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Satsahasrika Hevajra Tika A Critical Edition Malati J.
Shendge Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Malati J. Shendge
ISBN(s): 9788177020656, 817702065X
File Details: PDF, 14.16 MB
Year: 2004
Language: english
Malati J. Shendge
SATSÀHASRIKÀ-HEVAJRA-TÎKÀ
sa
•
t• s Ah a sr ik A-h ev a jr a - t• îk à
A Critical Edition

Edited by
Malati J. Shendge

PRATIBHA PRAKASHAN
D ELH I! 10007
First Edition : 2004

© Malati J. Shendge 2004

ISBN : 81-7702-065-X

P rice : Rs. 1 5 0 0 /-
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Dedicated to the Memory o f
My Teachers
Professor R.D. Vadekar
and
Professor V.V. Gokhale
in their
Birth Centenary
 Preface
I am delighted to present this critical edition o f Sat-sahasrika-hevajra-
tika, the first fruit o f my research endeavour, to the Buddhist world.
A long with it, other material relevant to the Hevajra-tantra is also
included. All this work was done between 1960-63 as part o f my doctoral
dissertation.
As many readers may recall, hardly anything was known about
Vajrayana at the time. Nor is the situation any the better now. But
personally I think after all these years I have developed some insights
into its nature. This is due to the base prepared in those early years.
Let m e quote from my preface to the dissertation : “...I found that in
order to conduct scientific research in this field, it is essential to observe
certain principles. First, Vajrayana should be treated in its totality as
one religio-philosophical system... Instead o f treating various texts as
independent isolated works, they should be treated as parts o f a system
(o f thoughts) and should be interpreted in connection with other
correlated texts which will lead to the understanding o f its philosophical
background. This is o f first-rate importance in Buddhist Tan trism as it
is not only a philosophy but also a religion, and certain practices severed
from their philosophical background will lead (as in reality they have)
to many a misunderstanding about the nature o f Buddhist Tan trism as
religion.” Now I would like to add that in order to appreciate the true
significance o f a given religion, it needs to be studied in.its indigenous
context and it is unjustifiable to analyse its concepts and doctrines from
the standpoint o f the concepts o f other cultures or religions. Such a
study does not lead to the understanding o f the system in hand. In
fact, its true understanding may be marred and the study may result in
a mere verbal circus leading to intellectual obfuscation. The task o f
understanding a given culture by a practitioner o f another is itself a
daunting on e, and in fact som e social anthropologists like Henry
Frankfort have thought it pratically impossible. I have independently
com e to the conclusion that understanding o f an alien culture is indeed
difficult, and more so that o f Indian culture by a foreigner as it was
 viii

born and developed over five millennia, and carries within its fold
innumerable survivals o f earlier ages.
This is not to say that I have succeeded in bringing the Vajrayanic
teaching any way within the grasp o f the present day reader— far from
it. Only point I can add after all these years that systems like Vajrayana
are not for mere intellectual discussions carried on in contexts o f
philosophy, philology, collation o f manuscripts, critical editions and
dissertations. The awakened ones i.e. those apparajakkha-jatikas, as Pali
Buddhism calls them, must really search for an experienced guru and
then drink deep at that fountain o f knowledge only to experience all
that. N o am o u n t o f wordy know ledge is co m p lete w ithout that
experience and once set on the path the traveller never looks back.
Buddhism is world’s first rational religion, thought out logically by
a human being who existed historically. In this event m an’s religious
thinking rooted in reason, in other words, reason itself, came o f age.
This is a very unique circumstance as far as a religion is concerned.
Even though several centuries o f thought developm ent intervened
betw een the Buddha and the onset o f Vajrayana, still there is an
underlying thought and conceptual continuity which must be noted.
What appear to be the changes, are attempts to spell out the psychic
experiences and also they endeavour to bring Buddhism closer to the
aspirants through use o f new yogic techniques which may not have
been known earlier or also could have been rejected by the Buddha
because o f his preoccupation with self dependence. In fact the Buddha’s
preachings do not describe the psychic experiences. He discouraged
his disciples from indulging in philosophical speculations and also
descriptions o f experiences barring a few landmarks. But later on this
aspect came to be developed in detail. Vajrayana has to be looked at as
such,a development. All that looks obscure in Vajrayana are generally
the inner experiences o f the practicants expressed in words. Unless
o n e undergoes them , it is practically im possible to recognise or
understand them.
In the initial stages o f my study o f Tibetan language, I appealed to
His Holiness the Dalai Lama who had just arrived in India (1959), for
advice and assistance. I owe a deep debt o f gratitude to His Holiness
for prompt reply and arrangement for my study in Mussorie. Mrs Mary
Tering gave me lesson«; to I egin with. I remember her with affection
and gratitude.
 ix

I must also express my sincerest gratitude to Late Professor R.D.

