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Title: Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2

Author: Charles Eliot

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Most recently updated: December 12, 2020

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HINDUISM AND
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Transcriber’s Note:
Link to Volume One

Excerpts from the Preface to the book from Volume 1, regarding
the method of transcription used.
“In the following pages I have occasion to transcribe words
belonging to many oriental languages in Latin characters.
Unfortunately a uniform system of transcription, applicable to
all tongues, seems not to be practical at present. It was
attempted in the Sacred Books of the East, but that system has
fallen into disuse and is liable to be misunderstood. It therefore
seems best to use for each language the method of transcription
adopted by standard works in English dealing with each, for
French and German transcriptions, whatever their merits may be
as representations of the original sounds, are often misleading to
English readers, especially in Chinese. For Chinese I have
adopted Wade's system as used in Giles's Dictionary, for Tibetan
the system of Sarat Chandra Das, for Pali that of the Pali Text
Society and for Sanskrit that of Monier-Williams's Sanskrit
Dictionary, except that I write ś instead of s. Indian languages
however offer many difficulties: it is often hard to decide
whether Sanskrit or vernacular forms are more suitable and in
dealing with Buddhist subjects whether Sanskrit or Pali words
should be used. I have found it convenient to vary the form of
proper names according as my remarks are based on Sanskrit or
on Pali literature, but this obliges me to write the same word
differently in different places, e.g. sometimes Ajâtaśatru and
sometimes Ajâtasattu, just as in a book dealing with Greek and
Latin mythology one might employ both Herakles and Hercules.
Also many Indian names such as Ramayana, Krishna, nirvana
have become Europeanized or at least are familiar to all
Europeans interested in Indian literature. It seems pedantic to
write them with their full and accurate complement of accents
and dots and my general practice is to give such words in their
accurate spelling (Râmâyana, etc.) when they are first
mentioned and also in the notes but usually to print them in their
simpler and unaccented forms. I fear however that my practice
in this matter is not entirely consistent since different parts of
the book were written at different times.”

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS [From Volume 1]
The following are the principal abbreviations used:
Ep. Ind. Epigraphia India.
E.R.E. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (edited by
Hastings).
I.A. Indian Antiquary.
J.A. Journal Asiatique.
J.A.O.S. Journal of the American Oriental Society.
J.R.A.S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
P.T.S. Pali Text Society.
S.B.E. Sacred Books of the East (Clarendon Press).

HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH

BY

SIR CHARLES ELIOT

In three volumes
VOLUME II

ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD

Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane,
London, E.C.4.

First published 1921
Reprinted 1954
Reprinted 1957
Reprinted 1962

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
LUND HUMPHRIES
LONDON - BRADFORD

CONTENTS

BOOK IV

THE MAHAYANA

CHAPTER PAGE

XVI MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA 3
XVII BODHISATTVAS 7
XVIIITHE BUDDHAS of MAHAYANISM 26
XIX MAHAYANIST METAPHYSICS 36
XX MAHAYANIST SCRIPTURES 47
XXI CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAHAYANA 63
XXII FROM KANISHKA TO VASUBANDHU 76
XXIIIINDIAN BUDDHISM AS SEEN BY THE CHINESE
PILGRIMS 90
XXIV DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA 107

BOOK V

HINDUISM

XXV ŚIVA AND VISHNU 136
XXVI FEATURES OF HINDUISM: RITUAL, CASTE, SECT,
FAITH 166
XXVII THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BHÂGAVATAS AND
PÂŚUPATAS 186
XXVIII ŚANKARA. ŚIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA. KASHMIR.
LlNGÂYATS 206
XXIX VISHNUISM IN SOUTH INDIA 228
XXX LATER VISHNUISM IN NORTH INDIA 242
XXXI AMALGAMATION OF HINDUISM AND ISLAM. KABIR
AND THE SIKHS 262
XXXII ŚÂKTISM 274
XXXIII HINDU PHILOSOPHY 291

BOOK IV
THE MAHAYANA

CHAPTER XVI
MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA

The obscurest period in the history of Buddhism is that which follows the
reign of Asoka, but the enquirer cannot grope for long in these dark ages
without stumbling upon the word Mahayana. This is the name given to a
movement which in its various phases may be regarded as a philosophical
school, a sect and a church, and though it is not always easy to define its
relationship to other schools and sects it certainly became a prominent aspe
ct of Buddhism in India about the beginning of our era besides achieving
enduring triumphs in the Far East. The word[1] signifies Great Vehicle or
Carriage, that is a means of conveyance to salvation, and is contrasted with
Hinayana, the Little Vehicle, a name bestowed on the more conservative
party though not willingly accepted by them. The simplest description of
the two Vehicles is that given by the Chinese traveller I-Ching (635-713
A.D.) who saw them both as living realities in India. He says[2] "Those who
worship Bodhisattvas and read Mahayana Sutras are called Mahayanists,
while those who do not do this are called Hinayanists." In other words, the
Mahayanists have scriptures of their own, not included in the Hinayanist
Canon and adore superhuman beings in the stage of existence immediately
below Buddhahood and practically differing little from Indian deities. Many
characteristics could be added to I-Ching's description but they might not
prove universally true of the Mahayana nor entirely absent from the
Hinayana, for however divergent the two Vehicles may have become when
separated geographically, for instance in Ceylon and Japan, it is clear that
when they were in contact, as in India and China, the distinction was not
always sharp. But in general the Mahayana was more popular, not in the
sense of being simpler, for parts of its teaching were exceedingly abstruse,
but in the sense of striving to invent or include doctrines agreeable to the
masses. It was less monastic than the older Buddhism, and more emotional;
warmer in charity, more personal in devotion, more ornate in art, literature
and ritual, more disposed to evolution and development, whereas the

Hinayana was conservative and rigid, secluded in its cloisters and open to
the plausible if unjust accusation of selfishness. The two sections are
sometimes described as northern and southern Buddhism, but except as a
rough description of their distribution at the present day, this distinction is
not accurate, for the Mahayana penetrated to Java, while the Hinayana
reached Central Asia and China. But it is true that the development of the
Mahayana was due to influences prevalent in northern India and not equally
prevalent in the South. The terms Pali and Sanskrit Buddhism are
convenient and as accurate as can be expected of any nomenclature
covering so large a field.
Though European writers usually talk of two Yânas or Vehicles—the great
and the little—and though this is clearly the important distinction for
historical purposes, yet Indian and Chinese Buddhists frequently enumerate
three. These are the Śrâvakayâna, the vehicle of the ordinary Bhikshu who
hopes to become an Arhat, the Pratyekabuddhayâna for the rare beings who
are able to become Buddhas but do not preach the law to others, and in
contrast to both of these the Mahayana or vehicle of Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas. As a rule these three Vehicles are not regarded as hostile or
even incompatible. Thus the Lotus sutra,[3] maintains that there is really but
one vehicle though by a wise concession to human weakness the Buddha
lets it appear that there are three to suit divers tastes. And the Mahayana is
not a single vehicle but rather a train comprising many carriages of different
classes. It has an unfortunate but distinct later phase known in Sanskrit as
Mantrayâna and Vajrayâna but generally described by Europeans as
Tantrism. This phase took some of the worst features in Hinduism, such as
spells, charms, and the worship of goddesses, and with misplaced ingenuity
fitted them into Buddhism. I shall treat of it in a subsequent chapter, for it is
chronologically late. The silence of Hsüan Chuang and I-Ching implies that
in the seventh century it was not a noticeable aspect of Indian Buddhism.
Although the record of the Mahayana in literature and art is clear and even
brilliant, it is not easy either to trace its rise or connect its development with
other events in India. Its annals are an interminable list of names and
doctrines, but bring before us few living personalities and hence are dull.
They are like a record of the Christian Church's fight against Arians,
Monophysites and Nestorians with all the great figures of Byzantine history
omitted or called in question. Hence I fear that my readers (if I have any)

may find these chapters repellent, a mist of hypotheses and a catalogue of
ancient paradoxes. I can only urge that if the history of the Mahayana is
uncertain, its teaching fanciful and its scriptures tedious, yet it has been a
force of the first magnitude in the secular history and art of China, Japan
and Tibet and even to-day the most metaphysical of its sacred books, the
Diamond Cutter, has probably more readers than Kant and Hegel.
Since the early history of the Mahayana is a matter for argument rather than
precise statement, it will perhaps be best to begin with some account of its
doctrines and literature and proceed afterwards to chronology. I may,
however, mention that general tradition connects it with King Kanishka and
asserts that the great doctors Aśvaghosha and Nâgârjuna lived in and
immediately after his reign. The attitude of Kanishka and of the Council
which he summoned towards the Mahayana is far from clear and I shall say
something about this difficult subject below. Unfortunately his date is not
beyond dispute for while a considerable consensus of opinion fixes his
accession at about 78 A.D., some scholars place it earlier and others in the
second century A.D.[4] Apart from this, it appears established that the
Sukhâvatî-vyûha which is definitely Mahayanist was translated into
Chinese between 147 and 186 A.D. We may assume that it was then already
well known and had been composed some time before, so that, whatever
Kanishka's date may have been, Mahayanist doctrines must have been in
existence about the time of the Christian era, and perhaps considerably
earlier. Naturally no one date like a reign or a council can be selected to
mark the beginning of a great school. Such a body of doctrine must have
existed piecemeal and unauthorized before it was collected and recognized
and some tenets are older than others. Enlarging I-Ching's definition we
may find in the Mahayana seven lines of thought or practice. All are not
found in all sects and some are shared with the Hinayana but probably none
are found fully developed outside the Mahayana. Many of them have
parallels in the contemporary phases of Hinduism.
1. A belief in Bodhisattvas and in the power of human beings to become
Bodhisattvas.
2. A code of altruistic ethics which teaches that everyone must do good in
the interest of the whole world and make over to others any merit he may

acquire by his virtues. The aim of the religious life is to become a
Bodhisattva, not to become an Arhat.
3. A doctrine that Buddhas are supernatural beings, distributed through
infinite space and time, and innumerable. In the language of later theology a
Buddha has three bodies and still later there is a group of five Buddhas.
4. Various systems of idealist metaphysics, which tend to regard the Buddha
essence or Nirvana much as Brahman is regarded in the Vedanta.
5. A canon composed in Sanskrit and apparently later than the Pali Canon.
6. Habitual worship of images and elaboration of ritual. There is a
dangerous tendency to rely on formulæ and charms.
7. A special doctrine of salvation by faith in a Buddha, usually Amitâbha,
and invocation of his name. Mahayanism can exist without this doctrine but
it is tolerated by most sects and considered essential by some.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Sanskrit, Mahâyâna; Chinese, Ta Ch'êng (pronounced Tai Shêng
in many southern provinces); Japanese, Dai-jō Tibetan, Theg-pa-
chen-po; Mongolian, Yäkä-külgän; Sanskrit, Hînayâna; Chinese,
Hsiao-Ch'êng; Japanese, Shō-jō Tibetan, Theg-dman; Mongolian
Ütśükän-külgän. In Sanskrit the synonyms agrayâna and uttama-yâna
are also found.
[2] Record of Buddhist practices. Transl. Takakusu, 1896, p. 14.
Hsüan Chuang seems to have thought that acceptance of the
Yogâcâryabhûmi (Nanjio, 1170) was essential for a Mahayanist. See
his life, transl. by Beal, p. 39, transl. by Julien, p. 50.
[3] Saddharma-Puṇḍarîka, chap. III. For brevity, I usually cite this
work by the title of The Lotus.

[4] The date 58 B.C. has probably few supporters among scholars
now, especially after Marshall's discoveries.

CHAPTER XVII
BODHISATTVAS

Let us now consider these doctrines and take first the worship of
Bodhisattvas. This word means one whose essence is knowledge but is used
in the technical sense of a being who is in process of obtaining but has not
yet obtained Buddhahood. The Pali Canon shows little interest in the
personality of Bodhisattvas and regards them simply as the preliminary or
larval form of a Buddha, either Śâkyamuni[5] or some of his predecessors. It
was incredible that a being so superior to ordinary humanity as a Buddha
should be suddenly produced in a human family nor could he be regarded as
an incarnation in the strict sense. But it was both logical and edifying to
suppose that he was the product of a long evolution of virtue, of good deeds
and noble resolutions extending through countless ages and culminating in
a being superior to the Devas. Such a being awaited in the Tushita heaven
the time fixed for his appearance on earth as a Buddha and his birth was
accompanied by marvels. But though the Pali Canon thus recognizes the
Bodhisattva as a type which, if rare, yet makes its appearance at certain
intervals, it leaves the matter there. It is not suggested that saints should try
to become Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, or that Bodhisattvas can be helpers
of mankind.[6] But both these trains of thought are natural developments of
the older ideas and soon made themselves prominent. It is a characteristic
doctrine of Mahayanism that men can try and should try to become
Bodhisattvas.
In the Pali Canon we hear of Arhats, Pacceka Buddhas, and perfect
Buddhas. For all three the ultimate goal is the same, namely Nirvana, but a
Pacceka Buddha is greater than an Arhat, because he has greater intellectual
powers though he is not omniscient, and a perfect Buddha is greater still,
partly because he is omniscient and partly because he saves others. But if
we admit that the career of the Buddha is better and nobler, and also that it
is, as the Introduction to the Jâtaka recounts, simply the result of an earnest

resolution to school himself and help others, kept firmly through the long
chain of existences, there is nothing illogical or presumptuous in making
our goal not the quest of personal salvation, but the attainment of
Bodhisattvaship, that is the state of those who may aspire to become
Buddhas. In fact the Arhat, engrossed in his own salvation, is excused only
by his humility and is open to the charge of selfish desire, since the passion
for Nirvana is an ambition like any other and the quest for salvation can be
best followed by devoting oneself entirely to others. But though my object
here is to render intelligible the Mahayanist point of view including its
objections to Hinayanism, I must defend the latter from the accusation of
selfishness. The vigorous and authoritative character of Gotama led him to
regard all mankind as patients requiring treatment and to emphasize the
truth that they could cure themselves if they would try. But the Buddhism of
the Pali Canon does not ignore the duties of loving and instructing others;[7]
it merely insists on man's power to save himself if properly instructed and
bids him do it at once: "sell all that thou hast and follow me." And the
Mahayana, if less self-centred, has also less self-reliance, and self-
discipline. It is more human and charitable, but also more easygoing: it
teaches the believer to lean on external supports which if well chosen may
be a help, but if trusted without discrimination become paralyzing abuses.
And if we look at the abuses of both systems the fossilized monk of the
Hinayana will compare favourably with the tantric adept. It was to the
corruptions of the Mahayana rather than of the Hinayana that the decay of
Buddhism in India was due.
The career of the Bodhisattva was early divided into stages (bhûmi) each
marked by the acquisition of some virtue in his triumphant course. The
stages are variously reckoned as five, seven and ten. The Mahâvastu,[8]
which is the earliest work where the progress is described, enumerates ten
without distinguishing them very clearly. Later writers commonly look at
the Bodhisattva's task from the humbler point of view of the beginner who
wishes to learn the initiatory stages. For them the Bodhisattva is primarily
not a supernatural being or even a saint but simply a religious person who
wishes to perform the duties and enjoy the privileges of the Church to the
full, much like a communicant in the language of contemporary
Christianity. We have a manual for those who would follow this path, in the
Bodhicaryâvatâra of Śântideva, which in its humility, sweetness and fervent

piety has been rightly compared with the De Imitatione Christi. In many
respects the virtues of the Bodhisattva are those of the Arhat. His will must
be strenuous and concentrated; he must cultivate the strictest morality,
patience, energy, meditation and knowledge. But he is also a devotee, a
bhakta: he adores all the Buddhas of the past, present and future as well as
sundry superhuman Bodhisattvas, and he confesses his sins, not after the
fashion of the Pâtimokkha, but by accusing himself before these heavenly
Protectors and vowing to sin no more.
Śântideva lived in the seventh century[9] but tells us that he follows the
scriptures and has nothing new to say. This seems to be true for, though his
book being a manual of devotion presents its subject-matter in a dogmatic
form, its main ideas are stated and even elaborated in the Lotus. Not only
are eminent figures in the Church, such as Sâriputra and Ânanda, there
designated as future Buddhas, but the same dignity is predicted wholesale
for five hundred and again for two thousand monks while in Chapter x is
sketched the course to be followed by "young men or young ladies of good
family" who wish to become Bodhisattvas.[10] The chief difference is that
the Bodhicaryâvatâra portrays a more spiritual life, it speaks more of
devotion, less of the million shapes that compose the heavenly host: more
of love and wisdom, less of the merits of reading particular sûtras. While
rendering to it and the faith that produced it all honour, we must remember
that it is typical of the Mahayana only in the sense that the De Imitatione
Christi is typical of Roman Catholicism, for both faiths have other sides.
Śântideva's Bodhisattva, when conceiving the thought of Bodhi or eventual
supreme enlightenment to be obtained, it may be, only after numberless
births, feels first a sympathetic joy in the good actions of all living beings.
He addresses to the Buddhas a prayer which is not a mere act of
commemoration, but a request to preach the law and to defer their entrance
into Nirvana. He then makes over to others whatever merit he may possess
or acquire and offers himself and all his possessions, moral and material, as
a sacrifice for the salvation of all beings. This on the one hand does not
much exceed the limits of dânam or the virtue of giving as practised by
Śâkyamuni in previous births according to the Pali scriptures, but on the
other it contains in embryo the doctrine of vicarious merit and salvation
through a saviour. The older tradition admits that the future Buddha (e.g. in
the Vessantara birth-story) gives all that is asked from him including life,

wife and children. To consider the surrender and transfer of merit (pattidâna
in Pali) as parallel is a natural though perhaps false analogy. But the transfer
of Karma is not altogether foreign to Brahmanic thought, for it is held that a
wife may share in her husband's Karma nor is it wholly unknown to
Sinhalese Buddhism.[11] After thus deliberately rejecting all personal
success and selfish aims, the neophyte makes a vow (praṇidhâna) to acquire
enlightenment for the good of all beings and not to swerve from the rules of
life and faith requisite for this end. He is then a "son of Buddha," a phrase
which is merely a natural metaphor for saying that he is one of the
household of faith[12] but still paves the way to later ideas which make the
celestial Bodhisattva an emanation or spiritual son of a celestial Buddha.
Asanga gives[13] a more technical and scholastic description of the ten
bhûmis or stages which mark the Bodhisattva's progress towards complete
enlightenment and culminate in a phase bearing the remarkable but ancient
name of Dharmamegha known also to the Yoga philosophy. The other
stages are called: muditâ (joyful): vimalâ (immaculate): prabhâkarî (light
giving): arcismatî (radiant): durjaya (hard to gain): abhimukhî (facing,
because it faces both transmigration and Nirvana): dûramgamâ (far-going):
acalâ (immovable): sâdhumatî (good minded).
The incarnate Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of Tibet are a travesty of the
Mahayana which on Indian soil adhered to the sound doctrine that saints are
known by their achievements as men and cannot be selected among infant
prodigies.[14] It was the general though not universal opinion that one who
had entered on the career of a Bodhisattva could not fall so low as to be
reborn in any state of punishment, but the spirit of humility and self-
effacement which has always marked the Buddhist ideal tended to represent
his triumph as incalculably distant. Meanwhile, although in the whirl of
births he was on the upward grade, he yet had his ups and downs and there
is no evidence that Indian or Far Eastern Buddhists arrogated to themselves
special claims and powers on the ground that they were well advanced in
the career of Buddhahood. The vow to suppress self and follow the light not
only in this life but in all future births contains an element of faith or
fantasy, but has any religion formed a nobler or even equivalent picture of
the soul's destiny or built a better staircase from the world of men to the
immeasurable spheres of the superhuman?

One aspect of the story of Sâkyamuni and his antecedent births thus led to
the idea that all may become Buddhas. An equally natural development in
another direction created celestial and superhuman Bodhisattvas. The
Hinayana held that Gotama, before his last birth, dwelt in the Tushita
heaven enjoying the power and splendour of an Indian god and it looked
forward to the advent of Maitreya. But it admitted no other Bodhisattvas, a
consequence apparently of the doctrine that there can only be one Buddha
at a time. But the luxuriant fancy of India, which loves to multiply
divinities, soon broke through this restriction and fashioned for itself
beautiful images of benevolent beings who refuse the bliss of Nirvana that
they may alleviate the sufferings of others.[15] So far as we can judge, the
figures of these Bodhisattvas took shape just about the same time that the
personalities of Vishnu and Śiva were acquiring consistency. The impulse in
both cases is the same, namely the desire to express in a form accessible to
human prayer and sympathetic to human emotion the forces which rule the
universe. But in this work of portraiture the Buddhists laid more emphasis
on moral and spiritual law than did the Brahmans: they isolated in
personification qualities not found isolated in nature. Śiva is the law of
change, of death and rebirth, with all the riot of slaughter and priapism
which it entails: Vishnu is the protector and preserver, the type of good
energy warring against evil, but the unity of the figure is smothered by
mythology and broken up into various incarnations. But Avalokita and
Mañjuśrî, though they had not such strong roots in Indian humanity as Śiva
and Vishnu, are genii of purer and brighter presence. They are the
personifications of kindness and knowledge. Though manifold in shape,
they have little to do with mythology, and are analogous to the archangels
of Christian and Jewish tradition and to the Amesha Spentas of
Zoroastrianism. With these latter they may have some historical connection,
for Persian ideas may well have influenced Buddhism about the time of the
Christian era. However difficult it may be to prove the foreign origin of
Bodhisattvas, few of them have a clear origin in India and all of them are
much better known in Central Asia and China. But they are represented
with the appearance and attributes of Indian Devas, as is natural, since even
in the Pali Canon Devas form the Buddha's retinue. The early Buddhists
considered that these spirits, whether called Bodhisattvas or Devas, had
attained their high position in the same way as Śâkyamuni himself, that is
by the practice of moral and intellectual virtues through countless

existences, but subsequently they came to be regarded as emanations or
sons of superhuman Buddhas. Thus the Kâraṇḍa-vyûha relates how the
original Âdi-Buddha produced Avalokita by meditation and how he in his
turn produced the universe with its gods.
Millions of unnamed Bodhisattvas are freely mentioned and even in the
older books copious lists of names are found,[16] but two, Avalokita and
Mañjuśrî, tower above the rest, among whom only few have a definite
personality. The tantric school counts eight of the first rank. Maitreya (who
does not stand on the same footing as the others), Samantabhadra,
Mahâsthâna-prâpta and above all Kshitigarbha, have some importance,
especially in China and Japan.
Avalokita[17] in many forms and in many ages has been one of the principal
deities of Asia but his origin is obscure. His main attributes are plain. He is
the personification of divine mercy and pity but even the meaning of his
name is doubtful. In its full form it is Avalokiteśvara, often rendered the
Lord who looks down (from heaven). This is an appropriate title for the
God of Mercy, but the obvious meaning of the participle avalokita in
Sanskrit is passive, the Lord who is looked at. Kern[18] thinks it may mean
the Lord who is everywhere visible as a very present help in trouble, or else
the Lord of View, like the epithet Dṛishtiguru applied to Śiva. Another form
of the name is Lokeśvara or Lord of the world and this suggests that
avalokita may be a synonym of loka, meaning the visible universe. It has
also been suggested that the name may refer to the small image of Amitâbha
which is set in his diadem and thus looks down on him. But such small
images set in the head of a larger figure are not distinctive of Avalokita:
they are found in other Buddhist statues and paintings and also outside
India, for instance at Palmyra. The Tibetan translation of the name[19]
means he who sees with bright eyes. Hsüan Chuang's rendering Kwan-tzǔ-
tsai[20] expresses the same idea, but the more usual Chinese translation
Kuan-yin or Kuan-shih-yin, the deity who looks upon voices or the region
of voices, seems to imply a verbal misunderstanding. For the use of Yin or
voice makes us suspect that the translator identified the last part of
Avalokiteśvara not with Îśvara lord but with svara sound.[21]
Avalokiteśvara is unknown to the Pali Canon and the Milinda Pañha. So far
as I can discover he is not mentioned in the Divyâvadâna, Jâtakamâlâ or

any work attributed to Aśvaghosha. His name does not occur in the Lalita-
vistara but a list of Bodhisattvas in its introductory chapter includes
Mahâkaruṇâcandin, suggesting Mahâkaruna, the Great Compassionate,
which is one of his epithets. In the Lotus[22] he is placed second in the
introductory list of Bodhisattvas after Mañjuśrî. But Chapter XXIV, which
is probably a later addition, is dedicated to his praises as Samantamukha, he
who looks every way or the omnipresent. In this section his character as the
all-merciful saviour is fully developed. He saves those who call on him
from shipwreck, and execution, from robbers and all violence and distress.
He saves too from moral evils, such as passion, hatred and folly. He grants
children to women who worship him. This power, which is commonly
exercised by female deities, is worth remarking as a hint of his subsequent
transformation into a goddess. For the better achievement of his merciful
deeds, he assumes all manner of forms, and appears in the guise of a
Buddha, a Bodhisattva, a Hindu deity, a goblin, or a Brahman and in fact in
any shape. This chapter was translated into Chinese before 417 A.D. and
therefore can hardly be later than 350. He is also mentioned in the
Sukhâvatî-vyûha. The records of the Chinese pilgrims Fa-Hsien and Hsüan
Chuang[23] indicate that his worship prevailed in India from the fourth till
the seventh century and we are perhaps justified in dating its beginnings at
least two centuries earlier. But the absence of any mention of it in the
writings of Aśvaghosha is remarkable.[24]
Avalokita is connected with a mountain called Potala or Potalaka. The name
is borne by the palace of the Grand Lama at Lhassa and by another
Lamaistic establishment at Jehol in north China. It reappears in the sacred
island of P´u-t´o near Ningpo. In all these cases the name of Avalokita's
Indian residence has been transferred to foreign shrines. In India there were
at least two places called Potala or Potalaka—one at the mouth of the Indus
and one in the south. No certain connection has been traced between the
former and the Bodhisattva but in the seventh century the latter was
regarded as his abode. Our information about it comes mainly from Hsüan
Chuang[25] who describes it when speaking of the Malakuta country and as
near the Mo-lo-ya (Malaya) mountain. But apparently he did not visit it and
this makes it probable that it was not a religious centre but a mountain in
the south of which Buddhists in the north wrote with little precision.[26]
There is no evidence that Avalokita was first worshipped on this Potalaka,

though he is often associated with mountains such as Kapota in Magadha
and Valavatî in Katâha.[27] In fact the connection of Potala with Avalokita
remains a mystery.
Avalokita has, like most Bodhisattvas, many names. Among the principal
are Mahâkaruna, the Great Compassionate one, Lokanâtha or Lokeśvara,
the Lord of the world, and Padmapâni, or lotus-handed. This last refers to
his appearance as portrayed in statues and miniatures. In the older works of
art his figure is human, without redundant limbs, and represents a youth in
the costume of an Indian prince with a high jewelled chignon, or sometimes
a crown. The head-dress is usually surmounted by a small figure of
Amitâbha. His right hand is extended in the position known as the gesture
of charity.[28] In his left he carries a red lotus and he often stands on a larger
blossom. His complexion is white or red. Sometimes he has four arms and
in later images a great number. He then carries besides the lotus such
objects as a book, a rosary and a jug of nectar.[29]
The images with many eyes and arms seem an attempt to represent him as
looking after the unhappy in all quarters and stretching out his hands in
help.[30] It is doubtful if the Bodhisattvas of the Gandhara sculptures,
though approaching the type of Avalokita, represent him rather than any
other, but nearly all the Buddhist sites of India contain representations of
him which date from the early centuries of our era[31] and others are
preserved in the miniatures of manuscripts.[32]
He is not a mere adaptation of any one Hindu god. Some of his attributes
are also those of Brahmâ. Though in some late texts he is said to have
evolved the world from himself, his characteristic function is not to create
but, like Vishnu, to save and like Vishnu he holds a lotus. But also he has
the title of Îśvara, which is specially applied to Śiva. Thus he does not issue
from any local cult and has no single mythological pedigree but is the idea
of divine compassion represented with such materials as the art and
mythology of the day offered.
He is often accompanied by a female figure Târâ.[33] In the tantric period
she is recognized as his spouse and her images, common in northern India
from the seventh century onwards, show that she was adored as a female
Bodhisattva. In Tibet Târâ is an important deity who assumes many forms

and even before the tantric influence had become prominent she seems to
have been associated with Avalokita. In the Dharmasangraha she is named
as one of the four Devîs, and she is mentioned twice under the name of To-
lo Pu-sa by Hsüan Chuang, who saw a statue of her in Vaisali and another at
Tiladhaka in Magadha. This last stood on the right of a gigantic figure of
Buddha, Avalokita being on his left.[34]
Hsüan Chuang distinguishes To-lo (Târâ) and Kuan-tzǔ-tsai. The latter
under the name of Kuan-yin or Kwannon has become the most popular
goddess of China and Japan, but is apparently a form of Avalokita. The god
in his desire to help mankind assumes many shapes and, among these,
divine womanhood has by the suffrage of millions been judged the most
appropriate. But Târâ was not originally the same as Kuan-yin, though the
fact that she accompanies Avalokita and shares his attributes may have
made it easier to think of him in female form.[35]
The circumstances in which Avalokita became a goddess are obscure. The
Indian images of him are not feminine, although his sex is hardly noticed
before the tantric period. He is not a male deity like Krishna, but a strong,
bright spirit and like the Christian archangels above sexual distinctions. No
female form of him is reported from Tibet and this confirms the idea that
none was known in India,[36] and that the change was made in China. It was
probably facilitated by the worship of Târâ and of Hâritî, an ogress who was
converted by the Buddha and is frequently represented in her regenerate
state caressing a child. She is mentioned by Hsüan Chuang and by I-Ching
who adds that her image was already known in China. The Chinese also
worshipped a native goddess called T'ien-hou or T'ou-mu. Kuan-yin was
also identified with an ancient Chinese heroine called Miao-shên.[37] This is
parallel to the legend of Ti-tsang (Kshitigarbha) who, though a male
Bodhisattva, was a virtuous maiden in two of his previous existences.
Evidently Chinese religious sentiment required a Madonna and it is not
unnatural if the god of mercy, who was reputed to assume many shapes and
to give sons to the childless, came to be thought of chiefly in a feminine
form. The artists of the T'ang dynasty usually represented Avalokita as a
youth with a slight moustache and the evidence as to early female figures
does not seem to me strong,[38] though a priori I see no reason for doubting
their existence. In 1102 a Chinese monk named P'u-ming published a
romantic legend of Kuan-yin's earthly life which helped to popularize her

worship. In this and many other cases the later developments of Buddhism
are due to Chinese fancy and have no connection with Indian tradition.
Târâ is a goddess of north India, Nepal and the Lamaist Church and almost
unknown in China and Japan. Her name means she who causes to cross,
that is who saves, life and its troubles being by a common metaphor
described as a sea. Târâ also means a star and in Puranic mythology is the
name given to the mother of Buddha, the planet Mercury. Whether the name
was first used by Buddhists or Brahmans is unknown, but after the seventh
century there was a decided tendency to give Târâ the epithets bestowed on
the Śaktis of Śiva and assimilate her to those goddesses. Thus in the list of
her 108 names[39] she is described among other more amiable attributes as
terrible, furious, the slayer of evil beings, the destroyer, and Kâlî: also as
carrying skulls and being the mother of the Vedas. Here we have if not the
borrowing by Buddhists of a Śaiva deity, at least the grafting of Śaiva
conceptions on a Bodhisattva.
The second great Bodhisattva Mañjuśrî[40] has other similar names, such as
Mañjunâtha and Mañjughosha, the word Mañju meaning sweet or pleasant.
He is also Vagîśvara, the Lord of Speech, and Kumârabhûta, the Prince,
which possibly implies that he is the Buddha's eldest son, charged with the
government under his direction. He has much the same literary history as
Avalokita, not being mentioned in the Pali Canon nor in the earlier Sanskrit
works such as the Lalita-vistara and Divyâvadâna. But his name occurs in
the Sukhâvatî-vyûha: he is the principal interlocutor in the Lankâvatâra
sûtra and is extolled in the Ratna-karaṇḍaka-vyûha-sûtra.[41] In the greater
part of the Lotus he is the principal Bodhisattva and instructs Maitreya,
because, though his youth is eternal, he has known many Buddhas through
innumerable ages. The Lotus[42] also recounts how he visited the depths of
the sea and converted the inhabitants thereof and how the Lord taught him
what are the duties of a Bodhisattva after the Buddha has entered finally
into Nirvana. As a rule he has no consort and appears as a male Athene, all
intellect and chastity, but sometimes Lakshmî or Sarasvatî or both are
described as his consorts.[43]
His worship prevailed not only in India but in Nepal, Tibet, China, Japan
and Java. Fa-Hsien states that he was honoured in Central India, and Hsüan
Chuang that there were stupas dedicated to him at Muttra.[44] He is also said

to have been incarnate in Atîsa, the Tibetan reformer, and in Vairocana who
introduced Buddhism to Khotan, but, great as is his benevolence, he is not
so much the helper of human beings, which is Avalokita's special function,
as the personification of thought, knowledge, and meditation. It is for this
that he has in his hands the sword of knowledge and a book. A beautiful
figure from Java bearing these emblems is in the Berlin Museum.[45]
Miniatures represent him as of a yellow colour with the hands (when they
do not carry emblems) set in the position known as teaching the law.[46]
Other signs which distinguish his images are the blue lotus and the lion on
which he sits.
An interesting fact about Mañjuśrî is his association with China,[47] not only
in Chinese but in late Indian legends. The mountain Wu-t'ai-shan in the
province of Shan-si is sacred to him and is covered with temples erected in
his honour.[48] The name (mountain of five terraces) is rendered in Sanskrit
as Pancaśîrsha, or Pancaśikha, and occurs both in the Svayambhû Purâṇa
and in the text appended to miniatures representing Mañjuśrî. The principal
temple is said to have been erected between 471 and 500 A.D. I have not
seen any statement that the locality was sacred in pre-Buddhist times, but it
was probably regarded as the haunt of deities, one of whom—perhaps some
spirit of divination—was identified with the wise Mañjuśrî. It is possible
that during the various inroads of Græco-Bactrians, Yüeh-Chih, and other
Central Asian tribes into India, Mañjuśrî was somehow imported into the
pantheon of the Mahayana from China or Central Asia, and he has,
especially in the earlier descriptions, a certain pure and abstract quality
which recalls the Amesha-Spentas of Persia. But still his attributes are
Indian, and there is little positive evidence of a foreign origin. I-Ching is the
first to tell us that the Hindus believed he came from China.[49] Hsüan
Chuang does not mention this belief, and probably did not hear of it, for it is
an interesting detail which no one writing for a Chinese audience would
have omitted. We may therefore suppose that the idea arose in India about
650 A.D. By that date the temples of Wu-t'ai-Shan would have had time to
become celebrated, and the visits paid to India by distinguished Chinese
Buddhists would be likely to create the impression that China was a centre
of the faith and frequented by Bodhisattvas.[50] We hear that Vajrabodhi
(about 700) and Prajña (782) both went to China to adore Mañjuśrî. In 824
a Tibetan envoy arrived at the Chinese Court to ask for an image of

Mañjuśrî, and later the Grand Lamas officially recognized that he was
incarnate in the Emperor.[51] Another legend relates that Mañjuśrî came
from Wu-t'ai-Shan to adore a miraculous lotus[52] that appeared on the lake
which then filled Nepal. With a blow of his sword he cleft the mountain
barrier and thus drained the valley and introduced civilization. There may
be hidden in this some tradition of the introduction of culture into Nepal but
the Nepalese legends are late and in their collected form do not go back
beyond the sixteenth century.
After Avalokita and Mañjuśrî the most important Bodhisattva is Maitreya,
[53] also called Ajita or unconquered, who is the only one recognized by the
Pali Canon.[54] This is because he does not stand on the same footing as the
others. They are superhuman in their origin as well as in their career,
whereas Maitreya is simply a being who like Gotama has lived innumerable
lives and ultimately made himself worthy of Buddhahood which he awaits
in heaven. There is no reason to doubt that Gotama regarded himself as one
in a series of Buddhas: the Pali scriptures relate that he mentioned his
predecessors by name, and also spoke of unnumbered Buddhas to come.[55]
Nevertheless Maitreya or Metteyya is rarely mentioned in the Pali Canon.
[56] He is, however, frequently alluded to in the exegetical Pali literature, in
the Anâgata-vaṃsa and in the earlier Sanskrit works such as the Lalita-
vistara, the Divyâvadâna and Mahâvastu. In the Lotus he plays a prominent
part, but still is subordinate to Mañjuśrî. Ultimately he was eclipsed by the
two great Bodhisattvas but in the early centuries of our era he received
much respect. His images are frequent in all parts of the Buddhist world: he
was believed to watch over the propagation of the Faith,[57] and to have
made special revelations to Asaṅga.[58] In paintings he is usually of a
golden colour: his statues, which are often gigantic, show him standing or
sitting in the European fashion and not cross-legged. He appears to be
represented in the earliest Gandharan sculptures and there was a famous
image of him in Udyâna of which Fa-Hsien (399-414 A.D.) speaks as if it
were already ancient.[59] Hsüan Chuang describes it as well as a stupa
erected[60] to commemorate Sâkyamuni's prediction that Maitreya would be
his successor. On attaining Buddhahood he will become lord of a terrestrial
paradise and hold three assemblies under a dragon flower tree,[61] at which
all who have been good Buddhists in previous births will become Arhats. I-
Ching speaks of meditating on the advent of Maitreya in language like that

which Christian piety uses of the second coming of Christ and concludes a
poem which is incorporated in his work with the aspiration "Deep as the
depth of a lake be my pure and calm meditation. Let me look for the first
meeting under the Tree of the Dragon Flower when I hear the deep rippling
voice of the Buddha Maitreya."[62] But messianic ideas were not much
developed in either Buddhism or Hinduism and perhaps the figures of both
Maitreya and Kalkî owe something to Persian legends about Saoshyant the
Saviour.
The other Bodhisattvas, though lauded in special treatises, have left little
impression on Indian Buddhism and have obtained in the Far East most of
whatever importance they possess. The makers of images and miniatures
assign to each his proper shape and colour, but when we read about them
we feel that we are dealing not with the objects of real worship or even the
products of a lively imagination, but with names and figures which have a
value for picturesque but conventional art.
Among the best known is Samantabhadra, the all gracious,[63] who is still a
popular deity in Tibet and the patron saint of the sacred mountain Omei in
China, with which he is associated as Mañjuśrî with Wu-t́ai-shan. He is
represented as green and riding on an elephant. In Indian Buddhism he has
a moderately prominent position. He is mentioned in the Dharmasangraha
and in one chapter of the Lotus he is charged with the special duty of
protecting those who follow the law. But the Chinese pilgrims do not
mention his worship.
Mahâsthâmaprâpta[64] is a somewhat similar figure. A chapter of the Lotus
(XIX) is dedicated to him without however giving any clear idea of his
personality and he is extolled in several descriptions of Sukhâvatî or
Paradise, especially in the Amitâyurdhyâna-sûtra. Together with Amitâbha
and Avalokita he forms a triad who rule this Happy Land and are often
represented by three images in Chinese temples.
Vajrapâṇi is mentioned in many lists of Bodhisattvas (e.g. in the
Dharmasangraha) but is of somewhat doubtful position as Hsüan Chuang
calls him a deva.[65] Historically his recognition as a Bodhisattva is
interesting for he is merely Indra transformed into a Buddhist. The
mysterious personages called Vajradhara and Vajrasattva, who in later times

are even identified with the original Buddha spirit, are further developments
of Vajrapâṇi. He owes his elevation to the fact that Vajra, originally
meaning simply thunderbolt, came to be used as a mystical expression for
the highest truth.
More important than these is Kshitigarbha, Ti-tsang or Jizō[66] who in China
and Japan ranks second only to Kuan-yin. Visser has consecrated to him an
interesting monograph[67] which shows what strange changes and chances
may attend spirits and how ideal figures may alter as century after century
they travel from land to land. We know little about the origin of
Kshitigarbha. The name seems to mean Earth-womb and he has a shadowy
counterpart in Akâśagarbha, a similar deity of the air, who it seems never
had a hold on human hearts. The Earth is generally personified as a
goddess[68] and Kshitigarbha has some slight feminine traits, though on the
whole decidedly masculine. The stories of his previous births relate how he
was twice a woman: in Japan he was identified with the mountain goddess
of Kamado, and he helps women in labour, a boon generally accorded by
goddesses. In the pantheon of India he played an inconspicuous part,[69]
though reckoned one of the eight great Bodhisattvas, but met with more
general esteem in Turkestan, where he began to collect the attributes
afterwards defined in the Far East. It is there that his history and
transformations become clear.
He is primarily a deity of the nether world, but like Amitâbha and Avalokita
he made a vow to help all living creatures and specially to deliver them
from hell. The Taoists pictured hell as divided into ten departments ruled
over by as many kings, and Chinese fancy made Ti-tsang the superintendent
of these functionaries. He thus becomes not so much a Saviour as the kindly
superintendent of a prison who preaches to the inmates and willingly
procures their release. Then we hear of six Ti-tsangs, corresponding to the
six worlds of sentient beings, the gracious spirit being supposed to multiply
his personality in order to minister to the wants of all. He is often
represented as a monk, staff in hand and with shaven head. The origin of
this guise is not clear and it perhaps refers to his previous births. But in the
eighth century a monk of Chiu Hua[70] was regarded as an incarnation of Ti-
tsang and after death his body was gilded and enshrined as an object of
worship. In later times the Bodhisattva was confused with the incarnation,
in the same way as the portly figure of Pu-tai, commonly known as the

laughing Buddha, has been substituted for Maitreya in Chinese
iconography.
In Japan the cult of the six Jizōs became very popular. They were regarded
as the deities of roads[71] and their effigies ultimately superseded the ancient
phallic gods of the crossways. In this martial country the Bodhisattva
assumed yet another character as Shōgun Jizō, a militant priest riding on
horseback[72] and wearing a helmet who became the patron saint of warriors
and was even identified with the Japanese war god, Hachiman. Until the
seventeenth century Jizō was worshipped principally by soldiers and
priests, but subsequently his cult spread among all classes and in all
districts. His benevolent activities as a guide and saviour were more and
more emphasized: he heals sickness, he leng thens life, he leads to heaven,
he saves from hell: he even suffers as a substitute in hell and is the special
protector of the souls of children amid the perils of the underworld. Though
this modern figure of Jizō is wrought with ancient materials, it is in the
main a work of Japanese sentiment.

FOOTNOTES:

[5] In dealing with the Mahayanists, I use the expression Śâkyamuni
in preference to Gotama. It is their own title for the teacher and it
seems incongruous to use the purely human name of Gotama in
describing doctrines which represent him as superhuman.
[6] But Kings Hsin-byu-shin of Burma and Śrî Sûryavaṃsa Râma of
Siam have left inscriptions recording their desire to become Buddhas.
See my chapters on Burma and Siam below. Mahayanist ideas may
easily have entered these countries from China, but even in Ceylon
the idea of becoming a Buddha or Bodhisattva is not unknown. See
Manual of a Mystic (P.T.S. 1916), pp. xviii and 140.
[7] E.g. in Itivuttakam 75, there is a description of the man who is like
a drought and gives nothing, the man who is like rain in a certain
district and the man who is Sabbabhûtânukampako, compassionate to
all creatures, and like rain falling everywhere. Similarly Ib. 84, and

elsewhere, we have descriptions of persons (ordinary disciples as well
as Buddhas) who are born for the welfare of gods and men
bahujanahitâya, bahujanasukhâya, lokânukampâya, atthâya, hitâya,
sukhâya devamanussânam.
[8] Ed. Senart, vol. I. p. 142.
[9] The Bodhicaryâvatâra was edited by Minayeff, 1889 and also in
the Journal of the Buddhist Text Society and the Bibliotheca Indica.
De la Vallée Poussin published parts of the text and commentary in
his Bouddhisme and also a translation in 1907.
[10] The career of the Bodhisattva is also discussed in detail in the
Avatamsaka sûtra and in works attributed to Nâgârjuna and
Sthiramati, the Lakshaṇa-vimukta-hṛidaya-śâstra and the Mahâyâna-
dharma-dhâtvaviśeshata-śâstra. I only know of these works as quoted
by Teitaro Suzuki.
[11] See Childers, Pali Dict. s.v. Patti, Pattianuppadânam and Puñño.
[12] It occurs in the Pali Canon, e.g. Itivuttakam 100. Tassa me tumhe
puttâ orasâ, mukhato jâtâ, dhammajâ.
[13] See Sylvain Lévi, Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra: introduction and
passim. For much additional information about the Bhûmis see De la
Vallée Poussin's article "Bodhisattva" in E.R.E.
[14] Eminent doctors such as Nâgârjuna and Asanga are often
described as Bodhisattvas just as eminent Hindu teachers, e.g.
Caitanya, are described as Avatâras.
[15] The idea that Arhats may postpone their entry into Nirvana for
the good of the world is not unknown to the Pali Canon. According to
the Maha Parin-Sutta the Buddha himself might have done so.
Legends which cannot be called definitely Mahayanist relate how
Piṇḍola and others are to tarry until Maitreya come and how Kâśyapa
in a less active role awaits him in a cave or tomb, ready to revive at
his advent. See J.A. 1916, II. pp. 196, 270.
[16] E.g. Lotus, chap. I.

[17] De la Vallée Poussin's article "Avalokita" in E.R.E. may be
consulted.
[18] Lotus, S.B.E. XXI. p. 407.
[19] sPyan-ras-gzigs rendered in Mongol by Nidübär-üdzäkci. The
other common Mongol name Ariobalo appears to be a corruption of
Âryâvalokita.
[20] Meaning apparently the seeing and self-existent one. Cf. Ta-tzǔ-
tsai as a name of Śiva.
[21] A maidservant in the drama Mâlatîmâdhava is called Avalokita. It
is not clear whether it is a feminine form of the divine name or an
adjective meaning looked-at, or admirable.
[22] S.B.E. XXI. pp. 4 and 406 ff. It was translated in Chinese
between A.D. 265 and 316 and chap. XXIV was separately translated
between A.D. 384 and 417. See Nanjio, Catalogue Nos. 136, 137,
138.
[23] Hsüan Chuang (Watters, II. 215, 224) relates how an Indian sage
recited the Sui-hsin dhârani before Kuan-tzǔ-tsai's image for three
years.
[24] As will be noticed from time to time in these pages, the sudden
appearance of new deities in Indian literature often seems strange. The
fact is that until deities are generally recognized, standard works pay
no attention to them.
[25] Watters, vol. II. pp. 228 ff. It is said that Potalaka is also
mentioned in the Hwa-yen-ching or Avatamsaka sûtra. Tibetan
tradition connects it with the Śâkya family. See Csoma de Körös,
Tibetan studies reprinted 1912, pp. 32-34.
[26] Just as the Lankâvatâra sûtra purports to have been delivered at
Lankapura-samudra-malaya-śikhara rendered in the Chinese
translation as "in the city of Lanka on the summit of the Malaya
mountain on the border of the sea."
[27] See Foucher, Iconographie bouddhique, 1900, pp. 100, 102.

[28] Varamudra.
[29] These as well as the red colour are attributes of the Hindu deity
Brahmâ.
[30] A temple on the north side of the lake in the Imperial City at
Peking contains a gigantic image of him which has literally a
thousand heads and a thousand hands. This monstrous figure is a
warning against an attempt to represent metaphors literally.
[31] Waddell on the Cult of Avalokita, J.R.A.S. 1894, pp. 51 ff. thinks
they are not earlier than the fifth century.
[32] See especially Foucher, Iconographie Bouddhique, Paris, 1900.
[33] See especially de Blonay, Études pour servir à l'histoire de la
déesse bouddhique Târâ, Paris, 1895. Târâ continued to be
worshipped as a Hindu goddess after Buddhism had disappeared and
several works were written in her honour. See Raj. Mitra, Search for
Sk. MSS. IV. 168, 171, X. 67.
[34] About the time of Hsüan Chuang's travels Sarvajñâmitra wrote a
hymn to Târâ which has been preserved and published by de Blonay,
1894.
[35] Chinese Buddhists say Târâ and Kuan-Yin are the same but the
difference between them is this. Târâ is an Indian and Lamaist
goddess associated with Avalokita and in origin analogous to the
Saktis of Tantrism. Kuan-yin is a female form of Avalokita who can
assume all shapes. The original Kuan-yin was a male deity: male
Kuan-yins are not unknown in China and are said to be the rule in
Korea. But Târâ and Kuan-yin may justly be described as the same in
so far as they are attempts to embody the idea of divine pity in a
Madonna.
[36] But many scholars think that the formula Om manipadme hum,
which is supposed to be addressed to Avalokita, is really an invocation
to a form of Śakti called Maṇipadmâ. A Nepalese inscription says that
"The Śâktas call him Śakti" (E.R.E. vol. II. p. 260 and J.A. IX. 192),

but this may be merely a way of saying that he is identical with the
great gods of all sects.
[37] Harlez, Livre des esprits et des immortels, p. 195, and Doré,
Recherches sur les superstitions en Chine, pp. 94-138.
[38] See Fenollosa, Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art I. pp. 105
and 124; Johnston, Buddhist China, 275 ff. Several Chinese deities
appear to be of uncertain or varying sex. Thus Chun-ti is sometimes
described as a deified Chinese General and sometimes identified with
the Indian goddess Marîcî. Yü-ti, generally masculine, is sometimes
feminine. See Doré, l.c. 212. Still more strangely the Patriarch
Aśvaghosha (Ma Ming) is represented by a female figure. On the
other hand the monk Ta Shêng (c. 705 A.D.) is said to have been an
incarnation of the female Kuan Yin. Mañjuśrî is said to be worshipped
in Nepal sometimes as a male, sometimes as a female. See Bendall
and Haraprasad, Nepalese MSS. p. lxvii.
[39] de Blonay, l.c. pp. 48-57.
[40] Chinese, Man-chu-shih-li, or Wên-shu; Japanese, Monju;
Tibetan, hJam-pahi-dbyans (pronounced Jam-yang). Mañju is good
Sanskrit, but it must be confessed that the name has a Central-Asian
ring.
[41] Translated into Chinese 270 A.D.
[42] Chaps. XI. and XIII.
[43] A special work Mañjuśrîvikrîḍita (Nanjio, 184, 185) translated
into Chinese 313 A.D. is quoted as describing Mañjuśrî's
transformations and exploits.
[44] Hsüan Chuang also relates how he assisted a philosopher called
Ch'en-na (=Diṅnâga) and bade him study Mahayanist books.
[45] It is reproduced in Grünwedel's Buddhist Art in India. Translated
by Gibson, 1901, p. 200.
[46] Dharmacakramudra.

[47] For the Nepalese legends see S. Levi, Le Nepal, 1905-9.
[48] For an account of this sacred mountain see Edkins, Religion in
China, chaps. XVII to XIX.
[49] See I-tsing, trans. Takakusu, 1896, p. 136. For some further
remarks on the possible foreign origin of Mañjuśrî see below, chapter
on Central Asia. The verses attributed to King Harsha (Nanjio, 1071)
praise the reliquaries of China but without details.
[50] Some of the Tantras, e.g. the Mahâcînakramâcâra, though they do
not connect Mañjuśrî with China, represent some of their most
surprising novelties as having been brought thence by ancient sages
like Vasishṭha.
[51] J.R.A.S. new series, XII. 522 and J.A.S.B. 1882, p. 41. The name
Manchu perhaps contributed to this belief.
[52] It is described as a Svayambhû or spontaneous manifestation of
the Âdi-Buddha.
[53] Sanskrit, Maitreya; Pali, Metteyya; Chinese, Mi-li; Japanese,
Miroku; Mongol, Maidari; Tibetan, Byams-pa (pronounced Jampa).
For the history of the Maitreya idea see especially Péri, B.E.F.E.O.
1911, pp. 439-457.
[54] But a Siamese inscription of about 1361, possibly influenced by
Chinese Mahayanism, speaks of the ten Bodhisattvas headed by
Metteyya. See B.E.F.E.O. 1917, No. 2, pp. 30, 31.
[55] E.g. in the Mahâparinibbâna Sûtra.
[56] Dig. Nik. XXVI. 25 and Buddhavamsa, XXVII. 19, and even this
last verse is said to be an addition.
[57] See e.g. Watters, Yüan Chwang, I. 239.
[58] See Watters and Péri in B.E.F.E.O. 1911, 439. A temple of
Maitreya has been found at Turfan in Central Asia with a Chinese
inscription which speaks of him as an active and benevolent deity
manifesting himself in many forms.

[59] He has not fared well in Chinese iconography which represents
him as an enormously fat smiling monk. In the Liang dynasty there
was a monk called Pu-tai (Jap. Hotei) who was regarded as an
incarnation of Maitreya and became a popular subject for caricature.
It would appear that the Bodhisattva himself has become superseded
by this cheerful but undignified incarnation.
[60] The stupa was apparently at Benares but Hsüan Chuang's
narrative is not clear and other versions make Râjagṛiha or Srâvasti
the scene of the prediction.
[61] Campa. This is his bodhi tree under which he will obtain
enlightenment as Sâkyamuni under the Ficus religiosa. Each Buddha
has his own special kind of bodhi tree.
[62] Record of the Buddhist religion, Trans. Takakusu, p. 213. See too
Watters, Yüan Chwang, II. 57, 144, 210, 215.
[63] Chinese P'u-hsien. See Johnston, From Peking to Mandalay, for
an interesting account of Mt. Omei.
[64] Or Mahâsthâna. Chinese, Tai-shih-chih. He appears to be the
Arhat Maudgalyâyana deified. In China and Japan there is a marked
tendency to regard all Bodhisattvas as ancient worthies who by their
vows and virtues have risen to their present high position. But these
euhemeristic explanations are common in the Far East and the real
origin of the Bodhisattvas may be quite different.
[65] E.g. Watters, I. p. 229, II. 215.
[66] Kshitigarbha is translated into Chinese as Ti-tsang and Jizō is the
Japanese pronunciation of the same two characters.
[67] In Ostasiat. Ztsft. 1913-15. See too Johnston, Buddhist China,
chap. VIII.
[68] The Earth goddess is known to the earliest Buddhist legends. The
Buddha called her to witness when sitting under the Bo tree.
[69] Three Sûtras, analysed by Visser, treat of Kshitigarbha. They are
Nanjio, Nos. 64, 65, 67.

[70] A celebrated monastery in the portion of An-hui which lies to the
south of the Yang-tse. See Johnston, Buddhist China, chaps, VIII, IX
and X.
[71] There is some reason to think that even in Turkestan Kshitigarbha
was a god of roads.
[72] In Annam too Jizō is represented on horseback.

