''Buddhacharita'' (; ) is an
epic poem
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
in the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
''
mahakavya'' style on the life of
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
by
Aśvaghoṣa of
Sāketa (modern
Ayodhya
Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...
), composed in the early second century CE.
The author has prepared an account of the Buddha's life and teachings which, unlike other treatments such as ''Mahavastu'' (“Great Story”) and ''Lalitavistara'' (“Full Description of the Play
f the Buddha��), is not only artistically arranged but also restrained in the description of the miracles of Gautam Buddha. His work also reflects a vast knowledge of Indian mythology and pre-Buddhist philosophy, as well as a court poet's interest in love, war, and statecraft.
Of the poem's 28 cantos, only the first 14 are extant in Sanskrit (cantos 15 to 28 are in incomplete form). But in Chinese (5th century) and Tibetan translations, all 28 chapters are preserved. In 420 AD,
Dharmakṣema made a
Chinese translation, and in the 7th or 8th century, a Tibetan version was composed by an unknown author which "appears to be much closer to the original Sanskrit than the Chinese."
English translations
*
E.B. Cowell, trans
''The Buddha Carita or the Life of the Buddha'' Oxford, Clarendon 1894, reprint: New Delhi, 1977
PDF(14,8 MB)
*Samuel Beal, trans. ''The Fo-Sho-Hing-Tsan-King''. Oxford, 1883
PDF
(17,7 MB)
*E. H. Johnston, trans. ''The Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha''. Lahore, 1936. 2 vols. (Cantos 1-14 in Sanskrit and English). Reprint: Delhi, Motilal Barnasidass 1978
*E. H. Johnston, trans. (1937), "The Buddha's Mission and last Journey: Buddhacarita, xv to xxviii", Acta Orientalia, 15: 26-62, 85-111, 231-292.
* Patrick Olivelle, trans. ''Life of the Buddha''. Clay Sanskrit Library, 2008. 1 vols. (Cantos 1-14 in Sanskrit and English with summary of the Chinese cantos not available in the Sanskrit)
* Willemen, Charles, trans. (2009)
Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha's Acts
Berkeley, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
Other Language Translations
* Iyothee Thass, Tamil Buddhist text in the form of long narrative called ''Buddharadhu Adhivedham'', Madras, 1914.
Ayyathurai, Gajendran (2011)
''Foundations of Anti-caste Consciousness: Pandit Iyothee Thass, Tamil Buddhism, and the Marginalized in South India''
Ph.D. Thesis, Columbia University, Department of Anthropology.
* Bhaskar Hanumath Kompella, Telugu Translation in the form of Tika (Word by Word meanings) and Tatparya (Substance)
''Buddha Charitam''
Ajo-Vibho-Kandalam Publications, Hyderabad, 2018
*Bhavanath Jha. ''Buddha-charitam Restored into Sanskrit verses by Pt. Bhavanath Jha.'' (Contains a re-translation back into Sanskrit of the lost cantos). Mahavir Mandir Prakashan.
See also
* ''Lalitavistara Sūtra
The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...
''
References
External links
Multilingual edition of ''Buddhacarita'' in the Bibliotheca Polyglotta
* ttp://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Buddhist-Texts/S2-Buddhacarita/Sanskrit-Buddhacarita-DN.pdf Same in Devanagari charactersbr>Cowell's text and translation (verse by verse)
{{Authority control
Epic poems in Sanskrit
Indian poetry
2nd-century Indian books
2nd-century poems
Gautama Buddha
Buddhist poetry
Ancient Indian poems
Ancient Indian dramas
2nd-century Sanskrit literature