Vadekar for all manner o f assistance, encouragem ent and unsparingly
bestowed care, affection, and guidance in the interest o f enhancem ent
o f knowledge.
I am deeply grateful to Late Professor Dr. V.V. Gokhale who is sadly
enough no more with us to see the work done under his guidance in
print. I cannot help reminiscing in the manner o f his guidance. After
reading the manuscript o f Hevajratika the problem o f tracing the
quotations arose. I expected his expert help and advice. However, he
left all that to me and I must confess that I was baffled but was compelled
to find my own way. Ultimately I succeeded in tracing all the quotations
from multifarious and more often than not unheard o f texts. This I
considered more o f a miracle than an intelligence oriented pursuit.
But Dr. Gokhale’s greatest gift to me has been the opening o f a critical
eye which has stood me in good stead through these years.
Thanks are due to K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna for lending
the use o f the photographic negative o f the manuscript o f Satsahasrika-
hevajra-tika through the University o f Bombay and also to the Bihar
and Orissa Research Society which gave me access to their collection
o f Tibetan Manuscripts. Thanks are also due to the Department o f
Buddhist studies, University o f Delhi for making available to me a
microfilm o f another manuscript o f the said tika and o f Srisahajasiddhi
from the Bir library, Kathmandu with the generous permission o f the
Nepal governm ent and the Indian Aid Mission (Nepal) and also its
copy from the collection o f Oriental Institute, Baroda. I must also
m ention the facilities extended to me for the collation o f the Tibetan
T ext (sD e.rge edn) available in the collection o f Benares H indu
University, Varanasi. Finally this work was possible at that time because
o f the financial support by way o f a fellowship extended to me by the
Department o f Buddhist Studies, University o f Delhi. Amongst those
who rendered multifarious assistance and to whom I would like to
express rrty sincere thanks, I m ention Mr. Ryojun Sato, Lama Chimpa,
Mrs. Yang and Mr. Raghavendrachar.

Saraswati-Prasad, Malati J. Shendge

1603 Sadashiv Peth,
Pune-411 030
 Abbreviations
1. DVP — Dakini-vajra-pahjara-mahdtantrardja-kalpa, PTT, Vo. I. 10.
2. GS — Guhyasamaja, ed. B. Bhattacarya, Gaekwad Oriental Series,
Vol. LUI, 1931.
3. HT — Heuajra-tantrardja-ndma, ed. D.L. Snellgrove, London, 1959.
4. HtT — Satsdharikd-hevajra-tlka (manuscripts)
(a) N = Nor monastery ms. preserved in photographs in the
collection o f K.P.J. Research Institute, Patna, Bihar.
(b) B = Microfilm o f Bir Library ms. c 93 (M.L. 250) in the
c o lle ctio n o f the D ep artm ent o f B uddhist Studies,
University o f Delhi, Delhi.
T ib eta n translation o f H ti : kyehi.rdo.rje.bsd.us.pahi.don.gyi.
rgya.cher.bsad.pa, PTT, Vol. 53. 2310.
5. PTT-Tibetan Tripitaka, Peking edition, Photographic reprint,
Tokyo-Kyoto, 1955 ff.
6. Snsahaja-siddki-ndma, Dombl Heruka (manuscript)
(a) O : The photographs o f the ms. preserved in the collection o f
the library o f Oriental Institute, Baroda.
B : Microfilm o f the ms. o f the Bir Library, Nepal, in the
c o lle ctio n o f the D ep artm en t o f B uddhist Studies,
University o f Delhi, Delhi.
(b) Trans. dPal.lhan.cigskyes.pa.zes.bya.ba, PTT, Vol. 68.3067.
7. Tib. trans.— Tibetan translation.
8. rGyud.sde.spyihi.mam.gzag, bSod.nams.rtse.mo, Sa.skya.bkah.hbum
(ga), K.P.J. Research Institute Collection.
 Contents

Preface vii-ix
Abbreviations x
Introduction 1-6
Satsahasrika-hevajra-tlka (Sanskrit Text) 7-66
Satsahasrika-hevajra-tika (Tibetan Text) 67-140
English Translation 141-209
English Summaries 210-239
Notes to Sanskrit Text 240-274
Notes to English Translation 275-283
Appendix I C olophons o f the patalas o f the Htl 284-288
Appendix II Srisahajasiddhi, with Tibetan translation, 289-309
notes and English translation
Appendix III The literary forms o f tantras 336-348
Appendix IV The place o f Hevajratantra in the Tibetan 349-363
canonical literature
Index 364-375
 Introduction
1. Description o f the m ss: In the preparation o f the critical editio
o f Hevajra-tika two manuscripts were utilised. O ne is a photostat copy
o f the manuscript discovered in Nor monastery, Tibet, by R. Sankrt-
yayana (RS). The other is the microfilm o f the manuscript preserved
in the Bir Library, Nepal. Both the mss are incomplete.
The present photostat copy o f the Nor ms. belongs to the collection
o f K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna. It was photographed by RS
in Tibet and is m entioned in his “List o f the palm leaf Ms. from Tibet”.1
The ms. is written on palm leaf and is in good condition. It is pinned
on a w ooden board and many letters are lost under the pins. There are
in all six big plates o f the size o f 12 * 9.5 each containing ten folios i.e.
in all there are thirty folios and sixty pages available. The heading on
each page is Dasasdhasrikd-hevajra-tikdwritten in devanagari, (obviously
by the photographer) accompanied by plate-number. On the first folio
o f the ms. the title o f the text is written in Tibetan dbu.rned script as :
dgye.pa.rdor. hi. hgrel.pa.rdo. rje.snin.pohi (hevajra-tika-Vajragarbhasya) .
Above the title is written Vajragarbha (in devanagari) who proves to
be, in the course o f the text, the author o f the tika. The manuscript is
written in one handwriting throughout and is fairly legible. Wherever
the scribe has made mistakes he has put two dots on the top o f the
letter to indicate cancellation. There are a few scribal errors or slips o f
the pen. The manuscript must have been used very carefully as none
o f the pages are in any way damaged and there are no marginal notes,
etc. But the last page o f the ms. contains an account o f the grains
donated to a monastery called Sri Raudharmamahavihara in the
Samvatsara 210 i.e. circa 1098.
Paleographic Data of the m ss: Num erals: The method o f pagination
is a mixture o f ancient and modern style i.e. the figure numerals are
similar to those given in Biihler’s pi. 9 Nepal MS. no. 866 but the tens
2 Satsdhasrikd-hevajra-tika

