THE TRADITION ABOUT THE CORPOREAL RELICS OF BUDDHA
BY J. F. FLEET, I.C.S. (RETD.)
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
of
Great Britain and Ireland for 1907
p. 341-363
p. 341
III.
Mahavamsa.
In continuing the inquiry into the tradition
about the subsequent fate of the eight original
deposits of the corporeal relics of Buddha,(1) we
take next the second Ceylonese chronicle, the
Mahavamsa; or, more precisely, the earlier part of
that work, which was composed, by way of being a
commentary on the Dipavamsa, by the Thera Mahanama,
in or about the period A.D. 520 to 540.(2)
Like the Dipavamsa, the Mahavamsa does not
present any narrative such as that found in the
Divyavadana. But, as we shall see, it gives a story
about the relics at Ramagrama which is not found in
either of those works.(3)
--------------------
1. For the preceding articles on this topic, see this
Journal, 1906. 655 ff., 881 ff. The list of the
places at which the corporeal relics, and the
kumbha and the embers, were enshrined, is at page
671.
At page 671, line 14, read " At or in
Pippalivana," etc. At page 912, line 13 f., read
"Pavaka(sic) , Vethadipa, and Kusinara, and
caused," etc.
The last paragraph of note 1 on page 896 is not
quite correct; see page 344 below.
On page 112 above, in line 20, for sakya(nam) read
sakya|na(m).
2. The supposed period is A.D. 459 to 477. But see
this Journal, 1906. 894, note 1.
3. If that story stood in the Dipavamsa at all, we
should expect to find it in connexion with chapter
19, verses 1 to 20; where, howerer, there is no
indication of it. That chapter is, indeed,
described by the editor as being very confused and
fragmentary. But, even so, there would surely hare
been traceable there some hint of the story,
however slight, if it was current when the
Dipavamsa was being written.
p. 342
Again like the Dipavamsa, it does not say
anything about relics of Buddha in connexion with
Asoka-Kalasoka, the son of Susunaga. Differing from
the Dipavamsa, it mentions him only as Kalasoka
(Turnour, 15, 19, 20; Wijesinha, 11, 14, 16), and not
as Asoka.
It mentions Asoka the Moriya, grandson of
Chandagutta and son of Bindusara, as Asoka and
Dhammasoka, and does not appear to present his
appellations Piyadassi and Piyadassana, or to give
the form Asokadhamma. Like the Dipavamsa, it does not
seem to say anything about his having had the
appellation Chandasoka. In respect of his appellation
Dhammasoka, it merely says, somewhat
inconsequentially (T., 35; W., 24), that at first, on
account of his sinful deeds, he was known as Asoka,
but subsequently be became known as Dhammasoka
because of his meritorious actions.
In chapter 17 (T., 104; W., 67) it gives, without
any indication as to whence Asoka had obtained any
relics of Buddha, the story, which we have cited from
the Dipavamsa (this Journal, 1906. 895f.) and from
Buddhaghosha (ibid., 904f.) , about the Samanera
Sumana, deputed by the Thera Mahinda, procuring
relics (dhatuyo) of Buddha from Asoka, and obtaining
the right collar-bone of Buddha from the god Sakka
(Indra), in order that king Devanampiya-Tissa of
Ceylon (B.C. 246 to 228) might found a Thupa of
Buddha. Whereas, however, the Dipavamsa and
Buddhaghosha indicate (see ibid., 895, and note 5;
904) that it was Sumana's almsbowl that Asoka filled
with relics, the Mahavamsa distinctly asserts
something else. It represents Sumana as being
directed to say to Asoka (T., 105):-- Munino dhatuyo
dehi pattam bhuttam cha Satthuna sariradhatuyo santi
bahavo hi tav=antike; "Give relics of the Saint, and
the alms-bowl used by the Teacher; for thou hast many
corporeal relics." And the immediately following
instructions to Sumana run thus: -- Pattapuram
gahetvana gantva devapuram varam; "Having taken the
bowlful, and having gone to the excellent city of the
gods," remind Sakka (Indra) that
p. 343
he has a right tooth(1) and the right collar-bone of
the Teacher, and ask him for the collar-bone. And it
goes on to say of Sumana that:-- Therassa vachanam
vatva rajato laddha-dhatuyopattapuram gahetvana
Himavantam upagami; "Having delivered the message of
the Thera (Mahinda), and having taken the relics,
filling the bowl, obtained from the king, he went to
Himavat." Depositing there the bowl, with the relics,
he went on into the presence of Indra. From that god
(T., 106; W., 68) he obtained the right collar-bone,
from the Chulamanichetiya.(2) And then, taking that
relic and the other relics and the bowl, he returned
to the Chetiyagiri mountain, and gave them to the
Thera (Mahinda). The latter placed all the relics
there on the mountain; whence that mountain, the
Missakapabbata,
------------------------------
1. This tooth-relic is mentioned in the account of
the mission of Aumana as given by Buddhaghosha (this
Journal, 1906. 904), but not in the account given
in the Dipavamsa (ibid., 895). For the manner in
which Indra obtained it, according to
Buddhaghosah, see ibid., 906f.
Turnour said (Mahavamsa. 105, note) that this tooth
is the one which. according to the Mahavamsa (T.,
241: W., 154), was transferred in A.D. 370 (as
adjusted from his date, A.D. 310) from (Dantapura
in) Kalinga to Ceylon, in circumstances detailed
in the Dathadhatuvamsa, and was installed in the
edifice called Dhammachakka built by
Devanampiya-Tissa; adding that in his own time it
was enshrined in the Dalada-Maligava temple at
Kandy. But I do not find any explanation by him as
to how it passed from the possession of Indra to
Dantapura; and the verses added at the end of the
Mahaparinibbana-Sutta (see this Journal, 1906, 665
f.) speak of a tooth in Kalinga in addition to a
tooth in heaven.
2. Mentioned by Buddhaghosha (see this Journal, 1906.
907;)as the shrine in which Indra installed the
tooth, when he took it away from the Brahman Dona.
I have not been able to trace any exact statement
as to how Indra became possessed of also the
collar-bone. But Hiuen-tsiang has said (see, e.g.,
Beal, Records, 2. 40 f.) that, alter the division
of the relics into eight shares for "the kings of
the eight countries," shares were claimed by Sakra
(Indra) on behalf of the Devas. and by the Naga
kings Anavatapta, Muchilinda and Elapatra.
