Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism

Sūtrālaṅkāra – 172
In one story a pathetic instance of a painter’s piety is afforded. He
belonged to Puṣkalavati and had gone on business to the country of
Aṣmaka, where he was decorating a monastery.
In one story we meet with an inebriated artist who, on coming to his
senses, destroys the lamentable production of his hour of
drunkenness and proceeds to produce some excellent work.
In one place the king Śibi, who had disfigured and mutilated himself
with his own hands to offer the members of his own body in charity,
is compared to a beautiful statue disfigured by rain.
In another place we have an exhaustive catalogue of the number of
sciences, which an accomplished heir to the throne was expected to
possess. The list differs from the sixty-four classical arts mentioned
in another place. It is of particular interest and may be reproduced in
full.
“The Veda, archery, medicine, sacrifices, astronomy, grammar, the
origin of writing, the performance of sacrifices, eloquence, rhetoric,
the art of love, interest, purity of families, the ten names,
computation, chess, dice, the study of origins, music and song, the art
of playing on the conch, [201] dancing and laughter, the art of the
prestidigitarian, education, the making of garlands of flowers,
massage, the science of precious stones and valuable materials for
clothing, silk, sealing, weaving, wax work, strategy, sewing,
sculpture, painting, literature, arrangement of garlands,
interpretation of dreams, interpretation of the flight of birds,
horoscopes of boys and girls, the training of elephants, the art of
playing on the tambourine, the rules of battle array, the