A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s6.t3.32

v2.c19.s6.t3.32

Until the year 1892, when the French scholar Sylvain Lévi published the first chapter of the Buddha-Carita, little more than the name of Aśvaghoṣa was known in Europe. To-day we know him as one of the most prominent poets of Sanskrit literature, as the most important predecessor of Kālidāsa, and as the creator of epic, dramatic and lyrical compositions; but of his life we know little. The traditions embodied in the Chinese and Tibetan sources agree in asserting that Aśvaghoṣa was a contemporary of King Kaniṣka (2nd century A.D.).¹ Pārśva or his pupil Puṇyayaśas is mentioned as his teacher, and he is generally enumerated among the leaders or founders of the Mahāyāna.² In the Chinese lists of the Buddhist patriarchs in India, he always appears after Pārśva and Puṇyayaśas, and *before* Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva. It may be taken as certain that he was of Brahman family, and had enjoyed a thorough Brahmanical education before he went over to Buddhism. As a Buddhist he probably associated himself first with the Sarvāstivāda school,³ but laid great stress on the Buddha-Bhakti and thus prepared the Mahāyāna. Sāketa (*i.e.*, Ayodhyā, the present-day Oudh) is generally given as his birthplace or home; but Benares and Patna are also mentioned. His mother was called Suvarṇākṣī. The Tibetan biographer of Aśvaghoṣa says of him: “There was no question which he would not have solved, no imputation which he would not have rejected; he overcame his opponents as frequently as a strong wind breaks rotten trees.” According to the same account, he was also an excellent musician, who himself composed pieces of music and travelled about with a band of male and female singers in the bazaars. He played and sang with his choir melancholy songs about the vanity of existence, and, attracted by the beautiful melodies, the crowd stood still and listened. In this way he won many over to the religion.⁴ The Chinese pilgrim I-tsing, who travelled through India in 671-695 A. D., speaks of the learned monks, who oppose the heretics with great success, promote the religion of the Buddha, and therefore receive respect above gods and men, and says that "of such persons in every generation only one or two appear," such men as "Nāgārjuna, Deva, Aśvaghoṣa of an early age." [^1) ] I-tsing also relates that at his time in India, among other songs which were chanted at Buddhist sanctuaries, there was a collection of sacred texts compiled by Aśvaghoṣa. He mentions him also as a composer of songs, of the Sūtrālaṃkāra and of the Buddha-Carita.2)