MA History Paper 1: History of Buddhism PDF

M.A. HISTORY SEMESTER - III (CBCS) HISTORY PAPER - I HISTORY OF BUDDHISM SUBJECT CODE : 99038  © UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI Prof. Suhas Pednekar Vice-Chancellor, University of Mumbai Prof. Ravindra D. Kulk...

M.A. HISTORY SEMESTER - III (CBCS) HISTORY PAPER - I HISTORY OF BUDDHISM SUBJECT CODE : 99038  © UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI Prof. Suhas Pednekar Vice-Chancellor, University of Mumbai Prof. Ravindra D. Kulkarni Prof. Prakash Mahanwar Pro Vice-Chancellor, Director, University of Mumbai IDOL, University of Mumbai Program Co-ordinator : Anil R. Bankar Associate Professor of History and Head, Faculty of Humanities, IDOL, University of Mumbai. Course Co-ordinator : Shivdas Changdeo Ghadge Assistant Professor, Dept. of History, IDOL, University of Mumbai. Editor : Dr. Yojana Charandas Bhagat Assistant Professor, Dept. of Pali, University of Mumbai, Vidyanagri, Santacruz (E), Mumbai. Course Writers : Dr. Supriya Rai Director, K. J. Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai. : Dr. Bhagyashree Bavare Assistant Professor, K. J. Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai. : Dr. Kamini Vrajlal Gogri Visiting Fuculty, Department of Philosophy, Joshi and Bedekar College, Thane. July 2022, Print - I Published by : Director Institute of Distance and Open Learning , University of Mumbai, Vidyanagari, Mumbai - 400 098. ipin Enterprises Tantia Jogani Industrial Estate, Unit No. 2, Ground Floor, Sitaram Mill Compound, DTP Composed & : J.R. Mumbai University Boricha Marg,Press, Mumbai - 400 011 Printed by Vidyanagari, Santracruz (E), Mumbai  CONTENTS Unit No. Title Page No. 1. Literary Sources 01 2. Archaeological Sources 40 3. Life and Teachings of the Buddha 75 4. Teachings of the Buddha 97 5. Asokan Inscriptions 112 6. Six Buddhist Councils 125 7. Buddhist Art and Architecture 135 8. Sects of Buddhism 148 9. Spread of Buddhism 162 10. Role of King Asoka in the Spread of Buddhism 172 11. Expansion of Buddhism under the Satavahanas 194 12. Kanishka and Harshavardhana 210 13. Lumbini, Kushinagar and Kapilavastu 231 14. Ancient buddhist universities 253   MA History, SEM-III Paper-I, History of Buddhism Objectives: To study the sources of Buddhism in order to understand life and teachings of Gautam Buddha. To examine the contribution of King Ashoka and other dynasties in the spread of Buddhism and to understand the impact of Buddhism on society. Module 1. Sources of Buddhism (a) Literary and Archaeological Sources (b) Life of Gautam Buddha (c) Teachings of Buddha- Four Noble Truths, Eight-Fold Path, Law of Dependent Origination(Paticcacc Sammuccapad(a), Sila, Samadhi and Panna 2. Buddhism and its Impact (a) Ashokan Inscriptions, Six Buddhist Councils (b) Art and Architecture- Stupa,Chaityagruha, Vihara (c) Sects in Buddhism, Spread of Buddhism –Srilanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and Japan 3. Political expansion of Buddhism in India (a) Role of King Ashoka in spread of Buddhism (b) Expansion of Buddhism under Satavahanas (c) Kanishka and Harshavardhana 4. Places associated with Buddhism (a) Lumbini, Kushinagar and Kapilvastu (b) Sarnath , Bodhgaya and Shravasti (c) Buddhist Universities in India References: Ambedkar, Dr. B.R. Buddha and His Dhamma, P.E. Society, Mumbai, 1997. Barua, B. M., Asoka and his Inscriptions, Calcutta, 1942. Coomaraswamy Ananda, Buddha and Gospel of Buddhism, 2nd ed., Mushiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., new Delhi, 1985. Eugene, Watson, Buddhism Parable: Traslated from the Original Pali, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1922. Geiger, Wilhem, Pali Literature and Language, published by Calcutta University publication, 1968. Harvey, Peter (ed.), Buddhism, Continuum, London, 2001. Kern II, Manual of Indian Buddhism, Delhi, 1968. Law B. C. ―A History of PaliLiterture‖, Vol.I and Vol. II, published by Bharatiya Publishing House, Varanasi, 1970. Matilal, Bimal Krishna and Evans, Robert D. (ed.), Buddhist Logic and Epistemology: Studies in the Buddist Analysis of Inference and Language, D. Reidel Publishing, Dordrecht, 1986. Narasu, Lakshmi, Religion of the Modern Buddhist, Wordsmith‟s Delhi, 2002. Narasu, Lakshmi, The Essence of Buddhism, Thacker and Company Ltd. Bombay, 1948. NardaThera, ―Ambedkar on Religion‖, Buddha Education Foundation, Taiwan, 1993. NardaThera, ―Dhammpada‖, Buddha Education Foundation, Taiwan, 1993. Bapat P.V. (ed.), 2500 years of Buddhism, published by publication Division, Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Govt. of India, Delhi, 1956. Saddhatissa, H., Buddhist Ethics: Essence of Buddhism, George Allen &Unwin Ltd., London, 1970. Wagh Sandesh Madhavrao.,Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkars Conversion to Buddhism, Sandesh Publications , Mumbai,2012 Wilson, H.H., Buddha and Buddism, Oriental reprinters, Lucknow, 1976.  1 LITERARY SOURCES Unit Structure: 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Survey of Important Books in Pali and Buddhist Sanskrit 1.3 Canonical Pāli Literature – Tipitaka 1.4 Non-Canonical Pāli Literature 1.5 Buddhist Sanskrit Literature 1.6 Summary 1.7 Unit End Questions 1.8 Additional Reading 1.0 OBJECTIVES:  To study the literature as the source of Buddhism.  To be able to correspond the literature to the other sources of history of Buddhism.  To check the authenticity of the Literary sources vis-à-vis archaeological sources.  To understand the relevance of the literary sources and the translation of the texts. 1.1 INTRODUCTION: As far as our present knowledge goes, we find that the main stock of systematized Buddhist literature, in the originalor in translation, is contained mainly in Pali, Sanskrit (pure or mixed), Tibetan and Chinese, although the Buddhist texts were also translated into the language of the countries to which Buddhism spread. In the treasure-house of Buddhist literature, the Pali Tipitaka represents the earliest available and most complete collection of Buddhist sacred literature. It is preserved in three systematic collections: (1) the Vinaya- pitaka, or the Book of Discipline, (2) the Sutta-pitaka, the popular book of discourses, and (3) the Abhidhamma-pitaka, the collection of books on abstruse philosophy based on psychological ethics. The names of various books in these three Pitaka and their mutual relation can be understood from the table on the next page. 1 History of Buddhism Besides this canonical literature in Pali, there is also the non-canonical literature, consisting of the Milinda-panha, the Netti-pakarana, Buddhadatta's Manuals on Vinaya and Abhidhamma, commentaries on the Pali Tipitaka texts, including the Jatakas, written by or ascribed to Buddhaghosa or Dhammapala, Chronicles of Ceylon like the Dipavamsa, the Mahavamsa, and the Culavamsa and later worksin Pali modelled on classical Sanskrit poetry. Among the works of grammar, those of Kaccayana and Moggallana, the Rupasiddhi and the Saddaniti are also well known. Buddhaghosa's masterly original work, the Visuddhimagga, is veritably a small cyclopaedia on early Buddhism. Unfortunately, we have at present no complete canon of Buddhist books preserved in Sanskrit, as in Pali. It appears, however, that the Sarvastivada school did possess the Agamas corresponding to the Pali Nikaya and seven books of Abhidharma corresponding to the seven books of the Pali Abhidhamma. The Mulasarvastivadins possessed a Vinayapitaka and large sections of this preserved in the Gilgit Manuscripts have now been published. These texts reveal in several places a remarkable divergence from the corresponding Pali texts, though they have some resemblance in general. In Sanskrit, pure or mixed, therefore, we find several independent texts or fragments of texts which are of a varied nature and belong to different schools of both the Hinayana and the Mahayana type. The Mahavastu is claimed to be a book on Vinaya belonging to the Lokottaravadins of the Mahasaiighikas but its subject matter is so varied that we find in its sutras corresponding to some in the Digha, the Majjhima, and the Suttanipata as well as stories which correspond to some in the Pali Jatakas. The Lalitavistara, an incomplete biographical account of the Buddha in mixed Sanskrit, is considered to be a text of the unorthodox (Mahayana) school and forms part of the Vaipulya-sutra. Ashvaghosais known for his Buddhacarita and Saundarananda and Aryasura for his Jataka-mala, a Sanskrit text, though far more polished, corresponding to the Pali Cariya- pitaka. There is also a vast Avadana literature, corresponding to the Pali Apadanas, containing stories intended to explain the good or bad effects of good or bad karma. Among the Mahayanist sutras, nine texts or dharmas are regarded as the most important, of which special mention might be made of the Astasahasrika-prajnaparamita, the Saddharma-pundarlka, the Lalitavistara, the Lankavatara, the Suvarna-prabhasa, the Gandavyuha, the Tathagata- guhyaka, the Samadhiraja and the Dasabhumisvara. These are called the Vaipulya sutras. Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu and Asanga are the authors of the philosophical works of this school, and we shall have occasion to refer to them elsewhere. In Tibet, too there is a large collection of translations of Indian Buddhist texts numbering more than 4,566. Theseare divided into two groups, namely, Bkahhgyur, popularly called the Kanjur, consisting of 1,108 texts, and Bstan-hgyur, popularly called the Tanjur, consisting of 3,458 texts. 