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A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4: The Mahāyāna-Sūtras

A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4

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The Mahāyāna-Sūtras

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The whole of the Buddhist Sanskrit literature discussed so far, belongs to the borderland which forms the transition between Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna Buddhism. We shall now turn to those works which belong entirely to the Mahāyāna.

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The Mahāyāna does not possess a canon of its own, and cannot possess one, for the simple reason that the Mahāyāna does not represent one unified sect. There is, indeed, an account of a council which is supposed to have assembled under King Kaniṣka, but it is doubtful whether any canon was established at all at this council, and if so, in which language and by which sect.³ It is true that a Chinese text translated by Hsüan-Tsang⁴ makes mention of a "Bodhisattvapiṭaka" consisting of a long list of Mahāyāna texts, a Vinayapiṭaka and an Abhidharmapiṭaka, and the same text enumerates a lengthy list of Mahāyāna-Sūtras. However, as the text goes on to say that "there are hundreds of myriads of similar Mahāyāna-Sūtras," we are scarcely justified in regarding this as an attempt at a classification of "the Mahāyāna Canon." The so-called "nine Dharmas"¹ are not the canon of any sect, but a series of books which were compiled at different times and belonged to different sects, but which, at the present day, are all held in great honour in Nepal. The titles of these nine books are: Aṣṭasāhasrikā-Prajñā-Pāramitā, Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka, Lalita-Vistara, Laṅkāvatāra or Saddharma-Laṅkāvatāra, Suvarṇa-Prabhāsa, Gaṇḍavyūha, Tathāgataguhyaka or Tathāgataguṇajñāna, Samādhirāja and Daśabhūmīśvara.² All these works are also called "Vaipulya-Sūtras."

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³ The object of the alleged council of Kaniṣka was not to establish a Canon, but to collect explanations (commentaries). According to J. *Takakusu* (JRAS 1905, 414 f.) this council dealt with the Hīnayāna, and not the Mahāyāna.

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⁴ See S. *Lévi* and Éd. *Chavannes* in JA 1916, s. 11, t. VIII, p. 5 ff. The Buddhist dictionary Mahā-Vyutpatti (Bibl. Buddh. XIII) 65, mentions 105 separate Mahāyāna texts, No. 12 of which is a "Bodhisattva-Piṭaka." This is also quoted in the Śikṣā-Samuccaya, pp. 190 and 311.

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¹ "Dharma" is here probably only an abbreviation of "Dharma-Paryāya" (religious texts). In Nepal a regular divine service is consecrated to these nine books (*Hodgson*, Essays, p. 13), a bibliolatry which is characteristic of the Buddhism of Nepal, and is also very conspicuous in the texts themselves.

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² *Hodgson*, l.c.; *Burnouf*, Introduction, pp. 29 ff., 60 f.; *Kern*, Der Buddhismus, II, 508 ff.

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The most important Mahāyāna-Sūtra, and certainly the one which stands foremost as a work of literature, is the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka, "the Lotus of the Good Religion."³ He who wishes to become acquainted with Mahāyāna Buddhism, with all its characteristic peculiarities, with all its advantages and defects, should read this Sūtra. There is not much of the *man* Śākyamuni left in this work.⁴ The Budhha now is actually nothing less than a god above all gods, an infinitely exalted being, who has lived since countless aeons in the past, and will live for ever. "I am the father of the world," he says of himself (XV, Gāthā 21), "the self-existent (Svayambhū), the physician and protector of all creatures, and it is only because I know how perverse and deluded the fools are, that I, who have never ceased to exist, pretend to have passed away." Thus it is only out of pity for the beings, out of consideration for the weakness of the human understanding, that he pretends to have entered Nirvāṇa. He is like that physician with many sons who were once attacked by a severe illness during their father's absence. The physician returns and prepares medicines for them. Only a few of his sons however, take them, the others reject them. In order to persuade these also to take the medicines, he goes to distant parts, and gives out that he is dead. The children, who now feel deserted, take the prescribed medicines, and recover their health. Buddha has recourse to a similar artifice when he apparently enters Nirvāṇa, but yet returns again and again in order to preach.¹ It is his preaching which forms the link between him and the human beings. The Buddha of the "Lotus" does not, however, preach like the Buddha of the Pāli Suttas, who wanders from place to place as a mendicant monk, in order to proclaim his doctrine; on the contrary, he sits on the Gṛdhrakūṭa hill in a large assembly of monks and nuns, and in the midst of a still larger host of thousands of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, gods and demi-gods; and when he is about to "pour down the great rain of the religion, to sound the great drum of the religion, to raise the great banner of the religion, to light the great torch of the religion, to blow the great shell trumpet of the religion, to beat the great kettledrum of the religion," a ray of light bursts forth from the hair between his eye-brows; this ray of light illuminates eighteen thousand "Buddha-lands" with all the Buddhas and all the beings in them, and permits the Bodhisattva Maitreya to see wonderful visions; for the Buddha of the "Lotus" is also a powerful magician, who loves to work upon the senses of his audience by means of splendid phantasmagorias.

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³ Edited by H. Kern and Bunyiu Nanjio, Bibliotheca Buddhica X, St. Pétersbourg, 1908 ff. Transl. into French ("Le Lotus de la bonne Loi") by *E. Burnouf*, Paris, 1852, into English by H. Kern in SBE, Vol. 21, 1884. The title is explained in the following manner by M. *Anesaki* (Buddhist Art in its Relations to Buddhist Ideals, 1914, p. 15 f.): "The lotus is a symbol of purity and perfection because it grows out of mud but is not defiled,—just as Buddha is born into the world but lives above the world; and because its fruits are said to be ripe when the flower blooms,—just as the truth preached by Buddha bears immediately the fruit of enlightenment."

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⁴ See *Anesaki* in ERE IV, p. 839; *La Vallée Poussin* in ERE VIII, 145 f.

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¹ Chapt. XV, SBE 21, p. 304 ff.

