e did not accept them. They then brought four bowls made
of stone, of the colour of the mung fruit; and when each entreated
that his own bowl might be accepted, Buddha caused them to appear as
if formed into a single bowl, appearing at the upper rim as if placed
one within the other." See the account more correctly given in the
"Buddhist Birth Stories," p. 110.

(11) Compare the narrative in Luke's Gospel, xxi. 1-4.

(12) See chapter viii.

(13) This, no doubt, should be Hwuy-ying. King was at this time ill
in Nagara, and indeed afterwards he dies in crossing the Little Snowy
Mountains; but all the texts make him die twice. The confounding of
the two names has been pointed out by Chinese critics.

(14) "Came to his end;" i.e., according to the text, "proved the
impermanence and uncertainty," namely, of human life. See Williams'
Dictionary under {.}. The phraseology is wholly Buddhistic.

CHAPTER XIII

NAGARA. FESTIVAL OF BUDDHA'S SKULL-BONE. OTHER RELICS, AND HIS SHADOW.

Going west for sixteen yojanas,(1) he came to the city He-lo(2) in
the borders of the country of Nagara, where there is the flat-bone
of Buddha's skull, deposited in a vihara(3) adorned all over with
gold-leaf and the seven sacred substances. The king of the country,
revering and honouring the bone, and anxious lest it should be stolen
away, has selected eight individuals, representing the great families
in the kingdom, and committing to each a seal, with which he should
seal (its shrine) and guard (the relic). At early dawn these eight men
come, and after each has inspected his seal, they open the door. This
done, they wash their hands with scented water and bring out the bone,
which they place outside the vihara, on a lofty platform, where it is
supported on a round pedestal of the seven precious substances, and
covered with a bell of _lapis lazuli_, both adorned with rows of
pearls. Its colour is of a yellowish white, and it forms an imperfect
circle twelve inches round,(4) curving upwards to the centre. Every
day, after it has been brought forth, the keepers of the vihara ascend
a high gallery, where they beat great drums, blow conchs, and clash
their copper cymbals. When the king hears them, he goes to the vihara,
and makes his offerings of flowers and incense. When he has done this,
he (and his attendants) in order, one after another, (raise the bone),
place it (for a moment) on the top of thei