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V, 24.
THE DIFFERENCES OF THE LIKKHAVIS.
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Mândhâtri, the Kakravartin monarchs, and the rest, these and all others like them, 1881
The former conquerors (Ginas), who lived with strength. like Isvara, these all have long ago perished, not one remains till now; 1882
The sun and moon, Sakra himself, and the great multitude of his attendants, will all, without exception, perish ?; there is not one that can for long endure; 1883
* All the Buddhas of the past ages, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, by their wisdom enlightening the world, have all gone out as a lamp2; 1884
*All the Buddhas yet to come will also perish in the same way; why then should I alone be different? I too will pass into Nirvana ; 1885
'But as they prepared others for salvation, so now should you press forward in the path ; Vaisålt may be glad indeed, if you should find the way of rest! 1886
The world, in truth, is void of help, the "three worlds” not enough for joy-stay then the course of sorrow, by engendering a heart without desire. 1887
Give up for good the long and straggling (way of life), press onward on the northern tracks, step by
That the gods were considered to be mortal appears, as Wilson says (Rig-veda, vol. i, p. 7 n), from the title (nara) given to them. Compare also Coxe, Mythol. II, p. 13, and Muir, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1864, p. 62.
This idea of a lamp going out is a fundamental one as a definition of Nirvâna (paggotassa nibbânam). Its meaning has been discussed by Professor Max Müller in his Introduction to Buddhaghosha's Parables (by Captain Rogers). . That is, the northern track of the sun.
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