  o'erpowered  my  heart. 
Verily  now  defeat  must  be  my  lot. 
And  victory  his,  so  troubled  is  my  mind." ' 

Here  ends  the  introductory  secular  narrative 
(Bahira-katha)^ 


1  See  note  on  p.  i.  This  book  closes  in  Hina/i-kumbure's 
Si7«halese  version  with  the  title  'Purwa  Yoga  yayi;'  and  is  of 
course  identical  with  the  Pubba-yoga  referred  to  above,  p.  4, 
as  the  first  division  of  the  work. 


40  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  i,  i. 


BOOK  II. 

LaKKHAJVA     PAiVHA. 

the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  ethical 

qualities. 

Chapter    1. 

I.  [25]  Now  Milinda  the  king  went  up  to  where 
the  venerable  Nagasena  was,  and  addressed  him 
with  the  greetings  and  compHments  of  friendship 
and  courtesy,  and  took  his  seat  respectfully  apart. 
And  Nagasena  reciprocated  his  courtesy,  so  that 
the  heart  of  the  king  was  propitiated. 

And  Milinda  began  by  asking,  ^ '  How  is  your 
Reverence  known,  and  what,  Sir,  is  your  name  ?' 

'  I  am  known  as  Nagasena,  O  king,  and  it  is  by 
that  name  that  my  brethren  in  the  faith  address  me. 
But  although  parents,  O  king,  give  such  a  name  as 
Nagasena,  or  Surasena,  or  Virasena,  or  Sihasena, 
yet  this.  Sire, — Nagasena  and  so  on — is  only  a  gene- 
rally understood  term,  a  designation  in  common  use. 
For  there  is  no  permanent  individuality  (no  soul) 
involved  in  the  matter^.' 

^  There  is  a  free  translation  of  the  Sinhalese  version  of  the 
following  dialogues  (down  to  the  end  of  our  §  4)  in  Spence  Hardy's 
'  Manual  of  Buddhism,'  pp.  424-429.  But  it  is  very  unreliable  as 
a  reproduction  of  either  the  Si;;/halese  or  the  Pali,  and  slurs  over 
the  doubtful  passages. 

^  Na  puggalo  upalabbhati.  This  thesis,  that  'there  is  no 
individual,'  is  discussed  at  the  opening  of  the  Katha  Vatthu  (leaf 
ka  of  my  MS.)  Put  into  modern  philosophical  phraseology  it 
amounts  to  saying  that  there  is  no  permanent  subject  underlying 
the  temporary  phenomena  visible  in  a  man's  individuality.     But 


II,  T,  I.  INDIVIDUALITY.  4 1 

Then  Milinda  called  upon  the  Yonakas  and  the 
brethren  to  witness  :  *  This  Nagasena  says  there  is 
no  permanent  individuality  (no  soul)  implied  in  his 
name.  Is  it  now  even  possible  to  approve  him  in 
that  ? '  And  turning  to  Nagasena,  he  said :  'If, 
most  reverend  Nagasena,  there  be  no  permanent 
individuality  (no  soul)  involved  in  the  matter, 
who  is  it,  pray,  who  gives  to  you  members  of  the 
Order  your  robes  and  food  and  lodging  and  neces- 
saries for  the  sick  ?  Who  is  it  who  enjoys  such 
things  when  given  ?  Who  is  it  who  lives  a  life  of 
righteousness  ?  Who  is  it  who  devotes  himself  to 
meditation  ?  Who  is  it  who  attains  to  the  goal  of 
the  Excellent  Way,  to  the  Nirva;^a  of  Arahatship  ? 
And  who  is  it  who  destroys  living  creatures  ?  who 
is  it  who  takes  what  is  not  his  own  ?  who  is  it  who 
lives  an  evil  life  of  worldly  lusts,  who  speaks  lies, 
who  drinks  strong  drink,  who  (in  a  word)  com- 
mits any  one  of  the  five  sins  which  work  out  their 
bitter  fruit  even  in  this  life  ^?  If  that  be  so  there  is 
neither  merit  nor  demerit ;  there  is  neither  doer  nor 
causer  of  good  or  evil  deeds  ^ ;  there  is  neither  fruit 
nor  result  of  good  or  evil  Karma  ^  [26] — If,  most 
reverend  Nagasena,  we  are  to  think  that  were  a  man 

I  doubt  whether,  even  in  our  author's  time,  the  conception  'subject' 
was  common  ground,  or  that  the  word  puggala  had  acquired 
that  special  connotation. 

^  Pa«/{'anantariya-kammaw  karoti.  See  my  note  on  A'ulla- 
vagga  VII,  3,  9  (' Vinaya  Texts,'  vol.  iii,  p.  246,  in  the  Sacred 
Books  of  the  East). 

^  This  is  no  doubt  said  in  these  words  with  allusion  to  the 
opinion  ascribed  in  the  Sama«;7a  Phala  (D.  II,  17)  to  Pura;/a 
Kassapa. 

^  This  is  the  opinion  ascribed  in  identical  words  in  the  Sama;7;7a 
Phala  (D.  II,  23)  to  A^ita  of  the  garment  of  hair. 


42  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  i,  i. 

to  kill  you  there  would  be  no  murder  ^  then  it  follows 
that  there  are  no  real  masters  or  teachers  in  your 
Order,  and  that  your  ordinations  are  void. — You 
tell  me  that  your  brethren  in  the  Order  are  in  the 
habit  of  addressing  you  as  Nagasena.  Now  what  is 
that  Nagasena  ?  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  hair 
is  Naoasena  ? ' 

'  I  don't  say  that,  great  king.' 

'  Or  the  hairs  on  the  body,  perhaps  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'Or  is  it  the  nails,  the  teeth,  the  skin,  the  flesh,  the 
nerves,  the  bones,  the  marrow,  the  kidneys,  the  heart, 
the  liver,  the  abdomen,  the  spleen,  the  lungs,  the 
larger  intestines,  the  lower  intestines,  the  stomach, 
the  faeces,  the  bile,  the  phlegm,  the  pus,  the  blood,  the 
sweat,  the  fat,  the  tears,  the  serum,  the  saliva,  the 
mucus,  the  oil  that  lubricates  the  joints,  the  urine,  or 
the  brain,  or  any  or  all  of  these,  that  is  Nagasena-  ?' 

And  to  each  of  these  he  answered  no. 

'  Is  it  the  outward  form  then  (Rupa)  that  is 
Nagasena,  or  the  sensations  (Vedana),  or  the  ideas 
{Safijla.),  or  the  confections  (the  constituent  elements 
of  character,  Sawkhara),  or  the  consciousness  (Viil- 
;'^ana),  that  is  Nagasena"  ?' 

And  to  each  of  these  also  he  answered  no. 


^  This  is  practically  the  same  opinion  as  is  ascribed  in  tlie 
Samaw/a  Phala  (D.  II,  26)  to  Pakudha  KaX'X'ayana. 

"  This  list  of  the  thirty-two  forms  (a>^aras)  of  organic  matter 
in  the  human  body  occurs  already  in  the  Khuddaka  Vaf/ia,  §  3. 
It  is  the  standard  list  always  used  in  similar  connections ;  and  is, 
no  doubt,  supposed  to  be  exhaustive.  There  are  sixteen  (half  as 
many)  aX-aras  of  the  mind  according  to  Dipavawsa  I,  42. 

^  These  are  the  five  Skandhas,  which  include  in  them  the  whole 
bodily  and  mental  constituents  of  any  being.     See  p.  80. 


II,  I,  I.  SIMILE    OF    THE    CHARIOT.  43 

'  Then  is  it  all  these  Skandhas  combined  that  are 
Ndgasena  ?' 

'  No  !  great  king.' 

'  But  is  there  anything  outside  the  five  Skandhas 
that  is  Nagasena?* 

And  still  he  answered  no. 

'  Then  thus,  ask  as  I  may,  I  can  discover  no 
Nagasena.  Nagasena  is  a  mere  empty  sound.  Who 
then  is  the  Nagasena  that  we  see  before  us  ?  It  is 
a  falsehood  that  your  reverence  has  spoken,  an 
untruth  ! ' 

And  the  venerable  Nagasena  said  to  Milinda 
the  king :  '  You,  Sire,  have  been  brought  up  in 
great  luxury,  as  beseems  your  noble  birth.  If  you 
were  to  walk  this  dry  weather  on  the  hot  and  sandy 
ground,  trampling  under  foot  the  gritty,  gravelly 
grains  of  the  hard  sand,  your  feet  would  hurt  you. 
And  as  your  body  would  be  in  pain,  your  mind 
would  be  disturbed,  and  you  would  experience  a 
sense  of  bodily  suffering.  How  then  did  you  come, 
on  foot,  or  in  a  chariot  ? ' 

'  I  did  not  come,  Sir,  on  foot  [27].  I  came  in  a 
carriage.' 

'  Then  if  you  came.  Sire,  in  a  carriage,  explain  to 
me  what  that  is.     Is  it  the  pole  that  is  the  chariot  ?' 

*  I  did  not  say  that.' 

'  Is  it  the  axle  that  is  the  chariot  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'  Is  it  the  wheels,  or  the  framework,  or  the  ropes, 
or  the  yoke,  or  the  spokes  of  the  wheels,  or  the 
goad,  that  are  the  chariot  ? ' 

And  to  all  these  he  still  answered  no. 

'  Then  is  it  all  these  parts  of  it  that  are  the 
chariot  ? ' 


44  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  H,  I,  i. 

'  No,  Sir.' 

'  But  is  there  anything  outside  them  that  is  the 
chariot  ? ' 

And  still  he  answered  no. 

'  Then  thus,  ask  as  I  may,  I  can  discover  no 
chariot.  Chariot  is  a  mere  empty  sound.  What 
then  is  the  chariot  you  say  you  came  in  ?  It 
is  a  falsehood  that  your  Majesty  has  spoken,  an 
untruth !  There  is  no  such  thing  as  a  chariot ! 
You  are  king  over  all  India,  a  mighty  monarch.  Of 
whom  then  are  you  afraid  that  you  speak  untruth  ? 
And  he  called  upon  the  Yonakas  and  the  brethren 
to  witness,  saying :  '  Milinda  the  king  here  has  said 
that  he  came  by  carriage.  But  when  asked  in  that 
case  to  explain  what  the  carriage  was,  he  is  unable 
to  establish  what  he  averred.  Is  it,  forsooth,  pos- 
sible to  approve  him  in  that  ?  ' 

When  he  had  thus  spoken  the  five  hundred  Yo- 
nakas shouted  their  applause,  and  said  to  the  king  : 
'  Now  let  your  Majesty  get  out  of  that  if  you  can  ?' 

And  Milinda  the  king  replied  to  Nagasena,  and 
said :  '  I  have  spoken  no  untruth,  reverend  Sir.  It 
is  on  account  of  its  having  all  these  things — the 
pole,  and  the  axle,  the  wheels,  and  the  framework, 
the  ropes,  the  yoke,  the  spokes,  and  the  goad — that 
it  comes  under  the  generally  understood  term,  the 
designation  in  common  use,  of  "  chariot."  ' 

'  Very  good  !  Your  Majesty  has  rightly  grasped 
the  meaning  of  "  chariot."  And  just  even  so  it  is  on 
account  of  all  those  things  you  questioned  me  about 
— [28]  the  thirty-two  kinds  of  organic  matter  in  a 
human  body,  and  the  five  constituent  elements  of 
being — that  I  come  under  the  generally  understood 
term,  the  designation  in  common  use,  of  "Nagasena." 


II,  I,  2.  SENIORITY.  45 

For  it  was  said,  Sire,  by  our  Sister  Va^ira  in  the 
presence  of  the  Blessed  One  : 

'"Just  as  it  is  by  the  condition  precedent  of  the 
co-existence    of  its   various    parts    that    the    word 
*  chariot '  is  used,  just  so  is  it  that  when  the  Skan-  ^ 
dhas  are  there  we  talk  of  a  *  being \' "  ' 

'  Most  wonderful,  Nagasena,  and  most  strange. 
Well  has  the  puzzle  put  to  you,  most  difficult  though 
it  was,  been  solved.  Were  the  Buddha  himself 
here  he  would  approve  your  answer.  Well  done, 
well  done,  Nagasena  ! ' 


2.  '  How  many  years  seniority  have  you,  Naga- 
sena ? ' 

*  Seven,  your  Majesty.' 

'  But  how  can  you  say  it  is  your  "seven  ?"  Is  it 
you  who  are  "seven,"  or  the  number  that  is  "seven?"' 

Now  that  moment  the  figure  of  the  king,  decked 
in  all  the  finery  of  his  royal  ornaments,  cast  its 
shadow  on  the  ground,  and  was  reflected  in  a  vessel 
of  water.  And  Nagasena  asked  him  :  *  Your  figure, 
O  king,  is  now  shadowed  upon  the  ground,  and 
reflected  in  the  water,  how  now,  are  you  the  king, 
or  is  the  reflection  the  kine  ? ' 

'  I  am  the  king,  Nagasena,  but  the  shadow  comes 
into  existence  because  of  me.' 

*  Just  even  so,  O  king,  the  number  of  the  years  is 
seven,  I  am  not  seven.  But  it  is  because  of  me, 
O  king,  that  the  number  seven  has  come  into  ex- 
istence ;  and  it  is  mine  in  the  same  sense  as  the 
shadow  is  yours  ^.' 

^  From  the  Sawyutta  Nikaya  V,  lo,  6. 

^  Hardy  (p.  427,  §  4  of  the  first  edition)  has  quite  missed  the 
point  of  this  crux. 


46  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         11,1,3- 

'  Most  wonderful  again,  and  strange,  Nagasena. 
Well  has  the  question  put  to  you,  most  difficult 
though  it  was,  been  solved  I' 


3.  The  king  said  :  *  Reverend  Sir,  will  you  discuss 
with  me  again  ?  ' 

'  If  your  Majesty  will  discuss  as  a  scholar  (pa;/^it), 
well ;  but  if  you  will  discuss  as  a  king,  no.' 

'  How  is  it  then  that  scholars  discuss  ?' 

'When  scholars  talk  a  matter  over  one  with 
another  then  is  there  a  winding  up  ^  an  unravelling ; 
one  or  other  is  convicted  of  error  2,  and  he  then 
acknowledges  his  mistake ;  [29]  distinctions  are 
drawn,  and  contra-distinctions^;  and  yet  thereby 
they  are  not  angered.  Thus  do  scholars,  O  king, 
discuss.' 

'  And  how  do  kings  discuss  ? ' 

'  When  a  king,  your  Majesty,  discusses  a  matter, 
and  he  advances  a  point,  if  any  one  differ  from  him 
on  that  point,  he  is  apt  to  fine  him,  saying  :  "  In- 
flict such  and  such  a  punishment  upon  that  fellow  ! " 
Thus,  your  Majesty,  do  kings  discuss^.' 

'  Very  well.  It  is  as  a  scholar,  not  as  a  king, 
that  I  will  discuss.  Let  your  reverence  talk  unre- 
strainedly, as  you  would  with  a  brother,  or  a  novice, 
or  a  lay  disciple,  or  even  with  a  servant.  Be  not 
afraid ! ' 


^  Ave/,^ana/« ;  not  in  Childers,  but  see  Gataka  II,  9  ;  IV,  383, 
384  ;  and  Morris  in  the  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society,'  1887. 

2  Niggaho  kariyati,  as  for  instance  below,  p.  142. 

3  Pa/iviseso;  not  in  Childers,  but  see  again  (7ataka  II,  9. 

*  Hardy,  loc.  cit.  §   5,  puts  all  this  into  the  mouths  of  'the 
priests.' 


IT,  1,3-  SABBADINNA.  47 

'Very  good,  your  Majesty,'  said  Nagasena,  with 
thankfulness. 

'Nagasena,  I  have  a  question  to  ask  you;'  said 
the  king. 

'  Pray  ask  it,  Sire.' 

'  I  have  asked  it,  your  Reverence.' 

'  That  is  answered  already.' 

'  What  have  you  answered  ?  ' 

'  To  what,  then,  does  your  Majesty  refer  ?' 

But  Milinda  the  king  thought :  '  This  Bhikkhu  is 
a  great  scholar.  He  is  quite  capable  of  discussing 
things  with  me.  And  I  shall  have  a  number  of 
points  on  which  to  question  him,  and  before  I  can 
ask  them  all,  the  sun  will  set.  It  would  be  better 
to  carry  on  the  discussion  at  home  to-morrow.' 
And  he  said  to  Devamantiya  :  '  You  may  let  his 
reverence  know  that  the  discussion  with  the  kinor 
shall  be  resumed  to-morrow  at  the  palace.'  And  so 
saying,  he  took  leave  of  Nagasena,  and  mounted 
his  horse,  and  went  away,  muttering  as  he  went, 
'  Nagasena,  Nagasena  !' 

And  Devamantiva  delivered  his  messaee  to  Nao-a- 
sena,  who  accepted  the  proposal  with  gladness.  And 
early  the  next  morning  Devamantiya  and  Ananta- 
kaya  and  Mankura  and  Sabbadinna  went  to  the 
king,  and  said :  '  Is  his  reverence,  Nagasena,  to 
come,  [30]  Sire,  to-day  ?  ' 

*  Yes,  he  is  to  come.' 

'  With  how  many  of  the  brethren  is  he  to  come  ?' 

'  With  as  many  as  he  likes.' 

And  Sabbadinna  said  :  '  Let  him  come  with  ten.' 
But  the  king  repeated  what  he  had  said.  And  on  Sab- 
badinna reiterating  his  suggestion,  the  king  rejoined  : 
'  All   this  preparation  has  been  made,  and   I  say  : 


48  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  i,  4. 


"  Let  him  come  with  as  many  as  he  Hkes,"  yet 
Sabbadinna  says  :  "  Let  him  come  with  ten."  Does 
he  suppose  we  are  not  capable  of  feeding  so  many  ?' 
Then  Sabbadinna  was  ashamed. 


4.  And  Devamantiya  and  Anantakaya  and  Man- 
kura  went  to  Nagasena  and  told  him  what  the  king 
had  said.  And  the  venerable  Nagasena  robed  him- 
self in  the  forenoon,  and  taking  his  bowl  in  his  hand, 
went  to  Sagala  with  the  whole  company  of  the 
brethren.  And  Anantakaya,  as  he  walked  beside 
Nagasena,  said  : 

'  When,  your  reverence,  I  say,  "  Nagasena,"  what 
is  that  Nagasena  ?' 

The  Elder  replied  :  '  What  do  you  think  Naga- 
sena is  ? ' 

'  The  soul,  the  inner  breath  which  comes  and 
goes,  that  I  suppose  to  be  Nagasena.' 

'  But  if  that  breath  having  gone  forth  should  not 
return,  or  having  returned  should  not  go  forth, 
would  the  man  be  alive  ? ' 

'  Certainly  [31]  not,  Sir.' 

'  But  those  trumpeters,  when  they  blow  their 
trumpets,  does  their  breath  return  again  to  them  ?' 

'  No,  Sir,  it  does  not.' 

'  Or  those  pipers,  when  they  blow  their  pipes  or 
horns,  does  their  breath  return  again  to  them  ? ' 

'  No,  Sir.' 

'  Then  why  don't  they  die  ?  ' 

'  I  am  not  capable  of  arguing  with  such  a  reasoner. 
Pray  tell  me.  Sir,  how  the  matter  stands.' 

*  There  is  no  soul  in  the  breath.  These  inhala- 
tions and  exhalations  are  merely  constituent  powers 


11,1,5-  RENUNCIATION.  49 


of  the  bodily  frame,'  said  the  Elder.  And  he  talked 
to  him  from  the  Abhidhamma  ^  to  such  effect  that  ^ 
Anantakaya  confessed  himself  as  a  supporter  of  the 
Order. 

5.  And  the  venerable  Nagasena  went  to  the  king, 
and  sat  down  on  the  seat  prepared  for  him.  And 
the  king  provided  Nagasena  and  his  following  with 
food,  both  hard  and  soft,  as  much  as  they  required  : 
and  presented  each  brother  with  a  suit  of  garments, 
and  Nagasena  himself  with  a  set  of  three  robes. 
And  then  he  said  to  him  :  '  Be  pleased  to  keep  your 
seat  here,  and  with  )ou  ten  of  the  brethren.  Let 
the  rest  depart.' 

And  when  he  saw  that  Naqasena  had  finished  his 
meal,  he  took  a  lower  seat,  and  sat  beside  him,  and 
said  :  'What  shall  v/e  discuss  ?' 

'  We  want  to  arrive  at  truth.  Let  our  discussion 
be  about  the  truth.' 

And  the  king  said  :  'What  Is  the  object,  Sir,  of 
your  2  renunciation,  and  what  the  summum  bonum 
at  which  you  aim  ?' 

'  Why  do  you  ask  ?  Our  renunciation  is  to  the 
end  that  this  sorrow  may  perish  away,  and  that  no 
further  sorrow  may  arise  ;  the  complete  passing 
away,  without  cleaving  to  the  world,  is  our  highest 
aim.' 

'  How  now,  Sir !  Is  it  for  such  high  reasons  that 
all  members  of  it  have  joined  the  Order  ?' 

[32]  '  Certainly  not,  Sire.     Some  for  those  reasons, 

'"'  I  venture  to  think  it  is  incorrect  to  put  a  full  stop,  as  Mr. 
Trenckner  has  done,  after  akasi. 

^  Plural.  'You  members  of  the  Buddhist  Order.'  The  question 
is  further  elaborated  below,  III,  i,  3,  and  above,  1.  38. 

[.35]  E 


50  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  IT,  T,  6. 

but  some  have  left  the  world  in  terror  at  the  tyranny 
of  kings.  Some  have  joined  us  to  be  safe  from  being 
robbed,  some  harassed  by  debt,  and  some  perhaps 
to  eain  a  livelihood.' 

'  But  for  what  object,  Sir,  did  you  yourself  join.' 
'  I  was  received  into  the  Order  when  I  was  a  mere 
boy,  I  knew  not  then  the  ultimate  aim.  But  I 
thought :  "  They  are  wise  scholars,  these  Buddhist 
Sama/^as,  they  will  be  able  to  teach  me."  And  by 
them  I  have  been  taught ;  and  now  do  I  both  know 
and  understand  what  is  at  once  the  reason  for,  and 
the  advantage  of  renunciation.' 
'  Well  put,  Nagasena  ! ' 


6.  The  king  said  :  '  Nagasena,  is  there  any  one 
who  after  death  is  not  reindividualised  ?' 

'  Some  are  so,  and  some  not.' 

*  Who  are  they  ? ' 

'  A  sinful  being  is  reindividualised,  a  sinless 
one  is  not.' 

'  Will  you  be  reindividualised  ? ' 

'  If  when  I  die,  I  die  with  craving  for  existence  in 
my  heart,  yes  ;  but  if  not,  no  ^' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena ! ' 


7.  The  king  said  :  '  Nagasena,  he  who  escapes  rein- 
dividualisation  is  it  by  reasoning  that  he  escapes  It.'^' 

'  Both  by  reasoning^,  your  Majesty,  and  by  wis- 
dom ^,  and  by  other  good  qualities.' 

'  But  are  not  reasoning  and  wisdom  surely  much 
the  same  ?  ' 

'  Certainly  not.      Reasoning  is  one  thing,  wisdom 

^  Repeated  below,  with  an  illustration,  Chap.  2,  §  7,  p.  76. 
^  Yoniso  manasikara.  ^  Fa/lfia.     See  pp.  59,  64,  128. 


II,  I,  9.  REASON    AND    WISDOM.  5  I 

another.  Sheep  and  goats,  oxen  and  buffaloes, 
camels  and  asses  have  reasoning,  but  wisdom  they 
have  not.' 

'Well  put,  Nagasena!' 


8.  The  king  said:  'What  is  the  characteristic 
mark  of  reasoning,  and  what  of  wisdom  V 

'  Reasoning    has    always    comprehension    as    its 
C-      mark  ;  but  wisdom  has  cutting  off  \' 

'  But  how  is  comprehension  the  characteristic  of 
reasoning,  and  cutting  off  of  wisdom  ?  Give  me  an 
illustration.' 

'  You  remember  the  barley  reapers  ? ' 

'  Yes,  certainly.'  [33] 

'  How  do  they  reap  the  barley?' 

*  With  the  left  hand  they  grasp  the  barley  into  a 
bunch,  and  taking  the  sickle  into  the  right  hand,  they 
cut  it  oif  with  that.' 

'Just  even  so,  O  king,  does  the  recluse  by  his 
thinking  grasp  his  mind,  and  by  his  wisdom  cut  off 
his  failings.  In  this  way  is  it  that  comprehension 
is  the  characteristic  of  reasoning,  but  cutting  off  of 
wisdom.' 

'  Well  put,  Nagasena  ! ' 


9.  The  king  said:  'When  you  said  just  now, 
"  And  by  other  good  qualities,"  to  which  did  you 
refer  ?' 


^  In  the  long  list  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  ethical 
qualities  given  by  Buddhaghosa  in  the  Sumahgala,  p.  63,  pa^anana 
is  the  mark  of  paw/Tindriya,  avi^^aya  akampiyaw  of  paz/wa- 
bala,  and  tad-uttariyaw^  of  pa««a  simply.  He  gives  no  'mark' 
of  yoniso  manasikara. 

E  2 


(M 


52  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  i,  9. 

'Good  conduct,  great  king,  and  faith,  and  per- 
severance, and  mindfulness,  and  meditation  \ 

'  And  what  is  the  characteristic  mark  of  good 
conduct  ? ' 

'  It  has  as  its  characteristic  that  it  is  the  basis  of 
all  good  qualities.  The  five  moral  powers  - — faith, 
perseverance,  mindfulness,  meditation,  and  wisdom — ; 
the  seven  conditions  of  Arahatship^ — self-possession, 
investigation  of  the  Dhamma,  perseverance,  joy, 
calm,  meditation,  and  equanimity — ;  the  Path  ;  readi- 
ness of  memory  (unbroken  self-possession)  *;  the  four 
kinds  of  right  exertion  ^ ;  the  four  constituent  bases  of 
extraordinary  powers  ^ ;  the  four  stages  of  ecstasy'^; 
the  eight  forms  of  spiritual  emancipation  ^ ;  the  four 
modes  of  self-concentration  ^ ;  and  the  eight  states 
of  intense  contemplation^**  have  each  and  all  of  them 
good  conduct  (the  observance  of  outward  morality) 
as  their  basis.  And  to  him  who  builds  upon  that 
foundation,  O  king,  all  these  good  conditions  will 
not  decrease  ".' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'Just,  O  king,  as  all  those  forms  of  animal  and 
vegetable  life  which  grow,  develope,  and  mature,  do 
so  with  the  earth  as  their  basis  ;  just  so  does  the 
recluse,  who  is  devoted  in  effort,  develope  in  himself 
the  five  moral  powers,  and  so  on,  by  means  of 
virtue,  on  the  basis  of  virtue.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

^  Silawi,  saddha,  viriya?«,  sati,  samadhi. 
2  Indriya-balani.         ^  Bogg/iahg^.         *  Satipa///^ana. 
■'■  Sammappadhana.  ^  Iddhipada.  '^  G/iano.. 

•*  Vimokha.  ^  Samadhi.  ^°  Samapatti. 

'^  The  above-mentioned  meritorious  conditions  are  those  the  sum 
of  which  make  Arahatship. 


11,1,9.  GOOD    CONDUCT.  53 

'Just,  O  king,  as  all  the  occupations  which  involve 
bodily  exertion  are  carried  on  in  ultimate  dependence 
upon  the  earth,  just  so  does  the  recluse  develope  in 
himself  the  five  moral  powers,  and  so  on,  by  means 
of  virtue,  on  the  basis  of  virtue.'    [34] 

'  Give  me  a  still  better  illustration.' 

*  Just,  O  king,  as  the  architect  of  a  city,  when  he 
wants  to  build  one,  first  clears  the  site  of  the  town, 
and  then  proceeds  to  get  rid  of  all  the  stumps  and 
thorny  brakes,  and  thus  makes  it  level,  and  only  then 
does  he  lay  out  the  streets  and  squares,  and  cross- 
roads and  market  places,  and  so  build  the  city ;  just 
so  does  the  recluse  develope  in  himself  the  five 
moral  powers,  and  so  on,  by  means  of  virtue,  on  the 
basis  of  virtue.' 

'  Can  you  give  me  one  more  simile  ?  ' 

'Just,  O  king,  as  an  acrobat \  when  he  wants  to 
exhibit  his  skill,  first  digs  over  the  ground,  and  pro- 
ceeds to  get  rid  of  all  the  stones  and  fragments  of 
broken  pottery,  and  thus  to  make  it  smooth,  and 
only  then,  on  soft  earth,  shows  his  tricks ;  just  even 
so  does  the  recluse  develope  in  himself  the  five 
moral  powers,  and  so  on,  by  means  of  virtue,  on  the 
basis  of  virtue.  For  it  has  been  said.  Sire,  by  the 
Blessed  One  : 

"Virtue's  the  base  on  which  the  man  who's  wise 
['  Can  train  his  heart,  and  make  his  wisdom  grow. 
Thus  shall  the  strenuous  Bhikkhu,  undeceived, 
Unravel  all  the  tangled  skein  of  life  ^. 


^  Lahghako,  not  in  Childers;  but  compare  Gataka  I,  431,  and 
below,  pp.  191,  331  of  the  text. 

-  This  verse  occurs  twice  in  the  Saw/yutla  (I,  3,  3,  and  VII,  i.  6). 


54  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       II,  i,  lO. 

"This  is  the  base — Hke  the  great  earth  to  men — 
And  this  the  root  of  all  increase  in  goodness, 
The  starting-point  of  all  the  Buddhas'  teaching, 
Virtue,  to  wit,  on  which  true  bliss  depends  \" ' 
'  Well  said,  Nagasena ! ' 


lo  ^  The  king  said,  'Venerable  Nagasena,  what  is 
the  characteristic  mark  of  faith  ?  ' 

*  Tranquillisation,  O  king,  and  aspiration  ^.' 

'  And  how  is  tranquillisation  the  mark  of  faith  ?' 

'As  faith,  O  king,  springs  up  in  the  heart  it 
breaks  through  the  five  hindrances — lust,  malice, 
mental  sloth,  spiritual  pride,  and  doubt — and  the 
heart,  free  from  these  hindrances,  [35]  becomes  clear, 
serene,  untroubled.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'Just,  O  king,  as  a  suzerain  king,  when  on  the 
march  with  his  fourfold  army,  might  cross  over  a 
small  stream,  and  the  water,  disturbed  by  the  ele- 
phants and  cavalry,  the  chariots  and  the  bowmen, 
might  become    fouled,  turbid  *,    and   muddy.     And 

1  Vara-patimokkhiyo,  a  poetical  expression  found  only  in  this 
passage,  and  of  the  exact  connotation  of  which  I  am  uncertain. 
It  is  not  in  Childers;  and  Hina/i-kumbure  gives  no  assistance. 
The  whole  line  may  mean,  '  The  scheme  of  a  virtuous  life  as 
laid  down  in  the  most  excellent  Patimokkha.'  See  the  use  of 
Sa?«yutta-Nikaya-vare  below,  p.  36  of  the  text.  On  the  whole 
section  compare  M.  P.  S.  I,  12. 

2  This  section  is  summarised  in  Hardy's  '  Manual  of  Buddhism,' 
pp.  411,  412  (ist  edition). 

^  Sampasadana  and  sampakkhandana.  Buddhaghosa,  loc. 
cit.,  does  not  give  faith  in  his  list,  but  he  gives  the  power  of  faith 
(saddha-bala),  and  as  its  'mark'  'that  it  cannot  be  shaken  by 
incredulity.' 

*  Lu/ita,  not  in  Childers;  but  compare  Ahguttara  I,  55,  and 
'Book  of  the  Great  Decease,'  IV,  26-32. 


^ 


IJ,  I,  10.  FAITH.  55 

when  he  was  on  the  other  side  the  monarch  might 
give  command  to  his  attendants,  saying  :  "  Bring 
some  water,  my  good  men.  I  would  fain  drink." 
Now  suppose  the  monarch  had  a  water-clearing 
gem]\  and  those  men,  in  obedience  to  the  order, 
were  to  throw  the  jewel  into  the  water  ;  then  at  once 
all  the  mud  would  precipitate  itself,  and  the  sandy 
atoms  of  shell  and  bits  of  water-plants  would  dis- 
appear, and  the  water  would  become  clear,  trans- 
parent, and  serene,  and  they  would  then  bring 
some  of  it  to  the  monarch  to  drink.  The  water  is' 
the  heart  ;  the  royal  servants  are  the  recluse ;  the 
mud,  the  sandy  atoms,  and  the  bits  of  water-plants 
are  evil  dispositions ;  and  the  water-cleansing  gem  \ 
is  faith.' 

'And  how  is  aspiration  the  mark  of  faith  ?' 

'  In  as  much  as  the  recluse,  on  perceiving  how 
the  hearts  of  others  have  been  set  free,  aspires  to 
enter  as  it  were  by  a  leap  upon  the  fruit  of  the 
first  stacre,  or  of  the  second,  or  of  the  third  in  the 
Excellent  Way,  or  to  gain  Arahatship  itself,  and  thus 
applies  himself  to  the  attainment  of  what  he  has 
not  reached,  to  the  experience  of  what  he  has  not 
yet  felt,  to  the  realisation  of  what  he  has  not  yet 
realised, — therefore  is  it  that  aspiration  is  the  mark 
of  faith.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'Just,  O  king,  as  if  a  mighty  storm  [36]  were  to 
break  upon  a  mountain  top  and  pour  out  rain,  the 
water  would  flow  down  according  to  the  levels,  and 
after  filling  up  the  crevices  and  chasms  and  gullies 

^  Udakappasadako  ma;n.  Doubtless  a  magic  gem  is  meant : 
with  allusion  particularly  to  the  Wondrous  Gem  (the  Ma;/i-ratana) 
of  the  mythical  King  of  Glory  (see  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  256). 


56  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MI1.INDA.       IT,  i,  lo. 


of  the  hill,  would  empty  itself  into  the  brook  below, 
so  that  the  stream  would  rush  along,  overflowing 
both  its  banks.  Now  suppose  a  crowd  of  people, 
one  after  the  other,  were  to  come  up,  and  being 
ignorant  of  the  real  breadth  or  depth  of  the  water, 
were  to  stand  fearful  and  hesitating  on  the  brink. 
And  suppose  a  certain  man  should  arrive,  who 
knowing  exactly  his  own  strength  and  power  should 
gird  himself  firmly  and,  with  a  spring,  land  him- 
self on  the  other  side.  Then  the  rest  of  the 
people,  seeing  him  safe  on  the  other  side,  would 
likewise  cross.  That  is  the  kind  of  way  in  which 
the  recluse,  by  faith  S  aspires  to  leap,  as  it  were  by 
a  bound,  into  higher  things.  For  this  has  been 
said,  O  king,  by  the  Blessed  One  in  the  Sa;;2yutta 
Nikaya : 

"  By  faith  he  crosses  over  the  stream. 

By  earnestness  the  sea  of  life  ; 

By  steadfastness  all  grief  he  stills, 

By  wisdom  is  he  purified  ^." ' 

'Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


'  In  the  Buddha,  in  the  sufficiency  of  the  Excellent  Way  he 
taught,  and  in  the  capacity  of  man  to  walk  along  it.  It  is  spoken 
of  slightingly  (compared  with  Arahatship)  in  Mahavagga  V,  i,  21  — 
in  the  Mahaparinibbana  SuttaVI,  9  (of  Ananda,  who  has  faith,  com- 
pared with  the  brethren,  who  have  entered  one  or  other  of  the 
stages  of  the  Excellent  Way)— and  in  Ahguttara  III,  21  (in  com- 
parison with  intuitive  insight  and  intellectual  perception).  For  this 
last  comparison  see  further  the  Puggala  Pa;7«atti  III,  3.  From 
these  passages  a  fair  idea  of  the  Buddhist  view  of  faith  could  be 
formed.  Although  the  Buddhist  faith  and  the  Christian  faith  are 
in  things  contradictory,  the  two  conditions  of  heart  are  strikingly 
similar  both  in  origin  and  in  consequence. 

-  This  verse  is  not  yet  reached  in  the  Pali  Text  Society's  edition 
of  the  Sa;«yutta,  but  it  is  found  also  in  the  Sutta  Nipata  I,  10,  4. 


IT,  I,  II.  PERSEVERANCE.  57 

1 1  ^  The  king  said  :  '  What,  Nagasena,  is  the 
characteristic  mark  of  perseverance  ? ' 

'  The  rendering  of  support,  O  king,  is  the  mark 
of  perseverance  ^.  All  those  good  qualities  which 
it  supports  do  not  fall  away.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'Just  as  a  man,  if  a  house  were  falling,  would 
make  a  prop  for  it  of  another  post,  and  the  house 
so  supported  would  not  fall ;  just  so,  O  king,  is 
the  rendering  of  support  the  mark  of  perseverance, 
and  all  those  good  qualities  which  it  supports  do 
not  fall  away.' 

*  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'Just  as  when  a  large  army  has  broken  up  a 
small  one,  then  the  king  of  the  latter  would  call  to 
mind  every  possible  ally  and  reinforce  his  small 
army  ^,  and  by  that  means  the  small  army  might 
in  its  turn  break  up  the  large  one  ;  just  so,  O  king, 
is  the  rendering  of  support  the  mark  of  perseverance, 
and  all  those  good  qualities  which  it  supports  do  not 
fall  away  [37].  For  it  has  been  said  by  the  Blessed 
One  :  "  The  persevering  hearer  of  the  noble  truth, 
O  Bhikkhus,  puts  away  evil  and  cultivates  goodness, 
puts  away  that  which  is  wrong  and  developes  in  him- 
self that  which  is  right,  and  thus  does  he  keep  him- 
self pure."  ' 

^  This  section  is  summarised  by  Hardy,  loc.  cit.  p.  409. 

^  Buddhaghosa,  loc.  cit.,  says  that  paggaha  (tension)  is  the 
mark  of  viriyindriya. 

^  Anna.ma.nndim  anusareyya  anupeseyya.  This  is  the  way 
in  which  Hina/i-kumburc  understands  this  doubtful  passage.  Hardy 
has  bungled  the  whole  simile.  Both  the  words  are  new,  and  I  am 
not  sure  that  the  first  does  not  after  all  come  from  the  root  sar,  to 
follow. 


/ 


58  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       II.  1,12. 

'Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


12.  The   king   said:    'What,    Nagasena,    is    the 
characteristic  mark  of  mindfulness^?' 
/;  '  Repetition,  O  king,  and  keeping  up  ^.' 

'  And  how  is  repetition  the  mark  of  mindfulness  ?  ' 
'  As  mindfulness,  O  king,  springs  up  in  his  heart 
he  repeats  over  the  good  and  evil,  right  and  wrong, 
slight  and  important,  dark  and  light  qualities,  and 
those  that  resemble  them,  saying  to  himself:  "  These 
are  the  four  modes  of  keeping  oneself  ready  and 
mindful,  these  the  four  modes  of  spiritual  effort, 
these  the  four  bases  of  extraordinary  powers,  these 
the  five  organs  of  the  moral  sense,  these  the  five 
mental  powers,  these  the  seven  bases  of  Arahatship, 
these  the  eight  divisions  of  the  Excellent  Way,  this 
is  serenity  and  this  insight,  this  is  wisdom  and  this 
emancipation  ^."     Thus  does  the  recluse  follow  after 

^  Sati,  summarised  in  Hardy's  'Manual,'  p.  412. 

-  Api/apana  and  upaga7^hana,  both  new  words.  This  definition 
is  in  keeping  with  the  etymological  meaning  of  the  word  sati,  which 
is  '  memory.'  It  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  words  (in  its  secondary, 
ethical,  and  more  usual  meaning)  in  the  whole  Buddhist  system 
of  ethical  psychology  to  translate.  Hardy  renders  'conscience,' 
which  is  certainly  wrong ;  and  Gogerly  (see  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas,' 
p.  144)  has  'meditation,'  which  is  equally  wide  of  the  mark. 
I  have  sometimes  rendered  it  '  self-possession.'  It  means  that 
activity  of  mind,  constant  presence  of  mind,  wakefulness  of  heart, 
which  is  the  foe  of  carelessness,  inadvertence,  self-forgelfulness. 
And  it  is  a  very  constant  theme  of  the  Buddhist  moralist.  Buddha- 
ghosa,  loc.  cit.,  makes  upa/Mana,  'readiness,'  its  mark. 

^  These  are  the  various  moral  qualities  and  mental  habits  which 
together  make  up  Arahatship,  and  may  be  said  also  to  make  up 
Buddhism  (as  the  Buddha  taught  it).  It  was  on  these  that  he  laid 
special  stress,  in  his  last  address  to  the  members  of  the  Order,  just 
before  his  death  ('  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,'  III,  65,  in  my 
'  Buddhist  Suttas,'  pp.  60-63) ;  and  the  details  of  them  will  be 
found  in  the  note  to  that  passage. 


II,  I,  12.  MINDFULNESS    (SATi).  59 

those  qualities  that  are  desirable,  and  not  after  those 
that  are  not ;  thus  does  he  cultivate  those  which 
ought  to  be  practised,  and  not  those  which  ought 
not.  That  is  how  repetition  is  the  mark  of  mind- 
fulness,' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

*  It  is  like  the  treasurer  of  the  imperial  sovran  \ 
who  reminds  his  royal  master  early  and  late  of  his 
glory,  saying  :  "  So  many  are  thy  war  elephants,  O 
king,  and  so  many  thy  cavalry-,  thy  war  chariots 
and  thy  bowmen,  so  much  the  quantity  of  thy 
money,  and  gold,  and  wealth,  may  your  Majesty  keep 
yourself  in  mind  thereof.' 

'  And  how.  Sir,  is  keeping  up  a  mark  of  mind- 
fulness ? ' 

'  As  mindfulness  springs  up  in  his  heart,  O  king, 
he  searches  out  the  categories  of  good  qualities 
and  their  opposites,  saying  to  himself:  "Such  and 
such  qualities  are  good,  and  such  bad  ;  [38]  such 
and  such  qualities  helpful,  and  such  the  reverse." 
Thus  does  the  recluse  make  what  is  evil  in  himself 
to  disappear,  and  keeps  up  what  is  good.  That  is 
how  keeping  up  is  the  mark  of  mindfulness.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  the  confidential  adviser  of  that  imperial 


'  iTakkavattissa  bha?z</agariko,  no  doubt  with  allusion  to 
the  gahapati-ratana;;/,  one  of  the  seven  treasures  of  the  mythical 
King  of  Glory  (see  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  257).  It  is  particularly 
interesting  to  me  to  find  here  the  use  of  the  word  '  treasurer '  in- 
stead of 'householder;'  for  it  was  in  that  exact  sense  that  I  had 
understood  the  word  gahapati  in  that  connection,  at  a  time  when, 
in  the  then  state  of  Pali  scholarship,  it  seemed  very  bold  to  do  so. 

^  Literally  '  horses.'  The  whole  list  is  again  a  manifest  allusion 
to  the  corresponding  one  in  the  Sutta  of  the  Great  King  of 
Glory. 


6o  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  t,  13. 

sovran  ^  who  instructs  him  in  good  and  evil, 
saying  :  "  These  things  are  bad  for  the  king  and 
these  good,  these  helpful  and  these  the  reverse." 
And  thus  the  king  makes  the  evil  in  himself  die  out, 
and  keeps  up  the  good.' 
'  Well  put,  Nagasena  ! ' 


132.  The  king  said:  'What,  Nagasena,  is  the 
characteristic  mark  of  meditation  ^  ?  ' 

'  Being  the  leader,  O  king.  All  good  qualities 
have  meditation  as  their  chief,  they  incline  to  it,  lead 
up  towards  it,  are  as  so  many  slopes  up  the  side  of 
the  mountain  of  meditation.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  As  all  the  rafters  of  the  roof  of  a  house,  O  king, 
go  up  to  the  apex,  slope  towards  it,  are  joined  on 
together  at  it,  and  the  apex  is  acknowledged  to  be 
the  top  of  all ;  so  is  the  habit  of  meditation  in  its 
relation  to  other  good  qualities.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  a  king,  your  Majesty,  when  he  goes 
down  to  battle  with  his  army  in  its  fourfold  array. 
The  whole  army — elephants,  cavalry,  war  chariots, 
and  bowmen — would  have  him  as  their  chief,  their 

^  Pariwayaka,  the  seventh  treasure  of  the  King  of  Glory. 
(Compare  the  'Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  259.)  It  will  be  seen  that  our 
author  is  in  substantial  agreement  with  the  older  tradition,  and 
does  not,  like  the  Lalita  Vistara,  understand  under  this  officer  a 
general. 

^  Omitted  by  Hardy. 

^  Samadhi.  Buddhaghosa,  loc.  cit.  p.  65,  gives  also  'being 
the  chief  as  its  mark,  but  he  previously  (p.  64)  gives  avikkhepa, 
'serenity,'  as  the  mark  of  samma-samadhi,  and  also  (p.  63)  of 
samadhindriya,  while  'being  unshaken  by  spiritual  pride'  is  his 
mark  (p.  63)  of  Samadhi-bala, 


II,  I,  14.  WISDOM.  61 

lines  would  incline  towards  him,  lead  up  to  him,  they 
would  be  so  many  mountain  slopes,  one  above 
another,  with  him  as  their  summit,  round  him  they 
would  all  be  ranged.  [39]  And  it  has  been  said,  O 
king,  by  the  Blessed  One  :  "  Cultivate  in  yourself, 
O  Bhikkhus,  the  habit  of  meditation.  He  who  is 
established  therein  knows  things  as  they  really  are\"' 
'  Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


14.  The  king  said:  'What,  Nagasena,  is  the 
characteristic  mark  of  wisdom  ^  ? ' 

*  I  have  already  told  you,  O  king,  how  cutting  off, 
severance,  is  its  mark  ^,  but  enlightenment  is  also 
its  mark.' 

'  And  how  is  enlightenment  its  mark  ? ' 

'  When  wisdom  springs  up  in  the  heart,  O  king, 
it  dispels  the  darkness  of  ignorance,  it  causes  the 
radiance  of  knowledge  to  arise,  it  makes  the  light  of 
intelligence  to  shine  forth  ^,  and  it  makes  the  Noble 
Truths  plain.  Thus  does  the  recluse  who  is  devoted 
to  effort  perceive  with  the  clearest  wisdom  the  imper- 
manency  (of  all  beings  and  things),  the  suffering 
(that  is  inherent  in  individuality),  and  the  absence 
of  any  soul,' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  a  lamp,  O  king,  which  a  man  might 
introduce  into  a  house  in  darkness.  When  the  lamp 
had  been  brought  in  it  would  dispel  the  darkness, 

^  Sawzyutta  Nikaya  XXI,  5. 

^  Pa««a.  Hardy  in  the  'INIanual  of  Buddhism,'  pp.  414,  415, 
gives  a  jumble  of  this  passage  and  several  others. 

'  See  above,  p.  51. 

*  Vidawseti,  not  in  Childers  ;  but  compare  Thcri  Gatha,  74; 
Anguttara  III,  103;  and  Gataka  III,  222, 


62  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  i,  15. 

cause  radiance  to  arise,  and  light  to  shine  forth,  and 
make  the  objects  there  plainly  visible.  Just  so 
would  wisdom  in  a  man  have  such  effects  as  were 
just  now  set  forth.' 

'  Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


15.  The  king  said:  'These  qualities  which  are 
so  different  \  Nagasena,  do  they  bring  about  one 
and  the  same  result  ? ' 

'  They  do.  The  putting  an  end  to  evil  disposi- 
tions.' 

'  How  is  that  ?     Give  me  an  illustration.' 

*  They  are  like  the  various  parts  of  an  army — 
elephants,  cavalry,  war  chariots,  and  archers — who 
all  work  to  one  end,  to  wit :  the  conquest  in  battle  of 
the  opposing  army.' 

'  Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


Here  ends  the  First  Chapter. 


^  That  is,  the  five  referred  to  above,  p.  51,  §  9. 


II,  2,  T.  IDENTITY.  63 


Book  II.     Chapter  2. 

I.  [40]  The  king  said:  '  He  who  is  born,  Naga- 
sena,  does  he  remain  the  same  or  become  another  ? ' 

*  Neither  the  same  nor  another.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.'  ' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  You  were 
once  a  baby,  a  tender  thing,  and  small  in  size,  lying 
flat  on  your  back.  Was  that  the  same  as  you 
who  are  now  grown  up  ?  ' 

'  No.   That  child  was  one,  I  am  another.' 

'  If  you  are  not  that  child,  it  will  follow  that  you 
have  had  neither  mother  nor  father,  no  !  nor  teacher. 
You  cannot  have  been  taus^ht  either  learnino-,  or 
behaviour,  or  wisdom.  What,  great  king !  is  the 
mother  of  the  embryo  in  the  first  stage  different 
from  the  mother  of  the  embryo  in  the  second  stage, 
or  the  third,  or  the  fourth  ^  ?  Is  the  mother  of  the 
baby  a  different  person  from  the  mother  of  the 
grown-up  man  ?  Is  the  person  who  goes  to  school 
one,  and  the  same  when  he  has  finished  his  schooling 
another  ?  Is  it  one  who  commits  a  crime,  another  who 
is  punished  by  having  his  hands  or  feet  cut  off 2.-*' 

'  Certainly  not.  But  what  would  you.  Sir,  say  to 
that  ?  ' 

The  Elder  replied  :  '  I  should  say  that  I  am  the 
same  person,  now  I  am  grown  up,  as  I  was  when  I  was 
a  tender  tiny  baby,  flat  on  my  back.  For  all  these 
states  are  included  in  one  by  means  of  this  body.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 


'  On  these  four  stages  see  Gataka  IV,  496,  and  Sa;«yutta  X.  i.  3. 
^  Hardy  makes  sad  nonsense  of  all  this. 


64  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  2,  i. 


'  Suppose  a  man,   O  king,  were  to  light  a  lamp, 
would  it  burn  the  night  through  ? ' 

'  Yes,  it  might  do  so.' 

'  Now,  is  it  the  same  flame  that  burns  in  the  first 
watch  of  the  night.  Sir,  and  in  the  second?' 

'No.' 

'  Or  the  same  that  burns  in  the  second  watch  and 
in  the  third  ?  ' 

'No.' 

'  Then  is  there  one  lamp  in  the  first  watch,  and 
another  in  the  second,  and  another  in  the  third  ? ' 

'  No.  The  light  comes  from  the  same  lamp  all 
the  night  through.' 

'  Just  so,  O  king,  is  the  continuity  of  a  person  or 
thing  maintained.  One  comes  into  being,  another 
passes  away ;  and  the  rebirth  is,  as  it  were,  simul- 
taneous. Thus  neither  as  the  same  nor  as  another 
does  a  man  go  on  to  the  last  phase  of  his  self-con- 
sciousness \' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 


^  Hardy  (p.  429)  renders  this  as  follows:  'In  the  same  way, 
"•reat  king,  one  being  is  conceived,  another  is  born,  another  dies  ; 
when  comprehended  by  the  mind,  it  is  like  a  thing  that  has  no 
before,  and  no  after ;  no  preceding,  no  succeeding  existence. 
Thus  the  being  who  is  born  does  not  continue  the  same,  nor  does 
he  become  another;  the  last  winyana,  or  consciousness,  is  thus 
united  with  the  rest.'  (!)  He  confesses  himself  in  doubt  as  to  the 
last  few  words,  but  is  quite  unconscious  of  having  completely  mis- 
interpreted the  whole  paragraph. 

The  meaning  is  really  quite  plain  in- both  the  Pali  and  the 
Sinhalese.  A  man,  at  any  one  moment,  is  precisely  all  that  he  is 
then  conscious  of.  The  phase  of  his  self-consciousness,  the  totality 
of  that  of  which  he  is  conscious,  is  always  changing ;  and  is  so 
different  at  death  from  what  it  was  at  birth  that,  in  a  certain  sense, 
he  is  not  the  same  at  the  one  time  as  he  was  at  the  other.  But 
there  is  a  continuity  in  the  whole  series;— a  continuity  dependent 


II,  2,  2.  ASSURANCE    OF    SALVATION.  65 

'  It  is  like  milk,  [41]  which  when  once  taken  from 
the  cow,  turns,  after  a  lapse  of  time,  first  to  curds, 
and  then  from  curds  to  butter,  and  then  from  butter 
to  ghee.  Now  would  it  be  right  to  say  that  the 
milk  was  the  same  thing  as  the  curds,  or  the  butter, 
or  the  (jhee  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not ;  but  they  are  produced  out  of  it.' 

'  Just  so,  O  king,  is  the  continuity  of  a  person  or 
thing  maintained.  One  comes  into  being,  another 
passes  away  ;  and  the  rebirth  is,  as  it  were,  simul- 
taneous. Thus  neither  as  the  same  nor  as  another 
does  a  man  go  on  to  the  last  phase  of  his  self-con- 
sciousness.' 

'  Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


2  ■•.  The  king  said  :  *  Is  a  man,  Nagasena,  who 
will  not  be  reborn,  aware  of  the  fact  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  O  king.' 

'And  how  does  he  know  it  ?  ' 

'  By  the  cessation  of  all  that  is  cause,  proximate 
or  remote  ^,  of  rebirth.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Suppose  a  farmer,  great  king,  had  ploughed  and 
sown  and  filled  his  granary ;  and  then  for  a  period 
should   neither    plough    nor    sow,   but  live    on    the 

on  the  whole  body.  And  this  fits  the  simile,  in  wliich  the  lamp  is 
the  body,  and  the  flame  the  changing  self-consciousness;  whereas 
it  is  impossible  to  make  the  simile  fit  the  conclusion  as  rendered 
by  Hardy. 

On  the  phrase  apubbaw  a/{'ariyaw  see  Dr.  Morris's  note  at 
p.  10 1  of  the  Pali  Text  Society's  Journal,  1887,  and  the  passages 
he  there  quotes. 

^  Omitted  in  Hardy.  The  correlative  question  is  discussed 
below,  III,  5,  8,  p.  112. 

^  That  is  to  say,  Tawha  and  Upadana. 

[35]  F 


66  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  2,  3. 


stored-up  grain,  or  dispose  of  it  in  barter,  or  deal 
with  it  as  he  had  need.  Would  the  farmer  be  aware, 
great  king,  that  his  granary  was  not  getting  filled  '^ ' 

*  Yes,  he  ought  to  know  it.' 
'But  how?' 

*  He  would  know  that  the  cause,  proximate  and 
remote,  of  the  filling  of  the  granary  had  ceased.' 

'Just  so  with  the  man  you  spoke  of.  By  the 
cessation  of  all  that  leads  to  rebirth,  he  would  be 
conscious  of  having  escaped  his  liability  to  it.' 

'  Well  explained,  Nagasena  ! ' 


3  ^  The  king  said :  'He  who  has  intelligence, 
Nagasena,  has  he  also  wisdom  ^  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  great  king.'  [42] 

'  What ;  are  they  both  the  same  ? ' 

'.  Yes.' 

'Then  would  he,  with  his  intelligence  —  which, 
you  say,  is  the  same  as  wisdom — be  still  in  bewilder- 
ment or  not  ? ' 

'In  regard  to  some  things,  yes;  in  regard  to 
others,  no.' 

'  What  would  he  be  in  bewilderment  about  ?  ' 

'  He  would  still  be  in  bewilderment  as  to  those 
parts  of  learning  he  had  not  learnt,  as  to  those 
countries  he  had  not  seen,  and  as  to  those  names 
or  terms  he  had  not  heard.' 

'  And  wherein  would  he  not  be  in  bewilderment  ?  ' 

'  As  regards  that  which  has  been  accomplished 
by  insight — (the  perception,  that  is,)  of  the  imper- 


^  Summarised  in  Hardy's  'Manual,'  p.  414. 
^  iVana  and  pa«?7a. 


II,  2,  3-  INTELLIGENCE    AND    WISDOM.  67 

manence  of  all  beings,  of  the  suffering  inherent  in 
individuality,  and  of  the  non-existence  of  any  soul '.' 
'  Then  what  would  have  become  of  his  delusions 
on  those  points.' 

*  When  intelligence  has  once  arisen,  that  moment 
delusion  has  died  away.' 

*  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

*  It  is  like  the  lamp,  which  when  a  man  has  brought 
into  a  darkened  room,  then  the  darkness  would 
vanish  away,  and  light  would  appear.' 

'  And  what,  Nagasena,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
then  become  of  his  wisdom  ?' 

'  When  the  reasoningf  wisdom  has  effected  that 
which  it  has  to  do,  then  the  reasoning  ceases  to  go 
on.  But  that  which  has  been  acquired  by  means  of 
it  remains — the  knowledge,  to  wit,  of  the  imper- 
manence  of  every  being,  of  the  suffering  inherent  in 
individuality,  and  of  the  absence  of  any  soul.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration,  reverend  Sir,  of  what 
you  have  last  said.' 

'It  is  as  when  a  man  wants,  during  the  night, 
to  send  a  letter,  and  after  having  his  clerk  called, 
has  a  lamp  lit,  and  gets  the  letter  written.  Then, 
when  that  has  been  done,  he  extinguishes  the  lamp. 
But  though  the  lamp  had  been  put  out  the  writing 
would  still  be  there.  Thus  does  reasoning  cease, 
and  knowledge  remain.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  In  Eastern  districts  [43]  the  peasants  have  a 
custom  of  arranging  five  pots  full  of  water  behind 

^  That  is,  he  might  still  be  wrong  on  matters  of  mere  worldly 
knowledge,  but  would  be  clear  in  his  mind  as  to  the  fundamental 
truths  of  religion.  Compare  the  analogous  distinctions  often  drawn 
as  to  the  inspiration  of  Scripture,  or  the  infallibility  of  the  Pope. 

F  2 


68  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA,  II,  2,  3. 

each  hut  with  the  object  of  putting  out  at  once  any 
spark  of  fire  that  may  be  kindled.  Suppose  now 
the  house  had  caught  fire,  and  they  had  thrown  those 
five  potfulls  of  water  over  the  hut,  and  the  fire  had 
gone  out,  would  those  peasants  then  think  of  still 
going  on  using  the  water-pots  ?' 

'  No,  Sir,  the  water-pots  would  be  done  with. 
What  would  be  the  use  of  them  (on  that  occasion) 
any  more  ? ' 

'  The  five  water-pots  are  the  five  organs  of  moral 
sense — faith,  to  wit,  and  perseverance  in  effort,  and 
mindfulness,  and  meditation,  and  the  reasoning  wis- 
dom. The  peasantry  are  the  recluse,  who  is  devoted 
in  effort  ^ ;  the  fire  is  sinfulness.  As  the  fire  is  put 
out  by  the  water  in  the  five  pots,  so  is  sinfulness 
extinguished  by  the  five  organs  of  moral  sense,  and 
when  once  extinguished  it  does  not  again  arise^' 

*  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  a  physician  who  goes  to  the  sick  man 
with  the  five  kinds  of  druQ-s  made  from  medicinal 

^  Yogava^-aro  ;  one  of  the  technical  terms  in  constant  use  by 
our  author,  but  not  found  in  the  PaH  Pi/akas.  Hardy  renders  it, 
'  who  is  seeking  Nirva;/a ; '  but  though  this  may  be  suggested  by 
the  term,  it  is  not  its  meaning.  Literally  it  is  '  he  whose  sphere, 
whose  constant  resort,  is  Yoga.'  Now  yoga  is  '  diligence,  devotion, 
mental  concentration  ; '  and  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  our 
author  is  using  the  word  as  an  epithet  of  Arahatship.  It  seems  to 
me,  therefore,  that  the  whole  compound  merely  means  one  of  those 
'  religious,'  in  the  technical  sense,  who  were  also  religious  in  the 
higher,  more  usual  sense.  It  would  thus  be  analogous  to  the 
phrase  sa/wgamava^aro,  'at  home  in  war,'  used  of  a  war  elephant 
in  the  Sawgamava^ara  Gataka  (Fausboll,  II,  95),  and  of  a 
soldier  below,  Mil.  44. 

^  This  must,  I  think,  be  understood  in  a  modified  sense,  for  the 
first  of  the  four  Great  Exertions  (Sammappadhanas)  is  the  effort 
to  prevent  sinful  conditions  arising. 


11,2,4.  SUICIDE.  69 

roots  \  and  grinding  diem  up,  gives  him  to  drink, 
and  thereby  his  sickness  passes  away.  Would  the 
physician  in  that  case  think  of  making  any  further 
use  of  the  medicine  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  the  medicine  has  done  its  work. 
What  would  be  the  use  of  any  more  ?' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  when  sinfulness  is  destroyed  by 
the  five  moral  powers,  then  reasoning  ceases,  but 
knowledge  remains.' 

[44]  '  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'It  is  like  a  warrior,  at  home  in  war,  who  takes 
five  javelins  and  goes  down  to  battle  to  conquer 
the  foe.  And  when  he  has  cast  them  the  enemy  is 
broken.  There  is  no  need  for  him  to  go  on  casting 
javelins  any  more.' 

*  Well  put,  Nagasena  !' 


4.  The  king  said  :  '  He  who  will  not  be  reborn, 
Nagasena,  does  he  still  feel  any  painful  sensation  ?' 

The  Elder  replied:  'Some  he  feels  and  some  not' 

'Which  are  they?' 

'He  may  feel  bodily  pain,  O  king;  but  mental 
pain  he  would  not.' 

'  How  would  that  be  so  .'^' 

'  Because  the  causes,  proximate  or  remote,  of 
bodily  pain  still  continue,  he  would  be  liable  to  it. 
But  the  causes,  proximate  or  remote,  of  mental 
agony  having  ceased,  he  could  not  feel  it.  For  it 
has  been  said  by  the  Blessed  One  :  "  One  kind  of 
pain  he  suffers,  bodily  pain  :  but  not  mental."  ' 

'  Then  why.  Sir,  does  he  not  die  ?' 

*  The  Arahat,  O  king,  has  need  neither  to  curry 

^  Pa«/{'a  mula  bhessa^^ani :    not  the  five  principal  sorts  of 
medicine  mentioned  by  Childers. 


70  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  2,  5. 

favour  nor  to  bear  malice.  He  shakes  not  down 
the  unripe  fruit,  but  awaits  the  full  time  of  its  ma- 
turity. For  it  has  been  said,  O  king,  by  the  Elder, 
Sariputta,  the  Commander  of  the  faith  [45]  : 

"It  is  not  death,  it  is  not  life  I  welcome; 
As  the  hireling  his  wage,  so  do  I  bide  my  time. 
It  is  not  death,  it  is  not  life   I  want ; 
Mindful  and  thoughtful  do  I  bide  my  time\"' 
'Well  put,  Nagasena!' 


5.  The  king  said:  'Is  a  pleasant  sensation,  Naga- 
sena, good  or  evil  or  indifferent  ?' 

'  It  may  be  any  one  of  the  three.' 

'  But  surely,  Sir,  if  good  conditions  are  not  painful, 
and  painful  ones  not  good,  then  there  can  arise  no 
good  condition  that  is  at  the  same  time  painful  ^.' 

'  Now,  what  do  you  think,  great  king  ?  Suppose 
a  man  were  to  hold  in  one  hand  a  red-hot  ball  of 
iron,  and  in  the  other  a  lump  of  icy  snow,  would  they 
both  hurt  him  ?' 

*  Yes  ;  they  both  would.' 

'  But  are  they  both  hot  ?' 
'  Certainly  not.' 

*  But  are  they  both  cold  ?' 
'No.' 

'  Then  acknowledge  yourself  put  in  the  wrong ! 
If  the  heat  hurts,  and  they  are  not  both  hot,  the 
pain  cannot  come  from  the  heat.     If  the  cold  hurts, 

^  These  verses  are  nearly  the  same  as  those  put  in  reverse  order 
into  Sariputta's  mouth  in  the  Theri  Gatha,  1003,  1002.  And  the 
first  two  hues,  as  Dr.  Rost  was  good  enough  to  point  out  to  me, 
are  identical  (except  as  to  a  slight  grammatical  variation)  with  Manu 

VI,  45. 

'■*  And  the  same,  therefore,  of  pleasant  sensations  that  are  evil 


11,2,6.  WHAT    IS    REBORN?  7 1 

and  they  are  not  both  cold,  the  pain  cannot  come 
from  the  cold.  How  then,  O  king,  can  they  both 
hurt  you,  since  they  are  not  both  hot,  nor  both  cold, 
and  (as  one  is  hot  and  the  other  cold)  the  pain  comes 
neither  from  the  hot  nor  from  the  cold  ? ' 

'  I  am  not  equal  to  argument  with  you.  Be  so 
good,  Sir,  as  to  explain  how  the  matter  stands.' 

Then  the  Elder  reasoned  with  king  Milinda,  per- 
suading him  by  talk  on  the  subject  drawn  from  the 
Abhidhamma,  such  as  :  '  There  are  these  six  plea- 
sures, O  king,  connected  with  life  in  the  world,  and 
these  other  six  with  renunciation.  There  are  six 
griefs  connected  with  life  in  the  world,  and  six  with 
renunciation.  There  are  six  kinds  of  indifference 
to  pleasure  and  to  grief  connected  with  life  in  the 
world,  and  six  with  renunciation.  [46]  Altogether 
there  are  thus  six  series  of  six,  that  is  to  say,  thirty- 
six  kinds  of  sensations  in  the  present,  and  the  like 
number  in  the  past,  and  the  like  in  the  future.  And 
adding  all  these  up  in  one  total  we  arrive  at  one 
hundred  and  eight  kinds  of  sensation.' 

*  Well  put,  Nagasena  ! ' 


6\  The  king  said  :  'What  is  it,  Nagasena,  that  is 
reborn  ? ' 

'  Name-and-form  is  reborn.' 

'What,  is  it  this  same  name-and-form  that  is  re- 
born ? ' 

'  No  :  but  by  this  name-and-form  deeds  are  done, 
good  or  evil,  and  by  these  deeds  (this  Karma) 
another  name-and-form  is  reborn.' 

^  This  dialogue  is  in  Hardy,  p.  429  (No.  7). 


72  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  2,  6. 


'  If  that  be  so,  Sir,  would  not  the  new  behig  be 
released  from  its  evil  Karma^?' 
1      The  Elder  replied  :  '  Yes,  if  it  were  not  reborn. 
But  just  because  it  is  reborn,  O  king,  it  is  therefore 
not  released  from  its  evil  Karma.' 

*  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  some  man  were  to  steal  a 
mango  from  another  man,  and  the  owner  of  the 
maneo  were  to  seize  him  and  brins:  him  before  the 
king,  and  charge  him  with  the  crime.  And  the  thief 
were  to  say :  "  Your  Majesty !  I  have  not  taken 
away  this  man's  mangoes.  Those  that  he  put  in  the 
o-round  are  different  from  the  ones  I  took.  I  do  not 
deserve  to  be  punished."  How  then  ?  would  he  be 
guilty  ?' 

'Certainly,  Sir.  He  would  deserve  to  be  pun- 
ished.' 

*  But  on  what  ground  ?' 

'  Because,  in  spite  of  whatever  he  may  say,  he 
would  be  guilty  in  respect  of  the  last  mango  which 
resulted  from  the  first  one  (the  owner  set  in  the 
ground).' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  deeds  good  or  evil  are  done 
by  this  name-and-form  and  another  is  reborn.  But 
that  other  is  not  thereby  released  from  its  deeds  (its 
Karma).' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  rice  or  sugar  so  stolen,  of  which  the 
same  might  be  said  as  of  the  mango.  [47]  Or  it  is 
like  the  fire  which  a  man,  in  the  cold  season,  might 
kindle,  and  when  he  had  warmed  himself,  leave  still 
burning,  and  go  away.     Then  if  that  fire  were  to  set 


1  Repeated  below,  III,  5,  7,  p.  112. 


IT,  2,  6.  KARMA.  73 

another  man's  field  on  fire,  and  the  owner  of  the 
field  were  to  seize  him,  and  bring  him  before  the 
king,  and  charge  him  with  the  injury,  and  he  were 
to  say:  "Your  Majesty!  It  was  not  I  who  set  this 
man's  field  on  fire.  The  fire  I  left  burninof  was 
a  different  one  from  that  which  burnt  his  field. 
I  am  not  guilty."  Now  would  the  man,  O  king, 
be  guilty?' 

'  Certainly,  Sir.' 

'But  why?' 

'  Because,  In  spite  of  whatever  he  might  say,  he 
would  be  guilty  in  respect  of  the  subsequent  fire 
that  resulted  from  the  previous  one.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  deeds  good  or  evil  are  done 
by  this  name-and-form  and  another  is  reborn.  But 
that  other  is  not  thereby  released  from  its  deeds  (its 
Karma).' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  take  a  lamp  and 
go  up  into  the  top  storey  of  his  house,  and  there  eat 
his  meal.  And  the  lamp  blazing  up  were  to  set  the 
thatch  on  fire,  and  from  that  the  house  should  catch 
fire,  and  that  house  having  caught  fire  the  whole 
village  should  be  burnt.  And  they  should  seize  him 
and  ask  :  "  What,  you  fellow,  did  you  set  our  village 
on  fire  for?"  And  he  should  reply:  "I've  not  set 
your  village  on  fire  !  The  flame  of  the  lamp,  by  the 
light  of  which  I  was  eating,  w^as  one  thing ;  the  fire 
which  burnt  your  village  was  another  thing."  Now 
if  they,  thus  disputing,  should  go  to  law  before 
you,  O  king,  in  whose  favour  would  you  decide 
the  case  ? ' 

'  In  the  villagers'  favour.' 

'But  why?' 


74  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  2,  6. 

'  Because,  Sir,  in  spite  of  whatever  the  man  might 
say,  the  one  fire  was  produced  from  the  other.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  one  name-and-form  which 
has  its  end  in  death,  and  another  name-and-form 
which  is  reborn.  But  the  second  is  the  result  of 
the  first,  and  is  therefore  not  set  free  from  its 
evil  deeds.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  choose  a  young 
girl  in  marriage,  and  give  a  price  ^  for  her  and  go 
away.  [48]  And  she  in  due  course  should  grow  up 
to  full  age,  and  then  another  man  were  to  pay  a  price 
for  her  and  marry  her.  And  when  the  first  one  had 
come  back  he  should  say  :  "  Why,  you  fellow,  have 
you  carried  off  my  wife?"  And  the  other  were  to 
reply:  "  It's  not  your  wife  I  have  carried  off!  The 
little  girl,  the  mere  child,  whom  you  chose  in  mar- 
riage and  paid  a  price  for  is  one  ;  the  girl  grown  up 
to  full  age  whom  I  chose  in  marriage  and  paid  a 
price  for,  is  another."  Now  if  they,  thus  disputing, 
were  to  go  to  law  about  it  before  you,  O  king,  in 
whose  favour  would  you  decide  the  case  ?' 

'  In  favour  of  the  first' 

'But  why?' 

'  Because,  in  spite  of  whatever  the  second  might 
say,  the  grown-up  girl  would  have  been  derived 
from  the  other  girl.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  one  name-and-form  which 
has   its   end   in  death,  and   another  name-and-form 

^  Suhka/?z  datva.  Literally  '  paying  a  tax.'  So  early  were 
early  marriages  1  Compare  Theri  Gatha,  402.  Hina/i-kumbur6, 
p.  58,  has  woe/up  di,  '  having  provided  her  with  means  of  sub- 
sistence.' But,  of  course,  the  Suhka  must  have  been  a  price  paid 
to  the  parents. 


II,  2,  7-  KARMA.  75 

which  is  reborn.  But  the  second  is  the  result  of  the 
first,  and  is  therefore  not  set  free  from  its  evil  deeds.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Suppose  a  man,  O  king,  were  to  buy  of  a  herds- 
man a  vessel  of  milk,  and  go  away  leaving  it  in  his 
charge,  saying  :  "  I  will  come  for  it  to-morrow;"  and 
the  next  day  it  were  to  become  curds.  And  when  the 
man  should  come  and  ask  for  it,  then  suppose  the 
other  were  to  offer  him  the  curds,  and  he  should 
say:  "  It  was  not  curds  I  bought  of  you;  give  me 
my  vessel  of  milk."  And  the  other  were  to  reply: 
"  Without  any  fault  of  mine  ^  your  milk  has  turned 
to  curds."  Now  if  they,  thus  disputing,  were  to  go 
to  law  about  it  before  you,  O  king,  in  whose  favour 
would  you  decide  the  case  ?' 

'  In  favour  of  the  herdsman.' 

'But  why.?' 

'  Because,  in  spite  of  whatever  the  other  might 
say,  the  curds  were  derived  from  the  milk.' 

*  Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  one  name-and-form  that 
finds  its  end  in  death,  and  another  that  is  reborn. 
But  that  other  is  the  result  of  the  first,  and  is  there- 
fore not  thereby  released  from  its  evil  deeds  (its 
bad  Karma).' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


7  2.    The   king   said :    '  Will  you,   Nagasena,  be 
reborn  ? ' 


^  A^anato  :  there  is  an  ambiguity  here,  as  the  word  may  mean 
'  to  me  not  knowing  it,'  or  '  to  you  not  knowing  it.'  Hina/i- 
kumbure  takes  the  latter  interpretation,  and  renders :  '  O  come  ! 
Do  you  not  know  that  your  milk  has  become  curds  ? '  (Embala, 
tage  kiri  mawfi  bawa  no  dannehi  dceyi.)  "^ 

^  Not  in  Hardy. 


76  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  2,  8. 

'  Nay,  great  king,  what  is  the  use  of  asking  that 
question  again  ?  Have  I  not  already  told  you  that 
if,  when  I  die,  [49]  I  die  with  craving  in  my  heart, 
I  shall  ;  but  if  not,  not  ^  ?  ' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  render  service 
to  the  king  ^  :  and  the  king,  pleased  with  him,  were 
to  bestow  an  office  upon  him.  And  then  that  he, 
while  living  through  that  appointment,  in  the  full 
possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  the  pleasures  of 
sense,  should  publicly  declare  that  the  king  had 
repaid  him  naught.  Now  would  that  man,  O  king, 
be  acting  rightly  ?  ' 

'  Most  certainly  not.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  what  is  the  use  of  asking 
that  question  again  ?  Have  I  not  already  told  you 
that  if,  when  I  die,  I  die  with  craving  in  my  heart, 
I  shall  ;  and  if  not,  not  ? ' 

*  You  are  ready,  Nagasena,  in  reply.' 


8.  The  king  said  :  '  You  were  talking  just  now  of 
name-and-form.  What  does  "  name  "  mean  in  that 
expression,  and  what  "  form  "  ?  ' 

*  Whatever  is  gross  therein,  that  is  "  form":  what- 
ever is  subtle,  mental,  that  is  "  name."  ' 

'  Why  is  it,  Nagasena,  that  name  is  not  reborn 
separately,  or  form  separately  ?  ' 

'  These  conditions,  great  king,  are  connected  one 
with  the  other ;  and  spring  into  being  together.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  As  a  hen,  great  king,  would  not  get  a  yoke  or 

^  See  above,  Chapter  i,  §  6,  p.  50. 

2  This  shuile,  with  a  different  conclusion,  recurs  below,  II,  3,  10 

(P-  93)- 


11,2,9-  TIME.  "]-] 

an  egg-shell  separately,  but  both  would  arise  in 
one,  they  two  being  intimately  dependent  one  on 
the  other  ;  just  so,  if  there  were  no  name  there 
would  be  no  form.  What  is  meant  by  name  in  that 
expression  being  intimately  dependent  on  what  is 
meant  by  form,  they  spring  up  together.  And  this 
is,  through  time  immemorial,  their  nature  \' 
'  You  are  ready,  Nagasena,  in  reply.' 


9.  The  king  said  :  '  You  speak,  Nagasena,  of  time 
immemorial.     What  does  this  word  "  time  "  mean  ?' 

*  Past  time,  O  king,  and  present,  and  future.' 

*  But  what  ?  is  there  such  a  thing  as  time  ^  ' 

'  There  is  time  w^iich  exists,  and  time  which 
does  not.' 

'  Which  then  exists,  and  which  not  ? ' 
[50]  '  There  are  Confections  (constituent  poten- 
tialities of  being)  -,  O  king,  which  are  past  in  the 
sense  of  having  passed  away,  and  ceased  to  be, 
or  of  having  been  dissolved,  or  altogether  changed. 
To  them  time  is  not.  But  there  are  conditions  of 
heart  which  are  now  producing  their  effect,  or  still 
have  in  them  the  inherent  possibility  of  producing 

^  Evam  eta.m  dJgham  addhanawz  sa7«bhavitaw :  which 
Hardy,  p.  141,  renders:  'They  accompany  each  olher  (as  to  the 
species,  but  not  as  to  the  individual)  during  infinitude.'  But  even 
the  Si/«halese  text  cannot  be  made  to  mean  this. 

**  Sawzkhara.  See  the  full  list  in  my  'Buddhism,'  pp.  91,  92 
(a  list,  indeed,  not  found  as  yet  in  the  Pi/akas,  and  probably  later, 
but  yet  founded  on  the  older  divisions,  and  explanatory  of  them). 
They  are  all  those  divisions  into  which  existence  (or  the  process  of 
becoming  and  ceasing  to  be  as  Buddhism  looks  at  it)  should  be 
divided,  and  are  practically  so  many  sorts  of  action  (Karma).  For 
the  older  divisions  see  the  note  at  the  passages  quoted  in  '  Vinaya 
Texts,'  I,  76. 


78  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  11,  2,  9. 

effect,  or  which  will  otherwise  lead  to  reindividuali- 
sation.  To  them  time  is.  Where  there  are  beings 
who,  when  dead,  will  be  reborn,  there  time  is. 
Where  there  are  beings  who,  when  dead,  will  not 
be  reborn,  there  time  is  not ;  and  where  there  are 
beings  who  are  altogether  set  free  (who,  having 
attained  Nirva/m  in  their  present  life,  have  come  to 
the  end  of  that  life),  there  time  is  not — because  of 
their  having  been  quite  set  free  \' 

'  You  are  ready,  Nagasena,  in  reply.' 


Here  ends  the  Second  Chapter. 


^  Parinibbutatta.  Hardy  renders  this  whole  clause  (the  last 
lines)  :  '  Nirva;/a  is  attained,  time  is  no  longer.'  But  this  is  one  of 
the  endless  confusions  arising  out  of  not  knowing  the  distinction 
between  Nirvana  and  Parinirvawa,  To  a  man  who  had  '  attained 
Nirvawa '  there  would  still  be  time  as  long  as  he  was  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  it,  that  is  as  long  as  he  continued  in  his  present  (and  last) 
existence.     The  Si?«halese  is  perfectly  clear. 


II,  3,  2.  CAUSATION.  79 


Book  II.     Chapter  3. 

I.  The  king  said  :  '  What  is  the  root,  Nagasena, 
of  past  time,  and  what  of  present,  and  what  of 
future  time  ?  ' 

'  Ignorance.  By  reason  of  Ignorance  came  the 
Confections,  by  reason  of  the  Confections  conscious- 
ness, by  reason  of  consciousness  name-and-form,  by 
reason  of  name-and-form  the  six  organs  of  sense  \ 
by  reason  of  them  contact,  by  reason  of  contact 
sensation,  by  reason  of  sensation  thirst,  by  reason  of 
thirst  craving,  by  reason  of  craving  becoming,  by 
reason  of  becoming  birth,  by  reason  of  birth  old 
age  and  death,  grief,  lamentation,  sorrow,  pain,  and 
despair.  Thus  is  it  that  the  ultimate  point  in  the 
past  of  all  this  time  is  not  apparent.' 

*  You  are  ready,  Nagasena,  in  reply.' 


2.  The  king  said  :  '  You  say  that  the  ultimate 
point  of  time  is  not  apparent.  Give  me  an  illustra- 
tion of  that,' 

'Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  plant  in  the 
ground  a  tiny  seed,  and  that  it  were  to  come  up  as 
a  shoot,  and  in  due  course  grow,  develope,  and 
mature  until  it  produced  a  fruit.  [51]  And  then  the 
man,  taking  a  seed  from  that  fruit,  were  again  to 
plant  it  in  the  ground,  and  all  should  happen  as 
before.  Now  would  there  be  any  end  to  this 
series  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 


^  Sa/ayatanani,  that  is  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  tongue,  body  (as  the 
organ  of  touch),  and  mind  (or,  as  we  should  say,  brain). 


8o  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  3,  2. 

*  Just  SO,  O  king,  the  ultimate  point  in  the  past  of 
the  whole  of  this  time  is  not  apparent.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  The  hen  lays  an  eg^.  From  the  egg  comes  a 
hen.  From  the  hen  an  egg.  Is  there  any  end  to 
this  series  ? ' 

'  No.' 

'  Just  so,  O  king,  the  ultimate  point  in  the  past  of 
the  whole  of  this  time  is  not  apparent' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

Then  the  Elder  drew  a  circle  on  the  ground  and 
asked  the  king  :  '  Is  there  any  end  to  this  circle  ? ' 

'  No,  it  has  no  end.' 

'  Well,  that  is  like  those  circles  spoken  of  by  the 
Blessed  One  \  "  By  reason  of  the  eye  and  of  forms 
there  arises  sight  -,  when  these  three  come  together 
there  is  touch,  by  reason  of  touch  sensation,  by 
reason  of  sensation  a  longing  {Tanha,  thirst),  by 
reason  of  the  longing  action  (Karma),  and  from 
action  eye  is  once  more  produced  ^"  Now  is  there 
any  end  to  this  series  ? ' 

'No.' 

^  Hina/i-kumbur8  applies  this  to  the  previous  words  (the  circles 
of  the  chain  of  Hfe  quoted  in  §  i  from  the  Mahavagga  I,  i,  2),  and 
he  is  followed  by  Hardy,  p.  434.  Trenckner  makes  it  apply  to  the 
following  words,  giving  the  reference  to  No.  18  in  the  Magg/ilma. 
Nikaya,  and  I  think  he  is  right.  Whichever  way  it  is  taken,  the 
result  is  much  the  same. 

2  A'akkhu-viT/Tiawa.  It  is  not  clear  from  the  terse  phraseology 
of  this  passage  whether  this  is  supposed  to  be  a  subjective  stage  pre- 
liminary to  the  'touch'  (phasso),  or  whether  it  is  inclusive  of  it. 
(Compare  Dhamma  Sahga«i,  589,  599,  620.)  I  am  inclined  to 
think  it  is  the  former.  But  if  the  latter  be  meant  it  might  be  ren- 
dered '  there  arises  that  consciousness  (of  existence)  which  is 
dependent  upon  the  eye.'     See  below,  §  4. 

^  That  is,  another  eye  in  another  birth. 


II,  3,  3-  TPIE    FIRST    BEGINNINGS.  8 1 

Then  setting  out  a  precisely  corresponding  circle 
of  each  of  the  other  organs  of  sense  (of  the  ear, 
nose,  tongue,  body,  and  mind^),  he  in  each  case  put 
the  same  question.  And  the  reply  being  always 
the  same,  he  concluded  : 

'Just  so,  O  king,  the  ultimate  point  of  time  in 
the  past  is  not  apparent.' 

'  You  are  ready,  Nagasena,  in  reply.' 


J- 


The  king  said :  '  When  you  say  that  the 
ultimate  point  is  not  apparent,  what  do  you  mean 
by  "  ultimate  point "  ?  ' 

'  Of  whatsoever  time  is  past.  It  is  the  ultimate 
point  of  that,  O  king,  that  I  speak  of.' 

'  But,  if  so,  when  you  say  that  it  is  not  apparent, 
do  you  mean  to  say  that  of  everything  ?  Is  the 
ultimate  point  of  everything  unknown  ?  ' 

'  Partly  so,  and  partly  not.' 

*  Then  which  is  so,  and  which  not  ? ' 

'  Formerly,  O  king,  everything  in  every  form, 
everything  in  every  mode,  was  ignorance.  It  is  to 
us  as  if  it  were  not.  In  reference  to  that  the 
ultimate  beginning  is  unknown.  But  that,  which 
has  not  been,  becomes ;  as  soon  as  it  has  begun  to 
become  it  dissolves  away  again.  In  reference  to 
that  the  ultimate  beginning  is  known  ^.'   [52] 

'But,  reverend  Sir,  if  that  which  was  not,  becomes, 
and  as  soon  as  it  has  begun  to  become  passes  again 

'  In  the  text  the  whole  sentence  is  repeated  of  each. 

^  That  is,  '  the  beginning  of  each  link  in  the  chain — the  begin- 
ning of  each  individuality — can  be  traced,  but  not  the  beginning  of 
each  chain.  Each  life  is  a  link  in  a  chain  of  lives,  bound  together 
by  cause  and  effect,  different,  yet  the  same.  There  are  an  infinite 
number  of  such  chains ;  and  there  is  no  reference  in  the  discussion 
to  any  greater  unity,  or  to  any  "  ultimate  point "  of  all  the  chains.' 
[35]  G 


82  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  11,3,4. 

away,  then  surely,  being  thus  cut  off  at  both  ends,  it 
must  be  entirely  destroyed^?  ' 

'  Nay,  surely,  O  king,  if  it  be  thus  cut  off  at  both 
ends,  can  it  not  at  both  ends  be  made  to  grow 
again  ^  ? ' 

'  Yes,  it  might.  But  that  is  not  my  question. 
Could  it  grow  again  from  the  point  at  which  it 
was  cut  off  ?  ' 

'  Certainly,' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

Then  the  Elder  repeated  the  simile  of  the  tree 
and  the  seed,  and  said  that  the  Skandhas  (the  con- 
stituent elements  of  all  life,  organic  and  inorganic) 
were  so  many  seeds,  and  the  king  confessed  himself 
satisfied. 

4.  The  king  said  :  '  Are  there  any  Confections  ^ 
which  are  produced  ?  ' 

'  Certainly.' 

'  Which  are  they  ? ' 

'  Where  ihere  is  an  eye,  and  also  forms,  there  is 
sight ^,  where  there  is  sight  there  is  a  contact  through 
the  eye,  where  there  is  contact  through  the  eye 
there  is  a  sensation,  where  there  is  sensation  there 
is  a  longing  ^,  where  there  is  longing  there  is  a  grasp- 
ing ^,  where  there  is  grasping  there  is  a  becoming, 

^  That  is,  '  each  individuahty  must  be  separate.  The  supposed 
chain  does  not  really  exist.' 

^  There  is  an  odd  change  of  gender  here.  Possibly  the  word 
'  ignorance '  has  been  dropped  out.  Trenckner  says  the  passage  is 
corrupt,  and  the  Si;«halese  is  so  involved  as  to  be  unintelligible. 

^  Safikhara,  potentialities,  possible  forms,  of  sentient  existence. 

*  ^akkhu-vi««a«a.     See  note  2  above,  p.  80. 

^  Ta7iha,  thirst. 

^  Upadana,  a  stretching  out  towards  a  satisfaction  of  the  long- 
ing, and  therefore  a  craving  for  life,  time,  in  which  to  satisfy  it. 


II,  3»5-  BECOMING.  S^ 


where  there  is  becoming  there  is  birth,  and  at 
birth  old  age  and  death,  grief,  lamentation,  pain, 
sorrow,  and  despair  begin  to  be.  Thus  is  the  rise 
of  the  whole  of  this  class  of  pain. — Where  there  is 
neither  eye  nor  form  there  is  no  sight,  where  there 
is  not  sight  there  is  no  contact  through  the  eye, 
where  there  is  not  contact  there  is  no  sensation, 
where  there  is  not  sensation  there  is  no  lono-- 
ing,  where  there  is  not  longing  there  is  no  grasping, 
where  there  is  not  grasping  there  is  no  becoming, 
where  there  is  not  becoming  there  is  no  birth,  and 
where  there  is  not  birth  there  is  neither  old  ao-e 
nor  death  nor  grief,  lamentation,  pain,  sorrow,  and 
despair.  Thus  is  the  ending  of  all  this  class  of 
pain.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

5.  The  king  said  :  '  Are  there  any  Confections 
(qualities)  which  spring  into  being  without  a  gradual 
becomine.'^ ' 

'  No.     They  all  have  a  gradual  becoming.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  great  king  ?  Did  this 
house  in  which  you  are  sitting  spring  suddenly  into 
being  ? ' 

[53]  '  Certainly  not,  Sir.  There  is  nothing  here 
which  arose  in  that  way.  Each  portion  of  it  has 
had  its  gradual  becoming — these  beams  had  their 
becoming  in  the  forest,  and  this  clay  in  the  earth, 
and  by  the  moil  and  toil  of  women  and  of  men  ^  was 
this  house  produced.' 


Mt  is  a  small  matter,  but  noteworthy,  that  the  Buddhist  texts 
always  put  the  women  first. 


G  2 


84  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  3,  5. 

'  Just  SO,  great  king,  there  Is  no  Confection  which 
has  sprung  into  being  without  a  gradual  becoming. 
It  is  by  a  process  of  evolution  that  Confections 
come  to  be  ! ' 

'  Give  me  a  further  Illustration.' 

