226 Report of the Archceological Survey. [No. 4, 



both of the claimants were mothers of the child — the one by maternity, 

 the other by purchase. The child was accordingly named BaJcula ; 

 that is, of "two hulas, or races." He reached the age of 90 years 

 without once having been ill, when he was converted by the preaching 

 of Buddha, who declared him to be " the chief of that class of his 

 disciples who were free from disease." After this he is said to have 

 lived 90 years more, when he became an arhat, or Buddhist saint. 



285. But the negative kind of merit which Bakkula acquired, by 

 his freedom from disease, was not appreciated by Asoka, as we leam 

 from a very curious legend which is preserved in the Divya Avadana. 

 In the first ardour of his conversion to Buddhism the zealous Asoka 

 wished to do honour to all the places which the life and teaching of Bud- 

 dha had rendered famous, by the erection of stiopas, and the holy Upagup- 

 ta volunteered to point out the sacred spots. Accordingly the goddess of 

 the Sal tree, who witnessedBuddha's birth, appeared to Asoka and vouch- 

 ed for the authenticity of the venerated tree, which had given support 

 to Maya-Devi, at the birth of the infant Sakya. Other holy sites are 

 also indicated, such as the Bodhi-drum, or sacred Pipal tree at Buddha 

 Graya, under which Buddha sat for four years in meditation ; and the 

 Sal trees at Kusinagara, beneath which he obtained Nirvana, — besides 

 various spots rendered famous by the acts of his principal disciples, 

 Sariputra, Maudgalyayana, Kasyapa, Ananda. To all these holy 

 places the pious King allotted large sums of money for the erection of 

 Stupas. Upagupta then pointed out the holy place of Bakkula at 

 Kosambi. "And what was the merit of this sage?" asked Asoka. 

 " He lived," answered Upagupta, "to a great age without once 

 having known disease." " On him," said the King, " I bestow one 

 farthing (Kdhani)."* In Burnouf's version of this story, Bakula is 

 said to be the disciple who had encountered the fewest obstacles, from 

 which Asoka rightly argued that the fewer the obstacles the less the 

 merit. The same idea is even more tersely expressed by the old 

 author of the "Land of Cockaigne" in describing the sinlessness of 

 its inhabitants : — 



" Very virtuous may they be 

 " Who temptation never see." 



* The Kakani was the fourth part of the copper pana, and was therefore 

 worth only 20 cowrees. Its weight was 20 raktikas, or ratis of copper, or 

 1'8229 X 20 = 37i grains nearly. 



