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Cited by 17Indian and Buddhist StudiesClassical Studies and PhilologyPoetry Analysis and Criticism

Pleasure and Poetics as Tools for Transformation in Aśvaghoṣa’s mahākāvya

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Regan, Julie·2022·Religions
DOI 10.3390/rel13070578
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Abstract

Why does Aśvaghoṣa (c. second century C.E.), the first known author of a Buddhist literary work, choose a literary genre (mahākāvya) with erotic scenes and elaborate poetic language to present the truth that leads to liberation? This question, which has puzzled and fascinated scholars since the first known translations of Buddhacarita and Saundarananda, is often answered by turning to a statement Aśvaghoṣa makes, which suggests that such methods are necessary to reach his worldly audience, who are interested only in pleasure and not liberation. Dismissed as mere sugarcoating for “the bitter truth” of the Buddhist doctrine, the impact of the pleasures and poetics of Aśvaghoṣa’s work upon the reader has rarely been explored. Methods emphasizing a hermeneutic approach to scholarship, focused on interpreting what such works have to say, has meant less attention to what these works do to transform readers (their poetics). However, new attention to the literary aspects of Aśvaghoṣa’s mahākāvya, a genre of long-form narrative literature known for its poetic features, as well as recent scholarship on the Sanskrit courtly culture for which it was produced, suggest pleasure is a central feature. In this article I argue that comparative analysis of the dramatic structure of Buddhacarita and Saundarananda demonstrates that Aśvaghoṣa uses his ability as a dramatist to employ rasa, pleasurable aesthetic experiences, staged to gradually transform the minds of readers. I argue that as the plots of Buddhacarita and Saundarananda unfold, and the Buddha and his brother Nanda go from erotic and ascetic scenes to the sites of liberation, readers are engaged and moved in ways that refine their perceptions, introducing forms of concentration and insight not unlike the Buddhist practices depicted in these works.

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Research works printed but not linked: 17

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  2. Aśvaghoṣa (1932). The Saundarananda or Nanda the Fair: Translated from the Original Sanskrit or Aśvaghoṣa by E.H. Johnston, Humphrey Milford/Oxford University Press. Introduced and Translated by Edward Hamilton Johnston. Panjab University Oriental Publications No.14.
  3. Hamilton Johnston, Edward (1935). The Buddhacarita: Or, Acts of the Buddha. Part I—Sanskrit Text, Baptist Mission Press. Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages.
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  14. Shaw, Sarah (2014). The Spirit of Buddhist Meditation, Yale University Press.
  15. Bronner, Yigal, Shulman, David Dean, and Tubb, Gary A. (2014). Baking Uma. Innovations and Turning Points: Toward a History of Kāvya Literature, Oxford University Press. [1st ed.]. South Asia Research.
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  17. and Ingalls, Daniel H. H. (1968). Sanskrit Poetry from Vidyākara’s Treasury, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

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Authors
Regan, J.
Affiliations
La Salle University (US)
Corresponding author
Regan, Julie
Venue
Religions
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2022-06-22
Volume
13
Issue
7
Pages
578
ISSN
2077-1444 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/rel13070578
OpenAlex
W4283369269
Cited by
17
References
24
Citations by year
2024: 1 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 1
FWCI
30.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Religions (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Classical Studies and Philology
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Poetry Analysis and Criticism
Keywords
Aśvaghoṣa, Buddhacarita, Mahakavya, pleasure, rasa, poetics, Buddhist scriptures, dramatic structure, liberation, reader transformation, asceticism

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