Among the Daśāvatāra, Śrī Buddha is the ninth avatāra. Additionally, Śrī Buddha is the twenty-fourth līlā-avatāra.

In order to condemn the practice of animal sacrifice, Supreme Lord Viṣṇu appeared in the form of Buddha. Śrīla Jayadeva Gosvāmī prays to the Lord of the universe in his Daśāvatāra-stotra:

nindasi yajña-vidher ahaha śruti-jātaṁ
sadaya-hṛdaya-darśita-paśu-ghātam
keśava dhṛta-buddha-śarīra jaya jagadīśa hare
(Śrī Jayadeva’s Daśāvatāra-stotra, 9th Verse)

“O Keśava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of Buddha! All glories unto You! O Buddha of compassionate heart, You decry the slaughtering of poor animals performed according to the rules of Vedic sacrifice.”

The name of Buddha also appears in the verse that describes the ten avatāras in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

matsya kūrmo varāhaśca nṛsiṁha vāmanastathā
rāmo rāmaśca rāmaśca buddha kalki ca te daśaḥ

In the daśāvatāra verse of Sāhitya-darpaṇa (a Bengali reference encyclopedia), we find the names of Buddha and Kalki. The Agni, Vāyu and Skanda Purāṇas also mention the name of Buddha, as does the following verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

tataḥ kalau sampravṛtte sammohāya sura-dviṣām
buddho nāmnāñjana-sutaḥ kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.24)

“Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Añjanā, in the province of Gayā (Bihar) just for the purpose of infatuating those who are envious of the faithful demigods.”

In Chapters 17-18 of the 3rd Section of Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Buddha has been designated as ‘Māyāmoha’. Once, while bathing in the waters of the Yamunā, Akrūra was astonished to see Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma within the river. Coming out, he saw Them seated in a chariot as They had been before appearing in the water. Again he immersed himself in the water, and saw the yellow-clad four-handed Vāsudeva Śrī Kṛṣṇa along with His associates, graciously seated on the lap of the thousand-hooded Śrī Anantadeva while being worshiped by Brahmā and other demigods. At that time, he prayed to the Lord in the following manner:

namo buddhāya śuddhāya daitya-dānava-mohine
mleccha-prāya-kṣatra-hantre namas te kalki-rūpiṇe
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.40.22)

“O Lord! I offer my obeisances unto Your form of Buddha, who, possessing a faultless nature, deluded the miscreants by composing anti-Vedic scriptures. I also offer obeisances unto Your Kalki form, the annihilator of the wicked kṣatriyas who are no better than barbarians.”

The Vedas encode instructions according to the eligibility or qualification of various living beings, especially human beings. But in the course of time, ignorant men took the tāmasika¹ orders to be the only instruction of the Vedas² and engaged in the extensive killing of animals, sometimes even sacrificing human beings during worship of the demigods. At that time, the Supreme Lord descended in the form of Buddha and outwardly rejected the teachings of the Vedas for the welfare of human beings incapable of comprehending the true teachings of the Vedas. This implies that He disputed and cancelled His own prior teachings, propounded the futility of belief in God and preached to human beings four noble truths, to free them from their violent practices. This act of Buddha provided instantaneous benediction to mankind of that period. As Lord Buddha was the Supreme Lord Himself, many people resolved to follow ahiṁsā-dharma—the path of non-violence, due to His influence. As a result of non-violence, the hearts of human beings became pious and their qualifications gradually increased, so Lord Śiva appeared as Śaṅkarācārya. He re-established the supreme authenticity and decorum of the Vedas, and founded the philosophy of ‘brahmakāraṇa-vāda’ (Brahman as ultimate cause). In later ages, the Vaiṣṇava stalwarts built the philosophy of bhakti upon this same foundation stone. From the personal and aggregate point of view, these are the steps of progress.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the Lord Himself, removed the incompleteness of the previously propagated philosophies through His ‘acintya-bhedābheda-tattva’ philosophy (the principle of inconceivable simultaneous distinction and non-distinction).

It is said that Śākyasiṁha Buddha, the son of Śuddhodana and Māyā, and Buddha-avatāra, the Vaiṣṇavas’ object of adoration, are not one and the same person. Our Most Revered Nityalīlāpraviṣṭa Oṁ Viṣṇupāda 108 Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda has clearly said, “Śākyasiṁha Buddha was merely a vastly learned person, so we cannot call him the original Buddha or Lord Buddha.”

