VI. THE ANCESTORS OF GÓTAMA BUDHA.

THE FIRST MONARCH, MAHA SAMMATA.-HIS SUCCESSORS.-THE TREASURES OF THE CHAKRAWARTTI.—THE OKKÁKA RACE.-THE SÁKYA RACE. THE ORIGIN OF KAPILAWASTU AND OF KOLI.

In this chapter, the ancestry of Gótama Budha is traced, from his father, Sudhódana, through various individuals and races, all of royal dignity, to Maha Sammata, the first monarch of the world. Several of the names, and some of the events, are met with in the Puránas of the Brahmans, but it is not possible to reconcile one order of statement with the other; and it would appear that the Budhist historians have introduced races, and invented names, that they may invest their venerated sage with all the honors of heraldry, in addition to the attributes of divinity. Yet there may be gleams of truth in the narrative, if it were 'possible to separate the imaginary from the real. There are incidental occurrences that seem like fragments of tradition from the antediluvian age; and we might find paralled legends in the lore of nearly all nations that have records of remote antiquity. It will be observed that there are several discrepancies between the following narrative and the extract on the origin of caste, inserted in the third chapter.

In the beginning of the present antah-kalpa, the monarch Maha Sammata, of the race of the sun, received existence by the apparitional birth. As it was with the unanimous consent, or appointment, sammata, of all the beings concerned, that he was anointed king, he was called Maha Sammata. The glory proceeding from

his body was like that of the sun. By the power of irdhi he was able to seat himself in the air, without any visible support On the four sides of his person as many déwas kept watch, with drawn swords. There was a perfume like that of sandal-wood, extending from his body on all sides to the distance of a yojana; and when he spoke, a perfume like that of the lotus extended from his mouth to the same distance. During the whole of an asankya* he reigned over Jambudwipa; and was a stranger to decay, disease, and sorrow. Indeed all the beings in the world of men were similarly situated ; they lived an asankya; and as they committed no sin, the power of their merit freed them from all evil. They did not regard their age; they knew not at what period they were born, nor when they would die; and at this time a residence upon earth was more to be desired than in the déwa-lókas, as the happiness of the brahmas who resided here was greater than that of the déwas.

Sammata was succeeded by his son Rója, who reigned an asankya, anda fterwards there reigned in lineal succession, Wara-rója, Kalyána, Wara-kalyána, Maha-mandhátu-upósatha,† and Maha-mandhátu, a chakrawartti. Each of these kings reigned an asankya. The chakrawarttif is a universal emperor. There are never two persons invested with this office at one time. He is born only in an asunya kalpa; he never appears in any sakwala but this, nor in any continent but Jambudwípa, nor in any country but Magadha. He

*The ancient Egyptians had a king who reigned three myriads of years; but even this period is nothing to an asankya. Satyavarta, the first of the solar race of princes among the Hindus, reigned the whole of the satya-yug, or 1,728,000 years. Berosus informs us that the first ten kings of Chaldæa reigned 120 sari, the sarus being a period of 3600 years. Thus the ten kings give 432,000 years, the same extent as a kali-yug.

+ Turnour, in his Examination of the Pali Budhistical Annals (Journ. As. Soc. Nov. 1838), calls the sixth monarch simply Uposatho, and on the name of the succeeding monarch he has the following note: "In the Mahawanso I have been misled by the plural Mandáta, and reckoned two kings of that name. I see by the tika explanation that the name should be in the singular. The twenty-eight rajas who lived for an asankheyyan included therefore Maha Sammato."

"A chakra-vertti is one in whom the chakra, the discus of Vishnu, abides (varttate); such a figure being delineated by the lines of the hand. The grammatical etymology is, He who abides in, or rules over, an extensive territory, called a chakra."-Wilson's Vishnu Purána. The ancient kings not unfrequently laid claim to universal empire. "Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth."-Ezra i. 2; Judith ii. 1. The Roman empire, as well as others that preceded it, was called oikovμɛvn, "the world."-Luke ii. 1. The same spirit still lives in the seven-hilled city, and the same pretensions are set forth; but it is in vain; as no chakrawartti will be permitted to appear, until the sceptre of Jesus Christ shall be extended over all nations.

must have possessed great merit in a former state of existence. He is at first a yuwa-raja, or secondary king; then the monarch of one continent only; and afterwards of all the four continents. There are seven most precious things that he possesses. 1. The chakraratna, or magical discus. 2. The hasti-ratna, or elephant. 3. The aswa-ratna, or horse. 4. The mánikya-ratna, or treasure of gems. 5. The istri-ratna, or empress. 6. The grahapati-ratna, or retinue of attendants. 7. The parináya-ratna, or prince. On a certain day the chakrawartti ascends into an upper room of his palace, and reflects on the merit he has gained by his attention to the precepts in former births. At this moment a strange appearance is presented in the sky. Some think that another moon is about to appear; others that it is a sun with softened rays, or a mansion of the déwas; but the wise know that it is the chakra-ratna. It approaches the city with a sound as of music, and when near travels round it in the air seven times, after which it enters the palace. The elephant arrives in a similar manner, either of the Upósatha or Chaddanta race. The emperor ascends its back, and rides upon it through the air. The horse then comes, exceedingly swift, and able, like the elephant, to pass through the air. It is accompanied by a thousand other horses, each of which has similar powers. The gem is of the most dazzling brightness, so as to enlighten all around to a considerable distance; it has many most wonderful properties; and other gems are produced in numbers that cannot be told. The empress is in her person of the most perfect symmetry, and in every respect beautiful. When the emperor is too warm, she refreshes him by producing cold; and when he is too cold, she produces warmth. She fans him to sleep, and attends him with the constancy of a slave. The treasure of the grahapati consists of thousands of attendants. The prince is wise, excellent in disposition, and is attended by a numerous retinue.

