Part 4 - The Construction of Three Palaces for the Prince

The Bodhisatta, Prince Siddhattha, grew up in great comfort and luxury, enjoying such delights as playing in the water of the celestial lakes covered and graced with five kinds of lotus as said above, wearing very soft and smooth garments which were newly made and produced in Kāsi country, being at all times given cover and protection against heat, cold, dust, mist and snow, with white umbrellas of devas and humans.

When he had grown to the age of sixteen years, King Suddhodāna thought: “It is time to build mansions for my son,” and he had the most celebrated and skilled architects, carpenters, masons, sculptors and painters summoned to the palace for discussion. He then gave orders for the construction of three palaces named Ramma Golden palace, Suramma palace, and Subha Golden palace which were specially designed to suit the weather conditions of the three seasons, after making necessary preliminary preparations such as ground breaking at the chosen site and at the time indicated as propitious by the stars.

These three palaces were of equal length, breadth and height. They differed only in the number of tiers in the spires.

(These three palaces are not described in detail in the Commentaries on the Buddhavaṃsa and Jātaka. They are described at length in the expositions of the Sukhumāla Sutta of the above Aṅguttara Commentary, in the exposition of the Māgandiya Sutta of the Majjhima Paṇṇāsa Commentary and that of the Agarikasampatti chapter in the Jinālaṅkāra Sub-Commentary. What is presented here is the combined account of the expositions in these various texts.)

(i) Ramma palace was built for residence during winter,
(ii) Suramma palace was built for residence during summer, and
(iii) Subha palace was built for residence during the rainy season.

(i) Ramma (Winter) Palace

The Ramma Palace had nine tiered-spire. The structure and room formations were designed to keep the floors somewhat low so as to retain warmth. And meticulous care was taken, in the arrangement of lion-propped windows and ventilators, to prevent elements of cold from outside, such as snow, mist, and breeze, from entering inside. Painters also drew pictures of blazing fires and flames on the walls, central planks, roofs, etc, of the said palatial mansion to dispel coldness on seeing them. Festoons of perfumes, flowers and pearls were hung dangling here and there at appropriate places. The ceilings were canopied with fabrics of pure wool and silk which were very soft and smooth and warmth-giving and which were adorned with stars of gold, silver and rubies giving out bright and flaming colours. Besides, there were woollen partitions and gauze curtains adorned with velvet and woollen shawls which were very soft and smooth to the touch. Velvet garments and woollen apparel appropriate for the cold season were also kept in readiness for wear. In the winter season, nourishing seasonal food, such as hot, spicy delicacies, were well prepared in readiness. To keep the room warm, windows were kept open in the day and closed at night.

(ii) Suramma (Summer) Palace

There were five tiers in the spire of the Palace named Suramma. The structure and room formations were so designed as to provide ventilation; the tiers were built high, windows and shutters kept spacious and wide, and to procure as much breeze and coolness as required from outside, the main doors and windows were kept not too secure; some doors had perforations and others had nettings (made of iron, gold, silver). The walls, central posts, roofs, etc., were decorated with paintings of blue, red and white lotus to give soothing impressions to the observers. Newly made pots filled with water to the brim were installed near the windows and placed therein were aquatic flowering plants such as blue, red, white lotus, and lotus with a hundred petals. Mechanical devices, such as fountains and showers, were installed to cool and freshen appropriate places simulating the rainy season when greenness pervaded the scenery. Inside the mansion, flower pots and barrels filled with scented mud and slime were placed at suitable corners and in them were planted five varieties of lotus. The ceilings were canopied with pure cotton fabric, which were soft and smooth and capable of generating a cooling effect. Besides, there were golden partitions and soft, thin curtains which were beautifully and marvellously decorated. Floor carpets of very white cloth, which were capable making the atmosphere cool. Sets of very thin white garments suitable for summer wear were also kept ready to wear. Cold and savoury food, having the quality of coolness (sīta-viriya), were also well prepared.

On the roof of the Suramma palace were hung a network of small tinkling golden bells producing sounds which were sweet, soft and pleasant and excelling the sounds of the five kinds of celestial music. Ceilings made of fine gold sheets with very tiny holes were fixed under the roofing. When the water from the four ponds (to be described later) on the four sides of the mansion was pumped up by mechanical devices on to the ceilings it fell on the ceilings and trickled down through the tiny holes like rain drops as if it were raining.

Above the ceilings of golden sheets were spread out dried sheets of buffalo hide; then pebbles were lifted aloft by machines to the rooftop and from there released to fall on the stretched buffalo hides. The sound produced by these falling pebbles resembled the rumbling of thunder during the rainy season.

One hundred and eight huge pots made of gold and silver were filled with perfumed water and placed around the royal bed which was in an enclosure of embroidered netting with blue lotus designs. To have the effect of cool and pleasant atmosphere, blue, red and white lotus were planted in large bronze barrels filled to the brim with scented mud and placed everywhere. The lotus bloomed when touched by the rays of the sun. All species of honey bees came inside the mansion and hovered around these lotus flowers sucking their sweet nectar. Thus, Suramma Palace, the summer resort of the Prince, was always pervaded with sweet fragrance of the flowers. The main door and the windows of that summer residence were kept closed by day and open by night (to have the cool wind element).

When the Prince took up his residence in this palace, and when it was time for playing in the water, pebbles were thrown on to the sheets of buffalo hides, as has been mentioned above, to produce roaring sounds similar to that of thunder; water pumped up to the ceilings trickled down in drops through the fine holes therein as if it were raining. At that time, the Prince, wearing blue garment and robe and adorning himself in blue, revelled in water, enjoying its coolness for the day in the company of forty-thousand attendants and followers who were also dressed and adorned in blue with their bodies perfumed.

On the four sides of Suramma (Summer) Palace were four ponds in which the water was emerald green, cool and clean and covered all over with five kinds of lotus. Aquatic birds, such as swans, ducks, herons, etc., of various hues, rising from the ponds on the east, flew across the palace making melodious sounds continuously, and went down and gambolled in the pond on the west. In this manner, these water birds from the west pond flew to the east, those from the north lake to the south and those from the south pond to the north and so on The summer palace, even during the summer months, was pleasant as in the rainy season.

(iii) Subha (Rainy Season) Palace

There were seven tiers in the spire of the palace named Subha. The structure and room formations were so designed as to be of medium size, neither too low nor too high and neither too wide nor too narrow in order to generate both heat and cold. The main door and windows were designed to suit both the cold and hot seasons, some fitted with closely knit planks and some with holes and wire meshes. There were paintings of blazing fires and flames and also pictures of lakes and ponds. Garments, robes and carpets, which would suit both the cold and heat, forming an assortment of apparels used in the two previously mentioned palaces, were kept ready to be used. Some of the doors and windows were open by day and closed by night; and others were kept closed by day and open by night. (The beauty and perfection of this palatial mansion for the rainy season was identical with that of the summer and winter residences.)