Accordingly, the relics were redivided into three
portions; one for the Devas, one for the Nagas,
and one for " the eight kingdoms among men." It
mar also be remarked that in another place (see,
e.g., Beal, Records, 1. 126. 132 f.) he has
allotted one of the shares in the relics, and a
Stupa over them, to Uttarasena, king of Udyana.
This person is represented as the son of one of
the four Sakyas who (see this Journal, 1906. 166
f.) were banished from Kapilavastu, because they
had the temerity to withstand an attack by king
Virudhaka.
And it may be added that, according to the
Mahavamsa (Turnour, 4; Wijesinha, 5), the Thera
Sarabhu. a disciple of Sariputta, received the
givatthi, grivasthi, the neck-bone of Buddha. at
the funeral pile, and enshrined it in a Chetiya in
Ceylon over which king Dutthagamini eventually
erected the Mahiyangana Thupa.
It seems probable that, if once we go away from
the simple narrative of the Mahaparinibbana-Sutta,
an extensive list of variations might be made out.
p. 344
obtained the name Chetiyapabbata. And then, having
installed(1) the alms-bowl and the relics (inside it)
on the Chetiyapabbata, the Thera took the
collar-bone, and went, attended by his disciples, to
the appointed place, the Mahanagavana park, where he
was met by the king.
The rest of this narrative runs as in
Buddhaghosha's version (this Journal, 1906. 905);
except that the name of the exact place where the
Thupa was made seems to be here given as
Pamojavatthu, and that it appears to be located in
the Mahameghavana garden (T., 107; W., 69). And so,
eventually (T., 108 f.; W., 70), the king installed
that relic, the right collar-bone, in the Chetiya,,
and caused the Thupa to be completed, and founded the
Vihara known as the Thuparama.
The following may be added regarding the ultimate
disposal of the alms-bowl of Buddha and the relics
with which Asoka had filled it. Later on (T., 122;
W., 78), Devanampiya-Tissa announced to the Thera
Mahinda his intention of building many Viharas, and
asked the Thera how he might obtain relics to be
deposited in Thupas at them. The Thera reminded him
of the relics, filling the alms-bowl of Buddha, which
had been brought by Sumana and had been installed on
the Chetiya mountain. Accordingly, those relics were
transported thence on the shoulders of an elephant.
Viharas were made at the distance of a yojana from
each other; and the relics were there deposited in
Thupas. And the alms-bowl of Buddha was installed
vatthu-ghare subhe, i.e, , according to the
translators, "in a superb apartment of the royal
residence."(2)
--------------------
1. The word used here is thapetva,while,in the preceding
verse we have thapesi where I have translated "he
placed, " and in a previous passage we have
thapetvana in respect of temporarily
"depositing" the alms-bowl and its contents in
the mountain Himavat. Against these we have,
further on, patitthapesi in respect of
Devanampiya-Tissa "installing" the right
collar-bone in his Thupa. We gather, however,from
Buddhaghosha (see this Journal, 1906. 905), that
the alms-bowl and its contents were regularly
installed in some place on the Missaka-Chetiya
mountain.
2. The history of the alms-bowl does not fall within
the scope of our prerent inquiry. The following
notes, however, may be given here.
The bowl consisted of four stone bowls, of the
colour of a mugga or kidneybean, presented by
the four Devarajas, which Buddha placed one above
another,
p. 345
So far as the preceding accounts go, the relic1
at Ramagrama had remained untouched. The Mahavamsa,
however, in a subsequent portion of its earlier part
(chapter 27 ff.) presents the following romantic
story regarding them:--
King Dutthagamini of Ceylon (about B.C. 100 to
77)(1) found, inscribed on a golden tablet that bed
been deposited in a box in his palace (Turnour, 161;
Wijesinha, 103), a record of a prophecy, uttered by
Mahinda to king Devanampiya-Tissa,(2) that after 146
years Dutthagamini would erect the Mahathupa or Great
Thupa, and do certain other things. Dutthagamini
fulfilled the prophecy, in the first instance, by
building the Lohapasada palace, to serve as an
uposatha-hall (T., 163; W., 104) . And he then
determined to construct the Mahathupa (T., 165; W.,
106).
The work was commenced (T., 169; W., 108), and
was carried as far as the formation of the
dhatugabbha or relic-
---------------------------------
or one within another, and caused to become one;
see the Nidanakatha, in the Jataka, l. 80, line 21
ff., and Hiuen-tsiang, in Beal, Racords, 2. 129 f.
Fa-hian says (Beal, Records, l. introd., 78) that
it see originally preserved in Vaisali, but in his
own time it was in the borders of Gandhara, or
(ibid., 32) in the country of Fo-lu-sha. He
mentions other contries including Ceylon, which it
had visited or was to visit. And he says that
eventually it would resolve itself into four bowls
again, which would return to the Pin-na or An-na
mountain, whence they had come.
Hiuen-tsiang says (Beal, Records, 2. 73 f.) that
Buddha gave it as a token of remembrance to the
Lichchhavis, when he parted from them after
leaving Vaisali on his last journey. He further
syas (Records, 1. 98; 2. 278) that after the death
of Buddha it went to Gandhara and was worshipped
there for many centuries, but in his own time it
was in Persia, in the king's palace, after
traversing different countries.
The Buddhavamsa, 28. 8, allots the bowl, along
with the staff and the robe, to Vajira, a place at
which there arose the schismatic Buddhist school
of the Vajiriyas, and which seems (see this
Journal, 1906. 666, note 3) to have been also a
Jain centre.
1. The supposed period is B.C. 161 to 137. But see
this Journal, 1906 894, note 1.
2. The utterance of this prophecy and the recording
of it are mentioned by Buddhaghosha in his
Samantapasadika (see Vinayapitaka, 3. 341). But
the fulfilment of it does not come there; and there
is no hint there of the story about the Ramagrama
relics. That the story, however was in some form
or another known to Buddhaghosha, seems to be
established by the remarks in his
Sumangalavilasini (see this Journal, 1906. 908)
that the danger which in the time of Ajatasatru
was hanging over the other relics did not threaten
those at Ramagrama, because the Nagas had taken
charge of them, and that they were destined for
the great Chetiya at the Mahavihara in Ceylon.
p. 346
chamber (T., 179; W.114).(1) That was prepared from
six cloud-coloured stones obtained from the land of
Uttara-Kuru by two Samaneras, Uttara and Sumana: one
was placed on the flower-offering ledge, in the
centre; four were placed on the sides, in the form of
a coffer (manjusa); and the sixth, which was to be
the cover, was placed apart, out of sight, on the
east.(2) Various wonderful things, including ag olden
bodhi-tree, were made for placing in the
relic-chamber. And then there remained the matter of
obtaining relics and enshrining them (T., 183; W.,
117).
