Fetching
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Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
116. ( And hear another reason, O king. Just as the Himalaya, the king of the mountains, five leagues high, and three thousand leagues in extent at the circumference, with its ranges of eight and forty thousand peaks, the source of five hundred rivers, the dwelling-place of multitudes of mighty creatures2, the producer of manifold perfumes, enriched with hundreds of magical drugs, is seen to rise aloft, like a cloud, in the centre (of the earth) ; like it, O king, could no one whatever keep in use, as his slaves, the children of Vessantara, as esteemed in the world as Himalaya, the mountain king. 'And hear another reason, O king. Just as a 1 Suppenavasaravenava. Hina/i-kumbur6 renders the first of these words by kullaka, which is a winnowing-basket ; and the second by malawaka, which I do not understand. But the use of sarava at Gataka I, 8, 14 and Sumahgala I, 298 seems to me to confirm Childers's rendering. 2Mahabhuta: 'Yakshas' says Hina/i-kumbure, p. 419, Compare above, p. 250 (of the Pali). [36] K I30 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 16. mighty bonfire burning on a mountain top would be visible afar off in the darkness and the gloom of night, so was Vessantara the king well known among men, and therefore could no one whatever keep in use, as his slaves, the children of so distinguished a man — for just as at the time of the flowering of the Naga trees1 in the Himalaya mountains, when the soft winds (of spring) 2 are blowing, the perfume of the flowers is wafted for ten leagues, or for twelve [284], so was the sound of the fame of king Vessan- tara noised abroad, and the sweet perfume of his righteousness wafted along for thousands of leagues, even up to the abodes of the Akani//^a, (the highest of all) gods, passing on its way the dwelling places of the gods and A suras, of the Garu^as and Gan- dhabbas, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas, of the Mahoragas and Kinnaras, and of Indra the monarch of the gods3! Therefore is it that no one could keep his children as slaves. 1 Naga-puppha-samaye. Hina/i-kumbur6 says, ' at the time when the Na trees bloom/ The Na or Naga is the Mesua fere a, whose lovely flowers, like those of the Champak, are still in special request for laying before the images of the Buddha in Buddhist temples. I am told that these so-called flowers are not flowers at all, botanically speaking, but young shoots. But it is one of the most beautiful sights in a Ceylon landscape to see this splendid forest tree, lofty and wide-spreading as it is, one mass of what look like red blossoms from crown to root. For at the 'bloom time* it casts all its green leaves, and has the appear- ance of a scarlet bell. No wonder that this was thought super- natural, and that the tree should be called the Naga tree. Its timber is so valuable that in Anglo-Indian the tree is called the 1 Iron-wood' tree. But it may be regretted that the commercial spirit of the European has substituted this hard name for the ' Fairy tree ' of the native languages.
2Its timber is so valuable that in Anglo-Indian the tree is called the 1 Iron-wood' tree. But it may be regretted that the commercial spirit of the European has substituted this hard name for the ' Fairy tree ' of the native languages. 2 U^u-vata, which the Sinhalese repeats. 8 Compare vol. i, pp. 38, 175. IV, 8, 17- OF MILINDA THE KING. 131 17. 'And the young prince Gali, O king, was instructed by his father, Vessantara, in these words : " When your grandfather, my child, shall ransom you with wealth that he gives to the Brahman, let him buy you back for a thousand ounces of gold1, and when he ransoms your sister Ka/zha^ina let him buy her back for a hundred slaves and a hundred slave girls and a hundred elephants and a hundred horses and a hundred cows and a hundred buffaloes and a hundred ounces of gold. And if, my child, your grandfather should take you out of the hands of the Brahman by word of command, or by force, paying nothing, then obey not the words of your grand- father, but remain still in subjection2 to the Brah- man/' Such was his instruction as he sent him away. And young Gali went accordingly, and when asked by his grandfather, said : " As worth a thousand ounces, Sir, My father gave me to this man; As worth -a hundred elephants, He gave the girl Ka^ha£"ina." ' ' Well has this puzzle, Nagasena, been unravelled, well has the net of heresy been torn to pieces, well has the argument of the adversaries been overcome and your own doctrine been made evident, well has the letter (of the Scriptures) been maintained while 1 Nikkha-sahassa/rc. See my ' Ancient Coins and Measures,' pp. 6, 14; Sa/rcyutta Nikaya 11/ 3, 9, 9 (Gataka I, 375, IV, 97; Ahguttara III, 73, 3). 