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The thirty-two wonders seen at the moment of his conception were again pre- sented. The queen did not proceed to K61i, but returned to Kapi lawastu, attended by 160,000 princes of both cities. It was on Tuesday, the day of the full moon, in the month Wesak, the nekata being Wis^,* that Bddhisat was bom ; and on the same day the following were also bom or produced : Yas- 6dhar^-d6wi, who afterwards became his wife ; the horse Kanta- ta, upon which he fled from the city when he went to assume the Budhaship ; the nobleman Ghanna, who accompanied him in the commencement of his flight; Ananda, his personal attendant after he beoame Budha ; the nobleman K^luddyi, who was sent as a messenger by his father to prevail on him to visit his native city ; the four mines of treasure ;t and the bd-tree, near which he became Budha. The chief counsellor of Singhahau, the father of Sudhddana, was Kdlad^wala; and it was he who instructed Sudhddana in * Whenever an important event is recorded, the day of the week, the age of the moon, the month, and the nekata, are mentioned. But it is easy to be thus minute, when the annalist consults only his imagination. Thus, the giant Partholanus, the eighth lineal descendant from !Noah, is said to have &nded on the coast of Munster, the 14th day of May, in the year of the world 1978, The Mahomedans have a tradition that Adam was created on Friday afternoon, at the hoar of Am, or between noon and evening. t The four maha-nidhdnas, or great mines of treasure, were formed at KapUawastu, and became the property of the king. The first, Sankha, was four n)iles in circumference ; the second, Fhala, was eight miles ; the third, Utphala, twelve miles ; and the fourth, Fundarika, sixteen miles. The depth of all the mines was equal to the thickness of the earth ; and the treasures thej contained were so vast, that if all the people in the world had taken from them as much as they desired, they would uot have been decreased more tlian one inch. 150 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. the sciences. On the death of Singhahann, the counsellor requested permission to retire from office, that he might become a recluse ; but as the new king said that since the death of his father there was no one but he to whom he could apply for advice and direction, he consented to remain in a garden near the palace ; where he received food from the king's table, but put on the garment of an ascetic. By the exercise of the necessary observances, and by meditation, he received power to see backward 40 kalpas, and forward the same number. By the acquirement of abhignyd, he overcame all passion, and arrived at the state of a rishi, so that he was enabled at will to visit the nAga, garunda, and asura worlds, and the d^waloka of Sekra. One day, when in his 16ka, he saw the d^was dancing hand in hand, most joyfully, in a manner that he had never previously witnessed ; and when he enquired the reason, asking if they were about to receive another Sekra, they informed him that in eleven of their hours from that time, or thirty-five of the years of men, the son of the monarch Sudh<$dana would become Budha. On his return to the garden he was visited by the king, who informed him of the joyful event that had taken place ; and as he expressed a wish to see the child, the infant was brought ; but when his father would have had him worship the sage, in order to acquire merit, the venerable recluse pre- vented it by descending from his elevated seat; for were a Budha to bow to any other being whatever, the head of that being would instantly cleave into seven pieces. He then put the feet of the child to his forehead, as when the vivid light- ning strikes against a cloud, and worshipped him. The king, unable to restrain his parental affection, presented the same mark of homage. Then the recluse said, " I pay no respect to Maha Brahma or Sekra ; were I to forbid it, neither the sun nor the moon could proceed in its course ; but I have worshipped this child." After thus speaking, he proceeded to examine whether the signs of a supreme Budha were to be found upon his person, viz. the 216 mangalya-lakshana, the 32 maha- purusha-lakshana, and the 80 anuwyanjana-lakshana ; and when he saw that they were all present, smiling with joy like a full water- vessel, he declared that the prince would most certainly become Budha. Some of these signs, such as the teeth, were not then visible in the ordinary manner ; but he saw them by VII. LEGENDS OP G(5TAMA BUDHA. 151 anticipation, throngli the aid of his divine ejes. A little after be looked to ascertain whether he himself would be permitted to see the Badha that was thos to be revealed ; when he per- ceived that before his manifestation he should be born in an ardpa world ; and that a hundred, or a thoasand, or a hundred thousand Budhas might be born, without his being able to derive therefrom anj benefit. On learning his fate, he wept, like a water-vessel broken. The nobles who accompanied the king, seeing him at first smile and then weep, asked him why he did so, as thej were afraid that he foresaw some danger that threatened the prince. The rishi informed them ; and then again looked to see whether any of the members of his family woxQd enjoy the privilege of which he was deprived; and as he saw that his nephew, N41aka, would be thus favoured, he recommended him to become an ascetic. The nephew took this advice, and worshipped Bddhisat, after which he shaved his head, put on a yellow robe, and retired to the Himdla forest, where he continued in the practice of the usual obligations. When the prince became Budha, he went to Benares, heard bona, retired to the forest a second time, and by meditation became a rahat. Five days after the birth of Bddhisat,* a great festival was appointed, in order that his name might be given ; f and 108 learned brahmoiis;^ were invited to attend, unto whom the king gave an offering of food. After they had eaten it, Sudhdna requested them to inform him what would be the destiny of his child. The brahmans were divided into eight companies, and one was chosen from each company to carry on the investigation. The names of these brahmans were R4ma, Dhaja, Laksana, Jati, Manta, Bhoja, Suydma, and Sudanta. When they had ex- amined the marks upon the prince's person, the seven senior * "SeTen cUjs after the birth of Shakja his mother died." — Csoma KSrOai. t Among the BrahmaiiB the ceremony of giring a name was performed on the tenth or twelfth day after the birth, " or on some fortunate day of the moon, at a lucky hour, and under the influence of a star with good qualities/' — Inst, Manu, i. dO. The festiral called Amphidromia, when the newly bora child received its name, was held among the Athenians on the fifth day, according to Suidas. X The number 108 is frequently in use among the brahmans, as the giving of 106 rupees in alms, the erection of 108 temples, &c. " If a member act meanly, and do not respect a brother's word, let him hare 108 strokes of the red wood," is one of the 86 oaths of the Triad Society of China. 152 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. brabmans said that if he continned a laic he wonld become a Chakrawartti, but that if he became a recluse he would be a supreme Budha ; aud in token of this they lifted up two fin- gers.* The younger of them, Sudanta, said that if the lock on his forehead were red, he would be a Chakrawartti, but that if it were blue he would be a Budha ; and when he had examined the signs, as he saw that he would most certainly become a su- preme Budha, he lifted up one finger only in token. The brah- mans collected at the festival said, '* This prince will hereafter be a blessing to the world (sidhatta) ; to himself also will be great prosperity ; " in consequence of which he was called Sid. hartta.t The eight brahmans, on returning home, informed their sons that in thirty-five years the son of Sudhodana would become Budha, and recommended them, as they themselves were too old, to become ascetics, in order that they might secure the cessation of existence.