.
P.1
Sir Chunilal and Gentlemen,
First of all let me thank you cordially for ex-
tending to me an invitation to deliver an address
before this meeting, thus giving me an opportunity
of visiting the historic city of Poona and of paying
my homage to the memory of the late Sir R.G.
Bhandarkar, the greatest Orientalist India has ever
produced. I only feel worry that the choice this
year should fall on an unworthy person, but all the
same I feel greatly honoured by this invitation
extended to me on behalf of the Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute which now stands as one of the
greatest centres of Oriental learning and culture in
India.
In choosing a subject fitted for this occasion I
experienced not a little difficulty,, but as I
thought scholars in this part of India might be
interested in the ancient stories of the people
belonging to the other side of India, I preferred to
confine myself to the later Buddhism and some topics
connected therewith. I feel sure you will be
interested in knowing what the people were busy with
during the period
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
*Read at the Bhandarkar Oriental Resarch Institute
on the occasion of the 3rd Anniversary of the death
of Sir R.G. Bhandarkar celebrated on 20th August
1988 under the presidency of Sir Chunilal V.Mehta.
P.2
from the 7th to the 12th century of the Christian
Era and the trend of thought of the intelligentsia
of those days. The time at my disposal will, of
course, not permit me to go into much detail, and
all that I can do here, is to give you a general
outline of the whole problem comprising the aims and
objects of the people, their peculiar rites and
practices, and the relation that existed between the
Hindus and Buddhists just before the destruction of
Buddhism at the advent of the Muhammadans in the
beginning of the 13th century.
It is well known to you that the Mahaayaana Buddh-
ism is entirely different from what Buddha
originally taught, but later Buddhism or the
Buddhism of the Taantric period of which I am going
to give you an account, is much more different from
the Mahaayaana Buddhism -so much so, that if the
original Buddhism as taught by the Buddha and the
later Buddhism of the Taantric period are placed
side by side, one will be surprised to find not even
a remote connection between the two. There were
various causes that were operating throughout the
succeeding centuries after the Mahaaparinirvaana of
Buddha; and I am unable just at the present moment
to enumerate and give you a full account of these
causes and their effects. You all know the story of
how prince Siddhaartha after seeing the Four Visions
approached his father with a strange request; 'I
want to be a wandering ascetic. The world, O father!
is impermanent and transitory.' Buddha took it for
granted that all that is contained in the world is
impermanent and therefore it is full of misery. He
promulgated the noble eightfold path which may give
freedom from the miseries of birth and rebirth.
Nirvaa.na, he taught, was the goal of human life.
What the real nature of Nirvaa.na is, what is
exactly meant by that can be known by a reference to
the Questions of Milinda of the 1st century B.C. The
same idea was expressed in two very beautiful
stanzas by A'svaghos.a in his Saundaraananda Kaavya,
in the latter part of the 1st century A.D. He
compared Nirvaa.na to the extinguishing of a lamp.
As the lamp is extinguished when there is no more
oil, so the man gets Nirvaa.na when he has no more
Kle`sa or suffering. But where does he go? He does
not go to the four directios, nor to the four
intermediate corners, nor above, nor below; he is
simply extinguished. I cannot help quoting the
P.3
two stanzas in question,because they bring out very
forcibly the Hinayaanist idea of Nirvaa.na:-
One generation after A'svagho.sa came in the
celebrated Naagaarjuna-famous in the history of
Buddhism-as the founder of the Maadhyamaka system of
philosophy and the rescuer of the Praj~naapaaramitaa
form the nether regions. In his time people were
more speculative and they were not satisfied with
the explanation of Nirvaa.na as given in Hiinayaana.
Naagaarjuna explained the condition of the mind in
Nirvaa.na as "Suunya" and described it as a
condition about which neither existence nor non-ex
istence nor a combination of the two nor a negation
of the two can be predicated; or, to speak briefly
in Sanskrit, which is:
The same idea is expressed by Advayavajra in the
11th century in the following terms:
After Naagaarjuna, came in Maitreyanaatha-the
originator of the Yogaacaara system. He was not
satisfied with the explanation of 'Suunya-which as
described by the Maadhyamikas is more or less an
indescribable condition. He went a step further and
wanted to have a positive element in 'Suunya. He
formulated that even when Nirvaa.na is attained
there remains nevertheless a positive element, and
that positive element is "Vij~naana"-the most
important amongst the five Skandhas-of which the
indivi dual is composed. The chain of development
for the idea of Nirvaa.na came to a termination in
the taantric Age when the element of Mahaasukha
entered into the conception of Nirvaa.na. People
P.4
thought what was the good of living the life of a
saint, of foregoing the pleasures of life if after
the goal was attained there remained either a
questionable existence as formulated in 'Suunyavaada
or simple Vij~naana as formulated in the Yogaacaara?
The Mahaasukhavaadins satisfied all by holding out a
promise that even when the Nirvaa.na is attained
there remains something and that something-which is
Vij~naana-continues to remain in eternal bliss and
happiness. The 'Suunya, they said, is Niraatma a and
the Bodhicitta or the Bodhi mind, when emancipated,
plunges itself in 'Suunya or the embrace of
Niraatmaa and remains there in eternal bliss and
happiness.
Though this new introduction appealed to the
advanced Buddhists and new recruits alike, it
weakened to a great extent the religion morally, and
the degeneration of Buddhism started from this point
and developed into what is called the Vajrayaana or
the Taantric Buddhism.