2 The Kanjur is divided into the following seven parts: Literary Sources (1) Vinaya (2) Prajna-paramita, (3) Buddhavatamsaka, (4) Ratnakuta, (5) Sutra, (6) Nirvana, and (7) Tantra, while the Tanjur isdivided into (1) Tantra, and (2) Sutra. There exists a large number of translations from Indian texts into the Chinese language. In his Catalogue, Bunyiu Nanjio records as many as 1,662, which are classified into four divisions: (I) Sutra-pitaka, (2) Vinaya-pitaka, (3) Abhidharma-pitaka. and (4) Miscellaneous. Hobogirin, a still later catalogue, mentions as many as 2,184 texts printed infifty-five volumes of the Taisho edition. In another 25 volumes, there are supplementary texts, written in China and Japan. In Japan there are three complete translations of the Chinese Tripitaka. including the supplementary 25 volumes in the Taisho edition of the Tripitaka. In the Manchurian language also there is a translation of the same, and in Mongolian, a translation of the Tibetan Tanjur. The intention here is to survey some important books in Pali and Buddhist Sanskrit only. 1.2 SURVEY OF IMPORTANT BOOKS IN PALI AND BUDDHIST SANSKRIT: There was at one time a vast Buddhist literature in Pali, the Prakrit, mixed Sanskrit and pure Sanskrit. It is, indeed, ironical that not a single Buddhist work, with the exception of the Manjusrimulakalpa, has been found within the borders of India. The main reasons for such a complete disappearance of Buddhist literature from India are (i) that its study was confined to the ordained monks and novices resident in the monasteries, (ii) that the literature, which was mostly religious, was preserved in manuscript in the libraries or the cells of the monasteries and never kept in the houses of laymen, and (iii) that with the decay or destruction of the monasteries, whether by the passage of time or through desecration and vandalism, these manuscripts were destroyed. The Buddhist literature that we study today has come to us from monasteries outside India, in Ceylon, Burma, Siam and Nepal, and in translations from Tibet, China and Mongolia. An idea of the vastness of the literature can be formed from the works mentioned in the Chinese and Tibetan Catalogues. A remarkable addition to our knowledge of Buddhist literature has been made by the discoveries 3 History of Buddhism of manuscripts in Central Asia and Gilgit as well as by the manuscripts photographed in Tibet by Rahul Sankrityayan and collected by Prof. G. Tucci. The original Sanskrit manuscripts, found in Central Asia, Gilgit and Tibet, belonging mostly to the fifth or sixth century A.D. or to an earlier period, were preserved in Central Asia and Gilgit in stone chambers built under the stupas or monasteries, and in temples in Tibet where they were meant to be worshipped only and not studied. These discoveries have thrown a flood of light on the development of Buddhist literature and the languages in which it was written, particularly on some extinct Central Asian dialects into which some of the texts were translated. Buddhist literature may be divided broadly into two sections: the Hinayana (in Pali and mixed Sanskrit) and the Mahayana (in mixed and pure Sanskrit). It can be further sub-divided into literatures of different sects of both the Hinayana and the Mahayana schools. 1.3 CANONICAL PĀLI LITERATURE – TIPITAKA Survey of Tipitaka: Pāli Literary development can be divided into the following periods, Viz., 1. The Canonical literature: Contemporary with the Buddha; 2. The Commentarial literature: 5th century CE; 3. The Sub-commentarial literature: 12th century CE. The canonical literature consists of three Pitaka (Tipitaka) viz., Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. A break up of these Pitaka is as follows: 1. VINAYA PITAKA VINAYA PITAKA (CODE OF DISCIPLINE): Vinaya literally means guidance and contains the rules of monastic discipline. The five books of Vinaya Pitaka are arranged according to subject-matter into these three parts: 1. Vibhanga – Parajika and Pacittiya; 2. Khandaka – Mahavagga and Culavagga; 3. Parivara. Vibhanga gives an elaborate explanation of all the rules laid down by the Buddha for Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis. These rules, 227 for Bhikkhus and 311 for Bhikkhunis, are contained in the Patimokkha ‘Code Book’. Patimokkha: The bhikkhunis have more Patimokkha rules in keeping with feminine circumstances. Literally, it means that which ‘delivers’ (mokkha) one from blame or impurity. It is divided into eight sections, viz., Parajika, Sanghadisesa, Aniyata, Nissaggiya Pacittiya, Pacittiya, Patidesaniya, Sekhiya and Adhikaranadhamma, these are formulated according to the 4 gravity of the offenses, so as to shield a monk or nun from conduct not Literary Sources commensurate with holy life. These rules, therefore, reflect the nature of transgressions and their remedies. Patimokkha is recited twice a month on full moon and new moon days, known as Uposatha observance, in which all the resident monks and nuns of a given area (separately) gather in a special Chapter House called Sima. Before reciting the Patimokkha, the fully ordained monastics mutually perform the act of confession of transgressions, if any. At the end of each section of the recital, the reciter asks the assembly whether it is blameless in respect thereof. If any member remembers an offence, he/She had committed and had forgotten to make a clean breast of it earlier, then the member has to confess and receive absolution, that is, a formal release from offence. The completion of the recitation, therefore, is an indication that all those participating are blameless and pure. 1. Historical analysis (Vibhanga): In the Vibhanga, consisting of Parajika Pāli and Pacittiya Pāli, the bhikkhu and bhikkhuni Patimokkha rules are treated analytically and in detail: At first an historical account is given, as to how a rule came to be framed. After laying down a rule, the Buddha gives an exhortation, which ends with “Netamappasannanamvapasadaya, pasannanamvabhiyyobhavaya –This (offence) does not lead to the rousing of conviction in those who are not convinced, nor to the further growth of conviction in those who are already convinced”. That is to say the bhikkhu’s or bhikkhuni’s conduct should not only bring about self-purificaion, but it should also inspire others to lead the pure life. After a rule is laid down by the Buddha, it is followed by a word for word commentary. If a situation requires a rule to be modified the Buddha amends the – rule, which is again explained in detail. 2. The Khandhakas: The second part of the Vinaya, consist of the two books, Mahavagga and Culavagga. These deal with all such Sangha matters which have not been dealt with in the rules of the Patimokkha. From the view-point of history, Khandaka contain very valuable materials which throw a flood of light on various aspects of contemporary Indian life. There is the inspiring account of how the Buddha attained Supreme Enlightenment, how he embarked upon his compassionate mission of spreading the Dhamma ‘For the welfare and happiness of the many- bahujanahitaya, bahujanasukhaya’, and how he established the Holy Order of Bhikkhus to serve as a ‘Living example’ of the truth he preached. The Sangha also ensures the continuity of the Buddha’s dispensation by passing on the Teaching from generation to generation of teachers (Acariya Parampara). Khandhaka also provide the stimulating stories of the Buddha’s famous disciples, like the venerables Sariputta, Moggallana, MahaKassapa, Ananda, Upali, Angulimala etc., lay devotees, like the kings Bimbisara, Pasenandi, Ajatasattu etc., and philanthropists like Anathapindika, 5 History of Buddhism Upasika Visakha, Jivaka the physician and many others. People drawn from all walks of life – royalties, nobles, leaders of the various sections of the society, and the humblest of common folks sought refuge in the Buddha. By embracing his Teachings, they brought about a change in the society that was unheard of before. The Khandhaka also contain some of Buddha’s most famous and important discourses, such as the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, Anattalakkhana Sutta, Aditta Pariyaya Sutta and so on. Again, the Khandhaka contain most important text, called the Kammavaca. These are ‘Official Acts’ which govern the procedures of all institutional functions, known as Sanghakamma. These acts relate to admission into the order, suspension of expulsion from or rehabilitation into the Order, ecclesiastical jurisprudence, Sangha properties, such as monasteries and things, needed in a monastery, spending of the Rain’s Retreat (vassavasa), confessions, punishments to offenders and so on. There are altogether 22 Khandhaka which deal with all matters connected with the members of the Holy Order, including the requisites of clothing, food, dwelling, medicaments, etc., The last two khandhaka give a lucid account of the first and second great councils. 3. The Parivara Pali: The third part of the Vinaya, the Parivara Pāli is a kind of manual. Compiled in the form of questions and answers (catechism), it enables one to make a thorough analytical study of the Vinaya Pitaka. All the rules, official acts, and other matters of the Vinaya, are subject to a searching analysis and placed under separate themes. Besides, it contains various lists to assist one’s memory. There are 21 chapters dealing with a particular list of the lineage of the teachers (acariyaparampara) -34 in number from the Buddha’s time down to several centuries i.e. till the Fourth Sangayana which committed to writing the sacred Tipitaka. Parivara is called the key since it makes Vinaya explicit. Briefly, the rules of the Order fall into two categories; rules governing the spiritual life of the bhikkhu or bhikkhuni, and rules governing the affairs of the Order. The Bhikkhu-rules are again twofold – those that have a spiritual basis, i.e., which lead to his spiritual edification, and those that have a conventional basis, i.e., good manners, behavior and customs which help maintain a good human relationship. The rules of the Order are based on the highest of democratic principles. Nothing is done or owned individually; it is the Sangha which owns properties and promulgates a given code of conduct. In the matter of jurisprudence unless an offence is accepted by the accused or is proved beyond doubt, the accused has absolute protection of the Sangha. As a historical document Vinaya is a mine of varied information on contemporary social, political and economic systems, on commerce, taxation, law, agriculture, medicine, educational institutions, religious sects and so forth. 