of the human race. Thence it is often used in opposition to br4h- ma«a very much as we might use 'yeoman' in opposition to 'clerk' (G&taka I, 83, and below, § 53) ; and the two combined are used in opposition to people of other ranks and callings held to be less honourable than that of clerk or yeoman (G&taka I, 218). In this respect the term gahapati is nearly equivalent, though from a different point of view, to the Kshatriyas and Vauyas of the Hindu caste division; but the compound brahma«a-gahapatik£ as a collective term comes to be about equivalent to ' priests and laymen ' (see, for instance, below, § 53, and Maha* Vagga I, 2% ; 3, 4, &c). Then again the gahapati is distinct from the subor- dinate members of the family, who had not the control and management of the common property (Samaflfca Phala Sutta, i33,=Tevi ! ^ r a Sutta I, 47); and it is this implication of the term that is emphasised in the text. Buddhaghosa uses, as an expla- natory phrase, the words se/Mi-gahapati. See further the passages quoted in the index to the jSTulla Vagga (p. 354).
mahA-sudassana sutta.
full of yellow gold, and said to the Great King of Glory :
' " Is that enough, O Great King ? Have I done
enough, O Great King ? "
* And the Great King of Glory replied :
4 4< It is enough, O Treasurer. You have done
enough, O Treasurer. You have offered me enough,
O Treasurer ! "
45. 4 Such was the wonderful Treasurer, Ananda, who appeared to the Great King of Glory.
46. ' Now further, Ananda, there appeared to the
Great King of Glory a Wonderful Adviser 1 ,
learned, clever, and wise ; and qualified to lead the
Great King of Glory to undertake what he ought to
undertake, and to leave undone what he ought to
leave undone.
47. ' He went up to the Great King of Glory, and said :
4 " Do thou, O King, take thine ease ! I will be thy guide."
48. 'Such, Ananda, was the wonderful Adviser who appeared to the Great King of Glory.
4 The Great King of Glory was possessed of these Seven Precious Things.
49. 4 Now further, Ananda, the Great King of Glory was gifted with Four Marvellous Gifts 2 /
4 What are the Four Marvellous Gifts ? '
1 Pari«ayaka-ratana/H. Buddhaghosa says that he was the eldest son of the king ; but this is probably a mere putting back into the Sutta of a later idea derived from the summary in the G&taka. The Lalita Vistara makes him a general.
2 ^Tatuhi iddhthi. Here again, as elsewhere, it will be noticed that there is nothing supernatural about these fourlddhis. See
50. ' In the first place, Ananda, the Great King
of Glory was graceful in figure, handsome in ap-
pearance, pleasing in manner, and of most beautiful
complexion, beyond what other men are.
' The Great King of Glory, Ananda, was endowed with this First Marvellous Gift.
51. 'And besides that, Ananda, the Great King
of Glory was of long life, and of many years, beyond
those of other men.
€ The Great King of Glory, Ananda, was endowed with this Second Marvellous Gift.
52. ' And besides that, Ananda, the Great King
of Glory was free from disease, and free from bodily
suffering ; and his internal fire was neither too hot
nor too cold, but such as to promote good digestion,
beyond that of other men \
the notes above on the ' Book of the Great Decease/ I, 1 ; III, 2. They are merely attributes accompanying or forming part of the majesty (iddhi) of the Aakkavatti.
1 Samavepakiniya gaha/nya* samann&gato nfttisttSya n£££u«haya. The same thing is said of Ra//£ap&la in the Ra/Mapala Sutta, where Gogerly renders the whole passage, 'Ra/Mapala is healthy, free from pain, having a good digestion and appetite, being troubled with no excess of either heat or cold' (Journal of the Ceylon Asiatic Society, 1847-1848, p. 98). The gahaai is a supposed particular organ or function situate at the junction of the stomach and intestines. MoggaMna explains it, udare tu tathd pa£analasmi/rc gahawi (Abhidhina-ppadtpiki, 972), where Subhuti's Sinhalese version is 'kukshi, p&k&gni/ and his English version, * the belly, the internal fire which pro- motes digestion/ Buddhaghosa explains samavipdkiyd kam- ma^d-te^o-dhdtuyi, and adds, 4 If a man's food is dissolved the moment he has eaten it, or if it remains like a lump, be has not the samavepdkini gaha/n, but he who has appetite (bhatta*- £^ando) when the time for food comes round again, he has the samavepdkini gahawi/ — which is delightfully naive.
4 The Great King of Glory, Ananda, was endowed with this Third Marvellous Gift.
53. * And besides that, Ananda, the Great King
of Glory was beloved and popular with Br&hmans
and with laymen alike 1 . Just, Ananda, as a father
is near and dear to his own sons, just so, Ananda,
was the Great King of Glory beloved and popular
with Br£hmans and with laymen alike. And just,
Ananda, as his sons are near and dear to a father,
just so, Ananda, were Brfihmans and laymen alike
near and dear to the Great King of Glory.
54. ' Once, Ananda, the Great King of Glory
marched out with all his fourfold army to the
pleasure ground. There, Ananda, the Br£hmans
and laymen went up to the Great King of Glory,
and said :
' " O King, pass slowly by, that we may look upon thee for a longer time ! "
' But the Great King of Glory, Ananda, addressed his charioteer, and said :
4 " Drive on the chariot slowly, charioteer, that I
may look upon my people (Brihmans and laymen)
for a longer time ! "
55. 'This was the Fourth Marvellous Gift, Ananda, with which the Great King of Glory was endowed.
56. ' These are the Four Marvellous Gifts,
Ananda, with which the Great King of Glory was
endowed.