The second factor which led to the degeneration
should be looked for from an entirely different
direction. It is well-known that the Buddha enjoined
a strict discipline on the followers of Buddhism old
or new. In the monasteries, of which there were many
in his own time, the rules of morality were very
strictly imposed on the monks and the nuns alike.
Everything that ordinary mortals consider to be
enjoyable in this world was forbidden. There were
rules for everything-for eating, drinking, s
leeping, etc. etc. and the slightest violation of
Vinaya rules was punishable. What we call the five
Makaaras(1) were entirely tabooed. In fact, the
rules were so strict that the followers of Buddhism
could be expected to observe them only for a time
and not for centuries after the Mahaaparinirvaa.na
of Buddha. The rules were attractive in the time of
Buddha who could enforce them by his own personality
and force of character. But after all, what will b e
the result? The promised freedom from births and reb
irths is only a possibility, and success at best is
only questionable. The members of the Church must
have re-
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 The five Makaaras are Matsya (fish), Maa^msa
(meat) , Madya (wine) Mudraa(appetiser) and
Maithuna (intercourse with women) as is evident
from the following-
P.5
volted form time to time against these unnatural
rules of discipline, and party quarrels on minor
points were already in evidence in the second great
Council when the Mahaasaanighikas were expelled from
the Church by the Sthaviras who positively refused
to make any concession on ten minor points of
discipline. Even in the lifetime of Buddha there was
a rebellion of this type and the Vinayapi.taka
to-day stands as a witness. There we read of monks
who used to send wreaths of flowers to wives,
daughters, youn g women and female slaves, to sit on
one seat, and lie on one bed, one mat, one coverlet
with the wives, daughters and young women and female
slaves, to food any time, to drink strong drinks, to
dance and play music and all these together in every
combination.
Buddha was upset when he heard of this and sent
some of his trusted disciples to carry out the order
of banishment against them. Thus we can see that
rebellion against the rules on broader and more
important matters of discipline must have been in
existence amongst the monks during the life-time of
Buddha and later. But they could not create a party
of their own which would be able to withstand the
onslaught of the Orthodoxy which was sure to go
against them and denounce them as heretics. Th e
Buddhist monks who possessed this type of mentality
and saw salvation only in leading a natural life,
went on carrying out their object by writing what we
call the original Tantras which were handed down by
their trusted disciples who could practise the rites
only in secret, and secrecy is very necessary as the
nature of the five Makaaras is such. The Tantras are
in the form of Sa^mgiitis(1) and are said to have
been delivered by the Buddha in an Assembly of the
Faithful. It is in the Sa^mgiiti from that all new
ideas were introduced into Buddhism; and Sa^mgiitis,
we must remember, were very powerful agencies in the
introduction of innovations. The orthodox followers
of the faith are sure to challenge anything that has
not been said by the Buddha and that seems to be the
reason of the great popularity of
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Sa^mgiiti is the name of that Buddhist literature
where in the very opening lines Buddha is
introduced in an Assembly of the Faithful in
monasteries well connected with the life of
Buddha. In the Taantric Sa^mgiitis, however,
Buddha is introduced in an assembly of women.
P.6
Sa^mgiti literature. This literature was translated
wholesale into Tibetan and forms the celebrated
Kangyur collection. Thus it is easy to realize how
strict disciplinary measures contributed towards the
degeneration of Buddhism and the origination of the
Tantras.
The third factor which played the part of a con-
tributory cause, to my mind, seems to be the theory
of Karu.naa which required that the Bodhisattva
should saerifice everything, his personal happiness
and even his own merits and his salvation for the
suffering humanity. He must strive for the uplift of
mankind until the whole world is liberated,
sacrificing everything, himself, his family and his
happiness and even salvation, although he is fully
qualified. He must work hard through a continuo us
chain of births and re-births for the emancipation
of his fellow beings. This ideal, which is entirely
absent in Hinayaana, was probably introduced in the
1st centnry A.D. in the Sukhaavatii Vyuuha, -also
known as Amitaayus Suutra, a smaller recension of
which was translated into Chinese in the latter part
of the 2nd century A.D. The idea was an accomplished
fact in the Kaara.n.da-Vyuuha, a work of the 3rd or
the 4th century, where we find Avalokite'svara-the
great compassionate Bodhisattva-who refused to
accept salvation, though fully entitled to it, until
the whole world was free from the grip of suffering.
In the Kaara.n.da-Vyuuha we find him say that he
will assume all possible forms of god-head-even the
forms of sovereign, father and mother and sister-in
order that he may impart knowledge to the people
through these agencies and prepare them for
salvation. This idea of Karu.na is unique in the
history of any religion, and Buddhism can very well
be proud of this one single conception. This idea of
comp assion had a widespread circulation amongst the
masses who were mostly responsible for the great
popularity of the Mahaayaana Buddhism. But this
ideal was too much for them. They could neither
assimilate it, nor practise it, nor realize its
importance. The result was that the vow to
emancipate the whole world was turned into a mere
convention, and what is worst, the Vajrayaanists
took shelter under its cover and found in it an
excuse for committing acts of great sin and
immorality.