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The doctrine of this Buddha differs just as greatly from that of the Hīnayāna, as his personality differs from that of the Buddha of the old texts. Though it is true that he, too, desires to lead the beings to the "Buddha knowledge," to enlightenment, he gives them a single "vehicle," the "Buddha vehicle," which carries them to their goal. Everyone who has merely heard the Buddha's preaching, who has performed any kind of meritorious actions, who has led a moral life, can become a Buddha. Moreover, even those who worship relics, erect Stūpas, construct any kind of images of Buddha, whether jewelled, marble or wooden statues or frescoes, even children who in play make Stūpas of sand, or scribble figures of Buddha on the wall, those who offer flowers or perfumes at Stūpas or make music before them, even those who only by chance, have on some occasion thought of the Buddha with the thought "honour to the Buddha,"—all these will attain to the highest enlightenment.¹ It is only in appearance that there are three "vehicles," namely that of the disciples, that of the Pratyeka-Buddhas, and that of the Bodhisattvas, by means of which Nirvāṇa can be attained. In reality it is only by the mercy of the Buddha that all of them alike attain to enlightenment and become Buddhas. This is illustrated by one of those beautiful parables which are not rare in the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka:

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¹ Chapt. II, Gāthās 61 ff., 74 ff., SBE 21, p. 47 ff.

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In a ruined old house lives a father with his children. Suddenly the house is on fire. The father is troubled about his children. It is true that he is strong, and could take the little ones in his arms and escape from the house with them. But the house has only *one* door. The children, unconscious of the danger, run about in merry play, and do not pay heed to his cry of warning. It is to be feared that he and his children will all perish in the fire. Then a good plan occurs to him. Children love playthings. He calls out to them that he has all sorts of beautiful toys for them, little bullock-carts, little goat-carts, little antelope-carts, in front of the house. No sooner do the children hear these words, than they all rush out of the door and are saved. Now they ask their father for the promised little carts of three kinds. However, the father is a rich man, and gives them splendid, beautifully decorated bullock-carts instead. The children are merry and happy. Who will accuse the father of deception, because he promised the children three kinds of inferior carts, and only gave them the carts of the one, most splendid kind? Even so does the Buddha deal with men: by the promise of the three "vehicles" he lures them away from the burning, ruined house of this world, he rescues them, and gives them the one "vehicle," the most precious of all, the "Buddha vehicle."[^1)

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Again, in the parable of the "prodigal son," the Buddha is represented as the good, wealthy father, who means well towards his sons, the human beings:

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A rich man has an only son, who roams about in foreign lands for fifty years. While the father grows richer and richer, and has become a great man, the son lives in foreign parts, poor and in reduced circumstances. As a beggar he at last returns to his home, where his father has been yearning for him all the time. The beggar comes to the house of his father, whom, however, he does not recognise in the great man, who, like a king, surrounded by a great retinue, sits before his mansion. When he sees the pomp and splendour, he flees for fear that he, the ragged beggar, might be ill-treated. His father, however, recognised him at once, and sends out servants to bring the beggar in. Trembling and shaking with fear, he is dragged in, and he falls unconscious. Then his father commands that he shall be released. Gladly the beggar gets up, and goes to the poor quarter of the town. Now the rich man thinks out a plan whereby he may win the confidence of his son. He sends workmen

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[^1): Chapt. III, SBE 21, p. 72 ff.

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to hire him for the humblest work in his house; he sometimes chats with him and gradually becomes intimate with him. In this way twenty years pass, without the father's making himself known. Not until the hour of his death does he cause all his relatives to assemble, and announce that the beggar, who has now become a trusted servant, is his own son; and he makes him the heir to all his wealth. The rich man is Buddha; the son who was lost and is found again, represents the human beings, whom Buddha, as the wise father, gradually draws to himself, and finally appoints as his fortunate heirs.[^1)

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The Buddha is also compared to a physician, as often as to a loving father. There is an especially detailed parable, in which the human beings are compared to persons born blind, whose eyes are opened by Buddha, the great physician.[^2) The fact that the Buddha knows no partiality, but is an equally good father and physician to *all*, is shown by two beautiful similes: Even as a mighty rain-cloud gathers, and waters and refreshes by its moisture all the grasses, herbs and trees, even as the latter absorb the moisture of the earth and blossom forth in renewed vigour, so the Buddha appears in the world and refreshes all creatures, bringing them blessed repose. Again, even as the sun and the moon send down their rays equally over all the world, on the good and the bad, on the high and the lowly, so the preaching of the Buddha is for all the world alike.[^3)

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All these similes and parables would be still more beautiful, if they were not spun out to such length and with such verbosity, that the pointedness of the simile suffered from it. This verbosity is very characteristic of the whole work. It is a veritable whirl of words with which the reader is stunned;

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[^1): Chapt. IV, SBE 21, p. 98 ff. *Cf. La Vallée Poussin*, Bouddhisme, p. 317 ff. The parable of the "prodigal son" in the Gospel of St. Luke, 15 has such a very different tendency, that I do not believe that there is any connection between the two. *Cf. Garbe*, Indien und das Christentum, p. 46 and Carlo Puini in GSAI 27, 1915, 129 ff. [^2): Chapt. V, SBE 21, p. 129 ff. [^3): Chapt. V, SBE 21, pp. 119 ff., 122 ff., 128 ff.

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and the idea is often drowned in the flood of words. The *numbers* are, however, still more immoderate and extravagant than the words. For instance, there was a Buddha who lived “forty hundred thousand myriads of tens of millions of ages of the world, as many as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges, and after he had attained to complete Nirvāṇa, his true religion still lasted hundreds of thousands of myriads of tens of millions of ages of the world, as many as there are tiny specks of dust in the whole of India, and a copy of the true religion after that, still lasted hundreds of thousands of myriads of tens of millions of ages of the world, as many as there are tiny specks of dust in the four continents,” and there arose consecutively in the world “twenty hundred thousand myriads of tens of millions” of similar Buddhas.[^1) The Buddha is glorified in the most extravagant manner, immoderate both in words and in numbers, especially in the splendid phantasmagoria of Chapter XIV, where, by the magic power of the Buddha, the earth opens and there suddenly appear from all sides many hundreds of thousands of myriads of tens of thousands of Bodhisattvas, each with a retinue as numerous as the sand of sixty Ganges rivers. While these countless Bodhisattvas pay homage to the Buddha, fifty ages of the world pass, during which great silence prevails, but which, by the magic power of the Lord, seem but a single afternoon. The Buddha tells the astonished Maitreya that all these countless Bodhisattvas were his pupils. The glorification of the text itself is equally immoderate and extravagant; for, strange as it is, the text refers at every turn to Buddha’s preaching and expounding of the text, and to its propagation by the preachers. Thus (in Chapter XI) Śākyamuni causes a wonderful Stūpa to appear in mid-air, and from the interior of the Stūpa sounds the voice of a Buddha, who had died

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[^1): Chapt. XIX, Text, p. 376 f., SBE 21, p. 355.