For the mission of obtaining relics there was
selected a young ascetic, a Thera named Sonuttara,
who, though only sixteen years old, had already
acquired the six supernatural faculties. And, in
answer to an inquiry as to where he might obtain
them, the assembly of Theras gave him the following
statement (T., 184; W., 118):--
When Buddha was lying on the couch on which he
died, he spake thus to the god Indra:--"'Lord of the
gods!, amongst the eight donas of my corporeal
relics, one dona will be honoured by the Koliyas at
Ramagama. Taken thence to the world of the Nagas, it
will be honoured next by the Nagas; and it will
be deposited in the Mahathupa in the island Landka,
Ceylon,"
Moreover,--said the priests (T., 185; W., 118),
-- the far-seeing Thera Maha-Kassapa, the great
ascetic, perceiving
---------------------------
1. The process of construction is detailed at great
length; and the account is instuctive. An abstract
of it has been given by Cunningham in his Bhilsa
Topes, 169 ff.
2. In this case, the dhatugarbha, though shaped like
a box, seems to have been a structural part of the Stupa.
For other apparently structural relic-chambers,
reference may be made to the illustrations of
three dhatugarbhas from the Bhattiprolu Stupa,
given in ASSI, 6. 9, plate 3: there, however, in
each case, only two stones where used. a bottom
slab and another to cover it, and the
relic-chambers were sunk in the lower slabs; the
inscriptions accompanying them were (with the
exception of that on the hexagonal piece of
crystal) engraved on the lower slabs, round the
relic-chambers (see EI, 2. 324, plates). We seem
to have another structural dhatugarbha, somewhat
like those at Bhattiprolu, from the Boria or Lakha
Medi Stupa, near Junagadh; see JASB, 60, 1891 18,
plate 5.
We hare dhatugarbhas which are actual boxes from
Sanchi; see Cunningham's Bhilsa Topes, plate 20,
and a mention of two others on page 297. So,
also, the stone coffer at Piprahwa, inside which
the inscribed vase and other things were found, is
evidently to be classed as a dhatugarbha; see
Antiquities in the Tarai, 43, and plate 27, fig. 3.
p. 347
that a distribution of relics, would be made by king
Dhammasoka, induced king Ajatasattu to make a great
deposit of relics in the neighbourhood of Rajagaha,
causing to be carried there seven donas of relics;(1)
but, mindful of (what had been said by) the Teacher,
he did not take the dona which was at Ramagama. Having
seen that great deposit of relics (at Rajagaha), the
king Dhammasoka set his mind on causing the eighth
dona also to be brought. But sanctified ascetics
prevented Dhammasoka, telling him that that deposit
had been predestined by the Jina, i.e., the Conqueror,
Buddha, to be enshrined in the Mahathupa. Now, the
Thupa at Ramagrama had bee made on the bank of the
Ganges, and was broken open by the current of that
river; and the box containing the relics
(dhatu-karandaka), being carried away to the sea,
came to rest on a bed of gems at the place where the
waters are divided in twain,(2) and lay there covered
with rays. Some Nagas saw the box, and going to
Manjerika, the abode of the Nagas, apprised their
king, the Naga Kala.(3) He, going there with ten
thousand crores of Nagas, did reverence to the
relics, and took them away to his own abode; and
having erected over the relic-box a Thupa made of all
sorts of jewels and also a house, he, with the Nagas,
ever respectfully did worship to it. There is a close
guard over it; but go there, and bring the relics
here; to-morrow, the king will place them in this
receptacle.
The story proceeds as follows (T., 186; W., 119).
On the next day, the king started in procession for
the Mahameghavana garden, with a great accompaniment
of
-----------------------------
1. The text does not name the places Whence he
obtained them.
2. The intention seems to be to indicate Gangasagara,
the place where the waters of the river and the
ocean meet.
3. The Naga king Kala was celebrated for singing the
praises of Buddha when the latter, having ascended
the bodhi-throne, was waiting to undergo the
temptation by Mara; see the Dhammapada, ed.
Fausboll, 118.
Of another Naga king, Chakravaka, an interesting
statue was obtained; at Bharaut; see Cunningham's
Stupa of Bharhut, plate 21, right. And a basrelief
from the same place shews another, Erapata,
Elapatra, doing worship to (the invisible figure of)
Buddha, see ibid., plate 14, right.
p. 348
instrumental and vocal music, to enshrine the relics.
Sonuttara, in his cell (T. 187; W., 119), heard the
music, and knew from it that the procession was on
its way; so, diving into the earth, he proceeded to
the habitation of the Nagas, presented himself before
their king, and demanded the relics. The Naga king,
unwilling to give them up, but apprehending that
Sonuttara was quite able to take them by force,
secretly intimated to his nephew, Vasuladatta, that
they should be transferred to some other place.
Vasuladutta accordingly went to the Chetiya,
swallowed the box containing the relics, and betook
himself to the foot of the mountain Sineru (Meru),
where he coiled himself up, with his body, three
hundred yojanas long, rolled up within the circuit of
a yojana. Throwing forth thousands of hoods, he
emitted smoke and fire. And, creating thousands of
serpents similar to himself, he made them coil
themselves around him; while gods and Nagas came
there in numbers, expecting to see a great fight
between him and the Thera.