P.7
Another force which also helped this degeneration
of Buddhism is the fondness of Indian people for
magic, sorcery and necromancy. Though Buddha was
antagonistic to all of sorts of sorcery or magic,
he, nevertheless, is credited with having given
instructions on Mudraas,(1) Ma.n.dalas,(2) Yogas and
Tantras so that prosperity in this world by virtue
of these could be attained by his less advanced
disciples who seemed to care more for this world
than for the Nirvaa.na preached by him. India in
Buddha's time was so steeped in superstition that
any religion which dared forbid all kinds of magic,
sorcery and necromancy would hardly be able to
withstand popular opposition. A clever organiser as
the Buddha was, he did not fail to notice the
importance of incorporating magical practices in his
religion to make it popular from all points of view
and thereby attract more adherents, though it does
not appear that he himself ever believed in their
efficacy. In the Brahmajala Suuta are enumerated a
large number of Vidyaas (Mantras or charms) which
are Tiracchaana or crooked and Buddha condemned them
wholesale. Buddha, however, promulgated the doctrine
of Iddhi or supernatural powers to be obtained by
means of four Iddhipaadas, namely, Chando, Viriya^m,
Cittam, Vima^msaa. In Cullavagga also we find Buddha
condemning Bharadvaaja for wantonly exhibiting his
miraculous power to the public for a bowl of sandal
wood. Besides these meagre references in Pali
literature we have no means to ascertain as to the
time o f the introduction of the magical practices
in Buddhism. But 'Saantarak.sita and his disciple
Kamala'sila in the 8th Century A.D. brought out this
connection very forcibly in the Tattvasa^mgraha(3)
and its commentary stating fully the reason which
made the Buddha to incorporate them in his system.
There we read:-
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 My stic poses of fingers which may enable the
higher beings (god) to understand the wishes of
the worshipper and actuate them to work in ac-
cordance with the sign.
2 Ma.n.dalas are magic circles containing diagrams,
or germ syllables or images of the deity and all
his companions and paraphernalia.
3 Published as Nos. 30 and 31 in the Gaekwad
Oriental Series.
P.8
Kamala'sila adds:¡Ð
The Tantras and Mantras have been practised by the
Buddhists since the time of the Buddha; but
unfortunately we do not possess any connected
account of them except a few works on the
Dhaara.niis, which were translated into Chinese
early in the beginning of the Christian Era. These
Dhaaraniis are unmeaning strings of words which are
said to confer great merit when muttered repeatedly
for a number of times. In the
Ma~nju'sriimuulakalpa(1), which formed part of the
Vaipulyasuutras and was compo sed very probably
before the 3rd century A.D., we find an overwhelming
number of Mudraas, Ma.n.dalas, Mantras, Dhaara.niis
and their descriptions. The Guhya-samaaja,(2) which
comes next and which, I believe, was contemporaneous
with Asa^nga, the brother of Vasubandhu(280-360
A.D.),is probably the very first systematic Tantra
promulgating the doctrine of the five Dhyaani
buddhas, as presiding over the five Skandhas, and
introducing the worship of 'Sakti for the first time
in Buddhism. The Guhya-samaaja is considered
extremely sacred even now amongst the Mahaayaana
Buddhists as one of the Navadharmas(3) of Nepal.
This Tantra was handed down in secret from Gurus to
disciples for about 300 years, and it got publicity
in about the 7th century through the agencies of
Siddhaacaaryas(4) and Vajraacaaryas(5) like Saraha,
Naagaarjuna, Padmavajra, Ana^ngavajra and so forth,
almost all of whom wrote commentaries on this great
work.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 Published in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series.
2 In the course of publication in the Gaekwad
Oriental Series.
3 Nine sacred books of the Mahaayaana Buddhism are
known as Navadharma, which includes among others
the Svayambhuu puraa.na, Dharma Puraa.na,
la^nkaavataara etc.
4 They are altogether 84 in number, and are said to
have attained super-human power. They performed
many wonderful feats and showed miracles. A life
of the Siddhas is published in German by
A.Grundwedel in the Baessler Archiv.
Well known preceptors of Vajrayaana.
P.9
All these forces combined together brought about
the degeneration in Buddhism in later times, and the
result was Vajrayaana or the Adamant Vehicle which
was so called, because it was based on
'Suunyavaada-not the 'Suunya of the Madhyamakas but
the 'Suunya of the Vajrayaanists with the three
elements, 'Suunya, Vii~naapa and Mahaasukha. They
gave the name Vajra to this kind of 'Suunya, as is
evident from the following formula:
In addition to what the Vajrayaaists got from
Buddhism itself, they could not help incorporating
the idea of god-head in their religion, in imitation
of the Puraa.nas, as the conception of gods and
goddesses, as given in the Puraa.nik literature,
proved very attractive to them. When they actually
took this idea, they deified all important
personalities in Buddhism and a large number of
Buddhist philosophical ideas and concepts adding a
few purely Hindu gods like Ga.ne'sa, Sarasvati, & c.
In Vajrayaana easy methods leading to happiness in
this world were held out to the people. Easy paths
leading to salvation were shown. Great parade was
made of the merits to be gained by the repetition of
the Mantras, Dhaara.nis, panegyrics and worship of
gods. But everywhere any casual reader can detect on
the part of the authors to thwart all unnatural
rules and regulations imposed on the followers. The
disciplinary regulations gradually slackened down
one after another, and ultimately, wh en the
Vajrayaanists gained much in power and got an
overwhelming majority, a general revolution was
declared against the Mahaayaana Orthodoxy, which in
course of time dwindled to nothingnejss, as it was
powerless to fight the growing disorder amongst the
Taantrics. The followers of the Vajrayaana were,
however,conscious that they were doing something
which was against religion and morality, and cover
hints to justify their actions are not altogether
infrequent in their literature. As I told you, they
too k shelter under the theory of Karu.naa and held
that there is nothing that cannot be done by one who
has sacrificed everything for the emancipation of
the world.