CHAPTER XVIII
THE BUDDHAS OF MAHAYANISM

This mythology did not grow up around the Buddha without affecting the
central figure. To understand the extraordinary changes of meaning both
mythological and metaphysical which the word Buddha undergoes in
Mahayanist theology we must keep in mind not the personality of Gotama
but the idea that he is one of several successive Buddhas who for
convenience may be counted as four, seven or twenty-four but who really
form an infinite series extending without limit backwards into the past and
forwards into the future.[73] This belief in a series of Buddhas produced a
plentiful crop of imaginary personalities and also of speculations as to their
connection with one another, with the phenomena of the world and with the
human soul.
In the Pali Canon the Buddhas antecedent to Gotama are introduced much
like ancient kings as part of the legendary history of this world. But in the
Lalita-vistara (Chap. XX) and the Lotus (Chap. VII) we hear of Buddhas,
usually described as Tathâgatas, who apparently do not belong to this world
at all, but rule various points of the compass, or regions described as
Buddha-fields (Buddha-kshetra). Their names are not the same in the
different accounts and we remain dazzled by an endless panorama of an
infinity of universes with an infinity of shining Buddhas, illuminating
infinite space.
Somewhat later five of these unearthly Buddhas were formed into a pentad
and described as Jinas[74] or Dhyâni Buddhas (Buddhas of contemplation),
namely, Vairocana, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitâbha and
Amoghasiddhi. In the fully developed form of this doctrine these five
personages are produced by contemplation from the Âdi-Buddha or original
Buddha spirit and themselves produce various reflexes, including
Bodhisattvas, human Buddhas and goddesses like Târâ. The date when

these beliefs first became part of the accepted Mahayana creed cannot be
fixed but probably the symmetrical arrangement of five Buddhas is not
anterior to the tantric period[75] of Buddhism.
The most important of the five are Vairocana and Amitâbha. Akshobhya is
mentioned in both the Lotus and Smaller Sukhâvatî-vyûha as the chief
Buddha of the eastern quarter, and a work purporting to be a description of
his paradise still extant in Chinese[76] is said to have been translated in the
time of the Eastern Han dynasty. But even in the Far East he did not find
many worshippers. More enduring has been the glory of Vairocana who is
the chief deity of the Shingon sect in Japan and is represented by the
gigantic image in the temple at Nara. In Java he seems to have been
regarded as the principal and supreme Buddha. The name occurs in the
Mahâvastu as the designation of an otherwise unknown Buddha of
luminous attributes and in the Lotus we hear of a distant Buddha-world
called Vairocana-rasmi-pratimandita, embellished by the rays of the sun.[77]
Vairocana is clearly a derivative of Virocana, a recognized title of the sun in
Sanskrit, and is rendered in Chinese by Ta-jih meaning great Sun. How this
solar deity first came to be regarded as a Buddha is not known but the
connection between a Buddha and light has always been recognized. Even
the Pali texts represent Gotama as being luminous on some occasions and in
the Mahayanist scriptures Buddhas are radiant and light-giving beings,
surrounded by halos of prodigious extent and emitting flashes which
illuminate the depths of space. The visions of innumerable paradises in all
quarters containing jewelled stupas and lighted by refulgent Buddhas which
are frequent in these works seem founded on astronomy vaporized under
the influence of the idea that there are millions of universes all equally
transitory and unsubstantial. There is no reason, so far as I see, to regard
Gotama as a mythical solar hero, but the celestial Buddhas[78] clearly have
many solar attributes. This is natural. Solar deities are so abundant in Vedic
mythology that it is hardly possible to be a benevolent god without having
something of the character of the sun. The stream of foreign religions which
flowed into India from Bactria and Persia about the time of the Christian era
brought new aspects of sun worship such as Mithra, Helios and Apollo and
strengthened the tendency to connect divinity and light. And this connection
was peculiarly appropriate and obvious in the case of a Buddha, for

Buddhas are clearly revealers and light-givers, conquerors of darkness and
dispellers of ignorance.
Amitâbha (or the Buddha of measureless light), rising suddenly from an
obscure origin, has like Avalokita and Vishnu become one of the great gods
of Asia. He is also known as Amitâyus or measureless life, and is therefore
a god of light and immortality. According to both the Lotus and the Smaller
Sukhâvatî-vyûha he is the lord of the western quarter but he is unknown to
the Lalita-vistara. It gives the ruler of the west a lengthy title,[79] which
suggests a land of gardens. Now Paradise, which has biblical authority as a
name for the place of departed spirits, appears to mean in Persian a park or
enclosed garden and the Avesta speaks of four heavens, the good thought
Paradise, the good word Paradise, the good deed Paradise and the Endless
Lights.[80] This last expression bears a remarkable resemblance to the name
of Amitâbha and we can understand that he should rule the west, because it
is the home to which the sun and departed spirits go. Amitâbha's Paradise is
called Sukhâvatî or Happy Land. In the Puranas the city of Varuṇa (who is
suspected of having a non-Indian origin) is said to be situated in the west
and is called Sukha (Linga P. and Vayu P.) or Mukhya (so Vishnu P. and
others). The name Amitâbha also occurs in the Vishnu Purana as the name
of a class of gods and it is curious that they are in one place[81] associated
with other deities called the Mukhyas. The worship of Amitâbha, so far as
its history can be traced, goes back to Saraha, the teacher of Nâgârjuna. He
is said to have been a Sudra and his name seems un-Indian. This supports
the theory that this worship was foreign and imported into India.[82]
This worship and the doctrine on which it is based are an almost complete
contradiction of Gotama's teaching, for they amount to this, that religion
consists in faith in Amitâbha and prayer to him, in return for which he will
receive his followers after death in his paradise. Yet this is not a late
travesty of Buddhism but a relatively early development which must have
begun about the Christian era. The principal works in which it is preached
are the Greater Sukhâvatî-vyûha or Description of the Happy Land,
translated into Chinese between 147 and 186 A.D., the lesser work of the
same name translated in 402 A.D. and the Sûtra of meditation on
Amitâyus[83] translated in 424. The first of these works purports to be a
discourse of Śâkyamuni himself, delivered on the Vulture's Peak in answer
to the questions of Ânanda. He relates how innumerable ages ago there was

a monk called Dharmâkara who, with the help of the Buddha of that period,
made a vow or vows[84] to become a Buddha but on conditions. That is to
say he rejected the Buddhahood to which he might become entitled unless
his merits obtained certain advantages for others, and having obtained
Buddhahood on these conditions he can now cause them to be fulfilled. In
other words he can apportion his vast store of accumulated merit to such
persons and in such manner as he chooses. The gist of the conditions is that
he should when he obtained Buddhahood be lord of a paradise whose
inhabitants live in unbroken happiness until they obtain Nirvana. All who
have thought of this paradise ten times are to be admitted therein, unless
they have committed grievous sin, and Amitâbha will appear to them at the
moment of death so that their thoughts may not be troubled. The Buddha
shows Ânanda a miraculous vision of this paradise and its joys are
described in language recalling the account of the New Jerusalem in the
book of Revelation and, though coarser pleasures are excluded, all the
delights of the eye and ear, such as jewels, gardens, flowers, rivers and the
songs of birds await the faithful.
The smaller Sukhâvatî-vyûha, represented as preached by Śâkyamuni at
Śrâvasti, is occupied almost entirely with a description of the paradise. It
marks a new departure in definitely preaching salvation by faith only, not
by works, whereas the previous treatise, though dwelling on the efficacy of
faith, also makes merit a requisite for life in heaven. But the shorter
discourse says dogmatically "Beings are not born in that Buddha country as
a reward and result of good works performed in this present life. No, all
men or women who hear and bear in mind for one, two, three, four, five, six
or seven nights the name of Amitâyus, when they come to die, Amitâyus
will stand before them in the hour of death, they will depart this life with
quiet minds and after death they will be born in Paradise."
The Amitâyur-dhyâna-sûtra also purports to be the teaching of Śâkyamuni
and has an historical introduction connecting it with Queen Vaidehî and
King Bimbisâra. In theology it is more advanced than the other treatises: it
is familiar with the doctrine of Dharma-kâya (which will be discussed
below) and it represents the rulers of paradise as a triad, Amitâyus being
assisted by Avalokita and Mahasthâmaprâpta.[85] Admission to the paradise
can be obtained in various ways, but the method recommended is the
practice of a series of meditations which are described in detail. The system

is comprehensive, for salvation can be obtained by mere virtue with little or
no prayer but also by a single invocation of Amitâyus, which suffices to free
from deadly sins.
Strange as such doctrines appear when set beside the Pali texts, it is clear
that in their origin and even in the form which they assume in the larger
Sukhâvatî-vyûha they are simply an exaggeration of ordinary Mahayanist
teaching.[86] Amitâbha is merely a monk who devotes himself to the
religious life, namely seeking bodhi for the good of others. He differs from
every day devotees only in the degree of sanctity and success obtained by
his exertions. The operations which he performs are nothing but examples
on a stupendous scale of pariṇâmanâ or the assignment of one's own merits
to others. His paradise, though in popular esteem equivalent to the Persian
or Christian heaven, is not really so: strictly speaking it is not an ultimate
ideal but a blessed region in which Nirvana may be obtained without toil or
care.
Though this teaching had brilliant success in China and Japan, where it still
flourishes, the worship of Amitâbha was never predominant in India. In
Nepal and Tibet he is one among many deities: the Chinese pilgrims hardly
mention him: his figure is not particularly frequent in Indian
iconography[87] and, except in the works composed specially in his honour,
he appears as an incidental rather than as a necessary figure. The whole
doctrine is hardly strenuous enough for Indians. To pray to the Buddha at
the end of a sinful life, enter his paradise and obtain ultimate Nirvana in
comfort is not only open to the same charge of egoism as the Hinayana
scheme of salvation but is much easier and may lead to the abandonment of
religious effort. And the Hindu, who above all things likes to busy himself
with his own salvation, does not take kindly to these expedients. Numerous
deities promise a long spell of heaven as a reward for the mere utterance of
their names,[88] yet the believer continues to labour earnestly in ceremonies
or meditation. It would be interesting to know whether this doctrine of
salvation by the utterance of a single name or prayer originated among
Buddhists or Brahmans. In any case it is closely related to old ideas about
the magic power of Vedic verses.
The five Jinas and other supernatural personages are often regarded as
manifestations of a single Buddha-force and at last this force is personified

as Âdi-Buddha.[89] This admittedly theistic form of Buddhism is late and is
recorded from Nepal, Tibet (in the Kâlacakra system) and Java, a
distribution which implies that it was exported from Bengal.[90] But another
form in which the Buddha-force is impersonal and analogous to the
Parabrahma of the Vedânta is much older. Yet when this philosophic idea is
expressed in popular language it comes very near to Theism. As Kern has
pointed out, Buddha is not called Deva or Îśvara in the Lotus simply
because he is above such beings. He declares that he has existed and will
exist for incalculable ages and has preached and will preach in innumerable
millions of worlds. His birth here and his nirvana are illusory, kindly
devices which may help weak disciples but do not mark the real beginning
and end of his activity. This implies a view of Buddha's personality which is
more precisely defined in the doctrine known as Ṭrikâya or the three
bodies[91] and expounded in the Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra, the Awakening of
Faith, the Suvarṇa-prabhâsa sûtra[92] and many other works. It may be
stated dogmatically as follows, but it assumes somewhat divergent forms
according as it is treated theologically or metaphysically.
A Buddha has three bodies or forms of existence. The first is the Dharma-
kâya, which is the essence of all Buddhas. It is true knowledge or Bodhi. It
may also be described as Nirvana and also as the one permanent reality
underlying all phenomena and all individuals. The second is the Sambhoga-
kâya, or body of enjoyment, that is to say the radiant and superhuman form
in which Buddhas appear in their paradises or when otherwise manifesting
themselves in celestial splendour. The third is the Nirmâna-kâya, or the
body of transformation, that is to say the human form worn by Śâkyamuni
or any other Buddha and regarded as a transformation of his true nature and
almost a distortion, because it is so partial and inadequate an expression of
it. Later theology regards Amitâbha, Amitâyus and Śâkyamuni as a series
corresponding to the three bodies. Amitâbha does not really express the
whole Dharma-kâya, which is incapable of personification, but when he is
accurately distinguished from Amitâyus (and frequently they are regarded
as synonyms) he is made the more remote and ethereal of the two.
Amitâyus with his rich ornaments and his flask containing the water of
eternal life is the ideal of a splendidly beneficent saviour and represents the
Sambhoga-kâya.[93] Śâkyamuni is the same beneficent being shrunk into
human form. But this is only one aspect, and not the most important, of the

doctrine of the three bodies. We can easily understand the Sambhoga-kâya
and Nirmâna-kâya: they correspond to a deity such as Vishnu and his
incarnation Krishna, and they are puzzling in Buddhism simply because we
think naturally of the older view (not entirely discarded by the Mahayana)
which makes the human Buddha the crown and apex of a series of lives that
find in him their fulfilment. But it is less easy to understand the Dharma-
kâya.
The word should perhaps be translated as body of the law and the thought
originally underlying it may have been that the essential nature of a
Buddha, that which makes him a Buddha, is the law which he preaches. As
we might say, the teacher lives in his teaching: while it survives, he is active
and not dead.
The change from metaphor to theology is illustrated by Hsüan Chuang
when he states[94] (no doubt quoting from his edition of the Pitakas) that
Gotama when dying said to those around him "Say not that the Tathâgata is
undergoing final extinction: his spiritual presence abides for ever
unchangeable." This apparently corresponds to the passage in the Pali
Canon,[95] which runs "It may be that in some of you the thought may arise,
the word of the Master is ended: we have no more a teacher. But it is not
thus that you should regard it. The truths and the rules which I have set
forth, let them, after I am gone, be the Teacher to you." But in Buddhist
writings, including the oldest Pali texts, Dharma or Dhamma has another
important meaning. It signifies phenomenon or mental state (the two being
identical for an idealistic philosophy) and comprises both the external and
the internal world. Now the Dharma-kâya is emphatically not a
phenomenon but it may be regarded as the substratum or totality of
phenomena or as that which gives phenomena whatever reality they possess
and the double use of the word dharma rendered such divagations of
meaning easier.[96] Hindus have a tendency to identify being and
knowledge. According to the Vedânta philosophy he who knows Brahman,
knows that he himself is Brahman and therefore he actually is Brahman. In
the same way the true body of the Buddha is prajñâ or knowledge.[97] By
this is meant a knowledge which transcends the distinction between subject
and object and which sees that neither animate beings nor inanimate things
have individuality or separate existence. Thus the Dharma-kâya being an
intelligence which sees the illusory quality of the world and also how the

illusion originates[98] may be regarded as the origin and ground of all
phenomena. As such it is also called Tathâgatagarbha and Dharma-dhâtu,
the matrix or store-house of all phenomena. On the other hand, inasmuch as
it is beyond them and implies their unreality, it may also be regarded as the
annihilation of all phenomena, in other words as Nirvana. In fact the
Dharma-kâya (or Bhûta-tathatâ) is sometimes[99] defined in words similar
to those which the Pali Canon makes the Buddha use when asked if the
Perfect Saint exists after death—"it is neither that which is existence nor
that which is non-existence, nor that which is at once existence and non-
existence nor that which is neither existence nor non-existence." In more
theological language it may be said that according to the general opinion of
the Mahayanists a Buddha attains to Nirvana by the very act of becoming a
Buddha and is therefore beyond everything which we call existence. Yet the
compassion which he feels for mankind and the good Karma which he has
accumulated cause a human image of him (Nirmâna-kâya) to appear among
men for their instruction and a superhuman image, perceptible yet not
material, to appear in Paradise.

FOOTNOTES:

[73] In Mahâparinib. Sut. I. 16 the Buddha is made to speak of all the
other Buddhas who have been in the long ages of the past and will be
in the long ages of the future.
[74] Though Dhyâni Buddha is the title most frequently used in
European works it would appear that Jina is more usual in Sanskrit
works, and in fact Dhyâni Buddha is hardly known outside Nepalese
literature. Ratnasambhava and Amoghasiddhi are rarely mentioned
apart from the others. According to Getty (Gods of Northern
Buddhism, pp. 26, 27) a group of six, including the Âdi-Buddha
himself under the name of Vajrasattva, is sometimes worshipped.
[75] About the same period Śiva and Vishnu were worshipped in five
forms. See below, Book V. chap. III. sec. 3 ad fin.
[76] Nanjio, Cat. No. 28.

[77] Virocana also occurs in the Chândogya Up. VIII. 7 and 8 as the
name of an Asura who misunderstood the teaching of Prajâpati.
Verocana is the name of an Asura in Sam. Nik. I. xi. 1. 8.
[78] The names of many of these Buddhas, perhaps the majority,
contain some word expressive of light such as Âditya, prabhâ or tejas.
[79] Chap. XX. Pushpavalivanârajikusumitâbhijña.
[80] E.g. Yashts. XXII. and XXIV. S.B.E. vol. XXIII. pp. 317 and 344.
The title Pure Land (Chinese Ch'ing-t'u, Japanese Jo-do) has also a
Persian ring about it. See further in the chapter on Central Asia.
[81] Vishnu P., Book III. chap. II.
[82] See below: Section on Central Asia, and Grünwedel, Mythologie,
31, 36 and notes: Taranatha (Shiefner), p. 93 and notes.
[83] Amitâyur-dhyâna-sûtra. All three works are translated in S.B.E.
vol. XLIX.
[84] Praṇidhâna. Not only Amitâbha but all Bodhisattvas (especially
Avalokita and Kshitigarbha) are supposed to have made such vows.
This idea is very common in China and Japan but goes back to Indian
sources. See e.g. Lotus, XXIV. verse 3.
[85] These Bodhisattvas are also mentioned but without much
emphasis in the Greater Sukhâvatî-vyûha.
[86] Even in Hinayanist works such as the Nidânakathâ Sumedha's
resolution to become a Buddha, formed as he lies on the ground
before Dipankara, has a resemblance to Amîda's vow. He resolves to
attain the truth, to enable mankind to cross the sea of the world and
only then to attain Nirvana.
[87] See Foucher, Iconographie Bouddhique dans l'Inde.
[88] The Bhagavad-gîtâ states quite clearly the doctrine of the
deathbed prayer (VIII. ad init.). "He who leaves this body and departs
remembering me in his last moments comes to my essence. Whatever

form (of deity) he remembers when he finally leaves this body, to that
he goes having been used to ponder on it."
[89] See art. Âdi-Buddha in E.R.E. Asanga in the Sûtrâlankâra (IX.
77) condemns the doctrine of Âdi-Buddha, showing that the term was
known then, even if it had not the precise dogmatic sense which it
acquired later. His argument is that no one can become a Buddha
without an equipment (Sambhâra) of merit and knowledge. Such an
equipment can only be obtained from a previous Buddha and
therefore the series of Buddhas must extend infinitely backwards.
[90] For the prevalence of the doctrine in mediæval Bengal see B.K.
Sarkar, Folklore Element in Hindu Culture, which is however sparing
of precise references. The Dharma or Nirañjana of the Śûnya Purâna
seems to be equivalent to Âdi-Buddha.
Sometimes the Âdi-Buddha is identified with Vajrasattva or
Samantabhadra, although these beings are otherwise classified as
Bodhisattvas. This appears analogous to the procedure common in
Hinduism by which a devotee declares that his special deity is all the
gods and the supreme spirit.
[91] It would appear that some of the Tantras treat of five bodies,
adding to the three here given others such as the Ânandakâya,
Vajrakâya and Svabhâvakâya. For this doctrine see especially De la
Vallée Poussin, J.R.A.S. 1906, pp. 943-997 and Muséon, 1913, pp. 257
ff. Jigs-med nam-mká, the historian of Tibetan Buddhism, describes
four. See Huth, Ges. d. Bud. in d. Mongolei, vol. II. pp. 83-89.
Hinduism also assigns to living beings three bodies, the Kâraṇa-śarîra,
lingaś. and sthûlaś.
[92] Translated into Chinese by Dharmaraksha between 397 and 439
A.D.
[93] The prototype of the Sambhoga-kâya is found in the Pali Canon,
for the Buddha says (Mahâparinib. Sut. III. 22) that when he appears
among the different classes of gods his form and voice are similar to
theirs.

[94] Watters, vol. II. p. 38. "Spiritual essence" is Fa-shên in Chinese,
i.e. Dharma-kâya. Another pass age is quoted to the effect that
"henceforth the observances of all my disciples constitute the
Tathâgata's Fa-shên, eternal and imperishable."
[95] Mahâparinib. Sut. VI. i.
[96] Something similar might happen in English if think and thing
were pronounced in the same way and a thing were believed to be that
which we can think.
[97] See Ashtasâhasrikâ Prajñâ-pâramitâ, chap. IV, near beginning.
[98] It is in this last point that no inferior intelligence can follow the
thought of a Buddha.
[99] The Awakening of Faith, Teitaro Suzuki, p. 59.

CHAPTER XIX
MAHAYANIST METAPHYSICS

Thus the theory of the three bodies, especially of the Dharma-kâya, is
bound up with a theory of ontology. Metaphysics became a passion among
the travellers of the Great Vehicle as psychology had been in earlier times.
They may indeed be reproached with being bad Buddhists since they
insisted on speculating on those questions which Gotama had declared to be
unprofitable and incapable of an answer in human language. He refused to
pronounce on the whence, the whither and the nature of things, but bade his
disciples walk in the eightfold path and analyse the human mind, because
such analysis conduces to spiritual progress. India was the last country in
the world where such restrictions were likely to be observed. Much
Mahayanist literature is not religious at all but simply metaphysics treated
in an authoritative and ecclesiastical manner. The nature and origin of the
world are discussed as freely as in the Vedânta and with similar results: the
old ethics and psychology receive scant attention. Yet the difference is less
than might be supposed. Anyone who reads these treatises and notices the
number of apparently eternal beings and the talk about the universal mind is
likely to think the old doctrine that nothing has an âtman or soul, has been
forgotten. But this impression is not correct; the doctrine of Nairâtmyam is
asserted so uncompromisingly that from one point of view it may be said
that even Buddhas do not exist. The meaning of this doctrine is that no
being or object contains an unchangeable permanent self, which lives
unaltered in the same or in different bodies. On the contrary individual
existences consist of nothing but a collection of skandhas or a santâna, a
succession or series of mental phenomena. In the Pali books this doctrine is
applied chiefly to the soul and psychological enquiries. The Mahayana
applied it to the external world and proved by ingenious arguments that
nothing at all exists. Similarly the doctrine of Karma is maintained, though
it is seriously modified by the admission that merit can be transferred from
one personality to another. The Mahayana continued to teach that an act

once performed affects a particular series of mental states until its effect is
exhausted, or in popular language that an individual enjoys or suffers
through a series of births the consequences of previous acts. Even the
instance of Amitâbha's paradise, though it strains the doctrine of Karma to
the utmost, does not repudiate it. For the believer performs an act—to wit,
the invocation of Amitâbha—to which has been attached the wonderful
result that the performer is reborn in a blessed state. This is not essentially
different from the idea found in the Pali Canon that attentions paid to a
Buddha may be rewarded by a happy rebirth in heaven.[100]
Mahayanist metaphysics, like all other departments of this theology, are
beset by the difficulty that the authorities who treat of them are not always
in accord and do not pretend to be in accord. The idea that variety is
permissible in belief and conduct is deeply rooted in later Buddhism: there
are many vehicles, some better than others no doubt and some very
ramshackle, but all are capable of conveying their passengers to salvation.
Nominally the Mahayana was divided into only two schools of philosophy:
practically every important treatise propounds a system with features of its
own. The two schools are the Yogâcâras and Mâdhyamikas.[101] Both are
idealists and deny the reality of the external world, but whereas the
Yogâcâras (also called Vijñânavâdins) admit that Vijñâna or consciousness
and the series of states of which it consists are real, the Mâdhyamikas
refuse the title of reality to both the subjective and the objective world and
hence gained a reputation of being complete nihilists. Probably the
Mâdhyamikas are the older school.
Both schools attach importance to the distinction between relative and
absolute knowledge. Relative knowledge is true for human beings living in
the world: that is to say it is not more false than the world of appearance in
which they live. The Hinayanist doctrines are true in this sense. Absolute
knowledge rises above the world of appearance and is altogether true but
difficult to express in words. The Yogâcâra makes three divisions, dividing
the inferior knowledge into two. It distinguishes first illusory knowledge
(parikalpita) such as mistaking a piece of rope for a snake or belief in the
existence of individual souls. Secondly knowledge which depends on the
relations of things (paratantra) and which though not absolutely wrong is
necessarily limited, such as belief in the real existence of ropes and snakes.
And thirdly absolute knowledge (parinishpanna), which understands all

things as the manifestation of an underlying principle. The Mâdhyamikas
more simply divide knowledge into samvṛiti-satya and paramârtha-satya,
that is the truth of every-day life and transcendental truth. The world and
ordinary religion with its doctrines and injunctions about good works are
real and true as samvṛiti but in absolute truth (paramârtham) we attain
Nirvana and then the world with its human Buddhas and its gods exists no
more. The word śûnyam or śûnyatâ, that is void, is often used as the
equivalent of paramârtham. Void must be understood as meaning not an
abyss of nothingness but that which is found to be devoid of all the
attributes which we try to ascribe to it. The world of ordinary experience is
not void, for a great number of statements can be made about it, but
absolute truth is void, because nothing whatever can be predicated of it. Yet
even this colourless designation is not perfectly accurate,[102] because
neither being nor not-being can be predicated of absolute truth. It is for this
reason, namely that they admit neither being nor not-being but something
between the two, that the followers of Nâgârjuna are known as the
Mâdhyamikas or school of the middle doctrine, though the European reader
is tempted to say that their theories are extreme to the point of being a
reductio ad absurdum of the whole system. Yet though much of their logic
seems late and useless sophistry, its affinity to early Buddhism cannot be
denied. The fourfold proposition that the answer to certain questions cannot
be any of the statements "is," "is not," "both is and is not," "neither is nor is
not," is part of the earliest known stratum of Buddhism. The Buddha
himself is represented as saying[103] that most people hold either to a belief
in being or to a belief in not being. But neither belief is possible for one
who considers the question with full knowledge. "That things have being is
one extreme: that things have no being is the other extreme. These extremes
have been avoided by the Tathâgata and it is a middle doctrine that he
teaches," namely, dependent origination as explained in the chain of twelve
links. The Mâdhyamika theory that objects have no absolute and
independent existence but appear to exist in virtue of their relations is a
restatement of this ancient dictum.
The Mahayanist doctors find an ethical meaning in their negations. If things
possessed svabhâva, real, absolute, self-determined existence, then the four
truths and especially the cessation of suffering and attainment of sanctity
would be impossible. For if things were due not to causation but to their

own self-determining nature (and the Hindus always seem to understand
real existence in this sense) cessation of evil and attainment of the good
would be alike impossible: the four Noble Truths imply a world which is in
a state of constant becoming, that is a world which is not really existent.
But for all that the doctrine of śûnyatâ as stated in the Mâdhyamika
aphorisms ascribed to Nâgârjuna leaves an impression of audacious and
ingenious sophistry. After laying down that every object in the world exists
only in relation to every other object and has no self-existence, the treatise
proceeds to prove that rest and motion are alike impossible. We speak about
the path along which we are passing but there is really no such thing, for if
we divide the path accurately, it always proves separable into the part which
has been passed over and the part which will be passed over. There is no
part which is being passed over. This of course amounts to a denial of the
existence of present time. Time consists of past and future separated by an
indivisible and immeasurable instant. The minimum of time which has any
meaning for us implies a change, and two elements, a former and a
subsequent. The present minute or the present hour are fallacious
expressions.[104] Therefore no one ever is passing along a path. Again you
cannot logically say that the passer is passing, for the sentence is redundant:
the verb adds nothing to the noun and vice versa: but on the other hand you
clearly cannot say that the non-passer is passing. Again if you say that the
passer and the passing are identical, you overlook the distinction between
the agent and the act and both become unreal. But you cannot maintain that
the passer is different from the passing, for a passer as distinct from passing
and passing as distinct from a passer have no meaning. "But how can two
entities exist at all, if they exist neither as identical with one another nor as
different from one another?"
The above, though much abridged, gives an idea of the logic of these sûtras.
They proceed to show that all manner of things, such as the five skandhas,
the elements, contact, attachment, fire and fuel, origination, continuation
and extinction have no real existence. Similar reasoning is then applied to
religious topics: the world of transmigration as well as bondage and
liberation are declared non-existent. In reality no soul is in bondage and
none is released.[105] Similarly Karma, the Buddha himself, the four truths,
Nirvana and the twelve links in the chain of causation are all unreal. This is
not a declaration of scepticism. It means that the Buddha as a human or

celestial being and Nirvana as a state attainable in this world are
conceivable only in connection with this world and therefore, like the
world, unreal. No religious idea can enter into the unreal (that is the
practical) life of the world unless it is itself unreal. This sounds a topsy
turvy argument but it is really the same as the Advaita doctrine. The
Vedânta is on the one hand a scheme of salvation for liberating souls which
transmigrate unceasingly in a world ruled by a personal God. But when true
knowledge is attained, the soul sees that it is identical with the Highest
Brahman and that souls which are in bondage and God who rules the world
are illusions like the world itself. But the Advaita has at least a verbal
superiority over the Mâdhyamika philosophy, for in its terminology
Brahman is the real and the existent contrasted with the world of illusion.
The result of giving to what the Advaita calls the real and existent the name
of śûnyatâ or void is disconcerting. To say that everything without
distinction is non-existent is much the same as saying that everything is
existent. It only means that a wrong sense is habitually given to the word
exist, as if it meant to be self-contained and without relation to other
objects. Unless we can make a verbal contrast and assert that there is
something which does exist, it seems futile to insist on the unreality of the
world. Yet this mode of thought is not confined to text-books on logic. It
invades the scriptures, and appears (for instance) in the Diamond Cutter[106]
which is still one of the most venerated books of devotion in China and
Japan. In this work the Buddha explains that a Bodhisattva must resolve to
deliver all living beings and yet must understand that after he has thus
delivered innumerable beings, no one has been delivered. And why?
Because no one is to be called a Bodhisattva for whom there exists the idea
of a being, or person. Similarly a saint does not think that he is a saint, for if
he did so think, he would believe in a self, and a person. There occur
continually in this work phrases cast in the following form: "what was
preached as a store of merit, that was preached as no store of merit[107] by
the Tathâgata and therefore it is called a store of merit. If there existed a
store of merit, the Tathâgata would not have preached a store of merit."
That is to say, if I understand this dark language rightly, accumulated merit
is part of the world of illusion which we live in and by speaking of it as he
did the Buddha implied that it, like everything else in the world, is really
non-existent. Did it belong to the sphere of absolute truth, he would not
have spoken of it as if it were one of the things commonly but erroneously

supposed to exist. Finally we are told of the highest knowledge "Even the
smallest thing is not known or perceived there; therefore it is called the
highest perfect knowledge." That is to say perfect knowledge transcends all
distinctions; it recognises the illusory nature of all individuality and the
truth of sameness, the never-changing one behind the ever-changing many.
In this sense it is said to perceive nothing and know nothing.
One might expect that a philosophy thus prone to use the language of
extreme nihilism would slip into a destructive, or at least negative system.
But Mahayanism was pulled equally strongly in the opposite direction by
the popular and mythological elements which it contained and was on the
whole inclined to theism and even polytheism quite as much as to atheism
and acosmism. A modern Japanese writer[108] says that Dharma-kâya "may
be considered to be equivalent to the Christian conception of the Godhead."
This is excessive as a historical statement of the view current in India
during the early centuries of our era, but it does seem true that Dharma-
kâya was made the equivalent of the Hindu conception of Param Brahma
and also that it is very nearly equivalent to the Chinese Tao.[109]
The work called Awakening of Faith[110] and ascribed to Aśvaghosha is not
extant in Sanskrit but was translated into Chinese in 553 A.D. Its doctrine is
practically that of the Yogâcâra school and this makes the ascription
doubtful, but it is a most important treatise. It is regarded as authoritative in
China and Japan at the present day and it illustrates the triple tendency of
the Mahayana towards metaphysics, mythology, and devotional piety. It
declares that faith has four aspects. Three of these are the three Jewels, or
Buddha, the Law and the Church, and cover between them the whole field
of religion and morality as generally understood. The exposition is tinged
with a fine unselfish emotion and tells the believer that though he should
strive not for his own emancipation but for the salvation of others yet he
himself receives unselfish and supernatural assistance. He is remembered
and guarded by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in all quarters of the Universe
who are eternally trying to liberate mankind by various expedients (upâya).
By expedient is meant a modified presentment of the truth, which is easier
of comprehension and, if not the goal, at least on the road to it, such as the
Paradise of Amitâbha.[111]

But the remaining aspect of faith, which is the one that the author puts first
in his enumeration, and treats at great length, is "to believe in the
fundamental truth, that is to think joyfully of suchness." By suchness (in
Sanskrit bhûta-tathatâ, in Chinese Chên ju) is meant absolute truth as
contrasted with the relative truth of ordinary experience.[112] The word is
not illuminating nor likely to excite religious emotion and the most that can
be said for it is that it is less dreary than the void of Nâgârjuna. Another and
more positive synonym is dharma-dhâtu, the all-embracing totality of
things. It is only through our ignorance and subjectivity that things appear
distinct and individuate. Could we transcend this subjectivity, isolated
objects would cease to exist. Things in their fundamental nature cannot be
named or explained: they are beyond the range of language and perception:
they have no signs of distinction but possess absolute sameness (samatâ).
From this totality of things nothing can be excluded and to it nothing can be
added. Yet it is also śûnyatâ, negation or the void, because it cannot be said
to possess any of the attributes of the world we live in: neither existence nor
non-existence, nor unity nor plurality can be predicted of it. According to
the celebrated formula of Nâgârjuna known as the eight Nos there is in it
"neither production (utpâda) nor destruction (uccheda) nor annihilation
(nirodha) nor persistence (sasvatâ) nor unity (ekârtha) nor plurality
(nânârtha) nor coming in (âgamana) nor going out (nirgama)." But when
we perceive that both subject and object are unreal we also see that
suchness is the one reality and from that point of view it may be regarded as
the Dharma-kâya of all Buddhas. It is also called Tathâgatagarbha, the
womb or store-house of the Buddha, from which all individual existences
are evolved under the law of causation, but this aspect of it is already
affected by ignorance, for in Bhûta-tathatâ as known in the light of the
highest truth there is neither causation nor production. The Yogâcâra
employs the word śûnyatâ (void), though not so much as its sister school,
but it makes special use of the term âlaya-vijñâna, the receptacle or store of
consciousness. This in so far as it is superindividual is an aspect of
suchness, but when it affirms and particularises itself it becomes citta, that
is the human mind, or to be more accurate the substratum of the human
mind from which is developed manas, or the principle of will, self-
consciousness and self-affirmation. Similarly the Vedânta philosophy,
though it has no term corresponding to âlaya-vijñâna, is familiar with the
idea that Brahman is in one aspect immeasurable and all-embracing but in

another is infinitesimal and dwells in the human heart: or that Brahman
after creating the world entered into it. Again another aspect of suchness is
enlightenment (bodhi), that is absolute knowledge free from the limitations
of subject and object. This "is the universal Dharma-kâya of the Tathâgatas"
and on account of this all Tathâgatas are spoken of as abiding in
enlightenment a priori. This enlightenment may be negative (as śûnyata) in
the sense that it transcends all relations but it may also be affirmative and
then "it transforms and unfolds itself, whenever conditions are favourable,
in the form of a Tathâgata or some other form in order that all beings may
be induced to bring their store of merit to maturity."[113]
It will be seen from the above that the absolute truth of the Mahayanists
varies from a severely metaphysical conception, the indescribable thing in
itself, to something very like an all-pervading benevolent essence which
from time to time takes shape in a Buddha. And here we see how easy is the
transition from the old Buddhism to a form of pantheism. For if we admit
that the Buddha is a superhuman intelligence appearing from time to time
according to a certain law, we add little to this statement by saying that the
essence or spirit of the cosmos manifests itself from time to time as a
Buddha. Only, such words as essence or spirit are not really correct. The
world of individuals is the same as the highest truth, the same as the
Dharma-kâya, the same as Nirvana. It is only through ignorance that it
appears to be different and particularized. Ignorance, the essence of which
consists in believing in the distinction between subject and object, is also
called defilement and the highest truth passes through various stages of
defilement ending with that where under the influence of egoism and
passion the external world of particulars is believed to be everything. But
the various stages may influence one another[114] so that under a higher
influence the mind which is involved in subjectivity begins to long for
Nirvana. Yet Nirvana is not something different from or beyond the world
of experience; it does not really involve annihilation of the skandhas. Just as
in the Advaita he who has the true knowledge sees that he himself and
everything else is Brahman, so for the Mahayanist all things are seen to be
Nirvana, to be the Dharma-kâya. It is sometimes[115] said that there are four
kinds of Nirvana (a) absolute Nirvana, which is a synonym of the Dharma-
kâya and in that sense universally present in all beings, (b) upadhiśesha-
nirvâṇa, the state of enlightenment which can be attained during life, while

the body with its limitations still remains, (c) anupadhiśesha-nirvâṇa, a
higher degree of the same state attained after death when the hindrances of
the body are removed, (d) Nirvana without abode or apratishṭhita-nirvâṇa.
Those who attain to this understand that there is no real antithesis between
Samsâra and Nirvana:[116] they do not seek for rest or emancipation but
devote themselves to beneficent activity and to leading their fellows to
salvation. Although these statements that Nirvana and Samsâra are the same
are not at all in the manner of the older Buddhism, yet this ideal of
disinterested activity combined with Nirvana is not inconsistent with the
portrait of Gotama preserved in the Pali Canon.
The Mahayanist Buddhism of the Far East makes free use of such phrases
as the Buddha in the heart, the Buddha mind and the Buddha nature. These
seem to represent such Sanskrit terms as Buddhatva and Bodhicitta which
can receive either an ethical or a metaphysical emphasis. The former line of
thought is well shown in Śântideva[117] who treats Bodhicitta as the initial
impulse and motive power of the religious life, combining intellectual
illumination and unselfish devotion to the good of others. Thus regarded it
is a guiding and stimulating principle somewhat analogous to the Holy
Spirit in Christianity. But the Bodhicitta is also the essential quality of a
Buddha (and the Holy Spirit too is a member of the Trinity) and in so far as
a man has the Bodhicitta he is one with all Buddhas. This conception is
perhaps secondary in Buddhism but it is also as old as the Upanishads and
only another form of the doctrine that the spirit in every man (antaryâmin)
is identical with the Supreme Spirit. It is developed in many works still
popular in the Far East[118] and was the fundamental thesis of Bodhidharma,
the founder of the Zen school. But the practical character of the Chinese
and Japanese has led them to attach more importance to the moral and
intellectual side of this doctrine than to the metaphysical and pantheistic
side.

FOOTNOTES:

[100] E.g. in Mahâparinib. Sut. IV. 57, the Buddha says "There has
been laid up by Cunda the smith (who had given him his last meal) a
karma, redounding to length of life, to good fortune, to good fame, to
the inheritance of heaven, and of sovereign power."
[101] Strictly speaking Madhyamaka is the name of the school
Mâdhyamika of its adherents. Both forms are used, e.g.
Madhyamakakârikâs and Mâdhyamikasûtra.
[102] Nâgârjuna says Śûnyam iti na vaktavyam aśûnyam iti va bhavet
Ubhayam nobhayam ceti prâjñâptyartham tu kathyate, "It cannot be
called void or not void or both or neither but in order to somehow
indicate it, it is called Śûnyatâ."
[103] Sam. Nik. XXII. 90. 16.
[104] Gotama, the founder of the Nyâya philosophy, also admitted the
force of the arguments against the existence of present time but
regarded them as a reductio ad absurdum. Shadworth Hodgson in his
Philosophy of Reflection, vol. I. p. 253 also treats of the question.
[105] The Sânkhya philosophy makes a similar statement, though for
different reasons.
[106] Vajracchedikâ. See S.B.E. vol. XLIX. It was translated into
Chinese by Kumârajîva (384-417 A.D.).
[107] Or in other repetitions of the same formula, beings, ideas, good
things, signs, etc., etc.
[108] Soyen Shaku, Sermons of a Buddhist Abbot, p. 47.
[109] See for a simple and persuasive statement of these abstruse
doctrines a charming little book called Wu-Wei by H. Borel.
[110] Translated from the Chinese by Teitaro Suzuki, 1900. The
translation must be used with care, as its frequent use of the word soul

may lead to misunderstanding.
[111] Asaṅga's work Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra (edited and translated
by S. Lévi) which covers much of the same ground is extant in
Sanskrit as well as in Chinese and Tibetan translations. It is a lucid
and authoritative treatise but does not appear to have ever been
popular, or to be read now in the Far East. For Yogâcâra see also
Muséon, 1904, p. 370.
[112] The discussion of tathatâ in Kathâvatthu, XIX. 5 seems to
record an early phase of these speculations.
[113] Awakening of Faith, Teitaro Suzuki, pp. 62 and 70.
[114] The process is generally called Vâsana or perfuming.
[115] Vijñânamâtra Śâstra. Chinese version quoted by Teitaro Suzuki,
Outlines of Mahâyâna Buddhism, p. 343. Apparently both upâdhi and
upadhi are used in Buddhist Sanskrit. Upâdi is the Pali form.
[116] So the Mâdhyamika Śâstra (XXV. 19) states that there is no
difference between Samsâra and Nirvâna. Cf. Rabindranath Tagore,
Sadhana, pp. 160-164.
[117] E.g. Bodhicaryâvatâra, chap. I, called praise of the Bodhicitta.
[118] E.g. the Ṕu-t́i-hsin-li-hsiang-lun (Nanjio, 1304), translated from
Nâgârjuna, and the Ta-Ch'êng-fa-chieh-wu-ch́a-pieh-lun, translated
from Sthiramati (Nanjio, 1258).

CHAPTER XX
MAHAYANIST SCRIPTURES

In a previous chapter I have discussed the Pali Canon and I shall
subsequently have something to say about the Chinese and Tibetan Canons,
which are libraries of religious and edifying works rather than sacred books
similar to the Vedas or the Bible. My present object is to speak of the
Sanskrit literature, chiefly sutras, which appeared contemporaneously with
the rise of Mahayanism in India.
The Mahayanist scriptures are the largest body of sacred writings extant in
the world, but it is not easy either to define the limits of the Canon or to say
when it was put together. According to a common tradition Kanishka played
for the Church of the Great Vehicle much the same part as Asoka for the
Theravâdins and summoned a Council which wrote commentaries on the
Tripitaka. This may be reasonably held to include a recension of the text
commented on but we do not know what that text was, and the brief and
perplexing accounts of the Council which we possess indicate not that it
gave its imprimatur to Mahayanist sutras but that it was specially concerned
with the Abhidharma works of the Sarvâstivâdin school.
In any case no Canon formed in the time of Kanishka can have been
equivalent to the collections of writings accepted to-day in China and Tibet,
for they contain works later than any date which can be assigned to his
reign, as do also the nine sacred books revered in Nepal. It was agreed
among Indian Buddhists that the scriptures were divided among the three
Pitakas or baskets, but we may surmise that there was no unanimity as to
the precise contents of each basket. In India the need for unanimity in such
matters is not felt. The Brahmans always recognized that the most holy and
most jealously preserved scriptures could exist in various recensions and
the Mahabharata shows how generations of respectful and uncritical hearers
may allow adventitious matter of all sorts to be incorporated in a work.

Something of the same kind happened with the Pitakas. We know that the
Pali recension which we possess was not the only one, for fragments of a
Sanskrit version have been discovered.
There was probably a large floating literature of sutras, often presenting
several recensions of the same document worked up in different ways. Just
as additions were made to the list of Upanishads up to the middle ages,
although the character of the later works was different from that of the
earlier, so new sutras, modern in date and in tone, were received in the
capacious basket. And just as the Puranas were accepted as sacred books
without undermining the authority of the Vedas, so new Buddhist scriptures
superseded without condemning the old ones. Various Mahayanist schools
had their own versions of the Vinaya which apparently contain the same
rules as the Pali text but also much additional narrative, and Asanga quotes
from works corresponding to the Pali Nikâyas, though his doctrine belongs
to another age.[119] The Abhidharma section of the Pali Canon seems
however to have been peculiar to the Theravâda school. The Sarvâstivâdin
Pitaka of the same name was entirely different and, judging from the
Chinese Canon, the Mahayanists gave the title to philosophic works by such
authors as Asanga and Vasubandhu, some of which were described as
revelations from Maitreya.
Specially characteristic of Mahayanist Buddhism are the Vaipulya[120]
sutras, that is sutras of great extension or development. These works, of
which the Lotus is an example, follow the same scheme as the older sutras
but are of wider scope and on a much larger scale, for they often consist of
twenty or more chapters. They usually attempt to give a general exposition
of the whole Dharma, or at least of some aspect of it which is extolled as
sufficient for the right conduct of life. The chief speaker is usually the
Buddha, who is introduced as teaching on the Vulture Peak, or some other
well-known locality, and surrounded by a great assemblage many of whom
are superhuman beings. The occasion of the discourse is commonly
signalized by his sending forth rays of light which illuminate the universe
until the scene includes other worlds. As early as the Anguttara Nikâya[121]
we find references to the danger of a taste for ornate and poetic sutras and
these compositions seem to be the outcome of that taste. The literary ideas
and methods which produced them are illustrated by the Sûtrâlankâra of
Aśvaghosha, a collection of edifying tales, many of which use the materials

supplied by the Pali Nikâyas and Vinaya but present them in a more
effective and artistic form. It was thought a pious task to amplify and
embellish the simple narratives handed down by tradition.
The Mahayanist scriptures are composed in Sanskrit not in Pali, but it is
only rarely—for instance in the works of Aśvaghosha—that Buddhist
Sanskrit conforms to the rules of the classical language. Usually the words
deviate from this standard both in form and meaning and often suggest that
the text as we have it is a Sanskritized version of an older work in some
popular dialect, brought into partial conformity with literary usage. In the
poetical portions, this process of sanskritization encountered greater
difficulties than in prose, because metre and prosody often refused to admit
the changes required by grammar, so that this poetical dialect cannot be
called either Sanskrit, Pali or Magadhi but remains a mixture of learned and
popular speech. But Sanskrit did not become a sacred language for the
Mahayanists like Latin for Roman Catholics. It is rather Pali which has
assumed this position among the Hinayanists, for Burmese and Sinhalese
translations of the Pitakas acquired no authority. But in the north the
principle[122] that every man might read the Buddha's word in his own
vernacular was usually respected: and the populations of Central Asia, the
Chinese, the Tibetans, and the Mongols translated the scriptures into their
own languages without attaching any superstitious importance to the
original words, unless they were Dhâraṇîs or spells.
About the time of the Christian era or perhaps rather earlier, greater use
began to be made of writing for religious purposes. The old practice of
reciting the scriptures was not discontinued but no objection was made to
preserving and reading them in written copies. According to tradition, the
Pali scriptures were committed to writing in Ceylon during the reign of
Vaṭṭagâmaṇi, that is according to the most recent chronology about 20 B.C.,
and Kanishka caused to be engraved on copper plates the commentaries
composed by the council which he summoned. In Aśvaghosha[123] we find
the story of a Brahman who casually taking up a book to pass the time
lights on a copy of the Sutra of the Twelve Causes and is converted. But
though the Buddhists remained on the whole true to the old view that the
important thing was to understand and disseminate the substance of the
Master's teaching and not merely to preserve the text as if it were a sacred
formula, still we see growing up in Mahayanist works ideas about the

sanctity and efficacy of scripture which are foreign to the Pali Canon. Many
sutras (for instance the Diamond Cutter) extol themselves as all-sufficient
for salvation: the Prajñâ-pâramitâ commences with a salutation addressed
not as usual to the Buddha but to the work itself, as if it were a deity, and
Hodgson states that the Buddhists of Nepal worship their nine sacred books.
Nor was the idea excluded that certain words, especially formulæ or spells
called Dhâraṇî, have in themselves a mysterious efficacy and potency.[124]
Some of these are cited and recommended in the Lotus.[125] In so far as the
repetition of sacred words or spells is regarded as an integral part of the
religious life, the doctrine has no warrant in the earlier teaching. It
obviously becomes more and more prominent in later works. But the idea
itself is old, for it is clearly the same that produced a belief in the
Brahmanic mantras, particularly the mantras of the Atharva Veda, and early
Buddhism did not reject mantras in their proper place. Thus[126] the deities
present themselves to the Buddha and offer to teach him a formula which
will protect his disciples from the attacks of evil spirits. Hsüan Chuang even
states that the council which sat at Râjagṛiha after the Buddha's death
compiled five Pitakas, one of which consisted of Dhâraṇîs,[127] and it may
be that the collection of such texts was begun as early as the collection of
discourses and rules. But for many centuries there is no evidence that they
were in any way confounded with the Dharma.
The Mahayanist scriptures are so voluminous that not even the clergy were
expected to master any considerable part of them.[128] Indeed they make no
claim to be a connected whole. The theory was rather that there were many
vehicles plying on the road to salvation and many guide books. No traveller
thought of taking the whole library but only a few volumes which suited
him. Most of the Chinese and Japanese sects avowedly base themselves
upon three sutras, selected according to the taste of each school from the
hundreds quoted in catalogues. Thus the T'ien-t'ai sect has for its scriptures
the Lotus, the Nirvâṇa-sûtra and the Prajñâ-pâramitâ, while the Shin-shu
sect admits only the three Amidist sutras.
The following are the names of some of the principal Mahayanist
scriptures. Comparatively few of them have been published in Europe and
some exist only in Chinese or Japanese translations.

