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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Is there such a thing as fruit, ultimate result, of good and evil acts ?’ ‘There are no such acts, O king; and no such fruit, or ultimate result. Those who here in the world are nobles, they, O king, when they go to the * Avthi (probably ‘the Waveless’). The mention of this particular hell as being outside the earth is noteworthy. One would expect to find the Lok4ntarika hell so described. Spence Hardy indeed goes so far as to say that the Avifi is seven hundred miles directly under the great Bo Tree at Budh Gaya (Manual, p. 26), which would be within the sphere of the earth. But there is nothing in the Pali texts yet published as to its position, See Xullavagga VII, 4, 8; Anguttara III, 56; Gataka I, 71, 96; Pa#tka Gati Dipana, 20. There is a list of the hells at Sutta Nipata III, ro, but the Avi4i is not one of them. This blunder, improbable in a writer so learned as our author elsewhere shows himself, is another reason for thinking these sections to be an interpolation. 2 Pattakkhando paggh4yanto. See my note on Kullavagga IV, 4, 7, and compare Anguttara III, 73, 4. * This, again, is most clumsy, as the rival teachers must have dwelt far apart. And it will be seen that, notwithstanding the parade of the six names at the beginning of this episode, the remaining four are no further mentioned. ce) THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. T, 14- other world, will become nobles once more. And those who are Brahmans, or of the middle class, or workpeople, or outcasts here, will in the next world become the same. What then is the use of good or evil acts? ?’ ‘Tf, venerable Gosdla, it be as you say then, by parity of reasoning, those who, here in this world, have a hand cut off, must in the next world become persons with a hand cut off, and in like manner those who have had a foot cut off or an ear or their nose!’ And at this saying Makkhali was silenced. 14. Then thought Milinda the king within himself?; ‘All India is an empty thing, it is verily like chaff! There is no one, either recluse or Brahman, capable of discussing things with me, and dispelling my doubts.’ And he said to his ministers: ‘ Beautiful is the night and pleasant! Who is the recluse or Brahman we can visit to-night to question him, who will be able to converse with us and dispel our doubts*?’ And at that saying the counsellors remained silent, and stood there gazing upon the face of the king. 15. Now at that time the city of Sdgala had for twelve years been devoid of learned men, whether Brahmans, Samazas, or laymen. But wherever the king heard that such persons dwelt, thither he would 1 This is quite in accord with the opinions attributed to Makkhali Gosdla in the Samafffa-phala (D. 2, 20), and in the Sumangala Vildsini on it (see especially p. 166). ® See below, p. 30. * This is an echo of the words in the corresponding passage of the Samaf#a-phala Sutta (D. 2, 1). I, 16. ASSAGUTTA. II
22, 20), and in the Sumangala Vildsini on it (see especially p. 166). ® See below, p. 30. * This is an echo of the words in the corresponding passage of the Samaf#a-phala Sutta (D. 2, 1). I, 16. ASSAGUTTA. II go and put his questions to them!. [6] But they all alike, being unable to satisfy the king by their solution of his problems, departed hither and thither, or if they did not leave for some other place, were at all events reduced to silence. And the brethren of the Order went, for the most part, to the Him4laya mountains. 16. Now at that time there dwelt, in the mountain region of the Himalayas, on the Guarded Slope, an innumerable company of Arahats (brethren who, while yet alive, had attained Nirvama). And the venerable Assagutta, by means of his divine power of hearing, heard those words of king Milinda. And he convened an assembly of the Order on the summit of the Yugandhara mountain, and asked the brethren: ‘Is there any member of the Order able to hold converse with Milinda the king, and resolve his doubts ?’ Then were they all silent. And a second and a third time he put the same question to them, and still none of all the number spake. Then he said to the assembled Order: ‘ There is, reverend Sirs, in the heaven of the Thirty-three 2, and east of the Vegayanta palace, a mansion called Ketumatt, wherein dwells the god Mahdsena. He is able to hold converse with Milinda the king, and to resolve his doubts.’ And the innumerable company of } This paragraph is so unnecessary after what has been said in the preceding episode, and at the same time so contradictory to the fact of two teachers at least living in or near the city, that it would really seem probable that it (or perhaps § 14) came originally directly after § 10, the rest being an interpolation, and a clumsy one. 2 These are the principal gods of the Vedic pantheon. 12 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. I, 17. Arahats vanished from the summit of the Yugandhara mountain, and appeared in the heaven of the Thirty-three. 17, And Sakka, the king of the gods, beheld those brethren of the Order as they were coming from afar. And at the sight of them he went up to the venerable Assagutta, and bowed down before him, and stood reverently aside. And so standing he said to him: ‘Great, reverend Sir, is the company of the brethren that has come. What is it that they want? Iam at the service of the Order. What can I do for you ?’ And the venerable Assagutta replied: ‘ There is, O king, in India, in the city of Sagala, a king named Milinda. As a disputant he is hard to equal, harder still to overcome, he is the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. He is in the habit of visiting the members of the Order and harassing them by questions of speculative import.’
