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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[APRIL, 1890.
The passage in Burnouf and Lassen's Essai referred to above, is as follows:- " According to P. Carpanus the History of the Burmans called the Maharasoen28 (a name derived doubtless from the Sanskrit Mahd-rája), states that the Pali books and written character were bronght from Ceylon to Pegu by a Brahmaņ called Buddhaghôsha (the voice of Buddha') in the year 940 of their sacred era, that is to say, in the year 397 of ours...... This introduction of Buddhism into Pegu, &c."
The Hon. George Turnour in quoting this passage,29 remarks that its authors have drawn two erroneous inferences from their materials, "First, that Buddhism was originally introduced by Buddhaghôsa into Pegu; and secondly, that his resort to the eastern peninsula was the consequence of his expulsion from India under the persecution of the Brahmans." Whether that inference respecting his missionary work was justified or otherwise, the Siamese have a similar more general tradition of the introduction of Buddhism amongst the Southern Buddhists by Buddhaghosa :-"The Buddhist religion, according to the Siamese priests, was introduced into Ceylon 236 years after the death of Gautama,30 or in the 236th year of their sacred era, by Prah-Putha-Kosa."31 It will be observed that in this Siamese tradition, Buddhaghosa takes the place of Mahinda in the Ceylonese legends, both as regards the work attributed to him and his proximate date. Professor Rhys Davids has put this tradition in a sounder form, correcting the chronological discrepancy :-"From Ceylon it [Buddhism) was introduced into Burma in the 5th century A.D.,32 whence it penetrated into Arakan, Kamboja, and Pegu, and finally into Siam in the 7th century of our era."33 The same tradition in the main is given by Col. Sir H. Yule :-"Kambojan legend, like that of nearly all the Indo-Chinese countries, couples the introduction of Buddhism (perhaps rather its re-introduction) with the name of Buddhaghôsha. However that may be, it is about the 1000th year of Buddha i.e. according to the ordinary calculation 457 A.D.), and near the date usually assigned to Buddhaghôsha, that the traditions place a great king, Phutamma Surivong, &c."34
The Burmese History, called by Carpanius the Maharazoen, is the (Maháyúsawin) Vahárája-weng, - Buchanan's Maha-rasa-wayn-gye and Burney's Maha-Yazowen or Yajawen.35 It was from this source that Colonel Burney obtained the materials for his papers on Burma in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.36 Sir Arthur Phayre used it still more largely in his contributions to the same Journal, 37 and subsequently in his History of Burma.38 It had been previously referred to also by Buchanan in his paper " On the Religion and Literature of the Burmese" in the Asiatic Researches, 39 and by Leyden in the paper referred to above. It exists in what may be called three recensions, or editions, The Great, The Middle,' and The New Yüzawiņ,'41 which differ from each other in their versions of the legends, and also in the dates
28 The word is written in Burmese in characters corresponding to the Devanagari HETTI Maharjavaria, and is always pronounced Mahüyazarcin according to the rules of Burmese phonetics." The learned" will sometimes t.se Mahardzarcin ; Phayre's Maha Raja-reng is fanciful as usual. Burnouf and Lassen were quite right 19 to the derivation of the word. It is merely Mahardjavarlsa - Genealogy of the Great Kings,' minus the last letter or syllable, as is common in Burmese. Like derivatives are Dipawin, Bogddwin (Buddhavainsa), and Mahawin.R.C.T.] 29 Turnour's Mahawanso. Introd. p. XXI.
30 B.C. 307 31 Crawfurd's Siam, Vol. II. p. 91. [Prah = 'lord.' In Burmese Bhurd as spelt, or Payd as pron. =' lord master: venerable as applied to things and men, to Buddha himself and to God.'-R. C. T.]
32 N.B. This is the Mahavarka date of Buddhaghộsa.-T. F. 33 Encycl. Brit. Vol. IV. p. 437, v. 'Buddhism. See also ibid. Vol. XXI. p. 854, v. 'Siam.' 34 Encycl. Brit. Vol. IV. p. 724, v.' Cambodia.
35 [All these are forms of the Burmese Mahayaxawin above explained. Maharaswayngye Maháydxaucingvi. Burm. kyf, which in comp. after a nasal, sonant or open vowel = gyf, or more usually simply jf, means 'great' and is suffixed to words and names to imply venerability.-R. C. T.)
56 Vols. IV. V. VI., A.D. 1835, 1886, 1887. See also his paper in Gleanings of Science, Vol. III. (1831),
pp. 182, 184
37 Vols. XXXIII. XXXVII. XLII., A.D. 1864, 1868, 1873. 39 Vol. VI. (1799), p. 303. 41 Jour. As. Soc. Beng. Vol. XXXVII. pp. 80, 81.
38 In Trübner's Oriental Series, 19 As. Res. Vol. X. (1808), p. 234.
