CHAPTER XXIV.
Future kings of Magadha. Five princes of the line of Pradyota. Ten Saisunagas. Nine Nandas. Ten Mauryas. Ten Sungas. Four Kamwayanas.* [Corrected from "Kanwas". Vide infra, p. 193. note __.] Thirty Andhrabhrityas. Kings of various tribes and castes, and periods of their rule. Ascendancy of barbarians. Different races in different regions. Period of universal iniquity and decay. Coming of Vishnu as Kalki. Destruction of the wicked, and restoration of the practices of the Vedas. End of the Kali, and return of the Krita, age. Duration of the Kali. Verses chanted by Earth, and communicated by Asita to Janaka. End of the Fourth Book.
THE last of the Brihadratha dynasty, [The Vayu-purana, the Matsya-purana, and the Brahmanda-purana premise the extinction of the Brihadrathas and Vitahotras, and do not here name the last of the Brihadrathas. But vide supra, p. 176, notes 6 and (Add the Brahmanda-purana.] Ripunjaya, [Vide supra, p. 176, note __.] will have a minister named Sunika,1 [Munika,** (Sunika is the reading in all my four copies of the Vayu-purana, and in Colonel Wilford's manuscript extracts. The Brahmanda-purana has the same name.) Vayu; Pulika, Matsya; Sunaka, Bhagavata.] § [A single MS. has Sunaka.] who, having killed his sovereign, will place his son Pradyotana (Corrected from "Pradyota", which I find in only one MS. Pradyota is the reading of the Vayu-purana and of the Bhagavata-purana. The Brahmanda-purana has Sudyota, and 23 years. Mention is found of a Pradyota who had a son Jaghanjaya. See my Preface to the Vasavadatta, p. 53.) upon the throne:2 [For 23 years, Vayu and Matsya. (The Matsya-purana, in my copies, gives to Pulika's son the name of Balaka. Nowhere does it speak of Pradyota or of the Pradyotas.)] his son will be Palaka;3 [24 years, Vayu; (Add the Brahmanda-purana.) Tilaka or Balaka,§§ (The only reading I find is Palaka.) 28, Matsya.] [Gopalaka, in one copy.] his son will be Visakhayupa;1 [50 years, Vayu;§ (Three of my MSS., including the two oldest and best, have Visakhadhupa; another, Visakhayupa; the remaining one, Visakhasupa.) 53, Matsya.|| (Two MSS. have Visakharupa; one, Visakhayupa, the reading of the Bhagavata-purana. The Brahmanda-purana has Visakhayupa, and 100 years.)] * [Almost as ordinary a reading, in my MSS., is Visakharupa; and two of them have Visakhapupa.] his son will be Janaka;2 [Ajaka, 21 years, Vayu; (One MS. of the Vayu-purana — very inferior, — has 31 years. In the Brahmanda-purana, Ajaka is assigned 21 years.) Suryaka, 21, Matsya; Rajaka,** (Corrected from "Rajaka".) Bhagavata.] and his son will be Nandivardhana.3 [20 years, Vayu (The name that I find everywhere in the Vayu-purana is Vartivardhana.) and Matsya. (30 years are assigned to Nandivardhana in all my copies of the Matsya-purana. The Brahmanda-purana gives him 20 years.)] These five kings of the house of Pradyota [The original is [x], "the five Pradyotas;" the reading recognized by the commentator. One MS. yields, however, "the five Pradyotanas." The Bhagavata-purana has [x], the gloss on which is [x]. The Vayu-purana has Pradyotas.] will reign over the earth for a hundred and thirty-eight ["Twenty-eight", according to four copies.] years.4 [This number is also specified by the Vayu and Bhagavata;§§ (XII., I., 4.) and the several years of the reigns of the former agree with the total. The particulars of the Matsya compose 145 (By note __ above, we are enabled to alter this number to one nearer correctness, — namely, 155. There is, however, still a mistake of 3 in excess, — owing, doubtless, to corruptness of the MSS.; for all mine agree in stating the total to be 152.) years; but there is, no doubt, some mistake in them.]
The next prince will be Sisanaga;1 [Sisunaka — who, according to the Vayu ([x]. Two copies have Giripraja; one, Girivrata. Equally gross mistakes, it is to be presumed, disfigure all my MSS. of the Vayu-purana.) and Matsya,§ (The first verse of a stanza there given is the same as in the preceding note. The second verse runs: [x].) relinquished Benares to his son, and established himself at Girivraja (or Rajagriha), in Behar, — reigns 40 years, Vayu and Matsya.] his son will be Kakavarna;2 [36 years, Vayu (Sakavarna or Sakavarna is the name in all my copies of the Vayu-purana.) and Matsya.] * [A Kakavarna, Raja of Chandi, is spoken of in the Harsha-charita. See my Vasavadatta, Preface, p. 53.] his son will be Kshemadharman;3 [Kshemakarman, (Kshemavarman, in three MSS. of the Vayu-purana, those of best note; while the rest have Kshemadharman. The Brahmanda-purana has Kshemadharman, and 20 years. There is a break in Colonel Wilford's manuscript extract from the Brahmanda-purana, where there should be mention of the two kings preceding Kshemadharman.) 20 years, Vayu; Kshemadharman, 36. Matsya.] his son will be Kshattraujas;4 [40 years, Vayu;** (Therewith agrees the Brahmanda-purana.) Kshemajit or Kshemarchis. 36, Matsya; (Three of my copies have Kshemavit, 24 years; the other, Kshemarchis, 40 years.) Kshetrajna, Bhagavata.] his son will be Vidmisara;5 [Bimbisara, (This reading says much for the comparative correctness of the Vayu-purana.) 28 years, Vayu; Bindusena or Vindhyasena, 28, Matsya;§§ (Viddhisara(?), and 28 years: Brahmanda-purana.) Vidhisara, Bhagavata.] [Two MSS. have Vidhisara: another, Vidisara. But all three are corruptions. See note __ in the next page.] his son will be Ajatasatru;1 [25 years, Vayu; (In all my MSS. of the Vayu-purana, the order is: Ajatasatru, Kshattranjas, Bimbisara.) 27, Matsya: (The Brahmanda-purana, at least in my single MS, gives 35 years to Ajatasatru.) but the latter inserts a Kanwayana,§ (The name here intended is very doubtful in all my three MSS. of the Matsya-purana.) 9 years, and Bhumimitra (or Bhumiputra), 14 years, before him. In this and the preceding name we have appellations of considerable celebrity in the traditions of the Bauddhas. Vidmisara — read, also, Vindhusara. (This — and so the Bindusena mentioned in the Translator's last note, looks like a corruption of Bindusara; and Bindusara was a remote descendant of Bimbisara. Vide infra, p. 186, note __.) Vilwisara, &c., — is, most probably, their Bimbasara, (Vidmisara, &c. are, all, misspellings of Bimbisara. Vide infra, p. 186, note __. On the correct form of the name of the king intended, see Burnouf's Introduction a l'Histoire du Buddhisme Indien, Vol. I., p. 145, note I.) who was born at the same time with Sakya, and was reigning at Rajagriha, when he began his religious career.