2 Anuyayino. Not found elsewhere, and not in Childers. But anuyayati occurs below (p. 391 of the text) and an anu- yayin at Sutta Nipata V, 7, 3, 4 and Tela-ka/aha-gatha 25 (com- pare 41). Hina/i-kumbur6 (p. 420) has anuwa hcesirew. K 2 132 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 1 8. you have thus explained its spirit ! That is so, and I accept it as you say/ [Here ends the dilemma as to Vessantara's gift of his wife and children.] [dilemma the seventy-second. PENANCE.] 1 8. ' Venerable Nagasena, did all the Bodisats go through a period of penance, or only Gotama?' ' Not all, O king, but Gotama did/ * Venerable Nagasena, if that be so, it is not right that there should be a difference between Bodisat and Bodisat/ [285] ' There are four matters, O king, in which there is such difference. And what are the four ? There is a difference as to the kind of family (in which they are born J), there is a difference as to their place in the period (which has elapsed since the succession of Buddhas began 2), there 1 Kula-vemattata. Those Bodisats who are to become Buddhas in their then lives may be born eiiher in a Brahman or in a Kshatriya family, but in no other.
3Those Bodisats who are to become Buddhas in their then lives may be born eiiher in a Brahman or in a Kshatriya family, but in no other. 2 Addhana-vemattata, which is ambiguous, as ' period- difference ' may mean different things according to the interpre- tation given to ' period/ Now the Bodisat theory has never been thoroughly worked out in detail. It is clear from the statements given in pp. 38-58 of my ' Buddhist Birth Stories' that the Bodisat who became Gotama the Buddha was held to have been in exist- ence throughout the whole period in which the former twenty-four Buddhas appeared, and this is probably the 'period' intended. Hina/i-kumbureTs version (p. 421) is as ambiguous as the Pali. Spence Hardy gives at p. 87 of his 'Manual of Buddhism' what purports to be a translation of our passage. But it is only a loose paraphrase, and he interprets this ' period-difference ' as simply IV, 8, 18. OF MILINDA THE KING. I 33 is a difference as to the length of their indi- vidual lives1, there is a difference as to their individual size2. In these four respects, O king, there is a difference between Bodisat and Bodisat. But there is no difference between any of the Buddhas, who are alike in bodily beauty3, in good- ness of character, in power of contemplation and of reasoning, in emancipation, in the insight arising from the knowledge of emancipation, in identical with the next one in the list, the ' length-of-life-difference ' — which must be wrong. It must be remembered that the Bodisats referred to throughout this dilemma are exclusively men — not those mentioned in the Gatakas (who are all Bodisats of the historical Buddha), but only those Bodisats who became Buddhas in the same life — that is, the Buddhas themselves before they reached Buddhahood. 1 Ayu-vemattata. This may be due to either of two causes — in the first place they may be born as creatures whose allotted period of life varies. Thus the Bodisat was twenty times Sakka, the king of the gods ; and his life would then have lasted hundreds of thousands of years. But he was 106 times an animal of some kind, and then his life would have been of course much shorter. Again, in his births as a man (more than 350 times, see the table in my ' Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. ci), the average duration of men's lives will have varied, according to Buddhist theory, from many centuries down to only a few years. It is in this second sense only that (with Hina/i-kumbun*) we must suppose the phrase ayu- vemattata to be used — thus excluding all the Bodisats except such as were men. But in the (-rataka stories the average age of man is (with one or two exceptions) normal.
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.
