Sanskrit Buddhist literature

Sanskrit manuscript of the Heart Sūtra in the Siddhaṃ script. Bibliothèque nationale de France
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Sanskrit Buddhist literature refers to Buddhist texts composed either in classical Sanskrit, in a register that has been called "Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit" (also known as "Buddhistic Sanskrit" and "Mixed Sanskrit"), or a mixture of these two.[1][2] Several non-Mahāyāna Nikāyas appear to have kept their canons in Sanskrit, the most prominent being the Sarvāstivāda school.[3] Many Mahāyāna Sūtras and śāstras also survive in Buddhistic Sanskrit or in standard Sanskrit.[2]

During the Indian Tantric Age (8th to the 14th century), numerous Buddhist Tantras were written in Sanskrit, sometimes interspersed with local languages like Apabhramśa, and often containing notable irregularities in grammar and meter.[4]

Indian Buddhist authors also composed treatises and other Sanskrit literary works on Buddhist philosophy, logic-epistemology, jatakas, epic poetry and other topics. Sanskrit Buddhist literature is therefore vast and varied, despite the loss of a significant amount of texts. While a large number of works survive only in Tibetan and Chinese translations, many Sanskrit manuscripts of important Buddhist Sanskrit texts survive and are held in numerous modern collections.[5][6]

Buddhists also wrote secular works on various topics like grammar (vyākaraṇa), poetry (kāvya), and medicine (Ayurveda).[7]

  1. ^ Edgerton, Franklin (1953). Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, Volume 1, pp. 1-3. MOTILAL BANARSIDASS. ISBN 0-89581-180-4.
  2. ^ a b Winternitz (1972) pp. 226-227.
  3. ^ Prebish, Charles S. (2010) Buddhism: A Modern Perspective, pp. 42-44. Penn State Press.
  4. ^ Davidson, Ronald M. (2004). Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement, pp. 267-277. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.
  5. ^ Hahn, Thich Nhat (2015). The Heart of Buddha's Teachings. Harmony. pp. 13–16.
  6. ^ Nariman, J.K.; Introduction to the Early Buddhist Texts in Sanskritised Prākit from Literary History of Sanskrit Buddhism Archived 2021-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, Ch 1-6.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).