Ācārya Śrī Śankara has by mistake referred to Māyā’s son, Buddha, as ‘Sugata Buddha’ in the following commentary:

sarvathā api anādaraṇīya ayaṁ
sugata-samayaḥ śreyaskāmaiḥ iti abhiprāyaḥ

Amarakoṣa-grantha (Sanskrit dictionary) states:

sarvajñaḥ sugato buddho dharmarājastathāgataḥ
samastabhadro bhagavān mārajillokajijjinaḥ
ṣaḍabhijño daśabalo ’dvayavādī vināyakaḥ
munīndraḥ śrīghanaḥ śastā muniḥ śākyamunistu yaḥ

“All-Knowing, Transcendental, Buddha, King of Righteousness, He Who Has Come, Beneficent, All-Encompassing, Lord, Conqueror of the God of Love—Mara, Victorious of Three Worlds, He Who Controls His Senses, Protector from the Six Enemies, Possessor of the Ten Powers, Speaker of Monism (One Absolute), Teacher, Lord of the Sages, Embodiment of Splendor and Eminent Saint.”

In his commentary on the above verse, Śrīla Ragunātha Cakravartī has written:

“All eighteen names of Buddha from ‘sarvajña’ (omniscient) to ‘śākyamuni’, refer to Viṣṇu-avatāra Buddha. Therefore, ‘Sugata’ clearly refers only to Viṣṇu-avatāra Buddha.

sa śākyasiṁhaḥ sarvārthasiddhaḥ śauddhodaniśca saḥ
gautamaścārkabandhuśca māyādevīsutaśca saḥ

“Teacher of the Śākyas, lion of the Śākyas, accomplisher of all goals, son of Śuddhodana, of Gautama’s line, friend of scholars, son of Māyādevī.”

Here, Śrīla Ragunātha Cakravartī has written:

ete sapta shakyabangshabatirneh buddhamuni bisheshe

“The seven aliases from ‘śākyasiṁha Buddha’ down to ‘māyādevīsuta’ (the son of Māyādevī) refer to monks belonging to the Śākya Dynasty.”

Thus, Sugata Buddha and Śūnyavādī (Śākyasiṁha) Buddha are not the same person. Further evidence is found in Mr. H.T.Colebrooke’s Amarakoṣa, published at Rāmapura in 1807. It is written in Chapter 21, Page 178 of Lalitavistara-grantha that Gautama Buddha performed penances at the same place as the previous Buddha (Viṣṇu-avatāra Buddha). Maybe it is for this reason that in later ages he and Lord Buddha are considered as being one:

eṣa dharaṇīmunḍe pūrvabuddhāsanasthaḥ
samartha dhanurgṛhītvā śūnya nairātmavānaiḥ
klesaripuṁ nihatvā dṛṣṭijālanca bhitvā-śiva
virajamśokāṁ prāpsyate bodhimagryām

Currently this place is known as Buddha Gayā but Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam refers to it as Kīkaṭa Pradeśa:

tataḥ kalau sampravṛtte sammohāya sura-dviṣām
buddho nāmnāñjana-sutaḥ kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.3.24)

“Thereafter, in the twenty-first manvantara at the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Añjanā, in Kīkaṭa Pradeśa (the province of Gayā-Bihar), just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful demigods.”

According to Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s commentary:

añjana suto ’jina sutaśceti pāṭhadvayam
kīkaṭeṣu madhye gayāpradeśe

“The names Añjanasuta³ and Ajinasuta can both be found in the above verse. The province of Gayā has been called Kīkaṭeṣu.”

Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmipāda has written in his commentary:

buddhāvatāramāha tata iti
añjanasya sutaḥ
ajinasuta iti pāṭhe ajino ’pi sa eva
kīkaṭeṣu madhye gayāpradeśe

“Buddha-avatāra refers to Buddha who is the son of Añjanā, and also in another reading, the son of Ajina. In the above verse, the name is written as Ajina or Añjana, and Kīkaṭa refers to Gayā Pradeśa.”

It is written in the 29th Verse, 36th Chapter of Śrī Nṛsiṁha Purāṇa:

kalau prāpte yathā buddho bhavennārāyaṇa prabhuḥ

“Lord Nārāyaṇa appeared as Buddha when the age of Kali started.”