are indicated by adding a zero which suggests a later date, i.e. later
than 8th century. But from the evidence furnished by B en d all’s
C atalogue o f Sanskrit B uddhist m anuscripts in the C am bridge
University library2 it is clear that this manuscript belongs to the early
part o f 11 th century or a little earlier than that, as the numerals o f the
ms. no. 866 Astasdhasrikdprajndpdramita agree with this except in the
zero written below the figures indicating 10, 20, 30.
The script is hooked NewarT and many letters are similar to those
given in Ojha’s chart “no. 24 -nepal se mile hue hastalikhita pustaka men
(10th century A .D .)”.S
Bir library ms. o f which a microfilm was used bears the no. c 93
(M.L. 250) on the title page. It is a palm leaf manuscript broken in
many places; but fortunately no letters are lost. Many times the letters
are faint and blurred. This ms. is also a fragment and contains 28 folios,
followed by a folio numbered 29, followed by another fol. 29 but the
contents o f this fol. 29 are not a continuation o f the previous page and
a big gap becom es obvious from the Nor ms. Thereupon follows a folio
num bered 44, the last two lines o f which are inconsistent and added
from the later part o f the text. The numerals indicate that the ms.
belongs to the latter half o f 14th c. A.D. The script is devanagari.
Both the mss. are incomplete. But Nor MS. is the longer. A third
manuscript, I am told, is available in the library of Field Marshal Samsher
Jung, but it is also fragmentary. The extent o f the Tibetan translation
available in Peking edition o f Tibetan Tripitaka4 is 130 folios and a
comparison o f the Sanskrit text o f the Nor MS. shows that the fragmen­
tary Sanskrit text is only a fifth part o f the whole commentary.
I have used the Peking edition o f the Tibetan Tripitaka, collating it
with the sDe.rge edition (Benares Hindu University Collection) which
was found to be deficient in Folios 3 and 12-24.
The em endations suggested in the text are in general based on the
Tibetan translation, unless otherwise m entioned. All the variant read­
ings are noted in the footnotes. The additions to the ms. in cases where
the readings o f the MSS. are found defective are based on the Tibetan
translations and marked by square [....... ] brackets. The verses are
num bered in order to facilitate references. N o such arrangement is
followed in the MSS.
Introduction 3

2 .The authorship : The author o f the tika describes him self as

Dasabhumisvara Vajragarbha. He probably lived about the beginning
o f the 8th century.
But there are certain points which may perhaps lead on e to
hypothesize that the com m entary was begun by Vajragarbha and
com pleted by somebody else. The reasons are as follows :
(i) Both the available Sanskrit manuscripts o f the commentary
are incom plete (as well as the third which I had not the
op p ortu n ity to u se). T he T ibetan translation was also
interrupted after the tenth pariccheda (yohs.su.bcad.pa) o f the
tika.
(ii) The colophons o f the Sanskrit fragment and its Tib. translation
upto 10th pariccheda read as “Satsdhasrikdyam hevajratikayam
... etc.” But after the tenth, they read as (Kyehi.rdo.rjehi.nos.pahi.
don.gyi.rgya.cher.bsad.pa.las ... (name o f the patala) rgya.cher.
bsad.pa.ste ... (serial number o f the patala) (i.e. Hevajrasya
nitarthatikayam ... patalasya-tika ...). As is obvious the title and
colophon is completely changed and moreover, for no obvious
reason. The title o f the tika as given in the colophon o f the
first ten chapters seems to be its legitimate title. Because in
the introductory chapter he says : “This tika following the
mulatantra and containing 6000 slokas is inspired by Hevajra
in order to explain the tantra. ” Thus the extent o f the tika
supposedly is six thousand slokas, but a rough calculation shows
that it is less than six thousand.
(iii) In the first ten paricichedas, every pariccheda does not necessarily
constitute a complete commentary o f the corresponding patala
and at the com pletion o f the com m entary on the patala
another colophon stating the name o f the patala is added and
paricchedas are counted independently o f the patalas. But after
the 10th pariccheda, the paricchedas vanish altogether and only
the patalas are counted and each patala has a corresponding
patala in the commentary. This means that the original plan
o f the tikdwdiS completely changed. What could be the possible
reason for such a drastric change?
Perhaps the part o f the commentary written by Vajragarbha was
upto the ninth patala and later on somebody else has com peleted it.
4 Satsahasrika-hevajra-tika

This is the only possible explanation o f the change in the plan o f the
tika, as there is no reason for Vajragarbha to change it, had he him self
com pleted it. Moreover it is not at all likely that the translators would
have anyway tampered with the text.
If at all there had been such a change in the com poser o f the
commentary, the next problem that is to be faced is o f the identification
o f the person. No direct clues in this connection are available but a
statement in the colophon o f the Hevajra-tika may enable us to form a
plausible hypothesis. In the colophon he says “ Vajragarbha has written
the com m entaries on the Hevajra o f five lakh, Paramaditantra and
Laksabhidhanatantra etc.” Out o f these tikas referred to here the first
m entioned only is available and that is the only work attributed to
Vajragarbha in bsTan.hgyur ard the one writer who seems to have
com m ented on the other two tantras is Anandagarbha5 and it might be
he who has perhaps com pleted the Hevajratika. We do not know much
about his date, but since he also refers to the mulatantra in the course
o f the part o f the tika written by him, he may not have been far removed
from Vajragarbha himself. It is not impossible that he was one o f the
immediate disciples o f Vajragarbha him self and was well-acquainted
with the ideas o f his guru.
But Vajragarbha was no doubt a person o f authority and this name
is his assumed name or one which was bestowed on him at the time o f
his initiation. The fact that he is not included in the list o f 84 Siddhas
does not make him any the less important. To me the cause o f this
appears to be in the fact that he lived long before the tradition o f the
Siddhas. T he very fact that he could found a separate school is a
testimony to his critical acumen as well as authority. In the colophon
o f the tika are laid down the injunctions as to the study o f the tantra.
He recom m ends discussion o f the tika without acrimony and the
com prehension o f the secret, the avoidance o f association with hypo­
crites and the secret worship o f Vajrdcdrya. He also points out to the
manner in which this tika should be studied, i.e. the relation between
the nitartha and neyartha should be the main concern without paying
attention to those self-assured people who would not believe in the
authority o f this commentary.6
In the arrangement o f the tika a definite plan is followed by the
writer. The tika is introduced by a lengthy pariccheda o f general nature
in w hich the author co n d em n s the bad teachers who advocate
Introduction 5

