Page Text
________________
171
sage from the side of the Himavat mountain, but the Chinese version makes him the dweller of Tsang-chang grove, the locale of which is not mentioned. The Burmese version places him in the neighbourhood of Kapilavastu, for he is described to have been " in the habit of resorting daily to the Prince's palace for his food." (Bigandet, I, p. 40.) The Siamese version, in common with the preceding two, makes him present in the Trayastrinsa heaven, (Davadungsa, Siamese; TuurKleintha, Burmese) on a visit, at the time of the birth, and thence to 'descend on earth, to appear before S'uddhodana (Alabaster, p. 107). The Mahavasin Avadina makes him a Bráhman of Ujjaíní, in Dakshinapatha, who was well versed in the Vedas, and, having renounced the world, had practised austerities as a hermit on the Vindhyan mountain, whence he retired to the Himalaya. All the different versions make him the beau-ideal of a Hindu saint of profound erudition.
CHAPTER VII.
61. Who has acquired the neutral knowledge, p. 118. The Sanskrit term is upekshá-samudgata-huddhi, which implies that knowledge which, having rejected every thing as unreal, remains confined in itself. It is the same with the samádhi of the Yogís. M. Foucaux renders it into "qui est en progression d'une grande joie et d'une intelligence élevée par l'indifference (mystique)." (p. 111.)
62. The royal dynasty of Iksháku, p 119. According to the Kusajátaka Iksháku was so named because he was born in a sugarcane. Cf. my "Sanskrit Buddhist Literaturo of Nepal," p. 112.
63. The shadow of these beings cannot any where possibly be seen, p. 150. The belief is universal among the Hindus that the body of a Deva never casts its shadow on earth, nor in motion produces any sound, and celestial beings when on earth appearing before men may be easily made out by these tests. S'ri Harsha, in his Naishalha, makes use of this belief with great effect. When Damayantí, at her second Svayamvara, appeared before the assembled princes to select her lord, Indra, Agni, Yama, and Varuna stood before her along
* इन्द्राग्रिदचिणदिगीश्वराशिभिस्तां
बाचं मले तरखिताथ समां प्रमाय ।
er femàfyfca urguulfaŸrd
कामयाः कमपि भीमताप तापं ॥ १९ । २५ ॥
| SR No. | 011126 |
| Book Title | Lalit Vistara |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Rajendralala Mitra |
| Publisher | Asiatic Society |
| Publication Year | 1881 |
| Total Pages | 292 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 18 MB |