{"id":3530,"date":"2026-01-03T10:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T05:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=3530"},"modified":"2026-01-03T15:23:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T09:53:55","slug":"buddhist-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/buddhist-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"Buddhist Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Buddhist Literature<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>Buddhist literature comprises one of the earliest collections of organized and written literary works in Indian history. The earliest systematic and most complete collection of early Buddhist sacred literature is the\u00a0<strong>Pali\u00a0<\/strong><strong><u>Tripitakas<\/u><\/strong><strong>(Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka).<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Its arrangement reflects the importance that the early followers attached to monastic life to the discourses of the Buddha, and subsequently to the interest in scholasticism.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Buddhist texts were majorly<strong>\u00a0composed by learned monks.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Buddhist literature covers a wide variety of themes, including the history of Buddha\u2019s teachings, his life, his followers and the Sangha.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Those intended both for the monks and the lay community.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The earliest Buddhist works were written in<strong>\u00a0Pali,<\/strong>\u00a0which was spoken in\u00a0<strong><u>Magadha<\/u><\/strong><strong>\u00a0and South Bihar.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>Types of Buddhist Literature<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>The Buddhist works can be divided into the canonical and the non-canonical.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Canonical literature<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>The canonical literature is best represented by the\u00a0<strong>\u201cTripitakas\u201d<\/strong>, that is, three baskets - Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>There are<strong>\u00a0Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan versions of the Tripitaka<\/strong>\u00a0(The Three Baskets\/ Collections) as well.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>In the Buddhist context,\u00a0<strong>sutta<\/strong>\u00a0(from the Sanskrit sutra) refers to texts that are supposed to contain what the Buddha himself said.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<figure>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Canonical literature<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Vinaya Pitaka (Basket of Discipline)<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Compiled at<\/strong>\u00a0the First Buddhist Council (483 BC)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Recited by<\/strong>\u00a0Upali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter<\/strong>: Vinaya Pitaka consists mainly of rules governing the daily life of monks and nuns.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>\u00a0This contains instructions on the organization of the Sangha and how to keep the sangha working harmoniously.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Composition\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Suttavibhanga<\/strong>: Patimokkha (basic code of monastic discipline) and commentary\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Mahavibhanga: rules for monks<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Bhikkhunivibhanga: rules for nuns<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Khandaka<\/strong>: 22 chapters on various topics<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Parivara:<\/strong>\u00a0analyses of rules from various points of view.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Sutta Pitaka<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>(Basket of Discourse)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Compiled at:\u00a0<\/strong>First Buddhist Council (483 BC)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Sutta Pitaka was first orally<strong>\u00a0rehearsed by Ananda\u00a0<\/strong>(Buddha\u2019s cousin).<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:<\/strong>\u00a0Sutta Pitaka contains the\u00a0<strong>core teachings<\/strong>\u00a0of Buddhism.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Sutta literally\u00a0<strong>means discourse.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Sutta Pitaka: Contains the<strong>\u00a0five Nikayas<\/strong>\u00a0(collections), which developed on the essential teachings of the Buddha.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Digha-Nikaya<\/strong>: comprises the long collection (34 suttas)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Majjhima-Nikaya<\/strong>: comprises the middle length<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Samyutta-Nikaya<\/strong>: comprises the connected discourses of Buddha<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Anguttara Nikaya<\/strong>: comprises numerical discourses<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Khuddaka-Nikaya:<\/strong>\u00a0comprises the minor collection\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>It is a heterogeneous mix of sermons, doctrines and poetry attributed to Buddha and its disciples.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>\u00a0Khudakka-nikaya includes<strong>\u00a0Dhammapada<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0<strong>Sutta-nipata<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Abhidhamma Pitaka<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>(Basket of Higher Doctrine)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The essence of Abhidamma was formulated by the\u00a0<u>Buddha<\/u><strong>\u00a0after his Enlightenment.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Buddha repeated it to<strong>\u00a0Sariputta,<\/strong>\u00a0who then transmitted it to his disciples.