English
eight jeweled stupas in eight gold reliquaries, eight gold reliquaries in eight gold stupas, eight gold stupas in eight silver reliquaries, eight silver reliquaries in eight silver stupas, eight silver stupas in eight gem reliquaries, eight gem reliquaries in eight gold stupas, eight gem stupas in eight ruby reliquaries, eight ruby reliquaries in eight ruby stupas, eight ruby stupas in eight beryl stupas, eight beryl stupas in eight crystal reliquaries, eight crystal reliquaries in eight crystal stupas. The uppermost crystal shrine was the size of the Thūpārāma shrine. Above that, he had a house made of all jewels made, above that, one made of gold, above that, one made of silver, above that, he had a house made of copper made. There, having scattered sand made of all jewels, and scattering thousands of water and land flowers, half of the sixty Jātakas, eighty great elders, King Suddhodana, Queen Mahāmāyā, the seven born together, all these golden He had five hundred and five golden and silver pots made, and ordered them to be filled. He had five hundred golden flags and five hundred golden lamps made, filled them with fragrant oil, and placed wicks of fine cloth in them. Then Venerable Mahākassapa, wishing that the garlands would not wither, the perfumes would not fade, and the lamps would not be extinguished, had golden plate inscriptions engraved. "In the future, a prince named Piyadassa will raise the umbrella and become a righteous king named Asoka. He will spread these relics widely." The king, honoring them with all kinds of offerings, exited, closing the door from the beginning. Closing the bronze door, he tied the key and seal to the drawstring. Right there, he placed a large jewel, having inscriptions engraved: "In the future, let poor kings take this jewel and honor the relics." Sakka, the king of gods, summoned Vissakamma and sent him, saying, "Friend, Ajātasattu has made a deposit of relics. Place a guard there." He came and arranged a whirlwind barrier. In that relic chamber, he arranged wooden figures holding crystal-colored swords, constantly circling with wind-like speed, bound with a single nail. All around, he made a stone enclosure in the form of a gingko dwelling, covered it with a single lid, poured dust over it, leveled the ground, and erected a stone stupa on top of it. The Story of the Relic Deposit 11. When the relic deposit was completed in this way, the Elder lived as long as he could and then passed away. The king also went according to his deeds, and those people also died. Later, Prince Piyadassa raised the umbrella and became a righteous king named Asoka. Taking those relics, he enshrined them in eighty-four thousand stupas throughout Jambudīpa. It is said that Bindusāra had one hundred sons. Asoka, keeping only Tissa Kumāra, born of the same mother as himself, had all the others killed. While killing them, he ruled the kingdom for four years without being consecrated. At the passing of the rains, eighteen years more than two hundred years after the Tathāgata's Parinibbāna, he attained sole sovereignty over all Jambudīpa. Through the power of his consecration, these royal powers came to be: his command prevailed one yojana deep into the great earth, and likewise in the sky above. From Lake Anotatta, deities brought sixteen water-pots daily by eight means. Because he was faithful in the Dispensation, he gave eight pots to the Sangha of monks, two pots to sixty Tipitaka monks, two pots to his chief queen Asaṇdhimittā, and used four pots himself. Deities brought daily from the Himalayas a nāga-creeper called dantakaṭṭha, smooth, soft, and flavorful, so that the daily tooth-cleaning needs of the king, the chief queen, sixteen thousand dancers, and sixty thousand monks were fulfilled. Daily, deities brought him emblic myrobalan without gall, terminalia chebula without gall, ripe mangoes of golden color and fragrant, and from Lake Chaddanta, five-colored garments for wearing and covering, yellow cloths for wiping hands, and divine silk. Daily, nāga kings from the nāga realm brought him fragrant unguents, seamless flower-cloths for covering, precious collyrium. Daily, nine thousand measures of rice that grew up in the Chaddanta Lake were brought by parrots. Mice husked the grain, and not a single broken grain was found. This rice was used for the king's consumption in all places. Bees made honey. In blacksmith shops, bellows blew without being struck. Bats flapped their wings. Karavīka birds came and sang sweetly, performing the king's offering work. Endowed with these powers, the king one day sent a golden chain bond to Mahākāḷa, who had seen the forms attained by the four Buddhas, to live out his aeon. Having brought the Nāga king, and seated him under a white parasol on a magnificent throne, having made offerings with various hundreds of water and land flowers, and with golden flowers, and having surrounded him on all sides with sixteen thousand dancers