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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, PachéBuddhá, 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. But, 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

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 celebrated spots. upon

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.

CHAPTER II.

LIFE OF SÁKYA.

1. In the earliest times of which we have any authentic record, the Arian race,* both in Persia and India, was attached to the worship of the Sun. In Persia, the fiery element was looked upon as the earthly type of Mithra, or the heavenly orb; and the sacred flame was kept continually burning by the Magian priesthood. But the worship of the elements was not unknown to the Persians; for Herodotus expressly states that "they sacrificed to the Sun and Moon, to the Earth, to Fire and Water, and to the Winds." In India, the worship of the

I use the term Arian in its widest acceptation to signify the race of Aryya, whose emigrations are recorded in the Zendavesta. Starting from Ericene-Veejo, the Aryas gradually spread to the south-east, over Aryya-vartta or Aryya-desa, the northern plains of INDIA; and to the south-west, over IRAN, or PERSIA. The Medes are called Apeio by Herodotus.

+ Herodotus, i. 131,—θύουσι δὲ ἡλίῳ τε καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ γῇ καὶ πυρὶ καὶ ὕδατι καὶ ἀνέμοισι. So also Diogenes Laertius, quoted by Barker,-" They teach the nature and origin of the Gods, whom they think Fire, Earth, and Water."-Barker's Lempriere, in v. Magi. Strabo and others say the same.

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