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myriads of ages previously: "Excellent, excellent, Lord Sākyamuni, the religious discourse called 'Lotus of the Good Religion' has been well expounded by thee. Yes, so it is, so it is, Lord Buddha (Sugata)." The same chapter relates: The Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī proclaimed the "Lotus of the Good Religion" in the kingdom of the Nāgas at the bottom of the ocean, and the youthful daughter of the Nāga king heard the sermon, and understood all the doctrines. As a result she attains to enlightenment and changes her sex on the spot.¹ The merit of the preacher of the "Lotus" and of the faithful hearing of this sermon is praised again and again. Thus it is said in Chapter XXII:

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¹ SBE, Vol. 21, p. 250 ff. [^2): SBE, Vol. 21, p. 388. [^3): Amitāyurdhyāna-Sūtra 28 (SBE, Vol. 49, Part 2, p. 195) is significant: "If there be any one who commits many evil deeds, provided that he does not speak evil of the Mahāvaipulya Sūtras, he, though himself a very stupid man, and neither ashamed nor sorry for all the evil actions that he has done, yet, while dying, may meet a good and learned teacher who will recite and laud the headings and titles of the twelve divisions of the Mahāyāna scriptures. Having thus heard the names of all the Sūtras, he will be freed from the greatest sins which would involve him in births and deaths during a thousand Kalpas."

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"The religious discourse called 'Lotus of the Good Religion' is like a tank for the thirsty, like a fire for those who suffer from cold, like a garment for the naked, like the caravan leader for the merchants, like a mother for her children, like a boat for those who ferry over…like a torch for the dispelling of darkness."[^2) Whoever writes down this book, or causes it to be written down, acquires endless merit. A female being who hears it, has lived as a female for the last time. He who, at the hearing of the sermon of the "Lotus" expresses his acclamation, will always exhale from his mouth sweet breath as from a lotus, and sandal-perfume will emanate from his limbs.

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All these extravagances, and in particular all these glorifications of the texts in the texts themselves, are just as characteristic of all the Mahāyāna-Sūtras[^3) as they are of the Purāṇas. In fact, it is the spirit of the Purāṇas of which we are reminded by every line of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka.¹ At times the Buddha of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka reminds us of the Kṛṣṇa of the Bhagavad-Gītā.² This does not, however, enable us to draw any conclusion as regards the chronology, as we cannot determine any sure date, either for the beginning of the Kṛṣṇa-cult, or for the Purāṇas.

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¹ The few points of agreement between the vocabulary of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka and that of the Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa, which are pointed out by *Kern*, SBE 21, p. xvi f., are by no means sufficient to connect the work in any way with Vedic literature.

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² It seems to me, however, risky to assume that the "Lotus" was directly influenced by the Kṛṣṇa-cult, the Vedānta and the Bhagavad-Gītā, as has been assumed by J. N. *Farquhar*, Outline of the Rel. Lit. of India, p. 114 f.

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It is altogether difficult to fix any definite period for the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka, as it contains sections belonging to various epochs. The prose in pure Sanskrit, and the Gāthās in "mixed Sanskrit" could not possibly have originated at the same time,³ because, in contents, they often diverge from one another. Both the prose and the Gāthās several times mention the work as a metrical composition. Probably it originally consisted only of verses, with *short* prose passages inserted by way of introduction and as a means of connecting the verses. The short prose passages were later enlarged, especially as the dialect of the verses had become obsolete. Without being actually a commentary, the prose served as an explanation.⁴ It is significant that precisely those chapters which contain no Gāthās, have, on other grounds too, proved to be later additions. These are Chapters XXI-XXVI, which are devoted more to the adoration of Bodhisattvas, while the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka on the whole serves for the glorification of the Buddha Śākyamuni. One of these Bodhisattvas is Bhaiṣajyarāja, the "Prince of the art of Healing" who in Chapter XXI utters protecting magic formulas (Dhāraṇīs) and in Chapter XXII, after he has, for twelve years, eaten sweet-scented substances and drunk oil, wraps himself in heavenly garments, bathes in oil, and burns himself. During twelve thousand years his body burns without ceasing; and the sole purpose of this magnificent sacrifice and splendid firework display, is to do honour to the Buddha and the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka. Chapter XXIV is devoted to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the great redeemer. He who invokes him, is delivered from every danger. The executioner's sword is shivered into fragments, if he who is sentenced to death, prays to him. All fetters are loosened if his name is but uttered. He rescues the shipwrecked and the caravan which is attacked by robbers. A woman who desires a son or a beautiful daughter, needs only to invoke Avalokiteśvara, and her wish is fulfilled. The chapter also contains a Gāthā passage of considerable length for the glorification of Avalokiteśvara. This, however, is also of more recent date; not *all* the Gāthās are earlier than the prose: some were added later.¹

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³ H. *Lüders* (Hoernle, Manuscript Remains, p. 161 f.) is of opinion that the original text was written in Prākrit, and was gradually Sanskritised.

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⁴ We cannot, however, simply say that the prose is a résumé of the Gāthās, or that the Gāthās are an amplification of the prose. For instance, suposing that in Book I, we had only the prose, we should glean a meaning from it, whereas the Gāthās by themselves would remain inexplicable in some cases. In Book II, the main content is included in the Gāthās. In Book III (the parable of the father and the children), the prose diverges somewhat from the Gāthās, but the Gāthā narrative presents a better meaning.

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¹ *Kern*, SBE 21, p. xviii f. Though the old Chinese translation contains Chapts. XXI-XXVI, they appear in a different order from that of the Sanskrit text. This proves that they are Pariśiṣṭas, Appendices, which did not originally belong to the work. *Kern*, l.c., p. xxi f.

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However, though the work contains later and earlier parts, it presents a much greater uniformity of character than, for instance, the Mahāvastu or the Lalita-Vistara. Whilst both the last-mentioned works contain many a passage which harks back to the very earliest period of Buddhist doctrine and poetry, the *whole* of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka only gives expression to a later phase of Buddhism.² Nevertheless we shall most probably be right in placing the nucleus of the work as far back as the first century A.D., as it is quoted by Nāgārjuna, who probably lived towards the end of the 2nd century A. D.¹ The work was first translated into Chinese in 223 A.D. This translation has not come down to us, but we have those of Dharmarakṣa (286 A. D.) and Kumārajīva (about 400 A.D.) and that of Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta (601 A.D.).² In the preface to the last-named translation it is stated that Dharmarakṣa and Kumāragupta made their translations according to two different texts.³ Moreover, the fragments of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka which have been found in Eastern Turkestan, and which present a text diverging from that of the Napalese manuscripts, afford a proof of the fact that there were two recensions of the work. On the whole it is a shorter text, and yet it contains some passages which are missing in our (Nepalese) text.⁴ Whatever the exact date of the work in its original form may be, one thing is certain: the nature of the work as we know it, implies a mature development of Mahāyāna Buddhism, especially in the direction of Budha-Bhakti and the cult of relics and image-worship, and above all also an advanced stage of Buddhist art.

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² It is significant that *Kern*, SBE 21, p. X ff., in order to prove that the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka and the Lalita-Vistara contain materials which belong to the earliest period of Buddhism, can quote examples only from the Lalita-Vistara.

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¹ See *Eliot*, Hinduism and Buddhism, II, 52.

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² See *B. Nanjio*, Bibliotheca Buddhica X, 5, 1912, Preface, p. ii f.; *Bagchi*, I, pp. 87, 150, 186, 310, 322, 409; and N. D. *Mironov* in JRAS 1927, p. 252 ff.

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³ Kern in SBE, Vol. 21, p. xxi note.

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⁴ The Central Asiatic fragments have been published by *Hoernle* and *Lüders* in *Hoernle*, Manuscript Remains, pp. 132 ff., 138 ff., 162 ff. See also *La Vallée Poussin* in JRAS 1911, 1067 ff.; *Kern* in Preface to edition (Bibl. Buddh. X), p. v ff.; *Hoernle* in JRAS, 1916, p. 269 ff. According to N. D. *Mironov* (JRAS 1927, 252 ff.) there are two groups of fragments, one of which should, on palæographic grounds, be ascribed to the 5th and 6th centuries, and the other to the 7th century. Moreover, fragments of an Uiguric translation of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka have been found in Central Asia, s. *F. W. K. Müller*, Uigurica II, in ABA 1911, p. 14 ff.; *Lüders* in SBA 1914, p. 99. *Bendall* ascribes a Nepalese MS. of the Saddh., which he discovered, to the 4th or 5th century (JRAS 1901, p. 124 note).

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When there is such frequent talk of thousands or myriads of tens of millions of Stūpas, which are erected over the relics of a Buddha, or of hundreds of tens of milions of Vihāras, which are described as splendid buildings, furnished with the greatest comfort and luxury, there must have been at least many hundreds of Stūpas and Vihāras (topes and monasteries) in the land, and these must have been furnished with pictures of Buddha made of jewels, statues of Buddha made of wood and metal, and with reliefs and frescoes.¹ On the other hand, the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka inspired Buddhist art.² It has always ranked foremost as a book of edification, among the Buddhists of China and Japan. The Chinese pilgrim I-tsing relates that the "Lotus of the Good Religion" was the favourite book of his teacher Hui-hsi; during a period of more than sixty years he read it through once daily, so that he read it twenty thousand times.³ Even at the present day it may be found in every Buddhist temple in Japan: it is the most sacred book of the Hokke-shū or "Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka sect," founded by Nichiren in 1252 A.D., and one of the principal works upon which the Tien-tai school in China, and the Tendai sect in Japan also take their stand.⁴

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¹ See particularly Chapt. II, Gāthās 77 ff., SBE Vol. 21, p. 50 f.

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² See M. Anesaki, Buddhist Art in its Relations to Buddhist Ideals, p. 16 f.

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³ I-tsing, transl. by *J. Takakusu*, p. 205.

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⁴ *Cf.* B. Nanjio, Short History of the Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects, Tokyo, 1886, pp. 68 ff., 132 ff.; Yamakami Sōgen, Systems of Buddhist Thought, Calcutta, 1912, p. 4; K. J. Saunders, Epochs in Buddhist History, Chicago, 1924, p. 60 ff., 120 ff., 146 f.; Timothy Richard, The New Testament of Higher Buddhism, Edinburgh, 1910, p. 127; and W. M. McGovern, An Introduction to Mahāyāna Buddhism, London, 1922, pp. 208 f., 222. Extracts from the Chinese translation of the Saddh., which are said to contain the nucleus of the work, have been translated by *T. Richard*, l.c., pp. 147-261.

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The whole of a long Mahāyāna-Sūtra is also devoted to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, who is glorified in Chapter XXIV of the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka. The complete title of this Mahāyāna-Sūtra is Avalokiteśvara-Guṇakāraṇḍa-Vyūha, "the detailed description of the basket of the qualities of Avalokiteśvara," but it is usually briefly called Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha. There are two versions of this work, an earlier one in prose and a later one in Ślokas.¹ The latter is based on a theistic view of the world. It relates how, at the beginning of all things, Ādibuddha, the "first Buddha," also called Svayambhū, "the self-existent," and Ādinātha, "the First Lord," appeared and created the world through meditation. Out of his spirit arose Avalokiteśvara, who also takes part in the work of creation, creating the gods out of his own body. Not only does this introduction remind us forcibly of the Purāṇas, but the language and style of the metrical Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha are entirely those of the later Purāṇas. Now we know that in the fourth century A.D. there were already Buddhists who believed in Ādibuddha as God and Creator.² The cult of Avalokiteśvara, too, was already prevalent at that time, for the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien, who came to India in the year 399 A.D., prayed to this Bodhisattva for deliverance, when he was overtaken by a storm on the voyage from Ceylon to China. The earliest pictures of Avalokiteśvara date from the 5th century.³ For this reason it is possible that the metrical Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha was in existence even prior to the 4th century A.D., though this is not probable, since the Tibetan translation in the Kanjur, which originated in 616 A.D.,⁴ is based upon the prose version which makes no mention of Ādibuddha. The prose version that contains a large section in the style of the Tantras, is probably not very old either.¹

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¹ The prose text is published by *Satyavrata Sāmas'ramī*, Calcutta, 1873. (An edition which appeared in Serampore in 1872, is mentioned in the *Catalogue of the Library of the India Office*.) Cf. *Burnouf*, Introduction, pp. 196-206; *Rāj. Mitra*, Nep. Buddh. Lit., p. 95 ff.; 101 f.; *Bendall*, Catalogue, p. 9 ff.; *Haraprasāda Śāstrī*, *Catalogue of… MSS. belonging to the Darbar Library, Nepal*, Calcutta, 1895, p. 89; *La Vallée Poussin*, ERE II, p. 259 f.