The uncle, having satisfied himself that the
relics had been removed, told Sonuttara that they
were not in his possession, and (T., 188; W., 120),
when the Thera persisted in demanding them, sought to
pacify him by shewing him the Chetiya-house,--the
house which he had erected over the Thupa in which he
had placed the relics, -- exquisitely built and
adorned with all sorts of gems; and, claiming that
even the jewels on the lowest step of its staircase
surpassed all the jewels in Lanka, he protested that
a removal of the relics from such a place to an
inferior one could not be proper. Sonuttara however,
pointed out that a comprehension of the Truth was
unattainable by Nagas, and that it was quite right to
remove the relics to a place where the Truth could be
reached, and, further, that in this matter there was
an intention of Buddha to be fulfilled; and he
demanded the surrender of the relics without any more
trouble. The Naga said:--"If, reverend Sir!, thou
seest the relics, take them and depart! "
Sonuttara made him repeat these words three times;
and then, standing where he was, he stretched forth a
subtile arm, and, thrusting his
p. 349
hand into the nephew's mouth, took out from him the
casket containing the relics. Then, bidding the Naga
remain wherre he was, he dived into the earth, and
ascended again at his cell.
At the place where he emerged from the earth (T.,
189 W., 121) , the god Sakka received the box
containing the relics from him, and placed it in a
golden casket (changota) on a jewelled couch or
cushion under a jewelled canopy made by Vissakamma.
Then (T., 190;W., 121) king Dutthagamini arrived, and
placed that casket in a golden casket which he
brought there on his head. Carrying them so on his
head, he, attended by the community of friars,
marched in procession round the Thupa, and, ascending
it on the eastern side, went down into the relic
chamber. And so, eventually (T., 191f.; W., 122f.),
after various formalities and miraculous
manifestations, in the course of which the relic-box,
rising into the air, opened itself spontaneously and
the relics came forth and assumed the form of Buddha,
the Ramagrama relics were installed by Dutthagamini
in the Mahathupa; the Samaneras Uttara and Sumana
closed the relic-chamber with the sixth stone; and
the Thupa was completed and was crowned by a square
capital.(1)
As regards the Nagas, the story adds (T., 188;
W., 120) that, when Sonuttara, having secured the box
containing the relics, disappeared from the presence
of the Naga king, the latter, not realizing what had
happened, sent a message to his nephew:--" The friar
has departed, outwitted by us; bring back the
relics!" The nephew, however, knew quite well that
the casket was no longer in his stomach, and returned
lamenting, and told his uncle what had happened;
whereupon the latter exclaimed --"It is we who have
been outwitted!," and wept. Then the Nagas repaired
in a body to the community of Theras and friars (in
Ceylon), and
------------------------------
1. Owing however, to the sickness and death of
Dutthagamini, the construction was not then quite
finished off. The canopy, pinnacle, or spire was
added, the whole erection was plastered, and a
surrounding wall decorated with figures of
elephants was built, by his brother and succesor,
Saddha-Tissa (T., 200; W., 128).
p. 350
complained sorely about having been deprived of the
relics. They were consoled, however, by the gift of
some small relic, or a few of the relics; and they
seem to have contributed some utensils of worship in
return for it.
Hiuen-tsiang.
We come, finally, to the statements left on
record by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-tsiang, who
travelled in India between A.D. 630 and 644.
There is no evidence that Hiuen-tsiang visited,
out of the places mentioned in the list given in this
Journal, 1906. 671, [4] Allakappa, [6] Vethadipa,(1)
and [7] Pava.
He visited [3] Kapilavastu and [8] Kusinagara.
But there is no mention for either of these two
places, either in the Si-yu-ki or in the Life, of a
Stupa containing corporeal relics of Buddha.
He visited, as did Fa-hian, between Ramagrama and
Kusinagara, [10] the Stupa over the extinguished
embers of the funeral pile.(2) Like Fa-hian, he has
not mentioned either Pippalivana or the Mauryas in
connexion with this memorial. And he has, in fact,
attributed it to some unnamed Brahmans, and has
placed it, but perhaps without any important
difference, in a grove of nyagrodha-trees.(3) He has
added that `ever since the time (when this Stupa was
erected), extraordinary prodigies manifest themselves
here without interruption; and sick persons who come
to pray at this place, are for the most part healed.
----------------------
1. A suggestion mentioned by me (this Journal, 1906.
900. note 1), that this place might be the modern
`Bettiah, Bettia, or Bettia,' is not tenable; Dr.
Grierson having told us (page 166 above) that the
latter name is Betiya, Bitiya, with the dental t.
2. See Julien, Memoires, l. 332: Beal. Records, 2.
31: Watters, On Yuan Chwang, 2. 23. This Stupa
seems to be not mentioned in the Life.
3. The Pali name, as given in the
Mahaparinibbana-Sutta, is Pipphalivana; see this
Journal, 1906. 665. The nyagrodha, Pali nigrodha,
is `Ficus Indica, the banyan-tree.' In Pali we
have pipphala, = the Sanskrit pippala, `Ficus
religiosa, the sacred fig-tree,' and pipphali, =
the Sanskrit pippali, with, according to childers,
the meaning of `the wave-leafed fig-tree,' in
addition to that of `long pepper, Piper longum,'
which is given for pippali by Monier-Williams.
p. 351
Of the other places with which we are concerned,
Hiuentsiang visited first Lan-mo, = Rama, = [5]
Ramagrama, between Kapilavastu and Kusinagara. And in
connexion with Ramagrama he has left on record the
following detailed statement,-- a fuller version of
the story given by Fa-hian (this Journal, 1906. 901
f.),- of which I give a rendering from the French of
M. Julien (Memoires, l. 325 ff ):(1)-
On the south-east of the ancient capital, there
is a brick Stupa, a little less than 100 feet high.
In days of yore, after the nirvana of the Tathagata'
[the death of Buddha], the first king of this realm
obtained his share of the relics, brought them into
his realm, and [326] built this Stupa to honour
them. Various miracles display themselves here from
time to time; and sometimes (the relics) shed abroad
a divine lustre.
By the side of this Stupa, there is a pool of
pure water. Every day the dragons used to come forth
from it to walk, and, transforming themselves into
men, used to respectfully circumambulate the Stupa.
Some wild elephants, mustered in a troop, used to
pluck flowers and scatter them; encouraged by a
secret power, they continued these meritorious acts
without interruption.
This is the Stupa in which king Asoka (Wu-yau)
deposited his share of the relics. Those which the
other seven kings(2) had to construct, were already
commenced.'