6 Decentralised Sangha: The Buddhist monastic order, particularly the Literary Sources Theravada Sangha, is a completely decentralized body, and a self- sufficient community, so formed as to provide the right environment for spiritual development. Its rules are so framed as to free the bhikkhu/ bhikkhuni of all encumbrances, both subjective and objective. The so- called sects among Theravada Buddhists are decidedly the product of this spirit of decentralization, holding aloft the charter of individual liberty. After all, the very purpose of leading the bhikkhu life is to gain Liberation which can be achieved only in an atmosphere of personal responsibility and freedom. Hence the Vinaya rules, instead of tying the bhikkhu down to any rigid pattern, provide him with maximum inner freedom, since these are entirely self-imposed. Since there is no difference of view among the Theravada sects as far as the basic Teachings of the Buddha are concerned, these sects are, therefore, wholly organizational set-ups and never doctrinal. 2. SUTTA PITAKA The Sutta Pitaka is the mainspring of Buddhist thought, being the repository of the original discourses of the Buddha. It is divided into five main division called Nikayas which are collated according to the particular size. Style and arrangement of the suttas. 1. DIGHA NIKAYA: The collection of lengthy discourses. 2. MAJJHIMA NIKAYA: The collection of medium –length discourses. 3. SAMYUTTA NIKAYA: The collection of (subject-wise) Connected discourses, 4. ANGUTTARA NIKAYA: The collection of numerically arranged discourses. 5. KHUDDAKA NIKAYA: The collection of Compact expositions in the form of separate treatises. Here the entire Buddhist view of life has been discussed in an objective and dignified way. The famous orientalist Dr. Rhys Davids says: “The suttas are distinguished in the depth of philosophy, in the method of Socratic questioning, in the earnest and elevated tone of the whole, in the evidence they afford of the most out-turned thought of the day.” The Sutta Pitaka also contains the discourses of the Master’s principal disciple’s such as, the Venerable Sariputta, Maha Moggallana, Maha Kassapa, Maha Kaccana, and others. A sutta literally means ‘thread’. It is so called since it leads one to a larger content of meaning not expressed in so many words. Thus every sutta has two contents-the vohara, conventional content and paramattha, the ultimate content, which makes the suttas accessible to people at all levels of development, i.e., from the ordinary folk to the most learned scholar. 7 History of Buddhism Another characteristic feature of the suttas is that they are liberally sprinkled with simple, yet telling, illustrations and homely stories. To drive home a profound truth, the Master uses familiar similes, such as, the bullock cart, seed, agricultural operations, or the irrigation ditch and so on for the edification of the simple, rural folks. Likewise, to tame an arrogant scholar, like the Brahmin Bharadvaja, he often used a telling analogy illustrated by personal example. Bharadvaja, a learned scholar of the Vedas, scoffed at the idea of Gotama, a Khattiya, becoming a religious teacher, which, according to him, was the prerogative of the Brahmin, however vile he may be. He was further roused by some of Buddha’s unorthodox teachings. And his wrath broke all barriers when his wife became an ardent devotee of the master. Once, when the Buddha was preaching, he tore through the large crowd and, facing the Master, started hurling filthy abuses at him until he was tired. In his unbounded compassion, the Buddha gently put to him this question: “Suppose, Brahmin, a friend of relative was to visit your house and you were to offer him a plateful of sweets, and he was to decline it. To whom would that plateful of sweets return?” “Ofcourse to me; it is mine, and it comes back to me,” he replied rudely. “Likewise, good brahmin, I decline to accept all that you said.” The moral went right into his heart and illumined his whole being, like a flash of lightning piercing and illuminating the dark sky. As the insight dawned on him that his actions recoiled on him with greater force, and having failed to affect one who refused to be offended, he fell at the feet of the Lord and requested the Buddha to admit him into the Sangha. No learned philosophical disquisition could have wrought in Bharadvaja so profound a change as this simple illustration did. Further, the Sutta Pitaka is also an excellent document on the contemporary cultural history of India. One finds graphic accounts of various conditions- social, cultural, religious, political etc., of the time. For instance, once the King Ajatasattu bluntly asked the Buddha as to what tangible benefits could one gain through the religius life, as one would from one’s occupation then he enumerated a great many of the existing occupations when the Buddha convinced him of the benefits of true spiritual life, this blood thirsty despot became an ardent devotee of the Master. As to the form, the sutta begins with a historical account of how, where and under what conditions a discourse was given Then follows the main body of the sutta which ends with an expression of appreciation from the audience. 1. Digha Nikaya: This work contains 34 lengthy suttas, some of which could fill a book. This is particularly true of these three suttas: 1. The Mahaparinibbana sutta which presents a moving narration of the master’s last days together with many of his important teachings. 2. Mahasatipatthana sutta, which constitutes the quintessence of his unique method of spiritual training by converting every experience into a 8 meditative, which is also known as Householders Book of ethics, (Gihi Literary Sources Vinaya). 2. Majjhima Nikaya: This work contains one hundred fifty-two middle- length suttas of rare beauty, both in content and language. All the fundamental teachings, such as, Dependent origination, (Paticca Samuppada), the law of kamma and Rebirth, the four Noble Truths, (Ariya Saccani) and the Noble Eightfold Parh, (Ariya Atthangika Magga), have been lucidly expounded in this work. Of the fifteen chapters, one entitled Opammavagga is devoted to exposition by way of illustration, and another to the householders, Gahapativagga. 3. Samyutta Nikaya: This work contains seven hundred sixty-two (7762) suttas of varied length, generally short, arranged in a special order according to subject-matter. Thus, there are fifty-six connected subjects (samyutta) arranged in five divisions, e.g., on Enlightenment factor (Bojjhanga Samyutta), mental defilements (Kilesa Samyutta), mental powers (Bala Samyutta), etc. Some samyuttas are named after principal enlightened disciples, (Arahats), such as, the Venerables Sariputta, Kassapa, and Anuruddha etc. Devata Samyutta, deals with gods like Brahma, Sakka or Indra, who are ardent followers of the Buddha. 4. Anguttara Nikaya: This work contains nine thousand five hundred fifty-seven (9557) short suttas which are numerically arranged into eleven sections known as Nipatas. For instance, the first Nipata deals with subjects having a single aspect or view-point; likewise, the subject-matter of the second Nipata has two view-points; the third has three view-points, and so on, till the eleventh Nipata, in which all such matters that can be viewed in eleven different ways. Thus, this work presents the Dhamma arranged numerically. In the whole of the Sutta Pitaka, Anguttara Nikaya is considered to be an important source-book on Buddhist psychology and ethics. The Anguttara contains a unique chapter entitled Etadaggavagga wherein the Buddha enumerated the names of those enlightened disciples (bhikkhu-bhikkhuni-upasaka-upasika) who had achieved pre-eminence in a certain field of spiritual attainment. For example, while the Venerabe Sariputta was pre-eminent in Intuitive Wisdom (Panna); the Venerable Moggallana was pre-eminent in Supernormal powers (Abhinna); the Venerable Uppalavanna was pre-eminent among nuns in Panna, and the Venerable Khema in Abhinna; the upasaka Anathapindika and the upasika Visakha were pre-eminent in act of generosity (Dana), and so on. 5. Khuddaka Nikaya: Khuddaka Nikaya is a collected of 18 independent treatises of great merit. These are:- 1. Khuddaka Patha (Compact Handbook). 2. Dhammapada (Path of wisdom). 3. Udana (Solemn Utterances). 4. Itivuttaka (Inspired Sayings, lit. Thus, was said by the Buddha). 5. Sutta Nipata (Treatise of important discourses). 6. Vimanavatthu (Lit. Divine Mansions, Accounts of divinities). 7. Petavatthu (Stories of departed ones of spirits). 9 History of Buddhism 8. Theragatha (Inspired verses of the elder monks) 9. Therigatha (Inspired verses of the elder nuns). 10. Jataka (Stories of Buddha’s past lives). 11. Niddesa (Exposition). 12. PatisambhidaMagga (Analytical way). 13. Apadana (Biographical Treatises). 14. Buddhavamsa (Chronicle of Buddhas). 15. Cariyapitaka (Buddha Gotama’s past life) 1. Khuddaka Patha: It is an anthology used as a manual for under- training monks. It contains some very important texts, e.g. the catechetic section called Kumara Panha. The young novice, Kumara Kassapa, already an Arahat at the age of seven, was asked by the Buddha ten questions of fundamental spiritual importance. He answered all the questions with consummate skill and clarity which only an enlightened disciple can do. He received his higher ordination (upasampada) at that tender age as a special case. Normally nobody can be ordained a bhikkhu before the age of twenty. The Questions were put in a numerical order; e.g. what is the One? What are the two three etc., upto the tenth? The answers being ‘Nutriment’ that sustains life of beings, i.e., the one factor that sustains life is Nutriment, both material and mental. Similarly, the two factors to which all phenomena of existence could be reduced, are Mind and Matter (Nama-rupa, lit. Mentality and Materiality). Answer to the tenth being. ‘The ten super-mundane attainments of an Arahat- a Perfected disciple of the Buddha, constitute the ultimate state of spiritual perfection. That means, there is nothing higher than the spiritual attainments of a Perfect One. 2. Dhammapada: It is a famous world classic which epitomizes the entire teaching of the Buddha in four hundred twenty-three gathas (verses). Culled from different works of Tipitaka each verse is a rare gem sparkling with practical wisdom. The Dhammapada has been translated and re- translated into virtually all the import languages of the world. The first gatha of this inspiring anthology is about the Mind. It underlines the importance of mind because one’s samsaric bondage or nibbanic freedom i.e., one’s misery or happiness now and one’s destiny in future, entirely depend on the working of one’s mind. Buddhists do not depend on any external power for spiritual liberation. On the contrary, they rely entirely on the transforming power of their own minds. The Buddha said: Manopubbangamadhamma, manosetthamanomaya; manasacepadutthenabhasativakarotiva, tatonamdukkhamanveticakkkam’vavahatopadam. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind- wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the cart-wheel that follows the foot of the ox. 10 Manopubbangama dhamma, manosetthamanomaya; Literary Sources manasacepasannenabhasativakarotiva, tatonamsukhamanvetichayavaanapayini. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind- wrought. If with pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never departing shadow. These first two gathas of the Dhammapada spell out what really matters in life- it is the good or bad mind, and the good or bad action arising there from. So, for a spiritual seeker, what matters is focusing oneself to the purification and development of the mind. In the fifth gatha, the Lord Buddha similarly teaches another eternal law, concerned with life, both at the individual and at the collective levels. “By hatred one can never appease hatred”. it will only persist and prolong suffering. Contrarily, non-hatred, meaning good-will and amity as well as the spirit of patience and forbearance, all combined, is the panacea for the deadly affliction created by hatred. This is a verifiable reality throughout the world and throughout the world and through millennia. Whenever human beings have engaged in mutual hatred, revenge and hostility, civilization itself, created by so much of noble human values and actions, got wiped out. Both parties destroyed each other. Thus the eternal law is –“Good will alone triumphs over ill-will.” Buddhists are therefore enjoined to practice good-will and universal love, under all circumstances, in keeping with this eternal law, viz: Na hi verena verani, sammantidhakudacanam, averena ca sammanti, esadhammosanantano. Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a Law Eternal. The Buddha succinctly summarized his teachings in the Dhammapada gatha No. 183. “Avoid all evil, cultivate the good, and cleanse the mind- This is the Teaching of the Buddhas.” Spiritual life need not become loaded with all kinds of complicated theological dogmas and philosophical theories. Unfortunately, religions, as organized institutions, throughout the world, and at all times, tended to be loaded with emotional or intellectual assertions and doctrines, demanding from the adherents unquestioned acceptance or blind faith. Spiritual progress is possible only when the mind is exposed to the sunshine of virtue, mental purity and wisdom. These three spiritual excellences ultimately stand for spiritual development and freedom. Virtue needs to be cultivated, deliberately, through rightly understanding the nature of moral principles. 11 History of Buddhism Likewise inner purity needs to be developed, consciously, thorough the practice of meditative concentration, leading to purification and tranquility of mind. Similarly, wisdom needs to be cultivated by assiduous practice of insight meditation aimed at development of intuitive wisdom. For wisdom alone is capable of penetrating into the realities of one’s own life, of the world in which one lives, and of the Beyond, namely, spiritual freedom, Nibbana. Hence the Buddha’s enunciation: Sabbapapassa akaranam, kusalassa upasampada, sacittapariyodapanam, etam Buddhanasasanam. To avoid all evil, to cultivate the good, and to cleanse one’s mind- this is the teaching of the Buddhas. 3. Udana: This work contains the ‘Ecstatic Utterances’ of the Buddha. Udanas are outpourings or inspired sayings of sheer bliss. It is mostly in verse form inspired by a particularly intense emotion. It is collection of 80 joyful utterences made by the Buddha on unique occasions of sheer bliss. 4. Itivuttaka: It contains 112 suttas divided into four nipatas with verses and prose mixed. The peculiarity is each passage is preceded by the phrase: “Itivuttam Bhagavata – It was said thus by the Buddha,” it is called Itivuttaka. The division into nipatas instead of vaggas denotes that the collection is classified in ascending numerical order. 5. Sutta Nipata: In an archaic style of mixed prose and verse, it is a work of great philosophical and literary merit, and one of the most inspiring in the whole of the Tipitaka. The language of this work resembles that of the Chandas. The language style and its contents all indicate it to be one of the oldest books of Pāli canon. For understanding primitive Buddhism, it is of great use. We get the picture not of monasteries but of the life of hermits in the first stage. On the Bhabru Edict of Ashoka out of seven discourses mentioned three belongs to suttanipata only. 6. Vimanavatthu: This book contains vivid accounts of the lives of the devas in various heavenly abodes (vimana), and of the deeds that enabled them to gain access into these wonderful domains. According to Buddhism, gods (devas) are not immortal, nor are they creators, or saviors of other beings. But they are spiritually more evolved beings in various divine realms, which too are subject to the law of kamma and Rebirth and have to achieve the deathless state of Nibbana. And there are many gods who have already attained Nibbana. 7. Petavatthu: This book contains graphic accounts of the miserable states of the spirit world and of the evil deeds that lead to one of these states. A certain and immediate release from such miseries can be given to them if former relatives perform meritorious deeds and share their merits with them. 12 8. Theragatha: This book contains some of the finest pieces of poetry Literary Sources embodying the ecstatic sayings of the finest pieces of poetry embodying the ecstatic sayings of the Arahat theras, enlightened disciples of the Buddha. 9. Therigatha: Analogous to Theragatha, this work contains the inspired utterances of Arahat theris, enlightened nuns. 10. Jataka: this is a book of 550 stories of the Buddha’s previous lives when he was the boddhisatta, engaged in training himself to become a Buddha. In these stories are embeded moral principles and practices which Bodhisatto had observed for self-development and perfection to attain Buddhahood. The ten virtues to be developed are dāna, sila, nekkhama, panna, viriya, khanti, sacca, aditthana, metta and upekkha. 11. Niddesa: Divided into two books, Mahaniddesa and Culaniddesa, this work is a commentary by Venerable Sariputta on some important suttas from Suttanipata. 12. PatisambhidaMagga: Entitled “The Path of Analysis,” this is another work of Venerable Sariputta analytically dealing with the salient teachings of the Buddha in the style of the Abhidhamma. 13. Apadana: It is a biographical work containing the life-stories (past and present) of various Arahat Theras and Theris. This gives a short historical account of Gotama Buddha and of the former twenty-four Buddhas who had prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. 14. Budddhavamsa: This contains the biography, in verse, of Gotama Buddha and of the 23 previous Buddhas prior to him. 15. Cariyapitaka: This contains 35 Jatakas illustrating the Buddha’s fulfillment of the ten Paramis (three times over), which determines the attainment of Sambodhi, Supreme Enlightenment. 3. ABHIDHAMMA PITAKA AbhidhammaPitaka: While the Sutta Pitaka treats the Dhamma in conventional (Vohara sacca) terms, the AbhidhammaPitaka treats it entirely in terms of ultimate reality (Paramattha sacca). It resolves all phenomena into their ultimate contents (sarupa) analytically and then aims at synthesis by finding the relations (paccaya) between the various concomitant factors. The language of the Abhidhamma is purely objective and impersonal, hence truly scientific. It contains no such words as ‘I’, We, He, She, Man, ‘Tree, ‘Cow,’ Mountain,’ ‘God,’ etc, which are just conventional names given to an object. Here everything is expressed in terms of Khandha- five groups or aggregates of existence, Ayatana five sensory organs and mind and their respective objects, Dhatu-eighteen elements, Indriya- twenty-two faculties, Sacca- the four Noble truths. All relative concepts, such as, man, tree, etc., are reduced to their ultimate contents, such as, Khandha, Ayatana etc., and viewed as an impersonal psycho-physical process which 13 History of Buddhism is Anicca (impermanent, changeful) Dukkha (unsatisfactory) and Anatta (without a permanent core, e.g. ego or atma, i.e., unsubstantial or non- self). The purpose of this analytical approach is to get rid of egocentricity or selfhood which hinders spiritual progress and is the root- cause of bondage in samsara. Abhidhamma can be called the ‘Science of mind’ in a real sense, i.e. more than modern psychology. The most Venerable Acariya Buddhaghosa describes Abhidhamma as Uccatara (higher) or Visesa (special) dhamma (teachings) of the Buddha. That is to say, a system of appraisal purely from the Buddhist psychological and philosophical stand-points. This special higher teaching was first expounded by the Buddha at Tavatimsa (Sakka, the divine ruler’s, heavenly realm) to his mother who was reborn as a god. This exposition was in the 7th year of his ministry during the 3 months’ Rain’s–Retreat. After teaching the devas, the Master repeated the teaching verbatim to Venerable Sariputta, who in turn taught five hundred Arahats, who memorized the Abhidhamma and passed it on to others. It is therefore regarded as the most priceless heritage of Buddhism. The following seven books of Abhidhamma are so many portals of analytical wisdom. They contain different methods of analysis and synthesis. 1. Dhammasangani: It provides a detailed enumeration of all phenomena, and is divided into three divisions: a. An analysis of consciousness (citta) and its concomitant mental factors (cetasika) b. An analysis of corporeality (rupa) c. Summary in which all phenomena of existence are brought under 122 categories (matika), in group of three (tika) and two (duka), e.g. Kusala (wholesome) dhamma, akusala (unwholesome) dhamma, abyakata (indeterminate) dhamma. When analysed, these three comprehend everything, mundane and supermundane. It is invaluable as a source-book of psychology. 