malpractices. The following paricchedas are always introduced by the

salutation to Hevajra and a short introductory passage, after which he
takes up the tantra. He generally quotes the text in full and proceeds
to explain its m eaning but does not discuss it in detail. In fact this is
the characteristic o f a tika which is defined by Hemacandra (quoted in
Vacaspatyam) as tika nirantara vyakhya panjika padabhanjika.
From the point o f view o f relation between mulatantra, laghutantra
and the tika, the first pariccheda is o f great importance. Also the extent
o f each is given by the author. The verse runs as follow s: ‘T his com m en­
tary, inspired by Hevajra, contains 6000 slokas and follows the mulatantra
in its revelation o f the tantra. The smaller tantra with 750 slokas and
containing many vajrapadas has been selected from the larger tantra o f
five lakh slokas. ” This reference to the extent o f the mulatantra, shorter
tantra and the tika seems to be wrongly interpreted by Snellgrove. He
says, “In his Introduction Vajragarbha announces his intention o f
explaining the short version o f 750 slokas which com es out o f the long
version o f 500,000 slokas ‘in conformity with the basic tantra (mulatantra),
the fundam ental text o f 6000 slokas. ’ H e confuses the matter by
sometimes referring to this work as the ‘basic tantra o f 500,000 slokas’,
a confusion probably arising from vagueness concerning this long
version, the existence o f which tradition m aintained.”7 However, there
is no confusion in Vajragarbha’s statement. His 6000 slokas clearly refer
to the extent o f the tika and not that o f the mulatantra, as has been
interpreted by Snellgrove.
3. Language o f the tika: It is not necessary to go into the linguisti
details. However, here a few characteristics are noted. First and o f
frequent occurence is the interchange o f masculine and neuter genders
e.g. instead o f sattvah, sattvam is used, abhavah bhavyah instead o f
abhavam bhavyam. No attention is paid to the use o f anusvara or visarga
leading to the above m entioned result. Secondly, o f equal frequency is
the interchange o f singular and plural numbers. Some peculiar sandhis
like urdhvamukhVdhomukhi etc. (chap. 4) occur.
No major em endations have been made and minor em endations
of anusvara and visarga in palces where such an emendation gave proper
form to the line or sentence or corrected the metre are not noted.
Many hitherto unrecorded words are found, e.g. panipala, vanduka,
etuka, atavyat, kitikiti, picu, varataka etc.
6 Satsahasrika-hevajra-tika,

4. Contents : There is nothing o f outstanding meirt in the par

com posed by the commentator him self but his quotations from the
mulatantraoiHevajradeserve a special mention. These quotations seem
to com e from a work o f considerable antiquity and contain information
which m ight have been the com m on heritage o f the Hindus and the
Buddhists. In this it must be said to the credit o f the com m entator that
he was well versed in the ancient yogic lore. Also he must have been
well-acquainted with the various linguistic theories o f the Hindus and
the Buddhists. To bring out the many aspects o f this commentary a
thorough investigation o f the whole o f the Tibetan translation o f the
commentary is necessary. However, the part that is not available in
Sanskrit mss. is sum m arised here chapterwise from the T ibetan
translation. In the Sanskrit text, quotations from HT are marked with
asterisk.

