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GAUTAMA BUDDHA
25th Centenary Volume
1956
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 CONTENTS
Page
' '
l
Foreword ...

By Editor

The Master's Life in Stone ... -

7

By R. C. Kar, M. A.

Dates of Principal Events in the Buddha's Life ... 16

By P. C. Sengupta, M. A.
The Buddha and Language ... ... ... 21

By Prof. Franklin Edgerton

Phonetic Convergence in Pali ... ... ... 28

By Madhusudan Mallik, M.A.

>
Pali *maraji : Sanskrit: 'smaraj it' ... ...
31
By Prof. Sukumar Sen, M. A., Ph.D.
The Buddhist Social Ideals ... ... ... 33
By Dr. B. G. Gokhale, M.A., Ph.D.
Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions ...
40
By Prof. Et. Lamotte
Some Buddhist Thinkers of Andhra ... _ cc
By Dr. P. S. Sastri, M. A., Ph. D.

Harsa : A Buddhist ... ... ... ^. 60

By Prot. Dasharatha Sharma, M.A., D. Litt.

Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajasthan ... 62

By R. C. Agrawala, M. A.

Buddhism in the Classical

Age ... ... ... ^ l

By Miss Sudha Sengupta, M.A.

Buddhism in the
Suhga Period ... ... ^ m

By Kunja Govinda Goswami, M.A.

Place of Buddhism in Indian
Thought ... ...

By Prof. Nalmaksha Duct

Duhkha-Satya ... ... _ _

By Dr. W. Rahula
 fi
( )

Page
''

Nirodha-Satya ... ... ... ...

146
By Pandit Ananta Kumar Nyaya-Tarkatirtha
'
'

... ... ...

Pratltyasamutpada ... 153
By Dr. Anukul Chandra Bancrjee, M.A., Ph. D..
Buddhist Psychology ... ... ... X
57
By Bratindra Kumar Sengupta, M. A.
Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas ... 162

By Dr. Ajit Ranjan Bhattacharya, M. A., D. Phil.

A rare type of Bodhisattva-Images from Sanchi ... ... 178

By Mrs. Debala Mitra, M.A.
Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantras ... ... 182

By Dr. B.
Bhattacharyya, M. A., Ph. D.

Buddhism in South-East Asia ... ... ... 189

By Prof. R. C. Majumdar, M. A., Ph. D.

of the King's Righteousness ... ... 196

Principle

By Dr. U. N. Ghoshai, M. A , Ph. D.

Buddhism in Ancient Kambujadesa ... ... 205

By Dr. B. N. Puri, M.A., Ph. D.

Harivarman's Theory of Cognition ... ...211

By Prof. N. Aiyaswami Sastri

Narayanpur Image of Vinayaka ... ... ... 216

By Tapo Nath Chakravarti, M. A.

Zen Buddhism and Bodhidharma ... ... ... 221

By Dr. W. Pachow

Buddhist View re.

Eternity of the Vedas ... 230
By Heramba Chatterjee, M. A.
Pataliputra : Its
Importance in the History of Buddhism ... 233
By Binaycndranath Chaudhuri, M. A.

An early Buddha Statue from Yunnan ... ...

244
By Dr. Walter Liebenthal
A Note of the Aryadharmadhatugarbhnvivarana ... ...
246
By Sunitikumar Pathak, M. A.
 GAUTAMA BUDDHA
25th Centenary Volume
1956
FOEEWOBD
The All-India Celebrations of the twenty-fifth centenary
of the Great Saint Gautama Buddha have served to rouse our
consciousness as to the grandeur and excellence of our cultural

heritage as also of our ancient cultural link with the eastern

countries of Asia. The contributions of Buddhism to Indian

culture are varied domains of language and
in the literature,

art and architecture, and moral and social ideals.

Gautama Buddha lived in an age of iron-cased beliefs and
traditions, and he had to overcome an almost insurmountable

opposition offered
by the deep-rooted orthodoxy of a large
section of the people with their long established rituals and

ceremonies. His teachings, however, appealed both to the

intellectuals and to the masses realizing for the first time that
the of salvation could not be the of the few.
path monopoly
His emphasis on self-reliance, and his exposition of the law of
a notable contribution to Indian thought and
causality were

religion.
PHILOSOPHY: Gautama Buddha was brought up in the
Indian traditional faith and doctrines but he had the courage to

challenge their efficacy and usefulness in reducing and ultimately

eliminating the human sufferings.
In pre-Buddha days, many
thinkers applied their minds to the quest of the Truth, but
their thoughts and beliefs have not come down to us
except
those found and the Jaina literature.
in the Upanisads In the

former, the findings about the Truth and its nature were
 2 Foreword

varied, and it is the monistic conception

that found

prominence. The highest Truth, according to this view,

is transcendental, and so it can be referred to by negations
only of known concepts. Gautama Buddha subscribed
to this view but he adhered strictly
to negative terms and
criticised
attempts at forming any positive concept about
all

the ultimate Truth. It has been

expressed in these words by
1

Nagarjuna .:.

,
H

connotes neither one nor

[It many; it is neither annihila-
tion nor this is the immortal
eternality teaching of Buddhas,
the leaders of the world.]

His thorough-going view in this is due to his firm

respect
. conviction that the Absolute is
perfectly absolute and
has no
relation whatsoever with the
composite universe- It is the

Asankhata or the unconstituted, and hence uncaused and un-

conditioned, unoriginated and undecaying, attributeless,
one
and the same, and it has nothing to do with the Samkhata, the
constituted. He would not admit, even, that 'it is', or 'it is

not', or it is both 'is and is not', or it is not both 'is and is

1

not . In the very first Sutta of the "Dtghanikaya acknowledged

as the Btiddhavacana by all sects of Buddhism, he warned his

disciples against any attempt to

speculate
about the Ultimates,

which, he said, could only be realised by the Perfect within

one's own self
(paccattam veditabbo vinnuht). He instructed
them to
apply their minds
and decay of the to the origin

constituted world which lacks

substantiality
and is subject to

impermanence and painfulness, It is for this reason that his

disciples
went
the utmost length to to
analyse the physical
and mental constituents of a being in the Abhidhamma texts.

i
Madhyamakakarik2,XVlll. u,
 Foreword j

"Buddha's appeal was to logic,

reason and experience,
his emphasis was on ethics, and his method was one
of psychological analysis" says Nehru in his
"Discovery
of India'- (1956), 109. In course of his
analysis of
p.
the phenomenal world, Buddha visualised the law of

causality
or the law of momentary sequence of the dynamic
states ofworldly beings and objects, and by this law that
it is

he establishes the non-existence of eternal soul. Of notable

importance is his ksanikavada, which implies that a cause has

no duration, and it ceases as soon as the effect is

produced;
there is not even an infinitesmal interval between the
cause and its effect. There is no static cause in a
dynamic
world and it is
by inference only that we say that the cause
produces an effect. Bertrand Russell in his "Mysticism and
Logic" (p. 192) says that cause and effect are mere sequences,
and there is no law of causality but mere causal sequences,
"the earlier event is the cause and the later event the effect",
as
"night is the cause of day". This interpretation has some

affinity with
the Buddhist law of causation. A being,
according to the Buddhists, is a ceaseless stream of

mental and physical constituents (nama-riipa), which dis-

integrate and re-integrate

almost simultaneously. Such dis-

integrationand re-integration are in fact invariable sequences

and not exactly cause and effect, as there is no substance to
maintain the relation of cause and effect, nor is there any

interval for the cause to

produce an effect.

ETHICS : In pre-Buddha India, there were ethical instruc-

tions scattered in the Brahmanic texts but the ethics was

subservient to the religious faith. These texts prohibited in a

general way the killing of living beings, which was regarded

as sin but if the killing took place in
a ritual, it was consi-
dered proper as also meritorious. It was Gautama Buddha,
who presented us for the first time with an elaborate ethical
4 Foreword

code, which > of meant primarily for the monks

course, was
and nuns. The code for the laymen was short and simple
and was not quite free from a religious bias as it was incum-
bent upon all
lay-devotees to take Trisarana and to
develop
faith in the excellence of the Triratna. The rules Ue scatter-

ed in the Nikayas, particularly,

in the Dhammapada, Peta-

vatthtt, VimZnavattha and the Jatakas. It was for the fulfil-

ment of the ethical observances that Gautama Buddha intro-

duced the monastic system, hitherto unknown to Indian

religion. The monasteries became almost academies for

imparting training to the monks and nuns. Some of the

monasteries grew into large post-graduate institutions, teach-

ing not the humanities but also science as it existed then.

only
The later phenomenal development of the monastic institutions

started
by Buddha on a small scale shows also the
organising
ability of the Buddhist monks and the laity. the
It lies to

credit of some of the later masterminds who were not merely

recluses and authors but were engaged in founding
actively
and maintaining magnificent academic institutions, which
trained up monks and missionaries,
equipped them with suffi-
cient
knowledge of the subjects needed for propagating and
establishing Buddhism in
foreign lands. Apart from the
academic aspect, these monasteries led to the development of
monumental art and architecture, caityas
and stupas with
bas-reliefs and images, which are objects of wonder even to
the artists and architects of the
present day.
BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES : In our enthusiasm for Buddha and
his
strong personality, we often forget that Buddhism owes
much of its few generations of his disciples.
greatness to a

It is well-known that Buddha's first band of disciples consisted

of intellectuals of high class Brahmana and Sresthi families,

and that a substantial of the so-called Buddhavacana

portion
was the composition of his like
Sariputta
and Kacca-
disciples
 Foreword

yana, Upali and Ananda. They were followed later

by
distinguished saintly disciples like Moggaliputta Tissa, Upa-
gupta and Nagasena. Then there were the galaxies of poets,
philosophers and logicians like
Maitreyanatha, Asvaghosa,
Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Asahga, Aryadeva, Santideva, Din-
naga, and Dharmakirti. Some of the terse and learned trea-
tises were commented upon by the authors themselves and

they were followed by quite a large number of commentators

like Gunamati, Sthiramati, Candrakirti, Bhavaviveka, Sila-

bhadra, Yasomitra, Kamalasila, Dharmottara, Karnakagomin,

Manorathanandin, all of whom did not confine themselves
to mere expositions but introduced fresh food for thought,

surpassing in quality and quantity even the original authors.

Their contributions to Buddhist
logic and philosophy are ines-
timable. Then there were many authors of Tantrik works,
some which were very deep in their philosophical approach.
of

To these bands of Buddhist intellectuals, we should add the

host of translators, who rendered the Buddhist texts, includ-

ing the abstruse ones, into Central Asian dialects, and Chinese,
Tibetan and Mongolian. Much of the greatness of the
Buddhist cultural movement
depended on the literary, spiritual,
and cultural activities of the Buddhist teachers
covering
about a thousand
years.
The ancient Indians
usually avoided mentioning the names
of authors of works, and the Buddhist writers were not an

exception to this practice. The works of unknown authors,

e.g. the Lalitavistara, Mahavastu, Lankavatara, Prajnaparamita
etc. of the intellectual level of their authors,
speak highly
whose contributions have enriched the Indian literature. The
high-flown lucid and well-knit style of the Karikas and Kavyas
shows that there were several Buddhist who raised
geniuses,
the banner of Buddhism aloft, and wafted the aroma of the
religion all around Asia.
6 Foreword

Though ostensibly a
religious movement, Buddhism
rendered an almost unforgettable service to Indian .culture in

general and covered almost the whole of India from Kashmir

to Conjeveram and from Bengal to Bombay, Gujrat and

Rajputana. It behoves free India to find out how and when

this
religious cum cultural movement developed, casting
influence on so countries of Asia.
many
The Indian Historical Quarterly has been rendering service
in its humble way to the unfolding of this ancient Indian

together the thoughts of devoted

culture by bringing
researchers in the field of Buddhism. In order to take a
part
in the All-India Celebrations, two issues of the Quarterly are
devoted exclusively to original papers written by distinguished
scholars of Buddhist
religion, philosophy, art, architecture,

history and tradition, and we trust that a collection of such

studies will to our readers important aspects of a

present
movement, of which India should feel
proud.
EDITOR
 The Master's Life in Stone*

The sixth century before Christ was an era of

great spiritual

upsurge throughout the ancient

East.
by In India it was marked
the birth of Gautama Buddha, the 25ooth anniversary of whose

Mabafarinirvana we are now celebrating.

The epic story of the Master's life, his miraculous birth un-

der a Sal tree, his early mental struggles and renunciation of the

world, his sojourn in search of True Knowledge and its attain-

ment, his preachings among men, and demise after a fruitful

of
life
eighty years devoted to the cause of deliverance of all

sentient beings, have been told in

great
detail in the Buddha-
carita, the Lalitavistara and other Buddhist texts. Here it is
pro-
of the Master as
place before the reader the life-story
to
posed
narrated in
by ancient Indian craftsmen during the
sculptures
first two hundred years or so before and after Christ. These
come mainly from places like Bharhut, Sanchi, Gandhara,

Mathura, Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati, and have a charmingly

simple narrative quality.

It is said that after performing the ten virtues (Paramitas) in
innumerable previous births, recounted in the Jataka stories,

Bodhisattva, destined to be an omniscient Buddha, had been born

in Tusita heaven when the gods besought him to be reborn on
earth to deliver mankind. Bodhisattva then decided to be born
of
king Suddhodana of Kapilavastu and his queen Mahamaya.
Maya had a dream in which she saw the divine Bodhisattva
enter her
body in the form of a white elephant. This story is
narrated in three successive panels in a relief sculpture from

* The article is based on an illustrated talk delivered by the author at the

Indian Museum in July, 1956. The illustrations are of exhibits in the Indian

Museum, Calcutta, copyright reserved by the Department of Archaeology.

Government of India.
 8 The Master's Life in Stone

Amaravati of circa 2nd century A.D. (PK I).

The scenes from

left to
right show the divine Bodhisattva seated on a throne in

Tusita heaven while entreated the gods to be reborn on

by
earth; his descent form of a white elephant
from heaven in the

carried in a palanquin by the gods with music and dancing; and

the queen's dream. The last scene only is depicted in a circular

bas-relief on the Bharhut railings of circa 2nd century B.C.

(PI. ii).

When the queen spoke of her dream to the king, he sum-

moned the to
soothsayers it.
interpret
declared that she
They
had conceived a son, destined to be either a Cakravarti Raja or a

Buddha.

The gods guarded the mother and child during gestation.

When her confinement approached, Maya wished to see her

parents at Devahrada^ but at Lumbini Park on the way she was

delivered of the child while she stood under a Sal tree holding

its branch. The was received by the attending Dikpalas,

child

but he immediately descended on the ground and taking seven

lotus steps in all directions exclaimed
triumphantly that he was
the foremost of the world. A Gandhara relief reproduced here (PI.

Ill)
shows the divine child coming out of the right side of the

body of queen Maya who stands under a Sal tree holding its
bending branch. The god Sakra (Indra) receives the child on a
piece of cloth while Brahma looks on from behind, and above, a

heavenly being whistles to indicate the rejoicings in heaven. The

flywhisk in the panel, a symbol of royalty, suggests the future
greatness of the newborn child who is shown as having des-
cended on the ground and standing with his right hand raised
in Abhaya, about to take the first seven
steps.

The child Bodhisattva was then

given his first bath, and
mother and child were brought back to
Kapilavastu amidst great
rejoicings.
These scenes are depicted in a Gandhara relief

(PI. IV) divided into three panels. The story runs from right
of

The First Bath and Return, Gandhara

The

Tfcc
 The Master's Life in Stone g

to left. The first scene on the right shows the bath, the second

in the middle the return of queen Maya from Lumbini in a

bullock-cart with the child in her arms, and the third on the left,

musicians outside the of welcoming

city-gates Kapilavastu
mother and child.

Shortly after, the sage Asita visited king Suddhodana and

wished to see the newborn child. When he was brought, the

sage bowed respectfully

to him for he recognised that the child
was a Buddha to be. He was named Siddhartha. The king
then called the astrologers to cast his son's horoscope (PL V).

They discerned in his body the thirtytwo infallible marks

of greatness and declared that he was a Tathagata who would
forsake the world when he had seen four ominous sights.

Maya having died shortly after childbirth, Siddhartha was

brought up by his aunt and stepmother Mahaprajapati Gautami.
Like other Sakya princes he was admitted into a school where he
showed himself superior to all others. A relief from Gandhara
shows young Siddhartha seated on a stool
writing on a tablet
(PI. VI).

At sixtt en Siddhartha was married to Yasodhara, daughter

of his uncle Suprabuddha. Time passed on and Bodhisattva
lived in luxury befitting a
prince. His father took great care
that none of the ominous
sights predicted by the soothsayers
should meet his eye, but to no avail. The day came when
Siddhartha driving in his chariot to the
pleasure gardens saw the
first of the ominous sights a decrepit old man. He returned
home with a heavy heart. On another day he saw a sick man
on the road, and on a third, a corpse. His mind was greatly

'agitated. Then on a fourth occasion he saw a monk Whose

serene bearing made a deep impression on him, and he longed

to be an ascetic. The birth of his son Rahula at this moment made
him decide on renunciation, for he saw that his worldly ties were

multiplying. His father re-doubled his efforts to keep him away

2
 fco The Master s Life in Stone

from such thoughts, and arranged for his

nightlong entertain-
ment by the palace dancers and singers.
About midnight

they became tired and fell

asleep.
The sight
of
sleeping women,

snoring and in dishabille, made Siddhartha realise the deceptive-

ness of
appearances and the futility
of worldly pleasures.
A Gandhara (PL VII) represents the scene in twb panels.
relief

The upper one shows Siddhartha reclining on a couch with

Yasodhara seated beside, and female musicians entertaining him.
The lower one shows Yasodhara asleep on a couch and the tired

musicians dozing in unseemly attitudes. Bodhisattva's mind was

filled with disgust and he decided to leave the
place
at once. He
asked his groom Chandaka to bring his horse Kanthaka. Mount-
ed on his favourite horse and accompanied by his groom, Sid-
dhartha then left the in
quest of True Knowledge
amidst
palace

rejoicings in heaven.
The Mahabhiniskramana or Great Renun-

ciation is illustrated by another Gandhara relief

sculpture (PL VIII)
which shows the prince passing through the city-gates of Kapila-
vastu on his horse while his groom holds a parasol over his head

and two Yaksas up the hoofs

lift of the horse lest there be noise.

Mara, the Evil One, stands in front urging Bodhisattva to

abandon his quest.

Travelling far Siddhartha arrived on the bank of the Anoma

where he alighted from his horse and gave up his jewels and
ornaments to Chandaka bidding him return to Kapilavastu
with Kanthaka. Cutting off his
long hair he then flung it
to

the sky where it was received in a

golden casket by Sakra for
worship in heaven. A
bas-relief on the Bharhut
railings
of circa

2nd century B.C. depicts the scene of the worship of Buddha's

hair-lock in heaven
(PL IX). The three-storied is the
building
Vaijayanti Palace of god Sakra and the building with a domed-
roof Sudharma, the Assembly Hall of the gods. The panel
shows Buddha's hair-lock placed on a throne and nymphs

dancing around to the accompaniment of music,

Worship of the Hairlock, Bharhut The Great Effort, Gandhara
 the

Mara's Defeat, Gandhara

Miracle of the Fire Temple, Sanchi
 The Master's Life in Stone 1 1

Wandering from place to place in search of True Knowledge

Siddhartha Gautama came upon Alara Kalama of Vaisali and
Rudraka Ramaputra of Rajagrha, and became their disciple.
But their teachings did not satisfy him, and he resolved to apply
himself to the severest austerities (Mahapadhana or the Great

years he performed the

Effort) at Uruvilva near Gaya. For six

most severe penance and became as thin as a skeleton (PL X).

But the Truth still eluded him. He realised that self -mortifi-

cation was not the way to

Enlightenment and gave up the prac-
tice of austerities. At daybreak on the full'moon day of Vaisajkha
Bodhisattva took his seat under a big pipal tree on the bank of

the Nairanjana, when Sujata the village headman's daughter

came to make
her offering to the
holy tree. Seeing Bodhisattva
seated under the tree
shining in his own effulgence she took him
to be the
tree-god come to life, and offered him the food.
Nourished by her food Bodhisattva resumed his meditation re-

solved on
attaining samyaksambodhi. He obtained from a

grass-cutter a bundle of soft

green grass, spread it at the foot of

the pipal tree and thereon took his seat. A Gandhara relief

(PL XI) shows Gautama approaching the seat under the Bodhi
tree on which Behind him is Mara
grass has been spread.

carrying a sword.
Mara thought that his
authority over the temporal world
would end if Bodhisattva attained supreme He was,
knowledge.
therefore, determined to use his
prevent Bodhi-
all to
powers
sattvafrom attaining samyaksambodhi. He
tempted, threaten-
ed and entreated Bodhisattva, but when all his efforts failed
Mara attacked him with his hosts. But Bodhisattva remained
unmoved in his seat and overcame Mara and on
passed
to Buddhahood. A
fragmentary relief sculpture from Gandhara
shows below seated Buddha
(PL XII) (broken) two of Mara's
soldiers with sword and shield
tumbling down in defeat.
After his attainment of Bodhi the
gods entreated Gautama
 12 The Master's Life in Stone

Buddha to preach his new Dharma for the benefit of mankind.

Buddha yielded to their entreaties and proceeded to Rsipattana

Mrgadava (Sarnath) near Varanasi to preach his new gospel.

Here he delivered his First Sermon known as the "Turning -of
the Wheel of Law" (Dharmdcakrapravartana) to the five Brah-
man ascetics
(Bhadravargiyas) who had earlier deserted him at

Gaya for
giving up the practice of austerities. A Gandhara
relief
(PL XIII) shows Buddha seated under a tree surrounded

by a number of devotees among whom may be recognised his

first five
disciples with their shaven heads.

Some time later Buddha again proceeded to Uruvilva near Gaya

to convert
Kasyapa and his brothers who were fire-worshipping

Jatilas. In Kasyapa's fire-temple lived a fierce

serpent.
Buddha

spent a night in this temple and subdued the serpent with his
own effulgence. A relief
panel (PL XIV) on the Eastern Gateway
of the Great Stupa at Sanchi shows the scene of this Miracle of

the Fire Temple. The temple is shown with an altar in front,

a throne indicating the presence of Buddha, the five-hooded

serpent, the Brahman ascetic Kasyapa and his brothers, as also

the Nairanjana river. After the miracle at the fire-temple

Kasyapa and his brothers arranged a sacrifice. But Buddha

spread a spell over them so that wood could not be split,
fire

could not be lit, and sacrifice could not be offered until Buddha
consented. Another relief
panel from the Eastern Gateway of
the same Stupa at Sanchi illustrates this second miracle (PL XV).

When news of Gautama's attainment of Buddhahood had

reached king Suddhodana he sent repeated messages to his son
to return to
Kapilavastu. Buddha finally
consented to visit his

home town. But the proud Sakyas were at first unwilling to

show due respect to him. Buddha won them over by walking
miraculously through mid-air and performing many other won-
ders. A relief
panel on the Eastern Gateway of the Great Stupa
at Sanchi shows at the bottom the aerial
pathway, while the
I/)
Gift of Jetavana, Bharhut
Miracle of Sravasti, Gandharu
 The Master's Ltfe in Stone 13

scene of Maya's dream incised at the top indicates that the

scene is the Miracle of Kapilavastu (PL XVI).

Anathapindika, a rich merchant of Sravasti, became a

follower of Buddha and presented prince Jeta's Park at Sravasti

to the Lord for constructing a monastery, Prince Jeta agreed to

sell the park for as many gold Karsapana coins as would cover the

ground. A relief medallion on the Bharhut railings XVII) (PI.

shows a bullock-cart bringing the coins to the garden and two

persons engaged in spreading them. Anathapindika is shown

as carrying a waterpot for consecrating the gift by pouring water.

While at Sravasti
king Prasenajit of Kosala visited Buddha,
and the latter
performed one of his great miracles to convince
of his over the heretical teachers, Pfirna
people superiority

Kasyapa and others. At his bidding an immense pathway

appeared in the sky from east to west, and there were many
wondrous lights. He made watei and fire issue from his body,
then seated on a lotus he multiplied himself in all directions.

A Gandhara sculpture (PI. XVIII) shows the pavilion of the

Miracle at Sravasti where the contest was held. Buddha is
seated in the centre on a lotus flanked by Sakra and Brahma
on either side, while women peep from windows, above.

It is said that Buddha went up

heaven of the Thirty-
to the

three gods (Trayastrirhsa) to expound his Dharma to his mother,

who was reborn there. When he was about to descend a triple

ladder appeared in the sky at akra's command, and accom-
panied by Brahma and 5akra, Buddha came down it near San-

kasya. A relief
panel on the sttipa railings
from Bharhut

(PI. XIX) shows the triple ladder, a throne under a tree, two

flying deities and devotees waiting. A footprint on the top and

lowermost rungs of the middle ladder indicates the descent.

Once when Buddha was at Kausambi a monkey offered him

honey in a bowl and then drowned itself in a
nearby tank.
A
1
4 The Master's Life in Stone

relief
panel from the Northern Gateway of the Great Stupa at
Sanchi shows this scene (PL XX).
In the course of his journeys in Magadha, Buddha lived for

some time in the Indrasala cave on Vediyaka hill near Rajagrha

where Sakra visited him to discuss some
philosophical problems.
He was accompanied by his Gandharva musician Pancasikha. The
scene is depicted in a relief sculpture from Mathura of circa 2nd

century A.D. (PL XXI).

Devadatta, the jealous cousin of Buddha, made several

attempts to destroy him. Once he hired some assassins and

waylaid Buddha. But eventually the assassins confessed their

guilt and were converted. A relief

panel from Gandhara shows
the assassins assembled behind a wall, while one of them bows
down at the feet of Buddha (PL XXII).
Buddha died at the ripe old age of
eighty in the
Sal
grove at
Kusinara between twin Sal trees. It is said that when he reached

the Sal grove at Kusmara, Buddha was too ill to

proceed.
Ananda then spread a couch for him between the twin Sal trees.

Buddha laid himself down on his right side with his head to the
north and finally breathed his last. The Gandhara relief
repro-
duced here (PL XXIII) is an elaborate representation of the

Great Decease. In the centre of the panel Buddha's body rests

on a cot between two Sal trees. In the uppermost row are flying

deities,while the next two lower ones show a number of princely

figures who are possibly

the Malla chieftains, some of whom are

throwing flowers on Buddha's body while others are grieving.

The monk nearest Buddha's head holding a fly whisk is
possibly
his disciple Ananda, while the nude figure standing second from
the left is an Ajivika ascetic. The monk standing next to the

Ajivika ascetic is
possibly
Buddha's principal disciple Maha-

kasyapa who is said to have arrived on the scene just after Buddha

had passed away. According to the story he got the news from
an Ajivika ascetic.
 of

Sakra's visit to Indrasala Cave, iViawura

 of

The Coffin, Gandhara

 & of

Worship oi
Stupa, Bharhut
 The Master's Life in Stone jc

that the dead bod)/ of the Master was

It is said
placed in
a coffin before it was consecrated to the flames. Gandhara A
relief
(PI. XXIV) reproduced here shows the coffin between twin
Sal trees attended by five
persons, namely, Vajrapani, three

monks of whom the one carrying a staff is

possibly Mahakasyapa,
and a Malla chieftain. Another relief from Gandhara (PL XXV)
shows the Great Decease and the cremation at Makutabandhana
near Kusmara. Beside the funeral pyre are two Malla chieftains

extinguishing the flames by pouring milk from vessels tied to

long poles.
After the cremation there was a scramble for the relics.

Finally these were divided among eight claimants which included

King Ajatasatru of Magadha, the Licchavis of Vaisali, the

Sakyas
of Kapilavastu, the Bulis of Allakappa, the Koliyas of Rama-

graima, the Mallas of Pava and a Brahman of

Vethadvipa. A
relief on one of the entrance pillars of the Bharhut torana shows
a royal personage riding on an elephant carrying a relic casket.

Stiipas
were built over the relics of the Master and worshipp-

ed by the devout. Thus said the Lord to Ananda when the

latter wanted to know how they should treat his

remains after

his death :, The remains are to be burnt and the bones put in

golden caskets, and at the cross roads caityas are to be built over
these and venerated with flags and streamers, and perfumes and

garlands. This is shown in a Bharhut relief panel (PI. XXVI).

R. C. KAR
 Dates of Principal Events in the Buddha s Life

It has been very widely circulated in the thar the Buddhists

press
of Ceylon and Burma have declared that in this year of 1956 A. D.

on May 24, 2500 years will be completed from the date of the
Buddha's Mahaparinirvana. About the date of this great world
event, there are current the Ceylon and Burma traditions, according
to which the date is 544 B.C.

In the Safayutta Nikaya (I, p. 5051) there is a veiled reference

to two eclipses,
first the lunar and the second the solar, both in the
1
month of lunar Magha and the events were in this order:

(1) Coming of the month of Magha

(2) The lunar eclipse which happened on Dec. 29, 559
A.C (560 B.C.)
(3) The solar eclipse of Jan. 14, 558 A.C. (or, 559 B.C.)
2
I have also shown that in the year on Dec. 27, 576 B.C.
(_ 5?5 A.C.) at G. M. Noon,
True Sun = if 1
r
r *r
270 d Cancrae = Q3
True Moon = 95 *j nearly
o / r /
57 J

The full-moon happened about 5-12 A.M., I.S.T.

Hence the true Winter Solstice day was at this period of
eclipses,

27th of December. This date of December 27, shows that the month
of Magha began with the Pausa full-moon on the W. S. day and

the months were full-moon ending.

On
examination of the great work, ^Canon der Finsternesse** by

Oppolzer for the period of time from, 580 A.C. to 483 A.C, I

found that the only eclipses first of the Moon and then of the Sun at

an interval of a fortnight, of which the solar happened at the

eclipse
middle of the month of Magha and both the eclipses were visible
from Sravasti. The dates of the two eclipses have been stated above.

we
accept that the Buddha's Nirvana happened in,
If
544 A.C.
the eclipses referred to in the Safoyutta
Nikaya, happened about 16

1 P. C. Sengupta, Ancient Indian Chronology, pp. 220, 221.

2 Ibid., p. 22on.
 Dates of Principal Events in the Buddha's Life 17

years before. The other view oE the Nirvana, viz., 483 B.C. about 76
years later than the year of the eclipses (560-559 B.C.) is not correct.
There can thus be no doubt that the Nirvana of the Buddha

happened in the year, 544 A.C. (i.e. 545 B.C.). With this basis

as a
certainty it has been possible to find out five dates ot principal

events in the Buddha's life-time, as we shall see presently.

It is
generally known that the Buddha passed away exactly after
completing 80 years in luni-solar reckoning. It is
generally known that
the moon's phases near to the fixed stars
repeat in 19 years. Hence
on completion of 76 years or 4 times 19 years, the lunar phase of his
birth day would be repeated approximately. In the remaining four

years of the Buddha's life the birth day in the Julian calendar would
very nearly present a new-moon day instead of a full-moon day and

vice versa. The same birth day lunar phase would come about half a
lunation later. This point cannot or should not be lost sight of by

any scientific researcher.

Observations: We take that the Buddha's Nirvana happened in,

544 A.C. This year and date are similar to May 21, 1951 A.D.
The actual date has come out as April 22, 544 A.C. (J.D.=
1522474).
Again on completion of 76 years, the year and date are similar to

May 4, 1947 A. D. The actual date year becomes April 7, 558

A.C (}.D.=3 1520997).
Here by the difference of the J. D. Nos. viz., 1477 days we have
4 years of 365*25 days+ 16 days.
In the last four years of the Buddha's life there must have been

50 lunations.
The dates as correctly found out are serially presented:
I. Siddhartha *s Birth Day
April 6, -624 A. C. (J.D.= 1493238) at G. M. Noon or LS.T.

5-30 P.M.
Long, of Long, of
Mean Sun = 7 55' ig"^ x Libra =186 45' 33"
Mean Moon= 186 20 19 .61 True Sun = 9 3444.44
Lunar Perigee = 237 38' 5
2". 31 True Moon =182 18 n
A. Node =ss 112 21' 44"55 Full Moon next day about 8 AM.
Moon, conjoined with < Libra
the chief star of the Visakhas.
 1 8 Dates of Principal Events in the Buddha's Life

II. Prince's Renunciation

December 18,^596 A. C. at G. M. N. or I. S. T. 5-30 P. M.,

J.D. 1503722.
Long, of Long, of
Mean Sun = 261 25' 55"36 True Sune =262 12' 50"
Mean Moon = 87 36 20.26 True Moon= 91 25 25
Lunar Perigee =3 23 5 25 d Cancri = 92 24 26
A. Node =a 6 ii 36.05 P.M. about 18 hrs. before, i.e.

on the previous day.

This date of Dec. 18, 596 A.C. was the day of the moon's
conjunction at night with Pusya naksatra of which 6 Cancri is the

"junction star". Gautama summoned his attendant Chandaka and

with him left his father's palace at midnight when all the citizens
3
were fast
asleep .

III. Siddbartba becoming the Buddha

April 10, 589 A.C. J.D. = 1506025, at G.M. Noon or I.S.T.

5-30 P.M.
Long, of Long, of
Mean Sun = 11 22' 40". 35 True Sun =
12 57' n"-95
Mean Moon = 192 50 51.02 True MooniSg 54 20.00
Lunar Perigee
= 224 36 16 P.M. about 6 hrs. later.

A. Node =s
245 14 26.07 Long, of
* Libra

= 190 14' 43"

IV. Buddha at the age of 76 years

April 7, 548 A.C. (J.

D. =1520997) at G. M. N. or I.S.T.

5-30 P.M.
Long, of Long, of
Mean Sun =8 29' 2 2". 22 True Sun = 9 47' 46". 88
Mean Moon =189 51 33.52 True Moon =190 34 2.19
Lunar Perigee = 184 12 21.84 oc Libra =190 48 53
A. Node =82 24 5 I
94 F M. and conjunction with
<*
Libra, at this time of

5-30 P.M. I.S.T.

3 Lalita Vistara, R. L. Mitra's edn., pp. 265-266. Bodhisattvah sarvam

nagarajanam prasuptath viditvardharatrisamayam copasthitam jnatva Pusyafica
naksatradhipatim yuktath jnatva sampratam niskramanakajamiti jnatva
Chandak'amamantrayate sma,
 Dates of Principal Events in the Buddha's Life 19

V. Buddha's Nirvana
h
Date April 22, 544 A.C., G. M. T. o or l.S.T. 5-30 A.M.
J. D. =1522474.

Long, of Long, of
Mean Sun =23 47' 52". 06 * Libra =190 52' 13"
Mean Moon =204 48 32.82 t Libra =196 47
Lunar Perigee=254 41 29.36 P.M. at about 8-30 P.M. l.S.T.

A. Node = 413 40.81 True Sun = 24 55' 35^-50

True Moon= 201 2 34
Over and above the five dates of Gautama Buddha's life-time it

is
possible to
present below the planetary positions on Gautama
Buddha's birthday.

Date, April, 6, 624 A.C. at G.M. Noon or l.S.T. 5-30 P.M.

(J.D.= 1493238).
Tropical longitude o
True Sun= 9 34 49"44 Full-moon about 6 A.M. next day.
Moon =182 18 1 1

Mercury =356 21
23 44
44 Mercury stood
Mercury at n
13 from Sun
Venus =329 21 43 Venus 40
Mars =354 5 1 Mars ,,
'5-5
32
2
Jupiter =298 3 Jupiter 7 1

Saturn =345 3 1
59 Saturn ,, 24
These "star planets" were all visible by the naked eye, as morning
stars, and could be seen before some hours of the Buddha's nativity.

Buddha might have been born on the 7th April of, 624 A.C. about
3 A.M. This procession of the planets was something extraordinary.

Concluding Observations
The astronomical examination presented above shows conclusively

Ceylon-Burma tradition as to the Mahaparinirvana of Gautama

that the
Buddha is the most accurate a tradition that has been faithfully and
I have seen the work of
wonderfully recorded. Geiger; his conclusions
as to this date of the Nirvana are indefinite and
confusing.
I
began the writing of this note and on the request Mr. Nirmal
Chandra Lahiri, now in-charge-of the Office of the Indian

Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac in Calcutta, who has very kindly

helped me in
revising the calculations.
20 Dates of Princifal Events in the Buddha's Ltfc

The moon has been corrected by four of five

principal equations.
1

The most important in

my findings is the ''procession of planets'
as

morning stars which led the astrologers at the birth of Gautama

Buddha to declare that this child born on the yth April, of the year,

624 A.C. would either bean Emperor of the World or a holy man
who would be a mendicant pure and simple. His teachings influenced
the religious culture of half the humanity.

The Buddhists always record the Mahaparinirvana era and never

the birth-day of Gautama Buddha,

P. C. SENGUPTA
 The Buddha and Language
features of human
Language is one of the most fundamental
culture; some would say the most fundamentally important. The use
of language man, as a biological genus, from other
distinguishes
animals. No other animals have yet been shown to
possess
articulate

speech as we know it in men; no doubt many animals succeed in com-

municating with each other in limited ways by the use of vocal sounds,
but in of the efforts of able biologists, no one has yet
many
spite

proved communication approaches the elaborate conventional-

that such

ized systems which characterize all known human speech.

And
conversely, no human group has ever been
found which lacked a

language in this sense.

In one way, then, language may be said to be a unitary feature
characterizing all men. But in another sense, which is socially much
more important, language divides man from man. For no two languages,
no two dialects of the same language even, are exactly alike. And
language differences are very noticeable. The most naive human being
quickly becomes aware of them, though it usually does not occur to

him to formulate them, and if

pressed,
he would often find it hard to
do so. If he hears speech in a language so remote from his experience
that he cannot understand it, his first reaction
may be that the alien
speaker cannot really talk at all. The Russian word for Germans means
"dumb; who can't talk" - that is, can't talk Russian.
literally people
There are
many similar instances. If the alien speaker uses a dialect

to the hearer's own, then, while the hearer

closely related may under-
stand perfectly or nearly so, he may be more or less
surprised, and his

surprise may be tinged with amusement or scorn; the speaker may

seem to him to be strangely ignorant of the
"proper" way of talking.

There are countries where only one language is spoken, but where
in the course of time strikingly different dialects of that language have

developed. It often happens then that one such dialect acquires

superior social prestige, most commonly for

political reasons;
it is often

the language of the

capital.
This becomes the "standard" language of
the country, like standard Southern British, or standard French

(originally local
to Paris), and all members of the politically
or culturally
22 The Buddha and Language

dominant class but often of them can also the

speak it; many speak
dialects of their original homes.
A peculiar variant of this situation occurs when the "upper" classes

adopt a language of culture which not the same as any dialect actu-
is

the be a language
ally spoken (by uneducated) in the country. It may
quite unrelated to any of the country's living dialects;
Latin occupied
this position in
Hungary for centuries; until 1825 Latin was the only
language allowed be spoken in the Hungarian parliament.
to In the

Roman Catholic Church, wherever it flourishes, Latin even now has a

certain
vogue, in writing and speech. It is thus used especially when

Roman Catholic priests need to communicate with each other but

cannot speak or understand each other's vernaculars; for example, when
a German and a or speak to one
Spanish priest have occasion to write
another. A very similar situation exists in India*
Most Indians know
that when
South Indian pandit, whose native language is Dravidian,
a

communicates with a North Indian pandit, both will naturally write or

speak in Sanskrit, which is

ordinarily
the only language known to both.

With this we draw near to the main topic of this paper.

The
general historic position in India of Sanskrit as a literary and religious

language is so well known to Indian readers, and to most others who

are likely to see this article, that I shall not discuss it. What interests

me here is its relation, and the relation of linguistic usage in general,

to Buddhism, and to the Buddha himself.

I
begin with a somewhat abbreviated translation of a passage from
the Pali canon (Cullavagga 5. 33; Vinaya Pitaka, PTS. ed., ii.
139.
iff.):

Two monks, brothers, of fine (cultivated) language and fine

(eloquent) speech, came to the Buddha and said : Lord,

here monks of miscellaneous origin (literally,
of various

names, clan-names, races or castes, and families) are

corrupt-

ing the Buddha's (repeating them in) their own

words by
dialects; let us put them into Vedic (chandaso arofema).
The Lord Buddha rebuked them: Deluded men, how can
say this? This will not
you lead to the conversion of the

unconverted And he delivered a sermon and comman-

ded (all)
the monks : You are not to
put the Buddha's
words into Vedic. Who does so would commit a sin. I
 The Buddha and Language 23

authorize you, monks, to learn the Buddha's words each in

his own dialect.

This incident is
certainly a part of the oldest Buddhist tradition, for

very similar accounts are found in a number of Chinese translations of

the Buddhist canonical works. They are fully

presented in French
translations by Lin Li-kouang, V aide-memoire de la vraie loi (Paris,

1949), 218 ff. I have given excerpts from the most important parts
in
English (based on Lin's French) in my Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
Grammar (New Haven, 1953) 1.10-12 (see also the adjoining sec-
tions).
These be repeated here, but should be consulted by
will not

any one who wishes fully to understand the reasons for the inferences
I am about to draw.
Several facts of considerable interest emerge from a
study of the
various forms of this ancient passage.

First : dialect differences were clearly

and easily preceptible in the

speech of the monks who attended the Buddha. It is said, in a

Chinese translation, that "their pronunciations are not the same."

Second :
many, doubtless most of these monks spoke Middle Indie
dialects. There were some, particularly born brahmans, who knew
and could use the sacred language of brahmanism; but it may perhaps
be assumed that even they, when not speaking to one another, made
use of Middle Indie. In one of the Chinese translations the two ori-

ginally brahman monks complain that their fellow-monks "do not

know masculine and feminine gender, nor singular and plural, nor pre-
sent, past, and future, nor long and short vowels, nor metrically
1

light and heavy syllables/ Such traits of

language, which seemed
errors to the brahmans, characterize some Middle Indie dialects as
they
would appear from the standpoint of Sanskrit, when compared
with it'.
Third: when proposing to codify the Buddha's teachings in their
own "cultured" language, the two brahman monks say chandaso aro-

pema, which certainly means "let us put (them) into Vedic." Some have
understood, "into verse". But this makes no sense in the context; it
is clearly not verse with prose, but a different language,
as contrasted

which they wish to use. The word chandas is regularly used by

Panini when he notes a Vedic usage that differs from his own Sanskrit;
he always says cbandasi, "in the Veda" (such and such a form is
 24 The Buddha and Language

used). This use of chandas is also familiar in

epic
and classical Sans-

krit literature
(Boehtlingk and Roth, Sanskrit- Worterbuch, II. 1080,
s. v. chandas 3; V. S. Apte, The Student's Sanskrit-English Dic-

tionary, Bombay, 1922, p. 212, s. v, chandas 5). Here chandas need

not refer to the poetic parts of the Veda alone, and it is not at all

likely that it was so intended. The Brahmanas and Upanisads, which

is chan-
are
mainly prose,
are classed as
parts of the Veda, that
das. The language of the Upanisads, even the oldest of them like

Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya, is fairly close to classical Sanskrit,

but it could still be called linguistically chandas "Vedic". It was pro-

bably something like this language that the brahman monks wanted to

use. It
may, of course, have been even closer to Paninean Sanskrit.
We have no way of telling. But no such term as "Sanskrit" is used
in the Pali text, nor even in the commentaries on it; indeed, the Pali

equivalent (Samkhata) of the word Samskrta seems never to be used in

a
linguistic sense. Nor do the Chinese translators use any word which
proves that their Indie originals used that word. Panini's date is still

uncertain, and it is at least

possible that he was later than the Buddha.
In any event, the use of the word Samskrta of the Sanskrit language

seems to be relatively late. The high, cultivated language of brahmans,

into which the two monks wanted to translate the Buddha's teachings
was known to them "Vedic" (chandas), in
as contrast with the Middle

Indie dialects which were used by most of their brother-monks; some

Middle Indie dialect was doubtless used by the Buddha himself.

Fourth : the Buddha emphatically rejected the proposal of the

brahman monks, and gave orders that all monks should learn and re-

peat his teachings in their own several dialects. This clearly implies
that when Buddhist gospel was carried by missionaries into new
the

regions, the converts were to exercize

the same privilege. They were
to learn and recite the teachings in their own local dialects. This is

very definitely stated in several of the Chinese translations, which

command use of "the popular language" of the various regions or coun-

tries. And all versions of this passage, northern and southern, make

very clear the Buddha's reason for this injunction. He was preaching
a gospel for all men, not for a select elite. He wanted to be sure

that every human being could understand his message. He felt

that his aim would be defeated if his words were codified in a
 The Buddha and Language 25

learned, literary language (Vedic) which only the upper classes could

understand.
At first, it seems clear that Buddhist monks and missionaries

obeyed this injunction. Early Buddhist inscriptions, like those of Bhar-

hut, give evidence of this. Wherever Buddhist communities were
established, versions of the sacred texts, or some of them, were recited
in the local vernaculars. In one or two cases, extensive local canons
of this sort, or parts of them, in Middle Indie vernaculars, have
survived to this day. The best known is the Pali canon; it
originated
somewhere in west-central India. We may be certain that there were

many others, but most of them have been lost.

As long as Buddhism spread only in the northern parts of India

the use of local vernaculars can hardly have involved anything like
what we should call "translation". In the Buddha's time, the
popular
dialects of those regions were almost exclusively Indo-Aryan, ?nd chiefly
in the Middle Indie stage. They must also at that time have been
so close to each other as to be mutually intelligible. (Even some cen-
turies later, the edicts of Asoka suggest that this
may still have been
true). A Buddhist missionary could recite the texts in his own verna-

cular, and his hearers would repeat them in theirs, perhaps without
even clearly apprehending the linguistic differences. (But it is
quite
possible, also, that the dialect of the missionary may at times have
been imitated, to some extent, by the local converts, consciously or
unconsciously.) Translation cannot have become a serious problem
until Buddhism spread to Dravidian-speaking regions in the south, and
to extra-Indian countries like Chinese Turkestan, Tibet and China.

However, after a few centuries the Buddha's followers in India,

and in some adjoining countries, began to ignore his injunction to

clothe his teachings only in

genuine, popular vernaculars. Instead

they began to make use of canons composed in learned languages,

which were not, no longer, the native dialects of any people.
or Pali

itself was originally based on a north Indian vernacular; but after

Buddhist monks carried the Pali canon to Ceylon, Burma, Siam, and
Cambodia, it came to be a church language, like Latin in Europe* It
had to be learned in school, and is still so learned in southern Buddhist
countries. In short, it came to have a
position
in those regions similar

to Sanskrit in brahmanical India.

26 The Buddha and Language

In India itself, or in some parts of it, what happened was different.

The language of literature and

great social prestige of Sanskrit,
as a

to influence Buddhist
culture among brahmanical Hindus, began their

neighbours and associates. Like the two learned monks in the old

Vinaya story, later Buddhists felt that it would be more dignified if

they imitated the brahmans and Sanskritized their compositions.

Some
of them the poet Asvaghosa is
example frankly abandoned
an the

use of vernaculars in literary works, and used standard Sanskrit as a

vehicle. Asvaghosa is believed to have been a brahman himself origi-

nally,
and to have undergone the usual brahmanical Sanskrit education
in his
youth.
A different and a
very curious course was adopted by one group of
Buddhists. Instead of completely giving up the literary use of verna-

culars, they took an old Middle Indie dialect (its original

locale is

unknown to us) in which Buddhist texts existed, and partially

Sans-

kritized it, but so imperfectly that the underlying Middle Indie still

showed through the half-veneer of Sanskrit. Thus arose what I have

called Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (it
could have been called, perhaps,

Hybrid Middle Indie), a

strange language in which for centuries most
North Indian Buddhist texts (so far as we know them) were composed.
It has often been described as a
corrupt or bad Sanskrit, but this

distorts the truth. It is a blend of Middle Indie with Sanskrit, but its

basis, or substratum, is Middle Indie; the Sanskrit features are secon-

darily
and superficially laid on.

To be sure, as time went on, this Sanskritizing process was carried

further and further. In the oldest texts preserved to us, notably the

Mahavastu, Middle Indie or hybridized phonology and grammatical

forms are still
very abundant, though genuine Sanskrit forms are

perhaps equally so. In later times, more and more regular Sanskrit
forms appear. Often these replace original Middle Indie or hybrid
forms in later versions of the same passages, so that we can see the

process of Sanskritization going on before our eyes. The latest works

of this tradition came to look
superficially like almost standard Sanskrit,

though careful study will always reveal some Middle Indie forms. But
even the latest Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit texts still retain numerous
words, lexical items, which show their vernacular origin. Though
they may be made to look like Sanskrit, though their phonetic shape
 The Buddha and Language 27

and grammatical formations may be perfectly standard Sanskrit, these

items of vocabulary never occur in Sanskrit, or never in the same mean-

ings, whereas they do occur (for

the most part) in Middle Indie
thus that to the
dialects, especially Pali. They prove they belong

going back ultimately to Middle Indie,

tradition, in of
Hybrid spite
their
seeming Sanskrit guise.
Thus the Buddha's desire that his
teachings be couched in the

peoples was frustrated, at

native dialects of all least in his native land.

It would not have consoled him to know it, but there ensued one result

of interest to linguists the development of a strange, artificial, literary

language, perhaps unique in its nature Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.

FRANKLIN EDGERTON
 Phonetic Convergence in Pali
In his Preface to the Pali xvi, Childers has
Dictionary, p.

compiled a short list of Pali words, origin of which is traced to

one or
more Sanskrit words. He has just listed the words without indicating
any lines on which depends the trend of these changes.
I
propose to label the process of transforming two or more
Sanskrit words into one Pali word
Convergence', sinceas 'Phonetic
in it we notice actually two or more Sanskrit words giving rise to one

Pali word only. The changes have been carried on so far that at times
five words have originated one word, i.e., five or more words
or six

have been converged into one word, e.g., sattha from Sastra, sastra,
sartha, Jakta, Sasta etc.
The changes that normally take place are due to the working of
the laws of assimilation. In assimilation we see that rt, tra, rth etc.

are to tth and if word contains one of the

changed any any
above combinations, converge into one phono-
it is natural that it will

type. In
the process of change, meanings of the words are to
be taken into consideration, and it is only the context which deter-
mines what meaning is to be attached to that particular
word in

question.
There are many other factors that generally lead to such conver-

gences. It
may be due to a dialectal pecularity or to the operation
of the various laws of phonetic changes. The following is a list of

words where such convergences lake place.

Thus Skt. dosa 'fault' and dvesa 'hatred' give rise to

Pali (henceforth abbreviated as P.) dosa, the phono-type

preserving both the meanings in different contexts. The first

is found with
meaning dosa 'fault*
usually dosakhetta 'blight
of the field*
(Miln^o), dosatina 'spoilt by weeds' (011.356).
The second is not very often distinct in meaning from the first.

In most frequent combination dosa

appears with either raga (lust),
and moha (delusion), or lobha (greed) to denote three main blemishes
of character;
P. ottha may be derived from Ved. ostha, 'lip' (J. 11.264) or
from Ved, ustra 'bison'. In Cl. Skt. it means a camel. It is

mentioned in two lists of domestic animals (1.111.385);

 Phonetic Convergence in Pali 29

P. bhusa 'chaff,
(011.252) husk*
or 'strong' (J.v^Gi) is either

from Ved. busa 'chaff* (nt.) and buSa (tn) or Ved. bhrSa 'strong';
P. puttha 'nourished' (J.i 1 1.467) or asked (Sn.8^) is either from

Ved. pusta 'nourished' or prsta 'asked';

P. hasita (A.i.26i) either from Skt. hasita
'laughing, merry*
or hrsta; hasa Daughter* either from Sk. hasa or harsa;

P. sukka 'planet, star (Nett. 150) or white (Dh. 87) is either

from Ved. Jukra or Jukla 'white'; P. sutta 'asleep' (Dh47) or

'a thread,
string' (1.1.52)
either from Skt. supta or sutra; P. sutti

'pearl-shell', a
perfume Kuruvindakasutti, a
powder for rubbing the
body (Vin. 11.107) or a good speech (^^,340) ls either from Skt.

gukti or sukti;
1
P. kinna 'ferment, or scattered is either from
yeast (Vin.n.ii6)
4
Skt. kinva strewn' or
pp. of kirati;
P. appamatta 'little, slight' (1.1.242) or diligent, careful (Sn.223)
is either from Skt
alpamatra or apramatta;
t

P. accha 'bear' or clear, not covered, not shaded

(J. 17.507)

either from Ved. rksa or Skt. accha;

P. sarati 'remembers* (J.i
1.29) or moves, flows (J.i 11.95) is cither

from -y/smr 'to remember', or ^/sru 'to flow';

P. sattu
'ememy' (J.v.94) or barley-meal, flour
0.111.343) is

either from Skt. Satru or Saktu;

P. adda s e ^ber from Skt.
'ginger' (1.1.244) or to melt (Jiv353) ^

adraka or adra (<rdati) or ardati;

P. dittha 'seen'
(Sn. 147) or an enemy (J.i, 280)
is either from
Skt. drsta or d vista;

P. icchati, desires, asks (Sn. cf. aticchati

127) or to go (J.i 1
1.462),
(<ati+r) is either from Skt. icchati or rcchati;

P. asita 'having eaten' (1^.555) or not clinging to or unattached

(J.i 1*247) is either from pp. of asati or aSrita O+sita, pp. of *?ri;
P. assa 'horse'
(Sn. 769) or corner only in compounds 'caturassa',

four-cornered (J.iv-46) is either from Skt. aJfva or aJfra;

P. assattha, the holy fig-tree, Ficus Religiosa (J.i.i6) or a species

of in is either
antelope phrases issammiga==issamiga (J.v.4io)
from Skt. irsya
or
rsya-(mrga);
P. agga 'foremost' (J.i. 5 2) or a small house, hut is
(J.i. 123)
either from Skt. agra or a contracted form of agara, a small house;
30 Phonetic Convergence in Pali

P. patta 'wing of a bird, feather (V in^.259) or a bowl, specially

the alms-bowl of a bhikkhu (1.1.52) is either from Ved. patra or patra;
1

P. juti 'splendour (J-n-353) is from Skt. dyuti or

either jyuti;
P. muddha infatuated (J.v. 436) or head (Sn. 983)
is either

from Skt. mugdha or Ved. murdhan;

1.134) or a vine or bush

P. muddika, a seal-ring, of
signet-ring (J.

grapes (J.VI^g) is either from mudrka or *mrdvika;

P.
jhayati 'meditates (Sn. 165) or burns (J.i.6i) is either from

dhyayati <\/dha 'to meditate' or ksayati <Y/ksay and

Skt. ksl

(cf.
khara and charika) to burn, to be on fire, fig. to be consumed;
P. vassati 'rains' or to bellow, to crow, to utter a cry
(Sn* 30)
'of animals' (1.1.436) of a cock is either from Skt. varsati v/vrs, <
I.E. Wer? 'to wet* or
vasyati ^^/vaS to bellow, Ved. vasyate;
P. atta, law suit, case (}.n.2) or distressed (Sn,694) is either from
Skt. artha or arta 'distressed', cf. Skt. adra (P. adda and alia) ;

P, annata, known (Sn.699) or unknown. (Vin.i .209) is either

from pp. of ajanati or ajfiata;

P. rukkha 'tree' (1.111.327) is either from Ved. ruksa or Skt.
vrksa, cf. also P. rakkha;

P. himsati, injures (Sn. 515) is either from Skt. himsati or hinasti;

P. pubba, pus (J.i
1. 1
8) or before (J.i 1
1,200) is either from Ved.

puya >' *puva ^> *puvva ;> pubba, cf. puyati, to small rotten,
b. pusE.
pus or from Ved. purva, Gr. promos. Goth, fruma, Av.
pourvo, Skt. purvya;
P. being (Vin.i.5) or curse (J.i 11.460) or attached to
satta, living

(J.I.376) or seven ($^446) is either from Skt. satva or sapta

or sakta;

P. sattha, a weapon, knife (J.i. 72) or a science, art (Miln.3) or

a caravan (Vin. 1.152) or able, competent (J.i 11.173) or breathed
(Vin.i.87) is either from Skt. Jastra or Sastra or sartha or Jakta or

Jvasta <C\/svas 'to breathe';

P. attha, eight (J.i 1.86) or meaning (Sn33i) is either from Ved.
astau or artha; attha, meaning (Sn33i) disappearance, setting or

(J.i. 1
7 5) is either from Skt. artha or Ved. asta (of unknown

etymology);
P. addha, half (Sn. 721, usually in combination with diyaddha
l
rich (D.i.i 15) either from Skt. ardha or adhya.
/i) or thrive,
i is

MADHUSUDAN MALLIK
 Pali 'maraji' : Sanskrit 'smarajit'
Gautama. Sakya became 'Buddha' (The Awakened) after having
defeated Mara and his host. In Buddhist literature and tradition
Mara is the demigod of
temptation and evil and
therefore of Death.

The word is
generally accepted as a derivation
of the root mr 'to die'.

folk-etymology as Mara
This appears to be only does not strictly
conform to the Indian idea of the god or the demon of Death.
Mara is
essentially
and the most powerful of his host
a tempter,

to the meditation
passion which is fatal
are the nymphs that excite

of a man on the The most obvious derivation is

spiritual path.
from the root smr 'to remember, to remember longingly, to desire

company, to
desire
lustfully'.
'Mara' therefore an comes from
older form Asmara
(for the loss of the initial sibilant compare
Middle

Indo-Aryan 'neha* from sneha, and Sanskrit candra, tayii, tara, pasyati
from historical scandra,
*stayu, *stara, *spasyati respectively) which
a close cognate of Sanskrit smara 'sexual love (abstract or personi-
is

fied) > god of love'. Smara first occurs in Atharvaveda where three

hymns (6.130-132) are devoted to sexual love personified. The first

quoted below. It shows that 'Smara'

verse of the first of these hymns is

of Atliarvavecia not is akin to both 'Mara' of Buddhist literature

only
and 'Smara' of Sanskrit literature but be their source.
appears to
ratbajitam rathajiteylnam apsarasam smarahj
devah pra hiouta smaram asatt mam anu socattij /
*This is Sexual Love
(smara) of the Rathajits (Conquerors of
Chariot-riding Warriors, or
Fighters Riding Chariots) and of the

nymphs belonging to the Rathajits. O Gods, send Sexual Love to

that man (so

that) he would long for me'.
The word mara signifying 'physical love' and 'god of love' is

not unknown in Sanskrit literature. The earliest occurrence is in

Harivamsa (vide Monier-Williams' Dictionary).

As conquers of physical love and temptation there is a close

agreement between the Buddha and Siva. Both were the targets of

Mara/Smara when engaged in meditation and penance. Gautama

Sakya remained unmoved and he ultimately emerged as the vigilant
or awakened (buddba, prabaddha or pratibuddha) conqueror of
 3* Pali 'marajt i Sanskrit 'smarajit'

Mara. Siva was moved only for a moment and his wrath put
Smara to ashes.

It is not unlikely that the two stories are ultimately connected.

There is a basic connection between spiritual penance (tapasya)

and

subjugation of
passion. At least there is no possibility
of the story

of Siva having been modelled after the story of the Buddha or

vice versa.

The story of the destruction of the god of love (Smara, Madana)

by Siva ultimately goes back to a Vedic origin. Satapatba Brabmana
(1.7.4.1-3) narrates a story which tells us of Rudra's terrible anger

against Prajapati when the latter had contemplated incest with his

daughter.

frajapatir ha vai svarn duhitaram abhidadbyau divam

vosasam va mithunyenaya syam iti tarn sambabhuva
tad vai devanam aga asa ya ittbam svam dubitaram

asmakam svasaram karottti. te ha deva ucuh

yo' yarn devah pasiinam iste 'tisamdham vayarn

carati
ya ittharn svarn duhitaram asmakam karoti
vidhyemam iti. tarn rudro 'bhyayatya vivyadha...

The creator had desire for his own daughter, Day or Dawn,
4<
I would pair with her", and he paired with her. This appeared as
a sin gods (who thought,) "He is
to the thus behaving with his
own daughter, our sister!" The gods spoke to the god that ruled
over the beats, ' He is committing an act of transgression as he is
4

behaving thus with his own daughter, and our sister. Do smite

him." Rudra charged and smote him.

SUKUMAR SEN
 The Buddhist Social Ideals

The social and political

world in which Early Buddhism arose

was characterized by an element oE intense crisis. In its homeland of

Magadha there was arising an imperial state which was threatening
the very existence of a number of other states both monarchical and

oligarchic-republican. Kasi, Anga, Kosala, Avantl, the Vajjis, Mallas,

Sakyas, all these and many more, were soon to feel the compelling
impact of the rulers of Magadha. Economic
experiencing a life was
virtual revolution with the
development of currency as a medium of
exchange and the consequent growth of trade and commerce. Out
was emerging a new class, the Gabapati and Setthi,
of this revolution

whose economic influence and political prestige could no longer be

ignored. The story narrating how Anathapindika bought a

plot of
land belonging to Prince Jeca is indicative of the position of this new
class.
Large standing armies replacing the old tribal levies, a new
class of
professional bureaucrats and a new powerful class of bankers
and merchants, these were the characters in the drama of the new
society that was in the
making. The conflict of ideas was paralleled
by a clash of classes and in this "time of troubles" the old norms and
values developed by the tribal culture of the Aryans
invading
were successfully challenged. The new age that was dawning
demanded new forms of political organization and a revaluation of

norms of social behaviour and formulation of new social goals.

The history of Early Buddhism reflects the elements of crisis as

also the
attempts made to crystalize
and express the new social

outlook.
The traditional accounts tell us that Siddhartha saw the four signs

prior to his Great Renunciation. These arc significantly described as

an old man, an ailing man, a dead body and a recluse. It is possible

to interpret these as symbols not only of the different phases of an

individual's life but also as those of the changing social scene. The

first three may be taken as portents of the sense o anxiety from which
the old society, now on the verge of a transformation, was suffering
while the figure of the Recluse was the traditional answer to the

challenge of the times. Siddhartha himself became a Recluse and

5
 34 Buddhist Social Ideals

1
practised severe austerities. The Bodhisatta
gave up austerities

as futile but continued to pursue the

phase oE withdrawal from the

world. With the

Enlightenment and the Dhammacakkapavattana,
however, came the culmination. Indeed the Mahabhinikkhamana
can be properly understood only in the context of the Dhammacakka-
pavattana for the two arc organic parts of the single process of the

making of the Buddha. The Turning of the wheel of Law and the
2
foundation of the Sangha were events of great social significance.
The whole episode of the Buddha's reluctance to preach the Doctrine
and the successful intervention of Brahma Sahampati is significant in
its social content. It is the dramatization of the profound conflict
between the claims of the traditional ascetic and the demands of the
New Man whose ideals and aspirations were to be reflected in Early
Buddhism. And the portals were thrown
open and Buddhism began
its career.

This Early Buddhist movement had to pass through three distinct

phases before it could achieve its ultimate social fulfilment. These

phases may be described as isolation, association and transformation.