adorned with all ornaments, "May the form of the All-Enlightened One, the Supreme Buddha, the Sovereign of the Excellent Dhamma, of infinite wisdom, come into the sight of these eyes!" Thus, he created a Buddha image adorned with eighty minor marks, shining with the glory of the thirty-two major marks of a great man, like a pool of water adorned with blooming lotuses, water lilies, and white lotuses, like the sky shining brightly with the scattered splendor of a network of rays from a host of stars, like a golden mountain peak surrounded by a rainbow and lightning flashes with the charm of a variegated halo of blue, yellow, red, and other colors, with the beautiful head adorned with various pure and radiant banners, a nectar to the eyes of the hosts of Brahmās, humans, Nāgas, and Yakkhas. For seven days he made what is called an eye-offering. It is said that the king, after attaining consecration, patronized external ascetics for only three years. In the fourth year, he established a perpetual alms-giving to about sixty thousand ascetics of the Brahmin caste, who were pleased with the Buddha's teaching, and to the white-robed wanderers. Asoka, continuing the alms-giving initiated by his father in his own inner palace, one day, standing at the lion window, seeing those of unrestrained senses, of undisciplined deportment, eating with an outward show of calm, thought: "It is fitting to examine such alms-giving and give in the right place." So thinking, he said to his ministers: "Go, sirs, bring to the inner palace the monks and Brahmins who are well-regarded by each of you, I will give alms." The ministers, replying, "Very well, your majesty," brought those white-robed wanderers, Ājīvakas, Niganthas, and others, and said, "These, great king, are our arahants." Then the king... "Go, prepare various seats in the inner palace," he said. As they arrived, he said, "Sit on seats appropriate to each of you." Some sat on auspicious stools, some on wooden benches. Seeing that, the king knew, "They have no inner worth." Giving them food and delicacies suitable for them, he dismissed them. As time passed in this way, one day, standing at the lion window, he saw the novice Nigrodha walking through the royal courtyard, his senses guarded, his conduct perfect. "Who is this Nigrodha?" "The son of Prince Sumana, the eldest son of King Bindusāra." Here is the connected story: It is said that when King Bindusāra was weak, Prince Asoka, having relinquished the Ujjeni kingdom he had obtained, came and seized the entire city, arresting Prince Sumana. On that very day, Sumana's queen was fully pregnant. Disguised, she went out, heading for a village of outcastes not far away. Near the house of the elder outcaste, a deity dwelling in a banyan tree heard the sound of her being carried there and, approaching her, created a hall with her power, saying, "Live here." She entered that hall. On the very day she arrived, she gave birth to a son. Because he was taken care of by the banyan tree deity, she named him Nigrodha. From the day he saw him, the elder outcaste regarded him as his own daughter-in-law and constantly provided for him. The princess lived there for seven years. When Nigrodha was seven years old, an arahant named Mahāvaruṇa Thera, seeing the boy's potential, thought, "Now the boy is seven years old; it is time to ordain him." Having informed the princess, he ordained Nigrodha. The boy attained arahantship at the razor's edge. One day, early in the morning, he Having taken care of the body, having performed the duties to the teacher and preceptor, taking bowl and robe, I will go to the door of mother- उपासिका's house, he departed. And the location of the mother's dwelling was such that, having entered the city by the southern gate, having gone through the middle of the city, one had to exit by the eastern gate. And at that time, Asoka, the righteous king, was pacing in the lion-cage, facing the eastern direction. At that very moment, Sigrodha, the novice, reached the royal courtyard, with calmed senses, with a peaceful mind, looking only a yoke's length ahead. Thus it was said: One day, while standing in the lion-cage, he saw Nigrodha the novice going through the royal courtyard, controlled, guarded, with calmed senses, perfect in deportment. Having seen him, what occurred to him was this? "All these people are of distracted minds, with the nature of being consumed by sensual pleasures, but this boy is of an undistracted mind, and exceedingly his looking and glancing, his contracting and extending, are beautiful. Surely within him exists a supramundane quality." With the king's seeing him, the novice's mind was pleased. Affection arose. Why? In the past, while performing meritorious deeds, this one was the king's elder brother, a merchant. Then the king, with affection arisen, with great respect, sent ministers, saying, "Summon the novice." Thinking, "It is taking too long," he sent two or three more,