1892.] 
85 
L. A. Waddell —On the site af Buddha s death. 
as will be seen hereafter, there probably existed at that time some 
Buddhist remains. 
No description of this Buddhist site seems to be on record, except 
a very brief note by Col. Dalton* on the modern Hindu temple of Hajo, 
which shrines a Buddhist image. As I have had an opportunity of 
visiting the site, and enjoyed the rare advantage of being conducted 
over it by a Khams-pa Lama, who chanced to be on the spot, and 
who had previously visited the site several times and possessed the 
traditional stories regarding it, I beg to present the following brief 
description of the site to the Society, in illustration of how the Lamas, 
originally misled by an identity of name, have subsequently clothed the 
neighbourhood with a legendary dress in keeping with the story of 
Buddha’s death, and how this place, with its various associated holy spots 
is now implicitly believed by the pilgrims to be the real site of Buddha’s 
parinirvdna. And in this belief, undeterred by the intemperate heat of 
the plains, Buddhist pilgrims from all parts of Bhotan, Tibet and even 
from Ladak and south-western China visit these spots and carry oft 
scrapings of the rocks and the soil in the neighbourhood, treasuring up 
this precious dust in amulets, and for placing beside their dead body, as 
saving from dire calamities during life and from transmigration into 
lower animals hereafter. Authentic specimens of this dust, I was in¬ 
formed, commanded in Tibet high prices from the more wealthy residents, 
who had personally been unable to undertake the pilgrimage. 
The Hajo hill, or rather group of hills, where is situated, according 
to the current tradition of the Lamas, the spot where Buddha ‘ was de¬ 
livered from pain,’ lies to the north (right) bank of the Brahmaputra 
about nine miles north-west from Gfauhati (Kamrup), north latitude 26° 
11' 18" and east long. 91° 47' 26", and four or five miles north of Sdl-Kusa. 
The hill rises directly from the plain, forming a strikingly bold and pic¬ 
turesque mass ; and it is a testimony to its natural beauty to find that 
the hill has attracted the veneration of people of all religious denomina¬ 
tions. The semi-aboriginal Mech and Koch worship it as a deity under 
the name of Hajo, which means in their vernacular ‘ the hill.’ The 
Buddhists formerly occupied one of the hillocks, but are now displaced 
by the Brahmans who restored the temple, which is now one of the most 
frequented Hindu temples in Asam. The Muhammadans also have 
crowned the summit of the highest peak with a masjid. 
The cluster of hills presents a very symmetrical appearance as seen 
from a distance, forming a bold swelling mass culminating in three tri¬ 
dent-like peaks, the central one of which is pre-eminent and is regarded 
by the Buddhists as emblematic of Buddha. The high peaks on either 
* J. A. S. B, 1855, LXXI, p. 8. 
