Tantricisim’

 Multilevelled aspect of ancient Indian religion and culture

 5TH century, worship of Earth mother and her power
 Reflects aspects of femininity in a bipolar world and reuniting these polarities to attain
freedom
 Based to all castes
 Use of Sadhna, Mudras( gestures) and Mandalas to achieve supernatural power
 Origin- Magic and fertility cults (Pre- Aryan)
 North India, Bengal and Assam
 In Hinduisim- infuses traditions of Shaivisim, Saktism , Vaishnavisim and influences Jainisim.
 Narrower sense- Tantricisim( doctrines and practices mentioned in specific texts called
TANTRAS
 Hindus and Jains- how to fulfil desires and get spiritual experiences
 Buddhist- enlightenment
 Range from crude magic to sophisticated metaphysics of theologians ( Abhinavagupta)
 Common aspects- Male- Female Polarity.
 Reversed in Buddhist ( Passive female and active male)
 Tantric Sadhna- body is of central importance
 Consists of Puja and Yoga
 PUJA
1. Nitya (daily)
2. Naimittika (special occasion)
3. Kama ( affect a desire)
 Right hand path- symbolic interpretation, Left hand- literal interpretation
 Left handed ( Aghoris)
 Peak- 1000 CE, did not die out
 Influence on present movements ANANDA MARGA AND BHAGAVAN SRI RAJNEESH

What is Mahayana Buddhism?

PHILOSOPHY AND WAY OF LIFE that basis itself on nirvana

Mahayana Buddhism is the largest school of Buddhist thought in the world. It is one of the
two Buddhist groups, the other being Theravada Buddhism, that were created by the great
schisms after the Second Buddhist council in 383 B. C.E.

Today, Mahayana Buddhism is practiced throughout the world, but it originated in India and
was mostly practiced in Asia, where it spread quickly and syncretized with other religions.
Mahayana is based primarily on the teachings of the Buddha and other Buddhists, including
bodhisattvas, who are enlightened individuals who have decided to stay in the human realm
and assist other humans in achieving enlightenment rather than entering nirvana.

The most common practices of Mahayana Buddhism are the recitation of mantras and
meditation, which may or may not include mantras.

Mahayana Meaning
Mahayana means the ''Great Vehicle,'' and refers to the purpose of Mahayana to take
practitioners to the presence of the Buddha and to the state of ''nirvana'', or ultimate
enlightenment. In the beginning, Mahayana Buddhism was mainly practiced in various
countries in Asia. Today, it has spread to the entire world, including Qatar, the United States,
and Brazil.

A History of Buddhism

Mahayana, meaning ''Great Vehicle,'' differentiates its purposes and emphases from those of
other schools. For example, ''Theravada'' means ''School of the Elders,'' which signifies the
emphasis of that school on the teachings of the Buddha and those who strictly follow his
teachings. Mahayana and other schools, on the other hand, acknowledge the spiritual and
temporal authority of other Buddhist theologians.

Buddhism began with the life of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born into a life of Indian
nobility. As he was traveling one day outside of his father's compound, he noticed several
manifestations of human suffering. Following this experience, Gautama left his family and
traveled around the known world, learning about various ways to achieve ultimate
satisfaction. Eventually, he resorted to meditation under a bodhi tree. During this experience,
he finally achieved Enlightenment and was given the responsibility of teaching others. His
teachings, and those of his disciples who repeated his sayings, were written in various sutras,
or Buddhist scriptures. These sutras are perhaps the most important aspect of Mahayana
Buddhism. They first appeared around three hundred years after the death of the Buddha.
As mentioned above, Mahayana was one of the major Buddhist groups formed by the schism
in 383 B.C.E. in India. Eventually, it gained ideas and concepts from outside sources in a
process called ''syncretism,'' which is why Mahayana Buddhism is practiced differently in
different countries. As it developed, it spread quickly throughout all of Asia, and today it has
practitioners throughout the world. There are many distinct schools of thought in Mahayana
Buddhism, but most of them share basic characteristics.

HARSH
King Harshavardhana was also known as Harsha. He was the son of Prabhakar Vardhana, the founder
of the Pushyabhuti Dynasty or the Vardhana Dynasty. Harshavardhana is considered as one of the
most prominent Indian emperors in the 7th century AD. He built a huge empire that extended from
north & northwestern India till the Narmada in the South. His capital was Kannauj. His reforms and
policies were generous and were always aimed at boosting the peace and prosperity of his people.

 Harshavardhana was born in 590 AD to King Prabhakaravardhana of Sthaneshvara

(Thanesar, Haryana).
 He belonged to the Pushyabhuti also called the Vardhana dynasty.
 He was a Hindu who later embraced Mahayana Buddhism.
 He was married to Durgavati.
 He had a daughter and two sons. His daughter married a king of Vallabhi whereas his sons
were killed by his own minister.

 King Harshavardhana deeds were praised by Chinese Buddhist traveller Xuanzang in his
writings.

Harsha Ascension
  After Prabhakara Vardhana died, his elder son Rajyavardhana ascended to the throne
of Thanesar.
 Harsha had a sister, Rajyashri who was married to king Grahavarman of Kannauj.
Sasanka, the Gauda king killed Grahavarman and kept Rajyashri prisoner. This
prompted Rajyavardhana to fight against Sasanka. But Sasanka killed Rajyavardhana.
 This led the 16-year old Harshavardhana to ascend the throne of Thanesar in 606 AD.
 He vowed to avenge his brother’s murder and also rescue his sister.
 For this, he forged an alliance with Bhaskaravarman, the Kamarupa king. Harsha and
Bhaskaravarman marched against Sasanka. Ultimately, Sasanka left for Bengal and
Harsha became the king of Kannauj also.

Empire of Harsha – King Harshvardhana’s Empire

 On acquiring Kannauj, Harsha united the two kingdoms of Thanesar and Kannauj.
 He moved his capital to Kannauj.
 After the fall of the Guptas, North India was divided into many small kingdoms.
 Harsha was able to unite many of them under his command. He had under his control
of Punjab and central India. After Sasanka’s death, he annexed Bengal, Bihar and
Odisha.
 He also defeated the Vallabhi king in Gujarat. (The Vallabhi king and Harsha came to
a truce by a marriage between Harsha’s daughter and the Vallabhi king Dhruvabhata.)
 However, Harsha’s plans to conquer lands to the south were hampered when the
Chalukya king, Pulakesin II defeated Harsha in 618-619 A.D. This sealed Harsha’s
southern territorial limit as the Narmada River.
 There were two types of territories under Harsha. One was directly under him and the
other type was those that were feudatories.
1. Direct territories: Central Provinces, Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana, Gujarat
2. Feudatories: Jalandhar, Kashmir, Kamarupa, Sind, Nepal
 Even the feudatories were under the tight command of Harsha. Harsha’s reign marked
the beginning of feudalism in India.
 Hiuen Tsang visited India during Harsha’s reign. He has given a very favourable
account of king Harsha and his empire. He praises his generosity and justice.
 Harsha was a great patron of the arts. He himself was an accomplished writer. He is
credited with the Sanskrit works Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda.
 Banabhatta was his court poet and he composed the Harshacharita which gives an
account of Harsha’s life and deeds.
 Harsha generously supported the Nalanda University.
 He had a good tax structure. 1/4th of all the taxes collected were used for charity and
for cultural purposes.
 Harsha was a competent military conqueror and an able administrator.
 Harsha was the last king to rule over a vast empire in India before the invasions by the
Muslims.

Harsha’s death

 Harsha died in 647 AD after ruling for 41 years.

 Since he died without any heirs, his empire disintegrated very soon after his death.