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² This is proved by Maitreyanātha who says in the Mahāyāna-Sūtrālaṃkāra IX, 77: "There is no Adi-Buddha." Cf. *La Vallée Poussin* in *Garbe*, Indien und das Christentum, p. 182.

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³ *L. A. Waddel*, JRAS, 1894, p. 57. Cf. *A. Foucher*, Étude sur l' iconographie Bouddhique de l'Inde (Bibl. de l'école des hautes études, t. 13), Paris, 1900, p. 97 ff.; and *La Vallée Poussin*, ERE II, p. 256 ff.

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⁴ Thus according to *La Vallée Poussin*, ERE II, p. 259.

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¹ Unfortunately, I am unable to determine whether the Ratna-Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha-Sūtra, which was translated into Chinese by Dharmarakṣa in 270 A.D. and by Guṇabhadra between 435 and 468 A.D., (s. B. Nanjio, Catalogue No. 168 f. ; *Bagchi* 1, 96, 380 ; *Alfred Forke*, Katalog des Pekinger Tripiṭaka, Ostas. Sammlungen der k. Bibliothek zu Berlin, 1916, Nos. 623, 1069) is identical with the "Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha Sūtra", translated between 980 and 1001 A.D. (Nanjio, No. 782 ; Forke No. 548), and with one of the Sanskrit versions. A Ratna-Kāraṇḍa-Sūtra is quoted in the Śikṣā-Samuccaya (pp. 6, 356), and mentioned in Mahā-Vyutpatti, 65, 84. In the Kanjur, the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha and the Ratna-Kāraṇḍa are, two different works, s. *Csoma de Kőrös* in AMG II, 243, 246.

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The fundamental idea, the glorification of the wonderful redeemer Avalokiteśvara, the "Lord who looks down," *i.e.*, who looks down with infinite pity on all beings,² is the same in both versions of the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha. Avalokiteśvara here appears as the typical Bodhisattva, who refuses to assume Buddhahood until all beings are redeemed. Avalokiteśvara's one and only task is to bring the doctrine of salvation to all beings, to help all sufferers, to save them from every distress, and to exercise infinite pity that does not even shrink from sin,³ and does not stop at the gates of hell. The early chapters of the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha describe how he descends into the terrible hell Avīci, in order to release the tortured ones from their torment. No sooner has he entered, than the burning heat is transformed into a pleasant coolness; in place of the cauldron in which millions of the damned boil like pulse, a refreshing lotus-pond appears. The place of torture becomes an abode of joy.¹ From hell Avalokiteśvara goes to the abode of the Pretas and refreshes these ghosts, which are eternally tortured by hunger and thirst, with food and drink. One of his wanderings takes him to Ceylon, where he converts the cannibal witches (Rākṣasīs), thence he goes to Benares, where he preaches the doctrine to beings born as insects and worms, and then to Magadha, where he miraculously rescues the inhabitants from a dreadful famine. In Ceylon he appears as the winged horse Balāha, in order to bear away from the island the shipwrecked ones who had been allured by the witches, and to rescue them from destruction.[^2)

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² The name is thus explained in the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha itself, *Burnouf*, Introduction, p. 201 f. Other explanations of the name are also possible; see *La Vallée Poussin* ERE II, p. 256 f. *H. Zimmer*, ZII I, 1922, 73 ff., shows up the difficulties presented by all explanations of the name which have hitherto been suggested, but his own explanation: "The Master of Enlightenment, *i.e.*, he who has attained to perfect enlightenment, and yet does not become a Buddha, but remains a Bodhisattva until such time as all beings shall be released," is not at all convincing, for we ask ourselves in vain how *Avalokita* can possibly have the meaning of *samyaksambodhi*. On pictorial presentations of Avalokiteśvara, see *A. Foucher*, L'Iconographie Bouddhique de l'Inde, p. 97 ff. ; *Alice Getty*, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Oxford, 1914, p. 54 ff.

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³ Avalokiteśvara is made to say that it is better for a Bodhisattva to commit sin in the exercise of mercy, and to suffer in hell, than to disappoint any being in the which it has reposed in him. ERE II, p. 257 f.

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¹ *Cf. E.B. Cowell*, Journal of Philology VI, 1876, p. 222 ff. (reprinted also in Ind. Ant. VIII. 249 ff.) ; *L. Scherman*, Visionsliteratur, p. 62 ff. *Cowell* compares the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus, and derives the Indian legend from the Christian one. My own opinion is that the points of agreement are not sufficiently great to warrant the likelihood of any historical connection. Similarly *Garbe*, Indien und das Christentum, p. 77 f. Avalokiteśvara's visit to hell is the prototype of the legend of King Vipaścit in the Mārkaṇḍeya-Purāṇa, see above Vol. I, 562 ff., and *J. Charpentier*, Paccekabuddhageschichten I, 118. The beautiful poem by the Austrian poetess Betty Paoli. "Der gute König in der Hölle" (Gedichte, Auswahl und Nachlass, Stuttgart 1895, 217 ff.) is based upon the Buddhist legend. [^2): *Cf.* Jātaka No. 196, where the winged horse is identified with the Buddha of a former birth. In the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha the merchant Siṁhala, cast adrift to Ceylon, is the Buddha Śakyamuni in a former birth.

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Avalokiteśvara is not only a helper full of loving kindness, but he is also a cosmic being, out of whose body all the gods have come forth. "The sun and the moon came forth from his eyes, Maheśvara from his brow, Brahman and other gods from his shoulders, Nārāyaṇa from his heart, Sarasvatī from his two corner teeth, the winds from his mouth, the earth from his feet, Varuṇa from his stomach" (p. 14 f.). We see him as a genuine Bodhisattva, however, when his excellent qualities are praised: "Hear, O sons of a noble race! The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, the Great Being, is a lamp for the blind, a sun-shade for those who are scorched by the great heat of the sun, a river for those who are dying of thirst; he gives safety to those who are in fear of dangers, he is a physician to those who are tormented by sickness, he is a father and a mother to the unfortunate, he points the way to Nirvāṇa to those who have descended into hell. This is the nature of the qualities of this Exalted One. Fortunate are those beings in the world, who are mindful of his name. They escape from all suffering of Saṃsāra (from the first) to the last. Those people are very wise, who always honour Avalokiteśvara with gifts of flowers and incense" (p. 48 f.).