The king of Rôruka (3) [(3) So far I have not found any precise information on the position of this town. The legend of Rudrâyana, who was converted to Buddhism by the influence of Bimbisâra, king of Râdjagrïha, teaches us that Rôruka was to the east of the latter city, and that it competed with its riches with the famous Pàtaliputtra, the Palibothra of the Greeks, after the invasion of Alexander. {Div. avad., f. 306 a.) She could not have been very far from Râdjagrïha, and it is probably in the eastern part of Bihar that it should be sought; but I can't find any. Today on our cards only Row, whose name offers some analogy to that of Rôruka. I do not have any information on this locality.] had need money; his two prime ministers once said to him: "From a country like sesame seed, which does not give its oil, unless it is pressed, cut, burnt, or grinds" (4). I will quote below, speaking of the struggles of Çâkyamuni against that of Bimbisâra. I consulted, in order to get out of this small difficulty, the Tibetan versions of Kah-gyur, and they seemed to me to settle the question in favor of the spelling of Bimbisâra. This name is translated there Gzugs-tchanshing-po, “the essence of the being which has a body. This title, little clear in himself, was given to the young prince by his father Mahâpadma, in memory of when the child was born, the body of the queen her mother shines like the disc of the sun at its rising. (Hdulva, vol. ka or i, fol. 5 a.) The use of the suffix tchan after gzugs indicates a possessive; It is therefore Bimbi and not Bimba that the Tibetan interpreters have had in front of them. I add that the spelling of Bimbisâra is that adopted by the Buddhists of the South, thus that can be seen in M. Turnour's Mahâvamsa....
This is why each of them says to himself: I have obtained the power supernatural. Purana and the five other masters, who imagined they knew everything, went to Bimbisâra, nicknamed Çrênya (3) [(3) The Tibetan translation of the legends relating to the Discipline teaches us that the king Bimbisâra had received the title of Çrênya or Çrênika, because he was an expert in all the arts” (Csoma, Anahjs. Of the Dul-va, in Asiat. Researches, t. XX, p. 46.)], the king of Magadha; and approaching him, they said thus unto him, Know, O king, that we are gifted of a supernatural power, which we know how to discuss on science. the Çramana Gâutama also claims that he is endowed with a supernatural power, and that he knows how to discuss science. He who knows how to discuss science struggles with those who know as much as they do [etc. as above, up to:] So let's fight with Çramana Gâutama in the art of operating, at means of supernatural power, miracles superior to what man can do.
“Having said this, Bimbisâra Çrênya, the king of Magadha, spoke thus to the Tîrthyas: Si you want to become corpses, you just have to strive for supernatural power with Bhagavat. [Some time later,] Pûrana and the five other masters, who not knowing everything imagined they knew everything, having encountered on the way Bimbisâra Çrênya, the king of Magadha, repeated to him what they already had to him said; but Bimbisâra replied in these terms to the beggars Tîrthyas: If you repeat the same thing to me a third time, I will drive you out of the country. The Tîrthyas then made this reflection: King Bimbisâra is an Auditor of Çramana Gàutama, let's leave Bimbisâra there; but Prasênadjit, king of Kôçala, is impartial; when the Çramana Gàutama goes to the city of Çravasli, we will will return there, and we will provoke him there to operate, by means of his supernatural, miracles superior to what man can do. Having said these words, they withdrew.
Then Bimbisâra said to one of his people: Go and quickly splint a good tank; I will go up there, because I want to go and see Bhagavat, in order to do him honor. Yes, lord, replied the servant; and having promptly harnessed a good chariot, he went to Bimbisara, and having approached him, he said to him: Here is harnessed the king's good chariot; the time set for what the king wants to do is come. So Bimbisâra, having mounted this good chariot, left Râdjagrïha and walked towards Bhagavat with the intention of seeing him, in order to do him honor. As long as the ground allowed him to use his chariot, he advanced from this manner; then going down, he walked into the hermitage and saw Bhaghavat. Having immediately stripped himself of the five insignia of royal power, that is to say the turban, the parasol, the dagger, the fly swatter made of a tail of yak and shoe of various colors, he walked towards Bhagavat, and having approached him, he saluted his feet, touching them with the head and sat down next to. Bhagavat seeing King Bimbisara seated aside, began to instruct him by a speech relating to the law; he made him receive it, he excited his zeal, he rewarded him plethora of joy; and after having more than one way instructed by speeches relating to the law, after having made him receive it, after having excited his zeal and having filled him with joy, he remained silent. So Bimbisâra, after having rented Bhagavat and showing his assent to him, greeted his feet by touching them with his head and withdrew from his presence.
