Mahavastu

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MAH?VASTU

The Mah?vastu (Great Story) recounts in both verse and prose the life of the Buddha from the perspective of the Lokottarav?dins, a subgroup of the Mah?s??ghika school. Written between the second century b.c.e. and the fourth century c.e. in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, it embellishes many episodes of ??kyamuni's biography with j?takas, avad?nas, and other legends, presenting him as a basically supernatural figure.

See also:Avad?na; Buddha, Life of the; J?taka

Bibliography

Jones, J. J., trans. The Mah?vastu, 3 vols. London: Luzac, 1949–1956.

John S. Strong

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