'  They  are  like  all  kinds  of  trees  and  plants  which, 
when  set  in  the  ground,  grow,  develope,  and  mature, 
and  then  yield  their  fruits  and  flowers.  The  trees 
do  not  spring  Into  being  without  a  becoming.  It  is 
by  a  process  of  evolution  that  they  become  what 
they  are.  Just  so,  great  king,  there  is  no  Confection 
which  has  sprung  into  being  without  a  gradual 
becoming.  It  is  by  a  process  of  evolution  that 
Confections  come  to  be  ! ' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  They  are  like  the  pots  of  various  kinds  which  a 
potter  might  form  when  he  has  dug  up  the  clay  out 
of  the  earth.  The  pots  do  not  spring  into  being 
without  a  becoming.  It  Is  by  a  process  of  evolution 
that  they  become  what  they  are.  Just  so,  great 
king,  there  is  no  Confection  which  has  sprung  into 
being  without  a  gradual  becoming.  It  Is  by  a  pro- 
cess of  evolution  that  Confections  come  to  be  ! ' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

*  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  no  bridge  of  metal 
on  a  mandolin  \  no  leather,  no  hollow  space,  no  frame, 
no  neck,  no  strings,  no  bow,  and  no  human  effort  or 
exertion,  would  there  be  music  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

'  But  if  all  these  things  were  there,  would  not 
there  be  a  sound  ?  ' 


^  Viwaya  patta?/;.     I  don't  know  what  this  is.     The  Siwzhalese 
merely  repeats  the  words. 


II,  3,  5-  FORMATION    OF    QUALITIES.  8  5 

'  Of  course  there  would.' 

'Just  SO,  great  king,  there  is  no  Confection  which 
has  sprung  into  being  without  a  gradual  becoming. 
It  is  by  a  process  of  evolution  that  Confections 
come  to  be  ! ' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  no  fire-stick  ap- 
paratus \  no  twirling-stick  \  and  no  cord  for  the 
twirling-stick,  and  no  matrix  ^  and  no  burnt  rag  for 
tinder,  and  no  human  effort  and  exertion,  could 
there  be  fire  by  attrition  ?  ' 

*  Certainly  not.' 

*  But  if  all  these  conditions  were  present,  then 
might  not  fire  appear  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  certainly.' 

[54]  'Just  so,  great  king,  there  is  no  Confection 
which  has  sprung  into  being  without  a  gradual 
becoming.  It  is  by  a  process  of  evolution  that 
Confections  come  to  be  ! ' 

*  Give  me  one  more  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  no  burning  glass, 
and  no  heat  of  the  sun,  and  no  dried  cow-dung  for 
tinder,  could  there  be  fire  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not.' 

'  But  where  these  things  are  present  there  fire 
might  be  struck,  might  it  not  ? ' 
'  Yes.' 
'  Just  so,  great  king,  there  is  no  Confection  which 


^  Ara«i,  ara7ii-potako,  and  uttarara«i.  The  exact  differentiation 
of  these  parts  of  the  fire-stick  apparatus  is  uncertain.  The  Siw- 
halese  throws  no  real  hght  on  them,  as  it  translates  them  respec- 
tively ya/a  liya,  'under  wood,'  matu  liya;  'upper  wood,'  and 
uturu  liya,  also  'upper  wood.'  This  method  of  ignition  was 
probably  quite  as  strange  to  Hina/i-kumbure  as  it  is  to  us. 


86  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  3,  6. 

has  sprung  into  being  without  a  gradual  becoming. 
It  is  by  a  process  of  evohition  that  Confections 
come  to  be  ! ' 

'  Give  me  another  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  no  looking-glass, 
and  no  light,  and  no  face  in  front  of  it,  would  there 
appear  an  image  ?' 

'  No.' 

'  But  given  these  things, there  might  be  a  reflection  ? ' 

'  Yes,  Sir,  there  might.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  there  is  no  Confection  which 
has  sprung  into  being  without  a  gradual  becoming. 
It  is  by  a  process  of  evolution  that  Confections 
come  to  be  !' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


6.  The  king  said  :  'Is  there,  Nagasena,  such  a 
thing  as  the  soul  ^  ?  ' 

'What  is  this,  O  king,  the  soul  (Vedagu)?' 

*  The  living  principle  within  -  which  sees  forms 
through  the  eye,  hears  sounds  through  the  ear, 
experiences  tastes  through  the  tongue,  smells  odours 
through  the  nose,  feels  touch  through  the  body,  and 
discerns  things  (conditions,  "  dhamma  ")  through  the 
mind — just  as  we,  sitting  here  in  the  palace,  can  look 
out  of  any  window  out  of  which  we  wish  to  look,  the 
east  window  or  the  west,  or  the  north  or  the  south.' 

The  Elder  replied  :  '  I  will  tell  you  about  the  five 

^  Vedagii,  see  below,  III,  5,  6,  p.  iii,  not  found  in  this 
meaning  in  the  Pi/akas. 

^  Abbhantare^ivo,  also  not  found  in  this  sense  in  the  Pi/akas. 
At  la,  rendered  just  above  'image'  or  'reflection,'  is  the  word 
used  in  them  for  soul.  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  this  here  by 
pra?2a  ^iwa,  'breath-soul'  See  below,  III,  7,  15,  p,  132  ;  and 
above,  II,  4,  p.  48  ;  and  II,  2,  6,  p.  71. 


II,  3,6.  THE    SOUL.  87 

doors  \  great  king.  Listen,  and  give  heed  atten- 
tively. If  the  Hving  principle  within  sees  forms 
through  the  eye  in  the  manner  that  you  mention, 
[55]  choosing  its  window  as  it  likes,  can  it  not  then  see 
forms  not  only  through  the  eye,  but  also  through  each 
of  the  other  five  organs  of  sense  ?  And  in  like  man- 
ner can  it  not  then  as  well  hear  sounds,  and  experience 
taste,  and  smell  odours, and  feel  touch,  and  discern  con- 
ditions through  each  of  the  other  five  organs  of  sense, 
besides  the  one  you  have  in  each  case  specified?' 

'  No,  Sir.' 

*  Then  these  powers  are  not  united  one  to  an- 
other indiscriminately,  the  latter  sense  to  the  former 
organ,  and  so  on.  Now  we,  as  we  are  seated  here 
in  the  palace,  with  these  windows  all  thrown  open, 
and  in  full  daylight,  if  we  only  stretch  forth  our 
heads,  see  all  kinds  of  objects  plainly.  Can  the 
living  principle  do  the  same  when  the  doors  of  the 
eyes  are  thrown  open  ?  When  the  doors  of  the  ear 
are  thrown  open,  can  it  do  so  ?  Can  it  then  not 
only  hear  sounds,  but  see  sights,  experience  tastes, 
smell  odours,  feel  touch,  and  discern  conditions  ? 
And  so  with  each  of  its  windows  ?' 

'  No,  Sir.' 

[56]  *  Then  these  powers  are  not  united  one  to 
another  indiscriminately.  Now  again,  great  king,  if 
Dinna  here  were  to  eo  outside  and  stand  in  the 
gateway,  would  you  be  aware  that  he  had  done  so  ? ' 

'  Yes,  I  should  know  it,' 

'  And  if  the  same  Dinna  were  to  come  back  again, 
and  stand  before  3^ou,  would  )'0u  be  aware  of  his 
having  done  so  ?' 

^  It  is  odd  he  does  not  say  six. 


88  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         TI,  3,  6. 

'  Yes,  I  should  know  it.' 

'  Well,  great  king,  would  the  living  principle  within 
discern,  in  like  manner,  if  anything  possessing  flavour 
were  laid  upon  the  tongue,  its  sourness,  or  its  salt- 
ness,  or  its  acidity,  or  its  pungency,  or  its  astrin- 
gency,  or  its  sweetness  ^  ? ' 
'  Yes,  it  would  know  it.' 

'  But   when    the    flavour    had    passed    into    the 
stomach  would  it  still  discern  these  things  ? ' 
'  Certainly  not.' 

'  Then  these  powers  are  not  united  one  to  the  other 
indiscriminately.  Now  suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were 
to  have  a  hundred  vessels  of  honey  brought  and 
poured  into  one  trough,  and  then,  having  had  another 
man's  mouth  closed  over  and  tied  up,  were  to  have 
him  cast  into  the  trough  full  of  honey.  Would  he 
know  whether  that  into  which  he  had  been  thrown 
was  sweet  or  whether  it  was  not  ?' 
'  No,  Sir.' 
'  But  why  not  ?' 

'  Because  the  honey  could  not  get  into  his  mouth.' 
'  Then,  great  king,  these  powers  are  not  united 
one  to  another  indiscriminately  ^/ 

'  I  am  not  capable  of  discussing  with  such  a 
reasoner.  Be  pleased,  Sir,  to  explain  to  me  how 
the  matter  stands.' 

Then  the  Elder  convinced  Milinda  the  king  with 
discourse  drawn  from  the  Abhidhamma,  saying  :  '  It 
is  by  reason,  O  king,  of  the  eye  and  of  forms  that 
sio^ht   arises,  and    those    other   conditions — contact. 


^  This  list  recurs  below,  II,  4,  i. 

2  That  is:  '  Your  "  living  principle  within"  cannot  make  use  of 
whichever  of  its  windows  it  pleases.  And  the  simile  of  a  man  inside 
a  house  does  not  hold  good  of  the  soul.'     See  the  end  of  II,  3,  16. 


II,  3,  7-  THE    SOUL.  89 

sensation,  idea,  thought,  abstraction,  sense  of  vitality, 
and  attention  ^ — arise  each  simultaneously  with  its 
predecessor.  And  a  similar  succession  of  cause  and 
effect  arises  when  each  of  the  other  five  organs  of 
sense  is  brought  into  play.  [57]  And  so  herein  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  soul  (Vedagu)  ^.' 


7.  The  king  said :  '  Does  thought-perception  ^' 
arise  wherever  siofht  arises  *  ? ' 

'  Yes,  O  king,  where  the  one  is  there  is  the  other.' 

'  And  which  of  the  two  arises  first  ? ' 

'  First  sight,  then  thought,' 

'  Then  does  the  sight  issue,  as  it  were,  a  com- 
mand to  thought,  saying  :  "  Do  you  spring  up  there 
where  I  have  ? "  or  does  thought  issue  command  to 
sight,  saying  :  "  Where  you  spring  up  there  will  I."  ' 

'  It  is  not  so,  great  king.  There  is  no  intercourse 
between  the  one  and  the  other.' 

'  Then  how  is  it,  Sir,  that  thought  arises  wherever 
sight  does  ?' 

'  Because  of  there  being  a  sloping  down,  and  because 
of  there  being  a  door,  and  because  of  there  being  a 
habit  ^,  and  because  of  there  being  an  association.' 

'  How  is  that  ?  Give  me  an  illustration  of  mind 
arising  where  sight  arises  because  of  there  being  a 
sloping  down.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  great  king  ?  When  it 
rains",  where  will  the  water  go  to  ?' 

^  The  last  four  are  /i'etana,  ekaggata,  ^ivitindriyaw,  and 
manasikaro;  and  in  the  Sinhalese  are  simply  repeated  in  their 
Sinhalese  form. 

^  This  conclusion  is  all  wrong  in  Hardy,  pp.  4,-7,  458. 

^  Mano-vi;7«a;/a;;/.  *  Ka.kkhu-viniia.na,m. 

^  A'i««atta,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  puruduboewin. 

*  Deve  vassante:  'when  the  god  rains.' 


90  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  3,  7- 


'  It  will  follow  the  slope  of  the  ground.' 
'  And  if  it  were  to  rain  again,  where  would  the 
water  go  to  ?' 

'  It  would  go  the  same  way  as  the  first  water  had 


gone. 


'  What  then  ?  Does  the  first  water  issue,  as  it 
were,  command  to  the  second,  saying  :  "  Do  you  go 
where  I  have  ?"  Or  does  the  second  issue  com- 
mand to  the  first,  saying  :  "  Whithersoever  you  go, 
thither  will  I  "?' 

'  It  is  not  so.  Sir.  There  is  no  intercourse  between 
the  two.  Each  goes  its  way  because  of  the  slope  of 
the  ground.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  [58]  is  it  by  reason  of  the 
natural  slope  that  where  sight  has  arisen  there  also 
does  thought  arise.  And  neither  does  the  sight- 
perception  issue  command  to  the  mind-perception, 
saying  :  "  Where  I  have  arisen,  there  do  thou  also 
spring  up  ; "  nor  does  the  mind-perception  inform 
the  sight-perception,  saying  :  "  Where  thou  hast 
arisen,  there  will  I  also  spring  up."  There  is  no 
conversation,  as  it  were,  betw^een  them.  All  that 
happens,  happens  through  natural  slope.' 

*  Now  give  me  an  illustration  of  there  being  a  door.' 
'  What  do  you  think,  great  king  ?     Suppose  a  king 

had  a  frontier  city,  and  it  was  strongly  defended 
with  towers  and  bulwarks,  and  had  only  one  gate- 
way. If  a  man  wanted  to  leave  the  city,  how  would 
he  go  out  ?' 

*  By  the  gate,  certainly.' 

*  And  if  another  man  wanted  to  leave  it,  how  would 
he  go  out  ?' 

'  The  same  way  as  the  first.' 

'  What  then  ?    Would  the  first  man  tell  the  second  : 


11,3,7-  SENSATION    AND    IDEAS.  9 1 

"  Mind  you  go  out  the  same  way  as  I  do"  ?  Or  would 
the  second  tell  the  first :  "  The  way  you  go  out,  I 
shall  go  out  too"?' 

*  Certainly  not,  Sir.  There  would  be  no  communi- 
cation between  them.  They  would  go  that  way 
because  that  was  the   gate.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  with  thought  and  sight.' 

*  Now  give  me  an  illustration  of  thought  arising 
where  sight  is  because  of  habit.' 

'  What  do  you  think,  great  king  ?  If  one  cart 
went  ahead,  which  way  would  a  second  cart  go  ?' 

'  The  same  as  the  first.' 

'  But  would  the  first  tell  the  second  to  go  where  it 
went,  [59]  or  the  second  tell  the  first  that  it  would  go 
where  it  (the  first)  had  gone  ?' 

'  No,  Sir,  There  would  be  no  communication 
between  the  two.  The  second  would  follow  the 
first  out  of  habit.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  with  sight  and  thought.' 

'  Now  give  me  an  illustration  of  how  thought 
arises,  where  sight  has  arisen,  through  association.' 

*  In  the  art  of  calculating  by  using  the  joints  of 
the  fingers  as  signs  or  marks  ^  in  the  art  of  arithmetic 
pure  and  simple^,  in  the  art  of  estimating  the  probable 


^  Mud  da.     Hma/i-kumbure  is  here  a  little  fuller  ihan  Buddlia- 

■ghosa  at  vol.  i,  p.  95  of  the  Sumangala.     He  says:  yam  se  oehgili 

purukhi    alwa    gena    sa;7;7a    ko/a    kiyana    hasta    niudra 

jastraya,  'the  finger-ring  art,  so  called  from  seizing  on  the  joints 

of  the  fingers,  and  using  them  as  signs.' 

^  Gawana.  Hiua/i-kumbure  says:  a-(-X'/ndra  wu  gawa?;/ 
i'astraya,*the  art  of  unbroken  counting,' which  is  precisely  Buddha- 
ghosa's  explanation  (confirming  the  reading  we  have  there  adopted), 
and  probably  means  arithmetic  without  the  aids  involved  in  the  last 
phrase.     We  have  here  in  that  case  an  interesting  peep  into  the 


92  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.  II,  3,  8. 


yield  of  growing  crops  \  and  in  the  art  of  writing,  O 
king,  the  beginner  is  ckimsy.  But  after  a  certain 
time  with  attention  and  practice  he  becomes  expert. 
Just  so  is  it  that,  where  sight  has  arisen,  thought 
too  by  association  springs  up.' 

And  in  response  to  similar  questions,  the  Elder 
declared  that  in  the  same  way  thought  sprang  up 
wherever  there  was  hearing,  or  taste,  or  smell,  or 
touch  :  that  in  each  case  it  was  subsequent  to  the 
other,  but  arose  without  communication  from  [60] 
the  natural  causes  above  set  out. 

8.  The  king  said  :  '  Where  thought  (mental  per- 
ception 2)  is,  Nagasena,  is  there  always  sensation?' 

'  Yes,  where  thought  arises  there  is  contact,  and 
there  is  sensation,  and  there  is  idea,  and  there  is 
conceived  intention,  and  there  is  reflection,  and  there 
is  investigation  ^' 


9.  '  Reverend  Sir,  what  is  the  distinguishing  cha- 
racteristic of  contact  (Phassa)?' 
'  Touch  ^,  O  king.' 
'  But  give  me  an  illustration,' 
'  It  is  as  when  two  rams  are  butting  together,  O 


progress  of  arithmetical  knowledge.  When  our  author  wrote,  the 
old  way  of  counting  on  the  fingers  was  still  in  vogue,  but  the 
modern  system  was  coming  into  general  use. 

^  Sank  ha,  literally  '  calculation,'  but  which  Hardy  amplifies  into 
Kshetraya  wr/ksha  vilokaya  ko/a  phala  prama«aya 
kiyannawu  sa7«khya  ^astraya. 

2  Mano-vi77;7a«a  as  all  through  the  last  section.  The  reader 
must  not  forget  that  ma  no  is  here  strictly  an  organ  of  sense,  on  an 
exact  level  with  eye,  ear,  tongue,  &c. 

^  A'etana,  vitakko,  and  vi-^aro.     See  fuller  further  on,  §§  11, 

13.  14- 
*  Phusana.    So  also  Buddhaghosa  at  p.  63  of  the  Sumangala. 


II,  3,  10.  SENSATION    AND    IDEA.  93 

king.  The  eye  should  be  regarded  as  one  of  those 
two,  the  form  (object)  as  the  other,  and  the  contact 
as  the  union  of  the  two.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

*  It  is  as  when  two  cymbals  ^  are  clashed  together. 
The  one  is  as  the  eye,  the  other  as  the  object,  and 
the  junction  of  the  two  is  like  contact.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


lo.   '  Reverend  Sir,  what  is  the  characteristic  mark 
of  sensation  (Vedana)  ?' 

'  The  being  experienced,  great  king,  and  enjoyed  ^.' 

*  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

*  It  is  like  the  case  of  the  man  ^  on  whom  the  king, 
pleased  with  a  service  he  has  rendered  him,  should 
bestow  an  office.  He  while  living,  through  that 
appointment,  in  the  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of 
all  the  pleasures  of  sense,  would  think  :  "  Formerly  I 
did  the  king  a  service.  For  that  the  king,  pleased 
with  me,  gave  me  this  office.  It  is  on  that  account 
that  I  now  experience  such  sensations." — And  it  is 
like  the  case  of  the  man  [61]  who  having  done  good 
deeds  is  re-born,  on  the  dissolution  of  the  body  after 
death,  into  some  happy  conditions  of  bliss  in  heaven. 
He,  while  living  there  in  the  full  possession  and 
enjoyment  of  all  the  pleasures  of  sense,  would  think  : 
"  Formerly  I  must  have  done  good  deeds.  It  is  on 
that  account  that  I  now  experience  such  sensations." 
Thus  is  it,  great  king,  that  the  being  experienced  and 
enjoyed  is  the  characteristic  mark  of  sensation,' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena ! ' 

^  Samma,  compare  Theri  Gatha,  893,  911. 

^  Buddhaghosa,  loc.  cit.,  only  gives  the  first  of  these. 

^  See  for  a  similar  illustration  above,  II,  2,  7,  p.  76. 


94  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         IT,  3,1  r. 

II.  'What  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic, 
Nagasena,  of  idea  (Sa;^;1a)  ?  ' 

'  Recognition,  O  king^.  And  what  does  he 
recognise  ? — blueness  and  yellowness  and  redness 
and  whiteness  and  brownness.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  the  king's  treasurer,  O  king,  who 
when  he  sees,  on  entering  the  treasure,  objects  the 
property  of  the  king  of  all  those  colours,  recognises 
(that  they  have  such).  Thus  it  is,  great  king,  that 
recognition  is  the  mark  of  idea.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


'  What  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic,  Naga- 
sena, of  the  conceived  purpose  (A^etana)  ?' 

'  The  being  conceived,  O  king,  and  the  being 
prepared  ^.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  the  case  of  a  man,  O  king,  who  should 
prepare  poison,  and  both  drink  of  it  himself,  and 
give  of  it  to  others  to  drink.  He  himself  would 
suffer  pain,  and  so  would  they.  In  the  same  way 
some  individual,  havinof  thousfht  out  with  intention 
some  evil  deed,  on  the  dissolution  of  the  body  after 
death,  would  be  reborn  into  some  unhappy  state  of 
woe  in  purgatory,  and  so  also  would  those  who 
followed  his  advice. — And  it  is  like  the  case  of  a 

^  So  also  Buddhaghosa,  Sumangala,  p.  63. 

^  Buddhaghosa,  loc.  cit.,  gives  no  mark  of  A'etana,  but  he  gives 
both  it  and  'the  being  prepared'  as  the  marks  of  the  Confections.  It 
is  not  clear  from  the  INIilinda  alone  how  to  render  the  term  ^etana, 
but  I  follow  Ahguttara  III,  77  (where  it  is  placed  on  a  level  with 
aspiration),  and  Dhamma  Sawgam  5  (where  it  is  said  to  be  born  of 
the  contact  of  mind,  perception,  and  exertion). 


ir,  3,  13.  PERCEPTION.  95 

man,  O  king,  who  should  prepare  a  mixture  of 
ghee,  butter,  oil,  honey  and  molasses,  and  should 
both  drink  thereof  himself  and  o-ive  of  it  to  others 
to  drink.  He  himself  would  have  pleasure,  and  so 
would  they.  [62]  In  the  same  way  some  individual, 
having  thought  out  with  intention  some  good  deed, 
will  be  reborn,  on  the  dissolution  of  the  body  after 
death,  into  some  happy  state  of  bliss  in  heaven,  and 
so  also  would  those  who  follow  his  advice.  Thus  is 
it,  great  king,  that  the  being  conceived,  and  the  being 
prepared,  are  marks  of  the  conceived  purpose.' 
'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


12.  'What,  Nagasena,  is  the  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic of  perception  (Vi/^/^ana)  ?' 

'  Recognition  S  great  king.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.'  . 

'  It  is  like  the  case  of  the  guardian  of  a  city  w^ho, 
when  seated  at  the  cross  roads  in  the  middle  of  the 
city,  could  see  a  man  coming  from  the  East,  or  the 
South,  or  the  West,  or  the  North.  In  the  same  way, 
O  king,  he  knows  an  object  which  he  sees  with  his 
eye,  or  a  sound  which  he  hears  with  his  ear,  or  an 
odour  which  he  smells  by  his  nose,  or  a  taste  which 
he  experiences  with  his  tongue,  or  a  touchable  thing 
which  he  touches  with  his  body,  or  a  quality  that  he 
recognises  by  his  mind.  Thus  is  it,  great  king,  that 
knowing  is  the  mark  of  perception.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


13.  '  What    is    the    distinguishing    characteristic, 
Nagasena,  of  reflection  (Vitakka). 

^  Vi^anana.     So  also  Buddhaghosa,  loc.  cit.,  and  below,  III, 
7)  15,  P-  131- 


96  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         II,  3,  14. 

'  The  effectino-  of  an  aim  \' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  the  case  of  a  carpenter,  great  king, 
who  fixes  in  a  joint  a  well-fashioned  piece  of  wood. 
Thus  is  it  that  the  effecting  of  an  aim  is  the  mark 
of  reflection.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


14.  'What  is  the  distinguishing  characteristic, 
Nagasena,  of  investigation  (Vi/^ara)  ? ' 

'  Threshing  out  again  and  again  ^.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  It  is  like  the  case  of  the  copper  vessel,  which, 
when  it  is  being  beaten  into  shape  [63],  makes  a 
sound  again  and  again  as  it  gradually  gathers 
shape  ^.  The  beating  into  shape  is  to  be  regarded 
as  reflection,  and  the  sounding  again  and  again  as 
investigation.  Thus  is  it,  great  king,  that  threshing 
out  aofain  and  ao^ain  is  the  mark  of  investig^ation.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena ! ' 


Here  ends  the  Third  Chapter  ^ 


^  Appana,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  pihi/ana.  Buddha- 
ghosa,  p.  63,  gives  abhiniropana  as  its  mark,  which  comes  to 
much  the  same  thing. 

^  Anuma^^ana.  So  also  Buddhaghosa,  loc.  cit.  p.  6^.  The 
word  is  not  in  Childers,  but  see  Morris  in  the  Journal  of  the  Pali 
Text  Society,  1886,  p.  118. 

^  Anuravati  anusandahati.  Not  in  Childers.  Hina/i- 
kumbure  says  pasuwa  anurawa;/a  kere  da  anuwa  pihi/a  da. 

*  The  following  two  sections  form  an  appendix  to  this  chapter 
corresponding  to  that  formed  by  the  last  three  sections  of  Book 
III,  Chapter  7.  The  numbering  of  the  sections  is  therefore  carried 
on  in  both  cases. 


11,3,15.  CONDITIONS.  97 

Book   II.     Chapter  3. 

15.  The  king  said  :  '  When  those  conditions 
(whose  marks  you  have  just  specified)  have  run 
together,  is  it  possible,  by  bending  them  apart  one 
to  one  side  and  one  to  the  other  \  to  make  the 
distinction  between  them  clear,  so  that  one  can  say  : 
"  This  is  contact,  and  this  sensation,  and  this  idea, 
and  this  intention,  and  this  perception,  and  this 
reflection,  and  this  investigation  2  "  ?  ' 

'  No  :  that  cannot  be  done.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  the  cook  in  the  royal  house- 
hold were  to  make  a  syrup  or  a  sauce,  and  were  to 
put  into  it  curds,  and  salt,  and  ginger,  and  cummin 
seed  ^,  and  pepper,  and  other  ingredients.  And 
suppose  the  king  were  to  say  to  him  :  "  Pick  out 
for  me  the  flavour  of  the  curds,  and  of  the  salt, 
and  of  the  ginger,  and  of  the  cummin  seed,  and  of 
the  pepper,  and  of  all  the  things  you  have  put  into 
it."  Now  would  it  be  possible,  great  king,  separating 
off  one  from  another  those  flavours  that  had  thus  run 
together,  to  pick  out  each  one,  so  that  one  could  say  : 
"  Here  is  the  sourness,  and  here  the  saltness,  and 
here  the  pungency,  and  here  the  acidity,  and  here  the 
astringency,  and  here  the  sweetness  ^  "  ?  ' 

^  Vinibbhu^itva  vinibbhu^itva.  This  question  is  identical 
with  the  one  asked  of  the  Buddha  at  Ma^^/zima  Nikaya  43,  p.  293. 
Compare  also  p.  233  and  Tela  Ka/aha  Gaiha  59. 

^  This  list  differs  from  that  in  II,  3,  8,  by  the  addition  of  vi««a«a. 

^  Giraka.  Compare  (7ataka  I,  244;  II,  181,  363.  Hina/i- 
kumbuie  translates  it  by  duru,  and  Hardy  by  'onions'  (p.  439). 

*  This  is  the  same  list  as  is  found  above,  II,  3,  6  ;  and  below, 
III,  4,  2,  and  the  items  are  not  intended  to  correspond  with  the 
condiments  in  the  list  above. 

[35]  H 


98  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING   MILINDA.  IT,  3,  16. 

'  No,  that  would  not  be  possible  [64].  But  each 
flavour  would  nevertheless  be  distinctly  present  by 
its  characteristic  sign.' 

'And  just  so,  great  king,  with  respect  to  those 
conditions  we  were  discussing.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


1 6.  The  Elder  said:  'Is  salt,  O  king,  recognis- 
able by  the  eye  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  Sir,  it  is.' 

'  But  be  careful,  O  king.' 

'Well  then,  Sir,  is  it  perceptible  by  the  tongue  ?' 

'  Yes,  that  is  right.' 

'  But,  Sir,  is  it  only  by  the  tongue  that  every 
kind  of  salt  is  distinguished  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  every  kind.' 

'  If  that  be  so,  Sir,  why  do  bullocks  bring  whole 
cart-loads  of  it  ?  Is  it  not  salt  and  nothing  else 
that  ought  to  be  so  brought  ? ' 

'  It  is  impossible  to  bring  salt  by  itself.  But  all 
these  conditions  ^  have  run  together  into  one,  and 
produced  the  distinctive  thing  called  salt  ^.  (For 
instance)  :  salt  is  heavy,  too.  But  is  it  possible,  O 
king,  to  weigh  salt  ?  ' 

^  Not  saltness  only,  but  white  colour,  &c.  &c. 

^  He  means  the  king  to  draw  the  conclusion  that  that 
distinct  thing  is  only  recognisable  by  the  tongue  ;  so  the 
senses  are  not  interchangeable.  In  other  words  it  is  true  that 
salt  seems  to  be  recognised  by  the  sight,  as  when  people  load  it 
into  carts  they  do  not  slop  to  taste  it.  But  what  they  see  is  not 
salt,  what  they  weigh  is  not  salt,  it  is  whiteness  and  weight.  And 
the  fact  of  its  being  salt  is  an  inference  they  draw.  So,  great  king, 
your  simile  of  the  soul  being  inside  the  body,  and  using  the  five 
senses,  as  a  man  inside  a  house  uses  windows,  does  not  hold  good. 
See  the  conclusion  above  of  II,  3,  6,  p.  88. 


II,  3,  i6.  CONDITIONS.  99 

'  Certainly,  Sir.' 

'  Nay,  great  king,  it  is  not  the  salt  you  weigh,  it 
is  the  weight.' 

'  You  are  ready,  Nagasena,  in  argument' 


Here  ends  the  questioning  of  Nagasena  by  Milinda^ 


^  This  is  again  most  odd.  One  would  expect,  '  Here  ends  the 
questioning  as  to  characteristic  signs.'  See  the  note  at  the  end  of 
last  chapter. 


II    2 


lOO  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        HI,  4,  r. 

BOOK  III. 

VlMATI-X-^T/EDANA-PAiVHO. 

the  removal  of    difficulties. 

Chapter  4\ 

I.  [65]  The  king  said:  'Are  the  five  Ayata- 
nas,  Nagasena,  (eye,  ear,  nose,  tongue,  and  body,) 
produced  by  various  actions,  or  by  one  action?'  (that 
is,  the  result  of  various  Karmas,  or  of  one  Karma.) 

'  By  various  actions,  not  by  one.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration,' 

'  Now,  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  If  I  were  to 
sow  in  one  field  five  kinds  of  seed,  would  the  produce 
of  those  various  seeds  be  of  different  kinds  ?' 

'  Yes,  certainly.' 

'Well,  just  so  with  respect  to  the  production  of 
Ayatanas.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ^ ! ' 


2.  The  king  said  :  *  Why  is  it,  Nagasena,  that  all 
men  are  not  alike,  but  some  are  short-lived  and  some 
long-lived,  some  sickly  and  some  healthy,  some  ugly 
and  some  beautiful,  some  without  influence  and  some 
ofgreatpower,some  poor  and  some  wealthy,  some  low 
born  and  some  high  born, some  stupid  and  somewise.'*' 

^  The  chapters  go  straight  on  because  Books  II  and  III  are 
really  only  parts  of  one  Book.     See  abo\e,  p.  4. 

^  The  meaning  here  is  not  easy  to  follow,  as  the  word  Aya- 
tana  is  used  either  for  the  organs  of  sense,  or  for  the  objects  of 
sen'^e ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  context  to  show  which  is  meant. 
Probably  the  idea  is  that  good  sight,  hearing,  &c.  in  one  birth  are 
each  the  result  of  a  separate  Karma  in  the  last  birth.  But  I  am 
by  no  means  sure  of  this,  and  the  Si/«lialese  (p.  76)  is  just  as 
ambiguous  as  the  Pali. 


111,4,3-  RENUNCIATION.  lOI 

The  Elder  replied  :  'Why  is  it  that  all  vegetables 
are  not  alike,  but  some  sour,  and  some  salt,  and  some 
pungent,  and  some  acid,  and  some  astringent,  and 
some  sweet  ?' 

'  I  fancy,  Sir,  it  is  because  they  come  from  different 
kinds  of  seeds.' 

'And  just  so,  great  king,  are  the  differences  you 
have  mentioned  among  men  to  be  explained.  For 
it  has  been  said  by  the  Blessed  One :  "  Beings,  O 
brahmin,  have  each  their  own  Karma,  are  inheritors 
of  Karma,  belong  to  the  tribe  of  their  Karma,  are 
relatives  by  Karma,  have  each  their  Karma  as  their 
protecting  overlord.  It  is  Karma  that  divides  them 
up  into  low  and  high  and  the  like  divisions  ^" ' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


3.  The  king  said :  '  You  told  me,  Nagasena,  that 
your  renunciation  was  to  the  end  that  this  sorrow 
might  perish  away,  and  no  further  sorrow  might 
spring  up  ^.' 

[66]  '  Yes,  that  is  so.' 

'  But  is  that  renunciation  brought  about  by  pre- 
vious effort,  or  to  be  striven  after  now,  in  this  present 
time  ?' 

The  Elder  replied  :  '  Effort  is  now  concerned  with 
what  still  remains  to  be  done,  former  effort  has 
accomplished  what  it  had  to  do.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration  ".' 

^  ]\Ir.  Trenckner  points  out  that  this  quotation  is  from  the 
Magg/iima,  No.  135.  The  doctrine  is  laid  down  frequently  else- 
where also  in  the  Pi/akas.  See,  for  instance,  Ahguttara  IV,  197 
(pp.  202-203  of  Dr.  Morris's  edition  for  the  Pali  Text  Society). 

^  Above,  II,  I,  5,  p.  50,  and  compare  I,  38. 

^  These  three  illustrations  recur  (nearly)  below,  III,  7,  3,  pp. 
125-126. 


I02  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        111,4,3. 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Is  it  when 
you  feel  thirst  that  you  would  set  to  work  to  have  a 
well  or  an  artificial  lake  dug  out,  with  the  intention 
of  getting  some  water  to  drink  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  is  effort  concerned  now  with 
what  still  remains  to  be  done,  former  effort  has 
accomplished  what  it  had  to  do.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Is  it  when 
you  feel  hungry  that  you  set  to  work  to  have  fields 
ploughed  and  seed  planted  and  crops  reaped  with 
the  intention  of  getting  some  food  to  eat  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

*  Just  so,  great  king,  is  effort  concerned  now  with 
what  still  remains  to  be  done,  former  effort  has 
accomplished  what  it  had  to  do.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

*  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Is  it  when 
the  battle  is  set  in  array  against  you  that  you  set 
to  work  to  have  a  moat  dug,  and  a  rampart  put  up, 
and  a  watch  tower  built,  and  a  stronghold  formed, 
and  stores  of  food  collected  ?  Is  it  then  that  you 
would  have  yourself  taught  the  management  of  ele- 
phants, or  horsemanship,  or  the  use  of  the  chariot 
and  the  bow,  or  the  art  of  fencing  ?' 

'  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  is  effort  concerned  now  with 
what  still  remains    to    be    done,  former   effort   has 
accomplished  what  it  had  to  do.      For  it  has  been 
thus  said,  O  king,  by  the  Blessed  One : 
"  Betimes  let  each  wise  man  work  out 

That  which  he  sees  to  be  his  weal ! 

Not  with  the  carter's  mode  of  thought,  but  firm 


Ill,  4,  4.  rURGATORY.  IO3 

Let  him,  with  resohition,  step  right  out. 
As  a  carter  who  has  left  the  smooth  high  road, 
.  And  turned  to  byways  rough,  broods  ill  at  ease  ' — 
(Like  him  who  hazards  all  at  dice,  and  fails) — 
So  the  weak  mind  who  still  neglects  the  good, 
And  follows  after  evil,  grieves  at  heart. 
When  fallen  into  the  power  of  death,  as  he, 
The  ruined  gamester,  in  his  hour  of  need  -." ' 

[67]  '  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


4.  The  king  said :  '  You  (Buddhists  ^)  say  thus  : 
"  The  fire  of  purgatory  is  very  much  more  fierce 
than  an  ordinary  fire.  A  small  stone  cast  into  an 
ordinary  fire  may  smoke  for  a  day  without  being 
destroyed  ;  but  a  rock  as  big  as  an  upper  chamber 
cast  into  the  furnace  of  purgatory  would  be  that 
moment  destroyed."  That  is  a  statement  I  cannot 
believe.  Now,  on  the  other  hand  you  say  thus  : 
"  Whatsoever  beings  are  there  reborn,  though  they 

^  G/^ayati.  It  is  an  odd  coincidence  that  this  word,  which 
means  either  to  burn  or  to  meditate,  according  to  the  root  from 
which  it  is  derived,  can  be  rendered  here  either  '  burn '  or  '  brood ' 
in  English.  In  fact  it  is  the  second,  not  the  first,  root  that  is  here 
intended,  as  is  plain  from  such  passages  as  Gataka  III,  354,  where 
the  compound  pagg/iayati  means  '  to  brood  over  a  thing.' 

^  Quoted  from  the  Sawyutta  Nikaya  II,  3,  2  (p.  57  in  M.  Peer's 
edition,  published  by  the  Pali  Text  Society).  The  readings  there 
differ  slightly  from  those  of  our  text  here,  and  the  verses  are  put 
into  the  mouth  of  Khema,  the  god,  instead  of  being  ascribed 
to  the  Buddha.  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  79)  agrees  with  M.  L^on 
Feer  in  reading  mando  for  mano  in  the  last  line;  and  I  have 
followed  them  in  my  translation.  There  are  several  stanzas  in  the 
Galaka  book  of  carters  lost  in  the  desert,  but  there  is  nothing  to 
identify  any  one  of  them  with  the  story  referred  to. 

^  '  You  '  in  the  plural :  that  is,  '  you  Bhikkhus.'  So  also  above, 
pp.  30.  50. 


I04  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         111,4)4- 

burn  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  in  purgatory, 
yet  are  they  not  destroyed."  That  too  is  a  statement 
I  don't  beHeve.' 

The  Elder    said  :  '  Now  what  do    you    think,  O 
king  ?     Do  not  the  females  of  sharks  ^  and  crocodiles 
and  tortoises  and  peacocks  and  pigeons  eat  hard  bits 
of  stone  and  gravel  ?' 
'  Yes,  Sir.     They  do.' 

'  What  then  ?  Are  these  hard  things,  when  they 
have  got  into  the  stomach,  into  the  interior  of  the 
abdomen,  destroyed  ?' 

'  Yes,  they  are  destroyed.' 

'  And  the  embryo   that   may  be  inside  the  same 
animals, — is  that  too  destroyed  ?' 
'  Certainly  not.' 
'  But  why  not.' 

'  I  suppose.  Sir,  it  escapes  destruction  by  the 
influence  of  Karma.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  through  the  influence  of 
Karma  that  beings,  though  they  have  been  for 
thousands  of  years  in  purgatory,  are  not  destroyed. 
If  they  are  reborn  there,  there  do  they  grow  up, 
and  there  do  they  die.  For  this,  O  king,  has  been 
declared  by  the  Blessed  One:  "He  does  not  die 
until  that  evil  Karma  is  exhausted  ^." ' 
'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 


^  It  may  be  noticed  that  the  particular  feminine  forms  chosen 
are  in  each  case  unusual,  being  in  ini  instead  of  the  simple  i.  The 
first  animal,  the  Makarini,  is  said  by  Childers  to  be  a  mythical 
animal,  but  it  is  clear  from  Buddhaghosa  on  A'ullavagga  V,  i,  4, 
that  an  ordinary  animal  is  meant,  and  that  is  so  I  think  here, 
though  the  translation  '  shark  '  is  conjectural. 

^  From  Ahguttara  III,  35,  4  (p.  141  of  Dr.  Morris's  edidon  for 
the  Pali  Text  Society). 


111,4,4-  KARMA.  IO5 


'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Do  not  the 
females  of  Hons  and  tigers  and  panthers  and  dogs  eat 
hard  bits  of  bone  and  flesh  ?' 

'  Yes,  they  eat  such  things.* 

'  What  then  ?  are  such  hard  things,  [68]  when 
they  have  got  into  the  stomach,  into  the  interior  of 
the  abdomen,  destroyed  ?' 

'  Yes,  they  are  destroyed  ?' 

*  And  the  embryo  that  may  be  inside  the  same 
animals, — is  that  too  destroyed?' 

'  Certainly  not.' 
'  But  why  not  ?  ' 

*  I  suppose,  Sir,  it  escapes  destruction  by  the 
influence  of  Karma.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  by  the  influence  of 
Karma  that  beings  in  purgatory,  though  they 
burn  for  thousands  of  years,  are  not  destroyed.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Do  not  the 
tender  women — wives  of  the  Yonakas,  and  nobles, 
and  brahmins,  and  householders — eat  hard  cakes  and 
meat  ?' 

'  Yes,  they  eat  such  hard  things.' 

*  And  when  those  hard  thinors  have  c:ot  into  the 
stomach,  into  the  interior  of  the  abdomen,  are  not 
they  destroyed  ? ' 

'  Yes,  they  are.' 

'  But  the  children  in  their  womb, — are  they  de- 
stroyed ?' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'  And  why  not  ?  ' 

'  I  suppose.  Sir,  they  escape  destruction  by  the 
influence  of  Karma  ? ' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  through  the  influence 


I06  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        111,4,5. 

of  Karma  that  beings  in  purgatory,  though  they 
burn  for  thousands  of  years,  yet  are  they  not  de- 
stroyed. If  they  are  reborn  there,  there  do  they 
grow  up,  and  there  do  they  die.  For  this,  O  king, 
has  been  declared  by  the  Blessed  One  :  "  He  does 
not  die  until  that  evil  Karma  is  exhausted." ' 
'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 

5.  The  king  said  :  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  your 
people  say  that  the  world  rests  on  water,  the  water 
on  air,  the  air  on  space  ^  This  saying  also  I  can- 
not believe.' 

Then  the  Elder  brought  water  in  a  regulation 
water-pot  ^  and  convinced  king  Milinda,  saying : 
*  As  this  water  is  supported  by  the  atmosphere,  so 
is  that  water  supported  by  air.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


6.  The  kine  said  :  '  Is  cessation  Nirva/^a^? ' 

'  Yes,  your  Majesty'  [69]. 

'  How  is  that,  Nagasena  ?  ' 

'  All  foolish  individuals,  O  king,  take  pleasure  in 


^  This  is  not  a  distinctively  Buddhist  belief.  It  was  commonly 
held  at  the  time  by  other  teachers.  Compare  '  Book  of  the  Great 
Decease,'  III,  13  (in  'Buddhist  Suttas,'  Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
vol.  xi,  p.  45). 

2  Dhamma-karakena.  The  passages  show  that  this  was  a 
pot  so  made,  that  no  water  could  pass  from  it  except  through  a 
filtering  medium.  When  not  being  actually  used  the  water  was 
no  doubt  kept  at  a  certain  height  in  it  by  the  pressure  of  the 
atmosphere.  I  do  not  know  of  any  specimen  preserved  in  our 
modern  museums  or  figured  on  ancient  bas-reliefs,  and  the  exact 
shape  is  unknown.  It  must  be  different  from  the  one  represented 
in  plate  xlviii  of  Cunningham's  '  Bhilsa  Tope.'  See  A'ullavagga 
V,  13,  I  (note);  VI,  21,  3  ;  XII,  2,  i;  Mahava7«sa,  p.  60. 

'^  Nirodho  nibbanan  ti. 


in,  4,  7-  NIRVAiV^A.  107 


the  senses  and  in  the  objects  of  sense,  find  dehght 
in  them,  continue  to  cleave  to  them  ^  Hence  are 
they  carried  down  by  that  flood  (of  human  passions), 
they  are  not  set  free  from  birth,  old  age,  and  death, 
from  grief,  lamentation,  pain,  sorrow,  and  despair, — 
they  are  not  set  free,  I  say,  from  suffering.  But  the 
wise,  O  king,  the  disciple  of  the  noble  ones,  neither 
takes  pleasure  in  those  things,  nor  finds  delight  in 
them,  nor  continues  cleaving  to  them.  And  inas- 
much as  he  does  not,  in  him  craving-  ceases,  and  by 
the  cessation  of  craving  grasping  ^  ceases,  and  by 
the  cessation  of  grasping  becoming  ^  ceases,  and 
when  becoming  has  ceased  birth  ceases,  and  with  its 
cessation  birth,  old  age,  and  death,  grief,  lamentation, 
pain,  sorrow,  and  despair  cease  to  exist.  Thus  is 
the  cessation  brought  about  the  end  of  all  that 
^gg^^gation  of  pain.  Thus  is  it  that  cessation  is 
Nirva//a.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


7.  The  king  said  :  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  do  all 
men  receive  Nirva;^a  ?' 

'  Not  all,  O  king.  But  he  who  walks  righteously, 
who  admits  those  conditions  which  ought  to  be 
admitted,  perceives  clearly  those  conditions  which 
ought  to  be  clearly  perceived,  abandons  those  con- 
ditions which  ought  to  be  abandoned,  practises  him- 
self in  those  conditions  which  ought  to  be  practised, 
realises  those  conditions  which  ought  to  be  realised — 
he  receives  Nirva;^a.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 

^  A^^^osaya   ti/Manti.     Compare   Ahguttara   II,  4,  6,  and 
Theri  Gatha,  794. 

^  Tawha,  Upadana,  Bhava. 


I08  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA,         111,4,8. 

8.  The  king  said  :  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  does  he 
who  does  not  receive  Nirva;/a  know  how  happy  a 
state  Nirvana  is  ^  ?' 

'  Yes,  he  knows  it.' 

'  But  how  can  he  know  that  without  his  receiving 
Nirva;^a  ?' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Do  those 
whose  hands  and  feet  have  not  been  cut  off  know 
how  sad  a  thing  it  is  to  have  them  cut  off?' 

'  Yes,  Sir,  that  they  know.' 

'  But  how  do  they  know  it  ?' 

'  Well,  by  hearing  the  sound  of  the  lamentation  of 
those  whose  hands  and  feet  have  been  cut  off,  they 
know  it.' 

[70]  '  Just  so,  great  king,  it  is  by  hearing  the  glad 
words  of  those  who  have  seen  Nirva;^a,  that  they  who 
have  not  received  it  know  how  happy  a  state  it  is.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


Here  ends  the  Fourth  Chapter. 


^  The  opposite  point  (whether  he  who  has  Nirvana,  knows  that 
he  has  it)  is  discussed  above,  II,  2. 


IIT,  5,  2.  THE    BUDDHA    PRE-EMINENT.  lOQ 


Book  III.     Chapter  5. 

I.  The   king-    said:  'Have  you,   Nagasena,  seen 
the  Buddha?' 
'  No,  Sire.' 
'Then  have  your  teachers  seen  the  Buddha  ?' 

*  No,  Sire.' 

*  Then,  venerable  Nagasena,  there  is  no  Buddha  ^ ! ' 
'  But,  great  king,  have  you  seen  the  river  Uha  in 

the  Himalaya  mountains  .'*' 

'  No,  Sir.' 

'  Or  has  your  father  seen  it  ? ' 

'  No,  Sir.' 

'  Then,  your  Majesty,  is  there  therefore  no  such 
river  ? ' 

*  It  is  there.  Though  neither  I  nor  my  father  has 
seen  it,  it  is  nevertheless  there.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  though  neither  I  nor  my 
teachers  have  seen  the  Blessed  One,  nevertheless 
there  was  such  a  person.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


2.  The    king  said :    '  Is   the   Buddha,    Nagasena, 
pre-eminent  ? ' 

*  Yes,  he  is  incomparable.' 

*  But  how  do  you  know  of  one  you  have  never 
seen  that  he  is  pre-eminent.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?     They  who 
have  never  seen  the  ocean  would  they  know  con- 

^  This  dialogue  is  so  far  identical  with  VI,  i,  i.  It  is  a  kind  of 
parody  on  Gotama's  own  argument  about  the  Brahmans  and 
Brahma  ('Have  they  seen  God,'  &c.)  in  the  Tcvi^^a  Sutta  I,  12- 
15,  translated  in  my  'Buddhist  Suttas,'  pp.  172-174. 


no  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IIT,  5,  3. 


cerning  it :  "  Deep,  immeasurable,  unfathomable  is 
the  mighty  ocean.  Into  it  do  the  five  great  rivers 
flow — the  Ganges,  the  Jumna,  the  A/'iravati,  the 
Sarabhu,  and  the  Mahi— and  yet  is  there  in  it  no 
appearance  of  being  more  empty  or  more  full !"  ?' 

'  Yes,  they  would  know  that.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  when  I  think  of  the  mighty 
disciples  who  have  passed  away  then  do  I  know  that 
the  Buddha  Is  incomparable.'    [71] 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 

3.  The  king  said :  '  Is  it  possible,  Nagasena,  for 
others  to  know  how  incomparable  the  Buddha  is  ?' 

*  Yes,  they  may  know  it.' 

'  But  how  can  they  ?' 

'  Long,  long  ago,  O  king,  there  was  a  master  of 
writing,  by  name  Tissa  the  Elder,  and  many  are  the 
years  gone  by  since  he  has  died.  How  can  people 
know  of  him  ?' 

'  By  his  writing,  Sir.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  whosoever  sees  what  the 
Truth  1  is,  he  sees  what  the  Blessed  One  was,  for 
the  Truth  was  preached  by  the  Blessed  One.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 

4.  The  king  said :  '  Have  you,  Nagasena,  seen 
what  the  Truth  is  ?' 

'  Have  not  we  disciples,  O  king,  to  conduct  our- 
selves our  lives  long  as  under  the  eye  of  the  Buddha, 
and  under  his  command  -  ?' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


^  Dhamma?/^,  here  nearly = Buddhism.     See  below,  III,  5,  10. 

"^  Mr.  Trenckner  thmks  there  is  a  lacuna  here  ;  and  Hina/i- 
kumbure's  version  perhaps  supports  this.  He  renders  the  passage, 
'  How  can  a  man  use  a  path  he  does  not  know  ?     And  have  not  we 


Ill,  5,  6.  THE    SOUL.  I  I  I 

5.  The  king  said:  'Where  there  is  no  transmi- 
gration, Nagasena,  can  there  be  rebirth  ? ' 

'  Yes,  there  can.' 

'  But  how  can  that  be  ?     Give  me  an  iUustration.' 

*  Suppose  a  man,  O  king,  were  to  h'ght  a  lamp 
from  another  lamp,  can  it  be  said  that  the  one  trans- 
migrates from,  or  to,  the  other  ?' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  is  rebirth  without  transmi- 
gration.' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Do  you  recollect,  great  king,  having  learnt,  when 
you  were  a  boy,  some  verse  or  other  from  your 
teacher  ? ' 

'  Yes,  I  recollect  that.' 

*  Well  then,  did  that  verse  transmigrate  from  your 
teacher  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  is  rebirth  without  transmi- 
gration.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 

6.  The  king  said  :  '  Is  there  such  a  thing,  Naga- 
sena, as  the  soul  ^  ? ' 

'  In  the  highest  sense,  O  king,  there  is  no  such 
thing  -.' 

our  lives  long  to  conduct  ourselves  according  to  the  Vi  nay  a  (the  rules 
of  the  Order),  which  the  Buddha  preached,  and  which  are  called  the 
eye  of  the  Buddha,  and  according  to  the  Sikkhapada  (ethics)  which 
he  laid  down,  and  which  are  called  his  command  ? '  But  there  are 
other  passages,  no  less  amplified  in  the  Sinhalese,  where  there  is  evi- 
dently no  lacuna  in  the  Pali ;  and  the  passage  may  well  have  been 
meant  as  a  kind  of  riddle,  to  which  the  Sinhalese  supplies  the 
solution. 

^  Vedagft.     See  above,  11,  3,  6,  p.  86  (note). 

^  Mr.  Trenckner  thinks  there  is  a  lacuna  here.  The  Si;//halese 
follows  the  Pali  word  for  word. 


112  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         111,5,7. 


'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


7.  [72]  The  king  said :  'Is  there  any  being, 
Nagasena,  who  transmigrates  from  this  body  to 
another  ? ' 

'  No,  there  is  not.' 

'  But  if  so,  would  it  not  get  free  from  its  evil  deeds.' 

'  Yes,  if  it  were  not  reborn  ;  but  if  it  were,  no  ^' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

*  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  steal  another 
man's  mangoes,  would  the  thief  deserve  punishment?' 

'  Yes.' 

'  But  he  would  not  have  stolen  the  mangoes  the 
other  set  in  the  ground.  Why  would  he  deserve 
punishment  ?' 

'  Because  those  he  stole  were  the  result  of  those 
that  were  planted.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  this  name-and-form  commits 
deeds,  either  pure  or  impure,  and  by  that  Karma 
another  name-and-form  is  reborn.  And  therefore 
is  it  not  set  free  from  its  evil  deeds  ?' 

'Very  good,  Nagasena!' 


8.  The  kine  said  :  '  When  deeds  are  committed, 
Nagasena,  by  one  name-and-form,  what  becomes  of 
those  deeds  ?' 

'  The  deeds  would  follow  it,  O  king,  like  a  shadow 
that  never  leaves  it  ^.' 

'  Can  any  one  point  out  those  deeds,  saying:  "  Here 
are  those  deeds,  or  there"  ?' 

'No.' 


^  This  is  an  exact  repetition  of  what  we  had  above,  II,  2,  6. 
^  These  last  words  are  a  quotation  of  those  that  recur  at  Sam- 
yutta  III,  2,  10,  10,  and  Dhammapada,  verse  2, 


Iir,  5,  TO.  THE    BUDDHA.  I  I  3 


'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  Can  any  one 
point  out  the  fruits  which  a  tree  has  not  yet  pro- 
duced, saying  :  "  Here  they  are,  or  there  "  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  so  long  as  the  continuity  of 
life  is  not  cut  off,  it  is  impossible  to  point  out  the 
deeds  that  are  done.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


9.  [73]  The  king  said  :  '  Does  he,  Nagasena,  who 
is  about  to  be  reborn  know  that  he  will  be  born  ? ' 
'  Yes,  he  knows  it,  O  king.' 

*  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

*  Suppose  a  farmer,  O  king,  a  householder,  were 
to  put  seed  in  the  ground,  and  it  were  to  rain  well, 
would  he  know  that  a  crop  would  be  produced.' 

'  Yes,  he  would  know  that.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  does  he  who  is  about  to  be 
reborn  know  ^  that  he  will  be  born.' 
'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ^ !' 


10.  The  king  said:  'Is  there  such  a  person  as 
the  Buddha,  Nagasena?' 

'  Yes.' 

'  Can  he  then,  Nagasena,  be  pointed  out  as  being 
here  or  there  ?' 

'  The  Blessed  One,  O  king,  has  passed  away  by 
that  kind  of  passing  away  in  which  nothing  remains 
which  could  tend  to  the  formation  of  another  indi- 


^  That  is  before  he  i-  born. 

^  This  is  all  very  parallel  to  II,  2,  2. 

[35]  I 


114  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      111,5,10. 

viduaP.     It  is  not  possible  to  point  out  the  Blessed 
One  as  being  here  or  there.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Now  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  When  there 
is  a  great  body  of  fire  blazing,  is  it  possible  to  point 
out  any  one  flame  that  has  gone  out,  that  it  is  here 
or  there  ? ' 

'  No,  Sir.    That  flame  has  ceased,  it  has  vanished.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  has  the  Blessed  One  passed 
away  by  that  kind  of  passing  away  in  which  no  root 
remains  for  the  formation  of  another  individual. 
The  Blessed  One  has  come  to  an  end,  and  it  cannot 
be  pointed  out  of  him,  that  he  is  here  or  there.  But 
in  the  body  of  his  doctrine  he  can,  O  king,  be 
pointed  out.  For  the  doctrine^  was  preached  by 
the  Blessed  One  ?' 

'Very  good,  Nagasena!' 


Here  ends  the   Fifth   Chapter. 


^  Anupadisesaya  nibbanadhatuya. 
2  Dhamma.     See  above,  III,  5,  3. 


Ill,  6,  r.  THE    BODY.  I  I 


Book  III.     Chapter  6. 

I.  The  king  said:  *  Is  the  body,  Nagasena,  dear 
to  you  rechises  ? ' 

*  No,  they  love  not  the  body.' 

'  Then  why  do  you  nourish  it  and  lavish  attention 
upon  it  ?' 

'In  all  the  times  and  places,  O  king,  that  you 
have  gone  down  to  battle,  did  you  never  get  wounded 
by  an  arrow  ?' 

*  Yes,  that  has  happened  to  me.' 

'  In  such  cases,  O  king,  [74]  is  not  the  wound 
anointed  with  salve,  and  smeared  with  oil,  and 
bound  up  in  a  bandage.' 

*  Yes,  such  thiuQ^s  are  done  to  it.' 

'What  then?  Is  the  wound  dear  to  you  that  you 
treat  it  so  tenderly, and  lavish  such  attention  upon  it?' 

'  No,  it  is  not  dear  to  me  in  spite  of  all  that,  which 
is  only  done  that  the  flesh  may  grow  again.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  with  the  recluses  and  the 
body.  Without  cleaving  to  it  do  they  bear  about 
the  body  for  the  sake  of  righteousness  of  life.  The 
body,  O  king,  has  been  declared  by  the  Blessed 
One  to  be  like  a  wound.  And  therefore  merely  as 
a  sore,  and  without  cleaving  to  it,  do  the  recluses 
bear  about  the  body.  For  it  has  been  said  by  the 
Blessed  One : 

"Covered  with  clammy  skin,  an  impure  thing  and  foul, 
Nine-apertured,  it  oozes,  like  a  sore  \" ' 

'  Well  answered,  Nagasena  ! ' 

'  I  have  not  been  able  to  trace  this  couplet.  On  the  sentiment 
compare  the  eloquent  words  of  the  young  wife  at  vol.  i,  p.  200  of 
my  '  Buddhist  Birth  Stories,'  and  Sutta  Nipata  I,  11. 

I   2 


Il6  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILTNDA.        ITT,  6,  2. 

2.  The  king  said :  '  Did  the  Buddha,  Nagasena, 
die  omniscient  one,  foresee  all  things  ? ' 

'  Yes.  The  Blessed  One  was  not  only  omniscient. 
He  foresaw  all  things.' 

'  Then  why  was  it  that  he  was  in  the  habit  only 
from  time  to  time,  and  as  occasion  arose,  of  laying 
down  rules  for  the  members  of  the  Order  ^  ? ' 

'  Is  there  any  physician,  O  king,  who  knows  all 
the  medicinal  drugs  to  be  found  on  the  earth  ? ' 

'  Yes,  there  may  be  such  a  man,' 

*  Well,  O  king,  does  he  give  his  decoctions  to  the 
patient  to  drink  at  a  time  when  illness  has  already 
set  in,  or  before  that  ? ' 

'  When  the  malady  has  arisen.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  the  Blessed  One,  though  he 
was  omniscient  and  foresaw  all  things,  laid  down  no 
rule  at  an  unseasonable  time,  but  only  when  need 
arose  did  he  establish  a  regulation  which  his  disciples 
were  not  to  transgress  as  long  as  they  lived.' 

'  Well  answered,  Nagasena  ! ' 


3.  [75]  The  king  said :  '  Is  it  true,  Nagasena, 
that  the  Buddha  was  endowed  with  the  thirty-two 
bodily  marks  of  a  great  man,  and  graced  with  the 
eighty  subsidiary  characteristics  ;  that  he  was  golden 
in  colour  with  a  skin  like  gold,  and  that  there  spread 
around  him  a  glorious  halo  of  a  fathom's  length?' 

*  Such,  O  king,  was  the  Blessed  One,' 

*  But  were  his  parents  like  that }' 
'  No,  they  were  not' 

'  I  n  that  case  you  must  say  that  he  was  born  so.  But 
surely  a  son  is  either  like  his  mother,  or  those  on 

^  This  is  how  Hina/i-kumbure  understands  the  passage. 


Ill,  6,  4.  CONDUCT.  I  I  7 

the  mother  s  side,  or  he  is  hke  his  father,  or  those 
on  the  father's  side  ! ' 

The  Elder  rephed  :  '  Is  there  such  a  thing,  O 
king,  as  a  lotus  flower  with  a  hundred  petals  ? ' 

'  Yes,  there  is.' 

*  Where  does  it  grow  up  ?' 

'  It  is  produced  in  mud,  and  in  water  it  comes  to 
perfection  \' 

'  But  does  the  lotus  resemble  the  mud  of  the  lake, 
whence  it  springs  up,  either  in  colour,  or  in  smell,  or 
in  taste  ?' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'  Then  does  it  resemble  the  water  ?' 

*  Nor  that  either.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  is  it  that  the  Blessed  One 
had  the  bodily  signs  and  marks  you  have  mentioned, 
though  his  parents  had  them  not.' 

'  Well  answered,  Nagasena  !' 


4.  The  king  said  :  '  Was  the  Buddha,  Nagasena, 
pure  in  conduct  (was  he  a  Brahma-/('arin)?' 

'  Yes,  the  Blessed  One  was  pure.' 

*  Then,  Nagasena,  it  follows  that  he  was  a  follower 
of  Brahma  ^.' 


'  Asiyati.  See  Dr.  Morris  in  the  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text 
Society,'  1884,  p.  72. 

"^  There  is  an  untranslatable  play  here  upon  the  name  of  the 
god,  which  is  used  in  its  sense  of  '  pure,  best,'  in  the  expression 
'  pure  in  conduct.'  The  first  question  really  amounts  to  :  Was 
the  Buddha's  conduct  'Brahma,'  that  is,  'best,'  which  has  come 
to  have  the  meaning 'pure' for  the  same  reason  that  our  expression 
'  a  moral  man  '  has  often  that  particular  connotation  ?  It  is  quite 
true  that  the  etymological  meaning  of  the  word  is  neither  '  best ' 
nor  '  pure  ' ;  but  when  our  author  wrote  the  secondary  sense  had 
completely,  in  Pali,  driven  out  the  etymological  sense. 


I  1 8  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        Ill,  6,  r-y 


'  Have  you  a  state  elephant,  O  king  ? ' 

'Certainly.'   [76] 

'  Well  now,  does  that  elephant  ever  trumpet 
(literally  "  cry  the  heron's  cry^")?' 

'  Oh,  yes.' 

'  But  is  he,  then,  on  that  account  a  follower  of  the 
herons  ? ' 

'  Of  course  not.' 

'  Now  tell  me,  great  king,  has  Brahma  wisdom 
(Buddhi),  or  has  he  not  ?' 

'  He  is  a  being  with  wisdom.' 

'  Then  (on  your  argument)  he  is  surely  a  follower 
of  Buddha '-^' 

'  Well  answered,  Nagasena  ! ' 


5.  The  king  said  :  '  Is  ordination  =^  a  good  thing  ? ' 
'  Yes,  a  good  thing  and  a  beautiful.' 
'  But  did  the  Buddha  obtain  it,  or  not  ? ' 
'  Great  king,  when  the  Blessed  One  attained  omni- 
science at  the  foot  of  the  tree  of  Knowledge,  that 
was  to  him  an  ordination.     There  was  no  conferring 
of  ordination  upon  him  at  the  hands  of  others — in 
the  way  that  the  Blessed  One  laid  down  regulations 
for  his  disciples,  never  to  be  transgressed  by  them 
their  lives  long  ^ ! ' 

'  Very  true,  Nagasena  ! ' 


'  This  technical  term  for  an  elephant's  trumpeting  is  not  in- 
frequent.    See,  for  instance,  Gataka  I,  50. 

"-  As  a  matter  of  fact  Brahma,  the  nearest  approach  in  the  Indian 
thought  of  that  time  to  our  idea  of  God,  is  always  represented,  in 
Buddhism,  as  a  good  Buddhist.  See,  for  instance,  'Buddhist 
Suttas,'  p.  116,  and  my  note  at  p.  117. 

^  Upasampada.     Admission  to  the  higher  grade  in  the  Order. 

*  Mr.  Trenckner  again  suspects  something  dropped  out  in  this 
reply.     But  the  connection  of  ideas  seems  to  me  quite  sufficient,. 


111,6,7.  PASSION.  119 

6.  The  kino^  said :  '  To  which  of  these  two, 
Nagasena, — the  man  who  weeps  at  the  death  of  his 
mother,  and  the  man  who  weeps  out  of  love  for  the 
Truth  (Dhamma), — are  his  tears  a  cure  ? ' 

'  The  tears  of  the  one,  O  king,  are  stained  and  hot 
with  the  three  fires  of  passion.  The  tears  of  the 
other  are  stainless  and  cool.  Now  there  is  cure  in 
coolness  and  calm,  but  in  heat  and  passion  there  can 
be  no  cure  \' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


7.  The  king  said  :  '  What  is  the  distinction,  Naga- 
sena, between  him  who  is  full  of  passion,  and  him 
who  is  void  of  passion  ? ' 

'  The  one  is  overpowered  by  craving,  O  king,  and 
the  other  not.' 

'  But  what  does  that  mean  ?' 

'  The  one  is  in  want,  O  king,  and  the  other  not* 

'  I  look  at  it.  Sir,  in  this  way.  He  who  has 
passion  and  he  who  has  not — both  of  them  alike — 
desire  what  is  good  to  eat,  either  hard  or  soft.  And 
neither  of  them  desires  what  is  wrong.' 

'  The  lustful  man,  O  king,  in  eating  his  food 
enjoys  both  the  taste  and  the  lust  that  arises  from 
taste,  [77]  but  the  man  free  from  lusts  experiences 
the  taste  only,  and  not  the  lust  arising  therefrom.' 

*  Well  answered,  Nagasena!' 


The  Siw/halese  follows  the  Pali,  but  that  of  course  only  shows  that 
the  text  before  the  translator  was  here  the  same  as  in  INIr. 
Trenckner's  edition. 

^  The  point  of  this  lies  in  the  allusion  to  the  coolness  and  calm 
of  Nirvawa,  or  Arahatship,  which  is  the  dying  out  of  the  three  fires 
of  lust,  ill-will,  and  delusion.  The  word  used  for  coolness,  Si  tali, 
is  one  of  the  many  epithets  of  Arahatship. 


I  20  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        Ill,  6,  8. 


8.  The  king  said  :  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  where 
does  wisdom  dwell  ?  ' 
'  Nowhere,  O  king.' 

'  Then,  Sir,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  wisdom.' 
'  Where  does  the  wind  dwell,  O  king  ? ' 
'  Not  anywhere,  Sir.' 
'  So  there  is  no  such  thing  as  wind.' 
'  Well  answered,  Nagasena  !' 


9.  The  king  said  :  '  When  you  speak  of  transmi- 
gration \  Nagasena,  what  does  that  mean  ?' 
.  'A  being  born  here,  O  king,  dies  here.  Having 
died  here,  it  springs  up  elsewhere.  Having  been 
born  there,  there  it  dies.  Having  died  there,  it 
springs  up  elsewhere.  That  is  what  is  meant  by 
transmio^ration.' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'It  is  like  the  case  of  a  man  who,  after  eating  a 
mango,  should  set  the  seed  in  the  ground.  From 
that  a  great  tree  would  be  produced  and  give  fruit. 
And  there  would  be  no  end  to  the  succession,  in  that 
way,  of  mango  trees.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

10.  The  king  said:  'By  what,  Nagasena,  does 
one  recollect  what  is  past  and  done  long  ago  ? ' 

'  By  memory.' 

'  But  is  it  not  by  the  mind  2,  not  by  the  memory-, 
that  we  recollect  ?' 

'  Do  you  recollect  any  business,  O  king,  that  you 
have  done  and  then  forgotten  ?' 

'  Yes.' 

'  What  then  ?  Were  you  then  without  a  mind  ?' 

'  Sawsara.  ^  A^ittena,  no  satiya. 


111,6,  II.  MEMORY.  121 


'  No.      But  my  memory  failed  me.' 
'  Then  why  do  you  say  that  it  is  by  the  mind,  not 
by  the  memory,  that  we  recollect  ?' 
'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


II.  The  king  said:  'Does  memory,  Nagasena, 
always  arise  subjectively,  [78]  or  is  it  stirred  up  by 
suggestion  from  outside  ^  ?' 

'  Both  the  one  and  the  other.' 

'  But  does  not  that  amount  to  all  memory  being 
subjective  in  origin,  and  never  artificial  }' 

'  If,  O  king,  there  were  no  artificial  (imparted) 
memory,  then  artisans  would  have  no  need  of  prac- 
tice, or  art,  or  schooling,  and  teachers  would  be 
useless.     But  the   contrary  is  the  case.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


Here  ends  the  Sixth  Chapter. 


'  I  follow  Hina/i-kumbure's  interpretation  of  the  difficult  words 
in  the  text,  which  Mr.  Trenckner  says  is  corrupt.  Ka/umika  is 
'  artificial,'  like  the  Sanskrit  kr/trima.  It  has  only  been  found  as 
yet  in  our  author. 


122  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        ITT,  7,  i. 


Book  III.     Chapter  7. 

I.  The  king  said  :  '  In  how  many  ways,  Nagasena, 
does  memory  spring  up  ?  ' 

'  In  sixteen  ways,  O  king.  That  is  to  say :  by 
personal  experience  \  as  when  the  venerable  Ananda, 
or  the  devoted  woman  Khu^^uttara,  or  any  others 
who  had  that  power,  called  to  mind  their  previous 
births — [79]  or  by  outward  aid  ^,  as  when  others  con- 
tinue to  remind  one  who  is  by  nature  forgetful — or  by 
the  impression  made  by  the  greatness  of  some  occa- 
sion ^,  as  kings  remember  their  coronation  day,  or  as 
we  remember  the  day  of  our  conversion^by  the  im- 
pression made  by  joy  ^,  as  when  one  remembers  that 
which  gave  him  pleasure — or  by  the  impression 
made  by  sorrow^,  as  when  one  remembers  that 
which  pained  him — or  from  similarity  of  appearance^, 
as  on  seeinsf  one  like  them  we  call  to  mind  the 
mother  or  father  or  sister  or  brother,  or  on  seeing 
a  camel  or^an  ox  or  an  ass  we  call  to  mind  others  like 
them — or  by  difference  of  appearance  ^  as  when  we 
remember  that  such  and  such  a  colour,  sound,  smell, 
taste,  or  touch  belong  to  such  and  such  a  thing — or 
by  the  knowledge  of  speech  ^  as  when  one  who  is  by 
nature  forgetful  is  reminded  by  others  and  then  him- 
self remembers — or  by  a  sign  ^  as  when  we  recognise 
a  draught  bullock  by  a  brand  mark  or  some  other 
sign — or  from  effort  to  recollect  ^^  as  when  one  by 


^  Abhi^anato.        ^  Ka/umikaya.       ^  O/arika-vi/l^anato. 
*  Hita-vi«;?anato.  ®  Ahita-viTiilanato. 

'■'  Sabhaga-nimittato.  ''  Visabhaga-nimittato. 

«  Kathabhi««analo.        '  Lakkhawato.        ^°  Sara«ato. 


111,7.2-  MEMORY.  123 


nature  forgetful  is  made  to  recollect  by  being  urged 
again  and  again  :  "  try  and  think  of  it  " — or  by  cal- 
culation i',  as  when  one  knows  by  the  training  he 
has  received  in  writing  that  such  and  such  a  letter 
ought  to  follow  after  such  and  such  a  one — or  by 
arithmetic  ^^,  as  when  accountants  do  big  sums 
by  their  knowledge  of  figures — or  by  learning  by 
heart  ^^  as  the  repeaters  of  the  scriptures  by  their 
skill  in  learning  by  heart  recollect  so  much— [80]  or 
by  meditation  ^^  as  when  a  Bhikkhu  calls  to  mind 
his  temporary  states  in  days  gone  by — by  reference 
to  a  book  ^^,  as  when  kings  calling  to  mind  a  previous 
regulation,  say :  "  Bring  the  book  here,"  and  remind 
themselves  out  of  that — or  by  a  pledge  ^^  as  when 
at  the  sight  of  goods  deposited  a  man  recollects  (the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  pledged) — or 
by  association  ^\  as  when  one  remembers  a  thing 
because  one  has  seen  it,  or  a  sound  because  one  has 
heard  it,  or  an  odour  because  one  has  smelt  it,  or  a 
touch  because  one  has  felt  it,  or  a  concept  because 
one  has  perceived  it,' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

2.  The  king  said  :  '  Your  people  say,  Nagasena, 
that   though  a  man   should   have  lived   a  hundred 

"  Muddato  (see  above,  p.  6).  '^  Ga«anato. 

^^  Dharawato.  The  noun  dhara«aka  is  only  found  here 
(where  I  follow  the  Si7«halese  interpretation)  and  at  Gataka  II,  203 
(where  it  means  '  debtor,'  as  in  Sanskrit). 

'*  Bhavanato.  For  a  translation  of  the  full  text,  here  abridged 
in  the  text,  see  'Buddhist  Suttas,'  pp.  215,  216  (§  17). 

^'^  Potthaka-nibandhanato.  "  Upanikkhepato. 

^'^  Anubhutato,  perhaps  'experience.'  There  are  really  seven- 
teen, not  sixteen,  so  some  two  must  have  been  regarded  by  the 
author  as  forming  one  between  them.  These  may  be  Nos.  i  and 
14,  or  more  likely  Nos.  4  and  5. 


124  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING   MILTNDA.         111,7,3. 

years  an  evil  life,  yet  if,  at  the  moment  of  death, 
thoughts  of  the  Buddha  should  enter  his  mind,  he 
will  be  reborn  among  the  gods.  This  I  don't  believe. 
And  thus  do  they  also  say  :  "  By  one  case  of  destruc- 
tion of  life  a  man  may  be  reborn  in  purgatory." 
That,  too,  I  cannot  believe.' 

'  But  tell  me,0  king.  Would  even  a  tiny  stone  float 
on  the  water  without  a  boat  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'  Very  well ;  but  would  not  a  hundred  cart-loads  of 
stones  float  on  thewater  if  they  were  loaded  in  a  boat?' 

'  Yes,  they  would  float  right  enough.' 

'  Well,  good  deeds  are  like  the  boat' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena ! ' 


3.  The  king  said  :  '  Do  you  (recluses),  Nagasena, 
strive  after  the  removal  of  past  sorrow  ?' 

'  No.' 

'What  then?  Is  it  future  sorrow  you  strive  to 
remove  ?' 

'  No.' 

'  Present  sorrow,  then  ?'  [81] 

'  Not  that  either.' 

'  Then  if  it  be  neither  past,  nor  future,  nor  present 
sorrow  that  you  strive  to  remove,  whereunto  is  it 
that  you  strive  ?' 

'  What  are  you  asking,  O  king  ?  That  this  sorrow 
should  cease  and  no  other  sorrow  should  arise — that 
is  what  we  strive  after.' 

'  But,  Nagasena,  is  there  (now)  such  a  thing  as 
future  sorrow  ?' 

'  No.     I  grant  that.' 

'  Then  you  are  mighty  clever  people  to  strive 
after  the  removal  of  that  which  does  not  exist!' 


111,7,3-  FUTURE    SORROW.  I  25 

'  Has  it  ever  happened  to  you,  O  king,  that  rival 
kings  rose  up  against  you  as  enemies  and  opponents  ?' 

'  Yes,  certainly.' 

*  Then  you  set  to  work,  I  suppose,  to  have  moats 
dug,  and  ramparts  thrown  up,  and  watch  towers 
erected,  and  strongholds  built,  and  stores  of  food 
collected^?' 

'Not  at  all.  All  that  had  been  prepared  before- 
hand.' 

'  Or  you  had  yourself  trained  in  the  manage- 
ment of  war  elephants,  and  in  horsemanship,  and  in 
the  use  of  the  war  chariot,  and  in  archery  and 
fencing  ?' 

'  Not  at  all.     I  had  learnt  all  that  before.' 

'  But  why  ?' 

'With  the  object  of  warding  off  future  danger.' 

'  How  so  ?  Is  there  such  a  thing  (now)  as  future 
danger  ?' 

'  No.     I  must  orrant  that.' 

o 

'  Then  you  kings  are  mighty  clever  people  to 
trouble  yourselves  about  the  warding  off  of  that 
which  does  not  exist ! ' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

'  Tell  me,  O  king.  Is  it  when  you  are  athirst 
that  you  set  to  work  to  have  wells  dug,  or  ponds 
hollowed  out,  or  reservoirs  formed,  with  the  object 
of  orettinof  somethin^r  to  drink  ?' 

'  Certainly  not.  All  that  has  been  prepared 
beforehand.' 

'  But  to  what  end?' 

'  With  the  object  of  preventing  future  thirst' 

*  How  so  ?    Is  there  such  a  thing:  as  future  thirst.'^' 

*  All  that  follows  only  differs  by  slight  additions  from  III,  4,  j 
above,  pp.  100-102. 


1 26  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         Ill,  7,  4. 


'  No,  Sir.' 

*  So  you  are  mighty  clever  people,  O  king,  [82] 
to  take  all  that  trouble  to  prevent  the  future  thirst 
which  all  the  time  does  not  exist ! ' 

'  Give  me  a  further  illustration.' 

[Then  the  Elder  referred,  as  before,  to  the  means 
people  always  took  of  warding  against  future  hunger, 
and  the  king  expressed  his  pleasure  at  the  way  in 
which  the  puzzle  had  been  solved.] 


4.  The  king  said:  'How  far  is  it,  Nagasena, 
from  here  to  the  Brahma  world  ^  ? ' 

'  Very  far  is  it,  O  king.  If  a  rock,  the  size  of  an 
upper  chamber,  were  to  fall  from  there,  it  would 
take  four  months  to  reach  the  earth,  though  it  came 
down  eight-and-forty  thousand  leagues  ^  each  day 
and  night.' 

'  Good,  Nagasena !  Now  do  not  your  people  say 
that  a  Bhikkhu,  who  has  the  power  of  Iddhi  and 
the  mastery  over  his  mind  ■%  can  vanish  from 
6^ambu-dipa,  and  appear  in  the  Brahma  world, 
as  quickly  as  a  strong  man  could  stretch  forth  his 
bent  up  arm,  or  bend  it  in  again  if  it  were  stretched 
out  ?  That  is  a  saying  I  cannot  believe.  How  is 
it  possible  that  he  could  traverse  so  quickly  so  many 
hundreds  of  leagues  ?  ' 

The  Elder  replied  :  '  In  what  district,  O  king, 
were  you  born  ?  ' 


^  One  of  the  highest  heavens. 

^  Yo^ana,  a  league  of  seven  miles. 

5  A'etovasippatto,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  ma  no 
vasi  prapta  wu.  I  know  of  no  passage  in  the  Pi/akas  where  the 
phrase  occurs  in  connection  with  Iddhi ;  but  it  is  often  used  by  our 
author.     See,  for  instance,  just  below,  III,  7,  9. 


111,7,5-  ALAS  AND  A.  12/ 

'  There  is  an  island  called  Alasanda  ^  It  was 
there  I  was  born.' 

'  And  how  far  is  Alasanda  from  here  ? ' 
'About  two  hundred  leagues.' 

*  Do  you  know  for  certain  of  any  business  you 
once  did  there  and  now  recollect  ? ' 

'  Oh,  yes.' 

'  So  quickly,  great  king,  have  you  gone  about  two 
hundred  leagues.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

5.  The  king  said  :  *  If  one  man,  Nagasena,  were 
to  die  here  and  be  reborn  in  the  Brahma  world,  and 
another  were  to  die  here  and  be  reborn  in  Kashmir, 
which  of  the  two  would  arrive  first  ?' 

'  Both  together,  O  king.' 

*  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  In  what  town  [83],  O  king,  were  you  born  ? ' 
'There  is  a  village  called  Kalasi.      It  was  there  I 
was  born.' 

'  And  how  far  is  Kalasi  from  here  ? ' 

*  About  two  hundred  leagues.' 

'  How  far  is  Kashmir  from  here  ?' 

'  Twelve  leagues.' 

'  Now,  great  king,  think  of  Kalasi.' 

*  I  have  done  so.' 

'  And  now,  think  of  Kashmir.' 

'  I  have  done  so.' 

'  Well,  which  did  you  think  of  quickest  ? ' 

'  Of  each  in  the  same  time.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  would  it  take  no  longer  to 
be  reborn  in  the  Brahma  world  than  to  be  reborn 
in  Kashmir.      And  tell  me,  O  king.      Suppose  two 

^  Alexandria  (in  Baktria)  built  on  an  island  in  the  Indus. 


128  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         111,7,6. 

birds  were  flying,  and  one  were  to  alight  on  a  tall 
tree,  and  the  other  on  a  small  shrub.  If  they  settled 
both  at  the  same  moment,  whose  shadow  would  first 
fall  to  the  ground  ?  ' 

'  The  two  shadows  would  fall  together.' 
'  Just  so,  great  king,  in  the  case  you  put.' 
'  Very  good,  Nagasena!' 


6.  The  king  said  :  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  how 
many  kinds  of  wisdom  are  there  ? ' 

'  Seven,  O  king,' 

'  And  by  how  many  kinds  of  wisdom  does  one 
become  wise  ? ' 

'  By  one  :  that  is  to  say  by  the  kind  of  wisdom 
called  "  the  investigfation  of  the  Truth  \"  ' 

'  Then  why  is  it  said  there  are  seven  ?' 

'  Tell  me,  O  king.  Suppose  a  sword  were  lying 
in  its  sheath  and  not  taken  in  the  hand,  could  it  cut 
off  anything  you  wanted  to  cut  off  with  it  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  by  the  other  kinds  of  wisdom 
can  nothing  be  understood  without  investigation  of 
the  Truth.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  * 


7.  The  king  said  :  '  Which,  Nagasena,  is  there 
more  of,  merit  or  demerit  ?  ' 

'  Merit.'   [84] 

'  But  why  ?  ' 

'  He  who  does  wrong,  O  king,  comes  to  feel 
remorse,  and  acknowledges  his  evil-doing.  So  de- 
merit does  not  increase.  But  he  who  does  well 
feels  no  remorse,  and  feeling  no  remorse  gladness  will 

^  Dhamma-vi/taya-sambo^^^afigena. 


111,7,9-  PEACE.  129 

spring  Lip  within  him,  and  joy  will  arise  to  him  thus 
gladdened,  and  so  rejoicing  all  his  frame  will  be  at 
peace,  and  being  thus  at  peace  he  will  experience  a 
blissful  feelinof  of  content,  and  in  that  bliss  his  heart 
will  be  at  rest,  and  he  whose  heart  is  thus  at  rest 
knows  things  as  they  really  are  ^  For  that  reason 
merit  increases.  A  man,  for  example,  though  his 
hands  and  feet  are  cut  off,  if  he  gave  to  the  Blessed 
One  merely  a  handful  of  lotuses,  would  not  enter 
purgatory  for  ninety-one  K  alp  as.  That  is  why  I 
said,  O  king,  that  there  is  more  merit  than  demerit.' 
*  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


8.  The  king  said  :  '  Whose,  Nagasena,  is  the 
greater  demerit — his  who  sins  consciously,  or  his 
who  sins  inadvertently  ?  ' 

'  He  who  sins  inadvertently,  O  king,  has  the 
greater  demerit' 

'  In  that  case,  reverend  Sir,  we  shall  punish 
doubly  any  of  our  family  or  our  court  who  do 
wrong  unintentionally.' 

'  But  what  do  you  think,  O  king  ?  If  one  man  were 
to  seize  hold  intentionally  of  a  fiery  mass  of  metal 
glowing  with  heat,  and  another  were  to  seize  hold 
of  it  unintentionally,  which  would  be  more  burnt  ?  ' 

'  The  one  who  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing.' 

'  Well,  it  is  just  the  same  with  the  man  who 
does  wrong.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


9.   The  king  said  :   '  Is  there  any  one,  Nagasena, 

^  The  above  is  a  paragraph  constantly  recurring  in  the  Pali 
Pi/akas.  See,  for  instance,  Digha  II,  75  ;  Ahguttara  111,  104;  and 
Mahavagga  VIII,  15,  13  (where  I  have  annotated  the  details). 

[35]  ^ 


1 30  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       Til,  7,  10. 

who  can  go  with  this  bodily  frame  to  Uttara-kuru 
or  to  the  Brahma  world,  or  to  any  other  of  the  four 
great  continents  (into  which  the  world  is  divided)?' 

*  Yes,  there  are  such  people.' 

*  But  how  can  they  ?'  [85] 

'  Do  you  recollect,  O  king,  having  ever  jumped  a 
foot  or  two  feet  across  the  ground  ? ' 

'  Yes,  Nagasena,  I  can  jump  twelve  feet.' 

'But  how?' 

'  I  fix  my  mind  on  the  idea  of  alighting  there,  and 
at  the  moment  of  my  determination  my  body  comes 
to  seem  lio^ht  to  me.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  can  the  Bhikkhu,  who  has  the 
power  of  Iddhi,  and  has  the  mastery  over  his  mind, 
when  he  has  made  his  mind  rise  up  to  the  occasion, 
travel  through  the  sky  by  means  of  his  mind.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


TO.  The  king  said:  'Your  people  say  there  are 
bones  even  a  hundred  leaQfues  longf.  Now  there  is 
no  tree  even  one  hundred  leagues  in  length,  how 
then  can  there  be  bones  so  longf  ? ' 

'  But  tell  me,  O  king.  Have  you  not  heard  of 
fishes  in  the  sea  five  hundred  leagues  in  length  ?' 

'  Yes.     I  have  heard  of  such.' 

'If  so,  could  they  not  have  bones  a  hundred 
leagues  long  ? ' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


II.  The  king  said:  'Your  people,  Nagasena, 
say  that  it  is  possible  to  suppress  the  inhaling  and 
exhaling  (of  one's  breath).' 

'  Yes,  that  can  be  done.' 

'But  how?' 


111,7,  13-  SNORING.  I^I 

'  Tell  me,  O  king.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  a 
man   snoring  ^  ?  ' 

'  Yes.' 

'Well,  would  not  that  sound  stop  if  he  bent  his  body?' 

'  Yes.' 

'  Then  surely  if  that  sound  would  stop  at  the  mere 
bending  of  the  body  of  one  who  is  untrained  alike  in 
body,  in  conduct,  in  mind,  and  in  wisdom  — why 
should  it  not  be  possible  for  the  breathing  of  one 
trained  in  all  these  respects,  and  who  has  besides 
reached  up  to  the  fourth  stage  of  the  ecstatic  con- 
templation ^,  to  be  suppressed  ?' 

'Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

12.  The  king  said:  'There  is  the  expression 
ocean,  Nagasena.     Why  is  the  water  called  ocean  ?' 

The  Elder  replied  [86]  :  '  Because  there  is  just  as 
much  salt  as  water,  O  king,  and  just  as  much  water 
as  salt,  therefore  is  it  called  ocean  ^.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

13.  The  king  said  :  'Why,  Nagasena,  is  the  ocean 
all  of  one  taste,  the  taste  of  salt  ?' 

^  Kaka/('/^/2amano.  See  G^ataka  I,  60,  24;  160,  18.  Hina/i- 
kumbure  renders  it  'sleeping  with  a  snore  (gorawamin)  like  the 
sound  of  crows  (kaka).'  ^  C/^ana. 

^  Samudda.  The  answer  (to  give  opportunity  for  which  the 
question  is  invented)  is  a  kind  of  punning  etymology  of  this  Pali 
word  for  ocean.  Our  author  seems  to  take  it  as  meaning  '  equal 
water-ness,'  from  sama  and  ud(aka).  The  real  derivation 
is  very  different.  It  is  from  the  root  ud,  which  is  allied  to  our 
'wet'  and  the  Greek  veros,  and  the  prefix  sam  in  the  sense  of 
completeness.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  the  reply  to  this.  There 
is  a  kind  of  conversation  condemned  in  the  Digha  I,  i,  17,  and 
elsewhere  as  samuddakkhayika,  whicli  is  explained  in  the 
Sumahgala,  p.  91,  as  deriving  samudda  from  saj'with,'  and 
m u d d a,  'a  seal  ring.' 

K  2 


1^2  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       Ill, 7,  14. 


'  Because  the  water  in  it  has  stood  so  long,  there- 
fore it  is  all  of  one  taste,  the  taste  of  salt  ^' 
*  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 


14.  The  king  said:  'Can  even  the  most  minute 
thing,  Nagasena,  be  divided  ?' 

'  Yes,  it  can.' 

'  And  what,  Sir,  is  the  most  minute  of  all  things.' 

'Truth  (D  ham  ma),  O  king,  is  the  most  minute 
and  subtle.  But  this  is  not  true  of  all  qualities 
(Dhamma).  Subtleness  or  the  reverse  are  epithets 
of  qualities.  But  whatever  can  be  divided  that  can 
wisdom  (Paw/la)  divide,  and  there  is  no  other  quality 
which  can  divide  wisdom.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  ! ' 

15.  The  king  said:  'These  three,  Nagasena, — 
perception,  and  reason,  and  the  soul  in  a  being, — are 
they  all  different  both  in  letter  and  in  essence,  or 
the  same  in  essence  differing  only  in  the  letter  ?' 

