princes, the predecessors of Budha Gupta; and there is sufficient evidence to prove that his sway was equally extensive. He is mentioned by Hwan Thsang* amongst the kings of Magadha; he is called, in the Eran pillar inscription, king of the "beautiful country situated between the Kálindi and the Narmada," or Jumna and Narbada; and his silver coins are of the Gujrat type of the Sáhs of Surashtra, which was used by his predecessors, Kumára and Skanda. Mr. Thomas doubts the accuracy of James Prinsep's reading of Kálindi; but I can vouch for its correctness, as I have examined the inscription carefully, and am now writing with a fac-simile before What Mr. Thomas calls the very legible r over the concluding compound letter is only the long vowel i. The name is perfectly distinct on the pillar. me. 28. According to Hwan Thsang, Budha Gupta was succeeded by Tha-ka-ta-kiu-to, or Takta Gupta ; but his dominions must have been confined to Magadha proper, as we learn from the inscription on the colossal Varáha Avatár, at Eran, that the paramount sovereign Toramána possessed all the country about Bhupal and southern Bundelkhand not many years after the elevation of Budha Gupta's pillar; for the pillar was erected by Vaidala Vishnu, at the expense of his cousin Dhanya Vishnu, while the colossal Boar was set up by Dhanya Vishnu himself. The death of Budha Gupta, and the accession of Toramána, *Fo-kwe-ki, Appendice. + Prinsep's Journal, vi. 634. therefore both took place during the life-time of Dhanya Vishnu. But there must have been an interval of some years between the two events, as Dhanya's elder brother, Mátri Vishnu, who is not even mentioned in the pillar inscription, had since assumed the title of Maháraja, and was then dead. Dhanya himself then became regent, apparently to the young prince, Toramána; for, in another inscription from the Fort of Gwalior, I find Toramána described as the son of Mátri Dása, and the grandson of Mátrikula, who is probably the same as Matri Vishnu. As the celebrated hill of Udayagiri is mentioned in the Gwalior inscription, there can be little doubt of the identity of the two Toramánas, and of the consequent extension of the principality of Eran to the banks of the Jumna. The reign of Toramána* probably extended from A. D. 520 to 550, contemporary with Takta Gupta of Magadha. 29. From this time until the conquests of Siladitya, King of Malwa, in the early part of the seventh century, nothing certain is known of the history of India. Takta Gupta was succeeded by Nara Gupta Baladitya, and he was succeeded by Vajra, who was reigning when Siladitya conquered Magadha. According to Hwan Thsang, this warlike prince "fought battles such as had never been seen before," and all the northern provinces submitted to him. Hwan Thsang *Mr. Prinsep read this king's name as Tárapáni; but I have examined the inscription myself, and can state positively that the name is Toramána. visited his court in A. D. 642; and from him we learn that the king sent an embassy with a present of books to the Chinese Emperor. This present proves that Siladitya was a follower of Buddha, for none but Bauddha works would have been acceptable to the Buddhist Emperor of China. 30. At the time of Hwan Thsang's visit, Buddhism was rapidly declining, many of the monasteries were in ruins, and temples of the heretical Brahmans were rising on all sides. At Benares there were one hundred heretical temples, and ten thousand heretics who worshipped Iswara,† while the Bauddhas had only thirty monasteries, and some three thousand monks and their disciples. Beyond the city, however, at the great temple in the Deer Park, there were about fifteen hundred monks and disciples; but altogether in this once holy place, where Buddha preached the law, there were twice as many heretics as Buddhists. In Kalinga, also, the faithful were few, and the heretics very numerous. But, notwithstanding this spread of heretical opinions, the rulers of the land were still attached to Buddhism. The King of Chichi-to, Jajávati (that is, modern Bundelkhand), was a firm believer in the three precious ones,§ Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The great Siláditya of Malwa and Magadha was a Buddhist, and these two coun • Fo-kwe-ki, Appendice. tries were still the most eminent in India for the study of Buddhism. 31. From the fifth to the seventh century, the decline of Buddhism was gradual and gentle; but the farther progress of decay was then stayed for a time, and the expiring religion, like a dying lamp, still burst forth with occasional brightness, and its sudden flashes of light threw a transient brilliance over the wide-spreading gloom. In the seventh century Buddhism was propagated over the whole of Tibet; the magnificent stupa of Sárnáth, upwards of two hundred feet in height, was erected near Benares; and a colossal copperimage of Buddha was set up, and several chaityas and vihárs built by the great Lalitáditya in Kashmir. But, from the eighth century, the fall of Buddhism was rapid and violent. New dynasties arose who knew not Sákya; and the Tuärs of Delhi, the Rahtors of Kanoj, and the Chándels of Mahoba, succeeded to the vast empire of Siláditya. The rise of all these families has been traced to the eighth century; and both coins and inscriptions remain to attest their Brahmanical belief. But Buddhism continued to linger in Benares, in Malwa, and in Gujrát; and was not finally extinguished until the eleventh or the twelfth century, when the last votaries of Buddha were expelled from the continent of India. Numbers of images, concealed by the departing monks, are found buried near Sárnáth, and heaps of ashes still lie scattered amidst the ruins to show that the monasteries were destroyed by fire.* 32. The fall of Buddhism was a natural consequence of closing all roads to salvation, save the difficult path which led from one grade to another of the monastic orders. No layman could hope to be saved; and even the most zealous votary must have felt that the standard of excellence was too lofty to be reached. Absolute faith, perfect virtue, and supreme knowledge, were indispensable; and, without these, no man could attain Buddhahood, and final freedom from transmigration. Continued celibacy, abstinence, and privation, were expected from all who had taken the vows; and a long course of prayer, penance, and devout abstraction, were requisite before the votary could gain the rank of Arhata or Bodhisatwa. But as this was the only path to salvation, people of all ranks flocked to the monasteries-men crossed by fortune or disappointed in ambition, wives neglected by their husbands, and widows by their children, the sated debauchee, and the zealous enthusiast, all took the vows of celibacy, abstinence, and poverty. In the early ages of Buddhism the votaries supported themselves by daily I wrote this passage from my own knowledge, as I made many excavations around Sárnáth in 1835-36. Major Kittoe has since (1851) most fully confirmed my opinion by his more extended excavations in the same neighbourhood. He writes to me: "All has been sacked and burned-priests, temples, idols, all together; for in some places, bones, iron, wood, and stone, are found in huge masses, and this has happened more than once." |