No. 25—1882.] buddha's sermon on omens. 



219 



" Whereupon a believer in omens of smell, taste and touch, 

 (muta mangaliko) addressed the meeting saying : — ' A man 

 hears what is good and what is bad, what is pleasant and what is 

 unpleasant ; if what is heard by the ear be a mangalan, (good 

 omen) then everything heard must be a good omen also. 

 I say therefore that suta mangalan is not a true manga- 

 lan, and that the true mangalan is what is called muta mangalan. 

 For example, if a man rising up early in the morning smells 

 the fragrance of the lotus and other sweet smelling flowers, 

 uses fresh dentrifice, touches the earth, or ripe corn, or 

 fresh cow-dung, or a turtle, or a heap of sesamum seed, or 

 flowers, or fruits, daubs (the floor) with fresh earth, puts on 

 a new cloth, wears a new turban, or smells any other sweet 

 smells, tastes or touches an object deemed auspicious — it is a 

 mangalan? 



"Thus men all over Jambudipa formed themselves into 

 groups, and began to discuss what the real mangaldni are. 

 From men, their guardian deities, from them, their friends the 

 terrestrial deities, from them, their friends the celestial deities, from 

 them, their friends the deities of the Chatummaharajika heavens, 

 and from them, all the deities as far as Akanittha, the highest of 

 the heavens, took up the subject of mangalan, and forming 

 themselves into groups, began to discuss what mangaldni are. 

 Thus the discussion lasted for twelve years amongst men and gods, 

 (except among the disciples of Buddha) throughout the ten 

 thousand worlds of the universe, but they were unable to solve 

 the problem. At last the gods of the Tavatinsa heavens ap- 

 proached Sakko, and begged of him to declare what the man- 

 galdni are. The King of the gods enquired of them where 

 the Supreme Buddha was then residing. Being told that he 

 was then residing at Jetavana Monastery in the city of Savatthi, 

 he directed one of the gods to repair to him, and beg him to 

 declare what mangaldni are, and the god did so," 



The sequel is told in the Suttaii itself, and now I have the 

 pleasure to reproduce Mr. Guilder's masterly version of Mangala 

 Suttan, only substituting the expression Hhis is the best omen/ for 

 6 this is the greatest blessing.' 



