Contemporary writings describe his Vihara as having 8,000 students, from across the known world, and 108 Professors To the, estimated, 350 million devotees of the teachings of Prince Gautama of Nepal, the “Enlightened One,” Bangladeshi born Chandragarbha, is one of the most significant teachers in the history of their belief traditions. After his death, inTibet, in 1053, amongst other identifications, he has been widely known as, “The Second Buddha.”

He first saw the light of day, it is believed, in Vikrampur, modern Munshiganj, born into the family of one of the, “kings,” or local chierftains, who held land under the Pala rulers,
in 980 CE.

The government of China has recognised what is believed to be the exact location of his birthplace, by building a Pagoda, and an assembly hall there. The millions of Buddhists in China are happy to acknowledge the birthplace of a man who they believe contributed so much to the social development of China, especially the province of Tibet.

Bangladesh, today, is very rich in the heritage of that Pala dynasty, which ruled extensive lands of north India, from the middle of the eighth century to the middle of the 12th. With an estimated 400 ruined Vihara, monasteries cum schools and universities, the greatest concentration, it is believed, of the contemporary world, in the lands that are now Bangladesh, alone, the impact of those rulers was enormous, in, especially, learning, commerce and trade.

 They also left behind such extraordinary sites as that as Bhitagarh, in Rangpur Division, close to Punchagarh, which, being slowly excavated, is proving to originate in the sixth century, pre-Pala, the largest fortified city in North India.

Like Prince Gautama, Chandragarbha’s early upbringing was “royal,” and peaceful; like Gautama, he was well educated, although his education certainly owed much to the rich tradition of Buddhism, for which there is evidence in Bangladesh reaching back to at least the fourth century BCE.

At the age of 18, he renounced his family ties, and sought to become a pupil of the distinguished teacher of Tantra, called Jetari. In an age in which parental influence and control is known to blight many promising careers, it is worth noting that the tradition of self management of young people, in fact, reaches a long way back in the cultural history of Bangladesh.

Ordained a monk at 19 years of age, and completing his education eleven years later, he travelled to Java and Sumatra in the company of gem merchants, to continue his studies. That he accompanied gem merchants, of course, reflects light on the continuing strength of trading internationally through the Ganges Delta.

In fact, there is little doubt that the heritage of international trade, that was focussed on the Ganges Delta, and the lands that are now Bangladesh, through which the three great Asian rivers, the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna flow, continued to flourish for many centuries more.

 That Buddhist philosophy and study spread internationally through the Delta, and up the rivers into Central Asia, there is also little doubt, perhaps even from as early as the fourth century BCE. Even copies of the great, and unusual, seventh century, cruciform Vihara at Paharpur are to be found in Cambodia and Sumatra.

At the age of 44,  Atish Depanker Srijnan, as he had come to be known, travelled back to the Indian subcontinent, via Sri Lanka, where he became, it is said, Principal of the famous “University” of Vikramshila, in Bihar, one of the famous five such places of that age, in India. Two of those five we can easily identify as lying in the lands of Bangladesh, Paharpur, and Jaggadala.

However, others believe that, in fact, he became Principal of the large, recently rediscovered Vihara in Vikrampur, close to the site of his birth.

Contemporary writings describe his Vihara, whether in Bihar or Vikrampur, as having 8,000 students, from across the known world, and 108 Professors. It is not hard to imagine that influence from modern India may account for some of this confusion, or the benefits that India feels it might gain from such identification!

Whatever the truth of that, the Bangladeshi born man, who was to become known, variously, as, “The Eye of Asia,” “The Light of Asia,” and “The Second Buddha,” widely admired and respected, not only for his learning and teaching, but also his practice of that learning, was invited, at about the age of 60, to travel to the Tibetan Empire, to help to restore the declining practice of Buddhist traditions.

The Tibetan Empire flourished, not only across today’s Tibet, but far across the Himalayas, and into Central Asia, and may even have held, in the early years, some hegemony over what was to become the Pala Empire. By the  11th century, it was slowly declining, with what is known as “The Era of Fragmentation” advancing. Throughout its history, Buddhism had been a guiding principal of Imperial rule, but, by the time of Atish, much of that tradition was lost.

Despite grave misgivings, Depanker agreed to head to Tibet for three years, to assist in the restoration work.

He never returned to his homeland, earning enormous distinction and respect, not least through the assistance of his disciple and assistant, Brom-ston-pa-rgyal-bar-byun-gna.

The 13th century arrival of the Pathan invaders in North India, fleeing just the depredations inflicted by the Mongol hordes that also finally overthrew the Tibetan Empire, the coming of Islam saw the, quite literal, completion of the destruction of much of the Buddhist tradition of the lands of Bangladesh that was commenced by the Hindu Sunga Dynasty.

It was, doubtless, in the Pathan invasion, followed by that of the largely Muslim Mughals, that both the Buddhist tradition in Bangladesh, and the heritage of Buddhist learning, such as the immense contribution made by Depanker, was lost.

The same Mongol invasion was doubtless responsible for the loss of his heritage in Tibet.

It was only as the result of research in Tibet, especially that carried out by Sarat Chandra Das, another Bangladeshi born scholar, traveller ... and spy(!) ... of the late 19th and early 20th century, that Depanker’s importance, in the history of Buddhism, came to light.

Kings and princes come and go, as do politicians, but very few leave a lasting mark on the history of the world, and, few more, on the history of a people.

That Atish Depanker, born Chandragarbha, should have been expunged from the history of his birth country may well be considered a pity. A remarkable man of enduring strength, intelligence, and evident integrity, it seems that he might well, otherwise, have been a great example of personal achievement, and enduring fame, to a new generation of this young nation, Bangladesh.
- See more at: http://www.dhakatribune.com/long-form/2014/jun/21/light-asia-born-bangladesh#sthash.ls0TWjAN.dpuf

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