-- Introduction to the History of Indian Buddhism, by Eugene Burnouf, 1801-1852
-- Introduction to the History of Indian Buddhism, by Eugene Burnouf, 1801-1852 (ENGLISH VERSION)
The Mahawamso says that Siddhatto and Bimbisaro were attached friends, as their fathers had been before them. P. 10. Sakya is said to have died in the reign of Ajatasatru, the son of Bimbasara, in the eighth year of his reign. The Vayu transposes these names; and the Matsya still more alters the order of Ajatasatru; but the Bhagavata concurs with our text. The Buddhist authority differs from the Puranas, materially, as to the duration of the reigns; giving to Bimbisaro, 52 years, and to Ajatasattu, 32. The latter, according to the same, murdered his father. Mahawamso, p. 10. We may, therefore, with some confidence, claim for these princes a date of about six centuries B.C. They are considered contemporary with Suddhodana, &c., in the list of the Aikshwakas** (Vide supra, p. 171, note __.) (vide supra, p. 169, note 7).] * [An Ajatasatru, king of the Kasis, is commemorated in the Kaushi-taki-brahmana Upanishad, IV., I., and elsewhere.] his son will be Darbhaka;1 [Harshaka,§ (I find Darsaka.) 25 years, Vayu; Vamsaka, 24, (Two of my MSS. have 24; the other two, 40.) Matsya. (The Brahmanda-purana, at least in my MS., has Dasaka, and a reign of 35 years.)] * [Corrected from "Dharbaka". The Bhagavata-purana agrees with our text.] his son will be Udayaswa;2 [33 years, Vayu;** (The name that I find there in Udayin; but, in two MSS., Udaya.) Udibhi or Udasin, (Three of my MSS. have Udambhin; one, Udasin. The Brahmanda- purana has the latter, and 23 years.) 33, Matsya. According to the Vayu, Udaya or Udayaswa founded Kusumapura (or Pataliputra), on the southern angle (I find [x], 'bank'.) of the Ganges: [x] (Two MSS. read [x] and so does the Brahmanda-purana.) [x]. The legends of Sakya, consistently with this tradition, take no notice of this city, in his peregrinations on either bank of the Ganges. The Mahawamso calls the son and successor of Ajatasatru, Udayibhaddako (Udayibhadraka (Corrected from "Udayinbhadraka". )). P. 15.] [Udayana is almost as common a reading. Ajaya is the name in the Bhagavata-purana.] his son will, also, be Nandivardhana; and his son will be Mahanandin.3 [42 and 43 years, Vayu; 40 and 43, Matsya. (More clearly: Nandivardhana, 42 years, Vayu-purana; 40 years, Matsya-purana: Mahanandin, 43 years, in both those Puranas. The Brahmanda-purana agrees, as to these two kings, with the Vayu-purana.) The Mahawamso has, in place of these, Anuruddhako, Mundo, and Nagadasako; all, in succession, parricides: the last, deposed by an insurrection of the people. P. 15.] [Corrected from "Mahanandi", the reading of the Bhagavata-purana.] These ten Saisunagas will be kings of the earth for three hundred and sixty-two years.4 [The several authorities agree in the number of ten Saisunagas, and in the aggregate years of their reigns, which the Matsya and the Bhagavata call 360. The Vayu has 362, (And so has the Brahmanda-purana.) with which the several periods correspond: (I make only 332.) the details of the Matsya give 363.§ (Even taking account of the reigns mentioned near the beginning of note 1 in p. 181, supra, I make out but 354.) The Vayu (The nominal and numerical details given below are there expressed as follows: [x].) and Matsya (The following particulars answer to those contained in the last note: [x]. There are similar verses in the Brahmanda-purana; but they are copied, in Colonel Wilford's volume of Pauranik extracts,—where alone I have access to them,—with such deplorable carelessness, and with so many omissions, that I can do no more than refer to them. They seem to resemble the corresponding stanzas in the Matsya-purana rather more closely than those in the Vayu-purana.) call the Saisunagas Kshattrabandhus, which may designate an inferior order of Kshattriyas. They also observe, that, contemporary with the dynasties already specified,—the Pauravas, the Barhadrathas, and Magadhas,— there were other races of royal descent, as: Aikshwaka princes. 24: (It is to be understood, in this and similar cases, that the two Puranas agree.) Panchalas, 25, Vayu ; 27, Matsya: Kalakas (This is the name that I find in the Vayu-purana.), or Kasakas, or Kaseyas,§ (Two of my MSS. of the Matsya-purana have this reading; another, Kasheyas; another, Kaleyas.) 24: Haihayas, 24, Vayu; 28, Matsya: Kalingas. 32. Vayu; 40. (One of my MSS. of the Matsya-purana gives 22: the other three, 32.) Matsya: Sakas, Vayu; 28, Asmakas, Matsya, 25: (That is to say, where the Vayu-purana names the Sakas, the Matsyapurana names the Asmakas.) Kurus,** (Corrected from "Kuravas".) 26: (I find 36 in both Puranas.) Maithilas, 28: Surasenas, 23: and Vitihotras, 20.]
The son of Mahanandin* [Corrected from "Mahananda".] will be born of a woman of the Sudra (or servile) class: his name will be Nanda, (called) Mahapadma; for he will be exceedingly avaricious.1 [The Bhagavata calls him Mahapadmapati, 'the lord of Mahapadma;' which the commentator interprets 'sovereign of an infinite host' or 'of immense wealth'; (See the commentator's words, at the end of note __, below.) Mahapadma signifying 100,000 millions. The Vayu and Matsya,§§ [They say nothing of Nanda, naming Mahapadma only. The same is the case with the Brahmanda-purana.] however, consider Mahapadma as another name of Nanda. (So considers the Bhagavata-purana, where we read—XII., 1., 8 and 9: [x] On the first of these verses the commentator, Sridhara, remarks: [x].] Like another Parasurama,* [It is to be understood, in this and similar cases, that the two Puranas agree.] he will be the annihilator of the Kshattriya race; for, after him, the kings of the earth will be Sudras. He will bring the whole earth under one umbrella: he will have eight sons, Sumalya* [Several of my MSS. have Sumatya; and so has Professor Wilson's Bengal translation. The Matsya-purana, in my copies, has Sukulya, with Kusala as a variant Sahalya: Brahmanda-purana.] and others, who will reign after Mahapadma; and he and his sons1 [So the Bhagavata, also; but it would be more compatible with chronology to consider the nine Nandas as so many descents. The Vayu and Matsya (Add the Brahmanda-purana.) give eighty-eight years to Mahapadma, and only the remaining twelve to Sumalya and the rest of the remaining eight; these twelve years being occupied with the efforts of Kautilya [Chanakya] to expel the Nandas. The Mahawamso, evidently intending the same events, gives names and circumstances differently; it may be doubted, if with more accuracy. On the deposal of Nagadasako, the people raised to the throne the minister Susanago, who reigned eighteen years. This prince is, evidently, confounded with the Sisunaga of the Puranas. He was succeeded by his son, Kalasoko, who reigned twenty years; and he was succeeded by his sons, ten of whom reigned together for twenty-two years: subsequently there were nine, who, according to their seniority, reigned for twenty-two years. The Brahman Chanako [Chanakya] put the ninth surviving brother, named Dhananando (Rich Nanda), to death, and installed Chandagutto [Chandragupta Maurya]. Mahawamso, pp. 15 and 21. These particulars, notwithstanding the alteration of some of the names, belong, clearly, to one story: and that of the Buddhists looks as if it was borrowed and modified from that of the Brahmans. The commentary on the Mahawamso, translated by Mr. Turnour (Introduction, p. xxxviii.), calls the sons of Kalasoko "the nine Nandos;" but another Buddhist authority, the Dipawamso, omits Kalasoko, and says that Susanago had ten brothers, who, after his demise, reigned, collectively, twenty-two years. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, November, 1838 (p. 930).] will govern for a hundred years.
