RELIGIOUS USES OF PRECIOUS STONES 239
foot troops, seized fourteen precious stones, the chief of which was vajra, the
diamond, and rejecting their grosser particles, retained only the finer
essence to aid him in his transformations. In the same sutra the
following glowing description is given of the adornment of the
surpassingly beautiful goddess Sri:25
On
all parts of her body shone ornaments and trinkets, composed of many
jewels and precious stones, yellow and red gold. The pure cup-like pair
of her breasts sparkled, encircled by a garland of Kunda flowers in
which glittered a string of pearls. She wore strings of pearls made by
clever and diligent artists, strung with wonderful strings, a necklace
of jewels with a string of Dinaras, and a trembling pair of earrings,
touching her shoulders, diffused a brilliancy; but the united beauties
and charms of these ornaments were only subservient to the loveliness
of her face.
-
As engraved decoration of a fine Chinese vase of white jade with
delicate crown markings, appear eight storks, each of which bears in
its beak an attribute of one of the Eight Taoist Immortals. Thus we
have the double gourd as attribute of the most powerful of these
demi-gods known as "Li with the Iron Crutch," whose aid is sought by
magicians and astrologers; the magic sword, with which Lu T'ung-pin
vanquished the spirits of evil that roamed through the Chinese Empire
in the form of terrible dragons; the basket of flowers, attribute of
Lan Ts 'ai-ho, the patron of gardeners and florists; the royal fan used
by Han Chung-li, of the Chow Dynasty (1122-220 B.C.), to call again to
life the spirits of the departed; the lotus flower, emblematic of the
virgin Ho Hsien-Ku, venerated somewhat as a patron saint by Chinese
housewives, and who acquired the gift of immortal life by the help of
a powder of pulverized jade and mother-of-pearl;
M Gaina Sutras, trans, from Prakrit by Hermann Jacobi; " Sacred Books of the East," vol.xxii, Oxford, 1884, pp. 227, 233.