'  Recognition,  O  king,  is  the  mark  of  perception, 
and  discrimination  of  reason  ^  and  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  soul  in  beings  ^.' 

^  In  the  same  way  the  Buddhist  rehgion  (the  Dhamma- 
Vinaya)  is  said  in  the  A'ullavagga  IX,  i,  4,  to  be  'all  of  one 
taste,  the  taste  of  salvation,  emancipation'  (Vimutti). 

^  So  also  above,  II,  3,  12.  Here  the  words  are  Vi^anana- 
lakkhawa?//  vi/zwawaw,  pa^anana-lakkhawa  pa;7;7a,  which  the 
Ceylon  translator  amplifies  into  '  As  a  peasant,  on  seeing  grains  of 
gold,  would  recognise  them  as  valuable,  so  is  it  the  characteristic 
of  vi77«a;^a  to  recognise  aramu;zu  (objects  of  sense)  when  it  sees 
them.  As  a  goldsmith,  on  seeing  grains  of  gold,  would  not  only 
know  they  were  valuable,  but  also  discriminate  their  value  (as  large 
or  small),  so  is  it  the  characteristic  of  paw /7a,  not  only  to  recognise, 
but  also  to  discriminate  between  the  objects  of  sense.' 

^  See  above,  II,  3,  6,  and  II,  3,  16.    Hina/i'-kumbure  here  renders 


IIT,  7,  i6.  SOUL.  133 

*  But  if  there  be  no  such  thing  as  a  soul,  what  is 
it  then  which  sees  forms  with  the  eye,  and  hears 
sounds  with  the  ear,  and  smells  odours  with  the  nose, 
and  tastes  tastes  with  the  tonmie,  and  feels  touch 
with  the  body,  or  perceives  qualities  with  the  mind  ?' 

The  Elder  replied:  '  If  there  be  a  soul  (distinct 
from  the  body)  which  does  all  this,  then  if  the  door 
of  the  eye  were  thrown  down  (if  the  eye  were  plucked 
out)  could  it  stretch  out  its  head,  as  it  were,  through 
the  larger  aperture  and  (with  greater  range)  see 
forms  much  more  clearly  than  before  ?  Could  one 
hear  sounds  better  if  the  ears  were  torn  away,  or 
smell  better  if  the  nose  were  cut  off,  or  taste  better 
if  the  tongue  were  pulled  out,  or  feel  touch  better  if 
the  body  were  destroyed  ? ' 

[87]  '  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

*  Then  there  can  be  no  soul  inside  the  body.' 
'Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


16.  The  Elder  said:  'A  hard  thing  there  is,  O 
king,  which  the  Blessed  One  has  done.' 

'And  what  is  that?' 

*  The  fixing  of  all  those  mental  conditions  which 
depend  on  one  organ  of  sense,  telling  us  that  such 
is  contact,  and  such  sensation,  and  such  idea,  and 
such  intention,  and  such  thought  \' 

'  Give  me  an  illustration.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  wade  down  into 
the  sea,  and  taking  some  water  in  the  palm  of  his 
hand,  were  to  taste  it  with  his  tongue.     Would  he 

^ij'ivo  by  the  'life  (or  perhaps  Hving  principle,  ^ivita)  inside  the 
forms  produced  out  of  the  four  elements.' 
^  Phasso,  vedana,  sa««a,  ^etana,  /^ittawz. 


I  :4  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.     111,7,17. 

distinguish  whether  it  were  water  from  the  Ganges, 
or  from  the  Jumna,  or  from  the  A/('iravati,  or  from 
the  Sarabhu,  or  from  the  Mahi  ?' 

'  Impossible,  Sir.' 

'  More  difficuk  than  that,  great  king,  is  it  to  have 
distineuished  between  the  mental  conditions  which 
follow  on  the  exercise  of  any  one  of  the  organs 
of  sense  !' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !' 


Here  ends  the  Seventh   Chapter  ^ 


17.  The  Elder  said:  'Do  you  know,  O  king, 
what  time  it  is  now  ?' 

'  Yes,  Sir,  I  know.  The  first  watch  of  the  night 
is  now  passed.  The  middle  watch  is  now  going  on. 
The  torches  are  lit.  The  four  banners  are  ordered 
to  be  raised,  and  appropriate  gifts  to  be  issued  to 
)ou  from  the  treasury.' 

The  Yonakas  said :  '  Very  good,  great  king. 
Most  able  is  the  Bhikkhu.' 

'  Yes,  my  men.  Most  able  is  the  Bhikkhu. 
Were  the  master  like  him  and  the  pupil  like  me, 
[88]  a  clever  scholar  would  not  take  long  in  getting 
at  the  truth.' 

Then  the  king,  pleased  with  the  explanations 
given  of  the  questions  he  had  put,  had  Nagasena 
robed  in  an  embroidered  cloak  worth  a  hundred 
thousand  ^  and  said  to  him  :  '  Venerable  Nagasena, 
I  hereby  order  that  you  shall  be  provided  with  your 
daily  meal  for  eight  hundred  days,  and  give  you  the 

^  See  the  note  at  the  end  of  Book  II,  Chapter  3,  §  14. 
^  That  is  kahapa?;as,  'half-pennies.' 


Ill,  7,   1 8.  DEPARTURE.  I  35 

choice  of  anything  in  the  palace  that  it  is  lawful  for 
you  to  take.'  And  when  the  Elder  refused,  saying  he 
had  enough  to  live  on,  the  king  rejoined  :  '  I  know, 
Sir,  you  have  enough  to  live  on.  But  you  should  both 
protect  me  and  protect  yourself — yourself  from  the 
possibility  of  a  public  rumour  to  the  effect  that  you 
convinced  me  but  received  nothing  from  me,  and 
me  from  the  possibility  of  a  public  rumour  that 
though  I  was  convinced  I  would  give  nothing  in 
acknowledgement.' 

'  Let  it  be  as  you  wish,  great  king,'  was  the  reply. 

Then  the  king  said  :  '  As  the  lion,  the  king  of 
beasts,  when  put  into  a  cage,  though  it  were  of  gold, 
would  turn  his  face  longingly  to  the  outside  ;  even 
so  do  I,  though  I  dwell  in  the  world,  turn  my 
thoughts  longingly  to  the  higher  life  of  you  recluses. 
But,  Sir,  if  I  were  to  give  up  the  household  life  and 
renounce  the  world  it  would  not  be  long  I  should 
have  to  live,  so  many  are  my  foes.' 

Then  the  venerable  Nagasena,  having  thus  solved 
the  questions  put  by  Milinda  the  king,  arose  from 
his  seat  and  departed  to  the  hermitage. 


1 8.  Not  long  after  Nagasena  had  gone,  Milinda 
the  king  thought  over  to  himself  whether  he  had 
propounded  his  questions  rightly,  and  whether  the 
replies  had  been  properly  made.  And  he  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  to  questions  well  put  replies  had 
been  well  given.  And  Nagasena  likewise,  when  he 
reached  the  hermitage,  thoueht  the  matter  over  to 
himself,  and  concluded  that  to  questions  well  put 
right  replies  had  been  given. 

Now  Nagasena  robed  himself  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  went  with  his  bowl  in  his  hand  to  the  palace, 


1^5  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.     Ill,  7,  .8. 


and  sat  clown  on  the  seat  prepared  for  him.  And 
Milinda  saluted  the  venerable  Nagasena,  [89]  and 
sat  doM^n  respectfully  at  his  side,  and  said  to  him  : 
'  Pray  do  not  think.  Sir,  that  I  was  kept  awake  all 
the  rest  of  the  night  exulting  in  the  thought  of  hav- 
ing questioned  you.  I  was  debating  with  myself  as 
to  whether  I  had  asked  aright,  and  had  been  righdy 
answered.     And  I  concluded  that  I  had.' 

And  the  Elder  on  his  part  said  :  '  Pray  do  not 
suppose,  great  king,  that  I  passed  the  rest  of  the 
night  rejoicing  at  having  answered  all  you  asked. 
I  too  was  thinking  over  what  had  been  said  by  us 
both.  And  I  came  to  the  result  that  you  had  ques- 
tioned well,  and  that  I  had  rightly  answered.' 

Thus  did  these  two  great  men  congratulate  each 
the  other  on  what  he  had  spoken  well. 


Here  ends  the  answering  of  the  problems  of 
the  questions  of  Milinda. 


IV,  r,  I.  DILEMMAS.  T37 


BOOK    IV. 

M  EiVD  AK  A- P  AiV H  O . 

the  solving  of  dilemmas. 

Chapter   1.    [90] 

Master  of  words  and  sophistry,  clever  and  wise 

Milinda  tried  to  test  great  Nagasena's  skill. 

Leaving  him  not  \  again  and  yet  again, 

He  questioned  and  cross-questioned  him,  until 

His  own  skill  was  proved  foolishness. 

Then  he  became  a  student  of  the  Holy  Writ. 

All  night,  in  secrecy,  he  pondered  o'er 

The  ninefold  Scriptures,  and  therein  he  found 

Dilemmas  hard  to  solve,  and  full  of  snares. 

And  thus  he  thought:  'The  conquering  Buddha's 

words 
Are  many-sided,  some  explanatory. 
Some  spoken  as  occasion  rose  to  speak. 
Some  dealing  fully  with  essential  points. 
Through  ignorance  of  what,  each  time,  was  meant 
There  will  be  strife  hereafter  as  to  what 
The  King  of  Righteousness  has  thus  laid  down 
In  these  diverse  and  subtle  utterances. 
Let  me  now  gain  great  Nagasena's  ear, 
And  putting  to  him  that  which  seems  so  strange 
And  hard — yea  contradictory — get  him 
To  solve  it.     So  in  future  times,  when  men 
Begin  to  doubt,  the  light  of  his  solutions 
Shall  guide  them,  too,  along  the  path  of  Truth.' 


^  Vasanto  tassa  /^7/ayaya,  literally 'abiding  under  his  shadow.' 
Compare  Gataka  I,  91. 


iS  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         IV,  t,  2. 


2.  Now  Mllinda  the  king,  when  the  night  was 
turning  into  day,  and  the  sun  had  risen,  bathed,  and 
with  hands  clasped  and  raised  to  his  forehead,  called 
to  mind  the  Buddhas  of  the  past,  the  present,  and 
the  future,  and  solemnly  undertook  the  observance 
of  the  eightfold  vow,  saying  to  himself :  '  For  seven 
days  from  now  will  I  do  penance  by  taking  upon 
myself  the  observance  of  the  eight  rules,  and  when 
my  vow  is  accomplished  will  I  go  to  the  teacher  and 
put  to  him,  as  questions,  these  dilemmas.'  So  Milinda 
the  king  laid  aside  his  usual  dress,  and  put  off  his 
ornaments  ;  and  clad  in  yellow  robes,  with  only  a 
recluse's  turban  ^  on  his  head,  in  appearance  like  a 
hermit,  did  he  carry  out  the  eightfold  abstinence, 
keeping  in  mind  the  vow — '  For  this  seven  days  I 
am  to  decide  no  case  at  law.  I  am  to  harbour  no 
lustful  thought,  no  thought  of  ill-will,  no  thought 
tending  to  delusion.  Towards  all  slaves,  servants, 
and  dependents  I  am  to  show  a  meek  and  lowly 
disposition.  [91]  I  am  to  watch  carefully  over  every 
bodily  act,  and  over  my  six  organs  of  sense.  And 
I  am  to  fill  my  heart  with  thoughts  of  love  towards 
all  beings.'  Keeping  this  eightfold  vow,  establishing 
his  heart  in  this  eightfold  moral  law,  for  seven  days 
he  went  not  forth.  But  as  the  night  was  passing 
into  day,  at  sunrise  of  the  eighth  day,  he  took  his 
breakfast  early,  and  then  with  downcast  eyes  and 
measured  words,  gentle  in  manner,  collected  in 
thought,  glad  and  pleased  and  rejoicing  in  heart, 
did  he  go  to  Nagasena.  And  bowing  down  at  his 
feet,  he  stood  respectfully  on  one  side,  and  said  : 

3.  'There  is  a  certain  matter,  venerable  Nagasena, 


^  Pa/isisaka7;z.     See  (zataka  II,  197. 


IV,  1,4.  SECRET    DOCTRINE.  1 39 

that  I  desire  to  talk  over  with  you  alone.  I  wish 
no  third  person  to  be  present.  In  some  deserted 
spot,  some  secluded  place  in  the  forest,  fit  in  all  the 
eight  respects  for  a  recluse,  there  should  this  point 
of  mine  be  put.  And  therein  let  there  be  nothing 
hid  from  me,  nothing  kept  secret.  I  am  now  in  a 
fit  state  to  hear  secret  things  when  we  are  deep 
in  consultation.  And  the  meaning  of  what  I  say  can 
be  made  clear  by  illustration.  As  it  is  to  the  broad 
earth,  O  Nagasena,  that  it  is  right  to  entrust  treasure 
when  occasion  arises  for  laying  treasure  by,  so  is  it 
to  me  that  it  is  right  to  entrust  secret  things  when 
we  are  deep  in  consultation.' 

4.  Then  having  gone  with  the  master  to  a  secluded 
spot  he  further  said  :  'There  are  eight  kinds  of  places, 
Nagasena,  which  ought  to  be  altogether  avoided  by 
a  man  who  wants  to  consult.  No  wise  man  will  talk 
a  matter  over  in  such  places,  or  the  matter  falls  to 
the  ground  and  is  brought  to  no  conclusion.  And 
what  are  the  eight  .-^  Uneven  ground,  spots  unsafe 
by  fear  of  men,  windy  places,  hiding  spots,  sacred 
places,  high  roads,  light  bambu  bridges,  and  public 
bathing  places.' 

The  Elder  asked  :  '  What  is  the  objection  to  each 
of  these  ? ' 

The  king  replied  :  'On  uneven  ground,  Nagasena, 
[92]  the  matter  discussed  becomes  jerky,  verbose, 
and  difi'use,  and  comes  to  nothing.  In  unsafe  places 
the  mind  is  disturbed,  and  being  disturbed  does  not 
follow  the  point  clearly.  In  windy  spots  the  voice 
is  indistinct.  In  hiding  places  there  are  eaves- 
droppers. In  sacred  places  the  question  discussed 
is  apt  to  be  diverted  to  the  serious  surroundings. 
On  a  high  road  it  is  apt  to  become  frivolous,  on  a 


140  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  I,  5. 

bridge  unsteady  and  wavering,  at  a  public  bathing 
place  the  discussion  would  be  matter  of  common 
talk.     Therefore  is  it  said  ^ : 
"  Uneven  ground,  unsafe  and  windy  spots, 
And  hiding  places,  and  god-haunted  shrines, 
High  roads,  and  bridges,  and  all  bathing  ghats — 
These  eight  avoid  when  talking  of  high  things," ' 


5.  '  There  are  eight  kinds  of  people,  Nagasena, 
who  when  talking  a  matter  over,  spoil  the  discussion. 
And  who  are  the  eight  ?  He  who  walks  in  lust,  he 
who  walks  in  ill-will,  he  who  walks  in  delusion,  he 
who  walks  in  pride,  the  greedy  man,  the  sluggard, 
the  man  of  one  idea,  and  the  fool.' 

'  What  is  the  objection  to  each  of  these  ? '  asked 
the  Elder. 

'  The  first  spoils  the  discussion  by  his  lust,  the 
next  by  his  ill-will,  the  third  by  his  delusions,  the 
fourth  by  his  pride,  the  fifth  by  his  greed,  the  sixth 
by  his  sloth,  the  seventh  by  his  narrowness,  and  the 
last  by  his  folly.     Therefore  is  it  said  : 

"  The  lustful,  angry,  or  bewildered  man. 
The  proud,  the  greedy,  or  the  slothful  man, 
The  man  of  one  idea,  and  the  poor  fool — 
These  eight  are  spoilers  of  high  argument." ' 


6.  '  There  are  nine  kinds  of  people,  Nagasena, 
who  let  out  a  secret  that  has  been  talked  over  with 
them,  and  treasure  it  not  up  in  their  hearts.  And 
who  are  the  nine  ?  The  lustful  man  reveals  it  in 
obedience  to  some  lust,  the  ill-tempered  man  in  con- 

^  It  is  not  known  where  the  verses  here  (or  the  others  quoted  in 
these  two  pages)  are  taken  from. 


IV,  1,8.  THE    RIPENING    OF    INSIGHT.  I4I 

sequence  of  some  ill-will,  the  deluded  man  under 
some  mistake.  [93]  The  timid  man  reveals  it 
through  fear,  and  the  man  greedy  for  gain  to  get 
something  out  of  it.  A  woman  reveals  it  through 
infirmity,  a  drunkard  in  his  eagerness  for  drink,  a 
eunuch  because  of  his  imperfection,  and  a  child 
through  fickleness.     Therefore  is  it  said  : 

"  The  lustful,  angry,  or  bewildered  man, 
The  timid  man,  and  he  who  seeks  for  gain, 
A  woman,  drunkard,  eunuch,  or  a  child — 
These  nine  are  fickle,  wavering,  and  mean. 
When  secret  things  are  talked  over  to  them 
They  straightway  become  public  property." ' 


7.  '  There  are  eight  causes,  Nagasena,  of  the 
advance,  the  ripening  of  insight.  And  what  are 
the  eight  ?  The  advance  of  years,  the  growth  of 
reputation,  frequent  questioning,  association  with 
teachers,  one's  own  reflection,  converse  with  the 
wise,  cultivation  of  the  loveable,  and  dwelling  in 
a  pleasant  land.     Therefore  is  it  said  : 

"  By  growth  in  reputation,  and  in  years. 
By  questioning,  and  by  the  master's  aid, 
By  thoughtfulness,  and  converse  with  the  wise. 
By  intercourse  with  men  worthy  of  love, 
By  residence  within  a  pleasant  spot — 
By  these  nine  is  one's  insight  purified. 
They  who  have  these,  their  wisdom  grows  ^" ' 


8.  'This  spot,  Nagasena,  is  free  from  the  objections 
to  talking  matters  over.  And  I  am  a  model  com- 
panion for  any  one  desiring  to  do  so.     I  can  keep  a 

^  Pabhi^^ati  in  the  text  appears  not  to  be  an  old  error.  The 
Sinhalese  repeats  it,  but  leaves  it  untranslated. 


142  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        TV,  i,  8. 

secret,  and  will  keep  yours  as  long  as  I  live.  In  all 
the  eight  ways  just  described  my  insight  has  grown 
ripe.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  such  a  pupil  as  you 
may  have  in  me. 

[94]  '  Now  towards  a  pupil  who  conducts  himself 
thus  aright  the  teacher  ought  to  conduct  himself  in 
accordance  with  the  twenty-five  virtues  of  a  teacher. 
And  what  are  the  twenty-five  ?  He  must  always 
and  without  fail  keep  guard  over  his  pupil.  He  must 
let  him  know  what  to  cultivate,  and  what  to  avoid  ; 
about  what  he  should  be  earnest,  and  what  he  may 
neglect.  He  must  instruct  him  as  to  sleep,  and  as 
to  keeping  himself  in  health,  and  as  to  what  food  he 
may  take,  and  w^hat  reject.  He  should  teach  him 
discrimination  ^  (in  food),  and  share  with  him  all 
that  is  put,  as  alms,  into  his  own  bowl.  He  should 
encourage  him,  saying :  "  Be  not  afraid.  You  will 
gain  advantage  (from  what  is  here  taught  you)." 
He  should  advise  him  as  to  the  people  whose 
company  he  should  keep,  and  as  to  the  villages 
andViharas  he  should  frequent.  He  should  never 
indulge  in  (foolish)  talk  -  with  him.  When  he  sees 
any  defect  in  him  he  should  easily  pardon  it. 
He  should  be  zealous,  he  should  teach  nothing 
partially,  keep  nothing  secret,  and  hold  nothing 
back'.  He  should  look  upon  him  in  his  heart  as  a 
son,  saying  to  himself :    "  I   have  begotten  him   in 


^  Viseso.  It  does  not  say  in  what,  and  the  Si?«halese  simply 
repeats  the  word. 

2  Sallapo  na  katabbo.  The  Sinhalese  merely  repeats  the 
word,  which  is  often  used  without  any  bad  connotation.  See,  for 
instance,  Gataka  I,  112. 

2  So  that,  in  the  author's  opinion,  there  is  no  'Esoteric  Doctrine' 
in  true  Buddhism.     See  the  note,  below,  on  IV,  4,  8. 


IV,  I,  9-  THE    MODEL    TEACHER.  143 


learning  \"  He  should  strive  to  bring  him  forward, 
saying  to  himself:  "How  can  I  keep  him  from  going 
back  ? "  He  should  determine  in  himself  to  make  him 
strong  in  knowledge,  saying  to  himself:  "  I  will  make 
him  mighty."  He  should  love  him,  never  desert 
him  in  necessity,  never  neglect  him  in  anything  he 
ought  to  do  for  him,  always  befriend  him — so  far 
as  he  can  rightly  do  so  ^ — when  he  does  wrong. 
These,  Sir,  are  the  twenty-five  good  qualities  in  a 
teacher.  Treat  me  altogether  in  accordance  there- 
with. Doubt,  Lord,  has  overcome  me.  There  are 
apparent  contradictions  in  the  word  of  the  Conqueror. 
About  them  strife  will  hereafter  arise,  and  in  future 
times  it  will  be  hard  to  find  a  teacher  with  insight 
such  as  yours.  Throw  light  for  me  on  these  dilem- 
mas, to  the  downfall  of  the  adversaries.' 

9.  Then  the  Elder  agreed  to  what  he  had  said, 
and  in  his  turn  set  out  the  ten  good  qualities  which 
ought  to  be  found  in  a  lay  disciple :  '  These  ten,  O 
king,  are  the  virtues  of  a  lay  disciple.  He  suffers 
like  pain  and  feels  like  joy  as  the  Order  does.  He 
takes  the  Doctrine  (D  ham  ma)  as  his  master.  He 
delights  in  giving  so  far  as  he  is  able  to  give. 
On  seeing  the  religion  (Dham  ma)  of  the  Conqueror 
decay,  he  does  his  best  to  revive  it.  He  holds  right 
views.     Having  no  passion  for  excitement^,  he  runs 

^  So  also  in  the  Vinaya  (Mahavagga  I,  25,  6). 

^  In  the  well-known  passage  in  the  Vinaya  in  which  the  mutual 
duties  of  pupils  and  teachers  are  set  out  in  full  (Mahavagga  I, 
25,  26,  translated  in  the  'Vinaya  Texts,'  vol.  i,  pp.  154  and  foil.) 
there  is  a  similar  injunction  (25,  22  =  26,  10)  which  throws  light  on 
the  meaning  of  dhammena  here. 

"  Apagata-ko/uhala-mahgaliko.  'Laying  aside  the  erro- 
neous views  and  discipline  called  ko/iihala  and  mahgalika,' 
says  the  Sinhalese. 


144  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  lo. 

not  after  any  other  teacher  his  life  long.  He  keeps 
guard  over  himself  in  thought  and  deed.  He 
delights  in  peace,  is  a  lover  of  peace.  He  feels 
no  jealousy,  [95]  and  walks  not  in  religion  in  a 
quarrelsome  spirit.  He  takes  his  refuge  in  the 
Buddha,  he  takes  his  refuge  in  the  Doctrine,  he 
takes  his  refuge  in  the  Order.  These,  great  king, 
are  the  ten  good  qualities  of  a  lay  disciple.  They 
exist  all  of  them  in  you.  Hence  is  it  fit,  and  right, 
and  becoming  in  you  that,  seeing  the  decay  of  the 
religion  of  the  Conqueror,  you  desire  its  prosperity. 
I  give  you  leave.     Ask  of  me  whatever  you  will.' 


[Here  ends  the  introduction  to  the  solving  of 

dilemmas.] 


THE    DILEMMAS. 
[on    honours    paid    to    the    BUDDHA.] 

lo.  Then  Milinda  the  king,  having  thus  been 
granted  leave,  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  teacher,  and 
raising  his  clasped  hands  to  his  forehead,  said : 
'  Venerable  Nagasena,  these  leaders  of  other  sects 
say  thus :  "  If  the  Buddha  accepts  gifts  he  cannot 
have  passed  entirely  away.  He  must  be  still  in 
union  with  the  world,  having  his  being  somewhere 
in  it,  in  the  world,  a  shareholder  in  the  things  of  the 
world ;  and  therefore  any  honour  paid  to  him  be- 
comes empty  and  vain^     On  the  other  hand  if  he 

^  '  Because  honours  should  be  paid,  in  the  way  of  worship,  to 
those  who  have  so  passed  away,  and  to  them  only,'  is  the  implied 
suggestion,  as  if  it  were  common  ground  to  the  Buddhists  and  their 
opponents.  But  there  is  no  such  doctrine  in  the  PaU  Pi/akas,  and 
could  not  be.  The  whole  discussion  breathes  the  spirit  of  a  later 
time. 


TV,  I,  lo.  GIFTS.  145 

be  entirely  passed  away  (from  life),  unattached  to 
the  world,  escaped  from  all  existence,  then  honours 
would  not  be  offered  to  him.  For  he  who  is  en- 
tirely set  free  accepts  no  honour,  and  any  act  done 
to  him  who  accepts  it  not  becomes  empty  and  vain." 
This  is  a  dilemma  which  has  two  horns.  It  is  not  a 
matter  within  the  scope  of  those  who  have  no  mind  \ 
it  is  a  question  fit  for  the  great.  Tear  asunder  this 
net  of  heresy,  put  it  on  one  side.  To  you  has  this 
puzzle  been  put.  Give  to  the  future  sons  of  the 
Conqueror  eyes  wherewith  to  see  the  riddle  to  the 
confusion  of  their  adversaries.' 

'  The  Blessed  One,  O  king,'  replied  the  Elder,  '  is 
entirely  set  free.  And  the  Blessed  One  accepts  no 
gift.  Even  at  the  foot  of  the  Tree  of  Wisdom  he 
abandoned  all  accepting  of  gifts,  how  much  more 
then  now  when  he  has  passed  entirely  away  by  that 
kind  of  passing  away  which  leaves  no  root  over  (for 
the  formation  of  a  new  existence).  For  this,  O  king, 
has  been  said  by  Sariputta,  the  commander  of  the 
faith  2 : 

"Though  worshipped,  these  Unequalled  Ones,  alike 
By  gods  and  men,  unlike  them  all  they  heed 
Neither  a  gift  nor  worship.     They  accept 
It  not,  neither  refuse  it.     Through  the  ages 
All  Buddhas  were  so,  so  wil.  ever  be  ^ !"  ' 


^  Apatta-manasana??/.  'Of  those  who  have  not  attained  to 
the  insight  of  the  Arahats,'  says  the  Si    halese  by  way  of  gloss. 

^  This  verse  is  not  found  in  our  printed  texts.  The  Thera 
Gatha  (981-1017)  has  preserved  thirty-seven  of  the  verses  attributed 
to  Sariputta,  but  this  is  not  one  of  them. 

"  Hina/i-kumbure,  who  quotes  the  Pali  verses,  reads  pii^^'a- 
yanta,  and  sadiyanti. 

[35]  L 


146  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  r,  II. 

II.  The  king  said:  'Venerable  Nagasena,  a 
father  may  speak  in  praise  of  his  son,  or  a  son  of 
his  father.  But  that  is  no  ground  for  putting  the 
adversaries  to  shame.  It  is  only  an  expression  of 
their  own  belief  Come  now !  Explain  this  matter 
to  me  fully  to  the  establishing  of  your  own  doc- 
trine, [96]  and  to  the  unravelling  of  the  net  of  the 
heretics.' 

The  Elder  replied  :  '  The  Blessed  One,  O  king, 
is  entirely  set  free  (from  life).  And  the  Blessed  One 
accepts  no  gift.  If  gods  or  men  put  up  a  building 
to  contain  the  jewel  treasure  of  the  relics  of  a 
Tathagata  who  does  not  accept  their  gift,  still  by 
that  homage  paid  to  the  attainment  of  the  supreme 
good  under  the  form  of  the  jewel  treasure  of  his 
wisdom  do  they  themselves  attain  to  one  or  other  of 
the  three  glorious  states  \  Suppose,  O  king,  that 
though  a  great  and  glorious  fire  had  been  kindled, 
it  should  die  out,  would  it  then  again  accept  any 
supply  of  dried  grass  or  sticks  ?' 

*  Even  as  it  burned,  Sir,  it  could  not  be  said  to 
accept  fuel,  how  much  less  when  it  had  died  away, 
and  ceased  to  burn,  could  it,  an  unconscious  thing, 
accept  it  ?' 

'  And  when  that  one  mighty  fire  had  ceased,  and 
gone  out,  would  the  world  be  bereft  of  fire  ?' 

*  Certainly  not.  Dry  wood  is  the  seat,  the  basis 
of  fire,  and  any  men  who  want  fire  can,  by  the  exer- 
tion of  their  own  strength  and  power,  such  as  resides 
in  individual  men,  once  more,  by  twirling  the  fire- 
stick,  produce  fire,  and  with  that  fire  do  any  work 
for  which  fire  is  required.' 

^  Tisso  sampattiyo.     That  is,  to  another  Hfe  as  a  mail;  or  as 
a  god,  or  to  Arahatship  here,  on  earth,  in  this  birth. 


IV,  I,  12.         HONOURS    PAID    TO    THE    BUDDHA.  1 47 

*  Then  that  saying  of  the  sectarians  that  "  an  act 
done  to  him  who  accepts  it  not  is  empty  and  vain  " 
turns  out  to  be  false.  As  that  great  and  glorious 
fire  was  set  alight,  even  so,  great  king,  was  the 
Blessed  One  set  alight  in  the  glory  of  his  Buddha- 
hood  over  the  ten  thousand  world  systems.  As  it 
went  out,  so  has  he  passed  away  into  that  kind  of 
passing  away  in  which  no  root  remains.  As  the  fire, 
when  gone  out,  accepted  no  supply  of  fuel,  just  so, 
and  for  the  good  of  the  world,  has  his  accepting  of 
gifts  ceased  and  determined.  As  men,  when  the  fire 
is  out,  and  has  no  further  means  of  burning,  then  by 
their  own  strength  and  effort,  such  as  resides  in 
individual  men,  twirl  the  fire-stick  and  produce  fire, 
and  do  any  work  for  which  fire  is  required — so  do 
gods  and  men,  though  a  Tathagata  has  passed 
away  and  no  longer  accepts  their  gifts,  yet  put  up  a 
house  for  the  jewel  treasure  of  his  relics,  and  doing 
homage  to  the  attainment  of  supreme  good  under 
the  form  of  the  jewel  treasure  of  his  wisdom,  they 
attain  to  one  or  other  of  the  three  glorious  states. 
[97]  Therefore  is  it,  great  king,  that  acts  done  to 
the  Tathagata,  notwithstanding  his  having  passed 
away  and  not  accepting  them,  are  nevertheless  of 
value  and  bear  fruit.' 

12.  '  Now  hear,  too,  another  reason  for  the  same 
thing.  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  to  arise  a 
great  and  mighty  wind,  and  that  then  it  were  to  die 
away.  Would  that  wind  acquiesce  in  being  pro- 
duced a^ain  ?' 

'  A  wind  that  has  died  away  can  have  no  thought 
or  idea  of  being  reproduced.  And  why  ?  Because 
the  element  wind  is  an  unconscious  thing.' 

'Or  even,  O  king,  would   the  word   "wind"   be 

L  2 


148  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  12. 

Still  applicable  to   that  wind,  when  it  had  so  died 
away  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir,  But  fans  and  punkahs  are 
means  for  the  production  of  wind.  Any  men  who 
are  oppressed  by  heat,  or  tormented  by  fever,  can 
by  means  of  fans  and  punkahs,  and  by  the  exertion  of 
their  own  strength  and  power,  such  as  resides  in 
individual  men,  produce  a  breeze,  and  by  that  wind 
allay  their  heat,  or  assuage  their  fever.' 

'  Then  that  saying  of  the  sectarians  that  "  an  act 
done  to  him  who  accepts  it  not  is  empty  and  vain  " 
turns  out  to  be  false.  As  the  great  and  mighty  wind 
which  blew,  even  so,  great  king,  has  the  Blessed  One 
blown  over  the  ten  thousand  world  systems  with  the 
wind  of  his  love,  so  cool,  so  sweet,  so  calm,  so 
delicate.  As  it  first  blew,  and  then  died  away,  so 
has  the  Blessed  One,  who  once  blew  with  the  wind 
so  cool,  so  sweet,  so  calm,  so  delicate,  of  his  love, 
now  passed  away  with  that  kind  of  passing  away  in 
which  no  root  remains.  As  those  men  were  op- 
pressed by  heat  and  tormented  with  fever,  even  so 
are  gods  and  men  tormented  and  oppressed  with 
threefold  fire  and  heat  \  As  fans  and  punkahs  are 
means  of  producing  wind,  so  the  relics  and  the  jewel 
treasure  of  the  wisdom  of  a  Tathagata  are  means  of 
producing  the  threefold  attainment.  [98]  And  as 
men  oppressed  by  heat  and  tormented  by  fever  can 
by  fans  and  punkahs  produce  a  breeze,  and  thus 
allay  the  heat  and  assuage  the  fever,  so  can  gods 
and  men  by  offering  reverence  to  the  relics,  and  the 


^  That  is,  the  three  fires  of  lust,  ill-will,  and  delusion,  the  going 
out  of  which  is  the  state  called,  par  excellence,  '  the  going  out ' 
(Nirva;za). 


IV,  I,  13-    HONOURS  PAID  TO  THE  BUDDHA.       1 49 

jewel  treasure  of  the  wisdom  of  a  Tathagata,  though 
he  has  died  away  and  accepts  it  not,  cause  goodness 
to  arise  within  them,  and  by  that  goodness  can 
assuage  and  can  allay  the  fever  and  the  torment  of 
the  threefold  fire.  Therefore  is  it,  great  king,  that 
acts  done  to  the  Tathagata,  notwithstanding  his 
having  passed  away  and  not  accepting  them,  are 
nevertheless  of  value  and  bear  fruit.' 

13.  '  Now  hear  another  reason  for  the  same  thing. 
Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  make  a  drum  sound, 
and  then  that  sound  were  to  die  away.  Would  that 
sound  acquiesce  in  being  produced  again  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.  Sir.  The  sound  has  vanished.  It 
can  have  no  thought  or  idea  of  being  reproduced. 
The  sound  of  a  drum  when  it  has  once  been  pro- 
duced and  died  away,  is  altogether  cut  off.  But,  Sir, 
a  drum  is  a  means  of  producing  sound.  And  any 
man,  as  need  arises,  can  by  the  effort  of  power  re- 
siding in  himself,  beat  on  that  drum,  and  so  produce 
a  sound.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  has  the  Blessed  One — except 
the  teacher  and  the  instruction  he  has  left  in  his 
doctrine  and  discipline,  and  the  jewel  treasure  of  his 
relics  whose  value  is  derived  from  his  righteousness, 
and  contemplation,  and  wisdom, and  emancipation,  and 
insight  given  by  the  knowledge  of  emancipation — just 
so  has  he  passed  away  by  that  kind  of  passing  away  \ 
in  which  no  root  remains.  But  the  possibility  of  re-  f 
ceiving  the  three  attainments  is  not  cut  off  because  the 
Blessed  One  has  passed  away.  Beings  oppressed  by 
the  sorrow  of  becoming  can,  when  they  desire  the 
attainments,  still  receive  them  by  means  of  the  jewel 
treasure  of  his  relics  and  of  his  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline and  teaching.     Therefore  is  it,  great  king,  that 


150  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  14. 


all  acts  done  to  the  Tathagata,  notwithstanding  his 
having  passed  away  and  not  accepting,  are  never- 
theless   of  value  and  bear  fruit.     And    this   future 
possibility,  great   king,  has    been   foreseen   by  the 
Blessed  One,  and  spoken  of,  and  declared,  and  made 
known,  when   he  said  :  "It   may  be,   Ananda,  that 
in    some    of    you    the    thought    may   arise :    [99] 
'  The  word  of  the  Master  is  ended.     We  have  no 
Teacher  more ! '     But  it  is  not  thus,  Ananda,  that 
you    should    regard  it.      The  Truth  which   I   have 
preached  to  you,  the  Rules  which  I  have  laid  down 
for  the  Order,  let  them,  when   I  am  gone,  be  the 
Teacher  to  you  ^"     So  that  because  the  Tathagata 
has  passed  away  and  consents  not  thereto,  that  there- 
fore any  act  done  to  him  is  empty  and  vain — this 
saying  of  the  enemy  is  proved  false.     It  is  untrue, 
unjust,  not  according  to  fact,  wrong,  and  perverse. 
It  is  the  cause  of  sorrow,  has  sorrow  as  its  fruit, 
and  leads  down  the  road  to  perdition ! ' 

14.  '  Now  hear  another  reason  for  the  same  thing. 
Does  the  broad  earth  acquiesce,  O  king,  in  all  kinds 
of  seeds  being  planted  all  over  it  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

'Then  how  is  it  those  seeds,  planted  without 
the  earth's  consent,  do  yet  stand  fast  and  firmly 
rooted,  and  expand  into  trees  with  great  trunks 
and  sap  and  branches,  and  bearing  fruits  and 
flowers  ?' 

'  Though  the  earth.  Sir,  gives  no  consent,  yet  it 
acts  as  a  site  for  those  seeds,  as  a  means  of  their 
development.     Planted  on  that  site  they  grow,  by 


'  Book   of  the   Great  Decease,  VI,   i,  translated  in  'Buddhist 
Suttas,'  p.  112. 


IV,  I,  ig.  TREES.  151 

its    means,   into    such    great    trees    with    branches, 
flowers,  and  fruit.' 

'  Then,  great  king,  the  sectaries  are  destroyed, 
defeated,  proved  wrong  by  their  own  words  when 
they  say  that  "  an  act  done  to  him  who  accepts  it  not 
is  empty  and  vain,"  As  the  broad  earth,  O  king,  is 
the  Tathagata,  the  Arahat,  the  Buddha  supreme. 
Like  it  he  accepts  nothing.  Like  the  seeds  which 
through  it  attain  to  such  developments  are  the  gods 
and  men  who,  through  the  jewel  treasures  of  the 
relics  and  the  wisdom  of  the  Tathagata — thougrh  he 
have  passed  away  and  consent  not  to  it — being 
firmly  rooted  by  the  roots  of  merit,  become  like 
unto  trees  casting  a  goodly  shade  by  means  of 
the  trunk  of  contemplation,  the  sap  of  true  doctrine, 
and  the  branches  of  righteousness,  and  bearing  the 
flowers  of  emancipation,  and  the  fruits  of  Sama;^a- 
ship.  [100]  Therefore  is  it,  great  king,  that  acts 
done  to  the  Tathaofata,  notwithstanding-  his  havinor 
passed  away  and  not  accepting  them,  are  still  of 
value  and  bear  fruit' 

1 5.  '  Now  hear  another  and  further  reason  for  the 
same  thing.  Do  camels,  buffaloes,  asses,  goats, 
oxen,  or  men  acquiesce  in  the  birth  of  worms  in- 
side them  ?' 

*  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

*  Then  how  is  it  then,  that  without  their  consent 
worms  are  so  born,  and  spread  by  rapid  reproduction 
of  sons  and  grandsons  ?' 

'  By  the  power  of  evil  Karma,  Sir.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  is  it  by  the  power  of  the  relics 
and  the  wisdom  of  the  Tathagata,  who  has  passed 
away  and  acquiesces  in  nothing,  that  an  act  done  to 
him  is  of  value  and  bears  fruit.' 


152  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  i,  16. 


16.  'Now  hear  another  and  further  reason  for 
the  same  thing.  Do  men  consent,  O  king,  that  the 
ninety-eight  diseases  should  be  produced  in  their 
bodies  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 
'  Then  how  is  it  the  diseases  come  ?' 
'  By  evil  deeds  done  in  former  births.' 
'  But,  great  king,  if  evil  deeds  done  in  a  former 
birth  have  to  be  suffered  here  and  now,  then  both 
good  and  evil  done  here  or  done  before  has  weight 
and  bears  fruit.     Therefore  is  it  that  acts  done  to 
the  Tathagata,  notwithstanding   his  having  passed 
away  and  not  consenting,  are  nevertheless  of  value 
and  bear  fruit.' 

17.  'Now  hear  another  and  further  reason  for 
the  same  thing.  Did  you  ever  hear,  O  king,  of 
the  ogre  named  Nandaka,  who,  having  laid  hands 
upon  the  Elder  Sariputta,  was  swallowed  up  by  the 
earth  ?' 

'  Yes,  Sir,  that  is  matter  of  common  talk  among 
men.' 

'Well,  did  Sariputta  acquiesce  in  that  ?' 
[101]  '  Though  the  world  of  gods  and  men,  Sir, 
were  to  be  destroyed,  though  the  sun  and  moon 
were  to  fall  upon  the  earth,  though  Sineru  the  king 
of  mountains  were  to  be  dissolved,  yet  would  not 
Sariputta  the  Elder  have  consented  to  any  pain 
being  inflicted  on  a  fellow  creature.  And  why  not  ? 
Because  every  condition  of  heart  which  could  cause 
him  to  be  angry  or  offended  has  been  in  him  destroyed 
and  rooted  out.  And  as  all  cause  thereof  had  thus 
been  removed,  Sir,  therefore  could  not  Sariputta 
be  angered  even  with  those  who  sought  to  deprive 
him  of  his  life.' 


IV,  I,  1 8.  SARIPUTTA.  153 


'  But  if  Sariputta,  O  king,  did  not  consent  to  it, 
how  was  it  that  Nandaka  was  so  swallowed  up  ?' 

'  By  the  power  of  his  evil  deeds.' 

'  Then  if  so,  great  king,  an  act  done  to  him  who 
consents  not  is  still  of  power  and  bears  fruit.  And 
if  this  is  so  of  an  evil  deed,  how  much  more  of  a 
good  one  ?  Therefore  is  it,  O  king,  that  acts  done 
to  the  Tathagata,  notwithstanding  his  having  passed 
away  and  not  accepting  them,  are  nevertheless  of 
value  and  bear  fruit.' 

18.  '  Now  how  many,  O  king,  are  those  men  who, 
in  this  life,  have  been  swallowed  up  by  the  earth  ? 
Have  you  heard  anything  on  that  point  ?' 

'  Yes,  Sir,  I  have  heard  how  many  there  are.' 

'  Then  tell  me.' 

'  Kmkdi  the  Brahmin  woman,  and  Suppabuddha 
the  Sakyan,  and  Devadatta  the  Elder,  and  Nandaka 
the  ogre,  and  Nanda  the  Brahman — these  are  the 
five  people  who  were  swallowed  up  by  the  earth.' 

'  And  whom,  O  king,  had  they  wronged  ?' 

'  The  Blessed  One  and  his  disciples.' 

'  Then  did  the  Blessed  One  or  his  disciples  consent 
to  their  being  so  swallowed  up  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

'  Therefore  is  it,  O  king,  that  an  act  done  to  the 
Tathagata,  notwithstanding  his  having  passed  away 
and  not  consenting  thereto,  is  nevertheless  of  value 
and  bears  fruit.' 

'  Well  has  this  deep  question  been  explained  by 
you,  venerable  Nagasena,  and  made  clear.  You  have 
made  the  secret  thing  [102]  plain,  you  have  loosed 
the  knot,  you  have  made  in  the  jungle  an  open  space, 
the  adversaries  are  overthrown,  the  wrong  opinion 
has  been  proved  false,  the  sectaries  have  been  covered 


154  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  1,19. 

with  darkness  when  they  met  you,  O  best  of  all  the 
leaders  of  schools  1 ' 


[Here  ends  the  question  as  to   not  consenting  to 

honours  paid\] 


[the    omniscience    of    the    BUDDHA.] 

19.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  was  the  Buddha  om- 
niscient ?' 

'  Yes,  O  king,  he  was.  But  the  insight  of  know- 
ledge was  not  always  and  continually  (consciously) 
present  with  him.  The  omniscience  of  the  Blessed 
One  was  dependent  on 'reflection.'  But  if  he  did 
reflect  he  knew^vhatever  he  w^anted  to  know  ^. 

*  Then,  Sir,  the  Buddha  cannot  have  been  omni- 
scient, if  his  all-embracing  knowledge  was  reached 
through  investigation.' 

'[If  so,  great  king,  our  Buddha's  knowledge  must 
have  been  less  in  degree  of  fineness  than  that  of  the 
other  Buddhas.  And  that  is  a  conclusion  hard  to 
draw.  But  let  me  explain  a  little  further.]  Suppose, 
O  king,  you  had  a  hundred  cart-loads  of  rice  in  the 
husk,  and  each  cart-load  was  of  seven  am  ma ;^ as  ^ 
and  a  half  Would  a  man  without  consideration  be 
able  to  tell  you  in  a  moment  how  many  laks  of  grains 
there  were  in  the  whole  ^  ? ' 


1  This  title  and  the  subsequent  ones  to  the  various  questions  are 
added  from  the  Si^/zhalese.  They  are  probably  the  same  titles 
as  those  referred  to  by  Mr.  Trenckner  in  his  preface  as  being  in  his 
Burmese  MS. 

2  So  again  below,  §  27. 

5  An  am  ma;/ a  is  about  four  bushels. 

"  Mr.  Trenckner  has  marked  this  passage  as  corrupt,  and  I  do 
not  pretend  to  understand  it  either.     The  Si;;^halese  is  also  very 


A 


IV,  I,  21.  Tf^E    GIANT    BAMBU.  I  55 

20.  '  Now  there  are  these  seven  classes  of  minds. 
Those,  great  king,  who  are  full  of  lust,  ill-will,  delu- 
sion, or  wrong  doing,  who  are  untrained  in  the 
management  of  their  body,  or  in  conduct,  or  in 
thought,  or  in  wisdom, — their  thinking  powers  are 
brought  into  play  with  difficulty,  and  act  slowly. 
And  why  is  it  so  ?  Because  of  the  untrained  con- 
dition of  their  minds.  It  is  like  the  slow  and  heavy 
movements  of  a  giant  bambu — when  it  is  being 
dragged  along  with  its  wide-spreading,  extensive, 
overgrown,  and  interlaced  vegetation,  and  with  its 
branches  intricately  entangled  one  with  the  other. 
So  slow  and  heavy  are  the  movements  of  the  minds 
of  those  men,  O  king.  And  why  ?  Because  of  the 
intricate  entanglements  of  wrong  dispositions.  This 
is  the  first  class  of  minds.' 

21.'  From  it  the  second  class  is  to  be  distinguished. 
Those,  O  king,  who  have  been  converted,  for  whom 
the  gates  of  purgatory  are  closed,  who  have  attained 
to  right  views,  who  have  grasped  the  doctrine  of  the 
Master — their  thinking  powers,  so  far  as  the  three 
lower  stages  ^  are  concerned,  are  brought  quickly 


involved  and  confused.  I  have  added  the  words  in  brackets  from 
the  Sinhalese,  and  translated  the  rest  according  to  the  general 
sense  of  the  Sinhalese  and  the  figures  of  the  Pali.  Hardy  gives  his 
'version'  at  p.  386  of  the  'Manual  of  Buddhism.'  It  says, '  In  one 
load  of  rice  there  are  63,660,000  grains.  Each  of  these  grains  can 
be  separately  considered  by  Buddha  in  a  moment  of  time.  In  that 
moment  the  seven-times  gifted  rvAnd  exercises  this  power.'  The 
last  sentence  is  a  misunderstanding  of  the  opening  words  of  our 
next  section  (IV,  i,  20). 

^  That  is,  of  the  Excellent  Way.  They  are  the  three  Fetters — 
Delusion  of  self,  Doubt,  and  Dependence  on  r  tes  and  eremonies 
and  outward  morality — which  the  Solapanno  has  conquered, 
broken. 


156  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  1,22. 

into  play,  [103]  and  act  with  ease.  But  as  regards 
the  higher  regions  they  are  brought  into  play  with 
difficulty,  and  act  slowly.  And  why  is  this  so  ?  Be- 
cause of  their  minds  having  been  made  clear  as 
regards  those  three  stages,  and  because  of  the  fail- 
ings (to  be  vanquished  in  the  higher  stages)  still 
existing  within  them.  It  is  like  the  movement  of 
a  giant  bambu  which  has  a  clean  trunk  as  far  as  the 
third  knot,  but  above  that  has  its  branches  intricately 
entangled.  So  far  as  regards  the  smooth  trunk  it 
would  travel  easily  when  dragged  along,  but  it  would 
stick  obstinately  as  regards  its  upper  branches.  This 
is  the  second  class  of  minds.' 

2  2.  'From  these  the  third  class  is  to  be  distin- 

A 

guished.  Those, O  king, who  are  Sak ad  Agamins^, 
in  whom  lust,  ill-will,  and  delusion  are  reduced  to  a 
minimum, — their  thinking  powers,  so  far  as  the  five 
lower  stages  are  concerned,  are  brought  quickly  into 
play,  and  act  with  ease.  But  as  regards  the  higher 
regions  they  are  brought  into  play  with  difficulty, 
and  act  slowly.  And  why  is  this  so  ?  Because  of 
their  minds  having  been  made  clear  as  regards  those 
five  stages,  and  because  of  the  failings  (to  be  van- 
quished in  the  higher  stages)  still  existing  within 
them.  It  is  like  the  movement  of  a  giant  bambu 
which  has  a  clean  trunk  as  far  as  the  fifth  knot,  but 
above  that  has  its  branches  intricately  entangled. 
So  far  as  regards  the  smooth  trunk  it  would  travel 
easily  when  dragged  along,  but  it  would  be  moved 
with  difficulty  as  far  as  its  upper  branches  are  con- 
cerned.    This  is  the  third  class  of  minds.' 


'  Disciples  who  will  return  only  once  to  this  world,  there  attain 
Arahatship,  and  therefore  pass  away. 


rV,  I,  24.  THINKING    POWERS.  I57 

23.  'From  these  the  fourth  class  is  to  be  distin- 
guished. Those,  O  king,  who  are  Anagamins^ 
who  have  completely  got  rid  of  the  five  lower  fetters, 
— their  thinking  powers,  so  far  as  the  ten  stages ^  are 
concerned,  are  brought  quickly  into  play,  and  act 
with  ease.  [104]  But  as  regards  the  higher  regions 
they  are  brought  into  play  with  difficulty,  and  act 
slowly.  And  why  is  this  so  ?  Because  of  their 
minds  having  been  made  clear  as  regards  those  ten 
stages,  and  because  of  the  failings  (to  be  vanquished 
in  the  higher  stages)  still  existing  within  them.  It  is 
like  the  movement  of  a  giant  bambu  which  has  a 
smooth  trunk  as  far  as  the  tenth  knot,  but  above 
that  has  its  branches  intricately  entangled.  This  is 
the  fourth  class  of  minds.' 

24.  '  From  these  the  fifth  class  is  to  be  distin- 
guished. Those,  O  king,  who  are  Arahats,  in 
whom  the  four  Great  Evils  ^  have  ceased,  whose 
stains  have  been  washed  away,  whose  predispositions 
to  evil  ^  have  been  put  aside,  who  have  lived  the 
life,  and  accomplished  the  task,  and  laid  aside  every 
burden,  and  reached  up  to  that  which  is  good,  for 
whom  the  Fetter  of  the  craving  after  any  kind  of 
future  life  has  been  broken  to  pieces  ^,  who  have 
reached  the  higher  insight ",  who  are  purified  as 
regards  all   those  conditions    of  heart    in  which    a 


^  Who  will  not  return  even  once  to  this  world,  but  attain  Arahat- 
ship  in  heaven. 

'^  This  is  noteworthy,  for  their  mind  is  not  yet  quite  clear  as 
regards  the  higher  five  stages.  But  it  is  on  all  fours  with  the  last 
section. 

'  Lust,  becoming,  delusion,  and  ignorance.  *  KilesS. 

"  Parikki«a-bhava-sa;«yo^ana. 

®  Patta-pa/isambhida. 


158  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  1,25, 

hearer  can  be  pure, — their  thinking  powers,  as  re- 
gards all  that  a  disciple  can  be  or  do,  are  brought 
quickly  into  play,  and  act  with  ease.  But  as  to  those 
things  which  are  within  the  reach  of  the  PaZ'X'eka- 
Buddhas  (of  those  who  are  Buddhas,  but  for  them- 
selves alone)  they  are  brought  into  play  with  difficulty, 
and  act  slowly.  And  why  is  this  so  ?  Because  of 
their  having  been  made  pure  as  regards  all  within 
the  province  of  a  hearer,  but  not  as  regards  that 
within  the  reach  of  those  who  are  Buddhas  (though 
for  themselves  alone).  It  is  like  the  movement  of  a. 
giant  bambu  which  has  been  pruned  of  the  branches 
arising  out  of  all  its  knots — and  which,  therefore, 
when  dragged  along  moves  quickly  and  with  ease, 
because  of  its  smoothness  all  along,  and  because  of 
its  being  unencumbered  with  the  jungly  growth  of 
vegetation.     This  is  the  fifth  class  of  minds.' 

25.  [105]  '  From  these  the  sixth  class  is  to  be 
distinguished.  Those,  O  king,  who  are  Pa/C'/^eka- 
Buddhas,  dependent  on  themselves  alone,  wanting 
no  teacher,  dwellers  alone  like  the  solitary  horn  of 
the  rhinoceros,  who  so  far  as  their  own  higher  life  is 
concerned,  have  pure  hearts  free  from  stain, — their 
thinking  powers,  so  far  as  their  own  province  is  con- 
cerned, are  brought  quickly  into  play,  and  act  with 
ease.  But  as  regards  all  that  is  specially  within  the 
province  of  a  perfect  Buddha  (one  who  is  not  only 
Buddha,  that  is  enlightened,  himself,  but  can  lead 
others  to  the  light)  they  are  brought  with  difficulty 
into  play,  and  move  slowly.  And  why  is  this  so  ? 
Because  of  their  purity  as  regards  all  within  their 
own  province,  and  because  of  the  immensity  of  the 
province  of  the  omniscient  Buddhas.  It  is  like  a 
man,  O  king,  who  would  fearlessly  cross,  and  at  will, 


IV,  I,  26.  THE    BUDDHAS.  I  59 


by  day  or  night,  a  shallow  brook  on  his  own  pro- 
perty. But  when  he  comes  in  sight  of  the  mighty 
ocean,  deep  and  wide  and  ever-moving,  and  sees  no 
further  shore  to  it,  then  would  he  stand  hesitatino- 
and  afraid,  and  make  no  effort  even  to  get  over  it. 
And  why  ?  Because  of  his  familiarity  with  his  own, 
and  because  of  the  immensity  of  the  sea.  This  is 
the  sixth  class  of  minds.' 

26.  '  From  these  the  seventh  class  is  to  be  distin- 
guished. Those,  O  king, who  are  complete  Buddhas^, 
having  all  knowledge,  bearing  about  in  themselves 
the  tenfold  power  (of  the  ten  kinds  of  insight),  con- 
fident in  the  four  modes  of  just  self-confidence, 
endowed  with  the  eighteen  characteristics  of  a  Bud- 
dha, whose  mastery  knows  no  limit,  from  whose 
grasp  nothing  is  hid, — their  thinking  powers  are  on 
every  point  brought  quickly  into  play,  and  act  with 
ease.  Suppose,  O  king,  a  dart  well  burnished,  free 
from  rust,  perfectly  smooth,  with  a  fine  edge,  straight, 
without  a  crook  or  a  flaw  in  it,  were  to  be  set  on  a 
powerful  crossbow.  Would  there  be  any  clumsiness 
in  its  action,  any  retarding  in  its  movement,  if  it 
were  discharged  by  a  powerful  man  against  a 
piece  of  fine  linen,  or  cotton  stuff,  or  delicate 
woolwork  ? ' 

'Certainly  not,  Sir.  And  why?  Because  the 
stuff  is  so  fine,  and  the  dart  so  highly  tempered, 
and  the  discharge  so  powerful' 

[106]  '  And  just  in  the  same  way,  great  king, 
are  the  thinking  powers  of  the  Buddhas  I  have  de- 
scribed brought  quickly  into  play,  and  act  with  ease. 


'  That  is  as  distinguished  from  the  last — not  only  themselves 
enlightened,  but  able  to  teach,  leaders  of  men. 


l6o  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  1,27. 

And  why  ?     Because  of  their  being  purified  in  every 
respect.     This  is  the  seventh  class  of  minds.' 

27.  'Now  of  these,  O  king,  the  last  —  the 
thinking  powers  of  the  omniscient  Buddhas — alto- 
gether outclasses  the  other  six,  and  is  clear  and 
active  in  its  high  quality  that  is  beyond  our  ken. 
It  is  because  the  mind  of  the  Blessed  One  is 
so  clear  and  active  that  the  Blessed  One,  great 
king,  displays  the  double  miracle.  From  that  we 
may  get  to  know,  O  king,  how  clear  and  active 
His  mental  powers  are.  And  for  those  wonders 
there  is  no  further  reason  that  can  be  alleged. 
(Yet)  those  wonders,  O  king,  [caused  by  means  of 
the  mind  (alone)  of  the  omniscient  Buddhas^]  cannot 
be  counted,  or  calculated,  or  divided,  or  separated, 
(For)  the  knowledge  of  the  Blessed  One,  O  king, 
is  dependent  upon  reflection^,  and  it  is  on  reflec- 
tion that  he  knows  whatever  he  wishes  to  know. 
(But)  it  is  as  w^hen  a  man  passes  something  he 
already  has  in  one  hand  to  the  other,  or  utters 
a  sound  when  his  mouth  is  open,  or  swallows 
some  food  that  he  has  already  in  his  mouth,  or 
opens  his  eyes  when  they  are  shut,  or  shuts  them 
when  open,  or  stretches  forth  his  arm  when  it  is 
bent  in,  or  bends  it  in  when  stretched  out — 
more  rapid  than  that,  great  king,  and  more  easy 
in  its  action,  is  the  all-embracing  knowledge  of  the 
Blessed  One,  more  rapid  than  that  his  reflection. 
And  although  it  is  by  reflection  that  they  know 
whatever  they  want  to  know,  yet  even  when   they 


^  There  is  surely  something  wrong  here ;   either  in  the  PaH,  or 
in  my  interpretation  of  it,  which  follows  the  Si/«halese  (p.  130). 
^  Here  the  opening  argument  of  §  1 7  is  again  taken  up. 


IV,  I,  27-  REFLECTION.  l6l 

are  not  reflecting  the  Blessed  Buddhas  are  not,  even 
then,  anything  other  than  omniscient.' 

'  But,  venerable  Nagasena,  reflection  is  carried  on 
for  the  purpose  of  seeking  (that  which  is  not  clear 
when  the  reflection  begins).  Come  now.  Convince 
me  in  this  matter  by  some  reason.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  a  rich  man,  great 
in  wealth  and  property — one  who  had  stores  of 
gold  and  silver  and  valuables,  and  stores  of  all 
kinds  of  wheat,  one  who  had  rice,  and  paddy,  and 
barley, and  dry  grain, and  oilseed,  and  beans,  and  peas, 
and  every  other  edible  seed,  who  had  ghee,  and  oil, 
and  butter,  and  milk,  and  curds,  and  honey,  and  sugar, 
and  molasses,  [107]  all  put  away  in  store-rooms 
in  jars,  and  pots,  and  pans,  and  every  sort  of  vessel. 
Now  if  a  traveller  were  to  arrive,  one  worthy  of 
hospitality,  and  expecting  to  be  entertained  ;  and  all 
the  prepared  food  in  the  house  had  been  finished, 
and  they  were  to  get  out  of  the  jar  some  rice  ready 
for  cooking,  and  prepare  a  meal  for  him.  Would  that 
wealthy  man  merely  by  reason  of  the  deficiency  in 
eatable  stuff  at  that  unusual  time  be  rightly  called 
poor  or  needy  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not.  Sir.  Even  in  the  palace  of  a 
mighty  king  of  kings  there  might  be  no  food 
ready  out  of  time,  how  much  less  in  the  house  of 
an  ordinary  man.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  with  the  all-embracing  know- 
ledge of  a  Tathagata  when  reflection  only  is 
wanting ;  but  which  on  reflection  grasps  whatever 
he  wants.  Now  suppose,  O  king,  there  were  a  tree 
in  full  fruit,  with  its  branches  bending  this  way  and 
that  by  the  weight  of  the  burden  of  the  bunches  of 
its  fruit,  but  no  single  fruit  had  fallen  from  it. 
[35]  M 


l62  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  1,28. 


Could  that  tree  rightly,  under  the  circumstances 
of  the  case,  be  called  barren,  merely  because  of 
the  want  of  a  fallen  fruit  ? ' 

'  No,  Sir.  For  though  the  falling  of  the  fruit  is 
a  condition  precedent  to  its  enjoyment,  yet  when 
it  has  fallen  one  can  take  as  much  as  one  likes.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  though  reflection  is  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Tathagata, 
yet  on  reflection  it  perceives  whatever  he  wants  to 
know.' 

'  Does  that  happen  always,  Nagasena,  at  the 
moment  of  reflection  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  O  king.  Just  as  when  the  mighty  king  of 
kings  (the  A'akkavatti)  calling  to  mind  his  glorious 
wheel  of  victory  wishes  it  to  appear,  and  no  sooner 
is  it  thought  of  than  it  appears — so  does  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Tathagata  follow  continually  on  reflec- 
tion.' 

'  Strong  is  the  reason  you  give,  Nagasena,  for  the 
omniscience  of  the  Buddha.  I  am  convinced  that 
that  is  so.' 

[Here  ends  the  question  as  to  the  omniscience  of 
the  Buddha  being  dependent  on  reflection  ^] 


[why  devadatta  was  admitted  to  the  order.] 

28.   '  Venerable   Nagasena,  who  was    it  that   ad- 
mitted Devadatta-  to  the  Order  ?' 


^  At  III,  6,  2  there  is  another  problem  raised  as  to  the  om- 
niscience of  the  Buddha. 

^  He  is  the  Judas  of  the  Buddhist  story,  who  tried  to  have  the 
Buddha  killed,  and  to  seduce  his  disciples  from  him. 


IV,  I,  28.  DEVADATTA.  763 


*  Those  six  young  nobles,  O  king,  Bhaddiya  and 
Anuruddha  and  Ananda  and  Bhagu  and  Kimbila 
and  Devadatta,  [108]  together  with  UpaH  the 
barber  as  a  seventh— they  all,  when  the  Master  had 
attained  to  Buddhahood,  left  the  Sakya  home  out 
of  the  delight  they  felt  in  him,  and  following  the 
Blessed  One  renounced  the  world  \  So  the  Blessed 
One  admitted  them  all  to  the  Order.' 

'  But  was  it  not  Devadatta  who,  after  he  had 
entered  the  Order,  raised  up  a  schism  within  it  ? ' 

'  Yes.  No  layman  can  create  a  schism,  nor  a 
sister  of  the  Order,  nor  one  under  preparatory  in- 
struction, nor  a  novice  of  either  sex.  It  must  be  a 
Bhikkhu,  under  no  disability,  who  is  in  full  com- 
munion, and  a  co-resident  ^' 

'  And  what  Karma  does  a  schismatical  person 
o^ain  ? ' 

'  A  Karma  that  continues  to  act  for  a  Kalpa  (a 
very  long  period  of  time).' 

'  What  then,  Nagasena  !  Was  the  Buddha  aware 
that  Devadatta  after  being  admitted  to  the  Order 
would  raise  up  a  schism,  and  having  done  so  would 
suffer  torment  in  purgatory  for  a  Kalpa  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  the  Tathagata  knew  that.' 

'  But,  Nagasena,  if  that  be  so,  then  the  statement 
that  the  Buddha  was  kind  and  pitiful,  that  he  sought 
after  the  good  of  others,  that  he  was  the  remover  of 
that  which  works  harm,  the  provider  of  that  which 
works  well  to  all  beings— that  statement  must  be 
wrong.     If  it  be  not  so — if  he  knew  not  that  Deva- 

^  Hina/i-kumbure  takes  kula  as  an  ablative. 

"^  These  are  all  termini  technici  in  Buddhist  canon  law. 
The  meaning  is  that  other  divisions  in  the  Order  do  not  amount 
technically  to  schism.     See  the  -ff'ullavagga  VH,  i,  27,  &c. 

M  2 


1 64  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  i,  29. 

datta  after  he  had  been  admitted  to  the  Order  would 
stir  up  a  schism — then  he  cannot  have  been  omni- 
scient. This  other  double-pointed  dilemma  is  put 
to  you.  Unravel  this  tough  skein,  break  up  the 
argument  of  the  adversaries.  In  future  times  it  will 
be  hard  to  find  Bhikkhus  like  to  you  in  wisdom. 
Herein  then  show  your  skill  !' 

29.  '  The  Blessed  One,  O  king,  was  both  full  of 
mercy  and  had  all  knowledge.  It  was  when  the 
Blessed  One  in  his  mercy  and  wisdom  considered 
the  life  history  of  Devadatta  that  he  perceived  how, 
having  heaped  up  Karma  on  Karma,  he  would  pass 
for  an  endless  series  of  Kalpas  from  torment  to 
torment,  and  from  perdition  to  perdition.  And  the 
Blessed  One  knew  also  that  the  infinite  Karma  of 
that  man  would,  because  he  had  entered  the  Order, 
become  finite,  and  the  sorrow  caused  by  the  pre- 
vious Karma  would  also  therefore  become  limited. 
[109]  But  that  if  that  foolish  person  were  not  to 
enter  the  Order  then  he  would  continue  to  heap  up 
Karma  which  would  endure  for  a  Kalpa.  And  it 
was  because  he  knew  that  that,  in  his  mercy,  he 
admitted  him  to  the  Order.' 

'  Then,  Nagasena,  the  Buddha  first  wounds  a  man 
and  then  pours  oil  on  the  wound,  first  throws  a  man 
down  a  precipice  and  then  reaches  out  to  him  an 
assisting  hand,  first  kills  him  and  then  seeks  to  give 
him  life,  first  gives  pain  and  then  adds  a  subsequent 
joy  to  the  pain  he  gave.' 

'  The  Tathagata,  O  king,  wounds  people  but  to 
their  good,  he  casts  people  down  but  to  their  profit, 
he  kills  people  but  to  their  advantage.  Just  as 
mothers  and  fathers,  O  king,  hurt  their  children  and 
even  knock  them  down,  thinking  the  while  of  their 


TV,  I,  30.  ■     DEVADATTA.  1 65 

good ;  so  by  whatsoever  method  an  increase  in  the 
virtue  of  living  things  can  be  brought  about,  by  that 
method  does  he  contribute  to  their  good.  If  Deva- 
datta,  O  king,  had  not  entered  the  Order,  then  as  a 
layman  he  would  have  laid  up  much  Karma  leading 
to  states  of  woe,  and  so  passing  for  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  Kalpas  from  torment  to  misery,  and  from 
one  state  of  perdition  to  another,  he  would  have 
suffered  constant  pain.  It  was  knowing  that,  that  in 
his  mercy,  the  Blessed  One  admitted  Devadatta  to 
the  Order.  It  was  at  the  thought  that  by  renounc- 
ing the  world  accordincr  to  His  doctrine  Devadatta's 
sorrow  would  become  finite  that,  in  his  mercy,  he 
adopted  that  means  of  making  his  heavy  sorrow  light. 
30.  '  As  a  man  of  influence,  O  king,  by  the  power 
of  his  wealth  or  reputation  or  prosperity  or  birth, 
when  a  grievous  penalty  has  been  imposed  by  the 
kincf  on  some  friend  or  relative  of  his,  would  sfet 
it  made  light  by  the  ability  arising  from  the  trust 
reposed  in  him ;  [110]  just  so  did  the  Blessed  One, 
by  admitting  him  to  the  Order,  and  by  the  efficacy 
of  the  influence  of  riQ^hteousness  and  meditation  and 
wisdom  and  emancipation  of  heart,  make  light  the 
heavy  sorrow  of  Devadatta,  who  would  have  had  to 
suffer  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Kalpas.  As  a 
clever  physician  and  surgeon,  O  king,  would  make 
a  grievous  sickness  light  by  the  aid  of  a  powerful 
medicinal  drug,  just  so  did  the  Blessed  One,  in  his 
knowledge  of  the  right  means  to  an  end,  admit 
Devadatta  to  the  Order  and  thus  make  his  grievous 
pain  light  by  the  aid  of  the  medicine  of  die  Dhamma, 
strong  by  the  power  of  mercy  \     Was  then,  O  king, 

^  Karu««abalopatthaddha.     Compare  G'ataka,  vol.  i,  verse 
267,  and  Sutta  Vibhahga  I,  10,  7. 


1 66  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  1,31. 

the  Blessed  One  guilty  of  any  wrong  in  that  he 
turned  Devadatta  from  being  a  man  of  much  sorrow 
into  beingf  a  man  of  less  sorrow  ? ' 

'  No  indeed,  Sir.  He  committed  no  wrong,  not 
even  in  the  smallest  degree  \' 

'  Then  accept  this,  great  king,  to  the  full  as  the 
reason  for  which  the  Blessed  One  admitted  Deva- 
datta to  the  Order.' 

31.  *  Hear  another  and  further  reason,  O  king,  for 
the  Blessed  One's  having  admitted  Devadatta.  Sup- 
pose men  were  to  seize  and  hurry  before  the  king 
some  wicked  robber,  saying  :  "  This  is  the  wicked 
robber,  your  Majesty.  Inflict  upon  him  such  punish- 
ment as  you  think  fit !  "  And  thereupon  the  king  were 
to  say  to  them  :  "  Take  this  robber  then,  my  men, 
outside  the  town,  and  there  on  the  place  of  execu- 
tion cut  off  his  head."  And  they  in  obedience  to  his 
orders  were  to  take  that  man  accordingly  towards  the 
place  of  execution.  And  some  man  who  was  high 
in  office  near  the  king,  and  of  great  reputation  and 
wealth  and  property,  whose  word  was  held  of  weight^, 
and  whose  influence  was  great,  should  see  him. 
And  he  were  to  have  pity  on  him,  and  were  to  say  to 
those  men  :  "  Stay,  good  fellows.  What  good  will 
cutting  off  his  head  do  to  you  ?  Save  him  alive, 
and  cut  off  only  a  hand  or  a  foot.  I  will  speak  on 
his  behalf  to  the  king."  And  they  at  the  word  of 
that  influential  person  were  to  do  so.  Now  would 
the  officer  who  had  acted  so  towards  him  have  been 
a  benefactor  to  that  robber  ?' 


'  Gadduhanam  pi.     It  is  the  Sanskrit  dadrughna. 
"^  Adeyya-va^'ano.     See  my  note,  Alillavagga  VI,  4,  8,  and 
also  Puggala  Pa?7/7atti  III,  12,  and  Pa77-^'a  Gati  Dipana,  98. 


IV,  1,32.  DEVADATTA.  1 67 


*  He  would  have  saved  his  Hfe,  Sir.  And  having 
done  that,  what  would  he  not  have  done  ? ' 

'  But  would  he  have  done  no  wrong  on  account  of 
the  pain  the  man  suffered  [111]  when  his  hand  or  foot 
was  cut  off  ? ' 

*  The  pain  the  thief  suffered,  Sir,  was  his  own 
fault.  But  the  man  who  saved  his  life  did  him  no 
harm.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  was  it  in  his  mercy  that  the 
Blessed  One  admitted  Devadatta,  with  the  know- 
ledge that  by  that  his  sorrow  would  be  mitigated.' 

32.  'And    Devadatta's  sorrow,  O  king,  was  miti- 
gated.    For  Devadatta  at  the  moment  of  his  death 
took  refuge  in   Him  for  the  rest  of  his  existences 
when  he  said : 
"  In  him,  who  of  the  best  is  far  the  best  ^ 
The  god  of  gods,  the  guide  of  gods  and  men. 
Who  see'th  all,  and  bears  the  hundred  marks 
Of  goodness, — 'tis  in  him  I  refuge  take 
Through  all  the  lives  that  I  may  have  to  live." 
2'  If  you  divide  this  Kalpa,  O  king,  into  six  parts, 
it  was  at  the  end  of  the  first  part  that  Devadatta 
created  schism  in  the  Order.     After  he  has  suffered 
the  other  five  in  purgatory  he  will  be  released,  and 
will  become   a   Pa/'/'eka-Buddha  ^  under   the   name 
of  A///^issara.' 

'  Great  is  the  gift  bestowed,  Nagasena,  by  the 
Blessed  One  on  Devadatta.     In  that  the  Tathagata 


^  Literally,  '  is  the  best  of  these  eight ' —  the  eight  being  those 
walking  in  the  Excellent  Way,  the  four  magga-samaiigino  and 
the  four  phala-samahgino.     See  Puggala  Pa««atti  VIII,  i. 

'^  The  Si;«halese  inserts  a  paragraph  here  not  found  in  Mr. 
Trenckner's  text. 

^  See  above,  p.  158. 


1 68  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      17,1,33. 

has  caused  him  to  attain  to  the  state  of  a  Pa/'/l'eka- 
Buddha,  what  has  he  not  done  for  him  ?  ' 

'  But  inasmuch  as  Devadatta,  O  king,  having 
made  a  schism  in  the  Order,  suffers  pain  in  purgatory, 
has  not  therefore  the  Blessed  One  done  him  wrono-?' 

'  No,  Sir.  That  is  Devadatta' s  own  fauh  ;  and 
the  Blessed  One  who  mitio^ated  his  sufferinsf  has 
done  him  no  harm.' 

'  Then  accept  this,  O  king,  to  the  full  as  the 
reason  for  the  Blessed  One  admitting  Devadatta  to 
the  Order. 

33.  '  Hear  another  and  further  reason,  O  king, 
for  his  having  done  so.  [112]  Suppose  in  treating  a 
wound  full  of  matter  and  blood,  in  whose  grievous 
hollow  the  weapon  which  caused  it  remained,  which 
stank  of  putrid  flesh,  and  was  made  worse  by  the  pain 
that  varied  with  constantly  changing  symptoms,  by 
variations  in  temperature,  and  by  the  union  of  the 
three  humours, — windy,  bilious,  and  phlegmatic  \ — 
an  able  physician  and  surgeon  were  to  anoint  it  with 
a  rough,  sharp,  bitter,  stinging  ointment,  to  the  end 
that  the  inflammation  should  be  allayed.  And  when 
the  inflammation  had  gone  down,  and  the  wound 
had  become  sweet,  suppose  he  were  then  to  cut  into 
it  with  a  lancet,  and  burn  it  with  caustic.  And  when 
he  had  cauterised  it,  suppose  he  were  to  prescribe 
an  alkaline  wash,  and  anoint  it  with  some  drug  to 
the  end  that  the  wound  might  heal  up,  and  the  sick 
man  recover  his  health — now  tell  me,  O  king,  would 
it  be  out  of  cruelty  that  the  surgeon  thus  smeared 
with  ointment,  and  cut  with  the  lancet,  and  cauterised 

^  The  interpretation  of  some  of  the  medical  terms  in  this  para- 
graph is  very  uncertain.     See  pp.  134,  252,  304  of  the  text. 


IV,  I,  34-  DEVADATTA,  1 69 

with  the  stick  of  caustic,  and  administered  a  salty 
wash  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir  ;  it  would  be  with  kindness  in 
his  heart,  and  intent  on  the  man's  weal,  that  he 
would  do  all  those  things.' 

*  And  the  feelings  of  pain  produced  by  his  efforts 
to  heal — would  not  the  surgeon  be  guilty  of  any 
wrong  in  respect  of  them  ?' 

'  How  so  ?  Acting  with  kind  intent  and  for  the 
man's  weal,  how  could  he  therein  incur  a  wrone  ? 
It  is  of  heavenly  bliss  rather  that  that  kindly  surgeon 
would  be  worthy.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  was  it  in  his  mercy  that  the 
Blessed  One  admitted  Devadatta,  to  the  end  to 
release  him  from  pain.' 

34.  '  Hear  another  and  further  reason,  O  king, 
why  the  Blessed  One  did  so.  Suppose  a  man  had 
been  pierced  by  a  thorn.  And  another  man  with 
kindly  intent  and  for  his  good  were  to  cut  round  the 
place  with  another  sharp  thorn  or  with  a  lancet,  and 
the  blood  flowing  the  while,  were  to  extract  that 
thorn.  Now  would  it  be  out  of  cruelty  that  he 
acted  so  ?  ' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.  For  he  acted  with  kindly 
intent,  and  for  the  man's  good.  And  if  he  had  not 
done  so  the  man  miorht  have  died,  or  mioht  have 
suffered  such  pain  that  he  would  have  been  nigh 
to  death.' 

'  Just  even  so,  great  king,  was  it  of  his  mercy  that 
the  Tathagata  admitted  Devadatta,  to  the  end  to 
release  him  of  his  pain.  If  he  had  not  done  so 
[113]  Devadatta  would  have  suffered  torment  in 
purgatory  through  a  succession  of  existences,  through 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Kalpas.' 


I  70  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       TV,  i,  3,^. 


'  Yes,  Nagasena,  the  Tathagata  turned  Devadatta, 
who  was  beine  carried  down  with  the  flood,  with  his 
head  against  the  stream  ;  he  again  pointed  out  the 
road  to  Devadatta  when  he  was  lost  in  the  jungle  ; 
he  gave  a  firm  foothold  to  Devadatta  when  he  was 
falling  down  the  precipice :  he  restored  Devadatta 
to  peace  when  he  was  swallowed  up  of  desolation. 
But  the  reason  and  the  meaning  of  these  things  could 
no  one  have  pointed  out,  Nagasena,  unless  he  were 
wise  as  you  ! '       

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  about  Devadatta.] 


[vessantara's  earthquake.] 

35.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  the  Blessed  One  said 
thus :  *'  There  are  these  eight  causes,  O  Bhikkhus, 
proximate  or  remote,  for  a  mighty  earthquake  ^" 
This  is  an  inclusive  statement,  a  statement  which 
leaves  no  room  for  anything  to  be  supplemented,  a 
statement  to  which  no  gloss  can  be  added.  There 
can  be  no  ninth  reason  for  an  earthquake.  If  there 
were,  the  Blessed  One  would  have  mentioned  it.  It 
is  because  there  is  no  other,  that  he  left  it  unnoticed. 
But  we  find  another,  and  a  ninth  reason,  when  we  are 
told  that  on  Vessantara's  giving  his  mighty  largesse 
the  earth  shook  seven  times  ^.  If,  Nagasena,  there 
are  eight  causes  for  an  earthquake,  then  what  we  hear 
of  the  earthquake  at  Vessantara's  largesse  is  false. 
And  if  that  is  true,  then  the  statement  as  to  the  eight 


1  From  the  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  III,  13,  translated  at  p.  45 
of  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas,'  vol.  xi  in  this  series. 

2  See  the  Vessantara  Gataka,  and  compare  Gataka  I,  p.  74. 


IV,  1,36.  VESSANTARA.  I7I 

causes  of  earthquakes  is  false.  This  double-headed 
question,  too,  is  subtle,  hard  to  unravel,  dark,  and 
profound.  It  is  now  put  to  you.  [114]  No  one  of 
less  knowledge  can  solve  it,  only  one  wise  as  you.' 

36.  '  The  Blessed  One  made  the  statement  you 
refer  to,  O  king,  and  yet  the  earth  shook  seven 
times  at  Vessantara's  largesse.  But  that  was  out  of 
season,  it  was  an  isolated  occurrence,  it  was  not 
included  in  the  eight  usual  causes,  and  was  not 
therefore  reckoned  as  one  of  them.  Just,  O  king, 
as  there  are  three  kinds  of  well-known  rains  reckoned 
in  the  world — that  of  the  rainy  season,  that  of  the 
WHiter  months,  and  that  of  the  two  months  Asa///a 
and  Savana.  If,  besides  these,  any  other  rain  falls, 
that  is  not  reckoned  among  the  usual  rains,  but  is 
called  "  a  rain  out  of  season."  And  again,  O  king, 
just  as  there  are  five  hundred  rivers  which  flow  down 
from  the  Himala^-as,  but  of  these  ten  only  are 
reckoned  in  enumerations  of  rivers — the  Ganges, 
the  Jumna,  the  A/'iravati,  the  Sarabhu,  the  Mahi, 
the  Indus,  the  Sarasvati,  the  Vetravati,  the  Vita??2sa, 
and  the  ^andabhag^a — the  others  not  beinof  included 
in  the  catalogue  because  of  their  intermittent  flow 
of  water.  And  again,  O  king,  just  as  there  are  a 
hundred  or  two  of  officers  under  the  king,  but  only 
six  of  them  are  reckoned  as  officers  of  state — the 
commander-in-chief,  the  prime  minister,  and  the  chief 
judge,  and  the  high  treasurer,  and  the  bearer  of  the 
sunshade  of  state,  and  the  state  sword-bearer.  And 
why  ?  Because  of  their  royal  prerogatives.  The 
rest  are  not  reckoned,  they  are  all  called  simply 
officers.  [115]  Just  as  in  all  these  cases,  great 
king,  the  seven  times  repeated  earthquake  at  the 
largesse  of  Vessantara  was,  as  an  isolated  and  extra- 


172  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  i,  37. 

ordinary  occurrence,  and  distinct  from  the  eight  usual 
ones,  not  reckoned  among  those  eight  causes.' 

37.  '  Now  have  you  heard,  O  king,  in  the  history 
of  our  faith  of  any  act  of  devotion  being  done  so  as 
to  receive  its  recompense  even  in  this  present  Hfe, 
the  fame  of  which  has  reached  up  to  the  gods  ?' 

'  Yes,  Lord,  I  have  heard  of  such.  There  are  seven 
cases  of  such  actions.' 

'  Who  were  the  people  who  did  those  things  ?' 

'  Sumana  the  garland  maker,  and  Eka-sa/'aka  the 
brahman,  and  ¥unn3.  the  hired  servant,  and  Mallika 
the  queen,  and  the  queen  known  as  the  mother  of 
Gopala,  and  Suppiya  the  devoted  woman,  and  Funnst 
the  slave-eirl.  It  was  these  seven  who  did  acts  of 
devotion  which  bare  fruit  even  in  this  life,  and  the 
fame  of  which  reached  even  to  the  gods.' 

'  And  have  you  heard  of  others,  O  king,  who,  even 
in  their  human  body,  mounted  up  to  the  blessed 
abode  of  the  great  Thirty-three  ?' 

'  Yes,  I  have  heard,  too,  of  them.' 

'  And  who  were  they  ?' 

'  Guttila  the  musician,  and  Sadhina  the  king,  and 
king  Nimi,  and  king  Mandhata — these  four.  Long 
ago  was  it  done,  this  glorious  deed  and  difficult.' 

'  But  have  you  ever  heard,  O  king,  of  the  earth 
shaking,  either  now  or  in  the  past,  and  either  once 
or  twice  or  thrice,  when  a  gift  had  been  given  ?' 

'  No,  Sir,  that  I  have  not  heard  of.' 

'  And  1  too,  O  king — though  I  have  received  the 
traditions,  and  been  devoted  to  study,  and  to  hearing 
the  law,  and  to  learning  by  heart,  and  to  the  acquire- 
ments of  discipleship,  and  though  I  have  been  ready 
to  learn,  and  to  ask  and  to  answer  questions,  and  to 
sit  at  the  feet  of  teachers — I  too  have  never  heard 


IV,  1,37-  VESSANTARA.  1  73 

of  such  a  thing,  except  only  in  the  case  of  the  splendid 
gift  of  Vessantara  the  glorious  king.  And  between 
the  times  of  Kassapa  the  Blessed  One,  and  of 
the  Blessed  One  the  Sakya  sage,  there  have  rolled 
by  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  but  in  all  that 
period  I  have  heard  of  no  such  case.  [116]  It  is  at  no 
common  effort,  O  king,  at  no  ordinary  struggle,  that 
the  great  earth  is  moved.  It  is  when  overborne  by 
the  weight  of  righteousness,  overpowered  by  the 
burden  of  the  goodness  of  acts  which  testify  of 
absolute  purity,  that,  unable  to  support  it,  the  broad 
earth  quakes  and  trembles  and  is  moved.  Then  it 
is  as  when  a  wagon  is  overladen  with  a  too  heavy 
weight,  and  the  nave  and  the  spokes  are  split,  and 
the  axletree  is  broken  in  twain.  Then  it  is  as  when 
the  heavens,  overspread  with  the  waters  of  the 
tempest  driven  by  the  wind,  and  overweighted  with 
the  burden  of  the  heaped-up  rain-clouds,  roar  and 
creak  and  rage  at  the  onset  of  the  whirlwind. 
Thus  was  it,  great  king,  that  the  broad  earth,  unable 
to  support  the  unwonted  burden  of  the  heaped-up 
and  wide-reaching  force  of  king  Vessantara's  lar- 
gesse, quaked  and  trembled  and  was  moved.  For 
the  heart  of  king  Vessantara  was  not  turned  in  the 
way  of  lust,  nor  of  ill-will,  nor  of  dullness,  nor  of 
pride,  nor  of  delusion,  nor  of  sin,  nor  of  disputation, 
nor  of  discontent,  but  it  was  turned  mightily  to 
generosity.  And  thinking :  "  Let  all  those  who 
want,  and  who  have  not  yet  come,  now  arrive  !  Let 
all  who  come  receive  whate'er  they  want,  and  be 
filled  with  satisfaction  ! "  it  was  on  giving,  ever  and 
without  end,  that  his  mind  was  set.  And  on  these 
ten  conditions  of  heart,  O  king,  was  his  mind  too 
fixed — on  self-control,  and  on  inward  calm,  and  on 


174  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       TV,  r,  38. 

long-suffering,  and  on  self-restraint,  and  on  temper- 
ance, and  on  voluntary  subjugation  to  meritorious 
vows,  and  on  freedom  from  all  forms  of  wrath  and 
cruelty,  and  on  truthfulness,  and  on  purity  of  heart. 
He  had  abandoned,  O  king,  all  seeking  after  the 
satisfaction  of  his  animal  lusts,  he  had  overcome  all 
craving  after  a  future  life,  his  strenuous  effort  was 
set  only  towards  the  higher  life.  He  had  given  up, 
O  king,  the  caring  for  himself,  and  devoted  himself 
thenceforth  to  carino;-  for  others  alone.  His  mind 
was  fixed  immovably  on  the  thought:  "  How  can  I 
make  all  beings  to  be  at  peace,  healthy,  and  wealthy, 
and  long  lived?"  [117]  And  when,  O  king,  he 
was  giving  things  away,  he  gave  not  for  the  sake  of 
rebirth  in  any  glorious  state,  he  gave  not  for  the 
sake  of  wealth,  nor  of  receiving  gifts  in  return,  nor 
of  flattery,  nor  of  long  life  for  himself,  nor  of  high 
birth,  nor  of  happiness,  nor  of  power,  nor  of  fame,  nor 
of  offspring  either  of  daughters  or  of  sons — but  it  was 
for  the  sake  of  supreme  wisdom  and  of  the  treasure 
thereof  that  he  gave  gifts  so  immense,  so  immeasur- 
able, so  unsurpassed.  It  was  when  he  had  attained 
to  that  supreme  wisdom  that  he  uttered  the  verse  : 

"Cali,  my  son,  and  the  Black  Antelope, 
My  daughter,  and  my  queen,  my  wife,  Maddi, 
I  gave  them  all  away  without  a  thought — 


And  'twas  for  Buddhahood  I  did  this  thino^ 


»3  > 


£3 


3^.  '  The  angry  man,  O  king,  did  the  great  king 
Vessantara  conquer  by  mildness,  and  the  wicked 
man  by  goodness,  and  the  covetous  by  generosity. 


1  From  the  A^ariya  Pi/aka  I,  ix,  52.     See  Dr.  Morris's  edition 
for  the  PaU  Text  Society,  p.  81. 


IV,  I,  38.  VESSANTARA.  1 75 

and  the  speaker  of  falsehood  by  truth,  and  all  evil 
did  he  overcome  by  righteousness  ^  When  he  was 
thus  giving  away — he  who  was  seeking  after  right- 
eousness, who  had  made  righteousness  his  aim — 
then  were  the  great  winds,  on  which  the  earth  rests 
below,  agitated  by  the  full  force  of  the  power  of  the 
influence  that  resulted  from  his  generosity,  and  little 
by  little,  one  by  one,  the  great  winds  began  to  blow 
confusedly,  and  up  and  down  and  towards  each  side 
the  earth  swayed,  and  the  mighty  trees  rooted  in 
the  soil  ^  began  to  totter,  and  masses  of  cloud  were 
heaped  together  in  the  sky,  and  terrible  winds  arose 
laden  with  dust,  and  the  heavens  rushed  together, 
and  hurricanes  blew  with  violent  blasts,  and  a  great 
and  terrible  mighty  noise  was  given  forth.  And  at 
the  raging  of  those  winds,  the  waters  little  by  little 
began  to  move,  and  at  the  movement  of  the  waters 
the  great  fish  and  the  scaly  creatures  were  disturbed, 
and  the  waves  began  to  roll  in  double  breakers,  and 
the  beinofs  that  dwell  in  the  waters  were  seized  with 
fear  and  as  the  breakers  rushed  together  in  pairs 
the  roar  of  the  ocean  grew  loud,  and  the  spray  was 
lashed  into  fury,  and  garlands  of  foam  arose,  and 
the  great  ocean  opened  to  its  depths,  and  the  waters 
rushed  hither  and  thither,  the  furious  crests  of  their 
waves  meeting  this  way  and  that ;  and  the  Asuras, 
and  Garu/as,  and  Yakkhas,  and  Nagas  ^  shook  with 
fear,  and  thought  in  their  alarm  :  "  What  now  !  How 
now  !  is  the  great  ocean  being  turned  upside  down  ?  " 

^  On  this  sentiment  Mr.  Trenckner  calls  attention  to  the 
analogous  phrases  at  Dhammapada,  verse  223. 

