Page:Asoka - the Buddhist Emperor of India.djvu/258

256 burned alive, and the king ‘placed the price of a dînâra on the head of every Brahmanical ascetic.

Now, when the proclamation was published Vîtâ-soka, clad in his beggar’s garb, happened to be lodging for the night in the hut of a. cowherd. The good wife, seeing the unkempt and dishevelled appearance of her guest, was convinced that he must be one of the proclaimed ascetics, and persuaded her husband to slay him in order to earn the reward. The cowherd carried his victim's head to the king, who was horrified at the sight, and was persuaded by his ministers to revoke the proclamation. Not only did he revoke the cruel proclamation, but he.gave the world peace by ordaining that henceforth no one should be put to death.

In Fa-hien's version of the legend the brother of the king is anonymous. The pilgrim tells us that the younger brother of King Asoka lived the life of a recluse on the Vulture's Peak hill near Râjagriha, where he had attained to the rank of a saint (arhat). The king invited the recluse to the palace, but the invitation was declined. The king then promised that if his brother would accept the invitation, he would make a hill for him inside the city. 'Then the king; providing all sorts of meat and drink, invited the genii, and addressed them thus: "I. beg you to accept my invitation for to-morrow; but as there are no seats, I must request you each to bring