1848.] Gleanings in Buddhism. 91 



Dhammasoka reigned (or staid) quietly here for seven years ; but still 

 mortified and unhappy because he had not been able to reach the relics, 

 for he desired to place them in a more splendid Chaittya. 



[I may here remark that the disinterring of relics appears to have 

 been a favorite act of piety, and curiosity, combined, on the part of 

 successive kings or dynasties. 



In this way perhaps, the remains of many temples dedicated, if we 

 are to credit the Chinese travellers Fa Hian and others, to the third 

 Buddha or Kassapo, may have been swept away. At any rate many of 

 the oldest Chaittyas in honor of Buddha the 4th, the present one, may 

 thus have been destroyed.] 



" His Majesty accordingly offered a high reward to any one who 

 should find the relics and disinhume them. But this proved of no 

 avail." 



I do not know what to think of the recital closely following the 

 above. It is doubtless the same in the Pali, as names in it are preserved, 

 at least Bali words according to Siamese pronunciation. 



"It so happened that in this dilemma a Butra or Putra of the 

 king of Rom, named Kakabhasa, who happened to be trading to the 

 country of Takkasila, encountered a violent storm. He had five hun- 

 dred souls on board, who supplicating the gods, were rescued from death. 

 The ship with much difficulty reached close to the Diamond Sands, 

 and observiug signs of population cast anchor with a view to refit. 



The king recollected of having once heard that the people of Rom 

 were deeply skilled in working spells, and acting under the belief that 

 they were, he asked the commander of the vessel to assist him in 

 driving off the spirits which guarded the Chaittya. 



The commander having adopted precautions by erecting a stockade 

 at the mouth of the river for his own security in a strange region ; and 

 having first had his ship repaired by his Majesty's artificers, prepared to 

 exorcise the spirits. 



The king now refrained from all food which was of the sorts not 

 allowed to priests, dressed himself in white garments, and slept under 

 a canopy of cloth, and indeed conformed to all the rules for proceeding 

 on such occasions as is contained in astrological books." 



When the procession arrived at the temple the crows began then- 

 attack, but the first charm set them to flight, and with them vanished 



n 2 