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter<\/strong>: It is a higher and advanced formulation of Buddhist teachings.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Abhidhamma Pitaka<strong>\u00a0deals with philosophy and metaphysics<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>It includes discourses on various subjects such as ethics, psychology, theories of knowledge and metaphysical problems.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>It gives a precise and detailed description of the \"principles behind the mental and physical processes of the<strong>\u00a0Buddha\u2019s teaching\"<\/strong>\u00a0and states everything in\u00a0<strong>psycho-philosophical language,<\/strong>\u00a0expressing the\u00a0<strong>\u2018ultimate\u2019 (paramattha)<\/strong>\u00a0teachings.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>It consists of<strong>\u00a0seven books:<\/strong>\u00a0Dhammasangani, Vibhanga, Dhatukatha, Puggalapannatti, Kathavatthu, Yamaka, and Patthana.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The earliest texts of the Pali canon have\u00a0<strong>no mention\u00a0<\/strong>of the texts of the Abhidhamma Pitaka.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>Table - Canonical literature<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Non-Canonical literature<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>A vast non-canonical literature developed mostly as commentaries to explain the canonical texts to the Buddhist monks outside India.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The great bulk of non-canonical literature is the product of the<strong>\u00a0Sri Lankan monks.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Some of the Indian non-canonical works are the<strong>\u00a0Milinda-panha, the Nettipakarana and the Petakopadesa.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<figure>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Non-Canonical literature<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Dipavamsa<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>(Chronicle of the Island)<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Time period<\/strong>: 3-4th century<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Probably authored by several Buddhist monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Language:\u00a0<\/strong>Pali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:\u00a0<\/strong>Dipavamsa is the oldest historical record of Sri Lanka. The Dipavamsa gives a fuller account of the arrival of\u00a0<strong>Theri Sangamitta<\/strong>\u00a0(daughter to Asoka).<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Buddhaghosa refers to Dipavamsa in his treatise<strong>\u00a0\u201cSamantapasadika\u201d.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Dipava\u1e43sa lauds the\u00a0<strong>Theravada as a \"great banyan tree,\"<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Dipavamsa was likely the first completely new Pali text composed in Sri Lanka.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Dipavamsa is considered as source material for Mahavamsa.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Mahavamsa<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>(Great Chronicle)<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Time period:\u00a0<\/strong>5th Century CE<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Mahanama<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Language:\u00a0<\/strong>Pali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:\u00a0<\/strong>It consists of<strong>\u00a0thirty-seven chapters\u00a0<\/strong>describing the founding of the\u00a0<strong>Sinhala kingdom by Vijaya,\u00a0<\/strong>who migrated from India during the sixth century B.C.E. and\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>the political as well as history of Buddhism upto the\u00a0<strong>King Mahasena,\u00a0<\/strong>who lived during the third century C. E.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>It recounts the history of Buddhism in India, from Buddha\u2019s death to the third Buddhist council.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>It was written based on prior ancient compilations known as the\u00a0<strong>Atthakatha.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>It deals with<strong>\u00a0Emperor Ashoka's\u00a0<\/strong>expedition to Sri Lanka and the establishment of the<strong>\u00a0Mahavihara.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>It recounts the history of Buddhism in India, from Buddha\u2019s death to the third Buddhist council.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The second part of the Mahavamsa, more commonly known as the\u00a0<strong>Culavamsa\u00a0<\/strong>was written in the 13th century AD.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Author:\u00a0<strong>Dhammakitti Thero,\u00a0<\/strong>but many historians believe that it was authored by many monks.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Milinda Panha<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>(Questions of Milinda)<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Time period:\u00a0<\/strong>1st Century BC-2nd Century AD<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Author<\/strong>: Nagasena<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Language<\/strong>: Pali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:<\/strong>\u00a0The Milindapanha records a series of discussions on points of<strong>\u00a0Dhamma\u00a0<\/strong>between the Indian Buddhist sage\u00a0<strong>Nagasena\u00a0<\/strong>and 2nd Century BC Indo-Greek king<strong>\u00a0Menander 1 of Bactria.<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>After the discussion, Menander adopted the Buddhist faith and then handed over his kingdom to his son to retire from the world and attain\u00a0<strong>enlightenment\u00a0<\/strong>afterwards.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>It is mentioned in the<strong>\u00a0Grand Inscription d\u2019Angkor<\/strong>\u00a0engraved in 1701 on the walls of\u00a0<u>Angkor Wat<\/u>\u00a0in Cambodia.