buddhism in gandhra 63
Mongolian), in addition to Tibetan and Chinese. During the rst centu-
ries after the Buddha’s passing his teachings were handed down merely
in oral form. It is only in the rst century BC that the Buddhist Canon
of the Theravdins is said to have been set down in writing. In the
Bhbhr edict of Aoka seven titles of Buddhist texts are recorded.^81
In these titles the local language, a Mgadh form of Prkrit, can be
discerned. In Northwest India the Gndhr Prkrit was the vernacu-
lar language in use up to the third century^82 as the newly discovered
Gndhr manuscripts and documents show.^83 Several Chinese transla-
tions were made from Gndhr texts, like for example the fth century
Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka Drghgama (Collection of
Long Discourses [of the Buddha]), as was demonstrated by P. Pelliot,
F. Weller and E. Waldschmidt.^84 However, Gndhr gradually gave way
to Sanskrit. Whereas the Sarvstivdins are speci cally connected with
the Sanskritisation of the canonical literature,^85 the Dharmagupta kas
are linked with the use of Gndhr. As recent research has shown,^86
also other Buddhist schools used the Gndhr at an early time.
The school of the Dharmaguptakas seems to have nearly disap-
peared by the seventh century. Xuanzang found none of its adher-
ents in India proper. Only small communities seem to have survived
along the Northern Silk Road in Central Asia at his time. Along with
the decline of this school Gndhr seems to have died out. It was
replaced by Sanskrit when the Sarvstivda school gained its dominant
position. Towards the end of this period, the Dharmaguptakas them-
selves, under pressure of the more powerful school, probably adopted
Sanskrit. A few fragments of a Dharmaguptaka Canon in Sanskrit
and written in Brhm script were found at Qizil and Duldur-qur
near Kucha (Ku). One fragment was identi ed by E. Waldschmidt
as belonging to a Bhik uprtimok a^87 of the sixth century. The frag-
ments of the Bhik uvinayavibhaga (The Commentary on the Vinaya of
(^81) The Bhbhr edict is addressed to the Buddhist community, and Aoka recommends
to monks and lay people the study of seven “sermons on the Law” (dhammapa iyya).
Cf. editors’ introduction. This mention shows at least the presence of Buddhist texts
in a pre-canonical form, even if they were not yet written down.
(^82) Fussman 1994, p. 39.
(^83) Salomon 1999, p. 154; von Hinüber 2001, pp. 58ff.
(^84) Boucher 1998, p. 472.
(^85) Boucher 1998, p. 473; Fussman 1989, pp. 486ff.
(^86) von Hinüber 1983, p. 33; von Hinüber 1985, pp. 74f.; Boucher 1998, p. 473f.
(^87) In the Prtimok astra the rules for Buddhist monks (bhik u) and nuns (bhik u ) are
collected.