Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India

Taranatha's HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA

Translated from Tibetan by

LAMA .CHIMPA ALAKA .CHATTOPADHYAYA . Edited by

DEBIPRASAD CHATTOPADHYAYA

MOTILAL BANARSIDASS PU BLISHERS PRIVATE LIMITED CD DELHI

First Edition: Simla, 1970 Reprinted: Delhi, 1990

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Bfu'\ARSIDASS PUBLISHERS PVT. LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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111 memory of the pioneers

V. P. VASIL'EV

and A. SCHIEFNER

FRONTISPIECE

It was part of the original plan of this publication to add at the end of the book the entire xylograph of the Tibetan text (Potala 1946 edition, which is mainly followed in the present translation) in photooffset reproduction. Unfortunately, the trial reproduction of the xylograph from the micro-film copy in possession of the editor proved a failure and the idea of reproducing the entire xylograph had to be abandoned. As the frontispiece of the book, however, are reproduced from half-tone blocks only the beginning and end of the xylograph, These include the title~page and Folios 1, 139B and 140A-the last containing the colophon specially added to the Potala edition of the text.

Top: Title page of the work (Potala edition). Bottom: Folio 1 of the same. On the reverse side: Folios 139B & 140A, the latter containing the co~ophon of the Potaia edition.

FOREWORD When I walk on snow-laden paths of hills my each footprint appears clear, deep and distinct through which I can trace my path back without effort. But after a while due to wind and fresh snowfall all traces of my footsteps are wiped out in the snow. The residue is what sticks to my imagination. It is the same with the study of history. Every episode in it howsoever realistic, does , fade with the sweep of time and occurrences of new events. Surviving evidences largely depend on interpretati