The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c21.92

c21.92

The two Tarāi Pillar Inscriptions, although extremely brief, are of much interest for many reasons, one of which is that they prove beyond question the truth of the literary tradition that Asoka performed a solemn pilgrimage to the sacred spots of the Buddhist Holy Land. The Rummindēī, or Padaria, inscription, which is in absolutely perfect preservation, has the great merit of determining, beyond the possibility of doubt, the exact position of the famous Lumbinī Garden, where, according to the legend, Gautama Buddha first saw the light. This determination either solves, or supplies the key to, a multitude of problems. The companion record at Niglīva, which is less perfectly preserved, gives the unexpected and interesting information that Asoka's devotion was not confined to Gautama Buddha, but included in its catholic embrace his predecessors, the 'former Buddhas'.¹