It must be parenthetically observed that there is
plainly something wrong about the last two sentences,
either in the text which M. Julien had before him, or
in his rendering
---------------------------
1. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 26 ff., and Watters, On
Yuan Chwang, 2. 20 ff. And for a briefer statement
see the Life, Julien, 128; Beal, 96: that account
does not add any details; on the contrary, it
omits the story about Asoka. One would prefer to
cite Mr. Watters' rendering of Hiuen-tsiang;
partly because it is in English, partly because it
is the latest rendering, and so, presumably, the
most up-to-date: unfortunately, however, he has
almost always used the inconvenient oratio
obligua, and has in many places passed over
details which are given in the other two versions.
Of those other versions, M. Julien's seems to be
generally the preferable one. But, both in using
it and otherwise, I substitute Mr. Watters'
transliterations, whenever I can find them, of the
Chinese forms or translations of Indian names and
words.
2. Regarding the meaning of the expressions "the
seven kings," "the eight kings," see this Journal,
1906.897.
p. 352
of it; if only because there was not any king Asoka
at the time when the original Stupas were made. We
must therefore quote the other renderings also:---
Mr. Beal has said (loc. cit., 26):--"In former
days, when "Asoka-raja, dividing the relics, built
stupas, having opened "the stupas built by the kings
of the seven countries, he "proceeded to travel to
this country, and put his hand to " the work (viz.,
of opening this stupa)."
Mr. Watters has said (loc. cit., 20):-" When king
Asoka " was dispersing the Buddha-relics of the eight
topes, having " taken away those of seven of the
topes, he came to Rama, " in order to carry off the
relics in its tope also."
However, M. Julien's version runs as rendered
above, and then proceeds thus:-
When he had arrived in this kingdom, he wished to
put hand to the work' [of opening the Stupa]. `But
the dragon of that pool, fearing an invasion of his
domains, assumed the form of a Brahman, and,
prostrating himself at the feet of the elephant,
said:--"Great king!; you have devoted your affections
to the law of Buddha, and have sown largely in the
field of happiness. I venture to ask you to turn
aside your chariot,(1) and to deign to visit my
abode." "Where is your abode," said the king; " is it
near, or far away?" [327] "I am the king of the
dragons of this pool," replied the Brahman; "as I
learnt that Your Majesty wished to lay the
foundations, of an excellent happiness, I have
ventured to come to solicit the honour of your
visit."
The king, having accepted the invitation, entered
forthwith the palace of the dragon. When he had sat
there for a long time, the dragon came forward' [in
his own shape and said:--" It is because of my evil
actions that I received this form of a dragon. I
hope that, in making some
-----------------------
1. Beal has said " to detain your carriage awhile; "
Watters, "to dismount." The text seems to mean
plainly that the king was riding in a chariot
drawn by an elephant. Such chariots were one of
the customary means of conveyance; see, for
instance, the Pattadakal inscription (IA, 11.
125), of the time of the Rashtrakuta king Dhruva
(about A.D. 783), which records that Badipoddi, a
harlot of the temple of Lokamahadevi, presented a
horse-chariot and an elephant-chariot.
p. 353
offerings to the relics, I may be able to efface my
past crimes. I desire that the king should himself go
near to the Stupa, that he may examine it and also
offer his homage (to the relics)."
When king Asoka (Wu-yau) had finished looking, he
was seized with fear, and said:--"None of the objects
which you use for making offerings at all resemble
those which are in use among men." "If it is so,"
replied the dragon, "I ardently desire that you
should not destroy them."
King Asoka (Wu-yau), recognizing that he was not
strong enough to contend with the dragon, renounced
the construction that he had designed' [? the
intention that he had formed].(1) `At the spot where
the dragon came forth from the pool, there has been
placed an inscription.'
Hiuen-tsiang goes on to narrate, much like
Fa-hian, the story about elephants tending the place,
and about the establishment, near the Stupa, of a
monastery which had been maintained under the
direction of a Sramanera up to his own time. It seems
unnecessary to repeat that. But a few words may be
added about the position of Ramagrama; because there,
if anywhere, there might be found an intact Stupa
containing really some of the corporeal relics of
Buddha.
The place was named Ramagrama after the king,
Rama,-- a king of Benares, who had abdicated and gone
into exile because he was afflicted with leprosy,--
by whom it was founded. It was named Kolanagara,
because (it seems) a kola-tree, Zizyphus jujuba, or a
grove of such trees, was cleared away to make the
site for it. From the same source, the people derived
their name Koliya; and so the place was also known as
Koliyanagara, as being the town of the Koliyas. And
it was further called in Pali Vyagghapajja, and in
Sanskrit Vyaghrapadya, `the tiger's path, ' in
connexion with the circumstances in which Rama found
and
--------------
1. Beal has "did not attempt to open the stupa (to
take out the relics)." Watters has "abandoned the
idea of rifling the tope."
p. 354
married the eldest sister of the banished princes who
founded Kapilavastu and the race of the Sakyas (see
this Journal, 1906. 161 f., 163 f.), who had been
immured in a subterranean abode because she also was
afflicted with leprosy.(1)
Fa-hian and Hiuen-tsiang agree in locating
Ramagrama on the east of the Lumbinivana garden, the
position of which is fixed by the now well-known
Rummindei. But it is quite certain that, for some
reason or another, in this part of their narratives
"east" means "south-east."(2)
Fa-hian says that the distance from the
Lumbinivana to Ramagrama was 5 yojanas, =(see this
Journal, 1906. 1012) 22.72 miles. Hiuen-tsiang puts
it, according to Beal at 300 li, but according to
Julien and Watters at 200 li, = (see ibid., 1013)
24.24 miles. The two statements together, taken as
plainly statements in round-numbers, indicate a
distance of about 23 to 24 miles.
The Jataka No. 536 (ed. Fausboll, 5. 412)
mentions the town as Koliyanagara, and places a river
named Rohini between Kapilavatthunagara, the city
Kapilavastu, and Koliyanagara; i.e., as I understand
the matter, not actually between the sites themselves
of the two towns, but between the territories of
which those towns were the capitals. It does not say
whether Koliyanagara was on the bank of the Rohini.
But of course it has the effect of placing
Koliyanagara on the east of the Rohini; Kapilavastu
being on the west.
The Mahavamsa (see page 347 above) locates the
Ramagrama Stupa on the bank of a river. It calls that
river the Ganga, the Ganges. But we need only
understand it as meaning, in accordance with a not
infrequent license, some
-----------------------------
1. For the whole story, see Buddhaghosha's
Sumangalavilasini, ed. Davids and Carpenter, part
l. 260 ff. For another account. similar in leading
features but differing in details, see the
Mahavastu, ed. Senart, l. 348 ff.; according to
that, howererr Kapilavastu was built on the site
of a grove, not of saka-trees (teak or Sal, as the
case may be) , but of sakota-trees (Trophis
aspera).
