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7 Gea science is called, in Sanskrit, SabdavidyA, one of the five Vidyas*; Sabda meaning ‘voice,’ and Vidya ‘science, The name for the general secular literature in India is Vyakarana‘, of which there * See p. 10 seq. above. * Page 49 above. * It is curious to see that Maagusrt Kumirabhita, who is often invoked at the beginning of the Mah4y4na books, is in some way or other connected with China. A tradition that he was then present in China seems to have been prevalent in India. I-tsing twice alludes to him; first, in chap. xxviii, p. 136, he says that people say Madgusrt is living in China ; and again, here, he says that Mafgusri is at present in Ping Chou (a district in Chi-li, now called Chéng-ten Fu, in China), Pragia, an Indian priest who came to China a.p, 782, is said to have started on hearing that Maagusrt was then in the East. This is that Praga who was translating the Mah4yanabuddii ShafpAramit4-sdtra (No. 1004), together with King-ching (Adam), the Nestorian missionary and the builder of the famous monument of the Christian mission in China *. Whether Prag#a found Maggusrt in China or not we do not hear. Mafgusri seems to have been a stranger in India. We have some allusion to this in Burnouf’s Lotus, p. go2, App. iii: ‘Il est étranger au Népal, car il vient de Sirsha, ou plus exactement de Circha, “Ia téte,” lieu que le Svayambhd Puraza et le Commen- taire Newari du traité en vingt-cing stances {Pashavimsatika) comme une montagne de Mahatchin, sans aucun doute Mahftchina, “le pays des grands Tchinas,”’ * I-tsing seems to be quoting these passages from a book. * The five Vidyas are (1) Sabdavidya, ‘grammar and lexicography,’ (2) Silpasthanavidy4, ‘arts, (3) KikitsAvidya, ‘medicine, (4) Hetuvidya, ‘logic,’ and (5) Adhydtmavidyd, ‘ science of the universal soul’ or philosophy. ® Vyakarama is really ‘grammar.’ On the technical meaning of Vyakarana in Buddhist literature, see Burnouf, Introduction, p- 54. In Hiuen Thsang it is said: ‘The books of the Brahmans are called Vyakarama ; they are extensive and are in 1,000,000 slokas,’ see Julien, Vie, liv. iii, p. 165. Z 170 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. XXXIV. are about five works, similar to the Five Classics! of the Divine Land (China). -I. The Si-t‘an-chang (Siddha-composition)? for Beginiers. This is also called Siddhirastu °, signifying ‘ Be there success’ (Ch. lit. * Shih-king, Shu-king, Yi-king, Ch'un-ch'iu, and Li Ki, see S. B. E,, vols. iii, xvi, xxvii, xxviii, and also Legge’s separate edition, She-king, the Book of Poetry (Triibner). * Translators of Chinese texts are wont to translate ‘ Si-t'an-chang’ by ‘ Siddha- vastu,’ and I wondered if I could find an authority for this rendering. Although I have examined many a Chinese text bearing on grammar, yet I have never met a passage showing us that we are justified in translating ‘ Si-t'an-chang’ by ¢ Sid- dha-vastu.’ Hiuen Thsang gives a book of twelve ‘sections’ as an elementary book (Julien, Mémoires, liv. ii, p. 73); Fan-i-min-i-chi, book xiv, 174, partly quoted by Julien in his note, does not help us much. In the corresponding passage of Hiuen Thsang, the English translator, Mr. Beal, calls the book of twelve ‘sections’ Siddha-vastu in his note, and erroneously thinks that I-tsing’s Si-ti-ra-su-tu is a mistake for Si-ta-va-su-tu. ‘ Si-ta-va-su-tu,’ on the other hand, may be a corruption of Si-ti-ra-su-tu (Siddhir-astu, a common Majgala, see the beginning of Hitopadesa, and Prof. Max Miller, the K4sika, p. ro). We have the following four names :— (z) ‘Si-tfan-chang,’ ‘the Siddha-composition” F ujishima, Beal, and even Julien translated it by ‘ Siddha-vastu’ (2) ‘Twelve Chang’ (Hiuen Thsang, liv. ii, p. 73), which may be ‘twelve syllabic sections’ or ‘a syllabary in twelve sections,’ probably repre- senting an Akshara book. (3), ‘Siddhir-astu’ This, being at the beginning of the book, may later have become its name. OF these, 2 must be different from 3, for 3 is in eighteen sections, while 2 is in twelve. But both 2 and 3 are also called Si-t'an-chang, which seems to be a name common to such elementary books, In this Prof. Kielhorn recognises the M4tr7ka-viveka (Ind. Ant., xii, 226), and Prof. Buhler, a Siddha-table (on the Brahma alphabet). * The commentator Kasyapa may help us as to this book. He says: ‘ This book was lost in China, and the teaching of it can no longer be obtained there ; fortunately, in Japan, however, the study of this book is still kept up, but owing to the difficulty and minuteness the learning is a hard task. He gives Siddhir-astu in Devanagari, and adds that Siddham, as a masculine, means ‘ that which accom- THE METHOD OF LEARNING IN THE WEST. i7t ‘complete be good luck !’) for sé named is the first section of this small (book of) learning. . There are forty-nine letters (of the alphabet)! which are combined with one another and arranged in eighteen sections; the total number of syllables is more than 10,000, or more than 300 slokas. Generally speaking, each sloka contains four feet (padas), each foot consisting of eight syllables ; each sloka has therefore thirty-two syllables. Plishes,’ and Siddhi, as a feminine, means ‘ that which is accomplished.’ If this had been studied in Japan, we might still have the book in existence. We have a book called ‘The Eighteen Sections of the Siddha’ in the Bodleian Library collection (Jap. 16), but the composition by a Japanese only dates a.p. 1366. We have another much earlier book called ‘Siddha-pi/aka’ or ‘ Siddha-kosha’ a work of Annen, whose preface is dated a.p. 880. One part (vol. viii) of this book is devoted to the eighteen sections of the Siddha; it begins with ‘Om namah Sarvag#aya, Siddham’ (sic), and its contents are as follows :— I, The Siddham (i.e, vowels), sixteen. All the fourteen vowels with am, af. Ziogon’s MS., a copy of which may be seen in the Anecdota Oxon- iensia (Aryan Series, vol. i, pt. iii), calls thése fourteen (or sixteen) vowels ‘ Siddhim.’ II. The body characters (i. e. consonants), thirty-five. JII. ‘The produced characters (i.e. syllables). Here, under this head, come the eighteen sections: (1) Kakha section, (2) Kyakhya section, and so on, till (18) Kkakkhi section. . The eighteen sections contain some 10,000 (6,613 according to my counting) characters, though the book itself says that there are 16,550 characters, These particulars all pretty well agree with I-tsing’s statement, i. e. forty-nine letters of the alphabet excepting am and a4, eighteen sections, 10,000 or more syllables, 300° or more slokas (this word is often used in counting the number of syllables only). Still itis not safe to conclude anything from these points. I-tsing may be referring , to the Siva-sGtra. Siddham, more often Siddh4m, in the latest and mistaken sense, means ‘alphabet.’ In earlier books it is used to denote vowels only; in the copy of the Horiuji MSS. the first fourteen (vowels) are called ‘Siddham,’ according to * Ziogon’s marginal note, though originally it may have been meant for an auspicious invocation. For Siddham, see Max Miiller’s note, SukhAvatf-vydha, Introd., vii, S.B.E., vol. xlix. ? After this comes the long extract found in the Siddha-kosa (Jap. 15). I shall 172 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. XXXIV. Again there are long and short slokds ; of these it is impossible here ’ to give a minute account. Children learn this book when they are six years old, and finish it in six months. This is said to have been originally taught by Mahe- svara-deva (Siva). II. The Satra. The Satra is the foundation of all grammatical science. This name can be translated by ‘ short aphorism ?, and signifies that important prin- ciples are expounded in an abridged form. It contains 1,000 slokas?, and is the work of Pavini, a very learned scholar of old, who is said to have been inspired and assisted by Mahesvara-deva, and endowed with three eyes; this is generally believed by the Indians of to-day. Children begin to learn the Sfitra when they are eight years old, and can repeat it in eight months’ time. - Ill. The Book on Dhatu4. This consists of 1,000 slokas, and treats particularly of grammatical roots, It is as useful as the above Satra. IV. The Book on the Three Khilas. Khila means ‘ waste land,’ so called because this (part of grammar) may be likened to the way in which a farmer prepares his fields for corn. It may be called a book on the three pieces of waste land. (1) Ashzadhatu‘ consists of 1,000 slokas; (2) Wen-ch'a (Manda or 1 More literally, ‘ What is short in expression and clear in meaning.’ * Cf. the published text of Pazini (Béhtlingk), which has about 936 slokas, This Sftra is what Hiuen Thsang called PAxini’s Word-book in 1,000 slokas, see Julien, Mémoires, liv. ii, p. 126; in the Life of Hiuen Thsang this book is also mentioned as ‘Short Stra in 1,000 slokas,’ see Julien, Vie, liv. iii, p. 165, ‘Il y a un livre, en mille slokas, qui est l’abrégé dt Vyakaravam.’ * Cf, Dhatup4sha, the ‘ Book on Verbal Roots.’ M. Fujishima gives Dhatu- vastu, which is simply imaginary. Ind. Ant., xii, p. 226, note. * The Ash/adhatu, Mazda, and Umddi are all mentioned in Hiuen Thsang. In Julien’s Vie, liv. iii, p. 166, he translates: ‘JI existe un Traité des huit limites (terminations) en huit cents slokas.’ This refers to the Ash/adhatu of I-tsing. Cf. Loka-dhatu, Dharma-dhatu in Chinese. Eight hundred slokas in Hiuen TL. THE METHOD OF LEARNING IN THE WEST. 173 Munda’) also, consists of 1,000 Slokas ; (3) Unadi? too consists of 1,000 slokas. We" 1, Ash/adhatu. This treats of the seven cases (Sup) and ten Las (@)*, and eighteen finals (Tin, 2 x 9 personal terminations). a. The seven cases*. Every noun has seven cases, and every case has three numbers, i.e.