1. Prajñâ-pâramitâ or transcendental knowledge[129] is a generic name given
to a whole literature consisting of treatises on the doctrine of śûnyatâ, which
vary greatly in length. They are classed as sutras, being described as
discourses delivered by the Buddha on the Vulture Peak. At least ten are
known, besides excerpts which are sometimes described as substantive
works. The great collection translated into Chinese by Hsüan Chuang is said
to consist of 200,000 verses and to comprise sixteen different sutras.[130]
The earliest translation of one of these treatises into Chinese (Nanjio, 5)
was made about 170 A.D. and everything indicates that portions of the
Prajñâ-pâramitâ are among the earliest Mahayanist works and date from
about the first century of our era. Prajñâ not only means knowledge of the
absolute truth, that is to say of śûnyatâ or the void, but is regarded as an
ontological principle synonymous with Bodhi and Dharma-kâya. Thus
Buddhas not only possess this knowledge in the ordinary sense but they are
the knowledge manifest in human form, and Prajñâ is often personified as a
goddess. All these works lay great stress on the doctrine of śûnyatâ, and the
non-existence of the world of experience. The longest recension is said to
contain a polemic against the Hinayana.
The Diamond Cutter is one of the best known of these transcendental
treatises and the two short works called Heart of the Prajñâ-pâramitâ, which
are widely read in Japan, appear to be brief abstracts of the essence of this
teaching.
2. The Saddharma-Puṇḍarîka, or Lotus of the Good Law,[131] is one of the
best known Mahayanist sutras and is highly esteemed in China and Japan. It
purports to be a discourse delivered by Śâkyamuni on the Vulture Peak to
an assemblage of Bodhisattvas. The Lotus clearly affirms the multiplicity of
vehicles, or various ways of teaching the law, and also the eternity of the
Buddha, but it does not emphasize, although it mentions, the doctrine of
śûnyatâ. The work consists of two parts of which the second (chaps. XXI-
XXVI) is a later addition. This second part contains spells and many
mythological narratives, including one of an ancient Bodhisattva who burnt
himself alive in honour of a former Buddha. Portions of the Lotus were
translated into Chinese under the Western Tsin Dynasty 265-316 A.D. and it
is quoted in the Mahâ-prajñâ-pâramitâ-śâstra ascribed to Nâgârjuna.[132]
The first part is probably not later than the first century A.D. The Lotus is
unfortunately accessible to English readers only in a most unpoetic

translation by the late Professor Kern, but it is a great religious poem which
starting from humanity regards religion as cosmic and universal, rather than
something mainly concerned with our earth. The discourses of Śâkyamuni
are accompanied in it by stupendous miracles culminating in a grand
cosmic phantasmagoria in which is evoked the stupa containing the body of
a departed Buddha, that is a shrine containing the eternal truth.
3. The Lalita-vistara[133] is a life of Śâkyamuni up to the commencement of
his mission. Though the setting of the story is miraculous and Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas innumerable are freely spoken of, yet the work does not
enunciate the characteristic Mahayanist doctrines so definitely as the other
treatises here enumerated. It is said to have originally belonged to the
school of the Sarvâstivâdins and to have been subsequently accepted by the
Mahayanists, and though it is not an epic but a collection of ballads and
legends, yet it often reads as if it were a preliminary study for Aśvaghosha's
Buddhacarita. It contains Sanskrit versions of old legends, which are almost
verbal renderings of the Pali text, but also new material and seems to be
conscious of relating novelties which may arouse scepticism for it interrupts
the narrative to anathematize those who do not believe in the miracles of the
Nativity and to extol the merits of faith (śraddhâ not bhakti). It is probably
coeval with the earlier Gandharan art but there are no facts to fix its date.
[134]

4. The Lankâvatâra[135] gives an account of the revelation of the good Law
by Śâkyamuni when visiting Lanka. It is presumably subsequent to the
period when Ceylon had become a centre of Buddhism, but the story is pure
fancy and unconnected with history or with older legends. It relates how the
Buddha alighted on Mt. Malaya in Lanka. Ravana came to pay his respects
and asked for definitions of virtue and vice which were given. The
Bodhisattva Mahâmati (apparently Mañjuśrî) proceeded to propound a
series of more abstruse questions which are answered at considerable
length. The Lankâvatâra represents a mature phase of speculation and not
only criticizes the Sânkhya, Pâsupata and other Hindu schools, but is
conscious of the growing resemblance of Mahayanism to Brahmanic
philosophy and tries to explain it. It contains a prophecy about Nâgârjuna
and another which mentions the Guptas, and it appears to allude to the
domination of the Huns. This allusion would make its date as late as the
sixth century but a translation into Chinese which is said to correspond with

the Sanskrit text was made in 513. If so the barbarians referred to cannot be
the Huns. An earlier translation made in 443 does not agree with our
Sanskrit text and perhaps the work existed in several recensions.
5. The Suvarṇa-prabhâsa or Glitter of Gold[136] is a Vaipulya sûtra in many
ways resembling the Lotus. It insists on the supernatural character of the
Buddha. He was never really born nor entered into Nirvana but is the
Dharma-kâya. The scene is laid at Râjagṛiha and many Brahmanic deities
are among the interlocutors. It was translated into Chinese about 420 A.D.
and fragments of a translation into Uigur have been discovered in
Turkestan.[137] The contents comprise philosophy, legends and spells.
6. Gaṇḍa-vyûha[138] or the Structure of the World, which is compared to a
bubble. The name is not found in the catalogue of the Chinese Tripitaka but
the work is said to be the same as the Avataṃsaka sûtra which is popular in
the Far East under the name of Hua-yên in China or Ke-gon in Japan. The
identity of the two books could not have been guessed from the extracts and
analyses which have been published but is guaranteed by high authorities.
[139] It is possible however that the Gaṇḍa-vyûha is only a portion of the
larger work called Avataṃsaka. So far as can be judged from the extracts,
this text preaches in a fully developed form, the doctrines of Śûnyatâ,
Dharma-kâya, the omnipresence of the Buddha and the redemption of the
world by the exertions of Bodhisattvas. Yet it seems to be early, for a
portion of it was translated into Chinese about 170 A.D. (Nanjio, 102) and
about 405 Kumârajîva translated a commentary on it ascribed to Nâgârjuna
(Nanjio, 1180).
7. Tathâgata-guhyaka. This work is known by the analysis of Rajendralala
Mitra from which it appears to be a Tantra of the worst class and probably
late. Its proper title is said to be Śrîguhyasamaja. Watanabe states that the
work catalogued by Nanjio under No. 1027 and translated into Chinese
about 1000 A.D. is an expurgated version of it. The Śikshâsamuccaya cites
the Tathâgata-guhya-sûtra several times. The relations of these works to one
another are not quite clear.
8. Samâdhirâja[140] is a Vyâkaraṇa or narrative describing different forms of
meditation of which the Samâdhirâja is the greatest and best. The scene is
laid on the Vulture's Peak and the principal interlocutors are Śâkyamuni and

Candraprabha, a rich man of Râjagṛiha. It appears to be the same as the
Candrapradîpa-sûtra and is a complete and copious treatise, which not only
expounds the topic from which it takes its name but incidentally enumerates
the chief principles of Mahayanism. Watanabe[141] states that it is the Yüeh-
têng-san-mei-ching (Nanjio, 191) translated about 450 and again in 557
A.D.
9. Daśabhûmîśvara.[142] An account of the ten stages in the career of a
Bodhisattva before he can attain to Buddhahood. The scene is laid in the
paradise of Indra where Śâkyamuni was temporarily sojourning and the
principal interlocutor is a Bodhisattva named Vajragarbha. It is said to be
the same as the Daśabhûmika-sûtra first translated into Chinese about 300
A.D. (Nanjio, 105 and 110) but this work appears to be merely a portion of
the Gaṇḍa-vyûha or Avataṃsaka mentioned above.
These nine works are all extant in Sanskrit and are known in Nepal as the
nine Dharmas, the word Dharma being an abbreviation for Dharmaparyâya,
revolution or exposition of the law, a term frequently used in the works
themselves to describe a comprehensive discourse delivered by the Buddha.
They are all quoted in the Śikshâsamuccaya, supposed to have been written
about 650 A.D. No similar collection of nine seems to be known in Tibet or
the Far East and the origin of the selection is obscure. As however the list
does not include the Svayambhû Purâṇa, the principal indigenous scripture
of Nepal, it may go back to an Indian source and represent an old tradition.
Besides the nine Dharmas, numerous other sûtras exist in Sanskrit, Chinese,
Tibetan and the languages of Central Asia. Few have been edited or
translated and even when something is known of their character detailed
information as to their contents is usually wanting. Among the better known
are the following.
10. One of the sûtras most read in China and admired because its style has a
literary quality unusual in Buddhist works is commonly known as the Lêng-
yen-ching. The full title is Shou-lêng-yen-san-mei-ching which is the
Chinese transliteration of Śûrangama Samâdhi.[143] This sutra is quoted by
name in the Śikshâsamuccaya and fragments of the Sanskrit text have been
found in Turkestan.[144] The Śûrangama-Samâdhi Sûtra has been
conjectured to be the same as the Samâdhirâja, but the accounts of

Rajendralala Mitra and Beal do not support this theory. Beal's translation
leaves the impression that it resembles a Pali sutta. The scene is laid in the
Jetavana with few miraculous accessories. The Buddha discusses with
Ânanda the location of the soul and after confuting his theories expounds
the doctrine of the Dharma-kâya. The fragments found in Turkestan
recommend a particular form of meditation.
11. Târanâtha informs us that among the many Mahayanist works which
appeared in the reign of Kanishka's son was the Ratnakûṭa-dharma-paryâya
in 1000 sections and the Ratnakûṭa is cited not only by the
Śikshâsamuccaya but by Asanga.[145] The Tibetan and Chinese canons
contain sections with this name comprising forty-eight or forty-nine items
among which are the three important treatises about Amitâbha's paradise
and many dialogues called Paripṛicchâ, that is, questions put by some
personage, human or superhuman, and furnished with appropriate replies.
[146] The Chinese Ratnakûṭa is said to have been compiled by Bodhiruchi
(693-713 A.D.) but of course he is responsible only for the selection not for
the composition of the works included. Section 14 of this Ratnakûṭa is said
to be identical with chapters 11 and 12 of the Mûlasarvâstivâdin Vinaya.
[147]

12. The Guṇa-kâraṇḍa-vyûha and Kâraṇḍa-vyûha are said to be two
recensions of the same work, the first in verse the second in prose. Both are
devoted to the praise of Avalokita who is represented as the presiding deity
of the universe. He has refused to enter Buddhahood himself until all living
creatures attain to true knowledge and is specially occupied in procuring the
release of those who suffer in hell. The Guṇa-kâraṇḍa-vyûha contains a
remarkable account of the origin of the world which is said to be absent
from the prose version. The primeval Buddha spirit, Âdi-Buddha or
Svayambhû, produces Avalokita by meditation, and Avalokita produces the
material world and the gods of Hinduism from his body, Śiva from his
forehead, Nârâyaṇa from his heart and so on. As such doctrines are not
known to have appeared in Indian Buddhism before the tenth century it
seems probable that the versified edition is late. But a work with the title
Ratna-kâraṇḍaka-vyûha-sûtra was translated into Chinese in 270 and the
Kâraṇḍa-vyûha is said to have been the first work translated into Tibetan.
[148]

13. The Karuṇâa-puṇḍarîka[149] or Lotus of Compassion is mainly occupied
with the description of an imaginary continent called Padmadhâtu, its
Buddha and its many splendours. It exists in Sanskrit and was translated
into Chinese about 400 A.D. (Nanjio, No. 142).
14. The Mahâvairocanâbhisambhodhi called in Chinese Ta-jih-ching or
Great Sun sutra should perhaps be mentioned as it is the principal scripture
of the Chên-yen (Japanese Shingon) school. It is a late work of unknown
origin. It was translated into Chinese in 724 A.D. but the Sanskrit text has
not been found.
There are a great number of other sutras which are important for the history
of literature, although little attention is paid to them by Buddhists at the
present day. Such are the Mahayanist version of the Mahâparinirvâṇa
recounting the death and burial of the Buddha and the Mahâsannipâta-sûtra,
which apparently includes the Sûryagarbha and Candragarbha sutras. All
these works were translated into Chinese about 420 A.D. and must therefore
be of respectable antiquity.
Besides the sutras, there are many compositions styled Avadânas or pious
legends.[150] These, though recognized by Mahayanists, do not as a rule
contain expositions of the Sûnyatâ and Dharma-kâya and are not sharply
distinguished from the more imaginative of the Hinayanist scriptures.[151]
But they introduce a multiplicity of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and
represent Sâkyamuni as a superhuman worker of miracles.
They correspond in many respects to the Pali Vinaya but teach right conduct
not so much by precept as by edifying stories and, like most Mahayanist
works they lay less stress upon monastic discipline than on unselfish virtue
exercised throughout successive existences. There are a dozen or more
collections of Avadânas of which the most important are the Mahâvastu and
the Divyâvadâna. The former[152] is an encyclopædic work which contains
inter alia a life of Sâkyamuni. It describes itself as belonging to the
Lokottaravâdins, a section of the Âryamahâ-sanghikas. The
Lokottaravâdins were an ancient sect, precursors of the Mahayana rather
than a branch of it, and much of the Mahâvastu is parallel to the Pali Canon
and may have been composed a century or two before our era. But other
parts seem to belong to the Gandharan period and the mention of Chinese

and Hunnish writing points to a much later date.[153] If it was originally a
Vinaya treatise, it has been distended out of all recognition by the addition
of legends and anecdotes but it still retains a certain amount of matter found
also in the Pali and Tibetan Vinayas. There were probably several
recensions in which successive additions were made to the original nucleus.
One interpolation is the lengthy and important section called Daśabhûmika,
describing the career of a Bodhisattva. It is the only part of the Mahâvastu
which can be called definitely Mahayanist. The rest of the work marks a
transitional stage in doctrine, just as its language is neither Prakrit or
Sanskrit but some ancient vernacular brought into partial conformity with
Sanskrit grammar. No Chinese translation is known.
The Divyâvadâna[154] is a collection of legends, part of which is known as
the Asokâvadâna and gives an edifying life of that pious monarch. This
portion was translated into Chinese A.D. 317-420 and the work probably
dates from the third century of our era. It is loosely constructed:
considerable portions of it seem to be identical with the Vinaya of the
Sarvâstivâdins and others with passages in the works of Aśvaghosha.
The Avadânas lie on the borderland between scripture and pious literature
which uses human argument and refers to scripture for its authority. Of this
literature the Mahayanist church has a goodly collection and the works
ascribed to such doctors as Aśvaghosha, Nâgârjuna, Asanga and
Vasubandhu hold a high place in general esteem. The Chinese Canon places
many of them in the Pitakas (especially in the Abhidharma Pitaka) and not
among the works of miscellaneous writers.
The Mahayanist scriptures are still a living force. In Nepal the nine
Dharmas receive superstitious homage rather than intelligent study, but in
Tibet and the Far East the Prajñâ-pâramitâ, the Lotus and the sutras about
Amitâbha are in daily use for public worship and private reading. I have
heard the first-named work as well as the Lêng-yen-ching expounded, that
is, read aloud with an extempore paraphrase, to lay congregations in China,
and the section of it called the Diamond Cutter is the book which is most
commonly in the hands of religious Tibetans. The Lotus is the special
scripture of the Nichiren sect in Japan but is universally respected. The
twenty-fourth chapter which contains the praises of Avalokita is often
printed separately. The Amitâbha sûtras take the place of the New

Testament for the Jōdō and Shin sects and copies of them may also be found
in almost every monastery throughout China and Annam. The Suvarṇa-
prabhâsa is said to be specially popular among the Mongols. I know
Chinese Buddhists who read the Hua-yen (Avataṃsaka) every day. Modern
Japanese writers quote frequently from the Lankâvatâra and Kâśyapa-
parivarta but I have not met with any instance of these works being in
popular use.
I have mentioned already the obscurity surrounding the history of the
Mahayanist Canon in India and it may seem to throw doubt on the
authenticity of these scriptures. Unauthentic they certainly are in the sense
that European criticism is not likely to accept as historical the discourses
which they attribute to the Buddha and others, but there is no reason to
doubt that they are treatises composed in India early in our era and
representing the doctrines then prevalent. The religious public of India has
never felt any difficulty in accepting works of merit—and often only very
moderate merit—as revelations, whether called Upanishads, Puranas, Sutras
or what not. Only rarely have such works received any formal approbation,
such as recognition by a council. Indeed it is rather in Ceylon, Burma, Tibet
and China than in India itself that authoritative lists of scriptures have been
compiled. The natural instinct of the Hindus was not to close the Canon but
to leave it open for any additions which might be vouchsafed.
Two sketches of an elastic Mahayanist Canon of this kind are preserved,
one in the Śikshâsamuccaya[155] attributed to Śântideva, who probably
flourished in the seventh century, and the other in a little work called the
Duration of the Law, reporting a discourse by an otherwise unknown
Nandimitra, said to have lived in Ceylon 800 years after the Buddha's death.
[156] The former is a compendium of doctrine illustrated by quotations from
what the author regarded as scripture. He cites about a hundred Mahayanist
sutras, refers to the Vinaya and Divyâvadâna but not apparently to the
Abhidharma. He mentions no Tantras[157] and not many Dhâraṇîs.
The second work was translated by Hsüan Chuang and was therefore
probably written before 600 A.D.[158] Otherwise there is no external
evidence for fixing its date. It represents Nandimitra as explaining on his
deathbed the steps taken by the Buddha to protect the True Law and in what
works that Law is to be found. Like the Chinese Tripitaka it recognizes both

Mahayanist and Hinayanist works, but evidently prefers the former and
styles them collectively Bodhisattva-Piṭaka. It enumerates about fifty sutras
by name, beginning with the Prajñâ-pâramitâ, the Lotus and other well-
known texts. Then comes a list of works with titles ending in Samâdhi,
followed by others called Paripṛicchâ[159] or questions. A new category
seems to be formed by the Buddhâvataṃsaka-sûtra with which the sutras
about Amitâbha's Paradise are associated. Then comes the Mahâsannipâta-
sûtra associated with works which may correspond to the Ratnakûṭa
division of the Chinese Canon.[160] The writer adds that there are "hundreds
of myriads of similar sutras classified in groups and categories." He
mentions the Vinaya and Abhidharma without further particulars, whereas
in describing the Hinayanist versions of these two Pitakas he gives many
details.
The importance of this list lies in the fact that it is Indian rather than in its
date, for the earliest catalogue of the Chinese Tripitaka compiled about[161]
510 is perhaps older and certainly ampler. But if the catalogue stood alone,
it might be hard to say how far the selection of works in it was due to
Chinese taste. But taking the Indian and Chinese evidence together, it is
clear that in the sixth century Indian Mahayanists (a) tolerated Hinayanist
scriptures while preferring their own, (b) made little use of the Vinaya or
Abhidharma for argument or edification, though the former was very
important as a code, (c) recognized extremely numerous sutras, grouped in
various classes such as Mahâsannipâta and Buddhâvataṃsaka, (d) and did
not use works called Tantras. Probably much the same is true of the fourth
century and even earlier, for Asanga in one work[162] quotes both Maha-and
Hinayanist scriptures and among the former cites by name seventeen sutras,
including one called Paripṛicchâ or questions.

FOOTNOTES:

[119] In the Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra he quotes frequently from the
Samyukta and Ekottara Âgamas, corresponding to the Samyutta and
Anguttara Nikâyas of the Pali.

[120] A reading Vaitulya has also been found in some manuscripts of
the Lotus discovered at Kashgar and it is suggested that the word may
refer to the sect of Vetullas or Vetulyakas mentioned in the
Commentary on the Kathâvatthu as holding that the Buddha really
remained in the Tushita heaven and sent a phantom to represent him
in the world and that it was Ânanda, not the Buddha, who preached
the law. See Kern, Vers. en Med. der K. Ak. v. Wetenschappen,
Letterk., R. 4 D. VIII. pp. 312-9, Amsterdam, 1907, and De la Vallée
Poussin's notice of this article in J.R.A.S. 1907, pp. 434-6. But this
interpretation does not seem very probable.
[121] IV. 160. 5.
[122] See Cullavagga, V. 33. The meaning evidently is that the
Buddha's words are not to be enshrined in an artificial literary form
which will prevent them from being popular.
[123] Sûtrâlankâra, I. 2.
[124] See Waddell, "The Dhâraṇî cult" in Ostasiat. Ztsft. 1912, pp.
155 ff.
[125] Chap. XXI, which is however a later addition.
[126] Dig. Nik. 32.
[127] Watters, Yüan Chwang, II. p. 160.
[128] The Mahâvyutpatti (65) gives a list of 105 sûtras.
[129] The word pâram-itâ means as an adjective gone to the further
shore or transcendent. As a feminine substantive it means a
transcendent virtue or perfection.
[130] See Walleser, Prajñâ-pâramitâ in Quellen der
Religionsgeschichte, pp. 15 ff. S.B.E. XLIX. Nanjio, Catalogue Nos.
1-20 and Rajendralala Mitra's Nepalese Buddhist Literature, pp. 177
ff. Versions are mentioned consisting of 125,000 verses, 100,000
verses, 25,000 verses, 10,000 verses and 8,000 verses respectively.
(Similarly at the beginning of the Mahâbhârata we are told that the
Epic consists of 8,800 verses, of 24,000 and of 100,000.) Of these the

last or Ashṭasâhasrikâ has been published in the Bibliotheca Indica
and the second or Śatasâhasrikâ is in process of publication. It is in
prose, so that the expression "verses" appears not to mean that the
works are Gâthâs. A Khotanese version of the Vajracchedikâ is edited
in Hoernle's Manuscript Remains by Sten Konow. The Sanskrit text
was edited by Max Müller in Anecdota Oxoniensia.
[131] The Sanskrit text has been edited by Kern and Nanjio in
Bibliotheca Buddhica; translated by Burnouf (Le Lotus de la bonne
Loi), 1852 and by Kern (Saddharma-Puṇḍarîka) in S.B.E. vol. XXI.
[132] There appears to have been an earlier Chinese version of 255
A.D. but it has been lost. See Nanjio, p. 390. One of the later Chinese
versions alludes to the existence of two recensions (Nanjio, No. 139).
See B.E.F.E.O. 1911, p. 453. Fragments of a shorter and apparently
earlier recension of the Lotus have been discovered in E. Turkestan.
See J.R.A.S. 1916, pp. 269-277.
[133] Edited by Rajendralala Mitra in the Bibliotheca Indica and
partially translated in the same series. A later critical edition by
Lefmann, 1902-8.
[134] The early Chinese translations seem doubtful. One said to have
been made under the later Han has been lost. See Nanjio, No. 159.
[135] See Burnouf, Introduction, pp. 458 ff. and J.R.A.S. 1905, pp.
831 ff. Rajendralala Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Literature, p. 113. A
brief analysis is given in J.A.S.B. June, 1905 according to which the
sûtra professes to be the work of a human author, Jina of the clan of
Kâtyâyana born at Campâ. An edition of the Sanskrit text published
by the Buddhist Text Society is cited but I have not seen it. Chinese
translations were made in 443 and 515 but the first is incomplete and
does not correspond with our Sanskrit text.
[136] Abstract by Rajendralala Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Lit. p. 241.
[137] See Nanjio, No. 127 and F.W.K. Muller in Abhandl. der K.
Preuss. Akad. der Wissenschaften, 1908. The Uigur text is published
in Bibliotheca Buddhica, 1914. Fragments of the Sanskrit text have
also been found in Turkestan.

[138] Abstract by Raj. Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Lit. pp. 90 ff. The
Śikshâsamuccaya cites the Gaṇḍa-vyûha several times and does not
mention the Avataṃsaka.
[139] The statement was first made on the authority of Takakusu
quoted by Winternitz in Ges. Ind. Lit. II. i. p. 242. Watanabe in
J.R.A.S. 1911, 663 makes an equally definite statement as to the
identity of the two works. The identity is confirmed by Pelliot in J.A.
1914, II. pp. 118-121.
[140] Abstract by Raj. Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Lit. pp. 81 ff. Quoted
in Śântideva's Bodhicaryâvatâra, VIII. 106.
[141] See J.R.A.S. 1911, 663.
[142] Abstract by Raj. Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Lit. pp. 81 ff.
[143] Translated in part by Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, pp.
286-369. See also Teitaro Suzuki, Outlines of Mahâyâna, p. 157. For
notices of the text see Nanjio, Nos. 399, 446, 1588. Fa-Hsien, chap.
XXIX. For the equivalence of Shou-lêng-yen and Śûrangama see
Nanjio's note to No. 399 and Julien, Méthode, 1007 and Vasilief, p.
175.
[144] See Śikshâs, ed. Bendall, pp. 8,91 and Hoernle, Manuscript
remains, I. pp. 125 ff.
[145] Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra, XIX. 29.
[146] E.g. the Râshtra-pâla-paripṛicchâ edited in Sanskrit by Finot,
Biblioth. Buddhica, 1901. The Sanskrit text seems to agree with the
Chinese version. The real number of sûtras in the Ratnakûṭa seems to
be 48, two being practically the same but represented as uttered on
different occasions.
[147] There is another somewhat similar collection of sûtras in the
Chinese Canon called Ta Tsi or Mahâsannipâta but unlike the
Ratnakûṭa it seems to contain few well-known or popular works.
[148] I know of these works only by Raj. Mitra's abstracts, Nepal.
Bud. Lit. pp. 95 and 101. The prose text is said to have been published

in Sanskrit at Calcutta, 1873.
[149] Raj. Mitra, Nepalese Buddhist Lit. pp. 285 ff. The Sanskrit text
was published for the Buddhist Text Society, Calcutta, 1898.
[150] Avadâna is primarily a great and glorious act: hence an account
of such an act.
[151] The Avadâna-śataka (Feer, Annales du Musée Guimet, XVIII)
seems to be entirely Hinayanist.
[152] Edited by Senart, 3 vols. 1882-1897. Windisch, Die
Komposition des Mahâvastu, 1909. Article "Mahavâstu" in E.R.E.
[153] So too do the words Horâpâthaka (astrologer), Ujjhebhaka (?
Uzbek), Peliyaksha (? Felix). The word Yogâcâra (I. 120) may refer
simply to the practice of Yoga and not to the school which bore this
name.
[154] Edited by Cowell and Neil, 1886. See Nanjio, 1344.
[155] Edited by Bendall in Bibl. Buddhica.
[156] Nanjio, No. 1466. For a learned discussion of this work see
Lévi and Chavannes in J.A. 1916, Nos. I and II.
[157] It is not likely that the Tathâgata-guhya-sûtra which it quotes is
the same as the Tantra with a similar name analysed by Rajendralal
Mitra.
[158] Watters, J.R.A.S. 1898, p. 331 says there seems to have been an
earlier translation.
[159] Many works with this title will be found in Nanjio.
[160] But the Chinese title seems rather to represent Ratnarâsi.
[161] See Nanjio, pp. xiii-xvii.

[162] Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra. See Lévi's introduction, p. 14. The
"Questions" sutra is Brahma-paripṛicchâ.

CHAPTER XXI
CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAHAYANA

In the previous chapters I have enumerated some features of Mahayanism,
such as the worship of Bodhisattvas leading to mythology, the deification of
Buddhas, entailing a theology as complicated as the Christian creeds, the
combination of metaphysics with religion, and the rise of new scriptures
consecrating all these innovations. I will now essay the more difficult task
of arranging these phenomena in some sort of chronological setting.
The voluminous Chinese literature concerning Buddhism offers valuable
assistance, for the Chinese, unlike the Hindus, have a natural disposition to
write simple narratives recording facts and dates. But they are diarists and
chroniclers rather than historians. The Chinese pilgrims to India give a good
account of their itinerary and experiences, but they have little idea of
investigating and arranging past events and merely recount traditions
connected with the places which they visited. In spite of this their
statements have considerable historical value and on the whole harmonize
with the literary and archæological data furnished by India.
The Tibetan Lama Târanâtha who completed his History of Indian
Buddhism[163] in 1608 is a less satisfactory authority. He merits attention
but also scepticism and caution. His work is a compilation but is not to be
despised on that ground, for the Tibetan translations of Sanskrit works offer
a rich mine of information about the history of the Mahayana.
Unfortunately few of these works take the historical point of view and
Târanâtha's own method is as uncritical as his materials. Dire confusion
prevails as to chronology and even as to names,[164] so that the work is
almost useless as a connected account, though it contains many interesting
details.
Two epochs are of special importance for the development of later Indian
Buddhism, that of Kanishka and that of Vasubandhu and his brother

Asanga. The reader may expect me to discuss at length the date of
Kanishka's accession, but I do not propose to do so for it may be hoped that
in the next few years archaeological research in India or Central Asia will
fix the chronology of the Kushans and meanwhile it is waste of time to
argue about probabilities or at any rate it can be done profitably only in
special articles. At present the majority of scholars place his accession at
about 78 A.D., others put it back to 58 B.C. and arrange the Kushan kings
in a different order,[165] while still others[166] think that he did not come to
the throne until the second century was well advanced. The evidence of art,
particularly of numismatics, indicates that Kanishka reigned towards the
end of his dynasty rather than at the beginning, but the use of Greek on his
coins and his traditional connection with the beginnings of the Mahayana
are arguments against a very late date. If the date 78 A.D. is accepted, the
conversion of the Yüeh-chih to Buddhism and its diffusion in Central Asia
cannot have been the work of Kanishka, for Buddhism began to reach
China by land about the time of the Christian era.[167] There is however no
reason to assume that they were his work. Kanishka, like Constantine,
probably favoured a winning cause, and Buddhism may have been
gradually making its way among the Kushans and their neighbours for a
couple of centuries before his time. In any case, however important his
reign may have been for the Buddhist Church, I do not think that the history
of the Mahayana should be made to depend on his date. Chinese
translations, supported by other evidence, indicate that the Mahayanist
movement had begun about the time of our era. If it is proved that Kanishka
lived considerably later, we should not argue that Mahayanism is later than
was supposed but rather that his relation towards it has been misunderstood.
[168]

The date of Vasubandhu has also been much discussed and scholars have
generally placed him in the fourth or fifth century but Péri[169] appears to
have proved that he lived from about 280 to 360 A.D. and I shall adopt this
view. This chronology makes a reasonable setting for the development of
Buddhism. If Kanishka reigned from about 78 to 123 A.D. or even later,
there is no difficulty in supposing that Aśvaghosha flourished in his reign
and was followed by Nâgârjuna. The collapse of the Kushan Empire was
probably accompanied by raids from Iranian tribes, for Persian influence
appears to have been strong in India during the confused interval between

the Kushans and Guptas (225-320). The latter inaugurated the revival of
Hinduism but still showed favour to individual Buddhists, and we know
from Fa-Hsien that Buddhism was fairly flourishing during his visit to India
(399-415). There is nothing improbable in supposing that Vasubandhu, who
is stated to have lived at Court, was patronized by the early Guptas. The
blank in Buddhist history which follows his career can be explained first by
the progress of Hinduism at the expense of Buddhism and secondly by the
invasions of the Huns. The Chinese pilgrim Sung-Yün has left us an
account of India in this distressful period and for the seventh century the
works of Hsüan Chuang and I-Ching give copious information.
In investigating the beginnings of the Mahayana we may start from the
epoch of Asoka, who is regarded by tradition as the patron and consolidator
of the Hinayanist Church. And the tradition seems on the whole correct: the
united evidence of texts and inscriptions goes to show that the Buddhists of
Asoka's time held the chief doctrines subsequently professed by the
Sinhalese Church and did not hold the other set of doctrines known as
Mahayanist. That these latter are posterior in time is practically admitted by
the books that teach them, for they are constantly described as the crown
and completion of a progressive revelation. Thus the Lotus[170] illustrates
the evolution of doctrine by a story which curiously resembles the parable
of the prodigal son except that the returned penitent does not recognize his
father, who proceeds to reveal gradually his name and position, keeping
back the full truth to the last. Similarly it is held in the Far East that there
were five periods in Śâkyamuni's teaching which after passing through the
stage of the Hinayana culminated in the Prajñâ-pâramitâ and Amitâbha
sutras shortly before his death. Such statements admit the historical priority
of the Hinayana: it is rudimentary (that is early) truth which needs
completion and expansion. Many critics demur to the assumption that
primitive Buddhism was a system of ethics purged of superstition and
mythology. And in a way they are right. Could we get hold of a primitive
Buddhist, we should probably find that miracles, magic, and superhuman
beings played a large part in his mind and that the Buddha did not appear to
him as what we call a human teacher. In that sense the germs of the
Mahayana existed in the life-time of Gotama. But the difference between
early and later Buddhism lies in this, that the deities who surround the
Buddha in the Pali Pitakas are mere accessories: his teaching would not be

affected if they were all removed. But the Bodhisattvas in the Lotus or the
Sutra of the Happy Land have a doctrinal significance.
Though in India old ideas persist with unusual vitality, still even there they
can live only if they either develop or gather round them new accretions. As
one of the religions of India, Buddhism was sensitive to the general
movement of Indian thought, or rather it was a part of that movement. We
see as clearly in Buddhist as in non-Buddhist India that there was a
tendency to construct philosophic systems and another tendency to create
deities satisfying to the emotions as well as to the intellect and yet another
tendency to compose new scriptures. But apart from this parallel
development, it becomes clear after the Christian era that Buddhism is
becoming surrounded by Hinduism. The influence is not indeed one-sided:
there is interdependence and interpenetration but the net result is that the
general Indian features of each religious period overpower the specially
Buddhist features and in the end we find that while Hinduism has only been
profoundly modified Buddhism has vanished.
If we examine the Pali Pitakas, including the heresies mentioned in the
Kathâvatthu, we find that they contain the germs of many Mahayanist ideas.
Thus side by side with the human portrait of the Buddha there is the
doctrine that he is one in a series of supernatural teachers, each with the
same life-history, and this life is connected with the whole course of nature,
as is shown by the sympathetic earthquakes which mark its crises. His birth
is supernatural and had he willed it he could have lived until the end of the
present Kalpa.[171] So, too, the nature of a Buddha when he is released from
form, that is after death, is deep and unfathomable as the ocean.[172] The
Kathâvatthu condemns the ideas (thus showing that they existed) that
Buddhas are born in all quarters of the universe, that the Buddha was
superhuman in the ordinary affairs of life, that he was not really born in the
world of men and that he did not preach the Law himself. These last two
heresies are attributed by the commentary to the Vetulyakas who are said to
have believed that he remained in the Tushita heaven and sent a phantom to
preach on earth. Here we have the rudiments of the doctrine afterwards
systematized under the name of the three bodies of Buddha. Similarly
though Nirvana is regarded as primarily an ethical state, the Pali Canon
contains the expression Nirvâṇadhâtu and the idea[173] that Nirvana is a
sphere or realm (âyatanam) which transcends the transitory world and in

which such antitheses are coming and going, birth and death, cease to exist.
This foreshadows the doctrine of Bhûta-tathatâ and we seem to hear a
prelude to the dialectic of Nâgârjuna when the Kathâvatthu discusses
whether Suññatâ or the void is predicable of the Skandhas and when it
condemns the views that anything now existing existed in the past: and that
knowledge of the present is possible (whereas the moment anything is
known it is really past). The Kathâvatthu also condemns the proposition that
a Bodhisattva can be reborn in realms of woe or fall into error, and this
proposition hints that the career of a Bodhisattva was considered of general
interest.
The Mahayana grows out of the Hinayana and in many respects the
Hinayana passes into it and is preserved unchanged. It is true that in reading
the Lotus we wonder how this marvellous cosmic vision can represent itself
as the teaching of Gotama, but the Buddhacarita of Aśvaghosha, though
embellished with literary mythology, hardly advances in doctrine beyond
the Pali sutras describing the marvels of the Buddha's nativity[174] and the
greater part of Nâgârjuna's Friendly Epistle, which purports to contain an
epitome of the faith, is in phraseology as well as thought perfectly in
harmony with the Pali Canon. Whence comes this difference of tone in
works accepted by the same school? One difficulty of the historian who
essays to account for the later phases of Buddhism is to apportion duly the
influence of Indian and foreign elements. On the one hand, the Mahayana,
whether we call it a development or perversion, is a product of Indian
thought. To explain its trinities, its saviours, its doctrine of self sacrifice it is
not necessary to seek abroad. New schools, anxious to claim continuity and
antiquity, gladly retained as much of the old doctrine as they could. But on
the other hand, Indian Buddhism came into contact with foreign, especially
Iranian, ideas and undoubtedly assimilated some of them. From time to time
I have drawn attention to such cases in this work, but as a rule the foreign
ideas are so thoroughly mastered and indianized that they cease to be
obvious. They merely open up to Indian thought a new path wherein it can
move in its own way.
In the period following Asoka's death Buddhism suffered a temporary
eclipse. Pushyamitra who in 184 B.C. overthrew the Mauryas and
established the Sunga dynasty was a patron of the Brahmans. Târanâtha
describes him[175] as a ferocious persecutor, and the Divyâvadâna supports

the story. But the persecution, if it really occurred, was probably local and
did not seriously check the spread of Buddhism, which before the time of
Kanishka had extended northwards to Bactria and Kashmir. The latter
territory became the special home of the Sarvâstivâdins. It was in the reign
of Pushyamitra that the Græco-Bactrian king Menander or Milinda invaded
India (155-3 B.C.) and there were many other invasions and settlements of
tribes coming from the north-west and variously described as Sakas,
Pahlavas, Parthians and Yavanas, culminating in the conquests of the
Kushans. The whole period was disturbed and confused but some general
statements can be made with considerable confidence.
From about 300 B.C. to 100 A.D. we find inscriptions, buildings and statues
testifying to the piety of Buddhist and Jain donors but hardly any
indications of a similar liberality to Brahmans. In the second and third
centuries A.D. grants of land to Brahmans and their temples begin to be
recorded and in the fourth century (that is with the rise of the Gupta
Dynasty) such grants become frequent. These facts can hardly be
interpreted otherwise than as meaning that from 300 B.C. to 100 A.D. the
upper classes of India favoured Buddhism and Jainism and did not favour
the Brahmans in the same way or to the same extent. But it must be
remembered that the religion of the Brahmans continued throughout this
period and produced a copious literature, and also that the absence of works
of art may be due to the fact that their worship was performed in sacrificial
enclosures and that they had not yet begun to use temples and statues. After
the first century A.D. we have first a gradual and then a rapid rise in
Brahmanic influence. Inscriptions as well as books indicate that a linguistic
change occurred in the same period. At first popular dialects were regarded
as sufficiently dignified and current to be the medium for both scripture and
official records. Sanskrit remained a thing apart—the peculiar possession of
the Brahman literati. Then the popular language was Sanskritized, the rules
of Sanskrit grammar being accepted as the standard to which it ought to
conform, though perfect conformity was impracticable. In much the same
way the modern Greeks try to bring Romaic into line with classical Greek.
Finally Sanskrit was recognized as the proper language for literature,
government and religion. The earliest inscriptions[176] in correct Sanskrit
seem to date from the second century A.D. Further, the invaders who
entered India from the north-west favoured Buddhism on the whole. Coins

indicate that some of them worshipped Śiva[177] but the number and beauty
of Buddhist monuments erected under their rule can hardly be interpreted
except as a sign of their patronage. And their conversion was natural for
they had no strong religious convictions of their own and the Brahmans
with their pride of caste shrank from foreigners. But Buddhism had no
prejudice of race or class: it was animated by a missionary spirit and it was
probably the stronger creed at this period. It not only met the invaders on
their entry into India but it sent missionaries to them in Bactria and
Afghanistan, so that to some extent they brought Buddhism with them. But
it was a Buddhism combined with the most varied elements. Hellenic art
and religion had made the figures of Apollo, Herakles and Helios familiar in
Bactria, and both Bactria and northern India were in touch with
Zoroastrians. The mixed cults of these borderlands readily professed
allegiance to the Buddha but, not understanding Indian ideas, simply made
him into a deity and having done this were not likely to repudiate other
Indian deities. Thus in its outward form the Buddhism of the invaders
tended to be a compound of Indian, Greek and Persian ideas in which Sun
worship played a large part, for not only Indian myths, but Apollo and
Helios and the Persian Mithra all entered into it. Persian influence in art is
discernible as early as the architecture of Asoka: in doctrine it has
something to do with such figures as Vairocana and Amitâbha. Græco-
Roman influence also was powerful in art and through art affected religion.
In Asoka's time likenesses of the Buddha were unknown and the adoration
of images, if not entirely due to the art of Gandhara, was at least
encouraged by it.
But though coins and sculpture bring clearly before us a medley of deities
corresponding to a medley of human races, they do not help us much in
tracing the growth of thought, phases of which are preserved in a literature
sufficiently copious though the record sometimes fails at the points of
transition where it would be of most interest. It is natural that sacred books
should record accepted results rather than tentative innovations and even
disguise the latter. But we can fix a few dates which enable us to judge what
shape Buddhism was taking about the time of the Christian era. The Tibetan
historian Târanâtha is not of much help, for his chronology is most
confused, but still he definitely connects the appearance of Mahayanist texts
with the reign of Kanishka and the period immediately following it[178] and

regards them as a new phenomenon. Greater assistance is furnished by the
Chinese translators, whose dates are known with some exactitude. Thus the
earliest Buddhist work rendered into Chinese is said to be the sutra of forty-
two sections, translated by Kâśyapa Mâtanga in 67 A.D. It consists of
extracts or resumés of the Buddha's teaching mostly prefaced by the words
"The Buddha said," doubtless in imitation of the Confucian Analects where
the introductory formula "The master said" plays a similar part. Its ideas
and precepts are Hinayanist:[179] the Arhat is held up as the ideal and in a
remarkable passage[180] where the degrees of sanctity are graded and
compared no mention is made of Bodhisattvas. This first translation was
followed by a long series of others, principally from the Sûtra-Piṭaka, for
very little of the Vinaya was translated before the fifth century. A great
number of Hinayanist sutras were translated before 300 A.D. but very few
after 450. On the other hand portions of the sutra about Amîda's Paradise, of
the Prajñâ-pâramitâ, and of the Avataṃsaka were translated about 150 A.D.
and translations of the Lotus and Lalita-vistara appeared about 300.
Great caution is necessary in using these data and the circumstances of
China as well as of India must be taken into account. If translations of the
Vinaya and complete collections of sutras are late in appearing, it does not
follow that the corresponding Indian texts are late, for the need of the
Vinaya was not felt until monasteries began to spring up. Most of the
translations made before the fifth century are extracts and of indifferent
workmanship. Some are retained in the Chinese Tripitaka but are
superseded by later versions. But however inaccurate and incomplete these
older translations may be, if any of them can be identified with a part of an
extant Sanskrit work it follows that at least that part of the work and the
doctrines contained in it were current in India or Central Asia some time
before the translation was made. Applying this principle we may conclude
that the Hinayana and Mahayana were flourishing side by side in India and
Central Asia in the first century A.D. and that the Happy Land sutras and
portions of the Prajñâ-pâramitâ already existed. From that time onwards
Mahayanist literature as represented by Chinese translations steadily
increases, and after 400 A.D. Hinayanist literature declines, with two
exceptions, the Vinaya and the Abhidharma books of the Sarvâstivâdins.
The Vinaya was evidently regarded as a rule of life independent of
theology, but it is remarkable that Hsüan Chuang after his return from India

in 645 should have thought it worth while to translate the philosophy of the
Sarvâstivâdins.
Other considerations render this chronology probable. Two conspicuous
features of the Mahayana are the worship of Bodhisattvas and idealist
philosophy. These are obviously parallel to the worship of Śiva and Vishnu,
and to the rise of the Vedanta. Now the worship of these deities was
probably not prevalent before 300 B.C., for they are almost unknown to the
Pali Pitakas, and it was fully developed about the time of the Bhagavad-gîtâ
which perhaps assumed its present form a little before the Christian era. Not
only is the combination of devotion and metaphysics found in this work
similar to the tone of many Mahayanist sutras but the manifestation of
Krishna in his divine form is like the transformation scenes of the Lotus.
[181] The chief moral principle of the Bhagavad-gîtâ is substantially the
same as that prescribed for Bodhisattvas. It teaches that action is superior to
inaction, but that action should be wholly disinterested and not directed to
any selfish object. This is precisely the attitude of the Bodhisattva who
avoids the inaction of those who are engrossed in self-culture as much as
the pursuit of wealth or pleasure. Both the Gîtâ and Mahayanist treatises lay
stress on faith. He who thinks on Krishna when dying goes to Krishna[182]
just as he who thinks on Amitâbha goes to the Happy Land and the idea is
not unknown to the Pali texts, for it finds complete expression in the story
of Maṭṭhakuṇḍali.[183]
The idea of a benevolent deity to be worshipped with devotion and faith and
not with ceremonies is strange to old Buddhism and old Brahmanism alike.
It was a popular idea which became so strong that neither priests nor
Bhikshus could ignore it and in its ultimate result it is hard to say whether
Buddhist or Brahmanic elements are more prominent. Both Avalokita and
Krishna are Devas. The former has the beauty of holiness and the strength
which it gives, but also the weakness of a somewhat abstract figure: the
latter is very personal and springs from the heart of India but to those who
are not Hindus seems wanting in purity and simplicity. The divine character
of both figures is due to Brahmanism rather than Buddhism, but the new
form of worship which laid stress on a frame of mind rather than on
ceremonial and the idea of Avatâras or the periodic appearance of
superhuman saviours and teachers indicate the influence of Buddhism on
Brahmanism.

There is a similar parallel between the newer Buddhist philosophy and the
Vedantist school represented by Śankara, and Indian critics detected it.
Śankara was called a Pracchanna-bauddha or crypto-buddhist by his
theological opponents[184] and the resemblance between the two systems in
thought, if not in word, is striking. Both distinguish relative and absolute
truth: for both the relative truth is practically theism, for both absolute truth
is beyond description and whether it is called Brahman, Dharma-kâya or
Śûnyatâ is not equivalent to God in the Christian or Mohammedan sense.
Just as for the Vedantist there exist in the light of the highest knowledge
neither a personal God nor an individual soul, so the Mâdhyamika Sûtra can
declare that the Buddha does not really exist. The Mahayanist philosophers
do not use the word Mâyâ but they state the same theory in a more
subjective form by ascribing the appearance of the phenomenal world to
ignorance, a nomenclature which is derived from the Buddha's phrase,
"From ignorance come the Sankhâras."
Here, as elsewhere, Buddhist and Brahmanic ideas acted and reacted in
such complex interrelations that it is hard to say which has borrowed from
the other. As to dates, the older Upanishads which contain the foundations
but not the complete edifice of Vedantism, seem a little earlier than the
Buddha. Now we know that within the Vedantist school there were
divergences of opinion which later received classic expression in the hands
of Śankara and Râmânuja. The latter rejected the doctrines of Mâyâ and of
the difference between relative and absolute truth. The germs of both
schools are to be found in the Upanishads but it seems probable that the
ideas of Śankara were originally worked out among Buddhists rather than
among Brahmans and were rightly described by their opponents as
disguised Buddhism. As early as 520 A.D. Bodhidharma preached in China
a doctrine which is practically the same as the Advaita.
The earliest known work in which the theory of Mâyâ and the Advaita
philosophy are clearly formulated is the metrical treatise known as the
Kârikâ of Gauḍapâda. This name was borne by the teacher of Śankara's
teacher, who must have lived about 700 A.D., but the high position
accorded to the work, which is usually printed with the Mâṇḍûkya
Upanishad and is practically regarded as[185] a part of it, make an earlier
date probable. Both in language and thought it bears a striking resemblance
to Buddhist writings of the Mâdhyamika school and also contains many

ideas and similes which reappear in the works of Śankara.[186] On the other
hand the Lankâvatâra Sûtra which was translated into Chinese in 513 and
therefore can hardly have been composed later than 450, is conscious that
its doctrines resemble Brahmanic philosophy, for an interlocutor objects
that the language used in it by the Buddha about the Tathâgatagarbha is
very like the Brahmanic doctrine of the Âtman. To which the Buddha
replies that his language is a concession to those who cannot stomach the
doctrine of the negation of reality in all its austerity. Some of the best
known verses of Gauḍapâda compare the world of appearance to the
apparent circle of fire produced by whirling a lighted torch. This striking
image occurs first in the Maitrâyana Upanishad (VI. 24), which shows other
indications of an acquaintance with Buddhism, and also in the Lankâvatâra
Sûtra.
A real affinity unites the doctrine of Śankara to the teaching of Gotama
himself. That teaching as presented in the Pali Pitakas is marked by its
negative and deliberately circumscribed character. Its rule is silence when
strict accuracy of expression is impossible, whereas later philosophy does
not shrink from phrases which are suggestive, if not exact. Gotama refuses
to admit that the human soul is a fixed entity or Âtman, but he does not
condemn (though he also does not discuss) the idea that the whole world of
change and becoming, including human souls, is the expression or disguise
of some one ineffable principle. He teaches too that the human mind can
grow until it develops new faculties and powers and becomes the Buddha
mind, which sees the whole chain of births, the order of the world, and the
reality of emancipation. As the object of the whole system is practical,
Nirvana is always regarded as a terminus ad quem or an escape
(nissaranam) from this transitory world, and this view is more accurate as
well as more edifying than the view which treats Brahman or Śûnyatâ as the
origin of the universe. When the Vedanta teaches that this changing troubled
world is merely the disguise of that unchanging and untroubled state into
which saints can pass, it is, I believe, following Gotama's thought, but
giving it an expression which he would have considered imperfect.

FOOTNOTES:

[163] Translated by Schiefner, 1869. Târanâtha informs us (p. 281)
that his chief authorities were the history of Kshemendrabhadra, the
Buddhapurâna of Indradatta and Bhaṭaghaṭî's history of the succession
of the Âcâryas.
[164] The Tibetans generally translate instead of transliterating Indian
names. It is as if an English history of Greece were to speak of Leader
of the People instead of Agesilaus.
[165] They place Kanishka, Vâsishka, Huvishka and Vasudeva before
Kadphises I and Kadphises II.
[166] E.g. Staël Holstein who also thinks that Kanishka's tribe should
be called Kusha not Kushan. Vincent Smith in his latest work (Oxford
History of India, p. 130) gives 120 A.D. as the most probable date.
[167] My chief difficulty in accepting 78-123 A.D. as the reign of
Kanishka is that the Chinese Annals record the doings of Pan Ch'ao
between 73 and 102 in Central Asia, with which region Kanishka is
believed to have had relations, and yet do not mention his name. This
silence makes it primâ facie probable that he lived either before or
after Pan Ch'ao's career.
The catalogues of the Chinese Tripitaka state that An-Shih-Kao (148-
170 A.D.) translated the Mârgabhûmi-sûtra of Sangharaksha, who was
the chaplain of Kanishka. But this unfortunately proves nothing
except that Kanishka cannot have been very late. The work is not a
scripture for whose recognition some lapse of time must be
postulated. An-Shih-Kao, who came from the west, may very well
have translated a recent and popular treatise.
[168] In this connection we may remember Târanâtha's statement that
Kanishka's Council put an end to dissentions which had lasted about a
century. But he also states that it was after the Council that
Mahayanist texts began to appear. If Kanishka flourished about 50
A.D. this would fit in with Târanâtha's statements and what we know
of the history of Buddhism.
[169] B.E.F.E.O. 1911, 339-390. Satiśchandra Vidyâbhûshana arrived
at the same conclusion in J.A.S.B. 1905, p. 227.

[170] Chap. IV.
[171] Mahâparinib. Sut. III.
[172] Majj. Nik. 72.
[173] Udâna. VIII. 1-4.
[174] Accariyabbhutasuttam. Majj. Nik. 123.
[175] Chap. XVI.
[176] That of Rudradaman at Girnar, dated 72 in the Saka Era, has
hitherto been considered the oldest, but it is now said that one
discovered at Isapur near Muttra is older. See J.R.A.S 1912, p. 114.
[177] E.g. Kadphises II and Vasudeva.
[178] Chaps. XII, XIII.
[179] The last section (42) as translated by Teitaro Suzuki in the
Sermons of a Buddhist Abbot may seem an exception, for it contains
such statements as "I consider the doctrine of sameness as the
absolute ground of reality." But the translation seems to me doubtful.
[180] Sec. 11.
[181] Just as all gods and worlds are seen within Krishna's body, so
we are told in the Kâraṇḍa-vyûha (which is however a later work) that
in the pores of Avalokita's skin are woods and mountains where dwell
saints and gods.
[182] Bhag. G. VIII. 5.
[183] Commentary on Dhammapada, P.T.S. edition, pp. 25 ff.
especially p. 33.
[184] See Râmânuja, Śrîbhâshya, II. 2, 27 and Padma-Purâṇa
uttarakanda 43 (quoted by Suhtankar in Vienna Oriental Journ. vol.
XXII. 1908). Mâyâvâdam asacchâstrâm pracchannam bauddham
ucyate. The Mâdhvas were specially bitter in their denunciation of
Śankara.

[185] Or as itself forming four separate Upanishads. For other
arguments in favour of an early date see Walleser, Älterer Vedânta, pp.
14 ff. He states that the Kârikâ is quoted in the Tibetan translations of
Bhavaviveka's Tārkajvālā. Bhavaviveka was certainly anterior to the
travels of Hsüan Chuang and perhaps was much earlier. But if he died
about 600 A.D. a work quoted by him can hardly have been later than
550 and may be much earlier. But see also Jacobi in J.A.O.S. April,
1913, p. 51.
[186] For the resemblances to Nâgârjuna see J.R.A.S. 1910, pp. 136 ff.
Especially remarkable are II. 32 na nirodho na cotpattir, etc., and IV.
59 and the whole argument that causation is impossible. Noticeable
too is the use of Buddhist terms like upâya, nirvâṇa, buddha and
âdibuddha, though not always in the Buddhist sense.

CHAPTER XXII
FROM KANISHKA TO VASUBANDHU

Tradition, as mentioned above, connects the rise of the Mahayana with the
reign of Kanishka. Materials for forming a picture of Indian life under his
rule are not plentiful but it was clearly an age of fusion. His hereditary
dominions were ample and he had no need to spend his reign in conquests,
but he probably subdued Kashmir as well as Khotan, Yarkand and Kashgar.
[187] Hostages from one of these states were sent to reside in India and all
accounts agree that they were treated with generosity and that their sojourn
improved the relations of Kanishka with the northern tribes. His capital was
Purushapura or Peshawar, and the locality, like many other features of his
reign, indicates a tendency to amalgamate India with Persia and Central
Asia. It was embellished with masterpieces of Gandharan sculpture and its
chief ornament was a great stûpa built by the king for the reception of the
relics of the Buddha which he collected. This building is described by
several Chinese pilgrims[188] and its proportions, though variously stated,
were sufficient to render it celebrated in all the Buddhist world. It is said to
have been several times burnt, and rebuilt, but so solid a structure can
hardly have been totally destroyed by fire and the greater part of the
monument discovered in 1908 probably dates from the time of Kanishka.
The base is a square measuring 285 feet on each side, with massive towers
at the corners, and on each of the four faces projections bearing staircases.
The sides were ornamented with stucco figures of the Buddha and
according to the Chinese pilgrims the super-structure was crowned with an
iron pillar on which were set twenty-five gilded disks. Inside was found a
metal casket, still containing the sacred bones, and bearing an inscription
which presents two points of great interest. Firstly it mentions "Agiśala the
overseer of works at Kanishka's vihâra," that is, probably Agesilaus, a
foreigner in the king's service. Secondly it states that the casket was made
"for the acceptance of the teachers of the Sarvâstivâdin sect,"[189] and the

idea that Kanishka was the special patron of the Mahayana must be
reconsidered in the light of this statement.
Legends ascribe Kanishka's fervour for the Buddhist faith not to education
but to conversion. His coinage, of which abundant specimens have been
preserved, confirms this for it presents images of Greek, Persian, Indian and
perhaps Babylonian deities showing how varied was the mythology which
may have mingled with Gandharan Buddhism. The coins bearing figures of
the Buddha are not numerous and, as he undoubtedly left behind him the
reputation of a pious Buddhist, it is probable that they were struck late in
his reign and represent his last religious phase.[190] Hsüan Chuang[191]
repeats some legends which relate that he was originally anti-Buddhist, and
that after his conversion he summoned a council and built a stupa.
The substance of these legends is probable. Kanishka as a barbarian but
docile conqueror was likely to adopt Buddhism if he wished to keep abreast
of the thought and civilisation of his subjects, for at that time it undoubtedly
inspired the intellect and art of north-western India. Both as a statesman and
as an enquirer after truth he would wish to promote harmony and stop
sectarian squabbles. His action resembles that of Constantine who after his
conversion to Christianity proceeded to summon the Council of Nicæa in
order to stop the dissensions of the Church and settle what were the tenets
of the religion which he had embraced, a point about which both he and
Kanishka seem to have felt some uncertainty. Our knowledge of Kanishka's
Council depends chiefly on the traditions reported by Hsüan Chuang[192]
which present many difficulties. He tells us that the king, acting in
consultation with Parśva, issued summonses to all the learned doctors of his
realm. They came in such crowds that a severe test was imposed and only
499 Arhats were selected. There was some discussion as to the place of
meeting but finally Kashmir[193] was selected and the king built a
monastery for the Brethren. When the Council met, there arose a question
as to whether Vasumitra (who is not further described) should be admitted
seeing that he was not an Arhat but aspired to the career of a Bodhisattva.
But owing to the interposition of spirits he was not only admitted but made
president.
The texts of the Tripitaka were collected and the Council "composed
100,000 stanzas of Upadeśa Śâstras explanatory of the canonical sûtras,

100,000 stanzas of Vinaya-vibhâshâ Śâstras explanatory of the Vinaya and
100,000 of Abhidharma-vibhâshâ Śâstras explanatory of the Abhidharma.
For this exposition of the Tripitaka all learning from remote antiquity was
thoroughly examined; the general sense and the terse language (of the
Buddhist scriptures) was again and again made clear and distinct, and
learning was widely diffused for the safe-guiding of disciples. King
Kanishka caused the treatises when finished to be written out on copper
plates and enclosed these in stone boxes which he deposited in a tope made
for the purpose. He then ordered spirits to keep and guard the texts and not
to allow any to be taken out of the country by heretics; those who wished to
study them could do so in the country. When leaving to return to his own
country, Kanishka renewed Asoka's gift of all Kashmir to the Buddhist
Church."[194]
Paramârtha (499-569 A.D.) in his Life of Vasubandhu[195] gives an account
of a council generally considered to be the same as that described by Hsüan
Chuang, though the differences in the two versions are considerable. He
says that about five hundred years[196] after the Buddha's death (i.e.
between 87 B.C. and 13 A.D. if the Buddha died 487 B.C.) an Indian Arhat
called Katyâyanî-putra, who was a monk of the Sarvâstivâdin school, went
to Kipin or Kashmir. There with 500 other Arhats and 500 Bodhisattvas he
collected the Abhidharma of the Sarvâstivâdins and arranged it in eight
books called Ka-lan-ta (Sanskrit Grantha) or Kan-tu (Pali Gantho). This
compilation was also called Jñâna-prasthâna. He then made a proclamation
inviting all who had heard the Buddha preach to communicate what they
remembered. Many spirits responded and contributed their reminiscences
which were examined by the Council and, when they did not contradict the
sûtras and the Vinaya, were accepted, but otherwise were rejected. The
selected pieces were grouped according to their subject-matter. Those about
wisdom formed the Prajñâ Grantha, and those about meditation the Dhyâna
Grantha and so on. After finishing the eight books they proceeded to the
composition of a commentary or Vibhâshâ and invited the assistance of
Aśvaghosha. When he came to Kashmir, Katyâyanî-putra expounded the
eight books to him and Aśvaghosha put them into literary form. At the end
of twelve years the composition of the commentary was finished. It
consisted of 1,000,000 verses.... Katyâyanî-putra set up a stone inscribed
with this proclamation. "Those who hereafter learn this law must not go out

of Kashmir. No sentence of the eight books, or of the Vibhâshâ must pass
out of the land, lest other schools or the Mahayana should corrupt the true
law." This proclamation was reported to the king who approved it. The
sages of Kashmir had power over demons and set them to guard the
entrance to the country, but we are told that anyone desirous of learning the
law could come to Kashmir and was in no way interrupted.
There follows a story telling how, despite this prohibition, a native of
Ayodhya succeeded in learning the law in Kashmir and subsequently
teaching it in his native land. Paramârtha's account seems exaggerated,
whereas the prohibition described by Hsüan Chuang is intelligible. It was
forbidden to take the official copies of the law out of Kashmir, lest heretics
should tamper with them.
Târanâtha[197] gives a singularly confused account of the meeting, which he
expressly calls the third council, but makes some important statements
about it. He says that it put an end to the dissensions which had been
distracting the Buddhist Church for nearly a century and that it recognized
all the eighteen sects as holding the true doctrine: that it put the Vinaya in
writing as well as such parts of the Sûtra-piṭaka and Abhidharma as were
still unwritten and corrected those which already existed as written texts:
that all kinds of Mahayanist writings appeared at this time but that the
Śrâvakas raised no opposition.
It is hard to say how much history can be extracted from these vague and
discrepant stories. They seem to refer to one assembly regarded (at least in
Tibet) as the third council of the Church and held under Kanishka four or
five hundred years[198] after the Buddha's death. As to what happened at the
council tradition seems to justify the following deductions, though as the
tradition is certainly jumbled it may also be incorrect in details.
(a) The council is recognized only by the northern Church and is unknown
to the Churches of Ceylon, Burma and Siam. It seems to have regarded
Kashmir as sacred land outside which the true doctrine was exposed to
danger. (b) But it was not a specially Mahayanist meeting but rather a
conference of peace and compromise. Târanâtha says this clearly: in Hsüan
Chuang's account an assembly of Arhats (which at this time must have
meant Hinayanists) elect a president who was not an Arhat and according to

Paramârtha the assembly consisted of 500 Arhats and 500 Bodhisattvas who
were convened by a leader of the Sarvâstivâdin school and ended by
requesting Aśvaghosha to revise their work. (c) The literary result of the
council was the composition of commentaries on the three Pitakas. One of
these, the Abhidharma-mahâvibhâshâ-śâstra, translated into Chinese in 437-
9 and still extant, is said to be a work of encyclopædic character, hardly a
commentary in the strict sense. Paramârtha perhaps made a confusion in
saying that the Jñâna-prasthâna itself was composed at the council. The
traditions indicate that the council to some extent sifted and revised the
Tripitaka and perhaps it accepted the seven Abhidharma books of the
Sarvâstivâdins.[199] But it is not stated or implied that it composed or
sanctioned Mahayanist books. Târanâtha merely says that such books
appeared at this time and that the Hinayanists raised no active objection.
But if the above is the gist of the traditions, the position described is not
clear. The council is recognized by Mahayanists yet it appears to have
resulted in the composition of a Sarvâstivâdin treatise, and the tradition
connecting the Sarvâstivâdins with the council is not likely to be wrong, for
they are recognized in the inscription on Kanishka's casket, and Gandhara
and Kashmir were their headquarters. The decisions of councils are often
politic rather than logical and it may be that the doctors summoned by
Kanishka, while compiling Sarvâstivâdin treatises, admitted the principle
that there is more than one vehicle which can take mankind to salvation.
Perhaps some compromise based on geography was arranged, such as that
Kashmir should be left to the Sarvâstivâdin school which had long
flourished there, but that no opposition should be offered to the
Mahayanists elsewhere.
The relations of the Sarvâstivâdins to Mahayanism are exceedingly difficult
to define and there are hardly sufficient materials for a connected account of
this once important sect, but I will state some facts about it which seem
certain.
It is ancient, for the Kathâvatthu alludes to its doctrines.[200] It flourished in
Gandhara, Kashmir and Central Asia, and Kanishka's casket shows that he
patronized it.[201] But it appears to have been hardly known in Ceylon or
Southern India. It was the principal northern form of Hinayanism, just as

the Theravâda was the southern form. I-Ching however says that it
prevailed in the Malay Archipelago.
Its doctrines, so far as known, were Hinayanist but it was distinguished
from cognate schools by holding that the external world can be said to exist
and is not merely a continual process of becoming. It had its own version of
the Abhidharma and of the Vinaya. In the time of Fa-Hsien the latter was
still preserved orally and was not written. The adherents of this school were
also called Vaibhâshikas, and Vibhâshâ was a name given to their exegetical
literature.
But the association of the Sarvâstivâdins with Mahayanists is clear from the
council of Kanishka onwards. Many eminent Buddhists began by being
Sarvâstivâdins and became Mahayanists, their earlier belief being regarded
as preliminary rather than erroneous. Hsüan Chuang translated the
Sarvâstivâdin scriptures in his old age and I-Ching belonged to the
Mûlasarvâstivâdin school;[202] yet both authors write as if they were devout
Mahayanists. The Tibetan Church is generally regarded as an extreme form
of Mahayanism but its Vinaya is that of the Sarvâstivâdins.
Though the Sarvâstivâdins can hardly have accepted idealist metaphysics,
yet the evidence of art and their own version of the Vinaya make it probable
that they tolerated a moderate amount of mythology, and the Mahayanists,
who like all philosophers were obliged to admit the provisional validity of
the external world, may also have admitted their analysis of the same as
provisionally valid. The strength of the Hinayanist schools lay in the
Vinaya. The Mahayanists showed a tendency to replace it by legends and
vague if noble aspirations. But a code of discipline was necessary for large
monasteries and the code of the Sarvâstivâdins enjoyed general esteem in
Central Asia and China.
Three stages in the history of Indian Buddhism are marked by the names of
Aśvaghosha, Nâgârjuna and the two brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu. It
would be easier to give a precise description of its development if we were
sure which of the works ascribed to these worthies are authentic, but it
seems that Aśvaghosha represents an ornate and transitional phase of the
older schools leading to Mahayanism, whereas Nâgârjuna is connected with
the Prajñâ-pâramitâ and the nihilistic philosophy described in the preceding

chapter. Asanga was the founder of the later and more scholastic system
called Yogâcâra and is also associated with a series of revelations said to
have been made by Maitreya.
As mentioned above, tradition makes Aśvaghosha,[203] one of the most
brilliant among Sanskrit writers, live at the court of Kanishka[204] and
according to some accounts he was given to the Kushans as part of a war
indemnity. The tradition[205] is confirmed by the style and contents of his
poems and it has been noted by Foucher that his treatment of legends is in
remarkable accord with their artistic presentment in the Gandharan
sculptures. Also fragmentary manuscripts of his dramas discovered in
Central Asia appear to date from the Kushan epoch. Aśvaghosha's rank as a
poet depends chiefly on his Buddhacarita, or life of the Buddha up to the
time of his enlightenment. It is the earliest example of a Kâvya, usually
translated as artificial epic, but here literary skill is subservient to the theme
and does not, as too often in later works, overwhelm it. The Buddha is its
hero, as Râma of the Râmâyana, and it sings the events of his earlier life in
a fine flow of elaborate but impassioned language. Another of his poems,
[206] discovered only a few years ago, treats of the conversion of Nanda, the
Buddha's half-brother.
Various other works are ascribed to Aśvaghosha and for the history of
Buddhism it is of great interest to decide whether he was really the author
of The Awakening of Faith. This skilful exposition of a difficult theme is
worthy of the writer of the Buddhacarita but other reasons make his
authorship doubtful, for the theology of the work may be described as the
full-blown flower of Mahayanism untainted by Tantrism. It includes the
doctrines of Bhûta-tathatâ, Âlaya-vijñâna, Tathâgatagarbha and the three
bodies of Buddha. It would be dangerous to say that these ideas did not
exist in the time of Kanishka, but what is known of the development of
doctrine leads us to expect their full expression not then but a century or
two later and other circumstances raise suspicions as to Aśvaghosha's
authorship. His undoubted works were translated into Chinese about 400
A.D. but The Awakening of Faith a century and a half later.[207] Yet if this
concise and authoritative compendium had existed in 400, it is strange that
the earlier translators neglected it. It is also stated that an old Chinese
catalogue of the Tripitaka does not name Aśvaghosha as the author.[208]

The undoubted works of Aśvaghosha treat the Buddha with ornate but grave
rhetoric as the hero of an epic. His progress is attended by miracles such as
Indian taste demands, but they hardly exceed the marvels recounted in the
Pali scriptures and there is no sign that the hero is identified, as in the
Ramayana of Tulsi Das or the Gospel according to St. John, with the divine
spirit. The poet clearly feels personal devotion to a Saviour. He dwells on
the duty of teaching others and not selfishly seeking one's own salvation,
but he does not formulate dogmas.
The name most definitely connected with the early promulgation of
Mahayanism is Nâgârjuna.[209] A preponderance of Chinese tradition makes
him the second patriarch after Aśvaghosha[210] and this agrees with the
Kashmir chronicle which implies that he lived soon after Kanishka.[211] He
probably flourished in the latter half of the second century. But his
biographies extant in Chinese and Tibetan are almost wholly mythical, even
crediting him with a life of several centuries, and the most that can be
hoped is to extract a few grains of history from them. He is said to have
been by birth a Brahman of Vidarbha (Berar) and to have had as teacher a
Sudra named Saraha or Râhulabhadra. When the legend states that he
visited the Nâgas in the depths of the sea and obtained books from them, it
seems to admit that he preached new doctrines. It is noticeable that he is
represented not only as a philosopher but as a great magician, builder,
physician, and maker of images.
Many works are attributed to him but they have not the same authenticity as
the poems of Aśvaghosha. Some schools make him the author of the Prajñâ-
pâramitâ but it is more usually regarded as a revelation. The commentary on
it known as Mahâ-prajñâ-pâramitâ-śâstra is generally accepted as his work.
A consensus of tradition makes him the author of the Mâdhyamika[212]
aphorisms of which some account has been given above. It is the principal
authority of its school and is provided with a commentary attributed to the
author himself and with a later one by Candrakîrti.[213] There is also
ascribed to him a work called the Suhrillekha or friendly letter, a
compendium of Buddhist doctrines, addressed to an Indian king.[214] This
work is old for it was translated into Chinese in 434 A.D. and is a homily
for laymen. It says nothing of the Mâdhyamika philosophy and most of it
deals with the need of good conduct and the terrors of future punishment,
quite in the manner of the Hinayana. But it also commends the use of

images and incense in worship, it mentions Avalokita and Amitâbha and it
holds up the ideal of attaining Buddhahood. Nâgârjuna's authorship is not
beyond dispute but these ideas may well represent a type of popular
Buddhism slightly posterior to Aśvaghosha.[215]
In most lists of patriarchs Nâgârjuna is followed by Deva, also called
Âryadeva, Kâṇadeva or Nîlanetra. I-Ching mentions him among the older
teachers and a commentary on his principal work, the Śataśâstra, is
attributed to Vasubandhu.[216] Little is known of his special teaching but he
is regarded as an important doctor and his pupil Dharmatrâta is also
important if not as an author at least as a compiler, for Sanskrit collections
of verses corresponding to the Pali Dhammapada are ascribed to him.
Âryadeva was a native of southern India.[217]
The next epoch in the history of Buddhism is marked by the names of
Asanga and Vasubandhu. The interval between them and Deva produced no
teacher of importance, but Kumâralabdha, the founder of the Sautrântika
school and perhaps identical with Kumârata the eighteenth Patriarch of the
Chinese lists, may be mentioned. Hsüan Chuang says[218] that he was
carried off in captivity by a king who reigned somewhere in the east of the
Pamirs and that he, Aśvaghosha, Nâgârjuna and Deva were styled the four
shining suns.
Asanga and Vasubandhu were brothers, sons of a Brahman who lived at
Peshawar. They were both converted from the Sarvâstivâdin school to
Mahayanism, but the third brother Virincivatsa never changed his
convictions. Tradition connects their career with Ayodhya as well as with
Peshawar and Vasubandhu enjoyed the confidence of the reigning monarch,
who was probably Candragupta I. This identification depends on the
hypothesis that Vasubandhu lived from about 280 to 360 A.D. which, as
already mentioned, seems to me to have been proved by M. Péri.[219] The
earlier Gupta kings though not Buddhists were tolerant, as is shown by the
fact that the king of Ceylon[220] was allowed to erect a magnificent
monastery at Nâlanda in the reign of Samudragupta (c. 330-375 A.D.).
Asanga founded the school known as Yogâcâra and many authorities
ascribe to him the introduction of magical practices and Tantrism. But
though he is a considerable figure in the history of Buddhism, I doubt if his

importance or culpability is so great as this. For if tradition can be trusted,
earlier teachers especially Nâgârjuna dealt in spells and invocations and the
works of Asanga[221] known to us are characterized by a somewhat
scholastic piety and are chiefly occupied in defining and describing the
various stages in the spiritual development of a Bodhisattva. It is true that
he admits the use of magical formulæ[222] as an aid in this evolution but
they form only a slight part of his system and it does not appear that the
Chên-yen or Shingon sect of the Far East (the Sanskrit Mantrayâna) traced
its lineage back to him.
Our estimate of his position in the history of Buddhism must depend on our
opinion as to the authorship of The Awakening of Faith. If this treatise was
composed by Aśvaghosha then doctrines respecting the three bodies of
Buddha, the Tathâgatagarbha and the Âlaya-vijñâna were not only known
but scientifically formulated considerably before Asanga. The conclusion
cannot be rejected as absurd—for Aśvaghosha might speak differently in
poems and in philosophical treatises—but it is surprising, and it is probable
that the treatise is not his. If so, Asanga may have been the first to elaborate
systematically (though not to originate) the idea that thought is the one and
only reality. Nâgârjuna's nihilism was probably the older theory. It sounds
late and elaborate but still it follows easily if the dialectic of Gotama is
applied uncompromisingly not only to our mental processes but to the
external world. Yet even in India the result was felt to be fantastic and
sophistical and it is not surprising if after the lapse of a few generations a
new system of idealism became fashionable which, although none too
intelligible, was abstruse rather than paradoxical.
Asanga was alleged to have received revelations from Maitreya and five of
his works are attributed to this Bodhisattva who enjoyed considerable
honour at this period. It may be that the veneration for the Buddha of the
future, the Messiah who would reign over his saints in a pure land, owed
something to Persian influence which was strong in India during the
decadence of the Kushans.[223] Both Mithraism and Manichæism classified
their adepts in various ranks, and the Yogâcâra doctors who delight in
grading the progress of the Bodhisattva may have borrowed something
from them.[224] Asanga's doctrine of defilement (kleśa) and purification may
also owe something to Mani, as suggested by S. Lévi.

In spite of his literary merits Asanga remains a doctor rather than a saint or
poet.[225] His speculations have little to do with either Gotama or Amitâbha
and he was thus not in living touch with either the old or new schools. His
brother Vasubandhu had perhaps a greater position. He is reckoned as the
twentieth Patriarch and Tibetan tradition connects him with the worship of
Amitâbha.[226]
Paramârtha's life of Vasubandhu represents him as having frequented the
court of Vikramâditya (to be identified with Candragupta I), who at first
favoured the Sânkhya philosophy but accorded some patronage to
Buddhism. During this period Vasubandhu was a Sarvâstivâdin but of
liberal views[227] and while in this phase wrote the Abhidharma-kośa, a
general exposition of the Abhidharma, mainly according to the views of the
Vaibhâshikas but not without criticism. This celebrated work is not well
known in Europe[228] but is still a text-book amongst Japanese Buddhist
students. It gained the esteem of all schools and we are given to understand
that it presupposed the philosophy of the Vibhâshâ and of the Jñâna-
prasthâna. According to Paramârtha the original work consisted of 600
aphorisms in verse which were sent by the author to the monks of Kashmir.
They approved of the composition but, as the aphorisms were concise,
asked for fuller explanations. Vasubandhu then expanded his verses into a
prose commentary, but meanwhile his views had undergone a change and
when he disapproved of any Vaibhâshika doctrine, he criticized it. This
enlarged edition by no means pleased the brethren of Kashmir and called
forth polemics. He also wrote a controversial work against the Sânkhya
philosophy.
Late in life Vasubandhu, moved by the entreaties of his brother Asanga,
became a devout Mahayanist and wrote in his old age Mahayanist treatises
and commentaries.[229]

FOOTNOTES:

[187] The uncertainty as to the date of Kanishka naturally makes it
uncertain whether he was the hero of these conquests. Kashmir was

certainly included in the dominions of the Kushans and was a
favourite residence of Kanishka. About 90 A.D. a Kushan king
attacked Central Asia but was repulsed by the Chinese general Pan-
Ch'ao. Later, after the death of Pan-Ch'ao (perhaps about 103 A.D.),
he renewed the attempt and conquered Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan.
See Vincent Smith, Early History of India, 3rd ed. pp. 253 ff.
[188] See Fa-Hsien, ed. Legge, p. 33, B.E.F.E.O. 1903 (Sung Yün),
pp. 420 ff. Watters, Yüan Chwang, I. pp. 204 ff. J.R.A.S. 1909, p.
1056, 1912, p. 114. For the general structure of these stûpas see
Foucher, L'art Gréco-Bouddhique du Gandhara, pp. 45 ff.
[189] J.R.A.S. 1909, p. 1058. "Acaryanam Sarvastivadinam
pratigrahẽ."
[190] Similarly Harsha became a Buddhist late in life.
[191] Watters, vol. I. p. 203. He places Kanishka's accession 400
years after the death of the Buddha, which is one of the arguments for
supposing Kanishka to have reigned about 50 B.C., but in another
passage (Watters, I. 222, 224) he appears to place it 500 years after
the death.
[192] Watters, vol. I. 270-1.
[193] But Târanâtha says some authorities held that it met at
Jalandhara. Some Chinese works say it was held at Kandahar.
[194] Walters, l.c.
[195] Translated by Takakusu in T'oung Pao, 1904, pp. 269 ff.
Paramârtha was a native of Ujjain who arrived at Nanking in 548 and
made many translations, but it is quite possible that this life of
Vasubandhu is not a translation but original notes of his own.
[196] Chinese expressions like "in the five hundred years after the
Buddha's death" probably mean the period 400-500 of the era
commencing with the Buddha's death and not the period 500-600. The
period 1-100 is "the one hundred years," 101-200 "the two hundred
years" and so on. See B.E.F.E.O. 1911, 356. But it must be

remembered that the date of the Buddha's death is not yet certain. The
latest theory (Vincent Smith, 1919) places it in 554 B.C.
[197] Chap. XII.
[198] See Watters, I. pp. 222, 224 and 270. It is worth noting that
Hsüan Chuang says Asoka lived one hundred years after the Buddha's
death. See Watters, I. p. 267. See also the note of S. Lévi in J.R.A.S.
1914, pp. 1016-1019, citing traditions to the effect that there were 300
years between Upagupta, the teacher of Asoka, and Kanishka, who is
thus made to reign about 31 A.D. On the other hand Kanishka's
chaplain Sangharaksha is said to have lived 700 years after the
Buddha.
[199] See Takakusu in J.P.T.S. 1905, pp. 67 ff. For the Sarvâstivâdin
Canon, see my chapter on the Chinese Tripitaka.
[200] See above, vol. I. p. 262. For an account of the doctrines see
also Vasilief, 245 ff. Rockhill, Life of the Buddha, pp. 190 ff.
[201] Its connection with Gandhara and Kashmir is plainly indicated
in its own scriptures. See Przyluski's article on "Le Nord-Ouest de
l'Inde dans le Vinaya des Mûla-sarvâstivâdins," J.A. 1914, II. pp. 493
ft. This Vinaya must have received considerable additions as time
went on and in its present form is posterior to Kanishka.
[202] The distinction between Sarvâstivâdin and Mûlasarvâstivâdin is
not clear to me. I can only suggest that when a section of the school
accepted the Mahâvibhâshâ and were known as Vaibhâshikas others
who approved of the school chiefly on account of its excellent Vinaya
called themselves Primitive Sarvâstivâdins.
[203] See Sylvain Lévi, J.A. 1908, XII. 57 ff., and Winternitz, Ges.
Ind. Lit. II. i. pp. 201 ff.
[204] The only reason for doubting it is that two stories (Nos. 14 and
31) in the Sûtrâlankâra (which appears to be a genuine work) refer to
Kanishka as if he had reigned in the past. This may be a poetic artifice
or it may be that the stories are interpolations. See for the traditions
Watters on Yüan Chwang, II. 102-4 and Takakusu in J.R.A.S. 1905, p.

53 who quotes the Chinese Samyukta-ratna-piṭaka-sûtra and the
Record of Indian Patriarchs. The Chinese list of Patriarchs is
compatible with the view that Aśvaghosha was alive about 125 A.D.
for he was the twelfth Patriarch and Bodhidharma the twenty-eighth
visited China in 520. This gives about 400 years for sixteen
Patriarchs, which is possible, for these worthies were long-lived. But
the list has little authority.
[205] The traditions are conveniently collected in the introduction to
Teitaro Suzuki's translation of The Awakening of Faith.
[206] The Saundarânandakâvya.
[207] See Nanjio, Nos. 1182, 1351, 1250, 1299. It is noticeable that
the translator Paramârtha shows a special interest in the life and works
of Asanga and Vasubandhu.
[208] See Winternitz, Ges. Ind. Lit. II. i. p. 211. It is also noticeable
that The Awakening of Faith appears to quote the Lankâvatâra sûtra
which is not generally regarded as an early Mahayanist work.
[209] Nâgârjuna cannot have been the founder of the Mahayana for in
his Mahâ-prajñâ-pâramitâ-śâstra (Nanjio, 1169, translation by
Kumârajiva) he cites inter alia the Lotus, the Vimalakirti-sûtra, and a
work called Mahâyâna-śâstra. See B.E.F.E.O. 1911, p. 453. For
Nâgârjuna see especially Grünwedel, Mythologie, pp. 29 ff. and the
bibliography given in the notes. Jour. Budd. Text. Soc. V. part iv. pp. 7
ff. Watters, Yüan Chwang, pp. 200 ff. Târanâtha, chap. XV and
Winternitz, Ges. Ind. Lit. II. i. pp. 250 ff.
[210] He is omitted from the list of Buddhabhadra, giving the
succession according to the Sarvâstivâdins, to which school he did not
belong. I-Ching classes him with Aśvaghosha and Aryadeva as
belonging to the early period.
[211] Râjataranginî, i. 173, 177.
[212] Edited in the Bibliotheca Buddhica by De la Vallée Poussin and
(in part) in the Journal of the Buddhist Text Soc. See too Walleser, Die

Mittlere Lehre des Nâgârjuna nach der Tibetischen Version
übertragen, 1911: nach der Chinesischen Version übertragen, 1912.
[213] The ascription of these works to Nâgârjuna is probably correct
for they were translated by Kumârajîva who was sufficiently near him
in date to be in touch with good tradition.
[214] The name of this king, variously given as Udayana, Jetaka and
Śâtavâhana, has not been identified with certainty from the various
transcriptions and translations in the Chinese and Tibetan versions.
See J. Pali Text Soc. for 1886 and I-Ching Records of the Buddhist
Religion (trans. Takakusu), pp. 158 ff. The Andhra kings who reigned
from about 240 B.C. to 225 A.D. all claimed to belong to the
Śâtavâhana dynasty. The stupa of Amarâvati in the Andhra territory is
surrounded by a stone railing ascribed to the period 160-200 A.D. and
Nâgârjuna may have addressed a pious king living about that time.
[215] For other works attributed to Nâgârjuna see Nanjio, Nos. 1169,
1179, 1180, 1186 and Walleser's introduction to Mittlere Lehre nach
der Chinesischen Version The Dharmasangraha, a Sanskrit theological
glossary, is also attributed to Nâgârjuna as well as the tantric work
Pancakrama. But it is not likely that the latter dates from his epoch.
[216] Nanjio, No. 1188.
[217] The very confused legends about him suggest a comparison
with the Dravidian legend of a devotee who tore out one of his eyes
and offered it to Śiva. See Grünwedel, Mythologie, p. 34 and notes.
Polemics against various Hinayanist sects are ascribed to him. See
Nanjio, Nos. 1259, 1260.
[218] Watters, Yüan Chwang, II. p. 286. Hsüan Chuang does not say
that the four were contemporary but that in the time of Kumâralabdha
they were called the four Suns.
[219] For Asanga and Vasubandhu see Péri in B.E.F.E.O. 1911, pp.
339-390. Vincent Smith in Early History of India, third edition, pp.
328-334. Winternitz, Ges. Ind. Lit. II. i. p. 256. Watters, Yüan
Chwang, I. pp. 210, 355-359. Taranâtha, chap. XXII. Grünwedel,
Mythologie, p. 35.

[220] Meghavarman. See V. Smith, l.c. 287.
[221] Two have been preserved in Sanskrit: the Mahâyâna-
sûtrâlankâra (Ed. V. Transl., S. Lévi, 1907-1911) and the Bodhisattva-
bhûmi (English summary in Muséon, 1905-6). A brief analysis of the
literature of the Yogâcâra school according to Tibetan authorities is
given by Stcherbatskoi in Muséon, 1905, pp. 144-155.
[222] Mahâyâna-sûtrâl. XVIII. 71-73. The ominous word maithuna
also occurs in this work, XVIII. 46.
[223] Vincent Smith, l.c. p. 275.
[224] But there are of course abundant Indian precedents,
Brahmanical as well as Buddhist, for describing various degrees of
sanctity or knowledge.
[225] The wooden statues of Asanga and Vasubandhu preserved in the
Kōfukaji at Nara are masterpieces of art but can hardly claim to be
other than works of imagination. They date from about 800 A.D. See
for an excellent reproduction Tajima's Select Relics, II. x.
[226] See Eitel and Grünwedel, but I do not know in what texts this
tradition is found. It is remarkable that Paramârtha's life (T'oung Pao,
1904, pp. 269-296) does not say either that he was twentieth patriarch
or that he worshipped Amida.
[227] On receiving a large donation he built three monasteries, one for
Hinayanists, one for Mahayanists and one for nuns.
[228] The work consists of 600 verses (Kârikâ) with a lengthy prose
commentary (Bhâshya) by the author. The Sanskrit original is lost but
translations have been preserved in Chinese (Nanjio, Nos. 1267, 1269,
1270) and Tibetan (see Cordier, Cat. du Fonds tibétain de la Bib. Nat.
1914, pp. 394, 499). But the commentary on the Bhâshya called
Abhidharma-kośa-vyâkhyâ, or Sphuṭârtha, by Yásomitra has been
preserved in Sanskrit in Nepal and frequently cites the verses as well
as the Bhâshya in the original Sanskrit. A number of European savants
are at present occupied with this literature and Sir Denison Ross (to
whom I am indebted for much information) contemplates the

publication of an Uigur text of Book I found in Central Asia. At
present (1920), so far as I know, the only portion of the Abhidharma-
kośa in print is De la Vallée Poussin's edition and translation of Book
III, containing the Tibetan and Sanskrit texts but not the Chinese (De
la Vallée Poussin—Vasubandhu et Yaśomitra, London, 1914-18). This
chapter deals with such topics as the structure of the universe, the
manner and place of rebirth, the chain of causation, the geography of
the world, the duration and characteristics of Kalpas, and the
appearance of Buddhas and Cakravartins.
[229] See Nanjio, pp. 371-2, for a list of his works translated into
Chinese. Hsüan Chuang's account differs from the above (which is
taken from Paramârtha) in details. He also tells a curious story that
Vasubandhu promised to appear to his friends after death and
ultimately did so, though he forgot his promise until people began to
say he had gone to hell.

CHAPTER XXIII
INDIAN BUDDHISM AS SEEN BY THE CHINESE
PILGRIMS

About the time of Vasubandhu there existed four schools of Indian
Buddhism called Vaibhâshika, Sautrântika, Mâdhyamika and Yoga or
Yogâcâra.[230] They were specially concerned with philosophy and
apparently cut across the older division into eighteen sects, which at this
period seem to have differed mainly on points of discipline. Though not of
great practical importance, they long continued to play a certain part in
controversial works both Buddhist and Brahmanic. The first two which
were the older seem to have belonged to the Hinayana and the other two
even more definitely to the Mahayana. I-Ching[231] is quite clear as to this.
"There are but two kinds of the so-called Mahayana" he says, "first the
Mâdhyamika, second the Yoga.... These two systems are perfectly in
accordance with the noble doctrine. Can we say which of the two is right?
Both equally conform to truth and lead us to Nirvana" and so on. But he
does not say that the other two systems are also aspects of the truth. This is
the more remarkable because he himself followed the Mûla-sarvâstivâdins.
Apparently Sarvâstivâdin and Vaibhâshika were different names for the
same school, the latter being applied to them because they identified
themselves with the commentary (Vibhâshâ) already mentioned whereas the
former and older designation came to be used chiefly with reference to their
disciplinary rules. Also there were two groups of Sarvâstivâdins, those of
Gandhara and those of Kashmir. The name of Vaibhâshika was applied
chiefly to the latter who, if we may find a kernel of truth in legends which
are certainly exaggerated, endeavoured to make Kashmir a holy land with a
monopoly of the pure doctrine. Vasubandhu and Asanga appear to have
broken up this isolation for they first preached the Vaibhâshika doctrines in
a liberal and eclectic form outside Kashmir and then by a natural transition
and development went over to the Mahayana. But the Vaibhâshikas did not
disappear and were in existence even in the fourteenth century.[232] Their

chief tenet was the real existence of external objects. In matters of doctrine
they regarded their own Abhidharma as the highest authority.[233] They also
held that Gotama had an ordinary human body and passed first into a
preliminary form of Nirvana when he attained Buddhahood and secondly
into complete Nirvana at his death. He was superhuman only in the sense
that he had intuitive knowledge and no need to learn. Their contempt for
sutras may have been due to the fact that many of them discountenance the
Vaibhâshika views and also to a knowledge that new ones were continually
being composed.
I-Ching, who ends his work by asserting that all his statements are
according to the Ârya-mûla-sarvâstivâda-nikâya and no other, gives an
interesting summary of doctrine.
"Again I say: the most important are only one or two out of eighty thousand
doctrines of the Buddha: one should conform to the worldly path but
inwardly strive to secure true wisdom. Now what is the worldly path? It is
obeying prohibitive laws and avoiding any crime. What is the true wisdom?
It is to obliterate the distinction between subject and object, to follow the
excellent truth and to free oneself from worldly attachments: to do away
with the trammels of the chain of causality: further to obtain merit by
accumulating good works and finally to realize the excellent meaning of
perfect reality."
Such a statement enables us to understand the remark which he makes
elsewhere that the same school may belong to the Hinayana and Mahayana
in different places, for, whatever may be meant by wisdom which aims at
obliterating the difference between subject and object, it is clearly not out of
sympathy with Yogâcâra doctrines. In another place where he describes the
curriculum followed by monks he says that they learn the Yogâcârya-śâstra
first and then eight compositions of Asanga and Vasubandhu. Among the
works prescribed for logic is the Nyâyadvâra-śâstra attributed to Nâgârjuna.
The monk should learn not only the Abhidharma of the Sarvâstivâdins but
also the Âgamas, equivalent to the Sûtra-piṭaka. So the study of the sûtras
and the works of Asanga and Vasubandhu is approved by a Sarvâstivâdin.
The Sautrântikas,[234] though accounted Hinayanists, mark a step in the
direction of the Mahayana. The founder of the school was Kumarâlabdha,

mentioned above. In their estimation of scripture they reversed the views of
the Vaibhâshikas, for they rejected the Abhidharma and accepted only the
sûtras, arguing that the Abhidharma was practically an extract from them.
As literary criticism this is correct, if it means that the more ancient sûtras
are older than the oldest Abhidharma books. But the indiscriminate
acceptance of sûtras led to a creed in which the supernatural played a larger
part. The Sautrântikas not only ascribed superhuman powers to the Buddha,
but believed in the doctrine of three bodies. In philosophy, though they
were realists, they held that external objects are not perceived directly but
that their existence is inferred.[235]
Something has already been said of the two other schools, both of which
denied the reality of the external world. The differences between them were
concerned with metaphysics rather than theology and led to no popular
controversies.
Up to this point the history of Indian Buddhism has proved singularly
nebulous. The most important dates are a matter of argument, the chief
personages half mythical. But when the records of the Chinese pilgrims
commence we are in touch with something more solid. They record dates
and facts, though we must regret that they only repeat what they heard and
make no attempt to criticize Indian traditions or even to weave them into a
connected chronicle.
Fa-Hsien, the first of these interesting men, left China in 399 and resided in
India from 405 to 411, spending three years at Pataliputra and two at
Tamralipti. He visited the Panjab, Hindustan and Bengal and his narrative
leaves the impression that all these were in the main Buddhist countries: of
the Deccan which he did not visit he heard that its inhabitants were
barbarous and not Buddhists, though it contained some Buddhist shrines. Of
the Middle Kingdom (which according to his reckoning begins with Muttra)
he says that the people are free and happy and neither kill any living
creature nor drink intoxicating liquor.[236] He does not hint at persecution
though he once or twice mentions that the Brahmans were jealous of the
Buddhists. Neither does he indicate that any strong animosity prevailed
between Maha and Hinayanists. But the two parties were distinct and he
notes which prevailed in each locality. He left China by land and found the
Hinayana prevalent at Shen-shen and Wu-i (apparently localities not far

from Lob-Nor) but the Mahayana at Khotan. Nearer India, in countries
apparently corresponding to parts of Kashmir and Gilgit, the monks were
numerous and all Hinayanist. The same was the case in Udyana, and in
Gandhara the Hinayanists were still in the majority. In the Panjab both
schools were prevalent but the Hinayana evidently strong. In the district of
Muttra the Law was still more flourishing, monasteries and topes were
numerous and ample alms were given to the monks. He states that the
professors of the Abhidharma and Vinaya made offerings to those works,
and the Mahayanists to the book Prajñâ-pâramitâ, as well as to Mañjuśrî
and Kwan-shih-yin. He found the country in which are the sacred sites of
Śrâvasti, Kapilavastu and Kusinârâ sparsely inhabited and desolate, but this
seems to have been due to general causes, not specially to the decay of
religion. He mentions that ninety-six[237] varieties of erroneous views are
found among the Buddhists, which points to the existence of numerous but
not acutely hostile sects and says that there still existed, apparently in
Kośala, followers of Devadatta who recognized three previous Buddhas but
not Śâkyamuni. He visited the birth-places of these three Buddhas which
contained topes erected in their honour.
He found Magadha prosperous and pious. Of its capital, Patna, he says "by
the side of the topes of Asoka has been made a Mahayana monastery very
grand and beautiful, there is also a Hinayana one, the two together
containing 600 or 700 monks." It is probable that this was typical of the
religious condition of Magadha and Bengal. Both schools existed but the
Mahayana was the more flourishing. Many of the old sites, such as
Râjagṛiha and Gaya, were deserted but there were new towns near them and
Bodh Gaya was a place of pilgrimage with three monasteries. In the district
of Tamralipti (Tamluk) on the coast of Bengal were 22 monasteries. As his
principal object was to obtain copies of the Vinaya, he stayed three years in
Patna seeking and copying manuscripts. In this he found some difficulty, for
the various schools of the Vinaya, which he says were divided by trivial
differences only, handed down their respective versions orally. He found in
the Mahayanist monastery one manuscript of the Mahâsânghika rules and
considered it the most complete, but also took down the Sarvâstivâdin rules.
After the death of Vasubandhu few names of even moderate magnitude
stand out in the history of Indian Buddhism. The changes which occurred
were great but gradual and due not to the initiative of innovators but to the

assimilative power of Hinduism and to the attractions of magical and
emotional rites. But this tendency, though it doubtless existed, did not
become conspicuous until about 700 A.D. The accounts of the Chinese
pilgrims and the literature which has been preserved suggest that in the
intervening centuries the monks were chiefly occupied with scholastic and
exegetical work. The most distinguished successors of Asanga were
logicians, among whom Diṅnâga was pre-eminent. Sthiramati[238] and
Guṇamati appear to have belonged to the same school and perhaps
Bhavaviveka[239] too. The statements as to his date are inconsistent but the
interesting fact is recorded that he utilized the terminology of the Sânkhya
for the purposes of the Mahayana.
Throughout the middle ages the study of logic was pursued but Buddhists
and Jains rather than by Brahmans.[240] Vasubandhu composed some
treatises dealing exclusively with logic but it was his disciple Diṅnâga who
separated it definitely from philosophy and theology. As in idealist
philosophy, so in pure logic there was a parallel movement in the Buddhist
and Brahmanic schools, but if we may trust the statements of
Vâcaspatimiśra (about 1100 A.D.) Diṅnâga interpreted the aphorisms of the
Nyâya philosophy in a heterodox or Buddhist sense. This traces the
beginnings of Indian logic to a Brahmanic source but subsequently it
flourished greatly in the hands of Buddhists, especially Diṅnâga and
Dharmakîrti. The former appears to have been a native of Conjevaram and a
contemporary of Kâlidâsa. Both the logician and the poet were probably
alive in the reign of Kumâragupta (413-455). Diṅnâga spent much time in
Nâlanda, and though the Sanskrit originals of his works are lost the Tibetan
translations[241] are preserved.
The Buddhist schools of logic continued for many centuries. One flourished
in Kashmir and another, founded by Candragomin, in Bengal. Both lasted
almost until the Mohammedan conquest of the two countries.
From about 470 to 530 A.D. northern India groaned under the tyranny of
the Huns. Their King Mihiragula is represented as a determined enemy of
Buddhism and a systematic destroyer of monasteries. He is said to have
been a worshipper of Śiva but his fury was probably inspired less by
religious animosity than by love of pillage and slaughter.

About 530 A.D. he was defeated by a coalition of Indian princes and died
ten years later amid storms and portents which were believed to signify the
descent of his wicked soul into hell. It must have been about this time that
Bodhidharma left India for he arrived in Canton about 520. According to
the Chinese he was the son of a king of a country called Hsiang-Chih in
southern India[242] and the twenty-eighth patriarch and he became an
important figure in the religion and art of the Far East. But no allusion to
him or to any of the Patriarchs after Vasubandhu has been found in Indian
literature nor in the works of Hsüan Chuang and I-Ching. The inference is
that he was of no importance in India and that his reputation in China was
not great before the eighth century: also that the Chinese lists of patriarchs
do not represent the traditions of northern India.
Religious feeling often ran high in southern India. Buddhists, Jains and
Hindus engaged in violent disputes, and persecution was more frequent than
in the north. It is easy to suppose that Bodhidharma being the head of some
heretical sect had to fly and followed the example of many monks in going
to China. But if so, no record of his school is forthcoming from his native
land, though the possibility that he was more than an individual thinker and
represented some movement unknown to us cannot be denied. We might
suppose too that since Nâgârjuna and Âryadeva were southerners, their
peculiar doctrines were coloured by Dravidian ideas. But our available
documents indicate that the Buddhism of southern India was almost entirely
Hinayanist, analogous to that of Ceylon and not very sympathetic to the
Tamils.
The pilgrims Sung-Yün and Hui-Shêng[243] visited Udyana and Gandhara
during the time of the Hun domination (518-521). They found the king of
the former a pious Buddhist but the latter was governed by an Ephthalite
chieftain, perhaps Mihiragula himself, who was a worshipper of demons. Of
the Yetha or Ephthalites they make the general observation that "their rules
of politeness are very defective." But they also say that the population of
Gandhara had a great respect for Buddhism and as they took back to China
170 volumes, "all standard works belonging to the Great Vehicle," the
Ephthalite persecution cannot have destroyed the faith in north-western
India. But the evil days of decay were beginning. Henceforward we have no
more pictures of untroubled piety and prosperity. At best Buddhism receives
royal patronage in company with other religions; sectarian conflicts

increase and sometimes we hear of persecution. About 600 A.D. a king of
Central Bengal named Saśâṅka who worshipped Śiva attempted to extirpate
Buddhism in his dominions and destroyed the Bo tree at Bodh Gaya.[244]
On the other hand we hear of the pious Pûrṇavarman, king of Magadha,
who made amends for these sacrileges, and of Śîlâditya, king of the country
called Mo-lo-po by the Chinese, who was so careful of animal life, that he
even strained the water drunk by his horses and elephants, lest they should
consume minute insects.
We know more of Indian Buddhism in the seventh century than in the
periods which precede or follow it. The epoch was marked by the reign of
the great king, or rather emperor, Harsha-Vardhana (606-648 A.D.), and the
works written by Bâṇa, Bhartrihari and others who frequented his court
have come down to us. Also we are fortunate in possessing the copious
narrative of Hsüan Chuang, the greatest of the Chinese pilgrims, who spent
sixteen years (629-645) in India as well as the work known as the "Record
of the Buddhist religion as practised in India and the Malay Archipelago,"
composed by I-Ching who travelled in those countries from 671 to 695. I-
Ching also wrote the lives of sixty Chinese pilgrims who visited India
during the seventh century and probably there were many others of whom
we have no record.
The reign of Harsha is thus illustrated by a number of contemporary
dateable works unusual in India. The king himself wrote some Buddhist
hymns,[245] and three dramas are ascribed to him but were probably
composed by some of the literary men whom he patronized. For all that, the
religious ideas which they contain must have had his approval. The
Ratnâvalî and Priyadarśikâ are secular pieces and so far as they have any
religious atmosphere it is Brahmanic, but the Nàgânanda is a Buddhist
religious drama which opens with an invocation of the Buddha and has a
Jâtaka story for its plot.[246] Bâṇa was himself a devout Brahman but his
historical romance Harshacarita and his novel called Kâdambarî both
describe a mixture of religions founded on observation of contemporary
life. In an interesting passage[247] he recounts the king's visit to a Buddhist
ascetic. The influence of the holy man causes the more intelligent animals
in his neighbourhood, such as parrots, to devote themselves to Buddhist
lore, but he is surrounded by devotees of the most diverse sects, Jains,
Bhâgavatas, Pâncarâtras, Lokâyatikas with followers of Kapila, Kaṇâda and

many other teachers. Mayûra, another literary protégé of Harsha's, was like
Bâna a Brahman, and Subandhu, who flourished a little before them,
ignores Buddhism in his romance called Vâsavadattâ. But Bhartrihari, the
still popular gnomic poet, was a Buddhist. It is true that he oscillated
between the court and the cloister no less than seven times, but this
vacillation seems to have been due to the weakness of the flesh, not to any
change of convictions. For our purpose the gist of this literature is that
Hinduism in many forms, some of them very unorthodox, was becoming
the normal religion of India but that there were still many eminent
Buddhists and that Buddhism had sufficient prestige to attract Harsha and
sufficient life to respond to his patronage.
About 600 A.D. India was exhausted by her struggle with the Huns. After it
there remained only a multitude of small states and obscure dynasties, but
there was evidently a readiness to accept any form of unifying and
tranquillizing rule and for nearly half a century this was provided by
Harsha. He conquered northern India from the Panjab to Bengal but failed
to subdue the Deccan. Though a great part of his reign was spent in war,
learning and education flourished. Hsüan Chuang, who was his honoured
guest, gives a good account of his administration but also makes it plain
that brigandage prevailed and that travelling was dangerous.
After 643 Harsha, who was growing elderly, devoted much attention to
religion and may be said to have become a Buddhist, while allowing
himself a certain eclectic freedom. Several creeds were represented among
his immediate relatives. Devotion to Śiva was traditional in the family: his
father had been a zealous worshipper of the Sun and his brother and sister
were Buddhists of the Sammitîya sect. Harsha by no means disowned
Brahmanic worship, but in his latter years his proclivity to Buddhism
became more marked and he endeavoured to emulate the piety of Asoka. He
founded rest houses and hospitals, as well as monasteries and thousands of
stupas. He prohibited the taking of life and the use of animal food, and of
the three periods into which his day was divided two were devoted to
religion and one to business. He also exercised a surveillance over the
whole Buddhist order and advanced meritorious members.
Hsüan Chuang has left an interesting account of the religious fêtes and
spectacles organized by Harsha. At Kanauj he attended a great assembly

during which a solemn procession took place every day. A golden image of
Buddha was borne on an elephant and Harsha, dressed as Indra, held a
canopy over it, while his ally Raja Kumara,[248] dressed as Brahmâ, waved
a fly-whisk. It was subsequently washed by the king's own hands and in the
evening his Majesty, who like Akbar had a taste for religious discussion,
listened to the arguments of his Chinese guest. But the royal instructions
that no one was to speak against the Master of the Law were so peremptory
that even his biographer admits there was no real discussion. These edifying
pageants were interrupted by disagreeable incidents which show that
Harsha's tolerance had not produced complete harmony. A temporary
monastery erected for the fêtes caught fire and a fanatic attempted to stab
the king. He confessed under examination that he had been instigated to the
crime by Brahmans who were jealous of the favours which the Buddhists
received. It was also established that the incendiaries were Brahmans and,
after the ringleaders had been punished, five hundred were exiled. Harsha
then proceeded to Allahabad to superintend a quinquennial distribution of
alms. It was his custom to let treasure accumulate for five years and then to
divide it among holy men and the poor. The proceedings lasted seventy-five
days and the concourse which collected to gaze and receive must have
resembled the fair still held on the same spot. Buddhists, Brahmans and
Jains all partook of the royal bounty and the images of Buddha, Sûrya and
Śiva were worshipped on successive days, though greater honour was
shown to the Buddha. The king gave away everything that he had, even his
robes and jewels, and finally, arrayed in clothes borrowed from his sister,
rejoiced saying "all I have has entered into incorruptible and imperishable
treasuries." After this, adds Hsüan Chuang, the king's vassals offered him
jewels and robes so that the treasury was replenished. This was the sixth
quinquennial distribution which Harsha had held and the last, for he died in
648. He at first favoured the Hinayana but subsequently went over to the
Mahayana, being moved in part by the exhortations of Hsüan Chuang.
Yet the substance of Hsüan Chuang's account is that though Buddhism was
prospering in the Far East it was decaying in India. Against this can be set
instances of royal piety like those described, the fame enjoyed by the
shrines and schools of Magadha and the conversion of the king of Tibet in
638 A.D. This event was due to Chinese as well as Indian influence, but
would hardly have occurred unless in north-eastern India Buddhism had

been esteemed the religion of civilization. Still Hsüan Chuang's long
catalogue of deserted monasteries[249] has an unmistakable significance.
The decay was most pronounced in the north-west and south. In Gandhara
there were only a few Buddhists: more than a thousand monasteries stood
untenanted and the Buddha's sacred bowl had vanished. In Takshaśîla the
monasteries were numerous but desolate: in Kashmir the people followed a
mixed faith. Only in Udyâna was Buddhism held in high esteem. In Sind
the monks were numerous but indolent.
No doubt this desolation was largely due to the depredations of Mihiragula.
In the Deccan and the extreme south there was also a special cause, namely
the prevalence of Jainism, which somewhat later became the state religion
in several kingdoms. In Kalinga, Andhra and the kingdom of the Colas the
pilgrim reports that Jains were very numerous but counts Buddhist
monasteries only by tens and twenties. In Dravida there were also 10,000
monks of the Sthavira school but in Malakuta among many ruined
monasteries only a few were still inhabited and here again Jains were
numerous.
For all Central India and Bengal the pilgrim's statistics tell the same tale,
namely that though Buddhism was represented both by monasteries and
monks, the Deva-temples and unbelievers were also numerous. The most
favourable accounts are those given of Kanauj, Ayodhya and Magadha
where the sacred sites naturally caused the devout to congregate.
The statistics which he gives as to sects are interesting.[250] The total
number of monks amounted to about 183,000. Of these only 32,000
belonged definitely to the Mahayana: more than 96,000 to the Hinayana,
and 54,500 studied both systems or at any rate resided in monasteries which
tolerated either course of study. Some writers speak as if after our era
Mahayanism was predominant in India and the Hinayana banished to its
extreme confines such as Ceylon and Kashmir. Yet about A.D. 640 this
zealous Mahayanist[251] states that half the monks of India were definitely
Hinayanist while less than a fifth had equally definite Mahayanist
convictions. The Mahayana laid less stress on monasticism than the
Hinayana and therefore its strength may have lain among the laity, but even
so the admitted strength of the Hinayana is remarkable. Three Hinayanist
schools are frequently mentioned, the Sthaviras, Sarvâstivâdins and

Sammitîyas. The first are the well-known Sinhalese sect and were found
chiefly in the south (Conjeevaram) and in East Bengal, besides the monks
of the Sinhalese monastery at Gaya. The Sarvâstivâdins were found, as their
history would lead us to expect, chiefly in the north and beyond the
frontiers of India proper. But both were outnumbered by the Sammitîyas,
who amounted to nearly 44,000 monks. The chief doctrine[252] of this sect
is said to have been that individuals (puggalo) exist as such in the truest
sense. This doctrine was supported by reference to the sutra known as the
Burden and the Burden bearer.[253] It does not assert that there is a
permanent and unchangeable soul (attâ) but it emphasizes the reality and
importance of that personality which all accept as true for practical
purposes. It is probable that in practice this belief differed little from the
ordinary Brahmanic doctrine of metempsychosis and this may be one
reason for the prevalence of the sect.
I-Ching, though he does not furnish statistics, gives a clear conspectus of
Buddhist sects as they existed in his time. He starts from the ancient
eighteen sects but divides them into four groups or Nikayas. (a) The Ârya-
Mahâsanghika-nikâya. This comprised seven subdivisions but was
apparently the least influential school as it was not predominant anywhere,
though it coexisted with other schools in most parts. The Lokottaravâdins
mentioned by Hsüan Chuang as existing at Bamiyan belonged to it. They
held that the Buddha was not subject to the laws of nature. (b) Ârya-
Sthavira-nikâya. This is the school to which our Pali Canon belongs. It was
predominant in southern India and Ceylon and was also found in eastern
Bengal. (c) The Ârya-Mûla-sarvâstivâda-nikâya with four subdivisions.
Almost all belonged to this school in northern India and it was nourishing in
Magadha. (d) The Ârya-Sammitîya-nikâya with four subdivisions
flourished in Lâṭa and Sindhu. Thus the last three schools were
preponderant in southern, northern and western India respectively. All were
followed in Magadha, no doubt because the holy places and the University
of Nâlandâ attracted all shades of opinion, and Bengal seems to have been
similarly catholic. This is substantially the same as Hsüan Chuang's
statement except that I-Ching takes a more favourable view of the position
of the Sarvâstivâda, either because it was his own school or because its
position had really improved.

It would seem that in the estimation of both pilgrims the Maha-and
Hinayana are not schools but modes in which any school can be studied.
The Nikâya[254] or school appears to have been chiefly, though not
exclusively, concerned with the rule of discipline which naturally had more
importance for Buddhist monks than it has for European scholars. The
observances of each Nikâya were laid down in its own recension of the
scriptures which was sometimes oral and sometimes in writing. Probably all
the eighteen schools had separate Vinayas, and to some extent they had
different editions of the other Pitakas, for the Sarvâstivâdins had an
Abhidharma of their own. But there was no objection to combining the
study of Sarvâstivâdin literature with the reading of treatises by Asanga and
Vasubandhu[255] or sutras such as the Lotus, which I-Ching's master read
once a day for sixty years. I-Ching himself seems to regard the two Vehicles
as alternative forms of religion, both excellent in their way, much as a
Catholic theologian might impartially explain the respective advantages of
the active and contemplative lives. "With resolutions rightly formed" he
says "we should look forward to meeting the coming Buddha Maitreya. If
we wish to gain the lesser fruition (of the Hinayana) we may pursue it
through the eight grades of sanctification. But if we learn to follow the
course of the greater fruition (of the Mahayana) we must try to accomplish
our work through long ages."[256]
I-Ching observes that both Vehicles agree in prescribing the same
discipline, in prohibiting the same offences and enjoining the practice of the
noble truths. His views, which are substantially those of Hsüan Chuang,[257]
must be those current in the seventh century when the Hinayana was
allowing the Mahayana to overgrow it without resistance, but the relations
of the two creeds are sometimes stated differently. For instance the
Angulimâliya sutra,[258] known only in a Tibetan translation, states that
whereas for the Hinayana such formulæ as the four truths and the eightfold
path are of cardinal importance, the Mahayana does not recognize them,
and it is undoubtedly true that the Vaipulya sutras frequently ignore the
familiar doctrines of early Buddhism and hint that they belong to a
rudimentary stage of instruction.
I-Ching makes no mention of persecution but he deplores the decay of the
faith. "The teaching of the Buddha is becoming less prevalent in the world
from day to day" he says. "When I compare what I have witnessed in my

younger days and what I see to-day in my old age, the state is altogether
different and we are bearing witness to this and it is hoped we shall be more
attentive in future." Though he speaks regretfully of lax or incorrect
discipline, he does not complain of the corruption of the faith by Tantrism
and magical practices. He does however deprecate in an exceedingly
curious passage the prevalence of religious suicide.[259]
Except for progressive decay, the condition of Indian Buddhism as
described by the two pilgrims is much the same. Meals were supplied to
monks in the monasteries and it was no longer usual to beg for food in the
streets, since the practice is mentioned by I-Ching as exceptional. On
Upavasatha days it was the custom for the pious laity to entertain the monks
and the meal was sometimes preceded by a religious service performed
before an image and accompanied by music. I-Ching describes the musical
services with devout enthusiasm. "The priests perform the ordinary service
late in the afternoon or in the evening twilight. They come out of the
monastery and walk three times round a stupa, offering incense and flowers.
Then they all kneel down and one of them who sings well begins to chant
hymns describing the virtues of the great Teacher and continues to sing ten
or twenty ślokas. They then return to the place in the monastery where they
usually assemble and, when all have sat down, a reciter mounting the lion-
seat (which is near the head priest) reads a short sutra. Among the scriptures
for such an occasion the 'Service in three parts' is often used. This is a
selection of Aśvaghosha. The first part contains ten ślokas of a hymn. The
second part is a selection from some scripture consisting of the Buddha's
words. Then there is an additional hymn as the third part of the service, of
more than ten ślokas, being prayers that express the wish to bring one's
merits to maturity. After the singing the assembled Bhikshus exclaim
Subhâshita or Sâdhu, that is well-said or bravo. The reader descends and the
Bhikshus in order salute the lion-seat, the seats of Bodhisattvas and Arhats,
and the superior of the monastery."[260]
I-Ching also tells us of the ceremonial bathing of images and prefaces his
description by the remark that "the meaning of the Truths is so profound
that it is a matter beyond the comprehension of vulgar minds while the
ablution of the holy images is practicable for all. Though the Great Teacher
has entered Nirvana yet his image exists and we should worship it with zeal
as though in his presence. Those who constantly offer incense and flowers

to it are enabled to purify their thoughts and those who perpetually bathe his
image are enabled to overcome the sins that involve them in darkness."[261]
He appears to contemplate chiefly the veneration of images of Sâkyamuni
but figures of Bodhisattvas were also conspicuous features in temples, as
we know not only from archæology but from the biography of Hsüan
Chuang, where it is said that worshippers used to throw flowers and silk
scarves at the image of Avalokita and draw auguries from the way they fell.
Monasteries were liberally decorated with statues, carvings and pictures.
[262] They often comprised several courts and temples. Hsüan Chuang says
that a monastery in Magadha which he calls Ti-lo-shi-ka had "four courts
with three storeyed halls, lofty terraces and a succession of open passages....
At the head of the road through the middle gate were three temples with
disks on the roof and hung with small bells; the bases were surrounded by
balustrades, and doors, windows, beams, walls, and stairs were ornamented
with gilt work in relief." In the three temples were large images
representing the Buddha, Târâ and Avalokita.
The great centres of Buddhist learning and monastic life, mentioned by both
pilgrims, were Valabhî or Balabhi in Gujarat and Nalanda. The former was
a district rather than a single locality and contained 100 monasteries with
6000 monks of the Sammitîya school. Nalanda was in Magadha not far
from Gaya. The date of its foundation is unknown but a great temple
(though apparently not the first) was built about 485 A.D.[263] Fa-Hsien
mentions a village called Nala but without indicating that it was a seat of
learning. Hence it is probable that the University was not then in existence
or at least not celebrated. Hsüan Chuang describes it as containing six
monasteries built by various kings and surrounded by an enclosing wall in
which there was only one gate. I-Ching writing later says that the
establishment owned 200 villages and contained eight halls with more than
3000 monks. In the neighbourhood of the monastery were a hundred sacred
spots, several marked by temples and topes. It was a resort for Buddhists
from all countries and an educational as well as a religious centre. I-Ching
says that students spent two or three years there in learning and disputing
after which they went to the king's court in search of a government
appointment. Successful merit was rewarded not only by rank but by grants
of land. Both pilgrims mention the names of several celebrities connected
with Nalanda. But the worthies of the seventh century did not attain to more

than scholastic eminence. The most important literary figure of the age is
Śântideva of whose life nothing is known. His writings however prove that
the Buddhism of this period was not a corrupt superstition, but could inspire
and nourish some of the most beautiful thoughts which the creed has
produced.