Will someone favour us with translations of these
(and other) legends? There is much that is of
interest in them. My own work leads me only to
skim the surface of them.
2. Possibly, they both did this part of their travels
in the winter, and, starting on each stage at
sunrise and taking their bearings by the sun,
omitted to allow sufficiently for the declination
of the sun.
p. 355
river the waters of which flowed more or less
directly into the Ganges.
These indications, taken together, point to the
result that we should look for the Ramagrama Stupa on
or near to the east bank of the Rohin Nadi, somewhere
about six miles towards the West from a place which
is shewn as `Bagapar,' in lat. 27 12', long. 83
34', in the Indian Atlas sheet No. 102 (1880), about
thirty-two miles towards the north-north-east from
Gorakhpur and twenty-five miles south-east-half-south
from Rummindei. And, while it is rash to speculate
when one has not, as a basis, even the certified
correct form of a modern place-name, it seems perhaps
not impossible that some reminiscence of the name
Vyaghrapadya may be preserved in what the map shews
as `Bagapar.'
Hiuen-tsiang visited next [9] the Stupa raised by
the Brahman Drona over the kumbha, the earthen jar in
which the bones of Buddha had been collected. He has
perhaps located this memorial in a kingdom, (1)
visited by him between Po-lo-na-se (Varanasi,
Benares) and Fei-she-li (Vaisali), and mentioned by
him as Tchen-tchou according to M. Julien, as
Chen-chu according to Mr. Beal, and as Chan-chu
according to Mr. Watters; which I take (see below) as
meaning Chanchu. He has described it as being in
ruins, but still several tens of feet high. And his
statement in connexion with it runs as follows
(Julien, Memoires, l. 383):(2)--
`In days of yore, after the Tathagata had entered
nirvana, the great kings of eight realms divided
amongst them his relics. The Brahman who measured
out the relics, smeared with honey the inside of the
vase which he used. After distributing the relics to
the eight kings, the Brahman took his vase, and
returned home. Having thus obtained some relics which
had stuck therein, he erected a Stupa, and
----------------------
1. It is usually understood that this Stupa was in
the kingdom in question. But, in describing his
approach to it from the last preceding place
visited by him, he says, according to Julien, `in
leavign this country,'-- en partant de ce pays.
2. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 65; Watters, 0n Yuan
Chwang, 2. 60. This Stupa seems to be not
mentioned in the Life.
p. 356
placed them with the vase in the centre of the
monument. Thence there came the name of that
Stupa.(1)
Eventually, king Asoka (Wu-yau) opened the Stupa,
and took from it the vase which contained the relics.
Then he reconstructed the monument, and enlarged
it.(2)
`Sometimes, when there comes a fast-day, a
radiant light is seen to issue from this Stupa.'
A few remarks may be made on the locality of this
Stupa also.
M. Julien said that the Chinese form of the name,
Tchen-tchou-koue as transliterated by him, means
`kingdom of the master of battles;' and he suggested
either Yodhapatipura as the Sanskrit original of
that, or Yodharajapura as the original of the form
Tchen-wang-koue, `kingdom of the king of battles,
which he found in a certain Buddhist encyclopaedia.
M. Vivien de Saint-Martin pointed out (Memoires, 2.
362) that, on that understanding, Yuddha-patipura or
Yuddharajapura would be more accurate, and proposed
to identify the place with Ghazipur, on the north
bank of the Ganges, about forty-fire miles
east-north-east from Benares.(3) General Sir
Alexander Cunningham (AGI, 438 f.), accepting that
identification as certain, cited a statement that
the name Ghazipur is a Musalman adaptation of an
original Hindu name Garjpur,(4) and proposed to take
Hiuen-tsiang's form as the translation of a Sanskrit
Garjana-patipura. Mr. Watters said that the term
Chan-chu means `fighting lord' or 'lord of battle,'
and "is evidently a
-------------------
1. Hiuen Tsiang has not reported the name of this
Stupa, which might well come to be known as either
the Drona-Stupa or the Kumbha-Stupa.
Julien has told us that the Chinese word p`ing,
used here to denote the vase, is one which occurs
elsewhere as the equivalent of the Sanskrit karka,
`a waterjar.' Watters, however, has said that it
is the recognized rendering of the Sanskrit
kumbha.
2. Beal says:--" Afterwards Asoka-raja, opening (the
stupa), took the relics "and the pitcher, and
in place of the old one built a great stupa."
Watters says:-"Afterwards King Asoka took away the
relics and jar, and "replaced the old tope by- a
large one."
3. That is, as the crow flies; the distance along the
bends of the river is much more.
4. This, however, seems to be a mistake for
Gadhipura; see the Imperial Gazetteer of India, 5.
62, and Mr. Hoey in JASB, 69, 1900. 86.
p. 357
translation of a Sanskrit name or epithet with a
similar meaning;" and, without expressing any
definite opinion about the proposed identification,
he further remarked that "chan is used to translate
yuddha and chu stands for several words such as pati,
svamin, and isvara, and the Chan-chu of our text may
be the rendering of a word like Yuddhapati, which may
be an epithet of Siva."
Now, M. Julien observed (loc. cit., 377, note 1)
that this kingdom is the only one of which
Hiuen-tsiang has given the name in Chinese, instead
of offering us the pronunciation in phonetic
characters. This being so, I venture to think, in
spite of there being the form `Tchen-wang' as well as
`Tchen-tchou, ' that there has been a
misunderstanding; that Hiuen-tsiang has in reality,
in accordance with his otherwise unfailing practice,
given us here, also, his transliteration in Chinese
of an Indian name, Chanchu;(1) and that the
supposition to the contrary is to be simply
attributed to the fact that the Chinese syllables
chan-chu, really used here as a phonetic rendering,
happen to have an actual meaning, coupled with the
fact that, though chanchu is a perfectly well known
Sanskrit word, with various meanings (notably, `the
beak of a bird'), it had not been found anywhere else
as a place-name or as a part of such a name. As
regards one point, we have a very similar case in the
writings of Sung-yun, who (see Beal, Records, 1.
introd., 103) mentioned a certain " tower " as "a
Tsioh-li Feou-thou, a pagoda with a surmounting
pole;" to which Beal attached the note:--"Tsioh-li
means a sparrow, but it is a phonetic for sula, a
surmounting spear or trident." As regards the other,
I find a mention of a place named Chanchu, which I
take to be the same one, in the Sohgaura plate (JASB,
63, 1894. proceedings, 86, plate; IA, 25. 262). That
record, as I understand it, is a public notification
relating to three
------------------------
1. I may remark that, if Hiuen-tsiang's Chan-chu had
really to be taken as a translation, then, as Mr.
