History of Buddhism from Buddha’s times to the third Century BCE

[Full title: Political and Religious History of Orissa (1): History of Buddhism from Buddha’s times to the third Century BCE]

Buddhism like Brahmanism and Jainism had a long and glorious career in Orissa and it played a vital role in the socio-religious life of the people of Orissa. Kalinga finds definite expression in the different early Buddhist texts like Vinayana pitaka, Anguttara Nikaya, Majihima Nikaya, Buddha Vamsa, Dathadhatavamsa, Mahagovinda sutanta and the Buddhist Jatakas. But none of the contemporary literary reference states of Buddha’s preaching in Orissa, in the later period, Hiuen-Tsang states in Si-Yu-Ki that, “There were more than ten Asoka topes at places where the Buddha had preached” (Watters 1905: 193-94).

The Early Vinaya texts, Nikayas and the Jatakas mentions about two merchant brothers of Utkala, named Tapussa (Tapassu) and Bhallika (Bhalliya), are said to be the first two disciples of Lord Buddha after attending the first sermon from the Lord at Gaya. The texts refers that the two brothers were on the way to Majhimadesa with 500 trading carts, where they met Buddha under the rajayatana tree on the last day of the seventh week after his enlightenment. They were asked to pay homage to the Buddha by a spirit of their departed relative and when they reached the place they found the Lord very weak due to long meditation without food and water. So, they offered him rice cake and honey and in return the Lord commenced them into his new religion (Bapat 1956: 23).

According to Buddhist literatures like the Mahavagga and Anguttara-Nikaya Buddha gave eight hands full of his hair to the merchant brothers. They took the hair relic to their city called Asitanjana and a magnificent chaitya was constructed for enshrining it (Kern 1896: 22). In the Bheragatha commentary it refers that these two merchant brothers met Buddha at Rajagriha also.

The Ceylonese chronicle Pujavaliya refers that these two merchant brothers after their conversion to Buddhism visited Ceylon and they constructed a chaitya on the eastern coast of the island. As there was frequent intercourse between the two countries, this incident finds mentioned in some other literature and inscriptions also.

According to a Burmese tradition Tappasu and Bhallika are represented as the inhabitants of the city of Okkalaba (Utkala), who after arriving at the port of Adzeitta (Tamralipta) went to Soowama (suhma), and then they proceeded towards Rajagriha and met the blessed one at Uruvela near Gaya. But there is controversy with the identification of Utkala, for in the traditions of the Mahasamghika School, as recorded in the Lalitvistara and the Mahavastu, Ukkala the home of Tappasu and Bhallika is situated in the Northwest of India. Even Hiuen-Tsang mentions this and mentions two cities north and west of Balkh (Watters 1905:111-12). But one cannot completely rely on the source of information obtained from the Chinese pilgrim as he had visited India in the seventh century CE. The Lalitvistara also suffer from obvious mistake in making Ukkala city (adhisthana) of the Uttarapatha just like the Burmese tradition, which locates the city of Utkala in the Irrawaddy delta. Therefore, the older accounts such as the Vinaya texts and the Jatakas are preferred, where in the two merchants are represented as hailing from the country (Janapada) of Ukkala, which should be identified with Utkal (Orissa) in the southeast of India.