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Charles M. Novak‘

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aol. Ia NO. I & II (1992)‘
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Copyright 1992 by Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods‘
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ºhe most noted characteristic of Buddhadharma as practiced by the Newars of
Kathmandu aalley is that it has to a large extent preserved those forms of later Indian
Buddhism known as Mahayana and aajrayana in an unbroken, lining tradition. only
recently Have scholars begun to explore the rich storehouse of /Buddhist traditions of
Newar Buddhism from the point of view that it is an independent and unique tradition of
Buddhism which deserves to be studied on its own merits. In order to better understand
the background from which the complex socio-religious system of the Newar Buddhist
community developed, the present article present to portray Buddhism as it developed
in the Katmandu aalley during Nepal's Licchave Period )(ca. 300-879 A.D) Although, as
much as possible, historically reliable information has been used here, given the4
scantiness of historical references from this earliest period do Nepalese History and the
author's desire to provide as complete a picture as is currently possible, some
legendary material as well as reasonable supposition is included below.‘
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Perhaps more so than most other places, the environment of the Kathmandu aalley has had a
deep and abiding impact on the religious outlook of its people. ºhe dramatic variety of physical
features inspires awe: a central circular basin of just over 200 square miles surrounded by an
uneven ring of high hills ranging from 6000 to over 9000 feet in height: vast forested areas on
the hills and plenty of fertile crop land in the lower areas which is drained by a weblike network
of rivers and streams: spectacular sunrise and sunsets which sometimes include many show-
capped Himalayan peaks. Most important from a religious point of view are the high hills and
mountains in and around the aalley and other sacred locales (Skt; tirtha) which are often
associated with bodies of water and are scattered throughout the aalley. From ancient times
several of these prominent places have been venerated by the Buddhist population of
Kathmandu aalley. Most important among these are: Swayambhu Hill, Nasgarjun Hill, the
mountains of Namobuddha and Manichuda places like cobar and Codavari that are associated
with Manjusri Bodhisattva, as well as numerous sites around the aalley which are connected
with Buddhist deities such as Mahakala, ºara, aasudhara, Padmapani Bodhisattva in his
several forms, Hariti and manu places such as Guheswari, Bajrabarahi and the two shrines of
vajrajogini which are related with the worship of female Buddhist deities known as yoginis. It is
widely believed by the Newars and by most scholars that ancient sites such as these were held
sacred even before the onset of strong cultural influences from India, which started perhaps in
the first or second century A.D. this early phase of cultural influence from India Corresponds
roughly to the latter half of the Kushana Period and is most strongly felt throughout the Gupta
period (ca. 300-550 A.D.). During this time, the old, indigenous place-names began to be
replaced by Sanskrit, but the original named did not easily give way to the Sanskrit and some of
these ancient Newar names survive even today.‘
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ºhe extent of the territories controlled by the Licchavi kings of Nepal is point that is still being
debated from the fact that all but a handful of the Licchavi inscriptions are found in the
Kathmandu aalley, it is obvious that this was the central and most important part of the Licchave
domain. Fleeting and perhaps false references from the inscriptions have led scholars to believe
that the Licchavis held sway over vast are as to the east and west of the aalley. Be that as it
may, more important with regard to the study to Buddhism in Nepal are the cultural connections
to the south with India's heartland and later on to the north with ºibet. For over a thousand
years, from Kushana times until the early thirteenth century, Nepal received a steady flow of
cultural influences from India which were directly connected with Buddhism (and Hinduism).