This clearly implies that Lord Buddha appeared five thousand years ago. The following verse can be found in the second paragraph of Nirṇaya-sindhu:

jyaiṣṭha śuklāditīyāyāṁ buddhajanma bhaviṣyati

“Buddha will take birth on the 2nd day of the śuklā-pakṣa⁴ of the month of Jyaiṣṭha⁵.”

Another part of this book describes the mode of worshipping Buddha:

pauṣa śuklāsya saptamyāṁ
kuryyāt bhuddhasya pujanam

“Worship Lord Buddha on the 7th day of the śuklā-pakṣa of the month of Pauṣa⁶.”

This is the prescription for the worship of Buddha, the avatāra of the Supreme Lord. The full moon day of the month of Vaiśākha⁷, known as ‘Buddha-pūrṇimā’, is to be celebrated for both Buddhas, subject to consideration of both Buddhas together.

In Śrī Madhvācārya’s commentary on Verse 1.3.24 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, from his book Bhāgavata-tātparya, the following quotation from Brahmānda Purāṇa has been referred to:

mohanārthaṁ dānavānāṁ balarupī pathisthitaḥ
putraṁ taṁ kalpayāmāsa mūḍhabudhirjinaḥ svayam

tataḥ saṁmohayāmāsa jinādyāna surāṁśakān
bhagavān vāgbhirugrābhirahiṁsā vācibhirhariḥ
(Brahmānda Purāṇa)

“In order to delude the demons, He (Lord Buddha) was present in the form of a child on the way while the fool, Jina (a demon), imagined Him to be his son. Later on, Lord Śrī Hari (as avatāra-Buddha) expertly deluded Jina and other demons by His strong words of non-violence.”

There is an authentic Buddhist book, Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra⁸, in which Rāvaṇa, the king of Laṅkā, prays to Jina’s son, the ancient Lord Buddha, and to all the Buddhas and Buddhas’ sons who would appear in the future, via this eulogy (stava):

atha rāvaṇo lankādhipatiḥ gāthāgīten anugāyati sma
lankāvatārasūtraṁ vaiḥ pūrvabuddhānuvarṇitaṁ
smarāmi pūrvakaiḥ buddhairjinaputra-puraskṛtaiḥ
putrametannigadyate bhagavānapi bhāṣatāṁ
bhaviṣyantyanāpate kāle buddhā buddhasutāśca ye

Therefore, this source leaves no doubt that the ancient avatāra-Buddha and the modern Gautama Buddha are not the same person.

Buddha-avatāra has been discussed in various Purāṇas such as the Liṅga, Bhaviṣya, Varāha, Agni, Vāyu, Skanda, Viṣṇu and many others. In the 17th and 18th Chapters of the 3rd Section of Viṣṇu Purāṇa, Buddha is referred to as Māyāmoha. It should be remembered that the Buddha-avatāra whose narrations are found in various Purāṇas and other scriptures, is not the nihilistic Buddha, the son of Śuddhodana.

namo buddhāya śuddhāya daitya dānava mohine

The preceding eulogy to Lord Buddha, taken from Akrūra’s prayer in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10-40-22), is the essence of all the Vedas, Vedānta, Purāṇas, Itihāsās and other scriptures. The meaning of this prayer is:

“O Lord, I offer my obeisances unto Your faultless beguiling form of Lord Buddha who enchanted the demons and devils by composing anti-Vedic mantras.” Commenting on this, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has written:

śuddhāya vedaviruddha śāstra pravarttakatve ’pi nirddoṣāya

“The meaning of the word ‘śuddhāya’ is that although He is the founding element of anti-Vedic literature, yet He remains inculpable.”

Therefore, by establishing śāstras opposed to the Vedas, He (avatāra- Buddha) hypnotised devils and demons. This is the reason why some writers of Buddha’s biography consider avatāra-Buddha and human Buddha to be the same.

In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.8.19), King Indra prays to Lord Buddha with the mantra, buddhas tu pāṣaṇḍa-gaṇa-pramādāt. This mantra is from the Nārāyaṇa-kavaca of Viśvarūpa, the son of Sage Tvaṣṭā. By reciting this mantra Indra prayed, “O Lord Buddha! Save me from the defect of indifference born out of atheistic hypocrisy.”