8
The phase of isolation may be called the Khaggavisana phase. This
1
was the phase of
wandering alone
4
*like the horn of a rhinoceros/

This phase persists throughout the history of Early Buddhism as

phrases like "a hole-and-corner life is all a home caa give, whereas

Pilgrimage is in the
open,
it is hard for a house-keeping man to live

completeness and full perfection and

the higher life in all
its full

purity"- almost
is a stock- phrase in the Nikayas. To a certain extent
expressed the antagonistic claims of the temporal realm and
it also

the realm of the spirit, a sentiment which is common to all great reli-

gions of the world. As the Dhammapada puts it Anna, hi labhiipanisa,

anna nibbanagamini~thc Path of gain and the path of Nibbana arc

totally different (Verse 75). This early phase, then, was preoccupied

1 Sec Majjhima Nikaya, I, pp. 162- 163

2 See Arnold Toynbce, A Study of History, III, pp. 270-271. It is

difficult to agree with all that Toynbce has to say especially when he describes
the mental content of Buddha's Enlightenment as nothing short of "spiritual
s<lf- annihilation".

3 As in eko care khaggauisanakappo, Sutta Nipata, Verse 35fL

4 Af. $., I, p. 240, Chalmers, Farther Dialogues of the Buddha, I, p. 175

 Buddhist Social Ideals
35

with renunciation and seclusion, the phase when monks lived

away from all social contacts beyond the most rudimentary and
restricted to the receiving of alms. But mere renunciation and
seclusion were but a
part of the New Way of Life preached by the
Buddha. And the social consequences of a large scale renunciation
were not slow making themselves manifest as the Mabavagga story
in

indicates. Seeing a large number of their men folk adopting the garb
of the homeless wanderer the
people cried vedbavyaya agato samano :

Gotamo sabbe Sanjaye netvan kimsii dani nayissati (the ascetic Gotama
has come to deprive our women of their husbands after having taken
5
away all the Sanjayas, whom shall he take away now? )
It also led to

an incipient clash with the State when men of the royal service, debtors
and others who had social, economic and political obligations to

discharge came to be admitted and the Buddha promptly laid down

6
rules
forbidding such ordinations.
In the meanwhile a transformation was going on within the body
of the Sangha itself. Devadatta's Five Demands, whatever the motive
behind their presentation, represent the last stand of the old phase.
These related to life-long practice of living
in the woods, on alms,

dressing themselves in cast-off rags, living under trees and abstaining

7-
from eating fish or flesh. Demands like these were rightly rejected for
they would have isolated the community from the broad surface of popu-
lar life. Now the ideal of khaggavisana was being slowly replaced, in the

matter of emphasis, by that of sukha samghassa samaggi, samagganam

tapo sukho blessed is the unity of the Sangha, blessed is the exertion

of the united (Dhammapada, verse 194). This change was due, in

development of the Buddhists as

the
to a distinct
part, religious

community. The insistence on samaggt may be adequately explained

in the changed social composition of the Sangha and the change in

its social role. Now

had begun the phase of the association of the

Sangha with the society at large and this created the problems of

adjustment. The Sangha had to define its own social relations and
also influence the social ideals of the society
at
large.
The members
of the Sangha were now in sustained social contact with the aristocracy

5 Mah* Vagga, I, 24, 5

6 See Ibid., I, 408.
7 Culla Vagga, VII, 3, 15
36 Buddhist Social Ideals

as well as the common people. This social orientation is indicated by

the fact thatamong the categories of
proficiencies acquired by certain

outstanding monks, such as in the

knowledge of the Suttanta, Vinaya
and Dhamma, there is also mentioned one of wisdom in worldly lore.*
And among all the foremost disciples the Venerable Anarida was the
one who had shown the greatest proficiency in maintaining excellent
and intimate relations with members of the society at large. Oldenberg

explains it in material terms as "the external existence of the Church

even demanded, that regular relations be maintained between it and the

worldly circles, which were favourably disposed to the interests of the

Order. Without a laity an order of mendicants could not be

thought of, and the religious movement of Buddhism would have been
9
shut out from contact with the broad surface of popular life". But to -

describe the association of the Sahgha with society at large in purely

utilitarian and material terms would be to state only a part of the

process. For Buddhism had now begun to

distinguish the believers

from the non-believers in the lay society indicating thereby that the

process of the
creation of a Buddhist society was already at work. Thus
when a monk spent his Vassa in a
village
and if the people of the

village had to migrate during that time the monk was required to go
10
with those who were believers whatever their number. The import-
ance of this emergent Buddhist society was duly recognized by giving
the laity the right to scrutinize the intellectual
accomplishments and
11
moral earnestness of a supported on monk their devoted charity. -

Certain influential laymen successfully mediated between the Buddha

13
and those monks with whom the Master was displeased; the moral

and social
pressure of the lay society was duly enlisted in the task of

disciplining quarrelsome and recalcitrant

groups of monks like the
Kosambaka bhikkhus 13 ; and an attempt was made to curb the evil
schismatic activities of Devadatta by carrying out an act of public
1 *
denunciation in Rajagaha, Incidents like these, and they arc numer-

ous, bring out the increased importance of the society at large in the

8 Ibid., IV, 4, 4
9 Buddha, p. 382 10 M. V. t III, 10
i x M. N. t II, p. 172 12 Ibid., I, p. 458
13 Ibid., II, p. 172
14 M. V., X, 5, ,
 Buddhist Social Ideals
37

affairs of theSangha. This awareness of social ties also led to the

formulation of such rules whereby the Sangha was required to expel

one of its members when, in the
opinion of the congregation, his
15
conduct was likely to lead the laity astray. This close identification

of spiritual and social interests

between the Sangha and the laity is

very succinctly expressed by Nagasena when he enumerates the ten

qualities
of an ideal layman. The ideal layman, according to Nagasena,

"suffers like pain and feels like joy as the Order does". 1 * With the
statement of such views the process of association was completed and
that of transformation was already underway.

This process of transformation in the role of Buddhism and its

Sangha was closely associated with the Buddhist view of society. It

was readily recognized that society was constantly preoccupied with

1
- that this instinct led to
things (fafancabbirata faja)', acquisitive
18
conditions of strife, conflict and imbalance. The situation was
further complicated by the existence of hierarchies of power, wealth
and prestige. By the laws of its own being and nature Buddhism, as

an organized way of spiritual life, could not directly initiate a social

revolution for then it would have projected itself into the social and
economic problems of the times. It has often been argued thar the
19
Buddha was no social reformer. In such arguments the Buddha's
views about the irrelevance of caste distinction explained away as is

doctrinaire discussion. But suttas like Va$ala in the Sutta Nipata and
Madbura, Assalayana and Canki in the Majjhima Nikaya are not just

doctrinaire dissertations but have a most direct social content. It is

readily agreed that the Sangha knew of no caste distinctions but it

parenthetically added
is that this castelessness of the Sangha living
with the lay community had no effect on that lay
in close association

community. This is a proposition diff'cult to accept. The Buddhist

position
was made quite clear in the many utterances of the Buddha
and in the composition of the Order itself and it was that caste as an

15 C. V., I, 13, 7
1 6 MilinJa Panha, pp. 9,4-95

17 Dbammapada, verse 254 18 M, N. t II, p. 120

19 Sec Oldenberg, Of. cit., p. 153. Pick, Social Organization in North-

East India in Buddha s Time (Trans, by Maitra), p. 3Z
 38 Buddhist Social Ideals

was unacceptable to the Buddhist community. In fact the

institution

whole trend of Buddhist teachings was to create an cqualitarian ethos

which would cut across tribal lines and the distinctions of caste and
race. The Buddha had "I assert that lineage docs not enter
said ;

ao '

into a man's being either

good or bad; nor do good look's or wealth/
He had challenged the extravagant claims put forward by the priest-
hood. During its third phase of becoming an instrument of social
transformation Buddhism had new norms and
postulated certain

goals of social behaviour. The ideal

put forward before society now
21
was the creation of a sappurisa or an uttamapurisa. The basis of this
new society were vissasa (mutual trust, co-operation in the place of
23
conflict and acquisitiveness), asahasa (non-violence), samata (basic

equality of all human beings) and dbamma (righteousness as an ulti-

mate value) In fact the four pillars of this society were declared to be

unity through an absence of invidious

sacca (truth, homogcnity, dis-

tinctions based on birth, wealth or family in the matter of social

evaluation,) dhamma (righteousness, goodness, morality) dana

(charity
as a way of life rather than a
specific set of isolated acts)
23
tsabasa (non-violence, violence being the negation of
'

righteousness.)
The rule of dhamma was to be looked upon as of all-pervasive force,
valid as much in the home as in the market-place as indicated in
dhammena matapitaro bhareyya, payojayc dhammikam so vanijjam
his parents and
(righteously he should support righteously he should
24
carry on
his trade.) The Five commandments for the laymen
namely, abstinence from violence, stealing, falsehood, immorality and
drinking intoxicating liqujrs, were simple formalization of the
a

four pillars
of society
and became the basis of Buddhist social

ethics. When to these were added Faith in the Buddha, Dhamma

25
and Sahgha, respect for ciders and women, disciplining of the

mind in the way of righteousness, the formulation of the Buddhist

social ethics was completed. These ideals were postulated as a

20 M. N. 9 p. 179
II,

21 Dhp., Verse 54 22 Ibid.. Verse 204

23 See Dbp ., Verses 84, 129, 142, 223, 256, 257

24 Sutta NipSta, Verse 404

25 Cf. the seven conditions of stability as preached to the Yajjis by the

Buddha, Mahafarinibbana Stt* Digha Nikiya, S. B. E., XI, pp. 3*5
t
 Buddhist Social Ideals 39

middle way between the two extremes of aggressiveness resulting

in constant with to the exclusion o
preoccupation acquisitiveness
all other considerations and leading to dissipation and
indulgence
degradation. Reason, moderation, harmony, a constant awareness
oE the primacy o
righteousness, the ennobling nature
of charity

as a way of life, compassion and wisdom were the norms which

were now constantly put before society. This society was conceived
oE as a "universal" as distinguished from a tribal society; it was the

community of the righteous anywhere and everywhere unencumbered

rules of tribal, regional or caste affiliations.
by
These were the social ideals that Early Buddhism espoused and
put before the society of its times. The role of the Sangha was now
that of thecustodian of the moral and spiritual values of society. The
Sangha now, in this final phase, became the spiritual preceptor, the

personal counsellor and the educator of the society

within which it

lived. It functioned within society though it was not of it. The

Dbamma had now become both a
spiritual
and social force. Ic became
an instrument dedicated to the creation of certain values like samata

(cf.
Asoka's on dandasamata and vyavaharasamata), dana
insistence

sacca and dbamma. These social ideals were of general applicability

and cut across divisive lines of caste, and race and thus provided
tribe

the social cement to fuse the diverse ethnic and cultural elements into

a harmonious social
group based on certain basic postulates.

B. G. GOKHALE
 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions
At an ancient time to which we refer, five
propositions derogatory
to the Arhats were discussed in the Communities
dignity of Buddhist
1
of Ceylon as well as of the Indian continent arc
.
They explained
both in the Abhidharma of Sarvastivadins of the IHrd
(Jnanafrasthana
century after the Nirv., T. 1543, k. 10,
p. 819 b; T. 1544, k. 7,
2
p. 956b) and the Ceylonese Abhidhamma (Katbavattku> II. 1-5,
pp. 163-203). They were taken up later again and discussed in the
Vibhasa (T. 1545, k. 99, p. Ko'sa the of
510 c), (I. p. 2), glosses
8
Paramartha and the Treatise of
Ki-tsang on the sects . In these are
found the enunciation of those
propositions and the references furnished
by the authors and in the ancient sources to the date of their invention
and the name of their inventor. On the whole the references arc
not concordant.
THE FIVE PROPOSITIONS : In the sources enumerated above, the
five manner:
propositions (Paficavastu) are formulated in the following

(a) The Arhat can be seduced by others and may have seminal
losses while
asleep.

(b) Though they are freed from sullied

ignorance (klistt-

avidya) they remain meanwhile subject to unsullied

ignorance (aklista ajnana), the residue of their old

impurities.

(c) Though freefrom doubt with regard to the three doors of

deliverance (vimoksamukha) they remain subject to doubt

with regard to the external and even the four
things,

holy truths.

1 Les tcxtcs pali sout cites les editions de la Pali Text Society
d'apres
de Londrcs; les tcxtes chinois 1'edition du Taisho dc
d'apres Issaikyo J.

Takakusu et K. Watanabe (T).

2 Sur cc tcxte, voir S. Sastri, fnanaprasthanasastra retranslated into
Sanskrit, vol. I, Santiniketan, 1955.

3 P. Demieville, L'origine des Secies

bouddhiques d'apres Paramartha.
Melanges Chinois et Bouddhiques, I, 1932, pp. 15-64. On trouve dans cet
ouvrage la traduction du Traite de Ki-tsang ct des fragments du commentairc
de Paramartha au Traite de Yasumitra.
 Buddhist Controversy over the Pive Propositions 4!

(d) They can be taught by others and owe them their

salvation.

(e)
The exclamation: "Oh regarded as a
sorrow** may be
means destined to initiate the appearance of the Way.
These propositions aim at nothing less than dethronement of the
Arhat from the enviable position enjoyed by them from the very

beginning. These appear to be the characteristics of the commoners

(frthagjana) instead of the perfects (arya~arhat), of laxity in place of

austerity, nay, in fact, the laymen sought equality with the rcligieux
in
spiritual attainments. The heresy, if there be any, endured for a

long time and served within the community as a mischievous leaven:

it is
concerning this that the Buddhist schools were set against one
another and became divided among themselves.
When did the heresy appear and who was its inventor? Here are

the answers given in the sources:

1. Vasumitra: In 116 PN during the reign of Asoka, among

the Nagas and their partisans.
2. Vibhasa and Mahayanist authors supporters of the Vibhasa:

During the reign of Asoka as a result of the activities of Mahadeva.

Sammitlya tradition: In 137 PN, among the
3.
Sthaviras

Naga and Sarainati, and the Bahusrutas.

4. Bhavya: In 160 PN, during the reign of Asoka.
VASUMITRA: Vasumitra, a Sarvastivadin teacher, who lived 400
years after Parinirvana and who was posterior by a century to

Katyayamputra, author of the Jnanaprasthana, wrote a book on the

Buddhist sects entitled Samayabhedoparacanacakra4 The book was .

translated into Chinese by Kumarajlva between

385 and 431 (T. 2032),
by Paramartha between 557 and 569 (T. 2033) anc^ ^y Hiuan-tsang
in662 (T, 2031); it is commented in Chinese by K'ouei~ki in 662
(TKS.A. LXXX1II, 3) and translated into Tibetan in the IXth century
by Dharmakara (Tanjur, Mdo. XC, n).

4 Sur Vasumitra voir J. Masuda, Origin and doctrines of early Indian

Buddhist Schools, Asia Major, II, 1925, pp. 1-78; E. Teramoto et T. Hiramatsu,

Samayabhcdofaracanacakra... 9 Kyoto, 1935; A, Bareau, Trow traites sur Us

scctcs boudJhiques attribute a Vasumitra, Bbavya et Vinitadeva, Journal
Asiatiquc, 1954* pp. 229-266.
6
 42 buddhist Controversy Over the Five Propositions

The book opens with a reference to the

five
propositions (T. 2032,
18 a T. 2033, p. 20 a
15-25; T. 2031, p. 15 a 15-23):
p. 9-14;
"One hundred and sixteen years after Parinirvana of Buddha, there
was a town called Then king Asoka reigned over
Pataliputra.

Jambudvlpa, ruling over the universe. At that time the Great

Community (mahasarngha) was divided into schools and made variations
in the law. There were then the bhiksus: (i) the first called Neng>

Naga (variant: Ta-KouOi Maharastra; Long-hia, Naga); (2) the second

called Yin Yuan, Pratyaya (variant: Wai~fien, Pracya; Pitn-fi,

Pratyantika); (3) the third called To-iucn, Bahusruta; (4) the fourth
called Ta-to, Sthavira. They discussed the five propositions (fancavastti)

instituted by the heretics* It is in this way that for the first time
after Buddha, two schools came into being, one called Mahasamghika
and the other Sthavira."

Among the translators, Hiuan-tsang alone precisely states that the

originator of the Five Propositions was Mahadeva, the information

being taken from the Vibhasa. According to Vasumitra and his first
translators, names of the heretics were yet unknown. The comparison
of the versions clearly reveals that the Pancavastu was criticised by the
Sthaviras but adopted by these Sanghas of the Nagas, of the Pracyas
or Pratyantikas, lastly of the Bahusrutas. We may ignore entirely
the two Sanghas. According
first to the comments of K'ouei-ki (l.c),

the Nagas whose name implies an power and an obdurate

irresistible

obstinacy, were the chief organisers of the dispute and of the schism
that followed; the Prayantikas sided with the heretics, and without

being the originators of the disputes not possessing the irresistible

power, followed and supported the heresy; lastly the Bahusrutas com*
prised the commoners (frthagjana) still occupied with study (saiksa),
but observing the prohibitions and acquiring vast knowledge.

Personally in the first two names we notice ethnical: heresy

originated with the Nagas whose primitive habitat was, according to
the tradition of the Puranas, the region of Narmada, a
tributary of

Maharastra to which the version of Paramartha refers; thence it was

extended to the neighbouring regions designated by Vasumitra under
the vague denomination of "Frontier Regions" (Pratyantika).
As far as the riverine residents of the Gangetic basin and of

Yamuna are concerned, the Maratha country was situated in Southern

India. Now, according to the Asokavadana (T. 2042 k. 5, p. 120 c
 Buddhitf Controversy over the Five Profositions 43
5
II-I2I b i; T, 2043, k* 9, p. 162 a 1-162 c
8) , the Sarvastivadin

community of Mathura under the leadership of the famous patriarch

Upagupta at the time of Asoka, was put in a flutter by the visit of a

monk who hailed from Southern India, but no notice is taken of his
name. Before his admission into the religion, this monk committed
fornication with a woman of another family. He killed his mother
for having reproached him for his conduct. He thin sought the hand
of his beloved. Being repulsed by her he retired from the worldly
life, learnt by heart the text of the Tripitaka and gathered around him
a number of disciples. He then betook himself to Mathura to discuss
with Upagupta, but the latter being aware of what crime he had been

guilty* refused to have a discussion with him and so the monk returned
to his native country taking with him the band of his disciples.
It would be tempting to find in that
religious champion person a
of heresy of the Five Propositions which the holy patriarch Upagupta,
chief of a school of Arhats, could only condemn. But the religious
man had already exercised an ominous influence over those disciples
of
Upagupta, who remained still in the stage of commoners (prthagjana).
They remonstrated with their master for his
impoliteness to a foreigner
and Upagupta, in order
appease to those critics, was compelled to
appeal to his master Sanavasa.
This anecdote referred to in the Asokavadana bears remarkable
resemblance to the version of the Vibhasa.
THE VIBHASA: This great book on the Abhidharma of the
Sarvastivadin compiled in the 2nd century of our era by the Kashmirian

Arhats, devotes quite a chapter (T. 1545, k. 99, p, 510 c. 23-512 a

19) to the heresy of the Five Propositions. It attributes the invention

to a certain Mahadeva about whom it narrates a long story though

less edifying and tries to
paint his character in a black manner.
Mahadeva was the son of a merchant of Mathura. His father
went abroad, leaving his son at home. At the age of twenty, the

son became fine in appearance; and his mother fell in love with him
and had secretly intercourse
with him. During more than six years,
the son did not know that his mistress was his own mother, then

5 Cf. J. Przyluski, La Itgende de rtmpercttr A'soka^ Paris,

pp. 366-369.
44 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions

though he came to know of it, he did not give up'his passion. The
father came back from abroad, having acquired great wealth; little

before his arrival, the mother being afraid of his getting scent of this

affair
persuaded her son to administer poison to him. Mahadeva
administered the poison and killed his father; then he secured his
wealth and continued to live with his mother. But in the long run,
when he was found out, he felt ashamed and ran away and concealed
himself with his mother in
Pataliputra. He met there the Arhat
monks whom he had previously revered in his own country, and he
murdered them also lest they might betray him. Then he killed his

own mother finding that she played false with him. Having thus

committed three anantarya-sins, he realised the evils and felt deep

remorse; and in order to wash out those sins he gave up his family
life. He then entered into the monastery of the Kukkutarama where
he heard a monk recite a stanza on the redemption of sinners by good
conduct; this monk ordained him by giving him pravrajya.

Mahadeva listened to and studied the Tnpitaka and collected

several followers. The king of Pataliputra (whose name is not given)

when got to know of this, invited him to his
palace and bestowed
on him his offerings. Returned to the monastery, Mahadeva
formulated by turn the five heretical propositionsexplained above.
On account of the controversies which the heresies raised, the king

sought advice of Mahadeva to settle the dispute. The latter told

him that, according to the Vinaya, it was the majority that decided
the controversies. The king then put two parties in two sides, and
as the party of Mahadeva was greater in number, he decided in his

favour and condemned his adversaries. It is thus that the religious

people of the Kukkutarama were divided into two schools: the school

of the Sthaviras and the school of the Mahasamghikas.

The Sthaviras however wanted then to quit the monastery.
Being apprised of their intention, the king ordered to put the
Sthaviras on a rotten boat and to throw them into the river Ganges,
and then it would be known who was an Arhat and who was
a commoner. At the critical moment five hundred Arhats exercising
their magical powers rose in the air and went to Kasmir where they
scattered themselves up hills and down dales. Having received the
news the king sent to them a messenger to
bring them back to his

capital, but they declined his invitation. The king then made a
 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions 45

gift to the church of the whole kingdom of Kasmir and built there

five hundred monasteries for the residence of the saints; these

monasteries received the names of the various forms taken by the

saints when escaping from Pataliputra, for
example: Garden of

Pigeon (Kafotarama) etc., and the Vibhasa adds "It is reported that
these monasteries are still flourishing." The king of Pataliputra
then conferred his favours upon Mahadeva and his disciples who
lived near Mahadeva passed away after being held
him. in
high
estimation by the people but, when they wanted to burn his dead

body in the cremation ground, the fire could not be ignited and it

was necessary to use as fuel the excrements of dogs; his

body was
then burnt, but suddenly a violent wind arose and
dispersed the
ashes of the heretic.

Now according to Vasumitra, the enunciator of the Five Proposi-

tions,remained anonymous. The Vibhasa, a century later, finds him
a name and attributes to him It treats him
quite a history. definitely
as an
adversary, laying against
him the charge of all the unatonable
crimes and invents for him an unhappy end. It should be noted that

the Mahavibhasa only (T. 1545) takes notice of Mahadeva and

that it is not similar to that found in the Vibhasa of Bucldhavannan

(T. 1546).
But once introduced the legend died hard. Adopted with enthu-
siasm by the Sarvastivadin, it received valid recognition from the

Mahayanist teachers. But as these latter did not lose their

sympathy
for the Mahasamghikas whom they regarded as their distant pre-
cursors, they endeavoured, otherwise to clear up the memory, at least

to attenuate the wrongs committed by Mahadeva, the initiator of the

Mahasamghika schism.

MAHAYANIST AUTHORS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE VIBHASA:

i. In the Vlth century, Paramartha (557-569) in his criticism of

Vasumitra (summed up JnT. 2300), and his pupil Ki-Tsang (549*623)
his Treatise on the sects
in (T. 1852) reproduced the account of the
Vibhasa after introducing therein substantial modifications 6 : Upto 116
PN there did not appear heterodox opinions within the Sangha. After

6 P. Dennevillc, L'oHgine..., pp. 33-40.

46 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions

the 6th year appeared Mahadeva, of the Kausika family, son of

1 1

merchant of Mathura. Having committed three anantarya-sms, he

gave up his worldly life and went to
Pataliputra by centering ordina-
tion upon himself. He received entrance into the palace of Asoka
where he had secret intercourse with the queen. He entered again
into the monastery. He took up the Mahayana sutras and incorporated
them into the
Tripitaka. He fabricated, on his own authority, many
sutras wherein was formulated the quintuple heresy and summing them

up in a stanza, he recited it after the recitation of the sllas in the

Uposatha ceremony. Many controversies having arisen in rhe monas-

tery, King Asoka

on his own authority, took recourse to voting to

settle the dispute. The partisans of Mahadeva were then greater in

number. The Arhats, who were in
minority, frightened the com-
munity by exhibition of some magical powers. The queen exercised
her influence and had the Arhats thrown into the Ganges in boats of

broken staves. The Arhats took flight and went away to Kasmir,
some transforming themselves into fishing-float pigeons, others into

birds. After arriving at the destination they took again their ordinary
forms. Meanwhile the queen repented and was
realising her error

converted. After the death of Mahadeva, Asoka looked for the Arhats
of Kasmir and invited them to return to
Pataliputra. As Mahadeva
had introduced the Apocrypha into the Tripitaka, the Arhats gathered
third since the beginning) and recited once
together in Council (the
more the canon of the scriptures. It was at that time that the diver-

gences of opinion among them took place ending in the

formation of two

separate schools; that

of the Mahasamghikas and that of the Sthaviras,

It be noticed that Paramartha quickly passes over the sins of

will

Mahadeva, seeks to acquit Asoka of finding fault with the queen,

attributes to the heretic a scriptural activity which the Vibhasa did

not mention at all, and poses a third Buddhist council with a new
the schism was ultimate-
compilation of the Tripitaka; after which only
ly placed.
2. In the Vllth century,
the master of the Law, Hiuan-tsang,

sums up once more the story of the Vibhasa, but with more faithful-

ness than that of Paramartha. The passage is found in the Si-Yu-KJ

T
(T. 2087, k 3, p. 886 b. ii-22) -:

7 Cf. T. Wattcrs, On If nan

Cbwang's Travels, London, 1904, 1,
p.
26 f.
 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions 47

A hundred years after Parinirvana, Asoka king of Magadha exten-

ded his power over the whole world; he revered the Tnratna and loved
all
beings. There were in his capital among the religious Buddhists,

500 Arhats and 500 commoners (prthagjana) whom the king patroni-
sed
impartially.

The religious commoners included in their ranks a certain Maha-

dcva "a man of great knowledge and of great keen investigator
talent,

of the
Namarupa" (sic)
who put in treatise his personal views and his

heretical observations. The controversy having burst forth, Asoka took

the side of Mahadeva and the commoners, and tried to drown the
Arhats in the Ganges, But the latter fled
away to Kasmir where

they established themselves up hills and down dales. The king

at once became repentant for their departure and himself set out to

invite them to return to his capital. On their refusal to return, the

king built for them 500 samgharamas and made a gift of Kasmir to

the Church.

Hiuan-tsang agreeing with the Vibhasa, affirmed that the per-

secuted Arhats remained in Kasmir and refused to return to
Pataliputra. In these conditions there could be no question of the

session of the third Buddhist Council, which, according to Paramar-

tha, had taken place at Pataliputra after the return of Arhats. However,
in another passage, where describing his visit to the Kukkutatama of
8
Pataliputra, Hiuan-tsang (T. 2087, k. 8, p. 912 b) states that King
Asoka after his conversion to Buddhism convoked
monastery a in his

sangha of thousand members "comprising of two communities: one of

the saints (arya), the other of the commoners (frthagjana)". In it there

isa reference to the Sthaviras and

Mahasamghikas but nothing
the

said that they held a council and proceeded with a fresh recitation of

the Tripitaka.

Though accusing his Mahadeva of heresy, Hiuan-tsang does not

make at all any mention of the Five Propositions to which people
refer generally. He praises
his knowledge and his talent and described
him as a sublte investigator of the "Nama-Rupa" otherwise known
as the five But the question of the Nama-Rupa preoccupied
Skandhas.
more the Sarvastivadins than the Mahasamghikas. It may be asked

8 .. II, p. 89.
 48 Buddhist Controversy over the five Profosiiions

whether in the opinion of the Chinese master, Mabadcva was not a

Sarvastivadin teacher; but, if so, itwould be contrary to the whole

tradition, according to which the heretic was the initiator of the

Mahasamghika schism.
seems that the great Hiuan-tsang did not try to harmonise the
It

informations which he collected carefully from his readings, notably

from the Vibhasa, and the many oral traditions gathered by him local-
1

ly to which he refers "in bulk/

His account about the settlement in
Kasmir of five hundred Arhats thrown by Asoka into the
Ganges
followed immediately the story
of the conversion of the Kasmir in
the 50 PN. by Madhyantika and his five hundred Arhats
year
(T. 2087, k. 3 p. 886 a i9~886b n). Obviously it referred to
an identical event, but divided into two for some chronological
reasons.

K'ouei-ki (632*682), disciple of Hiuan-tsang, in his criticism

3.
on the Yogacaryabhumi of Asanga (T. 1829, k. i
p. i
b) tries to

rehabilitate Mahadeva by presenting him calumny: as a victim of

*'High was his

reputation, great chough young he had re-
his virtue;

alised the Fruit; he was

respected by kings and nobles and venerated

by monks. And that is the reason for which were imputed to him
the three anantarya-$\n$ to which were added the Five Propositions...".

It not the only text favourable to Mahadeva.

is There was already
an earlier commentary on the Ekottara, half-Mahasamghika half-
into Chinese be-
Mahayanist, the Fcn-pie-kong-to-louen, translated
tween 25 and 220 A.D. which spoke of a saintly king Mahadeva
endowed with four brahmavihdras and qualified him as Ta-che, or
c
great Bodhisattva (T. 1507, k. I, p. 32 8-10.)

MAHADEVA II: In order to

complete the record it should be
noted that besides Mahadcva I, the initiator of the Five Propositions
and instigator of the schism, the sources point out the existence of a
second Mahadeva, a Mahasamghika teacher who lived 200 years PN,
continued to teach the Five Propositions and provoked new secessions

inside the Mahasamghika sect. This Mahadeva IP is well known to

9 Sur 1'existence dc deux Mahadeva ou d'un Mahadeva redouble, voir

deja N. Dutt, Early Monastic Buddhism* Calcutta, 1945, II> p. 120; P,

Dcmievillc, A. frofos JH Concile dc Vaisak, J'oung Pao, XL, p. 268.

 Buddhist Controversy over the Five
Propositions 49
Vasumitra who it is seen did not make any mention on Mahadeva L
Here are some references:
i. Vasumitra, tr. Kttmarafiva (T. 2032 p. i8a 17-20).
"Then two hundred years Mahadeva a heretic (tirtbika) gave up his
in

worldly life and resided in the Caityasaila. In the Mahasamghika

sect
developed anew three sub-sects: Caityika, Aparasaila
and
Uttarasaila."

2. Vasumitra, tr. Paramartha (T. 2033, P* 20 ^ 2-4) :

two hundred years had elapsed, there was a heretic called Mahadeva
who eschewed the worldly life and joined the Mahasamghika school;
he resided alone in Mount Saila and taught to the Mahasamghikas the
Five Propositions. Thence there were two new secessions : school of

Caityasaila and school of Uttarasaila (and according to the Tibetan

version, school of Aparasaila)".

3. Vasumitra, tr.
Hiuan-tsang (T. 2031, p. 15 b 1-4): "When
two hundred years had elapsed there was a heretic who left the

worldly life, gave up falsehood and reverted to the correct mode; he

was called also Mahadeva. Being recluse of Mahasamghika the sect

he received full ordination; he was erudite {babusruta) and energetic

(viryavan)*, he resided in the Caityasaila. To the community of this

sect, he explained again the Five Propositions which provoked dis-

cussions and sub-divisions into three sects: Caityasaila, Aparasaila

and Uttarasaila.

4. Sariputrapariprccha, tr.
by an anonymous writer between 317
and 420 A.D. (T. 1465 p. 900 c 6-12) "In the Mahasamghika
school, two hundred years after my Nirvana, there will appear as a
result of disputes the schools :
Vyavahara, Lokottara, Kukkulika, Bahu-
srutaka, Prajnaptivada. Two hundred years after the discussions,
will be added to those Five schools, the school of Mahadeva, that of

Caityika and that of Uttarasaila".

5.Paramartha and Ki-tsang: When two hundred years had

completed, an upasaka-king of Magadha (according to K'ouei-ki, king
Hao yun "Loving the clouds") propagated widely the Law of Buddha,
and in order to take advantage of his bounties, all the heretics took to

religious
Mahadeva who was ordained by himself took upon
life.

himself their headship, received new disciples and ordained them in

his own sangha. The king made a selection among those monks who
7
50 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions

were "parasites'* (steyasmvasika) and authorised only one party among

them, the three hundred more itelligent ones, to live in Magadha.
Mahadeva being no more by them left the place and
tolerated establi-

shed himself separately in the mountain with his partisans. Then

those mountain-dwellers themselves, arose certain differences of
among
opinions and thus were formed the two schools called Caityasaila and
Uttarasaila.

Should one see in this Mahadeva II localised

by all the sources

in themountainous regions of Andhra an arbitrary division into two

Mahadevas? or should one reject the historicity of the two Mahadevas
and see only in them an expedient intended show the progress of
to

a
heresy originating in Southern India among the Nagas of Maha-
rastra, and spreading from Samgha to Samgha, ending ultimately in

Mahasamghika schism, and after many advancements it finally

trium-

phed over some churches, notably the Caityika and Sailas of Andhra?
We leave to the reader the responsibility of answering these questions.

MAHADEVA IN THE PALI SOURCES : The Ceylonese school was

firmly pronounced against the Five Propositions which it

exposed and
refuted in the Kathavatthu II, 1-5 (p. 163-203),
but did not furnish

any reference to their author. The commentary restrained itself by

that the heretical propositions were taught by the
stating precisly

Pubbaseliyas, Aparaseliyas and others.

Among the numerous Mahadevas known to the Pali tradition,

10
Professor Malalasekera has pointed out no less than nine , none of
whom makes a good heretic figure. Two among them were contem-

poraries of Asoka : One Mahadeva minister of Asoka who took

measures for despatch to Ceylon a branch of the Bodhivrksa (Maha-
vamsa XVIII, 20); a Mahadeva Thera who played a considerable role

at times as a religious master and as a Buddhist missionary. In fact

he conferred the ordination (pabbajja) on Mahinda, son of Asoka

(Dipavamsa, VII 25; Mahavamsa, V, 206; Samantapasadika p. 51);

then after the council of Pataliputra, in 236 PN, he set out to preach
the Good law Mahisamandala where he converted 40,000 souls
to

and conferred ordination on 40,000 young men (Dipavamsa V1II,5;

ja G. P. Malalasekera, Dictionary of Pali Profer Names, London, 1938,

II, pp. 505-506.
 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions
51

Mahavamsa, XII, 3 and 29; Samantapasadika, p. 63, 66). In

Mahisamandala, Andhra and the region of Dhanyakataka where the

Pubba and Aparaseliya sects had their seat, some authors think that

Mahadeva was founder of those schools which issued out of the

11
Mahasamghika stock and which adhered to the Five Propositions .

But if the Mahadeva in question had been a heretic, it becomes difficult

to explain how the Ceylonese Chronicles make him a disciple and

confidant of a very orthodox monk like Moggaliputta Tissa, a declared
Vibhajyavadin, and could count him as one of the great propagators
of the True Law. Then Mahisamandala
not certainly the country is

of Andhra, but may be Mysore, may be and still more probably

Mahismat or country of the Mahisakas, associated by the Puranas

12
with Maharastra which had as its capital Mahismati on the Narmada.
THE SAMMATIYA TRADITION : It is mentioned for the first time
in the Vlth century by Bhavya or Bhavaviveka, author of the Tarkajvala
13
(Mdo XIX, p. 162 b -1633 3; cf. Mdo XC, No. i2) reproduced ,

later with some modifications in the XlVth century by Bu-ston (tr.

Obermiller, II
p. 96),
in the XV thby Gzon-nu-dpal (Roerich, Blue
Annals, I, p. 96), and in the XVIlth by Taranatha (tr. Schiefner, p.

According to this tradition, in the year 137 after Nirvana,

52).
under the King Nanda and Mahapadma (sic),
an assembly took place
at Pataliputra in which participated the Sthaviras holding the same

view as Mahakasyapa, Mahaloma, Mahatyaga, Uttara, Revata etc.

A monk (of
the name of Bhadra) taught the Five Propositions and be-
cause of them a great schism was produced in the assembly. The
sthavira Naga and Saramati or betterNagasena and Manoratha
adopted the five
Propositions and conformed them to their teaching.
Now the religious men were divided into two schools : Sthavira and

Mahasamghika, and the quarrel between the two groups lasted for
63 years. Then in the year 102 (correctly in 200) after Nirvana, the
sthavira Vatslputra revised the doctrine correctly.

1 1 Yoir notamment E. Frauwallner, Die buddbistischen Konzile, Zeit-

schrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, CII, 1952, pp. 240-249.

12 Cf. D. C. Sircar, Text of the Pttranic List of Peoples, IHQ., XXI,
1945, p. 307. Voir aussi B. C. Law, Geography of Early Buddhism, London,
1932, p. 22; India as described in Early Texts, Londres, 1941, p. 74, 104.
13 M. Walleser, Die Sekten des alten BuddhismttSi Heidelberg, 1927,
p. 81-82.
52 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions

It is here no more the question of Mahadeva but of a Bhadanta

whose heretical views were supported by a Naga or Nagasena, whose
name recalls the Nagas, already pointed out by Vasumitra. The
schism broke out, not under Asoka in the year 100 PN (short
the dynasty of the
chronology) but formerly under Mahapadma of
Nandas in
137 PN (long chronology). The Sammatlya tradition

follows in fact an identical computation or very near the Ceyloncse

chronology which counts 218 years between Nirvana and the corona-
tion of Asoka and which attributes the reign of Nandas from the

year 140 to 162 PN (346-324 B,C).

BHAVYA: In his Tarkajvala, Bhavya just referring to the Sam-

matlya tradition summed up above, ascribed in his own account to

the Mahasamghika schism a later date; "One hundred and sixty

years after the Parinirvana, while king Dharm-Asoka reigned over

Pataliputra, a great
schism arose in the Samgha after some controversies,
and the samgha was split up into two schools, Mahasamghika and
14 "
Sthavira But the proposed date: "160 in the reign of Asoka" does
not respond to any known computation and does not tally either with
the short chronology which places Asoka in 100 PN or with the long

chronology that makes him reign from 21910 256

PN. However
the same date, 160 PN, is still mentioned by other authors and

notably by Bu-ston (II, p. 96) who attributes the origin of the schism
not only to the advent of the Five heretical Propositions but also to
the fact that the Arhats "read the speech of Buddha in four different

languages: Sanskrit, Prakrit, Apabhramsa and Paisacika".

CONCLUSIONS : The scrutiny

of the records has brought to light
the doubts and the chronological contradiction concerning:

1. The date of schism: in 137 PN during the reign of the

Nandas; in 100, n6 or 160 during the reign of Asoka.

2. The instigator or instigators of the schism : the Nagas of the

Southern India helped by their neighbouring Pratyantika and the

Bahusrutas; a monk called or surnamed Bhadanta; lastly
Mahadeva.
The last one is
presented either as a
culpable criminal of the three

anantaryas, or as a man full

knowledge and of talent, unjustly
of

slandered, or lastly as a Sarvastivadin, "a subtle investigator of the

Namarupa,"

14 Td., ibid., p. 78.

 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions 53

Causes of the schism: the controversies provoked by the

3.
the Five introduction of Mahayanist
appearance of Propositions, the
sutras in the Tiipitaka or even the tianslation of the Scriptures in

four different languages.

9

4. The consequences of the schism :

Having taken refuge in

Kasmir the Sthavirian Arhats established themselves there finallv or

again after a short sojourn returned to Pataliputra where they convoked

a new council. As to the instigator of the schism (Mahadeva) either he

lived at Pataliputra till his death or he went to the mountainous

regions of Andhra where he continued to teach his thesis to the Purva,

Apara and Uttarasailas. But some sources regard Mahadeva the

teacher of the Sailas as a

personage different from Mahadeva, the
originator of the schism.

The contradictions lead us to reject the chronology as

apocryphal.
Moreover it is of
very little
importance. It matters little whether the

heresy originated under Asoka or century earlier, whether its author

is called Naga, Mahadeva or Bhadanta, or whether the Sthavirian

Arhat took refuge temporarily or permanently in Kasmir. The face

seems certain that, between the death of Buddha and the reign o
Asoka the Maurya, the Buddist community had been subject to centri-

fugal forces which must have brought about finally the secession. The
causes of dissension were
multiple. Some religious men in possession
of the Fruit of Arhat claimed to monopolise the sanctity; they roused
the jealousy of the commoners (prthagjana,) and the latter invented
the Five
Propositions for the sole purpose of humiliating the Arhat
and of outraging their honour. Some monks who, whether assembled
again in councils or not, had recited in common the words of Buddha,

gave themselves out as the only depository of same and wanted to

impose on their colleagues the canon of their compilation which they

had just put together. But the latter resisted the imposition; they
had themselves memorised the words of the Master or did not consider
the canon as closed and found out the introduction therein of new
compositions more or less conformable to the primitive teaching. At
least there was no unanimity in regard to the secondary points of

doctrine and discipline: in the matter of

Vinaya notably the laxist

tendencies were manifest in some communities (Vaisall, Kausambi).

The dispute brewed for a long time before resulting in a secession. If
54 Buddhist Controversy over the Five Propositions

an old evidence is to be believed, we mean that of the Mahaprajna-

paramitopadesa or of its translator
Kumarajlva (T. 1509, k 2, p.
70 a), the Great Community remained intact till the time of Asoka;

"When Buddha was dead, when the Law was recited for the first time,
it was still like the time when Buddha lived. A hundred years after,

King Asoka called a big

quinquennial assembly (fancavarsaparisad) and
the great masters of the Law held discussions. Because of their dif-

ferences, there appeared some distinct sects (nikaya), each having a

name, which eventually became developed."

The fact is that the division of the Samgha did not at all
put an
end to the polemics, and that the Five Propositions continued to be
discussed. The Theravadin and the Sarvastivadin combattcd them in
the Kathavatthu, the Jnanaprasthana and Vibhasa respectively. The
its

Sammatlya, the Vatslputrlya and the Mahisasaka rejected them in the

same manner. As a set off, they found some defenders among the

Mahasamghika and their sub-sects Bahusrutlya,

Caitya and Saila, and
were even adopted by a school of the Sthavirian stock, that of the
1
Haimavata. -

Ex. LAMOTTE

15 A. Bareau, Les Secies bottddhiques AH Petit Vehicule, Saigon, 1955,

p. 291.
 Some Buddhist Thinkers of Andhra
A historkal study of the Buddhist philosophical literature reveals

the great contributions made by the ancient Andhra area to the growth
1
of the various
systems of Buddhist thought.
papers In two earlier

an attempt has been made to trace the of Buddhism in Andhra

growth
from the time of the Buddha; and it was also shown that

Nagarjuna and Aryadeva came from the same area in Andhra. Here
it is
proposed to find out the place from which certain other Buddhist
thinkers hailed. Sometimes these thinkers had their main field of

activity
in the Andhra area.

i . In a Chinese work (Shittanzo) Asvaghosa was considered to

2
belong to The Nagarjunakonda bas-reliefs present in
South India .

story of Saundarananda. The first of these shows the Buddha's

full the

conversation with Nanda and Sundari; the second reveals Nanda after
the shaving, with a
figure holding his head-dress; the third is the
visit to Indra's
paradise. The dress of the Buddha and Nanda recalls

the tenth canto of Saundarananda. Another figure shows Arhat Nanda

going to preach almost reminding us of 18.58,62 of the poem. It is

not possible to say whether these sculptural representations were based

on the poem, or the poem itself was written to
depict them. Johnston
3
has ably argued that Asvaghosa belonged to the Bahusrutlya sect , and
this accords with the fact that an
ayaka pillar at Nagarjunakonda
4
caitya mentions the existence of the Bahusrutiyas in that locality .

5
2. Manjusri-mula-tantra assigns Aryadeva to Saihnika-pura ,
and
calls him a non-
Aryan. Buston, following the lead of this text, puts
him in Simhala, while other Tibetan chronicles observe that his father

ruled over Seh-ga-glih. Yuan Chwang speaks of Deva P'usa of Chi-

1 'Rise and growth of Buddhism

See /HQ., 1955 on in Andhra' and on

'Nagarjuna and Aryadeva'.

2 See B.C. Law's
monograph on Alvaghosa.
3 Johnston : Bttdcthacarita* Part 2, xxxiii-xxxv.

4 %* ft$d % *t fsnr

5
 56 Some Buddhist Thinkers of Andhra
\

6
shih-tzu-kuo which may be a transliteration or a rendering of

Simhadharaputrapura. The Brbatkatha observes that Dipakarni was

fortunate enough to find, in accordance with a dream he had, a boy
borne by a lioness. This boy was a Simhadhara, otherwise known as
Sata-vahana or the one who was carried by a lion. Aryadeva, then,
belongs to the town ruled by the Satavahanas; and it is called Sen-ga-
7
glin,
Sakala Sagala which was later pronounced Singala
or This .

Sagala is the same as the modern SrI-ka-ku-lam which was, according

to the traditional accounts, the original home of the Satavahanas. This

Srikakulam lies due Nagarjunakonda and as such it
north east of

justifies Candraklrti's statement that Aryadeva came southwards to

meet Nagarjuna. Sen-ga-glin, Sagala and Srikakulam refer to one

and the same place which now appears in the Krishna delta near
on
Masulipatam; and it is not surprising to believe that a
place
the
8
banks of a river in the delta could be mistaken for an island.

3, Maitreyanatha has been associated with Pocala which has to

9
be located near modern Bodhan in the
Hyderabad territory . Of his

disciple Asanga, we are told that he belongs to Peshawar. Here we

are asked to rely on the Chinese or on the Tibetan traditions. But as
Prof. Demieviiie observes, Chinese tradition, for all the mass of

documents on which it rests, hardly affords, at least for the

early

period,
more positive
historical information than Indian tradition with
10
the complete absence of documents" . This applies to the Tibetan
traditional dates as well. We find that Asanga was known as
the sage of the Ajanta; and the caves of Ajanta in his day were known
11
as Acinta-purl-vihara probably named
, after the original
name of

Asanga which may have been Ajita.

6 Watters, II. 320. Modern Nellore was originally called Vikrama-

Simha-pura.
7 Evans- Wentz : The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, pp. 113,

156-7.
8 7HQ 1955 on 'Nagarjuna and Aryadeva'.
1

9 7/fQ., 1955 on 'The Rise and growth of Buddhism in Andhra .

10 See Johns ton :, Buddhacarita, pt. 2, xvi.

11 Evans-Wentz, 158.
 Some Buddhist Thinkers of Andhra 57

4. Dinnaga, as per the Tibetan tradition, was born in Simha-

vaktra near Kanci, lived in a cave on Bhorasaila in Orissa, and
sojourned in Nalanda.
Fortunately enough, this misleading statement
does not find a place in Yuan Chwang. Yuan Chwang entered the
country, saw its capital P'ing-k'i (Vengi), and
An-to-lo (Aridhra)
found a hill 200 li further southwest of the town. On the ridge of
tope where Ch'en-na
this isolated hill, he observes, was a stone

(Dinn3ga) P'usa composed a treatise on logic. ''Manjusri summoned

him to
develop for the benefit of posterity the Yogacara-bhumi-sastra
12
originally delivered by Maitreya" . It was on this hill near Vengi

in the West Godavarl district that the Pramansamuccaya was

composed. He was born in Simhapura or Nellore.

5. Of the critics of Dinnaga's system of logic the most famous

Buddhist thinkers appear to be Buddhapalita, Bhavaviveka and
Candraklrti. Candrakirti, the disciple
of Buddhapalita, was born in

Samanta; and according to the Gandavyuha, there was a Samanta-

mukha in the Mulaka country. This Mulaka country comprises
the area round about the Bhadracalam hills on the banks of the
Godavarl. Samanta, Samatata, Samantamukha are one and the same.
Regarding Bhavaviveka we have definite information from Yuan
Chwang. The pilgrim writes, "Not far from the south side of the

capital (Dhanyakataka) was a mountain cliff in the Asura's

palace in
which the Sastra-master P'o-p'i-fai-ka (Bhavaviveka) waits to see

Maitreya when he comes to be the Buddha. Then we have the story

of this renowned dialectician, who externally the
displaying Sahkhya
1
garb, internally propogated the learning of Nagarjuna" *. Bhavaviveka
not only belongs to Dhanyakataka, but was originally a follower of the

Sahkhya. That he was believed to be waiting for the second coming

of Maitreya only proves that Maitreya originally belonged to the same
place which was chosen by
Bhavaviveka.

Rahula-mitra, the parama-gurtt of Sangharaksita, appears in one

of the inscriptions found near Gollamudi in the Krishna district.

Sthiramati, the student of Vasubandhu, is believed to have come from

the Dandaka which extends over a very wide area from the Marathi
the Telugu speaking zone in the
speaking tract in the west to
east.

12 Watters, II. 209-210. 13 Watters, II.

215.

8
58 Some Bttddhist Thinkers of Andhra

6. Next we have the famous logician Dharmaklrti who has been

accepted by tradition to be the relative (nephew) of Kumarila. The

Jina-vijaya records:

c: firm w
*r*rarr fafcwc *fft: II

Kumarila was an Andhra hailing from a village called Jayamahgala on

the banks of the Mahanadl. Dharmaklrti was supposed to be born
in
Trimalaya or Tirumalaya. The prefix Tri or Tiru is the Dravidian
cognate of Sri; and the word malai means a mountain. Thus
Tirumalaya is the Dravidian translation of Srlsaila or SrI-Parvata. In
l~
his Vada-nyaya we read the interesting statement :

Here Dharmaklrti is
giving the words nakka, tnukku, and nasika.
These three from three different languages, and all mean the nose.
are

Of these the second word is mtikku, a pure Telugu word meaning the
nose. It is not an accident that made Dharmaklrti use this term. It

came direct from mother tongue.

his Thus a few pages later he
15
distinguishes his mother-tongue from the Dravidian language:
f

era; <3VttTO ^^ratsfq fat* RT5cfTq^ ?r-?f^ff-vrT^i^i;

Prakrita, Apabhramsa, Dramida and Andhra are the languages he

takes for examples in his discussion of the correct and incorrect words.

7,
We have found reason to disbelieve the Tibetan tradition

regarding the Dinnaga. Yuan Chwang placed him in Vengi.

home of

Jinendrabodhi was said to be the countryman of the venerable

Bodhisattva Dinnaga. Nagarjuna II and Aryadeva II belonged to

Sri Parvata. Likewise there was at the same place a Maitrlnatha who,

according to Taranatha, died nine years after Nayapala of Bengal

(c 1040-1075).
8. Padmasambhava's chief disciple, the Tibetan lady Yeshey
Tshogyal, gave an account of the life and teachings of her teacher.

According to this
biography, Buddha himself decided to take birth from

1 4 VaJanyaya, pp. 103-104, 15 Ibid , p. 107.

 Some Buddhist Thinkers of Andhra 59

a lotus blossom in the Dhanakosa (

= Dhanyakataka) lake in the country
called Urgyan. This country was also called Udyana, Odiyana
16
and the like This is no other than the Andhra
Ogyan .
country.
This country was ruled by Indrabodhi, who adopted Padmasambhava.
Indrabodhi is the same as Indrabhuti, the disciple of Anangavajra.

Padmavajra, the teacher of Anangavajra, was the author of Guhyasiddhi.

Indrabhuti was styled Odiyana-siddha, Avadhuta, Mahacarya and the

like.
They were practically
the pioneers in the Vajrayana school of
Buddhism. According to the Vajrayanists, the Buddha turned the

third wheel of the law of Vajrayana at Dhanyakataka, sixteen years

17
after his enlightenment .

Padmasambhava married Mandarava, the sister of Santaraksita

and Santaraksita belonged to the city of Sahor in the north-western

18
corner of the Andhra country . It was at Santaraksita's suggestion
that king of Tibet invited Padmasambhava to Tibet.
the Here we
have definite evidence to refer Padmasambhava, Santaraksita and the

Vajrayana teachers to the Andhra country. It was in the same area

again that the Buddhist thought and religion lingered till the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, as the inscriptions during the times of the
Velanatt-colas testify.

P. S. SASTRI

1 6 Evans- Wentz, 105.

17 See Rahula Sankrityayana's Preface to his edition of the Vigraht-

vyavartdrii.
1 8 Evans-Wentz, 142*4,
 Harsa : A Buddhist
Harsa has generally been regarded as a Buddhist. But of late this
view has been questioned by some writers, notably by Dr. R. C.

Majumdar who cannot believe that Harsa ever "formally gave up his
old faith", i. e., his devotion to Siva, and regarded other religions as
1
distinctly inferior.
That Harsa originally was a Saiva and remained so
up to the

twenty-fifth year af his reign is well known to most students of his-

3
tory.
His Banskhera and Madhuban Copper-plate Grants of the

regnal years 22 and 25 respectively call him a Parama-Mabe'svara,

i. e., a worshipper of Mahesvara or Siva. His seals similarly mention
him as a Saiva, while referring to his brother. Rajyavardhana as a
Parama-Saugata, i.e., a Buddhist, and to his father, Prabhakara-

vardhana, as a
Paratnadityabhakta, i.e., worshipper of the Sun.
Bana speaks of Harsa's offering worship to Nllalohita, i.e., Siva,
3
before he started on his digvijaya. His Sonepat seal bears the
figure of Nandl, the vehicle of Siva.
To conclude, however, from this evidence that he continued as

seem reasonable, not only in

a Saiva to the end of his life does not

view of Yuan Chawang's testimony which shows that by 643 A. D.

Siva had gone to the third place in Harsa's estimation, but also on

account of the testimony from Harsa's own works and his biography
by the court historiographer and poet, Bana. Harsa's two plays,

Priyadarsika and RatnSvali show no influence of Buddhism. They,

obviously, are the works of a young author who enjoyed and liked

people to enjoy life. But we have just to turn to Nagananda* the last

and maturest of his

plays,
to see the
great change in his religious atti-
tude. begins with salutation to the Buddha, deals with the life of a
It

Bodhisattva and preaches in uncompromising terms, the noble doc-

trine of Ahimsa. 4 It contains veiled references perhaps also to his

1 Classical Age 9 Bharatiya yidya Bhavan Series, pp. 119-120.

2 See R. S. Tripathi's History of Kanauj, p. 163.

3 Harsacarita % Nirnayasagar Edition, p. 202.

4 See Acts iy and V and the final portion of Act III,
 Harsa : A Buddhist 61

Moksa-partsads and determination, in c.

643 A. D., to fight
no more. 5
We have to notice also a
passage in the Harsacarita, which has
so far escaped the attention of practically all writers on Harsa's religion.
When maddened by grief at the death of her husband, Harsa's sister,
Rajyasrf, desires to become a Buddhist nun. Harsa, while dissuading
her from adopting this course, not only arranges for her instruction in
6
the philosophy of the Tathagata "which brings
misery to an end", all

but promises also to don along with her the red robes of a bhiksu as 9

soon as he had finished his self-appointed task of punishing his

brother's murderer, Sasanka, the ruler of Gauda. 7 Time, no doubt,

never permitted him to
implement this resolution. He died rather
prematurely. But there is no reason to doubt his sincerity. An ortho-
dox Brahmana like Bana could hardly have put this statement in

Harsa's mouth, unless Harsa had actually in his subsequent life become
a
very devout Buddhist and his conduct given a clear indication that

someday he would renounce the world and retire to a Buddhist

monastery.
DASHARATHA SHARMA

5 See Canto I, verse 8 which speaks of the grant of kalpadruma to

suppliants.
6 Harsacarita, p. 256.

7 "lyam tu grahtsyati tnayaiva samam samaptakrtyena kSsayani"

 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments
of Rajasthan

Archaeological excavations and explorations in different parts

of

Rajasthan have brought to light sufficient material pertaining to the

penetration and expansion of Buddhism in this part of the country.

The Buddhist antiquities and monuments of this
region are of course

very few in number; but they are of great importance for a student
of ancient Indian
History and Archaeology. It is now proposed to

describe them in brief here.

i. Bhabrti Rock Edict:

It was in the
year 1840 A.D. that Captain Burt discovered the
1
well-known Bhabru Rock Edict of Asoka. The same was later on
transferred to the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta.

This edict is of great interest because of its

having been inscribed on
2
distinguished from a stone-pillar
a stone-slab as
(sila-phalaka) (sila-

stambba). The excavations of the ancient site of Bairat have now

proved that this stone-slab inscription must have originally hailed from
Bairat itself. Another pillar (of Asoka), from Bairat, was brought to
light by the archaeological remains on the site popularly known as
the Btjaka~kt-Phart 9 . One of the fragments of such a
pillar, having
the usual Mauryan polish, even bears the BrZhmt letter na in the

script of the third century B.C. D. R. Sahni (ibid, p. 28)

is of the

opinion that the Buddhist monuments at Bairat were perhaps destroyed

by the White Hun leader Mihirakula towards the beginning of the

sixth century A.D.

The Bairat Edict of Asoka of course bears testimony to Asoka's
ardent faith in the Buddhist lore and his royal injunctions to the

1 Bhabru is about 12 miles in a direct line to the north of Bairat, the

latter being ancient Vitatafura and about 5* miles from Jaipur City.
distant

Viratapura was the capital of the Matsya country. For details consult B. C.
Law's paper in the Age of Imperial Unity, Bombay, pp. 2, 1 1, 12 etc.
2 "This stone is an irregularly shaped block of grey granite, of the kind
so abundant at Bairat and measuring about 2 feet in lengh, the same in width

and and a half in thickness" (D. R. Sahni, Archaeological Remains and

a foot

Excavations at Bairat, Jaipur State, p. 18 and plate II for its photograph).

3 Ibid, pp. 26 flE, and plate YL a.

 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajas than 63

Buddhist friars and laymen to pay rapt attention to Buddhist ideology

and to devote themselves to the study of the particular passages (seven
4
in number) from the Buddhist scriptures . The text of the Bairata

epigraph runs thus :

(1) Rfi (pri) yadasi laja Magadhe samgham abhivade (tfynarn

aha apabadhatam ca pbasuvihalatam ca

(2) vidite vc bhamte avatake hama Budhasi dhammasi samghasl

ti
galave cam rpa (prajsade ca e keci bhamte

(3) bhagawata Budhe(na) bhasite save se subbasite va e ca

khtibhamte hamiyaye diseya hevam sadhamme

(4) cila (thi) tike hosatt ti alahami hakam tarn vatave. imani
bhamte (dh)amma paliyayani Vinaya-samukase

(5) Aliya-vasani Anagata-bhayani Mttnigatha Moneya-sute

Upatisa rpa (pra}sine e ca Laghulo-

(6) vade musa-vadam adhigicya bhagavata Budhena bhasite etani

bhamte dhamma-paliyayani ichami

(7)
kimti bahuke bhikhtt (fa}ye ca bhikbuniye ca abhikhinam
Su(ne)yu ca upadhalayeyu ca

(8) hevammeva upasaka ca upasika ca eteni bhamte imam

likha(ga)yami abhipetam me janamtu ti.

II. The Circular Brick-Temple at Bairat :

D. R, Sahni's excavations at Bairat also brought to light the remains

5
of a Buddhist
Brick-Temple which was circular in
shape . In his own
words 30-31),
(ibid, pp. "this is the oldest structural temple and
one of those which furnished models for the numerous rock-cut cave-

temples of Western and Eastern India. The nearest approach, both

in
plan and design, is the caitya cave of about the first century B.C.
in the Tulja Lena group at Junnar On the outside, the walls
of the temple were inscribed with the Buddhist texts in the Brahmt

4 For details consult Sahni, of.

cit., p. 18; B. C. Law, Journal of the Pali

Text Society, 1946, pp. 93-8; D. C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions, I, 1942, Calcutta,
pp. 77-8; D. R. Bhandatkar, Asoka, 1955, Calcutta, pp. 335-6; Senart, Ind.
Ant., XX, pp. 165 ff.; E. Hultzsch, Corp. Insc. Ind^ I, pp. 172 ff.

5 Cf. Sahni, op. cit., plates yil. yill; ibid, pp. 28 f., for details and
description.
 64 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajasthan

characters of the Asokan period. Several bricks inscribed with one

or two aksaras (plate V, e, o and q) were found built in the rectan-

gular enclosure-wall
around the temple, A few of them read pasam,

visa, vi t kama etc." The existing Buddhist structure (with a $tftpa

in the interior) at Bairat has got an important bearing

*
on the early
6
temple-architecture in India.

Referring Hwen Tsang's notice of Bairat in the seventh

to

century A.D. (Julien's Hwen Tsang, II, 206), General Cunningham

Vol. II, p. 246) remarks that
(Arch. Surv. Report, Simla, 1871,
according to the Chinese pilgrim, "the capital
was 14 or 15 li or just
2 Y* miles in circuit, which almost exactly with the
corresponds
ancient mound on which the present town is built. The people were
brave and bold and their king, who was of the race of Pel-she, or a

Bais Rajput, was famous for his courage and skill in war. The place
still
possessed
8 Buddhist monasteries but they were much ruined and
the number of monks was small. The Brahmans of different sects,
about 1000 in number, possessed 12 temples, but their followers were

numerous, as the bulk of the population is described as heretical.

Judging from the size of the town, as noted by Hwen Tsang, the
could not have been less than four times the present
population
number, or about 30,000, of whom the follower^ of Buddha may have
amounted to one fourth. I have deduced this number from the fact
that the Buddhist monasteries would appear to have held about 100
monks each, and as those of Bairat are said to have been ruined, the

number of monks in Hwen Twang's time could not have exceeded 50

per monastery, or 400 altogether.

As each Buddhist monk begged
his bread, the number of Buddhist families could not have been less

than 1200, allowing 3 families for the support of each monk, or

in addition to the 400 monks*'
altogether about 6000 lay Buddhists

(cf.
also G.H. Ojha, History of
Rajputana,
Vol. I, Hindi, 1927,

p. 10;
S. Seal's Buddhist Records of the Western World, London,

1884, Vol. I, p. 179).

III. Northern Black Polish Ware from Bairat :

The ancient site of Bairat also yielded the well known Northern
Black Polish (N. B. P.) Ware which is so characteristic of the Mauryan

6 Cf. Percy Brown, Indian Architecture (Buddhist 6> Hind* Periods),

Second Edition, Bombay, p. 15,

 Some Buddhist Antiquitiet and Monuments of Rajasthan 65
7
period in' India. _ It is now extremely essential to explore the region
8
for the distribution of the N. B. P. ware in Rajasthan.