P.10
As pointed out already, the vow to emancipate the
world was reduced by the Vajrayaanists to a mere
convention; and though every one has to express this
pious wish, indulgence in all actions for which
common men are ordinarily doomed to hell, was the
only thing practised by them to attain Siddhi. They
boldly declared:¡Ð
In another authoritative Taantric work we meet with
a still holder declaration:
"These three worlds as a whole have been created by
Vajranaatha for the enjoyment and good of all wor-
shippers."
In Vajrayaana, contrary to our expectations, we
finds a complete metamorphosis of the Buddhist
conception of Praj~naapaaramitaa. Ana^ngavajra, who
flourished in the beginning of the 8th century,
advised¡Ð
The Mantras or mystic syllables constitute the
backbone of Taantric worship. I cannot help,
therefore, dilating this point for some time. It is
not possible to say how Mantras were introduced into
Buddhism. The Vedic Mantras had their meanings; but
the Mantras which were taken into Vajrayaana are, in
most cases, meaningless strings of words sometimes
giving absolutedly no sense. In several instances
the Vajrayaanists attempted to trace the origin of
certain Mantras which point unmist akably to Buddha
himself as the originator. The Mantras of Vajrayaana
seem to be a development of the Dhaara.niis contained
in such works as Vinyaadharapitaka to which a
reference has been made by Hiuen Thsang. These
Dhaara.nis, according to Kern, existed in
P.11
Buddhism form very ancient times and seemed to have
been introduced into it for the benefit of the less
advanced followers who did not care so much for
their Nirvaa.na as they did for their material
prosperity in this world. Such recruits to Buddhism
were enjoined to read some of the Suutras which
however proved to be beyond their intelligence; for
their benefit the Suutras had be shortened into
Dhaara.niis and they were required to commit them to
memory. This seems to be the process in whic h the
Suutras underwent a change in very ancient time; and
ultimately, when they were further reduced, they
gave rise to Mantras. Take, for instance, the
example of the A.s.tasaahasrikaa Praj~naapaaramitaa,
which in itself is too stupendous for any tolerably
learned Buddhist to read through and understand, not
to speak of the illiterate mass who were mostly
responsible for the great popularity of Mahaayaana.
They cannot indeed read this vast literature for
acquiring merit. Praj~napaaramita of 8000 was reduc
ed to 100 stanzas in the form of
'Sata'slokipraj~naapaaramitaa, and ultimately to a
very few stanzas which became known as
Praj~naapaarmitah.rdayasuutra and this was further
reduced to make room for the Praj~naapaaramiitaa
Dhaarani in a few lines. The next chain in the
evolution is the formation of the
Praj~naapaaramitaa. Mantra in a few syllables, which
makes its appearance in the Saadhanamaala; and this
again led to the conception of her Biija in one
syllable Pram in response to which the Suunya may
trans form itself in the form of the goddess
Praj~naapaaramitaa. The origin of the Taantric
Mantra, thus, can be traced through successive
stages of the Buddhist literature. When, however,we
turn our attention to the Hindu literature, we are
surprised to find that the Tantric Mantras suddenly
make their entry in the Hindu Taantric literature,
without showing,even a faint trace of the earlier
and crude stages of development. To my mind this
seems to be a sufficient reason for believing the
Hindu Taantric system to be later than the Buddhist
Vajrayaana and for holding that they were
incorporated into Hinduism bodily from Buddhism.
In the Sadhanamaala there is ample evidence to
show that several Mantras were delivered by Buddha
himself: e.g.
P.12
'Saantaraksit a also clearly attributes the intro-
duction of the Mantras and Ma.n.dalas to Buddha
himself. It is very likely, therefore, that he
introduced into his religion some sort of mysticism
which in later times, owing to a variety of
influences, developed into full-fledged mystic
system in the form of Vajrayaana. The Vajrayaanists
maintained that the mantras are endowed with great
powers and blindly believed in them. In the
Saadhanamaalaa passages showing this blind faith on
their part are too frequent and eloquent. In one
place it is said: what is there impossible for the
Mantras to perform if they are applied according to
rules? (1) In another place it is said that through
the repeated mutterings of the Mantra so much power
is generated that it can astonish the whole
world(2). The merits that accrue from the mutterings
of the Mantra of Mahaakaala are so numerous that all
the Buddhas taken together cannot count them even if
they were to count, without cessation, for a number
of days and nights it is also said that by the
Dhaaranl of Avalokite'svara even an ass can keep 300
stanzas in memory. The Mantra of Fkajataa is said to
be so powerful that the moment it is uttered a man
becomes free from danger, he is always followed by
good fortune, his enemies are all destroyed and
without doubt he becomes as pious as the Buddha.
Examples of this kind can easily be multiplied. But
lest the people prove doubting, they say the power
of the mind is extraordinary and one should not
doubt the efficacy of the Mantras.
The Mantra were considered most sacred by the Va-
jrayaanists and their accuracy was jealously guarded
by them in much the same way as the purity of the
Vedic Mantras was preserved by means of several
devices. These Mantras are composed usually in
ordinary prose, but occasionally in an enigmatic
language, the meaning of which sometimes becomes
difficult to understand.
