Originally written in the First Century, A.D. by Asvaghosha. This may be the oldest known story of the complete life of Buddha, having been written in the first century AD. The author was an educated ecclesiastic Buddhist who traveled throughout India collecting stories and traditions relating to the Buddhas life. He was a famous preacher and musician who then wove them into a Sanskrit poem which he performed musically during his travels. The people of India delighted in this magical tale whenever it was performed with the choir of musicians who traveled with him. It holds many facts that other biographies or stories of the Buddha dont have, which makes this work so important. The entire epic is preserved in this rare book, long out of print, which may have otherwise been lost to the western world.

Buddhacharita is an epic poem in the Sanskrit mahakavya style on the life of Gautama Buddha. Asvaghosa was an Indian philosopher-poet, born in Saketa in northern India to a Brahmin family. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kalidasa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the contemporary Ramayana.

The Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha's Acts is a complete biography of Sakyamuni, from his birth until after his death (parinirvana), when his relics were distributed. Composed by Asvaghosa (early second century CE) the text was rendered into Chinese by Baoyun in 421 CE from the original Sanskrit, creating a simplified version that would be more easily understandable to a Chinese audience. The Buddhacarita reads like a play, describing the incidents and events of the Buddha's life story, from his miraculous birth and early life of wealth and privilege as Crown Prince Siddhartha, to his spiritual journeying and eventual attainment of enlightenment and the teaching and conversion of disciples and followers. Along the way key elements of the Buddha's teaching are revealed and the message of his life is an example of the possibility of awakening and liberation for all.

The Buddha-Carita,or The Life of Buddhaby Aśvaghoṣaedited and translated byEdward B. CowellThe Sanskrit text of the Buddha-carita was published at the beginning of last year [i.e 1893] in the 'Anecdota Oxoniensia,' and the following English translation is now included in the series 'Sacred Books of the East.' It is an early Sanskrit poem written in India on the legendary history of Buddha, and therefore contains much that is of interest for the history of Buddhism, besides its special importance as illustarating the early history of classical Sanskrit literature.It is ascribed to Aśvaghoṣa; and although there were several writers who bore that name, it seems most probable that our author was the contemparary and spiritual advisor of Kaniṣka in the first century of our era. Hiouen Thsang, who left India in A. D. 645, mentions him with Deva, Nāgārjuna, and Kumāralabdha, 'as the four suns which illumine the world;'1 but our fullest account is given by I-tsing, who visited India in 673. He states that Aśvaghoṣa was an ancient author who composed the Alaṅkāra-śāstra and the Buddha-carita-kāvya, -- the latter work being of course the present poem. Besides these two works he also composed the hymns in honour of Buddha and the three holy beings Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, and Mahāsthāma, which were chanted at the evening service of the monasteries. 'In the five countries of India and in the countries of the Southern ocean they recite these poems, because they express a store of ideas and meaning in a few words.'2 A solitary stanza (VIII, 13) is quoted from the Buddha-carita in Rāyamukuṭa's commentary on the Amarakoṣa I, i. 1, 2, and also by Ujjvaladatta in his commentary on the Uṇādi-sūtras I, 156; and five stanzas are quoted as from Aśvaghoṣa in Vallabhadeva's Subhāṣitāvali, which bear a great resemblance to his style, though they are not found in the extant portion of this poem.

Poetry on Gautama Buddha.