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OCTOBER, 1903.)
NOTES ON THE INDO-SCYTHIANS.
381
NOTES ON THE INDO-SCYTHIANS.
BY SYLVAIN LÉVI. Extracted and rendered into English, with the author's permission, from the * Journal Asiatique," July-Dec., 1896, pp. 444 to 484, and Jan. June, 1897, pp. 5 to 42,
by W. R. PHILIPPS. THERE were published not long ago by M. Sylvain Lévi, in the Journal Asiatique, some
1 interesting Notes on the Indo-Scythians, in connection with the question of the date of Kanishka and other points of early Indian history. Some people may differ from M. Lévi's conclusions, and others may think that he has not carried them quite far enough. No one, however, can fail to admire the thorough and lucid manner in which he has dealt with his subject, and to appreciate the value of the matter which he has laid before as. And an English rendering of these Notes will be acceptable and useful to students to whom the Notes themselves may not be accessible in the original. The object of this paper and its continuations is to supply what is necessary in that direction. Space has rendered some abridgment unavoidable; and, as the result, an abstract bas mostly to be offered, instead of a full translation. But all the leading features of these Notes are, it is believed, brought to the front. M. Lévi has kindly looked through a proof of the English rendering, and has made some corrections in details, and Las added some supplementary information.
M. Levi's Notes are divided as follows: Part 1.- Journal Asiatique, July-Dec., 1896, pp. 444 to 484. Stories. Part II. - Journal Asiatique, Jan-June, 1897, pp. 5 to 26. - Historical Texts, Part III. - Journal Asiatique, Jan.-Jane, 1897, pp. 27 to 42. - St. Thomas, Gondophares,
and Maxdeo.
M. Lévi's spellings of Chinese names and words are followed, but the Indian ones have been altered so as to be in harmony with the system of transliteration generally observed in the Indian Antiquary. Chinese characters, where they appear in the original, have necessarily been omitted. The figures in thick type in square brackets mark the pages of the original, to facilitate reference if it should be desired to follow up more fully any particular points.
PART I. - STORIES, [444] In the traditions of Northern Buddhism, the name of Kanishka has been surrounded with a halo, but in literature we find little information about the history or legend of this king: According to the Chronicle of Kashmir he was the founder of a town, Kanishkapura, and of several religious buildings, monasteries or temples (Rajatarangini, ed. Stein, 1, 168 seq.). The Chinese pilgrim Hiouen-tsang relates the miraculous circumstances of his conversion, predicted by the Buddbe, his pious zeal, the convocation of the last council during his reign, and mentions several times the vast extent of his dominions and the fame of his power (Vie (I.), 84, 95: Mémoires (II.), 42, 106, 113, 172, 199). The Tibetan Taranatha also relates the meeting of a great religious assembly and the prosperity of Buddhism in his reign; but expressly distinguishes him from another prince of almost the same name, whom he calls [445] Kanika (Schiefner's translation, 2, 58, 89). Coins and epigraphy have partly corrected and completed these data, and shewn the strange syncretism of this Turki king, who borrowed his gods and formulas pell-mell from China and from Iran, from Groek sources and from India. Nevertheless we do not know much about him; we can, however, get a little additional light from some of the stories preserved in the Chinese Tripitaka. M. Lévi takes these tales from three works, which, though of Indian origin, no longer exist in Sanskrit. They are the Sutralamkara, the Samyukta-ratna-pitaka, and the Dharma-pitaka-aidana-sutra (?).