N otes
1. Journal of Bihar and Orissa Rasearch Society, Vol. 21.2, p.- 36.
2. Pub. 1883.
3. Gaurishankar Hirachand Ojha, Bharatiya Praclna Lipimala, (2nd edn.), 1918,
Chart 24.
4. Kyoto-Tokyo (photographic reprint) 1955 ff, Vol. 53. 2310.
5. Sn-paramadi-vrtti, PTT, Vol. 72. 3334.
Laksabhidhanad-uddhrta-laghutantra-pindartha-vivarana-nama, Vol. 73. 2117.
6. See Appendix I.
7. D.L. Snellgrove, The Hevajra Tantra, a critical study, London : Oxford University
Press, 1959, pp. 16-17.
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subjects that the Emperor's top-knot was coming off, and urging
them to imitate him. A new Court servant was appointed — the High
Imperial Hair-cutter. He displayed his uniform in the streets around
the palace, a sight for the gods. He strutted along in white breeches,
voluminous white frock-coat, white shoes, and black silk hat, the
centre of attention. Early in the morning there was a great scene in
the palace. The Imperial Hair-cutter was in attendance. A group of
old Court officials hung around the Emperor. With blanched faces
and
 CROWNING OF PUPPET EMPEROR 165 shaking voices they
implored him not to abandon the old ways. The Emperor paused,
Tearful, What power would be filched from him by the shearing of
his locks ? But there could be no hesitating now. Resolute men were
behind who knew what they were going to see done. A few minutes
later the great step was taken. The Residency-General arranged the
coronation ceremony in such a manner as to include as many
Japanese and to exclude as many foreigners as possible. There were
nearly a hundred Japanese present, including the Mayor of the
Japanese settlement and the Buddhist priest. There were only six
white men — five Consuls-General and Bishop Turner, chief of the
Anglican Church in Korea. The Japanese came arrayed in splendid
uniforms. It is part of the new Japanese policy to attire even the
most minor officials in sumptuous Court dress, with much gold lace
and many orders. This enables Japan to make a brilliant show in
official ceremonies, a thing that is not without effect in Oriental
Courts. Shortly before ten o'clock the guests assembled in the
throne-room of the palace, a modern apartment with a raised dais at
one end. There were Koreans to the left and Japanese to the right of
the Emperor, with the Cabinet in the front line on one side and the
Residency-General officials on the other. The foreigners faced the
raised platform. The new Emperor appeared, borne to the platform
by the Lord Chamberlain and the Master of the Household. He was
dressed in the ancient costume of his people, a flowing blue garment
 i66 THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA reaching to the ankles, with a
robe of softer cream colour underneath. On his head was a quaint
Korean hat, with a circle of Korean ornaments hanging from its high,
outstanding horsehair brim. On his chest was a small decorative
breastplate. Tall, clumsily built, awkward, and vacant-looking— such
was the Emperor. In ancient days all would have kow-towed before
him, and would have beaten their foreheads on the ground. Now no
man did more than bow, save one Court herald, who knelt. Weird
Korean music started in the background, the beating of drums and
the playing of melancholy wind instruments. The Master of
Ceremonies struck up a chant, which hidden choristers continued.
Amid silence, the Prime Minister, in smart modern attire, advanced
and read a paper of welcome. The Emperor stood still, apparently
the least interested man in the room. He did not even look bored —
simply vacant. After this there was a pause in the proceedings. The
Emperor retired and the guests went into the anterooms. Soon all
were recalled, and the Emperor reappeared. There had been a quick
change in the meantime. He was now wearing his new modern
uniform, as Generalissimo of the Korean Army. Two high decorations
— one, if I mistake not, from the Emperor of Japan — hung on his
breast. He looked much more manly in his new attire. In front of him
vv^as placed his new head-dress, a peaked cap with a fine plume
sticking up straight in front. The music now was no longer the
ancient
 CROWNING OF PUPPET EMPEROR 167 Korean, but modern
airs from the very fine European-trained band attached to the
palace. The Korean players had gone, with the old dress and the old
life, into limbo. The Japanese Acting Resident-General and military
commander, General Baron Hasegawa, strong and masterful-looking,
stepped to the front with a message of welcome from his Emperor.
He was followed by the doyen of the Consular Corps, M. Vincart,
with the Consular greetings. This Consular message had been very
carefully sub-edited, and all expressions implying that the
Governments of the different representatives approved of the
proceedings had been eliminated. Then the coronation was over.
Two figures were conspicuous by their absence. The ex-Emperor was
not present. According to the official explanation, he was unable to
attend because " his uniform had not been finished in time." Really,
as all men knew, he was sitting resentful and protesting within a few
score yards of the spot where his son was crowned. The second
absent figure was the Russian Consul-General, M. de Plangon. It was
announced that M. de Plancon was late, and so could not attend.
Seeing that M. de Plancon lives not ten minutes' walk from the
palace, and that the guests had to wait nearly an hour after the time
announced before the ceremony began, he must have over-slept
very much indeed on that particular morning. Oddly enough, M. de
Plancon is usually an early riser.
 CHAPTER XV A JOURNEY TO THE "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" THE
Korean Emperor had been deposed and his army disbanded. The
people of Seoul, sullen, resentful, and powerless, victims of the
apathy of their sires and of their own indolence and folly, saw their
national existence filched from them, and scarce dared mutter a
protest. The triumphant Japanese soldiers stood at the city gates
and within the palace. Princes must obey their slightest wish, even
to the cutting of their hair and the fashioning of their clothes.
General Hasegawa's guns commanded every street, and all men
dressed in white need walk softly. But it soon became clear that if
Seoul, the capital, was overawed, some parts of the country were
not. Refugees from distant villages, creeping after nightfall over the
city wall, brought with them marvellous tales of the happenings in
the provinces. District after district had risen against the Japanese. A
" Righteous Army " had been formed, and was accomplishing
amazing things. Detachments of Japanese had been annihilated and
others driven i68
 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" 169 back. Sometimes
the Japanese, it is true, were victorious, and then they took bitter
vengeance, destroying a whole countryside and slaughtering the
people in wholesale fashion. So the refugees said. How far were
these stories true ? I am bound to say that I, for one, regarded them
with much scepticism. Familiar as I was with the offences of
individual Japanese in the country, it seemed impossible that
outrages could be carried on systematically by the Japanese Army