ºhis includes the entirety of the Indian Buddhist tradition, with the notable exception of Pali
Buddhism. It is only toward the end of the Licchavi period that ºibet begins to play a role a with
regards to Buddhism, and that is mainly in the role of Patron to the Newar Buddhist artisans.‘
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In a real sense, Licchavi Nepal can be seen as an evolving "Oasis" of Buddhist cultural
traditions, An "Oasis" in the sense that all of the nearby, traditional centers of ancient Buddhism
such as aaisali, Sravasti, Sarnath, Kushinagara, Pataliputra, Limbini and Kapilavastu had been
abandoned about 500 A.D., and Licchave Nepal was the only major center of Buddhism to the
northest of Magadha for several hundred years, until the rise of Buddhism in ºibet. ºhe ancient
Buddhist centers mentioned above were (as today) thought of only as places of pilgrimage, and
not looked to as real sources of Buddhist teaching. ºhis meant that the main centers of Indian
Buddhism which served as important sources of Buddhist teaching. ºhis meant that the main
centers of Indian Buddhism which served as important sources for Licchave Nepal were
especially the Nalanda/Rajgir/Bodhagya area, Mathur, perhaps pushpoagiri in Orissa,
ºamralipti, Bharhut and even as far away as the western Indian cities of Ajanta, Ellora and
Nasik. Wherever in India Buddhist art forms and teachings might have come from, these found
a warm welcome in Licchave Nepal and were cared for and developed with devotion and
sensitivity.‘
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ºwo forms of Buddhist worship which came into prominence during the Licchavi Period were the
worship of the caitya or stupa and the cart festival (or rath jatra) of Avalokitesvara. ºhe many
ancient sites within the Kathmandu aalley which are identified with major Buddhist caityas or
stupas such as Swayambhu Hill, Buddha and Cabahil, Kathmandu and the four "Ashoka"
stupas of Patan not to mention the almost two hundred examples of stone caityas dating from
the Licchavi Period, testify to the widespread antiquity of caitya worship. One can imagine that
this practice in its earliest incarnation in the aalley was analogous to the worship of stones,
which probably had its origin with the early, tribal inhabitants of the aalley long before we the
coming of the Licchavis. According to one of the very earliest Licchavi inscriptions caitya
worship could even involve encasing an existing Caitya and covering the new surface with many
elaborate paintings, but ordinarily consisted of ritual circumambulation of the caitya along with
certain standard offerings such as incense, colored powder, oil lamps and ablutions. Caitya
worship must have been as important factor in bringing more and more of the tribe, proto-Newar
inhabitants into the Buddhist fold, since it was a devotional practice designed for the general
public. Perhaps even more effective in involving the masses was (and is) the cart festival of
Avalokitesvara/ Matsyendranath (Bunga kya:) which was probably begun during the latter half of
the seventh century A.D. ºhis festival was involved hundreds or even thousands of people in
the process of the construction and transport of a huge, wheeled cart bearing the image of
Avalokitesvara for several days or weeks along a prescribed route. ºhis sort of festival must
have been an instant success with the majority of the aalley's population and surely
strengthened Buddhism's standing in relation to the other main religious faiths of the aalley at
the time.‘
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ºhere are about forty stone inscriptions (Skt: silalekha) which make some mention of Buddhism
throughout the Licchave Period and most of the references found in these inscriptions are
concerned with Buddhist monasteries and the monks and nuns living therein. Even so, almost
nothing can be said about the day-to-day life in the monasteries (skt: aihara) or how they
functioned administratively. ºhe names of more than fifteen Buddhist monasteries are known,
and it is clear from the contest in which some of these are named that they are among the most
important religious foundations of the time. Although nothing definite is known about which
schools of Buddhism were most prominent, it is probable that the strongest early influences
(omitting mention of an even earlier probable substratum of Pali Buddhism) came from the
Mahasanghika, Sammitiya and also the Sarvastivada, with the Makhyamaka and Yogacara
schools of thought being more influential later in the period with the emergence and growth of
the aajrayana. A trend which stands out from inscriptional evidence is that there was a string
traditions of making religious gifts (Skt: deyadharma) for the sake of merit and that the women
of the Buddhist community seemed to take the lead in offering these gifts. ºhese last two
elements find striking parallels in the Buddhist cave inscriptions of Maharastra which predate
the Licchvi Nepal. ºhe references in the Licchave inscriptions to the Mahayana and aajrayana
will be mentioned below in connection with Buddhist art and notable Buddhist figures of the
Licchave period.‘
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In attempting to account for the Buddhist notables who date from Nepal's Licchave Period, we
are entering the realm of legend, myth and unsure historical reference. Famous teachers and
adepts from India such as aasubandhu (the Younger?), the tantric Nagarjuna,
Padmasambhava, Santiraksita and Kamalasila are said to have come to Kathmandu aalley in
the service of Buddhism but none of these seems to have stayed for very long. As would be
expected with such colorful figures as Nagarjuna, Padmasambhava and aasubahdhu, their
activities are identified with miraculous events, which tend to support the notion that tantric