Here follows an account of the schism, and of the second convocation held in consequence, in the tenth year of the reign of Kalasoko, with which the fourth Bhanawaro concludes, the particulars of which are given in the paper, No. 2, and in the Mahawanso. The fifth commences with recapitulating the principal particulars of the first and second convocations and the schisms, and then proceeds:
"In the second year of the reign of Chundagutto, when Siggawo was sixty-four years old, which was the fifty-eighth year of the reign of Pandukabhayo, the raja (of Lanka) Moggaliputto was ordained an upasampada in the fraternity of Siggawo; and the said Moggaliputtatisso, having acquired the knowledge of the wineyo in the fraternity of Chandawajji, was released from the sins inseparable from liability to future regeneration. Both Siggawo and Chandawajji taught the whole of the Pitako, which embraces both (the wineyo, discipline, and dhammo, doctrine), to the pre-eminently endowed Moggaliputto. Siggawo of profound wisdom died at the age of seventy-six, having constituted the pre-eminently endowed Moggaliputto the chief of the wineyo. Chandagutto reigned twenty-four years. In the fourteenth year of his reign Siggawo died.
"In the sixth year of the reign of Dhammasoko, Moggaliputto was sixty-six years old. Mahindo was then ordained an upasampada in his fraternity, and acquired a knowledge of the Pitako.
"Upali attained his seventy-fourth, Dasako his sixty-fourth, the thero Sonako his sixty-sixth, Siggawo his seventy-sixth, and Moggaliputto his eightieth year. The following are the periods that all of these theros were upasampada, of whom at all times the learned Upali was recognized as the first chief, viz.; Dasako was an upasampada fifty, Sonako, forty-four, Siggawo five* [This is evidently a mistake.], and Moggaliputto, sixty-eight years.
"Udayo reigned sixteen years, and in the sixth year of Udayo's reign, Upali died.
"Susanago, the opulent monarch, reigned ten years, in the eighth year of Susanago's reign, Dasako died.
"At [The reign of Kalasoko is omitted, who was the father of the Nandos who are here designated the brothers of Susanago.] the demise of Susanago he had ten brothers, who collectively reigned twenty-two years, in great celebrity. In the sixth year of their reign Sonako died.
[BREAK IN LINEAGE! WHERE DID CHANDAGUTTO COME FROM?]
"Chandagutto reigned twenty-four years, and in the fourteenth year of his reign Siggawo died.
"The celebrated Dhammasoko the son of Bindasaro reigned thirty-seven years.
In the twenty-sixth year of his reign, Moggaliputto died, having caused religion to be glorified, and having completed the full measure of human existence.
"The learned Upali, the chief of a great fraternity died at the age of seventy-four, having appointed his learned disciple Dasako to the office of chief wineyo.
"Dasako, died at the age of sixty-four, having appointed his senior learned disciple Sonako to the office of chief of the wineyo.
"Sonako, who was endowed with the six abinna, died at the age of sixty-six, having appointed his arahat son (disciple) Siggawo to the office of chief of wineyo.
"Siggawo who was endowed with the six abinna, died at the age of seventy-six, having appointed his son (disciple) Moggaliputto to the office of chief of wineyo.
"Moggaliputtatisso died at the age of eighty, having appointed his disciple Mahindo to the office of chief of wineyo.
The conclusion of the fifth Bhanawaro.
"Piyadassano [Having erroneously written this name "Piyadasino" in a former paper, Vol. VI. p. 1056, you have been led to suppose it was the genitive case of Piyadasi.] was inaugurated in the two hundred and eighteenth year after the death of the supreme Buddho. At the installation of Piyadassano preternatural manifestations took place."
(For these manifestations I must refer to the Mahawanso.)
"That royal youth, who was the grandson of Chandagutto and the son of Bindusaro was at that time the (karamolino) ruler of Vjjeni.
"In the course of an official circuit he visited Wessanagaran; where lived a damsel, the daughter of a Sitthi, who became celebrated under the name of Dewi. By his connection with her, an illustrious son was born. (The said son) Mahindo and (his daughter) Sangamitta formed the resolution to enter the order of priesthood. Both these individuals having been thus ordained, overcame subjection to regeneration. Asoko was then reigning in the illustrious Pataliputto. In the third year of his inauguration he became a convert to the religion of the supreme Buddho. (If it be asked) what the duration of the term is, from the date of the parinibbanan of the supreme Buddho to the date of the birth of Mahindo, who was descended from the Moriyan dynasty, (the answer is) two hundred and five years. In that year Mahindo the son of Asoko was born. In Mahindo's tenth year, his father put his own brothers to death; and he past four years in reducing Jambudipo to order. Having put to death his hundred brothers, and reduced the dynasty to one (family), they (the people) inaugurated him in the fourteenth year of Mahindo's age. Asoko, who was endowed with great personal superiority and good fortune, and was destined to rule the world, was inaugurated under miraculous manifestations. They installed Piyadassano on his completing his twentieth year* [This is evidently a clerical error, his son Mahindo being then fourteen years old. It was subsequently mentioned that Asokodhammo was forty-five years old at his inauguration.]."