There are times when the chakrawartti visits the four continents. On this occasion he is attended by the seven precious gems, as well as by an immense train of déwas and nobles, in all possible splendour of array. The discus proceeds first through the air, followed by the monarch and his host. Their first visit is to Púrwawidésa, when all the kings of that continent bring presents and pay their homage; and the emperor commands them not to take life, but to keep the precepts, and reign righteously. The monarch then descends into the sea of that continent, a way having been opened

into the waters by the discus; and he and his nobles gather immense quantities of the most valuable jewels. After a similar manner, all the four continents are visited in order, and a repetition of the same circumstances occurs.

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Though Maha-mandhátu possessed all these privileges, he was not contented with them, and said, If I am indeed a powerful monarch, may the déwas as well be subject to my rule, and send a shower of gems that shall form a heap extending 36 yojanas." At the utterance of this command, the déwas were obedient, and produced the gems as he desired. After thus enjoying the blessings of earth, he went to a déwa-lóka, without dying, when he lived 129 kelas and 60 lacs of years, a greater age than that of 36 Sekras put together. At the end of this period he again came to the world of men, and reigned in all an asankya.

This monarch was succeeded by his son, Wara-mandhátu,* who, when he wished to present anything to his nobles, had only to stamp upon the ground, and he received whatsoever he desired. The succeeding princes, both of whom reigned an asankya, were Chara and Upa-chara. When Chétiya, the son of Upa-chara, began to reign, he appointed as his principal minister Kórakatamba, with whom he had been brought up, like two students attending the same schools, saying that he was senior to Kapila, his elder brother. This was the first untruth ever uttered among men; and when the citizens were informed that the king had told a lie, they enquired what colour it was, whether it was white, or black, or blue. Notwithstanding the entreaties of Kapila, the king persisted in the untruth; and in consequence his person lost its glorious appearance; the earth opened, and he went to hell, the city in which he resided being destroyed. Chétiya had five sons, and by the advice of Kapila he erected for one of them a city at the east of Benares, which he called Hastipura; for another son, at the south, he erected Aswapura; for another, at the west, Daddara; and for another, at the north, Uttarapanchála. The history of these transactions appears at greater length in the Chétiya Játaka. From the time the untruth was told, the déwas ceased to be guardians of the kings, and four princes were appointed in their place. The sons and grandsons of these princes multiplied, and until this day they retain the same office, and are called Ganawára.

*This name is omitted in Turnour's list.

Muchala, the son of Chétiya, from the fears that were induced by seeing the destruction of his father, reigned in righteousness; and was succeeded by his son Muchalinda.* The sons of Muchalinda were 60,000 in number, who spread themselves through the whole of Jambudwípa, and founded as many separate kingdoms; but as they were all equally descended from Maha Sammata, they were all of the same race. In the course of time, however, their descendants neglected to keep up the purity of their blood, and other races were formed. The eldest son of Muchalinda was Ságara, who was succeeded in lineal order, by Ságara (or Ságara-déwa), Bharata, Bhagírata, Ruchi, Suruchi, Pratápa, and Maha Pratápa. The queen of Maha Pratápa, after she had been delivered eight months, refused to rise from her couch at his approach, as she was the mother of the heir-apparent, Dharmmapála. On this account the king was angry, and slew the prince; but the earth opened, and he went to hell. This was the first murder committed in the world. The evil that came upon these kings was a warning to their successors, so that they pursued a different course; and by this means they retained the same length of years, though the brightness of their bodies was gradually lost. The successor of Maha Pratápa was Panáda, whose son, Maha Panáda, had been a déwa; but at the command of Sekra he was born in the world of men, and reigned in great splendour. The successors of Maha Panáda were Sudarsana; Maha Sudarsana, a chakrawartti; Neru, Maha Neru, and Aswamanta.

The whole of the above-named 28 kings reigned an asankya each; and resided in the cities of Kusáwati, Rajagaha, and Miyulu, which in the first ages were the three principal cities of the world.

From this period the age of the kings, as well as their splendour, began to decrease. The sons and grandsons of Aswamanta reigned, not an asankya, but a kela of years, at Miyulu, where the first grey hair appeared. The last of these princes was Maha Sagara, who was succeeded by his son Makhádéwa. When he had reigned 252,000 years, he saw the first grey hair, upon which he resigned

Between Muchala and Muchalinda, Turnour inserts the name of Mahamuchalo.

The Jews have a tradition that Abraham was the first man who ever turned grey. His beard became grey when Isaac attained the age of manhood, that he might be distinguished from his son, who exactly resembled his father. This was ordered by divine appointment, that the scoffs of those who doubted Sarah's innocence might be silenced.

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