FOOTNOTES:

[230] See Vasilief, Le Bouddhisme, Troisième supplément, pp. 262 ff.
Köppen, Rel. des Buddha, I. 151. Takakusu in J. Pali Text Society,
1905, pp. 67-146.
[231] Records, translated by Takakusu, p. 15.
[232] They are mentioned in the Sarva-darśana-saṅgraha.
[233] Kern (Indian Buddhism, p. 126) says they rejected the authority
of the Sûtras altogether but gives no reference.
[234] See Vasilief, pp. 301 ff. and various notices in Hsüan Chuang
and Watters. Also de la Vallée Poussin's article in E.R.E.
[235] Hsüan Chuang informs us that when he was in Śrughna he
studied the Vibhâshâ of the Sautrântikas, but the precise significance
of this term is not plain.
[236] Fa-Hsien's Travels, chap. XVI.
[237] This figure is probably deduced from some artificial calculation
of possible heresies like the 62 wrong views enumerated in the
Brahma-Jala sûtra.
[238] He must have lived in the fourth century as one of his works
(Nanjio, 1243) was translated between 397 and 439.
[239] Watters, Yüan Chwang, II. 221-224. Nanjio, 1237. The works of
Guṇamati also are said to show a deep knowledge of the Sânkhya
philosophy.
[240] For the history of logic in India, see Vidyâbhusana's interesting
work Mediæval School of Indian Logic, 1909. But I cannot accept all
his dates.
[241] Diṅnâga's principal works are the Pramâṇa-samuccaya and the
Nyâya-praveśa. Hsüan Chuang calls him Ch'en-na. See Watters, II.
209. See Stcherbatskoi in Muséon, 1904, pp. 129-171 for Diṅnâga's

influence on the development of the Naiyâyika and Vaiśeshika
schools.
[242] His personal name is said to have been P'u-ti-to-lo and his
surname Ch'a-ti-li. The latter is probably a corruption of Kshatriya.
Hsiang-Chih possibly represents a name beginning with Gandha, but I
can neither find nor suggest any identification.
[243] See B.E.F.E.O. 1903, pp. 379 ff.
[244] His evil deeds are several times mentioned by Hsüan Chuang. It
required a miracle to restore the Bo tree.
[245] See Ettinghausen, Harshavardhana, Appendix III.
[246] The appearance of Gaurî as a dea ex machina at the end hardly
shows that Harsha's Buddhism had a Śâktist tinge but it does show
that Buddhists of that period turned naturally to Śivaite mythology.
[247] Harshacarita, chap. VII. The parrots were expounding
Vasubandhu's Abhidharma-kośa. Bâṇa frequently describes troops of
holy men apparently living in harmony but including followers of
most diverse sects. See Kâdambari, 193 and 394: Harshacar. 67.
[248] It is curious that Bâṇa (Harshacarita, VII.) says of this prince
that from childhood he resolved never to worship anyone but Śiva.
[249] The Râshṭra-pâla-paripṛicchâ (Ed. Finot, pp. ix-xi, 28-33)
inveighs against the moral degeneration of the Buddhist clergy. This
work was translated into Chinese between 589 and 618, so that
demoralisation must have begun in the sixth century.
[250] See Rhys Davids in J.R.A.S. 1891, pp. 418 ff.
[251] Hsüan Chuang was not disposed to underrate the numbers of the
Mahayana for he says that the monks of Ceylon were Mahayanists.
[252] See the beginning of the Kathâvatthu. The doctrine is
formulated in the words Puggalo upalabbhati
saccikaṭṭhaparamaṭṭhenâti, and there follows a discussion between a
member of the orthodox school and a Puggalavâdin, that is one who

believes in the existence of a person, soul or entity which
transmigrates from this world to another.
[253] Sam. Nik. XXII. 221.
[254] This use of Nikâya must not be confused with its other use to
denote a division of the Sûtra-Pitaka. It means a group or collection
and hence can be used to denote either a body of men or a collection
of treatises. These Nikâyas are also not the same as the four schools
(Vaibhâshikas, etc.), mentioned above, which were speculative.
Similarly in Europe a Presbyterian may be a Calvinist, but
Presbyterianism has reference to Church government and Calvinism
to doctrine.
There were in India at this time (1) two vehicles, Maha-and Hinayana,
(2) four speculative schools, Vaibhâshikas, etc., (3) four disciplinary
schools, Mûla-sarvâstivâdins, etc. These three classes are obviously
not mutually exclusive. Thus I-Ching approved of (a) the Mahayana,
(b) the Mâdhyamika and Yogâcâra, which he did not consider
inconsistent and (c) the Mûla-sarvâstivâda.
[255] I-Ching, transl. Takakusu, p. 186.
[256] Three Asankhya Kalpas. I-Ching, Takakusu's transl. pp. 196-7.
He seems to regard the Mahayana as the better way. He quotes
Nâgârjuna's allusions to Avalokita and Amitâyus with apparent
approval; he tells us how one of his teachers worshipped Amitâyus
and strove to prepare himself for Sukhâvatî and how the Lotus was
the favourite scripture of another. He further tells us that the
Mâdhyamika and the Yoga systems are both perfectly correct.
[257] Hsüan Chuang speaks of Mahayanists belonging to the Sthavira
school.
[258] Quoted by Rockhill, Life of the Buddha, pp. 196 ff.
[259] Chaps. XXXVIII and XXXIX. He seems to say that it is right
for the laity to make an offering of their bodies by burning but not for
Bhikshus. The practice is recognized and commended in the Lotus,
chap. XXII, which however is a later addition to the original work.

[260] I-Ching, transl. Takakusu, pp. 153-4 somewhat abridged. I-
Ching (pp. 156-7) speaks of Mâtricheta as the principal hymn writer
and does not identify him with Aśvaghosha.
[261] I believe the golden image in the Arakan Pagoda at Mandalay is
still washed with a ceremonial resembling that described by I-Ching.
[262] I-Ching says that monasteries commonly had a statue of
Mahâkâla as a guardian deity.
[263] By the Gupta king, Narasinha Gupta Bâlâditya. Much
information about Nâlandâ will be found in Satis Chandra
Vidyabhusana's Mediæval School of Indian Logic, pp. 145-147. Hsüan
Chuang (Life, transl. Beal, p. 111) says that it was built 700 years
before his time, that is, in the first century B.C. He dwells on the
beauty of the buildings, ponds and flowers.

CHAPTER XXIV
DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA

The theme of this chapter is sad for it is the decadence, degradation and
ultimate disappearance of Buddhism in India. The other great religions offer
no precise parallel to this phenomenon but they also do not offer a parallel
to the circumstances of Buddhism at the time when it flourished in its native
land. Mohammedanism has been able to maintain itself in comparative
isolation: up to the present day Moslims and Christians share the same
cities rather than the same thoughts, especially when (as often) they belong
to different races. European Christianity after a few centuries of existence
had to contend with no rival of approximately equal strength, for the
struggle with Mohammedanism was chiefly military and hardly concerned
the merits of the faiths. But Buddhism never had a similarly paramount and
unchallenged position. It never attempted to extirpate its rivals. It coexisted
with a mass of popular superstition which it only gently reprobated and
with a powerful hereditary priesthood, both intellectual and pliant,
tenacious of their own ideas and yet ready to countenance almost any other
ideas as the price of ruling. Neither Islam nor Christianity had such an
adversary, and both of them and even Judaism resemble Buddhism in
having won greater success outside their native lands than in them.
Jerusalem is not an altogether satisfactory spectacle to either Christians or
Jews.[264]
Still all this does not completely explain the disappearance of Buddhism
from India. Before attempting to assign reasons, we shall do well to review
some facts and dates relating to the period of decadence. If we take all India
into consideration the period is long, but in many, indeed in most, districts
the process of decay was rapid.
In the preceding chapter I have mentioned the accounts of Indian Buddhism
which we owe to the Chinese travellers, Hsüan Chuang and I-Ching. The

latter frankly deplores the decay of the faith which he had witnessed in his
own life (i.e. about 650-700 A.D.) but his travels in India were of relatively
small extent and he gives less local information than previous pilgrims.
Hsüan Chuang describing India in 629-645 A.D. is unwilling to admit the
decay but his truthful narrative lets it be seen. It is only of Bengal and the
present United Provinces that he can be said to give a favourable account,
and the prosperity of Buddhism there was largely due to the personal
influence of Harsha.[265] In central and southern India, he tells us of little
but deserted monasteries. It is clear that Buddhism was dying out but it is
not so clear that it had ever been the real religion of this region. In many
parts it did not conquer the population but so to speak built fortresses and
left garrisons. It is probable that the Buddhism of Andhra, Kalinga and the
south was represented by little more than such outposts. They included
Amarâvati, where portions of the ruins seem assignable to about 150 A.D.,
and Ajantâ, where some of the cave paintings are thought to be as late as the
sixth century. But of neither site can we give any continuous history. In
southern India the introduction of Buddhism took place under the auspices
of Asoka himself, though his inscriptions have as yet been found only in
northern Mysore and not in the Tamil country. The Tamil poems
Manimêgalei and Silappadigaram, especially the former, represent it as
prevalent and still preserving much of its ancient simplicity. Even in later
times when it had almost completely disappeared from southern India,
occasional Buddhist temples were founded. Rajaraja endowed one at
Negapatam about 1000 A.D. In 1055 a monastery was erected at Belgami in
Mysore and a Buddhist town named Kalavati is mentioned as existing in
that state in 1533.[266] But in spite of such survivals, even in the sixth
century Buddhism could not compete in southern India with either Jainism
or Hinduism and there are no traces of its existence in the Deccan after
1150.
For the Konkan, Maharashtra and Gujarat, Hsüan Chuang's statistics are
fairly satisfactory. But in all this region the Sammitîya sect which
apparently was nearer to Hinduism than the others was the most important.
In Ujjain Buddhism was almost extinct but in many of the western states it
lingered on, perhaps only in isolated monasteries, until the twelfth century.
Inscriptions found at Kanheri (843 and 851 A.D.), Dambal (1095 A.D.) and
in Miraj (1110 A.D.) testify that grants were made to monasteries at these

late dates.[267] But further north the faith had to endure the violence of
strangers. Sind was conquered by the Arabs in 712; Gujarat and the
surrounding country were invaded by northern tribes and such invasions
were always inimical to the prosperity of monasteries.
This is even more true of the Panjab, the frontier provinces and Kashmir.
The older invaders such as the Yüeh-chih had been favourably disposed to
Buddhism, but those who came later, such as the Huns, were predaceous
barbarians with little religion of any sort. In Hsüan Chuang's time it was
only in Udyana that Buddhism could be said to be the religion of the people
and the torrent of Mohammedan invasion which swept continuously
through these countries during the middle ages overwhelmed all earlier
religions, and even Hinduism had to yield. In Kashmir Buddhism soon
became corrupt and according to the Râjataranginî[268] the monks began to
marry as early as the sixth century. King Lâlitâditya (733-769) is credited
with having built monasteries as well as temples to the Sun, but his
successors were Sivaites.
Bengal, especially western Bengal and Bihar, was the stronghold of
decadent Buddhism, though even here hostile influences were not absent.
But about 730 A.D. a pious Buddhist named Gopâla founded the Pâla
dynasty and extended his power over Magadha. The Pâlas ruled for about
450 years and supplied a long and devout line of defenders of the faith. But
to the east of their dominions lay the principality of Kanauj, a state of
varying size and fortunes and from the eighth century onwards a stronghold
of Brahmanic learning.
The revolution in Hinduism which definitely defeated, though it did not
annihilate Buddhism, is generally connected with the names of Kumâriḷa
Bhatta (c. 750) and Śaṅkara (c. 800). We know the doctrines of these
teachers, for many of their works have come down to us, but when we
enquire what was their political importance, or the scope and extent of the
movement which they championed we are conscious (as so often) of the
extraordinary vagueness of Indian records even when the subject might
appeal to religious and philosophic minds.[269] Kumâriḷa is said to have
been a Brahman of Bihar who abjured Buddhism for Hinduism and raged
with the ardour of a proselyte against his ancient faith. Tradition[270]
represents him as instigating King Sudhanvan to exterminate the Buddhists.

But nothing is known of this king and he cannot have had the extensive
empire with which he is credited.
Śaṅkara was a Brahman of the south who in a short life found time to write
numerous works, to wander over India, to found a monastic order and build
four monasteries. In doctrine and discipline he was more pliant than
Kumâriḷa and he assimilated many strong points of Buddhism. Both these
teachers are depicted as the successful heroes of public disputations in
which the interest at stake was considerable. The vanquished had to become
a disciple of the vanquisher or to forfeit his life and, if he was the head of
an institution, to surrender its property. These accounts, though
exaggerated, are probably a florid version of what occurred and we may
surmise that the popular faith of the day was generally victorious. What
violence the rising tide of Hinduism may have wrought, it is hard to say.
There is no evidence of any general persecution of Buddhism in the sense in
which one Christian sect persecuted another in Europe. But at a rather later
date we hear that Jains were persecuted and tortured by Śaiva princes both
in southern India and Gujarat, and if there were any detailed account,
epigraphic or literary, of such persecutions in the eighth and ninth centuries,
there would be no reason for doubting it. But no details are forthcoming.
Without resorting to massacre, an anti-Buddhist king had in his power many
effective methods of hostility. He might confiscate or transfer monastic
property, or forbid his subjects to support monks. Considering the state of
Buddhism as represented by Hsüan Chuang and I-Ching it is probable that
such measures would suffice to ensure the triumph of the Brahmans in most
parts of India.
After the epoch of Śaṅkara, the history of Indian Buddhism is confined to
the Pâla kingdom. Elsewhere we hear only of isolated grants to monasteries
and similar acts of piety, often striking but hardly worthy of mention in
comparison with the enormous number of Brahmanic inscriptions. But in
the Pâla kingdom[271] Buddhism, though corrupt, was flourishing so far as
the number of its adherents and royal favour were concerned. Gopâla
founded the monastery of Odontapuri or Udandapura, which according to
some authorities was in the town of Bihar. Dharmapâla the second king of
the dynasty (c. 800 A.D.) built on the north bank of the Ganges the even
more celebrated University of Vikramaśila,[272] where many commentaries
were composed. It was a centre not only of tantric learning but of logic and

grammar, and is interesting as showing the connection between Bengal and
Tibet. Tibetans studied there and Sanskrit books were translated into
Tibetan within its cloisters. Dharmapâla is said to have reigned sixty-four
years and to have held his court at Patna, which had fallen into decay but
now began to revive. According to Târanâtha his successor Devapâla built
Somapuri, conquered Orissa and waged war with the unbelievers who had
become numerous, no doubt as a result of the preaching of Śaṅkara. But as
a rule the Pâlas, though they favoured Buddhism, did not actively
discourage Hinduism. They even gave grants to Hindu temples and their
prime ministers were generally Brahmans who[273] used to erect non-
Buddhist images in Buddhist shrines. The dynasty continued through the
eleventh century and in this period some information as to the condition of
Indian Buddhism is afforded by the relations between Bengal and Tibet.
After the persecution of the tenth century Tibetan Buddhism was revived by
the preaching of monks from Bengal. Mahîpâla then occupied the throne (c.
978-1030) and during his reign various learned men accepted invitations to
Tibet. More celebrated is the mission of Atîsa, a monk of the Vikramaśila
monastery, which took place about 1038. That these two missions should
have been invited and despatched shows that in the eleventh century Bengal
was a centre of Buddhist learning. Probably the numerous Sanskrit works
preserved in Tibetan translations then existed in its monasteries. But about
the same time the power of the Pâla dynasty, and with it the influence of
Buddhism, were curtailed by the establishment of the rival Sena dynasty in
the eastern provinces. Still, under Râmapâla, who reigned about 1100, the
great teacher Abhayakara was an ornament of the Mahayana. Târanâtha[274]
says that he corrected the text of the scriptures and that in his time there
were many Pandits and resident Bhikshus in the monasteries of
Vikramasîla, Bodh-Gaya and Odontapuri.
There is thus every reason to suppose that in the twelfth century Buddhism
still nourished in Bihar, that its clergy numbered several thousands and its
learning was held in esteem. The blow which destroyed its power was
struck by a Mohammedan invasion in 1193. In that year Ikhtiyar-ud-Din
Muhammad,[275] a general of Kutb-ud-Din, invaded Bihar with a band of
only two hundred men and with amazing audacity seized the capital, which,
consisting chiefly of palaces and monasteries, collapsed without a blow.
The monks were massacred to a man, and when the victors, who appear not

to have understood what manner of place they had captured, asked the
meaning of the libraries which they saw, no one was found capable of
reading the books.[276] It was in 1193 also that Benares was conquered by
the Mohammedans. I have found no record of the sack of the monastery at
Sarnath but the ruins are said to show traces of fire and other indications
that it was overwhelmed by some sudden disaster.
The Mohammedans had no special animus against Buddhism. They were
iconoclasts who saw merit in the destruction of images and the slaughter of
idolaters. But whereas Hinduism was spread over the country, Buddhism
was concentrated in the great monasteries and when these were destroyed
there remained nothing outside them capable of withstanding either the
violence of the Moslims or the assimilative influence of the Brahmans.
Hence Buddhism suffered far more from these invasions than Hinduism but
still vestiges of it lingered long[277] and exist even now in Orissa. Târanâtha
says that the immediate result of the Moslim conquest was the dispersal of
the surviving teachers and this may explain the sporadic occurrence of late
Buddhist inscriptions in other parts of India. He also tells us that a king
named Cangalarâja restored the ruined Buddhist temples of Bengal about
1450. Elsewhere[278] he gives a not discouraging picture of Buddhism in the
Deccan, Gujarat and Rajputana after the Moslim conquest of Magadha but
adds that the study of magic became more and more prevalent. In the life of
Caitanya it is stated that when travelling in southern India (about 1510
A.D.) he argued with Buddhists and confuted them, apparently somewhere
in Arcot.[279] Manuscripts preserved in Nepal indicate that as late as the
fifteenth or sixteenth century Bengali copyists wrote out Buddhist works,
and there is evidence that Bodh-Gaya continued to be a place of pilgrimage.
In 1585 it was visited by a Nepalese named Abhaya Râjâ who on his return
erected in Patan a monastery imitated from what he had seen in Bengal, and
in 1777 the Tashi Lama sent an embassy. But such instances prove little as
to the religion of the surrounding Hindu population, for at the present day
numerous Buddhist pilgrims, especially Burmese, frequent the shrine. The
control of the temple passed into the hands of the Brahmans and for the
ordinary Bengali Buddha became a member of India's numerous pantheon.
Pandit Harapraśad Sastri mentions a singular poem called Buddhacaritra,
completed in 1711 and celebrating an incarnation of Buddha which
apparently commenced in 1699 and was to end in the reappearance of the

golden age. But the being called Buddha is a form of Vishṇu and the work
is as strange a jumble of religion as it is of languages, being written in "a
curious medley of bad Sanskrit, bad Hindi and bad Bihari."
It is chiefly in Orissa that traces of Buddhism can still be found within the
limits of India proper. The Saraks of Baramba, Tigaria and the adjoining
parts of Cuttack describe themselves as Buddhists.[280] Their name is the
modern equivalent of Śrâvaka and they apparently represent an ancient
Buddhist community which has become a sectarian caste. They have little
knowledge of their religion but meet once a year in the cave temples of
Khandagiri, to worship a deity called Buddhadeva or Caturbhuja. All their
ceremonies commence with the formula Ahiṃsâ parama dharma and they
respect the temple of Puri, which is suspected of having a Buddhist origin.
Nagendranâth Vasu has published some interesting details as to the survival
of Buddhist ideas in Orissa.[281] He traces the origin of this hardy though
degraded form of Mahayanism to Râmâi Pandit,[282] a tantric Âcârya of
Magadha who wrote a work called Śûnya Purâṇa which became popular.
Orissa was one of the regions which offered the longest resistance to Islam,
for it did not succumb until 1568. A period of Śivaism in the tenth and
eleventh centuries is indicated by the temples of Bhuvaneshwar and other
monuments. But in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the reigning dynasty
were worshippers of Vishnu and built the great temples at Puri and
Konârak, dedicated to Jagannâtha and Sûrya-nârâyaṇa respectively. We do
not however hear that they persecuted Buddhism and there are reasons for
thinking that Jagannâtha is a form of the Buddha[283] and that the temple at
Puri was originally a Buddhist site. It is said that it contains a gigantic
statue of the Buddha before which a wall has been built and also that the
image of Jagannâtha, which is little more than a log of wood, is really a
case enclosing a Buddhist relic. King Pratâparudra ( † 1529) persecuted
Buddhism, which implies that at this late date its adherents were sufficiently
numerous to attract attention. Either at the beginning of his reign or before
it there flourished a group of six poets of whom the principal were
Acyutânanda Dâsa and Caitanya Dâsa.[284] Their works are nominally
devoted to the celebration of Kṛishṇa's praises and form the chief vernacular
scripture of the Vaishṇavas in Orissa but in them Kṛishṇa, or the highest
form of the deity by whatever name he is called, is constantly identified
with Śûnya or the Void, that favourite term of Mahayanist philosophy.

Passages from them are also quoted stating that in the Kali age the
followers of the Buddha must disguise themselves; that there are 3000
crypto-Buddhists hidden in various parts of Orissa, that Hari has been
incarnate in many Buddhas and that the Buddha will appear again on earth.
The phrase "I take refuge in the Buddha, in Mâtâ Âdiśakti (= Dharma) and
in the Sangha" is also quoted from these works and Caitanya Dâsa describes
five Vishnus, who are apparently identical with the five Dhyâni Buddhas.
[285]

Târanâtha states that the last king of Orissa, Mukunda Deva, who was
overthrown by the Mohammedans in 1568, was a Buddhist and founded
some temples and monasteries. In the seventeenth century, there flourished
a Buddhist poet named Mahâdevadâsa,[286] and the Tibetan pilgrim
Buddhagupta visited among other sites the old capital of Mayurabhanja and
saw a stupa there. It is claimed that the tribe known as Bâthuris or Bâuris
have always been crypto-Buddhists and have preserved their ancient
customs. They are however no credit to their religion, for one of their
principal ceremonies is hook-swinging.[287]
The doctrine of the Bâthuris is called Mahimâ Dharma and experienced an
interesting revival in 1875.[288] A blind man named Bhîma Bhoi had a
vision of the Buddha who restored his sight and bade him preach the law.
He attracted some thousands of adherents and led a band to Puri
proclaiming that his mission was to bring to light the statue of Buddha
concealed in the temple. The Raja resisted the attempt and the followers of
Bhîma Bhoi were worsted in a sanguinary encounter. Since that time they
have retired to the more remote districts of Orissa and are said to hold that
the Buddha will appear again in a new incarnation. They are also called
Kumbhipatias and according to the last census of India (1911) are hostile to
Brahmans and probably number about 25,000.
Traces of Buddhism also survive in the worship of a deity called Dharma-
Râjâ or Dharma-Thakur which still prevails in western and southern
Bengal.[289] Priests of this worship are usually not Brahmans but of low
caste, and Haraprasad thinks that the laity who follow it may number
"several millions." Though Dharma has come to be associated with the
goddess of smallpox and is believed even by his adorers to be a form of
Vishnu or of Śiva, yet Dhyâna, or meditation, forms a part of his worship

and the prayers and literature of the sect retain some traces of his origin.
Thus he is said to be highly honoured in Ceylon and receives the epithet
Śûnyamûrti.
A corrupt form of Buddhism still exists in Nepal.[290] This country when
first heard of was in the hands of the Nevars who have preserved some
traditions of a migration from the north and are akin to the Tibetans in race
and language, though like many non-Aryan tribes they have endeavoured to
invent for themselves a Hindu pedigree. Buddhism was introduced under
Asoka. As Indian influence was strong and communication with Tirhut and
Bengal easy, it is probable that Buddhism in Nepal reflected the phases
which it underwent in Bengal. A Nepalese inscription of the seventh century
gives a list of shrines of which seven are Śivaite, six Buddhist and four
Vishnuite.[291] After that date it was more successful in maintaining itself,
for it did not suffer from Mohammedan attacks and was less exposed to the
assimilative influence of Brahmanism. That influence however, though
operating in a foreign country and on people not bred among Brahmanic
traditions, was nevertheless strong. In 1324 the king of Tirhut, being
expelled thence by Mohammedans, seized the throne of Nepal and brought
with him many learned Brahmans. His dynasty was not permanent but later
in the fourteenth century a subsequent ruler, Jayasthiti, organized society
and religion in consultation with the Brahman immigrants. The followers of
the two religions were arranged in parallel divisions, a group of Buddhists
classified according to occupation corresponding to each Hindu caste, and
appropriate rules and ceremonies were prescribed for the different sections.
The code then established is still in force in essentials and Nepal, being
intellectually the pupil of India, has continued to receive such new ideas as
appeared in the plains of Bengal. When these ascended to the mountain
valleys they were adopted, with free modification of old and new material
alike, by both Buddhists and Hindus, but as both sects were geographically
isolated, each tended to resemble the other more than either resembled
normal Buddhism or Hinduism. Naturally the new ideas were mainly
Brahmanic and Buddhism had no chance of being fortified by an
importation of even moderately orthodox doctrine. In the fourteenth century
arose the community of wandering ascetics called Nâthas who were
reverenced by Hindus and Buddhists alike. They rejected the observances
of both creeds but often combined their doctrines and, though disavowed by

the Brahmans, exercised a considerable influence among the lower castes.
Some of the peculiar deities of Nepal, such as Matsyendranâth, have
attributes traceable to these wanderers. In 1769 Nepal was conquered by the
Gurkhas. This tribe seems related to the Tibetan stock, as are the Nevars,
but it had long been Hinduized and claimed a Rajput ancestry. Thus Gurkha
rule has favoured and accelerated the hinduizing of Nepalese Buddhism.
Since the time of Hodgson the worship of the Âdi-Buddha, or an original
divine Buddha practically equivalent to God, has been often described as
characteristic of Nepalese religion and such a worship undoubtedly exists.
But recent accounts indicate that it is not prominent and also that it can
hardly be considered a distinct type of monotheistic Buddhism. The idea
that the five Dhyâni-Buddhas are emanations or manifestations of a single
primordial Buddha-spirit is a natural development of Mahayanist ideas, but
no definite statement of it earlier than the Kâlacakra literature is
forthcoming, though many earlier works point towards it.[292] In modern
Nepal the chief temple of the Âdi-Buddha is on the hill of Svayambhû (the
self-existent) near Katmandu. According to a legend preserved in the
Svayambhû Purâṇa, a special divine manifestation occurred in ancient times
on an adjoining lake; a miraculous lotus arose on its surface, bearing an
image, over which a Caitya was subsequently erected. The shrine is greatly
venerated but this Âdi-Buddha, or Svayambhû, does not differ essentially
from other miraculous images in India which are said not to consist of
ordinary matter but to embody in some special way the nature of a deity.
The religion of Nepal is less remarkable for new developments of
Buddhism than for the singular fusion of Buddhism with Hinduism which it
presents and which helps us to understand what must have been the last
phase in Bengal.
The Nepalese Brahmans tolerate Buddhism. The Nepâla-mâhâtmya says
that to worship Buddha is to worship Śiva, and the Svayambhû Purâna
returns the compliment by recommending the worship of Paśupati.[293] The
official itinerary of the Hindu pilgrim includes Svayambhû, where he
adores Buddha under that name. More often the two religions adore the
same image under different names: what is Avalokita to the one is Mahâkâla
to the other. Durgâ is explained as being the incarnation of the Prajñâ-
pâramitâ and she is even identified with the Âdi-Buddha. The Nepalese
pantheon like the Tibetan contains three elements, often united in modern

legends: firstly aboriginal deities, such as Nagas and other nature spirits:
secondly definitely Buddhist deities or Bodhisattvas of whom Mañjuśrî
receives the most honour: thirdly Hindu deities such as Gaṇeśa and
Kṛishṇa. The popular deity Matsyendranath appears to combine all three
elements in his own person.
Modern accounts of Nepal leave the impression that even corrupt Buddhism
is in a bad way, yet the number of religious establishments is considerable.
Celibacy is not observed by their inmates, who are called banras (bandyas).
On entering the order the novice takes the ancient vows but after four days
he returns to his tutor, confesses that they are too hard for him and is
absolved from his obligations. The classes known as Bhikshus and
Gubhârjus officiate as priests, the latter being the higher order. The
principal ceremony is the offering of melted butter. The more learned
Gubhârjus receive the title of Vajrâcârya[294] and have the sole right of
officiating at marriages and funerals.
There is little learning. The oldest scriptures in use are the so-called nine
Dharmas.[295] Hodgson describes these works as much venerated and
Rajendralal Mitra has analysed them, but Sylvain Lévi heard little of them
in 1898, though he mentions the recitation of the Prajñâ-pâramitâ. The
Svayambhû Purâṇa is an account of the manifestation of the Âdi-Buddha
written in the style of those portions of the Brahmanic Purâṇas which treat
of the glories of some sacred place. In its present form it can hardly be
earlier than the sixteenth century A.D. The Nepâla-mâhâtmya is a similar
work which, though of Brahmanic origin, puts Buddha, Vishnu and Śiva on
the same footing and identifies the first with Krishna. The Vâgvatî-
mâhâtmya[296] on the other hand is strictly Śivaite and ignores Buddha's
claims to worship. The Vâmśâvali, or Chronicle of Nepal, written in the
Gurkha language (Parbatiya) is also largely occupied with an account of
sacred sites and buildings and exists in two versions, one Buddhist, the
other Brahmanical.
But let us return to the decadence of Buddhism in India. It is plain that
persecution was not its main cause nor even very important among the
accessory causes. The available records contain clearer statements about the
persecution of Jainism than of Buddhism but no doubt the latter came in for
some rough handling, though not enough to annihilate a vigorous sect.

Great numbers of monasteries in the north were demolished by the Huns
and a similar catastrophe brought about the collapse of the Church in Bihar.
But this last incident cannot be called religious persecution, for Muhammad
did not even know what he was destroying. Buddhism did not arouse more
animosity than other Indian religions: the significant feature is that when its
temples and monasteries were demolished it did not live on in the hearts of
the people, as did Hinduism with all its faults.
The relation between the laity and the Church in Buddhism is curious and
has had serious consequences for both good and evil. The layman "takes
refuge" in the Buddha, his law and his church but does not swear exclusive
allegiance: to follow supplementary observances is not treasonable,
provided they are not in themselves objectionable. The Buddha prescribed
no ceremonies for births, deaths and marriages and apparently expected the
laity to continue in the observance of such rites as were in use. To-day in
China and Japan the good layman is little more than one who pays more
attention to Buddhism than to other faiths. This charitable pliancy had much
to do with the victories of Buddhism in the Far East, where it had to
struggle against strong prejudices and could hardly have made its way if it
had been intolerant of local deities. But in India we see the disadvantages of
the omission to make the laity members of a special corporation and the
survival of the Jains, who do form such a corporation, is a clear object
lesson. Social life in India tends to combine men in castes or in
communities which if not castes in the technical sense have much the same
character. Such communities have great vitality so long as they maintain
their peculiar usages, but when they cease to do so they soon disintegrate
and are reabsorbed. Buddhism from the first never took the form of a
corporation. The special community which it instituted was the saṅgha or
body of monks. Otherwise, it aimed not at founding a sect but at including
all the world as lay believers on easy terms. This principle worked well so
long as the faith was in the ascendent but its effect was disastrous when
decline began. The line dividing Buddhist laymen from ordinary Hindus
became less and less marked: distinctive teaching was found only in the
monasteries: these became poorly recruited and as they were gradually
deserted or destroyed by Mohammedans the religion of the Buddha
disappeared from his native land.

Even in the monasteries the doctrine taught bore a closer resemblance to
Hinduism than to the preaching of Gotama and it is this absence of the
protestant spirit, this pliant adaptability to the ideas of each age, which
caused Indian Buddhism to lose its individuality and separate existence. In
some localities its disappearance and absorption were preceded by a
monstrous phase, known as Tantrism or Śâktism, in which the worst
elements of Hinduism, those which would have been most repulsive to
Gotama, made an unnatural alliance with his church.
I treat of Tantrism and Śâktism in another chapter. The original meaning of
Tantra as applied to literary compositions is a simplified manual.[297] Thus
we hear of Vishnuite Tantras and in this sense there is a real similarity
between Buddhist and tantric teaching, for both set aside Brahmanic
tradition as needlessly complicated and both profess to preach a simple and
practical road to salvation. But in Hinduism and Buddhism alike such
words as Tantra and tantric acquire a special sense and imply the worship of
the divine energy in a female form called by many names such as Kâlî in
the former, Târâ in the latter. This worship which in my opinion should be
called Śâktism rather than Tantrism combines many elements: ancient,
savage superstitions as well as ingenious but fanciful speculation, but its
essence is always magic. It attempts to attain by magical or sacramental
formulæ and acts not only prosperity and power but salvation, nirvana and
union with the supreme spirit. Some of its sects practise secret immoral
rites. It is sad to confess that degenerate Buddhism did not remain
uncorrupted by such abuses.
It is always a difficult and speculative task to trace the early stages of new
movements in Indian religion, but it is clear that by the eighth century and
perhaps earlier the Buddhism of Bihar and Bengal had fallen a prey to this
influence. Apparently the public ritual in the Vihâras remained unchanged
and the usual language about nirvâna and śûnyatâ was not discarded, but it
was taught that those who followed a certain curriculum could obtain
salvation by magical methods. To enter this curriculum it was necessary to
have a qualified teacher and to receive from him initiation or baptism
(abhisheka). Of the subsequent rites the most important is to evoke one of
the many Buddhas or Bodhisattvas recognized by the Mahayana and
identify oneself with him.[298] He who wishes to do this is often called a
sâdhaka or magician but his achievements, like many Indian miracles, are

due to self-hypnotization. He is directed to repair to a lonely place and offer
worship there with flowers and prayers. To this office succeed prolonged
exercises in meditation which do not depart much from the ancient canon
since they include the four Brahmâ-vihâras. Their object is to suppress
thought and leave the mind empty. Then the sâdhaka fills this void with the
image of some Bodhisattva, for instance Avalokita. This he does by uttering
mystic syllables called bîja or seed, because they are supposed to germinate
and grow into the figures which he wishes to produce. In this way he
imagines that he sees the emblems of the Bodhisattva spring up round him
one by one and finally he himself assumes the shape of Avalokita and
becomes one with him. Something similar still exists in Tibet where every
Lama chooses a tutelary deity or Yi-dam whom he summons in visible form
after meditation and fasting.[299] Though this procedure when set forth
methodically in a mediæval manual seems an absurd travesty of Buddhism,
yet it has links with the early faith. It is admitted in the Pitakas that certain
forms of meditation[300] lead to union with Brahmâ and it is no great change
to make them lead to union with other supernatural beings. Still we are not
here breathing the atmosphere of the Pitakas. The object is not to share
Brahmâ's heaven but to become temporarily identified with a deity, and this
is not a byway of religion but the high road.
But there is a further stage of degradation. I have already mentioned that
various Bodhisattvas are represented as accompanied by a female deity,
particularly Avalokita by Târâ. The mythological and metaphysical ideas
which have grown up round Śiva and Durgâ also attached themselves to
these couples. The Buddha or Bodhisattva is represented as enjoying
nirvana because he is united to his spouse, and to the three bodies already
enumerated is added a fourth, the body of perfect bliss.[301] Sometimes this
idea merely leads to further developments of the practices described above.
Thus the devotee may imagine that he enters into Târâ as an embryo and is
born of her as a Buddha.[302] More often the argument is that since the bliss
of the Buddha consists in union with Târâ, nirvana can be obtained by
sexual union here, and we find many of the tantric wizards represented as
accompanied by female companions. The adept should avoid all action but
he is beyond good and evil and the dangerous doctrine that he can do evil
with impunity, which the more respectable sects repudiate, is expressly
taught. The sage is not defiled by passion but conquers passion by passion:

he should commit every infamy: he should rob, lie and kill Buddhas.[303]
These crazy precepts are probably little more than a speculative application
to the moral sphere of the doctrine that all things are non-existent and hence
equivalent. But though tantrists did not go about robbing and murdering so
freely as their principles allowed, there is some evidence that in the period
of decadence the morality of the Bhikshus had fallen into great discredit.
Thus in the allegorical Vishnuite drama called Prabodhacandrodaya and
written at Kalanjar near the end of the eleventh century Buddhists and Jains
are represented as succumbing to the temptations of inebriety and
voluptuousness.
It is necessary to mention this phase of decadence but no good purpose
would be served by dwelling further on the absurd and often disgusting
prescriptions of such works as the Tathâgata-guhyaka. If the European
reader is inclined to condemn unreservedly a religion which even in
decrepitude could find place for such monstrosities, he should remember
that the aberrations of Indian religion are due not to its inherent depravity,
but to its universality. In Europe those who follow disreputable occupations
rarely suppose that they have anything to do with the Church. In India,
robbers, murderers, gamblers, prostitutes, and maniacs all have their
appropriate gods, and had the Marquis de Sade been a Hindu he would
probably have founded a new tantric sect. But though the details of Śâktism
are an unprofitable study, it is of some importance to ascertain when it first
invaded Buddhism and to what extent it superseded older ideas.
Some critics[304] seem to imply—for their statements are not very explicit—
that Śâktism formed part if not of the teaching of the Buddha, at least of the
medley of beliefs held by his disciples. But I see no proof that Śâktist
beliefs—that is to say erotic mysticism founded on the worship of
goddesses—were prevalent in Magadha or Kosala before the Christian era.
Although Siri, the goddess of luck, is mentioned in the Pitakas, the popular
deities whom they bring on the scene are almost exclusively masculine.[305]
And though in the older Brahmanic books there are passages which might
easily become tantric, yet the transition is not made and the important truths
of religion are kept distinct from unclean rites and thoughts. The Bṛihad-
âraṇyaka contains a chapter which hardly admits of translation but the
object of the practices inculcated is simply to ensure the birth of a son. The
same work (not without analogies in the ecstatic utterances of Christian

saints) boldly compares union with the Âtman to the bliss of one who is
embraced by a beloved wife, but this is a mere illustration and there is no
hint of the doctrine that the goal of the religious life is obtainable by
maithuna. Still such passages, though innocent in themselves, make it easy
to see how degrading superstitions found an easy entrance into the noblest
edifices of Indian thought and possibly some heresies condemned in the
Kathâvatthu[306] indicate that even at this early date the Buddhist Church
was contaminated by erotic fancies. But, if so, there is no evidence that
such malpractices were widespread. The appendices to the Lotus[307] show
that the worship of a many-named goddess, invoked as a defender of the
faith, was beginning to be a recognized feature of Buddhism. But they
contain no indications of left-handed Tantrism and the best proof that it did
not become prevalent until much later is afforded by the narratives of the
three Chinese pilgrims who all describe the condition of religion in India
and notice anything which they thought singular or reprehensible. Fa-Hsien
does not mention the worship of any female deity,[308] nor does the Life of
Vasubandhu, but Asanga appears to allude to Śâktism in one passage.[309]
Hsüan Chuang mentions images of Târâ but without hinting at tantric ritual,
nor does I-Ching allude to it, nor does the evidence of art and inscriptions
attest its existence. It may have been known as a form of popular
superstition and even have been practised by individual Bhikshus, but the
silence of I-Ching makes it improbable that it was then countenanced in the
schools of Magadha. He complains[310] of those who neglect the Vinaya and
"devote their whole attention to the doctrine of nothingness," but he says
not a word about tantric abuses.[311]
The change probably occurred in the next half century[312] for Padma-
Sambhava, the founder of Lamaism who is said to have resided in Gaya and
Nalanda and to have arrived in Tibet in 747 A.D., is represented by tradition
as a tantric wizard, and about the same time translations of Tantras begin to
appear in Chinese. The translations of the sixth and seventh centuries,
including those of I-Ching, comprise a considerable though not
preponderant number of Dhâraṇîs. After the seventh century these became
very numerous and several Tantras were also translated.[313] The inference
seems to be that early in the eighth century Indian Buddhists officially
recognized Tantrism.

Tantric Buddhism was due to the mixture of Mahayanist teaching with
aboriginal superstitions absorbed through the medium of Hinduism, though
in some cases there may have been direct contact and mutual influence
between Mahayanism and aboriginal beliefs. But as a rule what happened
was that aboriginal deities were identified with Hindu deities and Buddhism
had not sufficient independence to keep its own pantheon distinct, so that
Vairocana and Târâ received most of the attributes, brahmanic or barbarous,
given to Śiva or Kâli. The worship of the goddesses, described in their
Hinduized form as Durgâ, Kâlî, etc., though found in most parts of India
was specially prevalent in the sub-himalayan districts both east and west.
Now Padma-Sambhava was a native of Udyâna or Swat and Târanâtha
represents the chief Tantrists[314] as coming from there or visiting it. Hsüan
Chuang[315] tells us that the inhabitants were devout Mahayanists but
specially expert in magic and exorcism. He also describes no less than four
sacred places in it where the Buddha in previous births gave his flesh, blood
or bones for the good of others. Have we here in a Buddhist form some
ancient legend of dismemberment like that told of Satî in Assam? Of
Kashmir he says that its religion was a mixture of Buddhism with other
beliefs.[316] These are precisely the conditions most favourable to the
growth of Tantrism and though the bulk of the population are now
Mohammedans, witchcraft and sorcery are still rampant. Among the Hindu
Kashmîris[317] the most prevalent religion has always been the worship of
Śiva, especially in the form representing him as half male, half female. This
cult is not far from Śâktism and many allusions[318] in the Râjataranginî
indicate that left-hand worship was known, though the author satirizes it as
a corruption. He also several times mentions[319] Mâtri-cakras, that is
circles sacred to the Mothers or tantric goddesses. In Nepal and Tibet tantric
Buddhism is fully developed but these countries have received so much
from India that they exhibit not a parallel growth, but late Indian Tantrism
as imported ready-made from Bengal. It is here that we come nearest to the
origins of Tantrism, for though the same beliefs may have flourished in
Udyâna and Kashmir they did not spread much in the Panjab or Hindustan,
where their progress was hindered at first by a healthy and vigorous
Hinduism and subsequently by Mohammedan invasions. But from 700 to
1197 A.D. Bengal was remote alike from the main currents of Indian
religion and from foreign raids: little Aryan thought or learning leavened
the local superstitions which were infecting and stifling decadent

Buddhism. Hsüan Chuang informs us that Bhaskaravarma king of
Kâmarûpa[320] attended the fêtes celebrated by Harsha in 644 A.D. and
inscriptions found at Tezpur indicate that kings with Hindu names reigned
in Assam about 800 A.D. This is agreeable to the supposition that an
amalgamation of Śivaism and aboriginal religion may have been in
formation about 700 A.D. and have influenced Buddhism.
In Bihar from the eighth century onwards the influence of Tantrism was
powerful and disastrous. The best information about this epoch is still to be
found in Târanâtha, in spite of his defects.
He makes the interesting statement that in the reign of Gopâla who was a
Buddhist, although his ministers were not (730-740 A.D.), the Buddhists
wished their religious buildings to be kept separate from Hindu temples but
that, in spite of protests, life-sized images of Hindu deities were erected in
them.[321] The ritual too was affected, for we hear several times of burnt
offerings[322] and how Bodhibhadra, one of the later professors of
Vikramaśila, was learned in the mystic lore of both Buddhists and
Brahmans. Nalanda and the other viharas continued to be seats of learning
and not merely monasteries, and for some time there was a regular
succession of teachers. Târanâtha gives us to understand that there were
many students and authors but that sorcery occupied an increasingly
important position. Of most teachers we are told that they saw some deity,
such as Avalokita or Târâ. The deity was summoned by the rites already
described[323] and the object of the performer was to obtain magical powers
or siddhi. The successful sorcerer was known as siddha, and we hear of 84
mahâsiddhas, still celebrated in Tibet, who extend from Rahulabhadra
Nâgârjuna to the thirteenth century. Many of them bear names which appear
not to be Indian.
The topics treated of in the Tantras are divided into Kriyâ (ritual), Caryâ
(apparently corresponding to Vinaya), Yoga, and Anuttara-yoga. Sometimes
the first three are contrasted with the fourth and sometimes the first two are
described as lower, the third and fourth as higher. But the Anuttara-yoga is
always considered the highest and most mysterious.[324] Târanâtha says[325]
that the Tantras began to appear simultaneously with the Mahayana sûtras
but adds that the Anuttara-yoga tantras appeared gradually.[326] He also
observes that the Âcârya Ânanda-garbha[327] did much to spread them in

Magadha. It is not until a late period of the Pâla dynasty that he mentions
the Kâlacakra which is the most extravagant form of Buddhist Tantrism.
This accords with other statements to the effect that the Kâlacakra tantra
was introduced in 965 A.D. from Śambhala, a mysterious country in Central
Asia. This system is said to be Vishnuite rather than Śivaite. It specially
patronizes the cult of the mystic Buddhas such as Kâlacakra and Heruka, all
of whom appear to be regarded as forms of Âdi-Buddha or the primordial
Buddha essence. The Siddha named Pito is also described as the author of
this doctrine,[328] which had less importance in India than in Tibet.
On the other hand Târanâtha gives us the names of several doctors of the
Vinaya who flourished under the Pâla dynasty. Even as late as the reign of
Râmapâla (? 1080-1120) we hear that the Hinayanists were numerous. In
the reign of Dharmapâla (c. 800 A.D.) some of them broke up the great
silver image of Heruka at Bodh-Gaya and burnt the books of Mantras.[329]
These instances show that the older Buddhism was not entirely
overwhelmed by Tantrism[330] though perhaps it was kept alive more by
pilgrims than by local sentiment. Thus the Chinese inscriptions of Bodh-
Gaya though they speak at length of the three bodies of Buddha show no
signs of Tantrism. It would appear that the worship celebrated in the holy
places of Magadha preserved a respectable side until the end. In the same
way although Tantrism is strong in the literature of the Lamas, none of the
many descriptions of Tibet indicate that there is anything scandalous in the
externals of religion. Probably in Tibet, Nepal and mediæval Magadha alike
the existence of disgraceful tantric literature does not indicate such
widespread depravity as might be supposed. But of its putrefying influence
in corrupting the minds of those who ought to have preserved the pure faith
there can be no doubt. More than any other form of mixed belief it
obliterated essential differences, for Buddhist Tantrism and Śivaite Tantrism
are merely two varieties of Tantrism.
What is happening at Bodh-Gaya at present[331] illustrates how Buddhism
disappeared from India. The abbot of a neighbouring Śivaite monastery
who claims the temple and grounds does not wish, as a Mohammedan
might, to destroy the building or even to efface Buddhist emblems. He
wishes to supervise the whole establishment and the visits of pilgrims, as
well as to place on the images of Buddha Hindu sectarian marks and other

ornaments. Hindu pilgrims are still taken by their guides to venerate the
Bodhi tree and, but for the presence of foreign pilgrims, no casual observer
would suppose the spot to be anything but a Hindu temple of unusual
construction. The same process went a step further in many shrines which
had not the same celebrity and effaced all traces and memory of Buddhism.
At the present day the Buddha is recognized by the Brahmans as an
incarnation of Vishnu,[332] though the recognition is often qualified by the
statement that Vishnu assumed this form in order to mislead the wicked
who threatened to become too powerful if they knew the true method of
attaining superhuman powers. But he is rarely worshipped in propriâ
personâ.[333] As a rule Buddhist images and emblems are ascribed to
Vishnu or Śiva, according to sectarian preferences, but in spite of fusion
some lingering sense of original animosity prevents Gotama from receiving
even such respect as is accorded to incarnations like Paraśu-râma. At Bodh-
Gaya I have been told that Hindu pilgrims are taken by their guides to
venerate the Bodhi-tree but not the images of Buddha.
Yet in reviewing the disappearance of Buddhism from India we must
remember that it was absorbed not expelled. The result of the mixture is
justly called Hinduism, yet both in usages and beliefs it has taken over
much that is Buddhist and without Buddhism it would never have assumed
its present shape. To Buddhist influence are due for instance the rejection
by most sects of animal sacrifices: the doctrine of the sanctity of animal
life: monastic institutions and the ecclesiastical discipline found in the
Dravidian regions. We may trace the same influence with more or less
certainty in the philosophy of Śaṅkara and outside the purely religious
sphere in the development of Indian logic. These and similar points are
dealt with in more detail in other parts of this work and I need not dwell on
them here.

FOOTNOTES:

[264] Written before the war.

[265] Even at Kanauj, the scene of Harsha's pious festivities, there
were 100 Buddhist monasteries but 200 Deva temples.
[266] Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions, p. 203.
[267] See the note by Bühler in Journ. Pali Text Soc. 1896, p. 108.
[268] Râjataranginî, III. 12.
[269] See for the supposed persecution of Buddhism in India, J.P.T.S.
1896, pp. 87-92 and 107-111 and J.R.A.S. 1898, pp. 208-9.
[270] As contained in the Śaṅkara-dig-vijaya ascribed to Mâdhava
and the Śaṅkara-vijaya ascribed to Ânandagiri.
[271] Târanâtha in his twenty-eighth and following chapters gives an
account, unfortunately very confused, of the condition of Buddhism
under the Pâla dynasty. See also B.K. Sarkar, Folklore Element in
Hindu Culture, chap. XII, in which there are many interesting
statements but not sufficient references.
[272] See Vidyabhusana's Mediæval School of Indian Logic, p. 150,
for an account of this monastery which was perhaps at the modern
Pârthaghâta. I have found no account of what happened to Nalanda in
this period but it seems to have disappeared as a seat of learning.
[273] See Târanâtha, chap. XXVIII.
[274] Chap. XXXVI. It is interesting to notice that even at this late
period he speaks of Hinayanists in Bengal.
[275] Often called Muhammad Bakhtyar but Bakhtyar seems to have
been really his father's name.
[276] Raverty, Tabat-i-Nasiri, p. 552. "It was discovered that the
whole of that fortress and city was a college and in the Hindi tongue
they call a college Bihar."
[277] Many of them have been collected by Pandit Haraprasad Sastri
in Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, 1895, pp. 55 ff. and in his Discovery of living
Buddhism in Bengal, Calcutta, 1897.

[278] Chap. XL ad fin. Is the Râmacandra whom he mentions the last
Yadava King (about 1314)? Târanâtha speaks of his son.
[279] Caitanya-caritamrita, chap. VII, transl. by Jadunath Sarkar, p.
85. This biography was written in 1582 by Kṛishṇadas. Caitanya died
in 1533.
[280] Census of India, 1901: vol. VI. Bengal, pp. 427-430.
[281] The Archæological Survey of Mayurabhanj (no date? 1911), vol.
I. pp. cv-cclxiii. The part containing an account of Buddhism in
Orissa is also printed separately with the title Modern Buddhism,
1911.
[282] For Râmâi Pandit see Dinesh Chandra Sen, Hist. Bengali
Language and Lit. pp. 30-37, and also B.K. Sarkar, Folklore Element
in Hindu Culture, p. 192, and elsewhere. He appears to have been
born at the end of the tenth century and though the Śûnya Purâṇa has
been re-edited and interpolated parts of it are said to be in very old
Bengali.
[283] Nagendranâth Vasu quotes a couplet from the Mahâbhârata of
the poet Saraladasa: "I pay my humble respects to the incarnation of
Buddha who in the form of Buddha dwells in the Nîlâcala, i.e. Puri."
The Imperial Gazetteer of India (s.v. Puri Town) states that in modern
representations of Vishṇu's ten avatâras, the ninth, or Buddhâvatâra, is
sometimes represented by Jagannâtha.
[284] I give the dates or the authority of Narandra Nâth while thinking
that they may be somewhat too early. The two authors named wrote
the Śûnya Samhitâ and Nirguṇa Mâhâtmya respectively.
[285] l.c. clxxvi ff., ccxix-ccxxiii, ccxxxi.
[286] Author of a poem called Dharmagîtâ.
[287] l.c. cxvi ff. and ccxxxii.
[288] l.c. ccxxxiv ff.

[289] See Haraprasad Sastri, l.c. He gives a curious account of one of
his temples in Calcutta. See also B.K. Sarkar, Folklore Element in
Hindu Culture for the decadence of Buddhism in Bengal and its
survival in degenerate forms.
[290] See B.H. Hodgson, Essays on the languages, literature and
religion of Nepal and Tibet, 1874. For the religion of Nepal see also
Wright, History of Nepal, 1877; C. Bendall, Journal of Literary and
Archæological Research in Nepal, 1886; Rajendralal Mitra, Sanskrit
Buddhist literature of Nepal; and especially S. Lévi, Le Nepal, 3 vols.
1905-8.
[291] S. Lévi in J.A. II. 1904, p. 225. He gives the date as 627.
[292] The doctrine of the Âdi-Buddha is fully stated in the metrical
version of the Kâraṇḍa-vyûha which appears to be a later paraphrase
of the prose edition. See Winternitz, Gesch. Ind. Lit. II. i. 238.
[293] Compare the fusion of Śivaism and Buddhism in Java.
[294] Or Vajrâcârya-arhat-bhikshu-buddha, which in itself shows
what a medley Nepalese Buddhism has become.
[295] See above chap. XX. for some account of these works.
[296] Dedicated to the sacred river Vâgvatî or Bagmati.
[297] Hardly any Buddhist Tantras have been edited in Europe. See
Bendall, Subhâshita-sangraha for a collection of extracts (also
published in Muséon, 1905), and De la Vallée Poussin, Bouddhisme,
Études el Matériaux. Id. Pancakrama, 1896.
While this book was going through the press I received the Tibetan
Tantra called Shrichakrasambhara (Avalon's Tantric Texts, vol. VII)
with introduction by A. Avalon, but have not been able to make use of
it.
[298] See Foucher, Iconographie bouddhique, pp. 8 ff. De la Vallée
Poussin, Bouddhisme, Études et Matériaux, pp. 213 ff. For Japanese
tantric ceremonies see the Si-Do-In-Dzon in the Annales du Musée
Guimet, vol. VIII.

[299] In ancient Egypt also the Kher ḥeb or magician-priest claimed
the power of becoming various gods. See Budge, Osiris, II. 170 and
Wiedemann, Magic im alten Aegypten, 13 ff.
[300] The Brahmâ-vihâras. E.g. Dig. Nik. XIII.
[301] Mahâsukhakâya or vajrakâya.
[302] De la Vallée Poussin, Bouddhisme, Études et Matériaux, p. 153.
[303] See Subhâshita-saṅgraha edited by Bendall. Part II. pp. 29 ff.
especially p. 41. Parasvaharaṇam kâryam paradârânishevaṇam
Vaktavyam cânṛitam nityam sarvabuddhâṃśca ghâtayet. See also
Tathâgata-guhyaka in Rajendralal Mitra's Sanskrit Literature in Nepal,
pp. 261-264.
[304] For instance De la Vallée Poussin in his Bouddhisme, Études et
Matériaux, 1896. In his later work, Bouddhisme, Opinions sur
l'histoire de la dogmatique, he modifies his earlier views.
[305] See Dig. Nik. XX. and XXXII.
[306] KathâV. XXIII. 1 and 2.
[307] These appendices are later additions to the original text but they
were translated into Chinese in the third century. Among the oldest
Sanskrit MSS. from Japan is the Ushṇisha-vijaya-dhâraṇî and there is
a goddess with a similar name. But the Dhâraṇî is not Śâktist. See text
in Anec. Oxon. Aryan series.
[308] He speaks of Kwan-shih-yin but this is probably the male
Avalokita.
[309] Mahâyâna-sûtrâlankâra, IX. 46. Of course there may be many
other allusions in yet unedited works of Asanga but it is noticeable
that this allusion to maithuna is only made in passing and is not
connected with the essence of his teaching.
[310] Transl. Takakusu, p. 51.

