The Buddhacarita is a well-planned work written in Sanskrit by Asvaghosa who was a contemporary of Kusana emperor Kaniska. It is one of the few biographies of Buddha that is complete commencing with his birth and ending with his nirvana. This work is composed in the style of ornate court poetry or kavya. Unlike the Mahavastu and the Lalitavistara, it is a systematic treatment of the subject matter. The poet is not only moderate in language and style, but he also uses restraint in the presentation of miracles in the Buddha legend, keeping himself far removed from exaggeration. Unfortunately, only half of the work, i.e., 14 of 28 cantos survive in its original Sanskrit, providing us the story upto the Maravijaya; Tibetan and Chinese translations consist of the entire 28 cantos. The present edition contains the Sanskrit text of cantos I–XIV; translation of cantos I–XIV; translation of remaining cantos XV–XXVIII based on available Tibetan and Chinese versions. |