2. Vibhanga: It consists of 18 independent treatises (vibhangas), each of which is divided into three parts: (i) Sutta explanation (ii) Abhidhamma explanation (iii) Summary in question-answer form. It is distinct from that of Dhammasangani w.r.t. this analytic procedure. 3. Dhatukatha: This and the next book, PuggalaPannatti, are small- sized books, written in the form of a catechism. Dhatukatha consists of 14 chapters in which all phenomena of existence are discussed with reference to the three categories of Khandha, Ayatana and Dhatu. 14 4. Puggalapannati: It resembles the style of the Anguttara Nikaya Literary Sources and consists of 10 chapters in which various types of individuals (puggala) are discussed, often with similes and comparisons. 5. Kathavatthu: As mentioned earlier, this work was compiled by the Venerable Moggaliputta Tissa, the presiding Arahat of the Third Great Council, in order to uproot all points of controversy regarding Buddhadhamma. There are 23 dialogue-form chapters dealing with some 21 controversies in a purely logical style. 6. Yamaka: This is a work of applied logic which deals with the delimitation as to the range and content of all the doctrinal terms and content of all the doctrinal terms and concepts. Yamaka clears up all ambiguities and distortions which may creep into the manifold doctrines of Abhidhamma. For every discussion, throughout the work there are two sets of questions in contrast, e.g., (a) Are all wholesome phenomena (kusala dhamma), wholesome roots (kusalamula)? Or (b) Are all wholesome roots, wholesome phenomena? 7. Patthana: This is a gigantic work which, together with Dhammasangani, constitutes the quintessence of Buddhist Philosophy. The 4 divisions of Patthana adopt four different ways- Positive, Anuloma; Negative, Patiloma; Negative-positive, Patiloma-anuloma - to elucidate the profound philosophy of Relations (paccaya) otherwise known as the, Law of Conditionality. This Law is based on 24 paccaya, conditions or relations, which, in different combinations and permutations, keep the ‘wheel of existences (samsara) moving. These paccaya explain the law of universal interdependence. 15 History of Buddhism 1.4 NON-CANONICAL PĀLI LITERATURE Introduction: Pāli literature is broadly classified into Canonical Pāli literature and Non-canonical Pāli literature. The Buddhavacana or the Tipitaka is the Canonical Pāli literature and all the remaining literature written on the canonical is the Non-canonical Pāli literature. Non-canonical Pāli literature comprises mainly of the Atthakathas, Tikas and Anutikas. Atthakathas are the commentaries of the canonical 16 literature, the commentaries of the Atthakathas are the Tikas and the Literary Sources commentaries of the Tikas are the Anutikas and so on. Generally, the commentary of any literary work of the ancient language gives the meaning of the difficult verses or the words with the grammar. But the commentaries of the Pāli literature are unique and different from any other literature for they not only give the meanings of the difficult verses with grammar but talks more about the time period- as to when Buddha uttered the verses, the place- as to where Buddha uttered the verses and also the background of the situation as to why he uttered the verses. This information gives the whole picture of the social, political, geographical, historical background of India of 6th century BC as well as the life sketch of the Buddha and his chief disciples along with their daily routines. Another characteristic of the atthakatha, which make them unique in the literary world, is the contents of the literature. Pāli literature is Buddhism, that too the early Theravada Buddhism. Even today whatever is written in the language Pāli is Buddha and his teachings, in the form of the atthakatha, tika and anutika of the Tipitaka. India, Sri Lanka Burma and Thailand are the only countries where the Pāli literature is mainly written and also found. Origin of the Attakatha- it is believed that the attakatha came to Sri Lanka from India along with the canonical literature. When thera Mahinda brought with him the original Tipitaka [in the oral form] to Sri Lanka after the Third Buddhist Council, the attakatha were there with it. He translated them into Sinhalese. But we don’t find the mention of them anywhere. Even when the Pāli Tipitaka were written down in the 1st century BC in Sri Lanka during the reign of King Vattagamini, no mention of the Pāli Attakatha to be written down is found. The direct mention of the Pāli Atthakatha is found in the 4th-5th century A.D when Buddhaghosa went to Sri Lanka to translate the atthakatha from Sinhalese to Pāli language. Therefore, generally the age of atthakatha is believed to be from the 4th-5th century A.D onwards that is about 1000 years after the Buddha. But the authenticity of the words of Buddha is believed due to the existing atthakatha in the Sihalese language, which Thera Buddhaghosa often refers to in his atthakatha. [The Sihalese atthakatha existed until the 12th century A.D, but thereafter no references of them are found anywhere.] The non-canonical Pāliliterature is broadly divided into three phases or three periods. 100 BC to 400 A.D Prior to Buddhaghosa 400 A.D to 1100 A.D Buddhaghosa era 1100 A.D until today Age of Tikas 100 BC to 400 A.D- there are three main literary works in this period. They are 17 History of Buddhism  Netipakarana  Petkopadesa and  Milindpanha. These three books are so important that the Burmese tradition includes them in the Tipitaka, but the Sinhalese and the Indian tradition consider them as non-canonical work. Of the three the Milindapanha is the most popular work. It is the dialogues between the king Milinda [Menandros- the Greoco-Bactrian king who ruled northwest of India in the 2nd century BCE] and the thera Nagasena. 400 A.D to 1100 A.D- this period is also called the period of Atthakathas. Most of the commentaries on the Tipitakas are written in this period and the three commentators who stand out distinctly in this era are the thera Buddhadatta, thera Buddhaghosa and thera Dhammapala. Thera Buddhadatta and thera Buddhaghosa were contemporary while thera Dhammapala is of a little later date. The main works of these three great commentators are- Thera Buddhaghosa  Vishudhimagga – a book written on the two verses from Samyutta Nikaya  Samantapasadika- commentary on Vinayapitaka  Kankhavitarani- commentary on Pattimokkha  Sumangalvilasini- commentary on Digha Nikaya  Papancasudani- commentary on Majjhima Nikaya  Sarathapakasini- commentary on Samyutta Nikaya  Manorathapurani-commentary on Anguttara Nikaya  Paramatthajotika- commentary on commentary on Khuddhakapatha and SuttaNipata of the Khuddhaka Nikaya  Atthasalini- commentary on Dhammasangini  Sammohavinodini- commentary on Vibhanga  Pancapakaranatthakatha- commentary on the remaining five books of Abhidhammapitaka except the Dhammasangini and Vibhanga.  Jatakatthavannana- commentary on the Jataka  Dhammapadatthakatha- commentary on the Dhammapada Thera Buddhadatta  Abhidhammavatara- summary of the commentary on Abhidhamma by Buddhaghosa  Rupavibhanga  Madhurathavilasini-Commentary on Buddhavamsa  Vinayavinicchaya- Commentaries on the Vinaya pitaka  Uttaravinicchaya - Commentaries on the Vinaya pitaka 18 Thera Dhammapala Literary Sources  Paramathadipani- is the commentary on the Udana, Ithivutthaka, Vimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Theragatha, Therigatha, Chariyapitaka [remaining all the books on which Buddhaghosa did not write the commentaries]  He also wrote the atthakatha of Netipakarana  Linatthavannana- the commentary on the atthakatha of the Netipakarana  Paramatthamanjusa-commentary of the Visuddhimagga  Linatthapakasini- commentary of the four atthakathas of the Nikayas of the Buddhaghosa  Tika of the atthakathas of the Jataka written by Buddhaghosa  Tika on Madhurathavilasini- the commentary of Buddhadatta on the Buddhavamsa. There are other authors like Thera Anurudha who wrote the Abhidhammattasangaho, also in this period. 1100 AD upto today- this phase is the also called the age of tikas. During this period many tikas were written down on the atthakathas. It starts with the reign of the king Parakrambahu-1 of Sri Lanka. The monks of Sri Lanka and Burma contributed to the literature. The Sarathadipani- the tika written by thera Sariputta on the atthakatha of the Vinayapitaka called Samantapasadika by Buddhaghosa. There are many tikas written and all the names cannot be given, but the latest of the tikas written in Devanagari script by Indian scholar Dhammananda Kosambi in 1933 is the Navnita tika –a tika on the book Abhidhammathasangaho written by thera Anurudha. He also wrote the commentary on the Visuddhimagga of the Buddhaghosa called Visuddhimaggadipika. The Vamsa Literature or the Chronicles of Ceylon: The chronicles of Ceylon are the combination of the history of the country along with the poetic legends, which connects them to the land of Buddha and Buddha himself. The Dipavamsa- the history of the Island, is the oldest of the vamsa literature and goes back to the pre-Buddhaghosa era. The author of the book is not known, but it was probably written between the beginnings of the 4th century CE. The Mahavamsa is written by the thera Mahanama. Though the chronicle gives the history of the Ceylon, we also get historically important information of India from them, especially the era after the mahaparinibbana of the Buddha and the reign of Emperor Asoka. Mahavamsa tells about how Buddhism reached the island through the thera Mahinda and theri Sanghamitta. In early days the scholars were skeptical about the value of the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, as source of authentic historical information. But now it 19 History of Buddhism has been realized that these books contain the truth [history] buried under the legends, myths and fables. Besides the Dipavamsa and Mahvamsa, there is Culavamsa, which is the continuation of the Mahavamsa written by many authors through centuries. The Dathavamsa, the Thupavamsa, the Gandhavamsa and the Sasanvamsa are some of the Vamsa literature. The Gandhavamsa and the Sasanvamsa belongs to the 19th century CE and to the