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Geography of Early Buddhism c12: Chapter VI: Ceylon, Burma and Other Foreign Countries

Geography of Early Buddhism c12

Language
English

Contents

Chapter VI: Ceylon, Burma and Other Foreign Countries

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Countries, Provinces, Cities, Villages, etc.—Bāveru. In the Bāveru Jātaka (Jāt., Vol. III, p. 126) we find a reference to a kingdom named Bāveru. We are told that there existed a trade relation between Bāveru and India. The journey was through water. Bāveru is identified with ancient Babylon.

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Hamsāvatī. Some of the Therīs whose verses are preserved in the Therīgāthā were born in the city of Hamsāvatī. The names of those therīs are: Dhammadinnā, Ubbiriyā and Selā (Therī G.C., pp. 15, 53, 61). It is difficult to identify Hamsāvatī with any known locality in India though it is generally known that there was a place somewhere in India. There was also a city of this name in Lower Burma, and the city is said to be identical with Pegu.

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Laṅkādipa. The thera Mahinda, son of Asoka the Great, was instrumental in spreading Buddhism in Laṅkādipa. The Dīpavaṃsa, the Mahāvaṃsa and other works give a history of the kingdom of Laṅkā. It is modern Ceylon.

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Suvaṇṇabhūmi. The theras Sona and Uttara are said to have propagated Buddhism in Suvaṇṇabhūmi, which is identical with Lower Burma (Pegu and Moulmein Districts). According to the Sāsanavaṃsa (p. 10) Suvaṇṇabhūmi is Sudhammanagore, that is, Thaton at the mouth of the Sittaung river.

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Tambapaṇṇi. Tambapaṇṇi is mentioned in Rock Edicts II and XIII of Asoka as one of the Prachānta deśas along with Coḍa, Pāṇḍya, Satiyaputta, Keralaputta and the realm of Amtiyako Yonarājā with which Asoka was in friendly relations. Dr. Smith, however, identifies the word to mean not Ceylon but the river Tāmraparṇi in Tinnevelly (Asoka, 3rd ed., p. 162). But the more correct identification is Ceylon which was meant in ancient times as Pārasamudra (Gk. Palæsimunda, Ind. Ant., 1919, pp. 195-96) as well as Tāmraparṇi (Gk. Taprobane). Ceylon was converted by an Asokan mission headed by Mahinda.

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Asoka maintained friendly relations not only with Ceylon and the Tamil powers of the South but also with kings of countries outside India. They were Antiochus Theos, King of Syria and Western India (Amtiyako Yonarājā), and even with the kings and neighbours to the north of the kingdom of Antiochus where dwelt four kings named severally Ptolemy (Turamayo), Antigonos (Amtikini), Magas (Maga or Maka), and Alexander (Alikasudara). Ptolemy Philadelphos was King of Egypt, Magas was King of Cyrene in North Africa, Antigonos Gonatas was King of Macedonia, and Alexander was King of Epirus (Rock Edict XIII). Some think (J.R.A.S., 1914, pp. 943 ff.) that Alikasudara of the Rock Edict XIII is Alexander of Corinth, son of Craterus and not Alexander of Epirus.

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Anurādhapura is mentioned in the Dipavaṃsa (pp. 57, 58, etc.). It was the ancient capital of Ceylon, but it is now in ruins.

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Naggadipa is mentioned in the Dipavaṃsa (p. 55). It was probably an Island in the Arabian Sea.

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Dvāramaṇḍala is mentioned in the Mahāvaṃsa (p. 77). It is near the Cetiyapabbata mountain (Mihintale), east of Anurādhapura.

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The Pulindas are mentioned as a barbarous tribe dwelling in the country inland between Colombo, Kalutara, Galle and the mountains (Mv., Geiger, tr., p. 60, note 5).

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Ambaṭṭhala is mentioned in the Mahāvaṃsa, p. 102. It is immediately below the Mihintale mountain, Ceylon.