Hoey has observed to me, a most appropriate
Sanskrit original of it mould be Ranesvara, from
which we might easily have a modern name such as
that of Rasra in the Ballia district.
2. See, fully, a separate article on this record.
p. 358
great highways of vehicular traffic. It notifies that
at the junction, named Manavasi, of the three roads,
in two villages named Dasilimata and Usagama,
storehouses were made for the goods of people using
the roads. It indicates the roads by mentioning in
line 3, the three places to and from which they led;
as regards the junction of them. And I recognize
Chanchu as one of the names there given.
Hiuen-tsiang places the capital of Chanchu on the
Ganges, and plainly on the north bank, at 300 li,
i.e. three days' journey, down the river to the east
from Benares. Going thence 200 Ii to the east and
about 100 : to- the south-east, he came to a town
Mo-ha-sho-lo, on the south side of the river. Thence
he went 30 Ii east, and then, "in leaving this
country," about 100 li south-east, and so reached the
Stupa over the kumbha. And thence, travelling to the
north-east and crossing the Ganges to the north, he
reached Vaisali by a journey of 140 or 150 li.
It appears certain that from Benares to
Mo-ha-sho-lo, and perhaps; for also the next short
stage, Hiuen-tsiang was using the Ganges itself for
travelling. And, going downstream, he would make
very much more each day than the customary 12.12
miles (=100 li) of travelling by road. On an
examination of all the details, it seems to me that
it is probable that Ghazipur really is Chanchu, and
that this Stupa was a few miles on the west or
south-west of Arrah in the Shahabad district.
Hiuen-tsiang next visited (2) Vaisali. In his
account of this place, after mentioning a Stupa,
built by Asoka, which marked a spot where Sariputra
and others attained the condition of being Arhats, he
has said (Julien, Memoires, 1. 386):1--
`To the south-east of the place where Sariputra
attained the dignity of being an Arhat, there is a
Stupa which was built by a king of Vaisali. After
Buddha had entered into nirvana, the first king of
this realm obtained, in the
------------------------------
1. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 67; Watters, On Yuan
Chwnag, 2. 65. This Stupa seems to be not
mentioned in the Life.
p. 359
division, a portion of his relics, and, to honour
them, expressly raised this monument.
We read in the In-tu-ki (Notes on India):---In
this Stupa, there was formerly a drona(1) of relics
of Buddha. King Asoka (Wu-yau), having opened this
Stupa, took nine teou, bushels, of relics, and left
only one.
In subsequent times,(2) there was a king of this
realm who `wished to open again the Stupa and take
the' [remaining] relics. But, at the moment when he
went to apply himself to the work, the earth
trembled, and he did not dare further `to violate
this monument.'
Hiuen-tsiang finally visited the locality which
included [1] Rajagriha. And he was shewn there a
Stupa, containing corporeal relics of Buddha, in
respect of which he has given us the following
statement (Julien, Memoires, 2. 31):(3)--
'To the east of the Karanda-Venuvana, the
bamboo-grove of Karanda,(4) there is a Stupe which
was built by king `Ajatasatru. After the nirvana of
the Tathagata, the kings `divided amongst them his
relics (she-li =sarira). King `Ajatasatru returned
home with the share which he obtained, 'respectfully
built a Stupa, and offered homage to it.
`King Asoka (Wu-yau), having conceived a sincere
faith, `opened the monument, took the relics, and
built in his turn `another Stupa.
`We still see the remains of it, which constantly
emit `a brilliant light.'
---------------------------
1. The Chinese text mentions here the measure ho or
hoh, which Julien has explained as containing ten
bushels, and for which he substituted drona
because ho answers to the Sanskrit drona in the name
of Ho-fan-wang.= Dronodanaraja. one of the uncles of
Buddha. Beal has used the word hoh, and
has explained it as meaning ten pecks. Watters has
said "a bushel (hu or drona)."
These various renderings illustrate well the
difficulty of finding suitable western equivalents
for oriental technical terms; especially if we
bear in mind that a bushel contains only four
pecks, not ten.
2. Watters has not given this part of
the statement.
3. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 160; Watters, On Yuan
Chwang, 2. 158. The Life does not add anything,
except in one detail noted below. Neither in the
Si-yu-ki nor in the Life is the number of the
"kings" mentioned in this place.
4. Julien, transcribing the Chinese by Kia-lan-t'o,
took it as equivalent to Karanda. Beal followed
him. Watters has given Ka-lan-t'o, and has taken
it as meaning Kalanda.
p. 360
In connexion with the last sentence, it is to be
remarked that the Life says (Julien, 155; Beal, 115)
that Asoka allowed a small portion of the relics to
remain there.
With a view to comparing Hiuen-tsiang's statement
in this matter with Fa-hian's (this Journal, 1906.
901) and with the story given by Buddhaghosha (ibid.,
905 ff.), the following remarks must be made here.
In this locality there were two cities, which
have come to be treated as " Old Rajagriha" and "New
Rajagriha," though it is questionable whether the
name Rajagriha ever really belonged to the older
city, the original one.(1) And, as regards the
connexion between the two cities, and the foundation
of the later one, Hiuen-tsiang has given us an
account, of which I give an abstract from Julien's
Memoires, 2. 38 ff.,(2) as follows:--
The old town was the one in which king Bimbisara
resided at first. Fires were constantly breaking out
in it; and the houses were so crowded together that
the fires always spread and caused great
destruction.(3) Towards stopping the evil, Bimbisara
issued a decree that an inquiry should always be made
into the origin of any such fire, and that the person
responsible for it should be banished as an outcast
into "the cold forest," the place where corpses were
thrown. On a certain occasion, a conflagration had
its origin in the palace of Bimbisara himself; and,
in pursuance of his decree, he resigned the
government to "the Prince Royal or Crown Prince,"--to
"his eldest son" (Beal); to "his
--------------------
1. The only statement in that direction, that I can
trace, is in the Dipavamsa, 3. 52, which speaks
of Bodhisa (Bhatiya) the father of Bimbisara, as
reigning "amid the five mountains, in Rajagaha."
