ဒါဌာဝံသ

Then, in the ninth year of (the reign of) King Kittisirimegha, the son of Mahasena, they, the hushand and wife/ having arrived at that city, lived iu a delightful temple. An eminent Brahman, having met those travellers at night, satisfied them with delicious food and drink, and then at the end of the night pointed out to the husband and wife the road to Anuradhapura.^ Afterwards, being (thus) respectfully treated by the Worthy Brahman, they took the eminent tooth-relic of Baddha, left the city, and, completing their journey over a very long road, reached the suburbs of Auuradhapura., K, in the expectation of seeing any pious king the husband and wife came to that country, they heard (instead) that Mahasena, king of Lanka, had died long ago of a disease which attacked him. Overwhelmed by grief, as by a mountain which had suddenly sprung up, being foolish, they lamented much (his death); all directions and intermediate points^ appeared then to them, fainting iu their minds, to be heavy with darkness. The husband and wife, hearing of the devotion to the three gems of King Kittisirimegha, who was then established in mle, vere released from the heat of grief, as a forest in heavj fire is quenched by rain. Being told of the friendship (with tie king) of a certain priest (living) at the great monastery called M^hagiii,* they botli nnanimonsly went to him, accepted the hospitality done to them, and told hiin of the news of the relic. That eminent sage, learning the news of the tooth-relic, was pleased, as if his body had been sprinkled oyer with nectar, and lodged at once the stainless relic in his house adorned with canopies of cloth. And he, having greatly honoured them both, husband and wife. sent, according to their wish, a priest to the Iring of Lanka, to communicate to hJTn those pleasant tidings. The king, enjoying sport on a certain day in spring-time, with his queens in the royal park, saw at a distance the priest coming there with a bright colour on his ^ce. The priest, haying approached the king, communicated to him the news, with a pleased miud. Having heard it, he bore the burden of immense happiness, like one who had obtained the Chakka gem.* The King of Lanka knew that the saying of the espounder of omens® was true when he spoke thus : — " Two Brahmans, husband and wife, earning the tooth-relic of Buddha, will, with one mind, come to Lanka before long." Lnmediately, then, the pious and glad-hearted king went on foot, with a large retinue, to the monastery Meghagiri, in the north-east direction of Anuradhapura. Beholding tlie relic of Sugata difficult to be obtained, wetting his necklace of beautiful pearls with an abundance of tears caused hj joy, he made obeisance (to it) in great veneration, and thought thus, the down of his body bristling up (with joy):— " Though I should offer to-day my head, difficult to give away and bearing a diadem resplendent with many gems, to Buddha, the sole refuge of the world, I should not be making an offering befitting the relic. " No man of sane mind in this world would think — * I am making an offering suitable to Him, offering even the whole circle of the earth, with its many treasures, wealth, and enjoyments.' " This dominion of mine in Lankd is but very small but ; Buddha is illimitable in virtues of various kinds. How can I, of little wealth, honour such a being, who is possessed of the " ten powers, the sole Chief of the three worlds ? Thus, again and again thinking of the same matter, he, though endowed with courage, fainted away. Being quickly fanned by his distressed servants with the air from the Chimara,^ he regained consciousness. ** Wise men, planting even a small seed in the great earth, enjoy in due time many wished for results, such as leaves, bark, flowers, fruits, and the like. " In this manner, making even a very small offering to the Lord of the Law, who is illimitable in virtues of various kinds, I shall obtain the incomparable happiness of heaven and Nibbdna, delightful owing to the ripening of merit in the course of time."" Having thought thus, the king, endowed with a face like the full moon, offered, through excessive weight of joy, all this island of Sihala to the excellent tooth-relic of the Omniscient. Then priests, wise and skilled in the Tipi^aka,' Jdtaka, Logic, Agama, and the like, and citizens who had their sole refuge in the three treasures, assenlbled there instantly through curiosity. The king,' in the midst of a great retinue, spoke thus " The eminent Sage was possessed of very white teeth. If the teeth of Buddha were white like the planet Venus, why " is this stained with dirt ? At that moment the tooth-relic of the King of sages, with two wings outspread like a royal swan, and having numerous rays dispersed in the sky, rushed quickly, whirling about for a moment's time. The king, having spread a very costly white carpet, placed the relic of the Sage on a splendid seat, and covered it with clusters of jessamine flowers, of a colour like that of the clouds at the close of the rainy season. Then the relic of the Chief of sages, having quickly risen, stood on the top of the heap of flowers, and shone with milkwhite rays, causing the eyes of beholders to cease to twinkle. From a desire to test it again, he placed the relic on a silk cloth —resembling the line of foam in the milky sea ; spread over the seat, (and) covered it with many hundreds of cloths of great value. 28 - The relic, rising immediately, burst through the hundreds of cloths, like the moon emerging from the interior of a white cloud, and, planting itself on them, made all the (different) quarters irradiant with rays white as the kunda flower. At that moment the earth, together with its mountains, an expression of approval. roared, as if to give' utterance to Also, as if to witness the wonder, the sea became becalmed, the arms of its waves (reposing) in tranquillity. Divine flowers fell from the sky, as from a tree m full blossom shaken by a furious elephant ; in the sky, goddesses exhibited to the people their wonderful skill in dancing. Divine singers sang songs, pleasing from the high tunes arisingfrom their merriment; divine musical instruments played upon emitted a twofold, high, and sweet melody. The earth and sky were knitted together by a cloud with hundreds of raindrops, resembling hundreds of silver cords all directions were thoroughly irradiated with lightning-lamps in the midst of great festoons of clouds. There blew also gently a cold wind, which had shaken the forest in the Malaya mountains, lovely from its bearing aloft the pollen of full-blown flowers, (and) capable of removing latge quantities of perspiration-drops. The king, having witnessed this rare miracle, (and) the great festival of the people, such as was never seen before, kept his two eyes unshut, by reason of intense happiness, (and) made a large offering of gems and other objects. Then, carrying the relic on his head, he stood on a splendid chariot, which had a white umbrella raised over it, a variegated coverlet (spread on it), and white horses yoked to it, and entered Anuradhapura, the abode of prosperity. The king, possessed of unequalled powers, deposited the relic of theSage on a throne having a white umbrella held above it, (and) a white woollen coverlet spread on it, in his house, weU adorned (even) like the palace of Indra. The king, longing for happiness and heaven,^" constructed a relic-temple of great value in (his palace, and) placing there the relic of the supreme Sage, honoured it day and night with many kinds of gifts. The chief of the threefold Sihala, being pleased, treated them both, husband and wife, kindly, (and) presented to them many gems, ornaments and villages where distinguished families only can reside. The inhabitants of provinces, market-towns, cities, and the like, having assembled, felt aggrieved at not seeing the relic of Sugata, (and) praising highly the deeds of the Chief of the world, made a loud clamour in the presence of theking, saying : " The Lord of the Law was born in the world for the benefit of all people; he did good to all mankind; his relics were presented for the benefit of the mass; we are anxious to make offerings to the relic." The king, summoning the council of priests living in the grove near Anuradhapura, made known the wish of the assembled people to worship the relic of Buddha. In that great congregation of priests, a Thera, unequalled in the power of his understanding, the abode of kindness, said thus to the king of the threefold Sihala, who was of great wisdom, skilled in doing good to the world : "The securing the advantage of people dependent on one is certainly a virtue put into constant practice by great men. Bring out the relic in the spring season, (and) show it to the people, who wish (to perform) acts of merit." Having heard the well-spoken words of the eminent sage, the king asked the assembled priests again — " For this : vast mass of people to worship the relic, what very pleasing " place is here ? Then all the priests living in the monasteries," through attachment, each spoke highly of his own place. Their words diflfering from each other, the king was neither much pleased with any (of their) words, nor did he reject them. But the king, having come to an impartial state in his own mind, spoke again in the midst of the assembly of priests (thus) : " The relic of the Chief of sages will go instantly of its own accord to a place adapted for it." Then the king, going to his palace, quickly opened the multitude of lotus-faces^' of the people who were desii-ous of 7G worshipping the relic, and ordered the city and the road to the monastery to be decorated. The street was well swept, the dust kept down by the sprinkling of water; it was (made) very pleasant by the strewing of sand (over it) ; (and) triumphal arches, beautified with gold and set with images of tigers and the like, were erected. A row of flags warded off the heat of the sun by their shade, (and) appeared, as if dancing ; the street from its colour, assumed the appearance of a forest-line of rows of fullgrown plantain-trees^' in spring-time. New vases filled (with water)^* indicated to good men that the wished-for happiness of heaven and Nibbdna will be attained. Moreover, the clear day became cloudy owing to the incense emanating from camphor, frankincense, and aloewood. Temporary pavilions of various kinds, (adorned) with pendant necklaces of white pearls, were erected there, and festoons of flowers, with crowds of bees fond of fragrance buzzing about them, were (also) made. Some went to the festival wearing beautiful robes ; some bearing in their hands baskets filled with flowers ; other people carrying loads of fragrant powder ; others (again) holding large umbrellas beautified in various ways. Then the lord of Lanka, placing the relic of the Chief" of the three worlds in a splendid