. 1897 .] 
L. A. Waddell— Tfpagupta. 
As to Upagnpta’s death, accounts differ. Some state that he died 1 
and that this event occurred at Mathura; 2 but I find no reference to his 
relic-stupas. The Japanese legend relates, 3 that “ there was an 
earthquake and he transcended (or crossed over ;)” or it may read, “ he 
went to ‘ Slnn-tam.’ ” The Burmese tradition seems to make him yet 
alive like Mahakasyapa and a few other Arahats by getting outside the 
circle of re-births. His personal entity or Sattva while it still 
retained a body has by mystical means become liberated from the 
influence of Avidya and the operation of the Causal Nexus, and in this 
way.by his supernatural power or Rcldhi, he has secured immortality. 4 * 
The residence in the sea, allotted to this immortalized Upagupta, 
as a sort of king of the Naga or dragon-spirits, could be explained by 
his reputation for supernatural power and his special association with 
Sindh or ‘ sea-salt,’ his coming to A£5ka by boat, and the connexion of 
his name with the conquest of Naga-kings. 6 And A 9 oka himself is also 
credited with having become reborn as a Naga. A slightly different and 
more humourous version of the legend of the popular Burmese saint, is 
given by Mr. Scott in his charming book on the Burmese. He relates 6 
that ‘ Oopagoli ’ is condemned to existence as a water-god through 
having in his previous existence “ carried off the clothes of a bather, and 
for this mischievous pleasantry is condemned to remain in his present 
quarters till Areemadehya (Maitreya) the next Buddha shall come. 
Then he will be set free and entering the Thenga ( Sarjgha) will become 
a Rah an and attain Neh’ban (Nirvana). He is a favourite subject 
for pictures, which represent him sitting under his brazen roof or on the 
stump of a tree, eating out of an alms-bowl which he carries in his 
firms. Sometimes he is depicted gazing sideways up to the skies, where 
he seeks a place that is not polluted by corpses.” 7 This version, how¬ 
ever, does not indicate why ‘ Oopagoli ’ should be worshipped with such 
zeal by Burmese Buddhists ; while the version given me by a learned 
Barman, as above noted, relates that the hero is a great AraJiat who 
by his magical pow r er has secured long life or immortality, and can 
confer luck. 
The Burmese festival in honour of this ‘ Upagu,’ resembles some- 
1 Eitel’s Diet., p. 187. 
2 Taranatha, fol. 11. 
5 Butsu dso dsni, p. 151, 
* Conf. my Buddhism of Tibet, p. 120. 
6 Burnoufs Intro., p. 338. And his doings at Kashmir as above related. 
The Burman, his Life and Notions, by Sway Yoe, I, 272. 
7 This reference to corpses may be compared with the Mathura incidents in his 
biography. 
