The Mahávan̥sa, Part II.: Containing Chapters XXXIX. to C

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H.M. Richads, acting government printer, Ceylon, 1909 - 518 pages

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Page 169 - Thereupon paying reverential respect to the priesthood, he thus petitioned : ' I am desirous of translating the Atthakatha ; give me access to all your books.
Page 105 - Supreme of men! from the commission of that act there will be no impediment in thy road to "sagga"' salvation): herein no more than two human beings have been sacrificed: the one person had been admitted within the pale of the salvation of the faith; the other had attained the state of piety which enabled him to observe the five commandments. The rest 2 being heretics are sinners, and on a par with wild beasts...
Page 169 - Preparing for this, and studying the same, translate them according to the rules of the grammar of the Magadhas. It will be an act conducive to the welfare of the whole world.
Page 168 - ... and was in the habit of rehearsing, by night and by day with clasped hands, a discourse which he had learned, perfect in all its component parts, and sustained throughout in the same lofty strain. A certain Mahathera, Revata, becoming acquainted with him there, and (saying to himself), " This individual is a person of profound knowledge, it will be worthy (of me) to convert him;" enquired, " Who is this who is braying like an ass? " The Brahman replied to him, "Thou canst define, then, the meaning...
Page 146 - The monarch Yasalalaka, in a merry mood, having decked out the said Subha, the messenger, in the vestments of royalty, and seated him on the throne, putting the livery bonnet of the messenger on his own head, stationed himself at a palace gate, with the porter's staff in his hand. While the ministers of state were bowing down to him who was seated on the throne, the King was enjoying the deception.
Page 169 - Metteya (Buddha) himself,' and made over to him the books in which the Pitakattaya were recorded, together with the Atthakatha. Taking up his residence in the secluded Ganthakara vihara, at Anuradhapura, he translated, according to the grammatical rules of the Magadhas, which is the root of all languages, the whole of the Singhalese Atthakatha (into Pali).
Page 169 - ... restored the other two copies also. The assembled priests then read out the three books simultaneously. In those three versions, neither in a signification nor in a single misplacement by transposition, nay even in the thera-controversies, and in the text (of the Pitakattaya) was there, in the measure of a verse or in the letter of a word, the slightest variation. Thereupon, the priesthood rejoicing, again and again fervently shouted forth, saying, 'Most assuredly this is Metteya (Buddha) himself,'...
Page 113 - The *dispenser of state honours, guarded by his officers of state decked in all the insignia of their full dress, himself captivating by the splendour of his royal equipment, surrounded by a throng of dancing and singing women rivalling in beauty the celestial virgins, decorated in their various embellishments ; attended by forty thousand men ; accompanied by a full band of all descriptions of musicians ; thus gratifying the populace, this monarch in the afternoon, as he knew the sacred from the...
Page 42 - Arittho mountain on all sides. The prince having consulted with the yakkhini, in conformity with her advice, he sent forward a strong party ( in the character of a deputation), placing in their charge his insignia of royalty, as well as the usual offerings made as tribute, and his martial accoutrements ; and enjoined them to deliver this message (from him) : " Take all these things: 1 will come to ask your forgiveness.
Page 24 - Sanglmmitta the daughter, of the king, and foreseeing also that it would be a circumstance tending to the advancement of the faith, this supporter of the cause of religion, thereupon thus addressed the monarch : " Ruler of men ! a greater donor and benefactor to the faith even than thou art, can be called only a benefactor; but he who causes a son or daughter to be ordained a minister of our religion, that person will become not a ' benefactor,' but a ' relation

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