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Besides these, there are a number of references to countries and places of Ceylon of lesser importance. They have all been noticed and identified in Geiger's translation of the Mahāvaṃsa.

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Kalyāṇi, a river in Ceylon (Jāt., Vol. II, p. 128). It is modern Kælani-Gaṅgā.

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Kadambanadī is mentioned in the Mahāvaṃsa (p. 66) whereas the Dipavaṃsa refers to the same river as Kadambaka (p. 82). It is identical with the modern Malwaṭṭe-oya which flows by the ruins of Anurādhapura, Ceylon.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 258)—It is the modern Kirinda-oya in the southern province of Ceylon where is located the Pañjalapabbata.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 66)—It flows seven or eight miles north of Anurādhapura, Ceylon.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 290)—It is the modern Kalu-oya river in Ceylon.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 82)—identical with the modern Mahæligangā river in Ceylon.

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(Dīpavaṃsa, p. 25 and Mahāvaṃsa, p. 10)—It is probably the modern Kandiya-Kattu tank in the eastern province of Ceylon. Dīghavāpi.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 299)—It was built by King Dhātusena by banking up the river Kalu-oya or Gona-nadī. Kālavāpi or Kalāvāpi.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 160)—It is a tank near Mahāgāma, Ceylon. Tissavāpi.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 324)—It is the modern Minneriya, a tank near Polonnaruwa, Ceylon. Manihīra.

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(Dīpavaṃsa, p. 60 and Mahāvaṃsa, p. 60)—It is central mountain region in the interior of Ceylon. Foreste, Mountains, etc.—Malaya.

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(Dīpavaṃsa, p. 101 and Mahāvaṃsa, p. 275)—It is outside the north gate of the ruined city of Anurādhapura, Ceylon. Abhayagiri.

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(Dīpavaṃsa, p. 89 and Mahāvaṃsa, p. 102)—It is the northern peak of the Mihintale mountain, Ceylon. Silakūṭa.

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(Dīpavaṃsa, p. 81 and Mahāvaṃsa, p. 130)—It is the later name of the Missaka mountain, Ceylon. Cetiyapabbata.

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It is the modern Mihintale mountain east of Anurādhapura, Ceylon. Missakagiri (Dīpavaṃsa, p. 61) or Missakapabbata (Mahāvaṃsa, p. 101).

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(Dīpavaṃsa, p. 69 and Mahāvaṃsa, p. 126)—It stretched between Mahāmeghavana where now the Mahāvihāra stands, and the southern wall of the city of Anurādhapura, Ceylon. Nandanavana.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 10)—It stretched south of the capital city of Anurādhapura, Ceylon. Mahāmeghavana.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 172)—It was situated on the summit of a rock not very far from the Cittalapabbata monastery, Ceylon. Cetiyas, Ārāmas, Vihāras, etc.—Ākāsa Cetiya.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 107)—It was situated outside the eastern gate of the city of Anurādhapura, Ceylon. Pathama Cetiya.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 324)—It was a vihāra in Anurādhapura. Thūpārāma vihāra.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 172)—It was located in South Ceylon, north-east of Hambantoṭa. Tissamahāvihāra.

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(Mahāvaṃsa, p. 322)—It was situated near the Abhayagiri dagoba in Anurādhapura, Ceylon. Jetavanavihāra.