This means that Lord Buddha, in His asura-vimohana-līlā (the pastime of hypnotising the demons), deluded the wicked natured people by establishing scriptures opposed to the Vedas. “Save me Lord Buddha from the terrible offence of disobeying the Vedas due to ignorance of their secret meanings.” Factually, Lord Buddha is not a condemner of the Vedas for any reason whatsoever. This pastime is meant only to mesmerise the demons. It is written in the 40th chapter of the Māheśvara section of Skanda Purāṇa that:

“After the passing of 3,600 years of Kali-yuga, Lord Buddha, the avatāra of Viṣṇu, the saviour of dharma, will appear in the Magadha territory from the womb of Añjanī, fathered by Hemasadana. He will perform many glorious tasks and rule over the earth containing seven islands, for sixty-four years. Then, safeguarding His glories with His devotees, He will retreat to His abode.”

Thus, we can see by the authentic words of genuine scriptures, that Lord Buddha and Śākyasiṁha/Gautama Buddha are not the same. The Lord has established many anti-Vedic scriptures for deluding the demons. Other Buddhas also followed Him and propagated anti-Vedic nihilism. That is why many doubts arise, as all of them have been mentioned together in several places⁹. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has written:

veda nā māniyā baudha haya ta nāstika

“Without respecting the Vedas, Buddha has become atheistic.” In India, those who have no faith in the Vedas are considered to be atheistic.

According to the German scholar Max Muller, Śākyasiṁha Buddha was born in the Lumbinī Forest of Kapilāvastu in 477 B.C. Ancient Kapilāvastu is a famous district situated near Nepal. Gautama’s father’s name was Śuddhodana and His mother’s name was Māyādevī. Añjanā’s son and Māyā’s son both share the same name but one appeared at Gayā and the other at Kapilāvastu. Thus, the appearance places and parents of Viṣṇu Buddha and Gautama Buddha are totally different. Because the human Buddha was unable to understand the asura-vimohana-līlā of Lord Viṣṇu Buddha, he propagated anti-Vedic nihilism.

A Short Biography of Gautama Buddha

There was a king of the Ikṣvāku Dynasty named Sujāta, ruling in the western side of Sāketa Nagara. Sujāta had five sons and five daughters. He had special affection for his five sons.

Coincidently, Sujāta met a flirtatious woman by the name of Jentī. By her he begot a son, Jayanta. As Sujāta was in love with Jentī, he became desirous to give her a boon. Jentī prayed for the exile of Sujāta’s other five sons and for her own son, Jayanta, to be crowned as heir to the throne. Although Sujāta was deeply disappointed upon hearing Jentī’s words, still he felt compelled to grant her the boon so as to fulfil his own promise. The people were saddened when they heard of the exile of Sujāta's sons, and consequently they accompanied them to the forest. The first place they reached was Kāśi-kośala state, but eventually they came to the āśrama of Kapila Ṛṣi in the Himālayan region. At the āśrama of Kapila Ṛṣi, Sujāta's sons fell in love with Kapila's daughters and subsequently married them. Hearing the news of his sons' marriage, Sujāta also went to the āśrama. Upon hearing all the relevant details, he declared the marriage to be proper and gave it his approval. Afterwards, Sujāta's sons were known by the name ‘Śākya’.

With the permission of Kapila Ṛṣi, the Śākya-kumāras built a large city named Kapilavastu. The eldest son, Apura, became the king of that city and a beautiful girl named Amita was born into his dynasty. As an adult she became afflicted with leprosy and because of this, her brother took her away to the Himālayan Mountains. There, he enclosed her in a large cave stocked with many foodstuffs. Before returning he shut the entrance to the cave with a large boulder. Fortunately, Amita's leprosy was eventually cured by the cave’s heat and she regained her lost beauty. Then, fortune continuing to smile upon her, a tiger came and removed the boulder obstructing the entrance to the cave.

Once, a king by the name of Kola went there and saw the beautiful girl Amita. They married and she later gave birth to thirty-two sons. Reaching maturity, the sons came to know about their ancestors from their mother. Consequently, they came to Kapilavastu and in the course of events, married the Śākyas daughters. Thereafter, they came to be known as the ‘Kāliyā Dynasty’.

