Part 28

It is said that the late Burmese government, not very long ago, spent about thirty thousand rupees in building a wall round the temple and making excavations with a view to its restoration. Then our government, about 1881 or 1882, undertook the work, and I believe at least a lakh of rupees has been spent in completing it. I give a representation of the restored temple (as it appeared in 1884), from a photograph taken by Mr. Beglar, and enlarged by Mr. Austen. Its present height is 176 feet, as it has several tiers of the usual umbrella-like ornament, tapering to a point at the summit[194].

The reconstruction of the temple led of course to the removal of the sacred Bodhi-tree, but an effort was made to preserve the tree by transplanting it to a neighbouring garden. No sooner was this done than parties of pilgrims from Burma and Ceylon, in their pious desire to maintain the vitality of the venerated tree, covered the stem with gold-leaf, and, bringing Eau de Cologne and other scents, poured them over the roots, at the same time manuring them with the contents of boxes of sardines steeped in oil, choice biscuits, and other delicacies. Of course, the result was the speedy destruction of the tree, root and branch. To compensate for its loss, a new Pīpal tree was planted behind the restored temple by Sir A. Cunningham in 1885. Another near the temple appeared to be in a flourishing condition in 1884, and I observed that both Hindū and Buddhist pilgrims met together there as worshippers of the same sacred object.

The idol-shrine, under the principal tower of the restored temple, consists of a small vaulted stone-chamber lighted only by the door. My first act, on arriving at Gayā in 1884, was to descend to this interesting spot. At the further end is the principal statue of Buddha, seated, in the ‘witness-attitude’ (see p. 480)—on an altar-like throne having five pilasters, and supposed to represent the original Bodhi-maṇḍa. The pedestal of the statue is ornamented with diamond-shaped carvings, and sculptures of two elephants and two lions[195].

Inside the shrine, at the moment of my visit, were five Burmese pilgrims from Mandelay. They were apparently monks, as all were habited in yellow dresses. Each man bowed down before the image, with hands joined in reverence, occasionally touching the ground with his forehead, and going through a course of prayer-repetition by help of a rosary. After worshipping for some time, they deposited a quantity of offerings, of a somewhat miscellaneous description, in front of the image. I noticed among other things, rice, fruit, vegetables, flowers of the Bel-tree, tin boxes filled with sardines, Huntley and Palmer’s biscuits, bottles of the genuine Maria Farina’s Eau de Cologne for watering the sacred-trees, and a large number of packets of gold-leaf. I left the shrine for two or three hours, and on returning found that the pilgrims had crowned their act of worship by gilding the image with the contents of these packets, reserving a supply for covering the other images in the vicinity of the temple. The cost of the whole process must have been considerable.

At the back of the great Buddha-Gayā temple, I found a stone tablet for offerings, recently brought and fixed horizontally in the ground by another pilgrim who was from Colombo in Ceylon. It bore an inscription indicating that the slab had been placed there as a votive offering by a person calling himself Guṇa-ratna Muddali Rājā of Kolamba-pur. The date carved on it (Buddha-vasse 2427) shows that the Buddhists of Ceylon are no believers in the researches of modern scholars. They still reckon from B.C. 543 for the supposed Nirvāṇa of Buddha.

At a little distance in front of the great Temple, but on the right side, are the two smaller temples called Tārā-devī and Vāgīṡvarī. In the latter is a circular stone with nine circles of complicated ornaments. This is called a Vajrāsana, from the thunderbolt ornament in the second circle, but it is not the true Bodhi-maṇḍa.

I may mention here that a portion of the original Aṡoka stone-railing, with an inscription, lotus-ornaments and carvings, was discovered in a fair state of preservation by Sir A. Cunningham, and is now to be seen _in situ_. The Buddha’s walking place was unearthed by Mr. Beglar. The massive new brick railing which now encloses the temple has been well constructed after an ancient pattern, and ornamented with numerous carvings representing scenes in the lives of the Buddha (p. 111). The paved quadrangle sets the whole off to great advantage. Indeed, the present appearance of the square and the sacred area of ground adjoining—strewn with ruins of the Stūpas erected by Aṡoka and others—and according to the legend by the gods Indra and Brahmā—is one of the most striking sights in all India, and must be seen to be appreciated.

In truth, Buddha-Gayā is a kind of Buddhist Jerusalem, abounding in associations of thrilling interest, not only to the followers of Buddha, but to all who see in that spot the central focus whence radiated a system which for centuries has permeated the religious thought of the most populous regions of Eastern Asia, and influenced the creed of a majority of the human race.

Another remarkable characteristic of this spot is that it was converted into a kind of Buddhist Necropolis, teeming with the remains of generations of the Buddha’s adherents contained in relic-receptacles called Stūpas (pp. 503-506), some of which have been brought to light, while countless others still remain to be unearthed.

The fact was that immense numbers of pilgrims from all parts of India and the outlying countries once thronged in crowds to Buddha-Gayā, and nearly every pilgrim brought with him a Stūpa or relic-shrine of some kind, according to his means, and deposited it as a votive offering in this hallowed region, either with the object of acquiring religious merit for himself, or of promoting the welfare of the deceased in other states of being. Often it was inscribed with the usual Buddhist formula, Ye Dharmā, etc. (see p. 104), and sometimes bore a date and the name of the reigning king. Generally the votive Stūpa contained the relics of deceased relatives—perhaps the ashes of a father or mother, or pieces of bone, or a small fragment of a single bone placed in an earthen vessel or casket of some other material, and buried in the interior of the Stūpa.

Relics, however, were not always forthcoming, and so the votive Stūpas were frequently mere cenotaphs or models in clay or stone of actual Stūpas erected in other places. Often they were beautifully carved and ornamented with rows on rows of images of the Buddha. I obtained some beautiful specimens for the Indian Institute at Oxford, a drawing of one of which will be given (see p. 505). Layers on layers of these have been exhumed during the process of the excavations. They are of every variety of size, from three inches to several feet high, and of every variety of material, from terra cotta and clay turned on a potter’s wheel to elaborately sculptured brick and stone. All the upper layers are now gone (those made of clay and pottery having naturally crumbled to pieces), but the lowest are still _in situ_, and furnish specimens of all ages from the second century to the tenth or twelfth. I noticed hundreds lying about on the ground in 1884.

A sacred tank, mentioned by Hiouen Thsang, is situated three or four hundred yards to the left of the Buddha-Gayā temple. I found, on visiting it, that this hallowed pool is quite as much venerated by Hindūs as by pilgrims from Buddhist countries.

Indeed, I was much struck by the evidence which Buddha-Gayā affords of the inter-relationship between Buddhism and Hindūism—especially that form of the latter called Vaishṇavism. For instance, on one side of the temple I noticed the tombs of the Mahants, or Heads of the neighbouring Hindu monastery, who are buried there in a sitting posture. Near these again are shrines of the five Pāṇḍava heroes (who take the place of the five Buddhas), and a shrine containing the supposed impression of the two feet of Vishṇu. The upper portion of a small Buddhist Stūpa has been sawn off and inverted[196], and Vishṇu’s footsteps carved on the smooth surface. This certainly symbolizes in a remarkable manner the merging of Buddhism in Vaishṇavism, and bears out Dr. Sachau’s assertion that in Alberūnī’s time Vishṇu-worship was dominant in India.

Then, again, on the right of the entrance to the principal temple is a raised platform of earth, on which are images of Vishṇu, Ṡiva, Pārvatī, and Gaṇeṡa. Here I saw a Ṡrāddha ceremony[197], in the act of being performed by some Hindūs—just arrived from the neighbouring town of Gayā. They were repeating their mantras, offering their Piṇḍas, and putting the finishing stroke to the funeral services (previously performed by them at the Vishṇu-pad temple at Gayā), under the shadow of a Pīpal tree, held as sacred by them as by Buddhists.

To give an exhaustive account of the objects crowded together at this fountain-head of Buddhism would be impossible. The following abbreviated version of the Rev. S. Beal’s translation (ii. 115) of Hiouen Thsang’s description, throws great light on the state of Buddhism in the seventh century:—

Going south-west from Mount Prāgbodhi, we came to the Bodhi-tree. It is surrounded by a brick wall, and is about 500 paces round. Within the wall the sacred traces touch one another in all directions. In one place there are Stūpas, in another place Vihāras. In the middle of the enclosure is the Bodhi-tree, under which is the diamond throne called Bodhi-maṇḍa. On this the Buddha sat and attained the holy path of perfect wisdom. When the earth is shaken, this spot alone is unmoved. In old days, when Buddha was alive, the Bodhi-tree—which is a Pippala or sacred fig-tree—was several hundred feet high. Although it has often been injured by cutting, it is still forty or fifty feet high. The leaves never wither either in winter or summer, but always remain shining and glistening, except on every successive Nirvāṇa-day, when the leaves fade, and then in a moment revive as before. On this day thousands and ten thousands assemble from different quarters, and bathe the roots with scented water and perfumed milk. King Aṡoka, before he was converted, tried to destroy the tree by force, and after him king Saṡāṅka tried again, but the roots sprang up as full of life as ever.