under the direction of its officers. I was with a Japanese army during
the v/ar, and had marked and admired the restraint and discipline of
the men of all ranks there. They neither stole nor outraged. Still
more recently I had noted the action of the Japanese soldiers when
repressing the uprising in Seoul itself. Yet, whether the stories of the
refugees were true or false, undeniably some interesting fighting
was going on. By the first week in September it was clear that the
area of trouble covered the eastern provinces from near Fusan to
the north of Seoul. The rebels were evidently mainly composed of
discharged soldiers and of hunters from the hills. We heard in Seoul
that trained officers of the old Korean Army were drilling and
organising them into volunteer companies. The Japanese were
pouring fresh troops into these centres of trouble, but the rebels, by
an elaborate system of mountain-top signalling, were avoiding the
troops and making their attacks on undefended spots. Reports
showed that they were badly armed and lacked ammuni 
 I70 THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA tion, and there seemed to be
no effective organisation for sending them weapons from the
outside. The first rallying-place of the malcontent Koreans was in a
mountain district from eighty to ninety miles east of Seoul. Here
lived many famous Korean tiger-hunters. These banded themselves
together under the title of Eui-pyung(the "Righteous Army"). They
had conflicts with small parties of Japanese troops and secured
some minor successes. When considerable Japanese reinforcements
arrived they retired to some mountain passes further back. The
tiger-hunters, sons of the hills, iron-nerved, and operating in their
own country, are naturally awkward antagonists even for the best
regular troops. They are probably amongst the boldest sportsmen in
the world, and they formed the most picturesque and romantic
section of the rebels. Their only weapon is an old-fashioned
percussion gun, with long barrel and a brass trigger seven to eight
inches in length. Many of them fire not from the shoulder, but hold
their guns low. They never miss. They can only fire one charge in an
attack, owing to the time required to load. They are trained to stalk
the tiger, to come quite close to it, and then to kill it at one shot. No
tiger-hunter in the field to-day has ever failed to hit his prey. The
man who fails once dies ; the tiger attends to that. Some of the
stories of Korean successes reaching Seoul were at the best
improbable. The tale of one fight, however, came to me through so
many different and independent sources that there was reason to
suspect it had substantial foundation. It recalled the
 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" 171 doings of the people
of the Tyrol in their struggle against Napoleon. A party of Japanese
soldiers, forty-eight in number, were guarding a quantity of supplies
from point to point. The Koreans prepared an ambuscade in a
mountain valley overshadowed by precipitous hills on either side.
When the troops reached the centre of the valley they were
overwhelmed by a flight of great boulders rolled on them from the
hill-tops, and before the survivors could rally a host of Koreans
rushed upon them and did them to death. Proclamations by Koreans
were smuggled into the capital, written in the usual bombastic
national style. Parties of Japanese troops were constantly leaving
Chinkokai, the Japanese quarter in Seoul, for the provinces. There
came a public notice from General Hasegawa himself, which showed
the real gravity of the rural situation. It ran as follows : — " I,
General Baron Yoshimichi Hasegawa, Commander of the Army of
Occupation in Korea, make the following announcement to each and
every one of the people of Korea throughout all the provinces.
Taught by the natural trend of affairs in the world and impelled by
the national need of political regeneration, the Government of Korea,
in obedience to His Imperial Majesty's wishes, is now engaged in the
task of reorganising the various institutions of State. But those who
are ignorant of the march of events in the world and who fail
correctly to distinguish loyalty from treason have by wild and
baseless rumours instigated people's minds and caused the rowdies
in various places to
 172 THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA rise in insurrection. These
insurgents commit all sorts of horrible crimes, such as murdering
peaceful people, both native and foreign, robbing their property,
burning official and private buildings, and destroying means of
communication. Their offences are such as are not tolerated by
Heaven or earth. They affect to be loyal and patriotic and call
themselves volunteers. But none the less they are law-breakers, who
oppose their Sovereign's wishes concerning political regeneration
and who work the worst possible harm to their country and people. "
Unless they are promptly suppressed the trouble may assume really
calamitous proportions. I am charged by His Majesty, the Emperor of
Korea, with the task of rescuing you from such disasters by
thoroughly stamping out the insurrection. I charge all of you, law-
abiding people of Korea, to prosecute your respective peaceful
avocations and be troubled with no fears. As for those who have
joined the insurgents from mistaken motives, if they honestly repent
and promptly surrender they will be pardoned of their offence. Any
of you who will seize insurgents or will give information concerning
their whereabouts will be handsomely rewarded. In case of those
who wilfully join insurgents, or afford them refuge, or conceal
weapons, they shall be severely punished. More than that, the
villages to which such offenders belong shall be held collectively
responsible and punished with rigour. I call upon each and every one
of the people of Korea to understand clearly what I have herewith
said to you and avoid all reprehensible action."
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 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" 173 The Koreans in
America circulated a manifesto directed against those of their
countrymen who were working with Japan, under the expressive title
of "explosive thunder," which breathed fury and vengeance. "Our
twenty million people," they declared, "are getting very angry. Their
patriotic wrath has reached the heavens, and their patriotic blood is
as high as the highest tide. We are going to burn down your houses
and cut off your heads, and then we will divide your flesh into
twenty million pieces that will be eaten by twenty million people.
Then we will divide your blood into twenty million cups that will be
drunk by all of us again. Even after eating and drinking your flesh
and blood we will not be satisfied. You are unique criminals, you
base-born wretches, hid in foreigners' houses and walking with the
protection of foreign troops. Even the children know your cry."
Groups of Koreans in the provinces issued other statements which, if
not quite so picturesque, were quite forcible enough. Here is one :
— " Our numbers are twenty million, and we have over ten million
strong men, excluding old, sick, and children. Now, the Japanese
soldiers in Korea are not more than eight thousand, and Japanese