In the land of the Śākyas was a district named Devadeha. The king of Devadeha, Subhūti, had five daughters. The king of Kapilavastu, Śuddhodana, married two daughters of Subhūti named Māyā and Mahāprajāvatī Gautamī. On the full moon day of the month of Vaiśākha, Māyādevī gave birth to a son in a beautiful garden called Lumbinī, near Kapilavastu. It appeared that with the birth of a son, all the desires of Śuddhodana had been fulfilled, thus he named his son Sarvārtha-siddhi or alternatively, Siddhārtha. Seven days after Siddhārtha's birth, his mother Māyādevī died. At that time, Siddhārtha was brought to Kapilavastu to be brought up by his mother’s sister, Mahāprajāvatī Gautamī.

A sage named Asita happened to live near the Himālayas. He came to Kapilavastu and upon seeing the twelve symptoms of a great person in Siddhārtha, prophesied that if he continued to live within his worldly circuit, he would eventually go on to become a great emperor, but if he renounced his home he would become the knower of all knowledge—“Saṁbodhi.” Therefore, Buddha was formerly known as Siddhārtha, Gautama and Śākyasiṁha, and later became famous with yet one more name—“Boddhisattva.”

In accordance with the Indian custom, upon reaching adulthood, he was sent to his gurudeva’s house for a proper education. From Viśvāmitra Upādhyāya he learned Brāhmī, Kharoṣtrī, Puṣkarasādī, Aṅgalipi and sixty-four other languages of various countries. He also became an expert in the Vedas and Upaniṣads. After returning from his guru’s home, his father, Śuddhodana, arranged for his marriage to Gopā, the daughter of Dandapāṇi Śākya.

Although Siddhārtha's father tried to ensnare him in worldly matters through marriage, Siddhārtha was not at all interested in affairs of the world¹⁰. Since childhood he had learned of the transient nature of things, so he possessed natural apathy for this world.

The causes of Siddhārtha's apathy toward the material world have been described in the following way:

One day, Siddhārtha was going by chariot to visit a garden when he saw an extremely aged person who had been forsaken by his relatives. He was in a very weak and helpless condition. Seeing this old man, Siddhārtha started to ponder over the observation that the human beings of this world are all so ignorant. Old age is inevitable and bound to attack all, one day or another.

Another day, at the southern gate of the city, Siddhārtha saw a sick man in a very pitiful state who was smeared all over with excrement and urine. Seeing him, Siddhārtha contemplated the fact that diseases are extremely dreadful. He found it very surprising that learned persons, despite being aware of these facts, were often quite busy merrymaking.

One day, at the western gate of the city, Siddhārtha saw a dead man surrounded by a group of people who were hysterically lamenting and wailing in mournfulness. Seeing this sight, Siddhārtha decided that there is no value to this life as it may end at any time.

Another day, at the northern gate of the city, Siddhārtha saw a calm, abstemious and serious brahmacārī (a celibate monk) peacefully wandering around with a begging bowl. The brahmacārī mendicant, having given up all lust, material desires and pleasures while embracing asceticism, was wandering about in search of peace of mind and tranquillity. He was supporting his life by the collecting of very simple foodstuffs. Seeing his tranquil personage, devoid of all sorts of attachment and envy, Siddhārtha decided that only this kind of lifestyle would provide eternal benediction to all living beings.

Observing Siddhārtha’s detachment from mundane issues, Śuddhodana tried extremely hard to engage him in household life, but all his efforts went in vain. Siddhārtha's charioteer, Chandoga, also advised him that he would never again obtain such a prosperous, affluent and pleasing place like Kapilavastu, even after rigorous penance. He further stated that it would be most inappropriate for him to leave his beautiful wife. Though Chandoga tried to negatively influence Siddhārtha’s urge to renounce this mundane world, he too failed in this task and at the midnight of Puṣyā-nakṣatra-tithi, Siddhārtha renounced the world.

At the time of renouncing the world, Siddhārtha gave all the jewels he was wearing to his charioteer Chandoga. He even destroyed and threw away the crest on his forehead and donned saffron clothes. The three respective locations where Siddhārtha separated from Chandoga, destroyed his crest and put on saffron clothes have been established as caitya (shrine).

