A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t3.130

v2.c19.s6.t3.130

The Avadāna-Śataka, or "the hundred Avadānas,"¹ is a work of the former category, presumably the oldest of these books. As it was already translated into Chinese in the first half of the 3rd century A.D., and on the other hand as the dīnāra is mentioned, we can, with a considerable degree of certainty, ascribe it to the 2nd century A.D.² The character of the narratives, and the fact that the Stories of the Present contain passages from a Parinirvāṇa-Sūtra and other Sūtras of the Sanskrit Canon of the Sarvāstivādins, are sufficient evidence that this work belongs to the Hīnayāna.³ Though Buddha-worship plays a prominent part in the legends, there is no trace of the Bodhisattva cult and of Mahāyānistic mythology.