________________
INTRODUCTION
liji
for Asanga's idea regarding the madhu as the prāņa and the originating source from which worldly objects emanate. Maitreyanātha also refers to Madhu in the Uttaratantra'. Similarly, the origin of the three Parinirvāņa stages referred to in the avatārabhūmi? may also be traced back to the Satapatha Br.3 Similarly, the passage in which Asanga describes earth as the substratum of all worldly objects4 may be compared to a passage of the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa resembling with similar statements often found in other Brāhmaṇas also, which seem to have amply influenced Asanga. Likewise, Asanga's exposition of the Mānacarita pudgala may also be compared to a passage in the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa where atimāna has been regarded as the main cause of human decline. It is also significant to note that at one place in the Manomayi bhūmi of the YBS Asanga mentions darbha, sankha, bilva and pārņa kumbha as the means of sanctity (śuddhyupkaraṇa)? This is a purely Brahmanic feature and need not be mistaken to have come down from a Buddhist origin.
1. Uttaratantra, 1.96, 102, 103, 104, II.9. 2. cf. SBh., pp. 27-8. 3. Satapatha Br.: XI. II. 1. 1. 4. ŚBh., p. 53. 5. Satapatha Br., VI.1.1, X.6.1.4, 1.9.1.29, 1.9.3.11, III.9.3.2; Kau. Br.
IX.4, XIV.3; A.B., VIII.1.; JUB, 1.10.2, III.20.8; GBU, VI.2 etc. 6. Satapatha Br., XI.1.8.1; cf also, V.1.1.1. 7. YBS, 1.96 : Tyyavi i Jan 24: va face guiaru gratificii