Chandoga then returned to the capital, gave all the jewels of Siddhārtha to King Śuddhodana and narrated the whole incident to him. Upon hearing the details of Siddhārtha's renunciation, overwhelmed by sorrow, his father began weeping. Seeing no possibility of Siddhārtha's return, the grief stricken Śuddhodana threw all the extremely precious jewels (ābharaṇa) of Siddhārtha into a pond. Since that time the pond has been known by the name of Ābharaṇa.

When Siddhārtha's wife awoke in the morning and heard the news of the renunciation of her husband, out of intense grief she cut off all her beautiful hair and cast away all the jewels from her body. She fell to the ground like a person severely wounded by a weapon and began weeping "Oh! I have lost all the pleasures of my life."

After giving up the world, Buddha or Bodhisattva, initially went to Vaiśālī City and observing the vow of celibacy, took initiation from Ārāṛakālāma Upādhyāya. He remained there for some time without finding any happiness, and eventually left for Magadha. There, he started begging for food for himself. When the Magadha king, Bimbisāra, came to know about Siddhārtha, he desired to give his whole empire to him. However, Bodhisattva replied, "These sensuous objects are poisonous. They are the treasure houses of unlimited vices. Afflicted by lust, people indulging in sensuous enjoyment, experience hellish torture. I regard the carnal desire as hateful as phlegm and bile. I have accepted asceticism with the desire to attain boddhatva".

Bimbisāra said, "I am a disciple of your father Śuddhodana. If you attain boddhatva, I shall also follow this dharma (religion)". After that, Bodhisattva remained with Upādhyāya Rudraka for some time and undertook a spiritual education. There, while studying theology, he realised that the fire of knowledge is ignited only after the absolute disappearance of the desire to enjoy. After this, he undertook severe penance for six years on the bank of Nairañjanā River, near Uruvilvā Village of Gayā¹¹. Gradually, his body began to whittle away.

When Bodhisattva sat down in a yogic posture at Bodhidruma near the Nairañjanā River, the enemy of sad-dharma, Māra (Kandarpa or Cupid, the god of sensuous love) tried to prevent him from attaining boddhatva. Rati (sexual pleasure), Tṛṣṇā (greed) and Ārati (affection) came in the form of three damsels and tried to distort and divert his attention by their numerous antics, but to no avail. Thus, Bodhisattva defeated Māra and his cohorts Rati, Tṛṣṇā and Ārati, and achieved absolute tranquillity.

Upon ascertaining the cause of the world's sorrows and the method of its prevention, Bodhisattva adopted the name ‘Buddha’ (the Enlightened One). He ascertained the cause of sorrow in the following twelve steps starting from one’s previous birth (bhavacakra): 1) avidyā (ignorance) causes 2) saṁskāras (impressions, present life volitional formations), which cause 3) vijñāna (knowledge), which leads to 4) nāmarūpa (mind and form). Nāmarūpa causes 5) ṣaḍāyatana (sense perceptions or sense bases), which cause 6) sparśa (contact), which causes 7) vedanā (pain or feeling) leading to 8) tṛṣṇā (greed or craving). Tṛṣṇā leads to 9) upādāna (attachment), which causes 10) bhava (future life-becoming), which causes 11) jāti (birth), which leads to 12) jarā-maraṇa (old age and death) as well as concomitant sorrow and other related miseries. Thus, ignorance or lack of knowledge is the cause of all miseries. After the attainment of boddhatva, Buddha stayed in Bodhidruma for one week.

By the influence of Buddhadeva, fifty-four Yuvarājas (crown princes), one thousand pilgrims, Sāri's son—Maudgalyāyana, and many other persons accepted Buddhism. When Buddhadeva came to Kapilavastu City, his father, Śuddhodana was astonished to see him. Buddha's son—Rahul, stepbrother Nanda and cousins Aniruddha and Ānanda Devadatta, also took shelter of the religion or sect founded by Buddhadeva. Prasenjit, the king of Kośala, also took initiation into Buddhism. After this, the king of Magadha, Bimbisāra, along with his wife and many other persons, accepted Buddhism.

During his stay in Pāṭalī Village, Buddha educated the resident religious practitioners on the subject of the eradication of sorrow. He spoke about four noble truths: 1) the fact that suffering exists 2) the cause of suffering 3) the cessation of suffering and 4) the path one should follow to end suffering.

