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Separately, by a thousand monks, surrounded by four; The elder, by a thousand men, and four ministers likewise. 248. On that very day he sent, by his own word; "Bring the elder to me by them," thus spoken, he did not come. 249. Hearing that, again he sent eight elders and ministers; Separately, a thousand men, as before, he did not come. 250. The king asked, "How will the elder come, I wonder?" The monks said, "The reason for that elder's coming 251. Is, Venerable Sir, a support to uphold the Dispensation; Thus spoken, O great king, that elder will come." 252. Again, the king sent sixteen elders and ministers; Separately, a thousand men, having spoken thus. 253. "Even in his old age, the elder will not mount a vehicle; Bring the elder by boat on the Ganges," he also said. 254. Having gone, they spoke thus to him, He, hearing that, arose; They brought the elder by boat, The king went forth to meet him there. 255. The king, taking his right hand, in knee-deep water; As he descended from the boat, showed reverence to the elder. 256. Worthy of offerings, he, compassionate to the king's right hand; Leaning on it with compassion, the elder descended from the boat. 257. The king, having led the elder to the pleasure-increasing park; Having washed the elder's feet, and anointed them, he sat down. 258. The king, testing the elder's ability; "I wish to see, Venerable Sir, a miracle," he said. 259. "What?" when asked, "an earthquake," the king again said secretly; "Of the whole or a part, which do you wish to see?" 260. "Which is difficult?" having asked, "the shaking of a part"; Hearing "difficult," he expressed his wish to see that. 261. A chariot, a horse, a man, a bowl filled with water; The elder, within a league's boundary, in the four directions. 262. Having placed them, and with those half-leagues, that league of earth; He shook by psychic power there, and showed it to him as he sat. . 263. By that minister, by the death of the bhikkhus, and by his own death, the king asked the Elder about the existence or non-existence of evil. 264. "There is no karma without defiled volition," the Elder enlightened the king, telling the Tittira Jātaka. 265. Staying there for seven days in the delightful royal park, he taught the king the auspicious doctrine of the Buddha. 266. And in that same week, the king sent two yakkhas to gather all the bhikkhus from the earth without exception. 267. On the seventh day, going to his delightful monastery, he caused a complete assembly of the bhikkhu Saṅgha. 268. Seated alone with the Elder in a secluded spot, he called each bhikkhu who had received a gain to his presence. 269. "What did the Fortunate One teach, venerable sir?" the king asked. They explained their views such as eternalism, each according to his own. 270. The king expelled all those holding wrong views. All sixty thousand were expelled. 271. He asked the bhikkhus of the Dhamma, "What did the Fortunate One teach?" They said, "He was an analyst." The king then asked the Elder. 272. "The Fully Awakened One is an analyst, venerable sir," he said. Hearing that from the Elder, the king was then delighted. 273. "Since the Saṅgha is purified, therefore, venerable sir, let the Saṅgha perform the Uposatha," saying this to the Elder, the king, 274. having given protection to the Saṅgha, entered the beautiful city. The Saṅgha, being united, then performed the Uposatha. 275. From the bhikkhu Saṅgha, numbering many hundreds of thousands, the Elder selected those skilled, those with six supernormal powers, those knowing the Tipiṭaka, those with analytical knowledge. 276. He chose a thousand bhikkhus to compile the True Dhamma. With them, he compiled the True Dhamma in the Asokārāma. 277. Just as the Elder Mahākassapa and the Elder Yasa had conducted the Dhamma recitation, so too did the Elder Tissa. 278. And the Elder Tissa recited the Kathāvatthuppakaraṇa, which refutes other doctrines, in that assembly. in the circle of song. 279. Thus by a thousand bhikkhus, for the protection of King Asoka; This Dhamma Saṅgīti was completed in nine months. 280. In the seventeenth year of the king, the seventy-second sage; He concluded that Saṅgīti on the Mahāpavāraṇā day. 281. As if giving approval, for the establishment of the Sāsana; At the conclusion of the Saṅgīti, the great earth trembled. 282. Having left even the excellent and delightful Brahma-vimāna; He came to this contemptible human world for the sake of the Sāsana, having done what was to be done; Who else would be negligent in the work of the Sāsana? In the Mahāvaṃsa, composed for the joy and emotion of good people, The Fifth Chapter, called The Third Dhamma Saṅgīti. Sixth Chapter The Coming of Vijaya 1. In Vaṅga, in the city of Vaṅga, there was once a king of Vaṅga; The daughter of the King of Kāliṅga was the queen of that king. 2. That king obtained from that queen one daughter; The soothsayers predicted for her cohabitation with a lion-king. 3. She was exceedingly beautiful, exceedingly lustful; By the gods and by the queen, she was despised out of shame. 