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The major portion of Section II of the prose version of the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha is after the style of the Tantras, and is devoted to the glorification of the "knowledge of the six syllables," *i.e.*, the protecting and benedictory prayer formula "Om maṇipadme hum." This famous prayer, which even at the present day is on every one's lips in Tibet, and which is written on all praying wheels and praying banners, is praised in the most extravagant manner in this work. We read:

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"This great knowledge of the six syllables is the profound secret of Avalokiteśvara, and he who knows the profound secret, knows release (p. 67).

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"Whoever will give me the great knowledge of the six syllables" says a Bodhisattva, "to that man I will willingly give the four continents, filled with the seven kinds of precious stones. O Lord, if there be no birch bark on which to write it down, no ink, and no quill, let him use my blood as ink, let him strip off my skin and use it instead of the birch bark, let him split my bones and make a quill of them. O Lord, this would not hurt my body. He will be a father and a mother to me, the teacher above all teachers (p. 69).

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"O noble youth, I can count every single grain of sand in the four oceans, but it is not possible for me to count up the sum of merit which one acquires by a single recitation of the great knowledge of the six syllables" (p. 70).¹

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¹ Cf. *La Vallée Poussin* in ERE II, 259; H. Zimmer, Kunst-form und Yoga im indischen Kultbild, Berlin, 1926, 167 ff. Om maṇipadme hum is probably a mode of addressing Maṇipadmā, the female counterpart of Avalokiteśvara; s. F. W. *Thomas* in JRAS 1906, 464, and *Eliot*, Hinduism and Buddhism, III, 396 f.

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The Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara is very closely related to the Buddha Amitābha, who is glorified in the Sukhāvatī-Vyūhas, "Detailed Descriptions of the Blessed Land," in much the same manner as Śākyamuni in the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka and Avalokiteśvara in the Kāraṇḍa-Vyūha. Two works have come down to us in Sanskrit, one of considerable length and the other much shorter; both are entitled Sukhāvatī-Vyūha,¹ and diverge widely from each other, though both of them describe the "blessed land" of the Buddha Amitābha or Amitāyus.² Not only the introduction to the shorter text, but certain traits in the description of Sukhāvatī are different, and there is also an essential difference in their tendency. The longer Sukhāvatī-Vyūha teaches that those who have accumulated a large pile of good works, who direct their thoughts to enlightenment and think of Amitābha in the hour of death, go to the "blessed land," although those who merely direct their thoughts to Amitābha and his Buddha-land, may possibly also reach Sukhāvatī. On the other hand, the shorter text teaches that the "blessed land" is not the reward for good works, but that anyone who merely hears the name of Amitāyus and thinks of it in the hour of death, will be born in this Buddha-land. There seems to me to be no doubt that the longer text is the earlier one.

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¹ Both texts have been published by Max Müller and Bunyiu Nanjio (*Anecdota Oxoniensia*, Aryan Series, Vol. I, Part II, Oxford, 1883) and translated by *Max Müller* in SBE, Vol. 49, Part II. The shorter Sukhāvatī-Vyūha has been translated into French from Kumārajīva's Chinese version, by *Ymaizoumi* and *Yamata* in AMG II, 39 ff.

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² On Amitābha, cf. *La Vallée Poussin* in ERE I, 98 f.; *Grünwedel*, Buddhistische Kunst in Indien, p. 169 f.; and *Alice Getty*, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Oxford, 1914, p. 36 ff.

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In the longer Sukhāvatī-Vyūha, Śākyamuni appears in Rājagṛha on the Gṛdhrakūṭa hill, surrounded by thousands of monks, disciples and Bodhisattvas. In conversation with Ānanda, he enumerates 81 Buddhas of the past. The last of these, named Lokeśvararāja, instructs the monk Dharmākara regarding the perfections of the Buddha-lands. It is this Dharmākara who, by prayers (praṇidhāna) in a former life, and by faithfully practising the virtues of a Bodhisattva through countless aeons, was re-born in the Sukhāvatī world in the West as Buddha Amitābha. There he radiates immeasurable light (hence his name Amitābha) and his span of life is immeasurable (hence his other name Amitāyus). In his "Buddha-land," the Sukhāvatī paradise, there is neither hell nor animal birth, nor Pretas, nor Asuras. This blessed land is filled with infinitely sweet scent. Jewel trees in many hundreds of thousands of colours grow there, also wonderful lotus blossoms. There are no hills there, the country is as flat as an open hand. Delightful rivers yield pleasant, sweet water, and the rippling of the water is the most glorious music. The beings who are born in Sukhāvatī are all endowed with the most beautiful qualities, physical and mental, and enjoy all imaginable pleasures. There is no difference between men and gods. There is no question of day and night. There is no darkness. Here Amitābha is continually praised. And whoever thinks of this Buddha with awe, whoever pays heed to the increase of his good deeds, whoever directs his thoughts to enlightenment, whoever prays reverently to be re-born in that world, to him Amitābha appears in the hour of his death, and he is born again in the blessed land. Indeed, even those who only think of Amitābha with one thought, are "born" there. The beings in Sukhāvatī are not, however, born of woman: they appear seated on lotus blossoms if they have firmly believed in Amitābha, or resting in the cups of lotus blossoms if their faith had not been quite firm. The beings in that blessed world live in happiness and calm, in perfect wisdom and sinlessness.

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In the Sukhāvatī-Vyūha the splendour of Amitābha and his paradise are described with the same verbal extravagance and the same numerical immoderation as we find in all the Mahāyāna-Sūtras.