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<p><strong>Nettipakarana<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p>(The book of Guidance)<\/p>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Time period:\u00a0<\/strong>1st Century BCE-1st Century CE<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Mahakaccana<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Language:<\/strong>\u00a0Pali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:<\/strong>\u00a0Nettipakarana is a mythological Buddhist scripture sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of<strong>\u00a0Theravada Buddhism.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Nettipakarana is ascribed to the Buddha's disciple\u00a0<strong>Kaccana\u00a0<\/strong>by the text's colophon, introductory verses, and the commentary attributed to<strong>\u00a0Dhammapala.<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The text's colophon says he composed the book, that it was approved by the Buddha and that it was recited at the<strong>\u00a0First Council\u00a0<\/strong>(483 BC).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>It is divided into\u00a0<strong>two divisions<\/strong>:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Sangahavara<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Vibhagavara<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Petakopadesa<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Time period:\u00a0<\/strong>Around 2nd Century BCE<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Author:<\/strong>\u00a0Mahakaccana<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Language:<\/strong>\u00a0Pali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:<\/strong>\u00a0Petakopadesa is a Buddhist scripture sometimes included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of Theravada Buddhism.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The text is often connected to another\u00a0<strong>para canonical text,<\/strong>\u00a0the Nettipakarana.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Jatakas<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Time period:\u00a0<\/strong>4th Century BCE<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Language:<\/strong>\u00a0Pali<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Subject matter:\u00a0<\/strong>The Jataka tales are a\u00a0<strong>large collection of Buddhist morality stories<\/strong>\u00a0in which the Buddha recounts some of his past lives on his long road to enlightenment.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Jataka stories have also been<strong>\u00a0illustrated in\u00a0<\/strong><strong><u>Buddhist architecture<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0throughout the Buddhist world. Some of the earliest illustrations can be found at<strong>\u00a0Sanchi and Bharhut.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Jatakas throw invaluable light on the social and economic conditions ranging from the sixth century BC to the second century BC.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>They also make incidental reference to political events in the age of the Buddha.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>Table - Non-canonical literature<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<h2><strong>Important Sanskrit texts in Buddhist literature\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<figure>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\"><strong>Authors<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\"><strong>Buddhist Sanskrit Texts<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Asvaghosa<\/strong>\u00a0(80 AD-150 AD)<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Buddha Charita<\/strong>: It is an epic poem in the Sanskrit\u00a0<strong>maha kavya style\u00a0<\/strong>on the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Saundarananda:\u00a0<\/strong>It is a kavya poem with the theme of the conversion of<strong>\u00a0Nanda,<\/strong>\u00a0Buddha\u2019s half-brother so that he might achieve salvation.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The first half of the work describes Nanda\u2019s life, and the second half describes Buddhist doctrines and ascetic practices.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sutralankar\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sariputra Prakaran:\u00a0<\/strong>It deals with\u00a0<strong>Sariputta,<\/strong>\u00a0the disciple of Buddha. Sariputta had a key leadership role in the ministry of Buddha, and he frequently appears in\u00a0<strong>Mahayana sutras.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Vajra Suchi:<\/strong>\u00a0It is a specimen of Buddhist\u00a0<strong>polemical writing\u00a0<\/strong>on the<strong>\u00a0caste system<\/strong>\u00a0advocated by the Vedic schools.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Vasumitra\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Mahavibhasa Shastra:\u00a0<\/strong>It is an encyclopedic work on\u00a0<strong>Abhidhamma<\/strong>, scholastic Buddhist philosophy.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Its composition led to the founding of a new school of thought called<strong>\u00a0Vaibhasika.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td rowspan=\"2\"><strong>Buddhaghosha\u00a0<\/strong>(5th century)<\/td>\r\n<td rowspan=\"2\">\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Visuddhimagga\u00a0<\/strong>(path of Purification): It is a comprehensive summary of older\u00a0<strong>Sinhala\u00a0<\/strong>commentaries on Theravada teachings and practices.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sumangalvasini<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Atthakathayen\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Nagarjuna\u00a0<\/strong>(150 and 250 CE)<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Madhyamika Karika:<\/strong>\u00a0It is a foundational text of the\u00a0<strong>Madhyamaka school<\/strong>\u00a0of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The work is a grand commentary on Buddha\u2019s\u00a0<strong>\u201cDiscourse to Katyayana\u201d.