Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India
By Unexhibited
Summary
Reviewing Tāranātha’s seventeenth‑century Tibetan chronicle, this article summarises his account of Buddhism’s rise and decline in India. Tāranātha narrates events from the Buddha’s time through the early second millennium, covering councils, royal patronage, the emergence of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, and the eventual destruction of monasteries under Turkic invasions. The author assesses Tāranātha’s sources, noting that he relied on now‑lost Sanskrit texts, biographies of siddhas and oral traditions. While the chronicle often conflates myth and history and misdates certain events, it preserves valuable details not found elsewhere, such as lists of the eighty‑four mahāsiddhas and anecdotes about regional monasteries. By comparing Tāranātha’s narrative with Chinese pilgrim accounts and modern scholarship, the article identifies both corroborations and discrepancies. It concludes that despite its limitations, Tāranātha’s work offers important insights into Tibetan perceptions of Indian Buddhism and provides clues to lost historical materials.
Conclusion
The article concludes that Tāranātha’s chronicle, though occasionally unreliable, remains a critical source for the later history of Buddhism in India. Its value lies not just in factual accuracy but in preserving traditions otherwise lost, prompting further comparative research into Buddhist historiography across cultures.