IV. Remains at Nagari :

A
fragmentary stone inscription, in the Brahmt script on the third
century B.C., was excavated at Nagari (ancient Madhyamika,
or second

near Chittaur, Udaipur region) and is now preserved in the archaeologi-

cal section of the
Udaipur Museum. It refers to a feeling of
9
compassion for all beings in the following words :

(i) $a(ya)bbutanam day at ham

(kar) (i)
ta.
(ii)

It is just possible that this inscription was drafted and engraved

under the influence of Buddhism. The explorations at
Nagari also
lQ
revealed the existence of stupas on the site. This bears testimony
to the prevalence oE Buddhism having there (at Nagari) inspite of its
11
been an important stronghold of the Vaisnava pantheon. Describing
the remains at Nagari, Dr. Bhandarkar (Memoirs..., op. cit. p. 119) 9

writes that "it is a structure built in horizontal tiers and must be a

stupa as indicated by the heavy sausage-shaped garlands" (cf. Journal

of U. P. Historical Society, Lucknow, VI (2), 1933* P* 3)' Henry
Cousens (Prog. Report of Arch. Survey, Western Circle, Poona, 1905,

p. 59) also noticed an ancient lion-capital of the Asoka period

For a comprehensive list of N. B. P. sites in India, consult B. B. Lai's

7
paper in Ancient India, Bull, of the Arch. Survey of India, New Delhi, Vols.
X-XI, pp. 50 E. and pp. 143 ff.
8 It is
equally interesting to note the discovery o the Painted Grey iW'are
at Bairat (Indian 1
954-5 a Review, New Delhi, 1955* P 61).
Archaeology
This is much date as compared to the N. B. P. The Grey ware occurs
earlier in

in the regions of Bikaner and Alwar too.

9 Cf. D. R. Bhandarkar's Archaeological Ramains Excavations at Nagari, &

MASL, No. 4, pp. 112-120; G. H. Ojha, History of Rajfutana, Hindi, I, 1927,
P .
35 s.
10 Cf. Satya Prakasha, Rajasthan and its Traditions, 1951, Jaipur, p. 25;
G. H. Ojha, of. cit %9
pp. 359-60; Arch. Surv. Reports by Carlleyle, VI,

pp, 196 flc. and plates.

11 As is evident from the well known Ghosundi inscription. For details
consult., MASl, 4, op.cit., pp. 119-20; V. S. Agrawala's paper in the Sodha-

patrika, Udaipur, IV (3)* pp. 40 ff; Ep. Indica, XXII, pp. 203 ff etc.

9
66 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajasthan

(according to his own version) lying near the image of Kankall Mata
at
Nagari. Besides this, another sculptured stone from the same site

was identified as an 'architrave of some Buddhist gateway' both by

Carlleyle and Cousens.

V. Stufas on the Port of Chittaur :

Henry Cousens (Progress Report of Archaeological Survey of

India, Western Circle, Poona, 1904, p. 45) also refers to the ex-

group of some ten stufas (carved in a stone)

istence of a scattered

about 4 or 5 hundred yards to the north-west of Kalika Mata's

temple at Chittaur. According to Cousens, "the larger ones stand

about 3' 3," high and i' 8" square at the base. They are all of one

pattern.
The upper portion is
cylindrical,
with a domed top
c Around the base of the cylindrical part is a string-course
of 1 6 little seated Buddhas, each in a little niche. Beneath
this is a constricted circular neck with lotus leaves springing
from it, an upward row and a downward row. Beneath
this, again, the stufa square with projecting niches, one on
is

each face, in each of which is a seated Buddha. There are 3

distinct positions i. e t , the meditative, the
witnessing and the teaching
attitudes. Beneath each of these is a
symbol incised. The s
tufas
are

all a good deal weather worn, so that the finer detail of the carving
is lost. The apparently not curly but long
hair is and is
up done
into a considerable knot on the top of the head/' These pieces have
now been preserved and exhibited m an order on an open platform in

front of the Sringara Chauri at Chittaur itself.

VI. Absence of Buddhist Remains in Western Rajasthan :

The ancient sites of the former states of Jodhpur, Jaisalmera,

12
Sirohl and Bikaner do not appear to have yielded anything tangible
which may have some bearing on the expansion of Buddhism in
Western Rajputana. But no conclusion can be hazarded till extensive

exploration and excavation work is conducted in this direction. Hwen

12 Dr. L. P. Tessitory, is said to have discovered traces of the foundations

of, what he thought, might have been Buddhist stufas at Munda and Pira
Sultana in the Bikaner region (H. Goetz, The Art and Architecture of Bikaner

State, 1950, Oxford, p. 58).

 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajasthan 67

Tsang refers to the declining condition of Buddhism at

identified with modern Bhmmala or ancient Srimala, distant about

120 miles from Jodhpur. According to his information, there was

only one sangharama (monastery) at Bhmmal and that too belonged

to the Htnayana sect. was inhabited by 100 monks who were

It

followers of the Sarvastivada Sect (cf. Samuel Deal's Buddhist

Records of the Western World, Vol. II, London, p. 270; G,H. Ojha,
Hist, of Raj., cit. % I,
op. 1927, p. 10).
It is
equally interesting to note the dearth of Buddhist finds both
from Nagar or Karkotanagar and Sambhar situated in the
Jaipur unit
13-
of Rajasthan. As regards the ancient site of Rairh (Jaipur unit),
Dr. K.N. Puri (Excavations at Rairh, Jaipur State, p. 57) remarked
that "Buddhism had no influence, whatsoever, although traces of

contact with the Buddhist world have been established by the discovery
of a fragment of Chunar sand-stone bowl, a few pieces of highly
polished Buddhist pottery and steatite caskets similar to relic-caskets

found on Buddhist sites for the enshrinement of the body relics".

VII. Remains at Lalsot:

"The town of Lalsot, 50 miles from the city of Jaipur, once

possessed an ancient Buddhist sttipa of a considerable antiquity. Six

red stone pillars, belonging to the railings of this monument, have in

modern times been utilised in the construction of the chatris or

cenotaphs. These pillars

are
5 feet high,
square at the base and at
1*
the top and octagonal in the middle portion."

VIII. Kota Buddhist Inscription :

It is
interesting to analyse the opening verses of the Kota
Buddhist inscription engraved on a stone, built into a recess under a

flight of on the right hand as one enters the Barkharl gate

stairs

of the inner wall of the town of Shergarh (Kota Division). It

records the construction of a Buddhist temple and a monastery to the

16
east of mount Kosavardhana by the feudal chief Devadatta . It

i2a Some of the scholars even hesitate in accepting this identification.

13 Nagar and Rairh were important seats of the Malava republic: cf.

Arch. Surv. Report, Simla, VI for the finds from Nagar.

14 Satya Prakash, Rajasthan and its Traditions, Jaipur, 1951, p. 25.
15 For the Sanskrit text of this consult E. Hultzsch, Ind.
epigraph,
 68 Some Buddhist Antiquities
and Monuments of Rajasthan

18
specifically refers to firm belief in trinity ,
greatness
of Buddha,
law of Sugata, the Buddhist
Church etc., in the following words:

inn
Wlfcf ^ *jt ft?&T*f I

: sr ^t s^ra IRII fimfrr

srnT*rror

This testifies to
State-patronage accorded to Buddhism in this area

as late as the end of the 8th or

beginning of the gth century the

A.D. It is of course regretted that we have absolutely no information

about the Buddhist antiquities of an early period from Kota region.

IX. Buddhist Caves in the fhalawar Region :

1 - 18
Dr. Impey is said to have visited the Buddhist caves at Kholvl
Kota Division)
(situated in district Jhalawar of the first of all. Later

on, General A. Cunningham visited the place and presented a vivid

account of the caves and the topes at Kholvl in his Arch. Survey

Report, of. cit., pp. 280-88 and plate Ixxxiv. He infers (ibid, p. 286)
that "the Kholvl excavations are most probably of a later date than
19
the caves of Dhamnar and Bagh in Malwa and of Karli, Ellora and
other places in Southern India." He (ibid, p. 288) even assigns
them a date ranging from joo to 900 A.D. The Buddhist caves at

Kholvl thus have to

play a great role in the realm of Buddhist

iconography and architecture of Rajasthan during the post-Gupta period.

In this connection, mention
may also be made of a colossal standing

Antiquary. Xiy, pp. 45-6 and M. L. Sharma's, Kota Raja ka Itihasa, Hindi,

Vol. I.
Appendix III and p. 27; cf. also B bandar kar's List of Brahmt Inscriptions
of N. lndia> serial no. 21.
1 6 i.e., Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

17 Consult his paper in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal*

Calcutta, y, p. 336.
1 8 About 30 miles from Augar and also 30 miles from the Dhamnar caves.

19 Dhamn3r caves are situated in the State of Madhya Bharat. For

Dhamnar caves, consult
Percy Brown, Indian Architecture (Hindu and
Survey Buddhist), Second edition, p 4 143 ; Cunningham's 'Archaelogical Survey
of India Refort, Simla, 1871, Vol. II, pp. 270 ff. and plates.
 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajasthan 69

figure of Buddha at Kholvi. It measures about 12 feet in height and

depicts the Buddha in the mode of teaching with his left hand raised

to the breast (cf. ibid, p. 285 for details; also consult J. Fergusson,
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, London, 1899, Book I,
pp. 162-3 for the later date of the Kholvi caves).
It is
equally interesting to study the cave architecture as presented
by the Buddhist caves at
Vinayaka (or Vinayaga or Binnayaga)
situated about 8 miles from KholvL Sri M.M. Sastrl (Custodian
of the Kota Museum) has recently informed me that some Buddhist
caves Hathiagor (situated in the Jhalawar region) too.
exist at
20
It now and Vinayaka
appears that the region round about Kholvi
was once an important stronghold of Buddhism. Sri G.L. Vyas

(Custodian of the Jhalawar Museum) has also stated that

there exist about 16 Buddhist caves at Vinayaka and that some

Buddhist stupas can be seen in front of these caves. Besides this,

some images of seated Buddha have also been carved out nearby.
A passing reference may also be made to the discovery of the
Mandsor Inscription of the Malava year 524. It
opens with the

auspicious phrase siddham whereas the first verse is a

mangalacarana
expressing adoration to Sugata (the Buddha; Epigraphia Indica,

XXVII, no. i, pp. 12 it.): Siddham. Ye(ne}dasamudbhavanirodha-

paramparaya magnam jagadvidhaduhkhanirantarayam. Tittrasuna

tripadironiradesi dharmmastasmai namostu Sugataya ga(ta)ya santim

i.e., "Obeisance to Sugata, wishing to save the world (which is)

plunged in the uninterrupted series of births and deaths closely

associated with misery in various forms, enjoined a religion consisting
of 3 steps (stages) and who attained peace" (ibid, p. 16).
It refers

to the construction of a
"stupa accompanied by a well [in comme-
moration] of the Buddha, who having overcome the evil influences
of all elements
(dhatu) preached the accomplishment of all actions,
the stupa, the structure of which was as white as the kunda flower
and the moon and the pinnacle of which touched the clouds" (yo
dhatumatre hatadhdtudosah sarvvakrya siddhim uvaca tasya.

Kundendusubhrobbhravighristayastiriyam krto dhatudharah sakupah).

This stupa was situated within the limits of the Lokottara Vihara

20 One has to pass through Dug (the headquarters of a tahsil of the

DisttJ on way to the Kholvi caves.

70 Some Buddhist Antiquities and Monuments of Rajasthan

(verse 18) and this led M. B. Gadre (ibid., p. 13) to suggest that the

latter "was possibly the proper name of some local Buddhist monas-
tery, probably named after the Lokottaravada sect of the Hinayana

form of Buddhism."
The phrase "Syadvadagrahanigrahagadavidhirvvidhvastavaitandika-
cbadma Saugatagarvvaparvvatabhidavajrapratapodhanah ryabhanga-
ksamah Sri Vedangamunih prasiddjpamahima yasya prasadam
vyadhata" occurring in the Inscription of V.S. 1028 from Ekalihgajl

(14 miles from Udaipur; JBBRAS., Bombay, XXII, old series,

of
verse 17, lines
15-16, pp. 166-7) ^ course refers to the existence
unhappy relations between the adherents of the Buddhist and the
Saiva pantheons. Vedangamuni, of this record, was a follower of the

Lakutisa-Pasupata sect and has been described, here, as

a great

opponent of the Jainas (believers in the Syadvada philosophy) and

the Buddhists (cf. saugata; sugata^ Buddha) alike. It is
regretted
that this inscription fails to throw any light on the causes of
this

revolt against Jainism and Buddhism in this

particalar case.
This is a brief account of some Buddhist remains from Rajasthana.
The material, in this direction, is of course very scanty but the existing

Buddhist monuments and remains of the region are very important for

the reconstruction of the religious history of the area during the early

historic and the pre-mediaeval periods.

RATNA CHANDRA AGRAWALA

 Budddism in the Classical Age
(as revealed by archaeology]

The period under review, designated by scholars as "Classical

Age", covers a
period of about tour centuries. It
begins with the

Gupta rulers in the administrative horizon of India, their glorious

ascent like the
midday sun, their temporary eclipse by the Huna inva-

ders, and their

gradual setting down. Then the twilight of various
petty
rulers and then the advent of the Moon in the form of Harsavardhana

with many other rulers scattered all over the country like stars in a

nocturnal sky. Then with the disappearance of Harsa, there is

again a dark period, which ends with the azure with the glimpses o

morning light just before the rise of another Sun in the horizon, the

Palas.

For the
history of the Buddhist church
in the classical period, there

is a considerable number of and archaeological remains in

inscriptions
the form of etc. which
images, shrines, sttipas, cave-temples, caityas,
enable us to rebuild a structure of the of the
complete history
religion.

Though Buddhism was not a state religion in this period, none of

the main ruling families of this the religion of
period having professed
Sakya-Muni, still, following the general Indian tradition of religious
toleration which favoured the
growth of diverse rival religious sects

side by side in the Indian soil, most of the Indian kings patronised
religions other than their own. A
study of the archaeological remains
reveal to us the fact that as on the one hand the Buddhist kings

made religious grants to non-Buddhist communities, in the same

manner the non-Buddhist kings also did not refrain from stretching
their bounteous hands to the Buddhists. And this spirit of sympathetic

co-operation stimulated the art f architecture and sculpture of this period

to rise to such a level of
perfection that it drew unstinted admiration of
art-connoisseurs for many centuries. Though Gupta kings held
the

political supremacy up to the end of the 5th century A. D., the era
of art which began with them lasted much longer up to the 7-8 th

centuries A. D. And the influence of Gupta art spread far beyond the

historical and geographical boundaries of the Gupta empire.

 J2 Buddhism in the Classical Age

The Buddhist monuments consist mainly of (i) Pillars, (2) Stupas

(3) Railings, (4) Caityas prayer halls and (5)

or Viharas or monastic
1
abodes. The images, which play a great part in the history of the
development of the Buddhist church, were introduced at a later date.

In the hilly tracts, the Buddhist establishments are hewn out of

living rocks splendid specimens of rock-architecture. In fact, the

earliest and the major number of the cave-temples of India arc

Buddhist. In the Buddhist literature the mode of preparing sttipas

3
was suggested by Buddha himself , and the worship of sttipas
commenced immediately after his demise. In the Mabaparinibbana-
sutta it is said that after the demise of the Buddha, a dispute arose

among the Mallas, Sakyas and others for possession of the

Koliyas,
relics of Buddha's body, which were at last divided among eight chiefs,
3
each of whom built a
stupa over them in their respective countries
.

During the life-time of the Buddha, his religion was confined to

Middle India. It was during the reign of the Emperor Asoka that
the religion gained a wide popularity. Asoka erected several stiipas
and pillars
all over India, especially at the places associated
with some
memorable event in the life of Buddha. The fabulous number of

eighty-four thousand stupas erected by Asoka in

place of
seven out of

the eight sttipas erected over the relics of Buddha may be incredible,

but that their number was quite large appears to be true. And the places
around these sttipas must have been important centres of Buddhism for
a few centuries upto about the fourth century A. D. when the build-

ing of new stUpas became less in number but there

was enlargement
or alteration of the older ones. Pillars became very rare and railings

Buddhist
encircling sttipas in vogue from the earliest
period of the

architecture also became much rarer, and probably the only stone rail-

ing that may be ascribed to this period is one of the two sets found
at Bodh-Gaya, the older one being of the time of Asoka and made
of the same kind of polished sand-stone peculiar to all Asokan mono-
liths. The more popular Buddhist architectures
of this
period are the
Viharas or a
group of monastic abodes for the residence of monks,
caityas or prayer halls enshrining stupas and images of Buddha.

x
Fergusson, History of Ind. & Eastern Architecture , Introduction.
2 Mahaparinibbana Sutta> Dighanikaya, XVI. 5 x
2-13.

3 /fcirf, xyi. 6, 25.

 Buddhism in the Classical Age 73

Figures of Buddha were in some cases carved on the stupas placed

inside the caityas. These Viharas and Caityas gained in popularity
and increased in number. The Viharas were used to be made by the
Buddhists from the earliest period of its organisation from the life-time

of its Founder who himself lived in various Viharas. Caitya halls were
introduced somewhat later, the earliest form of paying homage by the
Buddhists being the erection and worship of relic
stupas. With the

riseand development of Mahayana, Caitya halls became more and

more popular and the cultural atmosphere and the patronising spirit of
the rulers encouraged the Buddhists of this age to revive their intellec-
tual activities, particularly in the art and architecture of the Caityas

and Vihafas. growing popularity of Mahayana, and

Lastly, with the
the gradual introduction of various gods and goddesses into its

pantheon the family ot Buddhist gods became enlarged

to a consider-

able extent. This large pantheon gave inspiration and ample scope
to the display of skill by the sculptors whose productions are really
a treasure for all times. The archaeologists' spades
have brought to

us the mute story of those forgotten

far off days and
light before long
we remain struck with wonder and admiration when we think of the

men of that remote past who could build such magnificent structures

with such delicate ornamentations and graceful and lovely figures

with their hands and very meagre implements. We shall now

begin our survey of the state of

Buddhism during the Gupta period
and commence with the extreme north-western part of India.
Buddhism reached the north-western region through the prosely-
4
tising efforts of Asoka.
Three inscriptions found from Swat corrobor-
ate the statement of the Chinese travellers that Buddhism lingered

on this region upto the 7th century A.

D. The characters of these

inscriptions
resemble the so-called north-western Gupta characters.
These inscriptions, being quotations from the Sutras, are very impor-
tant from the literary standpoint.

was Asoka who was responsible for the introduction of Bud-

It

dhism into the Gandhara region. Here he built several stupas which
were seen by the Chinese pilgrims. After Asoka, the region passed
into the hands of foreign rulers who could have the religion easily

rooted out from the territory but they did not do so, and on the other

4 Ep. Ind., VI, 133-4.

10
 74 Buddhism in the Classical
Age
hand the great Kushan king Kaniska
helped it in its further develop-
ment. Kaniska very probably repaired the older
st&fas or built new ones
places, and it is said that during his time Gandhara became a
in their

popular centre of Buddhism. The rulers, who governed this place

after Kaniska, did not show much interest in Buddhism, 'which there-
fore faded out in the area. But that religion of Gautama
gradually
did not
totally disappear from these places at least upto the 7th cen-
tury, is
proved by the records of the Chinese travellers as well as by
archaeological discoveries. The Dharmarajika Vihara built by Kaniska
was seen by Fa-Hian in the
5th century in a flourishing condition.
Hwen-tsang, who came to India in the early 7th century, reports
that he saw
many stupas and monasteries in this region, -in a some-
what decayed condition bur their glory and were not much
sancitity
diminished. The Buddhist establishments of Mohra-Moradu and Kalvan
appear around the Dharmarajika
stupa. The Archaeological reports
tell us that
stupas and other buildings continued to be erected around
the Dharmarajika The
stupa from the 4th to 7th centuries A. D.
Bhamala monastery in Taxila was built about the
4th or ^th century
A. D. On the tiled pavement in front of the western the main
steps of
stfifa at Bhamala is
depicted the Dharmacakra and various other sym-
bols, like Swastika, lotus, rosettes, concentric circles, quarter-foils of

Pipal leaves, crosses, spirals and double-axes .

5
A few decades later,

the whole of this

region must have been set on fire, apparently by
the
formidable
enemy of India, the Huna invaders, Toramana and
Mihirakula as is
proved by the traces of incendiarism on the sites like

some half-burnt birch- bark

manuscripts written in upright Gupta
8
characters of the
5th century A. D., found from Julian .

I. In S n
the brick-built
i d, a of Kahu-jo-daro near Mirpur-
sttip
khas contains ornamentations and those at Sarnath
patterns resembling
and at Mathura. Clay tablets the well-known Buddhist
containing
"
formula "Ye dharma etc. in
7th-8th century characters go to

prove that Buddhism still had its hold over this place. The sttipa
named Sudharanjo-daro near Tando-Mohamed-Khan, of which unfor-
tunately nothing but the square plinth is extant, is also assigned to

about the 5th-6th century A. D., on the basis of the evidence

furnished by its carved bricks lying scattered.

5-6 Marshall, Taxila, vol.1, (plates 1193,

 Buddhism in the Classical Age 75

II. That there was a net-work o Buddhist institutions with a consi-

derable number of devotees in the K a b u 1

valley and the Punjab
region o India from the remotest period of its history is further proved

by the inscriptions found in the neighbouring places. An inscription

7
on a stone-slab from Kura in the salt-range records the erection of a

Vihara "for the congregation of monks of Bhagavat Buddha by the

lord of the Vihara, Rotta Siddha Vrddhi, son of Rotta Jaya Vrddhi
whose name was honoured by the lord of Naschira, for the benefit
of the relatives of the donor and the queens, princes and princesses,

of Maharaja Toramana Saha Jauvala for the acceptance of the teachers

(Acaryas) of the Mahisasakas." The characters resemble the older
Buddhist nail-headed of the Gupta period with some
inscriptions

peculiarities. The Toramana mentioned in this inscription is certainly

not the famous Huna king of the same name, who was rather a
staunch antagonist to all Indian religions not to speak of Buddhism
but might be some other independent king bearing similar name and

ruling over some territory in North-Western India. Traces of Buddhism

in Punjab found in an inscribed brass image of Buddha found in
are

Fatehpur (Kangra dist.) approximately of the 6th century A.D. which

8
records the pious gift of the Buddhist friar
Dharmapriya together
with his brother Dharmasimha and with his preceptor of the same
name (viz. Dharmasimha), and "with all sentient beings"*
III. Kashmir was a great centre of Buddhism of the Sarvasti-

vada school of the Hinayana sect from a very early period. Its later

history is furnished by literary as well as architectural evidences.

According to the Mahavafosa, of the thirteen missionaries sent by

Asoka preach Buddhism in different
to countries, one named
Majjhantika was sent to Kashmir and Gandhara. According to some

opinion including that of Hwen Tsang, Kashmir was the venue of the
Buddhist council held under the auspices of Kaniska. The Rajatarangirii,
the famous chronicle of Kashmir by Kalhana, tells us that Buddhism
and Hinduism flourished side
by side in Kashmir during the reign of
the great
king Lalitaditya Muktapida (699-735) when the Viharas and
Caitya of Parihaspura (mod. Paraspur) and the Vihara of Huviskapura
(mod. Uskara) were built. The Vihara of Uskara seems to have
been built at least some time before that, because, Hwen Tsang, who
7 Ef t Ind. t I, p. 238.
8 ASL Ann., Ref., 1904-5, pp. 107-8.
 j6 Buddhism in the Classical Age

visited Kashmir a few decades earlier and lived there for two years,
is

said to have
spent a night in
the Huskara Vihara, which must be the
same as that at Another monastery mentioned by the
Huviskapura.
pilgrim was the Jayendra-Vihara. The Chinese pilgrim is said to
have seen about 100 monasteries in Kashmir, but Wii-K'ung who
lived same place about a century later, reports to have seen
at the
9
about 300 monasteries. The most remarkable early Buddhist remains
at Kashmir are unearthed at Harwan near Srinagar. It
occupies a

lovely situation on a slope facing the beautiful Dal lake, with a

mountain range on its

background. The remains reveal a large
Buddhist establishment with a sttipa in its courtyard, a Caitya hall
and some monastic abodes around them. The Caitya hall which
of the plateau is one
occupies a prominent position on the highest part
of the rare specimens of the type in northern India, bearing remarkable

affinity to those of the rock-cut Caitya halls in the southern parts of

India. Numerous terracotta plaques found at the site are unique

specimens of Indian art. As observed by Percy Brown, "the remains
at Harwan indicate that the memorable impact of diverse historical

cultures, which took place in this part of Asia in the early centuries
10
of the first millennium, also had repurcussions on the arts of Kashmir /'

And though we have hitherto found no inscription from Kashmir,

the deficiency ismore than made up by the monumental discovery of
a number of Sanskrit manuscripts of various Buddhist texts from a

stt4fa at Gilgit, written in characters of 5-6th century A.D. These

manuscripts are supposed to be the earliest manuscripts so far discovered

in India, and were hitherto known to have existed
only in their
1*
Tibetan translations.
IV. For the region lying between the north-western countries and
Ma t h u r a, we have
practically
no archaeological materials to depict
the
story of the condition of Buddhism in these
regions.
Hwen Tsang
reports to have seen a number of Buddhist institutions and also

Buddhist devotees in this region. Mathura and its

neighbourhood was
a great centre of Jainism as well as of Buddhism from a
very early
date, the form of Buddhism being mainly the Sarvastivada as it is

associated with the name of Upagupta, the religious teacher of Asoka,

9 Watters, I, pp. 258ff; cf. IA., 1895, p. 342^.
10 P. Brown, Indian Architecture, p.
11 Gilgit Manufcripts, ed. N. Dutt.
 Buddhism in the Classical Age 77

who is said to have had great success as a missonary in this region and
converted numerous people. An inscription of the time of Kaniska
records that the Sammitiyas also resided at this place. Hwen Tsang is

said to have seen the followers of Mahayana also. The Chinese

'

saw here about twenty Buddhist monasteries and a large

travellers

number of devotees. But unfortunately no remains of any monastery

have so far out in this area, though numerous Buddhist
been found

figures, some of which are inscribed, prove that at

one time the place
was a
flourishing centre of Buddhism. The sculptures of Mathura had
a peculiar
type of its own and its school of art, which developed almost

immediately after that of Gandhara, is regarded as the connecting link

between the Gandhara and the Gupta school of art. Some Buddhist
figures of the early Gupta period hailing from Mathura clearly
manifest

the vestiges of the older form of art mingled with the glimpses of the
12
advancing Gupta art. The Boston Museum of America has in its

collection some images of Buddha from Mathura belonging to the

18
Gupta period. Two inscriptions inscribed on the pedestals of two

standing Buddha images from Mathura have been discovered. These,

on paleographic grounds, be placed at an interval of about a
are to

century. These are regarded as the latest inscriptions so far found in

this region. The earlier one, ascribed to the middle of the 5th century
A.D., is inscribed on the pedestal of a broken image of standing Buddha
and records the gift of the figure by some "Viharasvamini Devata",
most probably a "Mother Superior" of a
nunnery, "for the acquisition
of supreme knowledge by her parents and all sentient beings". The
later one is the
gift of another nun of the name of Jayabhatta to a
* 1
monastery named Yasovihara. Not only stone but bronze images
also have been discovered from Mathura and other
places which add
to the
glory of the artists of this period.
V. The city ofSravastl is
prominent in Buddhist literature

presence and activities of Buddha

for continued himself. It is identified
with the modern ruined of Saheth-Maheth in the Gonda and
city
Bahraich districts of U. Gen. Cunningham discovered a
P. where
colossal image of Buddha with the name of SravastI inscribed on it.
Archaeological excavations have brought to light many of the sites

12 ASL, 1922-23, p. 168-69.

13 Cf. Boston Museum Catalogue by Coomaraswamy.
14 C//f HI, pp. 26*ff, 2 73 ff.
,
78 Buddhism in the Classical Age

mentioned by the Chinese pilgrims and those reasonably with

agree
their description, The Jctavana-vihara with its eastern and northern

gates, as described by Fa-Hian, has been brought to light by Gen.

Cunningham at Saheth, The Angulimala-stupa, the Gandha-kutt,

and the Kosamba-kutI have been Five
identified by the excavators.
brickbuilt monasteries together with a shrine and a stupa have been

unearthed in this area and very likely these belong to our period of

survey. There are some structural remains of the Gupta and

period testifying that the

subsequent periods, as also of the earlier site

was occupied from the Kushan upto the n-i2th centuries A.D. The

sculptures so far found at this site are anterior to the classical period,
and
it Js
strange enough that no sculpture of this period has hitherto been
come to light* But there are many inscribed terracotta seals and
sealings bearing the Buddhist creed in scripts of the 6th-yth century.
VI. Prayaga or the district around Allahabad was the centre
of Buddhism from the lifetime of Buddha, Kausambi, modern Kosam
near where the Ghositarama monastery mentioned in the
Allahabad,
Buddhist literature has been unearthed together with an inscription of
the earlier centuries mentioning the name of the monastery, was
sanctified by the presence of the lord himself. The records of the

Chinese pilgrims prove that this

country continued to be a centre of
Buddhism in subsequent
upto the yth century when
periods also, at least
Hwen Tsang visited India, and Harsavardhana was ruling in this region.
Though there is no inscription either of Harsa or any other ruler, both
Hwen Tsang and Harsa* s biographer Bana depict the king as a great

patron of Buddhism. The quinquennial religious assembly organised

under the auspices of Harsa is said to have taken place during the
visit of the Chinese pilgrim at Allahabad. Hwen Tsang speaks

eloquently of the assembly and the favour shown to Buddhism

by its
inaugarator, Harsa. Two inscriptions belonging to
periods
earlierthan Harsa found in the neighbouring areas relate the continua-
tion oE the religion from its inception. Of the two inscriptions, the
first, ascribed to the reign of the Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I, found at

Mankuwar in the Allahabad district records the installation by a monk

called Buddhamitra of the stone-figure of Buddha, on which appears the
16
inscription An attempt has been made to identify this Buddhamitra
.

, III, P . 45 ff.
 Buddhism in the Classical Age 70
with his namesake, the teacher of Vasubandhu 18 . The other
inscription,
found in a village named Deoriya in the
though undated, same district,

on paleographic grounds, and records

is
assigned to the
jth century
17
the gift of the
image of Buddha by a Sakya monk Bodhivarman .
VII. K a s i a in the Gorakhpur district is the modern site of

ancient Kuslnagara, the site of hallowed memory in the o

history
Buddhism as the
place of the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha, and as

such one of the four great places of pilgrimage for the Buddhists.
Kasia has yielded a large number of archaeological materials which
show that the origin of the place goes back to a remote antiquity, even

as
early as the Mauryan age. Of the many Mahaparinirvana Caityas
found at this
place, the main one, designated Matha-kuvar-ka-kot,

by the local
people, is
supposed to have been rebuilt at this period.
A colossal recumbent stone image of Buddha in the pose of attaining

Mahaparinirvana has been unearthed at Kasia. It bears an inscrip-

tion under its
pedestal which records the gift of the same figure by
an abbot (Mahavihara-svamin) named Haribala. 18 Again, in the relic
chamber of a large stupa behind the Nirvana temple at Kasia, was
found a copper vessel probably containing the relics, with an
inscribed
copper lid. The inscription contains
the Buddhist Nidana
SUtra and also the record of the gift (of
the vessel) by the pious
Haribala, obviously the same person as the donor of the image
mentioned above. It is also stated in the that the
inscription
urn belonged to the Nirvana-caitya, confirming the identity of
Kasia with the ancient Kuslnagara. Further evidence of the

identity
of Kasia with Kuslnagara is
supplied by a number of

clay seals depicting Buddha in the attitude of attaining Mahaparinir-

vana> with the Dharmacakra or the wheel of Law underneath, and

the legend 'Mahaparinirvana Bhiksusanghasya* on it in Gupta charac-
ters, or 'Sri
Mahaparinirvana mahavihariyarya bhikshusanghasya* in
8th century characters. Some official sealings with legends in Gupta
characters and
fragmentary stone inscriptions have also been found
19
in the area.

16 IA., 1912. also Allan Cat. of Gupta Coins t p. XLII.

17 Cll. III, p. 271 ff.

18 Ibid., p. 272.
19 ASL Ann. Rep., 1911-12.
 8o Buddhism in the Classical Age

VIII. S a r n a t h had the singular fortune of being the birth

place of Buddhism as well as of the Buddhist

Sangha, the two jewels of
the Buddhist Trinity. The first monastic organisation formed at Sarnath
continued to exist here in
subsequent days. Asoka, who is credited

with building numerous Buddhist edifices, constructed the Dharmara-

jika stiff a here, and erected one of his edict pillars, the
stump of which
still remain in situ. Its
inscription portion has been preserved in
such excellent condition that it can be read quite easily even after

such a long interval of time. The stupa was seen by Hwen Tsang, and
it remained extant even about two centuries ago, when a local chief
of Benares, Jagat Singh by name, destroyed it for stones.
procuring
The lion
capital crowning the pillar
which has been adopted recently
as the insignia of the
Republic of India, is exhibited in the adjoining

museum. In the Suriga, Kanva, and Andhra periods, the Sarnath

monastery continued to way, but it was

exist in an insignificant
revived again in the Kushan period, specially under Kaniska.
The most notable statue of the period of Kaniska found at Sarnath
is the colossal Bodhisattva figure with the umbrella dedicated by the
monk Bala. The Buddhist art attained the summit of its
glory at

Sarnath during the Gupta period, and a considerable number of

Buddhist images which have been unearthed from Sarnath during

excavations as well as those of the same period found from Mathura,
are regarded as the specimens of Indian art.
finest The main shrine
of Sarnath is supposed to have been erected during the Gupta period,

but who was its patron, is not yet clear. The famous Dhamekh

sttipa,
still extant at Sarnath, must have been rebuilt on an earlier

nucleus during this period, and show a marked distinction in its forma-
tion
compared with other stfipas of earlier date. A fair number of

inscriptions found from Sarnath help us to ascertain the condition of

Buddhism in this period. An inscription of the ^th century A. D., on

the pedestal of a broken image of standing Buddha, records the gift

of the statue by a Buddhist nun 'Dharmmade'. The inscription below

a sandstone the
bas-relief
representation of three scenes of life of

Buddha, belonging to the

jth century (now deposited in the Indian
Museum, Calcutta) records that the sculpture was made by the order
of a religious mendicant named Harigupta. An inscription on a
figure of Buddha, assigned to the reign of Kumaragupta (II)
records

the gift of the image by a certain monk Abhayamitra. Another

 Buddhism in the Classical Age 81

image contains the inscription 'Deya-dharmo-yam Kumaraguptasya*

which suggests that the donor was
perhaps the Gupta king Kumara-
gupta himself. Two other inscriptions of the monk Abhayamitra
have been found at Sarnath on the two similar beautiful
pedestals of
Buddha images standing on lotus, assigned to a later period* to the

reign of Budhagupta. There are also the 5th century inscription of the
gift of the monk Silasena and the 6th century gift of the great lay-
devotee Narnnana as well as the gift of a
pillar
used as a lamp-post in

the main shrine by the devout worshipper Klrti, belonging to the

5th century. A peculiar fact about the inscriptions of this

period is that they seldom state the particular sect of

Buddhism to which the donors or the donee belonged. And as such

we are confronted with a difficulty to ascertain the form of

religion prevalent in a certain locality. This difficulty

is some-
what solved by two dedicatory inscriptions on a railing-stone at

Sarnath, recording the paying of homage to the Sarvastivadin teachers.

Seen Konow remarks about these inscriptions: "the inscription consists
of two distinct parts in different characters. The beginning belongs to
the ^rd or
^th c. A. D. The final portion is older by about four
centuries. It
appears that the first pare of the earlier inscription has
been erased and a different beginning substituted." From these, it

becomes evident that the Sarvastivadins were

predominant in .this

region, and previously some rival sect had same region.

its centre in the
The later sects scratched the previous names and substituted that of
their own 30 .

IX. The city of Pataliputra, modern Patna, had no less

importance in the history of Buddhism than its political one. It became
the capital city as early as the time of the
grandson of Bimbisara. Asoka
too had his capital at this city, and this place must have been a centre
of Buddhism from that very period. Fa-Hian in the
early 5th-6 c.
saw
a
large monastery with the adherents o the Mahayana sect, and
another with those of the Hinayana faith. Both the monasteries con-
tained numerous priests
and were great centres of learning. But
Hwen Tsang, two centuries later, found the city almost deserted, with
very few Buddhist and Brahmanic ruins scattered here and there*'
Archaeological excavations have brought to light what is supposed to

20 Sahni. Guide to Sarnatb.

11
8a Buddhism m the Classical Age
be the palace of Asoka, and recent excavations have unearthed some
Buddhist establishments which, if further excavations arc carried on,

might, in the long run, be identified with those referred to by Fa-hian.

X. The illustrious institution of N
a 1 a n d a did not rise into

prominence till the later part of the Gupta rule. According to Tara-
natha Nalanda was a flourishing centre of Buddhism as early as the

time of Nagarjuna (i. e. 2nd c. A. D.), who is said to have passed his
academic as well as teaching career in the monastery of Nalanda. But
we have no archaeological or epigraphic record in support of the

statement. All the Buddhist Viharas, from their earliest history,

provided educational facilities

particularly of the Tripitaka. In the

same manner, the Nalanda monastery with its educational activities

might have existed in an insignificant position from an earlier period,

till
gained the
it world-wide reputation as a University centre

at the time of the late

Gupta rulers. Archaeological reports also do
not prove its importance before that period. Probably it was not
before the time of Kumaragupta that the Nalanda monastery came into
prominence, as the coin of the king found on the site claims to prove;
the inscribed copper-plate ascribed to Samudragupta is supposed by
scholars as spurious; and Fa-Hian does not mention a single word
about the monastery of Nalanda, though he speaks of the village Nalo
and the Sariputra tope. On the other hanJ, Hwen Tsang, two centuries
later, speaks highly of the monastic establishment of Nalanda, of its

patron kings, of the successsion of teachers, the fame of whose vast

knowledge and scholasticism spread all over Asia and attracted

students from far off countries. Under one of them, viz., Sllabhadra,
he himself studied for a long period.
The architectural remains of

Nalanda disclose several strata which indicates that the buildings were
built and re-built several times, and was in a flourishing condition upto
the period of the Palas. The majority of the inscriptions
from Nalanda

belongs to the age of the Palas. For tljc period under review,
we have
very few inscriptions, one of which is quite interesting. This is the

inscription of the time of Yasovarmadeva, the characters of

which
resemble those of Adityasena found at Apsad, and hence is placed in
81
the 6th century A.D. It records certain
gifts
of Malada , son of

a minister of Yasovarmadeva, erected

to the temple of Buddha, by

ai Ef.lnd., XX p, 294!!.
 Buddhism in the Classical Age 83

Baladitya at Nalanda. Though some difference of opinion have occurred

about the identity and date of the Yasovarmadeva during whose reign
the gift was made", this
inscription is of considerable value as it con-
firms the statement made by Hwen Tsang, that the Nalanda monastery
was built
by 'BalaJitya Raja'. The inscription gives the description
of the Nalanda monastery as follows: "Baladitya, the great king of
irresistible valour, erected a great and extraordinary temple of

the illustrious son of Suddhodana (i.

c. Buddha) here at Nalanda.
Nalanda had scholars well-known for their (knowledge of the) sacred
texts and art, and (was full of the)
heaps of the rays of Catty as
It had a row of Viharus, the
shining and bright like white clouds.
line of whose tops touched the clouds Nalanda had temples which
were brilliant on account of the net-work of the rays of the various

jewels set in them and was the pleasant abode oi the learned and
virtuous Sangha" From the record it seems probable thac the donor
Malada himself also took to the life of a monk and his sister Nirmala

mentioned in the inscription might also have been a nun. Besides

this and one or two other minor inscriptions, numerous votive inscrip-
tions some of them bearing different Buddhist sutras and clay seals

bearing the name o the organisation of the Bhikkhus of Nalanda ('sri

Nalanda mahavihariya bhikkhusanghasya'), belonging to different

periods,
have been unearthed during excavations. Two of the carved bricks
bear on them the complete Pratityasamtttpadastitra and its exposition
in
Gupta characters, which is
supposed to be unique of its kind 23 .
XI. The township of R a j
a g r h a, modern Rajgir, where the
Buddhistic monastic developed during the life time of
institution

Buddha was found by both the Chinese pilgrims as almost deserted,

and archaeological reports also ascribe practically nothing to this

period, except the sttipa of Giriyek near Rajgir, which has a

shape
quite different from the earlier ones.

XII. Bodh-Gaya is a place of perpetual interest not for the

Buddhists only, but everyone who

for is in the least interested in the

religion
of the Buddha, because it is here that Gautama Buddha
attained his supreme knowledge, and as such, is
being visited by
numerous Buddhists as well as non-Buddhists from the earliest times.

of which
Asoka made a
pilgrimage to this place, in commemoration

** /HQ., yil, p. 664. 23 AS!., Memoir 66, p. 75.

84 Buddhism in the Classical
Age

he constructed a railing
around the Bodhi tree and the scat of the

Buddha underneath ic, and perhaps also erected a

pillar
as is
supposed
from some carvings of Bharhut, but this
assumption does not
find

support from the

Chinese pilgrims. Two sets of
railings arc
to be
found at Bodh-Gaya, one belonging to the time of Asoka with the

stories of Buddha's life carved on them, belonging and the other

to the Gupta period, with the typical Gupta ornamentations pictured

on them. A peculiar fact is that all the inscriptions, both old and
34
new, are incised on the older set of
railings. The Bodh-Gaya temple
shows marks of additions and alterations, and the nucleus of the

present temple supposedis have been originated in the Gupta period.

to

Of the inscriptions of Bodh-Gaya pertaining to our period, the earliest

is the one ascribed to the reign of Maharaja Trikamala, possibly a

feudatory of the Gupta monarchs. It records that two monks, both

teachers of Vinaya, caused one Simharatha to dedicate the image of

the Bodhisattva, evidently the one on which it is incised, with the

help of two other persons, one of whom is a female lay devotee and the
35
other an expounder of the holy text. Then there are the two

inscriptions of the Ccyionese monk Mahanaman, dated in the 6th

century A.D., one recording the erection of a

'Mandapa* for

Buddha within the Bodh-Gaya, and the other recording the

area of

gift
of a figure of Buddha, by
the same person. This monk Maha-
naman is recorded to be an inhabitant of Lahkadvlpa or the island of

Ceylon, and doubtfully identified with the author of the well-known

is

28
Pali chronicle of Ceylon, viz. the Mahavamsa , But whatever his

identity might be, these two inscriptions testify

to the fact that
people
from such a distant country like Ceylon retained their connection with
this
place (which began with the mission sent by Asoka), even in this

period, though it is evident from other inscriptions that these are not
27-
the first
pilgrims from Ceylon to
Bodh-Gaya. That pilgrims from
Ceylon continued their visit to this
place in
subsequent centuries also,
is
proved from
6th or
yth century inscription in which it is stated
a

that some scion of the ruling

family of Lanka, Prakhyatakirtl by name,

24 Cf. Barua, Gay a and Bodh-Gaya, p.

n.
25 ASl. t An. Ref., 1922-23, p, 169.
26 For details see Cll. HI, p. 274ff. 9

27 ASl.t An. Ref>. 9 1908-09; Block's Report on Bodh-Gaya, p. 156*

 Buddhism In the Classical Age 85

caused some buildings to be made here ("at Triratna" as the ex-

11
pression runs). Another fragmentary inscription from the same place
and the same period records the pious gift of an unknown devotee for
the plastering, regular repairing, maintenance of lamps in the shrine

of Buddha, monastery, as well as the excavation of a well or

at\d in the
2*
pond for the use of monks. Another inscription of the 6th century
on the pedestal of a Buddha image (now in the Indian Museum,

Calcutta), records the gift of the image by two Sakya monks,

natives of an unidentified place called
Dharmagupta and Damstrascna,
30
Tisyamratlrtha.
XIII. Buddhism must have penetrated into Bengal at least in

the early years of the Christian era, as referred to in the Nagarjuni-

konda inscription,
even if we leave out of consideration the Mahasthan
inscription written in Maurya characters, which mentions the Chab-

baggiya bhikklius, i.e. the party of six men headed by Devadatta, and
as such an anti-party of the organisation of Buddha. Of the Chinese
pilgrims, Fa-Hian did not visit North Bengal, but he went to the
adjacent countries like Campa in the
Bhagalpur district, and Tamra-
lipti,
where he himself stayed for two years and studied Buddhist

scriptures,
and found the religion flourishing with many stupas and
monasteries full of monks. HwenTsang travelled in
Bengal and is said
to many sttif>as and monasteries containing both Hinayanic
have seen
and Mahayanic monks. The establishments mentioned by Hwen Tsang
and other Chinese pilgrims who visited subsequently, are not yet

definitely located, but the numerous ruins scattered all over the length
and breadth of Bengal, the major portion of which is at
present includ-
ed within the area of Pakistan, suggest that if
systematic exploration
is carried out, most of the places mentioned by them will ultimately be

traced. The prosperous condition of Buddhism Bengal in the Gupta

in

period onwards
is also attested
by various documents. The Gunai-
31
of the reign of
Maharaja Vainyagupta, a scion of the
ghar copper-plate
Gupta family, dated in 506-7 A.D., records the grant of land by the
vassal Maharaja Rudradatta in favour of the
king at the instance of his
Buddhist Avaivartaka sangha of the Mahayana sect. The sangha
founded by Acarya Santideva was living in a monastery called Asrama-

28 ASI. t An. Rep., 1908-09; Block's Rffport on Bodh-Gaya, p. 156.

29 Ibid. 30 Cll.. Ill, p. 281. 31 IHQ, YI, p. <j 5 f.
86 Buddhism in the Classical Age

vihara, which was dedicated Arya Avalokitcsvara and had been

to

established by the said Rudradatta. The plate also refers to two other
Buddhist monasteries in the
neighbouring area, one of which is

designated Raja-vihara or the royal monastery. Santideva of the

inscriptions
is
surely not the author of Siksasamuccaya, who is
supposed
32
to have lived a century later but some other teacher of the same
name. And the name of the particular sangha viz. Avaivartaka, found

for the first time in this plate,

is not mentioned elsewhere. By way
of explanation it
may be stated that in the SaddharmapundarikasHtra
and other Mahayana texts, there arc a number of references to a spiri-

tual
stage 'Avaivartika Bodhisattvasthanam' and also to 'Avivartika',
8 *
'Avaivartika tejV, and 'Avaivartika' etc. It seems that a sect which
aimed at the Avaivartika or
'incapable of sliding back* stage, grew up
in this
locality,
which took the name of Avaivartika or Avaivartika

sangha. At any rate, this record is a positive evidence that Buddhism

took a firm root in Bengal even in this period, under the royal patro-

nage. The condition of Buddhism

yth century in Bengal, if in the

not the whole of India, is reflected in an inscription on a copper plate

found from Kailan in the Tippera District of Bengal. It is the donation
of an official of a certain king named Sridharana Rata, to the Buddhist
Triratna, as well as some other donations to a number of Brahmins for
34
performing 'the five great sacrifices'. The religious toleration
which
is the characteristic feature of the Indians, is once more manifested in
this inscription. It
supplies further evidence to the fact that Buddhism
was tending towards merger with Brahmanism and devotees of the
Buddha did not refrain from being respectful to Buddhism and Brah-
manism in the same breath. Another inscription of a somewhat later

date, found in Bengal, is also of a similar effect as the Kailan plate. It

35
is the
inscription on an image of Sarvam (a
form of Durga) dedicated

by PrabhavatI, queen of a Buddhist king named Devakhadga. Two

36
copper-plates with inscriptions found from Asrafpur
in Bengal reveal

that a number of rulers whose names ended with Khadga, and hence

32 Winternitz, II. p, 365,

33 Of. Saddharmapundarika-sfitra Bib. Bud. X, p. 264; also the Cilgit
Mss. of the text, ed. N. Dutt, pt. I, p. 70,
verse 5; pt. II, p. 253 v. 130;
v. 1126; also
pt. Ill, p. 465. p, 510. (avaivartiko bhavisyatyanuttarayam
samyaksambodhau). 34 /HQ t XXIII, p. 221 f.
,

3g Ep. lnd. % Xyil p 357. 36 MASB.. I no 6, p. 6 5 ff.

 Buddhism in tk* Classical Age 87

might be called the 'Khadga family', ruled in Bengal during the earlier

part of the 8th c. A.D. The plates are significant for the fact that

Buddhism received royal recognition after a long period, as the royal

records depict all of them as devout Buddhists. And further, though

none of this line of Buddhist kings were any of the
as illustrious as

previous Buddhist rulers like Asoka, Kaniska, or the Satavahana rulers,

these Khadga regarded as the predecessor and ancestors
rulers may be
of a long and glorious line of Buddhist kings, viz., the Palas. Numerous

Buddhist figures have been found in Bengal, but the majority of them

belong to the Pala period. The earliest find is the standing image of
3
Buddha from Biharail in Rajshahi district. * The image is to be dated
from its
style, not liter
than the gth century A.D. and is now depo-
sited in the Varcndra Research Society Museum, Rajshahi. It bears

such close affinity

to those of Sarnath, that one may quite well infer
that it was supplied from that place. Unfortunately the image is

very badly damaged, but still it is a fine piece of sculpture. Another

interesting Buddhist figure of the same period is the gold-plated

image of Manjusri, collected from the Balaidhap mound near Maha-

sthan, Bogra. This is
undoubtedly one of the specimens of
finest

bronze or octo-alloy images so far found in Northern and Eastern

India. The figure has the Dhyani Buddha Aksobhya, the spiritual

father of ManjusrI, according to the code of Saclbanamala,

placed on
its crown. This image is also damaged, but the loveliness of the figure

prove that it was also beautiful in its original state. The execution of
the limbs and drapery leads us to assign it to the
Gupta period. An
important point to be noticed in connection with this image is that it
has changed the earlier notion that gold-plated images were made for
the first time by the Siamese artists in Siam only in the 8th c. A.D.
In fact, this
image shows that metal images were used to be gilt long
before that period in India and
perhaps the Siamese artists were indebt-
8*
ed to India in this
respect also.
XIV, O r i s s a was one of the cradles of Buddhism when it

tasted the religious fervour at the time of Asjka. The religion again
took last shelter in this before disappearance from
its its final
country
3*
Bengal and other parts of India after the Muhammadan invasion.

37 History of Bengal, Dacca, L p 523.

38 N. Dasgupta, Banglay Bauddhadhartna (in Bengali) p. 46-47.
39 H. P. Sastri, Bauddh4 Dharma (in Bengali), p. 1
06-7
 88 Buddhism In th* Classical Age

We do not hear of any activities of the Buddhists in this part of the

country during the intervening period. That Buddhism existed in

Orissa in the 6th-yth centuries A. D.

proved by the statement
is of

Hwen Tsang who is said to have seen many Buddhist monasteries and
40
numerous devotees in Wu-Tu (Odra or Orissa' country, and who was
selectedby Harsavardhana to be deputed with four other scholars

from Nalanda to silence the Hlnayanist monks of Orissa who were

41
becoming vehemently opposed to the Mahayanists. The group of

Buddhist monasteries in the Jajpur hills, known as Udaygiri, Lalitagiri,

and Ratnagiri, have produced a large number of sculptures and

images datable to Gupta period. An image of the Bodhisattva Padma-

pani belonging to Gupta period has been found out from a

the later

place named Santamadhava in Jajpur, and a life-size image of four-

armed Avalokitesvara on the Ratnagiri have the same pose common to
the sculptures of the Gupta age. Many votive stupas and architectural

and sculptural fragments comprising heads of some colossal Buddha

images have been found from this Ratnagiri hill.

Sculptures
belonging to later periods found in this place prove the continuance
of this place as a Buddhist centre. At Lalitagiri there are also a

large number of sculptures fixed in modern temples, which have

inscriptions on them in 8th century characters, mostly containing

the Buddhist creed. The sculptures represent the Buddhist gods and

goddesses like Avalokitesvara, Tara, and Maitreya. A number of

images of Buddha, Avalokitesvara, Prajnaparamita and other Buddhist

gods have been found in Udayagiri hill also and these sculptures
too contain inscriptions in scripts of yth to 10 or nth centuries.

On the back of one such image of Avalokitesvara, with the Dhyanl-

Buddha Amitabha seated in its crest, is an inscription saying that
it was the gift of a monk Subhagupta, written in yth or 8th century
42
characters. The extensive ruins in these three hills
prove that

this locality was a

flourishing centre of Buddhism from the yth century

onwards, and the cult of Avalokitesvara and Tara was more prevalent.
43
The Neulpur grant of the king Subhakaradeva reveals that a line

of Buddhist kings was ruling in Orissa in the 8th century, and

Buddhism must have been flourishing under their patronage. In the

40 Wattera, II. p. 193. 41 Beal, Life, p. i6o-6r.

42 ASL, Memoir, 44. 43 Ep. lnd.> XX, p. i.f.
 Buddhism In the Classical Ag 89

inscription, instead of the conventional epithet used by all Buddhist

kings and devotees, viz. 'Parama Saugata*, the Kara kings of Orissa
adopted a new designation for themselves, viz. *Parama Tathagata'
which, of course, carries the same meaning. The object of the grant
is to register the gift of some villages to a number o Brahmins by the
king. Here again we are confronted with another example of the
liberal character of Indian religions, as also to the fact that Buddhism
and Brahmanism were coming in closer relations with each other,
XV. The religion of Buddha was introduced into Western
India during the life time of its founder who is said to have deputed
his a native of Avanti, to preach his
disciple Mahakaccayana, religion
western
there.
Again, during the time of Asoka, Aparanta or the

country received the Yavana Dhammaraksita as the missionary

despatched by the emperor. This country was fortunate enough

in
having the Sacavahana rulers as great patrons of Buddhism under
whom the religion flourished greatly and numerous cave-temples
were excavated in the hilly tracts of Western India. The origin of

these cave-temple belongs to further antiquity, perhaps to the

time of Asoka, who incised one of his rock-ediccs on the hill of Girnar,

though the credit of constructing the majority of the cave-temples

goes to the Satavahanas. The caves of Nasik, Karle, Bhaja, Junnar,
Kanheri etc. bear testimony to the palmy days of Buddhism.

Though they lost their subsequent periods, some of

importance in

them at least were not altogether deserted and were occupied or

frequented by the Buddhists who made gifts to them even upto the
loth-xith centuries. In the great caitya-cava at Kanheri, there
is an inscription recording the gift by a Buddhist monk of the seated

figure of Buddha under which it is carved. On the veranda of the same

cave, there is under a standing image of Buddha an inscription which
records that the image was dedicated by a mendicant Buddhaghosa,
the disciple of a teacher named Dharmavatsa, who was well-versed
in the three Pitakas. In the veranda of cave no. 3 is the 'meritorious

gift*
of a Buddha figure by a monk Dharmagupta. Near the great
pillar
at the same place, on a small caitya in bas-relief, is incised the

beginning of the well-known Buddhist creed and in a small chamber

stands a figure of Buddha as the gifc of a teacher Buddharaksita.
All these inscriptions belong to the 5th to yth centuries A.D," The
44 ASW1., V.&yi.
90 Buddhism in the Classical Age

but there are

original architecture oE Kanhcri subsequent
is
Simple
additions of sculpture with the development of Mahayana.
the
The Buddhist caves of Lonad a few miles oft Kalyan in
seems to be an intermediate station on the long
Bombay presidency
and other
pilgrim and trade route which led from Sopara via Kanfierl

Buddhist monasteries on Salsette islands to the Nanaghat Pass and on

to the higher Deccan. Due

absence of inscriptions the date of the
to

caves cannot be ascertained definitely, but the beautiful and lively

sculptures that are chiselled out in the caves bear such close affinity
with those in the later caves of Ajanta, that they may be well ascribed
to that period* The sculptures in these caves depict Jataka stories,

some of which cannot be identified. There are also scenes of the

Buddha's subjugation of the furious Nalagiri, court scenes,

elephant
4*
etc. That Junagarh was a fairly large centre of Buddhism at least upto
the yth century A. D., is testified by the statement of Hwen Tsang
who found about fifty
convents with nearly 3000 monks, belonging
Mahayana, as also by the discovery of
to the Schavira sect of the

numerous Buddhist caves near modern monastery named Bawa Pyara's

Math/ 6
XVI. The Maitraka rulers of V a 1 a b h I
began their career as

the vassal (Samanta) of the Imperial Guptas. They threw off the Gupta
suzerainty with the decline of the Gupta power and gradually changed

epithet from 'Samanta' to the glorious title of Maharaja Jhiraja.

their 47j

These Maitraka kings, though themselves not professed Buddhists,

were great patrons of the religion, and a large number of inscriptions
of the rulers of this dynasty record the bounteous giftsmade by those
kings to the Buddhist organisations of the country. Two lady members
of this
royal family were devout Buddhist nuns who established

monasteries of their own. One of them, Dudda was the niece of king
Dhruvasena. She is also mentioned as a
queen in some other inscrip-
tions. The other lady of the royal family who embraced the life of a

nun is Mimma. From the inscriptions of the Maitraka rulers it

becomes clear that during their rule, the region around modern
Saurastra was a
flourishing centre of Buddhism with no less than

45 JISOA., XV, p. 84 ffi.

46 ASWL, II, p. 139.

47 For the gradual change in their epithet sec Bhandarkar's List of Inscs.
in Ef . Ind., XX, appendix.
 Buddhism in the Classical
AQC 01

thirteen monasteries, names of which are : Bhatarka vihara, Gohaka

vihara, Abhyantarika v., Kakka v,, Buddhadasa v.,
Vimalagupta
v., Schiramati v., Yaksa-sutra v., Purna-Bhatta v., Ajjtta v,,

Bappapadiya v., Varhsataka v., and Yodhavaka vihara 4 8 ^

. Hwen Tsang
associates the two eminent Buddhist scholars Gunamati and
Sthiramati with Valabhi, and this is corroborated
by the name of the
Vihara. In the inscriptions the mention of donations for buying
books for the monasteries 49 also supports the tradition that the Valabhi

monasteries were great centres of education not inferior to those of

Nalanda.
XV. The
missionary activities of Asoka is best illustrated in the
monuments Sanci, the earliest strata of the main stfipa of which is
of

ascribed to Asoka. The remains of an edict pillar of the same emperor

found in the
vicinity lends this
support to
assumption. Incidentally
it
may be mentioned that in the Ceylonse chronicle Mahavafasa> it is
stated that Mahendra, son of Asoka, who headed the Buddhist mission
to Ceylon, visited his mother *Devi' before his journey, at a
monastery
at
Cetiyagiri near VidisS, where she was living as a nun, and stayed
in that
monastery for a short period. This Cetiyagiri is
probably
identical with the hillock of Sanci, where the remains of the 'Devi's
1

monastery lie still extant. It is

strange to note that none of the
Chinese pilgrims seem to have visited Sanci during their tour in India.

For none of them make any mention of this centre of Buddhism,

which, as is evident from the extensive ruins found at the site, was in

a flourishing condition at the time of their visit to India. The main

stfipa
must have been dedicated to Buddha and the rest to the more

distinguished disciples of the Master,

as proved from the discoveryis

of the relics of Sariputra and Moggalana from the top of the stupa

no. 3. The original stRpa ereQted by Asoka, having been damaged in

course of time, was encased in a newer one and thus it became larger
to a great extent than its former size. This system of constructing
new sttipas over
the older ones was not uncommon in those days. In

when erection of votive became the

subsequent centuries, stUpas
custom of the day, numerous stupas of different dimensions, pillars,
and gateways continued to be erected on the site. Some of the very

Anc* Hist, of Sattrastra by Vtiji.

48
49 M
g2 Buddhism in the Classical Age

few pillars
which exist in India, with the exception of those erected by
Asoka, are found at Sjncu One of them contain a fragmentary
inscription
in
jth c. characters
recording the gift of the pillar by a
Viharasvamin whose name ended in 'Rudra* and who was the son of
'Gosura-Simh'abala'. The pillar
was surmounted by the figure
of

Vajrapani, which now remains in the Museum at Sanci. An inscrip-

tion vof Amrakardava, an officer of Candragupta II of the Imperial

line, records the gifts of an allotment of land called Isvaravasaka,
Gupta
as also of some amount money, to the Buddhist community of
of

Kakanadabhota (the name which was often mentioned in ancient

inscriptions
to designate Sanci) for the
purpose of feeding
the monks
and maintaining lamps* Another inscription dated in the year 131
of the era, records the grant of a female Harisva-
Gupta lay-devotee
mini, wife of the lay devotee Sanasiddha, of certain amount of money
to the same community and for the same purpose 50 . Some more ins-
criptions incised mostly on the pedestals of Buddhist figures and dating
from the 4th-7th or 8th centuries, have been found at the site. O
course inscriptions belonging to earlier or later periods are not also

lacking, but we are not concerned with them for the present.
A
fragmentary inscription in yth c. characters has been found from the

monastery no. 43 at Sanci which is devoted to the praise of Lokanatha,

who is described as having lotus in his hand and bear Amitabha (on
his head), and also of Vajrapani... ...It also mentions the lord of

Mahamalava (Malwa) and a certain ruler

Vappaka Dcva a monas-

tery with cells (layana) is stated to have been built. ...There seems to
be further reference that the (above-mentioned) monastery belonging
to a person named Tunga and that the benefaction recorded took place
51
at Bota-Sriparvata (i. e. Sanci) . There are numerous sculptural and
architectural remains on the site which bear witness to the fact that

the place was a flourishing centre of Buddhism during our period of

52
review .