The account of the interview with Nigrodho, the expulsion of the brahman sects, and the construction of the wiharos is then given, to the close of the sixth Bhanawaro.
The seventh Bhanawaro begins with the account of Mahindo and Sangamitta being admitted into the order of the priesthood, (the former was at once ordained upasampada, being of the age of twenty; but the latter remained a samaneri for two years, being only eighteen,) in the sixth year of Asoko's inauguration. These particulars will be found in the Mahawanso.
"Asokadhammo was fifty-four years old at the time of his inauguration, and at the time of Asokadhammo being inaugurated, Moggaliputtatisso was sixty-six. Mahindo entered into the order of priesthood in the fraternity of Mogaliputtatisso. Mahadewo performed the ceremony of admission, and Mojjhanto, the ceremony of the upasampada ordination. These were the three preceptors who qualified Mahindo for the priesthood. The said preceptor Moggaliputtatisso taught Mahindo, who illuminated (Lanka) dipo, the whole of the Pitako, both as regards its import and its doctrine. In the tenth year of Mahindo's (ordination) having acquired a perfect knowledge of the whole creed, he became the head of a fraternity, and (pachariyo) a subpreceptor (under Moggali). The said Mahindo having thus acquired a knowledge of the perfectly profound and well arranged (Pitakattayan), containing the two doctrinal portions (the wineyo and the abhidhammo) and the suttako (the parables) as well as the history of the schisms of the preceptors, became a perpetuater of the same. Moggaliputtatisso thus perfected Mahindo the son of Asoko, in the knowledge of the three wejja and the four putisambhida, and (thereby) Moggaliputtatisso permanently established in his disciple Mahindo, the whole of the Pitakattayan which had been thus handed down to him.
"Nigrodho was admitted into the priesthood in the third year of Asoko's reign, his brother (Tisso) in the fourth, and in the sixth his son Mahindo. Tisso and Sumittako, the two theros who were descended from the Kunti, and were endowed with supernatural powers, died in the eighth year of the reign of Asoko. From these two princes having entered the order of priesthood, and from (the manner in which) these two theros died, multitudes of the khattiya and brahman castes proclaimed themselves to be devotees in this creed, and great benefits and honors resulted to the religion of the vanquisher; and the heretics, who had been influential schismatics, lost all their ascendancy. The pandaranga, the jatila, nigantha, chetaka and other sects for seven years continued, however, to perform the uposatha in separate fraternities. The sanctified, pious, and virtuous ministers (of Buddho) would not attend those uposatha meetings. At this conjuncture, it was the two hundred and thirty-sixth year (of the Buddhistical era)."
The Dipawanso then gives the account of the third convocation and of the dispersion of the missionaries for the promulgation of Buddhism through the adjacent kingdoms of Asia, viz. Gandharo, Mahiso, Aparantako, Maharatthan, Yono, Hiwawanto, Suwannabhumi and Lankadipo.
The ninth Bhanawaro commences with the history of Ceylon, and it is singular that the origin of the Sihala race is here divested of the fabulous character given to it in the Mahawanso to the extent formerly suggested by me. If the popular legend of the lion (siho) had not been previously known, the account in the Dipawanso would have been rendered, by any unprejudiced translator, into English without naming the fabulous monster, literally thus:"This island Lanka acquired the name of Sihala from Siho* ["Pachchantan," I have translated, "foreign" in the Mahawanso, as the word is compounded of "pati" and "antan." It would be better rendered as "situated on the confines." Wanawasi is here omitted, probably by an error of transcription. This passage is important Matacha Susimanama, pitacha Sihasawhayo. If "Siho'' was intended for a "lion," "Sawhayo" which signifies "named" or "called" would not be used.]. Listen to this narrative of mine, being the account of the origin of this island and this dynasty. The daughter of a king of Wango, having formed a connection with a certain Siho, who found his livelihood in a wilderness, gave birth to two children. These two children named Sihabahu and Sewali were of prepossessing appearance. The mother was named Susima, and the father was called Siho, and at the termination of sixteen years, secretly quitting that wilderness, he (Sihabahu) founded a city, to which capital he gave the name of Sihapura. In that Lala kingdom, the son of Siho becoming a powerful monarch, reigned supreme in his capital Sihapura."
This Bhanawaro proceeds with the account of Wijayo landing in Ceylon, and the establishment of his dynasty, omitting however, entirely, Wijayo's marriage with Kuweni, and narrates the reigns of the ensuing kings to Dewananpiyatisso, assigning to them reigns of the same duration, as that given to them in the Mahawanso. We then find the synchronisms in the chronologies of India and Ceylon, which are quoted in the introduction to the Mahawanso from the Atthahatha in the Wineyo.
I do not notice any matter in the Dipawanso, not found in the Mahawanso, till I come to the eighteenth Bhanawaro. The theriparampara, or succession of preceptresses is there given, taken from the Atthakatha on the Wineyo in the following words:"She who was renowned under the appellation of Pajapati, and was of the Gotamo family, endowed with six abinna and with supernatural gifts, the younger sister, born of the same mother, of Mahamaya (the mother of Buddho): and who, with the same affection as Maya herself nourished Bhagawa at her breast, was established in the highest office (among priestesses).
"The following are the priestesses who (in succession) acquired a perfect knowledge of the wineyo, viz.: Khema Uppalawanna, two of each name, and Patachari, Dhammadinna, Sobhita, Isidasika, Wisakha, Asoka, Sapala, Sanghadasi, gifted with wisdom, Nanda and Dhammapala, celebrated for her knowledge of Wineyo.
"The theri Sanghamitta, Uttara, who was gifted with wisdom, Hemapasa, Dassala, Aggamitta, Dasika, Pheggupabbata, Matta, Salala, Dhammadasiya—these juvenile priestesses came hither from Jambudipo, and propounded the Winayapitako in the capital designated Anuradhapura—they propounded not only the five divisions of the wineyo, but also the seven Pakaranani.