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
P.13
These Mantras are also done into mnemonic verses for
the obvious purpose of memorising. These verses are
curious and convey practically no meaning to an
ordinary reader. Let us take, for instance, the
verse:¡Ð
At first sight it gives no meaning unless you know
that it is the statement of the Mantra done into
verse which, when translated, will give the
following queer meaning:¡Ð
"In the beginning there is Cakradhara who is fol-
lowed by two Picus and Vardhani joined with
Praj~naa; after that there are two Jvalas which are
followed by Vardhani after Medhaa; even at the end
there are two Dhiris, Buddhi and Vardhani ending in
Svaahaa. This Mantra which has the power to confer
the cleverness of a poet was introduced by the
Sugata".So the above is nothing but the statement of
the Mantra of Vajravinaa-sarasvati which runs as:¡Ð
Another example of a similar nature is represented
by the Biija-Mantra of Sarasvatii which is described
in the Saadhana-maalaa
"It stands on the 2nd syllable of the 7th and is
the 4th of the 8th; it is accompanied by the 4th of
the 1st and is decorated with the spot." The
explanation seems to be: the 2nd syllable of the 7th
class (Anta.hstha) is R; 5th of the 8th (UU.sma) is
H; 4th of the 1st(Svara) is I;the spot is M; and,
therefore, the resultant Biija is HRII^M(
).
From this atmosphere of mysticism and charms let
us pass on to another phase of Vajrayaana, namely,
its Pantheon. I shall not discuss here the question
how image worship or conception of deities entered
into Vajrayaana, but I shall here attempt to
repudiate the charge of idolatry occasionally
levelled at the later
P.14
Buddhism. The Pantheon of the Buddhists is
extraordinarily extensive and varied in character.
At the head of the Pantheon is Vajradhara from whom
are originated the five Dhyaanii Buddhas presiding
over the five Skandhas or elements-Ruupa, Vedana,
sa^mj~naa, Sa^mskaara and Vij~naana. They are named
as Amitaabha, Ak.sobhya, Ratnasambhava, Vairocana
and Amoghasiddhi. When represented they appear all
alike and are distinguished only by their colour and
their Mudraa. The following verse gives the name, M
udraa and colour of each.
These Dhyaani Buddhas are associated with a
'Sakti each, through whom innumerable Bodhisattvas
are brought forth into existence. The 'Saktis are
five in number and are known as Buddha^saktis. They
are named as Locanaa, Maamaki, Taaraa. Pa.ndaara and
Aaryataaraa. The principal Bodhisattvas attached to
the five Dhyaanii Buddhas and their 'Saktis are:
Padmapaani, vajrapaa.ni, Ratnapaani, Cakrapaa.ni or
Saamantabhadra and Vi'svapaani. Besides these,
innumerable Bodhisattvas and 'Saktis originae from
the Dhyaani Buddhas. These Bodhisattvas when
represented on stone, metal and paintings are
required to hold, in a most interesting way, a
miniature figure of their parental Dhyaanii Buddha
on their head; and in fact, by observing this
miniature figure one can at once say that the image
must be of Buddhist origin. The Dhyaani Buddha, his
'Sakti and the Bodhisattvas emanating from them
constitute the family or Kula of each. There are,
thus, altogether five Kulas. Those who worship them
are called Kaul ikas and the very worship is known
as Kulasevaa.
The Vajrayaanists cannot be idolators, because to
them the deities have no real existence. The images
of gods have no real existence. It is well known
that in Yogaacaara the phenomenal world has no
existence. The body with the sense organs is unreal.
The noumenon is 'Suunya, which together with Karunaa
constitutes the Bodhicitta. The Bodhi mind then is a
reality. In fact, it has the same reality as that of
'Suupya, and beyond the
P.15
mind there is nothing in this external world, which
is only created by the mind owing to its impure
tendencies and their accumulations through a number
of births. The external world is more or less like a
city seen in a dream or an eluding mirage seen in
the desert. Even the body being external does not
exist and has no reality. To the followers of
Vajrayaana, how can there be any reality in an
image, a grossly external object, to which worship
may be offered? In fact, the image has no existence.
The deity which the image represents is an em-
bodiment of 'Suunya. 'Suunya is invoked for a
variety of purposes, and in accordance with the
Bijamantra uttered. 'Suunya transforms itself into a
deity with which the mind of the worshiper is
identified. Thus we find¡Ð
"From the right perception of 'Suunyataa comes the
germsyllable. Form the germ-syllable comes the
conception of an Icon and then the external
representation of the deity. Therefore they are
dependent in their origination."
Advayavajra also in a very characteristic stanza
says:-
"The deities are manifestations of 'Suunya and are
by nature non-existent. Wherever there is manifesta-
tion it must be 'Suunya in essence."
There is an impression that the Buddhists were al-
ways very friendly towards the Hindus and Hinduism.
It is also generally believed the Hindus always
persecuted the Buddhists, so much so, that owing to
their persecutions Buddhism vanished from the soil
of India. To my mind this does not appeal. Whatever
may be the cause, there is no doubt that the
Buddhists were aggressively hostile to the Hindus
and their religion in later times. They criticised
severely the doctrines of the Hindus, attacked their
caste-system, insulted the Hindu gods and, in fact,
did everything that is far from being friendly. The
Saadhanamaalaa is replete with examples of this
kind. Every one knows how
P.16
in Vajrasuuci the caste-system is condemned, how the
theory of Jaati is criticised in the Tattvasa^mgraha
and how in the commentary of the Dohaako.sa of
Saroruhavajra the Vedas, the Brahmans, the
Kspa.nakas and 'Sraavakas are held up to ridicule.
In the Saadhanamaalaa we find, for instance, a
description of Harihariharivaahanodbhava, a form of
Avalokite^svara-the all compassionate Bodhisattva
riding on Vi.s.nu to whom the dignified position of
a Vaahana is given. Again, while describing Maar ici
the principal Hindu gods are brought to the
humiliating position of making obeisance to her.
Some of them are actually trampled under her feet,
while others obey her orders like servants.