XVIII. Mandasor (ancient Dasapura) in the Gwalior district

was known to have been a centre of Brahmanism only. But a stone slab
discovered at the place indicates that Buddhism had some place there

50 C//., Ill, p. 29$. and p. 260.

51 Marshall, Monuments of Sanci, insc. no. 842.
52 For details, see Marshall, of. cit.
 Buddhism in the CUssical Age 93

also. The inscription on the slab records the construction o a well

l
a garden and a
along with a 'stfipa', prap$* (water stall) by Datta-
bhata, Commander-in-chief of king Prabhakara. The record is dated
in the Malava samvat 524 (467-68 A. D.). The inscription mentions
the early Gupta king Candragupta II and his younger son Govinda-

gupta, the donor Dattabhatta being a son of Govindagupta's general

53
.
Vayuraksita
Though Mandasor did not produce many Buddhist remains, the

prevalence of
Buddhism in the Gwalior district is
amply proved by a
in the same These
group of Buddhist
caves at Bagh district. caves,

though only four in number, form a

very interesting group. They
belong to the classical period of Indian history, and have some sculp-
tured figures and the mosc charming paintings which can very well
stand in comparison with those at Ajanta. One more interesting fact
about these caves is that though the caves belonged to the Mahaya-
and there are Buddha and Bodhisattva figures carved in the caves,
nists,

the mam object of worship in them is the plain and

simple rock-cut
stupa and no figure of Buddha is carved on them, as is most natural
for the Mahayanists. The very soft nature of the hill on which the
caves of Bagh are excavated cannot be durable and a few of them have
5*
already collapsed leaving the four surviving ones.
XIX. The most illustrious
examples of rock-cut caves of this
period are those
at Ajanta and Ellora in Deccan. The caves of

Ajanta had their beginning more than a century earlier than the
Christian era, most probably under the patronage of the Satavahana

rulers, whose dominions included this region. But in the earlier stage,
the monastery of Ajanta did not prosper much. And though it
continued for a period of more than three centuries, only five out of
the present twenty-nine caves are said to have been used at that

period. After that, the monastery of Ajanta must have been deserted
for a long of four centuries, when, about the fifth
period century
A. D., the Mahayanists took charge of the hill resorts, and turned
them to an important centre of Buddhism. Of the 24 caves belong-
ing to the Mahayana sect, there are two Caitya halls
enshrining
stupas with images of Buddha carved
on them as a contrast to the

corresponding two Caitya halls enshrining stupas but without any kind

53 ASL Ann.
t Rep., 1922-23 p. 189.

54 The Bagb Caves, Marshall ^ls_o cf. Mahabodhi, June '55, pp, 246.
 94 Buddhism in the Classical Age

o carving on them, out of the five earlier

Hinayana ones. The rste

twenty-two caves belonging to the Mahayana sect are dormitories

for the residence of monks with stone beds in them and the
innermost central chamber of these
cave-dwellings were used as

shrines sheltering colossal figures of Buddha. These caves arc

decorated with fine sculptures representing Buddhist figures

and
in one of them is carved a colossal figure of recumbent Buddha with
various Mahayanic symbols underneath. But the far-reaching fame of

Ajanta caves is not so much for its architecture and sculpture as it is

for its fresco-paintings on the wall of the caves. These paintings are
the living embodiment of grace and loveliness which have attracted
admiration most scrupulous critics of the world.
from the "The
artists" remarks Lady Herringham, one of the premier admirers of

Ajanta art, "had a complete command of posture. Their seated

and floating poses especially are of great interest. Their knowledge
of the types and positions, gestures and beauties of hands are amazing
... ...the drawing of foliage and flowers is
very beautiful some
of the schemes of colour and composition are most remarkable and

interesting,
and there is a great
variety." Nothing need be added
to this note of appreciation about the art of Ajanta. These paintings
illustrate in addition to decorative designs, scenes from the life of

Buddha and the Jatakas or the past lives of the Budda, as also

scenes from secular and court lives. The paintings are so mutilated

in some places that identification them becomes very difficult

of

and sometimes impossible. That the religion of Buddha had travelled

a long way from its primitive phase, is also well attested by the fact

that among the paintings of Ajanta there are profuse scenes of dancing

and music, which, though included among popular or court scenes,

were even beyond imagination to have been painted in the

dormitories of Buddhist monks, as dancing and music and some

other things like toileting and garlanding (which also form the subject-

matter of some scenes) were strictly prohibited for the recluses. The
art of Ajanta influenced later artists not only of India
proper, but
also of its
neighbours like Ceylon, China, Japan, and Eastern
Islands. The paintings of Sigiriya Ceylon, executed about the
at

same period, bear a close affinity

with those at Ajanta, and the
Thousand-Buddha cave* of China, of some later
days have gained
world-wide reputation.
 Buddhism in the Classical Age 05

The patrons under whom the monastery of Ajanta flourished in

phase were certainly the Vakataka rulers of Deccan, in whose

its later

dominions this region was included. An inscription from the cave

no. 1 6 at Ajanta lends further support to the assumption. Though
the inscription is not preserved in full, it is
interesting in that it

records that the cave was excavated by order of Vlradeva, a minister

of the Vakataka king Harisena. Vlradeva was a devout Buddhist.
In cave no. 17, an records that a minister o
inscription Acitya,
Rabisamba, a
feudatory to the Vakataka king Harisena, caused
to excavate the 'monolithic, gem-like hall* with a
Caitya 9 a

reservoir, with cool refreshing water, and a Gandhakuti'. Another

important inscription is that in cave no. 26. According to this
inscription, it was the monk Buddhabhadra who was responsible
for this cave to be excavated, and provided funds for the work. His
own disciple Bhadrabandhu and another monk Dharmadatta were
the supervisors of the work. The information about Buddhabhadra
as are
given in this inscription, suggests that he was not an ordinary
roving recluse, but must have been an abbot of a great institution,
might be that of the Ajanta monastery itself, and possessed a
considerable amount of wealth. Possession of a
large amount of

wealth by an abbot was no more an unnatural occurrence in this

period, though in primitive Buddhism, a monk was debarred from

having anything more than the four requisites prescribed by the

Buddha, as his own. That the monk Buddhabhadra also held an
esteemed position is indicated by the mention friendship with
of his

the minister of the

king of Asmaka, in whose name tlie cave was
dedicated. Another name of importance which is mentioned in

this inscription, is that of Sthavira Acala, who is described as one of

the former builders of the Viharas. This Sthavira Acala seems to be

no other than the 'Arahat 'O-che-Io' mentioned Tsang, who by Hwen
is credited to have built a convent in honour of his mother. Besides

these important ones, there are other inscriptions, both painted and
incised, recording gifts of ministers, noblemen, lay-devotees as well as
monks. There are also explanatory titles of the Jatakas painted on the
55
walls of the caves.
A less known Vihara-cave, 1 1 miles away from Ajanta, known
as the Ghatotkaca cave, contains the fragments of a long inscription.

55 'ASWJ., p. 124 ff. and p. 60 (vol. IV).

96 Buddhism In *b* Classical
Age

begins with invocation to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha and

It

mentions about Hastibhoja, the minister of the Vakataka king

Devascna, father of Hariscna mentioned in the cave no. 16 at

Ajanta. The Hastibhoja mentioned in this inscription was the father

of Vlradeva,
during whose ministry the Ajanta vihara was excavated.
From the fragmentary character of the inscription, it cannot be
stated definitely whether Hastibhoja or his son Vlradeva was responsi-
dft
ble tor the excavation of the Ghatotkaca cavc.

XX. Situated about sixty miles away from Ajanta, the twelve
Buddhist caves of E 1 1 o r a are contemporary with the later phase of
those at Ajanta. These caves are richer in sculpture but lack the

paintings and inscriptions of Ajanta, the only inscription

at Ellora being the Buddhist formula in the Caitya-cave called the
Visvakarma cave. There arc about 35 caves scattered over a vast
table land, belonging to the three main Indian sects, viz. the

Buddhist, the Brahmins and the Jains, the Buddhist group of caves

occupying the southernmost part of the hill. Of the 12 Buddhist

caves, all arc Viharas,
except the Visvakarma, which is a
Caitya hall

enshrining a stupa carved with a colossal seated figure of Buddha

attended by two attendants on both sides. A number of colossal

Buddha images arc to be seen at Ellora also like those of Ajanta,

but the difference between the two sets of caves lies in the fact

that while at Ajanta the Buddhas are represented without or only

with one or two attendants, at Ellora, he most frequently attended
is

by a
large number of side-figures, mostly the Bodhisattvas, and
the Saktis or the female counterparts of the Bodhisattvas. Cave nos.
ii and 12, arc designated Do-Thai and Tin-Thai respectively,

though both of them arc three-storied, and contain a large number

of
sculptures which include the seven human Buddhas, the five

Dhyanl Buddhas, and their respective Bodhisattvas, in addition to

Gandharvas and other decorative motifs. Some of the Brahmanic

goddesses like Sarasvatl and Kali were being gradually incorporated

into the Mahayana pantheon in this period, but the figure of the

goddess carved on one of the walls of these caves, with books in

her hand and a peacock by her side, which had so far been identified
as the goddess Sarasvatl, has of late been correctly identified by

56 ASWL. p. 1*4 ff. and p. 60 (vol. IV)

 Buddhism in the Classical Age 97

Dr. J. N. Banerjea, with the personified form of the Dharant or

1
'protecting spells* named Maka-May^rl* used to be recited by the
Buddhists in order to cure diseases, particularly, snake-poisoning, as the

peacock was regarded as the greatest enemy of the snakes. The

sculptures of the caves of Ellora conform
mythology of the to the

Yogacara school of Buddhism, and it is supposed that these caves were

the resorts of the same sect also. The caves of Ellora were probably
the last activity of the Buddhists in this region as we do not find any
58
other works of
importance in the subsequent period.
XXI. A
few miles distant from Ellora, are the rock-hewn
Viharas of A
n g a b a d, divided into three
u r a
groups. The
first and the second are while the
group certainly Buddhist,
incompleteness of the caves and as such the absence of sculptures in
the third group renders it difficult to regard them definitely as
there
Buddhist, though is
nothing as negative evidence against their

being Buddhist. Among the whole set of caves there is one catty a
hall and the rest are Viharas. From their features it seems that the
caves were in good condition from the third to the seventh century
A.D. The sculptures in these caves are lovely and are imitations
of those in Ajanta, particularly the Vase and foliage* pattern. The
Viharas nos. 3 and 7 of this group are the finest and the best

preserved. The carvings of the images of Buddha and other gods

and goddesses are on a massive proportion. These and the group
of musicians and the set of devotees carved on the walls of the caves
59
are of a very special type.
XXII. Recent as well as previous finds prove that the ancient

site of South K o s a 1 a, comprising modern Bilaspur and Raipur

districts, was a centre of Buddhism at least from the 5th century.

in the Raipur district, was noticed and hinted as a site of

Sirpur,

archaeological interest by Cousens as early as 1903 in his report.

The site has been recently excavated and has brought to light the
remains of two large Buddhist monasteries and several other small
structures including viharas. A
image of seated Buddha and
colossal

a life-size figure of Padmapani has been found from one shrine, which,

57 Paper read in the Indian History Congress at Waltair, 1953.

58 ASWL> V, p. 2 ffi.
59 ASWL, III, p. 59 S. also cf. Ind. Art & Lett., IX, new Series.

13
98 Buddhism in the Classical Age

according to an inscription found at the same place,

is stated to

have been built by a monk Anandaprabhu during the reign of Balarjuna

in about the first quarter of the 8th c, A.D. considerable amount A
of antiquities of various kinds have been found at the site.

These include a fine bronze statue of Buddha with gold

plated
with eyes set in silver. A number of seals with Buddhist texts, an

exquisitely carved crystal stupa and a gilt Vajra have also been
found at an adjacent site. Of the monasteries discovered at the site,
one seems to be a nunnery, from the evidence of a large number of
60
shell and glass bangles found at the site. An inscription from Ratan-
the
pur in the Bilaspur dist. (now in the Nagpur museum), confirms
view that in the yth-Sth c. A. D. this place was a populous centre of
Buddhism. The inscription in question is of Bhavadeva Ranakesarin.
It
opens with an invocation to Buddha, and relates that a certain illus-
trious king Suryaghosa built a splendid
temple or Vihara for Buddha,
in order to mitigate the sorrow incurred by the accidental death of his
son The inscription further records the restoration of the said

temple after some time had elapsed after the king Suryaghosa, under
the supervision of Bhavadeva, who was in charge of the temple. The
restoration work was done by two persons under Bhavadeva, one of
whom is described as the favourite of the (then ruling) king, a Brahmin
well-versed in Buddhist scriptures, and the other, a novice in the
61
Buddhist institution. Another inscription, the Mallar plate of Maha-

sivagupta of South Kosala, ascribed to the yth c. A. D., records the

grant of the said king, of a village to the Buddhist congregation of the

monastery at Taradamsaka. The king himself is stated to be a devout
63
Saiva.

XXIII. Extensive ruins prove that An d h r a and countries on

further south were flourishing centres of Buddhism from the pre-Chris-

tian era. Though in our period, Buddhism had lost here its palmy
days,
it nevertheless lingered on in these countries. The Buddhist
site of Salihundam is on the summit and slopes of a very fine hill in
the Ganjam district. There are remains of a large and some smaller

fttifas, fragments of Buddhist figures, a broken image of Buddha,

60 ASl. t Ann, Rep., 1203-04; Indian Archaeology, 1954-55, pp. 24-25.

61 JRAS., 1905, p. 6i8fiE.
6* E/.,XXIII,p. 115.
 Buddhism in the Classical
Age 99
a and such other
figure of Marict, antiquities, found on the hill-top
and
in the same name. The Boston Museum
neighbouring village of the
has in its collections a
standing image of Buddha found in Buddhapad
in Bezwada district. The place is not far from AmaravatI, the most
illustrious centre of Buddhism in Southern India from the 2nd-3rd
centuries. The image in
question belonged to the 6th c. A. D, and f

said that
images and fragments were found at
it is basketfuls of
63
Buddhapad while excavating a canal That the region encircling the
.

stfipa of AmaravatI was a flourishing centre also is well proved

by inscriptions as well as sculptures found there. The sttipa
at Goli
is ascribed to the 4th c. A. D.
great stupa The of AmaravatI was
frequented and kept in repairs even as late as the I2th century. The
sculptures of AmaravatI and its
neighbourhood form a different school
of art. The British Museum has a very good collection of the

sculptures of AmaravatI and of the places influenced by ita art. One

of them is a bas-relief carved with an which
image of ManjusrI
has a lotus in one of his hands, which hold a book, and a second
lotus
issuing out of the stem of the first. The figure is
interesting
because earlier
images of ManjusrI found in N. India, have the

Dhyani Buddha Aksobhya in their head-dresses. The date of the

image is supposed to be some time between 650 and 750 A. D
64
The .

Pallava
king Sirhhavarman II, who belonged to the last quarter of the
6th c. A. D., presented an image of Buddha to the stiipa of Amara-
vati. The inscription recording the presentation, is
incomplete and it

records that on
from an expedition to the North, Sirhhavar-
his return

man came to a Buddha which was called Dhanya-

place sacred to the
ghata or Dhanyaghataka (evidently identified with Dhanyakataka, the
well-known name of AmaravatI). The lost of the part inscription
65
evidently records the gift . The Kapotesvara temple of Chezrala
shows from the remains of its constructions that was originally a
it

Buddhist Caitya, converted at a later date to a Saiva temple, with the

growing popularity of the religion in South India. The remains of

Chezrala may be considered as one of the only two extant brick-built
Caitya halls which have preserved their original structural condition,

63 Coomaraswamy, Cat. Boston Museum, II, p. 60 ff,

64 A\rt and Letters, XXVIII, no. 2. Araaravati & its influences (later
school), 65 Hultzsch, 5/7., (I), p. 25.
loo Buddhism in the Classical Age

the other being at Tcr, the ancient dist. in the

Tagara, in Sholapur
Nizam's dominions. Both are ascribed to the 5th c. A. D.
6e
A
number of stone inscriptions of the Anandagotra kings, a
dynasty
which ruled about the 6th c. A. D., expressing their Buddhist faith-
In Jagayyapeta, an 'inscription on
6*
are seen in the
Caitya of Chezrala.
a marble-slab in 5th 6th c. characters, under the figure of a Buddha,
mentions the of the
Candraprabha, disciple's disciple Nagarjuna;
preceptor of Candraprabha was Acarya Jayaprabha. A similar slab has
68
also been found from Ramireddipalli.
XXIV. Another example of rock-cut monasteries of the Gupta

period lies in the Buddhist remains on the

S a n k a r a m hills in the
are scattered on the hill and the
Vizagapatam district. These caves
remains consist of a number of a series of rock-cut chambers
sttipas,

and the foundations of an extensive monastic building. Some of the

their kind. From a survey, it seems that

sttfas
are the largest of
was in the
the site in a
flourishing condition Gupta period, though
69
its back a few centuries earlier. Other places in this
origin goes
region which have yielded
remnants of Buddhism are Nagarjunikonda,
etc. Copper images of Buddha
Guntapalle, Ghantasala, Ramatlrtham,
characteristics of art in
found from Buddhani show the typical Gupta
their costume and features. A figure from AmaravatI and identified

as Avalokitesvara, has its in the collection of the British

counterpart

Museum, ascribed to the middle of the 8th c, A.D. Another figure

ot in the British Museum, though mutilated, has fine exe-

Vajrapani
70 to be a
cutions like those at Ellora. Casting images in metal seems
in the southern part of
common practice
of this period, not only

India, but in northern part also. So bronze images of Buddha have

been foundnot only from this area, but the bronze image of Buddha
found from Sultanganje and now deposited
in the Birmingham

of its kind. we
Museum, is one of the finest Incidentally
specimens
refer also to the 80high image of
feet Buddha said to have seen
may
Hwen Tsang at Nalanda, though no further trace of the image
by
have been possible to find.

66 P. Brown, Ind. Architec., I,

p. 5

67 MER.y 1900, p. 5.
68 Burgess, Amaravati
& Jagayyapeta Stupas.
P. Brown., Ind. Architec., also ref. 'ASL> 'Ann. Rep, 1907-08.
69 I, p. 45;

70 Cat. of the British Museum,

 Buddhism in the Classical Age 101

The countries to further south have not yielded many Buddhist

antiquities, though the Chinese travellers found the religion
in
fairly popular condition. In the Western coast, an inscription is

found frem Goa (ancient Kohkan). W.

The copperplate was issued
by certain Maharaja Candravarman, and records the grant of a piece
of land to a Buddhist
monastery (Mahavihara) at Sivapura, located
in Goa. This king was probably a scion of the Bhoja family ruling
in that
region during the jth century, to which period the inscrip-
tion is also ascribed on paleographic grounds. 71
From the above survey, it
may be concluded that though the form
of the
religion had undergone great changes, and was losing its hold,
it was in a
fairly flourishing condition during this period. The
decline of Buddhism, however, is not disappearance in the proper sense
of the term because it
merged into Brahmanism. The religion
of

Buddha staited as a
protest against Brahmanic ritualism, but ended
in

being more than ethical and philosophical.

ritualistic The line of
demarcation between the Buddhists and the Brahminists was becoming
narrower in the later part of our period of survey as is evident from
some of the
inscriptions stated above. The assimilation of Buddhism
by Brahmanism was done by including Buddha in the list of ten
Avataras or incarnations of Visnu or sometimes identifying him with
Siva. This process of assimilation manifested itself in an inscription
in the Varaha Perumal temple, dating about the 7th c. A. D., where
the Buddha is stated as one of the ten incarnations of Visnu. 72

In our period, the

religion had travelled a long way from its
primi-
tive state, both in time as well as in form. But the destination was
still which was reached during the rule of the Palas in Bengal,
farther,

when the religion was turned into a ritualistic Tantric one. The
Tantras had not yet reached its
full-fledged form, but the faint traces

of its advent are hinted in some of the literature of this

period. The
practice of mystic rites, if practised at all, was done in secret. Hwen
Tsang mentions that at
Kamarupa, there were 'secret devotees'. This
statement may lead one to believe that it was a centre of Tantric
Buddhists, but it cannot be stated definitely that the Buddhist Tan-
tras found a resort here in that or modern Assam
period. Kamarupa,

71 ABOR., XXIII, P 510 . ff.

72 ASL, Mem., 26, p, 5,

 Buddhism in the Classical Age
was for a
long time, even a few decades ago, considered to be a place
of secret
practices.
The sect of Buddhism prevalent at different of India at the
parts
period under our consideration, cannot be ascertained from the inscrip-
tions of the
period, because very few of the numerous inscriptions of
this
period state the particular sect to which they belonged. But the
growing popularity of Mahayana is manifested by some
inscriptions,
reports of the Chinese pilgrims, and above all, by the vast number of

images found all over the

country. These figures include not only
those of Gautama Buddha and past human Buddhas,
the but a large
number of Bodhisattvas, Buddhas
together with their respective Dhyam
or
spiritual fathers and their Saktis or the female counterparts. In
addition to these, there are the
personified forms of the sacred litera-
ture of the like the Prajnaparamita, Manjusrl, and Maha-
Mahayanists,
mayuri etc. mentioned above.
Most of the institutions which had their
beginning in previous
centuries, continued to function in this
period and many o those others
which flourished in had their
subsequent days, beginning in this period.
This period be called the
may mid-day of Mahayana Buddhism, when
the
Mahayana was on the summit of its glory. Then it changed on
and on, until losing its individual existence, it
finally merged itself
into the Hindu religion.

SUDHA SENGUPTA
 Buddhism in the Sunga Period
The Sungas or at least the founder of the
Sunga dynasty was the
performer of the Asvamedha sacrifice. This is recorded both in
1
literature and inscription. The Mababhasya of Patanjali and the

Malavikagnimitra of Kalidasa incidentally inform us that Pusyamitra,

the founder of the Sunga
dynasty performed the Asvamedha sacrifice,
whereas from the Ayodhya stone
inscription
of King Dhanadeva, we
2
learn that general Pusyamitra celebrated two horse-sacrifices.

The cult of Gautama Buddha flourished during the rule of the

Sungas, although they were pro-Brahmanic. This is indisputably

proved by a number of monuments and inscriptions scattered over the

different parts of India. In this paper it is
proposed to
point out the

evidences yielded by archaeological excavations and epigraphic

researches :

At B h a r h u t in Nagod State and S a n c i in Bhopal State

there was in each of these a at the centre surrounded by
places sttipa
stone railings leaving an intervening space for pradaksina or circumam-
bulation with approaches from four cardinal points through four gateways.

The stone railing consisting of a number of pillars is joined together by

a number of Suds or lenticular cross-bars and overlaid by usnlsa (coping

stone). The circumambulation for the second time used to be

performed by the pilgrims on a higher level through a terrace to be

together by a approached by a staircase. The railing and the gateways

were richly decorated with bas-reliefs for the purpose of arousing religious
feeling
in the minds of the pilgrims. Some of the decorative designs

were of religious character while others were simple auspicious symbols.

There are to be found on the railings some non-Buddhist popular deities
with subordinate position evidently for proclaiming that the deities

belonged to the world (arfipa) and not lokottara like Buddha.

The illustrations and labels (written in Brahmt characters of

2nd-ist centuries B.C.) found on the Bharhut railing offer a com-

prehensive picture of the state of Buddhism during the rule of the

Sungas.

gi
1 iba Pusyamitrarh yajayamah" under Panini's Sutra, III, 2. 123.
2 Ep. lnd. % vol t XX, p. 57.
 104 Buddhism in the Sunga Period

As regards Buddhist pantheon, Gautama Buddha (Sakya-muni)

and the past Buddhas e.g. (i) Vipasyin, (2) Visvabhfi, (3)
Krakuc-
chanda, (4) Kanakamuni and (5) Kasyapa are mentioned by name
and indicated by individual symbols. No figure of Sakyamuni or
any one of the earlier Buddhas is found there. Their presence is
indicated in the following way:
(1) Gautama Buddha represented by a throne surrounded by
is

two triratna symbols placed under the Bodhi tree and

1
labelled as Bhagavato Saka munino bodho. (Bharhut
Ins. No. 270)

(2) Vipasyin by a throne under a Patali tree and labelled as

Bhagavato Vipasino bodhi (Bh. Ins. No. 87).

(3) Visvabhu by a throne under a Sala tree and labelled as

Bhagavato Vesabhuno bodhi Salo [Bh. Ins. No. 117 (b) ]

(4) Krakucchanda by a throne under a Sirfsa tree and

labelled as Bhagavato Kakusadhasa bodhi (Bh. Ins.
No. 293 (a)]

(5)
Kanakamuni by a throne under a Udumbara tree and
labelled as Bhagavato Konagamanasa bodhi [Bh. Ins.

No. 294)

(6) Kasyapa by a throne Nyagrodha tree and

under a labelled

as
Bhagavato Kasapasa bodhi (Bh. Ins. No, 295).
For winning over the common people, the stories of the Jatakas
were depicted on stone in the form of beautiful illustrations on the

railings of Bharhut and Sanci. Representations are found on the

Bharhut railings from the following Jatakas :

Jataka Illustration No.

(1) Latukika ... ...
253
(2) Sujata ... ...
327
(3)
Kukkuta ... ...
329
... ... 337
(4) Nigrodhamiga
(5) Migapotaka ... ... 343
(6) Makhadeva ... ... 356
(7)
Bhisa ... ...
362
(8) Cammasataka ... ....
379*381
(9) Aratnadusaka ... ...
404
 Buddhism in the Sttnga Period ioc

Jataka Illustration No.

(10) Manikantha ... ..
383
(i i) Asadisa ... ... 376
(12) Maha-Janaka ... ...
391
...
(13) Kapota ... 406
(14) Dabbhapuppha ... ...
412
(15) Dubhiya makkata ...
418
(16) Vessantara ... ... 422
(17) Kinnara ... ...
424
... ...
(18) Mahakapi 35
(19) Kakkata ... ... 289
...
(20) Mugapakkha ... 290
(21) Vidhura-pandita ... ... 260
(22) Chaddanta ... ... 291
(23) Alambusa ... ... 225
(24) Maha-Ummagga ... 202
II ...
(25) Maha-kapi ... 317
(26) Maha-bodhi ... ... 319
(27) Ruru ... ... 129
Some illustrations connected with tcie life of the Buddha are also

found on the Bharhuc railings,

but they do not contain any figural

representation of the Lord. His presence is indicated by the symbols

of wheel, triratna, Bodhi tree, throne, sttifa and footprints.

After the shaving of the head of Buddha, his lock of hair is

represented to have been taken away by gods to Heaven and

worshipped there (Illustration No. 182). Thereafter we find that

Arhadgupta, the angel makes announcement of the inauguration of

the Law of Buddha in the assembly of gods. (No. 183)

The Buddhist conception of sin and hell also is
represented at
Bharhut (Illustration Nos 313-316). The torments of a couple for

killing people by administering poison are depicted there.

The followers of the faith of Gautama Buddha came from

various strata of the society. They belonged to widely distant places

of the country. The gift of lithic

pillars
and ct;oss-bars etc. at a

place of Buddhist pilgrimage was considered an extremely reli-

gious act. And in this work both the monastic and the
lay
Buddhists used to take keen interest. It is found that pillars

14
 io6 Buddhism in the Sunga Period

and other objects were dedicated by nuns some of whom were

named as Phalgudevi (Ins. No. 13), Soma (Ins. No. 33),
Somana
(Ins. No. 34), Nagadevi (Ins. No. 85), Nagila (Ins. No. 17 b)
Budharakhita (Ins. No. 131), Bhuta (Ins. No. 133), Badhika (Ins.
No. 150), Naga (Ins. No. 237) and Diganaga (
= Dinnaga) (Ins.

No. 310).
Teachers of Buddhist literature, pupils and reciters also contributed
their share in showing due regard to the religion of the great Master.

Thus we find that Bhadamta Valaka (who was a bhanaka or a reciter)

(Bharhut Ins. No. 30), Arya Ksudra, well versed in the Suttantas (cf

Ins. No. in the Five

Ayacula sutafatika, 73), Buddharaksita proficient

Nikayas (Ins,
No. 127), Arya Rsipalita (who was both a reciter and

superintendent of the construction work) (navakamika) (Ins.

No.
183. b), Arya Jata, a master of the Pitakas (Petakino) (Ins. No. 263)
also made gifts.
The sculptor (RSpakaraka), 180)
(Ins. No.
was also not left behind. Gifts were also forthcoming from the

royal
household as well as from the ordinary run of people.
As regards the latter, the inscriptions record a good number of names
both male and female who took part in making gifts to the Buddhist

stupa at Bharhut.
On the other hand it is evident from the inscription
No. 1 6, at Bharhut that some gifts came from a consort
royal

Nagarakhita, wife of a certain king whose name is now mutilated.

Another inscription (No. 108) records that the first
pillar
was the
gift of Capadevt wife of Revatimitra, of Vidisa (modern Besnagar in
Gwalior state). The royal figure mounted on an elephant with a
relic casket in hand just near the inscription (No. 108) probably is

King Revatimitra of Vidisa mentioned in the above record. This

person is followed by a horseman holding a Garuda standard. This

makes out the case that Revatimitra, who probably hailed from the
royal family of Vidisa was the owner of the Garuda standard and was
thus very likely devoted to Vaisnavism. Another figure in the
Bharhut railing is also found to carry a Garuda emblem. Moreover
we are aware that in the 2nd century B.C. the Greek ambassador
Heliodoros came to Vidisa from the Greek king of Taxila. He
3
professed Bhagavatism and set
up a pillar with a Garuda emblem in
honour of god Visnu. From these it
transpires that Vidisa was an

3 Arch* Sur. Ind. An. Rep., 1912-13, pp. 82 f.

 Buddhism in the Suhga Period
107

important seat of Vaisnavism in the Sunga period and that King

Rcvatimitra was a devotee of Vaisnavism.
That Buddhism was appreciated by the Hindu society
is
proved
by the gift of Capadevi, queen of Revatimitra who appears to be a
follower of Vaisnavism. The
person mounted on an elephant holding
a relic casket in his hand has been taken by some to be King Revati-

mitra of Vidisa. It this identification is correct, it may be said that

Revatimitra was a tolerant king and came forward of his own accord

to lead the
procession for depositing the relics of the Buddha in the

stiipa at Bharhut.
It has
already been noticed to some extent chat the gifts
at

Bharhut were coming not only from the Buddhist order but also from
various ranks of
people of other sects.
But now we shall see that the
Bharhut sttipa attracted
devotees and pilgrims not only from the same

locality or
neighbouring places but also from very distant regions.
Thus we find that gifts were made from Pataliputra (mod. Patna)

(Ins. Nos. (mod. Besnagar in Gwalior state)

44, 67, 70), Vidisa
4
(Ins. Nos. 108,119,291,302) and Bhojakata (mod. Ellichpur
district, Berar) (Ins. Nos. 248,310) etc. There are some other place
names which cannot be properly identified now, Moragiri
e.g.

(Ins. Nos. 173,177, 303), Bodhicakra (Ins. No. 249), Purika (Ins.
Nos, 69,132,252), the town of Karahakata Nos. 362,6), Dabhina
(Ins.

(Ins. No. 150), Cudathila (Ins. Nos. 85, 91) etc. Another place name,

e.g. Nandinagara (Ins. No. 14), which occurs at Bharhut as well as at

Sanchi cannot now be properly identified. So it seems that this

Nandinagara had a very important part in the activities connected

with Buddhism. The other important centres of Buddhism during
theSuhga period were at Sanci, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Lauriya Nandan-
garh and some other places.
At Sanci also the lithic bas-relief contains
copious illustrations
from the Jatakas and interesting stories connected with the life of the
Buddha. Representations from the Mahakapi Jataka and Syama Jataka
etc. are found there. Here also the
great Master has been represented

by symbols e.g. the throne and pipal tree just as in Bharhut.

4 Bhojakata-rajya is found 'in the Chamtnak inscription of Pravarasena II.

Fleet, Corf. Ins. Ind. t HI, pp. 236 .

io8 Buddhism in the Sunga Period

TheSanci inscriptions show that there was a good number of

5-
corporate bodies or families which made gifts to the Buddhist stupa,
Sometimes the donation comes from the village as a whole (cf i.

vejajasagamasa danath 1.17 II. Padukulikaya gamasa danafo* II. i.)

From another inscription which reads Bodha-gothiya dhamavadhanana
danafo. 1.25., it is evident that gostht or committee of trustees for

looking after religious institutions of the Buddhists was in existence in

about 2nd century B.C. As regards other corporate bodies which took
part in the activities of the Sanci stfipas, mention may be made of
dafhtakaras or guild of ivory workers (ctEp. Ind., II.
p. 378, No. 200,
c
189; Vedisakehi damta-karehi rupakafnmafn katafh, (i.e. workers in

ivory of Vedisa have done the carving).

Gifts were coming both from the monastic order as well as from
the laity. Some of the donors both male and female were well versed
in the and the five
Suttapitaka Nikayas (cf I. 79. Avisinaye
Sutatikiniya madala chikatikaye danafo~the gift of Avinisa who is
well versed in Suttapitaka, an inhabitant oE Madala Chikata) (c also

L6o. Devagirino pacanekayikasa bhichuno sa atevasi=s(gitt of

monk Devagiri expert in Nikayas along with pupils).

five

Among the donors, the trading communities such as the Seths or

Sresthis and their relatives take a prominent part, the weavers (sotika=s
sautrika. I.
196), carpenter (according to Buhler Vadaki or Vardhakin
means carpenter No. 311) and royal scribe (Rajalipikara I. 49) etc.
also find suitable mention in connection with making gifts to the

stiipas at Sanci.
The places whose people were attracted by the great Buddhist
centre at Sanci are the following others:
among (i) Ujjayini (I. 27,
69,95; C VI.
12,49. 55-68, 70 77), Vedisa (modern Besnagar I. 38,
1,117), Mahisati (Mahismati, mod. Mandhata on the Narbada, I. 1 1 1),
Pokhara (
= Puskara near Ajmir, I. 106, I. 83, etc)., Pratithana

Pratisthana (mod. Paithan on the Godavarl, I. 12,70), Erakina (Eran

in
the^Sagar district of C.P. I. c 98), Tumbavana (
= Tumain, Esagarh
district, Gwalior Arapana, Bhogavadhana,
State), Madhuvana,
Navagama, Kurara, Kuraghara and Nandinagara etc. the last of these
names Nandinagara occurs apparently also in the place names
i.e.

mentioned in the Bharhut inscriptions. The lion's share of the

5 Ep t Ind. vol.
t II, pp. 87 f.
 Buddhism in the Suhga Period 109

expenses for the ornamentation of the Sanci monuments was borne

by the villagers.

Although the votaries of the Sanci stiipa generally come from

the Buddhist community, there were some persons whose names bore
the stamp of other religions or who were actually non-Buddhists but
made gifts
to the sttipas out of liberal views. For instance, the names,

(i) Agisima (
= Agni Sarma, I.
69) (2),
Bahadata (
= Brahmadatta,
I.
30), (3) Visvadeva (I. 95), Mita (I. 73), Yamarakhita (II.
c. 20) etc.

appear to have been mainly influenced by the vocabulary of the Vedic

literature and might have been connected with the Vedic worship also.

Similarly the terms Naga (I. 50. c.

45), Nagadata (I. 117), Nagila
(I. 84. u. c.
i), Nagadina (
= Nagadatta, 115) are
I. the

reminiscences of the existence of the snake worship; and Vinhuka

(II.
c.
24) (
= Visnuka) seems to be the evidence of Vaisnavism;
while Sivanadi (
= Sivanandi. I.
46), Nadiguta (
= Nandigupta. I. 58),

Narhdigiri (I. 108) show the influence of Saivism. Some scholars

find an implied reference to the cult of Sakti in the word Himadati

(a= Himadatta, Hima being a name of Durga, I. c.
63).
goes without saying that at
It
Bodh-Gaya in Bihar, illustra-

tions from the life and activities of the Buddha are also found on the
stone railings measuring 145^. by io8ft. round the holy Bodhi tree
(pipal tree).
This spot of enlightenment is illustrated on the Bharhut

railings as
a
holy edifice in the 2nd century B.C.
The Bodhi tree at
Bodh-Gaya was surrounded by a sumptuous
railing consisting of a covered gallery with open niches resting
on
6
pillars
.
Pilgrims from distant places used to visit
this sacred
place
even in the ist
century B.C. This is evident from an inscription
written in the script of ist century B.C. wherein it is said that Buddha-
raksita,an inhabitant of Tamraparna (Ceylon) made a
gift there, (cf.
7
Bttddharakhitasa Tabapanakasa danafh }.
In this period we find that the dharma-cakra has found a
place
in

the temple along with the triratna placed on throne. The Bodhi tree

also was illustrated as a symbol of worship by the pilgrims. Buddhist

caityas
and stupas also were figured in the railings for the purpose of

6 Arch. Stir. Ind, An. Rep,, 1908-09. pp. 141 f.

7 N. G. Majumdar, Guide to the sculptures in Indian Museum, (-

Part I, p. 67.
Ho Buddhism in the Sunga Period

showing reverence to these symbols.

Bodh-Gaya drew also the attention

of royal patrons. At one place in a half medallion a goddess who

may be taken as goddess of Fortune or
Fertility is found standing on
lotus and being by two elephants. Below her, there is an
bathed

inscription in the Brahmi characters of the ist

century. B.C.
which
says that NagadevI, wife of King Brahmamitra, made a
gift
there
B
(cf Rafio Brahma mitrasa pajavatiye Nagadevaye dana. )

During his visit to Bodh-Gaya Cunningham found several pillars

of granite Asoka.
bearing inscriptions of gift in the characters used by
One such inscription reads Ayayc Kuragiye danafh? i.e.
gift
of Arya
Kuragi. Although Cunningham took them to be the relics of the

Maurya they
period, were of the time of
more probably the objects
the Sungas on account of the characteristic briefness of the inscriptions
and their donative
purpose.
Then we come to S a r n a t h, where Buddha after his great en-

lightenment turned the Wheel of Law (dharma-cakra) for the first time.
This place continued to be one of the important centres of Buddhism

during the Sunga period also. Apart from the structural evidences,
several
inscriptions written in the Brahmi characters of that age were
discovered in course of excavations. Some of them contain the names
of donors with their places of residence. Donors used to come from
10 11
widely distant regions as
LJjjayini,
and Pataliputra (Patna).
Here also the donors just as at Bharhut, and Sanci made gifts
of pillars (and probably cross-bars and copings etc.). It appears
that the gift of pillars, cross-bars, copings and gateways etc. was
to be one of the essential features of acts
regarded religious

during the Sunga period. An inscription discovered

at Sarnath in the

Brahmi characters of the 2nd century B.C. records the gift

of a base-

stone by a nun Safhvahika by name [cf. bkikhunikaye Safavahikaye

1
.
dana(rti) ala(fti)banaifo *]
So far as
places of religious worship
are concerned, Buddhism has
left for the posterity a remarkable legacy.
A place of religious

importance of this period was brought to light a few years ago

8 N. G. Majutndar, GS1M., Part I, p. 71.

9 Cunningham, ASR.> vol. I, p. 10.

10 Arch. Sur. Ind. A,n. Rtp., 1914-15, p. 121, II, PL. LXVIII. 9-10.
n Ibtit., p. 122. V, PL. LXVIII, 14.
12 Ibid* 1906-07, p. 95.
 Buddhism in the Sunga Period in
in course of archaeological excavations. N. G. Majumdar dug
out huge brick structure nearly Soft, high taking a zig zag
a

course and showing a number of re-entrant angles at Lauriya Nandan-

garh in the
Champaran district of Bihar in 1936-37. This building
was polygonal and star-shaped in plan, measuring jooft. across the
centre and facing each cardinal point with a side ic^ft. long. There
are four sides each ac a distance of 266ft. from the other. The space
between the two sides in each of the quadrangles is covered by 28
smaller sides showing 14 re-entrant angles and as
many as 13
13 '
corners.

In plan the monument is somewhat similar to the Main temple

at
Paharpur (District, Rajshahi) though the latter was built about six
or seven centuries after the former which is more elaborate and

stupendous. The Lauriya Nandangarh monument has at least five

terraces one above the other and there is

passage for circumambulation
on three of them. The lowermost and widest terrace has a width
of 32 ft. and the one above it is
14 ft. across.

The decoration of the structure is

very plain and simple. This
monument has been attributed to the Sunga period by the experts.
In this connection the observation made by N. G. Majumdar
may be quoted here. He says "There is evidence to show that this
structure must have been erected not later than the 2nd century B. C,

As a
simple brick built edifice of such stupendous dimensions it is

perhaps unparalleled in the whole range of monuments of the

period
to which it
belongs. Although nothing definite has yet been dis-
covered to throw light on the character of the monument it
may be
described as a Buddhist stfipa
in absence of any evidence to the
14*"
contrary
In Bengal also some
places particularly Bangarh (ancient

Kotivarsa) and Tamluk (ancient Tamraliptior Tamralipta) both in West

Bengal felt the sweeping influence of Buddhism during the Sunga period.
15
Because two terracotta sealings bearing the names, Bhutarakhita
and Samana Vilala in Sunga Brahmi have been discovered in course

of excavations at the former place. The name Bhutarakhita was

13 Arch. Sur. Ind. An. &?/>., 1936-37, pp. 47 f,

1 4 Ibid.. i93 6 "37PP- 47"5.

15 K. G. Goswami, Excavations at Bangarh * pp. 12, 36. PL. XXIV* b.
 1 1 2 Buddhism in the Sunga Period

generally popular among the members of the Buddhist sect and occurs
in one (No. 119) of the inscriptions o the Bharhut railings o the

Sunga period.
At Tamluk, a terracotta tabletwhich was recently discovered,
is
supposed to contain a scene from the Chadanta 'Jataka. From
stylistic ground the tablet is ascribed to the Sufiga
period and is now
exhibited in the Ashtosh Museum of Calcutta University. From these
evidences it cannot be denied that Buddhism had a favourable
ground
in Bengal during the
Suhga regime.
During the rule of the Indo-Greek Kings in the N o r t h-
Western India in the 2nd and ist centuries B. C. Buddhism
a Because some of
played prominent part in that region. the Indo-
Greek rulers became patrons of Buddhism and one of them, Menander,
became a convert to the faith of Gautama Buddha.
Although according
to tradition Asoka is said to have taken the initiative for
preserving the
sacred relics of the Buddha constructing stupas in different parts of
India, documentary (i.e. inscriptional) evidences are available from the
to the effect that the and devotees were then
Sunga period disciples

giving particular attention to the preservation of the corporeal remains

of the Great Master in the
stiipas throughout the country for the

worship and benefit of the people.

From the Shinkot steatite casket inscriptions found in the
Bajaur
tribal territory beyond the borders of N. W. Frontier Province it is

known that in the

reign of king
Menander, Viyakamitra
1*
(=:Viryaka-
mitra), apparently one of the feudatories of the former
(Apraca-raja)
placed the corporeal remains of the Lord Sakyamuni endowed with life

(frana-sameda-sarira) in a casket. But in the latter

part of the inscrip-
tion it is stated a successor of
by Vijayamitra apparently Viyakamitra
that in course of time death of
probably after the the depositor these
remains were not treated with due honour, hence he (Vijayamitra
who was a successor or subordinate
ruler) re-established the sacred
remains and made arrangements for their regular
worship.
That the depositing of the corporeal remains of the Buddha was
considered to be one of the main activities of this is
religious period
also
proved by the Swat relic vase inscription of the Meridarkh

16 Ef. InJ., vol. XXIV, p. 7.

 Buddhism in the Sung* Period 113

Theodores" of the ist century B. C. It is stated therein that a Greek

Provincial Governor (Greek Meridarkhes) Theodoros placed a casket
containing the sacred relics of the Lord Buddha^ body for the benefit

o a large number of people (bahujana-hitaye]. It

appears that the

arrangement of the relic caskets was made in order to give something

concrete to the ordinary followers o Buddhism as an object of

worship.
has already been pointed out that Buddhism made a favourable
It

appeal to the foreigners and foreign rulers, some of whom became

staunch devotees and generous patrons of this religion.
Buddhism made a
rapid progress also in South India in 2nd-
ist centuries B. C. This is
proved by the Bhattiprolu Casket inscrip-
18
tions of the time of Kuberaka of the Kristna district of South India.
It is stated therein that two caskets- one of stone and the other of crystal
were dedicated by some individuals Kura's father, Kura's mother
and Kura himself and also another person named Siva for depositing
the corporeal remains of Lord Buddha, The mafijusa or stone casket
was actually the gift of Kura and his father Banaba. There were
other sets of stone caskets and crystal caskets being the gifts of a

good number and corporate bodies and also of king

of individuals

Kuberaka himself. It is further mentioned that the figure of king

Kuberaka, the donor was also sketched there apparently to add

importance to the work. According to casket No. 2 (D) King

Kuberaka has been stated to be the chief of the Simha Gostkl clan,
which dedicated another set of two caskets one being made of stone
and the other of
crystal.
Casket No. 3 (B) records that the gostht
or clan of Arahadina (Arhaddatta) also dedicated a set of one stone
casket and a crystal casket and that the work was accomplished by

one who drew the figure of king Kuberaka. It is to be noted that

the king who was the patron as well as one of the essential figures
in the act of dedication was represented by the artist both in name
as well as in
portrait
on the caskets to commemorate the act of

depositing the relic.

17 Sten Konow, Corf. Ins. Ind., vol. If, i. p. 4.

18 Inct.i vol. !!
Ep. pp, 323 f,

15
n^ Buddhism in the Sunga Period

The practice
of representing the figure of donors is also seen in
19
the relief of the Andhra King Satakarni at Nanaghat.
In the 2nd and ist centuries B, CM there began to grow the
for the
art of
excavating caves, caitya halls and viharas (monasteries)
Buddhists (especially for the Buddhist monks) in different parts
of
2- 1
India. In this connection the names of Bhaja (near Poona),
Nasik*- -

(District Nasik), Manmada 23 (Junnar) and Nanaghat

2-
(District Poona)
appear uppermost in our mind. The cave architecture which
received a
strong support from the Buddhists and patrons of

Buddhism made steady progress during this period. These places

besides Bharhut, Safici and Bodhgaya were certainly of great

importance from the Buddhist point of view. Pilgrims and monks

from all quarters used to flock to these places. Although the
Satavahana kings were themselves strong supporters and staunch
followers of the Brahmanical religion, yet they were liberal
patrons
of Buddhism, and the Buddhist cave architecture of Nasik and Nana-
ghat etc. flourished under them. There is record to show that
during the reign of king Krsna of the Satavahana dynasty a cave was
3*
excavated by the officer-in-charge of the Sramanas at Nasik (or by
a

Sramana who was himself a Mahamatra or officer at Nasik). The

Nanaghat caves contain lebels bearing the names of Simuka

Satavahana, Devi
Naganika, King Satakarni, Kumara SaktisrI and
Kumara Satavahana 25 .
KUNJA GOVINDA GOSWAMI

19 Coomaraswamy, HHA. t
p. 30.
20 Ibid. i fig 29 f

21 Ibid., fig. 31.

22 Ibid.* fig. 30,

23 Ibid.t p. 30 ; Arch. Sur. Rep. West. lnd. V, t p. 64 ,

24 Ep, Ind. t vol. yill, p. 93.

25 Arch. Sur. Rep. West. lnd. 9 V, p. 64.

 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought
It is rather that the early Pali texts even later Buddhist
striking
Sanskrit texts do not breathe a word about the Upanisads and the

Upanisadic philosophers, although there are repeated references to the

teachings of the six teachers, Purana Kassapa, Ajita Kesakambalin,
Belatthiputta, Mahkhali Gosala
Pakudha Kaccayana, Sanjaya and
in the Pali texts there is also
Nigantha Nataputta. Incidentally
mention of the Vedic sakhas, viz., Addhariya, Bahvrija, Chandoka,
and Tittiriya and Vedic seers, Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, and
others who have taught
mainly Brahma-?ahavyata or the
are said to

attainment of Brahmaloka, supposed to be the highest form of existence.

In the sixty two views envisaged in the Brahmajalastttta, there are

criticisms of the belief in the existence of a self and of its trans-

migration from one existence to another. This criticism is

1
elaborated in later Mahayana texts particularly in that of Nagarjuna.
In the Pali Nikayas there are several discourses of a stereotyped nature

discussing the problem whether the soul is identical with the body or
not, and the conclusion drawn is that there cannot arise any question
of the existence or non-existence of soul, as from the Buddhist point
of view it has no more existence than that of the son of a barren
woman or that of a flower in the sky/ Hence it is an indeterminable

problem (avyakata) to be left aside (thapariiya). The fundamental

query of almost all the Upanisads is the nature of soul and its

transmigration from one existence to another* It seems that

Buddha deliberately ignored the Upanisads as in them the existence o
soul is taken for granted wKile his main thesis was the total denial o
the existence of this soul
(anatta) and through all his philosophical

1 See Early Monastic Buddhism, vol. I.

2 Cf 'Abkidharmakosa, IX, 4-5

. :

f?
 n6 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

discourses he tried to establish that there could not exist any perma-

nent self Hence, it is idle to say

unalloyed by worldly impurities.
that Buddhism issued out of the Upanisads and was a phase in the
8
evolution of Upanisadic thought. On the other hand, it may be
stated that Buddhism was a revolt against the Upanisadic thought and

it was this denial of soul, which undermined the belief in the efficacy

of the sacrificial rituals and ceremonies. The three primary conditions

which make one a true Buddhist is the elimination of the belief in the

existence of a self (sakkayaditthi) add in the efficacy of rituals (silabbt-

tafaramasa), to which is added the implicit faith in the Triratna

to be

by discarding all doubts (vicikiccha) about their excellence. This

revolutionary teaching of Buddha instead of frightening away some of

the Brahmanic teachers and students, opened up a new vista before
their eyes and made them not only staunch supporters but the best

exponents of the new teaching.

Buddha subscribed to the theories of karman and rebirth but in a

way completely different from those of the Upanisadas. The Upani-

sadic view of karman is linked up with the permanent and unchange-

able self while Buddha's view was that changing karman could never
be associated with an unchanging substance like the self. He was a
strong advocate of karman and its effects and he laid the utmost

emphasis on it
throughout his teachings (see infra). He criticised
those teachers who denied or minimised the efficacy of karman and ic is
with this purpose that he discussed the doctrines of the six teachers
mentioned above and condemned them in no uncertain terms. The

upholders of Akiriyavada were destined to hell this was his repeated

assertion. He elaborated his cosmological ideas of heaven and hell

mainly with a view to educate his large number of disciples who were
not spiritually advanced and to infuse into them the spirit of doing

good deeds and avoiding evils in order to assure a better and happier
after-life. Of the six teachers he made an exception of only "one, viz,,
Nigantha Nataputta, whom he regarded as a kiriyavadin and passed
over the views of the Agnostic teacher Sanjaya
Belatthiputta.

3 T. R. y. Murti writes in his Central Philosophy of Buddhism, p.

20
"The Upanisads and Buddhism belong to the same spiritual genus, they diflber

as species, and the differentia are the acceptance or rejection of the atman
(permanent substance). Cf. V. Bhattacharya, Basic Conception of Buddhism,
pp. 70-75.
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 1 1
7

The doctrinal views of these six teachers are presented in the Pali
texts thus :

(i)
Purana Kassapa seems to be the oldest teacher and
held views wavering between antinomianism and fatalism. His doctrine
is that soul remains inactive as in
Sankhya and it is the body which
acts, hence soul remains unaffected by the results of good and bad
deeds of the body. A
person earns neither merit by pious
acts such as

gifts, sacrifices,
or
by abstinence from evil acts nor demerit by killing,
to find out
stealing, adultery or speaking falsehood. It is rather difficult

exactly what was Purana's views from such cryptic statements.

It

may mean body enjoys or suffers according to its deeds but

that the

not the soul, a doctrine which cannot reasonably, be refuted by a

Sankhya or a Vedanta schoolman. In Buddhism however soul and

body are not admitted as two separate entities, not also as identical.
Purana's doctrine grouped in the Pali texts
is as an "Akiriyavada" i.e.

non-existence of karmaic effects.

(ii)
Makkhali Gosala, the founder of the Ajlvika sect,
was at first a follower of Parsvanatha, the traditional founder of

Jainism. One day he observed a sprout growing up again after it was

trampled down. This changed his outlook and he came to the conclu-
sion that beings were subject to re-animation and not death and
destruction. He added to it the doctrine that all
beings were subject to
a fixed series of existence from the lowliest to the highest and this series

was unchangeable (niyati sangatibhava) and every existence had its own
unalterable characteristic as heat is of fire or coldness of ice. He
denied the effects of deeds (karma) and energy (y Irya).
He upheld
fatalism of the extreme
type. A
being when nearing the end of the
its lives becomes a human
being. Its existence as such
several
spans of

is divided into six categories, viz., (i)

black (kanha) as bird catchers,

hunters, fishermen etc., (ii) blue (riila)

as ascetics observing rigorous
practices, including the Buddhists (Sakyaputtiya Samanas), (iii)
red

(lohita) as monks of the Jaina order, (iv) yellow (halidda) as lay-devotees

of Acelakas and Ajivikas, (v) white (sttkka) as Ajlvika monks like

Nanda, Vaccha and Sankicca, and lastly (vi) very white (faramasukka)
as Ajivika saints. Buddhaghosa* has made an attempt to explain

in detail the various states of existence

envisaged in Mankhali Gosala's

4 Sumangalavilasini, pp. 161-4.

 n8 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought
5
doctrines. In the Jaina literature as also in Tamil works like the

Manimekhalai of the ^th century A. D. and Civanana Cittiyar of the

I4th century, the various states of existence distinguished by colour

as black, dark, blue, green, red, golden and white have been dealt with
6
in connection with the doctrines of the Ajlvikas . The distinctions

made by colour, though not now intelligible, must have been a

prominent feature of Ajlvikism. It is not

unlikely that the term

'niyati*
was introduced into Indian thought by the Ajlvikas and it cast
a definite influence on the
Epics particularly the Mahabharata. Manu
and compiler of Hitopadesa tried to disabuse the minds of the people
of this faith in fatalism though Bhartrhari extolled it in his Nitisataka.

The Ajlvikas, seems, attained great popularity in post-Asokan age.

it

There is a tradition that king Bindusara consulted Pingalavatsa

(Janasana in Pali chronicles) an Ajivika monk for
ascertaining which
of his two sons, Asoka and Vltasoka would succeed him to the throne.

Asoka's mother was very likely a follower of the Ajlvikas. After

Asoka's demise his grandson Dasaratha dedicated a few caves to the
Ajivika saints
specially, showing thereby that the successors of Asoka
preferred the Ajlvikas to the Buddhists. Dr. Basham has collected

reliable evidences to show that this sect became popular in South

8
India and was in existence up to the mediaeval
period.

(iii) Nigantha Nataputta (fetterless

son of the Naya
clan) orMahavlra happened to be an older contemporary of Buddha.
Like Buddha he came of a noble family, perhaps the chief of the clan.
He led for some time a married life and then renounced the world.
He revived the teachings of Parsvanatha, and formed an order of monks
who however led a much more austere life than that of a Buddhist
monk. His philosophical views are as follows : There are nine

substances (navatattva) viz., (i)

soul (fwa) present in all that is

conscious including a tree or a fruit; non-soul (ajiva) which serves

(ii)

as the basis for the

functioning of soul (jiva) as body is of the soul;
(iii)
merits and demerits (punya, papa) which are also substances produced

by actions (karmari) of fiva through mind, speech and body; (v)

impurities (asrava) which flow into the body due to karmaic effects;

(vi) self-control (samvara) which arrests the flow of karmaic effects,

5 Bhagavatisutra, XV, 550; Uttaradhyayana, xxiv.

6 Basham, History & Doctrines of the ^ftvikas, pp. 243(1.
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 119

and also neutralises them; bondage (bandha) of the soul caused

(vii)

by karmaic effects transformed into asrava and leading to repeated

existence (safosara), (viii)
elimination (nirjara) of karmaic effects or

asravas through samvara as prescribed for the Jaina monks; and lastly

(ix)
liberation (moksa) attained by a monk who has
perfected himself
in the disciplinary practices and realised the truth as inculcated in

Jaina philosophy.
In Jaina philosophy no definite statement (syadvada) can be made
about any object, not even about the highest truth. Every object is

subject to three momentary states, viz., origin (utpada), continuity

(sthitf)
and decay (vinasa). The object in its state of
continuity may be
regarded as the substance (dravya) while in the other two states it is

subject change (faryaya). According to anekantavada an object

to

is
permanent from the standpoint of continuity (nitya), but it is
impermanent (anitya) from the other two standpoints. Every object has
to be determined from different standpoints, as it has several aspects and
so there can be no absolute statement regarding the nature of an object.

This is known as the Jaina doctrine of Anekantavada. In order to have

a true knowledge of an object, its examination is necessary from various

aspects
and it is by this means alone that the perfect knowledge can be
attained. For the sake of practical application, the Anekantavada has
been condensed into seven members (saptabhangt) thus: From seven
different standpoints a being is
(i) permanent; (ii) impermanent; (iii)both
permanent and impermanent; (iv) indescribable; (v) permanent
and
indescribable; (vi) impermanent and indescribable; (vii)
both permanent
and impermanent as also indescribable.
This religion with its great emphasis on asceticism and rigorism

imposed on monks and nuns has maintained its existence in India up

to the however are limited and
present day. Its
lay followers still

observe many hard and fast rules of

self-discipline.

(iv) Sanjaya Belatthiputta did not give out

any definite views about the ultimates. He is

generally described
as a to definite answer to the ulti-
sceptic unwilling give any
mate problems, which were, according to him, were indetermin-
able, a view not incompatible with Buddha's declaration that
the problems; whether the soul is identical with
body or not,
whether an emancipated being exists after death or not, and so forth
are also indeterminable (avyakata) and should be left aside.
Sanjaya
 I2O Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

happened to be the teacher of Sariputta and Moggallana who joined

the Buddhist order along with the other disciples of the teacher and
who were much impressed by Buddha's theory of causation,
which

explained that the beings of the world were in a ceaseless state of flux
governed by certain causes and conditions.
(v) Ajita Kesakambalin was a materialist. He
denies an after-life and so according to him there is no need of earning

merits by good deeds, sacrifices or service to parents. There is no spiritual

advancement or perfection in knowledge likewise. There is no demerit if

one commits evil deeds. A being is

composed of five elements: earth,

water, and space

air, fire (akasa). After death each of these returns to
the corresponding mass of great elements while the senses (indriyas)

pass into space.

A person's earthly existence ends in the funeral pyre.

Nothing survives after death (bhasmtbhtitasya dehasya punaragamanam

This doctrine of Ajita is

clearly a restatement of the Lokayata or

Barhaspatya school of thought. Dhlsana, to whom is attributed this

type of doctrine in the Padma Parana, asserts that there is no God.

The variegated world exists by itself. He admits only four elements
and not the fifth akasa. The combination of the four elements
pro-
duces consciousness (caitanya) as liquor produced by the fermentation
is

of rice and molasses. When everything ends in death, there is no

sense in performing sacrifices or in seeking heaven. It was an anti-

Vcdic movement and established that a

being should seek his own
happiness by whatever means he can devise, and not perform acts
which are supposed to bring fruits in the next life. It identifies soul

with body, a doctrine which has been bitterly criticised by Buddha and
classed as annihilationism (ucchcdavada), i.e., the doctrine that a

being disappears for ever with the dissolution of the body,

(vi) Pakudha Kaccayana was a
pluralist
and a semi-materia-

list. Like Ajita he holds that a being is

composed of seven elements :]

earth, water, air, fire, pleasure (sukha), pain (dukkha) and soul (ftva).
These seven elements are neither created nor moulded. They are barren
and and do not produce anything. They
fixed as a rock or a stone-pillar

neither move nor change nor hinder one another so as to cause pain
or pleasure or indifference. Hence, there is no killer nor instigator
of killing, no hearer nor preacher, no learner nor teacher. If a sword

passes through the body of a being, it does not destroy it but only
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 121

slipsthrough the interspaces of the elements forming the body. It is

a form of atomism without anyl parallel. It has been criticised by

Buddha kind of eternalism fot&atavada) and grouped with Ajita's
as a

teaching of annihilationism (ucchedavada), i.e., everything ends with

death.
Besides these six renowned teachers there was another class of

religious men known as the Paribbajakas or Wanderers. These

moved about over the country either singly or in groups.
all There
were provisions for their residence called Paribbajakarama in important

villages and towns. This shows that the Paribbajaka form of life was
in vogue in ancient India in the 5th century B.C. or even earlier.

The Paribbajakas could be either Brahmanic or non-Brahmanic.

From their nature of discussions with Buddha it seems that they had
no confirmed doctrinal views but not without predilections for either a
BrShmanic or a particular non-Brahmanic system. The problems
broached by them with Buddha related to soul, karman, efficacy of
ascetic practices, elimination of mental impurities, attainment of perfect

knowledge, soundness of views of Nigantha Nataputta and so forth.

A number of Paribbajakas were impressed by Buddha's teachings
and became lay-devotees and a few became full-fledged monks. The
Paribbajakas were generally in quest of the Truth and tried to find out
what was the best teaching which of course they did not necessarily

accept. They may be regarded as students of religion and

philosophy with a receptive mind, and some of them ultimately

joined a particular religious order or reverted to a householder's life.

From the discourses specially delivered to them, as embodied in the

Nikayas t it
appears that they formed an important part of the

religious and philosophical movement of ancient India. It is also

evident that in those days change of doctrinal views was the rule of

the day and there was no slur on a person even if he changed his

religious affiliation. Had it not been so, Buddha could not have
formed his band of disciples, whom he recruited largely from the
Brahmanic and Sresthi families and faribbajakas.
The Paribbajakas or the Ganas of the
Sanghasor six heretical

teachers formed a very small section of the religieux of ancient India.

In spite of Buddha's silence about the Upanisads it cannot but be taken

for granted that the
Upanisadic thinkers held the torch of religion,
philosophy and culture in
pre-Buddha days. There are at least ten

16
 122 Place of Buddhism in Indian
Thought

Upanisads, viz.,
Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya, Aitareya and
Taitfiriya, I'sa, Kena and Katha> Prasna, Mundaka and Mandukya,
which arc attributed to a date much earlier than Buddha's time. These
are
mostly compilations of dialogues and monologues of Brahmanic
seers and not systematic
expositions of a particular school of thought.
In some of them there are traces of Samkhya, Yoga and Mtmamsa
schools of thought but the central theme of most of them is the
exposition of
philosophy, well known as Vedanta,
the monistic

developed with great subtlety in the two principal Upanisads,

Brhadaranyaka and Chandogya. The oneness of Brahman or the

Reality, and the world as a diversified superimposition on the Reality are

the keynotes of this philosophy.
The Sankhya school of philosophy, the origin of which is

7
traced in the Katha and Svetasvatara Upanisads took a modified Vedan-
tic view. It
explains that the appearance of worldly objects is due 'to

ignorance (avidya) of separateness of the two reals, Parusa

the and
Prakrti. It however held that the appearance of phenomenal world
is not wholly baseless or a delusion as the primeval cause (prakrtt)
does undergo a change (parinamt) and the changed object is substan-

tially
the prakrti, the change being confined to characteristics (nimitta)

only of the basic cause (upadana). For this reason it is called 'satkarya-
vada* or the view that cause exists in its effect. The untenability of the

Sankhya view, as argued by the Buddhists, lies in the fact that it

admits two reals with different characteristics, which are not logical,
viz., one, Purusa, as unchangeable and the other Prakrti as changeable

(parinamt). The latter

being real and eternally existing (nitya)
it is

further led to the fallacy that an eternal entity undergoes change.

According to the Sankhya view, the evolution of the Prakrti takes

place thus : Out of Prakrti issues Mahan cosmic aspect or

or its

Buddhi or psychical aspect. It is the unindividuated cosmic intellect

which gives rise to Ahamkara (egoism) or individuated intellect, which
is also a substance, an active agent. In its sattvika (pure) aspect it

leads to the origin of Manas (mind), the function of which is deter-

minate perception; it is the central organ of the sense-organs and their

perceptions. Ahamkara also gives rise to five subtle essences Tanmatra,

which in their turn evolve into five gross elements: earth, water, fire,

7 Katha. I, 3, 10-11 ; Svetasvatara, V, 7.8.12; iy, 5.1.3.

 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 12'

air and ether* Out of these originate the five sense-organs :

eyes,
ears, nose, tongue and body as also the five
physical organs: voice,
hands, anus and generating organ.
feet, The process of evolution as

shown in the Buddhacarita* is a little different. It is as follows:

The primal or ultimate cause (Prakrit) and its evolutes (vikara) consti-
tute a being (sattva) with the concomitants: birth, old age, disease and

death. The primal cause manifests itself in five

great elements

(paficabhiita)
in their minutest states
(tanmatra\ egoism (ahamkara)
and unindividuated (avyakta) cosmic intellect (buddhi or mahari). Their
evolutes are the sense-organs and their objects, the hands and feet, the

voice, the organs of generation and excretion and also the mind.
There is the soul (atmari) which is conscious of the body. This
consciousness or awareness is intellection, which was possessed by
saints like Kapila. It is the absence of intellection that produces the

world of beings. Those who develop individuation (yyakta) and are

unable to go beyond the notion of I-ness get entangled in worldly

joys and sufferings while those who discard the notion of I-ness and
maintain an unindividuated mind go beyond the world of pain and

pleasures.
This type of Sankhya teachings, according to the testimony
of Asvaghosa's Bttddhacarita, was imparted to Prince Siddhartha by his

spiritual teachers, Arada Kalama and Rudraka Ramaputra

and might
have some influence on his mind in his formulation of the law of
causation (paticcasamuppada),
The Yoga philosophy is similar to that of Sankhya. It has only
added the existence of the God. It
developed the meditational practices
which perhaps were well known to the Upanisadic seers. There is
much in common between the Yoga and the Buddhist systems of
meditation including the meditational terms.
The Mlmamsakas also admit the reality
of the world.