This, however, appears to be worth no more, for
purposes of accuracy, than a statement in the
Ramayana, 1. 32, 8 f., which describes the river
Sumagadhi, the Son, as looking, in flowing through
Magadha, like a garland amidst the five hills
which surrounded Vasumati, Girivraja. Rajagriha
was outside the five hills; and it is hardly
possible that the Son can ever have flowed in
between them.
2. Compare Beal, Records, 2. 165 ff.; Watters, On
Yuan Chwang, 2. 162.
3.This story illustrates the danger from fire which,
according to Buddha's prophecy, might befall
Pataliputra; see this Journal, 1906. 668. The
danger from water seems to be attributable to the
river Son, which at one time flowed into the
Ganges on the east of Patna, but now joins that
river some fifteen miles away to the west of the
city.
p. 361
heir" (Watters),--and banished himself. The king of
Vaisali, hearing that Bimbisara was absent in
banishment, raised an army and prepared to make an
invasion. The wardens of the marches having informed
" the king,"(1) a city was built (in order to ward
off the invaders).(2) And because "the king" was the
first to inhabit it, it was named Rajagriha, " the
(town of the) house of the king." Others say--(Hiuen
Tsiang has added)--that this town, the new one, was
only founded in the reign of Ajatasatru.(3) The
eldest son of that prince (of Ajatasatru) , on
succeeding to the throne, forthwith established his
residence there. And subsequently Asoka transferred
his court to Pataliputra,(4) and gave Rajagriha to
Brahmans.
Hiuen-tsiang reached first the older city;
arriving at it, from the direction of Gaya, through
the hills on the west of it (Julien, 2. 15; Beal, 2.
149; Watters, 2. 148). He has mentioned this as
Ku-she-ka-lo-pu-lo (Watters, 2. 323) , = perhaps
Kusagrapura, perhaps Kusankurapura, and as '' the
city surrounded by mountains, " i.e. Girivraja.
Leaving that city by its northern gate (J., 2. 29;
B., 2. 159; W., 2. 156), he came, by only one li, to
the Venuvana, the bamboogrove, where Karanda or
Kalanda built a Vihara which he gave to Buddha. On
the east of this grove, at a distance which he has
not specified, there was shewn to him the relic-Stupa
built by king Ajatasatru, his account of which has
been given above (page 359). On the north of the
Venuvana Vihara, at a distance of 200 paces, he came
(J., 2. 38;
-------------------------
1. That is, apparently, the king in exile, Bimbisara.
Beal added a note (loc. cit., 166, note 72) to the
effect that this new town was built, " as it
seems, "in the place where the king was living.
From this it would appear that the " site of the
new town of Rajagriha had been before used as a
burial-ground " for the people of the `old town.'".
The next sentence seems to imply a return of
Bimbisara from his self-imposed banishment.
2. Compare the story about Pataligama, Pataliputra;
see this Journal, 1906. 667 f.
3. So, for instance, Fa-hian; see page 362 below.
4 On this point, compare another passage in Hiuen
Tsiang's writings see this Journal, 1906. 669.
Julien has left it undetermined whether Asoka is
here mentioned as Wu-yau or otherwise; so also in
the corresponding passage in the Life, 160; in
respect of this detail, see this Journal, 1906.
669, note 2.
p. 362
B., 2. 165; W., 2. 161) to the site of the Karanda or
Kalanda pool or tank, which had dried up after the
death of Buddha. At only two or three li to the
north-west of that pool or tank, he came (loc. cit.;
all three) to a Stupa built by Asoka, by the side of
which there was a stone pillar bearing an
inscription. And then, at a short unspecified
distance to the north-east from that Stupa and
pillar, he arrived (loc. cit.; all three) at the city
Ho-lo-shi-ki-li-hi (Beal), i.e. Rajagriha.
Fa-hian travelled by a different route, from
Patna. He first reached, according to Laidlay
(Pilgrimage of Fa Hian, 264), "the New Town of the
Royal Residence; this new town was built by the king
A-che-shi" (i.e., Ajatasatru); according to Legge
(Travels of Fa-hien, 81), "New Rajagriha, the new
city which was built by king Ajatasatru;" according
to Beal (Records, 1. introd., 58) , "the new
Rajagriha; this was the town which king Ajatasatru
built." He says (Laidlay, loc. cit.): (1)-- "On
leaving by the western gate, you "arrive, at the
distance of 300 paces, at a tower raised by " king
A-che-shi, when he obtained a portion of the reliques
" of Foe: it is lofty, grand, beautiful, and
majestic." And he proceeds (ibid.):--" Leaving the
town on the southern side, "and proceeding four ii to
the south, you enter a valley "which leads to the
Five Hills: these five hills form a girdle "like the
walls of a. town; it is the Ancient Town of the "king
Ping-sha" (i.e., Bimbisara).
Thus, the southern exit from Rajagriha was at
quite a short distance-- according to Fa-hian, four
li, a little under half a mile; with which the
details given by Hiuen-tsiang fit in quite
well,--from the northern gate of Girivraja. The
relic-Stupa. which was shewn to Hiuen-tsiang, and was
described to him as having been made by Ajatasatru
and opened by Asoka, was to the east from a point,
which was at one li from the northern gate of
Girivraja, on the north-and-south line between
Rajagriha and Girivraja; and it was evidently the
Stupa over the underground deposit which was made by
Ajatasatru, on the advice of the Thera Maha-Kasyapa,
for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the bulk
------------------------
1. For Legge and Beal, see this Journal, 1906. 901.
p. 363
of seven of the eight original shares of the
corporeal relics of Buddha, somewhere, as
Buddhaghosha tells us (this Journal, 1906. 908f.), on
the south-east of Rajagriha. The relic-Stupa made by
Ajatasatru, which was shewn to Fa-hian, was 300 paces
outside the western gate of Rajagriha; and it was
plainly the Stupa which Ajatasatru had made in the
first instance (this Journal, 1906. 665, 908), over
only his own share of the relics.