________________ Yo VAISALI AND GAUTAMA BUDDHA AWADH KISHORE NARAIN, M. A. Banaras Hindu University "Deity of the ruined temple! The broken strings of the 'vina' sing no more your praise. The bells in the evening proclaim not your time of worship. The air is still and silent about you. In your desolate3dwelling comes the vagrant spring breeze. It brings the tidings of flowers-the flowers that for your worship are offered no more." Indeed, all things rush on. They stop not to look behind : they rush on. The world is so fleeting. Change is the rule of nature, the order of the universe. The glorious days of Vaisali are things of the past. She lies in neglect and desolation. One could envy the glory that was Vaisali, but one would perhaps even refuse to pity what remains of her. Relics of her shining period of history lay scattered and buried near Vaigali still bovers over them. Alas, if one could worship that deity of the past ! This is history. Where one does not care now to give even a visit to modern Basadh, in the ages long past, no less a personality than the great Tathagata, the Buddha, could not help giving a sigh, while he was leaving Vaisali never to return again. Simple are the words of the Enlightened One, when he said to Ananda : "ga afgh* FT ! agro Tare Safea arafa" Casting a longing and lingering look behind, over the charming splendour and serenity of the city, he really felt moved at the final parting. These words bear witness to his feelings. How potent and tender are they! What a pregnant and appealing suggestion they make ! The radiant and soft smile, with which the Sun bids us adieu in the annals of our day-to-day life, is a thing which we remember and forget till the occasion repeats itself ; but these words of the Amitabha can never be forgotten in a history of Vaisali and her relations with the Buddha. Such an intimate association it was ! Such a fond love lay between them!
