Ashoka's debating bell becomes silent

) Railli/ 

Establishing the sound of the ghanta: Huen Tsang says northwest of the O-mo-lo-kia (Modern day Lemuabad) stupa in the middle of an old sanghdharma is a stupa that is called “establishing the sound of the ghanta.” I will quote the last para of page 96 of Si-Yu-Ki. “To the north-west of Amalaka stupa, in the middle of an old sahghardma, is a stdpa; it is called “ establishing the sound of the ghanta {Kin-t'i)." At first there were about 100 sanghdrdmas in this city; the priests were grave and learned, and of high moral character. The scholars among the heretics were silent and dumb. But afterwards, when that generation of priests had died out, their suc¬ cessors were not equal to those gone before. Then the teachers of the heretics, during the interval, gave themselves to earnest study with a view to the mastery. Whereupon they summoned their partisans, numbering 10,000, to assemble together within the priest's precincts, and then they addressed them saying, with a loud voice, “ Strike loudly the ghanta and summon all the learned men; let the foolish ones also stop and dispute; if we are wrong, let them overthrow us ” (or, to overthrow their errors). ” From this paragraph we realize religious debates took place between Buddhists and Hindus here. Every time the Buddhists won the bell would ring making a din informing the people of Pataliputra of the victory. Today northwest of Lemuabad village is a village called Railli. Like Lemuabad it is on top of a stupa. The name Railli itself means to make a din. The local folklore in the village is that debates took place here. According to Huen Tsang the heretics (Hindus) once won the debate for 14 years in a row. They didn’t allow the bell to ring until a disciple of Nagarjuna came from south India and challenged the heretics (Hindus) to a debate and won. The bell once more rang. Sadly that very same bell was stolen forty years ago or we would have still had it.#buddha #buddhism