A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4.188

v2.c19.s6.t4.188

Whilst the last-named list is anything but chronological,¹ and can scarcely be of service in fixing any date, we are most likely justified in taking it that the passage about the Guptas, and the one about the succeeding reign of the barbarians, refer to the Hun invasions at the close of the 5th century.² From this we could infer that Chapter X was written not long before the time of the second Chinese translation (513 A.D.). The philosophy of the Vijñānavāda, which is taught in all parts of the Laṅkāvatāra, coincides with the doctrines of Maitreyanātha, Asaṅga, and the Mahāyāna-Śraddhotpāda, which may be ascribed to the 4th century A.D. at the earliest. It is, therefore, probable that the Laṅkāvatāra-Sūtra, even in its earlier form, was not in existence more than 50 or at the very most, 100 years before the Chinese translation of 443 A.D. At all events, from the point of view of the history of Indian philosophy from the 4th to the 6th century A.D., the importance of this work, which contains such numerous allusions to other systems of philosophy, should not be undervalued.³