216 Classification of the NAvdrs of Nepal. [May., 



caste? (chatiir varana). Sikhi, so soon as he beheld Jyoti-rup-Swo- 

 yambhu, offered to him many laudatory forms of prayer : then rising, he 

 thrice walked round Naga Vasa, and, having done so, thus addressed 

 his disciples : " This place shall hereafter, by the blessing of Swoyambhu, 

 become a delightful abode to those who shall resort to it from all quar- 

 ters to dwell in it, and a sweet place of sojourn for the pilgrim and pas- 

 senger : my apotheosis is now near at hand, do you all take your leave of 

 me and depart to your own country." So saying Sikhi threw himself 

 into the waters of Naga Vasa, grasping in his hands the stalk of the 

 lotos, and his soul was absorbed into the essence of Swoyambhu. 

 Many of his disciples, following their master, threw themselves in the 

 lake, and were absorbed into Swoyambhu, (i. e. the self-existent ;) the 

 rest returned home. Viswabhu was the third Buddha who visited 

 Naga Vasa. Viswabhu was born in Aniipama-puri-nagar, of Mad- 

 hva desa, (in the Trita yuga ;) his life was devoted to benefitting his 

 fellow creatures. His visit to Nepal was long after that of Sikhi, and, 

 like Sikhi, he brought with him a great many disciples and Bhikshas, 

 Rajas and cultivators, natives of his own land. Having repeated the 

 praises of Swoyambhu -jyoti-rupa he observed. " In this lake Prajna- 

 surupa-Guhyeswari will be produced. A Bodhisatwa will, in time, make 

 her manifest out of the waters : and this place, through the blessing of 

 Swoyambhu, will become replete with villages, towns, and tirthas, and in- 

 habitants of various and diverse tribes." Having thus prophesied he thrice 

 circumambulated the lake and returned to his native country. The Bod- 

 hisatwa above alluded to is Manju Sri, whose native place is very far off, 

 towards the north, and is called Pancha Sirsha Parvata, [which is situated 

 in Maha China Des*.] One day in the Trita yuga, and immediately after 

 the coming of Viswabhu Buddha to Naga Vasa, Manju Sri, meditat- 

 ing upon what was passing in the world, discovered by means of his di- 

 vine science that Swoyambhu-jyoti-rupa, that is, the self- existent, in 

 the form of flame, was revealed out of a lotos in the Lake of Naga 

 Vasa. Again, he reflected within himself : " Let me behold that 

 sacred spot, and my name will long be celebrated in the world ; and 

 on the instant, collecting together his disciples, comprising a multitude 

 of the peasantry of the land, and a Raja named Dharmakar, he assum- 

 ed the form of Viswakarma, and with his two Devis (wives,) and the 

 persons above-mentioned, set out upon the long journey from Sirsha 

 Parvata to Naga Vasa. There having arrived, and having made puja 

 to the self-existent, he began to circumambulate the lake, beseeching 

 all the while the aid of Swoyambhu in prayer. In the second circuit, 

 when he had reached the central barrier mountain on the south, he 



* The bracketed portions are from the commentators. 