According to them the souls are eternal,

permanent as also the material

elements composing the universe. Their universe consists (a)

of

living bodies, in which the soul reaps the karmaic effects (bhogayatana),

(b) of sense-organs (indriya-bhoga-sadhana) and (c)

of sense-objects

(bhoga-visaya).
The (Myaya-Vaisesikas go a step further and in place
of two reals of the Sankhya admit six categories of reality, viz., subs-

8 Buddhacarita, Ch. XII.

 124 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

tance (dravya), quality (guna), motion (karman), universality (satnSnya),

particularity (visesa) and inherence (samavaya). Their dravya con-

sists of the four eternal constituents:
space (akasa), time (kala), mind
(manas) and soul (atmari). Their viewpoints can also be traced in the

Upanisads. They are opposed to mere subjectivity of the Vedantists.

Prince Siddhartha, educated he was and engaged in search of
as

the truth, must have been acquainted with most of the non-Buddhistic
doctrines stated above. He no doubt denied the existence of a

permanent soul but he accepted the theory of karman and rebirth,

which, of course, he had to interpret in a way suited to his non-soul

doctrine.
The impermanence (anityata) of the phenomenal world
doctrine of
must have appealed to him most and led him to give up his princely
life and luxuries. He recognised at the same time that the only
means to get out of the clutches of anityata was spiritual exercises

as a recluse. The principle of retirement from worldly joys and

pleasures is denoted as pessimism though strictly speaking the under-
lying force for retirement is not so much disgust with the world as

the attainment of nityata (eternality) an ineffable state surpassing

the highest conceivable form of worldly existence, which is unalterably
associated with birth, old age, disease and death, the four factors, which

according to the Buddhist traditions filled the mind of Prince

Siddhartha with consternation not so much for himself as for the

humanity in
general. The impetus to the Prince's retirement came
from human misery and so the Prince directed his mind to evolve a

path that might put an end to that misery and not so much for

the
unfolding of the eternal Truth, on which was concentrated
the attention of the Upanisadic seers. But there can be no
enunciation of the path unless the Truth is known and so the Prince
went through a long course of spiritual exercises and succeeded ultimate-
ly in visualizing the Truth the truth of oneness which of course was
different from the oneness of Jlvatmdn and Paramatman. It is not
known if the Upanisadic teachers had formulated any code of duties
or chalked out a course for the guidance of their followers; perhaps it

was kept secret and handed down esoterically from teacher to disciple.
Buddha made no secret of the path of achieving the goal and so he
laid bare his scheme of life before one and all who approached him
with the sincere desire of exerting to overcome the worldly sufferings.
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 125

His ethical teachings and his monastic discipline marked a complete

departure from the old ways of attaining perfection in knowledge.

Dttkkba (Duhkha) : Misery of phenomenal existence had already got
hold of the minds of the Upanisadic thinkers. In the Chandogya
(vii.i.3)
it is stated that a wise man, the knower of self , goes beyond the
sea of misery (tarati sokam atmavit) while in a late text like the

Vedantasara (31) appears the statement that a person oppressed by

death and rebirth, and worldly fire should
approach for the true know-
ledge a learned teacher conversant with Brahman, the Truth. The
Sankhya schoolmen spoke of the misery of human existence and
analysed it under three heads, viz., internal (adhyatmika) due to
physical disorder and mental agitation, external (adhibhautika) due to
injuries caused by men and beasts or by any outside agency, and

supernormal (adhidaivika) due to supernatural factors, great or the

elements (mahabhiitas). Thus it is evident that the pessimistic view of
life was already in the air and Buddha only picked it
up and made it

a
starting point of his teachings. Buddha told his monks to realise

that the tears shed

by a being in his innumerable existences if accu-

mulated would exceed the water of a sea (Samyutta Nikaya, II, pp^y^f).
9
In Pali texts, human misery has been sub-divided in a different
manner thus: mental and/^or physical pain (dukkha-dukkhata),
pleasure turning into pain (viparinama-dukkhata) and pain which
arises and disappears due to
change (sankhara-dukkhata). Of the four
truths (cattari
ariyasaccani) the first truth to be realised
by the wise
is "dukkha" pain or suffering concomitant to phenomenal existence.

Its
popular exposition is the non-fulfilment of one's desire causing
resentment or disappointment, separation from the dear ones or associa-
tion with the undesired This dttkkba is suffered
causing mental pain.
by the commoners and not by the elect (ariya), and so, strictly
speaking, such dukkha is not ariyasacca. Dukkha in the eyes of an
advanced monk (ariya) is the possession of one's body of five

constituents (ttpadana-khandhas), of wealth and property, because

of the fact that one's earthly possessions are evanescent and
subject to decay (vayadharnma), im permanence to
(aniccata).
Unless and until this nature of dukkha is fully comprehended

by a monk, the next three truths, viz., desire as the source

of dukkha, end of desire as the termination of dukkha and eighthfold

9 Visuddbimagga, p. 499; Madhyamikavrtti, p. 475 n.

126 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

path as leading to the end of dukkha remain incomprehensible to him.

Realisation of dukkha therefore forms the first step in the Buddhist

code of spiritual practices

and its
interpretation is more comprehensive
than that of the earlier In almost school of Indian
systems. every
thought the woes and worries of a living being due -to unfulfilled
desires are spoken of and there are also suggestions about the means of
10
avoiding the same . The Buddhists however have worked out the

problem of dukkha in as thorough a manner as possible.

Aniccata (Anityata) There can be no two opinions about the
: fact

that the pessimistic view of life (dukkha) is based on

impermanence
or rather evanescence (aniccata) of phenomenal objects. Buddha re-
peatedly reminded his
disciples of this fact 'anicca vata
by saying
sankhara uppadavayadhammino' (impermanent are the composites
which are subject to origin and decay). Except Nibbana and Akasa
there is
nothing unconstituted in this world. Even the infinitesmal
atoms of earth, water, air and fire
(i.e. rupa) contain all the four ele-
ments and the four qualities: colour (vanna), smell (gandba), taste

(rasa) and nutritive

essence (oja) which cannot be separated, and as such

each of the material elements as distinct objects exists in thought only

so are the other khandhas, viz., feeling (vedana),
perception (sanna),
impressions (sankhara) and knowledge derived through the senses

(vinnana). A being therefore is a conceptual entity and has no real

existence. The Buddhist point of view differs substantially from that
of the Nyaya-Vaisesikas, according to whom, there are six irreducible

categories of reality. The Jaina school of thought goes a step further

and matter (pudgala)

asserts that is constituted of atoms (paramanu)
which are real and eternal while its action (karma) is also material

(paudgalika). The Sarvastivadins (or the Vaibhasikas or the Abhidha-

mmikas) advocated, according to some scholars, 'radical pluralism

erected on the denial of substance (soul) and the acceptance of discreet

momentary and 'change as the replacement of one entity by

entities'

another, it is the cessation of one and emergence of another. The

combination (of constituents) is not real over and above the constitu-
ents. The components are real (yastusat), the combination is
9

appearance (prajnapti-sai).
The true import of the words 'sarvam

10 C. Gaudapada: AgamasZstra, III. 43:

 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 127

asti' of the Sarvastivadins is

something different from what has
been said above. It is a fact that the Sarvastivadins offer

a list of seventy two dharmas under the heads: (i)

Matter

(Rupa) u; (ii)
Mind (Citta) i; Mental states (Caitasikas)

46; and Non-mentals {Citt4-viprayuktas)-iq. By ''all exists"

(sarvam asti) the Sarvastivadins mean existence of

concepts
of
past, present and future (trikalasat) and not the eternal existence
of phenomenal objects or of their minutest elements, which also are

impermanent but not as false as a

mirage or objects seen in a dream.
It is
through the realisation of their impermanence and making one's
mind completely free from the notion of existence of phenomenal
objects that an adept can attain emancipation. Hence, the Sarvas-
tivadins do not really mean that all objects are real and exist
eternally.
Khanikatta (Ksanikatva) : The Buddhists qualify impermanence
(anityata) with momentariness (ksanika), i. e., the phenomenal objects
are subject to change every moment, and within one moment take
place origin (tttpattt), duration (sthiti) and decay (vinasa). As against
this contention of the Buddhists, it is
argued that momentariness can-
not be directly perceived and further it leads to the admission of the
absence of any cause (ahetukatva] for the origin of the second moment,
because the first
momentary existence disappears then and there and
11
cannot be effective in producing the second momentary state. The
counter-argument of the Buddhists is that momentariness cannot, it

is true, be established by direct perception but it should be noted that

momentariness is the characteristic nature (svabhava) of effectiveness

cessation of an object is meant the

(arthakriyakaritva). By momentary
absence of immediately preceding state (svadhikarana-samaya-prag-
abhava). If momentariness as explained above be not admitted, then
an object would remain the same for more than one moment, and the

object that produces an effect in the present would also

produce the

same effect in the past and future and would be subject to the
fallacy
that there could not be
accomplished an(krta-karita) of an effect
1*
object, in other words, the purpose of an object would not be served.

11 Cf. Brabmasutra, II. 2.20: S'cFCtcTT^ ^ l

jf' ft^TT^ I

12 Cf. Bertrand Russell, Mysticism and Logic, p. 185: Cause cannot

have a duration the cause after existing placidly for some time should
suddenly explode into effect is
illogical. Again, cause cannot be static,

no such cause is to be found in nature.

 128 Place of Buddhism in Indian 'Thought

Hence the Buddhists rightly contend that an object is

momentary and
produces its effect then and there and not in the past or future.
It

may be argued that an object retains its potentiality which will be

effective in future but this argument is also fallacious because of the

fact thattwo opposite characteristics, viz., presentness and pastness,

or

presentness and futurity cannot exist together. Therefore it should be

admitted that the momentariness of an object can only establish the

fulfilment of a purpose and this is not possible if an object remains

unchanged formore than one moment. The subtlety of the Buddhist

interpretation of ksanika is rather unique and may be regarded as a

contribution to Indian thought. In shore, it

explains fully the dyna-
mism of worldly objects or ceaseless change that takes place in worldly
objects, in nature.

Paticcasamuppada (Pratltyasamutpada) : The question that arises

next is whether this ceaseless change is accidental or predestined or
is effected by certain causes (hetu)and conditions (pratyaya). The
Buddhists reject the first two views and accept the last and offer
their formula of the law of causation, Paticcasamuppada, popularly
known as Dharmacakra or the ceaseless cycles of existences of a being.

The word "samutpada" created a confusion in the minds of some

who took the word in its literal sense and attempted to interpret
the formula as Buddha's conception of the origin of the world of

beings. Buddhaghosa great the of the 4th

Pali commentator

century A.D., pointed out in his Visuddhimagga that the word

samutpada (origin) was used to counteract the false notion of
nihilism (asat-drsti) while the other word pratitya (dependent) as an
antidote to the notion of real existence of worldly object (satdrsti).
Buddha repeatedly asserted that his interpretation of the Truth kept
clear of the two extreme views of existence (satjastt) and non-exis-
tence (asat/nasti) of
worldly objects, of eternalism (sasvata)
and annihilationism (uccheda), of their limitedness (antavari) and
unlimitedness (anantavari). This is described as the middle
13
path (majjhima later as
patipada) developed by Nagarjuna
13 There is the other popular exposition that Buddha prescribed a middle
path of spiritual culture, which discarded a life of ease as also a life of extreme
asceticism. The life of a monk, as chalked out by his Teacher, was one
approved by him as a general rule, exception however being made in the case
of those who were bent upon asceticism and took
up the Dhutanga practices.
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 129

Madhyamika or Stinyata philosophy, and by Asariga as

Yogacara or
Vijnap timatra ta*
In the Abhidhatnma texts like the Patthana
appears an exhaus-
tive, study of the causes (hetu) and conditions (paccaya). The
formula of causation has been explained both externally in connec-
tion with material objects and internally in relation to
living
beings. The origin of an earthen pot depends on several causes

viz., clay, water, fire, potter, wheel and so forth, while that of a

sprout on seed, water, gardener, etc. The origin of a being is due

to non-realisation of the Truth (avidya), thirst (trsnfy, deeds (karma)
which give a shape to its constituents, organs of sense, and mind. The
Patthana states that there arc inall
twentyfour kinds of causes, more
than one of which are applicable to the origin of an object or a being.
Some of these causes, again, mean invariable sequences. In fact, the
complete cessation of the previous momentary state cannot produce the

succeeding one, and again, there is nothing to pass from the former to
the latter. In that case, the law of causation really means only the law
of invariable sequence which is observed in nature. The Lankavatara-
sutra (p. 103) denies causal origin and speaks of sequence of objects,
1*
but it also discusses six kinds of causes which are quite different

from those of the Patthana. Nagarjuna in his Madhyamakakarika

16
reters to four out of the twentyfour causes mentioned in the Patthana.
The Madhyamikas and the Yogacaras like the Vedantists do not
admit the existence of the phenomenal world and so they relegate the
law of causation to conventional truths (samvrtisatya) and utilise it to
establish the relative appearance of objects, e.g., long and short,
red and black are mere conventional terms used relatively
and have no existence whatsoever. Nigarjuna remarks that as
objects that have origination do not exist and so its existence
cannot be established as uncaused, or as caused by itself, or by
16
non-self, or by both self and non-self. The Lankavatara states that
14 Lankavat2ra t
p. 83:
* 5 Madhyamakakarika.
16 Madhyamakfrika, I, 7; XXL 13; XXIII. 20:
\

cf. Gaudapada, IV. 22 :

17
 130 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

the ignorant only conceive of objects as originating out of causes

and
conditions, and for not knowing the true law takes births in
repeated
17
the three worlds. In the BrahmasZtra there is the statement that
18
there can be no origination of an ever existing substance Thus, .

there is
complete unanimity between the Mahay anists and the

Vedantists about the ever existent Real as causeless and conditionless.

The question then arises, why the Mahayanists take the law of
causation into their consideration. They state that this law has two-fold

purpose, first to
point out the relative
phenomenals appearance of
objects and secondly to establish by inference that the Real has

nothing to do with cause and condition (apratityasamutpanna), This

law is needed to initiate the unli berated into the Truth of non-exis-

tence of the phenomenal world and thereby into the uncaused Truth
Both the Hlnayana and Mahayana texts state that one, who comprehend
19
the law of causation, realises the Truth and visualises the Buddha .
The law of causation leads to the realisation of the fact that the

Reality remains undisturbed by origin and decay and is beyond any

20
description and so the law is called fondly by Candrakirti as the
mother of Buddhas of ten powers 21 .

Slightly different is the line of reasoning adopted by the

Hinayanists for
showing that the law of causation leads to the

realisation of the Truth. They have developed a chain of illustra-

tive terms such as ignorance (avidya) of past life

causing certain

impressions (samskara), which in turn produce consciousness that

takes rebirth (pratisandhi-vijnana), It is followed by the present life

consisting of the five constituents (nama-rfifa), six

sense-organs and
their objects (sadayatana), contact (sparsa), feeling (vedana), thirst

(trsna), strong attachment (upadana) and lastly, clinging for rebirth

(bhava). After this, takes place another existence (jatf) which ends
22
ultimately in old age and death .

17 LankZvatara, p. 105-6.
18 Brabmasutra.il. 3.9:

19
See Aspects of MahSyana Buddhism, p. 51.
20 Madbyamakakariha, VII, 16 :

21 Ibid.

22 Cf. LankZvatara, p. 103.

 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 131

Lest this formula of twelve terms creates the impression that

it

represents the Buddhist view of the tree of life similar

to that of Sankhya, Buddhaghosa pointed out in his Visuddhimagga

525) that to the Sankhya school, the first term
(p. according
Prakrti is uncaused and is primeval source of the tree of life
the
whereas Avidya is not necessarily the first term in the Buddhist
law of causation and also it is not uncaused and hence it cannot be
the primeval source. The chain of terms may commence at any link,

say, thirst or even birth. Avidya has for its cause thirst or wrong
views, etc. The terms illustrate only some invariable sequences.

Avidya (Ajnana) : Like the Buddhists, Sankara also states that

ignorance (avidya) cannot be the primeval cause but he argues against

the Buddhist contention that avidya cannot be the cause of mental

impressions (samskara) because, logically, negation or absence of some-

thing cannot be a
productive cause. In reply the Buddhists state that

avidya is not a mere negation but is

something positive
it is

the misguided knowledge due to wrong views fynithya-darsana).**

It is
impure and acts as a hindrance to knowledge. It is produced
by attachment, hatred and delusion (raga, dvesa, moha) and belief
in a self erroneous
(satkayadrstf) leading to apprehensions (viparyasa)
evil as as
e.g., good, unhappiness happiness, impurity as purity,
non-soul as soul and so forth. It is due to incorrect mental application
2
(ayoniso manasikaro). It means a clouded and deluded mind *. Sankara
in his comment on Brahmasiitra (I. i) points out that avidya means
the apprehension of certain qualities superimposed on the attribute-

less
Reality,
the Pure Soul. The opponents argue that superimposition
can take place only upon an object directly perceived and not on
an imperceptible pure self. Sahkara in reply points out that sky
(akasa) has no objective existence still the unenlightened men speak
of the sky as blue or compare it with cauldron upturned and so forth.

He argues further that though the pure self is attributeless still it

serves as the basis of the notion of I-ness, hence it is not as non-

existent as the sky. The knowledge derived through superimposition
on an object and consequent misapprehension, e.g., nacre as silver,
its

rope as snake, is known as Nescience (Avidya) in Vedanta. In his

23 A bhidharmakosa,
t HI, 29.

24 See Mddhyamikavrtti, p, 452 quoting Pratityasanwtfadasiitra.

 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

comments on Bra hrn asti tra i.

14) Sankara offers another exposi-
(II.

He writes that name and form are

tion of Avidya. (nama-riipa)
manifestations of ignorance (avidya) and as such they are indescribable
as existing or non-existing and are included in Isvara or the God, the

creator and are known as Cosmic Nescience (Maya), Energy (Saktf).

Isvara different from nama-rtifa but is its or is circums-

is upholder
cribed by namarupa, i.e., is similar to space in an earthen jar.
avidya
He is therefore the moulder of a conscious being. the standpoint From
of Avidya, Isvara is and omniscient, and from the
supreme, omnipotent
the ultimate Truth.
highest standpoint He is identical with Brahman,
In His subtlest form He is Isvara, the omniscient and in His grossest
form the manifested world in its infinite diversity.

more of
The later Vedantists have given positive conception
of three
nescience saying that
it is
(Ajnana Avidya), composed
qualities :
purity (sattvas), activity (rajas)
and impurity (tamas), which
in turn
produce the five subtle elements and so forth as found in the

The Ajnana of the Vedantists is said to be neither

Sahkhya system.
does not exist in reality,
existing nor non-existing because
it
though
it has an apparent existence which is indescribable but causes delusion.

The Lankavatara uses the term Bhranti in of

(p. 106) place
the glow of a
Vedantic 'Ajnana' and expatiates
on it
saying that
25
seen the wise It is devoid of both
circling fire (alatacakra] is .
by
existence and non-existence but at the same time it is in a sense eternal

It continues to exist so long as one's knowledge

(bhrantih sasvata).
functions but it ceases when one at rest all his thought-
puts
26
constructions . In other words, the Lankavatara supports the Vedantic

conception of Ajnana.
Kamma The Buddhists the influence of
(Karman): fully recognise
Karman and its effects on a being's repeated existences.
Of the twelve

terms or links in the chain of causation, the second and the tenth i.e.

mental impressions (samskara) and desire for re-existence (bhava) are

Cf. Lankavatara, p. 298,

25 ^Tf^qfarmft ^r^S%qfocT: (

26 Lahkavatara, p. 295 :

srreft
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 133

regarded as resultants of acts of one's past life and present life

respective-
ly*^ The fact that a
being is born with name and form, i.e., mental
and material constituents, implies that in had
its
previous existence it

mental obsessions due to lack of true

knowledge (avidya) and collected

the so-called merits and demerits and

developed certain mental disposi-
(samskaras) which produced the consciousness for
tions rebirth (prati-

sandhi-vijnana), which in its turn brought about its re-existence and

gave it a name and form. After re-existence the being in due
course becomes subject to the roots of evils, viz., attachment, hatred
28
and delusion and reaches the end of its life with a desire (bhava) for
2*
another existence. And so it is said in the Mahavasttt that the first

and the eighth links, nescience and thirst, are the roots of Karma
rebirth. In Buddhist texts stated that a
leading to it is
repeatedly
being is
subject to his deeds, inherits the good or bad effects, and has
30
its
origin out of his own deeds. It is on account of an
past
individual's deeds that one becomes a cultivator, an artist or a
31
king . Deeds are divided into three categories thus: those which

produce fruit (i) in this life (ditthadhammavedamya); (it)

in the

next life
(vppajjavedariiya); (iii)
in a future life
(aparapariya-

vedariiya).
Some of the Avadanas and Jatakas, particularly the Vima-
2
navattbu and Petavattha and Mahakarmavibhanga* illustrate through
stories the effects of good and evil deeds.

person attains
full
It is
by the elimination of deeds (kamma) that a
33
only means
Self-exertion is the o Nirvana, said
emancipation.
Buddha and by self-exertion he meant the performance of certain

27 Kosa, III, 24,

28, Nettippakarana, 13; Ahguttara, Y, p. 262 ;
spSfft^Rlfa ^tto^fajft? I

29 III, p. 65.

30 Suttanifata, 654 :
qpqflf[ cffifa ^fagf ^^J?3JT HffifcT q^T I Majjhima,
III, p. 203; Ahgtittara, III, pp. 72, 186 ; V, pp. 81, 288 :

fifrft ^?T^S ... *T* Wrf stffrfol Wmrf 3TT

31 SuttanipXta. 653:

32 Edited by S. Levi, Paris, 1942.

33 Samy*tt* I p. 134 :
gsapfW^ T^t fagfft OTftOTft 1 Cf. Angttttara,

y, p. 262.
 134 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

deeds, spiritual or otherwise. Hence the greatest emphasis was laid

on one's acts and exertion and non-dependence on a superior power

or on any ritual and ceremony. Kamma is inexorable and can only be
counteracted by proper exertions as Ahgulimala got rid of his sins of

indiscriminate killing by his spiritual exercises (sadhana). Again,

Buddha himself could not escape the past
deeds as is
effects of his

illustrated by the event of his being wounded by a stone chip of a

missile thrown by Devadatta. Sahkara also admits that man is the
architect of his
destiny and that his karma, past and present, must
produce fruits which are to be exhausted by enjoyment or suffering.
34
According however, karma connotes not only meri-
to the VeHantists

torious and demeritorious deeds but also fulfilment of duties

prescribed
for a
particular caste (varna) and stage of life
(asrama), as well as per-
formance of sacrifices and expiatory ceremonies (prayascitta). Liberation
to be attained, Ramanuja, not only by true knowledge
is
according to
(jnana) but also by karma, by which, he meant, rituals prescribed in
the sastras. It is also enjoined in the Vedantic texts that karma
should be free from any desire for reward (niskama) and such karma
can destroy the accumulated effects of one's past life. Karma is divided
into three
categories : (i) deed already commenced (prarabdha), (ii) deed

already accumulated (sancita), and (iii)

deed that is
being accumulated
(sandy amana). Of these three, the first must take its own course
while the second can be destroyed, and the third prevented by
acquisition of true knowledge.
There agreement between the Vedantic and the
is a general
Buddhist view of karman and its elimination, except that the former
relies
partially on rituals and ceremonies for neutralizing karmaic
effects a view wholly unacceptable to the Buddhists.
Soul and Rebirth As the Buddhists do not admit the existence of
:

a
permanent they replace the word "transmigration" by "rebirth".
self,

The conception of atman in the Upanisads has given

rise to two

views :
(i)
that the self is similar to a
spark issuing out of a mass of

fire; and (ii)

that the self is similar to
space
within an earthen jar.

Sankara gives preference to the second view and describes it as eternal,

5
unchanging, undecaying, immaculate.* It is not
gross, not eyes,
not*

34 Brahmasutra, 111,1.8.

35
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 135
38
life-force, not mind, not doer, it is just pure intelligence. It
pervades
the whole body though it is
infinitesmally small. At death it
passes
out of the eyes, or skull or some other portion of the body.
The living selfby the adjuncts of the body of an indivi-
limited

dual, his sense-organs, mind, intelligence and notion of I-ness becomes

an empirical self, perceiving pleasant and unpleasant feelings. It is

unaware of its true nature and is

power in the
grip of nescience; its
and knowledge become limited and it becomes an agent, an enjoyer of
acts, by which it accumulates merits and demerits.

The Buddhists contend that in the ultimate analysis of the con-

stituents of a being there is no trace of a permanent soul, which

according to the Vedantists, is unconstituted (asamskrta). They argue
that the unconstituted, immaculate
permanent and substance has

nothing to do with the constituted (samskrta), and logically also, two

objects, having opposite characteristics, can never exist together as
light and darkness. Hence they uphold the doctrine of the non-
existence of a real self.
They point out that the five constituents
forming being a (i.e. ttfaddna-skandhas) as distinguished from the
mass of elements (skandbarasf) give rise to the wrong notion of

I-ness or
satkayadrsti. They do not also accept the position taken by
the Sammitlya Buddhists that the five constituents on combination

produce a sixth constituent called Pudgala which lasts as

long as the

upadana-skandbas continue. They deny the existence of

empirical
self of the Vedantists or of Pudgala of the Sammitlyas. Such
denial leads to the question as to how the Buddhists explain the
transference of karmaic effects of an individual from one existence to

another.
The
Vedantists hold the view that the empirical self serves as the
transmitter of karmaic effects. It continues after the death of a
living

being and transmigrates like a caterpillar from one existence to another

It does not give up the old body till it obtains a foothold in another
37
body. In his comments on Brabmasiitra (III. i.i) Sarikara states

that the living being at the time of his death dreams of his future
existence and grows an attachment for it, and so the empirical self

37 Brbadaranyaka, IV, 4. 3.
 1^6 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

extends its creative effort; it is a continuation or extension

and not exactly similar to the movement of a caterpillar.
(dirghikarana)
The empirical self carries with it the subtle body (sftksma-sarirazss
B
linga-deha) composed of three vestures or sheaths
(kosa)* This subtle

body carries with it all the merits and demerits accumulated in past

existences as also nescience (avidya) along with the impressions left

by
past experiences (purvaprajna janmantariya samskfoah), leaving
behind
all material elements, gross or subtle. This subtle body remains along
with the empirical self till the attainment of liberation.

the transference of karmaic effects, the Buddhist view

Regarding
is
wholly different from that of the Vedanta. The Buddhists take

their stand on their doctrine of momentariness, and explain that the

mental and material constituents (namarfipa) of a being undergo
in other words, birth and death, cessation and re-appearance,
change,
decay and origination, occur
at
every moment, which has not even an
infinitesmal duration. These are as dynamic as nature and are never
static even for a moment. Hence the karmaic effects are transmitted

every moment. At the time of death the namarupa obtains

the subtlest form modified by the impressions of past life and develops
a will for re-existence (pratisandhivijnana) which in turn gives rise in

the next existence to the nascent mental state (bhavanga-citta) similar

to theYogacara conception of alayavijnana or consciousness-receptacle.

This bhavanga-citta comes out of the womb or the egg-shell and deve-
the nascent sense-organs. Hence, according to the Buddhists, there
lops
is rebirth and not transmigration and the reborn namartipa carries

with them all the karmaic effects of past life.

They explain the

continuity of a constituted being and
its karmaic effects as a ceaseless flux like fire
passing over
in a field. In the day to life of an individual, this
dry grass day
ceaseless
change is
perceptible. An individual never remains identically

the same from day to day i.e. from moment to moment. In this

unending flux death and rebirth are mere sequences. The flux ceases
only when the individual realises the Truth and arrests the flow of
karmaic effects or mental dispositions (samskara).

38 (i) VijnSnatnayaz* consciousness as an active agent.

(ii) Manomaya~vt\\\ as instrumental,
(iii) Pranamaya** vital breath or physical organism as energy.
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 137

The Mahayanists do not admit the existence of the phenomenal

world of beings and objects, which according to the
Yogacara school,
the mental creation of a
being out of desires conserved in a latent
is

form from time immemorial (anadikalavHsana}. It is a conceptual

world (prapanca) of its own a world which has no more existence

than objects seen in a dream 89 . Hence the Yogacarins do not speculate
about namariipa or their momentariness. The Madhyamikas go a
step further and do not even admit that the phenomenal world is an
extension of mind. They simply state that the origin, continuity and
decay of the phenomenal world has no more existence than delusion,
dream or city of Gandharvas 40 or the two Moons seen by jaundiced
,

eyes.
The Buddhists regard that the Vedantic conception of Jivatman
stands in the way of the removal of the notion of I-ness (ahankara)
which is the only means for
attaining liberation.
The Reality or the Highest Truth : The conception of Brahman
or the Absolute varies in the different Sankara
slightly Upanisads.
has tried to reconcile them to
propound his own Advayavada or
Monism. On the basis of statements mainly of the Chandogya
Upanisad, says he that Brahman is ever existent and is identical

with the universe. It is both infinitely large and infinitesmally

small. It is one, real, eternal, non-dual and attributeless. In
41
the Brhadaranyaka-upanisad (11.3. i.) there are references to the two

aspects
of Brahman, as Parabrahma and Aparabrahma. The former
represents the Brahman which is
pure, subtle, immortal, undefined,
attributeless {nirapadhf)^ transcendent, beyond description with the
limited vocabularies of the world. The latter represents Brahman as

39 Lankavatara, p. 274 :

cf.
Gaudafada, 31

40 Madhyamakakarika, VII, 34 '.

*?RT

18
1^8 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

superimposed by Nescience (Ajnana) when it

appears as gross, limited,
mortal, determinate, and possessed of certain attributes (sofadhi).
These two aspects
are expressed in the words "tat tvam asi" (Thou
42
art that) and compared to a snake and its coils, the snake being the
Real self and the coil the individuated self. A simpler simile is

unlimited space limited within a jar, the former being Parabrahma and

the latter Aparabrahma. In the Brhadaranyaka, Chandogya and

TaittiriyaUfanisads, Brahman is described as the supreme bliss

(faramananda) and pure intelligence (vijnana). In the Mandukya-

karika Brahman is said to be indeterminate, inexpressible, eternally

refulgent and trans-empirical,

while in the Brahmastitra (III. 2,22)
it is stated that Brahman can only be referred to by negations of known
concepts (neti netf).
The conceptions about Brahman in the various

texts may be summed up thus:

(i)
Brahman is non-dual, inexpressible, trans-empirical and can be

spoken of by negative concepts only; (ii)

Brahman is immanent in

the universe, and (iii)

Brahman exists, it is
pure intelligence and

supreme bliss (sat-cit-ananda) and (iv) Brahman may become limited,

gross and
endowed with attributes from the conventional but not
from the highest standpoint.
The Monistic philosophy of Vcdanta finds a better
exposition in
the Buddhist, specially Mahayanic texts, in which the Truth is

repeatedly
referred to as non-dual and non-divisible (advayam advaidhi-

karam). In the Pali texts Nirvana is described by negatives only as

not born, not diseased, not dying, not happiness, not unhappiness and
so forth. It is
popular phraseology we come across its posi-
only in
tive account as tranquil, i. e., undisturbed by origin and decay (santam) t

happy (sukham) and deathless (amrtafadam}. The Mahayanists are

emphatic in their statements that the Reality is attributeless (stinyata),

oneness and sameness (tathata), the end of phenomenal existences
(bhtitakott),
the sum-total of all existences (dharmadhattt). It is ever

existent, unoriginated and undecaying, and as such it is unchangeable

and infinite and can in no circumstances become limited. Thus, it is

apparent that the Buddhists were more accurate than the Vedantists
in their exposition of the Monistic philosophy.

42 Chandogya, VI. 8. 7,
 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought 139

The first fundamental difference between Vedanta and Buddhism

regarding the highest Truth is the former's attempt to offer a

positive description of the Reality as existent (sat), pure conscious-

ness (
cit )
and supreme bliss
(ananda). Excepting the attribute

'sat' and that also used very discreetly, the other attributes

are not acceptable to the Buddhists, who contend that any

positive description of the transcendental implies its
opposites viz.,

non-existence, non-consciousness and non-bliss and that any charac-

terization of the
Reality is false representation
(prapanca). The only
approach to the highest Reality, they state, is
possible by negation
alone. The Madhyamikas confine themselves therefore to the descrip-
tion of nirvana in pure negative terms thus: Nirvana is that which
is neither to be eschewed nor to be obtained; which is neither eternal
43
nor subject to extinction; which is
beyond origin and decay. But

they do not say that Nirvana or Buddha or Tathagata is non-existent.

They agree with the Vedantists in holding that the Absolute is

not non-existent. They hold that those who attempt to characterize the

inexpressible undecaying one get bewildered by characterization and

do not visualise the Tathagata. 4-
The second fundamental difference between Vedanta and Buddhism
lies in the Vedantic conception of the Absolute becoming limited

temporarily although superficially. The Buddhists are unrelenting in

their arguments that the Real must remain the Real for ever and suffer
no change even superficially and temporarily because it can no longer
be called Absolute. They have used the terms unreal or conventional
(samvrti) and real or absolute
(paramartha) but they regard the former
as non-existent as objects seen in a dream. They hold that there is
no via media between the two, hence, they do not accept the concep-

43 Madhyamakakarika, XXV. 3 :

ii

cf. Gaudapada. 32 ;

T ^
1

^rfWU 31jt

44 Madhyamakak2rika> XXII. 15:

 140 Place of Buddhism in Indian Thought

tion of
Aparabrahma. Even the temporary and superficial association
of two with opposite characteristics, viz., purity and impurity, unlimi-
tedness and limitedness, they state, as the co-existence
illogical as
is

of blackness and whiteness, of hotness and coldness.

It is that the Vedantic
noteworthy conception of the identity of
45
Brahman with the universe -
is
fully endorsed by the Madhyamikas
who state not the slightest difference between Nirvana
that there is

and the phenomenal world (Samsara)**\

The Yogacarins hold view midway between the Madhyamikas
a

and the Vedantists in that they qualify the Absolute as not

only
existent
(sat) but also as pure mind or consciousness
(vijnanamatra).
They have also introduced the conception of
Tathagatagarbha which
bears comparison with the Vedantic the
conception of Jtvatman. In
Lankavatara (p. 77) it is stated that the Teacher of the
spoke
Tathagatagarbha, which pure refulgent
is and by inherent nature,
dwells in every encased
living being, in
sense-organs and other constitu-
ents forming a like an invaluable
being. It is
jewel wrapped
in a cloth. ever existent,
tranquil and
dirty It is
unchanging,
eternal. In the text, care however has been taken to out
point
that their of is not identical with
conception Tathagatagarbha
the heretical doctrine of the soul-theorists, as do not admit
they
the existence of the
Highest Soul (Paramatman).

N. DUTT

45 Chandogya, III. 14. i :

^
46 Madhyamakakarika, XXV, 19.

it
 Duhkha-Satya
The first Noble Truth of Buddhism, Dukkham ariyasaccam, is
generally translated by almost all scholars as "The Noble Truth of

Suffering", and it is
interpreted to mean that life according to

Buddhism is and pain. This translation and

nothing but suffering
because
interpretation are highly unsatisfactory and misleading.
It is

of this narrow translation and that many people are

interpretation

misguided to regard Buddhism as

pessimistic.
First of all, Buddhism
is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. It takes a realistic view of life

and of the world. It looks at things objectively. It does not falsely

lull
you to live in a fool's
paradise, nor does it
frighten and agonize

you with all kinds of ideas of imaginary fears and sins. It tells
you
exactly and objectively (yathabhiitam) what you are and what the
world and shows you the right way
is, to perfect freedom, peace,

tranquility and happiness.

It is true that the Pali word dukkha or Sanskrit duhkba in ordinary
usage means "suffering", "pain" or "misery** opposed to the
as

word sukha meaning "happiness", "comfort" or "ease". But the

term dukkha as the first Noble Truth has a
philosophical meaning and
connotes an enormously wider sense. It is admitted that the term
dukkha in the first Noble Truth contains the ordinary meaning of

"suffering" or "pain", but in addition to that it includes also deeper

ideas such as
"imperfection", "impermanence", "emptiness", "un-

substantiality", "conflict". It is difficult therefore to find one word

to embrace the whole conception of the term dukkha as the first Noble

Truth, and so it is better to leave it untranslated than to give an

incomplete and wrong idea by conveniently rendering it as

"suffering"
or "pain".
Buddhism does not deny happiness in life. On the contrary
it

admits different forms of happiness, both material and spiritual,

for

the dukkha.
laymen as well as for monks. But all that is included in
Even the very pure states of dhyana attianed by the practice of higher
meditation, which are free even from a shadow of suffering or pain in
the accepted sense of those words and which may be described as

unmixed happiness, and also the state of dhyana which is free from
 Duhkha-Satya

sensations both pleasant (sukha) and unpleasant (dukkha) and which is

and awareness even these extremely high, pure
only pure equanimity
spiritual states
are included in the dukkha. Not because they are
or pain, but because too are sankhara, conditioned,
suffering they
subject to change,impermanent and unsubstantial.
The conception of the dukkha as the first Noble Truth may be
viewed from three aspects: (i) dukkha as ordinary suffering (dukkba-

dukkha), (2) dukkha as change (viparinarna-dukkba)

and (3) dukkha
1
as conditioned state (sankhara-dukkha).

All kinds of suffering in life like birth, old age, sickness, death,
union with unpleasant conditions, separation from beloved ones and

agreeable conditions, not getting what one desires, grief,

lamentation,

distress all such forms of and mental suffering, which are

physical
and pain, are included in the dukkha
universally accepted as suffering
as
ordinary suffering (dukkba~dnkkha).
A happyfeeling, a happy
condition in our life is not permanent,
not everlasting. changes sooner or later.
It When it
changes it
pro-

duces an unhappy feeling, an unhappy condition. This vicissitude is

included in the dukkha as change (viparinatna-dttkkha).

and viparina-
These two forms of dukkha, namely dukkha-dtikkha
ma~dukkha, may be included in the first Noble Truth according to

the conventional (samvrti) sense.

But the third form of dukkha, i.e. dukkha as a conditioned state

is dukkha in the ultimate sense (paramartha),

and
(sankhara-dukkha),
calls for a little
analytical explanation
of what we consider as "being",
as "individual" or as "1". to Buddhist philosophy
what
According
we call a 'individual" or "I'' is a combination of
"being", only
which be divided into
everchanging physical and mental energies may
five The Buddha says:
"In short, these
aggregates (pancakkhandha).
five
aggregates of attachment are dukkha" (sankbittena pancupadanak-
khandha dukkha). Here it should be clearly understood that the

dukkha and the five aggregates are not two different things ;
the five

aggregates themseleves
are the dukkha. We
will understand this point

better when we get an idea about the five aggregates.

i. Visuddhimagga (PTS), p. 499; Abhidharma-samuccaya, pp. 36. 38 (ed.

Pradhan, Satitiniketan, 1950).
 Duhkha'Satya

Now what are these five

aggregates which constitute the so-called

being?
The first is the aggregate of matter (rupakkhandha). In this term
"the aggregate of matter" are included the four great elements

(cattari mahabhtitanf), namely, the elements of solidity, fluidity,

energy and motion, and their derivatives (upadaya-rupa). In the

1

"derivatives of four great elements' are included our five material

sense organs, i.e. the faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue and body and
their objects in the external world, i.e. visible form,
corresponding
sound, odour, taste and tangible things and also some ideas or thoughts
which are objects of mind. Thus the whole sphere of matter, both
internal and external, is included in the aggregate of matter.
The second is the aggregate of sensations (vedanakkhandha). In
this
group are included all our sensations, pleasant
or
unpleasant or
neither pleasant nor unpleasant, experienced through the contact of

our sense organs with the external world. That is to say, the sensa-

tions experienced through the contact of the eye with visible forms,
ear with sounds, nose with odour, tongue with taste, body with
tangible objects and mind (which is the sixth faculty in Buddhist

philosophy) with mind-objects or

thoughts or ideas. All our physi-
cal and mental sensations are included in this group.
The third is the aggregate of perceptions (sannakkhandha). Like
the sensations, perceptions also are
produced through the contact of

our sen:e faculties with the external world.

The fourth is the aggregate of mental formations (sankharakkhan-

dha). In this
group are included all volitional mental activities, both

good and bad, which produce karmic effects, such as attention (man-
asikara), will
(chanda), determination (adhimokkha), confidence

(saddha), concentration (samadhi), intelligence or wisdom (pafina),

energy (viriya),
desire (r%ga\ repugnance or hate (patigha), conceit

(mana), idea of self

(sakkaya-dittht) etc. There are 52 such mental
activities which constitute the aggregate of mental formations.
The fifth is the aggregate of consciousness (uinnanakkhandha).

Consciousness is a reaction or a
response which has one of the six

sense faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind) as its basis

and an external phenomenon as its object. E.g. the visual conscious-

ness has the eye as its basis and a visible form as its object. So is the

consciousness connected with other faculties.

 1
44 Dubkha-Satya

Very briefly these are the five aggregates. What we call

"being"
or "individual" or <4
I" is
only a name or a label given to the combi-
nation of these five are all
groups. impermanent. They are
They
in a state of flux of momentary arising and disappearing. One thing
disappears conditioning the appearance of the next in a series of cause
and effect. There is no substantiality in them.
nothing There is

behind them that can be called a permanent, unchanging self (atman),

individuality or any thing that can be called "I", apart from these
five aggregates. Everyone will agree that neither matter, nor sensa-

tion, nor preception, nor any one of those mental activities, nor cons-

ciousness can really be called "I". But when these five physical and
mental aggregates, which are interdependent,
working together are

in combination machine we get the idea of

as a physio-psychological

"I", But this is only an imaginary idea which is nothing but one of
those 52 mental formations of the fourth aggregate, which we have

just mentioned. These five aggregates together, which we popularly

call a
being, are the dukkba itself (sankhara-dukkha). There is no
other "being" or "I" standing behind these five aggregates who ex-

periences the
dukkba. There is no unmoving mover behind the
movement. It is
only movement. In other words, there is no thinker
behind the thought. Thought itself is the thinker. If you remove
the thought there is no thinker. Here one cannot fail to notice how
this Buddhist view is
diametrically opposed to the conception of

Cartesian cogito.
This is the Noble Truth of Dukkha. This does not at all make
the life of a Buddhist melancholy or sorrowful, as some people wrong-

ly imagined. On the contrary, a true Buddhist is the happiest in the

world. He has no fears or anxieties. He is

always calm and serene,

and cannot be upset or dismayed by changes or calamities, because

he sees and takes things as they are. The Buddha was never melan-
choly or gloomy. He was described by his contemporaries as "ever-

smiling" (mihita-pubbahgama). In Buddhist paintings and sculptures

the Buddha always represented with a face happy, contented and
is

serene. Never a trace of suffering or agony is to be seen. There

are two ancient Budhhist texts called the Thera-gatha and the Then-

gatha which are happy and joyful utterances by the Buddha's

full of

disciples, both male and female, who found peace and happi-
ness in his teaching. The king of Kosala once told the Buddha that
 Duhkha-Satya 145

tfnfikc
many a disciple of other religious
systems who looked haggard,
coarse, pale, emaciated and unprepossessing, the disciples
of the Buddha
were ''joyful and elated (hatthapahattba), jubilant and exultant
(ttdaggudagga), enjoying the religious life (abhiratarUpa), with
senses pleased (pmitindriya), free from anxiety (appossttkka), serene

(pannaloma), peaceful (paradavutta) and living with a gazelle's mind

(migabhUtena cetas.a)" i.e. light hearted. The king added that he
believed that this healthy disposition was due to the fact that "these
venerable ones had certainly realized the great and full significance
2
of the Blessed one's teaching." Buddhism is quite opposed to melan-
cholic, sorrowful and gloomy attitude of mind which is considered
a hindrance to the realization of Truth. On the other hand, it is

interesting to remember that joy (plti) is one of the seven essential

qualities to be cultivated for the realization of Nibbana (Bojjbanga).

W. RAHULA

1. II i2i
Majjhima-nikaya (PTS>. p.
19
 Nirodha-Satya
In the Abhidharma all are, classified under
objects (dhartna)
two heads, saihskrta (constituted) and asathikrta (unconstituted).

Objects as are caused or constituted are called 'samskrta' and those

which are not caused or constituted, that is to

say, which are eternal,

are called 'asamskrta'. Asathskrta objects are of three types,

'akasa'; 'pratisamkhya-nirodha' and In the
'apratisamkhya-nirodha'.
present paper we confine ourselves to the study of 'nirodha'. In this

connection it should be borne in mind that according to the Sautrantika

view, asamskrta objects are denied physical and intellectual

existence. The Sautrantika thinks that as all objects are fluxional in

character, their physical or intellectual existence is a contradiction in

term. It is for this reason that the Sautrantika has not recognised
'nirodha' as physically or intellectually existing (dravyasat) though its

existence (as prajnaptisat) is

acknowledged in the Sastras. The
Vatsiputrlyas state that 'nirvana* alone is asamskrta, and therefore

they do not also admit its

dravyasatta. The Yogacara school does not

recognise the dravyasatta of 'nirodha' apart from consciousness.

The
Madhyamikas also cannot posit 'nirodha' as physically existing.
It

seems therefore that it is

only in the opinion of the Vaibhasika that
'nirodha' possesses dravyasatta, and it will be our endeavour in this
1
article to discuss 'nirodha' as described
by the Vaibhasika.
Nirodha ^is classified under three heads, viz., 'Pratisamkhya-
nirodha', 'Apratisamkhyi-nirodha' and 'Anityata-nirodha'. It is

worthy of notice
original
that in the Abhidharmakosa we come
across two types of nirodha,
Pratisamkhyanirodha and Apracisamkhya-
nirodha. But the Anityatanirodha also has been specifically
mentioned in the
Sphutartha.
It is to be seen that the two terms, 'nirodha' and 'airodha-satya'
have not been used as synonyms. Because the term 'nirodha' has
been used to refer to three types of 'nirodha', while the term 'nirodha-

i The present article has been written on the basis of the Abhidharmakosa
of Vasubandhu and its
Commentary, Sphutartha of Yafomitra. For a more

comprehensive account of 'Nirodha-Satya* the reader may, consult the book

entitled *yaibhasika Darsana* (in Bengali) written
by the writer.
 Nirodha-Satya 147

satya* denotes only pratisamkhyanirodha and apratisarhkhyanirodha.

It is for this reason that when the Abhidharmakosa describes 'nirodha-

satya* as one of the four 'Arya-satyas', it means pratisarhkhya-

nirodha and apratisarhkhyanirodha only and does not take notice

of
anityata-nirodha.
The term 'nirodha' is
generally used to denote negation.
The
expression 'nirodha of a jar* means the negation or the destruction
of a jar.
Similarly the sentence 'the current of the stream has been
niruddha (stopped)' conveys that the stream which had been flowing
on from before has ceased, that is to say, the current is no more
and has been destroyed. But in the present article, where we
propose to review the nirodha-satya from the Vaibhasika point of view,
it cannot be maintained that the term conveys the sense of negation,
inasmuch as
according to the Vaibhasika, negation is a
figment of
imagination like the rabbit's horn. Nirodha has been described
in Buddha-vacana as an Arya-satya. Further the Vaibhasika includes

pratisamkhyanirodha and apratisamkhyanirodha in the list of

asariiskrta objects. And, as such they arc recognised as eternal

entities. Hence,
pratisaihkhyanirodha and apratisarhkhyanirodha
are not, in the opinion of the Vaibhasika, of the nature of
negation.
Let us now analyse the derivative meaning of the term 'nirodha'.
The suffix to
imply 'bhava' has not been attached, but it
conveys the
meaning of the agent (kartr). As such the derivative meaning of the
word *nirodha' is, that which retards or shuts out* It is for this reason
Yasomitra has described 'vi-samyoga' or pratisarhkhyanirodha as 'a

closed door, which shuts out the different klesas*. So the Vaibhasika
conceives of the pratisamkhyanirodha and apratisamkhyanirodha
as different kinds of 'invincible walls* which are eternal entities. The
person striving for Nirvana does not
pratisathkhyanirodha create

and apratisamkhyanirodha, but he collects those ever-existing entities

for his own
purpose i.e., for the attainment of Nirvana.

Pratisamkhyanirodha
The Vaibhasika mentioned only two varieties of nirodha-
texts have

satya, viz., pratisamkhyanirodha and apratisarhkhya-nirodha. The term

explained as nirodha, which an
individual
pratisarhkhyanirodha may be
secures by means of pratisarhkhya. It is with the help of the

i6th ksana of the the

Anantarya-marga' (the Nirvedhabhagiya)
 148 Nirodha~Satya

individual drives out the klesas, and with the help of the

Vimukti-marga' (the first fifteen ksanas of the Nirvedhabhagiya)

the door of the visarhyoga or pratisariikhyanirodha is shut against
these different klesas. It is therefore to be understood that the

'nirodha' which the individual attains through the pursuit

of

vimuktimarga is called pratisariikhyanirodha.

But it should be pointed out that the aforesaid meaning of

pratisariikhyanirodha cannot be endorsed in view of the fact that the

Vaibhasika texts have laid it down that certain apratisamkhyanirodhas
too may be secured with the help of pratisariikhya or vimuktimarga.

It is therefore quite in the fitness of things that Vasubandhu has

sought to describe or define it in a different

way. In his opinion

pratisariikhyanirodha is an object which retards contact. The prefix

vi' in the term visarfiyoga suggests 'opposition', and as such the term

(visariiyoga)
means 'that which opposes or retards contact'.

It should be mentioned here that though pratisariikhyanirodha

1
means 'what retards contact , still it does not set forth the full connota-

tion of the term. From a critical study of Yasomitra's

Sphutartha it

appears that pratisamkhyanirodha means those objects which invariably

oppose the attainment of contact with 'sasrava' objects. The individual
who is fortunate enough to realise pratisariikhyanirodha will no more
come in contact with sasrava objects. As the nirodha is obtained

through pratisarhkhya it is called pratisariikhyanirodha. The 'asravas',

such as klesas and others cannot reside in the asarhskrta objects as
ether and the like, and as such asathskrta objects are not sasravas.
Even some sariiskrta objects, such as marga-satya and others cannot be
the locus of the asravas. So margasatya and such others are not
sasrava. It is to be seen that the nirodha of those sariiskrta objects,

whether sasrava or anasrava, which may have been born but never
come to life
(anutpatti-dharma), is not called pratisariikhyanirodha in
the Abhidharma text. So the object that invariably retards the

attainment of contact with the sasrava objects that are past, born and
are in the
embryo form, is called the pratisariikhyanirodha.
It is to noticed that 'sariiyoga* and
be carefully are not
'prapti'

synonymous, according to the Vaibhasika text. Both 'sattvakhya' and

'asattvakhya* may have saihyoga, but according to the
objects
Vaibhasikas, prapti has been admitted in the case of sattvakhya objects

only. Those that relate to objects endowed with life, are called
 Nirodht-Satya 149

The Vaibhasika admits in the case of pratisariikhya-

sattvakhya. 'prapti'

nirodha, though the latter is not a sattvakhya object.

To be precise,
what waxes with the waxing of the body and wanes with the
But pratisarhkhyanirodha is
waning of the body is called sattvakhya.
an eternal entity and cannot be looked upon as a sattvakhya object,
still its has been admitted by the Vaibhasikas.
prapti

It has been stated above that pratisarfikhyanirodha

is an object

which invariably retards the attainment of contact with sasrava objects.

Now, a question may be raised here, if it were said that pratisamkhya-

nirodha is the object invariably retarding the contact with sasrava

objects, and not the attainment of contact with them as stated in the
of the pratisamkhyanirodha could have been
description, the description
and precise. In answer to this, it may be pointed out
quite accurate
pratisamkhyanirodha cannot
that the retard the contact with the

sasrava objects in general, but it can only oppose the attainment of

contact with the sasrava objects. The raison d'etre is this that when
the individual with help of the 'anantarya-marga* drives out the
the

klesas, and the pratisamkhyanirodha shuts the door against them, the
contact of klesas with the individual ceases; but that does not mean
that the klesas cannot have any contact whatsoever with any other
things outside the individual. It conies to this therefore, that if

pratisarhkhyanirodha was described only as the object retarding the

contact with sasrava objects, and not as the object retarding the
attainment of contact with the sasrava objects, the description would
not have been correct and adequate.

Pratisamkhyanirodha has no 'sabhagahetu', because 'sabhagahetu'

for the samskrta objects.
is
possible only According to the Vaibhasikas,
the pratisamkhyanirodha has been included in the list of asarhskrta
objects. So it is an eternal entity. Pratisathkhyanirodha can neither be
described as past nor as 'anutpattidharma', but it lives in the present.
It is for this reason that the pratisarhkhyanirodha cannot be retarded

by anything else. It should be stated here that pratisamkhyanirodha

does not also become the sabhagahctu of any other object. Aprati-
sarfakhyanirodha and anityatanirodha are called nirodhas, but there
is no similarity between them and the pratisarhkhyanirodha. So
pratisarhkhyanirodha is dccribed as 'a-sabhaga', i.e., having no

similarity
with others, and it is an eternal entity. Pratisamkhya-
1
50 Nirodba-Satya

nirodha is not negation and as such it has no negatum (pratiyogt

object).

Vasubandhu opines that pratisarhkhyanirodhas are innumerable;

and, those are not uniform either. As otherwise, on the attainment
of pratisamkhyanirodha as a result of the knowledge of one of the

Aryasatyas, such as, 'dharma-jnana with duhkha as its content', the

other kinds of Aryasatyas, such as, 'dharma-jnana relating
pursuit of
to samudaya' etc., would become useless. And, in view of the fact
that obstructs the way, the Anantaryamarga
pratisamkhyanirodha
can no longer drive out the klesas. But if we admit the plurality
of such anomalies would be obviated. For, the
pratisamkhyanirodha
particular pratisamkhyanirodha,
which is obtained by 'dharmajnana

relating to dtihkha',
does not obstruct the way through which klesas

are driven by 'dharmajnana-ksanti' relating to

samudaya-satya and
so on.

'Apratisamkhya-nirodha
Prima facie apratisamkhyanirodha is that which is 'not prati-

samkhyanirodha'.
But this
interpretation is not accurate, as

anityataniroclha
is also 'not pratisarhkhyanirodha*. Vasubandhu
defines apratisamkhyanirodha as that form of nirodha which perma-
obstructs the creation of objects (vastu), thereby distin-
nently

guishing
it from anityatanirodha. The latter does not obstruct

the creation of objects, but it obstructs the existence of the created

objects (utpanna-vastu). It is for this reason the Buddhist philosophers

believe in the transitoriness or fluxional character of all created objects.

Apratisamkhyanirodha cannot also be explained as the nirodha

9

which is 'not attainable by means of pratisamkhya or vimukti-marga ,

as in that case also it becomes applicable to anityatanirodha. More-
over such an explanation often proves
to be inadequate. As for

to the Vaibhasikas, a
example, according 'srotapanna* person, (one
who is in the stream leading to Nirvana) has no more to suffer from
(i. e.,
he is not to be reborn in the preta or tiryak-yoni).
'apaya-gati*
The apratisamkhyanirodha form of barrier
against his future

has thus been obtained by means of pratisarhkhya* This

'apayagati'
nirodha cannot be pratisamkhyanirodha as it obstructs apaya-gati,
which is
anutpattidharma, whereas the function of pratisamkhyanirodha
 1 i
Nirodhd-SatyA 5

is to retard the sasrava objects, past, bom or yet to be born

(utpattidharma).
It has also been that
apratisarhkhyanirodha is obtain-
suggested
able by a form of
'pratyayavaikalya' (absence of the totality of creative
elements), which is
'a-pratisamkhya' (not pratisamkhya). In this

definition
pratyayavaikalya has been equated with apratisamkhya,
and thus it indicates the process of attainment of
apratisarhkhyanirodha.
But, according to the Vaibhasikas, absence or abhava being illusory

(alika), absence of the totality of creative elements (pratyayavaikalya)

can hardly be accepted as the means of attainment of
apratisarhkbya-
nirodha.
Vasubandhu's definition of apratisatiikhyanirodha (nirodha which

permanently obstructs the origin of dharma or objects) helps us to

distinguish it from anityatanirodha and also from pratisamkhyanirodha.
The former obstructs the existence of constituted objects and not
their origin, while the latter prevents the attainment of contact with
sasrava objects and not their existence or origin.

According to the Vaibhasika a person who is 'sattvavasastha' is

described as 'Asaihjnikasattva*. An asamjiiikasattva person during his

'sattvavasa' naturally acquires certain condition or state of spiritual

upliftmcnt when he is not baffled by future sasrava objects. During

this state of asaihjnikata, therefore, the very creation of sasrava objects
is obstructed for a
specific period. This makes it almost similar to

apratisaihkhyanirodha,
and may be mistaken for the latter. On
analysis, however, it will be found that there is a subtle difference

between the two. Apratisamkhyanirodha permanently obstructs the

creation or origin of all objects, whereas the asariijnikatva prevents the

origin of sasrava objects only during

the state of asamjfiikata, while out

of the state of asaihjnikata a person may once again be baffled by the

sasrava objects.

The Vaibhasikas mention another form of nirodha, viz., Asaiiijni-

kanirodha-samapatti or Nirodha-samapatti. This may be acquired by

a
person, susceptible to
all desires, by means of meditation. On its

attainment sasrava objects do not originate in a person, expert in

meditation, during the period of his meditation. So during the state

of Nirodha-samapatti also the origin of sasrava objects is obstructed

temporarily for him. But the expression, 'permanent obstruction' of

the origin of objects in respect of apratisamkhyanirodha, will enable

 152 Nirodha-Satyd

us to distinguish it from the above-mentioned nirodha-samapdttt,

which effects a
temporary obstruction only.
Apratisarhkhyanirodha effectively
and permanently retards the

origin of Anasrava objects as well. A 'srotapanna' person,

free from
the two klesas born of low sight and low
thoughts, becomes 'Anagatm'
(i.e.,
one who will be born once more only to attain Nirvana). Such

persons are generally averse to the acquisition of more and more higher
states of existence, and those anagamis who attain nirvana during
their 'antarabhava* (the period intervening between the death in one

existence and rebirth in another) do not require these higher planes. By

means of their
knowledge or
pratisamkhya they obtain a form of

apratisathkhyanirodha which obstructs the origin of future anasrava

higher planes for them. Though it is attained by means of prati-

samkhya still it retards the origin of anasrava constituted objects.

In summing up it
may be observed, therefore, that the existence

of all constituted objects, sasrava and anasrava, is obstructed by anitya-

tanirodha; the attainment of contact with sasrava objects, past, born

or yet to be born obstructed by pratisarhkhyanirodha; and, the very
is

creation or origin of anutpattidharma objects, sasrava or anisrava, is

permanently obstructed by apratisamkhyanirodha. The first strikes

at the existence, the second at the attainment, and, the third at

the very origin.

The constituted objects are related to anityatanirodha by their
own creative elements, as they arc created in collaboration with that
nirodha. The pratisathkhyanirodha is attainable only by pratisathkhya
orvimuktimarga and by no other process. Apratisamkhyanirodha
may, however, be obtained by nature as well as by pratisamkhya.

Some even believe that it may be attained by pratyayavaikalya, which

is not accepted by the Vaibhasikas.

ANANTA KUMAR NYAYA-TARKATIRTHA

 Pratityasamutpada
Pratityasamutpada is one ot the modes of casual relation in

Buddhism the other being Patthananaya. It is 'a mode marked by

the simple condition of the happening of a phenomenon on the
1
occurrence of its sole invariable antecedent It states
phenomenon/
that things of the world are neither due to one cause (ekahetuka)
nor are they causeless (ahetuka). It
proves that things are due to
manifold causes (nanahetuka).

Buddhaghosa states that pratityasamutpada is one of the four

2
difficult subjects
(catvari duskarasthanani) to be expounded. It is

to be understood under four different aspects of profundity (catvari

gamblurasthanani), viz., meaning (artha), doctrine (dharma), teaching

(desana) and penetration (prativeda). It should further be known
according to the four different methods as to the meaning (catvara

arthanaya) and these are the method of unity (ekatvanaya), of

diversity (nanatvanaya), of non-occupation (abyaparanaya) and of the

nature of being such (evamdharmatanaya). This formula is charac-

terised as the order of becoming (dharmasthitata), happening of things

(dharmaniyamata), suchness (tathata), uncontrariness (avitathata) and
this-conditioned nature (idapratyayata).

(prati+\/i+y a ) means after reaching (prapya), or depend-

Pratitya

ing on (apeksya), and samutpada means origination. Combining the

two we get dependent origination. It establishes that things have

a
only dependent origination.
We are told that the Buddha, while sitting under the Bodhi tree,

determined to
acquire enlightenment, realised at the third watch of
the night the root cause of all
sufferings and sorrows, which is

comprised in the second noble truth (samudayasatya), the concatenation

of causes and effects, viz,, pratityasamutpada (dependent origination)
with its 12 nidanas or links. They are: (i) avidya (ignorance),

(3) samskara (impression), (3) vijnana (conciousness), (4) namarupa

i
Tabbhavabhavibhavakaratnattopalakkhito paticcasamuppadanayo.
2, The other three are noble truths (satya), being (sattva) and pratisandhi

(rebirth).

