| King Virudhaka's Sand | |
|---|---|
| |
| The artifact's current form, a glass lens | |
|
Origin |
King Virudhaka of Kosala |
|
Type |
Sand (originally) |
|
Effects |
Karmic redirection/redistribution |
|
Downsides |
TBA |
|
Activation |
TBA |
|
Collected by |
TBA (Warehouse 7 or Warehouse 11) |
|
Section |
|
|
Date of Collection |
TBA |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Virudhaka was a king of Kosala in India during the lifetime of Gautama Buddha. Virdhaka attacked and virtually annihilated the little autonomous tribe of Shakyas, to which the Buddha belonged. The Buddha forsaw this attack in a vision, and attempted several times to dissuade Virudhaka from the attack.
When he did not succeed and ceased his attempts, one of his disciples offered to save the Shakyas himself, but the Buddha discouraged him; he claimed that the upcoming massacre is the result of the Shakyas' negative karma, as in a past life, the people of the clan had collectively poisoned the river of an enemy city-state. Regardless, the disciple attempted to save some Shakyas by moving them to safety, only to find they had all died anyway. The rest of the clan was slain by Virudhaka.
After the massacre, the Buddha predicted that Virudhaka would die by fire within seven days. Having heard this, the king had a house built on the bank of a river for him to live in for the following week. On the last day, sunlight hit a magnifying glass resting on a cushion, starting a fire that engulfed the house and killed Virudhaka.
This sand was collected from the river on which Virudhaka's temporary home was built upon.
In Buddhism, an artistic tradition is that of ritualistically creating and destroying intricate mandalas made of sand to teach and represent the concept of impermanence and the transitory nature of life. Sand is arranged in ways to depict words, phrases, deities, buildings, and even entire worlds or realms, before being meticulously dismantled. When the process is complete, the sand is contained and transported to a river or some other source of running water, where it is released back into nature to spread blessings.
Effects[]
TBA
Collection and Use[]
TBA
Use[]
TBA
The lens is currently used within the telescope of the Innes Observatory in South Dakota.