[311] Târanâtha, chap. XXII seems also to assign a late origin to the
Tantras though his remarks are neither clear nor consistent with what
he says in other passages. He is doubtless right in suggesting that
tantric rites were practised surreptitiously before they were recognized
openly.
[312] It is about this time too that we hear of Tantrism in Hinduism. In
the drama Mâlatî and Mâdhava (c. 730 A.D.) the heroine is kidnapped
and is about to be sacrificed to the goddess Candâ when she is
rescued.
[313] See the latter part of Appendix II in Nanjio's Catalogue.
[314] E.g. Lalitavajra, Lîlâvajra, Buddhaśânti, Ratnavajra. Târanâtha
also (tr. Schiefner, p. 264) speaks of Tantras "Welche aus Udyana
gebracht und nie in Indien gewesen sind." It is also noticeable, as
Grünwedel has pointed out, that many of the siddhas or sorcerers bear
names which have no meaning in Aryan languages: Bir-va-pa, Na-ro-
pa, Lui-pa, etc. A curious late tradition represents Śâktism as coming
from China. See a quotation from the Mahâcînatantra in the
Archæological Survey of Mayurabhanj, p. xiv. Either China is here
used loosely for some country north of the Himalayas or the story is
pure fancy, for with rare exceptions (for instance the Lamaism of the
Yüan dynasty) the Chinese seem to have rejected Śâktist works or
even to have expurgated them, e.g. the Tathâgata-guhyaka.
[315] His account of Udyâna and Kashmir will be found in Watters,
chapters VII and VIII.
[316] Traces of Buddhism still exist, for according to Bühler the
Nilamata Purâṇa orders the image of Buddha to be worshipped on
Vaisakha 15 to the accompaniment of recitations by Buddhist ascetics.
[317] For notices of Kashmirian religion see Stein's translation of the
Râjataranginî and Bühler, Tour in Search of Sanskrit manuscripts. J.
Bomb. A.S. 1877.
[318] VI. 11-13, VII. 278-280, 295, 523.
[319] I. 122, 335, 348: III. 99, V. 55.

[320] Also called Kumâra.
[321] Similarly statues of Mahâdevî are found in Jain temples now,
i.e. in Gujarat.
[322] This very unbuddhist practice seems to have penetrated even to
Japan. Burnt offerings form part of the ritual in the temple of Narita.
[323] See for instance the account of how Kamalarakshita summoned
Yamâri.
[324] So too the Saṃhitâs of the Vaishṇavas and the Âgamas of the
Śaivas are said to consist of four quarters teaching Jñâna, Yoga, Kriyâ
and Caryâ respectively. See Schrader, Introd. to Pâncarâtra, p. 22.
Sometimes five classes of Tantras are enumerated which are perhaps
all subdivisions of the Anuttara-yoga, namely Guhyasamâja,
Mâyâjâla, Buddhasammâyoga, Candraguhyatilaka, Manjuśrîkrodha.
See Târanâtha (Schiefner), p. 221.
[325] Chap. XLIII. But this seems hardly consistent with his other
statements.
[326] The Lamas in Tibet have a similar theory of progressive tantric
revelation. See Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, pp. 56, 57.
[327] In the reign of Mahîpâla, 978-1030 A.D.
[328] Târanâtha, p. 275. For the whole subject see Grünwedel,
Mythologie des Buddhismus, pp. 41-2 and my chapters on Tibet
below.
[329] Schiefner (transl. Târanâtha, p. 221) describes these Śrâvakas or
Hinayanists as "Saindhavas welche Çrâvakas aus Simhala u.s.w.
waren." They are apparently the same as the Saindhava-çrâvakas often
mentioned by Târanâtha. Are they Hinayanists from Sindh where the
Sammitiya school was prevalent? See also Pag Sam Jon Zang, pp.
cxix, 114 and 134 where Sarat Chandra Das explains Sendha-pa as a
brahmanical sect.
[330] The curious story (Târanâtha, p. 206) in which a Buddhist at
first refuses on religious grounds to take part in the evocation of a

demon seems also to hint at a disapproval of magic.
[331] This passage was written about 1910. In the curious temple at
Gaya called Bishnupad the chief object of veneration is a foot-like
mark. Such impressions are venerated in many parts of the world as
Buddha's feet and it seems probable, considering the locality, that this
footprint was attributed to Buddha before it was transferred to Vishnu.
[332] There are no very early references to this Avatâra. It is
mentioned in some of the Puranas (e.g. Bhâgavata and Agni) and by
Kshemendra.
[333] But see the instances quoted above from Kashmir and Nepal.

BOOK V
HINDUISM

The present book deals with Hinduism and includes the period just treated
in Book IV. In many epochs the same mythological and metaphysical ideas
appear in a double form, Brahmanic and Buddhist, and it is hard to say
which form is the earlier.
Any work which like the present adopts a geographical and historical
treatment is bound to make Buddhism seem more important than Hinduism
and rightly, for the conversion and transformation of China, Japan and
many other countries are a series of exploits of great moment for the history
not merely of religion but of civilization. Yet when I think of the antiquity,
variety and vitality of Hinduism in India—no small sphere—the nine
chapters which follow seem very inadequate. I can only urge that though it
would be easy to fill an encyclopædia with accounts of Indian beliefs and
practices, yet there is often great similarity under superficial differences: the
main lines of thought are less numerous than they seem to be at first sight
and they tend to converge.

CHAPTER XXV
ŚIVA AND VISHṆU

1

The striking difference between the earlier and later phases of Indian
religious belief, between the Vedic hymns, Brâhmaṇas, Upanishads and
their accessory treatises on the one hand, and the epics, Purâṇas, Tantras
and later literature on the other, is due chiefly to the predominance in the
latter of the great gods Śiva and Vishṇu, with the attendant features of
sectarian worship and personal devotion to a particular deity. The difference
is not wholly chronological, for late writers sometimes take the Vedic
standpoint and ignore the worship of these deities, but still their prominence
in literature, and probably in popular mythology, is posterior to the Vedic
period. The change created by their appearance is not merely the addition of
two imposing figures to an already ample pantheon; it is a revolution which
might be described as the introduction of a new religion, except that it does
not come as the enemy or destroyer of the old. The worship of the new
deities grows up peacefully in the midst of the ancient rites; they receive the
homage of the same population and the ministrations of the same priests.
The transition is obscured but also was facilitated by the strength of
Buddhism during the period when it occurred. The Brahmans, confronted
by this formidable adversary, were disposed to favour any popular religious
movement which they could adapt to their interests.
When the Hindu revival sets in under the Guptas, and Buddhism begins to
decline, we find that a change has taken place which must have begun
several centuries before, though our imperfect chronology does not permit
us to date it. Whereas the Vedic sacrificers propitiated all the gods
impartially and regarded ritual as a sacred science giving power over
nature, the worshipper of the later deities is generally sectarian and often
emotional. He selects one for his adoration, and this selected deity becomes

not merely a great god among others but a gigantic cosmical figure in
whom centre the philosophy, poetry and passion of his devotees. He is
almost God in the European sense, but still Indian deities, though they may
have a monopoly of adoration in their own sects, are never entirely similar
to Jehovah or Allah. They are at once more mythical, more human and more
philosophical, since they are conceived of not as creators and rulers external
to the world, but as forces manifesting themselves in nature. An exuberant
mythology bestows on them monstrous forms, celestial residences, wives
and offspring: they make occasional appearances in this world as men and
animals; they act under the influence of passions which if titanic, are but
human feelings magnified. The philosopher accommodates them to his
system by saying that Vishṇu or Śiva is the form which the Supreme Spirit
assumes as Lord of the visible universe, a form which is real only in the
same sense that the visible world itself is real.
Vishṇu and Rudra are known even to the Ṛig Veda but as deities of no
special eminence. It is only after the Vedic age that they became, each for
his own worshippers, undisputed Lords of the Universe. A limiting date to
the antiquity of Śivaism and Vishnuism, as their cults may be called, is
furnished by Buddhist literature, at any rate for north-eastern India. The Pali
Piṭakas frequently[334] introduce popular deities, but give no prominence to
Vishṇu and Śiva. They are apparently mentioned under the names of Veṇhu
and Isâna, but are not differentiated from a host of spirits now forgotten.
The Piṭakas have no prejudices in the matter of deities and their object is to
represent the most powerful of them as admitting their inferiority to the
Buddha. If Śiva and Vishṇu are not put forward in the same way as Brahmâ
and Indra, the inference seems clear: it had not occurred to anyone that they
were particularly important.
The suttas of the Dîgha Nikâya in which these lists of deities occur were
perhaps composed before 300 B.C.[335] About that date Megasthenes, the
Greek envoy at Pataliputra, describes two Indian deities under the names of
Dionysus and Herakles. They are generally identified with Kṛishṇa and
Śiva. It might be difficult to deduce this identity from an analysis of each
description and different authorities have identified both Śiva and Kṛishṇa
with Dionysus, but the fact remains that a somewhat superficial foreign
observer was impressed with the idea that the Hindus worshipped two great
gods. He would hardly have derived this idea from the Vedic pantheon, and

it is not clear to what gods he can refer if not to Śiva and Vishṇu. It thus
seems probable that these two cults took shape about the fourth century
B.C. Their apparently sudden appearance is due to their popular character
and to the absence of any record in art. The statuary and carving of the
Asokan period and immediately succeeding centuries is exclusively
Buddhist. No temples or images remain to illustrate the first growth of
Hinduism (as the later form of Indian religion is commonly styled) out of
the earlier Brahmanism. Literature (on which we are dependent for our
information) takes little account of the early career of popular gods before
they win the recognition of the priesthood and aristocracy, but when that
recognition is once obtained they appear in all their majesty and without
any hint that their honours are recent.
As already mentioned, we have evidence that in the fifth or sixth century
before Christ the Vedic or Brahmanic religion was not the only form of
worship and philosophy in India. There were popular deities and rites to
which the Brahmans were not opposed and which they countenanced when
it suited them. What takes place in India to-day took place then. When some
aboriginal deity becomes important owing to the prosperity of the tribe or
locality with which he is connected, he is recognized by the Brahmans and
admitted to their pantheon, perhaps as the son or incarnation of some
personage more generally accepted as divine. The prestige of the Brahmans
is sufficient to make such recognition an honour, but it is also their interest
and millennial habit to secure control of every important religious
movement and to incorporate rather than suppress. And this incorporation is
more than mere recognition: the parvenu god borrows something from the
manners and attributes of the olympian society to which he is introduced.
The greater he grows, the more considerable is the process of fusion and
borrowing. Hindu philosophy ever seeks for the one amongst the many and
popular thought, in a more confused way, pursues the same goal. It
combines and identifies its deities, feeling dimly that taken singly they are
too partial to be truly divine, or it piles attributes upon them striving to
make each an adequate divine whole.
Among the processes which have contributed to form Vishṇu and Śiva we
must reckon the invasions which entered India from the north-west.[336] In
Bactria and Sogdiana there met and were combined the art and religious
ideas of Greece and Persia, and whatever elements were imported by the

Yüeh-chih and other tribes who came from the Chinese frontier. The
personalities of Vishṇu and Śiva need not be ascribed to foreign influence.
The ruder invaders took kindly to the worship of Śiva, but there is no proof
that they introduced it. But Persian and Græco-Bactrian influence favoured
the creation of more definite deities, more personal and more pictorial. The
gods of the Vedic hymns are vague and indistinct: the Supreme Being of the
Upanishads altogether impersonal, but Mithra and Apollo, though divine in
their majesty, are human in their persons and in the appeal they make to
humanity. The influence of these foreign conceptions and especially of their
representation in art is best seen in Indian Buddhism. Hinduism has not so
ancient an artistic record and therefore the Græco-Bactrian influence on it is
less obvious, for the sculpture of the Gupta period does not seem due to this
inspiration. Neither in outward form nor in character do Vishṇu and Śiva
show much more resemblance to Apollo and Mithra than to the Vedic gods.
Their exuberant, fantastic shapes, their many heads and arms, are a symbol
of their complex and multiple attributes. They are not restricted by the
limits of personality but are great polymorphic forces, not to be indicated by
the limits of one human shape.[337]

2

Though alike in their grandeur and multiplicity, Vishṇu and Śiva are not
otherwise similar. In their completely developed forms they represent two
ways of looking at the world. The main ideas of the Vaishṇavas are human
and emotional. The deity saves and loves: he asks for a worship of love. He
appears in human incarnations and is known as well or better by these
incarnations than in his original form. But in Śivaism the main current of
thought is scientific and philosophic rather than emotional.[338] This
statement may seem strange if one thinks of the wild rites and legends
connected with Śiva and his spouse. Nevertheless the fundamental
conception of Śivaism, the cosmic force which changes and in changing
both destroys and reproduces, is strictly scientific and contrasts with the
human, pathetic, loving sentiments of Vishnuism. And scandalous as the
worship of the generative principle may become, the potency of this
impulse in the world scheme cannot be denied. Agreeably to his character
of a force rather than an emotion Śiva does not become incarnate[339] as a
popular hero and saviour like Râma or Kṛishṇa, but he assumes various

supernatural forms for special purposes. Both worships, despite their
differences, show characteristics which are common to most phases of
Indian religion. Both seek for deliverance from transmigration and are
penetrated with a sense of the sorrow inherent in human and animal life:
both develop or adopt philosophical doctrines which rise high above the
level usually attained by popular beliefs, and both have erotic aspects in
which they fall below the standard of morality usually professed by
important sects whether in Asia or Europe.
The name Śiva is euphemistic. It means propitious and, like Eumenides, is
used as a deprecating and complimentary title for the god of terrors. It is not
his earliest designation and does not occur as a proper name in the Ṛig Veda
where he is known as Rudra, a word of disputed derivation, but probably
meaning the roarer. Comparatively few hymns are addressed to Rudra, but
he is clearly distinguished from the other Vedic gods. Whereas they are
cheerful and benevolent figures, he is maleficent and terrible: they are gods
of the heaven but he is a god of the earth. He is the "man-slayer" and the
sender of disease, but if he restrains these activities he can give safety and
health. "Slay us not, for thou art gracious," and so the Destroyer comes to
be the Gracious One.[340] It has been suggested that the name Śiva is
connected with the Tamil word çivappu red and also that Rudra means not
the roarer but the red or shining one. These etymologies seem to me
possible but not proved. But Rudra is different in character from the other
gods of the Ṛig Veda. It would be rash to say that the Aryan invaders of
India brought with them no god of this sort but it is probable that this
element in their pantheon increased as they gradually united in blood and
ideas with the Dravidian population. But we know nothing of the beliefs of
the Dravidians at this remote period. We only know that in later ages
emotional religion, finding expression as so-called devil-dancing in its
lower and as mystical poetry in its higher phases, was prevalent among
them.
The White Yajur Veda[341] contains a celebrated prayer known as the
Śatarudrîya addressed to Rudra or the Rudras, for the power invoked seems
to be now many and now one. This deity, who is described by a long string
of epithets, receives the name of Śaṅkara (afterwards a well-known epithet
of Śiva) and is blue-necked. He is begged to be Śiva or propitious, but the
word is an epithet, not a proper name. He haunts mountains and deserted,

uncanny places: he is the patron of violent and lawless men, of soldiers and
robbers (the two are evidently considered much the same), of thieves,
cheats and pilferers,[342] but also of craftsmen and huntsmen and is himself
"an observant merchant": he is the lord of hosts of spirits, "ill-formed and of
all forms." But he is also a great cosmic force who "dwells in flowing
streams and in billows and in tranquil waters and in rivers and on islands ...
and at the roots of trees ...": who "exists in incantations, in punishments, in
prosperity, in the soil, in the threshing-floor ... in the woods and in the
bushes, in sound and in echo ... in young grass and in foam ... in gravel and
in streams ... in green things and in dry things.... Reverence to the leaf and
to him who is in the fall of the leaf, the threatener, the slayer, the vexer and
the afflicter." Here we see how an evil and disreputable god, the patron of
low castes and violent occupations, becomes associated with the uncanny
forces of nature and is on the way to become an All-God.[343]
Rudra is frequently mentioned in the Atharva Veda. He is conceived much
as in the Śatarudrîya, and is the lord of spirits and of animals. "For thee the
beasts of the wood, the deer, swans and various winged birds are placed in
the forest: thy living creatures exist in the waters: for thee the celestial
waters flow. Thou shootest at the monsters of the ocean, and there is to thee
nothing far or near."[344]
These passages show that the main conceptions out of which the character
of the later Śiva is built existed in Vedic times. The Rudra of the Yajur and
Atharva Vedas is not Brahmanic: he is not the god of priests and orderly
ritual, but of wild people and places. But he is not a petty provincial demon
who afflicts rustics and their cattle. Though there is some hesitation
between one Rudra and many Rudras, the destructive forces are unified in
thought and the destroyer is not opposed to creation as a devil or as the
principle of evil, but with profounder insight is recognized as the Lord and
Law of all living things.
But though the outline of Śiva is found in Vedic writings, later centuries
added new features to his cult. Chief among these is the worship of a
column known as the Linga, the emblem under which he is now most
commonly adored. It is a phallic symbol though usually decent in
appearance. The Vedas do not countenance this worship and it is not clear
that it was even known to them.[345] It is first enjoined in the Mahâbhârata

and there only in two passages[346] which appear to be late additions. The
inference seems to be that it was accepted as part of Hinduism just about
the time that our edition of the Mahâbhârata was compiled.[347] The old
theory that it was borrowed from aboriginal and especially from Dravidian
tribes[348] is now discredited. In the first place the instances cited of phallic
worship among aboriginal tribes are not particularly numerous or striking.
Secondly, linga worship, though prevalent in the south, is not confined to it,
but flourishes in all parts of India, even in Assam and Nepal. Thirdly, it is
not connected with low castes, with orgies, with obscene or bloodthirsty
rites or with anything which can be called un-Aryan. It forms part of the
private devotions of the strictest Brahmans, and despite the significance of
the emblem, the worship offered to it is perfectly decorous.[349] The
evidence thus suggests that this cultus grew up among Brahmanical Hindus
in the early centuries of our era. The idea that there was something divine in
virility and generation already existed. The choice of the symbol—the stone
pillar—may have been influenced by two circumstances. Firstly, the
Buddhist veneration of stûpas, especially miniature stûpas, must have made
familiar the idea that a cone or column is a religious emblem,[350] and
secondly the linga may be compared to the carved pillars or stone standards
erected in honour of Vishṇu. Some lingas are carved and bear one or four
faces, thus entirely losing any phallic appearance. The wide extension of
this cult, though its origin seems late, is remarkable. Something similar may
be seen in the worship of Gaṇeśa: the first records of it are even later, but it
is now universal in India.
It may seem strange that a religion whose outward ceremonies though
unassuming and modest consist chiefly of the worship of the linga, should
draw its adherents largely from the educated classes and be under no moral
or social stigma. Yet as an idea, as a philosophy, Śivaism possesses truth
and force. It gives the best picture which humanity has drawn of the Lord of
this world, not indeed of the ideal to which the saint aspires, nor of the
fancies with which hope and emotion people the spheres behind the veil,
but of the force which rules the Universe as it is, which reproduces and
destroys, and in performing one of these acts necessarily performs the other,
seeing that both are but aspects of change. For all animal and human
existence[351] is the product of sexual desire: it is but the temporary and
transitory form of a force having neither beginning nor end but continually

manifesting itself in individuals who must have a beginning and an end.
This force, to which European taste bids us refer with such reticence, is the
true creator of the world. Not only is it unceasingly performing the central
miracle of producing new lives but it accompanies it by unnumbered
accessory miracles, which provide the new born child with nourishment and
make lowly organisms care for their young as if they were gifted with
human intelligence. But the Creator is also the Destroyer, not in anger but
by the very nature of his activity. When the series of changes culminates in
a crisis and an individual breaks up, we see death and destruction, but in
reality they occur throughout the process of growth. The egg is destroyed
when the chicken is hatched: the embryo ceases to exist when the child is
born; when the man comes into being, the child is no more. And for change,
improvement and progress death is as necessary as birth. A world of
immortals would be a static world.
When once the figure of Śiva has taken definite shape, attributes and
epithets are lavished on it in profusion. He is the great ascetic, for
asceticism in India means power, and Śiva is the personification of the
powers of nature. He may alternate strangely between austerities and wild
debauch, but the sentimentality of some Kṛishṇaite sects is alien to him. He
is a magician, the lord of troops of spirits, and thus draws into his circle all
the old animistic worship. But he is also identified with Time (Mahâkâla)
and Death (Mṛityu) and as presiding over procreation he is Ardhanareśvara,
half man, half woman. Stories are invented or adapted to account for his
various attributes, and he is provided with a divine family. He dwells on
Mount Kailâsa: he has three eyes: above the central one is the crescent of
the moon and the stream of the Ganges descends from his braided hair: his
throat is blue and encircled by a serpent and a necklace of skulls. In his
hands he carries a three-pronged trident and a drum. But the effigy or
description varies, for Śiva is adored under many forms. He is Mahâdeva,
the Great God, Hara the Seizer, Bhairava the terrible one, Paśupati, the Lord
of cattle, that is of human souls who are compared to beasts. Local gods and
heroes are identified with him. Thus Gor Bâba,[352] said to be a deified
ghost of the aboriginal races, reappears as Goreśvara and is counted a form
of Śiva, as is also Khandoba or Khande Rao, a deity connected with dogs.
Gaṇeśa, "the Lord of Hosts," the God who removes obstacles and is
represented with an elephant's head and accompanied by a rat, is recognized

as Śiva's son. Another son is Skanda or Kârtikeya, the God of War, a great
deity in Ceylon and southern India. But more important both for the
absorption of aboriginal cults and for its influence on speculation and
morality is the part played by Śiva's wife or female counterpart.
The worship of goddesses, though found in many sects, is specially
connected with Śivaism. A figure analogous to the Madonna, the kind and
compassionate goddess who helps and pities all, appears in later Buddhism
but for some reason this train of thought has not been usual in India.
Lakshmî, Sarasvatî and Sîtâ are benevolent, but they hold no great position
in popular esteem,[353] and the being who attracts millions of worshippers
under such names as Kâlî, Durgâ, or Mahâdevî, though she has many forms
and aspects, is most commonly represented as a terrible goddess who
demands offerings of blood. The worship of this goddess or goddesses, for
it is hard to say if she is one or many, is treated of in a separate chapter.
Though in shrines dedicated to Śiva his female counterpart or energy
(Śakti) also receives recognition, yet she is revered as the spouse of her lord
to whom honour is primarily due. But in Śâktist worship adoration is
offered to the Śakti as being the form in which his power is made manifest
or even as the essential Godhead.

3

Let us now pass on to Vishṇu. Though not one of the great gods of the
Veda, he is mentioned fairly often and with respect. Indian commentators
and comparative mythologists agree that he is a solar deity. His chief
exploit is that he took (or perhaps in the earlier version habitually takes)
three strides. This was originally a description of the sun's progress across
the firmament but grew into a myth which relates that when the earth was
conquered by demons, Vishṇu became incarnate as a dwarf and induced the
demon king to promise him as much space as he could measure in three
steps. Then, appearing in his true form, he strode across earth and heaven
and recovered the world for mankind. His special character as the Preserver
is already outlined in the Veda. He is always benevolent: he took his three
steps for the good of men: he established and preserves the heavens and
earth. But he is not the principal solar deity of the Ṛig Veda: Sûrya, Savitri
and Pushan receive more invocations. Though one hymn says that no one

knows the limits of his greatness, other passages show that he has no pre-
eminence, and even in the Mahâbhârata and the Vishṇu-Purâṇa itself he is
numbered among the Âdityas or sons of Aditi. In the Brâhmaṇas, he is
somewhat more important than in the Ṛig Veda,[354] though he has not yet
attained to any position like that which he afterwards occupies.
Just as for Śiva, so for Vishṇu we have no clear record of the steps by which
he advanced from a modest rank to the position of having but one rival in
the popular esteem. But the lines on which the change took place are clear.
Even in his own Church, Vishṇu himself claims comparatively little
attention. He is not a force like Śiva that makes and mars, but a benevolent
and retiring personality who keeps things as they are. His worship, as
distinguished from that of his incarnations, is not conspicuous in modern
India, especially in the north. In the south he is less overshadowed by
Kṛishṇa, and many great temples have been erected in his honour. In
Travancore, which is formally dedicated to him as his special domain, he is
adored under the name of Padmanabha. But his real claim to reverence, his
appeal to the Indian heart, is due to the fact that certain deified human
heroes, particularly Râma and Kṛishṇa, are identified with him.
Deification is common in India.[355] It exists to the present day and even
defunct Europeans do not escape its operation. In modern times, when the
idea of reincarnation had become familiar, eminent men like Caitanya or
Vallabhâcârya were declared after their death to be embodiments of Kṛishṇa
without more ado, but in earlier ages the process was probably double. First
of all the departed hero became a powerful ghost or deity in his own right,
and then this deity was identified with a Brahmanic god. Many examples
prove that a remarkable man receives worship after death quite apart from
any idea of incarnation.
The incarnations of Vishṇu are most commonly given as ten[356] but are not
all of the same character. The first five, namely, the Fish, Tortoise, Boar,
Man-Lion and Dwarf, are mythical, and due to his identification with
supernatural creatures playing a benevolent role in legends with which he
had originally no connection. The sixth, however, Paraśu-râma or Râma
with the axe, may contain historical elements. He is represented as a
militant Brahman who in the second age of the world exterminated the
Kshatriyas, and after reclaiming Malabar from the sea, settled it with

Brahmans. This legend clearly refers to a struggle for supremacy between
the two upper castes, though we may doubt if the triumphs attributed to the
priestly champion have any foundation in fact. The Râmâyaṇa[357] contains
a singular account of a contest between this Râma and the greater hero of
the same name in which Paraśu-râma admits the other's superiority. That is
to say an epic edited under priestly supervision relates how the hero-god of
the warriors vanquishes the hero-god of the priests, and this hero-god of the
warriors is then worshipped by common consent as the greater divinity, but
under priestly patronage. The tenacity and vitality of the Brahmans enabled
them ultimately to lead the conqueror captive, and Râmacandra became a
champion of Brahmanism as much as Paraśu-râma.
Very interesting too is the ninth avatâra (to leave for a moment the strict
numerical order) or Buddha.[358] The reason assigned in Brahmanic
literature for Vishṇu's appearance in this character is that he wished to
mislead the enemies of the gods by false teaching, or that out of compassion
for animals he preached the abolition of Vedic sacrifices. Neither
explanation is very plausible and it is pretty clear that in the period when
degenerate Buddhism offered no objection to deification and mythology, the
Brahmans sanctioned the worship of the Buddha under their auspices. But
they did so only in a half-hearted way. The Buddha was so important a
personage that he had to be explained by the intervention, kindly or hostile,
of a deity.[359]
In his tenth incarnation or Kalkî,[360] which has yet to take place, Vishṇu
will appear as a Messiah, a conception possibly influenced by Persian ideas.
Here, where we are in the realm of pure imagination, we see clearly what
the signs of his avatâras are supposed to be. His mission is to sweep away
the wicked and to ensure the triumph of the pious, but he comes as a
warrior and a horseman, not as a teacher, and if he protects the good he does
so by destroying evil. He has thus all the attributes of a Kshatriya hero, and
that is as a matter of fact the real character of the two most important
avatâras to which we now turn, Râma and Kṛishṇa.
Râma, often distinguished as Râmacandra, is usually treated as the seventh
incarnation and anterior to Kṛishṇa, for he was born in the second age of
this rapidly deteriorating world, whereas Kṛishṇa did not appear until the
third. But his deification is later than that of Kṛishṇa and probably an

imitation of it. He was the son of Daśaratha, King of Ayodhya or Oudh, but
was driven into banishment by a palace intrigue. He married Sîtâ, daughter
of the King of Mithilâ. She was carried off by Râvana, the demon tyrant of
Ceylon, and Râma re-captured her with the aid of Hanuman, King of the
Monkeys, and his hosts.[361] Is there any kernel of history in this story? An
examination of Hindu legends suggests that they usually preserve names
and genealogies correctly but distort facts, and fantastically combine
independent narratives. Râma was a semi-divine hero in the tales of ancient
Oudh, based on a real personality, and Ceylon was colonized by Indians of
Aryan speech.[362] But can we assume that a king of Oudh really led an
expedition to the far south, with the aid of ape-like aborigines? It is
doubtful, and the narrative of the Râmâyaṇa reads like poetic invention
rather than distorted history. And yet, what can have prompted the legend
except the occurrence of some such expedition? In Râma's wife Sîtâ, seem
to be combined an agricultural goddess and a heroine of ancient romance,
embodying the Hindu ideal of the true wife.
We have no record of the steps by which Râma and Kṛishṇa were deified,
although in different parts of the epic they are presented in very different
aspects, sometimes as little more than human, sometimes as nothing less
than the Supreme Deity. But it can hardly be doubted that this deification
owes something to the example of Buddhism. It may be said that the
development of both Buddhism and Hinduism in the centuries immediately
preceding and following our era gives parallel manifestations of the same
popular tendency to deify great men. This is true, but the non-Buddhist
forms of Indian religion while not objecting to deification did not
particularly encourage it. But in this period, Buddhism and Jainism were
powerful: both of them sanctioned the veneration of great teachers and, as
they did not recognize sacrifice or adoration of gods, this veneration
became the basis of their ceremonies and easily passed into worship. The
Buddhists are not responsible for the introduction of deification, but the fact
that it was to some extent the basis of their public ceremonies must have
gone far to make the worship of Râma and Kṛishṇa seem natural.
It is commonly said that whereas the whole divine nature of Vishṇu was
embodied in Kṛishṇa, Râma was only a partial incarnation. Half the god's
essence took human form in him, the other half being distributed among his
brothers. Kṛishṇa is a greater figure in popular esteem and receives the

exclusive devotion of more worshippers. The name of Râma commands the
reverence of most Hindus, and has a place in their prayers, but his figure
has not been invested with the attributes (often of dubious moral value)
which most attract sectarian devotion. His worship combines easily with the
adoration of other deities. The great temple of Ramesvaram on Adam's
Bridge is dedicated not to Râma himself but to the linga which he erected
there, and Tulsi Das, the author of the Hindi Râmâyaṇa, while invoking
Râma as the Supreme Lord and redeemer of the world, emphatically
states[363] that his worship is not antagonistic to that of Śiva.
No inscriptions nor ancient references testify to the worship of Râma before
our era and in the subsequent centuries two phases can be distinguished.
First, Râma is a great hero, an incarnation of Vishṇu for a particular purpose
and analogous to the Vâmana or any other avatâra: deserving as such of all
respect but still not the object of any special cult. This is the view taken of
Râma in the Mahâbhârata, the Purâṇas, the Raghuvaṃsa, and those parts of
the Râmâyaṇa which go beyond it are probably late additions.[364] But
secondly Râma becomes for his worshippers the supreme deity. Râmânuja
(on the Vedânta sûtras, II. 42) mentions him and Kṛishṇa as two great
incarnations in which the supreme being became manifest, and since
Kṛishṇa was certainly worshipped at this period as identical with the All-
God, it would appear that Râma held the same position. Yet it was not until
the fourteenth or fifteenth century that he became for many sects the central
and ultimate divine figure.
In the more liberal sects the worship of Râma passes easily into theism and
it is the direct parent of the Kabirpanth and Sikhism, but unlike Kṛishṇaism
it does not lead to erotic excess. Râma personifies the ideal of chivalry, Sîtâ
of chastity. Less edifying forms of worship may attract more attention, but
it must not be supposed that Râma is relegated to the penumbra of
philosophic thought. If anything so multiplex as Hinduism can be said to
have a watchword, it is the cry, Râm, Râm. The story of his adventures has
travelled even further than the hero himself, and is known not only from
Kashmir to Cape Comorin but from Bombay to Java and Indo-China where
it is a common subject of art. In India the Râmâyaṇa is a favourite recitation
among all classes, and dramatized versions of various episodes are
performed as religious plays. Though two late Upanishads, the
Râmapûrvatâpanîya and Râmauttaratâpaniya extol Râma as the Supreme

Being, there is no Râmapurâṇa. The fact is significant, as showing that his
worship did not possess precisely those features of priestly sectarianism
which mark the Purâṇas and perhaps that it is later than the Purâṇas. But it
has inspired a large literature, more truly popular than anything that the
Purâṇas contain. Thus we have the Sanskrit Râmâyaṇa itself, the Hindi
Râmâyaṇa, the Tamil Râmâyaṇa of Kamban, and works like the Adhyâtma-
Râmâyaṇa and Yoga-Vasishtḥa-Râmâyaṇa.[365] Of all these, the Râmâyaṇa
of Tulsi Das is specially remarkable and I shall speak of it later at some
length.

4

Kṛishṇa, the other great incarnation of Vishṇu, is one of the most
conspicuous figures in the Indian pantheon, but his historical origin remains
obscure. The word which means black or dark blue occurs in the Ṛig Veda
as the name of an otherwise unknown person. In the Chândogya Upanishad,
[366] Kṛishṇa, the son of Devakî, is mentioned as having been instructed by
the sage Ghora of the Âṅgirasa clan, and it is probably implied that Kṛishṇa
too belonged to that clan.[367] Later sectarian writers never quote this verse,
but their silence may be due to the fact that the Upanishad does not refer to
Kṛishṇa as if he were a deity, and merely says that he received from Ghora
instruction after which he never thirsted again. The purport of it was that the
sacrifice may be performed without rites, the various parts being typified by
ordinary human actions, such as hunger, eating, laughter, liberality,
righteousness, etc. This doctrine has some resemblance to Buddhist
language[368] and if this Kṛishṇa is really the ancient hero out of whom the
later deity was evolved, there may be an allusion to some simple form of
worship which rejected ceremonial and was practised by the tribes to whom
Kṛishṇa belonged. I shall recur to the question of these tribes and the
Bhâgavata sect below, but in this section I am concerned with the
personality of Kṛishṇa.
Vâsudeva is a well-known name of Kṛishṇa and a sûtra of Pâṇini,[369]
especially if taken in conjunction with the comment of Pataṅjali, appears to
assert that it is not a clan name but the name of a god. If so Vâsudeva must
have been recognized as a god in the fourth century B.C. He is mentioned
in inscriptions which appear to date from about the second century B.C.[370]

and in the last book of the Taittirîya Âraṇyaka,[371] which however is a later
addition of uncertain date.
The name Kṛishṇa occurs in Buddhist writings in the form Kaṇha,
phonetically equivalent to Kṛishṇa. In the Dîgha Nikâya[372] we hear of the
clan of the Kaṇhâyanas (= Kârshṇâyanas) and of one Kaṇha who became a
great sage. This person may be the Kṛishṇa of the Ṛig Veda, but there is no
proof that he is the same as our Kṛishṇa.
The Ghata-Jâtaka (No. 454) gives an account of Kṛishṇa's childhood and
subsequent exploits which in many points corresponds with the Brahmanic
legends of his life and contains several familiar incidents and names, such
as Vâsudeva, Baladeva, Kaṃsa. Yet it presents many peculiarities and is
either an independent version or a misrepresentation of a popular story that
had wandered far from its home. Jain tradition also shows that these tales
were popular and were worked up into different forms, for the Jains have an
elaborate system of ancient patriarchs which includes Vâsudevas and
Baladevas. Kṛishṇa is the ninth of the Black Vâsudevas[373] and is
connected with Dvâravatî or Dvârakâ. He will become the twelfth
tîrthankara of the next world-period and a similar position will be attained
by Devakî, Rohinî, Baladeva and Javakumâra, all members of his family.
This is a striking proof of the popularity of the Kṛishṇa legend outside the
Brahmanic religion.
No references to Kṛishṇa except the above have been found in the earlier
Upanishads and Sûtras. He is not mentioned in Manu but in one aspect or
another he is the principal figure in the Mahâbhârata, yet not exactly the
hero. The Râmâyaṇa would have no plot without Râma, but the story of the
Mahâbhârata would not lose its unity if Kṛishṇa were omitted. He takes the
side of the Pâṇḍavas, and is sometimes a chief sometimes a god but he is
not essential to the action of the epic.
The legend represents him as the son of Vasudeva, who belonged to the
Sâttvata sept[374] of the Yâdava tribe, and of his wife Devakî. It had been
predicted to Kaṃsa, king of Mathura (Muttra), that one of her sons would
kill him. He therefore slew her first six children: the seventh, Balarâma,
who is often counted as an incarnation of Vishṇu, was transferred by divine
intervention to the womb of Rohinî. Kṛishṇa, the eighth, escaped by more

natural methods. His father was able to give him into the charge of Nanda, a
herdsman, and his wife Yâsodâ who brought him up at Gokula and
Vrindâvana. Here his youth was passed in sporting with the Gopîs or milk-
maids, of whom he is said to have married a thousand. He had time,
however, to perform acts of heroism, and after killing Kaṃsa, he
transported the inhabitants of Mathura to the city of Dvârakâ which he had
built on the coast of Gujarat. He became king of the Yâdavas and continued
his mission of clearing the earth of tyrants and monsters. In the struggle
between the Pâṇḍavas and the sons of Dhṛitarâshtṛa he championed the
cause of the former, and after the conclusion of the war retired to Dvârakâ.
Internecine conflict broke out among the Yâdavas and annihilated the race.
Kṛishṇa himself withdrew to the forest and was killed by a hunter called
Jaras (old age) who shot him supposing him to be a deer.
In the Mahâbhârata and several Purâṇas this bare outline is distended with a
plethora of miraculous incident remarkable even in Indian literature, and
almost all possible forms of divine and human activity are attributed to this
many-sided figure. We may indeed suspect that his personality is dual even
in the simplest form of the legend for the scene changes from Mathurâ to
Dvârakâ, and his character is not quite the same in the two regions. It is
probable that an ancient military hero of the west has been combined with a
deity or perhaps more than one deity. The pile of story, sentiment and
theology which ages have heaped up round Kṛishṇa's name, represents him
in three principal aspects. Firstly, he is a warrior who destroys the powers of
evil. Secondly, he is associated with love in all its forms, ranging from
amorous sport to the love of God in the most spiritual and mystical sense.
Thirdly, he is not only a deity, but he actually becomes God in the European
and also in the pantheistic acceptation of the word, and is the centre of a
philosophic theology.
The first of these aspects is clearly the oldest and it is here, if anywhere,
that we may hope to find some fragments of history. But the
embellishments of poets and story-tellers have been so many that we can
only point to features which may indicate a substratum of fact. In the
legend, Kṛishṇa assists the Pâṇḍavas against the Kauravas. Now many think
that the Pâṇḍavas represent a second and later immigration of Aryans into
India, composed of tribes who had halted in the Himalayas and perhaps
acquired some of the customs of the inhabitants, including polyandry, for

the five Pâṇḍavas had one wife in common between them. Also, the
meaning of the name Kṛishṇa, black, suggests that he was a chief of some
non-Aryan tribe. It is, therefore, possible that one source of the Kṛishṇa
myth is that a body of invading Aryans, described in the legend as the
Pâṇḍavas, who had not exactly the same laws and beliefs as those already
established in Hindustan, were aided by a powerful aboriginal chief, just as
the Sisodias in Rajputana were aided by the Bhîls. It is possible too that
Kṛishṇa's tribe may have come from Kabul or other mountainous districts of
the north west, although one of the most definite points in the legend is his
connection with the coast town of Dvârakâ. The fortifications of this town
and the fruitless efforts of the demon king, Salva, to conquer it by seige are
described in the Mahâbhârata,[375] but the narrative is surrounded by an
atmosphere of magic and miracle rather than of history.[376]
Though it would not be reasonable to pick out the less fantastic parts of the
Kṛishṇa legend and interpret them as history, yet we may fairly attach
significance to the fact that many episodes represent him as in conflict with
Brahmanic institutions and hardly maintaining the position of Vishṇu
incarnate.[377] Thus he plunders Indra's garden and defeats the gods who
attempt to resist him. He fights with Śiva and Skanda. He burns Benares
and all its inhabitants. Yet he is called Upendra, which, whatever other
explanations sectarian ingenuity may invent, can hardly mean anything but
the Lesser Indra, and he fills the humble post of Arjuna's charioteer. His
kinsmen seem to have been of little repute, for part of his mission was to
destroy his own clan and after presiding over it s annihilation in internecine
strife, he was slain himself. In all this we see dimly the figure of some
aboriginal hero who, though ultimately canonized, represented a force not
in complete harmony with Brahmanic civilization. The figure has also many
solar attributes but these need not mean that its origin is to be sought in a
sun myth, but rather that, as many early deities were forms of the sun, solar
attributes came to be a natural part of divinity and were ascribed to the
deified Kṛishṇa just as they were to the deified Buddha.[378]
Some authors hold that the historical Kṛishṇa was a teacher, similar to
Zarathustra, and that though of the military class he was chiefly occupied in
founding or supporting what was afterwards known as the religion of the
Bhâgavatas, a theistic system inculcating the worship of one God, called
Bhâgavat, and perhaps identical with the Sun. It is probable that Kṛishṇa the

hero was connected with the worship of a special deity, but I see no
evidence that he was primarily a teacher.[379] In the earlier legends he is a
man of arms: in the later he is not one who devotes his life to teaching but a
forceful personage who explains the nature of God and the universe at the
most unexpected moments. Now the founders of religions such as
MahâVîra and Buddha preserve their character as teachers even in legend
and do not accumulate miscellaneous heroic exploits. Similarly modern
founders of sects, like Caitanya, though revered as incarnations, still retain
their historical attributes. But on the other hand many men of action have
been deified not because they taught anything but because they seemed to
be more than human forces. Râma is a classical example of such deification
and many local deities can be shown to be warriors, bandits and hunters
whose powers inspired respect. It is said that there is a disposition in the
Bombay Presidency to deify the Maratha leader Śivaji.[380]
In his second aspect, Kṛishṇa is a pastoral deity, sporting among nymphs
and cattle. It is possible that this Kṛishṇa is in his origin distinct from the
violent and tragic hero of Dvârakâ. The two characters have little in
common, except their lawlessness, and the date and locality of the two
cycles of legend are different. But the death of Kaṃsa which is one of the
oldest incidents in the story (for it is mentioned in the Mahâbhâshya)[381]
belongs to both and Kaṃsa is consistently connected with Muttra. The
Mahâbhârata is mainly concerned with Kṛishṇa the warrior: the few
allusions in it to the freaks of the pastoral Kṛishṇa occur in passages
suspected of being late interpolations and, even if they are genuine, show
that little attention was paid to his youth. But in later works, the relative
importance is reversed and the figure of the amorous herdsman almost
banishes the warrior. We can trace the growth of this figure in the sculptures
of the sixth century, in the Vishṇu and Bhâgavata Purâṇas and the Gîtâ-
govinda (written about 1170). Even later is the worship of Râdhâ, Kṛishṇa's
mistress, as a portion of the deity, who is supposed to have divided himself
into male and female halves.[382] The birth and adventures of the pastoral
Kṛishṇa are located in the land of Braj, the district round Muttra and among
the tribe of the Âbhîras, but the warlike Kṛishṇa is connected with the west,
although his exploits extend to the Ganges valley.[383] The Âbhîras, now
called Ahirs, were nomadic herdsmen who came from the west and their

movements between Kathiawar and Muttra may have something to do with
the double location of the Kṛishṇa legend.
Both archæology and historical notices tell us something of the history of
Muttra. It was a great Buddhist and Jain centre, as the statues and vihâras
found there attest. Ptolemy calls it the city of the gods. Fa-Hsien (400 A.D.)
describes it as Buddhist, but that faith was declining at the time of Hsüan
Chuang's visit (c. 630 A.D.). The sculptural remains also indicate the
presence of Græco-Bactrian influence. We need not therefore feel surprise if
we find in the religious thought of Muttra elements traceable to Greece,
Persia or Central Asia. Some claim that Christianity should be reckoned
among these elements and I shall discuss the question elsewhere. Here I
will only say that such ideas as were common to Christianity and to the
religions of Greece and western Asia probably did penetrate to India by the
northern route, but of specifically Christian ideas I see no proof. It is true
that the pastoral Kṛishṇa is unlike all earlier Indian deities, but then no close
parallel to him can be adduced from elsewhere, and, take him as a whole, he
is a decidedly un-Christian figure. The resemblance to Christianity consists
in the worship of a divine child, together with his mother. But this feature is
absent in the New Testament and seems to have been borrowed from
paganism by Christianity.
The legends of Muttra show even clearer traces than those already quoted
of hostility between Kṛishṇa and Brahmanism. He forbids the worship of
Indra,[384] and when Indra in anger sends down a deluge of rain, he protects
the country by holding up over it the hill of Goburdhan, which is still one of
the great centres of pilgrimage.[385] The language which the Vishṇu Purâṇa
attributes to him is extremely remarkable. He interrupts a sacrifice which
his fosterfather is offering to Indra and says, "We have neither fields nor
houses: we wander about happily wherever we list, travelling in our
waggons. What have we to do with Indra? Cattle and mountains are (our)
gods. Brahmans offer worship with prayer: cultivators of the earth adore
their landmarks but we who tend our herds in the forests and mountains
should worship them and our kine."
This passage suggests that Kṛishṇa represents a tribe of highland nomads
who worshipped mountains and cattle and came to terms with the
Brahmanic ritual only after a struggle. The worship of mountain spirits is

common in Central Asia, but I do not know of any evidence for cattle-
worship in those regions. Clemens of Alexandria,[386] writing at the end of
the second century A.D., tells us that the Indians worshipped Herakles and
Pan. The pastoral Kṛishṇa has considerable resemblance to Pan or a Faun,
but no representations of such beings are recorded from Græco-Indian
sculptures. Several Bacchic groups have however been discovered in
Gandhara and also at Muttra[387] and Megasthenes recognized Dionysus in
some Indian deity. Though the Bacchic revels and mysteries do not explain
the pastoral element in the Kṛishṇa legend, they offer a parallel to some of
its other features, such as the dancing and the crowd of women, and I am
inclined to think that such Greek ideas may have germinated and proved
fruitful in Muttra. The Greek king Menander is said to have occupied the
city (c. 155 B.C.), and the sculptures found there indicate that Greek artistic
forms were used to express Indian ideas. There may have been a similar
fusion in religion.
In any case, Buddhism was predominant in Muttra for several centuries. It
no doubt forbade the animal sacrifices of the Brahmans and favoured milder
rites. It may even offer some explanation for the frivolous character of
much in the Kṛishṇa legend.[388] Most Brahmanic deities, extraordinary as
their conduct often is, are serious and imposing. But Buddhism claimed for
itself the serious side of religion and while it tolerated local godlings treated
them as fairies or elves. It was perhaps while Kṛishṇa was a humble rustic
deity of this sort, with no claim to represent the Almighty, that there first
gathered round him the cycle of light love-stories which has clung to him
ever since. In the hands of the Brahmans his worship has undergone the
strangest variations which touch the highest and lowest planes of Hinduism,
but the Muttra legend still retains its special note of pastoral romance, and
exhibits Kṛishṇa in two principal characters, as the divine child and as the
divine lover. The mysteries of birth and of sexual union are congenial topics
to Hindu theology, but in the cult of Muttra we are not concerned with
reproduction as a world force, but simply with childhood and love as
emotional manifestations of the deity. The same ideas occur in Christianity,
and even in the Gospels Christ is compared to a bridegroom, but the
Kṛishṇa legend is far more gross and naïve.
The infant Kṛishṇa is commonly adored in the form known as Makhan Chor
or the Butter Thief.[389] This represents him as a crawling child holding out

one hand full of curds or butter which he has stolen. We speak of idolizing a
child, and when Hindu women worship this image they are unconsciously
generalizing the process and worshipping childhood, its wayward pranks as
well as its loveable simplicity, and though it is hard for a man to think of the
freaks of the butter thief as a manifestation of divinity, yet clearly there is
an analogy between these childish escapades and the caprices of mature
deities, which are respectfully described as mysteries. If one admits the
worship of the Bambino, it is not unreasonable to include in it admiration of
his rogueries, and the tender playfulness which is permitted to enter into
this cult appeals profoundly to Indian women. Images of the Makhan Chor
are sold by thousands in the streets of Muttra.
Even more popular is the image known as Kanhaya, which represents the
god as a young man playing the flute as he stands in a careless attitude,
which has something of Hellenic grace. Kṛishṇa in this form is the beloved
of the Gopîs, or milk-maids, of the land of Braj, and the spouse of Râdhâ,
though she had no monopoly of him. The stories of his frolics with these
damsels and the rites instituted in memory thereof have brought his worship
into merited discredit. Krishnaism offers the most extensive manifestation
to be found in the world of what W. James calls the theopathic condition as
illustrated by nuns like Marguérite Marie Alacoque, Saint Gertrude and the
more distinguished Saint Theresa. "To be loved by God and loved by him to
distraction (jusqu'à la folie), Margaret melted away with love at the thought
of such a thing.... She said to God, 'Hold back, my God, these torrents
which overwhelm me or else enlarge my capacity for their reception'."[390]
These are not the words of the Gîtâ-govinda or the Prem Sagar, as might be
supposed, but of a Catholic Bishop describing the transports of Sister
Marguérite Marie, and they illustrate the temper of Kṛishṇa's worshippers.
But the verses of the Marathi poet, Tukaram, who lived about 1600 A.D.
and sang the praises of Kṛishṇa, rise above this sentimentality though he
uses the language of love. In a letter to Sivaji, who desired to see him, he
wrote, "As a chaste wife longs only to see her lord, such am I to Viṭṭhala.
[391] All the world is to me Viṭṭhala and nothing else: thee also I behold in
him." He also wrote elsewhere, "he that taketh the unprotected to his heart
and doeth to a servant the same kindness as to his own children, is assuredly
the image of God." More recently Râmakṛishṇa, whose sayings breathe a
wide intelligence as well as a wide charity, has given this religion of love an

expression which, if somewhat too sexual to be perfectly in accordance
with western taste, is nearly related to emotional Christianity. "A true lover
sees his god as his nearest and dearest relative" he writes, "just as the
shepherd women of Vṛindâvana saw in Kṛishṇa not the Lord of the
Universe but their own beloved.... The knowledge of God may be likened to
a man, while the love of God is like a woman. Knowledge has entry only up
to the outer rooms of God, and no one can enter into the inner mysteries of
God save a lover.... Knowledge and love of God are ultimately one and the
same. There is no difference between pure knowledge and pure love."[392]
These extracts show how Kṛishṇa as the object of the soul's desire assumes
the place of the Supreme Being or God. But this surprising
transformation[393] is not specially connected with the pastoral and erotic
Kṛishṇa: the best known and most thorough-going exposition of his divinity
is found in the Bhagavad-gîtâ, which represents him as being in his human
aspect, a warrior and the charioteer of Arjuna. Probably some seventy-five
millions to-day worship Kṛishṇa, especially under the name of Hari, as God
in the pantheistic sense and naturally the more his identity with the supreme
spirit is emphasized, the dimmer grow the legendary features which mark
the hero of Muttra and Dvârakâ, and the human element in him is reduced
to this very important point that the tie uniting him to his worshippers is one
of sentiment and affection.
In the following chapters I shall treat of this worship when describing the
various sects which practise it. A question of some importance for the
history of Kṛishṇa's deification is the meaning of the name Vâsudeva. One
explanation makes it a patronymic, son of Vasudeva, and supposes that
when this prince Vâsudeva was deified his name, like Râma, was
transferred to the deity. The other regards Vâsudeva as a name for the deity
used by the Sâttvata clan and supposes that when Kṛishṇa was deified this
already well-known divine name was bestowed on him. There is much to be
said for this latter theory. As we have seen the Jains give the title Vâsudeva
to a series of supermen, and a remarkable legend states[394] that a king
called Paundraka who pretended to be a deity used the title Vâsudeva and
ordered Kṛishṇa to cease using it, for which impertinence he was slain. This
clearly implies that the title was something which could be detached from
Kṛishṇa and not a mere patronymic. Indian writings countenance both

etymologies of the word. As the name of the deity they derive it from vas to
dwell, he in whom all things abide and who abides in all.[395]

5

Śiva and Vishṇu are not in their nature different from other Indian ideas,
high or low. They are the offspring of philosophic and poetic minds playing
with a luxuriant popular mythology. But even in the epics they have already
become fixed points in a flux of changing fancies and serve as receptacles
in which the most diverse notions are collected and stored. Nearly all
philosophy and superstition finds its place in Hinduism by being connected
with one or both of them. The two worships are not characteristic of
different periods: they coexist when they first become known to us as they
do at the present day and in essential doctrines they are much alike. We
have no name for this curious double theism in which each party describes
its own deity as the supreme god or All-god, yet without denying the god of
the other. Something similar might be produced in Christianity if different
Churches were avowedly to worship different persons of the Trinity.
Śiva and Vishṇu are sometimes contrasted and occasionally their
worshippers quarrel.[396] But the general inclination is rather to make the
two figures approximate by bestowing the same attributes on both. A deity
must be able to satisfy emotional devotion: hence the Tamil Śivaite says of
Śiva the destroyer, "one should worship in supreme love him who does
kindness to the soul." But then the feature in the world which most
impresses the Hindu is the constant change and destruction, and this must
find a place in the All-god. Hence the sportive kindly Kṛishṇa comes to be
declared the destroyer of the worlds.[397] It is as if in some vast Dravidian
temple one wandered through two corridors differently ornamented and
assigned to the priests of different rites but both leading to the same image.
Hence it is not surprising to find that there is actually a deity—if indeed the
term is suitable, but European vocabularies hardly provide one which meets
the case—called Harihara (or Śankara-Nârâyaṇa), that is Śiva and Vishṇu
combined. The Harivaṃsa contains a hymn addressed to him: fairly ancient
sculptures attest the prevalence of his worship in the Deccan, especially at
Badâmi, he was once the chief deity of Camboja and he is still popular in
south India. Here besides being worshipped under his own name he has

undergone a singular transformation and has probably been amalgamated
with some aboriginal deity. Under the designation of Ayenâr (said to be a
corruption of Harihara) he is extensively worshipped as a village god and
reputed to be the son of Śiva and Vishṇu, the latter having kindly assumed
the form of a woman to effect his birth.
Another form of this inclination to combine and unite the various
manifestations of the Divine is the tendency to worship groups of gods, a
practice as old as the Vedas. Thus many temples are dedicated to a group of
five, namely, Śiva, Vishṇu, Durgâ, Gaṇeśa and the Sun and it is stated that
every Hindu worships these five deities in his daily prayers.[398] The
Trimûrti, or figure of Brahmâ, Śiva and Vishṇu, illustrates the worship of
groups. Its importance has sometimes been over-estimated by Europeans
from an idea that it corresponded to the Christian Trinity, but in reality this
triad is late and has little significance. No stress is laid on the idea of three
in one and the number of persons can be increased. The Brahma-vaivarta
Purâṇa for instance adds Kṛishṇa to Brahmâ, Śiva and Vishṇu. The union of
three personalities is merely a way of summing up the chief attributes of the
All-God. Thus the Vishṇu Purâṇa[399] extols Vishṇu as being
"Hiraṇyagarbha, Hari and Śaṅkara (i.e. Brahmâ, Vishṇu and Śiva), the
creator, preserver and destroyer," but in another passage as him who is
"Brahma, Îśvara and spirit (Puṁs), who with the three Guṇas (qualities of
matter) is the cause of creation, preservation and destruction...." The origin
of the triad, so far as it has any doctrinal or philosophical meaning, is
probably to be sought in the personification of the three Guṇas.[400]

FOOTNOTES:

[334] See especially Dig. Nik. XX. and XXXII.
[335] But the lists may be pieces of folk-lore older than the suttas in
which they are incorporated.
[336] The Dionysus of Megasthenes is a deity who comes from the
west with an army that suffers from the heat of the plains. If we could
be certain that he meant Śiva by Dionysus this would be valuable
evidence. But he clearly misunderstood many things in Indian
religion. Greek legends connected Dionysus with India and the East.
[337] Macdonell seems to me correct in saying (J.R.A.S. 1915, p. 125)
that one reason why Indian deities have many arms is that they may
be able to carry the various symbols by which they are characterized.
Another reason is that worship is usually accompanied by dhyâna,
that is forming a mental image of the deity as described in a particular
text. E.g. the worshipper repeats a mantra which describes a deity in
language which was originally metaphorical as having many heads
and arms and at the same time he ought to make a mental image of
such a figure.
[338] But some forms of Śivaism in southern India come even nearer
to emotional Christianity than does Vishnuism.
[339] I cannot discover that any alleged avatâra of Śiva has now or
has had formerly any importance, but the Vâyu, Liṅga and Kûrma
Purâna give lists of such incarnations, as does also the Catechism of
the Shaiva religion translated by Foulkes. But Indian sects have a
strong tendency to ascribe all possible achievements and attributes to
their gods. The mere fact that Vishṇu becomes incarnate incites the
ardent Śivaite to say that his god can do the same. A curious instance
of this rivalry is found in the story that Śiva manifested himself as
Śarabha-mûrti in order to curb the ferocity of Vishṇu when incarnate
in the Man Lion (see Gopinâtha Rao, Hindu Icon. p. 45). Śiva often
appears in a special form, not necessarily human, for a special
purpose (e.g. Vîrabhadra) and some tantric Buddhas seem to be

imitations of these apparitions. There is a strong element of Śivaism
borrowed from Bengal in the mythology of Tibet and Mongolia,
where such personages as Hevajra, Saṃvara, and Mahâkâla have a
considerable importance under the strange title of Buddhas.
[340] The passage from one epithet to the other is very plain in R.V. I.
114.
[341] Book XVI.
[342] In the play Mricchakaṭikâ or The Clay Cart (probably of the
sixth century A.D.) a burglar invokes Kârtikeya, the son of Śiva, who
is said to have taught different styles of house-breaking.
[343] A similarly strange collocation of attributes is found in Daksha's
hymn to Śiva. Mahâbhârata, XII. Sec. 285.
[344] Atharva, V. xi. 2. 24.
[345] It is not certain if the Śisṇadevâh whom Indra is asked to
destroy in Ṛig. V. VII. 21. 5 and X. 99. 3 are priapic demons or
worshippers of the phallus.
[346] VII. secs. 202, 203, and XIII. sec. 14.
[347] The inscriptions of Camboja and Champa seem to be the best
proof of the antiquity of Linga worship. A Cambojan inscription of
about 550 A.D. records the dedication of a linga and the worship must
have taken some time to reach Camboja from India. Some lingas
discovered in India are said to be anterior to the Christian era.
[348] See F. Kittel, Ueber den Ursprung der Linga Kultus, and Barth,
Religions of India, p. 261.
[349] As is also its appearance, as a rule. But there are exceptions to
this. Some Hindus deny that the Linga is a phallic emblem. It is
hardly possible to maintain this thesis in view of such passages as
Mahâbh. XIII. 14 and the innumerable figures in which there are both
a linga and a Yoni. But it is true that in its later forms the worship is
purged of all grossness and that in its earlier forms the symbol adored
was often a stûpa-like column or a pillar with figures on it.