^  Sinapatta:  which  the  Si;«halese  renders  po/o  talehi  kal 
gewi   patra  \voe/ima/a  poeminiyawu    wr/kshayo. 

^  Fabulous  beings  supposed  to  occupy  these  fabulous  waters. 


176  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  1,39. 


and  sought,  with  terrified  hearts,  for  a  way  of  escape. 
And  as  the  water  on  which  it  rests  ^  was  troubled 
and  agitated,  then  the  broad  earth  began  to  shake, 
and  with  it  the  mountain  ranges  and  the  ocean 
depths,  [118]  and  Sineru  began  to  revolve,  and 
its  rocky  mountain  crest  became  twisted.  And  at 
the  trembling  of  the  earth,  the  serpents,  and  mun- 
gooses,  and  cats,  and  jackals,  and  boars,  and  deer, 
and  birds  became  greatly  distressed,  and  the  Yakkhas 
of  inferior  power  wept,  while  those  of  greater  power 
were  merry.' 

39.  'Just,  O  king,  as  when  a  huge  and  mighty 
cauldron  ^  is  placed  in  an  oven  full  of  water,  and 
crowded  with  grains  of  rice,  then  the  fire  burning 
beneath  heats  first  of  all  the  cauldron,  and  when 
that  has  become  hot  the  water  begins  to  boil,  and 
as  the  water  boils  the  grains  of  rice  are  heated  and 
dive  hither  and  thither  in  the  water,  and  a  mass  of 
bubbles  arises,  and  a  garland  of  foam  is  formed — 
just  so,  O  king,  king  Vessantara  gave  away  what- 
soever is  in  the  world  considered  most  difficult  to 
bestow,  and  by  reason  of  the  nature  of  his  generosity 
the  o-reat  winds  beneath  were  unable  to  refrain  from 
being  agitated  throughout,  and  on  the  great  winds 
being  thrown  into  confusion  the  waters  were  shaken, 
and  on  the  waters  being  disturbed  the  broad  earth 
trembled,  and  so  then  the  winds  and  the  waters 
and  the  earth  became  all  three,  as  it  were,  of  one 
accord  by  the  immense  and  powerful  influence  that 

^  This  conception  of  the  earth  resting  on  water  and  the  water  on 
air  is  Indian,  and  forms  no  part  of  distinctively  Buddhist  teaching. 

2  Mahati-maha-pariyogo;  not  in  Childers  nor  in  the  San- 
skrit Petersburg  Dictionary.  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  it  i  t  a  m  a h  a  t 
wu  maha  bha^anayak. 


IV,  i,40.  VESSANTARA.  I  77 

resulted  from  that  mighty  giving.  And  there  was 
never  another  giving,  O  king,  which  had  such 
power  as  that  generosity  of  the  great  king 
Vessantara. 

40.  'And  just,  O  king,  as  there  are  many  gems  of 
value  found  in  the  earth— the  sapphire,  and  the  great 
sapphire,  and  the  wish-conferring  gem,  and  the  cat's 
eye,  and  the  flax  gem  \  and  the  Acacia  gem  2,  and 
the  entrancing  gem,  and  the  favourite  of  the  sun  ^ 
and  the  favourite  of  the  moon  *,  and  the  crystal,  and 
the  ka^^opakkamaka^  and  the  topaz,  and  the 
ruby,  and  the  Masara  stone « — but  the  glorious  gem 
of  the  king  of  kings  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  chief 
of  all  these  and  surpassing  all,  for  the  sheen  of  that 
jewel,  O  king,  spreads  round  about  for  a  league  on 
every  side  ^— just  so,  O  king,  of  all  the  gifts  that 


^  Umma-puppha;  rendered  diya-me«^iri-pushpa  in  the 
Si7;/halese.  Clough  gives  diyameneri  as  a  plant  '  commelina 
cucullata.' 

'^  Sirisa-puppha  ;  rendered  mara-pushpa  in  the  Siw^halese, 
-mara  being  the  seed  of  the  '  adenanthera  pavonia.' 

^  Suriya-kanto,  which  the  Si7//halese  merely  repeats. 

*  -STanda-kanta;  and  so  also  in  the  Sinhalese.  These  are  mythic 
gems,  supposed  to  be  formed  out  of  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  moon 
respectively,  and  visible  only  when  they  shine. 

^  The  Si^;zhalese  has  ka^^opakramaya,  which  is  not  in 
Clough. 

®  Masara-galla,  which  the  Sinhalese  renders  by  masara- 
galya,  which  Bohthngk-Roth  think  is  sapphire  or  smaragd,  and 
Clough  renders  '  emerald,'  and  the  commentary  on  the  Abhidhana 
Padipika,  quoted  by  Childers,  says  is  a  stone  produced  in  the  hill 
of  Masara  (otherwise  unknown). 

On  similar  lists  of  gems  elsewhere  see  the  A'ullavagga  IX,  i,  3, 
and  my  note  at  pp.  249,  250  of  the  'Buddhist  Suttas '  (vol.  xi  of 
the  '  Sacred  Books  of  the  East '). 

■^  So  also  in  the  INIaha-Sudassana  Sutta  I,  32,  translated  in  the 
'  Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  256.     Compare  above,  p.  35  of  the  text. 

[35]  N 


178  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  I,  41. 

have  ever  been  given  upon  earth,  even  the  greatest 
and  the  most  unsurpassed,  that  giving  of  the  good 
king  Vessantara  is  acknowledged  to  surpass  them 
all.  And  it  was  on  the  giving  of  that  gift,  O  king, 
that  the  broad  earth  shook  seven  times  \' 

41.  'A  marvellous  thing  is  it,  Nagasena,  of  the 
Buddhas,  and  a  most  wonderful,  that  the  Tathagata 
even  when  a  Bodisat  (in  the  course  of  becoming  a 
Buddha)  [119]  was  so  unequalled  in  the  world,  so 
mild,  so  kind,  and  held  before  him  aims  so  high, 
and  endeavours  so  grand.  You  have  made  evident, 
Nagasena,  the  might  of  the  Bodisats,  a  most  clear 
light  have  you  cast  upon  the  perfection  of  the  Con- 
querors, you  have  shown  how,  in  the  whole  world  of 
gods  and  men,  a  Tathagata,  as  he  continues  the 
practice  of  his  noble  life,  is  the  highest  and  the  best. 
Well  spoken,  venerable  Nagasena.  The  doctrine  of 
the  Conqueror  has  been  exalted,  the  perfection  of 
the  Conqueror  has  been  glorified,  the  knot  of  the 
arguments  of  the  adversaries  has  been  unravelled, 
the  jar  of  the  theories  of  the  opponents  has  been 
broken  in  pieces,  the  dilemma  so  profound  has  been 
made  clear,  the  jungle  has  been  turned  into  open 
country,  the  children  of  the  Conqueror  have  received 
the  desire  of  their  hearts^.  It  is  so,  as  you  say,  O 
best  of  the  leaders  of  schools,  and  I  accept  that 
which  you  have  said  ! ' 


[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  earthquake  at 

Vessantara's  gift.] 


^  There  is  here  a  long  paragraph  in  the  Si;«halese  omitted  in 
the  Pali. 

^  Nibbahana;  rendered  abhiwarddhiya  in  the  Sinhalese. 


IV,  1,42.  '  KING    SIVI.  179 


[king  SIVI^] 

42.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say  thus  : 
"  King  Sivi  gave  his  eyes  to  the  man  who  begged 
them  of  him,  and  when  he  had  thus  become  blind, 
new  eyes  were  given  to  him  from  heaven  2."  This 
statement  is  unpalatable ",  it  lays  its  speaker  open 
to  rebuke,  it  is  faulty.  For  it  is  said  in  the  Sutta  : 
"When  the  cause  has  been  utterly  destroyed,  when 
there  is  no  longer  any  cause,  any  basis  left,  then  the 
divine  eye  cannot  arise  *."  So  if  he  gave  his  eyes 
away,  the  statement  that  he  received  new  (divine) 
ones  must  be  false  :  and  if  divine  eyes  arose  to  him, 
then  the  statement  that  he  gave  his  eyes  away  must 
be  false.  This  dilemma  too  is  a  double-pointed 
one,  more  knotty  than  a  knot,  more  piercing  than  an 
arrow,  more  confusing  than  a  jungle.  It  is  now  put 
to  you.  Rouse  up  in  yourself  the  desire  to  accom- 
plish the  task  that  is  set  to  you,  to  the  refutation  of 
the  adversaries ! ' 

^  The  story  is  given  at  length  in  the  Sivi  Cataka,  No.  499  (vol. 
iv,  pp.  401-412  of  Professor  Fausboll's  edition). 

^  There  is  nothing  in  the  text  of  the  Gataka  (p.  410)  of  the  new 
eyes  being  'divine'  or  'from  heaven.'  There  new,  ordinary  eyes 
arose  to  him  as  the  result  of  his  virtue. 

*  Sa-kasa/a7«.  Kasa/a  cannot  mean  simply  'insipid'  as 
Dr.  Edward  Miiller  suggests  at  p.  43  of  his  '  Pali  Grammar,'  for  it 
is  opposed  to  dullness,  insipidity  (man da)  at  Ahguttara  II,  5,  5. 
It  must  mean  there  '  wrong,  not  only  by  omission,  but  by  com- 
mission.' Compare  its  use  in  the  Dhammapada  Commentary, 
p.  275;  Gataka  I,  108,  II,  97;  and  in  the  commentary  on  the 
Puggala  IV,  24.  Mr.  Trenckner  points  out  in  his  note  that  it  is 
often  written  saka/a,  and  is  no  doubt  the  same  as  the  Sanskrit 
word  so  spelt,  and  given  by  Wilson.     (It  is  not  in  Bohtlingk-Roth.) 

*  I  don't  know  which  Sutta  is  referred  to. 

N  2 


l8o  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  I,  43. 

'  King  Sivi  gave  his  eyes  away,  O  king.  Harbour 
no  doubt  on  that  point.  And  in  stead  thereof  divine 
eyes  were  produced  for  him.  Neither  on  that  point 
should  you  harbour  doubt.' 

'  But  then,  Nagasena,  can  the  chvine  eye  arise 
when  the  cause  of  it  has  been  utterly  destroyed, 
when  no  cause  for  it,  no  basis,  remains  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  O  king.' 

'  What  then  is  the  reason  [120]  by  which  In  this 
case  it  arose,  notwithstanding  that  its  cause  had  been 
utterly  destroyed,  and  no  cause  for  it,  no  basis,  re- 
mained. Come  now.  Convince  me  of  the  reason  of 
this  thin^.' 

43.  'What  then,  O  king?  Is  there  in  the 
world  such  a  thing  as  Truth,  by  the  asseveration 
of  which  true  believers  can  perform  the  Act  of 
Truths  ?' 

'  Yes,  Lord,  there  is.  And  by  it  true  believers 
make  the  rain  to  fall,  and  fire  to  go  out  ^,  and  ward 
off  the  effects  of  poison,  and  accomplish  many  other 
things  they  want  to  do.' 

'  Then,  great  king,  that  fits  the  case,  that  meets 
it  on  all  fours.  It  was  by  the  power  of  Truth  that 
those  divine  eyes  were  produced  for  Sivi  the  king. 
By  the  power  of  the  Truth  the  divine  eye  arose 
when  no  other  cause  was  present,  for  the  Truth  itself 
was,  in  that  case,  the  cause  of  its  production.     Sup- 


^  This  paragraph  is  very  different  in  the  Si;«halese,  and  much 
longer  than  the  Pali. 

'■^  See  the  beautiful  story  of  the  Holy  Quail  (translated  in  my 
'Buddhist  Birth  Stories,'  p.  302),  where  even  so  weak  a  creature  as  a 
baby  quail  is  able,  by  such  a  mystic  Act  of  Truth,  to  drive  back  the 
great  and  powerful  Agni,  the  god  of  fire,  whom  the  Brahmans  so 
much  feared  and  worshipped. 


IV,  I,  45.  KING    SIVI.  181 


pose,  O  king,  any  SIddha  (accomplished  one')  on 
intoning-  a  charm  -,  and  saying  :  "  Let  a  mighty  rain 
now  fall ! "  were  to  bring  about  a  heavy  rainfall  by 
the  intoning  of  his  charm — would  there  in  that  case 
be  any  cause  for  rain  accumulated  in  the  sky  by 
which  the  rain  could  be  brought  about  ?' 

'  No,  Sir.     The  charm  itself  would  be  the  cause.' 
'Just  so,  great  king,  in  the  case  put.     There  would 
be  no  ordinary  cause.     The  Truth  itself  would  be 
sufficient  reason  for  the  growth  of  the  divine  eye ! ' 

44.  'Now  suppose,  O  king,  a  Siddha  were  to 
intone  a  charm,  and  say :  "  Now  let  the  mighty 
blazine,  raeino"  mass  of  fire  0-0  back ! "  and  the 
moment  the  charm  were  repeated  it  were  to  retreat 
— would  there  be  any  cause  laid  by  which  would 
work  that  result  ?' 

'  No,  Sir.     The  charm  itself  would  be  the  cause.' 
'  Just  so,  great  king,  would  there  in  our  case  be  no 

ordinary  cause.     The  power  of  the  Truth  would  be 

sufficient  cause  in  itself!' 

45.  '  Now  suppose,  O  king,  one  of  those  Siddhas 
were  to  intone  a  charm,  [121]  and  were  then  to  say: 
"  Let  this  malignant  poison  become  as  a  healing 
drug ! "  and  the  moment  the  charm  were  repeated 
that  would  be  so — ^would  there  be  any  cause  in 
reserve  for  that  effect  to  be  produced  ?' 

'  Certainly  not.  Sir.  The  charm  itself  would  cause 
the  warding  off  of  that  malignant  poison.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  without  any  ordinary  cause 
the  Truth  itself  was,  in  king  Sivi's  case,  a  sufficient 
reason  for  the  reproduction  of  his  eyes.' 

'  '  One  who  knows  a  powerful  charm  (or  perhaps  Vedic  verse, 
mantra),'  says  Ilina/i-kumbure. 

2  Sa/('/('a,  literally  truth.     (Satya-gayana  in  the  Si/?ihalese.) 


1 82  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  46. 

46.  *  Now  there  is  no  other  cause,  O  king,  for  the 
attainment  of  the  four  Noble  Truths.  It  is  only  by 
means  of  an  Act  of  Truth  that  they  are  attained.  In 
the  land  of  China,  O  king,  there  is  a  king  of  China, 
who  when  he  wants  to  charm  the  great  ocean,  per- 
forms at  intervals  of  four  months  a  solemn  Act  of 
Truth,  and  then  on  his  royal  chariot  drawn  by  lions, 
he  enters  a  league's  distance  into  the  great  ocean. 
Then  in  front  of  the  head  of  his  chariot  the  mighty 
waves  roll  back,  and  when  he  returns  they  flow  once 
more  over  the  spot.  But  could  the  ocean  be  so 
drawn  back  by  the  ordinary  bodily  power  of  all  gods 
and  men  combined  ? ' 

*  Sir,  even  the  water  in  a  small  tank  could  not  be 
so  made  to  retire,  how  much  less  the  waters  of  the 
great  ocean ! ' 

'  By  this  know  then  the  force  of  Truth.  There  is 
no  place  to  which  it  does  not  reach,' 

47.  '  When  Asoka  the  righteous  filler,  O  king,  as 
he  stood  one  day  at  the  city  of  Pa/aliputta  in  the 
midst  of  the  townsfolk  and  the  country  people,  of  his 
officers  and  his  servants,  and  his  ministers  of  state, 
beheld  the  Ganges  river  as  it  rolled  along  filled  up 
by  freshets  from  the  hills,  full  to  the  brim  and  over- 
flowing— that  mighty  stream  five  hundred  leagues 
in  length,  and  a  league  in  breadth — he  said  to  his 
officers  :  "  Is  there  any  one,  my  good  friends,  who 
is  able  to  make  this  great  Ganges  flow  backwards 
and  up  stream  ?  " 

'  "  Nay,  Sire,  impossible,"  said  they. 

'  Now  a  certain  courtesan,  Bindumati  by  name,  was 
in  the  crowd  there  at  the  river  side,  [122]  and  she 
heard  people  repeat  the  question  that  the  king  had 
asked.     Then  she  said  to  herself:   "  Here  am  I,  a 


IV,  I,  47.  KING    SIVI.  183 

harlot,  In  this  city  of  Pa/aHputta,  by  the  sale  of  my 
body  do  I  gain  my  livelihood,  I  follow  the  meanest 
of  vocations.  Let  the  king  behold  the  power  of  an 
Act  of  Truth  performed  even  by  such  as  I."  And  she 
performed  an  Act  of  Truth  ^  And  that  moment 
the  mighty  Ganges,  roaring  and  raging,  rolled  back, 
up  stream,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people  ! 

'  Then  when  the  kine  heard  the  din  and  the  noise 
of  the  movement  of  the  waves  of  the  whirlpools  of 
the  mighty  Ganges,  amazed,  and  struck  with  awe 
and  wonder,  he  said  to  his  officers  :  "  How  is  this, 
that  the  great  Ganges  is  flowing  backwards  ? " 

*  And  they  told  him  what  had  happened.  Then 
filled  with  emotion  the  king  w^ent  himself  in  haste 
and  asked  the  courtesan  :  "  Is  it  true  what  they  say, 
that  it  is  by  your  Act  of  Truth  that  this  Ganges  has 
been  forced  to  flow  backwards  ?  " 

*  "  Yes,  Sire,"  said  she. 

'  And  the  king  asked :  "  How  have  you  such 
power  in  the  matter  ?  Or  who  is  it  who  takes 
your  words  to  heart  (and  carries  them  out)  ?  By 
what  authority  is  it  that  you,  insignificant  as  you 
are  2,  have  been  able  to  make  this  mighty  river 
flow  backwards  ? " 

'And  she  replied  :  "  It  is  by  the  power  of  Truth, 
great  king." 

*  But  the  king  said  :  "  How  can  that  power  be 
in   you — you,   a  woman   of  wicked   and   loose  life, 


^  That  is  to  say,  in  the  words  of  the  Quail  story  (loc.  cit.  p.  305), 
she  '  called  to  mind  the  attributes  of  the  Buddhas  who  had  passed 
away,  and  made  a  solemn  asseveration  of  the  faith'  that  she  had  in 
the  truth  they  had  taught. 

^  Anummatto,  which  the  Sinhalese  translates  as  a  feminine. 


184  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  48. 


devoid  of  virtue,  under  no  restraint  ^  sinful,  who 
have  overstepped  all  limits,  and  are  full  of  transgres- 
sion, and  live  on  the  plunder  of  fools  ?" 

'  "  It  is  true,  O  king,  what  you  say.  That  is  just 
the  kind  of  creature  I  am.  But  even  in  such  a  one 
as  I  so  great  is  the  power  of  the  Act  of  Truth  that  I 
could  turn  the  whole  world  of  gods  and  men  upside 
down  by  it." 

'  Then  the  king  said  :  "  What  is  this  Act  of  Truth  ? 
Come  now,  let  me  hear  about  it." 

'"Whosoever,  O  king,  gives  me  gold— be  he  a 
noble  or  a  brahman  or  a  tradesman  or  a  servant — I 
regard  them  all  alike.  When  I  see  he  is  a  noble 
I  make  no  distinction  in  his  favour.  If  I  know  him 
to  be  a  slave  I  despise  him  not.  Free  alike  from 
fawning  and  from  dislike  do  I  do  service  to  him  who 
has  bought  me.  This,  your  Majesty,  is  the  basis  of 
the  Act  of  Truth  by  the  force  of  which  I  turned  the 
Ganges  back."  ' 

48.  '  Thus,  O  king,  is  it  that  there  is  nothing 
which  those  who  are  stedfast  to  the  truth  may  not 
enjoy.  And  so  king  Sivi  gave  his  eyes  away  to 
him  who  begged  them  of  him,  [123]  and  he  received 
eyes  from  heaven,  and  that  happened  by  his  Act  of 
Truth.  But  what  is  said  in  the  Sutta  that  when  the 
eye  of  flesh  is  destroyed,  and  the  cause  of  it,  the 
basis  of  it,  is  removed,  then  can  no  divine  eye  arise, 
that  is  only  said  of  the  eye,  the  insight,  that  arises 
out  of  contemplation.  And  thus,  O  king,  should 
you  take  it.' 

'  Well    said,    Nagasena !      You    have    admirably 


^  JH'Munikaya.      Compare    Gataka   II,   114,    and   the    Sutta 
Vibhahga  on  Pa>^ittiya  26. 


IV,  1,55-  DURATION    OF    THE    FAITH.  185 

solved  the  dilemma  I  put  to  you ;  you  have  rightly 
explained  the  point  in  which  I  tried  to  prove  you 
wrong ;  you  have  thoroughly  overcome  the  adver- 
sary.    The  thing  is  so,  and  I  accept  it  thus  \' 


[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  king  Sivi's  Act 

of  Truth.] 


[the  dilemma  as  to  conception. 

49.  This  dilemma  goes  into  details  which  can  be 
best  consulted  in  the  Pali.] 


[the  duration  of  the  faith.] 

55.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  But  now  the  good  law,  Ananda,  wall 
only  stand  fast  for  five  hundred  years  ^."  But  on 
the  other  hand  the  Blessed  One  declared,  just  before 

^  This  idea  of  the  power  of  an  Act  of  Truth  which  Nagasena 
here  relies  on  is  most  interesting  and  curious.  The  exact  time  at 
which  it  was  introduced  into  Buddhism  is  as  yet  unknown.  It  has 
not  been  found  in  the  Pi/akas  themselves,  and  is  probably  an  incor- 
poration of  an  older,  pre-Buddhistic,  belief.  The  person  carrying 
it  out  is  supposed  to  have  some  goodness,  to  call  that  virtue  (and 
perhaps,  as  in  the  case  of  the  quail,  the  goodness  of  the  Buddhas 
also)  to  mind,  and  then  to  wish  something,  and  that  thing,  however 
difficult,  and  provided  there  is  nothing  cruel  in  it,  then  conies  to 
pass.  It  is  analogous  to  the  mystic  power  supposed  to  reside  in 
names.  Childers  very  properly  points  out  that  wc  have  a  very 
remarkable  instance  of  an  Act  of  Truth  (though  a  very  un-Buddhistic 
one)  in  the  Hebrew  book  of  the  Kings  II.  i.  10  :  'And  Elijah 
answered  and  said  to  the  captain  of  fifty :  "  If  I  be  a  man  of  God, 
then  let  fire  come  down  from  heaven,  and  consume  thee  and  thy 
fifty  I  "  And  there  came  down  fire  from  heaven,  and  consumed 
him  and  his  fifty.'  A  great  point,  both  in  this  legend  and  in  the 
story  of  the  quail,  is  that  the  power  of  nature  to  be  overcome  is  one 
looked  upon  by  the  Brahmans  as  divine. 

^  A'ullavagga  X,  i,  6,  translated  in  'Vinaya  Texts,'  vol.  iiijp.  325. 


1 86  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  I,  56. 

his  death,  in  response  to  the  question  put  by  Su- 
bhadda  the  recluse  :  "  But  if  in  this  system  the 
brethren  Hve  the  perfect  Hfe,  then  the  world  would 
not  be  bereft  of  Arahats  \"  This  last  phrase  is 
absolute,  inclusive ;  it  cannot  be  explained  away. 
If  the  first  of  these  statements  be  correct,  the  second 
is  misleading,  if  the  second  be  right  the  first  must  be 
false.  [131]  This  too  is  a  double-pointed  question, 
more  confused  than  the  jungle,  more  powerful  than 
a  strong  man,  more  knotty  than  a  knot.  It  is  now 
put  to  you.  Show  the  extent  of  the  power  of  your 
knowledge,  like  a  leviathan  in  the  midst  of  the  sea.' 

56.  '  The  Blessed  One,  O  king,  did  make  both 
those  statements  you  have  quoted.  But  they  are* 
different  one  from  the  other  both  in  the  spirit  and 
in  the  letter.  The  one  deals  with  the  limit  of  the 
duration  of  the  doctrine  ^  the  other  with  the  prac- 
tice of  a  religious  life — two  things  widely  distinct,  as 
far  removed  one  from  the  other  as  the  zenith  is  from 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  as  heaven  is  from  purga- 
tory, as  good  is  from  evil,  and  as  pleasure  is  from 
pain.  But  though  that  be  so,  yet  lest  your  enquiry 
should  be  vain,  I  will  expound  the  matter  further  in 
its  essential  connection.' 

57.  'When  the  Blessed  One  said  that  the  good 
law  ^  would  only  endure  for  five  hundred  years,  he 
said  so  declaring  the  time  of  its  destruction,  limiting 
the  remainder  of  its  existence.  For  he  said  :  "  The 
good  law,  Ananda,  would  endure  for  a  thousand 
years    if    no    women    had    been    admitted   to    the 


^  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  V,  62,  translated  in  'Buddhist 
Suttas,'  p.  108. 

^  Sasana.  ^  Saddhammo. 


IV,  1,58.  DURATION    OF    THE    FAITH.  1 87 

A 

Order.  But  now,  Ananda,  it  will  only  last  five 
hundred  years."  But  in  so  saying,  O  king,  did  the 
Blessed  One  either  foretell  the  disappearance  of 
the  good  law,  or  throw  blame  on  the  clear  under- 
standing thereof?' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

'Just  so.  It  was  a  declaration  of  injury  clone,  an 
announcement  of  the  limit  of  what  remained.  As 
when  a  man  whose  income  had  been  diminished 
might  announce  publicly,  making  sure  of  what  re- 
mained :  "  So  much  property  have  I  lost ;  so  much 
is  still  left " — [132]  so  did  the  Blessed  One  make 
known  to  gods  and  men  what  remained  when  he 
announced  what  had  been  lost  by  saying:  "The 
good  law  will  now,  Ananda,  endure  for  five  hun- 
dred years."  In  so  saying  he  was  fixing  a  limit 
to  religion.  But  when  in  speaking  to  Subhadda, 
and  by  way  of  proclaiming  who  were  the  true 
Sama7/as,  he  said:  "But  if,  in  this  system,  the 
brethren  live  the  perfect  life,  then  the  world  would 
not  be  bereft  of  Arahats  " — in  so  saying  he  was 
declaring  in  what  religion  consisted.  You  have 
confounded  the  limitation  of  a  thing-  with  the  state- 

o 

ment  of  what  it  is.  But  if  you  like  I  will  tell  you 
what  the  real  connection  between  the  two  is.  Listen 
carefully,  and  attend  trustfully  to  what  I  say.' 

58.  '  Suppose,  O  king,  there  were  a  reservoir  quite 
full  of  fresh  cool  water,  overflowing  at  the  brim,  but 
limited  in  size  and  with  an  embankment  running  all 
round  it.  Now  if,  when  the  water  had  not  abated 
in  that  tank,  a  mighty  cloud  were  to  rain  down  rain 
continually,  and  in  addition,  on  to  the  water  already 
in  it,  would  the  amount  of  water  in  the  tank  decrease 
or  come  to  an  end  ?' 


1 88  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  59. 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

'  But  why  not,  O  king  ?' 

'  Because  of  the  continual  downpour  of  the  rain.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  is  the  glorious  reservoir  of  the 
good  law  of  the  teaching  of  the  Conqueror  ever  full 
of  the  clear  fresh  cool  water  of  the  practice  of  duty 
and  virtue  and  morality  and  purity  of  life,  and  con- 
tinues overflowing  all  limits  even  to  the  very  highest 
heaven  of  heavens.  And  if  the  children  of  the 
Buddha  rain  down  into  it  continuously,  and  in 
addition,  the  rainfall  of  still  further  practice  of  duty 
and  virtue  and  morality  and  purity  of  life,  then  will 
it  endure  for  long,  and  the  world  will  not  be  bereft 
of  Arahats.  This  was  the  meaning  of  the  Master's 
words  when  he  said :  "  But  if,  Subhadda,  in  this 
system  the  brethren  continue  in  perfectness  of  life, 
then  will  the  world  not  be  bereft  of  Arahats."  ' 

59.  '  Now  suppose  again,  O  king,  that  people  were 
to  continually  supply  a  mighty  fiery  furnace  with 
dried  cow-dung,  and  dry  sticks,  and  dry  leaves — 
would  that  fire  go  out  ?' 

[133]  '  No  indeed,  Sir.  Rather  would  it  blaze 
more  fiercely,  and  burn  more  brightly.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  does  the  glorious  teaching  of 
the  Conqueror  blaze  and  shine  over  the  ten  thousand 
world  systems  by  the  practice  of  duty  and  virtue  and 
morality  and  purity  of  life.  And  if,  O  king,  in  addi- 
tion to  that,  the  children  of  the  Buddha,  devoting 
themselves  to  the  five^  kinds  of  spiritual  exertion,  con- 
tinue zealous  in  effort — if  cultivating  a  longing  for  the 
threefold  discipline,  they  train  themselves  therein — 

^  Pa«/;a-padhanangani.  This  is  curious.  In  the  Pi/akas 
there  are  four  kinds  only. 


IV,  1, 6o.  DURATION    OF    THE    FAITH.  1 89 

if  without  ceasing  they  carry  out  to  the  full  the 
conduct  that  is  right,  and  absolutely  avoid  all  that 
is  wrong,  and  practise  righteousness  of  life — then 
will  this  glorious  doctrine  of  the  Conqueror  stand 
more  and  more  stedfast  as  the  years  roll  on,  and 
the  world  will  not  be  bereft  of  Arahats.  It  was 
in  reference  to  this,  O  king,  that  the  Master  spake 
when  he  said  :  "  But  if,  Subhadda,  in  this  system  the 
brethren  continue  in  perfectness  of  life,  then  will  the 
world  not  be  bereft  of  Arahats."  ' 

60.  '  Again,  O  king,  suppose  people  were  to  con- 
tinually polish  with  fine  soft  red  powder  a  stainless 
mirror  that  was  already  bright  and  shining,  well 
polished,  smooth,  and  glossy,  would  dirt  and  dust 
and  mud  arise  on  its  surface  ?' 

'  No  indeed.  Sir.  Rather  would  it  become  to  a 
certainty  even  more  stainless  than  before.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  is  the  glorious  doctrine  of  the 
Conqueror  stainless  by  nature,  and  altogether  free 
from  the  dust  and  dirt  of  evil.  And  if  the  children 
of  the  Buddha  cleanse  it  by  the  virtue  arising  from 
the  shaking  off,  the  eradication  of  evil,  from  the 
practice  of  duty  and  virtue  and  morality  and  purity 
of  life,  then  will  this  glorious  doctrine  endure  for 
long,  and  the  world  will  not  be  bereft  of  Arahats.  It 
was  in  reference  to  this  that  the  Blessed  One  spake 
when  he  said  :  "  But  if,  Subhadda,  in  this  system 
the  brethren  continue  in  righteousness  of  life,  then 
will  not  the  world  be  bereft  of  Arahats."  For  the 
teaching  of  the  Master,  O  king,  has  its  root  in  con- 
duct, has  conduct  as  its  essence,  and  stands  fast  so 
long  as  conduct  does  not  decline  ^' 

^  There  is  a  paragraph  here  in  the  Si7«halese  not  found  in  the 
Pali. 


igO  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         IV,  i,  6i. 

6 1.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  when  you  speak  of  the 
disappearance  of  the  good  law,  what  do  you  mean 
by  its  disappearance  ?' 

'  There  are  three  modes  of  the  disappearance,  O 
king,  of  a  system  of  doctrine.  And  what  are  the 
three  ?  The  decline  of  attainment  to  an  intellectual 
grasp  of  it,  the  decline  of  conduct  in  accordance  with 
it,  and  the  decline  of  its  outward  form  \  [134]  When 
the  attainment  of  it  ceases,  then  even  the  man  who 
conducts  himself  aright  in  it  has  no  clear  under- 
standing of  it.  By  the  decline  of  conduct  the  promul- 
gation of  the  rules  of  discipline  ceases,  only  the  out- 
ward form  of  the  religion  remains.  When  the  outward 
form  has  ceased,  the  succession  of  the  tradition  is 
cut  off.  These  are  the  three  forms  of  the  disap- 
pearance of  a  system  of  doctrine.' 

'  You  have  well  explained,  venerable  Nagasena, 
this  dilemma  so  profound,  and  have  made  it  plain. 
You  have  loosed  the  knot ;  you  have  destroyed  the 
arguments  of  the  adversary,  broken  them  in  pieces, 
proved  them  wrong — you,  O  best  of  the  leaders  of 
schools ! ' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  duration  of 

the  faith.] 


[the  buddha's  sinlessness.] 

62.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  had  the  Blessed  One, 
when  he  became  a  Buddha,  burnt  out  all  evil  in 
himself,  or  was  there  still  some  evil  remaining  in 
him  ? ' 

^  Lihga,  possibly  'uniform.'  Either  the  Order  or  the  yellow 
robe,  for  instance,  if  the  system  were  Buddhism.  See  below,  IV, 
3>  2. 


IV,  1,63.  KARMA.  191 

-^ 

'  He  had  burnt  out  all  evil.     There  was  none  left.' 
'  But  how,  Sir  ?     Did  not  the  Tathagata  get  hurt 
in  his  body  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  O  king.  At  Ra^agaha  a  splinter  of  rock 
pierced  his  foot  ^  and  once  he  suffered  from  dysen- 
tery -,  and  once  when  the  humours  of  his  body  were 
disturbed  a  purge  was  administered  to  him  ^,  and  once 
when  he  was  troubled  with  wind  the  Elder  who  waited 

A 

on  him  (that  is  Ananda)  gave  him  hot  water  *.' 

'  Then,  Sir,  if  the  Tathagata,  on  his  becoming  a 
Buddha,  has  destroyed  all  evil  in  himself — this  other 
statement  that  his  foot  was  pierced  by  a  splinter, 
that  he  had  dysentery,  and  so  on,  must  be  false. 
But  if  they  are  true,  then  he  cannot  have  been  free 
from  evil,  for  there  is  no  pain  without  Karma.  All 
pain  has  its  root  in  Karma,  it  is  on  account  of 
Karma  that  suffering  arises^.  This  double-headed 
dilemma  is  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

63.  '  No,  O  king.  It  is  not  all  suffering  that  has  \ 
its  root  in  Karma.  There  are  eight  causes  by  which 
sufferings  arise,  by  which  many  beings  suffer  pain. 
And  what  are  the  eight  ?  Superabundance  of  wind, 
[135]  and  of  bile,  and  of  phlegm,  the  union  of  these 
humours,  variations  in  temperature,  the  avoiding  of 


^  See  A'ullavagga  VII,  3,  9. 

^  See  Mahaparinibbana  Sutta  IV,  21. 

'  Mahavagga  VIII,  i,  30-33. 

*  This  is,  no  doubt,  the  occurrence  recounted  in  the  Mahavagga 
VI,  17,  1-4.  Childers  translates  vatabadha  by  'rheumatism,' 
but  I  adhere  here  to  the  translation  adopted  there.  It  is  said  in 
the  Mahavagga  that  Ananda  gave  him,  not  hot  water,  but  gruel. 
But  the  two  are  very  similar,  and  in  the  Theri  Gatha  185,  referring 
to  the  same  event,  it  is  hot  water  that  is  mentioned. 

°  That  is,  there  can  be  no  suffering  without  sin.  Compare  the 
discussion  in  St.  John's  Gospel,  ch.  ix. 


192  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  63. 

dissimilarities,  external  agency,  and  Karma.  From 
each  of  these  there  are  some  sufferings  that  arise, 
and  these  are  the  eight  causes  by  which  many  beings 
suffer  pain.  And  therein  whosoever  maintains  that 
it  is  Karma  that  injures  beings,  and  besides  it  there 
is  no  other  reason  for  pain,  his  proposition  is  false.' 

'  But,  Sir,  all  the  other  seven  kinds  of  pain  have 
each  of  them  also  Karma  as  its  origin,  for  they  are 
all  produced  by  Karma.' 

'  If,  O  king,  all  diseases  were  really  derived  from 
Karma  then  there  would  be  no  characteristic  marks 
.by  which  they  could  be  distinguished  one  from  the 
other.  When  the  wind  is  disturbed,  it  is  so  in  one 
or  other  of  ten  ways — by  cold,  or  by  heat,  or  by 
hunger,  or  by  thirst,  or  by  over  eating,  or  by  standing 
too  long,  or  by  over  exertion,  or  by  walking  too  fast, 
or  by  medical  treatment,  or  as  the  result  of  Karma. 
Of  these  ten,  nine  do  not  act  in  a  past  life  or  in  a 
future  life,  but  in  one's  present  existence.  There- 
fore it  is  not  right  to  say  that  all  pain  is  due  to 
Karma.  When  the  bile,  O  king,  is  deranged  it  is 
so  in  one  or  other  of  three  ways — by  cold,  or  by  heat, 
or  by  improper  food.  When  the  phlegm  is  dis- 
turbed it  is  so  by  cold,  or  by  heat,  or  by  food  and 
drink.  When  either  of  these  three  humours  are 
disturbed  or  mixed,  it  brings  about  its  own  special, 
distinctive  pain.  Then  there  are  the  special  pains 
arising  from  variations  in  temperature,  avoidance  of 
dissimilarities,  and  external  agency^.  And  there  is 
the  act  that  has  Karma  as  its  fruit,  and  the  pain  so 
brouofht  about  arisinof  from  the  act  done.     So  what 

^  As  was  pointed  out  above,  IV,  i,  33,  many  of  these  medical 
terms  are  very  doubtful. 


IV,  I,  6r^.  KARMA.  193 


arises  as  the  fruit  of  Karma  is  much  less  than  that 
which  arises  from  other  causes.  And  the  ignorant 
go  too  far  [136]  when  they  say  that  every  pain  is 
produced  as  the  fruit  of  Karma.  No  one  without  a 
Buddha's  insight  can  fix  the  extent  of  the  action  of 
Karma.' 

64.  '  Now  when  the  Blessed  One's  foot  was  torn 
by  a  splinter  of  rock,  the  pain  that  followed  was  not 
produced  by  any  other  of  the  eight  causes  I  have 
mentioned,  but  only  by  external  agency.  For  De- 
vadatta,  O  king,  had  harboured  hatred  against  the 
Tathagata  during  a  succession  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  births  \  It  was  in  his  hatred  that  he 
seized  hold  of  a  mighty  mass  of  rock,  and  pushed 
it  over  with  the  hope  that  it  would  fall  upon  his 
head.  But  two  other  rocks  came  together,  and 
intercepted  it  before  it  had  reached  the  Tathagata ; 
and  by  the  force  of  their  impact  a  splinter  was  torn 
off,  and  fell  upon  the  Blessed  One's  foot,  and  made 
it  bleed.  Now  this  pain  must  have  been  produced 
in  the  Blessed  One  either  as  the  result  of  his  own 
Karma,  or  of  some  one  else's  act.  For  bevond 
these  two  there  can  be  no  other  kind  of  pain.  It  is 
as  when  a  seed  does  not  germinate — that  must  be 
due  either  to  the  badness  of  the  soil,  or  to  a  defect 
in  the  seed.  Or  it  is  as  when  food  is  not  digrested — 
that  must  be  due  either  to  a  defect  in  the  stomach, 
or  to  the  badness  of  the  food.' 

65.  'But  although  the  Blessed  One  never  suffered 
pain  which  was  the  result  of  his  own  Karma,  or 
brought  about  the  avoidance  of  dissimilarity^,  yet 


^  So  below,  IV,  3,  28. 

"^  Visama-parihara-^a  both  in  the  Sinhalese  and  the  Pali. 

[35]  O 


194  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  i,  66. 

he  suffered  pain  from  each  of  the  other  six  causes. 
And  by  the  pain  he  could  suffer  it  was  not  possible 
to  deprive  him  of  life.  There  come  to  this  body  of 
ours,  O  king,  compounded  of  the  four  elements  \ 
sensations  desirable  and  the  reverse,  pleasant  and 
unpleasant.  Suppose,  O  king,  a  clod  of  earth  were 
to  be  thrown  into  the  air,  and  to  fall  again  on  to  the 
ground.  Would  it  be  in  consequence  of  any  act 
it  had  previously  done  that  it  would  so  fall  ? ' 

*  No,  Sir.  There  is  no  reason  in  the  broad  earth 
by  which  it  could  experience  the  result  of  an  act 
either  good  or  evil.  It  would  be  by  reason  of  a 
present  cause  [137]  independent  of  Karma  that  the 
clod  would  fall  to  earth  again.' 

'  Well,  O  king,  the  Tathagata  should  be  regarded 
as  the  broad  earth.  And  as  the  clod  would  fall  on 
it  irrespective  of  any  act  done  by  it,  so  also  was 
it  irrespective  of  any  act  done  by  him  that  that 
splinter  of  rock  fell  upon  his  foot.' 

66.  '  Again,  O  king,  men  tear  up  and  plough  the 
earth.  But  is  that  a  result  of  any  act  previously 
done  ?  ' 

'  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

'Just  so  with  the  falling  of  that  splinter.  And 
the  dysentery  which  attacked  him  was  in  the  same 
way  the  result  of  no  previous  act,  it  arose  from  the 
union  of  the  three  humours.  And  whatsoever 
bodily  disease  fell  upon  him,  that  had  its  origin, 
not  in  Karma,  but  in  one  or  other  of  the  six  causes 
referred  to.  For  it  has  been  said,  O  king,  by  the 
Blessed  One,  by  him  who  is  above  all  gods,  in  the 
glorious  collection  called  the  Sawyutta   Nikaya   in 


Water,  fire,  air,  and  earth  (apo,  te^o,  vayo,  paMavi). 


IV,  I,  66.  KARMA.  1 95 

the  prose  Sutta,  called  after  Moliya  Sivaka  :  "  There 
are  certain  pains  which  arise  in  the  world,  Sivaka, 
from  bilious  humour.  And  you  ought  to  know 
for  a  certainty  which  those  are,  for  it  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  in  the  world  which  they  are. 
But  those  Sama?^as  and  Brahmans,  Sivaka,  who  are 
of  the  opinion  and  proclaim  the  view  that  what- 
soever pleasure,  or  pain,  or  indifferent  sensation, 
any  man  experiences,  is  always  due  to  a  previous 
act — they  go  beyond  certainty,  they  go  beyond 
knowledge,  and  therein  do  I  say  they  are  wrong. 
And  so  also  of  those  pains  which  arise  from  the 
phlegmatic  humour,  or  from  the  windy  humour,  or 
from  the  union  of  the  three,  or  from  variation  in 
temperature,  or  from  avoidance  of  dissimilarity,  [138] 
or  from  external  action,  or  as  the  result  of  Karma.  In 
each  case  you  should  know  for  a  certainty  which  those 
are,  for  it  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  which 
they  are.  But  those  Sama?^as  or  Brahmans  who  are 
of  the  opinion  or  the  view  that  whatsoever  pleasure, 
or  pain,  or  indifferent  sensation,  any  man  may  expe- 
rience, that  is  always  due  to  a  previous  act — they 
go  beyond  certainty,  they  go  beyond  common  know- 
ledge. And  therein  do  I  say  they  are  wrong."  So,  ' 
O  king,  it  is  not  all  pain  that  is  the  result  of  Karma. 
And  you  should  accept  as  a  fact  that  when  the 
Blessed  One  became  a  Buddha  he  had  burnt  out  all 
evil  from  within  him.' 

'Very  good,  Nagasena  !    It  is  so ;  and  I  accept  it 
as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  Buddha's 

sinlessness] 


o  2 


196  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  i,  67. 


[on    the    ADVANTAGES    OF    MEDITATION  ^] 

67.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say  that 
everything  which  a  Tathagata  has  to  accomplish 
that  had  the  Blessed  One  already  carried  out  when 
he  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  Tree  of  Wisdom ".  There 
was  then  nothing  that  he  had  yet  to  do,  nothing 
that  he  had  to  add  to  what  he  had  already  done. 
But  then  there  is  also  talk  of  his  having  immediately 
afterwards  remained  plunged  for  three  months  in 
ecstatic  contemplation  ^.  If  the  first  statement  be 
correct,  then  the  second  must  be  false.  And  if  the 
second  be  right,  then  the  first  must  be  wrong. 
There  is  no  need  of  any  contemplation  to  him  who 
has  already  accomplished  his  task.  It  is  the  man 
who  still  has  something  left  to  do,  who  has  to  think 
about  it.  [139]  It  is  the  sick  man  who  has  need 
of  medicine,  not  the  healthy  ;  the  hungry  man  who 
has  need  of  food,  not  the  man  whose  hunger  is 
quenched.  This  too  is  a  double-headed  dilemma, 
and  you  have  to  solve  it ! ' 

68.  '  Both    statements,   O   king,  are    true.     Con- 


^  Pa/isalla;;a  (not  s  am  ad  hi),  rendered  throughout  in  the 
Si;«halese  by  wiweka. 

^  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  this  statement  in  any  of  the 
Pi/aka  texts. 

^  Here  again  our  author  seems  to  be  referring  to  a  tradition 
later  than  the  Pi/akas.  In  the  IMahavagga  (see  our  version  in  the 
'  Vinaya  Texts,'  vol.  i,  pp.  74-81)  there  is  mention  only  of  four 
periods  of  seven  days,  and  even  during  these  not  of  pa/isalla«a, 
but  of  samadhi.  The  former  of  these  two  terms  only  occurs  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  twenty-eight  days  (IMahavagga  I,  5,  2).  Even 
in  the  later  orthodox  literature  the  period  of  meditation  is  still  not 
three  months,  but  only  seven  times  seven  days.  See  the  passages 
quoted  in  Professor  Oldenberg's  note  at  p.  75  of  the  '  Vinaya 
Texts,'  vol.  i. 


IV,  1,69.  MEDITATION.  197 


templation  has  many  virtues.  All  the  Tathagatas 
attained,  in  contemplation,  to  Biiddhahood,  and 
practised  it  in  the  recollection  of  its  good  qualities. 
And  they  did  so  in  the  same  way  as  a  man  who 
had  received  high  office  from  a  king  would,  in  the 
recollection  of  its  advantages,  of  the  prosperity  he 
enjoyed  by  means  of  it,  remain  constantly  in  attend- 
ance on  that  king — in  the  same  way  as  a  man  who, 
having  been  afflicted  and  pained  with  a  dire  disease, 
and  having  recovered  his  health  by  the  use  of 
medicine,  would  use  the  same  medicine  again  and 
again,  calling  to  mind  its  virtue.' 

69.  *  And  there  are,  O  king,  these  twenty  and 
eight  good  qualities  of  meditation  in  the  perception 
of  which  the  Tathagatas  devoted  themselves  to  it. 
And  which  are  they  ?  Meditation  preserves  him 
who  meditates,  it  gives  him  long  life,  and  endows 
him  with  power,  it  cleanses  him  from  faults,  it  re- 
moves from  him  any  bad  reputation  giving  him  a 
good  name,  it  destroys  discontent  in  him  filling  him 
with  content,  it  releases  him  from  all  fear  endowing 
him  with  confidence,  it  removes  sloth  far  from  him 
filling  him  with  zeal,  it  takes  away  lust  and  ill-will 
and  dullness,  it  puts  an  end  to  pride,  it  breaks  down 
all  doubt,  it  makes  his  heart  to  be  at  peace,  it 
softens  his  mind,  [140]  it  makes  him  glad,  it  makes 
him  grave,  it  gains  him  much  advantage,  it  makes 
him  worthy  of  reverence,  it  fills  him  with  joy,  it  fills 
him  with  delight,  it  shows  him  the  transitory  nature 
of  all  compounded  things,  it  puts  an  end  to  rebirth, 
it  obtains  for  him  all  the  benefits  of  renunciation. 
These,  O  king,  are  the  twenty  and  eight  virtues  of 
meditation  on  the  perception  of  which  the  Tatha- 
o-atas  devote  themselves  to  it.     But  it   is  because 


198  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  1,70. 

the  Tathagatas,  O  king,  long  for  the  enjoyment  of 
the  bliss  of  attainment,  of  the  joy  of  the  tranquil  state 
of  Nirva?^a,  that  they  devote  themselves  to  medita- 
tion, with  their  minds  fixed  on  the  end  they  aim  at. 

70.  '  And  there  are  four  reasons  for  which  the 
Tathagatas,  O  king,  devote  themselves  to  medi- 
tation. And  what  are  the  four  ?  That  they  may 
dwell  at  ease,  O  king — and  on  account  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  advantages  of  meditation,  advantages 
without  drawback — and  on  account  of  its  being  the 
road  to  all  noble  things  without  exception — and 
because  it  has  been  praised  and  lauded  and  exalted 
and  magnified  by  all  the  Buddhas.  These  are  the 
reasons  for  which  the  Tathagatas  devote  themselves 
to  it.  So  it  is  not,  great  king,  because  they  have 
anything  left  to  do,  or  anything  to  add  to  what  they 
have  already  accomplished,  but  because  they  have 
perceived  how  diversified  are  the  advantages  it  pos- 
sesses, that  they  devote  themselves  to  meditation.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  meditation.] 


[the  limit  of  three  months.] 
71.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by  the 

A 

Blessed  One:  "  The  Tathagata,  Ananda,  has  thought 
out  and  thoroughly  practised,  developed,  accumulated, 
and  ascended  to  the  very  height  of  the  four  paths  to 
saintship  ^,  and  so  mastered  them  as  to  be  able  to 
use  them  as  a  means  of  mental  advancement,  and  as 
a  basis  for  edification — and  he  therefore,  Ananda, 

'  ^attaro  iddhi-pada. 


IV,  1,72-  "^^^^    THREE    MONTHS.  199 


should  he  desire  it,  might  remain  aUve  for  a  Kalpa, 
or  for  that  portion  of  a  Kalpa  which  has  yet  to  run\" 
And  aeain  he  said :  "  At  the  end  of  three  months 
from  this  time  the  Tathagata  will  die 2."  If  the  first 
of  these  statements  were  true,  then  the  limit  of  three 
months  must  have  been  false.  If  the  second  were 
true,  [141]  then  the  first  must  have  been  false.  For 
the  Tathaeatas  boast  not  without  an  occasion,  the 
Blessed  Buddhas  speak  no  misleading  words,  but 
they  utter  truth,  and  speak  sincerely.  This  too  is  a 
double-headed  dilemma,  profound,  subtle,  hard  to 
expound.  It  is  now  put  to  you.  Tear  in  sunder 
this  net  of  heresy,  put  it  on  one  side,  break  in  pieces 
the  arguments  of  the  adversary  ! ' 

72.  '  Both  these  statements,  O  king,  were  made 
by  the  Blessed  One.  But  Kalpa  in  that  connection 
means  the  duration  of  a  man's  life.  And  the  Blessed 
One,  O  king,  was  not  exalting  his  own  power  when 
he  said  so,  but  he  was  exalting  the  power  of  saint- 
ship.  It  was  as  if  a  king  were  possessed  of  a  horse 
most  swift  of  foot,  who  could  run  like  the  wind.  And 
in  order  to  exalt  the  power  of  his  speed  the  king  were 
to  say  in  the  presence  of  all  his  court — townsfolk  and 
country  folk,  hired  servants  and  men  of  war,  brah- 
mins, nobles,  and  officers  :  "  If  he  wished  it  this  noble 
steed  of  mine  could  cross  the  earth  to  its  ocean 
boundary,  and  be  back  here  again,  in  a  moment  ^ !  " 


1  Mahaparinibbana  Sutta  III,  60,  translated  in  my  'Buddhist 
Suttas,'  pp.  57,  58. 

"^  Ibid.  Ill,  63,  translated  loc.  cit.  p.  59. 

5  So  it  is  said  of  the  '  Horse-treasure '  of  the  Great  King  of 
Glory  in  the  IMahasudassana  Sutta  I,  29  (translated  in  my  '  Buddhist 
Suttas,'  p.  256),  that  'it  passed  over  along  the  broad  earth  to  its 
very  ocean  boundary,  and  then  returned  again,  in  time  for  the 


200  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  i,  72. 

Now  though  he  did  not  try  to  test  the  horse's  speed 
in  the  presence  of  the  court,  yet  it  had  that  speed, 
and  was  really  able  to  go  along  over  the  earth  to 
its  ocean  boundary  in  a  moment.  Just  so,  O  king, 
the  Blessed  One  spake  as  he  did  in  praise  of  the 
power  of  saintship,  and  so  spake  seated  in  the  midst 
of  gods  and  men,  and  of  the  men  of  the  threefold 
wisdom  and  the  sixfold  insight — the  Arahats  pure 
and  free  from  stain — when  he  said  :  "  The  Tatha- 

A 

gata,  Ananda,  has  thought  out  and  practised,  deve- 
loped, accumulated,  and  ascended  to  the  very  height 
of  the  four  powers  of  saintship,  and  so  mastered 
them  as  to  be  able  to  use  them  as  a  means  of 
mental  advancement,  as  a  basis  for  edification.    And 

A 

he  therefore,  Ananda,  should  he  desire  it,  mieht 
remain  alive  for  a  Kalpa,  or  the  part  of  a  Kalpa 
that  has  yet  to  run."  And  there  was  that  power, 
O  king,  in  the  Tathagata,  he  could  have  remained 
alive  for  that  time  :  and  yet  he  did  not  show  that 
power  in  the  midst  [142]  of  that  assembly.  The 
Blessed  One,  O  king,  is  free  from  desire  as  respects 
all  conditions  of  future  life,  and  has  condemned  them 
all.  For  it  has  been  said,  O  king,  by  the  Blessed 
One  :  "  Just,  O  Bhikkhus,  as  a  very  small  quantity 
of  excrement  is  of  evil  smell,  so  do  I  find  no  beauty 
in  the  very  smallest  degree  of  future  life,  not  even 
in  such  for  the  time  of  the  snapping  of  the  fingers  ^" 
Now  would  the  Blessed  One,  O  king,  who  thus 
looked  upon  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  future  life 


morning  meal,  to  the  royal  city  of  Kusavati.'     It  is,  of  course,  the 
sun  horse  which  is  meant. 

^  I  have  not  traced  this  quotation  in  the  Pi/akas,  but  it  is  prob- 
ably there. 


IV,  I,  72.  THE    THREE    MONTHS.  20I 


as  dung  have  nevertheless,  simply  because  of  his 
power  of  Iddhi,  harboured  a  craving  desire  for 
future  life  ? ' 

'  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

'  Then  it  must  have  been  to  exalt  the  power  of 
IddhI  that  he  gave  utterance  to  such  a  boast' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  It  is  so,  and  I  accept  it 
as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  three  months.] 


Here  ends  the  First  Chapter. 


202  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  2,  i. 


Book  IV.     Chapter  2. 

*[tHE    abolition    of    REGULATIONS.] 

1.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  It  is  by  insight,  O  Bhikkhus,  that 
I  preach  the  law,  not  without  insight  \"  On  the 
Other  hand  he  said  of  the  regulations  of  the  Vinaya  : 
"  When  I  am  gone,  Ananda,  let  the  Order,  if  it 
should  so  wish,  abolish  all  the  lesser  and  minor 
precepts  ^."  Were  then  these  lesser  and  minor  pre- 
cepts wrongly  laid  down,  or  established  in  ignorance 
and  without  due  cause,  that  the  Blessed  One 
allowed  them  to  be  revoked  after  his  death  ?  If  the 
first  statement  had  been  true,  the  second  would 
have  been  wronof.  If  the  second  statement  were 
really  made,  [143]  then  the  first  was  false.  This 
too  is  a  double-headed  problem,  fine,  subtle,  abstruse, 
deep,  profound,  and  hard  to  expound.  It  is  now 
put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

2.  '  In  both  cases,  O  king,  the  Blessed  One  said 
as  you  have  declared.  But  in  the  second  case  it 
was  to  test  the  Bhikkhus  that  he  said  it,  to  try 
whether,  if  leave  were  granted  them,  they  would, 
after  his  death,  revoke  the  lesser  and  minor  regu- 
lations,   or   still   adhere    to   them.     It  runs  as   if  a 

^  Not  traced  as  yet. 

^  Mahaparinibbana  Sutta  VI,  3  (translated  in  my  '  Buddhist 
Suttas,'  p,  112).  The  incident  is  referred  to  in  the  A'ullavagga 
XI,  I,  9,  10,  and  in  his  commentary  on  that  passage  Buddhaghosa 
mentions  the  discussion  between  Mihnda  and  Nagasena,  and  quotes 
it  as  an  authority  in  support  of  his  interpretation. 


TV,  2,  3-  ABOLITION    OF   REGULATIONS.  2O3 

king  of  kings  were  to  say  to  his  sons  :  "  This  great 
country,  my  children,  reaches  to  the  sea  on  every 
side.  It  is  a  hard  thing  to  maintain  it  with  the 
forces  we  have  at  our  disposal.  So  when  I  am  gone 
you  had  better,  my  children,  abandon  the  outl)ing 
districts  along  the  border."  Now  would  the  princes, 
O  king,  on  the  death  of  their  father,  give  up  those 
outlying  districts,  provinces  already  in  their  power  ?  ' 

'  No  indeed,  Sir.  Kings  are  grasping.  The 
princes  might,  in  the  lust  of  power,  subjugate  an 
extent  of  country  twice  or  thrice  the  size  of  what 
they  had,  but  they  would  never  give  up  what  they 
already  possessed.' 

'Just  so  was  it,  O  king,  that  the  Tathagata  to 
test  the  Bhikkhus  said  :  "  When  I  am  gone,  Ananda, 
let  the  Order,  if  it  should  so  wish,  abolish  all  the 
lesser  and  minor  precepts."  But  the  sons  of  the 
Buddha,  O  king,  in  their  lust  after  the  law,  and  for 
emancipation  from  sorrow,  might  keep  two  hundred 
and  fifty  regulations  \  but  would  never  give  up  any 
one  that  had  been  laid  down  in  ordinary  course.' 

3.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  when  the  Blessed  One 
referred  to  "  lesser  and  minor  precepts,"  this  people 
might  therein  [144]  be  bewildered,  and  fall  into 
doubt,  and  find  matter  for  discussion,  and  be  lost  in 
hesitation,  as  to  which  were  the  lesser,  and  which 
the  minor  precepts.' 

'  The  lesser  errors  in  conduct  ^  O  king,  are  the 
lesser  precepts,  and  the  lesser  errors  in  speech  ^  are 
the  minor  precepts :  and  these  two  together  make 
up  therefore  "  the  lesser  and  minor  precepts."     The 

^  The  regulations  in  the  Paiimokkha,  which  include  all  the  most 
important  ones,  are  only  220  in  number. 

-  Dukka/a;;/.  »  Dubbhasitaw. 


204  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  2,  4. 

leading  Elders  too  of  old,  O  king,  were  in  doubt 
about  this  matter,  and  they  were  not  unanimous  on 
the  point  at  the  Council  held  for  the  fixing  of  the 
text  of  the  Scriptures  ^  And  the  Blessed  One  fore- 
saw that  this  problem  would  arise.' 

'  Then  this  dark  saying  of  the  Conquerors,  Naga- 
sena,  which  has  lain  hid  so  long,  has  been  now 
to-day  uncovered  in  the  face  of  the  world,  and  made 
clear  to  all.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  revocation 

of  rules,] 


[esoteric  teaching.] 

4.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  was  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  In  respect  of  the  truths,  Ananda, 
the  Tathaofata  has  no  such  thingf  as  the  closed  fist 
of  a  teacher  who  keeps  something  back  ^."  But 
on  the  other  hand  he  made  no  reply  to  the  question 
put  by  the  son  of  the  Maluhkya  woman  ^.  This 
problem,  Nagasena,  will  be  one  of  two  ends,  on  one 
of  which  it  must  rest,  for  he  must  have  refrained 
from  answering  either  out  of  ignorance,  or  out  of 
wish  to  conceal  somethingf.  If  the  first  statement 
be  true  it  must  have  been  out  of  iofnorance.     But 

^  In  the  ^ullavagga  XI,  i,  10,  it  is  one  of  the  faults  laid  to 
Ananda's  charge,  at  the  Council  of  Ra^agaha,  that  he  had  not 
asked  for  a  definition  of  these  terms. 

^  Mahaparinibbana  Sutta  II,  32  (another  passage  from  the  same 
speech  is  quoted  below,  IV,  2,  29). 

^  See  the  two  Maluhkya  Suttantas  in  the  'Ma.gg/nmdi  Nikaya 
(vol.  i,  pp.  426-437  of  Mr.  Trenckner's  edition  for  the  Pali  Text 
Society),  With  regard  to  the  spelling  of  the  name,  which  is 
doubtful,  it  may  be  noticed  that  Hina/i-kumbure  has  Maluhka 
throughout. 


IV,  2,  r,-  ESOTERIC    TEACHING.  205 


if  he  knew,  and  still  did  not  reply,  then  the  first 
statement  must  be  false.  This  too  is  a  double- 
pointed  dilemma.  It  is  now  put  to  you,  and  you 
have  to  solve  it.' 

5.  '  The  Blessed  One,  O  king,  made  that  first 
Statement  to  Ananda,  and  he  did  not  reply  to 
Malurikya-putta's  question.  But  that  was  neither 
out  of  ignorance,  nor  for  the  sake  of  concealing 
anything.  There  are  four  kinds  of  ways  in  which 
a  problem  may  be  explained.  And  which  are  the 
four  ?  There  is  the  problem  to  which  an  explan- 
ation can  be  Sfiven  that  shall  be  direct  and  final. 
There  is  the  problem  which  can  be  answered  by 
going  into  details.  There  is  the  problem  which  can 
be  answered  by  asking  another.  And  there  is  the 
problem  which  can  be  put  on  one  side. 

'  And  which,  O  king,  is  the  problem  to  which  a 
direct  and  final  solution  can  be  given  ?  It  is  such 
as  this — "  Is  form  impermanent  ?  "  [145]  "  Is  sen- 
sation impermanent?"  "Is  idea  impermanent?" 
"Are  the  Confections  impermanent?"  "Is  con- 
sciousness impermanent  ?  " 

*  And  which  is  the  problem  which  can  be  answered 
by  going  into  details  ?  It  is  such  as  this — "  Is  form 
thus  impermanent  ?  "  and  so  on. 

'  And  which  is  the  problem  which  can  be  an- 
swered by  asking  another  ?  It  is  such  as  this — 
"What  then?     Can  the  eye  perceive  all  things?" 

'  And  which  is  the  problem  which  can  be  put  on 
one  side?  It  is  such  as  this — "Is  the  universe 
everlasting?"  "Is  it  not  everlasting?"  "Has  it 
an  end  ?  "  "  Has  it  no  end  ?  "  "  Is  it  both  endless 
and  unendinsf  ?  "  "  Is  it  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other  ? "     "  Are  the   soul  and  the  body  the    same 


206  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         IV,  2,  6. 

thing?"  "Is  the  soul  distinct  from  the  body?" 
"  Does  a  Tathagata  exist  after  death  ?  "  "  Does  he 
not  exist  after  death  ? "  "  Does  he  both  exist  and 
not  exist  after  death  ?  "  "  Does  he  neither  exist 
nor  not  exist  after  death  ?  " 

'  Now  it  was  to  such  a  question,  one  that  ought 
to  be  put  on  one  side,  that  the  Blessed  One  gave 
no  reply  to  Malunkya-putta.  And  why  ought  such 
a  question  to  be  put  on  one  side  ?  Because  there  is 
no  reason  or  object  for  answering  it.  That  is  why 
it  should  be  put  aside.  For  the  Blessed  Buddhas 
lift  not  up  their  voice  without  a  reason  and  without 
an  object.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena !  Thus  it  is,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say  ?  '    ____^___ 

[  Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  keeping  some 
things  back  K] 


[death.] 

6.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  this  too  was  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  All  men  tremble  at  punishment,  all 
are  afraid  of  death  -."  But  a^ain  he  said :  "  The 
Arahat  has  passed  beyond  all  fear^"  How  then, 
Nagasena  ?  does  the  Arahat  tremble  with  the  fear  of 
punishment  ?  [146]  Or  are  the  beings  in  purgatory, 
when  they  are  being  burnt  and  boiled  and  scorched 
and  tormented,  afraid  of  that  death  which  would 
release  them  from  the  burning  fiery  pit  of  that  awful 
place   of  woe  ^  ?     If  the    Blessed   One,  Nagasena, 

^  See  my  note  below  on  IV,  4,  8.  ^  Dhammapada  129. 

^  Not  traced  in  these  words,  but  identical  in  meaning  with 
Dhammapada  39. 

*  Maha-niraya  X'avamana,  'when  they  are  on  the  point  of 
passing  away  from  it.'     For  in  Buddhism  the  time  comes  to  each 


IV,  2,  7-  THE    FEAR    OF    DEATH.  207 

really  said  that  all  men  tremble  at  punishment,  and 
all  are  afraid  of  death,  then  the  statement  that  the 
Arahat  has  passed  beyond  fear  must  be  false.  But 
if  that  last  statement  is  really  by  him,  then  the  other 
must  be  false.  This  double-headed  problem  is  now 
put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it,' 

7.  '  It  was  not  with  regard  to  Arahats,  O  king, 
that  the  Blessed  One  spake  when  he  said  :  "  All  men 
tremble  at  punishment,  all  are  afraid  of  death."  The 
Arahat  is  an  exception  to  that  statement,  for  all 
cause  for  fear  has  been  removed  from  the  Arahat  ^ 
He  spoke  of  those  beings  in  whom  evil  still  existed, 
who  are  still  infatuated  with  the  delusion  of  self,  who 
are  still  lifted  up  and  cast  down  by  pleasures  and 
pains.  To  the  Arahat,  O  king,  rebirth  in  every 
state  has  been  cut  off,  all  the  four  kinds  of  future 
existence  have  been  destroyed,  every  re-incarnation 
has  been  put  an  end  to,  the  rafters  ^  of  the  house  of 
life  have  broken,  and  the  whole  house  completely 
pulled  down,  the  Confections  have  altogether  lost 
their  roots,  good  and  evil  have  ceased,  ignorance  has 
been  demolished,  consciousness  has  no  longer  any 
seed  (from  which  it  could  be  renewed),  all  sin  has 
been  burnt  away  ^,  and  all  worldly  conditions  have 
been  overcome  *.  Therefore  is  it  that  the  Arahat  is 
not  made  to  tremble  by  any  fear.' 

being  in  Niraya  (often  translated  'hell')  when  he  will  pass  away 
from  it. 

'  That  is  from  him  who  attained  Nirvana  in  this  life.  Compare 
I  John  iv.  18. 

^  Phasu  for  Phasuka.  Compare  Dhammapada  154,  INIanu 
VI,  79-81,  and  Sumahgala,  p.  16. 

'  Hina/i-kumbure  adds  '  by  the  fire  of  tapas,' 

*  Eight  are  meant — gain,  loss,  fame,  dishonour,  praise,  blame, 
pleasures,  pains. 


208  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  2,  8. 

8,  '  Suppose,  O  king,  a  king  had  four  chief 
ministers,  faithful,  famous,  trustworthy,  placed  in 
high  positions  of  authority.  And  the  king,  on  some 
emergency  arising,  were  to  issue  to  them  an  order 
touching  all  the  people  in  his  realm,  saying  :  "  Let 
all  now  pay  up  a  tax,  and  do  you,  as  my  four 
officers,  carry  out  what  is  necessary  in  this  emer- 
gency." Now  tell  me,  O  king,  would  the  tremor 
which  comes  from  fear  of  taxation  arise  in  the 
hearts  of  those  ministers  ?  ' 

'  No,  Sir,  it  would  not.' 

'  But  why  not  ? ' 

'  They  have  been  appointed  by  the  king  to  high 
office.  Taxation  does  not  affect  them,  they  are  be- 
yond taxation.  It  was  the  rest  that  the  king  referred 
to  when  he  gave  the  order  :  [147]  "  Let  all  pay  tax."  ' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  is  it  with  the  statement  that  all 
men  tremble  at  punishment,  all  are  afraid  of  death. 
In  that  way  is  it  that  the  Arahat  is  removed  from 
every  fear.' 

9.  '  But,  Nagasena,  the  w^ord  "  all "  is  inclusive, 
none  are  left  out  when  it  is  used.  Give  me  a 
further  reason  to  establish* the  point.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  that  in  some  village  the  lord  of 
the  village  were  to  order  the  crier,  saying :  "  Go, 
crier,  bring  all  the  villagers  quickly  together  before 
me."  And  he  in  obedience  to  that  order  were  to 
stand  in  the  midst  of  the  village  and  were  thrice  to 
call  out :  "  Let  all  the  villasfers  assemble  at  once  in 
the  presence  of  the  lord  !"  And  they  should  assemble 
in  haste,  and  have  an  announcement  made  to  the 
lord,  saying  :  "  All  the  villagers.  Sire,  have  assembled. 
Do  now  whatsoever  you  require."  Now  when  the 
lord,  O  king,  is  thus  summoning  all  the  heads  of 


IV,  2,  10.  THE    FEAR    OF    DEATH.  209 

houses,  he  issues  his  order  to  all  the  villaeers,  but  it 
is  not  they  who  assemble  in  obedience  to  the  order ; 
it  is  the  heads  of  houses.  And  the  lord  is  satisfied 
therewith,  knowing  that  such  is  the  number  of  his 
villagers.  There  are  many  others  who  do  not 
come — women  and  men,  slave  girls  and  slaves, 
hired  workmen,  servants,  peasantry,  sick  people, 
oxen,  buffaloes,  sheep,  and  goats,  and  dogs — but  all 
those  do  not  count.  It  was  with  reference  to  the 
heads  of  houses  that  the  order  was  issued  in  the 
words  :  "  Let  all  assemble."  Just  so,  O  king,  it  is 
not  of  Arahats  that  it  was  said  that  all  are  afraid  of 
death.  [148]  The  Arahat  is  not  included  in  that 
statement,  for  the  Arahat  is  one  in  whom  there 
is  no  longer  any  cause  that  could  give  rise  to  fear.' 

lO.  '  There  is  the  non-inclusive  expression,  O  king, 
whose  meaning  is  non-inclusive,  and  the  non-inclusive 
expression  whose  meaning  is  inclusive  ;  there  is  the 
inclusive  expression  whose  meaning  is  non-inclusive, 
and  the  inclusive  expression  whose  meaning  is 
inclusive.  And  the  meaning,  in  each  case,  should 
be  accepted  accordingly.  And  there  are  five  ways 
in  which  the  meaning  should  be  ascertained — by  the 
connection,  and  by  taste,  and  by  the  tradition  of  the 
teachers,  and  by  the  meaning,  and  by  abundance 
of  reasons.  And  herein  "  connection  "  means  the 
meaning  as  seen  in  the  Sutta  itself,  "  taste  "  means 
that  it  is  in  accordance  with  other  Suttas,  "  the 
tradition  of  the  teachers "  means  what  they  hold, 
"  the  meaning  "  means  what  they  think,  and  "  abun- 
dance of  reasons  "  means  all  these  four  combined  ^.' 

^  This  is  much  more  obscure  in  Pali  than  in  English.  In  the 
Pali  the  names  of  each  of  the  five  methods  are  ambiguous,  '  Con- 
nection,' for  instance,  is  in  Pali  aha/{'/('a-pada,  which  is  only 

[35]  P 


2IO  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  2,11. 

II.  'Very  well,  Nagasena !  I  accept  it  as  you 
say.  The  Arahat  is  an  exception  in  this  phrase,  and 
it  is  the  rest  of  beino-s  who  are  full  of  fear.  But 
those  beings  in  purgatory,  of  whom  I  spoke,  who  are 
suffering  painful,  sharp,  and  severe  agonies,  who  are 
tormented  with  burnings  all  over  their  bodies  and 
limbs,  whose  mouths  are  full  of  lamentation,  and 
cries  for  pity,  and  cries  of  weeping  and  wailing  and 
woe,  who  are  overcome  with  pains  too  sharp  to  be 
borne,  who  find  no  refuge  nor  protection  nor  help, 
who  are  afflicted  beyond  measure,  who  in  the  worst 
and  lowest  of  conditions  are  still  destined  to  a  cer- 
tainty to  further  pain,  who  are  being  burnt  with 
hot,  sharp,  fierce,  and  cruel  flames,  who  are  giving 
utterance  to  mighty  shouts  and  groans  born  of  horror 
and  fear,  who  are  embraced  by  the  garlands  of  flame 
which  intertwine  around  them  from  all  the  six  direc- 
tions, and  flash  in  fiery  speed  through  a  hundred 
leagues  on  every  side — can  those  poor  burning 
wretches  be  afraid  of  death  ?' 

'  Yes,  they  can.' 

'  But,  venerable  Nagasena,  is  not  purgatory  a 
place  of  certain  pain  ?  And,  if  so,  why  should  the 
beings  in  it  be  afraid  of  death,  which  would  release 
them  from  that  certain  pain  ?  What !  Are  they  fond 
of  purgatory  ? ' 

'  No,  indeed.  They  like  it  not.  They  long  to  be 
released  from  it.  It  is  the  power  of  death  of  which 
they  are  afraid.' 

'  Now  this,  Nagasena,  I  cannot  believe,  that  they, 
who  want  to  be  released,  should  be  afraid  of  rebirth. 

found  elsewhere  (see  A'ullavagga  VI,  4,  3,  and  my  note  there)  as 
the  name  of  a  kind  of  chair.  And  there  is  similar  ambiguity  in  the 
other  words. 


IV,  2,  13-  THE    FEAR    OF    DEATH.  2  I  I 

[149]  They  must  surely,  Nagasena,  rejoice  at  the 
prospect  of  the  very  condition  that  they  long  for. 
Convince  me  by  some  further  reason  ^' 

12.  '  Death,  great  king,  is  a  condition  which  those 
who  have  not  seen  the  truth-  are  afraid  of.  About 
it  this  people  is  anxious  and  full  of  dread.  Whoso- 
ever is  afraid  of  a  black  snake,  or  an  elephant  or 
lion  or  tiger  or  leopard  or  bear  or  hyena  or  wild 
buffalo  or  gayal,  or  of  fire  or  water,  or  of  thorns  or 
spikes  or  arrows,  it  is  in  each  case  of  death  that  he 
is  really  in  dread,  and  therefore  afraid  of  them. 
This,  O  king,  is  the  majesty  of  the  essential  nature 
of  death.  And  all  being  not  free  from  sin  are  in 
dread  and  quake  before  its  majesty.  In  this  sense 
it  is  that  even  the  beings  in  purgatory,  who  long  to 
be  released  from  it,  are  afraid  of  death.' 

1 3.  '  Suppose,  O  king,  a  boil  were  to  arise,  full  of 
matter,  on  a  man's  body,  and  he,  in  pain  from  that 
disease,  and  wanting  to  escape  from  the  danger  of 
it,  were  to  call  in  a  physician  and  surgeon.  And  the 
surgeon,  accepting  the  call,  were  to  make  ready  some 
means  or  other  for  the  removal  of  his  disease — were 
to  have  a  lancet  sharpened,  or  to  have  sticks  put 
into  the  fire  to  be  used  as  cauterisers,  or  to  have 
something  ground  on  a  grindstone  to  be  mixed  in  a 
salt  lotion.  Now  would  the  patient  begin  to  be  in 
dread  of  the  cutting  of  the  sharp  lancet,  or  of  the 
burning  of  the  pair  of  caustic  sticks,  or  of  the 
application  of  the  stinging  lotion  ? ' 

'  Yes,  he  would.' 


^  KSrawena,  perhaps  he  means  'by  an  example.' 
^  Adi/^ka.-sa.kka.nzm.     It  may  also  mean  'who  have  not  per- 
ceived the  (Four  Noble)  Truths.' 

P  2 


2  T  2  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  2,  T4. 

'  But  if  the  sick  man,  who  wants  to  be  free  from 
his  ailment,  can  fall  into  dread  by  the  fear  of  pain, 
just  so  can  the  beings  in  purgatory,  though  they  long 
to  be  released  from  it,  fall  into  dread  by  the  fear  of 
death.' 

14.  'And  suppose,  O  king,  a  man  who  had  com- 
mitted an  offence  against  the  crown,  when  bound 
with  a  chain,  and  cast  into  a  dungeon,  were  to  long 
for  release.  And  the  ruler,  wishing  to  release  him, 
were  to  send  for  him.  Now  would  not  that  man, 
who  had  thus  oft'ended,  and  knew  it,  be  in  dread 
[150]  of  the  interview  with  the  king  ?' 

'  Yes,  Sir.' 

'  But  if  so,  then  can  also  the  beings  in  purgatory, 
though  they  long  to  be  released  from  it,  yet  be  afraid 
of  death.' 

'  Give  me  another  illustration  by  which  I  may  be 
able  to  harmonise  ^  (this  apparent  discrepancy).' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  bitten  by  a  poisonous 
snake  should  be  afraid,  and  by  the  action  of  the 
poison  should  fall  and  struggle,  and  roll  this  way  and 
that.  And  then  that  another  man,  by  the  repetition 
of  a  powerful  charm,  should  compel  that  poisonous 
snake  to  approach  to  suck  the  poison  back  again  ^. 
Now  when  the  bitten  man  saw  the  poisonous  snake 
coming  to  him,  though  for  the  object  of  curing  him, 
would  he  not  still  be  in  dread  of  it  ?' 

*  Yes,  Sir.' 

'Well,  it  is  just  so  with  the  beings  in  purgatory. 

^  Okappeyya?;/.     See  the  Old  Commentary  at  Pa/?'ittiya  I,  2,  6. 

^  On  this  belief  the  69th  Gataka  is  founded.  See  FausboU, 
vol.  i,  pp.  310,  311  (where,  as  Mr.  Trenckner  points  out,  we 
must  read  in  the  verse  the  same  word  pa/^/^a/l'am  as  we  have 
here). 


IV,  2,  ig.  PIRIT.  213 

Death  is  a  thing  dishked  by  all  beings.  And  there- 
fore are  they  in  dread  of  it  though  they  want  to  be 
released  from  purgatory.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  fear  of  death.] 


[PIRIT.] 

15.  'Venerable    Nagasena,    it   was    said   by   the 
Blessed  One  : 

"  Not  in  the  sky,  not  in  the  ocean's  midst, 
Not  in  the  most  secluded  mountain  cleft, 
Not  in  the  whole  wide  world  is  found  the  spot 
Where  standing  one   could  'scape    the   snare   of 
death  ^" 
But  on  the  other  hand  the  Pirit  service  was  promul- 
gated   by  the    Blessed    One  - — that   is    to  say,   the 
Ratana  Sutta  and  the  Khanda-paritta  and  the  Mora- 
paritta    and    the     Dha^agga-paritta    [151]    and    the 
A/ana/Iya-paritta  and   the  Anguli-mala-paritta.     If, 
Nagasena,  a  man   can  escape  death's  snare  neither 
by  going  to  heaven,  nor  by  going  into  the  midst  of 
the  sea,  nor  by  going  to  the  summits  of  lofty  palaces, 

^  Either  Dhammapada  127,  which  is  the  same  except  the  last 
word  (there  '  an  evil  deed'),  or  Dhammapada  128,  except  the  last 
line  (which  is  there  '  where  standing  death  would  not  overtake  one '). 

^  This  is  a  service  used  for  the  sick.  Its  use  so  far  as  the 
Pi/akas  are  known  has  been  nowhere  laid  down  by  the  Buddha,  or 
by  words  placed  in  his  mouth.  This  is  the  oldest  text  in  which 
the  use  of  the  service  is  referred  to.  But  the  word  Paritta  (Pirit)  is 
used  in  Alillavagga  V,  6,  of  an  asseveration  of  love  for  snakes,  to 
be  used  as  what  is  practically  a  charm  against  snake  bite,  and  that 
is  attributed  to  the  Butldha.  The  particular  Suttas  and  passages 
here  referred  to  are  all  in  the  Pi/akas. 


2  14  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  2,  i6. 

nor  to  the  caves  or  grottoes  or  declivities  or  clefts 
or  holes  in  the  mountains,  then  is  the  Pirit  ceremony 
useless.  But  if  by  it  there  is  a  way  of  escape  from 
death,  then  the  statement  in  the  verse  I  quoted  is 
false.  This  too  is  a  double-headed  problem,  more 
knotty  than  a  knot.  It  is  now  put  to  you,  and  you 
have  to  solve  it.' 

16.  '  The  Blessed  One,  O  king,  said  the  verse  you 

have  quoted,  and  he  sanctioned  Pirit  \   But  that  is  only 

meant  for  those  who  have  some  portion  of  their  life 

yet  to  run,  who  are  of  full  age,  and  restrain  themselves 

from  the  evils  of  Karma.     And  there  is  no  ceremony 

or  artificial  means^  for  prolonging  the  life  of  one  whose 

allotted  span  of  existence  has  come  to  an  end.    Just, 

O  king,  as  with  a  dry  and  dead  log  of  wood,  dull  ^, 

and  sapless,  out  of  which  all  life  has  departed,  which 

has  reached  the  end  of  its  allotted  period  of  life, — 

you  might  have  thousands  of  pots  of  water  poured 

over  it,  but  it  would  never  become  fresh  again  or 

put  forth   sprouts  or  leaves.      Just  so   there  is  no 

ceremony  or  artificial   means,  no   medicine  and  no 

Pirit,  which  can  prolong  the  life  of  one  whose  allotted 

period  has  come  to  an  end.     All  the   medicines  in 

the  world  are  useless,   O  king,  to  such  a  one,  but 

Pirit  is  a  protection  and  assistance  to   those  who 

have  a  period  yet  to  live,  who  are  full  of  life,  and 

restrain  themselves  from  the  evil  of  Karma.     And 

it  is  for  that   use  that  Pirit  was  appointed  by  the 

^  See  last  note.  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  '  preached  Pirit,'  which 
is  quite  in  accordance  with  the  Pi/akas,  as  the  Suttas  of  which  it  is 
composed  are  placed  in  his  mouth. 

^  Upakkamo.  Compare  the  use  of  the  word  at  A'ullavagga 
VII,  3,  10;  Sumahgala  69,  71.  Utpatti-kramayek  says  the 
Si/«halese. 

^  Ko/apa.     See  Gataka  III,  495,  and  the  commentary  there. 


IV,  2,  17.  PIRIT.  215 

Blessed  One.  Just,  O  king,  as  a  husbandman  guards 
the  grain  when  it  is  ripe  and  dead  and  ready  for 
harvesting  from  the  influx  of  water,  but  makes  it 
grow  by  giving  it  water  when  it  is  young,  and  dark 
in  colour  like  a  cloud,  and  full  of  life — ^just  so, 
O  king,  should  the  Pirit  ceremony  be  put  aside  and 
neglected  in  the  case  of  one  who  has  reached  his 
allotted  term  of  life,  [152]  but  for  those  who  have  a 
period  yet  to  run  and  are  full  of  vigour,  for  them 
the  medicine  of  Pirit  may  be  repeated,  and  they  will 
profit  by  its  use.' 

17.  '  But,  Nagasena,  if  he  who  has  a  term  of  life 
yet  to  run  will  live,  and  he  who  has  none  will  die, 
then  medicine  and  Pirit  are  alike  useless.' 

*  Have  you  ever  seen,  O  king,  a  case  of  a  disease 
being  turned  back  by  medicine  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  several  hundred  times.' 

'  Then,  O  king,  your  statement  as  to  the  ineffi- 
ciency of  Pirit  and  medicine  must  be  wrong.' 

'  I  have  seen,  Nagasena,  doctors  administer  medi- 
cines by  way  of  draughts  or  outward  applications, 
and  by  that  means  the  disease  has  been  assuaged.' 

'And  w^hen,  O  king,  the  voice  of  those  who  are 
repeating  Pirit  is  heard,  the  tongue  may  be  dried 
up,  and  the  heart  beat  but  faintly,  and  the  throat  be 
hoarse,  but  by  that  repetition  all  diseases  are  allayed, 
all  calamities  depart.  Again,  have  you  ever  seen,  O 
king,  a  man  who  has  been  bitten  by  a  snake  having 
the  poison  resorbed  under  a  spell  (by  the  snake  who 
gave  the  bite  ^)  or  destroyed  (by  an  antidote)  or 
having  a  lotion  applied  above  or  below  the  spot-?' 

*  See  above,  IV,  2,  14. 

2  All  this  sentence  is  doubtful.  Dr.  Morris  has  a  learned  note 
on  the  difiicult  words  used  (which  only  occur  here)  in  the  '  Journal 


2l6  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  2,  i8. 

'  Yes,  that  is  common  custom  to  this  day  in  the 
world.' 

'  Then  what  you  said  that  Pirit  and  medicine  are 
alike  useless  is  wrong.  And  when  Pirit  has  been 
said  over  a  man,  a  snake,  ready  to  bite,  will  not  bite 
him,  but  close  his  jaws — the  club  which  robbers  hold 
aloft  to  strike  him  with  will  never  strike  ;  they  will 
let  it  drop,  and  treat  him  kindly — the  enraged 
elephant  rushing  at  him  will  suddenly  stop — the 
burning  fiery  conflagration  surging  towards  him  will 
die  out — the  malignant  poison  he  has  eaten  will 
become  harmless,  and  turn  to  food — assassins  who 
have  come  to  slay  him  will  become  as  the  slaves 
who  wait  upon  him — and  the  trap  into  which  he 
has  trodden  will  hold  him  not. 

1 8.  '  Again,  have  you  never  heard,  O  king,  of  that 
hunter  who  during  seven  hundred  years  failed  to 
throw  his  net  over  the  peacock  who  had  taken  Pirit, 
but  snared  him  the  very  day  [153]  he  omitted  to 
do  so  ^  ?  ' 

'  Yes,  I  have  heard  of  it.  The  fame  of  it  has  gone 
through  all  the  world.' 

'  Then  what  you  said  about  Pirit  and  medicine 
being  alike  useless  must  be  wrong.  And  have  you 
never  heard  of  the  Danava  -  who,  to  guard  his  wife, 

of  the  Pali  Text  Society'  for  1884,  p.  87.  Hina/i-kumbure, 
p.  191,  translates  as  follows:  Maha  ra^aneni,  wisha  winasa 
karannawii  mantra  padayakin  wishaya  baswana  laddawu, 
wisha  sanhinduwana  laddawu,  urddhadho  bhagayehi 
awushadha  ^alayen  temana  laddawu,  nayaku  wisin 
dash/a  karana  laddawu  kisiwek  topa  wisin  dakna  ladde 
dceyi  wi^ala  seka. 

^  This  is  the  Mora-Gataka,  Nos.  159,  491,  or  (which  is  the  same 
thing)  the  Mora-Paritta. 

^  An  Asura,  enemy  of  the  gods,  a  Titan.  Rakshasa  says  the 
Sinhalese. 


IV,  2,  ip.  PIRIT.  2  1  7 

put  her  into  a  box,  and  swallowing  it,  carried  her 
about  in  his  stomach.  And  how  a  Vidyadhara  ^ 
entered  his  mouth,  and  played  games  with  his  wife. 
And  how  the  Danava  when  he  became  aware  of  it, 
vomited  up  the  box,  and  opened  it,  and  the  moment  he 
did  so  the  Vidyadhara  escaped  whither  he  would  ^  ? ' 

'  Yes,  I  have  heard  that.  The  fame  of  it  too  has 
eone  throuohout  the  world.' 

'Well,  did  not  the  Vidyadhara  escape  capture  by 
the  power  of  Pirit  ?' 

'  Yes,  that  was  so.' 

*  Then  there  must  be  power  in  Pirit.  And  have 
you  heard  of  that  other  Vidyadhara  who  got  into 
the  harem  of  the  king  of  Benares,  and  committed 
adultery  with  the  chief  queen,  and  was  caught,  and 
then  became  invisible,  and  got  away^?' 

'  Yes,  I  heard  that  story.' 

'  Well,  did  not  he  too  escape  capture  by  the  power 
of  Pirit?' 

'  Yes,  Sir.' 

'  Then,  O  king,  there  must  be  power  in  Pirit.' 

