262 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [July, 1914. 



all those trees that stood singly near human habitations 

 weie destroyed and the spirits dwelling in them were without 

 shelter. They went from one kinsman to another, holding 

 the hands of their children, begging piteously for refuge. 

 In the Bhaddasala Jataka a tree-god says, " Our exis- 

 tence terminates with the existence of the tree/' This is 

 rather peculiar. Most probably the spirit residing in the tree 

 has to transmigrate as soon as a tree is destroyed. In the 

 Vyaggha Jataka, 1 it has been said, that in a certain forest there 

 were a large number of tree-spirits, and Boddhisattva was one 

 of them. In that forest there were lions and tigers. Men 

 clearing jungles for cultivation could not approach that parti- 

 cular forest for fear of the animals and so the spirits were safe 

 in their abodes. One day, however, one of the gods not being 

 able to endure any longer the stench of putrid flesh assumed a 

 terrific appearance and scared them away. After some time 

 men not finding any trace of those animals began to clear the 

 forest. The gods were in a sorrowful plight. They went to 

 their former protectors, the lions and tigers, to request them 

 to come back to the forest and to save them from destruction. 

 But they did not come back, and to the great grief of the gods 

 the whole forest was destroyed. 



The gods had a great dislike for unclean places. This 



appears from the Vyaggha Jataka referred 

 to above. IntheSamuddavanija Jataka, 

 we find that a number of men being 

 troubled by their creditors left their country in a boat and 

 arrived at an island in the sea. There they lived happily on 

 the fruits and roots, and the sugarcane and paddy which grew 

 there of themselves. But they were warned by a man who 

 had arrived there before them, not to make the place filthy but 

 to cover up the filth. They continued to dwell there happily 

 for some time. But subsequently some of them disregarded the 

 advice and committed nuisance in the place. The gods were 

 angry seeing the filthy condition of the island, which was their 

 favourite haunt. They made up their mind to take revenge 

 by flooding the island with sea-water, one of the gods, how- 

 ever, out of compassion, warned the men to leave the place. 

 Some of them took his warning and left the island while those 

 who remained perished in the flood. 



The spirits are occasionally revengeful as will appear from 



above. In the Mahavanija Jataka we 

 Ch6y r"'L™ a% find that a number of merchants in course 



of their journey, came to a desert, inere 

 they found a banian tree. In utter distress for want of water, 

 they cut off a branch of the tree and there came out a stream 



Their dislike for 

 unclean things. 



I Jataka, Vol. II, p. 356. * Jataka. Vol. IV .p. 161 



* Jataka. Vol. IV, p. 351. 



