1: The Birth of the Bodhisatta – 251
Having said this, he faced the direction of Kapilavatthu where the prince was
and made obeisance by raising his clasped hands in veneration. Thereafter, he
put his bowl in a bag, slung it on his shoulder and entered the Himālayas.
Waiting for the Buddha there in the forest, he devoted himself to asceticism.
99
The 32 Marks of a Great Man
On the fifth day after the birth of the prince, his father, King Suddhodana, held
the head-washing ceremony, and with the idea to name his son, he had his
palace pervaded with four kinds of fragrant powder: jasmine (
tagara
), cloves
(
lavaṅga
), saffron (
kuṅkuma
), and cinnamon (
tamāla
), and strewn with the five
kinds of bulbs: grass (
saddala
), rice, mustard seeds, jasmine buds and puffed rice.
He had also pure milk rice cooked without any water, and having invited 108
learned Brahmins who were accomplished in the three Vedas and given them
good, clean seats prepared in the palace, he served them with the delicious milk
rice.
The enumeration of the four kinds of fragrant powder here is in
accordance with that given in the sub-commentary on the Discourse about
the Trainee (
Sekha-sutta
, MN 53) and in the sub-commentary on the Long
Discourse about the Emancipation (
Mahā-parinibbāna-sutta
, DN 16).
In the sub-commentary on the Discourse about King Mahā Suddasana
(
Mahā-sudassana-sutta
, DN 17), however, saffron is replaced by
frankincense (
turukkha
); in the exposition of the Introduction to the Birth
Stories (
Jātaka-nidāna
), etc., the enumeration is black sandalwood,
jasmine, camphor and essence of sandalwood; in the Light on the
Dictionary (
Abhidhānappadīpikā
) glossary the four are saffron, cloves,
jasmine and frankincense; the sub-commentary on the Discourse
containing the Explanation of the Corrupt (
Avassuta-pariyāya-sutta
, SN
35.243) has saffron, frankincense, cloves, and cinnamon; the Garland of
Decorative Stories (
Mālālaṅkāra-vatthu
) has Sāla, great jasmine, camphor
essence and sandalwood essence; and the Illustration of the Meaning of the
Victor (
Jinattha-pakāsanī
) mentions aloe (
aguru
), jasmine, camphor and
sandalwood.
99
In connection with the birth of the prince, the history of his lineage, together with the
founding of Kapilavatthu city, is mentioned in the Further Explanations.