3As a disputant he is hard to equal, harder still to overcome, he is the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. He is in the habit of visiting the members of the Order and harassing them by questions of speculative import.’ Then said Sakka, the king of the gods, to him: ‘That same king Milinda, venerable one, left this condition to be born as a man. And there dwells ° in the mansion Ketumatt a god, Mahdsena by name, who is able to hold converse with him and to resolve his doubts. [7] That god we will beseech to suffer himself to be reborn into the world of men.’ 18. So Sakka, the king of the gods, preceded by the Order, entered the Ketumatt mansion; and when he had embraced Mahdsena the god, he said to him : ‘ The Order of the brethren, Lord, makes this request of you—to be reborn into the world of men.’ ‘I have no desire, Sir, for the world of men, so overladen with action (Karma). Hard is life as a I, 19. MAHASENA THE GOD. 13 man. It is here, Sir, in the world of the gods that, being reborn in ever higher and higher spheres, I hope to pass away!’ And a second and a third time did Sakka, the king of the gods, make the same request, and the reply was still the same. Then the venerable Assagutta addressed Mahdsena the god, and said: ‘On passing in review, Lord, the worlds of gods and men, there is none but thee that we find able to succour the faith by refuting the heretical views of Milinda the king. The whole Order beseeches thee, Lord, saying: “Condescend, O worthy one, to be reborn among men, in order to lend to the religion of the Blessed One thy powerful aid.”’ Then was Mahdasena the god overjoyed and delighted in heart at the thought that he would be able to help the faith by refuting the heresy of Milinda; and he gave them his word, and said: ‘Very well then, venerable ones, I consent to be reborn in the world of men.’ 19. Then the brethren, having thus accomplished the task they had taken in hand, vanished from the heaven of the Thirty-three, and reappeared on the Guarded Slope in the Him4laya mountains. And the venerable Assagutta addressed the Order, and said: ‘Is there, venerable ones, any brother belonging to this company of the Order, who has not appeared in the assembly?’ Thereupon a certain brother said there was, that Rohana had a week previously gone into the mountains, and become buried in meditation, [8] and suggested that a messenger should be sent to him. And at that very moment the venerable Rohana aroused himself from his meditation, and was aware 14 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. I, 20. that the Order was expecting him?. And vanishing from the mountain top, he appeared in the presence of the innumerable company of the brethren. And the venerable Assagutta said to him: ‘ How now, venerable Rohana! When the religion of the Buddha is in danger of crumbling away, have you no eyes for the work of the Order ?’ ‘It was through inadvertence, Sir,’ said he.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1Is there such a thing as fruit, ultimate result, of good and evil acts ?’ ‘There are no such acts, O king; and no such fruit, or ultimate result. Those who here in the world are nobles, they, O king, when they go to the * Avthi (probably ‘the Waveless’). The mention of this particular hell as being outside the earth is noteworthy. One would expect to find the Lok4ntarika hell so described. Spence Hardy indeed goes so far as to say that the Avifi is seven hundred miles directly under the great Bo Tree at Budh Gaya (Manual, p. 26), which would be within the sphere of the earth. But there is nothing in the Pali texts yet published as to its position, See Xullavagga VII, 4, 8; Anguttara III, 56; Gataka I, 71, 96; Pa#tka Gati Dipana, 20. There is a list of the hells at Sutta Nipata III, ro, but the Avi4i is not one of them. This blunder, improbable in a writer so learned as our author elsewhere shows himself, is another reason for thinking these sections to be an interpolation. 2 Pattakkhando paggh4yanto. See my note on Kullavagga IV, 4, 7, and compare Anguttara III, 73, 4. * This, again, is most clumsy, as the rival teachers must have dwelt far apart. And it will be seen that, notwithstanding the parade of the six names at the beginning of this episode, the remaining four are no further mentioned. ce) THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. T, 14- other world, will become nobles once more. And those who are Brahmans, or of the middle class, or workpeople, or outcasts here, will in the next world become the same. What then is the use of good or evil acts? ?’ ‘Tf, venerable Gosdla, it be as you say then, by parity of reasoning, those who, here in this world, have a hand cut off, must in the next world become persons with a hand cut off, and in like manner those who have had a foot cut off or an ear or their nose!’ And at this saying Makkhali was silenced. 14. Then thought Milinda the king within himself?; ‘All India is an empty thing, it is verily like chaff! There is no one, either recluse or Brahman, capable of discussing things with me, and dispelling my doubts.’ And he said to his ministers: ‘ Beautiful is the night and pleasant! Who is the recluse or Brahman we can visit to-night to question him, who will be able to converse with us and dispel our doubts*?’ And at that saying the counsellors remained silent, and stood there gazing upon the face of the king. 15. Now at that time the city of Sdgala had for twelve years been devoid of learned men, whether Brahmans, Samazas, or laymen. But wherever the king heard that such persons dwelt, thither he would 1 This is quite in accord with the opinions attributed to Makkhali Gosdla in the Samafffa-phala (D. 2, 20), and in the Sumangala Vildsini on it (see especially p. 166). ® See below, p. 30. * This is an echo of the words in the corresponding passage of the Samaf#a-phala Sutta (D. 2, 1). I, 16. ASSAGUTTA. II