"The females who were ordained upasampada by them in this island were Soma, devoted to Dhammo, Goridipi, Dhammadasiyi, Dhammapala versed in the wineyo, Mahila conversant in the dhutawada, Sobhana, Dhammata, Passanagamissa, also versed in the wineyo, and Satakali profound in the theri controversy, and Uttara.
"Under the instructions of Abhayo [Abhayo, the brother of Dewananpiyatisso.] celebrated for his illustrious descent, the aforesaid priestesses as well as Sumana [Vide Index of the Mahawanso for this name.] renowned for the doctrinal knowledge among her sisterhood, a maintainer of the Dhutanga, a vanquisher of the passions, of great purity of mind, devoted to dhammo and wineyo, and Uttara endowed with wisdom, together with their thirty thousand priestesses, were the first priestesses who propounded at Anuradhapura, the wineyo, the five Nikaye (of the Suttapitako) and the Suttapakarane of the Abhidhammo.
"Mahala equally illustrious for her knowledge of the dhammo and for her piety, was the daughter of the monarch Kakawanno Girikali, profoundly versed by rote, was the daughter of his Poorohito (the almoner of Kakawanno); Kaladasi and Sabbapapika were the daughters of Gutto. These priestesses, who always maintained the orthodox texts, and of perfect purity of mind, were versed in the dhammo and wineyo, and having returned from the Rohana division maintained by the illustrious ruler of men Abhayo [Vide Index for Gamini Abhayo, the name of Dutthagamini before he recovered the kingdom.], propounded the Wineyo, at Anuradhapura."
The remainder of this passage is so confused as not to admit of a continuous translation.
In the twentieth Bhanawaro is specified the reducing the scriptures to record, in precisely the same two verses as in the Mahawanso; and in the twenty-second it is mentioned that Wasabho the raja of Ceylon between A.D. 66 and 110, brought water into the town of Anuradhapura through a tunnel "ummaggo" and with this Bhanawaro, the Dipawanso terminates at the close of the reign of Mahaseno.
-- An Analysis of the Dipawanso; An examination of the Pali Buddhistical Annals, No. 4, by the Honorable George Turnour, Esq., Ceylon Civil Service, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, November, 1838 (p. 930).
* [Burnouf, citing a high Buddhist authority, a Sanskrit work, gives the following genealogy: Bimbisara (king of Rajagriha), Ajatasatru, Udayibhadra, Munda, Kakavarnin, Sahalin, Tulakuchi, Mahamandala, Prasenajit, Nanda, Bindusara (king of Pataliputra), Susima. Introduction a l' Histoire du Buddhisme Indien, Vol. I., pp. 358, 359. A Mongol authority interposes a king between Nanda and Chandragupta. See the Foe Koue Ki, p. 230.] The Brahman Kautilya will root out the nine Nandas.1 [For the particulars of the story here alluded to, see the Mudra Rakshasa, Hindu Theatre, Vol. II. Kautilya is also called, according to the commentator on our text, Vatsyayana, Vishriugupta, and Chanakya. According to the Matsya Purana, Kautilya retained the regal authority for a century; but there is some inaccuracy in the copies. (There is something to the same effect in the Vayu-purana and in the Brahmanda-purana.)]
Upon the cessation of the race of Nanda, the Mauryas will possess the earth; for Kautilya will place Chandragupta2 [This is the most important name in all the lists; as it can scarcely be doubted that he is the Sandrocottus, or, — as Athenaeus writes, more correctly, — the Sandrocoptus, of the Greeks, as I have endeavoured to prove in the Introduction to the Mudra Rakshasa. (The identification of Chandragupta with Sandrocyptus is the property of Sir William Jones. See the Asiatic Researches, Vol, IV., p. 11.) The relative positions of Chandragupta, Vidmisara (or Bimbisara), and Ajatasatru serve to confirm the identification. Sakya was contemporary with both the latter, dying in the eighth year of Ajatasatru's reign. The Mahawamso says he reigned twenty-four years afterwards; but the Vayu makes his whole reign but twenty-five years, § (I find twenty-four years, and so in the Brahmanda-purana.)which would place the close of it B.C. 526. The rest of the Saisunaga dynasty, according to the Vayu and Matsya, reigned 143 or 140 years; bringing their close to B.C. 383. Another century being deducted for the duration of the Nandas would place the accession of Chandragupta B.C. 283. Chandragupta was the contemporary of Seleucus Nicator, who began his reign B.C. 310, and concluded a treaty with him B.C. 305. Although, therefore, his date may not be made out quite correctly from the Pauranik premises, yet the error cannot be more than twenty or thirty years. The result is much nearer the truth than that furnished by Buddhist authorities. According to the Mahawamso, a hundred years had elapsed from the death of Buddha to the tenth year of the reign of Kalasoko (p. 15). He reigned other ten years, and his sons, forty-four, making a total of 154 years between the death of Sakya and the accession of Chandragupta, which is, consequently, placed B.C. 389, or above seventy years too early. According to the Buddhist authorities, Chan-ta-kut-ta (or Chandragupta) commenced his reign 396 B.C. Burmese Table; Prinsep's Useful Tables. Mr. Turnour, in his Introduction, giving to Kalasoko eighteen years subsequent to the century after Buddha, places Chandragupta's accession B.C. 381, which, he observes, is sixty years too soon; dating, however, the accession of Chandragupta from 323 B.C., or immediately upon Alexander's death, — a period too early by eight or ten years, at least. The discrepancy of dates, Mr. Turnour is disposed to think, "proceeds from some intentional perversion of the Buddhistical chronology. " Introduction, p. L. The commentator on our text says that Chandragupta was the son of Nanda, by a wife named Mura, whence he and his descendants were called Mauryas: [x]. Colonel Tod considers Maurya a corruption of Mori, the name of a Rajput tribe. The Tika on the Mahawamso builds a story on the fancied resemblance of the word to Mayura (Sanskrit), Mori (Prakrit), 'a peacock.' There being abundance of pea-fowl in the place where the Sakya tribe built a town, they called it Mori; and their princes were, thence, called Mauryas. Turnour, Introduction to the Mahawamso. p. XXXIX. Chandragupta reigned, according to the Vayu Purana, 24 years; according to the Mahawamso, 34; to the Dipawarmso, 24. ] on the throne. His son will be Bindusara;1 [So the Mahawamso, Bindusaro. Burmese Table, Bin-tu-sa-ra. The Vayu has Bhadrasara, 25 years: (Nandasara, and 25 years: Brahmanda-purana.) the Bhagavata, Varisara.
