A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s7.68

v2.c19.s7.68

is instinct with the true spirit of Buddhism. The delicate poetical description of the Buddhist paradise Sukhāvatī is full of charm, and there is no harm in the poet's having woven this picture, which is a part of the Mahāyāna, into his poem, which is mainly based upon the Pāli sources. In the drama "The Wife of the Perfect One,"¹ Gjellerrup has endowed Buddha, who first appears in the play as Prince Siddhārtha, but later on as the Enlightened One, with more worldly traits, and above all, more attachment to his family, than the Buddha of the legend really possessed. It would scarcely be possible to find in Buddhist texts a counterpart to the scene in which Buddha yields the sovereignty to his half-brother Nanda. The Buddha of the texts never troubled about such matters. Neither could we find in any Buddhist text such words as Buddha is made to speak, in the last scene in the drama, when he hands his weapons to Nanda, and passes him the swords, with the words: