English
In the course of time each of * The miminna is found in Ceylon. It is of the deer species, hut not higher than a lamb, and its limhs are shaped in the most delicate manner. The interpreter modliar of Negombo, M. L. E. Per^ra, Esq., had one in his possession perfectly white, which he intended I should bring home and present to the queen in his name ; but in an unhappy hour a pig got access to the cage in which it was confined, and destroyed its beautiful occupant. t This was afterwards the birthplace of G<5tama Budha. " The Chineee specify Kau-pi-le, the Burmese, Ka-pi-la-Tot, the Siamese Ea-bi-la-pat, the Singhalese Kimboul-pat (Eimbulwat) and the Nepaulese Eapilapur, as the city in which their legislator was bom . . . The precise situation of Kapila, it is not now easy to ascertain. The Tibetan writers pltice it near Kailas, on the riyer Bhagirathi, or as elsewhere stated, on the Kohini rirer. These indications, connected with its dependency on Kosala, render it likely that it was in Bohilkund, or in £amaon, or perhaps eren rather more to the eastward ; for the river now known as the Kohini is one of the feeders of the Gunduk — at any i-ate it must have been on the borders of Nepaul ; as it is stated that when the SiLkyas were dispossessed of their city, those who escaped retired into that country.*' — Wilson, Joum. Bengal As. Soc., Jan. 1832. When visited by Fa Hian, Kapila had neither king nor people ; it was absolutely one vast solitude. The Singhalese authors say that it is fifty- one yojanas from Wisila, and sixty from Kajagaha. In the Amiwatura, Budha is said to have passed from Sctawya to Kapila, and thence to Kusi- nira in going from Sewet to Baiagaha. VI. THE ANCESTORS OF g6tAMA BUDHA. 137 the qaeens had eight sons and eight danghters, or sixty-four children in all. When their father heard in what manner the princes had acted, he thrice exclaimed, ^* Sukka wata Lho raja- kamard, parama sakkd wata bho rdjakumdrdyi." ^' The princes are skilf al in preserving the pnritj of oar race ; the princes are exceedingly skilfnl in preserving the pnrity of our race." On account of this exclamation of the king, the Okk^ka race was henceforth called Ambatta Sakya. After 222,769 princes of the race of S&kya had reigned at Ka- pila, or Kapilawastu (Sing. Kimbulwat), the kingdom was received by Jayas6na, who was succeeded by his son Singha*hanu (so called because his cheek bones were like those of a lion). The principal queen of Singha-hanu was Kasayina, by whom he had five sons, Sudhddana, Amit<5dana, Dhotodana, Sukkddana, and Ohatit($dana ; and two daughters, Amita and Parali. As Sudhddana was the eldest, he succeeded his father, and reigned at Kapilawastu. From Maha Sammata to Sudhddana, in lineal succession, there were 706,787 princes, of the race of the sun. Of these princes, G6tama Bddhisat was bom as Maha Sammata, Maha Mandhdtu, Maha Sudarsana, Makhdd6wa, Nimi, Kusa, B&ma, Udayabhadda, Mahinsaka, Eatthakdri, Maha Silawa, Chtilajanaka, Maha Janaka, ChuUapaduma, Maha Paduma, Ghullasutasdma, Maha Sutasdma, Panchdyudha, Dharmma, Sa- tabhatuka, Sahasrabhatuka, Dharmmista, Bhdgineyya, Bdj6wado, Alinachitta, W^deha, Asadisa, Sakkaditti, Oandhdra, Maha Gondhara, Addsamukha, Sudhabhdjana, Anithigandha, Kurud- barmma, Ghata, Dharmmapdla, Dhigdyu, Maha Dhigdyu, Sus- sima, Kummisapinda, Parantapa, Udaya, Garata, SAdhina, Siwi, SiSmanassa, Ayddhara, Alinasattu, Arindama, Tem6, and Chan- dra. Nineteen times he was bom as king of Benares. The last birth in which he was king was that of Wessantara. The principal queen of Sudhddana was Maha Mdya, daughter of Supra Budha, of the race of Anusdkya, who reigned in the city of K61L The queen mother Priyd (of whom we have spoken in connection with the founding of the city of Kapilawastu), was seized with the disease called sw6ta-kushta, or white leprosy, on account of which she was obliged to reside in a separate habitation; and her whole body became white, like the flower of the mountain ebony, kobalila. This disease was so infectious that even those who merely looked at her might catch it ; and 138 A MANUAL OF BUBHISM. as the princes themselves were in danger of taking the infection, they took her to a forest near a river, at a distance from the city, in a chariot with drawn curtains. A hole was dug into which they put her, with fire and fuel, and all kinds of food ; after which they went away weeping. The hole was of sufficient size to afford every necessary accommodation for the princess. It so happened that Kama, the king of Benares, was seized by the same disorder, and the disease was so malignant in its type that neither the qneen nor his concnbines conld approach him, lest they should be defiled. As the king was thus put to shame, he gave the kingdom to his son, and retired into the forest, thinking to die in some lonely cave.