The Matsya names but four princes of this race, although it concurs with the others, in stating the series to consist of ten. The names are, also, differently arranged; and one is peculiar. (See note __ in p. 190, infra.) They are Satadhanwan, Brihadratha, § (The Matsya-purana gives him a reign of 70 years.) Suka, (Asoka is the reading of all my MSS.) and Dasaratha. (These are the first four of the series.)] his son will be Asokavardhana;1 [Asoka, 36 years, Vayu;** (And so the Brahmanda-purana.) Suka, (See note __, above.) 26, (I find 36.) Matsya; Asokavardhana, Bhagavata; Asoko and Dhammasoko, Mahawarmso. This king is the most celebrated of any in the annals of the Buddhists.§§ (The best account, in our language, of Asoka, is by Sir Erskine Perry, in the Journal of the Bombay Asiatic Society, Vol. III., Part II., pp. 149—178.) In the commencement of his reign, he followed the Brahmanical faith, but became a convert to that of Buddha, and a zealous en- courager of it. He is said to have maintained, in his palace, 64,000 Buddhist priests, and to have erected 84,000 columns (or topes) throughout India. A great convocation of Buddhist priests was held in the eighteenth year of his reign, which was followed by missions to Ceylon and other places. According to Buddhist chronology, he ascended the throne 218 years after the death of Buddha, B.C. 325. As the grandson of Chandragupta, however, he must have been some time subsequent to this, or, — agreeably to the joint duration of the reigns of Chandragupta and Bindusara, supposing the former to have commenced his reign about B.C. 315, — forty-nine years later, or B.C. 266. The duration of his reign is said to have been thirty-six years, bringing it down to B.C. 230; but, if we deduct these periods from the date assignable to Chandragupta, of B.C. 283, we shall place Asoka's reign from B.C. 234 to 198. Now, it is certain that a number of very curious inscriptions, on columns and rocks, by a Buddhist prince, in an ancient form of letter, and the Pali language, exist in India; and that some of them refer to Greek princes, who can be no other than members of the Seleucidan and Ptolemaean dynasties, and are, probably, Antiochus the Great* (For some strictures on this position, see General Cunningham's Bhilsa Topes, p. 112.) and Ptolemy Euergetes, kings of Syria and Egypt in the latter part of the third century before Christ. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, February and March, 1838. The Indian king appears always under the appellation Piyadasi (or Priyadarsin), 'the beautiful;' and is entitled Devanam piya, 'the beloved of the gods.' According to Buddhist authorities, the Rasawahini and Dipawamso, quoted by Mr. Turnour (Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, December 1837, p. 1056, and November, 1838, p. 930), Piyadasi or Piyadassano is identified, both by name and circumstances, with Asoka; and to him, therefore, the inscriptions must be attributed. Their purport agrees well enough with his character; and their wide diffusion, with the traditionary report of the number of his monuments. His date is not exactly that of Antiochus the Great; but it is not very far different; and the corrections required to make it correspond are no more than the inexact manner in which both Brahmanical and Buddhist chronology is preserved may well be expected to render necessary.] his son will be Suyasas;* [Suparswa, in two MSS.] his son will be Dasaratha;1 [The name of Dasaratha, in a similar ancient character as that of Piyadasi's inscriptions, has been found at Gaya, amongst Buddhist remains, and, like them, deciphered by Mr. Prinsep: Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, August. 1837, p. 677. A different series of names occurs in the Vayu; (Immediately after Asoka.) or: Kusala, 8 years; Bandhupalita, Indrapalita, (I find: Bandhupalita, 8 years; Indrapalita, 10 years.) Dasavarman,§ (My MSS. yield Devavarman.) 7 years; Satadhara, 8 years; and Brihadaswa, (So read all my MSS.; and yet, a little further on, they agree in naming Brihadratha as the king put to death by Pushpamitra.) 7 years. (The Brahmanda-purana has, after Asoka; Kulala, 8 years; Bandhupalita, 8 years; something unintelligible, and denoting a hiatus; Harsha, 8 years; Sammati, 9 years: Salisuka, 13 years; Devadharman, 7 years; Satadhanus, 8 years; Brihadratha, 87 years.) The Bhagavata agrees in most of the names; and its omission of Dasaratha is corrected by the commentator.] his son will be Sangata; his son will be Salisuka; his son will be Somasarman; his son will be Satadhanwan; 1 [Satadhanwan, Bhagavata.] *[Corrected from ''Sasadharman", for which I find no warrant, Professor Wilson's Hindu-made translation excepted.] and his successor will be Brihadratha. These are the ten Mauryas, who will reign over the earth for a hundred and thirty-seven years.2 [The Vayu says nine Sumurtyas (I find only the reading Mauryas; nor is there room for a longer name: [x].) reigned 137 years. (Nine Mauryas, and 137 years: Brahmanda-purana. Its details, in my MS., require correction, therefore.) The Matsya and Bhagavata have ten Mauryas, and 137 years. The detailed numbers of the Vayu and Matsya differ from their totals;§ (The Matsya-purana does not seem to profess to specify the period of each king's reign.) but the copies are, manifestly, corrupt.]
