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Obscure Religious Cults as Background of Bengali Literature c7.s2: (ii) History of Buddhism in Bengal

Obscure Religious Cults as Background of Bengali Literature c7.s2

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English

(ii) History of Buddhism in Bengal

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As we have already hinted, the Caryā-padas embody the religious tenets of Sahajiyā Buddhism, which was a later offshoot of Tāntric Buddhism. It will not be out of place here to say a few words about the nature and extent of the growth and spread of Buddhism in Bengal at the time of and before the rise of these Siddhācāryas. In all probability Bengal was outside the empire of Aśoka and

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The study of Sahajiyā Buddhism in Bengal necessitates the study of the history of Buddhism in Bengal.

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sāthi kariva jālandhari pātral
pākhi na rāhaa mori paṇḍia cāde ||

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The reading is evidently corrupted. The correct reading should, however, be

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śakhi kariva jālandhari pāe |
pākhi na cāhai (or cahaa) mori pāṇḍiācāe ||

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which means,--" I shall make Jālandhari-pā (reputed to be the preceptor of Kānha-pā) bear witness for me ; I do not find the scholastic preceptors (paṇḍitācārya) standing by my side (i.e., holding the same view with me)." Dr. Chatterji, however, interprets the lines in the following manner:--

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"I shall call to witness my Guru Jālandhari-pāda; my Paṇḍitācārya (i c, myself who am a great scholar) does not look at me." (*The Origin and Development*, etc., p. 122). With this interpretation of the couplet Dr. Chatterji thinks that the word "paṇḍitācārya" referred to here can very well be a reference by Kānha to himself. But the interpretation of Dr. Chatterji cannot be accepted without much twisting of the construction of the couplet, and the meaning derived thereby does not conform to the meaning that the commentary on the lines and the Tibetan translation yield.

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Buddhism could have no access to this province during his reign in the third century B. C. Mention is made of various centres of Theravāda Buddhism in India from which representative monks went to Ceylon to attend the ceremony of the consecration of the Mahā-stūpa erected by King Duṭṭhagāmaṇi in the second century B.C.; but though in the list of the centres we find mention of many places closely adjacent to Bengal, we find no mention of Bengal.¹ Traces of Buddhism as a religious faith in Bengal are, however, found from the time of the Gupta emperors. The Chinese pilgrim, Fa-Hien, visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II. Fa-Hien stayed in Tāmralipti (modern Tamluk in Midnapore) for two years, copying Sūtras and painting images. He noticed the existence of twenty-four Saṅghārāmas in the city, which were all residential seats for the Buddhist monks. It was also noticed by the pilgrim that Buddhism at that time began to command reverence with the public in general.

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¹ Religious Condition of Bengal other than Hindu, by Dr. B. M. Barua, M.A. D.Lit (Lond.) (unpublished).

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After Fa-Hien another renowned Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang, came to India during the seventh century A.D. in the reign of Harṣavardhana and visited Bengal. He found ten Buddhist monasteries with more than 1,000 monks residing in them in Tāmralipti, twenty Saṅghārāmas with some 3,000 priests who studied both the Little and the Great Vehicle in Puṇḍravardhana, thirty or so Saṅghārāmas with about 2,000 priests, all of the Sthavira school in Samataṭa, and ten Saṅghārāmas or so with about 2,000 priests studying the Little Vehicle of the Samataṭīya school in Karṇasuvarṇa. He also spoke of two most notable colleges, rather universities, of his time, one at Puṇḍravardhana and the other at Karṇasuvarṇa, both renowned as great seats of learning for the Eastern Buddhist scholars. I-tsing, another Chinese pilgrim, speaks of the University of Bhā-rā-hā in Tāmralipti and gives a vivid picture of its inner life, organisation, discipline, splendour and fame. While speaking of the four tracts of Bengal referred to by Hiuen Tsang, I-tsing referred to the great reverence of people in general for the Buddhist faith and for the monastic life of the Bhikṣus (monks living on alms). He also found an Aśoka tope and the vestiges of the four past Buddhas.

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A renowned Buddhist teacher of Bengal of the pre-Pāla age was Śīlabhadra of Samaṭaṭa. He was at first a disciple of Ācārya Dharmapāla of Nālandā and gradually became the head of that great Buddhist University. He was a friend as well as a preceptor of Hiuen Tsang who had deep reverence for the monk. Buddhabhadra, the nephew and disciple of Śīlabhadra, was also a devout Buddhist, and both the uncle and the nephew were reputed as great devotees and profound scholars. Buddhabhadra has been described as a specialist in Yogācāra Buddhism, and tradition says that he derived his inspiration from Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya and Mañjuśrī.

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One thing to be noticed in this connection is that the evidence of the Chinese pilgrims or of the epigraphical and archaeological records does not help us much in ascertaining the nature of Buddhism that was current in Bengal before the Pālas. We find mention of Mahāyāna Buddhism as well as of Hīnayāna. It seems, however, that in the historical evolution of Buddhism, Mahāyāna, with its more liberal policy and generous ideal of the final goal, could capture the mind of the public much more than Hīnayāna with its strict monasticism and ethical rigorism, and as a result Mahāyāna was fast gaining in popularity. During the time of the Pālas, however, a tendency towards esoterism was manifest and Buddhism very soon underwent another great change from Mahāyāna to Vajrayāna.

