A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t5.73

v2.c19.s6.t5.73

² Tāranātha (Geschichte des Buddhismus, p. 201) says that Tantrism was handed down by secret means from the time of Asaṅga until the time of Dharmakīrti, and Benoytosh *Bhattacharyya* (Ind. Hist. Q. III, 736 f. and Sādhanamālā, III, pp. xxiii ff., xxvii f.) believes that Asaṅga actually had something to do with the rise of the Vajrayāna. It seems to me that Tāranātha's statement is accounted for by the mere fact that the adherents of the Vajrayāna had an interest in ascribing a greater antiquity to their doctrines. S. *Lévi* thought he could detect an allusion to Tantric rites in Mahāyāna-Sūtrālaṃkāra IX, 46 (which he attributed to Asaṅga). I am unable to see this allusion.