Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/168

 136 ASOKA MAURYA until he approached the base of the outer Himalayan range. Probably he then turned westwards, without crossing the hills, and first visited the famous Lumbini Garden, the Bethlehem of Buddhism, where, according to the legend, the pains of travail came upon Maya, and she gave birth to Buddha as she stood under a tree. At this spot his guide and preceptor, Upagupta, addressed Asoka and said: " Here, great king! was the Venerable One born." A pillar inscribed with these words, still as legible as when they were incised, was set up by Asoka to preserve the memory of his visit, and stands to this day. In due course Saint Upagupta led his royal disciple to Kapilavastu, the home of Buddha's childhood; to Sarnath, near Benares, the scene of the Master's first success as a preacher; to Sravasti, where he lived for many years; to the Bodhi tree of Gaya, where he over- came the powers of darkness; and to Kusinagara, where he died. At all these holy places the king granted lib- eral endowments, and set up memorials, some of which have come to light in these latter days, after long ages of oblivion. In the year 242 B. c., when his reign had lasted for thirty years, Asoka undertook a formal retrospect of all the measures adopted by him in furtherance of the ethical reforms which he had at heart, and took the opportunity of laying down a concise code of regulations concerning the slaughter and mutilation of animals, practices which he regarded with abhorrence.