country of Burma/Myanmar. Origin And Growth of the Commentaries: According to Indian tradition, a commentary means reading new meanings back into old texts according to one’s own education and outlook. It explains the words and judgments of others as accurately and faithfully as possible; and this remark applies to all commentaries, Sanskrit as well as Pāli. The need for an accurate interpretation of the Buddha’s words which formed the guiding principle of life and action of the members of the Samgha, was felt from the very first, even during the life time of the Master. There was at that time the advantage of referring a disputed question for solution of the Master himself, and therein we can trace the first stage in the origin the Buddhist comments. The Buddhist and Jaina texts tell us that the itinerant teachers of the time wandered about in the country, engaging themselves wherever they stopped in serious discussions on matters relating to religion, philosophy, ethics, morals, and polity. Discussions about the interpretation of the abstruse utterances of the great teachers were frequent and the raison d’ etre of the development of the Buddhist literature, particularly of the commentaries, is to be traced in these discussions. There are numerous interesting passages in the Tipitaka, telling us how from time-to-time contemporary events suggested manifold topics of discussion among the bhikkhus, or how their peace was disturbed by grave doubts calling for explanations either from the Buddha himself or explanations either from the Buddha himself or from his disciples. Whenever an interested sophist spoke vehemently in many ways in dispraise of the Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order (Digha-I) whenever another such sophist misinterpreted the Buddha’s opinion (Majjhima Vol, III), whenever a furious discussion broke out in any contemporary brotherhood (Majjhima, Vol.II, Sanagana Sutta) or whenever a bhikkhu behaved improperly, the bhikkhus generally assembled under the pavilion to discuss the subject, or were exhorted by the Buddha or by his disciples to safeguard their interests by presenting a strong defense of their case. The Digha and Majjhima Nikaya contain many illuminating expositions of the Buddha, e.g., Mahakammavibhanga, the Salayatanavibhanga, (Majjhima, Vol.III) etc. Then we have from Thera Sariputta, the chief disciple of Buddha, a body of expositions of the four Aryan truths, the Saccavibhanga. We have also to consider other renowned and profoundly 20 learned disciples of the Buddha, among whom were some women, who in Literary Sources their own way helped forward the process of development of the commentaries. Mahakaccayana wrote some exegetical work like Kaccayanagandho, Mahaniruttigandho, etc. we have similar contributions from Mahakotthita, Ananda, Dhammadinna, and Khema, but it is needless to multiply instances. The Three Great Commentators: The works of Thera Buddhadatta, Thera Buddhaghosa, and Thera Dhammapala are most important in Pāli commentaries. They are rich in materials for reconstructing a secular and religious history of ancient India. They also throw a flood of light on the philosophical psychological and metaphysical aspects of the period with which they deal. A large variety of information is available from these commentaries and hence their importance is very great. Thanks to the indefatigable labours of the Pāli Text Society, London, for printing and publishing a major portion of the Pāli commentaries and making them accessible to the reading public. Besides, there are some other Pāli commentaries, such as the Saddhammapajjotika or a commentary on the Niddesa written by Upasena; Saddhammapakasini, a commentary on the patisambhidamagga written by Mahanama Thera of Anuradhapura, and the Visuddhajanavilasini or a commentrary on the Apadana written by an unknown author. Buddhaghosa Thera: The greatest of Commentators on the Tipitaka. He was born in a village near Buddhagaya and became proficient in the Vedas and allied branches of knowledge. One day he met a monk, named Revata, and on being defeated by him in controversy, entered the Order to learn the Buddha's teachings. Because his speech was profound, like that of the Buddha, and because his words spread throughout the world (like those of the Buddha), he came to be called Buddhaghosa. While dwelling with Revata, he wrote the Ñānodaya and the Atthasālinī, and also began to write a Parittatthakathā (a concise commentary) on the Tipitaka. In order to complete his task, he came over to Ceylon at the suggestion of Revata (Sās.p.29, says he was sent to Ceylon as punishment for thinking himself wiser than his teachers) and studied the Singhalese Commentaries at the Mahāvihāra, under Sanghapala. When his studies were ended, he wrote the VisuddhiMagga, and having thereby won the approval of the Elders of the Mahāvihāra, he rendered the Sinhalese Commentaries into Pāli. During this period, he lived in the Ganthākaravihāra, and on the accomplishment of his task he returned to Jambudīpa. Besides the above-mentioned works of Buddhaghosa, we have also the Samantapāsādikā and the Kankhāvitaranī on the Vinaya Pitaka; the Sumangalavilāsinī, the Papañcasūdanī, the Sāratthappakāsinī and the Manorathapūranī on the Sutta Pitaka. He is also said to have compiled Commentaries on the Khuddakapātha and the Sutta Nipāta (called the Paramatthajotikā) and on the Dhammapada. He also wrote a series of Commentaries on the Abhidhamma Pitaka (the Atthasālinī, the Sammohavinodanī and the Pañcappakaranaatthakathā). 21 History of Buddhism Thera Buddhadatta: In the early half of the 5th century A.D, Buddhadatta, who is famous and wise scholar in Buddhism, was born in Uragpura in south of India (modern time Kaveri River region near Truchirappalli). He was a member of Tamil family living in Chola country. Like most thera Buddhaghosa, thera Buddadatta went to Sri Lanka to study Buddhism in Mahavihara temple which is the main seat of the ancestral branch for present day Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and which was founded by King Devananpiya Tissa in the capital of Anuradhapura on the site of the Tissarama, given to visiting missionary from King Asoka. Thera Buddhadatta wrote many books living in Chola country by supporting of king and delivered the Buddha’s teaching to his fellowship. Buddhadatta and Buddhaghosa: On the way by boat to India, thera Buddhadatta met thera Budhaghosa, the great Buddhist scholar. When the Buddhadatta having accomplished the task was en route back to India by boat which was crossing to another boat by which Budhaghosa was a trip to Lankadipa from Jambudipa. Some time, boats on the way faced the heavy winds so both of them had been stopped. By the time boats being stopped by side by side very closely, Buddhadatta and Buddhaghosa met each other on board their own vessels. And they introduced themselves with being exchanged courtesy greetings according to being Indian tradition. Firstly, venerable Buddhaghosa said to Buddhadattathera; "Bhante, the doctrine of the Buddha is available in the Sinhala language, I am proceeding to Lankadipa to render them to Magadhi* (early Pāli)". In the end of the Buddhaghosa’s the first talking, Buddhadatta replied, “Dear Bhante, I too had come to Sri Lanka for the same task, but as I shall not live very long now, I cannot finish the task". And Buddhadatta requested Buddhaghosa to send each copy of his commentaries to him in India. For boats departed in the conversation in position of subside winds, the limited time did not allow them to discuss more. As Buddhadatta requested on the boat, Budhaghosa sent him copies of each commentary written by himself. Later Buddhadatta summarized Buddhaghosas’ commentaries on the abhidhammapitaka into abhidhammavatra and vinayapitaka into vinayavinicchaya. But Rohan L. Jayetilleke said; “Among Buddhadatta's works Abhidhammavatara stands supreme. Buddhadatta did not accept Buddhaghosa's commentary on Abhidhammapitaka blindly”. Even though they lived in different places, they had friendly discourse with communicating each other by charring knowledge concerned with the Buddha’ s teachings from another to another. In accordance with describing of some scholars, while Gupta king kumara Gupta was a patron of venerable Buddhaghosa, the patron of Buddhadatta was the Kalabhra Accyutavikkhanta (Acyuta Narayana) of the Colanadu. Buddhadatta had written most of his works in Kaveripattinam at the instance of important books, by the supporting of Chola king. He was the most important adviser with regard to Buddhism for king. What he had 22 done to introduce about Buddhism with his firm confidences is seen as Literary Sources follow: 1. Abhidhamma-avatăra, 2. Vinaya-Vinicchaya, 3. Uttara-vinicchaya 4. Rûparûpavibhảga and other books Ahiddhammavatara, is the introduction to abhiddhamma’ which is mostly in verses, is introduction to study of abhidhamma and comparable to Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa. But some scholar translates abhiddhammavatara as ‘the coming of abhidhamma’. He had composed it by using verses to be easily memorized by those who want to study abhidhamma because around the last century B.C, only a number of atthakathas which is very large to be studied was found on particular texts for Buddha’s abhidhamma. Although abhidhammavatara is easy to memorize, it is too hard to understand abhidhamma by this book in deeper. He continuously wrote another book named Ruparupavibhagha. it has three parts of meaning, Rupa+Arupa+Vibhagha. It says “explaining about nama-rupa in detail or widely”. Rûparûpavibhảga, which is a supplement of abhidhammavatara is a large writing about Abhidhamma in detail. Both Vinaya-Vinicchaya and Uttara-vinicchaya are judgments or condemnations for faults of Buddhist monks. It is also called vinaya. Uttara-vinicchaya is as a supplement to his own Vinaya-vinicchaya. I would like to mention the meaning of these books. Vinaya-Vinicchaya: Because of being requested by his pupil, Buddhasiha from Sri Lanka both Uttara-vinicchaya and Rûparûpavibhảga were written by him for those who want to deeply and widely learn about the Vinaya and Abhiddhamma. All of them are written in Pāli. Thera Dhammapala: an inhabitant of south India thera Dhammapala dwelt at Padaratittha