The Extended Mahāvaṁsa:
The Asokan Missions
XIV. Entry into the City
1. The Meeting (vv. 1-15)
Over two hundred years after the Emancipation of the Sambuddha Mahinda established the Dispensation in this Isle on the very day the root of the constellation of Jeṭṭha was reached. I.e. the full moon day in May-June.01
The King assembled his ministers there in the city and had it proclaimed: “Please call a festival for us.”
The King Devānampiyatissa, having given a water-sport for the city-dwellers, went for the sport of deer-hunting. Surrounded by forty-thousand of his men running on foot he came to mount Missaka.
The god of the mountain, wishing to show him the Elders took a form like an elk grazing in the thicket. The King, having seen him, thinking: ‘It is not proper to shoot one who is heedless,’ therefore struck his bow-string, and the elk ran to the top of Ambatthala, A plain in front of the Missika mountain, it means: Mango Plain.02 and pursuing from behind he also ascended Ambatthala.
The King chased along, but he ran within the presence of the Elders, and with the Elders not so distant the elk himself vanished. The Elder, thinking: ‘Seeing many people he will be fearful,’ determined: ‘Let the King see no one other than myself,’ and having made the resolution he showed himself immediately.
Having seen the King come, Mahinda came from afar, and the Elder said: “Tissa, Tissa, come hence!” Having heard the word ‘Tissa’ the fearful King reflected: ‘There is some other man by name Tissa born here in this Isle, for one who is able to speak my name is not found, The syntax here is very obscure, and I cannot explain gahetvā. In the original he appears to call the name to calm him and let him know he is a friend.03 but this solitary shaveling, wearing his patchwork robe, a cloth died with yellow dye, called me by name Tissa. What is this: a human or a non-human being?’
Understanding the King's thoughts the Elder said this: “We are ascetics, Great King, disciples of the King of the Dhamma, having compassion on you, we have come here from the Rose-Apple Isle.”
Having heard this word of the Elder, he became without fear, and remembering his friend's Presumably meaning Asoka.04 message he considered: ‘He is an ascetic’. Having put aside his bow and arrow he approached the Seer and greeting the Elder he sat down in his presence.
2. The Questions (vv. 16-33)
Then the men who had come with him surrounded them and he showed the rest of his friends, the Great Elders. After seeing them the King said: “When did these come?” “They came with me,” said the Elder, and again the King asked this: “Are there other strivers like these in the Rose-Apple Isle?”
He said: “The Rose-Apple Isle shines with the dyed robe, moreover in that place there are those with the Three Knowledges, psychic powers, skill in mind-reading, Worthy Ones with Divine Hearing, and many disciples of the Awakened One.”
He asked: “By what means did you come?” “Neither by land nor by water did we come,” he said, so he understood: ‘They came through the air.’
Enquiring, the One with Great Wisdom asked him a wisdom question, and one question after another the Master of the Earth answered in this way and that:
“This tree, King, what is its name?”
“The name of this tree is mango.”
“Aside from this, are there other mangos?”
“There are many mango trees.”
“Aside from this mango and those mangos, are there other trees?”
“Venerable Sir, there are many other trees, and those trees are not mangos.”
“Aside from those mangos and those not mangos, are there other trees?”
“There is this mango tree, venerable Sir,”
“Lord of Men, you are wise!”
“Do you have relatives, King?”
“There are many, venerable Sir,”
“Are there others who are not relatives, King?”
“There are many who are not relatives,”
“Aside from these and the others, is there anyone else?”
“There is myself,”
“It is good!” he said.
Having understood: ‘He is wise,’ the Elder taught the very wise Master of the Earth the Short Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Foot. MN 27. About others who come to refute the teaching of the Buddha, but end up as his disciples; and the gradual Path leading to Awakening05 At the end of the Teaching, together with forty-thousand of his men, he established him in the Refuges.
3. Ordination and Teaching (vv. 34-50)
In the evening an offering of food was brought to the King, then after hearing the Discourse that was spoken by Mahinda, although the Lord of the Earth knew: ‘They will not eat now’, thinking: ‘It is not suitable to eat without having asked,’ and ‘It is right to ask,’ he invited the Seers to the meal, saying: “What will you eat, venerable Sir?”
“We do not eat now.”
When this was said the King inquired: “What is the right time?”
“Starting from dawn up and till the middle of the day.”
When the right time was told, he spoke thus: “We will go to the city,”
“You go, Great King, we will take up residence here.”
“If that is so, let this young man come with us.”
“This young man has come to Path and Fruit, As stated above in 13.21 he had attained the third Path and Fruit.06 King, understood the Dispensation, and is seeking the going-forth, therefore he must dwell in our presence, we will give him the going-forth now, but you can go, Lord of the Earth.” Bhūmipa, which I can't find listed anywhere, is presumably for Bhūmipati.07
“In the morning I will send a chariot, standing in that you can proceed to the city,” and after worshipping the Elders he led Bhaṇḍu to one side and asked what the Elder referred to, and he told the King all: “God-King! These five monks have destroyed the pollutants, they are Great Elders of Great Wisdom, who have developed analytic knowledge.” It means the four branches of analytical knowldege: attha-, dhamma-, nirutti- & paṭibhāna-paṭisambhidā; analysis of meanings, conditions, language and improvisation.08
After rejoicing: ‘I have received the Elders,’ he thought: ‘This is a gain for me.’ Because of Bhaṇḍu's lay appearance the Lord of Men lost his fear, knowing he had the nature of a man.
Saying: “We will let him go forth,” the Elder, in that village boundary gave to the young man Bhaṇḍuka the going-forth and the higher ordination, and at that very instant he also attained Worthiness.