116. ( And hear another reason, O king. Just as the Himalaya, the king of the mountains, five leagues high, and three thousand leagues in extent at the circumference, with its ranges of eight and forty thousand peaks, the source of five hundred rivers, the dwelling-place of multitudes of mighty creatures2, the producer of manifold perfumes, enriched with hundreds of magical drugs, is seen to rise aloft, like a cloud, in the centre (of the earth) ; like it, O king, could no one whatever keep in use, as his slaves, the children of Vessantara, as esteemed in the world as Himalaya, the mountain king. 'And hear another reason, O king. Just as a 1 Suppenavasaravenava. Hina/i-kumbur6 renders the first of these words by kullaka, which is a winnowing-basket ; and the second by malawaka, which I do not understand. But the use of sarava at Gataka I, 8, 14 and Sumahgala I, 298 seems to me to confirm Childers's rendering. 2Mahabhuta: 'Yakshas' says Hina/i-kumbure, p. 419, Compare above, p. 250 (of the Pali). [36] K I30 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 16. mighty bonfire burning on a mountain top would be visible afar off in the darkness and the gloom of night, so was Vessantara the king well known among men, and therefore could no one whatever keep in use, as his slaves, the children of so distinguished a man — for just as at the time of the flowering of the Naga trees1 in the Himalaya mountains, when the soft winds (of spring) 2 are blowing, the perfume of the flowers is wafted for ten leagues, or for twelve [284], so was the sound of the fame of king Vessan- tara noised abroad, and the sweet perfume of his righteousness wafted along for thousands of leagues, even up to the abodes of the Akani//^a, (the highest of all) gods, passing on its way the dwelling places of the gods and A suras, of the Garu^as and Gan- dhabbas, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas, of the Mahoragas and Kinnaras, and of Indra the monarch of the gods3! Therefore is it that no one could keep his children as slaves. 1 Naga-puppha-samaye. Hina/i-kumbur6 says, ' at the time when the Na trees bloom/ The Na or Naga is the Mesua fere a, whose lovely flowers, like those of the Champak, are still in special request for laying before the images of the Buddha in Buddhist temples. I am told that these so-called flowers are not flowers at all, botanically speaking, but young shoots. But it is one of the most beautiful sights in a Ceylon landscape to see this splendid forest tree, lofty and wide-spreading as it is, one mass of what look like red blossoms from crown to root. For at the 'bloom time* it casts all its green leaves, and has the appear- ance of a scarlet bell. No wonder that this was thought super- natural, and that the tree should be called the Naga tree. Its timber is so valuable that in Anglo-Indian the tree is called the 1 Iron-wood' tree. But it may be regretted that the commercial spirit of the European has substituted this hard name for the ' Fairy tree ' of the native languages.
2Its timber is so valuable that in Anglo-Indian the tree is called the 1 Iron-wood' tree. But it may be regretted that the commercial spirit of the European has substituted this hard name for the ' Fairy tree ' of the native languages. 2 U^u-vata, which the Sinhalese repeats. 8 Compare vol. i, pp. 38, 175. IV, 8, 17- OF MILINDA THE KING. 131 17. 'And the young prince Gali, O king, was instructed by his father, Vessantara, in these words : " When your grandfather, my child, shall ransom you with wealth that he gives to the Brahman, let him buy you back for a thousand ounces of gold1, and when he ransoms your sister Ka/zha^ina let him buy her back for a hundred slaves and a hundred slave girls and a hundred elephants and a hundred horses and a hundred cows and a hundred buffaloes and a hundred ounces of gold. And if, my child, your grandfather should take you out of the hands of the Brahman by word of command, or by force, paying nothing, then obey not the words of your grand- father, but remain still in subjection2 to the Brah- man/' Such was his instruction as he sent him away. And young Gali went accordingly, and when asked by his grandfather, said : " As worth a thousand ounces, Sir, My father gave me to this man; As worth -a hundred elephants, He gave the girl Ka^ha£"ina." ' ' Well has this puzzle, Nagasena, been unravelled, well has the net of heresy been torn to pieces, well has the argument of the adversaries been overcome and your own doctrine been made evident, well has the letter (of the Scriptures) been maintained while 1 Nikkha-sahassa/rc. See my ' Ancient Coins and Measures,' pp. 6, 14; Sa/rcyutta Nikaya 11/ 3, 9, 9 (Gataka I, 375, IV, 97; Ahguttara III, 73, 3). 