On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c19.141

v2.c19.141

The tank, rock, and two topes of this passage were all associated in the pilgrim’s mind with one story, and Julien has somewhat spoiled the description by translating huan-cho (浣濯) by “se baigner”. The words, as the context shews, mean “wash his garments”. All the four objects here mentioned preserved the memory of the following legend. Sometime before Siddhārtha became Buddha an old woman of the Uruvilvā district was left out to die in the wood near the Bodhi Tree. While here she gave her poor ragged garment to the P'usa, and when he became Buddha he wished to wear it. But as it was dirty he wanted to wash it before putting it on, and Indra, knowing his desire, produced a river (or tank) near the Bodhi Tree. Having washed the garment, Buddha wanted a rock on which to dry it, and Indra produced the rock.¹ Other versions of the legend represent Buddha as picking up the dirty garment in a cemetery, and, when he wanted to wash it before putting it on, a deva produced a tank, and Indra a rock.² Some accounts describe Indra as producing the tank by pointing to the ground, and so it was called "Pointing-to-earth-Tank (ch'i-ti-ch'i 指地池).³ In the "Lalitavistara" it is called Pāṇihata or "Hand-struck" because a deva produced it by striking the ground. The garment which Buddha washed in Indra's tank is often called a "dirt-heap garment", and in the "Lalitavistara" it is a pāṇḍudukūla or yellow robe, the burial-dress of the slave girl which Buddha took from the dead body to wear.⁴