19.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  is  Pirit  a  protection  to 
everybody  ? ' 


^  They  are  a  kind  of  genii,  with  magical  powers,  who  are 
attendants  on  the  god  Siva,  (and  therefore,  of  course,  enemies  of 
the  Danavas).     They  are  not  mentioned  in  the  Pi/akas. 

2  I  don't  know  where  this  story  comes  from.  It  is  not  in  the 
Pi/akas  anywhere.  But  Hina/i-kumbure  gives  the  fairy  tale  al  full 
length,  and  in  the  course  of  it  calls  the  Vidyadharas  by  name 
Wayassa-putra,  '  Son  of  the  Wind.'  He  quotes  also  a  gatha  which 
he  places,  not  in  the  mouth  of  the  Bodisat,  but  of  Buddha  himself. 
I  cannot  find  the  tale  cither  in  the  G'atakabook,  as  far  as  published 
by  Professor  Fausboll,  or  in  the  Katha  Sarit  Sagara,  though  I  have 
looked  all  through  both. 

^  See  last  note. 


2l8  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  2,  19. 

'  To  some,  not  to  others.' 

'  Then  it  is  not  always  of  use  ?  ' 

'  Does  food  keep  all  people  alive  ?  ' 
" '  Only  some,  not  others.' 

'  But  why  not  ? ' 

'  Inasmuch  as  some,  eating  too  much  of  that  same 
food,  die  of  cholera.* 

'  So  it  does  not  keep  all  men  alive  ? ' 

'  There  are  two  reasons  which  make  it  destroy 
life — over-indulgence  in  it,  and  weakness  of  diges- 
tion. And  even  life-giving  food  may  be  made 
poisonous  by  an  evil  spell.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  is  Pirit  a  protection  to  some  and 
not  to  others.  And  there  are  three  reasons  [154] 
for  its  failure — the  obstruction  of  Karma,  and  of 
sin,  and  of  unbelief.  That  Pirit  which  is  a  protec- 
tion to  beings  loses  its  protecting  power  by  acts 
done  by  those  beings  themselves.  Just,  O  king,  as 
a  mother  lovingly  nourishes  the  son  who  has  entered 
her  womb,  and  brings  him  forth  with  care  \  And 
after  his  birth  she  keeps  him  clean  from  dirt  and 
stains  and  mucus,  and  anoints  him  with  the  best  and 
most  costly  perfumes,  and  when  others  abuse  or 
strike  him  she  seizes  them  and,  full  of  excitement, 
drags  them  before  the  lord  of  the  place.  But  when 
her  son  is  naughty,  or  comes  in  late,  she  strikes  him 
with  rods  or  clubs  on  her  knee  or  with  her  hands. 
Now,  that  being  so,  would  she  get  seized  and  dragged 
along,  and  have  to  appear  before  the  lord  ? ' 

'  No,  Sir/ 

'  But  why  not  ?  ' 

^  Upa/^arena,  which  the  Sinhalese  repeats  and  construes  with 
poseti. 


IV,  2,  21.  MARA.  219 


'  Because  the  boy  was  in  fault.' 

'Just  in  the  same  way,  O  king,  will  Pirit  which  is 
a  protection  to  beings,  yet,  by  their  own  fault,  turn 
against  them.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena !  The  problem  has  been 
solved,  the  jungle  made  clear,  the  darkness  made 
light,  the  net  of  heresy  unravelled — and  by  you,  O 
best  of  the  leaders  of  schools  !' 


[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  Pirit.] 


[mar A,    THE    EVIL    ONE.] 

20.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say  thus  : 
"  The  Tathagata  was  in  the  constant  receipt  of  the 
things  necessary  for  a  recluse — robes,  food,  lodging, 
and  the  requisites  for  the  sick."  And  again  they 
say  :  "  When  the  Tathagata  entered  the  Brahman 
village  called  the  Five  Sala  trees  he  received  nothing, 
and  had  to  return  with  his  bowl  as  clean  as  before." 
If  the  first  passage  is  true  the  second  is  false,  and  if 
the  second  passage  is  true  [155]  the  first  is  false. 
This  too  is  a  double-headed  problem,  a  mighty  crux 
hard  to  unravel.  It  is  now  put  to  you.  It  is  for 
you  to  solve  it.' 

21.  'Both  statements  are  true,  but  when  he  re- 
ceived nothing  that  day,  that  was  the  work  of  Mara, 
the  evil  one.' 

'  Then,  Nagasena,  how  was  it  that  the  merit  laid 
up  by  the  Blessed  One  through  countless  a^ons  of 
time  came  to  end  that  day  ?  How  was  it  that  Mara, 
who  had  only  just  been  produced,  could  overcome 
the  strength  and  influence  of  that  merit  ?  In  that 
case,  Nagasena,  the  blame  must  fall  in  one  of  two 


2  20  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  2,  22. 

ways — either  demerit  must  be  more  powerful  than 
merit,  or  the  power  of  Mara  be  greater  than  that  of 
the  Buddha.  The  root  of  the  tree  must  be  heavier 
than  the  top  of  it,  or  the  sinner  stronger  than  he  who 
has  heaped  up  virtue.' 

22.  'Great  king,  that  is  not  enough  to  prove 
either  the  one  or  the  other  of  your  alternatives. 
Still  a  reason  is  certainly  desirable  in  this  matter. 
Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  bring  a  compli- 
mentary present  to  a  king  of  kings — honey  or  honey- 
comb or  something  of  that  kind.  And  the  king's 
doorkeeper  were  to  say  to  him  :  "  This  is  the  wrong 
time  for  visiting  the  king.  So,  my  good  fellow,  take 
your  present  as  quickly  as  ever  you  can,  and  go  back 
before  the  king  inflicts  a  fine  upon  you."  And  then 
that  man,  in  dread  and  awe,  should  pick  up  his 
present,  and  return  in  great  haste.  Now  would  the 
king  of  kings,  merely  from  the  fact  that  the  man 
brought  his  gift  at  the  wrong  time,  be  less  powerful 
than  the  doorkeeper,  or  never  receive  a  compli- 
mentary present  any  more  ?  ' 

'  No,  Sir.  The  doorkeeper  turned  back  the  giver 
of  that  present  out  of  the  surliness  of  his  nature,  and 
one  a  hundred  thousand  times  as  valuable  [156] 
might  be  brought  in  by  some  other  device.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  it  was  out  of  the  jealousy  of  his 
nature  that  Mara,  the  evil  one,  possessed  the  Brah- 
mans  and  householders  at  the  Five  Sala  trees.  And 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  other  deities  came  up  to 
offer  the  Buddha  the  strength-giving  ambrosia  from 
heaven,  and  stood  reverencing  him  with  clasped 
hands  and  thinking  to  themselves  that  they  would 
thus  imbue  him  with  vigour.' 

23.  '  That  may  be  so,   Nagasena.     The  Blessed 


IV,  2,  25.  MARA.  22  1 

One  found  it  easy  to  get  the  four  requisites  of  a 
recluse — he,  the  best  in  the  world — and  at  the 
request  of  gods  and  men  he  enjoyed  all  the  re- 
quisites. But  still  Mara's  intention  to  stop  the 
supply  of  food  to  the  Blessed  One  was  so  far  car- 
ried out.  Herein,  Sir,  my  doubt  is  not  removed. 
I  am  still  in  perplexity  and  hesitation  about  this. 
My  mind  is  not  clear  how  the  Tathagata,  the 
Arahat,  the  supreme  Buddha,  the  best  of  all  the 
best  in  the  world  of  gods  and  men,  he  who  had  so 
glorious  a  treasure  of  the  merit  of  virtue,  the  un- 
equalled one,  unrivalled  and  peerless, — how  so  vile, 
mean,  insignificant,  sinful,  and  ignoble  a  being  as 
Mara  could  put  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  gifts  to 
Him.' 

24.  *  There  are  four  kinds,  O  king,  of  obstacles — 
the  obstacle  to  a  gift  not  intended  for  any  par- 
ticular person,  to  a  gift  set  apart  for  some  one,  to 
the  gift  got  ready,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  gift. 
And  the  first  is  when  any  one  puts  an  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  the  actual  gift  of  a  thing  put  ready  to  be 
given  away,  but  not  with  a  view  to  or  having  seen 
any  particular  donee, — an  obstacle  raised,  for  in- 
stance, by  saying  :  "  What  is  the  good  of  giving 
it  away  to  any  one  else  ?  "  The  second  is  when  any 
one  puts  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  actual  gift  of 
food  intended  to  be  prepared  to  be  given  to  a 
person  specified.  The  third  is  when  any  one  puts  an 
obstacle  in  the  way  when  such  a  gift  has  been  got 
ready,  but  not  yet  accepted.  And  the  fourth  is 
when  any  one  puts  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the 
enjoyment  of  a  gift  already  given  (and  so  the 
property  of  the  donee).' 

25.  *  Now  when  Mara,  the  evil  one,  possessed  the 


22  2  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       TV,  2,  26. 

Brahmans  and  householders  at  the  Five  Sala  trees, 
the  food  in  that  case  was  neither  the  property  of,  nor 
got  ready  for,  nor  intended  to  be  prepared  specially 
for  the  Blessed  One.  [157]  The  obstacle  was  put 
in  the  way  of  some  one  who  was  yet  to  come,  who 
had  not  arrived,  and  for  whom  no  gift  was  intended. 
That  was  not  against  the  Blessed  One  alone.  But 
all  who  had  gone  out  that  day,  and  were  coming  to 
the  village,  failed  to  receive  an  alms.  I  know  no 
one,  O  king,  in  the  world  of  men  and  gods,  no  one 
among  Maras  or  Brahmas,  no  one  of  the  class  of 
Brahmans  or  recluses,  who  could  put  any  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  an  alms  intended  for,  or  got  ready  for, 
or  already  given  to  the  Blessed  One.  And  if  any 
one,  out  of  jealousy,  were  to  raise  up  any  obstacle 
in  that  case,  then  would  his  head  split  into  a 
hundred  or  into  a  thousand  pieces.' 

26.  *  There  are  four  things,  O  king,  connected 
with  the  Tathagatas,  to  which  no  one  can  do  any 
harm.  And  what  are  the  four  ?  To  the  alms 
intended  for,  and  got  ready  for  the  Blessed  One — 
to  the  halo  of  a  fathom's  length  when  it  has  once 
spread  out  from  him — to  the  treasure  of  the  know- 
ledge of  his  omniscience — and  to  his  life.  All  these 
things,  O  king,  are  one  in  essence — they  are  free 
from  defect,  immovable,  unassailable  by  other  beings, 
unchangeable  by  other  circumstances  \  And  Mara, 
the  evil  one,  lay  in  ambush,  out  of  sight,  when  he 
possessed  the  Brahmans  and  householders  at  the 
Five  Sala  trees.     It  was  as  when  robbers,  O  king, 

^  Aphusani  kiriyani,  which  I  do  not  pretend  to  understand, 
and  Mr.  Trenckner  says  is  unintelHgible  to  him.  Hina/i-kumbure 
has:  Anya  kriyawak  no  woedaganna  boewin  apusana  (sic) 
kriyayo  ya. 


IV,  2,  26.  MARA.  223 

hiding  out  of  sight  in  the  inaccessible  country  over 
the  border,  beset  the  highways.  But  if  the  king 
caught  sight  of  them,  do  you  think  those  robbers 
would  be  safe  ?  ' 

*  No,  Sir,  he  might  have  them  cut  into  a  hundred 
or  a  thousand  pieces  with  an  axe.' 

'  Well,  just  so  it  was,  hiding  out  of  sight,  that 
Mara  possessed  them.  It  was  as  when  a  married 
woman,  in  ambush,  and  out  of  sight,  frequents  the 
company  of  her  paramour.  [158]  But  if,  O  king, 
she  were  to  carry  on  her  intrigues  in  her  husband's 
presence,  do  you  think  she  would  be  safe  ? ' 

'  No,  Sir,  he  might  slay  her,  or  wound  her,  or  put 
her  in  bonds,  or  reduce  her  to  slavery.' 

'  Well.  It  was  like  that,  hiding  out  of  sight,  that 
Mara  possessed  them.  But  if,  O  king,  he  had 
raised  any  obstacle  in  the  case  of  an  alms  intended 
for,  got  ready  for,  or  in  possession  of  the  Blessed 
One,  then  his  head  would  have  split  into  a  hundred 
or  a  thousand  pieces.' 

'  That  is  so,  Nagasena.  Mara,  the  evil  one, 
acted  after  the  manner  of  robbers,  he  lay  in  ambush, 
possessing  the  Brahmans  and  householders  of  the 
Five  Sala  trees.  But  if  the  same  Mara,  the  evil 
one,  had  interfered  with  any  alms  mtended  for,  or 
made  ready  for  the  Blessed  One,  or  with  his  par- 
taking thereof,  then  would  his  head  have  been  split 
into  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  pieces,  or  his  bodily 
frame  have  been  dissipated  like  a  handful  of  chaff.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[  Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  Mara's  interference 

with  alms.] 


2  24  the  questions  of  king  milinda.     iv,  2,  27. 

[unconscious  crime.] 

27.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say:  "Who- 
soever deprives  a  living  being  of  life,  without 
knowing  that  he  does  so,  he  accumulates  very 
serious  demerit  ^"  But  on  the  other  hand  it  was 
laid  down  by  the  Blessed  One  in  the  Vinaya : 
"  There  is  no  offence  to  him  who  acts  in  igno- 
rance^." If  the  first  passage  is  correct,  the  other 
must  be  false ;  and  if  the  second  is  right,  the  first 
must  be  wrong.  This  too  is  a  double-pointed 
problem,  hard  to  master,  hard  to  overcome.  It  is 
now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

28.  '  Both  the  passages  you  quote,  O  king,  were 
spoken  by  the  Blessed  One.  But  there  is  a  differ- 
ence between  the  sense  of  the  two.  And  what 
is  that  difference  ?  [159]  There  is  a  kind  of  offence 
which  is  committed  without  the  co-operation  of  the 
mind  ^,  and  there  is  another  kind  which  has  that 
co-operation.     It  was  with  respect  to  the  first  of  the 


^  Not  traced  as  yet,  in  so  many  words.  And  though  there  are 
several  injunctions  in  the  Vinaya  against  acts  which  might  haply, 
though  unknown  to  the  doer,  destroy  life  (such,  for  instance,  as 
drinking  water  without  the  use  of  a  strainer),  when  these  are  all 
subjects  of  special  rule,  and  in  each  case  there  is  an  exception  in 
favour  of  the  Bhikkhu  who  acts  in  ignorance  of  there  being  living 
things  which  could  be  killed.  (See,  for  instance,  PaX'ittiya  62,  on 
the  drinking  of  water.) 

2  A^anantassa  napatti.  Pa/('ittiya  LXI,  2,  3  (in  the  Old 
Commentary,  not  ascribed  to  the  Buddha). 

^  Sa«;7a-vimokkha.  I  am  not  sure  of  the  exact  meaning  of 
this  difficult  compound,  which  has  only  been  found  in  this  passage. 
Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  199)  has:  Maha  ra^aneni,  X'ittangayen 
abhawayen  midena  boewin  sa;7«a-wimoksha-namwu 
apattit  atteya,  &c.  (mid  =  muj^). 


IV,  2,  30.  BUDDHA    AND    HIS    FOLLOWERS.  225 

two   that   the    Blessed    One    said  :     "  There    is    no 
offence  to  him  who  acts  in  io-norance  ^" ' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena !     That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  sins  in  ignorance.] 


[the    BUDDHA    AND    HIS    FOLLOWERS.] 

29.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  w^as  said  by  the 
Blessed  One :  "  Now  the  Tathagata  thinks  not, 
Ananda,  that  is  he  who  should  lead  the  brother- 
hood, or  that  the  Order  is  dependent  upon  him  -." 
But  on  the  other  hand  when  describing  the  virtues 
and  the  nature  of  Metteyya,  the  Blessed  One,  he 
said  thus  :  "He  will  be  the  leader  of  a  brother- 
hood several  thousands  in  number,  as  I  am  now 
the  leader  of  a  brotherhood  several  hundreds  in 
number^."  If  the  first  statement  be  right,  then 
the  second  is  wrong.  If  the  second  passage  is  right, 
the  first  must  be  false.  This  too  is  a  double-pointed 
problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it' 

;^o.  '  You  quote  both  passages  correctly,  O  king. 
But  in  the  dilemma  that  you  put  the  sense  in  the 
one  passage  is  inclusive,  in  the  other  it  is  not.  It 
is  not  the  Tathagata,  O  king,  who  seeks  after  a 
following,   but   the  followers  who    seek    after   him. 


^  The  Si7;/halese  has  here  a  further  page,  giving  examples  of  the 
two  kinds  of  offences  referred  to,  and  drawing  the  conclusion  for 
each. 

^  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  II,  32  (translated  in  my  '  Buddhist 
Suttas,'  p.  37),  just  after  the  passage  quoted  above,  IV,  2,  4. 

"  Not  in  any  of  the  published  texts.  Metteyya  is,  of  course,  the 
Buddha  to  come,  the  expected  messiah. 

[35]  Q 


2  26  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  2,  30. 


[160]  It  is  a  mere   commonly  received  opinion,  O 

king,  that  "  This  is  I,"  or  "  This  is  mine,"  it  is  not  a 

transcendental    truth  \     Attachment  is    a  frame    of 

mind  put  away  by  the  Tathagata,  he  has  put  away 

clineine,  he  is  free  from  the  delusion  that  "  This  is 

mine,"  he  lives  only  to  be  a  help  to  others '-.     Just 

as  the  earth,  O  king,  is  a  support  to  the  beings  in 

the  world,  and  an  asylum  to  them,  and  they  depend 

upon  it,  but  the  broad  earth  has    no   longing  after 

them  in  the  idea  that  "  These  belong  to  me  " — ^just 

so  is  the  Tathagata  a  support  and  an  asylum  to  all 

beings,  but  has  no  longing  after  them  in  the  idea 

that  "  These  belong  to  me."     And  just  as  a  mighty 

rain  cloud,   O  king,  pours   out   its    rain,  and   gives 

nourishment  to  grass  and  trees,  to  cattle  and  to  men, 

and    maintains    the    lineage   thereof,   and   all   these 

creatures  depend  for  their  livelihood  upon  its  rain, 

but   the   cloud   has   no    feelings   of   longing   in    the 

idea    that    "  These    are    mine " — ^just   so  does   the 

Tathagata  give  all  beings  to  know  what  are  good 

qualities  and  maintains  them   in  goodness,  and   all 

beings  have  their  life  in  him,  but  the  Tathagata  has 

no  feelines  of  lonorinor  in  the  idea  that  "  These  are 

mine."     And  why  is  it  so  ?     Because  of  his  having 

abandoned  all  self-regard  V 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  The  problem  has  been 
well  solved  by  variety  of  examples.  The  jungle 
has  been  made  open,  the  darkness  has  been  turned 


^  Sammuti  .  .  .  .  na  paramattho. 

"^  Upadaya  avassayo  hoti. 

3  Attanudi///^iya  pahinatta.  See  the  passages  quoted  by 
Dr.  Morris  in  the  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society,'  1886,  pp. 
113,  114. 


IV,  2,  32.  SCHISM.  227 

to  light,  the  arguments  of  the  adversaries  have 
been  broken  down,  insight  has  been  awakened  in 
the  sons  of  the  Conqueror.' 


[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  Buddha  and 

his  following.] 


[schism.] 

I .  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say :  "  The 
Tathagata  is  a  person  whose  following  can  never  be 
broken  up."  And  again  they  say  :  "  At  one  stroke 
Devadatta  seduced  five  hundred  of  the  brethren  \" 
If  the  first  be  true  the  second  is  false,  but  if  the 
second  be  correct  then  the  first  is  wrong.  [161] 
This  too  is  a  double-pointed  problem,  profound, 
hard  to  unravel,  more  knotty  than  a  knot.  By  it 
these  people  are  veiled,  obstructed,  hindered,  shut 
in,  and  enveloped.  Herein  show  your  skill  as 
against  the  arguments  of  the  adversaries.' 

32.  '  Both  statements,  O  king,  are  correct.  But 
the  latter  is  owing  to  the  power  of  the  breach  maker. 
Where  there  is  one  to  make  the  breach,  a  mother 
will  be  separated  from  her  son,  and  the  son  will 
break  with  the  mother,  or  the  father  with  the  son 
and  the  son  with  the  father,  or  the  brother  from  the 
sister  and  the  sister  from  the  brother,  or  friend  from 
friend.  A  ship  pieced  together  with  timber  of  all 
sorts  is  broken  up  by  the  force  of  the  violence  of 
the  waves,  and  a  tree  in  full  bearing  and  full  of  sap 
is  broken  down  by  the  force  of  the  violence  of  the 
wind,   and    gold    of   the  finest    sort    is    divided    by 

^  Neither  of  these  phrases  is  to  be  foujjid  in  the  published 
texts  in  these  words.  But  the  latter  sums  up  the  episode  related  in 
the  A'ullavagga  VII,  4,  i. 

Q  2 


228  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.     IV,  2,  32. 


bronze.  But  it  is  not  the  intention  of  the  wise,  it  is 
not  the  will  of  the  Buddhas,  it  is  not  the  desire  of 
those  who  are  learned  that  the  following  of  the 
Tathagata  should  be  broken  up.  And  there  is  a 
special  sense  in  which  it  is  said  that  that  cannot  be. 
It  is  an  unheard-of  thing,  so  far  as  I  know,  that  his 
following  could  be  broken  up  by  anything  done  or 
taken,  any  unkindly  word,  any  wrong  action,  any 
injustice,  in  all  the  conduct,  wheresoever  or  what- 
soever, of  the  Tathagata  himself.  In  that  sense 
his  following  is  invulnerable.  And  you  yourself, 
do  you  know  of  any  instance  in  all  the  ninefold 
word  of  the  Buddha  of  anything  done  by  a  Bodisat 
which  broke  up  the  following  of  the  Tathagata  ?' 

'  No,  Sir.  Such  a  thing  has  never  been  seen  or 
heard  in  the  world.  It  is  very  good,  Nagasena, 
what  you  say  :  and  I  accept  it  so.' 


[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  schism.] 


Here  ends  the  Second  Chapter. 


IV,  3jI-  the  dharma.  229 


Book  IV.     Chapter  3. 

[precedence  of  the  dharma.] 

I.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  was  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  For  it  is  the  Dhamma,  O  Vasettha, 
which  is  '  the  best  in  the  world  ^,'  as  regards  both 
what  we  now  see,  and  what  is  yet  to  come  ^."  But 
again  (according  to  your  people)  the  devout  layman 
who  has  entered  the  Excellent  Way,  for  whom  the 
possibility  of  rebirth  in  any  place  of  woe  has  passed 
away,  who  has  attained  to  insight,  and  to  whom  the 
doctrine  is  known,  even  such  a  one  ought  to  salute 
and  to  rise  from  his  seat  in  token  of  respect  for,  and  to 
revere,  any  member  of  the  Order,  though  a  novice,  and 
thoucrh  he  be  unconverted  ^.  Now  if  the  Dhamma 
be  the  best  that  rule  of  conduct  is  wrong,  but  if 
that  be  right  then  the  first  statement  must  be  wrong. 


^  This  is  a  quotation  from  a  celebrated  verse,  which  is,  as  it  were, 
the  national  anthem  of  those  who,  in  the  struggle  for  religious  and 
ceremonial  supremacy  between  the  Brahmans  and  the  nobles,  took 
the  side  of  the  nobles  (the  Khattiyas).  As  might  be  expected  it 
is  not  seldom  found  in  the  Buddhist  Suttas,  and  is  often  put  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Buddha,  the  most  distinguished  of  these  Khattiyas 
who  were  transcendental  rather  than  military.  It  runs :  '  The 
Khattiya  is  the  best  in  the  world  of  those  who  observe  the  rules  of 
exogamous  marriage,  but  of  the  whole  race  of  men  and  gods  he 
who  has  wisdom  and  righteousness  is  the  best.'  See,  for  instance, 
the  Amba///;a  Sutta,  in  the  Digha  Nikaya,  and  the  Sumahgala 
Vilasini  on  that  passage.  By  'best  in  the  world'  is  meant  'entitled 
to  lake  precedence  before  all  others,'  not  best  in  the  moral  sense. 

2  From  the  Agga77«a  Sutta  in  the  Digha  Nikaya. 

'  I  cannot  give  any  authority  for  this,  but  it  is  no  doubt  correct 
Buddhism  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Pi/akas. 


230  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  3,  2. 

This  too  is  a  double-pointed  problem.      It  is  now- 
put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.'  [162] 

2.  '  The  Blessed  One  said  what  you  have  quoted, 
and  you  have  rightly  described  the  rule  of  conduct. 
But  there  is  a  reason  for  that  rule,  and  that  is  this. 
There  are  these  twenty  personal  qualities,  making  up 
the  Sama;^aship  of  a  Sama;za,  and  these  two  outward 
signs  \  by  reason  of  which  the  Sama/^a  is  worthy  of 
salutation,  and  of  respect,  and  of  reverence.  And 
what  are  they  ?  The  best  form  of  self-restraint,  the 
highest  kind  of  self-control  ^  right  conduct,  calm 
manners  ^,  mastery  over  (his  deeds  and  words  ^),  sub- 
jugation (of  his  senses^),  long-suffering'',  sympathy ^ 

^  Lihgani.     See  above,  IV,  i,  6i. 

^  Aggo  niyamo.  Hma/i-kumbure  takes  agga  in  the  sense  of 
Arahatship :  '  Niwan  dena  pratipattiyen  yukta  bawa.' 
Niyama  is  a  self-imposed  vow. 

^  Vihara,  which  the  Si7?ihalese  glosses  by:  'Sansun  iriya- 
patha  wihara?zayen  yukta  bawa,'  ('because  he  continues  in 
the  practice  of  tranquil  deportment.') 

*  Sa^yama.     '  Kaya  wak  sawyaniayen  yukta  bawa.' 

^  Sa;«varo.     *  Indriya  sawzvarayen  yukta  bawa.' 

"  Khanti,  which  the  Sinhalese  repeats. 

■^  Sora/^/^a/?z.  'Because  he  is  docile  and  pleasant  of  speech,' 
says  the  Sinhalese  :  '  Suwa/^a  kikaru  bhawayen  yukta  bawa.' 
It  is  an  abstract  noun  formed  from  surata,  and  does  not  occur  in 
Sanskrit,  though  Bohtlingk-Roth  give  one  authority  for  it  (under 
sauratya)  from  a  Buddhist  work,  the  Vyutpatti.  It  is  one  of  the 
many  instances  in  which  the  Buddhist  ethics  has  put  new  and 
higher  meaning  into  current  phrases,  for  in  Sanskrit  literature 
surata  (literally  'high  pleasure')  is  used  frequently  enough,  but 
almost  without  exception  in  an  obscene  sense.  The  commentary 
on  G^ataka  III,  442  only  repeats  the  word.  It  is  there,  as  here, 
and  in  the  Vyutpatti,  and  at  Ahguttara  II,  15,  3,  always  allied  with 
khanti.  My  translation  follows  Childers  (who  probably  follows 
Bohtlingk-Roth) ;  but  the  Si/«halese  gloss  here  makes  me  very 
doubtful  as  to  the  exact  connotation  which  the  early  Buddhists 
associated  with  '  high  pleasure,' 


IV,  3,  2.  THE    DHARMA.  23  I 


the  practice  of  solitude  \  love  of  solitude  -,  medita- 
tion ^  modesty  and  fear  of  doing  wrong  ^  zeal^ 
earnestness*',  the  taking  upon  himself  of  the  pre- 
cepts ^  recitation  (of  the  Scriptures)  ^  asking  ques- 
tions (of  those  wise  in  the  Dhamma  and  Vinaya), 
rejoicing  in  the  Silas  and  other  (rules  of  morality), 
freedom  from  attachment  (to  the  things  of  the  world), 
fulfilment  of  the  precepts — and  the  wearing  of  the 
yellow  robe,  and  the  being  shaven.  [163]  In  the 
practice  of  all  these  things  does  the  member  of  the 
Order  live.  By  being  deficient  in  none  of  them,  by 
being  perfect  in  all,  accomplished  in  all,  endowed 
with  all  of  them  does  he  reach  forward  to  the  con- 
dition of  Arahatship,  to  the  condition  of  those  who 
have  nothing  left  to  learn  ;  he  is  marching  towards 
the  highest  of  all  lands  ^  Thus  it  is  because  he  sees 
him  to  be  in  the  company  of  the  Worthy  Ones  (the 
Arahats)  that  the  layman  who  has  already  entered 
on  the  Excellent  Way  thinks  it  worthy  in   him  ^*^  to 

1  Ekatta->('ariya  =  'Ekalawa  hcesirimen  yiikta  bawa.' 

^  Ekattabhirati. 

^  Pa/isallawaw,  not  samadhi.  A^ittekagrata  says  the  Sin- 
halese. 

*  Hiri-otappaOT. 

^  Viriyaw,  'the  zeal  of  the  fourfold  effort  (pradhana)  towards 
the  making  of  Arahatship,'  is  the  Sinhalese  gloss. 

«  Appamado,  'in  the  search  for  Arahatship,'  says  Hina/i- 
kumbure. 

•^  Sikkha-samadanan.  '  Learning  them,  investigating  their 
meaning,  love  of  the  virtuous  law  laid  down  in  them,'  expands 
Hina/i-kumbur6. 

**  Uddero.  There  is  a  lacuna  here  in  the  Sinhalese.  It  has 
nothing  more  till  we  come  to  the  shaven  head. 

»  Amr/ta  maha  avaka^a  bhumiya/a  says  the  Si^whalese 
(p.  205). 

1"  Arahati.     I  have  endeavoured  to  imitate  the  play  upon  the 

words. 


232  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         IV,  3,  3. 

reverence  and  to  show  respect  to  the  Bhikkhu,  though 
be  may  be,  as  yet,  unconverted.  It  is  because  he 
sees  him  to  be  in  the  company  of  those  in  whom  all 
evil  has  been  destroyed,  because  he  feels  that  he  is 
not  in  such  society  \  that  the  converted  layman 
thinks  it  worthy  of  him  to  do  reverence  and  to  show 
respect  to  the  unconverted  Bhikkhu.  It  is  because 
he  knows  that  he  has  joined  the  noblest  brotherhood, 
and  that  he  himself  has  reached  no  such  state,  that 
the  converted  layman  holds  it  right  to  do  reverence 
and  to  show  respect  to  the  unconverted  Bhikkhu — 
because  he  knows  that  he  listens  to  the  recitation  of 
the  Patimokkha,  while  he  himself  can  not — because 
he  knows  that  he  receives  men  into  the  Order,  and 
thus  extends  the  teaching  of  the  Conqueror,  which 
he  himself  is  incapable  of  doing — because  he  knows 
that  he  carries  out  innumerable  precepts,  which  he 
himself  cannot  observe — because  he  knows  that  he 
wears  the  outward  signs  ofSama?2aship,and  carries  out 
the  intention  of  the  Buddha,  while  he  himself  is  g-one 
away  far  from  that — because  he  knows  that  he,  though 
he  has  given  up  his  hair  and  beard,  and  is  unanointed 
and  wears  no  ornaments,  yet  is  anointed  with  the 
perfume  of  righteousness,  while  he  is  himself  addicted 
to  jewelry  and  fine  apparel — that  the  converted  lay- 
man thinks  it  right  to  do  reverence,  and  to  show 
respect  to  the  unconverted  Bhikkhu.' 

3.  '  And  moreover,  O  king,  it  is  because  he  knows 
that  not  only  are  all  these  twenty  personal  qualities 
which  go  to  make  a  Sama/^a,  and  the  two  outward 
signs,  found  in  the  Bhikkhu,  but  that  he  carries  them 

^  N'atthi  me  so  samayo  ti:    E   samagri  labhaya  ma/a 
noetoeyi  sita. 


IV,  3,  4-  THE    DHARMA.  233 

on,  and  trains  others  in  them,  that  the  converted 
layman,  realising  that  he  has  no  part  in  that  tra- 
dition ^,  in  that  maintenance  of  the  faith,  thinks  it 
.right  to  reverence  and  to  show  respect  to  the  con- 
verted Ehikkhu.  [164]  Just,  O  king,  as  a  royal 
prince  who  learns  his  knowledge,  and  is  taught  the 
duties  of  a  Khattiya,  at  the  feet  of  the  Brahman  who 
acts  as  family  chaplain  ^,  when  after  a  time  he  is 
anointed  king,  pays  reverence  and  respect  to  his 
master  in  the  thought  of  his  being  the  teacher,  and 
the  carrier  on  of  the  traditions  of  the  family,  so  is  it 
right  for  the  converted  Bhikkhu  to  do  reverence  and 
to  pay  respect  to  the  unconverted  Bhikkhu.' 

4.  '  And  moreover,  O  king,  you  may  know  by 
this  fact  the  greatness  and  the  peerless  glory  of  the 
condition  of  the  Bhikkhus — that  if  a  layman,  a  dis- 
ciple of  the  faith,  who  has  entered  upon  the  Excellent 
Way,  should  attain  to  the  realisation  of  Arahatship, 
one  of  two  results  must  happen  to  him,  and  there  is 
no  other — he  must  either  die  away  on  that  very  day, 
or  take  upon  himself  the  condition  of  a  Bhikkhu. 
For  immovable,  O  king,  is  that  state  of  renuncia- 
tion, glorious,  and  most  exalted — I  mean  the  con- 
dition of  being  a  member  of  the  Order ! ' 

'  Venerable  Nagasena,  this  subtle  problem  has 
been  thoroughly  unravelled  by  your  powerful  and 
great  wisdom.  No  one  else  could  solve  it  so  unless 
he  were  wise  as  you.' 


[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  precedence  of  the 

Dharma.] 


^  Agamo,  which  the  Siz'zhalese  repeats. 
^  Purohita,  which  the  Sinhalese  repeats. 


2  34  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        TV,  3,  5. 

[the    harm    of    PREACHING.] 

5.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  you  Bhikkhus  say  that 
the  Tathagata  averts  harm  from  all  beings,  and  does 
them  good  ^  And  again  you  say  that  when  he  was 
preaching  the  discourse  based  on  the  simile  of  the 
burning  fire  ^  hot  blood  was  ejected  from  the  mouths 
of  about  sixty  Bhikkhus.  By  his  delivery  of  that 
discourse  he  did  those  Bhikkhus  harm  and  not  good. 
So  if  the  first  statement  is  correct,  the  second  is  false  ; 
and  if  the  second  is  correct,  the  first  [165]  is  false. 
This  too  is  a  double-pointed  problem  put  to  you, 
which  you  have  to  solve.' 

6.  '  Both  are  true.  What  happened  to  them  was 
not  the  Tathagata's  doing,  but  their  own.' 

'  But,  Nagasena,  if  the  Tathagata  had  not  delivered 
that  discourse,  then  would  they  have  vomited  up  hot 
blood?' 

'  No.  When  they  took  wrongly  what  he  said,  then 
was  there  a  burning  kindled  within  them,  and  hot 
blood  was  ejected  from  their  mouths.' 

'  Then  that  must  have  happened,  Nagasena, 
through  the  act  of  the  Tathagata,  it  must  have  been 
the  Tathagata  who  was  the  chief  cause  ^  to  destroy 
them.  Suppose  a  serpent,  Nagasena,  had  crept  into 
an  anthill,  and  a  man  in  want  of  earth  were  to  break 
into  the  anthill,  and  take  the  earth  of  it  away.  And 
by  his    doing    so   the   entrance-hole  to    the    anthill 

^  I  cannot  give  chapter  and  verse  for  the  words,  but  the  senti- 
ment is  common  enough. 

2  This  is  not  the  Adit  t  a- par  iy  ay  a  given  in  the  Mahavagga  I, 
21,  and  the  Aggikkhandiipama  Sutta  in  the  yth  Book  of  the 
Afiguttara. 

2  Adhikara.     Pradhana  is  the  Sinhalese  translation. 


IV,  3,  8.  PREACHING.  235 

were  closed  up,  and  the  snake  were  to  die  in  conse- 
quence from  want  of  air.  Would  not  the  serpent 
have  been  killed  by  that  man's  action  ?' 

'  Yes,  O  king.' 

'  Just  so,  Nagasena,  was  the  Tathagata  the  prime 
cause  of  their  destruction.' 

7.  '  When  the  Tathagata  delivered  a  discourse,  O 
king,  he  never  did  so  either  in  flattery  or  in  malice. 
In  freedom  both  from  the  one  and  from  the  other 
did  he  speak.  And  they  who  received  it  aright  were 
made  wise\  but  they  who  received  it  wrongly,  fell. 
Just,  O  king,  as  when  a  man  shakes  a  mango  tree  or 
a  jambu  tree  or  a  mee  tree  ^,  such  of  the  fruits  on  it 
as  are  full  of  sap  and  strongly  fastened  to  it  remain 
undisturbed,  but  such  as  have  rotten  stalks,  and  are 
loosely  attached,  fall  to  the  ground — [166]  so  was  it 
with  his  preaching.  It  was,  O  king,  as  when  a  hus- 
bandman, wanting  to  grow  a  crop  of  wheat,  ploughs 
the  field,  but  by  that  ploughing  many  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  blades  of  grass  are  killed — or  it  was  as 
when  men,  for  the  sake  of  sweetness,  crush  sugar- 
cane in  a  mill,  and  by  their  doing  so  such  small 
creatures  as  pass  into  the  mouth  of  the  mill  are 
crushed  also — so  was  it  that  the  Tathagata  making 
wise  those  whose  minds  were  prepared,  preached  the 
Dhamma  without  flattery  and  without  malice.  And 
they  who  received  it  aright  were  made  wise,  but  they 
who  received  it  wrongly,  fell.' 

8.  '  Then  did  not  those  Bhikkhus  fall,  Nagasena, 
just  because  of  that  discourse  ?  ' 


*  Bu^^-^anti:  unto  Arahatship  adds  Hina/i-kumbure. 
2  Madhuka.     Sec  Gataka  IV,  434.     The  Si;«halese  (p.  208) 
has  migahak  (Bassia  Latifolia). 


236  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.         IV,  3,  9. 

'  How,  then,  could  a  carpenter  by  doing  nothing  to 
a  piece  of  timber,  and  simply  laying  it  by  ^  make  it 
straiofht  and  fit  for  use  ?  ' 

<z> 

'  No,  Sir.  He  would  have  to  get  rid  of  the  bends 
out  of  it,  if  he  wanted  it  straight  and  ready  for  use.' 

'Just  so,  O  king,  the  Tathagata  could  not,  by 
merely  watching  over  his  disciples,  have  opened  the 
eyes  of  those  who  were  ready  to  see.  But  by  getting 
rid  of  those  who  took  the  word  wrongly  he  saved 
those  prepared  to  be  saved.  And  it  was  by  their 
own  act  and  deed,  O  king,  that  the  evil-minded  fell ; 
just  as  a  plantain  tree,  or  a  bambu,  or  a  she-mule  are 
destroyed  by  that  to  which  they  themselves  give 
birth 2.  And  just,  O  king,  as  it  is  by  their  own 
acts  that  robbers  come  to  have  their  eyes  plucked 
out,  or  to  impalement,  or  to  the  scaffold,  just  so 
were  the  evil-minded  destroyed  by  their  own  act, 
and  fell  from  the  teaching  of  the  Conqueror.' 

9.  '  And  so  [167]  with  those  sixty  Bhikkhus,  they 
fell  neither  by  the  act  of  the  Tathagata  nor  of  any 
one  else,  but  solely  by  their  own  deed  ^.  Suppose,  O 
king,  a  man  were  to  give  ambrosia  ^  to  all  the  people, 
and  they,  eating  of  it,  were  to  become  healthy  and 
long-lived  and  free  from  every  bodily  ill.  But  one 
man,  on  eating  it,  were  by  his  own  bad  digestion,  to 


^  Rakkhanto,  which  Hina/i-kumbuie  expands  in  the  sense 
adopted  above. 

^  Plantains  and  bambus  die  when  they  flower.  And  it  was 
popular  belief  in  India  that  she-mules  always  died  if  they  foaled. 
See  A'ullavagga  VI,  4,  3;  VII,  2,  5;  Vimana  Vatthu  43,  8; 
Sa;/^yutta  Nikaya  VI,  2,  2. 

^  Hina/i-kumbure  here  inserts  a  translation  of  the  whole  of  the 
Sutta  referred  to. 

*  A  ma  tarn,  with  reference,  no  doubt,  to  Arahatship,  of  which 
this  is  also  an  epithet. 


IV,  Sjifr  THE    FOOLISH    FELLOW.  237 

die.     Would  then,  O  king,  the  man  who  gave  away 
the  ambrosia  be  guilty  therein  of  any  offence  ?' 

*  No,  Sir.' 

*  Just  so,  O  king,  does  the  Tathagata  present  the 
o-ift  of  his  ambrosia  to  the  men  and  aods  in  the  ten 
thousand  world  systems  ;  and  those  beings  who  are 
capable  of  doing  so  are  made  wise  by  the  nectar  of 
his  law,  while  they  who  are  not  are  destroyed  and 
fall.  Food,  O  king,  preserves  the  lives  of  all  beings. 
But  some  who  eat  of  it  die  of  cholera  ^  Is  the  man 
who  feeds  the  hungry  guilty  therein  of  any  offence  ? ' 

'No,  Sir.' 

'  Just  so,  O  king,  does  the  Tathagata  present  the 
o-ift  of  his  ambrosia  to  the  men  and  orods  in  the  ten 
thousand  world  systems  ;  and  those  beings  who  are 
capable  of  doing  so  are  made  wise  by  the  nectar  of  his 
law,  while  they  who  are  not  are  destroyed  and  fall.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.'      

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  on  the  harm  resulting 
from  preaching.] 


[the  secrets  of  a  tathagata.] 
II.  [This  dilemma  treats  of  one  of  the  thirty 
bodily  signs  of  a  '  great  man '  (Mahapurusha)  sup- 
posed to  be  possessed  by  every  Tathagata,  but  as  it 
deals  with  matters  not  usually  spoken  of  in  this 
century,  it  is  best  read  in  the  original.] 

[the  foolish  fellow.] 
15.  [170]  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  was  said  by  the 
Elder  Sariputta,  the  commander  of  the  faith  :  "  The 

1  Visu^ikaya,  which  Hina/i-kumbur6  renders:    Agirna.  wa 
wiwekabadhayen.     So  above,  IV,  2,  18. 


238  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  3,  16. 

Tathagata,  brethren,  is  perfect  in  courtesy  of  speech. 
There  is  no  fault  of  speech  in  the  Tathagata  con- 
cerning which  he  should  have  to  take  care  that  no 
one  else  should  know  it  \"  And  on  the  other  hand 
the  Tathagata,  when  promulgating  the  first  Para^ika 
on  the  occasion  of  the  offence  of  Sudinna  the 
Kalanda  ^  addressed  him  with  harsh  words,  calling 
him  a  useless  fellow  ^.  And  that  Elder,  on  being  so 
called,  terrified  with  the  fear  of  his  teacher*,  and 
overcome  with  remorse,  was  unable  to  comprehend 
the  Excellent  Way '^.  Now  if  the  first  statement  be 
correct,  the  allegation  that  the  Tathagata  called 
Sudinna  the  Kalanda  a  useless  fellow  must  be  false. 
But  if  that  be  true,  then  the  first  statement  must  be 
false.  [171]  This  too  is  a  double-pointed  problem 
now  put  to  you,  and  3^ou  have  to  solve  it.' 

16.  'What  Sariputta  the  Elder  said  is  true,  O 
kine.  And  the  Blessed  One  called  Sudinna  a  useless 
fellow  on  that  occasion.  But  that  was  not  out  of 
rudeness  of  disposition  ''\  it  was  merely  pointing  out 
the  real  nature  (of  his  conduct)  in  a  way  that  would 
do  him  no  harm  \     And  what  herein  is  meant  by 

'  I  don't  know  where  such  a  phrase  is  put  into  Sariputta's  mouth : 
but  a  similar  one,  as  Mr.  Trenckner  points  out,  is  ascribed  to  the 
Buddha  at  Ahguttara  VII,  6,  5. 

-  Kalanda-putto,  where  Kalanda  (or  Kalandaka  as  some 
MSS.  of  the  Vinaya  spell  it)  is  the  name  of  the  clan  (see  Parao-ika 
I,  5,  i),  not  of  the  father. 

^  See  the  whole  speech  at  Para^ika  I,  5,  11. 

*  Garuttasena.  Taso  is  not  in  Childers,  but  occurs  Cataka 
III,  177,  202. 

^  There  is  nothing  in  the  Vinaya  account  of  this  result. 

"  Du///ia-/('ittena,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  repeats. 

■^  Asarambhena  yathava-lakkhawena.  For  yathava,  which 
is  not  in  Childers,  see  Buddhaghosa  in  the  Sumahgala  Vilasini, 
p.  65,  and  Dhammapala  on  Theri  Gatha,  387.     Hina/i-kumbure 


IV,  3,  17-         THE  FOOLISH  FELLOW.  239 

"  pointing  out  the  real  nature."  If  any  man,  O  king, 
in  this  birth  does  not  attain  to  the  perception  of  the 
Four  Truths,  then  is  his  manhood  (his  being  born  as 
a  man)  in  vain  \  but  if  he  acts  cHfferently  he  will 
become  different.  Therefore  is  it  that  he  is  called 
a  useless  fellow  ^  And  so  the  Blessed  One  addressed 
Sudinna  the  Kalanda  with  words  of  truth,  and  not 
with  words  apart  from  the  facts.' 

17.  'But,  Nagasena,  though  a  man  in  abusing 
another  speaks  the  truth,  still  we  should  inflict  a 
small"  fine  upon  him.  For  he  is  guilty  of  an  offence, 
inasmuch  as  he,  although  for  something  real,  abused 
him  by  the  use  of  words  that  might  lead  to  a  breach 
(of  the  peace)  *.' 

'  Have  you  ever  heard,  O  king,  of  a  people  bowing 
down  before,  or  rising  up  from  their  seats  in  respect 
for,  or  showing  honour  to,  or  bringing  the  compli- 
mentary presents  (usually  given  to  officials)  to  a 
criminal  .'*' 

*  No,  if  a  man  have  committed  a  crime  of  whatever 
sort  or  kind,  if  he  be  really  worthy  of  reproof  and 
punishment,  they  would  rather  behead  him,  or  tor- 


translates:  Upadra  karawa  sitakin  ut  no  wanneya,  swabhawa 
lakshawayen  maya  ehi  wadala  kisiwek  cet  nam.  e  swabhawa 
laksha^zaya  maya. 

^  M ogham.     So  at  Cataka  III,  24. 

^  IMogha-puriso,  the  same  word  as  I  have  translated  elsewhere 
'  foolish  fellow,'  following  Childers.  But  I  never  think  that  the 
word  means  always  and  only  '  in  vain,  useless.'  See  Gataka  I, 
14;  III,  24,  25;  Sutta  Nipata  III,  7,  20;  Mahavagga  VIII,  i,  5; 
A^uUavagga  V,  1 1,  3 ;  Ahguttara  II,  5, 10 ;  Sumahgala  Vilasini,  p.  55, 

'  Literally,  'a  fine  of  a  kahapawa,'  a  copper  coin  worth  in  our 
money  about  a  penny.    See  my  '  Ancient  Coins  and  IMeasures,'  p.  3. 

*  Visum  voharaw  a/taranto.  The  Si;;/halese  (p.  224)  has 
Wen  wu  wa/{'ana  wu  wyawaharayekin  hcesiremin. 


240  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  3,  18. 

tiire  him  \  or  bind  him  with  bonds,  or  put  him  to 
death,  or  deprive  him  of  his  goods  ^' 

'  Did  then  the  Blessed  One,  O  king,  act  with 
justice  or  not  ?  ' 

'  With  justice,  Sir,  and  in  a  most  fit  and  proper 
way.  And  when,  Nagasena,  they  hear  of  it  the 
world  of  men  and  o-ods  will  be  made  tender  of  con- 
science,  and  afraid  of  falling  into  sin,  struck  with  awe 
at  the  sight  of  it,  and  still  more  so  when  they  them- 
selves associate  with  wrong-doers,  or  do  wrong.' 

18.  [172]  '  Now  would  a  physician,  O  king,  admin- 
ister pleasant  things  as  a  medicine  in  a  case  where 
all  the  humours  of  the  body  were  affected,  and  the 
whole  frame  was  disorganised  and  full  of  disease  ?' 

'  No.  Wishing  to  put  an  end  to  the  disease  he 
would  give  sharp  and  scarifying  drugs.' 

'  In  the  same  way,  O  king,  the  Tathagata  bestows 
admonition  for  the  sake  of  suppressing  all  the 
diseases  of  sin.  And  the  words  of  the  Tathagata, 
even  when  stern,  soften  men  and  make  them  tender. 
Just  as  hot  water,  O  king,  softens  and  makes  tender 
anything  capable  of  being  softened,  so  are  the  words 
of  the  Tathagata,  even  when  stern,  yet  as  full  of  bene- 
fit, and  as  full  of  pity  as  the  words  of  a  father  would 
be  to  his  children.  Just,  O  king,  as  the  drinking  of 
evil-smelling  decoctions,  the  swallowing  of  nasty 
drugs,  destroys  the  weaknesses  of  men's  bodies,  so 
are  the  words  of  the  Tathagata,  even  when  stern, 
bringers  of  advantage  and   laden  with    pity.     And 


^  Hananti.     But  hi wsat  kereti  says  the  Si?«halese, 

^  G'apenti.     Dr.  Edward    Miiller   thinks   this    a   misprint   for 

^^apenti  (Pali  Grammar,  p.  37).      Dhanaya  hanayen  nird- 

dhanika  kereti  is  the  Si?/?halese  version. 


IV,  3,  20.  THE    TALKING    TREE.  24 1 


just,  O  king,  as  a  ball  of  cotton  falling  on  a  man 
raises  no  bruise,  so  do  the  words  of  the  Tathaeata, 
even  when  stern,  do  no  harm.' 

*  Well  have  you  made  this  problem  clear  by  many 
a  simile.  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I 
accept  it  as  you  say.' 


[End  of  the  dilemma  as  to  the  Buddha's  harsh  words 

to  Sudinna,] 


[the  tree  talking.] 

19.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  the  Tathagata  said  : 

"  Brahman  !  why  do  you  ask  an  unconscious  thing. 
Which  cannot  hear  you,  how  it  does  to-day  ? 
Active,  intelligent,  and  full  of  life, 
How  can  you  speak  to  this  so  senseless  thing — 
This  wild  Palasa  tree^  ?" 
[173]  And  on  the  other  hand  he  said  : 
"  And  thus  the  Aspen  tree  then  made  reply  : 
'  I,  Bharadva^a,  can  speak  too.     Listen  to  me  2.'  " 
'  Now  if,  Nagasena,  a  tree  is  an  unconscious  thing, 
it  must  be  false  that  the  Aspen  tree  spoke  to  Bharad- 
va^a.     But  if  that  is  true,  it  must  be  false  to  say  that 
a  tree  is  unconscious.     This  too  is  a  double-edeed 
problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

20.  '  The  Master  said,  Nagasena,  that  a  tree  is 
unconscious.  And  the  Aspen  tree  conversed  with 
Bharadvac^a.  But  that  last  is  said,  O  king,  by  a 
common  form  of  speech.  For  though  a  tree  being 
unconscious  cannot  talk,  yet  the  word  "  tree  "  is  used 

^  Crataka  III,  24.     It  is  not  the  Tathagata,  but   the  Bodisat^ 
who  speaks. 

*  Gataka  IV,  210,  where  the  verses  are  ascribed  to  the  Buddha. 

[35]  R 


242  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KTNG    MILINDA.      IV,  3,  21. 

as  a  designation  of  the  dryad  who  dwells  therein, 
and  in  that  sense  that  "  the  tree  talks "  is  a  well- 
known  expression.  Just,  O  king,  as  a  waggon  laden 
with  corn  is  called  a  corn-waggon.  But  it  is  not 
made  of  corn,  it  is  made  of  wood,  yet  because  of  the 
corn  being  heaped  up  in  it  the  people  use  the  ex- 
pression "corn-waggon."  Or  just,  O  king,  as  when  a 
man  is  churning  sour  milk  the  common  expression  is 
that  he  is  churning  butter.  But  it  is  not  butter  that 
he  is  churning,  but  milk.  Or  just,  O  king,  as  when 
a  man  is  making  something  that  does  not  exist  the 
common  expression  is  that  he  is  making  that  thing 
which  all  the  while  as  yet  is  not,  [174]  but  people 
talk  of  the  work  as  accomplished  before  it  is  done. 
And  the  Tathagata,  when  expounding  the  Dhamma, 
does  so  by  means  of  the  phraseology  which  is  in 
common  use  among  the  people.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.'      

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  talking  tree.] 


[the  Buddha's  last  illness.] 

21.  'Venerable    Nagasena,    it   was    said   by   the 
Elders  who  held  the  Recitation  ^ : 
"  When  he  had  eaten  A'unda's  alms, 
The  coppersmith's, — thus  have  I  heard, — 
The  Buddha  felt  that  sickness  dire, 
That  sharp  pain  even  unto  death 


2   " 


^  The  Council  of  Ra^agaha  is  meant,  at  which  the  Pi/akas  were 
recited.  All  the  so-called  Councils  are  exclusively  '  Recitations ' 
(Sa7«gitiyo)  in  Buddhist  phraseology.  But  'Council'  is  the  best 
rendering  of  the  word,  as  Recitation  implies  so  much  that  would 
be  unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  reader. 

^  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  IV,  23. 


IV,  3,  22.  THE    BUDDHA  S    LAST    ILLNESS.  243 

And   afterwards  the    Blessed   One    said  :    "  These 

A 

two  offerings  of  food,  Ananda,  equal,  of  equal  fruit, 
and  of  equal  result,  are  of  much  greater  fruit  and 
much  greater  result  than  any  others  ^"  Now  if 
sharp  sickness  fell  upon  the  Blessed  One,  Nagasena, 
after  he  had  partaken  of  A'unda's  alms,  and  sharp 
pains  arose  within  him  even  unto  death,  then  that 
other  statement  must  be  wrong.  But  if  that  is 
right  then  the  first  must  be  wrong.  How  could 
that  alms,  Nagasena,  be  of  great  fruit  when  it  turned 
to  poison,  gave  rise  to  disease,  [175]  put  an  end  to 
the  period  of  his  then  existence,  took  away  his  life  ? 
Explain  this  to  me  to  the  refutation  of  the  adver- 
saries. The  people  are  in  bewilderment  about  this, 
thinking  that  the  dysentery  must  have  been  caused 
by  his  eating  too  much,  out  of  greediness.' 

2  2.  'The  Blessed  One  said,  O  king,  that  there 
were  two  almsgivings  equal,  of  equal  fruit,  and  equal 
result,  and  of  much  greater  fruit,  and  much  greater 
result  than  any  others, — that  which,  when  a  Tatha- 
gata  has  partaken  of  it,  he  attains  to  supreme  and 
perfect  Buddhahood  (Enlightenment),  and  that  when 
he  has  partaken  of  which,  he  passes  away  by  that 
utter  passing  away  in  which  nothing  whatever  re- 
mains behind  ^.  For  that  alms  is  full  of  virtue,  full 
of  advantage.  The  gods,  O  king,  shouted  in  joy 
and  gladness  at  the  thought :  "  This  is  the  last 
meal  the  Tathagata  will  take,"  and  communicated 
a    divine    power    of    nourishment    to    that    tender 


^  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  IV,  57,  but  with  a  shghtly  different 
reading. 

^  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  loc.  cit.     The  Si;;/halese  gives  the 
whole  context  in  full. 

R  2 


244  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  3,  22. 

pork  \  And  that  was  itself  in  good  condition,  light, 
pleasant,  full  of  flavour,  and  good  for  digestion  ^ 
It  was  not  because  of  it  that  any  sickness  fell  upon 
the  Blessed  One,  but  it  was  because  of  the  extreme 
weakness  of  his  body,  and  because  of  the  period  of 
life  he  had  to  live  having  been  exhausted,  that  the 
disease  arose,  and  grew  worse  and  worse — just  as 
when,  O  king,  an  ordinary  fire  is  burning,  if  fresh 
fuel  be  supplied,  it  will  burn  up  still  more — or  [176] 
as  when  a  stream   is   flowing   along  as   usual,  if  a 


^  Sukara-maddava.  There  is  great  doubt  as  to  the  exact 
meaning  of  this  name  of  the  last  dish  the  Buddha  partook  of, 
Maddati  is  'to  rub,'  or  'to  press,'  or  'to  trample,'  and  just  as 
'  pressed  beef  is  ambiguous,  so  is  '  boar-pressed  '  or  'pork-tender' 
capable  of  various  interpretations.  The  exegetical  gloss  as  handed 
down  in  the  Maha  Vihara  in  Anuradhapure,  Ceylon,  in  the  now 
lost  body  of  tradition  called  the  Maha  A///^akatha,  has  been  pre- 
served by  Dhammapala  in  his  comment  on  Udana  VIII,  5  (p.  8i 
of  Dr.  Steinthal's  edition  for  the  Pali  Text  Society).  It  means,  I 
think,  '  Meat  pervaded  by  the  tenderness  and  niceness  of  boar's 
(flesh).'  But  that  is  itself  ambiguous,  and  Dhammapala  adds  that 
others  say  the  word  means  not  pork  or  meat  at  all,  but  '  the  tender 
top  sprout  of  the  bambu  plant  after  it  has  been  trampled  upon 
by  swine' — others  again  that  it  means  a  kind  of  mushroom  that 
grows  in  ground  trodden  under  foot  by  swine — others  again  that 
it  means  only  a  particular  kind  of  flavouring,  or  sauce.  As 
Maddana  is  rendered  by  Childers  'withered,'  I  have  translated  it 
in  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas '  (pp.  71-73)  '  dried  boar's  flesh.'  But  the 
fact  is  that  the  exact  sense  is  not  known.  (Maddavani 
pupphani  at  Dhammapada  377  is  '  withered  flowers,'  according 
to  Fausboll.  But  it  may  be  just  as  well '  tender  flowers,'  especially 
as  Mardava  in  Sanskrit  always  means  'tender,  pitiful,'  &c.  This 
is  the  only  passage  where  the  word  is  known  to  occur  in  Pali  apart 
from  those  in  which  sukara-maddava  is  mentioned.)  The 
Siwhalese  here  (p.  230)  repeats  the  word  and  adds  the  gloss  :  E 
taruwu  wu  ilru  ma;;/sayehi. 

2  G^atharaggi-te^assa  hitam.  On  this  curious  old  belief  in 
an  internal  fire  see  my  '  Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  260. 


IV,  3>23.         THE  Buddha's  last  illness.  245 


heavy  rain  falls,  it  will  become  a  mighty  river  with 
a  great  rush  of  water — or  as  when  the  body  is  of  its 
ordinary  girth,  if  more  food  be  eaten,  it  becomes 
broader  than  before.  So  this  was  not,  O  king,  the 
fault  of  the  food  that  was  presented,  and  you  can 
not  impute  any  harm  to  it.' 

23.  'But,  venerable  Nagasena,  why  is  it  that  those 
two  gifts  of  food  are  so  specially  meritorious  ?  ' 

'  Because  of  the  attainment  of  the  exalted  con- 
ditions which  resulted  from  them\' 

'  Of  what  conditions,  Nagasena,  are  you  speaking?' 

'  Of  the  attainment  of  the  nine  successive  states 
which  were  passed  through  at  first  in  one  order, 
and  then  in  the  reverse  order  ^.' 

'  It  was  on  two  days,  was  it  not,  Nagasena,  that 
the  Tathagata  attained  to  those  conditions  in  the 
highest  degree  ? ' 

'Yes,  O  king  I' 

'It  is  a  most  wonderful  thing,  Nagasena,  and  a 
most  strange,  that  of  all  the  great  and  glorious 
gifts  which  were  bestowed  upon  our  Blessed  One  ^ 
not  one  can  be  compared  with  these  two  alms- 
givings.    Most  marvellous  is  it,  that  even  as  those 

^  Dhammanuma^^ana-samapatti-varena:  which  the  Sin- 
halese merely  repeats.  For  Anuma^^ana  see  the  text  above, 
p.  62,  and  Sumahgala  Vilasini,  p.  65. 

2  See  the  full  description  in  the  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  VI, 
11-13.  ('  Buddhist  Suttas,'  pp.  115,  116.)  The  Sinhalese  is  here 
greatly  expanded  (pp.  230-233). 

=*  So  our  author  must  have  thought  that  the  nine  Anupubba- 
viharas  occurred  also  after  the  alms  given  to  Gotama  before  he 
sat  under  the  Bo  Tree,  but  I  know  of  no  passage  in  the  Pi/akas 
which  would  support  this  belief.  Compare  the  note  2  in  vol.  i, 
p.  74  of  the  '  Vinaya  Texts,'  and  the  passages  there  quoted. 

*  Buddha-khette  danam,  'gifts  which  had  the  Buddha  as 
the  field  in  which  they  were  bestowed,  or  sown.' 


246  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILTNDA.      IV,  3,  24. 

nine  successive  conditions  are  sflorious,  even  so  are 
those  gifts  made,  by  their  glory,  [177]  of  greater 
fruit,  and  of  greater  advantage  than  any  others. 
Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept  it 
as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  Buddha's 

last  illness.] 


[adoration  of  relics.] 

24.  *  Venerable    Nagasena,  the    Tathagata  said : 

A 

"  Hinder  not  yourselves,  Ananda,  by  honouring  the 

remains  of   the   Tathagata  \"     And    on   the   other 

hand  he  said : 

"  Honour  that  relic  of  him  who  is  worthy  of  honour. 

Acting  in  that  way  you  go  from  this  world  to 

heaven  ^." 
*  Now  if  the  first  injunction  was  right  the  second 
must  be  wrong,  and  if  the  second  is  right  the  first 
must  be  wrong.     This  too  is  a  double-edged  pro- 
blem now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

25.  '  Both  the  passages  you  quote  were  spoken 
by  the  Blessed  One.  But  it  was  not  to  all  men,  it 
was  to  the  sons  of  the  Conqueror  ^  that  it  was  said  : 

A 

"  Hinder  not  yourselves,  Ananda,  by  honouring  the 
{remains  of  the  Tathagata^."      Paying  reverence  is 

not  the  work  of  the  sons  of  the  Conqueror,  [178] 
i,  but    rather  the  grasping  of  the  true  nature  of  all 


\ 


^  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  V,  24. 
^  Not  found  in  any  of  the  Pi/aka  texts  as  yet  published. 
^  (?ina-puttanaTO.     That  is,  the  members  of  the  Order. 
*  Here  again  Hina/i-kumbure  goes  into  a  long  account  of  the 
attendant  circumstances  (pp.  233,  234). 


IV,  3j  26.  ADORATION    OF    RELICS.  247 


compounded  things,  the  practice  of  thought,  con- 
templation in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  Satipa- 
///^ana,  the  seizing  of  the  real  essence  of  all  objects 
of  thought,  the  struggle  against  evil,  and  devotion 
to  their  own  (spiritual)  good.  These  are  things 
which  the  sons  of  the  Conqueror  ought  to  do,  leaving 
to  others,  whether  gods  or  men,  the  paying  of 
reverence  ^.' 

26.  '  And  that  is  so,  O  king,  just  as  it  is  the  business 
of  the  princes  of  the  earth  to  learn  all  about 
elephants,  and  horses,  and  chariots,  and  bows,  and 
rapiers,  and  documents,  and  the  law  of  property  ^ 
to  carry  on  the  traditions  of  the  Khattiya  clans,  and 
to  fi^ht  themselves  and  to  lead  others  in  war,  while 
husbandry,  merchandise,  and  the  care  of  cattle  are 
the  business  of  other  folk,  ordinary  Vessas  and 
Suddas. — Or  just  as  the  business  of  Brahmins  and 
their  sons  is  concerned  with  the  Rig-veda,  the 
Ya^ur-veda,  the  Sama-veda,  the  Atharva-veda, 
with  the  knowledge  of  lucky  marks  (on  the  body), 
of  legends  ■',  Pura;ms,  lexicography  ^  prosody,  phono- 
logy, "verses,  grammar,  etymology,  astrology,  inter- 
pretation of  omens,  and  of  dreams,  and  of  signs, 
study  of  the  six  Vedaiigas,  of  eclipses  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  of  the  prognostications  to  be  drawn 
from  the  flight  of  comets,  the  thunderings  of  the 
gods,  the  junctions  of  planets,  the  fall  of  meteors, 
earthquakes,  conflagrations,  and  signs  in  the  heavens 
and  on  the   earth,  the  study  of  arithmetic,  of  cas- 


^  This  is  really  only  an  expansion  and  a  modernisation  of  the 
context  of  the  passage  quoted. 

^  Lekha-mudda.     See  the  note  above  on  I,  i,  10. 

2  Itihasa,  'the  Bharata  and  the  Ramayawa,'  says  the  Si;«halese. 

*  '  Of  names  of  trees  and  so  on,'  says  Hina/i-kumbure. 


248  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  3,  27. 

uistry,  of  the  interpretation  of  the  omens  to  be 
drawn  from  dogs,  and  deer,  and  rats,  and  mixtures 
of  liquids,  and  the  sounds  and  cries  of  birds — while 
husbandry,  merchandise,  and  the  care  of  cattle  are 
the  business  of  other  folk,  ordinary  Vessas  and 
Suddas.  So  it  was,  O  king,  in  the  sense  of 
"  Devote  not  yourselves  to  such  things  as  are  not 
your  business,  but  to  such  things  as  are  so "  that 
the  Tathagata  was  speaking  [179]  when  he  said : 
"  Hinder  not  yourselves,  Ananda,  by  honouring 
the  remains  of  the  Tathagata."  And  if,  O  king, 
he  had  not  said  so,  then  would  the  Bhikkhus  have 
taken  his  bowl  and  his  robe,  and  occupied  them- 
selves with  paying  reverence  to  the  Buddha  through 
them  ^ !  ' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  reverence  to  relics.] 


[the  splinter  of  rock.] 

27.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  you  Bhikkhus  say 
that :  "  When  the  Blessed  One  walked  alone, 
the  earth,  unconscious  though  it  is,  filled  up  its 
deep  places,  and  made  its  steep  places  plain  ^." 
And  on  the  other  hand  you  say  that  a  splinter  of 

^  This  certainly  looks  as  if  our  author  did  not  know  anything  of 
the  worship  paid  to  the  supposed  bowl  of  the  Buddha,  or  of  the 
feast,  the  Patta-maha,  held  in  its  honour.  The  passage  may 
therefore  be  used  as  an  argument  for  the  date  of  the  book.  Fa- 
Hien  saw  this  bowl-worship  in  full  force  at  Peshawar  about  400 
A.  D.     See  Chapter  xii  of  his  travels  (Dr.  Legge's  translation,  pp. 

35-37)- 

^  Not  found  as  yet  in  the  Pi/akas. 


IV,  3,  29-  THE   SPLINTER    OF    ROCK.  249 


rock  grazed  his  foot  ^  When  that  splinter  was 
falHng  on  his  foot  why  did  it  not,  then,  turn  aside  ? 
If  it  be  true  that  the  unconscious  earth  makes  its 
deep  places  full  and  its  steep  places  plain  for  him, 
then  it  must  be  untrue  that  the  splinter  of  rock 
hurt  his  foot.  But  if  the  latter  statement  be  true, 
then  the  first  must  be  false.  This  too  is  a  double- 
edged  problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to 
solve  it.' 

28.  '  Both  statements,  O  king,  are  true.  But 
that  splinter  of  rock  did  not  fall  of  itself^,  it  was 
cast  down  through  the  act  of  Devadatta.  Through 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  existences,  O  king,  had 
Devadatta  borne  a  grudge  against  the  Blessed 
One  -^  It  was  through  that  hatred  that  he  seized 
hold  of  a  mighty  mass  of  rock,  and  pushed  it  over 
with  the  hope  that  it  would  fall  upon  the  Buddha's 
head.  But  two  other  rocks  came  together,  and 
intercepted  it  before  it  reached  the  Tathagata,  and 
by  the  force  of  their  impact  a  splinter  was  torn  off, 
and  fell  in  such  a  direction  that  it  struck  [180]  the 
Blessed  One's  foot.' 

29,  '  But,  Nagasena,  just  as  two  rocks  intercepted 
that  mighty  mass,  so  could  the  splinter  have  been 
intercepted.' 

'  But  a  thing  intercepted,  O  king,  can  escape,  slip 
through,  or  be  lost — as  water  does,  through  the 
fingers,  when  it  is  taken  into  the  hand — or  milk,  or 
buttermilk,  or  honey,  or  ghee,  or  oil,  or  fish  curry, 

'  A'ullavagga  VII,  3,  9.  Compare  the  Sawyulta  Nikaya  I,  4, 
8  ;  IV,  2,  3  (pp.  27  and  no  of  M.  Ldon  Peer's  edition  for  the  Pali 
Text  Society). 

^  Attaro  dhammataya. 

^  So  above,  IV,  2,  64,  and  below,  IV,  4,  41. 


250  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  3,  30. 

or  gravy — or  as  fine,  subtle,  minute,  dusty  grains  of 
sand  do,  through  the  fingers,  if  you  close  your  fist 
on  them — or  as  rice  will  escape  sometimes  when  you 
have  taken  it  into  your  fingers,  and  are  putting  it 
into  your  mouth.' 

30.  '  Well,  let  that  be  so,  Nagasena.  I  admit  that 
the  rock  was  intercepted.  But  the  splinter  ought  at 
least  to  have  paid  as  much  respect  to  the  Buddha  as 
the  earth  did.' 

'  There  are  these  twelve  kinds  of  persons,  O  king', 
who  pay  no  respect — the  lustful  man  in  his  lust,  and 
the  angry  man  in  his  malice,  and  the  dull  man  in 
his  stupidity,  and  the  puffed-up  man  in  his  pride,  and 
the  bad  man  in  his  want  of  discrimination,  and  the 
obstinate  man  in  his  want  of  docility,  and  the  mean 
man  in  his  littleness,  and  the  talkative  man  in  his 
vanity,  and  the  wicked  man  in  his  cruelty,  and  the 
wretched  man  in  his  misery,  and  the  gambler  [181] 
because  he  is  overpowered  by  greed,  and  the  busy 
man  in  his  search  after  gain.  But  that  splinter,  just 
as  it  was  broken  off  by  the  impact  of  the  rocks,  fell 
by  chance  ^  in  such  a  direction  that  it  struck  against 
the  foot  of  the  Blessed  One — ^just  as  fine,  subtle,  and 
minute  grains  of  sand,  when  carried  away  by  the 
force  of  the  wind,  are  sprinkled  down  by  chance  in 
any  direction  they  may  happen  to  take.  If  the 
splinter,  O  king,  had  not  been  separated  from  the 
rock  of  which  it  formed  a  part,  it  too  would  have 
been  intercepted  by  their  meeting  together.  But, 
as  it  was,  it  was  neither  fixed  on  the  earth,  nor  did 
it  remain  stationary  in  the  air,  but  fell  whithersoever 

^  Animitta-kata-disa,  which  the  Sinhalese  (p.  238)  merely 
repeats. 


IV,  3,  3^-  THE    SAMAiVA.  25 1 

chance  directed  it,  and  happened  to  strike  against 
the  Blessed  One's  foot — ^just  as  dried  leaves  might 
fall  if  caught  up  in  a  whirlwind.  And  the  real  cause 
of  its  so  striking  against  his  foot  was  the  sorrow- 
working  deed  ^  of  that  ungrateful,  wicked,  Devadatta.' 
*  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  the  splinter  grazing 
the  Buddha's  foot] 


[the     SAMAiVA.] 

31.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  the  Blessed  One  said  : 
"  A  man  becomes  a  Sama^za  by  the  destruction  of 
the  Asavas^."     But  on  the  other  hand  he  said  : 
"  The  man  who  has  these  dispositions  four 
Is  he  whom  the  world  knows  as  Sama;^a^" 
And  in  that  passage  these  are  the  four  dispositions 
referred    to — long-suffering,    temperance    in    food, 
renunciation  ^,  and   the   being   without   the    attach- 
ments^  (arising    from    lust,    ill-will,    and    dulness). 
Now  these  four  dispositions    are    equally  found  in 
those  who    are  still   defective,  in  whom    [182]   the 


^  Dukkhanubhavana — the  sorrow  being  Devadatta's  subse- 
quent existence  in  purgatory. 

^  That  is  '  of  sensuality,  individuality,  delusion,  and  ignorance.' 
I  don't  know  which  is  the  passage  referred  to. 

^  Also  not  traced  as  yet  in  the  texts. 

*  Vippahana,  not  in  Childers,  but  see  Sutta  Nipata  V,  14,  4,  5. 
Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  239)  renders  it  alaya  hoerima. 

^  Akinka77;7a,  not  having  the  three  ki?lX-anas  mentioned. 
Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  239)  takes  it  to  mean  the  practice  of  the 
Aki«/C'ayatana  meditation.  But  if  so  that  would  surely  have 
been  the  word  used. 


252  THE   QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  3,  32. 

A 

Asavas  have  not  yet  been  completely  destroyed. 
So  that  if  the  first  statement  be  correct,  the  second 
is  wrong,  and  if  the  second  be  right  the  first  must 
be  wrong.  This  too  is  a  double-edged  problem 
now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

32.  '  Both  statements,  O  king,  were  made  by  the 
Blessed  One.  But  the  second  was  said  of  the 
characteristics  of  such  and  such  men  ;  the  first  is  an 

A 

inclusive  statement — that  all  in  whom  the  Asavas 
are  destroyed  are  Sama?/as.  And  moreover,  of  all 
those  who  are  made  perfect  by  the  suppression  of 
evil,  if  you  take  them  in  regular  order  one  after  the 
other,  then  the  Sama;^a  in  whom  the  Asavas  are 
destroyed  is  acknowledged  to  be  the  chief — ^just,  O 
king,  as  of  all  flowers  produced  in  the  water  or  on 
the  land,  the  double  jasmine  ^  is  ackowledged  to  be 
the  chief,  all  other  kinds  of  flowers  of  whatever 
sort  are  merely  flowers,  and  taking  them  in  order 
it  is  the  double  jasmine  that  people  most  desire  and 
like.  Or  just,  O  king,  as  of  all  kinds  of  grain,  rice 
is  acknowledged  to  be  the  chief,  all  other  kinds  of 
grain,  of  whatever  sort,  [183]  are  useful  for  food  and 
for  the  support  of  the  body,  but  if  you  take  them  in 
order,  rice  is  acknowledged  as  the  best.' 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  what  constitutes 

a  Sama;^a,] 


^  Varsika  (Dcfesaman  mal,  jasminum  zambac). 


IV,  3,  34-  EXULTATION.  253 


[the  buddha's  exultation.] 

33.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  the  Blessed  One  said  : 
"  If,  O  Bhikkhus,  any  one  should  speak  in  praise  of 
me,  or  of  our  religion  (Dhamma),  or  of  the  Order, 
you  should  not  thereupon  indulge  in  joy,  or  delight, 
or  exultation  of  mind  ^ ".  And  on  the  other  hand 
the  Tathagata  was  so  delighted,  and  pleased,  and 
exultant  at  the  deserved  praise  bestowed  on  him  by 
Sela  the  Brahman,  that  he  still  further  magnified 
his  own  goodness  in  that  he  said  : 

"  A  king  am  I,  Sela,  the  king  supreme 
Of  righteousness.     The  royal  chariot  wheel 
In  righteousness  do  I  set  rolling  on — 
That  wheel  that  no  one  can  turn  back  again  ^ !  " 
Now  if  the  passage  first  quoted  be  right  then  must 
the  second  be  wrong,  but  if  that  be  right  then  must 
the   first  be  wrong.     This   too   is   a   double-edged 
problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

34.  [184]  '  Both  your  quotations,  O  king,  are 
correct.  But  the  first  passage  was  spoken  by  the 
Blessed  One  with  the  intention  of  setting  forth  truth- 
fully, exactly,  in  accordance  with  reality,  and  fact,  and 

^  From  the  Brahma-^ala  Sutta  in  the  Digha  Nikaya  (I,  i,  5). 

2  From  the  Sela  Sutta  in  the  Sutta  Nipata  (III,  7,  7).  Professor 
FausboU  in  his  translation  of  this  stanza  (at  vol.  x,  p.  102  of  the 
'  Sacred  Books  of  the  East ')  draws  attention  to  the  parallel  at 
John  xviii.  37.  '  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  was 
I  born.  And  for  this  cause  came  1  into  the  world  that  I  should 
bear  witness  unto  the  truth  ' — where  '  truth,'  if  one  translated  the 
verse  into  Pali,  would  be  correctly  rendered  by  Dhamma,  'right- 
eousness, religion,  truth,  essential  quality.'  Professor  Fausboll's 
version  of  the  stanza  runs  :  '  I  am  a  king,  O  Sela,  an  incomparable 
religious  (Dhamma-ra^^a)  king,  with  justice  (Dhamma).  I  turn  the 
wheel,  a  wheel  that  is  irresistible.' 


2  54  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  3,  35. 

sense,  the  real  nature,  and  essence,  and  characteristic 
marks  of  the  Dhamma.  And  the  second  passage 
was  not  spoken  for  the  sake  of  gain  or  fame,  nor  out 
of  party  spirit,  nor  in  the  hist  of  winning  over  men 
to  become  his  followers.  But  it  was  in  mercy  and 
love,  and  with  the  welfare  of  others  in  view,  conscious 
that  thereby  three  hundred  young  Brahmans  would 
attain  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  that  he  said  : 
"  A  king  am  I,  Sela,  the  king  supreme  of  righteous- 
ness. 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say,' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  exultation  of  mind.] 


[kindness    AND    PUNISHMENT.] 

35.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  the  Blessed  One  said: 
"  Doing  no  injury  to  any  one 
Dwell  full  of  love  and  kindness  in  the  world  ^" 
And  on  the  other  hand  he  said :  "  Punish  him  who 
deserves  punishment  ^,  favour  him  who  is  worthy  of 
favour."  [185]  Now  punishment,  Nagasena,  means 
the  cutting  off  of  hands  or  feet,  flogging  ^  casting 
into  bonds,  torture^,  execution,  degradation  in  rank^ 

^  From  the  521st  Gataka. 

2  The  crux  Hes  in  the  ambiguity  of  this  phrase  as  will  be  seen 
below. 

^  Vadha,  which  is  ambiguous,  and  means  also  'killing.'  The 
Siwzhalese  repeats  the  word. 

*  Kara«a,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  toelimaya,  '  flogging.' 

^  Santati-vikopana?//,  literally  '  breach  of  continuity.'  Hina/i- 
kumbure  explains  it  to  mean  '  injury  to  the  duration  of  Ufe,'  and 
this  may  be  the  author's  meaning,  as  he  is  fond  of  heaping  together 
a  string  of  words,  some  of  which  mean  the  same  thing.     But  as 


IV,  3, 36.  KINDNESS   AND    PUNISHMENT.  255 

Such  a  saying  is  therefore  not  worthy  of  the  Blessed 
One,  and  he  ought  not  to  have  made  use  of  it.  For 
if  the  first  injunction  be  right  then  this  must  be 
wrong,  and  if  this  be  right  then  the  injunction  to  do 
no  injury  to  any  one,  but  to  dwell  full  of  love  and 
kindness  in  the  w'orld,  must  be  wrong.  This  too 
is  a  double-edged  problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you 
have  to  solve  it.' 

36.  '  The  Blessed  One,  great  king,  gave  both  the 
commands  you  quote.  As  to  the  first,  to  do  no 
injury  to  any  one,  but  to  live  full  of  love  and  kind- 
ness in  the  world — that  is  a  doctrine  approved  by 
all  the  Buddhas.  And  that  verse  is  an  injunction, 
an  unfolding  of  the  Dhamma,  for  the  Dhamma  has 
as  its  characteristic  that  it  works  no  ill.  And  the 
saying  is  thus  in  thorough  accord  with  it.  But  as 
to  the  second  command  you  quote  that  is  a  special 
use  of  terms  [w^hich  you  have  misunderstood.  The 
real  meaning  of  them  is  :  "  Subdue  that  which  ought 
to  be  subdued,  strive  after,  cultivate,  favour  what  is 
worthy  of  effort,  cultivation,  and  approval "].  The 
proud  heart,  great  king,  is  to  be  subdued,  and  the 
lowly  heart  cultivated — the  wicked  heart  to  be  sub- 
dued, and  the  good  heart  to  be  cultivated — careless- 
ness of  thought  is  to  be  subdued,  and  exactness  of 
thought  to  be  cultivated — [186]  he  who  is  given  over 
to  wrong  views  is  to  be  subdued,  and  he  who  has 
attained  to  right  views  is  to  be  cultivated — he  who 
is  not  noble  ^  is  to  be  subdued,  and  the  noble  one  is 

santati  means  also  'lineage,  descent,'  the  phrase  may  equally  well 
refer  to  the  sort  of  punishment  I  have  ventured  to  put  into  the  text. 
'  Ariyo  and  anariyo  used  technically  in  the  sense  of  one 
who  has  not,  and  one  who  has,  entered  upon  the  Noble  Eightfold 
Path. 


256  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING   MILINDA.      IV,  3,  37, 

to  be  cultivated — the  robber  ^  is  to  be  subdued,  and 
the  honest  brother  is  to  be  cultivated.' 

2,^].  '  Let  that  be  so,  Nagasena.  But  now,  in  that 
last  word  of  yours,  you  have  put  yourself  into  my 
power,  you  have  come  round  to  the  sense  in  which 
I  put  my  question.  For  how,  venerable  Nagasena, 
Is  the  robber  to  be  subdued  by  him  who  sets  to  work 
to  subdue  him  ?  ' 

*  Thus,  great  king — if  deserving  of  rebuke  let  him 
be  rebuked,  if  of  a  fine  let  him  be  fined,  if  of  banish- 
ment let  him  be  banished,  if  of  death  let  him  be  put 
to  death.' 

*  Is  then,  Nagasena,  the  execution  of  robbers  part 
of  the  doctrine  laid  down  by  the  Tathagatas  ?' 

*  Certainly  not,  O  king.' 

'  Then  why  have  the  Tathagatas  laid  down  that 
the  robber  is  to  be  taught  better  ?' 

*  Whosoever,  great  king,  may  be  put  to  death,  he 
does  not  suffer  execution  by  reason  of  the  opinion 
put  forth  by  the  Tathagatas.  He  suffers  by  reason 
of  what  he  himself  has  done.  But  notwithstanding 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  Dhamma  has  been  taught 
(by  the  Buddhas) ",  would  it  be  possible,  great  king, 
for  a  man  who  had  done  nothing  wrong,  and  was 
walking  innocently  along  the  streets,  to  be  seized 
and  put  to  death  by  any  wise  person  ?' 

'  Certainly  not' 


^  Coro  probably  here  used  figuratively  of  a  member  of  the 
Order  who  is  unworthy  of  it,  and  injures  believing  laymen.  So  the 
word  is  used,  for  instance,  in  the  introductory  story  (in  the  Sutta 
Vibhahga)  to  the  fourth  Para^ika — where  four  sorts  of  such 
religious  *  robbers  '  are  distinguished  (compare  our  '  wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing  ').     But  the  king  takes  it  literally. 

^  The  three  words  in  brackets  are  Hina/i-kumbur^'s  gloss. 


IV,  3,  38*  DISMISSAL.  257 

'  But  why  ? ' 

'  Because  of  his  innocence.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  since  the  thief  is  not  put  to 
death  through  the  word  of  the  Tathagata,  but  only 
through  his  own  act,  how  can  any  fault  be  rightly 
found  on  that  account  with  the  Teacher  ? ' 

'  It  could  not  be.  Sir,' 

'  So  you  see  the  teaching  of  the  Tathagatas  is 
a  righteous  teaching.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  kindness  and 

punishment.] 


[the  dismissal  of  the  elders.] 

38.    *  Venerable    Nagasena,    it   was    said    by    the 
Blessed  One  : 

"  Anger  I  harbour  not,  nor  sulkiness  \" 
But  on  the  other  hand  the  Tathagata  dismissed  the 
Elders  Sariputta  and  Moggallana,  together  with  the 
brethren  who   formed  their  company  of  disciples  -. 

^  From  the  Dhaniya  Sutta  in  the  Sutta  Nipata  (I,  2,2). 

^  The  episode  here  referred  to  will  be  found  in  the  Ma^^/;ima 
Nikaya,  No.  67.  Hina/i-kumbure  gives  it  in  full.  The  Buddha  was 
staying  at  the  Amalaki  garden  near  the  Sakya  town  called  -STatuma. 
There  the  two  elders  with  their  attendant  500  disciples  came  to 
call  upon  him.  The  resident  Bhikkhus  received  them  with  applause, 
and  a  great  hubbub  arose.  The  Buddha  enquired  what  that  noise 
was,  like  the  chattering  of  fishermen  when  a  net  full  of  fishes  was 
drawn  to  shore.  Ananda  told  him.  Thereupon  the  Buddha 
called  the  brethren  together,  made  a  discourse  to  them  on  the  advan- 
tages of  quiet,  and  '  sent  away '  the  visitors.  They  went  to  the 
public  rest-house  in  the  town.     The  town's  folk  enquired  why,  and 

[35]  S 


258  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       17,3,39. 

How  now,  Nagasena,  [187]  was  it  in  anger  that  the 
Tathagata  sent  away^  the  disciples,  or  was  it  in 
pleasure  ?  Be  so  good  as  to  explain  to  me  how 
this  was  ^.  For  if,  Nagasena,  he  dismissed  them  in 
anger,  then  had  the  Tathagata  not  subdued  all 
liability  to  anger  in  himself.  But  if  it  was  in  plea- 
sure, then  he  did  so  ignorantly,  and  without  due 
cause.  This  too  Is  a  double-edged  problem  now 
put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

39.  '  The  Blessed  One  did  say,  O  king : 
"  Anger  I  harbour  not,  nor  sulkiness." 
And  he  did  dismiss  the  Elders  with  their  disciples. 
But  that  was  not  in  anger.  Suppose,  O  king,  that 
a  man  were  to  stumble  against  some  root,  or  stake, 
or  stone,  or  potsherd,  or  on  uneven  ground,  and  fall 
upon  the  broad  earth.  Would  it  be  that  the  broad 
earth,  angry  with  him,  had  made  him  fall  ? ' 

'  No,  indeed,  Sir.  The  broad  earth  feels  neither 
anger  against  any  man  nor  delight.     It  is  altogether 

when  they  heard  the  reason,  went  to  the  Buddha,  and  obtained  his 
forgiveness  for  the  offending  brethren.  The  incident  is  the  basis 
of  another  question  below,  IV,  4,  41. 

^  Pawamesi  means,  in  the  technical  legal  phraseology  of  the 
Buddhist  canon  law,  '  formally  dismissed,  sent  away,  did  not  allow 
them  any  more  to  be  his  disciples.'  On  this  technical  meaning  of 
the  term,  compare  Mahavagga  I,  2,  27,  and  ^ullavagga  XII,  2,  3. 
(Childers  does  not  give  this  use  of  the  word.)  But  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Buddha  could  so  have 
dismissed  his  two  principal  disciples.  So  I  think  we  must  take  the 
word  in  a  less  formal  sense — such,  for  instance,  as  we  find  in  Thera 
Gatha  511,  557. 

^  Eta;«  tava^anahi  irmm  namati.  I  follow  Hina/i-kum- 
bure's  rendering  (p.  244)  of  this  difficult  phrase,  according  to 
which  there  ought  to  be  a  full  stop  in  the  text  after  pawamesi, 
and  these  words  are  supposed  to  be  addressed  to  Nagasena  by 
Milinda.  But  I  am  not  at  all  satisfied  that  he  is  right,  and  the  text 
may  be  corrupt. 


IV,  3,  39-  DISMISSAL.  259 

free  from  ill-will,  neither  needs  it  to  fawn  on  any  one. 
It  would  be  by  reason  of  his  own  carelessness  that 
that  man  stumbled  and  fell.' 

'  Just  so,  great  king,  do  the  Tathagatas  experience 
neither  anger  against,  nor  pride  in  any  man.  Alto- 
gether free  are  the  Tathagatas,  the  Arahat-Buddhas, 
alike  from  ill-will,  and  from  the  need  to  fawn  on  any 
one.  And  those  disciples  were  sent  away  by  reason 
of  what  they  themselves  had  done.  So  also  the 
great  ocean  endures  not  association  with  any  corpse. 
Any  dead  body  there  may  be  in  it  that  does  it 
promptly  cast  up,  and  leave  high  and  dry  on  the 
shore  \     But  is  it  in  anger  that  it  casts  it  up  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not,  Sir.  The  broad  ocean  feels  neither 
anger  against  any,  nor  does  it  take  delight  in  any. 
It  seeks  not  in  the  least  to  please  any,  and  is  alto- 
gether free  from  the  desire  to  harm.' 