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Of the twelve Chinese translations of the longer Sukhāvatī-Vyūha which are said to have existed, five have come down to us in the Chinese Tripiṭaka, the earliest of which was made between 147 and 186 A.D. The shorter Sukhāvatī-Vyūha was translated into Chinese three times, by Kumārajīva (402 A.D.), by Guṇabhadra (420-479) A.D. and by Hsüan-Tsang (about 650 A.D.).¹ A third work, the Amitāyur-dhyāna-Sūtra,² which has come down only in the Chinese translation, deals less with the description of the blessed land, but devotes more space to the recommendation of meditations (dhyāna) on Amitāyus, by means of which one may reach that land. The loss of the Sanskrit original of this text is all the more regrettable, because it contains an interesting introduction, in which the story of Ajātaśatru and Bimbisāra is told, a story with which the Pāli accounts are also familiar.³ For centuries, the three works on Amitāyus and Sukhāvatī have formed the basis of the faith of the majority of Buddhists in China and Japan, who found consolation and comfort in the belief in "Amida," as Amitāyus is called in Japan, and in the hope of the blessed land. This is especially true of the numerous adherents of the two Japanese sects Jodo-shu and Shin-shu.⁴

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¹ Most of the Chinese translations bear titles, to which "Amitāyus-Sūtra" or "Amita-āyuṣa-vyūha" would correspond in the Sanskrit. *Cf.* Sukhāvatī-Vyūha ed. Anec, dota Oxoniensia, p. iv ff.; B. Nanjio, Catalogue, Nos. 23 (5), 25-27, 199, 200, 863; *Forke*, Kat. des Pekinger Tripiṭaka, Nos. 42, 429 f., 562, 635, 639 and p. 179; and *Bagchi* I, 24, 76 f., 192, 287. In the Tibetan Kanjur the title Amitābha-vyūha appears as well as Sukhāvatī-vyūha, s. *Csoma de Kőrös* in AMG II, 214, 243, 245.

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² Translated from Chinese by *J. Takakusu* in SBE, Vol. 49, part 2 p. 159 ff. *Cf. Saunders*, Epochs of Buddhist History, p. 85 ff.

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³ *Cf. Kern*, Der Buddhismus, I, 243 ff.; *Spence Hardy*, Manual of Buddhism, 1860, p. 317 f.

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⁴ B. *Nanjio*, Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects, pp. 104 ff., 122 ff. and Anecdota Oxoniensia, Vol. I, Part II, p. XVIII ff. See also *H. Haas*, "Amida Buddha unsere Zuflucht", Urkunden zum Verständnis des japanischen Sukhāvatī-Buddhismus, Leipzig, 1910, and *Saunders*, l.c., 176 ff.

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Just as the Sukhāvatī-Vyūha describes the blessed land of Amitābha, the Akṣobhya-Vyūha gives an account of the land of Buddha Akṣobhya,⁵ and in the same way the Karuṇā- Puṇḍarīka, "the Lotus of Mercy,"¹) gives an account of the wonderland Padma of Buddha Padmottara, whose life lasted for thirty ages of the world. The Sūtra, which also contains legends after the style of the Avadānas, was translated into Chinese twice between 385 and 433 A.D. and once again in 558 A.D.²)

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⁵ This Sūtra has only come down in the Chinese translations by Lokakṣema (178-188) and Bodhiruci (693-713) and in the Tibetan Kanjur, and is counted as a part of the Ratnakūṭa; s. *Nanjio* No. 28; *Bagchi* I, 43; *Csoma de Kőrös*, AMG II, 214. The same Ratnakūṭa also contains, a Mañjuśrī-Buddhakṣetra-guṇa-Vyūha, "Description of the qualities of the Mañjuśrī Buddha-land," which is lost in the Sanskrit; s. *Forke*, Pekinger Tripiṭaka, p. 181; *Kőrös*, AMG II, 215. On Mañjuśrī s. *La Vallée Poussin* in ERE VIII, 405 f.

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¹ *Rāj. Mitra*, Nep. Buddh. Lit., p. 285 ff.; *Bendall*, Catalogue, p. 73. The text published by the Buddhist Text Society, Calcutta, 1898, is unfortunately not accessible to me. A legend of the Karuṇā-Puṇḍarīka in the Tokharian (Kuchean) language, has been discovered and published by *S. Lévi* (Festschrift Vilhelm Thomsen, Leipzig, 1912, p. 155ff.).

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² *Nanjio* No. 142; *Bagchi*, I, 217 f., 239, 271. The introduction to the Tibetan version has been translated into French by *L. Feer* (AMG V, 1883, 153 ff.); see also *Körös* AMG II, 239 ff.

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Whilst the Mahāyāna-Sūtras which have so far been mentioned, are devoted mainly to the glorification of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, there is a series of other Sūtras which are rather in the nature of philosophical treatises. The earliest of these Sūtras, those which are regarded with the greatest reverence, and which are of the greatest importance from the point of view of the history of religion, are the Prajñā-Pāramitās, "the (Mahāyāna-Sūtras of the) Wisdom-Perfection."³) They treat of the six "perfections" (Pāramitās)⁴) of a Bodhisattva, but especially of Prajñā-Pāramitā, the highest perfection, called "wisdom." This wisdom consists of the knowledge of Śūnyatā, "emptiness,"⁵) *i.e.*, the unsubstantiality of all phenomena, implying the conviction that all Dharmas or objects of thought, are only endowed with a conditional or relative existence.

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³ Prajñā-Pāramitā means both the perfection of "wisdom", and the writings treating of it.

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⁴ Though in the Mahāyāna, as in the Hīnayāna, there are sometimes ten Pāramitās enumerated, yet more frequently there are only six, namely: charity, moral conduct, patience, energy, meditation and wisdom (Dharma-Saṃgraha 17; see above, p. 152 n. 2).

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⁵ See above p. 281 and n. 1. In the Chinese life-story of Kumārajīva, the believer in Śūnya is compared to that foolish person who desires a thread so fine that it cannot be seen, and is not content until the artisan points into the air and says: "Here is the thread." *Cf. J. Nobel* in SBA, 1927, 216 f.

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There is evidence of the fact that the Prajñā-Pāramitās belong to the earliest Mahāyāna-Sūtras. Firstly, the ancient dialogue form, which is familiar to us from the Pāli Suttas, is still more conspicuous in these than in other Mahāyāna-Sūtras, and secondly, Buddha (called Bhagavān, "the Lord") generally appears in conversation with one of his disciples, especially Subhūti.¹ In other Mahāyāna-Sūtras Buddha usually talks to a Bodhisattva. A Prajñā-Pāramitā was already translated into Chinese as early as 179 A.D. The Prajñā-Pāramitās appear to have originated in the South, and afterwards spread to the East and the North.²

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¹ On Subhūti in the Mahāyāna and in Pāli literature, see M. *Walleser*, Die Streitlosigkeit des Subhūti, Heidelberg (Akad.) 1917.

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² We are justified in drawing this conclusion, from the prophecy which Buddha is made to utter (Aṣṭasāhasrikā p. 225 f.): "These Sūtrāntas, in which six Pāramitās are taught, will be current in the South after the passing away of the Tathāgata, from the South they will go to the East again, and from the East again to the North." *Cf.* Anesaki in ERE IV, 838 (where "west," instead of "east," is an error).

