A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t4.276

v2.c19.s6.t4.276

⁶ N. Péri, A propos de la date de Vasubandhu (BEFEO XI, 1911, Nos. 3-4) has adduced sound arguments in favour of Vasubandhu's having lived in the 4th century A.D. J. *Takakusu* (JRAS 1905, 33 ff.) had placed Vasubandhu between 420 and 500 A.D., but stated later (JRAS 1914, p. 1013 ff.), without definitely going over to *Péri's* side, that he was inclined to assume that Vasubandhu lived earlier. *Wogihara* (Asaṅga's Bodhisattvabhūmi, p. 16) places Vasubandhu between 390 and 470, and Asaṅga between 375 and 450, but in ERE XII, 1921, 595 f., he states 420-500 as the period of Vasubandhu's life. *Lévi* places Asaṅga's activity in the first half of the 5th century. It appears, however, that there were two Vasubandhus, both of whom dealt with Abhidharma and the elder of whom was the teacher and the younger the pupil of Manoratha. This view was put before me, and was supported by sound arguments in great detail, as early as the year 1922, by the Japanese scholar T. *Kimura* when he visited Prague, and also in a long letter. However, I cannot say that I am fully in agreement with his grounds for assigning the dates 420-500 A.D., to the later Vasubandhu, the author of the Abhidharmakośa. Cf. *Watters*, On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, I, 211 ff.; *La Vallée Poussin*, Bouddhisme, Études et Matériaux, Cosmologie, p. viii ff. and Abhidharmakośa, traduit et annoté, I, p. 26 (note to I, 13), II, p. 70 (note to III, 27), III, p. 7 (note to IV, 3); *Stcherbatsky*, The Central Conception of Buddhism, p. 2, note 2. According to K. B. *Pathak* (Ind. Ant. 41, 1912, 244) Vasubandhu lived under Kumāragupta and Skandagupta; the monk Buddhamitra, who is mentioned in an inscription, is identified by him with Vasubandhu's teacher, who, according to Paramārtha, was called Buddhamitra. *Smith*, Early History, pp. 320, note 2, 325, 346 f., agrees with N. *Péri*, and places the life-time of Vasubandhu, the author of the Kośa, in the period of the reign of Chandragupta I and Samudragupta (about 280-360 A.D.). Hsüan-Tsang says that the Abhidharmakośa was written during the reign of Vikramāditya or his son Bālāditya, s. *Watters* I, 210.