Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s3.t7.11

v2.c10.s3.t7.11

Along with sutras translated into Chinese, *Ramayana* and stories in it began to be known in China in the three kingdoms viz., the Eastern and Western Jin dynasties, Southern and Northern dynasties. According to *A life of Vasubandhu* translated by Paramartha, an Indian monk translating sutras under the royal decree, "the master went to Kashmira, listened to sermons at the assembly, but behaved in an odd manner. When the assembly focussed on vibhāṣā, and he would ask about Ramayana instead and thus was looked down upon". *Dasharatha*, a story told in *Za Bao Zang Jing* translated by Kinkara and Tan Yao in Northern Wei Dynasty, narrates the exile of Rama by his father, equivalent to the first half of *Ramayana*. Since this story is of valuable raw material for the study of *Ramayana*'s plot, formation and influence in China, an abstract is provided below: