1.
[169] Thus have I heard. The Exalted One was once staying at Kusinara
in the Upavattana, the Sala grove of the Mallas, between the twin Sala
trees, at the time of his death.
2.
Now the venerable Ananda went up to the place where the Exalted One
was, and bowed down before him, and took his seat respectfully on one
side. And when he was so seated, the venerable Ananda said to the
Exalted One : β
3.
‘ Say not so, Ananda ! Say not so, Ananda, that this is but a small
wattle-and-daub town, a town in the midst of the jungle, a branch
township. Long ago, Ananda, there was a king, by name Maha-Sudassana, a
king of kings, a righteous man who ruled in righteousness, an anointed
Kshatriya 2 , Lord of the four quarters
1 Sudassana means ‘ beautiful to see, having a glorious appearance and is the name of many kings and heroes in Indian legend.
2
Khattiyo muddhavasitto, which does not occur in the Maha- parinibbana,
the Mahapadana, and the Lakkhawa Suttantas, and other places where this
stock description of a king of kings is found. It is omitted also in the
Lalita Vistara. The Burmese Phayre MS. of the India Office reads here
muddabhisitto, but this is an unnecessary correction. The epithet is
probably inserted here from Β§ 7 below.
of
the earth, conqueror, the protector of his people, possessor of the
seven royal treasures. [170] This Kusinara, Ananda, was the royal city
of king Maha- Sudassana, under the name of Kusavati, and on the east and
on the west it was twelve leagues in length, and on the north and on
the south it was seven leagues in breadth. That royal city Kusavati,
Ananda, was mighty, and prosperous, and full of people, crowded with
men, and provided with all things for food. Just, Ananda, as the royal
city of the gods, A/akamanda by name, is mighty, prosperous, and full of
people, crowded with the gods, and provided with all kinds of food, so,
Ananda, was the royal city Kusavati mighty and prosperous, full of
people, crowded with men, and provided with all kinds of food. Both by
day and by night, Ananda, the royal city Kusavati resounded with the ten
cries ; that is to say, the noise of elephants, and the noise of
horses, and the noise of chariots ; the sounds of the drum, of the
tabor, and of the lute ; the sound of singing, and the sounds of the
cymbal and of the gong ; and lastly, with the cry: β ” Eat, drink, and
be merry 1 !”
4.
‘The royal city Kusavati, Ananda, was surrounded by Seven Ramparts. Of
these, one rampart was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and
one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all
kinds of gems!
5.
‘To the royal city Kusavati, Ananda, there were Gates of four colours.
One gate was of gold, and one of silver, and one of jade, and one of
crystal. [171] At each gate seven pillars were fixed ; in height as
three times or as four times the height of a man. And one
pillar
was of gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal,
and one of agate, and one of coral, and one of all kinds of gems.
1
This enumeration is found also at Jataka I, 3, only that the chank is
added there β wrongly, for that makes the number of cries eleven.
6.
‘The royal city Kusavati, Ananda, was surrounded by Seven Rows of Palm
Trees. One row was of palms of gold, and one of silver, and one of
beryl, and one of crystal, and one of agate, and one of coral, and one
of all kinds of gems.
And
the Golden Palms had trunks of gold, and leaves and fruits of silver.
And the Silver Palms had trunks of silver, and leaves and fruits of
gold. And the Palms of Beryl had trunks of beryl, and leaves and fruits
of crystal. And the Crystal Palms had trunks
of
crystal, and leaves and fruits of beryl. And the Agate Palms had trunks
of agate, and leaves and fruits of coral. And the Coral Palms had
trunks of coral, and leaves and fruits of agate. And the Palms of every
kind of Gem had trunks and leaves and fruits of every kind of gem.
‘And
when those rows of palm trees, Ananda, were shaken by the wind, there
arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and intoxicating 1.
‘Just,
Ananda, as the seven kinds of instruments yield, when well played upon,
to the skilful man, a sound sweet, and pleasant, and charming, and
intoxicating β [172] just even so, Ananda, when those rows of palm trees
were shaken by the wind, there arose a sound sweet, and pleasant, and
charming, and intoxicating.
βAnd
whoever, Ananda, in the royal city Kusavati were at that time gamblers,
drunkards, and given to drink, they used to dance round together to the
sound of those palms when shaken by the wind.’
1
This section should be compared with one in the Sukhavativyuha,
translated by Professor Max Miiller as follows (’ Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society,’ 1880, p. 170): β
βAnd
again, Sariputra, when those rows of palm trees and strings of bells in
that Buddha country are moved by the wind, a sweet and enrapturing
sound proceeds from them. Yes, O Sariputra, as from a heavenly musical
instrument consisting of a hundred thousand kotis of sounds, when played
by Aryas, a sweet and enrapturing sound proceeds; a sweet and
enrapturing sound proceeds from those rows of palm trees and strings of
bells moved by the wind.
‘
And when the men there hear that sound, reflection on Buddha arises in
their body, reflection on the Law, reflection on the Assembly.’
Compare also below, Β§ 32, and Jataka I, 32.
7. ‘ The Great King of Glory, Ananda, was the possessor of Seven Precious Things, and was gifted with Four Marvellous Powers.
‘What are those seven ?
1
‘ In the first place, Ananda, when the Great King of Glory, on the
Sabbath day 2 , on the day of the full moon, had purified himself, and
had gone up into the upper story of his palace to keep the sacred day,
there then appeared to him the heavenly Treasure of the Wheel, 3 with
its nave, its tire, and all its thousand spokes complete.
βWhen he beheld it the Great King of Glory thought : β
“This
saying have I heard, ‘ When a king of the warrior raCe, an anointed
king, has purified himself on the Sabbath day, on the day of the full
moon, and has gone up into the upper story of his palace to keep the
sacred day ; if there appear to him the heavenly Trea- sure of the
Wheel, with its nave, its tire, and all its thousand spokes complete β
that king becomes a king of kings invincible.’ May I, then, become a
king of king-s invincible 4 .”
8.
‘ Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory rose from his seat, and
reverently uncovering from one shoulder his robe, he held in his left
hand a pitcher, and with his right hand he sprinkled water up over the
Wheel, as he said : β
“Roll onward, O my lord, the Wheel ! O my lord, go forth and overcome ! “
‘Then the wondrous Wheel, Ananda, rolled onwards
1
The following enumeration is found word for word in several other Pali
Suttas, and occurs also, in almost identical terms, in the Lalita
Vistara (Calcutta edition, pp. 14-19).
2 Uposatha, a weekly sacred day ; being full-moon day, new-moon day, and the two equidistant intermediate days. Comp. Β§ 12.
3 This is the disk of the sun.
4 A king of the rolling wheel.
towards
the region of the East, and after it went the Great King of Glory, and
with him his army, horses, and chariots, and elephants, and men. [173]
And in whatever place, Ananda, the Wheel stopped, there the Great King
of Glory took up his abode, and with him his army, horses, and chariots,
and elephants, and men.
9. ‘Then, Ananda, all the rival kings in the region of the East came to the Great King of Glory and said: β
“Come, O mighty king ! Welcome, O mighty king! All is thine, O mighty king! Do thou, O mighty king, be a Teacher to us ! “
‘Thus
spake the Great King of Glory : β ” Ye shall slay no living thing. Ye
shall not take that which has not been given. Ye shall not act wrongly
touching the bodily desires. Ye shall speak no lie. Ye shall drink no
maddening drink. Ye shall eat as ye have eaten 1
‘Then, Ananda, all the rival kings in the region of the East became subject unto the Great King of Glory.
10.
‘ But the wondrous Wheel, Ananda, having plunged down into the great
waters in the East, rose up out again, and rolled onward to the region
of the South [and there all happened as had happened in the region of
the East. And in like manner the wondrous
Wheel
rolled onward to the extremest boundary of the West and of the North ;
and there, too, all happened as had happened in the region of the East.]
11.
[174] ‘ Now when the wondrous Wheel, Ananda, had gone forth conquering
and to conquer over the whole earth to its very ocean boundary, it
returned back again to the royal city of Kusavati and remained fixed on
the open terrace in front of the entrance to
the inner apartments of the Great King of Glory, as
1
Yathabhuttambhunjatha. Buddhaghosa has no comment on this. I suppose it
means, ‘ Observe the rules current among you regarding clean and
unclean meate.’ If so, the Great King of Glory disregards the teaching
of the Amagandha Sutta (translated in my ‘ Buddhism/ p. 131).
a
glorious adornment to the inner apartments of the Great Kingof Glory. ‘
Such, Ananda, was the wondrous Wheel which appeared to the Great King
of Glory.’
12.
‘Now further, Ananda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the
Elephant Treasure J , all white, seven-fold firm 2 , wonderful in power,
flying through the sky β the Elephant-King, whose name was ” The
Changes of the Moon 3 .”
‘When he beheld it the Great King of Glory was pleased at heart at the thought : β
“Auspicious were it to ride upon the Elephant, if only it would submit to be controlled!”
βThen, Ananda, the wondrous Elephant β like a fine elephant of noble blood long since well trained β submitted to control.
‘And
long ago, Ananda, when the Great King of Glory, to test that wondrous
Elephant, had mounted on to it early in the morning, it passed over
along the broad earth to its very ocean boundary, and then re- turned
again, in time for the morning meal, to the royal city of Kusavati 4 .
‘Such, Ananda, was the wondrous Elephant that appeared to the Great King of Glory.
13. βNow further, Ananda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the Horse Treasure 5 all white
1 Hatthi-ratana.
2
Satta-ppatittho, that is, perhaps, in regard to its four legs, two
tusks, and trunk. The expression is curious, and Buddhaghosa has n.o
note upon it. It is quite possible that it merely signifies ‘ exceeding
firm,’ the number seven being used without any hard and fast
interpretation.
3 Uposatho. In the Lalita Vistara its name is ‘Wisdom’ (Bodhi). Uposatha is the name for the sacred day of the moon’s
changes
β first, and more especially the full-moon day ; next, the new- moon
day ; and lastly, the days equidistant between these two. It was,
therefore, a weekly sacred day, and, as Childers says, may often be well
rendered ‘ Sabbath.’
4 Compare on this and Β§ 29 my β’ Buddhist Birth Stories/ p. 85, where a similar phrase is used of Kanthaka.
5 Assa-ratanam.
with
a crow-black head, and a dark mane, wonderful in power, flying through
the sky β the Charger-King, whose name was “Thunder-cloudβ 1
‘When he beheld it, the Great King of Glory was pleased at heart at the thought : β
βAuspicious were it to ride upon that Horse if only it would submit to be controlled ! “
[175] ‘ Then, Ananda, the wondrous Horse β like a fine horse of the best blood long since well trained β submitted to control.
‘
When long ago, Ananda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wondrous
Horse, mounted on to it early in the morning, it passed over along the
broad earth to its very ocean boundary and then returned again, in time
for the morning meal, to the royal city of Kusavati.
‘Such, Ananda, was the wondrous Horse that appeared to the Great King of Glory.
14. ‘Now further, Ananda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the Gem-Treasure z . That Gem was the Veluriya, bright, of the finest species, with eight facets, excellently wrought, clear, transparent, perfect in every way.
‘The splendour, Ananda, of that wondrous Gem spread round about a league on everyside.
‘
When, long ago, Ananda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wondrous
Gem, set all his fourfold army in array and raised aloft the Gem upon
his standard top, he was able to march out in the gloom and darkness of
the night.
1And
then too, Ananda, all the dwellers in the villages round about, set
about their daily work, thinking : β ” The daylight hath appeared.”
1
Valahako. Compare the Valahassa-Jataka (Fausboll, No. 196), of which
the Chinese story translated by Mr. Beal at pp. 332-40 of his ‘ Romantic
History,’ &c, is an expanded and altered version. In the Valahaka
Sawyutta of the Sawyutta Nikaya the spirits of the skies are divided
into Uwha-valahakaDeva, Sita-valahaka Deva, Abbha- valahaka Deva,
Vata-valahaka Deva, and Vassa-valahaka Deva, that is, the cloud-spirits
of cold, heat, air, wind, and rain respectively.
2 Mani-ratanam.
‘Such, Ananda, was the wondrous Gem that appeared to the Great King of Glory.’
15.
‘ Now further, Ananda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory the
Woman-Treasure 1 graceful in figure, beautiful in appearance, charming
in manner, and of the most fine complexion ; neither very tall, nor very
short ; neither very stout, nor very slim ; neither very dark, nor very
fair ; surpassing human beauty, she had attained unto the beauty of the
gods 2.
βThe
touch too, Ananda, of the skin of that wondrous Woman was as the touch
of cotton or of cotton wool ; in the cold her limbs were warm, in the
heat her limbs were cool ; while from her body was wafted the perfume of
sandal wood and from her mouth the perfume of the lotus.
‘
That Pearl among Women too, Ananda, used to rise up before the Great
King of Glory, [176] and after him retire to rest ; pleasant was she in
speech, and ever on the watch to hear what she might do in order so to
act as to give him pleasure.
‘That Pearl among
Women too, Ananda, was never, even in thought, unfaithful to the Great
King of Glory β how much less then could she be so with the body !
‘Such, Ananda, was the Pearl among Women who appeared to the Great King of Glory.’
16. ‘ Now further, Ananda, there appeared unto the Great King of Glory a Wonderful Treasurer 3 , possessed,
1 Itthi-ratana;
2 The above description of an ideally beautiful woman is of frequent
occurrence.
3
Gahapati-ratana - The word gahapati has been hitherto usually rendered ‘
householder,’ but this may often, and would certainly here, convey a
wrong impression. There is no single word in English which is an
adequate rendering of the term, for it connotes a social condition now
no longer known among us. The gahapati was the
head
of a family, the representative in a village community of a family, the
pater fajnilias. So the god of fire, with allusion to the sacred fire
maintained in each household, is called in the Rig-veda the grihapati,
the pater familias, of the human race. It is often used in opposition to
brahmana very much as we used ‘yeoman’ in opposition to
‘clerk’ (Jataka I, 83); 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 (Jataka I, 218). The compound brahmawa-gahapatika as a
collective term comes to be about equivalent to ‘ priests and laymen ‘
(see, for instance, below, Β§ 21, and Vinayal, 35, 36). Then again the
gahapati is distinct from the subordinate members of the family, who had
not the control and management of the common property (Samanna Phala
Suttanta 133, = Tevijja Suttanta I, 47); and it is this implication of
the term that is emphasized in the text. Buddhaghosa uses, as an
explanatory phrase, the words se//^i-gahapati.
through
good deeds done in a former birth, of a marvellous power of vision by
which he could discover treasure, whether it had an owner or whether it
had not.
βHe
went up to the Great King of Glory, and said : β ‘ ” Do thou, O King,
take thine ease ! I will deal with thy wealth even as wealth should be
dealt with.”
βLong
ago, Ananda, the Great King of Glory, to test that wonderful Treasurer,
went on board a boat, and had it pushed out into the current in the
midst of the river Ganges. Then he said to the wonderful steward : β
“I have need, O Treasurer, of yellow gold ! “
βLet the ship then, O Great King, go alongside either of the banks.”
“It is here, O Treasurer, that I have need of yellow gold.”
Then
the wonderful Treasurer reached down to the water with both his hands,
and drew up a jar full of yellow gold, and said to the Great King of
Glory : β
“Is that enough, O Great King ? Have I done enough, O Great King? “
‘And
the Great King of Glory replied: β ‘ It is enough, O Treasurer. You
have done enough, O Treasurer. You have offered me enough, O Treasurer!
“[177]
‘Such was the wonderful Treasurer, Ananda, who appeared to the Great King of Glory.’
17.
‘Now further, Ananda, there appeared to the Great King of Glory a
Wonderful Adviser \ 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.
‘He went up to the Great King of Glory, and said: β “Do thou, O King, take thine ease ! I will be thy guide.”
‘Such, Ananda, was the wonderful Adviser who appeared to the Great King of Glory.
‘The Great King of Glory was possessed of these Seven Precious Things.
18. ‘ Now, further, Ananda, the Great King of Glory was gifted with Four Marvellous Gifts 2.
‘What are the Four Marvellous Gifts ?
‘In
the first place, Ananda, the Great King of Glory was graceful in
figure, handsome in appearance, 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.
19. ‘ 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.
20.
‘ 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 3 .
1 Parinayaka-ratanam. Buddhaghosa says that he was the eldest son of the king. The Lalita Vistara makes him a general.
2
The Four Iddhis. Here again, as elsewhere, it will be noticed that
there is nothing supernatural about these four Iddhis. See the passages
quoted above, Vol. I, pp. 272 foil. They are merely attributes
accompanying or forming part of the majesty (iddhi) of the King of
kings.
3
The same thing is said of Ratthapala in the Ratthapala Sutta, where
Gogerly renders the whole passage : β ‘ Ratthajapala 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,’ 1847-8, p. 98). The gaham is a supposed particular organ or
function situate at the junction of the stomach and intestines.
Moggallana explains it, udare tu tatha pacanalasmiw gahawi
(Abhidhana-ppadipika 972), where Subhuti’s Sinhalese version is ‘
kukshi, pakagni,’ and his English version, ‘the belly, the internal fire
which promotes digestion.’ Buddhaghosa explains samavipakiya
kammaga-tejo-dhatuya, and adds : β ‘ If a man’s food is dissolved the
moment he has eaten it, or if it remains like a lump, he has not the
samavepakini gahawi, but he who has appetite (bhattacchando) when the
time for food comes round again, he has the samavepakini gahawi,’ β
which is delightfully nai’ve.
‘The Great King of Glory, Ananda, was endowed with this Third Marvellous Gift.
21.
[178] ‘And besides that, Ananda, the Great King of Glory was beloved
and popular with priests and with laymen alike. 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 priests and with laymen alike.
And just, Ananda, as his sons are near and dear to a father, just so,
Ananda, were priests and laymen alike near and dear to the Great King of
Glory.
‘Once,
Ananda, the Great King of Glory marched out with all his fourfold army
to the pleasure ground. There, Ananda, the priests and laymen went up to
the Great King of Glory, and said: β
“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 : β
“Drive on the chariot slowly, charioteer, that I may look upon my people [priests and laymen] for a longer time ! “
‘This was the Fourth Marvellous Gift, Ananda, with which the Great King of Glory was endowed.
‘ These are the Four Marvellous Gifts, Ananda, with which the Great King of Glory was endowed.’
22.
‘ Now to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, there occurred the thought :
β’ ” Suppose, now, I were to make Lotus-ponds in the spaces between
these palms, at every hundred bowlengths.”
‘Then,
Ananda, the Great King of Glory, in the spaces between those palms, at
distances of a hundred bow-lengths, made Lotus-ponds.
‘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.
‘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. [170] 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 balus- trades of crystal, with
cross bars and figure-head of beryl.
‘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 .
1
Pokkharawi, 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 Anuradbapura
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 railings are in Pali thambha, suciyo, unhisa, and vedika, of the
exact meaning of which I am not quite confident. They do not occur in
the description of the Lotus-lakes in Sukhavati. General Cunningham says
that the cross bars of the Buddhist railings are called suciyo in the
inscriptions at Bharahat (’The Stupa of Bharhut,’ p. 127). Buddhaghosa,
who is good enough to tell us the exact number of the ponds β 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. See below Β§31; and Rhys Davids, ‘ Buddhist India,’ Figures 6, 7
; pp. 74-6.
23. ‘ Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, there occurred the thought : β
β
” Suppose, now, I were to have flowers of every season planted in those
Lotus-ponds for all the people to have garlands to put on 1 β to wit,
blue water-lilies and blue lotuses, white lotuses and white
water-lilies.”
[And the king had such flowers planted there accordingly.]
‘ Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, occurred the thought : β
‘
” 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.”
[And the king had such bathing-men placed there accordingly.]
‘ Now, to the Great King of Glory, Ananda, occurred the thought : β
‘
” Suppose, now, I were to establish a perpetual grant by the banks of
those Lotus-ponds β 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 those who want wives, gold for the
poor, and money for those who are in want.”
[180]
‘ Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory established a perpetual grant
by the banks of those Lotus-ponds β to wit, food for the hungry, drink
for the thirsty, raiment for the naked, means of conveyance 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.’
24.
‘ Now, Ananda, the people [priests and laymen] went to the Great King
of Glory, taking with them much wealth. And they said : β
‘ ” This abundant wealth, O King, have we brought
1
Literally ‘ have garlands planted for all the people to put on ‘ β an
elliptical expression revealing the ideas of that early time as to the
only possible use of flowers. I think the reading should be anavaram.
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 ! “
‘When those men were thus refused by the King they went aside and considered together, saying : β
“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.”
‘Then they went to the Great King of Glory, and said : β
“A mansion would we build for thee, O King ! “
‘Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory signified, by silence, his consent.’
25.
‘ Now, Ananda, when Sakka, the king of the gods, became aware in his
mind of the thoughts that were in the heart of the Great King of Glory,
he addressed Vissakamma the god, and said : β
‘”Come now, Vissakamma, create me a mansion for the Great King of Glory β a palace which shall be called βRighteousness ‘.”
“Even
so, lord ! ” said Vissakamma, in assent, Ananda, to Sakka, the king of
the gods. [181] 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.
‘Then, Ananda, Vissakamma the god said to the Great King of Glory : β
“I would create for thee, O King, a mansion β a palace which shall be called ‘ Righteousness ‘ ! “
‘Then, Ananda, the Great King of Glory signified, by silence, his consent.
‘So Vissakamma the god, Ananda, created for the Great King of Glory a mansion β a palace to be called
“Righteousness”.’
26.
‘ 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.
‘
The ground-floor, Ananda, of the Palace of Righteousness, 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.
‘To
the Palace of Righteousness, Ananda, there were eighty-four thousand
pillars of four kinds. One kind of pillar was of gold, and one of
silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.
‘The Palace of Righteousness,
Ananda, was fitted up with seats of four kinds. One kind of seat was of
gold, and one of silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.
‘In
the Palace of Righteousness, Ananda, there were twenty-four staircases
of four kinds. One staircase was of gold; and one of silver, and one of
beryl, and one of crystal. The staircase of gold had balustrades of
gold, with the cross bars and the figure-head of silver. The staircase
of silver had balustrades of silver, with the cross bars and the
figure-head of gold. [ 182 ] The staircase of beryl had balustrades of
beryl, with the cross bars and the figure-head of crystal. The stair-
case of crystal had balustrades of crystal, with cross
bars and figure-head of beryl.
‘In
the Palace of Righteousness, Ananda, there were eighty-four thousand
chambers of four kinds. One kind of chamber was of gold, and one of
silver, and one of beryl, and one of crystal.
‘
In the golden chamber a silver couch was spread ; in the silver chamber
a golden couch ; in the beryl chamber a couch of ivory ; and in the
crystal chamber a couch of coral.
‘
At the door of the golden chamber there stood a palm tree of silver ;
and its trunk was of silver, and its leaves and fruits of silver.
‘
At the door of the beryl chamber there stood a palm tree of crystal ;
and its trunk was of crystal, and its leaves and fruits of beryl.
‘
At the door of the crystal chamber there stood a palm tree of beryl ;
and its trunk was of beryl, and its leaves and fruits of crystal.’