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ascertain what kind or kinds of cetiyas these were; but it is striking to note that most of them were denoted to commemorate a name or a relic. The Gautama-nyagrodha caitya, it is possible to imagine, refers to a nyagrodha tree shrine which was worshipped by Buddhist devotees. We have abundant references of tree worship in Buddhist art and literature. On the railings of the Bārhut stūpa, and on the gate-way of the Sañchi stūpa, we have relics representing sacred trees being worshipped by the people; and nyagrodha is the tree under which Gotama attained sambodhi (enlightenment). The Makuṭabandhana cetiya must likewise refer to a sacred spot where the head-gear band or the lock of hairdress of the Buddha after he had cut it off with his sword was placed, and which had thus attained a sanctity. In the early days of Buddhism when the worship of any image of the Buddha had not yet been sanctioned, it had been the custom to worship objects—the Bodhi tree, locks of hair, foot-prints, Dhamma-cakka (wheel of law), the alms-bowl or the like that had once been associated with him. In fact on the rails of the Bārhut stūpa, there are reliefs representing these objects being worshipped by the people. The Makuṭabandhana Cetiya is referred to in the Dīgha Nikāya¹ as belonging to the Mallas. Every tribe and janapada had cetiyas or sacred shrines of their own which they were required to honour, worship and support. The Mahāparinibbāna Suttanta of the Dīgha Nikāya informs us thus: ‘The Vajjians will surely prosper as long as they honour, esteem, revere and support Vajjian shrines (Vajji-cetiyāni) in town or country’. ² The Buddha while staying at the Sārandada cetīya at Vesālī taught the Vajjians the seven conditions of welfare.³ The Sārandada cetīya thus seems to be a vihāra or monastery of the Vajjian tribe. The Makuṭabandhana cetīya⁴ had probably the honour of having been the sacred spot where the body of the Master was burnt. For the Dīgha Nikāya asserts, ‘the object of the gods is to carry the dead body of the Blessed One to the Makuṭabandhana, a cetiya of the Mallas, where the body of the Master will be burnt.’⁵ The same authority refers to the Cāpāla cetīya in detail, and relates how here the Buddha thwarted an attempt of Māra, and also rejected the rest of his natural term of life consciously and deliberately.⁶ It seems that the Cāpāla cetīya was a vihāra shrine; and our assumption seems to be a correct one when we find a mention of the same shrine in the Divyāvadāna⁷ which informs us thus: ‘the Master asked Ānanda to go to the Cāpāla shrine where the Bhikkhus were dwelling and the Buddha also directed him to have all those members assembled in the assembly-room of the monastery (Upasthānasālā). That the Sārandada cetiya referred to above cannot but mean a vihāra is clear from a reference in the Aṅguttara Nikāya¹ wherein it is stated that the five hundred Licchavis once assembled there when a talk arose amongst them about the getting of five jewels which cannot be easily got in this world.

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¹ DN., II, p 160

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² Ibid, II, p. 75; cf AN, IV, pp 16-17

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³ Ibid

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⁴ It is a pre-Buddhist Cetiya (P.T.S Dictionary, p 104)

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⁵ DN., II, p 160

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⁶ Ibid, II, pp. 113-14; cf Udāna (P.T.S.), p. 61.

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⁷ Dvd, p 207

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¹ AN., III, p. 167.

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From a reference in the Saṃyutta Nikāya,² it seems that the Bahuputta cetiya of Vesālī was a vihāra or monastery. The Buddha was seen seated in this shrine which was situated midway between Rājagaha and Nālandā. The Buddha lived for some time in the Gotamaka shrine at Vesālī and there he addressed the monks thus: ‘I shall teach Dhamma knowing it fully and I shall teach it with cause (sanidānaṃ) and miracle (sappāṭihāriyaṃ).’³ The same shrine has been referred to in the Vinaya Texts⁴ to mean an open shrine, probably a tree. In fact it has been referred to as such by the commentator of the Dhammapada who writes that the Udena and Gotama cetiyas are called tree shrines (rukkhacetiyāni). People being terrified, desirous of becoming free from fear, and with the object of getting sons take refuge in these shrines.⁵ The two shrines have also been referred to in a passage of the Dīgha Nikāya.⁶ An Acelaka had taken upon himself seven rules of life. One of his rules was that he would not go beyond the Udena shrine on the east of Vesālī, the Gotamaka shrine on the south, the Sattamba (or Sattambaka) shrine on the west, and the Bahuputta shrine on the north. This passage indicates the position of these shrines or cetiyas at Vesālī. The Manimālaka cetiya in Magadha, the abode of ManibHadda yakkha, where the Master dwelt for some time, also seems from its description to have been a vihāra shrine.⁷ The Aggālava cetiya also seems to have been a shrine of the same type.⁸ On another occasion the Buddha dwelt with the Bhikkhus at the Supatiṭṭha cetiya near the pleasure garden of Laṭṭhivana near Rājagaha, where Bimbisāra, King of Magadha, came to invite him with the congregation of monks.⁹ This cetiya must invariably have also been a vihāra.

