15 



Samgha (alone) can receive the great rain of the Law" '. When 

 a merchant, Kotlkarna by name, visited a town of pretas, these 

 hungry demons uttered a long complaint, which contains the 

 following verse : "When on the mountains and valleys the Heavenly 

 Dragons (the Nagas) cause the sweet dew to descend, this changes 

 into bubbling fire and spouts upon our bodies" \ "Elapatra the 

 Nagaraja, having violated the commandments by maltreating the 

 leaves of a tree, after death fell among the Nagas, and none of 

 the Buddhas has predicted the time when he shall be able to 

 leave them" ^ 



"The tears (of those ^ho, on hearing the Law of the twelve 

 Nidanas, are moved by pity and weep with compassion) can 

 entirely destroy the Naga Vasuki who exhales a violent poison" ^. 



"The Eaksasas and the Pigacas, the evil Nagas and even the 

 robbers dare not oppose the words of the Buddha" ". 



An evil Naga guarded a big tree which stood in a large pond, 

 and killed all those who took a branch or a leaf from it. When 

 the bhiksus came to hew down the tree in order to build a 

 sttipa, the people and a brahman warned them not to do so on 

 account of the danger, but the bhiksus answered: "With regard 

 to the poisonous Naga, you, brahman, glorify yourself. But we 

 rely upon the Naga of men (the Buddha), and, placing our trust 



in Him, glorify ourselves Among all the poisonous Nagas, 



for this Naga king you show yourself fall of respectful thoughts. 

 The Buddha is sweet and calm. He is the King of all beings, 

 it is Him whom we revere, the Perfect one, the Bhagavat. Who 

 would be able to subdue the poisonous Naga, if not the Buddha's 

 disciples?" Then they cut down the tree, and, to the astonish- 

 ment of the brahman, no clouds, no thunder, no miraculous signs 

 bore witness to the Naga's wrath, as had formerly been the case 

 even when one leaf of his tree was taken by a human hand °. 

 The brahman, after having uttered his amazement and anger. 



i Ch. I, nr 3, p. 30; great Jap. Ti-ipitaka of Leiden, nr 1182, Ch. I, p. 19: 



2 Ch. IV, nr 10, p. 100; great Jap. Trip, of Leiden, nr 1182, Ch. IV, p. 3a. 



3 Ch. Ill, nr 11, p. 64; great Jap. Trip, of Leiden, Ch. Ill, p. 2a. 



4 Ch. VIII, nr 45, p. 215; great Jap. Trip, of Leiden, Ch. VIII, p. 2a. 



5 Ch. IX, nr 52, p. 255 ; great Jap. Trip, of Leiden, Ch. IX, p. 6a. 



6 Ch. XV, nr 80, p. 447; great Jap. Trip, of Leiden, nr 1182, Ch. XV, p. 21o. 



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