Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c5.s3.t3.1.3

c5.s3.t3.1.3

Very probably, this Prajñāpāramitā contained the germs of Mahāyāna teaching. Then the shifting of the centre of Mahāyāna to the east is hinted at by Tāranātha, as referred to above. In this connection it may also be pointed out that Nalanda was one of the earliest centres and storehouses of Mahāyāna teaching, becoming, later on, the seat of Nāgārjuna. So, it seems quite probable that Mahāyānism originated in the south some time before Kaniṣka and became a recognised form of Buddhism by the time of Kaniṣka, i.e., about the beginning of the Christian era when it established its chief centre in the east, gradually pushing its way towards the north to blossom forth in its full glory under the care of the great Nāgārjuna. In the south too, it continued to thrive, for in the *Gaṇḍavyūha* we read that Mañjuśrī started from Jetavana to travel in Dakṣiṇāpatha¹ and came to Māladhvavyūha caitya in the great city of Dhanyākara,² where many devotees lived. Here he delivered a discourse and aroused aspiration for bodhi in the mind of Sudhanu, son of a rich banker of the place and directed him to go to Sugrivaparvata in the country of Rāmavartta (also in Dakṣiṇāpatha) in order to learn the Samantabhadra-bodhisattva-caryā. Sudhanu travelled over many places³ of the Dakṣiṇāpatha in search of knowledge, arriving at last at Dvāravati. After learning all that he could in southern India, he went to Kapilavastu and travelled over some countries⁴ of the north.