This world is full of miseries. There are specific reasons for these miseries and a method for inhibiting them. According to Buddha, it is useless to reason about or discuss on the basis of scripture, the form of the living being, the form of the Supreme Absolute or the form of the world. For example, say an arrow has pierced the chest of a person and he is writhing in immense pain. In such a situation, is it not useless to think about where the arrow came from and how it caused the injury? In the preceding circumstances, to pull the arrow out would be the best way of relieving the pain. In order to establish the propriety of such thoughts of Buddha, Buddhist philosophy was developed at a later date. No ‘ism’ of any kind can be adequately established without a foundation of proper philosophical principles.

According to Buddhist scriptures, hunger is more painful than disease and similarly, life is comparatively more troublesome than sorrow. Old age, disease, death and miseries are all concerns of the body. Therefore, until the cycle of birth and death of the body ends, miseries will continue. To restrict the misery-ridden aspect of life is final emancipation (nirvāṇa), and only final emancipation can be the greatest pleasure.

jighacchā paramā rogā saṅkhāra parama duḥkham
etaṁ ñatvā yathābhūtaṁ nirvāṇaṁ paramaṁ sukhaṁ

According to Buddhist philosophy, nothing is stable for even more than a moment—neither the soul nor God possess stability. Here, the point to be pondered is that if the soul is impermanent, then upon what basis could the thesis of birth and rebirth be accepted? However, in Buddhist philosophy the concept of rebirth has in fact been accepted. To answer this doubt, the Buddhist philosophy states that when a body constituted of rūpa-skandha (gross and subtle bodies), vedanā-skandha (pain), saṁjñā-skandha (difference), saṁskāra-skandha (impressions) and vijñāna-skandha (knowledge) appears in an aggregate of things, we erroneously think that to be the soul. Similarly, the rūpa-vedanā-skandha appears and disappears (or in other words, the material form is destroyed) every moment. According to Buddhism, existence does not end immediately after the destruction of the body. After death five types of births occur, although these are deemed as ‘new birth’ rather than ‘rebirth’. This sequence ends with the destruction of greed and karma, and then finally the state of emancipation is attained. In other words, in Buddhist philosophy the veracity of the eternal soul, Vedas and Supreme Lord has been disregarded, which is why it is considered to be an atheistic philosophy.

After the disappearance of Buddha, this dharma was divided into two branches—‘Hīnayāna’ (Lesser Vehicle) and ‘Mahāyāna’ (Greater Vehicle). The followers of Hīnayāna have accepted the teachings of Buddha without deviation. This sect is not accessible to all, as it is the method for powerful and self-dependent devotees.

Over the course of time, the Buddhist religion was propagated to several countries where people following other religious systems gave up their particular faith and accepted Buddhist dharma. Consequently, sparks of emotions from the sentimental plane of their previously practised faiths and religions became transubstantiated into Buddhism. Therefore, the purity and rigidity of the Buddhist religion was compromised to a large extent. These transformed and expanded branches of Buddhism are called ‘Mahāyāna’. This Mahāyāna sect is accessible to the general populace. A branch of Mahāyāna followers say that creation takes place from the void (śūnya) and that dissolution returns to the void. Only the void is true and all other things are false. Nowadays, there is another branch under Mahāyāna, which regards Buddha as God, and regards faith in the Supreme Lord as a valid method.

In Buddhism, the procedure for attaining the state of ‘saṁbodhi’ or the state of final emancipation (nirvāṇa), has been described in the following way:

Firstly, the five obstructions should be eradicated, i.e. kāma (lust), hiṁsā (violence), ālasya (laziness or slothfulness), vicikitsā (doubt) and moha (ignorance). After this, the twenty-four negative emotions of the heart should be removed, i.e. krodha (anger), upanāh (confinement), mṛkṣapradāna (hypocrisy), īrṣyā (envy or jealousy), mātsarya (malice), śāṭhya, (wickedness), māyā (delusion), mada (pride), nihiṁsā (killing), ahrī (shamelessness), anapatratā (harshness), styāna (stealing), uddhatya (haughtiness), aśrāddha (disrespect), kaupinya (sinfulness), pramāda (inadvertence), muṣitasmṛtitā (remembrance of stolen things), vikṣepa (distraction), asaṁprajanya-kaukṛtya (condemnable illicit birth), siddha (the seduction of material perfections or achievements), vitarka (argument) and vicāra (thought). In short, the body is impure, distress is sorrowful, the heart is restless or fickle and matter is false. These four facts should always be kept in mind. Finally, the attributes of higher knowledge, memory, pious deeds, strength, affection, inquiry, emancipation and detachment must be cultivated. Only then can the state of samādhi be achieved.

