How Buddhism Came to Tibet

In ancient times Tibet was not an isolated region as it is today. It lay in the much frequented route from China and Nepal. In the seventh century AD, Buddhism was introduced to Tibet by Srong-tsan Gampo, one of the most illustrious kings of Tibet.

Gampo was married to Princesses Wen Cheng from China and another Princess Bhrikuti from Nepal. It was under the influence of his two wives that he was attracted to Buddhism. In China and Nepal Buddhism had already made its mark. Gampo is credited with introducing in Tibet Indian alphabets. This was the beginning of a new culture and civilisation in that land.

Many Buddhist from Tibet, as in the case of China, came to India. Buddhist monks from Tibet came to study at the universities of Nalanda, Vikramshila and Odantapuri. As a reciprocation, many Indian Buddhist visited Tibet. In the eighth century AD from Nalanda (a famous centre of learning in ancient Bihar) Buddhist monk Padmasambhava went to Tibet and succeeded in converting the land into Buddhism.

The Pala rulers of Bengal (Bihar was included in Bengal at that time) who were great patrons of Buddhism, contributed a lot to reform Buddhism in Tibet. Vajrayana (Vehicle of Thunderbolt) form of Buddhism was established in Tibet in the eleventh century AD as a result of missions sent from the Vajrayana monastery of Vikramshila in Bihar. Vajrayana is synonymous with Tantric Buddhism. Great Buddhist monk Atish Dipankar from Bengal, who visited Tibet in the 11th century during the reign of Nayapala, is still venerated there.

Many Buddhist works have been translated into Tibetan. Tanjur and Kanjur are the two classical Tibetan translations of Buddhist sacred texts .

Ram Raja Mandir (Temple of King Ram )

Ram Raja Mandir, a palace-turned-temple, is located at Orchha, a town in Niwari district of of Madhya Pradesh. This is the only temple in the world where Lord Ram is worshipped as a king. So the name Ram Raja (king) Temple. Orcha was the seat of power of the princely state of the same name.

An interesting legend is attached to the worshipping of Ram as King. The legend has it that in 1600 AD queen of King Madhukar Shah, the third Bundela ruler of Orchha and contemporary of Mughal Emperor Akbar, brought idols of Lord Rama and Lord Ganesha from Ayodhya to the capital. The idol of Ram was supposed to be installed in the Chaturbhuj Temple. The idol was kept at the palace as the Chaturbhuj Temple was yet to be completed. Thereupon after the completion of the Chaturbhuj Temple, the idol that was to be installed in the new temple did not move. This was construed as a divine miracle and the palace was turned into a temple. This is the reason that the idol of Ram faces the palace not the temple.

Since then Lord Rama is given a ‘guard of honour’ in place of aarti. The government of Madhya Pradesh has also recognized Ram as a king and as such has placed jawans who give guard of honour to King Ram. In Orcha none is given guard of honour as Ram is the King here.

The two towers built on the corridors of the Ram Raja Mandir are the centre of attraction for the people. The tunnels underneath these towers were used by the members of the royal family to move outside.

Bindusara, Slayer of Foes

After a rule of 24 years, Chandragupta Maurya, the first Mauryan Emperor, was succeeded by his son Bindusara. According to Jain tradition, Bindusara's mother was Durdhara. The Greek historian Athenaeus calls him Amitrochates (Sanskrit Amitraghata “Slayer of Foes” or Amitrakhada “Devourer of Foes”). It is not known how he got the title of Amitrochates. 

Bindusara was the father of Asoka, the greatest ruler of India. The Jain scholar Hemachandra, the court poet of the Chalukyas of Anhilwara, and the Tibetan historian Taranatha mention that Chanakya, also known as Kautilya, was also prime minster of Bindusara. 