in the realms of Damilas. He was also the celebrity of the Mahavihara. He seems to have based his commentaries on the Sinhalese atthakathas which were not preserved in the main land. The Gandhavamsa enumerates the following works to thera Dhammapala  Netti-pakarana-atthakatha  Itivuttaka-atthakatha  Udana-atthakatha  Cariyapitaka-atthakatha  Theragatha and Therigatha-atthakatha  Vimalavilasini or the Vimanavathu-atthakatha  Vimalavilasini or the Petavathu-atthakatha  Paramathamanjusa  Linathapakasini on the four nikayas  Linathapakasini on the Jataka atthakatha  Nettittha- kathayatika 23 History of Buddhism  Paramathadipani and  Linatthavannana. From his works it appears that thera Dhammapala was well read and well informed. His explanation of terms is very clear. His commentaries throw considerable light on the social, religious, moral and philosophical ideas of the time like the commentaries of the thera Buddhaghosa. In his commentaries thera Dhammapala follows a regular scheme. First comes an introduction to the whole collection of the poems, giving the traditional account of how it came to be put together. Then each poem is taken separately. After explaining how, when and by whom it was composed each clause in the poem is quoted and explained philologically and exegetically. Visuddhimagga: The Visuddhimagga was written by Buddhaghosa at the request of the Thera Sanghapala, it is generally believed, in Ceylon in the beginning of the 5th century A.D., when King Mahanama was on the throne at Anuradhapura. Thera Buddhaghosa, on reaching the Mahavihara (Anuradhapura) entered the Mahapadhana Hall, according to the account of the Mahavamsa, the great Ceylonese Chronicle, and listened to the Sinhalese Atthakatha and the Theravada, from the beginning to the end, and became thoroughly convinced that they conveyed the true meaning of the doctrines of the Lord of Dhamma. Thereupon paying reverential respect to the priesthood, he thus petitioned: “I am desirous of translating the Atthakatha; give me access to all your books’’ The Ceylonese priesthood for the purpose of testing his qualification, gave only two gathas saying,” Hence prove thy qualification; having satisfied ourselves on this point, we will then let thee have all our books”. From these (taking these gathas for his text), and consulting the Pitakattaya, together with the Atthakatha and condensing them into an abridged form he composed the commentary called the “Visuddhimaggam.” The Mahavamsa account of the circumstances that led to the composition of the “Visuddhimagga” agrees substantially with what thera Buddhaghosa has written about himself in the Nidanakatha or story of the origin of the work at their respective beginnings. Thus in the Nidanakatha to his Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa at the very beginning quotes the following gatha of Buddha’s own saying: - “Sile patitthaya narosapanno, cittampannam ca bhavayam, Atapi nipako bhikkhu, so imam vijataye jatanti” (After having been established in precepts, a wise person should think of Samadhi and panna, an active and wise bhikkhu disentangles this lock.) Next, he proceeds to record the circumstances under which he wrote his compendium of Buddhism (i.e. the Visuddhimagga). “The real meaning of sila, etc. is described by means of this 24 stanza uttered by the great sage. Having acquired ordination in the Order Literary Sources of the Jina the benefit of the Sila, etc., which is tranquil and which is the straight path to purity, the practitioner of vipassana who are desirous of obtaining purity, not knowing purity as it is, do not get purity though they exert. I shall speak of the Visuddhimagga according to the instruction of the dwellers of the Mahavihara, which is pleasing to them, and which is the correct interpretation: Let all the holy men who are desirous of obtaining purity listen to what I say, attentively” (Visuddhimagga, P.T.S. Vol.Ip.2) At the end of the work again, thera Buddhaghosa returns to that very gatha which he has adopted as his text for writing the Visuddhimagga, and after referring to his promise quoted above, thus delivers him: “The interpretation of the meanings of the Sila, etc, has been told in the atthakathas on the five Nikaya. All of them being taken into consideration, the interpretation gradually becomes manifest, being free from all faults due to confusion; and it is for this reason that the Visuddhimagga should be liked by the vipassana practitionerss who are desirous of obtaining purity and who have pure wisdom.” Thus, according to thera Buddhaghosa, the whole of his Visuddhimagga was written as a commentary on that one gatha uttered by the Master Evidently it was this gatha which the writer of the Mahavamsa account had in his mind when he wrote that the Visuddhimaga was written as a comment on and expansion of the two gathas which were set by the Sinhalese Sangha residing at the Mahavihara to test Buddhaghosa’s learning and efficiency. The Visuddhimagga is in fact an abridged edition of the three pitakas, the Vinaya, the Sutta, and the Abhidhamma, whose main arguments and conclusions are here condensed into a single treatise. In the gatha itself, of which the Visuddhimagga is a commentary, there is however no mention either of the word “Visuddhi” or “Magga”; but there is mention of Sila, Samadhi, and Panna. Strict observance of the silas leads to the purification or visuddhi of the kaya or body, while the practice of Samadhi leads to the purity of soul and the thinking of Panna to perfect wisdom. A wise man alone is capable of disentangling the net of cravings and desires and is fit to attain Nirvana. The disentangling of the lock, as it is called, is the final goal, it is called “visuddhi and sila, Samadhi, and panna are the ways or “magga” to attain to it. As the ways or “magga” to attain to purity or “visuddhi” having been explained in the book, it is called “Visuddhimagga” or “Path of Purity” MilindaPanha: The MilindaPanha or the questions of Milinda had originally been written in Northern India in Sanskrit or in some North Indian Prakrit by an author whose name has not, unfortunately enough, come down to us. But the original text is now lost in the land of its origin as elsewhere; what now remains is the Pāli translation of the original which was made at a very early date in Ceylon. From Ceylon, it travelled to other countries, namely Burma and Siam, which have derived their Buddhism from Ceylon, and where at a later date it was translated into 25 History of Buddhism respective local dialects. In China too, there have been found two separate works entitled “The Book of the Bhikkhu Nagasena Sutra”, but whether they are translations of the older recessions of the work than the one preserved in Pāli or the Pāli recensions is difficult to ascertain. However, in the home of Southern Buddhism, the book is accepted as a standard authority, second only to the Pāli Pitakas. The Milindapañha, states that it contains 262 questions, though in the editions available today only 236 can be found. Although not included as a canonical text in the traditions of all the Theravadin countries, this work is much revered throughout and is one of the most popular and authoritative works of Pāli Buddhism.Composed around the beginning of the Common Era, and of unknown authorship, the Milindapañha is set up as a compilation of questions posed by King Milinda to a revered senior monk named Nagasena. This Milinda has been identified with considerable confidence by scholars as the Greek king Menander of Bactria, in the dominion founded by Alexander the Great, which corresponds with much of present-day Afghanistan. Menander's realm thus would have included Gandhara, where Buddhism was flourishing at that time. What is most interesting about the Milindapañha is that it is the product of the encounter of two great civilizations — Hellenistic Greece and Buddhist India — and is thus of continuing relevance as the wisdom of the East meets the modern Western world. King Milinda poses questions about dilemmas raised by Buddhist philosophy that we might ask today. And Nagasena's responses are full of wisdom, wit, and helpful analogies. The contents of the Milindapañhāare: Background History 1. Questions on Distinguishing Characteristics: (Characteristics of Attention and Wisdom, Characteristic of Wisdom, Characteristic of Contact, Characteristic of Feeling, Characteristic of Perception, Characteristic of Volition, Characteristic of Consciousness, Characteristic of Applied Thought, Characteristic of Sustained Thought, etc.) 2. Questions for the Cutting Off of Perplexity: (Transmigration and Rebirth, The Soul, Non-Release from Evil Deeds, Simultaneous Arising in Different Places, Doing Evil Knowingly and Unknowingly, etc.) 3. Questions on Dilemmas: Speaks of several puzzles and these puzzles were distributed in eighty-two dilemmas. 