'Just  so,  great  king,  do  the  Tathagatas  feel  neither 
anger  against  any  man,  nor  do  they  place  their  faith 
in  any  man.  The  Tathagatas,  the  Arahat-Buddhas, 
are  quite  set  free  from  the  desire  either  to  gain  the 
goodwill  of  any  man,  or  to  do  him  harm.  And  it 
was  by  reason  of  what  they  themselves  had  done 
that  those  disciples  were  sent  away.  Just  as  a  man, 
great  king,  who  stumbles  against  the  ground  is  made 
to  fall,  so  is  he  who  stumbles  in  the  excellent  teach- 
ing of  the  Conqueror  made  to  go  away.  Just  as  a 
corpse  in  the  great  ocean  is  cast  up,  [188]  so  is  he 
who  stumbles  in  the  excellent  teaching  of  the  Con- 
queror sent  away.  And  when  the  Tathagata  sent 
those  disciples  away  it  was  for  their  good,  and  their 

^  This  supposed  fact  is  already  the  ground  of  a  comparison  in 
the  A'ullavagga  IX,  i,  3,  4  (' Vinaya  Texts,'  III,  303). 

S  2 


260  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  3,  39, 


gain,  their  happiness,  and  their  purification,  and  in 
order  that  in  that  way  they  should  be  deHvered  from 
birth,  old  age,  disease,  and  death.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !     That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  dismissal  of 

the  Elders.] 


Here  ends  the  Third  Chapter. 


IV,  4,  2.  MURDER    OF    MOGGALLANA.  26  I 


Book  IV.     Chapter  4. 

[the    murder    of    MOGGALLANA.] 

1.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  This  is  the  chief,  O  Bhikkhus,  of 
those  of  my  disciples  in  the  Order  who  are  possessed 
of  the  power  of  Iddhi,  I  mean  Moggallana  \"  But 
on  the  other  hand  they  say  his  death  took  place  by 
his  being  beaten  to  death  with  clubs,  so  that  his 
skull  was  broken,  and  his  bones  ground  to  powder, 
and  all  his  flesh  and  nerves  bruised  and  pounded 
together  2.  Now,  Nagasena,  if  the  Elder,  the  great 
Moggallana,  had  really  attained  to  supremacy  in 
the  magical  power  of  Iddhi,  then  it  cannot  be  true 
that  he  was  beaten  to  death  with  clubs  ^  But  if  his 
death  was  on  that  wise,  then  the  saying  that  he  was 
chief  of  those  possessed  of  Iddhi  must  be  wrong. 
How  could  he  who  was  not  even  able,  by  his  power 
of  Iddhi,  to  prevent  his  own  murder,  be  worthy 
nevertheless  to  stand  as  succour  to  the  world  of 
gods  and  men  ?  This  too  is  a  double-edged  pro- 
blem now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

2.  '  The  Blessed  One  did  declare,  O  king,  that 
Moggallana  was  chief  among  the  disciples  in  power 

^  From  the  Anguttara  Nikaya  I,  xiv,  i  (page  23  of  Dr.  Morris's 
edition  for  the  PaU  Text  Society). 

2  Parikatto,   which    the    Sinhalese    version    renders    garha 
wemin. 

3  '  By  robbers,'  adds  Plina/i-kumbure,  so  there  is  no  question  of 
martyrdom. 


2  62  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILTNDA.        IV,  4,  3. 


of  Iddhi.  And  he  was  nevertheless  beaten  to  death 
by  clubs.  But  that  was  through  his  being  then 
possessed  by  the  still  greater  power  of  Karma  \' 

3.  '  But,  venerable  Nagasena,  [189]  are  not  both 
of  these  things  appurtenant  to  him  who  has  the 
power  of  Iddhi — that  is  the  extent  of  his  power,  and 
the  result  of  his  Karma — both  alike  unthinkable  ? 
And  cannot  the  unthinkable  be  held  back  by  the 
unthinkable  ?  Just,  Sir,  as  those  who  want  the  fruits 
will  knock  a  wood  apple  ^  down  with  a  wood  apple, 
or  a  mango  with  a  mango,  so  ought  not  the  unthink- 
able in  like  manner  to  be  subject  to  restraint  by  the 
unthinkable  ?  ' 

*  Even  among  things  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
imagination,  great  king,  still  one  is  in  excess  above 
the  other,  one  more  powerful  than  the  other.  Just, 
O  king,  as  the  monarchs  of  the  world  are  alike  in 
kind,  but  among  them,  so  alike  in  kind,  one  may 
overcome  the  rest,  and  bring  them  under  his  com- 
mand— just  so  among  things  beyond  the  grasp  of 
the  imagination  is  the  productive  effect  of  Karma 
by  far  the  most  powerful.  It  is  precisely  the  effect 
of  Karma  which  overcomes  all  the  rest,  and  has 
them  under  its  rule ;  and  no  other  influence  is  of 
any  avail  to  the  man  in  whom  Karma  is  working 
out  its  inevitable  end^  It  is  as  when,  O  king, 
any  man  has  committed  an  offence  against  the  law*. 

^  Kammadhigahitenapi,  which  the  Si;«halese  merely  repeats. 
Compare  the  use  of  adhigawhati  at  Anguttara  Nikaya  V,  31 
(adhigawhati  taw  tena,  '  surpasses  him  in  that'),  and  see  below. 

^  Kapittham  (Feronia  Elephantum),  which  the  Siwihalese 
renders  Diwul  gefl'i. 

^  '  No  good  action  has  an  opportunity  at  the  time  when  evil 
Karma  is  in  possession  of  a  man,'  says  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  250). 

*  Pakarawe  apara^^^^ati,  literally  'against  the  book,' the  book 


IV,  4>  3-  MURDER   OF    MOGGALLANA.  263 

Neither  his  mother  nor  his  father,  neither  his  sisters 
nor  his  brother,  neither  his  friends  nor  his  intimate 
associates  can  protect  him  then.  He  has  fallen 
therein  under  the  power  of  the  king  who  will  issue 
his  command  respecting  him.  And  why  is  that  so  ? 
Because  of  the  wrong  that  he  has  done.  So  is  it 
precisely  the  effect  of  Karma  which  overcomes  all 
other  influences,  and  has  them  under  its  command, 
and  no  other  influence  can  avail  the  man  in  whom 
Karma  is  workinsf  out  its  inevitable  end.  It  is  as 
when  a  jungle  fire  has  arisen  on  the  earth,  then  can 
not  even  a  thousand  pots  of  water  avail  to  put  it 
out,  but  the  conflagration  overpowers  all,  and  brings 
it  under  its  control.  And  why  is  that  so  ?  Because 
of  the  fierceness  of  its  heat.  So  is  it  precisely  the 
effect  of  Karma  which  overcomes  all  other  influences, 
and  has  them  under  its  command ;  and  no  other 
influence  can  avail  the  man  in  whom  Karma  is 
working  out  its  inevitable  end.  That  is  why  the 
venerable  one,  great  king,  the  great  Moggallana, 
when,  at  a  time  when  he  was  possessed  by  Karma, 
he  was  being  beaten  to  death  with  clubs,  was  yet 
unable  to  make  use  of  his  power  of  Iddhi  ^' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  murder  of 
Moggallana.] 

of  the  law  being,  no  doubt,  understood.  But  the  Si/«halese  has 
'  against  any  one.' 

^  Iddhiya  samannaharo  naho  si.  See  the  use  of  this  word, 
which  is  not  in  Childers,  at  p.  123  of  the  Sumahgala  (on  Digha 
I,  3,  24).  The  Siwhalcse  goes  on  to  much  greater  length  than 
the  Pali,  giving  the  full  religious  life  history  of  the  famous  disciple 
(pp.  250,  251). 


264  the  questions  of  king  milinda.       iv,  4,  4. 

[on  secret  doctrine.] 

4.  [190]  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  was  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  The  Dhamma  and  the  Vinaya 
(Doctrine  and  Canon  Law)  proclaimed  by  the 
Tathagata  shine  forth  when  they. are  displayed,  and 
not  when  they  are  concealed  ^"  But  on  the  other 
hand  the  recitation  of  the  Patimokkha  and  the 
whole  of  the  Vinaya  Pi/aka  are  closed  and  kept 
secret  2.  So  that  if,  Nagasena,  you  (members  of  the 
Order)  carried  out  what  is  just,  and  right,  and  held 
of  faith  in  the  teaching  of  the  Conqueror  then  would 
the  Vinaya  shine  forth  as  an  open  thing.  And  why 
would  that  be  so  ?  Because  all  the  instruction 
therein,  the  discipline,  the  self-control,  the  regulations 
as  to  moral  and  virtuous  conduct,  are  in  their  essence 
full  of  truth  and  righteousness,  and  redounding  to 
emancipation  of  heart.  But  if  the  Blessed  One 
really  said  that  the  Dhamma  and  Vinaya  proclaimed 
by  the  Tathagata  shine  forth  when  displayed  and 
not  when  kept  secret,  then  the  saying  that  the  reci- 
tation of  the  Patimokkha  and  the  whole  of  the 
Vinaya  must  be  kept  secret  must  be  wrong.  And 
if  that  be  right,  then  the  saying  of  the  Blessed  One 
must  be  wrong.  This  too  is  a  double-edged  pro- 
blem now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

5.  *It  was  said,  O  king,  by  the  Blessed  One  that 
the  Dhamma  and  Vinaya  proclaimed  by  the  Tatha- 

^  From  the  Afiguttara  Nikaya  III,  124  (vol.  i,  p.  283  of 
Dr.  Morris's  edition  for  the  Pali  Text  Society). 

^  In  the  Vinaya  (Mahavagga  II,  16,  8)  it  is  laid  down  that  the 
Patimokkha  (the  rules  of  the  Order)  is  not  to  be  recited  before 
laymen.  I  know  of  no  passage  in  the  Pi/akas  which  says  that  it, 
or  the  Vinaya,  is  to  be  kept  secret. 


lY,  4,  6.  ESOTERIC    DOCTRINE.  26' 


gata  shine  forth  when  displayed,  and  not  when  kept 
secret.  And  on  the  other  hand  the  recitation  of  the 
Patimokkha  and  the  whole  of  the  Vinaya  Pi/aka  are 
kept  close  and  secret  \  But  this  last  is  not  the  case 
as  regards  all  men.  They  are  only  kept  secret  up 
to  a  certain  limit.  And  the  recitation  of  the  Pati- 
mokkha is  kept  secret  up  to  that  certain  limit  on 
three  grounds — firstly  because  that  is  the  traditional 
custom^  of  previous  Tathagatas,  secondly  out  of 
respect  for  the  Truth  (Dhamma),  and  thirdly  out  of 
respect  for  the  position  of  a  member  of  the  Order  ^.' 
6.  '  And  as  to  the  first  it  was  the  universal  custom, 
O  king,  of  previous  Tathagatas  for  the  recitation  of 
the  Patimokkha  to  take  place  in  the  midst  of  the 
members  of  the  Order  only,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others.  Just,  O  king,  as  the  Kshatriya  secret  for- 
mulas (of  the  nobles)  are  handed  down  among  the 
nobles  alone,  and  that  this  or  that  is  so  is  common 
tradition  among  the  nobles  ^  of  the  world  and  kept 
secret  from  all  others — [191]  so  was  this  the  universal 
custom  of  previous  Tathagatas,  that  the  recitation 
of  the   Patimokkha  should   take   place  among  the 

^  This  is,  so  far  as  I"  know,  the  earliest  mention  of  this  being  the 
case.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Patimokkha  itself  (see  my  transla- 
tion of  this  list  of  offences  against  the  rules  of  the  Order  in  vol.  i 
of  the  '  Vinaya  Texts  '  in  the  S.  B.  E.)  as  to  its  recitation  taking 
place  in  secret,  and  nothing  in  the  Vinaya  as  to  its  being  kept 
secret.  But  the  regulations  in  the  Vinaya  as  to  the  recitation  of 
the  Patimokkha  forbade  the  actual  presence  of  any  one  not  a 
member  of  the  Order,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  any  one  not  such  a 
member  is  excluded  in  practice  during  its  recitation  now  in 
Ceylon.  But  it  would  be  no  offence  in  a  layman  to  read  the 
Vinaya,  and  learned  laymen  who  have  left  the  Order  still  do  so. 

^  Vawsa  (repeated  in  the  Si///halese). 

^  Bhikkhu-bhumiya  (also  repeated  in  the  Si?«halese,  p.  252). 

*  Kha//iyana7/i  (but  the  Si;;^halese  has  Sakyayange). 


2  66  THE    QUESTIONS    OF   KING   MILINDA.        IV,  4,  7. 


members  of  the  Order  only,  and  be  kept  secret  from 
all  others.  And  again,  just  as  there  are  several 
classes  of  people,  O  king,  known  as  distinct  in  the 
world — such  as  wrestlers,  tumblers,  jugglers,  actors, 
ballet-dancers,  and  followers  of  the  mystic  cult  of  the 
sun  and  moon,  of  the  goddess  of  fortune  and  other 
gods  ^  And  the  secrets  of  each  of  these  sects  are 
handed  on  in  the  sect  itself,  and  kept  hidden  from 
all  others.  Just  so  with  the  universal  custom  of  all 
the  Tathao^atas  that  the  recitation  of  the  Pati- 
mokkha  should  take  place  before  the  members  of 
the  Order  only,  and  be  kept  secret  from  all  others. 
This  is  why  the  recitation  of  the  Patimokkha  is,  up 
to  that  extent,  kept  secret  in  accordance  with  the 
habit  of  previous  Tathagatas.' 

7.  '  And  how  is  it  that  the  Patimokkha  is  kept 
secret,  up  to  that  extent,  out  of  reverence  for  the 
Dhamma  ?  The  Dhamma,  great  king,  is  venerable 
and  weighty.  He  who  has  attained  to  proficiency 
in  it  may  exhort  another  in  this  wise :  "  Let  not  this 
Dhamma  so  full  of  truth,  so  excellent,  fall  into  the 
hands  of  those  unversed  in  it,  where  it  would  be 
despised  and  contemned,  treated  shamefully,  made 
a  eame  of,  and  found  fault  with.  Nor  let  it  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  wicked  who  would  deal  with  it  in 
all  respects  as  badly  as  they."  It  is  thus,  O  king, 
that  the  recitation  of  the  Patimokkha  is,  up  to  that 


^  There  are  twenty  classes  of  these  people  mentioned  in  the 
text,  and  the  meaning  of  most  of  the  names  is  obscure.  The 
Sinhalese  simply  repeats  them  all,  adding  only  the  word 
bhaktiyo,  'believers  in,'  to  the  names  of  the  various  divinities. 
The  classing  together  of  jugglers,  ballet-dancers,  and  followers  of 
the  numerous  mystic  cults,  so  numerous  in  India,  is  thoroughly 
Buddhistic,  and  quite  in  the  vein  of  Gotama  himself — as,  for 
instance,  in  the  Maha  Sila  (see  my  'Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  196). 


IV,  4,  8.  ESOTERIC    DOCTRINE.  267 

extent,  kept  secret  out  of  reverence  for  the  Dhamma. 
For  if  not,  then  it  would  be  Hke  the  best,  most 
costly,  and  most  rare  red  sandal  wood  of  the  finest 
kind,  which  when  brought  to  Savara  {that  city  of 
the  outcast  /Candaiss '^)  is  despised  and  contemned, 
treated  shamefully,  made  game  of,  and  found  fault 
with.' 

8.  [192]  '  And  how  is  it  that  the  Patimokkha  is 
kept  secret,  up  to  that  extent,  out  of  reverence  for 
the  position  of  a  member  of  the  Order  ?  The  con- 
dition of  a  Bhikkhu,  great  king,  is  in  glory  beyond 
the  reach  of  calculation  by  weight,  or  measure,  or 
price.  None  can  value  it,  weigh  it,  measure  it.  And 
the  recitation  of  the  Pitimokkha  is  carried  on  before 
the  Bhikkhus  alone,  lest  any  one  who  has  occupied 
that  position  should  be  brought  down  to  a  level  with 
the  men  of  the  world.  Just,  O  king,  as  if  there  be 
any  priceless  thing,  in  vesture  or  floor  covering,  in 
elephants,  chargers,  or  chariots,  in  gold  or  silver  or 
jewels  or  pearls  or  women,  or  in  unsurpassable  strong 
drink  ^,  all  such  things  are  the  appanage  of  kings — 
just  so,  O  king,  whatever  is  most  priceless  in  the 
way  of  training,  of  the  traditions  of  the  Blessed  One, 
of  learning,  of  conduct,  and  of  the  virtues  of  right- 
eousness arid  self-control — all  these  are  the  appa- 
nages of  the  Order  of  Bhikkhus.  This  is  why  the 
recitation  of  the  Patimokkha  is,  to  that  extent, 
kept  secret  ^.' 

^  Added  from  the  Sinhalese. 

^  Ni^^ita-kamma-sura,  rendered  in  the  Sinhalese  (p.  254), 
^aya-gr?'hita-kr/tya-sura-panayen. 

'  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  no  mention  here  (in  a  con- 
nection where,  if  it  had  then  existed,  it  would  almost  certainly 
have  been  referred  to)  of  any  Esoteric  Buddhism.     So  above,  at 


268  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  4,  9. 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  secrecy  in  which 
the  Vinaya  is  kept.] 


[the  two  kinds  of  falsehood.] 
9.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  that  a  deliberate  lie  is  an  offence  of  the 
greatest  kind  (involving  exclusion  from  the  Order  ^). 

IV,  I,  8,  it  is  stated  that  a  good  Buddhist  teacher  should  keep 
nothing  secret  from  his  pupih  And  even  in  so  old  a  text  as  the 
'  Book  of  the  Great  Decease '  (Chap.  II,  §  32,  p.  36  of  my  transla- 
lation  in  the  '  Buddhist  Suttas '),  it  is  said  of  the  Buddha  himself 
that  he  had  '  no  such  thing  as  the  closed  fist  of  a  teacher  who 
keeps  some  things  back.'  This  passage  is  itself  quoted  above 
at  IV,  2,  4,  as  the  basis  of  one  of  MiKnda's  questions  ;  and  is 
entirely  accepted  by  Nagasena,  that  is,  by  our  author.  The  fact  is 
that  there  has  never  been  any  such  thing  as  esoteric  teaching  in 
Buddhism,  and  that  the  modern  so  called  esoteric  Buddhism  is 
neither  esoteric  nor  Buddhism.  Its  tenets,  so  far  as  they  are 
Indian  at  all,  are  perfectly  accessible,  are  well  known  to  all  those 
who  choose  to  study  the  books  of  Indian  mysticism,  and  are  Hindu, 
not  Buddhist.  They  are,  indeed,  quite  contradictory  to  Buddhism, 
of  which  the  authors  of  what  they  ignorantly  call  Esoteric  Buddhism 
know  but  very  little — that  little  bemg  only  a  portion  of  those 
beliefs  which  have  been  common  ground  to  all  religious  teachers 
in  India.  If  one  doctrine — more  than  any  other — is  distinctive  of 
Buddhism,  it  is  the  ignoring,  in  ethics,  of  the  time-honoured  beUef 
in  a  soul — that  is,  in  the  old  sense,  in  a  separate  creature  inside 
the  body,  which  flies  out  of  it,  like  a  bird  out  of  a  cage,  when  the 
body  dies.  Yet  the  Theosophists,  who  believe,  I  am  told,  in  seven 
souls  inside  each  human  body  (which  would  be  worse  according 
to  true  Buddhism  than  seven  devils),  still  venture  to  call  themselves 
Buddhists,  and  do  not  see  the  absurdity  of  their  position ! 

^  Sampa^^ana-musavada  para^ika.  This  is  curious  as  ac- 
cording to  the  Patimokkha  it  is  Pa/('ittiya,  not  Pdra^ika,  Compare 
Para^ika  4  with  Pa-('ittiya  i.  ('Vinaya  Texts,'  S.  B.  E.,  vol.  iii, 
pp.  5  and  32.) 


IV,  4»  lo-  FALSEHOOD.  269 

And  again  he  said  :  "  By  a  deliberate  lie  a  Bhikkhu 
commits  a  minor  offence,  one  that  ought  to  be  the 
subject  of  confession  made  before  another  (member 
of  the  Order)\"  Now,  venerable  Nagasena,  what  is 
herein  the  distinction,  what  the  reason,  that  by  one 
lie  a  Bhikkhu  is  cast  out  of  the  Order,  and  by 
another  he  is  guilty  only  of  an  offence  that  can  be 
atoned  for.  If  the  first  decision  be  right,  then  the 
second  must  be  wrong ;  but  if  the  second  be  right, 
then  the  first  must  be  wrong.  This  too  is  a  double- 
edged  problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to 
solve  it.' 

10.  [193]  2 'Both  your  quotations,  O  king,  are 
correct  ^.  But  a  falsehood  is  a  light  or  heavy 
offence  according  to  the  subject  matter.  For  what 
do  you  think,  great  king  ?  Suppose  a  man  were  to 
give  another  a  slap  with  his  hand,  what  punishment 
would  you  inflict  upon  him  ? ' 

'  If  the  other  refused  to  overlook  the  matter,  then 
neither  should  we  be  able  to  pardon  his  assailant  ^, 
but  should  mulct  him  in  a  penny  or  so  ^' 

'  But  on  the  other  hand,  suppose  it  had  been  you 


^  I  cannot  trace  these  identical  words  in  the  Pi/aka  texts.  But 
the  general  sense  of  them  is  exactly  in  agreement  with  the  first 
Pa-^ittiya  rule. 

2  Hina/i-kumbure  here  inserts  a  summary  of  the  Introductory 
Story  (in  the  Sutta  Vibhahga)  to  the  4th  Para^ika.  All  this  (pp. 
254-256)  stands  in  his  version  for  lines  1-3  on  p.  193  of  the  Pali 
text. 

^  The  Pali  repeats  them  word  for  A\ord.  As  I  have  pointed  out 
above,  they  are  not  really  correct. 

*  So  Hina/i-kumburS,  who  must  have  had  a  different  reading, 
and  I  think  a  better  one,  before  him. 

^  A  kahapawa.  See  the  discussion  of  the  value  of  this  coin  in 
my  *  Ancient  Coins  and  Measures,'  pp.  3,  4. 


270  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  11. 

yourself  that  he  had  given  the  blow  to,  what  would 
then  be  the  punishment  ? ' 

'  We  should  condemn  him  to  have  his  hands  cut 
off,  and  his  feet  cut  off,  and  to  be  skinned  alive  ^ 
and  we  should  confiscate  all  the  goods  in  his  house, 
and  put  to  death  all  his  family  to  the  seventh  genera- 
tion on  both  sides.' 

'  But,  great  king,  what  is  the  distinction  ?  Why 
is  it  that  for  one  slap  of  the  hand  there  should  be 
a  gentle  fine  of  a  penny,  while  for  a  slap  given  to 
you  there  should  be  so  fearful  a  retribution  ? ' 

'Because  of  the  difference  in  the  person  (assaulted).' 

'  Well  !  just  so,  great  king,  is  a  falsehood  a  light 
or  a  heavy  offence  according  to  the  attendant  cir- 
cumstances/ 

*  Very  good,  Nagasena  !  That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  degree  of 
offence  in  falsehood.] 


[the    BODISAT's    CONSIDERATION.] 

II.  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by 
the  Blessed  One  in  the  discourse  on  the  essential 
conditions  ^ :  "  Long  ago  have  his  parents  been 
destined  for  each  Bodisat,  and  the  kind  of 
tree    he    is    to   select    for    his    Bo    tree,    and    the 

^  Yava  sisaw  'kz.lhdikkheggTifn  X7zedapeyyama,  which  the 
Si»/halese  merely  repeats.  It  is  hterally  '  We  should  have  him 
"  bambu-sprout-cut  "  up  to  his  head.'  What  this  technical  term 
may  mean  is  not  exactly  known — possibly  having  slits  the  shape  of 
a  bambu  sprout  cut  all  over  his  body. 

^  Dhammata-dhamma-pariyaye.  I  don't  know  where  this 
is  to  be  found. 


IV,  4j  II-  THE    BODISAT.  27I 


Bhikkhus  who  are  to  be  his  two  chief  disciples, 
and  the  lad  who  is  to  be  his  son,  and  the 
member  of  the  Order  who  is  to  be  his  special 
attendant."  But  on  the  other  hand  he  said : 
"  When  yet  in  the  condition  of  a  god  in  the 
Tusita  heaven  the  Bodisat  makes  the  eight 
Great  Investigations  —  he  investigates  the  time 
(whether  the  right  moment  had  come  at  which  he 
ought  to  be  re-born  as  a  man),  and  the  continent 
(in  which  his  birth  is  to  take  place),  and  the 
country  (where  he  is  to  be  re-born),  and  the  family 
(to  which  he  is  to  belong),  and  the  mother  (who 
is  to  bear  him),  and  the  period  (during  which  he 
was  to  remain  in  the  womb),  and  the  month  (in 
which  his  birthday  shall  come),  and  his  renunciation 
(when  it  shall  be)  \  [194]  Now,  Nagasena,  before 
knowledge  is  ripe  there  is  no  understanding,  but 
when  it  has  reached  its  summit  there  is  no  longer 
any  need  to  wait  for  thinking  a  matter  over\  for 
there  is  nothing  outside  the  ken  of  the  omniscient 
mind.  Why  then  should  the  Bodisat  investigate 
the  time,  thinking  to  himself:  "In  what  moment 
shall  I  be  born-  ?"  And  for  the  same  reason  why 
should  he  investigate  the  family,  thinking  to  him- 


'  These  eight  Investigations  (Vilokanani)  have  not  yet  been 
found  in  the  Pi/aka  texts.  But,  when  relating  the  birth  of  the  his- 
torical Buddha,  the  Gataka  commentary  (vol.  i,  p.  48,  of  Professor 
Fausboll's  edition)  mentions  the  first  six  of  them  (substituting 
okasa  for  desa),  and  calls  them,  oddly  enough,  the  Five  Great 
Investigations.  In  the  corresponding  passage  in  the  Lalita  Vislara 
only  the  first  four  are  mentioned.  The  last  two  of  the  above  eight 
seem  very  forced. 

2  Nimesantaram  na  agameti,  for  which  Hina/i-kumbure 
(p.  256  at  the  end)  has  nivesantara.  Neither  word  occurs 
elsewhere. 


272  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  4,  12. 


self:  "  In  what  family  shall  I  be  born?"  And  if, 
Nagasena,  it  is  a  settled  matter  who  shall  be  the 
parents  of  the  Bodisat,  then  it  must  be  false  that 
he  "  investigated  the  family."  But  if  that  be  true, 
then  must  the  other  saying  be  wrong.  This  too  is 
a  double-edged  problem  now  put  to  you,  and  you 
have  to  solve  it/ 

12.  '  It  was  both  a  settled  matter,  O  king,  who 
should  be  the  parents  of  the  Bodisat,  and  he  did 
investigate  into  the  question  as  to  which  family  he 
was  to  be  born  into.  But  how  did  he  do  so  ?  He 
thought  over  the  matter  as  to  whether  his  parents 
should  be  nobles  or  Brahmans.  With  respect  to 
eight  things,  O  king,  should  the  future  be  inves- 
tigated before  it  comes  to  pass.  A  merchant,  O 
king,  should  investigate  goods  before  he  buys 
them — an  elephant  should  try  with  its  trunk  a  path 
It  has  not  yet  trod — a  cartman  should  try  a  ford  he 
has  not  yet  crossed  over — a  pilot  should  test  a 
shore  he  has  not  yet  arrived  at,  and  so  guide  the 
ship — a  physician  should  find  out  the  period  of  life 
which  his  patient  has  lasted^  before  he  treats  his 
disease — a  traveller  should  test  the  stability  of  a 
bambu  bridge  ^  before  he  mounts  on  to  it — a  Bhikkhu 
should  find  out  how  much  time  has  yet  to  run  before 
sun  turn  before  he  begins  to  eat  his  meal — and 
Bodisats,  before  they  are  born,  should  investigate 
the  question  whether  it  would  be  right  for  them 
to  be  born  in  the  family  of  a  noble  or  of  a  Brahman. 


^  Ayum  oloketva,  which  the  Siwzhalese  (p.  257)  repeats.  This 
implied  meaning  is  doubtful. 

2  Uttara-setu,  a  word  which  does  not  occur  elsewhere.  Hina/i- 
kumbure  renders  it  He-da??</a,  which  Clough  explains  as  a  foot- 
bridge usually  made  of  a  single  tree. 


IV,  4,14.  SUICIDE.  273 

These    are    the    eight   occasions  011  which   investi- 
gation ought  to  precede  action.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !     That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  Bodisat's 
consideration.] 


[on  suicide.] 

13.  [195]  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said 
by  the  Blessed  One  :  "  A  brother  is  not,  O  Bhikkhus, 
to  commit  suicide.  Whosoever  does  so  shall  be 
dealt  with  accordins:  to  the  law  \"  And  on  the 
other  hand  you  (members  of  the  Order)  say  : 
"  On  whatsoever  subject  the  Blessed  One  was  ad- 
dressing the  disciples,  he  always,  and  with  various 
similes,  preached  to  them  in  order  to  bring  about 
the  destruction  of  birth,  of  old  age,  of  disease,  and 
of  death.  And  whosoever  overcame  birth,  old  age, 
disease,  and  death,  him  did  he  honour  with  the 
highest  praise  ^."  Now  if  the  Blessed  One  forbade 
suicide  that  saying  of  yours  must  be  wrong,  but  if 
not  then  the  prohibition  of  suicide  must  be  wrong. 
This  too  is  a  double-edged  problem  now  put  to 
you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

14.  'The  regulation  you  quote,  O  king,  was  laid 
down  by  the  Blessed  One,  and  yet  is  our  saying  you 
refer  to    true.     And    there    is  a  reason  for  this,  a 

^  Literally  '  is  not  to  throw  himself  down,'  and  I  think  '  from  a 
precipice  '  is  to  be  understood,  especially  as  the  nearest  approach 
to  the  words  quoted,  that  is  the  passage  in  the  Sutta  Vibhahga  on 
the  3rd  Para^ka  (III,  5,  13),  has  that  meaning. 

"^  Here  again  the  passage  referred  to  is  not  known. 

[35]  T 


2  74  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  4,  14. 

reason  for  which  the  Blessed  One  both  prohibited 
(the  destruction  of  Hfe),  and  also  (in  another  sense) 
instigated  us  to  it.' 

*  What,  Nagasena,  may  that  reason  be  ?  ' 
'  The  good  man,  O  king,  perfect  in  uprightness,  is 
like  a  medicine  to  men  ^  in  being  an  antidote  to  the 
poison  of  evil,  he  is  like  water  to  men  in  laying  the 
dust  and  the  impurities  of  evil  dispositions,  he  is 
like  a  jewel  treasure  to  men  In  bestowing  upon  them 
all  attainments  in  righteousness,  he  is  like  a  boat  to 
men  inasmuch  as  he  conveys  them  to  the  further 
shore  of  the  four  flooded  streams  (of  lust,  indi- 
viduality, delusion,  and  ignorance)  ^,  he  is  like  a 
caravan  owner  to  men  in  that  he  brings  them  beyond 
the  sandy  desert  of  rebirths,  he  is  like  a  mighty 
rain  cloud  to  men  in  that  he  fills  their  hearts  with 
satisfaction,  he  is  like  a  teacher  to  men  in  that  he 
trains  them  in  all  good,  he  is  like  a  good  guide  to 
men  in  that  he  points  out  to  them  the  path  of  peace. 
It  was  in  order  that  so  good  a  man  as  that,  one 
whose  good  qualities  are  so  many,  so  various,  so 
immeasurable,  [196]  in  order  that  so  great  a  treasure 
mine  of  good  things,  so  full  of  benefit  to  all  beings, 
might  not  be  done  away  with,  that  the  Blessed  One, 
O  king,  out  of  his  mercy  towards  all  beings,  laid 
down  that  injunction,  when  he  said  :  "  A  brother  is 
not,  O  Bhikkhus,  to  commit  suicide.  Whosoever 
does  so  shall  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  law." 
This  is  the  reason  for  which  the  Blessed  One  pro- 
hibited  (self-slaughter).      And   it  was  said,  O  king, 


^  Sattanaw,  in  which  gods  are  included. 

2 


The  four  oghas;  also  called  Asavas.     The  former  term  is 
used  of  them  objectively,  the  latter  subjectively. 


IV,  4,  1.5.  SUICIDE.  275 

by  the  Elder  Kiimara  Kassapa,  the  eloquent,  when 
he  was  describing  to  Payasi  the  Ra^anja  the  other 
world  :  "  So  long  as  Sama;2as  and  Brahmans  of  up- 
rightness of  life,  and  beauty  of  character,  continue 
to  exist — however  long  that  time  may  be — just  so 
long  do  they  conduct  themselves  to  the  advantage 
and  happiness  of  the  great  masses  of  the  people,  to 

the  good  and  the  gain  and  the  weal  of  gods  and 

It"' 
men  '■  ! 

15.  'And  what  is  the  reason  for  which  the  Blessed 

One  instigated  us  (to  put  an  end  to  life)  ?     Birth, 

O  king,  is  full  of  pain,  and  so  is  old  age,  and  disease, 

and  death.     Sorrow  is  painful,  and  so  is  lamentation, 

and  pain,  and  grief,  and  despair.     Association  with 

the  unpleasant  is  painful,  and  separation  from  the 

pleasant  -.     The  death  of  a  mother  is  painful,  or  of 

a  father,  or  a  brother,  or  a  sister,  or  a  son,  or  a  wife, 

or  of  any  relative.      Painful   is   the  ruin   of  one's 

family,  and  the  suffering  of  disease,  and  the  loss  of 

wealth,  and  decline  in  goodness,  and  the  loss  of  in- 

^  This  Kumara  Kassapa  is  said  at  Ahguttara  I,  xiv,  3  to  have 
been  the  most  eloquent  of  the  early  disciples.  Another  eloquent 
little  outburst  of  his  is  preserved  for  us  in  verses  201  and  202  of 
the  Thera  Gatha.  '  O  for  the  Buddhas,  and  their  doctrines !  O 
for  the  achievements  of  our  Master !  Thereby  may  the  disciple 
realise  the  Truth.  Through  coundess  aeons  of  time  has  Selfness 
followed  on  Selfness.  But  this  one  is  now  the  last.  This  aggrega- 
tion (of  mental  and  material  qualities  which  forms  me  now  again 
into  an  individuality)  is  at  last  the  end,  the  end  of  the  coming  ami 
going  of  births  and  deaths.  There  will  be  no  rcbirih  for  me!' 
But  where  the  verses  are  so  full  of  allusions  to  the  deepest 
Buddhist  psychology,  it  is  impossible  to  reproduce  in  English  the 
vigour  of  the  original  Pali.  Selfness  (Sakkaya)  is  the  condition 
of  being  a  separate  individual. 

2  All  this  is  from  the  celebrated  discourse,  the  '  Foundation  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Righteousriess  '  (in  '  Buddhist  Suttas,'  p.  148). 

T  2 


276 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  15. 


sight.  Painful  is  the  fear  produced  by  despots,  or 
by  robbers,  or  by  enemies,  or  by  famine,  or  by  fire, 
or  by  flood,  or  by  the  tidal  wave,  or  by  earthquake, 
or  by  crocodiles  or  alligators.  Painful  is  the  fear  of 
possible  blame  attaching  to  oneself,  or  to  others,  the 
fear  of  punishment,  the  fear  of  misfortune.  Painful 
is  the  fear  arising  from  shyness  in  the  presence  of 
assemblies  of  one's  fellows,  painful  is  anxiety  as  to 
one's  means  of  livelihood,  painful  the  foreboding  of 
death.  [197]  Painful  are  (the  punishments  inflicted 
on  criminals),  such  as  being  flogged  with  whips,  or 
with  sticks,  or  with  split  rods,  having  one's  hands 
cut  off,  or  one's  feet,  or  one's  hands  and  feet,  or  one's 
ears,  or  one's  nose,  or  one's  ears  and  nose.  Painful 
are  (the  tortures  inflicted  on  traitors) — being  sub- 
jected to  the  Gruel  Pot  (that  is,  having  boiling  gruel 
poured  into  one's  head  from  the  top  of  which  the 
skull  bone  has  been  removed  ^) — or  to  the  Chank 
Crown  ^  (that  is,  having  the  scalp  rubbed  with  gravel 
till  it  becomes  smooth  like  a  polished  shell) — or  to 
the  Rahu's  Mouth  ^  (that  is,  having  one's  mouth  held 
open  by  iron  pins,  and  oil  put  in  it,  and  a  wick  lighted 
therein) — or  to  the  Fire  Garland^  or  to  the  Hand 
Torch  ^  (that  is,  being  made  a  living  torch,  the  whole 
body,  or  the  arms  only,  being  wrapped  up  in  oily 
cloths,  and  set  on  fire) — or  to  the  Snake  Strips  ^ 
(that  is,  being  skinned  in  strips  from  the  neck  to  the 
hips,  so  that  the  skin  falls  in  strips  round  the  legs) — 
or  to  the  Bark  Dress  "^  (that  is,  being  skinned  alive 
from  the  neck  downwards,  and  having  each  strip  of 


^  Bilanga-thalika;«. 
^  Rahu-mukhaw2. 
°  Hattha-pa^^otikaw. 
^  A^iraka-vasika?//. 


^  Sankha-mu«</ikaw. 
*  Goti-ma\aka.?fi. 
°  Eraka-vattikaOT. 


IV,  4,  ifi.  SUICIDE.  277 


skin  as  soon  as  removed  tied  to  the  hair,  so  that 
these  strips  form  a  veil  around  one) — or  to  the 
Spotted  Antelope  ^  (that  is,  having  one's  knees  and 
elbows  tied  together,  and  being  made  to  squat  on  a 
plate  of  iron  under  which  a  fire  is  lit) — or  to  the  . 
Flesh-hooks-  (that  is,  being  hung  up  on  a  row  of 
iron  hooks) — or  to  the  Pennies  '-^  (that  is,  having  bits 
cut  out  of  the  flesh,  all  over  the  body,  of  the  size  of 
pennies) — or  to  the  Brine  Slits*  (that  is,  having  cuts 
made  all  over  one's  body  by  means  of  knives  or 
sharp  points,  and  then  having  salt  and  caustic  liquids 
poured  over  the  wounds) — or  to  the  Bar  Turn^  (that 
is,  being  transfixed  to  the  ground  by  a  bar  of  iron 
passing  through  the  root  of  the  ear,  and  then  being 
dragged  round  and  round  by  the  leg) — or  to  the 
Straw  Seat''  (that  is,  being  so  beaten  with  clubs  that 

^  E«eyyaka;«. 

^  Balisa-maMt;ikaw  (so  the  Sinhalese,  IMr.  Trenckner  reads 

Ba/isa). 

=*  Kahapa;;akaw.  ^  Kharapati/('X'//akaOT. 

^  Paligha-parivatlika/;/. 

^  Palala-pi///akaw/.  I  follow  throughout  Hina/i-kumbures in- 
terpretation (pp.  260,  261)  of  these  pretty  names,  which  could  be 
well  matched  in  the  West.  That  some  Indian  kings  were  cruel  in 
the  extreme  is  no  doubt  true.  But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
this  list  gives  the  names  of  well-know^n  punishments.  It  is  merely  a 
string  of  technical  terms  which  is  repeated  by  rote  whenever  tortures 
have  to  be  specified.  And  the  meaning  of  its  terms  was  most  likely 
unknown  to  the  very  people  who  so  used  them.  For  the  whole  list 
(which  is  taken  by  our  author  from  the  Pali  Pi/akas)  is  explained 
by  Buddhaghosa  in  his  commentary,  the  Manoratha  Pura«i,  on 
Ahguttara  II,  i,  i,  as  edited  by  Dr.  Morris  at  pp.  113,  114  of  the 
first  edition  of  his  Ahguttara  for  the  Pali  Text  Society,  1884.  But 
Buddhaghosa's  explanations  differ  from  Ilina/i-kumburc's  in  several 
details;  and  to  nearly  half  the  names  he  gives  alternative  mean- 
ings, quite  contradictory  to  those  that  he  gives  first.  So  the  list 
had  its  origin  some  centuries  (say  400-500)  B.C.,  and  was  certainly 


278  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  4,  15. 

the  bones  are  broken,  and  the  body  becomes  Hke  a 
heap  of  straw) — or  to  be  anointed  with  boihng  oil, 
or  to  be  eaten  by  dogs,  or  to  be  impaled  alive,  or  to 
be  beheaded.  Such  and  such,  O  king,  are  the  mani- 
fold and  various  pains  which  a  being  caught  in  the 
whirlpool  of  births  and  rebirths  has  to  endure.  Just, 
O  king,  as  the  water  rained  down  upon  the  Hima- 
laya mountain  flows,  in  its  course  along  the  Ganges, 
through  and  over  rocks  and  pebbles  and  gravel, 
whirlpools  and  eddies  and  rapids  \  and  the  stumps 
and  branches  of  trees  which  obstruct  and  oppose  its 
passage, — ^just  so  has  each  being  caught  in  the  suc- 
cession of  births  and  rebirths  to  endure  such  and 
such  m.anifold  and  various  pains.  Full  of  pain,  then, 
is  the  continual  succession  of  rebirths,  a  joy  is  it 
when  that  succession  ends.  And  it  was  in  pointing 
out  the  advantage  of  that  end,  the  disaster  involved 
in  that  succession,  that  the  Blessed  One,  great  king, 
instigated  us  to  get  beyond  birth,  and  old  age,  and 
disease,  and  death  by  the  realisation  of  the  final  end 
of  that  succession  of  rebirths.  This  is  the  sense,  O 
king,  which  led  the  Blessed  One  to  instigate  us  (to 
put  an  end  to  life).' 

'Very  good,  Nagasena  !  Well  solved  is  the  puzzle 
(I  put),  well  set  forth  are  the  reasons  (you  alleged). 
That  is  so,  and  I  accept  it  as  you  say.' 


[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  suicide,] 

not  understood  in  the  fifth  century  a.  d.  ;  and  was  probably  there- 
fore unintelligible  also,  at  least  in  part,  to  our  author. 

^  Umika-vahka->^adika.  I  don't  pretend  to  understand  this 
last  word.  Dr.  Morris,  at  p.  92  of  the  '  Pali  Text  Society's  Journal ' 
for  1884,  suggests  velika.  Perhaps  it  was  simply  adika  after  all, 
with  or  without  m  euphonic. 


IV,  4,  i6.  LOVE.  279 


[a  loving  disposition.] 

16.  [198]  'Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said 
by  the  Blessed  One :  "  Eleven  advantages,  O 
brethren,  may  be  anticipated  from  practising,  making 
a  habit  of,  enlarging  within  one,  using  as  a  means  of 
advancement,  and  as  a  basis  of  conduct,  pursuing 
after,  accumulating,  and  rising  well  up  to  the  very 
heights  of  the  emancipation  of  heart,  arising  from  a 
feeling  of  love  (towards  all  beings)  \  And  what  are 
these  eleven  ?  He  who  does  so  sleeps  in  peace,  and 
in  peace  does  he  awake.  He  dreams  no  sinful 
dreams.  He  becomes  dear  to  men,  and  to  the 
beino-s  who  are  not  men  ^.  The  o-ods  watch  over 
him.  Neither  fire,  nor  poison,  nor  sword  works  any 
harm  to  him.  Quickly  and  easily  does  he  become 
tranquillised.  The  aspect  of  his  countenance  is  calm. 
Undismayed  does  he  meet  death,  and  should  he  not 
press  through  to  the  Supreme  Condition  (of  Arahat- 
ship),  then  is  he  sure  of  rebirth  in  the  Brahma 
world  ■*."     But  on  the  other  hand  you  (members  of 

^  This  same  string  of  words,  except  the  first,  is  used  of  the 
Iddhi-padas  in  the  Book  of  the  Great  Decease,  III,  3  (p.  40  of 
vol.  xi  of  the  S.  B.  E.).  The  words  '  towards  all  beings  '  are  not 
in  the  text.  But  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  used,  and  not 
love  to  men  only,  as  would  be  understood  if  they  were  not  inserted 
in  the  translation. 

^  Amanussa.  This  means,  not  the  gods,  but  the  various  spirits 
on  the  earth,  nayads,  dryads,  fairies,  &c.  &c.  As  here,  so  again 
below,  IV,  4,  41,  the  amanussa  are  opposed  to  the  devata,  men- 
tioned in  the  next  clause  here.  In  older  texts  the  devata  include 
the  amanussa. 

^  From  the  Ahguttara  Nikaya,  Ekadasa  Nipata  ;  quoted  in  full, 
with  the  context,  in  the  Introductory  Story  to  the  169th  Gataka 
(vol.  ii,  pp.  60,  61  of  Professor  FausboU's  edition). 


28o  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  16. 

the  Order)  say  that  "  Sama  the  Prince,  while  dwel- 
ling in  the  cultivation  of  a  loving  disposition  toward 
all  beings,  and  when  he  was  (in  consequence  thereof) 
wandering  in  the  forest  followed  by  a  herd  of  deer, 
was  hit  by  a  poisoned  arrow  shot  by  Piliyakkha  the 
king,  and  there,  on  the  spot,  fainted  and  felP." 
Now,  venerable  Nagasena,  if  the  passage  I  have 
quoted  from  the  words  of  the  Blessed  One  be  right, 
then  this  statement  of  yours  must  be  wrong.  But 
if  the  story  of  Prince  Sama  be  right,  then  it  cannot 
be  true  that  neither  fire,  nor  poison,  nor  sword  can 
work  harm  to  him  who  cultivates  the  habit  of  love 
to  all  beings.  This  too  is  a  double-edged  problem, 
so  subtle,  so  abstruse,  so  delicate,  and  so  profound, 
that  the  thought  of  having  to  solve  it  might  well 
bring  out  sweat  over  the  body  even  of  the  most 
subtle-minded  of  mortals.  This  problem  is  now  put 
to  you.  Unravel  this  mighty  knot-.  Throw  light 
upon  this  matter^  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
desire  of  those  sons  of  the  Conqueror  who  shall 
arise   hereafter  *.' 

'  The  Blessed  One  spake,  O  king,  as  you  have 
quoted.  And  Prince  Sama  dwelling  in  the  cultiva- 
tion of  love,  and  thus  followed  by  a  herd  of  deer 
when  he  was  wandering  in  the  forest,  was  hit  by  the 
poisoned  arrow  shot  by  king  Piliyakkha,  and  then 
and  there  fainted  and  fell.  But  there  is  a  reason 
for  that.  [199]  And  what  is  the  reason  ?  Simply 
that  those  virtues  (said  in  the  passage   you  quoted 

^  Mr.  Trenckner  points  out  that  this  story  is  given  in  the  54oih 
6'ataka. 

^  See  p.  105  of  the  text. 

■^  A'akkhuw  dehi.     So  also  p.  95  of  the  text. 

*  Nibbahana;  not  in  Childers,  but  see  p.  119  of  the  text. 


IV,  4,  1 6.  LOVE.  281 

to  be  in  the  habit  of  love)  are  virtues  not  attached 
to  the  personahty  of  the  one  who  loves,  but  to  the 
actual  presence  of  the  love  that  he  has  called  up  in 
his  heart  \  And  when  Prince  Sama  was  upsetting 
the  water-pot,  that  moment  he  lapsed  from  the 
actual  feeling  of  love.  At  the  moment,  O  king,  in 
which  an  individual  has  realised  the  sense  of  love, 
that  moment  neither  fire,  nor  poison,  nor  sword  can 
do  him  harm.  If  any  men  bent  on  doing  him  an 
injury  come  up,  they  will  not  see  him,  neither  will 
they  have  a  chance  of  hurting  him.  But  these 
virtues,  O  king,  are  not  inherent  in  the  individual, 
they  are  in  the  actual  felt  presence  of  the  love  that 
he  is  calling  up  in  his  heart.' 

'  Suppose,  O  king,  a  man  were  to  take  into  his 
hand  a  Vanishing  Root  of  supernatural  power ;  and 
that,  so  long  as  it  was  actually  in  his  hand,  no  other 
ordinary  person  would  be  able  to  see  him.  The 
virtue,  then,  would  not  be  in  the  man.  It  would  be 
in  the  root  that  such  virtue  would  reside  that  an 
object  in  the  very  line  of  sight  of  ordinary  mortals 
could,  nevertheless,  not  be  seen.  Just  so,  O  king, 
is  it  with  the  virtue  inherent  in  the  felt  presence  of 
love  that  a  man  has  called  up  in  his  heart.' 

'Or  it  is  like  the  case  of  a  man  [200]  who  has  entered 
into  a  w^ell-formed  mighty  cave.  No  storm  of  rain, 
however  mightily  it  might  pour  down,  would  be  able 
to  wet  him.      But  that  would  be  by  no  virtue  inherent 


^  Bhanana  is  really  more  than  'cultivation.'  It  is  the  actual, 
present,  felt  sense  of  the  particular  moral  state  that  is  being 
cultivated  (in  this  case,  of  love).  I  have  elsewhere  rendered  it 
'  meditation  ' :  but  as  the  ethical  doctrine,  and  practice,  are  alike 
unknown  to  us,  we  have  no  word  that  exactly  reproduces  the  con- 
notation of  the  Pali  phrase. 


282  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  4,  16. 


in  the  man.  It  would  be  a  virtue  inherent  in  the 
cave  that  so  mighty  a  downpour  of  rain  could  not 
wet  the  man.  And  just  so,  O  king,  is  it  with  the 
virtue  inherent  in  the  felt  presence  of  love  that  a 
man  has  called  up  in  his  heart  ^' 


^  This  is  no  quibble.  The  early  Buddhists  did  believe  in  the 
power  of  a  subjective  love  over  external  circumstances.  It  is  true 
that  the  best  known  instances  in  which  this  power  is  represented  as 
having  been  actually  exercised,  are  instances  of  the  power  of  love 
over  the  hearts  of  other  beings,  and  hence,  indirectly,  over  their 
actions.  Thus  when  Devadatta  had  had  the  fierce,  manslaying 
elephant  Nalagiri  let  loose  against  the  Buddha  (^ullavagga  VII,  3, 
II,  12),  Gotama  is  said  to  have  permeated  him  with  his  love, 
and  the  elephant  then  went  up  to  him  only  to  salute  him,  and 
allowed  himself  to  be  stroked,  and  did  no  harm.  And  when  the 
five  disciples  had  intended,  when  he  went  to  Benares,  to  show  him 
no  respect,  the  Buddha,  in  like  manner,  is  said  to  have  '  concen- 
trated that  feeling  of  his  love  which  was  able  to  pervade  generally 
all  beings  in  earth  and  heaven,'  and  to  have  '  directed  it  specially 
towards  them.'  Then  '  the  sense  of  his  love  diffused  itself  through 
their  hearts.  And  as  he  came  nearer  and  nearer,  unable  any 
longer  to  adhere  to  their  resolve,  they  rose  from  their  seats,  and 
bowed  down  before  him,  and  welcomed  him  with  every  mark  of 
reverence  and  of  respect'  ('Buddhist  Birth  Stories,'  vol.  i,  p.  112). 

And  when  he  wished  to  convert  Ro^a  the  Mallian,  the  Buddha 
is  said,  in  like  manner,  to  have  '  suffused  him  with  the  feeling  of 
his  love.'  And  then  Ro^a,  '  overcome  by  the  Blessed  One  by  the 
sense  of  his  love— just  as  a  young  calf  follows  the  kine,  so  did  he 
go  from  apartment  to  apartment '  seeking  the  Blessed  One  (Maha- 
vagga  VI,  36,  4). 

And  again,  when  the  Bhikkhus  told  the  Buddha  of  a  brother 
having  been  killed  by  a  snake-bite,  he  is  represented  (in  the  ^ulla- 
vagga  V,  6)  to  have  said  :  '  Now  surely  that  brother  had  not  let 
his  love  flow  out  over  the  four  royal  kinds  of  serpents.  Had  he 
done  so,  he  would  not  have  died  of  the  bite  of  a  snake.'  And  then 
he  is  said  to  have  enjoined  the  use  of  a  poem  of  love  to  snakes  (set 
out  in  the  text  quoted)  as  a  safeguard  against  snake-bite.  This 
goes  really  much  further  than  the  other  instances,  but  no  case  is 
given  of  that  safeguard  having  been  actually  used  successfully. 
And  I  know  of  no  case  in  the  Pali  Pi/akas  of  the  felt  presence 


IV,  4,  Ty.  DEVADATTA.  283 

'  Most  wonderful  is  it,  Nagasena,  and  most  strange 
how  the  felt  presence  of  love  has  the  power  of 
wardinij  off  all  evil  states  of  mind  \' 

'  Yes  !  The  practice  of  love  is  productive  of  all 
virtuous  conditions  of  mind  both  in  good  (beings) 
and  in  evil  ones.  To  all  beings  whatsoever,  who 
are  in  the  bonds  of  conscious  existence  %  is  this 
practice  of  love  of  great  advantage,  and  therefore 
ought  it  to  be  sedulously  cultivated.' 


[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  power  of  love.] 


[devadatta.] 

1 7.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  is  the  consequence  the 
same  to  him  who  does  good  and  to  him  who  does 
evil,  or  is  there  any  difference  in  the  two  cases  ? ' 

'  There  is  a  difference,  O  king,  between  good  and 
evil.  Good  works  have  a  happy  result,  and  lead  to 
Sagga  ^  and  evil  works  have  an  unhappy  result,  and 
lead  to  Niraya  ■*.' 


of  the  feeling  of  love  being  said  to  have  actually  counteracted 
either  fire,  or  poison,  or  sword. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  Sinhalese  inserts  here  six  pages 
(265-271)  of  matter  not  found  in  the  Pali.  But  as  it  gives  at 
length  the  story  of  Prince  Sama,  it  is  taken,  I  presume,  from  the 
Galaka  book. 

^  This  is  something  quite  different  from  what  was  said  before. 

^  Ye  vi;7>?ana-baddha,  sabbesaw,  which  the  Sinhalese  takes 
as  a  gloss  on  'good  and  evil  ones,'  and  renders  vi«/7ana  prati 
wii  da.     But  I  prefer  Mr.  Trenckner's  punctuation. 

'  That  is  to  a  temporary  life  in  heaven. 

*  That  is  to  life  in  a  temporary  hell  (or  purgatory). 


284  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  4,  18. 

'  But,  venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say  that 
Devadatta  was  altogether  wicked,  full  of  wicked 
dispositions,  and  that  the  Bodisat^  was  altogether 
pure,  full  of  pure  dispositions^.  And  yet  Devadatta, 
through  successive  existences  ^,  was  not  only  quite 
equal  to  the  Bodisat,  but  even  sometimes  superior 
to  him,  both  in  reputation  and  in  the  number  of  his 
adherents. 

18.  'Thus,  Nagasena,  Vv^hen  Devadatta  became 
the  Purohita  (family  Brahman,  royal  chaplain)  of 
Brahmadatta,  the  king,  in  the  city  of  Benares,  then 
the  Bodisat  was  a  wretched  A"a;z^/ala  (outcast)^  who 
knew  by  heart  a  magic  spell.  And  by  repeating  his 
spell  he  produced  mango  fruits  out  of  season  l     This 

^  Bodhi-satto  (Wisdom-Child).  The  individual  who  (through 
virtue  practised  in  successive  li .  es)  was  becoming  the  Buddha. 

"^  'Wicked'  and  'pure'  are  in  the  Pali  ka/zhe  and  sukka, 
literally,  '  dark  '  and  '  light.'  The  only  other  passage  I  recollect 
where  these  names  of  colours  are  used  in  an  ethical  sense  is  the 
87th  verse  of  the  Dhammapada.  Professor  Max  Miiller  there 
renders :  '  A  wise  man  should  lea-  e  the  d.,rk  state  (of  ordinary  life), 
and  follow  the  bright  state  (of  the  Bhikshu),'  (S.  B.E.,  vol.  x,  p.  26.) 
But  the  words  should  certainly  be  translated :  '  A  wise  man  should 
put  away  wicked  dispositions,  and  cultivate  purity  of  heart.' 
Bhavetha  could  never  refer  to  adopting  or  following  any  outward 
profession.  It  is  exclusively  used  of  the  practice,  cultivation,  of 
inward  feelings.  And  the  commentary,  which  is  quoted  by  Pro- 
fessor Fausboll,  takes  the  passage  in  the  Dhammapada  in  that 
sense,  just  as  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  271)  does  here. 

^  Bhave  bhave,  which  would  be  more  accurately  rendered  'in 
the  course  of  his  gradual  becoming.' 

^  ^avaka-/('a;/f/ala.  The  A'a/zt/alas  are  a  well-known  caste 
still  existing  in  India — if  indeed  that  can  rightly  be  called  a  caste 
which  is  beneath  all  others.  A7/avaka  is  not  in  Childers,  but  is 
applied  below  (p.  256  of  our  text)  to  Mara,  the  Buddhist  Satan. 
See  also  the  next  note. 

^  This  is  not  a  summary  of  the  309th  G^ataka,  for  it  differs  from 
that   story   as    pubhshed    by    Professor    Fausboll    (vol.    iii,    pp. 


IV,  4,  20.  DEVADATTA.  28; 


is  one  case  in  which  the  Bodisat  was  inferior  to 
Devadatta  in  birth,  [201]  inferior  to  him  in  repu- 
tation.' 

19.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  king,. 
a  mighty  monarch  of  the  earth  \  hving  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  all  the  pleasures  of  sense,  then  the  Bodisat 
was  an  elephant,  decked  with  all  manner  of  orna- 
ments that  the  king  might  make  use  of  them.  And 
the  king,  being  put  out  of  temper  at  the  sight  of  his 
graceful  and  pleasant  style  of  pace  and  motion,  said 
to  the  elephant  trainer  with  the  hope  of  bringing 
about  the  death  of  the  elephant  :  "  Trainer,  this  ele- 
phant has  not  been  properly  trained,  make  him 
perform  the  trick  called  'Sky  walking.'"  In  that 
case  too  the  Bodisat  was  inferior  to  Devadatta, — 
was  a  mere  foolish  animal  ^.' 

20.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man 
who   gained   his   living  by  winnowing  grain  ^,   then 

217-30),  and  also  from  the  older  and  shorter  version  contained 
in  the  Old  Commentary  on  the  Patimokkha  (on  the  69th  Sakhiya, 
Vinaya  IV,  pp.  203,  204).  [The  name  of  that  story  in  Professor 
FausboU's  edition  is  X/^avaka-Gataka,  but  throughout  the  story 
itself  the  word  A^aw^ala  is  used  in  the  passages  corresponding  to 
those  in  which  Professor  FausboU  has  A'>^apaka  (sic), — a  coin- 
cidence which  throws  light  on  our  author,  A7/avaka-X'a;?r/ala.] 
The  story  here  referred  to  is  the  Amba  G^ataka  (No.  474)  in  which 
the  word  AV/avaka  does  not  occur. 

^  '  Of  Magadha,'  says  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  272). 

^  This  is  the  122nd  G'ataka,  there  called  the  Dummedha  G'ataka. 
The  king  has  the  elephant  taken  to  the  top  of  the  Vepulla  moun- 
tain outside  RiVagaha.  Then  having  made  him  stand  first  on 
three  feet,  then  on  two,  then  on  one,  he  demands  of  the  trainer  to 
make  him  stand  in  the  air.  Then  the  elephant  flies  away  to 
Benares  ! 

'  Pavane  na////ayiko.  But  as  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  all 
this :  '  a  farmer  in  Benares  who  gained  his  living  by  husbandry,' 
I  would  suggest  pavanena  /Mayiko  as  the  right  reading. 


286  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.      IV,  4,  21. 

the  Bodisat  was  a  monkey  called  "  the  broad  earth." 
Here  again  we  have  the  difference  between  an 
animal  and  a  man,  and  the  Bodisat  was  inferior  in 
birth  to  Devadatta  \' 

21.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
by  name  So/^uttara,  a  Nesada  (one  of  an  outcast 
tribe  of  aborigines,  who  lived  by  hunting),  and  was 
of  great  strength  and  bodily  power,  like  an  elephant, 
then  the  Bodisat  was  the  king  of  elephants  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Six-tusked."  And  in  that  birth, 
the  hunter  slew  the  elephant.  In  that  case  too 
Devadatta  was  the  superior^,' 

22.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
a  wanderer  in  the  woods,  without  a  home,  then  the 
Bodisat  was  a  bird,  a  partridge  who  knew  the  Vedic 
hymns.  And  in  that  birth  too  the  woodman  killed 
the  bird.  So  in  that  case  also  Devadatta  was  the 
superior  by  birth  ^.' 

23.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  the 
king  of  Benares,  by  name  Kalabu,  then  the  Bodisat 
was  an  ascetic  who  preached  kindness  to  animals. 
And  the  king  (who  was  fond  of  sport),  enraged  with 
the  ascetic,  had  his  hands  and  feet  cut  off  like  so 
many  bambu   sprouts  ^      In  that  birth,  too,    Deva- 

'  I  cannot  unfortunately  trace  this  story  among  the  (ratakas. 

^  I  do  not  know  which  Gataka  is  here  referred  to. 

^  This  must  be  the  438th  G^ataka,  there  called  the  Tittira 
Gataka.  In  the  summary  Devadatta  is  identified  with  the  hypo- 
critical ascetic  who  killed  and  ate  the  wise  partridge. 

•*  This  is  the  313th  Gataka,  there  called  the  Khanti-vadi  Gataka. 
The  royal  sportsman  has  first  the  skin,  and  then  the  hands  and  feet 
of  the  sage  cut  off,  to  alter  his  opinions.  But  the  sage  simply  says 
that  his  love  to  animals  is  not  in  his  skin,  or  in  his  limbs,  but  in  his 
heart.  Then  the  earth  swallows  up  the  cruel  monarch,  and  the 
citizens  bury  the  body  of  the  sage  with  all  honour.  In  the  summary 
Kalabu,  the  king,  is  identified  with  Devadatta. 


IV,  4,  27-  DEVADATTA.  287 


datta  was  the  superior,  both  in  birth  and  in  reputa- 
tion amonor  men.' 

24.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
a  woodman,  then  the  Bodisat  was  Nandiya  the 
monkey  king.  And  in  that  birth  too  the  man  killed 
the  monkey,  and  his  mother  besides,  and  his  younger 
brother.  So  in  that  case  also  it  was  Devadatta  who 
was  the  superior  in  birth  \' 

25.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
a  naked  ascetic,  by  name  Karambhiya,  then  the 
Bodisat  was  a  snake  king  called  "  the  Yellow  one." 
So  in  that  case  too  it  was  Devadatta  [202]  who  was 
the  superior  in  birth  ^.' 

26.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
a  crafty  ascetic  with  long  matted  hair,  then  the 
Bodisat  was  a  famous  pig,  by  name  "  the  Carpenter." 
So  in  that  case  too  it  was  Devadatta  who  was  the 
superior  in  birth ".' 

27.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  king 
among  the  A'etas,  by  name  Sura  Pari/'ara  ^,  who  had 
the  power  of  travelling  through  the  air  at  a  level 
above  men's  heads  ^,  then  the  Bodisat  was  a  Brah- 

^  This  is  the  222nd  G^ataka,  there  called  the  A^ula  Nandiya 
Gataka. 

^  This  is  probably  the  518th  Calaka.     See  Mr.  Trenckner's  note. 

^  This  must  be  the  492nd  Cataka,  the  TaX-X7^a-sukara  Cataka, 
in  which  the  hero  is  a  learned  pig  who  helps  the  carpenter  in  his 
work,  and  the  villain  of  the  story  is  a  hypocrite  ascetic  with  matted 
hair.  But  it  should  be  added  that  though  in  the  summary  (Faus- 
boll,  vol.  iv,  p.  350)  Devadatta  is  identified  with  the  ascetic,  the 
Bodisat  is  identified,  not  widi  the  learned  pig,  but  with  the  dryad. 

*  He  is  calletl  UpaX-ara  both  in  the  422nd  Gataka  (of  which 
this  is  a  summary)  and  in  the  Sumangala  (p.  258).  The  Cataka 
(III,  454)  also  gives  a  third  variation,  Apa;('ara. 

^  Purisamatto  gagane  vehasangamo.  The  Cataka  says 
simply  upari>('aro,  which  must  mean  about  the  same. 


288  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  28. 

man  named  Kapila.  So  in  that  case  too  it  was  Deva- 
datta  who  was  the  superior  in  birth  and  in  reputation.' 

28.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
by  name  Sama,  then  the  Bodisat  was  a  king  among 
the  deer,  by  name  Ruru.  So  in  that  case  too  it  was 
Devadatta  who  was  the  superior  in  birth  ^' 

29.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  man, 
a  hunter  wandering  in  the  woods,  then  the  Bodisat 
was  a  male  elephant,  and  that  hunter  seven  times 
broke  off  and  took  away  the  teeth  of  the  elephant. 
So  in  that  case  too  it  was  Devadatta  who  was  the 
superior  in  respect  of  the  class  of  beings  into  which 
he  was  born  ^' 

30.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  jackal 
who  wanted  to  conquer  the  world ",  and  brought  the 
kings  of  all  the  countries  in  India  under  his  control, 
then  the  Bodisat  was  a  wise  man,  by  name  Vidhura. 
So  in  that  case  too  it  was  Devadatta  who  was  the 
superior  in  glory.' 

31.  'And    again,   when    Devadatta   became    the 

^  This  must  be  the  482nd  (rataka.  It  is  true  that  the  man  is 
there  called  Maha  Dhanaka  (Fausboll,  vol.  iii,  p.  255),  and  the 
Bodisat  is  not  specially  named  Ruru,  nor  is  he  a  king  of  the  herd, 
but  is  only  a  stag  of  the  kind  of  deer  called  Ruru,  who  lives 
alone.  But  a  comparison  of  the  poetical  version  of  the  same  story 
inthe  A'ariya  Pi/aka  II,  6  (p.  87  of  Dr.  Morris's  edition  for  the 
Pali  Text  Society)  shows  that  the  same  story  is  here  referred  to. 

^  This  is  the  72nd  (7ataka,  the  Silava  Naga  G^ataka.  (Faus- 
boll, vol.  i,  p.  319.) 

^  Khattiya-dhammo;  literally,  'who  had  the  nature  of  a 
Kshatriya.'  This  expression  is  not  found  in  the  6^ataka  referred 
to,  No.  241  (vol.  ii,  p.  242  and  foil,  in  Professor  Fausboll's 
edition),  and  the  Bodisat  is  there  called  purdhita  not  pawa'ita, 
and  his  name  is  not  given  as  Vidhura.  The  jackal  also  came  to 
grief  in  his  attempt  to  conquer  Benares.  But  there  is  no  doubt  as 
to  that  story,  the  Sabba  DaMa  Gataka  being  the  one  here  quoted. 


IV,  4, 36-  DEVADATTA.  289 


elephant  who  destroyed  the  young  of  the  Chinese 
partridge,  then  the  Bodisat  was  also  an  elephant, 
the  leader  of  his  herd.  So  in  that  case  they  were 
both  on  a  par  K' 

32.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  yak- 
kha,  by  name  Unrighteous,  then  the  Bodisat  too  w^as 
a  yakkha,  by  name  Righteous.  So  in  that  case  too 
they  were  both  on  a  par  I' 

33.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  sailor, 
the  chief  of  five  hundred  families,  then  the  Bodisat 
too  was  a  sailor,  the  chief  of  five  hundred  families. 
So  in  that  case  too  they  were  both  on  a  par-\' 

34.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a 
caravan  leader,  the  lord  of  five  hundred  wao-eons, 
then  the  Bodisat  too  was  a  caravan  leader,  the  lord 
of  five  hundred  waggons.  So  in  that  case  too  they 
were  both  on  a  par  ^.' 

35.  [203]  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a 
king  of  deer,  by  name  Sakha,  then  the  Bodisat  was 
a  king  of  deer,  by  name  Nigrodha.  So  in  that  case 
too  they  were  both  on  a  par  ^' 

36.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  com- 
mander-in-chief, by  name  Sakha,  then  the   Bodisat 

^  This  is  the  357th  Cataka  (Fausboll,  vol.  iii,  pp.  174)  and 
which  is  one  of  those  illustrated  on  the  Bharhut  Tope  (Cunning- 
ham, Plate  109). 

^  In  the  Gataka  text  (No.  457,  Fausboll,  vol.  iv,  pp.  100  and 
foil),  there  are  both  devaputta,  'gods,'  not  yakkha.  This  is  by 
no  means  the  only  instance  of  the  term  yakkha  being  used  of  gods. 

*  I  cannot  trace  this  story  in  the  printed  text  of  the  (?atakas. 

*  This  is  the  Apa;;«aka  Gataka  (No.  i,  vol.  i,  pp.  98  and  foil, 
in  Professor  Fausboll's  edition),  translated  in  the  '  Buddhist  Birth 
Stories,'  vol.  i,  pp.  138-145. 

*  The  Nigrodha  Miga  Gataka  (No.  12,  vol.  i,  pp.  145  and  foil, 
in  Fausboll),  translated  in  'Buddhist  Birth  Stories,'  vol.  i,  pp.  198 
and  following. 

[35]  U 


2 go  THE    QUESTIONS    OF   KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4, 37. 

was  a  king,  by  name  Nigrodha.     So  in  that  case 
too  they  were  both  on  a  par  \' 

37.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  brah- 
man, by  name  Kha;^(^ahala,  then  the  Bodisat  was  a 
prince,  by  name  A'anda.  So  in  that  case  that 
Khd.nda.h^\a.  was  the  superior^.' 

38.  'And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  king, 
by  name  Brahmadatta,  then  the  Bodisat  was  his 
son,  the  prince  called  Maha  Paduma.  In  that  case 
the  king  had  his  son  cast  down  seven  times,  from 
the  precipice  from  which  robbers  were  thrown  down. 
And  inasmuch  as  fathers  are  superior  to  and  above 
their  sons,  in  that  case  too  it  was  Devadatta  was  the 
superior  ^.' 

39.  '  And  again,  when  Devadatta  became  a  king, 
by  name  Maha  Patapa,  then  the  Bodisat  was  his 
son.  Prince  Dhamma-pala ;  and  that  king  had  the 
hands  and  feet  and  head  of  his  son  cut  off.  So  in 
that  case  too  Devadatta  was  the  superior  *.' 

40.  '  And  now  again,  in  this  life,  they  were 
in  the  Sakya  clan,  and  the  Bodisat  became  a 
Buddha,  all  wise,  the  leader  of  the  world,  and  Deva- 
datta having  left  the  world  to  join  the  Order  founded 
by  Him  who  is  above  the  god  of  gods,  and  having 
attained  to  the  powers  of  Iddhi,  was  filled  with  lust 
to  become  himself  the  Buddha.  Come  now,  most 
venerable  Nagasena !  Is  not  all  that  I  have  said 
true,  and  just,  and  accurate  ? ' 

^  The   Nigrodha  Gataka  (No.   445,  Fausboll,  vol.  iv,  pp.  37 
and  foil.). 

2  I  cannot  trace  this  story  among  the  published  G^atakas. 

3  This  is  the  MahS  Paduma  Cataka  (No.  472,  Fausboll,  vol.  iv, 
pp.  187-195).     It  was  a  case  of  Joseph  and  Potiphar's  wife. 

*  This  tragical  story  is  No.  358  in  the  Cataka  collection  (Fausboll, 
vol.  iii,  pp.  177-182). 


IV,  4,  41-  DEVADATTA.  09 1 

41.  'All  the  many  things  which  you,  great  king, 
have  now  propounded,  are  so,  and  not  otherwise.' 

'  Then,  Nagasena,  unless  black  and  white  are  the 
same  in  kind,  it  follows  that  good  and  evil  bear  equal 
fruit' 

*  Nay,  not  so,  great  king !  Good  and  evil  have 
not  the  same  result.  Devadatta  was  opposed  by 
everybody.  No  one  was  hostile  to  the  Bodisat. 
And  the  hostility  which  Devadatta  felt  towards 
the  Bodisat,  that  came  to  maturity  and  bore  fruit  in 
each  successive  birth.  And  so  also  as  Devadatta, 
when  he  was  established  in  lordship  over  the  world, 
[204]  was  a  protection  to  the  poor,  put  up  bridges 
and  courts  of  justice  and  rest-houses  for  the  people, 
and  gave  gifts  according  to  his  bent  to  Sama;^as 
and  Brahmans,  to  the  poor  and  needy  and  the  way- 
farers, it  was  by  the  result  of  that  conduct  that, 
from  existence  to  existence,  he  came  into  the  enjoy- 
ment of  so  much  prosperity.  For  of  whom,  O  king, 
can  it  be  said  that  without  generosity  and  self- 
restraint,  without  self-control  and  the  observance  of 
the  Upasatha  \  he  can  reach  prosperity  ? 

'  And  when,  O  king,  you  say  that  Devadatta  and 
the  Bodisat  accompanied  one  another  in  the  passage 
from  birth  to  birth,  that  meeting  together  of  theirs 
took  place  not  only  at  the  end  of  a  hundred,  or  a 
thousand,  or  a  hundred  thousand  births,  but  was  in 
fact  constantly  and  frequently  taking  place  through 
an  immeasurable  period  of  time  ^.  For  you  should 
regard  that  matter  in  the  light  of  the  comparison 
drawn  by  the  Blessed  One  between  the  case  of  the 

^  The  Buddhist  Sabbath,  on  which  see  my  '  Manual  of  Buddhism,' 
pp.  139-141. 

^  So  also  above,  IV,  2,  64,  and  IV,  3,  28. 

U  2 


292  THE  QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.        IV,  4,  41. 

purblind  tortoise  and  the  attainment  of  the  condi- 
tion of  a  human  being.  And  it  was  not  only  with 
Devadatta  that  such  union  took  place.  Sariputta 
the  Elder  also,  O  king,  was  through  thousands  of 
births  the  father,  or  the  grandfather,  or  the  uncle  \ 
or  the  brother,  or  the  son,  or  the  nephew,  or  the 
friend  of  the  Bodisat ;  and  the  Bodisat  was  the 
father,  or  the  grandfather,  or  the  uncle,  or  the 
brother,  or  the  son,  or  the  nephew,  or  the  friend 
of  Sariputta  the  Elder. 

*  All  beings  in  fact,  O  king,  who,  in  various  forms 
as  creatures,  are  carried  down  the  stream  of  trans- 
migration, meet,  as  they  are  whirled  along  in  it, 
both  with  pleasant  companions  and  with  disagreeable 
ones — ^just  as  water  whirled  along  in  a  stream  meets 
with  pure  and  impure  substances,  with  the  beautiful 
and  with  the  ugly. 

'  And  when,  O  king,  Devadatta  as  the  god,  had 
been  himself  Unrighteous,  and  had  led  others  into 
unrighteousness  of  life,  he  was  burnt  in  purgatory 
for  an  immeasurable  period  of  time  ^.  [205]  But 
the  Bodisat,  who,  as  the  god,  had  been  himself 
Righteous,  and  had  led  others  into  righteousness 
of  life,  lived  in  all  the  bliss  of  heaven  for  a  like 
immeasurable  period  of  time.  And  whilst  in  this 
life,  Devadatta,  who  had  plotted  injury  against  the 
Buddha,  and  had  created  a  schism  in  the  Order, 
was   swallowed    up   by  the    earth,   the    Tathagata, 

^  That  is  '  father's  younger  brother.'  The  Pali  has  no  word  for 
uncle  generally,  the  whole  scheme  of  relationship  being  different 
from  ours,  and  the  various  sorts  of  uncles  having,  in  the  Pali 
scheme,  different  and  distinct  names. 

^  'Fifty-seven  ko/is  and  sixty  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,' 
says  the  text,  with  touching  accuracy. 


IV,  4,  41.  DEVADATTA.  293 

knowinor  all  that  can  be  known,  arrived  at  the 
insight  of  Buddhahood  ^  and  was  completely  set 
free  (from  the  necessity  of  becoming)  by  the  des- 
truction of  all  that  leads  to  re-existence.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !     That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say  ^Z 

[Here  ends  the  dilemma  as  to  Devadatta's  superi- 
ority to  the  Bodisat  in  previous  births.] 

^  So  Hina/i-kumbure,  who  takes  sabbadhamme  as  accusative 
to  hugg/iitva,  and  understands  the  phrase  as  above  translated. 

2  This  discussion  is  very  interesting,  both  as  a  specimen  of 
casuistry,  and  as  an  exposition  of  orthodox  Buddhist  behef.  And 
it  is  full  of  suggestion  if  taken  as  a  statement  of  the  kind  of  reason 
which  led  the  Buddhist  editors  of  the  earlier  folk-lore  to  identify 
Devadatta  with  the  characters  referred  to  by  king  INIilinda. 
But  the  facts  are  that  those  editors,  in  using  the  old  stories  and 
legends  for  their  ethical  purposes,  always  identified  Devadatta  with 
the  cruel  person  in  the  story,  and  paid  no  heed  to  the  question 
whether  he  w^as  superior  or  not  in  birth  or  in  the  consideration  of 
the  world,  to  the  person  they  identified  with  the  Bodisat.  In 
searching  through  the  four  volumes  of  the  published  Gatakas,  and 
the  proof-sheets  of  the  fifth  volume  with  which  Professor  Fausboll 
has  favoured  me,  for  the  purpose  of  tracing  the  stories  referred  to 
by  our  author,  I  find  that  Devadatta  appears  in  sixty-four  of  them, 
and  that  in  almost  every  one  of  these  sixty-four  he  is  either  superior 
in  birth,  or  equal  to  the  character  identified  with  the  Bodisat. 
This  is  not  surprising,  for  it  is  not  unusually  the  superiors  in  birth 
who  are  guilty  of  the  kind  of  cruelty  and  wickedness  which  the 
Buddhist  editors  would  ascribe  to  Devadatta.  So  that  our  author, 
had  he  chosen  to  do  so,  might  have  adduced  many  other  instances 
of  a  similar  kind  to  those  he  actually  quotes.  I  add  in  an 
appendix  the  full  list  of  the  Devadatta  stories  in  the  Gatakas.  It  is 
clear  our  author  had  before  him  a  version  of  the  6^ataka  book 
slightly  different  from  our  own,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  cases 
pointed  out  in  the  notes  in  which,  as  to  names  or  details,  the  story 
known  to  him  differs  from  the  printed  text.  And  also  that  here 
(as  at  III,  6,  2)  he  would  have  been  able  to  solve  his  own  dilemma 
much  better  if  he  had  known  more  of  the  history  of  those  sacred 
books  on  the  words  of  which  it  is  based. 


294  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       TV,  4,  42. 


[women's    WILES.] 

42.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  has  been  said  by  the 
Blessed  One : 

"  With  opportunity,  and  secrecy, 
And  the  right  woo'r,  all  women  will  go  wrong — 
Aye,  failing  others,  with  a  cripple  even  \" 
But  on  the   other  hand  it  is  said :    "  Mahosadha's 
wife,  Amara,  when  left  behind  in  the  village  while 
her   husband   was    away   on   a   journey,    remained 
alone   and  in   privacy,   and  regarding  her  husband 
as  a  man  would  regard  his  sovran  lord,  she  refused 
to  do  wrong,  even  when  tempted  with  a  thousand 
pieces  ^."      Now    if  the  first  of  these  passages  be 
correct,    the    second    must   be  wrong ;    and   if   the 
second  be  right,  [206]  the  first  must  be  wrong.    This 
too  is  a  double-edged  problem  now  put  to  you,  and 
you  have  to  solve  it.' 

43.  '  It  is  so  said,  O  king,  as  you  have  quoted, 
touching  the  conduct  of  Amara,  Mahosadha's  wife. 
But  the  question  is  would  she  have  done  wrong,  on 
receipt  of  those  thousand  pieces,  with  the  right 
man :  or  would  she  not  have  done  so,  if  she  had 
had  the  opportunity,  and  the  certainty  of  secrecy, 
and  a  suitable  wooer  ?  Now,  on  considering  the 
matter,  that  lady  Amara  was  not  certain  of  any  of  these 

^  It  is  not  meant  that  men  would  not.  But  that  is  too  clear  to 
be  even  worthy  of  mention,  whereas  with  regard  to  women  the 
question  is  worth  discussion.  Our  author  is  mistaken  in  ascribing 
this  verse  to  the  Buddha.  It  is  only  found  (as  has  been  pointed 
out  by  Mr.  Trenckner)  in  a  Gataka  story,  No.  536,  and  is  a  speci- 
men, not  of  Buddhist  teaching,  but  of  Indian  folk-lore.  There  is 
a  very  similar  sentiment  in  G^ataka,  No.  62  (vol.  i,  p.  289). 

"^  This  story  will  be  found  in  the  Ummagga  Gataka,  No.  546. 


rV,4,  43-  WOMEN.  295 


thino-s.  Through  her  fear  of  censure  in  this  world 
the  opportunity  seemed  to  her  not  fit,  and  through 
her  fear  of  the  sufferings  of  purgatory  in  the  next 
world.  And  because  she  knew  how  bitter  is  the 
fruit  of  wrong-doing,  and  because  she  did  not  wish 
to  lose  her  loved  one,  and  because  of  the  high 
esteem  in  which  she  held  her  husband,  and  because 
she  honoured  goodness,  and  despised  ignobleness 
of  life,  and  because  she  did  not  want  to  break  with 
her  customary  mode  of  life — for  all  these  reasons 
the  opportunity  seemed  to  her  not  fit. 

'  And,  further,  she  refused  to  do  wrong  because,  on 
consideration,  she  was  not  sure  of  keeping  the  thing 
secret  from  the  world.  [207]  For  even  could  she 
have  kept  it  secret  from  men,  yet  she  could  not  have 
concealed  it  from  spirits  ^ — even  could  she  have  kept 
it  secret  from  spirits,  yet  she  could  not  have  concealed 
it  from  those  recluses  who  have  the  power  of  know- 
ine  the  thoufrhts  of  others — even  could  she  have 
kept  it  secret  from  them,  yet  she  could  not  have  con- 
cealed it  from  those  of  the  gods  who  can  read  the 
hearts  of  men — even  could  she  have  kept  it  secret 
from  the  gods,  yet  she  could  not  have  escaped,  her- 
self, from  the  knowledge  of  her  sin — even  could  she 
have  remained  ignorant  of  it  herself,  yet  she  could 
not  have  kept  it  secret  from  (the  law  of  the  result 
which  follows  on)  unrighteousness 2.     Such  were  the 

^  Fairies,  nayad,  dryads,  &c.  &c.— not  gods. 

2  Adhammena  raho  na  labheyya.  I  am  in  great  doubt  as 
to  the  real  meaning  of  these  words,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  286) 
renders  merely  adharmayen  rahasak  no  labanne.  They  look 
very  much  like  a  kind  of  personification  of  Karma.  The  phrase 
is  really  very  parallel  to  the  saying  in  Numbers  xxxii.  23,  'Be 
sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out  '—namely,  in  its  results— and  is  as 
true  ethically  as  it  is  difficult  grammatically. 


296  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  43. 

'various  reasons  which  led  her  to  abstain  from  doing 
wrong  because  she  could  not  be  sure  of  secrecy. 

*  And,  further,  she  refused  to  do  wrong  because,  on 
consideration,  she  found  no  right  wooer.  Mahosa- 
dha  the  wise,  O  king,  was  endowed  with  the  eight 
and  twenty  qualities.  And  which  are  those  twenty- 
eight  ?  He  was  brave,  O  king,  and  full  of  modesty, 
and  ashamed  to  do  wrong,  he  had  many  adherents, 
and  many  friends,  he  was  forgiving,  he  was  upright 
in  life,  he  was  truthful,  he  was  pure  in  word,  and 
deed  and  heart  \  he  was  free  from  malice,  he  was 
not  puffed  up,  he  felt  no  jealousy^,  he  was  full  of 
energy,  he  strove  after  all  good  things  ^  he  was  popu- 
lar with  all  men,  he  was  generous,  he  was  friendly  ^, 
he  was  humble  in  disposition,  he  was  free  from  guile, 
he  was  free  from  deceit,  he  was  full  of  insight,  he 
was  of  high  reputation,  he  had  much  knowledge,  he 
sought  after  the  good  of  those  dependent  on  him, 
his  praise  was  in  all  men's  mouths,  great  was  his 
wealth,  and  great  his  fame.  Such  were  the  twenty- 
eight  qualities,  O  king,  with  which  Mahosadha,  the 
wise,  was  endowed.  And  it  was  because  she  found 
no  wooer  like  unto  him  that  she  did  no  wrong  ^' 


^  So-^eyya-sampanno,  which  Hina/i-kumbure  renders  suva/^a 
guwayen  samanwibaw  a  :  that  is,  '  compliant,  attentive  to  what 
is  said.'  But  I  prefer  to  take  the  expression  in  the  sense  explained  at 
length  in  Anguttara  III,  119.  See  also  Cataka  1,214;  Milinda,  p.  1 1 5. 

^  Anusuyyako.     See  G^ataka  II,  192,  and  Milinda,  p.  94. 

^  Ayuhako.  Hina/i-kumbure  (p.  286)  renders  this  word,  which 
is  only  found  here,  by  Dhana  piris  roes  kirim  oetteya,  '  one  who 
has  heaped  up  goods  and  men.'  But  see  Milinda,  p.  181,  and  Dr. 
Morris  in  the  Pali  Text  Society's  Journals  for  1885  and  1886. 

*  Sakhilo,  '  kindly  in  speech,'  says  the  Si7;/halese. 

^  This  is  all  very  well,  but  it  does  not  confirm,  it  explains  away, 
the  supposed  quotation  from  the  Buddha's  words. 


IV,  4,44-  ARAIIATS.  297 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends   the   dilemma  as   to  the  wickedness  of 

women  \'\ 


[on  the  fearlessness  of  the  arahats.] 

44.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  it  was  said  by  the 
Blessed  One  :  "  The  Arahats  have  laid  aside  all  fear 
and  trembling  V  But  on  the  other  hand  when,  in 
the  city  of  Raj^agaha,  they  saw  Dhana-palaka,  the 
man-slaying  elephant,  bearing  down  upon  the  Blessed 

^  The  position  of  women  in  India,  at  the  time  when  Buddhism 
arose,  was,  theoretically,  very  low.  The  folk  tales  are  full  of  stories 
turning  on  the  wiles  of  women,  and  the  Hindoo  law-books  seem 
never  tired  of  the  theme  of  her  uncleanness,  her  weakness,  and 
her  wickedness.  But,  except  in  matters  of  property,  the  bark  was  I 
think  worse  than  the  bite.  Among  the  people,  in  the  homes  of  the 
peasantry,  the  philippics  of  the  Brahmin  priests  were  not  much 
regarded,  and  the  women  led  lives  as  pleasant  as  those  of  their 
male  relations,  and  shared  in  such  mental  and  physical  advantages 
as  their  male  relations  enjoyed.  The  influence  of  Buddhism  must 
have  been  felt  in  two  directions.  In  the  first  place  the  importance 
attached  to  the  celibate  life  must  have  encouraged  the  kind  of  view 
taken  of  women  among  Catholics  in  mediaeval  times  (the  Brahmin 
view  being  much  akin  to  those  that  were  promulgated  by  Luther). 
On  the  other  hand  the  fact  that  women  were  admitted  to  the 
Order,  and  that  the  still  higher  aim  of  Arahatship  was  held  to  be 
attainable  by  them,  must  have  helped  to  encourage  a  high  esteem 
for  women.  We  have  many  instances  of  women  who  were  credited 
with  the  insight  of  Arahatship.  A  whole  treatise  in  the  Buddhist 
sacred  books,  the  Theri  Galha,  is  devoted  to  hymns  and  poems 
ascribed  to  them,  and  many  of  these  reach  a  very  high  level  of 
intelligent  and  spiritual  emotion. 

^  I  do  not  know  the  exact  passage  referred  to,  but  there  are 
many  of  similar  tendency  in  the  sacred  books.  See,  for  instance, 
Dhammapada,  verses  39,  188,  214,  351,  and  385;  and  Sutta  Nipata, 
verses  15,  70,  212,  621,  and  965. 


298  THE   QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  44. 

One,  all  the  five  hundred  Arahats  forsook  the  Con- 
queror and  fled,  one  only  excepted,  Ananda  the 
Elder  \  Now  how  was  it,  Nagasena  ?  Did  those 
Arahats  run  away  from  fear — or  did  they  run  away 
willing  to  let  the  Blessed  One  be  destroyed,  and 
thinking  :  "  (Our  conduct)  will  be  clear  (to  him)  from 
the  way  in  which  he  himself  will  act  ^"  [208]  or  did 
they  run  away  with  the  hope  of  watching  the 
immense  and  unequalled  mighty  power  which  the 
Tathagata  would  exhibit  ?     If,  Nagasena,  what  the 


^  Here  again  we  have  a  variation  between  our  author's  words 
and  those  of  the  Pi/akas.  In  the  iTullavagga  VII,  3,  11,  12  (trans- 
lated in  pp.  247-250  of  vol.  iii  of  the  '  Vinaya  Texts'  in  the 
'  Sacred  Books  of  the  East '),  we  have  the  oldest  versions  of  this 
story;  and  there  the  elephant  is  called,  not  Dhana-palaka,  but 
Nalagiri,  and  the  number  of  attendant  disciples  (who  are  not  called 
Arahats)  is  not  given  as  five  hundred.  The  Buddha  is  simply  said  to 
have  entered  Ra^agaha  'with  a  number  of  Bhikkhus.'  Nothing 
also  is  said,  either  of  their  running  away,  or  of  Ananda's  remain- 
ing behind.  It  is,  no  doubt,  an  easily  explicable  and  very  pretty 
alteration  of  the  story,  which  exhibits  Ananda,  the  beloved  disciple, 
as  acting  in  this  way.     But  it  is  none  the  less  an  alteration. 