forms of Buddhism were present in the aalley at a very early stage, ºhe Licchave inscriptions
and later chronicles mention that several kings of the time such as arsadeve, Manadeve,
Dharmadeva, Amusvarma, Narendradeva and Sivadeve I had very strong Buddhist associations
but details are scanty. One important event which seems to have occured before 650 A.D. was
the marriage of Bhirikuti, a Nepalese princess, to the king of ºibet. She is credited with having
brought the dharma to ºibet and the translator Silamanju is said to have also been sent from
Nepal to ºibet at this time in order to translate Buddhist texts. As we move into the last 200
years of our period (ca. 700-879 A.D.), such shadowy figures as Santikara Acaruya and a few
other adepts in the early phase of aajrayana Buddhism are met with in Nepal. All in all, it is not
possible to isolate recognized Buddhist schools of thought by analyzing this listing of Buddhist
luminaries of Licchave Nepal, but one does suspect from this that Buddhism enjoyed a high
status and a continuous tradition during the Licchavi Period.‘
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Another interesting aspect deserving attention here concerns the matter of Buddhist texts in
Licchavi Nepal. ºhe Cabahil inscription of ca. 400 A.D. mentions the Kinnari Jataka and implies
the currency of the Saddharmapundarika Sutra, but this is the solitary inscription of the period to
mention Buddhist texts. From fragments of manuscripts which date from the eight and ninth
centuries, it appears safe to say that the famed "Nine Dharma" texts of Nepal were well known
in the Licchavi Period. ºhis collection includes texts which represent Mahayana Buddhism in all
its diversity, including the "wisdom" school (Prajnaparmita texts). delineating the Bodhisattva
path Dasabhumika and Samadhiraja Sutras), texts which are major classics of Mahayana
devotion (Saddharmapudarika, Gandavyuha, Lalitavistara and suvarnaprabhasa Sutras) an
imp0ortant text of the "mind-only" school (Lankavatara Sutra) and perhaps the most
fundamental text of the aajrayana (Guhyasamaja ºantra). Considering the relative
inaccessibility of the contents of this vast body of Sanskrit literature to most of the Buddhist
faithful, the practice of worshipping the "Nine Dharma" texts in a ritualized manner was an
adoption well-suited to the preliterate, tribal society of the proto-Newar communit6y of the
Licchavi Period. It was probably not until the sixth or seventh century that the scholastic
traditions of Indian Mahayana Buddhism started taking hold in the Kathmandu aalley, and the
"Nine Dharma" collection should date from this time.‘
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ºhe final area to be mentioned in this exploration of Buddhism in Licchavi Nepal concerns the
Buddhist art and iconography of the time. ºhe sculptural remains in stone and metal pore5tray a
limited range of Buddhist artistic themes which are representative of the Mahayana in its full
flower. ºhe sculptures illustrate seated and standing Buddhas, Bodhisattva Padmapani
(Avalokitesvara), aajrapani, ºara, Naitreya Buddha and the birth of Sakyamuni. In addition a
few tantric Buddhist deities such as Aksyobhya, Amitabha, aajrayogini, aajrabhairava,
Usnisavijaya and Samantabhadra are known from the inscriptions, chronicles and ºibetan
sources, In addition, it is certain that there was a strong influence from Mother Goddess cults
which resulted in Buddhist deities such as the Pancaraksas. ºhe same can be said of Saivism
in general, Sakta cults, aaisnavism, Brahmanical cults and several other minor religious cults
which must have influenced the Buddhist iconography of Licchavi Nepal. ºhe general
impression one is left with is that the Buddhist art of this period as a result of contact with the
many religious cults coming from India which had found home in the aalley. On the whole, it
seems that the Nepalese penchant for exotic, tantric iconography forms was tempered in the
later Licchavi Period by religious conservativism, so that the more synthetic, tantric Buddhist
iconography does not fully emerge until after the Liccdhavi era had ended.‘
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ºhis brier survey of Buddhism in Licchavi Nepal indicated that the full-blown form of Indian
Mahayana Buddhism was transferred to the Kathmandu aalley during this early period. Certain
elements such as the textual tradition, religious iconography the role of the Licchavi royalty and
probably the architecture and administrative setup of the Buddhist monasteries can be viewed
as wholesale borrowings from India. On the other hand, the unique culture of the Kathmandu
aalley shaped the actual expression of Buddhist art and practice. ºhis is evident from the
sculptural remain so the time, as well as the development of caitya worship and the cart
festivals. In general, the bulk of the evidence is suggestive of two major phases in the
development of Buddhism in Nepal during the Licchavi Period. ºhe first phase seems to run up
to about the seventh century and is characterized by direct patterning after the Indian model of
Mahayana Buddhism, which naturally took several hundred years to be assimilated by the
aalley culture. ºhe second phase coincides with the coming of strong, new influences such as
the progressive rise of tantric cults and the beginnings of formal contacts with ºibet in the
seventh century. Also by this time, many native elements of the fast-evolving proto-Newar
culture of the valley were finding their way into the Buddhist fold. Consequently, as a result of
the continuous and colorful tradition of Buddhism which evolved during Nepal's Licchavi Period,
the stage was set for the unabated maturation of the aajrayana Buddhist tradition in the
centuries to follow.‘
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