2 Anuyayino. Not found elsewhere, and not in Childers. But anuyayati occurs below (p. 391 of the text) and an anu- yayin at Sutta Nipata V, 7, 3, 4 and Tela-ka/aha-gatha 25 (com- pare 41). Hina/i-kumbur6 (p. 420) has anuwa hcesirew. K 2 132 THE QUESTIONS AND PUZZLES IV, 8, 1 8. you have thus explained its spirit ! That is so, and I accept it as you say/ [Here ends the dilemma as to Vessantara's gift of his wife and children.] [dilemma the seventy-second. PENANCE.] 1 8. ' Venerable Nagasena, did all the Bodisats go through a period of penance, or only Gotama?' ' Not all, O king, but Gotama did/ * Venerable Nagasena, if that be so, it is not right that there should be a difference between Bodisat and Bodisat/ [285] ' There are four matters, O king, in which there is such difference. And what are the four ? There is a difference as to the kind of family (in which they are born J), there is a difference as to their place in the period (which has elapsed since the succession of Buddhas began 2), there 1 Kula-vemattata. Those Bodisats who are to become Buddhas in their then lives may be born eiiher in a Brahman or in a Kshatriya family, but in no other.
3Those Bodisats who are to become Buddhas in their then lives may be born eiiher in a Brahman or in a Kshatriya family, but in no other. 2 Addhana-vemattata, which is ambiguous, as ' period- difference ' may mean different things according to the interpre- tation given to ' period/ Now the Bodisat theory has never been thoroughly worked out in detail. It is clear from the statements given in pp. 38-58 of my ' Buddhist Birth Stories' that the Bodisat who became Gotama the Buddha was held to have been in exist- ence throughout the whole period in which the former twenty-four Buddhas appeared, and this is probably the 'period' intended. Hina/i-kumbureTs version (p. 421) is as ambiguous as the Pali. Spence Hardy gives at p. 87 of his 'Manual of Buddhism' what purports to be a translation of our passage. But it is only a loose paraphrase, and he interprets this ' period-difference ' as simply IV, 8, 18. OF MILINDA THE KING. I 33 is a difference as to the length of their indi- vidual lives1, there is a difference as to their individual size2. In these four respects, O king, there is a difference between Bodisat and Bodisat. But there is no difference between any of the Buddhas, who are alike in bodily beauty3, in good- ness of character, in power of contemplation and of reasoning, in emancipation, in the insight arising from the knowledge of emancipation, in identical with the next one in the list, the ' length-of-life-difference ' — which must be wrong. It must be remembered that the Bodisats referred to throughout this dilemma are exclusively men — not those mentioned in the Gatakas (who are all Bodisats of the historical Buddha), but only those Bodisats who became Buddhas in the same life — that is, the Buddhas themselves before they reached Buddhahood. 1 Ayu-vemattata. This may be due to either of two causes — in the first place they may be born as creatures whose allotted period of life varies. Thus the Bodisat was twenty times Sakka, the king of the gods ; and his life would then have lasted hundreds of thousands of years. But he was 106 times an animal of some kind, and then his life would have been of course much shorter. Again, in his births as a man (more than 350 times, see the table in my ' Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. ci), the average duration of men's lives will have varied, according to Buddhist theory, from many centuries down to only a few years. It is in this second sense only that (with Hina/i-kumbun*) we must suppose the phrase ayu- vemattata to be used — thus excluding all the Bodisats except such as were men. But in the (-rataka stories the average age of man is (with one or two exceptions) normal.
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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