Reverence Be To the Blessed One, the Arahat, the Sammā-Sambuddha.
King Milinda, at Sāgala the famous town of yore,
To Nāgasena, the world famous sage, repaired.
(So the deep Ganges to the deeper ocean flows.)
To him, the eloquent, the bearer of the torch
Of Truth, dispeller of the darkness of men’s minds,
Subtle and knotty questions did he put, many,
Turning on many points. Then were solutions given
Profound in meaning, gaining access to the heart,
Sweet to the ear, and passing wonderful and strange.
For Nāgasena’s talk plunged to the hidden depths
Of Vinaya and of Abhidhamma (Law and Thought)
Unravelling all the meshes of the Suttas’ net,
Glittering the while with metaphors and reasoning high.
Come then! Apply your minds, and let your hearts rejoice,
And hearken to these subtle questionings, all grounds
Of doubt well fitted to resolve.
Thus hath it been handed down by tradition—There is in the country of the Yonakas a great centre of trade, a city that is called Sāgala, situate in a delightful country well watered and hilly, abounding in parks and gardens and groves and lakes and tanks, a paradise of rivers and mountains and woods. Wise architects have laid it out, and its people know of no oppression, since all their enemies and adversaries have been put down. Brave is its defence, with many and various strong towers and ramparts, with superb gates and entrance archways; and with the royal citadel in its midst, white walled and deeply moated. Well laid out are its streets, squares, cross roads, and market places. Well displayed are the innumerable sorts of costly merchandise with which its shops are filled. It is richly adorned with hundreds of alms-halls of various kinds; and splendid with hundreds of thousands of magnificent mansions, which rise aloft like the mountain peaks of the Himalayas. Its streets are filled with elephants, horses, carriages, and foot-passengers, frequented by groups of handsome men and beautiful women, and crowded by men of all sorts and conditions, Brahmans, nobles, artificers, and servants. They resound with cries of welcome to the teachers of every creed, and the city is the resort of the leading men of each of the differing sects. Shops are there for the sale of Benares muslin, of Koṭumbara stuffs, and of other cloths of various kinds; and sweet odours are exhaled from the bazaars, where all sorts of flowers and perfumes are tastefully set out. jewels are there in plenty, such as men’s hearts desire, and guilds of traders in all sorts of finery display their goods in the bazaars that face all quarters of the sky. So full is the city of money, and of gold and silver ware, of copper and stone ware, that it is a very mine of dazzling treasures. And there is laid up there much store of property and corn and things of value in warehouses-foods and drinks of every sort, syrups and sweetmeats of every kind. In wealth it rivals Uttara-kuru, and in glory it is as Āḷakamandā, the city of the gods.
Having said thus much we must now relate the previous birth history of these two persons (Milinda and Nāgasena) and the various sorts of puzzles. This we shall do under six heads:—
- Their previous history (Pubba-yoga).
- The Milinda problems.
- Questions as to distinguishing characteristics.
- Puzzles arising out of contradictory statements.
- Puzzles arising out of ambiguity.
- Discussions turning on metaphor.
And of these the Milinda problems are in two divisions-questions as to distinctive characteristics, and questions aiming at the dispelling of doubt; and the puzzles arising out of contradictory statements are in two divisions—the long chapter, and the problems in the life of the recluse.