Born in A.D. 1575, Kun-dga’-sñiń-po (= Anandagarbha), better known as Lama Tāranātha, wrote this work in 1608, i.e. at the age of 34, according to the Tibetan mode of calculating the age. This work is usually referred to as rGya-gar-chos-“byuň, which means “the history of Buddhism in India”. But the brief title Tāranātha himself chose for it was dGos-‘dod-kun-‘byui, literally “that which fulfils all desires”. The corrupt Indian form in which the name occurs in the title-page of its Potalá edition (1946), namely Kārya-kāma-sarva-pravrtti-nāma, is evidently intended to convey the same idea. Thus the history of Buddhism in India was for Tãranātha something more than mere history. It was also the māhātmya of Buddhism : the account was intrinsically auspicious, so much so that it led to the fulfilment of all desires. But there is nothing extraordinary about this. As Vasil’ev (spelt Wassiljew in German) rightly remarks. historiography for the Buddhists had always been an important mode of propagating their creed.  In Tibetan writings Tāranātha is usually mentioned as “Jo-nan Tāranātha” or “rje-btsun (= bhattāraka) Tāranātha of the Jo-nảń sect”. Jo-nań is the name of a place with a lofty caitya and a convent about a hundred miles to the north-west of the Tashi-lhun-po. The sect of Tibetan Buddhism which had Jo-nań as its stronghold came to be known as the Jo-naň-pa sect. The founder of this sect was Phyogs-las-rnam-rgyal. (= Digvijayi), born in A.D. 1306. It appears that a pronounced enthusiasm for the Kālacakra Tantra constituted an important feature of its creed. Tāranātha himself, a later leader of the sect, was famous as an author of several works and “guide-books ” (khrid-yid) on the Kālacakra doctrine, which Roerich wanted to analyse-a project unfortunately left unfinished by him.  The chief monastery of the Jo-nań-pa sect—rTag-brtan-phun-tshogs-glii ( = the perfect and eternally firm island)-had a printing establishment well-known in Tibet. The complete works of Täranātha were published by it. A copy of this is preserved in the Tsybikov Collection, Institute of the Peoples of Asia (now renamed as the Institute of

Tāranātha was born at Karak in 1575, into the hereditary line of the great Tibetan translator Ra Lotsāwa Dorje Drak. His Tibetan name was Kunga Nyingpo, but he is generally known by the name Tāranātha, which he received in a vision from a great Indian adept. According to tradition, when he was about one year old he declared, “I am master Kunga Drolchok!” But this was kept secret for several years, and it was not until he was about four years old that he was brought to Kunga Drolchok‘s (kun dga’ grol mchog, 1507-1566) seat of Cholung Jangtse Monastery (chos lung byang rtse) and formally recognized as his incarnation. He then began years of intense study and practice under the guidance of a series of great masters, many of whom had been major disciples of Kunga Drolchok. Guided by Kunga Drolchok’s disciple Jampa Lhundrub (byams pa lhun grub, d.u.), Tāranātha first studied and mastered various subjects of sutra and tantra. Then he received a vast number of tantric teachings and initiations, primarily of the Sakya tradition of Lamdre, from another of his predecessor’s disciples, Doring Kunga Gyeltsen (rdo ring kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, d.u.). Kunga Drolchok’s disciple Draktopa Lhawang Drakpa (brag stod pa lha dbang grags pa, d.u.) taught Tāranātha many esoteric instructions, especially the Six Yogas and Mahāmudrā. Jedrung Kunga Pelzang (rje drung kun dga’ dpal bzang, 1513-1588), who was Kunga Drolchok’s nephew and successor on the monastic seat of Jonang Monastery (jo nang dgon), transmitted to Tāranātha the teachings of Kālacakra and the dharma protector Mahākāla that he had received from his uncle. From Kunga Drolchok’s disciple Lungrik Gyatso (lung rigs rgya mtsho, d.u.), Tāranātha received many transmissions, especially the Kālacakra initiation, the explanation of the Kālacakra Tantra, the esoteric instructions of the Six-branch Yoga according to the Jonang tradition, and the collected writings Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan, 1292-1361). He is said to have gained a special experiential realization when he practiced the Six-branch Yoga. When Tāranātha was fourteen years old, the Indian adept Buddhaguptanātha (d.u.) arrived in Tibet. This master became one of Tāranātha’s most important teachers, passing to him countless transmissions of tantric initiations and esoteric instructions.