57. * Now to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, there occurred the thought :
4 4 4 Suppose, now, I were to make Lotus-ponds
1 Brdhmawa-gahapatiMnaw. See the note on § 41.
in the spaces between these palms, at every hun- dred bow lengths."
' Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory, in the
spaces between those palms, at distances of a hun-
dred bow lengths, made Lotus-ponds.
58. 1 And those Lotus-ponds, Ananda, were faced
with tiles of four kinds. One kind of tile was of
gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of
crystal.
59. ' And to each of those Lotus-ponds, Ananda,
there were four flights of steps, of four different
kinds. One flight of steps was of gold, and one of
silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal. The
flight of golden steps had balustrades of gold,
with the cross bars and the figure head of silver.
The flight of silver steps had balustrades of silver,
with the cross bars and the figure head of gold.
The flight of beryl steps had balustrades of beryl,
with the cross bars and the figure head of crystal.
The flight of crystal steps had balustrades of crystal,
with cross bars and figure head of beryl.
60. ' And round those Lotus-ponds there ran,
Ananda, a double railing. One railing was of gold,
and one was of silver. The golden railing had its
posts of gold, and its cross bars and its capitals of
silver. The silver railing had its posts of silver,
and its cross bars and its capitals of gold
1 Pokkhara/n, the word translated Lotus-pond, is an artificial pool or small lake for water plants. There are some which are probably nearly as old as this passage still in good preservation in Anuradhapuru in Ceylon. Each is oblong, and has its tiles and its four flights of steps, and some had railings. The balustrades, cross bars, figure head, and railing are in Pali thambhi, su£iyo, unhisaw, and vedika, of the exact meaning of which I am not quite confident. They do not occur in the description
61. ' Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, there occurred the thought :
1 " Suppose, now, I were to have flowers of every
season planted in those Lotus-ponds for the use of
all the people— to wit, blue water lilies and blue
lotuses, white lotuses and white water lilies."
* Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory had
flowers of every season planted in those Lotus-
ponds for the use of all the people — to wit, blue
water lilies and blue lotuses, white lotuses and
white water lilies.
62. ' Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, occurred the thought :
* " Suppose, now, I were to place bathing-men on
the banks of those Lotus-ponds, to bathe such of
the people as come there from time to time. ,,
' Then, Ananda, the Great. King of Glory placed
bathing-men on the banks of those Lotus-ponds, to
bathe such of the people as come there from time
to time.
63. ' Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, occurred the thought :
' " Suppose, now, I were to establish a perpetual
grant by the banks of those Lotus-ponds — to wit,
food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment
for the naked, means of conveyance for those who
have need of it, couches for the tired, wives for
of the Lotus-lakes in Sukhavati. General Cunningham says that the cross bars of the Buddhist railings are called su^iyo in the inscriptions at Bharhut (The Stupa of Bharhut, p. 127). Buddha- ghosa, who is good enough to tell us the exact number of the ponds — to wit, 84,000, has no explanation of these words, merely saying that of the two vedikas one was at the limit of the tiles and one at the limit of the parivewa. The phrases in the text are repeated below, §§ 73-87, of the Palace of Righteousness.
those who want wives, gold for the poor, and money for those who are in want."
4 Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory esta-
blished a perpetual grant by the banks of those
Lotus-ponds — to wit, food for the hungry, drink for
the thirsty, raiment for the naked, means of con-
veyance for those who needed it, couches for the
tired, wives for those who wanted wives, gold for the
poor, and money for those who were in want.
64. * Now, Ananda, the people (Br&hmans and
laymen) went to the Great King of Glory, taking
with them much wealth. And they said :
4 " This abundant wealth, O King, have we
brought here for the use of the King of Kings.
Let the King accept it of us ! "
* " I have enough wealth, my friends, laid up for
myself, the produce of righteous taxation. Do you
keep this, and take away more with you ! "
65. ' When those men were thus refused by the
King they went aside and considered together,
saying :
* 44 It would not beseem us now, were we to take
back this wealth to our own houses. Suppose, now,
we were to build a mansion for the Great King of
Glory. ,,
66. ' Then they went to the Great King of Glory, and said :
'"A mansion would we build for thee, O King!"'
* 44 Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory signi-
fied, by silence, his consent.
67. 4 Now, Ananda, when Sakka, the king of the gods, became aware in his mind of the thoughts that
MAH A-SUDASS ANA SUTTA.
were in the heart of the Great King of Glory, he addressed Vissakamma the god \ and said :
* " Come now, Vissakamma, create me a mansion
for the Great King of Glory — a palace which shall
be called * Righteousness V "
68. ' " Even so, Lord ! " said Vissakamma, in
assent, Ananda, to Sakka, the king of the gods.
And as instantaneously as a strong man might
stretch forth his folded arm, or draw in his arm
again when it was stretched forth, so quickly did he
vanish from the heaven of the Great Thirty-Three,
and appeared before the Great King of Glory.
69. ' Then, Ananda, Vissakamma the god said to the Great King of Glory:
' " I would create for thee, O King, a mansion — a palace which shall be called ' Righteousness ! ' "
* Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory signi- fied, by silence, his consent.
70. ' So Vissakamma the god, Ananda, created
for the Great King of Glory a mansion — a palace to
be called " Righteousness/*
71. * The Palace of Righteousness, Ananda, was on
the east and on the west a league in length, and on
the north and on the south half a league in breadth.
72. ' The ground-floor, Ananda, of the Palace of
Righteousness 3 , in height as three times the height
to which a man can reach, was built of bricks, of
four kinds. One kind of brick was of gold, and
one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.