Indian Antiquary Vol 35

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 13

JANUARY, 1906.) KHAROSTRA AND THE KHAROSTRI WRITING,
Like all the sūtras, it naturally originates with the Buddha in person, but the orthodoxy of the Great Vehicle makes no difficulty of its appearance in the world at the same time as so many texts of the Mahāyāna, the Lankāvatāra, the Ghanavyūha, the Ratnakūta, the Dharmasamgiti and many others, when the son of king Kaniska resided at his capital Puşkalāvati, and the same with many other texts, among them sūtras coming from the gods, the Nāgas, Gandharvas, Rākşasas and various countries, especially the land of the Nāgas (Tāranātha, trans. Schiefuer, p. 63). Nāgärjuna is the hero of this period; it is said, indeed, that Nāgārjuna discovered the Avatamsaka in the land of the Nägas. Nāgārjuna was the contemporary of king Çātavāhana, to whom he addressed a celebrated epistie. On all sides (555) indications agree in placing the edition to or compilation of the Avatamsaka at the beginning of the Christian era. And we are brought back to this same period by the geography of the writings mentioned in the Lalitavistara, in which the Kharoştri script figures in the second rank. It is again to the Indo-Seythian period that we must refer the name "Kharosta Yuvarnja" inscribed on the Mathurā pillar.
Can we go yet further with our documents and determine the region to which custom gave the name Kharoştra? Buddhabhadra understands by this: the barbarians of the North ; Çikşānanda translates: Kashgar; the Süryagarbha gives: Khotan. Bat, notwithstanding these divergences, the consecrated place bears the same name in the three texts; it is the "Cow's Heal," which presupposes some such Sanskrit word as Goçirşa in the original. The name has not hitherto been found in the religions geography of Buddhism. But I have discovered it in an interesting notice in the Yin-yi of Honei-lin11 (Ch. 11 ; Tôk, ed. XXXIX. 8, p. 88a ), “Yu-t'ien .. . as to this kingdom it has been united with the cities of the four garrisons (tchenn) (of the protectorate) of Ngan-si; it forms one of these garrisons. In this city is a temple of the genius Pi-cha-men (Vaiçravana); it is a seven-storied wooden tower; the genius dwells at the top of the tower; he shows his supernatural power in many ways. Within the borders of this kingdorr. is the Cow's Head Mountain (Goçirşa). A celestial spirit comes from time to time to set foot on this mountain and to abide there; this mountain has a river of jade; the river usually brings down magnificent jade in its course. The king of the realm regularly collects these gems and comes from afar to offer them at the court. Tehang-ngan lies more than 12,000 li to the East."
From the description of the Cow's Head Mountain as given by Houei-lin, we are enabled to recognise at once the famous mountain which Hionen-tsang (Mem. II. 229) describes under the name of Goçriga (Cow's Horn), of which we still possess the "Mabütmya" preserved in the Tibetan Kanljour (Mdo. XXX. 10: Ri-glan-ru-lung betan-pa = Gocřiga vyäkarana). The Tibetan translation of the Suryagarbha-sūtra (Kandjour, Mdo. XX, p. 336a) turns our confidence into practical certainty. The Chinese version of Narendrayaças, quoted above, concludes an enumeration of pithas consecrated to the residence of Bodhisattvas by saying: "At Yu-t'ien on the precipitous rock quite close to the river, on the [556] mountain Nieou-t'eow (Cow's Head) are the dwelling and the Caitya of the great saint Kive-mo-po so]-lo hiang (perfume)." The corresponding passage in the Tibetan says : In the country of Kha-ca in the place of the bosom of the carth (Sa':nu-ma, Ku-stana) on the hilly (nos) shore of the Gomati (Tib. Go-ma-ti) near the Cow's Horn
Journ. Roy. As. Soo., old ser. XVI. 326: "A Chinese editor (of the Avatamsaka) says in his profaoo that the Buddhist at Twa-Lung-shu (naga kroshuna) Cate! corr, the Bodhisattva Lung-shu Nagarjnnal found it in the Dragon Palace, containing forty-eight sections (pin). The Chinese translation has but thirty-nine sections." (The translation desoribed here is therefore that of Çikdand). - Cf. also Wassilieff, Buddhismus, German trans, p. 123.
10 Acoording to Taranatha, the original recension consisted of 1,000 section (nooording to the Chinese editor. mentioned in the preceding note, 49 sections). But wars, conflagrations and repeated devastations, following one upon another, between tho time of Matseeta (Açvaghoza) and that of Asnaga, reduced the number to 38 sections (Tar. p. 98). The Chinese translation of Buddhabhadra reckons 31 sections (subdiviled into 60 chaptera), while that of Çikgananda reakons 39 subdivided into 80 chapters. The Mahābhārata, Bșhatkatha, &c., have similar legends which doubtless indicate the unstable condition of the original material.
11 As to this Yin-yi (Yi-tgie-king-yin-yi), cf. my first article, Bulletin, 1902, p. 218 m. I will remind the reader that the work dates from the VIIIth-IXth century.