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Prajnaparamita Karika:<\/strong>\u00a0It means transcendental knowledge in Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>\u00a0It also refers to the female deity<strong>\u00a0Prajnaparamita Devi,<\/strong>\u00a0a personification of wisdom also known as the<strong>\u00a0\u201cGreat Mother\u201d.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>-NA-<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Lalitavistara Sutra:\u00a0<\/strong>It tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Mahyanasamgraha:<\/strong>\u00a0Summary of the Great Vehicle.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Abhidharma-samuccaya:<\/strong>\u00a0Summary of main Mahayana Abhiharma doctrines.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>\u00a0Table - Buddhist Sanskrit texts<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<figure>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\" colspan=\"3\"><strong>Other Sanskrit Texts<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Prajnaparamita Hrdaya Sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Buddhavatamsaka Sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Dasabhumukasutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Sukhavativyuha<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Aksayamatinirdesa<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Aryasamghata sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Lankavatara Sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Mahaparinirvana sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Samadhiraja sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Sakistamba Sutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Tathagataguhyaka<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Nilakantha Dharani<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Mahavastu<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Samgitiparaya<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Jnanaprasthanam<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Prajnaptipada<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Mahakarmavibhanga<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Mahavyutpatti<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Mahavadanasutra<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Avadanasataka<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>Sanskrit texts<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<h2><strong>Buddhist scholars<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<figure>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Buddhist Scholars<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Dignaga\u00a0<\/strong>(480 AD-540 AD)<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Dignaga\u2019s work laid the groundwork for the development of deductive logic in India and created the<strong>\u00a0first system of Buddhist logic and epistemology.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>His Philosophy:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Pratyaksha\u00a0<\/strong>(awareness to acquire information)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Anumana<\/strong>\u00a0(type of cognition to be aware of general attributes)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Apohavada and language:<\/strong>\u00a0(interpretation of conventional and symbolic signs to be conventional instances of inference)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>His works:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Pramana-samuccaya\u00a0<\/strong>(perception, language and inference)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Abhidharmakosa-marma-Pradip<\/strong>\u00a0(Abhidharmakosha\u2019s Summary).<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Nyaya-mukha:\u00a0<\/strong>(Introduction to logic)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>A summary of the<strong>\u00a0Mahayana Astasahasrika-prajnaparamita sutra\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Dharmakirti\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Dharmakirti is associated with the<u>\u00a0Yogacara<\/u>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Sautrantika\u00a0<\/strong>schools.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>He was one of the primary theorists of<strong>\u00a0Buddhist atomism.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>His philosophy:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Epistemology:<\/strong>\u00a0(instruments of knowledge, i.e., perception and inference)<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Metaphysics:\u00a0<\/strong>(real is only the momentarily existing particulars, and any universal is unreal and a fiction)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>His works\u00a0<\/strong>include Sambandhaparikshavrtti, Pramanaviniscaya, Pramavarttika-karaka.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Chandrakirti\u00a0<\/strong>(600 CE-650 CE)<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Chandrakirti was a Buddhist scholar of<strong>\u00a0Madhyamaka school.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>His philosophy:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Two truths<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The nature of conventional truth<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Prasanga and reasoning<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Buddhahood<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>His works<\/strong>\u00a0include Mulamadhyamaka-vrtti-prasannapada, Madhyamakavatara, Yuktisasthika-vrtti.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><strong>\u00a0Buddhist Scholars<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tripitakas form the earliest &#038; most comprehensive collection of sacred texts in Buddhist literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[692,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-3530","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-3","8":"tag-buddhist-literature","9":"tag-quest"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3530"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19715,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3530\/revisions\/19715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}