Intercourse between India and the Western World from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Rome c12.52

c12.52

We must now turn our attention to the very interesting work of Bardesanes the Babylonian on the Indian Gymnosophists. This treatise was extensively used by Porphyry, and there can be little doubt that it was through Bardesanes, that Indian philosophy exercised so great an influence on the development of Neo-platonism. Two important passages from the lost work of Bardesanes have been preserved, each shewing a most remarkably intimate knowledge of India on the part of the writer. His informant is stated to have been one Sandanes, Sandales, Dandamis or Damadamis, an Indian who came with an embassy to Syria to welcome the Emperor Elagabalus to the throne in 218 A.D. The first of these passages is to be found in the treatise Περὶ ἀποχῆς τῶν ἐμψύχων already referred to¹. It begins by distinguishing carefully between the Brahmins,—a hereditary priesthood, descended from a common ancestry, and the Sarmanes, or Buddhists, who are drawn from all classes. The Brahmin, he says, is not even subject to the king, and pays no tribute. He lives in the mountains or by the Ganges, as a solitary recluse, and devotes his time to solitary meditation and the service of the gods. The Sarmanes were quite different in their habits. They were drawn from all castes, and when they took their vows, they went to the village magistrate and made a declaration disposing of their goods. The candidate was then shaved, put on the robe of his order, and joined the fraternity. His wife went back to her relatives, and the state took charge of his children. Of life in a Buddhist monastery, the following account of Bardesanes is extremely interesting, and should be compared with that given by Hiuen Tsiang, the Chinese traveller², of life in the great Nālandā monastery four centuries later: “Their houses and temples are founded by the king, and in them are stewards who receive a fixed allowance from the state for the support of the inmates of the monastery, consisting of rice, bread, fruit, and herbs. When the monastery bell rings, all the strangers withdraw, and the monks enter and offer prayer. Prayer over, the bell is again rung, and the attendants give each monk a bowl of food, for two never eat out of the same dish. The bowl contains rice, but if anyone wants a variety of food, vegetables and fruits are added. Dinner is soon over, and the monks return to their several avocations. They are not allowed to marry or possess property. Both they and the Brahmins are held in such high esteem that the king himself will come and ask for their prayers and their counsel in times of emergency and danger.” The writer then goes on to describe the practice of self-immolation, which, though forbidden by Gautama, had become increasingly common among Buddhist ascetics.