Bindusara maintained friendly relations with the Hellenic world that had been established in the later days of his father. According to Athenaeus, Bindusara requested the Syrian king Antiochus I “to present him sweet wine, dried figs and a philosopher”. Thereupon, the Seleucid king of Syria sent him the figs and wine and replied , “The Greek law forbids a philosopher to be exported.” Pliny states that Ptolemy Philladelphus of Egypt sent Dionysius as his ambassador to India. 

Bindusara had a large family. The Fifth Rock Edict issued by Ashoka states that he had many brothers and sisters. Two of these brothers are named in Divyadana as Susima and Vigatasoka, whom the Sri Lankan Chronicles name Summan and Trishya; the former was Asoka’s step brother. Asoka’s mother was named Subhadrangi or Dharma, and Trishya was his youngest brother. Bindusara appointed his eldest son Sumana (also named Susima) as his Viceroy at Taxila and Asoka at Ujjaini. The Divyadana tells the story of a revolt in Taxila. When it went out of control for Sumana or Susima, Bindusara deputed Asoka to restore order.

Opinions on the Revolt of 1857

The Revolt of 1857, also known as First War of Indian Independence, shook the very foundation of the British Empire in India. Some of the famous quotes related to the Revolt: 

“The crisis came at first as a mere military mutiny, it speedily changed its character and became a national insurrection.” – G. B. Malleson 

“It is mutiny or is it a national revolt?” – Benjamin Disraeli, British Conservative leader and Prime Minister. 

"What began as a fight for religion ended as a war for independence for there is not the slightest doubt that rebels wanted to get rid of the alien government and restore the old order of which the king of Delhi was the rightful representative.” –S.N.Sen 

“On the whole, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that so-called First National War of Independence is neither First, nor National, nor a war of independence.” -R.C. Majumadar. 

“It is in fact an anachronism to describe the mutiny as the first essay towards modern independence. It was rather, in its political aspect, the last effort of the old conservative India.” – Percival Spear.

Arthashastra of Kautilya

Of all the secular literary sources on the history of the Mauryas, the single most important source is Arthasashtra, a treatise on polity, ascribed to Kautilya, also known as Vishnugupta and Chankya. Kautilya was the minister of Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya who overthrew the last ruler of the oppressive Nanda Dynasty of Magadh. 

Arthashastra was discovered in 1905 by R. Sama Shashtri, the Sanskrit scholar and librarian at Oriental Research Institute (ORI) in Mysore. Oriental Research Institute (ORI) in Mysore was founded by Mysore’s Wodeyar rulers in 1891. 

Arthashastra is a comprehensive source of information on statecraft and public administration. Divided into fifteen adhikaranas (sections) and 180 prukaranas (chapters), this text on polity is written in both prose and verse in Sanskrit. There is considerable debate on the exact dating of Arthasashtra. Since there is no mention of Chandragupta or Mauryan rulers of Patliputra in the work, some authorities including Winternitz, Jolly, H.C. Raychaudhuri are of the view that Arthasashtra is a later work and as such cannot be accepted as a source material for the Mauryan period. However, at the colophon of Arthasashtra, it is recorded that the book was composed by “a person who owned the land that was under the control of Nandas kings”. Historians like Radha Kumud Mukherjee, K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, Romila Thapar and Krishna Rao are of the view that it is definitely a work composed during the Mauryan period and is written by the Prime Minister or advisor to the first Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. What appears plausible that Arthasashtra was written in the Mauryan period and subsequently elaborated in the later period.

