Mahâ-Parinibbâna-Suttanta: The Book of the Great Decease

27. And the Blessed One, with his great and clear vision, surpassing that of ordinary men, saw thousands of those fairies haunting Pâtaligâma. And he rose up very early in the morning, and said to Ânanda: 'Who is it then, Ânanda, who is building a fortress at Pâtaligâma? 'Sunîdha and Vassakâra, Lord, the chief ministers of Magadha, are building a fortress there to keep back the Vaggians.' 28. They act, Ânanda, as if they had consulted with the Tâvatimsa, angels. [And telling him of what he had seen, and of the influence such fairies had, he added]: 'And among famous places of residence and haunts of busy men, this will become the chief, the city of Pâtali-putta, a centre for the interchange of all kinds of wares. But three dangers will hang over Pâtali-putta, that of fire, that of water, and that of dissension[1].' [1. This paragraph is of importance to the orthodox Buddhist as proving the Buddha's power of prophecy and the authority of the {footnote p. 19} Buddhist scriptures. To those who conclude that such a passage must have been written after the event that is prophesied, it is valuable evidence of the age both of the Mahâ Vagga and of the Mahâparinibbâna Sutta;--evidence, however, that cannot as yet be applied to its full extent, as the time at which Pâtali-gâma had grown into the great and important city of Pâtali-putta is not as yet known with sufficient certainty. The late Burmese tradition on this point given in Bigandet's Legend of the Burmese Buddha, vol. ii, p. 183, can scarcely be depended upon, though it doubtless rests on older documents, and is mentioned also by Hiouen Thsang.