It is difficult to say precisely at what time Mahâyânism took its rise. But there is reason to think that as the Mahâsa@nghikas separated themselves from the Theravâdins probably some time in 400 B.C. and split themselves up into eight different schools, those elements of thoughts and ideas which in later days came to be labelled as Mahâyâna were gradually on the way to taking their first inception. We hear in about 100 A.D. of a number of works which are regarded as various Mahâyâna sûtras, some of which are probably as old as at least 100 B.C. (if not earlier) and others as late as 300 or 400 A.D.[Footnote ref 1]. These Mahâyânasûtras, also called the Vaipulyasûtras, are generally all in the form of instructions given by the Buddha. Nothing is known about their authors or compilers, but they are all written in some form of Sanskrit and were probably written by those who seceded from the Theravâda school. The word Hînayâna refers to the schools of Theravâda, and as such it is contrasted with Mahâyâna. The words are generally translated as small vehicle (_hîna_ = small, _yâna_ = vehicle) and great vehicle (_mahâ_ = great, _yâna_ = vehicle). But this translation by no means expresses what is meant by Mahâyâna and Hînayâna [Footnote ref 2]. Asa@nga (480 A.D.) in his _Mahâyânasûtrâla@mkâra_ gives __________________________________________________________________________ [Footnote 1: Quotations and references to many of these sûtras are found in Candrakîrtti's commentary on the _Mâdhyamîka kârikâs_ of Nâgârjuna; some of these are the following: _A@s@tasâhasrikâprajñâpâramitâ_ (translated into Chinese 164 A.D.-167 A.D.), _S'atasâhasrikâprajñâpâramitâ, Gaganagañja, Samâdhisûtra, Tathâgataguhyasûtra, D@r@dhâdhyâs'ayasañcodanâsûtra, Dhyâyitamu@s@tisûtra, Pitâputrasamâgamasûtra, Mahâyânasûtra, Mâradamanasûtra, Ratnakû@tasûtra, Ratnacû@dâparip@rcchâsûtra, Ratnameghasûtra, Ratnarâs`isûtra, Ratnâkarasûtra, Râ@s@trapâlaparip@rcchâsûtra, La@nkâvatârasûtra, Lalitavistarasûtra, Vajracchedikâsûtra, Vimalakîrttinirdes'asûtra, S'âlistambhasûtra, Samâdhirajasutra, Sukhâvatîvyûha, Suvar@naprabhâsasûtra, Saddharmapu@n@darika (translated into Chinese A.D. 255), Amitâyurdhyânasûtra, Hastikâkhyasûtra, etc.]