804 Pali Buddhistical Annals. [Sept. 



the prince is in every respect endowed with personal beauty, be is untaught in a single 

 martial accomplishment, and is incapable of controling women : we cannot there- 

 fore give our daughters.' The raja on having heard the reproach, repairing to the 

 son, communicated the same to him. The Buddho elect replied, ' What accom- 

 plishment is it requisite for me to exhibit?' ' It is requisite, beloved, that you 

 string the bow, requiring a thousand persons to bind.' ' Well then have it 

 brought.' The raja causing it to be brought, presented it to him. It was a bow which 

 required a thousand persons to string and unstring it. This great personage, receiv- 

 ing that bow, while yet seated on his canopy, twisted the bow-string round his great 

 toe, and drawing it with his toe, strung the bow ; and taking the bow in his left 

 hand and si-awing the string with his right, let it (the cord) fly. The whole town 

 started, and to the inquiry, ' what noise is this ?' the answer was ' the clouds are 

 rolling with thunder ;' some others observed, ' ye know nothing about it, it is not 

 the rolling of thunder : it is the ringing of the bow which requires the strength of a 

 thousand persons which the great archer, the prince endowed with halo around his 

 person, has rung.' The Sdkya princes on hearing of this, from that circumstance 

 alone, commencing to rejoice, were highly gratified. 



" The great mortal then inquired, ' what more should be done.' They replied, 

 1 It is requisite that an iron target eight inches thick, should be pierced with an 

 arrow. Having pierced it, he said, ' what else.' ' It is requisite, that a plant of 

 the asand tree, four inches thick, should be pierced.' ' Having transfixed that 

 what else should be done ?' ' Then carts filled with sand and with straw.' The great 

 elect then transpiercing the straw cart drove the arrow one usabhan deep into the 

 water, and eight vsabdni into the earth. They then said, it will be requisite to 

 pierce a horse hair, guided by the mark afforded by the suspended fruit of the wa- 

 tingdno (which is attached to the hair). Replying ' hang it up at the distance of one 

 yojanarC he shot his arrow in a direction which was as dark, under the obscurity 

 of dense clouds, as if it were night ; and pierced the horse hair, which at the distance 

 of one ydjanan was indicated only by the watingdno which was suspended from it, 

 and it entered the earth. If fully related, these were not all that the great mortal 

 exhibited on that day to the world, in proof of his accomplishments in martial deeds. 

 Thereupon the Sdkya tribes sent their daughters superbly decorated. There were 

 forty thousand dancing and singing girls. The princess (who was afterwards) the 

 mother of Ra'hulo, became the head queen. 



" The great mortal, like unto a celestial prince, surrounded by his heavenly host of 

 damsels, and attended by his female band of musicians, dwelt in his three palaces 

 adapted to the three seasons, enjoying his great prosperity. Thereafter, on a cer- 

 tain day, wishing to inspect his grounds in his pleasure garden, he ordered his cha- 

 rioteer to prepare his state conveyance. He replying ' sddhu,' and fully decorating 

 the carriage, and harnessiug to it four white horses, swift as the wind and the swal- 

 low, and of the sindha breed, reported it to the Buddho elect ; who entering the cha- 

 riot, which was like unto a heavenly mansion, proceeded in the direction of the plea- 

 sure garden. 



" The dewatd, saying to themselves, ' the time is at hand for prince Siddhatto 

 to attaiu omniscience, let us present to him the predictive signs,' exhibited to him 

 a certain dewatd transformed into the character of a decrepid object, wasted in ap- 

 pearance, with decayed teeth, grey hairs, and bent posture, tremulously leaning on 

 his staff. Him the Buddho elect and charioteer alone saw. The Buddho elect then 

 thus inquired: ' Charioteer 1 who is this person? His hair also is not like that 

 of others,' and having also made the other inquiries, as recorded in due order in 

 the Mahapaddna suttan, and listened to his answers, he observed (to the charioteer), 

 «My friend, let this be received as a type of the degradation of this existence, as it 