merchants at various places are not more than some thousands.
Though their weapons are sharp, how can one man kill a thousand ?
We beg you our brothers not to act in a foolish way and not to kill
any innocent persons. We will fix the day and the hour for you to
strike. Some of us, disguised as beggars and merchants, will go into
Seoul. We will destroy the
 174 THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA railway, we will kindle flames
in every port, we will destroy Chinkokai, kill Ito and all the Japanese,
Yi Wang Yong and his underlings, and will not leave a single rebel
against our Emperor alive. Then Japan will bring out all her troops to
fight us. We have no weapons at our hands, but we will keep our
own patriotism. We may not be able to fight against the sharp
weapons of the Japanese, but we will ask the Foreign Consuls to
help us with their troops, and maybe they will assist the right
persons and destroy the wicked ; otherwise let us die. Let us strike
against Japan, and then, if must be, ail die together with our country
and with our Emperor, for there is no other course open to us. It is
better to lose our lives now than to live miserably a little time longer,
for the Emperor and our brothers will all surely be killed by the
abominable plans of Ito, Yi Wang Yong, and their associates. It is
better to die as a patriot than to live having abandoned one's
country. Mr. Yi Chun went to foreign lands to plead for our country,
and his plans did not carry well, so he cut his stomach asunder with
a sword and poured out his blood among the foreign nations to
proclaim his patriotism to the world. These of our twenty million
people who do not unite offend against the memory of Mr. Yi Chun.
We have to choose between destruction or the maintenance of our
country. Whether we live or die is a small thing, the great thing is
that we make up our minds at once whether we work for or against
our country." A group of Koreans in the southern provinces
petitioned Prince Ito, in the frankest fashion : —
 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" 175 '' You spoke much
of the kindness and friendship between Japan and Korea, but
actually you have drawn away the profits from province after
province and district after district until nothing is left wherever the
hand of the Japanese falls. The Korean has been brought to ruin,
and the Japanese shall be made to follow him downwards. We pity
you very much ; but you shall not enjoy the profits of the ruin of our
land. When Japan and Korea fall together it will be a misfortune
indeed for you. If you would secure safety for yourself follow this
rule : memorialise our Majesty to impeach the traitors and put them
to right punishment. Then every Korean will regard you with favour,
and the Europeans will be loud in your praise. Advise the Korean
authorities to carry out reforms in various directions, help them to
enlarge the schools, and to select capable men for the Government
service ; then the three countries, Korea, China, and Japan, shall
stand in the same line, strongly united and esteemed by foreign
nations. If you will not do this, and if you continue to encroach on
our rights, then we will be destroyed together, thanks to you. " You
thought there were no men left in Korea ; you will see. We country
people are resolved to destroy your railways and your settlements
and your authorities. On a fixed day we shall send word to our
patriots in the north, in the south, in Ping-yang and Kyung Sang, to
rise and drive away all Japanese from the various ports, and
although your soldiers are skilful with their guns it will be very hard
for them to stand against our twenty million people.
 176 THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA We will first attack the
Japanese in Korea, but when we have finished them we will appeal
to the Foreign Powers to assure the independence and freedom of
our country. Before we send the word to our fellowcountrymen we
give you this advice." It was clear that some interesting fighting was
going on. I resolved to try to see it. This, I soon found, was easier
attempted than done. The first difficulty came from the Japanese
authorities. They refused to grant me a passport, declaring that,
owing to the disturbances, they could not guarantee my safety in the
interior. An interview followed at the Residency-General, in which I
was duly warned that if I travelled without a passport I would be
liable, under International treaties, to " arrest at any point on the
journey and punishment." This did not trouble me very much. My
real fear had been that the Japanese would consent to my going,
but would insist on sending a guard of Japanese soldiers with me. It
is more than doubtful if, as things are now, the Japanese have any
right to stop a foreigner from travelling in Korea, for the passport
regulations have long been virtually obsolete. This was a point that I
was prepared to argue out at leisure after my arrest and
confinement in a Consular gaol. So the preparations for my
departure were continued. The traveller in Korea, away from the
railroads, must carry everything he wants with him, except food for
his horses. He must have at least three horses or ponies : one for
himself, one pack-pony, and one for his bedding and his " boy." Each
pony
 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" 177 needs its own "
mafoo," or groom, to cook its food and to attend to it. So, although
travelling h'ghtly and in a hurry, I would be obliged to take two
horses, one pony, and four attendants with me. My friends in Seoul,
both white and Korean, were of opinion that if I attempted the trip I
would probably never return. No white man had gone in the worst
regions since the beginning of the trouble. Korean tiger-hunters and
disbanded soldiers were scattered about the hills, waiting for the
chance of pot-shots at passing Japanese. They would certainly in the
distance take me for a Japanese, since the Japanese soldiers and
leaders all wear foreign clothes, and they would make me their
target before they found out their mistake. A score of suggestions
were proffered as to how I should avoid this. One old servant of
mine begged me to travel in a native chair, like a Korean gentleman.
This chair is a kind of small box, carried by two or four bearers, in
which the traveller sits all the time crouched up on his haunches. Its
average speed is less than two miles an hour. I preferred the bullets.
A member of the Korean Court urged me to send out messengers
each night to the villages where I would be going next day, telling
the people that I was an " Ingoa tai " (English gentleman) and so
they must not shoot me. And so on and so forth. This exaggerated
idea of the risks of the trip unfortunately spread abroad. The horse
merchant demanded specially high terms for the hire of his beasts,
because he might never see them again. I needed a "boy," or native
servant, and although 13
 178 THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA there are plenty of " boys "
in Seoul none was to be had. I engaged one servant, a fine
upstanding young Korean, Wo by name, who had been out on many
hunting and mining expeditions. I noticed that he was looking
uneasy, and I was scarcely surprised when at the end of the third