chariot yoked to horses white as the moon and shining with the brilliance of gems, having first made obeisance (to it), said this word : "Chief of sages (as thou didst go) to the terrace of ! the Bodhi-tree to attain Buddhahood, to the tree Gawrfamha to subdue the heretics, to Migaddya^* to expound the Law, go also to-day, of thine own accord, to a place where it will be fit to honour thee." Then the king, skilled in performing acts suited to the occasion, let the royal chariot proceed without a charioteer in it ; he himself went afterwards, with a great retinue, making offerings unequalled in their kind. The city looked like the sea raging (at the end of the world), owing to the shouts of applause from a large concourse of people, the outspread neighings of horses, the beating of drums, and the loud trumpeting of elephants. Ladies of rank ran in exultation to the two sides of the streets, threw golden ornaments, caused a shower of flowers to rain on all sides, (and) waved garments over their heads. On the chariot coming near the eastern gate, like a ship going over the surface of the sea, multitudes of priests and all men, being pleased, worshipped it there with various gifts. Then the splendid chariot having gone round the city with its right side turned towards it, came out at the northern gate, (and) stood, like a ship with goods arrived at a harbour, in place which had been made pure by the religious dis- a course of the sage Mahinda." The king of Lanka, taking out at that place the eminent tooth-relic of Buddha from within the casket decorated with gems, like the moon from an evening cloud, exhibited it tothe inhabitants of provinces, towns, (and) cities. The people, filled instantly with very great joy, caused a shower of ornaments and objects of value to rain on it, a ad the mouths of the (different) quarters were made to resound with festive songs composed by rejoicing bards. Numerous lotus-like hands of the people were clasped together as at the rising of the moon ; countless expressions of approval uttered in the sky by Brahmas, gods, and the like, spread even through the centre of the world. The tooth-relic, of a colour like a part of the moon, white as the kunda flower and new sandal-wood, caused with its radiance palace gates, mountains, trees, and the like, to appear for a moment as if they were formed of polished silver. Who, witnessing this incomprehensible and great miracle in that place, did not feel his hair standing on end ? Or who carried home each his ornaments? or who did not (then) enjoy the privilege of existence ? Who did not (then) renounce the long persistent defilement of heresy ? Or who did not wish to witness the " greatness of Buddha? or who were indeed then bound in the meshes of avarice ? or who did not then seek the three treasures for protection ? The king of Lanka also having worshipped the incomparable relic of the Omniscient, enlarged again the abode of the tooth-relic at an expenditure of ninety thousand (pieces of gold, and) honoured it daily in the inner palace. Carrying the relic every year to the monastery Ahhayuttara,^* thatking called Kittisirimegha, observant of truth, caused a record to be written of what he had done, for the purpose of securing offerings of that nature to it. The chiefs of the earth, with Buddhadasa^' at their head, and others also, observing this custom, pleasing from their being endowed with excellent qualities, such as piety and Mndness, as their ornaments, ^honoured the tooth-relic of Buddha in many ways. Eecognising the advantage secured to men by the Teacher in many past births (of his), believing in his Buddhahood, which removes all sinful passions, giving ear to his excellent Law, and seeking the association with good men, a man of keen intellect should be anxious to attain the tranquil Mbbana, the means of dissipating the fear of the three births. ; ; ; ; HISTORY OF THE AUTHOR. This history of the tooth-relic of Buddha, which gives delight to the hearers, (and) is a lamp for (displaying) the power of the All-seeing, was composed by the royal teacher called Dhammakitti, whose wealth was piety, and who was soft- worded Who wrote a splendid Tika" for the Panchikd on the ex- grammar made by Chandagomi, and a Tikk for the cellent commentary on the Vinaya (called) Samantapasddikd, which imparts strength to the understanding Who composed a Tiki for the commentary on the noble scripture Anguttara,' which destroys ignorance and misapprehension; and also a work called Vinayasangaha for the benefit of numerous priests, zealous in the observance of the sacred ordinances Who was of a pure race, possessed of much kindness and other virtuous qualities, skilled in logic and the sacred sciences, bold, with a wide renown like unto a multitude of moonbeams spread everywhere, and considerate (Also) a pupil of the great and venerable Sdriputta,* bora of a pure race, occupying the highest office of a teacher of all -sciences, versed in all the various systems of religions ;* Of subdued organs, devoted to the sacred laws, fond of a bi life of subjugated passions, of tranquil mind, -wearing as his ornaments combined virtues, (such as) contentment and the like, and the means of (furthering) the progress of the religion of Buddha. May the religion of the supreme Sage last long May ! kings be established in justice! May rain fall in (due) season I May all people attain happiness by exercising mutual friendliness I —— ;; NOTES.