Page:A History of Indian Philosophy Vol 1.djvu/439

 x] Gautfapada and Buddhzsln 4 ".., -.) gods 1." It seems particularly significant that Sarikara should credit Gau<;lapada and not Badarayal).a with recovering the Upaniad creed. Gau<;lapada was the teacher of Govinda, the teacher of Sailkara; but he was probably living when Sailkara was a student, for Sailkara says that he was directly influenced by his great wisdom, and also speaks of the learning, self-control and modesty of the other pupils of Gau<;lapada 2. There is some dispute about the date of Sankara, but accepting the date pro- posed by Bhal).qarkar, Pathak and Deussen, we may consider it to be 788 A.D. 3, and suppose that in order to be able to teach Sailkara, Gau<;lapada must have been living till at least 800 A.D. Gau<;lapada thus flourished after all the great Buddhist teachers Asvaghoa, Nagarjuna, Asailga and Vasubandhu; and I believe that there is sufficient evidence in his karikas for thinking that he was possibly himself a Buddhist, and considered that the teachings of the Upaniads tallied with those of Buddha. Thus at the beginning of the fourth chapter of his karikas he says that he adores that great man (dvipadiim varam )who by know- ledge as wide as the sky realized (stl1Jlbltddka) that all appearances (dllanna) were like the vacuous sky (gagallopamam 4 ). He then goes on to say that he adores him who has dictated (desita) that the touch of untouch (asparsayoga-probably referring to Nirval}a) was the good that produced happiness to all beings, and that he was neither in disagreement with this doctrine nor found any contradiction in it (aviviida(l aviruddkaSca). Some disputants hold that coming into being is of existents, whereas others quarrelling with them hold that being (jii/a) is of non- existents (abhiUasya); there are others who quarrel with them and say that neither the existents nor non-existents are liable to being and there is one non-coming-into-being (adva)'amajatim). He agrees with those who hold that there is no coming into being 5. In IV. 19 of his karika he again says that the Buddhas have shown that there was no coming into being in any way (sarvathii Buddlzairajiiti(l paridijJita(t). 1 Sankara's bhaya on GauIapada's karika, .Anandasrama edition, p. 2 q. 2 Anandasrama edition of Sali.kara's Lhaya on Gaulapada's karika, p. 21. 3 Telang wishes to put Sankara's date somewbere in the 8th century, and Yeilka- tesvara would have him in 805 A.D.-897 A.D., as he did not believe that Sali.kara could have lived only for 32 years. J. R. A. S. 1916. 4 Compare Lmikiivattzra, p. 29, Kathm!l ca ga.!{1l110pamam. 5 Gauc)apada's karika, IV. 2, 4.