Ucchu.sma Jambhala is described as pressing Kubera
under his feet so as to make him vomit jewels. The
severed head of Brahmaa is carried by Maariicii,
Vajrasarasvatii, Prasannataaraa, and several others.
Trailokyavijaya tramples upon the head of 'Siva and
the bosom of Gaurii. Prasannataaraa is described as
trampling up on Indra and Upendra and pressing
Brahmaa and Rudra between two legs. Paramaa'sva is
described as four-legged, trampling with the first
right leg on Indraanii and Laksmii, with the second
on Rati and Priti, with the first left on Indra and
Madhukara, and with the second on Jayakara and
Vasanta. Aparaajitaa is described as a goddess whose
parasol is raised over her head by the angry and
mischievous gods like Brahmaa and others.
While describing the merits and advantages to be
gained by worshipping Hayagriiva, the author of a
Saadhana holds before us an extremely attractive
picture but not without calumniating a number of
Hindu gods. When perfection is attained in the
Saadhana, the ascetic is said to repair to the
Vidyaadhara land and enjoy all sorts of pleasures.
Devendra becomes his parasol-bearer, Brahmaa his
minister, Vemacitrlii his general and Hari his
gatekeeper. All gods flock together, and 'Sam^mkara,
the n ude preceptor, lectures on the different
virtues. These are some of the instances met with in
writing where Hindu gods are insulted and made
subservient to Buddhist gods. In practice also they
did the same. A large number of images were carved
where Hindu gods were represented in stone and metal
as humiliated by Buddhist gods. Ga.ne'sa, for
instance, was designated as Vighna or obstacle
personified. The Buddhists conceived of a god, in
Vighnaantaka-the vanquisher
P.17
of Ga.ne'sa and represented him as trampling upon
the prostrate form of Ga.ne'sa. Indra was made
almost a professional parasol-bearer and was
represented as holding a parasol over the head of
several Buddhist deities.
I do not,however,want to create an impression that
the Buddhists were never persecuted by the Hindus,
but such persecutions were mostly of a political
nature.
The Buddhists were hostile towards some of the pet
theories of salvation and this is conclusively
proved by a very interesting passage in the
Citta'sodhanaprakara.na of Aaryadeva. The passage in
question contains a scathing indictment of the Hindu
belief that bathing in holy places can confer merit,
and proves its futility in forcible but unequivocal
language:
" A dog swimming in the Ganges is not considered
pure; therefore, bathing in holy places is futile
for pious men. If bathing can confer merit, the
fishermen must be meritorious, not to speak of fish
and other aquatic animals who are always in water
day and night. It is certain that by bathing even
sin is not dissipated, because people who are in the
habit of making pilgrimages are full of passion,
hatred and other vices."
It is a matter of satisfaction, however, that the
Hindus never retaliated in this fashion but accepted
Buddha as one of the incarnations of Vi.s.nu and
introduced many Buddhist deities into their own
pantheon.
Having given you an idea of the relation that ex-
isted between the Hindus and the Buddhists in the
Taantric age, let me now turn my attention to
another phase of Vajrayaana and characterize the
aims and objects of its followers. The ultimate aim
of Taantric worship seems to be different
Siddhis¡Ðthe possession of one or the other of which
entitles an ascetic to be called a Siddha or a
magician. The word Siddhi may be defined as the
attainment
P.18
of superhuman power of the mind, body or the sense
organs. The Siddhis are generally known to be of
five varieties: (1)Janmaja, co-existent with birth;
(2) Au.sadhija, the result of drugging; (3)
Mantraja, due to the agency of magic syllables; (4)
Tapoja, due to austerities and (5) Samaadhija, due
to intense meditation. The mind is compared to a
river in the rainy season with all exits closed
except one through which water rushes with
tremendous vigour. When mind in the same way is
comcentrated on one parti cular thought, it is able
to acquire great strength which we call Siddhi or
perfection. Siddhis are of various kinds and range
from success in love affairs to the attainment of
the highest emancipation, but the Siddhis with which
we are concerned in the Taantric literature owe
their origin to Mantras.
In the Taantric literature of the Buddhists great
anxiety is shown for averting and curing diseases
and for the extraction of snake-poison. Next in
importance to the above is the longing for acquiring
knowledge of the 'Saastras without studying but only
through the agency of the Mantras. The Vajrayaanists
also showed a great desire to have the mighty Hindu
gods as their servants whom they believed to be
conquerable by Mantras and willing to do menial work
for the Magician. They were also pre pared to attain
omniscience and emancipation through the agency of
the Mantras alone. Curiously enough, the aid of the
Mantras was widely availed of by the Vajrayaanists
in vanquishing their opponents in public
discussions. From this it appears clear that
religious discussions in public assemblies were
common and victory in these assemblies was eagerly
sought for by all classes of people including the
Buddhists and it is no wonder that gods and Mantras
were invented in order that the Saadhaka may easily
obt ain victory in learned discussions without being
qualified for it. This leads us to believe in the
stories recorded in the Tibetan Pay-Sam-Jon-Zan,
that in public assemblies disputants of different
religious sects used to assemble and take part, each
one staking his own religion. Thus people were
converted and reconverted to different religions. It
is strange that in spite of acquiring such spiritual
powers the monks were habituated to go out for alms,
as is evident from the devices invented by them
which m iraculously
P.19
induced people to offer aims of their own accord.