4. She went out alone, desiring the pleasure of free movement; Unknown, she went with a caravan bound for Magadha. 5. In the forest of Lāḷa country, a lion attacked the caravan; The rest fled elsewhere, terrified by the lion's approach. 6. The lion, having taken its prey, saw her going and was delighted; Enamoured, it approached, wagging its tail, with ears flattened. 7. Seeing it, she remembered the prophecy she had heard; Fearless, she caressed its limbs, making it happy. 8. Greatly delighted by her touch, the lion, having placed her on its back, took her to its cave and cohabited with her. 9. Through that cohabitation, in due course, she, the king's daughter, gave birth to twins, a son and a daughter. 10. The son's hands and feet were like those of a lion, so she named him Sīhabāhu (Lion-arm), and the daughter Sīhasīvali. 11. When the son was sixteen years old, he asked his mother a question: "You and our father, mother, why are we so different?" 12. She told him everything, "What shall we take?" he asked; "Your father has blocked the cave with a rock," she said. 13. He took a large rock on his shoulder and blocked the great cave; In one day, he went and came fifty leagues. 14. With the lion in the forest for food, his mother on his right, And his younger sister on his left, the three quickly departed. 15. Having clothed themselves with tree bark, they came to a border village; There was the son of the king's sister's maternal uncle at that time. 16. The general of the Vanga king, stationed in the border village; He was sitting under a banyan tree, managing his work. 17. Seeing them, he asked, and they said, "We are forest dwellers"; So the commander of the army gave them clothes. 18. They were splendid, he gave them food on leaves; By their merit, these became golden vessels. 19. Astonished by this, the general asked, "Who are you?"; The king's daughter told him her birth and lineage. 20. Taking that daughter of his aunt, the commander of the army, Went to the city of Vanga, and lived with her. 21. The lion quickly went to the cave, not seeing the three people; Afflicted by sorrow for his son, he neither ate nor drank. 22. Searching for his children, he went to the border villages; Wherever he went, that village was deserted. 23. The border dwellers went and reported it to the king; "The lion oppresses the country, O king, restrain him." 24. "It is false that he can be restrained," the king said before, mounted on an elephant; "Whoever brings the lion, I will give him a thousand." 25. And two thousand, and three thousand, the king offered; On two occasions, the mother restrained her son, Lion-Arm, who was eager. 26. On the third occasion, Lion-Arm, without asking his mother, Took the three thousand to kill his own father. 27. They showed the prince to the king, and the king said, "If You catch the lion, I will give you that kingdom." 28. He went to the cave entrance, and seeing the lion from afar, As it was coming... by love for his son, he shot that arrow. 29. The arrow, striking the forehead, of the one with a mind of loving-kindness, fell back to the ground, right at the prince’s feet. 30. It was so even a third time, then the king of the deer grew angry; Then the arrow shot by him, pierced his body and came out. 31. Taking the lion’s head with its mane, he went to his city; Seven days had then passed, since the death of the Vanga king. 32. And because the king was childless, and pleased with his deed; And having heard of the king’s grandson, and having recognized his mother. 33. The ministers assembled, all of one mind; They said, “Let Prince Sīhabāhu, be king.” 34. He accepted the kingship, and gave his mother to her husband; Taking Sīhasīvalī, he went to his birthplace. 35. He built a city there, it was called Sīhapura; And in the forest, a hundred yojanas away, he also established villages. 36. In that city in the Lāḷa country, King Sīhabāhu; Ruled, having made Sīhasīvalī his chief queen. 37. The chief queen sixteen times, gave birth to two twins each time; Her sons were born in due course, Vijaya was the eldest. 38. Sumitta was the second, all were thirty-two sons; In time, the king anointed Vijaya, as viceroy. 39. Vijaya was ill-behaved, and so was his retinue; They committed many acts of violence, which were unbearable. 40. The angry populace, reported the matter to the king; The king, having admonished them, advised his son well. 41. Everything was the same a second time, but a third time; The angry populace said, “Kill your son!” 42. Then the king, Vijaya, and his retinue; Seven hundred men, having half their heads shaved. 43. Having put them in a ship, he had them cast into the ocean; And similarly their wives, and similarly their children. 44.