mound erected over the relics of Sákya, or of one of his more eminent followers.

13. From several passages in the Páli Buddhistical annals, it would appear that Topes were in existence prior to Sákya's advent; and that they were objects of much reverence of much reverence to the people. Sákya himself especially inculcated the maintenance of these ancient Chaityas,* and the continuance of the accustomed offerings and worship. But this was, doubtless, only a politic accommodation of his own doctrines to the existing belief of the people, adopted for the purpose of ensuring a more ready assent to his own views. Like as Mahomed recognised the prophetic missions of Moses and Elias, and the divinity of our Saviour Christ, so did Sákya Muni acknowledge the holy Munis Kakutsanda,† Kanaka, and Kasyapa, as his immediate predecessors. They were, probably, heroes or saints, who had obtained the respect of their fellow-countrymen during life, and their reverence after death. Stupas had been erected over their relics in the neighbourhood of Kapila and of Benares, and their worship was too firmly established to be attacked with any chance of success. Sákya therefore artfully engrafted them

See his seven imperishable precepts, given to the people of Vaisáli. The sixth of these is, "to maintain, respect, reverence, and make offerings to the Chaityas; and to keep up the ancient offerings without diminution."

+ Or Krakuchanda.

Fo-kwe-ki, chap. 20,-" His body remained entire." And

on his own system as the Buddhas of a former age. In like manner, the farmer, who cannot check the mountain stream, turns its course into numerous rivulets for the irrigation of his lands.

14. It appears also that Stupas had been erected over Supreme Monarchs prior to Sákya's advent, for Sákya particularly informs his disciple Ananda that, over the remains of a Chakravarti Raja," they build the thupo at a spot where four principal roads meet." It is clear, therefore, that the Tope, or "tumulus," was the common form of tombs at that period. In fact, the Tope, as its name implies, is nothing more than a regularly-built cairn or pile of stones, which was undoubtedly the oldest form of funereal memento.

15. In his last injunctions to Ananda,† Bhagawá likewise "dwelt on the merits to be acquired by building thupá over relics of Tathágatá, PachéBuddha, and Sáwaká," or Buddhas, Pratyekas, and Sráwakas; and he more particularly pointed out that they who prayed at the shrines that would be raised to him would be born in heaven. although the original object of a Tope was to cover the remains of the great, or to enshrine the relics of the holy, yet, in a short time, other Topes, or

But,

Turnour quotes the same from the Pali Annals," The joints were not separated."-See Prinsep's Journal, vii. 797.

• See Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1006. +Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1006.

Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1005.

memorial monuments, were erected on spots ren dered famous by the leading events of Sákya's life. These holy places rapidly increased in number, until there was scarcely a large city in India, from Kâbul to Orissa, and from Nepál to Ceylon, which did not possess a monument illustrative of some act of the Great Teacher. For this end, the doctrine of transmigration was highly accommodating; for although the mortal pilgrimage of Sákya was limited to the central provinces of the Ganges, yet there was no part of India which he might not have visited in some former existence; and in this way, indeed, he is said to have been in Ceylon.

16. The Topes were, therefore, of three distinct kinds: 1st, The Dedicatory, which were consecrated to the Supreme Buddha; 2nd, The strictly Funereal, which contained the ashes of the dead; and 3rd, the Memorial, which were built upon celebrated spots.

17. Of the Dedicatory Topes I have already spoken; but I may here observe, that, as it is improbable that any deposit would have been placed in them, we may plausibly conclude that the largest Topes, such as those of Sánchi, Satdhâra, and Bhojpur, were consecrated to the Supreme Invisible Adi-Buddha.

18. Of the Memorial Topes, little is at present known. It seems nearly certain, however, that the great Manikyála Tope was of this kind; for the inscription extracted from it, which begins with Gomangasa," of the abandoned body," undoubtedly

refers to Sákya's abandonment of his body to a hungry lion. This Tope, therefore, dates earlier than the period of Fa Hian's Indian pilgrimage

in A.D. 400.

19. The Funereal Topes were of course the most numerous, as they were built of all sizes, and of all kinds of material, according to the rank of the deceased and the means of his fraternity. At Bhojpur, the Topes occupy four distinct stages or platforms of the hill. The largest Topes, six in number, occupy the uppermost stage, and were, I believe, dedicated to Buddha; that is, either to the celestial Buddha, Adináth, or to the relics of the mortal Buddha, Sákya. This view is borne out by the facts that the largest Tope contained no deposit; and that the second and third sized Topes yielded crystal boxes, one of which, shaped like a Tope, contained only a minute portion of human bone smaller than a pea!

20. The second-rate Topes, sixteen in number, stand on the second stage. According to my view, these Topes contain the ashes of those who had reached the rank of Bodhisatwa. We discovered relics in five of these Topes, but there were no inscriptions of any historical value.

21. The third stage of the hill is occupied by seven small Topes, all of which I suppose to have been built over the remains of the third grade of Pratyeka Buddhas. Of the eight Topes which stand on the lowest stage of the hill, one is much larger than any of those on the third stage. These Topes

were, I believe, built over the ashes of the lowest grade of the Bauddha community, the Sráwaka Buddhas.

22. The few remarks which I have suggested above, will be sufficient to show the valuable light which the Topes are likely to afford in illustration of the religion of Buddha. But, before proceeding to the examination of the Topes and their contents, I propose to give a slight historical sketch of the progress of that combined system of practical morality and philosophical speculation which, under the name of Buddhism, was the dominant faith of India for nearly fifteen centuries.