buddha (an avatAra or a veda-nindaka?)
- “Guatama Buddha was a ‘nastika’ in the traditional sense of the term. The very definition of a ‘nastika’ is ‘nastiko veda-nindakah’ (Manusmriti 2.11).”
- Stealing and corruption charge:
- मत्तविलासप्रहसनम् - वेदान्तेभ्यो गृहीत्वार्थान् यो महाभारतादपि । विप्राणां मिषतामेव कृतवान् कोशसञ्चयम् ॥
- “Stalwarts of Hindu Philosophy like Kumarila Bhatta (the exponent of Purva-Mimamsa) took great pains to refute Buddhist systems Niralambana-vada and Shunya-vada in his ‘Shlokavartika’. Kumarila Bhatta says in the ‘Shlokavartika’ that “this denial (of reality of external objects) … was declared by the Buddha with the sole object of alienating the affection (of men from such worldly objects); and somehow or other, some people (the so-called followers Bauddha) fell into a mistake (and accepted it to its utmost extent, as denial of all substratum of cognitions)” (Shlokavartika 5.202, translation: Ganganath Jha).”
avatAra status
- “It is noteworthy that several traditions in Hinduism do not identify Guatama Buddha with the Buddha ‘avatara’, but consider Lord Jagannatha to be the Buddha ‘avatara’ mentioned in Hindu Purana-s instead. Some Gaudiya Vaishnava commentators opine that the references to Buddha ‘avatara’ in Bhagavata refer to Buddha in another ‘kalpa’ and not Guatama Buddha of Buddhism.”
- Srimadbhagavatapurana (1st Skandha, 2nd chapter): बुद्धनाम्नाऽजनिसुतः कीकटेषु भविष्यति।
- “Parameshwarnath Mishra in his Hindi books, ‘अमिट कालरेखा : अर्वाचीनमतखण्डन’ and ‘अमिट कालरेखा : वितण्डावादिमतखण्डन’ says that Gautama Buddha was born on the full-moon day of the month of Vaisakha, whereas Avatara Buddha was born on the 7th day of the bright half of the month of Pausa.”
- “Even in the case Guatama Buddha is considered an ‘avatara’, he is not to be worshipped or followed in Sanatana Dharma. Agni Purana and Bhagavata Purana state that the purpose of the Buddha avatara was to delude the enemies of the gods (‘sammohaya suradvisham’, Bhagavata Purana 1.3.24). Tulasidasa states in the Dohavali “Tulasidasa has thought a lot [and concluded that] the glory of Veda-s is incomparable: it is well-known that on criticizing them (the Veda-s), even the Buddha ‘avatara’ become an object of criticism” (Dohavali 464).” [NM17]