The conception of future happiness was also of a
strange character. In one of the Saadhanas a wish is
expressed for a Siddhi, which will enable the
worshipper to remain in a state of rapture in the
company of Apsarasas, in the land of the
Vidyaadharas, where the principal gods of the Hindus
will act as parasol-bearer, councillor, army
commander and gate-keeper. The monks usually led a
poor life, but they were nevertheless anxious for
wealth and believed that wealth could be obtained by
the muttering of Mantras alone. Jambhala, the God of
Wealth, was created by them with different forms and
Mantras and a large number of Saadhanas for his
worship. These and similar instances are an evidence
of the attraction the poor monks had for wealth.
The Buddhist acknowledged eight great Siddhis which
are different from the eight Siddhis of the Hindus.
Their Siddhis are named as: (1) Khadga (2) A~njana
(3) Paadalepa (4)Antardhaana (5) Rasarasaaya.na (6)
Khecara (7) Bhuucara (8) Paatatla. It is difficult
to get an explanation of the nature of these
perfections from any Buddhist work, but evidently
the first signifies the perfection which enables a
man to conquer a battle with the help of a sword on
which Mantras have been muttered. The second
evidently means the magic unguent which enables its
user to perceive the treasures buried under the
earth or otherwise hidden from the eyes. The third
represents the mysterious ointment which when
applied to the legs enables a man to move about
everywhere without his body being perceived by
anybody. The fourth, similarly, refers to the
mysterimous power which enables a man to disappear
miraculously before the very eyes of the people. The
fifth refers probably to the magic solution which
turns baser m etals into gold or the medicine that
gives immunity from death. The sixth is the power
which enables one to move in the firmament, the
seventh refers to the power of moving at will
anywhere in this world in a moment, and the eighth
refers to the power of going to the nether regions.
Such feats were considered superhuman and the monks
of the Taantric Age directed their attentions to
executing such superhuman feats through the agency
of the Mantras, which they thought, helped to
develop psychic powers.
P.20
The old monks also busied themselves among others
with what is technically called the.Satharma or the
Six Cruel Rites comprising 'Saanti, Vaslkara.na,
Stambhana, Vidve.sana, Uccaata.na and Maara.na. The
first rite is the one which is calculated to remove
diseases and save men form terrible consequences of
evil stars or of bad actions done in previous
births. The second is Va'sikara.na, which when
performed gives the performer the power to bewitch
all other men or women or even animals or go ds and
get work done by them. The third Stambhana confers
the power to stop all actions of others and to stop
the effect even when the cause is operating. Thus
the burning power of fire can be stopped so that
even if fire be there it will not burn. It is the
rite by which all actions of human beings can be
stopped at will. The fourth Vidv.sa.na, is another
interesting rite, which gives the power to separate
two friends, relatives and lovers from each other.
The fifth Uccaa.ta.na, is the rite which confers
power to make an enemy flee the country with all
attendant disgraces. Uccaa.aa.na was also employed
in destroying the dwelling houses of enemies by
incantation of Mantras and by other means. The sixth
is Maara.na, which is perhaps the most cruel among
the six cruel rites of Taantrism. This consists of
killing enemies by means of apparently harmless
practices. From what has just been said above you
will have a clear idea of the rites and practices
which kept the old monks always busy.
We will now pass on to the more instructive phase
of the Buddhist Tantras, namely the light they throw
on the question of priority of one over the other of
the two great Taantric schools, Hindu and Buddhist.
For this a comparative study is necessary; but
before I open the topic I may tell you that my study
of the Taanaric literature for the last ten years
has convinced me that in the matter of Taantrism the
Buddhists took the lead and that the Hindu Tantras
are much latter than the Buddhist Tantras. It is
therefore not correct to say that the Buddhist
Tantras were an outcome of 'Savivis; I should rather
assert on the contrary that the Hindu Tantras were
baser imitations of the Buddhist Tantras, and were
very probably incorporated into Hinduism in order to
P.21
counteract the influence of the Buddhists on the
minds of people. Let me show how this position is
tenable.
It is well known that the Hindus recognize to ten
Siddbamantras with ten deities presiding over them.
One of them is Taaraa and the Hindus claim her as
their own. She is conceived as a fearful divinity
with legs arranged in the Praty alii.dha (1)
attitude with a garland of skulls, protruding tongue
and have fangs. She is four-armed and carries the
Katri(2) and the kapaala(3) in the two principal
hands, and the sword and the blue lotus in the right
and left hands respectively. She is decked in fiv e
Mudraas (pa~ncamudraavibhuu.sitaa^m) with one tuft
of hair (ekaja.taa^m) and bears the figure of
Ak.sobhya on her crown (maulaav-akshobhya-bhuu.sitaa^m).
For the purpose of comparison the last three points
should be carefully noted.
The Hindus have no deity known as Ekajataa,but
they have this Taaraa who is regarded as a form of
Ekaja.taa. They have a variety of Mudras(4), but
none can be employed as an ornament. No other deity
of the Hindu pantheon is known to have the figure of
Ak.sobhya or any other deity on the crown. None of
the three points raised therefore is explained in
accordance with Hindu traditions.
But when we try to explain the three points with
the help of Buddhist traditions we find a
satisfactory explanation. The Buddhists have a deity
known as Ekaja.taa also called Ugrataaraa,
Mahaacinataaraa, Vidyujjvaalaakaraalii, Prasannataa-
raa, etc. and quite a large number of Saadhanas are
dedicated to her worship. Out of
¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w¢w
1 The attitudes of Aalii.dha and Pratyaalii.dha
signify the well-known archer's attitude of
standing with one leg stretched forward and the
other slightly bent. When the right leg is
outstretched and the left bent it is called
Aalii.dha; its opposite is Pratyaalii.dha.
2 Knife with a handle and a blade which looks like
a saw. Used for chopping flesh.
