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the Vaisesika, the Samkhya, the Yoga as well as some other heritical schools are also found.’ (Su Bundle, Vol I, pp. 8a-138 of Chinese Tripitaka). "1 8u Bundle, Vol. 8, p. Ila of Chinese Tripitaka. ~ * Su Bundle, Vol. I, p. 5a of Chinese Tripitaka. * Wang Bundle, Vol. 4, p. 48a of Chinese Tripitaka. * Bai Bundle, Vol. 10, p. 676 of Chinese Tripifaka. ~ ® Chang Bundle, Vol. 2, p. 1178 and p, 21a of Chinese Tripitaka. ® This book which survives only in a Chinesé translation is a very importa: Buddhist Sastra regarding the development of Buddhist Nydya. In Chine: catalogues (see Nanjio’s Cata)ogue, No. 1257) this book is put under the authorsh: of Nagarjuna, but other catalogues like the Chinese Tripitaka of Ké-Kio-Sho-In editic in Japan do not name any author at all. My friend Dr. H. Ui in his introductic to a Japanese translation of a Ohinese book called “ Ny&yapravegaiarka-éasti 24 ORIGIN OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM Besides these, in the sastra by Aryadeva on “the refutation of four heretical and Hinayana_ schools mentioned in the Lankavatara-siitra ’ mention has been made of the names and doctrines_of the Sarmkhya and the Vaisesika.! In his another work called “the explanation of Nirvana by heretical and Hinayana schools mentioned in the Lankavatara-siitra ”* we also get the names of the Sazkhya and the Vaisesika among 20 other heretical schools,’ and these are all refuted. Again, if we turn to the works of the Yogacara school, we will meet with refutations of the ‘doctrines of the Samkhya, the Vaisesika and the Mimaynsa with other ]3_heretical schools in the Yogacaryabhami-sastra * by Maitreya- nitha® The Prakaranadryavaca-sastra ° of Asanga also refuted the doctrines of Sammkhya and Vaisesika, etc., and with it a refutation of 16 other heretical schools also has been made. In the life of Vasubandhu written by Para- martha, we come to know that Vasubandhu wrote a book entitled ‘Paramarthasaptati’ in opposition to the New Samkhya sastra of Vindha-vasa. (or Isvara-krisna) 7 disciple of Varsaganya. We also know at the same time that King Vikramaditya was much satisfied with Vasubandhu on this occasion and gave him three lacs of (pp. 44-6) has satisfactorily shown from internal evidence that the author of the . UpiyakauSalyahridaya-sistra was some Hinayénist ; the nn-named author must be, as he says, a later contemporary or a nearer predecessor of Nagarjuna. 1 Su Bundle, Vol. 5, p. 56a, of Chinese Tripitaka. 2 8a Bundle, Vol. 5, p. 58b, of Chinese Tripitaka. 2 I have not yet identified those 20 heretical schools; therefore, I cannot mention those names here ; however, I will discuss this point on the subject * Heretical schools in India mentioned in the Buddhist books ”’ in future. * Maitreyanatha, younger contemporary of Nagarjuns, is the founder of Yog&cara _ school and his date is about 270-360 A. D. 5 Lai Bundle, Vol. I, p. 242 of Chinese Tripituka. ® Lai Bundle, Vol. 7, p. 855, (see Nanjio’s catalogue no. 1177). 7 Dr. H. Ui's article on the Samkhya-system in the Journal of Philosopliy, published by the department of literature of Imperial University of Tokyo No. 379. University, p. 1041 (1920). | INTRODUCTORY NOTE 25 gold; moreover, the king also sent his queen with the crown prince Baladitya to study Buddhism under the celebrated Vasubandhu.’ Again in Buddhagotra-Sastra of Vasubandhu, we meet with refutations : the Sarhkhya, and the Vaisesika doctrines.? Thus the systems of Samkhya, Vaisesika, Yoga, and Nyaya as well as the treatises of Mimarsa, and of many other heretical schools were undoubtedly in a flourishing condition in those times. Therefore it was, thal Nagarjuna and his disciple Aryadeva were busily engaged in refuting the Vedic Brahmanic ideas and un-Vedic Aryan doctrines (Brahmanised). Next let us see what was then the condition of different religiou: faiths at the time of Nagarjuna. From numismatic anc epigraphic evidence as well as from various Hindi literatures, we come to know that the popular Hindi religions which are known under the names of Vaisnavism Saivism and Saktism were in a very flourishing conditior in the time of Nagarjuna. To my opinion, these are, also, not of Vedic origin, bu originally belonged to the religious ideas of Outland Indo-Aryans about which we are going to discuss below However, I think that the great Buddhist propagand: under king: Asoka led the Vedic priests to Brahmanise the religious ideas of Outlandic Indo-Aryans in order t start @ counter-movement against it. Now let us sec how these religions came into being. (a) Vaignavism.—This is sometimes, known unde1 the name of Bhagavata religion, or Satvata religion or Ekantika Dharma and sometimes as Paiicharatra religion. This religion has a variety of names but it is essentially a religion of Bhakti or Love and Faith. It was originally * See my Shifting of Centres of Buddhism in India, Journal of Letters Calentta Univ., Vol. I. * Sa Bundle, Vol. 2, pp-. 