[350] Such scenes as the relief from Amarâvati figured in Grünwedel,
Buddhist art in India, p. 29, fig. 8, might easily be supposed to
represent the worship of the linga, and some of Aśoka's pillars have
been worshipped as lingas in later times.
[351] But not of course the soul which, according to the general
Indian idea, exists before and continues after the life of the body.
[352] Crooke, Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India, I. 84;
II. 219.
[353] They are however of some importance in Vishnuite theology.
For instance according to the school of Râmânuja it is the Śakti (Śrî)
who reveals the true doctrine to mankind. Vishṇu is often said to have
three consorts, Śrî, Bhû and Lîlâ.
[354] E.g. Śat. Brâh. I. 2. 5. See also the strange legend Ib. XI. 1. 1
where Vishṇu is described as the best of the gods but is eaten by
Indra. He is frequently (e.g. in the Śata Brâh) stated to be identical
with the sacrifice, and this was probably one of the reasons for his
becoming prominent.
[355] See many modern examples in Crooke, Popular Religion and
Folk Lore of Northern India, chap. IV. and Census of India, 1901, vol.
VI. Bengal, pp. 196-8, where are described various deified heroes
who are adored in Bengal, such as Goveiyâ (a bandit), Sailesh,
Karikh, Lárik, Amar Singh, and Gobind Raut (a slayer of tigers).
Compare too the worship of Gopi Nath and Zinda Kaliana in the
Panjâb as described in Census of India, 1901, vol. XVII. pp. 118-9.
[356] The Bhâgavata Purâna (I. iii.) and the Bhaktamâlâ (see J.R.A.S.
1909, pp. 621 ff.) give longer lists of 22 and 26, and the Pâncarâtra
gives 39. See Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitâ, V. 50-55.
[357] Book I, cantos 74-76.
[358] A parallel phenomenon is the belief found in Bali, that Buddha
is Śiva's brother.

[359] For Brahmanic ideas about Buddha see Vishṇu Purâṇa, III. 18.
The Bhâgavata Purâṇa, I. 3. 24 seems to make the Buddha incarnation
future. It also counts Kapila and Ṛishabha, apparently identical with
the founder of the Sânkhya and the first Jain saint, as incarnations.
The Padma Purâṇa seems to ascribe not only Buddhism but the Mâyâ
doctrine of Śankara to delusions deliberately inspired by gods. I have
not been able to find the passage in the printed edition of the Purâṇa
but it is quoted in Sanskrit by Aufrecht, Cat. Cod. Bib. Bodl. p. 14,
and Muir, Original Sanskrit Texts, p. 198.
[360] See Norman in Trans. Third Int. Congress of Religions, II. p. 85.
In the Ind. Ant. 1918, p. 145 Jayaswal tries to prove that Kalkî is a
historical personage and identical with King Yaśodharman of Central
India (about A.D. 500) and that the idea of his being a future saviour
is late. This theory offers difficulties, for firstly there is no proof that
the passages of the Mahabharata which mention Kalkî (III. 190,
13101; III. 191, 13111: XII. 340, 12968) are additions later than
Yaśodharman and secondly if Kalkî was first a historical figure and
then projected into the future we should expect to hear that he will
come again, but such language is not quoted. On the other hand it
seems quite likely (1) that there was an old tradition about a future
saviour called Kalkî, (2) that Yaśodharman after defeating the Huns
assumed the rôle, (3) and that when it was found that the golden age
had not recommenced he was forgotten (as many pseudo-Messiahs
have been) and Kalkî again became a hope for the future. Vincent
Smith (Hist. of India, ed. III. p. 320) intimates that Yaśodharman
performed considerable exploits but was inordinately boastful.
[361] Another version of the story which omits the expedition to
Laṅka and makes Sîtâ the sister of Râma is found in the Dasaratha
Jâtaka (641).
[362] But this colonization is attributed by tradition to Vijaya, not
Râma.
[363] See especially book VI. p. 67, in Growse's Translation.
[364] See Muir's Sanskrit Texts, vol. IV. especially pp. 441-491.

[365] Ekanâtha, who lived in the sixteenth century, calls the
Adhyâtma R. a modern work. See Bhandarkar, Vaishn. and Saivism,
page 48. The Yoga-Vasishtḥa R. purports to be instruction given by
Vasishṭha to Râma who wishes to abandon the world. Its date is
uncertain but it is quoted by authors of the fourteenth century. It is
very popular, especially in south India, where an abridgment in Tamil
called Jñâna-Vasishṭha is much read. Its doctrine appears to be
Vedântist with a good deal of Buddhist philosophy. Salvation is never
to think that pleasures and pains are "mine."
[366] Châṇḍ. Up. III. 17.6
[367] The Kaush. Brâhm. says that Kṛishṇa was an Âṅgirasa XXX. g.
The Anukramanî says that the Kṛishṇa of Ṛig Veda, VIII. 74 was an
Âṅgirasa. For Ghora Âṅgirasa "the dread descendent of the
Angirases" see Macdonell and Keith, Vedic Index, s.v.
[368] E.g. Dig. Nik. V. The Pâncarâtra expressly states that Yoga is
worship of the heart and self-sacrifice, being thus a counterpart of the
external sacrifice (bâhyayâga).
[369] Pâṇ. IV. 3. 98, Vâsudevârjunâbhyâm vun. See Bhandarkar,
Vaishnavism and Śaivism, p. 3 and J.R.A.S. 1910, p. 168. Sûtra 95,
just above, appears to point to bhakti, faith or devotion, felt for this
Vâsudeva.
[370] Especially the Besnagar column. See Rapson, Ancient India, p.
156 and various articles in J.R.A.S. 1909-10.
[371] X. i, vi.
[372] III. i. 23, Ulâro so Kaṇho isi ahosi. But this may refer to the
Rishi mentioned in R.V. VIII. 74 who has not necessarily anything to
do with the god Kṛishṇa.
[373] See Hemacandra Abhidhânacintâmani, Ed. Boehtlingk and
Rien, p. 128, and Barnett's translation of the Antagada Dasāo, pp. 13-
15 and 67-82.
[374] Apparently the same as the Vṛishṇis.

[375] III. XV.
[376] It would seem that the temple of Dvârakâ was built between the
composition of the narrative in the Mahâbhârata and of the Vishṇu
Purâṇa, for while the former says the whole town was destroyed by
the sea, the latter excepts the temple and says that whoever visits it is
freed from all his sins. See Wilson, Vishṇu Purâṇa, V. p. 155.
[377] A most curious chapter of the Vishṇu Purâṇa (IV. 13) contains a
vindication of Kṛishṇa's character and a picture of old tribal life.
[378] Neither can I agree with some scholars that Kṛishṇa is mainly
and primarily a deity of vegetation. All Indian ideas about the
Universe and God emphasize the interaction of life and death, growth
and decay, spring and winter. Kṛishṇa is undoubtedly associated with
life, growth and generation, but so is Śiva the destroyer, or rather the
transmuter. The account in the Mahâbhâshya (on Pân. III. 1. 26) of the
masque representing the slaughter of Kaṃsa by Kṛishṇa is surely a
slight foundation for the theory that Kṛishṇa was a nature god. It
might be easily argued that Christ is a vegetation spirit, for not only is
Easter a spring festival but there are numerous allusions to sowing
and harvest in the Gospels and Paul illustrates the resurrection by the
germination of corn. It is a mistake to seek for uniformity in the
history of religion. There were in ancient times different types of mind
which invented different kinds of gods, just as now professors invent
different theories about gods.
[379] The Kṛishṇa of the Chândogya Upanishad receives instruction
but it is not said that he was himself a teacher.
[380] Hopkins, India Old and New, p. 105.
[381] Bhandarkar. Allusions to Kṛishṇa in Mahâbhâshya, Ind. Ant.
1874, p. 14. For the pastoral Kṛishṇa see Bhandarkar, Vaishṇavism
and Śaivism, chap. IX.
[382] The divinity of Râdhâ is taught specially in the Brahma-vaivarta
Purâṇa and the Nârada pâncarâtra, also called Jñânâmṛitasâra. She is
also described in the Gopâla-tâpanîya Upanishad of unknown date.

[383] But Kaṃsa appears in both series of legends, i.e., in the Ghata-
Jâtaka which contains no hint of the pastoral legends but is a variant
of the story of the warlike Kṛishṇa.
[384] Vishṇu Purâṇa, V. 10, 11 from which the quotations in the text
are taken. Much of it is repeated in the Harivamsa. See for instance H.
3808.
[385] The Muttra cycle of legends cannot be very late for the
inscription of Glai Lomor in Champa (811 A.D.) speaks of Nârâyana
holding up Goburdhan and a Cambojan inscription of Prea Eynkosey
(970 A.D.) speaks of the banks of the Yamunâ where Kṛishṇa sported.
These legends must have been prevalent in India some time before
they travelled so far. Some of them are depicted on a pillar found at
Mandor and possibly referable to the fourth century A.D. See Arch.
Survey Ind. 1905-1906, p. 135.
[386] Strom, III. 194. See M'Crindle, Ancient India, p. 183.
[387] Vincent Smith, Fine Art in India, pp. 134-138.
[388] In the Sutta-nipâta Mâra, the Evil One is called Kaṇha, the
phonetic equivalent of Kṛishṇa in Prâkrit. Can it be that Mâra and his
daughters have anything to do with Kṛishṇa and the Gopîs?
[389] Compare the Greek stories of the infant Hermes who steals
Apollo's cattle and invents the lyre. Compare too, as having a general
resemblance to fantastic Indian legends, the story of young
Hephæstus.
[390] Mgr. Bongard, Histoire de la Bienheureuse Marguérite Marie.
Quoted by W. James, Varieties of Religious Experience, p. 343.
[391] Viṭṭhal or Viṭṭoba is a local deity of Pandharpur in the Deccan
(perhaps a deified Brahman of the place) now identified with Kṛishṇa.
[392] Life and Sayings of Râmakṛishṇa. Trans. F. Max Müller, pp.
137-8. The English poet Crashaw makes free use of religious
metaphors drawn from love and even Francis Thompson represents
God as the lover of the Soul, e.g. in his poem Any Saint.

[393] Though surprising, it can be paralleled in modern times for
Kabir (c. 1400) was identified by his later followers with the supreme
spirit.
[394] Mahâbhâr. Sabhâp. XIV. Vishṇu Pur. V. xxxiv. The name also
occurs in the Taittirîya Âraṇyaka (i. 31) a work of moderate if not
great antiquity Nâzâyanâya vidmahe Vasudevâya dhîmahi.
[395] See. Vishṇu Pur. VI. V. See also Wilson, Vishṇu Purâṇa, I. pp. 2
and 17.
[396] Thus the Saura Purâṇa inveighs against the Mâdhva sect
(XXXVIII.-XL.) and calls Vishṇu the servant of Śiva: a Purâṇic legal
work called the Vriddha-Harita-Samhitâ is said to contain a polemic
against Śiva. Occasionally we hear of collisions between the followers
of Vishṇu and Śiva or the desecration of temples by hostile fanatics.
But such conflicts take place most often not between widely different
sects but between subdivisions of the same sect, e.g., Tengalais and
Vadagalais. It would seem too that at present most Hindus of the
higher castes avoid ostentatious membership of the modern sects, and
though they may practise special devotion to either Vishṇu or Śiva,
yet they visit the temples of both deities when they go on pilgrimages.
Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya in his Hindu Castes and Sects says (p.
364) that aristocratic Brahmans usually keep in their private chapels
both a salâgram representing Vishṇu and emblems representing Śiva
and his spouse. Hence different observers vary in their estimates of
the importance of sectarian divisions, some holding that sect is the
essence of modern Hinduism and others that most educated Hindus do
not worship a sectarian deity. The Kûrma Purâṇa, Part I. chap. XXII.
contains some curious rules as to what deities should be worshipped
by the various classes of men and spirits.
[397] Bhag.-gîtâ, XL. 23-34.
[398] See Srisa Chandra Vasu, Daily practice of the Hindus, p. 118.
[399] II. 1 and I. 1.
[400] See Maitrâyaṇa Up. V. 2. It is highly probable that the
celebrated image at Elephanta is not a Trimûrti at all but a

Maheśamûrti of Śiva. See Gopinâtha Rao, Hindu Iconog. II. 382.

CHAPTER XXVI
FEATURES OF HINDUISM: RITUAL, CASTE, SECT,
FAITH

1

In the last chapter I traced the growth of the great gods Śiva and Vishṇu.
The prominence of these figures is one of the marks which distinguish the
later phase of Indian religion from the earlier. But it is also distinguished by
various practices, institutions and beliefs, which are more or less connected
with the new deities. Such are a new ritual, the elaboration of the caste
system, the growth of sects, and the tendency to make devotion to a
particular deity the essence of religion. In the present chapter I shall say
something of these phenomena.
Hinduism has often and justly been compared to a jungle. As in the jungle
every particle of soil seems to put forth its spirit in vegetable life and plants
grow on plants, creepers and parasites on their more stalwart brethren, so in
India art, commerce, warfare and crime, every human interest and
aspiration seek for a manifestation in religion, and since men and women of
all classes and occupations, all stages of education and civilization, have
contributed to Hinduism, much of it seems low, foolish and even immoral.
The jungle is not a park or garden. Whatever can grow in it, does grow. The
Brahmans are not gardeners but forest officers. To attempt a history or
description of Indian creeds seems an enterprise as vast, hopeless and
pathless as a general account of European politics. As for many centuries
the life of Europe has expressed itself in politics, so for even longer ages the
life of India, which has more inhabitants than western Europe,[401] has
found expression in religion, speculation and philosophy, and has left of all
this thought a voluminous record, mighty in bulk if wanting in dates and
events. And why should it chronicle them? The truly religious mind does

not care for the history of religion, just as among us the scientific mind does
not dwell on the history of science.
Yet in spite of their exuberance Hinduism and the jungle have considerable
uniformity. Here and there in a tropical forest some well-grown tree or
brilliant flower attracts attention, but the general impression left on the
traveller by the vegetation as he passes through it mile after mile is infinite
repetition as well as infinite luxuriance. And so in Hinduism. A monograph
on one god or one teacher is an interesting study. But if we continue the
experiment, different gods and different teachers are found to be much the
same. We can write about Vishnuism and Śivaism as if they were different
religions and this, though incomplete, is not incorrect. But in their higher
phases both show much the same excellences and when degraded both lead
to much the same abuses, except that the worship of Vishṇu does not allow
animal sacrifices. This is true even of externals. In the temples of Madura,
Poona and Benares, the deities, the rites, the doctrines, the race of the
worshippers and the architecture are all different, yet the impression of
uniformity is strong. In spite of divergences the religion is the same in all
three places: it smacks of the soil and nothing like it can be found outside
India.
Hinduism is an unusual combination of animism and pantheism, which are
commonly regarded as the extremes of savage and of philosophic belief. In
India both may be found separately but frequently they are combined in
startling juxtaposition. The same person who worships Vishṇu as identical
with the universe also worships him in the form of a pebble or plant.[402]
The average Hindu, who cannot live permanently in the altitudes of
pantheistic thought, regards his gods as great natural forces, akin to the
mighty rivers which he also worships, irresistible and often beneficent but
also capricious and destructive. Whereas Judaism, Christianity and Islam all
identify the moral law with the will and conduct of the deity, in Hinduism
this is not completely admitted in practice, though a library might be filled
with the beautiful things that have been said about man and God. The
outward forms of Indian religion are pagan after the fashion of the ancient
world, a fashion which has in most lands passed away. But whereas in the
fourth century A.D. European paganism, despite the efforts of anti-Christian
eclectics, proved inelastic and incapable of satisfying new religious
cravings, this did not happen in India. The bottles of Hinduism have always

proved capable of holding all the wine poured into them. When a new
sentiment takes possession of men's souls, such as love, repentance, or the
sense of sin, some deity of many shapes and sympathies straightway adapts
himself to the needs of his worshippers. And yet in so doing the deity,
though he enlarges himself, does not change, and the result is that we often
meet with strange anachronisms, as if Jephthah should listen appreciatively
to the Sermon on the Mount and then sacrifice his daughter to Christ. Many
Hindu temples are served by dancing girls who are admittedly prostitutes,
[403] an institution which takes us back to the cultus of Corinth and Babylon
and is without parallel in any nation on approximately the same level of
civilization. Only British law prevents widows from being burned with their
dead husbands, though even in the Vedic age the custom had been
discontinued as barbarous.[404] But for the same legislation, human sacrifice
would probably be common. What the gods do and what their worshippers
do in their service cannot according to Hindu opinion be judged by ordinary
laws of right and wrong. The god is supra-moral: the worshipper when he
enters the temple leaves conventionality outside.
Yet it is unfair to represent Hinduism as characterized by licence and
cruelty. Such tendencies are counterbalanced by the strength and prevalence
of ideas based on renunciation and self-effacement. All desire, all
attachment to the world is an evil; all self-assertion is wrong. Hinduism is
constantly in extremes: sometimes it exults in the dances of Kṛishṇa or the
destructive fury of Kâlî: more often it struggles for release from the
transitory and for union with the permanent and real by self-denial or rather
self-negation, which aims at the total suppression of both pleasure and pain.
This is on the whole its dominant note.
In the records accessible to us the transition from Brahmanism—that is, the
religion of the Vedas and Brâhmaṇas—to Hinduism does not appear as
direct but as masked by Buddhism. We see Buddhism grow at the expense
of Brahmanism. We are then conscious that it becomes profoundly modified
under the influence of new ideas. We see it decay and the religion of the
Brahmans emerge victorious. But that religion is not what it was when
Buddhism first arose, and is henceforth generally known as Hinduism. The
materials for studying the period in which the change occurred—say 400
B.C. to 400 A.D.—are not scanty, but they do not facilitate chronological
investigation. Art and architecture are mainly Buddhist until the Gupta

period (c. 320 A.D.) and literature, though plentiful, is undated. The
Mahâbhârata and Râmâyaṇa must have been edited in the course of these
800 years, but they consist of different strata and it is not easy to separate
and arrange them without assuming what we want to prove. From 400 B.C.
(if not from an earlier date) onwards there grew up a great volume of epic
poetry, founded on popular ballads, telling the stories of Râma and the
Pâṇḍavas.[405] It was distinct from the canonical literatures of both
Brahmans and Buddhists, but though it was not in its essential character
religious, yet so general in India is the interest in religion that whole
theological treatises were incorporated in these stories without loss, in
Indian opinion, to the interest of the narrative. If at the present day a
congregation is seen in a Hindu temple listening to a recitation, the text
which is being chanted will often prove to be part of the Mahâbhârata. Such
a ceremony is not due to forgetfulness of the Veda but is a repetition of
what happened long before our era when rhapsodists strung together
popular narratives and popular theology. Such theology cannot be rigidly
separated from Brahmanism and Buddhism. It grew up under their
influence and accepted their simpler ideas. But it brought with it popular
beliefs which did not strictly speaking belong to either system. By attacking
the main Brahmanic doctrines the Buddhists gave the popular religion its
opportunity. For instance, they condemned animal sacrifices and derided the
idea that trained priests and complicated rites are necessary. This did not
destroy the influence of the Brahmans but it disposed them to admit that the
Vedic sacrifices are not the only means of salvation and to authorize other
rites and beliefs. It was about this time, too, that a series of invasions began
to pour into India from the north-west. It may be hard to distinguish
between the foreign beliefs which they introduced and the Indian beliefs
which they accepted and modified. But it is clear that their general effect
was to upset traditional ideas associated with a ritual and learning which
required lifelong study.

2

It has been well said[406] that Buddhism did not waste away in India until
rival sects had appropriated from it everything they could make use of.
Perhaps Hinduism had an even stronger doctrinal influence on Buddhism.
The deification of the Buddha, the invention of Bodhisattvas who are

equivalent to gods and the extraordinary alliance between late Buddhism
and Śivaism, are all instances of the general Indian view overcoming the
special Buddhist view. But Buddhism is closely connected with the theory
of incarnations and the development of the Advaita philosophy, and in the
externals of religion, in rites, ceremonies and institutions, its influence was
great and lasting. We may take first the doctrine of Ahiṃsâ, non-injury, or
in other words the sanctity of animal life. This beautiful doctrine, the glory
of India, if not invented by the Buddha at least arose in schools which were
not Brahmanic and were related to the Jain and Buddhist movements. It
formed no part of the Vedic religion in which sacrifice often meant
butchery. But in Hinduism, it meets with extensive though not universal
acceptance. With the Vaishṇavas it is an article of faith nor do the
worshippers of Śiva usually propitiate him with animal sacrifices, though
these are offered by the Śâktas and also by the small class of Brahmans who
still preserve the Vedic ritual.[407] Hardly any Hindus habitually eat meat
and most abhor it, especially beef. Yet beef-eating seems to have been
permitted in Vedic times and even when parts of the Mahâbhârata were
composed.
Apart from animal sacrifices Buddhism was the main agent in effecting a
mighty revolution in worship and ritual. One is tempted to regard the
change as total and complete, but such wide assertions are rarely true in
India: customs and institutions are not swept away by reformers but are cut
down like the grass and like the grass grow up again. They sometimes die
out but they are rarely destroyed. The Vedic sacrifices are still occasionally
offered,[408] but for many centuries have been almost entirely superseded by
another form of worship associated with temples and the veneration of
images. This must have become the dominant form of Hindu cultus in the
first few centuries of our era and probably earlier. It is one of the ironies of
fate that the Buddha and his followers should be responsible for the growth
of image worship, but it seems to be true. He laughed at sacrifices and left
to his disciples only two forms of religious exercise, sermons and
meditation. For Indian monks, this was perhaps sufficient, but the laity
craved for some outward form of worship. This was soon found in the
respect shown to the memory of the Buddha and the relics of his body,
although Hinduism never took kindly to relic worship. We hear too of
Cetiyas. In the Piṭakas this word means a popular shrine unconnected with

either Buddhist or Brahmanic ceremonial, sometimes perhaps merely a
sacred tree or stone, probably honoured by such simple rites as decorating it
with paint or flowers. A little later, in Buddhist times, the Cetiya became a
cenotaph or reliquary, generally located near a monastery and surrounded
by a passage for reverential circumambulation.
Allusions in the Piṭakas also indicate that then as now there were fairs. The
early Buddhists thought that though such gatherings were not edifying they
might be made so. They erected sacred buildings near a monastery, and held
festivals so that people might collect together, visit a holy place, and hear
sermons. In the earliest known sanctuaries, the funeral monument (for we
can scarcely doubt that this is the origin of the stûpa)[409] has already
assumed the conventional form known as Dagoba, consisting of a dome and
chest of relics, with a spire at the top, the whole surrounded by railings or a
colonnade, but though the carving is lavish, no figure of the Buddha himself
is to be seen. He is represented by a symbol such as a footprint, wheel, or
tree. But in the later school of sculpture known as Gandhara or Græco-
Buddhist he is frequently shown in a full length portrait. This difference is
remarkable. It is easy to say that in the older school the Buddha was not
depicted out of reverence, but less easy to see why such delineation should
have shocked an Indian. But at any rate there is no difficulty in
understanding that Greeks or artists influenced by Greeks would think it
obvious and proper to make an effigy of their principal hero.
In these shrines we have if not the origin of the Hindu temple, at any rate a
parallel development more nearly allied to it than anything in the Vedic
religion.[410] For the Buddhist shrine was a monument built over a
receptacle containing relics and the essential feature of Hindu temples is a
cell containing an image or emblem and generally surmounted by a tower.
The surrounding courts and corridors may assume gigantic proportions, but
the central shrine is never large. Images had no place in the Vedic sacrifices
and those now worshipped in temples are generally small and rude, and
sometimes (as at Bhuvaneshwar and Srirangam) the deity is represented by
a block or carved stone which cannot be moved, and may have been
honoured as a sacred rock long before the name of Vishṇu or Śiva was
known in those regions.[411] The conspicuous statues often found outside
the shrine are not generally worshipped and are merely ornaments.
Buddhism did not create the type of ritual now used in Hindu temples, yet it

contributed towards it, for it attacked the old Brahmanic sacrifices, it
countenanced the idea that particular places and objects are holy, and it
encouraged the use of images. It is strange that these widespread ideas
should find no place in the Vedic religion, but even now-a-days whenever
the old Vedic sacrifices are celebrated they are uncontaminated by the
temple ceremonial. More than this, the priests or Pujâris who officiate in
temples are not always Brahmans and they rarely enjoy much consideration.
[412] This curious and marked feature may be connected with the inveterate
Indian feeling that, though it is well to multiply rites and rules for
neophytes, no great respect is due to men occupied with mere ceremonial.
But it also testifies to a dim consciousness that modern temples and their
ceremonies have little to do with the thoughts and mode of life which made
the Brahmans a force in India. In many ways the Brahmans dissociate
themselves from popular religion. Those of good family will not perform
religious rites for Śûdras and treat the Brahmans who do so as inferiors.[413]
The simplest ceremonial in use at the present day is that employed in some
Śivaite temples. It consists in placing leaves on the linga and pouring holy
water over it. These rites, which may be descended from prehistoric stone
worship, are generally accompanied by the reading of a Purâna. But the
commonest form of temple ritual consists in treating the image or symbol as
an honoured human being.[414] It is awakened, bathed, dressed and put to
bed at the close of day. Meals are served to it at the usual hours. The food
thus offered is called prasâd (or favour) and is eaten by the devout. Once or
twice a day the god holds a levee and on festivals he is carried in
procession. These ceremonies are specially characteristic of the worship of
Kṛishṇa whose images receive all the endearments lavished on a pet child.
But they are also used in the temples of Śiva and Parvatî, and no less than
twenty-two of them are performed in the course of the day at the temple of
Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa. It is clear that the spirit of these rites is very
different from that which inspires public worship in other civilized
countries at the present day. They are not congregational or didactic, though
if any of the faithful are in the temple at the time of the god's levee it is
proper for them to enter and salute him. Neither do they recall the magical
ceremonies of the Vedic sacrifices.[415] The waving of lights (arati) before
the god and the burning of incense are almost the only acts suggestive of
ecclesiastical ritual. The rest consists in treating a symbol or image as if it

were a living thing capable of enjoying simple physical pleasures. Here
there are two strata. We have really ancient rites, such as the anointing or
ornamenting of stones and offerings of food in sacred places. In this class
too we may reckon the sacrifice of goats (and formerly of human beings) to
Kâlî.[416] But on the other hand the growing idea of Bhakti, that is faith or
devotion, imported a sentimental element and the worshipper endeavoured
to pet, caress and amuse the deity.
It is hard to see anything either healthy or artistic in this emotional ritual.
The low and foolish character of many temple ceremonies disgusts even
appreciative foreigners, but these services are not the whole of Hindu
worship. All Hindus perform in the course of the day numerous acts of
private devotion varying according to sect, and a pious man is not
dependent on the temple like a Catholic on his church. Indian life is largely
occupied with these private, intimate, individual observances, hardly
noticeable as ceremonies and concerned with such things as dressing,
ablution and the preparation of food.
The monastic institutions of India seem due to Buddhism. There were
wandering monks before the Buddha's time, but the practice of founding
establishments where they could reside permanently, originated in his order.
There appears to be no record of Hindu (as opposed to Buddhist)
monasteries before the time of Śaṅkara in the ninth century, though there
must have been places where the learned congregated or where wandering
ascetics could lodge. Śaṅkara perceived the advantage of the cenobitic life
for organizing religion and founded a number of maṭhs or colleges.
Subsequent religious leaders imitated him. At the present day these
institutions are common, yet it is clear that the wandering spirit is strong in
Hindus and that they do not take to monastic discipline and fixed residence
as readily as Tibetans and Burmese. A maṭh is not so much a convent as the
abode of a teacher. His pupils frequent it and may become semi-resident:
aged pilgrims may make it their last home, but the inmates are not a
permanent body following a fixed rule like the monks of a Vihâra. The
Sattras of Assam, however, are true monasteries (though even there vows
and monastic costume are unknown) and so are the establishments of the
Swâminârâyaṇa sect at Ahmedabad and Wartâl.

3

The vast and complicated organization of caste is mainly a post-Vedic
growth and in the Buddha's time was only in the making.[417] His order was
open to all classes alike, but this does not imply that he was adverse to
caste, so far as it then prevailed, or denied that men are divided into
categories determined by their deeds in other births. But on the whole the
influence of Buddhism was unfavourable to caste, especially to the
pretensions of the Brahmans, and an extant polemic against caste is
ascribed (though doubtfully) to Aśvaghosha.[418] On the other hand, though
caste is in its origin the expression of a social rather than of a religious
tendency, the whole institution and mechanism have long been supported
and exploited by the Brahmans. Few of them would dispute the proposition
that a man cannot be a Hindu unless he belongs to a caste. The reason of
this support is undisguised, namely, that they are the first and chief caste.
They make their own position a matter of religion and claim the power of
purifying and rehabilitating those who have lost caste but they do not
usually interfere with the rules of other castes or excommunicate those who
break them.[419] That is the business of the Pancayat or caste council.
Sometimes religion and caste are in opposition, for many modern religious
leaders have begun by declaring that among believers there are no social
distinctions. This is true not only of teachers whose orthodoxy is dubious,
such as Nânak, the founder of the Sikhs, and Basava, the founder of the
Lingâyats,[420] but also of Vallabhâcârya and Caitanya. But in nearly all
cases caste reasserts itself. The religious teachers of the sect receive
extravagant respect and form a body apart. This phenomenon, which recurs
in nearly all communities, shows how the Brahmans established their
position. At the same time social distinctions make themselves felt among
the laity, and those who claim to be of good position dissociate themselves
from those of lower birth. The sect ends by observing caste on ordinary
occasions, and it is only in some temples (such as that of Jagannath at Puri)
[421] that the worshippers mix and eat a sacred meal together. Sometimes,
however, the sect which renounces caste becomes itself a caste. Thus, the
Sikhs have become almost a nation and other modern castes arising out of
sects are the Atiths, who are Śivaites, the Saraks, who appear to have been
originally Buddhists, and the Baishnabs (Vaishnavas), a name commonly
given in Bengal to those followers of Caitanya who persist in the original
rule of disregarding caste regulations within the sect, and hence now form a

separate community. But as a rule sect and caste are not co-extensive and
the caste is not a religious corporation. Thus the different subdivisions of
the Baniyas belong to different sects and even in the same subdivision there
is no religious uniformity.[422]
Caste in its later developments is so complex and irregular, that it is
impossible to summarize it in a formula or explain it as the development of
one principle. In the earliest form known two principles are already in
operation. We have first racial distinction. The three upper castes represent
the invading Aryans, the fourth the races whom they found in India. In the
modern system of caste, race is not a strong factor. Many who claim to be
Brahmans and Kshatriyas have no Aryan blood, but still the Aryan element
is strongest in the highest castes and decreases as we descend the social
scale and also decreases in the higher castes in proportion as we move from
the north-west to the east and south. But secondly in the three upper castes
the dividing principle, as reported in the earliest accounts, is not race but
occupation. We find in most Aryan countries a division into nobles and
people, but in India these two classes become three, the priests having been
able to assume a prominence unknown elsewhere and to stamp on literature
their claim to the highest rank. This claim was probably never admitted in
practice so completely as the priests desired. It was certainly disputed in
Buddhist times and I have myself heard a young Rajput say that the
Brahmans falsified the Epics so as to give themselves the first place.
It is not necessary for our purpose to describe the details of the modern
caste system. Its effect on Indian religion has been considerable, for it
created the social atmosphere in which the various beliefs grew up and it
has furnished the Brahmans with the means of establishing their authority.
But many religious reformers preached that in religion caste does not exist
—that there is neither Jew nor Gentile in the language of another creed—
and though the application of this theory is never complete, the
imperfection is the result not of religious opposition but of social pressure.
Hindu life is permeated by the instinct that society must be divided into
communities having some common interest and refusing to intermarry or
eat with other communities. The long list of modern castes hardly bears
even a theoretical relation to the four classes of Vedic times.[423] Numerous
subdivisions with exclusive rules as to intermarriage and eating have arisen
among the Brahmans and the strength of this fissiparous instinct is seen

among the Mohammedans who nominally have no caste but yet are divided
into groups with much the same restrictions.
This remarkable tendency to form exclusive corporations is perhaps
correlated with the absence of political life in India. Such ideas as
nationality, citizenship, allegiance to a certain prince, patriotic feelings for a
certain territory are rarer and vaguer than elsewhere, and yet the Hindu is
dependent on his fellows and does not like to stand alone. So finding little
satisfaction in the city or state he clings the more tenaciously to smaller
corporations. These have no one character: they are not founded on any one
logical principle but merely on the need felt by people who have something
in common to associate together. Many are based on tribal divisions; some,
such as the Marathas and Newars, may be said to be nationalities. In many
the bond of union is occupation, in a few it is sectarian religion. We can still
observe how members of a caste who migrate from their original residence
tend to form an entirely new caste, and how intertribal marriages among the
aborigines create new tribes.

4

Sect[424] must not be confounded with caste. Hindu sects are of many kinds;
some, if not militant, are at least exceedingly self-confident. Others are so
gentle in stating their views that they might be called schools rather than
sects, were the word not too intellectual. The notion that any creed or code
can be quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus, is less prevalent than
in Europe and even the Veda, though it is the eternal word, is admitted to
exist in several recensions. Hinduism is possible as a creed only to those
who select. In its literal sense it means simply all the beliefs and rites
recognized in India, too multifarious and inconsistent for the most
hospitable and addled brain to hold. But the Hindus, who are as loth to
abolish queer beliefs and practices as they are to take animal life, are also
the most determined seekers after a satisfying form of religion. Brahmanic
ritual and Buddhist monasticism demand the dedication of a life. Not
everyone can afford that, but the sect is open to all. It attempts to sort out of
the chaos of mythology and superstition something which all can
understand and all may find useful. It selects some aspect of Hinduism and
makes the best of it. Sects usually start by preaching theism and equality in

the sight of God, but in a few generations mythology and social distinctions
creep in. Hence though the prevalence of sect is undoubtedly a feature of
modern Hinduism it is also intelligible that some observers should assert
that most Hindus belong to the same general religion and that only the
minority are definitely sectarian. The sectarian tendency is stronger in
Vishnuism than in Śivaism. The latter has produced some definite sects, as,
for instance, Lingâyats, but is not like Vishnuism split up into a number of
Churches each founded by a human teacher and provided by him with a
special creed.
Most Indian sects are in their origin theistic, that is to say, they take a
particular deity and identify him with the Supreme Being. But the
pantheistic tendency does not disappear. Popular religion naturally desires a
personal deity. But it is significant that the personal deity frequently
assumes pantheistic attributes and is declared to be both the world and the
human soul. The best known sects arose after Islam had entered India and
some of them, such as the Sikhs, show a blending of Hindu and Moslem
ideas. But if Mohammedan influence favoured the formation of
corporations pledged to worship one particular deity, it acted less by
introducing something new than by quickening a line of thought already
existing. The Bhagavad-gîtâ is as complete an exposition of sectarian
pantheism as any utterances posterior to Mohammedanism.
The characteristic doctrine of sectarian Hinduism is bhakti, faith or
devotion. The older word śraddhâ, which is found in the Vedas, is less
emotional for it means simply belief in the existence of a deity, whereas
bhakti can often be rendered by love. It is passionate, self-oblivious
devotion to a deity who in return (though many would say there is no
bartering) bestows his grace (prasâda or anugraha). St. Augustine in
defining faith says: "Quid est credere in Deum? credendo amare, credendo
diligere, credendo in eum ire, et ejus membris incorporari."[425] This is an
excellent paraphrase of bhakti and the words have an oriental ring which is
not quite that of the New Testament. Though the doctrine of bhakti marks
the beginning of a new epoch in Hinduism it is not necessary to regard it as
an importation or due to Christianity. About the time of the Christian era
there was felt in many countries a craving for a gentler and more emotional
worship and though the history of Bhaktism is obscure, Indian literature
shows plainly how it may be a development of native ideas. Its first great

text-book is the Bhagavad-gîtâ, but it is also mentioned in the last verse of
the Śvetâśvatara Upanishad and Pâṇini appears to allude to bhakti felt
for[426] Vâsudeva. The Kaṭhâ Upanishad[427] contains the following
passage:
"That Âtman cannot be gained by the Veda, nor by understanding nor by
much learning. He whom the Âtman chooses, by him the Âtman can be
gained. The Âtman chooses him as his own." Here we have not the idea of
faith or love, but we have the negative statement that the Âtman is not won
by knowledge and the positive statement that this Âtman chooses his own.
In the Ṛig Veda[428] there is a poem put into the mouth of Vac or speech,
containing such sentiments as "I give wealth to him who gives sacrifice.... I
am that through which one eats, breathes, sees, and hears.... Him that I love
I make strong, to be a priest, a seer, a sage." This reads like an ancient
preliminary study for the Bhagavad-gîtâ. Like Kṛishṇa the deity claims to
be in all and, like him, to reward her votaries. It is true that the "Come unto
me" is not distinctly expressed, but it is surely struggling for expression.
[429] Again, in the Kaushîtaki Upanishad (III. 1 and 2) Indra says to
Pratardana, who had asked him for a boon, "Know me only: that is, what I
deem most beneficial to man, that he should know me.... He who meditates
on me as life and immortality gains his full life in this world and in heaven
immortality." Here the relation of the devotee to the deity is purely
intellectual not emotional, but the idea that intellectual devotion directed to
a particular deity will be rewarded is clearly present. In the Ṛig Veda this
same Indra is called a deliverer and advocate; a friend, a brother and a
father; even a father and mother in one. Here the worshipper does not talk
of bhakti because he does not analyze his feelings, but clearly these phrases
are inspired by affectionate devotion.
Nor is the spirit of bhakti absent from Buddhism. The severe doctrine of the
older schools declares that the Buddha is simply a teacher and that every
man must save himself. But since the teacher is the source of the knowledge
which saves, it is natural to feel for him grateful and affectionate devotion.
This sentiment permeates the two books of poems called Thera and
Therîgâthâ and sometimes finds clear expression.[430] In the commentary on
the Dhammapada[431] the doctrine of salvation by devotion is affirmed in its
extreme form, namely that a dying man who has faith in the Buddha will be
reborn in heaven. But this commentary is not of early date and the doctrine

quoted is probably an instance of the Hinayana borrowing the attractive
features of the Mahayana. The sutras about Amitâbha's paradise, which
were composed about the time of the Christian era and owe something to
Persian though not to Christian influence, preach faith in Amitâbha as the
whole of religion. They who believe in him and call on his name will go to
heaven.
When bhakti was once accepted as a part of Indian religion, it was erected
into a principle, analogous or superior to knowledge and was defined in
Sûtras[432] similar to those of the Sâṅkhya and Vedânta. But its importance
in philosophy is small, whereas its power as an impulse in popular religion
has been enormous. To estimate its moral and intellectual value is difficult,
for like so much in Hinduism it offers the sharpest contrasts. Its obvious
manifestations may seem to be acts of devotion which cannot be
commended ethically and belief in puerile stories: yet we find that this
offensive trash continually turns into gems of religious thought unsurpassed
in the annals of Buddhism and Christianity.
The doctrine of bhakti is common to both Vishnuites and Śivaites. It is
perhaps in general estimation associated with the former more than with the
latter, but this is because the Bhagavad-gîtâ and various forms of devotion
to Kṛishṇa are well known, whereas the Tamil literature of Dravidian
Śivaism is ignored by many European scholars. One might be inclined to
suppose that the emotional faith sprang up first in the worship of Vishṇu,
for the milder god seems a natural object for love, whereas Śiva has to
undergo a certain transformation before he can evoke such feelings. But
there is no evidence that this is the historical development of the bhakti
sentiment, and if the Bhagavad-gîtâ is emphatic in enjoining the worship of
Kṛishṇa only, the Śvetâśvatara and Maitrâyanîya Upanishads favour Śiva,
and he is abundantly extolled in many parts of the Mahâbhârata. Here, as so
often, exact chronology fails us in the early history of these sects, but it is
clear that the practice of worshipping Śiva and Vishṇu, as being each by
himself all-sufficient, cannot have begun much later than the Christian era
and may have begun considerably earlier, even though people did not call
themselves Śaivas or Vaishṇavas.
Bhakti is often associated with the doctrine of the playfulness of God. This
idea—so strange to Europe[433]—may have its roots partly in the odd non-

moral attributes of some early deities. Thus the Rudra of the Śatarudrîya
hymn is a queer character and a trickster. But it soon takes a philosophical
tinge and is used to explain the creation and working of the universe which
is regarded not as an example of capricious, ironical, inscrutable action, but
rather as manifesting easy, joyous movement and the exuberant rhythm of a
dance executed for its own sake. The European can hardly imagine a
sensible person doing anything without an object: he thinks it almost
profane to ascribe motiveless action to the Creator: he racks his brain to
discover any purpose in creation which is morally worthy and moderately in
accord with the facts of experience. But he can find none. The Hindu, on
the contrary, argues that God being complete and perfect cannot be actuated
by aims or motives, for all such impulses imply a desire to obtain
something, whereas a perfect and complete being is one which by its very
definition needs neither change nor addition. Therefore, whatever activity is
ascribed to the creator must not be thought of as calculating, purposeful
endeavour, but as spontaneous, exultant movement, needing and admitting
no explanation, and analogous to sport and play rather than to the
proceedings of prudent people. This view of the divine activity is
expounded by so serious a writer as Śaṅkara in his commentary on the
Vedânta Sûtras, and it also finds mythological expression in numerous
popular legends. The Tamil Purâṇas describe the sixty-four miracles of Śiva
as his amusements: his laughter and joyous movements brighten all things,
and the street minstrels sing "He sports in the world. He sports in the soul."
[434] He is supposed to dance in the Golden Hall of the temple at
Chidambaram and something of the old legends of the Śatarudrîya hangs
about such popular titles as the Deceiver and the Maniac (Kalvar) and the
stories of his going about disguised and visiting his worshippers in the form
of a mendicant. The idea of sport and playfulness is also prominent in
Vishnuism. It is a striking feature in the cultus of both the infant and the
youthful Kṛishṇa, but I have not found it recorded in the severer worship of
Râma.
Another feature of Hindu sects is the extravagant respect paid to Gurus or
teachers. The sanctity of the Guru is an old conviction in India. By common
consent he is entitled to absolute obedience and offences against him are
heinous crimes. But in sectarian literature there appears a new claim,
namely, that the Guru in some way is or represents the god whose worship

he teaches. If the deity is thought of primarily as a saviour, the Guru is said
to deliver from suffering and hell: if he requires surrender and sacrifice,
then person and possessions must be dedicated to the Guru. Membership of
a sect can be attained only by initiation at the hands of a Guru who can
teach a special mantra or formula of which each sect has its own. In some
of the more modern sects the Guru need not be a Brahman, but if he cannot
be venerated for his caste, the deficiency is compensated by the respect
which he receives as a repository of oral teaching. The scriptural basis of
many sects is dubious and even when it exists, many of the devout
(especially women) have not the inclination or ability to read and therefore
take their religion from the lips of the Guru, who thus becomes an oracle
and source of truth. In Bengal, the family Guru is a regular institution in
respectable castes. In many sects the founder or other prominent saint is
described as an incarnation and receives veneration after death.[435]
This veneration or deification of the Guru is found in most sects and
assumes as extreme a form among the Śaivas as among the Vaishṇavas. The
Śaiva Siddhânta teaches that divine instruction can be received only from
one who is both god and man, and that the true Guru is an incarnation of
Śiva. Thus the works of Mâṇikka-Vâçagar and Umâpati speak of Śiva
coming to his devotees in the form of the Guru. In the sects that worship
Kṛishṇa the Gurus are frequently called Gosain (Goswami).[436] Sometimes
they are members of a particular family, as among the Vallabhâcâryas. In
other sects there is no hereditary principle and even a Sudra is eligible as
Guru.
One other feature of Sectarian Hinduism must be mentioned. It may be
described as Tantrism or, in one of its aspects, as the later Yoga and is a
combination of practices and theories which have their roots in the old
literature and began to form a connected doctrine at least as early as the
eighth century A.D. Some of its principal ideas are as follows: (i) Letters
and syllables (and also their written forms and diagrams) have a potent
influence both for the human organism and for the universe. This idea is
found in the early Upanishads[437] and is fully developed in the later
Sectarian Upanishads. (ii) The human organism is a miniature copy of the
universe.[438] It contains many lines or channels (nâḍî) along which the
nerve force moves and also nervous centres distributed from the hips to the
head, (iii) In the lowest centre resides a force identical with the force which

creates the universe.[439] When by processes which are partly physical it is
roused and made to ascend to the highest centre, emancipation and bliss are
obtained. (iv) There is a mysterious connection between the process of
cosmic evolution and sound, especially the sacred sound Om.
These ideas are developed most thoroughly in Śâktist works, but are by no
means peculiar to them. They are found in the Pâncarâtra and the later
Puranas and have influenced almost all modern sects, although those which
are based on emotional devotion are naturally less inclined to favour
physical and magical means of obtaining salvation.

FOOTNOTES:

[401] The population of India (about 315 millions) is larger than that
of Europe without Russia.
[402] But compare the English poet

"Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
... but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all
I should know what God and man is."

[403] Efforts are now being made by Hindus to suppress this
institution.
[404] In the Vedic funeral ceremonies the wife lies down by her dead
husband and is called back to the world of the living which points to
an earlier form of the rite where she died with him. But even at this
period, those who did not follow the Vedic customs may have killed
widows with their husbands (see too Ath. Veda, XII. 3), and later, the
invaders from Central Asia probably reinforced the usage. The much-
abused Tantras forbid it.

[405] For the history of the Râmâyaṇa and Mahâbhârata and the dates
assignable to the different periods of growth, see Winternitz, Gesch.
Ind. Lit. vol. I. p. 403 and p. 439. Also Hopkins' Great Epic of India,
p. 397. The two poems had assumed something like their present form
in the second and fourth centuries A.D. respectively. These are
probably the latest dates for any substantial additions or alterations
and there is considerable evidence that poems called Bhârata and
Râmâyaṇa were well known early in the Christian era. Thus in
Aśvaghosha's Sûtrâlankâra (story XXIV) they are mentioned as
warlike poems inculcating unbuddhist views. The Râmâyaṇa is
mentioned in the Mahâvibhâshâ and was known to Vasubandhu
(J.R.A.S. 1907, p. 99). A Cambojan inscription dating from the first
years of the seventh century records arrangements made for the
recitation of the Râmâyaṇa, Purâṇa and complete (aśesha) Bhârata,
which implies that they were known in India considerably earlier. See
Barth, Inscrip. Sanscrites de Cambodge, pp. 29-31. The Mahabharata
itself admits that it is the result of gradual growth for in the opening
section it says that the Bhârata consists of 8,800 verses, 24,000 verses
and 100,000 verses.
[406] Hardy, Indische Religionsgeschichte, p. 101.
[407] But some of these latter sacrifice images made of dough instead
of living animals.
[408] It is said that the Agnishtoma was performed in Benares in
1898, and in the last few years I am told that one or two Vedic
sacrifices have been offered annually in various parts of southern
India. I have myself seen the sites where such sacrifices were offered
in 1908-9 in Mysore city and in Chidambaram, and in 1912 at Wei
near Poona. The most usual form of sacrifice now-a-days is said to be
the Vâjapeya. Much Vedic ritual is still preserved in the domestic life
of the Nambathiri and other Brahmans of southern India. See Cochin,
Tribes and Castes, and Thurston, Castes and Tribes of southern India.
[409] The outline of a stûpa may be due to imitation of houses
constructed with curved bamboos as Vincent Smith contends (History
of Fine Art, p. 17). But this is compatible with the view that stone

buildings with this curved outline had come to be used specially as
funeral monuments before Buddhism popularized in India and all
Eastern Asia the architectural form called stûpa.
[410] The temple of Aihole near Badami seems to be a connecting
link between a Buddhist stûpa with a pradakshiṇa path and a Hindu
shrine.
[411] In most temples (at least in southern India) there are two
images: the mûla-vigraha which is of stone and fixed in the sanctuary,
and the utsava-vigraha which is smaller, made of metal and carried in
processions.
[412] Thus Bhaṭṭâchârya (Hindu Castes and Sects, p. 127) enumerates
eleven classes of Brahmans, who "have a very low status on account
of their being connected with the great public shrines," and adds that
mere residence in a place of pilgrimage for a few generations tends to
lower the status of a Brahmanic family.
[413] Thus in Bengal there is a special class, the Barna Brahmans,
who perform religious rites for the lower castes, and are divided into
six classes according to the castes to whom they minister. Other
Brahmans will not eat or intermarry with them or even take water
from them.
[414] This is extraordinarily like the temple ritual of the ancient
Egyptians. For some account of the construction and ritual of south
Indian temples see Richards in J. of Mythic Soc. 1919, pp. 158-107.
[415] But Vedic mantras are used in these ceremonies. The libations
of water or other liquids are said to be accompanied by the mantras
recited at the Soma sacrifice.
[416] At these sacrifices there is no elaborate ritual or suggestion of
symbolism. The animal is beheaded and the inference is that Kâlî
likes it. Similarly simple is the offering of coco-nuts to Kâlî. The
worshipper gives a nut to the pujâri who splits it in two with an axe,
spills the milk and hands back half the nut to the worshipper. This is
the sort of primitive offering that might be made to an African fetish.

[417] See especially the Ambaṭṭha Sûtta (Dig. Nik. 3) and Rhys
Davids's introduction.
[418] See Weber, Die Vajrasuchi and Nanjio, Catal. No. 1303. In
Ceylon at the present day only members of the higher castes can
become Bhikkhus.
[419] But it is said that in Southern India serious questions of caste
are reported to the abbot of the Sringeri monastery for his decision.
[420] The modern Lingâyats demur to the statement that their founder
rejected caste.
[421] So too in the cakras of the Śâktists all castes are equal during
the performance of the ceremony.
[422] Some (Khandelwals, Dasa Srimalis and Palliwals) include both
Jains and Vaishnavas: the Agarwals are mostly Vaishnavas but some
of them are Jains and some worship Śiva and Kâlî. Jogendra Nath
Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects, pp. 205 ff.
[423] The names used are not the same. The four Vedic castes are
called Varṇa: the hundreds of modern castes are called Jâti.
[424] Sampradâya seems to be the ordinary Sanskrit word for
sectarian doctrine. It means traditional teaching transmitted from one
teacher to another.
[425] I am discussing elsewhere the possible debt which Christianity
and Hinduism may owe to one another.
[426] Pâṇini, IV. 3. 95-98.
[427] Kaṭhâ Up. I. 1. 2, 23.
[428] R.V. X. 125.
[429] Compare too the hymns of the R.V. to Varuṇa as a rudimentary
expression of Bhakti from the worshipper's point of view.
[430] E.g. Theragâthâ, 818-841 and 1231-1245.

[431] I. 2.
[432] They are called the Śândilya Sûtras and appear to be not older
than about the twelfth century A.D., but the tradition which connects
them with the School of Śândilya may be just, for the teaching of this
sage (Chândog. Up. III. 14) lays stress on will and belief. Râmânuja
(Śrîbhâshya, II. 2. 43) refers to Śândilya as the alleged author of the
Pâncarâtra. There are other Bhakti sûtras called Nâradiya and ascribed
to Nârada, published and translated in The Sacred Books of the
Hindus, No. 23. They consist of 84 short aphorisms. Raj. Mitra in his
notices of Sanskrit MSS. describes a great number of modern works
dealing with Bhakti.
[433] Yet it is found in Francis Thompson's poem called Any Saint

So best
God loves to jest
With children small, a freak
Of heavenly hide and seek
Fit
For thy wayward wit.

[434] Pope, The History of Manikka-Vaçagar, p. 23. For the 64 sports
of Śiva see Siddhanta Dipika, vol. IX.
[435] E.g. Râmânuja, NammâṛVâr, Basava.
[436] Apparently meaning "possessor of cows," and originally a title
of the youthful Kṛishṇa. It is also interpreted as meaning Lord of the
Vedas or Lord of his own senses.
[437] E.g. the beginning of the Chând. Up. about the syllable Om. See
too the last section of the Aitareya Âran. The Yoga Upanishads
analyse and explain Om and some Vishnuite Upanishads (Nṛisiṃha
and Râmatâ-panîya) enlarge on the subject of letters and diagrams.
[438] The same idea pervades the old literature in a slightly different
form. The parts of the sacrifice are constantly identified with parts of
the universe or of the human body.

[439] The cakras are mentioned in Act V of Mâlatî and Mâdhava
written early in the eighth century. The doctrine of the nâḍîs occurs in
the older Upanishads (e.g. Chând. and Maitrâyaṇa) in a rudimentary
form.

