Indian Antiquary Vol 40

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 223

AUGUST, 1911.) ORIGIN & DEOLINE OF BUDDHISM & JAINISM IN S. I.
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ORIGIN AND DECLINE OF BUDDHISM AND JAINISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA.
BY K. V. SUBRAHMANYA AIYAR, B.A., OOTACAMUND. TF the Singhalese Chronicle, Mahavainsa, could be relied upon, as I think it should be, for the | reason that it is not a production of a later age but was a compilation from the accounts preserved by contemporary writers, the first invasion of Ceylon was undertaken by a prince of the Sakya race, and that he is reported to have ontered the island on the very day of the nirrána of Buddhal. Northern India was just the undergoing & mighty change from the existing system of religious belief, and this, we night safely presume, was not brought about all on a sudden, but was the work of years, if not of centuries. It is on record, and we can well give credence to it, that Buddha, after formulating his new faith, went on preaching and converting the people for a number of years before he attained nirvana. The Sakya race, to which Buddha belonged, could not have been slow to adopt his tenets, and as such, we can reasonably expect Vijaya, who was also a Sakya by birth, to have carried to Ceylon the new belief and the stirring teachings of the reformer. Vijaya's followers, who could not have been few, as they are reported to have conquered the island by overcoming the Yakshas by whom Ceylon was peopled, may thus be regarded to bave shared in the canons of Gautama's new faith along with their leader. It is, therefore, plain that the tenets of Buddhism were known in the island of Ceylon long before the creed spread completely in Northern India and propagated elsewhere. It is believed that till the time of Asoka, Buddhism did not gain much ground. The missionary efforts of the Maurya emperor contributed not a little to the spread of Buddhism in countries in and out of India. We may say that the several kingdoms of Southern India did not share in the belief of Gautama's faith for a long time, as it does not appear to have extended even throughout the Hindustan during the life-time of its founder. For aught we know, no direct influence was brought to bear upon the several provinces in the Dekkan till the time of Asoka.
But Buddhism could not have been unknown in the Dekkan, especially in the Pandya country, long before Asoka. That there was free communication between this country and Ceylon can fairly be conjectured from the proximity of the two, separated only by a small gall. In this connection the story of Vijaya's advert into the island, as told in the Mahavarisa, is worth consideration. Vijaya, the son of Sihabahu, the ruler of Lala (Lata in Gajarát), and born of the princess of Kaliiga, became lawless and was sent over the sea. He landed in Tambapangi, ie, the island of Lankâ amidst Yakshas and Yakshinis, its original inbabitants. With the help of Kuvêni, a Yakshiņi, Vijaya defeated the reigning king Kalasêna and his followers. The goddess of the island was Kaļi. Colonised by the family of Sihaļa, the island was named Simbala. Vijaya married a daughter of the Pandava (Påndya) king of Southeru Madhura having driven away the Yakshiņi wife who was subseqently put to death by one of the Yaksbas who regarded her as a spy. Vijaya was sending every year & rich tribute to the Pandya sovereign. This story of Vijaya, shorn of the mythical veil that environs it, means that Vijaya Was a powerful invader from Northern India; that be, with the aid of one of the most powerful natives of the island, learnt the weakness of the king of Ceylon, made friends with the neighbouring Påndya sovereign, on payment of an annual tribute, and by taking to wife one of his daughters colonised Lanka with a large number of followers. As the Mahavarisa states that along with the Pandya princess a large number of ladies of that country were sent to serve as wives of the followers of Vijaya, we may regard the colony as a joint colony of Sakya men and Pandya women. This early account shows that Ceylon was known to the Påndyas, and that
The probability of Vijaya being a contemporary of Buddha is also indicated by the fact that Panduvasudeva, the pephew of the former, married a daughter of the cousin of Buddha. It capuot be contended on this sooount that the contemporaneity of Buddha and Vijaya is established beyond question, especially as there are discrepancies in the chronology of the Maharamia. But there are sufficient grounds to raise the presumption that Vijaya is not far removed in point of time from Buddha.