It is said that the Buddha’s mother died seven days after his birth (see p. 24 of this volume), and was thus deprived of the advantage of hearing the Law from her son’s lips. To compensate her for this loss, the Buddha ascended by his own supernatural power in three steps to the Trayastriṉṡa heaven of Indra (p. 207), to which his mother had been transported, and there recited the Law for three months for her benefit. His return to earth seems to have been a more difficult matter; for his descent was not effected without the help of a ladder with three parallel flights of steps, made for him by the god Indra. Fā-hien describes this miraculous incident in the following manner (Legge, 48, abridged):— Saṅkāṡya is the place where Buddha came down after ascending to the Trayastriṉṡa heaven, and there preaching his Law for three months for his mother’s benefit. Buddha had ascended there by his supernatural power, without the knowledge of his disciples; but seven days before his return, Anuruddha, by his own supernatural vision, saw him in heaven, and requested Moggallāna (see p. 47 of this volume) to ascend to Indra’s heaven to inquire after ‘the World-honoured one.’ Moggallāna did so, and returned with the information that in seven days the Buddha would return. Then the kings of eight countries with their people, not having seen Buddha for a long time, were all eagerly looking up for him to return. But the female mendicant Utpalā[215] thought in her heart, ‘To-day, the kings, with their ministers and people, are all going to meet Buddha. I am but a woman; how shall I succeed in being the first to see him?’ Then Buddha, by his supernatural power, changed her into the appearance of a Universal Emperor, so that she was the foremost of all to meet and to do reverence to him. At his descent three flights of steps were created. Buddha descended on the middle flight, composed of the seven precious substances; Mahā-Brahmā, king of the Brahmā heavens (see p. 211 of this volume), came down by a flight of silver steps on the right side, and Ṡakra (Indra), lord of the thirty-three divinities (p. 207), descended by steps of gold on the left side, holding a canopy made of the seven precious substances. An innumerable multitude of gods followed. No sooner had the Buddha come down than all three flights disappeared in the ground, except seven steps, which continued to be visible.