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He then told the archer that his commission was, to slay Budha, when he was walking in the hall of ambulation belonging to the G-ijakuta wihara, for the accomplishment of which he would receive a proportionate re- ward. The priest had resolved to set two of the men to kill their chief as he returned from the place of murder ; and four others to kill these two, and eight others to kill these four, and sixteen others to kill these eight ; and he intended last of all to kill these sixteen with his own hand, that it might not be known in what way Budha had been killed. Early in the morning of the same day, when the raler of the three worlds looked to see whom he should catch in his net, he perceived that the thirty- one archers would receive the benefit of his teaching. After- wards, in the hall of the wihara, he awaited their arrival with all afEection, as the mother looks out for the coming of her only child. The chief of the archers came, and sent off an arrow; but it passed in a contrary direction to what he intended, and the twanging of the bow gave him great pain. Then Budha looked towards him, with the same kindness that he would towards any other being ; and the archer in this manner over- come, went towards him, and offered worship, confessing that VU. LEGENDS OF CKStAMA BUDHA. 331 what he had done was at the instigation of D^v^adatta ; and when he reqnested forgiveness, Bndha said bana to him, and be entered the path sow^. The other arohers, in a little time, came to enqnire into the reason why their chief did not return ; and as the two, the four, the eight, and the sixteen successively arrived, although one company was unable to see the other^ their eyes being purposely closed by the sage, they heard bana by which they also were enabled to enter sowdn ; after which they became priests, and rahats. (Milinda Prasna,) At another time, D^wadatta, from the top of the Gijakiita rock, by the help a machine, hurled an immense stone towards Budha, at a time when he was passing underneath, with the intent to kill him ; but in its flight it broke into two pieces, and a small portion rolling towards the sage, struck his foot, whence it caused a drop of blood to flow, about the size of the kowakka (ocymum gratissimum) fruit. Budha suflered much from the wound, but Jiwaka opened it with a sharp instrument, and let out the extravasated blood, by which means it was cured. The great enemy was now oonvinced that Budha could not be destroyed by a human being, and he therefore resolved to let loose upon him the MdUgiri elephant, an animal exceedingly fierce and cruel. At the request of D6wadatta, the king com- manded the keeper of the elephant to obey his orders, and to let the animal loose on the next day in the street of the city, when Budha came to receive alms. The elephant drank daily eight measures of arrack, but Dewadatta commanded that in the morning he should have sixteen. The next day a royal pro- clamation was issued that no one should appear in the streets ; all the citizens were to remain within their houses. The upa- sakas, on learning what was intended to take place, went to the wih^ra and requested Budha not to visit the city next day, as a great danger awaited him ; promising that they themselves would bring all that was necessary for the sage and his priests. But Budha declared that he would proceed in his usual course • and when the updsakas saw that they could not change his resolution, they went away. The next morning he called Ananda, and told him to inform the priests of the eighteen wiharas that they were to accompany him to the city. Tbe citizens, both those who believed in him and those by whom he was opposed, assembled in great numbers upon an eminence ; the former that 332 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. they might see the triumph of thoir teacher, and the latter that they might witness the defeat of him whom they considered as an enemy. Badha at the usual hour entered the street where he was accustomed to receive alms, attended by the priests. Soon afterwards the elephant was let loose against him ; at once it began to throw down the houses on each side, crushing their ruins to powder ; its trunk was tossed about in the most terrific manner ; its ears moved to and fro ; and like a moving rock it rushed towards the place where the sage was walking. The priests entreated Budha to escape, as the savage animal was unacquainted with his merit, and was evidently set on his de- struction ; but he quietly told them not to be afraid. Seriyut asked permission to be the first to encounter the elephant ; but the sage informed him, that the power of the Budha was one, and that of the disciple another, and forbade him to proceed towards the animal. Many other priests presented similar re- quests, but they were not granted. At last Ananda went a little in front of Budha, who thrice commanded him to retire to one side ; and when he still refused obedience, the teacher of the three worlds, by the power of irdhi, obliged him to go behind. At this instant a little child wandered into the street, and the mother, without any apprehension of the danger in which she was placed, ran into the space between Budha and the infuriated animal ; but when the elephant was about to destroy her, he called out, " The sixteen measures of arrack you this morning received were not given you that you might injure any other being but me ; here am I ; waste not your strength on a less noble object." On hearing the voice of Budha, the elephant looked to him; the effects of the arrack in a moment passed away ; and the pacified beast approached him in the gentlest manner, and did him reverence. The sage charged him not to take life in future, to hate no one, and to be kind to all ; and the elephant, in the presence of all the people, repeated the five precepts. Thus the rage of MAl&gin. was subdued, and had he not been a quadruped, he might now have entered the path 8ow4n. The multitude, on seeing this great wonder, made a noise in approbation like the voice of the sea, and the clapping of their hands was like the thunder. They took off their orna- ments and put them upon Mdlagiri, who from that time was called Dhanapala ; and 84,000 of the people entered the path vn. LEGENDS OF g<5tama budha. 333 an^gami. As Budha had there performed a miracle, he reflected that it woald be improper to seek alms in the same place, and in consequence retired to the Jet&wana wihdra, without proceeding in the usual course. 44. The Conversion of Ajdsat. There was celebrated in the city of Bajagaha a festival called Sena-keli. On the evening of the full moon Aj4sat was seated upon a throne, in the midst of all possible magnificence. From the time that he caused his father's death, he had been unable to sleep ; and though the nobles asked the cause of his restlessness, he was ashamed to tell them, though he felt as if his body had been pierced by a hundred weapons. It was a beautiful night ; but he was not at ease, and he enquired of the nobles who wore near him whether they knew of any one expert in conversation who could beguile the time with instructive talk. The nobles recommended different persons, but they were all tirttakas; each one naming his own teacher ; so that the king was like a man who wished for mangos and oould only procure the poisonous kaduru. At some distance was Jiwaka; but as he remained silent, the king asked if no one else had a teacher to recommend. He was silent because he knew of the king's enmity to Budha ; as he thought when the other nobles were severally recommending their teachers, that if he were to men- tion the name of G(5tama, it would only add to the confusion. It was also his idea that if the king went first to converse with the tirttakas, he would learn their nothingness, and ivould then be better disposed to listen to the truth. But the king became increasingly sorrowful, as those only spoke whom he wished to be silent, and those were silent whom he wished to speak ; and at last he said openly to Jiwaka, ** Why are you silent when others are recommending their teachers ; have you some cause of dis- satisfaction ?