body of the TatMgata. When he saw that the body was burnt to ashes and the fire extinct, he took the bones[1] and wept, cried and lamented. After having wept, cried and lamented, Nakshatrarâgasaṅkusumitâbhigña, the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Sarvasattvapriyadarrana caused to be made eighty- four thousand urns of seven precious substances, deposed in them the bones of the Tathigata, founded eighty-four thousand Stûpas[2], reaching in height to the Brahma-world, adorned with a row of umbrellas, and equipped with silk bands and bells. After founding those Stilpas he made the following reflection: I have paid honour to the Tath&gata-relics of the Lord Kandravimalasûryaprabhâsasrî, but I will pay to those relics a yet loftier and most distinguished honour. Then, Nakshatrarâgasaṅkusumitâbhigña, the Bodhisattva Mahisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarrana addressed that entire assembly of Bodhisattvas, those great disciples, those gods, Nigas, goblins, Gandharvas, demons, Garudas, Kinnaras, great serpents, men, and beings not human: Ye all, young men of good family, unani-
- ↑ In the Phœnix myth it is the bird himself that, after his resurrection, collects the relics; verses 269-272. Both versions come to the same, for the sun of to-day is essentially the same as yesterday's.
- ↑ Exactly the same number of monasteries was erected by Asoka, according to the Dîpavamsa VI, 96. The king was induced to build so many monasteries because there were eighty-four or, optionally, eighty-four thousand towns in India, a number precisely coinciding with that of the sections of the Law. Notwithstanding the difference in details, it may be assumed that there is some connection between the two tales, especially because Asoka was a namesake of Sarvasattvapriyadarsana, one of his epithets being Priyadarsana.
