1878.] 'Ri\QXidiV2\i\d.WLiY2i— On tlie Early Life of Asoha. 13 



and particularly in the embellishment of the Bodhi Tree, or the Tree of 

 Knowledge, at Buddha Gaya ; but the name of the place is not given in the 

 text. His chief queen Pavishyarakshita was, however, annoyed at his 

 forsaking the old family religion, and, finding that she was neglected, 

 employed a secret agent, a Chandali named Matangi, to destroy the sacred 

 tree. The woman employed her sorcery and medicines to bear on the task, 

 and the tree soon withered up. News of this sad occurrence was brought 

 to Asoka, and he was deeply grieved. The queen tried her utmost to 

 cheer him, but he was inconsolable. At last she employed her secret agent 

 to revive the tree by her magic arts, and this was soon effected. There- 

 after the king devoted five years to the society of the Buddhist con- 

 gregation. He dejDuted Supindola Bharadvaja, a Yati from the Mandar 

 Hill, to preach the true religion everywhere over his empire, and celebrated, 

 with great pomp, the quinquennial humiliation and conference, giving a 

 great profusion of wealth, raiment and food to the clergy. 



About this time he also celebrated the marriage of his son Kunala 

 with a maiden named Kanchanamala, and soon after deputed the son to 

 quell an insurrection in Takshasila, a distant province, which seems to have 

 been ill at ease under the house of Bimbisara. Kunjarakarna, the chief of 

 the rebels, succumbed to the powerful army which followed the prince, and 

 peace was soon restored. The insurrection, however, would appear to be a 

 feint, and the real reason, as in the case of Susima and Asoka himself, was 

 the removal of a troublesome prince from near the throne. It is stated, 

 apparently by way of euphemism, that soon after the deputation, 

 the king saw, in a dream, the prince's face all pale, haggard, and dried 

 up, and, being informed by astrologers that that portended one of 

 three things, viz. loss of life, retirement from the world as a hermit, 

 or loss of sight, was greatly grieved, and neglected all his regal duties. 

 One of his queens named Tisyarakshita, who was a step-mother of the prince, 

 heard of this, and thinking it a good opportunity for her, undertook 

 the superintendence of all business of the court, issuing orders and 

 herself signing and sealing all despatches. She caused a letter to be 

 written to Kunjarakarna and impressed it with the royal signet, directing 

 Kunjarakarna to deprive the prince of his eyesight, as the least of the three 

 evils. Kunjarakarna was at a loss how to carry out the order. The prince 

 heard of the mandate, and had it duly carried out through the instrumen- 

 tality of a Chandala — the task having been held as too cruel to be executed 

 by any person of a higher caste. He then assumed the garb of a beggar, 

 and secretly left Takshasila to roam about the country. In the course 

 of his peregrinations he came to Pataliputra, and one night took shelter in 

 the royal elephant stables, where at midnight he amused himself by playing 

 on a flute. The king, from his chamber, heurd the music, and was charmed 



