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



plucked and laid there, the flowery couch as if it had that mo- 

 ment been spread. The perfumes were as fresh as if they had 

 been pounded up and put there that very instant. The king 

 took up the golden plate and read as follows : ' ( In the future 

 a prince, called Piyadasa, shall raise the royal umbrella and 

 become Asoka, the king of Righteousness : he shall cause these 

 relics to be dispersed far and wide." Having read it, he said : ' 1 

 have been specially appointed by Mahakassapa,' and hollowing 

 his left hand he smote on it with his right. He deposited there 

 only as much of the relics as was necessary for worship, took 

 away the rest, closed tlie door as it had been closed before, 

 arranged the things in their original position, had a Caitya of 

 stones built on top and distributed the relics over the eighty- 

 four thousand Viharas. 



One day the king went to the Vihara, and, having saluted 

 the assembly of Bhikkhus, sat down on one side, and said : 

 " Reverend Sirs, I have spent ninety-six crores of wealth and 

 have had eighty-four thousand monasteries with Caityas built ; 

 if I am not a Sasanadayada (entitled to the inheritance of reli- 

 gion), what other person is?" " Your Majesty, you are indeed 

 a Paccayadayaka (donor of requisites), but he who admits his 

 son and daughter into the Order is said to be a Sasanada- 



*3 



yada. ' The king being desirous of becoming a Sasanadayada 

 and seeing Prince Mahinda standing at a little distance, said : 

 44 My dear son, will you be able to become a monk?" The 

 prince, who had a natural inclination towards the Order, was 

 very much pleased to hear the speech of the king, and said 

 to him : *■ I am ready, Sir, to enter the monastic life, therefore 

 cause me to be admitted, and become yourself a Sasanadayada. 

 At that time, too, the princess Sanghamitta was standing in 

 that place. Looking at her, he said : c Wilt thou also be able to 

 enter the Order? 1 She complied, saying: " Certainly, dear 

 father." The king was highly delighted at learning the will of 

 his children and approached the assembly of mendicants 

 and said: " Reverend Sirs, kindly initiate these children and 

 make me a Sasanadayada." The Sangha agreed to the king's 

 proposal and initiated the prince into the Order through the 

 aid of Tissatthera, the son of Moggali as preceptor, as well as 

 that of Mahadevatthera as spiritual guide, and had him ordained 

 by the elder Maj jhantika. In the enclosure of ordination 

 he obtained Arahatship along with its supernatural faculties. 

 The spiritual guide of Sanghamitta the princess was called 

 Ayupalattheri , her preceptress was called Dhammapalattheri. 



The king, however, having illumined the Order in many 

 ways, with the aid of Moggaliputtatissa expelled sixty-thousand 

 vicious sectarians from the Buddhist Order and held the third 

 Rehearsal of the Law. Now at that meeting how many monks 

 and nuns were there ? It is said :— 



At that meeting were eighty crores of Bhikkhus, among 



