The kings, ministers, and people of the neighbouring countries vie with one another in making offerings, scattering flowers, and lighting lamps, continuously without intermission. Together with the above-mentioned two pagodas, the people of the district call them the Four Great Pagodas.

Travelling from Gandhâra southward for seven days, the pilgrims arrived at the country of Peshâwur. Formerly, when Buddha was visiting this country in company with ten of his disciples, he said to Ananda, "When I have passed away, a king of this country, by name Kanishka, will raise a pagoda at this spot." Subsequently, when king Kanishka came into the world and was travelling about to see things, Indra, God of Heaven, wishing to originate in him the idea, caused the appearance of a little herd-boy building a pagoda in the middle of the road. "What are you making there?" said the king. "I am building a pagoda for Buddha," replied the boy. "Splendid!" cried the king; and he forthwith built a pagoda, over four hundred feet high and ornamented with all the preciosities combined, over the pagoda built by the little boy. Of all the pagodas and temples seen by the pilgrims, not one could compare with this in grandeur and dignity; and tradition says that of the various pagodas in the inhabited world this one takes the highest rank.

When the king had finished his pagoda, the

little boy's pagoda came out from the south side of the great pagoda to over three feet in height.

Buddha's alms-bowl being in this country, the king of the Ephthalites formerly got together a large army and attacked, with a view to carrying off the bowl. When he had conquered the country, as he himself was an ardent believer in the religion of Buddha, he wished to take possession of the bowl, and therefore began to make offerings. When he had made his offerings to the Precious Trinity, he richly decorated a huge elephant and placed the bowl on its back. Thereupon the elephant promptly collapsed and was unable to move. A four-wheeled cart was then made to convey the bowl, and a team of eight elephants were harnessed to it. When these, too, were unable to stir, the king knew that his hour for possession of the bowl had not yet come. Filled with shame and regret he built a pagoda on the spot and also a monastery, leaving a garrison to guard the bowl and making all kinds of offerings. There are here perhaps over seven hundred priests; and when it is just on noon, they bring out the bowl and, together with the people, present all kinds of offerings. They then eat their midday meal; and in the evening, at the hour for vespers, they replace the bowl as before. It holds perhaps over two pecks, and is of several colours, chiefly black. The four joinings (of the four bowls fused by Buddha into one) are clearly distinguishable. It is about

one-fifth of an inch thick, of transparent brilliancy and of a glossy lustre. Poor people throw in a few flowers, and it is full; very rich people wishing to make offering of a large quantity of flowers, may throw in a hundred or a thousand or ten thousand bushels, without ever filling it. Pao-yün and Sêng-ching merely made their offerings and went back home; Hui-ching, Hui-ta, and Tao-chêng, had previously gone on to the country of Nagarahâra to present offerings before the shadow, tooth, and skull-bone of Buddha. Hui-ying now fell ill, and Tao-chêng remained to nurse him; Hui-ta went back alone to Peshâwur, where he met the others; and then Hui-ta, Pao-yün, and Sêng-ching, returned to China. Hui-ying fulfilled his destiny at the Buddha-Bowl Monastery, and Fa-hsien went on alone towards the place of Buddha's skull-bone.

Travelling westward sixteen yôjanas, Fa-hsien reached the frontier of Nagarahâra. In the city of Hiro (= bone; now Hidda) there is a shrine which contains Buddha's skull-bone, entirely covered with gold-leaf and ornamented with the seven preciosities. The king of the country deeply venerates this skull-bone; and fearing lest it should be stolen, has appointed eight men of the leading families in the kingdom to hold each of them a seal, with which to seal and guard the shrine and bone. In the early morning, when the eight have all arrived, and each one has inspected his own seal, they open the door;

they next wash their hands in scented water, and then bring out the skull-bone which they place on a high altar outside the shrine, resting it on a round block of the seven preciosities and covering it with a bell made of strass, both richly studded with pearls and precious stones. The bone is of a yellowish white colour, oval in shape, with a length of four inches, and a convex upper side. Every day, when the bone has been brought out, those in charge of the shrine mount to a lofty upper storey, beat a big drum, blow a conch and clash copper cymbals. The king, on hearing the sound, forthwith proceeds to the shrine and makes offerings of flowers and incense; after which, he and his attendants in turn bend in adoration and depart, having entered by the east gate and leaving by the west gate. Every morning the king makes offerings and worships in this manner, afterwards transacting affairs of State. The elders of the merchant class also first make offerings and then attend to their private affairs. The programme is every day the same, without any remissness; and when all the offerings have been made, the skull-bone is put back in the shrine, in which there is a pagoda of self-liberation from earthly trammels, which can be opened and closed, made of the seven preciosities and over five feet in height, to contain it. In front of the gate to the shrine there will be found, regularly every morning, sellers of flowers and incense, so that

all who wish to make offerings may buy of all kinds. The kings of the countries round about also regularly send envoys to make offerings. The shrine stands in a square of forty paces in extent. Though the heavens should quake and the earth gape, this spot would not move.

From this point travelling one yôjana to the north, Fa-hsien arrived at the capital of Nagarahâra, where (Buddha, then a) Bôdhisatva bought with silver money some five-stalked flowers for an offering to Dîpânkara Buddha (his twentyfourth predecessor). Here, too, in this city there is a Buddha-Tooth pagoda, offerings being made in the same way as for the skull-bone. One yôjana to the north-east of the city brought Fa-hsien to the mouth of a valley where there is a Buddha's pewter-topped staff; and there too a shrine has been raised at which offerings are presented. The staff is made of sandal-wood from the (fabulous) Bull's-head mountain, and is over sixteen or seventeen feet in length. It is kept in a wooden sheath, from which a hundred or a thousand men would try to draw it in vain.

Entering the valley and travelling west for four days, Fa-hsien reached a shrine where one of Buddha's robes is the object of worship. When there is a great drought in this country, the officials gather together, bring out the robe, pray, and make offerings; rain then falls in great abundance.

Half a yôjana to the south of the capital of