22, 20), and in the Sumangala Vildsini on it (see especially p. 166). ® See below, p. 30. * This is an echo of the words in the corresponding passage of the Samaf#a-phala Sutta (D. 2, 1). I, 16. ASSAGUTTA. II go and put his questions to them!. [6] But they all alike, being unable to satisfy the king by their solution of his problems, departed hither and thither, or if they did not leave for some other place, were at all events reduced to silence. And the brethren of the Order went, for the most part, to the Him4laya mountains. 16. Now at that time there dwelt, in the mountain region of the Himalayas, on the Guarded Slope, an innumerable company of Arahats (brethren who, while yet alive, had attained Nirvama). And the venerable Assagutta, by means of his divine power of hearing, heard those words of king Milinda. And he convened an assembly of the Order on the summit of the Yugandhara mountain, and asked the brethren: ‘Is there any member of the Order able to hold converse with Milinda the king, and resolve his doubts ?’ Then were they all silent. And a second and a third time he put the same question to them, and still none of all the number spake. Then he said to the assembled Order: ‘ There is, reverend Sirs, in the heaven of the Thirty-three 2, and east of the Vegayanta palace, a mansion called Ketumatt, wherein dwells the god Mahdsena. He is able to hold converse with Milinda the king, and to resolve his doubts.’ And the innumerable company of } This paragraph is so unnecessary after what has been said in the preceding episode, and at the same time so contradictory to the fact of two teachers at least living in or near the city, that it would really seem probable that it (or perhaps § 14) came originally directly after § 10, the rest being an interpolation, and a clumsy one. 2 These are the principal gods of the Vedic pantheon. 12 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. I, 17. Arahats vanished from the summit of the Yugandhara mountain, and appeared in the heaven of the Thirty-three. 17, And Sakka, the king of the gods, beheld those brethren of the Order as they were coming from afar. And at the sight of them he went up to the venerable Assagutta, and bowed down before him, and stood reverently aside. And so standing he said to him: ‘Great, reverend Sir, is the company of the brethren that has come. What is it that they want? Iam at the service of the Order. What can I do for you ?’ And the venerable Assagutta replied: ‘ There is, O king, in India, in the city of Sagala, a king named Milinda. As a disputant he is hard to equal, harder still to overcome, he is the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. He is in the habit of visiting the members of the Order and harassing them by questions of speculative import.’
3As a disputant he is hard to equal, harder still to overcome, he is the acknowledged superior of all the founders of the various schools of thought. He is in the habit of visiting the members of the Order and harassing them by questions of speculative import.’ Then said Sakka, the king of the gods, to him: ‘That same king Milinda, venerable one, left this condition to be born as a man. And there dwells ° in the mansion Ketumatt a god, Mahdsena by name, who is able to hold converse with him and to resolve his doubts. [7] That god we will beseech to suffer himself to be reborn into the world of men.’ 18. So Sakka, the king of the gods, preceded by the Order, entered the Ketumatt mansion; and when he had embraced Mahdsena the god, he said to him : ‘ The Order of the brethren, Lord, makes this request of you—to be reborn into the world of men.’ ‘I have no desire, Sir, for the world of men, so overladen with action (Karma). Hard is life as a I, 19. MAHASENA THE GOD. 13 man. It is here, Sir, in the world of the gods that, being reborn in ever higher and higher spheres, I hope to pass away!’ And a second and a third time did Sakka, the king of the gods, make the same request, and the reply was still the same. Then the venerable Assagutta addressed Mahdsena the god, and said: ‘On passing in review, Lord, the worlds of gods and men, there is none but thee that we find able to succour the faith by refuting the heretical views of Milinda the king. The whole Order beseeches thee, Lord, saying: “Condescend, O worthy one, to be reborn among men, in order to lend to the religion of the Blessed One thy powerful aid.”’ Then was Mahdasena the god overjoyed and delighted in heart at the thought that he would be able to help the faith by refuting the heresy of Milinda; and he gave them his word, and said: ‘Very well then, venerable ones, I consent to be reborn in the world of men.’ 19. Then the brethren, having thus accomplished the task they had taken in hand, vanished from the heaven of the Thirty-three, and reappeared on the Guarded Slope in the Him4laya mountains. And the venerable Assagutta addressed the Order, and said: ‘Is there, venerable ones, any brother belonging to this company of the Order, who has not appeared in the assembly?’ Thereupon a certain brother said there was, that Rohana had a week previously gone into the mountains, and become buried in meditation, [8] and suggested that a messenger should be sent to him. And at that very moment the venerable Rohana aroused himself from his meditation, and was aware 14 THE QUESTIONS OF KING MILINDA. I, 20. that the Order was expecting him?. And vanishing from the mountain top, he appeared in the presence of the innumerable company of the brethren. And the venerable Assagutta said to him: ‘ How now, venerable Rohana! When the religion of the Buddha is in danger of crumbling away, have you no eyes for the work of the Order ?’ ‘It was through inadvertence, Sir,’ said he.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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