History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c92.239

v7.c92.239

It may be noted here that the Buddhist Tantras also claimed to show the way to the attainment of various objects, from success in love affairs to liberation and all these could be mostly secured by mantras. The Buddhist Tantra writers of the Vajrayāna school state that there were 84 *siddhas*, whose names are still cherished¹⁸²⁰ and honoured in Nepal and Tibet. The Buddhists mentioned eight siddhis but they were somewhat different from those of the Yogasūtra. The Sādhanamālā mentions them as follows: Khaḍga (a sword over which mantras have been muttered whereby the user of it succeeds in battle), Añjana (collyrium applied to eyes which enables a person to see buried treasure), Pādalepa (ointment applied to the soles of the feet enabling a person to move anywhere undiscovered), Antardhāna (becoming invisible before the very eyes of persons watching him), Rasarasāyana (power of transmitting baser metals into gold or finding out an elixir for immortality), Khecara (being able to fly up in the sky), Bhūcara (going swiftly anywhere on the earth) and Pātālasiddhi (diving underneath the earth¹⁸²¹) As the Buddhist monks were to possess no property, they had a craving for wealth and supposed that by means of certain mantras, the lord of wealth (Kubera) would confer on them riches that would last for ever.¹⁸²² They also believed that by mantras they would make some of the Hindu gods their servants, viz. that they would be surrounded by many *apsarases* (heavenly damsels), that Indra would be their umbrella-bearer, Brahmā would be councillor and Hari door-keeper.¹⁸²³ They wanted to defeat opponents in public discussions and to acquire proficiency in Śāstras without study through the power of mantras alone (vide Sādhanamālā Nos. 151, 155, 256). They were also anxious to cure and avert diseases and remove snake poison. They thought that by mantras they would attain to omniscience and Buddhahood (vide notes 1791-92).