3 Kapaala is usually a skull cup. It also signifies
a severed human head. The skull cup contains
human blood.
4 Mudraa may mean 'a coin', or 'symbol'.In Taantric
usage it is 'an appetiser' for more wine, really
'a woman', and generally the Mystic pose of
hands.
P.22
these the form known as Mahaaciinataaraa agrees with
the description of the Hindu Taaraa in all detauks.
Yet Taaraa is Hindu and Mahaaciinataaraa is
Buddhist.
As regards the second point concerning the ornament
of five Mudraas the Saadhanamaalaa offers a
solution. The Buddhists recognized six Mudraas or
ornaments all made of human bones representing the
six Paaramitaas, as is evident from the following
'sloka¡Ð
"The Torque,the(two)Bracelets,a bejewelled girdle,
ashes and the sacred thread represent the six
Paaramitaas and are applied in the form of Mudraas."
It may therefore be inferred that the adjective
'pa~ncamudraavibhuu.sitaam' stands for a goddess
with five ornaments (made of human bones). The third
point of having Ak.sobhya on her crown can be easily
explained by a reference to the Buddhist
Iconography. Taaraa belongs to the family or Kula of
the Dhyaani Buddha Ak.sobhya, and therefore,
according to the canons of Buddhist Iconography, she
should bear the miniature figure of her parental
Dhyani Buddha.
These facts will amply prove that Taaraa of the
Hindus really represents the Mahaaciinataaraa of the
Buddhists who is regarded as one of he emanations of
the Dhyaani Buddha Ak.sobhya. The Saadhana of
Mahaaciinataaraa was composed by 'Saa'svatavajra,
whose time is unknown, but as his name appears in a
Ms. Which was written in 1165 A.D. his time cannot
be later than 1100 A.D. The deity Ekaja.taa was
introduced from the country of Bho.ta by Naagaarjuna
who flourished most probably in the middle of the
7th century A.D.
Some of the Hindu Tantras also unmistakably show
the Buddhist origin of Taaraa. In the Taaraatantra
it is said that Va'si.s.tha got this Mantra from
Buddha when he was in Ciinabhuumi. In the
Rudrayaamala we read of Va'si.s.tha coming to
Ciinabhuumi to take initiation from buddha and
obtain siddhi by free use of the five Makaaras. The
Brahmayaamala also repeats the same story where
Buddha is found in Ciinabhuumi in the company of
numberless women and in a deeply drunken state.
Because of this
P.23
Va'si.s.tha had great doubts which were cleared up
by the Buddha and he eventually obtained perfection.
In Hindusism the Rudrayaamala and Brahmayaamala are
regarded as Tantras of the highest authority. The
evidence of these two Hindu works leads us to
suppose that the Hindus got the Vidyaa from the
Buddhists.
It should be borne in mind that old Taantrics
looked upon the accuracy of the Mantras with
superstitious awe and dared not change or distort
them, as they thought the process would involve
great harm. Thus, though the name Mahaaciinataaraa
was changed by the Hindus to Taaraa and her Dhyaana
from ungrammatical Buddhist Sanskrit to grammatical,
the Mantra remained the same in both: Hrii^ms Trii^m
Huu^m Phat.
Taking the similarity of Mantras as a guiding fac-
tor, let us proceed to examine another deity
Chinnamastaa or Vajrayoginii claimed as their own by
the Hinous and the Buddhists alike. This deity
stands in the Pratyaaliidha attitude, the head is
severed from the neck and is carried by her in her
left hand. She is accompanied by two D.daakiniis one
on either side. From the severed neck issue forth
streams of blood, one falling into the mouth of the
severed head and two others into the mouths of the
two.Ddaakiniis. The principal deity and the two
companions all carry the kartri and the severed head
in their hands.
Quite nationally the Mantra of Vajrayoginii is
stated in Buddhist literature as:¡Ð
In the Mantra the three O^m letters are given to
the three deities, so also the three Huu^m letters
and the three Pha.ts. The principal deity in the
Mantra is called Sarvabuddha.daakinii while the
companions are called Yajravar.naanii and
Vajravairocanii. The prefix Vajra shows that they
belonged to Vajrayaana. The name
Sarvabuddha.daakinii and the prefix Vajra show
clearly the Buddhist character of the Mantra and
consequently of the deity Vajrayoginii, the 'Sakti
of Heruks, also called Sarv abuddha as he is the
embodiment of the five Dhyaani Buddhas. In Hindu
literature
P.24
the principal deity is named Chinnamastaa and the
companions as Var.nanii and Daaki.nii. the Mantra in
the Tantrasaara runs as¡Ð
and in the Chinnamastaakalpa as :
Unfortunately for us these Mantras are not pre-
served in their pristine purity in the Hindu
Taantric Mss. and they must have been distorted from
copy to copy owing to the ignorance of the copyists.
Form the evidence of the Chinnamastaakalpa, however,
it is quite clear that the word Sarvabuddhi in the
Mantra stands for the original Sarvabuddha, and if
that position is accepted, there remains very little
to show that the origin of the Mantra is Buddhist.
The prefix Vajra also in a Hindu Mantra lends an
additional support to this conclusion.
I have shown enough to justify my drawing the at-
tention of scholars to this fascinating branch of
study which may at first seem very uninteresting but
is likely to yield great historical information,
because we must not forget that the cultural history
of India for the whole of the Taantric period from
the 7th century A.D. to the advent of the
Muhammadans in India is locked up in this mass of
uninteresting and apparently much neglected and much
hated literature of Taantrism.