Then the Elder addressed the novice Sumana: “Please announce the time for listening to the Dhamma now.”
“When sounding it how far, venerable Sir, shall I announce it?”
“Over the whole of Tambapaṇṇī,” Another name for Laṅkā, some derive the word from Tamba + Paṇṇī, meaning Copper Leaf Tree; others associate it with the Tamil words Tamira-barani. meaning Copper River, perhaps referring to the Mahāweli River.09 and when this was said, he said: “It is good!”
The novice attained a basis in the four absorptions The four absorptions (jhāna) give one the strength of mind to effect psychic powers.10 and after making a resolution and rising from it, through his own psychic power he three times sounded it through the whole of Laṅkā, announcing the time for the Dhamma Teaching.
The King, who was sitting on the side of the Four Nāgas tank eating, after hearing that roar, sent his ministers to them. Having quickly gone and worshipped them all, they asked: “Is there some danger?” He said, “There is no danger, the time was being announced to hear the Sambuddha's words.”
Having heard the roar of the novice, the Earth-Gods announced it too, and in succession the sound thus rose up to the Brahmā world.
With the announcement a great many gods assembled and the Elder taught the Discourse on the Peaceful Mind AN Bk. 2, Sut. 31. On gratitude.11 in that assembly. An uncountable number of the gods penetrated the Dhamma and many Nāgas and Supaṇṇas were established in the Refuges.
Just as when the Elder Sāriputta spoke this Discourse an uncountable number of the gods penetrated the Dhamma, so did the gods who assembled around the Elder Mahinda.
4. Entering the Town (vv. 51-80)
At daybreak the King, having sent the driver to yoke the chariot, said: “In order to lead those Elders here go quickly to mount Missaka.”
After yoking and driving the chariot and putting it aside at mount Missaka, and having worshipped the Supreme Elder, he said to them: “Mount the chariot, and let us go to the city.”
“We do not mount chariots, you go and we will follow after you.”
After saying this and sending the driver away with a good and delightful mind, and ascending into the sky, at the east of the city, on the place of the First Shrine, the ones with great power descended.
On that place where the Elders first crossed over, a Shrine was made, so it is said today, and therefore it is called the First Shrine.
Having dismissed Dictionaries: pahiṇāti, with retroflex ṇ. Printer's error?12 the driver, the King had a pavilion made in the inner residence having a decorated canopy. These two additional lines seem to only repeat what is sais in verse 58 below, and one wonders whether they were meant to replace them?13
Having heard from the King of the Elders' virtues, all the women in the harem desired to see the Elders, therefore the Master of the Earth had a delightful pavilion made inside the Royal Grounds, covered and decorated with white cloth and flowers. Having heard in the presence of the Elder that they had given up using high seats he had a doubt: ‘Can the Elder sit down on a high seat or not?’
The driver, who was thinking about this, went to the door of the First Shrine, and having seen the Elders standing in that place, and putting on their robes, was greatly surprised in mind, and after going to the King announced: “They are coming, God-King.”
The King, after questioning the driver, said: “Look here, did the Elders stand in the chariot or did they all come to the city on foot?”
“They did not mount the chariot, God-King, but following me they came and are now in front of the western door.”
Having heard that, he said: “These Noble ones do not desire chairs, therefore it is good to spread out a cover on the floor,” and having gone in front he respectfully worshipped the Elders, taking the Great Elder Mahinda's bowl from his hand, and with manifold respect and worship he led the Elder to the city.
Having seen the designated seats the fortune-tellers predicted: “Having taken the ground, they will be Lords of this Isle.”
The Lord of Men brought those Elders to the noble harem, and having seen the prepared seat, the Elder thought thus: ‘The noble Dispensation of the Teacher has been established in the Isle of Laṅkā, having spread a cloth on the unmoved earth it will continue.’
There they sat down on the seat of cloth, according to their worth, It means that they sat in line according to their seniority.14 and the King himself satisfied them with rice-gruel, staple and non-staple foods.
At the conclusion of his duties concerning the meal he sat down nearby, he had his younger Brother, the deputy King Mahānāga's wife, Anulā, who resided in the Royal Palace, summoned and said: “Pay your respects and worship in front of these.”
Queen Anulā came with five hundred women and worshipped and honoured the Elders and then took a seat on one side.
At the end of the meal duties, raining Dhamma-jewels down on the King, the Queen, the women and the multitude, the Wise One taught the Ghosts Stories and the Divine Mansions, and also the Thematic Discourses on Truth I.e Petavatthu (KN 7), Vimānavatthu (KN 6) and SN 56.15 to the assembled multitude, and having heard them five-hundred women attained the First Path and Fruit.
Having heard of the Elders' virtues from those who had seen them on the previous day, many desired to see the Elders, and the city-folk gathered and made a loud noise all around the King's Gates.
The King heard the commotion and questioned them and understood, and the Master of the Earth gave orders to his ministers, saying this: “Here they are all crowded together, clean up the State Elephant's stall and the city-folk can see the Elders there.”
Having cleaned up the Elephant stall and quickly decorated it with canopies and so on, they prepared the seats according to their worth, and after going there and sitting down on the seat the Elder, the Great Preacher, preached the Discourse on the Divine Messengers. MN 130. As Mahādeva did in Mahisamaṇḍala above, v. 33.16
Having heard it, the city-folk who had gathered round, gained faith, but a thousand breathing beings attained the First Path and Fruit.
In the Isle of Laṅkā, he who was like the Teacher, the incomparable Elder, resolved on the good of Laṅkā in two places, after speaking on Dhamma in the language of the Isle he thus made the True Dhamma descend on the Isle of Light.
Written for the Faith and Invigoration of Good People the Fourteenth Chapter in the Great Lineage called Entry into the City