4. A Question Solved by Inference 5. Discusses the Special Qualities of Asceticism 6. Questions on Talk of Similes Dipavamsa: The Dipavamsa, the earliest extant chronicle of Sri Lanka, of unknown authorship, deals with the history of the island from earliest times up to the reign of Mahasena (325-352). Erudite opinion holds that it 26 is not the work of a single author but of several authors. Considering the Literary Sources nature of ancient chronicle of the island, we can believe that there is a certain element of truth in it, particularly calculated to be the vehicle of history in early times, when literary facilities were scanty. There is also the opinion that Dipavamsa was the work of two nuns Sivala and Maharuha from India. As the title indicates, the Dipavamsa contains the history of the island. The preamble to the chronicle, (as translated into English by B. C. Law) reads: "Listen to me! I shall relate the chronicle of the Buddha's visits to the island, the arrival of the Tooth Relic and the Bodhi tree, the advent of the Buddha's doctrine, the rise of the teachers, the spread of Buddhism in the island and the coming of (Vijaya) the Chief of Men". According to B. C. Law, "Dipavamsa contains many stages of development concluding at different important historical events. There is an apparent lack of uniformity, an unevenness of style, incorrectness of language and metre and numerous repetitions, apart from many other imperfections which indicate it to be the outcome of a series of traditions collected together as a first attempt to record a connected history of the island". The chronicle embodies the oral tradition of the country handed down from the time of the advent of Buddhism to the island. With all its drawbacks, both literary and grammatical, it is a very useful source of information dealing with the ancient times, and written in Pāli. Mahavamsa: The Mahavamsa, similar to the Dipavamsa, is written in Pāli. It deals with the history of the island, from legendary beginnings, also up to the reign of Mahasena. This great chronicle is said to have been written by Ven. Mahanama Maha Thera, an uncle of king Dhatusena (460- 478), who lived in the DighasandaSenapathiPirivena, which belonged to the Maha-vihara Fraternity in Anuradhapura. His work ends with Ch. 37:50. The rest of the Mahavamsa is known as Culavamsa, especially after Prof. Wilhelm Geiger, who is said to have made the division. The preamble to the Mahavamsa reads: "Having made obeisance to the Sam-buddha the Pure, sprung from a Pure Race, I will recite the Mahavamsa, of varied content and lacking nothing". (Rendered into English by Prof. Geiger). When Maha-vamsa appeared after the Dipavamsa, it assumed such popularity and importance that it not only superseded the earlier work, but also prompted authors to gradually produce supplementary work based on it. The later chronicles of the island, written from time to time, are the Attanangalaviharavamsa, the Dhatuvamsa, the Elu-Attanagaluvamsa, the Bodhivamsa, the MahaBodhivamsa, the Thupavamsa, the Daladavamsa, the Viharavamsa, etc. In the Culavamsa, it is stated that king Dhatusena, ordered the Dipavamsa to be publicly recited at the annual Mihindu festival held in Anuradhapura (Ch. 38:58). This indicates that at time it was available in some coherent 27 History of Buddhism form. The authors of Culavamsa, who made additions to it from time to time. 1.5 BUDDHIST SANSKRIT LITERATURE Development of Buddhist sectarianism among the Sagha influenced origin of Buddhist Sanskrit literature. Several sects have developed their own literary productions, the language of which is partly Sanskrit and partly a dialect which we may call the mid-Indian and which is given the designation of mixed Sanskrit by Senart. Of this Sanskrit literature there have remained to us many voluminous books and fragments of several others while many are known to us only through Tibetan and Chinese translations. The major portion of this literature, in pure and mixed Sanskrit, which we for brevity's sake call Buddhist Sanskrit literature, belongs either to the school known as that of the Mahāyāna or has been more or less influenced by the latter. “The Sanskrit Literature in Buddhism, however, is by no means exclusively Mahāyānist. Before all the widely spread sect of the Sarvāstivādins, which belonged to the Hīnayāna and which is indicated by its designation of positivists, possessed a cannon of its own and a rich literature in Sanskrit” Winternitz also has mentioned above matter as, “Buddhist Sanskrit literature by no means exclusively Mahāyānic. There are also a number of important Hīnayāna texts, which are exclusively written in pure and mixed Sanskrit.” Therefore, under this title further we have to discuss in two ways  How Buddhist Sanskrit literature developed with influence of Srāvakayāna and  How Buddhist Sanskrit literature developed with influence of Mahāyāna. DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST SANSKRIT LITERATURE WITH INFLUENCE OF SRĀVAKAYĀNA During King Aśoka's reign, Buddhism had spread through India and it continued to develop. Some Buddhist school became stronger than other schools. Therefore, some schools gradually disappeared and some school developed and became more powerful with patronage of king. In general, however, the Mahāsaghika tradition was weaker than the Sthaviratradition.The names of many schools belonging to the Sthavira tradition, such as the Sarvāstivādin, Theravāda, and Sammatīya, are well known. THE SARVĀSTIVĀDA SCHOOL “In the history of the secession of school, it has been shown that the Sarvāstivādins belonged to the orthodox group, which is why there are 28 many points of agreement between the Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda Literary Sources doctrines. During the reign of Asoka, the Sarvāstivādins had two centers; one at Mathurā and the other at Kāśmīr. With the patronage of king Kani ka (1st century A.D.) the Sarvāstivāda School developed in India remained as the most powerful and influential school in North-Western India from around the beginning of the Christian era to about the 7th century A.D., initially established in Mathura and expanding in the north where Kāśmīra became their center of orthodoxy. FOURTH BUDDHIST COUNCIL The Kusāna emperor Kani ka I (78-102 A.D.) became a patron of Buddhism and of the Sarvāstivāda School in particular and the fourth Buddhist council held at Kāśmīr under patronage of this emperor. Vasumitra, the great Buddhist philosopher, was the president of the council. Aśvaghosha, another great Buddhist philosopher acted as the Vice-president of the council and at this council, Buddhist texts of Sūtra, Vinaya and Abhidharmawere ordered to be engraved on sheet of copper and deposited inside stupa which let to emergent of later Tantrayāna. Sarvāstivādins took active parts in this council and did a splendid job for the reconciliation of the conflicting opinions of the different sects and for the settlement of the texts of the canonical literature. THE LANGUAGE OF SARVĀSTIVĀDINS: According to scholars the language of Sarvāstivādins is grammatical Sanskrit, not mixed Sanskrit. N Dutt says “The Tibetan traditions corroborated by the recent finds of manuscripts in Eastern Turkestan and Gilgit leave no room for doubt about the fact that the Sarvāstivādins adopted grammatical Sanskrit (and not mixed Sanskrit) as the medium of their literature and that they possessed a complete canon of their own in three divisions Sūtra, Vinaya and Abhidharma.” According to Dutt, Sarvāstivādins used grammatical Sanskrit as their literary language and they established Tripiaka in this language. DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST SANSKRIT LITERATURE WITHIN SARVĀSTIVĀDINS Buddhist Sanskrit literature developed with Sarvāstivādins. According to Winternitz Sarvāstivādin take first place among the Buddhist sects of Srāvakayāna with regard to the development of Buddhist Sanskrit literature. Sarvāstivādins especially in Kāśmīr and Gandhāra spread thence to Central Asia, Tibet and China, had a Sanskrit Cannon of its own. “Though no complete copy of this canon has come down to us, we know it firstly, from many fragments, large and small, which have been discovered among the manuscripts and block-prints brought from Eastern Turkestan by M.A. (Sir Aurel) Stein, A. Grunwedel, A. von. Le Coq, P. Pelliot, and other; further from quotations in other Buddhist Sanskrit texts (like Mahāvastu, Divyāvadānaand Lalitavistara) and finally from Chinese and Tibetan Translations.” The Sarvāstivādins had own completed Tripi aka (Sūtra, Vinaya, Abhidharma) which written in Sanskrit Language, and 29 History of Buddhism same to SthaviravādaTripi aka. The Sūtra-pi akaof the Sarvāstivāda was divided into Āgamascorresponding to Nikāyasof the Pāli school. There were four Āgamascalled Dīrgha, Madhyama, Samyuktaand Ekottara. In the Kośathere is reference to the Ksudraka, which implies by the existence of a Ksudrakāgamatoo. But in the Divyāvadāna (pp. 17, 331, 333) and elsewhere the Āgamasare referred to as Āgamacatustayam. In the Nāgarjunakonda inscription also, four Āgamasare mentioned and not five. In the Vinaya Pi akaof Sarvāstivādins the principal text was the Daśādhyāya-vinaya. The other texts in Vinaya Pi akaof Sarvāstivādins can be found in the catalogues of Chinese canonical literature. Dutt48 quotes following titles of Vinaya texts from Nanjio s Catalogue, (i) Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-mātka, (ii) Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāā, (iii) Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-sangraha, (iv) Daśādyāya-vinaya-nidāna, (v) Daśādyāya-vinaya-bhiku-prātimoka, (vi) Daśādyāya-vinaya-bhikunī- prātimoka, (vii) Daśādyāya-vinaya or Sarvāstivāda-vinaya. Sarvāstivādins are also called Vaibhā ikas. In their Abhidharmathere are seven texts. For each text the author has been given, they are ascribed to the disciples of the Buddha. Although the number is similar to Theravada Abhidhamma, the contents of those seven texts differ from that of Theravāda teachings. The 7 texts are: (i) Jñāna-prasthāna-śāstraof ĀryaKātyāyanī-putra, (ii) Prakaranapāda- śāstraof SthaviraVasumitra, (iii) Vijñānakāyaof SthaviraDevaśarma, (iv) Dharmaskandha-śāstraof ĀryaSāriputra, (v) Prajñapti-śāstraof ĀryaMaudgalyāyana, (vi) Dhātukāyaof Pūra, and (vii) Sangīti-paryāyaof Mahākausthila. All literature of the Sarvāstivādins is fairly comprehensive. At the fourth Buddhist council Sarvāstivādins wrote Vibhāāas commentaries for their primary books. “During the session of the council, they composed 1,00,000 stanzas of Upadeśa-śāstraexplanatory of the canonical sūtras, 1,00,000 stanzas of Vinaya-vibhā ā-śāstrasexplanatory of the Vinaya and 1,00,000 stanzas of Abhidharma-vibhā ā-śāstrasexplanatory of the Abhidharma. As a one Buddhist School, the Sarvāstivādins has done vast role for development of Buddhist Sanskrit literature and their role pertain in the major ground of particular literature which developed under Srāvakayāna. Not only Sarvāstivāda but also number of another Buddhist Schools which pertain to Srāvakayāna branch and further development of Nikāya Buddhism also caused to development of Buddhist Sanskrit literature. Mahīśāsakas, Kāśyapīyās, Mūlasarvāstivādins, and Sautrāntikās are can be categorized in particular matter. Among those Buddhist sects Mūlasarvāstivādins which later separated from Sarvāstivādins and who later caused to appear Tantrayāna, are very prominent. 30 AŚVAGHOA AND HIS WORKS Literary Sources Aśvagho a is regarded as one of the most prominent poets in Sanskrit literature. Modern scholars have acquainted that Aśvaghoa was the most prominent predecessor of Kālidāsa, and he was t