The dynasty of the Sungas will, next, become possessed of the sovereignty; for Pushpamitra,3 [The Bhagavata omits this name, but states that there were ten Sungas; although, without Pushpamitra, only nine are named. The Vayu and Matsya have the same account of the circumstances of his accession to the throne: the former gives him a reign of sixty, the latter, of thirty-six, (And so gives the Brahmanda-purana.) years. In a play attributed to Kalidasa, the Malavikagnimitra, of which Agnimitra is the hero, his father is alluded to as the Senani or general, as if he had deposed his master in favour, not of himself, but of his son. Agnimitra is termed king of Vidisa, not of Magadha. Pushpamitra is represented as engaged in a conflict with the Yavanas on the Indus; thus continuing the political relations with the Greeks or Scythians of Bactria and Ariana. See Hindu Theatre, Vol. I., p. 347.] the general (of the last Maurya prince), will put his master to death, and ascend the throne. His son will be Agnimitra;1 [8 years, Vayu; (The following stanza — corrupt, probably, — occurs there, not naming Agnimitra: [x]. From this it appears that Pushpamitra had sons who ruled for eight years. And then came Sujyeshtha, whose relationship to his predecessors is not stated. The first half of this stanza may have been, originally, something like the following loose verse from the Brakmanda-purana, which makes Agnimitra son of Pushpamitra, and assigns him a reign of 8 years: [x]) omitted, Matsya.] * [In one MS., Animitri; in another, Amitra: readings of no value. General Cunningham informs me that he possesses two coins of an Agnimitra, containing characters similar to those of Asoka's inscriptions.] his son will be Sujyeshtha;2 [7 years, Vayu and Matsya. (The Brahmanda-purana has the same.) But the latter places him after Vasumitra;§ (In the Matsya-purana I find, after Pushpamitra, Vasujyeshtha (Vasusreshtha, in two MSS.), and then Vasumitra. According to the Harshacharita, Agnimitra had a son Sumitra, killed by Muladeva. See my Vasavadatta, Preface, p. 53.) and, in the drama, the son of Agnimitra is called Vasumitra.] his son will be Vasumitra;3 [8 years, Vayu; 10 years, Matsya. (And so has the Brahmanda-purana. )] his son will be Ardraka;4 [Andraka, Vayu; Antaka, Matsya: they agree in his reign. 2 years. (My copies of the Vayu-purana give a reign of 10 years. The Brahmanda-purana has Bhadra, and 2 years.) Bhadraka, Bhagavata.] his son will be Pulindaka;1 [3 years, Vayu (So has the Brahmanda-purana, also.) and Matsya. (In my MSS., Marunandana, and 3 years.)] * [Pulinda, a shorter form, in a single copy. The same is the reading of the Bhagavata-purana.] his son will be Ghoshavasu;2 [3 years, Vayu; (And so has the Brahmanda-purana.) omitted, Matsya; (I find a name that looks like Megha: but all my MSS. are very doubtful here. The specification of three years is added.) Ghosha, Bhagavata.] his son will be Vajramitra;3 [9 years, Matsya. ( The Vayu-purana has a name which looks, in my MSS., like Vikramitra: only this is most unlikely, as being meaningless. The reign is of 14 years, according to one MS.; 9, possibly, according to the rest. The Brahmanda-purana has Vajramitra, and 14 years. The Vayu-purana, in all probability, really has the same.] his son will be Bhagavata;4 [Bhaga, Matsya; 32 years. Vayu and Matsya. (Bhagavata, and 32 years: Brahmanda-purana.)] his son will be Devabhuti.5 [Kshemabhumi, Vayu; Devabhumi, Matsya: 10 years, both.§§ (The Brahmanda-purana has Devabhumi, and 10 years. What total the Matsya-purana has is not to be made out from my MSS.: the detailed reigns occupy, however, 112 years. Though its text declares the Sungas to be ten, it names but nine.)] * [One MS. has Devabhuri.] These are the ten Sungas, who will govern the kingdom for a hundred and twelve years.6 [The Bhagavata says 'more than a hundred,' [x]. The commentator explains it 112. [x]. The Vayu and Matsya (What total the Matsya-purana has is not to be made out from my MSS.: the detailed reigns occupy, however, 112 years. Though its text declares the Sungas to be ten, it names but nine.) have the same period. (The Brahmanda-purana has, also, 112 years: [x].)]
Devabhuti, the (last) Sunga prince, being addicted to immoral indulgences, his minister, the Kanwa [Corrected, here and at the beginning of the next paragraph, from "Kanwa", which I find nowhere. The Brahmanda-purana first applies to Vasudeva the term Kanwa; afterwards, that of Kanwayana.)] named Vasudeva, will murder him, and usurp the kingdom. His son will be Bhumimitra;* [Bhumitra: Bhagavata-purana.] his son will be Narayana; his son will be Susarman. [Sudharman: Brahmanda-purana.] These four Kanwayanas [Corrected, here and further on, from "Kanwas", for which I find no authority. And see the original as quoted in the Translator's note in this page.] will be kings of the earth for forty-five§ (One MS. yields "forty". ) years.1 [The names of the four princes agree in all the authorities. (The Bhagavata-purana omits, in his place, Susarman, whose name is supplied by the commentator Sridhara. See, further, note __, above. The Vayu-purana has, in my MSS., Bhutimitra, not Bhumimitra; and its account of the Kanwayanas, if decipherable, would, perhaps, prove different from that of our Purana.) The Matsya transfers the character of Vyasanin to the minister, with the further addition of his being a Brahman, — Dwija. In the lists given by Sir William Jones and Colonel Wilford, the four Kanwas are said to have reigned 346 years; but, in seven copies of the Vishnu Purana, from different parts of India, the number is, as given in the text, forty-five: [x]. There is, however, authority for the larger number, both in the text of the Bhagavata and the comment. The former (XII., I., 19.) has: [x]. And the latter: [x]. There is no doubt, therefore, of the purport of the text; and it is only surprising that such a chronology should have been inserted in the Bhagavata, not only in opposition to all probability, but to other authority. The Vayu and Matsya not only confirm the lower number, by stating it as a total, but by giving it in detail; thus: Vasudeva will reign 9 years; Bhumimitra will reign 14 years; Narayana will reign 12 years; Susarman will reign 10 years. Total : 45 years. And six copies of the Matsya concur in this statement. (And so do the four to which I have access. The Brahmanda-purana gives the same total of years for the dynasty of the Kanwas, whom it describes as Brahmans.)]