day he came to me with downcast eyes. " Master," he said, " my
heart is very much frightened. Please excuse me this time." "What is
there to be frightened about?" I demanded. " Korean men will shoot
you and then will kill me because my hair is cut." The rebels were
reported to be killing all men not wearing top-knots. Exit Wo. Some
one recommended Han, also with a great hunting record. But when
Han heard the destination he promptly withdrew. Sin was a good
boy out of place. Sin was sent for, but forwarded apologies for not
coming. One Korean was longing to accompany me — my old
servant in the war, Kim Min Gun. But Kim was in permanent
employment and could not obtain leave. " Master," he said
contemptuously, when he heard of the refusals, " these men plenty
much afraid." At last Kim's master very kindly gave him permission
to accompany me, and the servant difficulty was surmounted. My
preparations were now almost completed, provisions bought, horses
hired, and saddles overhauled. The Japanese authorities had made
no sign, but they knew what was going on. It seemed likely that
they would stop me when I started out.
 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" 179 Then fortune
favoured me. A cablegram arrived for me from London. It was brief
and emphatic : — " Proceed forthwith Siberia." My expedition was
abandoned, the horses sent away, and the saddles thrown into a
corner. I cabled home that I would soon be back. I made the hotel
ring with my public and private complaints about this interference
with my plans. I visited the shipping offices to learn of the next
steamer to Vladivostock. A few hours before I was to start for the
south I chanced to meet an old friend, who questioned me
confidentially, " I suppose it is really true that you are going away,
and that this is not a trick on your part ? " I left him thoughtful, for
his words had shown me the splendid opportunity in my hands. Early
next morning, long before dawn, my ponies came back, the boys
assembled, the saddles were quickly fixed and the packs adjusted,
and soon we were riding as hard as we could for the mountains. The
regrettable part of the affair is that many people are still convinced
that the whole business of the cablegram was arranged by me in
advance as a blind, and no assurances of mine will convince them to
the contrary. As in duty bound, I sent word to the acting British
Consul-General, telling him of my departure. My letter was not
delivered to him until after I had left. On my return I found his reply
awaiting me at my hotel.
 i8o THE TRAGEDY OF KOREA " I consider it my duty to
inform you," he wrote "that I received a communication on the 7th
inst. from the Residency-General informing me that, in view of the
disturbed conditions in the interior, it is deemed inadvisable that
foreign subjects should be allowed to travel in the disturbed districts
for the present. I would also call your attention to the stipulation in
Article V. of the treaty between Great Britain and Korea, under which
British subjects travelling in the interior of the country without a
passport are liable to arrest and to a penalty." In Seoul no one could
tell where or how the " Righteous Army " might be found. The
information doled out by the Japanese authorities was fragmentary,
and was obviously and naturally framed in such a manner as to
minimise and discredit the disturbances. It was admitted that the
Korean volunteers had a day or two earlier destroyed a small railway
station on the line to Fusan. We knew that a small party of them had
attacked the Japanese guard of a store of rifles, not twenty miles
from the capital, and had driven them off and captured the arms and
ammunition. Most of the fighting, so far as one could judge,
appeared to have been around the town of Chung-ju, four days'
journey from Seoul, It was for there I aimed, travelling by an indirect
bridle-path in order to avoid the Japanese as far as possible. The
country in which I soon found myself presented a field of industry
and of prosperity such as I have seen nowhere else in Korea.
Between the somewhat desolate mountain ranges and great
 JOURNEY TO "RIGHTEOUS ARMY" i8i stretches of sandy
soil we came upon innumerable thriving villages. Every possible bit
of land, right up the hillsides, was carefully cultivated. Here were
stretches of cotton, with bursting pods all ready for picking, and
here great fields of buckwheat white with flower. The two most
common crops were rice and barley, and the fields were heavy with
their harvest. Near the villages one would see more ornamental lines
of chilies and beans and seed plants for oil, with occasional clusters
of kowliang, fully twelve and thirteen feet high. In the centre of the
fields was a double-storied summer-house, made of straw, the
centre of a system of high ropes, decked with bits of rag, running
over the crops in all directions. Two lads would sit on the upper floor
of each of these houses, pulling the ropes, flapping the rags, and
making all kinds of harsh noises, to frighten away the birds preying
on the crops. The villages themselves were pictures of beauty and of
peace. Most of them were surrounded by a high fence of wands and
matting. At the entrance there sometimes stood the village "joss,"
although many villages have now destroyed their idols. This " joss "
is a thick stake of wood, six or eight feet high, with the upper part
roughly carved into the shape of a very ugly human face, and
crudely coloured in vermilion and green. It is supposed to frighten
away the evil spirits. The village houses, low, mud-walled, and
thatchroofed, were seen this season at their best. Gay flowers grew
around. Melons and pumpkins,
 i82 THE TRAGEDY OF KOR^A weighted with fruit, ran over
the walls. Nearly every roof displayed a patch of vivid scarlet, for the
chilies had just been gathered, and were spread out on the
housetops to dry. In front of the houses were boards covered with
sliced pumpkins and gherkins drying in the sun for winter use. Every
courtyard had its line of black earthenware jars, four to six feet high,
stored with all manner of good things, mostly preserved vegetables
of many varieties, for the coming year. I had heard much of the
province of ChungChong-Do as the Italy of Korea, but its beauty and
prosperity required seeing to be believed. It afforded an amazing
contrast to the dirt and apathy of Seoul, Here every one worked. In
the fields the young women were toilmg in groups, weeding or
harvesting. The young men were cutting bushes on the hillsides, the
father of the family preparing new ground for the fresh crop, and the
very children frightening off the birds. At home the housewife was
busy with her children and preparing her simples and stores ; and
even the old men busied themselves over light tasks, such as mat-
making. Every one seemed prosperous, busy, and happy. There were
no signs of poverty. The uprising had not touched this district, save
in the most incidental fashion. My inquiries as to where I should find
any signs of the fighting always met with the same reply — " The
Japanese have been to I-Chhon, and have burned many villages
there." So we pushed on for I-Chhon as hard as we could.
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