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Coming to the time of the Pālas, who were professed Buddhists, we find many Buddhist monasteries established in different parts of Bengal mainly through the patronage of these Pāla kings. The great Vihāra of Nālandā was enriched and repaired and some new land-grants were made to it by the Pālas, and it was made the meeting place of all sorts of Buddhist scholars from countries within and without India. On the evidence of Tāranātha we know that Gopāla I founded the Odantapurī or Uddaṇḍapura Mahāvihāra, while according to the Pag-Sam-Jon-Zang he was the founder of the monastery of Nālandā. Dharmapāla, the son of Gopāla, who himself bore the epithet of Vikramaśiladeva, founded the monastery of Vikramaśila which for some time rivalled the glory of Nālandā. An inscribed clay-seal discovered in Pāhāḍapura bears testimony to the fact that the Mahāvihāra of Somapura in North Bengal also was erected by Dharmapāla. Close to this important monastery was situated, in the eleventh century A.D., a temple of Khasarpaṇa Avalokiteśvara, in which was permanently deposited a manuscript of the Prajñā-pāramitā in a casket artistically executed by Vipulaśrimitra. On four sides of this big temple were built four alms-houses wherein images of the Goddess Tārā were installed. Another big temple of Tārā was built in Somapura to ‘dispel entirely the eight great dreads of the people.’ This monastery of Somapura and also the Vikramaśila monastery were probably brought to perfection by Devapāla, son of Dharmapāla. The Bstan-hgyur refers to another Vihāra of Vikramapurī, which was most probably situated in Vikramapura of East Bengal. Kumāra Candra, called Ācārya Avadhūta, wrote a Tāntric commentary in this monastery of Vikramapurī. Another Vihāra which was already in existence in Bengal during the time of Dharmapāla was the Traikuṭaka Vihāra, where Ācārya Haribhadra wrote his famous commentary on the Aṣṭa-sahasrikā-prajñā-pāramitā. Prajñā-varman,

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Buddhism of the Pāla period.

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called Ācārya, and his preceptor, Bodhivarman, are said to have hailed from Kāpatya of Bengal, which was either a monastery itself or a place having a monastery. There was probably another monastery in Devikot in North Bengal to which Advayavajra, the great Tāntric Buddhist scholar, as also Mekhalā, a nun, are said to have belonged. The Pag-Som-Jon-Zang mentions the Paṇḍita Vihāra of Chittagong, which was a great centre of Tāntric learning and culture, and with this Vihāra Tilipā as Tilopā or Tailapāda is said to have been associated. Tailapāda had a disciple of the name of Nāḍa-pāda, who again is said to have been the preceptor of the renowned Bengali Buddhist missionary who went to Tibet and preached Buddhism there for full fourteen years. Nāḍapā was the author of the commentary on the Vajrapāda-sāra-saṃgraha, which is said to have been composed by Śākyabhikṣu Yaśobhadra of Kāśmira at the demand of Vinaya-śrī-mitra and others belonging to the grand Vihāra of Kanakastūpa in the city of Paṭṭikeraka. This city of Paṭṭikeraka, frequently found in the ballads on King Gopīcānd or Govinda Candra as the city of Pāṭi-kāra, has convincingly been identified with the paragaṇā of Pāṭi-kāra, conterminous with Meherkul in the district of Tippera.¹

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¹ Mr. N. N. Das Gupta, M.A., *Buddhist Vihāras of Bengal*, *Indian Culture*, Vol. I, No. 2.

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In connection with the Buddhism of the Pāla period mention must be made here of Atīśa Dīpaṅkara, the great Buddhist scholar of Bengal. Of his life and activities in India and in Tibet we now know much, which need not be reproduced here.

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The grand Vihāra of Jagaddala, founded by the last great Pāla king, Rāmapāla, speaks of the last glory of Buddhism in Bengal. The king installed in this Vihāra images of Avalokiteśvara and Mahā Tārā. This great monastery was situated in a part of Rāmāvatī, the new metropolis founded by Rāmapāla at the confluence of the Ganges and the Karatoyā. Bibhūticandra and Dānaśīla were the two most reputed scholars of Jagaddala. Besides, Mokṣakaragupta of the same Vihāra was a good logician and composed in three chapters the *Tarka-bhāṣā*. Śubhakaragupta, who lived there for some time, wrote a commentary on the Tāntric text *Siddhaikavīra-tantra*. Dharmakara of the same monastery translated the *Saṃvara-vyākhyā* of Kṛṣṇa. Buddhists from Tibet flocked here to have Sanskrit texts translated into Tibetan.¹

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¹ *Ibid.*

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In the brief survey made above it must have been noticed that a good number of Tāntric scholars of Buddhism flourished during the period of the Pālas, and many of the authors of the Dohās and Caryās probably flourished during this time. The art and iconography of the same period will bear testimony to the fact that by this time Mahāyāna began to be eclipsed by Vajrayāna Buddhism. The icons of various Buddhist gods and goddesses of the period and also the representation of some of the gods (including the Lord Supreme as Hevajra or Heruka or Vajreśvara or Vajra-sattva, as he was variously called in esoteric Buddhism) with their respective female consorts in a state of union (*yuganaddha*) will indicate the introduction of the Śakti element in the Buddhist religion of the time.

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With this brief survey of the history of Buddhism in Bengal before and at the time of the advent of the Buddhist Siddhācāryas of the Sahajiyā sect, let us now turn our attention directly to the religious background of the Bengali Caryā-padas, which embody the religious doctrines and practices of the Sahajiyā Buddhists. This will naturally lead us to the question of the nature, origin and development of Tāntric Buddhism as a whole, of which Sahaja-yāna is a later offshoot, and also to the question of the relation and connection beteen the various schools of Tāntric Buddhism, *viz.*, Vajra-yāna, Kālacakra-yāna and Sahaja-yāna.

Cites (6)