20
 1
54 Pratityasamvtpada

(mind and matter), (5) sadayatana (six organs of sense), (6) sparsa

(contact), (7) vedana (feeling), (8)

trsna (desire), (9)
upadana (attach-
ment), (10) bhava (existence), (u) jati (birth) and (12) jaramarana
(old age and death). This is the wheel of life revolving day after day
from birth to death and death to birth.
Here
given a brief exposition of the terms constituting the
is for-

mula. Avidya (ignorance) is the non-comprehension of the four Noble

Truths the the future (aparanta), both
(aryasatya), past (purvanta),
the
past and the future (purvantaparanta) and pratityasamutpada (depen-
dent origination). 8 It is identified with delusion (moha). Samskara

(impression) denotes actions which are (i) meritorious (punyabhi-

samskara), (ii)
sinful (apunyabhisamskara) and (iii)
static (anenjabhi*

samskara). Punyabhisamskara appertains to eight kamavacarakusala

and five
rupavacarakusalacetanas (volitions), apunyabhisamskara to
twelve akusalacetanas and anenjabhisamskara to four
(volitions)

arupakusalacetanas (volitions) ony. They are thus wholesome and

unwholesome worldly volitions (cetanas). These three together with

the three kinds of deeds body (kayika), speech

belonging to the

(vacasika) and mind (manasika) are the six samskaras (impressions)

which are conditioned by ignorance (avidya). Vijnana (consciousness)

means here pratisandhivijnana (rebirth consciousness) and pravrttivijnana
continuous flow of mental states). Pratisandhivijnana is of nineteen
(a
kinds while pravrttivijnana is of thirty-two laukika vipakas (resultants).

and pravrttinatna,
Namarupa (mind and matter) denote pratisandhinama
and pratisandhirupa and pravrttirupa. Pratisandhinama means thirty-five

cetanas associated with ninteen pratisandhis while pravrtti-

(volitions)
natna denotes thirty-five cetanas (volitions) associated with thirty-two
kinds of
laukika cittas. By pratisandhirupa is meant the nineteen
of deeds), and by
pratisandhi
and (form arising out
karmajarupa
is taken the pravrtticittajarupa (form arising out of mind
pravrttirupa
in this life). Sadayatana denotes caksayatana (eye-base), srotrayatana

(ear-base), ghranayatana (nose-base), jihvayatana (tongue-base), kaya-

yatana (body-base) and manayatana (mind-base). Caksayatana is
of eye) and so on while manayatana is
caksuprasada (sensitivity
is of six
thirty-two laukika vipakas (resultants). Sparsa (contact)

while in the
3 This is the meaning in the Abhidhammapitaka Suttapitaka
it means non-comprehension of the four Noble Truths.
 Pratttyasamutfada 155
kinds
corresponding to the six kinds of ayatanas (bases). Caksusparsa
(eye-contact) is contact associated with
eye-consciousness (caksu-
vijnana), srotrasparsa (ear-contact) is contact associated with ear-cons-
ciousness and so forth, but manosparsa (mind-contact)
(srotravijnana),
is but contact associated with
twenty-two laukika vipakas (resultants).
Vedana (feeling) is also of six kinds
corresponding to six sense-organs.
Caksuvedana (feeling born of eye) is associated with
feeling eye-
consciousness and so on while manovedana is but
( caksuvijnana)
feeling associated with thirty-two laukika vipakas (resultants). Trsna
is of six kinds, viz.,
(craving) rupatrsna (craving for form), sabdatrsna
(craving for for rasatrsna
sound), gandhatrsna (craving smell),
(craving fot taste), sprstavyatrsnS (craving for
touch) and dharmatrsna
(craving for objects). Rupatrsna is
craving the for visible objects.
Similarly sabdatrsna is
craving for the sounds and so forth.

Upadana (attachment) is of four kinds: kama, drsti, silavrata and

atmavada. Kamupadana is mental concomitants rooted in
greed
the no
(lobha cetasika). Drstupadana is
wrong view that there is

resultant of the is the belief that ceremonial

gift. Sllavratupadana
observances lead to
purification. Atmavadupadana is the belief in
the existence of one's Bhava (existence) is of two
individuality.
kinds: karmabhava and Karmabhava is
utpattibhava. twenty-nine
kusala and akusala cetanas and unwholesome
(wholesome volitions)
and twenty ways of good conduct and of evil conduct associated
with these cetanas (volitions). It the active side of life.
represents
is the resultant of
Utpattibhava thirty-two laukika vipakas and thirty-
five cetasikas and the material phenomena produced karma.
by
Jati (birth) is the appearance of the five skandhas of a
(aggregates)
being who is reborn. Jara (decay) is the decay of those skandhas.
Marana (death) is the
passing away of those skandhas.

Pratltyasamutpada refers to three the

periods past, present
and the future. Avidya and samskara
(ignorance) (impression)
belong to the vijnana,
past, namarupa, sadayatana, sparsa, vedana,
trsna, upadalna and bhava to the present, jati and jaramarana
to the future. It has twelve factors as mentioned above.
(ahga)
It has also modes (akara). Thus in the there
twenty past
arc five causes and in the present there are five resultants.
there are causes the present and
Similarly five in five resultants
also in the future. There are four
groups (sanksepa) in this formula :
1
56 Pratttyasamutpada

one casual group in the past, one resultant group in the present)
one casual group in the present and one resultant group in the
future. It has three connections (sandhi) : one between samskara and
vijnana, one between vcdana and trsna and one between bhava and
jati. There are three rounds (vrtta) in it.
They are klesavrtta,

karmavrtta and vipakavrtta. It has further two roots avidya and

trsna. Lastly, it is
taught in four different ways :
(i)
from the

beginning to the end, (ii) from the middle to the end, (iii)
from the
end to the beginning and (iv)
from the middle to the beginning.

Pratltyasamutpada (dependent origination) is one of the most

fundamental doctrines of Buddhism, as Buddha himself has declared:
'He who realises pratltyasamutpada sees dharma (truth) and he who
sees dharma (truth) sees pratltyasamutpada'. It is a very important
philosophical doctrine in Mahayana philosophy. Nagarjuna, the
founder of the Madhyamika system, has established his whole

philosophy on pratltyasamutpada. According to this doctrine it is

the nature of all things (bhava) to depend on a number of causes and
conditions for their origination, and what are so produced cannot be said
to have independent origination and are without any reality and nothing
can, therefore, be declared of such unreal In the invocatory
things.
verses at the beginning of his Madhyamikakarika Nagarjuna has
described pratltyasamutpada by eight negatives. He says that there
is neither
origination nor cessation, neither permanence nor impcr-
manence, neither unity nor diversity, neither coming in nor going
out in the principle of pratltyasamutpada. Here the negatives describe
the unrelatedness of everything produced through this principle and

pratltyasamutpada is
rightly declared as the cessation of phenomena
(prapancopasama) and all quiescence (siva). Elsewhere (ch. 24) he has
further stated that looked at from the relative
standpoint (samvrtisatya)
pratltyasamutpada means origination of the world-order depending on
a concurrence of causes, but from the absolute
standpoint (paramartha-
satya), it means non-origination at all times and is
equated with
Nirvana. This is the basic principle of Nagarjuna's philosophy.

ANUKUL CHANDRA BANERJEE

 Buddhist Psychology
In Buddhism there is a very well-defined psychological study,

vying at times with many a modern concept. The complex and

intricate internal life of human beings has been sought to be analysed

and explained in the Pali Tipitaka. In Abhidhamma texts

it is stated that the human mind is based on certain notions,

preconceived as well as originating, so that no one state of mind

can
be a full explanation of any human type. There are, so to say,
different designations of human types on the psychological analysis
and the consequential metaphysical status of the human individual.

In the Puggalapannatti t a Pali canonical text under the Abhidhamma,

it has been clearly stated at the outset that there are six such designa-
1
tions on the psycho-metaphysical side of analysis . Now, apparently
these six types of individual not
designations of the may
all
knowing
be found to be of a strict scientific division inasmuch as there are

between the and the dhatu-

over-lappings, tf.g., ayatana-pannatti
pannatti\ yet there are good grounds in each for special kind of stress,
as on the objective side in the former and on *he mental side in the

latter.

In this
psycho-metaphysical analysis of the human individual, the

very first sine

qua non is the doctrine of 'the designation of groups'

(Khandha-paniiatti). In general Buddhist theory of

panca-skandha
or five-fold
aggregate consisting of the inner and the outer worlds in
all acts of cognition, this enunciation of the Kkandha-pannatti as the
of
first
'designation' assumes a significant role in Buddhist psychology
the Idealistic
type. The rtipa (material form), vedana (sensation),
2 2
sanna (perception) sankhara (confection), , and vinnana (consciousness)
have been put under this group, giving a broad classification of the

1 Cha pannattiyo :
khandha-pannatti, ayatana-pannatti, dhatn-pannatti,
sacca-pannatti, indriya-pannatti> fuggala-pannatti (loc. cit., Pt. I., P.T.S., ed.
R. Morris).
2 These two terms 'perception' and 'confection* as sanna
equivalents to
and sankhara have been use4 by B. C. Law in Designation of Human Types,
P.T.S. It should be noted that sanna here does not mean 'name' as
applied in
the general panca-skandha theory of outer designation, as opposed to the inner
process which is described in this context.
 158 Buddhist Psychology

different requisites
in an act of cognition. It is well known and
admitted almost as a universal rule that the mind is the seat of all

cognitional processes. In Buddhist theories of the mind and its

processes of knowing,
has been generally accepted, in both Hlnayana
it

and Mahayana schools with certain doctrinal modifications, that the

mind is the seat of consciousness. This basic recognition of the mind
in psycho-physical and consequential philosophico-metaphysical
the
doctrines of origin and control of mental states and systematisation of

knowledge in
realising the Ultimate Truth, has been the backbone of
Buddhist tradition. Starting from the material form which is out

and there, Buddhist writers have given a predominant role to our inner
world of the mental processes, culminating through various notions,

in the actual psychological re-actions. It is here that the Buddhist

theory not purely psychological, but psycho-physical and ultimately

is

psycho-ethical. It has been a vexed question whether psychology

should be studied from an ethical attitude, but it has been nonetheless

generally accepted that ethical studies have a great anticipation of

psychological analyses. Mrs. Rhys Davids in her Buddhist Psychology

(a translation of the Dhammasafngani under the Abhidhamma) has

discussed, in the learned Introduction, this question and this attitude

in the Buddhist tradition at great length. Psychology is, according

to the tradition which is the subject of our discussion, pre-eminently
suited to an
analysis of the human mind in the hope of its
exposure
to an ethical adjudgment.
If we examine, on a general study, the five-fold Khanda-paniiatti
enumerated and described above, we shall find that the sensory organs
have their respective fields and roles in the enumeration of different

kinds of 'sensation* (Vedana). It is, therefore, evident that this first

'designation' (Pannatti) mainly a description of the internal states

is

and conditions re-acting, under specific circumstances, on particular

external stimuli coming from the objective world. In this regard,
Buddhist writers have given us a scientific basis as the starting-point
in
psychology. The next Designations' as enumerated in the text,
Puggala-pannatti, are the gradual exposition of this fundamental

hypothesis. The numbers and groupings may appear to be not

strictly scientific to modern minds, but that there are different

groupings depending on, and elucidating, peculiar points of view in a

psychological situation, is
undeniably true. The ayatanapannatti is a
 Buddhist Psychology 159

twelve-fold group and the dhatu-pannatti an eighteen-fold group,

3
elucidating the second and the third 'designations' respectively.
These ayatana- and dhatu-pannatti aggregates are enumerated to
show that in the Buddhist theory, the psychological processes are sen-

sory, motor and even reflex, depending on the seats or organs and re-

actions. The ayatanas are these seats as well as the specific qualities
adhering to the external world that the former are capable to
grasp. It is
interesting here that even the manas or citta that is

the specific internal conscious state is also included here with

along
dhamma which quality it is
capable to grasp. This dhamma is the
three-fold
group without form (arupa khandhattayo) of vedana, sanna
and sankhara.* In the the same
dhatu-pannatti aggregate are listed
twelve-fold group plus six types of vinnana belonging to six
organs
including the mind (citta) t The dhatu-pannatti aggregate is, there-

fore, enumerated after the

ayatana-pannatti, for the fact that when
specific seats or organs are capable to grasp specific objects in their

specific qualities, then the actual grasping through a

deeper region,
so to
say, takes place. This is the dhatu-pannatti aggregate which is

not merely an aggregate of seats but also of actual re-acting agents.

Perhaps on that account has the vinnana (consciousness), that has been
specifically included in the first 'designation' of Khandba, been once
more added to this
aggregate to show that sensory processes depend
on consciousness for actual
psychological results to be achieved. It is,

however, an hypothesis worked out from the Idealistic position ot

Buddhism.
Let us turn a little from the main path to study, in brief, certain

other implications which are corollaries. The citta, which we have

translated as 'mind' in Western terminology for want of a better

is, in the Buddhist tradition, gener-

equivalent, though imperfectly
ally of four
types. These types of mind, as enumerated and explained,
are
judged not merely from the psychological point of view, but also,

3 raganca dosanca pahaya moham

sammappajano suvimnttacitto
anupadiySno idha v2 huram va
sa bhagava sZmannassa hoti (Dhammapada, 1/20).
In this verse there is the ethical approach to the analysis of the mind acting on
the objective world through upaddna.

4 manop ubbamgama dhammZ manosettba manomaya:Dhammapada{i^i^)

 x6o Buddhist Psychology

and more from the ethico-metaphysical point of view. These arc :

so,

the 'mind of desire'

(i) Kamavacara
it is
having good (kusala),
bad (akusala), indifferent (kriya) and ripe (vipaka) kinds, depending
on the nature of our mental propensities; (2) Rupavacara it is the
'mind of sublation' having good (kusala), indifferent (kriya) and

ripe (vipaka) kinds, possessed by

super-human beings residing in

higher regions; (3) Arupavacarait is the 'mind of trance,' also of

three kinds as Riipavacara, but possessed by still
higher Beings residing
in nirakara (formless) regions, yet having some karmic propensities to

manifest; Lokoitara it is the 'mind of

(4) realisation,' having as
its object the bliss of Nirvana, and having
two kinds depending on
the Path and the Result. It is the highest Perfection and the ultimate

Goal. Buddha-hood is included in this category, and in

nothing else.
It is, therefore, evident that all these classes are not purely
psychologi-
cal. Ethical, metaphysical and spiritual evaluations are implicated in

the four different kinds of citta as briefly enumerated and explained

above. But, however lower or higher the citta may be, it is admitted
in the Buddhist tradition that the three-fold formless
generally group
(arupa khandhattayo)
of vedana, safina and sankhara is the resultant of

such 'graded minds'. This three-fold group has its

origin in mind
which again is of lower or higher propensities.
Consciousness, again, in Buddhist tradition is
ever-changing. But
has two elements one Constant and the other
every consciousness
Variable. Now, this constant element is the Form of Consciousness
which is reached in an Order of Thought by mind in well-defined
Paths (Vitht). The subjective element can rise above the
changing
processes
in its state of 'stream of
being* which is free from process
of thought (Vithi~mutta), but the objective process-consciousness
(Vitht

-citta)
which is the Matter and the Variable element is ever the func-
tional aspect of the knowing individual. All these varieties of con-
sciousness, however, have three moments of genesis, existence and
destruction. The mind, therefore, has an infinite series of thought-
processes
in the construction of a
thought though the Form
system of
it reaches. The variability of consciousness is the mind's inner process
but the constancy ot consciousness is its
system of Form in the

synthetic judgments it forms. The subject, however, in its real nature

is 'a stream of being* where thought-processes are capable of

being
transcended, and the Vithi~mtttta subject may stay as the metaphysical
 Buddhist Psychology 161

5
It is
interesting to this of the Buddhist
entity. compare analysis
theories of mind and its
processes, the objective data and the thought-

construction on them with the Kantian epistemology and meta-

physics. In germinal forms the Abhidhamma tradition in Buddhism

seems to reflect the much later and much more developed Kantian

system. The metaphysical subject, again, tinged with the trans-

is

cendental hypothesis here, though not in the Kantian sense, with

the pronounced stress on the ideality of the conscious subject.

It remains for us to study the implications of indriya-pannatii or

'designation of sense-organs' in the psychological theory of Buddhism.

We have discussed above the nature of the ayatana- and the dhatu-

pannatti aggregates and their

separate implications. In this
shown^
designation of indriya, there has been a stress on the functional aspect.
In fact, this
aggregate is
properly to be designated as 'a
designation
of functions or faculties'.
"Indriya", says B.C. Law in his
Designation
of Human Tyfes (p,i fai.) "literally means a controlling
principle or
force."
Indriya-pannatti is an aggregate of twenty-two such 'prin-

ciples' comprising the regions from sense-desire to the supramundane.

It is, therefore, not merely the actual seats or senses that are included
in this
aggregate but the 'controlling principles or forces' that are

working on for the control of the human body lest it should cease to

function.

Buddhist psychology has a vital bearing on the Buddhist theories

of morality and spirituality. It is said in the few gatbas in the

cittavaggo of the Dhammapada that the citta or mind is the most

perturbed and therefore the most dangerous possession of the human

individual. It is
always enticed away to vices, to
things of ephemeral
consequences, to distant paths of darkness, of the lowest to akitsalas

form of kamavacara-stzte far removed from the higher and higher kinds
of mental
development; but through meditation of graded varieties
it is

(of five kinds), through good and virtuous practice and through
inner

control over the mind's dissipations that one can achieve peace and

tranquility, and attain to the state o an Arhat.

BRATINDRA KUMAR SENGUPTA

5 Cf. Compendium of Philosophy Shwe Zan Aung & Mrs, Rhys

Davids, pp. 25 ff.

21
 Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyainikas
The central
point of Sahkara's Vedanta is that consciousness
absolute is the fundamental reality and Brahman is that conscious-
1
ness. It is devoid of all attributes and devoid of any distinct
(ftjf *u)
mark (ftf^?fa).
It is one indivisible unit without a second
(^rf cf) having
in itself no difference (^^rifc) cither arising out of an individuality as
a member of a certain class
(^nrffite%<3[)
or a difference arising
out
2
of an to another class Each
individuality belonging (f^Tcfaite) .

individual is
essentially the same as Brahman but it
appears as
other
than Brahman because of adjuncts that arise out of nescience
(^qrfa)

The world consisting of individuals is there and it has the self-same

Brahman as the cause
(SRT^) both material (sm^H) and efficacious
4
(fafiRT) . The world emanates from it and subsists in it. Now the
is how can this non-relational
question (ft^rfsfq;) Brahman be linked
up with this relational (wrfRr) world? Sankara, however, says
this is
possible : The world, as it is, does not exist at all nor
did it ever exist nor will it exist in future. The truly
5
existing being is alone Brahman and all else is naught . All else is

Ramakrishna's commentary, Pancadas't t 5, 8,

also

R snrrefaft f^TRfon fwif^: n

it

Pancadasi, 2. 15-16. also see, Commentary of Ramakrishna thereunder.

1

3 3^nf 'e^^??' * t^rfWT^rati srr^^'fhTf^f frrr

.*. t
2.19.

4 *w3t qgtwi' wimwt cfiq^q i

1.44.

^iq aflr

(Vedantasara, Yedantavagisa's edition

has been used in this paper), pp. 38-39,

5 *TTCTfosf focr&igqnft ^rwtwt: i

n Of.dt., 1.48.
 Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyatnikas 163

maya or adhyasa, the principle

of individuation or the principle
6
of
unifying oppositcs unification of the self and not-self,

of the ego and not-ego, of the subject and object, of the

cause and effect and of Brahman and the world/

Opposites can
8
never be reconciled But unless they arc reconciled no experience
.

is
possible. In our every day experience we are accustomed to

reconcile such opposites.

9
We make an object identified with that
which it is not. We take a rope to be a snake. There cannot be an
identification between the rope and a snake in any way. Yet they
are identified. This is the case also with truth and falsehood.

Very often we identify truth with falsehood. In fact, there

10
cannot be any reason for such an identification but such is

the case in all human affairs. Such a nature regulates ail

activities, a law that makes the world as it is.

11
A man believes

as that he is identical with his body and he never explicitly

denies that he is his body and never feels detached from his
12
body. The notion of this false identification (??JT#) of the self
with the body would never occur to a person who has an experience
of himself as the supreme consciousness. It is
only one who had

6 ST^mt *hmtqj s^IFP cffg^Wfe Jt^T?: Bhamat't, Adyar, p. 7.

7 ?m sft%r $^r* ts?4NTOni z*^ \

Pancadasl 6. 24-25. also

5^cIU**mft *rfa^fa Bhamati, Adyar, p. 6.

8 3 fc $fir
5ttg
BhZrnati, Adyar, p. 6.

9 5*^ ft

6.
op, cit , p.
10 * * tflfOTWtfs3fc TTOTlflN frgsmfe of. cit., p. 14,

ii ^mrPrR: ^r^Tf^f *m%w t* ***** P- X 5-

'
i a

wrKN
c$t. t p, 13,
of.
 164 Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas

realised such a distinction between self and not-self and that he would
wonder at this identity.

The identity of self with not-self has the form of the self

existing as embodied and not as a conscious

body. An individual
1
self means a self
feeling itself as embodied.
^ The illusoriness of the

embodiment is the illusoriness of the body itself as also the

self's identity with it. The idea of an object as distinct from the subject

is derived from the notion of this embodiment. This notion again

is born in the consciousness of the self and is
regarded as false in
consideration of its
individuality. To be conscious of one's self as an
individual as in the case *I know me' is to be conscious of me as

illusory
and of the subject, that is, I, as truth. The me is the prototype
of the whole realm of objectivity, a sort of you (igsjffl;).
To feel it

to be
illusory
is to be aware of the possibility of all objects to be

illusory.
We can never conceive the illusoriness of the world unless
we start with the illusoriness of me. The illusoriness of me leads to

the feeling that the self can never be identified with not-self. This

feeling forms the very background on which Sankara establishes his

theory of objective illusion (SI^H). This objective illusion again

calls for its counterpart the subjective illusion, the avidya or maya,
the principle of individuation. It is an illusion primary, through
14
which the self believes in
willing and feeling that it is an individual .
This principle exists in Brahman prior to the beginning of actual

consciousness of one's self as an individual or

prior to the starting of
this world as an object of experience (*rt*r). Through it an indivi-

dual self becomes conditioned and begins to conceive individually

about himself and also of his subjective experience. Due to such
individuals
experience every individual thinks that there are as many
ia
as there are beings. - This principle of individuation is
entirely

dependent because nothing can be conceived without being related

p. cit.> pp, 5-6.

14 *i?4ti
of. cit., p. 13.

sa, (Nyayapancatuna^ edition, is used in this paper) pp. 65*66,

 Btahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas 165
1
pure consciousness which is Brahman. Absolute Brahman is
-
to

independent. It has
nothing to do with condition (fa^rTfrre) and
l
has no concern with the world.
This world has no ultimate reality (qTC*Trf*N*ftn) and will be

perceived as such as long as the ultimate reality is not realised. Even

the mental states are not real. But so long this world continues to be

perceived and Brahman is not realised both the internal and the external
objects are to be regarded as facts. All these objects have got some
18
value. The world also has got a value so long its knowledge as a
persists but when the knowledge
world o Brahman arises
(sr^RTT^TcC^R)
1
the world with its value ceases automatically. -

Brahman is eternal, and has neither positive nor negative attributes.

It is above all determinations. Words fail to express it. In it there is

a total extinction of
empirical life along with the relative distinctions
of subject and object. The concept of bliss in the Tanya state
may
20
appear as positive , and although there is absence of all determinate

knowledge the self as subject to witness this absence itself.

persists
In the ecstatic consciousness it breaks through the last vestige of
subject-object consciousness and attains an absolute state; it

can then truly be said that all melt into one atman, who knows
what? The outstanding mark of this state is the sublation of all

determinate knowledge where the soul regains its

original purity and

self-sufficiency in which there was a

temporary lapse owing to its

16 -tcPStfswn^ft
S5<Tf?<T I

qT fo$wl |^
cit. t
of. pp. 69-70.

PP*

r* i 3rr ^T^Tf^rcrT^ TOTTWPnwfa^ fir^f^r^j; of. M p. 15.

19 WWTVWTTSFW;' ft Wn{WfWr:i TO

ao 5jIHr^T?TTPT^*II of Brahmasutra, i.i. izff. and Sahkarabhasya

thereunder W^^Ic^B^?Pirf?I^ frf 5
I tfteft<ifw Vcdantafaribhasa,

p. 328.
1 66 Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas

association with the

limiting adjuncts of the waking and dreaming life.
It is not a goal be reached
to or
something to be effected but is the
self itself. The absolute is not an object to be attained. Freed from
ail limitations the self attains it oneness with Brahman which is

31
undifferentiated consciousness and bliss.

The cardinal point in the metaphysical speculation of the

Madhyamikas Sfinyata, is that is, non-existence of everything

worldly. The world has no independent existence of its own." It is a

mere apparition of Siinyata. The objects of the world have no

existing but in essence they

existence at all.
They are perceived as

are not so. To exist in reality is not the same as to be perceived as

existing. may be percipi but percipi is not esse**. Appearance

E$$e

though exists per se subsequently dies out and is discovered later on as

25
never existing. Yet it has got its empirical value an empirical reality.
This empirical reality is derived from the absolute where there is not
even a shadow of distinction between within and without. No doubt,
absolute thus reached is and indescribable and may appear as
ineffable

if it were identical with nothing. But this negative has its counterpart
36
in the positive. It is another way of positing a true reality. In truth

it is "the very opposite of

a mere nothing. For it is fulfilment,

attainment, peace, the goal of life, the object of desire, the end of

knowledge ...... It is our finite realm that is the falsity, the mere
2
nothing, the absolute is all truth." - Naturally for the Madhyamikas

Ramakrishna's commentary, Pancadasi t

1.48. See also

VeJantafaribhasa, p. 60.

22 Bodhicaryavatarapanjikd, Bibliotheca Indica, 9.55, p. 447.

23 ciqmt f5 Srfgftwnjjfc f SRTC3" tFfoWrtSWPI Madhyamakavrtti,

Bibliotheca Buddhica, pp. 449-50.

*4 *I SRfam^ qrcmhffiT Bhamati, Adyar, p. 15.

25 qtf^w srfa ff

P. *i. ^tfiffi 35^C* OTTO' cWTcmfiWzrra Sahkarabhasya (Samanvaya),

used in this paper) p. i55 also see Bbamatl, thereunder,
(Nirnaya Sagara edition
Adyar, p. 244.
26 That non-existent is not thinkable and hence because negative

of everything is thinkable you must never have negative which is non-existent

Bradley, Principles of Logic, 1883, p. 148^

27 Royce,The Wor(d and the Individual, vol. I, pp. \i 70-71,
 Brahman of Sankara and SiinyatS of Madhyamikas 16 J

such is at a
a reality conceptual determinations, Intellect
escapes all

miss to conceive how appearance is linked up with reality. To

conceive of any relation is to allow a status to both and to a third
clement. The removal of differences takes away from reality its
concreteness and opens it to the character of pseudo reality.

Madhyamikas, therefore, were forced to postulate an indeterminate

realitywhich presupposes instead a determinate universe. But to be

determinate and at the same time to transcend constitute a contradic-
tion. To avoid this difficulty the Madhyamikas had to chalk out the
principle of avidya. It is not clear how and why the absolute becomes
determined itself. The only question is
plausible
answer to this

principle of avidya which does justice to

offered in the the determinate

and indeterminate aspects of existence and at the same time avoids

the error of either the indeterminate determinate or
making installing
determinate as reality.
28
This avidya has its locus not in Stinyata. This is not possible,
29
though possible from the point of view of Sankara. Sunyata which
literally means voidness or emptiness has suffered a great deal of
misunderstanding by those who are not well acquainted with the
Buddhist phraseology. Madhyamikas imagined Siinyata as the highest
truth (<KJTT%^r) denying the existence of everything conditional as

well as unconditional, relative as well as independent. It is a

perfect
state of consciousness than which nothing can be more excellent
30
(wgflTO^TWWtfa). What the Sunyata doctrine positively insists
on is the annihilation of the imagination that weaves the dualistic
31
conception of the world. If this could be called nihilism Sankara's

TW H^ cr^C^qrH Madhyamakavrtti, pp. 264-65 also see pp. 492-93 also

: of. ax, pp. 374-75.

PancaJait. 6.197. also 6.212.

ftfrra*

V edZntasara, p. 38.

s'sfteH TftqjWfa" Pancavimsatisabasrikt-

3 fJira^TRT^ tfR^
prajnaparamita, p. 265

wtfwfiraiw t- cit p-

31
 1 68 Brahman of Sankara and Sunydta of Madhyamikas

intellectual attempt to reach a monistic view of the universe could

also be called nihilistic, for it declares as well the untcnability of a
32
separate existence of tliDUght and matter-I and not-I. It is called

Siinya because it transcends all forms of separation and individua-

33
tion. Even to attribute the notion of Sunyata to it is
wrong.
Language is deficient to express that state But it is to be
exactly.

expressed. So such terms are used. It is to be designated in a term

with which we are familiar. We are accustomed to call such a state
34
as Sunya. By abnegating all
phenomenal existences we can reach to

that state which is the highest. Madhymikas cannot define that state

arrived at by such abnegation. They, therefore, had to designate it

as Stinya. Ignorant minds are deeply saturated with wrong affirma-
tions and false judgments. They are accustomed to understand
everything in terms of existence and non-existence but it is neither
that which is existent nor that which is non-existent nor that which is

or is not at once existent or non-existent. It is neither unity

again,
nor that which is
plurality nor that which is or is not at once a unity
and plurality.
In it there is no origination (33^), no destruction

(^%^)> no annihilation (fa^r), no persistence (^T^cf), no unity

35
In short, it transcends all modes of relativity.

MahayanawtralaAkara, 11.13. p. 58.

32 3ST?j5) cfe 9rTc*Trc*Tfcrcfg: VrM MtilamaJhyamakakarika, 23.5

Madhyamakavrtti, p. 340.
ST^RrWBRT. Panca-
33 ^I^T^S^^I^m^qiJJTJrTf^TORt
also as
vimsathahasrikafrajnap3ramita> p. 236 cf. vntvjTcJ

op. dt. 9 q$r

: 2 44 also see pp. 239-40.

p-

34 SWTsreWI* : tW ?fa of. cit. t p. 252 also fa:

I
^^^f?n^f?OT^r9r?%f^?crrs Mabayanasutralankara,
Reconstructed from Chinese version. See French Translation, Tome II.
p. 122.
also sec the commentary thereunder.

35

Malamadhyamakaktrika i8.u t also

 Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas 169

Teachings of Buddha are based on two kinds of truth. One is

conventional or empirical (Differ)

and the other is transcendental and
36
Samvrti because envelops the real know-
real (qWTJ). It is called it

ledge and also that it

helps to uncover which as a matter of fact is
3 * 38
enveloped. It is the same as ignorance
(wfe?n) on account of its

completely enveloping the reality. It is characteristic with avidya

that it a form on a non-existent and thus creates an
superimposes
obstacle
having a correct view of the reality.
in It
again implies a
thing which depends on another for its existence, that is, what is
subject to cause (^g) and condition (sRzrzj).
39
A really self-existent thing

requires no cause and condition and does not undergo any kind of
tranformation such as
origin and decay. So whatever is caused and
conditioned is Samvrta. Avidya also refers to signs and words current
in the world. The signs and words form the basis of perception
which accepted by people in general as true.
is The form (^7)
etc. should not be supposed to be Their existences
really existing.
40
arc substantiated by proofs which are valid from worldly standpoint.
that perceived by the senses be true, then a fool's knowledge
If all is

which is
acquired by his senses will also be true. The body of a

I
Sfafasf W33T vrremreifWlf^Rr Mfilamadhyamakakanka
15.7. also
Madhydvnakavrtti, p. 269.
4
^3>f% ^WWI^ ^cftfa
^%^^lTfl[ p* c*t-> Karika, 15.10, also Catusuva (Aciutya stava) 21.

36

r: n

MuUmadhyamakakarika, 24.8. also <*r%

3"lt '
fl*gfa' qWc*?* ^ cfdfaf 3<raqnrfa quoted in Kathavatthi*,

(Attha Katha) PTS. p. 30; also

Sumahgalavilasini, PTS. p. 251.

37 tffe^ snfkq^ ^r^Tfr^R" ^Tq7^*m^T?crawHra ^f%

^j%: Bod hicary avatarapanjikd, p. 352, also see p, 361, cf. also

f^^rr i
^^r m^ri r^f?^: tfta^fs-
; Pancadasi, 6.130. et seq.

38 ^fsf^IT ^t^t f^PT^ ?% q^T: Bodhicaryavatarapanjika, p. 352.

39 srcft^g^pra' ^3^qr* ^f 1%^^ loc tit.

4 srer^flfqr ^qi% sife^r * qwhn op. dt., pp. 374-75. also

'Verite confcrme a I'assentiment universel mais erroni* Journal Asiatique,
I
93 Tome II. p. 302.

22
 ijo Brahman of Sankara and Stinyata of Madhyamikas

woman though naturally impure is

regarded as pure by a man whose
mind is
swayed by attachment.
The two kinds; one tathyasamvrti which
samvrti or avidya is of

refers to a
thing which originates from some cause (f^f^t SRftwsn"^)
and is perceived in the same way by all individuals with unimpaired

organs of sensing such as colour as red or blue. The other one is

mithyasamvrti which refers to a thing or statement which is

accepted
as trueby a few individuals and not by all. It is about a thing
41
perceived by persons with sense organs defective.
Now the question is, if samvrta is not a real truth what is the

necessity of preaching it in the form of topics like skandha, dhattt,

ayatana, silavrataparamarsa. These topics are said to be conventionally

true but not true in a strict sense (sRfr?)* This is no doubt true but the fact

is that the highest truth cannot be imparted without having recourse to

42
conventional truth. The final aim of life is nirvana. It cannot be attain-
ed also without the realisation of what the truth is. It cannot be brought
home directly to a mind which normally does not rise above the
conventional distinction of subject and object, knower and the known.
It must have imparted through conventional truths and unless
to be
it is so
imparted one cannot be expected to remain aloof from worldly
It is for this reason that
limitations. Madhyamikas cannot dispense
with the topics of samvrta objects and had to formulate popular for

understanding the topic of dhatu, ayatana etc. Again, Paramarthasatya

cannot be explained to another by signs or predications. Yet it is to

by explained. The only alternative, therefore, is to explain it

by
negation such as neti neti. In Sankara Vedanta also we find similar

arguments by negation of all samvrta matters that are worldly.

4
- A

41 Bodbicaryavatara, p. 353.

42 5^5R^I^T^T <TW*ff * %W% MiilamadhyamakakarikZ

24.10. also
g<TT3?*Jct" 33jcf?TW3r3^T>I<T* TwfflWI BodhicaryavatZra-

fanjika, p. 372 also %<g $$ ft 3TfapTf

4
$& ^ S^fiff^T <T^?f I tfffa

*?T ^ <rcrr qrwpJ *R3 * fasfa f% ^ g/ftg quoted, op. <**.> pp. 361-62.

43 * Wf^emft SrfoWM tffJpTcl wfacK3rR Aryadbarm*

Samgitistura* quoted in Siksasamuccaya, p. 2,64.

Vedantasara, Section 7.
 Brahman of Sankara and Stinyata of Madhyamikas 171

paramarthasatya is
beyond the cognisance of buddhi ( ?nrfa?; ),

beyond the purview of knowledge (^rfwr), beyond the possibility of

detailed description ( gf sursrfaftjj gfi )> beyond all
possible form of
4^
imagination (s^RRfireFcr). The only way to explain this ultimate

truth to the worldly people is through commonplace terms and

illustrations. A person
with diseased eyes sees a net of hair. He is
corrected by another whose eyes are healthy. He sees the real nature
4- 5
of things that there is a net of hair. Similarly a person
by negating
whose right vision is obstructed by ignorance conceives the existence
of dharma, dhatu etc as existent which are, in fact, non-existent in their

phenomenal forms. Buddha who is like a

person having healthy eyes
46
knows this truly and cannot help but saying that there are in reality
no skandhas, no dbatus etc.

One of the essential characteristics of SUnyata is that no instruction

47
can be imparted about it (sTTO^R). One is to realise this within him-
48
self
(s^Ucsntej).
He cannot understand it by listening to the instruction
4
of the perfect ^r4).
- Besides Stinyata everything is unreal. But the

44 Bodhicaryavatfirapanjika, pp. 366-67.

45 also q sat ^SRWcfrfcT SJcWHR* <RT T

TffireifoRL PancaJast 7.26 et

,
seq.

46 fl*f STfasTsn ^f^rai Dighanikaya. PTS, III. p. 76.

47 s^fo*tfta*re: RqsrtTO*r: ftrr: I

^ srPrat
also
T: I) Mulamadhyamakakarika, 20, 23.
Wt I 5cl^^ t^^^Rt Wfo?fa ?rf^f: I! Nirupamastotra,
Tucci edition, JRAS., 1932 pp. 309 fl. also $ %
Madhyamakavrtti, p. 493.

Madbyamakavrtti, p. 493.
r: Lankavatara, Nanjlo edition, p.
61.
*

Bodhicaryavatarapanjika, p. 493.

49 sft ffl^f

29 also
ccbcdikafrajnaparamita, p.

quoted in MaJhyamakavrtti 264 also in Bodhicaryavatarapaiijika,

t
p. p. 365.
WW ITW^rerU Lankfoatara, p. 194. Rf^WWpfel ^- X P- 48.

also 3f^t ^t Pflnf^l ^T T C

IT5WT ?TC JST^t^ Upanisad, 2.3.
 ij2 Brahman of Ankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas

worldly people whose vision is

already obscured cannot understand
how the objects which they perceive directly by sense organs can be
unreal. They fail to realise those abstruse arguments without the help of

with which they are familiar. Accordingly they are taught

illustrations
60
with the help of illustration of a snake and rope. Due to defects in
vision one mistakes a rope for a snake. Due to this mistake there arises

some reactions in his mind such as fear in consequence of which he

5-
runs away. This false attribution is
samaropa. That there is a

snake in the form of the rope is

nothing but a fabrication,
is a construction (^T^Tf) of the mind. The rope which is the
locus ('srfa'SR) co which the mentally created (*n*f)
or imagined
(ffaBfsW) snake is attributed (sf^^^r) through imagination (sjsTTtf WRT)
is true whereas the imagined (qft^fWcT) snake which is attributed is

false. That imagined attribution is false

this has been termed as

apavada.** The world we see about is supposed to be existent (vfi^f).

In reality it is not so. It is false. The

only reality is other than this

(Vfff) which supposed is to be existent. We attribute (sJffiCl ?)

1
cx * s-

tence to this world but this attribution is false (?IT^T^), isThat

only
true which is other than this existent and that is
Stinyata but not an
6-
annihilation

Brahmasiitra 3.2.17 with Sahkarabhasya a so *HT <J

Lahkavatara,
TwhTWllf H p. 60. gOTftgn^FSRTWr: ^S^f^T* 3
3TRt% of.cit., p. 61.

5o wft ^q% ^rPr *Wr(taRF^K: Madhyamakavrtti p. 264 also

Bodhicaryavatfrapanjika, p, 365. |Tqft^ tf*uftfa^7c^r!fa: Bodhicaryava-

tara, p. 447.
5*. s^
VedantasarasHbodhini, p. 17.

qr: LanhZvatZra, p. 71
et seq.

of. cit., p. 73,

LankZuatara, p. 71.

53 'WT^ s^ra% vrw^Hl'oj^ 5f ^TT^ i

*fT*fcl Catuhsataka, Visvabharati, 10.25 also cf.

17.20,
 Brahman of Sankara and Sfinyata of Madhyamikas 173

In this way through the polemics o samaropa and apavada

to for the realisation o the
Madhyamikas try impart their teachings
54 55
ultimate truth. The Yogacaras adopt the same method. Sankaritcs
56
also have done so.

So the Madhyamikas were led to think that there is

nothing real
in this world. Everything is devoid of its innate or independent
nature. It is
wrong to
suppose that there is
anything own or in its

innate from (^<r). Things we see around are no doubt there but
5
~ Their
they appear before us only in their imposed forms (*r*U<ftfacf).
58
own form is Siinyata which is devoid of any svabhava (far^TI^r). This
59-
is called also tathata or the state of such nature (cWTOre). This is not
liable to any change (sjfafrg)
and is of permanent existence (^3T
60
**nft^ . It does not come into existence through any agency. Ic

does not depend on anything for its creation (^3^7!^). In SUnyata

there appears nothing nor does anything disappear.

Taking the objects of this world in this light the philosophers af

the school declare that
Madhyamika anything external or internal that
appears to us
existing, is in fact unreal and looks like an imaginary

54 * ^ vf

^t ?*
1
WcE Madbyamakavrtti, p. 443 ^
?5WI'fr
l
TT^T^!Rs Bodhicaryavatarapanjikat Bi, p. 365.

55 WTClTTWT^^^f ^ H^F^ ^^RJ Lahkavatara> p. 70.

S^ ^T JJ^WTf^IT ^ Vs c i
^I'(t rr T^T^ fI^T3 TR[ ?Tl%
;z
f : V edfintasara.
15 also ^^^F[t TJ cRT^n^jf
l
Pancadasi, 7.68.
p. 5l|lT*f ^ST^fiflcTH

57 ft^^fa 447 also

^HT^tPj^Tc^f^rfRlS Bodhicaryavatara* p. %^f 3

m\ Madhyamakavrtti, p. 264

j g<t cii., p. 264. ct $eq.

op.

58 %^f vmJqjf qifcTr ^rfrNir ^r^rr^...^^ ^f^rr^

Madhyamakavrtti, p. 264-65.

59 "fefa^f f^t^n?Io2JH cT3<JT %^f cf^T^T cf^TI^TT^ '^ '* For

Tathata, sec Madhyantavibhagastitrabhasyatika, Calcutta, 1932, p. 41

(1.15-16). Trimsika, Levi's edition, p. 21.

^fl^qgy Madbyarnakavrtti, p e 264-65.

 Brahman of Sankara and Stinyata of Madhyamikas

town/- There is
nothing either internal or external. The notion of
I and Mine technically known as satkayadrsti disappears completely in
the ultimate state where there is neither subject nor object. The

disappearance of such notion is followed by the disappearance of

samsara** where its root is stuck deep into. The sole aim o Sunyavada
is to nullify or to root out the notion of I and Mine. One who realises

Sunyata has neither likes nor dislikes. He feels attached neither to

gain nor pleasure
nor does he feel aversion to loss or pain. 6 * As there
is no atman the notion of it will not arise and when the notion of
atman ceases to arise the notion of mine ( SRctfte )
will necessarily
6*
disappear.

But, when anyone speaks of nirvana he imagines the existence of

aman and his nirvana. Due to imperfect vision he thinks that a
man can attain this ultimate state after practising the disciplinary rules.
66
But all these are fancies
(qfcs^Rf). It has no concern with the
various development of citta (f^Tfa<?T3r), stage (*jffr)
of
spiritual progress,

61

f? 3 ftfimWRT ctftaTR; *rm *FfarafaC Samadhirajasutra, Buddhist Text

Society, 9, p. 29. qrq^rrU^HT infrfa^TOflfWr.' Miilamadhyamakakarika,

17.33. also see Vrtti thereunder. T^^rfT^^r^rf^f^T^^rrs Lafikavatara

also Sttbhasitasamgraha, Bendall's edition, p. 14.

p. 283.

62 ^5T^ feUc^R*ffasRj: Madhyamakavrtti on Karika,, 23.5.

63

of. cit., p. 340, also see Tattvasamgraha, 3^89.

64 ^
fwrr ^Rr ^^rr * firwr^sw^r * tf

f^rn: quoted, Siksasamttccaya, p. 264.

65 itf fa ^r?Mr ^ *f

q; Mtilamadhyamakakarika, 18.5.

66 5Ef 5f ^ %?f WnfiRT

i *ng ^rmf% ^r^: i ^T^

! ^^ ? ^t^^^^ Pancavirnsatisdbasrikaprajnaparamita,

P- M4-
 Brahman of Sankara and Sunyata of Madhyamikas 175

fruits
(<fi^)
of spiritual discipline.
On ultimate analysis there is

67
neither a monk nor a nirvana to be attained. One should remove all

misconceptions about the world and should realise the non-duality of

68
all
worldly things (srg^JtcT^tfWVO.

Brahman of Sankara has been characterised as sat, cit, and ananda

but these are not determinations being each of them unspeakable,
absolute beyond the determinate construction of sat and cit and ananda
89
formulated by our consciousness. An individual has not only to
correct his self from the subjective illusion of individuality, not only
70
to wait for objective illusion of individuality to be corrected but also
71
to contemplate all has to contemplate
these corrections as false. He
73
moksa not as something to be realised or effected or remanifested, not
even as an eternal predicament of the self but as the absolute self
itself
(sTraq). An individual illusorily thinks that he is not free.
So he wants to be free. But he is eternally free. For the dawning
of the consciousness that he is
always free there is the necessity of
sadbana or discipline. Sadhana prepares the ground for attaining

67
3* :

op. cit., p. 261.

fsf:

68 *Rihr?ctErr sraprT

69

Pancadasi, 9.73 also ^Tf

: n

j: I) op. cit., 7.75-76.

w9?^w fin:'

Sahkarabhasya, (Samanvaya) p. 1523

7 1
ftqrwftsw ^
;
Adyar, p. 243.

: ^ ^r^IW^f^ Sahkarabbasya (Samanvaya)

p. 1*6.

73 ^^l^lf^?rqfl5l^W^r^^q / oc '* e also Bhamati, thereUndcf,

 176 Brahman of Sankara and SUnyata of Madhyamikas
74
knowledge in which the enquiry into spiritual truth can start. When
a progressive
transparency of mind is effected through sadhana truth
begins to shine where the knowledge of self is found to be not distinct
from but one with knowledge, the eternal Brahman. 75
as
76
According to Madhyamikas nirvana is an inexpressible absolute.
77
It is the same as Sunyata of which the universe is a mere reflection.

According to Sankara moksa is the same as Brahman. 78 It is

79 80
Ineffable and the universe is a mere reflection of it. What the

Madhyamikas and Sankara aimed at was to establish a unity corres-

81
ponding to the Upanisadic absolute. -
The characteristic nature of

74
SankarabbSsya, (Samanvaya), p. 154, also

^STHT^TfciJFR^j: Vedantaparibhasa, Nyayapancanana edition, p. 355.

75 3*3 ST^fcl^Rt WfW, smft w4: <FPT ST^WR!^ Bbamati,

Adyar, p. 244.

76
Madhyamakavrtti, chap. 25.

^^ni et TT

TS PancavimsatisdhasrikaprajnapZramita, p. 244 also sec

pp. 239-40.

77 cWTcTt ff SjfaPfwrqjTs gFWaW ^CTI^TOTW Madbyamaka-

vrtti, pp. 449-50.

78 ft^?j?m ^
:
Sankarabhasya (Samanvaya), p. 128,

Brahmasiilra, 2 .*7 also

79 Sahkarabhasya, 3.
* 4

4 ?* <l Ufanisad, 3.15. also see 2.3.

80
fq^ WWn5fTRr: 5?%r^^^f
ft Pdficaddsi, 8.31.

8 1 of the Madhyamikas
advayajndna
cl
1

^^ f^qWT^t: quoted, Abhisama^alahkara, Gaekward

Oriental Scries, p. 28. 3^ Sl^qto^T lfiwnOTclT^f s 1

^J^^f R&RT

cf^RfT W5. II Lahkavatara, p. 348, Sankara's explanation

^5^?r
of adibuJdhah in 4.92 as
GatidapadakSrika,
and of Ibfats as wt^^TOlfSRHw also
 Brahman of Sankara and Sfinyata of Madhyamikas 177

Sankara's absolute is
pure intelligence (fact) and bliss (3TR?^). The
characteristic nature of Madhyamika's absolute is
quietude (OT^) and
82
tranquillity (ftf^).
Both can be equated so far as their
impersonal
aspects are concerned.

A TIT RAN JAN B H ATTACH ARY A

-?rrc*nTf?fafa t^T^^g^f: VedZntasZra, p. 72

Tucci
J^t^f^'^^ Saftaiatikaprajnaparamita, edition,

p. 124.

82 H%^^T^T: 5J^^T^r^: ftn: Miilamadhyamakakarika,

20.25 also

Mahay anasutralahkara, 11.51. also Tibetan, gzod.

ma. nas, shi. ba. meaning
WF3: in Tibetan Madhyamakasa$tra of Nagarjuna.

23
 A rare type of Bodhisattva-images from Sanchi
In the exterior southern niche of Temple 45 at Sanchi, dating

from the tenth-eleventh century, is a two-armed male deity: the head

which had a circular halo around it is broken; the right
hand
damaged
is in varada-mtidra and the left, holding the stalk of a half-blown
lotus, rests on the seat. Flanked by a female attendant on either side,

he is seated in lalitasana on a
double-petalled lotus with a peacock

below pendant right leg resting on another lotus.

it, the He is richly
bejewelled and is clad in an undergarment held by a girdle studded
with gems; a pleated scarf encircles his body. But for the broken
head the sculpture ( pi.
I
)*
would have been one of the best

specimens of medieval art. Another image (pi. II),

with almost

identical features, again with its head broken, is exhibited in the local

museum.
John Marshall, probably thinking the sculpture as the represen-
Sir

tation of the male

counterpart of Mahamayurl, also known as Vidya-
rajnl, tentatively identified with MayuravidyarajV.
it Such a deity,
however, does not find mention in the extant texts on Buddhist

iconography. Besides, there is

hardly any similarity
between this

sculpture and the representation of

of
Mahamayuri, the personification
the Tantric text of that name. The peacock in the
sculptures
is the

only point which might have led Marshall to associate them

with the

But the
goddess of the Pancaraksamandala. dhyanas of Mahamayuri,
as
given in the Sadhanamala, do not prescribe
the peacock as her

vahana but lay down that she should hold

peacock-tail
or feather in
3
one of her hands . On the other hand the varada pose of the right
hand and the lotus held by the left hand in the
sculptures suggest
their affiliation with some form of Avalokitcsvara.

Of all the deities of the later Buddhist

pantheon,
of whom dhyanas
arc available, that of Vajradharma Lokesvara is the nearest
approach

1
Photographs reproduced on pis. I-IV are the copyright o the Depart-
ment of Archaeology, Govt. of India.
2 }, Marshall, Monuments of Sanchi, vol. I, p. y4.

3 B. Bhattacharyya, Indian Bnddhist Iconography (Oxford, 1924)

p. in.
Vajradharma Lokesvara (?), Temple 45,

Sanchi, ht, 2' 4"

yajradharma Lokesvara (?), Sanchi Museum.
1". >' 3J"
 A rare
type of Bodhi$attva-lmage$ from Sanchi 179

to the sculptures under discussion. This form of Avalokitesvara is

thus described in the Sadhanamala:

Tarh sitarh rakta-varnafn tu

padmaraga-sama-dyHtim
Paiica-Buddha-makuta-dharafn harsenotphulla-locanam
Vamato spardhaya nalafn dhrtva sodasa-patrakam
Pad-matin vikasayantafn ca brdi daksina-panina

Mayuropari madhyasthe nisannafa candra-mandale

Sattvaparyankam abhvjya sa-srngara-rasotsavam
Catty antastha-mahakarma-kutagara-viharinam
4 *

Bhavayed Vajradharmagryafn nityafn bodhifn avapnttyat

'(The worshipper) should meditate on that supreme Vajradharma,

who is of reddish white complexion, who has the brilliance of the
padmaraga gem, who holds on his crown the five Buddhas, whose
eyes beam with delight, who, while proudly holding in his left hand a
lotus-stalk, causes a sixteen-petalled lotus to bloom on his chest with

his right hand, who is seated in the centre of a lunar orb on a peacock

while enjoying his animal-seat, who is festive with amorous sentiment

and who lives in the sanctum inside a
caitya,
where great performances
take place. (The worshipper meditating this form) obtains the bodhi

eternally.'
The Sanchi sculptures agree in almost all the details with the above

description of Vajradharma Lokesvara, except that the right hand is in

6
varada and is not placed on the breast in the attitude of causing a
6
lotus to blossom . The dhyana does not:
specify the asana of the

deity but the lalitasana of the sculptures is not unbecoming a god

4 Sadhanamala, ed. B. Bhattacharyya, I

(Gaekwad's Oriental Series, XXVI,
Baroda, 1925), p. 33.

5 Of the two illustrations given by B. Bhattacharyya in his Indian

Buddhist Iconography, one (pi. XXIV e), taken from the paintings of the
modern Nepalese artists, has a manuscript in his right hand, while the other
(pi. XLVIII), as found on the wooden panels of the Macchandar yahal vihfira
at Kathmandu, shows his right hand in abhaya-mudra, pp. 51 and 180.
6 The half -blown lotus in the left hand of the sculptures may possibly
signify the 'causing of a lotus to bloom*. In the analogous case of Tara as the
attendant of Khasarpana, the sfidhanas say that she should cause to bloom a
stalked lotus with her right hand (sanalam utpalam daksinakarena vikdsayanti),

Bhattacharyya, ibid t p. 37, but often in sculptures she holds a half-blown lotus
hand, the empty right hand being in some mudra (cf. ibid., pi. XXI).
in her left
 180 A rare type of Bodhisattva-images from Sanchi

'who is festive with amorous sentiment', with which is also consistent

the rich ornamentation of the sculptures. As the crown along with

the head is broken in both the images we cannot be sure whether it
bore the effigies
of the five Dhyani Buddhas, as enjoined in the

sadhana of Vajradharma Lokesvara.

It
may be noted, however, that the images of Vajradharma
Lokesvara, truly answering to the description in the Sadhanamala, are
not unknown. In the gallery of the Indian Museum is exhibited an
7
image (ph III)
of the deity, hailing from Bihar. Richly bejewelled he
is seated in
paryankasana on a
visvapadma (double-petalled lotus)

resting on throne supported by a pair of peacocks; he opens against

a

petals of a lotus, the stalk of which is held by his left hand.

his breast

On his karanda-makuta are shown five Dhyani Buddhas in three rows

of three, one and one each respectively.
The oval halo is inscribed

with the Buddhist creed and a donative record in characters of circa

tenth century. In front of the throne is a dwarfish fierce-looking

figure with bristling flame-like hair in pratyalidha attitude; with his

right hand he brandishes a mace (mudgara), while his left hand is

shown against his breast with the index finger raised and holding a
noose This may stand for
(tarjariipasa-hrdayastha vamakararh). figure

Krsnayamari as described in one of the sadhanas quoted by B.

Bhattacharyya in his Indian Buddhist Iconography, p. 71. The

description tallies in most of the details with it except in the matter
of the buffalo-mount which is absent here. A second representation
of the deity (pi. IV) exists in the reserved collection of the said
8
museum. The main deity seated on a visvapadma supported by a

pair of peacocks is
remarkably similar to the preceding, but here he is
flanked by two goddesses seated in the same asana, the left one of

whom holds vajragbantas in her both hands. She may be described

as thegoddess Vajraghanta, one of the four 'guardians of the gates'
associated with such Vajrayana deities as Lokanatha and Vajratara.
The sadhanas describe her as one-faced and two-armed carrying a bell

7 No. 3784. The photograph has been reproduced on pi. IX (a) of R. D.

Banerji's Eastern Indian School of Mediaeval Sculpture. There it is labelled as

Yajrapani.
8 No. 3798. Both these sculptures are noticed in T, Bloch's Supplementary
Catalogue of the 'Archaeological Collection of the Indian Museum, pp 61-62
where they are described as Padmapani.
Vajradharma Lokesvara, Indian Museum
(No. 3784), ht. i' 10"
Yajradharma Lokesvara, Indian
Museum
(No. 3798) ht, i' 8"
 A rare
type of Boddhisattva-images from Sanchi 181

surmounted by vajra. The attributes in the hands of the right hand

goddess are broken. Above these
goddesses are the representations
of a visvavajra and ratna(?) on a stand, On the pedestal is a three-
headed six-armed dwarfish deity with terrible appearance, open mouths
and bare fangs in altdha attitude; in his right hand he carries a

sword, a mace and a padma; of his left hands, one holds a pasa, the
second broken and the third is in katihasta pose. This deity may
stand for another variety of Krsnayamari as described in the
9
Sadhanamala. The absence of mounts in both the forms of

Krsnayamari, as
represented in the pedestal of the two Vajradharma
Lokesvara images, may be being attendant deities. On
due to their

two sides of this figure on the pedestal are two goddesses, the left one
of whom
standing in attdha pose and holding a kartr and a kapala is
equally awe-inspiring and dwarfish, corresponding in her iconographic
details to Ekajata; the right one holding a rosary and a kamandalu(?)
stands in pratyaltdha attitude. The sculpture, dating from circa tenth

century, comes from Nalanda.

DEBALA MITRA

9 Indian Buddhist Iconography

pp. 72-73. ,
 Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantras
Usually, it is the habit with uninformed people to decry a thing
because it is not understood. The rule applies with equal force to the
science and practice of the Tantras. Many scholars have dubbed the

Tantras as magic, black magic, necromancy, unscientific and psuedo-

and decried the teachings and findings of the Tantras as
scientific,

being worthless and worthy of nothing but unqualified condemnation on

ground. It will, therefore, be a shock to many to learn that
this or that

the Tantras are based on solid scientific facts, and that their followers
derived and utilized cosmic power which is
freely floating around.
The Tantrics were conversant with the theory of tele-communication
like radio and tele-vision, and that they could transmit sound and

power through space without elaborate appliances, Durasravana (hear-

ing distant sounds), Duradarsana (seeing distant visions), Duracikitsa

(distant healing) and similar powers were listed as Siddhis (super-normal
a direct outcome of Tantric Sadhana. In the Tantric works
powers) as
there is a clear indication that heat and cold could be transmitted

through space to the desired object or person, and influence it or him

from a distance. The process of Santi (propitiation) could be performed
from a distance, and thereby bring about the cure of a disease.
In the Tantras cosmic colour plays a most important part. Every
deity has an individual colour, every direction has a colour; the Dhyani
Buddhas were made up of one colour or another. The Tantrics were
conversant with the power of cosmic colours and employed them for
multifarious purposes. The Tantrics of the Buddhist faith considered
Sunya as the creator of the universe, limitless,
omnipotent and omni-

present, and the repository of infinite wisdom, infinite knowledge,

infinite sound and infinite light. The Tantrics intuitively knew that
the world o matter in its ultimate state is nothing but rays and
radiations, and this
knowledge is reflected in their writings and in their

many and varied practices of bewildering intricacy.

The Tantrics formulated that all letters, words and sentences, with
or without meaning,nothing but Sunya in essence, that is
are to say,

they are condensations ofcosmic power, and therefore, these letters,

words and sentences have certain definite vibrations, and these vibra-

tions can be employed for good as well as evil. The deities are the
 Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantras 183

beings of the invisible world just

as we are the beings of the visible
world. The deities have their definite vibrations because they are

nothing but Sunya in essence, that is to say, the deities are condensa-
tions of Sunya, the ultimate cosmic force. The Mantras for the deities

have the same vibrations as their presiding deities; they are able to
attract the deities and make them visible to the mind's eye, and when

Sadhana reaches its final point they become visible even to the naked

eye. The worshipper and become one by the process of

the deity

complete identification, and the Sadhaka derives all the powers residing
in the
deity.

The Tantrics knew the power of the mind which according to

them was Sunya in essence. The mind has one peculiar power, and
with the help of power the human mind could adjust itself to the
this

different vibrations and become one with them. In modern scientific

language the mind has the power to adjust itself to the same wave-

length as that of the deity or anything, high or low. Low thoughts

lower down the wave-length of the mind while higher thoughts raise

its level. Even Sunya can be conceived and realised if the mind is

of the
properly attuned to the highest
wave-length Sunya or the
Absolute Limitless Cosmic Substratum.

Further, the Tantrics were acquainted with the fact that certain

syllables
had the same wave-length as those of the five Skandhas

(elements), and that the utterance of the syllables gave rise to the

same set of vibrations as those of the five Skandhas (elements). The

five Skandhas, it
may be remarked, are the counterparts of the five

Tantnatras or 'subtle substances' as formulated in the Saihkhya system

of philosophy. Behind the Skandhas are the five cosmic colours which

by condensation give rise to the five Dhyani Buddhas and their

numerous offspring. The five Dhyani Buddhas, their cosmic colours
and the five Skandhas or cosmic principles represented by them are

given in the Table below for ready reference:

Dhyani Buddhas Skandhas Colours

Vairocana Rupa White

Ratnasambhava Vedana Yellow
Amitabha Saihjna Red
Amoghasiddhi Sarhskara Green

Aksobhya Vijnana Blue

 Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantras
184

The Tan tries recognised no difference between name and form,

and believed rightly that
the name is not different from form, and
that even a syllable can represent the Skandhas, and all the power the

Skandhas possess,
is contained in the syllable itself. These syllables
are known as the
Bljamantras or
Seed-syllables, usually consisting
of one syllable with an anusvara. There were syllables for the
ultimate cosmic principles such as Earth, Air, Water and Fire. The
seed LAM, for instance, stands for the Prthvi principle, VAM for
the Ap principle, RAM for the principle and
Fire for the Air YAM
principle.
This indicates that there is no difference between RAM
and and that by constant meditation on the seed
Fire, RAM the
Fire principle can be brought under control, manifestly because the

wave-length of the two happen to be the same.

In the same way, by patient research they found out the germ
syllables
and the Mantras of the deities of the Vajrayana system.
The germ were the deities themselves and the Mantras
syllables
formed the for the different deities. In other words,
call-signs
the Tantrics discovered the truth that Bljamantras are
supreme
endowed with the same vibrations as those of the deities, and by
the Mantras the corresponding deities can be attracted,
employing
visualised and realised. In terms of modern science, the Mantras
and the Bljamantras have the same set of vibrations or wave-length
as the deities of the invisible world, and that the human mind was
and vibrations to the
capable of changing
its wave-length
tuning
of the deity by constant meditation.

The difference between the Bija and the Mantra is

something
The a subtle form while the
like this :
Bija represents the deity in
Mantra is for the gross form. The syllable TAM, for instance, is

the of the Tara. This Mantra is

Bija popular Vajrayana deity,

required beginning of
in the meditation, and the mind should

concentrate on its Yellow Rays spreading out to the firmament and

discover the form of the
illumining the invisible worlds and there
deity. The longer Mantra of Tara is: OM TARE TUTTARE
TURE SVAHA which is to be constantly repeated and meditated

upon in order to bring the deity nearer worshipper by the

to the

to the Buddhist Tantrics different

process of attraction. According
Mantras have different powers although they may relate to the same

deity. The different Mantras have to be utilized for different

 Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantras 185

purposes. Everywhere it was conceded that the Blja, Mantra and the
rest had the same set of vibrations as the deity worshipped, because

they recognised no difference between the deity and its various

symbols all
having the same measure of vibrations.

The method of propitiation and realisation of the deities or the

radiant beings of the invisible world was elaborated in the Sadhana
which may be called the WHO'S WHO of these radiant beings.
But more interesting and instructive is the story of how the Tantrics
used to transmit power through space to distant objects either for good
or for evil. In the Mahakala Sadhana at the end part of the famous
Tantric work, the Sadhanamala? this story is related in detail. The
details of the
process of distant influencing became the starting point
of the unique ard the most practical system of healing by Tele-
Therapy or the Cosmic Ray Therapy which seeks to cure patients
from a distance without medicine, personal attendance or examination.
The process described in the Sadhana, therefore deserves special
attention.