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² SN., II, p 220.

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³ AN., I, p 276.

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⁴ VT., (S.B.E.), II, pp. 210 foll.

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⁵ Dh C., III, p. 246.

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⁶ DN., III, pp. 9-10. ‘Puratthimena Vesāliyaṃ Udenaṃ nāma cetiyaṃ taṃ nātikkamey-yaṃ: dakkhiṇena Vesāliyaṃ Gotamakaṃ nāma cetiyaṃ taṃ nātikkamey-yaṃ: pacchimena Vesāliyaṃ Sattambaṃ nāma cetiyaṃ taṃ nātikkamey-yaṃ: uttarena Vesāliyaṃ Bahuputtaṃ nāma cetiyaṃ taṃ nātikkamey-yaṃ.’

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⁷ SN., I, p. 208.

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⁸ AN., IV, pp. 216-17. Cf. Dh. C., Vol. III, pp. 170 ff.

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⁹ VT., I, pp. 130 ff.

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The Jātakas also refer to several cetiyas. Thus in the preamble to the Maṇikaṇṭha Jātaka, reference is made to the Aggāḷava cetiya¹ where Buddha dwelt for some time and narrated to the Bhikkhus the Maṇikaṇṭha, the Brahmadatta and the Aṭṭhisena Jātakas.² It seems from the context of the reference that the cetiya was something of the nature of a cave-dwelling or a vihāra. But a most important reference as to the different kinds of cetiyas is made in the preamble to the Kāliṅga-bodhi Jātaka wherein the Buddha is said to have stated to Ānanda that there were three kinds of cetiyas, cetiyas for a relic of the body, a relic of use or wear, and a relic of memorial. By the first was probably meant a stūpa or dagoba; by the second was meant any shrine that was built for worship of a bowl, a piece of robe or similar things, and by the third was meant any shrine to commemorate an incident or name. The preamble to the same Jātaka states that in reply to a question of Ānanda as to whether a cetiya could be made during a Buddha’s lifetime, the Buddha replied that cetiyas for a relic of memorial could be made when a Buddha would attain Nirvāṇa; but cetiyas for a relic of memorial were improper because the connection depended on the imagination only. But the great Bodhi tree used by the Buddhas was fit for a shrine, were they alive or dead.³ Notwithstanding this injunction with regard to commemorative cetiyas, there were nevertheless cetiyas made for a relic of memorial of which instances have already been cited above. Cetiyas were made in respect of much more trifling objects too; for instance, it is recorded that when Gotama had finished his bath just before he was to take the food offered by Sujātā, hundreds of thousands of devas came to the river to pick up flowers in order that they might raise cetiyas over them and worship them.⁴ These cetiyas undoubtedly refer to stūpas. The Mahāvastu refers to a Vahudeva Caitya which seems to be a cave-dwelling or a vihāra shrine.⁵ The Apadāna mentions two cetiyas namely, Buddha-cetiya and Sikhicetiya (pt. I., pp. 72 and 255). The Dhammapada commentary refers to a shrine called Aggāḷava where the Buddha is said to have spoken about a weaver’s daughter who listening to the Master’s religious discourse was established in the fruition of the first stage of sanctification.⁶ The same authority refers to a golden cetiya (Suvaṇṇa cetiya) that was being built for Kassapa Buddha who was endowed with ten potentialities. Members of the good families of Benares with cart-loads of food came to the cetiya to do the work of labourers.¹ The golden cetiya can only refer to a stūpa shrine.

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¹ It is a pre-Buddhistic cetiya (Pāli Dictionary by Rhys Davids and Stede, p. 104).

