Dialogues of the Buddha, Part II — trans. T. W. and C. A. F. Rhys Davids (1910)

venerable Ananda : — ' Go now, brother Ananda, into Kusinara and inform the Mallas of Kusinara, saying: — " The Exalted One, O Vase///^as, is dead ; do, then, whatever seemeth to you fit !

' Even so, lord ! ' said the venerable Ananda, in assent, to the venerable Anuruddha. And having robed himself early in the morning, he took his bowl, and went into Kusinara with one of the brethren as an attendant [159].

Now at that time the Mallas of Kusinara were assembled in the council hall concerning that very matter.

And the venerable Ananda went to the council hall of the Mallas of Kusinara ; and when he had arrived there, he informed them, saying : — ' The Blessed One, O Vase///£as, is dead ; do, then, whatever seemeth to you fit ! '

And when they had heard this saying of the venerable Ananda, the Mallas, with their young men and their maidens and their wives, were grieved, and sad, and afflicted at heart. And some of them wept, dishevelling their hair, and some stretched forth their arms and wept, and some fell prostrate on the ground, and some reeled to and fro in anguish at the thought : — ' Too soon has the Exalted One died ! Too soon has

1 See the end of the first paragraph of this section.

l8o XVI. MAHA PARINIBBANA SUTTANTA. D. ii. 159.

the Happy One passed away! Too soon has the Light gone out in the world ! '

13. Then the Mallas of Kusinara gave orders to their attendants, saying : — ' Gather together perfumes and garlands, and all the music in Kusinara ! '

And the Mallas of Kusinara took the perfumes and garlands, and all the musical instruments, and five hundred suits of apparel, and went to the Upavattana, to the Sala Grove of the Mallas, where the body of the Exalted One lay. There they passed the day in paying honour, reverence, respect, and homage to the remains of the Exalted One with dancing, and hymns, and music, and with garlands and perfumes ; and in making canopies of their garments, and preparing decoration wreaths to hang thereon1.

Then the Mallas of Kusinara thought : —

' It is much too late to burn the body of the Exalted One to-day. Let us now perform the cremation to-morrow.' And in paying honour, reverence, respect, and homage to the remains of the Exalted One with dancing, and hymns, and music, and with garlands and perfumes ; and in making canopies of their garments, and preparing decoration wreaths to hang thereon, they passed the second day too, and then the third day, and the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth day also.

14. Then on the seventh day the Mallas of Kusinara [160] thought : —

1 The dress of the Mallas consisted probably of mere lengths of muslin or cotton cloth ; and a suit of apparel consisted of two or, at the outside, of three of these — one to wrap around the loins, one to throw over the shoulders, and one to use as a turban. To make a canopy on occasions of state they would join such pieces together ; to make the canopy into a tent they would simply add walls of the same material ; and the only decoration, as simple as it is beautiful, would be wreaths of flowers, or single lotuses, hanging from the roof, or stretched along the sides. Every civil servant travelling on duty in remote districts in Ceylon has such a tent or canopy put up for him by the peasantry.

D. ii. i6o. THE BOOK OF THE GREAT DECEASE. 1 8 1

' Let us carry the body of the Exalted One, by the south and outside, to a spot on the south, and outside of the city, — paying it honour, and reverence, and respect, and homage, with dance, and song, and music, with garlands and perfumes, — and there, to the south of the city, let us perform the cremation ceremony ! '

And thereupon eight chieftains among the Mallas bathed their heads, and clad themselves in new garments with the intention of bearing the body of the Exalted One. But, behold, they could not lift it up !