756-796 of Chinese Tripitaka. 4 26 . ORIGIN OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM the worship of Vasudeva or Vasudeva-Krsna of the Satvata race. Sir R. G. Bhandarkar said of this faith in his Vaisnavism and Saivism :— .“The Ksatriyas engaged themselves in active specula- tions on religious matters about. the time of the Upanisads and are mentioned even as the original ‘possessors of the new knowledge. Siddhartha and Mahavira founded in this- period of intellectual fermentation new systems of religion in the east or the Magadha country which discarded or passed over in silence .the- doctrine of the existence even of God and laid down- self-abnegation and a course of strict moral conduct-as the way to salvation. They belonged to the Sakya and Jiatrka race of Ksatriyas, and Buddhism and Jainism might be considered to be the religions of those tribes. The West, however,.was not so radical in its speculations, and the race of Satvatas developed a system of religion which took up the ideas of a supreme God and devotion to him as the mode of salvation.” ! . This worship of Vasudeva-Krsna seems clearly to be ‘alluded to by Megasthenes, who was the Macedonian ambassador at the court of Chandragupta, the Maurya. Chandragupta reigned in the last quarter of the fourth century B. C. And if the Vasudeva-Krsna worship prevailed. in the time of the first Maurya, it must have originated long before the establishment of Maurya - dynasty. At the same time the Panini stitras (IV. 3. 95 and ‘IV. 3. 98) mention the name of Vasudeva as ‘worshipful’ -and from. these. we learn that this Bhakti religion must have arisen before this time,’ and the date 1 Sir R, G. Bhandarkar’s Vaisnavism Saivism, etc., p. 9. + Ibid, p. 9. : 3 Ibid, p. 3, and Dr. Hemchandra Raychaudhuri’s Early History of the Vaisnava Sect, p. 14, and p. 18. INTRODUCTORY, NOTE 27 of Panini, according to the Katha-sarit-sagara, is between_ 425 and 325 B, C.! a | ) ~~ you know, the founder of this religion is a scion of the Vrsni or Satvata branch of the Yadava clan which was originally settled in Saurastra or the Kathiawad Peninsula and then spread to Mathura.? According to Baudhayana’s Dharmasiitra (I. I. 32-33) :—_ “The inhabitants of Anartta, of Anga, of Magadha, of Saurastra, of the Deccan, of Upavrit, of Sind, and the Sauviras are of mixed origin. He who has visited the (countries of the) Arattas, Karaskaras, Pundras, Sauviras, Vangas, Kalingas, (or) Pranunas shall offer a Punastoma or Sarvaprsthi.” . Another law-giver, Devala (as quoted by Vijiianesvara or Yajiiavalkya IIT, 292), says: — “He who has ‘visited the (countries of the) Sindhus, Sauviras, Saurastras, inhabitants of the frontier regions, of the Angas, Vangas, Kalingas, and Andhras, should go through the ceremony of initiation anew.” ® Therefore, the country of Saurastra belonged“to the Outlandic Indo-Aryan as has been pointed out by Mr. Ramaprasid Chanda clearly in his learned work.‘ So from ethnological point of view, the religion of Bhakti, the worship of Vasudeva originally belonged to the culture not of the Vedic Aryan but of the Outlandic Indo- Aryans,. Such un-Vedic, non-Brahmanical Vasudeva, however, later on, was identified with Nara isnu a Vedic God. This identification we find for the first time in the Taittirtya Aranyaka* (X. I. 6). And according to Dr. Keith, the said Aranyaka probably dates from the > J.B, O. R.S., Vol. VI, Part I, 1920, p. 29 by M. M. H. P. Sastri. 3 The Indo-Aryan Races by Mr. Ramaprasid Chanda, B.A., p. 101. > E have quoted from Ibid, p. 40. * Ibid, pp. 40-41. ; * Dr. Hemchandra Reychaudhuri’s Early History of the Vaisnava, Sect, p. 63. 28 ORIGIN OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM third century B.C! So we see the appearance of Vasudeva as a name of Narayana-Visnu in a Brahmanical work of the third century B. C. is very significant. Hence the un-Vedic and non-Brahmanic Bhakti religion_ was Brahmanized later on, As has been'said before, this “was due to the strong active propaganda of Buddhism under king Asoka which led the Vedic Aryans to Brihmani.~ such un-Vedic religious ideas.* This is the real meaning Vf this Vedic religious revival. From the Ghasundi and Besnagar inscriptions dated second century B. C.,° we come to learn that at this time the Bhagavata religiai had overstepped the boundaries ‘of the Mathura region and spread to the Indian border- land and that its fame had reached the ears of non-Indian peoples some of whom became converts 1 to the faith. Not only that,—one of the kings of the Kushana dynasty was actually called Vasudeva I, who succeeded Huvishka. According to my opinion Vasudeva’s date is about 10 A.D. His name, as Mr. V. A.