* After walking about some time, he was overcome by hunger, and ate of the root, leaves, fruit, and bark of a certain tree ; but these acted medicinally, and his whole body became free from disease, pure as a statue of gold. He then sought for a proper tree in which to dwell, and seeing a kolom with a hollow trunk, he thought it would be a secure refuge from the tigers. Accordingly he made a ladder, sixteen cubits high, by which he ascended the tree ; and cutting a hole in the side for a window, he constructed a frame on which to repose, and a small platform on which to cook his food. At night he heard the fearful roaring of wild beasts around ; but his life was supported by the offal left by the lions and tigers after they had eaten their prey. One morning a tiger that was prowling about for food, came near the place where the princess was concealed ; and having got the scent of human flesh, he scraped with his paw until the earth that covered the cave was removed, when he saw the princess, and uttered a loud roar. The princess trembled with fear at the sight of the tiger, and began to cry. As all creatures are afraid of the human cry, the tiger slunk away without doing her any injury. The cry was heard by R4ma as well ; and when he went to see from whom it proceeded, he beheld the princess. The king asked who she was, and she said that she had been brought there that she might not defile her relatives. B&ma then said to her, '* I am Bdma, king of Benares ; our meeting together is like that of the waters of the rain and the * The Ghinlsa Purina commences with the misfortane of S<$mak&n1c. king of Surat, who, on account of the affliction of leprosy, left his house and kingdom to wander in the wilderness. — Dr. Steyenson, Joum. Bojal As. Soo. yiii. VI. THE ANCESTORS OF GiiTAMA BUDHA. 139 river ; ascend, therefore, from the cave to the light." But Priyi replied, *' I cannot ascend from the cave ; I am a£9icted with the white leprosy." Then said the king, '* I came to the forest on account of the same disease, bnt was cnred by the eating of certain medicinal herbs ; in the same way yoa may be onred ; therefore at once come hither." To assist her in ascending, B^ma made her a ladder ; and taking her to the tree in which he lived, he applied the medicine, and in a little time she was perfectly free from disease. When the princess was thus restored to health, she became the wife of B4ma, and in the same year was delivered of two sons. Then, for the space of sixteen years, she had two sons every year, nntO the nnmber amounted to thirty-two. It happened in the coarse of time that a man who knew the king saw him in the forest. When he said that he had come from Benares, Bi&ma enquired about his own family and the welfare of the city ; and in the midst of their conversation the thirty-two princes gathered around them. The hunter asked in astonishment who they were ; and when he was informed, he besought the king to leave the forest and come to the city ; but B&ma was not willing to accede to this request. On his return to Benares, the hunter informed the reigning king that his father was alive. On receiving this intelligence, he went with a large retinue to the forest, and tried to prevail upon his father to return to the palace ; but even his entreaties were in vain. The prince, therefore, commanded his servants to erect a city in that place, with walls, tanks, and every needful defence and ornament ; and when this was done, he and his attendants returned to Benares. The newly-erected city was called K61i, from the kolom tree (nauclea cordifolia) in which the king took refuge.