66 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [February, 1910. 



pleases your Majesty/ they said, and went away to execute the 

 royal commands. Soon they returned accompanied by white- 

 robed mendicants, naked ascetics, and Nirgranthakas, and 

 having presented them before the king, said, ' Here, may it 

 please your Majesty, are our Arahats."' The king ordered seats 

 of various kinds to be brought for them, and bade them as they 

 came up take their seats according to their ranks. Some of 

 them occupied the best seats and others benches. Seeing them, 

 the king thought : ' these men have not the truth in them. 5 

 He then gave them suitable food, hard and soft, and sent them 

 away. While the time was thus passing away, the king one 

 day saw Nigrodhasamanera from the window. On account of 

 the natural inclination towards him, he became a believer in 

 the Buddhist faith, and driving away the sixty thousand here- 

 tics, he entertained as many Bhikkhus in their stead. Having 

 become a convert to Buddhism he had built a monastery named 

 the Asokarama and made the monks reside therein. 



One day the king, after having bestowed gifts on the sixty 

 thousand mendicants at the Asokarama, sat among the Bhik- 

 khus, and offering to the Order the four Paccayas or requisites, 

 asked them, "Reverend Sirs, what is the extent of the Law of 

 Piety as laid down by the Blessed One ? ' ' 



"It has nine divisions," said they, "and the divisions 

 thereof are eighty-four thousand/' The king was filled with 

 faith in the Dhamma, and saying, ' I will honour each division 

 of the Law by building a monastery,' on a certain day he ex- 

 pended ninety-six crores of wealth and ordered his ministers : 

 fc By building in each several city a monastery have eighty-four 

 thousand monasteries built. 5 He himself provided the work for 

 the building of the Asokamahavihara in the Asokarama. The 

 Order provided the elder Indagutta by name, an Arahat of 

 wonderful ability and power, as superintendent of the new 

 work ; whatever was not completed he caused to be completed 

 by his own miraculous power. Thus in three years the work 

 of building the monasteries was completed. 



On a certain day letters were received, containing the news 

 of the completion of the eighty- four thousand monasteries. 

 Then the king approached the Order of mendicants and said : 

 'Reverend Sirs, I have had eighty-four thousand monasteries 

 built, whence am I to get the relics ?" " Your Majesty, we 



hear that there is a repository of relics, but its exact position 

 is not known." 



The king had the Caitya at Rajagaha broken open, but 

 did not see any relics. He restored it to its former condition, 

 and accompanied by the four classes of disciples— monks 

 nuns, lay disciple , and female devotees— went to Vesali. But 

 there too his efforts were in vain, so he went to Kapilavatthu, 

 but to no purpose. He then went to Ramagama. But the 

 Nagas did not allow him to break open the Caitya at Rama- 