In the Mahakala Sadhana, it is said that in order to influence a

person at a distance an effigy of Kusa grass should be made for

the

person aimed at, nnd thereon the Mahakala Mantra should be repeated
continuously. Then pungent condiments like
Visarajika seeds and
black pepper, dry ginger and Pippali should be powdered, mixed and

prepared into a paste. This paste should be liberally applied to the

effigy while repeating the Mantra already cited. Then on each and
every limb thorns should be pierced. Thereafter, a fire should be
made with Khadira wood, and on that fire the effigy should be baked
while repenting the Mantra. When this is done, the person aimed
at is
suddenly overtaken by high temperature and his consciousness
is lost.

When, however, becomes necessary to counteract the effect of

it

the process just described, the Sadhana adds that the effigy should be
removed from fire, and milk should be poured on the effigy until

fever subsides.
In terms of the present day science, it can be easily understood

why Mantras have to be repeated in order to bring the effigy

in

tune with the vibrations of the victim aimed at. Mantras are

i. Sadbanamala, COS. Vol. II.

p. 589.
24
 1 86 Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantrds

repeated continuously in order to raise the

wave-length of the inani-
mate effigy of Kusa grass to the level of the person to be influenced
by adding word vibrations. And unless the wave-lengths of both
the effigy and the
person are tuned to the same length, the cosmic
forces will not recognise the person, just as a Radio set will not give
until it is tuned to the same
any programme wave-length as that of
the station
radiating the pragrammc. When after continuous mutter-

ing of the Mantra the vibrations of the effigy and the person are

brought to the same level, the Tantric is able to transmit the fire

principle through space by heating and baking the image. As the

wave-lengths of the two ends are the same the heat applied to the

effigy
is
immediately transmitted through space to the person at a
distance. No wonder the heat of the fire-principle brings about
fever and delirium.
To reverse the effect of the earlier process is to bring normalcy
in the victim
by sending out cold vibrations by the same wireless
method. For this
purpose the effigy is taken out from fire.
By this,
heat is first eliminated, and then when milk is
poured incessantly
on the effigy cold vibrations of milk is transmitted through space to
the victim. Milk represents the Water (Ap) and moreover,
principle,
being white in colour, it is doubly cooling. The healing process
takes effect almost and in a short time the victim is well.
immediately
Taking the cue from the Mahakala Sadhana, a new system of
healing, called Tele-Therapy is developed which seeks to transmit
hot and cold forces or the forces of the five elements Air, (Earth,
Water, Akasa and Fire) through space to patients at a distance, and
make them well without medicine and without examination or external

applications. It is not possible to for

prepare effigies particular
persons and raise their
wave-length, because that is a very cumbrous
process now in the
century when photography is so well
present
be
It
developed. may noticed that the
photograph has the same set
of vibrations as its owner, and therefore, the
wave-lengths of both the
photograph and its owner are the same. The cosmic forces recognise
this identity of wave-length. On the photographs certain jewel
vibrations produced from an electric motor are released for several
hours a and this has number
day, yielded remarkable results in a of
acute and chronic diseases. The of the last three
experience years
in the line has shown great promise, and now possible for us
it is
 Scientific Background of the Buddhist Tantras 187

to foresee a time when the work of healing will be done with the

help of photographs from an office or a laboratory. Whether we like

it or not, we are enveloped in cosmic rays, call them either Maha-

bhutas or the planets as it
They are not at a distance, they
pleases.
are
right in the midst of our bodies and our sense-organs. This will
be shown when a
person
examined through
is a
prism by any common
inquirer. When the Rays become malefic, illness
supervenes, and

again when they are altered, that illness disappears. In spite of our

researches into the subject of disease and medicine, we have progressed

very little and have not been able to find out the true cause of even
the principal diseases. Once the cause is known, eradication becomes

easy and simple. Let us remember that the diseases are in their

ultimate state, nothing but rays and radiations. The so-called virus

of modern medicine is the Ray Malefic.

The doctrine of the Buddhist Tantrics that everything in this

world has for its substratum the limitless Sunya, and wherever there

is a manifestation of Sunya, a colour is attached to it. This gives a

clue to find out the true colours of all
tangible objects through a
prism. With the help of a prism true colours of gems have
been ascertained, all the VIBGYOR rays have been individualised

and their
powers have been pretty well fixed. And what is

all the seven cosmic colours have been produced with

important,
the help oE gems and an electric motor, and transmitted through
space to numerous patients over their photographs with gratifying
results. The gems are cosmic colour concentrates, they are Sunya
in essence, and their brilliance shows that they are not only rich in

cosmic but also can readily discharge their rays when under
colours

the influence oE an electric motor. The Rays travel with the speed
of thought, and they are omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent
like their substratum the Sunya. The gems release hot and cold
vibrations, Green rays discharged by Emeralds send out
e.g.
the

cold vibrations, and the Red rays released by brilliant Rubies transmit

hot vibrations; and they know exactly their mission, and unerringly
reach their destination and start their healing work. Their working

ways are as mysterious as those of the Creator himself.

It ishigh time, in spite of what the uninitiated or the ignorant

may think or write, to divert our close attention to the Tantras, the

repositories
of higher scientific knowledge. The Tantras should not
1 88 Scientific Background of the Buddlrist Tantras

only be studied and treated with respect they deserve, but

also scientific

facts should be gleaned from them, and put into practical use through

scientific institutions. Still there is much for modern science to learn

from the Tantras. When the knowledge of the scientific aspect of

the Tantras becomes the general property of mankind, the scientists

will come face to face with the real substratum of the Universe, the

Sunya or Brahman, as it may be called, and start playing with the

Cosmic Rays even as the great creator, endearingly called The Grand-
father, does. When that stage is reached, the latest scientific deve-

lopments are likely to pale into insignificance, because we arc as yet

ignorant of the cosmic elements, the cosmic rays and the great cos-

mic powers that are freely floating around. When we come to know
what the Tantrics knew, the difference between Magic, Philosophy
and Science will disappear.

It is
ignorance that makes a person think that he can do sinful

acts in without a chance of their being detected by any

secret visible

or invisible agency. When true knowledge dawns on mankind a per-

son will think several times before doing any improper action, be-

cause he surrounded and enveloped in the ever-vigilant, omniscient,

is

omnipresent and omnipotent cosmic rays which are watching him by

day by night, limb by limb, and examining him thought by
and

thought. True knowledge of a scientific nature may still lead mankind

to the high principles of Right
Living and Right Thinking, as Gra-
ciously formulated by Lord Buddha Two Thousand Five Hundred
!
years ago

B. BHATTACHARYYA
 Buddhism in South-East Asia

Beginning

According to a tradition preserved in the Ceylonese Chronicles.

Buddhism was preached in Suvarnabhumi by the missionaries of Asoka.
Though the location of Suvarnabhumi is uncertain, some having
identified it with Burma, others with Siam (Thailand), there is no
doubt that it refers to some
part of Indo-Cliina.
But the authenticity

question, as no early and reliable

of the tradition itself is to
open
evidence has been obtained so far in support of it. Nor can we accept
the view that the first two of the Buddha named Trapusa
disciples
and Bhallika, who builc a
sanctuary over his relics in their native land,

belonged to Burma, for the Utkala country, which is referred to in

the canonical texts as their native land, is

certainly to
be identified
with Orissa.
There is, however, no doubt that: Buddhism obtained a definite

footing in South-east Asia during the early centuries of the Christian

era. This is
proved by the discovery of the images of Buddha of the
AmaravatI style in Thailand (SiamJ, Annam (Campa), Sumatra,
Java and Celebes. The representation of the Buddha by a symbol,

such as dbarmacakra (wheel of law), rather than a human figure,

in

some of the sculptures in Thailand, also support the introduction of

Buddhism in this region at an early date.

i . Thailand

The early sculptures discovered

in Thailand prove conclusively thit
Buddhism was introduced in this
region at the
beginning of the
Christian era. A Wheel Law, associated with figures of crouching
of

deer, was dug up at Pra Pathom. Another early site, Pong Tuk, has

yielded bronze Buddha images of the AmaravatI style, which may be

dated in the second century A.D. Buddhist images of the Gupta

style,
both of earlier and later type, have also been discovered. As
the inscriptions, engraved on the latter, may be referred to the fifth

and sixth centuries A.D., those of the earlier type probably belong to
the fourth century A.D.
 190 Buddhism in South-East Asia

From this
early period we may trace the
uninterrupted progress
of

Hlnayana Buddhism in this

country* The Thai conquest of the land
in the thirteenth century A.D, gave a great
impetus to this religion.

The Thai rulers were ardent followers of Hlnayana Buddhism. We

learn from the inscription of Ram Kamheng, that this famous king
was an ardent follower of Hlnayana Buddhism and decorated his
capital Sukhodaya with temples, monasteries and images of Buddha
at the close of the thirteenth century A.D. The Hlnayana Buddhism
of the Thais was sustained and influenced by Burma and the island of
Ceylon. The intercourse between Mons of Lower Burma and Thailand
were of long standing. A Thai
king sent a messenger to Ceylon
in

A,D. 1361 who brought back with him a senior monk who reformed
the religion. The Hlnayana Buddhism with its Pali canon flourishes
even now in Thailand, Burma and Ceylon, and it is not therefore

necessary to discuss history in great detail.

its

2f Cambodia
Buddhism made its influence felt in Cambodia as early as the fifth

century A.D., Jaya-varman of Fu-nan, who ruled towards

for king
the close of that century, sent an embassy to China in A.D. 503,
with presents including an image of Buddha. An inscription of his
son Rudravarman begins with an invocation to Buddha. From this
time onward the prevalence of Buddhism is
proved by inscriptions.
But it had a set-back in the jth century, and the epigraphic records

indicate that Saivjsm, not Buddhism, was the dominant religion

of

Cambodia. It is curious, in view of the present state of things, that

very few kings of Cambodia, of whom we possess any epigraphic

record, were followers of Buddhism. Suryvarman I
(nth century
A.D.) was a Buddhist, for he had the posthumous title Nirvana-pada.
But his inscription on a temple at Prah Khan 1 begins with an invoca-
tion to Siva in the first verse, and to the Buddha in the second. Several

inscriptions on the temple known as Prasat Ta Keo, 2 in honour of

YoglWara Pandita, the guru of king Suryavarman, begin with
invocations to Siva and Visnu, and refer to donations mad^ to these

gods. Jayavarman VII, perhaps the greatest king of Kambuja, was a

Buddhist, and his Ta Prohm Inscription, dated A.D. 1186, gives a

i R. C. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Kambuja,

p. 360
3 lkid. t pp. 351. &
 }n South-East 'Asid igi
3
detailed list of his magnificent donations to this temple. The merit
of these pious works was to accrue to the king's mother so that she

might obtain the state of Buddha (v. 141).* In addition to the kings
mentioned above, high dignitaries like Kavmdrarimathana and

Kirtipandita, both belonging to the tenth century A.D., were ardent

Buddhists, and the latter claimed to have lighted again the torch of
the true law which the sins of the world had extinguished. The form
of Buddhism referred to is
clearly Mahayana.
But if we take the epigraphic data as a whole, there
remains
no doubt that Buddhism was never a dominant religion in Kambuja
till the time of Jayavarman VII. But even the patronage of this

great emperor did not establish Buddhism as a state religion,

as it

is now. It is
interesting to note that during the reign of king
5
Srindra-varmadeva, a later king, we find an inscription , dated A. D.
1308, written in Pali Hinayana form of Buddhism.
and referring to

The next two kings, Srlndra-Jayavarman and Jayavarma-Paramesvara

were followers respectively of Visnu and Siva.
The state of
religion
in Cambodia is described by Cheu Ta-kuan
who visited the country in A.D. 1296. It
appears that Hinayana
Buddhism was in a flourishing state at this time. Yet the older

inscriptions mostly refer to Mahayana doctrine. Taking every-

thing into consideration, we are forced to the conclusion that it was

the influence of Thailand (Siam} that gradually introduced a great

change in the religion Kambuja. On the whole Brahmanical

of

religion, specially Saivism, was dominant in Kambuja, though

Mahayana Buddhism was also a

powerful sect, up to the
end of the
thirteenth century A.D. But the political
dominance of the

Thais (of Siam) in Cambodia established the supremacy of Hinayana

Buddhism which is now the only religion of the people.

3. Cam fa
The ancient Hindu colony of Campa corresponds, roughly,
to the southern part of Annam. The early introduction of Buddhism
in this region is indicated by an image of Buddha of the Amaravati

style
at Dong-Duong. But there is no epigraphic reference to

s,

3 IbiJ., pp. 459 fiE, 4 Ibid,, p. 474 5 Ibid.* p. 533

 192 Buddhism in South-East Asia

6
Buddhism before the 9th century A.D. The Bakul Stelae Inscrip-
7-
tion, dated A.D. 829, refers to the construction of two temples
and two monasteries for Jina and Sankara. Jina may denote either
the Buddha or Mahavlra, but as there is no evidence for the

existence of Jainistn in South-east Asia, Jina

may be taken to denote
Buddha. The long inscription on the four faces of a stelae found
8
at Dong-Duong records the installation of an image o Buddha
in A.D. 875, and the foundation of a Buddhist temple and a
monastery by the Buddhist king ludra-varman. The remains of a
Buddhist temple at this
place, far
greater in dimensions than
the largest Brahmanical temple in
Campa, prove that Dong-Duong
(ancient Amaravatl) in the province of
Quang Nam was an import-
ant stronghold of Buddhism in
Campa.
Many later
kings patronised Buddhism, and monasteries and

temples were built in different parts of the kingdom. Many Buddhist

images have also been found in different parts of Campa.

I-tsing
refers to the prevalence of Buddism in
Campa and
remarks that the "Buddhists generally belong to the
Aryasammitlya-
nikaya and there are also a few followers of the Sarvastivadanikaya."
Thus Hinayana at the end of the seventh century A.D.
prevailed
But the inscriptions and images leave no doubt that the Mahayana
soon occupied the dominant position in Campa. Particular reference
9
may be made to An-Thai Stelae Inscription dated 824 Saka (?=A.D.
902) which records the erection of Lokanatha by stbaviraa statue of

Nagapuspa, the abbot of the monastery of Pramudita-Lokesvara, and

refers to Vajradhatu, Padmadhatu and Cakradhatu, Amitabha and

Vairocana.
It is
interesting to note that Buddhist and Saiva temples and

monasteries were often erected side by side, by the same donor, that
the epithet Damaresvara (lord of the Bhtitas), originally belonging to

Siva, was applied to Buddha, and that figures of Siva decorated the

Buddhist temples of Dong-Duong.

6 Many scholars find traces of Buddhism in Yocanh inscription, but I do

not find anything definitely Buddhist in it (For the inscription cf. R. C.

Majutndar, Champa, Book HI, p. i.). Coedes maintains that it is Buddhist

Le$ Stats Hindouises d'lndo~Chine et d'Indonesie (1948), p. 74.
7 Champa, Bk, III, p. 65
8 Ibid., p. 74 9 Ibid., p. 105
 Buddhism in South-East 'Asia
193

4. Malay Peninsula
The well-known Buddhist formula
ye dharma betuprabbava* etc.
followed by another verse beginning with
Ajnanac^ciyate karma, is
engraved on a .slab of stone found amid the ruins of an ancient brick
building at Keddah. The second verse alone is engraved on a
piece
of stone,
probably a part of an old shrine, in the northern part oE pro-
vince Wellesley. Both these inscriptions have been referred to the
fourth or fifth
century A.D. 10 Three Sanskrit verses are inscribed on a

clay tablet found near Keddah. They inculcate Mahayana philoso-

phical doctrines of Madhyamika school, and have been traced to a
text entitled which is known only from a
Sagaramati-piriprccha,
11
Chinese translation."
The inscriptions mentioned above also prove that Buddhist temples,
both of brick and stone, were built in
Wellesley Province and Keddah
in the fourth or fifth
century A.D. The great sttipa
of Nakhon Sri

Dhamniarat and a number of

temples surrounding it indicate the exis-

tence of a
flourishing Buddhist colony in this region. number of A
terracotta votive tablets found in
neighbouring caves also show that a
large number of Buddhist monks resided therein.

12
5.
Indonesia

Buddhism did not obtain a secure footing in Indonesia till after the
fourth century A.D. At the time when Fa-hien visited Java
there was very little trace of Buddhism in that island. But Gunavar-
man, who belonged to the royal family of Kipin (Kashmir or Afghan-
istan) but had taken to religion, preached Buddhism in Java early in
the fifth
century A.D,, and it soon took deep root in the soil. As
Gtmavarman translated a text of the
Dhannagupta sect, he must have
belonged to the Mulasarvastivada school, and was evidently due to
it

his influence that this sect became dominant in Java and the neigh-
bouring islands.
The neighbouring island of Bali also came under the influence of
Buddhism about the same time. For according to the
History of the
Liang Dynasty (A. D. 502-556), the earliest Chinese historical annals

10 R. C. Majumdar, Suvarnadvtpa, Part I, pp. 88ff.

11 JG1S, VIII, p. 2
12 For the facts mentioned in this section cf.
Suvarnadvtpa, part II.

25
 Buddhism in South-East Asia

that give an account of this island, the king o Bali claimed that the

wife of Suddhodana was a daughter of his country.

By the seventh century A.D. Buddhism flourished all over In-

donesia} and Srf-Vijaya in Sumatra became a

stronghold of this religion
We possess an inscription, dated Saka 606 (A.D. 684), of a Buddhist

king of this country named Jayanasa. There was a regular trade

and
maritime intercourse between Srl-Vijaya and India. On his way to
India the Chinese pilgrim I-tsing halted at Sri-Vijaya for six months,
and he again visited the place, after his return to China, in order to

copy and translate the voluminous Buddhist texts which he had

brought with him from India.
evident from I-tsing's statement that although Hlnayana was
It is

dominant in these regions there were in Sri- Vi jay a a few who followed
the Mahayana form of Buddhism. This is also
proved by the
inscription of Jayanasa referred to above. It not
only contains definite
reference to the Mahayana doctrine, but the use of the word vajra-sarira
further indicates that this Mahayana was of the Tantrik form known

as Vajra-yana, Mantra-yana or Tantra-yana.

Indonesia was visited by eminent Buddhist scholars from India

such as
Dharmapala, a Professor of Nalanda in the seventh century
A.D., and Vajrabodhi, a South Indian monk. The latter and his

disciple Amoghavajra, who accompanied him, were teachers of Tantrik

cult and are credited with its introduction to China. Both of them
halted at Sri-Vijaya for five months on their
way from Ceylon to

China, early in the

eighth century A.D.
Towards the close of this century the Mahayana cult acquired
great predominance owing to the patronage of the Sailendras who ruled
over the greater
part of Indonesia. Two inscriptions, dated A. D.
778 and 782, refer to the construction of a temple of Tara at
Kalasan, and setting up of an image of Manjusrl at Kelurak by the
Sailendra emperors. The latter was inspired by their gum Kumara-
ghosa, an inhabitant of Gauda. The Sailendra emperors were in close
touch with the Pala emperor Devapala of Bengal, and the Cola em-

peror Rajaraja, both of whom endowed the monasteries built by the

Sailcndras, respectively atNalanda and Negapatam.
The Mahayana form of Buddhism has left permanent memorials
in Java in the famous stufa of Barabudur and a number of other

magnificent temples erected during the Sailendra rule. The Javanese

 Buddhism in South-East Asia
195

literature and the Buddhist images found in Java clearly indicate that
all the essential features of Mahayana, even of its last were
phases,
fully developed in that island. As India, number of Hindu gods
in a

were adopted Buddhist pantheon, though they were relegated to

in the

an inferior position. New divinities were introduced, some of which,

like
Trailokyavijaya, Hevajra, Bhairava and Heruka, were of monstrous
or terrifying
appearance. The Tantra-yana, including Kala-cakratantra,
prevailed both in Java and Sumatra. The famous king Krtanagaraof Java
was a devout follower of the Tantra-yana or Vajra-yana, and his drink-

ing bout is
approved in'a Javanese historical text on the ground that he

scrupulously followed the prescriptions of religion. King Adityvaraman

of
Malayu in Sumatra, who was ruling as a vassal of
Krtanagara
in A.D. 1286, seems to have been a follower of the Bhairava cult.

As was
a gradual rapprochement between
in India, there
Mahayana
and Brahmanical religion. This was more clearly indicated in Indonesia

by the fact that gradually Siva, Visnu and Buddha were regarded as
identical and so were their Saktis. A
definite Siva-Buddha cult existed

in Java, and in modern Balinese theology Buddha is

regarded as a

younger brother of Siva.

There are two Buddhist texts in Java which give an
interesting

insight into the developed

form of Mahayana. The first,
Sang byang
a Sanskrit
Kamahayanikan is a free Javanese version of original, inter-

spersed
with a number of original Sanskrit was probably verses. It

composed in the Sailendra period (8th century A. D.), but was modi-
fied, about a century or two later, in a manner which has been regarded

as a Hinduised or Saiva version of Buddhist original. It contains an

a

the leading principles of Mahayana and gives an account

exposition of
of its
theology according to the Yogicara system.
It
brings the Hindu
Trinity in organic relation
with the Buddhist pantheon. The picture of

Mahayana in Java which it unfolds shows a close resemblance with,

but also minor differences from, the form of religion current in India.

The second text Kamahayanan Mantranaya contains forty-one Sans-

krit verses with Javanese commentaries. It contains an exposition of the

both in its theoretical and practical aspects.

Tantra-yana or Vajra-yana
The five kinds of sensual enjoyments (pafica-ma-kara) are clearly
the devotee is forbidden to communicate the secrets of
prescribed, and

vajra, ghanta and mudra to those who do not belong to the Mandala.

R. C. MAJUMDAR
 Principle of the King's Kighteousness
[In the Pali canon and the Jataka commentary]

The most important contribution of the Buddhist canonists of the

Theravada School to the store of our ancient political thought consists
in their 'total* of the principle of righteousness to the
application
branches of the king's internal and external policy.
Its
importance
is matched by that of the parallel early Smrti
conception of a funda-
mental law of the (indicated by the same term dharma)
social order

which is held to be based upon the twofold source of the Sacred Canon
and custom (or convention). In the descriptions of good kings (1.260

II.iiS, 111.325, ibid 470, V.378) in the Jataka stories we are told

that they ruled in righteousness, that they shunned the four wrong
courses of life (agatigamana) [comprising excitement, malice, delusion

and fear], that they practised the ten royal duties (rajadhamma)
[namely, alms-giving, morality, liberality, straightforwardness,
refraining from anger and from injury, forbearance, and refraining
from opposition], that they won over the people by the four elements
of popularity (saihgahavattbfi) [namely, liberality, affability, beneficent
rule and impartiality].Cast in a distinctly sectarian mould are the

descriptions of good kings (1.262, V.i, VI. 96-97) in other stories to

the effect that not only did they rule in righteousness, but they were
zealous in the observance of the fast-day and keeping the ten items of

good behaviour (silo) [namely, abstinence from taking life, from taking
what is not given, from adultery, from telling lies, from slander,
from harsh speech, from frivolous talks, from covetousness, from
malevolence, and from heretical views.] We have again a remarkable

story (no. 276) of eleven persons with the king at their head in the
Kuru kingdom who practised what was called 'Kuru-righteousness*
(Kurttdbamma) identified in the course of the story with the five slla$

obligatory upon the Buddhist lay disciple. How a

king's righteous-
ness instead of its reverse benefits himself is told in a few stories.

Thus we learn (nos. 51, 151, and 282) how a king who conquered
wrath by mildness, and badness with goodness was adjudged superior
to another who met the good with goodness and the bad with badness

and how kings allowed themselves to be captured and ill-treated by

 Principle of the Kings Righteousness 197

their freedom and their kingdom

neighbouring kings only to gain back
through their inherent goodness.
The most impressive lessons on the principle
of righteousness

occur in course of the admonitions addressed to kings by wise beings

in the stories. When a monkey-king, we read in one story (no. 407),
wore himself out by his effort to save his followers from certain death,

373) the question, What

human him he
his captor, a king, asked (III.

was to them and what they were to him, that he made himself a

bridge for their safely passing through a river? He felt no pain of

his bonds, replied the monkey-king, because of securing the happiness
of those over whom he reigned. Asking the human king to learn the
example, the monkey-king admonished him to seek
lesson his the
by
of burden, his troops and the
happiness of his whole realm, his beasts
inhabitants of his cities. In a second story (no. 501) a wise king

instructs another king in the so-called ten stanzas relating to the

practice of (dasadhammacariya gatha}. These comprise

righteousness
the observance of righteousness towards the mother and the father,
the wife and the son, relatives and ministers, draught animals, the

realm, recluses and Brahmanas, birds ^and beasts. How a king is

instructed in the duties of his office by three wise birds whom he had

adopted as his children is told in a third

story (no. 521). Asked by
the king about the general duties of a ruler, the first
speaker says at
the outset (V. 1 1
2) that he should rule his kingdom with righteous*
ness (dhamma) abiding by the three truths (dhamma).
after When
the king puts to the third and the wisest speaker a
specific question
about the highest of all powers, the latter repeats the ten stanzas above

quoted relating to the king's practice of righteousness. In a shorter

and a longer version (nos. 533 and 534) of a dialogue between a wise
swan and a king the question is asked by the bird whether his kino--
dom is ruled righteously and it is answered by the king in the affirma-
tive (V. 348, ibid 377-78). To the above is added in the
longer
version the question whether the king observes the ten rajadhammas
as well as the king's own affirmation of his observance of the virtues
of liberality, good conduct, non-attachment, straightforwardness,
mildness, austerity, suppression of anger, non-injury, patience and
forbearance. How
should a mortal (meaning himself), asks the
king
of a false ascetic in yet another
story (no. 544)1 practise righteousness
towards his parents, his teachers, his wife and children, the
aged, the
 198 Principle of the King's Righteousness

and the Brahmanas, the military forces and the countryfolk.

ascetics

With the answer of the ascetic who was a believer in the doctrine of
annihilation we have no concern. The Great Being, being asked by
the king to teach him the path of
piety, admonished him by the
of the virtuous kings of old to shun
example unrighteousness and
practise righteousness.
The king, it is
explained (VI, 251), should
distribute everymorning and evening by public proclamation food
and drink, garlands and unguents, clothes, umbrellas and shoes to the

needy; he should not put to labour old men and aged domestic animals,
for when they were strong they gave him service.
Following this
instruction with an elaborate simile of the human body to a chariot,

the speaker (ibid 252-53) impresses upon the the lessons of

king
abstinence from
injury, liberality, circumspection, self-control and
other virtues. In yet another story (no. 540) an ascetic's son admonish-

ing a king asks him (VI 94) to

practise the ten duties (dbammas}>
namely, those towards his mother and father, his wife and son, his
friendsand ministers, his townships and villages, the recluses and the
Brahmanas, the birds and the beasts.
The above extracts indicate in the first
place the authors' view of
the relation oE righteousness to kingship. Righteousness, we are told,
is the essence of kingship as well as the
king's best policy. Secondly,
the authors clarify the principles and policies of government involved
in the above concept. The king, we read, should avoid the specified
of vices and practise the
groups specified groups of virtues, the
latter identified in some instances with the
being precepts incumbent
on the Buddhist lay disciple.
Above all we are told that the
king
should himself to the promotion of universal
apply happiness of his
subjects so as to extend its benefit down to the dumb creation.
illustrates so well the belief of the Buddhist canonists
Nothing early
in the of the
profound significance king's righteousness than their
references to the
frequent far-reaching consequences of the ruler's
reaction to this fundamental principle. When kings become
unrighteous,
we are cold in a canonical text
(Anguttara-Nikaya
II
74-76), the king's officers
(rajayutta) also become unrighteous, this

being so the Brahmanas and the mass of freemen

ordinary (gahafati),
the townsfolk and the villagers in their turn become unrighteous, this

being so the Suu and the Moon, the stars and the constellations
go
wrong in their courses; days and nights, months, seasons, and years
 Principle of the Kings Righteousness 199

arc out of joint; the winds blow wrong; the devas being annoyed do
not bestow sufficient rain. This being so the crops ripen in the wrong
season, and consequently men are short-lived, ill favoured, weak and
sickly. Conversely, when kings become righteous all the reverse

consequences follow.
The above view of the tremendous significance of the king's

righteousness is
repeated in the Jataka stories. How a king's violation

of righteousness recoiled
upon himself with tremendous force is vivid-

ly told in one story (no. 422). In an Age when the world spoke the
truth and lying was unknown, a king, we are told (111 456-61), de-

cided to make appointment of his family priest by lying. An

the
ascetic
appearing in the king's presence warned him, but in vain,
against the danger of this course by saying that the king by telling a
lie
destroys righteousness, and
by destroying righteousness he destroys
himself. When the king inspite of the warning told a lie, he was
deserted by the four his body was befouled, he fell
protecting deities,
from the sky upon the earth, and all his four supernatural
powers
disappeared. Six times in succession the king's priest offered to restore

his
supernatural powers if he should speak the truth, but the king

disregarding all these offers sank lower and lower in the earth till at

last the earth opened up for him and he was consumed by the fires

of hell.

The influence of the king's attitude towards righteousness upon

the fortunes of his subjects and indeed upon their whole physical
environment is told after the pattern of the canonical text quoted
above in other series of the latakas.
According oft-quotedto an

passage in these stories (III i II, V

222, ibid 242) the people follow
the king as a herd of cattle follow the bull, and the whole realm

enjoys weal or woe according as the king

is
righteous or otherwise.

Turning to the stories themselves we have first the story (no. 527) of

a virtuous king's self-admonition by way of escape from his sorest

temptation. king A of the Si vis, we

having madly fallen in
read,

love with the wife of his comtnander-in-chief and being repeatedly

her to himself, as often and

and earnestly pressed by the latter to take
passionately rejects the offer.
The king ends (V 222-23) by teaching
his most officer the ways of as by good
loyal righteousness practised
men. Blessed is a king, we read, who delights in righteousness, and
it is to eschew sin. Happily the subjects live as under a
happiness
 9
aoo Principle of the King 3 Righteousness

cold shade in the kingdom of a king who is free from anger and fixed

in righteousness. The speaker next observes on the analogy of a herd

of cattle following the bull that when the king becomes unrighteous,
the common folk follow him and the whole realm comes to grief,
and
in the
contrary case the common folk follow the king's example
and the whole realm enjoys happiness. Declaring not his intention

to win
authority or conquest of the whole world by unrighteousness,
the king concludes by expressing his determination to abide by the

Sivi righteousness. The story ends (ibid 223) with a passionate

admonition of the commander-in-chief to the king to practise righteous-
ness after the text (V 223) quoted above.
When a householder, we read in a second story (no. 194)1 was
about to be killed by the order of a wicked king on trumped-up a

of theft, the cries and lamentations of his virtuous wife caused

charge
the God Sakka to descend from heaven and so use His supernatural

powers that the wicked king was killed, and the honest householder
became king in his place. Commending the new king to the people
as one who would thenceforth rule righteously, the god pointed out

the danger of the king's unrighteous rule. Should the king, he declared

(II 124),
be unrighteous, the gods would send down rain out of
season and not in season, and the three 'fears' (those of pestilence,
disease and the sword) would come down from heaven upon men.
When the king, we read in a third story (no. 334), enquired of an
ascetic the ripe figs offered to
why him tasted sweet, he was told that

it was because the king ruled his kingdom righteously. When kings
rule unrighteously, it was explained, oil, honey, molasses and the

like as well as wild roots and fruits lose their sweetness and strength
and not only these but the whole realm lose their vigour, but should
the kings be righteous, these would become strong. In the sequel the

king found out by a practical test the truth of the ascetic's statement

(III no-n).
The above extracts indicate in
impressive language the authors'
view of the immense significance of the king's attitude towards

righteousness in relation to his whole environment. In its

simplest
form it means that the king by his example influences for good or for

evil the moral stature of hir subjects and hence causes their happiness

or misery. More complex than the above is the explanation that the
 Principle of the Kings Righteousness 201

king through his attitude towards righteousness influences for good or

for evil the course of the climatic phenomena shaping man's agricul-
tural
production well as the degree of productivity of his life-
as

giving crops. According to the most complex interpretation the king

through his attitude towards righteousness shapes by a regular chain
of causation the moral stature o his subjects, the movements of

heavenly bodies and the succession of time as well as the operation of

the climatic factors
governing agricultural production, and finally the
physical type of the people. Political righteousness, as thus conceived,

rises to the level of a cosmic principle of creation.

From the early Buddhist conception of righteousness in relation

to theking let us now turn to the same concept in relation to the
World-ruler (Pali, Cakkavatti~Skt. t
Cakravarti). In the stock-

description of the Cakkavattt's characteristics we are told that he is

called the
Emperor over the four quarters of the earth, righteous in

himself, ruling righteously, triumphant abroad, enforcing law and

order at home,
possessed of che seven jewels. The process of
the World-ruler's universal
conquest is described in two canonical
extracts
(Dtgha Nikaya II i6yf and III 62/). These deal
respectively with the romantic biographies of the Cakkavattt
Mahasudassana and the son of the Cakkavattt Dalhanemi. The
Emperor, we read, having discovered the wonderful Wheel and
solemnly invoked it to roll onwards, followed it on its onward course

successively towards the East, the South, the North and the West.
As the mighty monarch appeared in each
quarter with his fourfold
army, the rival
kings therein offered their submission. The Cakkavattt
allowed them to retain their
possessions on condition of their obser-
vance of the five moral precepts binding
upon the Buddhist lay-man.
"Ye shall", so goes his solemn admonition,
"slay no living thing, ye
shall not take that which has not been
given, ye shall not act wrongly
touching bodily desires, ye shall speak no lie, ye shall drink no mad-
dening drink". The same stories illustrate the nature of the
Cakkavattt's rule over his subjects as well as his vassals.
Among
the four gifts
(iddhis) of Mahasudassana, we are told (Digha-Nikaya II
178) that he was popular with the Brahmanas and the householders
just as a father is near and dear to his own sons, while conversely
the Brahmanas and the householders were near and dear to him just
as his sons are near and dear to a father. Of King Dalhanemi we
26
 2O2 Prindfle of the Kings Righteousness

read that he lived on this cat^h to ocean-bounds, having conquered

its

it not by the scourge, not by the sword, but by righteousness. In a third

extract
(Anguttara-Nikaya III, 149) the Buddha referring to "the king,
the world-ruler, the righteous one, the righteous
king", observes that
righteousness (dhamma) Such a king, he explains, honours,
is his king.

esteems and reveres dhamma, with dhamma as the standard he provi-

des righteous safety, cover and protection for folk within his realm,
for Khattiyas and attendant army, for Brahmana and householder, for
town-and country-folk, for recluses and Brahmanas, for birds and
beasts. "Thus verily by righteousness he sets the wheel in motion,
of which the course can not be resisted by any inimical king
whatsoever".
Some further light is thrown upon the Buddhist conception of the
World-ruler by the description
in another
(Dtgha~ canonical text

Nikaya, III
6o/) of the careers of the Cakkavattts of Dalhanemi's line.
When Dalhanemi we read left the throne to his eldest son and retired
to a hermitage, the celestial wheel disappeared from view. Consoling
the new king for his loss a hermit observes that the celestial wheel
was not his paternal heritage, but it
might manifest itself to him if he
observed the Aryan duty of a Cakkavattt (ariyath cakkavatti-vattam).
What this means is
explained in the following lines.
<4
Thou should,"
" own
says the sage, provide right watch, ward and protection for thy

folk, for the army, for the nobles, for vassals, for Brahmanas and
householders, for town and country-folk, for recluses and Brahmanas
and for beasts and birds. Throughout thy kingdom let no wrong-

doing prevail. And whosoever in thy kingdom is poor, to him let

wealth be given. Should recluses and Brahmanas ask thee for the

proper line of action,

thou should deter them from evil and bid them
take up what is good". Following this advice the king was
rewarded with the reappearance of the celestial wheel. When a later
of Dalhanemi's line preferred to govern his people according to
king
his own will, they failed to prosper as they had done under former

kings observant of the way of life of a Cakkavattt. Even when he

was reminded by his ministers and courtiers, the king
of his duty

simply provided watch

and ward and protection for his people but
failed to give alms to the destitute. This led to poverty of the people
and the progressive deterioration of their morals and shortening of
their lives. At length the very extremity of the evil led the people on
 Principle of the Kings Righteousness 203

their own initiative to increase their performance of good deeds which

resulted in the lengthening of their lives.

The above extracts are of extreme significance as involving the

extension of the of the righteousness to the

principle king's
concept of the World-ruler. The attributes of this ruler comprise
not only universal supremacy and successful administration at
home and abroad, but also and above all, righteousness.
In the

branch of the Cakkavattt's internal administration, this last

principle connotes the reciprocal love and affection of the

ruler and his subjects as well as the ruler's provision of universal se-

curity for his subjects down even to the dumb animals. In the sphere

of foreign relations the Cakkavatffs

conquest of the quarters is
achieved not by force but by righteousness, while his rule over his vas-
sals is founded
upon the enforcement of the five precepts that are bind-
ing upon the Buddhist lay-man. Inrerpreting even the mystical wheel,
the palladium o the World-ruler, in terms of righteousness, the
canonist explains it to mean not the patrimony inherited by the ruler

from his ancestors, but as the fulfilment of his characteristic attributes.

These attributes comprise provision of universal security for the sub-

jects, extensive poor-relief, prevention of wrong-doing, and instruction

of the religieux in virtue. The concluding extract refers, after the

the above-quoted text relating to

pattern of kingship, to the profound
repercussions of the World-ruler's attitude towards righteousness upon
the fortunes of his subjects. For we are told that while a partial

fulfilment of this principle by the ruler leads to the moral and physi-
cal
decay of the people, its
complete fulfilment by them even on their
own initiative produces the contrary result.
We may consider in conclusion a remarkable view down by
laid

a well-known French Indologist of our time (Prof. Paul Masson Our-

sel in Ancient India and Indian Civilization, pp. 93-95) about a
fundamental antithesis between the Brahmanical and the Buddhist
ideas of dharma in their relation to political theory. The former, we
are told,
maintaining a social order based upon the special constitu-
in

tion of each caste does not encourage the appearance of "a political

a law all mankind

spirit", while the latter by aiming at applicable to
makes unlimited imperialism.
for Expressing this contrast in another
way the author argues that while the Brahmanical dharma falls ''short

of monarchy", its Buddhist counterpart leads to "world-empire".

 204 Principle of the King's Righteousness

Again he observes that while the king in the Brahmanical theory con-

fines himself to the preservation o the eternal social order, the king

according to the Buddhist theory not only causes the law to reign bur

starts and promotes the same. We have endeavoured to show in

1
another place that the true difference between the Brahmanical and the
Buddhist concepts in relation to social and political theory lies else-

where, and we can only repeat here some of our principal arguments.
Dharma in the Smritis connotes above all the comprehensive law of the
social order of which the king himself is the unit, while it
signifies
in theconception of the Buddhist cononists specially the principle of
righteousness. In its the Brahmanical dharma stands
political aspect

particularly for the Whole Duty of the king (rajadharma) which from
the first is conceived in
sufficiently elastic terms to provide for the

permit in Manu and still more in the

needs of the kingdom and to

Mahabharata (afterBhisma) the wholesale incorporation of the

Arthasastra categories and concepts relating to the branches of the

king's internal and external administration. On the other hand the

Buddhist dharma in its relation to the king involves the application
of the universal ethics of Buddhism to the State administration, this

principle being even extended to the somewhat idealistic concept of

the World-ruler.

U. N. GHOSHAL

i In chap. XIII of the author's forthcoming work, History of A

Indian Political Ideas, in course of publication by the Oxford
University Press.
 Buddhism in Ancient Kambujadesa
(An Efigraphic Study)
Buddhism in ancient Kambujadesa was characterised by two
important features its
comparability with Brahmanism and its
In this
progress in the other way from Mahay an ism to Hinayanism.
respect it differed from Indian Buddhism which originated
as a revolt

against the existing socio-religious structure

that recognised the hierar-

of the Brahmins, and stressed the of arhathood as

conception
chy
the summum bonum. It is rather interesting to find that there is not a

single record which could show the least

sign of bitterness
or antagon-
ism between the two existing systems. On the other hand, we find

Buddha being accorded a

position in the Brahmanical trinity.
The
identification of Saivism Buddhism was complete and we
and find the

trinity composed of Padmodbhava 1 (Brahma), Ambhojanetra (Visnu),

and the Buddha (Yasca Padmodbhav =sambhojanetra-Bttddham). One
has also to commend the catholic spirit of the emperors whose personal
no way affected their outlook.
faith in We find that some of the

prominent Buddhists in the state service shared that catholic spirit.

Kavindrarimathana, who had set

up a statue of Prajnaparamita, was
above suspicion (Bttddhanam-agranir apt) so far as his loyalty to the

Brahmanical emperor and his state religion was concerned.

The earliest reference to Buddhism in Kambujadesa is noticed in a
record dating from the end of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh
2
century A. D. It records dedications of male and female slaves by
Pon Prajna Candra to the three Bodhisattvas, Sasta, Maitreya and
Avalokitesvara. The Bodhisattvas are accorded the Khmer title Vrah
Kamrata an which is also borne by the Brahmanical deities. Avaioki-
tesvara is not noticed in any other record, but we notice the form
3
Lokesvara for the first time in the Prasat Ta Kam inscription
dated
in the Saka year 713. Buddhism, however, appears to have been
introduced earlier than the seventh century A. M as we find in the D
Vat Prei inscription (Ba Phnom Dist) of Jaya-varman, dated in the

1
Majumdar, Kambuja inscriptions, No, 156, p. 399
2 Aymonier, Le Cambodge, vol. I, p. 442
3 Majumdar, of cit. 3 No, 52 A, p. 571
206 Buddhism in Ancient

Saka year 587*, a reference to the two Bhiksus Ratnabhanu and Ratna-
simha whose sister's daughter was authorised and guaranteed the here-

ditaryenjoyment of a religious property by king Jaya-varman in the

year 587-565 A. D. There is no reference to any Brahmanical god,
and the term Bhiksu suggests that the family was Buddhist. In the
Khmer text the donations by these two Bhiksus were made in favour
of Vrah which is a
vague term denoting Buddha, as well as Brahmani-
cal gods, and also the King. We have, therefore, to take the character
of the record from the reference to the Buddhist Bhiksus who are the

donors.
There is no Buddhist record for a little over two hundred years,
and here one has to believe the testimony of the Chinese pilgrim,
5
I-tsing ,
who suggests that Buddhism flourished in Fu-nan in
early
times but was then subverted by a wicked king whose identity is not
established, but it is
suggested that he might be either Bhavavarman
or T-ana-varman or This state of stalemate seems
Jaya-varman.
to have continued. Although there is no reference to the persecution
of Buddhists in Kambujadesa, the absence of evidence throws
positive
8
some doubt on its
flourishing nature. The Kok Samron inscription

(Siem Rap, Dist Battambang) records an invocation to Sahgha, though

Buddha and Dharma are also noticed in a
subsequent verse (namas
Sarhghaya Sambuddharatnam pranamami dharma). This invocation

to Sariigha, and the reference to Buddha and Dharma reveal the

Buddhist character of the record.

King Rajendra-The eulogy of

varman makes the record contemporary with that ruler who became

king in the Saka year 883 = 961 A. D. It is interesting to find that

7
in another
inscription of the time of Rajendra-varman, dated in the

Saka year 883 =961 A. D. from Pre Rup (Angkor region), the Yoga-
cara system is mentioned.
It is
equally interesting to find references to other divinities of the

Buddhist pantheon whose statues were set up in Kambujadesa in that

period. An inscription from Thma Puok 8 (Svay Cek in Battambang)

of the time of
Jaya-varman V, and dated in the Saka Samvat 91 1

4 Ibid., No. 29, p. 37

5 Takakusu, p. 12
6 Majumdar, of. cit No. 100 E, p. 583
7 Ibid., No, 103, p. 233, v. 275
8 lbid. 9 No. 113 A, p, 594
 Buddhism in Ancient Kambujadesa 207

989 A.D. contains invocations to Buddha, PrajnapSramita, Lokesvara,

Vajrin, Maitrcya and Indra. The six divinities were installed by

the sage Padma-Vairocana and some of them may be identified with
the image of the deities round the miniature temple. A little earlier

in the year
903-981 A.D., an image of the mother of the Buddha
was set
up by Tribhuvanaraja. The inscription found at Phnom
9
Bantay (South of Angkor Bauray to the west of Battambang) invokes
the Buddhist
Mahayana divinities including Lokesvara and Prajna-
paramita. images of other Brahmanical divinities
Installation of the

like
Jagadisvara and Trailoyanatha is also mentioned. They were
set
up by other members probably of the same family.
10
The most important record is the Phimanaka inscription of

Jaya-varman VII which Trikaya, Buddha and Lokesvara are invoked.

in

The two queens of the emperor were Buddhist. The second one, who
was the elder sister of the first one, was very learned and taught the
Buddhist nuns of the convents of Nagendraturiga, Tilakttara and
Narendrasrama. This elder sister had initiated the younger one into

Buddhism during the absence of her lord and she could see his image
after the
performance of certain ceremony. On the return of her lord,
a dramatic
performance, of which the plot was drawn from the

Jatakas, was made by a body of nuns recruited from cast away girls.
After the death of the younger sister, the elder sister won the favour
of the king who asked her to teach the Buddhist doctrines in various

convents. The importance of this record lies in serveral ways.

First, it shows that Buddhism was active in its proselytising spirit
and it
freely drew its members from the Brahmanical and royal families,
and there were a number of convents for cast away girls.
The Buddhist
literature was equally popular and the Jataka stories could form the

subjects of dramatic performances so as to impress upon the masses

the importance and divine character of the Buddhist Lord.

The School of the lower vehicle, namely that of Sthaviras, also

flourished in Kambujadesa, though it arrived here much later than

11
of the time
Mahayana. Unfortunately, there is only one record
of Surya-varman I dated in the year 944, 947 from Lopburi in
the modern temple of Bang Pahin, but it was brought from Lopburi

9 Ibid., No. 113 p. 299

10 Ibid.. No. 182, p. 515
11 Ibid., No. 139, p. 343
208 Buddhism in Ancient Kambujadesa

in Siam. The inscription contains

an order of King Surya-varman
laying down the regulation that in all sacred places, temples, monasteries

and hermitages, the ascetics, the Sthaviras (monks of the little vehicle)
and monks of the Grand vehicle were required to offer to the king
the merit of their austerities.

From the findspots of these records certain conclusions might be

drawn. The Mahayana Buddhist records are found (in chronological

order) in PrasatTakham (Siem Rap), Vat Prei (Ba Phnom), Kok

Saman (Siem 'Rap), Pre Rup (Angkor region), Thma Puok (Savay Cak
in Battambang), Phnom Bancay (south of Angkor) and Phimanaka

was
(Angkor Thorn). They suggest that Mahayana Buddhism intro-

duced from the north west and it came probably by the land route.

The earlier wave of Hlnayanists probably followed the same route.

The later influx of Hlnayanists from Ceylon seems to have come by

the sea route. We learn from the Kok Svay Cek (two miles south of
13
western Baray) inscription of Srlndra-varman that the king gave
tomahathera (the great monk) Sirindamoli a village, and a Vihara

was built in 1231 where an image of Buddha was installed. The

king gave four villages to the
monastery. This is the earliest epigra-

phic evidence for the introduction of Ceylonese Hlnayana Buddhism

in Kambuja. We
might also consider here the evidence furnished by
the Chinese sources on the state of Buddhism in ancient Fu-nan. We
learn that a coral image of the Buddha was sent to the emperor Wu-ti
(500-550) in 503 A. D., and the inhabitants of Fu-nan made bronze
image of the heavenly genii with two or four heads and four arms. An
image made of sandal wood was sent to the Chinese emperor by Liu-
t'o-pa-mo (Rudra-varman) and in 539 he offered him a hair of the
Buddha twelve feet long. The two monks who went to China to

translate Chinese scriptures, namely Sanghapala and Mandra were also

from Fu-nan. I-tsing. while returning from India in 675 A. D.

describes the country of Po-nan
formerly called Fu-nan of which the

people were originally worshippers of the devas, but later on Buddhism

flourished there. A
wicked king exterminated all members of the
1*
Buddhist brotherhood. This suggests that Buddhism in its earlier

phase flourished in the Ba Phnom region in the south-cast. As the

12 Ibid., No. 1 88, p. 533

13 Elliot, Hinduism & Buddhism* vol. Ill, p. 106
 Buddhism in Ancient Kambujadesa 209

Chinese evidence than the epigraphic records noticed above,

is earlier

it
may be presumed that Buddhism came to ancient Kambujadesa at a
fairly early date, probably synchronising
with the time of the second

Kaundinya, and it had a set back probably in the time of Bhava-

varman or his successors. It, however, flourished, but from the loth
to the i^th century it was at its
peak because of the patronage

of theKhmer rulers like Surya-varman, called Nirvanapada and Jaya-

varman VII who was considerably influenced by his talented sister-in
law who later on became his wife. These rulers did not alienate thei
devotion to the family deity, and Saivism continued to be the stat<

religion, despite their adherence

to Buddhism. Another ruler Yaso
varman established a Saugatasrama like the Saiva and Vaisnav;
asramas.
In the propagation of Buddhism some important state dignitaries
also a These include 14 who
played prominent part. Satya-varman
was charged with the erection of the building known as
15
Phimanakei, Kavindrarimathana a minister under Rajendra-varman
V and Jaya-varman V who erected many statues including
those of Buddha, Vajrapani, Prajna-paramita and Lokesvara.
Kfrti-Pandita
16
was the minister of Jaya-varman V and it was
due to his efforts that the
pure doctrine of the Buddha
reappeared like the moon from behind the clouds or the sun at dawn.
This Klrtipandita also introduced Buddhist books from abroad, and it
is
suggested that the Sastra Madhya Vibhaga and the commentary on
17
the Tattva Sangraha were brought by him. These ministers were

certainly Buddhists and they never let their personal religion interfere

in their official duties and the state religion.

Another important point worth attention is that Buddhism was so

much in line with Brahmanism that Buddha actually found a

place in
18
the Brahmanical trinity. In the Prasat Prah Khset inscription of

Udayarka-varman dated in the Saka year 989=1067 A. D., there is

a reference to the
lingo, formerly given king Suryavarman by his
to

minister Sarama and to this were added images of Brahma, Visnu, and
Buddha, and the entire group called Caturmurti was consecrated to

Siva. Buddha is associated with Rudra in another inscription. The

19
Prah Put lo Rock inscription (cave in Mt. Kulen) dated in the Saka

14 Aymonier, vol. I, pp. 261 ff; Ibid., p. 123

27
 2io Buddhism in Ancient Kambujadesa

year 869 = 947 A. D. records in the Khmer text the installation of

an image of Tathagata (Buddha), Rudra and

probably other gods
in

the holy cave. There is not the slightest doubt that Buddhism in

ancient Kambujadesa was not so violent

against Brahmanism and the
latter assimilated Buddha in its
pantheon.
We also find charitable and missionary activities which were
associated with Buddhism. Here one is reminded of the humanitarian
activities of the
emperor, Asoka.
BuddhistJaya-vannan VII issued
*
an inscription from Ta Prohm near Angkor which opens with an invo-
cation of the Buddha followed by Lokesvara and probably
Prajna-paramita. It refers to an establishment with 18 principal

priests (adhi-karinah), 2740 priests and 2232 assistants and dancing

This record also refers to 102 of
girls. hospitals in his kingdom
20
which a detailed
description
is noticed in another record found a

Say-Fong in Laos. It
opens with an invocation to the Buddha who
in his three bodies transcends the distinction between existence and

non-existence, and then to the healing Buddha and the two Bodhi-
sattvas who drive away darkness and disease. The hospitals
were

open to
everybody without any distinction of caste.
It would, thus, appear from a study of the Kambuja records that
there were probablytwo or three waves of Buddhist immigrants in that

country, and they experienced an initial set back. From the tenth
as an auxiliary to Brahmanism
century onwards Mahayanism flourished
and not in a spirit
of Tathagata
hostility.
The assimilation of the

in the Brahmanical trinity is a very important factor in the religious

history of Kambuja,
and it was one of the reasons for the rebuff given
to Islam in Cambodia. Brahmanism did not stand in the prosperity
of Buddhism and it flourished undisturbed and without any animosity
from the State religion. In fact, we have cited instances of high
dignitaries and even of kings patronising Buddhism.
It seems that

catholicity
and toleration were the hallmarks in the history of
Buddhism in ancient Kambujadesa.
B. N. PURI
15 Majumdar, of. cit., p. 331; Ibid.
1 6 Elliot, of cit.

17 lbid. t Nanjio, Catalogue 1244, 1248

1 8 Majumdar, of cit,, No. 156, p. 399
19 Ibid., No. 90, p, 179
20 Elliot, of cit., p. 124
 Harivarman's Theory of Cognition

Vasubandhu while expounding the eight-fold drsti (view) brings

in for discussions different theories of sensuous as enter-
cognitions
tained by earlier Buddhist authors. The question raised is, what is

actually the agent for giving rise to our sensuous perceptions. There
appear to have been different of philosophers
groups pleading for
theory peculiar to each one. The earliest of all is the Sarvastivadin
headed by Vasumitra. The next conies the Vijnanavadin led by
Dharmatrata, These two groups figure
prominently in the discussions
introduced by Vasubandhu. It will also be evident that Vasubandhu

has favoured the Vijnanavadin (advocate of consciousness as the sole

agent of perception).
Now we shall see in the
following pages what Harivarman, one of
the predecessors of Vasubandhu has to
say about the subject. Harivar-
man was one of the profound and
original thinkers of ancient India. He
fought all his life for
puritanic approach to Buddha's preaching, so much
so that he had to take weed out the fungi that grew over
great pains to
the Master's as found in the Abhidharmas of the Sarvasti-
teachings
vadins. It it unfortunate that his only treatise, the
Satyasiddhi Sastra
has been lost to us in its form now available in an
original imperfect
translation in Chinese of Kumarajlva. 1 One of the most outstanding
reforms he has introduced in his
system was an absolute denial of any
distinction between the
primary elements (bhtita) and the secondary
elements (bhautika)
theory which is
a attributed to Buddhadeva
in the This theory
Kosabbasya (ad. 1,35) as well as in the Vibhasa.
again has been spoken of as one of the Sautrantika tenets in the
Hettibindutika ( p. 355, 1.
19 ).

Therefore the five which are reckoned as separate

sense-organs
secondary atomic elements by the Sarvastivadin-Vaibhasika, are no
more than things of nominal existence
(prajnaptisat) for Harivarman.
They are the same as the four great elements that assumed such forms
as the eye etc.

i This translation contains 20 chuans, fasc, and the whole o the treatise

has been translated into Sanskrit by me and will be shortly published,

 212 Harivarman's Theory of Cognition

Now let us turn to sec what Harivarman has to

say in regard to

epistemology. We may maintain that he was, in all

probability,
a

fore-runner of Vasubandhu in pleading for the thesis of Vijhanadarsana,

consciousness as the sole agent of cognition. Our author has employed

for upholding his view almost all the arguments that were pressed
for service by Vasubandhu. We may even say on comparison of
these two authors that the former is more comprehensive in his

arguments than the latter. It will not be without interest if we

present here some of his arguments with a view of drawing attention
of the scholars to the magnitude of his contribution to the develop-

ment of Buddhist
thought in India. As usual he presents his
topics
in the form of questions and answers.

(1)
At the commencement of the discussion on the present

subject (Satyasiddhi, sect. 48), Harivarman poses the question : Is it

the sense-organ that effects cognition or the consciousness residing in

it? His
opponent, though not specified, is the Sarvastivadin-Vaibhasika
2
who entertain the former alternative. Harivarman contends that in
case the sense is it will cognize all
cognizer, things simultaneously.

(2) The opponent strives to evade the difficulty by this reasoning:

the function of the sense is to light up things and that of the
consciousness to make them cognized. The author replies: the sense
then that is not in the nature of light, i.e., ear, etc. cannot light up

objects. Supposing even that the sense lights up things, the power
of cognizing can never be attributed to it. The lamp, for example,
illumines its
proximate objects but never cognizes them.
it must, We
therefore, attribute to the sense the function of giving support to the

consciousness which is
really
the cognizer.

(3) The opponent argues that the passages like caksusa mpani
drstva, etc. necessitate us to hold fast to the sense as sole cognizer.

The author retorts by saying that there are still more authoritative
passages, viz.
caksur brahmana dvaram yavad eva rtipanam darsanaya,

etc. which prove unmistakably that the sense operates as an instrument

2 The Sarvastivadin says: the pair of the eyes see (0*4,1.43); t ^e

Vatsiputriya : the single eye sees; the Darstantika: the company, sSmagrt
(bo-ho) sees, Ghosaka (Miao-yin) prajna associated with the visual

consciousness sees (Vibhas2> Taisho, vol. 27, p. 6ic). Read also my Abhidharma
Problems, of. cit. for Kwei-chi's summary of the eleven such theories of the

Buddhists and Hindus.

 Harivarmans Theory of Cognition

whereas the consciousness residing in giving rise toit is the agent in

the cognition. In the light of this unequivocal passage the sentence
above cited by you must be explained figuratively, implying the same
idea that the eye is the
support, i.e., instrument
and the consciousness
the perceiver. There are also some sayings which attribute emotions
to the
eye, etc. caksuh priyarfipani kamyati, "the eye desires
e.g.,
1
the -pleasant objects/ But no desire can be attributed to the eye.
The mind alone desires. However people attributing the act of

desiring to the eye, say that the eye desires. Similarly men in

the world talk that the eye sees and the ear hears, etc. The Master,
following their conventions employs similar expressions. He never

quarrels with the worldlings. They call Visakha daughter-in-

law of Mrgara as Mrgaramata, mother of Mrgara. Buddha also

calls her Mrgaramata. The author has collected a number of such

metaphorical expressions from the worldly usages which do not bear

their sense. A typical example is when a man sitting on the cot is

screaming, we say the cot is screaming (mancah kro'santf), etc. It is

evident therefore that these

expressions should not be assessed
at their

face-value. Thus the author's conclusion stands that while the

conciousness alone so because

peceiver, the sense
is is also of
spoken
the latter is related to the former as supporter.

(^) The opponent questions : if the sense is not cognizer, how

can we account for the
expressions like: eye-cognition, ear-cognition
{cakst4r-vijnanam % etc.)? The author answers: Though the sense and
its object play the equally important role in bringing about their
cognitions, the former excels the latter by virtue of its
being support
for the cognizing consciousness. In other words, the sense is the

supporting cause (asrayahetu) whereas the object is

passive cause

atambana-pratyaya. So the sense does not stand on a

par with the
object. Since the sense plays a more active part in effecting a cogni-
tion, the people talk of as related to their senses, eye-
cognitions
cognition, etc. The point thus illustrated.
is The sound is
produced
when the drum is struck with a stick. The sound thus produced is

the effect not only of the drum but of the stick and its act of striking.
Nevertheless the people talk ot it as the sound of a drum, bberisabda.

Similarly the expression yavankura should be explained. The

like

sprout is
produced on account of several factors being put together,
seed, earth, water, etc. we nevertheless call it
yavankura (sprout of
214 Harivarman's Theory of Cognition

millet-seeds) because the seeds are the material cause and excel other
factors. We may note in
passing that the examples above quoted,
viz. bherisabda and yavankura are
stock-phrases found in the

Kosabhasya and the logical treatises of Dihnaga school to illustrate

the expression :
Pratyaksa.

(5) Then Harivarman question whether

considers the the
consciousness cognizes in a close proximity or otherwise. His answer
here is as usual a qualified one, viz. the visual, auditory and mind-
formed consciousnesses are of non-contacted objects and the other
three of proximate objects. probably the Vaisesika who pleads
It is

that the eye cognizes the object after being contacted with it, and
assumes for this
purpose some sort of visual ray (caksu-rasmi)
which
runs after the vicinity of cognizable things. The Vaisesika contends
that the eye operates only on the proximate object, because if it

operates on the remote objects also, itcould cognize in one stroke every

thing in the world. Our author argues that even in his system the
said logical defect (i.e.,
the eye would be cognizant of remote things)
cannot be raised because the scripture has laid down the rule that the

visual consciousness will arise only when the following three conditions
are favourable: (i) the not defective (>) the object that
eye that is

falls within the reach of

light (abhasagata] and (3) the attention
that

is directed to the object. In the absence of any of these conditions

the visual
cognition will not arise. Yasomitra has preserved this
3
important quotation from an unknown source (p. 94,12). This gives
an oportunity for the author to elaborate what abhasagata and what
is

is
anabhasagata\ what is the sense-defect and what is not and so on.
There is one more Harivarman's system
characteristic feature of

of thought. We have already seen that he has denied the distinction

between the primary and secondary elements. Likewise he has also
done away with the division of thought into mind and mental
properties
as
postulated by the Sarvastivadins. This division is
illogi-

cal andapocryphal for Buddhadeva Our as well as Harivarman.

author has on the authority of scriptures established that thoughts

follow an order of sequence and never operate simultaneously, prov-

ing thereby that the so-called theory of samprayoga (i.e.,

one

'

ff
 Harivarman' $ Theory of Cognition 215

main thought is associated with several mental properties) of the

Sarvastivadins is not tenable. According to Harivarman, every

sensuous consciousness in moment is absolutely pure and free
its first

from any vikalpa, discursive thought. The Sarvastivadin, however,

maintains that there is vitarka always present in every moment
of consciousness, and hence nirvikalfa for him denotes that it is

free from other than the vitarka which is otherwise termed

vikalpa

svabbavavikalfa, (Kosa, I, 33). Vasubandhu has also criticised

the

Sarvastivadin's view in this respect. It is evident that Harivarman

was the earliest

exponent of the theory of "pure sensation" later

elaborated in the
Pramanasamuccaya and other logical
treatises of

Dirinaga School.
N. AIYASWAMI SASTRI
 The Narayanpur Image of Vinayaka
(Dated the fourth regnal year of Mahifala)

The village of Narayanpur, where this image was found, is about

15 miles to the north-east of the sub-divisional town of Chandpur in
the Tippera district in Eastern Pakistan. The image has on it an

inscription which is dated in the fourth year of the reign of King

Mahlpala. This inscription records the establishment of this image
of thegod Vinayaka by a merchant named Buddhamitra, son of Jam-
bhalami ra. This merchant is said to have been an inhabitant of a

place called Bilikandhaka which was situated, in the country of

Samatata. This image, however, is said to have been installed at a

place
called Bhasakaga. It
may be noted in this connection
that image of Narayana was discovered at Baghaura in the
an
Brahmanbaria sub-division of the district of Tippera in Eastern
Pakistan. The Baghaura image is said to have been installed in the
third regnal year of King Mahlpala by a Vaisnava merchant named
Lokadatta, an inhabitant of Bilaklndaka in the country of Samatata

(Vide Epigraphia Indica> XVII, pp. 353$). There can hardly

be any doubt that the Narayanpur ima^e and the Baghaura image
were installed during the reign of one and the same King Mahlpala.
There is reason to suppose that Bilikandhaka of the Narayanpur image
inscription
is identical with Bilaklndaka of the Baghalura image
inscription.
Dr. N. K. Bhattasali has identified Bilaklndaka with the

village Bilakendua, situated near Baghaura. According to Dr. N. K.

