THE BUDDHA-KARITA OR LIFE OF BUDDHA

The Sanskrit text of the Buddha- Karita was published in the ‘Anecdota Oxoniensia,’ and the following English translation is now included in the series of ‘sacred Books of the East.’ It is an early Sanskrit poem written in India on the legendary history of Buddha and therefore contains much that is of interest for the history of Buddhism beside its special importance as illustrating the early history of classical Sanskrit literature. It is ascribed to Asvaghosha; and although there were several writers who bore that name it seems most probable that our author was the contemporary and spiritual adviser of Kanishka in the first century of our era.