It  should  be  added  that  Nalagiri  (it  should  be  Na/agiri)  in  the 
Vinaya  text  is  a  personal  name  of  the  elephant,  but  may  be  derived 
from  its  place  of  origin.  (See  the  references  to  a  famous  elephant 
named  Na/agiri  in  the  Megha  Duta  and  Nalagiri  in  the  Katha 
Sarit  Sagara  XI,  42,  XII,  10,  XIII,  7,  29.  But  Paz/ini  VI,  3,  117, 
gives  the  latter  as  the  name  of  a  mountain.)  So  while  there  may 
be  a  variation  in  the  legend,  it  may  also  be  that  we  have  only 
two  names  for  the  same  elephant,  just  as  one  might  speak  of  the 
Shetland  pony  (named)  Brownie.  And  the  stanza  quoted  below 
(p.  410  of  the  Pah  text)  shows  that  the  name  Dhana-palaka  was 
given  already  in  older  texts  to  the  Na/agiri  elephant. 

^  Pa7/;7ayissati  sakena  kammena,  'It  will  be  plain  to  the 
Buddha  (that  is,  he  will  be  able  to  judge  of  our  motives)  from  his 
own  kindness  and  goodness,'  according  to  the  Si/«halese  (p.  287). 
But  the  expression  is  a  very  strange  one,  and  perhaps,  after  all, 
it  merely  means, '  The  matter  will  turn  out  according  to  his  Karma.' 


IV,  4,  45-  ARAHATS.  299 


Blessed  One  said  as  to  the  Arahats  being  devoid  of 
fear  be  true,  then  this  story  must  be  false.  But  if 
the  story  be  true,  then  the  statement  that  the 
Arahats  have  put  away  fear  and  trembling  must  be 
false.  This  too  is  a  double-edged  problem  now  put 
to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

45.  '  The  Blessed  One  did  say,  O  king,  that 
Arahats  have  put  away  all  fear  and  trembling, 
and  five  hundred  Arahats,  save  only  Ananda,  did,  as 
you  say,  run  away  when  the  elephant  Dhana-palaka 
bore  down  upon  the  Tathagata  that  day  in  Ra^a- 
gaha.  But  that  was  neither  out  of  fear,  nor  from 
willingness  to  let  the  Blessed  One  be  destroyed.  For 
the  cause  by  which  Arahats  could  be  made  to  fear 
or  tremble  has  been  destroyed  in  them,  and  there- 
fore are  they  free  from  fear  or  trembling.  Is  the 
broad  earth,  O  king,  afraid  at  people  digging  into  it, 
or  breaking  it  up,  or  at  having  to  bear  the  weight 
of  the  mighty  oceans  and  the  peaked  mountain 
ranges  ? ' 

*  Certainly  not.  Sir.' 

'  But  why  not  ?' 

'  Because  there  is  no  cause  in  the  broad  earth 
which  could  produce  fear  or  trembling.' 

'Just  so,  O  king.  And  neither  is  there  any  such 
cause  in  Arahats.  And  would  a  mountain  peak  be 
afraid  of  being  split  up,  or  broken  down,  or  made  to 
fall,  or  burnt  with  fire  ?' 

'  Certainly  not,  Sir.' 

'But  why  not?'  [209] 

'  The  cause  of  fear  or  trembling  does  not  exist 
within  it.' 

'  And  just  so,  O  king,  with  Arahats.  If  all  the 
creatures    of  various    outward   form    in    the   whole 


300  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  45. 

universe  ^  were,  together,  to  attack  one  Arahat  in 
order  to  put  him  to  fear,  yet  would  they  bring  about 
no  variation  in  his  heart.  And  why  ?  Because 
there  is  neither  condition  nor  cause  for  fear  (in  him, 
whence  fear  could  arise).  Rather,  O  king,  was  it  these 
considerations  that  arose  in  the  minds  of  those  Ara- 
hats  :  "  To-day  when  the  best  of  the  best  of  men,  the 
hero  among  conquerors,  has  entered  into  the  famous 
city,  Dhana-palaka  the  elephant  will  rush  down  the 
street.  But  to  a  certainty  the  brother  who  is  his 
special  attendant  will  not  forsake  him  who  is  above 
the  god  of  gods.  But  if  we  should  not  go  away, 
then  neither  will  the  goodness  of  Ananda  be  made 
manifest,  nor  will  the  elephant  actually  approach  ^ 
the  Tathaeata.  Let  us  then  withdraw.  Thus  will 
great  masses  of  the  people  attain  to  emancipation 
from  the  bonds  of  evil,  and  the  goodness  of  Ananda 
be  made  manifest."  It  was  on  the  realisation  of  the 
fact  that  those  advantages  would  arise  from  their 
doing  so,  that  the  Arahats  withdrew  to  every  side.' 

'Well,  Nagasena,  have  you  solved  the  puzzle. 
That  is  so.  The  Arahats  feared  not,  nor  did  they 
tremble.  But  for  the  advantages  that  they  foresaw 
they  withdrew  on  every  side.' 


[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  panic  of  the 

Arahats.] 


^  Literally,  *  In  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  world  systems.' 
2  A///^anam-anavakasataya,  'Because  of  the  absence  of  con- 
dition and  opportunity/ 


IV,  4,  47-  OMNISCIENCE. 


[on  causing  the  omniscient  one  to  change  his 

MIND.] 

46.  '  Venerable  Nagasena,  your  people  say  that 
the  Tathagata  is  all  wise  \  And  on  the  other  hand 
they  say  :  "  When  the  company  of  the  members  of 
the  Order  presided  over  by  Sariputta  and  Moggal- 
lana  had  been  dismissed  by  the  Blessed  One  ^  then 
the  Sakyas  of  Katuma  and  Brahma  Sabanipati,  by 
means  of  the  parables  of  the  seed  and  of  the  calf, 
gained  the  Buddha  over,  and  obtained  his  forgive- 
ness, and  made  him  see  the  thing  in  the  right 
light  ^."  Now  how  was  that,  Nagasena  ?  Were 
those  two  parables  unknown  to  him  that  he  should 
be  [210]  appeased  and  gained  over  to  their  side, 
and  brought  to  see  the  matter  in  a  new  light  ?  But 
if  he  did  not  already  know  them,  then,  Nagasena,  he 
was  not  all-wise.  If  he  did  know  them,  then  he  must 
have  dismissed  those  brethren  rudely  and  violently  * 
in  order  to  try  them  ;  and  therein  is  his  unkindness 
made  manifest.  This  too  is  a  double-edged  problem 
now  put  to  you,  and  you  have  to  solve  it.' 

47.  *  The  Tathagata,  O  king,  was  all-wise,  and 
yet,  pleased  at  those  parables,  he  was  gained  over  by 
them,  he  granted  pardon  to  the  brethren  he  had  sent 

^  This  question  is  also  discussed  above,  III,  6,  2. 

^  This  episode  has  already  been  referred  to  above,  and  will  be 
found  set  out  in  full  in  the  A'atuma  Sutta,  No.  67,  in  the  IMa^^^/nma 
Nikaya  (pp.  456-462  of  Mr.  Trenckner's  edition  for  the  Pali  Text 
Society). 

^  N\gg/2Zt\.a?n  akawsu.     Compare  6^ataka,  vol.  i,  p.  495. 

*  Okassa  pasayha,  which  the  Si//^halese  (p.  289)  renders 
akao'fl'/ianaya  ko/a  abhibhavanaya  karana.  See  Dr.  Morris 
in  the  'Journal  of  the  Pali  Text  Society,'  1887,  p.  148. 


302  THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA.       IV,  4,  47- 

away,  and  he  saw  the  matter  In  the  Hght  (in  which 
the  intercessors  on  their  behalf  wished  him  to  see 
it).  For  the  Tathagata,  O  king,  is  lord  of  the 
Scriptures.  It  was  with  parables  that  had  been  first 
preached  by  the  Tathagata  himself^  that  they  con- 
ciliated him,  pleased  him,  gained  him  over,  and  it 
was  on  being  thus  gained  over  that  he  signified 
his  approval  (of  what  they  had  said).  It  was,  O  king, 
as  when  a  wife  conciliates,  and  pleases,  and  gains 
over  her  husband  by  means  of  things  that  belong  to 
the  husband  himself;  and  the  husband  signifies  his 
approval  thereof.  Or  it  was,  O  king,  as  when  the 
royal  barber  conciliates  and  pleases  and  gains  over 
the  king  when  he  dresses  the  king's  head  with  the 
golden  comb  2  which  belongs  to  the  king  himself, 
and  the  king  then  signifies  his  approval  thereof. 
Or  it  was,  O  king,  as  when  an  attendant  novice, 
when  he  serves  his  teacher  with  the  food  given  in 
alms  which  his  teacher  has  himself  brought  home, 
conciliates  him  and  pleases  him  and  gains  him  over, 
and  the  teacher  then  signifies  his  approval  thereof.' 

'  Very  good,  Nagasena  !    That  is  so,  and  I  accept 
it  as  you  say.' 

[Here  ends  the  problem  as  to  the  all-wise  Buddha 
being  gained  over  by  intercession  ^.] 

Here  ends  the  Fourth  Chapter. 


^  This  is  quite  correct.     They  are  in  the  fourth  book  of  the 
Ahguttara  Sutta,  No.  13. 

2  Pawaka,  a  word  only  found  in  this  passage.     Hina/i-kumbure 
(p.  280  at  the  end)  renders  it  ran  panawen. 

3  Other  cruxes  arising  out  of  the  dogma  of  the  Buddha's  omni- 
science are  discussed  above.  III,  6,  2. 


APPENDIX. 


DEVADATTA    IN   THE    G^ATAKAS. 


No.  of 

Character  filled  by 

Character  filled  by  the 

Calaka. 

Devadatta. 

Bodisat. 

I 

INIerchant 

IMerchant 

3 
II 

Deer  (Ka/a) 

His  father 

12 

Deer  (Sakha) 

Deer  (Nigrodha) 

20 

Water  sprite 

IMonkey 

21 

Hunter 

Kurunga  deer 

33 

Quail 

Quail 

51 

IMinister 

King 

57 

Crocodile 

Monkey  king 

58 

Monkey  king 

His  son 

72 

Woodman 

Elephant 

73 

King 

King 

113 

Jackal 

Tree  god 

122 

King 

Elephant 

131 

Piliya 

Sa7;?kha 

139 

Fisherman 

Tree  god 

141 

Chameleon 

Iguana 

142 

Drunkard 

Jackal 

143 

Jackal 

Lion 

160 

Vinilaka  (a  crow) 

King  of  Videha 

168 

Hawk 

Quail 

174 

Monkey 

Brahman 

184 

Groom 

Minister 

193 

Cripple 

King  Paduma 

194 

King 

Countryman 

204 

Crow 

Crow 

206 

Hunter 

Kurunga  deer 

208 

Crocodile 

IMonkey 

210 

Bird 

Bird 

220 

Unjust  judge 

Just  judge 

221 

Hunter 

Elephant 

222 

)) 

Nandiya  (monkey  king) 

231 

Elephant  trainer 

Elephant  trainer 

304 

THE    QUESTIONS    OF    I 

:iNG    MILINDA. 

240 

King  Pingala 

Prince 

241 

Jackal 

Minister 

243 

Musician 

Musician 

277 

Ascetic 

Pigeon 

294 

Jackal 

Tree  god 

295 

)j 

)5            5> 

3o3 

Lion 

Bird 

313 

King  Kalabu 

Kuw^aka  (a  brahman) 

326 

Brahman 

God 

329 

Ka/abahu  (a  woodman) 

Parrot 

335 

Jackal 

Lion 

342 

Crocodile 

Monkey 

353 

Pingiya  (a  purohit) 

Teacher 

357 

Mad  elephant 

Elephant  king 

358 

King  Patapa 

His  son 

367 

Doctor 

Hag 

389 

Crow 

Brahman 

397 

Jackal 

Lion 

404 

Monkey  king 

Monkey  king 

416 

King  of  Benares 

His  son 

422 

King  of  ^etiya 

Brahman 

438 

Ascetic 

Partridge 

445 

Sakha  (a  minister) 

Nigrodha  (a  king) 

448 

Hawk 

Cock 

457 

Adhamma  (a  god) 

Dhamma  (a  god) 

466 

Carpenter 

Carpenter 

472 

King  of  Benares 

Prince  Paduma 

482 

Man 

Ruru  deer 

503 

Thief 

Parrot 

505 

Ascetic 

Prince  Somanassa 

506 

Snake  charmer 

Snake  king 

64  in  all. 

Professor  Fausboll  has  kindly  allowed  me  to  look  at  the  advance 
sheets  of  his  fifth  volume,  so  that  the  above  list  is  complete  down 
to  No.  513.  There  maybe  a  few  more  instances  in  the  remaining 
37  Gatakas  not  yet  printed. 


I 


ADDENDA    ET    CORRIGENDA. 

Page  xiii.  Ai-wardhana-pura.  It  should  have  been  pointed  out 
that  this  city  is  not  (as  stated  by  Emerson  Tennant  at  vol.  i,  p.  414 
of  his  '  Ceylon ')  the  same  as  the  modern  town  of  Kandy,  but  was 
in  the  Kurunsegalla  district,  and  (as  pointed  out  by  Mr.  K.  James 
Pohath  in  the  'Ceylon  Orientalist,'  vol.  iii,  p.  218)  about  three  and 
a  half  miles  distant  from  the  modern  Damba-deniya. 

P.  2,  note  2.  Mr.  Trenckner  in  his  'Pali  Miscellany'  (London, 
1879)  has  translated  and  annotated  the  whole  of  Book  I,  that  is, 
to  the  end  of  p.  39  of  this  translation. 

P.  6,  hne  i,  read  'to  Tissa  the  Elder,  the  son  of  Moggali.' 

P.  10,  note  I.  It  is  strange  that  when  it  occurred  to  me  that 
§§  10-14  are  an  early  interpolation  I  failed  to  notice  the  most 
important,  and  indeed  almost  conclusive  argument  for  my  sug- 
gestion. It  is  this,  that  the  closing  words  of  §  14  are  really  in 
complete  contradiction  to  the  opening  words,  and  that  they  look 
very  much  as  if  they  had  been  inserted,  after  the  interpolation,  to 
meet  the  objection  to  it  which  would  at  once  arise  from  the  ex- 
pression in  §  16,  that  the  venerable  Assagutta  'heard  those  words 
of  King  jMilinda.'  As  it  originally  stood  the  words  he  heard  were 
those  of  §  10.  After  the  interpolation  these  words  had  to  be 
reinserted  at  the  end  of  §  14,  in  spite  of  their  being  in  contra- 
diction to  the  context. 

Pp.  14  foil.,  for  '  Rohana'  read  '  Rohawa.' 

Pp.  15,  16.  This  whole  episode  as  to  the  charge  of  lying  is 
repeated  by  Buddhaghosa  (in  the  Introduction  to  his  Samanta 
Pasadika,  p.  296  of  vol.  iii  of  Oldenberg's  Vinaya),  but  as  having 
happened  to  Siggava  in  connection  with  the  birth  of  Moggali-putta 
Tissa.  A  modern  author  would  be  expected  to  mention  his 
source,  but  Buddhaghosa  makes  no  reference  whatever  to  the 
Milinda.  Perhaps  the  episode  is  common  stock  of  Buddhist 
legend,  and  we  shall  find  it  elsewhere. 

P.  32,  line  I,  add  after  'Quietism'  'and  the  discourse  on  losses 
(Parabhava  Suttanta).'  [See  p.  xxix,  where  the  reference  is  sup- 
plied.] 

[35]  X 


^ 


06  THE   QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


P.  53.  '  Virtue's  the  base/  It  should  have  been  pointed  out 
that  this  is  the  celebrated  verse  given  by  the  Ceylon  scholars  to 
Buddhaghosa  as  the  theme  of  the  test  essay  he  was  to  write  as  a 
proof  of  his  fitness.  If  he  succeeded  in  the  essay  they  would  then 
entrust  him  with  all  their  traditions  for  him  to  recast  in  Pali.  The 
'  Path  of  Purity,'  which  opens  with  this  verse,  was  the  result. 

P.  185,  §  49.  On  the  question  discussed  in  this  section  the 
curious  may  compare  what  is  said  by  Sir  Thomas  Brown  in  his 
'  Enquiries  into  Vulgar  and  Common  Errors,'  Book  VII,  Chapter 
xvi  (p.  304  of  the  London  edition  of  1686).  He  gives  several 
instances  of  supposed  cases  of  conception  without  sexual  connec- 
tion mentioned  in  western  writers,  and  comes  to  the  conclusion, 
apropos  of  the  supposed  generation  of  the  magician  Merlin  by 
Satan,  that  '  generations  by  the  devil  are  very  improbable.' 


I  had  desired  to  dedicate  this  translation  of  the  Milinda 
to  Mr.  Trenckner,  to  whose  self-denying  labours,  spread 
over  many  years,  we  owe  the  edition  of  the  Pali  text  on 
which  the  translation  is  based,  and  without  which  the 
translation  would  not  have  been  attempted.  But  I  am 
now  informed  that  any  dedication  of  a  single  volume  in  the 
series  of  the  '  Sacred  Books  of  the  East '  is  not  allowable, 
as  it  would  conflict  with  the  dedication  of  the  entire  series. 
Had  I  known  this  when  the  Introduction  was  being  written, 
a  more  suitable  acknowledgment  of  the  debt  due  to  Mr. 
Trenckner  than  the  few  words  on  page  xv,  would  have 
been  made  at  the  close  of  the  Introductory  remarks.  I  am 
permitted  therefore  to  add  here  what  was  intended  to 
appear  in  the  dedication  as  an  expression  of  the  gratitude 
which  all  interested  in  historical  research  must  feel  to  a 
scholar  who  has  devoted  years  of  labour,  and  of  labour 
rendered  valuable  by  the  highest  training  and  critical 
scholarship,  to  a  field  of  enquiry  in  which  the  only  fruit 
to  be  gathered  is  knowledge. 


INDEX  OF   PROPER  NAMES. 


Abhidharma  Koja  Vyakhya,  quoted, 

page  xxvi. 
Agathoklcs,  king  of  Baktria,  xxii. 
A^ita,  the  teacher,  8,  41. 
Akesincs,  the  river,  xliv. 
A/Jiravati,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 
A/akamanda,  city  of  the  gods.  3. 
Alasanda  (Alexandria),  on  the  Indus, 

xxiii,  127. 
Amara,  Mahosadha's  wife,  294. 
Aniara-sekara,  Mr.  C.  A.  INI.,  xii. 
Amara-sekara,  iNIr.  N,  M.,  xii. 
Ananda,  the  teacher,  163,  191,  257. 
Anantakaya,  attendant  on  Menander, 

probably  =  Ant!ochos,xix,xlii,4  8. 
Anuruddha,  the  Sakyan,  163. 
Apollodotus,  king  of  Baktria, xix,xlii. 
Archebios,  king  of  Baktria,  xxii. 
Ariano-pali,  legends  on  coins,  xxi. 
AsaZ/.'a,  a  month,  171. 
Asikni,  the  river,  xUv. 
Asipasa,  a  caste,  xlvi. 
Asoka,  emperor  of  India,  xxxvii,  xlii, 

182. 
Asokarama,  near  Patna,  xliii,  26. 
Assagutta  of  the  Vattaniya  hermi- 
tage, XXV,  xhii. 
Ajvagupta,  not  the  same  as  last,  xxv. 
A«/jissara,  =  Devadatta,  167. 
Aviki,  purgatory,  xl,  9. 
Ayiipala,  of  the  Sankheyya  heiTni- 

tage,  a  Buddhist  teacher,  xxv, 

xliii,  30  foil. 


Barygaza,  in  Gujarat,  xx. 
Benares,  31, 

Benfey,  Professor,  quoted,  xxvi. 
Bhaddasala,  the  general,  xliii,  292, 
Bhaddi-(or    Bha^/i-)putta,    a   caste, 

xlvi. 
Bhaddiya,  the  Sakyan,  163. 
Bhagu. the  Sakyan,  163. 
BharukaX'^/ja,  men  of,  xliii,  531. 
Bindumati,  a  courtesan,  xliii,  182. 
Bird,  Major,  quoted,  xxvi. 


Brahma,  the  god,  118,  301. 

Brahma-world,  heaven,  126. 

Buddhaghosa's  '  Path  of  Purity,'  xi, 
306  ;  his  quotations  of  the  Mi- 
linda,  xiv-xvii. 

Budh  Gaya,  in  Behar,  9. 

Burgess,  Dr.,  quoted,  xxvi. 

Burmese  translations  of  the  '  Ques- 
tions of  Milinda,'  xi,  xvi. 

Buniouf,  quoted,  xxvi. 

Bu-ston,  a  Tibetan  work,  quoted, 
xxvi. 

Ceylon,  xi,  xiv ;  its  literature,  xiii. 
Childers,    Professor,    quoted,    xlv, 

185,  230,  244. 
Cunningham,  General,  quoted,  xi. 

Dagabas,  sepulchral  heaps,  xx. 
Danava,  Titan,  216. 
Daramin'pola,  a  Ceylon  scholar,  xiii. 
Devadatta,  the  heresiarch,  153,  163 

foil.,  193,  249,  282  foil.,  303. 
Devamantiya,  =  Demetrios,  xix,  xliii, 

22,  24,  37,  47- 
Dhamma-kitti,  author  of  the  Sad- 

dhamma  Sangaha,  xxvii. 
Dhammakkhanda.    See  Madhurasa- 

tota. 
DhammaprUa,  quoted,  244. 

1.  Dhamma-rakkhita.  SeeDarami/i- 

pola. 

2.  Dhamma-rakkhita,  one  of  Naga- 

sena's  teachers,  xxv,  xliii,  16,  18. 
Dhana-phalaka,  elephant,  297. 
Dinna, attendant  on  king^Iilinda,  87. 
Divyavadana,  quoted,  xxv. 

Ekasa^aka,  a  Brahman,  172. 
Elijah,  his  'Act  of  'Iruth,'  185. 
Eukratides,  king  of  Baktria,  xxiii. 

Fa-Hien,  the  traveller,  248. 
Fausboll,    Professor,    quoted,    244, 
253- 


X   2 


\oS 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


Gandhara,the  country, xliii,  327,  331. 
Ganga,  the  Ganges  river,  xliv,  5, 171, 

182. 
Gardiner,  Professor,  quoted,  xxi. 
Garu^as,  snake-eating  birds,  38,175. 
Gopala-niata,  queen,  172. 
Guwananda.    See  Moho//i-watte. 
Guttila,  musician,  172. 

Hardy,  Rev.  R.  Spence,  quoted, 
xxvi,  40,  61,  64,  77, 

Himalayas,  mountains,  11,  171,  278. 

Hinan-kumbure  Sumahgala,  trans- 
lates the  Milinda  into  Sinha- 
lese, xii,  xiii, 

Hydaspes,  the  river  Bihat,  xliv. 

Hypanis  (the  Sutlej),  xix. 

Indra,  the  god,  37. 
Indus,  river,  171. 
Isamos  (the  Jumna),  xix. 
Itihasas,  6,  247. 

Jains,  their  founder,  8. 
Jali,  Vessantara's  son,  174. 
Jumna,  river.    See  Isamos,  Yamuna. 
Justin,  quoted,  xix. 

Kabul,  Menander's  coins  found  there, 

XX. 

Kadphises,  a  coin  of  his  referred  to, 

xxii. 
Ka^ahgala,  in  the  Terai,  14,  18. 
Kalabu,  king,  286. 
Kalanda,  a  clan,  238. 
Kalasi,  a  town  on  an  island  in  the 

Indus,  xxiii,  xliii,  83,  127. 
Kali-devata,  a  sect  so  called,  xlvi. 
^andabhaga,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 
ATandagutta,  king,  xliii,  292. 
Karambhiya,  ascetic,  287. 
Karisi.     See  Kalasi. 
Kashmir,    Menander's   coins    found 

there,  xx,  xliii,  82. 
Kassapa,  the  Buddha,  4,  173. 
Katlia  Sarit  Sagara,  quoted,  298. 
A'atuma,  a  Sakyan  town,  257,  301. 
Kern,  Professor,  quoted,  xxvi. 
Ketumati,  a  mansion  in  heaven,  11. 
Khu^^uttara,  122. 
Kimbila,  the  Sakyan,  163. 
ATina,  perhaps  China,  xliii,  121,  327, 

331,  359- 
Kiflki,  a  Brahman  woman,  153. 


Kirtti  Sri  Ra^a-siwzha,  king  of  Cey- 
lon, xii,  xiii. 
Kola-pa/^ana,  seaport,  xliii,  359. 
Ko/umbara,  its  stuffs,  3. 
Kumara  Kassapa,  275. 
ATunda,  the  coppersmith,  242. 
Kuvera,  the  god,  37. 

Lassen,  Professor,  quoted,  xliv. 
Legge,  Professor,  his  version  of  Fa- 

Hien,  248. 
Liwera,  Mr.  A.,  xiii. 
Lokayatas,  a  sect  so  called,  7. 

MaddT,  wife  to  Vessantara,  174. 

Madhura,  the  city,  xliii,  331. 

Madhurasa-to^a,  a  Buddhist  scholar, 
xiii. 

Maha-bharata,  called  an  Itihasa, 
247. 

Mahasena,  a  god,  1 1. 

MaM,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 

Mahosadha  and  his  wife,  294. 

Makkhali  (of  the  cowshed),  8. 

Mallika,  queen,  172. 

Maluhkya-putta,  204  foil. 

Ma«ibhadda,  a  caste  so  called,  xlvi, 
191. 

Mahkura,  attendant  on  Menander, 
XX,  29,  30,  48. 

Mandhata,  king,  172. 

Manoratha  Pura«i,  quoted,  xiv. 

Mara,  the  Evil  One,  219. 

Masara,  mountain,  177. 

Mathura,  Menander's  coins  found 
there,  xx. 

Megha  Duta,  quoted,  298. 

Menander-Milinda,  identity  of  the 
names,  xviii ;  notices  of  in  clas- 
sical writers,  xix  ;  coins  of, 
xx-xxii  ;  date  and  birthplace 
of,  xxiii;  his  conversion  to 
Buddhism,  xxv-xxvii. 

Mendis,  Mr.  L.,  xiii. 

Milinda,  the  Questions  of,  in  Ceylon, 
xii,  xiii ;  in  Buddhaghosa,  xiv- 
xvi ;  MSS.  of,  xvii  ;  is  a  religious 
romance,  xvii ;  the  charm  of  its 
style,  xviii. 

Milinda  Prash«aya,  xii. 

Moggallana,  his  death,  261  foil. 

Moho//i-watte  Guwananda,  a  Bud- 
dhist scholar,  xii. 

Morris,  the  Rev.  Dr.,  quoted,  xiv, 
XV,  46,  65,  174,  278,  301. 


INDEX    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 


309 


Miiller,  Prof.  Ed.,  quoted,  xliv,  179, 
240. 

Nagarguna,  founder  of  the  Maha- 
yana  school,  xxv ;  identified 
MTongly  with  Nagasena,  xxvi. 

Nagasena,  xxv,  xxvi,  and  p;ussim. 

Nagcsa,  epithet  of  Pata;7^ali,  xxvi. 

Na/agiri,  elephant  and  mountain, 
298. 

Nanda,  the  Brahman,  153. 

Nandaka,  an  ogre,  153. 

Nandiya,  monkey  king,  287. 

Nesada,  outcasts,  286. 

Niga«//ja  Nata-putta,  founder  of  the 
Jain  sect,  8. 

Nikumba,  the  country,  xhii,  327. 

Nimi,  king,  172. 

Nyaya  philosophy,  6. 

Pabbata,  a  caste  so  called,  xlvii,  191. 

Pa/^ittiya  rules,  xli. 

Pakudha   Ka>^Myana,   the    teacher, 

8,42. 
Pali    Text     Society,     xxv,     xxvii, 

xl,  xliv,  46,  65. 
Pa«ini,  quoted,  298. 
Papa;7-^a  Sfidani,  quoted,  xv. 
Para^ika  offences,  xli. 
Pa^liputta,  the  modern  Patna,  26, 

182. 
Pata;7^ali,  not  the  same  as  Nagasena, 

xxvi. 
Patimokkha,  xli. 

Patimokkha,  recitation  of,  264  foil. 
Payasi  the  Ra§-anya,  275. 
Phawin,  epithet  of  Pata%ali,  xxvi. 
Piliyakkha,  king,  280. 
Piris,  Mr.  K.,  xii. 
Plutarch,  quoted,  xix,  xxii. 
Pra^^apati,  the  god,  37. 
Pu«;/a,  slave  girl,  172. 
Pu««a,  a  servant,  172. 
Pura«a  Kassapa,  the  teacher,  8,  9, 

^41- 
Purawas,  6,  247. 

Rajg-agaha,  191,  298;  council  held  at, 
242. 

Rahula,  son  of  the  Buddha,  32. 

Rakkhita-tala,  in  the  Himalayas, 
xliii,  6,  12,  18. 

Ramaya/za,  called  an  Itihasa,  247. 

Ro^^a,  the  IMallian,  282. 

I.  Rohawa,  a  Buddhist  teacher  men- 
tioned in  the  Anguttara,  xxv. 


2,  Roha«a,  Nagasena's  teacher,  xxv, 
xliii. 


Sabba-dinna,  attendant  on  Menan- 
der,  xix,  xliii,  20,  47,  56. 

Saddhamma  Sawgaha,  a  Pali  his- 
torical work,  xxvii. 

Sadhina,  king,  172. 

Sagala,  capital  of  Baktria,  xviii,  xliii, 
2,  23. 

Saka,  a  country,  xliii,  327,  331. 

Sakha,  general,  291, 

Sakka,  king  of  the  gods,  12. 

Sakyan,  member  of  the  clan,  153. 

Sallet,  Alfred  von,  quoted,  xxi. 

Sama,  prince,  280  foil.,  288. 

Sa;/§-aya,  the  teacher,  8. 

Sahkheyya,  a  hermitage,  xliii,  17,  22, 

Sahkhya  philosophy,  6. 

Santushita,  a  god,  37. 

Sarabhu,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 

Sara«ankara.     See  Woeliwi/a. 

SarassatT,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 

Savara,  city  of  the  ATawfl'alas,  267. 

Schiefner,  Prof.,  quoted,  xxvi. 

Siamese  translations,  &c.,  of  the 
'  Questions  of  Milinda,'  xi,  xvi, 
xvii,  xxiv. 

Sindhu,  the  Indus  river,  xliv. 

Sineru,  king  of  mountains,  152,  176. 

Sivaka,  195. 

Sivi,  king,  179. 

1.  So«uttara,  a  Brahman,  xliii,  14. 

2.  So«uttara,  an  outcast,  286. 
^ri-wardhana-pura,  a  city  in  Ceylon, 

^xiii,  305. 
Sthupas.     See  Dagabas. 
Strabo,  quoted,  xix. 
Strato,  king  of  Baktria,  xxii. 
Subhadda,  recluse,  186. 
Sudinna,  of  the  Kalanda  clan,  238. 
Sumana,  garland  maker,  172. 
Sumahgala  Vilasini,  quoted,  xiv,  xv, 

131,  263. 
Suppabuddha,  a  Sakyan,  153. 
Suppiya,  devotee,  172. 
Sur^tt/ja,  Surat,  xliii,  331,  359. 
Sutta  Nipata,  xlii. 
Suva««a-bhunii,  the   country,    xliii, 

J59- 
Suyama,  a  god,  37. 
Sy-Hermaios,  king  of  Baktria,  xxii. 

Takkola,  the  place,  xliii,  xliv,  359. 
Theosophists,  sect  of,  268. 


3IO 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


Tissa,  son  of  Moggali,  6. 
Tissa-thera,  a  writer,  xliii,  71. 
Trenckner,  Mr.,  xv-xix,  xxiv,  xxxi, 

25,   28,   32,    49,    80,    175,    179, 

294,  306. 
Tusita  heaven,  271. 

trha,  a  river,  xliii,  70- 
Upali,  the  barber,  163. 
Uposatha  Arama,  in  Ceylon,  xiii. 
Uttarakuru,  3. 

Vaijeshika  philosophy,  6. 

Vanga,  Bengal,  xliii,  359. 

Varu/za,  the  god,  37. 

Vattaniya,  a  hermitage,  xliii,  10-16. 

Vedas,  the  four,  6,  247;  the  three, 

'7.  34-  .  ,  ^ 

Ve^ayanta,  palace  of  the  gods,  1 1 . 

Vessantara,  the  king,  170  foil. 
Vessavana,  king  of  the  fairies,  38. 
Vetravati,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 
Vidhura,  sage,  288. 
Vi^amba-vatthu,  a  hermitage,  xlni, 
12. 


Vilata,  a  country,  xliii,  327,  331. 
Vitawsa,  the  river,  xliv,  171. 
Vita«^as,  a  sect  so  called,  7. 

Weber,  Prof.,  quoted,  xxv. 
Wenzel,  Dr.,  quoted,  xxv,  xxvi. 
Wilson,  H.  H.,  quoted,  xxi. 
Woeliwi/a  Sarawahkara,  a  Buddhist 
scholar,  xii,  xiii. 

Yakkha,  ogre,  38,  176. 

Yama,  the  god,  37. 

Yamuna,  the  Jumna  river,  xliv, 
171. 

Yavana,  Baktria,  xlui,  327,  331. 

Yoga  philosophy,  6. 

Yonakas,  the  Greeks  (lonians)  at- 
tendant on  Menander,  xix,  xiii, 
I,  4,  20,  68. 

Yugandhara,  a  peak  of  the  Hnna- 
layas,  12. 

Zoilos,  king  of  Baktria,  xxii. 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS, 


Acrobats,  page  53. 

'Act  of  Truth,'  180  foil. 

Alkaline  wa^h,  in  medicine,  168. 

Alms,  customs  of  the  Buddhist  Order 
in  regard  to,  14-16,  20. 

Alms-halls.  2.     See  Rest-houses. 

Altruism,  Buddhist,  174. 

Ambrosia,  35,  236. 

Animals,  their  reasoning  powers,  51. 

Arahat,  the  great,  is  Buddha,  8 ; 
others,  11,12;  their  knowledge 
of  others' thoughts,  18,  23;  na- 
ture of  their  wisdom,  29;  does 
not  fear  death,  70 ;  description 
of,  157  ;  have  no  fear,  206  foil., 
297  foil. 

Arahatship,  above  ordinary  morality, 
25;  its  seven  conditions,  52,  58  ; 
the  highest  of  all  lands,  227. 

Architects,  2,  53. 

Arithmetic,  6,  91. 

Army,  its  four  divisions,  7,  54,  60,  62. 

Artsandsciences,thenineteen,&c.,6. 

Aspiration  of  reward,  on  doing  a 
good  act,  5 ;  duty  of,  55. 

Association  of  ideas,  89-92. 

Assurance  of  salvation,  the  Arahat's 
final,  65. 

Astrologer,  the  royal,  31,  247. 

Astronomy,  6. 

Atonement,  14. 

Baby,  is  it  the  same  as  the  grown 
man  .'63. 

Bambu,  simile  of  the  giant-,  155  foil. ; 
dies  in  reproduction,  236. 

Barber,  19,  302. 

Barley  reapers,  simile  of,  51. 

Bathing  places,  public,  140. 

Becoming,  83;  sorrow  of,  149;  free- 
dom from,  293. 

Boat,  similes  of,  124,  227. 

Body,  the  thirty-two  parts  of  the 
human,  42;  the  love  of  the,  114; 
bodily  marks,  the,  32,  1 17,  237  ; 
made  of  four  elements,  194. 


Bones,  hundred  leagues  long,  1 30. 

Book,  123;  of  the  law,  262. 

Brahman,  works  in  the  fields,  15  ; 
duties  of  a,  247. 

Brand  marks,  on  cattle,  122. 

Breath,  no  soul  in  the,  48. 

Bridges,  140,  272,  291. 

Brooms,  4. 

Buddha,  the,  is  incomparable,  108^,; 
is  not  still  alive,  144  foil.;  gifts 
to,  144  foil.;  distinction  be- 
tween PaMeka-  and  Perfect- 
Buddhas,  158  ;  the  best  of  men, 
178;  sinlessness  of,  191. 

Burning  glass,  85. 


Calf,  similes  of,  282,  301. 

Carpenter,  simile  of,  236. 

Carriages,  3,  91. 

Carter,  should  test  a  ford,  272. 

Casuists,  7 ;  casuistry  no  branch  of 
education,'  17. 

Cat's  eye,  the  gem,  177. 

Cattle,  brand  marks  on,  122. 

Cauterising  a  wound,  168,  211. 

Ceremonies,  observed  by  kings  on 
visiting  Samawas,  30,  31,  37,  49. 

Character,  of  the  ideally  good  lay- 
man, 296. 

Chariot,  simile  of,  43  ;  parts  of,  44. 

Charms,  intoning  of,  181. 

City,  description  of  a  wealthy,  2  ; 
foundation  of,  53;  with  one 
gateway,  simile  of,  90. 

Clocks,  want  of,  7. 

Clod,  thrown  in  the  air,  simile  of, 
194. 

Cloth  goods,  3. 

Combs  for  the  hair,  19. 

Comets,  247. 

'Confections,'  42,  83,  205,  207. 

Contact,  92. 

Conversion,  what  it  consists  in,  25. 

Conveyancing,  as  an  art,  6. 

Copper  ware,  3,  96. 


312 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


Cotton  stuffs,  159. 

Counting.     See  Arithmetic  ;  by  the 

finger-joints,  91. 
Courtesan,  story  of,  183  foil. 
Courts  of  justice,  291. 
Criminal,  the  condemned,  similes  of, 

165-6,  211. 
Crops,  estimation  of  growing,  91. 
Cymbals,  simile  of,  93. 

Dacoits,  33. 

Dart,  simile  of  the  perfect,  159. 

Dead  body,  always  cast  up  by  the 

sea,  259. 
Death,  the  fear  of,  206-212,  278,  279. 
Death  of  the  Buddha,  the  legend  of, 

explained,  242  foil. 
Delusion  of  self,  207,  226. 
Dependents,  kindness  to,  138. 
Dice-playing,  103. 
Digestion,  193,  236. 
Diseases,  ninety-eight  kinds  of,  152  ; 

caused  in  ten  ways  (one  of  which 

is    medical     treatment),     192; 

cured  by  Pirit,  225. 
Divination,  practised  by  Brahmans, 

247. 
'Divine  Ear,'  the,  11. 
'Divine  Eye,'  the,  26,  179. 
Divining   other    people's    thoughts, 

18,  23. 
Dreams,  interpretation  of,  247. 
Drugs,  five  kinds  of,  69. 
Drum,  simile  of,  149. 
Dryads,  242. 

Ear,  the  divine,  11. 

Earth,  the  broad,  similes  of,  52,  150, 

194,  258,  299. 
Earthquakes,  170  foil. 
Eclipses,  247. 
Education,  17,  50,  63. 
Egoism,  delusion  of,  207,  226. 
Elements,  the  four,  194. 
Elephants,  3,  38,  126,  211,  267,  272. 
Embroidery,  134. 

Embryo,  four  stages  of  the,  63,  105. 
Esoteric  teaching,  none  in  Buddhism, 

138,  142,  267. 
Estimating  growing  crops,  91. 
Eunuchs,  cannot  keep  a  secret,  141. 
Evil,  origin  of.    See  Pain,    Conquest 

of,  by  good,  174. 
Excitement,  condemned,  143, 
Exorcism,  38, 


Eye,  the  Divine,  26, 
'Eye  of  the  Truth,'  25, 

Fairies,  38. 

Faith,  52,  56, 

Fans,  148. 

Finger-joints,  used  to  count  with,  91. 

Fire,  similes  of,  73,  146,  188,  234, 
244. 

Fire-extinguishing  apparatus,  68. 

Fire-stick  apparatus,  85. 

Flame,  simile  of,  64. 

Flavours,  the  six,  88. 

Flood,  simile  of  a,  56. 

Floor  coverings,  267, 

Food,  Indian  idea  of,  26. 

Fossil  bones,  130. 

Future  life,  the  craving  after,  con- 
demned, 174,  200. 

Garlands,  habit  of  wearing,  19. 
Gayal,  kind  of  buffalo,  211. 
Gems,  various  kinds  of,  177. 
Generosity,   the    mighty  power  of, 

173-5- 
Gestation,  period  of,  is  ten  months,  1 6. 
Ghee,  65,  75,  161,  249. 
Gold  and  silver,  3,  59,  267. 
Grammar,  17, 
Granary,  65,  i6r. 
Guilds  of  traders,  3, 

Hair,  the  sixteen  impediments  of 
wearing,  19;  hair-dyeing  and 
shampooing,  &c,,  ibid. 

Head-splitting,  belief  as  to,  222. 

Heads  of  houses,  209. 

Health  and  wealth,  explained,  97, 

Hell,  none  in  Buddhism,  See  Pur- 
gatory, 

Hen  and  eggs,  similes  of,  76,  77,  80. 

Highwaymen,  32,  222. 

Honey,  the  man  in  the  trough  of,  88  ; 
the  drink  of,  95 ;  slips  through 
the  fingers,  249. 

Horripilation,  38. 

Horses,  3  ;  the  swift,  simile  of,  199. 

House-building,  57,  83 ;  house  of 
life,  207. 

Humours,  the  three,  in  medicine, 
168,  191. 

Husbandry,  215,  235,  247,  285. 

Iddhi,  powers  of,  261. 
Ideas,  mark  of,  94 ;  association  of, 
89-92. 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


3^3 


Income,  simile  of,  187. 

Indeterminate  questions,  205. 

Individuality,  40-45,  50,  64,  67. 

Indivisibility,  denied,  132. 

Insight,  the  eight  causes  of  its  ripen- 
ing, 141,  and  see  Conversion. 

Intoxicating  drinks,  41. 

Investigation,  characteristic  of,  96  ; 
why  the  Buddha  investigates, 
272. 

Invisible,  story  of  the  magician,  217  ; 
root  to  make  one,  281. 

Iron,  70. 

Jasmine,  the  chief  of  flowers,  252. 
Javelins,  69. 

Karma,  3,  12,  18,  32,  41,  71,  80,  103, 

163, 191,  214,  262-4. 
King  of  kings,  the  mythical,  162, 177, 

199. 
Kings,  their   manner  of  discussing, 

46 ;    their  tyranny,    50 ;    their 

greed,  203  ;  they  take  the  best 

of  everything,  267. 

Lamps,  61,  64,  67,  73,  no. 
Lancet,  surgeon's,  168-9,  211. 
Law,  of  property,  247.     See  Peace, 

breach   of,  and    Conveyancing, 

and  Punishments,  and  Book. 
Laymen,  includes  the  gods,  32. 
Learning  by  heart,  17,  22,  28,  34, 

123,  172, 
Letter-writing,  67. 
Leviathan,  187. 
Lexicography,  17, 
Lie,  a  deliberate,  excludes  from  the 

Order,  268. 
Lions,  135,  21 1. 
Log,  the  dry,  simile  of,  214. 
Looking-glass,  86,  189. 
Lord  of  a  village,  208. 
Lotions,  medicinal,  211,  215. 
Lotus  flower,  simile  of,  1 17. 
Love  to  all  beings,  1 38,  279  foil, ;  of 

teacher  to  pupil,  142;  duty  of, 

254- 
Lucky  marks,  32,  117,  237,  247. 

Magic,  6,  181,  217. 

Mandolin  and  its  parts,  84, 

Market  places,  2,  53. 

Marks   on  the   body,   as  omens   of 

future  greatness,  17. 
Marriage  by  purchase,  74. 


Medicine,  6,    191,    197,    214.     See 

Physician,  Surgery. 
Meditation,  13,  18,  52,  196  foil. 
Memory,  120-122. 
INIerchant,  should  test  goods,  272. 
Milk  and  butter,  simile  of,  65,  75. 
Mindfulness,  52,  58. 
INIinds,  seven  classes  of,  154. 
Ministers  of  state,  the  six,  171, 
Miracles  at  conception  of  Nagasena, 

14, 
Money,  17,  59,  134,  267. 
Mules  die  in  giving  birth,  236. 
Music,  6, 

Muslin,  of  Benares,  3. 
Mutilation,    of  criminals,    63,    166, 

270,  276. 

Name,  soul  not  implied  in,  41. 

'Name-and-form,'  71  foil,  77. 

Nirva«a,  a  state  of  mind  to  be  at- 
tained in,  and  which  ends  with, 
this  life,  36,  41,  78,  106.  See 
Arahatship. 

Novice,  the  intractable,  4 ;  Naga- 
sena becomes  a,  20  ;  his  duties 
as,  24,  302. 

Ocean,  taste  of,  131,  133;  always 
casts  up  a  dead  body,  259. 

Ofli"ences,  conscious  and  unconscious, 
224. 

Official  gratitude,  76,  93,  197. 

Ogres,  38. 

Oil,  for  the  hair,  19. 

Ointment,  for  a  wound,  168. 

Omens,  interpretation  of,  247. 

Omniscience  of  the  Buddhas,  117, 
154-162,  271,  301  foil. 

Pain,  origin  of,  83,  191,  195. 

Pa/J/teka-Buddhas,  158. 

Peace,  breach  of  the,  in  law,  239. 

Perception,  characteristic  of,  95, 1 32. 

Perseverance,  52. 

Physician,    68,    69,    112,    165,    168, 

211,  240,  272. 
Pilot,  should  test  the  shore,  272. 
Pipers,  48. 
Pirit,  213. 

Pledge,  deposit  of,  123. 
Poison,  simile  of,  94  ;  antidotes  to, 

215  ;  love  counteracts,  279. 
Pork,  the  Buddha's  last  meal  of,  244 

foil. 


314 


THE    QUESTIONS    OF    KING    MILINDA. 


Posthumous  honours,  144  foil. 
Potter  and  the  pots,  simile  of,  84. 
Precepts,   abolition    of  the   minor, 

202. 
Present  to  a  king,  simile  of,  220. 
Prophecy,  6,  185. 

Punishments,  63,  223,  239,  254,  269. 
Punkahs,  148. 

Pupil,  his  duty  to  his  teacher,  144. 
Purgatory,  94,   loi,   125,   163,   167, 

206,  210,  283. 
Purity,  the  power  of,  173. 
Purohita,  family  chaplain,  282. 


Rain,  three  seasons  of,  171;  pro- 
duced by  charms,  181. 

Rain  water,  similes  of,  90,  226,  245, 
274'  278. 

Rams,  simile  of  two  butting,  92. 

Reasoning  contrasted  with  wisdom, 
50. 

Recognition,  mark  of  perception, 
132. 

Reflection,  characteristic  of,  95. 

Re-incarnation,  207,  and  see  next. 

Re-individualisation,  50,  72-75. 

Relationship,  scheme  of,  292. 

Relics,  of  the  Buddha,  144  foil.,  246. 

Renunciation,  31,  49,  98,  251,  271. 

Rest-houses,  public,  291. 

Rhinoceros,  38. 

Rice,  simile  of  cartload  of,  154; 
simile  of  boiling,  176  ;  is  the 
chief  of  all  grains,  252. 

Robber,  figuratively,  of  a  bad  monk, 
256. 


Sa-dal-wood  dust,  29. 

Schism,  163,  227. 

Scholars,  their  manner  of  discuss- 
ing, 46. 

Schooling,  63,  and  see  Education. 

Season,  the  rainy,  7,  24. 

Secret  wisdom,  139. 

Sects,  3,  7,  8,  144,  266. 

Seed-fruit-seed,  succession  of,  80. 

Seed,  simile  of,  301. 

Seeds,  edible,  161. 

Sensation,  results  of  a,  82,  83,  89, 
92  ;  characteristics  of,  93  ;  kinds 
of,  194. 

Shadow  of  a  man,  45  ;  abiding  under 
another's,  137. 

Shampooing  the  hair,  19. 


Ship,  simile  of,  227. 

Shops,  2,  3. 

Shrines,  god-haunted,  1  40. 

Sins,  the  five,  41 ;  will  find  you  out, 

295. 
Snake-charmers,  38,  212,  215. 
Snakes,  21 1. 

Snoring,  how  to  stop,  131. 
Snow,  70. 

Son  in  the  faith,  142. 
Sophists,  7. 

Sorrow,  125,  and  see  Pain. 
Soul,  no  such  thing  as,  40-45,  48, 

67,  86-89,  III,  132. 
Spells,  6. 
Splinter  of  rock,  incident  of,    193 

foil.,  249  foil. 
State  officials,  the  six,  171. 
Suffering,  cause  of,  see  Pain  ;  various 

kinds  of,  275. 
Sugar,  72  ;  sugar  mill,  235. 
Suggestion,  as  source  of  memory, 

121. 
Suicide,  69,  273. 
Surgery,  168. 

Swallowed  up  by  the  earth,  152. 
Syrups  and  sweetmeats,  3. 


Tank,  simile  of  the  full,  187. 

Taxation,  208. 

Teacher,  his  fees,  17,  25  ;  his  duties 

to  his  pupil,  142. 
Thought-perception,  89. 
Tidal-wave,  276. 
Time,  definition  of,  77  ;  root  of,  79  ; 

ultimate  point  of,  80-82. 

To  pay,  177.  .  ,  .    ^ 

Torture,    239;     various    kmds    ot 

death  with,  276,  277. 
Transmigration,  iii,  118,  120. 
Travellers,  hospitality  towards,  161. 
Treasurer,  the  royal,  59. 
Trees,  disciples  compared  to,  151  ; 

simile     of    the     barren,    162; 

talking  trees,  dilemma  of,  247. 
Trumpeters,  48. 
Truth,  is  the   most  minute   of  all 

things,  132  ;  its  power,  182. 
Turbans,  138. 
Tutor's  fees,  17. 
Twirling-stick,  85,  146. 


Uncle,  no  word  for  in  Pah,  292. 
Unguents,  for  the  hair,  19. 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


315 


Vanishing  root,  281. 

Village  organisation,  208-9. 

Vow,  the  eightfold,  of  a  layman,  1 38. 

"Waggons,  3,  27  ;  parts  of,  44  ;  simile 
of  path  of,  91  ;  of  load  of  rice, 
154  ;  breaking  up  of,  173  ;  rec- 
koned among  valuable  things, 
267. 

Wandering  teachers,  7,  34. 

Water-clearing  gem,  55. 

Water,  earth  rests  on,  106,  175. 

Water-pot,  the  regular,  106. 

Weapons,  69. 

Wheel  of  victory,  162  ;  of  the  king- 
dom of  righteousness,  31,  253. 


Wife.     See  Marriage. 

Wind,  simile  of,  147-8  ;  as  medical 
term,  191. 

Wisdom,  distinct  from  reasoning, 
50  ;  mark  of,  51,  61  ;  of  Arahats, 
29;  seven  kinds  of,  128. 

Women,  put  before  men,  83;  their 
fickleness,  141  ;  in  the  Order, 
187;  reckoned  among  valuable 
things,  267  ;  their  wiles,  294  ; 
their  management  of  their  hus- 
bands, 302.     See  Marriage. 

Woollen  stuffs,  3,  28,  159. 

Worms  in  the  body,  151. 

Wound,  treatment  of,  168. 

Writing  a  letter,  67. 


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DICTIONARIES,    GRAMMARS,    ETC. 

ANGLO-SAXON.  An  Ang-lo-Saxon  Dictionary,  based  on  the 
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ENGLISH.     An    Etymolog-ical  Dictionary    of  the    English 
Language.     By  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.     Second  JEdition.     4to.  2I.  4s. 

A  Concise  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English  Lan- 
guage.    By  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.     Thlid  Ediiion.     Crown  8vo.  5*.  6d. 

A  Concise  Dictionary  of  Middle  English,  from  a.d.  1150 


to  1580.     By  A.  L.  Mathew,  M.A.,  and  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.  D.     Crown 
8vo.  half  roan,    7s.  ()d. 

GREEK.  A  Greek-English  Lexicon,  by  H.  G.  Liddell,  D.D., 
and  Egbert  Scott,  D.D.  Seventh  Edition,  Revised  and  Anc/tnented 
throughout.     4to.  iL  16*. 

An  intermediate  Greek-English  Lexicon,  abridged  from 

Liddell  and  Scott's  Seventh  Edition,     Small  4to.    12s.  6d. 

A  Greek-English  Lexicon,  abridged  from  Liddell  and 

Scott's  4to.  edition,  chiefly  for  the  use  of  Schools.    Square  1 2ino.  7*\  6d. 

A  copious  Greek-English  Vocabulary,   compiled    from 

the  best  authorities.     1850.     24010.  35. 

Etymologicon  Magnum.     Ad  Codd.  mss.  recensuit   et 

notis  variorum  instruxit  T.  Gaisford,  S.T.P.     184S.  fol.  \l.  12s. 

Suidae  Lexicon.    Ad  Codd.  mss.  recensuit  T.  Gaisford, 


S.T.P.     Tomi  III.     1834.  fol.  2I.  2S. 

HEBREW.     The  Book  of  Hebrew  Eoots,  by  Abu  'l-Walid 

Marwan  ibn  Janah,  otherwise  called  E,abbi  Yonah.  Now  first  edited, 
with  an  appendix,  by  Ad.  Neubader.     1875.     4to.  2I.  "js.  6d. 

A  Treatise  on  the  use  of  the  Tenses  in  Hebrew.     By 

S.  E.  Driver,  D.D.     Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

ICELANDIC.     An  Icelandic-English  Dictionary,  based  on  the 

MS.  collections  of  the  late  Eichard  Cleasbt.  Enlarged  and  completed 
by  G.  ViGFUSSON,  M.A.  "With  an  Introduction,  and  Life  of  Eichard 
Cleasby,  by  G.  Webbe  Dasent,  D.G.L.     4to.  3?.  7s. 

A  List  of  English   Words  the  Etymology  of  which  is 

illustrated  by  comparison  with  Icelandic.  Prepared  in  the  form  of  an 
Appendix  to  the  above.     By  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.     stitched,   2s. 

An    Icelandic     Primer,    with     Grammar,    Notes,     and 

Glossary.     By  Henry  Sweet,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

An  Icelandic  Prose  Reader,  with  Notes,  Grammar  nnd 

Glossary,  by  Dr.  Gudbrand  Vigfusson  and  F.  York  Powell,  M.A. 
Extra  fcap.  Svo.  los.  6d. 


Oxford:  Clarendon  Press. 


Dictionaries,  Grammar's,  etc. 


LATIN.    A  Latin  Dictionary,  founded  on  Andrews'  edition  of 

Fremid's  Latin  Dictionary,  revised,  enlarged,  and  in  great  part  rewritten 
by  Chari,ton  T.  Lewis,  Ph.D.,  and  Charles  Short,  LL.D.     4to.  i^.  5*. 

A  Seliool  Latin  Dictionary.     By  Charlton  T.   Lkwis, 

Ph.D.     Small  4to.  i8*>. 

Sclieller's  Dictionary  of  the   Latin  Language,  revised 

and  translated  into  English  by  J.  E.  Kiddle,  M.A.     1835.     fol.  iZ.  i*. 

Contributions    to    Latin    Lexicography.      By    Henry 

Nettleshu',  M.A.     Svo.  2\)<. 

MELANESIA^.     The  Melanesian  Languages.     By  Robert 

H.  Codrington,  D.D.,  of  the  Melanesian  Mission.     Svo.  18s. 

RUSSIAN.     A    Grammar    of  the    Russian   Language.     By 
W.  R.  MoRFiLL,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.     6.s. 

SANSKRIT.    A  Practical  Grammar  of  the  Sanskrit  Language, 

arranged  with  reference  to  the  Classical  Languages  of  Europe,  for  the  use 
of  English  Students,  by  Sir  M.  Monier- Williams,  D.C.L.  Fourth 
Edition.     Svo.   15s. 

A    Sanskrit-Englisli    Dictionary,    Etymologically    and 

Philologically  arranged,  with  special  reference  to  Greek,  Latin,  German, 
Anglo-Saxon,  English,  and  other  cognate  Indo-European  Languages. 
By  Sir  M.  Monier-Williams,  D.C.L.     4to.     4L  14s.  dd. 

Nalopakhyunam.     Story  of  Nala,   an    Episode   of  the 

Maha-Bhiirata  :  the  Sanskrit  text,  with  a  copious  Vocabulary,  and  an 
improved  version  of  Dean  Milman's  Translation,  by  Sir  M.  Monier- 
Williams,  D.C.L.     Second  Edition,  Revised  and  Improved.     Svo.  15*. 

Sakuntala.     A  Sanskrit  Drama,  in  Seven  Acts.     Edited 


by  Sir  M.  Monier-Williams,  D.C.L.     Second  Edition.     Svo.  21s. 

SYRIAC.    Tliesaurus  Syriacus :  collegerunt Quatremere,  Bern- 
stein,   Lorsbach,   Arnoldi,  Agrell,    Field,  Eoediger :    edidit  R.  Patnk 
Smith,  S.T.P.     Vol.  I,  containing  Ease.  I-V,  sm.  fol.  5/.  5.S. 
Ease.  VI.  iZ.  is.     Ease.  VII.  il.  lis.  6d.     Ease.  VIIL  il.  16s. 

The  Book  of  Kalilah  and   Dimnah.     Translated  from 

Arabic  into  Syriac.     Edited  by  W.  Wright,  LL.D.     Svo.  21s. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL    DICTIONARIES. 
Cotton's  Typographical  Gazetteer.     1831.     Svo.    12*.  6^/. 
Typographical  Gazetteer.     Second  Series.     1866.    8vo. 


12*.  6d. 


Ebert's    Bibliographical    Dictionary,     translated    from    the 
German.     4  vols.     1837.     Svo.  il.  10s. 


Lundon:  Henry  Frowde,  Amen  Corner,  B.C. 
B  2 


/.  Literature  mid  Philology. 


SECTION   II. 

ANGLO-SAXON   AND  ENGLISH. 


HELPS  TO   THE  STUDY  OF  THE  LANGUAGE  AND 

LITERATURE. 


A  NEW  ENGLISH   DICTIONARY  on   Historical  Prin- 
ciples, founded  mainly  on  the  materials   collected  by  the  Philological 
Society.     Imperial  4to.     Parts  I-IV,  price  i  2s.  6d.  each. 
Vol.  I  (A  and  B),  half  morocco,  2I.  12s.  6d. 
Vol.  II  (0  and  D).     In  the  Press. 

Part  IV,  Section  2,  C— CASS,  beginning  Vol.  II,  price  5s. 
Part  V,  CASS— CLIVY,  price  12s.  6d. 
Edited  by  James  A.  H.  Murray,  LL.D.,  sometime  President  of  the 
Philological  Society ;  with  the  assistance  of  many  Scholars  and  Men  of 

Science.  

Vol.  Ill  (E,  F,  and  G).    Part  I.  Edited  by  Mr.  Henry  Bradley. 
In  the  Press. 

Bosworth  and  Toller.  An  Anglo-Saxon  Dictionary,  based 
on  the  MS.  collections  of  the  late  Joseph  Bosworth,  D.D.  Edited  and 
enlarged  by  Prof.  T.  N.  Toller,  M.A.,  Owens  College,  Manchester.  Parts 
I-III.    A— SAR.     4to.  stiff  covers,  15s.  each.     Part  IV.     In  the  Prexs. 

Earle.  A  Book  for  the  Beq-inner  in  Anglo-Saxon.  By 
John  Earle,  M.A.     Third  Bdition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s.  6d. 

The  Philology  of  the  English  Tongue.     Fonrt/i  Edition. 

Extra  fcap.  Svo.   75.  6d. 

Mayhew  and  Skeat.  A  Concise  Dictionary  of  Middle  English, 
from  A.D.  1 1 50  to  15S0.  By  A.  L.  Mayhew,  M.A.,  and  W.  W.  Skeat, 
Litt.  D.     Crown  Svo.  half  roan,  7s.  6d. 

Skeat.  An  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language, 
arranged  on  an  Historical  Basis.  By  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.  Second 
Edition.     4to.  2I.  45. 

A  Supplement  to  the  First  Edition  of  the  above.     4to.  2S.  6d. 

A  Concise  Etymological    Dictionary  of  the   English 

Language.     Third  Edition.     Crown  Svo.  5s.  6d. 

Principles  of  English  Etymology.     First  Series.     The 


Native  Element.     Crown  Svo.  9s. 


Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


Anglo-Saxon  and  English. 


Sweet.     An  Ang-lo-Saxon  Primei',  with  Grammar,  Notes  and 
Glossary.   By  Henry  Sweet,  M.A.    2nd  Edition.    Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2S.  6d. 

An  Ang-lo-Saxon   Reader.     In  Prose  and  Verse.     With 

Grainiuatical  Introduction,  Notes,  and  Glossary.    Sijcth  Edition,  lievised 
and  Enlarged.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  8*.  6d. 

A  Second  Anglo-Saxon  Reader.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4s.  6(7. 


Old  Eng-lish  Reading-  Primers  : 

I.  Selected  Homilies  of -(Elfric.     Stiff  covers,  is.  6d. 

II.  Extracts  from  Alfred's  Orosius.     Stiff  covers,  is.  6d. 

First  Middle  Eng-lish  Primer,  with  Grammar  and  Glos- 
sary.   Extra  fcap.  Svo.  25. 

Second  Middle  English  Primer.    Extracts  from  Chaucer, 

with  Grammar  and  Glossary.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2S. 

History  of  English   Sounds  from  the  Earliest   Period. 

With  full  Word- Lists.     Svo.   14*. 

A  Primer  of  Phonetics.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  35.  6(1. 

Elementarbuchdes  GesprochenenEnglisch.    Grammatik, 

Texte  und  Glossar.    Second  Edition.   Extra  fcap.  Svo.,  stiff  covers,  2S.6d. 

Taneock.     An  Elementary  English   Grammar  and    Exercise 
Book.  By  O.  W.  Tancock,  M.A.   Second  Edition.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  !*•.  6rf. 

An  English  Grammar  and   Reading  Book,   for  Lower 

Forms  in  Classical  Schools.     Fourth  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  35.  6d. 


Saxon  Chronicles.     Two   of  the   Saxon   Chronicles   parallel 

(787-1001  xV.  D.J.  A  Ivevised  Text.  Edited,  with  Introduction,  Critical 
Notes,  and  Glossary,  by  Charles  Plummer,  M.A.,  on  the  basis  of  an 
Edition  by  John  Earle,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.,  stiff  covers,  3*. 

Specimens  of  Early  English.     A  New  and  Revised  Edition. 

With  Introduction,  Notes,  and  Glossarial  Index. 

Part  I.     From  Old  English  Homilies  to  King  Horn  (a.D.   1150  to  A.D. 

1300).     By  K.  Morris,  LL.D.    Ed.  2.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.     9.?. 
Part  II.     From  Robert  of  Gloucester  to  Gower  (a.D.  1298  to  A.D.  1393). 

By  R.  Morris,  LL.D.,  and  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.  D.     Third  Edition. 

Extra  fca]i.  Svo.   75.  6d. 

Specimens    of  English   Literature,  from  the  '^Ploughmans 

Crede '  to  the  '  Shephcardes  Calender'  (a.d.  1394  to  a.D.  1579).  With 
Introduction,  Notes,  and  Glossarial  Index.  By  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.  D. 
Fourth  Edition.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  75.  6d. 

Typical   Selections    from    the    best   English    Writers,    with 

Introductory  Notices.     In  2  vols.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3*.  6d.  each. 
Vol.  I.  Latimer  to  Berkeley.  Vol.  II.  Pope  to  Macaulay. 

London :  Henry  Feowde,  Amen  Comer,  E.C. 


/.  Literature  and  Philology. 


A  SERIES  OF  ENGLISH  CLASSICS. 

{CHRONOLOGICALLY  ARRANGED.) 

Ormulum,  The,  with  the  Notes  and   Glossary  of  Dr.  R.  M. 

White.     Edited  by  R.  Holt,  M.A.     2  vols.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  \l.  is. 

CHAUCER. 

I.  The  Prologue,  the  Knig-htes  Tale,  The  Nonne  Preestes 

Tale;  from  the  Canterbury  Tales.  Edited  by  R.  Mokris,  LL.D.  A 
New  Edition,  with  Collations  and  Additional  Notes  by  W.  W.  Skeat, 
Litt.D.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

II.  The  Prioresses  Tale ;  SirThopas;  The  Monkes  Tale; 
The  Clerkes  Tale  ;  The  Squieres  Tale,  &c.  Edited  by  W.  W.  Skeat, 
Litt.D.     Third  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4s.  6d. 

III.  The   Tale  of  the  Man  of  Lawe  ;    The  Pardoneres 

Tale;  The  Second  Nonnes  Tale;  The  Chanoims  Yemannes  Tale. 
By  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.     New  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.    4s.  (>d. 

IV.  Minor  Poems.     Edited   by  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D. 

Crown  Svo.   10s.  6d. 

V.  The  Legend  of  Good  Women.      By  W.  W.  Skeat, 

Litt.D.     Crown  Svo.  6s. 
Langland,  W.    The  Vision  of  William  concerning  Piers  the 

Plowman,  in  three  Parallel  Texts;  together  with  Richard  the  Redeless. 
By  William  Langland  (about  1362-1399  a.d.).  Edited  from  numerous 
Manuscripts,  with  Preface,  Notes,  and  a  Glossary,  by  W.  W.  Skeat, 
Litt.D.     2  vols.     Svo.  il.iis.6d. 

The  Vision  of  William  concerning  Piers  the  Plowman,  by 

William  Langland.  Edited,  with  Notes,  by  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D. 
Fourth  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4.?.  6d. 

Gamelyn,  the  Tale  of.  Edited,  with  Notes,  Glossary,  &c.,  by 
W.  W  Skeat,  Litt.D.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.     Stiff  covers,  is.  6^^. 

WYCLIFFE. 

I.  The  Books  of  Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  and 

the  Song  of  Solomon :  according  to  the  Wycliffite  Version  made  by 
Nicholas  de  Heeefokd,  about  a.d.  13S1,  and  Revised  by  John 
Purvey,  about  a.d.  13SS.  With  Introduction  and  Glossary  by 
W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3.9.  6d. 

II,  The  New  Testament  in  English,  according  to  the 
Version  by  John  Wycliffe,  about  a.d.  1380,  and  Revised  by  John 
Purvey,  about  a.d.  1388.  With  Introduction  and  Glossary  by 
W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.D.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  6s. 

Minot  (Laurence).  Poems.  Edited,  with  Introduction  and 
Notes,  by  Joseph  Hall,  M.A.,  Head  Master  of  the  H*ulme  Grammar 
School,  Manchester.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.    4s.  6d. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


A  Series  of  E)iglish  Classics. 


Spenser's  Faery  Queene.     Books  I  and  II.     Dcsig-ned  cliiefly 

for  the  use  of  Schools.     With  Introduction  and  Notes  by  U.  W.  KiTCiiiN, 
D.D.,  and  Glossary  by  A.  L.  Mayuew,  M.A.   Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2*.  6d.  each. 

Hooker.      Ecclesiastical  Polity,  Book  I.     Edited  by  R.  W. 
Church,  M.A.     Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8 vo.  2s.     [See  also  p.  43.] 

OLD  ENGLISH  DRAMA. 

I.  York  Plays. — The  Plays  performed  by  the  Crafts  or 

Mysteries  of  York,  on  the  day  of  Corpus  Christi,  in  the  14th,  15th, 
and  i6th  centuries;  now  first  printed  from  the  unique  manuscript 
in  the  library  of  Lord  Ashburnliam.  Edited,  with  Introduction  and 
Glossary,  by  LucY  Toulmin  Smith.    Svo.   il.  is. 

XL  The  Pilg-rimag-e  to  Parnassus,  with  the  Two  Parts  of 

the  Return  from  Parnassus.  Three  Comedies  performed  in  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge,  A.D.  MDXCVJI-MDCI.  Edited  from  MSS.  by 
W.  D.  Macray,  M.A.,  F.S.A.  Medium  Svo.  Bevelled  Boards,  Gilt 
top,  8*.  ()d. 

III.  Marlowe's  Edward  II.   With  Introduction,  Notes,  &c. 
ByO.  W.Tancock,  M.A.  Extra  fcap.  8 vo.  Paper  covers,  2s.;  cloth,  3s. 

IV.  Marlowe  and  Greene.     Marlowe''s  Trag-ical  History 

of  Dr.  Faustus,  and  Greene's  Honourable  History  of  Friar  Bacon  and 
Friar  Bungay.  Edited  by  A.  W.  Ward,  Litt.  D.  New  and  enlarged 
Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  6s.  6rf. 

SHAKESPEARE.    Select  Plays.    Extra  fcap.  8 vo.  stiff  covers. 

Edited  by  W.  G.  Clark,  M.A.,  and  W.  Aldis  Wright,  D.C.L. 
The  Merchant  of  Venice,    is.  Macbeth.     is.6d. 

Richard  the  Second,     is.  6d.  Hamlet.     2s. 

Edited  by  W.  Aldis  Weight,  D.C.L. 
The  Tempest,    is.  6cZ.  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  is.  6i. 

As  You  Like  It.    is.6d.         Coriolanus.     2s.6d. 
Julius  Caesar.     2S.  Henry  the  Fifth.     2s. 

Richard  the  Third.  2s.6d.      Twelfth  Night,    is.  6d. 
King  Lear.     is.  6d.  King  John.     is.  6d. 

Shakespeare  as  a  Dramatic  Artist ;  a  popular  Illustration 
of  the  Principles  of  Scientific  Criticism.  By  R.  G.  MouLTON,  M.A. 
Second  Edition,  Enlarged.     Crown  Svo.  6s. 

Bacon. 

I.  Advancement    of  Learning.      Edited  by  W.  Aldis 

Wright,  D.C.L.     Third  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  45.  (>d. 

II.  The  Essays.      With   Introduction   and  Notes.      By 
S.  H.  Eeynolds,  M.A.     In  preparation. 


London :  Henry  Frowde.  Ameiv  Corner,  E.G. 


8  /.  Liter  attire  and  Philology. 

MILTON. 

I.  Areopagitica.  With  Introduction  and  Notes.  By 
John  W.  Hales,  M.A.     Third  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3s. 

II.  Poems.     Edited  by  R.  C.  Browne,  M.A.     In  two 

Volumes.    Fiftli  'Edition.    Extra  fcap.  8vo.  6,y.  dd. 
Sold  separately,  Vol.  I.  4s. ;  Vol.  II.  3s. 

In  paper  covers : 
Lycidas,  3«?.      L'Aliegi-o,  3c?.       II  Penseroso,  /[d.       Comus,  6d. 

III.  Paradise  Lost.    Book  I.    Edited  by  H.  C.  Beeching, 

B.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  stiff  covers,  is.  6d. ;  in  Parchment,  3s.  6d. 

IV.  Samson  Ag-onistes.  Edited,  with"  Introduction  and 
Notes,  by  J.  Churton  Collins,  M.A.  Extra  fcap.  Svo.  stiff  covers,  is. 

Bunyan. 

I.  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,   Grace  Abounding-,  Relation 

of  the  Imprisonment  of  Mr.  John  Bdnyan.  Edited,  with  Bio- 
graphical Introduction  and  Notes,  by  E.  Venables,  M.A.  Extra 
fcap.  Svo.  5s.     In  Parchment,  6*. 

II.  Holy  War,  &C.      In  the  Press. 

Clarendon. 

I.  History  of  the  Rebellion.     Book  VI.     Edited  by  T. 

Aenold,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4s.  6d. 

II.  Characters  and  Episodes  of  the  Great  Rebellion. 
Selections  from  Clarendon.  Edited  by  G.  Boyle,  M.A.,  Dean  of 
Salisbury.     Crown  Svo.,  gilt  top,  75.  6d.     [See  also  p.  44.] 

Dryden.     Select  Poems.     (Stanzas  on  the  Death   of  Oliver 

Cromwell ;  Astrtea  Redux ;  Annus  Mirabilis  ;  Absalom  and  Achitophel ; 
Eeligio  Laici ;  The  Hind  and  the  Panther.)  Edited  by  W.  D.  Cheistie, 
M.A.     Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  35.  6d. 

An  Essay  of  Dramatic  Poesy.     Edited,  with  Notes,  by 

Thomas  Aenold,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s.  6d. 

Locke.  Conduct  of  the  Understanding.  Edited,  with  Intro- 
duction, Notes,  &c.,  by  T.  Fowlee,  D.D.  Second  Edition.  Extra  fcap. 
Svo.   2S. 

Addison.     Selections  from  Papers  in  the  Spectator.     With 

Notes.    By  T.  Arnold,  M.A.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4.5. 6c?.    In  Parchment,  65. 

Steele.     Selections  from  the  Tatler,  Spectator,  and  Guardian. 

Edited  by  Austin  Dobson.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  5s.     In  Parchment,  7s.  6d. 

Pope.     Select  Works.     With  Introduction  and  Notes.     By 
Maek  Pattison,  B.D. 

I.  Essay  on  Man.     Extra  fcap.   Svo.   is.  6d. 

II.  Satires  and  Ejjistles.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.   2S. 

Parnell.     The  Hermit.     Paper  covers,  2d. 

Oxford:  Clarendon  Press. 


A  Series  of  English  Classics. 


Gray.     Selected  Poems.     Edited  by  Edmund    Gosse,  M.A. 

Extra  fcap.  8vo.     In  Parchment,  3s. 

The   same,    tog-ether    with     Supplementary    Notes    for 

.Schools  by  Foster  Watson,  M.A.    Stiff  covers,  is.  6d. 

Elegy,  and  Ode  on  Eton  College.     Paper  covers,  2d. 


Goldsmith. 

I.  Selected  Poems.  Edited  with  Introduction  and  Notes,  by 
Austin  Dobson.    Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3*.  6d.    In  Parchment,  4s.  6d. 

II.  The  Traveller.     Edited  by   G.  Birkbeck  Hill,   D.C.L. 

Stiff  covers,  i*. 

III.  The  Deserted  Village.     Paper  covers,  2d. 
JOHNSON. 

I.  Rasselas.  Edited,  with  Introducoion  and  Notes,  by 
G.  Birkbeck  Hill,  D.C.L.  Extra  fcap.  8vo.  Bevelled  boards,  35.  6^. 
In  Parchment,  45.  6d. 

II.  Rasselas ;  Lives  of  Dryden  and  Pope.  Edited  by 
Alfred  Milnes,  M.A.  (London).  Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4s.  6d.,  or  Livea 
of  Dryden  and  Pope  only,  stifiF  covers,  2s.  6d. 

III.  Life  of  Milton.     By  C.  H.   Eikth,  M.A.     Extra 

fcap.  Svo.  cloth,  2*.  6d.     Stiff  covers,  is.  6d. 

IV.  Wit  and  Wisdom  of  Samuel  Johnson.  Edited  by 
G.  Birkbeck  Hill,  D.C.L.     Crown  Svo.  7s.  6d. 

V.  Vanity  of  Human  Wishes.  With  Notes,  by  E.  J. 
Patne,  M.A.    Paper  covers,  ^d. 

BOSWELL. 

Boswell's  Life  of  Johnson.  With  the  Journal  of  a 
Tour  to  the  Hebrides.  Edited  by  G.  Birkbeck  Hill,  D.C.L.,  Pem- 
broke College.     6  vols.     Medium  Svo.     Half  bound,  3?.  3s. 

Cowper.     Edited,  with    Life,  Introductions,  and   Notes,  by 
H.  T.  Griffith,  B.A. 

I.  The  Didactic  Poems  of  1782,  with   Selections  from 

the  Minor  Pieces,  A.D.  1 779-1 783.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.   35. ' 

II.  The  Task,  with  Tirocinium,  and  Selections  from  the 
Minor  Poems,  A.D.  17S4-1 799,     Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s. 

Burke.      Select    Works.      Edited,    with    Introduction    and 
Notes,  by  E.  J.  Payne,  M.A. 

I.  Thoughts  on  the  Present  Discontents;  the  two 
Speeches  on  America.     Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4*.  6d. 

II.-  Reflections     on    the     French    Revolution.      Second 

Edition.     Extra  fcaji.  Svo.  5.S. 

III.  Four  Letters  on  the  Proposals  for  Peace  with  the 

Regicide  Directory  of  France.    Second  Edition.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  5.?. 
London:  Henry  Feowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.G. 


lo  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 

Burns.     Selected  Poems.     Edited,  with  Introduction,  Notes, 
and  a  Glossary,  by  J.  Logie  Robertson,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.  6*. 

Keats.     Hyperion,  Book  I.     With  Notes  by  W.  T.  Arnold, 

B.A.     Paper  covers,  \d. 

Byron.     Childe  Harold.     With  Introduction  and  Notes,  by 

H.  F.  TozER,  M.A.     Extra  feap.  Svo.  3*.  del.      In  Tarchment,  55. 

Scott.     Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel.  Edited  by  W.  Minto,  M.A. 

With  Map.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2*.     Parchment,  3s.  del. 

Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel.     Introduction  and  Canto  I, 

with  Preface  and  Notes,  by  the  same  Editor,     dd. 

Marmion.     Edited,   with   Introduction  and    Notes,   by 


T.  Bayne.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s.  dd. 

Campbell.  Gertrude  of  Wyoming'.  Edited,  with  Introduction 
and  Notes,  by  H.  Macaulay  FitzGibbon,  M.A.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2*. 

Shairp.  Aspects  of  Poetry ;  being  Lectures  delivei'ed  at 
Oxford,  by  J.  C.  Shairp,  LL.D.     Crown  Svo.  10*.  dd. 

Palgrave.  The  Treasury  of  Sacred  Song".  With  Notes  Ex- 
planatory and  Biographical.  By.  F.  T.  Palgkave,  M.A.  Half  vellum, 
gilt  top,  I  OS.  dd. 


SECTION   III. 

EUROPEAN   LANGUAGES.     MEDIAEVAL  AND 

MODERN. 

(1)  FRENCH  AND  ITALIAN. 
Braehet's  Etymolog-ical  Dictionary  of  the  French  Lang-uag-e. 

Translated  by  G.  W.  KiTCHiN,  D.D.    Third  Edition.    Crown  Svo.  7*.  6d. 

Historical  Gi'ammar  of  the  French  Languag-e.     Trans- 
lated by  G.  W.  KiTCHiN,  D.D.    Fourth  Edition.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3*.  6d. 

Saintsbury.     Primer    of    French    Literature.     By    George 
Saintsbuby,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s. 

Short  History  of  French  Literature.    Crown  Svo.  ios.6d. 

Specimens  of  French  Literature,  from  Villon  to  Hug-o. 

Crown  Svo.  gs. 


Beaumarchais'  Le  Barbier  de   Seville.     Edited,  with  Intro- 
duction and  Notes,  by  Austin  Dobson.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  25.  6d. 

Oxford:  Clarendon  Press. 


French  and  Italian.  1 1 

Corneille's  Horace.     Edited^  with  Introduction  and  Notes, 
by  George  Saintsbuky,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

Molidre's  Les  Precieuses  Ridicules.    Edited,  with  Introduction 
and  Notes,  by  Andrew  Lang,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  is.  6d. 

Mussel's  On  ne  badine  pas  avec  1' Am  our,  and  Fantasio.    Edited, 

with  Prolegomena,  Notes,  etc.,  by  W.  H.  Pollock.    Extra  fcap.  8vo.   2s. 

Racine's  Esther.     Edited,  with  Introduction  and  Notes,  by 
George  Saintsbuey,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2*. 

Voltaire's  Merope.     Edited,  with  Introduction   and    Notes, 
by  George  Saintsbury,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s. 

*;|c*  The  above  six  Plays  may  he  had  in  ornamental  case,  and  hound 
in  Imitation  Parchment,  price  1 2s.  6d. 

MASSON'S  FRENCH   CLASSICS. 

Edited  hy  Gustave  Masson,  B.A. 

Corneille's  Cinna.     With  Notes,  Glossary,  etc.     Extra  fcap. 

Svo.  2s.     Stiff  covers,  is.  6d. 

Louis  XIV  and  his  Contemporaries ;  as  described  in  Extracts 

from  the  best  Memoirs  of  the  Seventeenth  Century.  With  English  Notes, 
Genealogical  Tables,  &c.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s.  6d. 

Maistre,  Xavier  de,  &e.     Voyag-e   autour    de  ma  Chambre, 

by  Xavier  de  Maistre.  Ourilia,  by  Madame  de  Duras  ;  Le  Vieux 
Tailleur,  by  MM.  Erckma.xx-Chatrian  ;  La  Veilli^e  de  Vincennes,  by 
Alfred  de  Vigny;  Les  Jumeaux  de  I'Hotel  Corneille,  by  Edmond 
About  ;  Mesaventures  d'un  ]fecolier,  by  Eodolphe  Topffer.  Third 
Edition,  Revised.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2*.  6d. 

Voyag-e  autour  de  ma  Chambre.     Limp.  is.  6(1. 

Moliere's  Les  Fourberies  de  Scapin,  and  Racine's  Athalie. 

With  Voltaire's  Life  of  Molifere.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.   2,s.  6d. 

Les    Fourberies  de   Scapin.     With   Voltaire's    Life    of 

Molifere.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  stifl' covers,  is.  6d. 

Les    Femmes    Savantes.     With    Notes,    Glossary,    etc. 


Extra  fcap.  Svo.  cloth,  2S.     Stiff  covers,  is.  6d. 

Racine  s  Andromaque,  and  Corneille's  Le  Menteur.  With 
Louis  Racine's  Life  of  his  Father.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s.  6d. 

Regnard's  Le  Joueur,  and  Brueys  and  Palaprat's  Le  Gron- 

deiir.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s.  6d. 

Sevign6,  Madame  de,  and  her  chief  Contemporaries,  Selections 
from  their  Correspondence.  Intended  more  especially  for  Girls'  Schools. 
Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s. 

London :  Henry  Fuowde,  Amen  Corner,  B.C. 


12  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 

Blouet.  L'Eloquence  de  la  Cbaire  et  de  la  Tribune  Francaises. 
Edited  by  Paul  Blodet,  B.A.  Vol.  I.  Sacred  Oratory.  Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s.  dd. 

Gautier,  Theopliile.     Scenes  of  Travel.     Selected  and  Edited 

by  George  Saintsbury,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  ^s. 

Perrault's  Popular  Tales.  Edited  from  the  Original  Editions, 
with  Introduction,  etc.,  by  Andrew  Lang,  M.A.  Extra  fcap.  Svo., 
paper  boards,  55.  dd. 

Quinet's  Lettres  a  sa  Mere.     Selected  and  Edited  by  George 

Saintsbury,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2s. 

Sainte-Beuve.  Selections  from  the  Causeries  du  Lundi. 
Edited  by  George  Saintsbury,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  is. 

Dante.  Selections  from  the  Inferno.  With  Introduction 
and  Notes.     By  H.  B.  Cotterill,  B.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4s.  dd. 

Tasso.  La  Gerusalemme  Liberata.  Cantos  i,  ii.  With  In- 
troduction and  Notes.     By  the  same  Editor.     Extra  fcajD.  Svo.  2s.  dd. 

(2)    G-ERMAN  AND   GOTHIC. 
Max  Miiller.     The  German  Classics,  from  the  Fourth  to  the 

Nineteenth  Century.  With  Biographical  Notices,  Translations  into 
Modern  German,  and  Notes.  By  F.  Max  Muller,  M.A.  A  New 
Edition,  Revised,  Enlarged,  and  Adapted  to  Wilhelm  Scherer's 
'  History  of  German  Literature,'  by  F.  Lichtenstein.  2  vols.  Crown 
Svo.  2  is. 

Scherer.     A  History  of  German   Literature   by   Wilhelm 

Scherer.  Translated  from  the  Third  German  Edition  by  Mrs.  F. 
C.  Conybeare.     Edited  by  F.  Max  Muller.     2  vols.     Svo.  21s. 

Skeat.     The  Gospel  of   St.   Mark  in    Gothic.     By  W.  W. 

Skbat,  Litt.  D.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  cloth,  4s. 

Wright.     An  Old  Hig-h  German  Primer.     With  Grammar, 

Notes,  and  Glossary.    By  Joseph  Wright,  Ph.D.   Extra  fcap.  Svo.  35.  bd. 

A    Middle    High    German   Primer.      With    Grammar, 

Notes,  and  Glossary.   By  Joseph  Wright,  Ph.D.   Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s.  dd. 

LANGE'S  GERMAN  COURSE. 

By  Hermann  Lange,  Lecturer  on  French  and  German  at  the  Manchester 

Technical  School,  etc. 

I.  Germans  at  Home  ;  a  Practical  Introduction  to  German 

Conversation,  with  an  Appendix  containing  the  Essentials  of  German 
Grammar.     Third  Edition.     Svo.   2*.  6d. 

II.  German  Manual ;  a  German  Grammar^  Reading  Book, 

and  a  Handbook  of  German  Conversation.     Svo.  75.  6d. 
Oxford:  Clarendon  Press. 


German  and  Gothic.  13 

III.  Grammar  of  the  German  Language.     8vo.  3*.  6(1. 

IV.  German  Composition ;  A  Theoretical  and  Practical  Guide 

to  the  Art  of  Translating  English  Prose  into  German.     Second  Edition. 
8vo.  4*'.  dd.     \^A  Key  to  the  ahove,  price  S.t.     Just  Published.'] 

German  Spelling;     A    Synopsis  of  the    Changes  which    it 

has  undergone  through  the  Government  Eegulations  of  1880.     6d. 

BUCHHEIM'S  GERMAN  CLASSICS. 

Edited,  icifh  Biographical,  Eidarical,  and  Critical  Introductions,  Arrjitments 
{to  the  Dramas),  and  Complete  Commentaries,  ly  C.  A.  Buchheim,  Fhil. 
Doc,  Professor  in  King's  College,  London. 

Becker  (the  Historian).  Friedrich  der  Grosse.  Edited,  with 
Notes,  an  Historical  Introduction,  and  a  Map.     3*.  6d. 

Goethe : 

(a)  Egmont.     A  Tragedy.     3s. 

(6)  Iphigenie  aiif  Tauris.    A  Drama.     3s. 

Heine : 

(«)  Prosa :  being  Selections  from  his  Prose  Writings.     4s.  6d. 

(b)  Harzreise.     Clotb,  2s.  6d. ;  paper  covers,  is.  6d. 

Lessing : 

(a)  Nathan  der  Weise.     A  Dramatic  Poem.     4s.  6d. 

(b)  Minna  von  Barnbelni.     A  Comedy.     3s.  6d. 

Schiller : 

(a)  Wilhelm  Tell.  A  Drama.  Large  Edition.  With  Map.  3s.  6d. 

(6)  Wilhelm  TeU.     School  Edition.     With  Map.     2S. 

(c)  Historische  Skizzen.     With  Map.     2S.  6d. 

Modern  German  Reader.  A  Graduated  Collection  of  Ex- 
tracts from  Modern  German  Authors  : — 

Part   I.     Prose    Extracts.     With    English   Notes,    a    Grammatical 
Appendix,  and  a  complete  Vocabulary.     Fourth  Edition.     2s.  Gd. 

Part  II.     Extracts   in   Prose   and   Poetry.     With  English   Notes 
and  an  Index.     Second  Edition.     2s.  6d. 

German  Poetry  for  Beginners.  Edited  with  Eng-lish  Notes 
and  a  complete  Vocabulary,  by  Emma  S.  Buchheim.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  25. 

Chamisso.  Peter  Schlemihl's  Wundersame  Geschichtc. 
Edited  with  Notes  and  a  complete  Vocabulary,  by  Emma  S.  Buchheim. 
Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s. 

London  :  "Benry  Frowde,  Amen  Comer,  E.G. 


14  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 

Lessing.  The  Laokoon,  with  Introduction,  English  Notes, 
etc.     By  A.  Hamann,  Phil.  Doc,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  4s.  6c?. 

Niebuhr :  Griechische  Heroen-Geschiehten  (Tales  of  Greek 

Heroes).  With  English  Notes  cand  Vocabulary,  by  Emiia  S.  Buchhkim. 
Second,  Revised  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  cloth,  2s.,  stiff  covers,  i*.  dd. 

Edition  A.     Tixt  in  German  Type. 

Edition  B.      Text  in  Boman  Type. 

Schiller's  Wilhelm  Tell.  Translated  into  English  Verse  by 
E.  Massie,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  5s. 

(3)  SCANDINAVIAN. 