CHAPTER XXVII
THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BHÂGAVATAS AND
PÂŚUPATAS

1

India is a literary country and naturally so great a change as the
transformation of the old religion into theistic sects preaching salvation by
devotion to a particular deity found expression in a long and copious
literature. This literature supplements and supersedes the Vedic treatises but
without impairing their theoretical authority, and, since it cannot compare
with them in antiquity and has not the same historic interest, it has received
little attention from Indianists until the present century. But in spite of its
defects it is of the highest importance for an understanding of medieval and
contemporary Hinduism. Much of it is avowedly based on the principle that
in this degenerate age the Veda is difficult to understand,[440] and that
therefore God in His mercy has revealed other texts containing a clear
compendium of doctrine. Thus the great Vishnuite doctor Râmânuja states
authoritatively "The incontrovertible fact then is as follows: The Lord who
is known from the Vedânta texts ... recognising that the Vedas are difficult
to fathom by all beings other than himself ... with a view to enable his
devotees to grasp the true meaning of the Vedas, himself composed the
Pâncarâtra-Sâstra."[441]
This later sectarian literature falls into several divisions.
A. Certain episodes of the Mahâbhârata. The most celebrated of these is the
Bhagavad-gîtâ, which is probably anterior to the Christian era. Though it is
incorporated in the Epic it is frequently spoken of as an independent work.
Later and less celebrated but greatly esteemed by Vishnuites is the latter
part of book XII, commonly known as Nârâyaṇîya.[442] Both these episodes

and others[443] are closely analogous to metrical Upanishads. The
Mahâbhârata even styles itself (I. 261) the Veda of Kṛishṇa (Kârshṇa).
The Râmâyaṇa does not contain religious episodes comparable to those
mentioned but the story has more than once been re-written in a religious
and philosophic form. Of such versions the Adhyâtma-Râmâyaṇa[444] and
Yoga-vaśishtḥa-Râmâyaṇa are very popular.
B. Though the Purâṇas[445] are not at all alike, most of them show clear
affinity both as literature and as religious thought to the various strata of the
Mahâbhârata, and to the Law Books, especially the metrical code of Manu.
These all represent a form of orthodoxy which while admitting much that is
not found in the Veda is still Brahmanic and traditionalist. The older
Purâṇas (e.g. Matsya, Vâyu, Mârkaṇḍeya, Vishṇu), or at least the older parts
of them, are the literary expression of that Hindu reaction which gained
political power with the accession of the Gupta dynasty. They are less
definitely sectarian than later works such as the Nârada and Liṅga Purânas,
yet all are more or less sectarian.
The most influential Purâṇa is the Bhâgavata, one of the great scriptures for
all sects which worship Kṛishṇa. It is said to have been translated into every
language of India and forty versions in Bengali alone are mentioned.[446] It
was probably composed in the eighth or ninth century.[447] A free translation
of the tenth book into Hindi, called the Prem Sagar or Ocean of Love, is
greatly revered in northern India.[448] Other sectarian Purâṇas are frequently
read at temple services. Besides the eighteen great Purâṇas there are many
others, and in south India at any rate they were sometimes composed in the
vernacular, as for instance the Periya Purâṇa (c. 1100 A.D.). These
vernacular Purâṇas seem to be collections of strangely fantastic fairy tales.
C. The word Tantra originally meant a manual giving the essentials of a
subject but later usage tends to restrict it to works, whether Hindu or
Buddhist, inculcating the worship of Śiva's spouse. But there are exceptions
to this restriction: the Panca-tantra is a collection of stories and the
Lakshmî-tantra is a Vishnuite work.[449]
The fact is that a whole class of Sanskrit religious literature is described by
the titles Tantra, Âgama and Saṃhitâ,[450] which taken in a wide sense are
practically synonymous, though usage is inclined to apply the first specially

to Śâktist works, the second to Śivaite and the third to Vishnuite. The
common character of all these productions is that they do not attempt to
combine Vedic rites and ideas with sectarian worship, but boldly state that,
since the prescriptions of the Veda are too hard for this age, some generous
deity has revealed an easier teaching. This teaching naturally varies in
detail, but it usually comprises devotion to some special form of the
godhead and also a special ceremonial, which commences with initiation
and includes the use of mystic formulæ, letters and diagrams. Tantras,
Âgamas and Saṃhitâs all treat of their subject-matter in four divisions[451]
the first of which relates to the great problems of philosophy, the second to
the discipline necessary for uniting the self and God; the third and fourth to
ceremonial.
These works have another feature in common, namely that they are little
known except to those Hindus who use them for religious purposes and are
probably not very anxious to see them published. Though they are
numerous, few of them have been printed and those few have not been
much studied by European scholars. I shall say something more about them
below in treating of the various sects. Some are of respectable antiquity but
it is also clear that modern texts pass under ancient names. The Pâncarâtram
and Pâśupatam which are Vishnuite and Śivaite Saṃhitâs are mentioned in
the Mahâbhârata, and some extant Vishnuite Saṃhitâs were perhaps
composed in the fourth century A.D.[452] Râmânuja as quoted above states
that the Pâncarâtra-śâstra (apparently the same as the Pâncarâtra-tantra
which he also mentions) was composed by Vâsudeva himself and also cites
as scripture the Śâttvata, Paushkara and Parama Saṃhitâs. In the same
context he speaks of the Mahâbhârata as Bhârata-Saṃhitâ and the whole
passage is interesting as being a statement by a high authority of the reasons
for accepting a non-Vedic work like the Pâncarâtra as revealed scripture.
As already indicated European usage makes the words Tantra, Tantrism and
tantric refer to the worship of goddesses. It would be better to describe this
literature and worship as Sâktism and to use Tantrism for a tendency in
doctrine and ceremonial which otherwise has no special name. I have been
informed by Tamil Pandits that at the present day the ritual in some temples
is smârta or according to Smriti, but in the majority according to the
Âgamas or tantric. The former which is followed by many well-known
shrines (for instance in Benares and in the great temples of south India)

conforms to the precepts of the Purâṇas, especially on festival days. The
officiants require no special initiation and burnt offerings are presented. But
the Âgamic ritual can be performed only by priests who have received
initiation, burnt offerings rarely form part of the ceremony and vernacular
hymns are freely used.[453]
Such hymns however as well as processions and other forms of worship
which appeal directly to the religious emotions are certainly not tantric.
Tantrism is a species of religious magic, differing from the Vedic sacrifices
in method rather than principle.[454] For all that, it sets aside the old rites
and announces itself as the new dispensation for this age. Among its
principal features are the following. The Tantras are a scripture for all, and
lay little stress on caste: the texts and the ritual which they teach can be
understood only after initiation and with the aid of a teacher: the ritual
consists largely in the correct use of spells, magical or sacramental syllables
and letters, diagrams and gestures: its object is less to beseech than to
compel the god to come to the worshipper: another object is to unite the
worshipper to the god and in fact transform him into the god: man is a
microcosm corresponding to the macrocosm or universe: the spheres and
currents of the universe are copied in miniature in the human body and the
same powers rule the same parts in the greater and the lesser scheme. Such
ideas are widely disseminated in almost all modern sects,[455] though
without forming their essential doctrine, but I must repeat that to say all
sects are tantric does not mean that they are all Śâktist. But Śâktist sects are
fundamentally and thoroughly tantric in their theory and practice.
D. Besides the Sanskrit books mentioned above numerous vernacular
works, especially collections of hymns, are accepted as authoritative by
various sects, and almost every language has scriptures of its own. In the
south two Tamil hymnals, the Devaram of the Śivaites and Nâlâyira
Prabandham of the Vishnuites, are recited in temples and are boldly stated
to be revelations equivalent to the Veda. In northern India may be
mentioned the Hindi Ramayana of Tulsi Das, which is almost universally
venerated, the Bhaktamâlâ of Nâbhâ Das,[456] the Sur-sagar of Surdas and
the Prem Sagar. In Assam the Nam Gosha of Madhab Deb is honoured with
the same homage as a sacred image. The awkwardness of admitting direct
inspiration in late times is avoided by the theory of spiritual descent, that is
to say of doctrinal transmission from teacher to teacher, the divine

revelation having been made to the original teacher at a discreetly remote
epoch.

2

In considering the evolution of modern Hinduism out of the old Vedic
religion, three of the many factors responsible for this huge and
complicated result deserve special attention. The first is the unusual
intensity and prevalence of the religious temperament. This has a double
effect, both conservative and alterative: ancient customs receive an
unreasonable respect: they are not abolished for their immorality or
absurdity; but since real interest implies some measure of constructive
power, there is a constant growth of new ideas and reinterpretations
resulting in inconsistent combinations. The second is the absence of
hierarchy and discipline. The guiding principle of the Brahmans has always
been not so much that they have a particular creed to enforce, as that
whatever is the creed of India they must be its ministers. Naturally every
priest is the champion of his own god or rite, and such zeal may lead to
occasional conflicts. But though the antithesis between the ritualism of the
older Brahmanism and the faith or philosophy of Śivaism and Vishnuism
may remind us of the differences between the Catholic Church and
Protestant reformers, yet historically there is no resemblance in the
development of the antithesis. To some extent Hinduism showed a united
front against Buddhism, but the older Brahmanism had no organization
which enabled it to stand as a separate Church in opposition to movements
which it disliked. The third factor is the deeply rooted idea, which reappears
at frequent intervals from the time of the Upanishads until to-day, that rules
and rites and even creeds are somehow part of the lower and temporal order
of things which the soul should transcend and leave behind. This idea tinges
the whole of Indian philosophy and continually crops up in practice. The
founder of a strange sect who declares that nothing is necessary but faith in
a particular deity and that all ceremonies and caste observances are
superfluous is not in the popular esteem a subverter of Hinduism.
The history of both Śivaism and Vishnuism illustrates these features. Śiva
begins as a wild deity of non-moral attributes. As the religious sense
develops he is not rejected like the less reputable deities of the Jews and

Arabs but remains and collects round himself other strange wild ideas
which in time are made philosophical but not ethical. The rites of the new
religion are, if not antagonistic, at least alternative to the ancient sacrifices,
yet far from being forbidden they are performed by Brahmans and modern
Indian writers describe Śiva as peculiarly the Brahman's god. Finally the
Śivaite schools of the Tamil country reject in successive stages the grosser
and more formal elements until there remains nothing but an ecstatic and
mystical monotheism. Similarly among the Vishnuites Kṛishṇa is the centre
of legends which have even less of conventional morality. Yet out of them
arises a doctrine that the love of God is the one thing needful so similar to
Christian teaching that many have supposed it must be borrowed.
The first clear accounts of the worship of Śiva and Vishṇu are contained in
the epics and indicate the existence of sectarian religion, that is to say of
exclusive devotion to one or other deity. But there is also a tendency to find
a place for both, a tendency which culminates in the composite deity
Śaṅkara Nârâyaṇa already mentioned. Many of the Purâṇas[457] reflect this
view and praise the two deities impartially. The Mahâbhârata not
unfrequently does the same but the general impression left by this poem is
that the various parts of which it consists have been composed or revised in
a sectarian spirit. The body of the work is a narrative of exploits in which
the hero Kṛishṇa plays a great part but revised so as to make him appear
often as a deity and sometimes as the Supreme Spirit. But much of the
didactic matter which has been added, particularly books XII and XIII,
breathes an equally distinct Śivaite spirit and in the parts where Kṛishṇa is
treated as a mere hero, the principal god appears to be not Vishṇu but Śiva.
The Mahabharata and Puranas contain legends which, though obscure, refer
to conflicts of the worshippers of Śiva with those who offered Vedic
sacrifices as well as with the votaries of Vishṇu, and to a subsequent
reconciliation and blending of the various cults. Among these is the well-
known story of Daksha's sacrifice to which Śiva was not invited. Enraged at
the omission he violently breaks up the sacrifice either in person or through
a being whom he creates for the purpose, assaults the officiants and the
gods who are present, and is pacified by receiving a share. Similarly we
hear[458] that he once seized a victim at a sacrifice and that the gods in fear
allotted to him the choicest portion of the offerings. These stories indicate
that at one time Brahmans did not countenance his worship and he is even

represented as saying to his wife that according to rule (dharmataḥ) he has
no share in the sacrifice.[459] Possibly human victims were immolated in his
honour, as they were in Kâlî's until recently, for in the Mahabharata[460] it is
related how Kṛishṇa expostulated with Jarâsandha who proposed to offer to
Śiva a sacrifice of captive kings. In the Vishṇu-Purâṇa, Kṛishṇa fights with
Śiva and burns Benares. But by the time that the Mahabharata was put
together these quarrels were not in an acute stage. In several passages[461]
Kṛishṇa is made to worship Śiva as the Supreme Spirit and in others[462]
vice versa Śiva celebrates the glory of Kṛishṇa. Vishnuites do not disbelieve
in Śiva but they regard him as a god of this world, whereas their own deity
is cosmic and universal. Many Vishnuite works[463] are said to be revealed
by Śiva who acts as an intermediary between us and higher spheres.

3

In the following sections I shall endeavour to relate the beginnings of
sectarianism. The sects which are now most important are relatively modern
and arose in the twelfth century or later, but the sectarian spirit can be
traced back several centuries before our era. By sectarians I mean
worshippers of Śiva or Vishṇu who were neither in complete sympathy with
the ancient Brahmanism nor yet excommunicated by it and who had new
texts and rites to replace or at least supplement the Vedas and the Vedic
sacrifices. It is probable that the different types of early Indian religion had
originally different geographical spheres. Brahmanism flourished in what
we call the United Provinces: Buddhism arose in the regions to the east of
this district and both Vishnuism and Śivaism are first heard of in the west.
The earliest sect of which we have any record is that of the Bhâgavatas,
who were or became Vishnuite. At a date which it is impossible to fix but
considerably before the epoch of Pâṇini, a tribe named the Yâdavas
occupied the country between Muttra and the shores of Gujarat. Sects of
this tribe were called Vṛishṇi and Sâttvata. The latter name has passed into
theology. Kṛishṇa belonged to this sect and it is probable that this name
Vâsudeva was not originally a patronymic but the name of a deity
worshipped by it. The hero Kṛishṇa was identified with this god and
subsequently when the Brahmans wished to bring this powerful sect within
the pale of orthodoxy both were identified with Vishṇu. In the

Mahabharata[464] the rule or ritual (vidhi) of the Sâttvatas is treated as
equivalent to that of the Bhâgavatas and a work called the Sâttvata Saṃhitâ
is still extant. Bhâgavata appears to be the most general name of the sect or
sects and means simply of the Lord (Bhâgavat), that is worshippers of the
one Lord.[465] Their religion is also called Ekântika dharma, or the religion
with one object, that is monotheism.[466]
A considerable literature grew up in this school and the principal treatise is
often spoken of as Pâncarâtra because it was revealed by Nârâyaṇa during
five nights.[467] The name however appears to be strictly speaking
applicable to a system or body of doctrine and the usual term for the books
in which this system is expounded is Saṃhitâ. All previous discussions and
speculations about these works, of which little was known until recently, are
superseded by Schrader's publication of the Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitâ, which
appears to be representative of its class.[468] The names of over two hundred
are cited and of these more than thirty are known to be extant in MS.[469]
The majority were composed in north-western India but the Pâncarâtra
doctrine spread to the Dravidian countries and new Saṃhitâs were produced
there, the chief of which, the Îśvara Saṃhitâ, can hardly be later than 800
A.D.[470] Of the older works Schrader thinks that the Ahirbudhnya was
written in Kashmir[471] between 300 and 800 A.D. and perhaps as early as
the fourth century. It mentions the Śâttvata and Jayâkhya, which must
therefore be older.
The most remarkable feature of this literature is its elaborate doctrine of
evolution and emanation from the Deity, the world process being conceived
in the usual Hindu fashion as an alternation of production and destruction.
A distinction is drawn between pure and gross creation. What we commonly
call the Universe is bounded by the shell of the cosmic egg and there are
innumerable such eggs, each with its own heavens and its own tutelary
deities such as Brahmâ and Śiva who are sharply distinguished from
Vishṇu. But beyond this multitude of worlds are more mysterious and
spiritual spheres, the highest heaven or Vaikuṇṭha wherein dwells God in
his highest form (Para) with his Śaktis,[472] certain archangels and liberated
souls. Evolution commences when at the end of the cosmic night the Śakti
of Vishṇu[473] is differentiated from her Lord and assumes the two forms of
Force and Matter.[474] He as differentiated from her is Vâsudeva a personal
deity with six attributes[475] and is the first emanation, or Vyûha, of the

ineffable godhead. From him proceeds Sankarshaṇa, from Sankarshaṇa
Pradyumna, and from Pradyumna Aniruddha. These three Vyûhas take part
in creation but also correspond to or preside over certain aspects of human
personality, namely Sankarshaṇa to the soul that animates all beings,
Pradyumna to intelligence and Aniruddha to individuality. Strange to say
these seem to be the names of distinguished personages in the Śâttvata or
Vṛishṇi clan.[476] Mere deification occurs in many countries but the
transformation of heroes into metaphysical or psychological terms could
hardly have happened outside India. Next to the Vyûhas come twelve sub-
Vyûhas, among whom is Nârâyaṇa,[477] and thirty-nine Avatâras. All these
beings are outside the cosmic eggs and our gross creation. As a prelude to
this last there takes place the evolution of the aggregates or sources from
which individual souls and matter are drawn, of space and of time, and
finally of the elements, the process as described seeming to follow an older
form of the Sânkhya philosophy than that known to us. The task of human
souls is to attain liberation, but though the language of the Saṃhitâs is not
entirely consistent, the older view is that they become like to God, not that
they are absorbed in him.[478]
Thus it is not incorrect to say that the Bhâgavata religion is monotheistic
and recognizes a creator of souls. Indeed Śankara[479] condemns it on the
very ground that it makes individual souls originate from Vâsudeva, in
which case since they have an origin they must also have an end. But
Râmânuja in replying to this criticism seems to depart from the older view,
for he says that the Supreme Being voluntarily abides in four forms which
include the soul, mind and the principle of individuality. This, if not
Pantheism, is very different from European monotheism.[480]
The history of these Bhâgavatas, Pâncarâtras or worshippers of Vishṇu must
have begun several centuries before our era, for there are allusions to them
in Pâṇini and the Niddesa.[481] The names of Vâsudeva and Sankarshaṇa
occur in old inscriptions[482] and the Greek Heliodoros calls himself a
Bhâgavata on the column found at Besnagar and supposed to date from the
first part of the second century B.C.
The Pâncarâtra was not Brahmanic in origin[483] and the form of the
Sânkhya philosophy from which it borrowed was also un-Brahmanic. It
seems to have grown up in north-western India in the centuries when

Iranian influence was strong and may owe to Zoroastrianism the doctrine of
the Vyûhas which finds a parallel in the relation of Ahura Mazda to Spenta
Mainyu, his Holy Spirit, and in the Fravashis. It is also remarkable that God
is credited with six attributes comparable with the six Amesha Spentas. In
other ways the Pâncarâtra seems to have some connection with late
Buddhism. Though it lays little stress on the worship of goddesses, yet all
the Vyûhas and Avatâras are provided with Śaktis, like the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas of tantric Buddhism, and in the period of quiescence which
follows on the dissolution of the Universe Vishṇu is described under the
name of Śûnya or the void. It attaches great importance to the Cakra, the
wheel or discus which denotes Vishṇu's will to be,[484] to evolve and
maintain the universe, and it may have contributed some ideas to the very
late form of Buddhism called Kâlacakra. This very word is used in the
Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitâ as the name of one of the many wheels engaged in
the work of evolution.
Though the Pâncarâtra is connected with Kṛishṇa in its origin, it gives no
prominence to devotion to him under that name as do modern sects and it
knows nothing of the pastoral Kṛishṇa.[485] It recommends the worship of
the four Vyûhas[486] presiding over the four quarters in much the same way
that late Buddhism adores the four Jinas depicted in somewhat similar
forms. Similarly the Śivaites say that Śiva has five faces, namely Îśâna or
Sadâśiva (the highest, undifferentiated form of the deity) at the top and
below Vâmadeva, Aghora, Tatpurusha, and Sadyojâta, presiding
respectively over the north, south, east and west. It is thus clear that in the
early centuries of our era (or perhaps even before it) there was a tendency in
Vishnuism, Śivaism and Mahayanist Buddhism alike to represent the
ineffable godhead as manifested in four aspects somewhat more intelligible
to human minds and producing in their turn many inferior manifestations.
Possibly the theory originated among the Vishnuites,[487] but as often
happened in India it was adopted by their opponents. None of these theories
are of much importance as living beliefs at the present day but their
influence can be seen in iconography.
As a sect the Pâncarâtras seem to have been a subdivision of the Bhâgavatas
and probably at the present day many Vishnuites would accept the second
name but not the first. The Pâncarâtra is studied at only a few places in
southern India but its doctrines permeate the popular work called

Bhaktamâlâ and in view of the express approbation of Râmânuja and other
authorities it can hardly be repudiated by the Śrî-Vaishṇavas. Bhâgavata is
sometimes used in the south as a name for Smârtas who practise Vedic rites
and worship both Śiva and Vishnu.[488]

4

In these early times there were strenuous theological struggles now
forgotten, though they have left their traces in the legends which tell how
the title of Kṛishṇa and others to divine honours was challenged.
Amalgamation was the usual method of conciliation. Several gods grew
sufficiently important to become in the eyes of their worshippers the
supreme spirit and at least four were united in the deity of the Bhâgavatas,
namely, Vâsudeva, Kṛishṇa, Vishṇu and Nârâyaṇa. Of the first three I have
spoken already. Nârâyaṇa never became like Vishṇu and Kṛishṇa a great
mythological figure, but in the late Vedic period he is a personification of
the primæval waters from which all things sprang or of the spirit which
moved in them.[489] From this he easily became the supreme spirit who
animates all the universe and the name was probably acceptable to those
who desired a purer and simpler worship because it was connected with
comparatively few legends. But there is some confusion in its use, for it is
applied not only to the supreme being but to a double incarnation of him
called Nara-Nârâyaṇa, and images of the pair may still be seen in Vishnuite
temples. They are said to have revealed the true doctrine to Nârada and are
invoked at the beginning of each book of the Mahâbhârata.[490] One of the
main theses of the Nârâyaṇîya[491] is the identity of Nârâyaṇa and
Vâsudeva, the former being a Brahmanic, the latter a non-Brahmanic name
for the Deity.
The celebrated Bhagavad-gîtâ[492] which is still held in such respect that,
like the New Testament or Koran, it is used in law courts for the
administration of oaths, is an early scripture of the Bhâgavata sect. In it the
doctrines of Kṛishṇa's divinity, the power of faith and the efficacy of grace
are fully established. It is declared to be too hard for flesh and blood to find
by meditation their way to the eternal imperceptible spirit, whereas Kṛishṇa
comes straightway to those who make him their sole desire. "Set thy heart
on me, become my devotee, sacrifice to me and worship thou me. Then

shalt thou come to me. Truly I declare to thee thou art dear to me. Leave all
(other) religious duties and come to me as thy sole refuge. I will deliver
thee from thy sins. Sorrow not." But the evolution of Saṅkarshaṇa, etc., is
not mentioned. The poem has perhaps been re-edited and interpolated
several times but the strata can hardly be distinguished, for the whole work,
if not exactly paradoxical, is eclectic and continually argues that what is
apparently highest is not best for a particular person. The Hindus generally
regard the contemplative life as the highest, but the Bhagavad-gîtâ is
insistent in enjoining unselfish action: it admits that the supreme reality
cannot be grasped by the mind or expressed in speech, but it recommends
the worship of a personal deity. Even the older parts of the poem appear to
be considerably later than Buddhism. But its mythology, if not Vedic, is also
hardly Puranic and it knows nothing of the legends about the pastoral
Kṛishṇa. It presupposes the Sâṅkhya and Yoga, though in what stage of
development it is hard to say, and in many respects its style resembles the
later Upanishads. I should suppose that it assumed its present form about
the time of the Christian era, rather before than after, and I do not think it
owes anything to direct Christian influence. In its original form it may have
been considerably older.
The Bhagavad-gîtâ identifies Kṛishṇa with Vâsudeva and with Vishṇu but
does not mention Nârâyaṇa and from its general style I should imagine the
Nârâyaṇiya to be a later poem. If so, the evolution of Bhâgavata theology
will be that Kṛishṇa, a great hero in a tribe lying outside the sphere of
Brahmanism, is first identified with Vâsudeva, the god of that tribe, and
then both of them with Vishṇu. At this stage the Bhagavad-gîtâ was
composed. A later current of speculation added Nârâyaṇa to the already
complex figure, and a still later one, not accepted by all sects, brought the
pastoral and amorous legends of Kṛishṇa. Thus the history of the
Bhâgavatas illustrates the Indian disposition to combine gods and to see in
each of them only an aspect of the one. But until a later period the types of
divinity known as Vishṇu and Śiva resisted combination. The worshippers
of Śiva have in all periods shown less inclination than the Vishnuites to
form distinct and separate bodies and the earliest Śivaite sect of which we
know anything, the Pâśupatas,[493] arose slightly later than the Bhâgavatas.

5

Patañjali the grammarian (c. 150 B.C.) mentions devotees of Śiva[494] and
also images of Śiva and Skanda. There is thus no reason to doubt that
worshippers of Śiva were recognized as a sect from at least 200 B.C.
onwards. Further it seems probable that the founder or an early teacher of
the sect was an ascetic called Lakulin or Lakulîśa, the club-bearer. The
Vâyu Purâṇa[495] makes Śiva say that he will enter an unowned corpse and
become incarnate in this form at Kâyârohana, which has been identified
with Kârvân in Baroda. Now the Vâyu is believed to be the oldest of the
Purâṇas, and it is probable that this Lakulin whom it mentions lived before
rather than after our era and was especially connected with the Pâśupata
sect. This word is derived from Paśupati, the Lord of cattle, an old title of
Rudra afterwards explained to mean the Lord of human souls. In the
Sâṅtiparvan[496] five systems of knowledge are mentioned. Sâṅkhya, Yoga,
the Vedas, Pâśupatam and Pâncarâtram, promulgated respectively by
Kapila, Hiraṇyagarbha, Apântaratamas, Śiva the Lord of spirits and son of
Brahmâ, and "The Lord (Bhagavân) himself." The author of these verses,
who evidently supported the Pâncarâtra, considered that these five names
represented the chief existing or permissible varieties of religious thought.
The omission of the Vedânta is remarkable but perhaps it is included under
Veda. Hence we may conclude that when this passage was written (that is
probably before 400 A.D. and perhaps about the beginning of our era) there
were two popular religions ranking in public esteem with the philosophic
and ritual doctrines of the Brahmans. The Mahâbhârata contains a hymn[497]
which praises Śiva under 1008 names and is not without resemblance to the
Bhagavad-gîtâ. It contains a larger number of strange epithets, but Śiva is
also extolled as the All-God, who asks for devotion and grants grace. At the
close of the hymn Śiva says that he has introduced the Pâśupata religion
which partly contradicts and partly agrees with the institutions of caste and
the Âśramas, but is blamed by fools.[498]
These last words hint that the Pâśupatas laid themselves open to criticism
by their extravagant practices, such as strange sounds and gestures.[499] But
in such matters they were outdone by other sects called Kâpâlikas or
Kâlâmukhas. These carried skulls and ate the flesh of corpses, and were the
fore-runners of the filthy Aghoris, who were frequent in northern India
especially near Mount Abu and Girnar a century ago and perhaps are not yet
quite extinct. The biographers of Śankara[500] represent him as contending

with these demoniac fanatics not merely with the weapons of controversy
but as urging the princes who favoured him to exterminate them.
Hindu authorities treat the Pâśupatas as distinct from the Śaivas, or Śivaites,
and the distinction was kept up in Camboja in the fourteenth century. The
Śaivas appear to be simply worshippers of Śiva, who practice a sane ritual.
In different parts of India they have peculiarities of their own but whereas
the Vaishṇavas have split up into many sects each revering its own founder
and his teaching, the Śaivas, if not a united body, present few well-marked
divisions. Such as exist I shall notice below in their geographical or
historical connection.[501] Most of them accept a system of theology or
philosophy[502] which starts with three principles, all without beginning or
end. These are Pati or the Lord, that is Śiva: Paśu, or the individual soul:
Pâśa or the fetter, that is matter or Karma.[503] The task of the soul is to get
free of its fetters and attain to the state of Śiva. But this final deliverance is
not quite the same as the identity with Brahman taught by the Vedânta: the
soul becomes a Śiva, equal to the deity in power and knowledge but still
dependent on him rather than identical with him.[504]
Peculiar to Śaiva theology is the doctrine of the five kañcukas[505] or
envelopes which limit the soul. Spirit in itself is free: it is timeless and
knows no restrictions of space, enjoyment, knowledge and power. But when
spirit is contracted to individual experience, it can apprehend the universe
only as a series of changes in time and place: its enjoyment, knowledge and
power are cramped and curtailed by the limits of personality. The
terminology of the Śaivas is original but the theory appears to be an
elaboration of the Pâncarâtra thesis that the soul is surrounded by the sheath
of Mâyâ.
The early literature of the worshippers of Śiva (corresponding to the
Saṃhitâs of the Pâncarâtras) appears to have consisted of twenty-eight
works composed in Sanskrit and called Âgamas.[506] There is fairly good
evidence for their antiquity. Tirumular, one of the earliest Tamil poets who
is believed to have lived in the first centuries of our era, speaks of them
with enthusiasm and the Buddhist Sanskrit works called Âgamas
(corresponding to the Pali Nikâyas) cannot be later than that period. It is
highly probable that the same word was in use among both Hindus and
Buddhists at the same time. And since the Mahâbhârata mentions the

Pâśupatam, there is no difficulty in supposing that expositions of Śivaite
doctrine were current in the first century A.D. or even B.C. But unless more
texts of the Âgamas come to light the question of their age has little
practical importance, for it is said by native scholars that of the twenty-eight
primary books there survive only fragments of twenty, which treat of ritual,
besides the verses which form the text expounded at length in the
Śivañânabotham.[507] There are also said to be 120 Upâgamas of which
only two or three have been preserved entire. Of these two have been
printed in part, the Mṛigendra and Paushkara.[508] The former is cited in the
Sarva-darśana-saṅgraha (about 1330) but does not show any signs of great
antiquity. It is thus clear that the Âgamas are not much studied by modern
Śivaites but it is unhesitatingly stated that they are a revelation direct from
Śiva and equal to the Veda[509] and this affirmation is important, even
though the texts so praised are little known, for it testifies to the general
feeling that there are other revelations than the Veda. But the Vedas, and the
Vedânta Sûtras are not ignored. The latter are read in the light of
Nîlakanṭḥa's[510] commentary which is considered by south Indian Pandits
to be prior to Śankara.

FOOTNOTES:

[440] An attempt was made to adapt the Veda to modern ideas by
composing new Upanishads. The inspiration of such works is not
denied but they have not the same influence as the literature
mentioned below.
[441] Śri Bhâshya, II. 2. 43. So too the Vishṇu Purâṇa, I. 1 describes
itself as equal in sanctity to the Vedas. Śankara on Brah. Sûtras, I. 3.
33 says that the Purâṇas are authoritative.
[442] See Grierson in Ind. Ant. 1908, p. 251 and p. 373.
[443] E.g. the Sanatsujatîya and Anugîtâ (both in S.B.E. VIII.). See
Deussen, Vier philosophische Texte des Mahâbhâratam.
[444] Forming part of the Brahmâṇḍa Purâṇa.

[445] See for a summary of them Winternitz, Gesch. Ind. Lit. I. pp.
450-483. For the dates see Pargiter Dynasties of the Kali age. He
holds that the historical portions of the older Purânas were compiled
in Prakrit about 250 A.D. and re-edited in Sanskrit about 350. See also
Vincent Smith, Early History, p. 21 and, against Pargiter, Keith in
J.R.A.S. 1914, p. 1021. Alberuni (who wrote in 1030) mentions
eighteen Purânas and gives two lists of them. Bâṇa (c. 620 A.D.)
mentions the recitation of the Vâyu Purâṇa. The commentary on the
Śvetâśvatara Upan. ascribed to Śaṇkara quotes the Brahma P., Linga
P. and Vishṇu P. as authorities as well as Puranic texts described as
Vishṇudharma and Śivadharmottara. But the authorship of this
commentary is doubtful. The Puranic literature as we know it
probably began with the Gupta dynasty or a century before it, but the
word Purâṇa in the sense of an ancient legend which ought to be
learnt occurs as early as the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa (XI. 5. 6. 8) and
even in A.V. XI. 7. 24.
[446] See Dinesh Chandra Sen, Hist. Bengali Language and Lit. pp.
220-225.
[447] Pargiter, l.c. pp. xvii, xxviii. It does not belong to the latest class
of Purâṇas for it seems to contemplate the performance of Smârta
rites not temple ceremonial, but it is not quoted by Râmânuja (twelfth
century) though he cites the Vishṇu Purâṇa. Probably he disapproved
of it.
[448] It was made as late as 1803 by Lallû Jî Lâl, but is a rendering
into Hindi of a version in the Braj dialect, probably made in the
sixteenth century.
[449] Another Vishnuite work is cited indifferently as Padma-tantra or
Padma-samhîtâ, and the Bhâgavata Purâṇa (I. 3. 8) speaks of the
Sâttvatam Tantram, which is apparently the Sâttvata-saṃhitâ. The
work edited by Schrader is described as the Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitâ of
the Pâncarâtra Âgama.
[450] See for some notices of these works A. Avalon's various
publications about Tantra. Srinivasa Iyengar, Outlines of Indian
Philosophy, 118-191. Govïndacarya Svâmi on the Vaishnava

Samhitâs, J.R.A.S. 1911, pp. 935 ff. Schomerus, Çaiva-Siddhânta, pp.
7 ff. and Schrader's Introduction to the Pâncarâtra. Whereas these
works claim to be independent of the Veda, the Sectarian Upanishads
(see vol. I. p. 76) are an attempt to connect post-Vedic sects with the
Veda.
[451] Jñâna, Yoga, Caryâ, Kriyâ. The same names are used of
Buddhist Tantras, except that Anuttara replaces Jñâna.
[452] See Schrader, Introd. to the Pâncarâtra, p. 98. In the
Raghuvaṃsa, X. 27. Âgamas are not only mentioned but said to be
extremely numerous. But in such passages it is hard to say whether
Âgama means the books now so-called or merely tradition. Alberuni
seems not to have known of this literature and a Tantra for him is
merely a minor treatise on astronomy. He evidently regards the Vedas,
Purâṇas, philosophical Darśanas and Epics as constituting the
religious literature of India.
[453] Râjagopala Chariar (Vaishnavite Reformers, p. 4) says that in
Vishnu temples two rituals are used called Pâncarâtra and Vaikhânasa.
The latter is apparently consistent with Smârta usage whereas the
Pâncarâtra is not. From Gopinâtha Rao's Elements of Hindu
Iconography, pp. 56, 77, 78 it appears that there is a Vaikhânasâgama
parallel to the Pâncarâtrâgama. It is frequently quoted by this author,
though as yet unpublished. It seems to be the ritual of those
Bhâgavatas who worship both Śiva and Vishṇu. It is said to exist in
two recensions, prose and metrical, of which the former is perhaps the
oldest of the Vaishṇava Âgamas. The Vaikhânasa ritual was once
followed at Śrîrangam but Râmânuja substituted the Pâncarâtra for it.
[454] Avalon, Principles of Tantra, p. xxvii describes it as "that
development of the Vaidika Karmakâṇḍa which under the name of the
Tantra Shâstra is the scripture of the Kali age." This seems to me a
correct statement of the tantric theory.
[455] Thus the Gautamîya Tantra which is held in high estimation by
Vishnuite householders in Bengal, though not by ascetics, is a
complete application of Śâkta worship to the cult of Kṛishṇa. The
Vârâhi Tantra is also Vishnuite. See Raj. Mitra, Sanskrit MSS. of

Bikaner, p. 583 and Notices of Sk. MSS. III. (1876), p. 99, and I.
cclxxxvii. See too the usages of the Nambuthiri Brahmans as
described in Cochin Tribes and Castes, II. pp. 229-233. In many ways
the Nambuthiris preserve the ancient Vedic practices.
[456] See Grierson's articles Gleanings from the Bhaktamâlâ in
J.R.A.S. 1909-1910.
[457] E.g. Mârkaṇḍeya, Vâmana and Varâha. Also the Skanda
Upanishad.
[458] Mahâbh. Vanaparvan, 11001 ff. The Bhâgavata Purâṇa, Book
IV. sec. 2-7 emphasizes more clearly the objections of the Rishis to
Śiva as an enemy of Vedic sacrifices and a patron of unhallowed rites.
[459] Mahâbh. XII. sec. 283. In the same way the worship of
Dionysus was once a novelty in Greece and not countenanced by the
more conservative and respectable party. See Eur. Bacchae, 45. The
Varâha-Purâna relates that the Śivaite scriptures were revealed for the
benefit of certain Brahmans whose sins had rendered them incapable
of performing Vedic rites. There is probably some truth in this legend
in so far as it means that Brahmans who were excommunicated for
some fault were disposed to become the ministers of non-Vedic cults.
[460] Mahâbh. II. secs. 16, 22 ff.
[461] Droṇa-p., 2862 ff. Anusâsana-p., 590 ff.
[462] E.g. Anusâsana P., 6806 ff.
[463] E.g. the Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitâ and Adhyâtma Râmâyaṇa.
[464] Śântipar. cccxxxvii, 12711 ff. In the Bhagavad-gîtâ Kṛishṇa says
that he is Vâsudeva of the Vṛishṇis, XI. 37.
[465] Cf. the title Bhâgavata Purâṇa.
[466] Ekâyana is mentioned several times in the Chândogya Up. (VII.
1, 2 and afterwards) as a branch of religious or literary knowledge and
in connection with Nârada. But it is not represented as the highest or
satisfying knowledge.

[467] Even in the Śatapatha Br. Nârâyaṇa is mentioned in connection
with a sacrifice lasting five days, XIII. 6. 1.
[468] The Saṃhitâs hitherto best known to orientalists appear to be
late and spurious. The Bṛihadbrahma Saṃhitâ published by the
Anandasrama Press mentions Râmânuja. The work printed in the
Bibliotheca Indica as Nârada Pâncarâtra (although its proper title
apparently is Jñânamritasâra) has been analyzed by Roussel in
Mélanges Harlez and is apparently a late liturgical compilation of
little originality. Schrader's work was published by the Adyar Library
in Madras, 1916. Apparently the two forms Pâncarâtra and Pâncarâtra
are both found, but that with the long vowel is the more usual.
Govindâcârya's article in J.R.A.S. 1911, p. 951 may also be consulted.
[469] The oldest are apparently the Paushkara, Vârâha, Brahma,
Sâttvata, Jaya and Ahirbudhnya Saṃhitâs, all quoted as authoritative
by either Râmânuja or Vedânta Deśika.
[470] It is quoted as equal to the Vedas by Yâmunâcârya, so it must
then have been in existence some centuries.
[471] The story of Śvetadvîpa or White Island in the Śânti-parvan of
the Mahâbhârata states definitely that Nârada received the Pâncarâtra
there.
[472] There is much diversity of statement as to whether there are one
or many Śaktis.
[473] Vishṇu is the name of God in all his aspects, but especially God
as the absolute. Vâsudeva is used both of God as the absolute and also
as the first emanation (Vyûha).
[474] Kriyâśakti and Bhûtiśakti.
[475] Jñâna, aiśvarya, śakti, bala, vîrya, tejas. These are called guṇas
but are not to be confounded with the three ordinary guṇas.
[476] The words seem to have been originally proper names. See the
articles in the Petersburg Lexicon.

[477] Nârâyaṇa like Vishṇu is used to designate more than one aspect
of God. Sometimes it denotes the Absolute.
[478] The above brief sketch is based on Schrader's Int. to the
Pâncarâtra where the reader can find full details.
[479] Comment on Vedânta sûtras, II. 2. 42.
[480] And, as Schrader observes, the evolutionary system of the
Pâncarâtra is practically concerned with only one force, the Śakti,
which under the name Bhûti is manifested as the Universe and as
Kriyâ vitalizes and governs it (p. 31).
[481] On Sutta-nipâta, 790, 792. The doctrine of the Vyûhas is
expounded in the Mahâbhârata Śântip. CCCXL. 36 ff., 70 ff.;
CCCXLI. 26 ff.
[482] Lüder's List of Brahmi inscriptions, No. 6, supposed not to be
later than 200 B.C. and No. 1112 supposed to be of the first century
B.C. Sankarshaṇa is also mentioned in the Kauṭilîya Arthaśâstra, XIII.
3.
[483] Some Saṃhitâs emphasize the distinction between the followers
of the Veda and the enlightened ones who worship the Lord. See
Schrader, Pâncarâtra, p. 97.
[484] Syâm iti Sankalpa, Ahirbudh. Sam. II. 7. In some late
Upanishads (e.g. Nâradaparivrâjaka and Bṛihatsannyâsa) Cakrî is used
as a synonym for a Pâncarâtra.
[485] The same is true of Râmânuja, who never quotes the Bhâgavata
Purâna.
[486] See the quotations from the Sâttvata Saṃhitâ in Schrader, pp.
150-154. As in the Pâncarâtra there is the Para above the four Vyûhas,
so some late forms of Buddhism regard Vairocana as the source of
four Jinas.
[487] The Manicheans also had groups of five deities (see Chavannes
and Pelliot in J.A. 1913, I. pp. 333-338) but they are just as likely to
have borrowed from Buddhism as vice versâ.

[488] See Bhattacharya, Hindu Castes and Sects, p. 565.
[489] Manu, I. 10-11, identifies him with Brahmâ and says, "The
waters are called Nârah because they are produced from Nara, and he
is called Nârâyaṇa because they were his place of movement (ayana)."
The same statement occurs in the Nârâyaṇîya.
[490] They are said to have been the sons of Dharma (religion or
righteousness) and Ahiṃsâ (not-injuring). This is obvious allegory
indicating that the Bhâgavata religion rejected animal sacrifices. At
the beginning of the Nârâyaṇîya (Śântip. cccxxxv.) it is said that
Nârâyaṇa the soul of the universe took birth in a quadruple form as
the offspring of Dharma, viz. Nara, Nârâyaṇa, Hari and Kṛishṇa. Nara
and Nârâyaṇa are often identified with Arjuna and Vâsudeva. E.g.
Udyogap. xxlx. 19.
[491] Mahâbhâr. XII.
[492] It is an episode in Mahâbhâr. VI. and in its present form was
doubtless elaborated apart from the rest. But we may surmise that the
incident of Kṛishṇa's removing Arjuna's scruples by a discourse
appeared in the early versions of the story and also that the discourse
was longer and profounder than would seem appropriate to the
European reader of a tale of battles. But as the Vedânta philosophy
and the doctrine of Kṛishṇa's godhead developed, the discourse may
have been amplified and made to include later theological views.
Garbe in his German translation attempts to distinguish the different
strata and his explanation of the inconsistencies as due to successive
redactions and additions may contain some truth. But these
inconsistencies in theology are common to all sectarian writings and I
think the main cause for them must be sought not so much in the
alteration and combination of documents, as in a mixed and eclectic
mode of thought. Even in European books of the first rank
inconsistencies are not unknown and they need not cause surprise in
works which were not written down but committed to memory. A poet
composing a long religious poem in this way and feeling, as many
Hindus feel, both that God is everything and also that he is a very
present personal help, may very well express himself differently in

different parts. On the other hand the editors of such poems are
undoubtedly tempted to insert in them later popular doctrines.
[493] The name appears not to be in common use now, but the
Pâśupata school is reviewed in the Sarva-darśana-saṅgraha (c. 1330).
[494] Śivabhâgavata, see his comment on Pâniṇi, V. 3. 99 and V. 2.
76. The name is remarkable and suggests that the Śivaites may have
imitated the Bhâgavatas.
[495] I. xxiii. 209. The Bibliotheca Ind. edition reads Nakulì. Aufrecht
(Bodl. MSS.) has Lakulî. The same story is found in Linga P. chap.
XXIV. Lakulî is said to have had four pupils who founded four
branches. Lakulin does not play an important part in modern Śivaism
but is mentioned in inscriptions from the tenth till the thirteenth
centuries. The Sarva-darśana-saṅgraha describes the Nakulîśa-
Pâśupata system and quotes Nakulîśa who is clearly the same as
Lakulin. The figures on Kushan coins representing Śiva as holding a
club may be meant for Lakulin but also may be influenced by Greek
figures of Herakles. See for Lakulin Fleet in J.R.A.S. 1907, pp. 419 ff.
and Bhandarkar Vaishṇavism and Śaivism, pp. 115 ff. The coins of
Wema Kadphises bear the title Mahiśvara, apparently meaning
worshipper of the Great Lord. Temples in south India seem to have
been named after Kâyârohana in the seventh century A.D. See
Gopinâtha Rao, Hindu Iconography, II. p. 19.
[496] Mahâbhâr. XII.
[497] Mahâbhâr. XII. 13702 ff. It is recited by Daksha when he
recognizes the might of Śiva after the unfortunate incident of his
sacrifice.
[498] Śânti-parvan, section cclxxxv especially line 10, 470 ff.
[499] See Sarva-darśana-saṅgraha, chap. VI. and the comments of
Râmânuja and Śankara on Vedânta Sûtras, II. 2. 36.
[500] E.g. Śaṅkara-dig-vijaya. The first notice of these sects appears
to be an inscription at Igatpuri in the Nâsik district of about 620 A.D.
recording a grant for the worship of Kapaleśvara and the maintenance

of Mahâvrâtins (= Kàpàlikās) in his temple. But doubtless the sects
are much older.
[501] The principal are, the Pâśupatas, the Śaivasiddhântam of
southern India and the Śivaism of Kashmir.
[502] The Sarva-darśana-saṅgraha, chap. VII. gives a summary of it.
[503] The Pâśupatas seem to attach less importance to this triad,
though as they speak of Pati, Paśu and the impurities of the soul there
is not much difference. In their views of causation and free will they
differed slightly from the Śaivas, since they held that Śiva is the
universal and absolute cause, the actions of individuals being effective
only in so far as they are in conformity with the will of Śiva. The
Śaiva siddhânta however holds that Śiva's will is not irrespective of
individual Karma, although his independence is not thereby
diminished. He is like a man holding a magnet and directing the
movements of needles.
[504] There is some difference of language and perhaps of doctrine on
this point in various Śivaite works. Both Śivaites and Pâncarâtrins
sometimes employ the language of the Advaita. But see Schrader, Int.
to Pâncarâtra, pp. 91 ff.
[505] The five Kañcukas (or six including Mâyâ) are strictly speaking
tattvas of which the Śaivas enumerate 36 and are kâla, niyati, râga,
vidyâ and kalâ contrasted with nityatva, vyâpakatva, pûrṇatva,
sarvajnatva, sarvakartṛitva which are qualities of spirit. See Chatterji,
Kashmir Śaivism, 75 ff., 160, where he points out that the Kañcukas
are essentially equivalent to Kant's "forms of perception and
conception." See too Schrader, Int. to Pâncarâtra, 64, 90, 115.
[506] See for names and other details Schomerus, Der Śaiva-
Siddhânta, pp. 7, 23: also many articles in the Siddhânta-Dipika.
[507] They are taken from the Âgama called Raurava. The Śivaites of
Kashmir appear to have regarded the extant Śiva-sûtras as an Âgama.
[508] The Sanskrit text and translation of the Mṛigendra are published
in the Siddhânta-Dipika, vol. IV. 1901 ff. It is sometimes described as

an Upâgama and sometimes as the Jñânapâda of the Kâmika Âgama.
[509] So Tirumûlar. Nîlakanṭḥa in his commentary on the Vedânta
Sûtras says: "I see no difference between the Veda and the
Śaivâgama."
[510] Or Śrîkaṇṭha. The commentary is translated in Siddhânta-
Dipika, vol. I. ff. In spite of sectarian views as to its early date, it
seems to be influenced by the views and language of Râmânuja.

CHAPTER XXVIII
ŚANKARA. SIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA. KASHMIR.
LINGÂYATS

1

About the sixth century A.D. the decadence of Buddhism and the
invigoration of Brahmanism were both well advanced. The Mahabharata
existed as a great collection of epic and religious poetry and the older
Puranas were already composed. Even at the present day authorities differ
as to whether Śiva or Vishṇu commands the allegiance of the majority and
naturally it is hard to describe the distribution of sects in earlier times. The
monuments of the Guptas (for instance the ruins at Eran) suggest that they
were Vishnuites but a little later the cult of Śiva becomes more prominent.
The Emperor Harsha (612-648) and his family were eclectic, honouring
Śiva, the Sun and the Buddha, but it is not recorded that they worshipped
Vishṇu. Bâṇa who lived at his court indicates[511] that Śivaism was the
predominant form of worship, but also mentions Buddhists and Bhâgavatas.
Hsüan Chuang on the other hand holds him up as a devout Buddhist. Great
Śivaite shrines in different parts of India such as the temple of
Bhuvaneshwar in Orissa and the Kailas at Ellora were probably constructed
in the seventh century and it is likely that in the defeat of Buddhism the
worshippers of Śiva played an active part.
This conflict is connected with the names of Kumâriḷa Bhaṭṭa (c. 725 A.D.)
and Śaṅkara Âcârya (c. 800 A.D.). It clearly represents forces which cannot
be restricted to the character of individuals or the span of human lives. The
elements which compose Hinduism had been vigorous long before the
eighth century and Buddhism, though decadent, continued to exist in India
later. But probably the careers of these two men are the best record of the
decisive turn of the tide. It is often said that they revived Hinduism, but
however much they insisted on the authority of ancient tradition, the real

result of their labours was not to re-establish the order of things which
prevailed before the rise of Buddhism, but to give authority and solidity to
the mixture of Brahmanism, Buddhism and popular beliefs which had
grown up. Kumâriḷa is said to have been a Brahman of Bihar who was a
Buddhist monk but became a worshipper of Śiva and so zealous a
persecutor of his former faith that he persuaded a king of his time named
Sudhanvan to exterminate it from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin. This is a
monstrous exaggeration but he was doubtless a determined enemy of the
Buddhists, as can be seen from his philosophical works.[512] He taught little
about metaphysics or the nature of God, but he insisted on the necessity and
efficacy of Vedic rites.
More important both as a thinker and an organizer was Śankara. There is
some discrepancy in the traditions of his birth, but he was probably born
about 788 A.D.[513] in a family of Nambuthiri Brahmans at Kaladi[514] in
the Cochin state. Kaladi occupies a healthy position at some height above
the sea level and the neighbourhood is now used as a sanatorium. The
cocoanut trees and towered temples which mark many south Indian
landscapes are absent, and paddy fields alternate with a jungle of flowering
plants studded with clumps of bamboos. A broad river broken by sandbanks
winds through the district and near the villages there are often beautiful
avenues of great trees. Not far distant is Trichur which possesses a Vedic
college and a large temple, forbidden to Europeans but like most edifices in
Malabar modest in architecture. This is not the land of giant gopurams and
multitudinous sculpture, but of lives dedicated to the acquisition of
traditional learning and the daily performance of complicated but
inconspicuous rites.
The accounts of Śankara's life are little but a collection of legends, in
which, however, the following facts stand out. He was the pupil of Govinda,
who was himself the pupil of Gauḍapâda and this connection would be
important could we be certain that this Gauḍapâda was the author of the
metrical treatise on philosophy bearing his name. He wrote popular hymns
as well as commentaries on the Upanishads, Vedânta Sutras and Bhagavad-
gîtâ, thus recognizing both Vedic and post-Vedic literature: he resided for
some time on the Narbudda and at Benares, and in the course of the
journeys in which like Paul he gave vent to his activity, he founded four
maṭhs or monasteries, at Sringeri, Puri, Dwârakâ and Badrinath in the

Himalaya. Near the latter he died before he was an old man. On his
deathbed he is said to have asked forgiveness for going on pilgrimages and
frequenting temples, because by so doing he had seemed to forget that God
is everywhere.
It is clear that his work both as an author and organizer was considerable
and permanent, and that much of his career was spent outside Dravidian
lands. His greatest achievement was his exposition of the Vedânta, of which
I treat elsewhere. He based his arguments unreservedly on the Vedic texts
and aimed at being merely conservative, but those texts and even the
ancient commentaries are obscure and inconsistent, and it was reserved for
his genius to produce from them a system which in consistency,
thoroughness and profundity holds the first place in Indian philosophy. His
work did not consist, as he himself supposed, in harmonizing the
Upanishads. In this department of interpretation he is as uncritical as other
orthodox commentators, but he took the most profound thoughts of the old
literature and boldly constructed with them a great edifice of speculation.
Since his time the Vedânta has been regarded as the principal philosophy of
India—a position which it does not seem to have held before—and his
interpretation of it, though often contested and not suited to popular
religion, still commands the respect and to some extent the adherence of
most educated Hindus.
In practical religion he clearly felt, as every Indian reformer still must feel,
the want of discipline and a common standard. Though the Buddhism of his
day had ceased to satisfy the needs of India, he saw that its strength lay in
its morality, its relative freedom from superstition and its ecclesiastical
organization. Accordingly he denounced extravagant sects[515] and forbade
such practices as branding. He also instituted an order of ascetics.[516] In
doing this he was not only trying to obtain for Hinduism the disciplinary
advantages of the Buddhist church but also to break through the rule
prescribing that a Brahman must first be a householder and only late in life
devote himself entirely to religion. This rule did the Brahmans good service
in insuring the continuity and respectability of their class but it tended to
drive enthusiasts to other creeds.
It does not seem that any sect can plausibly claim Śaṅkara as founder or
adherent. His real religion was Vedântism and this, though not incompatible

with sectarian worship, is predisposed to be impartial. The legend says that
when summoned to his mother's deathbed, he spoke to her first of the
Vedânta philosophy. But she bade him give her some consolation which she
could understand. So he recited a hymn to Śiva, but when the attendants of
that god appeared she was frightened. Śaṅkara then recited a hymn to
Vishṇu and when his gentler messengers came to her bedside, she gave her
son her blessing and allowed them to take her willing soul.
This story implies that he was ready to sanction any form of reputable
worship with a slight bias towards Vishnuism.[517] At the present day the
Smârtas, who consider themselves his followers, have a preference for the
worship of Śiva. But the basis of their faith is not Śivaism but the
recognition of the great body of Indian traditions known as Sṃriti. And that,
next to Vedântism, was the essence of Śaṅkara's teaching: he wished to
regard tradition as a coherent whole, based on the eternal Veda but
including authoritative Sṃriti to be interpreted in the light of the Veda, and
thus he hoped to correct extravagant and partial views and to lead to those
heights whence it is seen that all is one, "without difference."
The results of Śaṅkara's labours may still be seen in the organization of
southern Hinduism which is more complete than in the north. It is even said
that the head of the Śringeri monastery in Mysore exercises an authority
over Smârta Brahmans similar to that of the Pope.[518] This is probably an
exaggeration but his decision is accepted as settling caste disputes, and even
to-day the Śringeri maṭh[519] is one of the most important religious
institutions in India. The abbot, who is known as Jagadguru, is head of the
Smârta Brahmans. The present occupant is said to be thirty-third in
succession from Śaṅkara and numbers among his predecessors
Sâyanâcârya, the celebrated Vedic commentator who lived in the fourteenth
century. The continued prosperity of this establishment and of other
religious corporations in the Dravidian country, whereas the Mohammedans
destroyed all monasteries whether Hindu or Buddhist in the north, is one of
the reasons for certain differences in northern and southern Hinduism. For
instance in northern India any Brahman, whatever his avocation may be, is
allowed to perform religious ceremonies, whereas in the Deccan and south
India Brahmans are divided into Laukikas or secular and Bhikshus or
religious. The latter are householders, the name having lost its monastic