Bengal's Contribution to Mahayana Literature

Summary

"Bengal's Contribution to Mahāyāna Literature" by N. N. Das Gupta surveys the rich Buddhist literary output of Bengal between the seventh and twelfth centuries. Das Gupta observes that while Tantric systems such as Vajrayāna, Kālacakrayāna and Sahajayāna flourished and produced numerous texts preserved in the Tibetan Tanjur, Bengal was also home to important works on Mahāyāna and Vijñānavāda (Yogācāra) philosophy. The paper highlights the contributions of Śāntideva, whose Boddhicaryāvatāra encapsulates Mahāyāna ethics and devotion; the work’s fervent verses have been compared to the Imitatio Christi and it was widely studied and commented upon. Das Gupta notes that two other works by Śāntideva – the Śikṣā‑samuccaya and the Sūtra‑samuccaya – compile passages from earlier scriptures and present the Bodhisattva ideal. The author points out that scholars debate whether Śāntideva himself was Bengali, but emphasises that later commentators such as Prajñākramati and Tibetan translators associated him with Bengal. Moving through the centuries, Das Gupta discusses the roles of Atiśa Dīpaṅkara Śrījñāna and Vibhūticandra, both Bengalis who composed commentaries on Śāntideva’s texts and helped transmit Mahāyāna teachings to Tibet. He also examines Śāntarakṣita, a scholar‑monk from Zahor (possibly in Bengal) who authored the Madhyamakālaṅkāra and helped establish Buddhism in Tibet. The paper surveys other luminaries such as Haribhadra, whose Abhisamayālaṅkāra‑ṭīkā synthesises Madhyamaka and Yogācāra doctrines; Vibhūticandra of Jagaddala monastery; and the early Pāla monarchs Dharmapāla and Devapāla, who patronised Buddhist scholarship. Das Gupta contends that Bengal’s Mahāyāna contributions were not limited to Tantric ritual manuals but included philosophical treatises, commentaries and poetic works that influenced Buddhist thought across Asia. He calls for further research into manuscripts preserved in Nepalese and Tibetan collections to recover lost Bengali texts and to appreciate Bengal’s role in the development and dissemination of Mahāyāna Buddhism.