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² Jāt., II, p. 282, Ibid., III, pp. 78, 351.

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³ Jāt., IV, p. 228

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⁴ Mitra—Bodhgayā, p. 30.

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⁵ Law—A Study of the Mahāvastu, p. 153. Cf. Mahāvastu (Senart’s Ed.), III, p. 303.

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⁶ Dh C., III, pp. 170 ff.

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¹ Dh. C., IV, p. 64.

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In the Samantapāsādikā (commentary on the Vinaya-piṭaka), the Sāsanavaṃsa, the Mahābodhivaṃsa, the Dāṭhāvaṃsa, the Cūḷavaṃsa as well as the Sammohavinodani (the commentary on the Vibhaṅga) and the Manorathapūraṇī (the commentary on the Aṅguttara Nikāya) there are references to a large number of cetiyas of Ceylon. The shrine which was built on the spot where the Theras first alighted in Ceylon is called the Paṭhama cetiya,² which probably refers to a stūpa or dagoba. A pious Sāmaṇera once put three stone slabs to form steps to the courtyard of an ākāsa cetiya (sky shrine) which probably refers to a tree or stūpa shrine.³ The Buddha along with 500 Bhikkhus is said to have visited the Mahācetiya, Dīghavāpicetiya, and Kalyāṇī cetiya⁴ which probably refer to stūpa or vihāra shrines. The Thūpārāma cetiya which is a vihāra shrine still exists. The same authority refers to a cetiya near Anurādhapura where some Theras descended from the sky,⁵ as also to a golden cetiya built by prince Uttara.⁶ The golden shrine probably refers to a stūpa which in Ceylon came popularly to be known as a dagoba. The Kaṇṭaka cetiya was visited and circumambulated by Asoka before entering the city of Anurādhapura⁷; this cetiya in all probability refers to a stūpa or tree shrine round which there must have been a pradakṣiṇa (padakkhina) courtyard.

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The Sammohavinodani enjoins upon all visitors to a cetiya to go thrice round it and worship it.⁸ It is apparent from this statement that there was probably a passage of circumambulation round each shrine. The Sāsanavaṃsa refers to several cetiyas, e.g., the Pāda cetiya,⁹ the Ratana ¹⁰ cetiya and a host of others, but it is difficult to ascertain the exact nature of these cetiyas. The Mahābodhivaṃsa refers to the Dīghavāpicetiya and Silācetiya (p. 132), which were visited by the Buddha before he went to the continent of India. The Mahācetiya was also visited by Asoka where he saw a thera worshipping and saluting it with flowers (Samantapāsādikā, Vol. I, p. 101). This great shrine acquired a great sanctity as it was saluted by a large number of monks every day in the evening. In fact salutation to the Cetiyas is a religious duty of a Buddhist. We read in the Sammohavinodani (p. 292) that a thera who is free from sins salutes a great shrine. Even the sight of a shrine is considered to be auspicious (Sammohavinodani, p. 348: Cetiyadassanam sātthaṃ). The Dāṭhāvamsa mentions Cūḷamani cetiya which must have referred to a stūpa or dagoba;

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for it is described therein to have contained within it an excellent golden casket in which had been placed the lock of hair of prince Siddhārtha which he had cut off with a sharp sword, and which had been taken by Sakka.¹ The same authority refers also to the Kalyāṇi, Thūpa, and Thūpārāma cetiyas of Ceylon.² The Thūpa cetiya from its very name seems to have been a stūpa or dagoba shrine; whereas the Thūpārāma, again from its very name, was most probably a vihāra shrine. In the Manorathapūraṇī reference is made to two cetiyas, the Ākāsa cetiya (i.e., the cetiya erected by Inda, in the sky on the hair of the Bodhisatta cut off on the bank of the river Anomā) and the Mahācetiya worshipped by a minister.³ Both the shrines seem to refer to stūpas or dagobas. The Cūḷavaṃsa also refers to a large number of cetiyas of Ceylon.

