"The Life
of the Buddha," p. 121.
[16] See the account of this event in M. B., p. 150. The account of it
reminds me of the ploughing by the sovereign, which has been an
institution in China from the earliest times. But there we have no
magic and no extravagance.
[17] "The place of Liberation;" see chap. xiii, note 7.
[18] See the accounts of this event in M. B., pp. 145, 146; "The Life
of the Buddha," pp. 15, 16; and "Buddhist Birth Stories," p. 66.
[19] There is difficulty in construing the text of this last
statement. Mr. Beal had, no doubt inadvertently, omitted it in his
first translation. In his revised version he gives for it, I cannot
say happily, "As well as at the pool, the water of which came down
from above for washing (the child)."
[20] See chap. xvii, note 8. See also Davids' Manual, p. 45. The
latter says, that "to turn the wheel of the Law" means "to set rolling
the royal chariot wheel of a universal empire of truth and
righteousness;" but he admits that this is more grandiloquent than the
phraseology was in the ears of Buddhists. I prefer the words quoted
from Eitel in the note referred to. "They turned" is probably
equivalent to "They began to turn."
[21] Fa-hien does not say that he himself saw any of these white
elephants, nor does he speak of the lions as of any particular colour.
We shall find by-and-by, in a note further on, that, to make them
appear more terrible, they are spoken of as "black."
CHAPTER XXIII
RAMA, AND ITS TOPE.
East from Buddha's birthplace, and at a distance of five yojanas,
there is a kingdom called Rama.[1] The king of this country, having
obtained one portion of the relics of Buddha's body,[2] returned with
it and built over it a tope, named the Rama tope. By the side of it
there was a pool, and in the pool a dragon, which constantly kept
watch over (the tope), and presented offerings to it day and night.
When king Asoka came forth into the world, he wished to destroy the
eight topes (over the relics), and to build (instead of them) 84,000
topes.[3] After he had thrown down the seven (others), he wished next
to destroy this tope. But then the dragon showed itself, took the king
into its palace;[4] and when he had seen all the things provided for
offerings, it said to him, "If you are able with your offerings to
exceed these, you can destroy the tope, and take it all away. I will
not contend with you." The king, however, knew that such appliances
for offerings were not to be had anywhere in the world, and thereupon
returned (without carrying out his purpose).
(Afterwards), the ground all about became overgrown with vegetation,
and there was nobody to sprinkle and sweep (about the tope); but a
herd of elephants came regularly, which brought water with their
trunks to water the ground, and various kinds of flowers and incense,
which they presented at the tope.
