CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN INDIA. 49 



people would be gathered unto him) the conveyor 

 of souls to places of eternal bliss. On account of 

 this benevolent disposition, he is compared m the 

 Vamdvali to Dhananjaya or Arjjuna, whose 

 character is so well delineated in the inscription on a 

 pillar at Budded. He did not exult over the ignorant 

 and ill favoured : he neither vainly accepted adula- 

 tion, nor uttered honey words, and was the wonder of 

 all good men. His wonderful equanimity on all oc- 

 casions, and with regard to every one, of whatever 

 rank in life, and whatever might be their natural fa- 

 culties, and mental dispositions, are implied by the 

 epithet of Vi-Sama-Sila bestowed upon him. 



His conception was miraculous, a,nd in the womb 

 of a virgin : he was the son of the great artist, and 

 the virtue of his mother was at first suspected : but 

 choirs of angels came down to worship her. His 

 birth was equally wonderful: choirs of angels with 

 the celestial minstrelsy attended on the occasion, 

 showers of flowers fell from on high. The King of 

 the country, hearing of these prodigies, was alarmed, 

 and sousrht in vain to destroy him. He is made ah- 

 solute master of the three worlds, heaven, earth and 

 hell : good and bad spirits acknowledge him for 

 their lord and master. He used to play with snakes, 

 and tread upon the adder, without receiving the 

 least injury from them : he soon surpassed his teachers; 

 and, when five years of years of age, he stood before a 

 most respectable assembly of the doctors of the land, 

 and explained several difficult cases, to their admira- 

 tion, and utmost astonishment; and his words were 

 like ambroi^ia. 



In the copies of the Vansdvali, current through 