To the east of the Bodhi-tree, there is a Vihāra about 160 or 170 feet high, built of blue tiles covered with chunam; all the niches in the different stories holding golden figures. The four sides of the building are covered with ornamental work. The whole is surmounted by a gilded copper Amalaka fruit. To the right and left of the gate are niches; in the left is a figure of Avalokiteṡvara Bodhi-sattva and in the right a figure of Maitreya. On the site of the present Vihāra, Aṡoka at first built a small Vihāra. Afterwards a Brāhman, who became a convert to Buddhism, reconstructed it on a larger scale.

To the north of the Bodhi-tree is the place where Buddha walked up and down, about 70 paces or so long. When he had obtained enlightenment, he remained perfectly quiet for seven days. Then rising, he walked up and down during seven days to the north of the tree. Not far to the south of the tree is a Stūpa about 100 feet high, built by King Aṡoka. To the east of the tree is the place (marked by two Stūpas) where Māra tempted Gautama to become a Universal Monarch. To the north-west is a Vihāra in which is an image of Kāṡyapa Buddha, noted for its miraculous qualities. Occasionally it emits a glorious light, and the old records say, that if a man, actuated by sincere faith, walks round it seven times, he obtains the power of knowing the place and condition of his previous births. Outside the south gate is a large tank, about 700 paces round, the water of which is clear and pure as a mirror. To the east of this is the lake of the Snake-king, Mućalinda. On the west bank is a small Vihāra. Formerly, when Tathāgata acquired complete enlightenment, he sat here for seven days in perfect composure, and ecstatic contemplation, while Mućalinda protected him with his folds wound seven times round his body. (Compare the frontispiece.)

By the side of the river, not far off, is the place where Buddha received the rice-milk, and where two merchants offered some wheat-flour and honey from their travelling-store (p. 40 of this volume).

Near this a Stūpa marks the spot where the four Kings presented Buddha with four golden dishes. The Lord declined such costly offerings. Then the four Kings, casting away the golden vessels, offered silver ones; and afterwards vessels of crystal, lapis-lazuli, cornelian, amber, ruby, and so on in succession; but the Lord of the World would accept none of them. Lastly, the four Kings offered stone vessels.

Near this spot the Buddha worked various wonders to convert those who were capable of conversion. For example, it was here that the Buddha overcame the fiery snake-demon (see p. 46 of this volume). In the middle of the night the Nāga vomited forth fire and smoke, and the chamber seemed to be filled with fiery flames; but the Buddha having forced the fiery dragon into his alms-bowl, came forth next day holding it in his hand, and showed it to the unbelievers.

To the south of Mućalinda’s tank is a Stūpa, which indicates the spot where Kāṡyapa, having embarked in a boat to save Buddha during an inundation, saw the Lord of the World walking on the water as on land.

_Sārnāth near Benares._

The city of Benares (Banāras, properly Vārāṇasī) is the most sacred place of Brāhmanism[198], and is certainly the second most holy place of Buddhism. For it was from this centre that the stream of Buddhist teaching first flowed, and in the days of Aṡoka and of his immediate successors, Buddhism must have vied with Brāhmanism in the number of its shrines and sacred objects collected there.

We have already seen that memorial Stūpas and temples, not intended to contain relics, were reared at various holy spots of ground, consecrated by the presence of Gautama on special occasions. The immense ruined Stūpa—once a tower-like monument—at a spot now called Sārnāth (Sāraṅga-nāth[199]), three or four miles from the modern city of Benares, is a memorial of this kind. It is all that remains of the celebrated structure erected at the spot in the Mṛiga-dāva or deer-park, once called Isi-patana (for Sanskṛit Ṛishi-patana), where Gautama first turned the wheel of the Law (Dharma-ćakra)—that is, where he preached his first sermon (p. 42). It was to this place that Buddhist pilgrims once flocked, and here vast numbers of votive relic-shrines and Stūpas were deposited, as at Buddha-Gayā.

I visited this ancient ruin, in company with the late Mr. Sherring, in 1876, and enjoyed the advantage of his guidance in inspecting it, as well as all that remains of the monastic buildings and other adjacent ruins, including the octagonal tower called Chaukandi, about half a mile distant. In his book on Benares, Mr. Sherring has followed General Sir A. Cunningham, who describes the principal monument—now of a bee-hive shape, and called Dhamek[200]—as 93 feet in diameter at the base, 292 feet in circumference, and 128 feet above the general level of the soil. The lower part—to a height of 43 feet—is built of stone, and all the upper part of bricks. There are eight projecting faces with empty niches, which once held statues.

An old man who was in charge of the ruins when we examined them, lighted a candle, and took us into the horizontal tunnel-like gallery which the General had excavated some years before, in the hope that relics or memorials of some kind might be found buried in the interior. A shaft or well had been previously sunk from the summit, and at the depth of 10½ feet a slab was discovered, inscribed with the well-known Buddhist formula ‘Ye dharmā,’ etc. (p. 104); but the search for relics proved unsuccessful. The Stūpa, in fact, turned out to be merely memorial, like that at Buddha-Gayā.

Probably some monumental Stūpa existed here from the earliest times, and certainly from Aṡoka’s time. The present Stūpa was seen by Hiouen Thsang, who has described it in rather a confused manner (Beal, ii. 45). Hence it must be as old as about the ninth century. Fā-hien saw a Stūpa of some kind there in the fifth century (p. 387).

About fifty yards from the Stūpa, Sir A. Cunningham found the interesting sculpture given at p. 477.

_Rāja-gṛiha._

Rāja-gṛiha (Pāli, Rāja-gaha) is the modern Rāj-gīr. The old city had the epithet Giri-vraja, ‘surrounded by hills[201].’ It was the first metropolis or mother-city of Buddhism, and the original capital of the powerful kingdom of Magadha, when under the rule of the Kings Bimbi-sāra (p. 48) and his son Ajāta-ṡatru, who were contemporaries and friends of Gautama, and converted by him to Buddhism[202]. The sacred character of the place is attested by the ruins of vast numbers of Buddhist Stūpas and Vihāras which once existed here. Unhappily Brāhmans and Musalmāns have used the materials for their temples, tombs, and mosques.

It was here that Gautama first studied under the Brāhmans Āḷāra and Uddaka (p. 29), and here he first imbibed the philosophical ideas which afterwards coloured his teaching. It is not surprising, therefore, that at a later period of his career he was fond of returning to Rāja-gṛiha for retirement during Vassa; his two favourite resorts[203] being the Bambu grove (Veḷu-vana, p. 48) and the hill called Vulture-peak (Gṛidhra-kūṭa, Legge’s Fā-hien, 81, 83), both in the neighbourhood of the city.

It was here, too, that several interesting incidents in the life of Buddha occurred. For example, it was here in a cavern that the Buddha often meditated. It was here that he often preached and taught; and it was here, or in the neighbourhood of the city, that the god Ṡakra (Indra) once appeared to Buddha, bringing a musician from heaven to entertain him, and afterwards testing his knowledge by forty-two questions. These the god traced with his finger on the rock, and the impression of them, according to Fā-hien, was to be seen there in his time, and a monastery was built on the spot. With reference to this legend we may note that the answers to the forty-two questions are supposed to be contained in a celebrated Tibetan work called the ‘Forty-two points on which the Buddha gave instruction[204]’, the importance of which is proved by its being translated into several languages.

It was in this neighbourhood, too, that Buddha’s two chief disciples—Ṡāriputra and Maudgalyāyana (Pāli, Moggallāna, p. 47)—had their noted meeting with Aṡvajit (Pāli, Assaji), already mentioned (p. 104). Here, also, a Jaina ascetic made a pit of fire and poisoned the rice, and then invited Buddha to eat. Lastly, it was here that many of Deva-datta’s plots against the Buddha’s life (see p. 52) were carried on. The story of these is so interesting that I abridge it from the Sacred Books of the East (vol. xx. p. 238):—

Now at that time the Venerable One was seated preaching the Law and surrounded by a great multitude, including the king and his retinue. And Deva-datta rose from his seat, and said, ‘The Venerable One is now aged, he has accomplished a long journey, and his term of life is nearly run. Let the Venerable One now dwell at ease and give up the Saṅgha to me, I will be its leader.’ Then said the Buddha, ‘I would not give over the Saṅgha, even to Sāriputta and Moggallāna; how much less then to so evil-living a person as you.’

Then Deva-datta thought: ‘The Venerable One denies me before the king, and calls me “evil-living,” and exalts Sāriputta and Moggallāna.’ With these thoughts in his mind he departed, angry and displeased, and went to Ajāta-sattu and said, ‘Do you, prince, kill your father, and become Rājā; and I will kill the Venerable One and become the Buddha.’ And prince Ajāta-sattu, taking a dagger, entered his royal father’s chamber. And the Rājā Bimbi-sāra said, ‘Why do you want to kill me, O prince? if you want the kingdom, let it be thine.’ And he handed it over to Ajāta-sattu. Then Deva-datta said, ‘Give orders, O king, to your men, that I may deprive the Samana Gotama of life.’ And Ajāta-sattu did so. Then sixteen men were sent to kill Gotama. They went, and returned and said, ‘We cannot kill him. Great is the power of the Venerable One.’

Next Deva-datta climbed up the Vulture’s Peak, and hurled down a mighty rock on the Venerable One. But two mountain peaks came together and stopped that rock. [Fā-hien says that it hurt one of his toes. Legge, p. 83.] Now at that time there was at Rāja-gṛiha an elephant named Nālāgiri, fierce and a man-slayer. And Deva-datta caused the elephant to be let loose against Gotama. But the Venerable One infused a sense of love into the elephant. And the elephant extended his trunk and took up the dust from off the feet of the Venerable One and sprinkled it over his own head, and retired bowing backwards, gazing upon the Venerable One.

It may be noted here that the hell to which Deva-datta was condemned for his attempts upon the Buddha’s life, is thus described by Burmese authorities:—

The impious Deva-datta, a cousin and brother-in-law of the Buddha, suffers terrible punishment in Hell. His feet are sunk ankle-deep in burning marl. His head is incased with a red hot metal cap down to the lobe of the ears. Two large red-hot bars transfix him from back to front, two horizontally from right to left, and one impales him from head to foot. (Shway Yoe’s ‘Burman,’ i. 121.)

It should be mentioned in connexion with Rāja-gṛiha that Ajāta-ṡatru built a grand Stūpa there, over a portion of the Buddha’s ashes, soon after his cremation.

Another fact which enhances the interest of this place is the propinquity of the celebrated Satta-paṇṇi cave (p. 55), where the Buddhist brotherhood first assembled after their leader’s death.

_Ṡrāvastī._

Ṡrāvastī (Pāli, Sāvatthī), sometimes spelt Ṡrāvasti, has been identified by General Cunningham with a place now called Sāhet-Māhet, about fifty-eight miles north of Ajūdhyā in Oudh. The town is said to derive its name from the fact that it was built by a certain King Ṡrāvasta. Other native authorities derive it from a Ṛishi named Sāvattha, who is said to have resided there. It was certainly the ancient capital of Kosala (Oudh), and was ruled over by King Prasena-jit (Pāli, Pasenadi), who was Gautama’s contemporary. Moreover, it was the Buddha’s favourite place of retreat[205] during the rainy seasons (p. 48 of this volume), about half of his Vassas having been spent there[206] in the Jeta-vana monastery built for him by the wealthy merchant Anātha-piṇḍika (Anepidu), sometimes called Su-datta.

Doubtless on this account Ṡrāvastī was once much resorted to by the Buddha’s followers, and ultimately became an important seat of Buddhist learning.

The celebrated monastery, the ruins of which still exist, was erected in the garden (vana) of Prince Jeta, who parted with the land to Su-datta on condition that he would cover it with gold coins. This was done, till eighteen krores of coins had been spread out like a pavement on the ground. Both Fā-hien and Hiouen Thsang mention this incident, and the former states that the monastery was seven stories high[207]. The pavement of coins is represented in one of the sculptures belonging to the Stūpa of Bharhut (Cunningham, pp. 84-87), as well as on one of the pillars of Aṡoka’s railing at Buddha-Gayā.