There is no scripture directly written by Gautama Buddha himself. The disciples and subsequent followers of Buddhadeva have scripted his teachings in the Pāli language. They are divided into three parts known as 1) Sūkta-piṭaka 2) Vinaya-piṭaka and 3) Abhidharma-piṭaka.

At a time when failure to comprehend the actual meaning of the scriptural teachings and consequently, violence in the guise of religion took precedence, the Supreme Lord appeared in the form of Buddha and rid mankind of such violence. It is for this very reason that non-violence (ahiṁsā) is regarded as the basis of Buddhism.

During his reign, the emperor of Magadha, King Aśoka, developed a keen interest in Buddhism. He was deeply aggrieved by the merciless massacre in the Kaliṅga War, and this transformed his heart. After this event, he took initiation into Buddhism from Upagupta, a Buddhist monk, and devoted himself to the preaching of the religion. Buddhism outside India was preached in China, Burma (Myanmara or Brahmadeśa), Tibet, Japan, Thailand, Korea and Śrī Lankā (South Siṁhala) and other places. Buddhism was propounded and propagated from India. However, due to the preaching of Śaṅkarācārya, the effect of Buddhism in modern India is not prominently visible, as very few followers remain.

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¹ - The mode of ignorance.

² - In the scriptures animal sacrifice is specified to enable society to gradually rise above violent tendencies.

³ - Suta means “son.”

⁴ - Śuklā-pakṣa: The moonlit half of a lunar month—the bright fortnight.

⁵ - Jyaiṣṭha: The 2nd month of the Hindu (Lunar) calendar (Summer).

⁶ - Pauṣa: the 9th month of the Hindu (Lunar) Calendar (Winter).

⁷ - Vaiśākha month: the 1st month of the Hindu (Lunar) Calendar.

⁸ - Lankāvatāra-sūtra was published with the help of the Indian Buddhist Text Society and Bengal Government in January 1900 A.D.

⁹ - In the 21st issue of the 18th volume of Gauḍīya (Magazine), in the articles of Śrīla SaccidānandaBhaktivinoda Ṭhākura entitled, ‘Pracchanna Bauddha and Nāstikyavāda’ (Disguised Bauddha and Atheism) and ‘Gautama’ as well as in the book ‘Śrī Gauḍīya Darśana: History and Elements’ by Śrī Sundarānanda Vidyāvinodā (a disciple of Śrila Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura), the name of Śākyasiṁha Gautama Buddha has rarely appeared while writing about the Buddhist philosophy.
Pūjyapāda Tridandi Svāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Mahārāja, the beloved disciple of Śrila Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura and founder of Śrī Gauḍīya Vedānta Samiti, in his writing, ‘Māyāvādera Jīvanī’ (The Life History of Impersonalism), has written:
“The līlā of the Supreme Lord, the expansion of the Lord, Buddha, appeared around 3500 B.C.” (Page 74)
“Nihilistic Siddhārtha was the disciple of Sage Gautama of Kapila’s lineage. Therefore, his other name is Gautama.” (Page 14)
“Śākyasiṁha Buddha appeared around five hundred years before.” (Page 18)

¹⁰ - Buddha married Yaśodharā at the age of sixteen years. Buddha renounced the world at the age of twenty-nine years. He attained emancipation at the age of eighty years (New Bengali Dictionary of Aṣutoṣ Dev)

¹¹ - Gayā Region: This is famous as Bodha Gayā or Buddha Gayā. This is the most important pilgrimage place of Buddhists. This place was famous even before the time of Christ. The remains of the Mahābodhi Temple and the Stupa (monument), built by King Aśoka, are evidence of its fame and antiquity. The Pippala tree (ficus religiosa), under which Buddha attained enlightenment, is still there today. In the journey diary of the Chinese traveller, Fahiyan, a description of the Mahābodhi Temple of Uruvilvā has been provided.