A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s5.55

v2.c19.s5.55

³ In all this, the Nidāna-Kathā has only slightly embellished the miracles told in Dīghanikāya, 14 and Majjhimanikāya, 123. The "white elephant," it is true, does not as yet appear in the Pāli Canon, though it is to be found on the rocks of Kalsi and Dhauli, which contain edicts of King Aśoka, the one on the Kalsi rock bearing the inscription: gajatame, "the best elephant." A relief on the East gate of the stūpa at Sānchi represents the conception of Buddha, showing how he penetrates into the womb of Māyā in the shape of an elephant. *Cf.* E. Hultzsch, The Inscriptions of Aśoka, pp. xiii, 26 f., 27 note 2, 50, 51; *A. Foucher*, The Beginnings of Buddhist Art, p. 92; *Windisch*, Buddhas Geburt, pp. 5 ff., 155 ff.