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According to a Nepalese tradition, there was first of all a Prajñā-Pāramitā-Mahāyāna-Sūtra of 125,000 "Ślokas,"³ and this is supposed to have been abridged successively to similar Mahāyāna-Sūtras of 100,000, 25,000, 10,000 and 8,000 "Ślokas" respectively. According to another tradition, however, the Sūtra of 8,000 "Ślokas" is the original one, and was gradually enlarged more and more.⁴ The latter tradition appears to be the likelier one. At any rate, a considerable number of Prajñā-Pāramitā texts of all lengths were already in existence in India, and their number increased even more in China and Tibet. Hsüan-Tsang translated 12 different Prajñā-Pāramitā-Sūtras in his Mahā-Prajñā-Pāramitā-Sūtra: the longest is that of 100,000 "Ślokas," and the shortest that of 150. In the Chinese Tripiṭaka, the first large section is made up of the Prajñā-Pāramitās.¹ In the Tibetan Kanjur, in which the Prajñā-Pāramitā texts constitute the Śer-phyin section in 21 books, there are translations of the Prajñā-Pāramitās of 100,000, 25,000, 18,000, 10,000, 8,000, 800, 700 and 500 "Ślokas," of the Vajracchedikā (with 300 "Ślokas") right down to an Alpākṣarā or Svalpākṣarā Prajñā-Pāramitā, "Prajñā-Pāramitā of (very) few syllables", and even a Bhagavatī-Prajñā-Pāramitā-sarva-Tathāgata-māta Ekākṣarī, "the sacred Prajñā-Pāramitā of One Syllable, of the mother of all Tathāgatas", in which the perfection of wisdom is concentrated in the one sound "a."[^2) The following have come down to us in Sanskrit: Prajñā-Pāramitās of 100,000 "Ślokas" (Śatasāhasrikā),[^3) of 25,000 (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā),[^4) of 8,000 (Aṣṭasāhasrikā),[^5) of 2,500 (Sārdhadvisāhasrikā),¹ of 700 (Saptaśatikā),² the Vajracchedikā Prajñā-Pāramitā, "the diamond cutter Prajñā-Pāramitā," *i.e.*, the Prajñā-Pāramitā,³ cutting as sharp as a diamond and also the Alpākṣarā Prajñā-Pāramitā⁴ and Prajñā-Pāramitāhṛdaya-Sūtras,⁵ which are only used as protecting magic formulas (Dhāraṇīs).

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³ The Prajñā-Pāramitās are prose works, but it is customary in India to give the size of prose texts too, by "Ślokas," *i.e.*, units of 32 syllables.

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⁴ *Cf.* Rajendralāla Mitra, Aṣṭasāhasrikā Ed., p. IV f.; Burnouf, Introduction, p. 414; Haraprasāda, Report I, 19 f, and Ind. Hist. Qu. I, 1925, 211 ff.

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¹ The Daśasāhasrikā Pr. ("Pr. of 10,000") was translated into Chinese for the first time in 179 A.D., and then repeatedly till the 10th century; s. *Nanjio*, Nos. 5-8, 927; *Bagchi* I, pp, 40, 156, 186 f., 289. There are three translations of the Pañcaviṃśati-Sāhasrikā Pr. ("Pr. of 25,000"), (286, 291 and 404 A.D.), s. *Nanjio*, Nos. 2-4; *Bagchi* I, 86, 185 f. A Saptaśatikā Pr. ("Pr. of 700") was translated between 502 and 557 A.D., s. *Nanjio*, Nos. 21, 22; a Pañcaśatikā Pr. ("Pr. of 500") between 428 and 479; s. *Nanjio*, No. 16; *Bagchi*, I, 404; an Ardhaśatikā Pr. ("Pr. of 150") several times between the 7th and 10th centuries, s. *Nanjio*, Nos. 18, 879, 1033 f. The Vajracchedikā Pr. was translated first by Kumārajīva (405 A.D.) and then often, s. *Nanjio*, Nos. 10-15; *Bagchi* I, 192, 253, 255, 425. For other Prajñā-Pāramitās, s. *Nanjio*, No. 17; *Bagchi* I, 44 ff. Apart from the numerous Chinese translations of Indian texts, there is a still greater number of original Chinese works dealing with the Prajñā-Pāramitās; s. O *Franke* in OZ 4, 1915-16, 207 ff. [^2): *Cf. Csoma de Körös* in Asiatick Researches, Vol. 20 (1836), p. 393 ff. and AMG II, 119 ff. For a bibliography of Chinese and Tibetan translations of Prajñā-Pārmitās, s. *Walleser*, Prajñāpāramitā, p. 15 ff. [^3): Edited by *Pratāpacandra Ghoṣa* in Bibl. Ind. 1902-1914 (19 fasc.; more did not appear until 1926). *Cf. Rāj. Mitra*, Nep. Buddh. Lit. 177 ff.; *Bendall*, Catalogue, pp. 143-148. On Central Asiatic fragments of the Śatasāhasrkā Pr. in Chinese and Khotanese, s. *Hoernle, E. Chavannes* and *S. Lévi* in Hoernle, Ms. Remains I, 387 ff. Fragments of a Prajñā-P., which corresponds to the Śatasāhasrikā, but appears to be a shorter version, have been published by Pandit B. B. Bidyabinod, Fragment of a Prajñāpāramitā Ms. from Central Asia (Memoirs of the Archæological Survey of India, No. 32), 1927. [^4): *Rāj. Mitra*, l.c. 193 f.; *Bendall*, l.c. 144 f.; *Haraprasāda Śāstrī*, Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit MSS. in the ... Asiatic Society of Bengal, I, p. 10 f. [^5): Edited by *Rājendralāla Mitra* in Bibl. Ind. 1888; Chapt. XVIII translated by *Haraprasāda Śāstrī* in J.B.T.S. II, 1894; Extracts translated into German by *Max Walleser* Prajñāpāramitā, die Vollkommenheit der Erkenntnis, nach indischen, tibetischen, und chinesischen Quellen, Quellen der Religionsgeschichte, Göttingen 1914. In the Śikṣā-Samuccaya there are quotations from the Aṣṭasāhasrī Pr., as well as from a Mahatī Pr., an Ārya-Pr. and a Bhagavatī Pr.; s. Bendall, Śikṣāsamuccaya Ed., p. 369 and JRAS 1898 870 ff.

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