EAUDDHA TRACTS FROM NEPAL. 46l 



life may be crossed, who was produced from a portion of Maitreya uniting with 

 the light of Ratnachura ^ in the forest rock, be propitious to you — I adore it. 



8. May Gokerneswara, the son'° of Khaganja, in the form of a Lotus, 

 assumed on the bank of the Vdgmati, by desire of Lokanath, to preserve the 

 wicked Gokerna " engaged in austere devotion, and who, for the benefit of 

 mankind and their progenitors, is still at the confluence of the rivers, '* be pro- 

 pitious to you — I adore him. 



9. May Mahesa, named Kila, '^ the Viiardga, emanating from Samanta- 

 bhadra, in the form of a flag, on the holy mountain, '"■ for the benefit of man- 



These are called Vitardgas, the exempt from Passion, or rather perhaps the liberators from Passion 

 — as the compound admits of either sense. They are also called the eight Mangalas, or auspi- 

 cious objects. They are found sculptured on Bauddha monuments, and especially on the stone or 

 marble Feet, which are frequently placed in the temples of the sect. They appear to have been 

 merely the symbols of the JBodliisatwas ; but they have been connected evidently in popular belief 

 with notions derived from the Hindu religion and local legends, and bear the character of so many 

 Lingas erectedi by different individuals, some of whom are specified. 



9. Retnachura or Makichuua, he of the jewel-.crest: he is said to have been a King of 

 Saketa Nagar, on whose head grew a gem of inestimable value, which lie offered to the Gods, 

 and which was united with the portion of ^Maitreya to form the Jewel-lAnga. The Srivatsa is, 

 properl)', the Jewel worn by Krishna, but is here understood to imply a waving flame. Amongst 

 the ancient Bauddha sculptures at Amaravati, on the Krishna, and removed thence by Colonel 

 Mackenzie, was one of a Lingam, surmounted by a flame of this description. 



10. The Vitardga is styled Khaganja Tanaya, meaning, however, emanation or derivation, 

 not literally son. 



11. Gokerna is said to have been a prince of Panchula. The name of the Vitardga, 

 in conjunction with his appellation, is a clear indication of a Linga being intended. These sym- 

 bols, throughout all India, being commonly named from some circumstance connected with their 

 first erection ; with Iswara, the -name of Siva afiixed. Gokerneswara is, therefore, the Linga 

 set up by Gokerna. It is probable, however, that Gokerna is a fabulous person, and that the 

 real origin of the name is the existence of a similar Lingam on the Malabar Coast, which has 

 been very celebrated for some centuries. 



12. Of the Vdgmati and Amoghavati, where oblations to ancestors are offered. 



13. Or KUesivara. 



14. The text has Srigiri, which the comment calls Chdnigiri. 