Bhattasali the kingdom of Samatata mentioned, in these inscriptions

corresponds bound by the Garo and the Khasi

to the tract of country

hills and the hills of

Tippera on the north and east, by the Lauhitya
or the Brahmaputra on the west and by the Bay of Bengal on the

south. It
comprised the eastern half of the Mymensingh and the

Dacca districts lying east of the river Brahmaputra, the greater part of
Sylhet, and the whole of the Tippera and Noakhali districts. Accord-

ing to Dr. D. C. Sircar Samatata apparently included the present

Tippera Noakhali region.

Among the kings of the Pala dynasty of Bengal there were

two bearing the name Mahlpala. According to some scholars
 The Narayanpur Image of Vinayaka 217

Mahipala I ruled during the period circa

992 to 1040 A. D. and
according to other scholars during
the period circa 988 to 1038 A.D.
Mahlpala II
reigned according some
scholars during the period circa
to

1081-82 A.D. and according to other scholars during the period A.D.
1070-75. According to Dr. D. C. Sircar it is possible to assign the
Baghaura and the Narayanpur images to the reign of any one of these
two Mahipalas, although the name of Mahipala I is usually suggested

by many scholars. The king mentioned in the Baghaura image ins-

cription has been identified by some scholars with the Gurjara
Pratlhara king Mahipala I who seems to havereigned durihg the
period A.D. 912-44. Dr. D. C. Sircar remarks in this connection:
"This suggestion, however, cannot be accepted in the present state of
our knowledge, as there is no evidence to prove Pratlhara connection
with south-east Bengal." (Vide Indian Culture, vol. IX., No. I.,
1942).
The names Buddhamitra and Jambhalamitra seem to indicate

Buddhist influence and hence one should naturally be inclined to

suppose that the god by Buddhamitra, son of

Vinayaka installed

Jambhalamitra, is the Mahayanic deity of that name. The image in

question is about 3 feet in height and is in a seated posture. It

is four-armed and
wears bangles and a necklace and a crown. The
left tusk of his elephant head is
represented as broken. The image
holds a radish in his right upper hand, rosary in his lower right hand,
axe in his
upper left hand and sweets in his lower left hand.
The elephant-headed god Vinayaka is
tasting the sweets in his lower

left kind with his trunk. He has lotus symbols on his feet and bears
a sacred thread to which a serpent is found tied. There is the
repre-
sentation of a rat, the god's vabana or carrier on the
pedestal.
According to Dr. D. C. Sircar (vide Indian Culture, vol. IX.,
No. July-September, 1942) the Narayanpur image of the god
i,

Vinayaka does not agree with the descriptions of the Mahayana

Buddhist deity Vinayaka and the image in
question agrees almost
exactly with the description given in the Visnudbarmottara of the
Brahmanical deity of this name. In this text we find the
following
description of the Brahmanical god Vinayaka:
"Vinayakastu karttavyo gajavaktrascaturbhujah/j
Mulakaih caksamala ca tasya daksinahastayoh/y
Patram modakapurnath tu parasus caiva vamacah/,
28
 218 The Narayanpur Image of Vinayaka

Dantas casya na karttavyo vame ripunisudanah//

Padaplthakrtapada
eka asanago bhavet/
Purnamodakapatre tu karagrath tasya karayet/ /

Lambodaras tatha karyah /

Vyaghracarmambaradharam sarpayajno-pavltavan//".
Jambhalamitra's son Buddhamitra who installed the image in
question thus seems to have been a Brahmanical Hindu. The
personal names of Jambhalamitra and of his son Buddhamitra, how-
ever, show Buddhist influence. In fact, there was, as Dr. D. C.
Sircar aptly argues, hardly any appreciable gulf of difference between
a Brahmanical Hindu and a Buddhist householder in Bengal in or
about the eleventh century A.D. In manners and customs a
Buddhist lay worshipper differed very little from a common Brahma-
nical Hindu householder of that age in Bengal. The later form
of Mahayana Buddhism or Tantric Buddhism, which was in vogue
in certain
parts of
Bengal during this period, had in its
pantheon
many gods and goddesses, which were alike
worshipped by Brahma-
nical Hindu householders in Bengal at that age. Thus Brahma-
nism and later Budddhism in
Bengal had many common gods and
goddesses. A lay
Buddhist and an ordinary Brahmanical Hindu
householder Bengal had in consequence during this period many
in

common beliefs and religious

practices.
The distinction between
Brahmanism and Buddhism in Bengal seems during this later
period
to have been exhibited only in the debates of the philosophers
OL

these two rival schools of thought. Thus the Bhuvanesvar inscrip-

tions (verse
20) of Bhatta Bhavadeva informs us that Bhavadeva II,

who is the hero of this frasasti or eulogistic account, was prominent

of Hindu philo-
among exponents of the Brahmadvaita system
the
Bhatta the great
sophy and was conversant with the writings of (i.e.

philosopher Kumarila Bhatta). He was an antagonist of the

and he refuted with ease the
philosophers of the Buddhist
school

opinions of the heretic dialecticians

(cf. "Brahmadvaitavidamudaharanabhurudbhutavidyadbhutasrasta
Bhattagirarii gabhlrimagunapratyaksadrsva kavih/
Bauddhambhonidhikumbhasambhavamunih pasandavaitandika-
-
prajnakhandana panditoyamavanau Sarvvajna lllayate//).
According to verse 23 of this inscription by following
Kumarila
Bhatta Bhavadeva wrote a guide to Mlmamsa philosophy.
 The Narayanpur Image of Vinayaka

According to the description given in the Bhuvanesvar inscription

Bhavadeva's forefathers were inhabitants of the village

of Siddhala

in Radha (i.e.
Western Bengal). On palaeographic evidence
Prof. Kielhorn (Epigraphia Indica, vol. 6, p. igSff) assigned the

Bhuvanesvar inscription of Bhatta Bhavadeva to about 1200 A.D.

and observed that "its interest lives in the fact that it treats, not
of kings and princes,
but of a scholar". Depending on literary
sources Monmohan Chakravarti (Vide Journal of the Asiatic Society

of Bengal, New Series, pp. 342-45) came to the conclusion

vol. 8,

that the date of Bhavadeva must be somewhere between circa 1025

and 1150 A.D. According to N. G. Majumdar (Vide Inscriptions
of Bengal, vol. 3, p. 32) the date of Bhavadeva should be taken as

being earlier than the first quarter of the 1 2th century A.D. and
even earlier than the last quarter of the iith century A.D. What-
ever differences there might have been in religious doctrines and

philosophical thoughts between Brahmanical Hinduism and Buddhism,

the lay may be said to have differed very little
Buddhist householders
from ordinary Brahmanical Hindu householders even in the early

period. So far as the common householders or the ordinary people

were concerned, the feeling of separatism among the lay Buddhists
and lay Hindu householders in Bengal gradually died out during
the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries A.D. The emperors
of the Pala dynasty of Bengal are mostly known to have been

Saugatas or followers of Sugata (i.e. Buddha). But they claim in

their records (cf.

Verse 5 of the Monghyr Copper-plate inscription
of Devapala) to have been upholders of the Varnasrama order or of

Brahmanical Hinduism as well. The grant of villages by Narayana-

varma during the reign of the Pala emperor Dharmapala (cf. the

Khalimpur copper-plate inscription of Dharmapala) for the continuance

of the
worship of an image of the god Nanna-Narayana and the
grant of land as fee by the Pala emperor Madanapala (cf. the
Manahali copper-plate inscription of Madanapala), to a Brahmana
who recited and
explained the text of the Mahabharata to his chief
queen Citramatikadevi may be pointed out in this connection.
This shows that in
spite
of differences in religious beliefs and

practices there
was no ill
feeling of communal rivalry between Brah-
manical Hindus, Buddhists and Jains in Bengal during the tenth,
eleventh and twelfth centures A. D. The Paharpur copper-plate
 22 o The Narayanpar Image of Vinayaka

inscription dated in the year 159 of the

Gupta era (corresponding to
A,D. 478-79) thus records that a Brahmana named Nathasarmma and
his wife Kami
deposited three dinaras or three gold coins in the city
council (adhisthanadhikarana) for
purchasing one kulyavapa and four
dronavapas of land situated in four different places for
meeting the
cost incurred for the maintenance of worship with sandal, incense,
flowers, lamps, etc. of the divine Arhats in the monastery at Vata-
Gohali. The donation of a Brahmana couple for the
worship of Jinas,
as recorded here, is
noteworthy for it shows the of toleration
spirit

during this Indica, vol. 20,

period (vide Epigraphia pp. 59$.)-
Gautama Buddha gradually came to be regarded in Hindu sociecy
in India as an incarnation of Visnu and with the
growth
of later
Vajrayanaand Sahajayana phases of Mahayana Buddhism in
Bengal the religious differences which originally existed between
ordinary Buddhist and Hindu householders in Bengal gradually
ceased to exist with the result that both became fused
together
as members of one
community. That is the reason why Buddhism
gradually disappeared from the land of its birth during the medieval

period. The fact is that

ordinary Buddhist householders had
by this time no touch with the writings of
philosophers of the
Buddhist school.

TAPO NATH CHAKRAVARTI

 Zen Buaamsm ana Boamanarma
In the Far East, there is no Buddhist influence so and
profound
penetrating as that of the Ch'an (Dhyana) School, popularly known as
Zen Buddhism. It has effected a
change in the cultural life as well as
the general outlook towards the method
of
attaining Enlightenment.
Not merely from the beginning of the loth
that;
century A. D. this
School has gained supremacy over all other Schools in China, so much
so that the monks in the monasteries
throughout the claimed
country
in one way or the other the patriarchal
lineage of celebrated Dhyana
masters. This phenomenon may be ascribed to the fact thac the

Dhyana Schocl has been the life and soul of Buddhism for over a
thousand years in China. As a result of its
important position, volu-
minous works have been produced Some them
by various writers. of
are
compositions containing the sayings of Dhyana masters, mystical
and paradoxical in nature, and others are historical records
concerning
the patriarchal
genealogy, eapecially that of the various branches of the
disciples of Hui the 6th Patriarch.
Neng, However, all of them una-
nimously claim that Bodhidharma, the sage from India, was the 28th
Patriarch of the Indian tradition and the First Patriarch of the Chinese

Dhyana School. To substantiate this claim, various fabulous tales or

legends have been popularized and linked with his life. We give
below a few of them as an illustration :

1. When the Emperor Wu Ti of

Liang Dynasty (502-549 the
A. D.) could not understand and unusual answers given by
appreciate
him, he went across the Yangtse River by means of a of reed. piece
He then entered the Shao Lin
Monastery in Ho Nan and
province
practised deep meditation facing the wall for nine long years. As a

sequel, it is said, he imprinted his image on the wall.

2. He is said to have attained the
hoary age of ico years, and
passed away after that. However, a Chinese envoy, while returning
from India, saw Bodhidharma with one shoe
dangling from his monk's
staff in the Pamirs
(Ts'ung Ling). When he this to the
reported
Emperor, his tomb was unearthed and, to their could
surprise, they
not find anything else in the coffin, except a broken shoe!
The stories mentioned above appear to indicate that he was a per-
son or, in the sense, that
possessing supernatural powers, derogatory
 222 Zen Buddhism and Bodhidharma

he was some sort of a magician. This, indeed, is unfortunate. We

shall endeavour, in the following pages, to bring out the truth about

sage. Special attention will be paid to the conditions

this great of this

School prior to his arrival in China and after his demise.

I. Was he the founder of the Chinese Zen Buddhism?

The answer to this question may be divided into two different
categories. In one case, we may say 'No/ and in the other, 'Yes,
but partially.'
It is a well-known fact that when Buddhism was introduced into

China, it embraced all the three aspects of that religion viz., discipli-

nary observance, meditation and philosophy (Slla, Samadhi and Prajna).

As such, we find a
large number of works on Dhyana or meditation
in the Chinese Tripitaka. The earliest ones are probably those tran-

slated
by An Shih-Kao 148-170 A. D. Take for instance:
in

1. The Sutra spoken by the Buddha on keeping thought in

the manner of great Anapana. Nanjio No. 682;

2. The Sutra on perception in the law of practice of medita-

Nanjio No. 683;

tion.

and the works on the same topic translated by Chih Yao

in 185 A.D. (Nanjio Nos. 724, I
338)> by Buddhabhadra
in A. D. 398-421 (Nanjio No, 1341), and many other important
texts translated by Kumarajlva in 402-412 A. D. This would show

clearly that the theory and practice of Dhyana had been known to
the

Chinese Buddhists quite early. Further, we find that there are 21

1
Dhyana masters in the Buddhist Biographies (completed in 519
A.D.) by Hui Chiao, in which the name of Bodhidharma is not in-

cluded, while in the second series of the Buddhist Biographies* (com-

pleted in 645 A.D.) by Tao Hsuan, the names of 135 Dhyana experts
arefound including a few of the immediate disciples of Bodhi-
dharma. These facts clearly show how popular and well-known was

Dhyana Buddhism among the Buddhists at that time. They also show
that Bodhidharma, who came China round about 480 A. D,, was
to

the founder of the Dhyana practices would not accord with truth.

1
Kao-sheng-chuan or Biographies of eminent Buddhist masters. Nanjio
No. 1490.
2 Shu-kao-sheng-chuan or the second series of the Biographies of eminent
Buddhist masters by Tao Hsuan, Nanjio No. 1493.
 Zen Buddhism and Bodhidharma 223

This, however, concerns only the early phase of the Dhyana School
in China which had already a firm footing before the arrival of

Bodhidharma, and, therefore, he is not entitled to the honour of being

its founder, as is
usually supposed. We must make it clear, never-

theless that the later developed Zen School has much to do with him,

though the honour seemed to have been forced on him.

When we say the later developed Zen School, we mean the
parti-
cular form of Zen Buddhism which flourished during the Tang and
the Sung Dynasties (618-905 and 960-1278 A.D. respectively), and
was greatly popularized by
Hui Neng, the 6th Patriarch who succeed-
ed the Bodhidharma lineage. was during the early portion of this
It

period that the Japanese Buddhists came to China for higher studies
and later took back with them the various Buddhist Schools including
the Zen (Zen is the Japanese term for 'Ch'an' which in turn is derived

from the Sanskrit word 'Dhyana'). It is this form of Zen Buddhism-

that has been widely known to the West. It may be said of Bodhi-

dharma that he was in some way associated with this School, though
indirectly.

II. The truth of his being the 28 Patriarch.

3
Several Chinese records of the Biographies of the Patriarchs of the

Zen School claim that Bodhidharma was the 28th Patriarch of the

Indian tradition starting from Mahakasyapa. Ch'i Sung, author of

two of these records, asserted that he was really the 28th Patriarch in

India and refuted the authority of Fu-fa-tsang-yin-yuan-ching or 'Sutra

on the Nidana of transmitting the Dharmapitaka' (Nanjio No. 1340),

a Sanskrit text translated into Chinese in
427 A. D. by Chi-chia-
yeh. This work gives us a list of the 'Parampara' tradition of
23
Indian patriarchs, beginning with Mahakasyapa and ending with
Siriiha Bhiksu. In between we have Asvaghosa as the iith, Nagar-

juna the i3th, Vasubandhu the 2Oth and so forth. In the biogra-

phical sketch of the last Patriarch, Sirhha Bhiksu, we are told that

3 i. Ch'i Sung : A treatise on the right School of transmitting the

Law. Nanjio No. 1528,
ii. Ch'i Sung: Records of the right School of transmitting the Law.

Nanjio No. 1529.

iii. Tao Yuan : Records of the transmission of the lamp upto the
Ching Teh Period 1004-1007 A,D. Nanjio No. 1524.
224 ^ en Buddhism and Bodhidharma

he was killed by Mirakutsu (Mihirakula?), a king belonging to the

heretic faith, known for his destruction caused to Buddhist establish-

ments and the massacre of the Buddhist monks in Kashmir. As a

was discontinued after his be-

sequel, the line of 'Parampara' death,
cause he could not find a suitable person to succeed him while he was
alive. On the evidence of this document, it is
very difficult for us

to believe the claim that Bodhidharma was the 28th Patriarch of

the Indian tradition. Moreover, as this claim was first made only in

the nth
century A. D. by a staunch supporter of the
Zen School in

China, viz., Ch'i Sung, it can hardly convince us. know We that

the motive behind this claim was to enhance the prestige of the said

School.

III. The date of Bodhidharma's arrival in China

4
The popular tradition recorded in the literature of the Zen School
tells us that Bodhidharma reached Canton in
527 A. D. (or 520
AJD. in another version) in the reign of Emperor Wu Ti of the

Liang Dynasty (502-549 A.D.}, stated in It is the same source that

he met the Emperor. As this Emperor chiefly devoted his attention

towards the building of monasteries, giving alms to the monks and so

forth, he could not understand the mystical teachings of Bodhidharma

and, therefore, the latter left him without being appreciated. However,
other earlier and more reliable sources present us with quite a different

picture.
The following cases may be cited :

1. Tao Hsuan (595-667 A,D.), author of the second series of

Buddhist Biographies gives us a life-sketch of Bodhidharma where he

says: 'He first reached the

territory
of the
Sung Dynasty (420-479
A.D.) and then
proceeded towards the North'. This Sung Dynasty
came to an end in 479 A.D. Moreover, he does not mention anything
about his interview with the Emperor of the Liang Dynasty. If we

accept this we may safely

version, place the date of his arrival

somewhere between 420-479 A.D.

2. One of the chief Bodhidharma was Sheng Fu
disciples of
who met the Master sometime about 480 A.D. when he was about

17 years of age. Sheng Fu passed away in

524 A.D. at the age of
6 1 years.

4 Sec Nanjio Nos 1528, 15*9 and 1524.

 Zen Buddhism and Bodhidharma 225

Hui Sheng, 5 another pupil of Bodhidharma learnt

3.
all the

meditational methods from him and observed strictly the ascetic

practices.He enjoyed the mature age of 70 years and died sometime

between 502-519 A.D.
All the foregoing evidence leads us to the same conclusion, that

is,
that Bodhidharma reached China sometime round 480 A,D. IE
that is so, then the popular tradition about his arrival in
527 A.D.
and about his meeting in the same year the Emperor of the Liang

Dynasty, falls to the ground.

IV. His teaching and relation with the later Zen Buddhism

According to the general belief, it is said that the way of teaching

adopted by Bodhidharma differed substantially from that of all the
Buddhist missionaries who found their way into China. He seemed
to have been a bad
linguist because he never translated any Sanskrit
text into Chinese, nor did he
compose any literary piece. What was
worse, judging by conventional standards, was that he preached an
ultra-modern doctrine which seemed to harbour a profound hatred
towards the traditional Buddhism as contained in the books. We
quote below an outline of the fundamental principles of Zen
Buddhism :

"A special tradition

outside the Scriptures;
Not to depend on books or letters;

To point direct to the heart man; of

To see (one's own) nature and become Buddha."

These lines tell us of the Dhyana School of the developed form.
We believe they have been strictly
observed by most of the Zen
followers in the Far East. However, to have a glimpse of its
early
simple teachings and practices, we have
to go back to the sayings and
the mode of life of Bodhidharma and his immediate disciples.
In his short life-sketch we find that he used to instruct Hui K'e,
later on known as the Second Patriarch, the following twofold
doctrine: One is 'reasoning* or the basic principle, and the other

'practice*.
As regards 'reasoning* he says:
"I firmly believe that all
living beings possess the same Real
Nature (Svabhava). But in most cases it has been covered

5 Sec Nanjio No. 1493. Ch. 6.

29
226 Zen Buddhism and Bodhidbarma

by the external dust of obstruction. I now ask them to

give up falsehood and return to reality by gazing at

the wall and meditating. They should not try to make

any distinction between the self and others, between the
saintly and the profane, but to stand firmly on these
foundations and not to followany other teachings. This,

indeed, will be in concordance with the Tao* which

is silent and devoid of activities".

Among the 'practices' there are four in number:

i. The attitude towards one's enemy
"During the course of religious training, calamity may fall on
the practitioner. Under such circumstances, he should
think that in the previous Kalpas he had been led astray

and had many ties of attachment and hatred. In the

present life he might have been freed from them, but

the deeds
the suffering should be regarded as the effect of

performed in one's former births. Therefore, one should

willingly face all the sorrows and should not harbour

any enmity towards the wrong-doer ....When this

occurs in one's mind, it is in accordance with the 'Tao',

because trying to understand what is the nature of enmity
is to enter into the path of 'Tao'.
2. To be content with one's lot

"There is no Attna (soul) in living beings. Happiness and

misery should be received calmly as they came. Even if

one is treated with honour, it is due to his previous

deeds; when their effect is over, it would not come

again. Therefore there is no occasion for rejoicing. In

the case of gain or loss, there should not be any

difference in the tranquillity of the mind. If the Wind is

calm and gentle with regard to success or failure, then,

it is said to be in fitting accordance with the Dharma".

3. The avoidance of hankering

"The ordinary folk have for a long time lost themselves in

greed that means hankering. A seeker after the Truth

should be different from them. He

ought to rest his mind
on inactivities and let him face squarely whatever is his lot.
Indeed, all the Three Worlds are full of sufferings and
 Zen Buddhism and Bodhidharma 227

nobody is secure. The Sutra says:

Whatever you hanker after,
The sequel is
suffering.
There will be happiness

When one is devoid of greed."

4. To be in accordance with the Dharma

This is meant that the Svabhava or Real Nature is
inherently

pure.
As Bodhidharma never composed anything himself, this sums up
the total
output of his teachings. In addition to this, we are told

that he recommended to his disciples the study of the Lankavatara-

sutra. This is the only Mahayana text which had some connection
with the Dhyana School in its early stages.

Judging by the rather curt outlines o his teaching and the ascetic
way of life of his immediate disciples, it appears to us that theoretically
he had more or less based his
philosophy on the interpretation of
Buddha-nature in sentient beings as found in the Nirvana Sutra.

Therefore, he regarded the saintly and the profane as on the same

level, because intrinsically

there would not be any difference between

them. However, there is not the slightest hint of the theory of

'Sudden Enlightenment' here, though it is

very prominent in the
teachings of the later
patriarchs
and their disciples. Moreover, the
apparently eccentric ways of teaching, such as giving a blow, a kick or

a tweak of the nose, drawing a circle in the air, saying paradoxical

things, questions with incoherency and all kinds of

answering
absurdities adopted by the patriarchs after Hui Neng, the 6th
Patriarch (639-713 A.D.) cannot be said to have originated with

Bodhidharma, because he had nothing to do with them. On the

contrary, the emphasis laid on austerity, self-contentment, self-

mortification, the curb of desire, the belief in the effect of Karma,

the insistence on concentration of mind by gazing at the blank wall,
and other ascetic trends appear more akin to the early 'Arhat' ideal

than the Mahayana Dhyana practices seen after the yth century A.D.
To substantiate our statement, we few examples in order
cite a to

show what kind of austere life Bodhidharma's disciples used to

lead:

(i) Hui K'e, his chief disciple and in later generations known as

the Second Patriarch, used to practise the teachings of Bodhidharma

 228 Zen Buddhism and Bodbidharma

very During the period of persecution of Buddhism started

strictly.

by Emperor Wu Ti of the Northern Chow Dynasty (561-578 A.D.)

one of his arms was cut off by an assassin. As he took it
calmly by
adhering to his master's instructions, he did not feel
any pain. To
stop bleeding, he cauterized the wound with fire and bandaged it with
a piece of cloth. He went on begging his alms as if nothing had

happened.
(ii)
Na Ch'an-shib, or Na, the Dhyana master, was a disciple of
Hui K'e. Before his renunciation he was a renowned Confucian
scholar. From the time of his becoming a monk, he gave up reading
non-Buddhist literature and never touched a
pen. Regarding his
personal possessions,
he had only a robe, and a begging bowl. He ate

only one meal a

day and observed the practice
of 'Dhuta' very
strictly.

(iii)
Hui Man, a
disciple
of Na Ch'an-shih and a
great-grand-

disciple
of Bodhidharma, devoted himself to the
practice of non-attach-
ment. He had only a robe and ate once a
day. There was no other

property belonging to him except two needles. He needed them for

mending his rug in the winter, but would discard them during the

summer. Once he was meditating in an open ground which was

covered by snow over five feet
deep. Some one saw him and offered
him free board and temporary lodging. He refused that kind offer

and said :

"I would accept your invitation only when no one else in the

whole world is alive!"

Besides, the lives led by his other

Shcng immediate disciples like

Fu (who died in 524 A. D.) and Hui Shcng (who died during 502-

519 A. D.) are more or less like the ones described above. If we com-
pare their spirit of self-mortification and quiet contemplation with the
boisterous daring of burning a wooden image of the Buddha (by Tan
Hsia) and the killing of a cat (by Nan Chuan) and other strange acts

performed by Dhyana masters supposed to contain the mys-

later

tery of Dhyana ideals we would come to the conclusion that there is

hardly any common ground between them. Thus, it would appear to

be an irony of Fate that Bodhidharma was placed as the First Patriarch

of the Zen School.
From the foregoing evidence we are led to believe firstly, that his-

torically speaking Bodhidharma was very sober, simple-living and

 Zen Buddhism and Bodhidharma

comparatively less known than most of his contemporaries. The story

of his meeting with the of the Liang Dynascy
and other
Emperor
fabulous tales associated with his life cannot stand critical enquiry.

Secondly, Bodliidharma's theories and practices concerning Dhyana

differed a
good deal from those of the later patriarchs
and their

numerous the First

disciples. If that is so, why was he regarded as
Patriarch of the Zen School? Thirdly, the list of the six Patriarchs,

1 . Bodhidharma
2. Hui K'e
3. Sheng Tsan
4. Tao Hsin
5. Hung Jen
6. Hui Neng (or Shen* Hsm)
popularly known from the beginning of the 8th century A. D. and
lateron recorded in the Dhyana literature written by Ch'i Sung in

the nth century A. D. was not found in early Buddhist historical

records. Sheng Tsan, the Third Patriarch in our list, was not known
to
any author of the Buddhist Biographies (The second series comple-
ted in 645 A. D. and the third series in
988 A. D.). Tao Hsuan
mentioned very briefly in his 'Biographies* the names of Tao Hsin
and Hung Jen as teacher and pupil, but he did not say anything about
their being
4th and the cjth Patriarchs
the in the Bodhidharma
line.
Naturally, he could not, because he had already recorded the

life-sketch of Hui Man, the great-grand-disciple of Bodhidharma.

On the face of all this, we would suggest that it is
high time to

correct wrong but popular traditions and beliefs concerning

Bodhidharma and the patriarchs.
W. PACHOW

6 Shen Hsiu died in 706 A. D. The inscription on his tomb contains

the above-mentioned list. It is claimed that he was the 6th Patriarch.
 The Buddhist View re, Eternity of the Vedas
Santaraksita in his Tattvasarhgraha has refuted the 'nityatva*
(permanence) of the Vedas, which are regarded as eternal by the
Mimarfisakas, according to whom words, meanings and their relation-

ship are all eternal. The Vedas are without any condition before their
existence nor have they any condition after them
they are authorless
and eternal. The Mimamsakas urge that the Vedas have unquestiona-
1
ble authority as they are not human creations. As the five kinds
of proof fail to establish the author of the Vedas, it is by the sixth

proof i.e.
proof of absence, the contention is established. Further,
2
the Vedas being eternal are neither produced nor destroyed.
Santaraksita argues that the authority of the Vedas cannot be

recognised in view of the fact that Vedas have got no author

as the

whose excellent qualifications would make him say the truth,

knowledge derived from them is bound to be invalid. Again if the
eternity of the Vedas is established on the ground of the absence of
3
proof then the sky-flower should also be held as eternal.
The Mimamsakas argue that knowledge derived from the

Vedas cannot be proved as invalid

by inference, because inference is

4
much inferior in authority to the proof of the revealed literature.
The Buddhists reply that inference is
certainly of a superior authority
to the Vedas which are nothing but sounds. If the sounds however are

taken as proved by perception, then there is no justification as to why

the words uttered by human beings should not be regarded so.
Again when Mlmaihsakas argue that sound is eternal and

omnipresent, because it is always and everywhere known

like the

Sun, the Buddhists reply that sound should not be accepted as onini-

f? sranqf
3TcT. II Tattvasamgraha, sl. 20X6

ft
n Ibi - sl - 2I0 5

3 Vide Tattvasarngraha sl.

2432: ^t T^T^ffa
4 Jjsr^T^rfSrf^cf ^rn^nto SRT: f&<rn \

u ibid., sl. 2108

 The Buddhist View re.
Eternity of the Vedas 23 1

present for the reason that sounds are produced in different places and
at different times. The Sun on the other hand is seen at all
places by all

persons. Experience (fratyabhijna) not being a valid proof like

perception cannot establish the eternity of sounds. Experience

expresses- 'same as that* and hence cannot represent perception which
isfreefrom reflection (kalpanapodham).*

The words, according to the Mlmathsakas, are treated as eternal

inasmuch as they express their meanings. In the Sabdarthapartksa

it has been shown that there is no relation between the word and its
8
meaning,
Again it has been contended that words and letters being eternal,

the sentences should also be accepted as eternal. Though some

sentences and words like
guna, vrddhi etc. may be used to express
the wishes of their authors, yet that does not go against the eternity
of the Vedas for
they have got no authors and again for the reason
that things described in the Vedas ate beyond the power of human
7
beings to witness. The Buddhists in this connection argue that eternity

of sentences need not be proved in the light of the fact that there is

no connection between the objects and the sentences. If the sentences

so combined have
are
merely combination of words, then the letters
no meanings to express. If the letters arranged one after another
are to be considered as a sentence then how can eternal letters have

arrangement as they are for ever existent and omnipresent ?

Thus the Buddhists conclude by stating that the Vedas cannot be
regarded as eternal and divine for the reason that they contain many
8
unpleasant things as katna, mithya^ pranihirhsa
etc. Inasmuch as

the theory of momentariness is established by Sugata the question of

9
eternity of the Vedas should be dropped by all means. Therefore

T g stfta frfonf^T t

: n Ibid., si. 2448

7 3 N tf^% *[^ 3 3W$W2Tt qcf: I Ibid., si.

2775
8 *H?T5^ *T ^S? %<*$' <ft^3T I

bid " *! 27 87

id " sL 2 795
 The Buddhist View re.
Entcrnity of the Vedas

as the Vedas have no authority on 10

points of Dharma, one should

person who
try to learn it from a is and who* possesses
pure pure
knowledge of the universe in order to obtain truth and
11
emancipation.

HERAMBA CHATTERJEE

10 tfWf* Sff^f rf ftf^TS^fM^^TtTt SWHlRrT \ Ibid., si. 2809

cf5 |

II ^id., 2810
Pataliputra ; Its Importance in the History of Buddhism
Name and Location Pataliputra, the later
capital of the

Magadhan empire, was recognised as one of the six great cities of

ancient India. The various forms of the name Pataliputra are Patali-
1 2
putta (Pali); Padaliputta (Prakrit), Palibothra or Palimbothra; Pa-
3
lien-fu (Chinese.) The city was otherwise known as Puspapura or
4
Kusumapura.
AH the sources of information about the city of Pataliputra
suggest its location to the southern bank of the Ganges
near the ancient site of modern Patna. The village Pataligama
(earlier name of the place) Kotigama on the
lay opposite to

northern bank of the Ganges which formed the boundary between

5
Magadha and the territory of the Licchavis of Vaisalf.

According to the Jaina Vividha-tfrthakalpa the city was built on

the bank of the Ganges near the confluence of the great rivers of Mid-

India, the Ganges, the Sone and the Gandak. Patanjali locates the
on the bank of the Sone (anusonam PataliputramY while in
city just
Mudraraksasa (IV. 16) Malayaketu is said to have crossed the river
Sone to reach
Pataliputra. These accounts indicate that formerly the
river Sone met the Ganges at the ancient site of
Pataliputra but later

receded westwards.
Fa-Hien coming from Vaisall crossed the river Ganges and
walked southwards for a yojana along the river and reached Patali-
7
putra. Prolonged excavations carried out by the Archaeological
Department have led to the exact location of the city of Pataliputra,

i McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Megasthanes and Arrian,

6
P- 3<
2.
McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Ptolemy (N.G. Mazumdar
edition), p. 169.

3 Beal, Records of the Western World, I, iv.

4 Allahabad Stone Pillar Inscription of Sarnudragufta (C.I.I.); MahZvamsa,

ch t 18, 5; MahZvastu, III, p. 231.
5 Digha Nikaya, II, p. 89.
6 Mababhasya, 2. i. 2. p. 510.
7 L e gg e P- 77 Northern India According to the Shtti-Ching-Chu by
L. Petech, p. 4*.

30,
234 Patalifutra : Its Importance in the History of Buddhism

the remains of which have been found in the villages of Kumrahar,

8
Bulandi-Bagh and other outskirts of the city of Patna.

Buddhist Heritages of the City

Pre~Maurya Period: At the time of Buddha, Pataliputra

was

merely a
village named Pataligama (of. cit). During his last visit

to the village while he was passing from Rajagrha to Vaisall, shortly

before his death, Buddha prophesied about the future greatness of the

village and its ultimate destruction by fire, innundation and internal

dissensions. At
time King Ajatasatru
this
employed two brahmin
ministers Vassakara and Sunldha to build a fortress at Pataligama as

a
precaution against the Vajjian attack. In honour of Buddha the
people of Pataliputra called the gate, Gotamadvara, through which he
left the city and the
ferry ghat, Gotamatittha, at which
he crossed the
9
Ganges.
The Udana 10 relates that a
large hall was constructed in the

middle of the village of Patali for the officers of Ajatasatru. At the

reguest of the villagers, Buddha passed a

night in the hall. On the

following day, he delivered a sermon to the people on the five

kinds of reward of observance of precepts and the five kinds of
11
disadvantages of an evil doer. At a later date a brahmin householder
12
of Anga built an assembly hall for the
Sangha of Pataliputra.
After the demise of Buddha, the waterpot and the girdle used by
him were deposited in the city of Pataliputra. 13
According to the Buddhist traditions Ajatasatru in his later

life became an earnest and enthusiastic devotee of Buddha. After

Ajatasatru, his son, Udaylbhadra reigned for 16 years. Udaylbhadra
was succeeded by Anuruddha and then by Munda. Munda, it seems,
had leanings towards Buddhism, because, just after the death of his

queen Bhadra he approached Bhikkhu Narada at Pataliputra and

14
listened to a discourse on the impermanence of worldly objects.

8 Annual Reports (A.S.I.) 1912-13, pp. 54-59.

9 Vinaya, I, pp. 226-230; Dtgha, II, 86 ff.

10 UJSna, VIII. 6; UJ. A., 407 ff.

1 1
Dtgha, II, pp. 85-86.
12 Majjhima, II, 57 ff.

13 Bttddhavamsa, ch. XXVIII.

14 Ahguttara NikSya, III, pp. 57 ff.

 Pataliptttra : Its
Importance in the History of Buddhism 235

One hundred years after the demise of Buddha, the Second

Buddhist Council was held for the purpose of settling disputes over
certain Vinaya rules. Due to the difference of opinions, the Buddhist
Church was split into two and afterwards into more than eighteen
schools. The seceders were known as the Mahasanghikas and the
orthodox party as the Theravadins.

According to Hiuen Tsang, Khujjasobhita, a prominent member

of the Second Council 15
belonged to
Pataliputra.
The Mahasanghikas had great influence at Pataliputra and though
the Theravadins lived side
by side with the other school they could not
live with the 16
Mahasanghikas and receded westwards. finally
After Kalaloka and his descendants another new dynasty headed
by Nanda came to the throne of Magadha. to the
According
Manjttsrimtilakalpa, a Sanskrit Buddhist text, Nanda was a great
patron of Buddhism. King Nanda, at the advice of his spiritual teacher,
offered several to the which were built on the
gifts Caicyas
17
deposited relics of Buddha. Mahapadma Nanda, son and
successor of Nanda, was also devoted to Buddhism and provided
the monks at
Kusumapura with all their requisites.
1*

Bu-ston quotes from the Buddha's

Mahakarunapundarika predic-
tion of a of successive and
list
guardians of his doctrine after his death
cites the names of two monks Asvagupta and Uttara, both of whom
19
belonged to
Pataliputra.
All the facts stated above show that within
century afcer Buddha's
a

demise the main centre of BudJhism along with the capital of

Magadha was shifted from Rajagrha to Pataliputra, which also became
the stronghold of the 20
Mahasanghikas.
Maurya Period :
Pataliputra attained pre-eminence during the rule
of the
Mauryas. The first two emperors of this dynasty Candragupta
and Bindusara, were not so much in favour of Buddhism as were

15 Dutt, Early Monastic Buddhism, vol. If, p. 28,

16 Buddhist Sects by N. Dutt, in B. C. Law Volume I, pp, 285-286.
17 Manjusrimfilakalpa, pp. 611-612.
18 Taranathas Geschichte des Btiddhismus by Schcitner, p. 55.

19 Bu-ston's History of Buddhism, vol. 2,

p. 109.
20 Early Monastic Buddhism, vol. II, p. 30.
236 Pataliputra : Its Importance in the History of Buddhism

their remote ancestors, the Moriyas of Pipphalivana, who took a share

31
of the relics of Buddha and erected a
stupa over them.
Asoka surpassed all of his ancestors by his
outstanding system of
administration and by his broad religious outlook. Though Asoka
showed sympathy and favour to all religious creeds, there are clear

evidences which reveal his strong faith and leanings towards the
doctrine of Buddha and his Order.

As the accounts of the Chinese travellers testify, Pataliputra was the

first
place where Asoka commenced his activities for the benefit of

Buddhism. He took out the relics preserved in the seven stupas (vide

Mabaparinibbana Sutta), distributed them all over his dominion and

erected on them
stupas of which the very first was constructed at
32
Pataliputra. Asoka it is said did this pious act at the advice of
23
Upagupta, the spiritual teacher of the emperor.
Huen Tsang furnishes us with the information that there was a
miraculous stone with Buddha's foot-print, placed in a temple near the
relic
tope at Pataliputra. Buddha stood on this stone before his
2*
departure from Magadha towards Kuslnagara. Near that temple
there was an Asokan pillar,
more than thirty feet in height with an

inscription recording Asoka's deep faith and his offer of the whole of
25
Jambudvlpa (his empire) to the Buddhist Sangha.
About two hundred yards north from the stupa Asoka buiit a new
palace called Ne-le and erected another stone pillar
known by the

same name with on the top of it and an inscription.

a lion
capital
Both Dr. Spooner and Col. Waddell, who carried on excavations
statements of the Chinese
at the ancient site of support the
Pataliputra,
travellers that Asoka erected two pillars,
some fragments of polished
26
sandstone of which were traced by Col. Waddell.
During the excavations at the site, a well, known as Agam Kuan
(unfathomable well) was discovered. It was a large circular well

21 Mahaparinibbana Suttanta of the Digha Nikaya.

22 Watters, On Yuan Chwang, vol. II, p. <yi; Legge, Travels of Fa-Hien,

p. 70; Samantd-pZsadika, Introduction; Sumangalavilasini.

23 Watters, voL II, p. 91.

24 Watters, II
p. 92, Legge p. 79.

25 Watters, 93, Legge p. 79.

II, p.

26 Ancient Monuments of Bihar and Orissa, by H. Quereshi, A.S.I.,

p.
1 02. Henceforth shortened as Ancient Monuments.
 Patali-ptitra
: Its Importance in the History of Buddhism 237

(20 feet and 2 inches in diameter), the walls of which were raised

about 10 feet above the ground level and had eight windows. Huen
Tsang perhaps witnessed this well and identified it with Asoka's
Prison. He is
supported by Waddell. The tradition about the prison
27
is as follows :
Asoka, when he was very cruel (before his conversion
to Buddhism) constructed a prison called 'Hell* which accomodated
one thousand inhabitants within a walled city in order to punish the

unruly citizens. But one day the king was overwhelmed at the sight of
the magical power of a Buddhist Sramana who was thrown into the

Prison, and since then he destroyed the 'Prison' and made the penal
28
code liberal.

Among other objects noticed by Huen Tsang, there are, (i)

a large stone vessel, which Asoka said to have kept to hold the food
29
for monks; a cave excavated at the instance of
(ii) large
Asoka at Pataliputra for the use of Mahendra who joined the
30
Buddhist order and attained the state of Arhathood; (iii)
caves
for the use of Upagupta and other Arhats on a small hill to the

south west of the city. By the hill side there were stone
31
foundations of an old terrace and holy tanks and (iv)
five
topes
to

the south-west of this very hill in a

dilapidated condition. In later

period some other smaller topes were built upon this main tope.

Col. Waddell identified the above cave-dwelling of

Upagupta
with the Chota-Pahari site of Panch Pahari now known as Bara Pahari

in the village of
Nirandanpur Kharuma. The Panch Pahari was a

group of mounds containing five stupas constructed by Asoka,

five

The Bara Pahari mound was the largest and highest of all in the area.
Dr. Spooner discovered a few fragments of Chunar stone probably of
the Mauryan period and remains of two brick stupas. Dr. Spooner

supposes that all the fives stupas which Asoka built were in this single
mound. In one of the stupas Dr. Spooner found an empty relic
82
chamber and a small very early type of a Triratna symbol.

27 Ancient Monuments, p. 96.

28 Watters, vol. II, p. 88.

29 Watters, vol. II, p. 93.

30 Ibid., p. 93.

31 Ancient Monuments, p. 96.

32 Ibid., p. 98,
 238 Pataliputra : Its Importance in the History of Buddhism

The Monastery of Kukkutarama

Kukkutarama was park at Pataliputra The Kukkutarama vihara
a

was situated in a garden named Upakanthakarama on the right bank

83
of the Ganges Originally the monastery was built by Kukkuta-
.

34
setthl . It became an avasa of monks and a favourite resort of
Ananda 35 , A monk named Bhadda, also a resident of the monastery,

had conversation with Ananda on the subjects of true religion, objects

of recollection etc 36 . The Elders Nitavasi, Sanavasi, Gopaka, Bhagu,
Phalikasandana lived here 37 . At a later date here resided Bhikkhu
38
Narada who delivered a discourse to king Munda . Sonaka,
the
preceptor of Siggava, Thera Candavajji, the teacher of
39
also resided
Moggaliputta Tissa lived in this monastery .
Upagupta
40
in this
monastery .

According Divyavadana, Pusyamitra made

to Taranatha and
an attempt to destroy the monastery but was obstructed, as the legend
41
goes, by the roar of a lion which appeared miraculously.
Huen Tsang located the Kukkutarama to the south-east of the old

city of Perhaps the old shrine of Kukkutarama fell

Pataliputra.
into decay before Asoka. Asoka built another monastery over the ruins

of the old one which at a later date was known as Asokarama. Tissa,
the younger brother of Asoka, was ordained in this monastery and he
lived here.

In the Pali commentaries and Ceylonese Chronicles it is stated that

the Third Buddhist Council of the Theravada School was convened in

this monastery under the patronage of Asoka. Huen Tsang also men-
tioned an assembly of one thousand Buddhist monks in this monas-

33 Asokavadana in R. L. Mitia's Sanskrit Buddhist Literature, 6f. vide,

N. L. De's Dictionary, p, 152.

34 Majjbima Atthakatha, II, 571; Anguttara Atthakatha, II, 866.

35 Ahguttara, v. 342; Majjbima, i.

349.
36 Samytttta, v. pp. 15-16; 171-172,
37 Vinaya, I. 300, vide, Malalasekara's Dictionary of Pall Proper Names,
vol, I. p. 615
38 of cit.

39 Mahavamsa, v. 122; Dictionary of Pali Prefer Name, by G. P.

Malalasekara, I, p. 615.
40 Svayambhu Purdna, ch. I.

41 Divya., pp. 381 ff; 430 ff.

 Pataliptttra : Its
Importance in the History of Buddhism 239
42
tery. Divyavadana the number of monks is given 30000 but
In the

they did not come to hold a council but only to attend AsoUa's first
'quinquennial festival of the holy priesthood.' The senior among them
was the great Pindola Bharadvaja who had seen the Buddha. 43
Asoka used to provide daily food for all monks residing at the

Asokarama. 44
A large number of monks from Asokarama headed by
Mitthina went to
Anuradhapura of Ceylon to celebrate the founda-
45
tions of the Mahathupa. From this monastery Mahinda set out on
46
his mission to Ceylon.

Thera Dhammarakkhita, teacher of Nagasena, lived in this monas-

47
tery. Indagutta Thera (date unknown) was appointed by the king
of the country to
superintend the building of the Vihara of Asok-

arama/ 8

The Amalaka and the Gong Tofe

Huen Tsang found a large
tope called Amalaka stupa just by the

side of Kukkutarama. He records that when Samprati ascended the

throne after Asoka's retirement he stopped the Asoka's largesses to the

Buddhist church and reduced gradually his allowance which was

given away by him to the

Sangha. At last
Samprati gave him half
an amalaka fruit in an earthen pot. Asoka sent even this half
to the bhikkhus of Kukkutarama. Yasa, the abbot of the monas-

tery, had the cooked "to keep the kernal and have a tope raised"
fruit
49
over it. This mound was situated to the east of modern Ranipura
50
within the Kukkutarama.

Huen Tsangwitnessed another tope called Gong-Call Tope in an

old monastery to the north-west of the Amalaka Tope. He narrates
the legend of the foundation of this tope also. Formerly there were
in the
city about
one hundred monasteries with the ''Brethren of high

42 Watters, vol. II, p. 98.

43 Dtvya., p. 398 ffi. v. 80; 163, 174, 234, 276.
44 Mahavamsa,
45 Ibid., xxix, 36.

46 Samantaffisddika, I. 69.
47 Milinda t
pp. 16-18.
48 SamantapZsadika, i.
pp. 48-49.
49 Watters, vol. II. pp. 99-100; Divya., p. 430.
50 N. L. De, Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India,

p, 152,
 240 Pataliputra ; Its
Importance in the History of Buddhism

character and the Tirthikas (heretics) were silenced. The Buddhist

clergy gradually died and there was a great falling off in their
successors." The Tirthikas assembled in the city and defeated the
Buddhists in discussion and as a result occupied the Buddhist monas-

tery and gained royal favour.

After twelve years Deva Pusa (Aryadeva)
a disciple Nagarjuna (Pusa Bodhisattva) of South India came to
of

Pataliputra
and defeated them in an open meeting. "The king and
his minister's were greatly pleased and raised this sacred structure as a

memorial". But according to Fang-Chih it was not Aryadeva but

Nagarjuna himself who defeated the Tirthikas 81 .

After Asoka
The successors of Asoka were not in favour of Buddhism and so

the traditions are silent on the condition of Buddhism in

Pataliputra
during their
reigns. But there is
still no doubt that Pataliputra

continued to be a centre of Buddhist learning for several centuries.

Though Pusyamitra Sunga, the usurper of the Maurya throne was

an adherent of Brahmanism, he was not so antagonistic towards
6
Buddhist monks as stated in the
Divyavadana and the Asokavadana *.
According to these texts, Pusyamitra attempted to destroy the
53
monastery of Pataliputra and declared the reward of one hundred
dinaras to one who would bring the head of a Buddhist monk.
Buddhism however was in flourishing condition within the boundary of
the Magadhan empire under the Sungas. Besides the massive construc-

tion of the Sanchi Stupa, archaeological antiquities of this period

64
have been traced from Pataliputra .

According to the Petavattbu commentary (pp. 244 ff) the general

of King Pingala of Saurastra came to Pataliputra and embraced
Buddhism. King Pandu of Pataliputra (date not mentioned), his vassal
Guhasiva and his subordinate King Cittayana were converted to
Buddhism 65 . Two Brahmins of Pataliputra set out for Ceylon to
56
meet Mahanaga Thera, a famous monk of the Island .

51 Watters, vol.. II, pp. 100-102.

52 Early Monastic Buddhism, vol. 2. p, 256.
53 Op cit.

54 A beautiful Triratna slab of high artistic value of the Sunga period was
found in Pataliputra. Annual Reports of 1912-13, A.S. I (1916), p. 77.
55 DathZvamsa, by B.C. Law, pp. XII-XIV.
56 AhgHttara Nikaya Atthakatha, i.
384.
 Pataliputrd : Its Importance in the History of Buddhism 24 1

Taranatha during the reign of Kaniska, a brahmin

relates that
named Vidu was making one thousand copies of the sacred Buddhist
texts at
Pataliputra, while Huen Tsang states that the great Buddhist
57
poet Asvaghosa lived in a house at Pataliputra .
As archaeological evidence of the presence of Buddhism, a large
Bodhisattva image of Mathura school of the Kusana period, was found
58
at the site of Pataliputra .

Period of the Guptas and Kanattj King Haysavardhana

Fa-Hien (or Fa-hsien) visited the city during the reign of

Candragupta II. At the time of his visit there resided in the city a

great learned Brahmana named Radhasvami, a professor of Mahayana

doctrine. The king of the country honoured and showed reverence
to him. He might be more than fifty years old and all the kingdom
59
looked up to him as a great teacher .

60
According to the traveller , the cities and towns of Magadha
were the greatest of all in theMiddle Kingdom (Central India). The
inhabitants were rich and prosperous and vied with each other in the

practice of benevolence and religious ceremonies. Every year on the

eighth day of the second month they used to take out a procession of

images.
By the side of the tope of Asoka there was a Mahayana
monastary, a very grand and beautiful structure and there was also a
Hinayana one, two together containing six or seven hundred monks.
A brahmin ManjusrI of the greatest virtue to whom the
teacher,
Samanas and the Mahayana Bhiksus in the country showed honour,
lived in this monastery.
A Bodhisattva image brought from Mathura of early Gupta period
61
was found in the ruins of a building at Pataliputra.

Dr. Spooner discovered a maze of ruined brick walls of the late

Gupta period extending over the entire area of excavations.

Numerous clay sealings of which one
or two were old but the
aa
majority belonged to the Gupta period had been found at the site.
57 Watters, vol. 2. p. 102. p. 107.
58 Ancient Monuments.
59 Legge, p. 78.
60 Ibid., pp. 78-79.
61 Annual Re forts, op cit, p. 26.
62 Ancient Monuments, p. 102.

31
342 Patalifutra ; Its
Importance in the tiistory of Buddhism

Buddhism had already begun to decline before the visit of Huen

Tsang who travelled over this country for 16 years during the reign
of Kanauj King Harsavardhana. Huen Tsang witnessed Buddhism
in a gradually decaying condition in
many places of India. In the
places like Malava, Maharastra, Kanauj and Jalandhara where once
Buddhism overshadowed all other religions, the traveller found
Buddhists and non-Buddhists in equal number. But still in Pataliputra

along with Ayodhya and Sind, Buddhist establishments and the

monks of both the Vehicles were of far greater number in comparison
63
to the Devas and the Heretics. In the view of the traveller there

were fifty
monasteries with ten thousands monks but only ten Deva
04
in
temples Pataliputra.

Ou-Kong, who came after Huen Tsang, found Buddhism in a

flourishing condition in
Magadha. He stayed in a
monastery of
the Chinese which was probably situated at
Pataliputra.
This
was a rich monastery frequented by the monks and their
65
disciples.
Our history of Buddhism in
Pataliputra ends here on account of the
final destruction of the city. Though the exact causes and the time
of destruction are hithereto unknown to us yet the discovery of
burnt wooden structures and the masses of alluvial soil over the site

two of the three not the third one

suggest that the first
dangers if

predicted by Buddha were the main catastrophes and it occurred

long before the rise of the Palas of Bengal. But the fame of

Pataliputra lasted even

at the time of Alberuni in the tenth or at the
commencement of the eleventh century A.D. 6G

Archeological finds

Archaeological finds which were discovered during the prolonged

excavations testify that Pataliputra was a great centre of Buddhism
for more than one thousand years. Interesting discoveries bearing

63 Vide Decline of Buddhism in In 'id, by R. C. Mitra, p. 3.

64 Watters, II. pp. 86, 165.

65 Decline of Buddhism, p. 1 8.

66 Alberuni's India, vol. I, p.

200 Vide N. L. De's Dictionary of

Gcografhy of Ancient India, p. 151

 Its
Importance In the History of Buddhism 243

Buddhist those which arc mentioned above)

antiquities (besides
- 6
found out by the Archaeological Survey of India are as follows:
on both sides and with one
1.
Fragment of sandstone polished
face decorated with very narrow flutings (Mauryan).
2. A smooth slab of stone bearing in low incision an admirable
trident representing
figure of the Triratnasymbol, the conventional
the Buddhist Trinity with the Wheel of Law underneath.
Inscribed stone the Triratna slab
3. fragment possibly frojn
(Maurya or Sunga period).

4. A matrix bearing a trio of a very archaic symbols probably

of ^rd century B.C.

5. Oval terracotta plaque bearing apparently, a picture of Bodh-

of Buddha seated
Gayi temple in the centre with a figure
inside.

6. Head of a small Buddha in terracotta (probably

from
figure
the plaque),

Matrix of baked clay bearing the legend ("seal of Buddha-

7.
in Brahmi character of the most primitive form.
raksita)
8* Seal the Buddhist creed in the lower half of a
bearing
a figure of Buddha and flanked by two
complete stupa containing
Bodhisattvas above.

9.
A hoard of 52 Kusana copper coins, containing coins o

Kadphises II, Kaniska and Huviska.

10. Two gold coins of Kusana type.

BlNAYENDRANATH CHAUDHURl

67 'Ancient Monttmcnt, pp, 107-110,

 An early Buddha Statue from Yunnan
The statue reproduced on plates 1-3 hails from Yunnan province.
In another .paper 1 it is described as follows:
-

Bronze-statue of Kuan-yin P'u-sa, Originally gilded. Height

about seven inches including pedestal. This is considerably damaged,
the lower and some of the upper
part having broken away. The
remainder of the halo and three pegs which fixed it to the body are
still visible on plate 3. The Bodhisattva whose Chinese name corres-

ponds to Sanskrit Avalokitesvara, is

standing upright, the left hand
carrying an alms-bowl, the right hand a willow-wisp.
The following story went with the statue.
Originally it had been
in the garbha of the great
pagoda of Ch'ung-sheng Ssu near Tali city*
but had dropped down during an earthquake. The military, stationed
in the
monastery, found it and sold it. Thus it got into the market*
As Chinese curio-dealers usually collect all
possible knowledge
with regard to the origin of their curios in the interest of
their foreign customers this legend might be true though it is

unverifiable. The heavy damage which the precious piece has suffered

is otherwise unexplainablc.

The Chinese origin of the statue cannot be doubted. But it is

not impossible that it was cast by Chinese artisans in Yunnan. As

much as we know now, the first bronze figures were cast there in the

year 810 A.D. The style of the statue suggests rather an earlier date.

During the T'ang Dynasty (618-907) the folds of

period of the
while on
garments began to come off from the body and float freely
our sample they drop stiffly and perpendicularly. Early Chinese
Buddhist bronzes were copies from stone-Buddhas and follow the

rules valid for stone sculpture. Besides, the halo seems to have
been pointed.

If the statue was not cast might have got there

in Yunnan, it

with an embassy. Embassies plied between Ch'ang-an, the Chinese

Sino-lndian Studies^ vol. Y. i

(1955) p. 67 n,<j,

pp. 6-J.6,
 'An early Buddha Statue from Yunnan 245

capital,
and Tali, the capital
of
Kingdom, since the
the Tali
middle of the seventh century, but the intercourse was interrupted
between 751 and 788. As the pagoda was begun in A.D. 833,
the statue might have been brought to Tali between 788 and
833 A.D.
Whatever that may be, one of the most charming Chinese
it is

Buddhas I know of and deserves well to be published for the first time
in this volume in honour of Lord Buddha.

WALTER LIEBENTHAL
 A Note on the Aryadharmadhatugarbhavivarana

The Aryadharmadhatugarbhavivarana, 'Discussion on the root of

DharmadhatiT (phags pa chos kyi dbyiiis kyi snin po'i rnam par 'gtel),
which is not available in Sanskrit and Chinese sources, is preserved in
Tibetan version in the Bstan 'gyur collection (mdo, nu, pp.
its
244^7
-245^4). It is mainly an interpretation of the famous verse
ye dharmah hettiprabhavah hetum tesarn Tatbagato hyavadat/
tesarn ca yo nirodba evamvadl Mabasramanah/ /*

The author attempts to comment upon the technical terms, such

as, dharma, hetuprabhava, Tathagata and Mabasramana. He classifies

dharmas into seven nidanas Vijnana (consciousness), :

nama-rupa
(mental and physical elements), sadayatana (six senses), sparsa (touch),
vedana (feeling), jati (birth) and jaramarana (old age and death).
These seven dharmas originate from the five hetus (causal factors), so

they are hetuprabbava. The five hetus are: Avidyt (ignorance),

trsna (thirst), upadana (grasping), (impulses) and bbava
safaskara

(becoming). The cessation of the above-mentioned dharmas and of

the five hetus is itself Nirvana or Vimukti (freedom).

According to the author, Tathagata is one, who teaches others

the true nature of things without any error. He fares in the
same way which reveals truth to others. He speaks what he
sees (lit. hears), so he is evamvadi. Then the author explains the

meaning of the term maha (in mahasramana) by referring to various

synonyms, such as: pandita (wise), sura (brave), tapasa (recluse)

etc. Tathagata is
spoken of as pandita, because he knows everything
knowable; Tathagata is sura, because he destroys all
sufferings;

Tathagata is tapasa , because he practises slla (

moral conduct )

strictly.

The attributes of a Brabmana and those of a Sramana are then

compared to illustrate greater abilities of the latter. While a Brabmana

becomes free from vices, a Sramana totally removes the fetters of

x, Cf. Mahavastu (Senart's cdn.), Ill, p. 62; yinayapitaka Mahavagga, I

 A Note on the Aryadbarmadhatugarbhavlvarana 247

sufferings,
so he possesses no vice. He is ordained (pravrajita)
for he
has removed all his defilements.

At the end of the text, the author opens a short discussion on the

Four Noble Truths. He adds that, while suffering, its causal factors,

and the cessation of thpse causal factors are explicitly mentioned in

this verse
'ye dharmah etc', the margasatya (the way to cessation) is

also
necessarily implied here, though not explicitly stated. By the

anuloma order the hetus (i.e. avidya and others) lead to the effects
(jaramarana etc). On the other hand, reversely,
the cessation of

avidya and others will lead to the cessation of the jaramarana etc.
by
the pratiloma order. If there be no avidya there will be no safnskara
and so on.

Regarding the critical estimation of the small text, it may be said

that, the text shows the attempt made by Mahayana thinkers to

comment on the above-mentioned verse, which has been explained by

the Pali commentators. The Pali commentary, Samantapasadika*,
interprets the verse more briefly. It mentions
hetuppabhava is
the five khandhas (the constituent elements), but it does not attempt
to
explain the meaning of 'dhamma.*
Nagarjuna has his own method of interpreting the Pratltya-

samutpada doctrine. For example, in the Pratitysisamutpadahrdayakarika

(rten cin 'brel par byun ba'i snin po'i tshigs le'ur byas pa) preserved in
Tibetan and Chinese sources (Tai-So No. 1654) of Nagarjuna, he
3
divides the twelve nidanas into three groups , such as, klesa (defile-

ment), karma (action) and duhkha (pain). Avidya, trsna and upadana
belong to klesa
group; samskara and bhava belong to karma group,
and, the rest are of dnhkha group. But in our text, Nagarjuna takes

avidya, trsna and upadana which make up the klesa group, and.

2 Mahakhandakavnmiana, p. 728 ^Colombo Hewavitarana ednj

3 Yan lag bye brag *bcu gnis gah/
thub pas rten 'byun gsuns te dag/
non mons las dan sdug bsrial dan/
gsum po dag tu zad par Mus//
dan po brgyad dan dgu non mons/

gnis dan bcu pa las yin te/

lhag ma bdun da sdug bsnal yin^
bcu gnis chos ni gsum du 'dus//^ (mdo,tsa, fol. 158 Bstan *gyur)
Cf. Mahaprajnaparamitii Sastra (Chinese Version) Tai So edn. 1509 f. joob
 A Note on the Aryadbarmadhatttgarbhavivarana

safaskara and bhava which make up the karma group of the Pratttya-

samutpadahrdaya together, and puts all the five under hettt. The
remaining seven arc together placed under dharma*.
it is to be noted that the acceptance of the margasttya
Secondly,
51
is found also in the Pali
as
implied in this verse Commentary as well
6
as in the sastra of
Mabaprajnaparamita (Chinese version) Nagarjuna.
Nagarjuna quotes the verse 'ye dharmab etc* in the Mahiiprajna-

paramita sastra with reference to the discussion on anuloma and

pratiloma orders of Buddha's teaching. He says "It is evident that,

when the first three out of the Four Noble Truths are mentioned,

necessarily
the fourth one, Noble Eightfold Path, i.e.
rnarga$atya> is

also implied".
As regards the authorship of the Aryadharma-dhatugarbhavivarana,
the Dkar chag (of
Snar than edition Bstan'gyur) and the Colophon oE
the Tibetan version of the text mention the name of klu grub i, e,

Nagarjuna as the author. But, the Dkar chag also mentions the title

of Dhrmadhatugarbhavivarana (chos kyi dbyins kyi sniii

po'i
rnam par
7
'grel) as
the work of Dul ba'i go cha or VimUvarman -
without giving

any corresponding text.

However, from the internal evidences, it
may by inferred that

Nagarjuna, the auchor of the Pratttya-samutpada-hrdaya as well as of

the Mabaprajiiaparamitasastra, in all probability wrote the

commentary
tl
on the verse ye dharmab etc" in order to
explain the dharmadhatu
(the essential nature of the dharmas and their causal factors), which
constitute the theme of the doctrine of Pratityasamutpada. It
may
be that Vinayavarma (Vinltavarman) made another commentary,

4 See Compendium of Philosophy (by Aung) p. 259-264 for different

divisions of nidanas,

Cp. Nagarjuna on the Buddhist theory of Causation by N. Aiyaswami Sastri

(K. V. Rangaswami Aiyanger Commemoration Volume)

5 Maggasaccam panittha sarupato adassitamapi/ nayato dassitam

hoti/nirodhe hi utte tassa sampapako maggo utta va hoti/ (Saman-

tapasadika p, 728 Colombo edn.)
6 Nanjio 1169; Tai-so edn. vol. 25, 1509 i<)2\>

7 Catalogue (vol. II, p 399), mdo 'grel LXXII: 2, 3. docs not give the

page number of the text. Tohoku Imperial University Catalogue mentions

only the text of Nagarjuna (No. 4101)
 A Note on the Aryadharmadhatagarbhavivarana
357

Dharmadhftugarbhavivarana, which was evidently translated into

Tibetan but the translation has not come down to us.

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SUNITIKUMAR PATHAK
8 Tib. 'rgyu dan' seems redundant

9 Tib. rtogs pas na

10 Tib. ston pa

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Just Published

DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM IN DTTAR PRADESH

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Pages 4^5+ Index + 8 plates

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in Uttar Pradesh combines with it a study of the development of

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