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Thus it states that the city of Ceylon was once decorated up to the Ambathalā cetiya.⁴ Elsewhere reference is made to the Maṅgala cetiya to the north of which king Upatissa built a thūpa, an image and a room for keeping the image.⁵ Mention is also made of the Bahumaṅgala cetiya, the three great cetiyas,⁶ the Amala cetiya,⁷ the Hema-vāluka cetiya where an anointment ceremony was performed,⁸ the Ratanavāluka cetiya where meritorious deeds were performed⁹ and the Ratanāvali cetiya which was very extensive.¹⁰ Another cetiya is said to have been destroyed by the Damiḷas.¹¹ It is difficult to ascertain exactly the nature of these cetiyas, but most of them, it seems from their contexts, were stūpa shrines.

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² MV., XIV, 44-45 verses; Cf. Samantapāsādikā, I, p. 79.

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³ MV., 22, verse 26.

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⁴ Samantapāsādikā, I, p. 89.

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⁵ Ibid., p. 79.

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⁶ Ibid., III, p. 544.

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⁷ Ibid., I, p. 82.

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⁸ Sammohavinodani, p. 349.

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⁹ SV., p. 115.

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¹⁰ Ibid., p. 91.

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¹ Dāṭhavaṃsa (B. C. Law's edition), p. 6.

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² Ibid, pp. 12-13.

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³ Manorathapūraṇī, Sinhalese ed., p. 207.

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⁴ CV., I, p. 5 (Cetiyambathalā yāva nagaraṃ sādhu sajjita).

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⁵ Ibid., I, p. 14.

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⁶ Ibid., I, p. 27.

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⁷ Ibid., I, p. 53.

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⁸ Ibid., I, p. 131.

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⁹ Ibid., II, p. 339.

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¹⁰ Ibid., II, p. 449.

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¹¹ Ibid., II, p. 339.

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That the cetiyas also referred to assembly halls as distinguished from stūpas and vihāras is illustrated by extant rock-cut Buddhist assembly-halls at Nāsik, Bhājā, Karle and other places. These assembly-halls are still known as Caityas or Cetiyas. These halls are, in fact, rock-cut caves of an apsidal form with a small dagoba or stūpa at the end of the apse, in front of which there was the pillared hall for the assembly of worshippers. The vihāras which were either rock-cut or structural were rather of the nature of dwelling halls whereas the stūpas were of the nature of a hemispherical, and later on, cylindrical dome.

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Thus it is natural to take the term, cetiya as the most general name for any sanctuary which can well stand for a stūpa, a vihāra, an assembly hall, a tree, a memorial stone, a holy relic or object, or place, or even an image. In fact, it may mean any shrine, particularly associated with Buddhism, of any character constructed for purposes of worship or honour, or esteem and regard. Kern is, therefore, right in saying that all edifices having the character of a sacred monument are Caityas, but not all Caityas are edifices.¹

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¹ Kern, Manual of Indian Buddhism, p. 91. Eliot thinks that in Buddhist times the Cetiya became a reliquary or cenotaph generally located near a monastery and surrounded by a passage for reverential circumambulation. (Hinduism and Buddhism, Vol. II, p. 172.) Grünwedel and Burgess, on the other hand, think that the term, caitya is applied to a monument or cenotaph, and in a secondary shrine to a temple or shrine containing a Caitya or dhātugarbha. The Caityas or dagobas, they think, are an essential feature of temples or chapels, there being a passage for circumambulation round the Caitya or cetiya. According to them the Caitya, however, applies not only to sanctuaries, but to sacred trees, holy spots and other religious monuments (Buddhist Art in India, pp. 20-21). R. C. Childers in his Pāli Dictionary (p. 102) means, by the term cetiya, a religious building or shrine, a temple, a thūpa or Buddhist relic shrine, a sacred tree or a tomb. Cetiyangana means an open courtyard round a cetiya. Cf. the P.T.S. Dictionary ‘Cetiya’, p. 104.

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