Sangha: The Buddhist Order

The Buddha has two kinds of disciples – lay worshippers (upasakas) and monks (bhikkus or shramanas). The latter were organized into the Sangha or congregation. The membership of the Sangha was open to all, male or female above twenty years of age and who were free from leprosy, consumption and other infections diseases. However, slaves, soldiers and debtors were not allowed to enter the Sangha without the permission of their superior. The admission of Prajapati Gautami, the widowed stepmother of the Buddha, to the Sangha, at the innstance of Ananda, one of chief disciples and consatant companion of the Buddha, marked the beginninng of an order of Buddhist nun. The Buddha had reservations on women's entry innto Sangha and even predicted that allowing women to become nun will make the survival of his teachings difficult. Anyone from the age of eight might become a member of Sangha. However in order to become full member of the Order, one has to be at least 20 years old. There were no caste restrictions. The sangha was governed democratically and was empowered to enforce discipline amongst its members. The life of monks and the nuns was strictly governed by laws and the ten commandments, and there was no room for personal likes or dislikes. However, the great defect of the Sangha system was the absence of a central coordinating authority. The Sangha, founded by the Buddha, still exists in its original for in Mayanmar, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Amongst the most famous Bhikkhus at the time of the Buddha were; Sariputta, who was profound scholar of the dhamma; Moggallana, who had the greatest supernatural powers; Ananda, Maha Kassapa, the president of the Buddhist Council held at Rajagriha soon after the Buddha’s death; Upali, master of Vinaya; Anuruddha, master of right Mindfulness; and Rahula, the Buddha’s son.

Military Conquests of Jahangir

Soon after ascending the Mughal throne, Jahangir, the fourth Mughal Emperor, allowed a chain with bells to be hung outside his palace to enable petitioners to bring their grievances to the notice of the emperor himself. He promulgated twelve edicts or ordinances for the general welfare and better government of the empire. Although these ordinances confirmed Jahangir’s desire to continue his father Akbar’s liberal policies, in practice they remained ineffective.

At the beginning of his reign in 1606, Jahangir has to face the rebellion of his son Khusrau in Lahore. Khusrau has the blessings of some of the powerful nobles of the empire. Khusrau’s rebellion was personally suppressed by Jahangir. Khusrau was captured, blinded, confined and subsequently killed by Khurram (name of Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor, before his ascension to the Mughal Throne) in 1622.

The fifth Sikh Guru Arjan, who had given shelter to Khusrau at Taran Taran, was fined. When he refused to pay the fine, he was executed by Jahangir. This was an unwise political decision because this sowed the seeds of acrimonious relations between the Mughals and the Sikhs.

The first military campaign undertaken by Jahangir was against Rana Amar Singh, son of Rana Pratap of Mewar. The Mughal expeditions sent against Mewar in 1606 and 1608-09 proved indecisive, but in 1613-14 the campaign led by Khurram (third son of Jahangir) proved decisive and Rana Amar Singh submitted to the Mughals in 1615. Jahangir offered most liberal terms to Mewar and thus ended a long struggle between Mewar and the Mughals. The emperor installed two life-size marble statues of Rana Amar Singh and his son Karan in the garden of his palace at Agra. However, the glory and pride of Mewar was gone.

Jahangir pursued Akbar’s plan of territorial expansion in the Deccan. The first target was a half-conquered Nizam Shahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar. However, during the reign of Jahangir the situation in Ahmadnagar had undergone a sea change for the better thanks to the untiring efforts and ability of the Abyssinian Prime Minister Malik Ambar. From 1608 onwards a number of military expeditions were sent by Jahangir against Ahmadnagar but in spite of the expenditure of millions of rupees and loss of thousand of lives, the Mughal frontier in the Deccan did not advance a single mile beyond the limits achieved in 1605.

Subjugation of the Kangra Fort was another military achievement by Jahangir. The fort surrendered to the Mughal rule on November 16, 1620. Jahangir visited the fort next year and ordered the slaughter of a cow here and the construction of a mosque within the fort.

The greatest failure of Jahangir’s reign was the loss of Kandahar to Persia. Kandahar was the bone of contention between the Mughals and the Persians. Shah Abbas of Persia (1587-1629), one of the greatest rulers of his time, outwardly professing friendship towards the Mughals, captured Kandahar in June 1622. The loss of Kandahar dealt a severe blow to the Mughal prestige in Central Asia.