Cleasby  and  Vigfusson.     An  Icelandic-English  Dictionar}'', 

based  on  the  MS.  collections  of  the  late  Richard  Cleasby.  Enlarged 
and  completed  by  G.  Vigfusson,  M.A.  With  an  Introduction,  and  Life 
of  Richard  Cleasby,  by  G.  Webbe  Dasext,  D.C.L.     4to.  3?.  7*. 

Sweet.  Icelandic  Primer,  with  Grammar,  Notes,  and 
Glossary.     By  Henry  Sweet,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  35.  bd. 

Vigfiisson.     Sturlunga  Saga,  including  the  Islendinga  Saga 

of  Lawman  Sturla  Thordsson  and  other  works.  Edited  by  Dr. 
GuDBRAND  Vigfusson.     In  2  vols.  Svo.  2I.  2,?. 

Vigfiisson  and  Powell.  Icelandic  Prose  Reader,  with  Notes, 
Grammar,  and  Glossary.  By  G.  Vigfusson,  M.A.,  and  F.  York 
Powell,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.   10*.  dd. 

Corpvs   Poeticvm    Boreale.      The    Poetry    of   the    OKI 

Northern  Tongue,  from  the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Thirteenth  Century. 
Edited,  classified,  and  translated,  with  Introduction,  Excursus,  and  Notes, 
by  Gudbhand  Vigfusson,  M.A.,  and  E.  York  Powell,  M.A.  2  vols. 
Svo.  2?.  2S. 

The    Landnama-B6k.      Edited  and    translated  by    the 


same.     In  the  Press. 

SECTION   IV. 

CLASSICAL    LANGUAGES. 

(1)  LATIN. 

STANDARD    WORKS  AND   EDITIONS. 

Ellis.     Harleian  MS.  2610  ;  Ovid's  Metamorphoses  I,  II,  III, 

1-622;  XXIV  Latin  Epigrams  from  Bodleian  or  other  MSS. ;  Latin 
Glosses  on  Apollinaris  Sidonius  from  MS.  Digby  172.  Collated  and 
Edited  by  Robinson  Ellis,  M.A.,  LL.D.    (Anecdota  Oxon.)    4.5. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press, 


Latin:  Standard  Works.  15 

King  and  Cookson.     The  Principles  of  Sound  and  Inflexion, 

as  illustrated  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  Lani^uages.  By  J.  E.  King,  M.A., 
and  Christophek  Cookson,  M.A.  8vo.  i8.s. 

Lewis  and  Short.     A  Latin  Dictionary,  founded  on  Andrews' 

edition  of  Freund's  Latin  Dictionary,  revised,  enlarged,  and  in  great 
part  rewritten  by  Charlton  T.  Lewis,  Ph.D.,  and  Charles  Short, 
LL.D.     4to.  1?.  55. 

Nettleship.      Contributions    to    Latin    Lexicography.      By 

Henuv  Nettlesuip,  M.A.     8vo.  21s. 

Lectures    and    Essays    on    Subjects    connected    with 

Latin  Scholarship  and  Literature.  By  Henry  Nettleship,  M.A. 
Crown  8vo.  7s.  6f/. 

The  Roman  Satura.     8vo.  sewed,  is. 

Ancient  Lives  of  Vergil.     Svo.  sewed,  25. 


Papillon.     INfanual    of   Comparative    Philology.     By  T.   L. 
Pai'ILLON,  M.A.     Third  Edition.     Crown  8vo.  6*. 

Pinder.     Selections  from  the  less  known  Latin  Poets.     By 
North  Pinder,  M.A.     8vo.     15.9. 

Sellar.     Roman  Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age.     Viegil.     By 
W.  Y.  Sellar,  M.A.     New  Edition.     Crown  Svo.  9s. 

Roman  Poets  of  the  Republic.     Third  Edition.     Crown 

8vo.   10s. 

Wordsworth.     Fragments    and  Specimens  of  Early  Latin. 
With  Introductions  and  Notes.     By  J.  Wordsworth,  D.D.     8vo.  i8s. 


Avianus.     The  Fables.     Edited,  with  Prolegomena,  Critical 

Api^aratus,  Commentary,  etc.,  by  PiOBINSON  Ellis,  JVf.A.,  LL.D.     8vo. 
8s.  6rf. 

Catulli  Veronensis    Liber.     Iterum    recognovit,  apparatnm 
criticum  prolegomena  appendices  addidit,  Robinson  Ellis,  A.M.  8vo.  16.?. 

Catullus,  a   Commentary   on.     By  Robinson   Ellis,    M.A. 

Second  Edition.     Svo.  i8s. 

Cicero.    De  Oratore.    With  Introduction  and  Notes.     By  A. 
S.  WiLKiNS,  Litt.D. 

Book  I.     Second  Edition.     Svo.  7s.  6d.        Book  II.     Svo.  5s. 

Philippic  Orations.    With  Notes.    By  J.  R.  King,  M.A. 

Second  Edition.     Svo.   los.  Gd. 

Select  Letters.     With  English  Introductions,  Notes,  and 


Appendices.     By  Albert  Watson,  M.A.     Third  Edition.     Svo.  iSs. 

Horace.     With  a  Commentar}'.     Vol.  I.  The  Odes,  Carmen 
Seculare,  and  Epodes.  By  E.C.  Wickham,  M.A.  Second  Edition.  Svo.  12s. 

London  :  Henry  Frowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.C. 


1 6  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 


Livy,  Book  I.  With  Introduction,  Historical  Examination, 
and  Notes.     By  J.  R.  Seeley,  M.A.     Second  Edition.     8vo.  6^. 

Nonius  Mareellus,  de  Compendiosa  Doctrina  (Harleian  MS. 

2719).     Collated  by  J.  H.  Onions,  M.A.     (Anecdota  Oxon.)     3s.  6d. 

Ovid.     P.  Ovidii  Nasonis  Ibis.     Ex  Novis  Codicibus  edidit, 

Scholia   Vetera    Commentarium   cum    Prolegomenis    Appendice    Indice 
addidit,  E.  Ellis,  A.M.     8vo.  10*.  6d. 

P.  Ovidi  Nasonis  Tristium  Libri  V,     Recensuit  S.  G. 

Owen,  A.M.    8vo.  i6.s. 

Persius.  The  Satires.  With  a  Translation  and  Commen- 
tary. By  John  Conington,  M.A.  Edited  by  Henry  Nettleship, 
M.A.     Second  Edition.     8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Plautus.  Bcntley's  Plautine  Emendations.  From  his  copy 
of  Gronovius.    By  E.  A.  Sonnenschein,  M.A.    (Anecdota  Oxon.)    25.  6d. 

Scriptores  Latini  rei  Metricae.     Edidit  T.  Gaisford,  S.T.P. 

8vo.  5s. 

Tacitus.  The  Annals.  Books  I-VI.  Edited,  with  Intro- 
duction and  Notes,  by  H.  Furneaox,  M.A.    8vo.  1 8s. 

LATIN  EDUCATIONAL    WORKS. 
Grammars,  Exercise  Books,  &c. 

ALLEN. 

Hudimenta  Latina.    Comprising"  Accidence,  and  Exercises 

of  a  very  Elementary  Character,  for  the  use  of  Beginners.     By  John 
Barrow  Allen,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s. 

An  Elementary  Latin  Grammar.     By  the  same  Author. 

Fifty-Seventh  Thousand.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2S.  6d. 

A    First   Latin  Exercise   Book.     By  the  same  Author. 

Fourth  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

A  Second  Latin  Exercise  Book.     By  the  same  Author. 

Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

*^*  A  Key  to  First  and  Second  Latin  Exercise  Books,  in  one  volume, 
price  5s.  Supplied  to  Teachers  only  on  application  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Clarendon  Press. 

An  Introduction  to  Latin  Syntax.     By  W.  S.  Gibson,  M.A. 

Extra  fcap.  Svo.      2s. 

First  Latin  Reader.     By  T.  J.  Nunns,  M.A.     Tli'inl  Edition. 

Extra  fcap.  Svo.   2s. 

A  Latin  Prose  Primer.     By  J.  Y.  Sargent,  M.A.     Extra 

fcap.  Svo.     2s.  ()d. 

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Marginal  Analysis,  Notes,  and  Indices.     By  B.  Jowett,  M.A.,  Hegius 
Professor  of  Greek.     2  vols.     Medium  8vo.   i^.  12s. 

XENOPHON.    Ex  rec.  et  cum  annotatt.  L.  Dindorfii. 

I.  Historia  Graeca.      Second  Edition.     1853.    8vo.  los.  6d. 

II.  Expeditio  Cyri.     Second  Udition.     1855.     8vo.  loa.  6d, 

III.  Institutio  Cyri.    1857.    8vo.  lo*.  bd. 

IV.  Memorabilia  Socratis.    1862.    Svo.  7*.  6d. 

V.  Opuscula  Politica  Equestria  et  Venatica  cum  Arriani 

Libello  de  Venatione.     1866.     Svo.   los.  6d. 

GREEK  EDUCATIONAL    WORKS. 

GeammaeSj  Exercise  Books^  &c. 

Chandler.     The  Elements  of  Greek  Accentuation :  abrido-ed 

from  his  larger  work  by  H.  W.  Chandler,    M.A.     Extra  feap.  8vo.  2*.  6d. 

Liddell  and  Scott.  An  Intermediate  Greek  -  English 
Lexicon,  abridged  from  Liddell  and  Scott's  Seventh  Edition.  Small  4to. 
12.?.  6d. 

Liddell    and  Scott.     A    Greek-English    Lexicon,    abridged 

from  Liddell  and  Scott's  4to.  edition.     Square  i2mo.  75.  6d. 
Miller.     A  Greek   Testament  Primer.     An   Easy   Grammar 

and  Reading  Book  for  the  use   of  Students  beginning  Greek.     By  the 
Rev.  E.  Miller,  M.A.     Extra  feap.  Svo.  3*.  6d. 
Moulton.    The  Ancient  Classical  Drama.    A  Study  in  Ijiterary 

Evolution.     Intended  for  Readers  in  English  and  in  the  Original.     By 
K.  G.  Moulton,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.  8s.  6d. 
Wordsworth.     A  Greek  Primer,  for  the  use  of  beginners  in 
that  Language.     By  the   Right  Rev,   Charles  Wordsworth,   D.C.L. 
Seventh  Edition.     Extra  feap.  Svo.  is.  6d. 

Graecae  Grammatieae  Rudimenta  in  usum  Scholarum. 

Auctore  Carolo  Wordsworth,  D.C.L.     Nineteenth  JEdition.     i2mo.  4s. 

Passages  for  Translation  into  Greek  Prose.     By  J.  Young 

Sargent,  M.A.     Extra  feap.  Svo.     3s. 
Exemplaria  Graeca.     Being  Selections  from  "  Passages  for 

Translation  into  Greek  Prose."    By  the  same  author.    Extra  feap.  Svo.  38. 

Models   and   Materials  for  Greek  Iambic  Verse.     By  the 

same  author.     Extra  feap.  Svo.  4s.  6c?. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


Greek  :  Educational  Works.  2  5 


Graece  Eeddenda.     B  yC.  S.  Jekuam,  M.A.     Extra  fcap. 

8vo.  2s.  dd. 

Reddenda  Minora,  or  Easy  Passag-es,  Latin  and  Greek,  for 

Unseen  Translation.      By  C.  8.  Jerram,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.   is.  6d. 

Angliee  Reddenda,  or  Extracts,  Latin  and  Greek,  for  Unseen 

Translation.     By  C.  S.  Jerram,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2».  6d. 

Angliee  Reddenda.  Second  Series.  By  the  same  Author. 
Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s.  ^ 

Golden  Treasury  of  Ancient  Greek  Poetry.  By  R.  S. 
Wright,  M.A.  ISccoud  Edition.  Revised  by  Evelyn  Abbott,  M.A., 
LL.D.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  105.  (>d. 

Golden  Treasury  of  Greek  Prose,  being-  a  Collection  of  the 

finest  passages  in  the  principal  Greek  Prose  Writers,  with  Introductory 
Notices  and  Notes.  By  R.  S.  Wright,  M.A.,  and  J.  E.  L.  Shadwell, 
M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4.9.  dd. 

Greek  Readers. 
Easy  Greek  Reader.     By  Evelyn  Abbott,  M.A.     In  one  or 

two  Parts.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3*. 

First  Greek  Reader.     By  W.  G.  Rushbrooke,  M.L.     Second 

Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  25.  6d. 

Second  Greek  Reader.     By  A.  M.  Bell,  M.A.     Extra  fcap. 

Svo.  35.  6d. 
Specimens  of  Greek  Dialects ;  Leing  a  Fourth  Greek  Reader. 

With  Introductions,  etc.  By  W.  W.  Merry,  D.D.  Extra  fcap.  Svo.  4s.  6d. 

Selections  from  Homer  and  the  Greek  Di'amatists ;  being 

a  Fifth  Greek  Header.  With  Explanatory  Notes  and  Introductions 
to  the  Study  of  Greek  Epic  and  Dramatic  Poetry.  By  Evelyn  Abbott, 
M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  48.  6d. 


Greek  Classics  for  Schools. 

Aeschylus.     In  Single  Plays.     Extra  fcap.  Svo. 

I.  Agamemnon.      With    Introduction    and    Notes,    by 
Arthur  Sidgwick,  M.A.     Third  Edition.     3s. 

II.  Choephoroi,   By  the  same  Editor.     35. 

III.  Eumenidt's.   By  the  same  Editor.     3.?. 

IV.  Prometheus  Bound.  With  Introduction  and  Notes, 
by  A.  0.  Prickard,  M.A.     Second  Edition.     2s. 

London  :  Henry  Frowde,  Aiuen  Corner,  E.  C. 


26  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 

Aristophanes.      In    Single    Plays.      Edited,    with    Eng-lish 
Notes,  Introductions,  &c.,  by  W.  W.  Merry,  D.D.     Extra  fcap.  8vo. 

T.  The  Acharnians.    Third  Edition,  3-?. 

II.  The  Clouds.      Third  Edition,  3s. 

III.  The  Frog's.     Second  Edition,  3s. 

IV.  The  Knights.     Second  Edition,  3.9. 

V.  The  Birds.    3s.  6d. 

Cebes.     Tabula.     With  Introduction  and  Notes.     Bj  C.  S. 
Jerram,  M.A.     Estra  fcap.  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

Demosthenes.     Orations  against  Philip.     With  Introduction 
and  Notes,  by  Evelyn  Abbott,  M.A.,  and  P.  E.  Matheson,  M.A. 

Vol.  I.     Philippic  I.     Olynthiacs  I-III.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  35. 

Vol.  II.     De  Pace,  Philippic  II,  De  Chersoneso,  Philippic  III.     Extra 
fcap.  Svo.  4.S.  6d. 

Euripides.     In  Single  Plays.     Extra  fcap.  8vo. 

I.  Alcestis.     Edited  by  C.  S.  Jerram,  M.A.    2S!.  6(1. 

II.  Hecuba.     Edited  by  C.  H.  Russell,  M.A.     2^.  6d. 

III.  Helena.     Edited,  with  Introduction,  Notes,  etc.,  for 
Upper  and  Middle  Forms.     By  C.  S.  Jerram,  M.A.     3*. 

IV.  Heracleidae.     By  C.  S.  Jerram,  M.A.     3^. 

V.  Iphigenia  in  Tauris.     By  the  same  Editoi'.     3^. 

VI.  Medea.     By  C.  B.  Heberden,  M.A.     %s. 
Herodotus.     Book   IX.     Edited,    with    Notes,   by   Evelyn 

Abbott,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3s. 

Selections.     Edited,  with   Introduction   and  Notes,  by 

W.  W.  Merry,  D.D.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2*.  M. 

Homer. 

I.  Iliad,  Books   I-XII.     With  an  Introduction   and    a 

brief    Homeric    Grammar,    and    Notes.     By    D.  B.  Mokbo,  M.A. 
Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  6s. 

II.  Iliad,  Books  XIII-XXIV.     With   Notes.     By  the 

same  Editor.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  6*. 

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Extra  fcap.  Svo.   2<s. 

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Notes.    By  Herbert  Hailstone,  M.A.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  is.  6d.  each. 

Oxford :   Clarendon  Press. 


Greek:  EducatioJial  Woi'ks.  27 

Homer  {continued). 

V.  Odyssey,  Books  I-XII.     By  W.  W.  Merry,   D.D. 

Fortieth  Jliou^and.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  5«. 

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Lysias.     Epitaphios.     Edited,  with  Introduction  and  Notes, 
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George  Stock,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  2.?.  6d. 

The  Apolog-y.     With  Introduction  and  Notes.     By  St. 

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tions and  English  Notes.    By  Lewis   Campbell,  M.A.,   and   Evelyn 
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XENOPHON.    Easy  Selections  (for  Junior  Classes).  With  a 

Vocabulary,  Notes,  and  Map.     By  J.  S.  Phillpotts,  B.C.L.,  and  C.  S. 
Jerram,  M.A.     Third  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  3?.  6d. 

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Anabasis,  Book  I.     Edited  for  the  use  of  Junior  Classes 

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Notes,  etc.     By  J.  Marshall,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  25.  6d. 
London  :  Henry  Frowde,  Amen  Comer,  E.G. 


28  /.  Literatui^e  and  Philology. 

Xenophon  [continued). 

Vocabulaiy  to  the  Anabasis.      By  J.  Marshall^  M.A. 

Extra  fcap.  8vo.    is.  6d. 

Cyi-opaedia,  Book  I.    With  Introduction  and  Notes.     By 

C.  Bigg,  D.D.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s. 

Cyropaedia,  Books  IV  and  V.     With  Introduction  and 

Notes.     By  C.  BiGG,  D.D.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  2s.  6d. 

Helleniea,  Books  I,  II.     With  Introduction  and  Notes. 


By  G.  E.  Underhill,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3s. 

—  Memorabilia.     By  J.  Marshall,  M.A.     In  the  Press. 


SECTION  V. 

ORIENTAL  LANGUAGES^ 

THE   SACRED   BOOKS   OP  THE  EAST. 

Translated  by  various  Oriental  Scholars,  and  edited  by 
F.  Mas  Muller. 

First   Series,  Vols.  I— XXIV.     Demy  8vo.  cloth. 

Vol.  I.     The  Upanishads.     Translated  by  F.  Max  Muller. 

Part  I.   10s.  6d. 

Vol.  II.     The  Sacred  Laws  of  the  Aryas,  as  taught  in  the 

Schools  of  Apastamba,  Gautama,  VasishifZia,  and  Baudhayana.     Trans- 
lated by  Prof.  Georg  Buhler.     Parti.     I  OS.  6c?. 

Vol.  III.     The  Sacred  Books  of  China.     The  Texts  of  Con- 
fucianism.     Translated  by  James  Legge.     Parti.     12s.  6d. 

Vol.  IV.     The  Zend-Avesta.     Part  I.  The  Vendidad.    Trans- 
lated by  James  Darmesteter.     io.s.  6d. 

Vol.  V.     The  Pahlavi  Texts.     Translated  by  E.  W.  West. 

Part  I.     I2S.  6d. 

Vols.    VI    and    IX.     The    Qur'un.      Translated    by   E.    H. 
Palmer.     21s. 

Vol.  VII.     The  Institutes  of  Vishwu.     Translated  by  Julius 
Jolly,     ios.  6d. 

Vol.  VIII.     The  Bhag-avadg-ita,  with  The  Sanatsu_(7atiya,  and 

The  Anugita.     Translated  by  Kashinath  Trimbak  Telang.     ios.  6d. 
*  See  also  Anecdota  Oxon.,  Series  II,  III,  pp.  32,  33,  below. 
Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


Sacred  Books  of  the  East.  29 

The  Sacred  Books  of  the  East  {continued^ 

Vol.  X.     The  Dhammapada,  translated  from  Pali  by  F.  Max 

Muller;  and  The  Sutta-Nipata,  translated  from  Prdi  by  V.  Fausboll  ; 
being  Canonical  Books  of  the  Buddhists.     lo*.  del. 

Vol.  XI.     Buddhist  Suttas.     Translated  from  Pali  l)y  T.  W. 

Rhys  Davids.     105.  dd. 

Vol.  XII.  The  -iS'atapailia-Brahma^m,  according'  to  the  Text 
of  the  Madhj'andina  School.  Translated  by  Juuus  Eggeling.  Part  I. 
Books  I  and  II.     iis.dd. 

Vol.  XIII.  Vinaya  Texts.  Translated  from  the  Pali  by 
T.  W.  Rhys  Davids  and  Hermann  Oldenberg.     Pai-t  I.     \os.  6d. 

Vol.  XIV.     The  Sacred  Laws  of  the  Aryas,  as  taug'ht  in  the 

Schools  of  Apastamba,  Gautama,  Vasish^/ia  and  Baudhayana.  Translated 
by  Georg  BiJHLER.     Part  II.     Jos.  6d. 

Vol.  XV.    The  Upanishads.     Translated  by  F.  Max  Muller. 

Part  II.     105.  6d. 

Vol.  XVI.  The  Sacred  Books  of  China.  The  Texts  of 
Confucianism.     Translated  by  James  Legge.     Part  II.     10s.  6d. 

Vol.  XVII.  Vinaya  Texts.  Translated  from  the  Pali  by 
T.  W.  Rhys  Davids  and  Hermann  Oldenberg.    Part  II.     10*.  6d. 

Vol.  XVIII.     Pahlavi  Texts.     Translated  by  E.  W.  West. 

Part  II.     12*.  6d. 
Vol.  XIX.     The  Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king'.     A  Life  of  Buddha 

by  A«vaghosha  Bodhisattva,  translated  from  Sanskrit  into  Chinese  by 
Dharmaraksha,  a.D.  420,  and  from  Chinese  into  English  by  Samuel 
Beal.     10*.  6d. 

Vol.  XX.  Vinaya  Texts.  Translated  from  the  Pali  by  T.  W. 
Rhys  Davids  and  Hermann  Oldenberg.     Part  III.     lo.y.  6d. 

Vol.  XXI.  The  Saddharma-pii?7y/arika ;  or,  the  Lotus  of  the 
True  Law.     Translated  by  H.  Kehx.     12s.  6d. 

Vol.  XXII.  Caina-SiUras.  Translated  from  Prakrit  by 
Hermann  Jacobi.     Part  I.     105.  6d. 

Vol.  XXIII.  The  Zend-Avesta.  Part  II.  Translated  by  James 
Darmesteter.     10s.  Gd. 

Vol.  XXIV.     Pahlavi  Texts.     Translated  by  E.  W.  West. 

Part  III.     los.  6d. 

London  :  Henrv  Prowde.  Amen  Comer,  E.G. 


30  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 

THE  SACRED  BOOKS  OP  THE  EAST.    (Second  Series.) 

Vol.  XXV.     Manu.     Translated  by  Georg  Buhler.     21^. 

Vol.  XXVI.  The  /S'atapatlia-Brahma^ia.  Translated  by 
Julius  Eggeling.    Part  II.     12*.  60?. 

Vols.  XXVII  and  XXVIII.  The  Sacred  Books  of  Cliina. 
The  Texts  of  Confucianism.  Translated  by  James  Legge.  Pai-ts  III  and 
IV.     255. 

Vols.  XXIX  and  XXX.     The  GWhya-Sutras,  Rules  of  Vedic 

Domestic  Ceremonies.     Translated  by  Hermann  Oldenbekg. 
Part  I  (Vol.  XXIX).     12*.  6^. 
Part  II  (Vol.  XXX).     In  the  Press. 

Vol.  XXXI.  The  Zend-Avesta.  Part  III.  Translated  by 
L.  H.  Mills.     125.  6d. 

Vol.  XXXIII.  Narada,  and  some  Minor  Law-books. 
Translated  by  Julius  Jolly.      los.  6d. 

Vol.  XXXIV.  The  Vedanta-Siitras,  with  /Sankara's  Com- 
mentary.   Translated  by  G.  Thibaut.     i  2s.  6cl. 

The  following  Volumes  are  in  the  Press  : — 
Vol.    XXXII.      Vedic    Hymns.       Translated    by    F.    Max 

MiJLLER.     Part  I. 

Vol.  XXXV.     Milinda.     Translated  by  T.  W.  Rhys  Davids. 


ARABIC.  A  Practical  Arabic  Grammar.  Part  I.  Compiled 
by  A.  0.  Green,  Brigade  Major,  Royal  Engineers.  Second  Edition, 
Enlarged.     Crown  8vo.  7*.  Gd. 

CHINESE.     Catalogue  of  the    Chinese  Translation   of  the 

Buddhist  Tripifaka,  the  Sacred  Canon  of  the  Buddhists  in  China  and 
Japan.     Compiled  by  BuNTiu  Nanjio.     4to.  1 1.  1 2*.  6d. 

Handbook  of  the  Chinese  Lang-uao'e.     Parts  I  and  II. 

Grammar  and  Chrestomathy.     By  James  Summers.     8vo.  iZ.  Ss. 

CHINESE.  Record  of  Buddhistic  King-doms  ;  being-  an  Ac- 
count by  the  Chinese  Monk  Fa-hien  of  his  travels  in  India  and  Ceylon  (a.D. 
399-414")  in  search  of  the  Buddhist  Books  of  Discipline.  Translated  and 
annotated,  with  a  Corean  recension  of  the  Chinese  Text,  by  James  Legge, 
M.A.,  LL.D.    Crown  4to.,  boards,  los.  6d. 


Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


Oriental  Languages.  31 

CHALDEE.      Book    of  Tol)it.      A    Clialdce   Text,    from    a 

unique  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library ;  with  other  Raljbinical  Texts, 
English  Translations,  and  the  Itala.  Edited  by  Au.  Neubauer,  M.A. 
Crown  8vo.  6s. 

COPTIC.    Libi'i  Proplietarum  Majorum,  cum  Lamentatioiiil)us 

Jeremiae,  in  Dialecto  Linguae  Aegyptiacae  Memphitica  seu  Coptica. 
Edidit  cum  Versione  Latina  H.  Tattam,  S.T.P.  Ton^i  II.  1852.  Svo.  17.9. 

Liliri  duodecim  Proplietarum  Minorum  in  Lino;-.  Aeg-ypt. 

vulgo  Coptica.     Edidit  H.  Tattam,  A.M.     1836.     8vo.  Sx.  6cZ. 

Novum  Testamentum  Coptice,  eura  D.  Wilkins.     1716. 


4to.  I2S.  dd. 

HEBREW.     Psalms  in  Hebrew  (without  pointy).    Cr.  8vo.  2-s. 
Driver.     Notes  on   the  Hebrew   Text   of  the  Books  of 
Samuel.     By  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.     Svo.  14s.    Just  PvhlUlied. 

Treatise    on   the    use    of    the    Tenses  in   Hebrew. 

By  S.  E.  Driver,  D.D.     Second  EdUion.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  7s.  6(1. 

Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Proverbs.    Attributed 


to  Abraham  Ibn  Ezra.     Edited  from  a  Manuscript  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  by  S.  E.  Driver,  D.D.     Crown  Svo.  paper  covers,  3.?.  6d. 

Neubauer.     Book   of   Hebrew   Roots,  by  Abu  '1-Walid 

Marwan    ilin    .Tanah,    otherwise    called    Eabbi    Yonah.     Now   first 
edited,  with  an  Appendix,  by  Ad.  Neubauer.     4to.  2l.']s.6d. 

Spurrell.     Notes  on  the  Hebrew  Text  of  the  Book  of 

Genesis.     By  G.  J.  Spurrell,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.   lo*-.  6d. 

Wickes.     Hebrew  Accentuation  of  Psalms,  Proverbs,  and 

Job.     By  WiLTJAM  Wickes,  D.D.     Svo.  5*. 
• Heljrew  Prose  Accentuation.    Svo.    io.s.  M. 

SANSKRIT. — Sanskrit-English   Dictionary,  Etymologically 

and    Philologically   arranged,   with    special    reference  to  Greek,   Latin, 
German,    Anglo-Saxon,    English,    and    other    cognate    Indo-European 
Languages.     By  Sir  M.  Monier-Williams,  D.C.L.     4to.  4/.  14*.  6rf. 
Practical  Grammnr  of  the  Sanskrit  Lano-ua^-e,  arranijed 

with  reference  to  the  Classical  Languages  of  Europe,  by  Sir  M.  MoNlER- 
WiLLiAMS,  D.C.L.     Fourth  Edition.     Svo.  15s. 
Nalopukhyanam.    Storj^  of  Nala,  an  Episode  of  the  ISIaha- 

bh;irata  :  the  Sanskrit  Text,  with  a  copious  Vocabulary,  and  an  im- 
proved version  of  Dean  Milman's  Translation,  by  Sir  M.  Monier- 
WlT.LiAMS,  D.C.L.     Second  Edition,  Ifer/sed  and  Improved.     Svo.   15s. 

Sakuntala.     A  Sanskrit  Drama,  in  seven  Acts.     Edited 


by  Sir  M.  Monier- Williams,  D.C.L.     Second  Edition.     Svo.  il.  is. 
SYRIAC. — Thesaurus   Syriacus  :    colleg-erunt    Quatremere, 

Bernstein,  Lorsba<;h,  Arnoldi,  Agrell,  Field,  Eoediger :  edidit  E.  Payne 
Smith,  S.T.P.     Vol.  I.  containing  Ease.  I-V.     Sm.  fol.  5?.  5.9. 
Ease.  VI.  il.  IS.     Ease.  VII.  i^.  11 8.  6d.     Ease.  VIII.  il.  16s. 

London :  Henry  Frowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.C. 


32  /.  Literature  and  Philology. 

SYRIAC  {continued.) 

The  Book  of  Kalilah  and  Dimnah.     Translated   from 

Arabic  into  Hyriac.     Edited  by  W.  Weight,  LL.D.     8vo.   \l.  is. 

Cyrilli  Archiepiscopi  Alexandrini  Commentarii  in  Lucae 

Evangelium  quae  supersunt  Sjriace.     E  MSS.  apud  Mus.  Britan.  edidit 
R.  Payne  Smith,  A.M.    4to.  \l.  2s. 

Translated  by  R.  Payne  Smith,  M.A.    2  vols.   8vo.  14s. 


—  Ephraemi  Syri,  Rabulae  Episcopi  Edesseni,  Balaei,  etc., 

Opera  Selecta.     E  Codd.  Syriacis  mss.  in  Museo  Britannico  et  Bibliotheca 
Bodleiana  asservatis  primus  edidit  J.  J.  Overbeck.     8vo.  \l.  is. 

—  John,  Bishop  of  Ephesus.  The  Third  Part  of  his  Eccle- 
siastical History.  [In  Syriac]  Now  first  edited  by  William  Cuketon, 
M.A.     4to.  \l.  I2S. 

Translated  by  R.  Payne  Smith,  M.A.     8vo.  los. 


SECTION  VI. 

ANECDOTA    OXONIENSIA. 

(Crown  4to.,  stiff  covers.) 
I.     CLASSICAL     SERIES. 

I.  The  English  Manuscripts  of  the  Nicomachean  Ethics. 

By  J.  A.  Stewart,  M.A.     3s.  6d. 

II.  Nonius  Marcellus,  de  Compendiosa  Doctrina,  Harleian 

MS.  2719.     Collated  by  J.  H.  Onions,  M.A.     3s.  6d. 

III.  Aristotle's  Physics.     Book  VII.     With  Introduction  by 

E.  Shute,  M.A.     2s. 

IV.  Bentley's   Plautine    Emendations.     Erom    his    copy    of 

Gronovius.     By  E.  A.  Sonnenschein,  M.A.     2s.  6d. 

V.  Harleian  MS.  2610 ;   Ovid's  Metamorphoses  I,  II,  III. 

1-622  ;  XXIV  Latin  Epigrams  from  Bodleian  or  other  MSS. ;  Latin 
Glosses  on  Apollinaris  Sidonius  from  MS.  Digby  172.  Collated  and 
Edited  by  Eobinson  Ellis,  M.A.,  LL.D.     4*. 

II.     SEMITIC  SERIES. 

I.  Commentary    on     Ezra    and    Nehemiah.       By    Rabbi 

Saadiah.     Edited  by  H.  J.  Mathews,  M.A.     3*.  6d. 

II.  The  Book  of  the  Bee.     Edited  by  Eenest  A.  Wai,lis 

Budge,  M.A.     21s. 

III.  A  Commentary  on  tlie  Book  of  Daniel.     By  Japhet  Ibn 

Ali.     Edited  and  Translated  by  D.  S.  Maegoliouth,  M.A.     21s. 

IV.  Mediaeval  Jewish  Chronicles  and  Chronological  Notes. 

Edited  by  Ad.  Neubauee,  M.A.     14s. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


The  Holy  Scriphcres,  etc.  33 

ANECDOTA  OXONIENSIA  {continued). 

III.     ARYAN  SERIES. 

I.  Buddhist  Texts  from  Japan,     i.  Vaj7i'aM//edika.     Edited 

by  F.  Max  Muller.     3*.  (sd. 

II.  Buddhist   Texts    from    Japan.       2.    Sukhavati    Vyuha. 

Edited  by  F.  Max  Muller,  M.A.,  and  Bdntiu  Nanjio.     75.  dd. 

III.  Buddhist    Texts   from    Japan.     3.  The   Ancient  Palm- 

leaves  containing  the  Pra^^wa-Paramita-HHdaya-Stltra  and  the 
UshMisha-Vigaya-Dharawi,  edited  by  F.  Max  Muller,  M.A.,  and 
BuNYiu  Nanjio,  M.A.     With  an  Appendix  by  G.  Buhler.     10*. 

IV.  Katyayana's   Sarvanukrama^u   of   the    Seg-veda.      With 

Extracts  fi'om  Shadgurusishya's  Commentary  entitled  Vediirthadipika. 
Edited  by  A.  A.  Macdonell,  M.A.,  Ph.D.     165. 

V.  The  Dharma  Saw^g-raha.     Edited  by  Kenjiu  Kasawara, 

F.  Max  Muller,  and  H.  Wenzel.     75.  dd. 

IV.     MEDIAEVAL  AND  MODERN  SERIES. 

I.  Sinonoma  Bartholomei.     Edited    by  J.  L.   G.  Mowat, 

M.A.     IS.  6d. 

II.  Alphita.     Edited  by  J.  L.  G.  Mowat,  M.A.     i%s.  6(1. 

III.  The    Saltair   Na    Ranu.     Edited    from    a    MS.    in    the 

Bodleian  Library,  by  Whitley  Stokes,  D.C.L.     7s.  6d. 

IV.  The  Cath  Finntraga,  or  Battle  of  Ventry.     Edited  by 

KuNO  Meyer,  Ph.D.,  M.A.     6s. 

V.  Lives  of  Saints,  from  the  Book  of  Lismore.     Edited, 

with  Translation,  by  Whitley  Stokes,  D.C.L.  il.  lis.  6d.  Just 
Published. 


II.    THEOLOGY. 

A.     THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES,   ETC. 
COPTIC.    Libri  Prophetarum  Majorum,  cum  Lamentationibus 

Jeremiae,  in    Dialecto   Linguae  Aegyptiacae    Memphitica  seu  Coptica. 
Edidit  cum  Versione  Latina  H.  Tattam,  S.T.P.   Tomi  II.    1852.    8vo.  17s. 

Libri  duodecim  Prophetarum  Minorum  in  LinG;-.  Aeg-ypt. 

vulgo  Coptica.     Edidit  H.  Tattam,  A.M.     1836.     8vo.  8ii.  6d. 

Novum  Testamentum  Coptice,  cura  D.  Wilkins.    17 16. 


4to.  12*.  6d. 


London ;  Henry  Frowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.G. 


34  II-   Theology. 


ENGLISH.  The  Holy  Bible  in  the  Earliest  English  Versions, 

made  from  the  Latin  Vulgate  by  John  Wycliffe  and  Ms  followers  : 
edited  by  Forshall  and  Madden.     4  vols.     1850.     Eoyal  4to.  3?.  3s. 
Also  reprinted  from  the  above,  with  Introduction  and  Glossary 
by  W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.  D. 

I.  The  Books  of  Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Ecclesiastes,  and 

the  Song  of  Solomon.    Extra  fcap.  8vo.    3s.  6d. 

II.  The  New  Testament.    Extra  fcap.  Svo.  6s. 

The  Holy  Bible  :  an  exact  reprint,  page  for  page,  of  the 

Authorised  Version  published   in   the  year  1611.     Demy  4to.  half 
bound.     \l.  IS. 

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Long  Primer  8vo.,  is.  (yd. 

The  Oxford  Bible  for  Teachers,  containing-  supple- 
mentary. Helps  to  the  Study  op  the  Bible,  including  summaries  of  the 
several  Books,  with  copious  explanatory  notes  ;  and  Tables  illustrative  of 
Scripture  History  and  the  characteristics  of  Bible  Lands  with  a  complete 
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series  of  Maps.     Prices  in  various  sizes  and  bindings  from  3s.  to  2I.  5s. 

Helps  to    the    Study  of  the   Bible,  taken   from    the 

Oxford  Bible  for  Teachers.     Crown  Svo.,  3s.  6f?. 

The  Psalter,  or  Psalms  of  David,  and  certain  Canticles, 

with  a  Translation  and  Exposition  in  English,  by  Richard  Rolle  of  Ham- 
pole.  Edited  by  H.  R.  Bramley,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  S.  M.  Magdalen  College, 
Oxford.    With  an  Introduction  and  Glossary.     Demy  Svo.     iZ.  is. 

Studia    Biblica.     Essays   in  Biblical  Archseolog-y  and 

Criticism,  and  kindred  subjects.  By  Members  of  the  University  of  Oxford. 
Svo.     10s.  6d. 

Lectures  on  the  Book  of  Job.    Delivered  in  Westminster 

Abbey  by  the  Very  Rev.  G.  G.  Bradley,  D.D.    Crown  Svo.  7*.  6d. 

Lectures  on  Ecclesiastes.    Bythe  same  Author.  Cr.  Svo. 


4s.  6d. 

—  The  Book  of  Wisdom  :  the  Greek  Text,  the  Latin  Vul- 
gate, and  the  Authorised  English  Version  ;  with  an  Introduction,  Critical 
Apparatus,  and  a  Commentary.     By  W.  J.  Deane,  M.A.    4to.  12s.  6d. 

—  The  Five  Books  of  Maccabees,  in  English,  with  Notes 
and  Illustrations  by  Henry  Cotton,  D.C.L.     1S32.    Svo.  los.  6d. 

*  The  Hevised  Version  is  the  joint  property  of  the  Universities  of 
Oxford  and  Cambridge. 


Oxford ;  Clarendon  Press. 


The  Holy  Scriptures,  etc.  35 


ENGLISH  {continned). 

List  of  Editions  of  the  Bible  in  English.     By  Henry 


Cotton,  D.C.L.   Second  Edition.    1852.  8vo.   Ss.6d 
Rhemes  and  Doway.     An  attempt  to  shew  what  has 

been  done  by  lioman  Catholics  for  the  diffusion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in 
English.     By  Henry  Cotton,  D.C.L.     1855.     8vo.     9.9. 

GOTHIC.     Evangeliorum  Versio  Gothica,  cum  Interpr.  et 
Annott.  E.  Benzelii.     Edidit  E.  Lye,  A.M.     4to.     1 25.  6d. 

The  Gospel  of  St.  Mark  in  Gothic,  accordinq-  to  the 


translation    ujade    by   Wulfila    in    the    Fourth   Century.     Edited  by 
W.  W.  Skeat,  Litt.  i).     Extra  fcap.  8vo.    4s. 

GREEK.    Old  Testament.    Vetiis  Testa  mentum  ex  Versione 

Septuaginta  Interpretum  secundum  exemplar  Vaticanum  Eomae  editum. 
Accedit  potior  varietas  Codicis  Alexandrini.     Tomi  III.     i8mo.  iSs. 

Vetiis   Testamentnm    Graece    cum    Variis    Lectionibus. 

Editionem  a  E.  Holmes,  S.T.P.  inchoatam  continuavit  J.  Parsons,  H.T.B. 
Tomi  V.  179S-1827.    folio,  7^. 

Origenis    Hexaplorum  quae   supersunt ;    sive,  Vetevum 

Interpretum  Graecorum  in  totum  Vetus  Testamentum  Fragmenta.    Edidit 
Fribeeicus  Field,  A.M.     2  vols.     1875.    4to.   5Z.  5s. 

Essays  in  Biblical  Greek.    By  Edwin  Hatch,  M.A.,  D.D. 

8vo.  lo.s.  6(J. 

New  Testament.     Novum  Testamentum  Graece.    Anti- 

quissimorum    Codicum    Textus    in    ordine    parallelo    dispositi.      Edidit 
E.  H.  Hansell,  8.T.B.     Tomi  III.    8vo.  24s. 

Novum     Testamentum     Graece.      Accedunt     parallela 

S.  Scripturae  loca,  etc.     Edidit  Carolus   Lloyd,  S.T.P. R.     iSmo.    y. 
On  writing  paper,  with  wide  margin,  io.<.  6(7. 

Critical  Appendices  to  the  above,  by  W.  Sanday,  M.A. 

Extra  fcap.  Svo.  cloth,  3.S.  Gd. 

Novum  Testamentum  Graece  juxta  Exemplar  Millianum. 

i8mo.  2s.  6d.     On  writing  paper,  with  wide  margin,  9s. 

Evangclia  Sacra  Graece.     Fcap.  8vo.  limp,  is.  6d. 

The  Greek  Testament,  with  the  Readiugs  adopted  by 

the  Revisers  of  the  Authorised  Version  : — 

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(2)  Long  Primer  type.     Fcap.  8vo.    4*.  6d. 

(3)  The  same,  on  writing  paper,  with  wide  margin,  155. 


The  New  Testament  in  Greek  and  English.     Edited  by 


E.  Cabdwell,  D.D.     2  vols.     1837.     Crown  Svo.    6s. 

London ;  Henbv  Frowde,  Amen  Comer,  E.G. 
D  2 


2,6  II.   Theology. 


GREEK  {contimiecV), 

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being  the  Authorised  Version,  1611;   the  Eevisecl  Version,  1881  ;    and 
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Diatessaron  ;  sive  Historia  Jesu  Christi  ex  ipsis  Evan- 

gelistarum  verbis  apte  dispositis  confecta.     Ed.  J.  White.     3s.  ^d. 


Outlines    of    Textual    Criticism   applied    to    the    New 

Testament.     By  C.  E.  Hammond,  M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3s.  M. 

A  Greek  Testament  Primer.     An  Easy  Grammar  and 

Reading  Book  for  the  use  of  Students  beginning  Greek.  By  E.  Millee, 
M.A.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  3s.  dd. 

Canon  Muratorianus:  the  earliest  Catalog-ueof  the  Books 

of  the  New  Testament.  Edited  with  Notes  and  a  Facsimile  of  the 
MS.  in  the  Ambrosian  Library  at  Milan,  by  S.  P.  Tregelles,  LL.D. 
1S67.     4to.   10s.  dd. 

HEBREW,  etc.     Notes  on  the  Hebrew  Text  of  the  Book  of 

Genesis.     By  G.  J.  Spurrell,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.    los.  6r?. 

Notes  on  the  Hebrew  Text  of  the  Books  of  Samuel. 

By  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.     Svo.  14s. 

The  Psalms  in  Hebrew  without  points.     Stiff  covers,  2-?. 

A  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  Proverbs.     Attributed 

to  Abraham  Ibn  Ezra.  Edited  from  a  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library 
by  S.  R.  Driver,  D.D.     Crown  Svo.  paper  covers,  3.5.  6fZ. 

The  Book  of  Tobit.    A  Chaldee  Text,  from  a  unique  MS. 

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and  the  Itala.     Edited  by  Ad.  Neubauer,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.    6s. 

Hebrew   Accentuation   of  Psalms,   Proverbs,   and    Job. 

By  William  Wickes,  D.D.     Svo.  5s. 

Hebrew  Prose  Accentuation.    By  the  same.  Svo.  10^.  6(1. 

Horae  Hebraicae  et  Talmudicae,  a  J.  Ltghtfoot.     A  new 


Edition,  by  R.  Gandell,  M.A.    4  vols.     1859.    Svo.    il.\s. 

LATIN.      Libri  Psalmorum  Versio  antiqua  Latina,  cum  Para- 

phrasi  Anglo-Saxonica.     Edidit  B.  Thorpe,  F.A.S.    1835.     Svo.   lo.s.  dd. 
Nouum  Testamentum  Domini  Nostri  lesu  Christi  Latine, 

secundum  Editionem  Sancti  Hieronymi.  Ad  Codicum  Manuscriptorum 
fidem  recensuit  Iohannes  Wordsworth,  S.T.P.,  Episcopus  Sarisburiensis  ; 
in  operis  societatem  adsumto  Henrico  Iuliano  White,  A.M.  Partis 
Prioris  Fasciculus  Primus.  Eaangelium  Secundum  Matthemn.  Quarto, 
Paper  covers,  12s.  6d. 

—  Old-Latin  Biblical  Texts :  No.  I.  The  Gospel  ac- 
cording to  St.  Matthew,  from  the  St.  Germain  MS.  (gi).  Edited  with 
Introduction  and  Appendices  by  John  Wordsworth,  D.D.  Small  4to., 
stiff  covers,  6s. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


Fathers  of  the  Church,  etc.  37 


LATIN  {cont 

Old-Latin   Biblical    Texts :    No.   IT.     Portions  of  the 

Gospels  according  to  St.  Mark  and  St.  Matthew,  from  the  Bobbio  MS. 
(k),  &c.  Edited  by  John  Wordswouth,  D.D.,  W.  Sanday,  M.A.,  D.D., 
and  H.  J.  White,  M.A.     Small  4to.,  stiff  covers,  21*. 

Old-Latin  Biblical  Texts :  No.  III.     The  Four  Gospels, 

from  the  Munich  MS.  (q),  now  numbered  Lat.  6224  in  the  Royal 
Library  at  Munich.  With  a  Fragment  from  St.  John  in  the  Hof- 
Bibliothek  at  Vienna  (Cod.  Lat.  502).  Edited,  with  the  aid  of 
Tischendorf's  transcript  (under  the  direction  of  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury), 
by  H.  J.  White,  M.A.     Small  4to.  stiff  covers,  12s.  dd. 

OLD-FRENCH.     Libri  Psalmorum  Versio  antiqua  Gallica  e 

Cod.  ms.  in  Bibl.  Bodleiana  adservato,  una  cum  Versione  Metrica  aliis- 
que  Monumentis  pervetustis.  Nunc  primum  descripsit  et  edidit 
Franciscus  Michel,  Phil.  Doc.     1S60.     8vo.  los.  M. 

B.     FATHERS  OF   THE  CHURCH,   ETC. 

St.  Athanasius :  Orations  a^-ainst  the  Arians.  With  an 
Account  of  his  Life  by  William  Bkight,  D.D.     Crown  8vo.  gs. 

Historical    Writings,    according-    to    the    Benedictine 

Text.     With  an  Introduction  by  W.  Bright,  D.D.     Crown  8vo.  10s.  6d. 

St.  Augustine  :  Select  Anti-Pelagian  Treatises,  and  the  Acts 

of  the  Second  Council  of  Orange.  With  an  Introduction  by  William 
Bright,  D.D.     Crown  Svo.  9s. 

Barnabas,  The  Editio  Princeps  of  the  Epistle  of,  by  Arch- 
bishop Ussher,  as  printed  at  Oxford,  A.D.  1642,  and  preserved  in  an 
imperfect  form  in  the  Bodleian  Library.  With  a  Dissertation  on  the 
Literary  History  of  that  Edition,  by  J .  H.  Backhouse,  M.A.  Small  4to. 
3s.  6d. 

Canons  of  the  First  Four  General  Councils  of  Nicaea,  Con- 
stantinople, Ephesus,  and  Chalcedon.     Crown  Svo.  2s.  6<J. 

Notes   on   the   above.       By  William   Bright,   D.D. 

Crown  Svo.  5s.  6d. 

Catenae  Graecorum  Patrum  in  Novum  Testamentum. 
Edidit  J.  A.  Cramer,  S.T.P.     Tomi  VIII.     Svo.  2L  j[s. 

Clementis  Alexandrini  Opera,  ex  recensione  Guil.  Dindorfii. 
Tomi  IV.     Svo.  il. 

Cyrilli  Archiepiscopi  Alexandrini  in  XII  Prophetas.  Edidit 
P.  E.  PusEY,  A.M.     Tomi  II.     Svo.  2I.  2s. 

in  D.  Joannis  Evang-elium.     Accedunt  Frag-menta  Varia 

necnon  Tractatus  ad  Tiberium  Diaconum  Duo.  Edidit  post  Aubertum 
P.  E.  PusEY,  A.M.     Tomi  III.     Svo.  2I.  5*. 


London:  Henry  Fbowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.G. 


-1 


8  //.   Theology. 


Cyrilli  Commentarii  in    Lucae  Evang-elium  quae  supersunt 
Syriace.  E  MS3.  apud  Mus.  Britan.  edidit  E.  Payne  Smith,  A.M.  4to. 

I^.  25. 

Translated  by  R.  Payne  Smith,  M.A.    2  vols.  8vo. 


14*. 
Bowling  (J.  G.).    Notitia  Scriptorum  SS.  Patram  aliorumque 

vet.  Eccles.  Mon.  quae  in  Collectionibus  Anecdotorum  post  annum  Christi 
MDCC.  in  lucem  editis  continentur.     8vo.  4.9.  dd. 

Ephraemi  Syri,  Rabulae  Episcopi  Edesseni,  Balaei,  aliorumque 

Opera  Selecta.    E  Codd.  Syriacis  mss.  in  Museo  Britannico  et  Bibliotheca 
Bodleiana  asservatis  primus  edidit  J.  J.  OvERBECK.     8vo.   \l.  \s. 

Eusebii  Pamphili  Evangelicae  Praeparationis  Libri  XV.    Ad 
Codd.  mss.  recensuit  T.  Gaisfoed,  S.T.P.     Tomi  IV.     8vo.  \l.  105. 

Evang-elicae  Demonstrationis    Libri  X.      Recensuit    T. 

Gaisfokd,  S.T.P.     Tomi  II.     8vo.  15s. 

contra  Hieroclem   et  Marcellum  Libri.      Recensuit  T. 


Gaisfokd,  S.T.P.     8vo.  75. 

Eusebius'  Ecclesiastical  History,  according"  to  the  text  of 
Burton,  with  an  Introduction  by  W.  Bright,  D.D.     Crown  8vo.    8*.  dd. 

Annotationes  Variorum.     Tomi  11.     8vo.   \']8. 

Evagrii    Historia    Ecclesiastica,    ex    recensione    H.    Valesii. 

1S44.     8vo.  4*. 

Irenaeus :  The  Third  Book  of  St.  Irenaeus^  Bishop  of  Lyons, 
against  Heresies.  With  short  Notes  and  a  Glossary  by  H.  Deane,  B.D. 
Crown  8vo.  5s.  dd. 

Origenis  Philosophumena  ;  sive  omnium  Haeresium  Refutatio. 

E  Codice  Parisino  nunc  primum  edidit  Emmanuel  Millek.    1851.    Svo. 

105. 

Patrum  Apostolicorum,    S.   dementis    Romani,  S.   Ignatii, 

S.  Polycarpi,  quae  supersunt.     Edidit  GuiL.  Jacobson,  S.T.P. E..     Tomi 
11.     Fourth  Edition.     8vo.  il.  is. 

Reliquiae  Saerae  secundi  tertiique  saeculi.     Recensuit  M.  J. 

RouTH,  S.T.P.     Tomi  V.     Second  Edition.     Svo.   il.  5*. 

Scriptorum  Ecclesiasticorum   Opuseula.     Recensuit  M.  J. 

RouTH,  S.T.P.     Tomi  II.     Third  Edition.     Svo.   los. 

Soeratis  Scholastici  Historia  Ecclesiastica.  Gr.  et  Lat.  Edidit 
R.  HussEY,  S.T.B.     Tomi  III.     1853.     Svo.  15s. 

Socrates'    Ecclesiastical    History,    according  to  the   Text   of 

Hussey,  with  an  Introduction  by  William  Bright,  D.D.     Crown  Svo. 
p.  6d. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


Ecclesiastical  History,  etc.  39 

Sozomeni  Historia  Ecclesiastica.     Edidit  R.  Hussey,  S.T.B. 

Tomi  III.     i860.     8vo.  15s. 

TertuUiani  Apologeticus  adversus  Gentes  pro  Christianis. 
Edited,  with  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  T.  Herbert  Bindley,  M.A. 
Crown  8vo.  6.?. 

Theodoreti  Ecclesiasticae  Historiae  Libri  V.  Recensuit 
T.  Gaisford,  S.T.P.     1854.     8vo.  7s.  dd. 

Graecavum  AfFectionnm  Curatio.  Ad  Codices  mss.  re- 
censuit T.  Gaisford,  S.T.P.    1839.    8vo.  7s.  dd. 

C.     ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY,   ETC. 

Baedae  Historia  Ecclesiastica.     Edited,  with  English  Notes, 

by  G.  H.  MoBERLY,  M.A.     Crown  8vo.  io.s.  6c?. 
Bigg.     The  Christian    Platonists  of  Alexandria ;    being-  the 

Bampton  Lectures  for  1886.     By  Charles  Bigg,  D.D.     8vo.  ios.  6d. 

Bingham's  Antiquities  of  the   Christian  Church,  and  other 

Works.      10  vols.    8vo.    3Z.  3s. 

Bright.     Chapters    of  Early  English   Church   History.     By 

W.  Bright,  D.D.     Second  Edition.     8vo.  1 2*. 
Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Church  of  England. 

A  new  Edition.  Carefully  revised,  and  the  Records  collated  with  the 
originals,  by  N.  PococK,  M.A.     7  vols.    8vo.  il.  los. 

Cardwell's  Documentary  Annals  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 

En-'-land  ;  being  a  Collection  of  Injunctions,  Declarations,  Orders,  Articles 
of  Iiiquiry,  &c.  from  1546  to  1716.     2  vols.     8vo.   x8s. 

Councils  and  Ecclesiastical  Documents  relating   to    Great 

Britain  and  Ireland.  Edited,  after  Spelman  and  Wii.KlNS,  by  A.  W. 
Haddan,  B.D.,  and  W.  Stubbs,  D.D.  Vols.  I  and  III.  Medium 
Svo.  each  il.  is. 

Vol.  II,  Part  I.     Medium  8vo.  los.  6d. 

Vol.  II,  Part  II.  Church  of  Ireland;  Memorials  of  St.  Patrick. 
Stiff  covers,  3s.  6d. 

Formularies  of  Faith  set  forth  by  the  King's  authority  during 

the  Keign  of  Henry  VIII.     Svo.   7*. 

Fuller's  Church  History  of  Britain.    Edited  by  J.  S.  Brewek, 

M.A.     6  vols.     Svo.  il.  igs. 
Gibson's  Synodus  Anglicana.     Edited  by  E.  Cardwell,  D.D. 

8vo.  6*. 
Hamilton's  (Archbishop  John)  Catechism,  1552.    Edited,  with 
Introduction  and  Glossary,  by  Thomas  Graves  Law,  Librarian  of  the 
Signet  Library,  Edinburgh.     With  a  Preface  by  the  Right  Hon.  W.  E. 
Gladstone.    Demy  Svo.  12s.  6d. 

Lunduu  ;  Henry  Fuowue,  Amen  Corner,  E.G. 


40  //.   Theology. 


Hussey.  E,ise  of  the  Papal  Power,  traced  in  three  Lectures. 
By  Egbert  Hussey,  B.D.     Second  JEdition.    Fcap.  8vo.  4*.  6d. 

Inett's  Origines  Ang-licanae  (in  continuation  of  Stillingfleet). 
Edited  by  J.  Griffiths,  M.A.     3  vols.  Svo.  15s. 

John,  Bishop  of  Ephesus,  The  Third  Part  of  his  Ecclesias- 
tical History.  [In  Syriac]  Now  first  edited  by  William  Cubeton, 
M.A.     4to.  il.  lis. 

The  same,  translated  by  R.  Payne  Smith,  M.A.    Svo.  10*. 

Le  Neve's  Fasti  Ecclesiae  Anglicanae.  Corrected  and  con- 
tinued fi-om  1715  to  iS53byT.  Duffus  Hardy.    3  vols.  Svo.  iZ.  i*. 

Woelli  (A.)  Catechismus  sive  prima  institutio  disciplinaque 

Pietatis  Christianas  Latine  explicata.  Editio  nova  cura  Gdil.  Jacobson, 
A.M.     Svo.  5*.  6d. 

Prideaux's  Connection  of  Sacred  and  Profane  History.  2  vols. 
Svo.  \os. 

Primers  put  forth  in  the  Reign  of  Henry  VIII.     Svo.  55. 
Records    of   the    Reformation.      The    Divorce,    1527-1533. 

Mostly  now  for  the  first  time  printed  from  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum 
and  other  Libraries.  Collected  and  arranged  by  N.  PocoCK,  M.A.  1  vols. 
Svo.   il.  165. 

Reformatio    Legum  Ecclesiasticarum.     The  Reformation  of 

Ecclesiastical  Laws,  as  attempted  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIII,  Edward 
VI,  and  Elizabeth.     Edited  by  E.  Cabdwell,  D.D.     Svo.  6s.  6d. 

Shirley.  Some  Account  of  the  Church  in  the  Apostolic  Age. 
By  W.  W.  Shirley,  D.D.     Second  Edition.     Fcap.  Svo.  3.?.  Gd. 

Shuckford's  Sacred  and  Profane  History  connected  (in  con- 
tinuation of  Prideaux).     2  vols.  Svo.  10s. 

Stillingfleet's  Origines  Britannieae,  with  Lloyd's  Historical 
Account  of  Church  Government.  Edited  by  T.  P.  Pantin,  M.A.  2  vols. 
Svo.  10s. 

Stubbs.     Registrum  Sacrum   Anglicanum.     An  attempt   to 

exhibit  the  course  of  Episcopal  Succession  in  England.  By  W.  Stubbs, 
D.D.     Small  4to.  8s.  6d. 

Strype's  Memorials  of  Cranmer.     3  vols.    Svo.   ii*. 
Life  of  Aylmer.     Svo.    5s.  6d. 
Life  of  Whitgift.     3  vols.     8vo.    i6s.  6d. 
General  Index.     2  vols.     Svo.    iis. 

Sylloge  Confessionum  sub  tempus  Reformandae  Ecclesiae  edi- 

tarum.  Subjiciuntur  Catechismus  Heidelbergensis  et  Canones  Synodi 
Dordrechtanae.     Svo.  8s. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


English  Theology.  41 


D.    LITURGIOLOGY. 
Cardwell's    Two    Books   of  Common    Prayer,    set   forth   by 

authority  in  the  Eeign  of  King  Edward  VI,  compared  with  each  other. 
Third  Edition.    8vo.  7s. 

History  of  Conferences  on  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 

from  1 55 1  to  1690.     Third  Edition.     8vo.  7*.  6d. 

Hammond.     Liturgies,  Eastern  and  Western.     Edited,  with 

Introduction,  Notes,  and  a  Liturgical  Glossary,  by  C.  E.  Hammoxd,  M.A. 
Crown  8vo.  105.  6d. 

An  Appendix  to  the  above,  crown  Svo.  paper  covers,  is.  6d. 

Leofric  Missal,  The,  as  used  in  the  Cathedral  of  Exeter  during- 

the  Episcopate  of  its  first  Bishop,  A.D.  1050-1072  ;  together  with  some 
Account  of  the  Red  Book  of  Derby,  the  Missal  of  Robert  of  Jumifeges, 
and  a  few  other  early  MS.  Service  Books  of  the  English  Church. 
Edited,  with  Introduction  and  Notes,  by  F.  E.  Warren,  B.D.,  F  S.A. 
4to.  half  morocco,  il.  15s. 

Maskell.   Ancient  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,  according 

to  the  uses  of  Sarum,  York,  Hereford,  and  Bangor,  and  the  Roman  Liturgy 
arranged  in  parallel  columns,  with  preface  and  notes.  By  W.  Maskell, 
M.A.     Third  Edition.     Svo.  15s. 

Monumenta  Kitualia  Ecclesiae  Anglicanae.  The  occa- 
sional Offices  of  the  Church  of  England  according  to  the  old  use  of 
Salisbury,  the  Prymer  in  English,  and  other  prayers  and  forms,  with 
dissertations  and  notes.     Second  Edition.     3  vols.  Svo.  2I.  10s. 

Warren.  The  Liturgy  and  Ritual  of  the  Celtic  Church.  By 
F.  E.  Warren,  B.D.     Svo.  14s. 


E.    ENGLISH   THEOLOGY. 
Beveridge's  Discourse  upon  the  xxxix  Articles.    8vo.  8s. 
Biscoe's  Boyle  Lectures  on  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  8  vo.  9*.  6d. 
Bradley.      Lectures    on    the    Book    of   Job.      By    George 

Granville  Beadley,  D.D.,  Dean  of  Westminster.     Crown  Svo.  7s.  6d. 

Bradley.    Lectures  on  Ecclesiastes.    By  G.  G.  Bradley,  D.D., 

Dean  of  Westminster.    Crown  Svo.  4;!.  6d. 

BuU's  Works,  with  Nelson's  Life.     Edited  by  E.  Burton, 

D.D.     8  vols.  Svo.   2I.  95. 


Luudun:  Henry  Fkowde,  Amen  Corner,  B.C. 


4  2  //.   Theology. 


Burnet's  Exposition  of  the  xxxix  Articles.     8vo.  75. 
Burton's  (Edward)  Testimonies  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers 

to  the  Divinity  of  Christ.    1829.  8vo.  7*. 

Testimonies  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  to  the  Doctrine 

of  the  Trinity  and  of  the  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost.    1831.    8vo.  3s.  6c?. 

Butler's  Works.     2  vols.  8vo.  lis, 

Sermons.    55.  6(1.     Analog-y  of  Relig-iou.    5^.  del. 

Chandler's  Critical  History  of  the  Life  of  David.    8vo.  8^.  6(1. 

Chillingworth's  Works.     3  vols.  8vo.    il.  is.  6d. 

Clergyman's  Instructor.     Sixth  Edition.  8vo.    6s.  6d. 

Comber's  Companion  to  the  Temple ;  or  a  Help  to  Devotion 
in  the  use  of  the  Common  Prayer.     7  vols.  Svo.    il.  lis.  6d. 

Cranmer's  Works.     Collected  and  arrang-ed  by  H.  Jenkyns, 

M.A.,  Fellow  of  Oriel  College.    4  vols.  Svo,  il.  10s. 

Enchiridion  Theologieum  Anti-Romanum. 

Vol.  I.     Jeremy  Taylor's  Dissuasive  from  Popery,  and  Treatise  on 
the  Real  Presence.     Svo.  8s. 

Vol.  II.     Barrow  on  the  Supremacy  of  the  Pope,  with  his  Discourse 
on  the  Unity  of  the  Church.     Svo.  7s.  6d. 

Vol.  III.  Tracts  selected  from  Wake, Patrick,  Stillingfleet,Clagett, 
and  others.     Svo.  lis. 

[Fell's]  Paraphrase,  etc,  on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.    Svo.  ys. 
Greswell's  Harmonia  Evangelica.    Fift/i  Edition.    Svo.  9<y.  6d. 

Prolegomena  ad  Harmoniam  Evang-elicam.    Svo.   9.5.  6d. 

Dissertations  on  the  Principles  and  Arrangement  of  a 


Harmony  of  the  Gospels.     5  vols.  Svo.  3Z.  3s. 

Hall's  Works.  Edited  by  P.  Wyntek,  D.D.  i  o  vols.  Svo.  3/.  3.?. 
Hammond's  Paraphrase  on  the  Book  of  Psalms.  2  vols.  Svo.  los. 
Paraphrase  etc.  on  the  New  Testament.     4  vols.  Svo.  il. 

Heurtley.     Harmonia    Symbolica :    Creeds   of  the  Western 

Church.     By  C.  Heurtley,  D.D.     Svo.  6s.  6d. 

Homilies  appointed  to  be  read  in  Churches.     Edited  by  J. 
Griffiths,  M.A.     Svo.   7s.  6d. 

Oxford :  Clarendpn  Press. 


English  Theology.  43 

HOOKER'S  WORKS,  with  bis  Life  by  Walton,  avrano^ed  by 
John  Keble,  M.A.  Seventh  Edition.  Revised  by  R.  W.  Church,  M.A., 
Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  and  F.  Paget,  D.D.  3  vols,  medium  8vo.    il.  i6*-. 

the  Text  as  arranged  by  J.  Keble,  M.A.  2  vols.  8vo.  11*. 

Hooper's  Works.     2  vols.  8vo.  8*. 

Jackson's  (Dr.  Thomas)  Works.     12  vols.  8vo.  3/.  6s. 

Jewel's  Works.  Edited  by  R.W.Jelf,D.D.  8  vols.  8vo.iA  10*. 

Martineau.     A  Study  of  Relig-ion  :  its  Sources  and  Contents. 
By  James  Martineau,  D.D.    ISecond  Edition.    2  vols,    crown  8vo.  15*. 

Patrick's  Theological  Works.     9  vols.  8vo.   il.  is. 

Pearson's  Exposition  of  the  Creed.  Revised  and  corrected  by 
E.  Burton,  D.D.     Si.cth  Edition.     8vo.  los.  6d. 

Minor  Theological  Works.     Edited  with  a  Memoir,  by 

Edward  Chorton,  M.A.     2  vols.  Svo.    los. 

Sanderson's  Works.     Edited  by  W.  Jacobson,  D.D.     6  vols. 

Svo.    il.  los. 

Stanhope's  Paraphrase  and  Comment  upon  the  Epistles  and 
Gospels.     A  new  Edition.     2  vols.  Svo.  10s. 

Stillingfleet's  Origines  Sacrae.     2  vols.  8vo.   9.?. 

Rational  Account  of  the  Grounds  of  Protestant  Religion  ; 

being  a  vindication  of  Archbishop  Laud's  Relation  of  a  Conference,  &c. 
2  vols.  Svo.  10*. 

Wall's  History  of  Infant  Baptism.  A  Ne^v  Edition.,  by 
Henry  Cotton,  D.C.L.     2  vols.  Svo.    il.  is. 

Waterland's  Works,  with  Life,  by  Bp.  Van  Mildekt.     A 

«ew  iVZ/^iow,  with  copious  Indexes.     6  vols.  Svo.   2I.  lis. 

Review  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Eucharist,  with  a  Preface 

by  the  late  Bishop  of  London.     Crown  Svo.  6*.  6d. 

Wheatly's  Illustration  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  8vo.  5*. 

Wyclif.  A  Catalogue  of  the  Original  Works  of  John  Wyclif. 
By  W.  W.  Shirley,  D.D.     Svo.  is.  6d. 

Select  English  Works.     By  T.  Arnold,  M.A.    3  vols. 

Svo.  il.  IS. 
Trialogus.     With  the  Supplement  now  first  edited.    By 


.  Gotthard  Lechler.     Svo.  "js. 


Luudun :  Hexry  Fbowde,  Aiuen  Comer,  E.C. 


44  III'  Political  Science. 


III.    POLITICAL  SCIENCE. 

A.     HISTORY,    BIOGRAPHY,    CHRONOLOGY,    ETC. 

Baker's  Chronicle.     Chronicon  Galfridi  le  Baker  de  Swyne- 

broke.  Edited  with  Notes  by  Edward  Maunde  Thompson,  Hou.  LL.D. 
St.  Andrews;  Hon.  D.C.L.  Durham  ;  F.S.A. ;  Principal  Librarian  of  the 
British  Museum.     Small  4to.,  stiff  covers,  i86".,  cloth,  gilt  top,  2  is. 

Bluntsehli.     The  Theory  of  the  State.    By  J.  K.  Bluntschli. 

Translated  from  the  Sixth  German  Edition.     8vo.  half  bound,   12s.  6^?. 

Boswell'sLifeof  SamuelJohnson,  LL.D.;  including"  Boswell's 

Journal  of  a  Tour  to  the  Hebrides,  and  Johnson's  Diary  of  a  Journey 
into  North  Wales.  Edited  by  G.  Birkbeck  Hill,  D.C.L.  In  six  volumes, 
medium  8vo.     With  Portraits  and  Facsimiles.     Half  bound,  3L  3^. 

Burnet's  History  of  His  Own  Time,  with  the  suppressed  Pas- 
sages and  Notes.     6  vols.     Svo.  2I.  io.s. 

History    of   James    II,    with    Additional    Notes.     Svo. 

9s.  6d. 
Life  of  Sir  M.  Hale,  and  Fell's  Life  of  Dr.  Hammond. 


Small  Svo.   2s.  6d. 

Calendar  of  the  Clarendon  State  Papers,  preserved  in  the 

Bodleian  Library.     In  three  volumes.     1869-76. 
Vol.  I.  From  1523  to  January  1649.      ^'^O-  ^'^^• 
Vol.  II.  From  1649  to  1654.     Svo.  i6s. 
Vol.  III.  From  1655  to  1657.     8vo    14s. 

Calendar  of  Charters  and  Rolls  preserved  in  the  Bodleian 
Library.     8vo.   il.  iis.  6d. 

Carte's  Life  of  James  Duke  of  Ormond.    A  new  Edition,  care- 
fully compared  with  the  original  MSS.     6  vols.     Svo.   il.  5s. 

Casauboni  Ephemei'ides,  cum  praefatione  et  notis  J.  Russell, 

S.T.P.     Tomi  II.     Svo.  15s. 
CLARENDON'S  History  of  the  Rehellion  and  Civil  Wars  in 

England.  Re-edited  from  a  fresh  collation  of  the  original  MS.  in  the 
Bodleian  Library,  with  marginal  dates  and  occasional  notes,  by  W.  Dunn 
Macray,  M.A.,  F.S.A.     6  vols.    Crown  Svo.  2I.  5s. 

History  of  the  Rebellion  and  Civil  Wai-s  in  Eng-land. 

To  which  are  subjoined  the  Notes  of  Bishop  Warburton.  1S49.  7  vols. 
medium  Svo.   2I.  los. 

History  of  the  Rebellion  and  Civil  W^irs  in  Eng-land. 

Also  his  Life,  written  by  himself,  in  which  is  included  a  Continuation 
of  his  History  of  the  Grand  Eebellion.     Royal  Svo.     iI.  2s. 

Oxford  :  Clarendon  Press. 


History,  Biography,  Chronology,  etc.  45 

Clarendon's  Life,  including-  a  Continuation  of  his   History. 

2  vols.    1857.     medium  8vo.  iZ.  2». 

Clinton's  Fasti  Hellenici.    The  Civil  and  Literary  Chronoloqy 

of  Greece,  from  the  LVIth  to  the  CXXIIIrd  Olympiad.    Third  Edition. 
4to.  il.  14s.  6d. 

Clinton's  Fasti  Hellenici.  The  Civil  and  Literary  Chronology 
of  Greece,  from  the  CXXIVth  Olympiad  to  the  Death  of  Augustus. 
Second  Edition.     4to.  il.  12s. 

Epitome  of  the  Fasti  Hellenici.    8vo.  6s.  6(1. 

Fasti  Romani.     The  Civil  and  Literary  Chronology  of 

Rome  and  Constantinople,  from  the  Death  of  Augustus  to  the  Death  of 
Heraclius.     2  vols.     4to.  2I.  2». 

Epitome  of  the  Fasti  Romani.    8vo.  75. 


Cramer's    Geographical  and    Historical  Description   of  Asia 

Minoi".     2  vols.    Svo.   lis. 

Description  of  Ancient  Greece.     3  vols.    8vo.   \6s.-6il. 

Earle.  Handbook  to  the  Land-Charters,  and  other  Saxonic 
Documents.  By  John  Earle,  M.A.,  Professor  of  Anglo-Saxon  in  the 
University  of  Oxford.     Crown  Svo.     i6.y. 

Finlay.  A  History  of  Greece  from  its  Conquest  by  the 
Eomans  to  the  present  time,  B.C.  146  to  A.D.  1864.  By  George  Fixlay, 
LL.D.  A  new  Edition,  revised  throughout,  and  in  part  re-written,  with 
considerable  additions,  by  the  Author,  and  edited  by  H.  E.  Tozer,  M.A. 
7  vols.  Svo.  3Z.  I  OS. 

Fortescue.     The  Governance  of  England  :    otherwise  called 

The  Dirterence  between  an  Absolute  and  a  Limited  Monarchy.  By  Sir 
John  Eortescue,  Kt.  A  Eevised  Text.  Edited,  with  Introduction, 
Notes,  etc.,  by  Charles  Plommer,  M.A.     Svo.  half  bound,  12s.  dd. 

Freeman.  History  of  the  Norman  Conquest  of  England ;  its 
Causes  and  Results.  By  E.  A.  Eueeman,  D.C.L.  In  Six  Volumes.  Svo. 
5^.  95.  ()d. 

The  Reign  of  William  Rufus  and  the  Accession  of  Henry 

the  First.     2  vols.    Svo.    il.  16*. 

A  Short  History  of  the  Norman  Conquest  of  England. 


Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.   2s.  6d. 
Gardiner.      The  Constitutional    Documents  of  the   Puritan 

Revolution.  1628-1660.  Selected  and  Edited  by  Saml'EL  Rawson 
Gakuiner,  M.A.     Crown  Svo.  95. 

Gaseoigne's  Theological   Dictionary  (•'  Liber  Veritatuni  ")  : 

Selected  Passages,  illustrating  the  Condition  of  Church  and  State,  1403- 
1458.  With  an  Introduction  by  James  E.  Thorolu  Eogeks,  M.A. 
Small  4to.    105.  6(1. 


London  ;  Henry  Frowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.G. 


46  ///.  Political  Science. 

George.  Genealog-ical  Tables  illustrative  of  Modern  History. 
By  H.  B.  Geoege,  M.A.    Third  Edition.     Small  4to.  12s. 

Greenwell.    British  Barrows,  a  Record  of  the  Examination  of 

Sepulchral  Mounds  in  various  parts  of  England.  By  W.  Greenwell, 
M.A.,  F.S.A.  Together  with  Description  of  Figures  of  Skulls,  General 
Remarks  on  Prehistoric  Crania,  and  an  A.ppendix  by  George  Rolleston, 
M.D.,  F.R.S.     Medium  8vo.     25s. 

Greswell's  Fasti  Temporis  Catholici.     4  vols.  8vo.  2I.  \os. 

Tables  to  Fasti,  4to.,  and  Introduction  to  Tables,  8vo.  i^s. 

Origines  Kalendariae  Italicse.     4  vols.  8vo.  %l.  2s. 

Origines  Kalendariae  Hellenicae,    6  vols.   8vo.  4I.  4s. 

Gross.  The  Gild  Merchant :  a  Contribution  to  English 
Municipal  History.  By  Charles  Gross,  Ph.D.    2  vols.  8vo.  Nearly  ready. 

Hodgkin.  Italy  and  her  Invaders.  With  Plates  and  Maps. 
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50  IV.  Philosophy,  Logic,  etc. 

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Medium  8vo.  21s. 

IV.  Essays  npon  Heredity  and  kindred  Biological  Pro- 
blems. By  Dr.  August  Weismann,  Professor  in  the  University  of 
Freiburg  in  Breisgau.  Authorised  Translation.  Edited  by  Edward 
B.  PouLTON,  M.A.,  F.L.S.,  F.G.S.,  Selmar  Schonland,  Ph.D., 
and  Arthur  E.  Shipley,  M.A.,  F.L.S.     Medium  8vo.  idi. 

BOTANICAL  SERIES. 

History  of  Botany  (1530-1860).     By  Julius  von  Sachs. 

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Comparative  Anatomy  of  the  Vegetative  Organs  of  the 

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F.R.S.     In  the  Press. 

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Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


V.  Physical  Science  and  Maikematics.         53 

Chambers.  A  Handbook  of  Descriptive  Astronomy.  By 
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Vol.  I.     The  Sun,  Planets,  and  Comets.     8vo.  21s. 

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Donkin.    Acoustics.    By  W.  F.  Donkin,  M.A.,  F.R.S.    Second 

Edition.     Crown  8vo.  7*.  6(7. 
Etheridge.     Fossils  of  the  British  Islands,  Stratigraphically 

and   Zoologically  arranged.     Part   I.  Palaeozoic.     By  11.  Etheridge, 

F.E.SS.  L.  &  E.,  F.G.S.     4to.  1/.  los. 

EUCLID    REVISED.      Containino-    the   Essentials   of   the 

Elements  of  Plane  Geometry  as  given  by  Euclid  in  his  first  Six  Books. 
Edited  by  R.  C.  J.  Nixon,  M.A.     Second  Edition.     Crown  8vo.  6s. 
Sold  separately  as  follows  : — 

Book  I.   15.  Books  I,  II.   IS.  6d. 

Books  I-IV.  3s.  Books  V,  AT  3s. 

Euclid.  Geometry  in  Space.  Containing  parts  of  Euclid's 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Books.     By  the  same  Editor.     Crown  8vo.  3.9.  6d. 

Fisher.  Class-Book  of  Chemistry.  By  W.  W.  Fishee,  M.A., 
F.C.S.     Crown  8vo.  4.S.  6d. 

Galton.  The  Construction  of  Healthy  Duellings.  By 
Sir  Douglas  Galton,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.    8vo.  105.  6d. 

Hamilton    and    Ball.      Book-keeping.      New    and    enlarged 

Edition.     By  Sir  R.  G.  C.  Hamilton,  and  John  Ball.     Extra  fcap.  8vo. 
limp  cloth,  2,s. 
Bided  E.ieicise  hools  adapted  to  the  above  may  he  had,  price  is.  6d. 

Harcourt  and  Madan.  Exercises  in  Practical  Chemistry. 
Vol.  I.  Elementary  Exercises.  By  A.  G.  Vernon  Harcourt,  M.A.,  and 
H.  G.  Madan,  M.A.     Fourth  Edition.     Crown  8vo.  10*.  6d. 

Madan.     Tables  of  Qualitative  Analysis.     By  H.  G. 
Madan,  M.A.     Large  4to.,  paper  covers,  4s:  6d. 

Hensley.     Figures  made   Easy.     A    first   Arithmetic  Book. 

By  Lewis  Hensley,  M.A.     Crown  8vo.  6d. 
Answers  to  the  Examples  in  Figures  made  Easy,  together 

with  two  thousand  additional  Examples,  with  Answers,     Crown  8vo.   is. 
London  :  Heney  Frowde,  iVmcn  Corner,  E.G. 


54  ^.  Physical  Science  and  Mathematics. 

Hensley.     The  Scholar's  Arithmetic.     Crown  8vo.  2*.  6r/. 

Answers  to  Examples  in  Scholar's  Arithmetic,     i^.  6d. 

The  Scholar's  Alg-ebra.     Crown  8vo.  is.  6d. 

Hughes.    Geography  for  Schools.    By  Alfred  Hughes,  M.A., 

late   Scholar   of    Corpus   Christi    College,    Oxford.      Part   I.      Practical 
Geography.     With  Diagrams.     Crown  8vo.   2s.  6(1. 

Maclaren.  A  System  of  Physical  Education :  Theoretical 
and  Practical.     By  Archibald  Maclaeen.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  7*.  6d. 

Maxwell.  A  Treatise  on  Electricity  and  Mag-netism.  By 
J.  Clerk  Maxwell,  M.A.     Second  Edition.     2  vols.     8vo.   il.  lis.  6d. 

An   Elementary   Treatise   on    Electricity.      Edited    by 

William  Garnett,  M.A.    8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Minehin.    A  Treatise  on  Statics  with  Applications  to  Physics. 

By  G.  M.  MiNCHiN,  M.A.     Third  Edition.     Vol.  I.     Equilibrium  of  Co- 
planar  Forces.     8vo.  95.  Vol.  II.     Statics.     8vo.   16s. 

UniplanarKinematicsof  Solids  and  Fluids.  CrownSvo.  'js.6d. 

Miiller.  On  certain  Variations  in  the  Vocal  Org-ans  of  the 
Paaseres.  By  J.  Muller.  Translated  by  F.  J.  Bell,  B.A.,  and  edited 
by  A.  H.  Garrod,  M.A.,  F.R.S.     With  Plates,     ^to.  7*.  6(7. 

Nixon.     See  Euclid  Revised. 

Phillips.     Geolog-y  of  Oxford  and  the  Valley  of  the  Thames. 

By  John  Phillips,  M.A. ,  F.R.S.     8vo.  215. 
Vesuvius.     Crown  8vo.   10^.  6d. 

Prestwieh.  Geolog-y,  Chemical,  Physical,  and  Stratig'raphical. 
By  Joseph  Prestwich,  M.A.,  F.R.S.     In  two  Volumes. 

Vol.  I.     Chemical  aud  Physical.     Eoycil  8vo.     il.  5s. 
Vol.  II.     Stratigraphical  and  Physical.     With  a  new  Geo- 
logical Map  of  Europe.     Royal  8vo.   il.  i6s. 
New  Geological  Map  of  Europe.     In  case  or  on  roller.     55. 

Price.  Treatise  on  Infinitesimal  Calculus.  By  Bartholomew 
Price,  M.A.,  F.R.S. 

Vol.1.     Differential  Calculus.     Second  Edition.     8vo.  14s.  6(7. 

Vol.  II.     Integral  Calculus,  Calculus  of  Variations,   and  Ditferential 

Equations.     Second  Edition.     8vo.    185. 
Vol.  III.     Statics,  including  Attractions ;    Dynamics   of  a  Material 

Particle.     Second  Edition.     8vo.  16.?. 
Vol.  IV.     Dynamics  of  Material  Systems.     Second  Edition.    8vo.  iS.y. 

Pritchard.     Uranometria  Nova  Oxoniensis,     A  Photometric 

determination  of  the  magnitudes  of  all  Stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye, 
from  the  Pole  to  ten  degrees  south  of  the  Equator.  By  C.  Pritchard, 
D.D.,  F.R.S.     Royal  8vo.  8*.  6d. 

Astronomical    Observations    made    at    the    University 

Observatory,  Oxford,  under  the  direction  of  C.  Pritchard,  D.D.  No.  i. 
Royal  8vo.  paper  covers,  35.  6d. 

Oxford :  Clarendon  Press. 


VI.  Art  and  A^'chacolo^y.  55 

Rigaud's    Correspondence   of   Scientific    Men    of  tlie    17th 

Century,  with  Table  of  Contents  by  A.  de  MORGAN,  and  Index  by 
J.  TliGALU),  M.A.     2  vols.  8 vo.    i8*.  6rf. 

RoUeston  and  Jackson.    Formsof  Animal  Life.    A  Manual  of 

Comparative  Anatomy,  with  descriptions  of  selected  types.  By  George 
RoLLKSTON,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  Second  Edition.  Revi.sed  and  enlarged  by 
W.  Hatchett  Jackson,  M.A.     Medium  8vo.  i^.  i6.!)-. 

RoUeston.  Scientific  Papers  and  Addresses.  By  Geokge 
KoLLESTON,  M.D.,  F.R.S.  Arranged  and  edited  by  William  Turner, 
M.B.,  F.R.S.  With  a  Biographical  Sketch  by  Edward  Ttlor,  F.R.S. 
2  vols.     8vo.  il.  4*. 

Smyth.  A  Cycle  of  Celestial  Objects.  Observed,  Reduced, 
and  Discussed  by  Admiral  W.  H.  Smyth,  R.N.  Revised,  condensed,  and 
greatly  enlarged  by  G.  F.  Chambers,  F.R.A.S.     8vo.  12s. 

Stewart.  An  Elementary  Treatise  on  Heat,  with  numerous 
Woodcuts  and  Diagrams.  By  Balfouk  Stewart,  LL.D.,  F.R.S.  Fifth 
Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  7s.  6d. 

Vernon-Harcourt.    Treatise  on  Rivers  and  Canals,  relatino-  to 

Control  and  Improvement  of  Rivers,  and  Design,  Construction,  and  Develop- 
ment of  Canals.    By  L.  F.  Vernon-Harcourt,  M.A.    2  vols.  8vo.  il.  is. 

Harbours  and  Docks;  their  Physical  Features,  History, 

Construction,  Equipment,  and  Maintenance ;  with  Statistics  as  to  their 
Commercial  Development.     2  vols.     Svo.  255'. 

Walker.  The  Theor}^  of  a  Physical  Balance.  By  James 
Walker,  M.A.     Svo.  stiff  cover,  3s.  6rf. 

Watson  and  Burbury. 

I.  A  Treatise  on  the  Application  of  Generalised  Co- 
ordinates to  the  Kinetics  of  a  Material  System.  By  H.  W. 
Watson,  D.Sc,  and  S.  H.  Burbury,  M.A.     8vo.  6n. 

II.  The  Mathematical  Theory  of  Electricity  and  Mag- 
netism.   Vol.  I.      Electrostatics.   Svo.  los.  6d. 

Vol.  II.     Magnetism  and  Electrodynamics.      Svo.  lo.s.  6d. 

Williamson.  Chemistry  for  Students.  With  Solutions.  By 
A.  W.  Williamson,  Phil.' Doc,  F.R.S.     Extra  fcap.  Svo.  8s.  6d. 

Westwood.  Thesaurus  Entomolog-icus  Hopeianus,  or  a  De- 
scription of  the  rarest  Insects  in  the  Collection  given  to  the  Univer- 
BJty  by  the  Rev.  William  Hope.  By  J.  O.  Westwood,  M.A.,  F.R.S. 
With  40  Plates.     Small  folio,  half  morocco,  7/.  los. 

VI.    ART  AND  ARCHAEOLOGY. 

Butler.  Ancient  Coptic  Churches  of  Egypt.  By  A.  J. 
Butlek,  M.A.,  F.S.A.     2  vols.    Svo.  30.9. 

Head.  Historia  Numorum.  A  Manual  of  Greek  Numis- 
matics. By  Baeclay  V.  Head,  Assistant-Keeper  of  the  Department  of 
Coins  and  Medals  in  the  British  ^Museum.    Royal  Svo.    Half  morocco,  42*. 

London  :  Hexuv  Frowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.O. 


56  VII.  Palaeography. 


Jackson.  Dalmatia,  the  Quarnero  and  Istria  ;  with  Cettig-ne 
in  Montenegro  and  the  Island  of  Grado.  By  T.  G.  Jackson,  M.A., 
Author  of  '  Modern  Gothic  Architecture.'  In  3  vols.  8vo.  With  many 
Plates  and  lUusti-ations.     Half  bound,  425. 

MUSIC. 

Hullah.  Cultivation  of  the  Speaking-  Voice.  By 
John  Hullah.     Second  Edition.     Extra  fcap.  8vo.  25.  6d. 

Ouseley.  Treatise  on  Harmony.  By  Sir  F.  A.  Gore 
Odselby,  Bart.     Third  Edition.     4to.  105. 

Treatise  on  Counterpoint,  Canon^  and  Fugue,  based 

upon  that  of  Cherubini.     Second  Udit ion.     4to.  i6s. 

Treatise  on  Musical  Form  and  General  Composition. 

Second  Edition.     4to.  10s. 

TroutDeck  and  Dale.  Music  Primer  (for  Schools).  By  J. 
Triiutbeck,D.D.,  and  F.Dale,  M.A.  Second  Edition.  Crown  8vo. 
IS.  6d. 

Robinson.     A  Critical  Account  of  the  Drawings  by  Michel 

Angelo  and  Eaffaello  in  the  University  Galleries,  Oxford.  By  J.  C. 
EoBiNSON,  F.S.A.     Crown  8vo.  4*. 

Tyrwhitt.      Handbook    of    Pictorial    Art.     With    coloured 

Illustrations,  Photographs,  and  a  chapter  on  Perspective  by  A.  Mac- 
donald.  By  E.  St.  J.  Tyrwhitt,  M.A.  Second  Edition.  Svo.  half 
morocco,  18*. 

Upeott.    Introduction  to  Greek  Sculpture.    By  L.  E.  Upcott, 

M.A.     Crown  8vo.  45.  6d, 

Vaux.  Catalogue  of  the  Castellani  Collection  of  Antiquities 
in  the  University  Galleries,  Oxford.  By  W.  S.  W.  Vatjx,  M.A.  Crown 
Svo.  i,y. 

VII.  PALAEOGRAPHY. 

Gardthaiisen.     Catalogus  Codicum  Graecorum  Sinaiticorum. 

Scripsit  V.  Gaedthausen  Lipsiensis.  With  six  pages  of  Facsimiles. 
Svo.  linen,  25*. 

Fragmenta  Herculanensia.     A  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  the 

Oxford  copies  of  the  Herculanean  Eolls,  together  with  the  texts  of  several 
papyri,  accompanied  by  facsimiles.  Edited  by  Walter  Scott,  M.A., 
Fellow  of  Merton  College,  Oxford.     Eoyal  Svo.   21s. 

Herculanensium  Voluminum  Partes  II.     1834.      ^vo.  los. 


Oxford :  Clarendon  Press.    London :  Hexry  Fbowde,  Amen  Corner,  E.G. 


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