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TRIBES IN ANCIENT INDIA main hills of Gayā) and halted with the Jatila converts on his way to the city of Rājagļha. The Pāsānaka-cetiya (Pāsāna-caitya) is famous in Buddhist tradition as the place where the Buddha had delivered the Pārāyaṇa Discourses, now embodied in the concluding book of the Suttanipāta.3 Other places which find mention in Pāli literature are Macalagāma,4 Maạimālaka-cetiya - and Andhaka-vindha.
The Majjhima Nikāya describes Senānigāma, one of the villages of Magadha, as a very nice place having a beautiful forest and a river with transparent water. It was a prosperous village, alms being easily obtainable there.?
As already indicated, the later capital of Magadha was Pāțaliputra, near Patna of the present day, the seat of the Government of Bihar. Its ancient Sanskrit names were Kusumapura and Puspapura, from the numerous flowers which grew in the royal enclosure. The Greek historians call it Palibothra, and the Chinese pilgrims Pa-lin-tou.
Hsüan Tsang, the great Chinese traveller, gives the following account of the legendary origin of the name of the city. Once upon a time, a very learned Brahmin had a large number of disciples. On one occasion a party of these disciples were wandering in a wood, and one youth among them appeared unhappy and disconsolate.
To amuse the gloomy youth, his companions arranged a mock marriage for him. A man and a woman were chosen to represent the bridegroom's parents, and another couple, the parents of the imaginary bride. They were all near a Pāțali tree, which was chosen to symbolise the bride. All the ceremonies of marriage were gone through, and the man acting as father of the bride broke off a branch of the Pāšali tree and gave it to the bridegroom. When all was over, his companions wanted the pseudo-bridegroom to go with them, but he insisted on remaining near the tree. Here at dusk an old man appeared with his wife and a young maiden, whom he gave
1 Vinaya, Mahāvagga, I, p. 35; Fausböll, Jātaka, I, pp. 83-5; Samantapāsādikā, Ceylonese Ed., p. 158; D. N. Sen, Rājgir and its neighbourhood, p. 13; Mahāvastu, III, p. 441; Watters, On Yuan Chwang, II, pp. 146–8; see also Ancient Geography of India, p. 529.
2 Commentary on the Cullaniddesa, Siamese Ed., p. 270. 3 Suttanipāta, pp. 218ff.
+ Fausböll, Jataka, I, pp. I99-206; Dhammapada Co ., I, pp. 265-80; Sumangalavilāsinā, III, pp. 710ff.
| 5 Samyutta Nikaya, I, p. 208.
6 Vinaya, Mahāvagga, I, p. 109. Andhakavinda was connected with Rājagaha by a cart-road.
71, pp. 166-7. 15B
